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Title: Bird-Lore
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Bird-Lore" ***
Transcriber's Note
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_; bold text by =equal signs=; and
bold, italic text by +plus signs+. The oe ligature was replaced by the
individual letters.
VOL. XVIII MARCH-APRIL, 1916 20c. a Copy
No. 2 $1 a Year
Bird-Lore
[Illustration (birdhouse in field)]
EDITED BY
FRANK M. CHAPMAN
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES
BY
D. Appleton & Company
HARRISBURG, PA. NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN _R. Weber_.
Bird-Lore
March-April, 1916
------------------
CONTENTS
=GENERAL ARTICLES= Page
Frontispiece in Color--Bush-Tits, Verdin, and Wren-Tit
_Louis Agassiz Fuertes_
The World's Record for Density of Bird Population. Illustrated
by the author _Gilbert H. Grosvenor_ 77
The Robin in Yosemite. Verse _Garrett Newkirk_ 84
The Spring Migration of 1915 at Raleigh, N. C.
_S. C. Bruner and C. S. Brimley_ 85
First Efforts at Bird Photography. Illustrated by the author
_H. Tra Hartshorn_ 88
Long-eared Owl on Nest. Illustration _H. and E. Pittman_ 91
The Interesting Barn Owl. Illustrated by the author
_Joseph W. Lippincott_ 92
Photographs of Flickers _Arthur A. Allen_ 96
The Migration of North American Birds. Illustrated by
Louis Agassiz Fuertes _W. W. Cooke_ 97
Notes on the Plumage of North American Birds. Thirty-seventh
Paper _Frank M. Chapman_
=NOTES FROM FIELD AND STUDY= 100
A Correction; Hints for Bird Clubs, _W. M. Buswell_; Ornithological
Possibilities of a Bit of Swamp Land, _Arthur P. Stubbs_; My
Neighbor's Sparrow Trap, _Charles R. Keyes_; A Tropical Migration
Tragedy; A Shower of Birds, _R. L. Tripp_; A Heron's Involuntary
Bath, _John R. Tooker_; Winter Notes From Carlisle, Ind., _J. H.
Gilliland_; Notes from Nebraska, _Howard Paret_; A Gannet over the
Hudson River, _J. T. Nichols_; Petrels on the Hudson, _F. M.
Chapman_; Starling in Ohio, _Sheridan T. Wood_; Evening Grosbeaks
and Cardinals in Southern Wisconsin, _Ethel A. Nott_; Evening
Grosbeaks at Port Henry, N. Y., _Dora B. Harris_; Evening Grosbeak
at Glen Falls, N. Y., _E. Eveleen Hathaway_; Evening Grosbeaks at
Saratoga Springs, N. Y., _Jacolyn Manning, M. D._; The Evening
Grosbeak at Boston, _E. G. and R. E. Robbins_; Evening Grosbeaks
at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., _George W. Gray_; Evening Grosbeaks in
Lexington, Mass., _Winsor M. Tyler, M. D._; Evening Grosbeaks in
Vermont, _L. H. Potter_; Evening Grosbeaks in Connecticut, _Mary
Hazen Arnold_; Martin Problems, _May S. Danner_; A Bold Winter
Wren, _Edward J. F. Marx_.
=BOOK NEWS AND REVIEWS= 110
Grinnell's Distributional List of California Birds; Taverner on
the Food Habits of Cormorants; The Ornithological Magazines.
=EDITORIAL= 112
=THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES--SCHOOL DEPARTMENT= 113
Bird and Arbor Day--An Awakening, _A. H. W._; Junior Audubon Work;
Ways of Keeping up Interest in Bird Study; For and From Adult
and Young Observers, Red-wing Blackbird. Ills.
=EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET No. 85.= Chestnut-sided Warbler. With colored
plate by Bruce Horsfall _T. Gilbert Pearson_ 128
=AUDUBON SOCIETIES--EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT= 132
A Case in Point; A Feeding-Shelf; Photographing Water-Fowl; Birds
and the Cold Spell; Florence Merriam Bailey; New Members and
Contributors; The Virginia Game Bill; Notes From the Field.
*.* _Manuscripts intended for publication, books, etc., for review and
exchanges, should be sent to the Editor, at the American Museum of
Natural History, 77th St. and 8th Ave., New York City._
=Notices of changes of addresses, renewals and subscriptions should be
sent to BIRD-LORE, HARRISBURG, PA.=
=Please remit by Draft or Money Order=
* * * * *
Important Notice to All Bird-Lore Subscribers
=Bird-lore= is published on or near the first days of February, April,
June, August, October, and December. Failure to secure the copy due you
should be reported not later than the 18th of the months above
mentioned. We cannot supply missing copies after the month in which the
number in question was issued.
Entered as second-class mail matter in the Post Office at Harrisburg,
Pa.
* * * * *
[Illustration (Wren House)]
Send $1 for this famous
WREN HOUSE
Known as Jennie's Choice
For three seasons "Jennie" preferred this House where there was a choice
of fifty.
A. P. GREIM
"Birdville" TOMS RIVER, N. J.
* * * * *
THE JACOBS BIRD-HOUSE COMPANY
First American enterprise for the manufacture of =Bird-Houses and
Bird-Feeding Devices=
=Over 33 years' experience by the Pres. Mgr.= Always leading in the
Bird-House enterprise,
=Jacobs Now Pays the Freight=
to your nearest steam railroad freight station!
[Illustration: Our Indorsement.]
Twelve beautiful designs of colony houses for the Purple Martin.
Individual nest boxes for Wrens, Bluebirds, Swallows, Chickadees,
Flickers, Titmice, Woodpeckers, etc.
Sheltered Feeding Devices and Food Tables, Cement Bird Baths and
Drinking Fountains.
Genuine Government Sparrow Traps.
Direct from our factory to user at factory prices, thus giving customers
the benefit of local dealers' and agents' commissions.
Mention this magazine and send 10 cts. for our beautifully illustrated
bird-house booklet.
JACOBS BIRD-HOUSE COMPANY
404 S. Washington St., Waynesburg, Pa.
* * * * *
[Illustration (Publisher's Logo)]
+Just the Book to Interest Children in Bird Study+
=LITTLE BIRD BLUE=
By William L. and Irene Finley
"No child can read this beautifully printed and illustrated book without
having his love for the bluebird increased; even the adult will find
much pleasure in text, illustrations, and exquisite make-up."--_Guide to
Nature._
"One of the prettiest and most commendable of children's books."--_St.
Louis Republic._
"It has the beneficial effect of intensifying our love of
birds."--_Rochester Post Express._
"Children could hardly have a more happy introduction to
bird-study."--_Lexington Herald._
"One of the most entertaining books for juveniles."--_Boston Globe._
"Told in a manner to delight children."--_Zion's Herald._
"Mr. and Mrs. Finley have written the book with much charm, and woven
into the story a great deal of bird-lore."--_Portland Evening Telegram._
_Profusely illustrated with drawings by Bruce Horsfall and photographs
by Mr. Finley. Price 75 cents net._
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO.,
4 Park Street 16 East 49th St.
BOSTON NEW YORK
* * * * *
=Everything from "Soup to Nuts" for the Birds=
Try Evang Bros. Mixtseed for Native and Migratory Birds! Large size
package, 50 cents.
=230 Main Street Evanston, Illinois=
* * * * *
=Bird Gardening=
WALTER M. BUSWELL, at present the Superintendent of the famous Bird
Sanctuary of the Meriden Bird Club, is prepared to give expert advice on
all matters pertaining to the attraction and protection of birds.
=Address: Meriden, New Hampshire=
* * * * *
I should be pleased to have any MUSEUM or HIGH SCHOOL desiring to secure
an excellent ORNITHOLOGICAL and OÖLOGICAL COLLECTION for study and
scientific purposes communicate with me.
=GEO. W. AMES=
=No. 707 Washington Avenue=
=Bay City, Mich.=
* * * * *
+To Bird-Lovers+
Use Comstock's
BIRD NOTEBOOKS
Nos. 1 and 2
in your bird study
Each book has outlines for recording location, size, nesting, habits,
etc., for use in the field. In addition, book No. 1 has 30, and book No.
2 has 28 outline drawings of birds (by Louis Agassiz Fuertes), on
watercolor paper for recording the colors.
These books are used in quantity in classes, rural, city and normal
schools and colleges.
Pocket size, 124 pages
30 cts. each, 50 cts. set of two
_Send for circular of the Nature
Notebook Series_
The Comstock Publishing Company
110 Roberts Place, Ithaca, N. Y.
* * * * *
[Illustration: _Wren House No. 6_]
=Do You Love Birds?=
Encourage them to live in your gardens. Use our successful bird-houses
for Wrens, Chickadees, Bluebirds and Purple Martins. Strongly made--well
painted, to resist weather. Prices 35¢ to $10. Design illustrated $1 50.
Our reliable wire Sparrow Trap endorsed by U. S. Government, $3 F. O. B.
Dubuque. _Write for free illustrated Folder No. 233-B._
=Farley & Loetscher Mfg. Co., Dubuque, Iowa=
* * * * *
=Bird-Lores Wanted=
======================================================================
_(The publishers of BIRD-LORE respectfully urge subscribers who desire
to have unbroken files of the magazine, to renew their subscription at
the time of its expiration.)_
======================================================================
Vol. I, Nos. 2, 3, 4; Vol. II, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5; Vol. III, Nos. 4, 5;
Vol. XIII, Nos. 1, 2. PHILIP DOWELL, Port Richmond, N. Y.
Vol. I, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6; Vol. II, Nos. 2, 3, 5; Vol. III, Nos. 1, 2, 4;
Vol. IV, Nos. 1, 2; Vol. V, No. 1; Vol. VII, No. 1; Vol. IX, Nos. 3, 6;
Vol. X, Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5; Vol. XII, Nos. 4, 6; Vol. XIII, Nos. 1, 2, 4;
Vol. XIV, Nos. 1, 2; Vol. XV, No. 6. W. H. BROOMHALL, Stockport, Ohio.
Vol. XII, No. 5; Vol. XV, No. 6; Vol. XVI, Nos. 1, 2. WILLARD L.
METCALF, 140 W. 79th Street, New York.
Vol. III, No. 2; will pay $2. E. W. HADELER, Painesville, Ohio.
Vol. XIII, No. 1. E. S. WILSON, 1044 Congress Ave., Indianapolis,
Indiana.
Vol. X, No. 3; will pay $1. P. S. MCGLYNN, Moline, Ill.
Vol. XI, complete. A. J. ANDERSON, 1822 West Palmer Avenue,
Sioux City, Ia.
Vol. XVI, Nos. 1, 2. A. D. TINKER, 631 S. 12th St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
======================================================================
PUBLISHER'S NOTE.--Complete sets of BIRD-LORE can no longer be supplied
by the publishers, and now bring nearly three times the price at which
they were issued. To subscribers who desire to complete their files, we
offer the free use of our advertising columns.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Note: Frontispiece
1. Bush-Tit
2. Lead-colored Bush-Tit
3. Lloyd's Bush-Tit, Male
4. Lloyd's Bush-Tit, Female 5. Verdin 6. Wren-Tit
(One-half natural size)]
=Bird-Lore=
A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE
DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS
Official Organ of The Audubon Societies
================================================================
Vol. XVIII March-April, 1916 No. 2
================================================================
The World's Record for Density of Bird Population
By GILBERT H. GROSVENOR
Editor of the National Geographic Magazine
With photographs by the author
In the winter of 1913, our family bought a farm of one hundred acres,
fifty acres in forest and fifty in fields, in Montgomery County,
Maryland, about ten miles from Washington. We moved out in April. At the
time, no members of the family, including my wife, six children, and
myself, could name more than three birds--the Crow, the Robin, and the
Turkey Buzzard. We had, however, become interested in birds, owing to
our friendship for the Editor of BIRD-LORE, and for other Audubon
workers, and determined to see what we could do to get birds around the
home, which we named 'Wild Acres.'
The house is a typical old farmhouse, surrounded by an old apple and
pear orchard, with vegetable garden and hedges, and open fields beyond.
Surrounding the fields is a tract of fifty acres in woods, with a
beautiful stream, and several springs scattered around in the fields and
woods.
The first thing we did was to drive away the English Sparrows which had
possession of the place. We got small shot-guns, and, whenever a Sparrow
appeared, shot him. It wasn't long before those that were not shot,
left. We then made houses for Martins, Wrens, Bluebirds and Flickers,
some of which were immediately occupied. We had such success that in the
winters of 1914 and 1915 we put up more houses, and in the spring of
1915 had attracted so many birds around the house that Dr. H. W.
Henshaw, the Chief of the U. S. Biological Survey of the Department of
Agriculture, became interested, and delegated Dr. Wells W. Cooke to
visit our place. Dr. Cooke was so impressed by the number of feathered
friends that we had gathered around us that he urged me to make a census
of the birds living on an acre or two adjacent to the house, as he
thought it probable that a count would bring us a world record. The
record up to this time was held by a family in Chevy Chase, Maryland,
who had attracted thirteen pairs of birds to one half-acre.
[Illustration: A BLUEBIRD'S NEST BOX, IN WHICH A PAIR OF BLUEBIRDS
REARED THREE BROODS IN 1914, AND AGAIN IN 1915]
The prospect of securing a world's record was so inviting that, during
the last week of June, 1915, I made a census of all birds nesting on the
acre adjoining our house and barns, with the result that we found
fifty-nine pairs of birds with young or eggs in the nest on that acre,
the highest number of land-birds inhabiting one acre that has yet been
reported to the Department of Agriculture or to any Audubon society. The
details of the census are presented below:
LIST OF BIRDS NESTING ON ONE ACRE ADJACENT TO THE HOUSE AND BARNS OF
GILBERT H. GROSVENOR IN THE WEEK OF JUNE 15-21, 1915
(Only pairs whose nests were located with young or eggs in them are
counted.)
Flicker* 1 pair
Bluebird* 1 "
Yellow Warbler 1 "
Orchard Oriole 2 "
Catbird 2 "
Song Sparrow 1 "
Chipping Sparrow 2 "
Phoebe 1 "
House Wren* 14 "
Robin 7 "
Robin 7 "
Kingbird 1 "
Martins* 26 "
--
Total 59 pairs
English Sparrows 0
The asterisk (*) indicates pairs nesting in boxes put up by the family.
A similar census made of the second adjoining acre showed thirty-three
pairs nesting in this area, as follows:
LIST OF BIRDS NESTING ON SECOND ACRE
Song Sparrow 1 pair
Carolina Wren* 1 "
Flicker* 1 "
Maryland Yellow-Throat 1 "
Brown Thrasher 1 "
House Wren* 4 "
Robin 2 "
Catbird 1 "
Chipping Sparrow 1 "
Screech Owl* (no young in nest
June 15, as brood had already
left) 1 "
Martins* 18 "
Towhee 1 "
--
Total 33 pairs
English Sparrows 0
[Illustration: A MARTIN HOUSE IN THE MEADOW, ABOUT ONE HUNDRED YARDS
FROM THE HOUSE
It is advisable not to place the Martin box too near the house, for
the birds begin to chatter long before dawn, and will awaken the
household.]
[Illustration: MARTIN HOUSE IN THE HEN-YARD OCCUPIED BY TWENTY-FIVE
PAIRS OF MARTINS IN 1914 AND 1915.
The Martins are very efficient guardians of our chickens. I have
often seen them drive the Hawks and Crows away. They hate Buzzards
also.]
I attribute our success primarily to shooting the Sparrows and driving
all cats away, to putting up many boxes, to keeping fresh water handy at
all times, etc. We did everything we could for the comfort of our birds;
for instance, we put on twigs little pieces of the oil-paper that our
butter was wrapped in, and we left mud in convenient places for the
Martins. The Catbirds used the oil-paper for their nests, in fact, they
used all kinds of scraps. Imagine the delight of the family when, on
examining one of the Catbird's nests in the autumn, we found one of the
children's hair-ribbons, and also a piece of an old dress of the baby!
[Illustration: A SCREECH OWL'S NEST
This box was put up for Flickers in the winter of 1914. Flickers took
possession in March, but were driven out by Sparrow Hawks. But the
Sparrow Hawks were frightened away two weeks later by the too great
prominence of the position. Later a pair of Screech Owls adopted it for
their home. Last winter we took the box down and carried it to the barn,
to serve as a model for making other boxes. On opening it we found a
live owl inside.]
[Illustration: A SPARROW HAWK'S NEST ON THE EDGE OF THE WOODS
We had much difficulty in keeping red and flying squirrels out of the
houses placed near the woods. In 1915 red squirrels drove out a pair of
Flickers brooding in a box on the forest edge.]
We had read a great deal about how tame birds become when they are
protected, but were constantly amazed at the quickness with which they
perceived the care taken of them. Perhaps the most remarkable nest was
that of a Phoebe, which was built under the cornice of the piazza,
within reach of my hand. We had a little school in the morning at the
house, and ten children were continually running up and down the piazza,
shouting at the top of their voices, but the Phoebe went on building
her nest, then hatched her eggs and fed her young without fear, though
she could see everyone and everyone could see her.
I was also surprised to find how friendly birds, even of the same
species, can become. For instance, we had fourteen pairs of Wrens on a
single acre, some of the nests being not more than fifteen feet apart.
We also had Robins nesting only twelve yards apart. The Bluebirds, on
the other hand, do not like each other and would not tolerate another
pair of Bluebirds nearer than 100 yards.
[Illustration: A FLICKER WAS NESTING IN BOX AND DID NOT STIR, THOUGH
THERE WERE FIVE CHILDREN IN THE TREE AND FOUR BELOW WHEN THIS
PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN. (June 7, 1914.)]
[Illustration: AN APARTMENT HOUSE FOR WRENS
When we started building houses, we did not realize that Wrens would not
share a house with another pair of Wrens. This house has rooms for
eighteen pairs of Wrens. The room on the left was occupied in 1913, 1914
and 1915, and all the other rooms were vacant. Note Wren on box.]
[Illustration: A WREN HOUSE IN THE GARDEN
Note the Wren on the perch. We had fourteen pairs of house Wrens nesting
on one acre adjoining the house and barns in 1915. This is the largest
number reported of Wrens living on one acre.]
The first year we had no Flickers, but there was a pair nesting in an
old apple tree on our neighbor's property. During the winter the tree
was blown down and our oldest son obtained permission to get it. He cut
out the portion of the tree which contained the nest, cleaned out the
hole, and then hung the nest in a dying cherry tree, as shown in our
illustration. The nest was not more than ten yards from the house, but
was taken possession of in 1914 and again in 1915.
The photographs illustrate some of our tenants. We are putting up this
winter many more houses on the rest of the farm, as, up to this time,
our efforts have been confined to the ten acres nearest the house.
[Illustration: A FLICKER'S NEST BOX ON AN APPLE TREE ONLY TWELVE
YARDS FROM THE HOUSE AND BORDERING THE DRIVEWAY.
In this same tree, also, a pair of Robins and a pair of Chipping
Sparrows nested in 1915.]
[Illustration: A BOX OCCUPIED BY FLICKERS AND WRENS
When the Flickers came back the second year (1915), they tried to
excavate a new door to their house, on the opposite side from that
shown in the picture, but soon desisted, leaving a hole about 2
inches deep. Later a pair of Wrens built a nest in the new hole, so
that in 1915 a brood of Flickers and a brood of house Wrens were
living in the box at the same time. Note the Flicker's head in the
doorway.]
We have already found the following birds nesting on some part of the
100 acres of field and woods: Flicker, Robin, Catbird, Bluebird, Orchard
Oriole, House Wren, Purple Martin, Summer Warbler, Brown Thrasher,
Chipping Sparrow, Phoebe, Barn Swallow, Grasshopper Sparrow,
Whip-poor-will, Towhee, Indigo Bunting, Black-and-White Warbler, Song
Sparrow, Meadowlark, Chat, Maryland Yellowthroat, Field Sparrow,
Cardinal, Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager,
Acadian Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Mourning Dove, Kingbird,
Red-headed Woodpecker, Wood Pewee, Bob-white, Chickadee, Titmouse,
White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Mockingbird, Goldfinch, Crow,
Bluejay, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Barred Owl, Screech Owl,
Sparrow Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Redstart, Yellow-throated Vireo,
Cedarbird, Vesper Sparrow, Louisiana Water-thrush, and Ruby-throated
Hummingbird.
We had, in 1915, seventy-five pairs of Martins in an area of
approximately ten acres, and expect to have a great many more than this
in 1916. We had one pair of Red-shouldered Hawks nesting in our woods,
and kept them for two years; but they developed such fondness for
poultry, being caught repeatedly thieving, that finally we had to shoot
them.
We have in the woods a splendid pair of Barred Owls. They come around
the barns at night, and I suspect them also of attempts at
chicken-thieving, but they are too handsome and rare a bird in these
parts to shoot. We have nothing good to say of the Screech Owl, which we
suspect of having been the cause of the mysterious disappearance of many
young birds from the nests.
If any one wants excitement, I suggest that he buy or borrow a stuffed
Owl, and put it out in the garden in the daytime during the nesting
season. All the birds in the neighborhood will soon congregate, and the
children will learn the birds quicker than in any other way.
The Robin in Yosemite
By GARRETT NEWKIRK
In this divine cathedral grand,
O'erborne by silent awe I stand,
When, friendly greets me, near at hand,
The Robin in Yosemite.
Beneath high wall and towering dome,
By roaring rapids dashed with foam,
I hear the old, sweet voice of home--
The Robin in Yosemite.
I hear from every sculptured wall
The voices of the ages call,
And, cheering with their echoes all,
The Robin in Yosemite.
The Spring Migration of 1915 at Raleigh, N. C.
By S. C. BRUNER and C. S. BRIMLEY
The migration of birds at Raleigh, N. C, during the spring of 1915 was
so unusual that it is believed that a short account, together with a
list of the records, will be of interest to the readers of BIRD-LORE. In
considering the following remarks, it may be well to bear in mind that
records of the bird migration in this locality have been made each year
for the past thirty-one years. Also, the amount of time spent in making
observations during the past season is significant. From March 19 to May
7, field trips were made by Mr. Bruner on forty-seven days out of a
possible fifty. Prior to and after this period observations were made by
him for several weeks at intervals of from two to four days. Mr. Brimley
was in the field for twelve days from March 30 to April 28, but was
unable to pay full attention to birds. The duration of each trip
averaged about four hours, this figure not including the time spent in
going to and from the city. Observations for the most part were made
independently by each of the writers, and on lands differing somewhat in
general character. It is believed that the great majority of species
were recorded on as near the actual date of their arrival as it would
ordinarily be possible to obtain them.
