33^ Bird -Lore 



brick and mortar, not more than forty feet from the 'round-house' of the 

 B. & M. R. R. car-shops, and not over eighty-five feet from the railroad 

 track, sat Madam Nighthawk with her two babies cuddled under her wings, 

 so like her surroundings in color that I stood and searched for her with my eyes 

 two or three moments. The men at the shops had known about her for some 

 time. She had become so accustomed to their visits that she would allow them 

 to come close to the nest, and even to touch her. At the time of my first visit, 

 the male bird coasted high overhead in the sky, occasionally swooping down 

 to the nest, as if to assure himself that all was well there. On my second visit, 

 I took along a friend who made six pictures for me. 



Before taking the last picture, I gently insisted upon making the mother 

 bird rise from the nest, which she did, lifting her long wings over her back 

 and seeming to pose for us. It was quite an exciting experience for me, and I 

 found the men around the shops as interested as I was. The night-watchman 

 said: "It would go hard with anyone who tried to molest her." 



We saw an American Osprey on the meadow below our house, last week. 

 I did not know it stayed here through the winter. Perhaps this was a belated 

 one going south. We still hear and see the Meadowlarks every spring. — Mrs. 

 H. L. Parker, Lyndonville, Vermont. 



[The Osprey winters from southern United States as far as Paraguay. — A. H. W.] 



SOME BIRDS OF CANADA 



I live in Canada, but I have come to spend the winter in Iowa. I am going 

 to tell you about some of the birds in Canada. On a farm where I live, there 

 is a place dug out which is something like a very small lake. In this little 

 lake many birds come to drink the water and to bathe. It is out on the prai- 

 rie, and there are not many Robins. Some of the birds that come are the Pur- 

 ple Martin, the Goldfinch, the Meadowlark, and the Blackbird. 



As nearly everyone knows, the Cowbird does not build a nest, but uses 

 the nests of other birds. One day a boy brought a nest to school. The Cowbird 

 had built another floor over the bottom of it and laid its eggs in it. — Mary 

 Dorothy Davis (Age 9 years), Mt. Vernon, Iowa. 



[Is the writer sure that the Cowbird was the bird which built a 'floor' over the bot- 

 tom of the nest observed? From what is known of the Cowbird's habits, it is more 

 likely to lay its eggs in another bird's nest, causing the owner in some instances to build 

 a second bottom to the nest over the intruder's eggs. Perhaps, upon further investi- 

 gation, it may be found that down on the first 'floor' of this nest is a set of eggs con- 

 taining one or more of the Cowbird's among the number. If so, the unfortunate builder 

 probably tried to right the difficulty by putting in the extra bottom, only to be again 

 molested by its persecutor. Notice hereafter, when watching birds, which ones associate 

 with the Cowbird. The fact that birds of different habit are found associated at a 

 common drinking- and bathing-place is worthy of notice. — A. H. W.] 



