Part 7
'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.
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.
We have found ourselves obliged to give two prizes, one of which goes to Mildred A. Robinson, of Waltham, Massachusetts, whose essay will appear in our next number; the other to Floyd C. Noble, of New York City, whose description of a walk in Central Park appears in this issue of Bird-Lore.
Much to his surprise, the Editor found that he was competing for the prize he himself had offered! He had written an account of some Central Park birds for this department before Master Noble's article was received, and is obliged to confess that Master Noble mentions several species which he had not observed. He, therefore, presents only that part of his manuscript relating to the Chickadee, and leaves Master Noble to tell of the other birds in the Park.
The selection of the winning essays was made with much difficulty, and, in addition to the two chosen, we would especially commend those written by the following named boys and girls:
Philip Baker, Indianapolis, Ind.; Harriet J. Benton, New Bedford, Mass.; Zelda Brown, Yuma, Ariz.; Donald Bruce, East Hampton, Mass.; Walter S. Chansler, Bicknell, Ind.; Marion Flagg, 90 Washington St., Hartford, Conn.; Charles B. Floyd, Brookline, Mass.; Kathryn Gibbs, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Albert Linton, Moorestown, N. J.; Clara T. Magee, Moorestown, N. J.; George S. Mac Nider, Chapel Hill, N. C.; Barnard Powers, Melrose, Mass.; Elden Smith, Milville, Mass.; Lydia Sharpless, Haverford, Pa.--Ed.
A February Walk in Central Park, New York
BY FLOYD C. NOBLE
(Aged 14 years)
On February 18, 1899, my friend and I started out 'bird-hunting,' as usual, in the 'Ramble,' Central Park. It was during the comparatively warm spell after the blizzard of the 12th, and the preceding zero weather. On the way we saw a Starling, perched high on a building, trying to sing. On entering the Park we saw a White-throated Sparrow. I have seen this species more times than any other this month--of course, excepting the common Sparrow.
On nearing our 'hunting-grounds,' we heard the familiar '_cree-e_' of a Brown Creeper, and soon discovered the little fellow hard at work, as usual. A little later we came upon the beautiful Cardinal, with his two wives. It is a fact that there are one male and two females, though probably only one is his real mate. He does not, however, appear to be partial to either.
Further on we found what we were chiefly looking for--a flock of lively little Chickadees. I found that I had only a very small supply of hazelnuts with me, but I made the best of them. There was a good deal of snow on the ground, which made the Chickadees unusually tame--being hungry. They would light on our hands, inspect the pieces of crushed nut there, knock off the ones that did not suit them, and finally fly off with one--usually the largest. We soon began to recognize separate birds, and gave them names: such as 'Buffy,' 'Pretty,' etc. Then our attention was attracted by the queer noise made by the Nuthatch, and this trunk-crawling friend of ours appeared. We think that continued close inspection of tree-trunks has made him near-sighted, because when you throw him a piece of nut he generally just gazes at it, grunts a little, and then looks at you again. My cousin suggested that when he did find what you threw him, it was by the sense of hearing rather than that of sight, as he can generally find a big piece that makes a noise in falling. When he succeeds in getting 'something good,' he wedges it into the bark somewhere and hits it with his bill.
But, between the Nuthatch, the Chickadees, and the hungry squirrels--that would sit up with their paws on their breasts, and their heads on one side, imploring for food, it is needless to say successfully,--our small supply of nuts was soon gone. So we went home as fast as we could, procured more nuts, and in twenty minutes were again in the 'hunting grounds.' But we found, to our dismay, that others had monopolized our flock of chickadees! However, what partly compensated for this, was a good close view of a Downy Woodpecker. There is a pair of these birds around here, which you are almost sure to see,--either together or singly.
But it was soon time to go home, and on the way we heard the lively song of the European Goldfinches, and soon found four of them high up in a tree. They are shy birds, and flew as we approached. They feed on pine cones, and a flock of them will take possession of a pine tree, hide themselves in the dark tufts of pine needles, and eat the seeds at their leisure. The only way you can have knowledge of their presence is by the frequent cracking of the seeds heard. For a long time we thought they were Crossbills, but one day a flock of noisy Sparrows came into the tree and drove the quiet Goldfinches out of their tufts--much to my surprise, for I did not suppose that Goldfinches, which I had been accustomed to find singing loudly, could keep so quiet. We also saw a Song Sparrow quietly picking away at some bird-seed scattered there.
