142 ON THE BIRDS' HIGHWAY 



long since." The ringing of the axe far up 

 the valley, echoing from hill to hill, reveals 

 only too plainly the cause. The blue jay 

 that, down in " The Alders," practises his 

 cousin's notes, is recognized as a close 

 imitator, as the Canada jay calls from the 

 monkey flower, his face besmeared with 

 yellow stain. 



The deep woods are always void of 

 many birds — chipmunks and red squirrels 

 seem to do most of the talking ; a chicka- 

 dee may have just led one from the path, 

 when, like a Fourth of July whistling 

 bomb, a chipmunk will rush rattling up 

 a log, and unless the chickadee pipes again 

 he is forgotten. 



The noonday sun creeps through the 

 dense foliage when wandering homeward, 

 and the " kip-kip " of a passing crossbill 

 comes with it. Those single brilliant rays 

 falling here upon a lichen-covered rock, 

 or there over a fallen spruce, reveal the 

 colorless shadows, bringing out exquisite 

 detail. 



There were six excursions I took from 

 time to time, to the lake, inlets, sloughs, 

 burnt ground, and to the spring. Each 

 offered its own peculiar birds. 



