40 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
what they have found out about birds, or other 
animals. The Wayside wants original obser¬ 
vations to print. In writing, the directions on 
the first page of the School Branch Depart¬ 
ment should always be closely followed. 
Poynette, Wis., October 22, 1904. 
Dear Wayside:—I thought I would write to 
you before the bird season is over. As I was 
going to school the other morning I saw a 
couple of red winged blackbirds. They were 
sitting up in a big tree by the side of the road 
and they were singing very sweetly. 
Yours truly, 
Sadie Thiessen. 
Age 9 years. 
Letters have been received from Sadie Thies¬ 
sen, Poynette; Evalyn Van Stratum, Harold 
Babb, Elfrieda Hampel, Winnifred Rouse, Ap¬ 
pleton; Lydia Doepke, Grover Olson, Belle 
Bement, Alfred Anderson, John Radlund, Mar¬ 
tha Belter, Hattie Belter, Henry Field, Fay 
Brown, Natilie Snider, Henry Marlow, Lester 
Rothe, Kilbourn; June Johnston, Spring Creek. 
Mrs. Scudder has been obliged by illness to 
resign her position as chairman of the Junior 
Department of the Illinois Audubon Society. 
The society has been most fortunate in secur¬ 
ing the services of Miss Ethel Hooper of Chi¬ 
cago, who will now carry on the work. 
THE STUDY OF BIRDS. 
An outline for the use of Schools prepared for 
the Illinois Audubon Society by Alice Hall 
Walter. 
WINTER. 
Indoor Work. 
1. Talks on Bird Families continued, em¬ 
phasizing adaptation of structure to flight and 
procuring food; the bill, tongue, tail and feet; 
environment and color of plumage. (See Chap¬ 
man’s Bird Life; Fanny Hardy Eckstorm’s 
The Bird Book.) 
January: Humming birds; Swifts and 
Goatsuckers; Woodpeckers; Kingfishers and 
Cuckoos. 
February: Owls, Hawks, and other Birds of 
Prey; Pigeons; Grouse, Partridge. 
March: Plover, Snipes and Sandpipers; 
Rails and Coots; Herons and Bitterns; Ducks, 
Geese and Swans; Gulls and Terns; Loons and 
Grebes. 
2. Start an Audubon Society or Reading Club 
holding half-hour meetings weekly. 
3. Start a school or Audubon Society library, 
to be added to yearly. 
4. Visit a museum if convenient. Mount the 
Mumford colored plates to hang up in school¬ 
room. 
5. Add the “winter visitors” observed, to 
school record. Reports of pupils. 
6. Let the pupils compile a school scrap-book 
of prose, poems and pictures about birds. 
7. Give the Illinois Audubon Society’s illus¬ 
trated lecture. Invite friends. 
8. Send for the traveling libraries of the Ill¬ 
inois Audubon Society. 
Outdoor Work. 
1. Hang out pieces of salt pork and suet. 
What birds like this food? 
2. Start an Audubon Society or Reading Club 
it? 
3. Do you see birds in a snow storm? or on 
very cold' days? 
4. Do you find any holes in th'e bark of 
trees ? If so, on what trees ? how are the holes 
arranged? how many holes? how high up from 
the ground are th'ey? what shape? who makes 
them ? 
5. Do the birds sing in winter? What time 
of day do you see them ? 
6. Why do “winter visitors” come south? 
Do birds suffer from the cold? 
7. What do birds find to eat in winter? 
8. 'What birds come first in March? Where 
from? Where are they going? 
9. Do any birds go away in March? If so, 
where ? 
10. Identify the Junco, Bluebird, Crow, Tree 
Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Shrike, 
Sapsucker, Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Cowbird, 
Downy Woodpecker. 
