Some Bird Acquaintances 115 



I have a very special friend in a White -breasted Nuthatch, who has been 

 about the place constantly for about three years, and who knows me any- 

 where. I call him 'Chum.' This bird friend comes into my room for nuts, 

 placed on the wide window-ledge for his benefit. One day last spring he 

 came before the nuts were quite ready. Not finding what he wanted in the 

 usual place, he gave a low quank of wonder and proceeded to look about. 

 I sat near at hand and had just filled a plate with broken peanut meats, 

 ready to distribute about on the window-ledge and on the trays which I 

 have nailed to the pillars of the porch. Chum spied me and at once flew 

 my way, alighting on the edge of the plate, where he slipped about at a 

 great rate. Finally, getting his balance, he selected a bit of nut and flew 

 off out of the window. When walking in the garden, Chum often drops 

 down on me, and I try to remember his fondness for peanuts before I start 

 out anywhere. Again, when writing at my table on the wide piazza. Chum 

 seldom fails to join me, tramping calmly over my letter, if necessary, to 

 reach his little dish of nuts. If I happen to be reposing in my steamer chair 

 reading, Chum spies me there, and flies down on the toe of my boot and 

 marches solemnly up my whole length to my hand, where he selects a bit 

 of nut with due deliberation and great satisfaction. Sometimes he settles 

 himself comfortably on my hand and eats his lunch there, hammering the 

 nut meats between my fingers, and then biting off little pieces best suited to 

 his taste. This little friend brought his wife and five little ones to a tree 

 near the veranda, about the middle of June, but while he came freely, as 

 usual, neither Mrs. Nuthatch nor any of her interesting family could be 

 persuaded to come near me. 



Every fall, beginning October i, I tie pieces of suet to the near-by trees, 

 and nail little wooden trays to the piazza posts. The trays are kept filled 

 with cracked corn, nuts, hemp seed, sunflower seed and coarse oatmeal. 

 Both the suet and the trays are well patronized always. 



The fall of 1903 was unusually cold, and most of the time I was glad to 

 wrap up in my rugs and watch the birds from a couch on the veranda, so, in 

 addition to the usual trays, I placed a well-filled one on a little stand about 

 a foot from my resting place. Soon I had plenty of company. All day, 

 from 9 A. M. until nearly 5 P. M., my little comrades were busy at 

 both lunch counters and suet. There were Chickadees, Nuthatches, Gold- 

 finches, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers and Tree Sparrows. Even a Blue 

 Jay appeared once in a while. The tray near my couch was patronized 

 almost entirely at first by the jolly, friendly, confiding little Chickadees. 

 Often there were a dozen at a time eating peanuts from that tray. Each 

 would take a piece of nut, fly to some near-by resting place and eat with a 

 good appetite. One fellow flew over onto me and ate his nut, warming 

 his toes on my rug at the same time. Another inquisitive little Chickadee 

 flew onto my head, and began to peck at the button which adorns my cap. 



