RUSTLING WINGS 



173 



ing numerous acrobatic feats, head 

 downward, and announcing himself by 

 his grating call. His note, a mere 

 scrap of the jay's scream, associates 

 him with those smartly dressed thieves, 

 as their seasons of return are alike. 



Now the birds come drifting steadily 

 along; one morning will bring a flock 

 of chestnut-crowned sparrows, and the 

 next some brown thrashers, while a 

 little later the towhee will be seen, 

 hopping with nice precision. Is there 

 any other bird to whom the word neat 

 applies more truly than to this ground- 

 robin, as we locally call him, with his 

 trig build, his precise plumage and 

 markings, and his thrifty, satisfied 

 note? 



The middle of the month, the fly- 

 catchers held a great rally in the top 

 of a dead elm : the king-bird, though 

 fearless, keeping the furthest aloof; the 



