120 IN BIRD LAND. 
break —a bevy of red-winged blackbirds, which 
had been roosting in the long grass, flew up with 
vociferous cries and protests at the rude awakening 
I had given them, just when they were enjoying 
their morning nap. Blame them who will for 
making loud ado, for there are many people who 
would do the same under similar provocation. 
Thus it will be seen that many birds sleep on the 
ground. My investigations lead me to this con- 
clusion: As a rule, those birds which nest on or 
near the ground, and spend a considerable portion 
of their time in the grass, like the meadow-larks 
and song-sparrows, roost on the ground, while 
others find bushes and trees more to their taste. 
Still, there are exceptions to this rule ; for on several 
occasions, while bent on my nocturnal prowlings, 
I have driven the turtle-dove from the ground, 
although this bird usually roosts in the thorn-trees 
and willows." 
The robins choose thick trees and even wild rose- 
bushes for roosts. In the apple-trees and pines of 
a neighbor’s yard across the fields these birds find 
sleeping-apartments early in the spring, before 
nest-building is begun, for a perfect deluge of 
robin music .often pours from that locality, both 
morning and evening. 
The white-throats, wood-sparrows, and brown 
thrashers make use of the thick thorn-trees of the 
marsh for lodgings. ‘They flutter about in sore 
1 This is, after all, no exception, for I have since found a 
number of turtle-doves’ nests on the ground. 
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