It is not always the large winged birds with the light bodies that fly the fastest. The swifts, grouse, pigeons, and ducks are the swiftest of fliers, yet they have heavy bodies and short or narrow wings. The eagles, hawks, owls, buzzards, and herons, on the other hand, have large wings and comparatively light bodies, yet they are noted for their slow and graceful flight, still they can fly long distances.
October Sixth
The white-footed mouse, deer mouse, or wood mouse, usually makes his home in a hollow stump, limb, or tree trunk. To prove that he can scramble up rough bark, as well as run upon the ground, he frequently builds a large, bulky nest of dried grass in a bush or low tree. These nests have a tiny aperture in one or two sides, and they are nearly always located in trees traversed by wild grape, or other vines.
Notes
October Seventh
Insects "supply us with the sweetest of sweets, our very best inks and dyes, and our finest robes and tapers, to say nothing of various acids, lacs, and waxes; while few, who have not studied the subject, have any idea of the importance of insects and their products as articles of human diet." (Riley.)
October Eighth
Many an amateur sportsman has mistaken the fall song of the peeper, coming from the tall forest trees, for that of a game bird or mammal. It is loud and clearer than the peeper's spring song, but the resemblance is easily detected after one knows that both songs are sung by the same frog. Now since the wood birds have ceased to sing, its song is quickly noticed.