Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 294, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1914 — Two Useful Winter Birds [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Two Useful Winter Birds

By Julie Adams Powell

Yean ago when Mr. Eugene Schlef--falj-n introduced the English starling into Central park. New York city, I do not believe that he thought that it would breed so fast as to spread over a good part of the United States, In so short a time, nor that it would become such a nuisance, that the Audu- £ societies are thinking of having it on the list of game birds. This is inse this new comer is driving, out many of our own more beautiful song 'birds, such as the blue bird, the flickier, the wren, and whatever bird nests in holes in trees. I have called this bird useful, in my headline. So he is, because in the «i>mmer time he kills thousands of grubs, spiders and insects in order to satisfy the hungry brood of youngsters, that is always clamoring for more and more. If their number could be kept down, and if they would not perch around our dwellings, we would be very glad to welcome them to our orchards during the grub and insect period. Some sunny morning, you boys will hear a long drawn whistle outside your window, and then a sound very like a chuckle. Open the window carefully, and wrapped up warmly, you can stand there and view the songster, and you will find that between the chuckle and whistle, there are some very sweet notes which you did not hear before. And on the elm tree just outside the house you will see two, four and sometimes six birds which from that distance look as if they were all attired in black suits, which in the sun shine with a metallic purple and green color. You will find a compactly built bird, between eight and nine inches long, with a strong brown bill and a rather short tail. Instead of being all of an iridescent black, the feathers of the upper parts and sides are tipped with deep yellow, the wings and tail are dark brownish gray, tipped with buff, and the under parts are heavily spotted with white. The starlings do not hop. They are walkers like the crows. During the winter they can be studied more carefully than in the summer, when there are so many more attractive birds about. They are great chatterers, and often the listener will be rewarded by a series of warbles and notes of joy, which are like the laughter of little children. If this wise old bird sees you looking at him, he will shut up his mouth right in the middle of his prettiest-notes, and not open it agaifi until you walk around the corner of the house but of his sight. A story was told me the other day of a pair of starlings which built their nest in a hole in the side of a house in our city of Stamford, right under the eaves. There must have been a beam projection for the roughly put together nest of sticks to be fastened to, but even so, when the birdlings grew large enough to move about, they frequently tumbled out of the nest, with great scramblings and flutterings of wings and shrill cries of alarm. Inside the wall of the house was the room of a little boy, and as it hap-

pened, the head of his bed was against the very spot where the feathered youngsters took their naps, and oftentimes in the middle of the night the little boy was rudely, awakened by the cries of the babies who tumbled out of their bed. When the little boy learned what the noise was, he watched the parents going in and out of the hole, until one day they all flew away and a piece of tin was placed over the entrance to keep them out. Last summer during a gale of wind an old apple tree in our orchard was blown directly in two. I found that a starling nest was laid bare, and in the nest were four youngsters almost ready to fly. The nest was securely .fastened to the side of the tree which was left standing, fortunately, and so

these birdlings remained a week longer, until they flew out into the world. One of our very interesting little winter birds, and one of the least conspicuous, is the nuthatch—the whitebreasted nuthatch. He is remarkable for his stout and sturdy build and strong pointed cylindrical bill and very short tail. - The nuthatch is one of our commonest winter birds, and easily identified. To see him run down the trunks of trees, is enough to make one dizzy, and his hoarse cry of “yank, yank” is

Bath Tub for Birds on an Eight-Foot Pole. I—Cat Guard. 2—Cross Pieces for the Birds to Rest on and Dry Their Feathers After Their Bath. different from any other bird call. In some districts the nuthatch is extremely shy, while at other times and places this little bird becomes as friendly as the chickadee, or the winter sparrows. Some writers say that the nuthatch feeds mostly on nuj, meats, while others declare that the bird breaks the shell to get at the insects and grubs which inhabit the nut. It is surely an

insectivorous bird, as one will learn by watching the bird Industriously searching the barks of trees for larvae and insects. Their bill is very strong and the nuthatch will push a nut into a crevice and hammer away at it until the shell breaks. One day in November I saw a nuthatch on the roof outside my window. He had something in his mouth and without noticing my near presence, he hunted about for a place to hide his treasure. Under a loose shingle he pushed it, and then I saw that, it was a cherry stone. He cocked his head on one side and then on the other, for the place did not seem quite secure enough. He made a dive for a leaf, and poked that in after his cherry

pit. I thought that it showed wonderful intelligence. The nuthatch is a gray and black bird, about six inches in length. The top of his head and the front of his back is a shining black, while the rest of his upper parts are of a bluish gray. There is white on his wings, and the sides of his head and* under parts are white. Just under his tall will be noticed a dull rufous color. We do not often see the nuthatch about our homes in summer unless we are fortunate enough to live off in the country districts. They build their nests in the hollows of trees, where the entrance is particularly smalt If it is too large, they build it up with mud or clay until it is of the desired size. They are great fighters for a bird of their size, and it is a brave bird that tries tomolest the nest of Yhe little white-breasted nuthatch.

Silver Pheasants —One of the Most Common Species of the Family—The Upper Part of the Body is White Delicately Marked With Black.