Chapter IX: Part II: Animal Life (2)

“_As when a dove her rocky hold forsakes,
Roused, in a fright her sounding wings she shakes;
The cavern rings with clattering:--out she flies,
And leaves her callow care, and cleaves the skies;
At first she flutters:--but at length she springs
To smoother flight, and shoots upon her wings._”
(Dryden’s Translation).

WHITE OF SELBOURNE.

THE CANARY AND THE GOLDFINCH

_Teacher’s Story_

In childhood the language of birds and animals is learned unconsciously. What child, who cares for a canary, does not understand its notes which mean loneliness, hunger, eagerness, joy, scolding, fright, love and song!

The pair of canaries found in most cages are not natural mates. The union is one _de convenance_, forced upon them by people who know little of bird affinities. We could hardly expect that such a mating would be always happy. The singer, as the male is called, is usually arbitrary and tyrannical and does not hesitate to lay chastising beak upon his spouse. The expression of affection of the two is usually very practical, consisting of feeding each other with many beguiling notes and much fluttering of wings. The singer may have several songs; whether he has many or few depends upon his education; he usually shows exultation when singing by throwing the head back like a prima-donna, to let the music well forth. He is usually brighter yellow in color with more brilliantly black markings than his mate; she usually has much gray in her plumage. But there are about fifty varieties of canaries and each has distinct color and markings.

Canaries should be given a more varied diet than most people think. The seeds we buy or that we gather from the plantain or wild grasses, they eat eagerly. They like fresh, green leaves of lettuce and chickweed and other tender herbage; they enjoy bread and milk occasionally. There should always be a piece of cuttle-fish bone or sand and gravel where they can get it, as they need grit for digestion. Above all, they should have fresh water. Hard-boiled egg is given them while nesting. The canary seed which we buy for them is the product of a grass in the Canary Islands. Hemp and rape seed are also sold for canary food.

The canary’s beak is wide and sharp and fitted for shelling seeds; it is not a beak fitted for capturing insects. The canary, when drinking, does not have to lift the beak so high in the air in order to swallow the water as do some birds. The nostrils are in the beak and are easily seen; the ear is hidden by the feathers. The canary is a fascinating little creature when it shows interest in an object; it has such a knowing look, and its perfectly round, black eyes are so intelligent and cunning. If the canary winks, the act is so rapid as to be seen with difficulty, but when drowsy, the little inner lid appears at the inner corner of its eye and the outer lids close so that we may be sure that they are there; the lower lid covers more of the eye than the upper.

The legs and toes are covered with scale armor; the toes have long, curved claws that are neither strong nor sharp but are especially fitted for holding to the perch; the long hind toe with its stronger claw makes complete the grasp on the twig. When the canary is hopping about on the bottom of the cage we can see that its toes are more fitted for holding to the perch than for walking.

When the canary bathes, it ducks its head and makes a great splashing with its wings and likes to get thoroughly wet. Afterward, it sits all bedraggled and “humped up” for a time and then usually preens its feathers as they dry. When going to sleep, it at first fluffs out its feathers and squats on the perch, draws back its head and looks very drowsy. Later it tucks its head under its wing for the night and then looks like a little ball of feathers on the perch.

Canaries make a great fuss when building their nest. A pasteboard box is usually given them with cotton and string for lining; usually one pulls out what the other puts in; and they both industriously tear the paper from the bottom of the cage to add to their building material. Finally, a make-shift of a nest is completed and the eggs are laid. If the singer is a good husband, he helps incubate the eggs and feeds his mate and sings to her frequently; but often he is quite the reverse and abuses her abominably. The nest of the caged bird is very different in appearance from the neat nests of grass, plant down, and moss which the wild ancestors of these birds made in some safe retreat in the shrubs or evergreens of the Canary Islands. The canary eggs are pale blue, marked with reddish-brown. The incubation period is 13 to 14 days. The young are as scrawny and ugly as most little birds and are fed upon food partially digested in the parents’ stomachs. Their first plumage resembles that of the mother usually.

In their wild state in the Canary and Azore Islands, the canaries are olive green above with golden yellow breasts. When the heat of spring begins, they move up the mountains to cooler levels and come down again in the winter. They may rear three or four broods on their way up the mountains, stopping at successive heights as the season advances, until finally they reach the high peaks.

THE GOLDFINCH OR THISTLE BIRD

(Courtesy of _Audubon Educational Leaflet_ No. 17).]

The goldfinches are bird midgets but their songs are so sweet and reedy that they seem to fill the world with music more effectually than many larger birds. They are fond of the seeds of wild grass, and especially so of thistle seed; and they throng the pastures and fence corners where the thistles hold sway. In summer, the male has bright yellow plumage with a little black cap “pulled down over his nose” like that of a grenadier. He has also a black tail and wings with white-tipped coverts and primaries. The tail feathers have white on their inner webs also, which does not show when the tail is closed. The female has the head and back brown and the under parts yellowish white, with wings and tail resembling those of the male except that they are not so vividly black. In winter the male dons a dress more like that of his mate; he loses his black cap but keeps his black wings and tail.

