IN BIRD LAND. 



IX. 



MIDSUMMER MELODIES. 



SEVERAL times has the statement been made 

 in print that it is scarcely worth one's while 

 to attempt to study the birds during the midsummer 

 months, the reason alleged being that at that time 

 they are silent and inactive, and their behavior 

 devoid of special interest. Now, nothing ministers 

 so gratefully to the pride of the original investigator 

 as to prove untrue the theories that have been 

 advanced in books and that are current among 

 scientific men. During the summer of 1891 I re- 

 solved to discover for myself what the birds were 

 doing, and so, spite of drought, heat, and mosqui- 

 toes, I visited the haunts of my winged companions 

 at least every other day. The result was a surprise 

 to myself, proving that the unwisest thing a natu- 

 ralist can do is to lay down absolute canons of 

 conduct for feathered folk. 



It is just possible that physical stupor, induced 

 by the extreme heat of summer, has caused some 

 ornithologists to observe carelessly and listlessly, 

 and for that reason they have supposed that the 

 birds were as languid as themselves ; but the wide- 

 awake student, who can brave heat and cold alike, 

 will never find the feathered creation failing to 



