lOO NATURE STUDY. 



finch knew its master's voice after a year's absence. Birds, too, 

 dream and chirp in their sleep. All birds show the possession of 

 love and sympathy. They frequently mate for life. A bird moth- 

 er's affection for her young is so strong that she will give her life 

 defending theirs. — New York Herald. 



Birds That are Gone. 



We were recently asked by a lady friend what had be- 

 come of the night hawks and whippoorwills which used to 

 be such common birds all through the western country. 

 Some way our attention had not been called to the almost 

 entire disappearance of these birds until this question was 

 asked, but it is only too true that they are gone, and prob- 

 ably gone for good. Possibly the destruction of the woods 

 may account for the disappearance of the whippoorwill, 

 whose quaint and almost ghostly call used to break the 

 profound and solemn stillness of the midsummer evening — 

 a call closely associated with the chir-r of the tree toad, 

 the flashes from a low lying and distant thundercloud and 

 the fragrance of June roses held captive by the humidity 

 of a June night. In common with its near relative, the 

 night hawk, its habits but ill fitted it to survive contact 

 with man's benevolent civilization — his merciless small 

 boy, his prowling cats, his barbaric partner, who would 

 have unfeelingly worn a wing from Noah's dove were but 

 such the fashion — or possibly these birds, even if in no 

 manner molested by man, have, in common with other 

 types of wild life, migrated to sections of the country 

 where neither man nor his work has marred the fair face 

 of nature. — Chicago Bulletin. 



