the north side of Mount Hood, is too near timber-line to claim a great
variety of feathered guests, but Oregon Jays and Clark's Crows or
Nutcrackers are regular pensioners of the house. The usual shooting
by tourists does not menace them, for the nature-loving mountaineers,
who keep the Inn and act as guides to the summit, guard most loyally
both birds and beasts. They like to tell of a noble Eagle which used
to fly up the cañon and circle over the glacier every day, and they
recall with pleasure the snowy morning when an old Blue Grouse brought
her brood to the Inn, and the birds ate the wheat that was thrown them
with the confidence of chickens. The Grouse were, apparently, regular
neighbors of the Inn, and while there I had the pleasure of seeing a
grown family. They fed on the slope close above me with the unconcern
of domestic fowls, conversing in turkey-like monosyllables as they
moved about, and two of them came within a few feet and looked up at
me--that not forty rods from the Inn! The pleasure of the sight was
doubled by the reflection that such things could be so near a hotel,
even on a remote mountain.
[Illustration: CLOUD CAP INN]
It was delightful to see how familiarly birds gathered about the
house. You could sit in the front doorway and when not absorbed in
looking off on the three wonderful snow peaks--St. Helens, Rainier,
and Adams--rising above the Cascade range, could watch Oregon Juncos,
Steller's Jays, Oregon Jays, and Nutcrackers coming down to drink at
the hydrant twenty feet away; while the Ruby Kinglet and White-crowned
Sparrow, together with Townsend's Solitaire and other interesting
westerners, moved about in the branches of the low timber-line pines;
and Lewis' Woodpeckers, with their long, powerful flights, crossed
over the forested cañons below. Crossbills had stayed around the house
sociably for three weeks together, Mrs. Langille, the noble old mother
of the mountaineers, told me. She said they would fly against the logs
of the house and call till she went out to feed them. They left with
the first heavy storms, though usually, she said: "That's the time when
we have birds come around the house--when there are storms." And a
friendly hospice the feathered wayfarers find it so long as the Inn is
open!
[Illustration: CLARK'S CROW]
The Oregon Jays and Clark's Crows are, as I said, the regular
pensioners of the house. The Jays look very much like their relatives
the Canada Jays, but are darker, and when you are close to them the
feathers of their backs show distinct whitish shaft-streaks. The Crows
have the general form and bearing of Crows, but are black only on wings
and tail, their general appearance being gray. Speaking of the birds,
Mrs. Langille said: "If I was in the kitchen myself I'd have them come
right to the porch outside; when I'm in the kitchen I'm always throwing
out crumbs for the birds and squirrels, and I've had the Jays come and
sit right down on the block where I was cutting meat and take the fat
right out of my hands." Clark's Crows, she said, would not eat from her
hand, but would sit on the back porch and call for their breakfast.
When I was at the Inn, the Chinese cook used to throw scraps from the
table over a lava cliff, and both Crows and Jays spent most of their
time carrying it off. As the foot of the cliff was one of the best
places to watch them, I spent part of every day there, and when the
smell of coffee grounds got too strong, consoled myself by looking
through the trees up at the grand white peak of Hood.
It was interesting to see the difference in the ways of the two birds.
The Nutcracker would fly down to the rocks with rattling wings, and,
when not too hungry to be critical, would proceed to investigate
the breakfast with the air of a judge on the bench, for he is a
dignified character. To touch the hem of his robe to the food would
have been defilement, so he went about pressing his wings tight to his
sides, sometimes giving them a little nervous shake. To smile at this
sober-minded person seems most disrespectful, but the solemnity of
his gambols was surely provocative of mirth. Not content with turning
his long-billed head judicially from side to side as he advanced
through the scraps, if the biscuit on his left was not to his mind,
with one great ungainly leap he would box half the compass and plant
his big feet before a potato on his right. This he would proceed to
probe with a grave air of interrogation, and if he decided the case
in the negative would withdraw his beak and pass to the next case on
the docket. Once when the potato was half a waffle, he pried it up
tentatively with his long bill, and at last, deciding in its favor,
proceeded to fly off with it, his long legs dangling ludicrously behind
him.
