Chapter 4

GOING HOMEPhotographed by W. R. Boulton, Jr.

Both parents were often seen cleaning the nest. They began to feed the young at about eight o’clock every morning, and continued it steadily at an average of every six or seven minutes until about six at night, using as food almost exclusively a certain kind of bug that was very hairy, brownish with black markings, and, except for the hair, might have been mistaken for castor beans, being about the same size. They seemed a huge mouthful for a young Bluebird. Several times a day I would climb up to the nest and whistle softly like a Bluebird before the aperture. The young would crane their necks and stretch their mouths for the supposed food, although none was forthcoming.

LEAVING HOMEPhotographed by W. R. Boulton, Jr.

When the young flew from the nest, I felt as though I had lost a family. My grief was not such that I could not capture them, however, and after counting noses, I found that one was missing. I climbed up and there I found ‘runtie’ at the bottom of the nest, pitifully squeaking at being left alone. I took out the bottom and extracted him. Finally, after half an hour or more of posing, I got several good pictures of the babies on a dead branch. When I opened the nest-log to clean it, I found a little block of grasses about three inches in diameter and one inch high. It fairly glistened with shed feather-sheaths. In the bottom were six or seven bugs, of the speciesmentioned before, that had evidently escaped the birds. Exactly two months after the first egg was laid, the second nest of the same pair was nearing completion in another of my boxes. Here are the dates.

While the female was incubating, the male still fed the young of the first brood, although not so often as when they left the nest.—Wolfrid Rudyerd Boulton, Jr.(Age 14 years), Beaver, Pa.

[Perhaps no better word of appreciation of this carefully worded description of personal observations could be given than to quote from a letter written by Mr. Herbert K. Job with reference to the data given by Master Boulton, Jr.: “His accurate information about the periods of incubation and rearing of the Bluebird came in handy to me just now, as there is a pair in a box up-state which I want to ‘film’ at just the right period, and now I can estimate when to make the trip.” The pictures illustrating this article were not only taken, but also developed and finished by the observer.—A. H. W.]

A MUSICAL WOODLAND

Riding on my pony in a thick-set wood, I heard the “Feathered Musicians” playing on their instruments.

First the trill of the Wood Thrush, then the sweet trill of the Meadowlark, the rapidly repeated ‘wickci’ of the Flicker, the sweet melody of the Robin, the charming song of the Song Sparrow, and the ‘chip’ of the Chipping Sparrow, were most delightful.

Far off in the distance I could hear the sweet Canary-like whistle of the Goldfinch and the ‘eak’ of the Purple Grackle.

The woods rang with the music of the birds, for nothing is so sweet as natural music.—Sarah W. Weaver(Age 11 years), Baltimore County, Md.

[“For nothing is so sweet as natural music.”This naive observation brings to mind the gurgle of brooks, waving treetops, and hum of busy insects, as well as the music of feathered songsters. It has the essence of spring in it, when awakening life so quickly voices itself in melody.—A. H. W.]

[“For nothing is so sweet as natural music.”

This naive observation brings to mind the gurgle of brooks, waving treetops, and hum of busy insects, as well as the music of feathered songsters. It has the essence of spring in it, when awakening life so quickly voices itself in melody.—A. H. W.]

INTERESTING PERFORMANCE OF A TUFTED TITMOUSE

While taking refuge from a slight April shower on the porch of an unoccupied summer cottage at Lithia Springs, Ga., twenty miles from Atlanta, I once witnessed an interesting performance by a Tufted Titmouse. Having chosen a damp brown oak leaf from the ground, it flew with it into a bare tree, and, holding the leaf with its claw firmly against a branch, it drew itself to its full height, raised its head like a Woodpecker, and with all the might of its tiny frame gave, a forcible blow to the leaf with its bill. This process was kept up nearly half an hour. The bird seemed utterly indifferent to the near presenceof my two friends and myself. Once it dropped the leaf, but immediately picked it up and carried it back to the tree. A boy passed on the sidewalk below. The bird flew to a higher branch. At last its purpose seemed to be accomplished. It rested, and lifted the leaf by the petiole. We then saw that the hammering had made it into a firm brown ball nearly as large as an oak gall. The bird flew with it behind the kitchen-ell of the cottage. We hurried around, and were met by the Titmouse, empty-billed, who looked at us with an innocent, nonchalant air. Had it dropped the ball into its nest-hole?—Lucy H. Upton.

[Who can add any information which will throw light on this unusual observation?—A. H. W.]

TWILIGHT HOUR AT ASHAWAY

The western sky, soft tinted with the hues of setting sun,Lends beauty to the twilight shadows lengthening one by one,Twined mystic’lly together by the stirring April breezeThat sends a message of awakening through the leafless trees.The fresh, cool air, bearing the scent of new-ploughed earthGives promise of the future harvest soon to have its birth,When garden, field and orchard, now wearing brown and gray,Shall change these duller colors for the vernal green of May;The farmer reads the happy signs and whistles in true gleeJangling in haste his cans and milk-pails merrily;While lazy cattle straggle up the rocky barnyard way,And the impatient horses paw and whinny for their hay.A scuffle and a cackle in the hen-coop near at handGive token where the mother hen broods o’er her fledgling band,And Spotty seeks the hay-mow, purring loudly in her pride,For there, in safety waiting her, three kittens do abide.The Robins and the Bluebirds call and answer all around,And the cheerful little peeptoads seem to crowd the air with sound,—And yet it is not noisy. Joyous peace is everywhere,And a consciousness of Heaven makes the twilight hour more fair.

