Lectures by Henry Oldys

              Address, Silver Spring, Maryland.
LECTURES BY HENRY OLDYS

I.
Bird Notes.
II.
The Music of Man and Bird.
III.
The Æsthetic Sense in Birds.
IV.
Bird Protection in America.



DESCRIPTION OF LECTURES
FOR more than twelve years Mr. Oldys has been connected with the Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture, associated in the work of bird and game protection.  During this period, and for many years previously, his leisure moments have been devoted to study of bird music.  In the course of this study he has discovered many evidences of close relationship between bird music and human music.  His discoveries have been given to the public in addresses before the American Ornithologists' Union, of which he is a member, in various magazine articles, technical and popular, and in his lectures.  Bird Notes, his principal lecture, consists of an account of certain of the more familiar birds, illustrated by whistled imitations of their songs, and touches in an untechnical way on the analogies between bird and human music.  This lecture has been given throughout the United States from Maine to California before audiences greatly varying in age and general character.  The Music of Man and Bird is a more technical exposition of the relationship found in the melodies uttered by certain birds and those of human musicians, and demonstrates that both are governed largely by the same rules of construction.  It addresses itself chiefly to musicians, especially such as have some acquaintance with birds and their songs.  The Æsthetic Sense in Birds consists of a marshaling of evidence that birds possess an æsthetic sense that is akin to that of man.  Bird Protection in America is an account of the nature and progress of the bird-protective movement in the United States.




WORDS OF COMMENDATION
Having for many years counted Mr. Henry Oldys among my personal friends I have had ample opportunity to recognize his abilities as an accomplished musician and lover of birds.  This fortunate and unusual combination of tastes has been used to such excellent advantage by Mr. Oldys that I am sure his lectures on bird songs, as studied by musical standards, can not fail to be of great interest both to ornithologists and musicians.

ROBERT RIDGWAY, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.

It has rarely been my fortune to know a more sincere, enthusiastic, and sympathetic lover of nature than Mr. Henry Oldys.  As our acquaintance, now several years old, has ripened into friendship I have been more and more impressed by his keen powers of observation in nature studies, and his clear and concise way of stating his facts and drawing his conclusions.

To the accuracy of the observer Mr. Oldys adds a sympathetic feeling for nature which is sometimes dormant in the soul of the naturalist.  He hears music in our woods, and his musical training fits him to interpret it.  His imitations of the songs of our native birds are among the best I have ever heard.  The rare ability which he brings to this study, and the patience with which he has followed it, makes what he says on the subject of bird music authoritative.

J. WALTER FEWKES, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C.

Mr. Oldys' rendering and analysis of bird songs interested me more than anything else that I heard at the A. O. U. meeting last November.  It should appeal to ornithologists and bird-lovers of every kind and degree, as well as to many musicians who are not especially interested in birds.

WILLIAM BREWSTER, Cambridge, Mass.

I was very much interested in the matter of Mr. Oldys' address and fascinated with his ability to differentiate and imitate the various songs of birds of the same species and of a number of species.  I was so impressed that I sought the first opportunity to have Mr. Oldys introduced to a Boston audience of bird-lovers.  From all who heard him in this city, there has come testimony confirming the estimate that I had made of him in Washington.  All who listen to Mr. Oldys upon Bird Notes will certainly agree that seldom is one permitted to hear so exquisite an artistic production.  This lecture, in verbal and melodious parts (bird song imitations), is finely wrought and truthfully portrayed.  In his lecture upon The Music of Birds, he brings a wealth of observation, imitative power, and philosophical study that is superior to anything that I have heard or read upon the subject.

(Rev.) WILLIAM ROGERS LORD, Rockland, Mass.


One of the most attractive papers which I listened to at the twentieth congress of the American Ornithologists' Union was Form in Bird Music, delivered and executed by Mr. Henry Oldys, of the Biological Survey.  His familiarity with bird life and bird songs, together with a thorough knowledge in the art of music, has peculiarly adapted him to illustrate the great similarity between the songs of many wild birds and composed music.  So realistic are Mr. Oldys' imitations of some of our familiar bird songs and notes that one has but to close his eyes to be transported from the lecture room to the woods and fields.