[Illustration: OREGON JAY]
The Oregon Jays were quite unlike their Crow cousins. They would
come flying in, talking together in sociable fashion, and drop down
so noiselessly you could but be struck by the difference between
fluffy owl-like feathers and stiff quills. Sometimes one of the Jays
would touch the side of a tree a moment before dropping lightly to
the ground. All their motions were quick and easy, if not actually
graceful, and they worked rapidly, with none of the profound
deliberation shown at times by the Nutcracker. The smaller pieces of
food they ate; the larger ones they carried off, usually in their
bills, occasionally in their claws. In eating, the Jay would sometimes
adopt the Blue Jay style and put his food under his foot, where he
could pull it apart, throwing up his head to swallow. When the food was
soft and too large to swallow at one gulp, both Crows and Jays would
carry it to an evergreen, lay it down on a twig before them, and there
eat comfortably, as from a plate. Both birds often flew to the ledges
of the cliff for food that had lodged there in falling, and it made a
busy scene when eight or ten of the big fellows were flying about the
place at once.
(_To be concluded._)
=For Teachers and Students=
Suggestions for Bird-Day Programs in the Schools
BY C. A. BABCOCK
(Originator of Bird-Day)
[Illustration]
A Bird-Day exercise, in order to have much value educationally, should
be largely the result of the pupils' previous work, and should not
be the mere repetition of a prepared program, taken verbatim from
some leaflet or paper. The program should be prepared by the pupils,
under the direction of the teacher, and should contain as many
original compositions or statements about birds, derived from personal
observation, as possible.
Bird-Day should be announced some weeks beforehand, in order to give
the children time to prepare for it. In the meantime, direct them to
observe the birds, and allow from five to ten minutes each morning to
receive the reports. Direct that crumbs be scattered in the back yards,
and cups containing seeds be put up in the trees, or on the fences, and
that bones from the table be fastened where they can be seen from the
windows. Then, with an opera glass, if one can be obtained, results are
to be looked for.
For directing the young observer, write upon the board a scheme like
this:
ENGLISH SPARROW
Length from tip of beak to end of tail?
What is the shape, color, and size of beak?
What is the color of legs and feet?
How many toes? Which way do they point?
Gait upon the ground,--does it walk, hop or run?
Color of head and throat? Color of under parts?
Color and marking of back?
Difference in markings of male and female?
Describe actions which indicate its character.
Is it pugnacious? Is it brave? Is it selfish?
Does it trouble other birds?
Describe its voice or song. Does it utter notes indicating diverse
feelings, as joy, anger? What syllables best recall some of its notes?
For the younger pupils a few of these questions, perhaps two or three,
will be sufficient for one exercise. Children will vary, and often
contradict one another in answering the same questions. Dwell upon
each question till it is answered correctly, and all agree upon the
answer.
A similar plan may be followed for studying the Robin, Bluebird,
Catbird, Oriole, or other birds as they arrive, or as they become
accessible to certain of the pupils. In April, two years ago, one
little girl had observed, and described accurately, seventeen different
species of birds which she had seen in the little yard of her home.
They had been attracted by the food she had put out for them.
The nest-building of birds is also a good subject for observation, the
Robin being, perhaps, the best species for a first study.
QUESTIONS ON NEST-BUILDING AND NESTING HABITS
Which bird does most building, the male, or the female?
Do both carry material?
Does the male ever seem to be acting as escort or guard to his mate?
What materials are used? What is the appearance of the nest?
Its situation--sheltered or not?
After the nest is completed, watch it till the young are hatched.
Which bird sits upon the eggs? Does the male ever relieve his mate at
this task? Does he bring food to her? Does he spend some time singing
to her, as if he were trying to keep her cheerful? Does he protect
her from attack by birds or other enemies?
SOME QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED ABOUT ROBINS
Learn to distinguish the voices and call notes of the male and
female. Which bird wakes first in the morning and calls the other?
You may also notice, sometimes, in the night, that one bird wakes and
calls the other. Which one generally wakes first at these times?
Do Robins raise more than one brood in a season? If so, do they use
the same nest twice? If they raise two broods, what becomes of the
first, while the mother is sitting upon the eggs for the second?
Watch for a Robin leading out a family of chicks. Notice the feeding
after the birds are old enough to run and fly fairly well. The young
birds are placed apart by the parent, who visits each one in turn,
and rebukes any who tries to be piggish, sometimes nipping it with
its bill when it runs up out of turn. Notice this parent teaching the
young to sing,--it is a very interesting sight.
