The Audubon Societies 



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plain little bird, he certainly makes a supreme effort at a nuptial display. 

 Cowbirds are very easily watched because they are often in small flocks and 

 take delight in sitting in the exposed tops of trees where, early in the season, 

 they are quite conspicuous. The juxtaposition of another Cowbird, male or 

 female, starts one off. He points his bill toward the zenith and compresses his 

 feathers, looking like a broken stick. The next moment, however, the feathers 

 all over his body stand on end, he spreads his wings and tail, and with a shrill 



RUFFED GROUSE STRUTTING. (A BIRD RAISED IN CAPTIVITY) 



hissing whistle he falls forward with quivering wings as though he had suddenly 

 been taken with extreme nausea. So far forward does he fall that he often has 

 difficulty in regaining his balance. 



The display of the White-breasted Nuthatch is less often observed but is 

 no less interesting because, in addition to showing every feather that he owns 

 to advantage, he has the cute little trick of making a present of food to the 

 female. This is what happens at my feeding-station every year when the 

 warm days of early April start the buds to swelling. Together the two Nut- 

 hatches come to the tree nearby, uttering low conversational notes, the female 

 almost coy in the way she follows the male and edges away when he comes 

 too close. Suddenly the male swoops to the food-shelf, seizes a sunflower 

 seed, and is back to the waiting female with scarcely a pause. With wings 

 and tail spread and feathers fluffed, he presents the tidbit to her as though it 

 were a choice bouquet or a box of chocolates. Occasionally he pauses at the 



