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BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
Seiurus aurocapillus. Oven-bird. 674. 
The Oven-birds come with such regularity each spring that I have 
come to regard the eleventh of May as their schedule date for arriving. 
I have not seen them in the fall later than the twenty-third of Septem- 
ber. They belong to dense woods, regardless of the kind of trees, as 
they look for subsistence to the earth in particular. They walk over 
the fallen leaves with an energetic dignity that is quite amusing, and 
their quaintness is even greater as they parade up and down a naked 
branch after being disturbed, with tail beating time. Their song, 
when delivered in full volume, has a piercing quality that is well-nigh 
distracting if a person is listening for some other sound. The Oven- 
bird gets its name from its nest, which is built on the jrround and 
roofed with leaves and twigs, so that it is difficult to discover unless 
one sees the old bird leave it. 
Seiurus noveboracensis. Water-Thrush. 675. 
The Water-Thrush, Water Wagtail, or Water Accentor, as it is 
variously termed, is always found near water, either by a brook or on 
the wooded sliore of a pond, or in a swamp. It is in- the swamps 
as early as the thirtieth of April, but difficult to tind when silent, and 
when the season of song is over one may as well look for a needle in 
a haymow as for Water-Thrushes. I have never seen one later than 
the twenty-sixth of September. I have found them in the breeding 
season in the swamps of Barrington and Lee, and during the fall 
migration they usually visit the little brook in the rear of Thompson 
hall, and often remain there in September for a fortnight. Like the 
Oven-bird it is accustomed to ualk when on a smooth surface, yet it 
hops from rock to rock, or from branch to branch, as readily as a 
sparrow. It feeds from the margins of pools and brooks, and fre- 
quently takes bits of food that are floating on the surface. The inces- 
sant wagging of its tail suggests an agitated sandpiper. 
Geothlypis agilis. Connecticut Warbler. 678. 
If one knows just when and where to look for this warbler I believe 
it is not difficult to find, but otherwise there are several obstacles to 
its discovery. In the first place it looks so much like a female Mary- 
land Yellow-throat that it would pass for one unless seen under very 
favorable circumstances ; further, it keeps close in the shrubbery, and 
will hide if approached closely enough for a good look ; and still further 
