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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



again. One morning in December 

 after a heavy snow had fallen, Polly 

 flew in from the nearby woods and 

 settled on the ground a few feet from 

 me and the hens which I was feeding. 

 After coaxing for several days she 

 would again eat from my hand and 

 alight on my shoulders. On unfav- 

 orable days throughout the winter 

 Polly was present at the regular feed- 

 ing time. When spring came she left 

 again and often remained away for 

 several days gradually growing wild. 



Once when she came back I noticed 

 that she was a little more affectionate 

 than usual and allowed me to catch 

 her. I found that one side of her head 

 had been picked fearfully. It seemed 

 that she must lose one of her eyes, 

 but I doctored her for several days 

 and she recovered and then began to 

 leave me as before. 



A few weeks later Polly returned for 

 the third and last time. The first 

 time she came for food : the second 

 time for care ; and the third time to 

 escape her enemy. This last visit was 

 witnessed only by my mother. The 

 enemy was a large hawk. My mother 

 was alone and the doors were open. 

 A sudden noise and Polly was hiding 

 beneath her chair. As she looked up 

 from her work the hawk that had fol- 

 lowed was escaping through the op- 

 posite door. In a short time Polly 

 left and that was the last time that 

 any of us ever heard of her. 



It is interesting after several years 

 to go back to this experience. The 

 capture and care of Polly was an im- 

 portant event in my boyhood. To keep 

 my pet I must learn a few lessons well. 

 All of them meant much to my wild 

 grouse and scarcely less to me. It is 

 difficult to describe the care and pa- 

 tience necessary to coax fear away 

 from one of these adult birds and I 

 shall never forget the joy it gave. I 

 found the world full of insect life but 

 my bird could eat more than I could 

 collect. At that time I found it easy 

 to explain Polly's return. I knew she 

 remembered and trusted me and even 

 now I like to believe it still. 

 February, 18, 191 1. 



A Family of Starlings. 

 BY LOUIS S. KOHLEK, DUX) M FIELD, N. J. 



Near my study window is located a box 

 which my father erected many years 

 ago for, as he would say, "The wrens 

 and bluebirds." His desire that this 

 box be tenanted by these sociable little 

 feathered friends was, however, nevci 

 fulfilled as a few days after the cot 

 was placed in position a family of 

 exotic sparrows established themselves 

 therein and for a number of years oc- 

 cupied this box. In 1908 a pair of 

 starlings came and laid siege to this 

 long established sparrow stronghold 

 and after a week of intermittent con- 

 flicts drove off the occupants and began 

 building for themselves. The box is so 

 arranged that it may be cleaned from 

 year to year and after these beautiful 

 exotics had prepared their home and 

 the mother bird had deposited her eggs 

 I became a regular visitor at her home. 



On the second of May the clutch 

 of five greenish-blue eggs was com- 

 pleted and was carefully guarded by 

 her until they hatched on the seven- 

 teenth. Her lord and master put up 

 some very stiff arguments whenever I 

 approached near his faithful little mate 

 and would pounce down upon my head 

 and try to peck at my eyes whenever 

 the opportunity was offered. He 

 nearly succeeded several times and I 

 took the precaution on subsequent 

 visits to put on a pair of goggles so 

 that no serious results might happen. 

 After the eggs hatched both parents 

 brought food for their offspring in 

 great abundance. Their menu con- 

 sisted principally of tidbits from a 

 neighboring refuse pile and ripe cher- 

 ries. I did not see or find at any time 

 insectivorous food of any description 

 brought to these nestlings during all 

 of my observations. These were car- 

 ried out at all times of the day and from 

 a position which commanded the situa- 

 tion and nearly all of the visits were re- 

 corded. The youngsters remained in 

 the nest for twenty days and then only 

 left because it would no longer hold 

 them. On the twenty-first day they 

 sat throughout the day on the edge of the 

 box in a manner similar to that of 

 young flickers or kingfishers enjoying" 



