8100 A Veery's Eggs In The Nest

Down in a tangle of poison ivy and berry bushes was this nest of the veery. Sometimes this bird is called Wilson’s thrush. Those who know it best usually call it the veery. They say that its name was given because the bird seems to sing “veery.” A certain part of its song does sound like the word, though it seems to whistle a soft “whee-u, whee-u” also.

The veery’s eggs are greenish blue like those of a robin, but smaller. They are speckled in the picture. This is because they are dirty. The old birds feed on the muddy banks of a brook that is near, and they have made dirt tracks on the eggs.

The nest is made of sticks and old leaves. The lining is of fine fiber, leaves, and a few roots. At the left and below the nest are the three-parted leaves of the poison ivy. At the right are the tree-parted leaves of a raspberry bush.

We wonder of the birds knew how well their nest was protected when they built it among the poison ivy vines. The boy who attempts to disturb the nest will get the worst of the visit but poison ivy does not harm either the old or the young birds.

Copyright The Keystone View Co.

3967 Bears In Yellowstone Park

While driving through Yellowstone Park we saw a tame bear eating candy. Farther on down the trail, we saw two baby cubs, a middle-sized bear, and their mother around whom a group of people gathered. I put a piece of candy on a log in front of me. One little cub greedily ate it and rolled over backward in the leaves. Such cunning little balls of fur.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the three younger bears clambered up a pine tree just as you see them in this picture. We stared at the tree and its load. Not so the mother bear! She looked back up the mountain for the cause of fear. Sure enough there he was, a great big brown bear coming down upon her family. Without waiting the mother bear turned and jogged off to meet the big bear. He seemed to have met her before, for when she spoke to him in firm growls and snarls, the huge fellow wheeled around and trotted off over the mountain top.

The younger bears in the tree had been shaking with fear. But now they skinned down the tree and began eating our candy again. The mother bear came and ate as if nothing had happened.

This is a true story.

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w8244 Song Sparrows In Their Nest

People who know tell us that this is the second family this song sparrow mother has hatched out during this season. The first family was ready to look out for itself before the daisies and clover were in bloom. This little brood is growing and feathering out nicely.

Song sparrows make their nests in bushes or on the ground, often near houses. They feed on small insects and on the seeds of harmful weeds. During the nesting season the eat beetles, cutworms, caterpillars and grasshoppers.

In the summer, when most of the songbirds are quiet, this little songster keeps up his cheery, musical song. Do you know the names of other kinds of sparrows? Can you tell the different ones when you see them? How?

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21285 A Black Snake, 6 Feet Long

Would you expect to see a picture like this? Why is not this barefooted girl afraid and running away as fast as she can? Why isn’t she trying to kill the snake?

She knows that this black snake is not poisonous. Even its bite is as harmless as a chicken’s scratch. This snake is useful, too, for it eats mice and will kill rats. Rats steal grain, kill little chickens and carry disease.

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26378 Wild Animal Pets

These Boy Scouts are out camping. They sleep in tents but during the day they are outdoors. Their camp is at the edge of the woods.

One of the Boy Scout laws says that they should be kind to animals. These boys have pets. Do you suppose they found some of them in the woods behind their camp?

Can you name these pets? The little round one in the front is a turtle. That queer long animal in front of the second boy is a baby alligator. Three of the boys have guinea pigs. The boy in the middle has a rabbit. How straight his long ears are! The animal with a leash around his neck is a skunk.

The boys have to know what their pets like to eat, so they feed them all right. Perhaps they have to make little houses for each kind of animal. Being a Scout is great sport, especially when you can go to camp. In camp you learn the secrets of the woods and become acquainted with the animals that live in them.

Copyright The Keystone View Co.