BIRD NOTES AFIELD 



dainty creamy blossoms into long silk-bearded tassels. The 

 nuts on the hazel bushes ripened from green to brown to the 

 joy of the squirrels and jays. The birds feasted on the coffee- 

 berries and choke-cherries, and the scarlet yew-berries fur- 

 nished a banquet rare. 



The blue-fronted jays were in their element here, squawk- 

 ing and chuckling to their heart's content. And hark, what a 

 terrific rapping and thumping hard by! What strong-armed 

 carpenter has invaded our peaceful retreat? Tracing up the 

 sound I discover, way aloft on a half-dead pine trunk, that 

 prince of woodpeckers, the great log-cock, at his morning meal. 

 His brownish-black back is finely set off by the scarlet-crested 

 head, and a streak of the same festive hue is on his cheeks, 

 contrasting with the white throat and broad white stripe down 

 his face. How he hammers with lusty strokes, making big 

 chips fly in showers, as he clings to the bark with his stout 

 claws, his stiff tail flattened against the tree to steady him! 

 Now a sound arrests his alert ears, and with head on one side, 

 his bright eyes look about for danger. Quietly he hops around 

 to the opposite side of the trunk and is lost in the solitude and 

 silence of the forest. 



I am attracted to a woodland covert by a characteristic 

 call-note sounding like trvich-up, followed by a low plaintive 

 creeking pipe, short and frequently uttered. Following up 

 the sounds I come upon that lovely exotic of these northern 

 forests, the western tanager, in its canary-yellow plumage, set 

 off with black wings and back and vermilion head. A little 

 patient waiting reveals the presence of the mate, a placid dame 

 in dull yellowish and greenish-olive dress. As they flit away, 

 a black-headed grosbeak appears in view. He is enjoying a 



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