warblers appeared, each with the proverbial green worm in its beak. I
decided to remain in the nook and watch, for the nesting habits of these
rare warblers were new to me. In and out, up and down, here and there,
they flitted, making a checker-work of black and gold amid the foliage,
craning their necks, peering at me with anxious inquiry in their dark
little eyes, and filling the woodland with their uneasy chirping.

It was a long time to wait, but at length patience had its reward; one of
the birds flew down to the bushes on the steep slope above me and fed a
youngster in plain view. No time was lost in pushing through the bushy
tangle to the magic spot. Behold! it was a young cowbird that had been
fed by the devoted little mother! That was trying beyond expression--to
think that all the efforts of the pretty couple, all their intense
solicitude, was wasted on a great, hulking impostor like the cowbird. He
had just scrambled from the nest, from which he had doubtless previously
crowded the rightful heirs of the family to perish from starvation on the
ground. I found the nest only about a foot away from the perch of the
young bird--a deep, neat little basket, compactly felted with down and
plant fibers, set in the crotch of a slender bush of the thicket. It was
certainly too small to accommodate any tenants besides the strapping
young cowbird. In the spring of 1902 another hooded warbler's nest
rewarded my search. Its holdings were four callow bantlings, all of
which were carried off by some marauder before my next visit.

Another little charmer of the woodland, especially of thick second-growth
timber, is the blue-winged warbler, which glories in the high-sounding
Latin name of _Helminthophila pinus_. Wherever seen, he would attract
attention on account of the peculiar cut and color of his clothes. A
conspicuous black line reaching from the corner of the mouth back through
the eye is a diagnostic feature of his plumage, while his crown and
breast gleam in bright yellow, almost golden in the sunshine; his wings
and tail are blue-gray, with some white trimmings, and his back and rump
are bright olive There you have an array of colors that makes a picture
indeed. Madame Blue-wing wears the same pattern as her lord, but the
hues are less brilliant.

The manners of Sir Blue-wing--I call him so because of his distinguished
air--are interesting, for they differ, in one respect at least, from
those of most of