BIRD- •LIFE FRANK M CHAPMAN FOR THE PEOPLE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY By FRANK M. CHAPMAN, Curator of Birds in the American Museum Natural History. HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. With Keys to the Species, Descriptions of their Plumages, Nests, etc., and their Distribution and Migrations. With over 200 Illustrations. i2mo. Library Edition, $3.00. Pocket Edition, flexible covers, $3.50. BIRD'LIFE. A Guide lo the Study of Our Common Birds. Popular Edition in colors, $2.00 net. BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA. Wilh Introductory Chapters 011 the Ouifit and Methods of ibe Bird Photographer. Illustrated with over 100 Photographs from Nature by the Author. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75. THE WARBLERS OF NORTH AMERICA. With Contributions from other Ornithologists and 24 full-page Colored Plates illustrating ever}' Species, from Drawings by L. A. Fuertes and B. Horsfall, and Half-tones of Nests and Eggs. 8vo. Cloth, $3.00 net. CAMPS AND CRUISES OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST. Illustrated by 250 Photographs from Nature by the Author. 8vo. Cloth, $3.00 net. D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. \- >^ -J V Plate I, Page 156. BAEN SWALLOW. CLIFF SWALLOW. TEEE SWALLOW. BANK SWALLOW. POPULAR EDITION IN COLORS ■/i./.i I, \ BIRD-LIFE . A GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF OUR COMMON BIRDS BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN CURATOR OF ORNITHOLOGY, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' I^NION AUTHOR OF "HANDBOOK OF BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA,'" "BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA," "CAMI'S AND CRUISES OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST," ETC. IV/rf/ SEVENTY-FIVE FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES AFTER DRAWINGS BY ERNEST THOMPSON SETON NEW YORK AND LONDON D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1912 ^\ Mvc(earlike tongue of I 'ileated Woodpecker . . .14 3. Tip of tail of (a) Downy Wood|ieuker, (b) Brown Creeper, to show the pointed shape in tails of creeping birds of dill'erent families 16 4. Young lloatzin, showing use of hooked fingers in climbing . 17 5. Short, rounded wing and large foot of Little Black Rail, a ter- restrial bird 18 6. Long, pointed wing and small foot of Tree Swallow, an aerial bird 18 7. Frigate-bird 19 8. Great Auk. showing relatively small wing . . . .21 9. Wing of Woodcock, siiowing tlu'ce outer attenuate feathers . 24 10. Jacana, showing spurred wing and elongated toes . . .24 11. Tail-feathers of }ilotmoi {Momotun siibrnfeffcens). showing newly grown feathers and results of self-inflicted mutilation . 26 12. Lobed foot of Coot {Fulica americana), a swimming bird of the Rail family 27 13. Lobed foot of a Phalarope (Cri/mophilus fulicarius), a swim- ming bird of the Snipe family 27 14. Flamingo, showing relative length of legs and neck in a wad- ing bird 28 15. Foot of Fish TIawk. showing large claws and spicules on under surface of toes 29 16. Naked toes of Ruffed Grouse in summer ; fringed toes of Ruffed Grouse in winter 29 17. Decurved bill of Sickle-bill ITummingbird . . . .31 18. Serrate bill of Merganser, a fish-eating bird . . .* . 32 19. Probelike bill of Woodcock, showing extent to which upper mandible can be moved 32 20. Recurved bill of Avocet 32 21. Bill of Spoonbill Sandpiper , 33 xii LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. KIG. PAGE 22. Curved bill of female, straight bill of male Huia-bird , . 33 23. Feathers from back of Snowflake, showing seasonal changes in form and color due to wearing off of tips . . . .38 24. Eggs of (o) Spotted Sandpiper and (b) Catbird, to show differ- ence in size of eggs of praecocial and altricial birds of same size , 68 25. Topography of a bird . . . « o . « . 74 4. BIRD-LIFE. CHAPTEE I. THE BIRD: ITS PLACE IN NATURE AND RELATION TO MAN. The Bird''s Place in Nature:-'' — About thirteen thousand species of birds are known to science. The structure of many of these has been carefully studied, and all have been classified, at least provisionally. Taken as a whole, the class Aves, in which all birds are placed, is more clearly defined than any other group of the higher animals. That is, the most unlike birds are more closely allied than are the extremes among mam- mals, fishes, or reptiles, and all living birds possess the distinctive characters of their class. When compared with other animals, birds are found to occupy second place in the scale of life. They stand between mammals and reptiles, and are more closely re- lated to the latter than to the former. In fact, certain extinct birds so clearly connect living birds with rep- tiles, that these two classes are sometimes placed in one group — the Sauropsida. * On the structure of birds read Cones's Key to North Ameiican Birds, Part II (Estes & Lauriat): Headley, The Structure and Life of Birds: Newton's Dictionary of Birds — articles, Anatomy of Birds and Fossil Birds; Martin and Moale's Handbook of Vertebrate Dissection. Part II, How to Dissect a Bird; Shufeldt's Myology of the Raven (Macmiilan Co.). 1 2 CHARACTERS OF BIRDS. The characters tliat distinguish birds from mammals on the one hand, and from reptiles on the other, are more apparent than real. Thus flight, the most striking of a bird's gifts, is shared by bats among mammals. Eggday- ing is the habit of most reptiles and of three mammals (the Australian duckbill and the echidnas). But incuba- tion by one or both of the parents is peculiar to birds, though the python is said to coil on its eggs. Birds breathe more rapidly than either mammals or reptiles, and their pneumaticity, or power of inflating numerous air-sacs and even certain bones, is unique. The temperature of birds ranges from 100° to 112°, while in mammals it reaches 98° to 100°, and in the com- paratively cold-blooded reptiles it averages only 40°. The skull in mammals articulates with the last verte- bra (atlas) by two condyles or balls ; in birds and reptiles by only one. In mammals and birds the heart has four chambers ; in reptiles it has but three. Mammals and reptiles both have teeth, a character possessed by no existing bird ; but fossil birds appar- ently prove that early in the development of the class all birds had teeth. Thus we might continue the comparison, finding that birds have no universal peculiarities of structure which are not present in some degree in either mammals or reptiles, until we come to their external covering. The reptile is scale:!, and so is the fish ; the mammal is haired, and so are some insects ; but birds alone possess feathers. They are worn by every bird — a fit clothing for a body which is a marvelous combination of beauty, hghtness, and strength. There is good evidence for the belief that birds have descended from reptilian ancestors. This evidence con- sists of the remains of fossil birds,, some of which show marked reptilian characters and, as just said, are toothed. Plate II Page 84. PIED-BILLED GREBE. Length, 13-50 inches. Summer plumage, upper parts blackish brown ; throat and spot on bill black ; fore neck brownish, rest of under parts grayish white. Winter plumage, similar, but without black on throat Or bill. ANCESTORS OF BIRDS. 3 It is unnecessary to discuss here the relationships of the birdlike reptiles, but, as the most convincing argument in supjDort of the theory of the reptilian descent of birds, I present a restoration -of the Archaeopteryx, the earliest known progenitor of the class Aves. This restoration is Fig. 1. — Kestoration of the Archffiopteryx, a toothed, reptilelike bird of tl)o Jurassic period. (About Vs natural size.) based on an examination of previous restorations in con- nection with a study of the excellent plates which have been published of the fossils themselves.* Two speci- mens have been discovered ; one being now in the British Museum, the other in the Berlin Museum. They were both found in the lithographic slates of Solenhofen, in Bavaria, a formation of the Jurassic period, and, together, furnish the more important details of the structure of this reptilelike bird. This restoration, therefore, while doubtless inaccurate * For recent papers on the Archaeopteryx see Natural Science (Macmillan Co.), vols, v-viii. 4 DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. in minor points, is still near enough to the truth to give a correct idea of this extraordinary bird's appearance. The Archaeopteryx was ahout the size of a Crow. Its long, feathered tail is supposed to have acted as an aero- plane, assisting in the support of the bird while it was in the air, but its power of flight was doubtless limited. It was arboreal and probably never descended to the earth, but cUmbed about the branches of trees, using its large, hooked fingers in passing from limb to limb. The wanderings of this almost quadrupedal creature must necessarily have been limited, but its winged de- scendants of to-day are more generally distributed than are any other animals.* They roam the earth from pole to pole ; they are equally at home on a wave-washed coral reef or in an arid desert, amid arctic snows or in the shades of a tropical forest. This is due not alone to their powers of flight but to their adapta])ility to vary- ing conditions of life. Although, as I have said, birds are more closely related among themselves than are the members of either of the other higher groups of animals, and all birds agree in possessing the more important distinguishing characters of their class, yet they show a wide range of variation in structure. This, in most instances, is closely related to habits, * On the distribution of animals read Allen, The Geographical Distribution of North American Mammals, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, New York city, iv, 1802, pp. 199-244; four maps. Allen, The Geographical Origin and Distribution of North American Birds considered in Relation to Faunal Areas of North America, The Auk (New York city), x. 1893. pp. 97-150; two maps. Merriain. The Geographic Distribution of Life in North America, with Special Reference to Mammalia, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, vii. 1892. pp. 1-64; one map. Merriam, Laws of Tem- perature Control of the Geographic Distribution of Terrestrial Ani- mals and Plants, National Geographic Magazine (Washington), vi, 1894, pp. 229-238 ; three maps. EELATION OF BIRDS TO MAN. 5 which in birds are doubtless more varied than in any of the other higher animals. Some birds, hke Penguins, are so aquatic that they are practically helpless on land. Their wings are too small to support them in the air, but they fly under water with great rapidity, and might be termed feathered porpoises. Others, like the Ostrich, ai-e terrestrial, and can neither fly nor swim. Other? still, like the Frigate Birds, are aerial. Their siiiall feet are of use only in perching, and their home is in the air. If now we should compare specimens of Penguins, Ostriches, and Frigate-birds with each other, and with such widely different forms as Hummingbirds, Wood- peckers, Parrots, and others, we would realize still more clearly the remarkable amount of variation shown by birds. This great ditlerence in form is accompanied by a corresponding variation in habit, making possible, as before remarked, the wide distribution of birds, which, together with their size and abundance, renders them of incalculable importance to man. Their economic value, however, may be more properly sj^oken of under The Relation of Birds to Man. — The relation of birds to man is threefold — the scientiflc, the economic, and the sesthetic. No animals form more profitable subjects for the scieiitist than birds. The embryologist, the morphol- ogist, and the systematist, the philosophic naturalist and the psychologist, all may find in them exhaustless mate- rial for study. It is not my purpose, however, to speak here of the science of ornithology. Let us learn some- thing of the bird in its haunts before taking it to the laboratory. The living bird can not fail to attract us; the dead bird — voiceless, motionless — we will leave for future dissection. The economic value of birds to man lies in the seiwice they render in preventing the undue increase of insects, 0 ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS. in devouring small rodents, in destroying the seeds of harmful plants, and in acting as scavengers. Leadino; entomolog-ists estimate that insects cause an annual loss of at least two hundred milhon dollars to the agricultural interests of the United States. The state- ment seems incredible, but is based upon reliable sta- tistics. This, of course, does not include the damage done to ornamental shrubbery, shade and forest trees. But if insects are the natural enemies of vegetation, birds are the natural enemies of insects. Consider for a mo- ment what the birds are doing for us any summer day, when insects are so abundant that the hum of their united voices becomes an almost inherent part of the atmosphere. In the air Swallows and Swifts are coursing rapidly to and fro, ever in pursuit of the insects which constitute their sole food. When they retire, the Nighthawks and Whip-poor-wills will take up the chase, catching moths and other nocturnal insects which would escape day -flying birds. The Flycatchers lie in wait, darting from ambush at passing prey, and with a suggestive click of the bill returning to their post. The Warblers, light, active crea- tures, flutter about the terminal foliage, and with almost the skill of a Hummingbird pick insects from leaf or blossom. The Yireos patiently explore the under sides of leaves and odd nooks and corners to see that no skulker escapes. The Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Creepers attend to the tree trunks and limbs, examining carefully each inch of bark for msects' eggs and larvae, or exca- vating for the ants and borers they hear at work within. On the ground the hunt is continued by the Thrushes, Sparrows, and other birds, who feed upon the innumer- able forms of terrestrial insects. Few places in which insects exist are neglected ; even some species which pass their earlier stages or entire lives in the water are preyed upon by aquatic birds. PliATE III. Page 85. LOON. Length, 32-00 inches. Summer plumage, upper parts and fore neck black and white ; breast and belly white. Winter plumage, upper parts dark grayish; under parts white. ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS. 7 Birds digest their food so rapidly, that it is difficult to estimate from the contents of a bird's stomach at a given time how much it eats during the day. The stomach of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, shot at six o'clock in the morning, contained the partially digested remains of forty-three tent caterpillars, but how many it would have eaten be- fore night no one can say. Mr. E. H. Forbush, Ornithologist of the Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts, states that the stomachs of four Chickadees contained one thousand and twenty- eight eggs of the cankerworm. The stomachs of four other birds of the same species contained about six hundred eggs and one hundred and five female moths of the cankerworm. The average number of eggs found in twenty of these moths was one hundred and eighty-five ; and as it is estimated that a Chickadee may eat thirty female cankerworm moths per day during the twenty-five days which these moths crawl up trees, it follows that in this period each Chickadee would de- stroy one hundred and thirty-eight thousand seven hun- *«S»p Plate XI, SPOTTED SANDPIPER. Pages 96, 99> Length, 7-50 inches. Adult, upper parts brownish gray and black; under parts white spotted with black ; a white patch in wing. Young, similar, but without black. KILLDEER. Length, 10-50 inches. Upper parts brownish gray, upper tail-covorts rusty ; under parts white ; two bands on breast, crown and lores black, forehead and nape white. COLOR AND FOOD. 39 Much remains to be learned on this subject of the molt, and, although confinement is known to affect its manner and extent, I believe intelligent observation of caged birds will lead to really valuable results. Color and Food. — In some instances it is kno'svn that a bird's color is affected by the nature of its food. It is a common practice among bird fanciers to alter the color of Canaries from yellow to orange-red by feeding them on red pepper. This food, however, is said to have no effect upon adult birds, but must be fed to nestlings. Sau- ermann's experiments, as quoted by Beddard, show that the red color is not caused by the capsiein or red pig- ment in the pepper, bat by a fatty substance termed triolein. Fed to white fowls, their breasts became red, while the rest of the plumage remained unchanged. It is also stated that dealers alter the color of green Parrots to yellow by feeding them on the fat of certain fishes. Flamingoes and Scarlet Ibises when kept in capti\'ity lose their Ijright red colors and become dingy pink or even soiled white, and some animal dealers have acquired a reputation for restoring their natural tints by supplying them with food the nature of which is kept a secret. Our Purple Finch turns to yellow in captivity. An adult male now in my possession is undergoing his second molt since capture a year ago, and it will evidently leave him without a single red feather. Other wild birds when caged are known to assume more or less abnormal plumages, due, it is supposed, to change in food. There is, however, very little exact information on this subject, and it offers an excellent opportunity for the patient in- vestigator. Color and Climate.^ — Color is a nuich more variable character than form. There are but few instances in * Read Allen, Bulletin of Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cam- bridge, Mass.), vol. ii. No. 3, 1871, pp- 18^-250. 40 COLOR AND CLIMATE. wliicli we can sliow tlie cause of a given structure ; but color I'esponds more quickly to tlie influence of sur- roundings, and in many cases we can point to cause and effect with some certainty. This is best illustrated by the relation between climate and color. Briefly, it has been found that birds are darkest in humid regions and j^alest in arid regions. This at first thought seems of small moment, but in reality it is one of the most important facts established by ornithologists. It is an undeniable demonstration of " evolution hj environment " — that is, the bird's color is in part due to the conditions under which it lives. For example, our common Song Sjjarrow, which in- habits the greater part of IS^oi'th America, varies so greatly in color in different jjarts of its range that no less than eleven subspecies or geographical races are known to ornithologists. The extremes are found in the arid deserts of Arizona, where the annual rainfall aver- ages eight inches, and on the humid Pacific coast from Washington to Alaska, where the annual rainfall averages about eighty inches. The Arizona Song Sparrows are pale, sandy colored birds, while those from Alaska are dark, sooty brown. One would imagine them to be different species ; but unlike as are these extremes, they, with the other nine races in this group, are found to intergrade in those re- gions where the climatic conditions themselves undergo a change. That is, as we pass from an arid into a humid, region, the birds gradually get darker as the average rainfall increases. If now we study other birds living in these regions, we find that many of them, especially the resident species, are similarly affected by the prevailing climatic influ- ences— that is, many Arizona birds are bleached and faded in appearance, while all the thirty odd Northwest COLOR AND HAUNT AND HABIT. 41 Pacific coast races are darker or more lieavily streaked or barred than any of their congeners. It is of impor- tance to ol)serve tliat these differences are shown by young birds in fresh plumage — evidence that the charac- ters acquired through chmate have been inherited. There are many similar cases, but some species seem more easily affected than others, and throughout their ranges are markedly affected ly the conditions under which they live. Thus we have nine races of Screech Owl, eleven of Horned Lark, six of Junco, etc. These races, or subspecies, are species in process of formation. The extremes are still connected by inter- mediate or natural links, but if, through any cause, these intermediates should disappear, the extremes would then be left as distinct species. Color and Haunt and Uahit. — The relation of a bird's color to its haunts and habits is a complex sub- ject. Any attempt at its ex|3lanation should be based on so exact a knowledge of t\\Q facts in the case, that I can not too strongly emphasize here the necessity for observations in the field. Only a close study of the living bird will justify us in advancing theories to account for its coloration. Many explanations have been offered to account for certain colors and markings of birds, but often, I fear, without adequate knowledge of the bird's habits. I shall speak of only four classes of colors ; they are protective^ deceptive^ recognition^ and sexual colors. Protective colors render a l)ird inconspicuous in order that it may escape its enemies. Deceptive colors render it inconspicuous in order that it may more easily approach its prey. In both eases the- l)ird should harmonize in color with its immediate surroundings. A survey of the birds of the woidd shows that on the whole this is true. Thus almost all ground-inliabiting birds, such as Snipe, Plover, Quail, Grouse, Sparrows, 42 PROTECTIVE COLORATION. are generally dull brown or gray, like the ground, leaves, or grasses about them, while tree-haunting birds, espe- cially those that live in the foliage or feed from blossoms, are, as a rule, brightly colored. In this class belong Hummingbirds, Orioles, the gayer - plumaged Finches, Tanagers, Warblers, and many others. It is partly owing to this fact that the erroneous idea concerning the brilliant plumage of all tropical birds has become established. The rich vegetation of the tropics furnishes a home to a far greater number of brightly colored birds than are found in temperate regions ; still, they are not more numerous than the dull-colored species that live on the tree trunks, in the undergrowth, or on the ground, where, owing to the nature of both their colors and haunts, they are likely to be overlooked. Between these two extremes there are numerous in- termediate groups, most of which conform to the general law of protective coloration. There are, it is true, excep- tions, but every close student of bird-life must be so im- pressed with the dangers to M'hich birds are exposed, that he can not doubt that the chief object of color is usually for its wearer's concealment. The term " protective coloration " has lately received fresh significance through the studies of Mr. Abbott H. Thayer.* Mr. Thayer proves conclusively that protect- ive coloration lies not so much in an animal's resem- blance in color to its surroundings as in its gradation of color. Thus he points to the fact that, as a rule, animals are darker above than below — that is, those parts receiv- ing the most light are darkest, while the parts receiving the least light are palest. In effect it follows that the darkei' upper parts are brightened, while the paler under parts are * See his papers 'on The Law which Underlies Protective Colora- tion, in The Auk (New York city), vol. xiii, pp. 124-129, 318-320, eleven figures. PiiATE XII. Page 101. RUFFED GEOUSE. Length, 17-00 inches. Male, neck tufts long, black; upper parts and tail gray or rusty, black and buff; under parts white, black and rusty. Female, similar, but with neck tufts no longer than adjoining feathers. PROTECTIVE COLORATION. 43 darkened, the result being a nniform color, with an ap- parent absence of shadow, tending to render the object invisible. Mr. Thayer clearly demonstrates his discovery by using several decoys about the size and shape of a Wood- cock's body. These he places about six inches above the ground on wire uprights, or in a row on a horizontal rod. One of these decoys he colors uniformly, above and be- low, to resemble the earth about it, or he may even give it a fine coating of the earth itself. The upper half of the other decoys is treated in exactly the same manner, but their lower half is graded to a pure white on the me- dian line below. At a distance of forty or fifty yards the uniformly colored decoy can be plainly seen, but those which are white below are entirely invisible until one is within twenty or thirty feet of them. After definitely locating these graded decoys the ex- periment may be repeated ; but the result will always be the same. As one slowly retreats from them they will, as by magic, seem to pass out of existence, while the one which is colored alike both above and below can be seen distinctly. One of the best ai-guments for the value of a protect- ive coloration is the fact that the birds themselves are such thorough believers in it. Here we have the reason why — in sportsman's parlance — game birds "lie to a dog." When there is sufiicient cover, they trust to their protect- ive coloring to escape detection, and take wing only as a last resort ; but when cover is scanty, they generally rise far out of gunshot. Some Snij)e and Sparrows, however, attempt to conceal themselves even on bare sand or worn grass by squatting close to the earth, with which their plumage harmonizes in color. A sitting Woodcock had such confidence in its own invisibility that it permitted itself to be stroked without leaving the nest ; but when a light snow fell, and the 44 DECEPTIVE COLORATION. bird became a conspicuous dark object against a "white background, it took wing on the first suspicion of danger. I could mention many other similar instances, but the careful observer will soon find them included in his own experience. Deceptive, or, as Poulton terms it, " aggressive " col- oration is perhaps best illustrated by coftimon Flycatchers {Tyrannidw). Although these birds live in and about trees, they are, as a rule, quietly attired in olive-green or olive -gray, and are quite unlike the brilliantly q\q.6., fruit- eating Tanagers, Orioles, Parrots, and other birds that may be found near them. Insects are therefore more likely to come "within snapping distance than if these birds "were conspicuously colored. In the same manner "we may explain the colors of Hawks, "which are never brightly plumaged. It is well kno"wii that many arctic animals become vi^hite on the approach of wintei*. With Ptarmigans this is doui)tless an instance of protective coloration, but the Snowy Owl, who feeds on the Ptarmigan, may be said to illustrate deceptive coloration. Recognition, signaling, or directive colors have, with more or less reason, been made to include many different types of markings, of which I shall mention only those that are conspicuously shown in flight or by some move- ment. Such are the white outer tail-feathers of Juncos, Meadowlarks, Towhees, and many other birds, and cer- tain wing and rump patches, which are noticeable only when the bird is on the wing. Markings of this kind are supposed to aid birds in recognizing others of their kind, their special use being to keep the individuals of a family or flock together, so that when one starts the others can I'eadily follow. The theory is open to objections, but these so-called recognition marks are so often found among birds that they doubtless are of some use, though their COLOR AND SEX. 45 *.* exact value remaiiis ,to be determined by closer obser- vation. ;''' Color and /Sfea?^*-.-It is not possible here to discuss at length the vexed qirfestion of sexual coloration. But, as a means of directing observation, I present a synopsis of the principal types of secondary sexual characters, with some of the theories which have been advanced to ac- count for them. SYNOPSIS OP THE SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERS OP BIRDS. Size. Plumage. \ Of the body. Of the feet. Of the bill. Color. I. STRUCTURAL. Male larp;er than female (usual). Pemale larger than male (rare). j iMale brighter than female. / Pemale brighter than male (rare), r Assumption of plumes, ruffs, crests, trains, etc. : special modification of wing and tail Perm, -j feathers. I a. Worn by male alone. [ b. Worn by both sexes. Sole or greater development in male of brightly col- ored bare tracts of skin, combs, wattles, caruncles, and other fleshy or horny appendages. Sole or greater development in male of spurs. Male with more highly colored or larger bill than female. Pursuit. Display. Battle. Music. Special habits. II. FUNCTIONAL. \ By male when similar to or brighter than female. '( By female when brighter than male. By male of accessory plumes and other appendages. ■ By male using spurs, wings, bill, etc. \ Vocal, by male and. rarely, female. ] Mechanical, by male and sometimes female. Dances, mock fights, aerial evolutions, construction of bowers, decoration of playgrounds, attitudinizing, \ slrutlinpr. etc. I a. By male before the female. [^ b. Among the males alone. * Read Darwin, The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (D. Appleton & Co.). Wallace, Darwinism (Macmillan Co.). 46 . COLOR AND SEX. In explanation of these remarkable differences of fonn and habit, we have first Darwin's theory of " sexual se- lection." This is based upon the ardor in love, the cour- age and rivalry of the males, and also upon the powers of perception, taste, and will of the female. The spurs of the male, for example, are supposed to have been developed through the battles of the males. At first a mere knob, they were an advantage to the bird possessing them, enabling him to defeat his rivals. The successful male would be more likely to have offspring who would inherit the tendency of their father to have spurs, and thus, by selection, the unspurred cocks would gradually be replaced l)y those better armed. This is known as the " law of battle." But the bright colors and gay plumes of the cock have originated, under this theory, through the taste of the female, who, it is assumed, would be more likely to accept the attentions of a bird pleasing in her eye than one who was less strikingly adorned. This has been termed by Lloyd Morgan " preferential mating." Wallace has accepted the law of battle as an effective agent in producing certain characters, but considers it natural., rather than sexual selection, and he denies the existence of any important evidence proving female selec- tion. He therefore attributes many secondary sexual characters to a surplus of vital energy, which, because of a bird's perfect adaptation to the conditions of its exist- ence, can expend itself in the production of bright colors and ornamental plumes without injury to their owners. That is to say, AVallace ascribes to the action of natural selection any secondary sexual character which is of prac- tical use to the male in conflicts with a rival, but denies the female any part in the matter of pairing. Darwin, as I have said, attributes to the female an aesthetic taste which renders the brilliant colors or display of the Plate XIII. Page 102. MOURNING DOVE. Length, 11 -TS inches. Upper parts olive grayish brown, sides and back of neck iridescent; breast with a pinkish tinge, belly buff; outer tail- feathers tipped with white. COLOR AND SEX. 47 male an attractive sight, infliienciug lier clioice of a mate. There is thus a practical agreement in the views of these naturalists on the origin of those sexual characters which may be classed as weapons, and this opinion is, I believe, generally accepted. But the question of female preference, and its influence on the development of bright colors and accessory plumes, still lacks confirmation. Here is an opportunity for every one who can watch wild birds mating. CHAPTEE IV. THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS.