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Bird - Lore 



ward and southward migrations and has been 

 used for many years. The fall migrations are 

 ordinary happenings, but this spring meeting 

 has been a new one for me, and I suppose 

 these may have been north bound, and were 

 held up here by the unusual weather. — F. 

 B. Robinson, Newhurgh, N. Y. 



An Unusual Accident 



A female Hummingbird was seen by my 

 daughter and her playmates flying about 

 under the high roof of an open shed, pre- 

 sumably in search of insects. It came in con- 

 tact with a pendulous mass of cobweb, be- 

 came entangled, and soon himg suspended, 

 head downward, fluttering to escape. The 

 children rushed to me and I ran for a pole 

 long enough to reach the little bird. Soon 

 the mass of web broke and the bird, still 

 helpless, fluttered within reach of the children. 



Gently I took the tiny, glittering bird, no 

 larger than some moths I had seen in the 

 Tropics, and with thumb and forefinger I 

 cleaned the right wing, and then the left 

 which was also tied to the tail by encircling 

 cobweb. Then the feet were also cleaned 

 and the bird, set free, flew into a very tall 

 elm tree to finish the preening in her own 

 more perfect fashion. 



An accident like this probably happens 

 very rarely. Although I have loved and ob- 

 served the birds all my life, this was the first 

 time I have been privileged to aid a Hum- 

 mingbird with my own hands. — Ralph E. 

 Danfoeth, Jaffrey, N. H. 



A Grackle's Intelligence 



We feed the birds constantly, using seeds 

 of various kinds, suet, cheese and various 

 other kinds of food to attract as many 

 species as possible. On the shelf was some 

 bread, which had become rather hard and 

 dry, owing to the excessive heat. One of 

 the pieces of bread taken by a Crackle was 

 too large to be swallowed at one gulp, being 

 too dry and unyielding. After several unsuc- 

 cessful attempts at swallowing the bread, the 

 Grackle flew to a bird-bath, some 22 feet 

 away, and dipped the bread into the water — 

 once, twice, three times — but the bread was 



still too hard. Again and again the bird 

 would immerse his piece of bread, until 

 finally, it disappeared without further effort. 



On several occasions lately Mother has 

 noticed Crackles fly to the fence, adjoining 

 the bath, and then jump down to the bath; 

 but shrubbery concealed any further thing the 

 bird did with the bread. This has happened 

 so frequently that Mother has pondered 

 about the matter quite a bit but since nar- 

 rating my observation, we have concluded 

 that this Crackle has been doing this re- 

 peatedly. 



It may be of interest to bird-lovers to know 

 that bread has proved a greater attraction in 

 my garden, than any other food. We take 

 old bread — quite a good-sized piece — and soak 

 it in cold water, until thoroughly soft. Then 

 squeeze out the excess of water and break 

 the bread into small pieces. These pieces the 

 birds can then readily tear into pieces as small 

 as they wish. Bread soaked in this way is 

 relished by the Blue Jay, Bluebird, Cardinal, 

 Catbird, Crackle, Titmouse, Wood Thrush, 

 and Thrasher. The quantity consumed by 

 the Bluebird is amazing, in view of the fact 

 that it is supposed to be almost entirely 

 insectivorous. 



We also feed dry bread, allowing it to get 

 very dry, and then reducing its size on a 

 grater. But the soaked bread is the chief 

 attraction at my shelf; it is eaten before any 

 other food is touched. It has also proved the 

 choice bait for my Sparrow trap. — C. A. 

 Hinnen, Cincinnati, Ohio. 



Redwings and Caterpillars 



The Blue Jays and Cuckoos have been 

 given credit for their useful work in destroy- 

 ing tent caterpillars and I wish to add this 

 pest to the menu of the Red-winged Black- 

 bird. The fruit trees in our neighborhood 

 have been overrun with tent caterpillars for 

 the last three seasons. Two different times 

 I have found the Red-winged Blackbirds 

 busily engaged in tearing open the cocoons 

 of the tent caterpillars and eating the chrys- 

 alis. 



It is interesting to note that at no other 

 time do the Redwings leave the swamp on 

 the lake shore nearby to visit our gardens. 



