THE REDWING WAS FRANTIC. 167 



war-cries he descended upon them. His man- 

 ner was to fly laboriously to a great height, and 

 then swoop down at a crow as if to annihilate 

 him. The bird on the ground turned from his 

 insect hunt long enough to snap at his threaten- 

 ing enemy, and then returned to his serious 

 business. So long as the crows stayed the red- 

 wing was frantic, his cries filled the air ; and as 

 they were almost constantly there, he was kept 

 on the borders of frenzy most of the time. 



After the crows came the bird-students, with 

 opera-glasses and spying ways. These also the 

 irascible redwing decided to be foes, flying about 

 their heads threateningly, and never ceasing his 

 doleful cries so long as they were in sight. I 

 hoped his brown-streaked mate down in the 

 marsh knew what a fussy and suspicious person- 

 age she had married, and would not be made 

 anxious by his extravagances ; but she too dis- 

 trusted the bird gazers, adding her protests to 

 his, and such an outpouring of " chacks " and 

 other blackbird maledictions one — happily — 

 is not often called upon to encounter. 



After the bird-students the haymakers ; and 

 every time a man or a horse appeared in that 

 field, the blackbird was thrown into utter de- 

 spair, and the air rang with his lamentations. 



He was evidently a character, a bird of indi- 

 viduality, and I was anxious to know him better ; 



