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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour hue reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmi d partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droits, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'imeges nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■1^ w^^^w *V m. ' MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHAR* No, 2l 1.0 I.I |50 ""'= \T 13.6 1.4 2.5 2.2 ZO 1.8 1.6 A APPLIED ItVHGE I ^^^ 1653 Ea5l Ma.n Sfeel S^S Rochester, Ne* York 1 46^^ USA '.= ;"6) 482 - 0300 - Phore ^~ (716) 288 - 5989 - Fo, 1:/. ^-'^ -r,f '♦.i,. A'^ >^K^1?-r ?iJ^W. •^vJi^- ' ^ K. \ S'-^ HOW TO ATTRACT THE BIRDS iit'i A (chI;,! u;'.\->\iiii; in a ilicilvL-ilierry trtf. iC'!i;ii;ttr 31 trv/ilisptec 1 j> ! I> ! 1*1 IV 1 AND OIIIKR TALKS AHOIT BIRD \ K I (, II H() I K S KV M-;i;i"JK BLANC MAX A lit 111 >r lit " Kiril \riy;lilioiirN. " ' MiriN that 1 1 mil .mil Arc Iliiiiifil ami ' ' \aturt'-. (iankii / i'V. ^'^ lORONTO THi: COPP CI..ARK CDMPAN^. l.iMiTKr) I 902 H\ noIMlI n.\\ , PM.K Si COMI'.WV i!)li>licil Ditobcr, i<;02 £|9ount DIrnoant {^trss J. HOKAIE Mlt'ARLASn CilMPANV HAKRISBURC • I'tNNSYLVASIA lABLi; Ol CONTKN'rS 1. How K) IWIIK HlKI) \ll(.MK(l''' yAl.l/H) FoRKKiNKRS . Inuk.\ I 37 6s ')i H3 U« "'3 221 ^.Jk RJil ■?J' HOW TO INVITE BIRD NEIGHBOURS e::£ '/' -cv HOW^ TO ATTRACT THE BIRDS CHAPTER I HOW TO INVITE UIKD N HIGH HOURS Thf birds' point of view differs scarcely at all from our own in the essentials in life : Protection from enemies, the preservation of the family, a sheltered home, congenial environment, abundant fo(^d, and pure water — these natural rights the birds, like men, are ever seekin<£. Kach spring day bringing as it does hosts of feathered travellers from the IVopics and the Southern States where they have passed the winter, how can we induce some of them to pause on the journey long enough to investigate our garden attractions and hnppily to become our neighbours tor the summer r Some birds there are — the wild ducks and hawks, for example — that no v- lount of coaxing would induce to confide in man — the worst enemy or the best friend every creature has. Hut very many of the sinaller birds, reiving more on the How to Attract the Birds safety and abundance ot food near human settle- ments than on the more doubtful protection that deep remote forests afford, need little persuasion to l'li..|..i;r.M.li l.y lituuiKll Cellar wax-winjrs |)(i>tiH)iie ncstiiifj till niiilsuiiimer remain, John Burroughs was not the only one to teel disappointed at the scarcity of bi'- .s about an Adirondack Camp as compared with his villa home. age How to Invite Bird > ij^hbours A HIRDS-KYi: \IK\V OK OIR CARDKNS It we realized how caret'ull\ ami liow liope- fully oui Li;ardens ami orchards are serutiiii/ed exeri,- sprini,r, ;ind on what details judirmeiK' upon them is passed hv the sharp-eyed inspectors, we mii^ht, so easily, with a little forethoiiji;ht, arrange them to the taste v^ the home seekers. I'.ven in trollev nettled suburbs and in very small door-vards it is possible to make some birds, at least, feel conscious ot" their welcome. Large estates can be converted into great natural aviaries at one-tenth the cost of a hot- house. Cost, did I say ? Why, one pair of chick- adees in an orchard will destroy more insect eggs than the most expensive spraving machine. It takes birds a surpris- ingly short time to resort where no gunning is allowed and very quickly, too, they learn where to avoid the silent deadlv air-riries and sling-shots of small bovs ; where pronling cats are permitted to nrL: jn ambush, and red squirrels, tield mice and snakes play the role of villain in the tragedies of the nests. At the outset, everv tamily must choose between a cat id the wild birds as pets ; only heart-breaks result from the cruel com- iiination. All carlv iicvt-liiiiiilir How to Attract the Birds HOLSK HUNTING When a \o\\n^ man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts ot" love, mating is the hirds' one absorhing idea. Some ot" them, having taken partners tor lite in pre\ ious vears, or having found mates on th( Blue-bir(l> arc iittriiifr about to: some hole in an oiii liolloH tree or fence lourney nt>rth\vard, are ready to begin housekeeping as soon as thev reach our home grounds. Others, though still in the agonies ot" jealousy or the bliss ot" wooinir, do not lonq; delav the serious work ot' life. Onlv the cedar waxwings and goldfinch postpone nesting until midsummer, when their prin- cipal food supplies — choke-cherries and thistle '^eeds — are most abundant. But even in March, blue- birds are peering about for some hole in an (»id hollow tree or lence rail to shelter their nest trom 6 How to Invite Bird Xci^'h hours rude spring winds. Flocks ot' iridescent grackles or blackbirds, as they are also called, whec/e and creak their discussions over suitable sites in the top of our tall evergreens. The robins' clear, riu' ing, military call is heard again i'rv)iii the apple trees and lawn. Dusky little phcrbes timidly investigate tiie beams under our piazza roots; swallows skim above our barns. A little later come fennv Wren and Sir Christo- pher to dispute with the uiiiquitous sparrow the rigJit ot pt)ssession to every sheltered crann\ : the shutters of our h o u s e ' oxerhanging eaves, bird boxes and tree hollows. With a temper tnit of all proportion to its diminutive size, the house wren dashes at anv intruder near the chosen home, chattering scoldings into his very ears until even the sparrow" is glad to leave the place. Then how quickly bubbles up the rollicking song of ecstatic joy from the tinv victor's throat! In a free right "the bluebird, too, whose disposition is by no means so heavenlv as his feathers, worsts the sparrow. Robins pay no iiiore attention to the teasing impudence of that dingv little up- tart than a St. Bernard pays to the velps of small curs. A lioriK- that ^m^^■ ^riw oil n gourd-vine I low to Attract tlic Birds IHK SPARROW QUKSriON Iiulceil, a great deal ot nonsense is talked ahi»iit sparrows driving away i)ther birds. Like the do\. n- tiodden Italian and other peasants from the Old World, the sparrows are prepared to live here where others would starve. Thev kill no birds. We are too wont to attribute the results of our own misdeeds or shortct>mings — the bar- barities of millinery fashions, wanton slaugh- ter masquerading as sport, the lack of good bird laws and the en- forcing ot' them, where such exist —upon these troublesome, noisy, quarrelsome little feath- ered gamins. Flitted to survive after centuries of competitive struggle, they cannot be extermi- nated. As well trv to eliminate that other trium- phant Euri>pean immigrant, the daisy, from our tields. }ust as the introduction of the honey bee from Europe must cause our native flowers and in- sects to undergo certain changes of structure and habit, so the introduction of the Knglish sparrow mtan'^ chane I low to fnviff Bird ^'i-i^lihoiirs Poke-need berries PhntM;:r«ph by Browiu'Il large increase in the number of song birds w herever protective laws, reinforced by Audubon Societies and public sentiment, have operated tor even a few years. Sparrows drivi no birds from Kngland. ATIRACTIVE TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES Protection and home being assured, the food supply becomes a burning question bv June when, in well-regulated bird homes, there are little, gaping, clamouring mouths thrust above the nest everv few minutes throughout the long day. In planting our gardens and lawns, why not remember the neeils of the birds, if we really wish them about r That birds love trees, large old ones and plenty of them, groves of mixtu species, rather than a single 9 How to Attract the Birds kiiui, uiulfrhriish, shrubbery and tangled vines to hide and hunt among, no one need be told ; but certain trees and bushes attract certain birds more than ()thers. Some trees there are — the cotti)n- wood tor example — which, trom the bird's standpoint, are useful merely as perches, but others furnish food, too, or favourite nesting sites, therefore, \v h v not choose them r If the bird-lover's door-vard is so small as to hold only one tree, no other one will attract so many feathered \isitors as the Russian mulberry. Robins, catbirds, tan- agers, grosbeaks, wax- wings, orioles and thrushes are not bv anv means the only ap- preciative visitors with the poor sense to prefer the insipid, sweet truit, to the best berrv Ciod ever made. Scientific farmers