Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-05-23

coarse stems. The size of the nest is
ABOUT Sx3x1a inches, with a cavity
ABOUT 8 inches in diameter and / in
oepth, which seems quite shallow for
SO large a nest. The height from IL g
ground is usually s to 10 feet. Ere
n several nests are to be found
In adjoining trees or bushes, for they
are somewhat sociable in nature.
n male Is quite kind and helpful
10 ms wife. for he takes turns with her
IN setting on the nest and, whe the
iitI!e ones are Matched out, works like
a Trojan to flll the hungry mouths.
a nice ripe berry is to a Grosbeak
a piece of pumpkin pie 20 a hungry
boy. And. like the boy, one Or two ber-
res does not seem to satisfy. Other
IaVorlte dishes are hemp seed and in
SectS OF one kind and another. grass
p n crickets being especially
felished, while flies and WASP are de-
Voured in great numbers.
The Grosbeak has two very interest
ing ant peculiar habits, one OF them il
lne of the wings like the
knocking birds and the other ia the
Mhi!ing away of the lonesome hours
"n ME nesting by singing loudly.
ran departure generally takes place
ABOUT September Is.
UNG.6 lin,
The Purple Martin is one of the few
birds that has advanced. along win
a In the upwards steps of civiliza-
lion: In an early day, they were cave
dweiiers. living in little cavities which
ne How out of some cliff. and i'm
unsettled sections OF the country this
. sun their habit. but now they very
men and are specially thankful If any
one is kind enough to put nm a HOY for
him. ""~ Ao'
uthoriti say that mo bird i'm
america Is more deserving of protec-
elom and encouragement" One pair
VIII aestroy more insects in an single
cas- than all the English sparrows
IN the city will in a whole lifetime. In
action, he is most graceful and in notes
ana appearance most pleasing, but.
beautiful and agreeable as he is. COM
p~aratiyely little has been written about
MN. In early days the Indians We're
accustomed to hang up calabashes for
nesting places. SO he would keep the
Vuitures away from the skins and meat
that was hung up to dry.
Inc question is asked often whether
.ney are decreasing in number? And
1t appears that it will have to be am
swered in the affirmative. This is
probably due to the constant warfare
tnat Is waged against him by the Eng
lish sparrow. 1t almost seems that this
Dlrd has a special grudge against them.
But the sparrow Is not always victor
Gus the story is told by one observer
OF a pair OF Martins that made it their
habit for one always to remain i'm the
nest to protect it from these pests. In
an open field the Martin seems to be
able to hold his own with the spar
rows. but If they once get possession
OF a box, 1t seems impossible for the
Martin to dispossess them.
knn ACf -
available material, such as straw,
twigs and the like. The eggs number
four to Ave in a set.
The Martin can be called only a fair
ly commOn bird. but more common in
this locality than in some others. They
may often be seen flying with Chimney
Swifts high above the buildings in the
business sections of the city.
They arrive in Sioux City about
April 8 and depart in the fall some
what early. probably with the rest OF
the swallows. M OF their most in
terestings habits is the holding of d
council in. the fall before they take
departure for the south. With much
twitterinE, they seem to discuss the
necessary preparations for the Journey
the route to be adopted and various
other matters. They appear to regret
to leave their summer home, for they
will remain in the vicinity for some
little time and then after they have
disappeared for some days, 1T is not
unusual to see them come back. after
several days, to view the scenes of their
summer happiness, before taking their
final journey. Some one has said,
How dear to their hearts must be the
genes of their nest building. that II
should be SO hard to break away"
AMERICAN eoLpFlhc..
Small boys often appear to run just
for the joy of running. so the goldfinch
appears to fly for the very joy OF flying.
wing. Their manner of flight is inter-
esting. With each wing beat, they are
propelled forward with a rising and
falling motion. now up, now down, like
q ship on the waves. and with each
rise they utter one or two twittering
notes. Wherever they are. whether on
wing or perching. they are constantly
singing and nay be classed non u
sweetest singers. ST.
Nuttall, one of the early ornitholo-
gtsts. is authority for saying that the
.goldfinch has a particular fondness
pound flowers. spreading the down In
clouds around them. and all this time
feeding very intently. Nor are they
easily disturbed while thus engaged
In h useful labor of destroying the
germs of these noxious weeds" They
90 some damage occasionally IN the
gardens by their indiscriminate de-
struction OF lettuce and flower seed and
are therefore disliked by gardeners. but
their usefulness in other respects far
|counterbalances the trifiing injuries
they produce. 1t is from this habit of
feeding that they are sometimes called
the thistle bird" and the lettuce bird"
Wild canary is another popular name.
The goldfinch is the last of all the
birds to settle down to housekeeping.
It is not till the very last of July