. Bird lore . eatures, out in the cold and darkness. A few weretaken indoors and sheltered through the night, but what werethese among so many ? The next morning the sun shone brightly though the weatherwas still very cold—the mercury had fallen below 30° during thenight. But as I raised the shade of one of my eastern windows Isaw a half-dozen of the Swallows sitting upon the ledge in the sun-shine, while the air seemed again filled with flashing wings. I wasso relieved and glad. Surely the tiny creatures, with their tints ofsteely blue or shining green contrasting with the pure white of theun
. Bird lore . eatures, out in the cold and darkness. A few weretaken indoors and sheltered through the night, but what werethese among so many ? The next morning the sun shone brightly though the weatherwas still very cold—the mercury had fallen below 30° during thenight. But as I raised the shade of one of my eastern windows Isaw a half-dozen of the Swallows sitting upon the ledge in the sun-shine, while the air seemed again filled with flashing wings. I wasso relieved and glad. Surely the tiny creatures, with their tints ofsteely blue or shining green contrasting with the pure white of theunder parts, were more hardy than I had feared. But alas I it wasbut a remnant that escaped. Hundreds were found dead. Men weresent out with baskets to gather the limp little bodies from piazzas,window ledges, and copings. It was a pitiful sight for St. \alen-tine Day, when, as the old song has it. The birds are all choosirifi their mates.(45) Clarks Crows and Oregon Jays on Mount Hood^ BY FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. c ^LOUD CAP INN, theloghouse hotel fasteneddown with cables highon the north side of MountHood, is too near timber-lineto claim a great variety offeathered guests, but OregonJays and Clarks Crows orNutcrackers are regular pen-sioners of the house. Theusual shooting by touristsdoes not menace them, for thenature-loving mountaineers, who keep the Inn and act as guides tothe summit, guard most loyally both birds and beasts. They like totell of a noble Eagle which used to fly up the canon and circle overthe glacier every day, and they recall with pleasure the snowy morningwhen an old Blue Grouse brought her brood to the Inn, and the birdsate the wheat that was thrown them with the confidence of Grouse were, apparently, regular neighbors of the Inn, andwhile there I had the pleasure of seeing a grown family. They fedon the slope close above me with the unconcern of domestic fowls,conversing in turkey-like monosyllables as they moved, about, andtwo of them came wi
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