3o8 



Bird - Lore 



During the third week in June, the 

 young birds hatched in the oak. On June 

 29, while we were sitting on the veranda, 

 we saw the birds commence building their 

 second home. All day long they worked 

 hard. The male bird assisted in construc- 

 ting the framework, but when that was 

 done he left the remainder of the building 

 to the female. Occasionally he would, in 

 answer to her peculiar call of ree-e-e, 

 softly and sweetly intonated, bring her a 

 piece or two of building material and then 

 flit away again. 



During the process of building, the 

 female sang and chirped as she worked. 

 The male would sit nearby, or flit about, 

 singing loudly but sweetly. His singing 

 gave one the impression that he was filled 

 with the very joj^ of living, and was 

 endeavoring to voice that joyousness in 

 his songs. 



The birds would work on the nest 

 industriously and continuously for two 

 or three days, then for several da3's they 

 would seem to do little or no work. 



On July 19, just twenty-one days from 

 the time the building of the nest was 

 commenced, the nest was finished, and that 

 morning the first egg was laid. Oftentimes 

 the female would sit on or by the nest 

 and call jo-ree-ee and the male would 

 always answer her nearby. On the night 

 of July 23, she stayed on the nest for the 

 first time. 



During the period of incubation, both 

 birds were very quiet. The male indus- 

 triously fed and cared for the female 

 while she was sitting. In bringing food, 

 he would come so quietly that, unless we 

 watched, we would not know of his coming. 



Sometimes, after he had sat awhile on 

 the edge of the nest, he would put his 

 head down into the nest and emit a faint 

 chip chip. He evidently remained very 

 near the nest, though many times unseen, 

 all the time; for, if anyone stepped out 

 upon the veranda or entered the gate, or 

 if 'Buster,' our cat, appeared near, he 

 never failed to come immediately, and 

 would scold soundly until the apparent 

 danger was removed. Truly the male 

 Mockingbird is a faithful sentinel. 



An amusing incident occured a few- 

 days after the female commenced sitting. 

 One afternoon a heavy rain fell and,^ 

 although the nest was ideally located for 

 protection against rain and sun, the little 

 mother got her feathery coat damp. As 

 soon as the rain was over, she flew off of 

 the nest and stationed herself on the front 

 gate-post, to dry. While there, she kept 

 up a continual fussing, acting very much 

 like a sitting hen, only her quarrelsome 

 notes were somewhat in miniature. And 

 once, while drying, she attacked a passing 

 Jay as ferociously as if she had been a 

 giantess waging battle with a dwarf. 



At noon on August 5, just thirteen days 

 from the day we first found the bird sitting, 

 we chanced to go to the door, and saw four 

 wee heads with mouths wide open pro- 

 jecting above the sides of the nest. 



Immediately after they were hatched, 

 the parent birds began the task of feeding 

 the young. We put figs, hard-boiled egg, 

 rice and egg omelette, and young 'dirt- 

 daubers' on the gate-post for them. They 

 never failed to carry some of this food to 

 their young. They also went to a cotton- 

 field, some four or five hundred yards dis- 

 tant, to get grasshoppers for them. They 

 would from time to time bring various 

 other kinds of insects and articles of food 

 for them. On August 13, the young left 

 the nest. 



Frequently during the day we have seen 

 as many as eight Mockingbirds at one 

 time in the fig bush and around the 

 veranda. We are endeavoring to keep 

 these lovely songsters with us, and are 

 trying to tame them. At first they were 

 shy and apprehensive, but they are now 

 becoming more trustful and gentle. — 

 Ida Finklea and Anna L. Morris, 

 Bucna Vista, Ala. 



A Swallow Incident 



On August, 8, 1913, I saw an incident 

 of Swallow life which was new to me, and 

 may be so to some of your readers. I was 

 on the piazza, with half a dozen other 

 persons, watching the twenty-four Barn 

 Swallows which had lived in the barn all 



