The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-03-20
HOW HE tanned WILD BIRDS.
Experience Of English Clergyman il
Feeding Them in Winter.


Feeding Them in Winter.
In the bleak winter time, whether one
lives in the country or the city, he fire.
quently sees groups of snowbirds
lowering about his easement, only to
take a swift departure as soon as he
opens the window. The birds will then
alight on some twig or roof near by.
chatter among themselves in conference
and as soon as the householder shuts
the window they will again fly back to
the sill.
These birds are beggars. If one wish
es to win their friendship it is an easy
task. Grant the birds few bites to
eat, and the conquest of their affections
can be made in few days. Man is by
no means the only member of the ami
NAL kingdom whose heart may be
reached through his stomach.
An English clergyman, in a recent
article in THE Pail Mall Magazine"
tells how he has been successful in tam
ing a dozen or more varieties of birds,
simply by coaxing them through a few
benevolent crumbs into the belief that
he was a true friend. Visitors to his
country home often found him standing
in his garden, with robin eating
crumbs from between his lips, while on
one hand was perched a bluetit and on
the other a sparrow, all apparently as
confident of their security as if in their
nests.
After many fruitless attempts, the
minister learned that the only time to
train birds was in the winter. Then
their stock of worms and grubs has
been exhausted, and with the trees bare
and snow on the fields, the birds must
beg, steal or die.
In tanning a bird, he says, the same
as tanning any other living thing, man
is merely winning it's confidence. The
conquest is attained not through fear,
but gentleness. Thus, in tanning a bird,
food is used as only a means to show
the feathered beggar that the giver of
it means him good and not harm. The
first step which the English clergyman
took in capturing the affections of his
wild bird visitods was sDrinkling some
crumbs each morning on his doorstep.
The news of this charity spread with
great rapidly through the leafless
woods, and fiocks of robins, chaffinches,
coletits, bluetits, greattits, sparrows.
hlackbirds, thrushes and an occasional
jack-law came to feed. After the new
corners had grown perfectly confident of
their security, in hopping over the steps,
when the minister was indoors, they
had another test.
The clergyman then spread several
crumbs of cheese or cake on his palm
and rested his hand on the ground,
After great deal of twittering one or
two holder spirits darted forward, and
snatched up the crumbs. The expert
ment was repeated, and the birds came
for the crumbs with less timidity. The
robins, Drawer than most of their breth-
rem, led the way. After time, the
minister placed a cracker In his teeth,
to find that Robin would fly into his
face, and carefully, but with lightning
like, snatch the food I'm it's bill and dart
away.
After this time the birds did not wait
to he invited. AS soon as they saw
their master walking in his garden they
would circle about his head, and if he
stopped moment ID regard their i'm
portunities a robin ora bluetit would
hop to his shoulder and chirp in the
most pleading sort of way. If he sat on
his porch to read, the birds at last
nipped at the paper or the pages of his
book to attract his attention. A whistle
at supper time would bring a respond
Ing fiutter of wings from all directions.
The coming of spring showed that the
bonds of friendship which had been
formed in the months of winter destitu-
ton were far too strong to be dissolved
by warm spring sunshine and fresh,
green fields. A few ingrates dis
appeared, but the vast majority re-
manned. Indeed, the custom Of begging,
of having their food obtained for them
of being exempt from the worry and
uncertainty of hunting for it themselves.
seemed to have demoralized their indie
pendent spirit. Crowds of loiterers
hung about the garden watching for the
clergyman, whose approach was greeted
by tumultuous chirping, Some left the
rectory for time to nest, only to re-
appear with their little ones, to intro
duce them also to life of vagrancy.