The fresh, cool air, bearing the scent of new-ploughed earthGives promise of the future harvest soon to have its birth,When garden, field and orchard, now wearing brown and gray,Shall change these duller colors for the vernal green of May;

The farmer reads the happy signs and whistles in true gleeJangling in haste his cans and milk-pails merrily;While lazy cattle straggle up the rocky barnyard way,And the impatient horses paw and whinny for their hay.

A scuffle and a cackle in the hen-coop near at handGive token where the mother hen broods o’er her fledgling band,And Spotty seeks the hay-mow, purring loudly in her pride,For there, in safety waiting her, three kittens do abide.

The Robins and the Bluebirds call and answer all around,And the cheerful little peeptoads seem to crowd the air with sound,—And yet it is not noisy. Joyous peace is everywhere,And a consciousness of Heaven makes the twilight hour more fair.

—Ruth R. Hayden.

[This poem was written by a student in The Rhode Island State Normal School. It is of unusual interest since the author, although blind, undertook the course in nature-study and succeeded so well that her instructor writes: “I am tempted to say that only those are blind whowon’t see. I am convinced that the subject is most valuable for classes in schools of the blind.” SeeBird-Lore, Vol. XIII, No. 6, p. 316.—A. H. W.]

FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, NEST AND YOUNGPhotographed by E. Jack

THE CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER

By T. GILBERT PEARSON

The National Association of Audubon Societies

EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 85

Among the most charming birds in the world are the members of that group classified as the family of Wood Warblers. There are about one hundred and fifty-five known species, and they are found in no other country but America. Seventy-four kinds occur in North America, and fifty-five of these have been recorded in the United States.

They are small birds, the majority measuring rather less than five and one-half inches from bill-tip to tail-tip. They are birds mainly of woods and thickets, a few only venturing into open country. The Warbler’s bill is longer than that of most small birds, and is well adapted for seizing the soft-bodied insects upon which it so largely preys.

One of the most common members of the family in the Eastern States is the Chestnut-sided Warbler. The general appearance of the male is that of a particularly trim little bird with olive-green back and bright yellow crown; the under parts are lighter, and the sides are marked by deep chestnut—that is, this is the way the male looks in spring. At this season the female is quite similar, although its colors are duller. In the fall and winter the plumage presents a very different appearance. The upper parts then are yellowish olive-green, sometimes with faint streaks on the back. The deep-chestnut of the sides has given way to a few spots or patches of this color.

In seeking the Chestnut-sided Warbler, one should go to woodlands that have been cut over and grown up in bushes. There are found the conditions which this bird dearly loves, and in such a situation one may pass a whole forenoon and seldom be out of sight or hearing of one or more of them.

The nest is made of strips of bark, soft dead leaf-stems, and similar material; it is lined with tendrils and rootlets. Usually the nest is from two and a half to three and a half feet from the ground. Rarely have I found one so situated that it could not readily be reached by the spring of an agile house-cat, and there is much evidence to show that many are pulled down every year by these feline hunters.

It is commonly reported that as many as five eggs are deposited in the nest before the bird begins sitting, but fully three-fourths of those nests that I have found contained only four eggs. They are white, with numerous brown markings of various shades—some distinct, others more or less obscure, as if the inside of the shell had been painted and the color was showing through. The spots and blotches are gathered chiefly in a wreath about the larger end.

[128a]

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLEROrder—PasseresGenus—DendroicaFamily—MniotiltidæSpecies—pennsylvanicaNational Association of Audubon Societies

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER

National Association of Audubon Societies

[128b]

They are pretty, dainty little objects, as is the case with all Warblers’ eggs. In size, they are about two-thirds of an inch long, and half an inch in diameter at the largest place.

In the latitude of Boston, fresh eggs may usually be found late in May or in the first week of June.

The Chestnut-sided Warbler feeds almost exclusively on insects. John James Audubon wrote that once in Pennsylvania, during a snowstorm in early spring, he examined the dead bodies of several, and found that their stomachs contained only grass-seeds and a few spiders. The birds were very poor, and evidently were in a half-starved condition, which would probably account for the fact that they had been engaged in such an un-warbler-like act as eating seeds. Ordinarily this bird is highly insectivorous, and feeds very largely on leaf-eating caterpillars. It also collects plant-lice, ants, leaf-hoppers, small bark-beetles, and, in fact, is a perfect scourge to the small insect-life inhabiting the foliage of the bushes and trees where it makes its home. Sometimes the birds take short flights in the air after winged insects. It will thus be seen that the Chestnut-sided Warbler is of decided value as a guardian of trees, which is reason enough why the legislators of the various states where the bird is found were induced to enact the Audubon Law for its protection.

