WESTERN BIRDS Blackbird 



"A skillful, industrious bird will build one of these 

 large, beautifully woven and lined nests, all complete, in 

 two to four days. 



"The eggs in a set are three to five, usually four. They 

 are laid one each day, the first egg one to five days 

 after the completion of the nest, depending upon the time 

 it takes the nest to dry." 



The usual period of incubation is ten days and the 

 young remain in the nest about twelve days before they 

 scramble into the swaying reed-tops. 



"The song of the male Yellow-head, if song it may be 

 called, is a most remarkable, unmusical and unbirdlike 

 effort. At a time of the year when most other birds are 

 singing finished nuptial songs, however humble, this fine 

 fellow, perched aloft on a cluster of swaying reed-stems, 

 is straining every nerve in an attempt that results, after 

 a few harsh preliminary, but fairly promising notes, in 

 a seeming painful choking spell, that terminates in a 

 long-drawn rasping squeal that is nothing short of har- 

 rowing. It has always seemed as though some day a 

 Yellow-head would be found who could sing the song 

 that they are all trying so hard to render, but thus far 

 not a single note of the dreadful discord has been im- 

 proved upon, and it always ends in the same disappoint- 

 ing failure. The rasping, scraping sounds are accom- 

 panied by a most intense bodily effort, as is evidenced 

 by the widely spread tail, swollen throat, upturned head 

 and twisted neck. Even the ordinary call-note is a 

 hoarse rattling croak that suggests a chronic sore throat. 

 The voice of the female is less harsh, and I have never 

 heard it utter the long squeal of the male." 



123 



