Norwich bulletin., 1920-04-10
THE QUAIL TRAP
QUERIES PERTINENT AND ERTINENTA HURRY CALL FOR ORGANISATIONS THE PHEAsANTs1 SINGERS TaVT- HIBERNATEs

TERERS AND HIBERNAJES.
 tWritten Specially for The Bulletin. I
 April T. 1920-If the bluebird is the hamburger of spring, then this year our rel. white and blue patriot harbinger had a lot of heralds himself in the shape of grackles. f1ickers. song spar rows, robins, redwings and larks, with. bod scouts like the two big buteos and two foraging accipiters.
 Is the back door. handout to our winter birds always advisable? was the leading query of our young ques- toners. While you are. feeding the ehicadees and downies, should they not Le finding grubs. in your orchard, and while you are, throwing crumbs and good grain to the tree sparrows, shouldn't these birds be shaking the tall dead weeds sticking out of the sncw and picking up the noxious seeds? Dc not jays and starlings get most of the offered food Another too=wise boy bobs up with Say, Mister. in your many long trampS in the fields and woods, how many poor
 itt1s starved -to-death birds did yo1 ever Lick sup? Was it over a hundred or only about fifty? Wasn't it twenty five or only ten? What, not so many as that? Well. then, I guess you never
 
 to death bird.' And the boys last guess was right. But the boys first limit was far and away exceeded by the birds l have seen killed by enemies In fur, feathers. furbelowS and shoot ing Jackets
 My own game score is pretty clean and it is here given by way of paren- thesis. | have shot but one grouse, one quail, and two woodcock. I never . duck. Crows, jays, starlings and Eng 1 fish sparrows I have shot by the score, and killed just one phea sant, but it | was a sick silver in an exhibition coop. cannot now recall shooting any l song or plumage birds to stuff for my l cabinet; but I shall always sadly re- member killing a loon iIl a Noank fish i trap. Even now | never hear the spring cry of d loon in >Fishexs Island ] sound but I fancy I am listening to the I ghostly waifsof the great northern diver I murdered many years ago. The unusual streak of ten straight l warm sunny days the last of March
 brought up from points further south
 an irregular army of iuncos and tree f sparrows stirred into unwonted activ- .tity the stay -at-tomes, and sent away l the all-winter northern visitors in
 traggling divisions. The passing of the gray clouds was brightened by 1 rAany groups of fox sparrows. The foxes were conspicuous by their size i shoWy dress and better song; their
 bits of thrush-like song was echoed
 by the more familiar music of ou1 Ihome song sparrows from every fence I corner. March 23d when lone fo1
 sparrow was in oar backdoor pear tree ! for a little rest and. scrap of song robins, starlings and song. sparrows
 made common cause to pick, scolda and
 worry him till he flew away to tht ' north. No transients in our dooryari ! seemed to be the war-cry. Six sons
 sparrows breed around our house 10 and no two sing the same song. Dit you ever hear two thrashers with tn, same glorious aria? Robins roundela. } is not marked by such Individuality You will note in June that you :. Broadway grosbeaks rolling whistl l has no variation from his kinsmen' fsong on Washington street and il , Yantfc cemetery.
 Where do 50 many winter jays com from, and where do they all breed? , another question asked Where do tn l thoHsan of crows breed? In com ] munities anywhere? And the breedin 7 of the tree swallow-the smallest an ! the first to come-also puzzles u.
 
 Land holes in trees, but not plentiful 3 anywhere near us. But where do tn e hundreds nest that line our 'phon : wires in the fall. and the, hundreds ( t thousands that eongregate for the mi t grafton in the tall sand grass at Hoi e fton's Point. L.I. My nearest ar n proach to a colony were nesting v the dead trees and stubs that stuc n Tout Of the water three years after tf e Pachaug pond was flowed, and in .o e spiIing at the mouth of Quiarnbog coy <, RingneclS's weak crow is DO, s..s substitute for bob-white's whistI n But now it seems to be a eulogy f s l.Phasianus and a requiem for DO, | Bob. The pheasants' call is not oft, l. heard up here till May 1st, but tt the warm March week the light croy a ing was heard in every directiC $ around US. I have seen three femal IS near their last summers home al os neigbbors report seeing the shov > cocks. in pairs and trios, and a ,rel l. able observer three miles south of le has repeatedly seen an unbroken far U fly of eight that have kept on top
 the drifts and deadly snow crust tn "a isnothered the quail. Living in [ ". same open fields and low brush as o le old time and more useful friend, 10 must now grow accustomed to tn lordly strut and long, low sweepi le flights. of the new tenant and exte ID every protection to the Mongolia of l till southern or western birds "a Y. brought here and depleted eovies frt Id the shore. slowly work their way ve here and bob-White4 is gladly we1col T. ed, back to his old home. If you fl 1g a, nest, never touch an egg or vi