e branches, evidently recognizing in me a
representative of the ancient parties he once so cunningly ruined. A few
moments later, as he lay carelessly disposed in the top of a rank alder,
trying to look as much like a crooked branch as his supple, shining form
would admit, the old vengeance overtook him. I exercised my prerogative,
and a well-directed missile, in the shape of a stone, brought him
looping and writhing to the ground. After I had completed his downfall
and quiet had been partly restored, a half-fledged member of the
bereaved household came out from his hiding-place, and, jumping upon a
decayed branch, chirped vigorously, no doubt in celebration of the
victory.

THE BOBOLINK

The bobolink has a secure place in literature, having been laureated by
no less a poet than Bryant, and invested with a lasting human charm in
the sunny page of Irving, and is the only one of our songsters, I
believe, that the mockingbird cannot parody or imitate. He affords the
most marked example of exuberant pride, and a glad, rollicking, holiday
spirit, that can be seen among our birds. Every note expresses
complacency and glee. He is a beau of the first pattern, and, unlike any
other bird of my acquaintance, pushes his gallantry to the point of
wheeling gayly into the train of every female that comes along, even
after the season of courtship is over and the matches are all settled;
and when she leads him on too wild a chase, he turns lightly about and
breaks out with a song that is precisely analogous to a burst of gay and
self-satisfied laughter, as much as to say, "_Ha! ha! ha! I must have my
fun, Miss Silverthimble, thimble, thimble, if I break every heart in the
meadow, see, see, see!_"

At the approach of the breeding-season the bobolink undergoes a complete
change; his form changes, his color changes, his flight changes. From
mottled brown or brindle he becomes black and white, earning, in some
localities, the shocking name of "skunk bird"; his small, compact form
becomes broad and conspicuous, and his ordinary flight is laid aside for
a mincing, affected gait, in which he seems to use only the very tips of
his wings. It is very noticeable what a contrast he presents to his mate
at this season, not only in color but in manners, she being as shy and
retiring as he is forward and hilarious. Indeed, she seems disagreeably
serious and indisposed to any fun or jollity, scurrying away at his
approach, and apparently ann