The Birds' Calendar 



of the ladder. There is very little interest in 

 watching any creature supposed to have a mind 

 and will of his own, when you always know 

 just what he is going to do. On the 23d I was 

 glad to find the white-throated sparrow, for he 

 has come to spend the winter, if not individu- 

 ally, at least specifically. Those now here will 

 doubtless be replaced by later arrivals from the 

 north. 



There is a noticeable lack of timidity in the 

 young of all birds, with less than six months' 

 experience of the world, as compared with 

 their elders, but such innocent trustfulness 

 wears off by the second season. 



The golden - winged woodpecker, another 

 winter resident, came back the last of the 

 month, and at their old resort on the Isl- 

 and I found the night herons, old and young. 

 It would add to the interest of seeing all these 

 returning migrants, if they only bore a legible 

 and precise record of their summer wanderings, 

 carrying our minds back to the White Moun- 

 tains, the forests and lakes of Maine, the 

 scenery of the St. Lawrence, or the colder reg- 

 ions of Labrador. 



The oven - bird, strutting about in mock 

 dignity like a child in his father's boots, is 



262 



