THROUGH LIBRARY WINDOWS 291 



pier ring, the very kind for every day. The 

 swallows linger and skim the meadows and 

 lowlands, fattening for their long nights to the 

 Southland. The bronzed grackle and black- 

 bird tarry and are shy and active. Some north- 

 ern birds on their southern trip tarry with us 

 for several days, feeding to repair the waste 

 of long-sustained flights. The woodpecker is 

 always found in orchards and along the edges 

 of thickets among tangles of wild grape and 

 in patches where grow the shrub berries and 

 among dead trees in the track of forest fires. 

 But how he does enjoy these October days for 

 he has now the monopoly of just the trees he 

 needs. The Crow family is very large, some 

 two hundred species, only six inhabiting our 

 section of the country. The Crow is common- 

 est of his class, and his class carries the palm 

 of intelligence among birds. Many tales are 

 told of the human actions of the raven, rook, 

 jackdaw, magpie, jay and crow. The Blue Jay 

 is well known and very noisy. He is an extra 

 conversationalist among his mates and a very 

 shrewd mimicker of many birds, even to the de- 

 ception of the birds themselves. 



I had longed to spend a night alone in the 

 fields, to see its life and note its activity and 

 hear its noises and feel its joys. I have had this 