The teacher will need some good manual to aid in identifying some of
the species, though much of the work the first season would better be
upon common, well-known birds. The following are recommended:
'Handbook of Birds of Eastern North America,' by Frank M. Chapman,
published by D. Appleton & Co.; 'Bird-Craft,' by Mabel Osgood Wright,
published by The Macmillan Company.
FOR BIRD-DAY PROGRAMS
For the first Bird-Day in every school it would be well to have some
one read Senator Hoar's petition of the birds to the Legislature of
Massachusetts. This remarkable paper deserves reading by all friends of
birds at least once a year.
_Compositions._--Have also original compositions, describing some
bird studied, or describing some of its habits, especially its habit
of feeding, and the actions showing its disposition.
_Personations._--Special interest will be awakened by having
'personations' of birds. These are descriptions of birds told in the
first person, as if the bird itself were telling its own story. An
accurate account of the bird's appearance, habits, feelings, and life
from the bird's view-point, is given, but without telling the bird's
name. At the close of the reading, the hearers vote upon the name of
the bird 'personated.'
_Audubon Society Literature._--The teacher should also obtain
circulars from the secretaries of the New York, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania and other Audubon Societies. These will give information
concerning the rapid destruction of birds. Extracts may be read from
them.
_Poems._--Extracts from the poets naturally form an interesting
feature of Bird-Day. Poets are generally bird-lovers and bird-seers.
Among the poems peculiarly adapted are the following:
'Robert O'Lincoln,' Bryant; 'The Mocking Bird,' Sidney Lanier; 'The
Sky Lark,' Shelly; 'The O'Lincoln Family,' Wilson Flagg; 'The Rain
Song of the Robin,' Kate Upson Clark; 'The Titmouse,' R. W. Emerson;
'The Eagle,' Tennyson; 'To The Skylark,' William Wordsworth.
_Personal Experiences._--Another pleasant part of the program will be
the short statements of facts about birds, by the pupils, obtained
from their own observation. Birds of the Bible may also be given in
short extracts.
_Prose Selections._--John Burroughs' 'Birds and Poets,' and 'Wake
Robin;' Bradford Torrey's 'Birds in the Bush;' Olive Thorne Miller's
'Bird Ways,' and many other books, abound in suitable passages for
Bird-Day.
The pupils will enjoy preparing a Bird-Day program much more than
learning little set speeches from one already prepared. The preliminary
observation of birds will arouse an enthusiasm that will be of great
value in all educational work.
Summer Boarders for Girls and Boys
The Bureau of Nature Study of Cornell University offers to assist
all boys and girls who want to take bird boarders this season. By
addressing this Bureau, at Ithaca, N. Y., one may receive a copy of
an admirable leaflet entitled 'The Birds and I,' containing numerous
designs for houses which may be constructed for the occupation of the
expected 'boarders.'
A Bird-Day Program
BY ELIZABETH V. BROWN
Washington Normal School
[Illustration]
Birthdays, red letter days, memorial days, arbor days and bird days!
The two hundred days of the school calendar are hardly sufficient to
meet the special demands made upon them in the interests of history,
literature, and philanthropy. After all, is not this call for
specialization something of a reproach to both home and school? If the
child is symmetrically developed, harmoniously educated, will not all
these influences find their proper place and expression in his life in
the _regular_ course of events?
But in the meantime since 'days' are ordained, it is highly important
that they shall be celebrated in a manner to make lasting impressions
on the minds and hearts of children. The mental hysteria resulting from
the spasmodic, sentimental fervor worked up for this cause to-day, and
for that to-morrow, is to be strongly condemned.
As in every other subject, an interest in _birds_ should be based
upon the knowledge gained by the child primarily through his own
observations and experiences, supplemented and enriched later by what
he reads or has told him. The interest thus aroused leads to sympathy
and love as enduring as life itself.
Hence the Bird-Day program should mark the culminating rather than the
initial point of bird study for the year.
The children should be led to anticipate it, and should be prepared
for it in as many ways and for as long a time as possible. All that
nature lovers have written or poets sung will have deeper significance
after the child's contact with the birds of his neighborhood, as seen
in parks, woods, or fields. To see their pictures is not enough. Field
work alone can give the stimulus which leads to fellowship, sympathy,
love, and protection.
