BY THE WAYSIDE 
69 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT 
Every Wisconsin School Branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters for this department should be written on only 
one Hide of the pa^e, should j?ire the name, a*e and ad¬ 
dress of the writer, and should be mailed by the first of 
the month; Illinois children sending to Miss Juliet 
Goodrich, 10 Astor St,, Chicago, Ill., and Wisconsin 
children to Miss Ituth Marshall, Appleton, Win. An 
honor badfre will be awarded for each state every month 
preference being given to letters about the bird study 
for the month (which is always on this page) and to or¬ 
iginal observations. Any child who wine the honor 
badge twice will receive By The Wayside one year as a 
prise. 
The wren button, which is the badge of the Audubon 
Society, costs two cents, and may be bought from Mia# 
Goodrich or Miss Marshall. 
Any Wisconsin School Branch may, without expense, 
have the use of the Gordon and Merrill Libraries of bird 
books, by applying to Mies Edna Edwards. Librarian, 
846 Prospect St., Appleton. 
A set of colored bird slides with a typewriter lecture 
may be rented from Prof. W. S. Marshall, 114 E. Gorham 
Street, Madison, Wis. 
Illinois Schools, may use, without expense, a library 
or a lecture with lantern slides, by applying to Mrs. 
Ruthven Deane. 504 N. State St., Chicago. 
Bluebird. 
Adult Male-—Upper parts, wings, and 
tail bright blue, tipped with rusty in the 
fall; throat, breast, and sides dull cinna¬ 
mon-rufous. belly white. Adult Female- 
—Upper parts with a grayish tinge; 
throat, breast and sides paler. Length, 
7.01 inches. 
Range.—United States; breeds from 
the Gulf States to Manitoba and Nova 
Scotia; winters from southern Illinois and 
southern New York southward. 
Nest, of grasses, in hollow trees or bird 
houses. Eggs, four to six, bluish white, 
sometimes plain white. 
A bird so familiar as the Bluebird 
needs no introduction; in fact, he seems 
so at home in orchards and gardens or 
about our dwellings that one wonders 
what he did for a home before the white 
man came. 
In the winter, it is true, bluebirds are 
great rovers, and one may see them in 
the southern states whirling through the 
woods in great Hocks or feeding on the 
berries of the mistletoe. But the month 
of returning spring reminds them of cozy 
bird-boxes or hospitable pear or apple 
trees, and soon we see them inspecting 
last summer’s home, evidently planning 
repairs and alterations. 
The Bluebird’s disposition is typical 
of all that is sweet and amiable. His 
song breathes of love; even his fall call 
—note— tur-wee , tur-wee , is soft and gentle. 
So associated is his voice with the birth 
and death of the seasons that to me his 
song is freighted with all the gladness of 
springtime, while the sad notes of the 
birds passing southward tell me more 
plainly than the falling leaves that the 
year is dying.— Chapman , Handbook of 
Birds. 
Letters about the Bluebird should be 
sent to the secretaries by April 1st. 
Wisconsin Prize Letter 
Necedah, Wis. 
Dear Wayside: 
The Chickadee is about five inches 
long, smaller than a sparrow. The throat 
is black. Above the body is gray, and 
has a little brown on it. It sings very 
sweetly; it says “Chickadee-dee-dee- 
dee;” also “sweet-hearting, sweet-heart¬ 
ing.” The Chickadee builds its nest in 
hollow trees. Chickadees are some¬ 
times called Black Caps, because they 
have black caps on their heads. 
~ Their nests are built of sticks and rags. 
They eat worms and insects out from 
under the bark of the trees. Yesterday 
when my brother and I were getting 
wood a Black Cap nearly lit on our 
horse’s heads. When it got there, it flut¬ 
tered a little, then Hew to the trees near 
by. It is very interesting to watch the 
Chickadees and learn their actions. 
They are very pretty. 
Yours truly, 
Aged 11. Andre M. Fisher. 
