Notes from Field and Study 



353 



Another detail would settle on my 

 neighbor's roof and drink from the eaves. 

 They were very thirsty and a long time 

 was consumed in watering the entire 

 flock. After each flight they would return 

 to the wires like well-trained soldiers. 

 Several times an aggressive Mockingbird 

 that patrols this area drove off a whole 

 squad but they felt safe and protected 

 when on the line with the battalion. The 

 finest maneuver was when perhaps 200 of 

 these beautiful birds circled round and 

 round over the balcony on which I stood, 

 then with a swish, lighted on the lemon 

 tree in front of me, on the climbing rose at 

 my side and even on the rail of my porch ! 

 I was bewildered with ecstasy for never 

 had I beheld them so close — perhaps 6 feet 

 — and they seemed imafraid. They were 

 now feasting on the insects which infest 

 the trees and bushes and perhaps tasting 

 some of the young and tender buds. They 

 even went down to the ground and drank 

 from a tiny goldfish pond. Their plumage 

 was the most brilliant — their very gayest 

 gowns — the soft blended pinkish fawn of 

 the body with band of bright lemon-yellow 

 across end of the tail. Over their eyes they 

 wore their black masks outlined in white, 

 and many of them sported the red-tipped 

 wings. A most fascinating and interesting 

 study of one of our most beautiful birds. — 

 Mrs. Robert Fargo, Los Angeles, Calif. 



Chickadees and Bacon 



This winter, along with suet and seeds 

 put out to attract the winter birds, a piece 

 of bacon rind was added to the menu for 

 an experiment. After the Chickadees had 

 once tasted this delicious bit, they gave it 

 preference to all the other kinds of food. 

 In fact, it is only rarely that they touch 

 the suet or seeds now. So we fixed bacon 

 stations on twigs at four of the windows 

 and the Chickadees are there nearly every 

 day, making the rounds. Instead of tjdng 

 the whole piece of bacon closely to the 

 twig, about lyi inches at the top is left 

 hanging out free. The cold weather keeps 

 this stiffened out at an angle and is a 

 favorite perch while feeding. Here they 



can perform their acrobatic stunts, as on 

 a twig. — Alice A. Noyes, Haverhill, Mass. 



Feeding the Chickadees 



A delightful country winter sport is the 

 feeding and taming of birds. The saucy, 

 friendly little Chickadee and the White- 

 breasted Nuthatch were found to be the 

 easiest to tame in the part of Connecticut 

 where I have lived. For a number of years, 

 suet was tied to the trees near the dining- 

 room windows and crumbs scattered on 

 the ground for the feathered guests. Hairy 

 and Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, 

 Nuthatches, and the bold, big, beautiful 

 Blue Jays were busy all day at the suet. 

 The crumbs were appreciated by the 

 Juncos, Tree Sparrows, and an occasional 

 Robin, and of course the Blue Jays, too, 

 for they never miss anything. They are so 

 greedy, and so disagreeable in driving 

 away the smaller birds that this rather 

 offsets their beauty. 



After the birds had been fed this way 

 for several years, I decided to coax them 

 still nearer the windows so that they could 

 be better enjoyed. A dead cedar tree was 

 secured and its base sunk into the lawn a 

 few feet from the house. The top was cut 

 off, leaving it 7 to 8 feet above the ground, 

 and about a foot of each branch was left 

 to make good places for the birds to perch. 

 Several pieces of suet were tied to the tree 

 so that a number of guests could be accom- 

 modated at the same time. 



When rose-hips and bittersweet were 

 hung on the tree, a flock of Bluebirds 

 quickly found them. It was a lovely sight 

 — the brilliant blue birds and the red and 

 orange berries against a background of 

 snow. It is a mistaken idea, at least in 

 Connecticut, that Bluebirds come with 

 the spring, for they are with us all winter, 

 though usually only near the woods. 



In the middle of summer the bare old 

 cedar is completely covered with morning- 

 glories. It is not to be discovered except 

 by the Downy Woodpeckers who, unlike 

 the other birds, keep hungrily at the suet 

 all summer. 



After reading about teaching birds to 



