One May morning I spent half an hour with pad and pencil at the grape arbor end, sketching a pair of these beautiful birds that seemed to be talking over selection of a home in the blackberry bushes. The male tee-o'd incessantly but the lady merely chipt in.
I had only a faint hope they would settle down in such a convenient spot for observation, literally under my bedroom window — but they shattered even that by moving on.
There are birds that some naturalists seem to have an affinity for. The MOURNING is one of mine. For many years I have seen them every Spring tho common species escaped observation. I count the season lost that does not give me a glimpse of these quiet, restrained yet cheerful little wood wanderers.
Eastern North America from Ontario and Manitoba, southward.