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THE REED BIRD. 197 



brownish-yellow ; scapulars pure white ; rump and tail coverts 

 the same ; lower parts of the back bluish-white ; tail formed 

 like those of the Woodpecker genus, and often used in the 

 same manner, being thrown in to support it while ascending 

 the stalks of the reed ; this habit of throwing in the tail it 

 retains even in the cage; legs a brownish flesh color; eye hazel. 

 In the month of June, this plumage gradually changes to a 

 brownish-yellow ; bill reddish color ; legs and eyes as in the 

 male. The young Birds retain the dress of the female until 

 the early part of the succeeding spring ; the plumage of the 

 female undergoes no material change of color." 



THEIR MIGRATIONS. 



The Eeed Bird breeds and spends the larger portion of the 

 summer months in the Northern States, extending its peregri- 

 nations in this direction as far as Lake Ontario, and the River 

 St. Lawrence ; their nests are built upon the ground, usually in 

 a field of grass, wheat, or barley, and contain from four to six 

 eggs, of a bluish-white color, irregularly spotted. They raise 

 but one brood in a season, and as soon as the young are able 

 to leave the nests, they associate with other broods, and in a 

 short time thus form large families, which are seen making 

 their way over the country from all quarters, towards the banks 

 of the streams and large rivers, where they feed upon the reeds, 

 or plunder the grain-fields of our farmers. Although so very 

 small and insignificant in appearance, they often do serious 

 injury to the crops, more particularly to the oat-fields of New 

 England, which they visit in countless multitudes. Towards 

 the middle of August, forsaking their feeding-grounds in the 

 North, the familiar "clink" of the Reedy is heard on every side 

 in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, and may be distinctly 

 recognized on a still evening, as they pass in multitudes over 

 the city. During the first few days of their appearance in these 

 parts, they seem to confine themselves to the cornfields and 

 upland meadows, waiting as it were the further ripening of the 

 reeds ; after this, they descend to the banks of the Delaware 

 and Schuylkill, which are now overrun with the rank growth of 

 the wild oats, Zazania Aquatica, which produces a small seed in 



