CHAPTER X 



KNOWING THE WINTER BIRDS 



UPON the approach of cold weather the wood- 

 chuck, dreading the sting of frost, shuts him- 

 self up in his stuffy burrow, to appear no 

 more till the proverbial day when he is supposed to 

 venture out to look for a sign of spring; even then, 

 seeing his shadow, he may retire for another six weeks 

 of poor ventilation. Curiously enough there are 

 many people like the woodchuck in this regard, who 

 think that winter is no time to be outdoors. Unless 

 forced to an occasional exit, they are " shut-ins." 



At best they but venture from house to house or for 

 a short walk in a city street. The long " exposure " 

 to overheated and ill-ventilated rooms and to the rav- 

 ages of the sedentary life is a most dangerous ordeal, 

 producing weakness and inviting the attack of disease. 

 Winter is a glorious time for active exercise outdoors, 

 in some respects even better than summer, and if an 

 interest in the birds can provide an incentive to draw 

 people to the wintry landscape and set them, now 

 and then, to scouring the open, it will be sufficiently 

 justified. 



It must be admitted, however, that the scarcity of 

 birds in winter in nearly all localities, save in the far 

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