The Bird Study Book | Page 3

CUTS IN TEXT

Page
The fox that followed the footsteps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Heads and feet of various birds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sample page of reporting-blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The umbrella blind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Nest of the ruby-throated hummingbird . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Bald Eagle's eyrie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Grebe or "water witch" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Canada Geese decoys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
A greedy young Cowbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Migration routes of some North American birds . . . . . . . . 71
Lighthouses cause the death of many birds . . . . . . . . . . 76
Tired migrating birds often alight on ships . . . . . . . . . 79
Grouse "budding" in an apple tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Cuckoo raiding a tent of caterpillars . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Screech owl and its prey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Passenger Pigeons are now extinct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
The Great Auk, now extinct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Terns formerly sought by the feather trade . . . . . . . . . . 144
Crowned Pigeon that furnishes the "goura" of the feather
trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Migrative birds are protected by the Government . . . . . . . 172
The grotesque Wood Ibis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Hungry young Egrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Cemented holes shut out the Chickadee . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Gourds and boxes for Martins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
A bird bath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Coloring of birds upon outline drawings . . . . . . . . . . . 257

{3}
THE BIRD STUDY BOOK
CHAPTER I
FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE BIRDS
It is in spring that wild birds make their strongest appeal to the human
mind; in fact, the words "birds" and "spring" seem almost synonymous,
so accustomed are we to associate one with the other. All the wild
riotous singing, all the brave flashing of wings and tail, all the mad
dashing in and out among the thickets or soaring upward above the
tree-tops, are impelled by the perfectly natural instinct of mating and
rearing young. And where, pray, dwells the soul so poor that it does not
thrill in response to the appeals of the ardent lover, even if it be a bird,
or feel sympathy upon beholding expressions of parental love and
solicitude. Most people, therefore, are interested in such spring bird life
as comes to their notice, the extent of this interest depending {4} in part
on their opportunity for observation, but more especially, perhaps, on
their individual taste and liking for things out of doors.
It would seem safe to assume that there is hardly any one who does not

know by sight at least a few birds. Nearly every one in the eastern
United States and Canada knows the Robin, Crow, and English
Sparrow; in the South most people are acquainted with the
Mockingbird and Turkey Buzzard; in California the