BY THE WAYSIDE 
7 
hawks.” All but two, Cooper’s and the sharp- 
shinned, are protected by our state law, as it 
has been found that they do more good than 
harm in killing mice and other enemies of the 
farmer. 
La Crosse, Wis., April 30, 1904. 
The Song Sparrow. 
The song-sparrow is one of the most com¬ 
mon sparrows that nests here. This year they 
arrived from the south later than usual, the 
first one being seen on March 26th. I heard 
the first one singing on March 31st. Its song 
can be heard at any hour of the day, from 
some thicket or brushpile near the roadside. 
Among its many songs, the one I like best is 
the one beginning with three single notes and 
ending with a trill. 
On April 10th, when we went over to Rice 
Lake, we saw several American herring gulls. 
Several of them flew over our boat. There 
I are a large number of dead fish around here, 
which they are rapidly clearing away. 
This spring I have seen several interesting 
battles between birds. The first one was a 
fight between a junco and a chipping spar¬ 
row, in which the junco was victorious. In 
another case I found two male yellow-bellied 
sapsuckers, who had evidently been fighting, 
for their breasts and heards were badly torn. 
I found them on the ground about five feet 
I apart. In the third instance I saw two female 
blue birds fighting together, while a male bird 
was calmly looking on. Finally the male bird 
flew away with the victorious female, while 
the other one remained behind. In another 
I case I saw a battle between three flickers, 
which was accompanied by a great deal of 
noise. 
The warblers are beginning to pass. For 
several days we have had a hot wave and now 
there are an innumerable number of birds here. 
H 
William Schneider, 
Age 15. 415 FT. 12th Street. 
The Song Sparrow. 
One morning in the early part of April as I 
went out to feed the hens, I saw a bird. It 
had brown specks on a light breast. The back 
was like a sparrow’s. From what my teacher 
told me I decided that it was a song-sparrow. 
You may think it strange to find a song-spar¬ 
row in a barn, but this was during the bad 
snowstorm. 
It ate with the hens. I could have had it if 
I wanted it, but I thought it might be cruel, 
because I love the birds. 
^ftei that I gave it some suet. It seemed to 
say, “thank you.” 
The song-sparrow is six inches long-. 
The eggs are bluish white thickly marked 
with reddish brown. There are four or five 
eggs in a nest. It has three broods a year, 
d he nesting lasts from May until August. 
4 he nests are usually on the ground, or a 
bush may be chosen. Carl Bates, 
Age 12 years. Appleton, Wisconsin. 
Plum City, Wis., May 4, 1904. 
Dear Miss Marshall: 
V\ e organized an Audubon society in the 
Plum City school about three weeks ago. 
Following are the officers: President, Ruth 
Moser; vice president, Clarence Brown; secre¬ 
tary, Harry Budewitz, treasurer, George Bude- 
witz. 
We have a large society and expect many 
more. 
\\ e have a very fine school and are going 
to live up to the rules of our society. 
Age 9. Clarence Brown. 
Dear Park, Wis., April 29, 1904. 
Dear Wayside: 
I saw a robin red-breast in the tree. Its 
breast was scarlet red and its head is black. 
The wings are brownish and his tail is black. 
It likes to be around the houses and pick up 
crumbs. The robin red-breasts like to be on 
the edges of rivers and brooks. The robin 
builds his nest twice a year. His nest is 
built of sticks, feathers, dry leaves and horse 
hairs. The robin eats cherries. If is was not 
for the birds the worms and bugs would spoil 
the cherries too. The robins eat green grass. 
I saw two robins running around the wood. 
It was a male and female bird. The male bird’s 
breast is red. The female bird’s is light red. 
1 saw a robin on the post. 
Second Grade. Hattie Hanson. 
NEW SCHOOL BRANCHES FORMED. 
New School Audubon societies have been re¬ 
ported by teachers as follows: Reedsburg, 
Miss Anna Shaffer, with 12 members; Cambria, 
Miss Jennie Sanderson, 20; La Valle, Miss 
Louise Gardner, 16; Meson, Miss Mary Wells, 
36; Stoughton. £ om gMyrtle Godfrey, Clara 
Fore 1 *® 7 y° u wil1 Carrie Dean, Ethel 
