34 WASTE-LAXD WANDERINGS. 



Jersey. Of the cardinal-grosbeak, or winter redbird, it 



is said : 



"The redbird lies, without regret: 



However dry, it whistles 'wet!'" 



That is, the bird is credited with knowing it will not 

 rain, and teases the farmer by singing "wet" in his 

 ears all day. Others put another meaning on the red- 

 bird's note, and claim it to be a sure sign of rain. This 

 is more like tlie ordinary sayings commonly heard, and 

 let us give it a moment's consideration. At present, the 

 time of year when the cardinal-birds sing least is during 

 the hot summer months. Not that they are absolutely 

 mute for even a few days at a time, but relatively so as 

 compared with their joyous strains through autumn and 

 winter ; and again, early in summer, when they are nest- 

 ing, these birds, like robins, are more apt to sing directly 

 after a shower than at any other time. 



So much for the gay cardinal as a weather prophet. 

 The rare summer redbird — a tanager — which also utters 

 a whistling note, well described by the sj^llable " wet," 

 shortly and sharply expressed, is likewise said to proph- 

 esy rain. The probabilities are that the note of the red- 

 bird, cardinal and summer, suggesting the word " wet,'' 

 has given rise to the belief tliat their utterance was a 

 sign of a coming shower or storm. It is often by such 

 illogical methods that these sayings have become estab- 

 lished. After a few repetitions they become fixed in 

 the mind and their origin forgotten ; they are invested 

 with an importance not their due, and not attributed to 

 them by their originators. Ultimately they are incor- 

 porated in the weather-lore of the country. 



