Massachusetts Audubon Society 



PLANT FOR THE BIRDS. 



Cold and backv/ard as our spring has been, it is not too late to plant 

 for the birds. A rambler rose bush is often an attraction in more than one 

 way. Growing by itself in the open on a pole or trellis, it may well afford 

 a desirable nesting-place for the chipping sparrow. The bird finds the 

 thorny recesses of the vine a safe place for the little, cup-shaped, horsehair- 

 lined nest, often occupying such a vine when it climbs over a porch, giving 

 the human family opportunity for close intercourse with the bird family. 

 Birds that nest over a porch in this manner show usually little fear of man, 

 and one may sit beneath with book or needle and note in comfort all that 

 goes on in the chipping sparrow household. Often young birds thus reared 

 become tame enough to take food from the hand and otherwise show con- 

 fidence and friendship. 



The rambler rose bush may also be a great help to the birds that do 

 not actually nest in the branches of the bush but are protected by them 

 from enemies. A birdhouse set on a pole in the open is in the very best 

 possible position, but the family within it is safer if the thorny bush grows 

 about the pole, preventing marauders of any kind from climbing to them. 

 Thus bluebirds and tree swallows, while they may or may not enjoy roses, 

 certainly appreciate the thorns. 



Tubular flowers are a sure attraction for the hummingbird. Watch 

 them in the full sunshine of most any June day and you will be likely to 

 see a bird spirit materialize. From nowhere he comes, suddenly taking 

 form and shape in the air before your eyes, vibrant with vivid life, cushion- 

 ing on space as he dips his bill deep into the heart of the flower for honey, or 

 tiny insects, or both. Keep a sharp eye on him, else he will dematerialize, 

 vanishing into nothingness again. If your sight is good and your mind 

 alert, you may see him take a bee line for his nest, and possibly find it by 

 taking the same line. It's about the only way in which you'll find a hum- 

 mingbird's nest. One would suppose the honeysuckles to be the humming- 

 bird's favorites. He is certainly fond of them; the long tubular blooms 

 stand at just the right angle for him. He likes also the bignonia, but a 

 clump of larkspur, standing in the open lawn or garden is an irresistible 

 attraction for him. He will pose before it a score of times a day. The 

 wonderful purple bloom of the flower with this scintillant, emerald-set ruby 

 poised against it is a sight worth going miles to see. 



One of our beautiful wayside flowers is the chicory. It is a perennial, 

 its strong root sending up yearly tall racemes of scattered blue blooms. 

 You will find these blooms at their best at dawn and they fade before noon 

 on sunny days, sometimes remaining until nightfall under clouds. But 