RUTHVEN DEANE, Chicago, Ill.

It has been my privilege to hear Mr. Henry Oldys lecture several times upon the interpretation of bird music, and I can truly say that nothing has given me greater pleasure.  His thorough knowledge of music from a scientific standpoint, and the exquisite manner in which he whistles the bird songs, combine to make his lectures at the same time most interesting and profitable, while the freshness of the subject should command the attention of all ornithologists and bird-lovers.

WALTER DEANE, Cambridge, Mass.

It is a great pleasure to listen to Mr. Oldys' perfect rendering of wild bird songs.  At last we have in his faithful reproduction of the melody of Sparrow, Finch, Whip-poor-will, and Thrush what we have long wanted—the truth about the music of the wild bird, a truth which thus far the ornithologist in this country has been unable to give us. Mr. Oldys' work should have the enthusiastic support of every one who loves nature.

F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS, Cambridge, Mass.

I was very glad to be one in the large audience that listened to your most interesting, instructive and enjoyable lecture on The Music of Birds given before the Institute on September 28th.

There is no one either in this country or abroad who has given so many years to the study of the songs of the birds as yourself, and I know of no one so well qualified from two points of view,—on the knowledge of the structure of the birds and habits of birds, and the knowledge of the history and theory of music.  It was a revelation to most of your auditors to hear demonstrated in your lecture, as the result of your studies, that the songs of birds and the songs of men in their less complex stages of civilization, are akin and part and parcel of the same natural music; that the music of men is not artificial or invented, but a natural production on the fundamental principles which govern the music of the songsters of the fields and of the woods.  I can but wish that your lecture might be given in many cities and towns throughout our country.

FRANKLIN W. HOOPER, Director of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.


It gives me the liveliest satisfaction to write you of my very great appreciation of the two addresses on birds and bird music which you gave to the boys of the Worcester Academy during the present term.  Seldom have we had lectures that so immediately interested our boys as did yours.  The freshness of your interest, the fullness of your information, and the unconventional and personal way in which you presented your subjects to my boys deservedly gained their close attention and deep interest.  The entire school thoroughly enjoyed your visit with all that went with it.

D. W. ABERCROMBIE, Principal, Worcester Academy, Worcester, Mass.

I have often recalled a delightful evening, when you entertained our school and teachers with a lecture on birds; illustrating their tones, and songs and music.  I can not tell you the inspiration your visit gave to all who listened, to observe, watch, and recall all they had ever noticed and had become interested in in bird life; many of the boys and girls continued to imitate the notes of birds, hunt for them and make their habits, resorts and life a study.  I think that the tendency of the boys was very marked to regard birds as more sacred as to life and worthier of their protecting care; I note that in part, because in front of one of the dormitories a robin had her nest in a low tree, under which fifty boys were passing every day, and I don't think that any lady in the community in case of insult, from any source, would have received more chivalrous protection than that robin received in hatching and rearing her brood.  When you make your itinerary into Maine next year please remember that Hebron Academy wishes to be booked as one of the schools that you will address on your trip.

W. E. SARGENT, Principal, Hebron Academy, Hebron, Me.

With two of my daughters, I attended some time ago a lecture on bird songs, by Mr. Henry Oldys.  All of us were delighted with the talk.  Mr. Oldys's thorough acquaintance with the birds, his intimate knowledge of music, his ability to render the bird notes, his analysis of the whole subject , and his ingenuity and originality of treatment combined to make the lecture quite the most interesting and suggestive one that I have heard for years.

L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

It gave Mrs. MacLean and me both pleasure and profit to hear your lecture on Bird Notes in the Auditorium of the University last Wednesday evening.  Your relation to the United States Biological Survey has given you opportunity for study and a scientific standing enabling you to lecture with authority.  Your love for birds and their music, and your ability to interpret, instruct, and entertain your audience must make these lectures popular.

GEORGE E. MACLEAN, President, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Ia.


It was very pleasant for us to have you come to Groton.  Your lecture struck me as charming in its quality and interesting as to its information, and I am sure that all of us enjoyed it.

