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 



