222 THE BLUEBIRD. 



There he lay like a bit of sky fallen upon the grass. 

 The widowed bird seemed to understand what had 

 happened, and without much ado disappeared next 

 day in quest of another mate. How she contrived 

 to make her wants known without trumpeting them 

 about I am unable to say. But I presume the birds 

 have a way of advertising that answers the purpose 

 well. Maybe she trusted to luck to fall in with some 

 stray bachelor or bereaved male, who would under- 

 take to console a widow of one day's standing. I 

 will say, in passing, that there are no bachelors from 

 choice among the birds ; they are all rejected suitors, 

 while old maids are entirely unknown. There is a 

 Jack to every Gill ; and some to boot. 



The males being more exposed by their song and 

 plumage, and by being the pioneers in migrating, 

 seem to be slightly in excess lest the supply fall 

 short, and hence it sometimes happens that a few are 

 bachelors perforce ; there are not females enough to 

 go around, but before the season is over there are 

 sure to be some vacancies in the marital ranks, which 

 they are called on to fill. 



In the mean time the wrens were beside themselves 

 \\ith delight; they fairly screamed with joy. If the 

 male was before " ruffled with whirlwind of his ecsta- 

 sies," he was now in danger of being rent asunder. 

 He inflated his throat and caroled as wren never car- 

 oled before. And the female, too, how she cackled 

 and darted about ! How busy they both were 

 Bushing into the nest, they hustled those eggs out in 



