. Animal snapshots and how made . task it is,for even after the young leave the nest the parentsprovide food for them until they are able to find itor themselves. During this period the gaudy coat ofthe male bobolink disappears—it is moulting time—and the whole family is of the same sober color;the song also is given up along with the coat, and theonly note heard is the call note, a metallic chink. About the first of August most of the young bobo-links are on the wing; practicing for their long journey;the old and young become more clannish each dayas they move slowly southward along the river
. Animal snapshots and how made . task it is,for even after the young leave the nest the parentsprovide food for them until they are able to find itor themselves. During this period the gaudy coat ofthe male bobolink disappears—it is moulting time—and the whole family is of the same sober color;the song also is given up along with the coat, and theonly note heard is the call note, a metallic chink. About the first of August most of the young bobo-links are on the wing; practicing for their long journey;the old and young become more clannish each dayas they move slowly southward along the river courses,where the smaller flocks unite, making a vast army,which moves slowly toward the rice fields. Thebobolinks now become fat and thousands of themare shot and sold in the markets. Their flesh is saidto be very delicate. It is toward the latter part of August they reachthe rice fields, and for about six weeks there is norest for the rice growers. The birds swarm uponthe fields by millions—a scourge worse than a plague. o (9O M I? The Bobolink 231 of locusts. The loss caused by the bobolinks in therice fields of the South must amount annually to overtwo miUion dollars. A greater part of this loss isincurred directly by the maintaining of bird-minders,who patrol the fields from early morning until aftersunset, firing guns and cracking the long lashes ofwhips. It is generally supposed that the firing ofguns in the rice fields is for the purpose of kiUingthe bobolinks, but, as the shot would destroy therice, its object is simply to frighten the birds. Unlessone has actually seen it, one cannot appreciate theamount of damage done by the bobolinks in therice fields. To protect a hundred acres of rice fromthe bobolinks often costs from eighty to ninetydollars. Besides the bird-minders, other methods of pre-venting the ravages of the bobolinks have been tried,but thus far sooner or later all have failed. Amongthe various schemes probably the oldest and most oftentried remedy
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectani, booksubjectbirds
