BIRDS OP THE WEST 67 



suspicion but he would no more eat his filthy garden truck than 

 he would sing rag-time. 



It is wrong to charge too much against the milliners. Let it 

 be said that the slaughter of birds for hats is ceasing, but the 

 reports of the National association show that it has not wholly- 

 ceased. It will cease when high-minded women refuse to wear 

 as badges of cruelty the nuptial plumes of the bride-grooms of 

 the air. 



GOLDFINCH. 



They say that all blackberries are red when they are green, 

 so too, many members of the blackbird family are without black 

 plumage. Neither is every bird a yellowbird that is yellow. 



You should have no trouble in knowing the goldfinch when 

 you see him for he wears a golden jacket with black sleeves and a 

 tiny black cap. Little Mrs. Finch goes around bareheaded like 

 all the girls and is very modest in her dress. 



In birdland you know, the boys dress better than the girls. 

 Domestication seems to upset every thing. And why shouldn't 

 they dress better? In birdland the boys are always the ones 

 that propose and they must look their best and they always get 

 a nice new spring suit in preparation for their May or June wed- 

 dings. You ask if it is not necessary for the girls to dress prettily 

 to attract them? Oh, no. They all get married anyway. There 

 are no such things as bachelors and old maids among them. Alas ! 

 There are widows, and widowers and very many little orphans 

 because boys and men and women and girls are not all dead yet. 

 It is not a part of Nature's plan by any means. 



You will find goldfinches in flocks except during the short 

 nesting season, for they are regular little gypsies. You can 

 never tell when you will see them, the little nomads ! Last Decem- 

 ber a flock of them hung around Pierre for a few days even while 

 the snow was on the ground. That made no difference for they 

 wallowed in it or clung to the sides of weeds to gather their 

 favorite seeds. 



They are the greatest little bathers you ever saw. After a 

 rain, sometime, you may see a puddle of water with its outer 

 edge just trimmed with yellow and black and a real wreath of 

 spray wiU enclose it. They will come and go, rising and dipping. 



