Chapter VIII: Part II: Animal Life (1)

I. BIRD STUDY

The reason for studying any bird is to ascertain what it does; in order to accomplish this, it is necessary to know what the bird is, learning what it is, being simply a step that leads to a knowledge of what it does. But, to hear some of our bird devotees talk, one would think that to be able to identify a bird is all of bird study. On the contrary, the identification of birds is simply the alphabet to the real study, the alphabet by means of which we may spell out the life habits of the bird. To know these habits is the ambition of the true ornithologist, and should likewise be the ambition of the beginner, even though the beginner be a young child.

Several of the most common birds have been selected as subjects for lessons in this book; other common birds, like the phœbe and wrens, have been omitted purposely; after the children have studied the birds, as indicated in the lessons, they will enjoy working out lessons for themselves with other birds. Naturally, the sequence of these lessons does not follow scientific classification; in the first ten lessons, an attempt has been made to lead the child gradually into a knowledge of bird life. Beginning with the chicken there follow naturally the lessons with pigeons and the canary; then there follows the careful and detailed study of the robins and constant comparison of them with the blue birds. This is enough for the first year in the primary grades. The next year the work begins with the birds that remain in the North during the winter, the chickadee, nuthatch and downy woodpecker. After these have been studied carefully, the teacher may be an opportunist when spring comes and select any of the lessons when the bird subjects are at hand. The classification suggested for the woodpeckers and the swallows is for more advanced pupils, as are the lessons on the geese and turkeys. It is to be hoped that these lessons will lead the child directly to the use of the bird manuals, of which there are several excellent ones.

BEGINNING BIRD STUDY IN THE PRIMARY GRADES

The hen is especially adapted as an object lesson for the young beginner of bird study. First of all, she is a bird, notwithstanding the adverse opinions of two of my small pupils who stoutly maintained that “a robin is a bird, but a hen is a hen.” Moreover, the hen is a bird always available for nature-study; she looks askance at us from the crates of the world’s marts; she comes to meet us in the country barnyard, stepping toward us sedately; looking at us earnestly, with one eye, then turning her head so as to check up her observations with the other; meantime she asks us a little question in a wheedling, soft tone, which we understand perfectly to mean “have you perchance brought me something to eat?” Not only is the hen an interesting bird in herself, but she is a bird with problems; and by studying her carefully we may be introduced into the very heart and center of bird life.

This lesson may be presented in two ways: First, if the pupils live in the country where they have poultry at home, the whole series of lessons may best be accomplished through interested talks on the part of the teacher, which should be followed on the part of the children, by observations, which should be made at home and the results given in school in oral or written lessons. Second, if the pupils are not familiar with fowls, a hen and a chick, if possible, should be kept in a cage in the schoolroom for a few days, and a duck or gosling should be brought in one day for observation. The crates in which fowls are sent to market make very good cages. One of the teachers of the Elmira, N. Y. Schools introduced into the basement of the schoolhouse a hen, which there hatched her brood of chicks, much to the children’s delight and edification. After the pupils have become thoroughly interested in the hen and are familiar with her ways, after they have fed her and watched her, and have for her a sense of ownership, the following lessons may be given in an informal manner, as if they were naturally suggested to the teacher’s mind through watching the fowl.

FEATHERS AS CLOTHING

_Teacher’s Story_

The bird’s clothing affords a natural beginning for bird study because the wearing of feathers is a most striking character distinguishing birds from other creatures; also, feathers and flying are the first things the young child notices about birds.

The purpose of all of these lessons on the hen are: (a) To induce the child to make continued and sympathetic observations on the habits of the domestic birds, (b) To cause him involuntarily to compare the domestic with the wild birds, (c) To induce him to think for himself why the shape of the body, wings, head, beak, feet, legs and feathers are adapted in each species to protect the bird and assist it in getting its living.

The overlapping of the feathers on a hen’s back and breast is a pretty illustration of nature’s method of shingling, so that the rain, finding no place to enter, drips off, leaving the bird’s underclothing quite dry. It is interesting to note how a hen behaves in the rain; she droops her tail and holds herself so that the water finds upon her no resting place, but simply a steep surface down which to flow to the ground.

Each feather consists of three parts, the shaft or quill, which is the central stiff stem of the feather, giving it strength. From this quill come off the barbs which, toward the outer end, join together in a smooth web, making the thin, fan-like portion of the feather; at the base is the fluff, which is soft and downy and near to the body of the fowl. The teacher should put on the blackboard this figure so that incidentally the pupils may learn the parts of a feather and their structure. If a microscope is available, show both the web and the fluff of a feather under a three-fourths objective.

The feathers on the back of a hen are longer and narrower in proportion than those on the breast and are especially fitted to protect the back from rain; the breast feathers are shorter and have more of the fluff, thus protecting the breast from the cold as well as the rain. It is plain to any child that the soft fluff is comparable to our woolen underclothing while the smooth, overlapping web forms a rain and wind-proof outer coat. Down is a feather with no quill; young chicks are covered with down. A pin-feather is simply a young feather rolled up in a sheath, which bursts later and is shed, leaving the feather free to assume its form. Take a large pin-feather and cut the sheath open and show the pupils the young feather lying within.