All birds that depend so much on insects for their livelihood as does the Chestnut-sided Warbler are necessarily highly migratory. By the middle of September nearly all have departed from their summer home, which, we may say roughly, covers the territory of the southern Canadian Provinces from Saskatchewan eastward, and extends southward as far as Ohio and New Jersey. They are also found in summer along the Alleghany Mountains in Tennessee and South Carolina. Most of the migrants go to Central America by way of the Gulf of Mexico, and only a comparatively small number travel to Florida and the Bahama Islands.

The song of the Chestnut-sided Warbler is confused in the minds of some listeners with that of the Yellow Warbler. Mathews says the song resembles the words, “I wish, I wish, I wish to see Miss Beecher.”

Mr. Clinton G. Abbott, writing inBird-Lorein 1909, told most entertainingly of the fortunes of a pair of these Warblers and their nest, which he watched one summer. After telling of finding a nest from which all the eggs had been thrown but one, and in their place had been deposited two eggs of the Cowbird, he says:

“The nest was found at Rhinebeck, New York, on July 6, 1900, incubation having apparently just started. Four days later I discovered that one of the Cowbird’s eggs was infertile; so I removed it from the nest, disappointed that I should not, after all, enjoy the somewhat unique experience of observing two young Cowbirds growing up in the same nest. It was some time during the night of July 13-14 that the first of the remaining two eggs hatched—the Cowbird’s of course. The Warbler’s hatched between twelve and twelve-thirtyo’clock on the 14th. The nicety with which matters had been so arranged that the young Cowbird would have just a convenient start in life over its unfortunate rival commanded at least my admiration if not my sympathy. Cowbirds must indeed be sharp nest-finders to be able to discover at short notice not only the nests of certain suitable kinds of birds, but even nests containing eggs at a certain stage of incubation!

A NEST OF THE CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER

“After the hatching of the eggs, I spent considerable time at the nest-side, and observed with interest the many pretty little incidents of a bird’s domestic life—the constant and tender brooding of the newly hatched young by both Warblers in turn; the never-ceasing search among the neighboring trees and bushes for small caterpillars; the delivery of the food by the male to the brooding female, who, in turn, would raise herself and pass it to the young; the careful cleansing of the nest; and many other intimate details of the birds’ loving and happy lives. When I drew aside the leaves that sheltered the nest and allowed the sun to shine upon it for purposes of photography, the mother, realizing with that wonderful instinct common to all birds which nest in the shade, the fatal effect on her babies of the sun’s direct rays, would take her stand on the edge of the nest and with outstretched wings would form of her own body a living shield for the comfort and protection of her young. Although herself in evident distress from the heat, and with parted mandibles continually gasping for air, she would remain in this position as long as the sun shone upon her, only stepping aside occasionally when a well-known signal announced that her husband had arrived with a meal for the little ones. It was a beautiful picture of parental devotion.

“As the young birds began to grow, the Cowbird not only maintained, but rapidly increased its lead over its small nest-mate. At every visit of the parent bird with food, its capacious gullet could be seen violently waving aloft and almost completely hiding the feeble little mouth of the Warbler, whose owner was pathetically doing its best in a dumb appeal for food. The Cowbird’s appetite seemed never to be satiated and, unlike most nestlings, which relapse after a meal and give their brethren the next chance, he seemed ready for every fresh opportunity; and, by reason of his superior display, he usually succeeded in obtaining the coveted morsel. However, the young Warbler did manage to get an occasional portion, and I had strong hopes that he might reach maturity. For I realized that a Chestnut-sided Warbler’s usual laying is about five eggs, and that therefore some four eggs must have been made to give place to the two Cowbird’s. Hence the young Cowbird in the nest might reasonably be granted the room and food of four young Warblers. More than this I hoped he was not getting.

“On July 18, at 3.30P. M., when the birds were about four days old, I took them from the nest to compare their sizes. I replaced them in the nest, but that was the last I saw of the poor little Warbler. When I returned at 5P. M., the Cowbird was in sole and triumphant possession of the nest. Just what became of the Chestnut-sided Warbler will never be known, but my theory is that, weakened by lack of sufficient food, the little fellow at last became too feeble to raise himself at all, and was crushed to death by the Cowbird’s gross body. The parent birds, returning and finding the little corpse in the bottom of the nest, were no doubt impelled by their instinctive sense of cleanliness to carry it to a distance; for the most careful search over a large area beneath the nest failed to reveal any sign of the missing bird, thus proving that it had not fallen from the nest nor been forced out by the Cowbird.

“The Cowbird now had things all his own way and, there being no one to dispute his right to all the food, he grew with amazing rapidity. The dainty little cup of a nest, never built to accommodate such a monster, was soon completely forced out of shape. His body then protruded beyond the lower rim of the nest, and the ground underneath became littered with droppings, quite baffling the cleanly, sanitary instincts of the Warblers.

