558 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
nuts ; and if the children will tell their parents of the counter, 
they will often put an extra scrap or so in the dinner pail to 
help the feast. Or the fortunate children whose fathers keep 
the market, the grocery store, or the mill, may be able to obtain 
enough of the wastage to leave an extra supply on Friday, so 
that the pensioners need not go hungry over Sunday. 
All the while the flag will wave gayly above little Citizen 
Bird, as under its protection he feeds upon his human brothers 
bounty. 
AN ADIRONDACK LUNCH COUNTER 
In the Adirondacks in March, 1900, the snow fell over four feet 
•deep, and wild birds were driven from the deep woods to seek for food 
near the habitation of man. It occurred to me that a lunch counter 
with “ meals at all hours ” might suit the convenience of some of the 
visitors to my orchard, so I fixed a plank out in front of the house, 
nailed pieces of raw and cooked meat to it, sprinkled bread crumbs and 
seeeds around, and awaited results. 
The first caller was a Chickadee. He tasted the meat, seemed to 
•enjoy it, and went off for his mate. They did not seem in the least 
afraid when I stood on the veranda and watched them, and after a time 
paid but little attention to the noises in the house; but only one would 
«at at a time. The other one seemed to keep watch. I set my camera 
and secured a picture of one alone. While focusing for the meat one 
Chickadee came and commenced eating in front of the camera, and a 
second later its mate perched on my hand as I turned the focusing 
screw. 
I saw the Chickadees tear off pieces of meat and suet and hide them 
in the woodpile. This they did repeatedly, and later in the day would 
-come back and eat them if the lunch counter was empty. 
My observation in this respect is confirmed by a lumberman, who 
noticed that when eating his lunch back in the woods the Chickadees 
were very friendly and would carry off scraps of meat and hide them, 
coming back for more time and again. 
The next day another pair of Chickadees and a pair of White- 
breasted Nuthatches came. The Nuthatches had a presumptuous way 
of taking possession, and came first one and then both together. The 
Chickadees flew back and forth in an impatient manner, but every time 
they went near the meat the Nuthatches would fly or hop toward them, 
uttering what sounded to me like a nasal, French no, no, no, and the 
Chickadees would retire to await their turn when the Nuthatches were 
away. 
The news of the free lunch must have traveled as rapidly in the bird 
world as gossip in a country town usually does, for before long a beau- 
tiful male Hairy Woodpecker made his appearance, and came regularly 
night and morning for a number of days. Hunger made him bold, and 
he would allow me to walk to within a few feet of him when changing 