The song of the goldfinch is exquisite and he sings during the entire period of his golden dress; he sings while flying as well as when at rest. The flight is in itself beautiful, being wave-like up and down, in graceful curves. Mr. Chapman says when on the down half of the curve the male sings “Per-chick or-ree.” The goldfinch’s call notes and alarm notes are very much like those of the canary.

Since the goldfinches live so largely upon seeds of grasses, they stay with us in small numbers during the winter. During this period both parents and young are dressed in olive green, and their sweet call notes are a surprise to us of a cold, snowy morning, for they are associated in our memory with summer. The male dons his winter suit in October.

The goldfinch nest is a mass of fluffiness. These are the only birds that make feather beds for their young. But, perhaps, we should say beds of down, since it is the thistle down which is used for this mattress. The outside of the nest consists of fine shreds of bark or fine grass closely woven; but the inner portion is a mat of thistle down--an inch and a half thick of cushion for a nest which has an opening of scarcely three inches; sometimes the outside is ornamented with lichens. The nest is usually placed in some bush or tree, often in an evergreen, and not more than 5 or 6 feet from the ground; but sometimes it is placed 30 feet high. The eggs are from four to six in number and bluish white in color. The female builds the nest, her mate cheering her with song meanwhile; he feeds her while she is incubating and helps feed the young. A strange thing about the nesting habits of the goldfinches is that the nest is not built until August. It has been surmised that this nesting season is delayed until there is an abundance of thistle down for building material. Audubon Leaflet No. 17 gives special information about these birds and also furnishes an outline of the birds for the pupils to color.

LESSON IX

THE CANARY AND THE GOLDFINCH

_Leading thought_--The canary is a very close relative of the common wild goldfinch. If we compare the habits of the two we can understand how a canary might live if it were free.

_Method_--Bring a canary to the schoolroom and ask for observations. Request the pupils to compare the canary with the goldfinches which are common in the summer. The canary offers opportunity for very close observation which will prove excellent training for the pupils for beginning bird study.

_Observations_--1. If there are two canaries in the cage are they always pleasant to each other? Which one is the “boss?” How do they show displeasure or bad temper? How do they show affection for each other?

2. Which one is the singer? Does the other one ever attempt to sing? What other notes do the canaries make besides singing? How do they greet you when you bring their food? What do they say when they are lonesome and hungry?

3. Does the singer have more than one song? How does he act while singing? Why does he throw back his head like an opera singer when singing?

4. Are the canaries all the same color? What is the difference in color between the singer and the mother bird? Describe the colors of each in your note book as follows: Top and sides of head, back, tail, wings, throat, breast and under parts.

5. What does the canary eat? What sort of seeds do we buy for it? What seeds do we gather for it in our garden? Do the goldfinches live on the same seeds? What does the canary do to the seeds before eating them? What tools does he use to take off the shells?

6. Notice the shape of the canary’s beak. Is it long and strong like a robin’s? Is it wide and sharp so that it can shell seeds? If you should put an insect in the cage would the canary eat it?

7. Why do we give the canary cuttlebone? Note how it takes off pieces of the bone. Could it do this if its beak were not sharp?

8. Note the actions of the birds when they drink. Why do they do this?

9. Can you see the nostrils? Where are they situated? Why can you not see the ear?

10. When the canary is interested in looking at a thing how does it act? Look closely at its eyes? Does it wink? How does it close its eyes? When it is drowsy can you see the little inner lid come from the corner of the eye nearest the beak? Is this the only lid?

11. How are the legs and feet covered? Describe the toes. Compare the length of the claw with the length of the toe. What is the shape of the claw? Do you think that such shaped claws and feet are better fitted for holding to a branch than for walking? Note the arrangement of the toes when the bird is on its perch. Is the hind toe longer and stronger? If so, why? Do the canaries hop or walk about the bottom of the cage?

12. What is the attitude of the canary when it goes to sleep at night? How does it act when it takes a bath? How does it get the water over its head? Over its back? What does it do after the bath? If we forget to put in the bath dish how does the bird get its bath?

NESTING HABITS TO BE OBSERVED IN THE SPRING

13. When the canaries are ready to build a nest what material do we furnish them for it? Does the father bird help the mother to build the nest? Do they strip off the paper on the bottom of the cage for nest material? Describe the nest when it is finished.

14. Describe the eggs carefully. Does the father bird assist in sitting on the eggs? Does he feed the mother bird when she is sitting?

15. How long after the eggs are laid before the young ones hatch? Do both parents feed the young? Do they swallow the food first and partially digest it before giving it to the young?

16. How do the very young birds look? What is their appearance when they leave the nest? Does the color of their plumage resemble that of the father or the mother?

17. Where did the canaries originally come from? Find the place on the map.

_Supplementary reading_--“A Caged Bird,” Sarah Orne Jewett in Songs of Nature, p. 75; True Bird Stories, Miller.