* To the field student the season of migration is the most interesting of the year. The bird-life of a vast area then passes in review before him. Though living in a temperate region, he may see birds whose summer home is within the Arctic Circle, whose winter haunts are in the tropics. Who can tell what bird he may find in the woods he has been exploring for years ? The comparative regularity with wliich birds come and go gives an added charm to the study of migration. Their journey is not a "helter-skelter" rushing onward, but is like the well -governed march of an army. We feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing when we may ex- pect to greet a given species, and a secret elation if we succeed in detecting it several days in advance of other observers. We study weather charts, and try to foretell or explain those great flights or " waves " of birds which are so closely dependent upon meteorologic conditions. * Read Allen, Scribner's Miipaziiie, vol. xxii, 1881. pp. 9:32-938, Bulletin of Nuttall Ornitholo.ifical Club (Can)bndo:e. Mass.), vol. v, 1880, pp. 151-154. Scott, ibid., vol. vi. 1880. pp. 97-100, Brewster. Memoirs of Nuttall Ornitholofrical Club, No. 1, pp. 22. Cooke and Merriam. Bird Mijjrafion in the Mississippi Valley (Washinfrton, 1888). Chapman, The Auk (New York city), vol. v, 1888, pp. 37-39 ; vol. xi, 1894, pp. 12-17. Loomis, ibid., vol. ix, 1892, pp. 28-39: vol. xi, 1894, pp. 20-39, 94-117. Stone, Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, pp. 15-28. 48 EXTENT OF MIGRATION. 49 Extent of 3Ugration. — The extent of a bird's migra- tion is, in most cases, dependent upon the nature of its food. Birds that are resident in one place throughout the year generally change their fare with the season, and apparently feed with eqnal relish on seeds or insects. Those that are dependent upon fruit must migrate far enough to find a supply of berries, while the insect-eaters are obhffed to travel even farther south. Most of the migratory birds of our Western States pass the winter in Mexico. Our Eastern Sparrows and our berry-eaters, like the Robin and Bluebird, winter from the Middle States to the Gulf coast, while the ma- jority of our purely insectivorous species cross to Cuba and winter in the West Indies, or continue to Central America and even northern South America. Snipe and Plover make the most extended migrations, some species breeding within the Arctic Circle and wintering along the coasts of Patagonia. Times of Migration. — Let us suppose we are about to observe the spring migration of birds at Englewood, New Jersey — a few miles from New York city. Birds arrive here about a week later than at Washington, D. C, and a week earlier than at Boston. During January and February, while watching for some rare visitor from the North, we shall find that Tree Sparrows and Juncos are everywhere common. Less frequently we may see Shrikes, Winter Wrens, Golden - crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers, and rarely Snow- flakes, Red Crossbills, and Redpolls will be observed. These birds are winter visitants, coming to us from the North in the fall and leaving in March and April. Of course, in addition to these migratory birds, we shall see most if not all of our commoner permanent residents, or the birds which are with us throughout the year. They are the Bob-white, Ruffed Grouse, Red- 50 TIMES OF MIGRATION. shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks, Barred and Screech Owls, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Blue Jay, Crow, Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Chickadee. Generally speaking, the birds in the front rank of the feathered array which soon will invade the land are those whose winter quarters are farthest north, while those that winter farthest south bring up the rear. From February 20 to March 10, therefore, we may expect to see Purple Crackles, Robins, Bluebirds, and Red-winged Blackbirds ; birds that have wintered but a short distance south of us — if not with us — and who have accepted the slightest encouragement from the weather as an order to advance. All the first comers will doubtless be males, this sex, as a rule, preceding the females by several days. About the middle of March we may look for the Woodcock, Meadowlark, Fox Sparrow, Cowbird, and Phoebe ; their time of arrival being largely dependent upon the temperature — warm weather hastening, and cold weather retarding their movements. Toward the last of March, Wilson's Snipe, the King- fisher, Mourning Dove, Swamp and Field Sparrows are due. Early in April the Purple Finch, White-throated, Yesper, and Chipping Sparrows will announce their re- turn in familiar notes, and at the same time Tree Swal- lows, Myrtle Warblers, Pipits, and Hermit Thrushes vdW appear. They will soon be followed by Barn Swallows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The migration is now well under way, and we go to the field with the assurance of meeting some lately arrived feathered friend almost daily. Between April 20 and 30 we will doubtless note among the newcomers, the Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Whip-poor-will, PiiATE XIV. Page 104. BED-SHOULDERED HAWK. Length, 19-00 inches. Adult, upper parts blackish brown and rusty; lesser wing-coverts bright chestnut; wings and tail black and white; under parts rich rusty and white. Young, less rusty on back, wings and tail largely rusty; under parts white, spotted or streaked with blackish. TIMES OP MIGRATION. 51 CWmney Swift, Least Flycatcher, Towhee, Purple Mar- tin, Cliff and Bank Swallows, Black and White and Black-throated Green Warblers, Oven-bird, House Wren, Brown Thrasher, Catbird, and Wood Thrush. This troop surely is not without musicians. In ringing tones they herald the victory of Spring over Winter. The season of cold waves has passed, and the birds now appear with the regularity of calendar events. From May 1 to 12 the migration reaches its height. It is a time of intense interest to the bird student, and happy is he who can spend unlimited time afield. Some mornings we may find ten or more different spe- cies that have come back to us, and each one may be represented by many individuals. The woods are thronged with migrants, and the scantily leaved trees and bushes enable us to observe them far more easily than we can when they travel southward in th(3 fall. During this exciting period we should see the Cuckoos, Nighthawk, Ruby -throated Hummingbird, Crested Fly- catchei'. Kingbird, Wood Pewee, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Bobolink, Indigo Bunting, Pose-breasted Oros- beak. Scarlet Tan age r, Ped-eyed, Warbling, Yellow- throated, and White -eyed Vireos, Long-billed Marsh Wren, Wilson's Thrush, Pedstart, Yellow-breasted Chat, Maryland Yellow-throat, Yellow Warbler, and others of its family. Succeeding days will bring additions to the ranks of these species, and there will also be numerous small Warblers to look for, but by May 12 all our more familiar and common birds have arrived. During the rest of the month, as the transient visitants, or species which nest farther north, pass onward, birds gradually decrease in numbers, and by June 5 we have left only those that will spend the summer with us. The migration over, we can now give our whole 6 52 TIMES OF MIGRATION. attention to a study of nesting habits. As a matter of fact, the nesting season begins quite as early as the spring migration, the Great Horned Owl laying its eggs late in February. In March and April other birds of prey and the earlier migrants nest. May migrants go to housekeeping soon after they reach their old homes, and by June 5 there are few species that have not nests. "With birds that rear two or three broods, the nest- ing season may extend into August. With those that have but one brood it may be over early in July, At this time we begin to miss the jolly, rollicking music of the Bobolink. Soon he will leave the meadow he has animated for two months, and with his young join grow- ing flocks of his kind in the wild-rice marshes. His handsome suit of black and white and buff will be ex- changed for the sparrowlike Reedbird dress, and in place of the merry song he will utter only a metallic tink. This note is characteristic of the season. Day and night we hear it from birds high in the air as they hasten to their rendezvous in the marshes. July 1, Tree Swallows, who nest rarely if at all near Xew York city, appear and establish their headquarters in the Hackensack meadows — a first step on the migra- tory journey. July is a month for wanderers. The nest- ing season of most one-brooded birds is over ; they are not yet ready to migrate, and pass the time roving about the country with their families. In August birds are molting and moping. The careful observer will find that a few Warblers and Fly- catchers have returned from the north and are passing southward, but, as a rule, August is a month to test the patience of the most enthusiastic bird student. Late in the month migrants become more numerous, but be- tween the " fiights " or " waves " there are days when Plate XV. Page 106. MARSH HAWK. Length, 20'00 inches. Adult male, upper parts gray ; under parts white with rusty spots ; upper tail-coverts white. Adult female and young, upper parts black and rich rusty ; under parts rich rusty and black ; upper tail-coverts white. TIMES OF MIGRATION. 53 one may tramp the woods for miles without seeing a dozen birds. September is the month of Warblers. They come in myriads during the latter half of the month, and on favorable nights we may sometimes hear their fine- voiced Ueep^ as they fly by overhead. About the 25th of the month our winter residents, the Junco, Winter Wren, Golden Kinglet, and Brown Ci*eeper, will arrive. The summer residents are now rapidly leaving us. In a general way it may be said that the last birds to arrive in the spring are the first to leave in the fall, while the earliest spring migrants remain the longest. October and November are the months of Sparrows. They rise in loose flocks from every stubble or weed field, and seek shelter in the bordering bushy growth. Should the season prove warm, many of these hardy seed-eaters will stay with us well into December, but at the first really cold weather they retreat southward. This completes the merest outline of the move- ments of our migratory l)irds. It will be seen that in reality there are but few periods during the year when some event is not occurring in the bird world. As we accumulate records for comparison, and learn to appre- ciate their meaning, our interest in the study of migra- tion will increase and be renewed with the changing seasons. We have found, in this brief re\'iew, that our birds may be placed in four classes, as follows : 1. Permcvnent Residents. — Birds that are represented in the same locality throughout the year. 2. Summer Residents. — Birds that come to us in the spring, rear their young, and depart in the fall. 3. Wititer Residents. — Birds that come from the north in the fall, pass the winter with us, and return to their more northern homes in the spring. 54: MANNER OF MIGRATION. 4. Transient Visitants. — Birds whose siiminer home is north and whose winter home is south of us. In traveling from one to the other they pass through the intervening region as " transients." Manner of Migration. — The Oriole, who builds his swinging nest in your elm tree, will winter in Central America; the Bobolink, who seems so care-free in your meadows, must journey to his winter quarters in southern Brazil. But, unless accident befalls, both birds will re- turn to you the following spring. We are so accustomed to these phenomena that we accept them as part of the changing seasons without realizing how wonderful they are. But look for a moment at a map, and try to form a mental picture of the Bobolink's route. Over valleys, mountains, marshes, plains, and forests, over straits and seas hundreds of miles in width, he pursues a course through trackless space with a regularity and certainty which brings him to the same place at nearly the same time year after year. How much of his knowledge of the route he has inherited, and how much learned dur- ing his own lifetime, is a question we may return to later ; now we are concerned with actual methods of migration. Immediately after, or even during the nesting season, niany birds begin to resort nightly to roosts frequented sometimes by immense numbers of their kinds, with often the addition of other species. These movements are apparently inaugurated by the old birds, and are in a sense the beginnings of the real migratory journey. Other birds roam the woods in loose bands or families, their wanderings being largely controlled by the supply of food. During this time they may be molting, but when their new plumage is acquired they are ready for the start. The old birds lead the way, either alone or asso- PliATE XVI. SPABROW HAWK. Page 106. Length, 11-00 inches. Male, back reddish brown and blacli, wing- coverts slaty blue, tail reddish brown marked with black and white ; under parts washed with rusty and spotted with black, Fema/e, back, wings, and tail barred with reddish brown and black ; under parts white, streaked with reddish brown. MANNER OF MIGRATION. 55 'i-iated witli the young. Some flj by day, some by night, and others by both day and night. This fact was iirst established by Mr. Wilham Brewster, who, in his admi- rable memoir on Bird Migration, writes: "Timid, seden- tary, or feeble-winged birds migrate by night, because they are either afraid to venture on long, exposed jour- neys by daylight, or unable to continue these journeys day after day without losing much time in stopping to search for food. By taking the nights for traveling they can devote the days entirely to feeding and resting in their favorite haunts. Good examples are Thrushes (except the Eobin), Wrens, Warblers, and Yireos. " Bold, restless, strong- winged birds migrate chiefly, or very freely, by day, because, being accustomed to seek their food in open situations, they are indiiferent to con- cealment, and being further able to accomplish long dis- tances rapidly and with slight fatigue, they can ordi- narily spare sufficient time by the way for brief stops in places where food is abundant and easily obtained. Under certain conditions, however, as when crossing large bodies of water or regions scantily supplied with food, they are sometimes obliged to travel partly, or per- haps even exclusively, by night. Excellent examples are the Robin {Merula), Horned Lark {Otocoris), and most IcteridcB [Bobolink, Blackbirds, and Orioles], " Birds of easy, tireless wing, which habitually feed in the air or over very extensive areas, migrate exclusively by day, because, being able either to obtain their usual supply of food as they fly, or to accomplish the longest journeys so rapidly that they do not require to feed on the way, they are under no necessity of changing their usual habits. The best examples are Swallows, Swifts, and Hawks." While migrating, birds follow mountain chains, coast- lines, and particularly river valleys, all of which become 56 MANNER OF MIGRATION. liio;hways of migration. Tlirough telescopic observations it has been learned that migrating birds travel at a great heiglit. The exact height remains to be determined, bnt it is known that many migrants are at least a mile above the earth. From this elevation they command an ex- tended view, and in clear weather prominent features of the landscape are doubtless distinguishable to their pow- erful vision at a great distance. It is when fogs and storms obscure the view that birds lose their way. Then they tly much lower, perhaps seek- ing some landmark, and, should a lighthouse lie in their path, they are often attracted to it in countless numbers. Thousands of birds perish annually by striking these lights during stormy fall weather. In the spring the weather is more settled and fewer birds are killed. Although birds are guided mainly by sight, hearing is also of assistance to them on their migrations. Indeed, at night, young birds, who have never made the journey be- fore, must rely largely upon this sense to direct them. It is difficult for us to realize that on favorable nights during the migratory season myriads of birds are passing through the dark and apparently deserted air above us. Often they are so numerous as to form a continuous stream, and if we listen we may hear their voices as they call to one another while flying rapidly onward. Some idea may be formed of the multitude of birds which throng the upper air on favorable nights during their migration by using a telescope. One having a two- inch object glass will answer the purpose. It should be focused on the moon, when the birds in passing are sil- houetted against the glowing background. At the proper focal distance they appear with startling distinctness. In some cases each wing-beat can be detected, and with a large glass it is even possible to occasionally recognize the kind of bird. Plate XVII. Page 107. SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. Length of male, 11-25 inches; of female, 13-50 inches. Adult, upper parts slaty gray ; under parts white and rusty brown. Young, upper parts blackish brown; under parts white, streaked with rusty brown. MANNER OF MIGRATION. 57 Observations of tins kind should be made in Septem- ber, when the fall migration is at its height. On the night of September 3, 1887, at Tenafly, New Jersey, a friend and myself, using a six-and-a-haK-ineh equatorial glass, saw no less than two hundred and sixty-two birds cross the narrow angle subtended by the limbs of the moon between the hours of eight and eleven. Observa- tions made several years later, in September, from the observatory of Columbia University, yielded closely simi- lar results. This nocturnal journey of birds may also be studied from lighthouses. On September 26, 1891, I visited the Bartholdi Statue of the Goddess of Liberty, in New York Bay, for this purpose. The weather was most favorable. The first bird was observed at eight o'clock, and for the succeeding two houi's others were constantly heard, though comparatively few were seen. At ten o'clock it began to rain ; and almost simultaneously there was a marked increase in the number of birds about the light, and within a few minutes there were hundreds where before there was one, while the air was filled with the calls of the passing host. From the balcony which encircles the torch the scene was impressive beyond description. We seemed to have torn aside the veil which shrouds the mysteries of the night, and with the searching light exposed the secrets of Nature. By far the larger number of birds hurried onward ; others hovered before us, like Hummingbirds before a flower, then flew swiftly by into the darkness ; and some, apparently blinded by the brilliant rays, struck the statue slightly, or with suflicient force to cause them to fall dead or dying. At daybreak a few stragglers were still wing- ing their way southward, but before the sun rose the flight was over. 58 ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. Origin of Migration. — Why do birds migrate ? It is true that in temperate and boreal regions the return of cold weather robs them of their food, and they retreat southward. But many, in fact most, birds begin their southern journey long before the iirst fall frost. We have seen that some species start as early as July and August. Furthermore, there are many birds that come to our Gulf and South Atlantic States to nest, and when the breeding season is over they return to the tropics. Surely, a lower temperature can not be said lo compel them to migrate. Even more remarkable than the south- ward journey in the fall is the northward journey in the spring. Our birds leave their winter homes in the tropics in the height of the tropical spring, when insect and vege- table food is daily increasing. They leave this land of plenty for one from which the snows of winter have barely disappeared, often coming so early that unseason- able weather forces them to retreat. I believe that the origin of this great pilgrimage of countless millions of birds is to be found in the existence of an annual nesting season. In ray opinion, it is exactly paralleled by the migration of shad, salmon, and other fishes to their spawning grounds, and the regular return of seals to their breeding rookeries. Most animals have an instinctive desire for seclusion during the period of reproduction, and when this season approaches will seek some retired part of their haunts or range in which to bring forth their young. Salmon may travel a thousand miles or more from the ocean, and, leaping the rapids or other barriers in their way, finally reach the headwaters of some river where their eggs may be deposited in safety. Seals migrate with regu- larity to certain islands, where their young are born. Even our domesticated Hens, Turkeys, Ducks, and Pea- fowl, if given freedom, will travel a greater or less dis- PliATE XVIII. Page 107. AMERICAN OSPREY. Length, 23 '00 inches. Upper parts brownish black ; nape and under parts white ; breast marked with grayish broiivTi. ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. 59 tance in search of a place where they may conceal their nests. Many species of tropical sea birds resort each year to some rocky islet, situated perhaps in the heart of their range, where they may nest in safety. This is not migra- tion as we understand the word ; but, nevertheless, the object is the same as that which prompts a Plover to travel to the arctic regions ; moreover, the movement is just as regular. These sea birds pass their lives in the tropics, their presence or absence in any part of their range being largely dependent upon the supply of food. But, as in the case of the Warbler which migrates from South America to Labrador, they are annually affected by an impulse which urges them to hasten to a certain place. This impulse is periodic, and in a sense is com- mon to all birds. There is a regular nesting season in the tropics, just as there is a regular nesting season in the arctic regions. There is good reason, therefore, for the belief that the necessity of securing a home in which their young could be reared was, as it still is, the cause of migration. It must be remembered, however, that birds have been migrating for ages, and that the present conditions are the result of numerous and important climatic changes. Chief among these is doubtless the Glacial period. In- deed, Dr. Allen has stated, and the theory has been gen- erally accepted, that the migration of birds was the out- come of the Glacial period. Prior to those climatic changes which, beginning in the latter part of the Ter- tiary period, culminated in the ice age, a warm temperate or subtropical climate prevailed in the Arctic regions, and it was not necessary for birds to migrate. Driven southward by the formation of ice, many species doubtless became extinct. As the ice receded birds followed it northward, only to retreat southward each year at the 60 ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. return of winter. Tims the habit of going north in the spring and returning in the fall was eventually formed. As I have said, the existing conditions are the result of changes which have been active for ages. 'No species, therefore, has acquired its present summer range at one step, but by gradually adding new territory to its bi*eed- ing ground. For example, certain of our Eastern birds are evidently derived through Mexico, and in returning to their winter quarters in Central America, they travel through Texas and Mexico and are unknown in Florida and the West Indies. Others have come to us through Florida, and in returning to their winter quarters do not pass through either Texas or Mexico. This is best illus- trated by the Bobolink, an Eastern bird which, breeding from New Jersey northward to Nova Scotia, has spread westward until it has reached Utah and northern Mon- tana. But — and here is the interesting point — these birds of the far West do not follow their neighbors and migrate south w^ard through the Great Basin into Mexico, but, true to their inherited habit, retrace their steps, and leave the United States by the roundabout way of Florida, crossing thence to Cuba, Jamaica, and Yucatan, and win- tering south of the Amazon, The Bobolinks of Utah did not learn this route in one generation ; they inherited the experience of countless generations, slowly acquired as the species extended its range westward, and in return- ing across the continent they give us an excellent illustra- tion of the stability of routes of migration. They furnish, too, an instance of one of the most important factors in migration — that is, the certainty with which a bird returns to the region of its birth. This is further evidenced by certain sea birds which nest on isolated islets to which they regularly return each year. Of this wonderful " homing instinct," which plays so Plate XIX. Page 109. SHOET-EARED OWL. Length, 15-50 inches. Upper parts black, buff, and rusty ; under parts white and brownish black ; eyes yellow. ORIGIN OF MIGRATION. 61 vital a part in the migration of birds, I have no explana- tion to offer. We know, however, that it exists not only in birds but in many other animals. It is this instinct, aided by the " heredity of habit," which guides a bird to its nesting ground. The Carrier Pigeon is taught its lines of flight by gradually extending its journeys ; a species establishes its routes of migration by gradually extending its range. CHAPTER Y. THE VOICE OF BIRDS.* Aside from the pleasure to be derived from the calls and songs of birds, their notes are of interest to us as their meJium of expression. No one who has closely studied birds will doubt that they have a language, limited though its vocabulary may be. Song. — Song is a secondary sexual character, generally restricted to the male. "With it he woos his mate and gives voice to the joyousness of nesting time. In some instances vocal music may be replaced by instrumental, as in the case of the drumming wing-beat of the Grouse, or the bill-tattoo of the Woodpeckers, both of which are analogous to song. The season of song corresponds more or less closely with the mating season, though some species begin to sing long before their courting days are near. Others may sing to some extent throughout the year, but the real song period is in the spring. Many birds have a second song period immediately after the completion of their postl)reeding molt, but it usually lasts only for a few days, and is in no sense com- parable to the true season of song. This is heralded by the Song Sparrow, whose sweet chant, late in February, *See Witchell. The Evolution of Bird Sons: (Maemillan Co.). Bicknell. A Study of the Sindnn: of Our Birds: The Auk (New York city), vol. i. 1884. pp. 60-71, 12(j-140, 209-218, 322-332; vol. ii, 1885, pp. 144-154, 249-262. 62 PliATE XX. ^ Page 110. SCEEECH OWL. Length, 9-40 inches. Upper parts gray, or bright reddish brown, and black; under parts white, gray, or bright reddish brown, and black- eyes yellow. ' VOICE OF BIRDS. 63 is a most welcome promise of spring. Then follow the Eobins, Blackbirds, and other migrants, until, late in Maj, the great springtime chorus is at its height. The Bobolink is the first bird to desert the choir. We do not often hear him after July 5. Soon he is fol- lowed by the Yeery, and each day now shows some fresh vacancy in the ranks of the feathered singers, until by August 5 we have left only the "Wood Pewee, Indigo Bunting, and Ked-eyed Vireo — tireless songsters who fear neither midsummer nor midday heat. Call-Notes. — The call-notes of birds are even more worthy of our attention than are their songs. Song is the outburst of a special emotion ; call-notes form the language of every day. Many of us are familiar with birds' songs, but who knows their every call-note and who can tell us what each call means ? For they have a meaning that close observation often makes intelligible. Listen to the calls of the Robin and learn how unmis- takably he expresses suspicion, alarm, or extreme fear ; how he signals cheerfully to his companions or gives the word to take wing. Study the calls of the Crow or Blue Jay, and you will find that they have an ap^^arently ex- haustless vocabulary. It is supposed that birds, like men, do not inherit their language, but acquire it. Thus there are recorded instances of young birds who had been isolated from othei's of their kind, learning to sing whatever song they heard. On the other hand, it is said that a bird inherits its own notes, at least to some extent, and, while it may not sing the song of its species perfectly, its song will still be sufficiently characteristic to be recognizable. There are, however, very few satisfactory observations on this subject, and keepers of cage-birds have here an excellent opportunity for original investigation. CHAPTEE YL THE NESTING SEASON.* If you would really know birds, you must study thetn during nesting time. At this season they develop habits that you will be surprised to learn they possess. The humble owner of some insignificant call-note now fills the role of a skilled musician. The graceful, leisurely Marsh Hawk gives vent to his feelings in a series of aerial som- ersaults over the meadows ; the sedate, dignified AYood- cock tries to express his emotions by means of spiral evo- lutions which carry him far above his usual haunts; the Night-Hawk dives earthward with needless recklessness ; in fact, birds seem inspired by the joy of the season, and all the brightness of a May morning is reflected in their voices and actions. Mating over, there follow the marvels of nest-build- ing with its combined evidences of instinct and intelli- gence. In due time the young appear, and the bird, now a parent, abandons the gay habits of the suitor, and de- votes every waking moment to the care of its young. Thne of Nesting. — With most birds the nesting season is periodic and annual. "With migratory birds it coin- cides with the season of the year when their summer homes are habitable. But we might suppose that the * Read In Nesting Time, Little Brothers of the Air, and other works by Olive Thorne Miller. A-Birding on a Broncho, by Florence A. Merriara (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.). 64 PliATE XXI. BAKRED OWL. Page 111. Length, 20-00 inches. Upper parts blackish brown and white ; under parts white and blackish brown ; eyes black. MATING. 65 permanent residents of the tropics, where seasonal changes are less marked, could nest at any time. Nevertheless, the breeding season in the tropics is as well defined as it is in more northern regions, and occurs with the return of summer, or the season of rains. It is therefore at a time of the year when food is most abundant. There is an obvious necessity for this regularity. Old birds can wander over large areas in search of food, but the young of many species must be fed in the nest, and their food supply should be both exhaustless and con- venient of access. Among our birds, the Hawks and Owls, whose young are fed on animal food, are the first birds to nest, while those which feed their young on fruit or insects wait until later in the year. Mating. — Birds are ardent lovers. In their effort to win a bride the males display their charms of song and plumage to the utmost, and will even enter the lists to do battle for the possession of a mate. It is not possil)le to describe here the many pecul- iar customs of birds during the season of courtship. It may simply be said that every bird will then re- pay the closest observation. For the scientific-minded there is opportunity to secure evidence bearing upon the theory of Natural Selection ; for every one there is endless entertainment in the human traits which birds exhibit. The Nest. — The first step in nest-building is the selec- tion of a site. There is almost no suitable location, from a hole in the ground to branches in the tree-tops, in which birds may not place their nests. Protection seems to be the chief desideratum^ and this is generally secured through concealment. Most birds hide their nests. Many sea birds, however, lay their eggs on the shores or cliffs, with no attempt at concealment ; but, as a rule, 66 BIRDS' NESTS. birds that nest in tins manner resort to uninhabited islets and secure protection through isolation. Some birds nest alone, and jealously guard the vicin- ity of their home from the approach of other birds, generally of the same species. Others nest in colonies brought together by temperament or community of interests, and dwell on terms of the closest sociability. The material used by birds in building their nest'j. is as varied as the nature of the sites they select. The vegetable kingdom contributes much the largest share. Grasses, twigs, and rootlets are the standard materials ; but plant-down, plant-fibers, bark, leaves, lichens, clay, spiders' webs, hair, fur, and feathers are also used, while in some cases a gummy secretion of the salivary glands furnishes a kind of glue. Birds have been classified, according to the manner in which they employ these articles, as weavers, tailors, masons, molders, cai'penters, felters, etc. Sometimes both sexes assist in the construction of the nest, or one bird collects the material while the other adjusts it. Again, the female performs the task alone, aided only by the encouraging voice of the male. The time of construction varies from one to two weeks to as long as three months in the case of the South American Ovenbird, who in June begins to build the nest it will not occupy until October. The Fish Hawk evidently believes in the value of a stick in time, and often repairs its nest in the fall. Lack of space prohibits a discussion of the influences which assist in determining the character of birds' nests. They may be summarized as follows : First, necessity for jDrotection. Second, conditions imposed by locality. These affect both the site and material, as illustrated by Doves, who nest in trees in wooded countries and on the ground in PliATE XXII. Page 112. