FAR AND NEAR 



• — a delay that may bring the incubation into 

 August. Such an accident had probably befallen a 

 pair of wliich I one season made this note in my 

 note-book, under date of August 6 : — 



"A goldfinches' nest in the maple-tree near the 

 window Avhere I write, the female sitting on four pale 

 bluish-white eggs ; the male feeds her on the nest ; 

 whenever she hears his voice she calls incessantly, 

 much after the manner of the young birds, — the 

 only case I recall of the sitting bird calling while in 

 the act of incubation. The male evidently brings the 

 food in his crop, or at least well back in his beak or 

 throat, as it takes him several moments to deliver it 

 to his mate, which he does by separate morsels. The 

 male, when disturbed by a rival, utters the same 

 note as he pursues his enemy from point to point 

 that the female does when calling to him. It does 

 not sound like a note of anger, but of love and con- 

 fidence." 



As the bird-songs fail, the insect harpers and fid- 

 dlers begin. August is the heyday of these musi- 

 cians. The katydid begins to " work her chromatic 

 reed " early in the month, and with her comes that 

 pulsing, purring monotone of the little pale tree- 

 crickets. These last fill the August twilight with a 

 soft, rhythmic undertone of sound, which forms a 

 sort of background for the loud, strident notes of the 

 katydids. 



August, too, is the month of the screaming, high* 



208 



