THE BLUEBIRD. 



227 



well some tricky Zephyr of 



the South, who whispers 



not of what he knows, but 



what he hopes, and is cru- 

 elly deceived. But Spring 



does come, and if her most 



impetuous herald dies in the 



performance of his duty, we 



love and honor him mi >st 



because his task was hard- 

 est. 



The year 1895 marked 



a sad chapter in Bluebird's 



experience, and proved to 



be a turning point in the his- 

 tory of bis race. That spring 



an unusually severe cold wave 



oi long duration swept over 

 the Middle and Gulf States. 

 The cold wrought fearful 

 havoc to all bird life, but the 

 blow seemed to fall most 

 heavily upon the Bluebirds. 

 Their ranks were not merely female bluebird about ^enter^est. ^ 



decimated : they were al- D of the tail as a prop. 



most exterminated. Observ- 

 ers in Ohio saw only single birds where before they had seen scores and hun- 

 dreds. Thus, at Oberlin, I saw only five birds up to May 1, 1895. It is very 

 gratifying, hi >wever, to note that their numbers are materially increasing of late. 

 In some localities they appear to have almost regained their former status. 



It goes without saving that from that dreadful winter only the fittest sur- 

 vived. "Evidence is not lacking to show that the Bluebird of today is hardier 

 than the Bluebird of ten years ago. In Lorain County for instance, there- 

 were no authentic records of Bluebirds wintering until the season of '<)*-'<)<>• 

 Then and every season since a few have been seen. If this be a correct infer- 

 ence, then the massacre of '95 will not have been without its influence for good 

 in preparing the species against similar and more severe attacks in the future. 

 The Bluebird is pre-eminently domestic in his tastes, and he lacks none of 

 the qualities essential to the model husband and father. If not already mated 

 upon arrival in early spring, the business is not long delayed. The birds take 

 a leisurely honeymoon, and the first nesting is not undertaken before the last 

 week in April or the first in May. Nothing can exceed the gallantrj 

 haps I would better say the courtesy of Bluebirds en famitte. 



Thev almost 



