Tiii-;iR iccoNoAi ic i>!I':lati()\s to tub acuk ri/rruiST 
col<»rs and cons])icuously lon<>' tail make it a nota1)le ()l)ject when 
it ^eeks a ])rominent position on a lofty branch, preparatory t(j 
sinking. Its song, while striking, will not compare, Ave believe, 
with those of the tAvo preceding nor with that of the cat bird. 
( )ne of its chief charms, perhaps, lies in the fact that it is an 
accompaniment of the welcome spring Aveather. We have been 
so struck by the little rhyme credited to “( )liAw” in “Citizen llird,’' 
which certainly is very descri])tiA’e of its habits and S(mg, that Ave 
A cnture to repeat it here ; 
“My cream \ breast is s])eckled 
(Perhaps you'd call it freckled) 
black and brown. 
“My pliant russet tail 
Peats like a frantic flail, 
I ]) and down. 
“In the top branch of a tree 
^d)U may chance to glance at me, 
A\dien I sing. 
“Hut I’m very, Aery shy, 
AAdien I silently float l)y, 
( )n the Aving. 
“W hcAV there! lli there! Such a clatter. 
A\' hat’s the matter — what’s the matter? 
Really, really? 
“I tigging, delving, raking, sowing, 
(.'orn is sprouting, corn is groAving. 
Plant it, plant it ! 
( lather it, gather it ! 
1'hresh it, thresh it ! 
I I ide it, hide it, do ! 
(1 see it — and you.) 
( )h ! I’m that famous scratcher, 
H-a-r-p-o-r-h-y-n-c-h-u-s r-u-f-u-s — 1di rasher 
(cloaked in brown." 