When a hen oils her feathers it is a process well worth observing. The oil gland is on her back just at the base of the tail feathers; she squeezes the gland with her beak to get the oil and then rubs the beak over the surface of her feathers and passes them through it; she spends more time oiling the feathers on her back and breast than those on the other parts, so that they will surely shed water. Country people say when the hen oils her feathers, it is a sure sign of rain. The hen sheds her feathers once a year and is a most untidy looking bird meanwhile, a fact that she seems to realize, and is as shy and cross as a young lady caught in company in curl papers; but she seems very pleased with herself when she finally gains her new feathers.

1, neck hackle; 2, breast; 3, wing shoulder covert; 4, wing
flight covert; 5, wing primary; 6, wing secondary; 7, wing
covert; 8, back; 9, tail covert; 10, main tail; 11, fluff; 12,
thigh; 13, saddle hackle; 14, the sickle or feather of beauty;
15, lesser sickle. Prof. J. E. Rice in Rural School Leaflet.
]

LESSON I

FEATHERS AS CLOTHING

_Leading thought_--Feathers grow from the skin of a bird and protect the bird from rain, snow, wind and cold. Some of the feathers act as cloaks or mackintoshes and others as underclothing.

_Method_--The hen should be at close range for this lesson where the children may observe how and where the different kinds of feathers grow. The pupils should also study separately the form of a feather from the back, from the breast, from the under side of the body, and a pin-feather.

_Observations for pupils_--1. How are the feathers arranged on the back of the hen? Are they like shingles on the roof? If so, what for?

2. How does a hen look when standing in the rain?

3. How are the feathers arranged on the breast?

4. Compare a feather from the back and one from the breast and note the difference.

5. Are both ends of these feathers alike? If not, what is the difference?

6. Is the fluffy part of the feather on the outside or next to the bird’s skin? What is its use?

7. Why is the smooth part of the feather (the web) on the outside?

8. Some feathers are all fluff and are called “down.” At what age was the fowl all covered with down?

9. What is a pin-feather? What makes you think so?

10. How do hens keep their feathers oily and glossy so they will shed water?

11. Where does the hen get the oil? Describe how she oils her feathers and which ones does she oil most? Does she oil her feathers before a rain?

_“How beautiful your feathers be!”
The Redbird sang to the Tulip-tree
New garbed in autumn gold.
“Alas!” the bending branches sighed,
“They cannot like your leaves abide
To keep us from the cold!”_
--JOHN B. TABB.

FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT

_Teacher’s Story_

The ornamental plumage of birds is one of the principal illustrations of a great principle of evolution. The theory is that the male birds win their mates because of their beauty, those that are not beautiful being doomed to live single and leave no progeny to inherit their dullness. On the other hand, the successful wooer hands down his beauty to his sons. However, another quite different principle acts upon the coloring of the plumage of the mother birds; for if they should develop bright colors themselves, they would attract the eyes of the enemy to their precious hidden nests; only by being inconspicuous, are they able to protect their eggs and nestlings from discovery and death. The mother partridge, for instance, is so nearly the color of the dead leaves on the ground about her, that we may almost step upon her before we discover her; if she were the color of the oriole or tanager she would very soon be the center of attraction to every prowler. Thus, it has come about that among the birds the feminine love of beauty has developed the gorgeous colors of the males, while the need for protection of the home has kept the female plumage modest and unnoticeable.

The curved feathers of the rooster’s tail are weak and mobile and could not possibly be of any use as a rudder; but they give grace and beauty to the fowl and cover the useful rudder feathers underneath by a feather fountain of iridescence. The neck plumage of the cock is also often luxurious and beautiful in color and quite different from that of the hen. Among the ducks the brilliant blue-green iridescent head of the drake and his wing bars are beautiful, and make his wife seem Quaker-like in contrast.

As an object lesson to instil the idea that the male bird is proud of his beautiful feathers, I know of none better than that presented by the turkey gobbler, for he is a living expression of self-conscious vanity. He spreads his tail to the fullest extent and shifts it this way and that to show the exquisite play of colors over the feathers in the sunlight, meanwhile throwing out his chest to call particular attention to his blue and red wattles; and to keep from bursting with pride he bubbles over in vainglorious “gobbles.”

The hen with her chicks and the turkey hen with her brood, if they follow their own natures, must wander in the fields for food. If they were bright in color, the hawks would soon detect them and their chances of escape would be small; this is another instance of the advantage to the young of adopting the colors of the mother rather than of the father; a fact equally true of the song birds in cases where the males are brilliant in color at maturity. The Baltimore oriole does not assist his mate in brooding, but he sits somewhere on the home tree and cheers her by his glorious song and by glimpses of his gleaming orange coat. Some have accused him of being lazy; on the contrary, he is a wise householder for, instead of attracting the attention of crow or squirrel to his nest, he distracts their attention from it by both color and song.

