From those tall hemlocks proceeds a very fine insect-like warble, and
occasionally I see a spray tremble, 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 a moth, and I see the whole of it, but in the dim light am
undecided. It is for such emergencies that I have brought my 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
rifled his nest or robbed him of his mate,--Blackburn; hence
Blackburnian warbler.
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