MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE BIRDS 



BY A. A. ALLEN, PH.D. 



ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ORNITHOLOGY, CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



THERE is a common belief, nurtured by the time- 

 honored fables of Aesop and La Fontaine, that, 

 somewhere, there lies hidden the key to the animal 

 world ; that there is a secret or mysterious language 

 which, when discovered, 

 will permit one to pene- 

 trate the woods and have 



MAKING FRIENDS WITH A 

 PHEASANT 



But the friendship is all on one 

 side, for the bird is held only by 

 its unusually developed instinct 

 to keep its eggs warm. 



the birds and beasts come from their retreats to greet 

 one. The disappointment felt by the child when the 

 birds flit from sight or when the squirrels scamper into 

 their holes is shared by all of us, and whether we be- 

 lieve in the mysterious language or not, we all wish that 

 there were some way by which we could individually 



make friends with the birds and the wild animals. 



A small boy, when told by his teacher to study the 

 habits of birds instead of stoning them, replied, "But 

 birds don't have habits when I watch them." This 

 thought occurs to most of us and so when we read some 

 of the modern animal stories with their strong apf)eal 

 we are led to believe, either that the authors have used 

 their imaginations, or that they have some secret power 

 or control over the animals they watch that permits them 

 to penetrate so intimately into their lives. Some of the 

 stories are avowedly fiction, but others are based on ac- 

 tual experiences with animals that have permitted the 

 closest acciuaintance. 



This intimate knowledge, naturalists tell us, we may 

 gain for ourselves, and, if we will but devote the time 

 and patience to it, we can make friends with any bird or 

 l)east without having discovered a secret language. Pos- 



BEFORE FEAR DEVELOPS. 



Young Redwinged blackbirds responding at the approach of an intruder as 

 eagerly as at the approach of their parents. The altricial young of most birds 

 do not know fear until their wing feathers grow out and they are able to 

 answer to the calls of their parents. 



484 



ANOTHER FEARLESS (?) WARBLER 

 A chestnut-sided warbler, whose desire to feed its young has destroyed fear. 



sibly this is so, if we do not expect too much. In my 

 experience the number of wild birds or wild animals that 

 have entirely lost their fear of man and become real 

 friends has been very small. If one will remain absolutely 

 quiet or if one will conceal himself or disguise himself so 

 that he no longer appears like a human being, many ani- 

 mals may come close to him and appear fearless. But 

 when the disguise is thrown off, fear immediately gains 

 the upper hand. There are some birds which no amount 

 of time or patience could bring to friendly terms, and 

 there are others, even of the same species, which are more 

 approachable than a self-conscious human being. Animal 

 fear is the great stumbling block to one's becoming better 

 acquainted with his wild neighbors. Birds are creatures 



