510 



LAND BIRDS 



No help has the mother bird had from her mate in this 

 labor, except the encouragement of his cheery song as he 

 swung always in sight of her, ready to join her the mo- 

 ment she left her work. In a few rare instances I have 

 known him to make a pretence of 

 nest-building a few feet away from 

 the real cradle, either to amuse him- 

 self or deceive me, for the loosely 

 woven affair was never regarded 

 seriously by the female. She some- 

 times perched near it, regarding with 

 amusement the masculine attempt 

 at housekeeping, and with a scornful 

 flirt of her tail went back to her 

 own cosey nest. It was often a 

 week or two after the latter was 

 entirely finished before the first egg 

 was laid. For fourteen days the female 

 brooded, hidden by the green tules, hear- 

 (^1. ing only the gay banjo-like song of her 

 mate, the hoarse croaking of the frogs, the 

 "chaacks" of her yellow-head neighbors, 

 and the grunts of the rails. Never, 

 I3' ac7b™''' by any chance, does the gay lord of 

 "Beseechvngiy from the ^^^t ^mall housclioM assist her Un- 

 til the wonderful transformation has 

 come, and hungry nestlings are stretching their open 

 mouths beseechingly from the green cradle. Then his 

 paternal instinct awakes, and he hustles for food to fill 

 them. 



