80 
BY TEE WAYSIDE 
the foot and zig-zagged its way up again, 
this time not even stopping at the bone. 
We felt a little chagrined at this ap¬ 
parent lack of appreciation on the part 
of Air. Brown Creeper, especially as on 
looking up his characteristics we found 
that he is a great insect eater and so 
should be fond of meat. Resolved to 
find an explanation for this mystery we 
watched him very carefully as he trav¬ 
eled the the tree trunk way and decided 
that because his bill is SO’ tiny and sharp 
and so peculiarly adapted to getting his 
food in small particles from most minute 
crevices that perhaps he preferred to 
have it in small quantities. Acting upon 
this thot we warmed some suet until it 
was very soft and rubbed it over about 
a square foot of the tree surface thus 
filling many of its seams and little fis¬ 
sures. Curious to know how this ex¬ 
periment would work we kept an eye 
out for the Creeper’s return. It proved 
a success for the next time he came he 
pecked and pecked his way up the suet 
path to the end, flew down and tried it 
over again several times until he had sat¬ 
isfied his appetite. We felt that this 
was a famous victory to have learned 
how to feed the shy timid little Creeper. 
The Nuthatch has ever been a mystery 
to us for while he seems to fly right side 
up as other birds do he has a curious 
habit of lighting with his head down. 
We have decided that he must be such an 
expert gymnast that he is able to turn a 
somersault, at the instant of lighting, so 
quickly that you cannot catch him in the 
act. From his curious habit of traveling- 
head foremost down a tree he receives 
the suggestive name of Devil-down-head. 
The Chickadee is the most practical 
of all for he seems to make as straight 
for the lunch counter as possible and 
proceeds to business the moment he ar¬ 
rives. Sometimes he stops to carol be- 
twen courses but seldom spends any time 
running around until he has finished bis 
meal. He too is fond of acrobatic stunts 
and might often be seen clinging to the! 
under side of the bunch of suet that 
dangled from a low branch of the arbor 
vitae tree. It surely may as truly be 
said of him as of the Nuthatch that 
“ J'he Woodpecker well may despair of 
this feat, 
Only the fly with him can compete." 
for he would stick to the suet like a fly 
to the ceiling while he swung around and 
around like a true trapeze performer, 
and seemed to< enjoy his meal quite as 
much as we would ours most comfortably 
seated at our dining room table. 
Noticing how the birds enjoyed the 
protection of the tree trunk on stormy 
days we fastened a deep cigar box on 
edge up against the tree thus forming a 
sort of double shelf. Inside this we 
spread chopped raw meat and cracked 
nuts. 
If you are a bird lover you should 
certainly have a feeding tree or shelf, or 
both, because in no other way can yor 
know birds so intimately. We have 
come to feel that our little brothers of the 
tree trunk are quite like members oi 
the family. If you don't know birds 
very well you will surely enjoy becoming 
acquainted for after you have let then- 
know that they are welcome they wil 
come rain or shine to accept your hospi¬ 
tality and thank you for it by the charir 
of their beautiful presence and the musk 
of their sweet joyous voices. 
Then most important of all have yom 
children feed the birds. Teach them t( 
appreciate the beauty of these loveh 
creatures and their value to mankind 
A boy who has fed a squirrel, a rabbit 
a bird or any other living creature wil 
have no desire to kill them. A girl win 
has studied the fascinating mystery of 
bird life would scorn to wear a dead bin 
on her hat. 
Editit C. Af unger, 2nd Vice Pres., 
Mich. State Audubon Soc. 
