OUR COUNTRY HOME 



but his English training did not satisfy me. In spite of patient 

 search with the glass no bird was to be seen, but every now and 

 then came that lovely trilling song. Finally ray curiosity drove me 

 too near, and a brown bird flew into the air, its white tail-quills 

 betraying it at once the vesper sparrow. Still later I heard his 

 sweet notes, until the snow flurries of December drove him to 

 warmer climates. 



Nov. 3 What a joy to welcome the winter birds to our out- 

 of-door dining-room ! Quite a luncheon party to-day, four squir- 

 rels, two chipmunks, three nut-hatches, two blue-jays, one little 

 brown creeper with his insect-like call, a downy and a hairy wood- 

 pecker, four chickadees, and four vesper sparrows. What a good 

 time we had ! 



Dec. 4 The golden-crowned kinglet is another winter visitor. 

 One can hear his sharp insistent notes among the berry bushes and 

 see him hopping along the bare tree boughs. He finds plenty to eat 

 for himself and scorns my tempting table, but he is a friendly little 

 bit of sunlight, and permits me to look at him at close quarters. 



Jan. 11 The chickadees are too cunning! One alights on 

 the basket hung close to the dining-room window and, looking in 

 at our eager faces, sings a quaint little song before hopping down 

 into the bottom for the nuts. Another carries off a peanut, shell 

 and all, to the tree branch near, where she cracks it by striking it 

 with her bill, extracts the kernel and, dropping the shell, flies 



away with her feast. Still another works many minutes over a 



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