102 WAKE-ROBIN 



in a most spiteful manner. He followed her to the 

 ground, poured into her ear a fine, half-suppressed 

 warble, ofi'ered her a worm, flew back to the tree 

 again with a great spread of plumage, hopped around 

 her on the branches, chirruped, chattered, flew gal- 

 lantly at an intruder, and was back in an instant at 

 her side. No use, — she cut him short at every 

 turn. 



The denouement I cannot relate, as the artful 

 bird, followed by her ardent suitor, soon flew away 

 beyond my sight. It may not be rash to conclude, 

 however, that she held out no longer than was pru- 

 dent. 



On the whole, there seems to be a system of 

 Women's Eights prevailing among tne birds, which, 

 contemplated from the standpoint of the male, is 

 quite admirable. In almost all cases of joint inter- 

 est, the female bird is the most active. She deter- 

 mines the site of the nest, and is usually the most 

 absorbed in its construction. Generally, she is more 

 vigilant in caring for the young, and manifests the 

 most concern when danger threatens. Hour after 

 hour I have seen the mother of a brood of blue 

 grosbeaks pass from the nearest meadow to the tree 

 that held her nest, with a cricket or grasshopper in 

 her bill, while her better-dressed half was singing 

 serenely on a distant tree or pursuing his pleasure 

 amid the branches. 



Yet among the majority of our song-birds the 

 male is most conspicuous both by his color and 

 manners and by his song, and is to that extent a 



