ATTRACTING BIRDS AROUND THE HOME 227 



of the birds which deserve special mention on account of 

 the pleasing character of their songs are the house wren, 

 the brown thrasher, the goldfinch, the song sparrow, the 

 wood thrush, and the hermit thrush. Most bird students 

 agree that the thrushes are the best songsters. 



Spring is the season of bird song. The chorus begins in 

 the early spring when the first birds return, and the climax 

 is reached about the middle of May; and then the birds 

 gradually stop singing so that the season is nearly over by 

 the first of July. 



The birds begin to sing at the earliest daybreak and the 

 climax is reached at about sunrise ; then the singing grad- 

 ually becomes less till the morning chorus is over by the 

 middle of the forenoon. There is another shorter period 

 of singing in the late afternoon shortly before sunset. 



FIELD EXERCISE 4 



Purpose. To see how many birds you can recognize from 

 their songs. 



Directions. I . Some morning in May is the best time to study 

 bird songs. Notice how the songs of birds differ. Which ones 

 are especially musical ? See how many birds you can recognize 

 from the songs. 



2. Note some of the following points for each song: (a) 

 whether varied or monotonous, (b) loud or soft, (c) high or low 

 pitch, (d) musical or unmusical. 



3. Write the names of all the birds whose songs you know in 

 the order of their attractiveness, putting the most pleasing 

 first and the least pleasing last. 



Nesting habits. The nesting habits of birds are so inter- 

 esting that it is a pleasure to have birds around our home. 

 The nests themselves are made of a great variety of materials 

 and are found in a great variety of locations, on the ground, 

 in bushes, in trees, in barns, and even in chimneys. It is 

 interesting to notice the method by which birds build and 



