Chapter C: F. Hodge, Clark University

=For Young Observers=

Oliver Twist, Catbird

BY ISABELLA McC. LEMMON

On July 9, 1898, we caught a young Catbird. He had left the nest the day before, and had then eluded all our efforts, but by morning a pouring rain had removed his objections to captivity, and a very wet, bedraggled little Catbird was established in the big cage. He soon stopped trying to get out, and seemed quite contented--except occasionally when the old birds heard him calling for food and came to the rescue. But that was carefully guarded against, and as his voice lost its baby tone they left him in peace.

A name was quickly given, the frequency and great size of his meals promptly gaining for him the title of 'Oliver Twist.' Worms, currants, goose-, rasp-, black-, and huckleberries, bits of bread soaked in milk, all went down, but the fruit seemed somewhat more acceptable. On July 16, the amount of food was greatest: 43 earthworms and 81 berries between 7 a. m. and 6.50 p. m.

As the different berries ripened he gave up the early kinds and accepted the new ones most eagerly, elderberries especially. These last he ate by the bunch--indeed one need only walk past a patch of the bushes when the fruit is ripe, to appreciate a Catbird's fondness for them.

By the 16th Oliver had taken his first bath, and for the first time I saw him drink. Four days later, when he must have been about four weeks old, we heard him trying to sing--queer little chirps and gurgles in the lowest of tones, but evidently intended for a song. He stopped as soon as he saw me, raising his wings and begging for food, and for some time we were obliged to enjoy his musical efforts by stealth.

By August 1, he was pretty well feathered; the tail was almost full length, and even the little feathers over the nostrils had started to grow. He was also able to feed himself then, but greatly preferred being fed; often, when I offered him more than he wanted, giving a low 'chuck' very like the old birds' call.

As August progressed worms were refused, and though bread and milk and all sorts of berries were eaten, the bird evidently missed something. He was molting a little--if the loss of so few feathers could be called a molt--but became more and more droopy, refusing or indifferently eating the various things we tried, till some one gave him a fly! Then all went well; he ate all the flies we could catch, sometimes twenty at a meal, and also wasps and bees. When he saw somebody bringing one of the latter dainties he would jump about in great excitement; then, snatching the insect, kill it with a few quick pinches and swallow it, poison and all. He also learned the motion made in catching a fly, and was on the alert as soon as he saw me snatch for one.

Towards the end of the month I let him out of doors--though he had often been out in the house--and after that he had exercise nearly every day, flying about a little, coming readily to me when I whistled, and generally returning to the cage quickly enough for a few flies. He evidently regarded the cage as home, for let any large bird pass at what he considered too close quarters and in he went like a flash, there to remain till the danger was past. On one occasion, when he was hopping among the plants in the house, I saw him carefully watching a Crow that was fighting his way against a heavy wind. Suddenly the Crow gave way, making a swoop almost to the window, and in far less time than it can be told the Catbird was in the cage and up on a perch, so terrified that it was some minutes before he was himself again.

About the middle of September Oliver Twist caught the migration fever, and when no one was in sight was very uneasy in his cage, not only during the day but at night as well. In the evening the bird was always moved to a dark back hall, where he usually settled down at once; now he was most restless, chucking and mewing sometimes for nearly an hour, and not until late in October did he finally become quiet. Cool days, also, made him more uneasy.

During the fall months Oliver ate every sort of berry I could find, from dogwood to Boston ivy, with two exceptions: those of the wild rose and the catbriar. The seeds of the ivy berries he always ejected, perfectly clean and free from pulp, beginning about half an hour after swallowing them; he would work the bill a little, as if the seed were in his mouth, a moment later pushing it out with the tongue. At first they appeared quite rapidly--two or three or even more in a minute--then more slowly, and continued for at least three-quarters of an hour.

As the house flies disappeared, the big blue and green species, that during the summer were simply scorned, grew quite tempting; but even these gave out, and it became very difficult to find proper food for the little fellow. Figs for a time supplied the place of berries, but he tired of them at last, and bits of meat never passed for flies or for the worms that even in the greenhouse went down beyond reach of the trowel.

