BOBOLINK 33 



"catch me if you can." More often the female seems coy and indif- 

 ferent, hiding in the long grass, until the rival males find her and 

 display their charms before her. As Townsend (1920) says: "One 

 may see a male courting on the ground. He spreads his tail and 

 forcibly drags it like a Pigeon. He erects his buff nape feathers, 

 points his bill downward and partly open his wings, gurgling meanwhile 

 a few of his song notes. The female indifferently walks away." 



The following attractive account is written by Miss Ruth Trimble 

 (Todd, 1940) : 



On a morning in early May, in one of their favored haunts, a tinkle of fairy 

 music, like the strains of an old Greek harp, seems to come from the sky and may 

 be traced to a company of male bobolinks, circling on fluttering wings high above. 

 While you watch, the tinkling notes descend earthward, and an exuberant male 

 sinks to a swaying weed stalk; with tail spread, wings partly opened, and feathers 

 of his nape ruffled, he concludes his song with a few enchanting notes addressed to 

 the mate he is wooing. Up she darts from the grasses to engage him in a lively chase, 

 and in a flash he is off again in pursuit — an ardent troubadour, serenading his lady as 

 he follows her; at times, seemingly forgetting her, he mounts skyward, his throat 

 fairly bursting with the ecstatic melody that bespeaks his joie de vivre. No other 

 bird courtship exhibits such reckless abandon. None is attended by such a flood of 

 joyous music bubbling forth irrepressibly, with never a plaintive strain. No 

 other wooing seems so delightfully spontaneous and gay. This wanton frolic 

 may continue for a week or more before nest-building is actually begun and the 

 female assumes responsibility for her family. 



Dr. Kendeigh (1941) made some interesting observations on the 

 family relations of the bobolink on a restored prairie in Iowa: 



There were ten females here, but evidence for no more than six males, with 

 polygamy strongly indicated. The male at nest No. 1 was frequently present 

 also at nest No. 7 about 200 feet away, although he was only seen to feed the 

 young at No. 1. He was recognized by the characteristically clipped tail given 

 him when caught at nest No. 1; no other male was seen around nest No. 7. 

 Nests number 9 and 10 were separated by only 44 feet and the male appeared 

 equally concerned for both nests, although he was observed feeding young only 

 at number 9. No other male was seen here. * * * 



Notable in this species was the lack of territorial defense by either the adult 

 male or female. If these birds establish a territory at all, it must be only for the 

 mating and early nesting period. A fairly good spacing of the nests over the 

 area would indicate that they may establish territories during the period when 

 nests are started, but certainly after the young are hatched there is very little 

 evidence for their continued maintenance. * * * 



Lack of territory was also manifested by the tolerance of other males close to 

 the nest. This was often noticed; once two foreign males were observed near 

 the nest with the male who owned it disregarding them. 



P. L. Buttrick (1909) gives further evidence of polygamy among 

 bobolinks. One male and two females, the only bobolinks in the 

 vicinity, raised four broods in two adjacent fields. 



Nesting. — The nest of the bobolink is a very simple affair — a 

 hollow, either scraped in the ground or selected for the purpose, 



