248 



Bird - Lore 



northern France. A breeding pair of Kestrels 

 were crying about the injured towers or 

 perching on the necks of the broken gar- 

 goyles of the Cathedral of Rheims. 



'English' Sparrows are to be seen, although 

 nowhere as abundant as in New York or 

 Chicago. A pair have their nest in the Crown 

 of an angel standing over the portal of the 

 Temple of Justice in Paris. Others were seen 

 feeding their young in the shell-splintered 

 trees girting the Chemin des Dames eastward 

 from Soissons. In all the cities and villages 

 large black Swifts circle and dart under the 

 eaves and above the roofs of the everpresent 

 stone buildings. Their high, squeaking notes 

 may be heard at all times of the day. They 

 appear not to build their nests in chimneys 

 but in holes and cracks of the houses. White- 

 rumped House Martins make their cradles 

 of mud on protected beams of church towers 

 and about the homes of peasants. 



In the fields, half a mile from the village 

 of Chamery, is a little shrine to which many 

 loyal Americans find their way. It is here 

 that I first met the Skylark. It arose singing 

 from the meadow and by a series of short, 



fluttering flights ascended in an irregular 

 spiral to a height of perhaps three hundred 

 feet. Then, with wings and tail spread to the 

 utmost and soaring uncertainly, like an in- 

 jured aeroplane, it slowly sank for a time 

 until suddenly, with half-closed wings, it 

 volplaned to the earth but a few yards 

 from the grave of the fallen Quinten 

 Roosevelt. The whole performance required 

 a little more than two minutes and 

 not for one instant did the notes of the 

 happy bird cease to pour forth in the still 

 morning air. 



On the evening of May 16, in Paris, I had 

 the great pleasure of addressing a meeting of 

 the French League for the Protection of 

 Birds. This organization in France corre- 

 sponds to the National Association of Audu- 

 bon Societies in the United States. It was 

 organized January 26, IQ12. The present 

 membership is about 600 and the annual fee 

 for members is 10 francs. Since the begin- 

 ning the League has published a magazine, 

 Bulletin de le Ligue Pour la Protection des 

 Oise.au. It holds meetings for the members 

 and offers cash rewards to officers of the Re- 



CHATEAU OF CLERES, IN NORMANDY 



Home of M. Jean Delacour, President of the French League for the Protection of Birds 



Photographed by T. Gilbert Pearson 



