CHAPTER VI. THE NESTING SEASON.* If you would really know birds, you must study tliem during nesting- time. At tins season they develop habits that you will be surprised to learn they possess. The humble owner of some insignificant call-note now fills the role of a skilled musician. The graceful, leisurely Marsh Hawk gives vent to his feelings in a series of aerial som- ersaults over the meadows ; the sedate, dignified Wood- cock tries to express his emotions by means of spiral evo- lutions which carry him far above his usual haunts ; the Night-Hawk dives earthward with needless recklessness ; in fact, birds seem inspired by the joy of the season, and all the brightness of a May morning is reflected in their voices and actions. Mating over, there follow the marvels of nest-build- ing with its combined evidences of instinct and intelli- gence. In due time the young appear, and the bird, now a parent, abandons the gay habits of the suitor, and de- votes every waking moment to the care of its young. Time of Nesting. — With most birds the nesting season is periodic and annual. With migratory birds it coin- cides with the season of the year when their summer homes are habitable. But we might suppose that the
- Read In Nesting Time, Little Brothers of the Air, and other
works by Olive Thorne Miller. A-Birding on a Broncho, by Florence A. Merriam (Houghton, MiiBin & Co.). 64
