i8 NATURE'S REVIVAL 



the song of the builders as they prepare their several 

 domestic establishments. We regret the departure 

 of the Robins, when great flocks assemble in 

 the suburban woods. But their southern journey- 

 ing absolves them from the taint of continuous 

 domestication. 



A scattered community of Bluebirds has appeared 

 close to the city, moving about with a quiet com- 

 placency that befits their rich attire. Unlike the 

 Robins, they do not crowd together and follow a 

 restless leader, still they keep within easy call. 

 FamiUar habitations of last year in orchards and 

 woods, abandoned excavations of the woodpeckers, 

 hollow branches and decayed trunks, all are sought 

 again by the quiet stragglers. Their call is the voice 

 of spring, but they linger, reluctant to desert the 

 flock. Horned Larks gather in flocks, feeding where 

 the snow has melted from the strewn fields. Enticing 

 notes are in the air, and already the successful 

 wooers are separating from the flock with their mates, 

 and seeking convenient nesting-places on the exposed 

 ground. The Horned Lark is a model of domestic 

 attention, and his bright, ecstatic song, as he circles 

 and rises above his hidden mate, often reveals the 

 carefully located nest. 



There are other spring voices in the air. A Purple 

 Finch announces his arrival from a sheltered perch, 

 and a Kildeer cries from the sandy shore by the 



