New-York tribune., 1902-05-17

Hudson A pair of sparrows built their ragged
nest close to one OF his windows in London:
While the hen sitting the cock bird began
to anuse himself by bringing sprays of labur-
mum blossoms neatly cut OFF their base from
the branch from tree in a front garden some
sixty yards away; some of the sprays were used
TO decorate the nest. others were placed on the
window ledge to be pulled and tossed playtulIy
about and finally dropped the edge into
the area below. One morning 1 counted forty
five sprays that nad been thus thrown down.
After a few days the laburnum tree was pretty
we'll stripped of its dropping wells of fire and
presented a forlorn and ragged appearance
We commend Mr.. Hudson's book to the reader.
not only because it has wealth of illustrative
anecdote, but also for its noble and genial
philosophy on the relations of birds and men.
1t is the result of observations made in many
countries-observations based on a genuine love
for nature. sympathetic delight in the ways of
feathered folk and deep appreciation of
beauty.
The winged citizens of the Middle West are
dealt with by Mr.. E B. Clark in his clever book
Birds of Lakeside and Prairie" large num-
ber of these little acquaintance he has discov-
cred in the smoky city of Chicago so little do
these wild beings dread the haunts of men, The
dingy parks of that bustling town are full of
always realized by the professed guardians
thereof. One morning when the author had
seen and identified in Lincoln Park no fewer
than thirty-eight varieties OF native wild birds
he was informed by policeman who said he
had seen five years of service in the same place
that in all that time there had been nothing
wearing feathers in evidence except English
sparrows." So much for eyes and no eyes. On
the day in this city park Mr. Clark has
seen two wild birds which are not very familiar
, to say the least-the ruby throated hummins
bird and the great bald eagle; no prisoners,
these, but free dwellers of the air. This park,
he tells us. has become known as the highway
of the warblers. which feed and nest all over it.
In another Chicago park he once found a nest
| of this bird fastened to the slender stem of a
rosebush in the rose garden.
1t was not more than three feet from the
ground, and at the edge of a walk upon which
passed the thousands of visitors who went daily
| to enjoy the bloom of the flowers The little
| home was hanked on either side by a great
| blossom, while another opened its petals just
above. Within the space OF a few cubic inches
there was much of beauty 1t is the prov
/ ince of this world to hold anywhere within like
restricted limits. The people pOked inquisi-
| lively into the warbIers' housekeeping but the
birds paid little heed. though their hearts prob
| ably futtered with unutterable fear. The
| mother bird fed the little while trespass-
\ ing human beings lifted the red rose roof to
| look into the nest. Though disaster feared
| the devoted parents finally successfully led the
| young forth for their first flight in life.
| A mass of interesting facts and picturesque
anecdotes makes bright the pages of this vol
| ume. which is. moreover. beautifled by colored
| portraits OF birds uncommonly delicate and ac-
curate in execution. In most plates Of this kind
one finds the tints far more brilliant than nature
| justifes. Few OF these have that fault in a
marked degree, and some of them have it not
| at all.
| Pquant. merry and tender are Mrs. Vince
locks chronicles of the babies who dress in feath-
| ers She has shown extraordinary patience and
| faithfulness in observation and a charming
| womanly sympathy for the appealing helpness-
ness of bird infancy and the anxieties and diff
| culties of bird parenthood. Cruelty are these
| anxieties justified, for host Of enemies lie in
| wait for the babies. "Often and often" says Mrs
Wheelock. "I have wondered that ever any nest