stioned my actions, as they are sure to do where they lead
society. Now and then one perched on the fence and regarded me, with
flick of wing and tail that meant a good deal, but he expressed no
opinion. With kingbirds on one side, pewees on the other, and the great
crested fly-catcher a daily caller, this was eminently a fly-catcher
grove, and the robin plainly felt that he was not responsible for its
good order. Indeed, after fly-catcher households were set up, he had his
hands full to maintain his right to be there at all.

Whatever went on, the woodpeckers took no part in it. Back and forth
they passed, almost stealthily, caring not who ruled the grove so that
their precious secret was not discovered. Neither of them stayed to
watch the nest, nor did they come and go together. The birds in the
neighborhood might be inquisitive,--there was no one to resent it;
blackbirds scrambled over the oak, robins perched on the screening
branch, and no one about the silent entrance disputed their right.

In the first flush of dismay at finding themselves watched, the
golden-wings, as I said, redoubled their cautiousness. They tried to
keep the position of the nest secret by coming from the back, gliding
around on the trunk, and stealing in at the door, or by alighting
quietly high up in the body of the tree, and coming down backward,--that
is, tail first. But by remaining absolutely without motion or sound
while they were present, I gradually won their toleration, and had my
reward. The birds ceased to regard me as an enemy, and, though they
always looked at me, no longer tried to keep out of sight, or to hide
the object of their visits. During the first day of watching I had the
good fortune to see a second empty shell brought out of the nest, and
dropped a little farther off than the first had been; and I feel safe in
assuming that these two were the birthdays of the babes in the wood.

Thirteen days were devoted to the study of the manners and customs of
the parents before the hidden subjects of their solicitude gave any
signs of life visible from below. Though visits were about half an hour
apart, and flicker babies have very good appetites, they did not go
hungry, for on every occasion they had a hearty meal instead of the
single mouthful that many young birds receive. This fact was guessed at
on the thirteenth day, when the concealed little ones came out of the
darkness up to the door, and the parents' movements in feedin