84 BIRD COURTSHIP 



trying to penetrate the weather boarding of the 

 big icehouse by the river and reach the sawdust 

 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 

 lorn flocks and clad in a dull olive suit through- 

 out the winter. In May the males begin to 

 put on their bright summer plumage. This is 

 the result of a kind of superficial 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 com- 

 plete and the males have got their bright uni- 

 forms of yellow and black the courting begins. 

 All the goldfinches of a neighborhood collect 

 together and hold a sort of a 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 abilities 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 fighting; "all goes 

 merry as a marriage bell," and the matches 

 seem actually to be made during these musical 

 picnics. Before May is passed the birds are 

 seen in couples, and in June housekeeping 