The most remarkable fact in connection with the season was the very
great delay in the arrival of the earlier migrants and in the departure
of the winter birds. This was very probably due almost entirely to the
unusual weather conditions which seemed to prevail throughout the South
during March and early April. March was abnormally cool, especially so
during the latter part of the month. At Raleigh one-half of an inch of
snow fell on the thirty-first, and this was soon followed by the most
severe snowstorm on record for the month of April. On April 2, at 8 P.
M., wet snow began to fall, and continued steadily until about 8 P. M.
on April 3, the ground at that time being covered to a depth of about
ten inches, the total fall being equivalent to thirteen inches of dry
snow. In the wake of this storm came fair and very warm weather. By
April 6 nearly all traces of snow had disappeared, and the birds began
to arrive. Between April 6 and April 9, the Black-and-White Warbler,
Louisiana Water-Thrush, Yellow-throated Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher,
Maryland Yellowthroat, and White-eyed Vireo all reached Raleigh, these
species being from nine to fourteen days late. Prior to this period the
Chipping Sparrow had appeared on March 19--about two weeks late,--and
the Blue-headed Vireo on April 1, this bird arriving only one week late.
After April 6, the greater number of other species came in at about
their usual time or a few days later, but several were decidedly early.
The Kingbird reached Raleigh on April 12, the earliest date yet recorded
in this locality. However, this was the only record for early arrival
that was broken among the commoner species, although two others were
equaled.
Six new records were established for late departures of winter birds,
namely: Loggerhead Shrike, April 1; Fox Sparrow, April 6; American
Pipit, April 6; Brown Creeper, April 19; Song Sparrow, April 28, and
White-throated Sparrow, May 19. Two former records were duplicated and
seven of the remaining fourteen species noted were from four to fourteen
days later than the average. It is plain that species which leave
normally before the sixth of April could have been delayed a few days by
the severe weather of late March and early April; but it is not easy to
understand how it could have affected, to any marked extent, the species
which depart in late April and in May.
The migration at Raleigh was also characterized by an unusually great
variety of species, including a number of very rare birds. A
Black-crowned Night Heron taken on April 4 and a Bay-breasted Warbler
observed on May 5 constitute new local records. Other rare or uncommon
species worthy of especial mention are the Yellow-crowned Night Heron,
Osprey, Black-throated Green Warbler, Yellow-legs, Pectoral Sandpiper,
Bartramian Sandpiper, Cape May Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler,
Chestnut-sided Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and
Wilson's Warbler. The total number of species whose arrival was observed
amounted to no less than sixty-eight in all, which is the largest number
yet recorded at Raleigh during a single season. This fact can probably
in no way be attributed to the abnormal weather conditions before
mentioned (except possibly in the case of the Night Herons), but rather
to the large amount of time spent in making observations. Also the fact
that two observers were in the field did not play so large a part in
this as might be expected, as one of them alone observed all but one of
the sixty-eight species recorded.
A. COMMONER SPECIES
I. Species normally arriving before April 1.
================================+===========+============+=============
| Average | | Days later
NAME | date of | Arrival | or earlier
|arrival [1]| 1915 |than average.
--------------------------------+-----------+------------+-------------
Chipping Sparrow | March 7 | March 19 | 12 late
Yellow-throated Warbler | March 24 | April 7 | 14 late
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | March 24 | April 7 | 14 late
Blue-headed Vireo | March 25 | April 1 | 7 late
Pectoral Sandpiper | March 25 | April 13 | 19 late
Louisiana Water-Thrush | March 26 | April 7 | 12 late
Maryland Yellowthroat | March 26 | April 7 | 12 late
Black-and-White Warbler | March 27 | April 6 | 10 late
Black-throated Green Warbler | March 27 | April 10 | 14 late
White-eyed Vireo | March 31 | April 9 | 9 late
American Osprey | March 31 | March 28 | 3 early
II. Species normally arriving from April 1 to 10 inclusive.
Tree Swallow | April 3 | April 13 | 10 late
Lesser Yellow-legs | April 3 | April 13 | 10 late
Barn Swallow | April 7 | April 13 | 6 late
Green Heron | April 9 | April 14 | 5 late
Parula Warbler | April 10 | April 15 | 5 late
Whip-poor-will | April 10 | April 18 | 8 late
III. Species normally arriving from April 11 to 20, inclusive.
Redstart | April 12 | April 12 | 0 late
Yellow Warbler | April 14 | April 17 | 3 late
Prairie Warbler | April 14 | April 12 | 2 early
Yellow-throated Vireo | April 14 | April 13 | 1 early
Spotted Sandpiper | April 15 | April 13 | 2 early
Hooded Warbler | April 16 | April 10 | 6 early
Crested Flycatcher | April 16 | April 24 | 8 late
Red-eyed Vireo | April 16 | April 20 | 4 late
Wood Thrush | April 16 | April 11 | 5 early
Chimney Swift | April 16 | April 13 | 3 early
Ovenbird | April 17 | April 9 | 8 early
Summer Tanager | April 17 | April 11 | 6 early
House Wren | April 17 | April 20 | 3 late
Ruby-throated Hummingbird | April 18 | April 14 | 4 early
Kingbird | April 19 | April 12 | 7 early
Catbird | April 20 | April 21 | 1 late
IV. Species normally arriving later than April 20.
Yellow-breasted Chat | April 24 | April 27 | 3 late
Solitary Sandpiper | April 24 | April 13 | 11 early
Orchard Oriole | April 25 | April 27 | 2 late
Wood Pewee | April 25 | April 27 | 2 late
Water-Thrush | April 27 | April 23 | 4 early
Black-throated Blue Warbler | April 27 | April 21 | 6 early
Green-crested Flycatcher | April 30 | April 21 | 9 early
Bobolink | May 2 | May 3 | 1 late
Indigo Bunting | May 2 | April 27 | 5 early
Blue Grosbeak | May 3 | May 1 | 2 early
Black-poll Warbler | May 4 | May 3 | 1 early
Kentucky Warbler | May 5 | April 23 | 12 early
Yellow-billed Cuckoo | May 6 | May 14 | 8 late
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B. RARER SPECIES[2]
Yellow-crowned Night Heron April 2 and 8
Black-crowned Night Heron April 6
Rough-winged Swallow April 6
King Rail April 7
Rusty Blackbird April 8
Bachman's Sparrow April 10
Grasshopper Sparrow April 17
Bartramian Sandpiper April 17
Purple Martin April 17
Prothonotary Warbler April 24
Nighthawk April 24
(The last two were noted 15 miles
east of Raleigh.)
Cape May Warbler April 27
Olive-backed Thrush April 28
Blue-winged Warbler April 30
Scarlet Tanager April 30
Wilson's Thrush May 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler May 4
Baltimore Oriole May 4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak May 4
Bay-breasted Warbler May 5
Gray-cheeked Thrush May 13
Wilson's Warbler May 19
[1] The average date of arrival was calculated from records
made during the period 1884 to 1911 inclusive.
[2] This group includes species of which our records are too
meager or too irregular to obtain an average as to time
of arrival.
First Efforts at Bird Photography
By H. IRA HARTSHORN, Newark, N. J.
With photographs by the author
The accompanying pictures are the results of my first attempts at bird
photography, and I want to let others know how much pleasure is to be
derived from this method of studying birds. All the pictures I have
taken so far are of the tame birds one sees every day around the house.
That is, if one doesn't live in too big a city; in which case a trolley
to the suburbs will answer, as it did in my case.
My equipment, which includes a second-hand camera, two plate-holders, an
electrical release, a flashlight battery, small satchel, flexible wire,
etc., did not cost over $8.
[Illustration: CHIPPING SPARROW FEEDING ITS YOUNG]
The first nest I saw last year was a Chickadee's nest. I found it on
April 18. It was still cold, with not a leaf on the trees. The two birds
were taking out chips from the top of a birch stump, which was about
seven feet high. The hole was about eight inches deep. There was still
no lining in the nest, so I knew that the birds had not prepared it for
the reception of the eggs.
I visited it again on April 26, and expected to see two eggs in the
little home; but, when I arrived there, I found that the nest had been
broken off at the very bottom of the eight inches already dug. This was
caused by the Chickadees' digging too close to the rotten bark, when the
first gust of wind probably broke it. Much to my delight, the birds were
not daunted by this misfortune, but kept on building. On April 24, the
hole was started the second time. A friend saw the Chickadees begin the
hole. On April 26, the hole was six inches deep! The birds had dug
through fourteen inches of wood to make their home!
[Illustration: CHICKADEE LEAVING ITS NEST TO FORAGE FOR A FAMILY
OF EIGHT]
On May 2 the nest was finished, and on May 9 there were eight eggs in
the little bit of a hole that could hardly hold the mother bird.
May 23, I took my camera with me to the nest. I expected that the young
birds would be out by that time, and that the old birds would be flying
in and out with food, giving me many opportunities for photography. I
looked in the nest and saw that every egg was hatched, so I proceeded to
set my camera about two feet away, when who should appear on the
ground-glass but one of the parents, with a mouth full of struggling
little green caterpillars. She, if it were the female, looked at the
camera a second or two, then, without another thought of the outside
world, hopped down into the nest and fed her young.
[Illustration: CHIPPING SPARROW APPROACHING ITS NEST]
The camera arranged, I was just about to seek concealment behind a bush,
when both of the parent birds flew near the nest with food. I stood very
still. One of the birds, the male, I think, stopped too, but the other
one flew right into the nest. She soon came out, and stood on the very
point I had the camera focused. Very slowly I put my hand up to the
shutter-release, expecting the bird to fly any minute; but at last I
reached it and, click, I had my first 'close up' bird picture. And it
was the best one, too; for although I took six or seven others, they did
not turn out so well as the first one.
[Illustration: CHIPPING SPARROW BROODING]
May 31, I went to take the pictures of the little Chickadees, but found
that they were still too small to handle. I was not able to go again,
but my friend reports that the whole family of eight young left the
nest, and were very healthy-looking little birds. This nest was situated
on the edge of a woods at Verona, N. J.
During the two weeks' vacation at Fredon, Sussex Co., N. Y., I found
twelve nests, a list of which follows. All but three were found on a
farm.
One Robin's nest, containing one egg. Deserted for unknown cause.
Two Field Sparrows' nests. Each contained young, almost full-grown
birds. One nest had an unfertile egg in it.
One Barn Swallow's nest, containing four eggs.
Two Red-winged Blackbirds' nests, each with four eggs. Both nests were
broken up. One was entirely empty and the other contained the shells of
the eggs. I could not find out the cause of this double tragedy.
[Illustration: A HOUSE WREN ENTERING ITS NEST IN A FENCE-POST]
Two House Wrens' nests. Both of these were in fence-posts. I caught one
bird with the camera just as it was entering the nest.
Two Chipping Sparrows' nests. One was in an unusual place, on the limb
of a Norway spruce that projected over the porch roof. I got some very
good photographs of this family, which consisted of the parents and
three young. The young were hatched on June 6, and they left the nest on
June 15.
One Kingbird's nest, containing three eggs, was on a limb of a willow
tree that extended over a pond about ten feet. The nest itself was three
feet above the water.
One Flicker's nest. I could not determine the number of young in this
nest, but I knew they were there by their hissing at a shadow over the
entrance to the nest.
This year the Bobolink appeared in the neighborhood of Fredon for the
first time in at least four years, if not more.
Of all the songs of birds I have heard, I like the Bobolink's the best.
* * * * *
[Illustration: LONG-EARED OWL ON ITS EGGS IN AN OLD CROW'S NEST
Photographed by H. and E. Pittman, Wauchope, Saskatchewan.]
* * * * *
The Interesting Barn Owl
By JOSEPH W. LIPPINCOTT, Bethayres, Pa.
With a photograph by the author
The Barn Owl commands my respect. He is the greatest mouse-eating
machine I have yet encountered, and as such surely deserves every
consideration in these days of crop destruction by rodents. Like most
Owls, he does not allow his presence long to remain unsuspected. A loud,
harsh scream after nightfall, repeated at the right intervals to keep
one awake and echoed by the young Owls when they appear, is his
greeting. And well may the little mice shiver in their poor retreats!
I heard the good old Barn Owls again and again during early spring
nights, and later found that two, or perhaps more, young ones were
generally in or about a hemlock grove not far from the creek and the
swampy meadows that make such ideal feeding-grounds and are, in fact,
the nucleus of the rodent hosts that spread over the neighboring farms
each summer. It was by mere accident, however, that I found a nest.
A neighbor was planning a greenhouse on the site then occupied by his
young chickens and, to give security to the glass, cut down a great
storm-battered and fire-scarred buttonball tree that stood at one end of
his farm buildings. Down it came with terrific force, but without
killing three young Barn Owls, which were able to give one of the
workmen a big scare when he climbed over the top. And this happened in
the middle of August, when one brood was already in the woods!
They were in a deep, dark, ill-smelling hollow, and a weird-looking trio
indeed with the white down still clinging over the yellow-brown
feathers. What startled the workman was a splendid series of hisses; for
they understood how to make the sound about as wickedly as the most
poisonous serpent.
A little Owl is generally all grit, and these were the grittiest,
bramble-footed propositions I ever expect to handle. Their big eyes kept
an unwinking glare fixed on each one who came near, and they leaped like
lightning, often all three together, at a hand thrust within reach. It
would have been very comical except for the bitter earnestness which the
poor little fellows put into their defense, making one feel sorry for
them when double gloves prevailed, and they were deposited in a
chicken-coop nearby, to prevent interference with the chopping. Then,
for hours after the moving, it seemed as if steam were strangely and
violently escaping from an ordinary chicken-coop, much to the
astonishment of visitors.
Around the tree were many of the small masses of fur and bones which
Owls disgorge a few hours after meals. These show very well what animals
have been taken and, in this case, were most interesting, since the
dozens I examined contained the remains of field mice, deer mice,
shrews, and moles only. No rabbits, no squirrels, no insects, no little
birds! Indeed, there was not a feather of any kind, although the little
chickens had been running about and roosting all spring and summer
within a few feet--alluring, easy and constantly announcing their
presence by seductive peeping.
[Illustration: A YOUNG BARN OWL]
The old hollow must have suffered long use. It opened toward the south
through a large limb hole about thirty feet from the ground, and also
upward through the broken top of the tree; though that exit was not
used, and probably only served to let in a veritable deluge of water
during the thunderstorms. No doubt, too, the young Owls amused
themselves watching the clouds and the stars pass slowly over their
heads day by day, with the added excitement of a Hawk, Buzzard, or
smaller bird now and then. They rested on layers of debris which, when
examined, showed that honey bees had once been tenants, and later bats
and generations of Owls, perhaps many other birds, for hollows have a
strange, interesting history.
The birds themselves seemed about the size of old ones without the full
feathering, strong muscle and weight. They were so queer and wore such
humorous expressions whenever approached that, from the first, they
would have been objects of continual interested observation, were it not
for the rather discouraging fact that this almost always brought on a
quarrel. The bright light and excited feelings seemed to confuse one so
much that he would mistake the others for enemies and pounce on them.
This caused equally fierce retaliation every time, and resulted in all
three being scratched about the thighs. Darkening the coop remedied
this.
It impressed me then as strange that, with all the birds' show of
aggressiveness, there was no snapping of beaks nor marked disposition to
bite; but I later found that they did not have the same strength in
their beaks as most varieties of Owls, particularly the Great Horned
Owls, which crush the skull of a rabbit with such ease. This, I suppose,
has something to do with the species' love of very small mammals, which
can be torn to pieces and swallowed without trouble by those queer
cavernous mouths. Their hooked claws, which gripped me on several
occasions, were all right, though and as sharp as needles.
The youngsters were left severely alone until evening, when, with the
lessening light, came a quick change. They seemed to lose some of their
fear, and to be expectantly listening for something. Every now and then
one would utter a rasping cry, which blended harmoniously with the
insect chorus and yet could be heard a long distance.
Just as the sun set and the glow still spread over the west, the cries
became very insistent, and a shadow seemed to pass for an instant over
the coop as one of the parents flew quietly into a locust tree nearby,
and stood there close to the trunk, a mouse dangling from the left foot.
It soon flew out and circled noiselessly, only to disappear very soon,
much to the disgust of the coop occupants. Several minutes elapsed, the
evening silence broken only by the rasping call and the drum of the
katy-dids; then an old Owl circled by bearing a mouse in its beak. It
may have been the same bird and the same mouse, the deepening shadows
making it impossible to see accurately.
The night being dark, I left my hiding-place and the birds until
morning, when it was surprising to find only the smallest of the three
in the coop, and that dead. The other two had escaped; but how they
squeezed beneath slats which allowed only the tiniest chicks to go
through will ever be a mystery to me. I could not even pull out the
remaining one. It was much less developed than the other two, both in
size of limb and feather, and had evidently succumbed to the effects of
the frightful fall, though its body showed no bruise.
I hunted around the debris of the felled trees, and finally spied the
others, which had done some expert climbing and hidden in the darkest
corners, one beneath a tree trunk, the other in a leafy top where it had
evidently stayed all night, as evidenced by a kind of bed stamped down
and lined with surplus food carried there by the parents. Such a supper!
three particularly fine meadow mice and a fat star-nosed mole, all
freshly killed and whole.
The youngsters, which at first crouched silently, were in a very bitter
frame of mind, so I carried them out by the wing tips--the only
satisfactory way I found of handling such a brambly article--and later
made them stand in the light for a photograph--a difficult matter,
because they ran with all speed for the wood-pile as soon as released.
Just as I thought I had them, after many attempts, one mistook the other
for a foe, and, without preliminaries, went for him. However, the other
one met the rush feet first and seized the attacking claws before they
hit, practically holding down his brother by each foot while he glared
into his face in comical fashion, and hissed for all he was worth. This
holding hands continued with much comical shaking of heads, until both
birds suddenly struck at each other somewhat as roosters do; then they
held hands again until separated and put into a deep open-top box for
safe-keeping. If left free, dogs, cats, or opossums would most likely
have found them through the strong odor so noticeable about young birds
of prey. The mice were, however, first cut into pieces and thrust down
the apparently hungry birds' throats, while each was held by his feet
and neck.
Every night after that the youngsters were visited and fed by the
devoted old ones, and always it was with mice of some kind or
moles--principally meadow mice, house mice, white-footed mice, shrews
and ground moles--as many as eight sometimes, as shown by the disgorged
pellets or uneaten bodies.
The parents also scrupulously cleaned the old box each night. They lived
in the hemlock wood across the narrow valley, but in what tree I could
not discover. One would appear soon after sunset with some kind of
mouse, and by eleven o'clock had apparently satisfied the youngsters'
hunger, for the rasping cries would usually cease and an occasional
louder and clearer cry of the old birds pierce the darkness.
One fine morning found the youngsters gone. Day after day they had tried
to jump out of the box, each time coming a little closer to the edge.
After this they could be heard calling in the evenings, and sometimes
until dawn. Always in the wood, they perched high up side by side or on
nearby limbs, and lazily relied on their parents to keep up the good
work of providing mice. On dark nights they called much longer than on
moonlight nights, which convinced me that the hunting was more difficult
then.
Occasionally a parent could be seen standing always very erect on the
barn gable overlooking a truck-garden, but usually it would watch from a
tree in the marshy meadows, now and then dropping to the ground and
staying there a considerable time as if hunting on foot among the grass
clumps, a method which, from the great agility of the young when pursued
on the ground and in the brush piles, I can well imagine no cat could
improve on.
I tried without success to draw them by imitating their strange cry, and
also a mouse's squeak made by sucking loudly on the back of the hand. A
Screech Owl and many wild animals would take instant notice of the
latter, but not the Barn Owls. Even a rat caught in a trap failed to
entice these birds, though several Screech Owls responded at once.
But who has stirred a Barn Owl? Over the dew-laden meadows he stands
guard, or perhaps at the edge of the moonlit corn-fields, waiting for
the only prey that seems to interest him. He knows the country like a
book, the runways of the meadow mouse, the house mouse's path from corn
shock to corn shock, the mole's early morning starting point.
Under the old buttonball tree the broods of young chickens ran from
early morning to night. The owner felt that the large Owls were a menace
to his flock and watched for them with a gun. But, with the fall of the
old tree and a study of their food, a new light has spread to every farm
in that vicinity.
I heard the young Owl's last 'rasp' on October 16; it was full of the
weird power which thrills one in the dark hours. A few minutes later, a
big bird flew low toward the orchard--the young Owls had taken to
hunting at last.
* * * * *
[Illustration: In Again
On Again
Gone Again!
Photographs of a Flicker by A. A. Allen]
* * * * *
=The Migration of North American Birds=
Compiled by Prof. W. W. Cooke, Chiefly from Data in the Biological
Survey
With a drawing by LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES
(See Frontispiece)
THE BUSH-TIT
All of the forms of Bush-Tits in the United States are non-migratory.
The present species, which is better known by the name of the Least
Bush-Tit, is confined to the Pacific Coast, where it ranges from
northern Lower California to southern British Columbia. This is the
range of the typical form (_Psaltriparus minimus minimus_), while a
subspecies called the California Bush-Tit (_Psaltriparus minimus
californicus_) occurs over much of eastern California east of the
Sacramento Valley, from the southern end of the Sierras nearly to the
Oregon line. A third form, or subspecies, the Grinda Bush-Tit
(_Psaltriparus minimus grindæ_), is confined to the southern end of
Lower California.
THE LEAD-COLORED BUSH-TIT
The southern boundary of the range of the Lead-colored Bush-Tit
(_Psaltriparus plumbeus_) is found in western Texas, northern Mexico,
southeastern to northwestern Arizona, and the Providence Mountains,
California. Thence it occurs north to central and northwestern Colorado,
northern Utah and northwestern Nevada. A few individuals have been noted
in southwestern Wyoming and southeastern Oregon.
LLOYD'S BUSH-TIT
Scarcely coming across the boundary from its real home in northern
Mexico, the Lloyd Bush-Tit (_Psaltriparus melanotis lloydi_) occurs in
the southern part of the mountains of western Texas and barely crosses
the line in southwestern New Mexico.
THE VERDIN
Confined to the borderland of the southwestern United States, the Verdin
in its typical form (_Auriparus flaviceps flaviceps_) is one of the most
interesting birds of the desert and semi-arid districts, and is
non-migratory. It ranges north to southeastern California, southern
Nevada, northwestern Arizona (and extreme southwestern Utah),
southwestern and southeastern New Mexico, western and southern Texas,
and south into northern Mexico and the northern half of Lower
California. The southern half of Lower California is occupied by a
subspecies called the Cape Verdin (_Auriparus flaviceps
lamprocephalus_).
