MY WOODLAND INTIMATES 



flocks disband and the gentle little waxwings go 

 off in couples, for housekeeping cares engross 

 them in July. 



But cedar-birds are not the only feathered folk 

 who are thus tardily constructing their homes 

 and preparing for families. Over in the mead- 

 ows, among the thistle patches, one sees troops of 

 joyous goldfinches chardonnerets, as they are 

 called here busily gathering thistle-down for the 

 linings of their nests. " Few birds seem to enjoy 

 life more than these merry rovers. . . . Their 

 flight is expressive of their joyous nature, and as 

 they bound through the air they hum a gay ' per- 

 chic-o-ree, per-chic-o-ree.' " * 



Alas that bird-trappers should be so successful 

 in this region, and that before one out of every 

 five or six houses in the village, and a larger pro- 

 portion among the straggling dwellings on the 

 outskirts, one sees poor little prisoners in black 

 and yellow uniforms beating their wings against 

 cage-bars or gazing longingly out toward the 

 blessed stretches where their companions riot and 

 exult in the joys of freedom. 



One sees other bird-prisoners before the little 

 houses of the Canadian villagers and habitants. 



* Mr. Frank Chapman, in Birds of Eastern North America. 



[228] 



