SUMMER BIRDS OF SHAW's GARDEN. 57 



replaced by the clamor of the hungry brood, begging continu- 

 ally for food. With their silence we find that the whole fam- 

 ily has departed and the species almost entirely disappeared 

 until migration begins in August, when at rare intervals their 

 beloved voice greets our ear again and shy birds arc seen flit- 

 ting from treetop to treetop. 



BRONZED CRACKLE. Quiscdus quiscula aeucus. 



A few Bronzed Crackles walking on the lawn, busily en- 

 gaged in feeding, are certainly objects of real beauty and ele- 

 gance. It needs no direct sunshine, even diffused hght re- 

 veals a splendor of color not easily surpassed. The head and 

 neck are a rich, deep prussian blue with a violaceous gloss, 

 which changes in places to a green metallic iridescence. This 

 exquisite coloration is abruptly defined against the intense 

 golden bronze of the back; wings and tail are purplish black. 

 Its slender form is admirably proportioned and well balanced 

 by the long, broad tail; its walk is graceful and its carriage 

 elegant to a degree. The expression of its yellow watchful 

 eye bespeaks the owner of more than ordinary intelligence, 

 and whoever has kept one as a pet will bear witness that this 

 is true. With kind treatment it becomes remarkably tame, 

 and being docile can be trained to enjoy the freedom of house 

 and garden, and be a source of much amusement to the family. 

 In the wild state, too, it easily comprehends whether it is 

 Hkcd or not, and becomes truly confiding where not molested, 

 while it is one of the shyest, most wary birds where persecuted. 

 A small colony of them finds an asylum in the arboretum and 

 contributes largely to the life of that part of the Garden from 

 the latter part of March till July. The time of courting and 

 mating is the period of their greatest conspicuousness. Fill- 

 ing the air with their squeaky voices and chasing each other, 

 often two or three males after one female, they act as if they 

 were the sole owners of the place until all are paired and nidifi- 

 cation becomes their all absorbing occupation. It is at this 

 time that people are apt to call them boat-tailed, for, when 

 on wing, the excited male carries its long tail folded upward 

 from the middle, causing the semblance of a keeled boat. 



