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Bird -Lore 



of his face. Sometimes two birds are there at once, one waiting for 

 the other. Sometimes they have a bit of set-to. Then, certainly, 

 they are not without facial expression. 



Once in a while, in severe weather, I have sprinkled crumbs 

 (sweet or fatty crumbs are best — say bits of doughnut) on the inside 

 ledge, and then, with the window raised a few inches, have awaited 



TORREV S BRANCH ESTABLISHMENT 



callers. If the weather is bad enough they are not long in coming. 

 A Chickadee alights on the outer sill, notices the open window, scolds 

 a little (the thing looks like a trap — at all events it is something 

 new, and birds are conservative), catches sight of the crumbs (well 

 now, that's another story), ceases his dee, dee, dee, and the next 

 minute hops inside. 



The crumbs prove to be appetizing, and by the time he has swal- 

 lowed a few of them he seems to forget how he came in, and instead 

 of backing out, as a reasonable being like a Chickadee might be 

 expected to do, he flies to another light of the bay window. Then, 

 lest he should injure himself, I must get up and catch him and show 

 him to the door. By the time I have done this two or three times 

 within half an hour I begin to find it an interruption to other work, 

 and put down the window. White-breasted Nuthatches and Downies 

 come often to the outer sill, but only the Chickadees ever venture 

 inside. 



These three are our daih' pensioners. If they are all in the tree 

 together, as they very often are, they take precedence at the larder 

 according to their size. No Nuthatch presumes to hurry a Wood- 

 pecker, and no Chickadee ever thinks of disturbing a Nuthatch. He 



