BIBB NOTES AND NEWS. 



97 



WV& 



* m^W^C^ 



FEEDING THE BIRDS. 



In the new R.S.P.B. leaflet " Remember 

 the Birds," Mrs. Fuller Maitland emphasises 

 the duty of feeding the little feathered folk 

 who suffer so severely in frost and snow. 

 There is also another side to the matter. 

 This is the time above all others in which to 

 make the acquaintance of the birds, to see 

 them closely, to study their ways and their 

 tastes, to win their confidence. The sight of 

 the little crowd of hungry guests, the shy 

 quick movements, the fluttering Mings, the 

 bright eyes, the growing tameness, the sharp 

 happy chirp, are surely in themselves worth 

 a little expenditure of trouble or even of 

 pence. In and near towns the guests may 

 be limited as to species : but in the country 

 a large and interesting variety of birds may 

 gradually be attracted by provision of varied 

 food — even rooks and jays. Much might 

 be, and should be done, as Mrs. Maitland 

 says, in public parks and pleasure grounds 

 by the provision of food-boxes, such as are 



provided in Germany and other countries. 

 The illustration on this page shows an in- 

 genious adaptation for a suburban window 

 of the Berlepsch food-bell for the automatic 

 supply of dry food. It is simply a small 

 bottle with a wide neck, fitted rather tightly 

 into a wooden framework which holds it 

 quite securely and is nailed to the brickwork 

 of the window. Underneath is the lid of a 

 tobacco tin, and the bottle-neck is raised just 

 sufficiently to allow the food to drop out as 

 the birds feed. The food is hemp-seed, whole 

 and crushed, and chopped cocoanut mixed 

 well together. The Tits feed at it all day long. 

 Other devices in " feeding-bottles," stands, 

 and tables will suggest themselves to those 

 interested. 



The correspondent who sends us the 

 photograph of this apparatus, and who him- 

 self lives in a suburb of one of our largest 

 cities, writes : — 



" I think your Society would do well to get all 

 schools to go in for wild bird feeding. Very few 

 people, old or young, can resist the fascination when 

 once they find these birds getting to know them. 

 A friend of mine has an aviary, and he strongly 

 advised me to go in for one. However, he was here one 

 day, and when he saw my tame wild birds he lost 

 all interest in his aviary ; said he would give me the 

 whole structure, birds as well, if he could only get 

 the wild birds coming to his garden as they do to 

 mine. He has borrowed my book (Berlepsch). 



'• Just now I am giving the Blackbirds, Thrushes, 

 and Tits a few meal-worms — rather an expensive 

 item ; but they do enjoy them. We have one Thrush 

 who knows the meal-worm tin canister quite well. 

 He comes to a branch, some three or four feet from 

 the window, and as soon as we let him see the tin, 

 commences opening and shutting his beak in evident 

 anticipation of a treat. This bird almost talks to 

 us, and I and my niece quite understand what he 

 wants us to do. We are trying to get him to feed 

 from our hands and to come into my room for tit 

 bits, and fully expect to succeed." 



Bird and Tree competitors might do a 

 good turn for both the birds and themselves 

 by systematic bird-feeding in winter ; and 

 a propos of this it is interesting to hear from 

 the Headmaster of Henley-in-Arden School 

 that some of his boys (those of the Woodwork 

 Class especially) have each made a nesting 

 box and two bird-tables, and are catering 

 for the birds during this wintry weather. It 

 would be interesting to learn from corres- 

 pondents in various districts what kind of 

 food is most appreciated, and by what birds 



