168 IN BIRD LAND. 
No doubt vocal display also plays a large part in 
the courtship of birds. Nothing else in the early 
spring can wholly account for the wonderful musical 
tournaments that one hears lilting so lavishly on the 
air. Many a damsel, doubtless, listens to the numer- 
ous vocalists of her neighborhood, and then chooses 
the suitor whose voice possesses the finest qualities, 
or whose madrigals have the truest ring. How many 
things may combine to determine the choice of the 
parties, it would be difficult to say. Perhaps some 
birds are handsomer than others in the eyes of 
those that are looking for mates; perhaps some 
have more courtly and agreeable manners ; perhaps 
some put more fervor into their wooing or more 
passion into their songs; perhaps some are better 
tempered ; others may be more industrious or frugal 
or tidy, and thus will make better husbands or house- 
wives. Many a lass doubtless is sorely puzzled as 
to whom she shall choose for a mate. One may 
even fancy her crooning Addison’s quaint, paradox- 
ical lines to a whimsical lover concerning whose 
eligibility she harbors some doubt, — 
“Tn all thy humors, whether grave or mellow, 
Thou ’rt such a touchy, testy, pleasant fellow, 
Hast so much wit and mirth and spleen about thee, 
That there’s no living with thee or without thee.” 
One question — not a profound one, I confess -— 
must bring this chapter to a close: Do the plumed 
ladies ever propose? One might imagine a love- 
lorn female bird throwing aside her maidenly reserve 
