or on iil < i aa k L902 MI 90 197 HU inl 4 a + _ es i . « Wire + Laie, , = —eer 2 < Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/fieldbookofwildbO0Omathuoft PiInE GROSBEAK 72,00\. Pred FIELD BOOK OF WILD BIRDS anv THEIR MUSIC A DESCRIPTION OF THE CHARACTER AND MUSIC OF BIRDS, INTENDED TO ASSIST IN THE IDENTIFICA- TION OF SPECIES COMMON IN THE UNITED STATES EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS #8 s s Ss s By F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS AUTHOR OF THE FIELD BOOK OF AMERICAN WILD FLOWERS, FIELD BOOK OF AMERICAN TREES AND SHRUBS, FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES, BOOK ‘OF BIRDS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE : : : : : : : 7 ye Hy WITH NUMEROUS REPRODUCTIONS OF WATER COLOR AND MONOTONE STUDIES OF BIRDS, AND COMPLETE MUSICAL ROT RAS OF PIED SONGS BY THE AUTHOR ae ees REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON The nickerbocker Press COPYRIGHT, 1904 BY F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS COPYRIGHT, 1921 BY F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS Printed in the United States of America TO GENEVIEVE AND CARROLL MY ENTHUSIASTIC COMPANIONS IN MANY A HUN*® FOR THE FEATHERED SONGSTER THESE WOOD NOTES ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED yh oe ae 7) 1 £ a ee ' ce! nA 5 ¥ jee ha T 2 sas " of ood ey INTRODUCTION TO THE REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star In his steep course? So long he seems to pause On thy bald awful head, O sovran Blanc! The Arve and Arveiron at thy base Rave ceaselessly; but thou, . . . Risest from forth thy silent sea of pines, How silently! ee ; sing ye meadow streams with gladsome voice! Ye pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds! SAMUEL TayLOoR COLERIDGE. When in the lapse of a number of years an accumulation of knowledge and experience has enlarged or modified one’s mental vision, it is well if the advance goes on record. Now, although my estimate of the character and signifi- cance of bird music has undergone little material change during a period of seventeen years, it has grown proportion- ately with those years, and I have added in this new edi- tion the results of my latest study. It is not necessary to apologize for the insistence upon the value of musical nota- tion expressed in my Introduction to Bird Music, there is no avoiding the facts stated therein, nor any cause to enlarge on them; but there is something to be added in relation to the musical scales of the birds, and in appreciation of the musical record and its popular as well as scientific usefulness. When one attains the commanding summit of a high mountain the horizon is greatly enlarged. If one remains in the valley and mountain walls shut one in on every side, the world indeed seems small. Coleridge soared upward like the lark when he wrote the lines quoted above. With v . INTRODUCTION, greatly enlarged vision he has epitomized the music of Nature as that must appeal to all of us else it cannot appeal at all. The mountain reveals the boundless horizon of a different world of which we have scarcely dreamed or thought, a world to which the little bird on viewless wing has ever sung, shall ever sing. His music is his language, for us it is interpretative of life’s experiénce; it is not a thing which we may cast aside as a child would discard his toy when it ceases to amuse. Hence, I believe the birds with their music are the revela- tion of a greater world, one with just such a boundless horizon as that which we view from the mountain’s summit marvelling that it is indeed the same narrow world we live in. It is not possible to listen to the melody of the Song Spar- row in early March without realizing for the time being that we are released from the cold clutch of winter and set down in the comfortable lap of spring. What matters it if the squalling interruptions of the Blue Jay disturb that delightful impression. A discordant note somewhere is a phase of life; not all the singers are divine, in fact, the world of music if it is true to life must record a due proportion of flippant jest, idle chatter, squawking disagreement, rag- time frivolity, mooning transcendentalism, and so on. A world of singing birds devoid of humor would be extremely dull; without something plainly, humanly nonsensical in it now and then it must be insufferably tedious. One would not dare to assume that naught of innocent jollity entered into the life of the bird. But of serene, exultant melody in the music of the birds there is plenty; the plainest evidence of it is in the songs of the Thrushes, and we have the convincing proof that their music is built upon definite, primitive scales—seales which the birds used ons of years before man did. This book is not the proper medium in which to set forth evolutionary theories of bird-song, but I must emphatically repeat that the bird sings first for love of music, and second for love of the lady. I am not alone in my theory of the inherent musical nature of song-birds, for Mr. Chauncey J. Hawkins writes in The Auk: “There must be something within the vi INTRODUCTION. bird himself which causes him to sing though there is no ear to listen,” and further, the writer advises his reader to “seek the cause of song in the internal life of the bird rather than in external causes.’’* _ The addition of many birds to the original group included in this book was a much needed one. Although a number of the species are rather uncommon, one is likely to be sur- prised by the appearance of a rare individual at any time in some most unexpected place; that has been my own ex- perience, and several of the song-records, notably those of the Lincoln Sparrow, the inimitable little Winter Wren, and the Tennessee Warbler, were quite accidental acquisitions; indeed, a considerable number of the notations contained here were such, but I believe they may at least claim the /eredit of “‘a-first appearance.’”’ Whether they are useful ' for the purpose of identifying the birds is another matter— - one which I must leave for the reader to decide. It is sufficient for me to point out that I recognized the song of the Veery for the first time in the winter of 1884 upon read- ing a notation of it in an article on Bird Music by Simeon Pease Cheney which appeared in the Century Magazine at that time. Thirty-one years later, on a certain occasion I requested a Boston musician to go to the piano, run his fingers in a particular way over a progression of minor thirds ascending within the diminished seventh and he would have the equivalent of the song of Swainson’s Thrush; he did so and instantly reproduced the notes of the musical record found on page 253. He did not see nor did he need to see the written music, the verbal description was enough. At the same time, for those who do not read or understand music I have not hesitated to introduce within these pages every possible means aside from music which may promise help in the identification of bird-song. Therefore, on this same page 253, there is a suggestive scalloped line accompanied by Bradford Torrey’s syllabic form which also represents the music of Swainson’s Thrush. Even if there were but one among a dozen of my consid- erate readers who could read a musical record, that would discount its ultimate value in no respect if it were truthful, * Vide The Auk, October, 1918, vol. xxxv., No. 4, p. 421. vil INTRODUCTION. for, in such form the song is in a state of scientific preserva- tion, which is more than may be said of a lack of musical knowledge! The time has already come when most of the advanced school children of Boston and New York can tell us exactly the difference between the chromatic and dia- tonic scales. A piano and a Canary may not be unmixed blessings in the house, but no one has yet ventured to sug- gest the home is blessed which boasts nor bird nor music! The correction of errors in text and music which must inevitably enter a book of this kind in spite of the greatest vigilance cannot always be successfully accomplished by one pair of eyes. In this connection I am greatly indebted to Mr. Henry L. Mason of Boston for his valuable sugges- tions and kindly interest in the work. It should also be borne in mind that for one who has always lived both in town and country in an atmosphere of music, the many allusions to musical parallelism within these pages are be- lieved to be as interesting and useful to others as to himself; and again, with respect to musical pitch, a vitally import- ant point in the transcription of bird-music, it should be explained that a musical mind is adept in carrying the key of C without assistance of instrument or pitch pipe. If it were not so the significant Twice or Thrice 8va. which appears over my notations would not be so constantly em- ployed. In certain cases—for example, the Warblers and the Cuckoos—musical pitch is an indubitable indication of the species! It should not be necessary for me to add that the piano arrangements here are meant solely to demonstrate the musical content of the bird’s song. Bird-notes can scarcely be recognized with the assistance of the piano. If one desires a tonal imitation of the song it must be whistled in accordance with its notation and in exact pitch, no other way will answer. F. ScovuyLter MaATHews. Cambridge, Mass., February, 1921. Viii PREFACE. Undoubtedly the thing we love and cherish most about the little wild-wood singer is his song. The music from the Robin sitting alone and apparently cheerless on the bare branch of the elm beside the road is at least a most welcome message with the true ring of springtime about it, even though the meadow is bare of any green thing, and the sky too dull and gray to sug- gest the advent of the gentler season. The calendar says it is March, but as far as appearances go it might just as well be grim November—except for the presence of the Robin. But fortunately appearances are dis- counted in a country where the poet has most aggra- vatingly sung : *‘ The spring comes slowly up this way.” As though we did not know that without being told as much in verse! The factis, itreally does not come at all as the poets would have it, either early or late. That familiar line of the old English poet, **Come, gentle spring, ethereal mildness, come”; is entirely unrelated to the order of things in the northern United States ; here our spring is mostly made up of sentiment connected with extended lists of sing- ing birds and of hurriedly blooming wild flowers; all the rest is weather—and plenty of it! January thaws, February snow-flurries, March gales, July heat, Decem- ber frosts, August thunder-showers, and November skies! All is out of order except the birds; they come in regular procession, and sing, day in and day out, in spite of the weather and apparently without a thought of the preposterous disagreements of the climate and the weather bureau! But the songs, what of them! why is the singer re- corded in all the books, but never—or hardly ever—his song? Well, the question is a difficult one to answer without finding fault with some one, so it would be best to make this little volume furnish the response. Here 1x PREFACE. it is, last from the publisher, but first from birds which have sung in the field and on the hillside for the past five years. Whose are the songs,mine? No, lam only the reporter who has listened attentively for a score of vernal seasons to the little feathered musicians of Na- ture’s great orchestra. The volume is literally a field- book filled with the musical sayings of American birds; I have taken no liberties with the scores, except to make a doubtful A or B no longer doubtful. Allisa literal transcription, not without certain puzzling phases, of course ; for who of us have never been bothered by the rapid performances of expert musicians! Naturally, therefore, some of my records are imperfect; indeed, it is safe to add that some singers sang a great deal more than I was able to put down on paper. I trust, however, that no bird lover will be disturbed by the remarkable records coming from the more talented songsters when he hears what they have done through the interposition ef the pianist. If he should doubt my record I would be pleased to introduce him to my bird (or perhaps some other one just as talented) in the field opposite my studio, or on the mountain-side behind it, in the wilds of New Hampshire. To those kind friends who have greatly assisted me by advice and service in the planning of this work I am glad to extend grateful acknowledgments. Mr. William Brewster has permitted me to sketch in water-color from specimens in his museum, Mr. Walter Deane has been generous in advice. Mr. Frank Chapman has given me ample facilities to sketch from specimens in the New York Museum of Natural History. Messrs, Lee and Shepard have kindly presented me with a copy of Mr. Cheney’s Wood Notes Wild, and granted per. mission to quote therefrom, Messrs. Houghton and Mifflin have allowed me to quote from those admirable little volumes of that charming writer and true nature- lover, Mr. Bradford Torrey.* Messrs, Ginn and Company *Mr. Torrey, above all other authors, has succeeded in succinctly describing the musical rhythm of the bird’s song, and has also used practical musical definitions. His writings are of inestimable value to one who pursues the study of bird music. x PREFACE. have permitted me to quote from William 8. Long’s School of the Woods. Also, from the books of Mr. Frank Chapman and Mr. W. E. D. Scott, as well as from the pamphlets of Mr. Ned Dearborn, and Mr. F. E. L. Beal, I have been glad to cull valuable opinions and certain ornithological statistics of indispensable interest. I have endeavored to paint the little songster in his true colors, and show him in some one of his character- istic positions, flying or singing. Some of my water- colors are satisfactorily interpreted by the three-color process, and others are not. One must not judge of the color of the bird altogether by his picture. The wonder is, that with limited red, yellow, and blue the plate- maker and printer so nearly approached the model. The pictures of the four Thrushes are well preserved, so are those of the Meadowlark, the Cuckoos, the Purple Finch, the Goldfinch, the Indigo Bunting, and the Red- winged Blackbird. Suffice it to say that when the art- ist gives the printer absolutely nothing but purity and delicacy of color to copy, he imposes upon him a task of no little difficulty,—a difficulty for which due allow- ance should be made in an appreciation of the result. _I do not use such color-terms as rufous, vinaceous, fuscous, and the like, when describing the bird’s colors, as it is doubtful whether anybody knows what they mean. Imagine yourself telling the painter to paint your house fuscous, or directing the dress-maker to line your garment with vinaceous! Presumably the orni- thologist and the botanist prefer to use a universal language; it has its advantages, so we will forgive them. Yet it would hit a scientist very hard, I suppose, to sug- gest that he was very unscientific outside of his pro- fession—and a trifle medieval! Otherwise, why does he call crimson, purple! In the matter of color and music, therefore, we will be scientific, and when the bird is crimson we will noé call him purple, but crimson, and when he sings G sharp we will not hunt around iou a syllable to represent it, but put it on the musical staft where it belongs! F, SCHUYLER MATHEWS, Boston, April, 1904. oe 4 ae A | leis . SecA 4 oy ih ae Byard oi. 4 iver | IPFA ee, :% Oe ae oe Asie i, ree a Crea a saa 4 Fee ; ie - ‘ - “*

al ® ‘/ Ar f 3 : ; , \" jane A ¢ | ee + | eee “aa Ty <' > - ao - —- BY CC. 7 Te ae me 4 spt Me “ee, * are ag Pe mm! ~f whey F sages Fo a f ar a tae aed i Fal of Ts “" a de 5 q Pe - . CONTENTS INTRODUCTION TO THE REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION < : : ‘ : 4 ‘ Vv PREFACE . . ‘ ; ‘ : : ; ix ILLUSTRATIONS . ‘ A ; - Xvii An INTRODUCTION TO BIRD Mouse. : oof i A Musicat Key . ‘ - . (xk THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE ¢ ae ; XXXVii GLOSSARY . . , 3 : ¥ . xiii ORDER GALLINE. GALLINACEOUS BIRDs: Quail .. ‘ “ > . » : . 3 Partridge. . : : 7 ORDER RAPTORES Parrine Birps: Screech Owl . 3 ‘ : ° ° * 70 Great Horned Owl . ; : : “tg ORDER COCCYGES. CuCKOOS, ETC.: Yellow-billed Cuckoo . ; . . « NES Black-billed Cuckoo . 2 ‘ - . ORDER PICI. WoopPECKERS, ETC.: Downy Woodpecker . ; - 2I Flicker, Golden-winged Woodpecker ; e, 43 ORDER MACROCHIRES. GOATSUCKERS, SwIFTs, ETC.: Whip-poor-will . : A ‘ ‘ s* .26 Night Hawk 4 = . e ; 2! “80 Chimney Swift . ‘ e a ae Ruby-Throated Hutantigbird 4 : = 34 ORDER PASSERES. PERCHING BIRDs: Kingbird . > . , ° ° » a Phoebe ; . ‘ ° ° . i ae Wood Pewee ‘ ° ° e ° + “38 Chebec ‘ . ° ° ° . ee 3 Blue Jay. ° - ‘ ° ° eae Canada Jay. ° ° ° ° ° « 46 Crow . ° ° e ° ° . os /:47 Bobolink ., ° ° ° ° ° - 48 Cowbird . . ° . ° ° 53 Red-winged Blackbird A ° ° ° 54 Meadowlark : ; Z ‘ ° a) es Orchard Oriole . : A ‘ « 63 CONTENTS. ee ORDER PASSERES. Prercuinc Birps—Continued. Baltimore Oriole . Purple Grackle Bronzed Grackle . Purple Finch ; : American Goldfinch Snow Bunting Vesper Sparrow . - Grasshopper Sparrow . White-crowned Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Chipping Sparrow ‘ ‘ Field ee . . . ‘ Junco . - Song Sparrow ; Swamp Sparrow .- . Chewink ‘ ; ; Rose-breasted Grosbeak ’ ; Indigo Bunting . ° > Scarlet Tanager . : ‘ Cedar Waxwing . ‘ - Red-eyed Vireo . ¢ ° Warbling Vireo : Yellow-throated Vireo Solitary Vireo ‘ ‘ White-eyed Vireo ; é Black and White Warbler . Golden-winged Warbler A ° Nashville Warbler ; , “ Northern Parula Warbler . Cape May Warbler . Yellow Warbler... Black-throated Blue Warbler a Myrtle Warbler ° Magnolia Warbler : , . ; ? Chestnut-sided Warbler. ‘ : . Bay-breasted Warbler . , : ‘ » Black-poll Warbler. ‘ ; , ; Blackburnian Warbler. P ‘ , , Black-throated Green Warbler , ‘ . xiV CONTENTS. ORDER PASSERES. PeErcHinGc Birps—Connnued. PAGE Pine Warbler : ° . . : - 194 Yellow Red-Poll.. . . ‘ = « 195 Prairie Warbler . ‘ x“ F p - 196 Oven-bird . 3 P . 7 - 197 Maryland Yellow-throas ‘ ° ° - 200 Yellow-breasted Chat . ro . oe e 2 03 Hooded Warbler . é‘ ° . ‘ « 204 Wilson’s Warbler : ; é . - 206 Canadian Warbler > ; ° ° ° 207 American Redstart . * F ° - 208 Brown Thrasher . > ° * » 213 Carolina Wren . ° : : , e .215 Bewick’s Wren . ° ; : é + 218 House Wren ‘ - ‘ a <..a%8 Winter Wren . - : ; ot 220 Short-billed Marsh Wren . ‘ . <2 aa2 Long-billed Marsh Wren . ; > +. {293 Brown Creeper . ‘ A - «tS White-breasted N Hipich ‘ ; : + 226 Black-capped Chickadee - F . ET Carolina Chickadee . . ; : =is ae Hudsonian Chickadee . ; : ‘ “nae Tufted Titmouse . : ‘ 4 . «. 834 Golden-crowned Kinglet ; ; Apes 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglet . : , , +. 236 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher . : : ; xo ae Wood Thrush — ‘ - ‘ ; ‘ « »-239 Veery . : ‘ ‘ ‘ ; « 244 Gray-cheeked Thrush : ‘ , - - 248 Bicknell’s Thrush . > ; 4 : he Fe Olive-backed Thrush . 4 ‘ 3 « 2. #82 Hermit Thrush . . ‘ ; , e255 BIRDS OF WINTER, EARLY SPRING,AND LATE AUTUMN ORDER RAPTORES. PREYING BIRDs: Barn Owl . - ’ ; : ; - 269 Barred or Hoot Owl ’ , ° ‘ oS) a0 Snowy Owl . ; : ° ° ° mee 7 2 XV CONTENTS SUBORDER ALCYONES. KINGFISHERS: Belted Kingfisher . : . ‘ ORDER FPICI. WOODPECKERS: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ORDER PASSERES. PERCHING BiIrRDs: Alder Flycatcher . Starling : Evening Gocsbenk 2 “ , Pine Grosbeak . ‘ - : Red Crossbill ; . 4 , White-winged Crossbill ‘ ; Redpoll ‘ : - F ‘ Pine Sisken . ? : . Ipswich Sparrow . ° ‘ Savannah Sparrow ° Tree Sparrow ; - . Lincoln’s Sparrow ; ‘ . Fox Sparrow : . A ; Cardinal . ’ ; : : Bohemian Waxwing Philadelphia Vireo Worm-eating Warbler . ; Blue-winged Warbler . ‘ Tennessee Warbler ; Water-Thrush Louisiana Water-Thrush A Kentucky Warbler : : ; Connecticut Warbler . : * Mourning Warbler ‘ : ; Mockingbird é : 8 Robin . ; . > . Bluebird ; . = - ~ 274 275 276 : a. aoe - ame ° . 280 ° e B81 ° i” ata - » 283 : . £85 ° . 286 ° 5h ey : - 288 ° + "290 ° «) 2a ° + “oa ° >. 206 a Rg Lae 298 300 301 302 304 305 . » . 307 - - 308 « 313 List oF SONG BIRDS OF THE PEMIGEWASSET Vateiry WITH APPROXIMATE DATES OF ARRIVAL Srx Maps RELATING TO THE MIGRATIONS OF Brrps . 4 P ‘ INDEX . e Ps e - - ° 317 . Facing 320 ° ° 321 ILLUSTRATIONS PINE GROSBEAK (In color.) _ BOB-WHITE - (In color.) PARTRIDGE (Jn color.) ScREECH OWL (In color.) GREAT HORNED OWL (In color.) BLACK-BILLED AND YELLOW-BILLED CuCKOOS (Jn color.) Downy WOODPECKER Risen oe Wie. ho! Dae Oke Oe (In color.) WHIP-PoorR-WILL < DME ae Oe ees (In color.) FUUUUAMGS —5 6 eee rey mi Comer Svar. es ot ee ce enOnte, 5 6a a ee ee ee Re 62 Sls. 5 ean fe! 9 wl ad ere CHEBEC AND Woop PEWEE ..... « Sites SF ai gS 55 ai es Bt ies oat (In color.) POOR TO i eee ee ee Crow . . . . . . . . . . . SROMORAES kar oo ie te) 6.6 a” @ (In color.) RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD . . .« «© « « (In color.) AIOE. Fal ook on Lien ws ceases (Jn color.) XVii i FACING PAGE Frontispiece 4 8 . . . 10 : 12 eA 16 * 20 * 22 StS, 8 26 . . ” 32 . . . . 34 . . . 36 . . . 38 Som ee 44 . . . 46 . . . 48 . . . 50 . . . 54 ILLUSTRATIONS BALTIMORE ORIOLE AND ORCHARD ORIOLE . . . (In color.) AMERICAN GOLDFINCH AND PurpPLE Fincu . (In color.) SNOWFLAKES SP inett ert a in (In color.) VESPER SPARROW AND GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (In color.) WHITE-THROATED SPARROW AND WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW . (In color.) FIELD SPARROW AND CHIPPING SPARROW (In color.) INDIGO BUNTING AND JUNCO . i .-% 2. « e« «» (In color.) SonG SPARROW AND SWAMP SPARROW (In color.) ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK AND CHEWINK . ... . (In color.) SCARLET TANAGER AND MATE . - (In color.) CEDAR WAXWING . .. ..« + > RED-EYED VIREO AND YELLOW-THROATED VIREO . . . (In color.) WARBLING VIREO .... WHITE-EYED VIREO AND SOLITARY VIREO . .. . (In color.) Biack 4np Waitt WaRBter io ..°4. 6 oe ee NASHVILLE WARBLER AND GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER (In color.) CaPE MAY WARBLER AND NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER (In color.) BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER AND YELLOW WARBLER (In color.) - MYRTLE WARBLER AND MAGNOLIA WARBLER . . . (In color.) XVili PACING PAGE 64 74 84 86 90 102 108 - 110 174 - 180 ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE BAyY-BREASTED WARBLER AND CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. 184 {In color.) BLACKHVGLE AAMEEER 2 on) Se ae a ere eee) 6 188 BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER AND BLACK-THROATED GREEN WAR- i ee re ng Ss lta ad Ss oe Rou ae hoe (In color.) REDSTART AND PINE WARBLER . . . » « «+ « «+ « 194 (In color.) PRAIRIE WARBLER AND YELLOW RED-POLL . .... . 196 (In color.) ; MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT AND OVENBIRD fps eile ee (In color.) HoopED WARBLER AND YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT ie ia Bee (In color.) CANADIAN WARBLER AND WILSON’S WARBLER . .. . . 208 (In color.) . CATBUR ee ew 0 6 eh eke ish Ve ogee 212 BROWN THRASHER . . « «+ «© «© © «© « « « « ~ 214 (In color.) WINTER WREN AND CAROLINA WREN . 2. 2 « « : 3. “2l6 (In color.) SESW BM ye Sie sl oh Delage 8 Be SOEs Witre-nuxasrep Nuraatcu i ae ae eee oe 6 se alee CHICKADEES Sys, Les ow, PSP Ae Secale Ma Notte. We ae ae GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET AND PROTHONOTARY WARBLER . 234 (In color.) FUee- CROWNED KINGIRYT b0-ciy se ee Se a te 2 (In color.) Woop THRUSH AND VEERY . .. 6 « ; O85 ea iO (In color.) BUELL TURUER ot ST le el a ee eee 380 HERMIT THRUSH AND OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH . . . . . 254 (In color ) ROW Via ghoul gta. obedience“ s | BEO DOGEED MEMGVISGRR Gas of ce ait hee oe we BTR Xix ILLUSTRATIONS Bvenine GROSSEAR «- 6. el Ha Sar VOR, a (In color.) Rup CROOSBILE » 0 “wis 6 a pw ee 6s “eh ers (In color.) WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL WE est Sear (In color.) Pine Siskin AND RED-POLL .-. «5 © © 6 6 (In color.) Fou Seanmow 37 i «0: oc. eee De tere ee (In color.) CARDINAL: cf pels! “eee et oe ee (In color.) BLUE-WINGED WARBLER AND WORM-EATING WARBLER (In color) WATER-THRUSE Coe ie (eis whe) 0) woe (In color.) - Kesrock’ WaReGEe 326580. ca bi ees (In color.) : MOCKING DMD = 0.5 ere ee ee. 8 ee ee (In color.) BLUEBIRD: AND ROBBERS 6 a. 4 eee eee (In color.) xX 282 288 AN INTRODUCTION TO BIRD MUSIC. There is a general idea among many who are inter- ested in birds that musical notation employed as a means to express a bird’s song is nearly worthless. Pos- sibly those who are most skeptical in this regard are not the ones who read music readily. If so, I shall hope that the musical key and glossary which follow will prove of great assistance in making plain those simpler principles of music necessary to a proper understanding not only of the musical records within this volume, but of the character of the songs they represent. Of course it is a more or less problematic matter to deal with wild music. It is not amenable in any respect tolaw. How- ever, the question involved is not whether the bird’s song is radically different from ours—we may admit that point—but whether it may be truthfully and logi- cally recorded upon the musical staff. That question, it is the object of this book to answer affirmatively, and with due regard for all the difficulties involved. Syllables alone can not express the song of a bird; they are wholly inadequate, if not extremely unscientific. A syllable may be spoken or sung in any tone of voice, therefore, it is useless in locating a tone. Such conso- nants as Q, 8, and Z are of use only in defining a partic- ular quality of tone. Now, as bird songs are composed of a certain number of related tones and a limited degree of pitch, there is but one way to record them; that must be upon the musical staff! As a matter of fact, syllables are very useful in ex- pressing rhythm or time; but even here they some- times .fail. For instance, one of the best syllabic examples of rhythm is the Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody, attributed to the White-throated Sparrow. Naturally, one would pronounce the name Pea-bo-dy evenly; but the bird does not sing this trisyllabic note that way; he sings the first of the three tones to three beats, the second to one beat, and the third to two beats. Only the musical staff can express that fact accurately! XX1 AN INTRODUCTION TO BIRD MUSIC, Probably a few birds do sing the three tones evenly but they are exceptions to the rule. Why each species should have developed and retained an established form of song it is not difficult to under- stand. The habits, associations, and environment of the bird have had much to do with the formation of his music, and education all the rest. By education I mean that gradual schooling of the imitative faculty, which, .onscious or not, has resulted in the attainment of mu- sical tones at once pleasing to the ear. The bird sings first for love of music, and second ‘‘ for the love of the lady.” Advisedly I put the lady second, for, if he did not love music first he would not have sung to her, and birds, like the rest of us, are a trifle selfish. What we like most we think others will like as well, hence, in a moment of unselfishness we share the object of our selfishness! It is a fallacy to suppose that the music of the wild bird has been, or is, unprogressive; through thousands of years it has advanced to its present form, yet there is every evidence to-day that the progression has been - nthil ad rem! The fact is, the bird has not arrived; there is still no point to his song! He makes a fine start, but he nearly always fails to finish on the tonic, or, for that matter, anywhere at all. This, however, does not signify a want of progressiveness; it rather suggests a particular form of limitation. He has been imitating his father or his companion, faults and all, and he has not brain enough to understand that the far-reaching law of music demandsa finale. Through two, yes, three long seasons (long fur him) he has been learning his song, imitating something he has heard, adding his own notes and touches of expression here and there, and settling upon a form which, in principle, will never change. His first impression is a lasting one, and he will never depart from it though he will make a marked, progres- sive improvement in his handling of the theme. Every bird sings his own song; no two sing exactly alike. A sharp and retentive ear for musical form can not fail to recognize those subtile differences of tone and expression which make the song of every singer unique. XXil AN INTRODUCTION TO BIRD MUSIC, There are, of course, similarities in the songs of birds of the same species, but the differences, nevertheless, are as distinct as those by means of which the ornithologist has separated Bicknell’s Thrush from the Gray-cheeked Thrush! There are immense differences in the individual songs of the Vireos, Finches, Orioles, Tanagers, and Thrushes. For lack of intimate acquaintance with the music of a particular bird we think he sings just like the next one—why! do all roosters have the same crow? No, any farmer knows better than that. And does the youthful rooster sing as well as the old one? Never! Only one thing stands as unalterable in the song of a given species,—that is, mechanical rhythm ; the rooster’s crow, therefore, will ever be thus: ——- —— —— We think there is a vast mediocrity of singers in Nature’s chorus, and only occasionally a supreme soloist! ‘It is scarcely so; the master singer, I fear is often so labeled without that wider acquaintance with the many talented singers which would cause us to hesitate before we hang the card over his neck. I would, I must, spend an hour or more in the piano warerooms trying instru- ments before I pronounced judgment on a particular one, and in some respects the choice would be purely a matter of taste. I wonder whether that delicate instru- ment in the throat of the Hermit Thrush differs so widely from the one made by the hand of man, that the Great Designer succeeded in turning it out like a mere machine, not one whit different from others he had created! No! never does Nature repeat herself; it is not one vast mediocre chorus, it is an endless variety of soloists whose voices, filled with tone-color, redundant in) melody, replete with expression, and strong in indi- viduality, make up the orchestra which performs every year the glad spring symphony. The Hermit is the great tone artist, the Red-eyed Vireo is the obligato accompanist, the Song Sparrow is the melodist, and the Partridge controls the drums. But every individual sings his own song ! XXili et Y ‘d i: < ee ee ’ + A . - a ‘ haat’ Reedy tas Pe, ee ies « fc 7 Pa 5 = : eT Ade Po Sige yy: . Nh iat ara A gio cece ey lee. AAG hae a er ips hed Bt Si arte 7 ee, >, oka . ay “re a Oi ee ees ye 4 not wi ! t aes Sisies ite sak ia Loe gs . ; i aR rena 85.5 ny: ‘i a, ang ee one 4 Retr ek shcpiibdige's ay cath ype Sie rat Po epi joao oy, NY ae aia ees Hy ‘Sew ae a ss zee er at ass sore Vs eT ie a lite @ resins | os % Kite, a Be eke, ey is m Sie oy L) sities Tinehais ae 7 awe alee a2 skal fr cee i ei { EPPO AE ie ran * SR Th Sete aay aes Lact ig Sepsis PROM ee ae ; a ris oS nas hag melita AP a oS ean s Per ears parse of rah mee Pir hey ass A x ae an ed) are Re Aen te: oh r . eee te ts) eb ae Ten = eh tebe - ee : ; “rid Spee tales 7 pe) fos ¥ “ as j T . ne * i Sa pe Sy Ae er : LF - hy 2 iC he ay 7 oo -_ oe a ” y t i ~ be tat | + Jnaks a rer Ae i ’ ; are -, : | i> a 7 * 9 me : - Ls : ‘ nf, 5 -& F ; , b 7 i fie) ae 2 ig =; * dad q “ o 5 od 5 3 ‘ A MUSICAL KEY. