12 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



He turned back several times, but became bolder. At length he reached for- 

 ward and pecked my hand with all his might. He found my hand was harm- 

 less so he reached forward from the wire and picked up some crumbs. He 

 grew bolder each day until he hopped into my hand and ate the crumbs 

 there. Other Chickadees followed his example and a Red-breasted Nuthatch 

 soon plucked up courage enough to come too. This Red-breasted Nuthatch 

 came to my hand but four times, three times reaching over from the window- 

 sill to get a large crumb to fly away with, and once coming to my hand 

 while it was held in mid air, staying there while he ate many crumbs. A 

 month later I photographed a Chickadee on my hand ; the result may be seen 

 in the accompanying picture. Having learned through experience that the 

 birds preferred doughnut crumbs to all others, I always placed doughnut 

 crumbs on my hand, never giving them to the birds from any other place. 



As the squirrels chased so many birds from the trees, I tried to think of 

 some way by which I could feed the birds where the squirrels would not be 

 able to bother them. I made a board platform, with a narrow side all around 

 and inserted a wire in each of the four corners, which I joined to a single 

 wire at the top. By means of a pulley, I pulled the platform from my win- 

 dow to the tree. I made a hole in the center in which I put a trough for 



Downy Woodpecker. 



