orchard which had been frequented by the Chickadee during the winter and
spring were not seriously infested, and that comparatively few of the
worms and caterpillars were to be found there. His conclusion is that
birds that eat eggs of insects are of the greatest value to the farmer,
as they feed almost entirely on injurious insects and their eggs, and
are present all winter, where other birds are absent.

The tiny nest of the Chickadee is made of all sorts of soft materials,
such as wool, fur, feathers, and hair placed in holes in stumps of
trees. Six to eight eggs are laid, which are white, thickly sprinkled
with warm brown.

Mrs. Osgood Wright tells a pretty incident of the Chickadees, thus: "In
the winter of 1891-2, when the cold was severe, the snow deep, and the
tree trunks often covered with ice, the Chickadees repaired in flocks
daily to the kennel of our old dog Colin and fed from his dish, hopping
over his back and calling Chickadee, dee, dee, in his face, a proceeding
that he never in the least resented, but seemed rather to enjoy it."

PROTHONOTARY YELLOW WARBLERS.

Quite a long name for such small birds--don't you think so? You will
have to get your teacher to repeat it several times, I fear, before you
learn it.

These little yellow warblers are just as happy as the pair of wrens I
showed you in April "BIRDS." In fact, I suspect they are even happier,
for their nest has been made and the eggs laid. What do you think of
their house? Sometimes they find an old hole in a stump, one that a
woodpecker has left, perhaps, and there build a nest. This year they
have found a very pretty place to begin their housekeeping. What kind of
tree is it? I thought I would show only the part of the tree that makes
their home. I just believe some boy or girl who loves birds made those
holes for them. Don't you think so? They have an upstairs and a down
stairs, it seems.

Like the Wrens I wrote about last month, they prefer to live in swampy
land and along rivers. They nearly always find a hole in a decayed
willow tree for their nest--low down. This isn't a willow tree, though.

Whenever I show you a pair of birds, always pick out the father and the
mother bird. You will usually find that one has more color than the
other. Which one is it? Maybe you know why this is. If you don't I am
sure your teacher can tell you. Don't you remember in the Bobolink
family how differently Mr. and Mrs. Bobolink were dressed?