436 Bird -Lore 



greens. The blacks and yellows of the males became more intense; they 

 began to show some interest in the females, chasing them up and down the 

 thicket, until we feared that they were getting ready to leave. On the 17th of 

 April, however, we were surprised to see one of the females breaking dead 



Al' IKR THE FIRST OF APRIL THEY CEASED TO BE FRIENDLY TOWARD EACH OTHER 



twigs from a nearby elm. We watched her closely to see where she would 

 carry them, but unfortunately a male, arriving on the scene, so disconcerted 

 her that she quickly dropped them. But this was not the only time that we 

 saw females gathering nesting material, so we began to hope that we were 

 inducing these distinguished visitors to nest here, an accomplishment well 

 worth all our time and effort. 



Three days later one of the males tried to sing, the first and only attempt 

 that we heard and by no means a brilliant success, consisting of five or six 

 low notes like the chirping of a gigantic English Sparrow. But it increased 

 our hope that they had decided to stay. Nor were our expectations dimin- 

 ished when, toward the last of April, the flock began to break up. They no 

 longer came in a body; single birds, pairs, or small groups fed together, and 

 some of the females seemed to have moved on. But this did not alarm us, for 

 we realized that if the males had selected their mates, the chances for about 

 five of the females would be better further north. Moreover, they had ceased 

 their stretching; they were tamer and would come to the log when we were 

 only a few feet away. But by this time, the first of May, the numerous elms 