“The Cowbird, now almost twice as large as his devoted foster-parents, rises with hideous chitterings of delight to receive an ever-acceptable meal. I visited the nest at 7.30A. M., on July 26. As I walked home to breakfast, I resolved that in the interests of justice I ought to put an end to that Cowbird, as a murderer and a menace to the welfare of birddom. But when I returned to the spot, about 9A. M., he had escaped me; the nest was empty, my bird flown. No doubt, if I had searched and listened, I should have heard him shouting for food not far away; but my spirit of vengeance was only half-hearted at best, and so I left him, a criminal abroad, to be the parent, I suppose, of others as bad.”

The Audubon Societies

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

Edited by T. GILBERT PEARSON, Secretary

Address all correspondence, and send all remittances for dues and contributions, tothe National Association of Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City.

William Dutcher,President

Samuel T. Carter, Jr.,Attorney

Any person, club, school or company in sympathy with the objects of this Association may become a member of it, and all are welcome.

Classes of Membership in the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals:

$5annually pays for a Sustaining Membership$100paid at one time constitutes a Life Membership$1,000constitutes a person a Patron$5,000constitutes a person a Founder$25,000constitutes a person a Benefactor

Form of Bequest:—I do hereby give and bequeath to The National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals (Incorporated), of the City of New York.

A CASE IN POINT

In the last issue ofBird-Lorewere reproduced some photographs of a ruined White Ibis rookery, which Dr. Herbert R. Mills stated had been destroyed by “sportsmen” who had wantonly shot the birds. Such raids on the bird-life of Florida have been made frequently by northern visitors to the state. A striking example of this habit has just come to public notice.

In the February issue ofScribner’s Magazine, a writer, after referring to the pleasures he enjoyed while catching tarpon at Bocagrande, says:

“Birds were always flying around the boat; Gulls, Man-o’-wars, Pelicans, and when we weren’t fishing we were potting at them with a Winchester .22. The Big Chief was a wizard with a rifle, and even skimming Swallows were none too swift or too small for his Deadeye Dick precision of aim. After cutting down a sailing Man-o’-war, two hundred yards above the water, and surely three hundred yards away, he formed a Man-o’-war’s Club; any body who killed one flying was entitled to membership.”

All these birds are protected by the laws of Florida and at least one of them by the United States Migratory Bird Law. There is no open season for any of them. The man who wrote this is not a poor, illiterate inhabitant of the southern swamps, who killed the birds to sell their feathers for a few dollars with which to help feed his family; but is a successful writer of novels and stories, many of which you and I have bought and read with pleasure. Incidentally, by our purchase of his work, we have aided in swelling his royalties, thus enabling him to go to Bocagrande, and doubtless elsewhere, where he might amuse himself from time to time in the very delectable sport of shooting harmless non-game birds. This man is John Fox, Jr.

As a result of the work of this Association, the Pelican colonies in Charlotte Harbor near Bocagrande have been made Federal bird-reservations. While attempting to protect one of them, Columbus G. McLeod, one of our wardens, had his head chopped open and his body sunk in the harbor by persons who did not approve of his zeal. These birds—the wards of the Government, the birds that the Audubon Society’s members have been giving money to protect, and the birds for which one good man has given up his life—these birds afford targets for Mr. John Fox Jr., and his friends; andScribner’s Magazine, doubtless greatly pleased at the privilege of being allowed to publish an article from the pen of a gentleman so distinguished, kind and altruistic, has taken these boasting sentences and printed them, regardless of the fact that the magazine will go into thousands of homes to be read by young men who may later go tarpon-fishing in the limpid waters about Bocagrande, and who might be inspired to follow the example of the noble deeds of this celebrated novelist.

We are glad to reproduce here an open letter written to him by Doctor William F. Blackman, President of the Florida State Audubon Society:

“Dear Sir: As a tarpon fisherman, holding the record in a recent year for the largest fish taken in the state, I was much interested in your article in the February Issue ofScribner’s Magazine, on ‘Tarpon Fishing at Bocagrande.’ But when you told your readers that you and your companions beguiled your leisure, on this occasion, by ‘potting with a Winchester .22’ at the Gulls, Man-o’-wars, Pelicans, and skimming Swallows which surrounded your boat, you surprised and pained and disgusted me beyond words.

“You doubtless knew that all these birds are protected by the laws of Florida, and some of them by the Federal laws also; your action was deliberately criminal; it was also unspeakably puerile, wanton, cruel, and vulgar.

“The citizens of Florida welcome tourists from other states; we are happy to share our excellent fishing and shooting with them within legal and decent limits, which, I am glad to say, the great majority of those who sojourn among us carefully and cheerfully observe; but we do not propose to allow our plumage and insectivorous birds to be slaughtered to provide fun for thoughtless and reckless gunners whether residents or visitors.

“You are too foxy to say whether you yourself succeeded in killing any of these birds, but I hereby give you notice that if you ever again set foot on our soil, and I am apprised of the fact, I shall see that you have an opportunity to tell your story in the courts. If proof can be had of your personal guilt, you will be punished to the full limit of the law, in both the state and federal jurisdictions, for a misdemeanor so unsportmanlike and inexcusable.”

