s in the great opening
overture of all bird voices, at dawn, to usher in the new day, while
preacher reserves his notes till the earlier choir has ceased its
anthem. Withal the little preacher is much more apt to nest in trees
near the habitations of men than his congener, the brigadier, who not
unfrequently makes his abode at a distance from buildings, where forests
border pastures, or old roads enter woody lands.

Another shrill, small songster of habits quite similar to the brigadier
we used sometimes to hear, but rarely saw, on our way over to the "Aunt
Hannah lot," an adjunct of the Old Squire's farm, to reach which we
crossed a tract of sparse woods. Its notes, prolonged on a very sharp,
high key, resembled the words, _My fee-fee-fee-fee-fee!_ each louder and
keener than the preceding.

Addison was quite uncertain as to this bird, during the first and second
summers we were at the farm. We only saw it once or twice; for its
favorite place, while singing, is at the top of some large dense tree;
and we were never able to find its nest. Addison at length decided that
it was an oven-bird, a surmise which he greatly desired to verify by
finding the rest.

Later in life he has often laughed over our ignorance and our fruitless
quests at that time.

Among the raspberry and blackberry briars, beside the stone wall on the
south side of this same old road, leading to the Aunt Hannah lot, we
used to see, occasionally, a deep blue indigo-bird, a very active little
fellow, always flitting and hopping about amongst the briars. But we
never heard it sing, nor utter any note, save rarely a petulant _snip,
snip_, and never found its nest.

To the south of the same lot there was a tract of mixed wood, sapling
pines, maples, a few beeches, and farther down, nearer the brook, white
ash and great yellow birches, with swamp maples, osier and alder. Here
among the beeches, maples and pines, we at times heard a Theresa-bird.
Theodora chanced to know something of this bird; and I remember that the
first time we ever went there together, she called out to us to listen
to the low, sweet note, which otherwise, in our haste, we should not
have noticed. Addison had never heard it then, and his volumes of
Audubon did not describe New England birds very clearly; but Theodora
said this was a Theresa-bird (which we subsequently found to be the
Green Warbler) and that its song was supposed, in Catholic countries, to
be a petition to _St. Ther