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THOSE WHO DO NOT READ MUSIC. Success in identifying a bird’s song depends more upon the ability of the ear to discriminate differences of rhythm than differences of tone; for, every species fol- lows its own unalterable law in rhythmic time, no matter how different are the songs of birds of the same species. This is an apparently irrefragable principle which is the key to an immediate recognition of the singer. But there are those who entertain a contrary opinion. Mr. Maurice Thompson, in Sylvan Secrets, writes: ‘‘ There is no such element as the rhythmic beat in any bird-song that Ihave heard. Modulation and fine shades of ‘ color’ as the musical critic has it, together with melodious phrasing take the place of rhythm. . . . The absence of true rhythm probably is significant of a want of power to appreciate genuine music, the bird’s comprehension com- passing no more than the value of sweet sounds merely as such.” Now if the writer means what he says about the ‘‘rhythmic beat ” he is certainly all astray, but if he is confusing mechanical time with the rhythm or ‘‘ metre” of poetry he is not only wrong but misleading in his use of terms, for no English word expresses rhythmus vetter than the word ‘‘ time,” and I shall presently demonstrate the fact that birds know how to keep time perfectly. But metre is a different thing, it implies proportion, and of that the wild bird naturally knows but little. The most obvious explanation of a ‘‘ rhythmic beat” is the drum beat. Here it is: rT | Mitt TT P) ry toa TT 1 Pytvieis afatitstat alt f Any child would know what you were representing if you tapped that way on the table. Now the question at once arises, is there any bird that sings in accordance RXV ‘yun " e a soe Y 5 = of h ae en Stems — Stamm aos dueys sue 4 I———pay —e ft ag heurpag ubis ay) 'siy) soy Re ee eer PA 9 ——e 2 pace Paes r Udybiy 3AP)I0 UP aJeIIput OR pasn af ? , j : me) ay sree oy) vo 16) BY + = $y vPojubisoyyu 2 = s = c y 8 ‘alto h.10n/ veo 4/2} au ov ¢ = _— © wopey pue yybis ay) vo 5 = = o) c= m4 Gieys sr fay fuoge wy" = | > is SS Ee ¥ ¥ 4 To Y ¥ Rie ge { ON v wc) 1 +O ¥ i) me a OO ——— eV ot a Wea ee Oa: 2 Oi Ora VDT Uv v 0 eo) MIDDLE C |U DIAGRAM SHOWINC RELATIVE POSITIONS OF NOTES ON STAFF AND KEYBOARD. XXV1 A MUSICAL KEY. with time ora ‘‘ rhythmic beat”? Yes, not only one bird, but forty! Here is the song of the Black-billed Cuckoo: oS 6 ph ioe Ore bate 6 6 OF, TIS. 0.6: s'0' 4) we ou> ope abe And here isis POON e's oi 4's 0. bes. 6) 9) 00 0,0 88 And here is the Flicker ....cccccscoccccccccecece And the Black-throated Green Warbler .°. .e-s And the Nashville Warbler .. .. «2 «ce cocce And the Whip-poor-will . .. owe ecjorg eee Not one of the little fellows above ever gets his rhythm mixed up with that of the other fellow. The next step is to become familiar with those mechani- cal divisions of tone which the musical staff represents. Tones of course are separated by regular intervals.* The simplest demonstration of well-separated tones in connection with the rhythmic beat will be found in the song of the Peabody Bird : > > > d | Coir tir co Old Sam Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea-body, This little fellow frequently sings an interval of ‘ta fifth,” that is, he sings A, perhaps, and jumps over B,C, and D, to E. The musical staff shows this as clearly to one who can not read music as it does to one who can: , This time beat 1s the one commonly used by writers, >> . | a. is i (36 1& 2% 38 4b S&6e 16 26 36(46 6 ; 6& But ¢ 1s time beat is probably more accurate. - 2 e . — ee ~ / soa oi 162 & 36 4656 6& 162 & ‘a 4% The Signs Is ‘the cated form. 7 & Moderato > 2 a. ay oe + + 7, *7 = = : : ;. L?) “SF i T ‘old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody. * The little bird does not always correctly heed his intervals, he very often sings sharp or flat; but, strictly speaking, no person XXVii By)siym pur wny 7 APRUMI 0} '2°1 ;paUuo}-ayqnop paianljap fuappns 40 hydseys §/ }/ SUPA L{GIEA UdALH) PHCOMY)]-YIELT LdYjEL Sf GUOR AY] SuPawW BuOS ey) f0 Bus Ut aJOU 4AAO , YJOO}MES, ff —T—F—-I $efotig¢ ul ajou ay) JaA0 yop eyy, =— wv 7P auo snoiago yng juesifiu | pajuave fiqeartof all $3u0} asay} -bisur uP 0} sdosp bf ]P aud} auf) Sua ura Buos sMmotsede buog fo sajou —+—- | buos so0yon ut ajou (e216) hun ayy, eS I Oujuado dy) Lad SpPayMOLIP IY, —2—-e ejfis oppha “ayjoue ojut ao pa —fe2q®?a_ ‘urbe Huo se fjey pouiejsns st Clout jeyMaWIOS 24P $3U0) dd.t)) ayy SUCAL face 2u10) siyy SUbAUI BuOs smoLseay buos spsig Apogedd ul Ans eyL Suog up ajou ay) TAYE op ay yy : All PP, 31 Suayjbua djou PB Land \ey Moigaha, Uy se Huo] se a9jM} — 9JON Y}UIA)XIG te ; : meet . ere sjenbe ‘an) ae 4 sp Huo] se 321M} er a ajo 44617 LA? Q uiehe yonw se fjey sppe rt eae | 2) Jaze op B YIM ajou se Huo] sP a21M3 Soe RENTERS FIN Lap4eney Tv : ; : : J se buo] $P 09!) — —— 4a 2}0N Hey’ : . b] : . . : : : : } 1D 270M 104M ma DIAGRAM OF NOTE VALUES ETC. XXVIlil A MUSICAL KEY. Economy of space demands the present compact ap- pearance of the musical staff ; each line as well as each space is used to represent some one of the keys of the piano keyboard. The diagram of staff on page xxii, shows exactly the relationship of the treble staff and keyboard. Ihave drawn only the four octaves belong- ing to the upper half of the keyboard, beginning with middle C (close to the keyhole of the piano) and ending with the fourth C above it, because within that compass lie all the notes with which we have to do relative to bird-music. Of these four octaves the lowest one (be- ginning with middle C) is entirely below one’s whistle, in fact it is extremely difficult to whistle the second D above middle C so one can be heard any distance away ! As a matter of fact birds’ voices are pitched so high, that most of them are somewhere within the compass of the last, highest octave on the piano, and many of them continue to the other side of the wood-work! This is the case with all of the Warblers. Even the Peabody Bird sings Old on the highest F, and for Sam and Peabody (see the song diagram) jumps an interval of a fifth to the topmost C of the piano. Whistle that if you can, and you will have the correct pitch of this bird’s song. Nearly all birds have the ability to jump an interval and hit a tone with a tolerable degree of accuracy. The diagram shows the extent of the various intervals. The so-called interval of a minor third, common in the Field Sparrow's song, is that which includes only one ebony key between the three ivory ones. For instance, D, E, F, and E, F, G, and A, B, C, and B, C, D, include but a single ‘‘ ebony,” in their combinations ; all other thirds include two, and are called major in contradistinction to minor thirds. The song diagram will show the Cuckoo sings a major and the Field Sparrow a minor third. The so-called slur, or dash connecting two or more notes, is of utmost importance in expressing their char- does or can sing with a mathematically accurate pitch. We simply come a great deal nearer to the note A than the bird does. Itis wholly a matter of degree. So it is well to remember at the outset that there are some very dubious tones which come from Nature’s orchestra. XXix C- if —_ Me ET eae Indig . ‘ ive TM CDEF CABCDETGABC DE PGA BC DEF 'GAB:C oy Main’s |whiistlle aS CO ET SS a ee ong) Spé row tole Riobin ermit Thirush 9 ar. o Ad ing he be: Thras YVcreecnt These records represent the song compass of individual singers and not the range of voice in the species, As some birds are likely fo sing higher or lower than these particular ones, the species range MIDDLE C is atrifie greater, | DIACRAM SHOWING THE PITCH OF TWENTY ONE B/RD SONCS RELATIVELY WITH THE KEYBOARD. ULL XXX A MUSICAL KEY. acter. The explanatory diagram showing the values of notes demonstrates also the value of the slur in connec- tion with the syllables Pea-bod-y which the Peabody Bird sings. In the case of this slur connecting two notes separated by an interval as in the Wood Pewee’s song, it indicates that the whistle touches by even gradations all the intermediate tones. On the contrary, a simple dot over a note expresses the idea that the tone must be given in a percussive manner.* My ‘‘sawtooth” sign is borrowed in part from the trill sign in music, it is in- tended to express a double tone, which may be demon- strated by whistling the note indicated and humming simultaneously the bass tone at G or G flat, the second one below middle C, or, for that matter, any deep tone convenient to the whistler. The songs of the Scarlet Tanager and Yellow-throated Vireo are strongly char- acterized by this overtone. That various birds sing in different keys and in differ- ent measures of time goes without saying. The key, however, is a very unimportant matter; but it is neces- sary to know how it is expressed. The natural key is the octave C to ¢ (with its inter- mediate harmonic tones). Key of G=1 sharp, begins a fifth above C, at G, and sharps the F. Key of D = 2 sharps, begins a fifth above G, at D, and sharps F and C, Key of A = 3 sharps, begins a fifth above D, at A, and sharps C, F, and G. Key of E = 4 sharps, begins a fifth above A, at E, and sharps F, G, C, and D. Key of B = 5 sharps, begins a fifth abeve E, at B, and sharps C, D, F, G, and A. Key of F = 1 flat, begins a fifth below C, at F, and flats B. Key of B flat = 2 flats, begins a fifth below F, at B flat, and flats B and E. * In a few instances a dot, and a dash connecting two notes appear together ; this indicates that the tone is whistled suddenly and is seft as suddenly for the next one, so the twoare pretty closely con gmected. (See the Oriole’s music.) XXXi CDE F-GABCDEFGABCDEFGABCDE FGABC tT} Te ip 1 |” at Cae E 0 Sea. BS} i er | we Ea ee a EE, om 7) * UG Be a Set ae Ss GE Ri RG TAT WS eS a a a ae Ars Ses G arbliing |\Virjeo ack+thr|Gre ee, a ae a a 7 co Ee : : = A a] SS EH: = > Ss > ® A$" se § Bas x 7 & Rzeesz acs ” =: ie SSS 8 UF = — % gq = vy s i ey: es e $ i Q Ss = ve oe Q = SS y 2 = e 9 breasted Wh |_____ The first three records are conspicu- |___ ous instances of a comprehensive voice lacking determinate pitch in the higher register Many other bird mIDDLEC yoices are similarly indefinite. DIAGRAM SHOWING THE PITCH OF FIFTEEN BIRD SONGS RELATIVELY WITH THE KEYBOARD. XXXii A MUSICAL KEY, Key of E flat = 3 flats, begins a fifth below B flat, at E flat, and flats A, B, and E. Key of A flat = 4 flats, begins a fifth below E flat, at A flat, and flats A, B, D, and E. Key of D flat =5 flats, begins a fifth below A flat, at D flat, and flats D, E, G, A, and B. I have no records of bird music on the keys six sharps, or six flats which are identical with each other. The signs of sharps or flats belonging to a given key are placed at the beginning of the musical staff. Nearly all birds sing in strictly measured time, many sing a perfect bar, or measure, and a considerable num.- ber, several bars. The Whip-poor-will, for instance, sings an endless succession of bars in accurate six-eight time, that is, within each bar (which is marked off on the staff by simple perpendicular lines) will be found six eighth notes or their equivalent in notes or pauses, thus* : (2'!44 Vivace. 2 _ ; 2 3 2 s y Y mn “t =] "2 ¢ — Whip-poor-will, Whippoorwill, Whip-poor-will, Whip-poor-mill, The time § is therefore placed alongside of the key sig- nature of one flat (which is B flat) which means the bird sang in $ time in the key of F. Again, the Black- billed Cuckoo will frequently sing in two-four time, and we will find two eighth notes and a quarter rest (all of which is the equivalent of two fourth notes) in one bar: dh Andante, A. Ritard, 2. ‘A. 2 } oe | Yee Se, | Dl A S | Fs ae | : i he Se rapt O26 at a FeO) SS An eee ee o4@ ead ee zd eed Cou-c00, Cou-C00, cou-Cu-c00, COU-COO, COU-CU-COQ, COU-CU-CO0, * Not infrequently the first bar of a song contains but one beat, represented by a note or notes ; in that case the other beats neces- XXXili "So es waads oan oor 4 Dulas "S847 puUe ‘a7 3: *‘(opuPle/d22P)*7829P Subis "aS (Lili °°] * Tad ve ‘Copuepaeyis) picp SYMP/MOPPaL, 247] Ut Ysep MuLNI0OA pur ~ 2us penprid P | BUOS SMOdd PAP Pla/ J Bu) ut 3]999P V. ° 3 Beme buipe, ue dn y oop Be of fo fome P wipe oy bdo¢ So0yI77D a Ls al 52S Bf wh es 4) “PsPjid SUIS AY” bausoy ayy apoptuor tim Aygegosd asruyd jx@u ay7 fazajSuiooui ybnouyie asues YIIM BSELYA JEISMWU P 87N}775uU0I S@jou pauueds ay7 sureu buog uo] ey Serrrrre iJ e4L 4? “Sau2 Ja “Joye” 2 eee ‘wip 48 paPzy ; Sd ee "ym-sood -diy na la 3 2, ud, Ou [e) Li,\ Bid A és portal Fohooee lod tpoauood y A 11 Od ALVe Vy auo 2772PXa 40 *aznitiw P U/ 4nd2¢ r ~eQ 4 $970u 4d74PMb OSL Sued Huos $jlim cast 7a 0E-AIN AA PY) Ul Busi] BU/OUOLJOUl BY 1 ~ ee oF BLaPOW” OGL =P EVONZE pees! ep Rs ERE Ne} fe @) re -das J2UNnSID JNOY? ma LSU UNn0g OY} SUBals »C tf! 48 ty onc b eats Hee PM aah Mars LOLs hsp loSasd pe Sous a a $8U0} e907 UPeU~ Soho! 99Rub OX4, pezsabins Ajuo aue buos goqgayd ey) “MUI MILD) * Ud ue “prot “(8240 slat clal-alals i Lettrestbul (opiteasoisy 3 A nm ea < TA q J ubis ayy buos $4ayoi) Jay} Ul 77; Pp Sada nas GUO UNL ALP SILO, *PdlPadad JOU DUP ~ PeUrezrsns $f BU0} BY] Sue eee ranks Sat 4o2aenb a bi -MO uae al? YUM Jo eg “eh 1Paq_x, 2 SUPA ? 94D 24Y618-xX/ ‘Huos $a ap Ul by s1 Aay ay Supa durys duh ~ ILLUSTRATIONS OF MUSICAL SI@N8, A MUSICAL KEY. | And yet again, some other bird may seem to sing as many as six eighth notes, or their equivalent, to a bar, as. for instance, the Song Sparrow, a great variety of whose music will be found among the pages farther along devoted to him. The fact is, no matter how doubtfully complete the song of the little bird proves to be, there is no question whatever about the singer keeping time! He can not sustain a melody of any considerable length, nor can he conform to our conventional ideas of metre, but he can keep time perfectly, and a knowledge of his rhythmic method, is, I believe, the strongest factor in his identifi- cation by the ear ! This matter of time-keeping is one of the most import. ant elements of music. Naturally, therefore, the drum being a musical instrument, I begin this key by using its beat as the best marked illustration of mechanical rhythm. Now, if we return to this illustration of the drum-beat we will see that within a minute of time a drummer is supposed to keep the run of one hundred and twenty time beats, and to strike his drum rhyth- mically, twice skipping a time beat and then three times not skipping it. Although a singing bird does not keep this mechanical time with any greater degree of accu- racy than the artist pianist or vocalist, he does keep it with all the accuracy that art demands, and that is more than sufficient for our purpose. I have consequently placed over a great number of the bird songs, the metro- nome time in which they were sung. People who are undrilled in music are dreadfully heedless of time ; they rarely if ever give a note ‘‘its face value.” To use an apt simile a dollar passes for fifty cents, and vice versa ! This will never do in music; we must heed the relative values of notes and rests and movements in bird songs sary to complete the bar will be represented by the notes or rests in the last bar which will also lack the full complement of beats. The first and last bars, then, will together form but one complete bar. This condition is caused by the song beginning on an unac- cented note which is usually short and merely introductory to the more important one which begins the next bar. (See the records of Oriole’s music for an instance.) XXXV A MUSICAL KEY. or else we must forever remain in ignorance of their Individual character. Wemay value a half or a quarter note according to our discretion, but once having de- cided upon that value we must sustain it. If one does not possess that interesting and simple little instrument called Maelzel’s Metronome, the follow- ing instructions will serve in the construction of an excellent substitute, Attach a small weight to the end of a common tape measure with half, quarter, and eighth inches marked thereon; a penknife suspended crosswise (not lengthwise) will do. The following table will then show the equation of inches and metronome beats ; the last are indicated by the number per minute : 60 = 39} inches 112 = 112 inches 66= 3817 “ 116 = 10} * 72 = 268 « 1200= 9} « 80 = 218 “ 126 = 8} « 88 = 18} <“ 132 = 7 « 92= 164 “ 188 = 7 « 96 = 15, « 144= 68 “ 100 = 143 « 2= 6 “ 104= 188 “ 160 = 5g 108 = 193“ 168= 43 “ THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE THRUSHES It may seem rather extravagant praise to sum up the song of the Hermit Thrush in the unqualified terms I have used on pages 256-57, but I am confident that a close stu- dent of his music must surely arrive at the conclusion that it possesses a subtle charm which rarely if ever distin- guishes the songs of other birds. Theodore Roosevelt has expressed himself most emphatically on that point, he writes: “In melody, and above all in that finer, higher melody where the chords vibrate with the touch of eternal sorrow, it (the Nightingale) cannot rank with such singers as the Wood Thrush and Hermit Thrush. The serene, ethereal beauty of the Hermit’s song, rising and falling through the still evening under the archways of hoary mountain forests that have endured from time everlasting; the golden leisurely chiming of the Wood Thrush sounding on a June afternoon, stanza by stanza, through sun-flecked groves of tall hickories, oaks, and chestnuts—with these there is nothing in the Nightingale’s song to compare.” I wrote here, years ago, in similar vein: ‘‘The passionate and plaintive notes of the Nightingale apparently have no place in the Hermit’s song; our gifted Thrush sings more of the glory of life and less of its tragedy, more of the joy of heaven and less of the passion of earth. That is a purely human point of view all the more significant because one bird sings to the European, and the other to the American ear.”” (See page 257.) To sum it up in a few words, no other bird has developed what is plainly an intelligent use of a musical scale aptly fitted for expressive song—the so-called Pentatonic Scale. We have become so familiar with the two comprehensive, modern scales, the Chromatic which includes all the tones within the octave, and the Diatonic which, in the key of C, is represented by the sav ivories of the piano keyboard XXXVil THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE THRUSHES. that we fail to appreciate the expressiveness of a more limited one. But there is a third and primitive mode com- mon to all folk-song, sometimes called the Scotch scale, which is perfectly represented by five of the ebonies of the piano. There is, however, considerable latitude in the GAB pF choice of five tones within the octave. Here is the scale: nPentatonic. Key Gh Here it is again in F, A minor, and G: The Pentatonie scale of the Hermit Thrush, Q er. Ee | ee Beat P-3 je Three positions on the staffwith but one signature Thus, by naively avoiding B flat in the key of F, and F sharp in the key of G the early musician could make the signature of the key of C answer for three additional keys, the third being A minor the so-called relative minor of the key of C. The result is significant, for one should remem- ber that these are primitive modes upon which has been based nearly all music whether it be of bird or man. Our musical ancestors therefore tuned their instruments ap- proximately to the key of C, and by adhering to a penta- tonic scale could palm off no end of tonal variety upon the not too discriminating primeval ear. XXXViil 5 THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE THRUSHES. Our Hermit has not progressed beyond that quaint, primitive scale; just there he has reached his own limita- tion, why should we expect more? Indeed we may well marvel at the skillful use of so expressive a scale by so tiny a brain. The Thrush is a pygmy beside which the Scotch piper is an immense giant; comparisons of their music are out of place here, but it is sufficient to say the American bird has outwhistled the piper with his own Scotch pentatones. For some years I had wondered why the song of the Her- mit was—at least to my ears—reminiscent of Scottish melody; finally a close scrutiny of my innumerable nota- tions taken afield revealed the nature of the limited scale; here is its transcription: please notice that the five keys Hermit Thrush. Various keys § the Pentatonre scale. C1 _-@f-Aminor2,-@-F 3 Eminor 4 Dminor5S t+ sft gift ry ££ 2a Pd f pa Zit e {HH | aa yr Whih but one signature require but one signature, and also, that the following five songs confined to the scales and the keys as above distinctly suggest the character of Scottish melody: “3% tek LI ye. 2 3 Various themes o the scale and keys preceding. This scale is by no means a peculiar possession of the Scotch; Dvorak used it in the Largo movement of his New World Symphony, and in his popular Humoresque, Op. 101, No. 7. The scale is also characteristic of our southern Negro melody, and of Stephen Foster’s beautiful and pathetic songs. A quaint old melody entitled a Northern Refrain* by Charles E. Horn of New York, 1838, contains * New York so late as the year 1864 was famous for its negro chimney-sweeps. The title of this songis: ‘‘A Northern Refrain, suggested from a well-known New York Carol, sung with enthusiastic XXXix THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE THRUSHES. a most admirable example of the pentatonic scale in its crooning street call of the old-time negro chimney-sweep of that city: Observe-the G sharp in the ascending scale which replaces the F in the descending scale. That is an absolutely con- sistent pentatonic variation which is employed by the Thrush in themes 1 and 3 where he sings the semitone E instead of the tone D in scales one would be justified in thinking should consist of C, D, F, A, C and F, A, C, D, F, (see also theme 1 and other pentatonic forms on page 260). Although the Nightingale frequently touches upon this expressively scale there is no evidence that he is able to amplify it with the ability which distinguishes the Hermit Thrush. The foreign songster possesses a wonderful voice, the American songster a wonderfully constructed song. Often the Wood Thrush resorts to the pentatonic form applause by Mrs. C. E. Horn. The words written expressly for her by G. P. Morris, Esq. The melody and arrangement composed and respectfully dedicated to The St. Nicholas Society by Charles E. Horn, New York. Published by Davis & Horn, 1838.’ Hornin those days was a celebrated musician and composer formerly con- nected with the Princess’s Theatre, London. He was finally conduc- tor of the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston. George Pope Morris was none other than the poet who wrote the famous ‘‘ Woodman, Spare that Tree.”’ xl THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE THRUSHES. but again makes no attempt to use it in full as the Hermit does, witness his scales 4 and 5 in this notation: Scales of the eed Thrush 4s PEP lle a == am. | B26 | |Pel | i lg haat |_| @ rd | Y a et ey AN | fA) | & The Ve majer RO ces “Triad; major, minor. Dimd seventh. Pentatonic........- The Wood Thrush is generally content to render variations upon the components of the triad and the diminished seventh; beyond these it is apparent he is unable to progress. But the Olive-back, like the Hermit, has advanced to a more extended musical form and works that to its limit. Here is a progressive harmonic setting of his primitive scale which is confined to minor thirds—or something wonderfully like them—within the limit of the diminished seventh: re = © en eet = ae oar _£ 1 | ad ix marae ji Ebr } | ae es ae ea If one begins at any point on the piano keyboard and progresses upward skipping two keys and striking the third, of course counting in the ebonies, one will eventuate upon one of the three forms recorded above; there are only three, no more. This is another primitive scale at which both man and bird arrived during some period in the development of their musical faculties. Whatever the Olive-back may sing which is not in strict accordance with this scale is sure to be merely a modification of it. As for the Veery, although one must translate his music into the chromatic scale, he does not really follow but sprawls over it with a weird harmonic charm heedless of all musical intervals.. His tones are so slurred and mixed xli THE MUSICAL SCALES OF THE THRUSHES. that the effect is one of a graceful, descending glissando, thus: vay 7. ss i ee | f > a No definite scale None of the 'Thrushes’ songs can be fully heard at a dis- tance greater than seventy feet or so from the singer. There are too many charming overtones and undertones which otherwise must be missed, and what is more to the point, the musical scale is not in evidence. The following record of a Hermit’s song is ample testimony to the fact: Incomplete theme of Hermit Thrush Q Dh i 4 7 A bil D i iA\’ py | fa S This was taken from the highway in Campton, N. H., a little less than a quarter of a mile from the point in the woods where the bird sang, July 1, 1918, and again a year later. A near record of the same bird’s song included four more notes, distinct, but softer in tone and more rapidly delivered. There can be no question whatever about the actuality of these scales upon which the music of the Thrushes and other advanced singing birds is based. I use the term music instead of song advisedly for the latter implies mel- ody, and it is an indisputable fact that most of the so- called songs of the feathered singers are not melodic but are of the nature of free fantasias more or less confined to a very limited form at best never extended beyond the pentatonic scale—a scale which is sufficient for the expres- sion of the most beautiful music the world has ever heard. xlii A GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS COMMONLY USED IN THE NOTATIONS. Accel. or Accelerando. Faster and faster. Acciaccatura. A short note which is crushed against the principal note, as it were (i. e., both struck ai the same instant), but which is instantly released and the principal key held. Adagio. Slow. Ad libitum. At pleasure. Affettuoso. Tenderly ; with feeling. Agitato. With agitation. Allegretto. A little quick; not so quick as allegro. Allegro. Quick ; cheerful, joyful. Andante. The same as Moderato; going at a moderate Animato, With animation. Ben. Well, good. Cadenza. A more or less elaborate flourish of indefinite form, introduced immediately preceding the close of the composition. Cantabile. In a graceful, singing style. Chromatic Scale. All the tones, intermediate and dia- tonic, in successive order. Con. With; as, con brio, with spirit. Cres. or Crescendo. Gradually increasing in strength or power. Dacapo. From the beginning. Da capo al Fine. From the beginning to the end, Delicato. Delicately. Diatonic Scale. The five whole tones and two semi- tones of any key, in successive order. Dim. or Diminuendo. Gradually diminishing. Dolce. Sweetly. Dot. A point placed after a note or rest which adds one half to the rhythmical value of the note or rest. xliii GLOSSARY. Dynamics. The force of musical sounds, The degrees range from pp., which is the softest, through p. m. and f. to ff., which is the loudest, Finale. } ES The end. Forte. Loud, Fortissimo. Very loud. Fuoco, Fire, energy. Glissando. Playing a rapid passage on the piano by sliding the tips of the fingers along on the keys, Interval. The difference of pitch between two tones. Largo. Slow. Legato. Connected ; each tone of a phrase being con- tinued until the next is heard. Lento. Slow. Marcato. Marked. Moderato, Going at a moderate pace, Phrase. A short tone-chain which makes sense, but not complete sense, Pianissimo. Very soft. Portamento. A gliding of the voice from one tone to another. Presto. Quickly. Rallent. or Rallentando. Gradually slower and softer. Ritard. or Ritardando. Slackening the time. Scherzando, Playfully ; sportively,. Sempre, Always. Sforzando. With emphasis on one particular tone; forced. Sostenuto. Sustained and smooth. Staccato. Short and distinct; detached. Syncopation. The displacement of the usual accent, either by cutting it away from the commonly ac- cented beat, and driving it over to that part of a measure not usually accented, or by prolonging a tone begun in a weak beat past the instant when the usual accent should occur, Theme.. A simple melody on which variations are made, : xliv GLOSSARY. Tonic. The key-tone - Tremolo. A note made to quiver or shake. Triad. A chord consisting of three tones—i.e., the tonic with its third and its fifth. Trill. A rapid alternation of two contiguous tones. Triplets. Three equal tones performed in the time of one beat. Vivace. Quickly ; sprightly. xv an < MSE Fees « | sk at J # 4 * i ; : : s * ; y ’ "1 ‘ | | . bs ! * 2g A Si < ‘ ; | ‘ | | = ¢ £3 ’ ep : a _— 7| 5 i . ” = : y “a , am me ee FIELD BOOK OF WILD BIRDS AND THEIR MUSIC. BOB-WHITE. ORDER GALLINZ. GALLINACEOUS BIRDS. _ Family Tetraonide. This family includes the Quail, Partridge, and Prairie Hen, etc., all game birds which rely upon their protective coloring for concealment from enemies. As a conse- quence, they do not fly unless compelled to do so, and then the noise or whirr of their concave, stiff-feathered wings commonly distracts and startles the pursuer, and gives the birds a better chance to escape. Asa rule, the family is not gifted with musical calls, but in the broadest sense of the word the crow of the barnyard Chanticleer and the whistle of the Bob-white are among some of the most suggestive and beautiful music of Nature. Bob-white Bob-white is one of Nature’s best evi- parece dences of her principle of protective color- virginianus 12g}; one might easily step upon the tail of L. 10.00 inches the bird, mistaking it for some of the old, Allthe year last winter’s leaves—if the tail remained in place long enough! It is almost impossible to enter the thicket or wood frequented by’ a covey of Quail without experiencing the sensation of being thoroughly startled yourself and of putting to confusion a whole community of peaceful dwellers, for suddenly, with- out the slightest warning, six or eight panic-stricken creatures appear almost directly under foot, and in hot haste fly for their lives. That would scarcely happen if it were not for the protective coloring ; the bird knows it can rely on this and possibly escape detection, therefore flight is a last resort—and one treads close to the tail! The colors of the bird are an ingenious mixture of dead- leaf tints—brown, russet, gray, and white. The throat, region in front of and over the eye, white ; upper parts tawny brown, russet, dark gray, and buff; neck quite dark bordering on the white throat-patch, then fading gradually into a mottled region of ruddy brown a trifle pinkish, gray, and black ; under parts gray-white barred with black ; sides chestnut broken by gray-white spots and margins of black ; tail rather insignificant, and an FAMILY Tetraonida, ashen gray. Nest, on the ground usually in grassy places; it will contain from ten to sixteen white eggs. The bird is a prolific breeder, and one may often find a nest with as many as fifteen eggsin it. It is also the case that the hen bird will successfully raise two large broods in one season. The Quail is generally not a migrant; it ranges south from southern Maine and New Hampshire to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to eastern Minnesota, It is nota characteristic woodland bird, and as a consequence is ill- fitted for the exposure of our hard northern winters. I know of no Quail whatever in central New Hampshire, save the few which have been brought there, and there is no doubt.but that most of these have perished. The Quail is by no means the least among the mem- bers of Nature’s orchestra. As his name implies, his song simply combines two tones admirably represented by the syllables, Bob... white! But one must whistle them, or do the difficult trick of whistling and saying the words simultaneously. Nor is this all, the word Bob should be rendered staccato—it must fairly bounce like a ball, so short must it be, and the white should bea long slurred tone extending all the way from Bob to the end of white, a range of at least five or six tones. To il- lustrate the song by the aid of the piano one should strike F (the third one above the middle C) quickly, as though the ivory were hot, and again the second time, jumping at once from it to D sharp. This is what a musician would call an augmented sixth, and that is what may be considered the nearest approximation to the range of the Quail’s voice. I sometimes think it is only a plain sixth (see song No. 2) without the extension (or augmen- tation) of the D to E flat,* and again at another time Iam sure I hear a full seventh. One can not lay down a rule about such a thing as that ; wild music must of necessity be more or less free from the restrictions of accurate pitch. Nor does the Quail always whistle F or make a jump as high as a sixth. Song No. 4 is what the bird gave me in the middle of May, 1900, in the Arnold Arborétum, *Properly written, the augmented D is D sharp; but D sharp and E flat are identical, 4 Bob- white BOB-WHITE, near Boston. The key is the same, but the bird began on E flat, and jumped from F up to B flat. It need nos be supposed that the Quail confines himself to Bob-white either, he frequently throws in an extra “bob” (see song No, 3). Mr. Cheney, in Wood Notes Wild, also vd... N41 NG p> 4 2 (f L i a- vo + 2 / | Bob-wh ite? / Bob- “4 ites Rk. a ; ar a 4 : }- DOr a \: 2: Po Gb ye ee eT i ej, 9 1. FF gk NF | al a + 7} — . 