(Rev.) ENDICOTT PEABODY, President, Groton School, Groton, Mass.

I have been anxious for some time to express to you our great enjoyment of your lecture.  Every one takes pains to go out of his way to tell me how delightful it was.  To my students it was a new incentive to bird observation, and in myself it created a new and more intelligent interest in bird song.

GEORGE WAGNER, Prof. of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

The 'concert,' which was given under the auspices of the Children's Pets Exhibition Association, was simply a revelation in bird music—unique, bewitching, and instructive.  We most urgently commend all who can, adult and juvenile, to hear Mr. Oldys' famous lecture.  It is a marvelous demonstration in actual bird lore and nature study.

FREDERICK W. D'EVELYN, President, Children's Pets Exhibition Association, Alameda, Cal.

Your imitation of the notes of our birds is one of the finest things of the kind I have ever heard.  Your method of bird study is unusual and your accuracy in reporting the music of their notes is marvelous.  To anybody who knows anything about or loves birds your lecture can not fail to be most interesting.

(Rev.) W. M. IRVINE, President, Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, Pa.

Your lecture on Bird Notes, given before the pupils of this school last April, was perhaps the most enjoyable one in our long course.  Children of five or six, boys and girls two and three times that, and mothers and fathers were all fascinated with it.  I congratulate you on the big hit you made in this school.

FRANK R. PAGE, Headmaster, The Staten Island Academy, New Brighton, N. Y.

I consider your lecture as thoroughly educational, extremely entertaining, and altogether valuable.

FREDERICK GRIGGS, Principal, South Lancaster Academy, South Lancaster, Mass.

Mr. Henry Oldys talked delightfully to the pupils of the Worcester State Normal School upon Bird Notes, whistling imitations of the wild birds with remarkable exactness.  Mr. Oldys's enthusiasm and evident enjoyment of his work, his analysis of bird music and comparison of it to the productions of the great musical composers, and his reproduction of the orchestral performance to be heard in the early morning were most effective.  No one can hear Mr. Oldys without a desire to listen to bird songs and to become better acquainted with the birds.

F. R. LANE, Principal, State Normal School, Worcester, Mass.


Your lecture on Bird Notes was so pleasing and instructive that the Audubonists and the members of the Detroit Mycological and Nature clubs discuss the subject at every meeting with the pleasantest recollections.  As for myself, I never heard a nature discourse that brought me as near to the woods and fields and called up as many pleasant memories of outings.

JEFFERSON BUTLER, President, Michigan Audubon Society, Detroit, Mich.

In May Mr. Henry Oldys made a hurried trip through this State, giving his lecture on 'Bird Notes' before the Audubon Society at Riverside, Alameda, and Los Angeles.  At the latter place the lecture was given before the L. A. Ebell Club.  Through their courtesy many members of this society were able to attend this splendid lecture.  Mr. Oldys' imitation of the notes and songs of the eastern birds was so perfect as to make many in the audience homesick.  Though he had only six days before heard the song of the western meadowlark for the first time, his imitation of it called forth a burst of genuine applause from his hearers.

—Report of the Audubon Society of California for 1911.

MRS. HARRIET L. MYERS, Secretary, Los Angeles, Cal.

It is delightful when duty and pleasure join hands in one act, as they certainly do in the expression of the enjoyment and help we received from your lecture on Bird Notes before the Illinois Audubon Society.  The portion of the lecture that gave the outline of the Bird Protection movement was most helpful and entertaining and came with special authority from the man to whom we are indebted for the invaluable series of leaflets, Current Items. The bird notes themselves, from the early morning songs to the last sleepy notes of the good-night twittering, were wonderful.  If, as Bradford Torrey says, the beauty of the warblers makes them musical to the eye, surely you can claim that you make the birds beautiful to the ear.

(Miss) MARY DRUMMOND, Secretary, Illinois Audubon Society, Chicago, Ill.

Mr. Oldys gave our local bird lovers a treat in his perfect rendering of bird songs.  His morning and evening bird concerts were given with a delicacy of accent and a rare fidelity of tone little short of marvelous.  His performance was eminently satisfactory from every standpoint.  He was able to combine accurate scientific observation with infectious enthusiasm and artistic treatment of details.

