I TO 



Fifty Com 711071 Birds. 



off, and when their children first come out in 

 the world, they are more strikingly homely 

 than their parents, perhaps, because we 

 have known the old birds so long that, like 

 some of our dearest friends, their plainness 

 is beautiful to us. In any case, the emi- 

 nently speckled young gentlemen that come 

 out with their new tight-fitting suits and 

 awkward ways do not meet their father's 

 share of favor. 



Perhaps the nest they come out of ac- 

 counts for their lack of polish. Even Mr. 

 Burroughs regrets its coarseness.* It is 

 stout and strong, built to last, and to keep 

 out the rain ; but with no thought of beauty. 

 The outside is a framework of twigs and 

 stems of large weeds. Then comes a plas- 

 tering of mud, that the bird moulds with 

 her breast till it is hard and smooth. 

 Inside is a soft lining of dried grass. This 

 is the typical nest, but of course, there are 

 marked variations from it ; Mr. Burroughs 

 speaks of one nest composed entirely of 

 hair and grass. f From its nature, the nest 

 has to be firmly fixed in the crotch of a 

 branch, or close to the body of the tree, 

 where its weight will be supported ; and if 

 it happen to be built over a blind, or win- 

 dow frame, it is always securely fastened. 



You may look for robins in almost any 

 locality, but they generally prefer dry open 

 land, or the edge of woods ; being very 

 averse to the secluded life of the other 

 thrushes, who build in the deep woods. 



The flight and song of the rol)in are in 

 keeping with his general character. His 

 flight is rapid, clear cut and straight. Un- 

 like many of the birds, he flies as if he were 

 going somewhere. His voice is a strong 

 clear treble, loud and cheerful. He is not 

 a musician, and has no one set song. His 

 commonest call has two parts, each of three 

 notes run together ; the first with a rising, 

 the last with a falling inflexion : tril-id-rce' , 

 tril-ld-rdh' J tril-ld-rce\ tril-ld-rdh' . But 



• "Wake Robin," p. 15, The Return of the Birds. 

 + " Wake Robin," Birds' Nests, p. 126. 



he has a number of calls, and you have to 

 he very familiar with the peculiar treble 

 quality of his note to avoid confusing it 

 with others. 



THE BLUEBIRD 



is usually found further from the house, 

 and your attention is attracted to his cry as 

 he flies over the field. It is a plaintive con- 

 tralto call, just the opposite of the robin's. 

 Mr. Burroughs describes his first song in 

 early spring as "a note that may be called the 

 violet of sound, and as welcome to the ear, 

 heard above the cold damp earth, as is its 

 floral type to the eye a few weeks later."* 

 He quotes Lowell's lines: 



The bluebird, shifting his light load of song 

 From post to post along the cheerless fence." 



In "A Bird Medley" Mr. Burroughs says: 

 " The bluebird cannot utter a harsh or un- 

 pleasing note. Indeed, he seems to have 

 but one language, one speech for both love 

 and war, and the expression of his indig- 

 nation is nearly as musical as his song."f 



The bluebird is smaller than the robin, al- 

 though of a similar build ; and his flight is 

 more undulating. If you catch a glimpse of 

 his breast as he goes over your head, you will 

 see that it is brick red, changing to white be- 

 low; and as he flies down and turns quickly 

 before alighting, you will get a flash of dark 

 blue from his back. It is a rich color in 

 the male, but the tints are all softened in 

 the female, giving the faded effect noticed 

 in the mother robin, and characteristic of 

 the majority of female birds. 



The bluebird is much shyer than the 

 robin, and generally hides his nest in a hole 

 of some fence rail, dead stub or tree; al- 

 though he occasionally builds in knot holes 

 in the sides of barns or even in bird boxes. 

 Sometimes when the nest is in a stub or 

 tree, it is so shallow that the father and 

 mother birds feed their young from the 

 outside, clinging to the sides of the hole 



♦"Birds and Poets," Chap. I., p. 45. 



t "Birds and Poets,' Chap., A Bird Medley, p. 96. 



