28 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



sided among us in the breeding period hurry out of the 

 State, and it is probable that they take a more easterly 

 route on their return to their winter homes, joining their 

 forces with the ranks which have formed toward the east- 

 ern borders of the Great Lakes. Eastern observers re- 

 port that unusually heavy flocks of these birds congregate 

 in the swamps of the Middle Atlantic States, and Western 

 observers agree in reporting the absence of the bobolinks 

 along the line of the spring migrations. Diligent ob- 

 servation may establish the truth of our present theory 

 that our summer bobolinks of Central and Northern 

 Illinois pass across Indiana and along the southern shore 

 of Lake Erie, reach the swamps of the Eastern seaboard 

 by way of New York and Pennsylvania, and thence move 

 southward leisurely in company with the regular Eastern 

 migrants. 



DICKCISSEL. 



Among the musicians whose voices lend spirit and har- 

 mony to the otherwise dull life of the meadows, none is 

 better known or more persistent in the production of 

 melody than Dickcissel. However, he may not be recog- 

 nized readily by his numerous friends under the given 

 title, for his book name is seldom used by those who see 

 and hear him at his best. He is commonly regarded as a 

 lark, being sometimes called the "little field lark" in dis- 

 tinction from the meadow lark, but neither of these birds 

 is closely related to the larks. Dickcissel is really a finch, 

 or bunting, belonging to the great family Fringillidoi, 

 while the meadow lark is a member of the royal family 

 Icteridce. The bright yellow of his breast and the black 

 spot on his throat have been supposed to show his rela- 

 tionship further to the meadow lark, which has similar 

 markings, and therefore Dickcissel is popularly known as 

 the " little meadow lark." Formerly he received a book 

 name suggested by the distinctive markings mentioned, 

 and was then the black-throated bunting; but so few 

 knew him by that title and so many of his friends were 

 familiar with his earnest exhortation, that he was given 



