Concord, Mass.
1896
April 6
(No 2)
[April 6, 1896]

reminded me of Loons in other respects. They have nearly
the same way of carrying the head & neck while swimming
and the same bold, alert expression. The drake was a
superb creature. When he flew I could see the coral red
legs & feet stretched out behind under the tail.
There were seven Fox Sparrows at the cabin to-day.
They had eaten all the oatmeal and when I threw out
some more they quickly began feeding on it. Occasionally
one would sing in undertone but there was no loud
or general song to-day.
  As I was standing in the path near the cabin just
after dinner I heard a low broken warbling very like that of
a Purple Finch singing sotto voce. At first I took it for
the voice of a bird but presently I realized that it came
from the ground within a few yards of me. Presently there
was a sharp rustle and several dry oak leaves were violently
agitated evidently by some creature forcing its way
beneath them. This was repeated many times the rustling &
movement of the leaves usually succeeding one of the warbling
periods & being nearly always followed by an interval of silence.
Once several large leaves were flung upward several inches.
Although I failed to get so much as a glympse [glimpse] at the creature
I was satisfied that it was a Shrew. It worked steadily
along the side of the hill near its base covering a distance
of nearly fifty yards in the course of ten or fifteen minutes.
Its notes were highly musical although at no time loud
enough to be heard more than a few rods away. It did
not once utter the fine, wiry squeaking which one usually
hears from these little animals. The song was much like
that of a singing mouse but I do not think a mouse would have