A peacock’s feather should really be a lesson by itself, it is so much a thing of beauty. The brilliant color of the purple eye-spot, and the graceful flowing barbs that form the setting to the central gem, are all a training in aesthetics as well as in nature-study. After the children have studied such a feather let them see the peacock either in reality or in picture and give them stories about this bird of Juno; a bird so inconspicuous if it were not for his great spread of tail, that a child seeing it first cried, “Oh, oh, see this old hen all in bloom!”

The whole question of sexual selection may be made as plain as need be for the little folks, by simply telling them that the mother bird chooses for her mate the one which is most brightly and beautifully dressed, and make much of the comb and wattles of the rooster and gobbler as additions to the brilliancy of their appearance.

LESSON II

FEATHERS AS ORNAMENT

_Leading thought_--The color of feathers and often their shape are for the purpose of making birds more beautiful; while in others, the color of the feathers protects them from the observation of their enemies.

_Methods_--While parts of this lesson relating to fowls may be given in primary grades, it is equally fitted for pupils who have a wider knowledge of birds. Begin with a comparison of the plumage of the hen and the rooster. Then, if possible, study the turkey gobbler and a peacock in life or in pictures. Also the plumage of a Rouen duck and drake, and if possible, the Baltimore oriole, the goldfinch, the scarlet tanager and the cardinal.

_Observations_--1. Note difference in shape and color of the tail feathers of hen and rooster.

2. Do the graceful curved tail feathers of the rooster help him in flying? Are they stiff enough to act as a rudder?

3. If not of use in flying what are they for? Which do you think the more beautiful the hen or the rooster?

4. In what respects is the rooster a more beautiful fowl?

5. What other parts of the rooster’s plumage is more beautiful than that of the hen?

6. If a turkey gobbler sees you looking at him he begins to strut. Do you think he does this to show off his tail feathers? Note how he turns his spread tail this way and that so the sunshine will bring out the beautiful changeable colors. Do you think he does this so you can see and admire him?

7. Describe the difference in plumage between the hen turkey and the gobbler. Does the hen turkey strut?

8. Note the beautiful blue-green iridescent head and wing patches on the wings of the Rouen ducks. Is the drake more beautiful than the duck?

9. What advantage is it for these fowls to have the father bird more beautiful and bright in color than the mother bird?

10. In case of the Baltimore oriole is the mother bird as bright in color as the father bird? Why?

11. Study a peacock’s feather. What color is the eye-spot? What color around that? What color around that? What color and shape are the outside barbs of the feather? Do you blame a peacock for being proud when he can spread a tail of a hundred eyes? Does the peahen have such beautiful tail feathers as the peacock?

_The bird of Juno glories in his plumes;
Pride makes the fowl to preene his feathers so.
His spotted train fetched from old Argus’ head,
With golden rays like to the brightest sun,
Inserteth self-love in the silly bird;
Till midst its hot and glorious fumes
He spies his feet and then lets fall his plumes._
--THE PEACOCK, ROBERT GREENE, (1560).

HOW BIRDS FLY

_Teacher’s Story_

To convince the children that a bird’s wings correspond to our arms, they should see a fowl with its feathers off, prepared for market or oven, and they will infer the fact at once.

The bird flies by lifting itself through pressing down upon the air with its wings. There are several experiments which are needed to make the child understand this. It is difficult for children to conceive that the air is really anything, because they cannot see it; so the first experiment should be to show that the air is something we can push against or that pushes against us. Strike the air with a fan and we feel there is something which the fan pushes; we feel the wind when it is blowing and it is very difficult for us to walk against a hard wind. If we hold an open umbrella in the hand while we jump from a step we feel buoyed up because the umbrella presses down upon the air. The bird presses down upon the air with the wings, just as the open umbrella does. The bird flies by pressing down upon the air with its wings just as a boy jumps high by pressing down with his hands on his vaulting pole.

From practical exercise on feathers by Prof. J. E. Rice in Rural School Leaflet.]

Study wing and note: (a) That the wings open and close at the will of the bird. (b) That the feathers open and shut on each other like a fan. (c) When the wing is open the wing quills overlap, so that the air cannot pass through them. (d) When the wing is open it is curved so that it is more efficient, for the same reason that an umbrella presses harder against the atmosphere when it is open than when it is broken by the wind and turned wrong side out.

A wing feather has the barbs on the front edge lying almost parallel to the quill while those on the hind edge come off at a wide angle. The reason for this is easy to see, for this feather has to cut the air as the bird flies; and if the barbs on the front side were like those of the other side they would be torn apart by the wind. The barbs on the hind side of the feather form a strong, close web so as to press down on the air and not let it through. The wing quill is curved; the convex side is up and the concave side below during flight. The concave side, like the umbrella, catches more air than the upper side; the down stroke of the wing is forward and down; while on the up stroke, as the wing is lifted, it bends at the joint like a fan turned sidewise, and offers less surface to resist the air. Thus, the up stroke does not push the bird down.

