[Illustration: From col. C. E. Petford. BLACK GROUSE. Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. FLAMINGO. Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] THE BIRDS OF BETHLEHEM. I. I heard the bells of Bethlehem ring-- Their voice was sweeter than the priests'; I heard the birds of Bethlehem sing Unbidden in the churchly feasts. II. They clung and swung on the swinging chain High in the dim and incensed air; The priest, with repetitions vain, Chanted a never ending prayer. III. So bell and bird and priest I heard, But voice of bird was most to me-- It had no ritual, no word, And yet it sounded true and free. IV. I thought child Jesus, were he there, Would like the singing birds the best, And clutch his little hands in air And smile upon his mother's breast. R. W. GILDER, in _The Century_. THE BIRD'S STORY. "I once lived in a little house, And lived there very well; I thought the world was small and round, And made of pale blue shell. I lived next in a little nest, Nor needed any other; I thought the world was made of straw, And brooded by my mother. One day I fluttered from the nest To see what I could find. I said: 'The world is made of leaves, I have been very blind.' At length I flew beyond the tree, Quite fit for grown-up labors; I don't know how the world _is_ made, And neither do my neighbors." [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. VERDIN. Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] THE VERDIN. A dainty little creature indeed is the Yellow-headed Bush Tit, or Verdin, being smaller than the largest North American Humming Bird, which inhabits southern Arizona and southward. It is a common bird in suitable localities throughout the arid regions of Northern Mexico, the southern portions of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and in Lower California. In spite of its diminutive size it builds a remarkable structure for a nest--large and bulky, and a marvel of bird architecture. Davie says it is comparatively easy to find, being built near the ends of the branches of some low, thorny tree or shrub, and in the numerous varieties of cacti and thorny bushes which grow in the regions of its home.