A FEEDING-SHELF FOR BIRDS ERECTED BY JUDGE HARRY L. CRESWELL, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

PHOTOGRAPHING WATER-FOWL

To watch at close range the wildfowl accumulated on the Ward-McIlhenny reservation in the marshes of Louisiana is the privilege of a lifetime.

Mr. Herbert K. Job not only had this privilege for about six weeks during last December and the early weeks of January, but he procured a remarkable series of photographs of water-birds that make that region their winter home. From the moving pictures that he made the Association now has a thousand-foot reel, showing Pintails, Teals, and other Ducks, as well as Boat-tailed Grackles and Coots.

To ornithologists, the most interesting pictures he obtained were those of the Blue Geese. The chief summer home of these birds is supposed to be on the islands north of the American continent, and most, if not all of them, pass the winter in the marshes of Louisiana. I know of no case heretofore where they have been photographed in large numbers at close range.

PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE WINDOW OF A CABIN ON THE WARD-McILHENNY RESERVATION

The accompanying illustrations were all made by Mr. Job on this expedition, and will give some idea of the results of his skill and patience in the use of a moving-picture camera.

WHEN ALARMED, THE DUCKS WERE THE FIRST TO TAKE FLIGHT

AN INTERESTING COMPANY OF COOTS

PINTAILS, TEALS, AND COOTS, PHOTOGRAPHED FROM CABIN WINDOW

PINTAILS, TEALS, AND BOAT-TAILED GRACKLES, PHOTOGRAPHED FROM CABIN WINDOW

BLUE GEESE AND A FEW GREATER SNOW-GEESE "GRAVELING" AT VERMILION BAY, LOUISIANA.MR. JOB WAITED FIVE DAYS IN A BLIND TO GET THESE PICTURES OF GEESE

BLUE GEESE AND SNOW-GEESE ALIGHTING. VERMILION BAY, LOUISIANA, JANUARY 3, 1916

THE MARSH ON FIRE

BIRDS AND THE COLD SPELL

On the morning of February 5, 1916, there was received at the office of the National Association the following telegram:

“The State Game Warden, Topeka, Kansas, reports his state covered with three to nine inches of sleet and ice. Birds starving by wholesale. State organizing campaign for food. Can you assist? Immediate action necessary.E. W. Nelson, Acting Chief, Biological Survey.”

We immediately telegraphed to the State Game Warden of Kansas offering $200 for the purchase of grain. Shortly afterward the following telegram was received from Honorable Carlos Avery, State Game Commissioner of Minnesota:

“Conditions critical for Quail on account of unprecedented depth of snow and extreme cold. Funds insufficient to care for them adequately. Can you include Minnesota for appropriation for this purpose?”

This second call for help, together with word received from other directions, indicated that the snow and ice-cap had extended generally over a number of the northern states of the Middle West. We at once wired to the officials of some of the organizations in several of these states, and also sent telegrams to thirty-five members of the Association, telling them of the situation and asking for contributions to be used in the purchase and distribution of food for the birds. Many of the members immediately responded, and in a remarkably short time we had collected and telegraphed to the Cleveland Bird-Lovers’ Association $200, to the President of the South Dakota State College $200, and to the Minnesota Game Commission $600.

We also telegraphed the Postmaster General in Washington asking that rural mail-carriers in Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska be authorized to distribute grain to be supplied them for the purpose. The Third Assistant Postmaster General at once gave the instructions requested.

Mrs. Elizabeth C. T. Miller, President of the Cleveland Bird-Lovers’ Association, sent notices to all on her large membership list, called upon the people generally through the press, and set other movements in operation looking to the good of the birds.

The South Dakota State College is the largest educational institution in the State, enrolling over eleven hundred members. President E. C. Perisho, who is a lover of wild birds and, incidentally, one of the most influential and public-spirited educators of the West, called a mass meeting of his students and laid the situation before them. The following is from one of his letters, and will give some idea of what resulted.

“We are doing everything possible at this end to save the birds of South Dakota. I thought perhaps you would be interested to know that our organization for this purpose is as follows:

“1. The State College has written to four hundred or five hundred boys and girls, members of the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of the state, asking them to scatter grain and make some protection to save the Field Sparrows, Quails, and Prairie Chickens especially.

“2. The entire extension force of the College, including all the short-course demonstrators, district men, etc., have been written to and are coöperating with us.

“3. All the county agents of the state are interesting the school children of their counties, and a number of farmers and the rural mail carriers.

“4. The commercial clubs in all the large towns of the state, and the smaller ones where grain is most needed, have been written to, asking for their immediate coöperation.

“5. All the state institutions, five besides our own, have been asked to help in this matter.

“6. A number of high schools and township schools, etc., have been asked to help.

“7. Between one and two hundred farmers, well distributed over the state have had personal letters.

“Money in small amounts has been promised to county agents, commercial clubs, etc. I met a number of the young men of our college today and talked to them about the situation, and asked for their coöperation in writing to their homes, etc. Those most interested in the work went out, after the meeting, and had a picture taken. I will send you this photograph as soon as it is developed.”

