150 NOllTII AMKHICAN IIIRDS. 



llAitrrs. Tlie woU-knnwn iiiul fiuiiiliiir I'xilioliiik i)t' Xortli Ainorica lina, 

 at dilU'iciit Hi'iisoiis of tlio yi'iir, ii nMiiiiikiilily cxttiiuli'd (lisfrilnitinii. In its 

 iiii^'nitii)ii.s it tnivurses all of tliu I'liited States cast of the liij^li wiitnil plains 

 to tiie Atlantic as far to tho north as tliu r)4th parallel, whieh is lielieved to 

 he its most noilheni limit, anil wliicli it reaehes in June. In the winter it 

 reaehes, in its wandering, tiie West Indies, Central America, the nortliern 

 and even the central i)ortions of Sontli America. Von I'elzeln olitaiiied 

 lirazilian specimens from Matofjrosso and Iiio Madeira in Xoxcndier, and 

 from Marabitanas, April 4tli and I'Mh. Tiiose procured in Ajail were 

 in their .summer or In-eedinj; pluma<,'e, sujiiiestinj,' tlie possilalily of their 

 breeding in the high grounds of South America. Sclater received speiumens 

 from Santa Marta and from 15olivia. Otiier specimens have been reported 

 as coming from Uio Negro, Rio Napo, in Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, Porto llico, 

 Taraguay, liuenos Ayres, etc. 



In North America it breeds from the 42d to the 54111 i)arallel, and in 

 some parts of the country it is very abundant at this season. The most 

 southern breeding locality hitherto recorded is the forks of the Susquehanna 

 Iiiver, along the west branc.'h of which, esjmcially in the. AVyoming Valley, 

 it was formerly very abundant. 



' IMr. Eidgway also ol)served this bird in llnby ^'alley where, among the 

 wheat-fields, small coni))anies were occasionally seen in August. He was 

 informed that, near Salt Lake City, these birds are seen in May, and again 

 late in the summer, when tlie grain is ripe. 



Of all our nnimitative and iiatuial songsters the Bol)olink is by far the 

 most popular and attractive. Always original and ])eculiarly natural, its 

 song is exquisitely musical. In tiie variety of its notes, in the rapidity with 

 which tiiey are uttered, and in the touching pathos, beauty, and melody of 

 their tone and expression, its notes are not equalled by those of any other 

 North American bird. We know of none, among our native feathered song- 

 sters, whose song resembles, or can be compared with it. 



In the earliest approaches of spring, in Louisiana, Mhen small flocks of 

 male Bobolinks make their first ap]iearaiice, they are said, by Mr. Audubon, 

 to sing in concert ; and their song thus given is at once exceedingly novel, 

 interesting, and striking. Uttered with a olubility that even borders upon 

 the burlesque and the ludicrous, the Avliole effect is greatly heightened by 

 the singular and striking manner in which first one singer and then an- 

 other, one f(dlowing the other initil all have joined their voices, take up the 

 note and strike in, after the leader has set the example and given the 

 signal. In this manner sometimes a party of thirty or forty Bolxdinks will 

 begin, one after the other, until the wliole unite in producing an extraor- 

 dinary medley, to •vvliich no pen can do justice, but which is described 

 as very pleasant to listen to. All at once the music ceases witii a sudden- 

 ness not less striking and extraordinary. Tiiese concerts are repeated from 

 time to time, usually as often as the flock alight. Tliis performance may 



