The Birds and Poets 271 



bark before I was really able to visualize them and 

 detach them from their sombre protective back- 

 ground. 



The ptarmigans, the grouse of Labrador and the 

 Arctics, wear gray and brown plumage in summer 

 to conform to the colors of the ground, and in win- 

 ter they put on a coat as white as the snow which 

 drifts about them. 



In winter the toes of the ruffed grouse are pro- 

 vided with a curious fringe of strong, horny points 

 which operate as tiny snowshoes, which always fall 

 away as soon as spring comes. Birds like the spar- 

 rows and grosbeaks have acquired heavy stout bills 

 which enable them to break the seeds which consti- 

 tute their chief diet. The flycatchers have hair 

 bristles at the base of the bill, and the upper man- 

 dible closes over the lower, scissors fashion, so that 

 snapping flying insects is made comparatively sim- 

 ple. The tail shafts of such birds as swifts and 

 woodpeckers that brace themselves with their tails 

 while perching are very stiff and strong and some- 

 times extend beyond the vanes. 



The long slender bill of the humming bird is 

 admirably adapted to probing the perfumed 

 depths of the tiniest calyx. The nuthatches and 

 chickadees have long slender bills with which to 

 search the tiny crevices of the bark where the 

 minute tree insects and larvae upon which they feed 

 are to be found. The woodpeckers have veritable 

 little trip-hammers with which to bore for grubs 

 and make excavations for their nests. 



