The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-07-19
LET Us HAVE A BIRD DAY

Inc wise people VINO make our
laws and the wiser ones who teach in
our schools have set apart Arbor Day
as a time when the children shall
have special instruction about trees
and other growing things. They
have many beautiful plans and tried
novel experiments in order to interest
their scholars. They plant young
trees in parks and school yards, select
fruit trees and ornamental shrubs for
their home gardens they read essays,
sing songs about flowers, and some
times end the days duties with a
picnic or woodland ramb1e. That is
all very we'll and just as it should be,
but it is not enough. We want one
more day, Bird Day, when the chill
dren may study the varieties and
habits of Our common little brothers
and sisters of the air. How little we
know about them, where they live
and how they live; and yet how dull
would life be without them
What is the first messenger of
spring? In the dark gray February
days, when the woods and fields are
silent, we walk alone, shivering be-
meath the cold, dull clouds, when sud-
denly a robin bubbles out liquid
note, and quickly our hearts leap up
and we remember that spring is COM
ing. Very soon we hear the thrush
call from its hiding place in the bare
hedge, and see the meadow lark dart
up from the wet field with its ecstatic
note, at sunrise and last at twilight.
These dear common birds are the
children of spring and prophets of
summer. They give to the fair face
of nature a voice of happiness, for
without them even May would mourn
in silence.
Birds have, of all animals, the most
perfect organs of speech, and the
greatest variety of sounds and notes.
How many people know that birds
have second larynx lower down in
the neck? The country boy, perhaps,
has heard duck quack after its head
was cut off, or a goose hiss from a
severed windpipe. The nightingale
and some other singers has wonder
full 1arynx, and can shorten or length
en- the windpipe in such a manner as
to modify its music at pleasure. Their
songs are not merely mechanical.
They have marvellous sense Of mu-
sic, and an almost infinite variety of
expression. Each bird has its own
song, yet there are certain notes COM
mon to all, and well understood among
them. For instance, the tom-tit and
the wren sings each its different song !;
the robin and the jay have special
calls and whistles; but when the
hawk scars high in the air above them
and utters her loud, hoarse cry, each
bird sounds note of warning, and
then all is still. The robber peers in
vain into thicket and copse, for all
the feathered friends have found safe
hiding places.
All birds are not endowed alike !;
some have but a single note, while
others have infinite variety of tones
and expression. The richest in dress
are often the poorest in song the
loudest voice has the least meaning.
In the days when books were not, and
men lived closer to nature there were
wise ones who claimed to understand
bird language, and to talk with them
on familiar terms. But, the modern
student is content to learn of them
from books, and very few of Our
teachers could follow the example of
King Dag, who kept flock of spar
rows that talked with him daily and
brought him news from all over the
world. The daily newspapers are
Our sparrows, n d electricity fur
nishes the wings by which they fly.
One of our best teachers recently
confessed that he knew nothing about
birds except when stuffed, and used
to trim lady's hat, or nicely cleaned
we'll broiled and served on toast. In
many of the states there are bounties
paid for the heads of some common
birds, and this fact displays the COM
mon ignorance of the subject. Be-
cause few birds were found HARM
full, the whole species was condemn
ed. The result is that these special
varieties have become nearly extinct,
and the damage done by noxious in
sects, formerly their prey, now far
exceeds all harm attributed to the
birds.
Let us have special day for our
public schools, when the children can
lay aside all other tasks and devote
the hours to the study of the birds in
their own locality. Let them dis
cover their nesting habits, their food,
their friends and foes among bugs
and flies and other birds, the relation
they bear to the farmer, the fruit
grower, the gardener and others. Let
them go to the woods aud parks, care
fully planning their work, and divid-
ing it as possible, some taking notes
of certain named kinds, some study
ing the singers, others the chirpers,
others the screamers, the water birds,
the birds of prey, the domestic varie-
ties, &c. Appoint certain scholars to
write papers about the events of the
day, select others to prepare songs
about birds, and still others to deliver
orations. On another afternoon have
an experience meeting, and enjoy the
whole thing over again. The small
est child can be taught to watch the