are now systematically planting mulberry trees, the shad bush and June berry as counter attractions to their strawberry beds, whose fruit ripens at the same time. Myriad r" rlies, ants, wasps and other insects that come to ip the syrup ot over-ripe mulberries, draw insectivorous birds, as well as more dainty feasters. Probably the next best food tree for birds is the Bt•rrie^ of tlii- Ariierii ;iii liollv How to Invite Bird Ncij^hhours choke therrv, wIi-jm- racemes ot small Mack Iriiit ripen trom )ulv to Septemlier. Here confate lari^e Hocks nf crested cedar w a\-\\ in'j>, more properly called cherrv birds tnic thinks when the distended gullets ot these sociai'jie iroiirmands are observed tliroiigh the opera glass. I he flickers, which seek the tree at daw n, robins and cuckoos, leave tew cherries tor hun<;rv migrants on their wav .southward in autumn. There is always a y/z/'d pro 'jU'j in nature. Ot course the birds are iu)t the re- cipi Mits ot" purely disinterested ta\t)ur>. My droppinsr undigested seeds tar and wide, and so starting new colonies ot" plants, they repay their hosts tor every favour received. Tree and bush dot;- woods, mountain ash, spruces, pines, juniper, haw thorn, v i b u r n u m, elder, black alder, wild plums, blackberries, cherries, crab apples, cur- rants, raspberries, grapes and gooseberries, cat- brier, burning bush, moonseed, wild yam, buckthorn, s u m a c h , holly, bittersweet, wild rose, wlntergreen, par- tridge \ine, hackberrv, snowberrwkinnikinic, auraiia, honeysuckle bushes and twiners, mock orange, iiop vine, huckleberries, Vir- ginia creeper, clematis, bayberries, shad-bush —these ii Arriiw WD.id ln-rries (Octolxn a How t«t Attract the Hirils arc aiiu..ig the many wiKl and i ultivatcd trees, sh uhs anil vine^, whose triiit attracts the hirds. Some berries and seeds ripen early in summer, some in aiitmnn, others thn)uiili the winter and last until the migrants ot' the ti)lU>wing spring eagerlv holt them on their way North. In the tluwer garden manv seeds are pecked at, hut the sunHowers', w hich give all the tinch tribe a rich teast, are prime favourites, (iold- tinches, however, ap- parentlv pret'er the blue corn-tiowers or ragged sailors, which should be sow n in a corner ot the wild garden if not tor their beauty's sake then certainly for their seeds. That jewelled atom, the ruby-throated humming bird, delights in so many flowers and plays so im- portant a part in their cross-fertili/ation that l.e requires a separate chapter. Birds can endure intense cold i>n full stomachs, but their winter l;irder must oi\i.n be \ery lean. Never is hiispitalitv so keenly appreciated as then ; never are birds so welcome to us. Trimmings ot beefsteak, lumps of suet and a rind of pork tied on the branches oi' trees near enough to the home to be watched bv its inmates, attracr some \ ery inter- im I'll. l-i;rii.li ly llr.,»n. II Bittersweet l)errie> that fiiriii>li l;ill prov '.r for tlie biril* flow to Invite Bird N'ciyliboiirs c^tinii winter iici;,rlih»)iirs : i hi^kadc-o, nuthati lit-s, tutted titiniee, brown ireepers, woodpeckers and blue jays. Minced raw meat, waste canarv, beinp and Mmriower seed, buckwheat, .racked i)ats and corn, crumbs and the sweepings trom the hav lott, scattered over the ground, make a delectable hash tor teatbered boarders with varied appetites. ImhhI that can be put in dishes on piazza u»t"s or on shelves in trees either winter or summer tor such sott-billed birds as robins, catbirds, blocking birds, thrushes and orioles — the most delighttul and tunetul ot" bird neighbours — is n.ade ot" equal parts ot" corn- meai, pea-meal and (;erman moss into which enough molasses a n d malted suet or lard h.t\e been stirred to make a thick batter. If this mixture is tried for halt an hour, it can be packed away in jars and will keep for weeks, (irated carrot or minced apple is a w e 1 c o m e addition. Last autumn, when a New Vt)rk familv was seated aro'uid thebieak- tast t a b 1 e , a v o u n g woodthrush flew into thedining-rot>m through the open windi)w. It was a straggler frofu ;) Hock on its way South. Weary, hungry and faint with travel, it alighted on the frame of a picture which. liirrii> lit tin- \'irL;ini.i ( rfcpcr How to Attract tht- Birds hv a strange and heautitul coincidence, was one of Audubon's old prints. Some branches of bright alder berries happily stood in a vase on the mantel below. Fear was instantly lorgot- ten in the joy ot feasting. After a heartv meal of the familiar fruit, a n d deep draughts o t water from a cup placed near the ber- ries, the thrush de- parted as it came, but refreshed for its travels. If this den- izen ot the woods A combination bath tul. and .Irinking pan ^,^^^^|^j ^-^^^^^^^ j^^ j^,^^_ ural shvness under such unnatural conditions, how- much more readilv will invitations to teast be accepted liI fresco '■f 1 " J" - If ?, fa i THE MOSr IN"rF,RKSriN(] SPOI" ON ^OLR CROINDS In regions where there are no brooks or lakes, birds must sometimes tiv manv miles for a drink. Perhaps more voung birds die iov lack of water than from anv other cause. Not e\en a mulberry tree attracts so nianv visitt>rs as a bath tub, which also serves them as a drinking pan, for thev ;' e not squeamish ! M How to Invite Bird Nci^lihoiirs et It ;ilone throuijh tear of drowniiiLr I^ut see to it that the pan is raiseil ahove the reach ot cats; onlv on large estates where nc»ne are kept is it sate to sink the pan into a hiw n. Birds cannot tlv tar with wet t'eathers. Thev imist first drv and preen them. I"'or this reason, as well as tor the cool shade thev attoril, trees and shnihherv shoidd partialh' screen the drinkinjj; water. \\ here a small stream cannot trickle into a t'oimtain, tresh water poured in a pan dailv, or even twice a da\' at midsumnier, is verv gratetullv appreciated when manv a rare, shv hird, its hill open and gasping trom the heat, seeks retreshment. It the water he dee[\ the birds wi when thev staml on the brim, and tip t o r w a r d as thev must tor a drau'^ht. A pan s h a 1 1 o w enough tor wading, or a deeper one sup- plied with stones tor the drinkers to stand on satelv, lurnishes m ore interesti mi sitrhts to a household and pure tun than anv other t)biect vou can watch tiirough- out a season. C'hil- dreii enjov it keenlv. Sixt\-nine ditt'erent species ot birds, manv rare warblers and migrant among them, came in one .sca>C)n to lirink on ; .\ t)illl lloillt' III. lilt- ll'lHII ,1 Wlliuli'll »tai(li liiix T How to Attract the Birds suburban li-wn, althou-h a tinx aggressive wren felt cocksure that he alone o\\ ned that basni. H()LSP;S TO LF/r In our over-conventional gardens hollow trees or one with so much as a partially decayed branch A ^i^ll)lt' tvpe uf bird Imx such as the tiicker, the sapsucker, the red-headed, downv and hairy woodpeckers, bluebirds, martins, wrens, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, the smaller t)wls, crested tiycatchers, and some other birds love to nest in, are cut down ; but w hat suK-^titutes tor these- natural shelters do we provide r A short loii sawed in two, the halves hollowed v>ut in the centre and nailed together again witli an How to Invite Hird Neij^hhours I- How to Attract the Birds IS a entrance ti) the cavity on one side ot the log, pattern that anv village carpenter or schoolboy can adapt to the tinv wren and the large woodpecker. Wooden starch boxes, provided with sloping roots and covered with bits of bark, may be divided into two compartments w ith an entrance and perches at either end, although a i>ne-room cabin is preferable, for birds love privacy at the nesting season, however lar-re mav be their tiocks at other times. The ten- ement for twentv families is a modern city attain- iiKMir h)r humans'to w hich few birds aspire. There- fore, do not make many-roomed hi>uses or put more &.\n one log cabin, can, gourd or box in one tree. Lodunnirs -hould be in readiness very early in the spring, lest a pair of hopeful feathered house-hunters slip bv, unable to find u home. inkirif; >lifll alunc llir reacli nf iat» 18 THE RUBY-THROAT'S CATERERS '%;: ;.«•. '-♦» ,,« CHAPTICR II THK RUin-lHROAI S CATKKKRS What tempts the ruhy-throated luiinininti-liinl to travel e\ery spring troin Central .