240 HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



"Chinkle-chee-t inkle, tankle, tunkle! Rinkle, ran- 

 kle runkle! Tee chee, twee?" The jay can imi- 

 tate perfectly the "Killy, killy" notes of the 

 sparrow hawk or the "Ke-ah" cry of the red- 

 shoulder. For this reason, he can cause undue 

 commotion in the woods. As an interpretation of 

 jaybird character and notes a poem by LeRoy T. 

 Weeks, published in The Century in 1906, is equal 

 to any attempt I ever have seen. I should like to 

 quote the entire poem, but must content myself 

 with a few lines of two verses : 



"Saucy imp in white and blue, 

 What's your title? Tell me true. 

 Comes the answer, sharp, metallic: 

 'Smart 

 Aleck! 

 Smart 

 Aleck!' 

 "In the leaves near by, 

 Crooning to his nesting mate 

 Songs beyond me to translate: 

 'Tear, 

 Tee, 

 Twink, 

 Twee! 

 Room for two — just you and me!'" 



On fences surrounding an old orchard and the 

 horse pasture every season we have the bobolink 

 at the Cabin, north. He is commonly called by 

 his tribal note: "Bob o' link" twice repeated, to 



