December 



In the chill of a bright March morning the 

 song sparrow, with his lusty welcome to the 

 reviving earth ; in June the robin carolling in 

 the maple at the first blush of dawn ; the wood 

 or the hermit thrush pouring forth his golden 

 notes in the cool repose of a summer's eve ; the 

 serene cadence of the vesper sparrow, floating 

 from quiet fields ; the mid-day jubilation of the 

 purple finch in the orchard ; the merry tone of 

 the chickadee suddenly dissolving the icy deso- 

 lation of a winter's day ; these and numerous 

 other voices, louder and fainter, are giving 

 Nature's invitation to go forth and behold her 

 works. On every hand mystery is ripening 

 into clear knowledge under the eye and ear of 

 man ; it is the mind's perpetual harvest. 



It is during the period of nidification (ap- 

 proximately May and June) that a bird is seen 

 and heard at its best. This is the climax of 

 its annual experience, the fulness of its joy, 

 when it blooms into the maturity of its nature. 

 Its song is then most hearty and copious, its 

 instinctive powers and affection most wonder- 

 fully exhibited. Its timidity, and at the same 

 time its boldness, are most marked at this sea- 

 son, as if realizing its responsibility for the per- 

 petuity of its kind. Its devices for misleading 



3" 



