52 BIRD COURTSHIP 



write these lines I hear through the half-open door 

 his call come up from a distant field. Then I hear 

 the steady hammering of one that has been for three 

 days trying to penetrate the weather boarding of 

 the big icehouse by the river, and to reach the saw- 

 dust filling for a nesting-place. 



Among our familiar birds the matchmaking of 

 none other is quite so pretty as that of the goldfinch. 

 The goldfinches stay with us in loose flocks and 

 clad in a dull-olive suit throughout the winter. In 

 May the males begin to put on their bright summer 

 plumage. This is the result of a kind of super- 

 ficial moulting. Their feathers are not shed, but 

 their dusky covering or overalls are cast off. When 

 the process is only partly completed, the bird has a 

 smutty, unpresentable appearance. But we seldom 

 see them at such times. They seem to retire from 

 society. When the change is complete, and the males 

 have got their bright uniforms of yellow and black, 

 the courting begins. All the goldfinches of a neigh- 

 borhood collect together and hold a sort of musical 

 festival. To the number of many dozens they may 

 be seen in some large tree, all singing and calling 

 in the most joyous and vivacious manner. The 

 males sing, and the females chirp and call. Whether 

 there is actual competition on a trial of musical abil- 

 ities of the males before the females or not, I do 

 not know. The best of feeling seems to pervade the 

 company; there is no sign of quarreling or fight- 



