A Bouquet of Song Birds 



some resemblance in their bills. A pair of these 

 vireos lingered suspiciously about a certain 

 clump of shrubbery ; and, as they showed pre- 

 monitory signs of getting their summer-house 

 ready, there was a prospect of renewing the 

 acquaintance later. 



Deeper in the woods the red-eyed vireo was 

 warbling endlessly, and his clear, rich tone 

 seemed to have lost all trace of its usual petu- 

 lance; strongly reminding one of the " white- 

 eyed." The Maryland yellow- throat first be- 

 trayed himself by his unmistakable waltzing 

 wee-chee-chee ; a sprightly triplet phrase which 

 is always a pleasant sound. He is commonly 

 deep in the thickets, and is not at all eager to 

 show his handsome face and figure. But the 

 knowledge of a bird's song is almost a compen- 

 sation for the lack of his visible presence ; and 

 his familiar message comes like the voice of a 

 friend in the dark. 



The woods were full of the fluttering red- 

 starts, in their conspicuous attire of glossy 

 black and flaming red ; and the ear can pick 

 him out almost as quickly as the eye, for hard- 

 ly any other singer has a voice so sharp and 

 spicy. Their house-keeping had already begun, 

 or at least their house-building ; for I detected 



