ORCHARD SECRETS 



for his breakfast. How much he brought with him 

 of the wild grace and harmony of nature ! 



I also became interested in a pair of bobolinks 

 which had a nest in a meadow by the roadside 

 where I passed daily. A singular thing about it was 

 that there were two males and only one female. 

 When I approached, one of the males and the fe- 

 male showed great agitation. Hovering in the air 

 above me, they gave away the secret of the cause 

 of their agitation in vociferous tones, while the 

 second male remained entirely indifferent. Clearly 

 it was not a case of plurality of husbands, and it 

 looked as if the second male was there only to keep 

 them company. 



Bobolinks in our Northern meadows are becom- 

 ing more and more rare, and this was unmistakably 

 a case where there were more males than females. 



Although bobolinks always show unusual agita- 

 tion as you approach the vicinity of their nest, they 

 are very careful not to give away its precise locality. 

 Their solicitude embraces the whole meadow. They 

 will follow you from one end to the other with the 

 same outcry and protest, but you may linger about 

 for hours and not get any clue to the particular tuft 

 of grass where the secret is hidden. 