2 a ey «3 : N24 i = 4 lV we { U J Bob! Bob-whlite! (7 Bob-white ._*_% | t 2 z $ : PAs) a ae a = rr . ae er eR LA BR = iA : 4 records a similar song. There was a children’s May- song, popular, I remember, in the public schools of New York years ago, at the time George F. Bristow was principal instructor of music, which began with Bob- white’s call, in a sixth. > ile he al . — » T i — 2 cAI Rea _ How rare the Quail is along the northern border of its range, not only my own but Mr. Cheney’s testimony ¥) FAMILY Tetraonida, will prove, for he says: ‘‘ Familiar as I have been with almost all parts of Vermont for more than thirty years, I have seen only one Quail in the State, and he was evi- dently a ‘ tramp.’” Mr. Ned Dearborn writes in his Birds of Durham, N. H.: ‘* While the Quail is a permanent resident, its numbers vary greatly from year to year. In the fall of 1897 they were plentiful, not less than fifty living within a radius of two miles of the college. Comparatively few were shot, yet in the spring they were nearly all gone, and for the next two years they were scarce. In 1900 they were fully as abundant as in 1897.” He also writes in his Birds of Belknap Co., N. H., that Tilton is ‘¢ about the northern limit of the Quail’s range.” The habits of the birds are, to say the least, peculiar. Descend suddenly upon a mother with her chicks and she immediately goes crazy, leaves her offspring (which at once scatters for cover), and proceeds to flop along the ground as though injured, all the while uttering alarm- notes and frightened chirps! But this is done mostly for effect; if it distracts the mind of the intruder, so much the better chance for escape ; and truth to tell, in less than three seconds there is not a trace of mother or chicks in the neighborhood. In case a covey of mature birds are scattered, for quite a while afterward one may hear them calling themselves together again by peculiarly expressive minor notes singularly like those of young chickens. They usually roost on some little hillock in pasture or field, in a closely huddled group, tails in and heads out; in this position, so admirably adapted for defence, a charge by the enemy is often repulsed with success and brought to utter confusion. The sud- den whirr and flap of a lot of wings is no ordinary thing to face ; it would unnerve even the crafty fox, and one may easily imagine him creeping unguardedly upon what —to quote Mr, Chapman’s excellent description—will shortly prove to be ‘‘a living bomb whose explosion is scarcely less startling than that of dynamite.” a PARTRIDGE, Partridge There is no doubt about it at all, here aoe Grouse i; the kettledrum of Nature’s orchestra ! cidihellecs The talented performer can not be ex- L. 16.00 inches celled in his wonderful accelerando even All the year by the expert who manages the ‘“‘ kettles” in Theodore Thomas’s Orchestra. The ‘‘drum” of the Partridge is a most mysterious practice of this fa- vorite game bird. Nearly all of us have seen the Partridge, many of us have heard the drumming, but who — to quote William Hamilton Gibson — ‘“‘who, will show us the drum?” In appearance the bird re- sembles his smaller relative Bob-white. The prevailing colors are red-brown variegated by marks and spots of sepia, black, ochre-buff, and dull white ; the broad tail is margined by white, and this is limited by a broad band of black or blackish sepia ; sides of the neck marked with glossy black or sepia-black feathers ; the breast indefi. nitely but the sides rather definitely barred. The female is similarly but not so strongly marked. The nest is on the ground usually beneath a tree or among brush; it ma contain from eight to twelve eggs, rarely more, of a buffish tint. The range of the bird is from Virginia and along the mountains to Georgia, and northward to Canada. It is usually very plentiful in Campton, N. H., except after a rainy season. Its diet is comprehensive, including innumerable seeds, berries of all kinds, ap. ples, haw apples, buds of many kinds, leaves of clover, sorrel, crowfoot, and dandelion, and insects such as locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, and beetles. There has been no end of theorizing by eminent natu- ralists and others interested, regarding the way the Par- tridge drums his drum. But I think all opinion may be set aside in the face of the fact that the sound is pro- duced by the concussion of air caused by the rapid movement of the wings; the latter apparently strike the breast ; in reality they do not, for close observation shows that the wings are brought considerably forward while the body of the bird is stretched to a position as nearly perpendicular as possible.* One good view of a * Not always though, for my own observations are not altogether unlike those of others, who state that he does not stand upright ! 7 FAMILY Tetraonide. bird drumming ought to be a sufficient demonstration of the fact that the air has everything to do with the case and the body of the bird little or nothing atall. It isthe air that booms under the rapid lashing of the wings, just as it is the air which sings in a baritone voice through the primaries of the Nighthawk’s wings as he drops like a shot through the sky. The tone of the Partridge’s kettledrum may be safely recorded at A flat as well as at A, or at B flat where Mr. Cheney places it. It is rather difficult to locate the The authors two records. _ SP Cheneys record. tt: 1 —— —t | CA \ i bh it { 5 U i v i trans travn tone with exactness, as it lacks life and character, but it may be distinctly heard at a distance of a quarter of a mile or more. The first tones are staccato, and widely separated, but the last are run together in a rapid roll, thus : ; Accel. et cres. J presto. dim, | ee ee en ee «\: O44 a Se ae * Boon boom boom boom boo boo bur-r-rrr-rrre rrr rd Upon seeing the bird go through this remarkable per- formance one is struck with amazement, for at the end he subsides into utter quiescence instead of flying all to pieces! Why the stump or the rock on which he is perched is not at once covered with every feather from his body it is difficult to understand. But no, he still holds to- gether, and probably if one waits a few more minutes he will be at it again. Watch him closely, and presently the head begins to bob up exactly like that of a rooster before he begins to crow,.now the wings are spread and jerk back and forward with a hollow thud at each movement, and the next moment the whole bird is a blurr of feathers and the air is filled with a rushing whirr which is swiftly graduated to a finish as the body of the creature becomes distinct and quiet once more, 8 PARTRIDGE. Then it is, as Mr. Cheney says, ‘‘ he drops into the for- lornest of attitudes, looking as if he would never move again.” In winter the Partridge finds an abundance of food in the northern woods. Partridge berries, wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), tree buds, and a host of things ~ common in the winter woods make up his diversified menu, so he does not starve. Nor does he freeze to death in the coldest weather, for he burrows under the snowdrift and finds in its shelter a comfortable bedroom in which to spend the night secure from the prowling fox. His feet also are amply protected from the frost by a thick growth of stout bristles arranged along the toes ; these bristles, like snowshoes, serve to bear him up in walking over the snow. The growth begins in Octo- ber, but by the first of April it has entirely vanished. The Partridge acts very much like the Quail when he is flushed: suddenly there is a buzz and a whirr almost at one’s feet and a frightened bird rises with violent haste, uttering hysterical notes of alarm, and flies off horizontally into the depths of the forest, leaving the intruder with nerves so badly shaken that his aim is spoiled and his gun useless. I quite unexpectedly came upon a hen bird with her chicks one summer's day, and the commotion that ensued was out of all proportion with the occasion ; there was a tremendous rumpus among the dried leaves as the little chicks scat- tered, and the distracted mother promptly lost her wits in the endeavor to leave the spot in several directions at once. There were whistles, and chirps, and clucks pitched in a high key at all points of the compass, then I added a few plaintive chirps of my own as an experi- ment; back came the mother in reckless panic, with every individual feather on end, and to my amazement flew at my legs in a maddened fury! I had quite a lively time for a few seconds, and then, when her pur- pose of checking me was‘accomplished, she flew abruptly away, probably saying to herself—for she still vocifer- ated loudly—‘‘ Thank goodness! I made that old goose concentrate his attention on me, and the children are safe!” 9 FAMILY Bubonide. ORDER RAPTORES, PREYING BIRDS, Family Bubonide. OWLS. This family includes a great number of species about twenty of which inhabit North America. Of these the Great Horned Owl, the Barred Owl, and the Screech Owl furnish the most representative differences of type, if not of voice. The syllables of the Barred Owl, ac- cording to Mr. Chapman (and my own observations have led to a similar-conclusion), are, whoo-whoo-whoo, who- hoo, to-whoo-ah. The difference between this hoot and that of the Great Horned Owl, whose record follows, is apparent at a glance, but there is also a rising inflection to the voice of the Barred Owl, which is a better point of discrimination. Farther than this, from a musical standpoint, it seems unnecessary to go, as Owls can scarcely be classed among the song-birds. They are rap- torial, and their voices convey to the ear a very tolerable idea of their character. The Owl’s eye is fixed in its socket ; as a consequence the head turns around as though it were fixed upon a pivot. I imagine the Owl is therefore a perfect example of what, according to current slang, is termed the rubber neck ! Screech Owl It is an open question how many birds Megascops asio one is justified in including among the so- eg ae called singers. Certainly the Screech Owl is not on the ‘‘ prohibitive” list of song- birds issued under the laws of the State. But to one who studies bird-music there can be little doubt about the Screech Owl; he deserves an important position among the soloists, the quivering tremolo of his remark- able voice has in it the very essence of music, the ex- pression of ‘‘ thoughts too deep for words” embodied in tones of deepest mystery, for whether these tones are properly described as dulcet or blood-curdling is alto- gether a matter of opinion dependent upon the listener’s state of mind. The colors of the Screech Owl are a mixture of mottled brown, chestnut, ash-gray, black and ochre, on a gray- Io Screech Owl ad . | SCREECH OWL. white ground. There are two color-phases of the bird, one is warm and ruddy-toned, and the other is cold and gray-brown-toned> The beautiful eyes are a topaz yel- low. The nest is generally in the hollow of an apple- tree, or some other tree not far from a dwelling. The eggs are pure white. When one considers the character of this Owl’s song in connection with his bill of fare, it is not surprising that the former is somewhat indicative of the nature of the latter. What with mice, small birds, snakes, and frogs as a standard diet, why should not one’s song savor of the terrible, and cause the listener’s blood to run cold! To be sure that breathless falling of the voice seems to denote exhaustion, and the quavering tones ab- ject terror, but after all this is pure imagination, for the next moment the voice suggests that of an operatic singer practising the descending chromatic scale ! What- ever the eerie cry seems like, whether the screech of the pioneer’s wife as she is scalped by a red-handed Indian under the cold rays of an indifferent moon, or the tech- nical practice of the ‘‘ prima donna,” one thing is cer- tain, all who have ever heard the strange song agree that there is something uncanny aboutit! Mr. Chapman writes : ‘* When night comes one may hear the Screech Owl's tremulous wailing whistle. It is a weird, melan- choly call, welcomed only by those who love Nature’s voice whatever be the medium through which she speaks.” Mr. Ned Dearborn also writes, ‘‘ The uncanny cry of a Screech Owl once heard will never be forgotten.” On one occasion several summers ago, I was hurriedly invited about sundown by one of the members of the family, to investigate the nature of a strange voice that issued from the border of the woods near the cottage. Although I knew the note of the Screech Owl perfectly well, this note was less musical and only remotely re- sembled it by a curious tremolo: ft Young Owls. 7. a, e wT na rine ee ne] ee ————— | * Teher.r-whiex! Teher-r-whieu! Tcher-r-whieu! II FAMILY Bubonide. So Iconcluded to put the matter to the test by giving son- orolisly the full Screech Owl song in a series of quavering whistles running down the scale. In less than five seconds there appeared in the dusk of the evening half a dozen young Screech Owls, who flew about with silent wings, and at last perched upon the rustic fence, the arbor, and the old boat which was filled with garden flowers. They had answered my call promptly, and had come to see ““what wasup!” Their notes were simply weird, a sort of cross between a sneeze and the wheeze of a pair of leathern bellows with the wail of a ‘‘ half-frozen puppy ” (Wilson’s simile) thrown in to make matters more mys- terious! I shortly came to the conclusion that these were young birds which had not yet learned to sing properly, so I gave them a lesson or two, at the same time profiting by the experience, and getting in a few lessons for myself. The interview proving satisfactory or unsatisfactory (I do not know which) the birds flew fr rrr = raw } & = bh baat TI : (\) i a ' = / s i # Po “7 ; | rs ¥ ew see ac * W-w-whieuw-u-u-u-u-u-u-r! Ah-ool away. But I had got a new idea of variety in Owl music, and had learned that the following familiar dul- cet tones were not by any means all of the repertoire of the Screech Owl. -,_Tremando. metedececadeceeeeed ease: ,, = . meet My annotations have, in most instances, proved very similar to those of Mr. Cheney whose verbal description of the song can not be improved upon. He writes: ‘* This owl ascends the scale generally not more than one or two degrees” (i, e., one or two tones); ‘* the charm lies in the manner of his descent sometimes by a third, again by a fourth, and still again by asixth. I can best describe it 12 Great Horned Owl . wae ee FS Res 7 ity : ns t SCREECH OWL. \ as a sliding tremolo,—a trickling down, like water over pebbles : ft From S.P.Cheney'’s record. ) ae | J sine 4 « > = — Ah.. alg aes = 00, Ah-00, rl serves a position with the songsters, for americanus 218 note is almost entirely without pitch. L. 12.10 inches His near relative the Black-billed Cuckoo May ioth is by far-the better singer ; nevertheless, the Yellow-bill’s attempts at rhythm are not without merit, for he can give us a ritardanto as perfect as that of the Chat. The Cuckoos are slim, long-billed, dove- like birds whose general tone of color is brownish lilac, or dove-colored light brown with a slight touch of iri. descent green above, and a grayish white beneath. The sexes in both species of Cuckoo are alike in color. The 15 FAMILY Cuculide. Yellow-bill is a trifle larger than the Black-bili, and is distinguished readily by the presence of yellow on the under mandible, though the rest of the bill is black like that of the Black-bill. The tail feathers of this species, too, are broadly white-tipped. The nest is the roughest kind of an affair constructed of bits of sticks, twigs, and grasses, and is generally lodged in the branches of a low tree or among the bushes, The egg is a light, greenish blue. The bird is distributed throughout the East, but is less frequent (in the northern part of its range) than the Black-bill. There is very little to say about the Yellow-bill’s music—perhaps the less said the better. Mr, Cheney sums up the matter in these few words: ‘‘ The Yellow- oreasted Chat exhibits the same rhythmic peculiarity in his chattings, and so does the Woodpecker drumming on a board or dry limb for the mere sound of it; but in quality nothing can be compared with this slopping per- formance, unless it be that of the loose-mouthed hound lapping from a pan of milk.” It is evident that no one can improve on that description. The song written out should appear about like this, though one could never promise that the tone was exactly A: ¢ Ritard, et dim. ..... ele. ete. ER ES RL A LEE, 8 ix suit —s 2 2} J Gr.r-r-r-olp, cowlp, cowlp, owlp, olp, olp, It begins with a series of gurgling sounds which rap- idly merge into one another, and then runs down in a slower and slower succession of syllables sounding like coulp, cowlp, cowlp, cowlp, cowlp. It is a perfect ritardando which could not be excelled by the Chat himself who is an expert at that sort of thing. The Yellow-bill is a solemn, silent-winged bird devoted to the interests of the orchard; if there are plenty of tent caterpillars he is happy and will do some execution in a remarkably short space of time. Mr. Chapman writes that in examining the contents of the stomach of one of these birds he found “ the partially digested re- mains of forty-three of these caterpillars.” 16 : SOOHIND Patiq-Moyjax pur parfiq-yovlg BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, Blaok-billed The Black-billed Cuckoo is distinctly a soe more musical bird, although his song em- tarophthatou braces but two well-defined tones only one L. 11.75 inches Of which is commonly prominent. In May 15th appearance he resembles the foregoing species, with a few minor differences. Upper parts brown-gray with a greenish iridescence ; the tail feath- ers not black and only narrowly tipped with white; under parts dull white; bill entirely black. The nest is similar to that of the preceding species, but the egg is a deeper tone of green-blue. This bird is also a wholesale destroyer of the tent caterpillar ; he is distributed farther north than the preceding species. The most distinct feature of this Cuckoo’s song is the rhythmic recurrence of the rest. This is a thing as easily recognized by the unmusical as the musical lis- tener. When one hears a series of rhythmically inter- rupted monotones coming up from the meadow, there can be no doubt about the singer, it is the Black-bill ! No other bird sings exactly that way. I can perfectly demonstrate the principle by a series of dots to repre- sent the notes, thus: .. «2 ec e+ ec ee But the bird does not always stick to couplets, ... «seo ees nor does he particularly favor triplets, .... esse coe nor is he unmindful of the fact that even in music ‘* va- riety is the very spice of life”... 2. eee ee eee cos It is apparent, then, that however irregular the number of the notes, the principle of rhythmic pause remains irrefragable. So perfectly timed is this pause, that upon da 108 Andante, —— Riter4. —_— =. ‘2. | | ea | “Tt et on te Ova H a IJ > ae A sé oad ees Cou-c00, Cou-CO0, COUCUCO0, COU-COG, COU-~CU-CAQ, COU-CUC00, setting the metronome to the song the bird will be found singing with almost mechanicalaccuracy. There is also another well-marked feature of the Cuckoo’ssong. Listen attentively to the quality of a single tone and it will at once become apparent that it is accompanied by an undertone (properly an overtone) of a more or less 17 FAMILY Cuculide, obscure interval of a third or fourth (as in above record} Again, these tones are at times so distinctly separated that they assume an individual independence, with the intervals no longer obscure: d s1t2 Ritard. 3 —§_ a | | eS eee | a ee ee io eT at ot 7 a EES SE STATS! x if f Ld _—_— ~~? i ¢ Cow-co, Cow-90, Cou-00,C0u-00, COu-00,CQU-00, COK-C00, This is by no means the common song of the Black- bill, but it certainly isnot rare, Here is variety again: ‘n72 > ee ff) fff) Vz e ime 2 i ae | i: a | a eX re a ee a a ()\Y DA ¥ a aA “ me ‘~ LS a ¢ Cucucoo-0g, CUucucoo-0g CU-C00-0Q ~CUCUCOO-OO. the little musician is not content until he shall ring all the possible changes of such vocal limitations! Mh. Cheney is also an authority for the statement that this bird is quite capable of singing his song in two well- separated tones. He writes: ‘‘ Early one June morn- ing, . . . abird was exercising his voice in a manner that set me on the alert; it was the voice of a Cuckoo, but not the Cuckoo’s song. S:P-Cheney's record, 5 t in ~——s uch. 00. The instant I heard ‘Cuckoo’ . . . giving the in- terval of a fourth, I experienced a thrill of satisfaction such as no similar discovery had afforded. Other ears, sharper than mine, had heard all, unknown to me; and there was great rejoicing,—the Cuckoo was learning to sing!” But Ihave long been of the opinion myself that the Cuckoos, all of them, were birds whose voices were set in two distinct tones ; in the case of the Ameri- can species it has simply been a question of its ability to separate or individualize those tones. The European 18 BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO. Cuckoo does that to perfection, and he has been cele- brated most thoroughly by the musician, the poet, and the Swiss manufacturer of clocks. Long years ago (1832) an Englishman, William Gardiner, wrote : ‘‘The plough-boy bids him welcome in the early morn, Borne by fragrant gales, he leaves his distant home, for our — sunny spots—the coppice and the mead. Children mark his well-known song, crying > “ — Cuc-koo, One of th> most beautiful poems in the English lan guage is that by John Logan, To the Cuckoo, written somewhere about 1775, and beginning : ‘** Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove! Thou messenger of spring ! Now heaven repairs thy rural seat, And woods thy welcome sing.” And he does not forget the natural imitativeness of the child, for he continues : ‘** The school-boy wandering through the wood To pull the primrose gay, Starts, the new voice of spring to hear, And imitates thy lay.” Nor does the greatest of all musicians, the immortal Beethoven, fail to recognize the perfection of simplicity in the Cuckoo’s song, for near the close of ‘‘ The scene by the brook” in the Pastoral Symphony he introduces the two familiar notes along with the trill of the Night- ingale and the cali of the European Quail, thus: ss oy Nightingale, tes mee’ ete, ® 4 DY a tj 2) / Quail—>fa $ . " rs zs ! ' Yin A} '~£~4| oe = >.“ “4 “442 TA\’Y oOo A tT TiAl TTA a ae’, NJ 19 ' FAMILY Cuculide. But probably one of the best things that has ever been written with the Cuckoo’s song for the theme is the nursery melody by Joseph 8. Moorat, an English musi- cian, which appears on the opposite page. Theodore Marzials says of it: ‘‘ If you want a breath of fresh air - straight from the heart of the hills, play over ‘ Cuckoo, Cherry-tree’ . . . it ’s as good as an hour on the moor-side.” But we have not yet gauged the popularity of the Cuckoo, Go as far back as the time of Queen Elizabeth, and he already appears an acknowledged musician, for Shakespeare writes, ‘‘ The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckoo gray.” The estimate of the great poet is close to the truth, for the song, a drop of the minor third, is one of the com- monest occurrences in old-time plain-song versicles and responses, and was actually introduced by Marheke into the closing sentences of the Lord’s Prayer. When one pursues a study of the simple forms of melody, it is indeed remarkable to note how exactly similar these are to the songs-of the birds. In our American Black-billed Cuckoo, we have not only a musician capable of giving us an interval of a third or fourth, like his English cousin, but one who appreciates the value of measured silence such as that which char- acterizes the opening bars of Beethoven’s Fifth Sym- phony. We also possess a bird of more character too, for the female builds her own nest and hatches her own eggs, which is more than can be said of her foreign relative | Downy Woodpecker CUCKOO! CHERRY~TREE. - Joseph §.Moorat, Moderato. | ‘ 2 of by FSM. dO. a8 te-2 ‘~ Z = M4 |™ ont ud —_ oe a a / ; | ‘i Cuck-oo! a TH > 0) ans aa | | ee | SE Bi QD LiL. aan a (0 a a 1 tT | ' | > L | (A melody composed of practically but two tones.) 2 {—te¥I 7 ’ t & a we De@g a- rw ~ Te aad * © i mm * Py ; na * am AT a | EM. . 7 ae i cherry-tree, catch a bird & give it me: — bh ? —T I a | . ) i | Tt i "g: in, eres: ve dim. ia ~ a: Pa aw =" fe P- ra P ul Tepe tite QZ wl] SCI i | | : Sw be | ‘ , oa - ” Lett etree be high orlow, Let it rain, hail orsnow.Cuck-oo! Jn. iat pe tp fig | To = SP La t | Li L fi ms , | p Ft . Qo. PS SS “fae ? P a eee id id (See page 20.) DOWNY WOODPECKER. ORDER PICI WOODPECKERS, ETC. Family Picide. The Woodpeckers are generally solitary birds, charac- teristically busy at all hours of the day, and little given to social intercourse with their fellows. The skull and chisel-like bill of the little ‘‘ hammerer” are remarkably strong, and wonderfully adapted to chip away bark, and expose the retreats of bugs and grubs; also, an exceed- ingly long, sharp tongue is peculiarly adapted to draw out the hidden insect. The Woodpeckers are not singers, but their bills are really the equivalent of drum-sticks with which they rap out a rolling tattoo, a summons to their lady-loves! The rigid, pointed tail feathers of the birds assist them in maintaining a perpendicular position, through pressure against the rough bark of the tree. Downy This is the smallest and commonest Woodpecker = Woodpecker we have, and it is resident Dryobates ‘ pubescens throughout that range of country which L. 6.75 inches extends from Florida to Labrador. Its Allthe year marking is a pronounced symphony in black and white accented by a red band; a broad stripe of white runs down the centre of the back ; wings black numerously spotted with white ; a scarlet band on the nape of the neck; middle tail feathers black, but the outer ones white barred with black ; two broadish white stripes, one above, the other below the eye extending backward. The Hairy Woodpecker is similarly marked, but the outer tail feathers are white without bars, and it is nearly half as long again from bill to tail. The nest is usually in the hole of a dead limb; the egg is pure white. The female is marked like the male, but the red band is absent. Both birds are indefatigable workers in the building of the nest, but the female apparently loses a great deal of time in critically examining the premises. She ex- plores every nook and cranny as soon as the male bird has chipped away a satisfactory round opening, and then falls to with him at the grand act of excavation. at FAMILY Picide. If there is already a hollow in the tree of small size it _is enlarged to the required dimensions in a remarkably short space of time, but still the housewife seems to entertain some doubt about matters in general, and wastes more time ‘“‘ poking around”! Wilson seems to approve of this questionable vigilance and remarks as follows: ‘‘ Before she begins to lay, the female passes in and out, examines every part, both of the exterior and interior, with great attention, as every prudent tenant of a new house ought to do, and at length takes com- plete possession.” Such good carpenters as these deserve a better name, but it is ever the case that mankind sums up the charac- ter of the bird in a trivial manner and labels him flip- pantly ! Indeed sometimes we are not above cracking a joke on the label. It is in The Spenders, I believe, that the farmer tells of his economical experiment in feeding his setting hen on sawdust, and finishes with the statement that of the thirteen eggs hatched out, twelve produced chickens with wooden legs and the thirteenth a woodpecker! Alas for the carpenter-bird, he is not appreciated ; he carves his home in the heart of the apple-tree, smooths its sides with the skill of a cabinet- maker, taps at the door of every insect that lives in the vicinity with a summons as inexorable as that of the Great Destroyer, and drums a rolling tattoo on a resonant limb or a telegraph pole in a master fashion that would ‘**beat the band.” There is the musicianly part of his character; he is a member of the drum corps who sounds a reveille for the mere love of it, or, to speak .core exactly, ‘‘ all for the love of the lady.” We should make no mistake about this, he is signalling for his mate, and if we stand by long enough it is possible we may see her. This summer I listened to a rousing, rattling tattoo on a telephone pole near my cottage that could have been heard fully a quarter of a mile away, and after its second repetition, I saw two Downies where a moment before there was but one; so she had arrived! What few notes the Downy has may be compared to the ring of a marble quarrier’s chisel—to borrow an apt simile by Mr. Chapman. He 22 Flicker FLICKER. utters a metallic chink, chink, while he is at work, ora quick succession of these syllables as he flies to another tree. The notes of the Hairy Woodpecker are about the same, but louder. Both birds in the rapid repetition of their notes resemble the noisy Flicker. The Downy dif- fers from Woodpeckers in general ; he is a sociable chap, for I notice he is always around when a flock of Chicka- dees and a Nuthatch or two are inspecting the old apple- trees on the grounds. I generally look for the visits of this self-appointed committee of investigation in early autumn ; probably they are continued at irregular inter- vals throughout the winter. ~ Flicker This is one of our largest as well as Golden-winged noisiest Woodpeckers. When he begins to Woodpecker : a ° Coleptes shout his monotonous information about auratus the rain,* all other birds may as well re- L. 12.00 inches main silent, for his clamor makes the April ist welkin ring! Although his song is heard not before early spring, he is one of the few plucky birds which braves the severity of our northern winters and stays with us the year around if the food supply seems promising. His colors are varied : top of tle head gray ; a scarlet band on the back of the neck; a patch of white on the lower part of the back, and considerable yellow showing beneath the tail and wings during flight ; back, upper parts of wings and secondaries brown-gray barred with black, the primaries and tail feathers black with yellow shafts; throat and sides of the face pinkish brown ; a broad black band extending backward from the base of the bill, and a broad black crescent across the breast ; lower parts dusky white marked with round black spots. Female similar but without the black band on cheeks. Nest in a deep hole probably of an apple- tree, the entrance ten feet up, round, and not very large; the bird may or may not have excavated: the hole, he is likely to remodel or enlarge one caused by decay. The egg is pure white. The bird’s range is * Most writers render his song thus: “ Wet, wet, wet, wet, wet, wet,”’ etc, ’ 23 FAMILY Picide. from the sea-coast to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and Alaska. The Cuckoo knows the value of silence, the Flicker does not. The former runs along rhythmically with his song, thus» © dim By ee eee eee ee3 the latter keeps straight on with the dlatterkiyg tongue of a terma- gant, thus: re ig diver’. 