1 6 BIRD-SONGS ABOUT WORCESTER. 



any book but Thoreau's '' Early Spring in 

 Massachusetts," edited by Mr. H. G. O. 

 Blake. I first heard it myself on a bright, 

 sunny day, toward the end of February, 

 on Kendall Street. The chickadee is one 

 of our very few birds that stay with us 

 all the year round, and it is also one 

 of the few birds that have inspired the 

 native muse. Mr. Emerson's " Titmouse " 

 ranks with his " Humble-bee " among the 

 most popular and well-known of his 

 poems. 



Yesterday I saw a pair of white-bellied 

 nuthatches {sitta carolineiisis) in an orchard 

 near Kendall Street, and heard their harsh, 

 rasping qtia-qua-qiiay which it is quite im- 

 possible to mistake. Last fall they were 

 abundant all through the neighborhood, 

 and were very conspicuous with their 

 glistening dark-blue backs and heads, white 

 breasts, and queer, short tails. Like the 

 chickadee, the nuthatch lives on the larvse 

 in the bark, and he is our only bird that 

 hangs head downward as he creeps around 

 the trunk in his search for food. The nut- 



