A swarm 
of Water 
Thrushes , 
behaving 
oddly 
Alder 
Flycatcher 
although another at the Farm gave a closely similar song. 
Altogether, it had only four or five notes. I should render 
it pee , pee , pe —e-e.'j 
In the early afternoon, after the preceding pages 
were written, hordes of Water Thrushes appeared near the 
cabin. A few clung to the moist thickets by the river side 
where they belonged by right but the greater number rambled 
all over the hillside around and behind the cabin while a 
few betook themselves to the tops of the leafless oaks where 
they tripped nimbly among the branches, feeding in company 
with a number of Dendroicas, Several ascended the stone 
steps in front of the cabin and peeped into our open door 
curiously. They were nearly all remarkably tame and free 
from that obvious nervousness that usually distinguishes 
their kind. They were continually quarreling with one 
another and I witnessed several encounters when two birds 
would clinch and flutter together among the dry oak leaves. 
(At about 3 P. M. a Traill's Flycataher appeared 
in the oak in front of our door where it sat for a minute 
or two, calling pip and twice uttering a prolonged succes¬ 
sion of slight but rather musical twittering notes, given 
very rapidly. This I have heard before but not oftenTj 