Our Society have felt amply repaid for their efforts to secure a lecturer of such unusual talents, and it was their unanimous vote that he be called upon for other lectures of a similar character in the future.

O. G. LIBBY, President, North Dakota Audubon Society, Grand Forks, N. Dak.

We have heard very favorable comment concerning your lecture on Bird Notes which was given in this city on May 16th.  Several requests have been made to have it repeated.  I think this lecture should be given in every community.

WILLIAM L. FINLEY, President, Oregon Audubon Society, Portland, Ore.


Mr. Henry Oldys gave us a rare treat during a visit to Salt Lake City.  He had been out upon the hills and into the canyons, listening to the songs and observing the ways of our western birds; and these songs he faithfully rendered before western audiences in the course of his lecture, Bird Notes.  The cause of bird observation and study was greatly advanced here by Mr. Oldys, and nature lovers here look forward to another visit from him.

J. H. PAUL, Ph. D., Professor of Nature Study, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Some of the five hundred in our audience, many of whom were teachers, had expressed little interest in human imitations of the song birds, but were enthusiastic in their sympathy with Mr. Henry Oldys in his study of their music, and especially in the case of the western meadowlark as heard near Omaha that morning.  Nothing but commendation of his work and personality has been heard since.

SOLON R. TOWNE, President, Nebraska Audubon Society, Omaha, Neb.

Your lecture before 600 of the teachers of the city in the afternoon on Bird Notes was greatly enjoyed by all.  Many weeks afterward the superintendent told me that he still heard the teachers talking about it.  The lecture on Parallelism of Bird and Human Music which you gave before the members of the Academy in the evening was likewise appreciated.

EDW. RYNEARSON, Secretary, Academy of Science and Art, Pittsburg, Pa.

During the spring of 1905, Mr. Oldys delivered a series of bird lectures to the students of The Jacob Tome Institute, which were enthusiastically enjoyed by all.  It was a new experience for the audience, young and old, to listen to the perfect rendering of the wild bird songs.  The subject-matter of his talks and his manner of presenting them held the deep interest of even the youngest child.  To the teachers and students the outings were an additional pleasure, appreciated not only for the closer acquaintance with the birds and plants, but also for the patience and courtesy with which Mr. Oldys conducted them.

(Miss) M. I. BILLINGS, The Jacob Tome Institute, Port Deposit, Md.

It gives me pleasure to testify to the very satisfactory character of the two bird lectures delivered by Mr. Henry Oldys at Wheeling, W. Va., and Washington, Pa., in the spring of 1905.  These talks and the imitations of bird songs with which they were illustrated showed that they were the result of most careful and patient study on the part of a thoroughly trained musician; one with the fine tastes of a scholar, a gentle humor and a genius for work; in short, the lectures were interesting and instructive to a degree and altogether delightful.

(Miss) E. I. CUMMINS, Former Secretary, W. Va. Audubon Society, Wheeling, W. Va.


It was the universal verdict that Mr. Oldys' lecture on Bird Notes was delightful.  His beautiful whistling of the bird calls and the discussion of their musical value opened up a field entirely new to most of his hearers.  Mr. Oldys appears to bring to his work the rare combination of the scientific associated with the musical and poetic temperaments, so that while his imitations of bird music bear the marks of close and accurate observation, recalling in a wonderfully vivid manner the music of the fields and woodlands, they seem to go still farther and to suggest the subtile spirit which pervades nature whose charms delight even though they so often elude us.  Every one wants to hear Mr. Oldys again.

GEO. B. HOLLISTER, Corning, N. Y.

Mr. Henry Oldys recently gave before the Men's Club of Epiphany Church a lecture on Bird Notes, which proved intensely interesting and most instructive to every man who had the privilege of being present.  Mr. Oldys has devoted many years to the study of the subject, as only an enthusiast and a trained skilful musician could, and the result is truly unique and wonderful.  His power of reproducing the notes of so many of the songsters of the forest and the field is amazing.

(Rev.) RANDOLPH H. MCKIM, Rector, Epiphany Church, Washington, D. C.

