i)7o 



ISM Col.CMI'.lA Srnn.EMENT. 



But when some tine morn- 

 ing about a week later, a shy, 

 plainly attired, brown lady 

 drops from the sky with a soft 

 dink, then it is that the pas- 

 sionate soul of the singer is 

 fairly consumed by the inner 

 fires of melody and desire. 

 He dashes like mad after his 

 lady love and pursues her at 

 breakneck speed through the 

 thickets of weeds and about 

 fence-rows until he loses her 

 in the grass. Then he hovers, 

 or rather dances, in the air, 

 ever the spot where she van- 

 ished, or else retires to a fence- 

 post, hard by, to make frantic 

 protestations of his devotion. 

 Oh, gee^clcr, geezelcr, gilpity, 

 cnkctcr, ooscler, oo, conies 

 from that perfect throat : and 

 somewhere between two blades 

 of grass the lady is watching 

 him — the sly minx — and chuck- 

 ling softlv to herself. 



Once I heard a chorus of 

 l)achelors — or was it a musical 

 contest? — where seven birds in 

 the top of a little willow were 

 singing with mi.sfht and main. 

 The effect of that wild melody 

 of tinkling, palpitating and 

 flute-like notes with its change- 

 ful syncopations and melodious 

 discord will not soon be for- 

 gotten. It was an all star 

 team of the world's most ac- 

 complished mirth makers. 



All the world loves a lover, 

 and such ardor as "Robert of 

 Lincoln" displays is not in 

 vain. With a heart completely 

 won the female scrapes a little 

 hollow in the ground amongst the tall grass of a meadow or deserted field. Here upon a 

 slight lining of dried grass, she deposits five or six eggs, clay-colored with umber blotches, 

 wonderfully like the ground. The owner is mistress of the art of concealment, and usually 

 escapes detection even from the most inquisitive. In my experience, the female flushes at 

 long distances, but even when she permits a close approach to the nest she herself skulks 

 a long way before rising. If you care to spend an hour or so hunting for the treasures, the 

 safest way is to mark the spot where the liird rose, and then hunt toward yoin- original 

 position along the line of approach. 



During the incubation the male is the same rollicksome fellow that he was during 

 courtship: but he sings faithfully to his sittin.g mate, and he religiously drives intruders 

 from the critical portion of the field. If several pairs occupy one meadow, as is frequently 

 the case, the males .spend a good deal of tlnu- trying to compel each other to respect imagin- 

 ary boundaries. 



The moulting of the Bobolink is one of the most interesting phases of familiar l)ird life. 

 When the male arrives in the spring he is apt to have some luiffy or ashy skirting on hi- 

 black feathers, but these soon disappear and he stands forth in a perfect livery of black, 

 wdiite and buff. Under the necessity of having to provide for a growing brood, all his 

 gaiety leaves him. He becomes anxious, silent, and careworn. Barely are the yomigslers 

 able to shift for themselves, when the father dotTs the wedding garmenf;. and puts on a 



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JiOHOl.INKS. M-\I.E .-VND FRMAI.E. 



