8 THE -A'UDiU BOs NiB Go ees iaieie 
red of the male cardinal and no less beautiful though more sombre 
plumage of the female. The squirrels entertained us further with 
their play, for all the world like a couple of kittens. Sparrows were 
present in numbers scattering seed right and left, but this meant that 
there was always some to be had on the ground when all was gone from 
the tray. Robins came to investigate but found nothing to interest 
them; however they made good use of the bird bath. The back porch 
became more and more generally used to see what was taking 
possession of the yard at the time. 
One of the choice treats in this hobby is seeing the young birds. 
The air is full of their twittering. Young bluejays are so much like 
their parents in color only their begging actions identify them, like- 
wise the sparrows. Young cardinals, however, are quite different, 
being mostly dark brown with black bills and having only their tails 
red. All the parent birds are more than busy keeping them filled up. 
The male cardinal is a particularly good guardian. At this stage he 
seems to take over all the domestic duties. He is very cautious, never 
coming down to feed without first surveying the premises for there are 
cats which wander in. Incidentally, tomato poles are good observation 
platforms. 
Another pleasure in this business is that one pair (possibly more) 
of cardinals stays all winter. At this time we feed them between our 
and a neighbor’s house (the neighbor who doesn’t harbor a cat). Here 
we can see them when porches are deserted and report with pleasure 
from day to day that the cardinals are getting along all right. During 
severe snow storms we are particularly watchful that there is plenty 
of food and more than repaid to see the birds frequently during the 
day against the white background. All winter long male and female 
cardinal are inseparable companions, a devoted couple, sharing both 
comforts and hardships, an inspiration to us who watch them. In the 
early days of February the male again begins to sing, giving us his 
cheerful concerts from then on till nesting time. 
Many birds come through our neighborhood, some thirty or more, 
but I have never studied them closely enough to have a complete list. 
Of late bronzed grackles have become regular partakers of our bounty. 
Downy woodpeckers are heard commonly but come to feed only in 
winter time when fresh suet is hung for them on a tree trunk. 
Starlings are much more common in the winter. They all give us a 
great deal of joy and incidentally we are troubled with insect pests 
hardly at all. The currant bushes and Japanese lanterns that were 
formerly badly chewed now flourish with no difficulty and our back 
yard is ever So much more interesting. 
Chicago, Ill. 
We regret that we neglected to give proper credit for the photo- 
graph of the marsh hawk and nest in our June number. It was the 
work of Alfred M. Bailey. 
