DICKCISSEL 17 J 



During this time both dickcissels seemed exceedingly disturbed, but 

 neither offered any objection nor expended any effort in defending 

 their territory. 



Many bu-ds, such as mourning doves, bobwhites, vesper sparrows, 

 migrant shrikes, and others, came near the nest, but only once did 

 I see the dickcissel muster enough courage to assert his feelmgs about 

 an intrusion. One afternoon a foreign young dickcissel about 3 or 

 4 weeks old perched on the fence near the nest. The male stopped 

 his singing abruptly, ruffed his feathers, and dashed fiercely at the 

 innocent intruder, which flew for its life and escaped in the tall weeds 

 and grass. This incident seems to signify that the dickcissel is ready 

 to assert his authority over his own kind, but will not tackle a bird 

 as large or larger than himself. 



One usually thinks of the dickcissel as a finely colored male perched 

 on a post or weed stalk pouring forth a volume of cheerful song. 

 Such quahties have made the male dickcissel the favorite of many 

 bird lovers, but more intimate acquaintance with the species' domes- 

 tic life reveals the less admirable side of his character. He takes 

 no part in nest building or incubation, nor does he help his mate 

 feed or care for the young. In fact his attitude is one of complete 

 indifference to them. One morning as I watched a female returning 

 to her nest with a beakful of food for her 5-day-old young, a sharp- 

 shinned hawk appeared out of nowhere and carried her off. Her 

 mate seemingly paid no attention to the tragedy enacted in front 

 of him, but continued singing from his regular post nearby. He 

 continued to sing the rest of that day, and the next 2 days, while the 

 young slowly starved to death. 



Plumages. — The natal down of the dickcissel when dry is pure 

 white, with no traces of the brown or gray tinges so common in the 

 down of other passerines. It grows in 12 distinct tracts on the upper 

 surface of the young bird as follows: 3 small areas on the dorso- 

 posterior part of the head, 1 median and 2 lateral, collectively kno\VQ 

 as the head tract; 1 tract on each scapular region; 2 smaller tracts on 

 the dorsal side of each wing; 1 elongated tract in the middorsal line; 

 and 1 shorter tract on each side runnmg parallel to the middorsal tract. 

 The ventral aspect of the body shows no down and the entire under- 

 parts remain bare until the juvenal plumage appears. 



The natal down is retained throughout the period in the nest; 

 sometimes parts of it persist several days after they leave the nest 

 as filaments at the apices of the feathers of the juvenal plumage. The 

 postnatal molt is usually completed at about the 9th to 12th day after 

 hatching, 1 to 3 days after the young leave the nest. 



The first feather papillae of the juvenal plumage to appear are those 

 of the primaries and secondaries, which protrude through the epidermis 