For young children especially, interest is most readily aroused through
the study of the _activities_ which ally bird and child. The character
and the adaptation of birds' clothing, foods and homes to their
peculiar needs and environment; glimpses of nest-life; characteristic
traits; disposition; the cleverness of the parent birds in outwitting
enemies and protecting the young; the skillful uses of tools--bills
and claws--are all readily appreciated by the children. Add to these,
studies in protective coloration, migration, the relation of birds
to insects injurious to vegetation, and kindred subjects, which form
a never-failing source of delight. Through such work, the child
learns almost unwittingly much of bird structure, classification, and
description which would otherwise prove dry and barren of interest.
The boy who thus comes into fellowship with birds will not delight
in beanshooters or find his chief joy in robbing birds' nests and
violating game laws; while his sister will try to find something more
ornamental for her hat than slaughtered birds.
_THE PROGRAM_
While programs must vary according to the needs and ability of the
children, a few suggestions may be helpful to all.
DECORATION
'Sharp Eyes,' and 'I Spy,' by William Hamilton Gibson, 'Nature's
Hallelujah,' and 'The Message of the Bluebird,' by Irene Jerome, are
full of delightfully suggestive and artistic bits of bird-life for
black-board pictures.
A pretty corner may be made by a small bush or the branch of a large
tree in which the nests collected by the children are appropriately
placed.
Pictures of bird-lovers and writers should be in evidence. Audubon,
Wilson, John Burroughs, Bradford Torrey, Olive Thorne Miller, and
others. Many of these may be found in recent magazines.
Anecdotes and short sketches from their books may be told or read.
COMPOSITIONS
Compositions prepared in advance, on various phases of bird-life,
may be read by their young authors. These may be the result of work
previously done in class along the lines before mentioned, or of new
observations and experiences gathered for Bird-Day. The greater the
variety of topics, the better.
Descriptions of individual birds, comparisons of birds, individually
or by classes, as to:
_Food._--Character; where, when, and how obtained.
_Home._--Location; materials; construction; appearance.
_Young._--Number; appearance; care and education.
_Songs and Calls._--Emotions expressed; character, short or
sustained, high or low, sweet or harsh, etc.
_Relations._--Names of other birds of same class.
_Bird Craftsmen._--Masons, miners, weavers, tailors, etc.
_Tree-top Neighbors._--Spring, summer, fall and winter.
_How Birds Travel._
_How Birds Help the Farmers._
_Invitations to the Birds._--Boxes put up for them; seed-cups, bits
of suet nailed to posts or trees.
CHALK TALKS
Stories may be told by teachers or pupils with accompanying
illustrations hastily sketched on the black-board as the story
progresses. The following lend themselves readily to this work:
'The Ugly Duckling,' 'The Daisy and the Lark,' Hans Christian
Anderson; 'The White Heron,' Sarah Orne Jewett; 'The White
Blackbird,' Guy de Maupassant; 'The Crane Express,' Child World; 'The
Crow and the Pitcher,' 'The Fox and the Crane,' 'The Crane and the
Crows,' Æsop's Fables.
FOR READING OR RECITATION
'Nest Egg,' Robert Louis Stevenson; 'Anxiety,' George Macdonald; 'The
Song Sparrow,' 'The Veery,' Dr. van Dyke; 'The One in the Middle,'
Margaret Eytinge; 'The Bluebird,' Emily Huntington Miller; 'The Peter
Bird,' Henry Thompson Stanton; 'The Robin,' Celia Thaxter; 'Brother
Robin,' Mrs. Anderson; 'The Birds' Orchestra,' Celia Thaxter; 'The
Sandpiper,' 'Little Birdies,' Tennyson; 'The Brown Thrush,' Lucy
Larcom; 'The Titmouse,' Emerson; 'The Stormy Petrel,' Barry Cornwall;
'The Sorrowful Sea Gull,' Child World; 'Robert of Lincoln,' 'The
Return of the Birds,' Bryant; 'The Blackbird,' Alice Cary; 'The
Crow's Children,' 'The Chicken's Mistake,' Phoebe Cary; 'What the
Birds Said,' Whittier.
Migration Tables for April and May
At our request, Dr. A. K. Fisher has furnished the following notes on
the spring migration. They are based on fifteen years' observation
and will therefore prove valuable as a guide, and interesting for
comparison, to other observers. A list of Mississippi Valley migrants,
which we expected to receive, unfortunately arrived too late for
publication, while a list from Philadelphia, by Mr. Witmer Stone, is
necessarily omitted for lack of space.--Ed.