THE WREN-TIT
The known ranges of the various forms, or subspecies of the Wren-Tit are
given in the following paper. All the forms are non-migratory.
=Notes on the Plumage of North American Birds=
THIRTY-SEVENTH PAPER
By FRANK M. CHAPMAN
(See Frontispiece)
=Bush-Tit= (_Psaltriparus minimus_ and races. Fig. 1). The Bush-Tits of
this group may be known by their brownish crown. The male and female are
alike in color; the young bird closely resembles them but has the crown
somewhat darker, and the winter plumage differs from that worn in summer
only in being slightly deeper in tone. Three races of this species are
known: The Bush-Tit (_P. m. minimus_) of the Pacific coast from northern
Lower California to Washington, in which the crown is sooty brown; the
California Bush-Tit (_P. m. californicus_), which occupies the interior
of California and Oregon, and has the crown much brighter than in the
coast form; and Grinda's Bush-Tit (_P. m. grindæ_), a form of the Cape
Region of Lower California with a grayer back.
=Lead-colored Bush-Tit= (_Psaltriparus plumbeus._ Fig. 2). The gray
crown, of the same color as the back distinguishes this species from the
Bush-Tits living west of the Sierras. The male and the female are alike
in color; the young is essentially like them, but has less brownish on
the sides of the head, and there are no seasonal changes in color.
=Lloyd's Bush-Tit= (_Psaltriparus melanotis lloydi._ Figs. 3, 4).
Lloyd's Bush-Tit is a northern form of the Black-eared Bush-Tit of the
Mexican tableland. Occurring over our border only in western Texas,
southern New Mexico, and southern Arizona, it is rarely observed by the
field ornithologist. The adult male may always be known by its black
cheeks; and when the female has any black on the sides of the head (as
in Fig. 4), no difficulty is experienced in identifying her. But
immature males and often some apparently adult females are without
black, and they then so closely resemble the Lead-colored Bush-Tit that
it is impossible to distinguish them by color alone.
=Verdin= (_Auriparus flaviceps._ Fig. 5). When it leaves the nest, the
young Verdin is a gray bird with no yellow on its head or chestnut on
its wing-coverts, but at the postjuvenal molt both yellow head and
chestnut patch are acquired, and the bird, now in its first winter
plumage, cannot be distinguished from its parents. These closely
resemble each other, but the female sometimes has less yellow on the
head. After the colors of maturity are acquired, they are retained, and
thereafter there is essentially no change in the Verdin's appearance
throughout the year.
There are but two races of the Verdin. One (_A. f. flaviceps_) occupies
our Mexican border from coast to coast. The other, the Cape Verdin (_A.
f. lamprocephalus_), a smaller bird with a brighter yellow head, is
found only in the Cape Region of Lower California.
=Wren-Tit= (_Chamæa fasciata._ Fig. 6). The Wren-Tit enjoys the
distinction of being the only species in the only family of birds
peculiar to North America. It is restricted to the Pacific coast region
from northern Lower California north to Oregon. While it presents
practically no variation in color with age, sex, or season, it varies
considerably with locality, four races of it being recognized. Since
they are non-migratory, the purposes of field identification will best
be served by outlining their distribution as it is given in Dr.
Grinnell's recent, authoritative 'Distributional List of the Birds of
California' as follows:
=Pallid Wren-Tit= (_Chamæa fasciata henshawi_). Common resident of the
Upper Sonoran Zone west of the deserts and Great Basin drainage from the
Mexican line through the San Diegan district, northward coastwise to San
Luis Obispo and San Benito counties, and interiorly along the western
foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the lower McCloud River, in Shasta
County; also along the inner northern coast ranges from Helena, Trinity
County, and Scott River, Siskiyou County, south to Covelo, Mendocino
County, and Vacaville, Solano County. The easternmost stations for this
form are: vicinity of Walker Pass, Kern County, and Campo, San Diego
County.
=Intermediate Wren-Tit= (_Chamæa fasciata fasciata_). Common resident of
the coast region south of San Francisco Bay, from the Golden Gate to
southern Monterey County; east to include the Berkeley hills and at
least the west slopes of the Mount Hamilton range.
=Ruddy Wren-Tit= (_Chamæa fasciata rufula_). Common resident of the
humid coast belt immediately north of San Francisco Bay, in Marin,
Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Northernmost station for this form:
Mendocino City.
=Coast Wren-Tit= (_Chamæa fasciata phæa_). Fairly common resident
locally in the extreme northern humid coast belt. Humboldt and Del Norte
Counties.
[Illustration (birds on branch)]
=Notes from Field and Study=
A Correction
Through a typographical error the Tree Sparrow was included in the
Census of Mrs. Herbert R. Mills of Tampa, Florida, published in the
January-February, 1916, issue of BIRD-LORE. The record should have read
Tree Swallow.--EDITOR.
Hints for Bird Clubs
The greatest problem with most of our bird clubs seems to be: What can
we do to make our meetings interesting, so that all the members,
especially the younger ones, will be anxious to come?
In planning for parties, picnics, or other entertainments of that sort,
we usually expect to have everyone present take a part in whatever games
or sports there are, and, no matter how often we have them, there is
never any question but that all who can do so will be there. I believe
that bird-club meetings can be made equally attractive if we go about
them in the same way, rather than to plan some sort of entertainment
where only a few are to have a part, as is usually the case.
There is almost no limit to the number of interesting and instructive
things we can do, and it will be possible for even the more advanced
bird students to learn something new at nearly every meeting.
Every member should have a notebook for keeping a record of the birds
seen and identified, with any new or interesting things observed, for
comparison with others at each meeting; and each member should have a
standing in the club according to the number of birds identified and the
amount of work done for the birds. This will be an inducement for each
member to do something or learn something new before the next meeting,
and to be present at all the meetings, to learn what others have done.
It will also be found helpful in learning about birds and in remembering
what is seen; for, unless we have some special reason for noting
carefully all that may be seen on our walks, even the most interested
observers will miss many things, and will forget much of what they did
see.
When about to start on a walk of about three miles, one bright pleasant
morning last June, I decided to keep a list of all the birds seen and
heard from the time I started until I returned. The walk was finished
between twelve and one o'clock, when most of the birds were quiet and
few were seen; yet I saw 105 birds on the trip, and had a good idea of
the number and variety of birds one might see at this time of the year.
If I had kept no record of the number, I could not have told how many I
was likely to see, or which species would be seen oftenest. All such
things will prove interesting at the meetings, and will add largely to
our knowledge of birds in the course of a year.
In winter, we should note the feeding habits of the different birds and
the number and kinds of winter visitors seen; it is also a good time to
make a study of nests, where they are placed, and the material used in
each.
In summer, there will be something for every day if we have our eyes
open; nesting habits, bird-baths, and occasionally some rare migrant to
tell about. It would be impossible to give a complete list of the
interesting things to be seen at this time.
Every club should own a few good reference books, and have them at their
meetings, to settle any questions that may arise. The 'Color Key to
North American Birds,' by Chapman, will be found useful for
identification, 'Wild Bird Guests,' by Baynes, for matters pertaining to
bird clubs and bird protection, also 'Useful Birds and their
Protection,' by Forbush.
There are many others that would prove beneficial, but these three are
almost indispensable, if we would learn the ways of our wild bird
friends and what we can do to help them.
It is understood that every family of bird lovers will be subscribers to
BIRD-LORE, for few would be willing to miss the interesting bits of
information to be found in every number of this bird magazine.
Selections from BIRD-LORE, the Audubon Leaflets, books on Nature by
standard authors, and occasionally articles from some of the popular
magazines, might be read at each meeting. This will prove a very
interesting part of the program, and there will always be material
enough to fill out any schedule.
Good plates of birds like those obtained with the Audubon Leaflets and
the set published with the 'Birds of New York' will help in
identifications, and, as the cost is very small, every club should have
at least one set of each.
If we can get our clubs once started along these lines, it seems
possible that it might become more of a problem to find time for
everything than to find something to do.
One year's course in a bird club of this kind should give every member a
fairly good knowledge of what we can do for the birds, and what they are
doing for us.--W. M. BUSWELL, _Superintendent Meriden, (N. H.) Bird
Club_.
Ornithological Possibilities of a Bit of Swamp-Land
For several years, I have had a bit of swamp-land under my eye,
especially during the cooler months. It is not exactly a beauty-spot,
being bordered by ragged backyards, city dumps, a small tannery, and a
dismantled factory, formerly used by a company engaged in cleaning hair
for plasterers' use.
A part of the surface is covered by cat-tails, the rest by a mixed
growth of water-loving shrubs, as sweet-gale, leather-leaf, andromeda,
and other shrubs which like to dabble their roots in ooze. A brook,
connecting two large ponds, runs through the swamp, giving current and
temperature enough to make certain a large amount of open water, even in
the coldest weather.
A little colony of Wilson's Snipe have made this swamp their winter home
for at least fifteen years, and probably much longer. Song, and
generally Swamp Sparrows can be found here all winter. This winter, we
have a Green-winged Teal, finding feed enough to induce her to remain;
and over beside the cat-tails, about some fallen willows, a Winter Wren
seems much at home.
During recent years, a sort of beach, made by dumping gravel to cover
refuse from the hair factory, has been a favored feeding place for
various Sandpipers, as well as the Snipe. The last of the Sandpipers
leave in November, while the Snipe remain.
Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons drop in during the fall and
summer, and our increasing Ring-neck Pheasant, the gunner's pet, loves
to skulk around the edges.
Tree Sparrows, Goldfinches, and their kin attract an occasional
Butcherbird and the smaller Hawks, Pigeon, Sparrow, and Sharp-shin in
season.
Early spring brings a host of Blackbirds, Redwings, Bronzed Grackles,
and Rusties; while a Cowbird hung about with some English Sparrows,
until Thanksgiving time, this year.
We are always on the lookout for something new to turn up in the swamp,
and are seldom disappointed. For so small a place, not over five acres,
it surely is a bird haven; especially does it seem so when, but a few
rods away on the nearby ponds, the ice-men are harvesting twelve-inch
ice. Naturally, local bird-lovers are praying that the hand of
"improvement" will be stayed a long time in wiping out this neglected
little nook.--ARTHUR P. STUBBS, _Lynn, Mass._
My Neighbor's Sparrow Trap
My neighbor one block to the north, Professor E. R. Ristine, who gives
me leave to use his name in the present connection, finally lost his
patience with English Sparrows (_Passer domesticus_), on or about May
15, 1915. The fact that an elderly person sharing the home with his
family could not sleep at reasonable hours on account of Sparrow chatter
was an element in the decision to which he soon came. For into his hands
fell an advertisement of a Sparrow trap, just such a two-funnel wire
affair as was described and recommended as early as 1912 by the
Department of Agriculture in Farmers' Bulletin 493. On May 20, 1915, the
trap arrived, and was duly installed and baited. It was at first placed
on the ground in the small chicken-yard at the rear of the house, and
the outer funnel was baited with a small amount of cracked grain, the
finer "chick-feed" proving to be most efficacious. The location of the
trap was changed at different times during the spring, summer, and fall,
and the total results on the Sparrow population were satisfactory beyond
expectations.
By June 11, only twenty-two days after the trap was set out, 78 Sparrows
had passed the fatal inner funnel of that simple contrivance, and at
this, fortunately for the accurate details of the present account, my
neighbor's interest was aroused to know precisely what the powers of his
most recent purchase might really be. With a pencil he marked thereafter
on the siding of his hen-house the mortuary record: 6/13--84, 6/17--100,
7/9--202, and so forth. That is to say, a total of 202 birds had been
gathered in by July 9, fifty days after the trap was put into action, or
an average of a little more than four per day. This rate of destruction
was much increased during the following month, the 300 mark being passed
on July 27, and the 400 mark on August 11. The rate of capture then
declined, and it was not until September 18 that the figure 508 was
registered. The trap remained set until December 5, at which time the
deadly record stood at 597. A few dozens more had entered the trap but
escaped through the insufficient latching of the "clean-out" door. After
December 5 heavy snows fell, followed by sleet storms, and my neighbor
temporarily placed his trap out of service on a back porch.
A few facts in connection with the above record will prove of interest.
The heaviest catches were made when the currants became very ripe and
the trap was placed under the laden bushes. Fewest Sparrows were caught
when the sweet corn in the garden was in the milk stage, the birds
preferring the contents of the juicy kernels to the dry grain with which
the trap was baited. The largest catch on any one day was 20 birds, this
number being reached on two different dates, June 27 and August 4. The
Sparrows seemed to arrive in flocks of greater or less size, and the
record would mount rapidly until these were gathered in. Then, for
several days possibly, no birds at all would be trapped. And the fine
feature of the entire season's experience was that this trap caught
English Sparrows and no other bird whatsoever. The only exception to
English Sparrows was a single hoary old house rat that had evidently
followed a Sparrow in; at any rate, the latter was found partially
devoured.
Relief from the Sparrow nuisance began to come to our neighborhood about
the middle of August, after full 400 of the noisy chatterers had fallen
victim to the innocent-looking wire cage. And by the time the Indian
summer days of October came, the English Sparrow tribe in our part of
town had dropped from the status of "abundant" to only "fairly common."
Indeed, I have not seen more than six individuals together in our end of
the little city at any time in the last three months.
Is it possible that my neighbor's experience was out of the ordinary? I
do not see why it should be, but I have found a similar record only in
the above-mentioned Farmers' Bulletin, where the capture of 300 Sparrows
in six weeks in the Missouri Botanical Gardens, St. Louis, is noted. If
it is at all typical of what may be accomplished, then one or two things
seem clear. An easy method is at hand for holding in check the Sparrow
nuisance and more attention should be given to Farmers' Bulletin 493
than seems thus far to have been accorded this worthy
publication.--CHARLES R. KEYES, _Mt. Vernon, Iowa_.
A Tropical Migration Tragedy
[We are indebted to Prof. M. H. Saville for a copy of 'El Comercio' for
October 18, 1915, a newspaper published at San Pedro Sula, Honduras,
which contains the following account of a migration tragedy.--EDITOR.]
"At midnight, on October 10, 1915, there commenced to appear groups of
birds flying in a southerly direction. At the time darkness set in, we
began to hear the call of a great number of birds that were circling
constantly over the city. This avian invasion increased considerably
during the night. The main part of the army of invasion crossing the
Gulf of Honduras arrived in the evening off the coast of Puerto Cortes.
These birds do not travel by day, but follow the eastern shore, guided
by certain groups that, toward night, exhausted, ceasing their flight,
turn inland. The bright rays from the electric lights projected high in
among the clouds, serving to indicate the position of San Pedro Sula
and, attracted by its splendor, the bird emigrants, greatly fatigued by
their vigorous exercise in the long flight against contrary winds in
their travel across the Gulf of Mexico (approximately 700 miles), their
short stay in Yucatan, and their flight across the Gulf of Honduras, the
greater part of them fell one upon another in their revolutions about
the lights, some dropping half-crazed against the roofs and fences,
breaking wings and legs, some dying outright.
"At two o'clock in the morning, the greater part of the expedition
directed toward this zone had arrived in the neighborhood of the city.
It was at that time that the sound of their striking against the posts
and the electric wires was a continual tattoo. It seemed almost as
though the stones in the streets had been awakened, and were being
hurled against the inhabitants. Numbers of birds striking against the
zinc roofs gave off a sound like hurrying footsteps, the drumming on the
zinc extending over the entire city. At one spot within a radius of two
yards there fell dying six wounded birds. In the morning the streets
were strewn with bodies; the greater part of them dead, others wounded."
A Shower of Birds
In the fall of 1915, a violent wind-storm passed through the southern
states, just grazing the edge of Spartanburg, in upper South Carolina.
Here the minister of the First Presbyterian Church was about to take
shelter in his home, from the fury of the wind, when he saw what
appeared to be a small, black cloud swoop down upon his roof and
disappear. He hastened in, and found, to his and his family's dismay,
that little black birds were fairly pouring down one of the chimneys.
The birds seemed to have been stunned by the force of the gale to which
they had been exposed, and the floor was soon covered, several inches
deep, with their inanimate bodies. They were picked up by the bucketful,
and thrown out, but soon revived and flew away, none the worse,
apparently, for their unusual experience. Two little fellows who were
overlooked took refuge on a curtain pole, where they were discovered by
a little girl, several hours later.
This is probably the only time on record when it literally rained birds.
The birds were common Chimney Swifts.--R. L. FRIPP, _Spartanburg, S. C._
A Heron's Involuntary Bath
Some of the little comedies of bird life are amusing to the onlooker,
although, like those happening to human beings, not always so pleasant
to the individuals participating. A neighbor of mine where I live on the
shores of an island in the Great South Bay, took up his dock for the
winter season and left a stake in the water. It is beneath the surface
except at low tide when it projects an inch or two above. At dusk on the
evening of October 23, 1915, two Black-crowned Night Herons came winging
along. The one in the lead, happening to spy the top of the nearly
submerged stake, immediately dropped down and appropriated it for a
temporary fishing-station. Its mate, probably trusting it had landed in
very shallow water, dropped down also beside it. But it kept on going
down until only its head and shoulders protruded. It was a surprised
bird, and stood there a few minutes in its awkward predicament, looking
around as if vainly trying to grasp the situation. Then, finally giving
it up, it managed to spring out and fly off.--JOHN R. TOOKER, _Babylon,
Long Island_.
Winter Notes from Carlisle, Ind.
We are having a very mild winter, with heavy rains. During last week it
has been warm, and numerous Robins have been here. There is a
twenty-acre alfalfa field adjoining town, and some eight acres of it was
mown only once and the other crop left on the ground. This makes a
regular haven for the Meadow Larks, and during the past week they have
been having a regular carnival. You can hear dozens of them singing at a
time. There must be hundreds of them in this field. Song Sparrows have
also been singing.--J. H. GILLILAND, _Carlisle, Ind._
Notes from Nebraska
What is the most abundant bird in a given locality? This a question
often conjectured upon by both ornithologists and casual observers. The
terms "abundant," "common," "scarce," or "very scarce," form poor
records of actual abundance, as suggested in recent issues of BIRD-LORE.
So, to get data on actual abundance, I took weekly bird censuses during
the months of May, June, July, and a part of August, 1915, making counts
of both number of species and number of individuals.
Of eight such censuses, taken during June, July, and August, in
northeastern Kansas and southeastern Nebraska, Dickcissels proved to be
the most abundant in six, if the exception is made of English Sparrows,
which led in numbers in two censuses. This, I should say, would be the
case over a large part of the middle West, of which the above-mentioned
vicinities are typical.
Here are my figures on the Dickcissel:
*June 5. Sabetha, Kan., 99 individuals noted in 4-3/4 hours afield.
*June 12. Du Bois, Nebr., 64 individuals noted in 5 hours afield.
*June 19. Pawnee, Nebr., 35 individuals noted in 5 hours afield.
*June 27. Lewiston, Nebr., 109 individuals noted in 6-1/2 hours afield.
*July 5. Beatrice, Nebr., 25 individuals noted in 4-1/2 hours afield.
July 11. Beatrice, Nebr., 46 individuals noted in 6 hours afield.
July 25. Hebron, Nebr., 36 individuals noted in 3-3/4 hours afield.
*Aug. 1. Ruskin, Nebr., 39 individuals noted in 5 hours afield.
Dates preceded by an asterisk are those upon which the counts showed the
Dickcissel to be the most abundant species, English Sparrows excepted.
These figures indicate an average of 11-1/4 Dickcissels seen or heard
per hour.
And, in spite of this prominent place the Dickcissel holds in our bird
life, I have talked numbers of times with intelligent people who not
only disclaim any knowledge of the bird, but say they have never heard
the name 'Dickcissel' before.
On July 11, 1915, in and around Beatrice, Nebr., I counted 5,483
Blackbirds, which I am reasonably sure were Bronzed Grackles. Of this
number, 5,260 were counted from one location on the bank of the Big Blue
River, the flock passing continuously for about one hour. This is
mentioned as being further indicative of actual abundance, and it might
be suggested that, in actual numbers, the Bronzed Grackles might
outweigh the Dickcissels, their immense numbers in flocks more than
making up for the more uniform local distribution of the non-flocking
Dickcissels.
In the May-June, 1915, number of BIRD-LORE, I note that Mr. Ridgway
classes the Upland Plover as a "species verging toward extermination,"
speaking of it as now very scarce in southern Illinois. This bird of
the prairies is still to be found in southeastern Nebraska, and I
believe it could not be called very scarce in that locality. On June 27,
1915, in Pawnee County, Nebraska, I saw a flock of nine of these birds;
on July 11, in Gage County, I noted one; on July 12, in Gage County, I
noted eight; on July 23, in Thayer County, I noted one; and on August 1,
in Nuckolls County, I saw a flock of ten.
Mr. Ridgway's description of the song of the Upland Plover is a fitting
one. Its peculiar, mournful whistle _is_ "one of the most thrilling of
bird songs."--HOWARD PARET, _Kansas City, Mo._
A Gannet Over the Hudson River
On October 16, 1915, I was crossing the Dyckman Street New York Ferry
and observed a Gannet, which passed quite close to the ferry-boat,
winging its way steadily southward toward New York Bay. It is so unusual
and remarkable to find this bird away from the coast as to be worthy of
record.--J. T. NICHOLS, _Englewood, N. J._
Petrels on the Hudson
The preceding note from Mr. Nichols prompts me to add that one afternoon
during the first week in August, 1915 (I failed to record the exact
date), I saw from the Fort Lee (130th Street) Ferry at least a score of
Petrels coursing low over the water and flying down the river. They were
on the east side of the river, from which I had embarked, and as the
boat carried me out of vision, Petrels were still passing. Doubtless
they were Wilson's Petrels which, in their search for food, had gone far
above their usual limits in the lower harbor.--FRANK M. CHAPMAN,
_Englewood, N. J._
Starling in Ohio
On January 8, Walter and Robert Kirk, farmer boys living near here,
captured a Starling which has taken refuge in their barn. I was unable
to identify the bird from their description of it over the telephone,
but when it was brought to me I readily identified it, as I had been
watching its progress west. Needless to say, I was somewhat surprised to
see it here. BIRD-LORE Christmas census for 1914 reports it for West
Chester and White Marsh Valley, Pa.
So far as I know, this is the first record of the Starling for Ohio, and
it may be the first west of the Alleghany Mountains. This seems a long
'jump' westward for any bird in so short a time, especially considering
the mountains it would have to cross.
