60 



THE OOLOGIST. 



of the wilds built in civilized quarters, 

 and when decorative art joins hands 

 with the wilder aspects of the primitive 

 methods of the settlers we are royally 

 entertained in this artistic cabin but 

 our meeting are mainly held weekly in 

 the city, and usually on Thursday 

 afternoon and directly after school 

 hours. 



At one meeting we had a contest as 

 to who could name the most species of 

 birds from the pictures. At other meet- 

 ings we have had bird skins to examine 

 and at all of our meets we have origin- 

 al papers while the older members 

 speak to us on various topics connected 

 with bird life. During • the season we 

 have made several trips into the coun- 

 try as a party, while many small par- 

 ties or pairs of students made many 

 trips in various directions in search of 

 bird notes. In the season of '99 we re- 

 corded (76) species of birds in this 

 neighborhood, but of course this list 

 does not include many of the water and 

 shore birds, which are rather diflScult 

 to observe, at least by the majority of 

 our class. The smaller summer resi- 

 dents were carefully noted and nearly 

 all of the students were able to name a 

 bird on sight, while many could tell a 

 species by flight, and again, some could 

 name a songster from its notes in near- 

 ly every case. 



Our bird class has been a great pleas- 

 ure and we shall continue our investi- 

 gations the coming season, with the 

 prospect of increasing our knowledge 

 and our membership as well. 



The suggestion is made that all bird- 

 lovers take up the work of bird protec- 

 tion in their neighborhood and form 

 societies for the study of our feathered 

 friends. In addition to the economic 

 value to be gained by protecting the 

 beautiful and useful birds of our land, 

 we shall also have the pleasure of 

 familiarizing ourselves with the songs 

 and habits of our little summer neigh- 

 bors. We can watch their ways with- 



out destroying Jthem, and all readers 

 must know that our birds need protec- 

 tion, for they are too often needlessly 

 destroyed. I am a believer in collect- 

 ing specimens, but there are limits, and 

 it is hoped every boy and girl will deal 

 fairly with the graceful pleasing birds 

 of the fields and woodlands. Do not 

 let greed make you forgetful of the 

 rights of these "favorites of creation" 

 as they have been so beautifully called. 

 It is far from necessary to shoot so 

 many birds and gather so many eggs in 

 order to make an impression on a nat- 

 uralist. Your actual worth as an ob- 

 server will be far more appreciated if 

 you study their habits and take notes 

 in your field book. A well filled note 

 book is far more entertaining than a 

 collection of eggs and skins of which 

 the gatherer knows next to nothing. 

 Now do not think that I am trying to 

 diminish the true worth of the legiti- 

 mate collector. On the contrary I am 

 in favor of collecting but there are lim- 

 its, and I am speaking in favor of the 

 birds. Be reasonable fellow collectors 

 and make it a poiut to spend more 

 time with your note book and less with 

 your skinning knives and blow pipes. 

 Kathryne Gibbs, 

 Kalamazoo, Mich. 



A Tame Shrike. 



About the 1st. of February while out 

 walking 1 noticed a Loggerhead Shrike, 

 [Lanius ludoviciamis) sitting on a tree 

 in the yard. I said "Halloo Butchie" 

 .. nd great was my surprise to see it hop 

 around and look at me, then I knew it 

 was the same old bird I used to feed 

 from my hands. I hunted around and 

 collected nine crickets, eight of which 

 he took from my hand. I think it is 

 very strange that he should remember 

 this for he had not been fed before for 

 eight or ten months. This bird had evi- 

 dently heard that the "early bird catches 

 the worm" for he was seen several 

 times with nest material in his bill, Feb- 

 ruary 10th. This bird had never been 

 tamed. Donald B. Ohlinger, 



Winter Haven, Fla. 



