BY THE WAYSIDE 
sc; 
are of a red and yellow and cream is h 
color on the part of the wings where the 
wings are fastened to the body. they 
always come in flocks,. They come in 
spring and tell us that spring is here. 
They eat worms, beetles, and many 
other harmful insects. They are very 
pretty birds. They are found in swamps, 
little streams of water, and on moist 
woodlands. Their song is O-ka-lee, 
O-ka-lee, and some sing, Con-quer-ee in 
nest, and her mate was with her. When 
they saw me they flew in the tree whore 
their nest. was. Then when I was gone 
a ways they flew to the ground, and ran 
about the field. They would fly from 
tree to tree". Then they would fly on 
the fence and goto their nest 'in the 
tree. The Robin’s eggs are blue:' The 
breast of the Robin is red and the rest 
is black. 1 saw - a Red-winged Black¬ 
bird. He flew in the tree, then he 
clear, ringing tones. It sounds like a 
flute. 
There are quite a few hoqse Wrens 
around our house. They are very small 
birds. They have long beaks and are 
of a grayish color, and a light brown 
mixed with it. Their food is flies, bee¬ 
tle* and they are some of the best birds 
known all over America. None of their 
th<n r food is grain nor fruit, and are 
good birds to have around the house. 
* About two years ago they used to 
build nests under our porch. The Spar¬ 
rows used to build their nests there too. 
The Sparrow used to come to the House 
Wren’s nests. The House Wrens used 
to scold. It was interesting to hear 
them chattering and scold. This year 
w«‘ put up some little bird houses for 
the little birds and put some little 
pieces of fat near the little house. 
I like to watch them carry twigs and 
other things with which they build 
their nests. > 
It is interesting to watch them catch 
flies for they are so quick about it. 
Since March 1 saw, a flock of slate- 
colored Juncos, three Bluebirds, a 
Meadowlark, Robin, Hawk,and a Phoebe. 
Yours truly, 
\umh 1 lib Hattie Rothe. 
would fly to the ground, and lie was very 
pretty when be flew. 1 could see the 
red and white spots on his wings. He 
was flying towards the south. 
I saw some Peewees. They built a 
nest in a, tree by the river. And when 
they were gone I went to look in the 
nest and there was nothing. The Pee¬ 
wees are brown. When they came back 
to their nests they had something in 
their bills. 
1 would not hurt a bird. 
Aged 9. Esther Reeky. 
Wisconsin Prize Letter. 
Manitowoc, Wis., April 2 1, 1909. 
Dear Wa yside: 
c/ ' » 
Our school is about a quarter of a 
mile from my home. 1 look for birds 
when going to school. A river flows 
near our school. I sometimes take a 
walk through the marsh along the river 
to find new birds. The first Recl-wing 
.» i j" ; i • r < , . t ( . > f ‘I 
Blackbird I saw this year was flying 
among the trees. The Red-wing Black¬ 
bird is black and has a spot of red on 
the wing. This bird is found in swampy 
places. It lays about four eggs. Their 
enemies are the snakhs ahd the hawks. , 
They build their nests near the ground. 
The farmer doesn’t like these birds iii 
Shioeton, 
Wis., May 8, 1909: 
Dear Wayside: 
One Sunday 1 saw a Robin. She was 
looking for something to build herself a 
his fields. The bird does no harm to 
the grain. They eat the insects that 
harm the grain. The bird collects lots 
of the Red-wings to go in the field with 
him. If he went alone the farmer 
