. American bird magazine, ornithology. Birds. 72 AMERICAN OUR YOUNG FRIENDS. My Dear Young Folks: Once upon a time, (when I was a child) I saw in a little magazine a picture of an old man with birds flying all above, some eating from his hand, and some upon his head and shoulders, and the story told how he had tamed the birds by kindness so that they would come at his call. I thought it a charming sight, but classed it with my favorite fairy tales. But many dreams of my childhood have come true, and during the past year I have known personally a half dozen people who have so tame
. American bird magazine, ornithology. Birds. 72 AMERICAN OUR YOUNG FRIENDS. My Dear Young Folks: Once upon a time, (when I was a child) I saw in a little magazine a picture of an old man with birds flying all above, some eating from his hand, and some upon his head and shoulders, and the story told how he had tamed the birds by kindness so that they would come at his call. I thought it a charming sight, but classed it with my favorite fairy tales. But many dreams of my childhood have come true, and during the past year I have known personally a half dozen people who have so tamed the little feathered folk that they come at their call and eat from the hand. I have in mind one busy man who never goes out without a supply of broken raw peanuts in his pockets with which to regale three or four chickadees that he usually meets as he goes to and from his place of business. The chickadees seem to be the most easily tamed—what dear cheery little fellows they are—but time and patience will conquer many others, and it is a much more delightful sport than to hunt them with the gun. Probably there are few of our boys and girls who do not have some birds about their homes, (we always except English Spar- rows). Coax them to be friendly by an abundance of food, and fresh water, protect them from cats, then get them used to seeing you, and knowing that you are harmless, and that your presence always means something good to eat—for the way to a bird's "heart is through his stomach"—and by slow degrees win their confidence, and with patience, patience, and more patience, by the end of the season you can each one. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Worcester, Mass. : C. K. Reed
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Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
