24 NEWS FROM THE BIRDS. 



field they were often running about in the snow 

 and picking up the fragments of corn left where 

 a number of hogs were fed. Their dainty paths 

 could often be traced for long distances. The 

 feet of Ijirds are evidently tough and compara- 

 tively free from nerves of sensation. 



Charming creatures they are, these fellow, 

 citizens with pinions, always developing some 

 new trait of character that proves them any- 

 thing but shallow and monotonous. There w^as 

 some clearing being done one winter in a part 

 of the woods, and the birds were fond of lin- 

 gering near to gather such dainties as the wood- 

 men's axes may have exposed. 



One day I stumbled upon a whole company 

 of birds of various species, w^here several men 

 had cut up a tree. The feathered banqueters 

 examined the chips and pieces of bark strewn 

 on the ground, the piles of cord wood, the brush 

 heaps near by, and the low stump from which 

 the tree had been cut, and they seemed to find 

 many a grub and larva to their taste. No doubt 

 these tidbits were forced out of their winter 

 hiding places in the wood and bark by the axes 

 of the choppers. 



A bird that has interested me greatly dur- 

 ing the past ^^ inter was the red-breasted wood- 

 pecker. He is a very handsome fellow, with 



