94 



POPULAR TYRANTS 



The season of woodland song has merged imper- 

 ceptibly into the drowsy fullness of summer. The 

 varied carols that enlivened the woods in the time 

 of nature's renewing are silenced. Occasionally a 

 Yellow Warbler may raise a cheerful call, as if 

 determined to make his life a perpetual spring. The 

 Robin in the evening may forget the passing of the 

 seasons and break forth in varied melodies. These are 

 but interludes in the silence, otherwise unbroken, 

 save by the agitated chirp of an anxious parent 

 alarmed at the threatened invasion of her nest, or 

 the importunate calls of selfish fledglings demanding 

 more food from tired but industrious providers. But 

 the season of fruition has its own pecuhar charm, 

 for it brings out the varied characteristics of all our 

 summer residents. 



Fly-catchers are among the most interesting and 

 individually distinctive of all the visitors who find 

 our summer shade congenial. Their marked family 

 characteristics do not efface the striking personality 

 of the various members, and each sustains his 

 dignity in his own peculiar way. They have been 

 called tyrants and will never escape from the name. 



