5 H DAN BEARD'S ANIMAL BOOK 



dew. However, the instant you made known your 

 presence by some slight noise there would be a 

 sudden change and from out the reddish mass 

 would shoot four funny little heads and four wide 

 open mouths, and it was then you discovered that, 

 that which appeared to be mildew was in reality 

 the sparse, downy growth on the young birds. 



Long before the eggs were hatched the kinglets 

 learned that the man in the boat would not harm 

 them. Nevertheless, when, in their judgment, he 

 was awkward in handling the branch, nest or con- 

 tents the birds would utter sharp commands of 

 caution or reproof; but as a rule they placed such 

 confidence in their visitor's good-will that they had 

 no hesitation in leaving the perch near his head to 

 dash after passing insects. 



Down in the swail near the outlet, the pitcher 

 plants and cranberries grow in the sphagnum moss 

 around the outlet of the lake ; here the yellow birch 

 and tall spruce soak their feet in cold muck and 

 their heads in hot sunshine. In one of these trees 



A RED-TAILED HAWK HAD ITS NEST. 



Occasionally the hawk came sailing by the alder 

 bush, its keen eyes searching every spot of ground 

 in hopes of finding an unwary mouse, but it never 

 caught any near the cove, for the instant the hawk 

 hove in sight the crest upon the king's head be- 

 came erect, displaying the bright colored war 

 feathers concealed there, and with a volley of bird 

 adjectives issuing from his throat the little kinglet 



