4 Massachusetts Audubon Society 



main seem to prefer the seeds of the gray birches, among which they 

 have been seen in flocks. Evening grosbeaks have been reported from 

 the Arboretum at Jamaica Plain, Neither j uncos nor tree sparrows 

 seem to be numerous as yet. 



Bird Songs of France 



Bird-lovers the country over will gratefully remember the lectures 

 on birds with whistling imitations by Mr. Henry Oldys of Washington, 

 D. C. Like so may of the bird men Mr. Oldys went across during the 

 recent war, and, while two of his sons were at the front, was engaged 

 in those numerous activities which so ably supplemented the firing line. 

 The following letter recently received tells something of this work but 

 more of that interest in bird life which even the war could not suppress: — 



AMERICAN RED CROSS 

 Croix-Rouge Americaine 



4 Rue de Cheoreuse, Paris 



30 November, 1919. 

 My dear Mr. Forbush: 



I am still, as you see, lingering in Europe. I am now with the Red 

 Cross, which I joined last August, and have just completed a task under- 

 taken at Brest of making suitable disposition of the young boys of 

 various nationalities, but, chiefly, French, picked up and carried by the 

 American troops as "mascots." It was very interesting work and involved 

 a stay of two months at Brest. 



But, though there are many things I would Iirc lo speak of at length, 

 my time is limited and I shall confine myself to one subject — the birds 

 of Europe, of which I have made the acquaintance of about fifty species. 

 Some of these are strongly suggestive of related species in America. 

 The crows caw and act generally like our crows; the green woodpecker 

 flies down to the ground to feast on ants like our flicker and utters a 

 repeated note that is very like the flicker's spring reveille; the wren 

 bobs about like our wren, though a trifle more sedately, but sings more 

 like the winter wren, though in a less attractive voice; the titmice, of 

 which there are several species, gaudier in attire than our chickadee, 

 having the same "chickadee-dee-dee" and other notes, but differ in their 

 songs. I have not heard one that sings so attractively as the chickadee 

 or the tufted titmouse; the blackbird {Merula merula) behaves precisely 

 like our robin and utters the same strident note of alarm, but is a far 

 better singer, rivaling the wood thrush in this respect. 



The lark, mounting from the field with its loud and_ far-carrying 

 song of varied phrases, in which the s sound is prevalent, gives pleasure 

 more from the abandon and joyousness of its singing than from any 

 musical beauty in the performance. It rises by a fluttering movement 

 that carries it upward almost imperceptibly, poises and flutters in the 

 upper air, usually at a height of five or six hundred feet, but sometimes 

 one hundred feet above the earth, then descends by alternate dives and 

 fluttering pauses, though I have seen one descend in a straight dive of 