\merica\is far north as the Arctic Circle, leavinLj JK-liind him tor a season those tropical delights so dear to tour hun- dred or more stay-at-home relatives while he, the sole representative of this charmin.r Xew World tamily found east of the Mississippi ;ind north ot Morida, spends half his life among us in voluntarv exile: How it stirs the imagination to picture the solitary, tiny migrant, a iiiere atom oi hird lile, mo\ing above the range of human sight through the vast dt)me of sky, " lone wandernig hut imt lost " I Borne swiftly onw ard hy rapidlv \ ihratinii wings that measure barely two inches in Uniith, he covers the thousands of miles !>et\\ een his w inter home and liis summer one by easv stages and arrives at his chosen destination, weather permittini^, at approximately the same date year after vear. \\ hv does he come North : ' One of the enlarging ideas gained through the study oi Nature is that the sanie primal motives govern tlie actions .,f plant, bird, bea-t dud man alike, — that all sentient beings act intellioc Hv How to Attract the Birds ,,,,.,,h the sa.ne strong, animating clc.ires. their powei^s dithering onlv in cietirce. not in kuul. Nat- Lrallv. self-preservatir e e drop of nectar secreted in the riowers and tor exery ,i,!ute insect his tongue craves. Hut the compe " tion for food, however keen, .s .10 stronger than J e V creatur^ requires to keep its tacult.es thor- ou.rhlv alive. Presently even the luxunant trop.c 1 vegetation takes a rest; in.ect life becomes dornvant ; thtre is not food enough for all -- /-'"^^^[' ;^; sharpest of spurs, begins to pr.ck. Hcnv d d e ruin-throat learn of our sun.mer at the North, an that bv following the course ot the sun he imght live in' perpetual abundance r Doubtless his ances- f ^ tors tor ages back wan- dered tarther and tarther northward year by year in search of food, tind- intr enci)uragement all the way; and through what scientists call the instinct oi orientation, that is, the law ( t re- versed direction, traced their wav back to the tropics even from Labrador. Stirred bv tiie same impulse, intelligent merchants closely pressed bv competition in the great centres ot trade 'at home, mi-^rate to China or the Philippines, where thev mav have the whole tield to themseUes. r^:m^ The Ruby-throat's Caterers Hetore the coining of the luiropeans to the^e shores with their imported trees, vines, shruhherv and flowering plants, what flowers in our area ot Nature's garden undertook to teed the riihv-throat ? It is true that ahnost any blossom w hicM secretes nec- tar could be robbed bv this little sprite. Nature alwavs rewards the more highly developed ot' her struggling children by making tile forms beneath them tributary to them. "All things are vours '' was said to mari alone. ()n such tlowers as are easily drained bv the mob of bees, wasps, moths and butterriies, 'the hummin,n^ features the insect or insect; upon wh.ch it '^- ^-^ , f I^^''^^^;; ..^ help in getting it. pollen transferred iron, riouc to Hower. Self-pollination, we now clearly .ee, I^ one niei one ,,f the horrors of the vegetable kingdoni ; yet it not until Darwin proved in countless exper,- ,ts that cro>>-fertili/ation pollen earned tron, .„.. rioN.er and placed upon the stign^i ot another, result, in ot^-spri.vg which vanquish thec>tispnng ot self-fcrtih/ation in the struggle tor eM>ter,ce, that the imn,ense value of insect pollen earners was ,,ulerstood. No wonder the flowers take >nHn,te pains to entertain their insect henetactors and nunish relentles.K the useless intruders ! Hut certain riowers, it has been noticed, do not at- tract insect.; cxe,i the great hun.hle-hee., motn> and hutterdio, with verv long tongues, can.u.t dran, Iw fair mean., the cohunhine, for example. It is true that .mischievous hee. .\o occa.ionallv bite holes throug; the tin of the coUunbine's horns ot olentv, but it is evident that, since the Hou er receives no benetit trom this ra.callv procedure, they cannot be legitimate .rue.ts Large bumble-bee., however, doubtless pay dieir wav. Y'lovv er. and insect, form a mutual ben- crit co-o'.e.-ative as.ociation, in which there is iu>t halt so much pilfering doneas in our bu.iness world. 1 here must be v.'-//'^ r'. or there is no trade m nature. FiniHV it was learned that just as there are tlv, bee, beetle, wa.n, butterHy and n-uuh Howers, .o there are lowers which avowedly cater to the ,,^,„,,,,i„.._lMrd. He is an exacting little guest, de- manding^mlch of iu. entertainer wno would tn tui n be served bv bin.. i-'irst of all, he likes to have a ^1 lrt>pa^viri<: mi iIr. |.utt.rri>'v prcscrv |ircscr\e> riic Riibv-tliroat's C'lti-nr; vniii ;ul\ tTtiscnu-nt to attract his cm- w Ikm 1;c is ria^liin^r alumt through the siin>hinc in scirch ot" huul. Some i)iic oiii c a s k c d Kiigcnc Field what \\a> his favourite colour. ** W hv, I like any coh)ur at all, so lonu as it's red," he replied — an ar wer which the ruhv- throat made to the t1i)\vers atjes ago. It will he noticed that the blossoms which the bird mom>po- h/es are either red or orange: }>o'>siblv the latter please him for the sake «)f the red that was mixed with the yellow when their corollas were painted. Such riowers as cater to insects must provide a landing place, a lip or Hattened platform of some kind; but this the humming-bird, which sucks with his wings in motion, of course dt)es not reipurc. Nor does per- tume appeal to him. l^lth^inliers to the nectary — little dark lines or patches of bright colour on the petals such as the bee likes to see on his riowers — the humming- bird may igr.ore. Hut he does demand that his red or orange riowers shall hide awav rheir nectar in deep tubes, where the mob cannot drain them ami where even liis ^ most threatening rivals, the larger bumble- bees, moths and butterriies, will rind it\iirficult to extract. From the tip of his needle-like bill his 27 »' >":Jt >f^ MM mm -"* How to Attract the Birds tonu;ue can lic run out at w ill and turned in an\ dircctit>n to lick up the la>t drop ot sweets in a cur\ed cornueopia, whereas both lu-e and Initterflv nui^t insert their tonirues in a straitiiit line. Here lie lias a i^reat advantaiie o\er rheni. Airain, he stipulates that the wild riowers wiiich cater to him here shall hlooni so a> to reed him in orderly succession while it suits his con\ enience to remain away tVom the tropics, not to t^orge liim at one time and star\e him at another. His vi>it in the vicinity ot New ^'ork lasts \vom Mav to October. In the Southern States, through which he is pas>!n'j: in April, wooded hillsides and thickets are alreadv 'j;av with whorls ot' the coral honeysuckle'^ brilliant, slender, tubular riowers, flaunted trt)m tiie tips ot" the branchinjr \inc where the dullest eye must be arrested bv their beautv. Into tliese deep wells he plunges jiis bill and linds amfWe re- tVeshment on his journey, especialK' when he acids to his W(7/// some ot the gauzy- winged little insects w hicii ha\e taken shelter from the spriiig winds within the orange-lined red trumjiets. \W carrying the ripe pollen -bed tVom the anthers ot o])c tiower to the stigma ot" another, the ruin -throat pa\s the oiii\ price asked tor ^pm^fMWj Draining; tlit ii)iiiiiilMiii'> li()rii> of plenty *^/fn^. ;;"'.^wF«)t" ^ ^^'"■v'SMi5^''f I ■•/ fi7,\*^ ^*'' ■ v^^- The Rubv-throiu's Caterers es his generous eiitertainnient. Late in the >eason other hirger birds on their way southward will bolt the bright berries on this vine and distribute the seeds over a wide area. It would, perhaps, be im- possible to rind another plant more whollv depend- ent upon the ministration oF birds than the coral ho?ieysuckle. Small-tiowered bush honevsuckl have adapted " n- selves to smal. those with 1( -t^er tubes and greater ambition strive to please bumble-bees; the twining honev- suckle seen on e\ erv village porch wooes the sphinx-moth with white, deli- ciouslv sweet How- ers, most fragrant at evening and which turn yellow after fertilizatit)n. (-iuite f r e q u e n 1 1 v the larger sphinx-moths are mistaken for iuimming-birds at gUvaming when the foimer begin their rounds. It is true the rubv-throat often visits the nn)th's own Howers, but in the tubes o'i those which, like the twining honeysuckle, have newly opened at evening for their legitimate benefactors' benerit, the bird rinds lifle left to reward his search the follow- ing day unless the previous evening has been too >vve>;o if,i How to Attract the Birds windv or I'aiin tor the moths to tiv. The coral honeNMickle'- nectar cannot easilv he reached hv bees; it.