The lecture was replete with interesting and valuable information, conveyed in a style at once clear and eloquent, and delighted us all.  As an entertainment it was also a source of much pure and refined amusement, which was only equalled by the fulness of information and fidelity to truth displayed by Mr. Oldys.

(Rev.) HENRY DAVIES, President, Audubon Society of Talbot County, Md., Easton, Md.

Everybody who heard your lecture expressed themselves as delighted with it.  Your presentation of the subject of Bird Music was from an entirely new standpoint, and opened the eyes of everybody.

LYNDS JONES, Professor of Animal Ecology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, O.

It was my great pleasure to hear Mr. Henry Oldys' lecture on Bird Notes, and I can say heartily that the lecture was delightful throughout.  His imitation of the songs of birds was perfect, and his description of their habits was full of instruction and delight to all who heard him.

(Rev.) EDWARD LESTER MARSH, Pastor, Congregational Church, Waterville, Maine.

Since your visit here I have noticed the birds more than I ever did before.  I think it has created in me a lasting interest.

PARLEY DALLEY, Professor of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Southern Branch State Normal School, Cedar City, Utah.


The teachers and students of the Seminary were delighted with the lecture on Bird Notes by Mr. Oldys.  His reproductions of the calls and songs of the birds were wonderful and his comparison of bird with human music was interesting and instructive.

(Miss) LUCY J. BROOKS, Northfield Seminary, Northfield, Mass.

We were greatly pleased with the lectures of Mr. Henry Oldys.  His enthusiasm, and his eagerness to be of service, made his three days at this school most enjoyable to us all.

JOHN L. ALGER, Principal, Vermont Academy, Saxton's River, Vt.

The lecture on Bird Notes was very much appreciated by all those who attended.  It showed careful and conscientious preparation and a great knowledge of the musical characteristics of the most familiar birds.

O. S. KRIEBEL, Principal, Perkiomen Seminary, Pennsburg, Pa.

Mr. Henry Oldys gave a very interesting and enjoyable lecture on Bird Music to the Schoolmasters' Club of this city.  His description of birds and their habits was very instructive and his reproduction of the calls and songs of the birds was delightful.

ANDREW W. EDSON, Secretary, Schoolmasters' Club, New York City.

I want to congratulate you on the increasing enthusiasm of our birdstudy class.  Knowing its varied elements, from boys and girls to elderly women, I consider your holding and interesting them no ordinary success.  Practical results in intelligent observation and cooperation in bird protection can not fail to follow.  The outings have been a profitable pleasure to us all and your patience and perennial courtesy, aside from all else, have made them red-letter days.

JESSIE W. RADCLIFFE (Mrs. Wallace Radcliffe), Chairman of Bird Study Class of 1904 of the Audubon Society for the District of Columbia.

Mr. Oldys' lecture was altogether delightful, revealing an intimate acquaintance with birds and a keen and intelligent appreciation of their music.  He has reduced some of their songs to musical notation.  These he imitates with such perfection that with closed eyes and a bit of imagination I found it easy to think myself listening to the bird rather than the impersonator.

(Miss) HARRIET E. RICHARDS, Secy. Mass. Audubon Society, Boston, Mass.

The lecture on Bird Notes given in our course recently by Mr. Henry Oldys gave great satisfaction.  His imitations of the different bird notes are especially enjoyable in the season when the birds themselves are not with us.  These lectures seem to me peculiarly suitable for educational work in schools.

(Miss) EMILY E. HILDRETH, Secretary, Warner Free Lecture Fund, Harvard, Mass.




NEWSPAPER COMMENT

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the session this forenoon of the twentieth congress of the American Ornithologists' Union was an address by Henry Oldys, of this city, on Form in Bird Music.—
Washington (D. C.) Evening Star.


Mr. Henry Oldys, of this city, delivered an interesting address on Form in Bird Music.  Scores of the songs of various birds were displayed by the speaker, who also whistled in imitation of the various warblers.  Mr. Oldys has made an exhaustive study of bird music, and his address was one of the most interesting presented to the Congress.—
Washington (D. C.) Post.


