To Mountain Tarn 



fieldside, I could hear the ''pink, pink," of chaf- 

 finches, and see them rising to the branches with 

 that peculiar climbing flight of theirs. Now this 

 " pink, pink " is a call ; one hears it in the spring- 

 time. Does it remain a call ? Is it addressed to 

 a mate ? The chaffinch is said to be a winter 

 bachelor. On that assumption he is called Frin- 

 gilla ccelebs. What has a bachelor to do with 

 a call ? Nature seldom deceives, nor permits a 

 confusion of her symbols. To put doubt to rest, 

 hen and cock were sitting on the road, picking 

 side by side. Together they rose to the branch ; 

 together they vanished into the shade of trees. 

 So other chaffinches about were paired. 



An ash tree near at hand, an elm on the far 

 side, flank the wood. Both were hanging as 

 with living leaves, the slender outer twigs sway- 

 ing with the weight of pendent birds. Two 

 flocks of heavier and lighter build, differed as the 

 heavy ash from the graceful elm, to which, re- 

 spectively, they clung. Most of the grain-eating 

 birds flock. They choose just such a perch for 

 the day, dropping down on the field, to rise again 

 on the least alarm. 



In a cloud the heavier flock left the ash. 

 Several things told what they were. The wave- 

 like flight, the rise and dip was shared with the 

 finches and buntings. The motion, so shallow 

 and even, that neither rose very high nor dropped 

 very low, belonged to the greenfinch. Each 



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