BIRDS 
53 
self in the mean time; yet there is a 
conscious air about the strain that im¬ 
presses one with the idea that his presence 
is understood and his attention courted. 
A tone of pride and glee, and, occasion¬ 
ally, of bantering jocoseness, is discern¬ 
ible. I believe it is only rarely, and when 
he is sure of his audience, that he dis¬ 
plays his parts in this manner. You are 
to look for him, not in tall trees or deep 
forests, but in low, dense shrubbery about 
wet places, where there are plenty of 
gnats and mosquitoes. 
The Winter-Wren is another marvel¬ 
lous songster, in speaking of whom it is 
difficult to avoid superlatives. He is not 
so conscious of his powers and so am¬ 
bitious of effect as the White-Eyed Fly¬ 
catcher, yet you will not be less aston¬ 
ished and delighted on hearing him. He 
possesses the fluency, volubility, and co¬ 
piousness for which the Wrens are noted, 
and besides these qualities, and what is 
rarely found conjoined with them, a wild, 
sweet, rhythmical cadence that holds you 
entranced. I shall not soon forget that 
perfect June day, when, loitering in a 
