BIRD 



736 



BIRD 



able the birds are to the farmer and gardener. 

 They should be encouraged to give their serv- 

 ices in protecting the birds and in making 

 it easy for their feathered friends to return to 

 the same nesting places year after year. There 

 are several ways in which this can be done. 

 To illustrate: 



a. Suggest that the children supply the 

 birds with food when the spring first brings 

 them back, and, in addition, that they provide 

 them with fresh water throughout the season. 

 The birds are always attracted to a running 

 fountain in the garden or yard, but if there is 

 none on the premises they will be grateful for 

 pans or other vessels from which they may 

 drink. Birds which stay in the locality through 

 the winter can be induced to remain about the 

 yard and buildings if regularly fed, and in time 

 they will feel quite at home. 



b. Nesting places should be provided. A 

 small structure which affords a place of shelter 

 from the sun and the rain, and which is con- 

 veniently located, will appeal to the birds as a 

 suitable nesting place (see subtitle A Home jor 

 Birds and a Decoration for the Garden). 



c. Young birds should be protected from 



cats and other enemies. Little fledglings which 

 fall from the nest before they can fly are espe- 

 cially in danger; these should be placed back 

 in the little home as soon as they are found, 

 for otherwise they will be killed by cats or die 

 from starvation. Nearly all the young must 

 learn how to feed themselves after leaving the 

 nest, and if such birds are approached care- 

 fully and fed, they will become quite tame. 

 An older bird that has broken a leg or wing 

 can also be helped. The broken member should 

 be tightly bandaged so that it will heal prop- 

 erly, and protecting care be given the injured 

 creature until it is able to fly again. Such 

 works of mercy are invaluable in teaching the 

 children daily lessons in kindness and gentle- 

 ness. 



In addition to the books mentioned above, 

 Chapman's Color Key to North American Birds, 

 Olive Thorne Miller's Bird Ways, In Nesting 

 Time and Our Home Pets, and Mabel Osgood 

 Wright's Bird Craft and Citizen Birds will be 

 found interesting as well as helpful. Besides, 

 this set of books contains descriptions of all 

 the most important birds of the world, each 

 appearing in its alphabetical order. J.B. 



A Home for Birds and a Decoration for the Garden 



Mr. and Mrs. Wren were house-hunting. 

 They had recently returned from a long south- 

 ern trip, and they found it necessary to look 

 up new quarters, for the home they had occu- 

 pied the season before was sadly out of repair. 

 The roof leaked, the inside of the house was 

 very dirty, and the premises generally looked 

 as though the caretaker had neglected his 

 duty. 



"Well, I suppose we'll have to build a new 

 one," said Mr. Wren, heaving a sigh. "I con- 

 fess that I had hoped to make the old house 

 do for another season, but this seems pretty 

 hopeless." 



"I was much attracted by those new houses 

 on Garden Terrace," said Mrs. Wren. "Let's 

 take another look at them before we start to 

 build. They certainly are different from the 

 style of house that we have lived in so long, 

 and I for one would be glad of a change." 



"Do you mean those fancy cottages with 

 bright-colored roofs?" said Mr. Wren, doubt- 

 fully. "They did look rather well on the posts 

 of the garden fence, but I never supposed they 

 were intended for modest people like ourselves. 

 I thought they were built for aristocrats!" 



"Nonsense!" said Mrs. Wren. "Those are 



the houses that were advertised in the papers, 

 as being especially adapted for the homes of 

 wrens, bluebirds, chickadees and all kinds of 

 middle-class birds. Why shouldn't we have a 

 beautiful house, if we can find one that is 

 within our means, and at the same time is 

 practical? Come along!" 



Mr. Wren knew from experience that it was 

 useless to argue against his wife, when her 

 mind was thoroughly made up; so he flew 

 meekly after her, across the fields and over 

 the streets until they came to a beautiful gar- 

 den. The fence was quite high, and every 

 post held a tiny wooden house, gaily paintec 

 in bright colors. One house with white anc 

 green decorations and an orange-colored rooi 

 seemed to please Mrs. Wren particularly. It 

 was not too large, its entrance was of the 

 right size, and there was a neat and stylish 

 porch. It was the prettiest house in Garden 

 Terrace. The Wrens decided to take it. 



Building Bird Houses. Every friend of the 

 birds will appreciate the "moral" back of this 

 little story. There is no better way to en- 

 courage the pretty songsters to make the 

 yards and gardens their permanent abiding 

 places than to build attractive homes for 



