FEEDING THE WINTER BIRDS 251 



that shelter as well as food is necessary to protect 

 the winter birds. 



Birds to expect. The success of winter feeding 

 and the kinds of birds one may expect to come and 

 feed vary with the locality and with the season. In 

 general more birds will visit feeding-stations in the 

 Northern States, where the severe storms cover their 

 natural food-supply, than in the Southern States, 

 and one may expect more birds during a severe win- 

 ter with heavy snows than in a mild winter with 

 little snow. 



From a number of reports recorded in "Bird- 

 Lore" and elsewhere, including forty-five observers, 

 representing fourteen States, situated chiefly in the 

 northeastern section of the country, the author has 

 made a brief summary of the birds known to eat 

 food put out for them. This includes forty-nine 

 species of birds of which the ten most common in 

 the order of frequency are the chickadee, white- 

 breasted nuthatch, downy woodpecker, blue jay, 

 junco, hairy woodpecker, tree sparrow, red-breasted 

 nuthatch, brown creeper, and song sparrow. 



Feeding from the hand. With the exercise of a 

 little patience there is the possibility, not only that 

 birds will come to the window to feed, but that they 

 will soon feed out of one's hand. Of the forty-nine 

 species of birds previously mentioned as using food 

 provided for them, twenty-nine have become suffi- 

 ciently tame to feed from a window shelf, and thir- 



