106 THE FALL OF THE YEAR 



falls a yellow leaf from a slender birch near by . . . small flock of 

 robins from a pine . . . swallows were gathering upon the telegraph 

 wires : Next summer, note the exact date on which you first see 

 signs of autumn — the first f ailing of the leaves, the first gather- 

 ing of birds for their southern trip. Most of the migrating birds 

 go in flocks for the sake of companionship and protection. 

 chewink (named from his call, che-wink' ; accent on second, not 

 on first, syllable, as in some dictionaries) or ground robin, or 

 towhee or joree ; one of the finch family. You will know him by 

 his saying " chewink " and by his vigorous scratching among the 

 dead leaves, and by his red-brown body and black head and neck. 

 vireo (vlr'-e-6) : the red-eyed vireo, the commonest of the vireo 

 family ; often called " Preacher " ; builds the little hanging nest 

 from a small fork on a bush or tree so low often that you can 

 look into it. 



fiery notes of the scarlet tanager (tan'-a-jer) : His notes are loud 

 and strong, and he is dressed in fiery red clothes and sings on 

 the fieriest of July days. 

 Page 4 



resonant song of the indigo bunting : or indigo-bird, one of the finch 

 family. He sings from the very tip of a tree as if to get up close 

 under the dome of the sky. Indeed, his notes seem to strike 

 against it and ring down to us ; for there is a peculiar ringing 

 quality to them, as if he were singing to you from inside a great 

 copper kettle. 



scarlet tanager by some accident : The tanager arrives among the 

 last of the birds in the spring, and builds late ; but, if you find a 

 nest in July or August, it is pretty certain to be a second nest, 

 the first having been destroyed somehow — a too frequent occur- 

 rence with all birds. 



half-fledged cuckoos : The cuckoo also is a very late builder. I 

 have more than once found its eggs in July. 



red wood-lily : Do you know the wood-lily, or the " wild orange- 

 red lily " as some call it (Lilium philadelphicum) ? It is found 

 from New England to North Carolina and west to Missouri, but 

 only on hot, dry, sandy ground, whereas the turk's-cap and the 

 wild yellow lily are found only where the ground is rich and moist. 

 low mouldy moss : Bring to school a flake, as large as your hand, 

 of the kind of lichen you think this may be. Some call it " rein- 

 deer moss." 



