The Penn's Grove record., 1923-05-04
Club
Consider Birds
Their Beauty, Cheerful Songs
And Economic Value

President, presided, and Miss Sarah
Thompson, Secretary, read the commu-
nications. AS delegates Of the State
Convention, at Atlantic City, Wednes-
day and Thursday, a motion was made
that they 90 uninstructed as to whom
they should vote for officials.
Mrs. H. Witte was appointed to ar
range for the annual luncheon.
The topic for discussion was Ma
ture Study Mrs. William A. Sum
merrill, chairman. She introduced Mrs.
William Stevens, who sang "Voices of
the Woods, Welcome to Spring in a
pleasing tone.
Miss Yerna B. Summerin gave
an address for fifty minutes on
"Birds, Their Plumage, Characteristics
and Economic Value. She spoke In
part as follows:
A few of the most common spring
birds with some Of their characters
tics were given, first starting with the
robin.
The robin comes north from the
southern States late in February OF
early in March, the male arriving two
weeks earlier than the female. They
usually return to the same place. 4
man in Utica, n. Y, proved this b.
putting an aluminium band around the
leg of a robin and discovered that
this same robin returned to his yard
for eight years in succession. The
male does not sing until after the
female arrives and then has a variety
Of songs. The female can be distln-
guished from the male by the fact
that it has a duller colored breast than
IL II Af+a. thu fo111s ny five hl1Jp
eggs are laid it takes about w weeks
for them to be incubated. When the
young robins hatch and begin to grow
they have enormous appetltes, and
one professor found that he could
feed a young robin 6S earthWorms in
one day. Is it any wonder that
these young birds are able to fly in
about eleven days? These little robins
have a light breast, with brown spots
on it, which shows its relation to the
thrush family.
The bluebird also is related to the
thrush family as is shown by the
spotted breast of its young. 1t feeds
in a different manner from the robin,
sitting on a fence top, looking for an
insect. When it sees one it darts
down for it, returning quickly to its
perch and repeating the process.
Thoreau say the bluebird reflects the
color of the sky on its back and the
color of the earth on its breast.
B%Iucbird
Winged Lutte that we call q bluebird.
You blend in a silver strain,
The sound of laughing waters.
Thu patter Of springs sweet rain.
The voice of winds, sunshine.
A,,l aF I1--.L..s-- Too
All! you are an April poem
That God has lowered with wings.
-Reyford.
The starting, one Of our very COM
mon spring birds, is black with buff
spots on back and yellow legs and bill.
1t walks instead of hopping like the
robin and puts foot in front of
the other in an awkward manner
The grackle, or crow blackbird,
comes in large focks in March. After
the young birds are Matched all the
grackles in n locality have a regu-
lar family reunion in a big tree, called
a "Grackle Roost."
The catbird, because of his vaude-
vile manners and kindly spirit to
other birds, was also stressed.
The catbird sings a crooked song
In minors that are fiat,
And, when he can't control his voice
He news just like a cat.
Then rods his head and whisks his
tail.
And let's it go at that.
The next main topic taken was the
adaptation of birds for their mode of
living by having peculiar formations
Of legs, feathers, toes, and tongue, for
different purposes. Typical of this
are the woodpeckers.
The three kinds of woodpeckers,
hairy, downy, and red headed, were
described. Then the fact was brought
cut that its toes, tail, bill, and tongue
were adapted for the getting of grubs
and larvae beneath the bark of trees.
1t has two toes in back instead of
one, and stiff tail feathers to prop it
against the tree as it drills a hole: it
has a sharp strong bill for cutting the
bark, and a long tongue with barbs on
the end of it with which to pierce the
grub and pull it out. Woodpeckers
are ere all winter.
TIE beautiful flicker shows its rela-
tionship to the woodpeckers by the red
on the top of its head. The male is dis
tinguished from the female by having
black feathers like a mustache at the
sides of its head. The food of the
flicker is ants and it has a sticky sub
stance on its tongue which makes the
ants stick to it. It can eat 5000 ants
at n meal. The young fickers are
fed by having its food partly digested
in the stomach of the mother and then
having it pumped up into its own
mouth.
The kingfisher, which inhabits the
%shrubbery near streams, has its tina
chinery' for getting it food by pos
sessing a large strong head and bill.
After it has darted beneath the water
and caught a fish it knocked the life
out of it and then proceeds to swal-
low it whole, gulping up the bones and
scales afterwards in a small ball. The
nest e the king is dug SIS
side of the bank, having a vestibule
six or W feet long leading to it.
T.. +Iir h111.r.Our,,r - H. t. ~, ~