22 OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS. 
T should not have to change my dress 
Were I a bird in yonder tree, 
And say, “ Excuse me, if you please,” 
When callers come to visit me. 
But I would fly upon a bough, 
And say, “ My dear, come right up here.” 
And we would sit and swing and chat 
Beneath the sky so blue and clear. 
CHAPTER VI. 
WHAT BIRDS CARRY IN THEIR POCKETS. 
Some birds wear on their heads plumes, or bright and 
showy hats. These they sometimes lft in true bird 
style. There is the ruby-crowned kinglet? which one 
sees in the garden trees. When this little king lifts 
his hat, he shows what looks like a ruby crown or jewel 
on top of his head. 
Other birds wear cocked hats, or tall silk hats with 
waving plumes. You can imagine almost anything 
you like in the dress of a bird, from his hat to his 
shoes. When a bird who wears a hat is surprised by 
another bird, or is angry, or when he wants to “show 
off’? to his mate while paying his respects to her, he 
lifts the feathers on the top of his head; and this is 
what we call “lifting his hat.” 
Many of our merry little bird friends, both male and 
1 Regulus calendula, 
a DONS aig 
