* THE INVITATION. 225 



at this season make unusual demands upon their vital- 

 ity. No doubt many of the earlier birds die from 

 starvation and exposure at this season. Among a troop 

 of Canada sparrows, which I came upon one March 

 day, all of them evidently much reduced, one was so 

 feeble that I caught it in my hand. 



During the present season, a very severe cold spell, 

 the first week in March, drove the bluebirds to seek 

 shelter about the houses and out-buildings. As night 

 approached, and the winds and the cold increased, they 

 seemed filled with apprehension and alarm, and in the 

 outskirts of the city came about the windows and doors, 

 crept behind the blinds, clung to the gutters and be- 

 neath the cornice, flitted from porch to porch, and from 

 house to house, seeking in vain for some safe retreat 

 from the cold. The street pump, which had a small 

 opening, just over the handle, was an attraction which 

 they could not resist And yet, they seemed aware of 

 the insecurity of the position ; for, no sooner would 

 they stow themselves away into the interior of the 

 pump, to the number of six or eight, than they would 

 rush out again, as if apprehensive of some approach- 

 ing danger. Time after time the cavity was filled and 

 refilled, with blue and brown intermingled, and as often 

 emptied. Presently they tarried longer than usual, 

 when I made a sudden sally and captured three, that 

 found a warmer and safer lodging for the night in the 

 cellar. 



In the fall, birds and fowls of all kinds become very 

 15 



