The song of the Prairie Warbler is a Httle the most remarkable production 

 in the Mniotiltan repertoire. It is a succession of mellow whistling creaks, each 

 note pitched higher than the preceding, and each gaining somewhat in intensity 

 until the next to the last one is reached. The bird runs a weird chromatic 

 scale upon a fairy oboe, with an effect which Dr. Coues describes as "like a 

 mouse complaining of a toothache." 



The bird seen at Sugar Grove was entirely destitute of the "brick-red 

 spots upon the middle of the back," usually recommended as a recognition mark, 

 and certain other marks were less distinct than normally in the adult male. It 

 was probably a male of the second summer which had not yet attained adult 

 plumage. 



Birds and Their Young 



By L. W. Brownell 



I wonder if any of my readers ever stopped to think what a busy life is a 

 bird's. Most especially is this true during the mating season when they have 

 young to provide for. During this time of the year they are busy constantly 

 from daybreak until dark searching for and carrying worms and other insects 

 to their offspring. But this is a labor of love and the birds perform it in the 

 most cheerful manner, even singing at their task. If any of us doubt that it is 

 a task and a hard one at that, he should watch a pair of birds feeding their 

 young in the nest for a few hours and I will warrant that he would not care to 

 assume the same responsibilities. I have often stood hidden near a nest of 

 young and watched the feeding and timed the old birds, and until one has done 

 so he does not begin to realize the immense number of insects, mostly injurious 

 to vegetation, that one family of birds will dispose of in the course of a season. 



A pair of field sparrows which I once watched brought food at least once 

 every three minutes during the three or four hours that I watched them and 

 upon each trip from three to six insects were brought. This was in the middle 

 of the day when the business of feeding is not carried on so vigorously as in the 

 early morning. The greatest wonder to me was not where they managed to 

 find so many insects, but how the young ones managed to hold them all, and 

 they were apparently just as hungry at the end of the time as they were at the 

 beginning. When we stop to consider that this work must be kept up every 

 day for at least three weeks, growing even more arduous as the young grow 

 older ; that this is not the only duty of the parents but that they must keep their 

 babies well sheltered from the elements ; must keep the nest well cleaned : that 

 one of them must always be not far from the nest in order to protect it from 

 predatory enemies ; and that with it all they must find time to feed and bathe 

 themselves — for birds are very constant to their bath — we may begin to realize 

 that a bird's life is something of a busy one, at least during the time when the 

 young are being raised. 



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