BY THE WAYSIDE 
PALM WARBLER 
L., 5.2. Back olive-brown, rump 
brighter; chestnut crown-patch; a line 
over eve; throat and breast yellow, belly 
much paler; breast and sides streaked 
with reddish brown. Chicago, April 25, 
Southern Wisconsin, April 30. 
OVEN-BIRD. 
L., 6.1. Above brownish olive green; 
crown orange-brown bordered by black; 
below white streaked with black. (Chap¬ 
man and Reed.) . 
GRINNELL WATER THRUSH 
L., 6. Above dark olive-brown; a 
whitish line over eye; below yellowish 
white heavily streaked, throat spotted 
with blackish. 
MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT 
L., 5.2. Forehead and cheeks black 
bordered behind by light gray; back 
olive-green, below yellow, brightest on 
throat and breast. Chicago, May 1. 
Wilson’s warbler 
L., 5. Crown shining black; forehead, 
cheeks and under parts yellow; back 
olive-green.. (Chapman and Reed.) 
Chicago, May 14. 
REDSTART 
L.,5.4. Black, sides of breast, band on 
wings and on tail, rich salmon. (Chap¬ 
man and Reed.) 
These are all very common birds dur¬ 
ing the migrations. Look carefullv at 
every little bird you happen to see mov¬ 
ing restlesslv about among the new 
leaves and you are sure to see most of 
these; the Palm Warbler, the Oven-bird 
and the Grinnell Water-Thrush, however, 
will usually be found on the ground, the 
latter along the shores of woodland 
streams. 
Wisconsin Prize Letter. 
Appleton, Wis., May 1. 1906. 
Dear Wayside: 
The red-headed woodpecker is about 
nine inches in length. They are very 
good workers and are useful to man by 
destroying harmful insects. The eggs 
are more rounded than most birds’ eggs. 
They are very smooth and glossy like 
porcelain, and pure white. The female 
lays from four to eight eggs. This wood¬ 
pecker has a red head, bluish black on 
its back and tail, and all the rest is white, 
except a little red tinge on the belly. 
The nest is made in a tree, but not like 
other birds’ nests. Most of the birds 
use dry grass, hair and string; but the 
woodpecker does not. The nest is simply 
a hole in the tree, which thev make with 
their bills. Have you ever heard what a 
noise they make they make when they 
are excavating their nests? 
Last year in March, two came 
every morning on the roof of our house 
and woke us up. They tapped away 
day by day until at last they made a 
hole in the roof. We had to put a piece 
of tin over the hole. The next morning 
when thev came they did not know what 
to make of it! I suppose they would 
have made their nest there. Now, thev 
have their nest in an oak tree behind 
our house. The first red-headed wood¬ 
pecker that I saw this year was on the 
thirteenth dav of February. It had, I 
believe, stayed in the oak tree all winter. 
Yours truly, 
Aged 13 vears. Alice Whitefoot. 
Maywood, Ill., April 26, 1906. 
Dear Wayside: 
I saw nine bluebirds April 5th, then I 
saw one more on Wednesday, the 15th. 
They are seven inches long. Thev are 
beautiful songbirds. They are blue and 
red. Their color is pretty, I think. 
Mamma said that they are about the 
prettiest birds in Maywood. 
Yours truly, 
Aged 14. Hazel Simons. 
