BY THE WAYSIDE 
29 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT 
Every Wisconsin School Branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters for this department should be written on only 
one side of the page, should give the name, age and ad¬ 
dress of the writer, and should be mailed by the first of 
the month: Illinois children sending to Miss Mary Drum¬ 
mond, 208 West St,, Wheaton, Ill., and Wisconsin children 
to Thos. H. Moyle, Appleton, Wis. An honor badge 
will be awarded for each state every month, preference 
being given to letters about the bird study for the month 
(which is always on this page) and to.original observa¬ 
tions. Any child who wins the honor badge twice will 
receive By the Wayside one year as a prize. 
The wren button, which is the badge of the Audubon 
Socie y costs two cents and may be bought from Miss 
Mary Drummond or Mr Moyle. 
Any Wisconsin School Branch may, without expense, 
have the use of the Gordon and Merrill Libraries of bird 
books, by applying to Miss Sophia Schaefer, Librarian, 
679 North street Appleton 
A set of colored bird slides with a typewritten lecture 
mav be rented from Chas. E. Brown, State Historical 
Building, Madison, Wis. 
Illinois Schools may use. without expense, a library 
or a lecture with lantern slides, by applying to E. S. 
Adams, 439 Elm Street, Chicago 
Bird of the "Month . 
This month we are going to study the 
White-throated sparrow. We see him 
in large flocks during the spring and fall 
migrations and admire his striking 
markings and rich color. He is one of 
our largest sparrows and can be easily 
identified by the white throat and stripes 
on his head. His back is very striped 
and there are white bars on his wings. 
His song is sweet and plaintive and the 
first cold morning that we hear it we 
are sure fall has come. He is also called, 
by some, the Peabody bird for that is 
what he seems to say as he hunts for 
seeds. Chapman says of him: 
He is disposed to be rather quiet for 
several days after his arrival, and beyond 
a few low notes addressed to his com¬ 
panions, has little to say; but if you 
whistle to him even a poor imitation of 
his song, nearly every bird in the com¬ 
pany will hop up from the tangle of 
branches, and, perching on the outer 
twigs, look for the friends who called. 
Perhaps some may essay a few tremulous 
notes in response, but for a week or more 
they will make few attempts to sing. 
The White-throat’s call-notes are a low 
tseep and a very characteristic sharp chink , 
which has been well likened by Mr. 
Bicknell to the sound of a marble cutter’s 
chisel. At this season the White-throats 
roost together in flocks of varying size, 
and if you chance to be near their home 
at bedtime you will hear this chink note 
given as a “quarriers’ chorus.” Finally, 
as the gloom deepens, it will cease, and 
from the dark depths of the thicket will 
come only the cozy, contented twitterings 
of the birds wishing one another good 
night. E. S. E. 
Mauston, Wis 
Dear Wayside: 
One S unday as some of my friends and 
I were going out to Little Bluff to get 
some flowers, we saw a scarlet tanager 
and some other bird and I did not know 
what it was. Tt was reddish brown all 
over, and a little lighter on its breast. It 
had a crest on its head. It was about 
five inches in length. The scarlet tana¬ 
ger was all red except on its wings, and 
they were black. We could not see it 
very well because it would hop around 
from branch to branch. It is about five 
inches long. 
Yours truly, 
Aged 12. Agnes Williamson. 
Look up the description of the cedar 
waxwing and see if that is your “other 
bird.” 
Mauston, Wis. 
Dear Wayside: 
One morning when I was going out to 
the farm, I saw a kingbird making its nest 
in the cherry tree. It had some hair and 
string to put in the nest. I thought I 
would help it build its nest. So I put 
