his
intentions were honorable. I watched the pair for half an hour. The
hen, I took it, was in the market for the second time that season;
but the cock, from his bright, unfaded plumage, looked like a new
arrival. The hen resented every advance of the male. In vain he
strutted around her and displayed his fine feathers; every now and
then she would make at him in a most spiteful manner. He followed
her to the ground, poured into her ear a fine, half-suppressed
warble, offered her a worm, flew back to the tree again with a great
spread of plumage, hopped around her on the branches, chirruped,
chattered, flew gallantly at an intruder, and was back in an instant
at her side. No use,--she cut him short at every turn.

The _denouement_ I cannot relate, as the artful bird, followed by
her ardent suitor, soon flew away beyond my sight. It may not be
rash to conclude, however, that she held out no longer than was
prudent.

On the whole, there seems to be a system of Women's Rights
prevailing among the birds, which, contemplated from the standpoint
of the male, is quite admirable. In almost all cases of joint
interest, the female bird is the most active. She determines the
site of the nest, and is usually the most absorbed in its
construction. Generally, she is more vigilant in caring for the
young, and manifests the most concern when danger threatens. Hour
after hour I have seen the mother of a brood of blue grosbeaks pass
from the nearest meadow to the tree that held her nest, with a
cricket or grasshopper in her bill, while her better-dressed half
was singing serenely on a distant tree or pursuing his pleasure amid
the branches.

Yet among the majority of our song-birds the male is most
conspicuous both by his color and manners and by his song, and is to
that extent a shield to the female. It is thought that the female is
humbler clad for her better concealment during incubation. But this
is not satisfactory, as in some cases she is relieved from time to
time by the male. In the case of the domestic dove, for instance,
promptly at midday the cock is found upon the nest. I should say
that the dull or neutral tints of the female were a provision of
nature for her greater safety at all times, as her life is far more
precious to the species than that of the male. The indispensable
office of the male reduces itself to little more than a moment of
time, while that of his mate extends over days and weeks, if not
months.[1]