ve curious ways of
keeping too much light from their eyes.

"The iris in birds, as in House People, may be of many different
colors--red, as in the Vireo I told you about, and as you now know it is
with the Towhee. Each has a brother with white eyes. You remember the
White-eyed Vireo, and in Florida there is a Towhee who has white eyes;
but this is so unusual that it makes the bird look to you as if it were
blind, until you understand that it is the natural color. Most birds'
eyes are brown of some shade, or perfectly black; a few have blue or
green eyes. But where did I leave Mr. Jore-e Blur-re?" "You were saying
that he is wise," answered Rap.

"Well, he is wise enough never to fly either straight to or from his
nest, which is a rather poor affair, down on the ground, within reach of
every weasel or snake that cares to rob it.

"He does not sing on the ground, but moves silently among the leaves and
litter of old ferns, such as are found near ponds and streams. A stick
will crackle perhaps, and thus draw your attention to him. When he knows
that he is seen, he will flip his wings and flirt his tail, like
suddenly opening and shutting a fan, as he flits on before you with his
head on one side, giving the pert call 'Towhee! towhee!' that is one of
his names. Some people think he says 'Chewink! chewink!' and call him by
that name; while some who have noticed where he lives, and seen that the
color of his sides is like the reddish breast of the Robin, call him the
Ground Robin, though he is no relation of the Thrush family.

"Meanwhile his wife stays quietly on the nest, where her brown back
matches the dead leaves of which it is made outside, keeping her quite
safe from sight.

"In the afternoon, when the work of the day is almost over, and her mate
is tired of scratching about for food, he takes a little rest and goes
up high in a tree to boldly declare his whereabouts.

"'Jore-e Blur-re, Jore-e Blur-re, willy-nilly, willy-nilly!' he calls
defiantly, as if he did not like having to keep quiet all day, and meant
to tell his name at last.

"In early autumn the Joree family grow sociable enough to come into the
garden, but they seldom linger late; vigorous as they are, they hurry
southward before any hard frosts come."

The Towhee

Length about eight and a half inches.

Male: black with chestnut sides, white belly, tan-colored under the
tail, the side feathers of which are white-tipped.

Female: reddish-brown