THE BIRD DIARY 185 



cherry tree at the same time as a flicker, and I 

 watched them closely. The woodpecker sidled 

 up to a glistening bunch and with his long beak 

 daintily wrenched off the cherries and tossed 

 them down — fifteen of them I counted, — but the 

 kingbird had a way entirely and characteristi- 

 cally his own. He sized up his cherry victim 

 from afar off, exactly as he would a dragon-fly 

 or moth, then darted at and took it off while 

 going full tilt. But true to himself again he 

 lit to swallow it. Each to his taste. On close 

 inspection, I found that the chipmunk also had 

 a way of his own. After cutting off the fruit, 

 he deliberately slit the pulp in two halves, ex- 

 tracted the stone, and put it in his mouth, while 

 the pulp dropped to the ground. 



Aug. 20. The far-off voices of sandhill 

 cranes came across the lake to-day, indicating 

 that these great birds are collecting for the au- 

 tumn migration. Their daily program seems 

 to be about as follows: At earhest dawn they 

 go to the fields and feed till nearly noon, when 

 their thirst impels them to seek a slough or lake. 

 Mid-day and much of the afternoon on fine days 

 is spent circling at dizzy heights, far above the 

 earth, often out of eye-shot. In the evening 



