CHAPTEK IV 



BIRDS 



In the air swallows and swifts are coursini,' rapidly to and fro, ever in 

 pnrsuit of insects, which constitute their sole food. When tliej' retire, the 

 nighthawks and whip-poor-wills will take up the chase, catchin.i,^ moths and 

 other nocturnal insects which would escape day-flyin<j[ birds. The liycatchei-s 

 lie in wait, darting from ambush at passing prey, and with a suggestive 

 click of the bill, returning to their post. The warblers, light, active crea- 

 tures, flutter about the terminal foliage, and with almost the skill of a hum- 

 ming bird, pick insects from leaf or blossom. The vireos patiently exjilore 

 the undersides of leaves and odd nooks and corners to see that no skulker 

 escapes. The woodpeckers, nuthatches, and creepers attend to the tree 

 trunks and limbs, examining carefully each inch of bark for insect.s' eggs 

 and larvae, or excavating for the ants and borers they hear at work within. 

 On the ground the hunt is continued by the thrushes, sparrows, and otiier 

 birds, who feed upon the innumerable forms of terrestrial insects. Few 

 places in which insects exist are neglected ; even some species which pa.ss 

 their earlier stages or entire lives in the water are preyed upon by atjuatic 

 birds. — CuAi'MAX, "Bird Life," p. 6 



As planned for this course, bird siiidy begins witli the open- 

 ing of school in September and continues tlu-ougliout ihc 

 year. No subject better repays attention. On \]\o esthetic side 

 it presents infinite possibilities for the discovery of beauty in 

 grace of form and action, in harmony of coh)r, and in variety 

 of song. From the standpoint of science and pure natural 

 history, no field is richer, — variety in size and form, inslinds 

 and intelligence, protective and recogniiional coloring, geo- 

 graphical distrilmtion, pathways of migration, and even the 

 geological record showing the evolulion of birds from reptiles. 



Birds and insect destruction. In order that universal and 

 adequate protection may be exiende<l [o all valuable species, 

 every member of the nation should know what the birds arc 



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