^ trumpets coulil not he seen after dark hv the n. >ths ; moreoxer, it Ud-^ no traunance to ^uiile tliem, hut it pleases the ruhv-throat in e\erv e>seiitial respect. W hat is the next flower to spread his feast: With a broader and more northerlv .AU'j^c than the coral honev- --uckle's, the painted-cup or Inilian paint-brush scatters its \ i\ ill scarlet tufts throuL;;h the ti'e.sh Lrreen irrass on meadow and prairie in Mav, its bloom- iirj; season extendinij; to fulv. I dually the tirst humir.inLj- bntl ot the season is seen suspendeii as if hv ma!j;i._ o\ er the>e urlouinn; Hakes of tire. In this species not the riowers themselves — f)r thev are a;reenish vellow — but the tioral bracts which enfold them are ver- milion advertisements to citch the rubv-throat"s eve. Other members of the titjwort familv, to w hich the painted-cufi lielon^^s, vear the bee's favourite colour and have provided a landing; place on their lower lip- lor their benefactors; but here, what would be superfluous at the painted-cup's entrance, Nature has eliminated. Closely follow inu; the painted-cup., and indeed partly overlappinij its season, comes the L>;racet"ul, swuiunny:, rock-lo\inL,r columbine. Inasmuch as rioth these Mowers rareh' • -row- in the Same Vr\ ■W» ."; -.-. ^»er^]aps M^^^Mr.vsL^jm:^ riic Ruby-tlT'oat's Caterers neighbourhood, and as increased numbers ot rub\- throat migrants need to be ted at their blooming season, there is ample opportunity for both ri\als to riourish. In the swollen ti[>s of each ot the tive inverted red and vellow horns of plejitv which go to make up a columbine, nectar is secreted. Small bees with their short tongues mav well abandon hope ot reaching it. ()\\ ing tc the position ot the tlower, butterflies, which would have to place them- selves upside down, could scarcely hold by their weak legs while sucking, and their tongues tie\ readily only when directed downward toward their bodies. Large bumble-bees, to which the shorter spurred blue wild columbine ot I.urope is pertectlv adapted, rind o u r species so dithcult to drain that, rather than attempt the task, tiiey too often nip hjles in the nectaries, just as they do in the lark- spurs, Dutchman's breeches, stpiMTel- ct»rn, butter ; nd esiirs, jewel weed and other flowers which make dining too difficult for the clever rot^ues. Hut w li e n the ruby- throat "vhirrs up to the c o 1 u m b i n e. C,u.ini;il ri. rating wings before first one inverted horn, then another, until he circles the flower and drains each tube with ease, it will he seen that, in making tiiis rt)und, his foreiiead and bill must wipe off some of the pollen from the golden tassel of stamens w hich protrudes from the olde" flowers and that in \isiting the new Iv ojiened coknnbines in the stigmatic stage, he must neces- sarily leave some of the vitalizing dust on them. Thus the columbine compels its chosen guest, all unwittintxlv, to do its biddintr. After the columbine has faded, w iiich is the next flower to lure the rubv-throat ? Kxquisite bright orange-coloured and nrow n-speckled jewel-weed blossoms hantjin'j; at a horizontal from the tender plant which fringes our mill ponds, ditches and streams, appear in July, to last sparingly through the summer. The incurved, slender tip of their horns secrete nectar w itb whose overflow onlv the lustv, acrobatic bumble-bee must be content. To the abundant white pollen, however, he freelv helps himself, and in so doing he mav sometimes benefit his entertainer. Hut the humming-bird, charmed by thtf bright, graceful flower — and, indeed, who is not r — has no difticultv in directing his tongue around curves; and as he inserts his bill i>blic]uelv into the spur while he hovers above, the observer can easily see, on studying the jewel-weed's mechan- ism, how invaluable his services to it must be. This is one of the plants which bear also cleistoga- mous, or never opening, self-fertilized inconspicuous flowers. It has found its way into r.ngland, and Darwin recorded that there are twenty plants ir :sLtMmf'''^^^0si The Ruby-throat's C'atcrcrs producing clei.stogainous riowcrs there to one ha\inuslv called, pro\ e to be next ot kin to the scarlet salvia ot our gardens, which comes from the tropics and w hich is there, as here, lertilized bv the hunimiin'-bird. C'ertainlv, the Indian plume's colour, torm, mechanism and blooming season ( trom |ulv to September i are as pertectlv adapted as the sahia's to the rubv-throat, a constaiii \isitor. l:\cu the flowers protruding stamens, and quite frequentlv the bracts and upper leaves, wear his favourite colour. W here the Indian plume rears its rounded heads fringed with irreg- ularly slender tubes beside a mountain stream, onlv tiie cardinal flower can vie with it in splendor. Kvervone wht) has a trumpet creeper on the vails of his home knows ln)W inesistiblv attractive to the rubv-throat are its clusters oi laru:e, taw iiv red tubes outstretched to hail him. Occasionally the viiiC escapes from our gardens at the North, but trom New Jersey to Illinois and southward to the (nilf it grcnvs wild in Nature's garden, blooming in August and September. Flashing, w birring, darting about the gorgeous flowers, their guest feasts with perfect satisfaction for do they not tttfer all he desires ? \\ by should the exquisite cardinal flower deck itself in incomparable red while its twin sister, the great lobelia and its lesser kin w ear blue r Watch "'Hrr^^ '^^M: ■^■iMAWi, '2r^^^!^^mi How to AttriKt the Birds the contented hees hiizzin»r aliout the latter shorter tubed ;^rt)iip and then the ruhv-throat poised in ecstasy bet'ore the long-tiibeil cardinal flowers in September, it' yt)ii would distint>;ui^h their true inoti\es. How delighted must the humming-bird have been when we tirst added to our i^ardens — and his >//,->/// — his tavdurite salvias, cannas, nasturtium>, balsams, scarlet runner, t'uschias, pelargoniums and gladioli, among many other welcome plants impi)rted from warmer climes I Ihese, w hile unnatural, un- expected rivals to wild Howers which undertook to teed him, earn our threetold gratitude tor briniriii"- him to our very doors, causing his 'lumbers to increase and prolonging his stay until tVost blackens the once 'j^.iv garden beds. Not till then does he leave them tor the tropics. \'c>iint; liinl> in ilic iieit ^(1 "tMS;^. W.*.T ♦#i'\i. »A. ./.; ^^^^■^■-'i?%:^wi ^^'rWmmfm^T,.' J^,^< M .lis '>\ r.-i A-r I 1- « m- . .•' ■: ^.7^i-*.t..^,:se*^W^J^>\v»^ii*ai»»^ rHAPTHR III BIRD ARCMIIKCI URE J- 'ST as surely as the peoples of the earth have each a characteristic style ot architecture, a Hotten- tot hut or an Iiuiian tepee, a Moorish mosque, a (n)thic cathedral or a Chinese paL,ocia heing stamped on its tace with the racial imiividualitv ot" the designer, so the humhlest home of the hirds ahout us tells at once to the practised eve the species of the feathered architect who made it. The " dang- ling cup of felt " is quite as characteristic of the Baltimore oriole, ' ■ example, as the temple with its rows of profusely ornamented columns was of the Corinthian Greek. And the marvel is that, guided only hv instinct, the hirds should continue to repeat generation after generation the special architecture ot their ancestors without taking the pains to study a finished model or standing hy to watch the expert masters of their craft at work. For birds reared in captivity build as good homes and hv precisely the same >in)del as the wild birds of their species. Xor does any bird servilely copy the nest of one not of his own tribe. It would he difficult to name the style ot architecture to which most of our modern suburban villas belong (unless we call it the Con- glomerate) ; but everv farmer's bov can tell ;it a lance the rooin's mud-plastered nest from the song Primitive sparrow's or bobolink's grassv cradle ' How to Attract tlu- Bird* creatiiro ot iR-(.cs>it\ Ikuc ^iIl^lL•ln.•^^,^ ct purpDse ; it i^ Dtih when \\ c impcrtcHtlv ci\ili/t*il himiaiis bc- I'ii • , i.],h ' ) < irli Tlir roliin'* tiuid-iilnstprrd nest conie bewildered by the iiiultiplicitv of ideas pre- sented tor us to choose tVoin, that we are in danger ot losing our natural siinplicitv. INDIFFKRF.Nr Hl'II.DF.RS Ages and ages ago when the tirst birds evohed from reptiles (from which all are descended i it is probable they neither built nests, nor incubated their t^ggs, but left them for the sun to hatch, iu>t a.s the reptiles leave theirs to this da\ . Birds of the lower orders are still indifferent builders w lien thev build at Mi. A ilepressiiin in the earth, sur(>ii;ress. I'". veil Uctore t h i- days (it rlu' steam ploii<4;li or the mow iiig machine, — the hi rds" juggernaut, — there were ten e n e m i es of the nests on the ground tt) one in the trees; and it did not take very hi'^rhlv devel- oped birds to per- ceive that t h e perches on which the y themselves sought safety from snakes, rats, mice and the larger prowling animals, might support a nursery. Fear has ever heei> a powerful spur to achievement. Stift' sticks, unyielding twigs that In no possibility could be woven into a cradle were simply piled in lot)se heaps on the limb of a tree; yet these crude lattices mark the first step in the evolution of bird architecture. On such bare slats the young of hertins, egrets, pigeons, doves, cuckoos and many other birds that come into the world naked or with a thin coat of down, at most, to protect rhrir tender Hesb. m.