The cage now stood among the plants in a sunny window of the dining-room, and the conversation at meal times generally started Oliver singing; yet it was always a low version of the usual Catbird song, for he invariably sang with the bill nearly closed. Often in the dark December mornings he was scarcely awake when breakfast began, but in a few minutes we would hear his cheerful little song--the first thing in his day--before he even left his night's perch. Then, as the sun touched him there came a great arranging of feathers and a good shake to put each one in place again, and then breakfast.

The bath was almost never omitted from the time the bird was about a month old, and often he bathed twice a day if the first were given him early in the morning; and how he enjoyed it! shuffling up the water with his wings, ducking his head, and spattering in every direction till he was soaked through, then going to the perch and flicking wings and tail and ruffling the feathers until dry.

To some extent Oliver showed affection by coming most readily to me, who generally fed him, and by an odd little greeting he usually gave when I offered him my finger, gently pinching it or giving a slight peck, too mild ever to be mistaken for anger. Unfortunately this was broken up by the teasing of another member of the family, and the pecks became too severe to be altogether agreeable.

He was growing more wild and more unwilling to return to his cage, and I intended to let him go when spring came, but long before that time he got sickly and sluggish, eager for the berries and insects that were not to be found, and in spite of everything I tried in their stead, he died late in December.

But though Oliver Twist lived so short a time he taught me many interesting lessons, one of which, in particular, I shall long remember: never try to keep a fruit- and insect-eating bird through the winter, for no amount of willingness and care can supply him with proper food. Take nature's word for it--she knows quite well what she is about when she sends them all off to the south.

=Notes from Field and Study=

Birds and Caterpillars

Last year, at Brandon, Vermont, the tent-caterpillars were so abundant as to be a serious injury and annoyance. They lay in close rows, making wide bands on the tree trunks. They spun down from the upper branches and fell upon the unfortunate passers-by. They crawled through the grass in such numbers that it seemed to move in a mass as one looked down upon it. Under these circumstances, birds might be expected to do strange things,--and they did.

The pair of Downy Woodpeckers which lived near us were frequently seen on the ground picking up the crawling tent-caterpillars. They seemed to prefer taking them from the ground to taking them from the trees, though there were more on the tree-trunks than on the ground even. And the Woodpeckers seemed to have no difficulty in moving on the ground, though they moved more slowly than when dodging around a tree.

Two mountain-ash trees on the place were infested by borers, though only slightly and only near the ground, and at the foot of one of these trees the Downy Woodpeckers made many a stand, while they probed the borer-holes with their bills.

The Cuckoos came boldly into the village and fed and fed, flying about quite openly. The Nuthatches flew to a band of caterpillars on a tree-trunk, and were so busy and absorbed in devouring the crawlers that I could put my hand on them before they started to fly, and then they merely flew to another tree close by, and attacked another mass of caterpillars.

Blackbirds waddled over the grass by the sides of the streets picking up the crawlers, and even a Woodcock spent several hours in the garden and on the lawn, _apparently_ feasting on tent-caterpillars, but I could not get near enough to be sure.

The Vireos--White-eyed, Red-eyed, and Warbling--the Cat-birds, Cedar-birds, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks did good service to the trees and human beings, but the most evident destruction was done by the Chipping Sparrows when the moths emerged late in the summer. The moths were very abundant after four o'clock in the afternoon, flying about the trees to lay their eggs, and then the Chippies became fly-catchers for the time, and flew straight, turned, twisted, dodged, and tumbled 'head over heels and heels over head' in the air, just as the course of the hunted moth made necessary. A quick snap of the beak, and four brownish wings would float down like snowflakes, and their numbers on the walks, roads and grass showed how many thousands of moths were slain. In spite of the unwonted exercise the Chippies waxed fat, but not as aldermanic as the Robins, which, earlier, gorged themselves on the caterpillars until, as one observer said, "their little red fronts actually trailed on the ground."--Caroline G. Soule, _Brookline, Mass._

An Odd Nesting Site

I have never seen an account of a House Wren taking up his abode in another bird's nest. It seemed, therefore, at first incredible when, early this summer, we saw a Wren frequenting a deserted Baltimore Oriole's nest and apparently start housekeeping in it. This nest was in one of the outermost branches of a large sugar maple about twenty feet from the ground and the same distance from the farm-house, and was completely filled with twigs by its tenants. The little Wren's choice was the more remarkable, in that a number of bird houses had been placed about the grounds for their special accommodation. I believe none of these were occupied, and this pair deliberately preferred the Oriole's nest.--L. H. Schwab, _Sharon, Conn._

=Book News and Reviews=

The First Book of Birds. By Olive Thorne Miller. With 8 colored and
12 plain plates and 20 figures in the text. Boston and New York,
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 1899. 12mo, pp. viii + 149.

