5. Do you know the call of the flicker? Can you imitate it, or write it so that Uncle John can recognize it?
6. Do flickers remain all winter? If not, when do they come? When do they leave?
LEAFLET LXVIII.
DESERTED BIRDS'-NESTS.[89]
By ALICE G. McCLOSKEY.
There is a wagon trail which I like to follow; it is always a pleasant walk. There is no foot path; so I do not think many people pass that way. Perhaps this is why many little wild creatures of the field and wood like to live there. I do not know any other place where the birds sing so sweetly, where the wild flowers grow so thick, and where the insects are so numerous.
Fig. 330. The vireo's nest.
By the side of this road I found the little vireo's nest which you see in the picture. It was about five feet from the ground, and hung near the end of a long branch. It was interesting to find out what it was made of,—grasses, strips of bark, hair, pine needles, plant fibres, and bits of paper. On the outside were lichens and spiders' webs. The pieces of paper were dropped along the way, I think, by the leader in a cross-country run. Even the little vireos have an interest in the outdoor sports of the college men.
One of the most interesting bird homes is the oriole's nest. Uncle John will like to know whether you find one. The young orioles must have happy times in their cradle, which hangs between the earth and the sky.