CHAPTER I 



BIRDS OF A SMOKY CITY 



The birds' true homes are in the green fields, the hedges, 

 and the woodlands of the country, and the bird-student is fortu- 

 nate whose lines are cast in such pleasant places throughout the 

 entire year. The songsters, however, are not utterly neglectful 

 of their city friends. To a creature whose life is passed in 

 the freshness of the fields or in the fragrance of pine forests, 

 there must be something pitiful in the condition of him whose 

 daily round is one of grind and grime and noise. 



The realist may frown if he will, yet the city-dwelling bird- 

 student loves to think that it is some touch of tenderness that 

 prompts the birds in spring and fall to turn aside from the 

 broader migration paths to brighten with color and song the 

 few green spots in the great bustling towns. No one who 

 feels a desire to scrape acquaintance with the songsters should 

 be kept from the attempt by the fact that he lives in a city 

 and has few opportunities to seek the country-side. During 

 certain times of the year our cities' parks are rich in bird life 

 and afford full opportunity for study. 



My own city observations of birds have been confined 

 largely to Chicago. No place could seem less likely to be 

 attractive to the dainty warbler or the tuneful white throat 

 than this city with its shroud of smoke and its ceaseless clat- 

 ter. Yet it is doubtful if many other places in the land, of like 

 limited area, hold as much bird life in the spring months as 

 do the parks of this sooty city. 



9 



