bewitching little beauty in all Colorado, the
Arkansas goldfinch. Clumsy name enough for a tiny sprite of a birdling,
not so large as our charming little goldfinch in his black cap. He is
exquisite in olive green, with golden yellow breast, and the black cap
and wings of his family, and he is most winsome in manner, with every
tone in his varied utterances musical and delicious to hear. As he flies
over in bounding waves, calling "Swe-eet! swe-eet!" often ending with an
entrancing tremolo, your very soul is taken captive. What would you not
give to see the dainty cradle of his younglings! Not far away you may
see two thistle-blooms pulled to pieces; no doubt the down has gone to
make a bed for goldfinch babies, for nothing that grows, except
thistledown, is quite soft and delicate enough for the purpose.

We will not try to find the nest. He is the most shy, the most elusive
of birds, living in the tops of the tallest trees, and flitting from one
to another like a sunbeam, showing only a glint of a golden breast as he
goes. One is maddened by the medley of calls and scraps of song, the
trills and tremolos in the sweetest and most enticing tones, while not
able to catch so much as a glimpse of the bonny bird who utters them.
His love-song is utterly captivating, as rapturous as that of the
American goldfinch, with a touch of plaintiveness that makes it
wonderfully thrilling. It is mostly in tremolo, a sort of indescribable
vocal "shake" that is enchanting beyond the power of words to express.
When he is not singing, one may often hear his low, earnest chatter and
talk with his mate, in the same plaintive and winsome tones.

Ah, how little we can see of what goes on about us, though we are
closely watching, and every sense is alert! On one side is a flash of
wings, and somebody disappears before he is seen; from the other comes
an unfamiliar note, and a rustle of leaves, behind which the author is
hidden. Here two bird voices are heard in excited talk, but your hasty
glance falls only on the swaying twig that proclaims their flight; and
in the tops of tall trees is a whole world of life and action entirely
beyond your vision.

[Sidenote: _HOW TO BE HAPPY._]

Early in the study of bird-life one must learn to be content with
comparatively little, and not set his heart on solving every mystery of
sound or glimpse which comes to him. One must be content to let some
things remain unknown, and enjoy what he can understand,