io6 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



peculiar to the Bob-o-link ; while, of 

 warblers, only the Yellow-breasted 

 chat strongly exhibits it. 



Strutting, so conspicuously indulged 

 in by the peacock, roosters and turkey 

 gobblers, is a very bird-like habit. 



AN ENGLISH SPARROW STRUTTING. 



Certain wild drakes strut through the 

 water with all the pomp and ceremony 

 of the pheasant tribe. Did ever any 

 peacock outdo the vagabond English 

 sparrow in lordly, prideful, boastful 

 strutting? See him in the gutter, his 

 plumage black with coal dust, filthy 

 with every form of city dirt, yet by 

 that up-turned bill and eye, that 

 raised expanded tail, those outthrust 

 elbows, that puffed out breast, in 

 short by his whole manner before the 

 one he seeks to win, saying, "Solo- 

 mon, in all his glory, was not arrayed 



like me." 



Edmund J. Sawyer. 



The Unphotographed Bird. 



The funniest, queerest, most inter- 

 esting and clownish bird that we have 

 is the yellow-breasted chat. I know of 

 no other that equals it in interest. 

 Correspondence with several expert 

 photographers brings the information 

 that they have never succeeded in pho- 

 tographing it. Mr. Frank M. Chap- 

 man writes: "I know of no photo- 

 graphs from life of the yellow-breasted 

 chat." Here is an unexplored country, 

 astonishing as the fact may seem. The 

 yellow-breasted chat, in many respects 

 our most interesting bird, has never 

 had its photograph taken, while there 

 is a multiplicity of photographic 

 studies of other wild birds and their 

 nests. Who will be the first to secure 

 a picture of the clownish chat? 



Holding a Live Humming Bird in 

 Hand. 



BY CAROLINE CROWNINSHIELD BASCOM, 

 SENECA FALLS, NEW YORK. 



Those who have never held a hum- 

 ming bird in their hands have lost a 

 great deal of pleasure, but there is a 

 treat in store for them. 



One day just as I was starting with 

 a glass of punch for an invalid, a mess- 

 age came from her to come posthaste 

 as she had a bird for me to doctor. 

 When I reached her house, I found the 

 dearest little hummer you can possibly 

 imagine. It had flown into the kitchen 

 and was too frightened to find its way 

 out. It had beaten its tiny wings 

 against the walls and poked the ceiling 

 with its long, needle-like bill until it 

 fell to the floor exhausted. When I 

 took the wee morsel of exquisite green 

 feathers, shimmering with gold, into 

 my hand, I thought that speck of a 

 heart had beaten its last and that I was 

 too late. I asked for a teaspoonful of 

 water, then ran the bill into the water, 

 also putting drops on its head, and 

 soon I saw the bill open a very little 

 and the tongue come out. After a few 

 minutes the tongue ran out and in just 

 like a snake's and it took a few drops of 

 water. The eyes opened and next 

 came a welcome peep. It was very 

 weak but I knew then it was alive and 

 I might save it. I offered it some 

 punch, which it seemed to relish more 

 than the water, and it put new life into 

 its diminutive body. In a few mom- 

 ents it apparently seemed well, so I 

 took it home to show to my mother. 

 I let it fly about her room to see if its 

 wings were all right. As it was a full- 

 grown bird, I felt that I must not keep 

 it and that I had better take it back for 

 fear it might have a nest near-by. I 

 took it out into the back yard and 

 pressed my lips against it. It perched 

 on my fingers a few seconds, lifted 

 those tiny wings and. instead of flying 

 to a bush or" tree as I expected it 

 would, it went straight up into the 

 heavens. We watched it until the na- 

 ked eye could see it no more. It was 

 the most beautiful as well as the most 

 wonderful sight that I had ever seen. 



Kind nature is our friend alway, 

 Our friend by night as well as day; 

 The stars are" eloquent of care, 

 Her seal is on the very air. 



— Emma Peirce. 



