f 



60 GAME-BIRDS AT HOME. ) 



lonely are the woods. And when the witch- 

 hazel's curious petals of gold have closed the 

 floral procession of the year, and the scarlet head 

 of the mountain ash is turning pale, when the 

 crimson and white of the woodpecker flash no 

 more in wavy flight, and the barking of the 

 squirrel is seldom heard, then this bird yet re- 

 mains the still-hunter's companion. And after 

 the woods are robed in purest white, and the 

 bushy-footed hare has turned his coat to suit 

 the fashion, when trees snap with frost, and the 

 porcupine, rolled in a fuzzy ball, rides out the 

 storm in the top of some giant elm, the grouse 

 is still there, though you may see him only as he 

 bursts from the snow almost beneath your feet 

 and, dashing the glittering flakes from resounding 

 wing, mounts gayly into the sunshine on his way 

 to some distant tree-top. 



\ 



