64 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 



her head, and try to make herself invisible, but 

 she had too many frights and at last abandoned 

 her nest. In a grape-vine on top of a trellis in 

 the garden in front of the cottage another chippy 

 had built. She seemed to be fearless, never stir- 

 ring even when we stood at the foot of the trellis 

 and stared at her. 



I found several nests in Norway spruces. One 

 was near a farm-house. It was on a bough hidden 

 so skillfully under an evergreen twig that I had 

 much ado to find it, and there was barely room for 

 even the small mother bird to get up to it. But the 

 four little dark blue eggs wreathed with purplish 

 dots around the larger ends, as they lay clustered 

 on their mat of brown rootlets, made a sight to 

 repay a longer hunt. With all her care the poor 

 mother was not able to conceal her little ones. A 

 hungry chipmunk discovered them, and was shot 

 by the farmer when it was swallowing the last one 

 of the four. 



In summer the chipping birds haunt the piazza, 

 coming almost to our feet for crumbs. Last season 

 two broods were brought by their mothers, and it' 

 was diverting to watch them. The mothers drove 

 each other about in a scandalous fashion, and, what 

 was worse, would not feed each other's children, 

 but turned their backs in the most hard-hearted 

 way even when the hungry youngsters ran up in 

 front of them and stood with wide open bills teas- 

 ing for food. As the babies grew older I suspect 