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. Length, 12-25 inches. Upper parts glossy olive-brown; outer tail- feathers black, tipped with white ; under parts white ; lower mandible yellow. BIRDS' NESTS. 67 treeless regions, and by birds who substitute strings, cotton, or rags for their usual nesting materials. Third., condition of the young at birth, whether feathered or naked. The young of what are termed '■ prsecocial " birds are hatched with a covering of downy feathers. Gulls, Ducks, Snipe, Chickens, Par- tridges, and Quails are familiar members of this group. Their young can run about soon after birth, and a well- formed nest is not needed. But the young of " altricial " birds are hatched pi-acticall}; naked and are reared in the nest, which is therefore not only a receptacle for the eggs during incubation, but a home. Thrushes, Sparrows, in fact all Perching Birds, Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, and many others belong in this group of altricial birds. Fourth, temperament, whether solitary or social. Hawks, fierce and gloomy, nest alone, while the cheery, happy Swallows nest in colonies. Fifth, structure of the bird. The tools — that is, the bills and feet — of some birds are more serviceable than those of others. We should not expect a Dove to build the woven nest of an Oriole, nor a Hunmiingbird to fashion a Woodpecker's dwelling. Sixth, feeding habit. In some few cases feeding habit may determine the character of the nest. F3r instance. Woodpeckers, in securing their food from trees, often make large excavations, which it is quite natural they should have learned to use as nests. Seventh, inherited habit, or instinct. There seems no reason to doubt that birds inherit their knowledge of nest- building, for in several cases where birds have been taken from the nest and reared alone, they have afterward constructed a nest resembling that of their species. It would therefore appear that inherited habit is a fact. Through it we may explain not only the similarity in the nests of the sarne species, but also certain habits for 6 68 BIRDS' EGGS. which we can give, no satisfactory reason. Thus the Crested Flycatcher's strange custom of using a cast snake-skin in its nesting materials probably originateJ with the birds in the tropics, where it is still followed by nearly related species of Crested Flycatchers. With them there may be a reason for this habit, but with our bird, hving as it does under entirely different conditions, it is doubtless only an inheritance, surviving even when the necessity for it has ceased to exist. Eighth^ change of habit. Some birds are influenced by changes in their surroundings, and alter their nesting habits when it proves to their advantage to do so. Chimney Swifts, who have exchanged hollow trees, in which they were exposed to their natural enemies, for the comparative safety of chimneys, are good examples. But a far better one is given by that prodigy in feathers, the House Sparrow. Is there any available site in which this thoroughly up-to-date bird will not place its nest? It has taken possession of even the hollow spaces about certain kinds of electric lamps, and has been observed repairing its nest at night by their light ! The Eggs. — Usually, httle time is lost between the completion of the nesi and the laying of the eggs. The number of eggs composing what oologists term a full set or clutch ranges from one to as many as twenty. At the time of laying, the ovary contains a large number of partly formed eggs, of which, normally, only the required number will become fully developed. But if the nest be robbed, the stolen egg will frequently be replaced. The lono;-continued laving of our domestic fowls is an instance of this unnatural stimulation of the ovary. Doubtless the most remarkable recorded case of egg-laying by a wild bird is that of a High-hole or Flicker, who, on being regu- larly robbed, laid seventy-one eggs in seventy-three days ! The eggshell is composed largely of carbonate of lime. Plate XXIII. Page 114. BELTED KINGFISHER. Length, 13-00 inches. Male, upper parts bluish gray ; under parts white, a bluish-gray breast-band and sides. Female, similar, but breast and sides with reddish brown. BIRDS' EGGS. 69 which is deposited in layers. The final layer varies greatly in appearance, and may be a rough, chalky deposit, as in Cormorants and others, or thin and highly polished, as in Woodpeckers. The colors of eggs are due to pigments, resembling bile pigments, deposited by ducts while the egg is in the oviduct. One or more of the layers of shell may be pig- mented, and variations in the tints of the same pigment may be caused by an added layer of carbonate of lime, producing the so-called " clouded " or " shell markings." While the eggs of the same species more or less closely resemble one another, there is often so great a range of variation in color that, unless seen with the Fig. 24.— Egg of (a) Spotted Sandpiper. (J) Catbird, to show difference in size of eggs of prfficocial and alt'rieiul birds of same size. (Natural size.) parent, it is frequently impossible to identify eggs with certainty. The eggs of prcecocial birds, whose young are born with a covering of down and can run or swim at birth, are, as a rule, proportionately larger than the eggs of altricial birds, whose young are born in a much less advanced condition. This is illustrated by the accom- panying figure of the eggs of the Spotted Sandpiper and the Catbird. The period of incubation is apparently closely depend- ent upon the size of the egg, and varies from twelve days in some Passerine Birds to forty odd in the Ostrich and, it is said, some fifty in the Emu. YO YOUNG BIRDS. Among some species both sexes share equally the task of incubation. In others, the female is longer on the nest, the male taking her place during a short period each day while she is feeding. Less frequently the female is not at all assisted by her mate, and in some cases — Os- triches, Emus, Phalaropes, and a few others — the male alone incubates. The Young. — The care of the young and their men- tal and physical development afford us uuequaled oppor- tunities for the study of bird character. We may now become acquainted not only with the species but with individual birds, and at a tune when the greatest demands are made upon their intelligence. We may see the seed-eaters gathering insects and per- haps beating them into a pulp before giving them to their nestlings : or we may learn how the Doves, High-holes, and Hummingbirds pump softened food from their crops down the throats of their offspring. The activity of the parents at this season is amazing. Think of the day's work before a pair of Chickadees with a family of six or eight fledglings clamoring for food from daylight to dark ! But the young birds themselves furnish far more in- teresting and valuable subjects for study. None of the higher animals can be reared so easily without the aid of a parent. We therefore can not only study their growth of body and mind when in the nest and attended by their parents, but we can isolate the young of prsecocial birds, such as Chickens, from other birds and study their mental development where they have no opportunity to learn by imitation. In this way students of instinct and heredity have obtained most valuable results.* * Read Lloyd Morgan's Habit and Instinct (Edward Arnold, New York city). PliATE XXIV. DOWNY WOODPECKER. Page 115. Length, 6 '75 inches. Male, upper parts black and white, nape scarlet ; under parts white. Female, similar, but no scarlet on nape. CHAPTER YII. HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS. The preceding outline of the events which raay enter into a bird's life-history has, I trust, given some idea of the possibilities attending the study of birds in the field. We come now to the practical question of identification. How are we to find birds, and, having found them, how are we to learn their names ? From April to August there is probably not a min- ute of the day when in a favorable locality one can not see or hear birds ; and there is not a day in the year when at least some birds can not be found. In the be- ginning, therefore, the question of finding them is simply a matter of looking and listening. Later will come the delightful hunts for certain rarer species whose acquaint- ance we may make only through a knowledge of their haunts and habits. Having found your bird, there is one thing absolutely necessary to its identification : you must see it definitely. Do not describe a bird to an ornithologist as " brown, with white spots on its wings," and then expect him to tell you what it is. Would you think of trying to iden- tify flowers of which you caught only a glimpse from a car window in passing ? You did not see them definitely, and at best you can only carry their image in your mind until you have opportunity to see them in detail. So it is with birds. Do not be discouraged if the books fail to show you the brown bird with white spots U 72 HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS. on its wings. Probably it exists only tlirough your hasty observation. Arm yourself witli a field- or opera-glass, therefore, without which you will be badly handicapped, and look your bird over with enough care to get a general idea of its size, form — particularly the form of the bill — color, and markings. Then — and I can not emphasize this too strongly — put what you have seen into your note-book at once. For, as I -have elsewhere said, "not only do our memories sometimes decei\'e us, but we really see nothing Anth exactness until we attempt to de- scribe it." It is true that all the birds "svill not pose before your glasses long enough for you to examine them at your leisure, but many of them will, and in following the others you will have all the excitement of the chase. Who knows what rare species the stranger may prove to be! From your description, and what added notes on voice and actions you may obtain, the field key and illustra- tions on the succeeding pages should make identification a simple matter.* You should also take into considera- tion the season of the year when a bird is present, and not call a summer bird by a winter bird's name. The dates of migration given in the following pages will be of assistance here. They refer to the vicinity of New York city, where, in the spring, birds arrive about a week later * The piihlishers' liberality has resulted in securing bird portraits of unusual excellence. Mr. Seton Thompson is an ornithologist as well as an artist; his subjects are personal friends. Ee has spared no effort to make these pictures characteristic life sketches, and I ven- ture to claim that, as a whole, they excel in truth and beauty any bird-drawings ever published in this country. A BIRD'S BIOGRAPHY. 73 than in central Illinois or at Wasliington, D. C, and a week earlier than at Boston. In the fall these conditions are reversed. A BlrcVs Biograpliy. — As a further guide to your observation a list of the principal details which enter into a bird's hfe -history is appended : 1. Description (of size, form, color, and markings). 3. Daunts (up'and. lowland, lakes, rivers, woods, fields, etc.). 3. Movements (slow or active, bops, walks, creeps, swims, tail wagged, etc.). 4. Appearance (alert, pensive, crest erect, tail drooped, etc.). 5. Disposition (social, solitary, wary, unsuspicious, etc.). 6. Flight (slow, rapid, direct, undulating, soaring, sailing, flapping, etc.). 7. Song (pleasing, unattractive, continuous, short, loud, low, sung from the ground, from a perch, in the air, etc. ; season of song). 8. Call-notes (of surprise, alarm, protest, warning, signaling, etc.). 9. Season (spring, fall, summer, winter, with times of ar- rival and departure, and variations in num- bers). 10. Food (berries, insects, seeds, etc. ; how secured). 11. Mating (habits during courtship). 12. Nesting (choice of site, material, construction, eggs, incu- bation). 13. The Young (food and care of, time in the nest, notes, actions flight). From observations of this kind, consisting of a simple statement of facts, you may philosophize according to your nature on the relation between habit and structure, colors and haunts, anl intehigont adaptation to new con- ditions. Beware, however, lest you be led to draw faulty conclusions from insufficient observation. Do not make the individual stand for its speeies, or the species for its family, and remember that one is warranted in theorizing only when the facts in the case are facts indeed. TOPOGHAPHY OF A BIKD. CHAPTER YIII. A FIELD KEY TO OUR COMMON LAND BIRDS. "When you have seen a bird with sufficient definite- ness to describe its color, form, and actions, reference to the following key will often prove a short cut to its identity. This key is based only on adult males, who, because of their song, often brighter colors, and greater activity, are far more frequently observed than the females. But, knowing the male, you will rarely, during the nesting season, be at loss to recognize his mate. In order to simplify the key, the water birds, Hawks, and Owls are omitted, in the belief that they will be more readily identified by reference to the plates. The use of the key may be illustrated by the follow- ing example : Let us imagine that you see a Chipping Sparrow (Plate JLLY) feeding about your doorstep. You note his size, chestnut cap bordered by white, black bill, brownish, streaked back, and grayish white, un- marked under parts. Turning now to the key, you Avill see that by exclusion the bird belongs in " Section V " of the " Third Group," and that it should be placed in subsection " 1 " of this section, which includes birds hav- ing the." under parts white or whitish, all one color, with- out streaks or spots." You have now two subdivisions to choose from — "A. Back without streaks or spots," and " B. Back brownish, streaked." Your bird falls under " B," where again you have two subdivisions, " a. Crown rufous or chestnut, without streaks," and " h. Crown not rufous or chestnut." Your bird should be referred to " a," where you will at once find it described under " a} " as the Chipping Sparrow. 75 76 FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. It should be borne in mind that living birds do not look as long as they really are. The measurement of "length" is taken with the bird's neck and tail out- stretched in a straight line. In life the tail may be raised or drooped, while the neck is drawn in or curved, making the bird look shorter than measurement shows it to be. Remember that the Robin measures ten inches, the House Sparrow six and one-fourth inches, and the Ruby-throated Humming-bird three and three-fourths inches in length, and you will have a basis for comparison. FIRST GROUP. BIRDS THAT FEED OX THE WING FOR LONG INTERVALS OF TIME WITHOUT PERCHING. (Swallows, Swift, Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will) I. Size large, length over 9-00 inches ; the spread wings over IS'OO inches in extent ; generally seen only late in the afternoon or at dusk. 1. A bird of the air, flying high, often over housetops in cities: a conspicu- ous white spot in each wing; note, a loud, nasal peent; sometimes dives earthward with a booming so\xnd ; May to Oct. . Nighthawk, page 118. 2. Haunts, near the ground, not often observed while feeding; call, given from a rock, stump, or similar perch, whip-poor-ioill, vigorously repeated ; Apl. 25 to Oct Whip-poor-will, pacfe 119. II. Size smaller, length under 9*00 inches ; the spread wings less than IS'OO inches in extent ; may be seen at any time of the day. 1. Plumage entirely black. a. Length 5-50 inches; plumage sooty black; usually nests in chimneys; Apl. 25 to Oct Chimney Swift, page 119. b. Length 8-00 inches; glo.ssy, bluish black; nests in gourds or houses erected for its use; Apl. 25 to Sept. . . . Purple Martin, page 161. 2. Plumage not entirely black; Apl. to Oct. . Swallows, pages 159, 160. SECOND GROUP. CLIMBING AND CREEPING BIRDS. {Nuthatches, Creepers, Woodpeckers.) I. Birds without stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that climb either up or down. 1. Length 6-00 inches; back gray, cap black, cheeks and under parts white ; note, a nasal yank, yank; a permanent resident. White-bbeasted Nuthatch, page 180. FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. 77 2. Length 4-50 inches; buck gfray, cap black, a blackish streak through the face ; under parts reddish brown; note, high and thin, like the tone of a penny trumpet; Sept. to Apl. Red-breasted Nuthatch, page 181. S. Length 5'25 inches ; upper parts streaked black and white ; note, a thin wiry see -see- see-see ; Apl. 25 to Oct. Black and white Warbler, page 167. II. Birds with stiffly pointed tail-feathers, that always climb upward. 1. Length 5'65 inches; plumage dull brown and black; size small, bill slender; an inconspicuous bird who winds his way up the trunks search- ing for insects' eggs, etc. ; note, fine and squeaky ; Sept. 25 to Apl. Bkown Creeper, page 178. 2. Plumage with more or less white, size larger, bill stouter, chisel-like, often used in hammering. A. Length 9-"5 inches ; head red, back black ; flight showing a large ■white patch in the wing . . . Ked-heaued VVoodpeckfr, page 116. B. Length 12-00 inches; crown gray; a red band on the nape; flight showin'T a white patch on the lower back and yellow in the wings ; often flushed from the ground ; note, ive-y«?' . . Flicker, page 116. C. Length 6-75 inches ; crown black ; back and wings black and white ; note, a sharp /)««){; Downy Woodpecker, page 115. THIRD GROUP. BIRDS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRECEDING GROUPS. {Blackbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Vireos, Warblers, Thrushes, etc.) Section I. With yellow or orarge in the plumage. Section H. With red in the plumage. Section III. With blue in the plumage. Section IV. Plumage conspicuously black, or black and white. Section V. Birds not included in the preceding sections. I. With yellow or orange in the plumage. 1. Thruat yellow. A. Throat and breast pure yellow, without streaks or spots. a. Length 6"10 inches; cap, wings, and tail black ; back yellow; song canarylike, sometimes utterod on the wing ; flight undulating, fre- quently accompanied by the notes chie-o-ree, per-cldc-o-ree ; a per- manent resident Am. GoLnriNCH, page 148. b. Length 5-lt.i inches; lower belly and wing-bars white; back oli%'e- green ; frequents the upper branches, generally in woodland ; actions deliberate ; song loud and musical, uttered slowly, often with pauses : " See me ? I'm here ; where are you ? " ; May to Sept. Yellow-throated Vireo, page 165. c. Length 5-25 inches ; cheeks and forehead black, bordered by ashy ; upper parts olive-green ; no wing-bars; haunts thickets and under- growth: movements nervous and active; call-note pit or chack ; song, a vigorous, rapid witch-e-wi>e-o, witch-e-w'fe-o ; May to Oct. Maryland Yellow-throat, page 171. 78 FIELD KEY TO COMMOX BIRDS. d. Length T'io inches ; upper parts olive-green ; no wing-bars ; a white line before the eye ; haunts thickets and undergrowth ; song, a strik- ing mixture of whistles, chucks, and caws, sometimes uttered on the wing; May to Sept Yellow-breasted Chat, page 172. B. Under parts streaked with reddish brown ; length 5-00 inches ; gen- eral appearance of a yellow bird ; liaunts shrubbery of lawns, orchards, second growths, and particularly willows near water; song, rather loud, we?, chm-ehee-chee, cKer-icee, or chee-cJiee-cMe-chee, loay-o ; May to Sept. Yellow Warblek, page 168. C. Breast yellow, with a conspicuous black crescent; length 10'75 inches; liaunts lields and meadows, largely terrestrial ; flight quail-like, outer tail-feathers white, showing when on the wing ; song, a loud, musical whistle ; a permanent resident ilEAOowLARK, page 136. 2. Throat white. A. With yellow on the sides. . Length 6-25 inches; » white line over the eye bordered by a nar- row black one ; cap gray : iris red : song, arambling recitative : " You see it — you know it — do you hear me 1 " etc. ; May to Oct. Eed-eyed Vibeo, page 104. FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. 81 a*. Length 5'75 inches; a white line over the eye not bordered by black ; prefers the upper branches of rows of ehiis and other shade trees ; song, a rich, unbroken warble with an alto undertone ; May to Sept Wakbling Vikeo, page 165. a'. Length 4-00 inches; no white line over the eye; eye-ring and wing-bars white; a tiny, unsuspicious bird; tlits about the outer brandies of trees and slirubs; wings twitched nervously; note, cack-^ song, a remarkably loud, musical whistle; Sept. and Oct.; Apl. and May Ruby-crowned Kinglet, page 182. b. Back olive-green or dusky olive; flycatchers who capture their prey on the wing by darting for it, and while perching are quiet and erect. 5». Length 7'00 inches; frequently found nesting under bridges or about buildings; crown blackish; tail wagged nervously; note.s, pee, pee, and peivit-pk(xbe\ Mch. to Oct. . . . Phcebe, page 124. S». Length 6-50 inches; haunts wooded growths; note, a plaintive pee-a-wee; Mny to Sept Wood Pe wee, page 126. bK Length 5-40 inches; haunts orchards, lawns, and open woodlands; note, chebec, ckebec Least Flycatcher, page 125. e. Back gray or bluish gray. c». Length 6-50 inches ; a gray, crested bird ; forehead black ; no white in the tail; note, a whistled peto,peto, or hoarse de-de-de-de\ resi- dent from New York city southward . . Tufted Tit, page 180. c*. Length 8-50 inches; a white band at the end of the tail; a con- cealed orange-red crest; a bird of the air, catching its insect food on the wing, and occasionally sallying forth from its exposed perch in pursuit of a passing Crow; note, an unmusical, steely chatter; May to Sept Kingbird, page 122. d. Back brown. d^. Length 5-00 inches; a nervous, restless, excitable bird; tail often carried erect; song sweet, rapid and rippling, delivered with aban- don; Apl. 25 to Oct House Wren, page 175. . Length 525 inches; bill black; a whitish line over the eye; a familiar bird of lawns and door-yards ; song, a monotonous chippy- cMppy-chippy: Apl. to Nov. . . Chipping Sparrow, page 142. a*. Length 5'70 inches; bill reddish brown, back rufous or rufous- brown; wing-bars and eye-ring whitish; haunts dry, bushy fields and pastures; song, a musical, plaintive cher-ivee, cher-wee, cher- wee, cheeo, dte-dee-dee-dee; Apl. to Nov. Field Sparrow, page 140. a*. Length 5-90 inches; forehead black; crown and wings chestnut- rufous ; flanks pale grayish brown ; haunts marshes ; song, a rapidly repeated tceet-weet-weet, etc. ; Mch. to Nov. Swamp Sparrow, page 139, 82 FIELD KEY TO COMMON BIRDS. b. Crown not rufous or chestnut, 5». Len;eantj. Every voyager, be he naturahst or not, admires their grace of form and motion. They seem born of the waves, and as much a part of the ocean as the foamy whitecaps themselves. The beautiful Terns or Sea Swallows are even more graceful than the Gulls. They are slenderer birds, lighter Common Tern ^^^^ more active on the wing, with long, sterna Mr undo. forked tails and pointed bills. They Plate X. arrive from the South in May and re- main until September, nesting in colonies. Terns are littoral rather than pelagic, seldom being found far from the shore. Like the Gulls, they seem so in harmony with their surroundings that no coast view is perfect from which the Terns are missing. They add the requisite touch of life, and make still more impressive the thunder of the surf dashing over rocks or curling in long, combing waves on the beach. During recent years these birds have been killed in such numbers for millinery purposes that on the middle Atlantic coast the only survivors exist on three or four uninhabited islets. If one protests against the merciless destruction of these exquisite creatures the excuse is, " AY ell, what good are they ? " — an answer betraying such an utter lack of appreciation of beauty that explanation seems hopeler-s. But can we not learn, before it is toe late, that these birds are even more deserving of protec* tion than the works of art we guard so zealously ? 88 PETRELS. TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS. (ORDER TUBINARES.) Petrels. (Family Procellariid^.) Petrels, or "Mother Carey's Chickens," are true chil- dren of the sea. Their home is the ocean, and they come to land only when nesting. To the etre s, landsman, therefore, they are strangers, but to most people who have been to sea they are known as the little, white-rumped swallow- like birds who on tireless wing follow in the wake of the ship day after day, patiently waiting for the food which experience tells them will be thrown overboard. Two species of Petrels are found off our coasts, "Wil- son's and Leach's. The former has a yellow area in the webs of the toes and a square tail, while Leach's Petrel has the webs of the toes wholly black and a slightly forked tail. These differences, however, would not be appre- ciable at a distance. "Wilson's Petrel nests in certain islands of the southern hemisphere in February, and later migrates northward, reaching our latitude in May and spending the summer, or what in fact is its winter, in the ISorth Atlantic. It is, therefore, probably the Petrel most frequently seen by transatlantic voyagers at this season. Leach's Petrel nests on our coasts from Maine north- ward, arriving from the South in May. The nest is made in a burrow in the ground or beneath a rock, and a single white egg is laid. Generally one of the birds spends the day on the nest while its mate is at sea, but at night the incubating bird leaves the nest, its place being taken probably by the one who has been feeding during the day. PliATE XXVII. Pagis 118 118 NIGHTHAWK. ' Length, 10-00 inches. Male, above, black, white, and rusty ; below, black and white ; throat, bands in wing, and tail white. Fernale, simi- lar, but throat rusty ; no tail-band. WHIP-POOR-WILL. Length, 9-75 inches. Male, feody black, rusty, and buff ; primaries spotted with rusty ; tips of outer taii-feathers and breast-band white. Female, similar, but breast-band and end of tail rusty. DUCKS. 89 LAMELLIROSTRAL SWIMMERS. (ORDER ANSERES.) Ducks, Geese, and Swans. (Family Anatid^.) This family contains some two hundred species, and is represented in all parts of the world. It includes five subfamilies : the Mergansers {Merginm), or Fish-eating Ducks; the Pond or River Ducks {Atiatince), the Bay or Sea Ducks {Faligulince) ; the Geese {Aiiserinob) ; and the Swans {Cijgnince). Ducks, like all hunted birds, are exceedingly wild, and comparatively few species will come within reach of the student's opera-glass. The group may therefore be reviewed briefly. The Mergansers or Shelldrakes, num- bering three species, have narrow, serrate bills which enable them to hold the fish they pursue and catch under water (see Fig. IS). The River Ducks have little or no lobe or flap on the hind toe. In this group belong our Mallard, Widgeon, Pint'.iil, Blue-winged and Green-winged „, , ,, ' Teals, Black Duck, Wood Duck, and others. All but the last two nest in the North and are found in our latitude only during their spring and fall migrations, or, if the weather be mild, in the winter. The Black Duck and Wood Duck nest rarely in the Middle States. All these birds feed in shallow water by " dabbling " or " tipping," terms which will be readily understood by any one who has watched domesticated Ducks feeding. The Bay and Sea Ducks, on the contrary, are divers, and may descend to the bottom in water more than one hundred and fifty feet in depth. They are to be dis- tinguished from the River Ducks by the pre:ence of a flap or lobe on the hind toe. The commoner members of 90 DUCKS AND GEESE. this subfamily are the Redhead, Canvasback, Scaup oi Broadbill, Whistler, Bufflehead, Old Squaw, Eider, three species of Scoters or " Coots " and Ruddy Duck. These are all northern-breeding birds who visit the waters of our bays and coasts during their migrations or in the winter. The bill in both River and Bay Ducks has a series ol mitters on either side which serve as strainers. The birds secure a large part of their food — of small mollusks, crustaceans, and seeds of aquatic plants — from the bot- tom, taking in with it a quantity of mud, which they get rid of by closing the bill and forcing it out through the strainers, the food being retained. Geese are more terrestrial than Ducks, and, though they feed under water by tipping, often visit the land to procure grass, corn, or cereals, which they readily nip off. The white-faced, black-necked Canada Goose is our only common species. Its long overland journeys, while migrating, render it familiar to many who have seen it only in the air. It migrates northward in March and April and returns in October and November, breeding from the Northern States northward and wintering from New Jersey southward. The two Swans, Whistling and Trumpeter, found in North America, are generally rare on the Atlantic coast. HEBONS, STORKS, IBISES, ETC. (ORDER HERODIONES.) Herons and Bitterns. (Family Ardeid^.) Of the seventy-five known members of this family fourteen inhabit eastern North America. Most of these are Southern in distribution, only six or seven species regularly visiting the Northern States. Their large size PliATE XXVIII. Page 119. CHIMNEY SWIFT. Length, 540 inches. Sooty black, throat grayish. GREAT BLUE HERON. 91 renders Herons conspicuous, and, though worthless as food, few so-called sportsmen can resist the temptation of shooting at them when opportunity offers. Several of the Southern species, notably the Snowy Heron and White Egret, are adorned during the nesting season with the beautiful " aigrette " plumes which are apparently so necessary a part of woman's headgear that they will go out of fashion only when the birds go out of existence. One can not blame the plume hunters, who are generally poor men, for killing birds whose plumes are worth more than their weight in gold — the blame lies in another quarter. But I have no words with which to express my condemnation of the man who kills one of these birds wantonly. The presence of a stately Great Blue Heron or " Crane " adds an element to the landscape which no Great Blue Heron, ^^^'^ ^f man can equal. Its grace of Ardea herodias. form and uiotiou, cmphasizcd by its Plate VI. large size, is a constant delight to the eye ; it is a symbol of the wild hi Nature ; one never tires of watching it. What punishment, then, is severe enough for the man who robs his fellows of so pure a source of enjoyment ? A rifle ball turns this noble creature into a useless mass of flesh and feathers ; the loss is irreparable. Still, we have no law to prevent it. Herons are said to devour large nnmbers of small fish. But is not the laborer worthy of his hire ? Are the fish more valuable than this, one of the grandest of birds ? The Great Blue Heron breeds throughout North America, but there are now only a few localities in the northeastern States where it may be found nesting. We usually see it, therefore, as a migrant in April and May, and from August to November. The Little Green Heron is the smallest, as the Great Blue Heron is the largest, of our Herons. Its small 92 HERONS. size, preference for wooded regions instead of marshes, and liabit of nesting alone, not in flocks, like most Her- little Green Heron, ^^s, accounts for^ its being relatively Ardea vn-esce/is. common. It arrives from the South Plate VI. about April 20, and nests early in May. The nest, as is usual in this family, is a rude platform of sticks and is placed in a bush or the lower branch of a tree, often overhanging the water. The eggs number from three to six, and in color are pale green- ish blue. The young, although born with a covering of hairlike feathers, are quite helpless and are reared in the nest. Adults have the crown and back dark, glossy green, the neck reddish brown. The notes of this little Heron are a clear whistle and a harsh squawk, uttered when it is frightened. It then seeks refuge by ahghting in a distant bush or tree, and with upstretched neck and twitching tail watches the inti'iider. The J^ight Heron, or Squawk, doubtless owes its escape from the fate of most Herons to its nocturnal habits. These birds arrive from the Black-crowned c^ .