32 NATURE vSTUDY. 



Let US go into such a place ; the air is clear and cold, and 

 the sun is shining on us from a beautiful blue sky. We 

 enter a wood of oaks and maples, bordered by low bushes, 

 and soon we hear a few "cheeps" and a spirited "dee-dee- 

 dee." Drawing near to the sounds, we see a chickadee 

 cleverly searching the branches. We have found a com- 

 pany of Winter Friends, so stationing ourselves in their 

 line of march, we watch them all pass by. 



The next one we see is a Creeper, hitching rapidly up 

 the trunk; calling occasionally, now dropping a small bit of 

 food and catching it before it has fallen a foot, now travel- 

 ling in an irregular spiral course. If it were just after a 

 rain or snow, however, he would go straight up the dry 

 side of the tree. He has disappeared behind the trunk, so 

 let us watch the chickadees. One is on the tip of a littFe 

 twig calling "chickadee-dee-dee-dee' 'or"ker-tsic-er-deek. ' ' 

 If we whistle to him he may answer ' 'phcebe, ' ' for he is such 

 a cheerful little fellow that he would brighten the most dis- 

 mal surroundings. 



Near him are three tiny kinglets, flitting about ; now 

 dropping into a hedge so that we can approach within two 

 feet of them and see their bright crowns. How funny that 

 little one looks on the ground, almost hidden by one of the 

 leaves among which he is searching for tidbits. 



The main part of the band has gone by when we see a 

 flash of white, and Downy flies straight at a tree, and be- 

 gins to climb up the trunk, stopping to hammer the bark 

 in his search for food ; once in a while he calls, and as he 

 turns his head to look at us we see the red on the back of 

 his head. 



We have been so interested with the other kinds that 

 we have not noticed the Nuthatch who is a little to the 

 right of the group; now he calls "yank, yank" loudly, and 

 we see him, head downward, looking at us with interest. 

 But he can spare us only a moment, for he is, like the other 



