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Bird - Lore 



northern homes, and the Robins and Song Sparrows filled the vacant places 

 On the twenty-sixth of March, a lonely Cardinal, the first of his kind to visit 

 Ithaca, wandered through the thicket. He came back many other days at 

 intervals, and for a long time our highest ambition was to secure a photograph 

 of the Grosbeaks and Cardinal together, and thus unite on one film opposite 

 corners of the continent. Weeks passed before the opportunity came, with 

 the Cardinal on the log and the Grosbeaks in the branches overhead. But the 

 Cardinal was a nervous bird, and we knew that he would remain but a few 

 seconds. The Grosbeaks still lingered'in the trees. It seemed an endless moment 

 until one male Grosbeak dropped to the point. The thread tightened, the 



ONE OF THE MALES 



shutter clicked. But as it did so, there was a blur of red and yellow on the 

 log. The Cardinal, with crest and tail erect, wings raised and bill open, Ijad 

 darted at the Grosbeak and knocked him off with such speed and determina- 

 tion that the exposure of a fiftieth of a second recorded only confused outlines. 



But other birds were more peace-loving. Flocks of House Sparrows with 

 insolent curiosity surrounded the Grosbeaks, or mingled with them as they 

 had from the very first. Song Sparrows and Whitethroats neither feared 

 them nor attacked them, and Cowbirds seemed to enjoy their company. 



Less can be said for the Grosbeaks; for after the first of April, they became 

 very irritable and quarrelsome among themselves. No bird except the House 

 Sparrow seems willing to feed without 'elbow-room,' and I suppose the 

 cramped quarters due to our desire to have all the action take place in front 



