/ I remember one Ootobar day, of walk^i^ 

 miles in tlie keen sliarp air, and of learning 

 many of Nature's little secrets, even tlionwh 

 there were no birds which I had not seen 

 thousands of times before. On tliis day tlio 

 IJlagJiirds were very numerous, in flocks of 

 from six or eight to forty or more, and some 

 of them were yet in their striped vests and 

 mottled gray and blue backs, which seem to 

 be the style for summer wear among the 

 younger portion of the community, though 

 the older ones were truly gorgeous in blue 

 and cliestnut, even out-rivalling their appear- 

 ance when they came among us in springtime. 

 They did not sing, but sadly piped in mono- 

 syllables, and ever in the same tone, now loud 

 and near by, and then fainter, when at a 

 greater distance, but ever clear, like the air 

 and the sky above them. To me this note is 

 always associated with old pastures, scraggy 

 grey fences, and turning leaves. 



In a few weeks most of them will have 

 gone south for the winter, as it is fashionable 

 for most birds to do, but a few, like the un- 

 fashionable of their human neighbors, prefer 

 to spend the season at home, for here in 

 Massachusetts hardly any winter is without 

 its few stray Bluebirds, and during some sea- 

 sons, like the winter of 1880-81 and 1882-8:!, 

 they are really plenty. In the fall these birds 

 are, if not less suspicious, more restless, and 

 do not stay in one place long at a time, but 

 when sps'ing comes they will be confiding 

 again. Once in March I saw one perched on 

 the "tail" of a rattling, buzzing windmill, 

 and singing away as unconcerned as you 

 please, and I have removed the female from 

 her nest with my hand, and even then on be- 

 ing released she remained within a few feet 

 of me. 



Writing of Bluebirds reminds me of one of 

 their articles of diet which to knowledge 

 is shared by only one other bird, the Box 

 Swallow (hicolor). To these two the uninviting 

 fruit of our pungent-leaved bayberry seems to 

 be acceptable, though perhaps unequally at- 

 tractive. The Swallow seems to be very fond 

 of the berry, especially in the fall, when they 

 cover the bushes by thousands in some places, 

 and make an entire repast of the berries, 

 and I have seen them in sjiring eating those 

 which have survived the winter. 



Bluebirds are far less frequent visitors to 

 this bush, and I imagine that they only par- 

 take when hunger drives them to it, as I have 

 f©iind them eating the tallowy berries only on 

 two or three occasions in early spring. / 



I pro- 



Here is a letter of a -rt that «.e ^ 

 havlniJ down there. « «'>"'^«. lr°,7,„„ 



fact " 



,uary farther South ,n Georgia 



the snow by the path, frozen « J=J 

 afternoon of that bitter day a 

 mto my offlee, where It was warm and com 

 fortable, but next morning he was aeaa 

 "'i;"e dlsTru^t^tonto'sman bird-life by that 



E^-er.r^-;s«^ 



February, I saw quite a »?°<'d many^ -Mas^ 

 the most that I saw at any one time were 

 tied to a string-shot by two rniserable 1 tie 

 muolters of white boys. What is it tnai 

 Prompts boys, some boys, to be such des- 

 ^e?"f Lasts? were you and I f"ch raur 

 derers? I do not know when my bile has so 

 risen as it did at the sight of those httle 

 qlniiE-htered innocents. 



But I wander. What I wanted to emplia- 

 size is the cheering fact that there aie in- 

 dieations that the bluebirds are ^-o-^-ering 

 from the ravages of that storm. It is prol3- 

 able that it will take but a ffw years for 

 the bluebirds to regain their old-time num- 



'^It'ls gratifying to know that the robins, 

 also (which are treated as game birds in 

 Georgia, and shot accordingly), have been 

 unusually numerous here lately. 



But now the robins and bluebirds have all 

 left Georgia tor the North. The robin's 

 song is never heard here. Neither are the 

 deUcate love notes of the bluebird, for 

 neither of them nest here. 



Still we have the mockmg bird, the 

 brown' thrasher, the hermit thrush and that 

 superb bird, the cardinal, who stay all sum- 



"And today the peach blossoms are a 



Tours very truly, 



J. S. Coon. 

 Atlanta, Ga., March 23, 1897^ 



