PERCHEES: BLACKBIRDS, LARKS, &c. 



83 



Fig. 138. — Chewink. 



male is brown and white. It is seen almost every- 

 where, in low bushes, in fields, or by the wayside, and 

 is easily found out 

 by its sweet che- 

 wink, which it ut- 

 ters every few mo- 

 ments. Often- near 

 the close of day 

 in spring it mounst 

 the topmost twig of 

 a small tree, and sings with a sweetness that charms 

 all who listen to it. It makes its nest upon the ground, 

 and lays from four to six eggs of a light color with dark 



spots. 



BLACKBIRDS, LARKS, &c. 



The Bobolink, Cow-Bird, Blackbirds, Larks, and Ori- 

 oles belong to one family. The Bobolink is somewhat 



larger than a Bluebird, 

 of a black and cream 

 color, the female yellow- 

 ish brown. Its jingling 

 song, uttered from a low 

 tree, or bush, or tall 

 weed, or upon the wing, 

 is familiar to all who 

 live in the country. 

 Late in the summer 

 Bobolinks fly southward, 

 Fig. 139. -Bobolink, or Reed-Bird, ^nd are Seen in immense 



flocks in grain-fields and along the margins of creeks 

 and rivers, where the tops of the reeds are bent with 

 ripe seeds. Thousands are shot by the hunters and 

 sold in the markets, where they are called Reed-Birds. 