SAVING THE QUAIL IN MINNESOTA1. Locating nesting-places of Quails under brush and broken treetops. 2. Placing grain under brush just occupied by a bunch of Quails. 3. Fifteen Quails were found here on February 13; food was left for them. 4. Some Quails become weak from lack of food, are easily caught, and sit contentedly in one's warm hand. 5. Several Quails near the foot of a tree, and one (at the right) running.

SAVING THE QUAIL IN MINNESOTA

1. Locating nesting-places of Quails under brush and broken treetops. 2. Placing grain under brush just occupied by a bunch of Quails. 3. Fifteen Quails were found here on February 13; food was left for them. 4. Some Quails become weak from lack of food, are easily caught, and sit contentedly in one's warm hand. 5. Several Quails near the foot of a tree, and one (at the right) running.

In Minnesota, the “Save the Quail Association” was immediately formed by the sportsmen of St. Paul and vicinity. Mr. Carlos Avery put the State Game Wardens to work, and the matter was given wide publicity. An immense work was done throughout the state in the way of feeding birds. Mr. Avery has sent in a large number of photographs, showing the men actually at work for the relief of the birds. The method of feeding the Quails, to locate the covies, scrape the snow away, and put out food.

The heavy snow and extreme cold prevailed over a large area of the northern United States, and more work was probably done to feed the birds this winter than ever before under similar conditions. Many of the State Game Commissions have funds for this purpose, and have been very active.

Quails and Pheasants are known to have suffered much in Oregon and Washington. A quaint little incident is reported of pheasants in Washington, sent us by a correspondent in British Columbia. He relates that the Pheasants during the time of deep snow not only came familiarly about barnyards, but were fond of perching on the backs of the hogs in order, apparently, to warm their chilled feet.

There have been some losses in New England, and even from New Jersey reports reached the office of the toll of bird-life that the heavy snow had taken.

STUDENTS OF THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE COLLEGE, AFTER LISTENING TO AN ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT E. C. PERISHO, ON THE NEED OF FEEDING BIRDS IN WINTER. NOTE THE DEPTH OF THE SNOW.

FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY

When George Bird Grinnell coined the term “Audubon Society,” and started the Audubon Movement, in 1886, one of the first to respond to the call and to go actively into the work was Miss Florence Merriam, who, with Miss Fanny Hardy—now Mrs. Eckstorm, author of several bird-books—in March, 1886, organized the Smith College Audubon Society. Soon afterward Miss Merriam assumed the duties of a local Audubon secretaryship, in northern New York, and also secured local secretaries in several neighboring towns.

In 1897, when the Audubon Society of the District of Columbia was organized, she was one of its chartered members. For many years, as Mrs. Florence Merriam Bailey, she has been an active member of its executive committee, and, among other duties, has had charge of the annual spring bird-class, one of the most important features of that Society. That her interest in the work is deep, and sympathetic to an unusual degree may be shown by a quotation from a letter that she wrote to the California Audubon Society on the occasion of its organization:

“Wherever you go, study the birds and tell your friends of them. Point out to them the chaste beauty of your exquisitely tinted waterfowl; let them see the glowing splendor of your Tanagers, the flashing jewels of your Hummingbirds. Take them to the fields, that they may listen in rapture to the rare voice of your Meadowlark; take them to the deep canyons filled with the flute-like notes of the Canyon Wren; and to the fir forests on the mountainsides, where their souls will be stirred by the uplifted song of the Thrush.

“By knowing the birds personally, you will bring to your Audubon work the enkindling spark of enthusiastic friendship. In all phases of your work, for yourselves, your friends, your birds, and your children, you have my hearty interest and good wishes. For fifteen years I have been waiting for you to take up the cause of the California birds, and for many years I have been working with the children of the West on my heart. Knowing this, you may well believe that I wish your beautiful work an earnest God-speed.”

Mrs. Bailey’s natural girlhood’s interest in wild birds was greatly quickened by dwelling in a home in which scholarship and a love of scientific accuracy were taught daily; and she had the added advantage of living in a region of northern New York well supplied with bird-life. In a recent letter she wrote: “Having been brought up on Coues’s ‘Key,’ and trained by my brother, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, on leaving College in 1886 I began doing careful field-work.” Since that day, no woman has studied the wild birds of America so systematically, so thoroughly, and so carefully as she. The amount of field-work she has done is perfectly astonishing, and probably few women have spent so many days in the wilds, or so many nights under canvas, as has Mrs. Florence Merriam Bailey. Her work, partly conducted in company with her brother, Dr. Merriam, and her husband, Mr. Vernon Bailey, has been carried on not only in eastern and southern states and in the Bermudas, but also in Arizona, Oregon, California, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and New Mexico.

