The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



Wren. "Where are your eyes, Peter? Did you 

 ever see a Flycatcher with a bill that looked as 

 if it could cut wood?" She didn't wait for a 

 reply, but rattled on. 5< It is a good thing for a 

 lot of us that the Woodpecker family are so fond 

 of new houses. Look! There is Downy the 

 Woodpecker hard at work on a new house this 

 very minute. That's good. I like to see that. 

 It means that next year there will be one more 

 house for some one here in the Old Orchard. For 

 myself I prefer old houses. I've noticed there 

 are a number of my neighbors who feel the same 

 way about it. There is something settled about 

 an old house. It doesn't attract attention the 

 way a new one does. So long as it has got reason- 

 ably good walls, and the rain and the wind can't 

 get in, the older it is the better it suits me. But 

 the Woodpeckers seem to like new houses best, 

 which, as I said before, is a very good thing for 

 the rest of us." 



"Who is there besides you and Cresty and Bully 

 the English Sparrow who uses these old Wood- 

 pecker houses?" asked Peter. 



"Winsome Bluebird, stupid!" snapped Jenny 

 Wren. 



|> Peter grinned and looked foolish. "Of course," 

 said he. "I forgot all about Winsome." f 



"And Skimmer the Tree Swallow," added Jenny. 

 [58] 



