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Winter Bird Studies 



LTHOUGH we have fewer birds during the winter 

 than at any other season, at no other time dur- 

 e^ ing the year do the comparative advantages of 

 ornithology as a field study seem so evident. 

 The botanist and entomologist now find little out of doors 

 to attract them, and. if we except a stray squirrel or rabbit, 

 birds are the only living things we may see from December to March. 

 Winter, therefore, is a good time to begin the study of birds, not 

 only because flowers and insects do not then claim our attention, 

 but also because the small number of birds then present is a most 

 encouraging circumstance to the opera-glass student, who. in identi- 

 fying birds, is at the mercy of a -key.' 



Indeed, the difficulty now lies not in identification, but in dis- 

 covery ; unless one is thoroughly familiar with a given locality and 

 its bird-life, one may walk for miles and not see a feather — a par- 

 ticularly unfortunate state of affairs if one has a bird-class in charge. 

 This dilemma, however, may be avoided by catering to the dominant 

 demand of bird-life at this season, the demand for food. Given a sup- 

 ply of the proper kind of food, and birds in the winter may nearly 

 always be found near it. Bird seed and grain may be used, but a less 

 expensive diet, and one which wall doubtless be more appreciated, 

 consists of sweepings from the hay-loft containing the seeds to which 

 our birds are accustomed. This may be scattered by the bushel or 

 in a sufficient quantity to insure a hearty meal for all visiting Juncos 

 and Tree Sparrows, with perhaps less common winter seed-eaters. 



The bark-hunting Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Chickadees will 

 require different fare, and meat-bones, suet, bacon-rinds and the like 

 have been found to be acceptable substitutes for their usual repast 

 of insects' eggs and larva-. 



Winter, strange as it may seem, is an excellent season for bird- 

 nesting. The trees and bushes now give up the secrets they guarded 

 from us so successfully during the summer, and we examine them 

 with as much interest as we pore over the ' Answers to Puzzles in 

 Preceding Number' department of a favorite magazine. 



Immediately after a snow storm is the best time in w^hich to 

 hunt for birds' nests in the winter. Then all tree and bush nests 

 have a white cap, which renders them more conspicuous. 



W^hen walking with children, the spirit of competition may be 

 aroused by saying "Who'll see the first nest," or '-Who'll see the 

 next nest first." as the case may be, and the number discovered 

 under this impetus is often surprising. 



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