BIRD PARADISE 79 



nature ! When discord enters, nature steps out. 

 The birds lift up their voices together, and, 

 someway, they all seem to harmonize — no break 

 in the great anthem from first to last. While 

 something of this festival can be enjoyed in the 

 city and larger villages, the beauty and the glory 

 of it are only found in the open country. To get 

 its inspiration as often as possible is a duty that 

 glows with the privilege of new life. 



All of the first and second quotas of spring 

 birds are now here. The advanced guard con- 

 sists of robins, bluebirds, blackbirds and spar- 

 rows. Next come the larks, flickers and two or 

 three species of the sparrows. Then follow the 

 wood birds, red-headed woodpeckers, swallows, 

 orioles, bobolinks, and last of all the cuckoo. 

 How the fellows shape their coming to suit the 

 weather and the supply of food is outside of my 

 knowledge. Just now all that are here are get- 

 ting their full amount of regular food, and seem 

 to be entirely at home. Curious how they ap- 

 pear to be entirely at home anywhere that they 

 happen to be. True, they form attachments for 

 certain localities, and find their way there with 

 a sagacity that is simply wonderful. Still in 



