File:Familiar wild animals (1906) (14583079359).jpg

Identifier: familiarwildanim00lott (find matches)
Title: Familiar wild animals
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Lottridge, Silas Alpha, 1863-
Subjects: Animal behavior
Publisher: New York, H. Holt
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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h the grass a long distancebefore taking to her wings, except when you stumbleupon her by chance as she is sitting upon the nest. While I was spending a summer in Princeton, NewJersey, studying the birds of that section, a friend ofmine suggested a new method of finding the bobolinksnest, which was successful as compared with the oldhaphazard way of searching about in the grass whereverbobolinks were plentiful. The method was this: Hav-ing located a good bobolink meadow, it is necessaryfor two persons to operate together. They begin atone side of the field and walk across it abreast aboutseventy feet apart, holding between them a cordupon which are fastened sticks two feet in length andabout eight feet apart. These sticks striking the grassfrighten the sitting bird from the nest, and she fliesdirectly up—instead of running through the grassas usual for some distance before taking to her wings—thus revealing her secret to the hunter. As soon as the young are hatched the male begins
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g 1-1 c«opq a H O oo Q<H W The Bobolink 95 the task of helping the female provide for the hungry,clamoring little family, and an arduous task it is,for even after the young leave the nest the parentsprovide food for them until they are able to find itfor 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 fie

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