Chapter VIII 



A SUMMER CHORUS 



Bobolinks, Orioles, Cowbirds, Blackbirds, 

 Meadow Larks 



"June's bridesman, poet o* the year, 

 Gladness on wings, the bobolink, is here; 

 Half hid in tip-top apple-blooms he swings, 

 Or climbs against the breeze with quiverin* wings, 

 Or givin' way to't in a mock despair, 

 Runs down, a brook o* laughter, thru the air." 



— Lowell. 



Several birds, so widely different in feeding 

 and nesting habits, plumage and song that it 

 is not easy to see the resemblance usually noted 

 among members of a family, are considered in 

 this chapter. They are for the most part gre- 

 garious after the young are reared. Their food 

 is varied — seeds, fruits, berries and insects. It 

 is an American family, most abundant in Cen- 

 tral and South America. 



Bobolink. Each year when, about the twentieth 

 of June, I arrive in our little valley in Maine, 

 the broad, upland fields about our house are 

 fence full of lush herdsgrass and clover, thickly 

 strewn with buttercups and daisies. Many 

 birds nest in this excellent cover, the most con- 

 spicuous of which, if not the most abundant, is 

 the Bobolink. Not only does his gay suit compel 



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