As a teacher of others, she has given bird-talks and conducted field-classes in bird-study in various parts of the country, and for thirty years her name has been before the public as a writer of popular and scientific articles. The titles of no less than seventy communications published inThe Auk,Bird-Lore,The Condor,Forest and Stream,The Outlook,Popular Science,The American Agriculturist, and elsewhere, have come to my attention. Her first book, “Birds Through An Opera Glass,” was published in 1889. This was followed by “My Summer in a Mormon Village,” 1895; “A-Birding on a Bronco,” 1896; and “Birds of Village and Field,” 1898.

FLORENCE MERRIAM BAILEY

Her largest and most valuable contribution to the literature of ornithology is her “Handbook of Birds of the Western United States,” first published in 1902. From the day of its appearance, this was hailed as the most practical and useful book on our western birds that had ever been published, and for many years to come it will be regarded as the standard work on the subject. No serious student of bird-life in the western United States would think of being without this valuable book on his study-table.

NEW MEMBERS AND CONTRIBUTORS

Enrolled from January 1 to March 1, 1916.

Life Members.Agnew, Miss Alice G.Andrews, J. SherlockArnold, Edward W. C.Barr, James H.Black, R. CliffordBlake, Mrs. FrancisBrackenridge, George W.Burnham, WilliamButler, Mrs. PaulButterworth, Mrs. WilliamCampbell, John B.Childs, EversleyClark, George H.Clementson, Mrs. SidneyColgate, Richard M.Covell, Dr. H. H.Dahlstrom, Mrs. C. A.Dodge, Cleveland H.Doepke, Mrs. William F.Eddison, CharlesGlazier, Henry S.Hamlin, Mrs. Eva S.Hanna, Mrs. H. M., Jr.Haskell, J. AmoryHigginson, Mrs. James J.“Iowa Friend”Jenkins, Mrs. Joseph W.Keen, Miss FlorenceKeith, Mrs. D. M.Kingsbury, Miss Alice E.Langdon, Woodbury G.Lansing, Mrs. G. Y.Lawrence, Rosewell B.Low, Miss Nathalie F.MacLean, Mrs. Charles F.Marmon, Mrs. Elizabeth C.Miller, Mrs. E. C. T.Mitchell, Miss MaryMoore, Mrs. William H.Neave, Miss Jane C.Newberry, W. F.Oliver, Mrs. James B.Osborn, Mrs. William C.Prentiss, F. F.Rathborne, Richard C.Remsen, Miss ElizabethRodewald, F. L.Sanger, Mrs. C. R.Severance, John L.Stetson, Francis L.

Stillman, B. G.Stillman, Chauncey D.Thaw, J. C.Upson, Mrs. Henry S.Weld, Miss Elizabeth F.White, Windsor T.Woolman, Edward

Sustaining Members.Adams, Mrs. Maud W.Aims, Miss Edith M.Allen, Charles D.Allen, Mrs. D. P.Armstrong, Mrs. C. R.Audubon Society of Illinois.Audubon Society of New Hampshire.Barber, Mrs. H.Barrows, Ira.Bayne, HowardBeacom, M. W.Benton, Andrew A.Biays, Miss KatherineBillard, Mrs. J. L.Bispham, DavidBoettger, Mrs. TheodoreBooth, Mrs. Henry M.Brunswick, Mrs. E.Burton, Mrs. Robert M.Carey, Mrs. Frederic F.Cerf, Mrs. L. A.Choate, Miss CarolineChurch, F. S.Clark, F. AmbroseClark, George C.Clements, Mrs. G. H.Cochran, G. D.Cohn, Julius M.Colfelt, Mrs. R. McM.Colorado Audubon SocietyCory, Daniel W.de Bary, A.Delta Duck ClubDeMilt, Miss Aida R.deRham, H. CasimirDinsmore, Mrs. W. B.Emerson, WilliamFlint, Mrs. AustinFord, Mrs. BruceFoshay, Dr. P. MaxwellFraser, Miss Ann C.Fuld, Solomon

Gale, C. C.Gates, Dr. Milo H.Gavit, E. P.Godwin, Mrs. H.Gouinlock, Miss Mary S.Haggin, Mrs. Ben AliHaines, Charles D.Hall, A. NeelyHatch, Miss Cornelia C.Havemeyer, Henry O.Hawes, Miss M. M.Hawkes, Miss EvaHerz, Mrs. F. W.Heyn, Miss EmmaHibbs, Mrs. Russell A.Hitchcock, Master FrankHoening, Mrs. C.Hooper, Mrs. NewlinHopkins, Mrs. George B.Hotchkiss, Frank A.Houghton, Mrs. Grace N.Howland, Dr. JohnHoyt, Miss Rosina S.Hyde, Mrs. Clarence M.Imbrie, Mrs. JamesIrwin, John V.Jaretzki, Mrs. AlfredJenkins, A. W.Jennings, Mrs. Oliver G.Jewett, William K.Judd, Mrs. M. E.Judson, Mrs. A. L.Keck, Miss Margaret W.Kennedy, David A.Kennedy, Mrs. N. Van RensselaerKent, Edwin C.Keyes, Mrs. Edward L., Jr.Kimball, Mrs. Reuel B.King, Mrs. Willard V.Kinne, Miss HelenKlingenstein, CharlesLamb, Gilbert D.Lane, James Warren, Jr.Lansburgh, Miss Edith RosalieLedoux, Mrs. Albert R.Lehmaier, Mrs. Louis A.Lehman, Meyer H.Lewis, Richard V.Lieb, Dr. Charles C.Lilienthal, Dr. HowardLouis, Charles H.McHugh, Joseph P.Maron, OttoMassey, Miss H. F.Mather, Charles M.Mayer, LouisMerriam, F. L.Meyn, Mrs. HeinrichMiller, Mrs. R. T.Miller, Mrs. SeamanMills, Frederic C.Mills, Miss JeanMoore, Miss K. T.Moorhead, Horace R.

