44 JN BIRD LAND. 



Still in a dense portion of thetr, the colony had 

 taken up a temporary abode. Here they remained 

 for over a week, and then, on the twenty-ninth of the 

 month, which was a rainy day, they shifted back to 

 their old tryst, while scarcely a bird was to be found 

 in the locality they had just left. Thus by caprice, 

 or on account of the exigencies of food, they oscil- 

 lated from place to place. 



There were some birds here all winter that were 

 not found during the previous winter — that of 

 1 889-1 890. The golden-crowned kinglet was one. 

 Every day, rain or shine, warm or cold, he flitted 

 about so cheerfully and with so innocent an air 

 that I often spoke to him as if he were a real 

 person ; and he appreciated my words of praise, 

 too, without doubt, for he would come scurrying 

 near, disporting his head so that I could catch the 

 gleam of his amber coronal, with its golden patch 

 for a centre-piece. Then there was that quaint 

 little genius, the brown creeper, hugging the trunks 

 of the trees and saplings, and tracing the gullies of 

 the bark as he sought for such food as he relished. 

 See him turn his cunning head from side to side to 

 peer under a loose scale ! 



Among my most pleasant winter companions were 

 the black-capped chickadees or tomtits. Not for 

 anything would I cast a reflection upon these en- 

 gaging birds, but candor compels me to say that 

 they seem to be somewhat fickle ; that is, I cannot 

 always tell where to find them, or if they will let 

 themselves be found at all. Early in the spring of 