-sr speiui an unusuallv long and helpless babyhood. Quite naturallv, then', the next step forward was to carrv the mattress of 41 riif s(iiit;-s|>:irri)w\ ;;ras>iy iraillr How to Attract the Birds grass, moss, leaves, hair, iiir or leathers into the tree. \\ hen some birds had learned to weave these mater- ials into a cup-shaped cradle (the second step), and choicely lined it (the third); rinally when a tew of the number actuallv expressed a sense of the beauti- ful in the exquisite neatness, svmmetrv and adorn- ment of their home, their architecture became an art indeed. The nest had stood for love and duty before ; now with the higher development of the intellectual and asthetic sense of the home-maker came new delight in achievement. Imagination awoke. Hut it must not be inferred that all the intelli'jent birds nest in trees and all the stupid ones remain on the ground. In a later paper we shall see that the terns and other sea birds which place their eggs among the pebbles on the beach, and the rurf'ed grouse which lays hers among dead leaves in the woods, and the night hawk which frequently chooses a depression in a bare rock to cradle her treasures, show just as much intelligence as the most expert weaver. rUNNEL HUILDFRS The belted kingfisher and the bank swalk)W secure protection for themselves and tiieir voung, not bv nestinu^ in the trees, but bv excavating a hole in a bank, preferably one that is steep enough to discourage intruding climbers. It usuallv takes a fortnight oi hard digging h)r the kingfisher to tumicl tour feet deep, so that when a home is found t\\ ice tiiat depth with ample nurserv accommodations at 42 iMui,» wir£«f«4ik.^»n ne»t arnl cfig^ lBiiri(i« in tlie >aiul opencil tn >liinv nest) at the nesting season. The face of an entire hank where a colonv of these graceful birds elect to live will be drilled with hole.> as if it had been used as a target by soldiers practising with small cannon. To dig at least twenty inches into the sandv bank is no slight task for so small a bird, which still has energv enough remaining to carrv twigs, grass and feathers into the end of the tunnel. 4b Bird Architecture CARPENTERS IN FEAIHERS Not a few birds which like to hide awav in deep holes prefer not to he underground and if thev I'li-r-'-^n;*' Ir .111 !i- ■ '■ ■. \ !. I'l ■; ' rn A m.ister iMrpi'iiliT — ;i Hicker at lu-r Iml,- do not rind a hollow tree what is there to do hut use their stout hills as chisel and haiiinier to hollow 47 •Jri. .-,iM How to Attract the Birds out a tunnel tt) their likini;; r Ot cc)u^^t*, the master carpenters are tlie stockilv built woodpeckers whose deserted iioines manv a hluehird, owl, tree swallow, wren or woodduck is thanktul to ucciipv. I'irst a t ■-; riif chicknclrrs ^^veltpr In :i liiiiiifr ,,f t,ir -muI fiallifr> circle ot holes, more perfect than vou or I are likely ^<> draw, is drilled on the trunk or larijer limb ot a tree. Naturally, a partially decayed one is preferred. After the circular doorway has been cut out, how Mr, and Mrs. \V\)odpecker, working in 4» Bird Architecture turn, make the chips riy ! To chisel two or three inches c)!" sound or even partially decayed wood is a full day's work; yet, it" for any reason the pair t)t" car- penters become disgusted with'the site, thev do not hes- I'll l..^T1i.li Ir ■m 111, t,y li,i^.,li r (■hi(k,i(li-c nml vouriK liie^t npciucl i itate about beginning another tunnel, another and still anothtr, in different trees until they rinallv complete a horizontal passage descending abruptlv into a pear- shaped chamber. Truly the workman' is known by his chip; here the riner ones remain in the nest How to Attr: ct the Birds and form its lining, whereas the nuthatches, tit- mice and chickadees, which live in similar homes, The chimney swift's wicker cradle which the bird glues to the bricks swelter in a lining of fur or feathers, prohablv he- cause their hardv ancestors, living at the far North, needed warm hedquilts which their more widelv travelled descendants are too conservative to discard. PROdRKSSINK MOrHKRS Occasit)nallv a bird is strong minded enough to hrcak awav from old traditions. Before this countrv w -IS .settled, the switt also nested in hollow trees ; hut after trees began to be cut down and chimnevs arose abt)ve the roots ot houses evervw here, the birds were tjuick to perceive that tires are generalK out by their nesting season ; therefore, whv not take advantage ot the innovation r So completelv did ^^W= ■^%i*H- .._V: ■ .r=%^ -Mi,'ff Bird Architecture they forsake their old nestin^u: sites to In.ild in chim- neys that the name chimnev sw in is now universallv apphed to them. iThev are not swallows; not even related to them, however frecjuentlv one hears them miscalled .himney swallows. , At the nesting season the saliva glands become much enlarged and with the mucilage-like Huid riowing from them the birds glue their u icker cradle together and hang it on the bricks inside of the chimnev. The mucilag- inous nest of our swift's Asiatic relative is much sought by Chinese epicures. \\ e now speak of house wrens as if it had always been the habit of these friendlv littie birds to live under the eaves of our houses or in the boxes set up for them about the home grounds ; but, b e f o r e there were houses on this continent they, too, nested in tree hol- lows and do still when a satisfactory natural shelter can be found. The exquisitely beautiful little wood- duck, cousin of the Chinese .Mandarin duck, likewise shows remarkable indepen- dence to nest in a ht)llow tree while nearly all her relatives place their eggs either on the ground, in a Witns tdriiurU iii-sttil in trer IioIIuhs WWZT: ?5^^l^5^ S^nSTC^'r '^- , V -■ I low to Attract the Birds tussock ot" grass or in a floating mass of leaves and nuick. Si'iice baby ducks can swim long before thev can Hv, this strong-minded little mother will- The barn swall hangs its clay bracket against tlie rafttr ingly carries hers to the lake in her bill, much as a cat carries her kittens, rather than risk the loss of her eggs on the ground from the depredations of water rats. II K.| TRADES REPRESENTED. The tailor bird, one of th^; warbler tribe living in the Hast Indies, which sews leaves together to form a cradle, cannot be named to swell the list ot trades represented in our birds' architecture ; but we have niaiiv expert weavers, carpenters, telters, masons, moulders, decorators and a tew protessional hum-but- in tin- worlii, '.II line litr (Hip-sliaprd cradle How ID A I! tct the Birds lichrns u itli mud, lui iiniii^ r with hair, saves it from Minilar iiestriKtit)ii hy placing it under bridges, cliffs and the eaves ot" piazzas. Like a miniature Dutch oven is the nest otthe golden-crowned thrush, whose domed nurserv only the sharpest eyes can detect among the h•ave^ on the ground in the woods. Which are the best decorators among birds ? W hile many show true strivings after the beautiful, one hesitates between the parula warbler and the humming-bird before awarding the palm, for the f>rmer will Ci)nsent to live onlv where she can gather the graceful gray moss to festoon her nest, winle the latter builds the daintiest, downiest! tiniest nest imaginable, then stuccos it w ith bits of lichen for the purpose of concealing this master- piece of architecture, no doubt; but surelv this a'sthetic little creature is also inriuenced bv a' ^ense ot be:..ity. \\ hich birds then are hum-bugs' If the marsh- wren, which goes to the pains of building a number o: nests among the tall grasses in the ame vicinitv tor the purpo . of misleading intruder., doe^ „ot belong ,n this .ateg. the duskv crested rivcatcher certamly does. This .^ ild Irishman among birds" scours the country for cast snake skiii> tol^hu.- in his nest; but when ^ll bugaboo cann .t be t ,un.i he has had to L.nitent hmi^df more than on r u ,th the skin of an onion! At a catb.rdV imitat -.n ,f pussy s mew, e\ en the houst-dog prick up h; c - The yellow-breasted chat will lead vou , ..rpv cli;, throwing his tmmisical, v entriloquous voi.e n. into the cat-brier tangle across the stream !,..