SOME JANUARY BIRDS 



was better off than the pigeons for there 

 were fat grubs in the decaying wood 

 that formed his shelter and he could use 

 his meal ticket without leaving his lodg- 

 ings. Our woods are full of such hos- 

 telries and they shelter more of the wood- 

 land creatures than we know as we tramp 

 carelessly by. 



But if the bluebirds and flickers hide 

 themselves securely through the coldest 

 winter days and the song sparrows and 

 even the crows are apt to be scarce and 

 subdued, as is certainly the case in my 

 woods, there are other feathered folk 

 who seem to delight in the cold and be 

 never so gay as when the sky is leaden, 

 the wind bites, and the 'frost flakes of 

 snow squalls let the sun struggle through 

 the upper atmosphere because it is too 

 bitter cold to really snow. Of these the 

 chickadees lead. They seem to be never 

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