The Birds' Calendar 



insects that lie concealed in the bark. Either 

 from that sense of security that comes only from 

 irreproachable morals or manners, or because 

 he is really too busy to take notice of other 

 people, he is very easy to approach. When 

 you find one, you may be sure there are others 

 not far away, as they are gregarious at this sea- 

 son of the year. They make a merry company 

 as they explore the trees together, and their 

 soft but musical zee, zee, zee, and sprightly man- 

 ners seem unmistakable evidence that they are 

 in the best of spirits. They are very plentiful 

 hereabouts, for scarcely a day passes that I do 

 not see them, and they are so incessantly lively 

 that it seems hardly possible that they can sleep 

 longer than during the winks. They are only 

 winter-birds in this region, summering and 

 breeding in the White Mountains, northern 

 Maine and beyond, so that they are with us 

 only from October to April, or a little later. 



One feature of the winter-birds, viz., their 

 song, can of course only be known by the re- 

 ports of those who hear them in their summer 

 homes. That of the kinglet is said to be "a 

 series of low, shrill chirps, terminating in a 

 lisping warble." Its congener, the ruby- 

 crowned kinglet, is a much finer vocalist. 

 26 



