JOURNAL OP MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



31 



A WINTER MORNING'S TRAMP. 



The morning of Dec. 12th, 1902, 

 opened up beautifully, and with all 

 Nature calling us to come away to 

 her haunts, we hastily donned our 

 tramping suits and hurried across the 

 outskirts of the village to a familiar 

 hit of woodland that had for several 

 years been our hunting ground 

 whether in our search for rest and 

 relaxation from business cares, or of 

 some trait or characteristic of bird 

 or animal life that was not already 

 known to us. 



It was an ideal day for our purpose; 

 the sky was clear, the air crisp enough 

 to render considerable activity an es- 

 sential to one's comfort, while the 

 bright sunshine warming up the cosy 

 corners of the eastern slope of hill and 

 wood all conspired in the creation of 

 just the kind of weather that gladdens 

 the lives of our winter birds and 

 makes them active. 



As we entered the edge of the for- 

 est we were welcomed by a familiar 

 call and a mixed flock of Chickadees 

 and Nuthatches greeted us with con- 

 siderable animation. They were ap- 

 parently inquisitive to know what our 

 business was in their vicinity, and the 

 spirit of investigation led one bold fel- 

 low to approach within four feet of the 

 writer's head where he perched and 

 looked at us with a fearless air that 

 was truly admirable. They were busily 

 engaged in feeding and our presence 

 disturbed them only for a few mo- 

 ments when they resumed their own 

 affairs and left us to our observations. 

 The Nuthatches pecked and drummed 

 on the frozen branches, as also did the 

 Chickadees, and I thought there was 

 something of the imitative in their 

 actions as they ran along a limb stop- 

 ping to peck here or tap there. Some- 

 times their tappings became so vio- 

 lent that we instinctively turned in the 

 direction of the sound expecting to see 

 the familiar form of the Downy, when 

 a cheery "dee dee" would reassure us 

 that it was none other than atrica- 

 pillus. 



As the Nuthatches ran up the boles 

 and out along the limbs, the scratching 

 of their sharp claws could be distinct- 

 ly heard in the stillness of the morning 

 several feet away, and as I observed 

 their small bodies and peculiar creep- 

 ing movements I could not help liken- 



ing them to the wood mice that run 

 over these same trees. 



One fact I have noticed in the asso- 

 ciation of these birds is, that while 

 several individuals of the Red-breasted 

 species (Sitta canadensis) may usually 

 be found consorting with the Chicka- 

 dees (Parus atricapillus), there will 

 rarely be found more than one indi- 

 vidual of the White-breasted species 

 (S. carolineis) in the company. Pos- 

 sibly this may be accounted for by 

 the rarity of the latter, as it is never 

 so abundant in our latitude as its 

 smaller cousin. 



As we lingered in the vicinity there 

 came to us from the direction of the 

 neighboring thicket some cheery little 

 whistled notes which resembled the 

 sylables "whit-whit, whit-whit," and a 

 floe kof Goldfinches, eight in number, 

 flock of Goldfinches, eight in number. 

 Arbor Vitae or White Cedar (Phiya 

 occidentalis). 



Our movements startled them when 

 away they flew in a bunch directing 

 their billowy, undulating flight across 

 a small opening and when near the 

 farther side pitched abruptly into a 

 growth of Black Birches and com- 

 menced feeding on the large clusters of 

 fruit with which the trees were fairly 

 loaded. As they clung to the twigs, 

 often hanging from the lower side 

 with their breasts uppermost, the 

 bright beams of the morning sun were 

 reflected from their yellow and buff 

 plumage with a golden glittering glow 

 until they resembled little animated 

 balls of gold, thus proving that their 

 name is no misnomer. 



There has been such a scarcity of 

 our winter birds both in species and in- 

 dividuals during the season of 1902-3 

 that we studied even these familiar 

 forms with intererst. 



My observations on the feeding 

 habits of this species leads me to con- 

 clude that of the various kinds of food 

 which are utilized in winter, there is 

 nothing that appeals more to its 

 taste, and to which it will surely re- 

 turn, as the fruit of the Black Birch 

 (Betula lenta), and these birds may 

 usually be found in numbers in any 

 locality where this food abounds. 



While we watched the Goldfinches 

 a Downy Woodpecker came and rapped 

 on a tree near by, while a Blue Jay 

 screamed from the neighboring hill- 

 side, and across the swamp came the 



