ORNITHOLOGY 



167 



Feeding the Birds. 



It is none too earl_\- in the northern and 

 middle states to start putting" out food 

 for the winter birds, as the more they 

 become accustomed to their feethng sta- 

 tions, the more surely have we won their 

 confidence and the more plentiful they 

 will be about our homes during the win- 

 ter months. 



Suet, scraps of meat and l^roken ])ieces 



THIS FOOD r.!)X TS XEX'ER EMPTY. 



of bone should be tied to the trees or at- 

 tached by some of the wire feeding cages 

 made for this purpose, and seeds, crumbs, 

 and vegetable scraps may be placed in 

 window boxes, where the birds may be 

 closely studied at their feeding. 



If wild seed-bearing shrubs and fruit- 

 ing trees have been planted about the 

 grounds many will now be maturing and 

 are attractive to several species of our 

 migrating birds. Some of these in fav- 

 orable locations may winter over where 

 there is an abundance of food, when 

 otherwise thev would leave for the want 

 of it. 



A\"ater should be kept in the bird-bath 

 until there is danger of freezing, as there 

 will be many davs when the birds will 

 deliglit in its use. 



The window-box shown in the picture 

 is never without food ; there are always 

 scrap-bones hanging in tlie trees nearbv, 

 — and there is an abundance of birds of 

 various kinds about this farm at all 

 seasons of the vear. 



Birds in the War Zone. 



From the firing line in Flanders, 

 along with the boom of heavy artillery 

 and the snapping of musketry, comes 

 word by a correspondent of the "Lon- 

 don Times" of the friendliness of many 

 of the small birds and the interest taken 

 in them by the entrenched soldiers. 



The writer speaks of skylarks run- 

 ning about over the ground and some- 

 times in the heavy cannonading soaring 

 aloft and singing as if their ambition 

 were to drown the noise of the bom- 

 bardment. Blackbirds, robins and 

 others, seemingly indifferent to the in- 

 termittent firing, make friends with the 

 men, — even hopping down into the 

 trenches for food offered them, — in one 

 instance a bird alighting on a bayonet 

 held up out of the trench for it. 



Many other stories of bird observa- 

 tions come from letters written home 

 by the soldiers, showing instances ot 

 their appreciation of the songs, and 

 facts relating to birds nesting on the 

 battle-grounds that seem truly remark- 

 able under the circumstances of their 

 environment. 



A Rooster that Puts Up at a Hotel. 



While sitting in the office of a hotel at 

 English. Indiana, my attention was at- 

 tracted to a rooster that was wandering 

 slowly along the sidewalk, having ap- 

 parently come in from the suburbs. 

 \Miat was my surprise when I saw him 

 walk to the door and peer through the 

 wire screen. The proprietor advanced, 

 opened the door for his approaching 

 guest and, lifting him in his arms and 

 proudly displaying him to the other 

 guests in the office, explained that the 

 rooster is a permanent guest with a 

 room to himself and a nice big bed. 

 When young, the bird had his thigh 

 broken. The bone was set and ban- 

 daged, and during the healing process 

 the rooster became very tame and was 

 iM'ought in every day to the bed. As 

 his recovery progressed, he began to 

 make daily journeys, gradually increas- 

 ing the distance, but never associating 

 with other fowls. for,while he was so 

 nearly helpless, the others jumped on 

 him, pulled out his feathers, and so an- 

 noyed him that he decided that the 

 hotel is a good place, and every evening 

 returns and suggests that he be taken 

 to his room. — E. F. R. 



