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838 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 
brownish clay, with spots and blotches of umber of different 
shades ; their form is usually a perfect ovate, and they vary 
in dimensions from .90 of an inch in length by .65 of an inch 
in breadth, to .86 of an inch in length by .62 of an inch in 
breadth. 
As soon as the young birds are hatched, the father, hith- 
erto full of song and merriment, becomes more quiet, 
spending a great part of his time in family cares. The 
young birds are fed on grasshoppers, crickets, and various 
other insects; and this food is the chief sustenance of the 
parents as well, at this period, for the seeds of the wild 
grasses are not yet ripened, and incursions in the grain- 
fields are tabooed while the young are in the nest. Is there 
not a little of judicious reasoning in this? look at it: if the 
bird cultivates the good will of the farmer, by destroying 
his insect enemies, and letting his crops grow in peace, he 
is permitted to rear his family in security, and is even 
rather liked, his song being a most pleasant companionship 
to the farmer who delves and plods in the fields around him. 
When the young birds leave the nest, the parents provide 
for them for a few days, and then turn them away to shift 
for themselves: this is in about the middle of July. The 
old birds then pass a comparatively idle season, — roaming 
through the country, recuperating from the cares of parent- 
age, and exchanging their nuptial dress for one more in 
accordance with their matured, respectable, old folks’ con- 
dition ; the male assumes the sober, and lately more sober, 
attire of his mate, and dropping his song, contents himself 
with repeating her simple “ chink.” 
So much do the old and young birds resemble each other 
that, in the flocks of from fifty to one hundred individuals, 
in which they gather in early fall, it is almost impossible by 
the plumage to distinguish either. 
Early in September the Bobolinks begin to move south- 
ward, and although they obtain a great portion of their 
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