276 THE WINTER BIRDS. 



two, and covers only one side of a branch, can cause them 

 much trouble. The quantity of their insect food is less 

 than in summer, but the birds that winter here have 

 about as much of it, because other species are diminished 

 that divide with them this spoil in summer. Hence, 

 Woodpeckers, Tomtits, and Creepers are not obliged to 

 migrate. They simply scatter more widely over the coun- 

 try, instead of remaining in the woods, and thus accom- 

 modate themselves to the more limited supply of food in 

 any given space. The Swallows and Flycatchers, that 

 take their food in the air, are the first to migrate, because 

 the aerial insects are vastly and suddenly diminished by 

 the early frosts of autumn. 



It is not often that we are led to reflect upon the ex- 

 treme loneliness that would prevail in solitary places in 

 winter, were all the birds to migrate at this season to a 

 warmer climate, or to sink into a torpid state like frogs 

 and dormice and tardy families of Swallows. But Nature, 

 to preserve the cheerfulness of this season, has endowed 

 certain birds with power to endure the severest cold and 

 with the faculty of providing for their wants at a time 

 when it would seem that there was not food enough in 

 the hidden stores of the season to preserve them from 

 starvation. The woodman, however insensible he may be 

 to the charms of all such objects, is gladdened and en- 

 couraged in his toils by the sight of these lively creatures, 

 some of which, like the Jay and the Woodpecker, are 

 adorned with the most beautiful plumage, and are all 

 pleasantly garrulous, filling the otherwise silent woods 

 with frequent and vociferous merriment. 



In my early days, for the supposed benefit of my health, 

 I passed a winter in Tennessee, and, being unoccupied, 

 except with my studies, I made almost daily journeys 

 into the woods a few miles from the city of Nashville. 

 It was at this season that I experienced the full power 



