10 WAKE-ROBIN 



laughter, intermingled with various cries, yelps, 

 and squeals, as if some incident had excited their 

 mirth and ridicule. Whether this social hilarity 

 and boisterousness is in celebration of the pairing 

 or mating ceremony, or whether it is only a sort of 

 annual " house-warming " common among high-holes 

 on resuming their summer quarters, is a question 

 upon which I reserve my judgment. 



Unlike most of his kinsmen, the golden-wing 

 prefers the fields and the borders of the forest to 

 the deeper seclusion of the woods, and hence, con- 

 trary to the habit of his tribe, obtains most of his 

 subsistence from the ground, probing it for ants 

 and crickets. He is not quite satisfied with being 

 a woodpecker. He courts the society of the robin 

 and the finches, abandons the trees for the' meadow, 

 and feeds eagerly upon berries and grain. What 

 may be the final upshot of this course of living is 

 a question worthy the attention of Darwin. Will 

 his taking to the ground and his pedestrian feats 

 result in lengthening his legs, his feeding upon 

 berries and grains subdue his tints and soften his 

 voice, and his associating with Eobin put a song 

 into his heart ? 



Indeed, what would be more interesting than the 

 history of our birds for the last two or three centu- 

 ries ? There can be no doubt that the presence of 

 man has exerted a very marked and friendly influ- 

 ence upon them, since they so multiply in his 

 society. The birds of California, it is said, were 

 mostly silent till after its settlement, and I doubt 



