22 BIRD WORLD. 



ders and beetles that ran over the oround. When 

 we were very little we spent the night under our 

 mother's wings, poking our heads out through the 

 feathers when it grew light. 



What we disliked most was the cold rain that 

 sometimes fell, chilling us through our feathers, and 

 preventing us from finding food. 



We kept together till the fall and since then, though 

 there are many Grouse in these woods, w^e have never 

 had a family reunion. By the fall, too, w^e had all 

 learned to fly pretty well ; we were strong of wing, 

 and at night we flew into trees and roosted on the 

 branches. 



Now began the season when men came into the 

 woods to shoot us, and though I escaped myself, I 

 often saw the fallen feathers of less fortunate birds. 



The sound of the guns, and an experience I had 

 with a fox w^ho almost caus^ht me because I was 

 roosting too near the ground, taught me a valuable 

 lesson, so that now, without boasting, I may claim to 

 be a pretty wary old bird. 



I well remember the falling of the first snow in 

 November, and yet I was not so surprised as you might 

 imagine. It seemed natural to see the white masses 

 covering the vines and leaves ; and I found that feath- 

 ers had grown on my toes so that it was almost as 

 if I walked on snowshoes. When I found out that 



