Identifier: newsfrombirds00key (find matches)
Title: News from the birds
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Keyser, Leander Sylvester, 1856-
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton and company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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pecial lecture onits desirability. SEEING WHAT YOU CAN SEE. And now, young friends, having had somewords of council together, let us take a numberof jaunts to the country, to see what we cansee, to gain healthful exercise, and go to schoolto Nature, our loving mentor, all at the sametime. Not for anything would I have missedthe lessons I learned, one day of early spring,in one of my strolls. The farmer was plowingin a level field near the woods, and the robinsand purple grackles were following in themoist furrows for worms and larvae. How therobins breast blushed in the sunshine, showingalmost crimson above the brown, newly turned-up soil! And the grackles—never have I seentheir glossy necks gleam so splendidly as whenthey caught the rays of the sun and flung themlike purple spray to my eye. Looking as wiseas Solomon and as stately as Caesar, they walkedover the plowed ground, now and then stop-ping to pick up a billsome morsel, and thenturning their white eyes to glance inquiringly
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Red-winged blackbird. 8 NEWS FROM THE BIRDS. at me, as if they wondered what might be myopinion of them. After watching them a while, I made myway to my favorite marsh, where I learnedsomething new about a very familiar friend.A red-winged blackbird sat upon a small treeand sang his gurgling melody, O-o-o-gl-e-e!o-o-o-gl-e-e! and then, much to my surprise,broke into a fine, high-pitched twitter that Ihad never heard before. At first I lookedaround for another bird, but soon proved be-yond a doubt that Mr. Redwing was the au-thor of the half-musical, half-squeaking ditty.It seemed to be a sort of complaint, as if thebird were saying, I do wish that man wouldgo away, and not disturb me while I am re-hearsing my solo. Let me describe another ramble taken ona delightful June day to what I may call abirds meadow. A ride on the electric car toa park beyond the outskirts of the town, apleasant walk through the park, followed bya tramp through a large tract of timber,brought me to the charmed

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