Observations should be made on the use of the bird’s tail in flight. The hen spreads her tail like a fan when she flies to the top of the fence; the robin does likewise when in flight. The fact that the tail is used as a rudder to guide the bird in flight, as well as to give more surface for pressing down upon the air, is hard for the younger pupils to understand, and perhaps can be best taught by watching the erratic unbalanced flight of young birds whose tail feathers are not yet grown.

The tail feather differs from the wing feather in that the quill is not curved, and the barbs on each side are of about equal length and lie at about the same angle on each side the quill. See Fig. p. 28.

_References_--The Bird Book, Eckstorm, pp. 75–92; Story of the Birds, Baskett, pp. 171–176; Bird Life, Chapman, p. 18; The Bird, Beebe, Ch. XIII; First Book of Birds, Miller.

LESSON III

HOW BIRDS FLY

_Leading thought_--A bird flies by pressing down upon the air with its wings, which are made especially for this purpose. The bird’s tail acts as a rudder during flight.

_Method_--The hen, it is hoped will by this time be tame enough so that the teacher may spread open her wings for the children to see. In addition, have a detached wing of a fowl such as are used in farm houses instead of a whisk-broom.

_Observations_--1. Do you think a bird’s wings correspond to our arms? If so why?

2. Why do birds flap their wings when they start to fly?

3. Can you press against the air with a fan?

4. Why do you jump so high with a vaulting pole? Do you think the bird uses the air as you use the pole?

5. How are the feathers arranged on the wing so that the bird can use it to press down on the air?

6. If you carry an umbrella on a windy morning, which catches more wind, the under or the top side? Why is this? Does the curved surface of the wing act in the same way?

7. Take a wing feather. Are the barbs as long on one side of the quill as on the other? Do they lie at the same angle from the quill on both sides? If not why?

8. Which side of the quill lies on the outer side and which on the inner side of the wing?

9. Is the quill of the feather curved?

10. Which side is uppermost in the wing, the convex or the concave side? Take a quill in one hand and press the tip against the other. Which way does it bend easiest, toward the convex or the concave side? What had this to do with the flight of the bird?

11. If the bird flies by pressing the wings against the air on the down stroke, why does it not push itself downward with its wings on the up stroke?

12. What is the shape and arrangement of the feathers so as to avoid pushing the bird back to earth when it lifts its wings?

13. Why do you have a rudder to a boat?

14. Do you think a bird could sail through the air without something to steer with? What is the bird’s rudder?

15. Have you ever seen a young bird whose tail is not yet grown, try to fly? If so, how did it act?

16. Does the hen when she flies keep the tail closed or open like a fan?

17. Compare a tail feather with a wing feather and describe the difference.

EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS

_Teacher’s Story_

The hen’s eyes are placed at the side of the head so that she cannot see the same object with both eyes at the same time, and thus she has the habit of looking at us first with one eye and then the other to be sure she sees correctly; also the position of the hen’s eyes give her a command of her entire environment. All birds have much keener eyes than have we; and they can adjust their eyes for either near or far vision much more effectively than we can; the hawk, flying high in the air, can see the mouse on the ground.

There is a wide range of colors found in the eyes of birds; white, red, blue, yellow, brown, gray, pink, purple and green are found in the iris of different species. The hen’s eye consists of a black pupil at the center, which must always be black in any eye, since it is a hole through which enters the image of the object. The iris of the hen’s eye is yellow; there is apparently no upper lid but the lower lid comes up during the process of sleeping. When the bird is drowsy the little film lid comes out from the corner of the eye and spreads over it like a veil; just at the corner of our own eye, next the nose, is the remains of this film lid, although we cannot move it as the hen does.

The hearing of birds is very acute, although the ear is simply a hole in the side of the head in most cases, and is more or less covered with feathers. The hen’s ear is like this in many varieties; but in others and in the roosters there are ornamental ear lobes.

LESSON IV

EYES AND EARS OF BIRDS

_Leading thought_--The eyes and ears of birds are peculiar and very efficient.

_Methods_--The hen or chicken and the rooster should be observed for this lesson; notes may be made in the poultry yard or in the schoolroom when the birds are brought there for study.

_Observations_--1. Why does the hen turn her head first this side and that as she looks at you? Can she see an object with both eyes at once? Can she see well?

2. How many colors are there in a hen’s eye? Describe the pupil and the iris.

3. Does the hen wink as we do? Has she any eyelids?

4. Can you see the film lid? Does it come from above or below or the inner or outer corner? When do you see this film lid?

5. Where are the hen’s ears? How do they look? How can you tell where the rooster’s ears are?

6. Do you think the hen can see and hear well?

THE FORM AND USE OF BEAKS

_Teacher’s Story_

Since the bird uses its arms and hands for flying, it has been obliged to develop other organs to take their place, and of their work the beak does its full share. It is well to emphasize this point by letting the children at recess play the game of trying to eat an apple or to put up their books and pencils with their arms tied behind them; such an experiment will show how naturally the teeth and feet come to the aid when the hands are useless.

