4 o IN THE GREEN LEAF 



There is stint in Nature's larder. Some birds 

 are about late that is, as long as the light 

 lasts others feed by night. The most inno- 

 cent creatures will baffle you at times, and the 

 more astute ones do so completely. 



As I consider him to be one of the orna- 

 ments of the woods, I should like to see the 

 magpie where he used to be fairly common. 

 If his training does not suit the present time, 

 that is no fault of his. Strange changes do 

 take place, and one of them may be that the 

 magpie will be cared for before it is too late. 



Searching for the nest of birds will very 

 naturally take you into their haunts, and pro- 

 bably get you a sight of the builders ; but this 

 is not to be relied on, for the guile of some 

 birds when nesting is beyond common belief. 



To a field-naturalist the varied types of bird- 

 architecture are mysteries that he knows will 

 never be fully explained. There are the struc- 

 tures placed in the trees, in the bushes, and 

 on the ground a few of them, in the case 

 of some aquatic bird, actually floating on the 

 water ; and these are formed by the bills, feet, 

 and breasts of the various builders. If one 

 was asked to select four of the most beautiful 

 nests constructed by our native birds, my choice 



