322 Bird -Lore 



spermophiles, frogs, lizards, fishes, etc., in all stages of growth, among verte- 

 brate ones. When you begin to work out this table, you will be greatly sur- 

 prised, no doubt, to find out how very little you know about the relation 

 of birds to other forms of life. — A. H. W. 



SUGGESTIONS 



i. Collect a few nests, air thoroughly or disinfect with gasolene, and put each care- 

 fully in a box with a cover to keep out the dust, or in a glass-sided case. Label neatly, 

 giving the name of the tree or shrub or the location where the nest was found, its height 

 from the ground and the name of the species of bird which occupied it, if you are sure 

 of this point. 



2. Collect seeds of various kinds, particularly weed seeds, and label them in sepa- 

 rate boxes for study later. A good way to put up seeds is to glue a few on to a 

 white card, with a pressed leaf of the plant from which the seeds came. A still better way 

 is to cut two pieces of cotton wadding of exactly the same size and fit over a stiff piece 

 of cardboard. Arrange the seeds and leaves on the wadding, and place over either side 

 of this exhibit pieces of glass cut to match the card-board. Passepartout the edges 

 securely, and label the mount or make a type-written description of its contents for 

 future reference. A series of mounts made in this way, using old negatives, which can 

 be obtained at slight expense from any photographer, make a valuable addition to the 

 school-room equipment, if numbered and carefully labeled. 



3. Examine the nests collected with reference to the materials used in their con- 

 struction, consider their durability, and review the preceding exercise, to see what kind 

 of nests it would be impossible to preserve or to collect ordinarily. 



4. Look up the habits of the European Cuckoo and compare them with those of the 

 American Cuckoos. Study the food-habits of these birds, and also the winter and sum- 

 mer food of the Chickadee. 



5. Correlate bird-study with arithmetic, this fall, by computing some of the dis- 

 tances traveled by birds in their migration south. For example, compute the distance 

 from Alaska to Central America, via the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico; 

 from the Great Lakes to Cuba or Jamaica; from the Hudson Bay region to Mexico; from 

 the Arctic Circle to South America, etc.; following out the principal routes of migration 

 used by the birds. (See Bird-Lore, Vol. XV, No. 2, p. 124.) 



References: Some New Facts about the Migration of Birds, by Wells Cooke. Year- 

 book of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1903. A Lesson on Squirrels and Chipmunks 

 for Elementary Grades, by Anna B. Comstock, in The Nature Study Review, Sept., 

 1913. Nature Month by Month, by Ernest Ingersoll, in The Outlook, Aug. 23, 1913- 



FROM YOUNG OBSERVERS 



Friendly Birds 



The accompanying photograph shows the degree of tameness exhibited 

 by the Chickadees during the past winter. They took food from the hand 

 from the start, a fact which led me to believe that some of them had visited 

 my feeding-station the year before, and by a little coaxing were induced to 

 take a nut held between the teeth. I believe they recognized me from other 

 members of the family, as they showed particular friendliness toward me. 

 When I approached their feeding-station, they would fly to meet me, and 



