BIRDS ABOUT OUR HOMES 83 



BIRDS ABOUT OUR HOMES. 



A surprisingly great number of these birds of the Park 

 may be found about our homes and may even be seen from 

 our windows. From my window one morning in early May I 

 counted twenty-seven species of birds within an hour. During 

 the whole season I have seen as many as eighty species from 

 my home, and twenty-one species have nested in my yard 

 within the past five years, though not all in one season. The 

 yard is a city lot 100 by 270 feet. I do not consider this num- 

 ber of birds about the home to be especially remarkable, but 

 mention it merely as an indication of what might be expected 

 under moderately favorable conditions. 



The birds whose ecological habits impel them to seek 

 the shelter of shrubs and shade trees of our yards, have already 

 been mentioned in the preceeding pages. They are the birds 

 that are found about the Shelter House and the Park Zoo, and 

 in other frequented portions of the Park. It might be well, 

 however, to enumerate them again with some comment on their 

 nesting habits, and on the means for attracting them to our 

 homes. 



Birds are free to come and go. They move about at will, 

 and they will go where conditions are favorable and where 



