n this earthy wall,
and visible and accessible only from the water, a ph[oe]be had built her
nest and reared her brood. I paddled my boat up and came alongside
prepared to take the family aboard. The young, nearly ready to fly,
were quite undisturbed by my presence, having probably been assured that
no danger need be apprehended from that side. It was not a likely place
for minks, or they would not have been so secure.

THE COMING OF PH[OE]BE

When buckets shine 'gainst maple trees
And drop by drop the sap doth flow,
When days are warm, but still nights freeze,
And deep in woods lie drifts of snow,
When cattle low and fret in stall,
Then morning brings the ph[oe]be's call,
"Ph[oe]be,
Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," a cheery note,
While cackling hens make such a rout.

When snowbanks run, and hills are bare,
And early bees hum round the hive,
When woodchucks creep from out their lair
Right glad to find themselves alive,
When sheep go nibbling through the fields,
Then Ph[oe]be oft her name reveals,
"Ph[oe]be,
Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," a plaintive cry,
While jack-snipes call in morning sky.

When wild ducks quack in creek and pond
And bluebirds perch on mullein-stalks,
When spring has burst her icy bond
And in brown fields the sleek crow walks,
When chipmunks court in roadside walls,
Then Ph[oe]be from the ridgeboard calls,
"Ph[oe]be,
Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," and lifts her cap,
While smoking Dick doth boil the sap.

THE COWBIRD

The cow blackbird is a noticeable songster in April, though it takes a
back seat a little later. It utters a peculiarly liquid April sound.
Indeed, one would think its crop was full of water, its notes so bubble
up and regurgitate, and are delivered with such an apparent stomachic
contraction. This bird is the only feathered polygamist we have. The
females are greatly in excess of the males, and the latter are usually
attended by three or four of the former. As soon as the other birds
begin to build, they are on the _qui vive_, prowling about like gypsies,
not to steal the young of others, but to steal their eggs into other
birds' nests, and so shirk the labor and responsibility of hatching and
rearing their own young.

The cowbird's tactics are probably to watch the movements of