194 



THE OOLOGIST 



ches. The brave little mother had no 

 thought of leaving her eggs. She was 

 listening now for a tiny peck that 

 whispered life was stirring beneath 

 her faithful wings; so she bent her 

 head to the storm and spread her 

 feathers so they were thin over her- 

 self, but warmer for the ever new mir- 

 acle going on beneath her loyal heart. 

 A conference was held in the house 

 where warm hearts held loving reign, 

 and after a time the window was cau- 

 tiously opened, and gently — oh, so 

 gently!— the limh bearing the nest 

 was severed from the tree. The broo- 

 ding bird saw it all with a beating 

 heart and frightened eyes; but she 

 clung more closely to her nest while 

 it was lifted into the spacious cham- 

 ber that had been vacated for her. A 

 generous table was spread with bird 

 luxuries; but she only looked and 

 trembled. 



The window was wide open, and the 

 bird friends had left them alone, when 

 the father robin came home cold and 

 hungry to tell his little wife that no 

 worms were to be found in the snow 

 and everything else had sought a ref- 

 uge from the storm. But there was 

 no nest on his familiar limb. Aston- 

 ished at first, and then terrified, he 

 sought the whole tree over in vain; 

 but at last his agonized cry was ans- 

 wered by a low, sweet call from with- 

 in the room, and the frantic bird dash- 

 ed through the open window to the 

 side of his mate. Still with gaping 

 bill he looked eagerly around the room 

 for some solution of the strange prob- 

 lem; but in response to another com- 

 forting note he began to smooth his 

 distended feathers and realize the 

 warmth of the room, although it was 

 sometime before he ventured toward 

 the food and water near them. 



The storm continued to rage, and 

 winter seemed to have dropped from 

 th clouds into tjie very h«art of sum- 



mer; but, whichever way the snow 

 might drift, the window of robin's 

 chamber was never closed and the- 

 door was opened only to bring in 

 fresh supplies. The mother bird soon 

 learned to receive these visits un- 

 afraid, and the four little mouths with- 

 in the nest were generously filled as 

 the cold days went by. 



When at last the fledglings fluttered 

 to the window they looked out into 

 the sunshine that covered as with a 

 garment the blue waters of the lake, 

 and after a time they chirped cheerily 

 from the tree, while their spotted 

 breasts were turned toward the win- 

 dow whence their supplies were still 

 brought by the old birds. 



The family of bird lovers on the 

 North Side are wondering whether 

 their hospitality will be remembered 

 and the same tree chosen when the 

 tide of migration again turns north- 

 ward. 



A Report on the Woodpeckers. 



Never in the writer's memory have 

 the woodpeckers been more numerous 

 than during 1910 and in the past two 

 months of 1911. Not only have they 

 been abundant during the winter, but 

 their nests have also been more num- 

 erous among the rotten stubs of for- 

 est trees of which they are so fond. 



In the past ten years T have found 

 but two trees, whose deaths were 

 directly traceable to the woodpecker 

 family. One of these is shown in an 

 accompanying photograph and was 

 caused by a pair of Flickers who 

 drilled their nesting cavity into the 

 heart of a small living Manle during 

 the second week in May 1910. The 

 tree was greatly weakened, as nearly 

 one-third of its diameter was removed 

 by the birds, and the first heavy wind 

 storm of the winter brought it to the 

 ground. The other case was also 

 caused by Flickers who removed a 