THE GOLDFINCH

_Leading thought_--Goldfinches are seen at their best in late summer or September when they appear in flocks wherever the thistle seeds are found in abundance. Goldfinches so resemble the canaries in form, color, song and habits that they are called wild canaries.

_Method_--The questions for this lesson should be given to the pupils before the end of school in June. The answers to the questions should be put in their field note-books and the results be reported to the teacher in class when the school begins in the autumn.

_Observations_--1. Where do you find the goldfinches feeding? How can you distinguish the father from the mother birds and from the young ones in color?

2. Describe the colors of the male goldfinch and also of the female as follows: Crown, back of head, back, tail, wings, throat, breast and lower parts. Describe in particular the black cap of the male.

3. Do you know the song of the goldfinch? Is it like the song of the canary? What other notes has the goldfinch?

4. Describe the peculiar flight of the goldfinches. Do they fly high in the air? Do you see them singly or in flocks usually?

5. Where do the goldfinches stay during the winter? What change takes place in the coat of the male during the winter? Why? What do they live upon during the winter?

6. At what time of year do the goldfinches build their nests? Why do they build these so much later than other birds? Describe the nest. Where is it placed? How far above the ground? How far from a stream or other water? Of what is the outside made? The lining? What is the general appearance of the nest? Do you think the goldfinches wait until the thistles are ripe in order to gather plenty of food for their young, or to get the thistle down for their nests? What is the color of the eggs?

_Supplementary reading_--True Bird Stories, Miller, pp. 6, 9, 26, 45; The Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 82; Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 180, 200.

* * * * *

_Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop
From low-hung branches; little space they stop,
But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek,
Then off at once, as in a wanton freak;
Or perhaps, to show their black and golden wings;
Pausing upon their yellow flutterings._
--JOHN KEATS.

THE ROBIN

_Teacher’s Story_

Most of us think we know the robin well, but very few of us know definitely the habits of this, our commonest bird. The object of this lesson is to form in the pupils a habit of careful observation, and enable them to read for themselves the interesting story of this little life which is lived every year before their eyes. Moreover, a robin note-book, if well kept, is a treasure for any child; and the close observation necessary for this lesson trains the pupils to note in a comprehending way the habits of other birds. It is the very best preparation for bird study of the right sort.

A few robins occasionally find a swamp where they can obtain food to nourish them during the northern winter, but for the most part, they go in flocks to our Southern States where they settle in swamps and cedar forests and live upon berries. They are killed in great numbers by the native hunters who eat them or sell them for table use, a performance not understandable to the northerner. The robins do not nest nor sing while in Southland, and no wonder! When the robins first come to us in the spring they feed on wild berries, being especially fond of those of the Virginia creeper. As soon as the frost is out of the ground they begin feeding on earthworms, cutworms, white grubs, and other insects. The male robins come first, but do not sing until their mates arrive.

The robin is ten inches long and the English sparrow is only six and one-third inches long; the pupils should get the sizes of these two birds fixed in their minds for comparison in measuring other birds. The father robin is much more decided in color than his mate; his beak is yellow, there is a yellow ring about the eye and a white spot above it. The head is black and the back slaty-brown; the breast is brilliant reddish brown or bay and the throat is white, streaked with black. The mother bird has paler back and breast and has no black upon the head. The wings of both are a little darker than the back, the tail is black with the two outer feathers tipped with white. These white spots do not show except when the bird is flying and are “call colors,” that is, they enable the birds to see each other and thus keep together when flying in flocks during the night. The white patch made by the under tail-coverts serves a similar purpose. The feet and legs are strong and dark in color.

The robin has many sweet songs and he may be heard in the earliest dawn and also in the evenings; if he wishes to cheer his mate he may burst into song at any time. He feels especially songful before the summer showers when he seems to sing, “I have a theory, a theory, it’s going to rain.” And he might well say that he also has a theory, based on experience, that a soaking shower will drive many of the worms and larvæ in the soil up to the surface where he can get them. Besides these songs the robins have a great variety of notes which the female shares, although she is not a singer. The agonizing, angry cries they utter when they see a cat or squirrel must express their feelings fully; while they give a very different warning note when they see crow or hawk, a note hard to describe, but which is a long, not very loud squeak.

A robin can run or hop as pleases him best, and it is interesting to see one, while hunting earthworms run a little distance, then stop to bend the head and listen for his prey, and when he finally seizes the earthworm he braces himself on his strong legs and tugs manfully until he sometimes almost falls over backward as the worm lets go its hold. The robins, especially at nesting time, eat many insects as well as earthworms.

The beginning of a robin’s nest is very interesting; much strong grass, fine straw, leaves and rootlets are brought and placed on a secure support. When enough of this material is collected and arranged, the bird goes to the nearest mud puddle or stream margin and fills its beak with soft mud and going back “peppers” it into the nest material, and after the latter is soaked the bird gets into it and molds it to the body by nestling and turning around and around. In one case which the author watched the mother bird did this part of the building, although the father worked industriously in bringing the other materials. After the nest is molded but not yet hardened, it is lined with fine grass or rootlets. If the season is very dry and there is no soft mud at hand, the robins can build without the aid of this plaster. There are usually four eggs laid which are exquisite greenish blue in color.