Text-books based on successful experiences in teaching generally prove to be of value, and the present volume is no exception to the rule. It contains what its author has found to be the most adequate definition of the bird in her talks on this little-known creature to boys and girls. It is well-named a 'First Book of Birds,' Mrs. Miller's aim being to arouse an intelligent interest in bird-life before confronting the inquirer with 'keys' and discouraging identification puzzles. She, therefore, begins with the nest, and outlines the development of the bird, following this section by chapters on the bird's language, food, migration, intelligence, etc., and concluding with sections on 'How He is Made,' and 'His Relations with Us.' The matter is well chosen, and so admirably arranged that no attentive reader can fail to receive a clear and logical conception of the chief events in a bird's life.--F. M. C.

Field Key to the Land Birds. By Edward Knobel. Boston, Bradlee
Whidden. 1899. 16mo, pp. 55, numerous cuts in the text and 10
colored plates.

This is an attempt to make plain the way of the field student, to whom every aid is welcome. One hundred and fifty-five land birds are divided into four groups, according to their size, and are arranged on nine colored plates, in the preparation of which the publishers have evidently struggled with the evils of cheap lithography, or some inexpensive color process. Experience in this direction makes us a lenient critic, and our standard has been reduced from the level of perfection to that of recognizability; that is, if a plate is sufficiently good to unmistakably represent a certain species, even crudely, we view it solely from a practical standpoint, and admit that it doubtless serves its purpose. Applying this test to the plates under consideration, we are forced to state that, although fairly familiar with the species figured, we are in many cases unable to name the figures.

The text is condensed and to the point, and the pen and ink illustrations liberally scattered through it will be found useful by beginners, to whom the book may be commended.--F. M. C.

Our Common Birds. Suggestions for the Study of Their Life and
Work. By C. F. Hodge, Ph.D., Clark University, Worcester, Mass.
Food-chart and Drawings by Miss Helen A. Ball. 8vo, pp. 34, 3
half-tones, 8 line cuts in text. 10 cts. per copy, $6 per 100
copies.

This is a contribution to the pedagogics of ornithology which cannot fail to interest every one desirous of seeing bird studies introduced in our schools. It opens with a chapter on the 'Biology of Our Common Birds,' which shows the importance of becoming acquainted with them, giving, in fact, the reasons which have actuated Professor Hodge in his work in the schools of Worcester.

The nature of this work and the success which has attended it are set forth in the succeeding pages, whose contents are indicated by the sub-titles 'The Bird Census,' 'The Food Chart' (A very useful compilation by Miss Helen A. Ball, showing graphically the food of our commoner birds), 'Bird Study in the Schoolroom,' 'Taming Our Wild Birds and Attracting Them to Our Houses,' and a 'Life Chart of Our Common Birds.' Lack of space prohibits a description of the methods of bird-study given under these headings. Some of the results of their practical application, however, are to be found in the concluding chapter on the 'Ten-to-One Clubs' formed in the Worcester schools, which were joined by "not less than 5,000 children," who signed the club constitution, which opens by stating that "the object of the club shall be to use every means possible to increase the number of our native wild birds by providing them, when necessary, with food, water, shelter and nesting places."

The pamphlet gives other and equally striking proofs of the enthusiasm with which the children welcomed the opportunity of becoming familiar with birds, and indeed is the most convincing proof of the educational value of bird study which has come to our attention.--F. M. C.

Book News

With its August issue 'Our Animal Friends,' the organ of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, concludes its twenty-sixth volume. This magazine is edited with a breadth of view which must result in winning many supporters for the cause it represents. In its columns we find no senseless tirades against the inhumanity of partly civilized man, but sane, logical discussions of the rights of animals and the manner in which they may best be secured; of the habits of animals, including many interesting papers on birds,--of animals and their value to man, all of which are calculated to arouse sympathy or interest in them and respect for the journal which so ably champions their welfare.

