NEW GLEANINGS IN OLD FIELDS 



from the nest. I fancied her approaching it in a 

 cautious, circuitous, indirect way. 



In the afternoon I came again; also the next day; 

 but at no time did I find the male in song on his old 

 perch. He seemed to take the blame of the accident 

 upon himself ; he had betrayed the locaUty of the 

 nest ; and now I found him upon the fence or upon 

 an apple-tree far ofiF, where his presence or his song 

 would not give away the precious secret. 



The male bird of almost every species is careful 

 about being much in evidence very near the nest. 

 You will generally find him in song along the rim 

 of a large circle of which the nest is the centre. I 

 have known poets to represent the bird singing upon 

 its nest, but if this ever happens, it is a very rare 

 occurrence. 



