7S Bird - Lore 



I;i( kd.'iw's iiij.';lil. I)(;t^;tri ;il about. ,-^.30 J'.m. During tlic hrccding season Ihcy 

 iiili;i,l)il (;i,lli('lr;i,l lowers, ivy-^rown ruins, ;i,nfl fori ific;!,! ions. Their cali-nolc 

 is very :.innl;ii to lli;il ol our Red hcllicd Woo(||)e( kcr. M;i,^|)ies (I'icd ruslica) 

 ■,[n: conuiion ;ill over l''r;iii<c. Uke the ('row (Carvus coram;) they nest in 

 isohiled pairs .'ind ollcn pL'uc their n(;sts of I wi^s in the t,o|)S of [)Of)hirs, where 

 Ijicy .'ire :,oniel inies <lilti( nil to (hsi iii^^iiish IVotn Ihc ( hnii|):; ol Miislleto(; willi 

 whi( h these trees are so heavily infeslcl. I was sur|)rise(i one day Lo see a 

 M;i|,';|)ie lahoririf^ along with ;i, full-j^rown licld mouse in its hill. In tlie fall, the 

 SlMrlin^rs (Slurnus vulyjiris) llo( k to the liclds with the (!rows ;i,nd Rooks, hut. 

 in ni;ilin|..'; lime they usu;dly fr(;(|uent dwelling"|)l;i(:es, building their nests 

 ;d)oiil buildings or in holes in trees. At ;ill times the Starling is a pleasant and 

 interesting (ompiinion, ;i, (omif.'d songster, and moreover ;\, bird c)f us(,'ful 

 habits. 1 1 is ludort unale if our pr(jiidi( (■ toward him in I his (oimt ry lia,s made 

 us blind to his many virl ues. 



Ill order ol abimdan(c the Swallows |»roba,bly < ome next. The Swa,llow 

 iliiniudo rusika), resembling our liarn Swallow, and tlieJIouse Martin (Cheli- 

 (lon urhirti), distinguished by the while upper ta,il coverts, are by far the most 

 (ommon reprcsenla.l ives of this family. Only oikc have- I seen Sand Marlins 

 (Colilr rijxirid). This was in Sepl(;mber, ioi<S, near Mont Sec. The Swallows 

 and House Martins build their mud nests under the eaves of buildings, and J. 

 saw them with young in the nest as late as September :>'.>, 1917. In fact,, this 

 ought to be a good time; for insect-eating birds to ra,ise lh(;ir young in France, 

 as I have n(;ver seen conmion house flies in such overwhelming millions (exce])t 

 in Ka,nsa,s) as they w<'re in I'' ranee in the early fall. 



The Titmouse family is well repicsenled, six s|)ecies appearing on my list. 

 The (Ireal 'i'il mouse ( /'<rrn.s nitijor), lilue Titmouse; (Parus ca;ruleus), Marsh 

 Tilmous*' il'dnis /xi/iislris), Coal Titmouse il'dius (tier), and tlu; Crested 

 Titmouse; il'arus crisialus) art; all very common. The Long-tailed Titmouse 

 (.\<rc(lid(i rosea) I ()bs(;rv(;d but once and this was last; April in the Westerwald 

 of ( iermany. 



Some of the most attractive birds of iMu-ope are inclu(k;d in tlu; family of 

 i''in( lies, 'i'he beaiMifiil ("haninch (/>rini^il/(i ((v/c/ks), the (loldlinch (Cdrduelis 

 riffuiii.s), and the l>ulirin( h ( /'yrrhii/d ciiro/xui) arc; named in order of numerical 

 o( ( lu ren(c as I found them. ( )f plainer |)limia,g(; are the; 'i'r(;c; Sparrows (Passer 

 iiiiiiildiins) and the Yellow Ihunmeror Yellow Hunting {limber iza eilrinella), 

 bolh of whi( h are abundant. ( )n April 14, lo'''^, near l»ea,uva.is, I saw the Cirl 

 liunling h)r I he only lime. The I louse Sparrow (I'asser (lomeslicus) does not 

 seem as numeroii:, here as with us, and instead of being despised, I found it in 

 some localities, at least, to be held in rather high c-stc-em. In fact, it is often 

 encouragc-d lo nc-st aboul dwellings by means of special nesting devices resembl- 

 ing jugs |)laced under eaves ancl over doors and windows; and I have seen up to 

 a, do/c-n of these innocc-nt looking traps on one lillle collage;. Traps they are, 

 for as soon as the yoimg are well lealhered and iiacly to leave the nest, they. 



