Dickcissel. 31 



the bending stems of the meadow weeds. When the 

 cares of family are increasing, the voices of the Dickcis- 

 sels are at their best, and in the vicinity of their nests 

 they chant with most persistency. 



There are only a few birds whoso joy in their homes, 

 embowered among the adjacent foliage, overflows while 

 they are almost on the threshold of the sacred spot. The 

 soul of the little warbling vireo is so full of music that it 

 can sing while sitting on its nest brooding its rose-tinted 

 beauties. The voluble house wren, after a visit to its 

 mate tucked away in its feathery bed in a crevice, can 

 scarcely repress its expressions of joy until it has whirred 

 away from the tiny entrance. The cardinal frequently 

 whistles the most gaily while seated in the summit of the 

 bush which shelters his mate on her nest. It is thus 

 with Dickcissel ; for though his ditties are not always 

 eloquent to us, he is brave in proclaiming his happiness 

 near the fountain of his inspiration. While his gentle 

 mistress patiently attends to her household in some low 

 bush or tussock near the hedge, Dick flutters from perch 

 to perch in the immediate vicinity and voices his love and 

 devotion. Once I flushed a female from a nest in the top 

 of an elm bush along a railroad while Dick was proclaim- 

 ing his name from the top of a hedge within twenty feet 

 of the site. Even while she was chirping anxiously 

 about the spot, apprehending that her home might be 

 harried by ruthless visitors, he was brave and hopeful, 

 and tried to sustain her anxious mind by ringing forth 

 his cheerful exclamations. It is a pity that we are not 

 always thus hopeful and buoyant in the face of impend- 

 ing misfortune. 



Ordinarily the nests of the Dickcissels are not begun 

 before the first of June, but in advanced seasons the nests 

 are made and the eggs deposited before the end of May. 

 Nests with fresh eggs can be found through June and 

 early July, though it is perhaps the rule that only one 

 brood is reared, the later attempts at nidification follow- 

 ing the destruction of earlier nests. A most common site 

 for the nest is in the base of a tussock in a hay field. 

 The habitation is frequently situated in a low bush along 

 hedges, among stems near the middle of the bush. Other 



