86 NEWS FROM THE BIRDS. 



any other bird when he wears his wedding 

 suit, for he is just like himself and not like 

 any of his fellow-tenants of the meadow. 



But you may know him in another way. 

 No other bird is so fond of rehearsing his song 

 on the wing. His usual method is to start up 

 into the air from the grass or a fence stake, fly 

 across the meadow, or circle around several 

 times, and finally settle down gracefully into 

 the o^rass ao-ain. sino;ino: all the wliile in rich 

 and varied tones that bubble up from his 

 throbbing bosom. 



His song, you will notice, is rich and varied, 

 the notes leaping and racing from his throat 

 as if each were trying to reach the outdoors 

 before the other. His voice has a kind of 

 metallic ring, as if several small silver bells 

 were pealing in his throat ; at the same time 

 his tones come out in a sort of gurgle, making 

 you think that he must carry Avater in his 

 throat. One of the runs of his song which 

 occurs frequently sounds very much like the 

 word " bobolink," from which he gets his name, 

 and a jingling name it is. 



Washington Irving has written a most 

 charming article on the bobolink, which some 

 of you may have read in your school readers. 

 Our meiTy minstrel's mate looks very different 