6&0 Whine ea ie tare al eee There is the same effect of a subordinate tone in the Flicker’s song as there is in that of the Cuckoo, but how absolutely different are the characters of the singers, and how perfectly manifest in their songs! The Flicker is a noisy, aggressive bird, who publishes his whereabouts immediately upon his arrival with a clamor equal to that of the hysterical hen announcing the new-laid egg! The Cuckoo, on the contrary, is a retiring, quiet character who falteringly and soothingly announces his return to the “fold stand” with due apology to those who may possibly disapprove. The Flicker sounds as if he were whistling for the dogs to drive him off, the Cuckoo sounds as if he were expostulating against such rude treatment. The Flicker's voice resembles a monotonous fortissimo performance on the oboe, the Cuckoo’s a pianissimo response from the ocarina.* It is not easy to determine the pitch of the Flicker’s voice because of its peculiar timbre ; it certainly is nota whistle, yet one can easily imitate it by whistling with due regard for the grace note. The song written out should appear thus: =144 te ‘ n Vivace. cres...f dim. ete. St SS SS ‘yb A A AA bh AA A ys Pc io Te, aM, FANE AT MR EL Es BL dS OG GP he a tl ~ t Pt Pe se Out. Oe tai quit. ud though I never could promise that the interval E toG on the oboe would exactly imitate the voice of the next Flicker that we happen to hear; their voices all differ. In addition to this song the bird gives us an unmusical, rasping * A terra-cotta instrument with a hollow, rather sweet tone, not unlike that of an organ pipe. 24 ee Ee FLICKER. => a ee-er! that sounds like an ungreased cart wheel, and he also beats a rolling tattoo like the others of his tribe. He is a bird of character otherwise he would never have accumulated so many labels. Mr. Chapman says that there are thirty-six, but a few of the most familiar ones will show the tendency of man to poke fun at him— Wake-up, Yarrup, Piut, High-hole, Woodwall, Yellow- hammer, Yucker, Flicker, Hittock, Clape, Harry Wicket, - etc. He is a revelation of complex color when he is surprised on the ground and rises, showing his under- neath gold, and a joker in the fullest sense when one catches sight of him bowing and scraping to the other sex in a series of bobs up and down with tail and wings stiffly outspread, uttering the while a significant, you- see, you-see! Audubon testifies to the cheerful dispo- sition of the bird, especially when in captivity, as follows: ‘*The Golden-winged Woodpecker never suf- fers its naturally lively spirits to droop. It feeds well, and by way of amusement will continue to destroy as much furniture in a day as can well be mended bya different kind of workman in a week.” The food of this Woodpecker, who visits the ground much oftener than is the custom of his kind, is mostly grubs, ants, worms, bird-cherries, and the fruit of the sour gum. ORDER MACROCHIRES. GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, ETC. Family Caprimulgide, NIGHTHAWKS, WHIP-POOR-WILLS, ETC. This is a family of forest-inhabiting birds distinguished by their method of perching lengthwise on a limb or branch, and their habit of capturing their food while on the wing; the expansive mouth and the surrounding long, stiff bristles (characteristic of some species) are especially adapted to catch insects. Some of the species possess remarkable vocal powers. 35 FAMILY Caprimulgide, Wnip-poor-will Mary Johnston in the opening sentences et of To Have and to Hold makes this L. 9:75 inches rather picturesque allusion to the Whip- May 10th poor-will: ‘‘The birds that sing all day have hushed, and the Horned Owls, the monster frogs, and that strange and ominous fowl (if fowl it be, and not, as some assert, a spirit damned) which we English call the Whip-poor-will, are yet silent.” There is something uncanny about the nocturnal bird and his strange song, particularly as he is always heard and seldom seen. When he 7s seen it is too late in the evening to get any idea of his colors. The white crescent on the neck, and the white outer tail feathers, are all that one can discern in the gathering dusk; the rest is a mixture of spotty browns. Head finely mottled with black and white; back ochre-buff finely marked with black ; wings dark brown with ruddy bars; tail barred with black and mottled with buff, but the end half of the three outer feathers conspicuously white ; a white band divides the throat and breast; lower parts cream-buff irregularly marked with dark sepia. The base of the bill is set with long, stiff, curving bristles, and the mouth is extremely large although the bill appears very small. The foot is a failure so far as use and appearances go, the claws are tiny, and the long middle toe has a con- spicuous comb on the claw, One never sees the bird perched crosswise on anything ; whether it be a rock, the wood-pile, a log, or a fence rail, the position is in- variably the same—a squatting posture, the legs com- pletely hidden, and the body parallel with any narrow perch, such as a rail or a stick of wood! It is evident the creature would be unable to balance itself the other way. Asforits flight, thatis as silentas the night, there is not the rustle of afeather. Itshares with the Owland the Bat an absolutely noiseless wing. Egg, gray-white marked with lilac and gray. There are usually two, which are deposited on the leafy ground of woods or thickets. The female is similarly marked with the male, but cream buff displaces the white. The song is weird, there is nothing like it in all the 26 TrtM-r00d-dry A - WHIP-POOR-WILL. category of Nature’s music ; it is a perfectly rhythmical, metallic whistle which could be written out intelligibly by a series of dashes, thus: ——— ~V~ 4 Whippoorwill, Whp-poor-will Whip poor-will, Whip-poorwill, Whippoorwill, But these do not carry with them any idea of pitch, and so perfectly does the bird conform to pitch as well as rhythm, that one has no difficulty whatever in fixing the key or the position of any one of the three tones. Here is an example of two distinct intervals of a fourth and an octave; it is perhaps the commonest form of the song ; 244 Vivaee, £), es #) ) ~ i Zier vr? 4 7 area Ro #7 i 2 F “na te : [s) Fm — 2 ¥ Whip-poor-will, Whippoorwill, Whip-poor-will, Whip-poor-will, But no two birds sing exactly alike; listen and you will hear a distant bird respond in a lower key, with a lesser interval, and in slower time; the form is fairly common; f =126 Moderato. sa Lr ° fe fi He—l ite . =) ale | ~_| @ le i 5 7 y & — . \ Then another individual very near at hand will consider this entirely too slow, and start in vigorously and viva- ciously, thus ; 27 FAMILY Caprimulgide. 4 = 160 Agitate. TW i ts 1335/4 : a CS That seems to be altogether too flippant a measure for the next soloist so he corrects the time and the key ac- cording to his own ideas : d = 120 Moderato, ee ee ee b.. : 31 > | > : Ar ff) — 2 } | Ae FCS } rc) + PG) a” a / Nog. ™P ai Ss seo A Lae ' t ' 1 ‘ t Observe that he has confined his song to an interval of only a second, and is proceeding in a very leisurely manner, when he is interrupted by some one else who | attempts a compromise between extremes on an entirely different key ; 3-189 Allegro. ee At —T, Wi iv 2 rae no5 Le Es ese fe ere aete estes vp 4 Apparently this variety in the manner of chastising **poor Will” has exhausted the patience of bird number 28 EE WHIP-POOR-WILL. zix and he breaks in on both the others with an emphatic and vociferous insistence on the original key, F, but even he must impress his own personality on the song. so he proceeds in F minor! 3-144 Ge Go hae a> > | p> ai st ett fry t iat ae ree es T a 7 | oot 4 f } } Y ) Noe : e 2 : . . * . * * i -4 : i > } nL T — | : | | YD T u ? t The pitch of all these songs is. one octave higher than the records. _ It thus happens that we have been listening to half a dozen Whip-poor-wills, whose songs progressively range through the keys, F, D flat, G, E flat, A flat, and F minor!* I confess that I have picked out from my col- lection of Whip-poor-will annotations these six songs in correlated keys for the purpose of showing the generally harmonious relationship of bird music. It would indeed be a rare occasion if the six occurred in the regular suc- cession given above, but there is every chance in the world that we will hear something very similar to this the next time we listen to a number of Whip-poor-wills singing together. That depends upon our ‘‘ear for music.” This bird is Nature’s virtuoso in the perform- ance of the Nocturne, and it requires but little study to discover the fact that few if any of the renderings are exactly similar. An attentive ear at close range will detect a sound like cuh coming from the bird’s throat between each of the whip-poor-wills, but one must be very near to catch it. Evidently it is caused by sucking in the breath and shutting and opening the bill prepara- tory to the next whistles. One will also notice a very perceptible quaver on the syllable poor,+ so I have properly indicated that by a grace note in the last song. *This is no ordinary progression ; the six songs played on the piano in the order given above show at”* once a harmonious relationship, + Mr. Cheney’s division of this syllable into two equal parts (two sixteenth notes) does not seem to me correct, even though he 29 FAMILY Caprimulgide, wilson had a fair idea of the responsive character of the Whip-poor-will’s singing, but of course he had no conception of the musical relationship of the keys in which the bird sang; he writes, ‘‘ when two or more ‘males meet, their whip-poor-will altercations become much more rapid and incessant, as if each were strain- ing to overpower or silence the other. When near you often hear an introductory cluck between the notes. At these times they fly low, not more than a few feet from the ground, skimming about the house and before the door, alighting on the wood-pile, or settling on the roof.” The bird sings during the early hours of the evening, or all night if it is a moon-lit one, and the springtime. He does his hunting along water-courses and on the borders of the woods, his large mouth enabling him to readily catch insects as he flies. By imitating the song I have often lured one to such close quarters that the wings have almost brushed my hat. It is certainly a very common bird throughout the Pemigewasset . Valley. Nighthawk The Nighthawk is a very near relative Chordeiles of the Whip-poor-will, and singularly virginianus . a 4 L. 10.00 inches C2Ough is often mistaken for it. But the May 20th characters and markings of the birds are distinctly different. The tone of the Nighthawk’s color is a blackish sepia brown. Upper parts black, thickly marked with white and buff; wings and tail sepia ; the middle of the larger wing feathers marked with a white spot, the spots forming collectively a conspicuous white wing-bar. Tail feathers marked with buff on a sepia ground, and all but the middle ones white-banded near the end; throat with a broad white band; under parts barred with black and white often tinged with buff. The female is similarly marked, but lacks the white on tail and throat, the latter is ochre- buff. Egg gray-white profusely speckled with gray- makes two tones of it, separated by an interval of a third, One can not produce this effect by imitating the Whip-poor-will’s song strictly a tempo; it is impossible to do anything else than bounce on that middle syllable, 30 qm ETI SIN NIGHTHAWK. brown ; it is laid on the ground, and there are not likely to be more than two; these are deposited in a stony field, or even on bare rock. There is no pretense at nest- building. The Nighthawk has no song ; but that one bass note which he produces with his wings proclaims him the bass trumpet player of Nature’s orchestra. He is a sky+ scraper and an erratic wanderer on the wing. Heseems to go no way in particular, and to have no place in par- ticular for which he shapes his course; it is a decidedly ** g0-as-you-please ” performance with an obligato rasp- ing, double-toned accompaniment of geeps, and it will presently end as if he had been shot. Down he drops vertically eighty feet or more, then suddenly recovers himself, and you hear a subdued boom like that of the bass trumpet in the brass band! f ——_ ry_ —— ) OF” a aa RE e u U Boo -00- mi It is he, and not, as you may at first suppose, ‘‘ the bull- frog in the pool.” The remarkable tone is produced by the rush of air through the bird’s primaries! Wilson makes a mistake about the cause of the noise which is a bit amusing; he says, ‘‘ he suddenly precipitates him- self head foremost and with great rapidity down sixty or eighty feet, wheeling up again as suddenly, at which instant is heard a loud booming sound very much re- sembling that produced by blowing strongly into the bunghole of an empty hogshead, and which is doubtless produced by the sudden expansion of his capacious mouth while he passes through the air.” Alas! alas! had Wil- son only understood the principles of diaphonics, he would have known that the mouth of the bird must necessarily expand to the size of the “‘ empty hogshead” to support his theory ! FAMILY Micropodide. Family Micropodide. Swirts. Of seventy-five known species of Swifts only four are found in North America. They feed on the wing exclu- sively, and the similarity of their habits to those of Swallows has given rise to some confusion between the two families. Chimney Swift The Chimney Swift is not a Swallow, —— although he has been confused with the ris iy 40 inches latter species so long and so thoroughly May isth that he is better known by the name Chimney Swallow.* But the two types of birds are structurally very different, however similar general appearances and feeding habits seem to be. In color this little Swift is a delightful smoky black graded to a dull gray on the throat; he may be readily iden- tified by the elongated shafts or spiked tips of the tail feathers which he uses as a fan-shaped brace when he clings to the chimney wall, and by the deeply set eye and overhanging eyebrow. The slender wings, with their long primaries and powerful muscles, the broad chest, and the small body, all enable him to prolong his flight for an almost indefinite length of time. The wings are used rapidly and not at all with the steady measured strokes common to some of the Swallows. The nest is a peculiar hollowed bracket, built of dried twigs well.cemented together with the gluey saliva of the bird, and fastened to the rough wall of the chimney somewhere from five to ten feet from the top. This re- markable structure is anything but secure, and when the lusty young birds become restless it has an extremely awkward way of dumping the whole family down in the fireplace ; then the rasping, ear-splitting chirps of the youngsters are only comparable to the filing of a saw—yes, twenty saws! There are usually from four to six pure white eggs in a nest, and presumably most farmers’ wives wish they would never hatch out. The bird is common throughout eastern North America. * He was called so by Alexander Wilson, 32 et | Bae ee - < symag Asum1iys iw ak =i) Say CHIMNEY SWIFT. Of course the Chimney Swift has no song, but he has « very tolerable idea of keeping time with his fellows in a series of penetrating, rhythmic chirps (away up on the highest C of the piano) during an ‘‘all hands around” game of ‘‘tag” in ever narrowing circles about some neglected chimney of the old farmhouse. I will not say that the birds adhere to the metre in the following verses (!), but they come extremely near it, and, barring afew breaks, devote themselves entirely to the joys of alternating and consonant sound like that which charms our ears when two boilermakers fall to hammering on the rivets ! Chip chip chip chip, chip chip chip chip, Per-ché per-ché per-ché per-ché, per-ché per-ché per- ché, Chippy chippy chippy chippy, chippy chippy chippy chippy, Chip chip chip chip, chip chip chip ! The Swifts feed entirely while on the wing, and one seldom sees a bird perch anywhere except on or about the chimney. Naturally, therefore, one wonders what they did before the chimney “arrived” in America. The answer issimple enough. The case is one of adapta- tion to newer conditions; the Swift prefers the chimney to the hollow in the rotten tree, and that is partly because, nowadays, the hollow in the tree is not as com- mon as the chimney. Mr. Chapman says the structural relations of the Chimney Swift ‘“‘ are with the Hum- mingbirds and not with the Passerine Swallows.” Per- haps that is the reason why there is such a loud hum to their wings within the chimney ! Family Trochilide. HUMMINGBIRDS. Hummingbirds belong exclusively in the New World. South America is their paradise, and the regions of the Andes are their favorite resort. Of some five hundred species which are now known, but seventeen are found in the United States, and only one species occurs east of 33 FAMILY Trochilide. the Mississippi. This is our own little Ruby-throat, and he is comparatively small beside the largest and most magnificent species recently discovered in Arizona, named Eugenes fulgens. This splendid ‘‘hummer” is about six inches long! The smaller species fly so swiftly that their wings are lostin a ‘‘ humming ” mist encircling the little body ; but the wings of the larger species move with sufficient moderation for the eye to detect the beats. The remarkable gorget (the name of the Hum- mingbird’s ruby collar) is, under a magnifying glass, a resplendent blaze of color. Ruby-throated This is the only Hummingbird of east- Hummingbird orn North America. His range is from Trochilus ecletiets Labrador to Florida, So charming a little L. 3.70 inches Creature, devoid of music, needs none of May t5th it, because he is a veritable symphony in color, a harmony of metallic greens and browns and ruby-red. The upper parts are shining green modified by brownish shadows; wings and tail brown with purplish side-lights; throat a lustrous ruby-red mar- gined with white-gray at the breast; under parts dusky gray. The male in autumn almost lacks the ruby-red ; in the female it is altogether wanting, and the tail has a more rounded contour. Nest, a curious little structure built of plant down and fibres, covered on the outside with lichens which closely match in colors the limb on which it is fastened. It has, in fact, all the appearance of a knot belonging to the branch. The two pure white eggs are about half an inch long. The mother-bird feeds her young by the process of regur- gitation ; the food is largely made up of tiny insects. The only note which the Hummingbird possesses is a tiny squeak without definite tone. He utters the sound frequently while he is at work probing the flowers in the garden, as though he were afraid of capture, It is plainly a note of caution, meaning, possibly, ‘* Look out now ; don’t attempt to catch me by the tail while my head is buried in this morning-glory!” The bird is so remarkably fearless, though, that I doubt very much 34 ee Humming Bird F t f } j KINGBIRD. whether he utters his note for any other reason than to ‘*keep himself company.” He will frequently feed from a bunch of flowers held in the hand, and occasionally flies in the house in search of sweets. The reason he holds an apparently secure position among a host of birds whose size and strength are more than tenfold as great as his own, is because he is so absolutely fearless and pugnacious. He is a great fighter, and holds his own by the point of his bill. Ralph Hoffmann, in Bird Portraits, says: ‘‘ Though the birds are very irritable and pugnacious when wild, frequently attacking each other with shrill squeaks, yet in captivity they prove very gentle and almost affectionate.” ORDER PASSERES. PERCHING BIRDS. Family Tyrannide. FLYCATCHERS. The Flycatchurs are distinguished for their habit of catching insects on the wing; they leave their perch and snap up the passing insect with unerring aim. All are poor song birds except the Wood Pewee, who has exceptional ability in tone,expression. There are over thirty species in the United States, and less than a third of these are common in our part of the country. Kingbird The Kingbird is another pugnacious zaps character. Apparently he spends most of tyrannus . a = z : - ee L. 8.50 inches is time in chasing insects or in driving May 15th other birds off his territory. He has a good deal of style for a rather plain bird, which is evidenced in his crested black head and beautifully toned gray-white breast, as well as his dignified if not defiant, straight carriage. The upper parts are slate gray; smoky black on head and shoulders; tail black, tip margined- white, a conspicuous mark for identifi- cation; an orange-red crown-patch is hidden by the dark feathers of the head except when the whole crest is erect; under parts dull white tinged with gray on the breast. Female similar. Nest, compact and circular, woven of grass, moss, weed-stalks, and rootlets, lined with plant- down and similar soft material. It is generally situated 35 FAMILY Tyrannide. at the fork of a branch and near its extremity, from fif- teen to twenty-five feet above ground, Egg, white with sepia brown specks. The range of the bird is pretty nearly throughout North America, from New Bruns- wick and Manitoba southward. The Kingbird has no song, but he has some conver- sational ability of a limited though stridulous character. It is not difficult to place the tone of his voice on the musical staff, although there is not a bit of music in that tone. His remarks as he stands on some high perch commanding a wide outlook are a trifle monotonous: Ker-rip, ker-rip, quirp, each with a rising inflection, and then Ker-r-r-r, ker-r-r-r, ker-r-r-r, in a decidedly burred or double-tone note, which may be imitated by humming and whistling simultaneously. The music should appear about like the following, though it should ‘be remembered a single tone with a shifting pitch, and that, too, not a musical tone, is all one hears: Twice 8va nme ae DAN NN nan Pe 3 i $ ly L £40) — iF a Ker-rip, ker-rip, quirp, kerrr kerrr kerrr! An old apple-tree is a favorite resort of the Kingbird, and. in this the nest is frequently built within plain sight. The male bird stands guard over the premises, and woe to the individual who wings his flight that way; it usually means a chase to the bitter end. I have fre- quently seen the Kingbird chase a Crow for a quarter of a mile, because the latter dared to fly within the limits of the orchard. He is, indeed, as his name would imply, the Tyrant Flycatcher, though he is not a tyrannical husband; for it is as plain as day he treats his mate with the utmost consideration, guarding the nest with assidu- ous care while she is away in search of food. I have never seen him assist in building a nest, or in the domes- tic cares involved with the brooding period, but he is afterward very attentive in feeding the young. Olive Thorne Miller writes: ‘‘ While his mate is sitting—and possibly at other times—he indulges in a soft and very 30 «is PHBE. pleasing song, which I have heard only in the very early morning.” But my own experience is contrary to that. I have never heard such a song, but rather have noticed that the birds were particularly aggressive and saucy in the morning, as though they had waked up in a bad humor and wanted to rout everyone else out. The notes about six A.M. may be rightly interpreted thus: Wake- up, wake-up, lazy, cur, cur-r-r-r, cur-r-r-r! The Kingbird catches his food on the wing. Watch him carefully as he sits on his commanding perch and you will see he takes short excursions in mid-air after some insect which has ventured too near. Notice him again if a Hawk should pass a hundred feet overhead, and you will see him dart upward after the eneiny, dash recklessly at him with threatening bill, and in other ways make the big bird’s life burdensome as he flies for a distance of half a mile more or less. Phebe Pheebe is one of, those peaceful, confid- Sayornss ing characters, which appropriates one i Goo inches COTner of the roof of the wash-shed or the April ist side porch without so much as saying ‘‘ by your leave.” The consequences are not such as a good housekeeper would approve; for Phoebe transports a considerable amount of mud from the borders of the neighboring stream with which to build her nest, and then after it is built she fails to keep it clean; if usually swarms with innumerable parasites. Both male and female birds are marked alike. Upper parts sooty brown with a greenish cast; crown dark or sepia brown; wings and tail also distinctly darker; outer half of outer tail feather dull white; under parts dull white with a yellowish tone; bill black. Nest, mostly a com- position of mosses and mud, lined with grass and long hairs, bulky, and lodged at some roof or bridge (under- neath) corner on a rafter. Egg white, sometimes with , a few cinnamon brown specks. The bird is common throughout eastern North America, from Newfoundland southward. Pheebe sits on the piazza rail or the rustic gate and con- tentedly sings his monotonous refrain, Phoebe ve-bliebt ! 37 FAMILY Tyrannide. Pheebe ve-bliebt !* the second utterance, with its chopped- off syllable, sounding like a bit of mongrelGerman! The whole song is exactly what Mr. Chapman says it is—‘‘ a hopelessly tuneless performance.” Then he adds a touch of sentiment, and says further: ‘‘ but who that has heard it in early spring when the ‘ pussy-willow’ seems almost to purr with soft blossoms, will not affirm that Phoebe touches chords dumb to more ambitious songsters!” It is almost useless to place this ‘‘tuneless” song on the musical staff, yet the positions of the notes will aid one to recognize the inflections of the voice; here is the song: Phe-be, ve-bliebt Phe-be, ve-bliebt, The tones are all burred, and all slurred, so the syllables are all lost in ‘‘swishing” whistles. Perhaps, also, the tracing of these lines with a pencil may help one to catch the rhythm: es. oF. cres eres eres Phce — be, ve - biiebtt Phae— be, ve-bdbliebts Wood Pewee Among all the singers of the woodland Contopus virens at . : L.6.s0inches the Wood. Pewee is the sentimentalist. May isth His short song of threé or four notes appeals to us wholly by reason of its apparently emo- tional nature. It is to be classed along with Stephen Foster’s Old Folks at Home, or the famous old Irish melody, The Last Rose of Summer. The little fel- low sings along with the Hermit Thrush, in the region of the White Mountains, but how absolutely different is the burden of his song! There isa touch of sadness to the few notes of the Wood Pewee, there are joy and glad- ness in the soaring lyric of the Hermit Thrush. Nor is this little woodland Flycatcher attractive in appearance; he is the plainest of birds, as well as the plainest of *My friend, Professor Patton of Dartmouth College, called my attention to a similar construction of the song. 38 Chebec Wood Pewee (above) (below) WOOD PEWEE. singers. Upper parts smoky olive; wings and tail sepia brown; shoulder feathers of the wings tipped with dull white, forming two more or less distinct wing-bars ; under parts white faintly tinged with yellow and graded to light olive gray on the breast and sides; upper mandi- ble black, the lower light horn-color. The sexes are alike. Nest substantially built of fine grasses woven with plant fibre and moss, the outside covered with lich- ens; it is usually on a horizontal limb fifteen to forty feet from the ground. Egg white and marked with a circle of brown specks about the larger end. Mr. Chapman says, after complimenting the singer: _-** All day long the Pewee sings, even when the heat of summer silences more vigorous birds and the midday sun sends light-shafts to the ferns, the clear, sympathetic notes of the retired songster come from the green canopy overhead, in perfect harmony with the peace and still- ness of the hour.” There it is, as plain as can be—pure. sentiment! Mr. Chapman strikes the keynote of the Pewee’s song; whether at ‘“‘matins” or ‘‘ vespers” it is always the same, slow, peaceful, restful, and thoroughly musical. There is none of the nervous haste of the Robin, none of the clatter of the Flicker, and all of the sweetness of the Peabody-bird. Pee-a-wee he sings, and then after an wnreasonably long pause, he adds, peer! It is difficult to imagine how anyone with a good ear for sound (I will not say music) can possibly miss the char- acter of the song, for the very simple reason that it is so obviously easy to catch it. Whistle w-h-i-e-u with the familiar run down the musical scale, just as though some one stepped on your toe, or you were greatly sur- prised or shocked, and if that is done in the laziest pos- sible manner, the Pewee’s peer is accurately imitated! Twice 8va........ a= 1 A wa S / + . “ Pe--e-7'/ It is no presto performance, it must be decidedly largo, and when the lowest tone of the scale is reached it must 39 FAMILY Tyrannidea. be sustained for at least a second. Then, for the better part of the bird’s song, his pee-a-wee, all that is required is to whistle in a very slow, dragging fashion, first a clear high note, then one exactly a fourth below that, and finally one a minor third above the one last men- tioned. That is literally all there is to the song; the variations are too unimportant to mention. Dots and dashes will fairly represent the idea, a Pee.a-wee. Peer! Pee.a-wee, Poer! Pee.a-wee but it seems as though the very plain position of the notes on the musical staff ought to be intelligible to all persons whether music readers or not. Twice 8v2 ws --08C = Sempre Tegato o™ jee fy EO A ~ oe aC) a | hs y foe Y7 : nm . I A | ' {2 + or 3 | ins iT ~S 4 Pee-a - wee Pe-e-rf Pee-a-wee The grace note attached to the note representing the first syllable is an extremely important one; a sharp ear will readily detect an ascending tone to pee, and in some cases it will be discovered that the little introductory tone is almost independent of the next one and justly deserves to be counted the first of four tones in the song.