The Burgess Bird Book for Children 



was reddish-buff, shading down into a soft buff. 

 His bill was black and his feet red. The two 

 middle feathers of his tail were longest and of the 

 color of his back. The other feathers were slaty- 

 gray with little black bands and tipped with white. 

 On his wings were a few scattered black spots. 

 Just under each ear was a black spot. But it was 

 the sides of his slender neck which were the most 

 beautiful part of Mourner. When untouched by 

 the Jolly Little Sunbeams the neck feathers ap- 

 peared to be in color very like his breast, but the 

 moment they were touched by the Jolly Little 

 Sunbeams they seemed to be of many colors 

 constantly changing, which, as you know, is called 

 iridescence. Altogether Mourner was lovely in a 

 quiet way. 



But it was not his appearance which made Pete 

 stare ; it was what he was doing. He was walking 

 about and every now and then picking up some- 

 thing quite as if he were getting his breakfast in 

 that gravel pit, and Peter couldn't imagine any- 

 thing good to eat down there. He knew that there 

 were not even worms there. Besides, Mourner is 

 not fond of worms ; he lives almost altogether on 

 seeds and grains of many kinds. So Peter was 

 puzzled. But as you know he isn't the kind to 

 puzzle long over anything when he can use his 

 tongue. 



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