Both parents share the monotonous business of incubating, and in the instance under the eyes of the author the mother bird was on the nest at night; the period of incubating is from eleven to fourteen days. The most noticeable thing about a very young robin is its wide, yellow-margined mouth, which it opens like a satchel every time the nest is jarred. This wide mouth cannot but suggest to anyone that it is meant to be stuffed, and the two parents work very hard to fill it. Both parents feed the young and often the father feeds the mother bird while she is brooding. Professor Treadwell experimented with young robins and found that each would take 68 earthworms daily; these worms if laid end to end would measure about 14 feet. Think of 14 feet of earthworm being wound into the little being in the nest, no wonder that it grows so fast! I am convinced that each pair of robins about our house has its own special territory for hunting worms, and that any trespasser is quickly driven off. The young bird’s eyes are unsealed when they are from six to eight days old, and by that time the feather tracts, that is, the place where the feathers are to grow, are covered by the spine-like pin-feathers; these feathers push the down out and it often clings to their tips. In eleven days the birds are pretty well feathered; their wing feathers are fairly developed but alas, they have no tail feathers! When a young robin flies from the nest he is a very uncertain and tippy youngster not having any tail to steer him while flying, nor to balance him when alighting.

It is an anxious time for the old robins when the young ones leave the nest, and they flutter about and scold at any one who comes in sight, so afraid are they that injury will come to their inexperienced young ones; for some time the parents care for the fledglings, solicitously feeding them and giving them warnings of danger. The young robin shows in its plumage its relation to the thrush family, for it is yellowish and very spotted and speckled, especially the breast. The parents may raise several broods, but they never use the same nest for two consecutive broods, both because it may be infested with parasites and because it is more or less soiled; although the mother robin works hard to keep it clean, carrying away all waste matter in her beak and dropping it. Robins do not sing much after the breeding season is over until after they have molted. They are fond of cherries and other pulp fruits and often do much damage to such crops. The wise orchardist will plant a few Russian mulberry trees at a reasonable distance from his cherry trees, and thus, by giving the robins a fruit which they like better, and which ripens a little earlier, he may save his cherries. It has been proven conclusively that the robins are far more beneficial than damaging to the farmer; they destroy many noxious insects, two-thirds of their food the entire year consisting of insects; during April and May they do a great work in destroying cutworms.

The robins stay with us later than most migrating birds, not leaving us entirely before November. Their chief enemies in northern climates are cats, crows and squirrels. Cats should be taught to let birds alone (see lesson on cat) or should be killed. The crows have driven the robins into villages where they can build their nests under the protection of man. If crows venture near a house to attack the robins, firing a gun at them once or twice will give them a hint which they are not slow to take. The robins of an entire neighborhood will attack a nest-robbing crow, but usually too late to save the nestlings. The robins can defend themselves fairly well against the red squirrel unless he steals the contents of the nest while the owners are away. There can be no doubt that the same pair of robins return to the same nesting place year after year. On the Cornell Campus a robin lacking the white tip on one side of his tail was noted to have returned to the same particular feeding ground for several years; and we are very certain that the same female bird built in the vines of our piazza for seven consecutive years; it took two years to win her confidence; but after that, she seemed to feel as if she were a part of the family and regarded us all as friends. We were sure that during her fifth year she brought a new young husband to the old nesting site; probably her faithful old husband had been served for a dinner in some Tennessee hotel during the previous winter.

(Photo by Silas Lottridge).]

LESSON X

THE ROBIN

_Leading thought_--To understand all we can about the life and ways of the robin.

_Methods_--For first and second grades this work may be done by means of an extra blackboard, or what is far better, sheets of ordinary, buff, manilla wrapping paper fastened together at the upper end, so that they may be hung and turned over like a calendar. On the outside page make a picture of a robin in colored chalk or crayons, coloring according to the children’s answers to questions of series “_b_”. Devote each page to one series of questions, as given below. Do not show these questions to the pupils until the time is ripe for the observations. Those pupils giving accurate answers to these questions should have their names on a roll of honor on the last page of the chart.

For third or higher grades the pupils should have individual note-books in which each one may write his own answers to the questions of the successive series, which should be written on the blackboard at proper time for the observations. This note-book should have a page about 6 × 8 inches and may be made of any blank paper. The cover or first page should show the picture of the robin colored by the pupil, and may contain other illustrative drawings, and any poems or other literature pertinent to the subject. If prizes are awarded in the school, a bird book should be given as award for the best note-book in the class.

_Observations by pupils_--_Series a_ (To be given in March). 1. At what date did you see the first robin this year?

2. Where did the robin spend the winter; did it build a nest or sing when in its winter quarters?

3. What does it find to eat when it first comes in the spring? How does this differ from its ordinary food?

4. Does the robin begin to sing as soon as it comes North?

_Series b_ (To be given the first week of April). 1. How large is the robin compared with the English sparrow?

