40 
BIRDS 
annual “house-warming” common among 
High-Holes on resuming their summer 
quarters, is a question upon which 1 re¬ 
serve my judgment. 
Unlike most of his kinsmen, the 
Golden-Wing prefers the fields and the 
borders of the forest to the deeper seclu¬ 
sion of the woods,—and hence, contrary 
to the habit of his tribe, obtains most of 
his subsistence from the ground, boring 
for ants and crickets. He is not quite 
satisfied with being a Woodpecker. He 
courts the society of the Robin and the 
Finches, abandons the trees for the mea¬ 
dow, and feeds eagerly upon berries and 
grain. What may be the final upshot 
of this course of living is a question 
worthy the attention of Darwin. Will his 
taking to the ground and his pedestrian 
feats result in lengthening his legs, his 
feeding upon berries and grains subdue 
his tints and soften his voice, and his 
associating with Robin put a song into 
his heart? 
Indeed, what would be more interesting 
than the history of our birds for the last 
two or three centuries? There can be no 
