The Birds’ Calendar 
whether they feast or fast, they remain careless 
and happy, which is fortunate and perhaps com- 
mendable. 
Yet nature is not so unskilful nor unkind, 
after all, as at first appears; for both birds and 
beasts are a storehouse unto themselves, in the 
mass of adipose matter snugly stored up under 
their skins, as a supply of fuel with which to 
maintain their winter fires. Without this wise 
provision of nature countless numbers must in- 
evitably perish during the stress of winter, and 
very many do as it is. The leanness with 
which many wild animals appear in the spring 
shows how thoroughly they have exhausted their 
reserve force. 
The best time of day to look for birds the 
year round, with some few exceptions, is in the 
forenoon, and in a cold winter’s day not till 
ten or eleven o’clock, for at this season they 
rise late and retire very early. They pick up 
an abundant breakfast (if possible), and with 
a full stomach their activity ceases. They will 
then remain perched in some protected spot, 
until gastronomic cravings again drive them 
forth. A spot protected from the wind and 
exposed to the sun is a common rendezvous in 
winter, and I have noticed that a high wind 
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