The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics — John Shaqi
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and PoliticsVarious
General
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
From those tall hemlocks proceeds a very fine insect-like warble, and
occasionally I see a spray _teeter_, or catch the flit of a wing. I
watch and watch till my head grows dizzy and my neck is in danger of
permanent displacement, and still do not get a good view. Presently the
bird darts, or, as it seems, falls down a few feet in pursuit of a fly
or moth, and I see the whole of it, but in the dim light am undecided.
It is for such emergencies that I have brought this gun. A bird in the
hand is worth half a dozen in the bush, even for ornithological
purposes; and no sure and rapid progress can be made in the study
without taking life, without procuring specimens. This bird is a
Warbler, plainly enough, from his habits and manner; but what kind of
Warbler? Look on him and name him: a deep orange or flame-colored throat
and breast; the same color showing also in a line over the eye and in
his crown; back variegated black and white. The female is less marked
and brilliant. The Orange-throated Warbler would seem to be his right
name, his characteristic cognomen; but no, he is doomed to wear the name
of some discoverer, perhaps the first who robbed his nest or rifled him
of his mate,--Blackburn; hence, Blackburnian Warbler. The _burn_ seems
appropriate enough, for in these dark evergreens his throat and breast
show like flame. He has a very fine warble, suggesting that of the
Redstart, but not especially musical. I find him in no other woods in
this vicinity.
I am attracted by another warble in the same locality, and experience a
like difficulty in getting a good view of the author of it. It is quite
a noticeable strain, sharp and sibilant, and sounds well amid the old
trees. In the upland woods of beech and maple it is a more familiar
sound than in these solitudes. On taking the bird in your hand, even if
you are not a young lady, you will probably exclaim, "How beautiful!" So
tiny and elegant, the smallest of the Warblers; a delicate blue back,
with a slight bronze-colored triangular spot between the shoulders;
upper mandible black; lower mandible yellow as gold; throat yellow,
becoming a dark bronze on the breast. Blue Yellow-Back he is called,
though the yellow is much nearer a bronze. He is remarkably delicate and
beautiful,--the handsomest, as he is the smallest, of the Warblers known
to me. It is never without surprise that I find amid these rugged,
savage aspects of Nature creatures so fairy and delicate. But such is
the law. Go to the sea or climb the mountain, and with the ruggedest and
the savagest you will find likewise the fairest and the most delicate.
The greatness and the minuteness of Nature pass all understanding.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account