_AVERAGE DATES OF ARRIVAL OF THE COMMONER BIRDS AT SING SING, N. Y.,
DURING APRIL AND MAY_
BY DR. A. K. FISHER
April 1 to 10
Pied-billed Grebe, Wilson's Snipe, Sparrow Hawk, Osprey, Kingfisher,
Fish Crow, Cowbird, Savanna Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow,
White-throated Sparrow, Tree Swallow.
April 10 to 20
Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, American Bittern, Pigeon
Hawk, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Purple Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Field
Sparrow, Myrtle Warbler, Yellow Palm Warbler, Large-billed Water
Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush.
April 20 to 30
Chimney Swift, Least Flycatcher, Towhee, Purple Martin, Barn Swallow,
Bank Swallow, Blue-headed Vireo, Black and White Warbler, Catbird,
Brown Thrasher, House Wren, Wood Thrush.
May 1 to 5
Spotted Sandpiper, Hummingbird, Kingbird, Bobolink, Baltimore Oriole,
Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Parula
Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-throated
Blue Warbler, Ovenbird, Maryland Yellow-throat, Yellow-breasted Chat,
Redstart, Wilson's Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush.
May 5 to 10
Solitary Sandpiper, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo,
Whip-poor-will, Night-hawk, Crested Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole,
Yellow-winged Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Cliff
Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Warbling Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler,
Golden-winged Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Long-billed Marsh Wren.
May 10 to 15
Least Sandpiper, Wood Pewee, Green-crested (Acadian) Flycatcher,
White-crowned Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Nashville Warbler, Worm-eating
Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Wilson's Warbler.
May 15 to 20
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Bay-breasted
Warbler, Black-poll Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Small-billed Water
Thrush, Canadian Warbler, Gray-cheeked Thrush.
May 20 to 25
Alder Flycatcher, Tennessee Warbler, Mourning Warbler.
=For Young Observers=
Boys and girls who study birds are invited to send short accounts of
their observations to this Department.
The Legend of the Salt
BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN
A great many years ago a little boy, whom I knew very well, accepted
the advice of an elder, and went out with a salt-cellar to make friends
with the birds. But they would not have him, even with a 'grain of
salt,' and it was not until he was considerably older that he learned
he had begun his study of birds at the wrong end. That is, you know,
the wrong end of the bird, for it is not a bird's tail, but his bill,
you must attend to if you would win his confidence and friendship.
So, instead of salt, use bread-crumbs, seeds, and other food, and
some day you may have an experience which will surprise those people
who would think it a very good joke indeed to send you out with a
salt-cellar after birds. I have recently had an experience of this
kind. It happened in the heart of a great city, surely the last place
in the world where one would expect to find any birds, except House
Sparrows. But Central Park, New York City, the place I refer to,
contains several retired nooks where birds are often abundant. A place
known as the 'Ramble' is a particularly good one for birds, and during
the past winter, when it was not too cold, I have often gone from my
study in the near-by Museum of Natural History to eat my luncheon with
the birds in the Ramble. Many other bird-lovers have also visited the
Park to study and feed the birds, and, as always happens when birds
learn that they will not be harmed, they have become remarkably tame.
[Illustration: A BIRD IN THE HAND
Photographed from nature, by F. M. Chapman.]
This is especially true of the Chickadees, who, under any
circumstances, seem to have less fear of man than most birds. When
I entered the Ramble they soon responded to an imitation of their
plaintive call of two high, clearly whistled notes. And in a short time
we became such good friends that I had only to hold out my hand with
a nut in it to have one of them at once perch on a finger, look at me
for a moment with an inquiring expression in his bright little eyes,
then take the nut and fly off to a neighboring limb, where, holding it
beneath his toes, he would hammer away at it with his bill, Blue Jay
fashion.
One day I induced one of them to pose before my camera, and, as a
result, I now have the pleasure of presenting you with his portrait,
as an actual proof that nuts are much more effective than salt, in
catching birds. So, after this, we won't go out with salt-cellars, but
with a supply of food; nor should we forget to take a "pocketful of
patience," which, Mrs. Wright says, is the salt of the bird-catching
legend.
The February Walk Contest
We have been delighted with the interest aroused by our request for
descriptions of February walks, and in imagination have enjoyed
outings throughout a large part of the United States with our little
correspondents.