BOBOLINK 35 



field of alfalfa and grass where many males are singing, I have watched 

 long to see a female building, but all in vain. I think that they must 

 work under cover to avoid molestation by the too ardent males. 

 May 28, 1931: Today I found a nest that already contained two 

 eggs — a sparse and shallow cup of dried grass stems placed on the 

 ground in the center of a clump of alfalfa, in a rather bare part of the 

 generally lush meadow." 



The nest of the bobolink is one of the most difficult to find. The 

 female can almost never be traced to it during the simple process of 

 building, for the small amount of building material can generally be 

 picked up in the immediate vicinity, without having to bring in 

 anything from a distance. The female can seldom be flushed directly 

 from the nest, as she runs for some distance through the grass before 

 flying. I have tried dragging a rope over a field where the birds were 

 nesting, but there was never any nest where any of the birds flushed. 

 The only method I have used with any degree of success is to run 

 wildly back and forth over the field until all the females were flushed, 

 then conceal myself and watch for their return; after marking down 

 the exact spot at which a female alighted, I then might, if I ran 

 quickly to the spot, flush her near enough to me to be able to find the 

 nest by going over the ground carefully on hands and knees. 



Dawson (1903) says: "If you care to spend an hour or so hunting 

 for the treasures, the safest way is to mark the spot where the bird 

 rose, and then hunt toward your original position along the fine of 

 approach." Skutch (MS.) tells of his method, which worked success- 

 fully: "Whenever I came close to their nest, the bobolinks made no 

 cries nor demonstrations of alarm, but withdrew to a very respectful 

 distance and eyed me quietly — only the male at times letting a few 

 melodious tinkles escape his muffled bell. The parent bobolinks 

 trusted implicitly in their nest's concealment; any demonstration 

 would be superfluous or foolhardy. * * * Finally I set up some branches 

 in the ground in the general region of the nest. Returning with food, 

 the bobolinks rested on these before dropping down out of sight amid 

 the grass. Noting the direction they took when leaving the first 

 branch to go to the nest, I set up another on that side, on which the 

 parents alighted when they next returned. And so, by giving myself 

 closer and closer points of reference, I at length discovered the frail 

 cup of grasses, on the ground between the stems of a daisy plant." 



Lyle Miller, of Youngstown, Ohio, writes to me: "Twice I have 

 flushed the female directly from the nest. On several occasions I 

 have found it necessary to touch the brooding bird before she would 

 leave the nest." 



Eggs. — The bobolink lays from four to seven eggs to a set, usually 