>... ann)ng the uiuiergrow th far bevond. If rill riiar>h-wrcM i:oc< to tilt- pains of hinl.H.nj: a numh-.r of i-.p^f-. t,; ir.i^ieaj the intruder L#if Bird Architecture HOW THE YELLOW WARBLER OUTWITS THE COWBIRD There are still many lazy, slovenly, indifferent, commonpla'c or utilitarian home makers among undeveloped or degenerate birds as among humans, but happily only one oiour birds disgraces itself, like the European cuckoo, by refusing to make a home and to perform any domestic duties whatever. When other virtuous nest builders are working and singing from morning till night, the cowbird, a dark, silent, decadent relative of those charming songsters, the oriole, bobolink and meadowlark, skulks about alone, J^lyly looking for the chance to drop an egg in the nest of some little warbler or vireo — any small, weak, tender-hearted foster-mother she can iind — leaving to various such victims the labour of hatching and rearing her scattered brood. A serious task indeed awaits the over-burdened little mother who must teed a great gaping gourmand in the cradle with her own crowded and half-starved babies. But there is at least one ingenious little architect among the cowbird's special victims whose w its fre- quently save it from such misfortune. Finding a strange egg in its cup-shaped nest and being unable to roll it out, the yellow warbler proceeds to weave a new bottom, effectually sealing up the cow-bird's egg and preventing the heat from her brave little heart from warming it into life. Suppose this " wild canary," as it is often called, had already laid her own eggs in the nest at the time of the' cowbird's visit : what then ? In this case the warbler does not hesitate to sacririce them, sealing them up with the cowbird's by weaving a new bottom above them, ■^7 How to Attract the Birds rather than hatch out one interloper to worry and starve her brood. Where a second persecution has taken place, two new cradle bottoms have been woven. If you ever have the good fortune to rind a two or three storied nest, you may be sure it belongs to this little Spartan mother. THE CLIMAX OF BIRD-LIFE. For special and excellent reasons of their own, some birds may build earlier in the season, some not until midsummer, but for the great majority May is the month of happy achievements; jealousies of courtship have given place to blissful" content; every moment is rilled with happy, proritable labour.' Sometimes both lovers busy themselves with the home building; perhaps the wife does all the manual work, while the mate merely makes her pretty speeches, approves her every act, applauds her mdustry, her skill, cheers her 'by his constant presence and such music as love alone inspires. What of that? She is perfectly satisfied; these May days are her realization of Paradise. Whatever i's best in the nature of both mates at least temporarily triumphs over the base; for however selrish bird's may lie at other seasons, in May they are truly one in purpose and sympathy. According to their tem- perament, some work impulsively wii:» outbreaks ot rollicking ecstatic, passionate song like the wren, or with steady persistence and the serene hymn of the thrush. At last the end crowns the work: the building of the nest embodies all that is irreatest in a bird's life. ^ Vflliiw vN.iriiltr'- ih-<. niiriiul »Ii.i|k- 'W#- «plb^L Ycli'.nv ».ui.l,.r\ M.M. sh„u,„^, |,„„ ,lu- l,|r.l I,;,, nimiit l,,,-:,,,., ,,t r,|H-at..; lurseculams of rhe coubir.l. (One c.ml.ir.lN e^-^ i„ „„ „,„ ,,,.„ „„„ , HOME LIFE rer Ul I ?5 l-'^ CHAPTER IV HOMK IJFK Sharp, ringing cries of alarni, then of terror coming trom a pair ol" robins one morning in |i,ne caused me to drop my ,a)rk suddenlv. dash (u.t ol doors and iollow the sound through the garden across the lane to a meadow where a vagrant cat' vvith a now-or-never desperation, made a leap throusrh the grass even as I approached and, !>efore mv verN eyes snapped up a baby robin i.i its cruel' jaw.s With as frantic a leap upon the cat, I quicklv pried Its jaws apart and released the limp and apparentlv dead bird. 'Ihree other young robins, which had alien out ot the same nest in the cherrv tree when a lieavy thunder shower weakened its mud-i)lastered walls the mght before, were scpiattintr dejectcdlv on the ground, unable to Hy. So I gatheVed "them up in my arms too, lest thev fall a certain prev to the car and deposited the little familv in an' i.nprovised tiannel nest on a sunny upper balct)ny. One might have supposed that the parents would tind thc-m here, within riftv vards of their cherrv tree hoiMc, mvj come to tt^vd them. Stran-rclv enough, the old birds' cries of distress were the^is't s.g„ from eith, r of them in the neiu^hbourhood. Hid they riee the place in dt-siniir, thinkin'r their habies foully murdered bv the cat and me r "^ After waiting in xair. for some response from them to the &7 TZETTTT^ Tl "fi.' How to Attract the Birds incessant, insistent , from the balcony niirserv, I coiilii resist the cries ot hunger no longer. I^ven the baby which had been literally snatched A tluiiiilcr>li>riii wtakcniil it> Piuiil-pla>iertil walls from the jaws ot death had now recovered from his tright, not having received so much as a scratch, and w as clamouring for food as loudly as the others, jerking himselt upright with every (//,•<■/), a ii stamjt- ing both feet with impatience at delay. 6,S wr^^^^^mm il nrnc I if< A SIXIKF \ HOIK \' >kK'\v; DW I roin that hour my prctoiuci.td iy.{v.\< ol' Im ii lite V ere nuli(.:illy Juui^eii. Oiue i h:id ^\i.\vcd tfie popular notion ot" h\\\\. as rather i IK- ^ natures ut' ple.iMi ' sifit^Mnu; to p;iss the time au.tv, free from everv care while th( v Hew nmlessK alnxit in the sunsliit>e, teil from the alnn.d.wit han i ot" Nature. Mut hr: iging np thoM- four teathereii waits taught me that birds iloiihtle- work a- nani tor their livinir as any t•reatnre^ on earth. At about t'oi.- o\loik every mornint; .harp, hiinury erii- !".)m the haleony wakened me. Perhaps it w a> he> ,ui>e I w .i onlv a step-mother that I refused to no out on the lawn then in seareli ot early \\()rin>. Another n p was m( re agreeably pureh.i^ed by stutling each little (Top full of the volk ai hard boik-il egg ;,,ui baked potato mashed iuro a soft pa.te, the lump> washed down with a tin;, trickle ot" tre>h water from a st\ IcL^naphic pen-dropper. such ganing yellow ca\ lhis as were stretched alott lo be lilleil 'while the little birds trembled with excitement, jostleii one another and scrambled for tir^r turn ! h.\ er\ hour regularlv throughout the long liay those imperious ' babies liad to be satish'-d. Ant eggs from the bird store, a taste iA mocking-bird \\hk\ mixed with potato and an occasional cherry ^^r strawberrv agreed with the little gourmaniis perfectly. A smafl boy, who •yas >ub>iili/eii to ilig earthw(.rms for them, called the bargain ott" after one day's ettbrt to supply their demand. Sixty ^^ orms had not 'neen sufficient for creatines which eat at least their weight of food e\ery »-\\ ent\ -foni- hours. bg v^7!R«S'3BB How to Attract the Birds DouhtlesR they were spoiled babies troni the rirst. At anv rate they had me completely enslaved; all other interests were forgotten; not tor anything would I have gone beyond their call. But real motherly joy in them ctu'ne when their pin ieathers A full crop distended his specicled, thrush-liiie vest fluffed out, their legs became stout enough to climb and hop over the wistaria vine on the balcony, stubby little tails tanned out pertly and t"ull crt)ps distended their speckled, thrush-like vests. W hen, after abt)ut two wcck^ spent on and around the bal- cony, the last oi the quartette spread his strong winiis II, d riew oti" to tiie strawberry patcli to pit k up his own living thenceforth, I realized as never fiT'Ct ■ ■■s^Wif Home Life before why the alert, niilitar\ -looking, red-hreasted robin o\' the spring becomes more and more faded and dejected as summer advances, and the joyous song ot courting days diminishes until it ceases alto- gether aiter the father has helped his mate raise two broods. Vet with my utmost care I had probably not done half for those fledglings that their parents uoidd ha\e done. WHAr rr means to kfar a hrood In a state of nature, what would a pair of robins do for their family r After the building of the nest — of itself no small labor — there follow fourteen long weary days and nights of confinement upon the eggs before they hatch. Thenceforth on the avera"-e of every tifteen minutes daily from dawn till dark both parents visit the nest, usually bringing in their bills food which they often travel far and work hard to find — earthworms, gi asshoppers, h.custs, beetles, the larva' of insects, choke cherries ur other small fruits to be crammed with sharp but painless thrusts into the ever hungry mouths. The scconil an old bird alights on the home branch, up spring the little heads, every one agape, like |acks-in-the-box. In their loving zeal, the parents themselves often lorget to eat. After every feeding, the nest must be inspected and cleaned, the excreta being either swallowcil or carried away. Then the tiedglings are picked over lest lice irritate their tender skins. Very many young birds die from this common pest of the nests, especially those whose cradles arc lined with chii ktn feathers, which ar^ nearly always infested. 