Bird Histories. 



T05 



Wait a moment. While playing near the 

 swamp one evening, three careless lads 

 battered down a hornets' nest; some of 

 the insects were slain, and the remainder, 

 angered of course, and homeless, sought 

 protection from the chilling night dews. 

 The first shelter found was the home of 

 Bluebird Dick; and then they took by 

 force what had been taken from them by 

 force. Boys, don't kill the birds; be careful 

 how you injure any of God's little creatures. 

 Some day, perhaps, you will read about the 

 Ancient Mariner; about this man who, once 



upon a time, while young and strong, shot 

 a sea bird called the albatross, and how 

 very, very sorry he was afterward; that 

 after many years, when his steps were feeble 

 and his hair turned white, he could not for- 

 get about the death of that poor bird. How 

 he stopped every person that he met, and 

 told them of the cruel deed, and bade them 

 heed, and told them finally that none could 

 pray better or more earnestly than those 

 who best loved our birds and animals. 



" For the dear God who loveth us, 

 He made and loveth all." 



BIRD HISTORIES. 



THE "bird of JOVE." 



JOVE was Jupiter, the supreme god in 

 Roman mythology, the Zeus of the 



Greeks. The eagle was sacred to this 

 heathen deity, and was also called the 

 "Bird of Heaven." Many ancient nations 

 venerated some particular bird, and many 

 modern nations, the United States among 

 others, accept the lordly eagle as their na- 

 tional emblem. Although native in the free 

 American wilds, we have stolen, or bor- 

 rowed him, to speak more politely, as a na- 

 tional emblem, from Rome and France. He 

 is our sacred bird. He flies higher over 

 desert and fertile prairie, among craggy 

 or evergreen mountains, than any other 

 feathered creature, although he is not so 

 large as the great condor of the Andes. 

 Naturalists tell us that his plumage is of 

 varied tawny, dull and white hues, and only 

 his legs are yellow; so are some chickens'. 

 Then why is the proud monarch — "king of 

 birds" — named also the "golden eagle"? 

 Of course he has some cousins (species) who 

 are not quite so grand as himself. 



In various regions of the earth eagles 

 are regarded as "terrible," and dangerous 

 enemies to man and beast. Young children 

 and lambs have been carried away alive 

 in the talons of these powerful birds to 

 their eyries upon inaccessible cliffs. There 



upon a rock outside the nest, their doom is 

 to be torn in pieces for eaglets' food. 



Their Creator and ours formed many 

 another beautiful and more delicate bird, 

 for song, happiness and rainbow radiance, 

 not for heartless or ignorant women to 

 wear murderously, as a sign of their vanity; 

 and why he created any birds of prey we 

 need not ask, for even if we do not know 

 we may be sure that they are necessary to 

 the general welfare. 



A few years ago, not far from our chief 

 American city. New York, two boys, seven 

 and five years of age, were playing in a 

 field, when suddenly a great eagle came 

 down, as if from a world above and tried to 

 take up the larger boy in his claws. He 

 did not succeed at first, and made another 

 trial; the boy caught up a sickle and de- 

 fended himself. The audacious bird was 

 wounded under one wing, and gave up the 

 battle. He fell over and died. He was 

 doubtless weakened by hunger, else a blow 

 from his strong beak might have killed the 

 brave boy. 



There was once a law of the Orkney 

 Islands to reward any person who killed an 

 eagle, with a domestic fowl from the flock 

 of every family within the parish. 



Eagles nest amono- the hio-h rocks of 



