6 Bird - Lore 



enough, in he came — very cautiously at first — hopping over the window-sill 

 with his individual zigzag hop, and changing his yank, yank as he entered into 

 a subdued colloquial tone which Mr. Chapman has well described as his 

 'conversational twitter. 1 Later on, when the nuts appeared, not only on the 

 floor but on the furniture and in unexpected corners, Bobbie made his entrance 

 by flying from the balcony rail onto the corner of the dressing-table, which stands 

 between the two long French windows, and there he took a survey in order to 



BOBBY YANK' 



decide which lunching-place gave the best promise. These visits often came 

 at about 7 o'clock in the morning, and I could watch him from the vantage 

 ground of my bed. The steady stream of conversation which he carried on 

 with himself, under his breath, interested me almost more than any other cun- 

 ning wild thing about him. The more acquainted I grow with this altogether 

 fast inating bird, the stronger is my impression that he conceals an adventurous 

 spirit behind thai matter-of-fact mask of his. Every new device for feeding 

 that 1 put out he is the first to approach, and one sunny day I sat in the open 



