EARLY WINTER 205 



confiding friend of winter, never failing to welcome a 

 visitor. He announces himself and his small party by 

 a distinctive note, but does not pause in his search 

 among the twigs and buds. He is more thorough than 

 the Woodpeckers, and will deliberately swing under 

 a twig to reach secreted insects. This performance 

 often reveals his identity when in a naked tree-top 

 outlined against the sky. When familiarly near his 

 black hood and light breast, touched with colour on 

 the sides, are distinctive marks. 



The Nuthatch is a silent friend in the winter woods, 

 neither tapping like the Woodpeckers nor calling like 

 the Chickadees. His short tail, slaty-blue mantle, 

 and black cap distinguish him from the Woodpeckers 

 as he clings to the bark, searching its rough intricacies 

 for food. He is far more nimble on the bark than the 

 Woodpeckers, and can cling or descend with head 

 downward, a feat no other bird can perform. The 

 brightness of the day encourages unusual activity, 

 and the life of the woods seems multiplied by 

 frequent passing and repassing. Another friend, 

 the smallest and brightest of all, has made his silent 

 way unseen until he returns the stare in round- 

 eyed surprise from a branch a few feet away. This is 

 a Golden-crowned Kinglet, and she bows low as if to 

 display her rich and contrasted band of yellow. Her 

 mate is still more brilliant, having the yellow intensi- 

 fied to red in the centre of his crown. Her plain olive 



