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174 THE FRIENDSHIP OF NATURE 



phoebes, the only ones of the tribe who 

 carry a note of music, coming down to 

 a pear tree where insects hover over 

 the fallen fruit. The great crested fly- 

 catcher, with a nonchalant air of 

 defiance, followed very cautiously the 

 flight of the king-bird. The least 

 flycatcher, with white eye-ring, gray- 

 green back, and "chebec call " was the 

 most sociable, and peered about the 

 apple trees; his yellow-bellied cousin 

 chose the trumpet vine for a point of 

 vantage, and muttered its slow call in 

 imitation of the wood-pewee. For 

 many days these birds drew all atten- 

 tion to themselves by their eccentric 

 ways, each choosing a separate forag- 

 ing spot, but when disturbed, returning 

 to the elm. They held the air in such 

 absolute mastery that it seemed to 

 represent both earth and water. They 

 flew through it, next seemed to swim, 



