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Bird -Lore 



ered her dainty morsel. Then, by placing 

 the young bird on the forefinger and holding 

 it in the bushes, we succeeded in persuading 

 the mother to feed her young several times. 

 To find out how much courage she would 

 develop, my wife held the young bird on her 

 hand several yards from the bushes and en- 

 tirely clear of them. When the old bird 

 came back, the first time her heart failed her 

 and she hovered about us and then flew 

 back to the elm. As we remained quietly, 

 though there were many passing along the 

 walk, she fluttered about and finally fed her 

 young. This was repeated several times, 

 usually with considerable scolding. Though 

 we could not induce her to light on the 

 hand, lack of time prevented us from carry- 

 ing our trials any further. The fearless- 

 ness of the bird was surprising to us, never 

 before having had such confidence shown us 

 by a parent bird. We felt confident that with 

 patient effort the mother would have lighted 

 on our hands and fed her ofl^spring. The 

 amount of courage she did show, however, 

 is worthy of note.— Samuel C. Palmer, 

 Sivarthmore, Pa. 



Mockingbirds in New Jersey 



In the middle of the month of November, 

 1902, I saw a Mockingbird in the garden 

 of a neighbor, who told me that it had been 

 around for several days and had been 

 noticed by other neighbors. I watched him 

 for some time and might have let the inci- 

 dent pass had I not been told by Mr. Kim- 

 ball C. Atwood, of Oradel, N. J., that he 

 saw a Mocking-bird feeding on the berries 

 of a vine overhanging his piazza, early in 

 January, 1903. The bird appeared cold and 

 hungry. He put out a squirrel's cage with 

 food; the bird entered and was caught. He 

 was transferred to a Mocking-bird cage and 

 given tempting food, but became very rest- 

 less; he evidently had not been reared in 

 confinement. A few weeks later, while Mr. 

 Atwood was in Florida, and hearing the 

 songs of the free Mockers, the captive bird 

 died. The question arises. Was this the same 

 Mockingbird I saw five miles farther west 

 a few weeks before, or was it one of a nest 

 that had been reared here? A pair of Mock- 



ingbirds bred near here, where the Home of 

 Incurables now stands, some twenty years 

 ago, but I heard nothing of them after that 

 summer. — Henry Hales, Ridgeivood, N. J. 



A Thieving Chebec 



On June 2, I found, in a small maple sap- 

 ling by the side of a brook, a Yellow 

 Warbler's nest containing four eggs. The 

 mother-bird did not seem Jo object to my 

 looking into her nest, but when I had with- 

 drawn a short distance she began to chirp 

 angrily. Turning around, I saw the 

 cause of her trouble. A Chebec, or Least 

 Flycatcher, flew to the side of the nest, and 

 hovering on its wings began to pluck out 

 some of the building material. 



The poor Yellow Warbler, that had spent 

 so much time and pains upon her cozy 

 home, succeeded in driving him away, but 

 not until he had stolen nearly all he could 

 carry in his bill. 



It seems very probable to me that the 

 Chebec was building somewhere a nest of 

 its own and so counted itself very fortunate 

 (until it was driven away by the Yellow 

 Warbler) in finding so much easily pro- 

 cured material. — Addison Williamson. 



Two Years for an Oriole's Nest 



For many years the Baltimore Orioles 

 have nested in the elms about our house. 

 Whether it is the same pair each year or not 

 I cannot say, but I am inclined to think it is. 



Two years ago they did not build near us 

 as usual, so I was glad to find them at work 

 in 1903, on a nest quite near the house. 

 My pleasure, however, was short-lived, as 

 the nest was deserted before it was half 

 completed, and the birds disappeared from 

 the neighborhood. About the middle of 

 May, 1904, while looking at this unfinished 

 nest, I saw a female Oriole fly into it and 

 pick at it here and there, while her bril- 

 liantly colored mate flew down close to her 

 and acted as though he wanted to help; but 

 I have never yet seen a male Oriole working 

 on a nest, — perhaps Madam objects. Since 

 that time she has worked steadily, and now 

 (May 23) the nest looks nearly finished.— 

 Frank T. Antes, Canandaigua, N. T. 



