THE LISTENERi^*;^-*^ 



Dear J.istonfir— Can you pive some hint as to 

 the whereabouts of the bluebird, now overdue 

 here (t«'enty.iire milea southeast ol bostoni at 

 least a fortnitrlit— taking the backward spring 

 into ai:.(;oiint; Ihiis far only one lias appeared, 

 and was heard on the 14th of March: after 

 singmK a little in the lonesome, plaintive way 

 common to the species In the fall, he took him- 

 sell off. The eeese. with their stirring clamor, 

 have been passing overhead ; the robm is horf*. 

 tryiusr hia voice: the woodpecker sounds his 

 call on the i-esonant dead aople-tree limb: the 

 woodcock, the blackbird, the swallow, and a 

 fair chorus of frogs are present : vet some of us. 

 to whom the bluebird is dearer th.an .all these- 

 are feehng really serious concern Ing his ab- 

 sence, and any kuowledffo of his safetv will he 

 gladly received. Kdoar A. Josselyn. 



South Hanover. Mass.. April 8. . 



The Listener has heard thCt'a very dis- 

 tinguished Massachusetts for pltiiol ogiat* has 

 seen only two bluebirds this spring, and that 

 ho has advices which lead him to believe that 

 our ijlueliirds — that is. those whicli breed liero 

 —were killed by the uuusually severe weather 

 in the Middle States, where they winter. 

 Another well-known or nitholo^' -iat.^hn mav be 

 said to have had exceptional %-ooaRrtniie. 

 tells the I.istenerthat he has seen about fifteen 

 bluebirds tins spring:, and that they all had 

 tlie appearance of being engat?ed m luiprratinK 

 farther north. [Jsuallv. at this date, he would 

 have seen so many that he would not have 

 thought it worth wlule to count them. He 

 shares the beliot that our Massachu-setts hlne- 

 birds were destroyed by the cold in their win- 

 ter anarters. They are certainly extremely 

 scarce here this spring— to the ordinary eye 

 and ear they are absent. It is a great pity : and 

 vet we may hope that enough have been left 



for seed." as the farmers say. and that another 

 year or two wiil see them as plenty as ever. 

 + + + 



Another bird fact should bo noted: The 

 white-breasted swallows perished this winter 

 in great numbers in Florida and the extreme 

 Southern States. The April number o£ the 

 Auk, the ornithological journal, has from va- 

 rious correspondents reports of the destruction 

 ol these birds in great numbers. These are one 

 of our most familiar swallows: they are the 

 Urst to arrive in spring, and are duo : indeed, 

 the Listener's South Hanover friend seems to 

 have seen some already. Bird lovers are likely 

 to notice a diminution in tlie number of theee 

 beautiful and light-winged creatures when the 

 time of their reign is fully here. 



Nothing has been said in the papers about the 

 destruction of the bluebirds and swallows, and 

 a great deal has been said about tlie loss of the 

 Florida orange crop; and yet how much more 

 serious a loss, tons of Maaaaclinsetts, is the 

 killing of the birds than the killing of the 

 oranges! All the reasonable demands of our 

 stomachs can be satisfied without Florida 

 oranges, but our .souls will be left .somewhat 

 hungry, will they not, by an absence or scarcity 

 ol bluebirds and swallows? 



The Listener knows very little about birds, 

 but he lias a distinct recollection of hearing 

 the chickadees, pcewee note in midwinter. If 

 he IS not mistaken, lie has also heard it m sum- 

 mer. Here IS another interestini; letter: 



Dear I.i--,ti ij'jr — 1 iie article m the ^Saturday 

 tveiiintt I ra» script, as to the disappearance or 

 noii-afijit-ariiih^t u-t :;he bluebird, seems to be 

 one of cousiilerablo iiiterest. The bluebird is 

 certain I V uncommonly rare this spring — tiie 

 reasons for wnlch are extremely uncertain and 

 correspondiDgiv interesting. The writer has 

 seen s( ar elya d07en lliirti h % li ht 1 

 us oy passing farther r<:r: 1 'ii.^ '::r~ ■ ,■ ih-mI.- 

 able. That birds are r: 

 in a given direction :■. 

 quantity, unless seen i 



loo- 



jiaiiges. 



. - - - nrodi- 

 on this .subject. 

 Lther ' of .'Vmen- 

 mself as unable 

 ■rli of Maryland 

 creal mass 

 .ghout 



The Listeners note the other day abont the | 

 absence of the bluebirds has called out several. I 

 interesting letters. One ot the mo- t suTnilicant | 

 as well as the most painful, is the followint': 



Acnl 1-t. 1,S95.'- 

 Dear Listener— When I was in Washington a 

 few weeks ago an ornithologist at the Snilth- 

 Bonia Institution lold me that m passing 

 through the Washington Market he counted 

 three hundred bluebirds festooning onostall- 

 They had been stripped of their leathers, but 

 to his keen eve were unmistakable. That was 

 but one stall. There are niauv stalls where 

 birds are sold m that market. I hehovsof that 

 neighborhood bring them m by the basketful. 

 Inll Ml It .In t s^nth Uiiiivei ih ( th R 

 is where some oi our beautiful lilu. birds h)ive 

 gone, and that ho is inute riebt in ■■|'peliii'=- 

 really serious" about the matter. It should be 

 a national sorrow that soiiR-birds — oranvwilr* 

 birds tor that matter— are killed for fashion oi 

 for food. I. c;. B. 



Tii most of the btates. according to a late re 

 port ot the committee of the .\mancan Orni 

 thological Union on bird protection, excelleni 

 laws, much like that of MassachnsB-ts ho,,, 

 been adopted to protect song-birds. It lo 

 against the law in Massacliusetts to kill blue- 

 birds and it is not in the District of Columbia. 

 Cong-ess has been even more remiss m its 

 duties than is generally supposed. The loliow- 

 iug nn the same subject, is from a gentleman 

 who will not need anv introduction to bud 



'''^MyDeiir Listener-1 think your South Han 

 over friend need not yet give up.hope ot a visit 

 from the bluebirds, for all the birds are lale m 

 comui to Massa. hu - ttsthissi iing iiitiutuecd 

 p?obaSy. by the cold weather at t!ie Sout i. A 



fwl' n^^.ili^.to\; ^1.^ ^I^'^iirrl^e^-fnf \f t'ffe 



^"o'nJ 'ti'fcllr' ^r^Sow n^ -oT- 

 'Bcker tl.roe song sparrows, two robins and one 

 ^ef.^Vged°blaavlll\compielO the is^^ 

 few bluebirds have been seen m this vicuiuy. 

 On Saturday last I met but three m a three- 

 hours tramo and robins and song sparrows are 

 '-"?"P'i,^;^}JiHe\hat'Mr. Hugh Smith, who con- 



iTxluZ ot Isf^rbruaW^ is corrlt In^ sun- 



§mmmm 



iSS^^'So^^de^r jUoo ■ 



5^To^^e^^lr'"hanSng^^ltsrii7tent registered 

 ^^M^Ki°P., who BPent several^— 



^iVsui^e/frn^cold'iains when a, omp .nied 



by high wind. cu.,H,ick is correct in think- 

 1,, ndei If MissSh ttm k is jor ^ ^ 



tl. /l"''''^,^'"S'jVilthPSpring-lheearly 

 " 1 It I cVid 1 V ten m the winter 



spring- ''".'./'t„\'ii''m or never during the hot 

 «rs;,u:,igd.t^- .wlnteisong. 



MoNT^OUl^■. (^HAMBEBLAIN. 



Oamiridge, April l""^- 



