THE BIRD STUDY BOOK 



strings and fragments of brightly coloured yarns 

 were placed where the birds could find them. Baron 

 von Berlepsch, whose experiments in attracting birds 

 to his place in Germany have been widely advertised, 

 found that when the tops of bushes were drawn in 

 closely by means of a wire or cord, the resulting thick 

 mass of leaves and twigs offered so fine a place for 

 concealing nests that few birds could resist the 

 temptation to use them. 



Other means of rendering a cemetery alluring to 

 nesting birds will readily present themselves when 

 an active interest is developed in the subject. A 

 little thought, a little care, and a little trouble, would 

 make it possible for many birds to dwell in a ceme- 

 tery, and it must be remembered that unless they 

 can nest there, the chances are that no great volume 

 of bird music will fill the air. 



The young of most .song birds are fed to a great 



extent on the soft larvae of insects, of which there is 



usually an abundant supply everywhere. Many 



mother birds, however, like to vary this animal diet 



[234] 