The hen feeds upon seeds and insects which she finds on or in the ground; her beak is horny and sharp and acts not only as a pair of nippers, but also as a pick as she strikes it into the soil to get the seed or insect, having already made bare the place by scratching away the grass or surface of the soil with her strong, stubby toes. The hen does not have any teeth, nor does she need any, for her sharp beak enables her to seize her food; and she does not need to chew it, since her gizzard does this for her after the food is swallowed.

The duck’s bill is broad, flat, and much softer than the hen’s beak. The duck feeds upon water insects and plants; it attains these by thrusting its head down into the water, seizing the food and holding it fast while the water is strained out through the sieve at the edges of the beak; for this use, a wide, flat beak is necessary. It would be quite as impossible for a duck to pick up hard seeds with its broad, soft bill as it would for the hen to get the duck’s food out of the water with her narrow, horny bill.

Both the duck and hen use their bills for cleaning and oiling their feathers and for fighting also; the hen strikes a sharp blow with her beak making a wound like a dagger, while the duck seizes the enemy and simply pinches hard. Both fowls also use their beaks for turning over the eggs when incubating, and also as an aid to the feet when they make nests for themselves.

The nostrils are very noticeable and are situated in the beak near the base. However, we do not believe that birds have a keen sense of smell since their nostrils are not surrounded by a damp, sensitive, soft surface as are the nostrils of the deer and dog, this arrangement aiding these animals to detect odor in a marvelous manner.

LESSON V

THE BEAK OF A BIRD

_Leading thought_--Each kind of bird has a beak especially adapted for getting its food. The beak and feet of a bird are its chief weapons and implements.

_Methods_--Study first the beak of the hen or chick and then that of the duckling or gosling.

_Observations_--1. What kind of food does the hen eat and where and how does she find it in the field or garden? How is her beak adapted to get this food? If her beak were soft like that of a duck could she peck so hard for seeds and worms? Has the hen any teeth? Does she need any?

2. Compare the bill of the hen with that of the duck. What are the differences in shape? Which is the harder?

3. Note the saw teeth along the edge of the duck’s bill. Are these for chewing? Do they act as a strainer? Why does the duck need to strain its food?

4. Could a duck pick up a hen’s food from the earth or the hen strain out a duck’s food from the water? For what other things than getting food do these fowls use their bills?

5. Can you see the nostrils in the bill of a hen? Do they show plainer in the duck? Do you think the hen can smell as keenly as the duck?

_Supplementary reading_--The Bird Book, p. 99; The First Book of Birds, pp. 95–7; Mother Nature’s Children, Chapter VIII.

* * * * *

_“It is said that nature-study teaching should be accurate, a
statement that every good teacher will admit without debate;
but accuracy is often interpreted to mean completeness, and
then the statement cannot pass unchallenged. To study ‘the
dandelion,’ ‘the robin,’ with emphasis on the particle ‘the’,
working out the complete structure, may be good laboratory
work in botany or zoology for advanced pupils, but it is not
an elementary educational process. It contributes nothing more
to accuracy than does the natural order of leaving untouched
all those phases of the subject that are out of the child’s
reach; while it may take out the life and spirit of the work,
and the spiritual quality may be the very part that is most
worth the while. Other work may provide the formal ‘drill’;
this should supply the quality and vivacity. Teachers often
say to me that their children have done excellent work with
these complete methods, and they show me the essays and
drawings; but this is no proof that the work is commendable.
Children can be made to do many things that they ought not to
do and that lie beyond them. We all need to go to school to
children.”_
--“The Outlook to Nature,” L. H. BAILEY.

* * * * *

“_Weather and wind and waning moon,
Plain and hilltop under the sky,
Ev’ning, morning and blazing noon,
Brother of all the world am I.
The pine-tree, linden and the maize,
The insect, squirrel and the kine,
All--natively they live their days--
As they live theirs, so I live mine,
I know not where, I know not what:--
Believing none and doubting none
What’er befalls it counteth not,--
Nature and Time and I are one._”
--L. H. BAILEY.

THE FEET OF BIRDS

_Teacher’s Story_

Obviously, the hen is a digger of the soil; her claws are long, strong and slightly hooked, and her feet and legs are covered with horny scales as a protection from injury when used in scratching the hard earth, in order to lay bare the seeds and insects hiding there. The hen is a very good runner indeed. She lifts her wings a little to help, much as an athletic runner uses his arms, and so can cover ground with amazing rapidity, her strong toes giving her a firm foothold. The track she makes is very characteristic; it consists of three toe-marks projecting forward and one backward. A bird’s toes are numbered thus:

A duck has the same number of toes as the hen, but there is a membrane, called the web, which joins the second, third and fourth toes, making a fan-shaped foot; the first or the hind toe has a little web of its own. A webbed foot is first of all a paddle for propelling its owner through the water; it is also a very useful foot on the shores of ponds and streams, since its breadth and flatness prevent it from sinking into the soft mud.

