The crow in his purity I believe is seen and heard only in the North. Before you reach the Potomac there is an infusion of a weaker element, the fish-crow, whose helpless feminine call contrasts strongly with the hearty masculine caw of the original Simon. – John Burroughs, “Winter Sunshine”

Have you ever observed a humming-bird moving about in an aerial dance among the flowers – a living prismatic gem…. it is a creature of such fairy-like loveliness as to mock all description. – W.H. Hudson, Green Mansions

A late lark twitters from the quiet skies:
And from the west,
Where the sun, his days work ended,
Lingers as in content,
There falls on the old, gray city
An influence luminous and serene,
A shining peace. – William Ernest Henley

Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. – Author unknown, quoted in The Ladies Repository: A Monthly Periodical, Devoted t