when i was only about six years of age, a robin redbreast that we used to feed got so tame that he would fly in through the window to our breakfast table.

in the spring he delighted us by bringing a small family of roblings to the window sill of the room as if to introduce them to the people who had helped him through the hard winter!

another special bird that i remember was a one-legged sparrow that used to be among the birds that came when we were living in bucking-ham-shire. we always called him “timber-toes.”

he came to us for two or three winters, so that, even with but one leg, he must have picked up a living somehow.

—little folks.

a winter menu for birds

crumbs of bread swept off the breakfast table.

morsels of fish and meat.

bones hung on strings from tree branches.

strips of bacon rind cut up into small bits.

small seeds of any kind. (these may be gathered in summer and saved.)

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questions

did you ever make a house for a little house wren?

little jenny wren is looking for a house every spring. she is a very friendly neighbor. why not make her a house with a doorway too small for mrs. sparrow to squeeze through? make the opening only one inch wide.

the meadow lark is one of our very helpful birds. do you know the colors of the meadow lark’s feathers?