366 The Bird 
boy whose whole ideas of life have been changed by ab- 
sence from his rural home, the Oven-bird carries aloft 
with him the mincing gait of the littoral sandpipers, walk- 
ing sedately along the limbs among his agile, hopping, 
creeping cousins. 
Of the conventional aristocracy of the warblers there 
would be much to say had we the space. The Black- 
and-white Creeping Warbler has been transformed into a 
woodpecker, as far as mode of progression goes; and 
lucky for him too, for he never fails to find cocoons 
and small edible things among the cracks and crevices 
of the bark, no matter how vainly the others may be 
searching the overworked twigs and leaves. And Nature 
has helped him, too. She has dipped him in a bath of 
the essence of these very same crevices and cracks, and 
out he has come, covered with the semblance of the rough 
surface and the long, dark shadows which may shield 
and hide him from many enemies. 
Of the typical tree-loving species, the Pine Warbler 
haunts the growths which have given him his name; the 
Black-throated Green also loves the evergreens, and the 
beautiful Magnolia delights in thick forests of spruces. 
Thus we have taken a brief survey of the recent branch- 
ing of the warbler’s genealogical tree. Each has found 
a niche in which to live, and the food and safety which 
permit him to rear a nestful of young each year. So far 
so good, but we must not forget to give a thought to the 
untold thousands and tens of thousands of generations 
which have failed in their attempts. Nature has removed 
all traces from view and in the general advancement of 
