176 PEARLW AND PEBBLES. 



would not leave it, though in returning I passed through 

 the doorway below the sill where it rested. I do not 

 think it was a tree-creeper, the legs were too long and 

 slender; yet it seemed to cling to the stump when it- 

 lighted there, though without the backward movement 

 peculiar to the tree-creeper. 



The little bird seemed very solitary, as I saw no mate, 

 and one day while we were away the wary little mother 

 took the opportunity of carrying off her brood. The 

 nest was empty and the birds flown when we returned, 

 and though we sought among the rocks and bushes we 

 found no trace of them. 



These birds are evidently fond of such shelters as 

 sheds and under roofs, for in the old kitchen I found 

 another nest of the same make and materials, but. 

 deserted, and at Fairy Lake Lodge there was another 

 neat new one of the same round deep pattern. Later, 

 when staying at Fair Havens, the summer retreat of 

 another of my daughter^, I noticed a lively family of the 

 same little bird associating with the little brown certhia 

 ' and small downy woodpeckers. There was a company 

 of four or five of these pretty birds, and they were so 

 tame and fearless that they would alight from the over- 

 hanging branches of a pine tree that shadowed the 

 platform of rock on which the house was built, and come 

 down almost to my feet to take the crumbs I scattered 

 for them. Then having enjoyed the feast, they retired 

 to the tree to watch and wait for a fresh supply, readily 



