The morning news., 1889-02-19
OLIVE rHoRNa's BIRD ROOM.
Hour in the Workshop of q Nature
AH Student.
Copyright lss9.)

v NA-NS~
INQUIRY into the literary habits OF writers
ir4r nJira Tborne Miller's bird-room ought to
IN ~, time to time the Atlantic, Rdrper'S
,,-,r-,ne the Cosmopolitan, Harper's
pIeor contains one of her graceful, gently
t,,n,orous. lovingly and truthfully traced
L;.5 sketches. and one day when they are
O't ne into volumes like Bird Ways"
cOl' In Nesting Time the world suddenly
ni,ans anI 10 the fact that one of the most
%,rroing of modern nature students is
woman ,.t H. ,,5 ,h;,,c,s of
.a woods from his nut by Walden Fond.
!pn,'.ronghs looks out on the open air world
~, an mn Hudson farm. Roe studied among
~ 4tOI, I.+Tawberrv beds in his garden. Like
1TuSoiIton Gibson, the nature artist, Olive
Tbarna Miller goes to the heart of nature
e,,r,rner but shuts herself up in winter in
Brooklyn Town. :., -.
hird-room is the most interesting apartment
thst ever city house held. ln II the llttle
toIks in feathers dIspOrt themselves almost
~ graedon. 1t is her study, at times her
aIaan;np room. but robins run up aud down
tba door in fashion as saucy aud chlpper as
i thew we're picking up worms In the pas
.,,naIand after June rain. A bold blue
;y trails the INK over the paper while she
gNI,+as and the notes that she's jOtting cover
sverv movement of the shy blue bird preen-
mo himself in the sunshine secure in the be-
iiaf thnt her back is turned While all the time
her evns are fixed on his ref1exion in the mir
r 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
Won not wood, banging at the wi dows.
The door of every cage Is open. From
ever cage door leads a perch projecting
sly 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
convenient spot in the room
Tn front of one of the windows stands
table covered with rubber spread. On the
table are one or two perches and row OF
Tin pie plates, painted 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 hu-
man as well as feathered occupation. Mat
ting can be washed, and does not hold dust
enough to give Mrs. Miller's little winged
friends the asthma There are shades at the
windows but no lace curtains for claws to
catch in, tanghng up small toes. There is
no upholstery, but plenty of wooden and
rattan chairs. There is no embroidery, no
knickknacks, nothing for inqulsitive beaks
to pick at and injure, but there is a book
case or two with cloths laid over the rows
Of volumes, plainly furnished dressing
table everything simple, but sufficient,
pretty, not in tue least bare. Under the
more frequented perches are spread news
papers, and curiously enough, the bird pop
uatlon keeps to these, and Mrs. Miller says,
seldom soils anything in the room.
In far corner we'll out of their way-for
the bird student does not believe in over
tanning the wild creatures-stands Mrs.
Mlller's writing desk. On a stand by its
sde is pile of note books, each lettered
with the name of one of the birds. Bird
tragedies and comedies, bird loves and
yrlefs, every phase of bird life and exper-
ience is being enacted, and day by day the
woman who watches it all is writing each
birds diary, making library of bird bio
gTaphy.
II give up my mornings to them," she
says. Often | bring other work into the
bird room to do. but in the end | am alb
sorbed in the bird dl anna"
Where do your birds come fromW
81 buy them at the bird stores. l never
had bird shot or caught for me- After
have studied them during the winter, | let
them loose, IL tney are aDIe 10 support them-
selves in the spring"
IF they can support themselveSW
Yes, bird that mas been Gagged above
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 u cage but many lose the desire for
freedom in spite of that. 1t is very easy to
tell whether or not a bird wishes to 60. Ifit
pines for the sky and air it spends its days
lx,,,ly o,1 H.
It's feathers into Il sullen, sulky, discousolate
ball when in its cage. | remember once
freeing a woodpecker. 1t flew to a tree
truuk and began drilling Goodbye dear
said. its almost like parting from child
TO lot you go, but you're all right, you re-
memember how to find insects" Some
birds become so used to cages tnat 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 exer
else they care for hopping from one perch
TO another. But this is not true Of the more
intelligent birds"
Are there differences in birds brainsr
Yes indeed. My birds become TO tne as
marked in their individualities as
SO many human beings. And they differ as
much in character. One bird is selfish where
another is kind. One robin looks on the
.oNN oA'V VI ullAhk9, WuiIc lJS uLdUS IL ueClu~
edly pesslmistic People have not begun to
give birds proper credit for their lnteli-
gence. When a dog fawns upon you and
wags his tail he almost talks. A bird is not
so demonstrative in its evidences Of sense or
affection, but the tokens are there, if you
have eyes for them 1t may be II new note
IN the song or just fiutter or tremor of the
wing. Why, ! have sat on the porch in
summer and seen all sorts of bright dongs
among the birds which nobody about me
had the least inkling of because they didn't
catch the cues. couldn't understand bird
language
Which is the most Intelligent of our
common birdsr
Probably, think, the catblrd or the
Jay; The jay is terribly misunderstood and
maAgned Everybody gives him bad
name But | kept one at one time in my
oHd-room and lie never in course OF a whole
winter offered to moest one OF the other
Ditds he knew every member OF the fam
ny ny, and had different greeting for each.
"hen came home after All absence he
k.e" me and gave unmistakable evidence
Vi Joy. Some little time after | called at a
uro store and found the dealer putting
Jay INTO large cage with a number OF
small birds He did il with some hesitation
auu was curious at my next visit TO ask
Vne result. Had the jay killed his little
tS'lhpanlOnsf He had never shown anything
uut good will to them. | can't see why hui
man beings who rob birds Of their eggs or
youhg without compunction, who think
nj L.