128 BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS 



the summer air. In marked contrast to this feat 

 is his manner of flying when he indulges in a 

 brief outburst of song on the wing. Now he flies 

 level, with broad expanded wings nearly as round 

 and as concave as two shells, which beat the 

 air slowly. The song is the chief matter now, 

 and the wings are used only to keep him afloat 

 while delivering it. In the other case, the flight 

 is the main concern, and the voice merely punc- 

 tuates it. 



Among our familiar birds the matchmaking 

 of none other is quite so pretty as that of the 

 goldfinch. The goldfinches stay with us in loose 

 flocks and clad in a dull-oUve suit throughout 

 the winter. In May the males begin to put on 

 their bright summer plumage. This is the result 

 of a kind of superficial moulting. Their feathers 

 are not shed, but their dusky covering or over- 

 alls are cast off. When the process is only partly 

 completed, the bird has a smutty, unpresentable 

 appearance. But we seldom see them at such 

 times. They seem to retire from society. When 

 the change is complete, and the males have got 

 their bright uniforms of yellow and black, the 

 courting begins. All the goldfinches of a neigh- 

 borhood collect together and hold a sort of mus- 

 ical festival. To the number of many dozens 