^ • \ •^ i • j.'i r\ Ni ht Heron ^outli m April and remain until (Jc- ^'ycticoraJ^ nyctkorax toLcr. They ncst in large colonies, a noivius. rookery not far from l^ew York city Plate \ I. "being inhabited by at least one thousand pairs. It is in a low, wooded tract, and the nests are built in the trees at an average height of thirty feet. The eggs number four to six, and in color are pale bluish green. At night, while feeding, these Herons are doubtless distributed over a ^^ade area. When flying, they often utter a loud sqrtawh, the origin of one of their common names. It is a surprising sound when heard near by at night, and has doubtless aroused the curiosity of many persons who live near a line of flight followed by these birds in going to and from their nests. '^> ■//,''' PliATE XXIX. Page 120. RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. Length, 3 -75 inches. Adull male, upper parts metallic green; throat metallic ruby-red ; belly grayish ; sides greenish. AduU female and young, similar, but throat white. AMERICAN BITTERN. 93 The Bittern, or Stake Driver, is a summer resident of our larger marshes, arriving early in April and remaining American Bittern, ""^i^ October. Though by no means Botaurus lentujinosus. common, its notos are so loud and re- Plate V II. markable that even a single calling bird is more likely to attract attention than many smaller abundant species. Under favorable circumstances these notes may be heard for at least three fourths of a mile. They are of two kinds. One is described as the " pump- ing" call, and is generally written ptwip-er-lunk, pump- er-lunk, pmnp-er-hmk, while the other is deceptively like the sound produced by driving a stake in the mud. Mr. Bradford Torrey, one of the few ornithologists who has observed the bird while it was uttering these singular cries, tells us (The Auk, vi, 1889, p. 1) that they are attended by violent, convulsive movements of the head and neck, which suggest the contortions of a seasick person, but that the bird's bill is neither immersed in water nor plunged in the mud, as has been popularly supposed. CRANES, RAILS, ETC. (ORDER PALUDICOL.ffi.) Rails and Coots. (Family Rallid^.) Rails are marsh-inhabiting birds, more often heard than seen. They are very reluctant to take wing, and when pursued seek safety by running or hiding rather than by flying. When flushed, they go but a short dis- tance, and Avith dangling legs soon drop back into the grasses. Of the one hundred and eighty members of this family, fourteen inhabit North America and eight visit the northeastern United States. Only three or four of these, however, are abundant, the most nmuerous and 04: KAILS AND COOT. generally distributed species being our Sora or Carolina Rail, so well known to sportsmen. Tliis bird passes ggj.g^ us in the spi-ing in April and nests from Porzana Carolina. Massacliusetts northward. It returns Plate VII. -j^ August and lingers in our wild-rice marshes until October. During the nesting season it lias two calls — a whistled, ker-ime^ and a high, rolling whinny. In the fall it utters a huk or 'peep when dis- turbed. There is no sexual difference in color in this species, but birds of the year lack the black about the base of the bill and on the throat, and have the breast washed with cinnamon. Our other species of Rail are the King, Yellow, and Little Black Rail, all of which are rare ; the Virginia Rail, Clapper Bail which is more common, and the Clap- Rniius crepitans. per Rail or Marsh Hen, an abundant Plate \ III. species in some of the salt marshes alono- our coasts from Long Island southward. It is a noisy bird with a peculiar cacklmg call which it utters in a way that suggests the sound produced by some auto- matic toys. Its nest is made of dried grasses, the surrounding marsh grass being slightly arched over it. Eight to twelve buffy, speckled eggs are laid, a number which, in connection with the abundance of the bird, has led to the j)ersistent robbing of its nests by men who sell the eggs for food. As a result of this practice the birds have greatly decreased in numbers during recent years. The Coot, Mud-hen, or Crow-duck differs from the Rails in having lobed toes (see Fig. 12) and in being American Coot, '^^o^'^ aquatic. In fact, it is more like Faiica amerieaivt. a Duck in liabits than like a Rail, but Plate VIII. ^^g pointed, white-tipped bill will pre- vent its being mistaken for one. . Plate XXX. Page 122. KINGBIED. Length, 8*50 inches. Upper parts grayish black; tip of tail and under parts white ; an orange-red crown-patch. You»g, similar, but without orange-red in crown. WOODCOCK. 95 It rarely breeds on the Atlantic coast, but is some- times common on our marsh-bordered streams in the fall. SHORE BIRDS. (ORDER LIMICOL^.) Snipes and Sandpipers. (Family Scolopacidje.) The successful pursuit of shore birds on our coasts requires a special knowledge of their notes and habits. Thirty of the one hundred known species \dsit us annu- ally, but of this number only two or three nest, most of the others migrating in May to their breeding grounds in the far J^ortli. The return migration takes place during July, August, and Septeml^er, but with some exceptions these birds are seen only by those who hunt them sys- tematically with decoys. Only these exceptions and our summer resident species will be mentioned here. Commonest among the latter is the Woodcock, a bird so unlike other „,.,,, .' . Snipe in his choice of haunts that he seems quite out of place in this family. Xor is he, strictly speaking, a summer resident, for there are only three months in the year when the Woodcock is not with us. He comes in March as soon as the frost- bound earth will permit him to probe for his diet of worms, and he remains until some December freeze drives him southward. Low, wet woods, where skunk cabbage and hellebore thrive, or bush-grown, springy runs, are the Woodcock's early haunts. In August, while molting, he often visits cornfields in the bottom lands, and in the fall wooded hillsides are his resorts. But, wherever he is, the Wood- cock leaves his mark in the form of " borings " — little holes which dot the earth in clusters, and show where the bird 96 SPOTTED SANDPIPER. has probed for earthworms with his long, sensitive bill, the upper mmdible of which, as Mr. Gordon Trumbull has discovered, the bird can use as a finger. The Woodcock's nest is made of dried leaves, and the four large, peai^shaped eggs are buff, spotted with shades of reddish brown. The young are born covered with rich chestnut and buif down, and can run as soon as drj. As a songster the Woodcock is unique among our summer birds. Ordinarily sedate and dignified, even pompous in his demeanor, in the spring he falls a victim to the passion which is accountable for so many strange customs in the bird world. If some April evening you visit the Woodcock's haunts at sunset, you may hear a loud, nasal note repeated at short mtervah—jjee fit, peent. It resembles the call of a Nighthawk, but is the Woodcock sounding the first notes of his lo-ve song. He is on the ground, and as you listen, the call ceases and the bird springs from the ground to mount skyward on whistling wings. He may rise three hundred feet, then, after a second's pause, one hears a twittering whistle and the bird shoots down steep inclines earthward. Unless disturbed, he will probably return to near the spot from which he started and at once resume his peenting. This, with the twittering note, is vocal ; the whistling sound, heard as the bird rises, is produced by the rapid passage of air through its stif- fened primaries. Our only other common summer resident Snipe is the Spotted Sandpiper. It frequents the shores of lakes, Spotted Sandpiper, P^^^^^, and rivers, and is also found Actitis mnciiiaria. ucar the sea, but wherever seen may be Plate XL known by its singular tipping, teter- ing motion, which has given it the names of Tip-up and Teter Snipe. It is also called Peet-weet, from its sharp Plate XXXI. CRESTED FLYCATCHER. Paob 123. Length, 9-00 inches. Upper parts browisb olive-green; inner vane of tail-feathers rusty ; breast gray ; belly pale yellow. WILSON'S SNIPE. 97 cfJl, rapidly repeated as it flies over the water. After gaining headway it sails for some distance, when its wide- stretched wings show a white bar or band. The Spotted Sandpiper arrives from the South late in April and remains until October. It nests in the lat- ter half of May, laying four pear-shaped eggs, in color white or buff, thickly spotted and speckled with choco- late, chiefly at the larger end. The young, like those of all Snipe, are born with a covering of downy feathers, and can run as soon as dry. The egg is, therefore, large in proportion to the size of the bird, and measures 1'25 by •95 inches. (See Fig. 24:a.) Unlike the two preceding birds, AVilson's or the English Snipe is not a summer resident in the Middle Wilson's Snipe States, but as .a rule nests from north- Gaiiiiiago deiimta. em New England northward, though Plate IX. there are records of its breedinij as far south as Connecticut and Pennsylvania. It migrates northward in March and April, and the return journey occurs during September and October. It is not a true shore bird, but frequents fresh-water marshes and mead- ows, and in rainy April weather, when the lowlands be- come more or less flooded, it may be found in places where few persons would think of looking for Snipe. Like the Woodcock, Wilson's Snipe probes the mud for food,' and when on the ground among the grasses its colors and pattern of coloration so closely resemble its surroundings that it is almost invisible. When flushed, it utters a startled scalp ^ and darts quickly into the air, flying at first in so erratic a manner that it has become famous among sportsmen as a diSi- cult mark. Like the Nighthawk, Wilson's Snipe sometimes dives earthward from high in the air, making as he falls a sound which Minot compares to that produced by throw- 98 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER. ing a nail held crosswise in the hand, though it is louder and more full. This performance is generally restricted to late evening and early morning during the spring, but is occasionally practiced in the fall. Most of our transient visitant Snipe are true shore birds. Many of them are classed as game birds, and have Semipalmatcd ^^^^ become SO uncommon that, as Sandpiper, before remarked, it requires a special Ereunetespusiiius. knowledge of tlicir ways in order to find theni. But there are some species too small to be worthy the sportsman's attention, and they are often numerous on our beaches. They are generally known as Peeps or Ox-eyes, but in books are termed Semipalmated Sandpipers — active little fellows, with black, gray and rusty backs and white under parts, who run along the shore, feeding on the small forms of life cast up by the waves. They are sociable birds, and even when feeding the members of a flock keep together, while when flying they move almost as one bird. These Sandpipers visit us in May, when journeying to their summer homes within the Arctic Circle, and return in July, to linger on our shores until October. Their call-note is a cheery, peeping twitter, which probably suggested one of their common names. Plovers. (Family Charadriid^.) Most Plovers differ from Snipe in possessing three instead of four toes, and in having the scales on the tarsi rounded, not square or transverse. Their bill is shorter and stouter than that of Snipe, and they do not probe for food, but pick it up from the surface. Although several species visit dry fields and uplands, they are ranked as shore birds or bay birds, and, as with Snipe, the species large enough to be ranked as game Pi^TE XXXII. Page 124. PECEBE. Length, 7-00 inches. Back dusky olive; crown blackish; under parts white tinged with yellow ; outer margin of outer tail-feathers whitish ; bill black. PLOVERS. 99 have become comparatively rare. Of the one hundred known species, six visit eastern !North America — the Black-breasted, Golden, Piping, Wilson's, Semipalmated, and Killdeer Plovers. Only the last two of these are common enough to deserve mention here. Killdeer "^^^ Killdeer, with the exception of ^£ffiaUtis vocifem. the Piping Plovcr, is the only bird of Plate XI. ^jjjg family that nests with us. It is irregularly distributed in the northeastern States, but its noisy call, hlldee, Mldee, and striking markings render it a conspicuous bird even where it is uncommon. It fre- quents uplands and lowlands, fields and shores, but prefers the vicinity of water. Its nest of grasses is made on the ground, and its four eggs are whitish, spotted and scrawled with chestnut, chiefly at the larger end. The Semipalmated or Hing-necked Plover looks like a miniature of the Killdeer, but, in addition to other dif- „ . , , , _, ferences, has only one band on the Semipalmated Plover, ' «' Jigiaiitis breast. The male has the upper parts semipaimata. brownish gray, the nnder parts, nape, and forehead white, while the breast- band, crown, and cheeks are black. In the female these black areas are brownish gray. This Plover visits our shores and beaches during its northward migration in May and southward migration in August and September. Thanks to its small size, it is not hunted as game, and for this reason is almost as common as the little Peeps or Ox-eyes, with which it often associates. Its call is a simple but exceedingly sweet and plaintive two-noted whistle. THE LAND BIRDS. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. (ORDER GALLING.) Bob-whites, Grouse, etc. (Family Tetraonid^.) This is the family of the game birds — the aristocrats of the bird world. They are protectively colored birds, their rich brown, buff, and black plumage harmoniz- ing with their surroundings. Relying on their incon- spicuousness, they avoid danger by hiding rather than by flight, taking wing only as a final resort. Then, with a startling wJiir-r-i\ they spring into the air, their short, strong wings enabling them to reach their greatest speed within a short distance of the starting paint. One of the best-known members of this distinguished family is our familiar Bob-white, the Quail of the North and Partridge of the South. The fact r, T '. . ' is, he is neither a true Quail nor Par- Cohnus virgiiiiarius. ' ^ tridge, and those who claim that but one of these names is correct may compromise on " Bob- white." The Bob- white inhabits the eastern United States, f nd wherever ["^ound is resident throughout the year. The sexes are much alike in color, the only important differ- ence being in the throat and the line over the eye, which are white in the male and buff in the femnle. No bird better illustrates the peculiar potency of bird song, and the hopelessness of attempting to express its charm. If I should describe Bob-white's call to a person who had never heard it, as two ringing notes, do you suppose he would have the faintest conception of what 100 Plate XXXIII. WOOD PEWEE. Page 126. Length, 6-50 inches. Upper parts dusky olive-green ; under parts whitish, washed with dusky ; lower mandible yellowish. RUFFED GROUSE. 101 they mean to those who love them ? The promise of Sj)ring, its fiilfiUmsnt in summer, is clearly told in Bob- white's greeting. Then, in the autumn, when the mem- bers of a scattered bevy are signaling each other, their sweet where are you f where are you ? is equally associated with the season. Tlie Bob- white nests about May 20, laying from ten to eighteen white eggs in a nest on the ground. The Ruffed Grouse, or Partridge of the North and Pheasant of the South, is properly a true Grouse, and Ruffed Grouse ^^^ ^^^^ ^® correctly called either Par- Bonasa umbeiius. tridge or Pheasant. He is a more Plate XII. northern bird than the Bob-white, be- ing found south of Virginia only in the Alleghanies. Requiring large tracts of woodland for his haunts, he is less generally distributed and not so common as his plump relative. I always associate the Grouse with the astounding roar of wings made by the bird as he springs from the ground at my feet and sails away through the forest. I watch him at first with dazed surprise, then with a keen sense of pleasure in the meeting. One need not be a sportsman to appreciate the garainess of the Grouse. To find a hen Grouse with young is a memorable experience. While the parent is giving us a lesson in mother-love and bird intelligence, her downy chicks are teaching us facts in protective coloration and heredity. How the old one limps and flutters ! She can barely drag herself along the ground. But while we are watch- ing her, what has become of the ten or a dozen little yellow balls we almost stepped on ? Not a feather do we see, until, poking about in the leaves, we find one little chap hiding here and another squatting there, all perfectly still, and so like the leaves in color as to be nearly invisible. 102 MOURNING DOVE. The drumming of the Grouse, as described by Mr. Thompson, begins " with the measured thump of the big drum, then gradually changes and dies away in the rum- ble of the kettle-drum. It may be briefly represented thus: Thump — thump — thump — thump, thump; thump, thump) — rup rup rup rup, T-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r. The sound is produced by the male bird beating the air with his wings as he stands firmly braced on some favorite low perch." The Ruffed Grouse makes its leaf -lined nest usually at the base of a tree or stump, and the eight to fourteen buff eggs are laid early in May. PIGEONS AND DOVES. (ORDER COLUMBiE.) Pigeons and Doves. (Family Columbid^.) The three hundred species belonging in this order are distributed throughout most parts of the world, but only two of them are found in the northeastern States. One of these, however, the "Wild Pigeon, is now so rare that its occurrence is worthy of note. Less than fifty years ago it was exceedingly abundant, but its sociable habits of nesting and flying in enormous flocks made it easy prey for the market hunter, and, with that entire disre- gard of consequences which seems to characterize man's action when his greed is aroused, the birds were pur- sued so relentlessly that they have been practically ex- terminated. The Mourning or Carolina Dove has happily been more fortunate. IS'esting in isolated pairs, and not Mourning Dove, gathering in very large flocks, it has Zenaidum macro iira. escaped the market hunter. Plate XIII. rpj^.g -Q^^^.g .g {q^^^^ throughout the greater part of ISTorth America. In the latitude of New York it is a summer resident, arriving in March and PI.ATE XXXIV. HORNED LARK. Page 126. Length, 7-75 inches. Upper parts brownish and sandy; front and sides of crown, sides of throat, and breast-patch black ; forehead, line over eye, and throat pale yellow ; breast dusky, belly white, tail black, outer feathers margined with white. TUEKEY VULTURE. 103 remaining until November. In April we may hear its soft, sweet call, coo-o-o^ ali-coo-o-o — coo-o-o — coo-o-o^ as sad as the voice of the wind in the pines. Although the bird is as beautiful in appearance as it is graceful in flight, it is a surprisingly poor housekeeper. Its platform nest of a few twigs is about as flimsy as any- thing worthy the name can be, and one wonders how even two eggs are kept on it long enough to hatch. In the West the nest is placed on the ground ; in the East, on the lower branch of a tree. Like all the members of their family. Doves immerse the bill while drinking, and do not withdraw it until the draught is finished. The young are fed on softened food regurgitated from the parent's crop. BIRDS OF PREY. (ORDER RAPTORES.) American Vultures. (Family Cathartid^.) There are but eight Vultures in the western hemi- sphere, and only two of these, the Black and the Turkey Vulture, are found in the eastern United States. The former is not often seen north of North Turkey Vulture, Carolina, but the Turkey Vulture, or Cathartes aura. ' 'J ' Turkey Buzzard, as it is more frequent- ly called, comes each summer as far as Princeton, N. J., and occasionally strays farther north. The Turkey Buzzard is one of Nature's scavengers, and, as such, is one of the few birds whose services to mankind are thoroughly appreciated. There are others of equal or even greater value who daily earn their right to the good will which we stupidly and persistently refuse to grant them ; but of the Turkey Buzzard's assist- ance we have frequent convincing proof, and the decree has gone forth that injury to this bird is punishable by fine. 104 RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 'No other birds ai-e so well protected ; and as a result Turkey Buzzards and Black Vultures walk about the streets of some of our Soutliern cities with the tanieness of domes- tic fowls. If we should similarly encourage our insectivo- rous birds, who can j)redict the benefits which might accrue ? Hawks, Falcons, and Eagles. (Family Falconid^.) To this family belong the diurnal birds of prey, which number some three hundred and fifty species, and are distributed throughout the world. They are birds of strong flight, and capture their prey on the wing by striking it with their sharp, curved claws, the most dead- ly weapons to be found in any bird's armament. The bill is short, stout, and hooked, and is used to tear the prey while it is held by the feet. The voices of Hawks are in keeping with their dis- positions, and, while their lives typify all that is fierce and cruel, no birds are more often wrongly accused and falsely persecuted than our birds of prey. To kill one is regarded as an act of special merit ; to spare one seems to place a. premium on crime. Still, these birds are among the best friends of the farmer. There are but two of our common species. Cooper's and the Sharp-shinned, who habitually feed on birds and poultry. Our other com- mon species are, without exception, invaluable aids to the agriculturist in preventing the undue increase of the small rodents so destructive to crops. Any one reading Dr. Fisher's reports on this subject can not fail to be impressed with the ari'ay of facts he Red-shouldered presents in proof of the value of these Hawk, birds. For instance, the Eed-shoul- Buteo linentus. dcrod Hawk, to which the name Plate XIV. Chicken or Hen Hawk is often ap- plied, has been found to live largely on small mammals, Plate XXXV. Page 131. BALTIMOEE ORIOLE. Length, 7*50 inches. Male, crown, upper back, and throat black; lower back, outer tail-feathers, breast, and beily rich orange; Female, upper parts mixM black and yellowish, rump and tail dirty yeUow ; under parts dusky yellow. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 105 reptiles, batracliians, and insects. Indeed of 220 stomachs which were examined of this so-called " Chicken " Hawk, onlj 3 contained remains of poultry! Of the rest, 12 contained birds ; 102, mice ; 40, other mammals ; 20, reptiles ; 39, batrachians ; 92, insects ; 16, spiders ; 7, crawfish ; 1, earthworms ; 2, oiial ; 3, fish ; and 14 were empty.* The usefulness of this Hawk is therefore obvi- ous, and in killing it we can readily see that we not only harm ourselves but render an important service to our enemies. Fortunately, this valuable ally is one of our com- monest Hawks, and is with us throughout the year. Its loud scream, A'ee-7/oio,kee-i/ou, as it sails about, high in the air, is a familiar summer sound. The " red " shoulder is in reality a rich, reddish chestnut on the lesser \ving-covei*ts, and serves to identify the bird in both immature and adult plumage. The Rel-shoulder's nest, like that of most of our Hawks, is constructed of sticks and twigs, with a lining of ceJar bark, moss, or some other soft material, and is situated in a tree thirty to sixty feet from the ground. Apparently the same pair of birds re- turn to a locality year after year, sometimes using the same nest, at others building a new one. The eggs are about as large as those of a hen and in color are dull white, more or less sprinkled, spotted, or blotched with cinnamon-brown or chocolate. They are laid early in April, most of the Hawks being early breeders. The young are born covered with white down, but are help- less, and are rearel in the nest. The Red-tailed Hawk is also known as the Hen Hawk or Chicken Hawk, but has almost as good a record as * See Fisher. The Hawk<; and Owls of the United States in their Relation to Agriculture; Bulletin No. 3, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy, United States Department of Agriculture, 1893. 106 HAWKS. the Ked-slioulder, and is equally deserving of proteC' tion. He is larger than the Red-shoulder, whom he re- sembles in habits, and has a reddish Red-tailedHawk, ^^,^^^ ^^.j ^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ huteo oorealts. across the breast when adult. His call is a thin, long-drawn, wheezj whistle, which reminds one of the sound produced by escaping steam. The Marsh Hawk courses to and fro over field and meadow, like a Gull over the water. He never sails, Marsh Hawk, however, but on firm wing flies easily Circus hud.'sonius. and gracefully, ever on the watch for Plate XV. prey in the grasses below. He may sometimes mistake birds for mice, but he captures far more of the latter than of the former, and only 7 of the 124 Marsh Hawks whose stomachs were examined by Dr. Fisher had eaten chickens. The Marsh Hawk is migratory, and in winter is not often found north of southern Connecticut. He nests later than the resident Hawks, and, unlike them, builds his nest of grasses on the ground in the marshes, laying from four to six dull white or bluish white eggs early in May. The Sparrow Hawk has a perfectly clean record, as far as chickens go, not one of the 320 whose stomachs Sparrow Hawk, ^^^^^ examined by Dr. Fisher, having Faico sparverins. partaken of poultry, while no less than Plate XVI. 215 had eaten insects, and 89 had cap- tured mice. Grasshoppers are the Sparrow Hawk's chief food, and we may often see him hovering over the fields with rapidly moving mngs. Then, dropping lightly down on some unsuspected victim below, he returns to the bare limb or stub he uses for a lookout station, uttering an exultant Mlhj — Jdlhj — kilhj as he flies. The Sparrow is distributed throughout the greater part of North America, but in winter is not found north Plate XXXVI. Paoe 132. ORCHARD ORIOLE. Length, 7-30 inches. Adult male, crown, back, and throat black, rest of body chestnut. Young male, upper pai^ olive-green ; throat black, rest of under parts yellowish. Female, similar, but black on throat replaced by yellowish. HAWKS. 107 of soutliern N"ew York. It migrates northward in Feb- ruary and March, but does not nest until May. Unhke our other Hawks, it chooses a hollow tree for a home, often taking possession of a "Woodpecker's deserted hole. It lays three to seven eggs, which are finely and evenly marked with reddish brown. It is the Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks who are the real culprits in Hawkdom. They feed almost exclu- Sharp-shinned Hawk, ^i^ely on birds, and, having once ac- Accipiter veiox. quircd a taste for tender young broilers, Plate XVII. ^|)jgy j^j.g fjp^ iq i^ake daily visits to the hen yards. They are less often observed than the Hawks previously mentioned, seeking less exposed perches and soaring comparatively little ; but, when seen, their slen- der bodies and long tails should aid in distinguishing them from the stouter, slower-flying Hawks. As a rule, they are silent. It is difficult to explain the differences between these and other Hawks with sufficient clearness to prevent one's killing the wrong kind, but if the farmer will withhold his judgment against Hawks in general, and shoot only those that visit his poultry yard, he will not go far astray. Cooper's Hawk resembles the Sharp-shinned in color, but is about four inches longer, and its outer tail-feathers are about half an inch shorter than the oopers aw , middle ones instead of beins; of equal Accipittr cooperi. _ _ ^ J- ^ length. With the preceding species it may be known by its slender form, long tail, compara- tively short wings, and long, thin tarsi or " legs." The Chinese and Japanese train Cormorants to fish American Osprey, ^^^ ^^^^™' ^"*^ *^^^ services of these birds Pandion haiiaetus would soon be at a discouut if the caroUnensis. Qsprev could be induced to work for a Plate XVIII. -^ -^ . . . . , ^ ., . master. What an mspirmg sight it is to see one plunge from the air upon its prey ! One can 108 OWLS. sometimes hear the splash half a mile or more, and the bird is quite concealed by the spray. It is a magnifi- cent performance, and when, after shaking the water from his plumage, he rises into the air, I am always tempted to applaud. The Osj)rey, or Fish Hawk, as he is also called, adheres closely to a finny diet ; neither flesh nor fowl appears on his menu, and he is consequently a migratory bird, com- ing in April when the ice has melted and remaining until October. In favorable localities he nests in colonies, re- turning year after year to the same nest. One master, it is true, the Osprey has, though he makes a most unwilling servant. The Bald-headed Eagle is often an appreciative observer of the Osprey's piscatorial powers, which so far exceed Haliixetus ' his own that he wisely, if unjustly, leucocephalns. ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ Pursuing the Osprey, he forces him to mount higher and higher until the poor bird in despair drops his prize, which the Eagle captures as it falls. Eagles are becoming so rare in the Northern States that their occurrence is sometimes commented on by the local press as a matter of general interest. Nevertheless, no opportunity to kill them is neglected, and the majestic birds who in life arouse our keenest admiration are sac- rificed to the wanton desire to kill. The Owls. (Family Bubonid^.) The Owls number about two hundred species, and are distributed throughout the world. As a rule they are nocturnal or crepuscular birds, passing the day in hollow trees or dense evergreens, and appearing only after nightfall ; but there are some diurnal species, such Plate XXXVII. Page 133. PUEPLE GKACKLE. Length, male, 12-50 inches; female, ll-OO inches. Male, head, neck, throats and breast bright metallic blue, purple, or green ; back with iridescent bars; belly paler; eye pale yeUaw. Female, much duller than male. OWLS. 109 as tlie Snowy Owl and Hawk Owl, northern birds that visit us rarely in winter. Because of their nocturnal habits Owls are even more deserving of protection than the beneficial Hawks, for they feed at a time when mice are abroad, and their food consists largely of these destructive little rodents. They capture their prey, like the Hawks, by striking it with their powerful talons, when, if small enough, it is swallowed entire. The indigestible portions, hair, bones, and feathers, are formed into pellets in the stomach and ejected at the mouth. These may always be found in numbers beneath, an Owl's roosting place, and form as sure an indication of the Owl's presence as they do of the nature of his food. Thus, as before mentioned, two hundred pellets of the Barn Owl, taken from the home of a pair of these birds in the tower of the Smithsonian In- stitution, were found by Dr. A. K. Fisher to contain the skulls of 454 small mammals. Owls are generally inhabitants of woods, but our Short-eared Owl is an exception to this rule, and lives Short-eared Owl, ^ ^^^S^^ g^'^^^sy marshes. It passes the Asia accij-iitrinus. day on the grouud, but at dusk may be Plate XIX. gggjj flying low Over the marsh in search of the meadow mice which form a large part of its food. Dr. Fisher found, on examination of 101 stomachs of this Owl, that no less than 77 contained the remains of mice, convincing proof of its usefulness. Unlike any of our other Owls, the Short-eared makes its nest on the ground, laying from four to seven eggs. It is somewhat irregular in its distribution, but has been found nesting, locally, from Virginia northward. It winters from New Jersey southward, and is sometimes associated in companies at this season. The Long-eared Owl is about the size of the Short- eared Owl, but its ■' ear-tufts " are an inch or more in 110 OWLS. length, and its sides and belly are Ijarred^ not streaked^ with blackish. It does not frequent marshes, but lives in swampj thickets or dense woods, and Long-eared Owl, ^^^^j^^g -^^ ^^^^^ -^^ ^j^^ abandoned home of a Crow, Hawk, or squirrel. It is a permanent resident from at least Massachusetts south- ward. Of our four " horned " Owls, the Long-eared has rela- tively the largest and most conspicuous " ear-tufts," the Short-eared the smallest, while in the Great Horned Owl and Screech Owl the ears are of about the same propor- tionate size. The Great Horned Owl, however, is found only in the wilder, more heavily wooded parts of the coun- try, and is hardly to be included in a list of our common birds. It is the largest of our resident Owls, the males measuring twenty-two inches in length, while its " ear- tufts " are nearly two inches long. The Screech Owl is doubtless the commonest of our Owls, as it is also the most familiar, nesting about and Screech Owl even in our houses when some favor- Mtgascops asio. able hole oifci's. It has little to say for Plate XX. i^ggif ^jj^'i i^g family of four to six fuzzy Owlets is safely launched into the world; then, in July or August, we may hear its melancholy voice— not a "screech," but a tremulous, wailing whistle. It has several other notes difficult to describe, and when alarmed defiantly snaps its bill. Some Screech Owls are gray, others bright reddish brown, and these extremes are connected by specimens intermediate in color. This difference in color is not due to age, sex, or season, and is termed dichromatism, or the presence in the same species of two phases of color. The same phenomenon is shown by other birds, notably certain Herons, and among mammals by the gray squir- rel, some individuals of which are black. The observa- _--._.