* It is impossible, also, for me to put too much stress on what a musician would call its legato char- acter; there is no bird which compares with the Wood Pewee in sheer laziness of style ; he does not attempt to **hit” a note squarely, he reaches for it with all the sentimentality (but none of the vulgarity) of the inex- perienced and uncultivated singer, capturing us in spite of his error by the perfect sweetness of his voice. How inimitably dignified and graceful is his rendering of that familiar but rather flippant aria in Auber’s Fra Diavolo: *This more complete form of the Pewee’s song belongs to the nuptial season. 40 WOOD PEWEE. o > 4 a , wm! ‘ os > . , EI _" te. ro “miu tz rt, / ms itt H Bit — pt . These three notes Lat - ‘ Fra Diavolo. exactly form the Wood Pewee song. al laWs'E Jen! i ve He does not fancy this juggling with so good a motive, he takes it more seriously, and sings with feeling: ff - + -—- es — | meet y FE be f SF iE See 23 Ch ol We] sD ~ Se eter ioe a er Be APA pot TE J J “t wf There is an ineffable grace, almost a religious solemnity to the little melody when it is sung that way! Mr Henry Oldes calls attention to this character of the Wood Pewee’s song, and so do many well-known writ- ers; but Mr. Cheney does best of all, for he makes a hymn of the plaintive call, which I have taken the lib- erty of harmonizing, thus: This is the Pe-e-r7 qs, swingingnote is often sungalone 2 emda | a = Pht Pate Dh * 4 et bh Y PY v at Ve b SP S > « » “Te 4 y £ 2. : { A ~ a Pic ww: iS eee 0° A a U ) | { ¢ ) a? . f j r > Then Mr. Cheney significantly adds: ‘‘ You see how much there is in that little, and how much of interest can be said that has never been said.” A propos of the serious nature of the song, Dr. Elliot Cowes writes: ‘*‘ Wherever it may fix its home, whether in the seclusion of sylvan retreats or in the vicinity of man’s abode, its 4! FAMILY Tyrannide. presence is soon made known by its oft-repeated melan- choly notes seeming to speak some settled sorrow that time can never heal. The sighing of the pines is not more expressive of mournful fancies than the sobbing of the little sombre-colored bird, flitting apparently incon- solable through their shades.” That is carrying things to extremes, I should say, and smacks not a little of maudlin sentiment. However, every one to his own mind, and if one feels that way about a bird singing in largo time, the interpretation is presumably correct, for at most the music is a song without words. A bright little poem from the pen of J. T. Trowbridge gives us an entirely different impression of the bird’s character, so there is no doubt but that pure sentiment is at the bottom of the whole matter. The Wood Pewee is a common resident of the orchard, and often of the elm or maple that shades the village street; in spring and early summer he spends most of the time in the woods, but when the young have flown he returns to ‘‘town” or at least to some highway that leads to it. Like all others of his tribe he is famous for his dexterity in catching insects on the wing. Chebec. Least The little Chebec has none of the music Flycatcher = of the Wood Pewee. His is a toneless call Empidonax » tutte ae walndadkis of two short syllables which is the origin of L.5.40inches his common name. In appearance, too, May ist he is very ordinary. Upper parts olive brown; wings and tail sepia brown, the wing coverts tipped with buffish drab forming two distinct wing- bars on each wing; under parts dull white, grayish on the breast, and generally yellowish below; the lower mandible brown. Male and female are marked alike. This is the smallest of the Flycatchers. Nest, of rootlets, plant-fibre, and plant-down interwoven with long hairs, usually lodged in a Y branch six to fifteen feet above ground. Egg pure white. The bird is com- mon through the Eastern States, but breeds only from Pennsylvania northward to Quebec. There is no bird more easily identified than the Least Flycatcher. His call note is unique; it is a perfectly 42 BLUE JAY. self-evident chebec, squeaky, stridulent, and rapid, with a ‘“‘g” tone. Pronounce the word Egypt (in a stage whisper) as rapidly as possible, but be sure to drop the final ‘*t” and you have the call note.* ~ Four times 8va. or higher than youcangoP 1 : : eee égyp- Fgyp- LEgyp- Only once in a while the little bird enlarges his song- motive, and then it is while he is on the wing under the influence of some unusual excitement one hears, Egyp, Egyp, tremble-emble! Egyp, tremble-embie! Whether that means a fateful warning of invasion to the ancient country or not, it is difficult to say. At any rate it is the bird’s love song, no matter what words we set to the music, and of the latter,—well, there is none, so com- ment is unnecessary. The little fellow is also easily identified by his droop- ing, bobbing tail which jerks with every Egyp he utters He is fond of the orchard and the shade trees, ano thence rather than from the borders of the woods comes his familiar voice, Family Corvide. JAYS, CROWS, ETC. This is a family of very intelligent birds, of large size somewhat predatory habits, and omnivorous tastes Most of the birds are resident throughout the year They possess some vocal ability, but are generally con- sidered unmusical. Blue Jay This splendid fellow is the rascal of the Seanocitte bird community, the bully and tease of cristata F a L. 11.60 inches 2 creatures smaller than himself, and, so Allthe year far as actions are concerned, ‘‘ the clowp of the circus.” So familiar a character as the Blue Jay needs no description, yet his markings are unique *It has also been written cadet and sewick, but neither of these is very representative. 43 ‘FAMILY Corvide. and deserve ‘‘special mention.” His blue is of the ultramarine order diluted with white; that color distinguishes his upper parts; crest conspicuous and a deeper blue; a black band crosses the breast and continues upward on the sides of the neck joining on the back of the head ; under parts subdued, gray-white, whiter on the throat above the black band; forehead black ; wings and tail beautifully barred with black and white, the intermediate light ultramarine blue grading to a cold steely tone; tail feathers broadly tipped with white—all except the middle pair. Female similarly marked. Nest, of rootlets and twigs compactly inter- woven, the finer ones serving as a lining ; the latter is never composed of soft material. Egg, pale olive brown, or pale olive green, plentifully sprinkled with cinnamon brown. The Blue Jay is also a robber. He not infrequently attacks other birds engaged in nest-building, drives them off, and finishes the job to his own liking. The following lines, taken from the Chicago Tribune, con- tain more truth than poetry : ‘* With twigs and strings and other things The Robin builded it strong, And as he plaited them into shape He carolled a cheerful song. ‘*¢ Why so busy?’ the Jay Bird asked. ‘ What are you doing, pray ?’ ‘I suppose,’ said the Robin, ‘I’m building a nest For you—you blooming Jay !’” The advent of a horde of Blue Jays, about the middle of July, in the vicinity of my studio in Campton, means a general dispersion of all the song birds for the time being. There is at once a rumpus in the old orchard, and a continual flash of blue wings in the sunlight; many little brown wings, too, take flight to return no more. A squalling, cat-like J- J- aa- aa- y y 44 Blue Jay BLUE JAY. fills the air, and occasionally a clear, bell-like, three- syllabled note catches the ear, which is very musical, and sounds like this : Be ee SE Sage Viale, aa y ¥ / Ge-rul-lup, ge- rul-lup} Again, a perfectly clear whistled but metallic-toned octave strikes the ear, thus: Gv4....:. ‘2 : } “ — Heigh- hol “On the whole, in spite of the confusion, and the harsh, ringing jay, jay tones, which remind us of the bagpipe whistle of the children’s toy balloon, there is a decidedly musical element in the Blue Jay’s voice. He gives usa perfect octave, and, perfect or imperfect, that is a great deal more than the Bluebird can do. He is at oncea ventriloquist and a mimic, for he will readily copy any tone he hears which tickles his fancy, whether it be a squeaking cart wheel or the note of a thrush ; but he at- tempts nothing which we could call a song. Ralph Hoffmann gives us an excellent sketch of the Blue Jay’s character in his Bird Portraits: ‘The Jay in spring is undoubtedly a reprobate. He cannot resist the temptation to sneak through the trees and bushes, and when he finds a nest of eggs temporarily left by its owner, to thrust his sharp bill through the shells; even young birds are devoured. In the autumn, however, he is a hearty, open fellow, noisy, and intent on acorns and chestnuts. The woods ring with his loud screams as he travels through them with his companions. It is amusing at this season to observe them obtaining chest- nuts, a favorite food. They drive their powerful bills into a nut, wrench it out of the burr, and then fly off with it to a convenient limb and hammer it open.” 45 FAMILY Corvide. Canada Jay Wilson says of this bird: ‘‘ Were I to Whisky Jack dont the theoretical reasoning of a cele- Perisoreus FUE PO brated French naturalist, I might pro- L. 12.00 inches nounce this bird a debased descendant Allthe year from the common Blue Jay of the United States.” But he probably knew, if he did that, his powers of discrimination would be open to criticism. There is scarcely & mark of similarity between the two species, except as they are ornithologically con- sidered. The Canada Jay is costumed in Quaker- gray, dull-white, and black. Back of the head sooty black; back gray; throat and sides of the neck dull white; forehead white; wings and tail gray, with many of the feathers white-tipped; under parts warm gray. Female similar. The plumage is thick and un- kempt-looking, resembling, in a measure, that of the Chickadee. Nest of coarse twigs and bark-fibre, gen- erally lodged well up in a spruce or some other conifer- ous tree. Egg white, irregularly speckled with madder — brown. The bird is decidedly boreal, and is found only from northern New England and New York to northern Minnesota, which are the southern limits of its range. The notes of the Canada Jay are very similar to those of the Blue Jay; most of them are harsh or discordant, and many have a peculiar wailing character which dis- tinctly separates them from the rather sprightly tones of the handsomer cousin. My only experience with these birds has been on the summits of the White Moun- tains, where they are far from uncommon, They are naturally the inhabitants of the great coniferous forests of the North, and are frequent visitors of the lumber camps, where by their sociable habits and fearlessness they become very friendly with the lumbermen, often feeding from their hands. On the summit of Mt. Os- ceola, in Waterville, N. H., on more than one occasion the Canada Jay has taken pieces of bread from my fin- gers. I have never taken any memoranda of his notes, as they were too unmusical to deserve attention; be- sides, he is a bird easily identified by his environment. A 46 a Canada Jay CROW. Crow This familiar American character has eerorts become a standard by which we calculate En: piytsacr bo many conditions, such as ‘‘as black as a Allthe year crow,” “‘as the crow flies,” ‘‘as sharp as a crow,” etc. No description of the bird’s appearance is really necessary, but it may as well be said at once, that in the fullest sense of the word he is not black! The entire plumage is characterized by an iridescent steel-blue or violet. This is particularly no- ticeable on the neck, shoulders, wings, and tail. The feathers of the under parts are less metallic and lustrous than those of the upper parts. The nest is a clumsy affair, built of twigs, sticks, bark, grass, etc.; it is gen- erally in the crotch of a bough fully thirty feet above ground. Egga beautiful dull green-blue thickly speckled with brown; sometimes it is blue-white, or pale blue with sparse markings. The bird is distributed from the northern United States south to Florida, where it is re p- resented by the Florida Crow. There is no music in the Crow’s caw nor any in the rest of his various calls, but he is a bird with a distinct language, which one may study with profitable results. His harsh mutterings are just desultory talk, his er-r-r-r-r-uck bespeaks contentment, his sharp and in- cisive caw, caw, caw, means ‘‘ attention!” > > > Le a | x ' ' ‘ / Caw! caw! caw! and his three fortissimo tones, embracing a distinct majoi third, mean, I do not know what, but I sometimes think “Come this way quick!” on 208 * ‘es i } T t THY e r-o c= i | wa } “ Ca-cak- ca-caw!s 47 FAMILY Icteridz. He takes a conspicuous stand at the top of some dead limb when he sends out this emphatic summons, and it certainly is vehement enough for one to imply that busi- ness of a strictly important and urgent nature is pending. The Crow has his enemies, plenty of them, and few if any friends. Still, when he is tamed, he is very loyal to his friend and protector, recognizing his voice and an- swering his call at once. In autumn great numbers of Crows congregate at the seacoast, where the supply of sea food offers a more promising outlook for the winter. Family iécteride. BOBOLINK, BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. ' This family represents a class of birds which, except- ing the Orioles, are gregarious. The bills of all the spe- _ cies are comparatively sharp and adapted to their varied ’ diet, which consists of insects, fruit, seeds, etc. The notes of all the species are distinguished by a metallic quality, least noticeable in those of the Oriole, but em- phasized and rendered harsh in those of the Blackbirds. iG Bobolink is a “ bird of parts.” He is no r . . . . oar ie ordinary fellow; he is the soloist of comic oryzivorus opera in the fields, the Reedbird on toast L.7.2sinches of the epicure, the Robert of Lincoln of May 12th the poet, and the Ricebird or Ortolan of his enemy the rice grower of South Carolina! In appearance he and his mate are utterly different; but before the summer is past he changes his costume and dons the sober colors of the female; not content with all this variety, he changes his voice after the nuptial season, and not another liquid, bubbling note do we get from him when once he starts in with his mo- notonous, metallic chink. In spring his colors are patchy. Head black, nape of the neck corn-yellow; tail and wings black, the tail feathers with pointed tips; mid- dle of back patched or streaked with cream-buff; lower back and upper tail coverts white; a patch of white also on the shoulders; the bill, face, and under parts black. 48 M034 * ro <- - ir ‘ ey) ee 3: BOBOLINK, Female marked and streaked like a sparrow; brown streaked with buff above; head dark sepia with a central line of green-buff; lower parts pale yellowish buff graded to buff-white. Nest in the tall grass on the ground, woven of dried grasses. The birds are very cautious in approaching and leaving the nest, always walking to and from it a little distance, after alighting or before taking wing. Egg gray-white of a bluish cast, speckled with dark brown. The bird is unevenly distributed throughout the eastern United States, and extends west to Utah and Montana. It migrates through Florida and across the West Indies to South America, usually via _ Cuba and Yucatan. The Bobolink is indeed a great singer, but the latter part of his song is a species of musical fireworks. He begins bravely enough with a number of well-sustained tones, but presently he accelerates his time, loses track of his motive, and goes to pieces in a burst of musical scintillations, It is a mad, reckless song-fantasia, an outbreak of pent-up, irrepressible glee. The difficulty in either describing or putting upon paper such music is insurmountable. One can follow the singer through the first few whistled bars, and then, figuratively speaking, he lets down the bars and stampedes. I have never been able to ‘‘sort out” the tones as they passed at this break-neck speed. Others who desired to record the song have found the thing impracticable. Mr. Cheney writes: ‘‘We must wait for some interpreter with the sound-catching skill of a Blind Tom and the phonograph combined, before we may hope to fasten the kinks and twists of this live music-box.” There is, however, not a small part of the Bobolink’s music which is comprehensible. The first part of the song usually carries with it a suggestion of the waltz, in tolerably clear whistles set to three-four or nine-eight time. The following annotation, a good illustration of this ryhthm, I obtained at a spot called ‘‘ Paradise,” near Smith College, Northampton, Mass.*: * All of this Bobolink music is, of necessity, written two octaves lower than the bird sings. 49 FAMILY Icteridz. é= 108 Jlllegrc. a cA Bu > > PO L ‘ bh. S. jJed jy sii iy ry oO La, Se re | ad &- \ Y | —~g if I ] a t Rob, Rob Lincoln Ly rinole. Biziede b: 7 , ~~ Oo ¢- ra + ss TT Pt Pa -—_ rete #4 > ; | dl — ry Molto accelerando fh,,_._ P75. $ Y «TEA Pi dA dA J VD Mal ail | | se PO y Se ff dd 2 ee a a at — . v pc OEE EE FT; SP = Fd Ul ¥ Fe ial: —— 3 ; : 5: Bobolink, Bobolink, sais ot ae 2. 4 . efi retest eo —_-b-4 Pa f(\\ © : Vv Fi SY 5 =i I have chosen to render the latter part of this song (which is given in rapid, twanging, wiry tones) in a series of comprehensible intervals, not unlike those which Chopin introduces in his fantasias.. The bird sim- ply suggested that kind of a ‘‘run” to me, that was all; he did not in the least conform to pitch or interval. But the character of the music was the same; and if every- body understands that a fantasia is a musical composi- tion freed from strict form and allowed to follow the lead of fancy, they will see at once that the last part of the Bobolink’s song unquestionably conforms to that style. But if one prefers not to interpret bird music, but to take it from Nature exactly as it comes, this bit that follows may prove more acceptable: a’ gc - ae ae-S ‘ZL > Sal Re > PPO OSE PEP I ie £8 ie EE * TA) 4 | | OS CPOE al ER oF A dt RE i Ba TP 50 BOBOLINK. Ur this: ged Then, here is still another song taken from a bird which sang in a meadow not far from the campus of Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H.: ge Allegro. law GI p Wa 7 e e = = QO i U [@] “N\ yy cres, The poet Bryant expressed a few of the syllables of the song with verbal accuracy. His ** Bob-o’-link, Bob-o’-link, Spink, spank, spink,” gives a good representation of the three-syllabled tones, and also a fair imitation of the wiry quality of the tones. The Bobolink is a distinctive meadow character. He rises from the grass with a great deal more wing-action than the shortness of his flight would seem to demand. It is evident by the constant flipping of the wings that flying is an effort with him, where it is no effort at all 51 FAMILY Icteridz. with the Barn Swallow. Perhaps his constant foraging in the meadow grass has put him out of practice on the wing. However that may be, it is a significant fact that he takes the shortest sea route to South America, and the evidence goes to show he is usable to sustain him- self in a very long flight. He arrives in New York from the south about the first of May, and proceeds up the Hudson and Connecticut River Valleys to Canada. Al- though he is a very common bird in the vicinity of Han- over, N. H., he is extremely uncommon in the Valley of the Pemigewasset, at Plymouth, scarcely twenty- seven miles due east; but again in Belknap County, the same distance southeast, he is abundant. All sentiment aside, it is impossible to state the true value of the Bobolink relatively with agriculture. Mr. Beal * says that he destroys $2,000,000 worth of rice in a year, and Mr. Chapman says $3,000,000. Either way we take it, the outlook is bad for the rice grower of the South. In the North the bird subsists upon countless varieties of insects and the seeds of useless plants, but it would be difficult to prove that this beneficent work has a money value which mounts up into the millions! I quote from Mr. Beal the state of the case in the South: ‘* Were the rice fields at a distance from the line of mi- gration, . . . they would probably never be mo- lested; but lying as they do directly in its path, they form a recruiting ground, where the birds can rest and accumulate flesh and strength for the long sea flight which awaits them in their course to South America.” Then in regard to the two million dollars, Mr. Beal adds: “If these figures are any approximation to the truth, the ordinary farmer will not believe that the Bobolink benefits the northern half of the country nearly as much as it damages the southern half. . . . But even if the bird really does more harm than good, what is the remedy? For years the rice planters have been employ- ing men and boys toshoot the birds and drive them away from the fields, but in spite of the millions slain every *See Farmers’ Bulletin No. 54, U. 8. Dept. of Agriculture, en- titled, ‘‘Some Common Birds,” by F. E. L. Beal, B.S. 52 COWBIRD. year their numbers do not decrease.” It is a fact that _the clearing of forests in the North and the introduction of rice culture in the South have afforded a greater avail- able breeding area for the Bobolink, and it has accord- ingly increased in numbers. Cowbird This disreputable character, parasitic in et habit and degenerate in all moral instinct, L. 7.90 inches Sts its name through its fondness for bo- April ist vine society, and its fame from its &bomi- nable habit of laying its egg in another bird’s nest. It is not handsome, either. A hood of dark snuff-brown extends from the crown to the neck and breast; the general color otherwise is an iridescent black; the tail is somewhat square at the tip. Female a grayish brown, lighter beneath, and graded to whitish gray on the throat. Egg, white marked with evenly distributed specks of cinnamon or sepia brown, deposited in the nest of another bird, generally that of a Sparrow, Vireo, and Warbler. The bird is rare in the mountainous parts of northern New England, but is distributed from this point generally west and south. It is a walker, not a hopper. The Cowbird has no song; his nearest approach to music is a sort of guttural murmuring which, according to Mr. Chapman, is produced with an apparently ‘‘ nau- seous effort.” But these guttural chirps are an index to the character of the bird; they are a harsh, metallic gluck, zee-zee without rhythm or sentiment. Why should they have either? The bird has no song—no mate to call. He is a polygamist, a bird of no princi- ples, a ‘‘low-down” character. He usually goes with a flock of other evil spirits just like himself, and their fa- yorite resort is the cow-yard or the pasture where the cattle graze. Very probably they have one good redeem- ing quality: they keep myriads of insects in check which otherwise would worry the life out of the cows; but no one seems to be positively sure about that. It is certain, however, that the young Cowbirds do no end of harm to the bird families upon which they are foisted, for there is many a dainty Warbler or Vireo pushed out of the 53 m: FAMILY Icteridz. nest or starved to death by reason of the selfishness of the loutish foster-brother. Red-winged A beautiful slim and smooth black bird ype: . with scarlet epaulets sways unsteadily on aaa Sebi the supple stem of a cattail on the margin L. 9.50 inches of the pond, and sends out a strange reed- April ist like note which, according to Thoreau’s way of thinking, meant Conk-a-ree! This is the Red- winged Blackbird, whose personality and coloring are as strong as his song is peculiar, The bird is lustrous black with the exception of the lesser wing coverts (i. e., the shoulders) which are deep scarlet; this color is bordered on the lower side by buff or a deep cream tint. The female lacks the red color or it is modified to a deep crimson tinge; the black is also modified by the rusty margins to the feathers, and the throat by a rusty orange tinge; under parts streaked with gray or white. The nest is placed in a low bush or among reeds, and is woven of coarse grasses, weeds, and plant fibres, lined with finer material of the same nature. Egg, pale blue, spotted and zigzag-streaked with brown. The bird is common throughout the east- ern part of the country. The Red-winged Blackbird is one of the easiest birds to identify by his song, although that has the remark- able quality of a mixed tone difficult to describe or to place accurately on the musical staff. The song is made up of three syllables, the first of which is obscure or dif- ficult to catch unless one is not very far away from the bird. Various writers interpret the syllables differently. Emerson’s opinion is that ‘* The Redwing flutes his ‘O ka lee.’” Mr. Chapman makes it ‘‘Kong-quer-ree”; William Hamilton Gibson, ‘‘Gl-oogl-eee”; and yet another writer, ‘*Gug-lug-geee.” On two points all seem to agree, i. e., the three syllables, and a repetition of the vowel e in the last syllable. So it is an apparently simple matter to express the rhythm by signs, bearing in mind that the ‘ 54 7 aed ra) ar 1S) 3 aa 2 7) bo & d ss) eo fod RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. doubling up of the vowel e must mean a sustained tone; if this is so, then the cabalistic signs should appear thus: pa 4 PWUWNnnnnn wv Gug - lug-gee-e-e-e-e-e-e! By simply tapping and moving a pencil on a table this way one can get the rhythm perfectly. If one should try to whistle these three tones the difficulty would be great but not insurmountable. It is only necessary to whistle and say simultaneously, Gug-lug, with the second sylla- ble about a third higher than the first, and then follow that with a long-drawn geee in a tone midway between _ the other two, but whistled and hummed simultaneously. If anyone can do that, the sound produced will be a tol- erable imitation of the Red-winged Blackbird’s song! The advice seems not unlike the recipe in the imprac- tical Cook Book: ‘‘ Take a quart of cream,” which was echoed by the indignant housewife, who despairingly added, “‘ As if we kept a cow in the back yard!” Pos- sibly the reader may also feel inclined to comment in- dignantly, ‘‘ As if I were a bird!” But one can easily afford to pass the experiment if the general principle of the rhythm is understood, for the Red-winged Blackbird never fails to stick close to that. The written music appears almost as plain, although there is never that accuracy of pitch in the Red-wing’s voice which would enable me to say he uses a perfect third, or fourth, or sixth, as the case may be. 7 LY LPP ALP DDI ISL LOS IE LAPIS A Twice Bva. cf ‘A minor P eas Si = ew Lome cee SE ¢ St : ee cm | t £ Ls =e ee F Sir Gug - lug- gee-e-e-e-¢-e-e-e-ef To be sure the fellow is pardonably flat at times, and then again distressingly sharp; but on the whole the music is intelligible, welcome, and even inspiring, for it is a joyous announcement that spring is at hand. There is also, as William Hamilton Gibson writes, a felicitous “gurgle and wet ooze in it,” which reminds us of the 55 FAMILY Icteride. swamp, or the swimming pool in the springtime coloring which the French artist Corot so much loved to paint. I call to mind a bulrush-bordered pond in the Middlesex Falls, near Boston, where one lovely spring afternoon I heard a dozen Redwings ‘‘ gurgling” away like the rippling of a brook. After studying the singers and their songs for a full half-hour, there suddenly dawned upon my mind the unmistakable evidences of concerted harmony in the music; then, selecting the songs of six, I arranged them in proper order, with the result shown below, excepting the words (!) and the accompaniment, which were added later.* ee ov tinge a 2A: ws ~ — ° * uM Ca i E 2 7 i i | - j 7 'O-ka “Tlee, kong quer-ree, \You-chootea, Oolong teal mp. e ; 2 ~.: le : : 9 —e : t ' eo | s a 4 lett slAg + oA Ee 3: 27. ged. Y ta Gl-oogl\=leee,Conk-a-ree , Quang-|se tea,Shoo-chong tea! -~— ie bee tie pate be 1 . 5 Pie ; re 4 : T : 2 ; , ' ° =<: iy ry ii } mi This is really the proper way to study bird music; the responsive character of the song is a strong factor in the complete understanding of it. Half the bird songs we hear are questions, the other half are the answers! In spring the male Redwings arrive first, sometimes in large flocks. It is fully two to three weeks later be- *Of course the birds sang this one octave higher than it is written, 56 MEADOWLARK. fore the rusty-colored females put in an appearance; then, as might be expected, the conversation waxes lively, and the competitors for mates have a great deal to say about themselves for nearly a month or so before the mating begins. This is sometimes as late as the end of the first week in May. About the first part of August the birds have finished with all domestic cares, and have begun a desultory career in the open country near the coast; two months after this they are on the march south again. Meadowlark The Meadowlark, sometimes called the age Field Lark, is a plump, sharp-billed, low- L. 10.75 inches foreh2aded bird, whose colors are a perfect Allthe year Symphony in light browns and yellows. eR, | i A + Ly bi” = » cm | os bo | i = Oj)" Dp t 5a wi t L ANITA be } Md te ? . (All with descending slides, The song (on the same key) from the ninth bar, runs: F “=z anCantabiley _— es) ee VY Pr, oOo | P-Torotrnreo T Q bit Z- a u a Whe [#7] [7] rd [7] hf : LS | A IEE ns —= 4 2 Ma 7 ninth bar \ Aida > , dd alto a) oe = g. CO € ¢ Pip. “Di, i’ i QO i120" (4) | ae | c -. py 3 MO a “} Vp “TID ODO ko a [——<< A response to this motive came from another part of the field, thus: ) } 4 ide from theE mC. It is not always the case, however, that the music is pa- thetic, for one afternoon, while crossing the downs of Nantucket, not far from the Cliff west of the town, I heard a bit which was decidedly reminiscent of the song and dance with castanets, in which Carmen attempts, in the opera of her name, to lure José away from his duty: (4 ot as —o———+ —~ Carmen. Is 42 aa ola ol eee : === ' ie 1 TT? Pat i - — _— = This, it must be admitted, was not sung in quite the 60 MEADOWLARK. lively way the libretto would demand, but the melody was correct: Twice ie gen ineernte legato. yb gore rn a J ° > ‘ 7 ‘r 2 a oe ar c iz, L La | a, “AW | VT T | EEE ¢ ' U ia. EE | i! As "(All with descending slides) ; A moment later, however, another bird spoiled the whole effect by finishing the song the wrong way, thus ¢ . IMndante Ride, oahu iv Ie A *‘#. + - >. AY Zz = —* ra C7 v wad Bird N°? 