ay there was
once a great king named Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold, he
was such an avaricious old miser. If that be true he must have put his
finger on the Myrtlebird in four different places. Unlike most of his
family the Yellow-rump is fond of seeds and berries; and so he is able
to live further north in winter than any of his brothers. Unless you are
spending the summer near the Canadian border you will not see him in his
own home. But when they are on their journeys in spring and autumn you
will meet them almost everywhere, travelling in sociable flocks."

[Illustration: Yellow-Rumped Warbler.]

"It must be that dark-backed bird with a yellow spot on his tail, that
gobbles all the bayberries--and eats the poison-ivy berries too," said
Rap. "Yes, I see that you know him; 'that dark-backed bird with a
yellow spot on his tail' is not a bad description of the Myrtle
Warbler," said the Doctor; "at least, as you generally see it, in autumn
or winter, when that particular spot is the only one of the four which
shows off well."

"But why is he called _Myrtle_ Warbler?" asked Nat. "Does he build his
nest in myrtle? I thought myrtle was that shiny-leaved plant down on the
ground, that doesn't have berries."

"No, my boy, the bird is not named from that sort of creeping flowering
myrtle; his name comes from a Latin word for 'bayberry,' because the
bird feeds upon its fruit, as Rap told you."

"And bayberry is that low sweet-smelling shrub that we gather in the
rocky pasture, to fill the great jar in the fireplace," said Olive.
"Some call it candle-berry, and others wax-myrtle."

"Yes," said Rap, "and these Warblers stay round that pasture in winter
as long as there is a berry left."

The Yellow-rumped Warbler

(Or MYRTLEBIRD)

Length about five and a half inches

Upper parts dark gray, streaked with black; two white bars on each wing;
large white spots on some of the tail-feathers. _A yellow patch on the
rump and crown_.

Under parts white, streaked with black on the breast and sides. A yellow
patch on each side of the breast.

A Summer Citizen of the northern United States and northward. Much less
common in the West than the East. Travels south, and spends the winter
everywhere from southern New England to Panama.

A great Seed Sower and a Tree Trapper.

THE OVENBIRD

[Illustration: The Ovenbird.]

"I will show you a 'skin' of the Ovenbird, because it may be some time
before you will see