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Bird - Lore 



to send in the names of some neighbors' 

 children, and let them come over once a 

 week to go birding in our yard with us. 

 More wanted to come, so that, from a 

 little class of six kindergartners, we have 

 grown into a class of forty-nine members. 



We were a Bird- Club at first. Now we 

 are an Audubon Society. We are indebted 

 to Dr. Wells W. Cooke, Mr. Henry W. 

 Henshaw, Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, 

 Mr. Frederick H. Kennard, Miss Olive 

 Thorne Miller, Dr. Frank Chapman, and 

 Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson for most of our 

 book-knowledge, then to all contributors 

 to the Educational Leaflets that the 

 National Audubon Association has put 

 out, and to our Government for their 

 pamphlets. 



The children named their society the 

 Sharp-Eyes Junior Audubon Society of 

 Columbus, Ohio. 



They keep note-books and put down the 

 names of the birds they see and the dates. 

 They are very conscientious about it, 

 too, and very few will put down a bird 

 that they are not absolutely sure of. For 

 example, one of my boys followed a Cat- 

 bird one whole morning this spring. He 

 gave me the description of it, adding: 

 "He made up his whistle as he went along." 

 I told him it was a Catbird. But because 

 it was very early for that species, the child 

 said he would rather not put it down, 

 because I hadn't seen it and he wasn't 

 sure. 



During the migration period we studied 

 migration, using Mrs. Wells' article in 

 The National Geographic Magazine as our 

 basis. 



Through the winter we took up the 

 study of birds, taking the bird's physical 

 construction first. One lesson was on his 

 body and organs, another on his feathers. 

 Then the wings, tail, eyes, ears, bills, legs, 

 feet, eggs, nests, habits, and so on, were 

 treated in turn. Now most of the children 

 who have attended all winter know how to 

 classify a bird. For example, if they see a 

 bird with a short, thick bill, they know 

 that he feeds principally upon seeds; they 

 can tell by the length of his wing whether 

 he spends much time on the wing or gets 



his living from the ground; if he has long 

 legs, they know that he gets his living 

 from the water; and so on. 



Even now the children know which of 

 our ordinary birds should be protected and 

 why. They will go into the woods and 

 fields better equipped to identify and enjoy 

 the birds this year. 



Occasionally we have a special treat by 

 hearing an outsider talk to us. One friend 

 brought us some very interesting nests. 

 Among them were two beautiful ones that 

 Marsh Wrens had made, and a very 

 curious one that had been a Chimney 

 Swift's home. 



Most of the children fed the birds all 

 winter. In our own yard we had three 

 feeding-stations. 'Wild-Feather Inn' — 

 our most expensive one — was taken posses- 

 sion of by the English Sparrows. One 

 that we fitted up on a rustic table the 

 Cardinals, Jays, and squirrels enjoyed. 

 But the one from which we have had the 

 most pleasure was just an old shellbark 

 hickory. It always had visitors. Those 

 that came regularly the children named. 

 They were two Downy and two Hairy 

 Woodpeckers, two Nuthatches, a Brown 

 Creeper, a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 

 and three Tufted Titmice. 



Our society has outgrown its quarters. 

 Our pastor invited us to meet at the 

 church. As we cannot take care of more 

 than fifty children at a time, we will 

 limit our actual membership to fifty and 

 have a waiting-list. Any child who is 

 absent for three consecutive meetings 

 forfeits his place in the society and takes 

 his place on the waiting-list. 



It may interest teachers of bird-clubs 

 to know just how we go about our work, 

 so I shall give a sample lesson. Subject — 

 The Bluebird. 



Each subject lasts for two weeks. The 

 first week we talk it over, using our out- 

 line as a guide and discussing each topic 

 separately. The second week the lesson 

 is put on the board, and copied into note- 

 books by the children. 



Outline for first week — facts to learn 

 about each bird: i. Its size and beak. 

 2. Wings and tail. 3. Legs and toes 



