THE TRAVELS OF THE BOBOLINK 



them all clad alike. In changing their plumage 

 they have also changed their name. The Bobo- 

 link of summer has become the Reedbird or 

 Ricebird of fall. 



At this time the practice flights to roost in the 

 marshes begin. The wild rice is approach- 

 ing the milky stage and the birds gather in 

 great flocks to feed on it. This fare not 

 only gives them the only name by which many 

 people know them, but it supplies them with 

 fuel for the great journey they are about to be- 

 gin. 



Sadly enough it is this fuel or fat which 

 makes the Ricebird so highly prized for food. 

 Strange as it may seem, the much-loved musician 

 of May is now hunted as though he were an out- 

 law. Thousands and thousands of these wonder- 

 ful songbirds are killed by so-called sportsmen 

 to eat. But surely there can be no sport in killing 

 such small birds, while to kill them for food is 

 just as unpardonable as it would be to make a 

 potpie of Nightingales. Soon, let us hope, the 

 law will forbid Bob's murder. Then perhaps 