71 How to Attract the Birds Birds, like all wild creatures, live in a constant state of fear, but parenthood develops courage amaz- ingly, just as it develops all the virtues. When clinihing cats, snakes, small boys, hawks, t)\vls, crows, blue jays, red squirrels and other foes do not threaten the baby robins' safety, either heavy rains, high winds, or tierce sunshine may require the patient riit vireoN education lits;in> little mother to brood over her treasures. Before thev are a week old their education begins. On the eleventh day, if all goes well, it is usually the mother who utters low endearing baby talk, coaxing the little Mlows to hop oi't of the nest aiul about it. Couiiirj; near an .unltitious Nosmgster she stamls but dt)eN n;.'t deliver ;_ tempting morsel held just beyond bi^ bill. Lurii'g him \\::b it tarther ;md farther jioiniini; and riving from branch to branch, a\va\ mmmm Ho nic Life she tantalizes the hungry haov, perhaps, but she educates him with no loss of time. \\ lien rinallv the yt)ung are able to trip lightly, swittly over the g ass after their parents, have learned to cock their heads to one side and li-ten with the intentness ot veterans for the stirring of worms beneath the sod, to capture their own food and Hy swiftlv out ot the presence of danger, their education is considered complete. The remainder thtv must acquire bv experience, for even now their parents mav be re- pairing the old nest or building a new one to receive a second brood. BAHV BIRDS' DIET Walking along a hot, sandy road in Florida one morning, I met a ycni ng coloured woman with a little baby in her arms, pacing back and forth under a blazing sun. A glance sutiiced to show that her baby was ill. It moaned pitei)usly and its ^kin was burning hot, as well it might be even without fever. "Come up.dcr tliis tree," said I. "and r..ll me why you are carrying tiiat baby about in the heat." "'Cause he's sick and I'^e wairiif f)' de doctor to happen along dis veah roail." "What do vow tiiink is the matter with \<>in- baln:" '• I specks he done eat too imirh fried fi^h di^ n. )rnin'." "fried ri.sh ! " I exclaimed. "Win, the babv has n(> teeth ! " "No'm; he ain't got no teeth \et, but iie's pou erful fond of fried Hsh." How to Attract the Birds A Florida jav, which was noisily searching in the palmetto scrub behind us for a mouthful of food to carry home to her HedgHngs, was evidently more discriminating in her choice than the equally un- The ilovcV niisTiianast'l mir~(rv taught human mother, for she rejeeted as unfit many insects which she, herself, would gladly have swallowed. Many birds have one diet for their babies and another, tjuite diri-'erent, for theniNclves, only the seed- eaters reverse our ideas and give tiieir strongest meat to babes. However strict vegetarians certain of the tinch tribe may be at maturitx, they pro\ ide tor the nursery a variety of iiisfcrs. Tliese are not otten gi\eii ali\e aiui sijuiruiing, but attcr they ha\e been 74 H oiiie Lift knocked and bruised into a pulpv conditio i that is sure to cau.se no colic. Kven the birds which jirovide tor their babies the same food that they themselves enio\ — which is by far the tlxinu: home w ith its babies' dinner sately stowed awav, the hsh's .skill will be digested ot¥ CiMiipletelv, leaving the meat in prime condition tor xDunu; st()m- achs. On the other h a n il , some tish eaters allow their ba- izes to .swal'ow skin, bones ;uul all. 'I'he pelicans whiih pl\ tiie cou'^t ot 1-lorida. searching tor towd, collect a t|uantit\ of tisli in tiic great p uich \\ hitli han;i;s from their lower bill like the silk bag \v IplIi useil to lirop tVom beneath our grandmother's sewinti tables. On returning to the nest, open Hies the ''« .rents bill tiispla\ing tlie tish. I he eager, erowd- i i'4 babies are in\ited to thrust their heads into the i Iumhiuml; l'ir>l ii-^nniril.itiii.; t '"I in;-' inip lit hir soun;^ Home Life pouch and help theIn^clvc.s. Ami how thev prod and poke about ainonn; the morning's catch, to make the best selection pi)ssible ! It is a wonder the skinny pouch is not torn asunder by such thrusts and stabs as the ill-mannered little Ljoiirmands atished younu^sters begin to squabble over the con- tents ot one another's pouches. Their greed seems even more insatiable than their appetites. I he hawk?>, ow Is, ospreys and some other birds >hould make the best of stepmotiiers, so bountifullv do they provide tor their nurseries. Mice, muskrats, eels, small rish, young rabbits, rats, woodcock and grouse, weighing over eighteen pounds in the aggre- gate, were the surplu> tood removed from the nest ot a pair of horned owls, wherein two ow iets only had to he supplied. Some birds t)f prev heap food about their ortspring until they can scarcelv see over the piles. ()wl> choose the brains cidv of most of their captives as food for their babies. ' A remarkable provision is made for \r,uu thrust their bills into their parents' throats to be ted, there arises what is erroneously called "pigeon'; milk" trom the cr..ps of both the father ■md the mother. This secretion, f )rmed fro-n the peeled lining of the parents' crop — a result f ^llowin^r incubation — gradually becomes mi\ed with re-ur"^ gitated food as the squabs grow olk-v, ;iiui it ctuses i'lilv when their digestion is strong ei.ouuh to dis- pense with baby diet. Apparently this strange -.ecietion is peculiar to the pigeon tribe. How to Attract the Birds ■V LOWER AM) UPPFR CLASSES The labour involved in reariiiij a t'aniilv differs, ot" course, with the species by reason ot physical conditions, temperament, and environment. Some birds i)f the lower orders have little required ot them bv Nature, while others, nn)re highly organized, A prccDcial i;rou>c iliiik are enslaved bv tamilv cares as i«" they were afflicted with the New I^ngland conscience. But, generally speaking, there are onlv two classes: the lower or precocial liirds, including tho^e w hich, fully clothed and wide awake when hatched, are able to run or -swim at once and pick up their own living like our domestic tow K, ducks, Hob Whites, grouse, plover and snipe; and the altricial birds — those which come into the world blind, naked and helpless, or nearly H onic Life so, like the heron, kiiigtishcr, woodpecker, robin, ■.iiui all our song birds. I'he prccocial riitied grouse develops from an egg that is large in proportion to the size of the mother's body, the hea\ \' yolk nourishing the young bird during eighteen days of Blind, naked .md liel|>lfs>i nltri(ial>. Voiint; lilui liirds incubation and even after, whereas the altricial vireo lays a very >niall egg that hatches in one week. Hut even precocial and altricial birds of the same <\/.c in maturity may have come out of shells that dirter as g'-eatly as a silver dollar differs from ;; ipiarter. And ihe length of the period of incuhatiiui is in nearly, it not exact, ratio to rlic -i 'c of the ei^o. The largest bird's egg wc kn.>\\, t'le ostrich's re- Flow to Attract the Birds ijuires torty da\ >, soiiu-tinio .i full six w ecks, to hatch. .