The Birds' Calendar 



In the strong contrast of its plumage to the 

 snow and the bare branches, the cardinal seems 

 like a breath of warm air, as it floats hither and 

 thither in the wintry landscape. Yet one soon 

 learns to look upon it as an admirable rather 

 than a lovable bird ornamental, like a piece of 

 bric-a brae with which one comes into no vital 

 touch cold and unemotional as its December 

 surroundings, and if not distinctly unfriendly 

 to its humbler fellows, yet plainly showing its 

 haughty instincts. It would seem a great con- 

 descension for it to step upon the ground ; and 

 as for running about on the grass, like the robin 

 and sparrow, such a thing would be scandalously 

 disreputable. There are many other birds that 

 avoid the ground just as much as the cardinal. 

 It is not the height at which a bird lives in the 

 world that is the point in question, but its aris- 

 tocratic or democratic instinct. 



The cardinal's song is especially disappoint- 

 ing, for there are such possibilities in the full, 

 rich tone that do not begin to be realized. 

 Commencing with a clear and magnificent whis- 

 tle, several times repeated, like a preliminary 

 nourish, you are on the qui vive for a glorious 

 performance and there he stops ! Either the 

 mind or the heart (perhaps both) is lacking to 

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