^T_, Page 134. Plate XXXVIII. BOBOLINK. Length, 7-25 inches. Male, in summer, nape buff ; shoulders and rump whitish ; crown and under parts black. Female, young, and male tn winter, sparrowlike ; upper parts black, brownish, and buffy ; under parts yellowish white. BARRED OWL. HI tioiis of Dr. A. P. Chadboiirne apparently show tliat the Screech Owl may pass from one phase to another without change of plumage.* We do not think of Owls as being insectivorous birds, but Dr. A. K. Fisher tells us that of 225 Screech Owls' stomachs examined, 100 contained insects. As 91 of the remaining 125 contained mice, and poultry was found in only one stomach, the farmer may well consider the Screech Owl a bii'd of good repute rather than of ill omen. Next to the Screech Owl the Barred Owl is doubtless our most common representative of this family, but its Barred Owl fondness for deep woods prevents its Syrnium nthuiosum. being knowu to many who recognize the Plate XXI. Screech Owl's mournful song. In both voice and appearance the Barred Owl seems the most human of our Owls. Its call is a deep-voiced questioning whoo-whoo-iohoo, whb-whoo, to-whOD-ah^ which may be heard at a distance of half a mile. It echoes through the woods at night with startling force, and the stories told of its effect on persons who were ignorant of its source are doubtless not without foun- dation. Other calls are a long-drawn whO-d-d-d-dh, and rarely a thrilling, weird shriek. "When two or more Owls are together, they sometimes join in a most singular concerted performance. One utters about ten rapid hoots, while the other, in a slightly higher tone, hoots about half as fast, both birds ending together with a whdd-ah. At other times they may hoot and laugh in a most remark- able and quite indescribable manner. The Barred Owl feeds largely on mice, and 46 of 100 stomachs examined contained remains of these rodents. * The Auk (New York city), xiii, 1896, p. 321 ; xiv, 1897, p. 33. 112 CUCKOOS. It is generally resident tlirougliout its range, and in March makes its nest, selecting for a site a hollow tree, or the deserted home of a Crow or Hawk. Two to fom- eggs are laid, which, like the eggs of all Owls, are pure white. CUCKOOS, KINGFISHERS, ETC. (ORDEB, COCCYGES). Cuckoos. (Family Cuculid^.) All Cuckoos have two toes directed forward and two backward, but the cause or use of this character it is dif- ficult to understand, so widely do the members of this family differ in habit. Some are arboreal, never visiting the earth, while others are terrestrial, running with great swiftness, and rarely perching far above the ground. Most Cuckoos — all our thirty-five American species — have noticeably long tails, which they raise and droop slowly just after ahghting, or wlien their curiosity is aroused. Of the one hundred and seventy-five known species, only two are found in the northeastern States — the Yel- „ „ ^.„ , „ , billed and the Black-billed Cuckoos. Tellow-biUed Cuckoo, . ,11 cocajzus americanus. The formcr IS generally the more com- Piate XXII. mon. It is a retiring bird, and you will doubtless be first rttracted to it by its notes. It does not perch in an exposed position, nor make long flights, but usually flies from the shelter of one tree directly into the protecting foHage of another. If you catch a glimpse of it in pnssing, its long tail and brownish color will suggest a Dove. Cuckoos are mysterious birds well worth watching. I would not imply that their deeds are evil ; on the con- trary, they are exceedingly beneficial birds. One of their favorite foods is the tent caterpillar which spins the Plate XXXIX. MEADOWLARK. Page 136. Length, 10-75 inches. Upper parts black, brown, and buff; under parts yellow, a black crescent on the breast, sides streaked with black ; outer tail-feathers white. KINGFISHERS. 113 destructive " worms' nests " in our fruit and shade trees. Indeed, we should be very much better off if Cuckoos were more numerous. Nevertheless, there is something about the Cuckoo's actions which always suggests to me that he either has just done, or is about to do, something he shouldn't. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo's call begins with a series of tutrtuts or cl-iicks, and ends with a loud cow, cow, cow, cow, cow, cow. These notes are so unlike those of any other of our birds, except those of the Black-billed Cuckoo, that they will readily be recognized. The Black- billed Cuckoo resembles the Yellow-bill, but has the bill wholly black, the skin about the eye red, Black-billed Cuckoo, ^^^^ ^^^^ tail-feathers with only small, Cocci/zus inconspicuous whitish tips. It resem- erythropUhaimm. i^jgg ^j^g Ycllow-bill in habits, but, as Mr. Brewster tells me, its tut and cluch notes are softer, and the coio-coio notes are connected. Both our Cuckoos are migratory, \vintering in Cen- tral and South America. They return to us about May 5, and remain until October. Their nests are carelessly made platforms of sticks with a few catkins added as a lining, and are usually placed in tangles of vine-covered bushes, or the lower limbs of trees. The eggs, three to five in number, are pale, greenish blue, those of the Black -bill being slightly smaller in size and darker in color than those of its yellow-billed cousin. Kingfishers. (Family Alcedinid^.) Of the one hundred and eighty known Kingfishers, only eight are inhabitants of the New World, the head- quarters of the family being in the East Indies. The New World species are mostly tropical, and but one of the eight reaches the eastern United States. This is our common 114 WOODPECKERS. Belted Kingfisher, familiar by voice and appearance to every one who lives near a river or pond. He comes Belted Kingfisher, ^^ M^^'^\ when the ice no longer cov- ctri/ie a/ci/o/i. ers his hunting ground, and remains Plate XXIII. until November ; or, if the season be exceptionally mild, he sometimes stays for the winter fishing. His nest is built in a hole in a bank, where, early in May, his mate lays from five to eight white eggs. The Kingfisher is generally branded a fish thief and accounted a fair mark for every man with a gun, and, were it not for his discretion in judging distances and knowing just when to fly, he would long ago have disap- peared from the haunts of man. We might now be a few fish richer, but would they repay us for the loss of this genius of wooded shores ? WOODPECKERS AND WRYNECKS. (ORDER PICI.) Woodpeckers. (Faintly Picid^.) The three hundred and fifty known species of Wood- peckers are represented in al' the wooded parts of the world except the Australian, region and Madagascar. Nearly one half this number are found in the New World, and of these twenty -five occur in North America. Few birds seem better adapted to their mode of life than Woodpeckers, the structure of their bill, tongue, tail, and feet being admirably suited to their needs. The notes of Woodpeckers can not be termed musical, and their chief contribution to the springtime chorus is a rolling tattoo which resembles the h-r-r-r-.ring call of the tree frogs. The feathered drummer selects a resonant hmb and pounds out his song with a series of strokes de- Plate XL. Page 137. COWBIKD. Length, 7-90 inches. Male, head and neck all around dark coffee- brown ; rest of plumage glossy gre lish black. Female, dirty brown- ish gray; throat whitish. WOODPECKERS. 115 livered so quickly that his head becomes a series of mazy heads. Watch the Downy Woodpecker, our commonest species, while he is engaged in this surprising perform- Downy Woodpecker, ^^^^^- How he seems to enjoy it ! His Dryohates puhenctns wholc appearance is martial and defi- medianus. ^nt. It is his challenge to the Wood- pecker world. After each roll he looks proudly about him and perhaps utters his call-note, a sharp peek^ peek, which suggests the sound produced by a marble cutter's chisel. More rarely this call is pro- longed into a connected series, when one can readily imagine that the quarrier has dropped his tool. The Downy is a hardy bird and is with us throughout the year. In the winter he forms a partnership with the Chickadee and Nuthatch, and if the good this trio does could be expressed in figures, these neglected friends of ours might receive some small part of the credit due them. Who can estimate the enormous numbers of in- sects' eggs and larvae which these patient explorers of trunk and twig destroy ? The Downy, as well as some other Woodpeckers, be- lieves in the comfort of a home. He will not pass cold, wintry nights clinging to the leeward side of a tree when by the use of his chisel-bill he can hollow a snug chamber in its heart. So, in the fall, we may sometimes find him preparing his winter quarters. His nest is constructed in the same manner, and his eggs, like those of all Wood- peckers, are glossy white. The Hairy Woodpecker, the Downy's big cousin, is not quite so common as his smaller Hairy Woodpecker, j.e,ative. The two birds are nearly alike Dryobates villosus. . '' , in color, and differ only in the marK- ings of the outer tail-feathers. In the Downy these are white, barred with black ; in the Hairy, white without 9 116 WOODPECKERS. black bars. The case is interesting, and sliows how nearly alike in color distinct species may be. In size, however, the difference is more noticeable, the Hairy being nearly three inches the longer. In life the Hairy is a somewhat shier bird, fonder of the forest than of the orchard. Wi^ peek note is louder and sharper than that of the Downy, and his rattling call suggests that of the Kingfisher. The gayly colored Eed-headed "Woodpecker is as erratic in his goings and comings as he is striking in ^ , , , , dress. In the northeastern States he is Aed-Iieaded Woodpecker, locally common in summer, and if well Meianerpes Supplied with bceclmuts, may remain erythrocephalus. (j^nnff the winter. Some Tears the Plate XXV. . *? , , , -, . , " grayish headed young birds are excep- tionally abundant in the fall, but their white wing-patch- es, which show so conspicuously when they fly, and their loud, rolling call of ker-r-ruck,^ ker-r-ruck, are unmistak- able marks of identity. The most interesting of our Woodpeckers is the Flicker, or High-hole, whose popularity is attested by Flicker ^^® ^^^* ^^ ^^ ■'^^^ i\\Q.^ thirty odd com- Coiaptes aurntus. mou names. Surely here is an instance Plate XXVI. illustrating the necessity of one sci- entific term by which the " Piquebois jaune " of Louisi- ana may be recognized as the " Clape " of New York. He is also a Yucker, a Flicker, and a Yellow-ham- mer ; all these names being based on his notes or plu- mage. The Flicker is less of a carpenter than are others of his family, and generally selects decayed logs and stumps as his hunting grounds. Here he hunts for his favorite food of ants, which he also procures at their holes and mounds. This is the reason we so often flush the Flicker from the ground, and, if we mark the spot from which he Plate XLI. Page 138. SONG SPAEKOW. Length, 6-25 inches. Upper parts chestnut, gray, and black ; under parts white, streaked with chestnut and black ; outer tail-feathers shortest. GOATSUCKERS. II7 rises, the probabilities are tLat we shall find there a much- disturbed community of ants. Professor Beal has shown that nearly one half of the Flicker's food consists of ants. He further tells us that as ants aid in the increase of the plant lice so injurious to vegetation, the birds which feed on ants are therefore the friends of the agriculturist. The Flicker's most prominent marks, as with a low chuckle he bounds up before you, are his white rump patch and his wings, which show yellow in flight. His notes are equally characteristic. The most common is a loud, vigorous kee-yer^ apparently a signal or salute. In the spring, and occasionally in the fall, he utters a pleas- ing, rather dreamy euh-cuh-cuh-cuh, many times repeated. When two or more birds are together, and in my ex- perience only then, they address each other with a singular loeechew, weecheio^ weechew, a sound which can be imitated by the swishing of a willow wand. Much ceremony evidently prevails in the Flicker family, and on these occasions there is more bowing and scraping than one often sees outside of Spam. GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, AND HUMMINGBIRDS. (ORDER MACROCHIRES.) NiGHTHAWKS AND WhIP-POOR- WILLS. (Family Caprimulgid^.) In this family the moutli of birds reaches its greatest development, while the bill proper is correspondingly small, bearing muoh the same relation to the mouth that a clasp does to a purse. These birds feed at night upon insects which they catch on the wing, and their enormous gape is obWously of great assistance in this mode of feed- ing. Often the sides of the mouth are beset with long L18 NiaHTHAWK. bristles, which doubtless act like the wings to a fish-net, steering unfortunate insects down the bird's cavernous throat. The Nighthawk, or Bull-bat, as he is called in the South, is familiar to most persons who have the gift of „. , ,, , seeing birds, but — in the northeastern Kigiithawk, oi 1 • Chordeiies States, at least — he is usually confused virginianus. ^^th the "Whip-DOor-will, and little is Plate XXVII. 1 c ^ ■ \ \ 4. known oi his real character. The Kighthawk is a bird of the sky. He passes the day perched motionless on a limb in wooded regions, on the ground in treeless regions, or even on a house top, when, as sometimes happens, he makes his home in a city. Probably he will not change his perch during the day, but as night approaches and his day begins, he will spread his long wings and fly away heavenward to course far above the earth in his search for insect food. The Nighthawk, unlike most members of its family, has limited vocal powers, its ojily note being a loud, nasal pee}it uttered as it flies. But it has musical talents in another direction. Sometimes in May or June, if you happen to be where Nighthawks are found — for they are rather local in distribution when nesting — you may hear a strange booming, rushing sound ; you will vainly seek its cause until you chance to see a Nighthawk with set wings diving earthward from the sky. It is a reckless performance, and you may suppose the bird's object is suicidal, but, when within a few yards of the earth, it will turn suddenly upward. At this moment you will hear the loud, humming soimd, doubtless made by the air passing through the bird's stiffened wing-quills. IS'ighthawks, being insect-catchers, are of course highly migratory. They come to us early in May, and return to their winter quarters in South America in Oc- "i^V / 1^- .■-/" 1 Plate XLII. Page 139. SWAMP SPAEKOW. Length, 5-90 inches. Summer plumage, crown bright chestnut ; back black, brown, and buff ; breast grayish ; belly white ; sides brownish. Winter plumage, similar, but crown streaked with chestnut-brown, black, and gray. CHIMNEY SWIFT. 119 tober. During the fall migrations they often gather in flocks of several himdred, and as they sail about you may notice their best field mark, a white spot in each wing. !Nighthawks lay two elliptical, mottled eggs on the bare ground or a flat rock in open fields, and, rarely, on a house top in the city. We see the !Nighthawk and hear the Whip-poor-will ; one reason perhaps why the birds are so often confused. WMp-poor-will While the N ightha wk is darting through Atitrostoiiuisvociferus. the sky, tlio Whip-poor-will is perched Plate XXVII. Q^ ^ rook or fence rail below, indus- triously whipping out a succession of rapid whip-poor- wills interspersed with barely audible chucks. When the call ceases, the bird is doubtless coursing low through the wooded fields and glades in its search for insects. During the day the Whip-poor-will usually rests on the ground in the woods. Here also the eggs are laid, being deposited upon the leaves. They are two in num- ber, dull white, with delicate, obscure lilac markings and a few distinct brownish gray spots. Whip-poor-wills arrive from the south late in April, and remain with us until October, Swifts. (Family Micropodid^.) Swifts are the most aerial of all the small land birds. Our Chimney Swift, the only one of the seventy-five Chimney Swift members of this family that occurs in Chidura peiagica. eastern North America, is but five and Plate xxviii. ^ |^j^|£ inches long, while its spread wings measure twelve and a half inches from tip to tip. Its feet are proportionately small, and so weak that the bird can rest only by clinging to an upright surface. The tail is then used as a prop, its spiny-tipped feathers being evidently a result of this habit. 120 HUMMINGBIRDS. Swifts naturally nest in hollow trees or eaves, and it is only in the more densely populated parts of their range that they resort to chimneys and outbuildings. The nest of our Chimney Swift is a hracketlike basket of small twigs. They are gathered by the bird while on the wing, and are fastened together and to the wall of the tree or chimney with a glutinous saliva. The Chimney Swift arrives from the south about April 20, and remains until October. Few birds are better known, and under the name of " Chimney Swal- low" he is familiar to every one who distinguishes a Crow from a Roljin. But, beyond similar feeding habits, S'wifts have little in common with Swallows ; in fact, are more nearly related to Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds. (Family Trochilid^.) Hummingbirds are peculiar to the ISTew "World. About five hundred species are known, but only one of them is Kuby-tiiroated ^^"^^^ ^^^* ^^ *1^^ Mississippi. This is Hummingbird, oi^r Kuby -throat, the sexes of which are Trochiivs I'ohibris. sometimes thought to represent differ- ent species. The Ruby-throat winters as far south as Central America, but about May 1 we may expect him to return to us, for he is as regular in his migrations as though his wings measured a foot and a half instead of an inch and a half in length. If you would have him visit you, plant honeysuckle and trum- pet flowers about your piazza, and while they are bloom- ing there will be few days wlien you may not hear the humming of this tiny bird's rapidly vibrating wings. The Ruby-throat feeds on insects as well as on the juices of flowers, and when you see him probing a corolla he is quite as likely to be after the one as the other. The young are fed by regurgitation, the parent bird insert- Plate XLIII. Page 140. FIELD SPARROW. Length, 5*70 inches. Upper parts bright reddish brown and black; under parts grayish white ; bill reddish brown. FLYCATCHERS. 121 ing its bill into tlie mouth of its offspring and injecting food as though from a syringe. Some tropical Hummingbirds have songs worthy the name, but the notes of our Ruby-throat are a mere squeak, sometimes prolonged into a twitter. Under any circumstances a Hummingbird's nest ex- cites admiration. But if you would appreciate its fairylike beauty, find one where the birds have placed it, probably on the horizontal limb of a birch. Doubtless it will be occupied by the female, for it seems that the male takes Httle or no part in family affairs after incubation begins. As far as known, all Hummingbirds lay two white e^gs — frail, pearly ellipses, that after fourteen days' incuba- tion develop into a tangle of tiny dark limbs and bodies, which no one would think of calling birds, much less " winged gems." PERCHING BIRDS. (ORDER PASSERES.) Flycatchers. (Family Tyrannid^.) Doubtless, every order of birds has had its day when, if it was not a dominant type, it was at least sufficiently near it to be considered modern ; and as we review what is known to us of that great series of feathered forms, from the Archseopteryx to the Thrushes, we can real- ize how varied has been the characteristic avifauna of each succeeding epoch from the Jurassic period to the present. Now has come the day of the order Passeres, the Perching Birds ; here belong our Flycatchers, Orioles, Jays, Sparrows and Finches, Yireos, Swallows, Warblers, "Wrens, Thrushes, and many others. A recent authority edassifies birds in thirty-four orders, but fully one half of 122 KINGBIRD. the thirteen thousand known species are included in the single order Passeres. The North American members of this order are so alike in more important structural details that tliej are placed in but two suborders, the suborder Clamatores, containing the so-called Songless Perching Birds, and the suljorder 0 seines, containing the Song Birds. The Flycatchers are the only members of the suborder Clamatores in Eastern North America. They differ from the Oscines, or true Song Birds, in always having ten fully developed primaries, in having the tarsus rounded behind as well as in front, and chiej&y in the anatomy of the syrinx, or voice-producing organ. In the Oscines this possesses four or five distinct pairs of intrinsic muscles, while in the Clamatores it has less than four pairs of muscles, and is not so highly developed. Flycatchers are the Hawks of the insect world. Their position when resting is erect, and they are constantly on the watch for their prey, which is captured on the wing, with a dexterity Hawks may well envy. The bill is broad and flat and the gape large, as in other fly-catching birds. After darting for an insect, as a rule, they return to the same perch, a habit which betrays their family afiinities, though it is occasionally practiced by some other birds. Among our Eastern Flycatchers the Kingbird un- doubtedly deserves first rank. In books he is sometimes Kingbird called the Tyrant, but the name is a Tymiuuistyraunus. libel. The Kingbird is a fighter, but Plate XXX. i-^g jg j^Q^ g^ bully, and gives battle only in a just cause. His particular enemy is the Crow, and during the nesting season each Kingbird evidently draws an imaginary circle about his home within which no Crow can venture unchallenged. From his lookout on the topmost branch of a neighboring tree the Kingbird darts forth at the trespasser, charging him with a spirit PliATE XLIV. VESPER SPARROW. Page 141. Length, 6*10 inches. Upper parts grayish, black, and brown ; breast and sides streaked with black and brown; belly white; lesser wing- coverts chestnut ; outer tail-feathers more or less white. CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 123 and fearlessness whicli no bird can withstand. It is a case of " right makes might," added to a very dexterous use of wings and bill. The Crow, if he be experienced, turns tail at once and, beyond protesting squaivks^ makes no attempt to defend himself. But the Kingbird is deaf to pleas for mercy ; he too has had experience, and well knows that only his own watchfulness has saved his eggs or young. Far in the distance he relentlessly pursues his foe, leaving him only wlien he has administered a lesson which will not be forgotten. Then he returns to his post and, with crest erect and quivering wings, gives voice to cries of victory. Bee-keepers accuse the Kingbird of a taste for honey- bees, but the examination, made by Prof. Beal, of two hundred and eighteen Kingbirds' stomachs shows that the charge is unfounded. Only fourteen stomachs con- tained remains of bees, most of which were drones, while sixty per cent of the Kingbirds' food was found to con- sist of injurious insects. Kingbirds ^vinter in Central and South America, re- turning to us in the spring about May 1, and remaining until September. Their nest is a compact, symmetrical structure of weed stalks, grasses, and moss, lined with plant down, fine grasses, and rootlets, and is usually placed at the extremity of a limb about twenty feet from the ground. The eggs, three to five in number, are white, spotted with chocolate. The Crested or Great Crested Flycatcher is, as a rule, not so common as the Kingbird, and its habits prevent it Crested Flycatcher, f^'^m being so easily observed. King- Myiarchus crinitus. birds can be sceu whenever heard, but Plate XXXI. yQ^-j ^^j^y Yie?iY the Greatcrest's whistle many times before you see the whistler. Generally he lives in the woods high up in the trees, but he is also found in old orchards. His call, like an exclamation, 124, PECEBE. rinffs out above all other birds' notes. What ! he seems to say, and, as though hearing something which not only surprised but amused him, follows this call with a chuck- ling wldstle. The Greatcrest arrives from the south about May 7, and remains until September. Nesting is begun early in June, a hollow limb being the home usually selected. In collecting its nesting materials, the bird disj^lays a very singular trait, and gives evidence of the stability of habit. AVith rare exceptions it places a bit of cast snake-skin in its nest. Various reasons have been advanced to account for this singular habit, but none of them is satisfactory. Recently Lieutenant Wirt Robinson has discovered that one of the commonest and most generally distributed spe- cies of this genus in South America places cast snake-skin in its nest, and it is well known that the Arizona Crested Flycatcher follows the same custom. The habit is there- fore widespread, and is common to birds living under greatly varying conditions. Rather than consider it of especial significance in each species, it seems more reason- able to believe that it is an inheritance from a common ancestor, and has no connection with the present sur- roundings of at leist those species living so far from the center of distribution of this tropical genus as our 3Iyi- archus crinitns. The Phoebe is domestic ; he prefers the haunts, or, at least, handiwork of man, and when not nesting on a beam Phcebe '^^ ^ barn, shed, or piazza, selects the Sayornix phcfhe. shelter of a bridge for a home. Here Plate XXXII. jjg places his nest of moss and mud ; a structure of generous proportions, for the Phoebe's family may number five or six. Flycatchers, because of the nature of their food, usu- ally make extended migrations. For the same reason they arrive late in the spring and depart early in the Plate XLV. Page 142. CHIPPING SPARROW. Length, 5-35 inches. Summer plumage, forehead black ; crovm bright chestnut ; back black, brown, and gray ; under parts grayish wliite ; bill black. Winter plumage, similar, but crown like back; bill brownish. LEAST FLYCATCHER. 125 fall ; but the Phoebe is an exception to this rule. Not only does he mnter north of the frost line, but he comes to us as early as March 20 and remains until October. The Phoebe owes his name to his song oii jjeuyit-plioebe^ pewit-pheehe^ a humble lay uttered between vigorous wags of the tail. This tail-wagging is a characteristic motion, and also accompanies the Phoebe's call-note, pee, pee^ which it utters at intervals. The Least Flycatcher shares the Phoebe's preference for the vicinity of houses and is most often found nesting in our shade or fruit trees. The nest, eas yea c er, -^^-,]jj^g ^]jg Phoebe's, is composed of KinpuLona.z iniiiiiiius. ' ^ plant-down, fibers, and rootlets, and is placed in the crotch of a tree. The eggs resemble the Phoebe's in being white. It is difficult to describe our smaller Flycatchers so that even when in the hand they may be satisfactorily identified, and it is quite impossible to describe them so that from color alone they may be recognized in the field. Fortunately, the calls of our commoner species are so unlike that, when learned, there will be no difficulty in naming their authors. To say that the Least Flycatcher is five and a half inches long, olive-green above and grayish white below, does not aid one in distinguishing it from several of its cousins ; but when I add that its call is a snappy chehec, chehec, the bird will be known the first time it is heard. It is this call which has given the bird its common name. The Chebec comes to us in the spring, about April 25, and remains until September. You will rarely find two members of the same family with more different dispositions than those of the King- bird and Wood Pewee. Their natures might symbolize war and peace, so combative is the Kingbird, so gentle the 126 WOOD PEWEE. Pewee. As so often happens among birds, tlieir voices are in keei^ing with their temperaments. The soft, Wood Pewee dreamy i?ee-a-wee or jyee-a-wee ^eer of Contopiis vircns. the Pewee is as well suited to its char- Piate XXXIII. acter as the harsh, chattering cries of victory are to the Kingbird's. The Pewee is the last of our more common Fly- catchers to come from the South, arriving about May 10, and, like the Chebec, remaining until October. It is less social than either the Chebec or the Phoebe. Forests are its chosen haunts, but occasionally it is found on well- shaded lawns and roadsides. The Pewee's nest rivals the Hummingbird's m beauty. It is a coarser structure, composed of fine grasses, rootlets, and moss, but externally is thickly covered with lichens. Usually it is saddled on a limb from twenty to forty feet above the ground. The eggs, three or four in nimiber, are white, with a wreath of dark brown spots around the larger end. Larks. (Family Alaudid^.) This family contains the true Larks, birds with long hind toe nails, and a generally brown or sandy colored plumage, the Skylark being a typical 6j)ecies. There are some one hundred species of Larks, but of these only the Homed Lark and its geographical varieties are found in this country. The variation in color shown by the Horned Lark throuo-hout its rano-e is remarkable. From the Mexican Horned Lark tableland northward to Labrador and otocoris nipeHris. Alaska no less than eleven different Plate xxxiv. geographical races are known, each one reflecting the influence of the conditions under which it lives, and all intergrading one with another. Only two of PI.ATE XLVI. Page 143. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. Length, 6*75 inches. Adult, lores and bend of wing yellow; crown black and white; back chestnut-brown, black, and buff; throat white; breast and sides grayish; belly white. Young, similar, but crown more like back ; yellow markings duller. HORNED LAEK. 127 these races are found in the eastern United States, the Horned Lark and the Prairie Horned Lark, The former visits ns in the winter; the latter occurs at all seasons, but during the summer is found only in certain regions. At this season it inhabits the upper Mississippi Valley, whence it extends eastward through northwestern Penn- sylvania and central New York to western Massachu- setts. Prom October to April it may be found with the Horned Lark as far south as South Carolina. The two birds differ in size and color. The Horned Lark's wins: averages -i'ST inches in length, the Praii-ie Lark's wing averages but 4*08 inches in length ; the former's forehead and eye-line are yellow, the latter's white. Horned Larks are eminently terrestrial, rarely if ever choosing a higher perch than a fence. "When on the ground they do not hop, but walk or run. When flushed they take wing with a sharp, whistled note, but often return to the j)lace from which they started. When nesting, they may be found in fields, pastures, and plains in scattered pairs, but during the winter they are asso- ciated in flocks, which resort to the vicinity of the sea- coast or large open tracts in the interior. The nest is, of course, built on the ground. The eggs, three or four in number, are pale bluish or greenish white, minutely and evenly speckled with grayish brown. The Horned Lark, like its famous relative and many other terrestrial species, sings while on the wing, soaring high above the earth, and often repeating its song many times before alighting. The effort is worthy of better results, for the bird's song is simple and unmusical. 