I1o IN BIRD LAND. 
IX. 
MIDSUMMER MELODIES. 
EVERAL times has the statement been made 
in print that it is scarcely worth one’s while 
to attempt to study the birds during the midsummer 
months, the reason alleged being that at that time 
they are silent and inactive, and their behavior 
devoid of special interest. Now, nothing ministers 
so gratefully to the pride of the original investigator 
as to prove untrue the theories that have been 
advanced in books and that are current among 
scientific men. During the summer of 1891 I re- 
solved to discover for myself what the birds were 
doing, and so, spite of drought, heat, and mosqui- 
toes, I visited the haunts of my winged companions 
at least every other day. The result was a surprise 
to myself, proving that the unwisest thing a natu- 
ralist can do is to lay down absolute canons of 
conduct for feathered folk. 
It is just possible that physical stupor, induced 
by the extreme heat of summer, has caused some 
ornithologists to observe carelessly and _ listlessly, 
and for that reason they have supposed that the 
birds were as languid as themselves ; but the wide- 
awake student, who can brave heat and cold alike, 
will never find the feathered creation failing to 
