388 
INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 
of March they already began to show indications for 
pairing, and jealous contests ensued perpetually among 
the males. The principal body of the species probably 
remain the year round in the southern forests, where I 
saw them throughout the winter; great numbers are also 
bred in the Northern States. In summer their food is 
the eggs and larvae of various insects, as well as flies 
or cynips, caterpillars, coleoptera, and ants. In au- 
tumn, the young frequent the gardens, groves, and 
orchards, feeding likewise on berries of various kinds, as 
on those of the cornel, wild grape, and five-leaved ivy ; at 
this season they are very fat, and fly and forage in fami- 
lies. They now only utter a shrill and plaintive chip. 
I have had a male Pine Warbler, domesticated for a 
short time ; he fed gratefully, from the instant he was 
caught, upon flies, small earth-worms, and minced flesh, 
and was so tame and artless, as to sit contented on every 
hand, and scarcely shift himself securely from my feet. 
On offering him drink he walked directly into the vessel, 
without using the slightest precaution or exhibiting any 
trace of fear. His tship and manner in all respects were 
those of the Autumnal Warbler. 
The song of the Pine Warbler, though agreeable, 
amidst the dreary solitude of the boundless forests which 
he frequents, has but little compass or variety ; sometimes 
it approaches the simplest trill of the Canary, but it is 
commonly a reverberating, gently rising, or murmuring 
sound, like er ’r V V V V ’r ah; or, in the spring, ’twe 
’twe ’tie ’tie ’tw ’tw ’ tw , and sometimes like ’tsh ’tsh ’ tsh 
’tw ’tie ’tw ’tw ’tw ; when hearkened to some time, there 
is a variation in the cadence, which, though rather fee- 
ble at a distance, is not unpleasant, as the little minstrel 
tunes his pipe during the heat of the summer day, while 
he flits gently and innocently fearless through the shady 
