STATE POMOLOr.ICAL SOCIETY. 8l 



bright, it is a target for boys with guns who don't rcahze that 

 they are shooting one of their best friends. 



Here is a Httle tiny bird, which is one of the birds I love the 

 most, — the Chestnut-sided Warbler. Like some women it is 

 always happy and cheerful, darting around and doing the hard 

 work. It really has very pretty colors, chestnut and yellow and 

 black, and it has a very sweet song. 



Now here is a bird that all the boys and girls near enough to 

 see the colors will say is a bluebird. It certainly is a very 

 pretty blue bird, but it is not what we call the bluebird. Our 

 real home bluebird that comes near the buildings and builds in 

 the old apple trees has a reddish breast. This is bright blue 

 all over. We call this the Indigo bird. It is rather a shy bird 

 and is not seen very often, but when you do see it, it is flying 

 along through the bushes out of sight of the road, and the male 

 at mating season has a very sweet song. 



I have now a peculiar bird, that is, in some ways. Any one 

 who knows the thrush family will see the thrush streaks on its 

 breast and the crown of its head. It is called the Golden- 

 crowned Thrush, sometimes the teacher bird. The male bird 

 has a beautiful song that very few people know, but you gen- 

 erally hear it by the notes of "teacher." It begins very low 

 and keeps going a little higher each time. It builds its nest in 

 the woods in the dry leaves. Sometimes you see the leaves in a 

 little mound as though some plant were growing up and push- 

 ing the leaves. You find a little hole in one side — they say it 

 is the shape of a dutch oven, and inside is the cosy little nest 

 of the teacher bird. 



Next is one of our home birds, the red-eyed vireo. It is 

 not very common. It is known by its slate-colored cap and the 

 olive colored back and light breast. 



Now comes one of our tiniest little winter birds, almost as 

 small as the Home bird, with a bright yellow cap, edged with 

 black. This is a winter bird and the colder it is the happier this 

 little bird seems to be. It isn't still a minute, when you see it it 

 is darting around among the trees. This is called the Golden- 

 crowned Kinglet. 



This is one of our common friends, although he does not 

 look natural a bit. When you see him he is generally just 



