14 Birds of Buzzard's Roost 



me a good opportunity to observe them. The nest was a rath- 

 er bulky affair composed of twigs, leaves and grass, and lined 

 with fine grass, roots and hair. The eggs, a clutch of which 

 ranges from three to five, are pale gray and beautifully marked 

 with spots or blotches of brown. Often they hatch two broods 

 in a year. When this occurs it is said that the male takes 

 charge of the first brood while the female gives attention to 

 incubating the second, and he faithfully takes care of them and 

 will fight, if need be, for their protection. Indeed, pugnacity 

 is one of the characteristics of the cardinal. It is said that 

 when a pair of them have established themselves in a certain 

 locality, the male will not suffer another bird of his kind to 

 trespass upon his territory. This characteristic is well por- 

 trayed in Mrs. Porter's Song of the Cardinal, when she says : 

 "With his feathers plastered tight, the cardinal lighted on a 

 willow and leaned to look, quivering with excitement and ut- 

 tering explosive 'chips' for there he was face to face with a 

 big red bird that looked neither peaceful nor timid. He uttered 

 an impudent 'chip' of challenge, which, as it left his beak was 

 flung back to him. The cardinal flared his crest and half lifted 

 his wings, stiffening them at the butt, the bird he was facing 

 did the same. In his surprise he rose to his full height with a 

 dexterous little side step, and the other bird straightened and 

 side-stepped exactly with him. It was too much for the car- 

 dinal. Straining every muscle, he made a dash for the impu- 

 dent upstart and struck the water with such force that it 

 splashed above the willows." There are well authenticated 

 cases of a like attack when cardinals have seen their own re- 

 flections in a window or looking-glass. This characteristic of 

 the cardinal is taken advantage of by bird hunters. They pro- 

 vide themselves with a cage constructed with a trap compart- 

 ment, which is so arranged that the cage can be entered from 

 the outside. Inside is placed a captive cardinal, and the cage 

 placed in the neighborhood where a pair of cardinals have 

 been known to stay. Then the trapper conceals himself in the 

 immediate vicinity of the cage and whistles in imitation of a 

 cardinal. If one is near by, his curiosity will be excited and 

 he will endeavor to find the cardinal that is whistling and in 

 so doing will discover the one that is in the cage, and be 