2. What is the color of the beak? The eye? Around and above the eye?

3. The color of the top of the head? The back? The throat? The breast?

4. Do all the robins have equally bright colors on head, back and breast?

5. What is the color of the wing feathers?

6. What is the color of the tail feathers? Where is the white on them? Can the white spots be seen except during flight of the bird? Of what use to the robin are these spots?

7. Is there white on the underside of the robin as it flies over you? Where?

8. What is the color of the feet and legs?

_Series c_ (To be given the second week of April).

1. At what time of day does the robin sing? Is it likely to sing before a rain? How many different songs does a robin sing?

2. What note does a robin give when it sees a cat?

3. What sounds do the robins make when they see a crow or a hawk?

4. Does a robin run or walk or hop?

5. Do you think it finds the hidden earthworm by listening? If so describe the act.

6. Describe how a robin acts as it pulls a big earthworm out of the ground.

7. Do robins eat other food than earthworms?

_Series d_ (To be given by the middle of April). 1. At what date did your pair of robins begin to build their nest?

2. Where was the nest placed and with what material was it begun?

3. Can you tell the difference in colors between the father and mother birds? Do both parents help in making the nest?

4. How and with what material is the plastering done? How is the nest molded into shape? Do both birds do this part of the work?

5. Where is the mud obtained and how carried to the nest?

6. How is the nest lined?

_Series e_ (To be given a week after series _d_). 1. What is the number and color of the eggs in the nest?

2. Do both parents do the sitting? Which sits on the nest during the night?

3. Give the date when the first nestling hatches.

4. How does the young robin look? The color and size of its beak? Why is its beak so large? Can it see? Is it covered with down? Compare it to a young chick and describe the difference between the two.

5. What does the young robin do if it feels any jar against the nest? Why does it do this?

6. Do the young robins make any noise?

7. What do the parents feed their young? Do both parents feed them? Are the young fed in turns?

8. Does each pair of robins have a certain territory for hunting worms which is not trespassed upon by other robins?

_Series f_ (To be given three days after series _e_). 1. How long after hatching before the young robin’s eyes are open? Can you see where the feathers are going to grow? How do the young feathers look?

2. How long after hatching before the young birds are covered with feathers?

3. Do their wing or tail feathers come first?

4. How is the nest kept clean?

5. Give the date when the young robins leave the nest? How do the old robins act at this important crisis?

6. Describe the young robin’s flight? Why is it so unsteady?

7. How do the young robins differ in colors of breast from the parents?

8. Do the parents stay with the young for a time? What care do they give them?

9. If the parents raise a second brood do they use the same nest?

_Series g_ (To be given for summer reading and observations). 1. Do the robins sing all summer? Why?

2. Do the robins take your berries and cherries? How can you prevent them from doing this?

3. How does the robin help us?

4. How long does it stay with us in the fall?

5. What are the chief enemies of the robin and how does it fight or escape them? How can we help protect it?

6. Do you think the same robins come back to us each year?

_Supplementary reading_--Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock, p. 62; Our Birds and their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 26, 37, 41, 42; True Bird Stories, Miller, pp. 37, 138; The Bird Book, Eckstrom, p. 248; Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; The History of the Robins, Trimmer; Field Book of Wild Birds and their Music, Mathews, p. 246; Birds in Their Relation to Man, Weed and Dearborn, p. 90; Songs of Nature, Burroughs, p. 94; Wake Robin, Burroughs; Audubon Leaflet No. 4.

THE BLUEBIRD

_Teacher’s Story_

Stern as were our Pilgrim Fathers, they could not fail to welcome certain birds with plumage the color of June skies, whose sweet voices brought hope and cheer to their homesick hearts at the close of that first, long, hard winter of 1621. The red breasts of these birds brought to memory the robins of old England and so they were called “Blue robins”; and this name expresses well the relationship implied, because the bluebirds and robins of America are both members of the thrush family, a family noted for exquisite song.

The bluebirds are usually ahead of the robins in the northward journey and arrive in New York often amid the blizzards of early March, their soft, rich “curly” notes bringing, even to the doubting mind, glad convictions of coming spring. There is a family resemblance between voices of bluebird and robin, a certain rich quality of tone, but the robin’s song is far more assertive and complex than is the soft, “purling” song of the bluebird, which has been vocalized as “tru-al-ly, tru-al-ly.” These love songs cease with the hard work of feeding the nestlings in April, but may be heard again as a prelude to the second brood in June. The red breast of the bluebird is its only color resemblance to the robin, although the young bluebirds and robins are both spotted, showing the thrush colors. The robin is so much larger than the bluebird that commonly the relationship is not noticed. This is easily explained because there is nothing to suggest a robin in the exquisite cerulean blue of the bluebird’s head, back, tail and wings. This color is most brilliant when the bird is on the wing, in the sunshine. However, there is a certain mirror-like quality in these blue feathers; and among leaf shadows or even among bare branches they in a measure, reflect the surroundings and render the bird less noticeable. The female is paler, being grayish blue above and with only a tinge of red-brown on the breast; both birds are white beneath.