The duck’s legs are shorter than those of the hen and are placed farther back and wider apart. The reason for this is, they are essentially swimming organs and are not fitted for scratching nor for running. They are placed at the sides of the bird’s body so that they may act as paddles, and are farther back so that they may act like the wheel of a propeller in pushing the bird along. We often laugh at a duck on land, since its short legs are so far apart and so far back that its walk is necessarily an awkward waddle; but we must always remember that the duck is naturally a water bird, and on the water its movements are graceful. Think once, how a hen would appear if she attempted to swim! The duck’s body is so illy balanced on its short legs that it cannot run rapidly; and if chased even a short distance, will fall dead from the effort, as many a country child has discovered to his sorrow when he tried to drive the ducks home from the creek or pond to coop. The long, hind claw of the hen enables her to clasp a roost firmly during the night; a duck’s foot could not do this and the duck sleeps squatting on the ground. However, the Muscovy ducks, which are not good swimmers, have been known to perch.

LESSON VI

THE FEET OF BIRDS

_Leading thought_--The feet of birds are shaped so as to assist the bird in getting its food as well as for locomotion.

_Methods_--The pupils should have opportunity to observe the chicken or hen and a duck as they move about; they should also observe the duck swimming.

_Observations_--1. Are the toes of the hen long and strong? Have they long, sharp claws at their tips?

2. How are the legs and feet of the hen covered and protected?

3. How are the hen’s feet and legs fitted for scratching the earth, and why does she wish to scratch the earth?

4. Can a hen run rapidly? What sort of a track does she make?

5. You number your fingers with the thumb as number one and the little finger as five. How do you think the hen’s toes are numbered?

6. Has the duck as many toes as the hen? What is the chief difference between the feet of the duck and the hen?

7. Which of the duck’s toes are connected by a web? Does the web extend to the tips of the toes? What is the web for and how does it help the duck?

8. Are the duck’s legs as long as the hen’s? Are they placed farther forward or farther back than those of the hen? Are they farther apart?

9. Can a duck run as well as a hen? Can the hen swim at all?

10. Where does the hen sleep and how does she hold on to her perch? Could the duck hold on to a perch? Does the duck need to perch while sleeping?

CHICKEN WAYS

_Teacher’s Story_

Dame Nature certainly pays close attention to details, and an instance of this is the little tooth on the tip of the upper mandible of the young chick to aid it in breaking out of its egg-shell prison; and since a tooth in this particular place is of no use later, it disappears. The children are delighted with the beauty of a fluffy, little chick with its bright, questioning eyes and its life of activity as soon as it is freed from the shell. What a contrast to the blind, bare, scrawny young robin, which seems to be all mouth! The difference between the two is fundamental since it gives a character for separating ground birds from perching birds. The young partridge, quail, turkey and chick are clothed and active and ready to go with the mother in search of food as soon as they are hatched; while the young of the perching birds are naked and blind, being kept warm by the brooding mother, and fed and nourished by food brought by their parents, until they are large enough to leave the nest. The down which covers the young chick differs from the feathers which come later; the down has no quill but consists of several flossy threads coming from the same root; later on, this down is pushed out and off by the true feathers which grow from the same sockets. The pupils should see that the down is so soft that the little, fluffy wings of the chick are useless until the real wing feathers appear.

We chew food until it is soft and fine, then swallow it, but the chick swallows it whole and after being softened by juices from the stomach it passes into a little mill, in which is gravel that the chicken has swallowed, which helps to grind the food. This mill is called the gizzard and the pupils should be taught to look carefully at this organ the next time they have chicken for dinner. A chicken has no muscles in the throat, like ours, to enable it to swallow water as we do. Thus, it has first to fill its beak with water, then hold it up so the water will flow down the throat of itself. As long as the little chick has its mother’s wings to sleep under, it does not need to put its head under its own wing; but when it grows up and spends the night upon a roost, it always tucks its head under its wing while sleeping.

The conversation of the barnyard fowl covers many elemental emotions and is easily comprehended. It is well for the children to understand from the first that the notes of birds mean something definite. The hen clucks when she is leading her chicks afield so that they will know where she is in the tall grass; the chicks follow “cheeping” or “peeping,” as the children say, so that she will know where they are; but if a chick feels itself lost its “peep” becomes loud and disconsolate; on the other hand, there is no sound in the world so full of cosy contentment as the low notes of the chick as it cuddles under the mother’s wing. When a hen finds a bit of food she utters rapid notes which call the chicks in a hurry, and when she sees a hawk she gives a warning “q-r-r” which makes every chick run for cover and keep quiet. When hens are taking their sun and dust baths together, they evidently gossip and we can almost hear them saying, “Did you not think Madam Dorking made a great fuss over her egg to-day?” Or, “that overgrown young rooster has got a crow to match his legs, has he not?” Contrast these low tones to the song of the hen as she issues forth in the first warm days of spring and gives to the world one of the most joyous songs of all nature. There is quite a different quality in the triumphant cackle of a hen telling to the world that she has laid an egg and the cackle which comes from being startled. When a hen is sitting or is not allowed to sit, she is nervous and irritable and voices her mental state by scolding. When she is really afraid, she squalls and when seized by an enemy, she utters long, horrible squawks. The rooster crows to assure his flock that all is well; he also crows to show other roosters what he thinks of himself and of them. The rooster also has other notes; he will question you as you approach him and his flock, and he will give a warning note when he sees a hawk; when he finds some dainty tidbit he calls his flock of hens to him and they usually arrive just in time to see him swallow the morsel.

