i^o 



Sono^ Bir(h hi Europe and Aiticrica. 



indifference of the population in general. 

 There can be no question that the boxes 

 put up in the parks of our larger cities for 

 the imported European house sparrow, 

 which has not a single commendable qual- 

 ity, would have attracted bluebirds and 

 house wrens, two of our most attractive 

 and useful birds, until these would by the 

 present time have become as common and 

 familiar as their true representatives in 

 England — robin redbreast and kitty wren. 

 The purple martin — grandest of the swal- 

 low tribe — could in the same way have been 

 attracted in large and useful numbers to 

 the very centers of our largest cities. 



Alexander Wilson, the " Father of Amer- 

 ican Ornithology," — a Scotchman, by the 

 way — and Thomas Nuttall, an English- 

 man, both praise our bluebird in unquali- 

 fied terms, and also the house wren, the 

 purple martin and some others. Hear 

 what another Englishman (Captain Saville 

 G. Reid, Royal Engineers), says of our 

 bluebird, as observed by him in Ber- 

 muda, where it is resident, and, in accord- 

 ance with the English custom, rigidly pro- 

 tected: 



' This is, to my mind, the most delight- 

 ful of birds, and certainly the flower of the 

 limited flock of Bermuda residents ; its 

 brilliant plumage, vivacious manners and 

 pleasant warble render it an object of in- 

 terest to all, while its confiding and fearless 

 nature in the breeding season, and the 

 number of noxious insects it destroys, cause 

 it to be strictly protected throughout the 

 islands. The male bird in spring, when 

 the sun's rays illumine his dazzling blue 

 plumage, is perfectly lovely ; he flashes 

 across the road like a ray of azure light, 

 and seems actually to blaze with intense 

 color from among the sombre foliage of the 

 cedars." 



There is no bird in England — not even 

 the semi-domestic robin redbreast — which 

 is more easily encouraged to seek human 

 society than the bluebird ; certainly none 



are so beautiful and none more lovable in 

 every way. The modest little chipping 

 sparrow is even more easily encouraged, 

 and it is equally deserving of encourage- 

 ment, for, though neither beautiful in plum- 

 age nor sweet of voice, he has a trim little 

 form, a saucy red cap, and the most confid- 

 ing manner, often, in the villages and at 

 the farm-houses, attending the meals of the 

 family and picking up crumbs which are 

 thrown out the door, or, should the table 

 be set out on the verandah or beneath the 

 arbor, gathering them from among the 

 feet of those sitting at the table. This 

 trim little bird, which can so easily be made 

 a household pet, is extremely useful in de- 

 stroying injurious insects, is particularly 

 beneficial to the garden, and is specially 

 fond of the cabbage worm, of which one 

 pair would keep a moderate sized garden 

 quite free. The house wren is, as his 

 name implies, one of our semi- domestic 

 birds, and, being exclusively insectivorous, 

 is one of the most useful, while his cheer- 

 ful, sprightly warble renders him excellent 

 good company. Wilson characterizes the 

 song of the house wren as " loud, sprightly, 

 tremulous, and repeated every few seconds 

 with great animation," and says that " in 

 strength of tone and execution, it is far 

 superior" to that of the English species. 

 The purple martin, largest, handsomest 

 and most musical of all the swallow tribe, 

 is not only an agreeable companion, but is 

 also extremely useful as a destroyer of in- 

 sects, which exclusively constitute its food, 

 and as a protection to the farmer from 

 hawks and crows, against the depredations 

 of which there can be no better safeguard, 

 since not one of these j)redatory birds 

 dares approach the vicinity of a pair, much 

 less a colony, of purple martins. 



The birds which are si)ecially mentioned 

 above are, with the robm and catbird (and, V 

 west of the Alleghanies, the bluejay). pre- 

 eminently our most familiar species; but 

 there arc many others which are most at 



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