SONG SEASON OF OUR BIRDS 



49 



The dates given as the ending of the song season of the birds 

 are the time when they were no longer in full song. No bird ceases 

 to sing all at once. After the date recorded as the ending of the 

 song, there is a period, longer or shorter, during which the bird 

 will sing a few notes, but with less heartiness. vSome days the 

 song may be as vigorous as at any time during the song season; 

 but the efforts at singing gradually come to an end, and the woods 

 and fields grow silent. 



Even the casual observer will notice the absence of nearly 

 e\ ery species at the end of August, with hardly a note to be heard. 

 The closing of the song sesaon of our birds can not but cause a 

 void in the heart of the bird-lover, who has gone out morning after 

 morning to meet his feathered friends, and now — he hears or sees 

 them no more. 