'Wilson Bulletin,' No. 26, issued May 30, 1899, has an extremely interesting paper by its editor, Lynds Jones, recording the number of species observed by him on May 8, in Lorain county, Ohio. Work was begun about Oberlin at 3.30 a. m., and continued at 11 a. m. at Lorain on the shore of Lake Erie, resulting, finally, in a record of 112 species identified with the aid of an "Eight Power Bausch & Lomb" field-glass during one day. This number speaks volumes for the observer's activity and the richness of his field; we doubt if it has ever been exceeded in the same period of time in North America.

Mr. C. Barlow publishes in the May-June issue of the Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club, of which he is editor-in-chief, an eloquent appeal to ornithologists to take only such birds as they may require for their own use, and not to collect birds at all during the nesting season. Particularly does he condemn collecting for profit, saying with equal force and truth, "Every naturalist owes it to science to protect the natural beauties with which the Creator has blessed the earth, and how can the collector, with never a twinge of conscience, quiet the sweet voices of the woodland in a fashion little less than barbarous, for pecuniary gain."

We congratulate Mr. Barlow on the stand he has taken, and we congratulate all bird-lovers on the fact that his declaration of principles adds another journal to the list of those in which the egg-thief cannot boast of his exploits.

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, appreciating the significance of the widespread and constantly increasing interest in birds, has decided to introduce a volume on ornithology into its course of 'Required Reading,' Miss Merriams' 'Birds Through an Opera-glass,' one of the first, as it is one of the best text-books for beginners, having been selected for this purpose. Implying, as it does, the formation of a class of several thousand bird students, this may be considered a step in educational ornithology of unusual importance.

'The American' for August 26, commenting on the 'Hints to Young Bird Students,' published in Bird-Lore for August, says: "This paper deserves the most serious consideration from all. It is well meant, it is timely, it is sensible; the friendly advice it tenders should be accepted and observed."

A Writer on the slaughter of birds for millinery purposes, in 'The New Illustrated Magazine' for September, whose zeal for the cause of bird protection exceeds his knowledge of ornithology, makes, among others, the remarkable statement that "Florida is now the only country in which Hummingbirds are found, except as rarities." He also gives a unique bit of information in regard to the Toucan, which is said to use its "big beak" to trim its "primary tail-feathers"!

=Bird-Lore=

A Bi-monthly Magazine
Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETIES

=Edited by FRANK M. CHAPMAN=
=Published by THE MACMILLAN COMPANY=

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Vol. 1 October, 1899 No. 5
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=SUBSCRIPTION RATES.=

Price in the United States, Canada, and Mexico,
twenty cents a number, one dollar a year, postage
paid.

Subscriptions may be sent to the Publishers, at
Englewood, New Jersey, or 66 Fifth avenue, New
York City.

Price in all countries in the International Postal
Union, twenty-five cents a number, one dollar and
a quarter a year, postage paid. Foreign agents,
Macmillan and Company, Ltd., London.

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Manuscripts for publication, books, etc., for review,
should be sent to the Editor at Englewood,
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Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers
at Englewood, New Jersey, or 66 Fifth
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COPYRIGHTED, 1899, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN.
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Bird-Lore's Motto:

_A Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand._
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At first thought there seemed to be little connection between the 'closet' ornithologist, minutely examining his series of specimens and describing differences which, to the untrained eye, do not exist, and the bird-lover in the fields and woods with heart atune to nature's songsters. But one has only to read Dr. Allen's article on the American Ornithologists' Union in order to appreciate the close relationship existing between scientific and popular ornithology. The organization of the Union brought isolated bird students throughout the country in touch with the leaders in ornithology and, perhaps, for the first time, made them aware that there were successors to Wilson and Audubon.

