JANUARY 



The chickadee is the bird of the wood the most 

 unfailing. When in a windy or in any day you 

 have penetrated some thick wood like this, you 

 are pretty sure to hear its cheery note. At this 

 season, it is almost its sole inhabitant. I see to- 

 day one brown creeper busily inspecting the pitch 

 pines. It begins at the base, and creeps rapidly 

 upward by starts, adhering close to the bark, and 

 shifting a little from side to side often till near 

 the top, then suddenly darts off downward to the 

 base of another tree, where it repeats the same 

 course. 



THOREAU: Autumn. 



At no time of the year does the fellowship of 

 the birds afford me keener enjoyment than in the 

 dead of winter. In June one may see them every- 

 where, and hear them at all hours ; a few more or 

 a few less are nothing to make account of ; but 

 in January the sight of a single brown creeper is 

 sufficient to brighten the day, and the twittering 

 of half a dozen goldfinches is like the music of 

 angels. 



TOKREY: A Rambler's Lease. 



