Page:Bird-lore Vol 06.djvu/46

 for Emmy @hserherz

Notes on Winter Birds

PRIZE ESSAY

Hy ORREN W. TURNER ‘agrd u walsl. Tarhovo. N c.

ONE evening on Friday. December the eleventh. while strolling along on the edge of a wood. my attention was attracted by a ﬂutter almost under my feet and as I looked down a little Chipping Spar row which I had nearly stepped on, ﬂew up. But he did not ﬂy far. how- ever. for I saw he was wounded. He tried to alight on a limb but he was so weak that he could not sit upon the limb so he had to ﬂy on the ground He made no resistance when I tried to catch him. When I began to examine him to ﬁnd his wound. he began to scream and ﬂutter so I sat down beside a stump so that I could examine him gently.

His screams had attracted many birds. for thirteen Partridges (Boh- whites) came down beside the fence, and there were seven jays. four Brown Thrashers. eleven Towhees, sixteen Chipping Sparrows and about twenty-ﬁve VVhite-throated Sparrows or Peabody Birds. all of which began to scream and scold at me.

I noticed a Red-headed Woodpecker which kept ﬂying around me as if trying to defend the stump or the Sparrow.

To my surprise I found a large dog-tick which had taken up his winter quarters on Chippy's neck and was eating his life away. When I pulled the tick oﬁ. Chippy gave a cry and fainted away and I thought that he was dead. but he slowly recovered.

While Iwas sitting beside the stump. I noticed that the latter had many holes in it and one especially which was larger than the others. attracted my attention. The hole was about as big as a dollar and it had a piece of oak bark stuck in it.

I thought Iwould examine the hole so I set Chippy under my hart By this time all the birds had quit the trees near me. but the Woodpecker never ceased to make attacks at me. In the hole I found 58 acorns and two hickorys so I searched the old stump over and in all I found 136 acorns and three hickorys. Some of the acorns just ﬁtted the holes and were pegged tightly with pieces of bark. I put all of the acorns back just as I found them and carried Chippy home.

I gave him some suet and oats and crumbs of bread and wrapped him up in some cotton. In two days Chippy could ﬂy a little way but I thought I would keep him until he was perfectly strong.

On December 14. I returned to the old stump beside the wood and to

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