60 CHARACTER MM FEATHERS. 
fortable roosting place, tucked his head under 
his wing, and went to sleep, and slept on un- 
disturbed while carried from one room to an- 
other. Probably the chickadee’s nature is not 
of the deepest. I have never seen him when 
his joy rose to eestasy. Still his feelings are not 
shallow, and the faithfulness of the pair to each 
other and to their offspring is of the highest 
order. ‘The female has sometimes to be taken 
off the nest, and even to be held in the hand, 
before the eggs can be examined. 
Our American goldfinch is one of the loveliest 
of birds. With his elegant plumage, his rhyth- 
mical, undulatory flight, his beautiful song, and 
his more beautiful soul, he ought to be one of 
the best beloved, if not one of the most famous ; 
but he has never yet had half his deserts. He 
is like the chickadee, and yet different. He is 
not so extremely confiding, nor should I call him 
merry. But he is always cheerful, in spite of 
his so-called plaintive note, from which he gets 
one of his names, and always amiable. So far 
as I know, he never utters a harsh sound; even 
the young ones, asking for food, use only smooth, 
musical tones. During the pairing season his 
delight often becomes rapturous. To see him 
then, hovering and singing, —or, better still, to 
see the devoted pair hovering together, billing 
and singing, —is enough to do even a cynic good. 
