37 



their wings, and learn to catch insects, which must be liber- 

 ated for them after they learn to take the struggling prey 

 from one's fingers. 



Care should be taken to tame the birds and when 

 they have learned to catch living prey and can fly fairly 

 well, put a wire netting around your bird-house and erect it 

 in the open near where you intend to allow it to remain per- 

 manently. Put your birds inside the netting and spend 

 much time during the day in helping your birds to become 

 familiar with their quarters, feeding them prepared food 

 and living insects. (See next topic, including the foot-note, 

 for information on prepared food. ) 



After one or two days in this confinement the netting 

 can be taken away, care being taken to not unduly frighten 

 the birds. Continue to feed them insects and other food 

 which they will come to your hand for if you have succeed- 

 ed in taming the birds. I find that even old birds, when 

 wounded, are easily tamed and will come to my hand for 

 struggling mosquitoes or butterflies, edging sidewise along a 

 wire or tree branch. 



If you succeed in taming the birds and bringing them to 

 age and strength of caring for themselves, the chances are 

 very favorable for their returning to you the following 

 spring. 



See result of Mr. Kingsbury's effort to rear young Mar- 

 tins by hand, page 27, including the foot note. 



Effect of Removing to a New Location, a Martin 

 House with the Parent Birds and Nestlings. 



During the summer of 1908, correspondence with Mr. 

 Daniel C. Robinson, Boston, Mass., led to a promise on my 

 part to furnish a few young Martins to be reared in his bird- 

 house at his summer place, near Manchester, Maine. Before 

 the time came to ship the youngsters, Mr. Robinson had 

 taken an extended automobile trip through several counties 

 in Maine, discovering several breeding colonies of Martins, 

 one of which he purchased and removed to his home place. 



