102 WHIMSICAL WAYS IN BIRD-LAND. 



utter it, and saw the strange movement of the 

 throat in doing so. The sound seemed to come 

 up in bubbles, which distended her throat on 

 the outside exactly as if they had been beads 

 as big as shoe buttons. 



I was not to be wholly disappointed. Fate 

 had one crumb of consolation for me, for I saw 

 at last a chat baby. He was a quiet, well-be- 

 haved little fellow, with streaks on throat and 

 breast, and dull yellow underparts. His man- 

 ners were subdued, and gave no hint of the 

 bumptious acrobat he might live to be. 



While the vagaries of chat life had been 

 drawing me down toward the lane, the feath- 

 ered world on the other side of the house had 

 not been idle ; and glad now to avoid the ruined 

 lane and the deserted berry patch, I turned my 

 attention to a bird drama nearer home, the story 

 of which must have a chapter to itself. 