Morton, Mrs. Levi P.Moses, Mrs. E.Muendel, Miss ChristinaNelson, Charles W.New Bedford Bird ClubNewell, Mrs. G. T.Nicoll, Mrs. FancherOregon Audubon SocietyPalmer, Nicholas F.Peck, Dr. Charles H.Pomeroy, Daniel E.Poor, Roger M.Pope, Miss Edith A.Pratt, Mrs. Frederic B.Procter, Mrs. Wm. CooperProctor, Thomas R.Puffer, Miss IsabelPutney, Miss E. C.Redmond, Master Henry S.Reese, Mrs. R. G.Rehling-Qvistgaard, J. W. V.Renard, Fred O.Reynolds, Mrs. G. W.Riley, Mrs. W. W.Robbins, Allan AppletonRogers, Mrs. FrancisRomenus, AlbertRumsey, Lawrence DanaRupprecht, Frederick K.Ryle, Miss JuliaSachs, Dr. BernardSavage, JamesSawtelle, Mrs. E. M.Schanck, George E.Scofield, Miss MarionSeaman, William W.Sharpe, Miss Elizabeth M.Shaw, Miss LouiseSherman, Miss Julia FrancesSiegel, WilliamSimmons, Mrs. Warren H.Simonson, Mrs. William A.Simpson, Miss Jean W.Smillie, James C.Smith, Mrs. A. G.Smith, Miss Emeline C.Smith, Mrs. Rufus B.Smith, William WhartonSnook, Mrs. T. E.Soule, Elizabeth P.Stafford, Mrs. William F.Staudt, JohnSteers, James R.Steinway, F. T.Stephens, Mrs. Nassau S.Stillman, Mrs. E. G.Stone, Miss Elizabeth B.Strauss, AlbertStubner, C. J.Stursberg, Julius A.Swan, William D.Taylor, Mrs. W. R. K.Thomson, John F.Topliff, Miss Anna E.

Townsend, Eugene L.Tucker, CarillTuxbury, Miss L. E.Varicle, Miss RenéeVassar Wake Robin ClubWatson, Miss Emily A.White, Mrs. StanfordWhitson, Abraham U.Wiborg, F. B.Williams, Alexander S.Williams, Mrs. Sydney M.Wilson, Mrs. M. OrmeWing, Frank L.Winston-Salem Audubon SocietyZabriskie, Mrs. Cornelius

New Contributors.Evans, Miss MildredFrench, Daniel C.Harron, Master Halie I.Haueisen, William C.Jeremiah, J.Kellogg, Miss M. W.Macdonald, James A.Mix, Robert J.Newcomer, Miss Nannie I.Parker, Forrest H.Perrin, Marshall L.Post, Mrs. E. J.Townsend, Mrs. CharlesWheeler, Mrs. L. F.

Contributors to Egret Fund

THE VIRGINIA GAME BILL PASSES

By a vote of twenty-four to nine, the Senate of the Virginia Legislature has passed the bill of the Farmers’ Union and the Audubon Society for the establishment of a Commission of Fisheries and Game. The bill was signed by the Governor on March 13, 1916. Thus ends a fight which the Audubon Society has led in the Virginia Legislature, session after session, for many years.

Mr. M. D. Hart, President of the Virginia Audubon Society, and others who have labored hard for the successful passage of this measure, are to be congratulated. Now, at least, we may hope for some good bird-and-game protection in that state, for the commissioner will have power to employ wardens, and will have funds with which to pay them.

The methods of selecting the local wardens is rather unusual: From a list of ten names, submitted by the boards of supervisors of the counties and the councils of cities, the commissioner will select wardens—one for each county and city in the commonwealth. In communities of less than 20,000 inhabitants these officers will be paid a salary not to exceed $50 a month. In more populous communities their monthly pay will not be in excess of $60. Special wardens may be appointed to serve for not more than $3 a day. The commissioner or any of his wardens may serve original processes as sheriffs and constables. Every hunter who leaves his own premises or those adjoining his will be required to obtain from the commissioner a hunter’s license. Residents will be charged $1 for the privilege of hunting in their county, and $3 for a state range. Non-residents may hunt anywhere in Virginia on payment of $10.

The victory in Virginia leaves only two states in the Union that have no game-warden system. These states are Florida and Mississippi, which still vie with each other for the honor of being the Rip Van Winkle state in the matter of bird-protection.

Back to Index Next