THE CITY OF THE BIRDS. 73 



small bird within the neighborhood to see what 

 was the matter. The veery chirped peevishly 

 near by ; the chewink left his scratching for a 

 while to see if he could offer any assistance ; of 

 course the vireos came to gratify their curiosity ; 

 a black-throated green warbler spun out a fine 

 note of sympathy, from a low limb. Madam Cat- 

 bird spread her fan and rustled her feathers 

 in high temper and scolded from her window, 

 " Such a disgraceful proceeding, carried on in our 

 city ! " 



The fledgling's plumage was the exact shade of 

 the dry leaves around him. There were to be 

 seen no traces yet of the golden featheirs that 

 would crown him later in life. His wide gape 

 was edged with yellow, and his legs of the same 

 bright color seemed almost as long and stout as 

 those of the full-grown birds. As I held him in 

 my hand to sever the last cord that bound him to 

 his home, I pondered on the subject of his first 

 migration, and the difficulties that would beset 

 him on every wing. In how short a time this 

 awkward weakling must gather strength to jour- 

 ney through the trackless air, far Southward, over 

 mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, to Central 

 America, the West Indies or Bermuda Islands, 

 where these kinds of birds are seen in the Winter ! 



It was while walking in this bird metropolis 

 that I first became acquainted with the field-spar- 



