iMETlioDS oi'- IMIM) SIM l)V T)! 



bird for our district, and one which is becoiniug rarer year l»v year. TIm- 

 reason is largely that specimens are desired for collections. Hence rec- 

 ords commonly read : '' Kemarkaltle instance of a pair of iiMiekiiig birds 

 nesting in central Massachusetts. ()ii eJiiiic S b(»th parents witli nest and 

 clutch of six eggs were collected and are now in . . ," etc. Tlif mocking 

 bird is often described as the most remarkable bird musician in the 

 world, and we could certainly not do less than encourage it to breed as 

 far north as possible. 



Catbird — Diiiiietc'//(i canflincnsis. 



lirown thrasher — Toxostoma rvfnin. Both of these l>irds are valuable 

 to control insects of garden and orchard, and, besides, are among our be.st 

 musicians. 



House wren — Tro(/lot/f/t(s (il'<li>n. Every garden should be well stocked 

 with this tireless insect destroyer. 



!Marsh wren, short-billed — ('istot/tdrus stelldris. Comi)are with house 

 wren for habitat, foods, nests. 



Family Certhiidce' — creepers. I>rown creeper — Ccrl/iid fainHUirls (imni- 

 cdnii. One of our winter birds that should be generally known and i»ro- 

 tected. 



Family Parida — nuthatches and titmice. White-l)reasted nuthat<-h — 

 S itta ca roliii ciik is . 



Chickadee — Pcnthe'sles afrirajji/lus. All are agreed that the chicka<lee 

 is one of the most useful birds in freeing orchards of all sorts of insect 

 pests, from cankerworms to ajthidcs. 



Family Sylviidcs — kinglets, gnat catchers, etc. Tiie ruby-crowne(l king- 

 let — III quins s(itrii[i(t. 



Family Turdida — thrushes, bluebirds, etc. The tliruslu's are typical 

 "soft-billed" birds, their food being largely insects, worms, spiders, etc. 

 They also feed upon fruits in season, and this has complicated the prol>- 

 lem of their economic value up to within recent years. A closer analy- 

 sis of their foods has demonstrated that the birds prefer native wild 

 fruits to cultivated; hence this prol»l<Mu maybe solve<l humanely and 

 scientifically by ])lanting a succession of these, ^sthetically the thrushes 

 are among our most highly valued songsters, and structurally they rank 

 as the highest family of Idrds. 



AVood thrush — Jli/loric/thi inusttliiui. 

 Wilson's thrush — I f i/locwiila fusceacens. 

 Hermit thrush — HylucuhUi yuttata jnillusi. 

 American robin — Plfi/icstivus niii/raforius. 

 Bluebird — Sid/i't sinlls. 



