THE PERCHING BIRDS. 131 



sure to be found ; and when there are warm, sunny 

 days, though it is midwinter, they seek out their 

 spring-tide haunts and the males sing as merrily as 

 in April. 



The Western varieties are pretty much the same. 

 Dr. Coues mentions the " Tricolors flocking in vast 

 numbers." These appear to be a much tamer bird 

 than our Eastern form, as he speaks of them as throng- 

 ing the streets of a town, which is not a habit of our 

 bird, for I never yet saw a Jersey village so small and 

 so sleepy that red-wings would venture into its single 

 street to forage. In this they are unlike the grakles, 

 (to be considered), for they will come into large towns 

 and even nest in trees a little off much-travelled 

 streets. 



At first glance it would not appear that red- winged 

 blackbirds and meadow-larks had anything in com- 

 mon, and yet they are really much alike in some 

 respects ; so much so that at one time of the year 

 they are closely associated. They breed in the same 

 meadows, but build very different nests ; the black- 

 bird's being in tufts of coarse grass or tangled vines 

 off the ground, while the meadow-lark builds on or 

 in the ground, depending upon the long grass to 

 conceal it; but while there are eggs or young to 

 look after the two birds are much together and sing 

 constantly, the lark usually climbing to the top of a 

 tree rather than contenting itself with a fence-post, 

 and there whistling clearly "/ see you you can't see 

 me" and it takes sharp eyes to make him out, as the 

 bird seems to study a position that makes him one 

 with the leaves. 



