Waterbury Democrat., 1901-05-03
.BIRD DAY''
Interesting Paper Read by Miss Twin
 ing at the Bronson Library.

interesting 1apeE hettu Dy MISS AH
 ing at the Bronson Library.
 s'Bird Day. was observed at the Bronson library this afternoon. The exhibit was held in the children's room The place was handsomely decorated with flowers and presented q cheerful appearance. Several speci- mems of birds nests were in evidence, together with quite variety of stuff fed members of the feathered family. The nests included such homes as are built by the oriole, chicadee, robin, wren, sparrow, humming bird, sum- mer yellow bird, redstart, pewee, chip De eat bird, scarlet tanager, cedar wax wing, blue jay and others The exhi- bition opened at 3 o'clock and will con tinue until S:30 this evening. During the afternoon a paper prepared by Mrs Mary 4azen Arnold was read by Miss Twinfng It was in part as follows:
 With most birds the nesting season is periodic and annual. At time when their food supply is most album dant and easily obtained. The lonely owls and large hawks sometimes nest as early as February. but in May and June we find the charming season at it's height. The goldfinches and cedar waxwIngs delay until the warm July days are nere-
 We find a great variety of form and material in nest building, a wonderful adaptabilIty of both. to the bird, It's species and its needs.
 The feathered race has it's artisans the same as the human brOtherhood- weavers. whose looms antedate all or - mans inventions; masons, carpenters, frescoers. decorators and upholsterers; its skilled mechanics, and shiftless, un- skilled laborers. and its parasitic tramps who house their young at the expense of others.
 For variety of material we find hay, sticks, hair, feathers, hogs bristles, moss, fur. dandelion down, mud, cat kins. seed pods. paper, lichens, rags, yarn, snakeskins, etc, etc.
 Mrs Mabel Osgood Wright thus re- cords the opinion of m obseryant farmer about nests: Wall" he said, leaning on his axe. there's plenty O birds, but bless yer, not half on 'em makes any reg-lar sort O nests. spar rers and robins does, an catbirds and crows, but swallers only makes mud pies. an hum birds jest sets down right wherever they see n round O moss on a branch. and the warmth O them makes the moss grow up Dit; but 1 don't call that nest. The hang bird strings up a bag in a tree, an them red eyed warblers (wrens) hooks a mess O scraps in a ting fork, but those ain't real nests: and tree mice muthatches) don't have none at all jest stuffs a few feathers in hole"
 Among the birds which repair and use last years nests we find the wrens, swallows, bluebirds, owls, eagles and some hawks. But the most of our birds build new nest each season, and many build not only one new nest, but new nest for each brood.
 During the past few weeks the van- guard of the great army of our sum- nltr visltant5 has appeared. The ''clseer up. cheer, up. cheery, be cheeryr' of the robin. the rippling mel ody of the blusbird. the call of the song sparrow to the maids, put on the teakettle. tenkettle!" the cries of /phebe and even the creaking of the greckles. all tell Us that the joyous season is at hand, when ''the winter is past. the rain Is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land" A few enterprislng robins have already commenced building opera tions.
 We will glance tonight at the homes of some of these charming neighbors of ours. which We may pass tn our sum- mer walks.
 For daintIness, the first place will be readily given to the humming birds nest. a marvel of fitness and adapta- bility. proper setting for this winged gem. The body of 1t is composed of a white felt like substance, probably the down of some plant, or wool of some worm, toned down in keeping with the branch on which its rests of minute tree Hchens, woven together by threads as fine and frail as gossa- mer. Two creamy white eggs are placed in 1t about the size of large white bean and very fragile.
 The pewee also builds an exquisite little structure, saddled onto q lichen covered limb, made of fine roots and delicate stems of grass and seed pods. It is covered with bits of lichen or moss glued on with saliva, so, like the humming birds nest, 1t seems to be a knot on the branch. It's a shallow lit tie nest, and the four richly crowned, creamy eggs, though tiny enough in themselves, leave room for the brood ing mother.
 The golden crowned kinglet's dainty nest Is pensile and made to be water tight. It is woven carefully in and out Witn n0rSenalf, WeDS, me grasses, then wadded with moss, down and plant wool. 1t is a marvel that this tiny bird can keep the ten eggs warm, and later find food to fill ten gaping mouths.
 The red-eyed wren chooses a little sapling that responds to the caprice of the wind, and from the forks of one of its twigs. hangs dainty birch basket. For lining it picks up leaf bud cases, spiders webs and caterpillar silk, and ofttimes bits of newspaper.
 The solitary wren is fond of fur for soft lining. The white-eyed wren builds a larger, coarser nest in briars and brushes along the edges of woods on water courses.
 The nest of the yellow throated wren is little smaller than the red eyed and the exterior covered with lichens.
 Suspended in every elm tree swing one or more of the gray pockets woven for tue oriole babies, of milkweed, flax string. fraying cotton, rope and dried grasses, of nearly equal size and length. No nest more closely resem- bles mans primitive efforts at basket weaving. If hung in places protected from birds of prey the nest Is open at tue top, but in wild and remote re- .f.S