The Myth of the Song Sparrow
BY ERNEST SETON THOMPSON
His mother was the Brook, his sisters were the Reeds, And they every one applauded when he sang about his deeds. His vest was white, his mantle brown, as clear as they could be, And his songs were fairly bubbling o'er with melody and glee. But an envious Neighbor splashed with mud our Brownie's coat and vest, And then a final handful threw that stuck upon his breast. The Brook-bird's mother did her best to wash the stains away, But there they stuck, and, as it seems, are very like to stay. And so he wears the splashes and the mud blotch as you see, But his songs are bubbling over still with melody and glee.
=Notes from Field and Study=
Sparrow Proof Houses
Mr. D. R. Geery, of Greenwich, Conn., sends us descriptions of the two bird-houses here figured. When designed for Bluebirds, they should be suspended from a limb ten or twelve feet from the ground, in such a manner as to allow them to swing slightly. Mr. Geery writes: "It may happen that the Sparrows will go to these houses and even commence to build, but, as soon as they find that they swing and are not firm, they will abandon them entirely. Wren boxes should be stationary, with an opening not much larger than a twenty-five-cent piece, and placed so as to be well shaded most of the day."
A Musical Woodpecker
In the pursuit of my profession I had occasion for some time to travel over a certain road, along which is a telephone line, the glass insulators of which are placed on short pieces of hard wood which are nailed directly to the post.
Probably half a dozen times, when on this road, I saw a male Downy Woodpecker perched directly beneath the hard wood block, pecking at it in a manner to make the wire ring, then pausing and evidently listening to the music it had produced.
When the vibration ceased the performance was repeated and continued at intervals until I was obliged to drive by and frighten the bird away.--Dr. D. L. Burnett, _South Royalton, Vt._
An Ornithologist at San Juan
An English newspaper correspondent, who called at the American Museum of Natural History to identify certain birds which he had seen in Cuba, gave an interesting illustration of how, under the most adverse circumstances, an enthusiastic naturalist may exercise his powers of observation. He said, "I noticed at San Juan a bird which seemed to be much alarmed by the firing. He hopped from the bushes to the lower branches of trees, and then, limb by limb, reached the tree tops," and continued with a readily identifiable description of the singular Cuban Cuckoo, locally known as Arriero (_Saurothera merlini_).
There is one bird in Cuba, the Turkey Buzzard or Vulture, of which many of our soldiers probably retain a too vivid recollection, but how many of the men who were at San Juan can recall any other bird observed during the day of battle?
=Book News and Reviews=
Sketch Book of British Birds. By R. Bowdler Sharpe, L. L. D., F. L. S. With Colored Illustrations by A. F. and C. Lydon, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, New York, E. & J. B. Young & Co. 4to. Pages xx + 255. Numerous colored illustrations. Price, $6.
Although more books have been written about British birds than on the birds of any other region, and although Dr. Sharpe has written more bird books than any other living ornithologist, this we believe is the first treatise he has produced on the birds of his native land. He explains that the text is only a "running commentary" on the pictures, but claims that his "Systematic Index" is "the most complete record of the birds in the 'British List' yet published." It enumerates 445 species of birds which, according to Dr. Sharpe, have been recorded from Great Britain. In his 'Introduction' he classifies these according to the manner of their occurrence, as follows: Species which have probably escaped from confinement, 14; Indigenous species, 138; Visitors from the South--regular, 70, occasional or accidental, 69; Visitors from the East--regular, 5, accidental or occasional, 38; Visitors from the North--regular, 35, occasional or accidental, 29; Visitors from the West--regular 1, occasional, 43. The latter are all American species, and the number recorded indicates how much more frequently our birds are found on the other side of the Atlantic than European birds are observed here.
The illustrations consist of colored vignettes in the text of nearly every species. They are not above criticism, but, on the whole, are excellent and form a far more certain and convenient aid to identification than the most detailed description or elaborate key. In many cases even American species of accidental occurrence are figured, and, in this connection, we are tempted to ask why British authors cannot use for our birds the names by which they are known in this country? Who would recognize the Rusty Blackbird under the name of the "Rusty Black Hang-Nest," a misnomer in every sense of the word, or our Robin as the "American Thrush," to cite two among numerous examples.
F. M. C.
Book News.
It is exceedingly gratifying to find the American Ornithologists' Union, as represented by Mr. Witmer Stone, the Chairman of its Committee on Bird Protection, taking so strong a stand on the question of egg-collecting. In his annual report to the Union (The Auk, XVI, January, 1899, p. 61), Mr. Stone says, "Egg-collecting has become a fad which is encouraged and fostered by the dealers until it is one of the most potent causes of the decrease in our birds. The vast majority of egg-collectors contribute nothing to the science of ornithology, and the issuing of licenses promiscuously to this class makes any law for bird protection practically useless.
