2 9 
BY THE WAYSIDE 
Elkhart Lake, Wis., April 17, 1906. 
Dear Wavside: 
j 
When I was playing a game near ray 
home, I saw two robins. They were 
singing on a hickory 7 tree. There was a 
nest on the tree, too. Afterwards they 
flew away. Then one came back again 
and sat on a shed. Yesterday I saw a 
robin about five or six feet away from my 
cousin and me. He was on a bush and 
was looking at us. I am a member of 
the Audubon Society and want to learn 
more about birds. 
Yours truly, 
Aged 12. Otto Zimmermann. 
Appleton, Wis.,May 2, 1906. 
Dear Wayside: 
The bobolink is a verv prettv bird. 
He is not as large as a robin. He is 
black and white with a yellow hood. I 
have never seen Mrs. Bobolink, but they 
say she looks like dead grass. She lays 
from four to six eggs which look like the 
ground. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bobolink are not as good 
as they look. They eat the farmer’s rice 
down South, so the people down South 
call them rice birds. They come here in 
May but they 7 do not get enough to eat 
so they 7 go south where they can get more 
to eat. 
I will tell you about a bobolink that 
came every morning and sat on the top 
of the tree near our house. He would 
sing and would wake me up every morn¬ 
ing. One morning I thought I would 
follow Mr. Bobolink to his nest and see 
his pretty wife and his children or eggs. 
He is very shy and I did not find his 
nest. Yours truly, 
Aged 12. Irving Van Oven. 
South Wayne, Wis., June 16, 1906. 
Dear Wayside: 
One day my sister and I went out 
walking to see the birds and we saw fif¬ 
teen sparrows, three orioles, one scarlet 
tanager, five bee-birds, six blue-jays, two 
bluebirds, four catbirds, two robins, one 
chick-a-dee, one yellow warbler, and two 
chimney swifts and lots of other ones. 
My sister and I made two bird houses, 
and we set them on a pole. 
We enjoy By The Wayside very much. 
Yours very respectfully, 
Aged 11. Esther C. Keister. 
Maywood, Ill., April 2, 1906. 
Dear Wayside: 
The bluebird is a very pretty 7 bird. It 
is a little over seven inches long. Some¬ 
times they 7 lay 7 about five eggs at a time. 
Its legs are a light blue and sometimes 
white. Their nests are made of grass 
and thev will build in vour bird houses 
if you do not hurt them. I am going to 
build some bird houses and see if I can 
get a pair of bluebirds and try to tame 
them. 
Yours trulv. 
j 
Earl Broberg. 
» 
Gross Point, Ill., March 24, 1906. 
Dear Wayside: 
I saw a bluebird’s nest last summer. 
It was in an old chimney pipe. The 
mother and father birds weren’t home, so 
we had a good chance to peep. The 
young birds were fluffy little things. 
The father bird is a very pretty bird. 
His song breathes of love. He sings, 
“Tur wee, tur wee,’’ so sweetlv. His 
•/ 
back, wings and tail are bright blue 
