FUN WITH THE BIRDS, 



I. 



There has been plenty of work and 

 plenty of fun on the farm this summer — 

 a very . desirable combination. Work 

 without something to cheer us becomes 

 drudgery; fun without work becomes 

 still more irksome. On the old farm, 

 among the plants and birds and trees, it 

 is never all one thing or the other. 

 Country life in summer need never be 

 dull. If sometimes in winter we envy 

 our city cousins, their gayer lot and 

 greater advantages in summer, we bal- 

 ance the account by listening to the birds 

 and pitying our cousins. 



Our birds know us and we know 

 them. It is a case of mutual study, be- 

 gun several years ago and kept up on 

 both sides with mutual satisfaction. It 

 is not likely that our feathered friends 

 get as much pleasure out of it as we do, 

 but they seem satisfied with their share, 

 and we have every reason to be satisfied 

 with ours. 



The song sparrow is entitled to first 

 mention, for he stays with us through- 

 out the year, singing late in autumn, 

 early in spring, and occasionally during 

 the winter. He is a charming little fel- 

 low, frank and confiding, with tones so 

 sweet that we know him as little "Silver 

 Bells." Somebody calls this 'favorite 

 dowdy in dress and altogether unprepos- 

 sessing in appearance. One can hardly 

 help wondering whether that writer ever 

 saw a song sparrow. We should like to 

 introduce him to our tidy little friend, 

 so neat, so unpretentious, and withal so 

 generous that, when one is sick, the bird 

 seems to feel it his duty to spend much 

 time on a branch just opposite the win- 

 dow, cheering the sufferer with his de- 

 lightful song. 



The Baltimore orioles built as usual 

 on a swaying branch of the big maple. 

 These birds come to us about the first of 

 May. They usually spend several days 



in looking over the various sites, mak- 

 ing sure that things are about as they 

 left them in September, and driving 

 away intruders. Fierce battles often oc- 

 cur; other orioles would like one of 

 those branches, and seemingly cannot 

 see why it takes all of a big tree to hold 

 one little family. A year or two ago it 

 took a long and noisy war to settle the 

 boundaries. When peace was at last de- 

 clared, each party went sullenly to work, 

 one building on the extreme east and 

 the other on the extreme west of the 

 tree. That was the only time I have 

 ever known two pair of orioles to build 

 in the same tree. This year there was 

 the usual contest, but one party was 

 forced to retire to the orchard. Then our 

 pre-emptors proceeded to build in a man- 

 ner which has been somewhat modified 

 by close association with the people of 

 "Clovercroft." 



It is according to our observation that 

 Madam Oriole will not allow her hus- 

 band to take any part in building the 

 nest. It is his business to stand guard, 

 and to fight when there is any fighting 

 to be done ; it is her business to gather 

 material and build the nest. If "Peter," 

 as we call him because of his shrill cry, 

 which sounds like "Peter, Peter, Pete," 

 happens to come too near during the 

 process of building, he is forcibly re- 

 minded that when needed he will be 

 called for. 



It was Madam, then, that began build- 

 ing after her modified plan. Having se- 

 lected the most desirable site and placed 

 a few timbers, she began to manifest 

 great uneasiness, screaming and flitting 

 about the old cherry tree a few feet from 

 the window, carefully examining its 

 trunk to see if it bore anything to her 

 liking. Her actions would have puz- 

 zled a stranger ; to us who knew her so 

 well they were perfectly clear. She 

 knew from past experience that most 



•.'08 



