New-York tribune., 1912-04-21
BIRD FRIENDS IN PAPER
How the Feathered Tribes Have
Been Brought Into City
SChOOIrOOmS.

nounced. All over the city the oird-loVerS
are polishing up their opera glasses Olo"
ing the dust from their bird-BadaeKers anu
scanning the spring atmosphere LOT 'ile '
aasb NJ wings. Before long they VIII
no trudging along country ROADS OF roaiIi-
ING through the woods, gazing at olsIali'
trse-tops and murmuring cryptic bird-terms
TO themselves. ~
The grown-ups are not the only oird-
enthusiasts, however. Bird-lore is one OF
the most popular branches Of nature STUDY
,r the New York City public schools par
ticuIarIv in the primary departments and
this wear the little folks are LOOKING lot
ward 10 bird time with special easeFleSS'
for the Board of Education has recent!
sdon+ed for their use a series OF bird-toys
which are not only great fun to make ana
70 pIav with. but by which any child may
learn 10 identity our best known song-olrds
at glance
These "stand-up" birds, as they are
called. are printed like paper dolls upon
heavy pasteboard, and are cut out coloreu'
TASTED 70 their bases and fitted with NOV
ab,e wings by the children themselves
trbev are the ingenious invention Of MISS
Adelia BELLE Beard, sister Of Dan Beard
who Is n past master in the art OF teach-
ine Youngsters how to make things. Like
her brother. Miss Beard is both a nature
lovsr and a child lover. Her bird series
was devised TO teach the small person the
size. plumage and characteristic pose OF
our common song birds, while giving MIN
something to do with his hands at the
same time. Promptly upon their issue late
last spring those birdplays were adopted
nv the textbook authorities Of the Board
NJ Education, but as they were placed upon
the 1912 list they consequently were not
available for use until this spring. Their
Introduction to the class room is meeting
with great delight on the part Of the chill
dren.
Miss Boards "stand-up" birds were the
result of much careful study and ingenuity
Involving many months Of patient work IN
the studio of her house, In Flushing, Long
Island. where she makes her home with
ber equally resourceful sister, Miss Lima
Beard.
when first conceived the idea Of max
ing these lifelike BIRDS" Miss Beard told
ths Tribune reporter, Il realized that their
usefulness depended entirely upon their be-
ing absolutely accurate in every detail.
First of all, they must be exact in size.
The robin must be plump and commanding;
the bluebird must be small and dainty. 30
visited aviaries week after week, making
careful measurements of birds and testing
those measurements in every way. In the
end. was confident that my birds were
literally life size.
Next came accuracy in coloring Ihls
was very difficult, as so many subtle tones
are blended in the plumage OF every oId'
hut I persisted until l had secured In my
colored sketches the predominating tone oil
each bird Then followed a long siege OF
making life hideous for printers and cleo
trotypers in my attempt TO reproduce these
basic colors You see, ! wanted TO have a
card upon which the outline Of the bird
was printed show the prevailing color of
the bird, leaving the bright spots of color
on crest. breast or wing markings TO be
added by the children themselves. Children
not only delight in doing the work them
selves, so far as possible. but they are far
more likely 20 remember the markings of a
bird II they have put those markings I'm
with their own colored pencils upon their
pasteboard birds. Do you suppose a child
who effected the charming transformation
OF a black and white grosbeak into gor-
geous beauty by the adding of the rose
colored breast, the soft brown BILL the yel-
low legs and the grass-green base. could
ever fail to recognize that bird when it
WAS seen upon the branch OF a tree or
bush?
The most important thing of all to my
mind. however, was the question OF natural,
Characteristic pose Most Of the bird pict-
ures and charts given 10 little children
seem TO have taken very little account Of
this feature The saucy ouirk Of the head.
the hirt OF the tail feathers and the line Of
the body are often better means of identify
Ing bird quickly than are the color and
size / devoted particular study to this
point / watched. the birds closely. espe-
cially trying TO catch their pose when their
attention was suddenly reused. as they look
their most alert and knowing at such mo-
nents. made iunumerable sketches out