106 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



pleasure would be derived, with the expenditure of only a little trouble. 

 (After the above was written, a tragedy occured under my window. 

 A Northern Shrike or Butcher bird killed a dear little Chickadee, 

 impaled it upon a shrub, then proceeded to devour it, beginning with 

 its head. Upon being shot at, it flew away, returning soon to continue 

 it gruesome meal. Frightened away again by another shof , it returned 

 a second time, seized its victim and bore it off where pursuit through 

 the deep drifted snow was impossible. This adds one more to the 

 number of birds seen from my window, twelve in all.) 



C. H. Palmer. 



OUR SUMMER BIRDS. 



The past summer was made very pleasant and interesting by the 

 large number of birds singing and nesting about our home. 



One pair of Robins built their nest on the front porch and became so 

 tame as to eat bread from my hand, but resented any attempt to handle 

 the young ones. 



One day we noticed a pair of Yellow Warblers swinging on the bell 

 rope, picking the fluffy ends and carrying it to the upright honeysuckle 

 just a few feet from the kitchen door, so taking a piece of cheese cloth 

 for they will use white material only in the construction of their dainty 

 cradles, we tossed the ravellings about on the shrubs, the birds taking 

 it almost as fast as given, they seemed in such haste, but the next day 

 they tore the nest apart, and upon investigating we found the egg of 

 the Cowbird in the little matted cup remaining. 



Our old tenants, the Barn Swallows with their merry chatter and 

 graceful flight are a constant pleasure. 



Bobolinks were unusually numerous and as the hay fields extended 

 right up to the lawn, we had their delightful melody all about us, the 

 notes dropping in a silvery shower as the birds flew from field to field, 

 reminding us of Lowell's bobolink whose song, "Runs down a brook 

 of laughter in the air." 



Our Maryland Yellow-throat built his odd nest in a tangle of black 

 berry vines near the barn well and the Indigo Bird a nest in bushes 

 near by. 



Seeing the Baltimore Orioles carrying material to the tallest apple 

 tree on the west lawn, we hung a quantity of bright colored strings on 

 the clothes line and surely no baby orioles were ever reared in a more 

 gorgeous home than this. 



The King Bird made his home in the Pound vSweet tree, and came 



