a wren, nor act like
one, but, rather, its form and conduct were like those of a vireo; and
a vireo it was. My bird manual soon settled that point. And what was
the name of the little stranger who had introduced himself in so
informal a way? It was the Bell vireo, an entirely new species to me.

It is not an eastern species; it ranges from Illinois to the base of
the Rocky Mountains. In Kansas it is a summer resident, hanging its
little basket of a nest on the twigs of bushes or low trees, after the
regular vireo fashion. It was my good fortune to find a nest on a
copsy hilltop, where the bird's madrigals and lullabies mingled with
those of the yellow-breasted chats, the indigo buntings, the blue-gray
gnat catchers, and the Kentucky warblers. To this day I feel a longing
to visit the secluded spot where I held so many pleasant interviews
with these birds.

Another Kansas bird that was new to my eyes and that afforded me much
delight was the Harris sparrow--a distinctively western species, not
known, or at least very rarely, east of the Mississippi River. He is
truly a fine bird, a little larger than the fox sparrow, neatly clad,
his breast prettily decorated with a brooch of black spots held in
place by a slender necklace of the same color, while his throat and
forehead are bordered with black. His rump and upper tail coverts are
a delicate shade of grayish brown, by which he may be readily
distinguished from the fox sparrow, whose rear parts are reddish brown.
His beak, feet, and legs are of a pinkish tint, making him look quite
trig and dressy. The latest of the spring arrivals were the most
highly colored, having the whole chin, throat, and top of the head a
glossy, uniform black.

It would appear that the most matured individuals migrate farthest
south in winter. That, at least, would be the natural conclusion,
judging from the fact that they arrive latest in the spring in our
central latitudes. In the southern part of Kansas the Harris sparrows
are said to be common winter sojourners, but in the north-eastern part
of the state they disappeared in November or December, and did not
return until the middle of February, or later if the weather happened
to be severe. From the time of their vernal arrival they were to be
seen in every ramble until they took flight for their breeding haunts
in the North. One spring some of them were still loitering in Kansas
on the eleventh of May, and were singing blithe