The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



As Peter looked at Sprite he couldn't help 

 thinking that there wasn't a daintier member in 

 the whole Warbler family. His coat was of a 

 soft bluish color with a yellowish patch in the 

 very center of his back. Across each wing were 

 two bars of white. His throat was yellow. Just 

 beneath it was a little band of bluish-black. His 

 breast was yellow and his sides were grayish and 

 brownish-chestnut. 



"Sprite, you're just beautiful," declared Peter 

 in frank admiration. "What was the reason I 

 didn't see you up in the Old Orchard with your 

 cousins?" 



"Because I wasn't there," was Sprite's prompt 

 reply as he flitted about, quite unable to sit still a 

 minute. "I wasn't there because I like the Green 

 Forest better, so I came straight here." 



"What were you doing just now in that bunch 

 of moss?" demanded Peter, a sudden suspicion 

 of the truth popping into his head. 



"Just looking it over," replied Sprite, trying to 

 look innocent. 



At that very instant Peter looked up just in 

 time to see a tail disappearing in the little round 

 hole in the side of the bunch of moss. He knew 

 that that tail belonged to Mrs. Sprite, and just 

 that glimpse told him all he wanted to know. 



"You've got a nest in there!" Peter exclaimed 

 [192] 



