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Bird -Lore 



were located for nesting the singing of 

 seven males could be heard from our 

 dooryard. This year Dickcissels can be 

 rated no more than tolerably common. 

 Their spring arrival is later than that of 

 any other of our breeding birds, and their 

 nesting is no more than well begun when 

 the work of destructive mowers is com- 

 menced in their haunts. The number of 

 nests destroyed last year was large. The 

 Grasshopper Sparrow, usually found in 

 small numbers every summer, has not 

 been observed this year, excepting one 

 individual in migration time. The Gold- 

 finch, a common bird usually, is scarce 

 this year; so, too, are the Cliff and the 

 Barn Swallow. 



That the extreme cold of the past winter 

 had some share in the reduction of some 

 of the species is but a natural conclusion. 

 The Goldfinch and the Robin both win- 

 tered in unprecedented numbers far north 

 of their usual winter range in this region, 

 which lies in the northward extension of 

 the Austral Zone on both sides of the 

 Mississippi River, as marked on the map 

 prepared by the Biological Survey. Here, 

 within the first six weeks of the year, there 

 were twenty-six mornings of zero weather, 

 or from zero to 30 and 36 degrees below 

 that mark; yet, despite this cold, Robins 

 survived, a flock of about thirty being 

 seen in the latter days of February. The 

 Robins as summer residents are not so 

 numerous as usual, although the decrease 

 in the numbers is not so noticeable as it 

 is in other species. The Bluebird seems to 

 have fared worse. In answer to investi- 

 gations made in March, Mr. Merton Fox, 

 who for eight years has been mail-car- 

 rier on Route No. 2 out of McGregor, 

 Iowa, gave as his opinion that he was see- 

 ing more Bluebirds than usual. My obser- 

 vations have been of but four individuals; 

 two were migrants, and two were summer 

 residents several miles apart. — Althea 

 R. Sherman, National, Iowa. 



last winter, as our house is quite near the 

 business section of the town, and I did 

 not think that many birds would come to 

 feed. Last winter, however, I put out 

 sunflower seeds and suet, and one pair 

 each of Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Tit- 

 mice, Cardinals, and Downy Woodpeckers 

 came daily. Another pair of Chickadees 

 and a Carolina Wren also paid me an 

 occasional visit. 



I considered myself well repaid for my 

 trouble by the excellent opportunities 

 given for study and observation at close 

 range, but I soon found that I was also to 

 receive other compensation. 



A plum and an apple tree stood close 

 to where I had placed my counter, and I 

 frequently saw the birds in these, appar- 

 ently searching for food. The Downy 

 Woodpecker was especially active, and 

 was seen repeatedly climbing up and down 

 the plum tree. We have usually had fair 

 crops from the apple, but there have not 

 been many plums for several years. I 

 wondered at the time what effect the birds 

 would have on the fruit. 



The trees blossomed about the same as 

 usual, but we soon noticed that the fruit 

 did not fall so much as in former years. 

 During spring and summer other birds 

 came to feed in the trees, particularly the 

 Yellow Warbler. 



As a result of the good work of the 

 birds, we had better crops on both trees 

 than we have had for several years, even 

 better than last year when the trees were 

 sprayed. 



This incident has convinced me that 

 the winter-feeding of birds is worth while, 

 even when viewed merely from the eco- 

 nomic standpoint, without any consider- 

 ation of the pleasure derived from watch- 

 ing the birds, or of the fact that this 

 feeding is frequently the only thing that 

 saves many birds from starvation during 

 winter. — George W. Tavenner, Jr., 

 Parkershurg, W. Va. 



Value of Winter Birds 



Although I have been interested in 

 birds for some time, I never fed them before 



A Field Mark for the Least Sandpiper 



Mr. John T. Nichols' remarks in the 

 July- August number of Bird -Lore on 



