32 
BIRDS 
ory I fondly cherish, is the Phcebe-Bird, 
(Muscicapa nunciola,) the pioneer of the 
Flycatchers. In the inland farming dis¬ 
tricts, 1 used to notice her, on some bright 
morning about Easter-day, proclaiming 
her arrival with much variety of motion 
and attitude, from the peak of the barn 
or hay-shed. As yet, you may have heard 
only the plaintive, homesick note of the 
Bluebird, or the faint trill of the Song- 
Sparrow; and Phoebe’s clear, vivacious 
assurance of her veritable bodily presence 
among us again is welcomed by all ears. 
At agreeable intervals in her lay she de¬ 
scribes a circle or an ellipse in the air, 
ostensibly prospecting for insects, but 
really, I suspect, as an artistic flourish, 
thrown in to make up in some way for 
the deficiency of her musical performance. 
If plainness of dress indicates powers of 
song, as it usually does, then Phoebe 
ought to be unrivalled in musical ability, 
for surely that ashen-gray suit is the 
superlative of plainness; and that form, 
likewise, though it might pass for the 
"perfect figure” of a bird, measured by 
Joe Gargery's standard, to a fastidious 
