74 Bird - Lore 



Next morning, a ray of pale sunshine crosses the room, presently another 

 joins it by way of an open window until, by seven o'clock, the full light of a 

 perfect spring day pulls you from sleepy- land. 



"Look out! oh, look quick, they've come!" you cry in an awe-struck voice^ 

 as if all outdoors might suddenly take alarm. And then, finding that you 

 are alone in the room, you tiptoe to the bay window and raise the widest 

 sash. Yes, the skyful of Warblers has descended, and everywhere you see 

 glints of color, as eager for the warming touch of the sun as you are for the 

 sight of them. One pin is enough to hold up your hair, and collarless necks 

 are the fashion at present. "Down and out," at this moment, are not terms 

 of failure, but of success. 



In 1910 the darlings passed me by; but in 1909 this record of Warblers is 

 in my book, all seen within garden bounds two days after a storm: 



Blackburnian, Parula, Chestnut-sided, Myrtle, Redstart, Yellow, Bay- 

 breasted, Black-throated Green, Maryland Yellow-throat, Chat, Worm- 

 eating Warbler, Canadian, Blue -winged, Black - throated Blue, and the 

 Blackpoll. 



The Blackpoll, with all his motley stripes and streaks and leisurely ways, is, 

 after all, the most ominous bird of his tribe; for with his departure the season 

 of migration, as far as the garden is concerned, is over, and we take breath 

 and settle down for the nesting. This announcement would doubtless seem 

 rather belated to a couple of Robins, who are already toiling to fill four gaping 

 mouths in the most up-to-date Robin home the place offers, — a bracketed 

 shelf under the back porch, where a fine view and cat-protection are guar- 

 anteed, as well as first pick of earth-worms while cherries are forming on trees 

 that are in plain sight. 



A Device for Looking into Birds' Nests 



By WILLIAM BREWSTER 



SOME twelve or fifteen years ago it occurred to me that there might be 

 an easier way of looking into arboreal birds' nests than that which 

 necessitates climbing the trees — a practice congenial enough in the 

 days of one's youth but likely to seem irksome when one has passed middle 

 life. After a little experimenting, I found that the contents of most nests situ- 

 ated not more than fifteen or eighteen feet above the ground could be examined 

 very satisfactorily by the aid of a looking-glass attached to a pole. The glass 

 which I am now using, and which I consider best adapted for the purpose, is 

 rectangular, and about six inches in length by five inches in breadth. It is set 

 in a light metal (tin) frame, connected by a hinged joint with a hollow brass 

 ferule that slips on and off the end of the pole. The hinge enables one to set the 

 glass at any required angle by pressing it against twigs or branches after it is 



