as any of his race, and not at all averse to being seen; wary,
but not shy; and at once I was eager to know him, for the great and
undying charm of bird study lies in the individuality of these lovely
fellow-creatures, and the study of each one is the study of a unique
personality, with characteristics, habits, and a song belonging
exclusively to itself. Not even in externals are birds counter-parts of
one another. Close acquaintance with one differentiates him decidedly
from all his fellows; should his plumage resemble that of his
brethren,--which it rarely does,--his manners, expressions, attitudes,
and specific "ways" are peculiarly his own.

[Sidenote: _A BLACKBERRY TANGLE._]

The blackberry patch pointed out by the chat occupied the whole length
of a steep little slope between a meadow and the orchard, and at the
lower edge rested against a fence in the last stages of decrepitude.
During many years of neglect it had almost returned to a state of
wildness. Long, briery runners had bound the whole into an impenetrable
mass, forbidding alike to man and beast, and neighboring trees had
sprinkled it with a promising crop of seedlings; or, as Lowell pictures
it,--

"The tangled blackberry, crossed and recrossed, weaves
A prickly network of ensanguined leaves."

As if planned for the use of birds, at one end stood a delectable
watch-tower in the shape of a great elm, and at the other a cluster of
smaller trees,--apple, ash, and maple. These advantages had not escaped
the keen eyes of our clever little brothers, and it was a centre of busy
life during the nesting season.

The first time I attempted to find the chat's nest, the bird himself
accompanied me up and down the borders of this well-fortified blackberry
thicket, mocking at me, and uttering his characteristic call, a sort of
mew, different from that of the catbird or the cat, at the same time
carefully keeping his precious body entirely screened by the foliage.
Well he knew that no clumsy, garmented human creature however
inquisitive, could penetrate his thorny jungle, and doubtless the
remarks so glibly poured out were sarcastic or exultant over my failure;
for though I walked the whole length, and at every step peered into the
bushes, no nest could I discover.

Somewhat later I made the acquaintance of the domestic partner of the
chat family. She was less talkative than her spouse, as are most
feathered dames--a wise arrangement in the bird-world, for w