ld
grass meadow, who had what looked like a little black velvet cap tipped
down over his eyes. They are such jolly little chaps that it made me
laugh when I watched them swinging on the ends of the tall grass. Once
in a while one would play he was angry and try to look cross; but he
couldn't keep it up long, because he really felt so good natured."

"I believe every one knows Goldfinches," said Olive. "I remember them
longer than any birds, but the Robin and Bluebird."

[Illustration: American Goldfinch]

"Yes, for even I know them a little bit," said Dodo, "but not by their
right name, for when I saw some in the Park last summer somebody said
they were wild Canaries that had flown out of cages."

"What do they eat, cones or little seeds?" asked Nat.

"They eat grass-seeds, and the seeds of weeds--the most fly-away weeds
too, that blow everywhere and spread ever so fast," said Rap. "Look,
quick! There's a flock coming by now, and they are calling 'Come _talk_
to me! Come _talk_ to me!' See--they have settled on the long grass by
the fence and are gobbling seeds like everything," continued Rap in a
whisper.

As he spoke a flock of twenty or more birds flew over; some were the
bright-yellow males and others the more plainly colored females. They
did not fly straight, but in a jerky way, constantly dropping down and
then lifting up again, and calling out "wait for me" on every
down-grade curve, until by common consent they alighted among some wild
grasses, where the early yellow thistles were already going to seed.

"Watch and listen," said the Doctor, as he handed the field-glass to the
children in turn.

There was a perfect babel of bird-talk, the jaunty blond males all
making pretty speeches to the gentle brown-haired females, who laughed
merry little bird-laughs in return.

"It is like the noise in the store where they sell Canaries," whispered
Nat, after taking a long look; "first they all sing together and then a
few sing so much louder that the others stop. I wonder what they are
saying?"

"They are talking about housekeeping," said the Doctor. "Some of the
ladies say they prefer high apartments in a tree-top, while others like
one-story bushes the best; but all agree that the ground floor is too
damp for the health of their families. In a few days, or a week at most,
this merry flock will have parted company, and two by two the birds will
begin housekeeping."

"Why, they are pulling off the thistle-do