1 @ as | d responded: 44a — Ih t E i = 4 i eke as e—t ee Meadowlarks, and birds in general, for that matter, are prone to take unwarranted liberties with operatic scores, as is witnessed by the following bit from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddygore, which came from a Meadowlark in the vicinity of Boston: Haas ye | “ail the bridegroom and the- He hailed the bridegroom but drew the line at the bride; why did he not finish? Allegretto. ms cal x 2 ae : 2) Hail the bridegraom and the oride, 4 Ss _ a FAMILY Icteridex, But I am unable to say whether he had a grudge against the bride or simply forgot his part! To speak frankly about the musical ability of this bird, whose name fos- ters rather sanguine expectations, it is proper to say at once, that for so promising a fellow he is afraud. His voice is disappointing, wiry, and thin, and his attempts are always unfinished. Therefore he cannot justly be considered one of our best song-birds, even though Wil- son seems to have entertained a fairly good opinion of him. For he writes, ‘‘ Though this species cannot boast of the powers of song which distinguish that ‘ harbinger of day,’ the Skylark of Europe, yet in richness of plu- mage, as well as in sweetness of voice (as far as his few notes extend), he stands eminently its superior.” To sum up his qualities in a few words, he gives us a few whistles in clear, subtile, tremulous cadences which are really very fine and sweet. But he is not to be com- pared with the Wood Thrush in tone of voice, nor with the Song Sparrow in variety of song-motive. He isa delightful songster, however, and his fragmentary mo- tives when connected together form an exccllent bit of melody; for instance, the song below (No, 1), which came from a bird in Middlebury, Vt., finds its response in the melody previously given (marked with an asterisk), from Wellesley Hills, Mass. The response is repeated here, in No. 2. Moderato, — S @ A 2) AD \ . ) Wd s | }|_ ~~! ! | a. | il | | be” | Bird in Middlebury, VE, Noo response sigs Wellesley Hills,Plass N21 ¢ 4¢4 Of all birds the Meadowlark is the most provincial; he ranges over a vast territory, does not migrate very far from his breeding place, or perhaps does not migrate at all. As a consequence his character is perfectly reflected in his song; that, too, is strikingly provincial. The birds 62 ‘2Z> ORCHARD ORIOLE, of Vermont sang a song so strange to me that at first I did not recognize it; again the birds of Nantucket sang a different song; and now, after a disinterested con- sideration of the whole matter, I have come to consider the song of the birds in New Jersey but one of many forms each of which is distinguished by some local characteristic. But in every case there is one thing we can rely upon as unchanging, that is the descending *‘slur.” Mr. W. E. D. Scott particularly emphasizes the ‘provincialism of the bird, and then adds: ‘‘Should you hear the song of the Meadowlark, say in Denver, or in New York, or at any point in Florida, I feel sure you would never recognize it as the song of the same bird.” But there his discrimination ceases—he reckons with form but fails to reckon with character. I have never seen the bird in the Pemigewasset Valley. Orchard Compared with its relative, the Balti- Oriole more Oriole, this Oriole cannot be called puaertus common. Its normal range does not ex- L. 7.30 inches tend farther north than Massachusetts, May 15th and even in that State it is local. Incolors the Orchard Oriole does not compare with the gorgeous Baltimore. The breast and under parts are chestnut, a tone of burnt sienna; head, neck, and upper back black; lower back chestnut; throat black; wings rusty black with chestnut shoulders, the tips of black wing and tail feathers a trifle whitish. The female is grayish olive green above and very dull lemon yellow beneath; wings dusky brown with two whitish bars. Nest pendent, or nearly so, woven of grasses and similar to that of the Baltimore in materials; usually in an apple-tree, or any small tree near a house, and situated at the extremity of a limb, not more than twenty feet above the ground. Egg, spotted and scrawled with brown or black. The range of the bird is from the Gulf States north to southern New England, Michigan, and Ontario. Although he generally frequents the orchard, he is often seen in the garden and among the shade trees of the lawn. The Orchard Oriole is an exceptionally good songster, 63 FAMILY Icteridz. but I have not been able to gather a sufficient number of records of his song to enable me to authoritatively de- scribe its character. It is, of course, very similar to that of the Baltimore, but it is more flexible and expressive. Also, the notes are often characteristically separated into groups of three, thus: 8va. @ as © 6 616 BO'e F 0 0'8 6 4 0.0 0,8 **eeeee Allegro agitato. : Ss My ef ees , Ao Ti | Sa GP MN Fa ; aoe” eh aaetren* RTs facem De 128 — == rs = -_—T— é — This is the only record I have, and one cannot be sure that its character is one which distinguishes the song of the species; the delivery is certainly more rapid than that of the Baltimore, but the notes are in consequence confused. Mr. John B. Grant writes, that he tunes *‘ his lively notes in a manner so hurried, that the ear is scarce abie to thread out the shrill and lively syllables of his agitated ditty. Between these hurried attempts, he also gives others which are distinct and agreeable; but still his tones are neither so full nor so mellow as those of the brilliant and gay Baltimore.” Baltimore The brilliancy of this Oriole’s feathers ee has given him two significant names, galbula Golden Robin and Firebird, also the pen- L.7.s0inches dent character of his nest has added an- May toth other Hangnest. But the name Baltimore Oriole has prevailed above the others, and it is to be hoped will eventually displace them, for the bird is no relation whatever to either the American or the English Robin, and in appearance it does not suggest a fire nor a nest. It does, however, deserve the historic name of the first Lord Baltimore, as his Lordship’s arms were bla- 64 Baltimore Oriole Irchard Oriole (upper figure) (lower figure) BALTIMORE ORIOLE. zoned orange and black, and the bird’s colors are the same. The head, neck, shoulders, and the upper part of the back are jet black; breast, lower back, anc the under parts brilliant cadmium orange; wings black, lesser coverts orange, margin of the greater coverts tipped with white; end half of middle tail feathers black, the rest orange with a middle black band. Female similarly marked with burnt orange (very dull) and rusty black. Nest, pendent from the Y of a small branch at the ex- tremity of the limb twenty to nearly fifty feet above the ground; woven of plant fibre, string, hair, grass, etc., and a perfect pocket in shape. Egg, white, curiously marked with scrawls of sepia brown, and with few spots. _ ‘The female does nearly all the nest-building; it is doubt- ful if the male is very often allowed to assist.* Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller has named the young Oriole the cry-baby of the bird world, and that it is entitled to the appellation there is no shadow of doubt, if we except the young Swift. Both birds at a certain age keep up an incessant chippering clamor for food. The Oriole is a musician in the fullest sense of the word. His ability to whistle a well-constructed song is unquestionable. His only fault is his fragmentary treat- ment of a good theme, and his chary way of singing it. He is lavish with calls and chatterings, and devotes too much time to preliminaries before he begins on the song that he is well able to round out to a satisfactory finish. In this regard he is not equal to the Song Sparrow, whose exuberant good spirits are expressed by twenty songs in the same period of time that the Oriole would take for five. But the Song Sparrow’s voice is thin and | weak beside that of the Oriole; the latter has a full, rich, round, though somewhat metallic whistle, suggestive of the mezzo-soprano, generally reliable in pitch and per- cussive in effect. Oriole, too, is not without the harsh, grating, unmusical note that belongs to his family (Ic- teride); for sometimes you hear a scolding tone issue from his bill that is reminiscent of the Grackle. A bird *Certain authorities to the contrary. But the male does assist; my own observations are sufficiently supplemented by those of W. E. D. Scott, vide Bird Studies, p. 90, G. P, Putnam’s Sons, , 5 65 7 a4 FAMILY [fcteride. I heard in the Arnold Arboretum introduced these harsh notes, in a very amusing fashion, in the following song: ‘ 7 * > I~ > ; se PES pigs tEF HHH E TE PE TE a aE Se cena aoe Ppp ; = He begana light dancing air, i ave these ~_ f “4 e 7 1 tires loneles fg cachling roles, igre ft aa’ Ss h = —4 at Wai geet gt Pare Sa If one should ask the question, ‘‘ How does the Oriole sing differently from the Robin ?” the answer is given at once by, comparing the series of dots below which repre- sent the rhythm in both birds’ songs: here are three songs of the Oriole: N?1 6 e°@ ee e e eee es oe © cece © N°3 oo ae RI) oo eeeoev ee eee e @ and here is the Robin’s: eee eee eee e se Cheerily, cheerily, cheerily, _ cheerup, _cheerily, cheer. It would be practically impossible for the Robin to sing that succession of notes at the end of No. 3. Moreover nearly every note the Oriole sings is given staccato, i. e., in a percussive manner.* All the Robin’s notes are tied together in groups of three, or rarely two. Robin sings a detached or interrupted warble, and continues that sort of thing indefinitely; Oriole does nothing of the kind, he begins a shorter song and continues it without interruption (except by syncopation) to its close; the dif- ferent spacing of my dots indicates the respective values *In imitating the staccato character of the Oriole’s note it is necessary to put the tongue with the tip at the roof of the mouth directly behind the upper front teeth, then it can be used as a valve to permit the sudden escape of a whistled note which must be cut ’ short by the tongue being returned at once to its position. 66 BALTIMORE ORIOLE. of the notes only. Now the music of song No. 1 from a bird in Forest Hills, Mass., is as follows: 4a 152 Vivace oe : eae ne Oy ans (ay? >A EK: 1 a pt ica thus: and finally sang thus: N°1 om = - Jinally sang é ft 7 ae Ss A. U It is to be regretted that the bird did not finish, or sup- plement his theme with the following variation, which strangely enough came from another fellow in another part of the State (Roxbury), a year later: _ - > e . * 4 4-152 5 ‘ < —_ r lie, > . , DA | 2 2 2. y me oP The 8 BEE 220 a > [ORS ad yi >» | i “A ee Li | j .% j « : T_T = ' . ' a _— J 3 ‘ee Jt 4 7 A ° SS ch U i bhAg ' rp.e But that is usually the way with Orioles, they leave you ‘to find out who has the rest of the tune and where it will be heard, while they forage among the blooms of the old apple-tree in search of caterpillars. Occasionally, again, one gets the last half of a tune and never hears the first part. Here is an instance: i co P] = 126 aa e- = e . . wd 0) +t. - Be 2 ie LT e | 4 = | 4 6 a” T A 4 ie mf This was his finale! — there was no beginning o- ol te PS | 2 =——4¢ : p> FAMILY Icteride. It came from an Oriole one morning in June, as I sat on the piazza of my cottage in Campton. The bird came and went in a few minutes and I never got an- other note from him. This is the music of song No. 2 in the preceding records; certainly it is a most sprightly cadenza deserving a good beginning. All of this music is remarkable for its syncopated character; look at the bars and it will be seen that the bird occasionally fails to put in an important note at the proper place, or that he accents a note without reference to the time-beat. In music this is called syncopation, and in the popular esti- mate, rag-time! I have never discovered this character in the song of any other species than the Oriole; it be- longs exclusively to this bird. Here is a remarkable in- stance of syncopation, which I took from an Oriole that sang in the Harvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge, Mass. > > : 4a = , ?. . > 3 > 1-138, # rt L i i iL A 2 2 } 2 3 TEED it 4 _|_} T At (8) ii j | oe = 6 a i} 8 ¥ ij . ; a The accents are out of all proper relation to the time- beat. How well the Oriole can deliver a series of thirds in a minor strain the following transcription, however incomplete, will show: . @-=84 Vivace io oS cad ae | la 7 “28 OP | _| == ry | a i a ° BS * 2 i x ea | AE Ayo | iyo a > . orn oe Jd ung - : A e we : 2 . . L , ° _ J [a ' eS Cc_Vv_o i | s v. and one of the most striking instances of his ability to jump back and forth on an interval of a third, is de- 68 BALTIMORE ORIOLE. monstrated in the next song, which I heard early one morning before rising, in Springfield, Mass. 25120 Ke 2» © 2? 5° it | | $6 fi fA_h _j| me “1° | ge hs Lt 7 i | ld eae 9 ie ie Ayv. u Lea] .f t ad + 4 4s ” This os pera doubt of the rg: finally it came as above. i iaa Scoeerct oat a i It sounded at first like a boy whistling, who was not quite sure of his theme. But at last I recognized the un- mistakable staccato style of the singer—it was the Oriole, and he was practising a bit of that familiar song in the opera of Martha! ‘TI can wash, sir, I can spin, sir, I can sew, and mend, and babies tend.” Oriole has a certain vehement if not excited way of singing which is all his own. No other bird can give a staccato note so well, none other, except the Thrush, can approach him in clearness of style; he never mixes . things up, his A is A, sharp or flat, it never gets too near B. His song may be doubtfulin pitch, he may even be quite out of tune, but he never slurs over a passage, or slides down the scale like the Wood Pewee; on the con- trary, he hits his notes with hammerlike taps directly on the head! He is a sharp-billed, sharp-witted character, and his remarks are as incisive and crisp as the toots of a steam whistle; the following record, which I got in Campton, N. H., will show that plainly: 2=138, . Le 2 } - ; r o- e > a rhe mi t mm? aay 4 L iT, See, ak © ee LB, i, | i Sia 7s — - x ad ad After the above introduction, these notes were given with the sharp precision ofa steam whistle. £ { re, law 2 Us, -_ a is e [f) y Ay 4 Cm i ie) 5 G a. FAMILY srcteridez. After observing the Oriole, one realizes how unlike the Robin he is in vocal habit and method of work. He carefully searches every leaf among the smaller branches of some tree near that in which his mate sits on her nest, and at the same time whistles a note or two perhaps to assure her of his whereabouts, but in a very desultory manner, as if business were too important to waste any time in song. His note is immediately changed, how- ever, if anybody approaches the nest or any harm threatens, then it becomes excited, harsh, and metallic, and is often repeated in a series of rapid, high tones sent out as a warning to his mate. When all is quiet again, he resumes his hunt for food, and soliloquizes now and then, much as Wilson says, ‘‘ with the pleasing tran- quility of a careless ploughboy, whistling merely for his own amusement.” pderato. = 6 . - ° é j . oe e —_ 2 po. ie sg, > : at ~ e ef epee ¢ im) i“ = | ASST TN 7-15?" ee Pe eg ee | 4 ? ae ry ai ma°) id “He soliloguizes as he hunts for caterpillars; then breaks into song- N°3 mp. f 2 yr | | S "ae | j es ot restore =a . ! 0) coe This is song No. 3 of the foregoing dotted records. Rarely the Oriole invades the garden and helps himself to green peas, but as a rule his food is arboreal in charac- ter, and consists of beetles, caterpillars, grubs, and ants. PurpleGrackle. The solemn, large Blackbird with an Crow Black- iridescent violet-blue neck, which walks bird ; with some deliberation over the ploughed pesininh ground of spring, especially in the region L. 12.00 to south of Massachusetts extending to 13.25inches Georgia, is the Purple Grackle. His head, March roth = neck, throat, and a limited part of the breast are lustrous violet-blue with steel-blue and green- blue intermingled; back and rump metallic bottle-green 7O BRONZED GRACKLE. and magenta-crimson intermingled, the feathers show- ing a defined iridescent barring ; wings and tail metal- lic violet and blue-black ; lower parts like the back, but lacking lustre. Female similarly marked but the colors much duller. Nest, a compact mass of mud and coarse grasses lined with finer grasses; generally in colonies in coniferous trees, about twenty to thirty feet above ground. Rarely in thick bushes. Egg, a varying pale blue-green marked with specks and scrawls of cinna- mon-brown or sepia. The range of the bird is, as stated above, east of the Alleghanies, and westward only in the lower Mississippi Valley. The Purple Grackle is a songless bird, and his conver- sational notes are not altogether mtsical; they lack the rhythm and “chink” of the Red-winged Blackbira’s o-ka-lee, and the ringing quality of the Blue Jay’s ge- rul-lup. But he gives us a good octave and sometimes a sixth, in a resonant metallic whistle, though most of his notes sound like the twanging of piano wires, and his Yarsh er-r-r-r-rrr like the click of a watchman’s rattle. Comparing this species with the Bronzed Grackle, Ridge. way says that the song of the western bird is ‘‘ very much louder and more musical or metallic” than that of its eastern relative. In the Mississippi Valley the Purple Grackle is abun dant; farther east in New England, it is decidedly local, though frequently seen in the period of migration. Af- ter July it becomes rare by reason of its collecting in large flocks and retiring to some place where there is an abundance of food; but again in the fall it reappears in large numbers preparatory to the southern flight. Bronzed This large and handsome Blackbird dif- Grackle fers from his near relative the Purple hd ie Grackle in the color of his back, which is Guisoaius a lustrous bronze. quiscula The head, neck, throat, and upper breast aéneus are brilliant steel-blue, violet, and green- L.12.00inches pjye intermingled ; wings and tail metallic March 15th F Nag 3 violet and blue-black ; under parts similar to the back but lacking the lustre. Female without the 71 AMILY Icteridez. lustrous sheen of the male, the back and under parts brown without iridescence. Nest generally in pines or spruces, compactly built of mud and coarse grasses, lined with finer grasses; usually twenty to thirty feet from the ground. Egg variable, pale blue, or blue-green blotched and scrawled with light and dark brown. The range of the bird is from Labrador southwest to the lower Mississippi Valley (on the west slope of the Alle- ghanies only), and thence to Texas, then northward to Great Slave Lake*; it occurs in western Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts more or less locally. The Bronzed Grackle’s note strongly resembles the noise of a squeaky hinge on an iron gate! The bird has no song, and there is no music in his harsh conversa- tional chatterings. If one takes a sheet of note paper and whistles an octave against its edge, the quality of the tones produced, with their wide interval, closely imitates the Grackle’s best note. . | ell . ” One certainly can not call that music! The other queer noises sound like rattling shutters, watchmen’s rattles. ungreased cart wheels, vibrating wire springs, broken piano wires, the squeak of a chair moved on a hardwood floor, the chink of broken glass, the scrape of the bow on a {fiddle string, and the rest of those discords which commonly play havoc with one’s nerves! Evidently when nature’s orchestra was tuning for the Spring Symphony, the Grackle failed to screw up his vocal cords to the proper pitch. The birds are gregarious even during the nesting sea- son, and in spring and summer seem to be equally busy ‘*ploughing up” the earth in the already broken field with their long, crowlike bills; naturally such action creates trouble with the farmer, but on the whole, an examination of the constituents of the bird’s diet, shows *Vide Chapman's Handbook of Birds, 72 FAMILY Fringillide. that he is a greater insect destroyer than a crop de stroyer. Family Fringillide., FINCHES, SPARROWS, GROSBEAKS, ETC. This is the largest and most important family of birds; important not only because its members are common in all parts of the country, if not the whole world, but also because they are, to a certain extent, our best common songsters. The list includes some excellent vocalists which are surpassed only by the Thrushes, viz.: Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeak, Goldfinch, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Chewink, Rose- breasted Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting. These are no ordinary singers, and if we should include the more southern Cardinal Bird, our American list would be be- yond comparison the most musicianly one in the world ! The Song Sparrow alone is unexcelled in variety of song: motive and in accuracy of pitch. The family is distinguished for its broad, stout, canical bills, which are strongly built for hard work on gravelly soil where seeds are usually distributed, and for the crushing of the seed-coating or shell. The development of such a bill as this has been instrumental ih giving a certain character to the voice. That of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a notable instance; it is modified and mel- lowed by the large cavity of the beak. As the family is chiefly dependent upon seeds for its sustenance, many members are not so migratory as they would be did their diet consist wholly of insects. The Sparrow tribe is also one with distinctive ground habits, and its mixed brown coloring is admirably pro- tective ; especially so is the light, neutral tinting of the under parts which compensates for the otherwise con- spicuous shadow of the dark figure.* *This remarkable adaptive coloring of birds and animals has been a subject of special study by the artist Mr. Abbott Thayer, whose lectures on this topic are supremely instructive and interesting. 73 FAMILY Fringillide. Purple Finch This Finch is the first bird of importance Lianet as a singer in the family to which he he- Carpodacus purpureus longs. I have no knowledge whatever of L.6.20inches the song of the splendidly colored Pine Aprili2th,or Grosbeak, a distinctive northern and win- allthe year = —_ ter bird which occasionally visits Campton in mid-winter, and very little of the warbling song of the Evening Grosbeak, a Mississippi Valley bird. In order, these two species come before the Purple Finch. The latter songster is the most perfect and lovely warbler we have. The term warble is unfortunately too indiscrimi- nate in its application to the song of a bird, and it needs the clear definition which I have endeavored to give in the pages which follow. Also the term purple is an un- fortunate color description which, at the very best, is ab- solutely misleading. I knowof no North American bird which possesses a single purple feather ! * The Purple Finch is not purple, his colors are those of a Song Sparrow suffused with crimson to a greater or less degree. Head, breast, and lower back strongly tinged with crimson, that color fading to a faint tint, almost white, on the lower parts; back, madder or crimson brown; wings and tail sepia brown, the edges of the feathers light crimson, the tail distinctly forked. The female lacks the crimson tinge and has the appearance of a brown Sparrow with gray markings. The bill of this Finch is remarkably stout, and of a brownish horn- color; over its base are a few fine feather-tufts. The nest, built of rootlets and grasses, is generally in an ever-green tree, and on a horizontal branch from ten to thirty feet above the ground. Egg light greenish blue, spotted with sepia at the larger end. The range of the * Purple, nowadays, is considered almost a violet ; it is simply violet leaning toward crimson. What the ornithologist means by purple is crimson ; the botanist makes the same mistake, his purple flower is usually crimson or magenta. Both scientists use the term with its classic significance, precisely as it is used in King James’s version of the Scriptures. The men clothed in ‘‘ purple and fine linen *’ wore crimson and white garments. There is no excuse for employing obsolete words with obscure meanings in these iatter days when accuracy in the statement of fact is considered im perative. t 74 PURPLE FINCH LINNEY. bird is throughout eastern North America ; its food con- sists mostly of seeds and berries, but there are unques- tionably frequent depredations committed among the blossoms of the fruit trees. As a singer the Purple Finch has no equal when we ex- clusively consider his method. He is a warbler with an incomparably sweet warble. Ina measure his song is like that of the Warbling Vireo, but it is far beyond anything which that bird ever attempted. The Vireo’s warble is stereotyped, that of the Finch is untrammelled and characteristically variable. The Vireo’s warble is scarcely sweet, it is rather lively and cheerful, although it produces the impression that the bird has rolled it around in the mouth like a sugarplum ; but the quality of tone lacks the fulness, the richness, of the Finch’s tone. There is a ripeness, or mellowness to the voice of the Finch which I attribute entirely to the superior size of his throat and bill. As a consequence, this larger bird has a stronger and deeper voice, he sings quite half an octave lower than the Vireo, with the advantage that he can put more expression in the lower register, and he does _ so, for his song is singularly sentimental, indeed, its pas- sionate persuasiveness is truly loverlike and irresistible.* Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell calls the song ‘‘ a sweet-toned, -earelessly flowing warble,” and adds to this a rather poetic estimate of it; but for purposes of identification, - such a description of music is manifestly inadequate. _ A song which bursts forth under “stress of gladness” can be illustrated at the piano in a hundred different ways. Neither is it possible to adequately demonstrate the song by aseries of dots which will represent the notes ; this is the only way it would be possible to print such dots : eee tae fy 3 and they certainly do not carry with them very much meaning! It is better for a more perfect comprehension * I consider this lower register of the Linnet’s or Purple Finch’s voice the key to his popularity as a singer, for he is often caged The register of the Canary is too high for expression. 75 FAMILY Fringillida. of the song to ascertain exactly what is meant by that simple but expressive English word warble. In old French, the word werbler meant to speak with a high voice. The German wirbeln also means to warble, or to whirl; evidently our English word, therefore, has been adopted to describe a voice which sings high, and quav- eringly or whirlingly. That, to my mind, is precisely the way warbling birds sing! Run your eye rapidly along the dots and dashes above which represent the Purple Finch’s song, follow them with the pencil’s point and at the same time whistle quaveringly and rapidly any notes you please, comprehending, say, an interval of a sixth, and you will have an approximate represen- tation of this Finch’s song. The dashes, of course, rep- resent slurred tones, the character of which has been fully explained in the musical key. The dots should be considered as so many distinct tones given with a musi- cal shake. Call this shake a frill if you prefer the word, but be sure that you shake or trill on each one of the dots, and do it very rapidly, too, for the song as above written must not occupy a fraction more than three (see metronome figures given at head of song) seconds of time! To be still nearer the truth, it is also necessary for you to ‘‘ burr” all the notes, that is, hum and whistle simultaneously. No doubt the directions appear complicated, but in comparison with the pronun- ciation by an English tongue of a German expression like Ausgegrabenes Buch, the difficulty with the bird’s song is merely child’s play! But how easy it is, after all, to follow the notes prop- erly recorded on the musical staff: d- =176 Presto et sngap ten ttt te. CEE ib! ) STy¥ _— Tt + i ne fe) U SZ 7 Sempre dolee eres. mf rallent. dim, et tremolo, (The bira sings an octave higher) Fe oe sree Seer se SE Yi 76 PURPLE FINCH LINNET. _ that is the song as it is demonstrated by the dots and dashes previously given. This record does not neces- sarily imply that the bird correctly gave the intervals as they are written, he certainly did not do that. His was @ careless, free warble, but it ran smoothly along, up and down, with increasing volume, in exactly the way indicated on the musical staff. About a year after I took this record, I was greatly pleased to obtain another which seemed to supplement it perfectly, thus: pNtee , Q y vf Sempre dolce ete. mf In the examination of these two motives there is every reason to conclude that the rapid and wandering move- ment that distinguishes both of them demonstrates the real character of the Purple Finch’s music. I have never obtained anything more by collecting a score or so of other songs. It is true that all were different, but all followed the same rule; they made first-rate motives for Spanish Tarantelles!’ The best proof of that fact is the comparison of the following song with those which precede it. Prstose tte ete tio ets £? ‘oe FFe ete Tit ete + Or ST REM EY aR AZ GN AG RG at . j Saas Ste Some aoe [=A + Q —-# 742) ¢ Sempre dolce ete, cres. of ritard. | r ! | 4 & ¢ ast FAMILY Fringillide. and again this rather clever bit with the foregoing *. d = 1607 7esto_ = Nits? scherza nh fefeet tft er 4 F epee 1 0 A eH | pia aN He as He | yA Oe an je ee ee ere » ¢ Sempre dolce rallent. a tempo, et tremolo. lento ben marcato. Cres Mg Ars awa "y | ed i }- — . n + ie yd ee One is inevitably forced to conclude that the Finch’s idea of music is confined to the rapid dance-type in six- eight time to which belongs the so-called Tarantelle! No one seems to have discovered that the Purple Finch sings just this way, and possibly no one is prepared to deny it; so perhaps it is proper to prove the case by in- troducing a bar or two of Chopin’s wild Tarantelle for the sake of comparison: VrZ oy RAs) ae 1 it | a | ? 7 he 7? ! = eae ee ; t, i Thispart'/s Piatti A and this like a. serege the Finch, a eae ik: . vl b POET : 1 ese Pe Poe nie ame A ay Aa a ne a oe r . , (> ~ rie & 0 This may seem a far-fetched simile, but one must not look for similarity of melody between the great com- poser’s work and the song of the bird, that does not count for everything, in this particular instance it amounts to nothing; it is the musical construction or motive which counts, and who will venture to deny that the bird and the musician worked out their melodies upon precisely the same musical principle? Torr *T confess that the rapidity with which this scrap must be per: formed at the piano according to the metronome time is something which will tax the ability of a musician, 78 AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. — American This beautiful little Finch is quite as often Goldfinch called the Yellow-bird, or Thistle-bird, two Astragalinus tristis names which are due to his coloring and his L.g5.10inches association with ripe thistles the seeds and May 15th, or down of which respectively furnish him allthe year = with food and asoft nest-lining. Although he remains all winter in certain parts of the country, he is a late arrival in the colder climate of Campton, and I scarcely expect to see him with many of his fellows much before the latter part of May. In spring and summer his coloring is a brilliant combination of pure lemon yellow and black, The head-cap is black; upper and under parts bright yellow; wings black; the should- _ ers and secondary feathers white at the tips; tail black, with the inner vanes partly white. In winter the yel- low is replaced by an olive gray similar to that of the _ Canary, who is his very near relative.