Water Fowl 



some of the sparrows and several other species 

 of land birds. Plumage, however, as well as 

 song, is very much overrated, as determining 

 our general estimate of any specimen. Even the 

 most ardent admirer of the brilliant group of 

 warblers will acluiowledge the truth of this, 

 when he forms his final judgment of their relative 

 merits. Is there any warbler, after all, that is 

 much more satisfying than the coldly colored 

 "black-throated blue?" It is quite remark- 

 able, too, how much less the showy tints of any 

 species signify, when we see the living creature, 

 than when we look either at colored plates, or 

 at stuffed specimens. Their bearing and man- 

 ners, which are the truer index of their real 

 natures, overshadow the more superficial aspects, 

 as completely as in the case of any human being ; 

 and not infrequently a trait, long unobserved, 

 and almost too subtle for verbal expression, 

 eventually becomes one of the most constant and 

 distinct points of individuality. 



After this rather deprecating attitude in re- 

 gard to the claims of water fowl, let us proceed 

 to their more positive merits. 



As compared with the land group, they pos- 

 sess a distinct advantage, as a source of interest 

 to the student, in the remarkable and signifi- 



51 



