Photograph by B. S. Bowdish 



ON intimate; terms 



This jolly little white-breasted nuthatch has just taken a dainty 

 morsel from the lips of its friend. These little birds are very clever 

 climbers and can run up and down tree trunks in the most agile 

 manner. 



a sheltered food-house that turns with 

 the wind Hke a weather vane, so as to 

 present always a lee side for the better 

 protection of the birds. 



An ingenious bird lover has originated 

 what he calls a food tree, a freshly cut 

 evergreen, preferably spruce or fir, or 

 perhaps a discarded Christmas tree, set 

 up in some convenient place, over which 

 has been poured hot, and then allowed to 

 cool, a mixture of food that is attractive 

 to both insectivorous and graminivorous 

 birds, the receipt for which is given in 

 the little book, "How to Attract and Pro- 

 tect Wild Birds" : 



"White bread (dried and ground), 4^ 

 oz. ; meat (dried and ground), 3 oz. ; 

 hemp, 6 oz. ; crushed hemp, 3 oz. ; maw, 

 3 oz. ; poppy flour, ij/^ oz. ; millet 

 (white), 3 oz. ; oats, 15^ oz. ; dried elder- 

 berries, 13^ oz. ; sunflower seeds, i^ oz. ; 

 ants' eggs, i^^ oz." 



A SIMPLE AND at- 

 tractive FOOD 

 SUPPLY 



Perhaps the simplest 

 scheme of feeding, 

 the least troublesome 

 and the most attrac- 

 tive to numbers of 

 l)irds, is the tying of 

 a piece of suet to a 

 convenient limb, or 

 perhaps to the balus- 

 trade of one's piazza, 

 preferably in a pro- 

 tected spot and one 

 that can at the same 

 time be easily watched 

 from some window 

 (see page 169). 



In all these food- 

 houses various kinds 

 of food should be sup- 

 plied — suet, crumbs, 

 millet, hemp, rape- 

 seed, canary-seed, and 

 the like. C)n my place 

 the birds have such a 

 wealth of natural food 

 that it is only during 

 the winter storms and 

 when the ground is 

 covered with snow 

 that they visit the 

 food-houses ; but on many other places — 

 as, for instance, in Meriden, N. H., 

 where Mr. Baynes and the Meriden Bird 

 Club are doing such good work — there 

 have been food-houses erected on places 

 along the main street, entirely apart from 

 any protecting shrubbery or natural food 

 supply, and many of these food-houses 

 seem to be well patronized both winter 

 and summer. 



Water, particularly during the sum- 

 mer months or times of drought, is, of 

 course, necessary for the birds. If they 

 can't get it on your place, they will be 

 forced to look elsewhere. The proper 

 installment of a drinking fountain or 

 bird bath is a simple afifair, and one that 

 is almost sure to prove a great attraction 

 to the birds, as well as a never-failing 

 source of entertainment to the owner. 



Drinking fountains may be purchased 

 rcadv made or manufactured at home. 



170 