* Coloring of the female similar to that of the male in winter. Nest of grass, moss, and shreds of bark, lined with thistle-down; it is generally lodged in a Y fork of a tree or shrub, and is from six to twenty-five feet above the ground. Egg bluish white and unmarked. This Finch is common throughout eastern North America. The greater part of its diet is grass and weed seeds, The song of the Goldfinch is, in part, very similar to that of the Canary. It is replete with the lively humor of the bird. One cannot listen to the full song of a characteristic singer without laughing involuntarily at the unmistakable glee in which it is executed. Only the Bobolink ean excel the Goldfinch in spontaneity of feel- ing, and not even he can cram so much pure fun into one short musicalsentence! The Canary splits his higher ‘register into a series of ear-piercing trills; the Goldfinch does not trill at all! The Bobolink zigzags at a presto pace through a cluster of indescribable metallic tones as crazy as they arescintillant; there 1s no wild zigzagging _ nor any scintillating among the notes of the Goldfinch. The similarity of the music of the Canary and Goldfinch * As a general rule, the so-called olive coloring of a bird is the result of an admixture of black and yeliow in finest subdivision; there is actually no true green in the tint. 72 FAMILY Fringillidx. can be directly traced to the metallic, cut-glass-jingle quality of the notes of both birds, and to the slurring, chirping way in which these notes are delivered. Only these two species can give us that long, violinlike, swinging tone which covers nearly an octave in its reach upward on the musical scale; here it is: Thrice 8va..... C-h-e-e-p One is often deceived into thinking a Canary is in a neighboring tree, when that familiar c-h-e-e-p comes from it. To be sure, that is only the call-note, but it has the same character that pervades the whole song of the Goldfinch, which, as a matter of fact, consists entirely of a series of rapid chirps with almost no melodic form. It is impossible to find in this Finch’s song the melody which is so attractive in the music of the Song Sparrow, or the rhythmic form which makes the White-throated Spar- row’s melody so charming. We must look for some- thing else which will reveal the Goldfinch’s ‘‘ style”; that will be discovered in the following arrangement of dots: fe © @ @ @ e © ee @ @© © eee eC ere These dots practically mean six or more rising chirps, three or more falling ones, and two clusters of four notes which Mr. Chapman and others describe by the words per-chic-o-ree. This, however, is not an arbitrary form; the bird may begin with several chirps in a falling inflexion and thus reverse the order given above, and he may also give a different number of chirps; but inevi- . tably at the close of the exuberant chirping he will add his per-chic-o-ree, and when he does that, he signs his musical autograph as perfectly as he would if he could write at the end of the music bars—‘* American Gold- finch!” The music on the staff does not appear different from the dots: . AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, ; «200 Vivace. Tartehe Moderato, > > a ht | — betel | S| ft ttf eg yt Set ELS Se BE JZ ; ae Pee Perchic-o-ree, Per-chie-o ree ee ae | a = the pitch and the key are of no particular value, but the relative positions of the notes accurately represent the fluctuations of the tones of voice. A second record which follows (the two fit together nicely) does not show anything essentially different in principle. Vivace. Moderato > > tng LELELE OOO mre dedeapeadededeseis=ceee Con fuoco. Per-chuc-o-ree, Perchicoree. .% 1 + 1 t t Y = =. 5 Cae SS Sree , ; ‘There are the same rapid upward and downward chirps, and finally the little musical addendum—the per-chic-o- ree ; this last he indulges in with exceptional gusto while he ison the wing. His habit is (particularly in the late afternoon) to chase about at no great height in the blue summer sky for nothing in particular but the pleasure of the thing, and tell all the world that he is feeling re- markably ‘‘chipper”; as he goes he sings with a thin wiry voice: no > 5 } Per-chic-o - ree. Ay". wT J and he does so rhythmically with his undulating flight, always breaking out with the song just at the crest of the 6 81 FAMILY Fringillide., wavelike curve. The swoop downward is, of course, with closed wings, and the recovery is effected at the bottom of the flight by some rapid flips of the wings, then up he goes, and again the cheery notes. It would seem as though the writer of those familiar lines— ** Or if on joyful wing, Cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, Upward I fly ”"— must have seen this bird’s afternoon performance, or he never could have chosen a simile so remarkably sugges- tive of the joyous heart of the happy little rover. Both in this peculiar habit and in character of song the Amer- ican Goldfinch resembles its European relative. Audu- bon says, in describing the bird, ‘*So much does the song of our Goldfinch resemble that of the European species, that whilst in France and England, I have frequently thought, and with pleasure, that they were the notes of our own bird which I heard.” Mr, Chapman says, ‘* Their love song is delivered with an ecstasy and abandon which carries them off their feet, and they circle over the fields sowing the air with music, The song has a canarylike character, and while it is less varied it possesses a wild ringing quality want- ing in the cage-bound bird’s best effort.” But I have already explained the real difference between the Ca- nary’s and the Goldfinch’s songs, and it only remains to say that if the two birds were singing in the same tree along with the Purple Finch, the melody of the latter with his mellow lower register would completely overpower the voices of the other two birds and their songs would sound like so many squeaking violin strings! There is onlv one occasion when the Goldfinch has things all his own way so far as forceful singing is con- cerned; this is at five in the morning, in the maple close by your open window. There heis with fifty of his fel- lows, and all sing ‘at the top of their lungs” whether you wish to sleep or not. In that situation evidently the Purple Finch would be in the minority, song and all. 82 SNOW BUNTING SNOWFLAKE. Snow Bunting ‘Thisis an essentially beautiful winter bird Snowflake whose music is not equal to his esthetic Passerina < . Sper coloring, but whose cheery appearance in L. 6.80inches midwinter in the farmyards of our most November ist northern States is hailed with delight. He to Aprilist is after the remnants of scattered grain, The Snow Bunting is the one sparrowlike bird which may be described as nearly white, though there is some- what of brown and burnt sienna to be reckoned with in an inventory of his colors. In summer the male is white excepting back, shoulders, and inner tail feathers, the end half of the primary feathers and the inner secondary feathers of the wings; these are all black. The female at this season is streaked throughout the upper parts with black of a dull tone, and the wing feathers are sepia brown. In winter the male is tinged throughout the upper parts with burnt sienna more or less modified by the black bases of the feathers; wings and tail are similarly suffused with burnt sienna which tips and edges the feathers; the same color washes the breast and sides, The female at this season is similarly marked, but the primaries are sepia brown. The nest is built on the ground: the materials used are plant fibres, grasses, and moss. Egg blue-white heavily marked with red-brown. The bird breeds only in the arctic regions, and migrates south in winter to the more northern States including Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, the coast of Virginia, and Massachusetts. It feeds exclusively on seeds, and is generally accustomed to move in rather large flocks; often it is seen on the coast in association with the Shorelark. The bird walks, and never progresses by hop- ping; it is essentially a ground bird, and seldom if ever takes to a tree unless pursued, preferring rather a fence or aroof. Mr. Ernest E. Thompson says, *‘ As long as the snow lasts the Snowflake stays, and as soon as the ground grows bare . . , this bird of winter betakes himself again to the north, as far as ever human foot has been, and there builds his nest.” Of the song of the Snow Bunting I think very little is known. Pennant says, ‘‘ They breed in Greenland, arrive there in Apri!, and make their nests in the 83 Ny FAMILY Fringillide. fissures of the rocks on the mountains in May. The out- side of their nest is of grass, the middle of feathers, and the lining, the down of the arctic fox. They sing finely near their nest.” That seems rather meagre informa- tion from a musical point of view! Thompson says one time when a chill blizzard was blowing on the plains he saw the little bird ‘‘ gleefully chasing his fellows, and pouring out as he flew his sweet voluble song with as much spirit as ever Skylark has in the sunniest days of June.” Nor does that throw very much light upon the situation! It is plain, also, that the few whistled chirps we hear from him in mid-winter do not fore- shadow his ability to sing the sweet melody which ap- parently he must sing during the nuptial period spent in the far north, for Mr. A. Hagerup testifies to the excep- tional excellence of the bird’s music in no doubtful terms: he says, ‘‘In Greenland his song is a sweet and pleasing melody, though it is rather disconnected and delivered in short stanzas,—a warble is perhaps the English term best adapted to describe its character.” This is at least definite and conveys the impression that the song is not unlike that of the Purple Finch in struc- ture although it is evidently cut up in the same fashion as that of the Goldfinch, but perhaps in shorter measures, But the Snow Bunting in our part of the world is more interesting in color than in song, for we can scarcely expect to hear his music within the boundaries of our northern States. His appearance in the winter season is preéminently picturesque, for he furnishes the artist with all the color and movement necessary to make a winter bird attractive and beautiful; his is a combina- tion of the white of the whirling snowflake, the rusty brown of the sear leaf, and the black of the frost-bitten plant-stem—all tones of color admirably adapted to his self-protection.* He is graceful, too, in every move- ment, and especially so when he skims in a low and glancing flight across the snow with a dozen of his fellows in close company. * What skulking fox would see him in a costume like that among the shadows on the snow beneath the withered stems of the dead golden-rod ' 84 Snowflakes VESPER SPARROW. Vesper This Sparrow is sometimes called the oe ia aa Grass Finch from its habit of spending Srcasaei the greater part of its time in the fields L. 6.10 inches foraging for seeds. Its coloring is not Aprilioth,or very unlike that of the Scng Sparrow, allthe year though it is somewhat grayer, and its distinguishing mark is the white tail feathers which the other bird does not possess. Upper parts gray-brown similar to that of the weathered fence rail; considerable streakiness in ochre and black modifies this color; wings sepia brown with two inconspicuous white bars; the shoulders are a bright chestnut brown; tail sepia brown with the outer feathers on either side nearly all white, the next pair with more or less white; breast and sides streaked with ochre and black; under parts dull white. Female similarly colored. Nest of grasses and rootlets, lined with finer grass and hair; it is built upon the ground. Egg, pinkish white speckled with chestnut o1 umber brown; it is sometimes bluish white evenly and thickly speckled. The range of the bird is throughout eastern North America with the western limit at the Plains. It winters along the coast from southern New Jersey southward. Its chief food is the seed of various weeds, etc. Like the Snow Bunting it is essentially a ground bird. The Vesper Sparrow is a splendid singer chiefly for | the reason that he seems to consider song a serious piece of business which must not be interrupted by any of the other duties of life. He will never be found feeding and singing at the same time; the Red-eyed Vireo and the Oriole do that sort of thing habitually; both birds have a fashion of sandwiching their songs between tid- bits of grubs and caterpillars. But not so with the Vesper Sparrow, for when he sings he selects a high perch (in Campton his favorite place is the ridge-pole of the bowling alley which belongs to the hotel near my cottage), and begins a season of song which is likely to last without interruption for nearly halfan hour! A great deal is written about the purity and beauty of this Spar- row’s song, but it is a very simple matter to demonstrate the fact that it does not compare with the remarkable 85 - PAMILY Fringillide. ' melodic accomplishments of the Song Sparrow. A few minutes’ examination of the records of both birds’ songs should be sufficient to convince the most ardent admirer of the Vesper Sparrow that his is not the ‘* best bird!” Some years ago I tried to learn through the books and various ornithological friends, what differ- ence there was between the songs of these two Spar- rows, but I tried in vain. That there was a difference, and a very distinct one too, was a foregone conclusion; but how to describe it—there was the rub! Since that time Mr. Chapman has published his Bird Life, and in that book he has explained the difference as well as it can be explained in afew words. But words are entirely inadequate to express a musical idea, and if I had to demonstrate the nature of the Vesper’s song that way, I should supplement the words by lines, and say the struc- tural part of it resembled the gable end of a roof, thus: form the first half ascending in four or five clearly whistled notes, and the last half descending in about as many high-pitched, rapid, canary-like chirps or trills. Now, suppose we resort to a series of dots to represent the song’s form: Thus, it will be seen the principle of the gable-roof lines - is still maintained, and if one desires to hear the rhythm thus represented, it is at once obtained by tapping each dot carefully with a pencil. The music of the song properly written on the staff resembles the nursery melody of Lord Bateman: J \ : je) L i = | i ts 7 Lord Bateman was a o-bl@ Lord. Py if ie 2 — Phe . EV L Pi =i * u 1 5 2 ee I iw i ae AEE. le : ia } - Vp_-oO t moiieds iaddoysseiy Modredg rodsaA * i Ra SS toate. he imibet * fs -4 a oe VESPER SPARROW. The bird’s rendering appears as follows: 8va ee @ @-120 ~~ £ ee oy) 445 Saerase. go & ee 6 2 Dh sl I ‘ i a a i i i Ri at! T ea, RR SR T T = 5 eres. #y dim Lora, Lord Bateman W-a-s a rvo-b-l-e Lord, Lord,Lord! aR | es VDA a ni’ s A Me. Js G- a citi ae I consider this one of the best and most characteristic productions of the Vesper, though his confréres in other parts of the country, by no means cling close to its melo- dic form. Naturally the birds of every locality develop certain provincialisms in song, and the Vesper is no ex- ception to that rule. But he certainly does not attempt to depart from the rhythm which characterizes the song of his species. For example, the above record came from a bird more than a hundred miles away from an- other in Vermont which sang the following: MI ON ae daa nck eee Jase Hotraing 9 t Sbeeee « ££ 555% 9 U | Oe ie ee ee OS | ae hv , iT OS | > A)" A GS a” Pd : 7 cres Jf dim. 7 5 a => by £\° 9 may ON y ] g ES. 2 TS, r4 t x A Ai This record shows that the ascending and descending divisions (or halves) remain in the same relative position, although they are in a measure doubled, while the sus- tained tones begin and the chirped or trilled tones end the song precisely as they do in the first record. It is not always the case that the opening tones progress up- ward with exact uniformity; the next record shows a drop to a lower tone before the trills begin: 87 FAMILY Fringillidez. Hel} He YZ hh. Lae i bs a’ = a oe A T T —| rs The character of the trills, or chirps, too, needs some explanation. In the first place, such notes can not be properly called frills. I only employ that term in the popular sense of its meaning rapidly repeated notes. They are slurred tones covering intervals of indetermin- ate length rendered in a shrill register beyond the limit of the piano keyboard, and, so far as the ear is able to detect, a whole octave higher than the sustained tones which form the first half of the song. On my diagram of bird songs (in the key), it will be seen that this Vesper Sparrow has a break in his voice equal to something like a full octave. It is no wonder, therefore, that ornithol- ogists experience great difficulty in an attempt to de- scribe such a song as that. But itis far from unusual among the Finch Family. I call to mind a Canary,a splendidly trained singer, who could render an operatic melody in clear whistled tones, moderately high, and at its finish strike at once into his natural wild song, which must have been considerably over an octave higher. That bird was owned by a barber whose shop was near Union Square, New York, and its value was some fabu- lously high figure which I do not remember. The Vesper Sparrow sings with both style and feeling, notwithstanding the defect in his vocal register. He always begins pianissimo, swells in a fine crescendo and diminishes as he descends to a tone very near the tonic: gvederato. | | | SIT) —_ This motive is identical — (te tt tot with that 9 tata rrr ih Chopin’ 3rd. Z : - tC Scherzo; Pv cresc. vivace, dim. 88 } GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. cn CHOPIN. Ete e. Le. Din 2 i Fl ell af wT bhi 4 } i LY Vin A i 1 a ea 99 STS rT A bitdlike series of \arpeggips. . roe i ioe cna dl pt le 5 9 | > > _ i+ B i L 5 . ——— * : ~T5 ne Coir ae ; ae He sings from sunrise to sunset with a sweetness and joy at once inspiring and beautiful. He is not unsociable for it is his habit to remain in the road hopping or flying just ahead of you at a safe distance, showing the white feather as his tail spreads in flight if you get too near. Grasshopper Of all the common sparrows this is the Sparrow one whose notes are pitched so high that Coturniculus th indisti sinks niscaennunian ey are in istinguishable to many ears, passerinus and the bird is passed by unnoticed. Tone- L. 5.20 inches deafness may not be as common as color- May ist blindness, but it nevertheless exists, and the person thus afflicted, in nine cases out of ten, will tell you he does not hear the Grasshopper Sparrow sing when he is doing so twenty or thirty feet away! This is the common buffish toned bird of the Atlantic sea- board,* with a mixed brown, black, and buff back, anda sepia brown crown marked in the centre by a pale buff line ; back of the neck ruddy brown ; region in front of the eye burnt orange, and over the eye grayish buff ; the bend of the wing is bright yellow, the primaries sepia, and the shoulders yellowish olive ; the tail feathers are gray- brown and pointed ; under parts brownish buff, gener- ally without streaks, and fading to a dull white below. Female similarly marked. The coloring of this Sparrow is peculiarly protective, and its habit of skulking in the tall grass makes recognition difficult, but a quick glance may detect the yellow at the wing bend and the pointed character of the tail feathers ; these marks are all that are necessary for its identification. The nest is formed of * Common near the coast of New Jersey, and southern New York, and in eastern Pennsylvania. 89 FAMILY Fringillide. grasses and a few hairs, and is built upon the ground. Egg white speckled with sienna brown. The range of the bird is throughout eastern North America ; it does not breed north of Massachusetts, and is very uncommon in New Hampshire. It is-essentially a ground Sparrow which seldom, if ever, flies higher than the fence rail. The song of the Grasshopper Sparrow is scarcely worth recording on the musical staff. Itis difficult to tell where his voice is really pitched, but undoubtedly it is at least an octave higher than the topmost C of the piano! It is a last, weak effort at music, culminating in an alphabet- ical conclusion which may be represented by X—Y—zee- e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e | The tones are stridulent and insectlike, hence the bird’s common name. There should be no difficulty in identifying the voice provided one is not tone-deaf ! White-crowned This beautifully marked Sparrow is not SRRET ON quite as uncommon as one would suppose Zonotrichia A _ leucophrys for the reason that he seeks the seclusion L.6.80inches Of shrubbery and underbrush and thus May toth escapes notice. He is often in company with his near relative the White-throated Sparrow, or Peabody-bird, and one has to watch closely for those dif- ferences in costume and song which distinguish the birds apart. The White-crown, unlike the Peabody-bird, has no yellow before the eye nor on the bend of the wing; also his coloring is a pronounced ashen tone quite different from the warmer brown of his relative, and he lacks dis- tinct wing-bars. Head striped with black and white bands of equal width: a white one ir the centre of the crown, the other two (one over each eye) extending back- ward from the eyes; back of the neck, the throat, and breast ashen gray; back darker brown-gray margined with ashen gray; wings dusky brown, the feathers edged with gray, the coverts tipped with gray-white ; tail dusky brown ; under parts grayish white, the sides buffish in tone. Female similarly marked. Nest of grasses, and placed upon the ground or in a low bush). Egg light green-blue speckled with chestnut or sienna brown. Ridgway describes the range of the bird, thus: go MOLIVAG PoTMOII-9}IT AA MOIIEdS P9}eOI4}-9}TT AA WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. ‘ Breeds from the higher mountain ranges of the west- ern United States, . . . eastward, north of the Great Lakes, to Labrador; in winter over the whole of the United States, and south into Mexico.” The music of the White-crown has never been ade- quately described, nor has its melodic value been fully appreciated, probably because the bird sings casually during its migrations, and the opportunity for the study of the song is consequently limited ; as a matter of fact it is far superior in its melodiousness to that of the better known White-throated Sparrow. Constructively considered the two songs are absolutely dissimilar; in general character they bear only a family resemblance. Such an unequivocal statement, however, seems quite at variance with Mr. Ernest E. Thompson’s description, He says, “‘Its usual song is 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 that is characteristic of the group.” Now the latter half of the Peabody-bird’s (or White-throat’s) song is a succession of notes invariably in groups of three, and that kind of melodic structure does not characterize the White-crown’s music! I cannot too emphatically urge the importance of the governing rule in bird music, which is, that each species has formed and followed its own mechanical rhythm without relation to that of another species. Here is the proof of the case in point ; the White-throat sings thus: .« .« eee eee ees the White-crown sings thus: . »«++«ee. Thereareno pea-bo-dy syllables in this tune. At most, if the White- crown attempts a trisyllabic note, he does only this: * « . e+. . andone would scarcely detect the triple note because that particular one is almost sure to be double-tonea and not clear.* Again, as a rule, the song of the White-crown (and that of the White-throat as well) develops nothing which a musician would call a musical cadence ; in this respect, therefore, I must un- derstand Mr. Thompson to use the term in a general sense, and refer to the modulations of the bird’s voice. * There is absolutely no double-toned note in the Peabody-bird’. Song. ar FAMILY Fringillidz. A musical cadence is perfectly illustrated by the latter half of the Vesper Sparrow’s song, which progresses downward to the finish at the tonic. There is nothing whatever which remotely suggests that structure in the White-crown’s song. If I described the melody of this Sparrow, I should say, it is composed of six, or at most seven notes (unless it is doubled) ; the first one is twice as long as the others which are of about even value, The intervals are fairly accurate and include anything from a third to a fifth; all the notes are clearly whistled except (generally) the two next tothe last, and these are distinctly dowble-toned or burred ; the whole is marked by an even crescendo to the highest note which is next to or within one of the last, or sometimes actually the last. But Mr. Thomp- son’s description of the song, if it is taken from the point of view which includes sentiment only, is categorically correct, for the whistle is almost all clear and it has a soft, pleading quality which isirresistibly sweet. Mr, Thomp- son also adds that the bird ‘‘resembles his relatives in singing his sweetest songs in the woods, sometimes during the darkest hours of the night.” Mr. Ned Dear- born describes the song of this Sparrow and compares the last of it with that of the Vesper Sparrow, which might lead one to think the final diminuendo a pro- tracted one. He writes, ‘‘The song began with a whistle as pure in tone as the notes of the White- throated Sparrow, and ended with a vocal diminuendo quite similar to the corresponding portion of the Vesper Sparrow’s song.” The diminuendo is indeed there, but it is a short one, and in comparison with that of the Vesper’s performance quite insignificant, for the Ves- per’s diminuendo embraces nearly one half of his song, and applies to notes of an entirely different and canary- like character (see notations of the Vesper). The music of the White-crown is very easily recorded, there is nothing dubious about his tones or his intervals ; he may flat, or even sharp some particularly high note, but there is no question about what he is trying to do; his ideal is a group of clear, unhurried tones with pleas: ing intervals like those in the first lines of the hymn : g2 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. OLIVET. Lowell Mason. x 2 i ff ‘ m2 ' i iS ee thy ? pe 2 ANS TA = iciateemass “i My faith looks oe to Thee, That is the musical form, but his melody is a bit differ- ent, not to speak of the character of the sentiment, which can not for a moment be questioned : 3-88 : Moderato. cres.. 21 Ktinhhing ght tt bh om 2 | J V wl ae en 2a a 2 ee |®) My songis everof thee oo 4 $ % 3 = SP» ——_#—\"__» i oa 7 1 It is a short song but it is sung with feeling, and without the piquant anxiety of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, or the nervous! fluster of the Robin; there is something tranquil and soothing about it. He sings leisurely ina tree by the roadside, and waits long enough for an answer ; in another moment there comes a response from a neighboring tree, and White-crown number two con- tinues the love song : PRAPIIPIT fo 2 > le h Pa ee Y A | al = | “4 y= 2b : Re I i T : Sweet-heart, come live_with me, - £ Jeg Bm an ee | j | “4 fog i t Paes | bg a YD, i" ‘\ r 4 Then number three supplements the two foregoing songs by a marked variation : 93 FAMILY Fringillide. F a my . cTes — Now hill and P pil ure gy g Suge’ L <) by — +- ——— a | | xa Vv | T T 5 p And again a fourth bird rounds off the tune to some- thing like its proper proportions. cres, Soy aia “a — a — a Va } } o- ¥ S nee = f . ui Smile with the Stowers of May. fy SBE ce 2s See ene: = a a But the birds are not content to let ‘* well enough alone” and still another fellow puts in his song thus: é p | isk 2a ) pa Lat Ah. | _———_—_— — d J qt a, r . . & : | ® f ("4 “ — bs 2 i 3 - ‘ VY DO 7 to prevent anything which might seem like a finale For men and musicians may come and go with all their fine theories about cadences and cadenzas—what does the little bird know of these ! His one idea is melody— unrestricted melody such as he is accustomed to hear in the songs of his associates ; probably he does not suspect that these have been handed down to them through a % ea ae Ee tel Sibel NS ite tee Mt we « 7, ee. WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. long line of ancestors, and that he will in turn hand down what he has learned to the generations of the future! Why, therefore, should a finale have any place in the bird’s song? The time for a study of the White-crown is short ; he arrives from the south about the first week in May, and leaves for the north about two weeks later. He will not stop short of Labrador when he settles down for the summer, and we would have to go there to hear his song at its best. White-throated This handsomely attired Sparrow is one epatrew of the most distinguished members of theagens He vate family. His familiar song is one of the Zonotrichia : albicollis best demonstrations of mannerism in the L.6.zoinches music of a given species which it is possi- April 25th, or ble to find. When once the song is heard all the year = it is never forgotten, and anyone who can whistle can imitate it. The bird is clad in fine feathers although these are not of a brilliant type ; his style is very similar to that of the White-crown, but his color- ing is much browner. Head striped black and white, with the white in the centre of the crown and over each eye narrower than the black ; in front of the eye and at the bend of the wing there is a patch of lemon yellow ; back brown, streaked with black and buff ; region over the tail grayer; tail gray-brown; wing coverts tipped with white which forms two distinct wing-bars on each wing ; throat with a large, square, white patch ; breast brownish gray fading to light white-gray on the under parts. Female similarly marked. Nest of grasses, root- lets, and plant fibre, lined with finer material of the same order: Egg bluish white, evenly and heavily speckled with various browns. This Sparrow has a broad range throughout eastern North America as far north as the fur countries, and breeds from northern Michigan to Maine (probably including northern Massachusetts) ; it winters from the latter State to Florida. The bird feeds upon seeds, berries, and a variety of insects. The song of the Peabody-bird is remarkable for its rhythm, and its pure, clear-whistled tones. It would be o5 FAMILY Fringillide. easily recognized by one a stranger to it but familiar with its various syllabic interpretations which are found in every book on birds. The commonest form of the song is written: Old Sam Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea-body.* Another form runs, Sow wheat Fe-ver-ly, Pe-ver-ly, Pe- ver-ly; and yet another, All day whit-tl-in’, whit-tl-in’, whit-tl-in’; and still another, Oh hear me, Ther-esa, Ther-esa, Ther-esa; and again another, All day long fid-dle-in’, fid-dle-in’, fid-dle-in’. This should be enougk to impress one with the fact that the White-throat’s song has a decidedly stereotyped character; but there is considerable variety in the little fellow’s music, and it will soon be discovered that these syllables are only in- dicative of an unvarying rhythm. Of that mechanical form Mr. Cheney says, ‘‘ The little twelve-toned melody of this Sparrow is a flash of inspiration—one of those lucky finds, such as poets have—the charm of which lies in its rhythm.” Then he, a musician, adds what any unmusical person might have told us if he had only been sharp enough to think of it, ‘‘ First come three long tones of equal length, forming together one half of the entire song; then three clusters of three short tones, * In Footing it in Franconia, Mr. Bradford Torre- says, alluding, to the form of the song—‘ I was relieved to find all the Franconia White-throated Sparrows introducing their sets of triplets with two—not three—longer single notes. That was how I had always whistled the tune; and I had been astonished and grieved to see it printed in musical notation by Mr. Cheney, and again by Mr, Chapman, with an introductory measure of three notes, as if it were to go ‘Old Sam, Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody,’ instead of as I remembered it, and as reason dictated, ‘Old Sam Peabody Peabody, Peabody.’ I am not intimating that Mr, Cheney and Mr. Chapman are wrong, but that my own recollection was right.” Mr. Torrey is correct as far as he goes, but he does not go quite far enough. In the height of the nuptial season this Sparrow is very apt to extend his song, and in the fall season he invariably cuts it short (for an illustration of this last point, see Mr. Cheney’s Wood Notes Wild, pg.43). Also birds in different localities sing different forms of the song. In the southern Green Mountains, I have heard the three sustained notes distinctly sung; I have also three records taken in Campton (see my own records), twenty-four miles south of Franconia ‘‘ as the crow flies.” It is a fact, though, that the com- monest form of the song is by far that with but two sustained notes—at least in the White Mountain district. 