se
properly.

[Illustration: American Crossbill]

"How and where do you think these birds build their nests in such a cold
season?"

"Make a burrow in the snow, perhaps," said Dodo.

"Go into a haystack or under a shed," said Nat.

"Or a hole in a tree," added Rap.

"No, the Crossbill does not place his nest in any of these ways. He
chooses a thick evergreen tree, and upon the fork of one of the branches
makes a little platform of rubbish to support the nest. With great care
the couple gather shreds of bark, twigs, and small sticks, till they
think they have enough; then they begin the nest itself, weaving it of
softer materials and lining it with grasses, fur, and feathers, until
they make a very comfortable bed for the pale-green, purple-spotted eggs
to lie in."

"How cold the poor birds' toes must be while they are working," said
Dodo with a shiver; "and I should think the eggs would freeze instead of
hatching."

"But what do they find to eat when everything is frozen stiff?" asked
Rap. "Are they cannibal birds that can eat other birds and mice?"

"These two questions can be answered together," said the Doctor. "The
nests are usually built in evergreens, which are cone-bearing or
coniferous trees. You all know what a cone is like, I think?"

"Yes, I do!" cried Rap. "It is a long seed pod that grows on evergreens.
In summer it is green and sticky, but by and by it grows dry and brown,
and divides into little rows of scales like shingles on a house, and
there is a seed hidden under each scale. Each kind of an evergreen has a
different-shaped cone; some are long and smooth like sausages, and some
are thick and pointed like a top. The squirrels often pick the cones off
the spruces over at the miller's and shell out the scales, just as you
shell corn off the cob, to get the seeds."

"Very good, my boy," said the Doctor. "I see you know something about
trees as well as birds. The Crossbills build in evergreens, and all
around their nests hang the cones with spicy seeds stored away under the
scales, ready for the birds to eat. So they do not have to go far from
home for their marketing."

"But their beaks are so crooked that I don't see how they can pick out
the cone seeds," said Nat.

"These curiously twisted bills, like pincers, are made expressly for the
purpose of wrenching the scales from the cones, so that the seeds are
laid bare."

"It's very funny," said Nat; "whenever we think a bird is queer or