Indigo Bunting. 159 



woods and clearings. They make themselves perfectly 

 at home in gardens containing low trees and shrubbery, 

 and while they are not so familiar as some of the birds 

 dwelling about village and city gardens, they are natural 

 at all times. In fact, they are never disposed to be her- 

 mits oi" recluses in their habits, and are seldom found in 

 the dense, more primeval woodlands. Bushes along rail- 

 roads seem to meet their ideas of a desirable neighbor- 

 hood, for on the ground under the clustering vegetation 

 they can pick up the fallen seeds of weeds or sit in the 

 cool shade when they desire. On the telegraph wire they 

 can sit in the sunshine and chant to their heart's content, 

 while among the foliage of the bushes they can construct 

 their nests, and the female can sit ensconced in her cozy 

 cottage while her husband watches and sings from his 

 perch above her. 



Their homes in the bushes along the railroads are likely 

 to come to sudden grief, however. In the nesting time 

 one year, a fragment of the history of an unfortunate 

 family fell under my observation. Walking along the 

 track one morning in late May, I found myself face to 

 face with a mother indigo bird, who was peering at me 

 over the brim of her home in a small elm bush beside the 

 path in which I was walking near the rails. I have seen 

 some pretty bird pictures, but that one held me fascinated 

 for some time as I took in every detail, and impressed on 

 my mind a little bit of nature that I can now recall with 

 interest. The bush was almost open on the side toward 

 which I approached the nest, and the mother bird sat 

 facing me, as though she knew that the rear was well 

 screened by foliage and she must keep a sharp lookout in 

 front. Her little body sank well into the nest, but her 

 head rested with the chin on the rim of the structure, and 

 her bright eyes held a queer expression of curious interest, 

 for I saw she was by no means frightened nor even anx- 

 ious. I could carefully note the colors of her plumage 

 exposed to view, and even when I moved up closer she 

 sat composed and dignified. I decided that she certainly 

 had young under her, she sat so closely upon her charge. 

 Bending over within three feet of her, t could see that the 

 brown of her back was no more brown than the indigo of 