This result was due largely to the work of the Union's Committee on Migration, which, under the direction of its chairman, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, sent out thousands of circulars calling for observers to supply it with data on migration. Circumstances have thus far permitted the publication of only a small portion of the vast amount of information secured by this committee, but even if not another word is set in type, it can be said to have created a new era in the history of American ornithology. It asked for assistance, but it gave far more than it received. Its chairman and his superintendents of districts became, as it were, instructors in ornithology, with pupils in nearly every state in the Union and throughout Canada. The value of the advice they gave to students who had been plodding in the dark, prompted only by an innate love of birds, cannot be overestimated, but we believe it to be a demonstrable fact that the popularity of bird-study in this country to-day is due more to the aid and encouragement given students by the members of the American Ornithologists' Union's Committee on Migration than to any other influence.

* * * * *

In connection with the publication of a plate of 'Quills to Avoid,' we would add to Mrs. Wright's plea for the Eagle an appeal for the preservation of the Brown Pelican. The feathers of this bird are now worn so commonly--hundreds may be seen in New York City daily--that every one knowing of the ease with which the bird may be killed and its comparatively restricted range, must feel that at the present rate of destruction its early extinction, at least in the United States, is assured.

From Texas reports come to us of the slaughter of Brown Pelicans in large numbers, and we have also heard rumors that they are being killed for their feathers in Florida. If the residents of the last-named state could be made to realize how infinitely more valuable to them a live Pelican is than a dead one, we do not for a moment doubt that its destroyers would speedily receive their deserts.

This apparently ungainly, but in reality singularly graceful bird is the most picturesque element in the life of Florida's coasts, where its size and familiarity render it conspicuous to the least observing. To the tourist it is as much an object of interest as the alligators or cabbage palms. It is distinctly strange and foreign, and its presence lends a character to the view given by no other bird in Florida. Its loss would, therefore, be irreparable, and we appeal to every lover of Florida to aid in its protection.

=The Audubon Societies=

"_You cannot with a scalpel find the poet's soul,
Nor yet the wild bird's song._"

Edited by Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright (President of the Audubon Society of the State of Connecticut), Fairfield, Conn., to whom all communications relating to the work of the Audubon and other Bird Protective Societies should be addressed. Reports, etc., designed for this department should be sent at least one month prior to the date of publication.

DIRECTORY OF STATE AUDUBON SOCIETIES

With names and addresses of their Secretaries.

=New Hampshire= Mrs. F. W. Batchelder, Manchester.
=Massachusetts= Miss Harriet E. Richards, care Boston Society
of Natural History, Boston.
=Rhode Island= Mrs. H. T. Grant, Jr., 187 Bowen street,
Providence.
=Connecticut= Mrs. Henry S. Glover, Fairfield.
=New York= Miss Emma H. Lockwood, 243 West Seventy-fifth
street, New York City.
=New Jersey= Miss Anna Haviland, 53 Sandford Ave.,
Plainfield, N. J.
=Pennsylvania= Mrs. Edward Robins, 114 South Twenty-first
street, Philadelphia.
=District of Columbia= Mrs. John Dewhurst Patten, 3033 P street,
Washington.
=Wheeling, W. Va.= Elizabeth I. Cummins, 1314 Chapline street,
(branch of Penn Society) Wheeling.
=Ohio= Miss Clara Russell, 903 Paradrome street,
Cincinnati.
=Indiana= Amos W. Butler, State House, Indianapolis.
=Illinois= Miss Mary Drummond, Wheaton.
=Iowa= Miss Nellie S. Board, Keokuk.
=Wisconsin= Mrs. George W. Peckham, 646 Marshall street,
Milwaukee.
=Minnesota= Mrs. J. P. Elmer, 314 West Third street,
St. Paul.
=Tennessee= Mrs. C. C. Conner, Ripley.
=Texas= Miss Cecile Seixas, 2008 Thirty-ninth
street, Galveston.
=California= Mrs. George S. Gay, Redlands.

Consistency.

Audubonites may be divided into two classes as regards their attitude toward the wearing of feathers,--the moderates and the total abstainers.

The moderates hold that they violate none of the interests of bird protection in its fullest sense by wearing the plumes of game or food birds, or those of the Ostrich, which is as legitimately raised for its feathers as a sheep for its wool. In short, they see the necessity of keeping feather-wearing within conservative bounds, and elect to take the individual responsibility of so doing.

