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 
