336 GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS 
the uniform of a soldier, — and this, coupled with the 
three martial notes that serve him as a song, would 
make one expect to find in him all the manly and 
military virtues. But aside from the superficial matter 
of personal appearance, the Redwing is lacking in many 
of the qualities that endear the feathered tribe to us 
and make us judge them, perhaps, too much by human 
standards. 
‘‘When Redwings live in colonies it is often difficult to 
estimate the exact relationship existing between the 
members, though it is apparent that the sober brown- 
striped females outnumber the males; but in places 
where the birds are uncommon and only one or two 
male birds can be found, it is easily seen that the house- 
hold of the male consists of from three to five nests, each 
presided ‘over by a watchful female, and when danger 
arises, this feathered Mormon shows equal anxiety for 
each nest, and circles screaming about the general loca- 
tion. In colony life the males ofttimes act in concert 
as a general guard, being diverted oftentimes from the 
main issue, it must be confessed, to indulge in duels and 
pitched battles among themselves. 
“The Redwing belongs to a notable family, — that of 
the Blackbirds and Orioles, — and in spite of the struc- 
tural semblances that group them together, the dif- 
ferences of plumage, voice, and breeding habits are very 
great. 
“The Cowbird, the Redwing’s next of kin, even lacks 
the rich liquid eall-note of the latter, and the lack of 
marital fidelity, on the part of the male, is met in a truly 
progressive spirit by the female, who, shirking all domestic 
