The very air is music blent--
An universal instrument.
--JOHN VANCE CHENEY.

[Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff.
YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIRD.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.]

THE YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIRD.

The people who make a study of birds say that I look like a large Tern,
and that my habits are like his.

I don't know whether that is so, I am sure, for I have no acquaintance
with that bird, but you little folks can turn to your March number of
BIRDS and see for yourselves if it is true.

For my part, I think I am the prettier of the two on account of my long,
willowy tail-feathers. They add greatly, it is said, to the grace and
beauty of my appearance when on the wing. Then, the color of my coat is
much more beautiful than his, I think, don't you think so, too?

We are not so common as the Terns, either, for they are very numerous.
There are only three species of our family, so we consider ourselves
quite distinct.

What are we noted for?

Well, principally for our long distance flights across the sea, elegant
and airy, as the writers say of us. Maybe that is the reason they call
us the Phaeton sometimes.

Do we go north in the summer as so many other birds do?

Ugh! You make me shudder. No, indeed! We never go farther north than
Florida. Our home, or where we build our nests, is in the tropical and
sub-tropical regions, where the weather is very warm, you know.

We are great wanderers and build our nests on islands, way out in the
ocean many thousands of miles apart.

In trees?

Oh, no, but in any hole we see in the face of a great rock or cliff, and
sometimes right on the top of a rock.

How many eggs?

Only one. That is the reason, you see, that our family remains small.

Sing?

Oh, my, no! We are not singing birds. We have a call-note, though harsh
and guttural, which sounds like _tip, tip, tip_.

THE EUROPEAN KINGFISHER.

Rarely indeed is this charming bird now found in England, where formerly
it could be seen darting hither and thither in most frequented places.
Of late years, according to Dixon, he has been persecuted so greatly,
partly by the collector, who never fails to secure the brilliant
creature for his cabinet at every opportunity, and partly by those who
have an inherent love for destroying every living object around them.
Gamekeepers, too, are up in arms aga