IN THE ORCHARD 279 



something of a disdainful poise of her handsome 

 head, as it seemed to me, but giving no visible 

 sign of encouragement to the ardent advances 

 of either. For some time the little drama went 

 on, then she took wing in bounding flight, closely 

 followed by her persistent admirers. 



It would be very interesting to know if she 

 finally accepted one of these suitors, and upon 

 what her choice was based. Was her coyness a 

 part of the etiquette of Flicker courtship ? Who 

 can tell the sequel to this idyl of the spring? 

 That one of the lovers was successful I feel very 

 sure, for a pair of Flickers nested in a dead 

 maple in the grove, in a hole some forty feet 

 from the ground. How aptly are they named 

 Highholes ! 



During all the colder months Chickadees are 

 daily visitors. They carefully inspect every 

 cranny and crevice of trunk and limb for the 

 eggs of various insects, fearlessly clinging to the 

 very tips of the wind-tossed branches, and mer- 

 rily calling to one another as they busily search. 

 In the warm days of April are heard their 

 "sweetheart" notes, inexpressibly tender, and 

 a variety of dainty calls which are always 

 sprightly messages of good cheer. But at all 

 seasons one does not listen long without hearing 

 their identity declared over and over again, 

 ^^ chick-a-dee-dee^ chick-a-dee-dee-dee,^^ a cheery 

 and mirthful declaration. Few birds appear 

 happier under the trying conditions of our 

 rapid changes of climate and no visitor to the 

 orchard gives evidence of a lighter heart. There 

 is not a more useful bird to the farmer than this 



