SAVANNA BLACKBIRD. 289 



ever there are open lands in tillage or pasture, with, 

 intermingled trees and shrubs, there these social 

 birds frequent : always familiar and seemingly fear- 

 less, but never omitting to set their sentinel watch- 

 men to sound their cry when any one obtrudes 

 nearer upon them than to a certain space within their 

 social haunts. 



" After a passing fall of rain, one of our sudden 

 mid-day thunder showers for instance, when the full 

 burst of sunshine, bright and fierce, breaks again on 

 the freshened landscape ; the first bird seen creep- 

 ing out from the thicket to dry his wings, and 

 regain the fields, is the Savanna Blackbird. The 

 Mocking-bird, ready as he is with his song, to 

 gladden the landscape once more, is seldom before 

 the shrill Blackbird, in breaking the hush that 

 succeeds the overpast shower. Que-yuch, que-yuch, 

 que-yuch is heard from some embowered clump not 

 far off, and a little stream of Blackbirds, with their 

 long tails and short gliding wings outstretched in 

 flight, are seen straggling away to some spot, where 

 insect-life is stirring, in the fresh, damp, and ex- 

 uberant earth. The sun is levelling its slant beam 

 along the plains, and the sea-breeze is breathing 

 fresh and fragrant with a sense of reviving moisture 

 from the afternoon showers, que-yuch, que-yuch, que- 

 yuch is heard again, hastily and anxiously repeated ; 

 and the little birds are seen scrambling into the 

 hedge-rows, and the Blackbirds are pushing from 

 the outer limbs of the solitary thicket, from whence 

 they sounded their cry of alarm, to gain the inward 

 covert of the leaves. A hawk with silent stealth is 



