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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



part in preventing what is likely to be- 

 come a greater pest than the English 

 sparrow. 



L. W. Smith. 

 The gathering of such material should 

 be of interest and value. Will not our 

 readers cooperate and send to Mr. 

 Smith, 60 Cottage Street, Meriden, 

 Conn., their observations of the star- 

 ling's habits, both pro and con, to be 

 summarized for a later report to this 

 department? — H. G. H. 



That Mysterious Little Bird. 



Eartville, Pennsylvania. 

 To the Editor : 



From October 15th to 17th a small bird 

 was seen among the alders that line the 

 swampy part of a dam. It was not larger 

 than the English sparrow, and was quiet 

 in every motion. We stood perhaps six 

 feet away and it showed no fear. It was 

 mottled greenish yellow, with the shoul- 

 ders between the wings a downy, pale 

 brown quite distinct. So much white was 

 on the wings and the short tail that I said 

 at once of the new bird, "It is a crossbill." 

 But we could see that only the little bill 

 was curved — the upper mandible. The 

 bill was not stout but appeared to be 

 pointed at the tip. As the bird seemed 

 immature and the tail very short, I 

 thought it might be a white-winged cross- 

 bill without the decided cross. After 

 looking in my bird guide and other books, 

 I decided that I did not know what to do 

 about that little tail with so much white 

 that it appeared to be of white-edged 

 black feathers, the black showing also on 

 the wings. We feel sure it was not a 

 goldfinch although its lower wings and 

 wee tail resemble those of the goldfinch 

 as pictured. While we guessed at the pine 

 siskin, it did not resemble those that we 

 have occasionally seen. Its body and 

 wing coloring were like those of the 

 female white-winged crossbill. When it 

 was feeding on the alder cones, we noticed 

 that the bird gave a twist in extracting the 

 seeds. When moving from one branch 

 to another it spread the little tail (one 

 inch long or a little more) fan fashion like 

 the redstart. I saw it two days later 

 eating the seeds of the bitterweed (rag- 

 weed). At no time, even when flying, 

 was it more than a few feet high ; it fed 

 low, flew low, of its kind was a solitarv 

 bird. 



There were many other birds about the 

 hillside and along the water, but it kept 



to itself, and seemed fearless. Is it pos- 

 sible for you to name it? It has greatly 

 puzzled me. I am familiar with a hun- 

 dred land birds, but not with all the 

 young. It was not a goldfinch, nor, I 

 think, a siskin. 



Yours, 

 A'Irs. D. W. Jackson.. 



The bird was probably a pine siskin,, 

 although these usually travel in flocks, as 

 do the goldfinches and the redpolls. It is 

 often difficult to note the distinguishing, 

 characteristics of a bird so that we can 

 afterward positively identify it, as in vary- 

 ing lights and attitudes the colors and 

 form seem to differ. 



The size, general markings, sharp bill 

 and feeding habits, in this instance, all' 

 point to the pine siskin. The light, yel- 

 lowish white markings both on the wings- 

 and the tail show conspicuously when 

 they are spread and are entirely con- 

 cealed when they are closed. There is 

 also considerable variation in the mark- 

 ings among individual specimens. — H. 

 G. H. 



Owls Make Attacks on Heads. 



A naturalist living in northern Canada- 

 opines that the animal of the region most 

 dangerous to man is not the moose, rat- 

 tlesnake, bear, cougar or lynx — but the 

 great horned owl. 



The bird, sitting aloft in the gathering" 

 dusk, mistakes fur cap or human hair for 

 some small creature on the ground. . 

 Thereupon he drops silently down, and 

 before he finds out his mistake, he has 

 driven eight inch-long talons into some- 

 body's head. In some lumber camps, re- 

 port is, the men actually have been forced, 

 when they go back and forth in the eve- 

 ning, to carry boxes or barrels over their 

 heads. 



State Parks Made Bird Reservations. 



The necessary legal steps have been 

 taken by which the fine state parks of 

 Wisconsin have been made into bird 

 reserves. This will be of great value 

 in preserving all kinds of bird life, and 

 especially important in view of the 

 threatened extermination of certain 

 species. — Boys' Life. 



GILLTES. 

 Gillies, frosted, dainty, sweet, 



Grace the border of the lawn ; 

 Glowing, as though clusters neat 

 Caught the first flush of the dawn. 



— Emma Peirce. 



