. Our bird comrades . are taught some of thelessons that are needful for their own safety! One dayI heard a young redstart chirping for his dinner. Iquietly thrust my head into the thicket, and soon espiedthe birdkin perched on a twig only about a rod either did not see me, or else decided that I wt^s not abugaboo. A few minutes later the mother darted intothe enclosure and fed her baby. She was too muchabsorbed in her duties to notice me until the repast wasover; then she suddenly caught sight of her unwelcomecaller. She stood transfixed with astonishment for onebreathless moment, the
. Our bird comrades . are taught some of thelessons that are needful for their own safety! One dayI heard a young redstart chirping for his dinner. Iquietly thrust my head into the thicket, and soon espiedthe birdkin perched on a twig only about a rod either did not see me, or else decided that I wt^s not abugaboo. A few minutes later the mother darted intothe enclosure and fed her baby. She was too muchabsorbed in her duties to notice me until the repast wasover; then she suddenly caught sight of her unwelcomecaller. She stood transfixed with astonishment for onebreathless moment, then uttered a piercing cry of alarmthat sent the little one dashing away like a streak oflightning. Plainly the youngster understood his mam-mas signal, for until she uttered it he had sat perfectlyquiet and unconcerned, perhaps not even aware of mypresence. Birds are taught the language of fear at atender age. Of course they learn it so readily becausethere is a basis of timidity in their natures, implantedby CHICKADEEParus airicapillns Two-thirds natural size) CHICKADEE WAYS* IN a somewhat casual way, and without going intotheir natural history, the last two chapters haveindicated the method of making an acquaintancewith new species and of studying the habits of a fewwild birds. A few chapters will now be devoted to afuller study of a number of interesting birds. Not thatI expect to write their complete life histories, which,indeed, would not be necessary; but that I may give yousome idea of the large amount of knowledge that can begained of one species. If this were multiplied by theknowledge procurable from the study of all the membersof the feathered brotherhood, think what an educationthe whole would give one. Let us begin with the familiarlittle tomtit. In his valuable manual, Birds of Eastern NorthAmerica, Dr. Frank M. Chapman calls the little black-capped chickadee an animated bunch of black andwhite feathers. That is certainly a graphic and correctway of putt
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