'T is true, the time of mating is their prettiest season; but it is
very short. How little we should know of the drama of their airy
life if we had eyes only for this brief scene! Their finest
qualities come out in the patient cares that protect the young in
the nest, in the varied struggles for existence through the changing
year, and in the incredible heroisms of the annual migrations.
Herein is a parable.
It may be observed further, without fear of rebuke, that the
behaviour of the different kinds of birds during the prevalence of
romantic love is not always equally above reproach. The courtship
of English sparrows--blustering, noisy, vulgar--is a sight to offend
the taste of every gentle on-looker. Some birds reiterate and
vociferate their love-songs in a fashion that displays their
inconsiderateness as well as their ignorance of music. This trait
is most marked in domestic fowls. There was a guinea-cock, once,
that chose to do his wooing close under the window of a farm-house
where I was lodged. He had no regard for my hours of sleep or
meditation. His amatory click-clack prevented the morning and
wrecked the tranquillity of the evening. It was odious, brutal,--
worse, it was absolutely thoughtless. Herein is another parable.
Let us admit cheerfully that lovers have a place in the landscape
and lend a charm to it.
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