34 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



direction from wiiicli 1 had aiiproaclied. This peculiar, circuitous, concealed 

 flight is a very cliaracteristic trait of this bird, and one sure to excite atten- 

 tion. 



As the season advanced, or about the lUth of April, when the pairing- 

 season was at hand, the songs of the males became greatly improved, increas- 

 ing in sweetness and vivacity, and full of rapturous emotion ; their manners, 

 also, became changed, for they had lost all their wariness. In paying their 

 attentions to their mates, the males would fly from bush to busli, M-ith a 

 peculiar, tremulous fluttering of the wings, which, wheu the bird alighted, 

 were raised aljove the back apparently touching each other ; uU tlie while 

 vibrating with the emotion and ecstasy that agitated tlie singer. 



Tlie song of this bird, tliougli very deficient in power,- — in tliis respect 

 equalling no other species of Miminw with whicli I am acquainted, — is 

 nevertheless suj)erior to most of tlieni in sweetness, vivacity, and variety. 

 It has a wonderful resemblance to tlie beautiful subtle warbling of the 

 liajulus calendula, having in fact very much the same style, w\{\\ nmcli of 

 the tone, and about the power of the song of the Pyranga riihi-a. 



When the birds are engaged in incubation, the males become very silent, 

 and one not familiar with their habits earlier in the season would think they 

 never had a voice ; in fact, they make no protestations even when the nest is 

 disturbed, for, while Ijlowing the eggs, I jiave had the parent birds running 

 around me, in the nuuiner of a roliin, now and tlien lialting, stretching for- 

 ward their heads, and eying me in the most anxious manner, but remaining 

 Iterfectly silent. When tlie young are hatched the parents become more 

 solicitous, signifying tlieir concern by a low, subdued cliucl: At all times 

 when the nest is ap])roached, the bird generally leaves it .slyly before one 

 a2)proaches very near it. 



The nest is very bulky, composed externally of rough sticks, principally 

 the thorny twigs of the various " sage bush " plants. Nearer the centre the 

 principal material is fine strips of inner bark of these plants ; and the lining 

 consists of finer strips of bark, mingled with fine roots, and bits of rabbit 

 fur. The situation of the nest varies but little, being generally placed 

 near the middle of a bush, that is, about eighteen inches from the gi-ound. 

 It is generally supported against the main trunk, upon a horizontal branch. 

 Several were found upon the ground beneath the bush, one, in fact, embedded 

 in the soU, like that of a Pipilo ; or as sometimes the case with the Har- 

 porhj/nehus riifus, others, again, were found in brush-heaps. In all cases, 

 the nest was very artfully concealed, the situation being so well selected. 



This bird is almost equally common in all jxirts of its halutat, within the 

 limits indicated. In June, we found it abundant on tlie large islands in the 

 Great Salt Lake, where many nests were found. 



In autumn, it feeds, in company witli many other birds, upon berries, 

 " service berries " being its especial favorite. 



