A SILVEB-TONGUED FAMILY 



111 



his tail about when he feeds on the ground, giving a 

 little warning call that sounds like ' chek I chek I ' 



'' If you should liappen to spend the summer among 

 the mountains of New York, New England, or northern 

 Michigan, and see the Hermit in his nesting home, you 

 would find him quite another character, true to his name. 

 There he is shy — or perhaps cautious 

 would be a better word to 

 way in which he keeps the 

 his precious nest. He love 

 tie moist valleys between 

 the pine-clad mountains, 

 where a bit of light 

 woods is mad( 

 an island by 

 the soft bog- 

 moss that 

 surrounds 

 it. There, 

 feeling quite 

 secure, he makes his 

 nest upon the ground, 

 of moss, leaves, pine- 

 needles, and other such litter ; and the eggs that it 

 holds are very nearly the color of the Robin's, without 

 any spots. 



" He goes a little way from home, a bit up tlie moun- 

 tain side, so that House People and squirreLs, both of 

 whom are sometimes cruel enougli to steal eggs, may 

 not know exactly where lie lives ; and then he begins 

 to sing. His brother Tlirushes have louder voices and 

 know more brilliant songs ; but when the Hermit 



Hermit Thri sh. 



