The Audubon Societies 



57 



petition end this year until all of 

 the bird-houses have been properly 

 placed, as well as properly con- 

 structed. The bird-house that is 

 never occupied may discourage the 

 budding germ of nature interest 

 in the youthful mind, and ordinarily 

 the lack of an occupant is due as 

 much to poor placing as to im- 

 proper construction. The study 

 of bird-homes should not cease 

 with the study of winter nests and 

 the building of bird-houses. This 

 work should be finished and the 

 bird-houses in place by the middle 

 of March, in time to turn the atten- 

 tion to the home-building of the 

 early Robins and Bluebirds and 

 Song Sparrows. 



Put out nesting material for the 

 birds — cotton for the Yellow War- 



HAVE YOU EVER PUT OUT NESTING MATE- 

 RIAL FOR THE BIRDS ? HERE IS A FEMALE 

 BALTIMORE ORIOLE TAKING STRINGS FOR 

 HER NEST 



HAVE YOUR BIRD HOUSES IN PLACE EARLY 



biers and Redstarts, short pieces of 

 string or yarn for the Orioles and 

 Robins, horse-hair for the Song and 

 Chipping Sparrows, and watch them 

 carry it to their nests. This is some- 

 times the easiest way to find nests 

 when they are just being built. En- 

 courage the children to watch the 

 building of the nest carefully and to 

 record what they see. Which bird does 

 the building? When is most of the 

 work done? How far do the birds go 

 for materials, and what is used? How 

 long does it take to build the outside 

 and how long for the lining? How 

 long before the first egg is laid, etc.? 

 More can be learned from watching 

 one pair of birds carefully than by 

 trying to record the nests of all the 

 different birds of the locality, al- 

 though the latter effort often stimu- 

 lates competition and makes valuable 

 additions to the bird calendar. Em- 