The total abstainers say: "Let us break ourselves altogether of the feather wearing habit. We shall be more conspicuously consistent as bird protectionists, and we shall not be called upon to settle fine points and follow difficult boundaries. We need not know anything about plumage, and never have to decide whether the wings used by milliners are really those of food birds, or the pinions of song birds disguised with dye. Or if the fearfully manufactured confections are the heads of real Owls and Parrots twisted out of all semblance to nature, or merely compounds of Chicken feathers and celluloid." Both of these attitudes are equally useful to the cause if they are maintained consistently, but inevitably the way of the total abstainers is the easier of the two. The total abstainers need not, to quote Hamlet, "know a hawk from a handsaw." While, in order to be consistent, the moderates must be bird students of no mean intelligence if they would keep safely on the exceedingly narrow pathway that divides the feathers that may be, from those that _must not_ be worn, not alone by Audubonites, but by any woman who has either sense or sensibility. A pathway? A slack wire is the better simile, so treacherous is the footing.

What is it that causes the downfall of many of the moderates, who know the common birds fairly well, and could not be hoodwinked into buying Egret's plumes or dyed swallow wings?

1. Inner wing quill of Bald Eagle; length, 10-13 inches; brownish
black, more or less white at the base.

2. Outer wing quill of Bald Eagle; length, 15-24 inches; black, often
whitish or brownish at the base, the broader web of the five outer
quills notched, this notch being absent from the remaining quills.

3. Outer wing quill of Brown Pelican; length, 15-17 inches; black,
the quill, or midrib, white for about two-thirds its length.

4. Inner wing quill of Brown Pelican; length, about 10 inches;
blackish brown, the outer margins, particularly of the narrower web,
frosted with silver-gray.
]

You can guess easily, for you have seen the tempter protruding above and behind the up-to-date outing hat the entire season, and unless you are unusually lucky it has poked you reproachfully in the eye, as if calling your attention to its plight.

"The Quill of course!"

Yes, the Quill is the mischief-maker. At its introduction many years ago, the Quill was at first the harmless feather of a Crow, or a Goose quill sedate enough to make a pen for a judge. After awhile it took on dabs of color and even spangles, but all this time it was a good safe outing and rainy day ornament.

Then a change came, the Quill grew suddenly longer with a curl to its tip that made one wonder, if natural, how its original wearer had lived with it. This Quill, however, did not stay well in curl, and less than a year ago it was displaced by the reigning favorite, a Quill as aggressively impertinent as any that decks the cap of the operatic Mephisto, but not half as becoming to the wearer.

Now comes the inconsistency of the moderates. They wear these Quills blindly, because they have not studied birds thoroughly enough to distinguish between plumages except when aided by decided color. The sentence, "It is only a Quill," covers deadly sins of omission. I have cornered several women who are what might be called aggressive Audubonites: "Do you know that the notched Quill in your hat is a pinion of the American Eagle?" "Oh no, you must be mistaken, it surely is only a Goose, or perhaps a Turkey feather, and besides,"--drawing herself up with superior wisdom, "Eagles are very rare birds, that fly so high it is very difficult to shoot them, and I know at least fifty people who are wearing these Quills."

Rare? yes, pinion of peerless flight! But what bird can fly so high or find so eery a resting place as to escape the 'desire of the eye' of fashion? Pause a moment, well-meaning sisters of 'little knowledge.' Hold a Quill class and lay your outing hats on the dissecting table! Study out the things you have been wearing, and you will be wiser, and I hope sadder also, resolving either to join the total abstainers, or to devote enough time to bird study to be consistent in your actions.

"But," you may say, "We are consistent even now. The Eagle is neither a song bird, an insect eater, nor a game bird, and from an economic standpoint it can only be considered as a bird of prey and an eater of wastage."

Yes, this is all true, and yet, in the higher view of life, the poetic value of things must take rank with the practical. And what bird expresses wild grandeur and poetry of motion in so great a degree as the Eagle? What has Burroughs recently said of it?--"The days on which I see him are not quite the same as the other days. I think my thoughts soar a little higher all the rest of the morning; I have had a visit from a messenger of Jove. The lift or range of those great wings has passed into my thought."

Pegasus harnessed to a plow or 'Cæsar dead and turned to clay,' stopping a hole 'to keep the wind away,' would not be a greater misuse than thus plucking the pinions of our national Bird of Freedom to act as rudders to women's hats.