The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-05-02
OLIVE THORNE'S BIRD ROOM.
AN HOUR IN THE WORKSHOP
OF A NATURE STUDENT,

AN HOUR IN THE WORKSHOP
OF A NATURE STUDENT,
Living and Writing on Familiar
Terms With CatbIrds and Jays,
Robins, Grosbecks and OrioIes--
CoaxIng the Feathered Folks
Secrets Into Disclosure.
In these days of inquiry into the literary
habits of writer's Olive Thorne Miller's
bird-room ought to find description,
From time to time the Atlantic, Harper's
Magazine, the Cosmopolitan, Harper's
Bazaar contains ono of her graceful, gently
humorous, lovingly and truthfully traced
bird sketches and one day when they are
collected into volumes like "Bird Ways
and TIN Nesting Time the world suddenly
wakens to the fact that one of the most
charming of modern nature students is
woman.
Thoreau observed the sky, wild things of
the woods from his hut by Walden Pond.
Burroughs looks out on the open air world
from an up-Hudson farm. Roe studied
among the strawberry beds in his garden.
Like. Hamilton Gibson, the nature artist,
Olive Thorne Miller goes to the heart of
nature in summer but shuts herself up in
winter in Brooklyn town
. She shuts the birds in with her and her
bird-room is the the most interesting apart
ment that ever city house held. In it the
little folks in feathers disport themselves
almost in freedom. 1t is her study, at times
her sleeping room, but robins run up and
down the floor in fashion as saucy and
clipper as if they were picking up worms
int f6a1 1f,, 1no1
blue jay trails the ink over the paper while
she writes and the notes that she's jotting
cover every movement of the sky blue bird
preening himself in the sunshine secure in
the belief that her back is turned while all
the time her eyes are fixed on his retlexion
in the mirror in her hand. Birds splash in
the bath dishes, birds dart and tumble and
play tricks in the air. There are cages, wire
cages mind you, not wood, hanging at the
e. windows The door of every cage is open.
From every cage door leads perch project
ing six inches or more into the room. There
are perches crossing each window. There
are perches from the gas fixtures to the
windows. There are perches in every con
venient spot in the room
In front of one of the windows stands
table covered with rubber spread. On the
table are one or two perches and a row of
tin pie plates painted a dull brown color
and rOughened by having gravel sprinkled
upon them before the paint was dry. These
are the bath pans. They are full of water,
and delightful beach picnic the birds are
having in them.
There is mating on the floor in lieu of
carpet. This is a study and bedroom, you
remember, and must be furnished for human
as well as feathered occupation. Mating
can be washed, and does not hold dust
enough to give Mrs. MiIlers little winged
friends the asthma There are shades at
The windows but no lace curtains for claws
to catch in, tangling up small toes. There
is no upholstery, but plenty of wooden and
rattan chairs. There is no embroidery no
knickknacks, nothing for inquisitive beaks
to pick at and injure, but there is a bookcase
or two with cloths laid over the rows of
volumes, plainly furnished dressing table,
everything simple, but sufficient, pretty, not
in the least bare. Under the more frequent
ed perches are spread newspapers. and cur.
iously enough, the bird population keeps to
these, and, Mrs. Miller SAYS, seldom soils
anything in the room.
In far corner well out of their way-for
the bird student does not believe in over
tanning the wild creatureS-stands Mrs
Miller's writing desk. On stand by its
side is a pile of note books, each lettered
with the name of one of the birds. Bird
tragedies and comedies, bird loves and
griefs, every phase of bird life and exper-
ience is being enacted, and day by dav the
woman who watches it all is writing each
birds diary, making library of bird biog-
raphy.
Il give up my mornings to them,n she
says. 'Often bring other work into the
bird room to do, but in the end am absorbed
in the bird drama"
where do your birds come from?"
II buy them at the bird stores l never
had bird shot or caught for me. After 1
have studied them during the winter, | let
them loose, if they are able to support them
selves, in the spring"
"If they can support themselyes?"
Eyes, bird that has been Gagged above a
year is too thoroughly accustomed to being
waited on to earn its own living. MY birds
are all American birds and seldom or never
born in a cage, but may lose the desire for
freedom in spite of that. 1t is very easy to
tell whether or not bird wishes to 60 If
it pines for the sky and air it spends its DAYS
on the window sash looking out, and ruff1es
| its feathers in a sullen, sulky, lisconsolate
ball when in its cage. l remember once
| freeing woodpecker 1t flew to tree and
| began drilling Good by, DEAR l said, its
| almost like parting with child to let you
| go, but you're all right, you remember how
| to find insects. Some birds become so used
| to cages that they do not care even for the
| freedom of room, but remain persistently
| behind the bars no matter how long the
| doors remain open. They have enough to
| eat and get all the exercise they care for
| hopping from one perch to another. But
| this is not true of the more intelligent
| birds"
"Are there differences in birds brains?'
! ''Ycs indeed. My birds become to me as
| marked in their individuallties as so MANY
human beings And they differ as much in
| character. One bird is selfish where an
other is kind. One robin looks on the bright
side of things, while it's mate is decidedly
| pessimistic. People have not begun to give
| birds proper credit for their intelligence.
When dog fawns upon you and wags his
| tail he almost talks. A bird is not so dem
| onstrative in its evidences of sense or affec-
| tion, but the tokens are there, if YOU have
eyes for them. 1t may be a new note In the
| song or just futter or tremor of the wings
| Why, have sat on the porch in summer
and seen all sorts of bright doings among
| the birds which nobody about me had the
| least inkling of because they didn't catch
| the cues, couldn't understand bird lang
uage."
(which is the mostintelligent of our com
| mon birdsl'
Probably, think, the catbird or the iay.
| The jay is terribly misunderstood and
maligned. Everybody gives him bad name.
| But kept one at one time in my bird room
offered to molest one of the other BIRDS He
| knew every member of the family and had a
different greeting for each. When I came
| home after an absence he knew me and gave
| unmistakable evidence of Joy. Some little
| time after / called at bird store and found
the dealer putting jay into large cage
| with number of small birds. He did it
| with some hesitation and was curious at
! my next visit to ask the result. Had the
jay killed his little companionss He had
| never shown anything but good will to them.
| / can't see why human beings who rob birds
of their eggs or young without compunction,
! who think nothing of committing robbery or
| murder so long as it is directed against what
1 they call inferior beings, should be so severe