240 Birds Every Child Should Know 



sentinel. At the sign of danger the bunch of 

 birds will rise with loud whirring of the wings, 

 as suddenly as a bomb might burst. 



From November onward, every gim in the 

 coimtry will be trained against them. There 

 is sufficient reason for poor people, who rarely 

 have any really good food, or enough to eat, 

 shooting game birds in season ; but who has any 

 patience with the pampered epicures for whose 

 order ** quail-on-toast " are cooked by the him- 

 dred thousand at city clubs, restaurants, and 

 private tables, already over-supplied? No chef 

 could ever tempt me to eat this friendly little 

 song bird that stays about the farm with his 

 family through the coldest winter to pick up 

 the buckwheat, cheap raisins, and sweepings 

 from the hay loft that keep him as neighbourly 

 as a robin. Every farmer who does not post his 

 place, and who allows this useful ally in his 

 eternal war against weeds and insect pests to be 

 shot, impoverishes himself more than he is 

 aware. 



RUFFED GROUSE 



Called also: Partridge 



Bob-white and ruffed grouse are the fife and 

 drum corps of the woods. That some birds 

 are wonderful musicians everybody knows. 



