BY THE WAY BIDE. 
11 
little bird went to work to build another. Alas! 
this one was just over the clothes reel and the 
day after the nest was finished in fine bird 
style was washing day. When the woman com¬ 
menced to hang the clothes, there was a great 
scolding and fussing. The wind blew and flap¬ 
ped the clothes in such a frightful way that 
my friends could not stand it so she patiently 
moved that nest. Bit by bit she carried it to 
another tree where 1 could not watch' her. 1 
could tell you many interesting things about 
nests if I had the time and space, but I hope 
you will watch and see them for yourselves. 
E. S. E. 
Letters Received. 
To the Secretary of the Audubon Society: — 
The Spring Creek branch of the Audubon 
Society, after a year’s existence held its first 
annual meeting April 28, 1905. Reports of a 
great many birds have been given from time to 
time. Greatest interest has been shown by all 
the members throughout the year. Every 
number of the Wayside except two in the 
past year has contained some of our letters, 
a fact of which we are very proud. Our so¬ 
ciety has grown from 34 to 41, and is still 
growing:. The Wayside has been in such use 
that some of our members found it necessary 
to subscribe for it themselves. We tax our 
members a small amount; the proceeds we in¬ 
vest in bird pictures (which we get from G. 
P. Browne, Beverly, Mass., at two cents each.) 
They are very helpful in learning new birds as 
the pictures are the natural color of birds. 
Jennie Smith, Sec. 
LaCrosse, Wis. 
Bear Wayside: 
This is the second time I have written to 
you and this time I am going to tell you 
about the blue bird. One of the most famil¬ 
iar and earliest birds is the blue bird. It 
is somewhat smaller than the robin and resem¬ 
bles it in appearance. The upper part is a deep 
sky blue. The throat and breast are a reddish 
chestnut. It feeds chiefly on insects and 
worms. The blue bird lays five or six pale 
blue eggs and has two or three broods a sea¬ 
son. The male and female both show much 
courage in driving other birds from their home. 
This bird helps the farmer clear away the 
worms and insects and most farmers put out 
a box for them to nest in. While T was look¬ 
ing for birds Saturday, behind the cemeterv, 
C * 7 ‘ 
1 heard a call 1 though I knew. On looking 
across the road, perched on a post, was a blue 
bird, singing with all its might. After that I 
saw two or three others. On my way home I 
saw nine birds as follows: dicker, brown 
creeper, black and white creeper, song spar¬ 
row, fox sparrow, liehl sparrow, tree sparrow, 
cedar wax wing and American bittern. 
Kilbourn, Wis., Jan. 30, 1905. 
Bear Wayside: 
Every morning when it begins to get light I 
can see a flock of Juncos or snow-birds in 
front of the house. 1 always feed them bird 
seed and crumbs. When that it eaten they go 
to the woodpile and eats slugs and worms 
from the wood. Sometimes the sparrows or 
blue jays come, but the snow birds stay there 
just the same. They will not dy away when 
I throw out more crumbs or give them water. 
There are always about a dozen and a half 
there. When their feet get cold they will 
squat down on the ground. Yours truly, 
Aged 11. Lydia M. Boepke. 
La Crosse, Wis., May 8, 1905. 
Bear Wayside: 
I saw two Baltimore orioles on Tuesday, 
May 2, 1905. They were dying high in the air, 
one after the other. It was a dne spring morn¬ 
ing and the orange on them shone very bright¬ 
ly. The oriole’s nest is always a hanging 
nest. I think these orioles were getting readv 
for nesting. 
The crown was black and throat black; 
lower back, middle tail-feathers, breast and 
belly orange. I couldn’t tell whether they were 
the male and female or not. Yours truly. 
Aged 10. Paul Egbert. 
Notice the description of the female in this 
number of the Wayside and see if you can 
identify her next time. 
Maywood, 111. 
Bear Wayside: 
A gentleman living next door to us has a 
time thrush. He keeps it in a cage all winter, 
and in the summer he lets it go. But it comes 
back again when the cold weather begins. It 
has a little bell hanging in the cage and when¬ 
ever he wants anything to eat or drink he just 
rings the bell. It is very fond of caterpillars; 
he pulls all the hair off their backs and 
then eats them. Yours truly, 
Aired 14. Muriel Bodman. 
