vivid as that of the other woodpeckers. He has no white stripe down
the middle of his back. His nape and crest are both scarlet and he
utters a hoarser squeak than either the downy or the hairy.

One of the events of the day was the sight of the winter wren, the
first time he had been seen this winter. He was working among the
stumps of trees at the brink of the river, under the ice which had
been left clinging to the trees when the high water receded. There was
no mistaking his beautiful coat of cinnamon brown, his pert manner,
his tail which was a little more than straight up, pointing towards
his head; a little mite of a bird, how does he keep his little body
from freezing in the furious winter storms? He seemed perfectly happy,
with his two sharp, shrill, impatient "quip quaps," much shriller than
the "pleeks" of downy woodpecker.

A flock of tree sparrows were busy in and around a big thicket of wild
gooseberry bushes on the upland. You may easily get within a rod of
them, but hardly closer, and a field glass is almost a necessity to
careful study. He is a grayish, graceful sparrow, with streaks of
reddish brown, chestnut caps, and a small black spot in the middle of
the brownish breast. One white wing bar is a distinguishing
characteristic, and a better one is the difference in color of the two
mandibles; the upper one is black and the lower one yellow. The
tinkling notes of the tree sparrows sound like the music a pipe
organist makes when he uses the sweet organ and the flute stop.

A sharp watch was kept for goldfinches and the evening grosbeak
during the day, but neither was seen. This was something of a
disappointment. But it was forgotten in the thrill of joy that came
late in the afternoon. There was a wide stretch of river bottom,