GOLDFINCH 65 



on the ground the short legs and pretty, rosy 

 feet can take only mincing steps. Another pecu- 

 liarity which it shares with this whole family 

 of birds is the ability to drink without raising 

 the head to swallow as other birds are obliged to 

 do. The Dove's beak is immersed and the bird 

 drinks as steadily and deeply as a horse. They 

 sometimes nest miles from water, and early in 

 the morning fly in pairs or in small companies 

 to the nearest drinking-place, cleaving the air 

 like bullets with whistling wings over your still 

 sleepy head. 



A pretty little Ground Dove, not much larger 

 than a Sparrow, is not uncommon in the Gulf 

 States and is sometimes found as far north as 

 the Carolinas. It frequents old fields, swamps, 

 and pine barrens, and builds a nest on the 

 ground or in a bush, laying two pure white eggs. 

 It is rather darker and browner in color than 

 the larger Dove, and its red beak and pink breast 

 feathers distinguish it clearly. 



GOLDFINCH 



Which is bird and which is blossom, as they 

 flutter over the sunflower whose broad bosom is 

 so generously filled with ripening seeds? Black 

 and gold could not be more vivid: I have actu- 

 ally seen a big bumblebee deceived by it into 

 flying at a Goldfinch, who drew daintily back and 



