40 
NESTS AND EGGS OF 
resound therewith, or with that peculiar note of complaint from which the 
species has received the name Chewink. 
There is an expression of cheerfulness in these notes, though they are 
not delivered with that enthusiasm which characterizes the songs of many 
of our species. But music, like poetry, must he of a somewhat plaintive 
nature, if it would take firm hold of the feelings. 
After a period of three or four weeks mostly spent in feeding, the 
males seem to tire of such a life, and seek to attract the attention of the 
females. Perched on the lower branch of a tree, near the edge of a wood, 
or on the summit of a small tree or tall bush in the midst of a thicket, 
or hid from view by clusters of bushes, they may be heard pouring forth, 
with all the fervor of their being, their strange madrigals. At first, their 
efforts to captivate are unheeded. But patiently and persistently the sing- 
ing is kept up in a quiet, simple manner, until their auditors become 
impressed, and modestly quit their shady retreats to encourage the musi- 
cians by their presence. Having gained this advantage, they follow it vq), 
and in less than a week from the time the first note was uttered, have 
mastered the situation. The females wholly entranced, yield to the per- 
suasions of their would-be lords, and conjugal relations are entered into. 
This generally occurs not later than the fifteenth of May. But the happy 
couple are not yet ready to begin nest-building. They must needs cele- 
brate the occasion of their marriage. Accordingly, they set out on a 
wedding-trq3, so to speak, visiting adjoining lots and thickets, and enjoying 
the delights and scenes around them. This continues for four or five 
days, when the lovers, thoroughly surfeited, return and quietly settle down 
to prosy life. 
The erection of a home is now the absorbing topic of interest and 
conversation. Where to build, and bow, are matters that are agitating 
their minds, and which seem, judging from the actions of the parties 
interested, very difficult questions to adjust. After no inconsiderable por- 
tion of time thus spent, and with little possibility of coming to any 
decision, a separation ensues, and the country scoiu’ed for miles around. 