Time after time, as Mr. Oldys would give some extremely close imitation of a familiar bird and bring the audience to a realization that there was really more music in the song than they had ever observed, he was applauded, and when he had completed his lecture, the applause was enthusiastic.—
Worcester (Mass.) Daily Telegram.


Speaking of birds, we had the pleasure the other evening of hearing Mr. Henry Oldys deliver a lecture on birds and bird songs that was a revelation and a delight.  He has studied birds in the neighborhood of Washington City, especially their notes and songs, until he has grown intimate with them and knows their voices and notes as one knows the voices of his friends.  With his account of each bird he would whistle an imitation of its notes, and he could do this with marvelous skill and accuracy.  * * * Most interesting of all was his demonstration that some bird songs, especially those of the wood thrush, are true music, obeying the principles of melodic construction and beauty.  * * * Mr. Oldys began his lecture with a morning concert of birds and closed it with an evening concert, showing his marvelous skill.—
The Presbyterian Banner, Pittsburg, Pa.


The Music of Birds, or rather, birds as musicians, was the subject of a lecture at Association Hall (Brooklyn Institute), last evening, by Henry Oldys, of the United States Department of Agriculture.  It gave the result of careful observations of bird songs carried on for the past twelve years by one versed in the science of music and trained in the science of observation.  * * *
The whistled reproductions were marvelously perfect, as one who has studied birds would recognize.  More than that they were remarkable as whistling because they took such extremely high tones.  Sometimes they were very light, delicate, like a thrush in the far edge of a woodland, but always as sure as the bird would give them.—

Brooklyn (N. Y.) Eagle.



It is a truly valuable addition to our knowledge on the subject.  * * * His argument for the birds was logically put, each step toward the conclusion was clearly marked, and the summing up was that music has been evolved in two parallel lines, the one carried out by the human and the other by the birds, yet sufficiently alike to prove their common origin.—
Brooklyn (N. Y.) Times.


Mr. Henry Oldys, of the United States Biological Survey, spoke at the art gallery last evening on Melody in Bird Songs, and gave some truly remarkable and exquisite examples of it.  * * * He whistled the bird songs in the high, clear notes of a bird, not merely in imitation of the melody, but placed the phrases where they belong—in alt—where few whistlers could put them.  And this was done with pure, soft tone, no forcing and consquent loss of effect.  One had but to shut one's eyes to hear the real bird.—
Brooklyn (N. Y.) Eagle.


Many students of bird life assembled in the west lecture room of the Agassiz Museum this morning, when the twenty-second congress of the American Ornithologists' Union opened.  * * *
Henry Oldys of Washington gave a talk on some bird songs he has noted this season in that section of the country.  He showed in pleasing fashion the relation of bird to human music, and in illustration whistled the pretty notes of the wood pewee, Carolina wren, song sparrow, chewink, wood thrush, chickadee and other songsters.  The Baltimore oriole, he said, has an appreciation of rag-time.  The whistled specimen was a combination of a scrap from the Mikado, with a bit of rag-time at the end.
Mr. Oldys showed by comparison how the wood pewee follows the modern ballad style in his compositions, with the first and third, and the second and fourth phrases bearing close resemblance.  * * * Amusing examples of birds with no ear for music undertaking to imitate those with musical songs were cited.—

Boston (Mass.) Evening Transcript.


No one who listened to Mr. Oldys will ever again be quite indifferent to the fate of our native birds nor deaf to the charm of their songs.  * * * Bedford is to be congratulated upon having an organization of sufficient public spirit to offer to our people an opportunity of hearing so delightful a talker on so interesting and important a subject.  It is not an easy task to entertain children and interest grown-ups at the same time, but this Mr. Oldys did in a most delightful manner.
Bedford (Va.) Bulletin.


The closing concert of the day was such a natural representation of the good-night songs of the birds that the listeners could almost see the twilight advancing and feel the atmosphere of peace which characterizes the end of a summer day.—
Binghamton (N. Y.) Press.