I have no doubt as to the identity of the bird, but have taken
photographs in case of any question.--SHERIDAN F. WOOD, _West La
Fayette, Ohio_.
Evening Grosbeaks and Cardinals in Southern Wisconsin
About noon on January 22, 1916, as I was returning from a walk in South
Park, a flutter of wings, accompanied by soft whistles and twitters,
caught my attention and, to my surprise and joy, I counted a flock of
nineteen Evening Grosbeaks in the small maple and elm trees bordering
the sidewalk.
The bright sunshine falling on their plumage gave them an extremely
beautiful and gay-colored appearance. The birds seemed to be nearly all
males. They were quite tame, and I was able to approach close under the
trees before they took to their wings, finally disappearing in a
northeasterly direction. Two years ago, on one of the coldest days of
the winter, a flock of about fifty visited Reedsburg and were observed
by a number of our bird-lovers.
I cannot resist giving a brief account of the pair of beautiful
Cardinals that have been staying in Reedsburg for the past two weeks.
Although I did not have the good fortune to observe these rare visitors,
yet their identity was made certain by the authoritative testimony of a
number of bird-lovers who had ample opportunity to watch them closely
from a curtained window, which looked out on the apple-tree and
feeding-station only a few feet from the house; so there was no chance
of an error in their identification. They were first seen on January 5,
in the midst of a driving blizzard, with the mercury dropping to 25°
below zero. The pair remained in the vicinity of the grain-strewn
feeding-station for about half an hour, and have been seen a great many
times since, by a large number of people.--ETHEL A. NOTT, _Reedsburg,
Wisconsin_.
Evening Grosbeaks at Port Henry, N. Y.
On December 17, 1915, I saw a pair of Evening Grosbeaks.
On January 28, 1916, out over an open spot of water in Lake Champlain, I
saw three Canada Geese and the men working near there told me they had
been around there all the morning.
On January 7, 1916, I saw a large flock of Evening Grosbeaks.
The last two weeks I have seen many Crows as many as four in one
flock.--DORA B. HARRIS, _Port Henry, N. Y._
The Evening Grosbeak at Glens Falls, N. Y.
The Bird Club of Glens Falls reports that on January 25, 1916, Miss
Shields saw on one of our streets, seven Evening Grosbeaks, four males
and three females.--C. EVELEEN HATHAWAY, _Secretary, Glens Falls, N. Y._
Evening Grosbeaks at Saratoga Springs, N. Y.
It gives me much pleasure to report to you that on Sunday morning,
January 30, 1916, there was a flock of Evening Grosbeaks feeding in the
open woodland across the street. When first seen, about twenty of the
birds were sitting quietly on the upper branches of a leafless maple,
the balance feeding on exposed ground between snowdrifts under the
trees. There were thirty-seven birds in the flock, of which one-fourth
to one-third were males in the brilliant yellow, white, and brownish
black plumage. They were talking to each other softly, and the low
beaded call was frequent; but I did not hear the males whistle as they
used to in Wisconsin.
I called the attention of Miss Adelaide Denton (the local authority on
bird-life) to the flock, and we watched them for quite some time, before
they rose, took wing, and wheeling, flew to the north, and disappeared.
Miss Denton had never seen Evening Grosbeaks in this territory before,
although she tells me Pine Grosbeaks are fairly common winter visitors.
I have re-opened this letter to add that part of the flock have returned
to this locality. Twenty-five of the Grosbeaks now being in the maples
across the way.
Perhaps I should add that I am quite familiar with the Evening
Grosbeaks, having observed them every winter from 1900 to 1908-9
inclusive, feeding in the box elder trees in Eau Claire,
Wisconsin.--JACOLYN MANNING, M. D., _Saratoga Springs, N. Y._
The Evening Grosbeak at Boston
Any record of the Evening Grosbeak on the Atlantic coast is so very rare
that it may interest the readers of BIRD-LORE to hear of a visit made to
us by one on December 16, 1915.
Our bird was found in the Boston Parkway, close to the city blocks,
flying about, at times rather wildly, at others, feeding tamely on the
ground among the English Sparrows.
By its plumage, of which we give herewith a brief sketch, we judge it to
have been a female or young bird. Head, rather dark gray; nape,
yellowish green; back, pale brownish green; wings, black, interspersed
with large areas of white; tail, black, with broad, white tip; chin and
throat, gray; rest of under-parts pale yellowish or greenish brown;
legs, pink; bill, whitish, or pale horn-color.
When at rest, the bird gave the effect of a huge winter Goldfinch; in
flight, its largely white wings strongly suggested a Snow Bunting.
We heard it utter two distinctly different notes; the first a rather
loud and insistent monosyllable--perhaps nearer _peep_ than any
other--and the second, a peculiar little trilling call, not unlike
certain notes of the Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Both as to plumage and notes, this species is very strikingly different
from any other Grosbeak, of any age and either sex, in this part of the
world. Its whitish beak, the yellowish green tone of its plumage, the
absence of streaks, and the presence of such large areas of white in its
wings and tail--not to mention the notes described above--all serve
easily to distinguish this bird even from the female and young of the
Pine Grosbeak, which, of all our species, most nearly resembles it.
Such other observations of this species as are made, this winter, thus
far east, we hope to see recorded in BIRD-LORE.--E. G. and R. E.
ROBBINS, _Brookline, Mass._
Evening Grosbeaks at Poughkeepsie
On the afternoon of February 17, 1916, I observed seven Evening
Grosbeaks feeding on locust seeds at our farm just outside of
Poughkeepsie. They returned on the morning of the 20th, when they were
also seen by Mr. Allen Frost, Prof. Saunders and Prof. Ellen Freeman,
both of Vassar College, and Miss S. Dean, a student, who confirmed my
identification. As I believe this is a record for Dutchess County, it
seems worth reporting.--GEORGE W. GRAY, _Greenvale, Poughkeepsie, N. Y._
Evening Grosbeaks in Lexington, Mass.
Although Evening Grosbeaks may very probably have visited Lexington
during the flights of 1880-1890 and 1910-1911, there was no satisfactory
record of the bird for the town until Mr. Francis S. Dane saw a bird
near his house on December 31, 1915. This bird proved to be a member of
a flock of eleven Grosbeaks, all in the plumage of the female. For a
week or ten days this company remained in the vicinity of where the
first bird was seen, the number of individuals varying somewhat; the
maximum being eleven. Two fruited box elder trees were the attraction to
the locality. So regular were their visits to these trees that observers
could rely almost with certainty on finding the birds in one or the
other of the trees (they were some two hundred yards apart) at eleven
o'clock in the morning.
At all times, the Grosbeaks showed the fearlessness of man so
characteristic of Pine Grosbeaks and the Crossbills, but their tameness
was especially noticeable when the flock was busily feeding. The birds
then appeared to disregard the presence of a party of observers; we
could approach them closely, and see very satisfactorily their method of
extracting the seeds.
The seeds of the box elder grow in pairs on a single stem, each seed
having a wing. In the winter, however, the seed in its covering with the
attached wing, having broken away from the stem, hangs from it only by a
thread. It is an easy matter, therefore, for the Grosbeak to break off a
single seed. Having detached it from the stem (to do this the bird
merely leans downward and pulls off the husk and its wing), the Grosbeak
cuts through the husk as far as the kernel and allows the wing to drop
to the ground; this it does with a fluttering motion suggestive of a
small moth. The remainder, the whole kernel and perhaps two-thirds of
the husk, the Grosbeak mumbles in his bill, and in an incredibly short
time discards from the sides of his beak the more or less macerated
remains of the husk. Some of these particles fall to the ground, some
cling for a time to the beak. The bird swallows the kernel. Upon
examining the wings which the birds had clipped off, it was apparent
that the birds had bitten directly over the kernel itself at a point
rather nearer the wing than the center of the kernel. But, although by
this incision the kernel was exposed, it was never severed and allowed
to fall with the wing, as would have been the case had the beak been
closed and the bite completed. The cutting process was always arrested
at the point after the casing had been divided, but before the meat has
been severed. All this, although the process involved the nicest
precision, was accomplished with great rapidity,--the wing fluttering to
the ground within a second or two after the fruit was plucked from the
stem.
The big birds are curiously inconspicuous when feeding in a box elder
tree; their color harmonizes very closely with the dull grayish brown of
the faded wings of the fruit, and, as the birds are for the most part
silent, a feeding flock might easily be passed unnoticed. In spite of
their quiet manner, however, the Grosbeaks are ever on the alert, as was
shown when a large bird flew near them. They whirled away, panic
stricken, giving their loud 'kerp' call.
On January 8, the flock of eleven female birds was replaced by a flock
of eight Grosbeaks, two males and six females. These latter were all
distinctly grayer than any of the individuals of the first flock, whose
plumage was washed strongly with yellow. This second flock has remained
to the present time, February 19, feeding first upon the box elder seeds
until the two trees were practically stripped of fruit, then visiting a
Japanese crab-apple tree loaded with minute apples, from which the birds
obtained the seeds by munching off the pulp and discarding it. The flock
has suffered the loss of two female birds (they were probably caught by
a cat); otherwise the company has remained intact for six weeks. As in
the case of the original flock, these birds fed early in the morning,
again at about 11 A. M., and were rarely seen in the afternoon. On one
occasion, they left the feeding-ground by mounting high in the air and
taking a long, direct flight to the westward. Besides the box elder and
crab-apple seeds, the birds have eaten wild-cherry pits, poison-ivy
berries, and gray-birch seeds.
Evening Grosbeaks have been seen this season at several points in
eastern Massachusetts. Mrs. Lidian E. Bridge kindly sent me a report of
a flock which visited her place in West Medford, four birds on February
8 and 9. These birds fed upon the berries of the honeysuckle, mountain
ash, and red cedar.
The large number of observers who came from a radius of ten miles to see
these rare Grosbeaks demonstrated how great the interest in birds is at
the present time. For nearly two months, several visitors came every day
at the appointed time, and on Sundays and holidays the number often
reached thirty or more. The total number of persons who saw the birds
must have been hundreds. And each one, thanks to Audubon Societies and
proper education in out-of-doors studies, came armed with a glass
instead of a gun.--WINSOR M. TYLER, M. D., _Lexington, Mass._
Evening Grosbeaks in Vermont
On February 14, 1916, we were visited by a flock of nine Evening
Grosbeaks, which were feeding on the buds of sugar maple in a grove of
these trees near our place.
These birds were quite tame, allowing me to look at them through my
field-glass at a distance of three rods, making identification positive.
I heard their call note and saw three of these birds at a distance on
January 31.
On December 8, one was seen and heard too far away to note its
markings.--L. H. POTTER, _Clarendon, Vermont_.
Evening Grosbeaks in Connecticut
I wish to report a thrilling experience which I had this morning.
At ten o'clock, I glanced from my window, and saw White-breasted
Nuthatches on the bird-shelf, Chickadees, Hairy Woodpeckers, a Brown
Creeper, and Blue Jays, close by on two maples, a flock of English
Sparrows gleaning on the ground, and two strange birds picking up their
breakfast on the outskirts, but a few feet from the window.
The two rare visitors proved to be Evening Grosbeaks. They came toward
me, went away from me, turned about and displayed themselves in every
light, and finally flew to a spruce tree on the other side of the
house, where for about five minutes they gave every opportunity to study
them at close range.
The large white patches on the wings and white tips on the dark tail
feathers were very prominent.
The yellow forehead with black crown, the heavy bill, and the body of a
soft yellow color, black wings and tail, made identification very easy.
I presume these little strangers will be heard from in other parts of
Connecticut.--MARY HAZEN ARNOLD.
[The context shows that this observation was made in Connecticut, but
the observer does not give her address.--ED.]
Martin Problems
I should like those readers of BIRD-LORE who have accurately observed
the habits of the Purple Martin to tell me if my experience of the past
summer is a common one and what it means. For several years I have had a
Martin house of ten rooms, only one room of which has ever been occupied
and that always the west attic. This year (1915) on May 22, after
visiting a short time several times a day for a week, three Martins, one
male and two females, finally located in the house. June 1 the birds
began carrying nesting material into both west and east attic rooms. The
male seemed to work in the west room only, and one day was seen taking
in green cherry leaves from a nearby tree. Only one male bird was ever
seen about the house, so I concluded that this was a polygamous family.
The east room was not easy of observation, so I could not be sure of all
that took place there, but know that it was occupied by a female all
summer and that a nest was built. The male seemed to sleep in the west
room, both birds going in at dusk. When incubation began, the male
occupied one of the south rooms. July 7, a young Martin was found dead
under the house on the west side.
He was very tiny, and could not have been more than a day old at most.
His neck was as thin as a darning needle but his stomach was as large as
a hickory nut, and just as hard. Thinking the bird abnormal, I opened
the stomach only to find everything right, the abdomen being big and
hard because of the great number of bugs and flies it contained. July 16
I went out of the city, so did not see the young leave the house. For
several days previous to this, a baby Martin was constantly at the door,
and I believe there was only one young bird.
My last year's family consisted of only two young birds, but one of
which lived to fly from the house.
Neither eggs nor birds were found in the east room. Now, was this a
polygamous family, or was it one pair of Martins and a non-mating
female? Might it not have been my family of last year? I will appreciate
answers from readers of BIRD-LORE.--(MRS.) MAY S. DANNER, _Canton,
Ohio_.
A Bold Winter Wren
On November 7, 1908, I had been standing for some time motionless,
watching the antics of a Winter Wren which was foraging in a brush-heap
piled against a fence. The Wren was very much occupied and paid no
attention to me, as I stood about ten feet away. I had on a brown suit,
and was certainly not a very conspicuous object. Suddenly the Wren
appeared in a corner of the fence with a long morsel, the larva of some
insect, in his bill. Evidently this a tid-bit which should be eaten
leisurely for enjoyment. At any rate, after peering about he caught a
glimpse of me standing conveniently near. And much to my surprise, with
no hesitation, he flew straight at me and alighted on the side of my
coat. I could feel his movements through the cloth. He clung there
several seconds. But, in my attempt to get a better look at him, I
doubtless moved. For without a sound or show of alarm he flew back to
the fence and finished his morsel. I do not think the Wren implied that
I was a stick, but he certainly believed me to be a tree!--EDWARD J. F.
MARX, _Easton, Pa._
=Book News and Reviews=
A DISTRIBUTIONAL LIST OF THE BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA. By JOSEPH
GRINNELL. Pacific Coast Avifauna No. 11; Contribution from the
Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy of the University of California.
Published by the Cooper Ornithological Club, Hollywood, California,
October 21, 1915. Roy. 8vo, 217 pages, 3 plates.
Dr. Grinnell admits to this list 541 species and subspecies as
unquestionably Californian and includes in a Hypothetical List 61
additional species whose standing as Californian is doubtful.
"The systematic order is that of the American Ornithologists' Union
_Check-List_ (1910), except that within groups of species or subspecies
a more natural arrangement is sometimes adopted, for example by
according with geographical sequence. The A. O. U. order is thus
accepted here because of the convenience thereby admittedly secured, in
concording with the bulk of current ornithological literature."
(Page 7.)
The distinctive feature of this paper is its brief but clear
introduction on the life-zones and faunal areas of California with its
comments on the factors governing the distribution of life, and on the
relation of faunas to zones. It is illustrated with plates showing both
zonal and faunal divisions and four profiles across the state.
The terms used for the areas here defined are employed through the list
of birds and with the aid of the maps, convey a maximum of information
with a minimum of words.
Full records and references are given for species of rare or accidental
occurrence in the state as a whole, as well as boundary records for
those forms occupying a portion of the state.
It goes without saying that this list is authoritative and aside from
its purely scientific value it should be of much assistance in at least
the provisional identification in life of forms so closely related that
the locality at which they are seen is their best field character.--F.
M. C.
THE DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT (_Phalacrocorax auritus_) and its
Relations to the Salmon Industries on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By
P. A. TAVERNER. Canadian Geological Survey. Mus. Bull. No. 13,
Biol. Ser. No. 5; April 30, 1915. 8vo., 24 pages, 1 plate.
Complaint having been made that Cormorants were damaging the salmon
fisheries of the Gaspé coast, the Geological Survey of Canada despatched
Mr. Taverner with two assistants to study the food-habits of the
Cormorant in the region where the charges against it originated.
It is not without significance that the Cormorant was accused, not by
those who are dependent on fishing for a living, but by anglers who
having rented certain salmon streams apparently feel that they have also
acquired the power to inflict the death penalty on any form of life
which they believe to interfere with their own interests.
Mr. Taverner was in the field from June 21 to August 23, and during this
time he not only secured data which indicated that the charges against
the Cormorant are unfounded but made an interesting contribution to our
knowledge of the life-history of that bird.
There is more in Mr. Taverner's thoughtful, well-written paper than is
indicated by its title. We trust that it will be read by each of the
complaining anglers!--F. M. C.
The Ornithological Magazines
THE CONDOR.--The opening number of Volume XVIII of 'The Condor,' for
January, 1916, is an unusually interesting one. Under the title
'Philadelphia to the Coast in Early Days,' Dr. Witmer Stone, in a paper
read at the meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union in San
Francisco, last May, outlines the development of western ornithology
prior to 1850. Anyone interested in the history of early work in the
West will find here a clear, compact, and convenient résumé of the
contributors to ornithology made by the voyages and expeditions of
Captain Cook, La Pérouse, Vancouver, Lewis and Clarke, Major Long,
Captain Wyeth and Captain Beechey, and special reference to the birds
collected by Peale, Say, Townsend, Nuttall, Bell and Heermann.
Mrs. Bailey continues her description of 'The Characteristic Birds of
the Dakota Prairies' with a charming account of the water-birds found
along the sloughs and marshes.
Jewett contributes a brief paper on 'New and Interesting Bird Records,'
concerning thirteen species found in eastern Oregon during the spring
and summer of 1915.
One of the first fruits of the recent publication of Grinnell's
'Distributional List of the Birds of California,' appears in Dawson's
seven-page 'Personal Supplement,' which contains notes and critical
comments on sixty-three species. If other observers would publish such
notes as they have with equal detail, it would no doubt result in a
considerable addition to the wealth of information on the distribution
of California birds which Dr. Grinnell has already so successfully
brought together.
The common names applied to several birds come in for criticism in Notes
from Field and Study. Henderson defends the term 'House Finch,' and
condemns the two synonyms by which the bird is often known. The term
'Linnet' he considers not distinctive and 'California Linnet' as
indefensible. Dawson proposes Auburn Canyon Wren as a preferable name
for the Dotted Canyon Wren and Coues' Petrel instead of Ashy Petrel for
the bird which 'simply isn't ashy.'--T. S. P.
THE AUK.--Readers of the January issue will find therein a good deal
about bird song as it is viewed from different angles by several
contributors. Mr. H. Oldys discusses the 'Rhythmical Singing of Veeries'
from a musician's standpoint, and Mr. A. A. Saunders, in a letter at
page 103, upholds the scientist's belief in the use of a graphic method
while, casually, in no less than three other articles, the writers make
use of conventional human syllables in an effort to express bird-notes.
After all, a person must hear a bird-song to know anything about it, and
the crudest symbols, musical notes or words that he may employ to awaken
his memory of the song mean more to him than any system that has yet
been invented. It is his notation alone that will arouse his memory, for
the science of musical sounds cannot go far in explaining what his ear
has never heard. Mr. H. J. Fry offers 'A Study of the Seasonal Decline
of Bird Song,' painstaking so far as it goes, but limited to a single
season.
Mr. F. C. Lincoln records 'The Discovery of the Nest and Eggs of
_Leucosticte australis_,' the Brown-capped Rosy Finch, in the Colorado
mountains and shows us a half-tone of the site and one of the nest and
eggs, the latter pure white. Messrs. B. S. Bowdish and P. B. Philipp
record the finding of several nests of 'The Tennessee Warbler in New
Brunswick,' and also show us half-tones of the rare nest and eggs.
A pleasing study of the courtship of several species of ducks is
presented by Dr. C. W. Townsend, who uses binoculars to good advantage,
and Mr. J. C. Phillips raises 'Two Problems in the Migration of Water
Fowl,' one, regarding the occurrence of certain North American Ducks in
the Marshall Islands, the other dealing with the behavior of Canada
Geese when migrating.
Mr. W. A. Bryan declares that there is 'An Undescribed Species of
_Drepanididæ_ on Nihoa, Hawaiian Group,' but wisely refrains from
preliminarily tagging it with a name (as has sometimes been done in
similar cases) because no specimens have been obtained. Messrs. J. E.
Thayer and O. Bangs list 'A Collection of Birds from Saghalin Island,'
Mr. F. H. Allen describes 'A Nesting of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak,' and
Mr. H. Mousley contributes the first part of 'Five Years' Personal Notes
and Observations on the Birds of Hatley, Stanstead Co., Quebec,
1911-1915.' There is much of interest in Mr. Mousley's well annotated
list which is to be continued.--J. D.
[Illustration: Bird-Lore]
A Bi-Monthly Magazine
Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES
Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN
Contributing Editor, MABEL OSGOOD WRIGHT
Published by D. APPLETON & CO.
=============================================================
Vol. XVIII Published April 1, 1916 No. 2
=============================================================
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Price in the United States, Canada and Mexico, twenty cents
a number, one dollar a year, postage paid.
===========================================================
COPYRIGHTED, 1916, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN
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Bird-Lore's Motto:
_A Bird in the Bush Is Worth Two in the Hand_
===========================================================
It is a long time since BIRD-LORE has published a more valuable and
significant article than the one contributed by Mr. Gilbert H. Grosvenor
to this issue. Its chief value does not lie in its important bearing on
what may be termed avian sociology or on its surprising demonstration of
the close connection existing between available nesting-sites and
bird-population. Rather is it to be found in the relations which it
reveals between human-life and bird-life as the result of the best type
of what we have before called 'bird gardening.'
The birds which Mr. Grosvenor has brought about him are unquestionably
more his birds than if he had shot them and placed their skins in a
cabinet. With their death his responsibility for their welfare would
cease. But a living bird, to which we feel we owe protection, is exposed
to so many dangers that our fears for its safety are correspondingly
aroused. These birds of our garden are our guests. Through the erection
of bird-houses and by other means we have invited them to live with us
and when they accept as readily as they have with Mr. Grosvenor, they
make us realize not only our responsibility but they awaken the
strongest sense of hospitality.
In a former number of BIRD-LORE we had something to say about what we
believe to be the difference between ornithologists and bird-lovers.
That is, between the bird student eager to devote his life to research
work some of which may be so dry and technical that it would repel
anyone but a born enthusiast; and the person whose interest in birds,
while keen and genuine, does not beget that hunger for knowledge
concerning them which is the birthright of the true naturalist.
