240 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



I had an oblong-wing katydid which I kept indoors for a 

 number of days to study. Finally, it was thought best to liber- 

 ate it, so, stepping to the door, I tossed it aloft in the open 

 air. The katydid flew off some yards, when, hardly before I 

 could realize what had happened, a young redhead swooped 

 down on the katydid, seizing it while on the wing, and carried 

 it to the dead limb of the walnut tree. Here the bird placed 

 it in one of the pits in the same manner ^s I had seen the old 

 birds treat the corn. Soon the katydid was reduced to tit- 

 bits. These the bird then devoured while its hungry companion 

 looked on enviously. 



The red-headed woodpeckers and chickarees were not the 

 only visitors to the corn, for I frequently saw the chipmunk 

 race over the intervening grassy ground which separated the 

 bush-covered lakeshore bluff from the tree. Quicker than I can 

 describe it he made his way up the trunk and disappeared within 

 the hole. Later I saw his little head at the opening, with his 

 cheeks suspiciously protruding as though afHicted with the 

 mumps. As everything seemed quiet to him, he dropped 

 back again within the darkened chamber. Whether from 

 curiosity or not, I do not know, but no sooiier had the chipmunk 

 gone inside than a bluebird suddenly halted her flight in mid-air 

 before the hole, and, making a hasty inspection, immediately 

 flew away again. Several moments afterwards the chipmunk 

 appeared again at the entrance with his cheek pouches charged 

 to the utmost. He wasted no time in descending the trunk 

 and soon scampered over the intervening space to the bank, 

 finally seeking shelter in the underbrush. Some smaller dead 

 limbs of the walnut tree were occupied almost constantly by 

 phoebes which had their nest on the protected beam under our 

 front porch. Were I to mention all the birds that I have seen 

 in this walnut tree during the summer, nearly all the smaller 

 singing birds resident in the locaUty would be included in the 

 enumeration. 



On August thirteenth, just before sunset, when the golden 

 rays lighted up the tree tops, and here and there the streamers 

 found their way through the foliage and fell upon the trunks, 

 I saw in the blue canopy of sky above, phoebes and kingbirds 

 playing, and chasing many little insects in mid-air. An unusual 



