ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 43 



he immediately flew to the rescue, and both father and mother 

 tugged until the offending bite was removed. Satisfied that 

 the youngster was all right he returned to the Cowbirds. 



When a second family arrived, we rejoiced that this time they 

 were all Cardinals. 



EDITOR'S NOTE. It does not detract from the value of Miss Peetz' 

 observations to state that the Scarlet Tanager and the Wood Thrush are 

 also recorded as victims of the Cowbird's craftiness. Bird-Lore for July- 

 August, 1921 has an important contribution to Cowbird literature by 

 Harry C. Elder. Miss Peetz and Mr. Elder will doubtless be much interest- 

 ed in comparing notes. 



Miss Genevieve Zimmer writes : 



Our cafeteria is in full swing at the present moment. The 

 first snowstorm sent all of our star boarders back. We fasten- 

 ed a large piece of suet up on the casing of the southeast win- 

 dow and nailed the lunch counter to the window-sill. Each 

 day we put out bits of chopped suet, cracked corn, sunflower 

 seeds, apples, and cracked nuts, which the children supplv reg- 

 ularly. High prices do not seem to bother our feathered visi- 

 tors, for they devour literally quarts of chick feed, pounds of 

 suet, and bags of cracked nuts. All through the dav we see 

 these four birds, — the Downy, White-breasted Nuthatch, 

 Chickadee, and Bluejay. The Brown Creeper never comes to 

 the counter but pilfers from the storeroom, an old elm near 

 the window. The four "steadies," as we call them, must like our 

 bill of fare, for they have been with us eight years regardless 

 of the fact that children play right under the window and auto- 

 mobiles and noisy wagons drive past at all times of the day. 

 Each bird comes at least a dozen times a day and twice that 

 often in colder weather. 



How human they are! The Chickadee, like the aristocra- 

 tic little lady she is, comes daintily to her place at table, eating 

 with exquisite grace. She is so shy the children fairly hold 

 their breath for fear she will fly away. Her little needle-like 

 bill gets out every tiny crumb of nut meat from the shell. The 

 White-breasted Nuthatch pounces greedily upon his food, eats 

 with a vengeance and hugely enjoys every gustatory experience. 

 He carries much suet away and has filled every crevice of the 

 elm tree near the window. 



A suet gourmand is the Downy. He "pieces" very often, 

 attacking the suet every time as if he had never seen it before. 

 Once in a while he misses his aim and comes to the wrong win- 

 dow, pecking stupidly at the brick and wondering why it 

 doesn't yield to him. Finally he flies away to try it all over 

 again and this time he stays long enough to make up for lost 

 time. 



We call the Bluejay the cock of the walk. All flee the pre- 

 mises when he alights. He looks like a dude in his stylish 

 blue coat, but eats like a ruffian, scattering the food with both 

 feet and carrying off the choicest bits clear up to the next 



