in
October; nests in bushes; lives in gardens and woodside
thickets; has a sharp cry not unlike the mewing of a cat,
but is a gifted songster.

MEADOW LARK.--Length, about ten and a half inches; extent of
wings, about sixteen and a half inches; female is smaller;
body, thick and stout; legs, large; hind toe reaches out
beyond the tail, its claw twice as long as the middle one;
bill, brown, lighter at the base, dark towards the point;
feet and legs, light brown; throat, breast, and edge of
wing, bright yellow; breast with a large black crescent;
nests on the ground in the open field; clumsy in flight and
in walking; song, a plaintive whistle; arrives in March,
leaves in October.

BARN SWALLOW.--Length, six and three fourths inches; spread
of wings, twelve and a half inches; bill, black; legs and
feet, light brown; color, upper parts glossy steel blue;
tail, very deeply forked, outer tail feathers much longer
and narrower than the others; forehead, chin, and throat,
deep chestnut; rest of the underparts lighter; nests usually
in barns.

WOOD THRUSH.--Length, eight inches; spread of wings,
thirteen inches; legs and feet, flesh-colored; bill,
blackish, lighter at base; upper parts cinnamon brown,
brightest on top of the head, and shading into olive near
the tail; lower parts white and marked with roundish, dusky
spots; arrives the first of May, leaves in October. Song
consists of sweet, ringing, bell-like notes.

Later these outlines should be expanded into free descriptions,
containing all that the pupil has learned about the bird, his habits,
his character, and his life.

Each school should aim to possess a bird manual, for the
identification of the species. The following are recommended as
sufficient for the purpose: "Birds of the United States," by A. C.
Apgar; "Birds of Eastern North America," by Frank M. Chapman; "Bird
Craft," by Mabel Osgood Wright; "Birds of Pennsylvania," second
edition, by Warren (this may possibly be obtained at second-hand
bookstores); "Our Common Birds and How to Know Them," by Grant. The
report of your own state upon birds, if there is one, will also
furnish valuable information.

V

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS

Direct the children to put up boxes for martins, bluebirds, and wrens.
These may be also put up around the schoolhouses, if fortunately t