The bluebirds haunt open woods, fields of second growth and especially old orchards. They flit about in companies of three or four until they mate for nesting. While feeding, the bluebird usually sits on a low branch keeping a keen eye on the ground below, now and then dropping suddenly on an unsuspecting insect and then returning to its perch; it does not remain on the ground hunting food as does the robin. The nest is usually built in a hole in a tree or post and is made of soft grass. A hollow apple tree is a favorite nesting site.

In building birdhouses we should bear in mind that a cavity about ten inches deep and six inches in height and width will give a pair of bluebirds room for building a nest. The opening should not be more than two or two and one-half inches in diameter and there should be no threshold; this latter is a very particular point. If there is a threshold or place to alight upon, the sparrows are likely to dispute with the bluebirds and drive them away, but the sparrow does not care for a place which has no threshold. The box for the bluebird may be made out of old boards or may be a section of an old tree trunk; it should be fastened from six to fifteen feet above the ground, and should be in nowise noticeable in color from its surroundings. To protect the nest from cats, barbed wire should be wound around the tree or post below the box. If the box for the nest is placed upon a post the barbed wire will also protect it from the squirrels. The eggs are bluish white; the young birds, in their first feathers, are spotted on the back and have whitish breasts mottled with brown. The food of the nestlings is almost entirely insects. In fact, this bird during its entire life is a great friend to man. The food of the adult is more than three-fourths insects and the remainder is wild berries and fruits, the winter food being largely mistletoe berries. It makes a specialty of injurious beetles, caterpillars and grasshoppers, and never touches any of our cultivated fruits. We should do everything in our power to encourage and protect these birds from their enemies, which are chiefly cats, squirrels and English sparrows.

From _Country Life in America_.]

The migration takes place in flocks during autumn, but it is done in a most leisurely manner with frequent stops where food is plenty. The bluebirds we see in September are probably not the ones we have had with us during the summer, but are those which have come from farther north.

They winter largely in the Gulf States; the writer has often heard them singing in midwinter in Southern Mississippi. The bluebirds seem to be the only ones that sing while at their winter resorts. They live the year round in the Bermudas, contrasting their heavenly blue plumage with the vivid red of the cardinals. The bluebird should not be confused with the indigo bunting; the latter is darker blue and has a blue breast.

_References_--Bulletin, Some Common Birds in Their Relation to Man, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; Bulletin, The Food of Nestling Birds, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; Birds in Their Relation to Man, Weed & Dearborn, pp. 86–88; Nature-Study and Life, Hodge, chapters 18–21; Junior Audubon Leaflets; Birds of Eastern North America, Chapman, 9. 403; Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music, Mathews, pp. 251–254; Nature-Study in Elementary Schools, Wilson, p. 188.

“_Winged lute that we call a bluebird,
You blend in a silver strain
The sound of the laughing waters.
The patter of spring’s sweet rain,
The voice of the winds, the sunshine,
And fragrance of blossoming things.
Ah! You are an April poem,
That God has dowered with wings._”
--THE BLUEBIRD, REXFORD.

LESSON XI

THE BLUEBIRD

_Leading thought_--The bluebird is related to the robins and thrushes and is as beneficial as it is beautiful. We should study its habits and learn how to make nesting boxes for it, and protect it in all ways.

_Methods_--The observations of this lesson must be made in the field and by the pupils individually. Give to each an outline of questions to answer through seeing. There should follow reading lessons on the bluebird’s value to us and its winter migrations, and the lesson should end in discussions of best way to build boxes for its use in nesting season, its protection from cats and other enemies.

_Observations_--1. Which comes North earlier in spring the robin or the bluebird?

2. How do the two resemble each other and differ from each other?

3. Describe the bluebirds’ song. Do they sing all summer?

4. Describe the colors of the bluebird as follows: The head, back, breast, under parts, wings, tail. How does the male bluebird differ from his mate in colors?

5. Where were the bluebirds you saw? What were they doing? If feeding, how did they act?

6. Can you see the color of the bluebird as plainly when it is in a tree as when it is flying? If not, why?

7. Where do the bluebirds build their nests? Of what material are the nests made? Do both parents work at the nest building?

8. What is the color of the eggs? How do the young birds look, when old enough to leave the nest, as compared with their parents?

9. What do the bluebirds eat? How do they benefit us? Do they do our fruit any injury?

10. What can we do to induce the bluebirds to live near our houses? How can we protect them?

11. Where do the bluebirds spend the winter?

12. Make a colored picture of a bluebird. How can we tell the bluebird from the indigo bunting?

13. What are the bluebirds’ chief enemies?

_Supplementary reading_--Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock, p. 62; True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 12; How to Attract the Birds, Blanchan; Bird Neighbors, Blanchan; Our Birds and their Nestlings, Walker, p. 17; Familiar Wild Animals, Lottridge; Audubon Leaflet, No. 24.

