Taming Evening Grosbeaks 



By EDITH K. DUNTON, Rutland, Vt, 

 With photographs by Louis F. Brehmer 



IT WAS a bitter disappointment to learn, from a note in Bird-Lore for 

 January, 19 17, that my experience this past March and April in feeding 

 Evening Grosbeaks out of my hand on my window-sills is not unique. I 

 hope, however, that the accompanying photographs may be of sufficient interest 

 to warrant comment. It is one thing to get the birds to the sill with the window 

 closed, or open only enough to admit one's hand, and quite another to open 

 it a foot or so, thus subjecting the birds to a draft, which they dislike, because 

 it interferes with easy landing on the narrow sill. It gives them, too, a clear view 

 of the room within and of the unfamiliar camera, a dark tower of terror, not 

 4 feet away from their feeding-ground, with the camera man sitting behind it. 

 I am only an amateur bird-tamer, while Mr. L. F. Brehmer is a professional 

 photographer, with birds for his favorite subjects. Thus was the feat accom- 

 plished. 



As many as eleven Grosbeaks have been seen feeding together on one sill 

 3 feet long and 8 inches wide. The first 'sitting,' on March i, resulted in get- 

 ting four birds. Mr. Brehmer thought these looked rather a small number for 

 the size of the window, and wished to try again. This time the photograph of six 

 birds was secured, and we made an unsuccessful attempt to get them photo- 

 graphed while feeding from my hand. The third sitting, on March 6, was 

 devoted entirely to this object. I had never had any trouble in getting certain 

 birds, females and young ones, to eat in that way within a few minutes. But, 

 for a successful photograph, the bird must feed from the side where it will be 

 best seen. The hand must remain at the spot prearranged for a focus, instead 

 of being moved temptingly toward a bird. The window must be open wider than 

 usual, and camera and operator are also disturbing elements. However, within 

 three-quarters of an hour we had secured three successful pictures of hand- 

 fed birds. 



"I am very glad we got those pictures," said Mr. Brehmer later. "You had 

 told me that you fed the birds that way, and I knew it to be so, but I did not — 

 realize it," he concluded, choosing his word politely. 



Not only I, but two other members of the household and two friends have 

 had the pleasure of feeling those big, efficient bills peck seed from their palms 

 and crack off the shells above their fingers. I do not flatter myself that the 

 birds recognize me as their 'provider.' Anyone who moves slowly and quietly 

 can get as near to them as I can. Two of us have stroked their soft breasts. 

 One day six birds quarreled to get to my hand; frequently two have fed 

 together from opposite sides, and sometimes I have pushed the pair apart 

 when they began to quarrel over their food-tray — which they evidently regard 

 as a dish, not as a hand. 



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