20 Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History. 



days in April o^enerally brino^ a few of these birds, the bulk 

 of them arriving, however, between May 1 and 10. It is 

 reported from Davenport, Iowa, about the 10th of May, 

 and I find a record of May o for its arrival in the vicinity 

 of Burlino^ton. Iowa.* Northward, the arrivals are a lit- 

 tle later. Mr. H. K. Coale found a few of these birds in 

 Stark county, Ind., on the 11th of May, but they became 

 more abundant on and after the 18th. f 



Their departure in the fall is as mysterious and as 

 quiet as their arrival in the spring. There seems to be 

 a gradual falling off in their number after the breeding- 

 season, until but few are seen, and when these depart, 

 the vacancy caused by their absence is hardly percepti- 

 ble. The last and lingering individuals take leave in 

 central Illinois about the first or middle of September, 

 but whether they linger in the southern part of the 

 State or pass directly- south, I am unable to say. 



Soon after the arrival of the females, mating begins, 

 and at this time the^^ are the most interesting to observe. 

 Many a love match takes place in the willow woods. 

 Should another male intrude upon the scene, a conflict 

 is certain, and should the intruder be victorious, he im- 

 mediately makes love to the fair one, and indifferent as 

 she is, it is readily accepted. These conflicts are frequent 

 between the male birds, even though no female be at 

 hand, the males seeming to have a fighting propensity 

 whenever they meet. I have often stopped rowing my 

 boat to watch a couple of them battling in mid-air, and 

 not until they had fallen into the dark, murky-colored 

 water below, did they cease, and dart off in opposite 

 directions, apparently much startled by their sudden 

 plunge. At other times, a mischievously inclined little 

 fellow will dart recklessly at some unsuspecting one, 

 who, being startled by the onset, will at once retreat. 

 The pursurer gives chase, and away they go, not far 

 apart, over the tree tops, through the underbrush and 

 thickets, now darting directly along the surface of the 



•U. S. Dept. Agr.. Div. Economic Ornith., Bull. 2, p. 239. 

 +Nat Hist. Surv. 111.. Vo'. I., p. 119. 



