CHAPTER VI. 
THE NESTING SEASON.* 
Ir you would really know birds, you must study them 
during nesting time. At this season they develop habits 
that you will be surprised to learn they possess. The — 
humble owner of some insignificant call-note now fills the 
role of a skilled musician. The graceful, leisurely Marsh 
Hawk gives vent to his feelings in a series of aérial som- 
ersaults over the meadows; the sedate, dignified Wood- 
cock tries to express his emotion by means of spiral evo- 
lutions which carry him far above his usual haunts; the 
Night-Hawk dives earthward with needless recklessness ; 
in fact, birds seem inspired by the joy of the season, and 
all the brightness of a May morning is reflected in their 
voices and actions. 
Mating over, there follow the marvels of nest-build- 
ing with its combined evidences of instinct and_ intelli- 
gence. In due time the young appear, and the bird, now 
a parent, abandons the gay habits of the suitor, and de- 
votes every waking moment to the care of its young. 
Time of Nesting.—W ith most birds the nesting season 
is periodic and annual. With migratory birds it coin- 
cides with the season of the year when their summer 
homes are habitable. But we might suppose that the 
* Read In Nesting Time, Little Brothers of the Air, and other 
works by Olive Thorne Miller. A-Birding on a Broncho, by Florence 
A. Merriam (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.). 
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