^6 Bird Life Stories 



slightly marked with dark and light brown spots, chiefly dis- 

 tributed toward the larger end. They are more pointed at 

 the small end than is common in this genus. Although 

 timorous these birds express great anxiety when their nest is 

 disturbed, especially the female. They generally raise two 

 broods in the season south of Pennsylvania and not unfre- 

 quently in Virginia and Maryland. 



The song of this species, if song it can with propriety be 

 called, is heard at all hours of the day, the bird seeming deter- 

 mined to make up by quantity for defect in the quality of its 

 notes. Mounted on the topmost branch of any low tree or 

 bush, or on the end of a fence-stake, it emits with rapidity six 

 or seven notes resembling the sound produced by smartly 

 striking two pebbles together, each succeeding note rising in 

 strength, although the song altogether is scarcely louder than 

 the chirping of a cricket. It is often heard during the calm of 

 a fine night or in the warmer days of winter. 



These gentle birds migrate by day, and no sooner has 

 October returned and mellowed the tints of the sylvan foliage 

 than flitting before you on the road you see family after faniily 

 moving southward, chasing each other as if in play, sweeping 

 across the path or flocking suddenly to a tree if surprised, but 

 almost instantly returning to the ground and resuming their 

 line of march. At the approach of night they throw them- 

 selves into thickets of brambles, where, in company with 

 several other species, they keep up a murmuring conversation 

 until long after dark. Their flight is short, rather irregular, 

 and seldom more elevated than the height of moderate-sized 



trees. 



With the exception of the Sharp-shinned Hawk, the Marsh 

 Hawk and the black snake, these birds have few enemies, 

 children being generally fond of protecting them. Little or 



