1 8 The Wilson Bulletin. 



piles and such) proved to be a genuine mid-winter paradise. 

 Scarcely had I set foot within its precincts when I lighted 

 on a heavy blackberry tangle, as being the probable rendez- 

 vous of Towhee. Sure enough Pipilo erythrophthalmus 

 erythrophthalmus (a la Ridgway) was there. He sprang out 

 of cover and shouted "Marie!" in good-natured pretense of 

 dudgeon, while he settled his black cap over his ears and 

 adjusted his tawny fur cape about his immaculate front. I 

 did not go through that blackberry patch. The Shrikes 

 would have been licking my giblets off the briars for a week 

 if I had persisted. Three Towhees rewarded my several 

 feints, and I was content to take the rest on faith. 



The woods were alive with birds. Even when a light 

 snow blew horizontally through the trees, Red-heads scolded 

 and hammered, Flickers flashed their golden wings from tree 

 to tree, or probed the ground; while Blue Jay, ubiquitous 

 Blue Jay — there were forty of him at the least — reveled in 

 the general hubbub. 



An unusual din in which Blue Jay's voice predominated 

 led me to the north-west corner of the wood. The center 

 of attraction proved to be a certain hole, or crevice, about 

 twenty-five feet high in an ash tree. The Blue Jays retreated 

 as I advanced to the shelter of a commanding tree-bole; but 

 the rest of the birds held their ground. I watched while 

 Red-headed Woodpeckers took turns peeping into the hole 

 and shuddering. Once a Red-head yelled "Ouch!" and 

 jumped a yard or more. Chickadees clamored, "Let-me- 

 see! Let-me-see!" while Titmice sputtered their indigna- 

 tion. A pair of White-breasted Nuthatches inspected the 

 locality minutely. One murmurnd, "Horrible! the hypo- 

 critical old cut-throat!" And the woods quaked and shiv- 

 ered assent. 



Of course I knew what was up and I came forward to take 

 a hand in the game. A couple of smart raps from a stick 

 brought a weary and somnolent Screech Owl to the mouth 

 of the hole. He blinked aimlessly about and sank back. 

 "Well," thought I, "he's slow. I'll go up and interview 



