16 CITIZEN BIBD 



study. They have to build their own houses, and feed 

 their chiklren, and travel about every year on their 

 own particular business." 



" Travel — do birds travel ? " cried both children in 

 the same breath. " Oh, where do they go, and what 

 for?" 



" Father will tell you about that. Now you must 

 do what he said — each find a bird, and see if you can 

 describe it. Suppose we sit on this great root. It 

 belongs to the oldest tree in the orchard, and Grand- 

 mother Hunter used to play house up in the top of it 

 when she was a little girl. Father told me he had a 

 perch up there when he was a boy, so that he could 

 watch the birds. Perhaps, if you are careful and 

 really want to keep quiet and see the birds, he will 

 have one fixed for you." 



" How jolly! " said Nat. "Sh-h! I see a bird now — 

 such a queer little thing — it's running round like a 

 mouse. Oh! oh! it goes just as well upside down as 

 any other way." And Nat pulled out his pencil and 

 book and waited for the bird to come in sight again, 

 which it was kind enough to do very soon. 



" Size " — wrote Nat, struggling with his pencil, 

 which would squeak, because he had foolishly put it 

 in his mouth. '' How big would you call it? " 



" Little," said Dodo promptly. 



" Kind of little, but not so very. I've seen smaller 

 in the IMuseum," said Nat. " What would you call it, 

 Olive ? '.' 



" I should call it rather a small bird, if I were not 

 speaking exactly. But if you wish to be more particu- 

 lar you must try to guess its length in inches. When 



