21 
thrush, too, has become very tame, bringing its young to the door to 
be fed. Song sparrows and chippies are also wonderfully tame.” 
People buy birds and go to the expense and care of keeping them 
in cages. How much more is it worth to have a pair of free birds 
come and nest by your window, to have them sing to you the season 
through, and show you all the secrets of their family life and wonder¬ 
ful housekeeping. Four of my friends have kindly given me estimates 
as to how much they would be willing to give a year to have thus a 
pair of the following birds. We may compare the figures with Holden’s 
prices for choice songsters of the same species. 1 
Bird. Estimated Vaeuh. Holden’s Price. 
Brown Thrasher, 
1st. 
$5 
2nd. 
$3 
3rd. 
$3 ' 
00 ex 1 
$5 
to $ 8 
Catbird, 
1 
1 
•75 
I 
5 
“ 10 
Tanager, 
1 
10 
3 
4 
3 
“ 5 
Grosbeak, 
1 
8 
7 
8 
5 
“ 8 
Robin, 
5 
5 
1 
1 
0 
0 
“ ‘5 
Bobolink, 
2 
10 
6 
8 
2 
“ 3 
Orioles, 
6 
4 
3-50 
n 
O 
5 
Chickadee, 
2 
1 
2 
2 
— 
— 
Bluebird, 
1 
5 
4 
0 
— 
— 
Mocking bird (not thought of as 
a possibility), 
3-50 
50 
The problem of attracting birds about our homes is one which 
might well interest every child and household in the land. It is a 
subject about which books do not tell us much, hence all the better 
calculated to stimulate ingenuity and imagination and reward every 
step with the delight of experiment and discovery. It is at bottom the 
problem of finding out all necessaries of bird life and supplying such 
as may be lacking. Food, water, and homes are the prime essentials. 
Insect food is generally superabundant, but may need to be supple¬ 
mented at times, as already suggested. Excellent general directions 
1 I had hoped to place along side of the aesthetic value, the economic value 
of the different birds; but our highest authorities in ornithology tell us that 
this is not known for a single bird. If a toad may be worth $ 19.88 each season 
for cutworms alone which it destroys (Kirkland’s estimate. The Common Toad, 
Bulletin No. 46, Hatch Experiment Station, Amherst, Mass.,), many of our 
birds, like the chickadee, swallow, wren, robin, and others, must be worth 
much more. 
