28 Birds Every Child Should Know 



Although this tool is a great help to the nut- 

 hatches in making their nests, they appear to be 

 quite as ready to accept a deserted woodpecker's 

 hole as the chickadee with a smaller bill. A 

 natural cavity will answer, or, if they must, 

 they will make one in some forest tree. The 

 red-breasted nuthatches have a curious habit 

 of smearing the entrance to the hole with fir- 

 balsam or pitch. Why do you suppose they do 

 it ? Perhaps they think this will discourage egg 

 suckers, like snakes, mice, or squirrels; but, 

 in effect, the sticky gum often pulls the feathers 

 from their own breasts as they go in and out 

 attending to the wants of their family. 



RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET 



Count that a red-letter day on your calendar 

 when first you see either this tiny, dainty sprite, 

 or his next of kin, the golden-crowned kinglet, 

 fluttering, twinkling about the evergreens. In 

 republican America we don't often have the 

 chance to meet two crowned heads. Ener- 

 getic as wrens, restless as warblers, and as per- 

 petually looking for insect food, the kinglets flit 

 with a sudden, jerking motion from twig to 

 twig among the trees and bushes, now on the 

 lawn, now in the orchard and presently in the 

 hedgerow down the lane. They have a pretty 