When roosters fight, they confront each other with their heads lowered and then try to seize each other by the back of the neck with their beaks, or strike each other with the wing spurs, or tear with the leg spurs. Weasels, skunks, rats, hawks and crows are the most common enemies of the fowls, and often a rooster will attack one of these invaders and fight valiantly; the hen will also fight if her brood is disturbed.

LESSON VII

CHICKEN WAYS

_Leading thought_--Chickens have interesting habits of life and extensive conversational powers.

_Method_--For this lesson it is necessary that the pupils observe the inhabitants of the poultry yard and answer these questions a few at a time.

_Observations_--1. Did the chick get out of the egg by its own efforts? For what use is the little tooth which is on the tip of the upper part of a young chicken’s beak? Does this remain?

2. What is the difference between the down of the chick and the feathers of the hen? The little chick has wings; why can it not fly?

3. Why is the chick just hatched so pretty and downy, while the young robin is so bare and ugly? Why is the young chick able to see while the young robin is blind?

4. How does the young chick get its food?

5. Does the chick chew its food before swallowing? If not, why?

6. How does the chick drink? Why does it drink this way?

7. Where does the chick sleep at night? Where will it sleep when it is grown up?

8. Where does the hen put her head when she is sleeping?

9. How does the hen call her chicks when she is with them in the field?

10. How does she call them to food?

11. How does she tell them that there is a hawk in sight?

This figure should be placed on the blackboard where pupils may consult it when studying colors and markings of birds.]

12. What notes does the chick make when it is following its mother? When it gets lost? When it cuddles under her wing?

13. What does the hen say when she has laid an egg? When she is frightened? When she is disturbed while sitting on eggs? When she is grasped by an enemy? How do hens talk together? Describe a hen’s song.

14. When does the rooster crow? What other sounds does he make?

15. With what weapons does the rooster fight his rivals and his enemies?

16. What are the natural enemies of the barnyard fowls and how do they escape them?

_Supplementary reading_--True Bird Stories, Miller p. 102.

Photo by J. H. Comstock.]

PIGEONS

_Teacher’s Story_

There is a mention of domesticated pigeons by writers three thousand years ago; and Pliny relates that the Romans were fervent pigeon fanciers at the beginning of the Christian era. All of our domestic varieties of pigeons have been developed from the Rock pigeon, a wild species common in Europe and Asia. The carrier pigeon was probably the first to be specially developed because of its usefulness; its love and devotion to mate and young and its homesickness when separated from them were used by man for his own interests. When a knight of old started off on a Crusade or to other wars, he took with him several pigeons from the home cote; and after riding many days he wrote a letter and tied it to the neck or under the wing of one of his birds, which he then set free, and it flew home with its message; later he would set free another in like manner. The drawback to this correspondence was that it went only in one direction; no bird from home brought message of cheer to the wandering knight. Now-a-days mail routes, telegraph wires and wireless currents enmesh our globe and the pigeon as a carrier is out-of-date; but fanciers still perfect the homer breed and train pigeons for very difficult flight competitions, some of them a distance of hundreds of miles. Recently a homer made one thousand miles in two days, five hours and fifty minutes. Read to the pupils “Arnaux” in Animal Heroes by Thompson Seton to give them an idea of the life of a homing pigeon.

(Courtesy of _Country Life in America_.)]

The natural food of pigeons is grain; we feed them cracked corn, wheat, peas, Kafir corn, millet and occasionally hemp seed; it is best to feed mixed rations as the birds tire of the monotonous diet. Pigeons should be fed twice a day; the pigeon is the only bird which can drink like a horse, that is, with the head lowered. The walk of a pigeon is accompanied by a peculiar nodding as if the head were in some way attached to the feet, and this movement sends waves of iridescent colors over the bird’s plumage. The flight of the pigeon is direct without soaring, the wings move rapidly and steadily, the birds circling and sailing as they start or alight. The crow flaps hard and then sails for a distance when it is inspecting the ground, while the hawk soars on motionless wings. It requires closer attention to understand the language of the pigeon than that of the hen, nor has it so wide a range of expression as the latter; however, some emotions are voiced in the cooing, which the children will understand.