\s in all arbitrary iii\iNioiis, it is not alwavs possible to draw a .sharp di\idinti 'i'H-. Hciuccn prccocial and altricial birds, innumerable tiradafions occur, Anioni: the K>\\er bird torms, polvganiv being ci)innion, there can be no home lite, and it is tor- tunate these chicks are independent little creatures from the first. Indeed, it was John I'iske who contrilnited to science the tact that the advancement ot all creatures — not ot" the liuman race alone — has been measured by the prolongation ot" the period ot' infancy. The longer the young are dependent on both parents, the stronger the tie becomes between mates, the more prolonged and beautit'ul the home lite with all its strengthening phvsical and moral in- fiuences making tor the uplift ot the species, luitil, anions cixili/eii humans, home living becomes a lite habir, tar outlasting the presence ot' chiliiren beneath the root. Let the so-ealkd ad\anced woman, with her unscientitic notions ot' a reaiijustmeiit ot' the partition ot labor between the sexes, remember that the males amonu the ostrich tribe, most nea- \ re- lated to the rei^tiles, take iiuire charire oi the young. Certain plover lathers, too, and phalarop. .irteiul to nurser\ duties, e\ en to sittiiiL! i>n the e'r<'s itaxnig vheir wnes tree to waste their strength on club,-. [>ink teas, or whatever ma\ be the equivalent among "advanced" t'earhered females. On the other hand, the selfish, danditieii drakes of' .some of' our vviki ducks tiesert their m.ites as soon as the first egg is laii], lest any domestic duties might be demanded of tht-m; nr ilo thev rejoin their t'amilies until fhe ducklings are educated and t'ullv So Home Lift- able to Hy. By way ot" apology tor such neglect it is said that a drake retires necessarilv to shed his wedding garment, and that hy the time the duck- lings' education hegins their father is apt to he so denuded of feathers as to he not only useless, hut a positive drag on the family, since he cannot ri\ . In very rare instances could this he true. One ha> onl\ to watch a hen care for her chicks to realize that even precocial hirds need the guardianship of at least one parent. Devoted little lioh W hite, with a fidelity rare among precocials, is a model hushand and hither, volunteering to take entire charge of the family, while Mrs. White sits on the secoiid set of eggs. When she leads forth the new hrood to he educated in wood lore with their more aiivanced hrothers and sisters, the hew thenceforth enjovs an ideal family life. Roving through the irpajn rields, underhru>h and stuhhie, the large' familvpartv keeps cK)se together, especially at night when paren:s and chicks huddle into a compact group, tails toward the centre, one of the nuinher alwavs remainin-r on guard to warn the sleepers of approaching danger. Such prolonged devotion among the quaH is ^he more heautiful in hirds closeiy related to the poly- gamous, indit^crent harn-yard rooster ami to the turkey gobbler, from whom his mate runs away to hatch and rear her young lest they hdl victims to their father's tits ot jealous, murderous rage. pr()(;ri ss rnKorcjn homi; \.\vv The more that the home life of the binis means to them, the higher have they a>ceiuled in the evo- M MICROCOPY RESOLUTION T€ST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ ■ 4.0 1.4 2.5 2.0 1.8 1.6 A APPLIED irVMGE Inc ^=; 1653 tost Main Street 5*.= Rochester, New York 14609 USA '-^ (7'6) 482 - 030U - Phone S^S !7 16) 288 - 5989 - ra« '^■3ffS!«'.--jrf!ki's»r;- IIow to Attract the Birds liitionary scale, the more pains they take to hiiild a practical, heautit'ul nest, the nn)re attached they become to it, to their mates and helpless young; so that it there were not a tew prominent exceptions among precocial birds one might almost sav that domestic virtues and true domestic bliss are mono- polized bv the altricials. However, among the latter it bv no means follows that ci)niugal devotion necessarilv extends bevond a single nesting season. Few birds, indeed, seem to enjoy the society of their mates the whole year through ; and we have seen that degenerates, like the cow bird, occur in the most respectable, altricial families. Even the eagle, which mates tor life, appears to care less for the partner of his joys and sorrows alter the annual brood is carefully reared, than he does for his eyrie, just as his relative, the osprey or tish hawk, which also remains faithfidly wedded to one mate till death parts them, appears to love nothing in the world quite so much as the great bundle of sticks, every year of greater bulk, which they build in some tree top near the shore. Indeed he thinks it no shame to snatch the tish from his wife's talons and eat it himself. To see a pair of loving little downy woodpeckers at work in turn exca\ ating their hollow home, or the mother feeding their young while the tather considerately goes in search of food for her when she is too tired to hunt for her t)W ii dinner, one might think that here, at least, was devotion enough to last a lifetime; but when the little wood- peckers have tlow n and winter nights are long and cold, it is \Ir. Downy alone who occi pies the sheltered cozy home in the tree trunk, leaxing his 82 ->^.i^-j^^;'i>:«r ^^^^rmFWW. .U. :&.-i:;i- --:■ '^ffj*ly~f. M':,itiJi "^■hW ■li"''. Home Life wife to excavate another shelter or shift for herself as best she inav. •"THEN. JF K\;:R, COMK PKRFF.CT DAYS " While it is true that inaiiiiers improve steadily the higher birds ascend in the evohitionarv scale; that hen-pecked husbands are treated with more consideration, overworked wives with j^reater respect and even tenderness until burdens become more evenly shared by both mates, and such retinements as song develop to express the highest emotions of which a bird is capable, nevertheless ideal devotion is short lived, conhned as it is to the nesting season. Home life, wo-thy of the name, occupies but a frac- tion of the birds' year. After the young are reared, nests are usually deserted, and the (')ld biVds go off t() moult and mope. When new feathers are grown, it is time for most of them to gather in riocks and pre- pare tor the autumn migration to warmer climes But in June, home life in all its brief duty is at its height; now is the best time in all the year to really know the birds. And it is never necessary to look tar betore rinding some happy, feathered neiijh- bours; yet if you intrude upon their home life and trighten the parents away, another tragedy of the nest may be added to the long chapter. A youiij girl trom the city who was thoughtless enou-,^h to uv-ar a sturied sea-gull on the front of her hat, stood on the piaz/a railing of a certain tarmhouse to peep in the nest of a phoebe that had built under the eaves. With a pitei)us cry the startled little mother sprang from h.er nest, fluttered an instant. ■^M:^'M^^hM^ MIM& How to Attract the Birds then dropped onto the pia/za door dead trom iright. The coi.>cieiKe-strickeM girl ripped that gull orf" her hat at once, but tive ei)ld little eggs tullli Uarrfl the ash barrel the next day. Now she watches the lirds from a distance through an opera glass. hf:n character tfi-I-s One iniiiht tell no end of stc.ries to show how the birds, like human parent.s, tail or .succ eed in Home Life training their young. Watch some over-indulgent little sparrow mother, harassed hv the most spoiled ot children as large as she and twice as greedv, which follow her ahout, drooping their wui'^s to teign helplessness, teasing for food that the\ are per- fectly aide hut too lazy to Ci)llect. Daring, a'^rres- sive, impertinent to others, the I-lnglish sparrows are especially weaic in the presence of their children. On the other hand, many birds are strict disciplin- arians and do not hesitate to enforce their commands with a vigorous slap of the winsr. It IS in his family relatioiis that a bird's true character may be read most plainly. The kingbird, which usually shows only the pugnacious side of his disposition to the world, fearlessly dashing after th • largest crow to drive him away +rom the sacreu precincts of home, reserves iiis lovable traits for the family circle. No dragon-fly he captures on the wing is too choice to d -ny himself for the benefit of his babies, or too large, apparently, to be crammed dt)wn their throats. In June, neither the brMliant scarlet tanager nor the gorgeous Baltimore oriole hesitates to help his inconspicuou:> mate rear their brood for fear his tell-tale coat mav invite destruc- tion from the passing gunner. In' June, fear and selfishness alike are overcome bv love. If vou will focus the t)pera glasses on the nest to which the ori()le's rich, continuous song dincted vour suspicions a few weeks ago, you will see both father and mother feeding their noisy young at the rate of abou ; twentv visits an hour. A more charming sight than an oriole family feasting on basket worms among the ^reen sprav oi ^1 How to Attract the Birds ft ■ ii riie nuthatches' Hrst acrobatic fcat> 88 a tainarix bii'^h would hf hard to Hnd, unless volt happilv discover a tiiiv hiini!iiin