Bulletin No. 2T. 53 



them, instead of the wonted thistle-down which is unavailable this year. 

 There seems, however, to be a fatal fascination for her in the window, 

 and especially in a lower corner pane, to which she now devotes her 

 principal attention. Hour after hour we have found her there, until it 

 seems as if it would be a mercy to drive her away. She has great 

 trouble with her foothold. One leaf seemed well located except for the 

 fact that another leaf tickled the back of her neck. That leaf must be 

 punished ! Again and again she flew at it in righteous indignation, and 

 it has been drubbed so severely by the irate little beak that nothing but 

 stumpy ribs remain. 



Once we came upon her when she had blundered inside. She was 

 zealously engaged in finding the hole she got in at, and had apparently 

 forgotten her spider-web hunt. In her excitement she tried every pane 

 but the right one. Cobwebs caught her, but she indignantly plucked 

 them off. One, by an irony of fate, attached itself to her tail, and from 

 it a large yellow moth depended. The little bird made frantic efforts to 

 dislodge this disgrace and was finally successful. For what self respect- 

 ing bird would endure to be tagged by a moth ? Finally she gave up 

 hope of exit through the window, and fluttered wildly about the room, 

 uttering plaintive crys. Faster and faster went the circles until I feared 

 Goldikins would come to grief, but fortunately, the door being now open, 

 she dashed out into freedom. "Thus endeth," thought I, and I stole 

 away to write her up. But no ! It was not five minutes till that silly 

 creature returned to that window, and there she has been for the last 

 half hour — as she is at this moment — inanely pecking on the glass. 

 The mystery of glass is evidently addling her poor little brain ! What 

 ought I to do about it ? 



W. L. Dawson, Obn'lin, Oliio. 



SUMMER BIRD STUDY. 



The question has often been raised. What can be done in the way of 

 field study of birds during the depressing summer months ? There are 

 some serious difficulties, it is true. There is the annual scamper to a 

 summer resort, the debility caused by excessive heat, a scorching sun in 

 the fields and countless but not debilitated insects in the wood. To those 

 who find it necessary to seek a summer resort I have nothing to say, more 

 than the suggestion that camping in some unfrequented place is both 

 healthful and restful. It has been my great privilege to conduct a class 

 of some thirty-four students in bird study during the term of our Sum- 



