230 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



feet. What a babble of self-satisfied chat- 

 tering comes from the feeding flock! "What 

 wonderful adaption of means to an end in those 

 crossed mandibles ! Every third cone or so 

 comes to the ground, but none are followed. 

 When one is secured it is held with the foot 

 upon the centre of a bough, and the bill quickly 

 invades the hard material. The birds feed for 

 an hour now, and return again late in the after- 

 noon. 



The severity of the weather in no way 

 affects them. Together they roam the fir 

 woods, feeding indiscriminately upon the cones 

 of fir, pine, and larch. Full of life and anima- 

 tion, their movements are ever changing. Their 

 plumage is various ; bright red, orange, yellow, 

 and green are the coats of the individuals, but 

 no two seem quite alike. Once, and only once, 

 have they been observed on the confines of our 

 garden, and then feeding upon the scarlet fruit 

 of the Rowan or Mountain ash. Their partiality 

 to this food was amply testified by their com- 

 pletely denuding the trees. . . . 



This morning we look upon a world un- 

 known. The sun shines, and a rosy suffusion 

 lies over the landscape. All the fences arc 