The first type of interest we feel distinguishes the born
ornithologists, the second is an almost universal heritage of mankind.
Usually, however, it is dormant. We may be in possession of this
priceless gift and still be unaware of its existence. Herein lies the
value of nature-study, and particularly of the kind of educational work
the National Association of Audubon Societies accomplishes through its
Junior Classes. It is _not_ to be expected that the one hundred and
fifty odd thousand children included in these classes during the past
year will become ornithologists. But if their inherent love of birds is
quickened and they become acquainted with the more common species and
are taught to realize the beauty and value of bird-life we shall have
added immeasurably to their resources.
Mr. Grosvenor tells us that in April, 1913, when he moved to his country
home near Washington, neither he nor any member of his family could name
more than three species of birds. Opportunity so quickly added to this
number that within two years, as his statistics show, he had succeeded
in inducing to nest on his home acre more than twice as many birds as
had been before reported from the same area and under similar
conditions.
So much we learn from the figures given. But no figures can express the
pleasure derived from the friendships which have been established
between landlord and tenant, and between landlord's family and tenants'
families. Mr. Grosvenor may regret that his own childhood lacked that
association with the commoner birds which gives them an enduring place
in our affection. But his pictures show that he does not propose to have
his children denied this privilege.
=The Audubon Societies=
=SCHOOL DEPARTMENT=
=Edited by ALICE HALL WALTER=
Address all communications relative to the work of this department to
the Editor, 67 Oriole Avenue, Providence, R. I.
"Nature has no human inhabitant who appreciates her. The birds with
their plumage and their notes are in harmony with the flowers, but what
youth or maiden conspires with the wild, luxuriant beauty of nature? She
flourishes most alone, far from the towns where they reside. Talk of
heaven! ye disgrace earth.
"Sometimes I rambled to pine groves, standing like temples, or like
fleets at sea, full-rigged, with wavy boughs, and rippling with light,
so soft and green and shady that the Druids would have forsaken their
oaks to worship in them; or to the cedar wood beyond Flint's Pond, where
the trees, covered with hoary blue berries, spiring higher and higher,
are fit to stand before Valhalla, and the creeping juniper covers the
ground with wreaths full of fruit; or to swamps where the usnea lichen
hangs in festoons from the white-spruce trees, and toadstools, round
tables of the swamp gods, cover the ground, and more beautiful fungi
adorn the stumps, like butterflies or shells, vegetable winkles; where
the swamp-pink and dogwood grow, the red alder-berry glows like eyes of
imps, the waxwork grooves and crushes the hardest woods in its folds,
and the wild-holly berries make the beholder forget his home with their
beauty, and he is dazzled and tempted by nameless other wild forbidden
fruits, too fair for mortal taste.
"Instead of calling on some scholar, I paid many a visit to particular
trees, of kinds which are rare in this neighborhood, standing far away
in the middle of some pasture, or in the depths of a wood or swamp, or
on a hill top: such as the black-birch of which we have some handsome
specimens two feet in diameter; its cousin the yellow-birch, with its
loose golden vest, perfumed like the first; the beech, which has so neat
a bole and beautifully lichen-painted, perfect in all its details, of
which, excepting scattered specimens, I know but one small grove of
sizable trees left in the township, supposed by some to have been
planted by the pigeons that were once baited with beech nuts near by; it
is worth the while to see the silver grain sparkle when you split this
wood; the bass; the hornbeam; the _celtis occidentalis_, or false elm,
of which we have but one well-grown; some taller mast of a pine, a
shingle tree, or a more perfect hemlock than usual, standing like a
pagoda in the midst of the woods; and many others I could mention. These
were the shrines I visited both summer and winter."--Excerpt from
_Walden_, HENRY D. THOREAU.
"He saw with a clear and kindred eye, he understood with his heart, the
life of field and wood and water about him. The open sky, the solitudes
of the windy hill-top, the sweep of the storm, the spacious changes of
dark and dawn, these, it seems to me, spoke to him more clearly than to
others."--C. G. D. ROBERTS, in Introduction to _Walden_.
=BIRD AND ARBOR DAY=
=AN AWAKENING=
In most of the talks we listen to on Bird and Arbor Day, in most of the
poems and prose selections we recite or read to celebrate this occasion,
we hear about the awakening of spring, when birds return and trees and
early plants blossom, and insects and hibernating animals emerge from a
winter's sleep. All Nature is pictured as rousing from the lethargy of
cold December and colder January and February, under the influence of
the sun, now early with its morning greeting, and of soft breezes which
begin to take the place of chilling gales. But what part has man in all
of this glad festival of activity and growth! Does he awaken too, and
take his part in the general re-creation of Nature?
No, man is glad when spring comes, he welcomes birds and flowers and
budding trees, but he has learned to build shelters for himself against
storms, to fight the uneven cold with steady fire, and to raise and
store food to nourish his body throughout the season when the ground is
frozen and vegetation dead. He does not come to life and activity again
with the changing seasons, and, much as he may enjoy spring with its
multiform beauties, he seldom rouses out of the routine of his ordinary
life, except now and then, perhaps, for a fitful instant. Well-fed,
well-clothed and well-housed, he still fears the elements and dreads
exposure and hunger. He is not a part of nature, but the ambitious
master of nature. Only now and then does a man partly awaken from his
civilized life and turn to Nature as to a mother. But when he does, when
his eyes are fairly open, when his hand can write or his lips speak the
truth, what a revelation comes not only to him but to those who
understand his message!
It is of man's awakening that I wish to tell you this lovely Bird and
Arbor Day season, an awakening which you must try to feel if you are not
so choked and stifled in towns and cities by ideas of things to wear and
eat and amuse yourself with that you cannot understand the truth.
In all ages, a few men have awakened to the touch of Nature. It would be
worth our while to know even their names, but, better yet, to know their
message. Some have lived as you and I live, others have lived only in
books, through the imagination of other men. There was once a lad who
was afraid, afraid of the dark, afraid of horses, afraid of many things.
As he grew older, he began to feel that there was much he did not enjoy
because of fear, and he resolved to conquer fear. He ran through a
pasture where a bull was loose, and outwitted the charging creature,
escaping to a place of safety. This was rash. He attempted to drive a
horse of some spirit through crowded city streets, with no knowledge of
driving or sympathy with horses. This was rash, too. He left his
companions and guides asleep at night on the edge of the jungle, and
wandered alone into the forest, unarmed and almost breathless with fear.
It was a rash thing to do, but as he wandered or stood rooted to the
ground, while deer, monkeys, frogs, owls, flying squirrels, and at last
a tiger, crossed his path, he began to feel a new sense of security and
serenity. He found it very wonderful and beautiful. "A warm,
faintly-scented breeze just stirred the dead grass and leaves. The trees
and bushes stood in pools of darkness, and beyond were pale stretches of
misty moonshine and big rocks shining with an unearthly luster. Ahead
was darkness, but not so dense, when he came to it, that the track was
invisible ... the moon was like a great shield of light spread out above
him. All the world seemed swimming in its radiance.... He wished he
could walk as a spirit walks--." ... "Of course, the day jungle is the
jungle asleep. This was its waking hour. Now the deer were arising from
their forms, the tigers and panthers and jungle cats stalking
noiselessly from their lairs in the grass. Countless creatures that had
hidden from the heat and pitiless exposure of the day stood now awake
and alertly intent upon their purposes, grazed or sought water, flitting
delicately through the moonlight and shadows. The jungle was awakening.
This was the real life of the jungle, this night life, into which man
did not go. Here he was on the verge of a world that, for all the
stuffed trophies of the sportsman and the specimens of the naturalist,
is still almost as unknown as if it were upon another planet."
"He became less and less timorous as beast and bird evaded him or fled
at his approach, and when the moon sank suddenly, and darkness settled
down, 'a great stillness came over the world, a velvet silence that
wrapped about him, as the velvet shadows wrapped about him. The
corncrakes had ceased, all the sounds and stir of animal life had died
away, the breeze had fallen,' and thus, calm and full of placid joy, he
waited for the dawn, for he had conquered fear."
This is an imaginary picture, based no doubt on some actual experience.
It is worth reading because it puts one _into sympathy_ with Nature,
even with one of its wildest and most uninhabitable parts. There are
girls, and boys too, living in secure houses in village or town, _who
are afraid_, afraid of the dark, afraid of the deep woods, afraid of
wild, lonely places where snakes may be lurking, or some imagined beast.
There are many grown-up people who are more fearful than children, to
whom a storm is terrifying, who see little beauty in rough places, who
take no enjoyment in fog, rain or snow. It is natural to be afraid, but
it is not wholesome, and it betrays ignorance. This kind of fear
deprives most people of much that makes up the very best of life. One
need not be rash or daring to conquer fear. It is only needful to
_awaken_, to get into sympathy with Nature, to see the world as it
really is, and not as our shrinking bodies lead us to imagine.
A man died not long ago who for many years had lived perhaps as close to
Nature as anyone in this generation. His name was John Muir. He loved
the mountains with their vast silences and wide outlooks; the storms and
winds, searching every hidden corner and ruling all Nature in their
passing; the giant trees of his home country, majestic sentinels of
tranquillity, and age-long growth; he loved the clouds and stars, birds,
beasts and flowers; he loved mighty waters, whose power man's hand might
never check. This man wrote at times modestly and reverently of what he
saw and felt. You can learn truth from him. Many other men have seen
deeply into Nature, and written with sincerity, pages which we do well
to study. There comes to mind the poet Lanier, who, struck by the fatal
hand of disease, sought to prolong his life by living with Nature in the
open. How delicately and clearly he translated beauty into terms of
music and rhythm! How intimately he _sensed_ the world about him! He
wrote,
"I am not overbold.
I hold
Full powers from Nature manifold.
I speak for each no-tonguéd tree
That, spring by spring, doth nobler be,
And dumbly and most wistfully
His mighty prayerful arms outspreads
Above men's oft-unheeding heads,
And his big blessing downward sheds.
I speak for all-shaped blooms and leaves,
Lichens on stones and moss on eaves,
Grasses and grains in ranks and sheaves;
Broad-fronded ferns and keen-leaved canes,
And briery mazes bounding lanes,
And marsh-plants, thirsty-cupped for rains,
And milky stems and sugary veins;
. . . . . .
"All purities of shady springs,
All shynesses of film-winged things
That fly from tree-trunks and bark-rings;
All modesties of mountain-fawns,
That leap to covert from wild lawns,
And tremble if the day but dawns;
All sparklings of small beady eyes
Of birds, and sidelong glances wise
Wherewith the jay hints tragedies;
All piquancies of prickly burs,
And smoothnesses of downs and furs
Of eiders and of minevers;
All limpid honeys that do lie
At stamen-bases, nor deny
The hummingbirds' fine roguery,
Bee-thighs, nor any butterfly;
All gracious curves of slender wings,
Bark-mottlings, fiber-spiralings,
Fern-wavings and leaf-flickerings;
Each dial-marked leaf and flower-bell,
Wherewith in every lonesome dell
Time to himself his hours doth tell;
All tree-sounds, rustlings of pine-cones,
Wind-sighings, doves' melodious moans,
And night's unearthly under-tones;
All placid lakes and waveless deeps,
All cool reposing mountain-steeps,
Vale-calms and tranquil lotos-sleeps;--
Yea, all fair forms, and sounds, and lights,
And warmths, and mysteries, and nights,
Of Nature's utmost depths and heights,
--These doth my timid tongue present,
Their mouthpiece and leal instrument
And servant, all love-eloquent.
I heard, when 'All for love' the violins cried;
So, Nature calls through all her system wide,
'_Give me thy love, O man, so long denied_.'"
--From _The Symphony_, SIDNEY LANIER.
No message could be more beautiful or more welcome than this. Not poets
and artists, but birds, streams, and the pure encircling air should call
us into the open. We may not have the opportunity to wander in the
jungle by night, or to climb lonely mountains or penetrate into the
glooms of giant forests, but we can get outdoors by day into parks or
country, and we can learn to sleep outdoors and feel the health-giving
air with every breath we draw, and to awaken every morning with gladness
that we are looking out upon the sky and rising sun, with no barriers of
blinds and storm-windows between us and Nature. When we realize every
day that to live, to simply be alive, is joy, then work will never mean
drudgery or idleness and luxury seem things worth while.
If Bird and Arbor Day can make you understand and feel this message, it
will be the happiest day of the year for you.--A. H. W.
=JUNIOR AUDUBON WORK=
=For Teachers and Pupils=
=Exercise XXVI. Correlated Studies: School Gardening and Reading=
In view of the fact that valuable suggestions are being received from
time to time, as to practical methods of conducting and encouraging
bird- and nature-study, it is perhaps a wise and timely interruption of
the ordinary Junior Audubon exercise to submit the following five
methods for the consideration of teachers and pupils. Each of these
methods contains at least one idea which can be worked out along local
lines by any teacher with the aid of willing pupils. Some of these
methods are particularly applicable to Bird and Arbor Day, for we have
now somewhat outgrown the necessity of simply having "exercises" to mark
that day. When _all days_ are Bird and Arbor Days, we shall have gained
a strong point in bird- and nature-study, and let it be hoped no school
will omit some sincere recognition of the day, this spring.
=Ways of Keeping Up Interest in Bird-Study=
=I. A BIRD-GAME FOR THE SCHOOLROOM=
During the years of 1914 and 1915, I have learned a great deal about
birds. We have an Audubon Society in our room which I think is very
interesting. We have about sixteen members, and we watch and study the
birds very carefully. Our teacher read us a story out of BIRD-LORE that
one of her pupils wrote last year for the magazine. It certainly is
interesting.
One day we went into Miss W----'s room, to have our society together.
After we finished the program, we played a game called 'Guessing Birds.'
Some one would go to the front of the room with a bird pinned on her
back and one of the teachers would ask some one in the room a question
about the bird. Then they would have to guess the name of the bird. We
had lots of fun playing this game. Some of the children could not guess
the bird that they had on their backs. Then the teacher would take if
off and put her hand over the name of the bird and ask if they knew what
it was.
There has not been much snow in Herndon, so the birds can find a good
deal of food without anyone feeding them. With our fines we bought some
wire and suet. One day we went to the woods not far from the schoolhouse
to feed the birds. We tacked the wire on the trees and then put the suet
under the wire. It will soon be time to go and put more suet under the
wire for the birds.--GERALDINE SAGER (Aged 11), Herndon, Va.
[Very often the best way of fostering and keeping up interest in
bird-study has to be considered, especially in Junior Audubon Societies
or bird clubs. The idea suggested above seems to be an attractive one,
for anything in the nature of a game usually appeals to young people.
Several bird-games similar to "Avelude" are for sale, but these are
played with cards, and are not suitable for use in the schoolroom. They
make agreeable recreations for the home, however, and their use may well
be encouraged.--A. H. W.]
=II. A BIRD CONTEST FOR BIRD CLUBS=
Place............ Time........ Date............
1. A crowned head (answer) Kingbird
2. An unsteady light (answer) Flicker
3. An Eastern city visitor (answer) Baltimore Oriole
4. A yellow conversationalist (answer) Yellow-breasted Chat
5. The pride of the farm (answer) Quail
6. A peace mourner (answer) Mourning Dove
* * * * *
21. Ruler of the fisheries (answer) Kingfisher
Name of contestant........................
[Space is too limited to print this contest in full, but enough has been
given to show how it was carried out. The Nature-Study Club of Indiana
engaged in the contest, which was gotten up by one of its leaders, "to
afford some amusement for the members while they were enjoying the
beauties of nature. It was given under a large, spreading beech, and
during the time the members were racking their brains to find the proper
name of each feathered creature listed, the calls and notes of many of
the birds could be heard all around, seemingly trying to assist the
members to recall their names. The trip was a most successful one from a
nature-study point of view, as the club traversed beautiful streams,
lowlands and hills, and found a variety of trees and plants and many
beautiful birds."
The approximate age of those taking part in the contest was about
thirteen (ten to sixteen years). A prize was offered, and a little girl
aged twelve who had thirteen correct answers out of the twenty-one
puzzles given, won it.
This form of diversion in connection with bird-study has considerable to
commend it as an occasional method to use to stimulate interest and
start competition.--A. H. W.]
=III. METHOD OF STUDY=
Miss Mc---- has read your interesting letter to her class. And as I am
one of the twenty-eight, or twenty-nine girls in her class I have
decided to write, and give you an idea of what we are doing. I think
that we (that is the class) are all interested in the Audubon Society
for the protection of birds. On April 7 the class had their picture
taken to send to you. On Friday afternoon we always try to read at least
one of the leaflets of the lives of the birds. Each girl reads a
paragraph, and as we read the teacher explains it to us. This summer we
are going to have some bird-houses in the playgrounds of the school.
I live out in the suburbs of the city, and generally there are a great
many birds that come to our door in the morning. Hoping to hear from
your Society quite often; I remain one of the interested pupils.--ISABEL
ACORN.
* * * * *
Miss Mc---- read your letter to the class the other day, and we were
very much interested in it. I like the Society, and every Friday in
school we read a leaflet. The birds often come into the yard in summer,
and we scatter crumbs.
We are making bird-boxes, and when the leaves come on the trees we are
going to have shelves put up and put crumbs on them. It is nice to paint
pictures of the birds and read about them.
In the summer out in the country the Canaries used to come and build
their nests in the low bushes. I used to scatter crumbs for them, but
they would rather have worms. The Kingfishers came early in the morning,
so that we did not see much of them.--DOROTHY DAVIES.
[The members of the Apulia Junior Audubon Society are from eight to
twelve years old. The School Department was very glad to receive pencil
drawings made from the educational leaflets, together with the letters
given above through the kindness of Mr. T. Gilbert Pierson. The way in
which the leaflets are used by this society is excellent, and suggests a
method practicable for all junior Audubon Societies.--A. H. W.]
=IV. RHODE ISLAND BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB WORK.=
=HOME PROJECTS FOR 1915=
Conducted by the Extension Service, Rhode Island State College and
the United States Department of Agriculture
Boys and girls from nine to eighteen years of age inclusive may enroll.
There will be achievement emblems offered for all those who do
successful work. Local prizes may also be offered for good work and
exhibits at local shows, such as poultry, corn and flower shows, also
grange exhibits. Boys and girls may take up any one or more of the
following projects.
_Home Garden._--Cultivation of vegetables, flowers, shrubs, etc.
General care of the garden.
_Market-Garden._--Cultivation of one-twentieth acre of vegetables.
_School and Allotment-Gardens._--Cultivation of vegetables and
flowers, etc., in a centralized garden at or near the school or on
vacant lots.
_Corn Clubs._--Cultivation of one-tenth acre of corn.
_Potato Clubs._--Cultivation of one-twentieth acre of potatoes.
_Dairy Herd Clubs._--Keeping an accurate record of all milk
produced each day.
_Canning Clubs._--Canning fruit and vegetables for home use or for
market.
_Baking Clubs._--Baking bread and cake.
_Sewing Clubs._--Making garments and repairing.
_Handicraft Club._--Making useful articles for use in the home or
on the farm.
_Bird and Tree Clubs._--The study and recognition of birds and
trees.
Official enrollment cards will be sent to boys and girls who wish to
enroll in one or more of the projects mentioned above. When received,
their names will be sent to Washington, and Uncle Sam will correspond
with them occasionally and send them bulletins of information and
helpful letters. The State Leader or assistants will visit the local
clubs from time to time, to help them with their work; he will also send
helpful bulletins and letters as needed. Monthly reports will be
required from each member enrolled in the club work, giving an account
of his or her work.
The agent of the Extension Service of the Rhode Island State College
writes:
"Inclosed please find a brief explanation of the boys' and girls' club
work in agriculture, gardening, domestic science and handicraft work.
This is a splendid movement for the Improvement Society to take up and
encourage as a part of their constructive work in any community.
"The greatest asset in any community or state is the boys and girls who
are to be the men and women of to-morrow. We should see to it that they
are encouraged to be industrious and thrifty. Work of this kind will
provide a very profitable as well as an interesting occupation for many
idle moments after school, and through the long vacations for our boys
and girls. At this time of the year clean-up campaigns are being
started, and I would like to tack on to the end of that slogan the word
'plant-up.' I think that boys and girls should be encouraged not only to
'clean-up' the rubbish about their homes, but to invest a few cents in
seeds which will germinate and grow and produce a picture very much more
attractive than can be produced by many cans of paint and, furthermore,
if the right kind of plant is selected, the effect will be perennial."
An illustrated lecture on this subject may be secured at any time by
making application to the undersigned. Bulletins and circular letters
will be sent to the boys and girls who enroll in this club work from
time to time. Personal visits will also be made as often as possible
if desired.--ERNEST K. THOMAS.
[This is a kind of work every state needs.--A. H. W.]
=V. MAKING A BIRD CENSUS=
There are various ways of making or taking a bird-census, but all depend
for their success upon certain rules.
1. Define clearly the area in which the observations are taken.
2. Study carefully the occurrence of species in adjoining localities.
3. Note the differences of occurrence between the foregoing and the area
under observation.
4. Study reliable data of other observers, in order to avoid "wild
guesses" and to eliminate errors in your own observations.
5. Keep records in a usable form, so that data may be easily compared
from year to year.
6. Distinguish between permanent residents, transients, and summer or
winter residents or visitors, and accidental visitors.
7. When _in doubt_ as to the identity of a species, _never enter_ it in
the record, simply to swell the list. Continued study will enable you
eventually to determine the most puzzling occurrences.
8. Record carefully temperature, direction and velocity of wind, and if
possible, barometric pressure.
9. Chart the area studied, designating wooded places, pastures, marshy
and dry places, roadside, orchards, garden, and water spaces.
10. Study the destination and point of departure of migrating species.
11. Learn both the common names and the scientific names of species if
you intend to be strictly accurate. Common names of the same species
frequently differ in different localities and are therefore liable to be
misleading. Scientific names are easily mastered and usually have a
definite meaning, which will help you to remember some distinguishing
character or habit of a species.
12. Always be open to fair criticism, and to acknowledge errors in
observation. The most distinguished students of any subject are those
who profess to have the most to learn. A keen eye and quick brain are
indispensable to any student, and calm judgment must always precede
reliable conclusions.
A very practical illustration of how a bird-census may be taken is
described in Dr. C. F. Hodge's invaluable book, NATURE-STUDY AND LIFE.
The school-children of the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, worked
together under Dr. Hodge's direction, and made a census of the
nesting-species in a city block for two seasons three years apart,
showing not only the number but also the increase and decrease of
nesting-species during that time.
