BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 47 



him as the hero of many hard-won battles. This daring 

 conqueror is of striking appearance : a conspicuous crest 

 ornaments his head, his plumage is elegant, with a rich 

 vermilion hue, and he is a fine musical performer with- 

 al, his loud rolling notes even drowning those of the 

 mocking-bird. 



They select a fine water oak, and on a horizontal 

 branch they have decided to rear their family. Al- 

 though the unobtrusive partner attends strictly to her 

 domestic duties, yet this brilliant hero is excessively 

 jealous ; he sees a lurking red-coat in the stable — his 

 own image reflected in the window -glass — which he 

 fiercely assails but cannot conquer. From morning un- 

 til night, with brief intervals, he fights this imaginary 

 foe. Fearing that he will fall a victim to his ungov- 

 ernable passion, I try to fix the windows so he can no 

 longer see his image. The windows slide in a groove ; 

 I push them back ; he comes into the stable and looks 

 around astonished, but only for a few moments, for the 

 glass against the dark background of boards still proves 

 a good reflector, so his antagonist has only gone inside, 

 and here, the battle is renewed. I frighten him away, 

 but he soon returns — the enemy must be conquered at 

 all hazards. At last I place boards over one window 

 and hang a cloth over another. Now the foe is van- 

 quished; so he tries his powers of song, swells his 

 throat, droops his rosy wings, and makes the whole 

 grove resound, as if in defiance of all lurking enemies, 

 or challenging any red-coat to venture within his domain. 