128 CROWS AND JAYS. Crows, Jays, etc. (Family Corvidje.) There are systematists -who thiuk that the members of this family should hold the place usually assigned the Thrushes, at the head of the class Aves. Leaving out of the case anatomical details whose value is disputed, we might object to a family of songless birds being given first rank in a group whose leading character is power of song. But while Crows and Jays may, from a musical standj)oint, be considered songless, no one can deny their great vocal powers. Song, after all, does not imjDly high rank in bird-life, and some of the sweetest singers (among others, some Snipe, and the Tinamous and "Wood Quail of South America) are not members of the suborder of Song Birds. If, however, the relative intelligence of the two fam- ilies be taken into account, there can be no doubt that CorvidcB fully deserve to be considered the most highly developed of birds. How many tales are told of the human actions of the Raven, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Jay, and Crow ! Of the two hundred members of this family, six in- habit eastern Korth America, by far the most common being the Crow, l^o one of our birds „ . ' is better known, and still, how ignorant Uorvus amencanus. ^ ' ' o we are of his ways ! I am not sure that he does not know more about ours. "We have not even recorded his notes, for, in spite of the current opin- ion that the Crow's calls are restricted to caw, he has an extended vocabulary. I am not aware that he ever ascerids to the height of a love song, but that he can converse fluently no one who has listened to him will question. Of the variants of caw, each with its own significance, there seems no end ; but if you would be Plate XLVII. P^ge 144. FOX SPARROW. Length, 7-25 inches. Upper parts, wings, and tail bright reddish brovs-n ; back and head mixed with a browner color ; under parts white and bright reddish brown. AMERICAN CROW. 129 impressed with the Crow's eloquence you must hear him when, in the fancied privacy of his own flock or family, he discusses the affairs of the day. His notes then are low, and so varied in tone that one can not douht their conversational character. During the winter Crows assemble in large flocks containing many thousand individuals, who nightly re- turn to some roost, which perhaps has been frequented for years. In March they begin to pair and the nest is constructed early in April. It is a bulky affair of sticks, lined chiefly with grapevine bark, and is placed in a tree, usually about thirty feet from the ground. The four to six eggs are bluish green, thickly marked with shades of brown. Crows share with Hawks the reputation of being harmful birds. That they do much damage in the corn- field is undeniable, but, after the examination of nine hundred Crows' stomachs. Dr. Merriam, of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, states that the amount of good done by the Crow in destroying grasshoppers, May beetles, cutworms, and other injurious insects, exceeds the loss caused by the destruction of corn. Moreover, if the com be tarred before planting, the Crows will not touch either the kernel or young sprout. The corn should first be soaked in water overnight, and then placed in a vessel containing enough soft tar to coat each kernel. It should then be rolled in plaster of Paris or wood ashes, so that it can be more easily handled.* The Blue Jay, in his uniform of blue and white, is so brightly colored, so large (he is nearly twelve inches in length), and often so noisy, that every one knows him. * See Barrows and Schwarz, The Common Crow, Bulletin No. 6, United States Department of Agriculture, Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. 130 BLUE JAY. Like tlie Crow, lie is with us throughout the year. Dur- ing the summer he is not very common, and is remark- ably quiet, but in September and Octo- B ue Jay, -^^^ mifijrants arrive from the North, and Cyanocitta cristata. i , . i , . , the birds are then abundant m bands. These bands roam about the country like a lot of school- boys out chestnutting, pausing wherever they find acorns and chestnuts abundant, or leaving their feast to worry some poor Owl whose hiding place they have discovered. The Blue Jay's best friend could not conscientiously call him a songster, but as a conversationahst he rivals the Crow. I have yet to discover a limit to his vocab- ulary, and, although on principle one may ascribe al- most any strange call to the Blue Jay, it is well to with- hold judgment until his loud, harsh jay ! jay ! betrays the caller's identity. Not content with a language of his own, he borrows from other birds, mimicking their calls so closely that the birds themselves are deceived. The Bed-shouldered, Bed -tail, and Sparrow Hawks are the species whose notes he imitates most often. The Blue Jay nests in the latter part of May, build- ing a compact nest of rootlets in a tree ten to twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are pale olive-green or brownish ashy, rather thickly marked with varying shades of cinnamon-brown. Orioles, Blackbirds, etc. (Family Icterid^e.) The popular names of many of our birds were given them by the early colonists because of their fancied re- semblance to some Old "World species. The fact that some of these names are incorrect and misleading has been pointed out scores of times, but they are now as firmly fixed as the signs of the zodiac. Plate XLVIII. Page 145. JUNCO. Length, 6-25 inches. Male, upper parts, throat, and breast slate-color ; belly and outer tail-feathers white. Female, similar, but plumage more or less washed with brownish. BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 131 Tims the Robin is not a Robin but a true Thrusli, the Meadowlark is not a Lark but a Starhno;, and the Orioles are not Orioles at all, but members of a distinc- tively American family having no representatives in the Old World. This family contains one hundred and fifty species, of which nearly one third belong in the genus Irferu.^. The prevailing colors of the birds of this genus are orange and black, hence their resemblance to the true Orioles (genus Oriohrs) of the Old World. Our Baltimore Oriole is a worthy representative of a group remarkable for its bright colors. It is to these Baltimore Oriole same colors that the bird owes not only Icft'n/s gaibuia. its generic but its specific designation, Plate XXXV. orange and black being the livery of Lord Baltimore, after whom the bird was named. The Baltimore Oriole, or, as it is also called, Firebird, Golden Robin, or Hangnest, winters in Central America, and in the spring reaches the latitude of New York city about May 1. I always look for it when the cherry trees burst into blossom, and at no other time does its beauti- ful plumage appear to better advantage than when seen against a background of white flowers. To the charm of beauty it adds the attraction of song, a rich, ringing whistle, which can be more or less successfully imitated, when the bird immediately responds, challenging the supposed trespasser on his domain. The Baltimore's nest is a bag about five inches deep and three inches in diameter, woven of plant-fibers, thread, etc., and suspended from the terminal portion of a limb, generally of an elm tree. The four to six eggs are white, singularly scrawled with fine black lines, and with a few spots or blotches. The Orchard Oriole is neither so common nor so gayly dressed as his brilliantly colored relative, and, being fonder of orchards than lawns and elm-shaded highways, 132 ORCHARD ORIOLE. is not so well known. The female is especially easy to overlook, her suit of plain olive-green closely liarmoniz- OrcHard Oriole, ing with the leaves in color. Young Jcttrus spurius. niales at first exactly resemble her, but riate xxxvi. ^jjg following spring return, wearing their father's black cravat. In this plumage they might readily be taken for another species, so little do they re- semble their parents in appearance. The adult chestnut and black plumage is not fully acquired until the sec- ond, or perhaps even the third spring. The Orchard Oriole winters in Central America, and in the summer is found throughout the eastern United States from the Gulf of Mexico to Massachusetts. It arrives from the South about May 1, and is one of the first birds to leave in the fall, rarely being seen after September 1, Nesting is begun late in May. The nest is pensile, but not so deep as that of the Baltimore Oriole, having more the proportions of a Yireo's nest. It is composed entirely of freshly dried greenish grasses, and is suspended from near the extremity of a branch at a height of fifteen to twenty feet. The three to five eggs are bluish white, spotted, blotched, and scrawled with black. The song of the Orchard Oriole resembles that of his orange-and-black cousin, but is far richer in tone and more finished in character. The male Redwing, with his black uniform and scar- let epaulets, is a familiar inhabitant of our marshes, but many who know him are not acquainted Eed-winged Blackbird, ^^^^ j^.^ differently attired mate. She wears a costume which above is black streaked with buff and rust-color, and below is striped dingy black and white, and is much more retiring than her conspicuous husband. Her place is low in the bushes or among the reeds near the nest with its pale Plate XLIX. Page 146. TEEE SPARKOW, Length, 6-35 inches. Crown bright chestnut; back black, reddish brown, and buf^'; under parts gra,yish; sides washed with brownish; a blackish spot in the center of the breast. PURPLE GRACKLE. 133 blue eggs, so singularly scrawled witli black. He perches on the topmost branch of a neighboring tree, and doubt- less supposes he is guarding his home below, when in truth he is advertising his treasure to every passer-by. The Redwing's liquid koiig-quer ree is pleasantly suggestive of marshy places, but it is his early spring music for which we should chiefly value him. The first Robins or Bluebirds are somewhat unreliable signs of spring. They are such hardy birds that it requires very little encouragement from a February sun to send a few skirmishers northward. We can not be sure whether they represent the advance guard or are individuals who have had the courage to winter with us. But when early in March the Redwings come, then we know that the tide of the year has turned. With perennial faith in the sea- son they come in flocks of hundreds, singing their spring- time chorus with a spirit that March winds can not sub- due. About the time the Redwings come, late in Februaiy or early in March, we may ex]3ect the Purple Grackles Purple Grackle, ^^ ^^'^^^ Blackbirds. ^ They migrate in Quiscaiusquiscula. large flocks, and their chorus singing Plate XXXVII. jg q^jte as inspiring as the springtime concerts of the Redwing. There are two kinds of Crow Blackbirds, known as the Purple Grackle and the Bronzed Grackle. The former has iridescent bars on the back and in the Northern States is found only east of the Alleghanies and south of Massachusetts ; the latter has the back shining, brassy, bronze, without iridescence, and in the nesting season inhabits the country west of the Alleghanies and north of Connecticut. The females of both species are smaller and duller than the males. Grackles are among the few of our land birds who live in flocks all the year. They pass the winter and mi- grate in larger companies, but when nesting are in smaller ir'>4 BOBOLINK. bands or colonies. Tliey generally select a pine grove, often choosing one in a cemetery, park, or other locality where they will not be disturbed. This may result in a scarcity of food when the young are born, but, rather than abandon a locality which experience has proved to be safe, they make long journeys in search of food for their nestlings. By watching the old birds one may then easily learn where they live. Their flight is direct and somewhat labored, and when going only a short distance they '* keel " their tail-feathers, foldhig them upward from the middle, an action which renders Grackles con- spicuous and easily identifiable when on the wing. On the ground they strut about with a peculiar walk, which, in connection with their yellowish white eye, adds to the singularity of their appearance. The Grackle's nest is a bulky, compact structure of mud and grasses. It is usually placed in trees, twenty to thirty feet from the ground, but the bird may sometimes ne.st in bushes or even in a "Woodpecker's deserted hole. The three to six eggs are generally pale bluish green, strikingly spotted, blotched, or scrawled with brown and black. But one brood is raised, and when the young leave the nest they roam about the country in small bands, which later join together, forming the enormous flocks of these birds we see in the fall. The Bobolink's extended journeys and quite differ- ent costumes have given him many aliases. Throughout his breeding range, from JS'ew Jersey to Nova Scotia, ^ , ,. , and westward to Utah, he is known Bobolink, , ., , i t-. i t i t Dolichonyx whilo uestmg as the Bobohnk. in oryzivorus. July and August he loses his black, Plate XXX viil. ^^^ ^^^ ^j^-^^ wedding dress, and gains a new suit of feathers resembling in color those worn by his mate, though somewhat yellower. This is the Eeedbird dress, and in it he journeys nearly four N. -^/ -/ L ^ nN ^^^ ^^^ N ♦ ,iV-rr :• Plate L. Pages 146, 147. ^ EEDPOLL. Length, 5-30 inches. Adult male, crown bright red; back brownish black and grayish ; throat black ; under parts white, streaked with black; breast pink. Adult female and young, similar., but no pink on ^^^''^' SN0WFL.4KE, Length, 6-90 inches. Upper paits brown and black; wings and tail - black and white ; under parts white ; breast and sides brownish. BOBOLINK. 135 thousand miles to Ijis winter quarters south of the Ama- zon. The start is made in July, when he joins flocks of his kind in the northern wild-rice [Zlzania aquatica) marshes. Late in August he visits the cultivated rice fields of South Carolina and Georgia, and it is at this sea- son we so often hear the metallic tinlc. of passing migrants. The rice is now in the milk, and the Rieebirds, or Oi'to- lans, as they are called in the South, are so destructive to the crop that it is estimated they directly or indirectly cause an annual loss of $3,000,000. Some birds linger as far north as New York until October 1, bat by this time the leaders of the south-bound host have reached Cuba, where they are called Chamhergo. From Cuba they pass to the coast of Yucatan, and thence southward through Central America or to the island of Jamaica, where, because of their extreme fatness, they are known as Butterbirds. Fi-om Jamaica they go to the mainland, either of Central America, or by one continuous flight of four hundred miles to northern South America, thence traveling southward to their winter home. The northward journey is begun in March or April, and about the 25tli of the latter month the vanguard reaches Florida. It is composed only of males, now called Maybirds, all in full song. Let any one who knows the Bobolink's song imagine, if he can, the effect produced by three hundred birds singing together ! About May 1 Bobolinks reach the vicinity of Xew York city. The females soon follow the males, and early in June the birds are nesting. This is the glad season of the Bobolink's year. For ten months he has been an exile, but at last he is at home again, and he gives voice to his joy in the jolliest tinkling, rip2:)ling, rollicking song that ever issued from bird's throat. In the fields made merry by the music of Bobolinks one 1 36 MEADOWLARK. is almost sure to find Meadowlarks, They are strong, legged walkers, and spend all their time while feeding Meadowlark, ^^ the ground. Like all terrestrial, 8turru.Ua ma,jiia. protectivclj coloreJ birds, they often Plate xxxix. ^j,^, ^^ escape observation by hiding in the grasses rather than by flying. When perched in a tree or other exposed position, they are among the shyest of our smaller birds, rarely permitting a near approach ; but when they fancy themselves concealed on the ground they sometimes "lie as close" as Bob-whites. When flushed they fly rapidly, alternately flapping and sailing, showing as they fly the white feathers on either side of their tail. These feathers are the Meadowlark" s best field character. They are very conspicuous when he is on the wing, and, when perching, if he is alarmed or excited, he exposes them by nervously flitting or twitching his tail. This movement is generally accompanied by a single nasal call-note, which changes to a rolling twitter as the bird takes wing. I^either of these notes give any indi- cation of the sweetness of the bird's song, a high musical whistle, clear as the note of a fife, sweet as the tone of a flute. It is subject to much variation both individual and local, but the song I oftenest hear in northern New Jersey may be written : ^. >iE^EEEEtl When singing, the birds usually perch in an exposed po- sition, generally choosing the topmost branches of a tree or a dead limb. The Meadowlark's nest is placed upon the ground, as a rule, in a tuft of grasses which is arranged to form a dome over it. The eggs, four to six in number, are laid about May 15, and in color are white, spotted or speckled with cinnamon or reddish brown. Plate LI. AMEKICAN CROSSBILL. Pages U7, 148. Length, 6-20 inches. Adult male, dull red ; back brownish ; wings and tail blackish. Adult female and young, greenish ; back more or less mottled with brownish ; the under parts grayish. PINE GROSBEAK. Length, 9*10 inches. Adult male, rose-pink ; back brownish ; lower belly gray ; wings and tail brownish black. Adult female and young, gray ; crown, upper tail-coverts, and breast washed with deep yellow. COWBIRD. 137 Occasionally Cowbirds are seen during the winter near New York city ; but, as a rule, tliey retire farther Cowbird south at this season, and are first ob- Molothrus ater. scrved there in the spring about March Plate XL. 2:). They do not come in large flocks, but singly or in small bands. The male may now be seen perched in an exposed position on a treetop, calling his long-drawn-out, glassy klucJc, tse-e-e. Later, when wooing the female, he utters a curious, gurgling note, resembling the sound made by pouring water rapidly from a bottle, and accompanying it by motions which suggest extreme nausea. We often see these birds feed- ing near cattle in the pastures, always in small flocks, for they do not pair nor even construct a nest, the female lay- ing her egg in the nest of another and generally smaller species. Few birds seem aware of the imposture, and not only do they incubate the egg but they may attend to the demands of the young Cowbird at the expense of their own offspring, who sometimes die of starvation. Even after leaving the nest the young parasite continues its call for food, and when seeing a Maryland Yellow- throat, or some other small bird feeding a clumsy fledg- ling twice its size, one wonders it does not detect the de- ception. The better we know birds the more strongly are we impressed with their individuality. To one who has no friends in feathers it seems pure fancy to endow some insignificant " Chippy " with human attributes ; but in reality there are as clearly defined characters among birds as among men. To be convinced of the truth of this statement we have only to compare the Cowbird, a thoroughly contemptible creature, lacking in every moral and maternal instinct, with the bird who constructs a well- made nest, faithfully broods her eggs, and cares for her young with a devotion of which mother love alone is capable. 138 SONG SPARROW. Sparro^w^s, Finches, etc. (Family Fringillid^.) This, the largest family of birds, contains between five hundred and fifty and six hundred species, and is repre- sented in all parts of the world except the Australian re- gion. Sparrows are the evergreens among birds. When the leaves have fallen from the chestnut, oak, and maple, the hemlock, pine, and cedar are doubly dear. So, when the Flycatchers, "SYarblers, and Thrushes have left us, the hardy Sparrows are more than usually welcome. Feed- ing largely on seeds, which their strong, stout bills are especially fitted to crush, they are not affected by the changes in temperature which govern the movements of strictly insectivorous birds. Some species are wdth us throughout the year, some come from the South in early spring and remain until snow falls, others come from the far North to pass the winter ; so that at no season of the year are we without numbers of these cheery birds. Fortunately, some of our best songsters are members of this family. Their music is less emotional than that of the Thrushes, but it has a happier ring — the music for every day. It is the Song Sparrow who in February opens the Song Sparrow, season of song, and it is the Song .Udoquza/asrkua. Sparrow who in November sings its Plate XLI. closing notes ; nor, except during a part of August, has his voice once been missing from the choir. His modest chant always suggests good cheer and contentment, but heard in silent February it seems the divinest bird lay to which mortal ever listened. The magic of his voice bridges the cold months of early spring ; as we listen to him the brown fields seem green, flowers bloom, and the bare branches become clad with softly rustling leaves. Plate LII. Page 148. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. Length, 5*10 inches. Adult male in summer, crown black; rest of body yellow; wings and tail black and white. Ailulf female and males in winter, upper parts grayish brown; crown yellowish; under parts soiled whitish ; throat yellow. SWAMP SPARROW. 139 You can not go far afield without meeting this singer. He is not only our commonest Sparrow, but one of our commonest birds. Generally you will find him on or near the ground at the border of some undergrowth, and if there be water near by, preferably a meadow brook, his presence is assured. When flushed he will doubtless make for the nearest thicket, " pumping " his tail, as Thompson expressively says, in describing hk somewhat jerky flight. Now he cpiestions you with a mildly impatient chimp or trink, a call-note not to be mistaken for that of any other species, when once you have learned it. Equally diagnostic is the bird's spotted breast with one larger spot in its center. The Song Sparrow's nest is usually placed on the ground, but sometimes a bush may be chosen for a nest- ing site. The eggs, four or five in number, are bluish white, thickly marked with reddish bro-wn. The Song- Sparrow rears three broods each year, the nesting season lasting from May to August. The Swamp Sparrow, a well-named cousin of the Song Sparrow, resembles his relative in his fondness for Swamp Sparrow, ^^^® vicinity of water and habit of tak- Meiospiza g"oruilt in the vines on the veranda or a neighboring tree. The eggs are unexpectedly pretty, a bright blue or bluish Plate LIV. Page 150. BOSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. Length, 8'10 inches. Adtilt male, crown and back black; rump white; throat black; breast rose-red ; belly white. Adult female, upper parts dark brown and buff ; a white line over eye ; under parts buffy, streaked with brownish ; under wing-coverts orange. WHITE-THROATED SPAKROW. 143 green, sj)Otted, chiefly at the larger end, with cirmamon- brown or blackish markings. Up to this time the Chippy has given us a good oppor- tunity to see his chestnut cap and black forehead, but when the nesting season is over he will change these for a cap to match his coat, and with others of his kind gather in old, weedv fields, remainiim- there until cold weather drives him southward. About the time of the first frost a new Sparrow will appear in the hedgerows and thickets and the under. growth of the woods. The white patch Sparrow on his throat may aid in his identifica- Zonotrichia uibicoUis. tion as the White-throatcd Sparrow, a Plate XLVi. jSTorthern bird who in the summer nests from northern New England northward, and in Avinter is found from southern New England to the Gulf of Mexico. He is disposed to be rather quiet for several days after his arrival, and, beyond a few low notes addressed to his companions, has little to say ; but if you whistle to him even a poor imitation of his song, nearly every bird in the company will hop up from the tangle of branches and, perching on the. outer twigs, look for the friends who called. Perhaps some may essay a tremulous response, but for a week or more they will make few at- tempts to sing. Later, you will hear the sweet, plaintive notes that give to this bird the name Peabody-bird. The White-throat's call-notes are a low tseej) and a very characteristic sharp chinl; which has been well likened by Mr. Bicknell to the sound of a marble cut- ter's chisel. At this season the White-throats roost to- gether in flocks of varying size, and if you chance to be near their home at bedtime you will hear this chink note given as a "quarriers' chorus." Finally, as the gloom deepens, it will ceise, and from the dark depths of the 144 FOX SPARROW. tliicket will come only the cozy, contented twitterings of tlie birds wishing one another good night. The interest with which one examines a flock of White- throateJ Sparrows is intensified by the probability of White-crowned finding their distinguished relative the Sparrow, White-crown. In the Mississippi Yal- ZonotricUa ley he is often common, but in the leucophrys. ^t]antic States he is sufiiciently rare to be a character of importance. The "White-crown differs from the White-throat in having no white on the throat, which, like the breast, is gray, and in having the space before the eye black in- stead of yellow or white. In the fall his crown is brown, with a paler line through its center. Near l^ew York city I look for the White-crown in September and October, and again about May 15. Thompson describes its song as '" like the latter half of the White-throat's familiar refrain, repeated a number of times with a peculiar sad cadence and in a clear, soft whistle." Some fine day about the middle of March you may hear a song so unlike any 3'ou have ever heard, that be- Fox Sparrow ^^^*® ^^*^ singer ceases you will know Passeveiia iiiaca. you are on the verge of a discovery. Plato XLVII. rpi^^ song is loud, exceedingly sweety and varied. Its richness of tone seems to accentuate the bleakness of the bird's surroundings. It is a song for summer, not for leafless spring; but heard at this sea- son it seems all the more attractive, and with pleasurable excitement you hasten toward the second growth, near the border of which the bird is perched. His large size and bright reddish brown upper parts readily distinguish him from other Sparrows, and, in connection with his spotted breast, give him a general resemblance to a Hermit Thrush, for which bird he is sometimes mistaken ; but a PliATE LV. Page 151. TOWHEE. Length, 8-35 inches. Adult male, upper parts, throat, and breast black ; belly white ; sides reddish brown. Adult female, similar, but black replaced by brownish. JUNCO. lio glance at his sliort, stout bill at once shows his family rela- tionships, and you should have no difficulty in identifying him as the Fox Sparrow. A month later he will leave us for his summer home in the far North, but in October and November his ringing notes may again be heard as he pauses a day or two on his journey southward. After the Fox Sparrows go, our bird-life is reduced to its winter elements — that is, permanent residents and win- Junco ^^^ visitants. Of the latter the Junco junco hyemaiis. or Slate-colored Snowbird is the com- Piate XL VII I. monest and most generally distributed. Althouo-h we call this bird a winter visitant, he is with us nearly eiu;ht months in the year, arriving late in Sep- tember and remaining until early May. The Junco is one of the birds whose acquaintance can be easily made. His suit of slaty gray, with its low-cut vest of white, is not worn by any other of our birds ; and while some species show white outer tail-feathers in flight, the Junco's seem to be more than usually conspicuous. Except when nesting, Juncos associate in loose flocks of from ten to fifty. Generally you will find them feed- ing on the ground near evergreens, into which, when dis- turbed, they will fly with a twittering note. If they are excited by your appearance you will hear a sharp, kissing call ; but if unalarmed they will utter a rapidly repeated cheiv-chew-chew^ expressive of the utmost contentment. In March and April, before leaving for their summer home in northern New England or the crests of the Alleghanies and Catskills, the Juncos sing a simple trill or low, twittering warble. Modest in manner and attire, there is nothing of especial interest in the Junco's habits, and only bird-lovers can understand what a difference his presence makes in a winter landscape. It brings a sense of companionship ; it is a link between us and Natui-e. 146 TREE SPARROW AND REDPOLL. The bird's cheeiy twitter is as welcome as a raj of sun- light on a cloudj day. With the J uncos we may often find a company of Tree Sparrows or Winter Chippies. They resemble our Tree Sparrow familiar Chipping Sparrow, but the Spizdiamouticoia. blackisli dot in the center of their Plate XLix. breasts is a good distinguishing mark. Then, too, the true Chippies all leave for the South in IS^ovember, while the Winter Chippies come in October and remain until April. Tree Sparrows are sociable birds, mth apparently the best of dispositions. They are usually found in small companies, each member of which seems to have some- thing to say. Watch them feeding on an old weed stalk left uncovered by the snow. It bends beneath the weight of half a dozen birds, but, far from attempting to rob one another, they keep up a conversational chatter bespeakmg the utmost good fellowship. Too-ld-it, too-ld-it, each one calls, and I have only to remember this note to bring clearly to mind a bright winter morning with the fresh snow crystals sparkling in the sunshine, and in the dis- tance a tinkling chorus of Tree Sparrows at breakfast. Another winter associate of the Junco's, and an inti- mate friend of the Tree Sparrow's, is the Redpoll, Red- EedpoU P*^^^ Linnet, or, as he is sometimes Acanthis linaria. Called, Rcd-capped Chippy. The Red- Plate L. pqIj jjgg^g ij^ i\yQ faj. Xorth, and the extent of his southern journeys depends very much upon the supply of food he finds in his winter wanderings. When there are seeds in abundance north of the United States, we do not see many of these birds, but if the larder fails they may come into I^ew England in great numbers, and a few may venture as far south as Virginia. One can not tell, therefore, when to expect them, but it is well to be on the lookout from November to March. PIjAtb LVI. Page 155. DICKCISSEL. Length, 6*00 inches. Adult male, back black, chestnut, and grayish; lesser wing-coverts bright chestnut ; chin white; throat black ; breast yellow ; belly white. Adult female, upper parts streaked black and grayish ; throat white ; breast yellowish, with black streaks ; belly white. SNOWFLAKE AND CROSSBILL. 