"Too often boys regard the formation of a _large_ collection of eggs or birds as necessarily the first step towards becoming an ornithologist of note; but if those who have already won their spurs will take the trouble to point out to the beginners the lines of work which yield results of real benefit to science, they will be led to see exactly how much collecting and what sort of specimens are really needed for scientific research, and not needlessly duplicate what has already been procured. Further, they will in all probability become known as original contributors to ornithological science, while as mere collectors they would bid fair to remain in obscurity."
Mr. Stone's report is of the utmost interest to all workers for the better protection of our birds. We have not space to notice it further here, but it may be obtained by addressing him at the Academy of Natural Science, Philadelphia, Pa., and enclosing six cents in stamps.
* * * * *
Two ornithological organizations established, in January, magazines for the publications of their proceedings and papers relating to the avifauna of their respective states. The first, the 'Journal of the Maine Ornithological Society,' an octavo quarterly, is edited by C. H. Morrill, at Pittsfield, Maine; the publisher and business manager being O. W. Knight, of Bangor, Maine. The second, the 'Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club,' is edited by Chester Barlow, of Santa Clara, California, with the assistance of Henry Reed Taylor and Howard Robertson. The business managers are Donald Cohen, of Alameda, and A. I. McCormick, of Los Angeles, California. Both journals are the outgrowth of a demand on the part of the societies they represent for an official organ, and they will undoubtedly exert a stimulating influence on the study of birds in the states in which they are published.
* * * * *
We have also to acknowledge the receipt of the initial number of a third new periodical, 'Nature Study in Schools,' conducted by the well-known naturalist, C. J. Maynard, at West Newton, Mass. It is an illustrated monthly of 26 pages, containing papers interesting alike to teachers and students, and should prove very helpful in its chosen field.
* * * * *
Houghton, Mifflin & Company have in press a bird-book for children by Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller, to be entitled 'The First Book of Birds.' As its name indicates, it will aim to introduce its readers to the study of birds by taking them from the nest through all the ordinary phases of a bird's existence, and including chapters on structure, economics, directions for study, etc. The book will be illustrated, and its author's experience as a student and teacher of birds is an assurance that it will be a valuable addition to ornithological literature.
* * * * *
Few nature books not designed to assist in identification of species have met with the sale that has been accorded Ernest Seton Thompson's 'Wild Animals I Have Known' (Charles Scribner's Sons). Published late in October, it went rapidly through several editions, and by January 1, or little more than two months after its appearance, 7,000 copies had been disposed of.
The reason for this phenomenal success is not hard to find; it appears on every page of the book, the text, illustrations, and make-up of which are equally pleasing.
Mr. Thompson goes a step further than most students of animals in nature. He does not present us with the biography of the species, but with its personal history, and his minute knowledge of and close sympathy with his subjects leads to his writing a singular charm.
* * * * *
Josephine A. Clark, of 1322 Twelfth street, N. W., Washington, D. C., publishes a useful 'Bird Tablet for Field Use.' It is abridged from the 'Outline for Field Observations' in Miss Merriam's 'Birds of Village and Field,' and may be obtained from the publisher for the sum of twenty-five cents.
* * * * *
Mr. C. A. Babcock, well-known as the originator of Bird-Day, has in manuscript a book entitled 'Bird-Day and How to Prepare for It,' which will undoubtedly be of much assistance to teachers, and add greatly to the value of Bird-Day observances.
* * * * *
The following books and papers relating to birds have been received and will be reviewed in future numbers: The Cambridge Natural History, Vol. IX, Birds, by A. H. Evans (The Macmillan Co.); The Birds of Ontario in Relation to Agriculture, by Charles W. Nash; The Winter Food of the Chickadee, The Feeding Habits of the Chipping Sparrow, by Clarence M. Weed; A Preliminary List of the Birds of Belknap and Merrimack counties, New Hampshire, with notes, by Ned Dearborn; Check List of British Columbia Birds, by John Fannin.
=Bird-Lore=
A Bi-monthly Magazine Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES
=Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN= =Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY=
===================================================== Vol. 1 April, 1899 No. 2 =====================================================
=SUBSCRIPTION RATES.=
Price in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, postage paid.
Subscriptions may be sent to the Publishers, at 66 Fifth avenue, New York City, or to the Editor, at Englewood, New Jersey.
Price in all countries in the International Postal Union, twenty-five cents a number, one dollar and a quarter a year, postage paid. Foreign agents, Macmillan and Company, Ltd., London.