BOAT-TAILED GRAKLE. 505 



About the beginning of February, the males have abeady mated, and 

 many begin their nest at this early season. It is then that you ought to 

 see the Boat-tailed Grakle, for at that period its plumage displays the 

 richest gloss, and its tail, which, after the breeding season, is no longer 

 navicular, is deeply incurved towards the centre. Proud of his elegant 

 form and splendid plumage, he alights on the topmost bi-anch of some 

 evergreen oak, droops his wings and tail, swells his breast, and glittering 

 in the bright rays of the sun, which call forth all the variations of tint 

 for which his silken plumes are remai'kable, pours forth his loud though 

 not always agreeable song. He watches his rivals as they pass, pursues 

 them with ardent courage, returns to his stand exulting, and again pours 

 forth his song. 



No sooner has he made himself sure of the attachment of a female, 

 than his jealous temper is subdued, and he places implicit reliance on the 

 fidelity of his mate, in which he might be advantageously imitated by 

 other beings. Many pairs now resort to a place previously known to 

 them, and in the greatest harmony construct their mansions. Well do 

 they remember the central islet of the lake, among the thickets of which, 

 in security and comfort, their brood was reared in the previous season. 

 Each pair choose their branch of smilax, and if the former tenement has 

 escaped the shock of the winter winds, they repair and augment it, so as 

 to render it fit for the reception of their eggs. If it has been destroyed, 

 they quickly form a new one from the abundant materials around. The 

 long-fibred Spanish moss dangles from every tree ; dry twigs, withered 

 grasses, and dead leaves lie strewn around, and the thready roots used for 

 the lining are found in their inaccessible island. Each female now depo- 

 sits her eggs, on which she sits in patient hope ; while in the mean time all 

 the male birds fly off together, and leave their mates to rear their off- 

 spring. Far away to the marshes they betake themselves, nor are they 

 seen any more with their young, until the latter are able to join their 

 neglectful fathers. Strange arrangement and singular, when, in other 

 instances. Nature fills the husband and father with so much affection and 

 solicitude ! Nay, in the ixiale Grakle has been implanted a desire to de- 

 stroy the eggs of every bird, while at the same time he has been impelled 

 to leave his mate, that she may hatch her own in security ! Other spe- 

 cies are governed by laws equally rigorous. The female Wild Turkey 

 shuns her mate, that she may save not her eggs only, but even her 

 young, which he would destroy ; and, as I am not the only student of 



