THE AUNT JANE STORIES. 



III. BIRDS' WAYS. 



"Do come qut to the hammock trees, 

 Aunt Jane, the children are all tired out 

 with fishing and roaming over the 

 meadows. They want you to tell them 

 the story of the manners and customs 

 of the birds as you promised." 



"Here she comes," said John, "give her 

 the best cushion. We boys will lie on 

 the grass, the girls will fill all the ham- 

 mocks." 



"Do you know, boys," said Aunt Jane, 

 "that the grass itself would furnish a 

 good subject for our consideration?" 



"Not just now, please, we want your 

 talk on 'Bird Ways,' for we all mean to 

 get acquainted this summer with our 

 nearest neighbors, the birds." 



"In your quest for knowledge of the 

 birds it is vain to seek the ornithologist, 

 valuable as his work is, for more than 

 the details of structure, description of 

 habits, of nest-building and other exter- 

 nals. One who would become really 

 acquainted with birds must seek their 

 society and study their characteristics 

 by means of personal observation." 



"You mean we will have to succeed 

 in getting into their set?" the girls 

 laughed. 



"Yes, each bird, even of a kind, has 

 an original biography of its own, which 

 is peculiar to it; so each bird lover has 

 a somewhat different tale to tell. 



"As among men, there are classes in 

 birddom- — artisan woodpeckers, musical 

 thrushes, frivolous warblers, criminal 

 crows and martial birds — which keep in 

 subjection the inferior animals, prevent- 

 ing a plague of this and other insects. 

 The smallest bird, such as the humming- 

 bird, is often the best warrior." 



"I have heard," said John, "that birds 

 have trades; how about that Auntie?" 



"You are quite right," was the reply. 

 "Some birds are tailors, some architects, 

 some miners and some weavers. They 

 occasionally act as surgeons ; one was 

 seen to bind up a lame foot in wet clay. 

 There are insect-eating birds, which, 



when sick, cure themselves by eating 

 certain kinds of seed. 



"The habits of birds are regular as 

 regards eating, sleeping and rising. 

 Birds dream and snore and have been 

 seen to sleep with one eye open. They 

 are very industrious, but love to play 

 games and have a sense of humor." 



"You make them seem almost like 

 people," cried Madge, "how closely I 

 shall watch them after this." 



"But the voice of the bird is the most 

 remarkable thing about it. Science 

 declares that all voice sounds are made 

 by two elastic bands or cushions, called 

 vocal cords, stretched across the end of 

 the tube or windpipe through which the 

 breath comes. As the air is sent 

 through them they are tightened or 

 loosened at will, and so they are made 

 to vibrate quickly or slowly, thus caus- 

 ing sound waves of dififerent lengths. 

 Try it. But a bird can beat you over 

 and over again in the length of its note; 

 when you are out of breath and forced 

 to stop the bird will go on with its merry 

 note, still as fresh and clear as if it had 

 just begun. This is because the bird 

 can draw air into the whole of its body 

 and has a large stock laid up in the 

 folds of the windpipe. Besides this, the 

 air chamber behind the elastic bands, 

 or vocal chords, has two compartments, 

 whereas man has but one; the second 

 compartment opens and shuts and so 

 prolongs the thrill." ^ 



"Do you think birds have any other 

 language besides that of song?" Alice 

 inquired. 



"Certainly! They prattle, recite and 

 converse. Blackbirds have a way of 

 giving sentence of death. I once saw 

 hundreds of them convened in the trees 

 near this lawn. They seemed to be 

 holding a council, at the conclusion of 

 which they killed three of their com- 

 pany. While I did not see, on account 

 of the great number, the actual stroke 

 administered, I picked up the slaugh- 



