"It is a Bobolink, surely," said the Doctor, "and not 'only a Bobolink,'
but the very bird we should be most glad to see--the first of the
Blackbird and Oriole family--the harlequin in his summer livery."


THE BOBOLINK

(THE REED BIRD. THE RICE BIRD)

[Illustration: Bobolink.]

"Why do you call the Bobolink a 'harlequin,' Uncle Roy? What is a
harlequin?" asked Dodo.

"Don't you remember that Harlequin was the name of the man in the
pantomime we saw last winter, who wore clothes of all sorts of colors,
changed from one thing to another, and was always dancing about as if he
could not possibly keep still?" "Y-e-s, I remember," said Dodo, "but I
don't think he was a bit like this Bobolink; for that harlequin didn't
say a word, only made signs, and the Bobolink sings faster than any bird
I ever heard before."

"Yes, he sings now; but it is only for a short time. Next month he will
be dumb, and before you know it his beautiful shining black coat, with
the white and buff trimmings, will have dropped off. Then he will be
changed to dull brown like his wife, and keep as quiet as poor
Cinderella sitting in the ashes.

"Do you see any birds in that meadow of long grass?" asked the Doctor.