OUR OLD-GARDEN BIRDS. 143 



a shrike flew across the yard as I opened the door, 

 taking the same direction that the cuckoo had five 

 months before ; but, unlike that bird, it startled the 

 garden's occupants, a nuthatch, a kinglet, and a 

 winter-wren. The garden, with its birds, was as 

 merry as May-day, and I wanted to bring Aunt Peggy 

 out ; but I thought of her rheumatism, and also of 



Shrike. 



the fact that age loves to hug delusions. There was 

 excellent hunting ground here for every bird. The 

 trees met all the needs of the nuthatch, and his curi- 

 ous nasal ejaculation was heard above the singing 

 of the birds out of bounds. 



" Nuthatches have much the same habits as wood- 

 peckers," writes Mr. Cram, "but they are much 

 smaller birds, square-tailed, and bluish gray in color. 

 The white-breasted nuthatch [the one I saw in the 

 garden] is pure white underneath, and the top of 



