128 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



Bobolink. Have you ever seen one here in win- 

 ter?" 



''No," said Bull, after a moment's thought, ''I 

 don't know as I have." 



*'No," answered the expert, ''and you'd have 

 to cross the equator and go 'way down to Para- 

 guay, if you wanted to find one. Around about the 

 first of May you'll find them nesting a little farther 

 north. I noticed that you've no clutch of eggs in 

 the collection, showing pretty well that they don 't 

 nest in these parts, for Shan and you, between 

 you, have got your collection tolerably complete. ' ' 



"There's a right smart plenty of 'em here in. 

 early spring, ' ' the old man retorted. 



"Yes, and the male Bobolink is always easy to 

 see in his handsome black and buff coat. As I 

 said, he nests in May and June, for, so far as nest- 

 ing dates go, you're about two weeks earlier here 

 than the latitude of New York and Pennsylvania. 

 But, by June, all over the country, the Bobolinks 

 have made their home, our handsome black-and- 

 buff friend and his plainly dressed sparrow-like 

 wife. 



"In three weeks the little Bobolinks will be be- 

 ginning to get ready to fly. They are dressed like 

 their mother. A week or two later the male Bobo- 



