. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . rtained but not hovered gracefully over her, sat on arush in front of her, and sang Konkaree that sounded startlingly like Marry me ! But she would not. Was it because thewhite shoulders were not to her taste ? or didshe fear the ridicule of the rest if she chosea mate with such outre coloring? While44 EL CAPITAN she was still hesitating, a rival suitor ap-peared. After a moments pause to lookover the points of the new-comer, ElCapitan decided thatthegamewas not worththe candle, and, with aphilosophy creditable tohis
. Nestlings of forest and marsh, by Irene Grosvenor Wheelock; . rtained but not hovered gracefully over her, sat on arush in front of her, and sang Konkaree that sounded startlingly like Marry me ! But she would not. Was it because thewhite shoulders were not to her taste ? or didshe fear the ridicule of the rest if she chosea mate with such outre coloring? While44 EL CAPITAN she was still hesitating, a rival suitor ap-peared. After a moments pause to lookover the points of the new-comer, ElCapitan decided thatthegamewas not worththe candle, and, with aphilosophy creditable tohis sex, contemptuouslyflew away. He wouldnot fight for any ladysfavor; no, not he. Witha flaunt of his tail he wasofl^ on another wooingjust as ardent as before,and smiling to myself Isay, Howlike are birdsand men ! Once hav-ing gained a mate, it wasmost interesting to watchhis nest building. Stripafter strip of wet marsh grass and moss wastaken from the stagnant water and wovenaround strong rushes. There seemed to beless turning about and more fluttering than45. Red-wings nest in rushes NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH is usual in shaping it. Every piece was wetwhen placed in position. At last, before Iwas aware of it, the little home was com-pleted, and one greenish-white egg scrawledwith black lay therein. But now a strange spell came oer thespirit of his dream. For no reason that Icould discover or imagine, he deliberatelybuilt a second nest on top of the first,covering up the egg and completing thesecond structure exactly as if there wereno family skeleton in the dungeon it a whim of Madams to have ahouse larger and more elaborate than herneighbors ? Fortunately for my observation he hadchosen the edge of the marsh, either to havebetter air and sunlight, or for greater protec-tion from the marsh rats. Being in a posi-tion exposed to the full force of wind andwave, even the first nest had been madedeeper than usual and woven closely aroundstrong dry cat-tail stalks. E
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1902
