204 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



one has frequent opportunities to observe 

 them about their haunts. They rang^e 

 over the greater part of North America, 

 appearing in the latitude of New York 

 about the first of Ma}', and leaving about 

 the first of September. They winter south 

 to Argentina. 



Robin Roosts. 



BY F. J. HAYDEN, SIOUX CITY, IOWA. 



Autumnal ornithology brings many 

 interesting problems. The remarkable 

 habit of robins roosting together in large 

 flocks beginning in July and lasting until 

 migration seems to receive no comment 

 or attempted explanation in our popular 

 bird books. 



At the Sioux City Morningside College 

 campus is a robins' roost toward which 

 every evening these birds may be seen 

 flying from all directions over the city. 

 Upon arriving at the grounds a few eve- 

 nings ago at 5.30 P.M. only a few robins 

 were in evidence. Soon however we 

 observed them coming in twos and threes 

 and dozens from all directions. 



It was out of the question to keep count 

 or make sure of them all but judging that 

 the influx was equally great on all sides 

 there must have been between one and 

 two thov:sand birds. The trees were soon 

 filled with a loud cackling, scores were 

 bathing in roadside pools and the ground 

 and grass seemed literally alive with 

 robins. 



By day these birds scatter over the 

 entire city and country. They make no 

 attempt to live in commimities in the 

 summer but any one who will keep a 

 sharp lookout on the robins in their local- 

 ity will find that beginning in July and 

 August these birds flock to some general 

 roosting place at sunset. 



It would hardly seem that this gather- 

 ing could be in any way connected with 

 the southern migration. Why then should 

 these birds not sleep upon their respective 

 nesting and feeding grounds instead of 

 flying several miles twice a day just for 

 the privilege of spending the nights at 

 some particular rendezvous ? 



[Have any of our readers noticed simi- 

 lar roosts in their localities? — H. G. H.l 



O Mountains, lift us to your heights, 



Let us look down, serene, 

 On all the pettiness of life, 



Which distance serves to screen. 



— Emma Peirce. 



The Junior Audubon Work. 



AUDUBON SOCIETY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



BY THE REV. MANLEY B. TOWNSEND, SEC 



"The child is father to the man." The 

 rising generation of today are to carry 

 on the world's work tomorrow. Any 

 eft'ective educational work must com- 

 prehend the children. The National 

 Association of Audubon Societies, real- 

 izing this and wishing to do something 

 big for bird conservation and the 

 spread of knowledge about our feather- 

 ed songsters, fotu' years ago began in 

 a modest way the organization of 

 Jimior Audubon Classes in the public 

 schools. It was a master stroke. 

 Everywhere, from Maine to California, 

 teachers and children seized upon the 

 idea with enthusiasm. 



A good friend of the children and the 

 birds contributed five thousand dollars 

 for the work. The next year he gave 

 seven thousand, and last year he in- 

 creased the sum to twenty thousand 

 dollars ! Such is his confidence in this 

 method. This year he has repeated his 

 gift, and has placed another twenty 

 thousand dollars at the disposal of the 

 Association. 



Every child who pays ten cents and 

 joins a Junior Audubon Class receives 

 ten bird leaflets (all different) : ten col- 

 ored plates and ten outline drawings, 

 besides a bird button, — the Junior Au- 

 dtibon badge. Every teacher organiz- 

 ing a class of ten or more receives 

 "Bird-Lore" free. Educators every- 

 where endorse the plan and are ready 

 to help the work. Six years ago Mrs. 

 Russell Sage gave five thousand dollars 

 for similar work in the South, and has 

 maintained her generous gift yearly. 

 Without these gifts the work could not 

 be continued. The fees received from 

 the children are merely nominal. 



The results of this work have been 

 truly astonishing. From its humble 

 beginning six years ago to the present 

 day, the total enrollment has grown 

 from ten thousand enrolled in one year 

 to one hundred and fifty thousand en- 

 rolled in 1914-15. One hundred and fifty 

 thousand children studying lairds, 

 learningtomake bird-houses, bird-baths 

 and to attract birds about the house ! 

 One hundred and fifty thousand child- 

 ren edttcated in bird conservation, their 

 eyes opened to one of the most fascinat- 



