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 