The nest is built of grass and twigs; the mother pigeon lays two eggs for a sitting; but in some breeds a pair will raise from seven to twelve broods per year. The eggs hatch in from sixteen to eighteen days, and both parents share the labors of incubating. In the case of the homer the father bird sits from 10 A. M. to 4 P. M. and the mother the remainder of the day and night. The devotion of pigeons to their mates and to their young is great, and has been sung by the poets and praised by the philosophers during many ages; some breeds mate for life. The young pigeons or squabs are fed in a peculiar manner; in the crops of both parents is secreted a cheesy substance, known as pigeon milk. The parent seizes the beak of the squab in its own and pumps the food from its own crop into the stomach of the young. This nutritious food is given to the squab for about five days and then replaced by grain which is softened in the parents’ stomachs, until the squabs are old enough to feed themselves. Rats, mice, weasels, and hawks are the chief enemies of the pigeons; since pigeons cannot fight, their only safety lies in flight.

Photo by J. Demary.]

As the original Rock pigeon built in caves, our domesticated varieties naturally build in the houses we provide for them. A pigeon house should not be built for more than fifty pairs; it should be well ventilated and kept clean; it should face the south or east and be near a shallow, running stream if possible. The nest boxes should be twelve inches square and nine inches in height with a door at one side, so that the nest may remain hidden. In front of each door there should be a little shelf to act as a balcony on which the resting parent bird may sit and coo to relieve the monotony of the sitter. Some breeders make a double compartment instead of providing a balcony, while in Egypt branches are inserted in the wall just below the doors of the very ornamental pigeon houses. The houses should be kept clean and whitewashed with lime to which carbolic acid is added in the proportion of one teaspoonful of acid to two gallons of the wash; the leaf stems of tobacco should be given to the pigeons as material for building their nests, so as to help keep in check the bird lice. There should be near the pigeon house plenty of fresh water for drinking and bathing; also a box of table salt, and another of cracked oyster shell and another of charcoal as fine as ground coffee. Salt is very essential to the health of pigeons. The house should be high enough from the ground to keep the inmates safe from rats and weasels.

LESSON VIII

PIGEONS

_Leading thought_--The pigeons differ in appearance from other birds and also in their actions. Their nesting habits are very interesting and there are many things that may be done to make the pigeons comfortable. They were, in ancient days, used as letter carriers.

_Methods_--If there are pigeons kept in the neighborhood, it is best to encourage the pupils to observe these birds out-of-doors. Begin the work with an interesting story and with a few questions which will arouse the pupils’ interest in the birds. A pigeon in a cage in the schoolroom for a special lesson on the bird’s appearance, is desirable but not necessary.

_Observations_--1. For an out-of-door exercise during recess let the pupils observe the pigeon and tell the colors of the beak, eyes, top of the head, back, breast, wings, tail, feet and claws. This exercise is excellent training to fit the pupils to note quickly the colors of the wild birds.

2. On what do pigeons feed? Are they fond of salt?

3. Describe how a pigeon drinks. How does it differ in this respect from other birds?

4. Describe the peculiar movement of the pigeon when walking.

5. Describe the pigeon’s flight. Is it rapid, high in the air, do the wings flap constantly, etc? What is the chief difference between the flight of pigeons, crows or hawks?

6. Listen to the cooing of a pigeon and see if you can understand the different notes.

7. Describe the pigeon’s nest. How many eggs are laid at a time?

8. Describe how the parents share the labors in hatching the eggs, and how long after the eggs are laid before the young hatch.

9. How do the parents feed their young and on what material?

10. What are the enemies of pigeons and how do they escape from them? How can we protect them?

11. Describe how a pigeon house should be built.

12. What must you do for pigeons to keep them healthy and comfortable?

13. How many breeds of pigeons do you know? Describe them.

_Supplementary reading_--“Arnaux” in Animal Heroes, Thompson Seton; Audubon Leaflet, Nos. 2 and 6; Neighbors with Wings and Fins, Ch. XV; Noah and the Dove, The Bible; Daddy Darwin’s Dove Cote, Mrs. Ewing; Squab Raising, Bul. of U. S. Dept. Agr.

* * * * *

_For my own part I readily concur with you in supposing that
housedoves are derived from the small blue rock-pigeon,
Columba livia, for many reasons.... But what is worth a
hundred arguments is, the instance you give in Sir Roger
Mostyn’s housedoves in Caernarvonshire; which, though
tempted by plenty of food and gentle treatment, can never be
prevailed on to inhabit their cote for any time; but as soon
as they begin to breed, betake themselves to the fastnesses
of Ormshead, and deposit their young in safety amidst the
inaccessible caverns and precipices of that stupendous
promontory. “You may drive nature out with a pitchfork, but
she will always return:”_

“Naturam expellas furca ... tamen usque recurret.”

_Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way of simile, describes
a dove haunting the cavern of a rock in such engaging numbers,
that I cannot refrain from quoting the passage._

“_Qualis spelunca subito commota Columba,
Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi,
Fertul in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis
Dat tecto ingentem, mox aere lapsa quieto,
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas._”
(Virg. Aen. v. 213–217).