THE BLUEBIRD 9 



yard, the two males clinched and fell to the 

 ground, lying there for a moment with wings 

 sprawled out, like birds brought down by a gun. 

 Then they separated, and each returned to his 

 mate, warbling and twinkling his wings. Very 

 soon the females clinched and fell to the ground 

 and fought savagely, rolling over and over each 

 other, clawing and tweaking and locking beaks 

 and hanging on like bull terriers. They did this 

 repeatedly ; once one of the males dashed in and 

 separated them, by giving one of the females a 

 sharp tweak and blow. Then the males were at 

 it again, their blue plumage mixing with the 

 green grass and ruffled by the ruddy soil. What 

 a soft, feathery, ineffectual battle it seemed in 

 both cases ! no sound, no blood, no flying feath- 

 ers, just a sudden mixing up and general disarray 

 of blue wings and tails and ruddy breasts, there 

 on the ground ; assault but no visible wounds ; 

 thrust of beak and grip of claw, but no feather 

 loosened and but little ruffling ; long holding of 

 one down by the other, but no cry of pain or 

 fury. It was the kind of battle that one likes to 

 witness. The birds usually locked beaks, and 

 held their grip half a minute at a time. One of 

 the females would always alight by the strug- 

 gling males and lift her wings and utter her soft 

 notes, but what she said whether she was en- 



