xn 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



now and then. In spring or fall small grain will attract Thrashers, Blackbirds, Bob- 

 whites, and Crows. Chestnuts and corn scattered about in the fall or early winter will gather 

 all the Blue Jays in the countryside. In summer, if the person is carefully concealed, some 

 of the shyest birds may be brought near by mimicking their notes. Many bird notes may 

 be imitated by the voice. 



It is difficult for most birds to understand the meaning of a silent human figure lying 

 prone and half concealed. While so reclining I have been closely approached by Eagles and 

 Vultures. Birds that recognize at once the upright figure of a man, and flee from it at sight, 



sometimes will manifest no fear of the same 

 man stretched on the ground, and maj' even 

 be curious enough to approach him. A 

 concealed hunter sometimes will attract wild- 

 fowl toward the shore by waving a rag on 

 the end of a stick, or by using a small dog 

 trained to gambol in the grass. There are 

 easier and pleasanter ways, however, of 

 attracting the shy birds of the woods. 



All wood birds, both shy and rare, may 

 be out-generaled by the quiet sitter. They 

 seem to wonder what manner of thing this 

 is that looks so like a man, but neither 

 smokes nor swears, talks, laughs, nor tramps 

 about. Slowly they draw near and peer at 

 the curiosity, and finally they apparently 

 conclude it to be harmless, and go about 

 their usual avocations. 



There is one great drawback, however, to 



this method. In summer our woods are 



infested with mosquitoes, as well as gnats 



•«»vf-ir-\ --»«_ X ^ -m ^"'^ Pi-^es. A pair of light leather gloves, a 



,^[^^ \ > \4*L "^VW. ^tL "^^ °^ yei\, of a mesh smaller than ordinary 



y \ .Jim-'m^,.^ \ .» *«- ••A^^~^»iW\ \ mosquito netting, to wear over the hat and 



head, and a light blanket or wrap which can 

 be carried in a shawl-strap, will enable 

 one to keep quiet and yet defy the trouble- 

 some insects. A light camp-stool also is 

 useful. 



One who desires to camp in the summer will need a different outfit. For more than 

 twenty years I have used a small A tent, made of brown duck, with a flap to tuck under the 

 blankets. It is seven feet long, four feet wide, and three feet high. A small line is sewed 

 along the top, which may be tied at each end to a tree or stake, to support the tent. Eight 

 loops of heavy twine are staked down with forked sticks, to hold out the sides. The ends 

 are made of coarse cheese cloth, or fine netting, and the lower edges are provided with flaps 

 to tuck under the blankets. A rubber blanket and a single light woolen one, with a cotton bag, 

 to be filled nightly with moss or grass for a pillow complete the outfit, which may all be 

 rolled up and carried by a strap handle or packed above a knapsack. The birds soon become 

 accustomed to this tent, and even will alight upon it. For several evenings it was the favorite 

 perch of a Screech Owl. From it I have watched the shore birds and seals on barren islands. 

 In it I narrowly escaped being run over by two deer. The panther has circled around it, 

 and once a wildcat actually walked on it, standing on my breast until I awoke. From such 

 a tent, or from a screen of netting, you may watch the Ruffed Grouse or Partridge and her 

 callow brood. You may camp in a heronry, and see the old birds come and go and feed their 



I 



Photu by lixin: Fiuluy 



WILLIAM L. FINLEY MAKING FRIENDS WITH A DESERT 

 SPARROW IN ARIZONA 



