WAYS OF NATURE 
There is one particular in which the bird families 
are much more human than our four-footed kindred. 
I refer to the practice of courtship. The male of all 
birds, so far as I know, pays suit to the female and 
seeks to please and attract her.1_ This the quad- 
rupeds do not do; there is no period of courtship 
among them, and no mating or pairing as among the 
birds. The male fights for the female, but he does 
not seek to win her by delicate attentions. If there 
are any exceptions to this rule, I do not know them. 
There seems to be among the birds something that 
is like what is called romantic love. The choice of 
mate seems always to rest with the female,’ while 
among the mammals the female shows no prefer- 
ence at all. 
Among our own birds, the prettiest thing I know 
of attending the period of courtship, or prelimi- 
nary to the match-making, is the spring musical 
festival and reunion of the goldfinches, which often 
lasts for days, through rain and shine. In April or 
May, apparently all the goldfinches from a large area 
collect in the top of an elm or a maple and unite in 
a prolonged musical festival. Is it a contest among 
the males for the favor of the females, or is it the 
spontaneous expression of the gladness of the whole 
clan at the return of the season of life and love? 
The birds seem to pair soon after, and doubtless the 
concert of voices has some reference to that event. 
1 Except in the case of certain birds of India and Australia. 
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