204 IN BIRD LAND. 
tree; then, instead of alighting, he darted straight 
up again the same distance, fluttered a moment 
uncertainly on the wing, and then dropped again to 
the foot of the tree, where he alighted, and resumed 
his upward march. But that was not all. Presently 
his companion, not to be outdone, began to whirl 
around and around the tree, descending in a spiral 
course until he reached the foot. There he tarried 
a moment to take breath, and then, much to my 
surprise, whirled himself up in the same way, a dis- 
tance of perhaps twenty feet, accomplishing it in 
four or five revolutions. But, as if to distance all 
creepers’ pranks ever witnessed before, he descended 
again in the same spiral course. ‘These perform- 
ances can be interpreted only as ways in which to 
give vent to: the spirit, of ‘frolic: im “the creeper 
nature. 
On the same day my dancing dot in feathers, the 
golden-crowned kinglet, performed one of his favor- 
ite tricks, which is not often described in the books. 
You will remember that in the centre of the yellow 
crown-patch of the males, there is a gleaming golden 
speck, visible only when you look at him closely. 
But when the little beau is in a particularly rollick- 
some mood, or wants to display his gern to his mate 
or kindred, he elevates and spreads out the feathers 
of his crest, and lo! a transformation. The whole 
crown becomes golden! That gleaming speck ex- 
pands until it completely hides the yellow and black 
of the crown. It has been my good fortune on 
several occasions to see the ruby-crowned kinglet 