147 With tlie Tree Sparrows and Jiincos, Redpolls feed on the seeds of plants left uncovered bj the snow, and they also include birch buds in their fare. None of our wiilter birds better illustrate the flock- ing habit than the Snowflakes, Snow Buntings, or, as they Snowflake are also called. White Snowbirds. With riectrophenax nivaUs. a Uniformity of movement which would Plate L. p^^ ^Q shame the evolutions of the best- drilled troops, they whirl over the snow-clad fields, wheel- ing to right or left, as though governed by a single impulse. Suddenly they swing downward into a weedy field, alighting on the snuw or ground, where they riin — not hop about — like little beach birds. Sometimes, it is said, they sing on the wing while with us, but their usual note is a low chirp. They are terrestrial birds, and, al- though they may often perch on fences or buildings, are rarely seen in trees. Snowflakes nest within the Arctic Circle, and, like other of our winter birds that come from the far North, are irregular in their movements. As a rule they do not wander much south of Long Island and northern Illinois, but occasionally they go as far as Virginia and Kansas, and are thus among the possibilities which add so much to the pleasure of winter days in the field. The Crossbill is a possibility at any season. None of our birds is more erratic in its migrations. As a rule, it is found in the Middle States only be- American Crossbill, tv r i Loxia curvirostm twccn November and March, but I minor, have Seen it in Central Park, New York city, as late as May. In the higher parts of the Alleghanies and in northern New England it is resident throughout the year. Crossbills usually wander as far south each winter as Connecticut, but beyond this are of irregular occurrence. They feed almost entirely upon the seeds of pines, and 11 us PINE GROSBEAK. are not often seen far from coniferous trees. Their sin- gular bill might, at first glance, be considered misshapen, but if you will watch a Crossbill push his crossed mandi- bles beneath the scale of a pine cone, and with a quick twist force it off and secure the seed at its base, you will readily admit that for the bird's purposes his bill could not be easily improved. In hunting for Crossbills it is a good plan to look through the woods for falling scales of pine cones, and when you. see a shower of them whirling softly down- ward it behooves you to learn the cause of their descent. The birds often follow them to the ground, to secure the seeds which have dropped there. Crossbills fly in compact flocks, and often utter a sharp, clicking note while on the wing. Their song is sweet and varied but not loud. Pine Grosbeaks are among our rarer winter visit- ants. They come as far south as Massachusetts in vary- Pine Grosbeak ^^S numbers, and occasionally reach Firdcolaeriuchator. Counecticut, but SOUtll of this point Plate LI. j^j.g q£ very infrequent occurrence. At irregular intervals Pine Grosbeaks become abundant dur- ing the winter in New England, when, because of their size, they attract general attention. They usually resort to coniferous trees, upon the seeds of which they feed, but they also eat berries and buds, and are said to be espe- cially fond of the fruit of the staghorn sumach. 1^0 one seeing the Goldfinch or Yellowbird in his summer costume of o-old and black would imag-ine that so Goldfincli dainty a creature could brave the storms Spinits trisfis. of wiutcr ; but late in the season, when Plate Lii. |-j'g i^fyyYie life is ended, he changes the gay wedding dress for a plainer suit, and joins the ranks of winter birds. I wish that every one knew the Goldfinch. His gen- PiiATE LVII. Page 161. CEDAR WAXWING. Length, 7-20 inches. Grayish brown; upper tail-coverts gray; lower belly yellowish; end of tail yellow; secondaries sometimes with red, sealing-wax-like tips ; stripe through face black. GOLDFINCH. 149 tie ways and sweet-disposition are never-f ailing antidotes for discontent. One can not be lonsj near a flock of these birds without being impressed by the refinement which seems to mark their every note and action. They show, too, a spirit of contentment from which we may draw more than a passing lesson. Hear me^ hear ine^ dearie^ they call as they feed among the weeds or on the birch buds, and, no matter how poor the fare, they seem thankful for it. The seeds of the dandelion, thistle, and sunflower are among their favorites ; and if you would attract Goldfinches as well as some other birds, devote a corner of your garden to sunflowers. The meal fijiisheJ, the birds launch into the air, and to the tune of a cheery j)^^'-<-'J>''iC-o-ree, jjer-clac-o-rce^ go swinging through space in long, bounding undulations. In April the males regain their bright colors, but they are evidently believers in prolonged courtshij), and, al- though the nuptial dress is acquired so early, housekeep- ing is apparently not thought of until June. Then a neat home of bark and fine grasses, thickly lined with plant down, is placed in a bush or tree, five to thirty feet from the ground, and in it are laid three to six pale, bluish- white eggs. Now the song season has reached its height. Chonis singing has been abandoned. Each bird has become an inspired soloist, who, perched near his home or flying in broad circles about it, pours forth a flood of melody. It is an exceedingly attractive song, sweet and varied and suggesting a Canary's, but still is no more like it than a hothouse is like a tropical forest. Creali\ creak, the notes are clear but faint, and may Purple Finch come from any place beyond arm's reach. CarpoiiaciiKp'irpure'is. Tliey are the Purple Finch's flight- Plate Liii. qqWq ; one might think his wing-joints needed oiling. Alighting on the topmost twig of a 150 PUEPLE FINCH. forest tree, he utters a low, wild, questioning whistle. With crown-feathers slightly erect he seems alert and restless, and before we can fairly see him is off again to parts unknown. Purple Finches, in small companies, may often be seen feeding near the ground with Goldfinches, but if alarmed they soon return to the tree tops. The old males may be known by their pinkish red color, which is bright- est on the head and breast, and fades to brownish on the lower back and tail and white on the belly. The young males and females are Sparrowlike in appearance, the upper parts being dark grayish brown, the under parts white, streaked with dusky. A whitish line passing over the eye is a characteristic mark. During the winter Purple Finches are irregularly dis- tributed throughout most of the Eastern States, but in summer they are not found south of northern New Jer- sey. They now become more social and may nest in our gardens. Generally a coniferous tree is selected, and the nest of twigs, grasses, and rootlets is placed at a height of about twenty feet. The eggs, four to six in number, are blue, spotted with dusky about the larger end. Count yourself fortunate if a Purple Finch makes his home near yours. He may appropriate a few buds and blossoms, but he will repay you with music and leave you his debtor. His song is a sweet, flowing warble ; music as natural as the rippling of a mountain brook. Some morning early in May you may meet the Kose- breasted Grosbeak, just returned from a winter's sojourn in South America. Perhaps his fame Rose-breasted^^^^^^^^ ^^.^^ ^^^^^ preceded him, when you will Zameiodia ' in a mcasure be prepared for his charms ivdoviciana. of soug and plumige, and so miss the Plate Liv. ]^eener pleasure of surprise ; but to me he appeared as a revelation, and after fifteen years I still Plate LIX. EED-EYED VIEEO. Pages 164, 165. Length, 6-25 inches. Crown gray, bordered by black and white ; back, wings, and tail olive-green ; under parts wuite. TELLOW-THEOATED VIEEO. Length, 5.95 inches. Crown and back greenish yellow ; rump gray ; breast bright yellow ; belly white ; wing-bars white. TOWHEE. 151 find it difficult to believe that, -unkiiown to me, this beau- tiful creature could long have been an inhabitant of raj woods. Tlie Grosbeak prefers young second growths, with a liberal proportion of oaks. In one of these trees he will doubtless build his nest, a structure so lightly made that one can almost see the blue, spotted eggs from below. The male is not only an ardent lover but an admirable hnsljand, and, unlike most brightly attired birds, shares with his mate the task of incubation, and, it is said, sings while on the nest. His mate is so unlike him in color that few would suspect their relationship. She suggests an overgrown female Purple Finch, with the eye-stripe especially prominent ; but if you should chance to see the under surface of her wings, you would find that they were lined with gold. However, the call-notes of both sexes are alike — a sharp, characteristic j)eelv^ which you will have no difficulty in recognizing after you ha\'e learned it. The Grosbeak's song will remind you of a Robin's, but it is in truth a much higher tyi^Q of bird music. It is a joyous carol, expressive of a happy disposition and a clear conscience. The Towhee, or Che^vink, is an important member of any bird community. He comes early — April 20 may Towhee ^^^^ \^ym. with us — and he stays late, Pifiio sometimes remaining until iS^ovember 1. erythropUhalmus. During this period there is not an hour of the day when you can not find a Chewink if you know how to look for him. At midday you will perhaps have to summon him by a whistled to- whee from the depths of his bushy home on the border of a wood or thicket ; but he will soon respond, and with a flyff-fli^(ff of his short, rounded wings, fly jerkily up to inquire what's wanted. 152 INDIGO BUNTING. Some birds, such as the Red-ejed Yireo, can sing just as well while hunting food as at any other time ; in fact, I do not remember ever seeing a Ked-eje pause long in its search, for insects — song and search go on together. But with the Che wink singing is a serious matter, not to be associated with the material question of food ; so, when singing, he abandons the dead leaves he has been tossing about so vigorously, and, mounting a perch, becomes an inspired if not gifted musician. Sweet hird, sing, a friend writes it, the " sing " being higher, sustained, and vibrant. To this there is often a refrain which suggests an an- swering, tremulous I^ll try. Matins or vespers over, the Chewink returns to the ground and resumes his occupation of scratching among the leaves for breakfast or supper, as the case may be. The Chewink's nest is placed on the ground, often in dried grass, beneath a tangle of running wild blackberry. The eggs, four or five in number, are white, finely and evenly speckled with reddish brown. There are three birds who sing not only through the heat of midsummer but are undaunted by the warmth of a midday sun. They are the Wood flTin^y^^^ea. P^woe, the Ecd-eyed Vireo, and the In- digo-bird or Bunting. The Pewee and Vireo, singing dreamily from the shady depths of a tree, carry the air to the hummed accompaniment of insects; but the Bunting, mounting to an upper branch, gives voice to a tinkhng warble, more in keeping with the freshness of early morning than the languor of noon. July, July, sum^ner-s^imme?'' s here; morning, noontide, evening, list to me^ he sings so rapidly that human tongue can scarce enumerate the words fast enough to keep pace with him. The Indigo-bird is in song when he comes to Us from the South early in May, but it is not until other Plate LVIII. Page 162. NORTHERN SHRIKE. Length, 10-30 inches. Adult, upper parts gray; tail black and white ; under parts white, with blackish bars ; lores grayish ; ear-coverts black. Young, similar, but plumage washed with brownish. CARDmAL. 153 singers have dropped from tlie chorus that his voice be- comes conspicuous. Not far away his mate is doubtless sitting on her blu- ish white eggs in a nest low down in the crotch of a bush. He in his deep indigo costume may be easily identified, but she is a dull brownish bird, about the size of a Ca- nary, sparrowlike in appearance, though with unstreaked plumage, and a difficult bird to name, even when you have a specimen in your hand, while in the bush, if silent, she is a puzzle. But she is far too good a mother not to protest if you venture too near her home, and her sharp pit ov jpeet usually calls her mate, whom you Avill recog- nize at once. The Cardinal is about the size of a Towhee, with plumage which, except for a black throat, is almost wholly rosy red. Seeing a mounted -, ,. ,. ,'. ,. Cardinal, one mia;ht imagine that he CardtnaCis caramalis. ' _ ~ ^ _ ~_ was a conspicuous bird in life and easy to observe ; but the truth is that, in spite of his bright colors, the Cardinal is a surprisingly difficult bird to see. You may often hear his sharp, insignificant tsip without catching a glimpse of the caller, so well can he conceal himself. His olive-brown mate is, of course, even more difficult to find, and when you do see her you would hardly suspect the relationship were it not for her actions and the striking crest worn by both sexes. The Cardinal's song is a rich, sympathetic whistle. His mate also sings at times, and I carry in my memory a musical courting I once observed, in which a pair of these beautiful birds were the actors. The song begins with whee-you, whee-you, long-drawn notes, which are followed by a more rapid hurry ^ hurry ^ hurry / quich, quicl% quick,, and other notes difficult of description. The Cardinal is a bird of the Southern rather than of the Northern States, and is rarely seen north of New 154 LARK FINCH. York city. It is, however, a permanent resident tlirougli- out its range, and to one who associates it with magnoHas and yellow jessamine it seems strangely out of place amid snowy surroundings. The Cardinal builds its nest about four feet from the ground in thickets, laying three or four eggs, which are white or bluish white, speckled and spotted with grayish or reddish brown. In the Mississippi Yalley and westward there are sev- eral members of this family who are rarely found east Lark Finch ^^ ^^^^ Alleghanies. Pronnnent among Chondesies them is the Lark Finch, a handsome grammacus. ]j[j.(\^ about six and a quarter inches long, with ear-coverts and sides of the crown chestnut, the back grayish bro^vn streaked with black, the outer tail-feathers tipped with white, and the under parts white, with a single black spot in the center of the breast. This is a migratory bird, arriving in southern Illinois about the middle of April and remaining until September or October. Mr. Ridgway, in his Birds of Illinois, says that its favorite resorts are " fertile prairies and meadows adjoining strips or groves of timber. In Illinois it evinces a special fondness for cornfields, in which it builds its nest at the foot of the stalks, while the male sings from the fence or the top of a small tree by the roadside." Its song, the same writer continues, is " composed of a series of chants, each syllable rich, loud, and clear, in- terspersed with emotional trills. At the beginning the song reminds one somewhat of that of the Indigo-bird (Passerina cyanea)^ but the notes are louder and more metallic, and their dehvery more vigorous. Though seemingly hurried, it is one contiimous gush of sprightly music ; now gay, now melodious, and then tender beyond description — the very expression of emotion." Plate LX. Page 167. BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER. Length, 5 -25 inches. Adult male, upper parts, breast, and sides black and white ; belly white. Adult female, simil'';r, but with less black on under parts. DICKCISSEL. 155 Some thirty or forty years ago the Dickeissel, or Black-throated Bunting, was a locally common bird in Dickeissel ^^^^ Middle Atlantic States. !N"ow it is Sjpiza americana rarely found cast of the AlleghanieSj Plato L\ I. ,^j^j even in the Mississippi Valley its range is becoming restricted, and it is of irregular distri- bution. It migrates in large flocks, the males in the spring being several days in advance of the females. About May 1 it reaches the latitude of Chicago, and by the mid- dle of the month is mated. The nest is placed on the ground, or in low trees or bushes ; the eggs, four or live in immber, are pale blue. In the work previously quoted from, Mr. Ridgway writes of this species : " While some other birds are equally numerous, there are few that announce their presence as persistently as this species. All day long, in spring and summer, the males, sometimes to the num- ber of a dozen or more for each meadow of considerable extent, perch upon the summits of tall weed stalks or fence-stakes, at short iutervals, crying out : See, see — Dick, Dick Cissel, Clssel ; therefore ' Dick Cissel ' is well kno^vn to every farmer's boy as well as to all who visit the country during the season pf clover blossoms and wild roses, when ' Dame JS^ature 'ns in her most joyous mood." Tanagers. (Family Tanagridje.) The Tanagers, numbering some three hundred and fifty species, are found only in America. Their home is in the tropics, where they are among the most abun- dant of birds. But two species reach the eastern United States, the Summer Redbird of the South and our Scar- let Tanager, both worthy representatives of a group of birds which in brilliancy of color rival even the Hum- 156 SCARLET TANAQER. mingbirds. The male Scarlet Tanager, with fire -red body and jet-black wings and tail, is the most brightly plum- aged of our birds. Seen against a Scarlet Tanager, -^^^n background, light seems to radi- Plranga erythromelas. -^ f, ^ • £ ^^ -r» ^ ate irom his glowing leathers. J5ut the female, clad in dull olive-green, is so in harmony with the color of her surroundings that she is not easily discovered. The young male at first resembles his mother, but has blackish wings and tail, and does not acquire the full scarlet and black plumage until the following spring. After the nesting season is over the male exchanges the nuptial dress, which has rendered him so conspicuous, for a costume similar to that worn by the young male. The Scarlet Tanager spends the winter in Central and South America with his numerous relatives, and in the spring reaches the latitude of New York city about May 5, remaining until October. It frequents both high and low woods, but prefers rather open growths of white oak. Its nest is usually placed on the horizontal branch of an oak limb. The three or four eggs are pale greenish blue, with numerous reddish brown markings. The Tanager's call-note is a characteristic cMp-churr ; his song is not unlike the Robin's, but is not so free and ringing. Mounting to the topmost branch, often of a dead or partially dead tree, he sings. Look-up, way-up, looh-at-me, tree-top^ and with frequent pauses repeats the invitation. Swallows. (Family Hirundinid^.) Primarily, Swallows are remarkable for their power of flight. Their long, bladelike wings show how well they are fitted for life in the air; their small feet, on the other hand, are of little ser\T[ce except in perching, and give evidence of the effect of disuse (see Fig. 6). Pl/ATE LXI. Page 168. MYRTLE WAEBLEK. Length, 5-65 inches. Winter plumage, crown-patch, rump, and sides of breast yellow ; back brown and black ; under parts black and white. Summer plumage, similar, but upper parts gray and black ; more black cJfi under parts. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. Length, 5-10 inches. Upper parts yellowish green; face brighter; breast black ; beUy white. SWALLOWS. 15 ') I The aerial ability of Swallows accounts for their wide distribution, the eighty known specdes being represented in all parts of the world. Only six of them inhabit the northeastern States, but they are so active and so easily observed, that they rank among our most abundant and best-known birds. Swallows are eminently insectivorous. The Tree Swal !ow is known to feed on bayberries when its usual fare is M-anting, but, with this exception, it is doubtful if any but insect food passes a Swallow's bill from one year's end to another. Recalling now the activity of Swallows, which both necessitates a large supply of food and pro- cures it, and we must realize that these birds are incal- culably beneficial. Both the feeding habits and powers of flight of Swal- lows are such as their structure would lead us to expect, but when we examine their nests we are amazed at the architectural skill of builders so poorly provided with tools. The large mud pocket of the Barn Swallow, the clay retort of the Cliif Swallow, and the long burrow which the Bank Swallow excavates, are surely not the kind of homes we should expect these small-billed, weak- footed, dainty creatures to constnict. "We will note, too, that these feathered architects are quick to perceive and take advantage of the new and favorable conditions for nest-building found about the home of man. The Bank, Rough-winged, and Tree Swallows, and the Purple Martin, lay white eggs ; the eggs of the Barn and ClifE Swallows are speckled with cinnamon, olive, and reddish brown. It is when nesting that Swallows best show one of their strong characteristics — their sociability. Many birds live in flocks during part of the year, but separate in pairs when nesting; but most Swallows live on terms of such intimacy that their nestn seem to be merely apartments in 158 SWALLOTTS. one great dwellino;. A pLotograpli of part of a colony of Cliif Swallows in Montana shows one hundred and forty nests, nearly all of which adjoin one another. The songs of Swallows are hnmble efforts, but are so expressiv^e of the happy dispositions of the birds, and so associated with scenes with which they are inseparably connected, that the merry twitterings of these birds are as dear to us as the voices of friends. The sociability of Swallows does not end with the nesting season, as it does with many birds that are then brought into communities by force of circumstances. When the young take ^ving, Swallows begin to collect in flocks, which gradually unite, and in August and Sep- tember form assemblages containing millions of individ- uals. They generally make their headquarters in some large marsh, where they roost in the reeds and grasses, but they also resort to trees. Early in the morning they scatter over the country in small bands, flying at a con- siderable height, and during the day we may often see them feeding over fields and ponds or resting on wayside telegraph wires. Late in the afternoon they begin to re- turn to their roosts. At first they fly slowly and circle about to feed, but as the light fails they fly with increas- ing swiftness, and the last comers shoot through the dusk with incredible rapidity. These remarks apply with equal truth to all our Swal- lows ; it remains now to briefly mention the characters by which they may be distinguished specifically. The four common species are figured in the frontispiece, which clearly shows most of their diagnostic marks, which are: Tail forked, Barn Swallow; forehead whit- ish, rump rusty. Cliff Swallow ; a band across the breast, plumage without metallic colors, Bank Swallow ; breast pure white, Tree Swallow. ki /"'; g •• ''^- ^ ''"i^^PHV ^ ^^^^^^BIk^^^'"'' / ^ r^^^L i^^^Kl^^i^ '* ^/ i Plate LXII. Page 169. PtEDSTART. Length, 5*40 inches. AJu/( male, band in wings; base of tail and sides of breast deep salmon; belly white; rest of plumage black. Adult female and young, similar, but salmon replaced by yellow; upper parts grayish brown ; under parts white ; breast yellowish. SWALLOWS. 159 The Barn Swallow is the most generally distributed of our Swallows, its habits of nesting in outbuildings „ _ ,, raakiiiff it at home wherev^er they offer Bam Swallow, , *7 . . "^ CheUdon it a Suitable nesting place. It is about erythroci aster, seven iiiclies long ; the upper parts and ron i^-pice., giJes of the breast are steel-l)lue, the forehead and throat chestnut, the rest of the under parts paler ; the tail deeply forked and marked with white. Its long tail is a most efficient rudder, permitting the abrupt turns which make its flight more erratic than that of any other of our Swallows. It skims low ov^er the fields, or darts through the village streets with a rapidity and indi- rectness which I never witness without astonishment. The Barn Swallow arrives from its winter home in the tropics about April 15 and remains until late in September. Its nest is generally placed on a beam in a barn or other outbuilding, and is composed of mud and grasses lined with feathers. The Cliff or Eave Swallow is less generally distributed than the Barn Swallow. It nests in colonies, placing its „,.^„ „ rows of mud tenements under cliff's in Chff Swallow, , ^-^^ T , , , Pttrocheiidon the Wcst aud beneath the eaves of barns lunifrons. jn the East. It becomes much attached (Frontispiece.) ^^ ^^^^ locahty, and when undisturbed returns to it year after year, arriving from the South about May 1, and remaining until late September. It is six inches long ; the forehead is whitish, the crown and back steel-blue, the rump rusty ; the throat chestnut with a blackish area ; the belly white. Like the Cliff Swallow, the Bank Swallow nests in colonies, and is very local during the breeding season. A Bank Swallow, sandbank facing a stream or pond is cuviada riparia. oftcu choseu for a homc. Into it a (Frontispiece.) tuuuel two or three feet in length is bored, and at its end a nest of grasses and feathers is built. 160 TREE SWALLOW. The Bank Swallow winters in the tropics and reaches us in the spring about April 20, remaining until late Sep- tember. It is the smallest of our Swallows, measuring only five inches in length, and is the only one, except the Itousch-wino-eJ Swallow, which has no metallic coloring: in its plumige, the back being plain brownish gray, the under parts white, with a clearly defined brownish gray band across the breast. The Rough-wing is a more south- ern bird, being rare north of southern Connecticut. It resembles the Bank Swallow, but differs chiefly in having the whole breast brownish gray. It nests in holes in banks, and also about stone bridges, trestles, and similar stnictures. Though very generally distributed, there are large areas within the breeding range of the Tree Swallow Tree Swallow where it is known only as a migrant. Tacky cinda hicoior. In the wilder part of its range it nests (Frontispiece.) |j^ hollow trces ; in the more settled portions it uses bird-boxes. During recent years, as Mr. Brewster has remarked, the always-present House Spar- row has pre-empted the former abodes of the Tree Swal- low, so that it no longer nests about our homes ; but as a migrant its numbers are undiminished, and it is prob- ably our most abundant Swallow. Being the only Swallow to winter in the eastern United States, the Tree Swallow is the first to arrive in the spring, coming to us from Florida early in April. It is also the last of its family to leave us in the fall, often remaining near E"ew York citv until October 20. Immature birds have the upper parts brownish gray instead of shining steel-blue, as in the adult, but in either plumage the bird may be known by its pui"e white under pirts, which have given to it the name of "White-bellied Swallow. In the northern United States Martins are very local. Plate LXIII. Page 170. OVEN-BIKD. Length, 6-15 inches. Crown reddish brown, bordered by black; back, wings, and tail olive-green ; under parts black and white. CEDAR WAXWIXG. 161 They have long since abandoned their habit of building in hollow trees, and now nest only about houses or in lawns whore gourds or boxes are ei-ected for Purple Martin, ^j^^-^ occupation. To these they return Progne suoif<. ^ . . . , year after year, arriving m the spring about April 25 and remaining until September. The male is uniform steel-blue, and appears black in the air ; the female is grayish, tinged with steel-bhie above ; the breast is gray, the belly white. This is the largest of our Swallows, measuring eight inches in length. Waxwings. (Family Ampelid^.) One of the two species of "Waxwing is a bird of the far North ; the other, our Cedar Waxwing, is found through- Cedar Waxwing, out North America. Waxwings pos- Ampeiis cedrurum. scss iu an uuusual dcgrcc two charac- Piate L\ II. teristics which are not supposed to be associated — sociability and silence. None of our birds is more companionable, none more quiet. In their fondness for one another's society they seem to delay the pairing season, and long after other birds have gone to house- keeping they are still roving about in flocks. Finally, late in June, they settle down and build a nest of generous proportions, often in some fruit tree, about ten feet from the ground. The three to five eggs are pale bluish gray or putty-color, spotted with black or brownish black. Waxwings fly in close rank and alight as near each other as the nature of their perch will allow. They sit very still, like little Parrots or Doves, but often raise and lower their crests, and perhaps whisper a fine lisping note, which is prolonged into a louder call — a string of beady notes — as they take wing. Their fare varies with the season — cedar berries, straw- berries, cherries, both cultivated and wild, the berries 162 NORTHERN SHRIKE. of tlie woodbine, sour gum, and others being taken in turn. In August the "Waxwing shows no mean gifts as a flycatcher, while as a destroyer of the cankerworm he is especially beneficial, repaying us with interest for the fruit he may have appropriated earlier in the season. The "Waxwing's wide range and ability to withstand great extremes in temperature are doubtless due to the ease with which it adapts itself to a change in fare. It nests from Yirginia to Labrador, and winters from Massa- chusetts to Costa Rica. Shrikes. (Family Laniid^.) The marked difference in the temperament of birds is emphasized by finding among the song birds, who feed Northern Shrike ^^^ fruit, seeds, and insects, a bird who Laiiius boreaiis. in liis positioii aud choice of food is Plate L\ III. truly hawklike. Shrikes are solitary, never assemblino; in flocks or associatino- with other birds. Their days are days of waiting, varied by a pounce upon some unfortunate field mouse or dash into a flock of un- suspecting Sparrows. But, while they resemble the Hawks in these respects, their manner of capturing their prey dif- fers from that of their larger prototypes. The Shrike has a Hawk's bill but a SpaiTow's foot, and, lacking the powerful talons which make so deadly a weapon, he cap- tures his prey vrith his strong mandibles. Possibly it may be due to his comparatively weak feet that he pursues the singular custom of impaling his prey on some thorn or hanging it from a crotch where he can better dissect it. The Shrike, or Butcher-bird, as he is also called, be- longs to a large family, but, with the exception of his smaller cousin the Loggerhead, he is the only one of the two hundred known species found in America. He nests Plate LXIV. Page 171. MARYLAND YELLOW-THKOAT. Length, 5-30 inches. Adult male, face black, bordered by ashy; back olive-green ; breast yellow ; belly paler. Adulf female, similar, but no black on face ; under parts paler. VIREOS. 163 within the Arctic Circle, and in October journeys south- ward, rarely as far as Virginia, and remains in the United States until April or May. The Loggerhead Shrike is common in the Southern States and Mississippi Valley, whence it has apparently extended eastward through central New York to Ver- mont and Maine. It nests in these States, but southward to Maryland is known only as a rare migrant— a unique case in distribution. It differs from the Northern Shrike in being an inch and a quarter smaller, in the absence of the wavy bars on the breast, which is pure white, and in hav- ing jet-black lores and a narrow black hue across the fore- head at the base of the bill. Its song is creahy and un- musical, but the song of the Northern Shrike, as de- scribed by Mr. Brewster, is " really pleasing," and " not unlike that of tlie Thrasher, but more disconnected and less loud and varied." ViREOS. (Family Vireonid^.) Vireos are gleaners, and are to be distinguished from other tree-inhabiting, greenish birds of the same size by their habit of carefully exploring the under surface of leaves and various nooks and corners in the bark and foliage, while the more active Warblers are flitting about the terminal twigs and the Flycatchers are swinging out in aerial loops at passing insects. They are highly musical little birds, having songs and call -notes which may be quickly recognized once they are known. The nests and eggs of our four summer- resident species are so much alike that they are to be known only when accompanied by their owners. The White-eyed Vireo inhabits thickets and, as a rule, builds nearer the ground than the arboreal Red-eyed, Yellow- throated, and Warbling Vireos. The nests are small, 12 164 RED-EYED VIREO. pouchlike affairs of strips of pliable bark, bits of dead wood, plant-fibers, tendrils, fine grasses, etc., firmly inter- woven and suspended from tlie arms of a forked twig. The eggs are white, with a few black or brownish black spots, chiefly about the larger end. The Yireos are an exclusively American family, and number some fifty species, of which seven reach the Bed-eyed Vireo northeastern States. Of these, by far rireo'oitvactt/i:. the most common is the Eed-eyed Plate Lix. Yireo. There are few favorable locali- ties in eastern North America where, in the summer, one may not hear the cheerful s»»ng of this bird. Still, it is so well protected by the foliage, with which its plumage agrees in color, that to those whose ear is not attuned to the music of birds it is unknown. But listen near some grove of elms or maples, and you will not fail to hear its song— a somewhat broken, rambling recitative, which no one has described so well as Wilson Flagg, who calls this bird the Preacher, and intei-prets its notes as •' You see it — you know it — do you hear me ? — do you be- lieve it ? " The Red-eye evidently has an inquiring mind, for he never tires of asking these questions. He not onl}' sings all day, but seems unaffected by the heat of summer, and at midday is often the only bird to be heard. One would imagine that few birds had a more even tem- perament than this calm-voiced singer, but when annoyed he utters a complaining wJiang — a sound which is a good indication that something is wrong in the bird world. The Red-eye winters in the tropics, and reaches us in the spring about May 1, remaining until October 15. A near relative of the Red-eye's is the Warbling Yireo — a somewhat smaller bird, with a brown, in place of red eye, and without the black margin above the white eye-line which can be so easily seen in the Red-eye. The Warbling Yireo is the less common of the two. and is Plate LXV. Paoe 172. YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. Length, 745 inches. Upper parts olive-green; breast yellow ; belly white ; lores black, bordered by white. VIREOS. 