From Marion, Virginia, comes a detailed census of the birds found in the
surrounding county during the spring migration. Space is not available
for printing in full this census, which includes some ninety odd
species, but the method followed, as explained by the following
communication, is of interest, and should prove helpful to students in
other localities. "The Woman's Club of Marion has an organized Audubon
Society of sixty pupils and four teachers. The three Junior classes are
taught once a week from the Audubon leaflets. The Senior Class has
helped take the census of Smythe County under the guidance of its
teacher. In sixteen field lessons, ninety-four species and eighteen
hundred and sixty-three birds of these species have been seen."
It should be added that these Audubon classes work together with the
Woman's Club and the Conservation Committee of Marion, thus fostering a
civic interest in bird-life among young and old. If more clubs would
interest themselves in organizing work of this kind, a great deal might
be learned about the local occurrence and movements of birds which would
be of use in following their migrations.--A. H. W.
=SUGGESTIONS=
1. Compare the methods of observation of Thoreau, Lanier and the author
of the jungle quotations.
2. Which author seems to know Nature best?
3. Do you know the trees in your neighborhood as well as Thoreau did
those about Concord and Walden Pond?
4. How many separate things in Nature are enumerated by Lanier in the
excerpt from "The Symphony?"
5. Are you familiar with these things?
6. What is miniver?
7. How did Thoreau learn so much about Nature?
8. Are Lanier's allusions to Nature exact?
9. If you wished to tell a person who knew nothing about Nature, what to
listen and look for, how many things could you name or describe to him?
10. Make a list of the trees, shrubs, and plants in your neighborhood.
11. Make a list of the spring migrants in your locality.
12. Make a study of what actually takes place during the transition from
winter to spring.--A. H. W.
=FOR AND FROM ADULT AND YOUNG OBSERVERS=
=SPRING=
Spring has come at last,
And the birds are flying fast
To our great Northern skies,
Where they think it's paradise.
The rustle of their little wings
Tells us of the coming Spring.
And their little notes of love
Are like the peaceful songs of Doves.
--VIRGINIA STEARNS (Nine years old), Milwaukee, Wis.
=MY BLUEBIRDS=
Early in December, 1914, my brother and I cut down an old half-dead
apple-tree, and on it we found a partly hollow log that the English
Sparrows had evidently used for years. As I had my eye out for
bird-houses, I confiscated it and finished hollowing it out. It made
three log-nests, all of which have been used by bird tenants since then.
On February 17, I put up two of the logs on the bank of the Ohio River,
at a distance of 40 feet from our house, where they could easily be
observed from nine different windows.
The site was ideal for a bird's nest. Below, 127 feet, the Ohio rolled
majestically by, flushed with the melted snow that the spring rains
brought from the mountains, and dotted here and there with floating
cakes of ice. The other bank of the river rose 329 feet above the level
of the water. It was heavily wooded and an ideal place for all kinds of
birds. As this is right in the path of the Mississippi Migration Route,
one could hear the "honk, honk," of Canada Geese, the talking notes of
the Old Squaw, and once the maniacal laughter of a Loon, as it followed
the Ohio to the mouth of the Beaver River, there probably resting and
continuing its journey up the Beaver to its northern nesting-ground.
Below, I give the dates of the important events in the Bluebirds'
history.
February 17. Nest-logs put up.
February 25. First Bluebird seen.
February 28. Three pairs looked at both logs, fought for them, and _my
pair_ rented it.
March 21. Nest completed.
March 26. First egg laid.
March 27. Second egg laid.
March 28. Third egg laid.
March 29. Fourth egg laid.
March 30. Fifth egg laid.
April 13. Young hatched.
April 29. Young left the nest.
Prior to March 29, the river bank had been burned over twice for the
purpose of improving the grass roots, but the Bluebirds never seemed to
mind it, although the nest was enveloped in clouds of thick smoke both
times. The last two days of March, and the first two of April were cold,
below freezing, with a driving snowstorm followed by sleet; but the
Bluebirds' activities never ceased. At this time the male passed the
night in the nest with the female, 'twinkling' into the log at sunset.
The male was very pugnacious, and seemed not to know fear. He would dash
with equal courage at a Flicker or a Song Sparrow, when they approached
his tree. Once I saw him actually knock a Flicker off a branch. Perhaps
he would not have succeeded had the Flicker been aware of his approach,
but the Bluebird came up behind and hit him below the belt. When I would
go near the nest, the male would utter 'chuckling' notes, as if to scold
and frighten me away. On several occasions he came so close that I could
almost touch him.
When the young were about four days old, I set up my camera, three feet
away from the nest, to obtain some pictures. The first time the shutter
snapped, the female hopped down on to the branch on which the camera was
placed, put her head to one side, and seemed to say, "What is this that
clicks in my face," and then she hopped all over it, pecking it.
[Illustration: GOING HOME Photographed by W. R. Boulton, Jr.]
Both parents were often seen cleaning the nest. They began to feed the
young at about eight o'clock every morning, and continued it steadily at
an average of every six or seven minutes until about six at night, using
as food almost exclusively a certain kind of bug that was very hairy,
brownish with black markings, and, except for the hair, might have been
mistaken for castor beans, being about the same size. They seemed a huge
mouthful for a young Bluebird. Several times a day I would climb up to
the nest and whistle softly like a Bluebird before the aperture. The
young would crane their necks and stretch their mouths for the supposed
food, although none was forthcoming.
[Illustration: LEAVING HOME Photographed by W. R. Boulton, Jr.]
When the young flew from the nest, I felt as though I had lost a family.
My grief was not such that I could not capture them, however, and after
counting noses, I found that one was missing. I climbed up and there I
found 'runtie' at the bottom of the nest, pitifully squeaking at being
left alone. I took out the bottom and extracted him. Finally, after half
an hour or more of posing, I got several good pictures of the babies on
a dead branch. When I opened the nest-log to clean it, I found a little
block of grasses about three inches in diameter and one inch high. It
fairly glistened with shed feather-sheaths. In the bottom were six or
seven bugs, of the species mentioned before, that had evidently escaped
the birds. Exactly two months after the first egg was laid, the second
nest of the same pair was nearing completion in another of my boxes.
Here are the dates.
May 29. First egg laid.
May 30. Second egg laid.
May 31. Third egg laid.
June 1. Fourth egg laid.
June 16. Young hatched.
June 23. Young have not flown yet.
While the female was incubating, the male still fed the young of the
first brood, although not so often as when they left the nest.--WOLFRID
RUDYERD BOULTON, JR. (Age 14 years), Beaver, Pa.
[Perhaps no better word of appreciation of this carefully worded
description of personal observations could be given than to quote from a
letter written by Mr. Herbert K. Job with reference to the data given by
Master Boulton, Jr.: "His accurate information about the periods of
incubation and rearing of the Bluebird came in handy to me just now, as
there is a pair in a box up-state which I want to 'film' at just the
right period, and now I can estimate when to make the trip." The
pictures illustrating this article were not only taken, but also
developed and finished by the observer.--A. H. W.]
=A MUSICAL WOODLAND=
Riding on my pony in a thick-set wood, I heard the "Feathered Musicians"
playing on their instruments.
First the trill of the Wood Thrush, then the sweet trill of the
Meadowlark, the rapidly repeated 'wickci' of the Flicker, the sweet
melody of the Robin, the charming song of the Song Sparrow, and the
'chip' of the Chipping Sparrow, were most delightful.
Far off in the distance I could hear the sweet Canary-like whistle of
the Goldfinch and the 'eak' of the Purple Grackle.
The woods rang with the music of the birds, for nothing is so sweet as
natural music.--SARAH W. WEAVER (Age 11 years), Baltimore County, Md.
["For nothing is so sweet as natural music."
This naive observation brings to mind the gurgle of brooks, waving
treetops, and hum of busy insects, as well as the music of feathered
songsters. It has the essence of spring in it, when awakening life so
quickly voices itself in melody.--A. H. W.]
=INTERESTING PERFORMANCE OF A TUFTED TITMOUSE=
While taking refuge from a slight April shower on the porch of an
unoccupied summer cottage at Lithia Springs, Ga., twenty miles from
Atlanta, I once witnessed an interesting performance by a Tufted
Titmouse. Having chosen a damp brown oak leaf from the ground, it flew
with it into a bare tree, and, holding the leaf with its claw firmly
against a branch, it drew itself to its full height, raised its head
like a Woodpecker, and with all the might of its tiny frame gave, a
forcible blow to the leaf with its bill. This process was kept up nearly
half an hour. The bird seemed utterly indifferent to the near presence
of my two friends and myself. Once it dropped the leaf, but immediately
picked it up and carried it back to the tree. A boy passed on the
sidewalk below. The bird flew to a higher branch. At last its purpose
seemed to be accomplished. It rested, and lifted the leaf by the
petiole. We then saw that the hammering had made it into a firm brown
ball nearly as large as an oak gall. The bird flew with it behind the
kitchen-ell of the cottage. We hurried around, and were met by the
Titmouse, empty-billed, who looked at us with an innocent, nonchalant
air. Had it dropped the ball into its nest-hole?--LUCY H. UPTON.
[Who can add any information which will throw light on this unusual
observation?--A. H. W.]
=TWILIGHT HOUR AT ASHAWAY=
The western sky, soft tinted with the hues of setting sun,
Lends beauty to the twilight shadows lengthening one by one,
Twined mystic'lly together by the stirring April breeze
That sends a message of awakening through the leafless trees.
The fresh, cool air, bearing the scent of new-ploughed earth
Gives promise of the future harvest soon to have its birth,
When garden, field and orchard, now wearing brown and gray,
Shall change these duller colors for the vernal green of May;
The farmer reads the happy signs and whistles in true glee
Jangling in haste his cans and milk-pails merrily;
While lazy cattle straggle up the rocky barnyard way,
And the impatient horses paw and whinny for their hay.
A scuffle and a cackle in the hen-coop near at hand
Give token where the mother hen broods o'er her fledgling band,
And Spotty seeks the hay-mow, purring loudly in her pride,
For there, in safety waiting her, three kittens do abide.
The Robins and the Bluebirds call and answer all around,
And the cheerful little peeptoads seem to crowd the air with sound,--
And yet it is not noisy. Joyous peace is everywhere,
And a consciousness of Heaven makes the twilight hour more fair.
--RUTH R. HAYDEN.
[This poem was written by a student in The Rhode Island State
Normal School. It is of unusual interest since the author, although
blind, undertook the course in nature-study and succeeded so well
that her instructor writes: "I am tempted to say that only those
are blind who _won't see_. I am convinced that the subject is most
valuable for classes in schools of the blind." See BIRD-LORE, Vol.
XIII, No. 6, p. 316.--A. H. W.]
* * * * *
[Illustration: FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, NEST AND YOUNG
Photographed by E. Jack]
* * * * *
=THE CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER=
By T. GILBERT PEARSON
The National Association of Audubon Societies
EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 85
Among the most charming birds in the world are the members of that group
classified as the family of Wood Warblers. There are about one hundred
and fifty-five known species, and they are found in no other country but
America. Seventy-four kinds occur in North America, and fifty-five of
these have been recorded in the United States.
They are small birds, the majority measuring rather less than five and
one-half inches from bill-tip to tail-tip. They are birds mainly of
woods and thickets, a few only venturing into open country. The
Warbler's bill is longer than that of most small birds, and is well
adapted for seizing the soft-bodied insects upon which it so largely
preys.
One of the most common members of the family in the Eastern States is
the Chestnut-sided Warbler. The general appearance of the male is that
of a particularly trim little bird with olive-green back and bright
yellow crown; the under parts are lighter, and the sides are marked by
deep chestnut--that is, this is the way the male looks in spring. At
this season the female is quite similar, although its colors are duller.
In the fall and winter the plumage presents a very different appearance.
The upper parts then are yellowish olive-green, sometimes with faint
streaks on the back. The deep-chestnut of the sides has given way to a
few spots or patches of this color.
In seeking the Chestnut-sided Warbler, one should go to woodlands that
have been cut over and grown up in bushes. There are found the
conditions which this bird dearly loves, and in such a situation one may
pass a whole forenoon and seldom be out of sight or hearing of one or
more of them.
The nest is made of strips of bark, soft dead leaf-stems, and similar
material; it is lined with tendrils and rootlets. Usually the nest is
from two and a half to three and a half feet from the ground. Rarely
have I found one so situated that it could not readily be reached by the
spring of an agile house-cat, and there is much evidence to show that
many are pulled down every year by these feline hunters.
It is commonly reported that as many as five eggs are deposited in the
nest before the bird begins sitting, but fully three-fourths of those
nests that I have found contained only four eggs. They are white, with
numerous brown markings of various shades--some distinct, others more or
less obscure, as if the inside of the shell had been painted and the
color was showing through. The spots and blotches are gathered chiefly
in a wreath about the larger end.
[Illustration: CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER
Order--PASSERES
Family--_Mniotiltidæ_
Genus--Dendroica
Species--pennsylvanica
National Association of Audubon Societies]
They are pretty, dainty little objects, as is the case with all
Warblers' eggs. In size, they are about two-thirds of an inch long, and
half an inch in diameter at the largest place.
In the latitude of Boston, fresh eggs may usually be found late in May
or in the first week of June.
The Chestnut-sided Warbler feeds almost exclusively on insects. John
James Audubon wrote that once in Pennsylvania, during a snowstorm in
early spring, he examined the dead bodies of several, and found that
their stomachs contained only grass-seeds and a few spiders. The birds
were very poor, and evidently were in a half-starved condition, which
would probably account for the fact that they had been engaged in such
an un-warbler-like act as eating seeds. Ordinarily this bird is highly
insectivorous, and feeds very largely on leaf-eating caterpillars. It
also collects plant-lice, ants, leaf-hoppers, small bark-beetles, and,
in fact, is a perfect scourge to the small insect-life inhabiting the
foliage of the bushes and trees where it makes its home. Sometimes the
birds take short flights in the air after winged insects. It will thus
be seen that the Chestnut-sided Warbler is of decided value as a
guardian of trees, which is reason enough why the legislators of the
various states where the bird is found were induced to enact the Audubon
Law for its protection.
All birds that depend so much on insects for their livelihood as does
the Chestnut-sided Warbler are necessarily highly migratory. By the
middle of September nearly all have departed from their summer home,
which, we may say roughly, covers the territory of the southern Canadian
Provinces from Saskatchewan eastward, and extends southward as far as
Ohio and New Jersey. They are also found in summer along the Alleghany
Mountains in Tennessee and South Carolina. Most of the migrants go to
Central America by way of the Gulf of Mexico, and only a comparatively
small number travel to Florida and the Bahama Islands.
The song of the Chestnut-sided Warbler is confused in the minds of some
listeners with that of the Yellow Warbler. Mathews says the song
resembles the words, "I wish, I wish, I wish to see Miss Beecher."
Mr. Clinton G. Abbott, writing in BIRD-LORE in 1909, told most
entertainingly of the fortunes of a pair of these Warblers and their
nest, which he watched one summer. After telling of finding a nest from
which all the eggs had been thrown but one, and in their place had been
deposited two eggs of the Cowbird, he says:
"The nest was found at Rhinebeck, New York, on July 6, 1900, incubation
having apparently just started. Four days later I discovered that one of
the Cowbird's eggs was infertile; so I removed it from the nest,
disappointed that I should not, after all, enjoy the somewhat unique
experience of observing two young Cowbirds growing up in the same nest.
It was some time during the night of July 13-14 that the first of the
remaining two eggs hatched--the Cowbird's of course. The Warbler's
hatched between twelve and twelve-thirty o'clock on the 14th. The
nicety with which matters had been so arranged that the young Cowbird
would have just a convenient start in life over its unfortunate rival
commanded at least my admiration if not my sympathy. Cowbirds must
indeed be sharp nest-finders to be able to discover at short notice not
only the nests of certain suitable kinds of birds, but even nests
containing eggs at a certain stage of incubation!
[Illustration: A NEST OF THE CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER]
"After the hatching of the eggs, I spent considerable time at the
nest-side, and observed with interest the many pretty little incidents
of a bird's domestic life--the constant and tender brooding of the newly
hatched young by both Warblers in turn; the never-ceasing search among
the neighboring trees and bushes for small caterpillars; the delivery of
the food by the male to the brooding female, who, in turn, would raise
herself and pass it to the young; the careful cleansing of the nest; and
many other intimate details of the birds' loving and happy lives. When I
drew aside the leaves that sheltered the nest and allowed the sun to
shine upon it for purposes of photography, the mother, realizing with
that wonderful instinct common to all birds which nest in the shade, the
fatal effect on her babies of the sun's direct rays, would take her
stand on the edge of the nest and with outstretched wings would form of
her own body a living shield for the comfort and protection of her
young. Although herself in evident distress from the heat, and with
parted mandibles continually gasping for air, she would remain in this
position as long as the sun shone upon her, only stepping aside
occasionally when a well-known signal announced that her husband had
arrived with a meal for the little ones. It was a beautiful picture of
parental devotion.
"As the young birds began to grow, the Cowbird not only maintained, but
rapidly increased its lead over its small nest-mate. At every visit of
the parent bird with food, its capacious gullet could be seen violently
waving aloft and almost completely hiding the feeble little mouth of the
Warbler, whose owner was pathetically doing its best in a dumb appeal
for food. The Cowbird's appetite seemed never to be satiated and, unlike
most nestlings, which relapse after a meal and give their brethren the
next chance, he seemed ready for every fresh opportunity; and, by reason
of his superior display, he usually succeeded in obtaining the coveted
morsel. However, the young Warbler did manage to get an occasional
portion, and I had strong hopes that he might reach maturity. For I
realized that a Chestnut-sided Warbler's usual laying is about five
eggs, and that therefore some four eggs must have been made to give
place to the two Cowbird's. Hence the young Cowbird in the nest might
reasonably be granted the room and food of four young Warblers. More
than this I hoped he was not getting.
"On July 18, at 3.30 P. M., when the birds were about four days old, I
took them from the nest to compare their sizes. I replaced them in the
nest, but that was the last I saw of the poor little Warbler. When I
returned at 5 P. M., the Cowbird was in sole and triumphant possession
of the nest. Just what became of the Chestnut-sided Warbler will never
be known, but my theory is that, weakened by lack of sufficient food,
the little fellow at last became too feeble to raise himself at all, and
was crushed to death by the Cowbird's gross body. The parent birds,
returning and finding the little corpse in the bottom of the nest, were
no doubt impelled by their instinctive sense of cleanliness to carry it
to a distance; for the most careful search over a large area beneath the
nest failed to reveal any sign of the missing bird, thus proving that it
had not fallen from the nest nor been forced out by the Cowbird.
"The Cowbird now had things all his own way and, there being no one to
dispute his right to all the food, he grew with amazing rapidity. The
dainty little cup of a nest, never built to accommodate such a monster,
was soon completely forced out of shape. His body then protruded beyond
the lower rim of the nest, and the ground underneath became littered
with droppings, quite baffling the cleanly, sanitary instincts of the
Warblers.
"The Cowbird, now almost twice as large as his devoted foster-parents,
rises with hideous chitterings of delight to receive an ever-acceptable
meal. I visited the nest at 7.30 A. M., on July 26. As I walked home to
breakfast, I resolved that in the interests of justice I ought to put an
end to that Cowbird, as a murderer and a menace to the welfare of
birddom. But when I returned to the spot, about 9 A. M., he had escaped
me; the nest was empty, my bird flown. No doubt, if I had searched and
listened, I should have heard him shouting for food not far away; but my
spirit of vengeance was only half-hearted at best, and so I left him, a
criminal abroad, to be the parent, I suppose, of others as bad."
=The Audubon Societies=
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Edited by T. GILBERT PEARSON, Secretary
Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and
contributions, to the National Association of Audubon Societies, 1974
Broadway, New York City.
WILLIAM DUTCHER, _President_
FREDERIC A. LUCAS, _Acting President_
THEODORE S. PALMER, _First Vice President_
T. GILBERT PEARSON, _Secretary_
JONATHAN DWIGHT, JR., _Treasurer_
SAMUEL T. CARTER, JR., _Attorney_
Any person, club, school or company in sympathy with the objects of this
Association may become a member of it, and all are welcome.
Classes of Membership in the National Association of Audubon Societies
for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals:
=$5 annually pays for a Sustaining Membership=
=$100 paid at one time constitutes a Life Membership=
=$1,000 constitutes a person a Patron=
=$5,000 constitutes a person a Founder=
=$25,000 constitutes a person a Benefactor=
FORM OF BEQUEST:--I do hereby give and bequeath to The National
Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and
Animals (Incorporated), of the City of New York.
=A CASE IN POINT=
In the last issue of BIRD-LORE were reproduced some photographs of a
ruined White Ibis rookery, which Dr. Herbert R. Mills stated had been
destroyed by "sportsmen" who had wantonly shot the birds. Such raids on
the bird-life of Florida have been made frequently by northern visitors
to the state. A striking example of this habit has just come to public
notice.
In the February issue of _Scribner's Magazine_, a writer, after
referring to the pleasures he enjoyed while catching tarpon at
Bocagrande, says:
"Birds were always flying around the boat; Gulls, Man-o'-wars, Pelicans,
and when we weren't fishing we were potting at them with a Winchester
.22. The Big Chief was a wizard with a rifle, and even skimming Swallows
were none too swift or too small for his Deadeye Dick precision of aim.
After cutting down a sailing Man-o'-war, two hundred yards above the
water, and surely three hundred yards away, he formed a Man-o'-war's
Club; any body who killed one flying was entitled to membership."
All these birds are protected by the laws of Florida and at least one of
them by the United States Migratory Bird Law. There is no open season
for any of them. The man who wrote this is not a poor, illiterate
inhabitant of the southern swamps, who killed the birds to sell their
feathers for a few dollars with which to help feed his family; but is a
successful writer of novels and stories, many of which you and I have
bought and read with pleasure. Incidentally, by our purchase of his
work, we have aided in swelling his royalties, thus enabling him to go
to Bocagrande, and doubtless elsewhere, where he might amuse himself
from time to time in the very delectable sport of shooting harmless
non-game birds. This man is John Fox, Jr.
As a result of the work of this Association, the Pelican colonies in
Charlotte Harbor near Bocagrande have been made Federal
bird-reservations. While attempting to protect one of them, Columbus G.
