8 ON THE COAST OF MAINE 



"lost-chicken" note, with utmost apparent 

 agitation, and each individual in a different 

 key, thus producing a strange, weird effect. 



The crossbills were the most restless, as 

 well as the most noisy of birds, appearing 

 before my window a dozen times a day, some- 

 times staying but a few minutes, sometimes 

 perhaps half an hour, biting off the cones, 

 holding them under one foot, and extracting 

 the seeds in eager haste as if they had but a 

 minute to stay, and something terrible or 

 important was about to take place. 



The morning song to which they treated 

 me about four o'clock was most droll. As 

 nearly as it can be represented by syllables 

 it was like this : 



" Pip ! pip ! pip ! [many times] pap ! pap ! 

 pap ! [many times] kid-dr-r-r ! kid-dr-r-r ! 

 [with rolling r] qu ! qu ! pt ! pt ! pt e ! " 

 and so on in various combinations, all in la- 

 bored manner, as if it were hard work. 



This party were in all stages of plumage, 

 for it appears that in spite of their vagaries, 

 they are obliged to conform to the ordinary 

 bird-habit in moulting. The young still 

 calling for food and getting it as I saw 



