THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



THE BOBOLINK. 



[Dolichonyx oryzivorus.] 

 For the Collector's Monthly. 



The Bobolink, the happiest bird of our 

 Spring and one that rivals the European 



• -<rk in our estimation, is the Bob'olincoln 



commonly called. He arrives when 



. is in all her freshness and fragrance. 



crees are in their fullest foliage and 



itest verdure, the air is perfumed by the 



< et flowers, wild roses and clover- blos- 

 soms, while the apple, peach and the plum 

 begin to swell and the cherry to glow amid 

 the green leaves. This is the season of the 

 Bobolink. He comes in the fragrance of 

 ^he season and is to be found in the mead- 

 ows and apple orchards and is most in song 

 when the clover is in blossom, you will rind 

 him on the top-most twig of a tree or on some 

 long flaunting weed, and as he rises and 

 sinks with the breeze pours fourth a suc- 

 ession of rich notes equal to the rapturous 

 melody of the Skylark, as he pitches from 

 the summit of some lofty tree he begins his 

 song, and as he gets on the wing, flutters 

 tremuously down to the earth in an ecstacy 

 of delight. 



As the year advances and the clover blos- 

 soms disappear the spring fades away into 

 summer and he gradually gives up his ele- 

 gant tastes and doffs his poetical suit of 

 black, assumes a russet dusty garb. His 

 notes no longer vibrate in the air, for he is 

 stuffing himself with the seeds of the tall 

 weeds which he lately swung on. 



We next hear of him with myriads of 

 others, banqueting among the reeds of the 

 Delaware. He has changed his name now; 

 and is no more the Bobolincoln but the reed 

 bird, and is now much sought for by the 

 Pennsylvania epicures. Again he wings his 

 flight. 



The rice swamps of the South invites him 

 and he gorges himself among them till he can 

 scarcely fly, He once more changes his 

 name and is now the famous rice bird or 



rice bunting of the < arolina-., — the la-- 

 of his career. 



He is served up, a vaunted dish on the 

 table of some Southern epicure. Such is the 

 story of the once admired Bobolink, the joy 

 of the meadows, and the favorite bird of 

 spring. 



The nest of the Bobolink is very hard to 

 find and can only be found by diligent search 

 as it is generally built in a natural cavity on 

 the ground. The eggs being brownish white 

 and clouded.with a chocolate brown making 

 the general appearance very dark and are 

 easilv overlooked. 



THE EMU. 



The Emu, a bird related to the Cassowary 

 and Ostrich is of very large size. It is near- 

 ly six feet long, found in Australia and |>e- 

 culiar to New Holland. The body is hairy 

 of a mixed brown and gray color, paler on 

 the under parts, the head neck and wings 

 being feathered. It subsists on vegetables 

 and fruit and is very fleet of foot, but like 

 the Ostrich it is unable to fly and is very 

 wild. It is hunted for its flesh, which is 

 said to have much the flavor of beef. The 

 name is sometimes erroneously applied by 

 the Brazilians to the Rhea or South Ameri- 

 can Ostrich. 



Pine Siskin. 



Or Bine Linnet, sometimes called. Bine 

 Finch, and American Siskin, belongs to 

 Canada and is a winter visitant to the Mid- 

 dle Atlantic States where it is seen from 

 Oct. to May i. In the pine forests of Maine 

 it sometimes remains the vear round. This 

 Linnet is a vegetarian in the strictest sense, 

 feeding upon the seeds of the large pines, 

 common weeds, grasses, etc. The gullet of 

 this greedy bird, is very large and it some- 

 times puts more grist in the hopper than the 

 gizzard can grind at once. Its color is olive 

 brown above, the whole plumage being 

 yellowish especially the wings and tail. The 

 sexes are much alike in outward appearance. 

 They lay 3 or 4 eggs, which are pale green 

 speckled with brown. 



