ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 31 



In a year's time we have seen more than seventy different 

 birds in this block. Even a Whip-poor-will spent a day sleeping 

 in a big maple beside the house. Since that time, (May 7, 1918), 

 I have called him "My great big Warbler." Have you ever seen 

 him wake up? No? I'll tell you about it. Just at dusk of that 

 evening, he showed signs of being alive by stretching his right 

 wing, then the left one, very much like both grown-ups and little 

 folks stretch their arms when awakened from a sound sleep. 

 But without further preparation, as far as I could see, he 

 swooped down to a tree stump in the back-yard and called 

 whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will. 

 From this place of vantage he flew in complete circles, to the 

 right and then to the left of the stump, catching an insect here 

 and there just as a dainty warbler or the flycatcher would do. 

 After repeating this a number of times, he flew swiftly around 

 the yard several times coming so near me that I expected to 

 be slapped in the face by his wings. He stopped in this wild 

 pursuit of food to perch on a post nearby. From there you 

 could hear three subdued calls — similar to the whirring of 

 a whip through the air. Then with a clearly defined whip-poor- 

 will, whip-poor-will he soared into the air until I could barely 

 see him and flew toward the open fields west of Rogers Park. 



"A bird in your heart brings a bird to your house" had been 



proved true again. 



Mrs. Frederick A. Smith. 

 5902 Magnolia Avenue, Chicago. 



A School Beautiful Committee 



The Illinois Council of Parent-Teacher Associations has made 

 an important move in appointing a School Beautiful Committee 

 and approving a comprehensive program of activities. Mrs. 

 Benjamin Bachrach of Decatur is chairman of the Committee, 

 the duties of which are defined, "To see that the school grounds 

 are made beautiful with native trees, shrubs, and flowers ; that 

 the school grounds are made bird sanctuaries ; that definite time 

 is given in class work to the study of birds." 



The Committee has already a suggestive outline of bird 

 work for schools the publication of which is expected at an early 

 date. This outline lays emphasis upon concrete projects such 

 as maintaining feeding shelves, building martin houses, and 

 other houses, and under the head of landscape work stresses the 

 planting of shrubs whose fruit furnishes food for birds. Sug- 

 gestions for class study and lists of books and helpful charts 

 and pictures are given. 



