JUNE. 



ger is slight indeed that the record of any June day out 

 of doors will be a twice-told tale. 



One great advantage of observations made at this time 

 is this : Hitherto, we have had, for instance, to content 

 ourselves, as a rule, with casual glimpses of every bird we 

 saw, and could seldom be sure that we saw the same indi- 

 vidual twice ; but now, not only the same bird, but, better 

 yet, a mated pair can be confidently followed from day to 

 day, for they have a comparatively restricted range, and 

 every movement is more or less with reference to their 

 nest and young. The advantage is obvious. At no other 

 time are the characteristic features of bird life so pro- 

 nounced, and the one opportunity of each season is oif ered 

 to determine how far individuals vary as to their intelli- 

 gence, their tastes, and mode of living. 



I have been much interested in watching a brood of 

 Virginia rails that were hatched somewhere in the im- 

 penetrable mucky meadow, of which I have so often 

 spoken. No tropical jungle could be more hopelessly 

 tangled than this bit of marsh, and, I may add, few prob- 

 ably shelter a greater variety of life-forms. Here I have 

 found and can always find mammals, birds, reptiles, 

 batrachians, and fishes, besides insects and other inverte- 

 brate life in the greatest profusion ; and here it is that 

 with the regularity of the seasons three notable forms of 

 aquatic birds repair to breed the king rail, the Virginia 

 rail, and the least bittern. Of these, during the summer 

 of 1888, the smaller rails were the prominent feature. 



I occasionally heard them during the month of May, 

 but never caught a glimpse of one until late in June, when 

 a commotion of some sort brought at least two broods 

 and their parents to the edge of the marsh. Occasionally 

 they ran out for a short distance upon the open meadow. 

 The young at this time were not fully grown nor able to 

 fly, I thought, but their activity as runners was really re- 



