102 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 



Orfe',o'f his VftojH$ip names is "sapsucker," for 

 ojy i ^utljatch J^as a swe^ tooth, and when the 

 fanners 4ap, ''thie; &fee8 r , in* spring he "happens 

 round " at the sugar bush to see what sort of ma- 

 ple syrup they are to have. He tests it well, tak- 

 ing a sip at " the calf " where it oozes out from 



the gashing of the axe, tasting it as it dries along 

 the spile, and finally on the rim of the buckets. 



But his most interesting name is nuthatch ! 

 How does he come by it ? That seems a riddle. 

 Some cold November day put on a pair of thick 

 boots and go to visit the beeches. There in their 

 tops are the nuthatches, for they have deserted 

 the tree trunks for a frolic. They are beechnut- 

 ting ! And that with as much zest as a party of 



