How to Understand the Birds f 39 



bread, crackers and cake broken into crumbs, sunflower seeds, 

 squash, and cracked corn. Nuts are a special treat to many birds, 

 and a number of them are fond of peanut butter. It is worth while 

 to remember the ground birds, such as pheasant, grouse, and quail, 

 if they live near you. A spot by a hedge or a clump of trees makes 

 a good feeding place for them. During a winter of extreme snow 

 and sleet, you may help them to survive by supplying corn or other 

 grains in a simple lean-to shelter. 



Birds as Songsters 



Spring is the time to enjoy the singing of birds, for it is during 

 the nesting season that their choral symphony is in full swing. 

 Most of the singing is instinctive and probably an attempt on the 

 part of the male to intimidate other males. What makes this seem 

 likely is that the males of some species reach their nesting grounds 

 well ahead of their female audience. "Singing for fun" is charac- 

 teristic of certain caged birds whose only companionship is that 

 of human beings. Then there are species that have a second sing- 

 ing period after the postbreeding molt; but this lasts only a few 

 days. 



A frequent question I have received in letters from children is: 

 "Do birds sing when they are flying?" Unfortunately it is not pos- 

 sible to give the eager correspondents a simple yes-or-no answer. 

 As a rule, singing usually takes a bird's undivided attention, but 

 some birds the bobolink, for one do sing while flying as well as 

 when perching. Other birds, besides singing from a perch, indulge 

 in occasional songs of "ecstasy" as they bound into the air and 

 seem about to burst with their hurried, twittering notes. The 

 meadow lark and goldfinch are just two of the species which carry 

 on in this delightful fashion. 



OTHER BIRD SOUNDS 



Aside from its song a bird can produce several other kinds 

 of sounds. Some of these are very useful in the baby stage, as when 

 the young greet their parents from the nest with what is unmis- 

 takably a hunger call. Some babies can follow the parent around 



