You think you have seen me before? Well, I must admit my relative, the
Indigo Bunting, and I _do_ look alike. They say though, I am the
prettier bird of the two. Turn to your May number, page 174, and
decide for yourselves.
I live farther west than he does. You find him in the eastern and middle
states. Then he disappears and I take his place, all the way from the
Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean.
Some people call me the Lazuli Painted Finch. That's funny, for I never
painted anything in my life--not even my cheeks. Would you like to know
how my mate and I go to housekeeping? A lady who visits California,
where I live, will tell you all about it. She rides a horse called
Mountain Billy. He will stand still under a tree so that she can peep
into nests and count the eggs, when the mother bird is away.
She can travel a good many miles in that way, and meet lots of birds.
She says in her book, that she has got acquainted with seventy-five
families, without robbing one nest, or doing the little creatures any
harm.
Well, one day this lady saw a brownish bird flying busily back and
forth to some tall green weeds. After a while a handsome blue Bunting
flew along side of her, full of life and joy.
That was my mate and I. How frightened I was! for our nest was in those
green weeds and not very far from the ground. I flew away as soon as I
could pluck up courage, but not far, so that I could watch the lady and
the nest. How my heart jumped when I saw her creep up, part the weeds
and look in. All she saw was a few twigs and a sage-green nest of old
grass laid in a coil. My mate hadn't put in the lining yet; you see it
takes her quite a while to get the thistle down and the hair and strips
of bark for the inside. The next time the lady passed, the house was
done and my mate was sitting on the nest. She just looked down at us
from the back of Mountain Billy and passed on.
Four weeks after, she came again, and there I was, flying about and
singing "like a bird," my mouth full of insects, too. I waited 'till she
had turned away before I flew to the nest to feed our little ones. I
didn't know, you see, that she was such a good friend of ours, or I
wouldn't have been so afraid.