Mr. Oldys gave an imitation of a bird concert in the early morning hours which was a marvel of skill and perfection, his imitations of the notes and songs of the different birds being so perfect that it was almost impossible to tell them from the song of the bird itself.  * * * He gave much information that was new and interesting to his audience, and was much enjoyed.  He illuminated his descriptions with many humorous anecdotes and his illustrations of the songs of the birds were wonderfully artistic and accurate.  The lecture was very interesting and instructive and delightful and will doubtless prove a great stimulus to bird study and certainly to an increased appreciation of the music of these songsters of our groves and fields.
Waterville (Me.) Mail.


Mr. Henry Oldys, of the Department of Agriculture, at Washington, D. C., is conducting a series of bird talks at Vermont Academy.  Mr. Oldys is well known here as he spoke before several local audiences last year, delighting every one.  His lecture on bird songs Tuesday evening was attended by many members of the local bird club and others from here.
Bellows Falls (Vt.) Times.


Mr. Oldys delighted his audience by his beautiful imitation of the songs of birds, the sounds coming clear and sweet until the air seemed filled with bird notes, the one warbler answering another in wonderful bird music.—
The Baltimore (Md.) Sun.


Charming an audience with his realistic imitations of bird songs, Henry Oldys, of the Biological Survey at Washington, who is touring the West and lecturing on the fascinating subject of birds, presented the subject to an audience which completely filled the cloister room at the Glenwood Mission Inn last evening.  * * * Mr. Oldys' whistling is remarkable not only for its true musical quality, but because of its absolute likeness to the songs of the birds.  Only a lover of birds and one with the ear of a musician could possibly attain to such a degree of accuracy.—
Riverside (Cal.) Morning Enterprise.


Yesterday afternoon Mr. Henry Oldys was greeted by a large audience in the Women's Club, when he gave a most interesting talk on Bird Notes.  * * * He closed his talk with exquisite imitations of bird phrases and songs, showing the different variations in their notes, some glad, some sad, some merry and full of sentiment, and gave some very striking incidents of his life with them in the woods.—
Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch.


Any one passing the Randolph Macon College chapel [at Ashland] last night would have thought that familiar song birds of this section were holding a concert, so naturally were their songs imitated by Mr. Henry Oldys in his lecture on Bird Notes.  * * * A large audience heard the lecture, many coming from Richmond, and the close attention given showed that Mr. Oldys was talking on a very interesting subject in a highly entertaining and instructive style.—
Richmond (Va.) News Leader.



The intimate knowledge of individual birds and their special musical accomplishments which the entertainer displayed is so rarely heard that a crowded house greeted him last evening, and one which responded with much animation and enthusiasm.  * * * As a prominent student of birds his powers of bird tone reproduction are truly remarkable.—
Madison (Wis.) Democrat.


That birds are musicians and may be ranked with human beings in this respect was the statement made by Mr. Henry Oldys when he began his lecture last evening before a large crowd of nature lovers, who had gathered in the high school auditorium to hear this famous man talk on Bird Notes.  Before he had finished every one in the audience was fully convinced of the truth of his statement, for he had shown how well the little feathered songsters understand time, rhythm, and phrasing.  By way of illustration, he reproduced many songs of the different birds, which were so perfect that even the birds themselves, had they heard, would have thought that some of their kind were expressing their joy at living.—
Battle Creek (Mich.) Journal.


He is a marvelous imitator of bird notes, and in no time he had set loose from that wonderful throat of his the music of a perfect flock of robins, orioles, thrushes, and sweet-voiced songsters.
Los Angeles (Cal.) Times.


The lecture on bird songs and their relation to human tunes given by Henry Oldys, of Washington, D. C., last evening at the Unitarian Chapel, was unique.  * * * Mr. Oldys not only filled his lecture with interesting facts concerning the notes of birds, but proved to be an excellent story-teller.—
Portland (Ore.) Oregonian.


Friday evening the trustees of the Fairbanks Museum provided a rare treat by engaging Henry Oldys of the United States Biological Survey at Washington to give an illustrated lecture on birds and bird notes.  Athenæum Hall was filled with an interested audience, who greatly enjoyed the wonderful imitation of the bird notes given by this specialist.—
St. Johnsbury (Vt.) Caledonian.