114 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



the harnaoniouH circle. Litlle do they regret their Hum- 

 mer beds of down, so loDg as aider and sumach swamps 

 satisfy their liunger and furnish them shelter for the 

 night. Happy were we could we face the darker side of 

 life so merrily and boldly as our little friends the gold- 

 finches! 



We are glad that we are not to lose the companionship 

 of the charming little goldfinch at the approach of frosty 

 blasts. However, he prepares for the more serious side of 

 life, for he seems to know that it is no holiday matter to 

 face the breath of winter, even in this temperate latitude. 

 As the schoolboy feels the impropriety of his straw hat 

 and the youth his russet shoes on the approach of frosty 

 weather, so the little reveler of the spent summer ap- 

 parently realizes that his bright colors must be laid away 

 until the flow of the tide of life. Late in October and 

 early in November be falls into accord with the changing 

 mood of nature, and sensibly dons a suit more in keeping 

 with the life he is to lead in weedy patches and swamps, 

 or wherever be can find food. With his small family or 

 a little company, often with hundreds of companions, be 

 resorts to such localities as furnish seeds for the taking. 

 If he were not such a persistent little gleaner, we should 

 then call him a tram])! He is, however, only adjusting 

 himself to the changed times; and in his brown overalls 

 and jacket he works sturdily for his daily fare, and 

 whistles merrily as he labors. 



Our little friends have learned to be merry, whatever 

 their lot; and even in the depths of winter they call at 

 times as gayly as in the warmth of July and August. In 

 the winter they share their joys and sorrows as before 

 with their unbroken families, and in their resorts they 

 find others of their kind gleaning the stores from the 

 weed -tops. Frequently the merry chatter of scores and 

 even hundreds of the brown-clad gleaners can be heard in 

 the weed patches, and wo are perhaps surprised to learn 

 that the late summer revelers have been transformed into 

 winter harvesters. They are merry Bohemians now, and 

 wander here and there in troops, remaining in any 

 locality while their food is uncovered of snow, and flit- 

 ting to another neighborhood at the lailure of their stores. 



