JOURNAIv OF MAINK ORNITHOLOGICAI^ SOCIETY. 43 



fruit, or a tall pine tree with Blackbirds equalling in number its 

 cones, and all these birds apparently singing at once, makes a con- 

 cert to which it is well worth while to listen. 



The Red-winged Blackbirds, "Firewings" I have heard them 

 called here, have been abundant. The Crow Blackbirds are also 

 numerous, but the Cow Blackbirds do not seem quite so large in 

 number, although quite common. The parasitical habit of this 

 bird in laying its egg in the nest of some other bird, usually a 

 smaller bird, is well known. I have twice seen instances in Water- 

 ville of some small bird like the Maryland Yellow-throat, feeding 

 and caring for the young of the Cow Blackbird, the young being 

 much larger than its tiny foster-mother. 



The Bobolink is just now one of the most prominent birds of 

 this locality, and his rollicking song is one of the happiest and most 

 inspiring that anyone can well imagine. Throw open the win- 

 dows and let in the glad music, or better yet, go out into open fields 

 and hear it more clearly and see if it doesn't bring cheer and glad- 

 ness, like sunshine after rain or like good news from a far country ! 

 What a name the Skunk Blackbird is for such a singer! And yet 

 we can see that his coloring, the mixture of black and white and 

 yellowish white, makes the name very appropriate. How often the 

 gladness of his song may cover anxiety of heart as he sings to call 

 away attention from his mate sitting on the eggs or young in the 

 nest, her color closely mimicking the dry stubble in which the nest 

 is placed. 



The Orioles have returned again, the male gaily dressed in the red 

 and black of I^ord Baltimore, while his mate wears duller colors for safe- 

 ty, as is the custom in bird families, the male wearing bright colors, 

 while his mate wears duller colors, often imitating her surroundings 

 on the nest. The sharp call of the Oriole is just now at its best, and 

 hammock-like nests, still hanging from the spreading limbs of the 

 elms, mark the location of their last year's summer homes. The shores 

 of our lake abound in summer cottages, many of them equipped 

 with all the modern conveniences, and launches, row boats, canoes, 

 *- hammocks, fishing rods and lines are coming into use with the sea- 



