the trees and bushes and grass are green in the spring, we
see the little birds and hear their sweet songs.

How happy they seem as they fly about from tree to tree, and scratch
in the ground to find little seeds and insects to eat!

Sometimes we find a bird's nest in the bushes or on the ground. God
teaches the little birds how to build their nests with small sticks,
leaves, and feathers.

This is the bird's house. We sometimes see tiny eggs in the nest. The
little eggs hatch, and then there are little birdies in the nest in
place of the eggs. The mother bird hunts worms and bugs to feed the
little ones.

[Illustration]

Did you ever see a nest of young birds? How they open their little
mouths when you come near! They think you have something for them to
eat.

[Illustration]

Once a little boy found a meadow-lark's nest with young birds in it.
As they opened their little mouths, he thought he could feed them
better than the mother bird. He decided to raise them for pets, and so
carried them home. He fed them bread; but as the little birds were not
used to that kind of food, they did not thrive on it; and when one day
the boy forgot to feed them, they died. How sad he felt! And how sad
the mother bird must have felt when she could not find her babies!

God made the birds to enjoy the woods and fields. We must not destroy
their nests, for that would be wrong.

The Bible says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father
feedeth them."

[Illustration]

A Bird of the Night

[Illustration]

Did you ever see an owl? Owls fly around at night, as they can see
better after dark than in the daytime. They stay in some dark and
quiet spot all day, unless disturbed, but at night they hunt around
for something to eat. They eat some kinds of birds, rats, mice, fish,
reptiles, and insects.

The nest of the owl is made of sticks and twigs, and is oftentimes
built in rocks or ruins or old houses.

Some owls are as white as snow, and their feathers are as soft as
cotton. Some are brown, and others are gray.

Sometimes in the night we hear their noise, which sounds much as if
they were saying, "Who? who? who?"

The owl can not turn his eyes about as we can; so when he wants to
look around, he must turn his head.

In the cold countries where snow stays upon the ground most of the
time, there are owls with pure-white feathers. They ar