172 



CITIZEN BIRD 



ward at the same time that makes him a very confus- 

 ing bird to watch. In flitting among the branches, 

 or darting into the air for gnats, his colors make him 



look like a tiny Oriole." 

 " Oh, uncle ! Uncle 

 Roy ! " cried Dodo, 

 who had been 

 looking along the 

 path, " there are 

 two of the dearest 

 little birds down 

 there, and one 

 of them is red 

 and black as you 

 say the Redstart is, 

 and the other is shaped 

 like it but has brown and 

 yellow feathers, and they move 

 along as if the wind was blow- 

 ing them ! " 



Before Dodo stopped speaking 



the wliole party were looking 



where she pointed, Olive using 



the field-glass. 



" Those are a pair of Redstarts," she said, " and they 



are picking up ants. I saw a number of little anthills 



there yesterday." 



" A pair ? " queried Nat. " They aren't the same 



color — one has yellow spots where the other is red." 



" I guess the one with the brown and yellow feathers 



must be the female," said Rap ; " you know the Doctor 



told us, way back, that when the male bird wore very 



1. Male. 2. Female 



American Redstart. 