McLeod, one of our wardens, had his head chopped open and his body sunk
in the harbor by persons who did not approve of his zeal. These
birds--the wards of the Government, the birds that the Audubon Society's
members have been giving money to protect, and the birds for which one
good man has given up his life--these birds afford targets for Mr. John
Fox Jr., and his friends; and _Scribner's Magazine_, doubtless greatly
pleased at the privilege of being allowed to publish an article from the
pen of a gentleman so distinguished, kind and altruistic, has taken
these boasting sentences and printed them, regardless of the fact that
the magazine will go into thousands of homes to be read by young men who
may later go tarpon-fishing in the limpid waters about Bocagrande, and
who might be inspired to follow the example of the noble deeds of this
celebrated novelist.
We are glad to reproduce here an open letter written to him by Doctor
William F. Blackman, President of the Florida State Audubon Society:
"_Dear Sir_: As a tarpon fisherman, holding the record in a recent year
for the largest fish taken in the state, I was much interested in your
article in the February Issue of _Scribner's Magazine_, on 'Tarpon
Fishing at Bocagrande.' But when you told your readers that you and your
companions beguiled your leisure, on this occasion, by 'potting with a
Winchester .22' at the Gulls, Man-o'-wars, Pelicans, and skimming
Swallows which surrounded your boat, you surprised and pained and
disgusted me beyond words.
"You doubtless knew that all these birds are protected by the laws of
Florida, and some of them by the Federal laws also; your action was
deliberately criminal; it was also unspeakably puerile, wanton, cruel,
and vulgar.
"The citizens of Florida welcome tourists from other states; we are
happy to share our excellent fishing and shooting with them within legal
and decent limits, which, I am glad to say, the great majority of those
who sojourn among us carefully and cheerfully observe; but we do not
propose to allow our plumage and insectivorous birds to be slaughtered
to provide fun for thoughtless and reckless gunners whether residents or
visitors.
"You are too foxy to say whether you yourself succeeded in killing any
of these birds, but I hereby give you notice that if you ever again set
foot on our soil, and I am apprised of the fact, I shall see that you
have an opportunity to tell your story in the courts. If proof can be
had of your personal guilt, you will be punished to the full limit of
the law, in both the state and federal jurisdictions, for a misdemeanor
so unsportmanlike and inexcusable."
* * * * *
[Illustration: A FEEDING-SHELF FOR BIRDS ERECTED BY JUDGE HARRY L.
CRESWELL, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN]
* * * * *
=PHOTOGRAPHING WATER-FOWL=
To watch at close range the wildfowl accumulated on the Ward-McIlhenny
reservation in the marshes of Louisiana is the privilege of a lifetime.
Mr. Herbert K. Job not only had this privilege for about six weeks
during last December and the early weeks of January, but he procured a
remarkable series of photographs of water-birds that make that region
their winter home. From the moving pictures that he made the Association
now has a thousand-foot reel, showing Pintails, Teals, and other Ducks,
as well as Boat-tailed Grackles and Coots.
To ornithologists, the most interesting pictures he obtained were those
of the Blue Geese. The chief summer home of these birds is supposed to
be on the islands north of the American continent, and most, if not all
of them, pass the winter in the marshes of Louisiana. I know of no case
heretofore where they have been photographed in large numbers at close
range.
[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE WINDOW OF A CABIN ON THE
WARD-McILHENNY RESERVATION]
The accompanying illustrations were all made by Mr. Job on this
expedition, and will give some idea of the results of his skill and
patience in the use of a moving-picture camera.
[Illustration: WHEN ALARMED, THE DUCKS WERE THE FIRST TO TAKE
FLIGHT]
[Illustration: AN INTERESTING COMPANY OF COOTS]
[Illustration: PINTAILS, TEALS, AND COOTS, PHOTOGRAPHED FROM
CABIN WINDOW]
[Illustration: PINTAILS, TEALS, AND BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES,
PHOTOGRAPHED FROM CABIN WINDOW]
[Illustration: BLUE GEESE AND A FEW GREATER SNOW-GEESE "GRAVELING"
AT VERMILION BAY, LOUISIANA. MR. JOB WAITED FIVE DAYS IN A
BLIND TO GET THESE PICTURES OF GEESE]
[Illustration: BLUE GEESE AND SNOW-GEESE ALIGHTING. VERMILION BAY,
LOUISIANA, JANUARY 3, 1916]
[Illustration: THE MARSH ON FIRE]
=BIRDS AND THE COLD SPELL=
On the morning of February 5, 1916, there was received at the office of
the National Association the following telegram:
"The State Game Warden, Topeka, Kansas, reports his state covered with
three to nine inches of sleet and ice. Birds starving by wholesale.
State organizing campaign for food. Can you assist? Immediate action
necessary. E. W. NELSON, Acting Chief, Biological Survey."
We immediately telegraphed to the State Game Warden of Kansas offering
$200 for the purchase of grain. Shortly afterward the following telegram
was received from Honorable Carlos Avery, State Game Commissioner of
Minnesota:
"Conditions critical for Quail on account of unprecedented depth of snow
and extreme cold. Funds insufficient to care for them adequately. Can
you include Minnesota for appropriation for this purpose?"
This second call for help, together with word received from other
directions, indicated that the snow and ice-cap had extended generally
over a number of the northern states of the Middle West. We at once
wired to the officials of some of the organizations in several of these
states, and also sent telegrams to thirty-five members of the
Association, telling them of the situation and asking for contributions
to be used in the purchase and distribution of food for the birds. Many
of the members immediately responded, and in a remarkably short time we
had collected and telegraphed to the Cleveland Bird-Lovers' Association
$200, to the President of the South Dakota State College $200, and to
the Minnesota Game Commission $600.
We also telegraphed the Postmaster General in Washington asking that
rural mail-carriers in Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska be authorized to
distribute grain to be supplied them for the purpose. The Third
Assistant Postmaster General at once gave the instructions requested.
Mrs. Elizabeth C. T. Miller, President of the Cleveland Bird-Lovers'
Association, sent notices to all on her large membership list, called
upon the people generally through the press, and set other movements in
operation looking to the good of the birds.
The South Dakota State College is the largest educational institution in
the State, enrolling over eleven hundred members. President E. C.
Perisho, who is a lover of wild birds and, incidentally, one of the most
influential and public-spirited educators of the West, called a mass
meeting of his students and laid the situation before them. The
following is from one of his letters, and will give some idea of what
resulted.
"We are doing everything possible at this end to save the birds of South
Dakota. I thought perhaps you would be interested to know that our
organization for this purpose is as follows:
"1. The State College has written to four hundred or five hundred boys
and girls, members of the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of the state, asking
them to scatter grain and make some protection to save the Field
Sparrows, Quails, and Prairie Chickens especially.
"2. The entire extension force of the College, including all the
short-course demonstrators, district men, etc., have been written to and
are coöperating with us.
"3. All the county agents of the state are interesting the school
children of their counties, and a number of farmers and the rural mail
carriers.
"4. The commercial clubs in all the large towns of the state, and the
smaller ones where grain is most needed, have been written to, asking
for their immediate coöperation.
"5. All the state institutions, five besides our own, have been asked to
help in this matter.
"6. A number of high schools and township schools, etc., have been asked
to help.
"7. Between one and two hundred farmers, well distributed over the state
have had personal letters.
"Money in small amounts has been promised to county agents, commercial
clubs, etc. I met a number of the young men of our college today and
talked to them about the situation, and asked for their coöperation in
writing to their homes, etc. Those most interested in the work went out,
after the meeting, and had a picture taken. I will send you this
photograph as soon as it is developed."
[Illustration: SAVING THE QUAIL IN MINNESOTA
1. Locating nesting-places of Quails under brush and broken treetops. 2.
Placing grain under brush just occupied by a bunch of Quails. 3. Fifteen
Quails were found here on February 13; food was left for them. 4. Some
Quails become weak from lack of food, are easily caught, and sit
contentedly in one's warm hand. 5. Several Quails near the foot of a
tree, and one (at the right) running.]
In Minnesota, the "Save the Quail Association" was immediately formed by
the sportsmen of St. Paul and vicinity. Mr. Carlos Avery put the State
Game Wardens to work, and the matter was given wide publicity. An
immense work was done throughout the state in the way of feeding birds.
Mr. Avery has sent in a large number of photographs, showing the men
actually at work for the relief of the birds. The method of feeding the
Quails, to locate the covies, scrape the snow away, and put out food.
The heavy snow and extreme cold prevailed over a large area of the
northern United States, and more work was probably done to feed the
birds this winter than ever before under similar conditions. Many of the
State Game Commissions have funds for this purpose, and have been very
active.
Quails and Pheasants are known to have suffered much in Oregon and
Washington. A quaint little incident is reported of pheasants in
Washington, sent us by a correspondent in British Columbia. He relates
that the Pheasants during the time of deep snow not only came familiarly
about barnyards, but were fond of perching on the backs of the hogs in
order, apparently, to warm their chilled feet.
There have been some losses in New England, and even from New Jersey
reports reached the office of the toll of bird-life that the heavy snow
had taken.
[Illustration: STUDENTS OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE COLLEGE, AFTER
LISTENING TO AN ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT E. C. PERISHO, ON THE NEED
OF FEEDING BIRDS IN WINTER. NOTE THE DEPTH OF THE SNOW.]
=FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY=
When George Bird Grinnell coined the term "Audubon Society," and started
the Audubon Movement, in 1886, one of the first to respond to the call
and to go actively into the work was Miss Florence Merriam, who, with
Miss Fanny Hardy--now Mrs. Eckstorm, author of several bird-books--in
March, 1886, organized the Smith College Audubon Society. Soon afterward
Miss Merriam assumed the duties of a local Audubon secretaryship, in
northern New York, and also secured local secretaries in several
neighboring towns.
In 1897, when the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia was
organized, she was one of its chartered members. For many years, as Mrs.
Florence Merriam Bailey, she has been an active member of its executive
committee, and, among other duties, has had charge of the annual spring
bird-class, one of the most important features of that Society. That her
interest in the work is deep, and sympathetic to an unusual degree may
be shown by a quotation from a letter that she wrote to the California
Audubon Society on the occasion of its organization:
"Wherever you go, study the birds and tell your friends of them. Point
out to them the chaste beauty of your exquisitely tinted waterfowl; let
them see the glowing splendor of your Tanagers, the flashing jewels of
your Hummingbirds. Take them to the fields, that they may listen in
rapture to the rare voice of your Meadowlark; take them to the deep
canyons filled with the flute-like notes of the Canyon Wren; and to the
fir forests on the mountainsides, where their souls will be stirred by
the uplifted song of the Thrush.
"By knowing the birds personally, you will bring to your Audubon work
the enkindling spark of enthusiastic friendship. In all phases of your
work, for yourselves, your friends, your birds, and your children, you
have my hearty interest and good wishes. For fifteen years I have been
waiting for you to take up the cause of the California birds, and for
many years I have been working with the children of the West on my
heart. Knowing this, you may well believe that I wish your beautiful
work an earnest God-speed."
Mrs. Bailey's natural girlhood's interest in wild birds was greatly
quickened by dwelling in a home in which scholarship and a love of
scientific accuracy were taught daily; and she had the added advantage
of living in a region of northern New York well supplied with bird-life.
In a recent letter she wrote: "Having been brought up on Coues's 'Key,'
and trained by my brother, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, on leaving College in
1886 I began doing careful field-work." Since that day, no woman has
studied the wild birds of America so systematically, so thoroughly, and
so carefully as she. The amount of field-work she has done is perfectly
astonishing, and probably few women have spent so many days in the
wilds, or so many nights under canvas, as has Mrs. Florence Merriam
Bailey. Her work, partly conducted in company with her brother, Dr.
Merriam, and her husband, Mr. Vernon Bailey, has been carried on not
only in eastern and southern states and in the Bermudas, but also in
Arizona, Oregon, California, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and New Mexico.
As a teacher of others, she has given bird-talks and conducted
field-classes in bird-study in various parts of the country, and for
thirty years her name has been before the public as a writer of popular
and scientific articles. The titles of no less than seventy
communications published in _The Auk_, _Bird-Lore_, _The Condor_,
_Forest and Stream_, _The Outlook_, _Popular Science_, _The American
Agriculturist_, and elsewhere, have come to my attention. Her first
book, "Birds Through An Opera Glass," was published in 1889. This was
followed by "My Summer in a Mormon Village," 1895; "A-Birding on a
Bronco," 1896; and "Birds of Village and Field," 1898.
[Illustration: FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY]
Her largest and most valuable contribution to the literature of
ornithology is her "Handbook of Birds of the Western United States,"
first published in 1902. From the day of its appearance, this was hailed
as the most practical and useful book on our western birds that had ever
been published, and for many years to come it will be regarded as the
standard work on the subject. No serious student of bird-life in the
western United States would think of being without this valuable book on
his study-table.
=NEW MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS=
Enrolled from January 1 to March 1, 1916.
_Life Members._
Agnew, Miss Alice G.
Andrews, J. Sherlock
Arnold, Edward W. C.
Barr, James H.
Black, R. Clifford
Blake, Mrs. Francis
Brackenridge, George W.
Burnham, William
Butler, Mrs. Paul
Butterworth, Mrs. William
Campbell, John B.
Childs, Eversley
Clark, George H.
Clementson, Mrs. Sidney
Colgate, Richard M.
Covell, Dr. H. H.
Dahlstrom, Mrs. C. A.
Dodge, Cleveland H.
Doepke, Mrs. William F.
Eddison, Charles
Glazier, Henry S.
Hamlin, Mrs. Eva S.
Hanna, Mrs. H. M., Jr.
Haskell, J. Amory
Higginson, Mrs. James J.
"Iowa Friend"
Jenkins, Mrs. Joseph W.
Keen, Miss Florence
Keith, Mrs. D. M.
Kingsbury, Miss Alice E.
Langdon, Woodbury G.
Lansing, Mrs. G. Y.
Lawrence, Rosewell B.
Low, Miss Nathalie F.
MacLean, Mrs. Charles F.
Marmon, Mrs. Elizabeth C.
Miller, Mrs. E. C. T.
Mitchell, Miss Mary
Moore, Mrs. William H.
Neave, Miss Jane C.
Newberry, W. F.
Oliver, Mrs. James B.
Osborn, Mrs. William C.
Prentiss, F. F.
Rathborne, Richard C.
Remsen, Miss Elizabeth
Rodewald, F. L.
Sanger, Mrs. C. R.
Severance, John L.
Stetson, Francis L.
Stillman, B. G.
Stillman, Chauncey D.
Thaw, J. C.
Upson, Mrs. Henry S.
Weld, Miss Elizabeth F.
White, Windsor T.
Woolman, Edward
_Sustaining Members._
Adams, Mrs. Maud W.
Aims, Miss Edith M.
Allen, Charles D.
Allen, Mrs. D. P.
Armstrong, Mrs. C. R.
Audubon Society of Illinois.
Audubon Society of New Hampshire.
Barber, Mrs. H.
Barrows, Ira.
Bayne, Howard
Beacom, M. W.
Benton, Andrew A.
Biays, Miss Katherine
Billard, Mrs. J. L.
Bispham, David
Boettger, Mrs. Theodore
Booth, Mrs. Henry M.
Brunswick, Mrs. E.
Burton, Mrs. Robert M.
Carey, Mrs. Frederic F.
Cerf, Mrs. L. A.
Choate, Miss Caroline
Church, F. S.
Clark, F. Ambrose
Clark, George C.
Clements, Mrs. G. H.
Cochran, G. D.
Cohn, Julius M.
Colfelt, Mrs. R. McM.
Colorado Audubon Society
Cory, Daniel W.
de Bary, A.
Delta Duck Club
DeMilt, Miss Aida R.
deRham, H. Casimir
Dinsmore, Mrs. W. B.
Emerson, William
Flint, Mrs. Austin
Ford, Mrs. Bruce
Foshay, Dr. P. Maxwell
Fraser, Miss Ann C.
Fuld, Solomon
Gale, C. C.
Gates, Dr. Milo H.
Gavit, E. P.
Godwin, Mrs. H.
Gouinlock, Miss Mary S.
Haggin, Mrs. Ben Ali
Haines, Charles D.
Hall, A. Neely
Hatch, Miss Cornelia C.
Havemeyer, Henry O.
Hawes, Miss M. M.
Hawkes, Miss Eva
Herz, Mrs. F. W.
Heyn, Miss Emma
Hibbs, Mrs. Russell A.
Hitchcock, Master Frank
Hoening, Mrs. C.
Hooper, Mrs. Newlin
Hopkins, Mrs. George B.
Hotchkiss, Frank A.
Houghton, Mrs. Grace N.
Howland, Dr. John
Hoyt, Miss Rosina S.
Hyde, Mrs. Clarence M.
Imbrie, Mrs. James
Irwin, John V.
Jaretzki, Mrs. Alfred
Jenkins, A. W.
Jennings, Mrs. Oliver G.
Jewett, William K.
Judd, Mrs. M. E.
Judson, Mrs. A. L.
Keck, Miss Margaret W.
Kennedy, David A.
Kennedy, Mrs. N. Van Rensselaer
Kent, Edwin C.
Keyes, Mrs. Edward L., Jr.
Kimball, Mrs. Reuel B.
King, Mrs. Willard V.
Kinne, Miss Helen
Klingenstein, Charles
Lamb, Gilbert D.
Lane, James Warren, Jr.
Lansburgh, Miss Edith Rosalie
Ledoux, Mrs. Albert R.
Lehmaier, Mrs. Louis A.
Lehman, Meyer H.
Lewis, Richard V.
Lieb, Dr. Charles C.
Lilienthal, Dr. Howard
Louis, Charles H.
McHugh, Joseph P.
Maron, Otto
Massey, Miss H. F.
Mather, Charles M.
Mayer, Louis
Merriam, F. L.
Meyn, Mrs. Heinrich
Miller, Mrs. R. T.
Miller, Mrs. Seaman
Mills, Frederic C.
Mills, Miss Jean
Moore, Miss K. T.
Moorhead, Horace R.
Morton, Mrs. Levi P.
Moses, Mrs. E.
Muendel, Miss Christina
Nelson, Charles W.
New Bedford Bird Club
Newell, Mrs. G. T.
Nicoll, Mrs. Fancher
Oregon Audubon Society
Palmer, Nicholas F.
Peck, Dr. Charles H.
Pomeroy, Daniel E.
Poor, Roger M.
Pope, Miss Edith A.
Pratt, Mrs. Frederic B.
Procter, Mrs. Wm. Cooper
Proctor, Thomas R.
Puffer, Miss Isabel
Putney, Miss E. C.
Redmond, Master Henry S.
Reese, Mrs. R. G.
Rehling-Qvistgaard, J. W. V.
Renard, Fred O.
Reynolds, Mrs. G. W.
Riley, Mrs. W. W.
Robbins, Allan Appleton
Rogers, Mrs. Francis
Romenus, Albert
Rumsey, Lawrence Dana
Rupprecht, Frederick K.
Ryle, Miss Julia
Sachs, Dr. Bernard
Savage, James
Sawtelle, Mrs. E. M.
Schanck, George E.
Scofield, Miss Marion
Seaman, William W.
Sharpe, Miss Elizabeth M.
Shaw, Miss Louise
Sherman, Miss Julia Frances
Siegel, William
Simmons, Mrs. Warren H.
Simonson, Mrs. William A.
Simpson, Miss Jean W.
Smillie, James C.
Smith, Mrs. A. G.
Smith, Miss Emeline C.
Smith, Mrs. Rufus B.
Smith, William Wharton
Snook, Mrs. T. E.
Soule, Elizabeth P.
Stafford, Mrs. William F.
Staudt, John
Steers, James R.
Steinway, F. T.
Stephens, Mrs. Nassau S.
Stillman, Mrs. E. G.
Stone, Miss Elizabeth B.
Strauss, Albert
Stubner, C. J.
Stursberg, Julius A.
Swan, William D.
Taylor, Mrs. W. R. K.
Thomson, John F.
Topliff, Miss Anna E.
Townsend, Eugene L.
Tucker, Carill
Tuxbury, Miss L. E.
Varicle, Miss Renée
Vassar Wake Robin Club
Watson, Miss Emily A.
White, Mrs. Stanford
Whitson, Abraham U.
Wiborg, F. B.
Williams, Alexander S.
Williams, Mrs. Sydney M.
Wilson, Mrs. M. Orme
Wing, Frank L.
Winston-Salem Audubon Society
Zabriskie, Mrs. Cornelius
_New Contributors._
Evans, Miss Mildred
French, Daniel C.
Harron, Master Halie I.
Haueisen, William C.
Jeremiah, J.
Kellogg, Miss M. W.
Macdonald, James A.
Mix, Robert J.
Newcomer, Miss Nannie I.
Parker, Forrest H.
Perrin, Marshall L.
Post, Mrs. E. J.
Townsend, Mrs. Charles
Wheeler, Mrs. L. F.
