BY THE WAYSIDE 
bo 
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us in the fall thev wing their wav to 
Cuba, Porto Rico or Central America. 
After spending the winter there they re¬ 
turn in the spring to nest in the same 
orchard or grove. 
Merrill, Wis. Harold Hansen. 
Mavwood, Ill. 
Dear Wavside: 
I give the birds crumbs and wheat. I 
think sparrows are very fond of such 
food. The sparrows come on our porch. 
I like to watch them eat. When I throw 
out some food they will all flv awav but 
but they come back soon. The sparrows 
come in our yard and look for crumbs 
and all kinds of food. Sometimes our 
dog runs after the birds but he will not 
harm them. I can build a bird house 
for the birds. 
Yours trulv, 
Aged 11. John Haehne. 
— 
The Blue Jay. 
The blue-jay is of a purplish blue color 
and has a strip of black around its neck 
which is often taken for a collar. He 
has a lovely azure-colored head, with 
silky plumes. His tail and some of his 
back is blue striped with black and some 
white. He is the loveliest bird that can 
be seen in the forest, but, like the pea¬ 
cock, has a harsh voice. The blue-jay is 
one of our winter guests. He is here the 
whole season. His home is in America 
and he never visits any other country. 
The blue-jay is very pretty but is also 
very saucy and mischievous. He eats 
smaller birds’ eggs, and sometimes the 
mother, father and the- young ' birds. 
When I hear the blue-jay’s cry, it always 
reminds me of winter. 
The blue-jay is not a very good friend 
of the the farmer. A person can almost 
always tell what kind of a trip he is on. 
When he out in the field searching for 
food he screams and makes as much 
noise as he can; but when he is in some 
farmer’s barn taking what does not be¬ 
long to him, he is as quiet as possible. 
He not only takes what he wants to eat 
at once, but takes as much as he can and 
hides the rest. He has manv good hid- 
ing places in which to store food. His 
elegant form and nice manners (?) make 
him very attractive to every person that 
visits the woods. He quarrels with all 
species of birds and is hated by them. 
He is feared among all birds, just like a 
person fears an enemy. They fly when 
they hear his voice. It is dangerous to 
be near the nest of a pair of jays, because 
as soon as they see the adventurer they 
fly at him and peck his face, eyes and 
hands very badly. The blue-jay, like 
the magpie and the parrot, can be taught 
to speak, but when he is wild he never 
learns to speak. You may sometimes 
hear him utter a few notes, though they 
are by no means musical. He is a de¬ 
stroyer of grubs and in that waj r is some 
help. He is a very good guardian, but 
a destroyer of the peace. 
Merrill, Wis. Esther Gurnell. 
The Blue-Bird . 
The blue-bird is found only in North 
America. It is one of the first birds to 
appear in the North after the snow 
begins to melt. It spends the winter 
in Mexico. Its wings are of a sky- 
blue color and its bodv of a vel- 
*• • 
lowish brown below. It is said that 
Nature made the blue-bird to represent 
the skv and earth, so she gave him the 
color of one for his back and of the other 
