lO 



Bird -Lore 



the occasion and flew to the hand. After working off gradually to 

 some distance, we moved fifteen or twenty feet. When this move was 

 made he seemed much puzzled, but soon saw the familiar hand and flew 

 first to a near-by branch and then directly to it. This process was re- 

 peated several times, until five birds were tamed. 



On one occasion, a Nuthatch took a nut, but dropped it when 

 alighting on a branch. Instead of flying down and getting it, he stood 



flapping his wings 

 slightly while I stooped 

 down, picked it up and 

 handed it to him. 



When the Nut- 

 hatches had become 

 well used to taking 

 beechnuts from our 

 hands we tried hold- 

 ing a nut between the 

 thumb and forefinger, 

 to see if they would 

 stay and eat it. At 

 first they would ham- 

 mer away on either 

 side, trying to loosen 

 it ; but, if we held on 

 tightly, would finally 

 pound at the nut and 

 soon break off enough 

 of the shell to get the 

 meat. Later they 

 were perfectly content 

 to stay on our hands 

 and eat for several minutes at a time, and would light on our caps, ou^ 

 shoulders, or any part of our person almost as readily as on a branch. 

 If one happened to catch us without a nut he would look all around 

 between our fingers, under our hands, into the openings in our gloves 

 and up our sleeves in search of one. Once or twice, when I had no 

 glove on, one has mistaken my finger for suet, and has pounded it imtil 

 he nearly drew blood. 



Later the Red -breasted Nuthatches and Chickadees came to us in 

 different parts of the woods, frequently a quarter, and occasionally half a 

 mile from the original feeding-ground, and they would sometimes follow 

 us for a considerable distance. They came to us, if within hearing, 

 when we whistled the Chickadee's phcehe note, and we have had them 



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