“Redbird and Jaybird”
Description
"The jaybird sat on the redbird's nest. The redbird sat and mourned." Verses about the birds and their lives, with additional (floating?) material about partridges pulling a plow, a man riding a goose across a creek, etc.
Notes
Although the older of Brown's two sources lists the redbird as sitting on the jaybird's nest, the newer version, in which the jaybird moves in on the cardinal, is almost certainly correct. Jays are related to crows, and will make off with other birds' eggs. - RBW
References
- BrownIII 154, "Redbird and Jaybird" (2 texts; "A" appears to be mixed and "B" is a fragment)
- BI, Br3154