eyes discerned them among the reeds and swooping with a rush he descended 

 upon the flock and his sharp claws tore into the soft back of a mallard duck. 

 With a sqawk of terror the unfortunate bird was borne to ''Old Head Hunter's"' 

 perch, where he speedily went the way of his predecessors. 



Just as "rosy-fingered dawn" was tinting the eastern sky the Great Horned 

 Owl disposed of his last victim, a song sparrow that had stirred out a little too 

 early. As the darkness of the forest began rapidly giving way to the grey 

 twilight of the early morning, he slowly and silently sailed away to his home, 

 somewhere in the depths of the tamarack swamp, where he still lives unmolested 

 and unavenged, for he has builded wisely, as the approach to his castle, owing 

 to the tangled undergrowth and insecure footing, is almost impossible for human 

 pursuers. 



Ruby -Crowned Kinglet {Regulus Calendula) 



By W. Leon Dawson 

 Range. — North America at large, south to Guatemala, north to the Arctic 

 Coast, breeding chiefly north of the United States and in the higher ranges of 

 the West. 



"Where's your kingdom, little king? 

 Where's the land you call your own? 

 Where's your palace and your throne? 

 Fluttering lightly on the wing 

 Through the blossom world of May, 

 Whither lies your royal way? 

 Where's the realm that owns your sway. 

 Little King?"- 

 Dr. Henry Van Dyke is the questioner, and the little bird has a ready answer 

 for him. It is "Labrador" in May, and 



"Where the cypress' vivid green 

 And the dark magnolia's sheen 

 Weave a shelter round my home" 

 in October. I'ut under tlie incitement of the poet's playful banter the Kinglet 

 enlarges his claim : 



"Never king by right divine 

 Ruled a richer realm than mine ! 

 What are lands and golden crowns, 

 Armies, fortresses and towns. 

 Jewels, scepters, robes and rings, 

 What are these to song and wings? 

 Everywhere that I can fly 

 There I own the earth and sky ; 

 Everywhere that I can sing 

 There I'm happy as a king." 



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