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The Red-winged Blackbird 
T HIS very social bird seems to be 
having a lively talk with some of his 
friends or family, for in a flock they 
chatter together noisily. He is a beautiful 
blue-black all over, except for a bar of red 
edged with yellow upon his shoulders. This 
blackbird eats the seeds of weeds, the cut¬ 
worms, grubs, and insects that do injury to 
the crops; so if he sometimes eats some 
corn, oats, or rice, he is only taking fair pay for the help he gives the 
farmer. He hangs and twines his nest among the plants in marshy places. 
The Swift 
T HOUGH he is a little smaller than 
the English sparrow, this bird’s 
long wings make him seem bigger. 
He is called “swift” because he is a speedy 
flyer. Sometimes he covers a thousand 
miles in twenty-four hours! He makes his 
nest in hollow trees and chimneys, gluing 
them to the steep walls with a sort of bird’s 
saliva. His tail has sharply pointed and 
very elastic quills on the end, and that, with his sharp claws, makes it pos¬ 
sible for him to cling to walls, for he does not really perch. He is sooty gray. 
The Yellow Bird 
T HIS bird has two names, “yellow bird” and “goldfinch,” and both 
are fitting. In the spring the coat of the male is bright yellow. 
His crown, wings, and tail are black, but plainly marked in white. 
By September he is more like the female,— 
a brownish olive above and yellowish below. 
This bird has such a melodious song that 
he is called the wild canary. He is an inch 
shorter than the sparrow. Flocks of these 
birds are found all over the United States. 
They live on thistle seeds, and the seeds of 
tall, stalky wild flowers. Their lively songs 
in concert are varied, soft, and cheerful. 