* * * * *

_Hark! ’tis the bluebird’s venturous strain
High on the old fringed elm at the gate--
Sweet-voiced, valiant on the swaying bough,
Alert, elate,
Dodging the fitful spits of snow,
New England’s poet-laureate
Telling us Spring has come again!_
--THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH.

THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH

_Teacher’s Story_

“_The busy nuthatch climbs his tree
Around the great hole spirally,
Peeping into wrinkles gray,
Under ruffled lichens gay,
Lazily piping one sharp note
From his silver mailèd throat._”
--MAURICE THOMPSON.

Blithe and mellow is the ringing “ank, ank” note of the nuthatch, and why need we allude to its nasal timbre! While it is not a strictly musical note, it has a most enticing quality and translates into sound the picture of bare-branched trees and the feeling of enchantment which permeates the forest in winter; it is one of the most “woodsy” notes in the bird repertoire. And while the singer of this note is not so bewitching as his constant chum the chickadee, yet it has many interesting ways quite its own. Nor is this “ank, ank,” its only note. I have often heard a pair talking to each other in sweet confidential syllables, “wit, wit, wit” very different from the loud note meant for the world at large. The nuthatches and chickadees hunt together all winter; it is no mere business partnership but a matter of congenial tastes. The chickadees hunt over the twigs and smaller branches, while the nuthatches usually prefer the tree trunks and the bases of the branches; both birds like the looks of the world upside down, and while the chickadee hangs head down from a twig, the nuthatch is quite likely to alight head down on a tree bole, holding itself safely in this position by thrusting its toes out at right angles to the body, thus getting a firm hold upon the bark. Sometimes its foot will be twisted completely around, the front toes pointed up the tree. The foot is well adapted for clinging to the bark as the front toes are strong and the hind toe is very long and is armed with a strong claw. Thus equipped, this bird runs about on the tree so rapidly, it has earned the name of “tree mouse”. It often ascends a tree trunk spirally but is not so hidebound in this habit as is the brown creeper. It runs up or down freely head first and never flops down backwards like a woodpecker.

In color the nuthatch is bluish gray above with white throat and breast and reddish underparts. The sides of the head are white; the black cap extends back upon the neck but is not “pulled down” to the eyes like the chickadees. The wing feathers are dark brown edged with pale gray. The upper middle tail feathers are bluish like the back; the others are dark brown and tipped with white in such a manner that the tail when spread shows a broad white border on both sides. The most striking contrast between the chickadee and nuthatch in markings is that the latter lacks the black bib. However, its entire shape is very different from that of the chickadee and its beak is long and slender, being as long or longer than its head, while the beak of the chickadee is a short, sharp, little pick. The bill of the nuthatch is exactly fitted to reach in crevices of the bark and pull out hiding insects, or to hammer open the shell of nut or acorn and get both the meat of the nut and the grub feeding upon it. It will wedge an acorn into a seam in the bark and then throw back its head, woodpecker fashion, and drive home its chisel beak. But it does not always use common sense in this habit. I have often seen one cut off a piece of suet, fly off and thrust it into some crevice and hammer it as hard as if it were encased in a walnut shell. This always seems bad manners, like carrying off fruit from _table d’hote_; but the nuthatch is polite enough in using a napkin, for after eating the suet, it invariably wipes its bill on a branch, first one side then the other most assiduously until it is perfectly clean.

The nuthatches are a great benefit to our trees in winter, for then is when they hunt for hiding pests on their trunks. Their food consists of beetles, caterpillars, pupæ of various insects, also seeds of ragweed, sunflowers, acorns, etc. While the nuthatch finds much of its food on trees, yet Mr. Torrey has seen it awkwardly turning over fallen leaves hunting for insects, and Mr. Baskett says it sometimes catches insects on the wing and gets quite out of breath from this unusual exercise.

It is only during the winter that we commonly see the nuthatches, for during the nesting season, they usually retire to the deep woods where they may occupy a cavity in a tree used by a woodpecker last year, or may make a hole for themselves with their sharp beaks. The nest is lined with leaves, feathers and hair; from five to nine creamy, speckled eggs are the treasure of this cave.

LESSON XII

THE NUTHATCH

_Leading thought_--The nuthatch is often a companion of the chickadees and woodpeckers. It has no black bib, like the chickadee, and it alights on a tree trunk head downward, which distinguishes it from woodpeckers.

_Methods_--This bird, like the chickadee and downy, gladly shares the suet banquet we prepare for them and may be observed at leisure while “at table.” The contrast between the habits of the nuthatch and those of its companions make it a most valuable aid in stimulating close and keen observation on the part of the pupils.

_Observations_--1. Where have you seen the nuthatches? Were they with other birds? What other birds?

2. Does a nuthatch usually alight on the ends of the branches of a tree or on the trunk and larger limbs? Does it usually alight head down or up? When it runs down the tree, does it go head first or does it back down? When it ascends the tree does it follow a spiral path? Does it use its tail for a brace when climbing, as does the downy?

