130 A Midland Village : Garden and Meadow. 



the discovery of the trick ; for holding on by his 

 prehensile claws to the edge of the tumbler, he 

 contrived to seize with his bill a large nut placed 

 in the bottom of it, without any assistance from 

 his wings ; the length of the tumbler being little 

 less than that of the bird. But after all, this was 

 no more than a momentary use of the same 

 posture in which he is often to be seen, as he 

 runs down the trunks of trees in search of 

 insects. 



The Spotted Flycatcher is another little bird 

 which abounds in our gardens and orchards ; it 

 is always pleasant to watch, and its nest is easy 

 to find. One pair had the audacity to build on 

 the wall of the village school : it was much as 

 if a human being should take up his residence in 

 a tiger's jungle, but if I recollect right, the eggs 

 and young escaped harm. Another pair placed 

 their nest on a sun-dial in Col. Barrow's garden, 

 as late as mid-July. This Flycatcher is the latest 

 of all the summer migrants to arrive on our 

 shores ; : the males and females seem to come 



1 When does he leave us? On Aug. 23, 1886, I saw an 

 astonishing number of Flycatchers all on the same side of an 



