44 



crouching and imitating her squeal or the thin whistle of her 

 young chicks. In the breeding season most birds are deceived 

 by an imitation (made on the back of the hand) of the scream 

 of a young bird. By making this sound in a thicket near a 

 catbird's or robin's nest, it is easy to alarm these birds so that 

 their cries will bring within view most of the other birds in the 

 neighborhood. This "screeping" sound will sometimes entice 

 birds out of a thicket at other seasons of the year. A yellow- 

 breasted chat, thus called, almost alighted on my head. The 

 crested flycatcher may be called in this way, even in the fall. 

 Catbirds, thrashers, vireos, thrushes, and warblers all may be 

 enticed by this call. If the observer is alone and well hidden, 

 they will sometimes come within reach of his hand. 



Utilizing the Curiosity of Birds. 



A captive screech owl in a tree will cause a gathering of 

 most of the small birds of the neighborhood, whether in wood 

 or orchard. Even a tame crow, or tethered cat, may attract 

 some birds in nesting time. Many birds evince an acute 

 curiosity. When collecting birds in my boyhood I stalked 

 my first sandhill crane nearly a mile on an open prairie. We 

 were out of provisions, and living on the country. Meat 

 was a necessity; so when venison or wild turkey w^ere wanting 

 we perforce must descend to roast crane, or baked owl. The bird 

 was first seen from the timber feeding in the slough. Waiting 

 until it had lowered its head after glancing around, I made 

 a short run through the prairie grass and dropped, to give the 

 bird another chance to reconnoiter. Advancing thus ''by 

 rushes," I gained the edge of the slough unseen, being then 

 within two hundred yards of the bird. I waded in. Just 

 then the bird raised its head. I fell flat in the two or three 

 inches of water, and the crane flew off; but soon it swung 

 its head to one side and looked back. Then, apparently, it 

 began to wonder about the half-concealed thing lying there in 

 the water. Slowly it swung round in a wide arc and came 

 back, flying low, directly overhead. The thing in the water 

 never moved until the crane had passed. Soon afterward the 

 crane's skin changed owners, and a large slice off the bird's 

 breast helped to fill a void that had held only two crackers that. 



