A YEAR IN THE FIELDS 



"chirp." His movements are very charac- 

 teristic, especially that vertical, oscillating 

 movement of the hind part of his body, like 

 that of the wagtails. There are many birds 

 that do not come here till May, be the 

 season never so early. The spring of 1878 

 was very forward, and on the 27th of April 

 I made this entry in my notebook : " In 

 nature it is the middle of May, and, judg- 

 ing from vegetation alone, one would expect 

 to find many of the later birds, as the oriole, 

 the wood thrush, the kingbird, the catbird, 

 the tanager, the indigo-bird, the vireos, and 

 many of the warblers, but they have not 

 arrived. The May birds, it seems, will not 

 come in April, no matter how the season 

 favors." 



Some birds passing north in the spring 

 are provokingly silent. Every April I see 

 the hermit thrush hopping about the woods, 

 and in case of a sudden snow-storm seeking 

 shelter about the outbuildings ; but I never 

 hear even a fragment of his wild, silvery 

 strain. The white-crowned sparrow also 

 passes in silence. I see the bird for a few 

 days about the same date each year, but he 

 will not reveal to me his song. On the 

 other hand, his congener, the white-throated 

 46 



