STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. 69 



changes to a brown olive, and tlie male and 

 female are then nearly alike. But in the month 

 of May, and perhaps a little earlier, the male 

 resumes his gay summer dress. 



Yellow birds build a very neat and delicate 

 little nest. It is frequently fastened to the 

 twigs of an apple-tree, and sometimes to the 

 strong, branching stalks of hemp. It is covered 

 on the outside with i^ieces of moss or lichen, 

 which they find on the trees and fences. These 

 they glue together with their saliva. After- 

 ward they line the inside ^\'itll the softest down 

 they can procure. 



The goldfinch of this country is not precisely 

 the same bird which goes by this name in 

 England, though the two are much alike in 

 their appearance and in their song. All the 

 birds belonging to this general group are easily 

 trained, and, with sufficient skill and patience, 

 they may be taught to perform most astonish- 

 ing feats. Mr. Syme, in his " History of British 

 Song Birds," speaking of a man who, some 

 years since, had a great number of small birds 

 under his training, relates that one of his gold- 

 finches had been taught to feign death. He 

 appeared to be entirely lifeless, and was held up 

 by the tail or claw, without showing any signs 

 of life. A second stood on his head, with his 



