94 BIRDS AND MAN 



untiring in song. Doubtless this was because I 

 saw him so closely, and for such long intervals. 

 His fresh yeUowish-green upper and white under 

 plumage gave him a wonderfully deUcate appear- 

 ance, and these colours harmonised with the tender 

 greens of the opening leaves and the pale greys 

 and silvery whites of the slender boles. 



Seebohm says of this species : " They arrive 

 in our woods in marvellously perfect plumage. 

 In the early morning sun they look almost as 

 deUcate a yellowish -green as the half- grown 

 leaves amongst which they disport themselves. 

 In the hand the delicate shading of the eye- 

 stripe, and the margin of the feathers of the 

 wings and tail, is exquisitely beautiful, but is 

 almost aU lost under the rude handUng of the 

 bird-skinner." ^ 



The concluding words sound almost strange ; 

 but it is a fact that this sylph -hke creature is 

 sometimes shattered with shot and its poor 

 remains operated on by the bird-stuffer. Its 

 beauty "in the hand" cannot compare with 

 that exhibited when it lives and moves and 

 sings. Its appearance during flight differs from 

 that of other warblers on account of the greater 



