THE OOLOGIST 



193 



lucky early in the last century that 

 extended 40 miles and was three 

 miles in width. On its edges men 

 with guns, nets, clubs and torches 

 slauhtered the roosting birds, each of- 

 ten bagging 500 in one day. 



When the wholesale butchers would 

 carry away no more, they let loose 

 droves ot hogs to fatten on what was 

 iett. About 1855 this treatment began 

 to thin the ranks of the passenger 

 pigeons, untill two years ago it was 

 discovered that only seven could be 

 iound in the whole continent, four at 

 Milwaukee and three in Cincinnati. 



Declaring that practically all the 

 gulls and terns in America today, have 

 survived solely through the work of 

 protection and restoration at their 

 reservations, leaders of the National 

 Association of Audubon Societies are 

 now appealing to support the work of 

 preserving dying species of native 

 birds which they have already begun. 



The upland plover, Cabot's tern and 

 the least tern, they assert, can now 

 be saved by quick emergency meas- 

 ures tor which special lunds are to 

 be raised. The work of restoring the 

 wood duck and other game birds that 

 are threatened with the fate of the 

 passenger pigeon is to be undertaken 

 by the Audubon workers with the 

 support of the sportsmen of the coun- 

 try. 



Sad as is the passing of the passen- 

 ger pigeon, its lesson may avert the 

 extinction of other valuable species, if 

 the American people rally at once to 

 save the remaining bird resources. 



MOVING OF THE ROBINS. 

 By Elizabeth A. Reed. 

 Spring came early to the shores of 

 Lake Michigan . When March sent 

 out its trumpet call to the storm 

 clouds, some gentler spirit caught the 

 notes and changed them into a low, 

 sweet song. The great trees, with 



wind swept branches, had been hold- 

 ing their faith close to living hearts, 

 and when they heard the mysterious 

 summons the wine of life raced again 

 through their cold veins. Down in 

 the sleeping earth the violet and ane- 

 mone were wakened, and tiny rootlets 

 crept towards one another, while the 

 buttercups began to measure out their 

 gold. 



The feathered folk in the southland 

 heard the taint notes of the reveille 

 and, bending their heads to one side, 

 they whispered to one another the 

 call of the north. Multitudes of rob- 

 ins running about under orange trees 

 discussed it all day long, and when 

 the color flashed over the hills of 

 morning they were gone. 



They came into a land of rioting 

 spring-time; for the leaves were in 

 their tender green, and tulips and daf- 

 fodils were nodding to one another 

 through all the latter part of March. 



On the north side of a great city close 

 to the lake a family found a welcome 

 robin building her nest in a tree on 

 a branch so near an upper window 

 that it was within reach of the hand; 

 and the window became a land of 

 plenty for the birds, where many a 

 dainty waited for them during the in- 

 tervals of their work. 



At last the nest was finished and 

 summer seemed to be on the wing; la- 

 ter flowers were coming into bloom 

 and the air was fragrant with the 

 breath of newly mown grass. The 

 eggs of "robin's blue" were all laid, 

 and the little mother took up the task 

 of bringing her birdies out of the pear- 

 ly palaces, while the father sang on 

 a branch nearby or brought her bits 

 of food. 



April had come in, singing the 

 songs of June; but a belated storm 

 swept over the northland and the air 

 grew freezing cold, while the snow 

 came swirling through the leafy bran- 



