Teachers' Leaflet. 533 



just the way that an opera singer throws his head back to give full 

 power to a note. Note if all canaries sing alike. Describe the canary 

 when asleep; how it sits on the perch with feathers down over its feet 

 and head under the wing. The goldfinch has the same beautiful, reedy 

 note, which characterizes the canary. Get the pupils interested in watch- 

 ing the goldfinches fly ; see " Hand Book of Birds," Chapman, p. 287. 



LESSON XCVIli. 



THE NEST AND YOUNG. 



Purpose. — To make the pupils interested in observing the nesting 

 habits of the canary. 



When canaries get ready to make a nest we put a box in the cage 

 and give them cotton, wool and string ; they are likely to strip the paper 

 from the bottom of the cage for nest material. Note if the father bird 

 helps in making the nest. Note how often the eggs are laid. Describe 

 the Qgg carefully, giving the approximate size and color. Does the 

 father bird help sit on the eggs? Does he feed the mother bird when 

 she is sitting ? tlow long after the eggs are laid before the young hatch ? 

 Do both parents feed the young? Do they swallow the food first and 

 partially digest it, or do they give it directly to the young? How long 

 before the young leave the nest? Are they the same color as the father 

 and mother bird? A comparison should be made between the poor, little 

 nest of the canaries made out of things we furnish, and the wonderful 

 nest of the goldfinch, which is never made until the down of the thistle 

 is available, and then from this delicate material a round, compact, 

 beautiful, soft nest is built. 



References: Audubon Educational Leaflet No. 17. Field Book of Wild Birds 

 and their Music, p. 79. Second Book of Birds, p. 82. True Bird Stories, pp. 6, 

 9, 26, 45. Bird Life, 39, 148. Bird Neighbors, p. 190. Birds of Village and 

 Field, p. 145. 



THE OWL. 



Preliminary Work. — An owl of any kind is not always at the behest of the 

 nature-study teacher. As a rule, we do not advise the use of stuffed specimens for 

 hhd study; but it is with this as with the use of books, or the use of an object 

 lesson for perfunctory information ; it is valueless as a nature-study lesson. But 

 if used to illustrate the peculiar adaptations of this velvet-winged night prowler, 

 then either the stuffed specimen or the picture may be of real use. In country 

 districts at least, this lesson should not be given until the pupils have heard the 

 owls at night or until one has been captured, so that the observations may be made 

 from the live bird. The teacher had best wait until circumstances arouse the 

 interest and the lessons will follow as a natural result. 