165 more local, showiug- a marked fondness for rows of elms — a taste which makes it a dweller in towns and villages. Its so::g hears no resemblance to that Warbling Vireo, ^f ^^^ Eed-eve, being a continuous, flowing warble, with an alto under- tone, suggestive of the song of the Purple Finch. The W^arbling Vireo arrives from its winter home in the tropics about May 5, and remains until late in Sep- tember. Although the Yellow-throated Vireo is least like the Red-eye in color, it resembles it the most closely in choice Y 11 -thr t d ^^ haunts and in song. Still, the Yellow- Vireo, throat's song is sung more deliberately Vireo flavifroiis. and witli longer pauses between the Plate Lix. parts, while in tone it is deeper and richer. To my mind he says : " See me ; I'm here ; where are you ? " repeating the question in varying forms. Rarely he utters a beautiful, mellow trill which suggests the song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and he has also a caching, scolding note like that of the "White-eye. The Yellow-throat's nest is often a more elaborate struc- ture than those of our other Vireos, being thickly cov- ered with lichens, which add greatly to its beauty. Like the two preceding species, the Yellow-throat winters in the tropics, and reaches the latitude of New York city about May 1. It does not, however, remain as long as its relatives, leaving us about September 15. The White-eyed Vireo is the genius of his family. What the Chat is among Warblers the White- eye is among Vireos — a peculiar, eccentric White-eyed Vireo, ^^.^,^ ^f ^^^ character, who regards v%reo novtboracensis. . , '^ . ' i -n mankind with disapproval, and will have none of us. Excellent reasons these why we should court his acquaintance. Unlike our other Vireos, the White-eve lives in the 166 WARBLERS. lower growth ; tliicliets of cat-brier are his favorite haunts. He is therefore nearer our level, and seems to address us more directly than do the birds that call from the tree tops. If you linger near his home he will inquire your business with a vigorous " I say, who are you, eh ? " and if you do not take this hint to move on he will doubtless follow it with a scolding whose intent is unmis- takable. He has a variety of exclamatory calls, and sometimes may be heard softly singing a song composed largely of imitations of the notes of other birds. The White-eye can easily be known from the Red-eye and Warbling Yireos by the narrow white bands across the tips of its wing-coverts. In this respect it resembles the Yellow-throat, from which it is to be distinguished by its smaller size (length 5*25 inches), white iris, and white breast, only the sides of the breast being tinged with yellow. It winters from Florida southward, and reaches us in the spring about May 1, to remain until October. Waeblers. (Family Mniotiltid^.) Warblers may be described as among our most abun- dant, most beautiful, and least-known birds. Of the thirty-five species regularly found in the northeastern States, only three or four are familiar to the casual ob- server. The presence of the others is unsuspected, and when some chance brings one of these exquisite little creatures into our lives, the event is attended by all the excitement of an actual discovery. We never forget our first Warbler. It is because we do not see Warblers unless we look for them that they are strangers to so many persons who go to the woods. They are, with some exceptions, small birds of limited vocal powers. They live in the tree tops, Plate LXVI. Page 174. MOCKINGBIRD. Length, 10-50 inches. Upper parts ashy gray ; wings and tail brovmish black and white ; under parts white. BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER. 167 and tlieir lisping notes blend with other woodland voices \vithout attiv.cting our attention. May and September are the months for Warblers. Some species arrive in April, but they are most numer- ous between May 5 and 15, when the woods are thronged with their flitting forms. Less than half of our thirty-live species remain to breed ; the others go to their summer homes in the conifei'ous forests of the jSTorth. These northern birds return in the latter part of August and abound in September. Many of the Warblers seen at this season are immature birds wearing plumages so different from those of the adult birds seen in the spring, that their identity is not suspected, and, in effect, they are new birds to us. To the field ornithologist Warblers are therefore the most difiicult as well as the most fascinating birds to study. Long after the Sparrows, Flycatchers, and Vireos have been mastered, there will be unsolved problems among the Warblers. Some rare species will be left to look for — it may be a member of the band flitting al)0ut actively in the branches above us — and in the hope of finding it we eagerly examine bird after bird until our enthusiasm yields to an aching neck. Acquaintance with more familiar birds will d' ubtless arouse the enthusiasm necessary to a successful pursuit of Black and White Warblers, but in the meanwhile I will Warbler, mention only those species that can be Mniotiita varia. most easily obscrved. Among them is Plate LX. ^i^g -j^^^^^ ^^^ ^j^.^g Warbler, whose habit of creeping or climbing over trunk and limb aids in his identification. He is a summer resident, and about April 20 we may expect to hear the thin, wiry see-see- see-see notes which form his song. A month later we may find his nest, placed on the ground at the base of a stump or stone and containing four or five white Igg WARBLERS. eggs speckled with reddish brown, chiefly at the larger end. The Yellow Warbler is also a summer resident, arriv- ing in the spring about April 30 and remaining, with the Black-and-white Warbler, until late Yellow Warbler, j^ September. It has the general ap- Dendroica CEsHva. '- i> ^ • . -, ■,^ pearance of being an entirely yellow bird, and is sometimes called " Wild Canary," but it has a much more slender bill than the Canary, and its breast is spotted with reddish brown. Most Warblers are wood- inhabiting birds, but the Yellow Warbler, unlike its rela- tives, prefers lawns, parks, and orchards to woodlands. Its nest, of fine grasses, fibers, and a large amount of cot- tony plant-down, is placed in shrubbery or shade trees. Its eggs are bluish white, thickly marked with cinnamon and olive-brown. The Black-throated Green Warbler nests in pine for- ests from southern New England northward, arriving ^, , ^ , from the South about May 1 and re- Black-throated . . .1/^1 t^^ j. • Green Warbler mammg until October. Its nest is Bendroica vircns. usually placcd in piuc trccs ; its eggs Plate LXi. j^j,g white, spotted and speckled with dark brown. The songs of many Warblers are possessed of so little character that the best description conveys no idea of them, but the quaint zee-zee^ zee-ee, zee of the Black- throated Green, which Mr. Burroughs writes v — > will be readily recognized. The Myrtle or Yellow-rumped Warbler nests from northern New England northward, and in winter is the Myrtle Warbler, ^^ly Warbler to remain in the North- Dendroica coroiiata. em States, bciug oftcu fouud as far Plate LXI. north as New York city, when its favorite food of bayberries can be procured. At this season there is little or no black on the breast and the Platb LXVIL Page 175. BKOWN THRASHEK. Length, 11 -40 inches. Upper parts bright reddish brown ; under parts white and black ; eyes yellow. REDSTART. 109 back is grayish brown, but this ^Varbler may always be known by its four patches of yellow and its characteristic call-note of tchip. The Eedstart belongs to the group of fly-catching Warblers, and, as an indication of its manner of feeding, Eedstart ^^^'^ '^^'^ ^^ much broader and flatter than Sftojihiga rutieiiia. is usual in this family. The Eedstart is Plate LXli. jiQi; gQ patient and methodic a flycatcher as the birds to whom this name rightly belongs. They sit quietly until some insect comes within reach, and then with unerring aim launch out at it, returning to their perch to dev'Our it at leisure. But the Redstart darts here and there, falls and rises and spins about, catching an insect at every turn and at the same time displaying his bright colors to such advantage that he seems the most beautiful as he is the most animated bird of the woods. As he pirouettes from limb to limb, with drooped wings and spread tail, he sings ser-ivee sioee, sioee-ee, a simple but merry little jingle. The Redstart^s bright colors, like some mark of special distinction, are not acquire.l at once. The young male must pass through a period of probation before he is worthy to wear the orange-red and black. In the meantime he appears tirst in the costume of the female, and by successive changes reaches the full dignity of Redstart estate at the age of three years. He nests, however, the first year, when his plumage closely re- sembles that of his mate. The nest, of fine strips of bark, plant-down, and other materials, is built in the crotch of a sapling ten to twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are grayish white or bluish white, spotted and blotched, chiefly at the larger end, with cinnamon and olive-brown. They are laid about May 28 — four weeks after the bird's arrival from the Sotitli. All the "Warblers thus far mentioned are tree-inhabit- 170 OVE^'-BIRD. ing birds, but the species now to be spoken of pass most of their time in the midergrowth or on the ground. The Oven-bird Oven-bird chooses the latter locahty. Seiurus aurocajniius. He has been well compared by Mr. Plate LXili. Burroughs to a little Partridge, and if you have enough perseverance to find the author of the sharp e/ieej} with which this somewhat suspicious bird will greet you, you will see a modestly attired little walker daintily picking his way over the leaves and fallen branches, with crest slightly erect, and head nodding at each step. Probably, however, your first acquaintance with the Oven-bird will be made through the medium of his song. There are few bits of woodland where in May and June you can not hear numbers of these birds singing. It is a loud, ringing, crescendo chant, to which Mr. Burroughs's description of " teacher, teacher, teacher, TEACHEK, TEACHEE " is so applicable that no one would think of describing it in any other way. The bird seems to exert himself to the utmost, and no one hearing this far from musical performance would imagine that he could im- prove upon it. But if some evening during the height of the mating season you will ^asit the Oven-bird's haunts, you may hear a song whose wildness is startling. It is the flight-song of the Oven-bird, transforming the humble chanter into an inspired musician. Soaring high above the trees, he gives utterance to a rapid, ecstatic warbling so unlike his ordinary song that it is difiicult to believe one bird is the author of them both. As an architect the Oven-bird is also distinguished. His unique nest is built on the ground of coarse, grasses, weed stalks, leaves, and rootlets, and is roofed over, the entrance being at one side. It thus resembles an old- fashioned Dutch oven, and its shape is the origin of its builder's name. The Oven-bird arrives from the South Plate LXVIII. P^o^ 175. HOUSE WEEN, Length, 5-00 inches. Upper parts brown, marked with black and grayish ; under parts grayish white. MAEYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. 171 about May 1, and its eggs are laid about the 20tli of tlie month. They ai'e white, speckled or spotted mth cinna« mon and reddish brown. The Maryland Yellow-throat is an abundant inhabit- ant of thickets and bushy undergrowths, readily iden- „ , , tihed by his black mask and yellow Yellow-throat breast, nervous activity, and character- Geothlypis trichas. istic notcs. Some birds must be ap- ^^^ ■ proached with caution, but nothing save an actual attack upon his home will cause the Yellow- throat to leave its shelter. Hopping from iimb to limb, he advances to the border of the thicket, then retreats to its depths, all the time uttering an impatient chack, chit, or pit, and, if forced to fly, he goes only to the next clump of bushes. The Yellow-throat's somewhat explosive song is so easily set to words and so variable that tliei-e are many versions of it. It is described as wJdtitltee, whitititee, whitititee ; Tapity, 7'apity, rapitij, rap, or ivitdi-e-wee-o, witch-e-wee-o, witch-e-vjee-o. Mr. Burroughs says he has heard birds whose notes sounded like the words " Which way, sir ? " and I have heard some who seemed to say *•' Wait a minute." To this the Yellow throat sometimes adds a flight song, which is a miniature of the Oven-bird's aerial sere- nade. It is generally added to his usual song, and is most often heard late in the season at evening, when the bird may be seen springing into the air above his bushy retreat. The Yellow-throat arrives from the South about May 1, and remains until the middle of October. Late in May a bulky nest of grasses, strips of bark, and dead leaves, lined with finer materials, is built on or near the ground. The three to five eggs are white, rather thinly speckled with reddish brown. Often an egg of the Cow- 172 YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. bird will be found in the nest, yellow-throats being one of the birds most frequently chosen by the Cowbird as foster-parents. The Chat is the largest of the Warblers, and so unlike them, or any other birds, in disposition that if classifica- YeUow-breastedChat, ^ion were based on character, the Chat Ideria virens. would surcly be placcd in a family by Plate Lxv. itself. The Chat's peculiarities are numerous, but ai-e most evident in his song. Many times I have sat, note-book and pencil in hand, trying to express in words the song of a Chat singing in a neigh- boring thicket, but I have never succeeded in putting on paper anything which would convey an adequate idea of the bird's remarkable vocal performances. Of others who have attempted the same task, I think Mr. Bur- roughs comes nearest to interpreting the bird's strange medley. He says : " Now he barks like a puppy, then quacks like a Duck, then rattles like a Kingfisher, then squalls like a fox, then caws like a Crow, then mews like a cat. . . . C-r-r-r-r-t' — ivh/'r — thafs it — chee — (piack^ duel', yit-yit-yit — now hit it — tr-r-r-r — iDhen — caiv — caw — cut. cut — tea-hoy — loho, idJio — meto, tnewy You may be pardoned for doubting that a bird can produce so strange a series of noises, but if you will go to the Chat's haunts in thickety openings in the woods, or other bushy places, and let him speak for himself, you will admit that our alphabet can not do him justice. To hear the Chat is one thing, to see him quite another. But he will repay study, and if you will conceal yourself near his home you may see him deliver part of his repertoire while on the wing, with legs dangling, wings and tail flapping, and his whole appearance suggesting that of a bird who has had an unfortunate encounter with a charge of shot. But if the Chat's song is surprising when heard dur- ing the day, imagine the effect it creates at night when PiiATE LXIX. Page 177. LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN. Length, 5-20 inches. Upper parts brown, black, and white, a white line over eye ; under parts white, sides brownish. CATBIRD. 173 he has the stage to himself, for he is one of our few birds who sing regularly and freely during the night, moonht nights being most often selected. The Chat is a rather southern bird in its distribution, being found north of Connecticut only locally and rarely. It winters in the tropics, coming to us about May 1 and departing early in September. Its well-made nest of grasses, leaves, and strips of bark is generally placed in the crotch of a saphng within three feet of the ground. Its three to five eggs are white, rather evenly speckled and spotted with reddish brown. Thrashers, Wrens, etc. (Family Troglodytid^.) The Eastern representatives of this family are appar- ently too unlike to be classed in the same group, but when all the two hundred members of the family are studied, it is evident that the extremes are connected by intermedi- ate species possessing in a degree the characters of both Wrens and Thrashers. The Catbird belongs to the subfamily Mimince, which contains also the Mockingbirds and Thrashers, number- Catbird ^S some fifty species, all being re- Gaieoscopus strictcd to Nortli America. The Catbird is one of the most familiar feathered inhabitants of the denser shrubbery about our lawns and gardens. The sexes are alike in color, both being slaty gray, with a black cap and tail, and brick-red under tail-coverts. They arrive from the South about April 29, and remain until October. Their nest is usually placed in thickets, shrubbery, or heavily foliaged trees, and the deep greenish blue eggs are laid the fourth week in May. It is unfortunate that the Catbird's name should have originated in his call-note rather than in his song. The BROWN THRASHER. 175 moonlight nights of the nesting season, Mockingbirds sing all night. They are then less active, and, mounting to some favorite perch, often a chimney top, flood the still air with entrancing melody. Like the Catbird and Mocker, the Brown Thrasher or Brown "Thrush" inhabits thickets and undergrowth. Brown Thrasher ^^ ^^' lit)^'ever, a much less domestic iiai-jMrhynciuis m/us. bird, and prefers I, rushy pasture lots and Plate LX VII. wajside hedges to lawms or gardens. He arrives from the South the latter part of April, and often remains until late in October. The nest is built about May 15, and is placed on the ground or several feet above it. The eggs are bluish or gi'ayish white, thickly, evenly, and minutely speckled with cinnamon or reddish bi'own. As a songster I should rank the Thrasher between the Mocker and the Catbird. His song is less varied and animated than the Mocker's, and while his technique may not excel that of the Catbird, his song, to my mind, is much more effective than the performance of that accom- plished musician. Mounting to the topmost limb of a tree, he sings uninterruptedly for several minutes. The notes can be heard for at least a third of a mile, ringing out clear and well defined above the medley of voices that form the chorus of a May morning. The intense vitality which characterizes the life of birds finds its highest expression in the Wrens. Perpet- House Wren ^'^^ motion alone describes the activity Trogiodyteif ae.ion. of tliesc iicrvous, cxcitablc little crca- Piate LX\ III. tures. Repose seems out of the ques- tion ; as well expect to catch a weasel asleep as to find a "Wren at rest. In his movements, song, and nesting habits our House Wren exhibits the characteristic traits of his family. He is ever hopping, flitting, bobbing, or bowing, pausing 176 HOUSE WREN. only long euongli to give voice to his feelings in fidgetty, scolding notes, or an effervescing, musical trill, with the force of which his small body trembles. It is a wonder- ful outburst of song, and the diminutive singer's enthu- siasm and endurance are even more remarkable. The song occupies about three seconds, and I have heard a Wren, in response to a rival, sing at the rate of ten songs a minute for two hours at a time. The House Wren nests in almost any kind of suitable hole or cavity, and will frequently take possession of a bird box, if the House Sparrows have not already set up a claim to the same property. To prevent intrusion from the Sparrows, the entrance to the house should be made not larger than a quarter of a dollar. Whatever be the site the Wrens select, their surplus energy is em- ployed in completely filling it with twigs, half a bushelful being sometimes brought with endless pains. The nest proper is composed of dried grasses, and is placed in the center of this mass. Even in egg-laying the exhaustless vitality of Wrens is shown, as many as six or eight eggs being deposited. In color they are uniformly and mi- nutely speckled with pinkish brown. The House Wren arrives from the South late in April and remains until October. Shortly before its departure in the fall a Wren comes from the Winter Wren -j^^^,^^ ^^^^^ resembles the House Wren Troglodytes humans. ^ • n i i in appearance, but is smaller and has the under parts pale brown, the breast and belly being finely barred with a darker shade of the same color. This is the Winter Wren, a bird that nests from north- em New England northward and southward along the crests of the Alleghanies to North Carolina. It remains with us in small numbers throughout the winter, return- ing to its summer home in April. Mr. Burroughs writes of the Winter Wren's song as a " wild, sweet, rhythmical Plate LXXI. Pages 180, 181. RED-BEEASTED NUTHATCH. Length, 4-60 inches. Male, crown and line through eye black ; back gray ; under parts rusty. Female, similar, but black replaced by gray. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Length, 6-05 inches. Male, crown black; back gray; face and under parts white. Female, similar, but crown slaty. WKENS. 177 cadence that holds you entranced," but while with us the bird's only note is an impatient chimp, chimp, suggest- ing the Song Sparrow's call-note. The Carolina Wren is a more southern bird than the House Wren. It is of only local distribution north (»f Carolina Wren southern JSTew Jersey, and is rai-e'y .Thryothonis fouud uortli of tlic vicinity of New ludovu-ianus. Yqj.]^ (.j^y, where it appears to be in- creasing in numbers and is found throughout the year. This Wren is half an inch longer and decidedly heavier than the House Wren ; its upper parts are bright cinna- mon, its under parts washed with the same color, and a conspicuous white line passes from the bill over the eye. The Carolina Wren is an exceedingly musical bird, and its loud whistled calls are among the most character- istic bird notes in the South. They are numerous and varied, the most common resembling the syllables lohee- udel, lohee-iidel, ivhee-udel, and tea-l-eitle, tea-l-ettle, tea- Tcettle. The haunts of most marsh -inhabiting -birds are as sharply defined as the limits of their ranges. The Long- ^.„ , billed Marsh Wren is not known in Long-billed Marsh Wren ^^^ East north of Massachusetts, but I Oistothorns pahis(ri.-<. WOuld aS SOOU CXpCCt tO find OUC of Plate LXix. these birds in Greenland as out of a marsh. They arrive from the South early in May and remain until October, living in marshes where cat-tails grow, to which they may attach their bulky, globular nests of reeds and grasses. With the superabundant vigor of AYrens they build more nests than they can possibly occupy, and many will be examined before the five to six dark l)rown eo;o-s are found. The Marsh Wren is quite as active and irrepressible as the other members of his familv. His call is the cus- 178 BROWN CREEPER. tomary scolding cacl: ; his song, a bubbling, trickling tinkle that can not be called musical, but to my mind is indescribably attractive. It is often sung in the air, and in marshes where Wrens are abundant bird after bird may be seen springing a few feet above the reeds, sing- ing his song, and then dropping back again. Creepers. (Family Certhiid^.) Of the twelve known members of this family, the Brown Creeper is the only one inhabiting the New World. It is a northern bird, breed- Brown Creeper, . i , , ^ n r • xi Certhia familiar is mg at sca level Only from Mame north- americnna. ward, but extending southward in the Plate Lxx. Alleghanies to E"orth Carolina. Sev- eral western races are found in the Rocky Mountain region and Sierra Madres. Our eastern bird migrates southward late in September, and from that date until April it may be found from Massachusetts to Florida, The Creeper, like a Woodpecker, never climbs head downward, but, using his stiff, pointed tail-feathers (see rig. 3 &) as a prop, winds rapidly up the trunks of trees in his apparently never-ending search for insects' eggs and larvse hidden in crevices in the bark. If the Wrens are the most active birds, the Creeper is the most dili- gent. Except when it was stopping to secure some tid- bit, I can not remember seeing a Creeper resting. He usually begins at the base of a tree and climbs in a seri- ous, intent way for a certain distance, and then, without a moment's pause, drops down to the bottom of the next tree and continues his search. The Creeper's i inudeiiiius. sota. It wiuters in Central America Plate Lxxiv. ^^-^^ reaches us in the spring, about April 30, and remains until October 1. Its nest is built about the middle of May, and is generally placed in a sapling some eight feet from the ground. The eggs are greenish blue. The Wood Thrush is not such a recluse as the Veery. He is, it is true, a wood lover, and shares with the Veery his secludeJ haunts, but he seems equally at home in maples and elms about our houses, or even in the more (piiefc village streets. He is therefore more often heard than his mysterious relative, and, as a voice, is familiar to many who do not know the singer's name. The call -notes of the Wood Thrush are a liquid quirt and sharp pit-pit. The latter is an alarm note, which, when the bird fears for the safety of its young, is uttered with much increased force and rapidity. It can be closely imitated by striking two large pebbles together. Plate LXXV. HEEMIT THRUSH. Page 185. Length, 7-15 inches. Upper parts and wings dark cinnamon-brown ; tail bright reddish brown ; under parts white ; breast spotted with black ; sides washed with brownish ; belly white. HERMIT THRUSH. 185 The song of the "Wood Thrush is wholly unlike that of the Veerj, It opens with the flutelike notes, and is snng disconnectedly, being broken by pauses and by low notes, audible only N- -zs^^:=-- Come to me, when one is near the singer. The Hermit Thrush is a more northern bird than either the Veery or the "Wood Thrush. It rarely nests at Hermit Tlirush ^^^ level south of Yermont or northern ■ Turdus aonuhtschkce Michigan, but in the higher portions of paiiasiL Massachusetts and on the crests of the Catskills and Alleghanies in Pennsyl- vania, it is also found breeding. It winters from south- ern Illinois and New Jersey southward to the Gulf, it being the only member of its genus to inhabit the east- ern United States at that season. Its s^ning migrations occur between April 5 and May 10, and in the fall we see it from October 15 to November 25, while occasion- ally it may winter. During its migrations the Hermit Thrush usually fre- quents woodlands, where it may often be seen on or near the ground. Like the Yeery, it is a ground-nester, and its eggs, though slightly lighter in color, resemble tliose of the Yeery and Wood Thrush in being plain, bluish green. When alighting, the Hermit has a characteristic habit of gently raising and lowering its tail, and at the same time uttering a low ehuck. Sometimes it sings during the winter, in Florida, and also while migrating ; but if you would hear this inspired songster at his best, you must visit him in his summer home. The Hermit's song resembles that of the Wood Thrush in form, but it is more tender and serene. O spheral, spheral ! O holy, holy ! Mr. Burroughs writes the its opening notes, and there is something about the words which seems to express the spirit of heavenly peace with which the bird's sons: is imbued. 18(3 ROBIN. It seems a long step from these gentle, refined Thrushes to their comparatively prosaic cousin, the famil- iar Robin. But the Hobin has his ,, , ° ^°' . place, and in March his cheery sons; is Merula rn-igrutoria. ^ ' _ ./ o quite as effective as the Ilernait's hymn in June. Durino; the summer Robins are distributed through- out North America from the Gulf States and southern end of the Mexican tableland, northward to Labrador and Alaska. In the winter they may be found in numbers from Virginia southward, small flocks and single birds being occasionally met with as far north as Massachu- setts. Robins are among our earliest migrants, appear- ing in the vicinity of New York city between February 20 and March 1. Nesting is begun about April 15, the mud -lined nest and greenish blue eggs being too well known to require description. Two, or even three broods may be raised. In June, the young of the first brood with some adult males resort each night to a chosen roost, often frequented by many thousands of birds. The fall migration begins in September, but the birds are with us in roving l)ands until December. About the time that we first hear the Robin's ringing welcome to spring we may listen for the Bluebird's more gentle greeting. Doubtless the bird ^l'''^'''^;. has been with \is all winter, for Blue- hialia sialis. birds winter m small numbers as lar north as southern Connecticut, often living near groves of cedars, which offer them both food and shelter. In the Southern States they are far more abundant at this season, gathering in flocks containing hundreds of indi- viduals. The Bluebird is the first of our smaller birds to begin housekeeping, and early in April it may be seen pro- specting about the site of last year's nest in a bird box or BLUEBIED. 187 hollow tree, and tLe bluish white eggs will probably be laid before the middle of the month. No bird's song is more associated with the return of spring than the Bhiel)ird's ; nor is there a bird's note more exjDressive of the passing season than the Bluebird's autumn call of far-away^ far-away. INDEX. Acanthis linaria, 146. Accipiter cooperi, 107. velox, 107. Actitis macularia, 96. iEgialitis .semipalmata, 99. vocifera, 109. Agelaius phoeniceus, 132. Aggressive coloration, 44. Aigrette plumes, 38. AlauJidffl, 126. Albatross, 18, 19. Alcedinidse, 113. Ampelidic, 161. Ampelis cedrorum, 161. Anatidae, 89. Androdon, 32. Anlilnga.s, 32. Anseres, 89. Antrostomus vociferus, 119. Archajoptery.x, 3, 4, 18. Ardea herodias, 91. virescens, 92. Ardeidae, 90. Asio accipitrinus, 109. wilsonianus, 110. Auk, Great, 20. Razor-billed, 20. Auks, 20, 21, 28, 30. Avoeet, 32, 33. Avocettula, 31. Bill, the, as a hand, 30. as a musical instrument, 30. as a weapon, 31. sexual adornment of, 30. uses of, 30. Birds, altricial, 69. ancestors of, 2. beauty of, 9. bill of, 30. biography of, 73. characters of, 2. colors of, 35. distri bution of, 4. economic value of, 5. eggs of, 68. evolution of, 14. feet of, 27. lield key to, 75. flightless, 19. grace of, 10. how to identify, 71. matinQ- of, 65. mental development of, 10. migration of, 48. musical powers of, 10. nests of, 65. number of species of, 1. place ill Nature of, 1. prseeocial, 69. relation to man of, 5. scieiititic value of, 5. sonsrs of, 11, 62. tail of. 25. topography of, 74. voice of, 62. wings of, 17. young of, 70. B^tern. American, 93. Blackbird, Crow, 133. Redwinged, 132. Blackbirds, 55, 130. 189 190 INDEX. Bluebird, 49, 186. Bobolink, IG, 36, 37, 38, 54, 55, 60, 63, 134. Bob- white, 3(5, 100. Bonasa uiuhellu.s, 101. Botuuru.s leiuiginosus, 93. Bubonidse, 108. Bull- bat, 118. Buntinir, Bay-winged, 140. Black-tli routed, 155. Indigo, (J3, 152. Snow, 147. Butcher-bird, 162. Buteo borealis, 106. lineutus, 104. Butter- bird, 135. Buzzard, Turkey, 104. Buzzard:<, 8. Call-notes, signilicance of, 63. Canaries, 39. Capriiiiuigidse, 117. Cardinal, 153. Cardinalis cardinalis, 153. Carpodaeus purpureus, 149. Cas.sique, 23. Ca.