142 Birds Every Child Should Know 
travelling northward, pause to rest in the 
marshes. Wholesale courting takes place short- 
ly after and every red-wing in a black uniform 
chooses one of the plain, streaked, matter-of- 
fact birds for his mate. The remainder con- 
tinue their unmaidenly journey in search of 
husbands, whom they find waiting in cheerful 
readiness in almost any marsh. By the first 
of May all have settled down to home life. 
Then how constant are the rich, liquid, 
sweet o-ka-lee notes of the red-wing! Ever 
in foolish fear for the safety of his nest, he 
advertises its whereabouts in musical head- 
lines from the top of the nearest tree, or circles 
around it on fluttering wings above the sedges, 
or chucks at any trespasser near it until one 
might easily torture him by going straight to 
its site. 
But how short-lived is this excessive devo- 
tion to his family! In July, the restless young 
birds flock with the mothers, but the now 
indifferent fathers keep apart by themselves. 
Strange conduct for such fussy, solicitous 
birds ! They congregate in large numbers 
where the wild rice is ripening and make short 
excursions to the farmers’ fields, where they 
destroy some grain, it is true, but so little as 
compared with the quantity of injurious insects 
and weed seed, that the debt is largely in the 
red-wings’ favour. 
