FAR AND NEAR 



and smaller branches ; what he gets is on the surface, 

 and so fine as to be almost microscopic. The nut- 

 hatch explores the trunks and larger branches of the 

 trees ; he goes a little deeper, into crevices of the bark 

 and under lichens. Then comes Downy, who goes 

 deeper still. He bores for larger game through the 

 bark, and into the trunks and branches themselves. 



In late fall this band is often joined by the golden- 

 crowned kinglet and the brown creeper. The kinglet 

 is finer-eyed and finer-billed than even the chick- 

 adee, and no doubt gathers what the latter over- 

 looks, while the brown creeper, with his long, slender, 

 curved bill, takes what both the nuthatch and the 

 woodpecker miss. Working together, it seems as if 

 they must make a pretty clean sweep. But the trees 

 are numerous and large, and the birds are few. Only 

 a mere fraction of tree surface is searched over at 

 any one time. In large forests probably only a mere 

 fraction of the trees are visited at all. 



One cold day in midwinter, when I was walking 

 through the snowless woods, I saw chickadees, nut- 

 hatches, and woodpeckers upon the ground, and 

 upon roots and fallen branches. They were look- 

 ing for the game that had fallen, as a boy looks for 

 apples under the tree. 



The winter wren is so called because he sometimes 

 braves our northern winters, but it is rarely that one 

 sees him at this season. I think I have seen him only 

 two or three times in winter in my life. The event 



174 



