242 BIRD PARADISE 



to them. Someway they jolly not only them- 

 selves as they travel, but they give one the im- 

 pression that they extend the same greeting to 

 everything else that they meet. The great storm 

 of wind and snow seems to give them the keenest 

 delight. Their storm song has a crystal sound 

 as though the snowflakes themselves were ren- 

 dering the music of living creatures. In their 

 long flights the buntings take but little food. I 

 sometimes wonder if they have not outstripped 

 us a little in mastering the calls of the fleshly 

 temple. The temple is there and the calls, but 

 the heart of the bunting turns to the winds and 

 cold, finding its greatest delight in their stirring 

 fellowship. 



What a fine cold storage plant our birds and 

 smaller animals have at their command during 

 the winter season. I have been noting its excel- 

 lencies and find that in number and quality they 

 are not easily surpassed. The grass over the sur- 

 face of all our fields is so woven together that in 

 many places it forms a fine thick carpet. In the 

 meshes of this covering grubs and insects innu- 

 merable find their winter home. The blasts of 

 the north wind announce to the vast hosts that 



