The Audubon Societies 



will not stay still while the children are 

 learning to observe." Yes; yet this diffi- 

 culty may be met in two ways. If you are 

 so situated that you can borrow say 

 twenty-five mounted birds from a museum 

 or the collection of a friend, you will have 

 a very practical outfit. 



Choose four or five birds, not more for 

 one day, take them outdoors, and place 

 them in positions that shall resemble their 

 natural haunts as much as possible. For 

 example, place the Song Sparrow in a 

 little bush, the Bluebird on a post, and 

 the Chippy on a path. Let the children 

 look at them near by and then at a dis- 

 tance, so that a sense of proportion and 

 color value will be developed uncon- 

 sciously. 



After this, the written description of the 

 habits of the birds, which you must read 

 or tell the children, will have a different 

 meaning. This method may be varied by 

 looking up live specimens of the birds thus 

 closely observed. 



" True, " you say again, "but I cannot 

 beg or borrow any mounted birds." 



Then take the alternative. Buy from 

 the Massachusetts Audubon Society, 234 

 Berkeley St., Boston, for a dollar, one of 

 its Audubon Bird Charts. This chart is 

 printed in bright colors and is accompanied 

 by a little pamphlet describing the twenty- 

 six common birds that are figured. These 

 are the (i) Downy Woodpecker, (2) Flicker, 

 (3) Chimney Swift, (4) Ruby-throated 

 Hummingbird, (5) Kingbird, (6) Bluejay, 

 (7) Bobolink, (8) Red-winged Blackbird, 

 (g) Baltimore Oriole, (10) Purple Finch, 

 (11) American Goldfinch, (12) Chipping 

 Sparrow, (13) Song Sparrow, (14) Scarlet 

 Tanager, (15) Barn Swallow, (16) Cedar 

 Bird, (17) Red-eyed Vireo, (18) Black and 

 White Warbler, (19) Yellow Warbler, (20) 

 Catbird, (21) House Wren, (22) Chickadee, 

 ^23) Golden-crowned Kinglet, (24) Wood 

 Thrush, (25) American Robin, (26) Blue- 

 bird. Cut the birds carefully from the 

 chart, back them with cardboard, and 

 either mount them on little wooden blocks, 

 like paper dolls, or arrange them with wires, 

 so that they can be fastened to twigs or 

 bushes. 



You will be surprised to find how this 

 scheme will interest the children, who may 

 be allowed sometimes to place the birds 

 themselves. 



For those too old for the cut-out pictures, 

 the teachers' edition of 'Bird-Life', with the 

 colored plates in portfolios, will be found 

 invaluable. The separate pictures may be 

 taken outdoors and placed in turn on an 

 easel behind a leaf-covered frame, with 

 excellent effects — a few natural touches and 

 the transition from indoors out often 

 changing one's entire point of view. 



One thing bearing on the question of 

 bird study. If children ask you questions 

 that you cannot answer, as they surely 

 will, do not hesitate to say ' ' I don 't know. ' ' 

 Never fill their minds with fables guised as 

 science, that they must unlearn. 



Now a material point. When you have 

 entertained your class for an hour, never 

 more, lend the affair a picnic ending and 

 give them a trifling lunch before they go ; 

 something very simple will do — cookies and 

 milk, or even animal crackers ! 



The young animal of the human species, 

 as well as many others, is a complexity of 

 stomach and brain, and it is well to admin- 

 ister food to each in just proportion. 



M. O. W. 



Reports of Societies 



WISCONSIN SOCIETY 



Mrs. Elizabeth W. Peckham, secretary 

 of the Wisconsin Society, sends to Mr. 

 Stone the first annual report of that body, 

 from which we extract the following : 



"This society was organized April 20, 

 1897. The first efforts of the executive 

 board were in the direction of securing the 

 cooperation of the press in this city and 

 throughout the state. The response was 

 most generous, and it is probable that 

 more effective work has been done through 

 this agency than in any other way. 



"The next appeal was to clergymen of 

 all denominations, who were asked to 

 preach upon the fashion of wearing wild 

 bird feathers. Here, again, they received 

 valuable aid and encouragement. 



