IDYLLS OF BIRD LIFE 
Young Albert had the ideal company of three younger 
brothers who early learned to appreciate their big brother’s in¬ 
terest in birds. No better companion could these boys find, than 
their father. He was playmate, instructor, guide and father to 
the growing lads, and they responded whol^-heartedly to the 
moulding influences of the paternal parent. The eldest son, 
however, was to resemble most the father in literary talent and 
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love of Nature. Young Albert’s teachers in the elementary' 
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classes recall his interest in the collectibn of insects and love 
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for observation. Here, he was already an interesting com- 
panion, manifesting an advanced knowledge in the denizens of 
the woods. 
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V. 
111 
He attended the High School of the University of Dayton, 
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from 1907-1911. During the time of his high school career, a 
love for flowers manifested itself. His interest in Nature 
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ened. Though at all times a good sportsman and a real Amer- 
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ican boy, with his interest in baseball, basketball, dawn tennis, 
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a study of Nature at unlooked-for moments would hold hjs 
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attention. Because of this predominating interest some of his 
classmates facetiously termed him “caveman.” For want 
of 
better name this word signified the embryo naturalist. In his 
