140 Bird Comrades 



up from the weeds or copses and dart away with a fright- 

 ened cry. More than likely it would be an individual of 

 the same species as some of the more socially disposed 

 tenants of the lower grounds, but for some reason, what, 

 I know not, it preferred the life of an anchorite; it did 

 not care for society, even of its own kith. Invariably, 

 too, these feathered recluses were extremely shy, scuttling 

 away like frightened deer as I approached their cloistered 

 haunts. 



These notes stir several queries in one's mind. Is 

 there such a thing as social ostracism in the bird world? 

 Might these hilltop eremites have committed some crime 

 or some breach of decorum that effected their banishment 

 from respectable avicular society? Or were they simply 

 of a sullen or retiring disposition, choosing seclusion 

 rather than the company of their kind ? These questions 

 must be left unanswered. Most frequently the lone bird 

 would be a song sparrow. Once a brilliant, cardinal was 

 trying to conceal himself in a clump of bushes and weeds 

 far up the hillside, acting very much like a social out- 

 cast. For some reason that he did not see fit to explain 

 he wanted to be alone. 



If the song sparrows of eastern Kansas belie their 

 name and seldom fall into the lyrical mood, as has been 

 said, the like cannot be said of the robins, which, in the 

 proper season, were very lavish of their minstrelsy. Their 

 favorite singing time in the West, as in the East, was 

 at the "peep of dawn." How often their ringing carols 

 broke into my early morning dreams! 



