fain long eee of the thick-leaved salal, or the yellow 
| blossoms of the tree form of the Oregon grape. | 
As they moved about they often saw Rusty, or his wife, 
~ (who looked exactly like him), running along (with funny, — 
little, short steps), ahead of them in the path, picking up 
invisible dainties; but if they drew too near the birds 
vanished in the baffling heavy undergrowth, only to appear 
again at a safe distance. It was as much fun to boys and 
birds as a game of hide and seek. 
They learned to distinguish a querulous call, which 
seemed, (first on this side, and then on the other), to be a 
signal note of these birds. They fancied that the anxious © 
nasal “emp, emp” they heard, held a secret which they 
e : might be able to find out. 
Imagine their delight when a bird flew from an over- 
hanging hazel bush, to find it had just left a substantial nest, 
which rested on a projecting shelf of an old cedar log. This 
- nest was made of strips of bark, grasses, twigs and leaves, 
lined with finer grasses, rootlets and horsehair. In the nest 
there were four warm eggs of a light greenish color, 
splotched all over with rusty spots, which were heavier about 
the larger end of the eggs, almost matching the color of the 
owners. | 
They began to a ibey hud und a song sparrow vil- 
lage, not knowing that these birds do not like other nests * 
near by, for the sparrows appeared in numbers, scolding 
from every thicket and shrub about them, seeming to avoid 
the trees, and hiding behind protecting leaves, as they made 
remarks about this invasion of the sanctuary of bird homes. 
Occasionally, one of the bolder ones gave a low dash across 
an open space, seeming to help itself along with a pump-like 
jerking tail motion. This flight appeared to belong to the 
song sparrows; -and, soon, the boys realized that they had 
learned to distinguish one kind of flying creature from the 
other varieties that lived in this pcality.. 
