6o Bird - Lore 



some form of a graded course, briefly outline it for us and tell us what your 

 experience with it has been. We would like to open this Department to a 

 free discussion of the problem. — A. A. A. 



FROM YOUNG OBSERVERS 



ON THE MARSH AT PAPASQUASH 



My friend and I started early on August 2, 1919, with our lunch and began 

 to explore a salt marsh on Papasquash Point, in Narragansett Bay. Herons' 

 heads stuck up from the grass at every turn. Many Great Blue and Little 

 Green Herons were flushed. 



Walking over the treacherous ground we were able to observe flocks of 

 Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers at a few yards distance. They went 

 calmly about their business, very different from the much more wary Spotted 

 Sandpipers and Killdeers which were in small numbers and did not allow 

 approach. 



Leaving this marsh we went to the next, flushing several Grasshoppei 

 Sparrows at our feet. Arriving at the marsh, a Bittern flew up and away and 

 a clap of our hands brought eighteen squawking Night Herons over our heads. 



On our way back to the first marsh we saw many Bobolinks, Goldfinches 

 and Vesper Sparrows. Fish Hawks, American and Fish Crows, Herring and 

 Laughing Gulls, and Roseate, Common and Arctic Terns flew over the marsh, 

 and we were soon alarmed by a flock of Yellow-legs whistling above us. They 

 lit and allowed very close observation. The Lesser Yellow-legs were more 

 shy and had broader bands on the tail than the Greater. Both species waded 

 up to their abdomens and often immersed their heads. There were probably 

 100 of these birds. Long-billed Marsh Wrens abounded and many Black 

 Ducks lit in the marshes. 



I shall never forget that day with the Yellow-legs whistling plaintively 

 overhead and the sun shining through their white tails. — Tobias Wagner, 

 Chestnut Hill, Pa. 



[Many of our most interesting birds dwell in the marshes. Anyone who avoids these 

 areas misses the richest and most enchanting places for bird-study. Bird-life is at its best in 

 these so-called waste lands; may they be long preserved. — A. A. A.] 



AN ARKANSAS KINGBIRD'S NEST IN A MAIL-BOX 



In May, a pair of Arkansas Kingbirds made their nest in our rural mail- 

 box, and hatched three young birds from four eggs. The mail-box was in 

 daily use, the nest being in one corner. The old birds fed them in the mail-box 

 until ready to fly. — Leonard Dougherty (age 12 years), Tioga, Tex. 



BEFRIENDING A CRIPPLED BIRD 



Two years ago, when my mother and I were in the mountains, we were 

 camping by a little grove of trees. One day we heard a loud chirping. We 



