Bobolink

One of the Icteridæ ( Dolichonyx orizivorus ), resembling a sparrow, but tail feathers acute. Length 7 in. They migrate n. in early summer, and the male, a good singer, changes its colors so as to be black, with buffy neck, streaked back, and the rump, shoulders, etc., ashy white. After the brood is raised, in autumn, they gather in flocks among the reeds, where they become fat, the male moulting its courtship plumage and becoming nearly silent. They are now known as Bob White. Nick name for the QUAIL (q.v.) in the n. U. S. In the South it is called Partridge. IMG:content-0559.png:[graphic] Reed-birds. When the frosts appear they go s., migrating by Boers. Dutch settlers in s. Africa. The Transvaal Repub- night, to fatten in the rice-fields, and are called Rice-birds. lic was established 1848, and a Constitution proclaimed Feb. 13, When fat, a great delicacy.