forever beneath them? A song sparrow 

 came first and sang over and over his 

 happy melody. His perch was soon taken* 

 by a pewee, and later a kingbird chose 

 that exalted spot for his throne. Leaf- 

 less branches are good observation points 

 for the flycatchers and are therefore es- 

 pecially popular with that class of birds. 

 This kingbird kept his perch a very long 

 time. Apparently he was dozing, though 

 it is likely he had one eye open for any 

 insect which happened along his way. 

 Once he dropped a foot or two, and then, 

 by an awkward movement, got back to 

 his place. 



"Did you see that bird if all ?" asked the 

 father, just emerging from the bushes 

 and not realizing at the instant that the 

 hird was simply pursuing an insect. 



"Yes," said the mother, "maybe he 

 will do it again," and almost immediately 

 the performance was repeated. 



"Oh," said the little girl, very seriously, 

 catching the conversation and witnessing 

 the bird's action, "Oh, I do believe it has 

 turned into a habit." 

 ii. 



Although it was May-day birds were 

 none too plentiful along by the little lake 

 where the bird-students rambled. The 

 sapsuckers, the brown creepers, the 

 kinglets, the hairy woodpeckers were all 

 gone. The nuthatch remained. Robins, 

 chipping sparrows, song sparrows and 

 bluebirds have been seen and heard, but 

 in the open space by the lake there was 

 silence. One lone blackbird was walking 

 along close by the water, very deliberately 

 and patiently, as if he had made up his 

 mind to make a complete circuit of the 

 lake just to see what such perambulations 

 were like. The children were collecting 

 pebbles and throwing them into the watei 

 — a sport of which they never wearied — ■ 

 while their father had wandered to a lit- 

 tle distance and was standing under a 

 large tree. Suddenly there was a great 

 noise and from the other side of the lake 

 there came four big birds screaming with 

 all their might. Both parents looked and 

 wondered ! The mother frankly admits 

 that she thought they were eagles and 

 that she did not expect them to pause this 

 side of the Adirondacks, when behold 

 they came to a pause in the tree just over 

 father's head. 



With profound self-sacrifice the mother 

 determined to remain where she was and 

 keep the children, that her companion 

 might behold the wonder undisturbed. 

 With equal sacrifice and with unbounded 

 enthusiasm the father beckoned her to 

 come. The children were completely ab- 

 sorbed in throwing stones — moreover, 

 they were children not accustomed to in- 

 stantaneous obedience ; but so impressed 

 were they with the importance of the oc- 

 casion that when their mother said 

 "Come" they immediately gave her their 

 hands. There was no need of haste. The 

 screaming eagles were nothing more nor 

 less than golden-winged woodpeckers, 

 too much excited to observe their observ- 

 ers. 



To the father, who had never before 

 seen a flicker, the sight was in no sense a 

 disappointment, though the birds had 

 given themselves a most notable intro- 

 duction. There was not a mark on their 

 many-colored bodies which they did not 

 exhibit, the golden-lined wings and tail, 

 the red head-dress, the black crescent 

 breast ornament, the beautiful brown 

 wings, the polka dots on the breast, and 

 the white spots on the lower back ! And 

 then that remarkable beak! They were 

 in a high state, making all sorts of noises, 

 and jumping from tree trunk to branch 

 and back again. 



Presently one of them flew to the 

 ground, whither the others seemed to 

 have an intention of following, but they 

 changed their course and gave a sudden 

 cry of alarm. The bird which was on 

 the ground perceived the danger and 

 jumped to a tree trunk, where he re- 

 mained, casting nervous glances over his 

 shoulder at a big field rat and uttering a 

 sharp cry, "Wicker, wicker, wicker !" 



"He is telling us his name," said the 

 mother "flicker, flicker." 



"But we already know it !" replied the 

 four-year-old, resenting the information 

 she had received from picture books. 



The boy neither knew nor cared about 

 the bird's name for his father was chas- 

 ing the rat, not having outgrown his boy- 

 hood, and in his footsteps the son was fol- 

 lowing. The child returned warm with 

 pursuit and excitement and while yet 

 panting for breath propounded a ques- 

 tion — "Can't a rat climb a tree?" This 



150 



