Bird Study 135 



Methods This work must be done by personal observation in the field. 

 The field notes should be discussed in school. The effect of the whole 

 lesson should be to stimulate an interest in protecting these beautiful 

 birds. If possible, send for outline figures of the cardinal for the children 

 to color; these outlines may be had at the cost of fifteen cents per dozen 

 from the Audubon Society, 141 Broadway, New York City. 



Observations i. Do you know the cardinal? Why is it so called? 



2. How many names do you know for this bird? 



3. Is the cardinal as large as the robin? Is it graceful in shape or 

 stout? 



4. Is there any color except red upon it? If so, where? 



5. What other vividly red birds have we and how can we distinguish 

 them from the cardinal ? 



6. Describe the cardinal's crest and how it looks when lifted. Why 

 do you think it lifts it ? 



7. Describe its beak as to color, shape and size. What work is such 

 a heavy beak made for? 



8. Is the cardinal's mate the same color as he? Describe the color of 

 her head, back, wings, tail, breast. 



9. Can you imitate the cardinal's song? W r hat words do you think 

 he seems to sing? Does his mate sing also? Is it usual for mother birds 

 to sing? What other notes besides songs do you hear him utter? 



10. Where does the cardinal usually build its nest? How high from 

 the ground? Of what materials? Is it compact or bulky? How many 

 eggs and what are their colors? 



1 1 . How does the father bird act while his mate is brooding ? How 

 does he help take care of the young in the nest? 



12. How do the fledglings differ in color from their father? From 

 their mother? Of what use to the young birds is their sober color? 



1 3 . What happens to the fledglings of the first brood while the mother 

 is hatching the eggs of the second brood ? 



14. In what localities do you most often see the cardinals? Do you 

 ever see them in flocks? 



15. What is the food of the cardinals? What do they feed their 

 nestlings? 



1 6. How can you induce the cardinals to build near your home? 



17. What do you know about the laws protecting the redbirds? 

 Supplementary reading The Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 83 ; 



True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 86; The Song of the Cardinal, Porter; 

 Audubon Educational Leaflet No. 18. 



"Upon the gray old forest's rim 



I snuffed the crab-tree's sweet perfume; 



And farther, where the light was dim, I saw the bloom 

 Of May apples, beneath the tent 



Of umbrel leaves above them bent; 



Where oft was shifting light and shade 



The blue-eyed ivy wildly strayed; 



The Solomon's seal, in graceful play r 



Swung where the straggling sunlight lay 



The same as when I earliest heard 



The Cardinal bird." 



W. S. GALLAGHER. 



