THE TRAVELS OF BIRDS 



The return journey is begun in early March 

 when Bob's summer home is still icebound. But 

 before leaving Bob again completely changes his 

 clothing and puts on a curious-looking costume 

 of dark, dull yellow, with bits of black show- 

 ing in places. The truth is that he really has 

 on his black, buff, and white wedding dress. 

 But almost every feather of it is fringed with 

 dull yellow. It is as though he wore a travel- 

 ing coat. As he goes northward the fringes 

 slowly wear off, as if he were losing a dis- 

 guise. By the time he reaches his summer 

 home they have all gone and Bob shows his 

 true colors. 



In the spring Bobolinks follow backward over 

 the route they used in the fall. Then young 

 and old, male and female travel together; but 

 now the males go alone, some days ahead of the 

 females. They reach Jamaica and Cuba early in 

 April. 



About April 15 they arrive in southern 

 Florida and some of them remain in the state 

 until May. For this reason they are called May- 

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