WINTER ACTIVITIES OF WILD ANIMALS 153 
one’s window. Some of the more familiar little birds, such 
as chickadees, nut hatches and downy woodpeckers, will 
come to the window ledge for food in time of scarcity. The 
chief points to be observed in winter feeding of wild birds are 
these: 
1. To give them food they hke—things akin to their natural 
diet. Many birds like the leavings from our tables—crusts 
of bread, scraps of meat, boiled cabbage leaves, bananas, 
nuts, etc. Suet is very attractive to many arboreal birds, 
and if a piece be tacked to a convenient tree trunk under a 
piece of wide-meshed wire netting, the birds can get it a 
mouthful at a time and cannot fly away with the whole piece 
atonce. A feeding shelf at one’s window should have a rim 
around it to prevent the food from blowing away, and it may 
with advantage have a roof over it to keep off the snow. 
2. To place the food where birds will go toit. Observe their 
natural feeding places. Grain for wild fowl should be scat- 
tered on the ground in covert places. Hollow “‘food-sticks”’ 
filled with fat and nailed up in the trees are irresistible to 
woodpeckers. Sparrows will not feed wpon a swinging or an 
unstable support: hence, if they over-run a feeding shelf, 
suspend the food and they will leave it to other birds. 
3. Toavoid unnecessary alarms. The sight or smell of a cat 
will keep birds away from one’s window. So, will excess of 
noise, or undue publicity. The back yard is better than the 
front yard, especially if fruit trees be near; and the feeding 
shelf will be doubly attractive if it be partially screened and: 
sheltered by evergreen boughs, and have easy approach from 
neighboring trees. 
At least one sort of winter feeding is of much practical 
importance. Rabbits and mice love to eat the green bark of 
young trees; especially, of apple trees. They girdlesuch trees 
and kill them. So the careful grower protects his trees by 
wrapping their trunks with something inedible, such as wire 
