COURTSHIPS OF LABRADOR BIRDS 



and watch the process was therefore the 

 greater. 



Although I did not observe the courtship 

 of the whistler in Labrador, and its extreme 

 shyness is probably the reason that so little 

 has been written on the subject, I have ob- 

 served it at Ipswich and Barnstable in Massa- 

 chusetts, and especially in the Charles River 

 Basin at Boston where, owing to the protection 

 afforded by the great city, the birds are unusu- 

 ally tame and unsuspicious. 



The spring is of course the time when the 

 courtship actions are most indulged in, and they 

 begin in mild days in February and continue 

 until the departure of the birds for the north 

 early in April. In the autumn months, how- 

 ever, it is not uncommon to see the same per- 

 formance given both by the adults and young 

 males, although but incompletely carried out 

 in the latter case. 



The courtship action varies considerably, 

 but a typical and complete one may be de- 

 scribed as follows: One or more males swim 

 restlessly back and forth and around a female. 

 The feathers of the cheeks and crest of the male 

 are so erected that the head looks large and 



91 