3. How are the nuthatch’s toes arranged to assist it in climbing? Are the three front toes of each foot directed downward when the bird alights head downward? How does it manage its feet when in this position?

4. What is the general color of the nuthatch above and below? The color of the top and sides of head? Color of Back? Wings? Tail? Throat? Breast?

5. Does the black cap come down to the eyes on the nuthatch as on the chickadee? Has the nuthatch a black bib?

6. What is the shape of the beak of the nuthatch? For what is it adapted? How does it differ from the beak of the chickadee?

7. What is the food of the nuthatch? Where is it found? Does it open nuts for the grubs or the nut meat? Observe the way it strikes its beak into the suet, why does it strike so hard?

8. How would you spell this bird’s note? Have you heard it give more than one note?

9. How does the nuthatch benefit our trees? At what season does it benefit them most? Why?

10. Where do the nuthatches build their nests? Why do we see the nuthatches oftener in winter than in summer?

THE CHICKADEE

_Teacher’s Story_

“_He is the hero of the woods; there are courage and good
nature enough in that compact little body, which you may hide
in your fist, to supply a whole groveful of May songsters.
He has the Spartan virtue of an eagle, the cheerfulness of a
thrush, the nimbleness of Cock Sparrow, the endurance of the
sea-birds condensed into his tiny frame, and there have been
added a pertness and ingenuity all his own. His curiosity is
immense, and his audacity equal to it; I have even had one
alight upon the barrel of the gun over my shoulders as I sat
quietly under his tree._”
--ERNEST INGERSOLL.

However careless we may be of our bird friends when we are in the midst of the luxurious life of summer, even the most careless among us give pleased attention to the birds that bravely endure with us the rigors of winter. And when this winged companion of winter proves to be the most fascinating little ball of feathers ever created, constantly overflowing with cheerful song, our pleased attention changes to active delight. Thus it is, that in all the lands of snowy winters the chickadee is a loved comrade of the country wayfarer; that happy song “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” finds its way to the dullest consciousness and the most callous heart.

The chickadees appear in small flocks in the winter and often in company with the nuthatches. The chickadees work on the twigs and ends of branches, while the nuthatches usually mine the bark of the trunk and larger branches, the former hunting insect eggs and the latter, insects tucked away in winter quarters. When the chickadee is prospecting for eggs, it looks the twig over, first above and then hangs head down and inspects it from below; it is a thorough worker and doesn’t intend to overlook anything whatever; and however busily it is hunting, it always finds time for singing; whether on the wing or perched upon a twig or hanging from it like an acrobat, head down, it sends forth its happy “chickadeedee” to assure us that this world is all right and good enough for anybody. Besides this song, it begins in February to sing a most seductive “fee-bee,” giving a rising inflection to the first syllable and a long, falling inflection to the last, which makes it a very different song from the short, jerky notes of the phœbe-bird, which cuts the last syllable short and gives it a rising inflection. More than this, the chickadee has some chatty conversational notes, and now and then performs a bewitching little yodle, which is a fit expression of its own delicious personality.

The general effect of the colors of the chickadee is grayish brown above and grayish white below. The top of the head is black, the sides white, and it has a seductive little black bib under its chin. The back is grayish, the wings and tail are dark gray, the feathers having white margins. The breast is grayish white changing to buff or brownish at the sides and below. It is often called the “Black-capped Titmouse,” and it may always be distinguished by black cap and black bib. It is smaller than the English sparrow; its beak is a sharp little pick just fitted for taking insect eggs off twigs and from under bark. Insects are obliged to pass the winter in some stage of their existence, and many of them wisely remain in the egg until there is something worth doing in the way of eating. These eggs are glued fast to the food trees by the mother insect and thus provides abundant food for the chickadees. It has been estimated that one chickadee will destroy several hundred insect eggs in one day, and it has been proven that orchards frequented by these birds are much more free from insect pests than other orchards in the same locality. They can be enticed into orchards by putting up beef fat or bones and thus we can secure their valuable service. In summer these birds attack caterpillars and other insects.

When it comes to nest building, if the chickadees cannot find a house to rent they proceed to dig out a proper hole from some decaying tree, which they line with moss, feathers, fur or some other soft material. The nest is often not higher than six to ten feet from the ground. One which I studied was in a decaying fence post. The eggs are white, sparsely speckled and spotted with lilac or rufous. The young birds are often eight in number and how these fubsy birdlings manage to pack themselves in such a small hole is a wonder, and probably gives them good discipline in bearing hardships cheerfully.

_Reference_--Useful Birds and Their Protection, Forbush, p. 163; Birds of Village and Field, Merriams; Bird Neighbors, Blancham.

LESSON XIII

THE CHICKADEE

_Leading thought_--The chickadee is as useful as it is delightful; it remains in the North during winter, working hard to clear our trees of insect eggs and singing cheerily all day. It is so friendly that we can induce it to come even to the window sill, by putting out suet to show our friendly interest.