6 Massachusetts Audubon Society 



surplus. When that operation was unsuccessful, she took the seeming worm 

 in her mouth to fly. Fastened to the end was baby robin dangling by his 

 bill. The weight was too great for the mother, and her burden dropped on 

 the piazza at the feet of the ladies. 



Then it was that they saw that the tough worm was a small green snake! 

 They pulled it from the jaws of the baby, put the robin back in its nest and 

 threw the snake back of the barn. The baby robin seemed to have suffered 

 no ill effects from this experience, as the mother robin continued to feed it 

 till it was grown. I was a witness to this. 



Marguerite Johnson. 

 AN INVALID'S FRIENDS 



As you are interested in birds, I am taking the liberty of sending you 

 two pictures taken from my sister's pillow (she died last winter after a long 

 illness). The birds came to a table and on to her bed and ate. One day 

 we counted thirty-five flittings in, in succession. One little chickadee ate 

 peanuts from the stand by the bed, flew around the room, sat on the foot of 

 the bed and sang a real chickadee song. 



Susan N. Monk. 

 WEST MEDFORD 



During this cold weather, when the snow has covered most of the food, 

 the birds have come to our feeding places in great numbers. Within a very 

 limited area, we have had an unusual variety. First, in early January, great 

 flocks of redpolls, then a snowy owl, next a northern shrike, and on Feb- 

 ruary 12th fifty-two snow buntings appeared. These, with seventeen 

 pheasants, have been regularly fed by Mr. Irving Porter and have been a 

 great delight to many people. February 28th came a large flock of cedar- 

 birds and with them two, perhaps five, Bohemian waxwings. The latter were 

 seen many times on February 29th and March 3rd, feeding on cedar-berries 

 and the fruit of the hawthorne. That food being now exhausted, the birds 

 have gone. March 1st, the following birds were seen either on our grounds 

 or within three minutes' walk of our house — 12 evening grosbeaks (6 were 

 full-plumaged males), 9 pine grospeaks, 10 redpolls, 52 snow buntings, 3 

 juncos, 3 tree sparrows, 3 purple finches, 1 long-eared owl, 2 hairy wood- 

 peckers, 2 downy woodpeckers, 1 flicker, 2 white-bellied nuthatches, 10 

 starlings, 5 blue jays, 42 cedar-birds, 5 chickadees and 3 robins. The Bo- 

 hemian waxwings were not seen on that day, but appeared for a short time 

 on March 3rd. During this last blizzard, March 6th, the snow buntings 

 went under a hedge, dug themselves into the snow and settled down to rest, 

 first with their feet clearing the falling snow from their faces. It was a 

 pretty sight. 



LiDiAN E. Bridge. 

 GLEASONDALE 



I have had my station for six years. The first year I only had two 

 chickadees all winter, did not see another bird, not even an English sparrow. 

 Now, I have had so many chickadees I can't count them. Two years ago I 

 counted 13, have not been able to count them since. One stormy day, at one 

 time, I saw 16 starlings, 9 blue jays, 3 hairy woodpeckers and 6 downy 

 woodpeckers, together with so many small birds one could not count them. 

 Now I have 12 different kinds (I think more) of birds every day and almost 

 any time I look out I will see from four to eight different kinds all eating. 



