The Birds' Calendar 



ble " Books of natural history make the most 



cheerful winter reading." 



i 



December birds are happily ignorant of, or 

 nobly superior to, the dreariness of the coming 

 season, and the contagion of their cheerfulness 

 is compensation for many a winter's walk in 

 the by-ways and the woods. The most abun- 

 dant throughout the month were the white- 

 throats, with tarnished head - gear, and the 

 snow-birds, always spruce in appearance, and 

 "showing the white feather" in retreat. A 

 pair of fox sparrows seem to have resolved to 

 test the gayety of New York winter-life, for I 

 have seen them from time to time, up to the 

 2oth. Golden-crowned kinglets are numerous, 

 and the chickadee, singly or in pairs, is some- 

 times hilarious with his dee, dee, dee, or in qui- 

 eter mood is heard chanting a very different 

 song with delicate tone and modulation. Gold- 

 finches are roaming about in flocks in the tops 

 of the trees, the European species the happier 

 of the two, judging from their luscious chatter. 

 Robins are among the rarities, a single spe- 

 cimen, on the 24th, in a tree-top uttering his 

 call-note with great unction, A single che- 



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