104 
OUR BIRDS IN WINTER. 
Attentively regarding the direction from 
which the noise came, he soon discovered one 
of his former friends and neighbors, Ruffed 
Grouse, who had come into the swamp to visit 
the open spots of wet earth and mud ; for your 
Grouse loves to examine such places, and he 
culls a great part of his food from them in , 
the latter part of winter and early spring. 
Calling out to the new-comer. Woodcock 
was soon joined by him, when, after the usual 
salutations, they sat down together on a little 
patch of moss and grass, and entered into 
conversation. 
Really, my dear Grouse,’’ began the Wood- 
cock, it is quite refreshing to meet you 
again, to know that you have escaped the 
murderous attacks of all your enemies. It 
seems to me that you and I have hardly a 
single friend in the whole world, and, what 
with men, foxes, weasels, skunks, hawks, and 
owls, our lives are a constant misery. I was 
but a short time ago telling our friends the 
Chick-a-dees how I was desolated by the 
murder of my whole family, and they agreed 
