204 IN BIRD LAND. 



tree ; then, instead of alighting, he darted straight 

 up again the same distance, fluttered a moment 

 uncertainly on the wing, and then dropped again to 

 the foot of the tree, where he alighted, and resumed 

 his upward march. But that was not all. Presently 

 his companion, not to be outdone, began to whirl 

 around and around the tree, descending in a spiral 

 course until he reached the foot. There he tarried 

 a moment to take breath, and then, much to my 

 surprise, whirled himself up in the same way, a dis- 

 tance of perhaps twenty feet, accomplishing it in 

 four or five revolutions. But, as if to distance all 

 creepers' pranks ever witnessed before, he descended 

 again in the same spiral course. These perform- 

 ances can be interpreted only as ways in which to 

 give vent to the spirit of frolic in the creeper 

 nature. 



On the same day my dancing dot in feathers, the 

 golden-crowned kinglet, performed one of his favor- 

 ite tricks, which is not often described in the books. 

 You will remember that in the centre of the yellow 

 crown-patch of the males, there is a gleaming golden 

 speck, visible only when you look at him closely. 

 But when the little beaii is in a particularly rollick- 

 some mood, or wants to display his gem to his mate 

 or kindred, he elevates and spreads out the feathers 

 of his crest, and lo ! a transformation. The whole 

 crown becomes golden ! That gleaming speck ex- 

 pands until it completely hides the yellow and black 

 of the crown. It has been my good fortune on 

 several occasions to see the ruby-crowned kinglet 



