PRACTICAL NATURE-STUDY WITH BIRDS 



BY GILBERT H. TRAFTON 

 Passaic, N. J. 



One of the most effective phases of. work in iiatnre-study is 

 that which calls into play the manual activities of the child in 

 providing for himself opportunities for making studies on the 

 life around him. Bird study lends itself especially well to this 

 line of work in the matter of furnishing nesting houses for the 

 birds. The very fact that the child is doing something for the 

 birds is a means of developing in the child that helpful sympathy 

 with nature which is the chief end of nature-study. And further- 

 more an excellent opportunity is offered for developing the per- 

 ceptive powers of the child by watching the birds that may come 

 to his house. 



These observations will be carried on with much greater ardor 

 and thoroughness because the child has himself helped furnish 

 the conditions which make his observations possible. 



The writer has sought to encourage this kind of work both in 

 building bird houses and feeding birds in the winter. But 

 there has been one almost universal result which has discouraged 

 both teachers and children, namely, that whatever was done 

 was rendered of no avail through the intervention of the quarrel- 

 some English sparrow. If other birds came, the sparrows came 

 too in greater numbers and drove them away. In many parts of 

 the city this discouraging result was so universally the outcome 

 that this line of work had to be abandoned. 



In that section of the city where a few native birds remained, 

 an effort was made to see if any plan might be devised by which 

 this difficulty could be overcome without resorting to a whole- 

 sale slaughter of the sparrows. The author had seen reports 

 from several observers to the effect that the sparrows would not 

 occupy a moving bird house suspended by a wire; and some 

 experiences of the author in feeding winter birds had pointed to 

 the same conclusion. In order to try this plan on a large scale 

 the author visited the schools situated in the more favorable 

 localities, explained the matter to the children and asked their 

 cooperation. Some bird-cage springs were furnished the children, 

 but as the supply was soon exhausted, the children were told 



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