=Contributors to Egret Fund=
Previously acknowledged $1,016 26
Abbott, Mrs. T. J. 5 00
Adams, William C. 1 00
Ames, Mrs. J. B. 5 00
Auchincloss, Mrs. E. S. 5 00
Barclay, Miss Emily 5 00
Barri, Mrs. John A. 5 00
Baxter, Lucy W. 5 00
Beebe, Mrs. William H. II. 3 00
Bernheimer, Mrs. J. S. 10 00
Bignell, Mrs. Effie 1 00
Bird-Lover 5 00
Blackwelder, Eliot 1 00
Bliss, Miss Lucy B. 7 00
Bonham, Miss Elizabeth S. 5 00
Bonham, Mrs. Horace 10 00
Boynton, Mrs. C. H. 1 00
Brent, Mrs. Duncan K. 2 00
Brooks, Mrs. Shepherd 10 00
Brown, D. J. 2 00
Burgess, E. Phillips 3 00
Burt, Miss Edith 2 00
Button, Conyers 25 00
Carse, Miss Harriet 2 00
Case, Mrs. James B. 10 00
Clarke, Mrs. E. A. S. 5 00
Clerk, Mrs. A. G. 1 00
Cleveland, Mrs. Clement 1 00
Collins, Miss Gertrude 5 00
Cristy, Mrs. H. W. 1 00
Curie, Charles 5 00
Cutter, Ralph L. 5 00
Davis, William T. 5 00
Dawes, Miss Elizabeth B. 10 00
DeForest, Mrs. Robert W. 5 00
Delafield, Mrs. John R. 2 00
Dwight, Mrs. M. E. 2 00
Early, Charles H. 2 00
Eastman, George 50 00
Ellis, William D. 10 00
Emmons, 2nd, Mrs. R. W. 10 00
Evans, William B. 4 00
Fergusson, Alexander C. 2 00
Field, E. B. 2 00
Foot, James D. 2 00
Franklin, Mrs. M. L. 10 00
Friedman, Mrs. Max 2 00
Fries, Miss Emilie 1 00
Frothingham, John W. 35 00
Fuguet, Stephen 5 00
Garst, Julius 3 00
Godeffroy, Mrs. E. H. 10 00
Goodwin, Geo. R. 5 00
Greene, Miss Caroline S. 1 00
Haskell, Miss Helen P. 2 00
Hathaway, Harry S. 2 00
Hodgman, Miss Edith M. 5 00
Hopkins, Miss Augusta D. 3 00
Horr, Miss Elizabeth 5 00
Hoyt, Miss G. L. 5 00
Hunter, Mrs. W. H. 2 00
Jackson, P. T., Jr. 6 00
Jennings, Dr. George H. 3 00
Jordan, A. H. B. 20 00
Joslin, Ada L. 2 00
Jube, Albert B. 3 00
Kennedy, Mrs. John S. 5 00
Kerr, Mrs. T. B. 1 00
Lewis, Mrs. August 10 00
Lewis, Mrs. Herman E. 5 00
Mackey, Oscar T. 5 00
Mann, J. R. 1 00
Marrs, Mrs. Kingsmill 5 00
Marsh, Spencer S. 1 00
Mason, G. A. 5 00
Mason, H. L., Jr. 5 00
Meigs, Miss Hester 1 25
Mellns, J. T. 2 00
Merritt, Mrs. James H. 2 00
Mills, Dr. Herbert R. 20 00
Montell, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. 2 50
Moore, Alfred 5 00
Morganthau, Mrs. M. L. 1 00
Mott, Miss Marian 5 00
Murray, J. Irwin, Jr. 1 00
Nice, Mrs. Margaret M. 3 00
Noyes, Raymond 3 00
Oliver, Dr. Henry K. 10 00
Osborne, Arthur A. 1 00
Pagenstecher, Miss Friede 5 00
Parker, Edward L. 25 00
Parker, Mrs. W. R. 3 00
Patton, Mrs. Margaret S. 10 00
Peck, Dr. Elizabeth L. 1 00
Penfold, Edmund 10 00
Petty, E. R. 2 00
Phelps, Mrs. Frances von R. 10 00
Pott, Miss Emma 1 00
Pusey, Mrs. Howard 2 00
Raymond, Charles II. 5 00
Rhoads, S. N. 1 00
Righter, William S. 5 00
Robbins, Miss N. P. H. 3 00
Robbins, Mr. and Mrs. R. E. 20 00
Sampson, Miss Lucy S. 1 00
Saunders, Charles G. 1 00
Schweppe, Mrs. H. M. 1 00
Scofield, Miss Marion. 10 00
Shattuck, Miss Gertrude A. 1 00
Simpkins, Miss M. W. 10 00
Small, Miss A. M. 2 00
Spackman, Miss Emily S. 1 00
Spalter, Mrs. F. B. 1 00
Stanton, Mrs. T. G. 2 00
Stevens, F. E. 2 00
Stimson, William B. 3 00
Thorndike, Mrs. Augustus 1 00
Timmerman, Miss Edith 1 50
Tower, Mrs. Kate D. 1 00
Troescher, A. F. 10 00
Vaillant, Mrs. G. H. 3 00
Von Zedlitz, Mrs. Anna 2 00
Walker, Miss Mary A. 2 00
White, Horace 5 00
Willcox, Prof. M. A. 10 00
Williams, George F. 5 00
Winslow, Miss Maria L. C. 6 00
Woodward, Dr. S. B. 5 00
Wright, Miss Mary A. 2 00
Zimmerman, Dr. M. W. 5 00
--------
Total $1,701 51
=THE VIRGINIA GAME BILL PASSES=
By a vote of twenty-four to nine, the Senate of the Virginia Legislature
has passed the bill of the Farmers' Union and the Audubon Society for
the establishment of a Commission of Fisheries and Game. The bill was
signed by the Governor on March 13, 1916. Thus ends a fight which the
Audubon Society has led in the Virginia Legislature, session after
session, for many years.
Mr. M. D. Hart, President of the Virginia Audubon Society, and others
who have labored hard for the successful passage of this measure, are to
be congratulated. Now, at least, we may hope for some good bird-and-game
protection in that state, for the commissioner will have power to employ
wardens, and will have funds with which to pay them.
The methods of selecting the local wardens is rather unusual: From a
list of ten names, submitted by the boards of supervisors of the
counties and the councils of cities, the commissioner will select
wardens--one for each county and city in the commonwealth. In
communities of less than 20,000 inhabitants these officers will be paid
a salary not to exceed $50 a month. In more populous communities their
monthly pay will not be in excess of $60. Special wardens may be
appointed to serve for not more than $3 a day. The commissioner or any
of his wardens may serve original processes as sheriffs and constables.
Every hunter who leaves his own premises or those adjoining his will be
required to obtain from the commissioner a hunter's license. Residents
will be charged $1 for the privilege of hunting in their county, and $3
for a state range. Non-residents may hunt anywhere in Virginia on
payment of $10.
The victory in Virginia leaves only two states in the Union that have no
game-warden system. These states are Florida and Mississippi, which
still vie with each other for the honor of being the Rip Van Winkle
state in the matter of bird-protection.
[Illustration (birds on branch)]
[Illustration: SPRING ARRIVALS LOOKING FOR HOMES
From a drawing by Walter M. Dunk]
=NOTES FROM THE FIELD=
=Birds Beautifying Cemeteries=
Some time ago, the Secretary happened to visit a suburban cemetery,
where landscape-gardening and sculptural art had done what they could to
make the scene beautiful and comforting, but he was impressed by the
absence of singing birds. Alien Sparrows were chattering, and the
gurgling of a Grackle was heard in the distance, but none of the sweet
voices and pretty forms of the native birds charmed the ear or gladdened
the eye of a visitor. This seemed strange, for the varied trees and
shrubbery, with sunny spaces among them, quiet and guarded against noisy
intrusion, would be exceedingly attractive and favorable to bird-life;
and it occurred to him that in no place would an invitation to the birds
to make themselves at home in summer be so likely to be accepted; nor
could anything be more appropriate than their cheerful presence. They
will prove useful, too.
These thoughts induced him to write a brief essay, entitled "Cemeteries
as Bird-Sanctuaries," which has been published by the National
Association as Circular No. 2, and distributed to many persons likely to
be interested. The response has been most encouraging. Associations and
individuals all over the country have written for this circular, and are
taking measures to furnish cemeteries with shelters, nesting-boxes and
feeding-stations for birds under instruction from the Association. The
great Forest Lawn Cemetery near Omaha, for example, is putting up 100
nest-boxes as a beginning. The Rosehill Cemetery and others about
Chicago are undertaking similar enterprises, and the Cemetery
Beautifying Association of San Francisco is planning this addition to
its methods of making more attractive the resting-place of the dead.
_Blue Bird_ announces that the Lake View Cemetery at Cleveland, Ohio,
will erect many feeding-tables and nest-boxes, in its grounds. The
matter has been taken up by the Lexington Kentucky Audubon Society.
Other instances might be mentioned.
It is greatly to be hoped that many others will follow their example.
The movement we think is worth while, for the sake of humanity as well
as for the birds.
=The Oregon Audubon Society=
The Oregon Audubon Society has recently established headquarters in the
Young Men's Christian Association building, in Portland. The room
occupied by the Society has been tastefully decorated with pictures, and
contains cabinets of specimens for study. It is planned to give lectures
regularly on Saturday evenings.
Mr. William L. Finley, President of the Society, and the Pacific Coast
field-agent for the National Association, in company with Mrs. Finley,
has this spring been spending several weeks in the East, where he has
been constantly engaged in giving lectures illustrated with moving
pictures of sea-birds, Sage Grouse, sea-lions, cougars, black bears,
antelopes, and other interesting forms of western wild life.
=Work Along Columbia River=
The Federation of Women's Clubs in the State of Washington has been
notable among such organizations for that practical interest in
bird-life which arises from an appreciation of their usefulness as well
as their beauty. It has recently testified to this most substantially by
becoming a member of this Association. Last year, and to a less extent
in the previous year, the Federation was represented largely at the
State Fair by an exhibition that was called the "Bird Court," in which
all sorts of ornithological things were displayed to great advantage.
The success of these exhibitions was due largely to the wisdom and
energy of Mrs. G. R. Pike, of North Yakima, who has been indefatigable
in her efforts to spread the study of birds in the schools. She has been
traveling and lecturing throughout the state for some time, under the
auspices of the State Federation, which has supported this agency
generously. The National Association has coöperated in all these
matters, and feels that it is abundantly rewarded by results. It has now
enabled Mrs. Pike to extend her work, and it anticipates still larger
results in the organization of Junior Classes, and in the stimulation of
a general interest in the cause throughout the Columbia Valley.
=Feather Importation In Canada=
It may not be generally known to the readers of BIRD-LORE that,
immediately following the passage of the Tariff Act in Washington, on
October 3, 1913, which prohibited the importation of feathers to this
country, the Canadian Parliament, largely through the efforts of Dr. C.
Gordon Hewitt, passed a somewhat similar measure. The Canadian law
prohibits the importation of:
"Aigrettes, Egret plumes, or so-called Osprey plumes, and the feathers,
quills, heads, wings, tails, skins, or parts of skins, of wild birds,
either raw or manufactured; but this provision shall not come into
effect until January 1, 1915, and shall not apply to the feathers or
plumes of Ostriches; the plumage of the English Pheasant and the Indian
Peacock; the plumage of wild birds ordinarily used as articles of diet;
the plumage of birds imported alive, nor to specimens imported under
regulations of the Minister of Customs for any natural-history or other
museum, or for educational purposes."
=Allan Brooks a Soldier=
Allan Brooks, the artist, many of whose colored pictures of birds have
appeared in BIRD-LORE, is with the English Army "somewhere in France."
In the summer of 1915 he wrote the office that he would not be able to
do further work for the Association for some time, as he was going to
Europe to study. Almost immediately after his arrival in England war
broke out. He at once returned to Canada and enlisted in a company at
his home in British Columbia. He has been promoted from the rank of
Lieutenant to that of Captain. Last December, when Captain Brooks had
attained the distinction of the longest continuous trench service of any
officer of the Canadian army, he was offered a more restful position
behind the lines, but he declined it.
In a letter received by one of his friends a short time ago he stated
that he had thus far escaped injury with the exception of deafness in
one ear, as a result of a shell-explosion; and that, if he survived the
war, he would return to America and hoped to paint better pictures than
before.
=Deer-Killing Dogs=
A lady writes from a village in northern New York of the evil of loose
dogs in rural communities; and of her care for winter-birds:
"On Sunday morning, January 23, two dogs chased a deer (a young doe),
that strayed down from the mountains, and attacked it most viciously
until it sank exhausted and wounded on the grounds of the summer home of
the church of the Heavenly Rest, of which my husband is gardener and
caretaker. He and my son rescued the deer from the dogs, and a neighbor
notified the supervisor, who gave permission for its removal to a barn,
awaiting the arrival of the game warden. My three children are members
of the Audubon Society, and are greatly interested in all wild things.
They are heart-broken about the deer, and we try to protect everything
wild that comes our way. We have many wild birds around our house, which
we coaxed around by putting little houses in the branches of nearby
trees, and putting crumbs and scraps in them. We also fixed some
branches of hemlock on the windowsill of our dining-room, on which my
husband ties pieces of suet, doughnut, bones, and pieces of a pudding I
make especially for them, of suet, currants, raisins, bread-crumbs, and
scraps of meat; and oh, how they enjoy it!"--MRS. JOHN W. PAYNE.
* * * * *
=Dodson Bird Houses=
[Illustration (bird house on pole)]
[Illustration (bird bath)]
+The Kind That Win Birds+
Don't delay. Birds will soon be here. Put out Dodson Bird Houses now and
have Bluebirds, Wrens, Martins, Flickers, etc. living in your garden.
Buy houses made by a bird-lover.
Mr. Dodson has loved and worked for Native Birds all his life. Dodson
Bird Houses (20 styles--for all kinds of birds) used by birds in every
state. Martin House (illustrated here), $12; Wren House $5; Bluebird
House, $5; Flicker House, $2.50 to $5; Chickadee House, $1.50 and $2.50;
Bird Baths, $6 to $17. Prices f.o.b. Kankakee, Illinois.
=FREE PICTURE Of bird in Natural Colors, with descriptive folder of
Nature Neighbors, the best set of books about birds published. Write for
this--now.=
=The Famous Dodson Sparrow Trap.= No other trap like this. Double funnel
and automatic drop trap combined. Works all the time. Price, $6. If
you're interested in birds, write to the "Man the Birds Love."
=FREE BOOKLET Telling How to Win Native Birds, and illustrating the
famous Dodson Bird Houses, Shelters, Baths, etc. Write for it.=
=JOSEPH H. DODSON, 712 S. Harrison Ave., Kankakee, Ill.=
_Mr. Dodson is a Director of the Illinois Audubon Society_
* * * * *
Edmanson Bird Homes
=Shipped Direct from Factory--Lowest Prices=
[Illustration: =Edmanson Martin House.= 28 rooms. Price $10 f.o.b.
Chicago; 26 rooms, $8.50.]
[Illustration: =Edmanson Wren House.= 4 rooms. Price $4.50 f.o.b.
Chicago.]
Will last a lifetime. Attract the birds. Provide cozy little homes for
them. There is no better way of getting tree and shrub insurance. Birds
will work for you free of cost every day in the year. Edmanson Bird
Houses are used by thousands of America's foremost lovers of
birds--endorsed by the Audubon Societies.
[Illustration: =Edmanson Feedery.= Price $1 f.o.b. Chicago. Feeds
grain, also suet.]
=5,000 Bird Houses in Stock--Already Seasoned Ready for Immediate
Use--Birds Arrive This Month=
We have been manufacturing Bird Houses for 20 years. Our prices are
lowest. Bluebird House, $5; Houses for Purple Martins, $8.50; for
Flickers, $3; for Chickadees, 70 cts.; for Swallows, $2.50; Cement Bird
Bath, $11; the famous Edmanson Sparrow Trap, electric welded, automatic,
none better, $1.75.
=BIRD BOOKS= by recognized authorities. We can save you money on books.
Handsomely illustrated catalog free. Write for it today.
[Illustration (catalog)]
=E. E. EDMANSON & COMPANY=
=616 South Norton Street=
=Chicago, Illinois=
* * * * *
Agents Wanted
To handle Subscriptions for
=The National Humane Review=
A high-grade publication devoted especially to the subject of child and
animal protection. Carefully edited. Well illustrated.
Splendid opportunity for those looking for part or whole time work.
_Write for particulars_
The National Humane Review ALBANY, NEW YORK
* * * * *
Learn the Birds
at your first acquaintance with them. You'll never forget them if you
jot down a complete description of each one while you watch it. By using
the =BIRD NOTE BOOK= you record the essential markings and structure in
a few seconds, and can refer to your colored plates after the bird is
gone. This method impresses the bird on the memory indelibly. Also aids
teachers and class-leaders. Universally approved.
_Single copy 15c. In two-dozen lots, 10c each_
R. H. GERBERDING
1320 Chase Street ANDERSON, IND.
* * * * *
Food for Nesting Birds
If you want birds to nest near you, you must supply them with food. No
food will attract insectivorous birds more effectively than Mealworms.
The old birds eat them and also give them to their young. Mealworms
should be fed from a shallow tin, glass or china vessel that stands at
some shaded place, free of the sun's rays. Place in it the worms you
wish to feed that day, and also a little bran. That is their food. A
treat for the fishes, etc., in your aquarium, to keep them active and in
good health. A good clean bait for fishing with rod and line. A choice
food for your young pheasants. (See U. S. Farmers' Bulletin No. 390.)
=Shall I supply you? 500 for $1; 1,000 for $1.50; 5,000 for $5; 10,000
for $7.50, all express prepaid east of the Mississippi.=
C. B. KERN, Box 203, Mount Joy, Pa.
* * * * *
A Purchasing Agency
======================================
The National Association of Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York,
will act as a
=Purchasing Agency for Its Members=
and friends, in obtaining for them desired Books, Bird-boxes,
Feeding-tables, Field-glasses, Kodak and other Cameras suitable for work
in Natural History, Botanical or Entomological Supplies, Printed Labels,
Notebooks, School Apparatus for Nature-Study, and anything else wanted
in the line of Audubon work or recreation.
_Cash must accompany each order_
* * * * *
The Bird Is Astonishingly Interesting
======================================
But so is the tree or shrub, the insects on which the bird feeds, the
rock on which you sit; yes, even the joy and pathos of the call of the
owl and whippoorwill are enhanced by the stars.
ALL nature is our theme.
The Guide to Nature
EDITED BY
_EDWARD F. BIGELOW_
PUBLISHED BY
_THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION_
======================================
ARCADIA
Sound Beach :: Connecticut
SUBSCRIPTION, $1 A YEAR SINGLE COPY, 10 CENTS
* * * * *
NATURE-STUDY REVIEW
_Official Journal_
=The American Nature-Study Society=
L. H. BAILEY, Pres., 1915
Each issue filled with special illustrated articles from practical
teachers, dealing with School Gardening, Nature-Study and Elementary
Agriculture, Methods, Type Lessons and Suggestions.
=SUBSCRIBE NOW=
_$1 a year, 15 cts. per copy_
(Including Membership in the American Nature-Study Society)
The Nature-Study Review Ithaca, N. Y.
* * * * *
Two Cents Will Buy a Bird's Portrait
like that in this magazine. It will be sent to you on a detached sheet,
ready for framing, and with it will go an _Educational Leaflet_ of four
pages, describing the bird's habits, and an outline plate for coloring.
These useful and beautiful colored portraits of birds are issued by
the _National Association of Audubon Societies_, which will send on
request a list of nearly _100 kinds of native American birds_ for
your choice.
Address the Secretary
1974 Broadway, New York
* * * * *
JOIN THIS ASSOCIATION AND HELP THE CAUSE OF BIRD-PROTECTION!
The Educational Leaflets OF THE National Association of
Audubon Societies
The best means of learning the birds of your neighborhood, and of
teaching your children.
Each leaflet describes the habits and utility of one bird, and contains
a detached colored plate and an outline sketch of its subject.
The _Colored Plates_ are faithful portraits of the birds, yet treated
artistically, as is shown by the examples in the border. No better
pictures of their kind exist. (Plates not sold separately.)
The Outlines are unshaded copies of the plates, intended to be
colored--the best method of fixing facts in a young mind.
These Leaflets, 85 in number, are sold singly at 2 cents each, or in a
bound volume (Nos. 1 to 59) at $1.75. A list will be sent on request to
the
National Association of Audubon Societies 1974 Broadway, New York City
SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAGAZINE
BIRD-LORE
COLORED PLATES
ONE DOLLAR A YEAR
* * * * *
A BIRD BOOK FOR TEACHERS
========================
Bird-Life
By FRANK M. CHAPMAN
is especially adapted to the use of teachers. There are 75 full-page
colored plates figuring 100 common birds. The Biographies are so
arranged that they may be used in supplemental reading. The Introductory
Chapters treat of the bird's place in nature and its relations to man,
including its esthetic and economic value; the wings, tail, bill, and
feet of birds and their uses, the colors of birds and what they mean,
bird migration, the voice of birds, birds' nests and eggs.
An Appendix throws all this matter into the form of lessons, reviews the
bird-life of a year, tells of the more interesting events of each month,
and gives lists of the birds which may be looked for at certain seasons.
There is a Field Key, 'local lists' for various places, and an outline
of classification for those who want it.
_12mo, cloth. 300 pages. Price $2 net_
D. Appleton & Company
NEW YORK CITY
* * * * *
New, Revised Edition of the
HANDBOOK OF BIRDS of Eastern North America
=By FRANK M. CHAPMAN=
Curator of Birds, American Museum of Natural History
=With Plates in Colors and Black and White, by LOUIS AGASSIZ
FUERTES, and Text Illustrations by TAPPAN ADNEY and ERNEST
THOMPSON-SETON=
The text of the preceding edition has been thoroughly revised and much
of it rewritten. The nomenclature and ranges of the latest edition of
the "Check-List" of the American Ornithologists' Union have been
adopted. Migration records from Oberlin, Ohio, Glen Ellyn, Ill., and
Southeastern Minnesota, numerous nesting dates for every species, and
many biographical references have been added; the descriptions of
plumage emended to represent the great increase in our knowledge of this
branch of ornithology; and, in short, the work has been enlarged to the
limit imposed by true handbook size and brought fully up-to-date.
In addition to possessing all the features which made the old "Handbook"
at once popular and authoritative, the new "Handbook" contains an
Introduction of over 100 pages on "How to Study the Birds in Nature,"
which will be of the utmost value to all students of living birds.
The subjects of distribution, migration, song, nesting, color, food,
structure and habit, intelligence, and allied problems are here treated
in a manner designed to arouse interest and stimulate and direct
original observation.
A Biographical Appendix, giving the titles to all the leading works and
papers (including faunal lists) on the Birds of Eastern North America,
shows just what has been published on the birds of a given region, a
matter of the first importance to the local student.
_561 Pages. Cloth, $3.50 net. Flexible Morocco, $4.00 net_
----------------------------------------------------------------------
D. APPLETON & COMPANY, Publishers 29-35 West 32d Street, New York
J. Horace McFarland Company, Mt. Pleasant Press, Harrisburg, Pa.
* * * * *
_The Warblers Are Coming!_
THE WARBLERS of NORTH AMERICA
By FRANK M. CHAPMAN and others
====================================
Twenty-four colored plates by Fuertes and Horsfall, illustrating male,
female and immature plumages.
Three hundred and six pages of text treating of the color characters,
field-marks, range, migration, haunts, songs, nest and eggs of each
species.
_The book is an indispensable guide to every student of these, the
"most beautiful, most abundant, and least known" of our birds._
8vo. Cloth, $3. Postage, 20 cents
====================================
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
29 West Thirty-second Street
NEW YORK CITY
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Paragraphs which were
split by images were rejoined. Most of the small cap formatted text was
converted to UPPER CASE text. However, where the small caps formatting
was applied to subheaders the text is presented as Mixed Case or all
lower case text to avoid confusion or for aesthetic reasons. Some
alternate spelling of words were retained as printed (i.e., Indorsement,
despatched, etc.).
Typographical Corrections
On page 97, _Auriparus flaviceps Camprocephalus_ for _Auriparus
flaviceps lamprocephalus_.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Bird-Lore" ***
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