BY THE WAYSIDE 
54 
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 side of the page, should give the name, age 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 Ruth Marshall, Appleton, Wis. An 
honor badge 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 wins the honor 
badge twice will receive By The Wayside one year as a 
prize. 
The wren button, which is the badge of the Audubon 
Society, costs tv r o cents, and may be bought from Miss 
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 Miss 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, Madisou, 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. 
Hairy Woodpecker. 
Adult Male.—Upper parts black; a 
scarlet band on the nape; middle of the 
back white; wing-feathers and their cov¬ 
erts spotted with white; middle tail- 
feathers black, outer ones white; a white 
stripe above and another below the eve; 
under parts white. 
Adult Female.—Similar, but without 
scarlet on the back of the neck. 
Length, 9.4 inches. 
Range. Eastern United States, from the 
northern border south to North Carolina. 
Nest, generally in a dead tree. Eggs, 
four to six. 
This species resembles the Downy 
Woodpecker in habits, but is less fre¬ 
quently observed out of the woods. Its 
notes are noticeably louder than the 
Downy’s, and when one is familiar with 
both there is no difficulty in distinguish¬ 
ing the two bv their voices.— Chapman's 
Handbook of Birds. 
Letters about the Hairy Woodpecker 
should be sent to Secretaries by Feb. 1st 
Wisconsin Prize Letter. 
Drummond. Whs., Dec. 18, 1905. 
Dear Readers of the Wayside: 
The bird I am going to write about is 
known as the white owl. It was shot by 
mv brother. Measuring from the tip of 
the tail to the top ofthehead.it is about 
eighteen inches long. Its eyes are very 
large and have a sharp look. The head 
is large, and its neck is short. His feath¬ 
ers are very soft and white with black 
spots here and there. His wings are very 
large having on the top of them feathers 
of white and black, and underneath a coat 
of the softest white feathers that I have 
ever noticed on any bird. His breast is a 
coat of the same feathers as described. 
His legs are not very long, and are coated 
with a thickness of soft white feathers. 
On his feet are four claws, which are 
black and as sharp as a needle. These 
claws are a help to him in killing other 
birds upon which he lives. He must 
have been very tough, as my brother shot 
him but this only effected him as a wound. 
When my brother brought him home, he 
was hurt of course, and had a very sorrow¬ 
ful look, which gave us the impression 
that he had lost his home. We gave 
him to a man who went to Cable to have 
him stuffed and mounted for us. It took 
at least three weeks to fix him up, and 
the bird when sent to us was perched 
upon some sort of toadstool. 
Yours respectfully, 
Aged 14. Mabel Luella Berg. 
This bird is probably theiSnowv Owl which 
wanders south into the borders oftheUnited 
States. Our young readers should notice, 
however, that this bird ought not to be shot, 
as il is protected by the state law. 
Illinois Prize Letter. 
Granville, Ill., Dec. 29. 1905. 
Dear Wayside: 
Yesterday I saw a hunter that had two 
Bob Whites. I said, “What have you 
those for?” He said, “To eat.” And I 
said. “You must not shoot those birds 
because they eat weed seed,” and the 
hunter said, “I don't care.” 
The temperature was 80°. That day I 
saw fifty Chickadees, one Screech Owl, 
two American Crows, and twenty-five 
Canada Geese. 
Yours truly, 
Aged 10. Joseph Miller. 
