94 
POPULAR TYRANTS 
The season of woodland song has merged imper- 
ceptibly into the drowsy fullness of summer. The 
varied carols that enlivened the woods in the time 
of nature's renewing are silenced. Occasionally a 
Yellow Warbler may raise a cheerful call, as if 
determined to make his life a perpetual spring. The 
Robin in the evening may forget the passing of the 
seasons and break forth in varied melodies. These are 
but interludes in the silence, otherwise unbroken, 
save by the agitated chirp of an anxious parent 
alarmed at the threatened invasion of her nest, or 
the importunate calls of selfish fledglings demanding 
more food from tired but industrious providers. But 
the season of fruition has its own peculiar charm, 
for it brings out the varied characteristics of all our 
summer residents. 
Fly-catchers are among the most interesting and 
individually distinctive of all the visitors who find 
our summer shade congenial. Their marked family 
characteristics do not efface the striking personality 
of the various members, and each sustains his 
dignity in his own peculiar way. They have been 
called tyrants and will never escape from the name, 