96 i i WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. triplets, each cluster being equal to one of the long tones, and each of the short tones being equal to one third of one of the long tones.” How plainly a series of dots illustrates this: . ae and how equally plain the itythin appears on the musi- cal staff! d=76 . , ngs=~twi , i wanda bre singe—tases Brak, 5 . t 7 2 4 2 i ve rae F Uv } a ) Old Sam___Peabody, Peabody, Peabody. mf. cr. es. ° 8 4 ° sf is vt j ‘ ; : £ _: e . : . ye ° } | i j ri [®) i ri . 2 j a we z This song embraces an interval of a fifth; here is an- other which includes one of only a major third: Moderato. PS he te a | e- I | #6 | t | -: tA) 9 UJ |" os Se {eo} The bird sings Sow wheat, Peverly, Peverly, Peverly. twice 8ya. - f° Sse fe sae | A [e] a : } iH LJ _and here is yet another confined to a fourth: — a Shenae: See ee see a SS a NS a Aye ot “eae (The bird sings two octaves heher) This is one of the commonest forms of melody which is employed by all composers. It occurs, in the opéning bar of the love-song sung by Turiddu before the curtain rises in Cavalleria Rusticana: 3 97 FAMILY Fringillide. ‘ my. Anaante mf , = | So a aa Pal or MM AEE ATK GS Jj SE! AE a i i i oO ’ U — LU L i | i | i NY om i x Y Oh! Lola!than the hawthorn blossom JOE, oo 20s The similarity of this air to that which the White-throat sings is at once apparent. Another song with the inter- val of a fourth, which a bird gave me in the White Mountains, is strongly reminiscent of the Di Provenza from Verdi’s Traviata ; this is what the bird sang: (The bird sings three octaves higher, ending on highestC) J). Vic @. . EARS SS = = 4 = aa TE : : oe zm i i } ~ 1 U Et Wl © i BT ae | eS \Di Pro-ven--za-a-a ! and these are the first bars of the simple but beautiful melody from the opera: ; $f ete a= Fr i ul ee / Di Provenza il mar il suol Certainly the resemblance between the two songs is striking. Occasionally White-throat attempts a high pitch which he is unable to sustain, and then we hear him drop down the scale by easy steps like a musical. sigh, thus: FS Threa times 8va. ? dim. L a i a . Le) a ee @- a ee . Pa ee . ws ] i! je | t Ew : i 4 All day long whittlin’ whittlin? whittlin’ , v The tones of voice here express as much discouragement as the words which accompany them imply. There isa sort of ‘* Heigh ho, fiddle-de-dee!” character to the music which makes one think the little bird looks upon life and itscaresasatoughproblem! Thatis not unlike the pessi- mistic sentiments expressed by Carmen when she ap- pears in the first act of the Operaand sings that loveisa / wilful wild bird with whom it is dangerous to have any 98 ’ WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. dealings, and advises her admirers to let him alone! The music expresses all the discouragement which is embodied in the White-throat’s song; observe how the tones drop down the chromatic scale in precisely the same way. onAllegretto. — 7% a8 Se “3 dim. im ia.’ A +_/ 7] son oo y Ah! love thouarta wilful "ld bird fad none may hope thy wngsto ee ] — TS Be et TE Fac Y % 3a wed, a There is always that attractiveness of novelty in this Sparrow’s music which enlists one’s curiosity; the little fellow sings Carmen’s song in Tuckerman’s Ravine un- der the shadow of Mt. Washington, Turiddu’s song under the brow of Mt. Tecumseh, and the Di Provenza from Traviata, in the Pemigewasset Valley. The ques- tion arises, what will he do next, somewhere else? Possi- bly he will choose still another interval for his whistle and advise that farmer ‘‘ Peverly ” to sow rye/ In every instance, however, he will not depart from his own pre- conceived ideas of rhythm, which may or may not ex- actly correspond with some operatic air which has stuck in our own head. In the History of North American Birds, by Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway, I find this: ‘‘ Notwithstanding the slighting manner in which the song of this bird is spoken of by some writers, in certain parts of the country its clear, prolonged, and peculiar whistle has given it quite a local fame and popularity. Among the White Mountains, where it breeds abun- dantly, it is known as the Peabody-bird, and its remark- ably clear whistle resounds in all their glens and secluded recesses.” Thatisagood summary of the popular esteem in which this bird is held. Dr. M. L. Leach has written an interesting account of the song of the White-throated Sparrow, in the course of which he says (alluding to the form already given in my records), ‘‘ The arrangement 99 ‘ FAMILY Fringillide. of musical sounds indicated . . . appears to consti- tute the most perfect and complete form of the song. but it is varied in different localities and by different per- formers, as if among birds of the same species there were different degrees of musical talent” (that is true, his surmise is correct) ‘‘ and different fashions in musi- cal education. In one place, where I had excellent opportunities to listen, the last three measures were sel- dom heard, or when heard, consisted each of a half- note. Of the first three half-notes, one or the other is sometimes omitted.” Evidently Dr. Leach did not take into account the immature bird which sings the im- mature song—for we must not forget that every youth- ful bird has his lesson to learn, and it is learned more or less perfectly,—and the season of the year which has everything to do with the form of the song. In Septem- ber and October, the bird pipes up again, but he rarely if ever finishes his song; also at this time there is a new singer or two just making his first essay at music. Again it has been my frequent experience that the song of the White-throat heard at a distance sounds this way: Imes ,8va: P 1 i wa i it i FO a) . . ry @ —# YY Vv @ * * P - / 3 Oh hear = =ome dear. ..ie! the last three triplets being merged each into one tremu- lous but sustained tone. Also I have heard the bird sing within eight feet of my head and noticed an immensely high squeaky grace-note which introduced each group of triplets thus: Tiree timesBva., Df 2 iT Pn eee a, — -~ * . - > ~ a te) . > “i P re tt ttt ee or h ‘hear me Theresa,’ Theresa, heresa,” Theresa. This bird evidentl stuttered! “ent oh .- &. Sx . —~$: T + — (2) a = 100 CHIPPING SPARROW But it is well to note that none of these variations affects his unalterable rhythm. White-throat is a perfect little curiosity-box! I have never yet failed to call him from a considerable distance, by imitating his song. In more than one instance it has been possible by this means to draw a dozen or more birds about me, all of whom were devoured with curi- osity to find out why such a great hulking, wingless bird should be familiar with their own language! One could whistle all day to an Oriole, and it is doubtful whether he would pay the slightest attention. Chipping This common little Sparrow is esteemed aig more for his social disposition than his 3 te wf talent as a musician. As for his music, it socialis scarcely deserves the name; it is too strid- L.5.35inches ulent and monotonous to deserve atten- April 20th tion. In appearance, too, the bird is very ordinary. Forehead black; crown chestnut red; back of the neck streaked with black; a conspicuous gray line runs over and back of the eye with a black line above and back of it; bill dark sepia; back striped with black, ruddy brown, and ochre; region above the tail gray; under parts ashen gray, the throat lighter; wing- bars very indistinct, the wings marked like the back. Female similarly colored. Nest of grasses, fine twigs, and rootlets, lined with numerous long hairs, and situ- ated from five to six feet above the ground (sometimes nearly twenty) in a tree or bush, and quite often in an apple-tree. Egg blue-green, freckled with chestnut red and sepia. The range of this species is throughout eastern North America, and as far north as Great Slave Lake. It breeds throughout its range, and winters in the Gulf States and Mexico. Fully one third of its food consists of (injurious) insects, including many beetles and grasshoppers; the rest consists almost exclusively of seeds. . Chippy’s song is pitched extremely high—somewhere in the octave just beyond highest C—so of musical tone it must be admitted he possesses very little or none at all. Undoubtedly most listeners would pronounce it a tol FAMILY Fringillide. monotonous trill, but as a matter of fact it is nothing of the kind! Chippy’s tones may be monotonous, but they are not trilled. The bird simply reiterates with consid- erable rapidity one tone, thus: d =160 eres. Three times 8va. & off the keyboard! o- al A trill is distinctly a rapid alternation of two separate tones, and there is not a suspicion of that in the Chippy’s song. On the contrary, it has not even the suppressed introductory grace-note of the noisy Flicker’s monoto- nous performance! Yet Dr. Coues says of the bird— ‘* He has at times a song quite different from the sharp, monotonous trill so characteristic of springtime.” Now, we need not question the varied conditions of so limited a performance; they exist, but they are worth neither attention nor record. They simply consist of a.series of rhythmic interruptions, like this: Three times 8va. rth 2. 2 2. Ps e The “trill,” however, is a musical term employed with- out a full knowledge of its significance. Mr. Cheney, after quoting Dr. Coues’s description of the song, re- marks, ‘‘ Without doubt he has” a different song, ‘* but the monotonous ‘ trill’ being a succession of rapid tones upon the same degree, can hardly be called a trill.” That is a musician’s verdict! Other authors make the same error in describing the song. Mr. J. B. Grant says—‘‘ His note is a trill of considerable duration, sug- gestive of the sound of the cicada.” The Chipping Sparrow has a most friendly nature and not infrequently he hops within the bounds of the door- sill for any proffered bread crumbs or other food. His nest is quite often lodged in the vines of the piazza trellis, and it is a common thing for him to awake in 102 Field Sparrow Chipping Sparrow (above) (below) FIELD SPARROW. the middle of the night and give voice to a few rapid measures, which comes to one’s ears—to use Nuttall’s expression—like the reverie of a dream. But it is a habit of many birds, especially the Sparrows, to sing in the night. Field Sparrow This familiar bird of the rugged pasture tir ag or fen is wrongly named; he is not really L.5.ssinches 2 Field Sparrow. He may frequent an May rst old worn-out field, but the cultivated one is not his choice. He likes a spot more or less overgrown with weeds and bushes, and from thence usually comes his rather plaintive song. His appear- ance is not a distinguished one. Head decidedly red- brown with a gray line over the eye; sides of face, back of the neck, and the throat ashen gray; back ruddy brown streaked with black and light brownish gray; . rump ash gray; two small whitish wing-bars on each wing; lower parts white washed with buff or ochre; buff on the breast and sides; bill conspicuously flesh-color of a ruddy tone; it is one of the best marks for the bird’s identification. The nest ison the ground or in a low bush and is similar to that of the Song Sparrow. The egg is white-blue strongly marked at the larger end with cinnamon or sepia brown. This species breeds from . South Carolina and southern Kansas northward. The Field Sparrow isa gentle little creature whose unsophisticated character and expressive song have won for him a high place in the estimation of all bird-lovers. Only Wilson seems to have failed in properly understand- ing the bird, for he writes, ‘‘ It is more frequently found _ in the middle of fields and orchards than any of the other species, which usually lurk along hedgerows. It has no song, but a kind of chirruping not much differ- ent from the chirpings of a cricket.” Now the last place to which I should go for the study of this Sparrow would be the meadow or the orchard, and I certainly should not think of comparing his song with the chirp- ing of a cricket! Experience and opinion apparently differ not a little, for my best opportunity of hearing many Field Sparrows singing together has always been 103 FAMILY Fringillidz. on the rugged ground of the Middlesex Fells, near Bos- ton, and anyone with a knowledge of music would un- questionably pronounce the song of this species one of the best melodic demonstrations of a combined acceler- ando and crescendo which an exacting ear could de- mand. Minot seems to have held a good opinion of the song, for he saysit opens with ‘‘a few exquisitely modu- lated whistles, each higher and a little louder than the preceding, and closes with a sweet trill. But a musi- cian’s opinion is nearer to the truth, and we cannot im- prove on the following one by Mr. Cheney, who writes, ‘*Scarcely anything in rhythmics and dynamics is more difficult than to give a perfect accelerando and crescendo : and the use of the chromatic scale by which the Field Sparrow rises in his lyric flight involves the very pith of melodic ability. This little musician has explored the whole realm of sound, and condensed its beauties in per- fection into one short song.” Minot’s description of the music (as has already been pointed out by Mr. Cheney) is not quite correct; there are no modulations of the opening ‘‘ whistles,” they are all on the same pitca ; and only the middle tones rise or fall, as the case may be, progressing to a final so-called trill, thus: @=108 nlranquillo, Accelerando et crescendo. t 1 is - Coe Nel-l~1-t-l- ylylyly-ly Bly-yyyyyyy in this very common song, which is confined to the nar- row compass of a minor third, the tones ascend, and are an amusing elaboration of the three opening notes of the old melody Nellie Ply! In another song almost as familiar the little singer reverses the order and descends the scale : Tranquillo. Accelerando et crescendo. y eae GA A A a ee a ee ee ee 104 EEE EEE es a ve PO yg OT OL, eae emt te FIELD SPARROW. and in still another he proceeds on the diatonic instead of the chromatic scale, thus: A rR AGT a Tranquillo, . _ Accel. et cres. A I i WRB ex wee: tee | "a i 1 I 1 kL ‘s oo a :« ia . " , r LY a’ TOR ae % J A a I os 12 a e é . ; | | L ~ bz = e : ve e ee? Accel. et cres. mS . —<—_——— i= Y, : 5 eo > nr" _A é - S ——— a. Tt “This is reminiseent o noe seer Sh, che a me perdony.” in Mortha. eter td ll as A | 1 | i + be t = ia : J e and reminds us of the pneu notes of the chorus in Murtha, beginning, E arghetto. ] i“ 14 “1 a Se S a ~, 1@ | { ere + ae, ! etc. P eres. S ;— —_—as Noris this all the Field Sparrow cando. He frequently gives us a perfect example of what the music teacher would call the acciaccatura,* a succession of grace notes, thus : J = 104, Tranquillo. Accel. et cres.. ‘ ss _. + 7— ha 7 h 71 o\, TA \¥ — a a: = \ ‘ : i iL. i i i i * Pronounced at-tchack-a-too-ra. 105 FAMILY Fringillide, He is by no means confined to a half-tone grace-note either, nor is he unmindful of a certain pleasing variety in tones, as the following will show : he These notes were Trangyillo, Accel, _ et cres. an unquestionable trill. ana ae oe This is a bit I got on June 11th, in a pasture of Campton and the next came from the same place on July 24th. niwice Bva. Accel. et cres. LV : a. a. rae a. r rn Pom Le. , St ae Ei 8 WH of | ul | ae | i 4 . ae, Again, the little musician once in a while attempts a sustained tone and then proceeds with his customary accelerando on a lower tone, thus: Te P OF nnn Juul Feerepvepee 3 JE WE ES a oO aa ae Ls | 4 J SZ Sy ‘ Accel. et ‘cres. 2. | } o- ; rr . Fat _ 4 A ro ee A o- = The variety of tones may be very considerable, but there is absolutely no exception to the rule that the time is accelerated and the volume of sound increased as the song proceeds; only occasionallythe song is doubled thus: » Chinn OF nnn epee creek seers N pi) Accel. et cres.dim. RHeecel.et cres. ys _ t : 4s 14) 106 He) Oe —— Rpt rye > a ee rey ee eee eee aes ca FIELD SPARROW. Mr. Chapman recognizes the fact that the song has many variations besides possessing the rare beauty of perfect sweetness, and his opinion is well worth quoting. ‘‘ His song is in keeping with his character, being an unusually clear, plaintive whistle, sweeter to the lover of birds’ songs than the voice of the most gifted songstress” (one can not quite agree with that who has heard the great artist Marcella Sembrich sing!) ‘‘ Not only do the same individuals sing several different songs, but two indi- viduals in the same locality rarely sing alike. There is also much variation in the songs of birds from different regions . . . . to be convinced of its” (the song’s) ‘‘rare beauty one need only hear it as the sun goes down and the hush of early evening is quieting the earth.” That is so well said that I need add nothing further except the suggestion that the Field Sparrow is certainly Nature’s best exponentof the principle of Plain- Song, i. e. the Chant. One need not for a moment sup- pose itis necessary to have a wide range of voice and sing a catching tune to creditably produce a song. No, music is the artistic expression of thought and character, and for that reason and none other the pathetic monotones of the Field Sparrow charm us; we do not care whether he sings a tune or not, he may keep straight along on one note * or not as he chooses, we are satisfied to know that he sings with a depth of expression unsurpassed by any of Nature’s greatest songsters. There is a certain rever- ential character to his song, too, which is reminiscent of one of the Psalms of David chanted by the church choir, but it needs a slight alteration to express the sentiment of the Sparrow : O be joyful in the Lord all day long, And come before his presence with a song. When the shadows lengthen into irregular blotches of misty lilac on the slopes of the stony pasture and the light has turned golden in the west, somewhere in the tangle of blackberry briers not far away there is a modest singer filling the silent air with the sober mono- * Mr. Bradford Torrey in his Birds in the Bush thinks that he does; see page 40 of that delightful little book, 107 FAMILY Fringillidex. tones of a vesper hymn. It is the Field Sparrow, and possibly he is singing—who shall say that he is not? ** Softly now the light of day Fades upon my sight away.” Junco The Junco is a winter visitor who prolongs Snowbird his stay in the White Mountain district Junco hyemalis L.6.25inches Until the end of spring. He may be October ist to seen on Mt. Washington on the first of May 20th September, and in Campton as late as the end of May. He is a bird of stylish appearance and good form. Head, neck, and back Payne’s gray, or a deep bluish slate-gray ; this color extends over the chest ; below it there is a clear white ; the sides are grayish; there are no wing-bars ; tail a gray-brown, the two outer feathers white like those of the Vesper Sparrow, and the adjoining feathers partly white. Female similarly col- ored but lighterin tone. Nest of grasses, moss, and root- lets, loosely interwoven, and placed on the ground (or near it) in some brushwood or upturned tree-roots. Egg white, speckled with madder or red-brown, The range of this bird is from northern New York and New Eng- land northward, and southward along the Alleghany Mountains to Virginia. It winters throughout the east- ern United States, as far southward as Georgia and possibly the Gulf States. The Junco’s song is a metallic or glass-like tinkle. His is a performance similar to that of the Chippy, but decided- ly more musical, a voice with a sweet, clear tone rippling along in interrupted trills—not the warble which some authors claim—confined to an interval of a minor second or a minor third: Pivare THMCC: GIA... iecech piguics sbaladanss rasaeeleniae et y A or a A HE torr agen Pir Oe ear ae ae eee Fe A el a hel hdl el hl lal J . . ~ 4 4 4 . Minor Second Minor Third. His call is a short, sharp tsip. He flies south as the winter arrives, not to escape its cold winds and driving snows, but to secure food. The Junco is eminently social, always flying in flocks and seldom separating into small 108 SONG SPARROW. ‘groups of three or four; they have a special liking for the roadside. Mr, Ned Dearborn reports having seen three “‘sports” of this species, all similar, having heads and necks partly white. Song Sparrow The Song Sparrow is the flower of his Melospiza family, a musician of exceptional ability, cineria melodia L. 6.35 inches #024 the possessor of a character remark- 'Allthe year able for its cheerfulness under all con- ditions of weather. But in appearance he is one who could never take the prize in a Bird Show! It is true his spots betoken a ‘“ marked” appearance, but the marks are not distinguished ones; his qualities sur- pass his charms. Head ruddy brown with a sugges- tion of a median gray line; the region of ihe eye gray tinged with brown; a red-brown line behind the eye; back light brown streaked with darker brown; sides of _ the light gray throat marked with a chain of blackish or dark brown spots; no wing-bars; breast spotted with wedge-shaped streaks of sepia and red-brown some of which are confluent in the central region forming a dis- tinct dark blotch; under parts almost white. The sexes are similarly marked. The loosely built nest is formed of dried rootlets and leaves, shreds of bark, coarse grasses, and sometimes hair; within it is lined with similar but softer material; it is usually found on the ground, or sometimes low down ina bush. The egg is _ blue-white and generously splashed with brown. This Sparrow is common everywhere and breeds from Vir- ginia northward. , Mr. Chapman sums up the estimable qualities of the interesting, cheery little songster as follows: “its readi- ness to adapt itself to the different conditions in each of the regions it inhabits, its numerical abundance and steady increase while some of its family are dying _ out, its freedom from disease and vermin, and its peren- nial good spirits evidenced by its never-failing music— _all proclaim that it is indeed one of Nature’s successes.” _ That is an ornithologist’s estimate of this greatly favored Sparrow, and certainly we ought to be very grateful for the facts, as this is the bird that sings best of all—sings 109 a 2 SS FAMILY Fringillide. under all conditions of weather, at all times of the day (and sometimes at night), in every month of the year, and with the cleverest understanding of melody, He is also one of the very few birds who is able to sing half a dozen songs each of which is constructively dif- ferent from the other. The Thrushes are far more gifted musicians, but they lack the versatility of the Song Sparrow. As a general rule the little fellow comes to us in March, and leaves about the first of November, but there are many individuals which stay all the year around. He is not quite as sociable as the Chipping Sparrow, for he makes his home on the meadow that slopes toward the river rather than in the shrubbery that lines the roadside; nevertheless he is one of the most frequent visitors of the spreading lawns that sur- round our country homes, and he is a familiar occupant of every bush that is planted in the neighborhood. Presumably every one knows his call-note—a metallic chip; but through sheer multiplicity of motive, I sus- pect his song is not always distinguished with perfect certainty, especially as it oftem.develops a distinctly local character. For instance, the Song Sparrows of — Nantucket apparently sing with higher-pitched voices, more overtones, and less regard for the usual accented opening notes, than do those of the White Mountain region. The birds about New York, on the other hand, ~ accent the first few notes and then often ripple along in canarylike trills. But Ido not regard these differences as permanent; the fundamental character of the music is never changed, it is apparent in a series of accented, sustained tones (generally three) at the beginning, the © middle, or the end of the song, but usually at the begin- — ning, a rapid succession of about six notes—or better, a — tone interrupted a number of times, a group of tones — separaved by well-preserved intervals, and the contrast- — ive coloring here and there of a distinct overtone. Ti signs represent but one form: — ——-.—.. ‘ (see the notation with words ‘‘ Welcome to Campton’ 8,5 etc.). It is evident, therefore, that mechanical rhythm | in the case of this bird’s song is no strong factor in I1o * a : naga Lig ee ee SONG SPARROW. identification, it is too variable to be depended upon. One song is likely to be in two-four and another in three-four time, and the listener is compelled, rather, to listen to those striking mannerisms of the singer, which will none the less surely reveal his identity. Now the style of the Song Sparrow is unmistakably evident, he devotes himself to pure, simple melody, and is in consequence the best exponent of the- song motive among all the members of the feathered tribe. The Oriole may sometimes equal, but he can never excel him in this respect; moreover, the Oriole lacks versatility. It is short work to make such a statement, but it takes a month’s study of the Song Sparrow to establish the fact beyond peradventure and produce a sufficient num- ber of incontestable proofs. Here is the song of a bird who, like the rest of his tribe, knows all about the dotted note which adds half again to its value: Here the bird sang octaves es Mugrert Vivace aS ee sae Oe pao - ae F > bl RL In] j i ae e* a? > i Fitz! fitz! fitz! wee sir-wee sir-wits wits! These first three notes were beyond the keyboard = A cr? al 5 mas 0 === 2 ‘ v . a7 a : ; The records that foitow are also yitched in the same highest ottave. There are swing and accent to these few tones which perfectly express an exultant feeling, something akin to that so eloquently given in the first bars of sm jue a 8 Love Song in the Nibelungen Lied: vi To be sure I enlarge the musical significance of the Sparrow’s song-by setting it to a piano accompaniment, IIr PAMILY Fringillidz. but I question whether it is possible to recognize the value of the melody without the setting. Notice how much of the expression is dependent upon those accented first notes, and how the mannerism distin- guishes the singer, for nearly every Song Sparrow one hears seems to stand by the rule! It is unnecessary to produce a miscellaneous selection of this bird’s music to prove that his ideas of melody are unlimited, anybody with a keen ear will discover that fact after a day in his company. What is more interesting is his versatility in handling a motive. A few seasons ago I was greeted in my summer home by the following: 9 =138 ; ‘ats Moderato. BBP we : Pe ft bra ERE AA EER Nes t V « 5» * . = 1 Z. a ' ‘I 1 yz ¥ Welcome to Campton, tra-la-la-la-lata lay. ee ro | i 4 { i | | 1) a ee | Ps ¢ —— id 7 2 : => The little fellow showed unusual talent, and this bit seemed decidedly melodic. I waited for more; it came next in-this form: dal6 33 % Vivace. - er al ae 2 o- 2-- a | + a —s bo at UV Welcome to Campton’ flowring meadows gay. caer ererics Ti2 a oe Song Sparrow. Song variations of four individuals. Records taken at El Fureidis, Blair, NH, July,19/5 The four birds are indicated hy A-B-C-D. A Thrice 8va. C Thrice 8va. w ee . we | >> N ES AG eet we ES ET SM A a OE -| Pee eres + of dade ae as . 3 — bl . B Thrice 8va-. A Thrice Bva. ae a 2 fof at Di, j fT | f J ft gue Fry | Mia awe. S| ‘a Wome reir) . o—é | suv . a A Thrice ava A Twice va re > > LT \ Zi@eiisiii| g \ n a | ~~ J “ia gaa a B Twice 8va. B gTwice 8va. —* NN igeeeee — \ #rerrr» ifgttstttitt SS FS Se t oe YY 2 ee ee ee Y JM ee ese Pe a | £ aS ia T ee md AN 43 T Twice § va C Thrice éva Cc: ; fs vw 4 “ffft p-. f p Di | Sa | 1 ey 3S ej nN OE el a it | ' i of ad YDn I ae eee i J i . Vg. @999e i Py. "Gi ; , F od be withyou till wemeeta— D re D Twice 8va 4 >Twice 8va > : pe + 25: ai A is 2g re er iN hi #@£ eee | 4225 (SR Ca i FEA / These 12 songs are the positive evidence of 2 local style. No single individuals song is repeated after the fourth season, thus showing the length of the birds life to be approximately jour ta five years. Most of these birds returned to the same nesting site or within five miles of it. Csang three seasons. 113 FAMILY Fringillide. Then I decided the incident was closed; but no, another day I got this: @ = 135 ee Vivace. re re 72 v7) 7 | 5 v i i | ey j TAS 7 J ? r. & i YZ PA } ‘ 1 p y eo) <——} J Sa Sj ; a) wee” ‘ and finally that same day a second form of the first motive suggested that the tune would never end! ¢=1% > > Se Pe Pe. ene fee ee / Ben marcato,| . Ff Se en ee = There was no doubt about all this coming from a single individual; I had my eye on him, and kept track of all his movements. The variations of a single motive in song are very subtle, and we usually fail to discover the ingenuity of the composer who constructs an extensive melody of but one or two simple motives. This is per- fectly illustrated in the Di Provenza from Verdi’s Traviata. (See previous page.) It is a network of repetitions throughout; remove the first motive with its variations and the aria is pretty nearly all gone! A similar illustration serves us in “‘ La Donna é mobile” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. (See page 115.) Remove the first, third, and ninth bars and nothing is left but their variations and the closing bar! Strangely 114 A DONNA FE MOBILE’-RIGOLETTO 4 J Ong Sparrow sang stave2 with his own additions! Heed 2 as eee (ay Verdi) eee All below on this ee ee A | side is repetition! La donna é mobile, 2&6 aminor thizd(— > : drop here. a i oy 3&7 « Qual pruma al vento} etc. —________ d majorthird ou of . drop here J "VAP d whole tone | drop here. 7 4&8 - Da capo. NN . <4 r = 9 Se Ee” ot es a minor third” ~ 7 = drop here. + if @ whole tone 10 rise here. : “1 d. ; < = yor Vv 1] a semitone O42 2-4 : “ty $ rise here. ar A 12 a Jine. a aye ——— = y+ This familiar melody 1s a fabric of repetitions, Staves 1&5 ete.are identical; stave ] differs only slightly from stave 2; stave 3 only slightly from stave 4; staves 1to4 are simply repeated; stave 9 differs onty slightly from stave 10, and stave /1 is not essentially different from either; stave _ 12 merely finishing the tune, resembles the others} ris FAMILY Fringillide. enough, too, this last melody begins with three accented notes in a way remarkably like the Sparrow’s song; in- deed, on one occasion I heard the second bar given note for note exactly as it occurs in Verdi’s tune, but the little bird had tacked on a finale or cadenza all his own: > a * wwe att p- e- ‘ L p> incl 7 ws P A suggestion of Rigoletto. He had a mind above such a commonplace thing as an operatic score! But we have not yet measured the scope or the character of the little musician’s repertoire. He has the ability to render a motive in both the major and the minor keys, just exactly as Verdi has done in the ninth and eleventh bars of the Di Provenza (be sure to read them). I had grown quite familiar with a bit of melody coming from a bird nesting near my boat-land- ing on the river, which ran thus: > a) “A adel reunn&& PPPPR., . 9 Fo YU 2 a [seer eee meee | | ee | iy 4 ae ra (I must admit the words in the arrangements which fol- low are drawn from the imagination.) But before long there came a day when the sun refused to shine, and the clouds hung dull and gray over the river meadow. I was at work on the piazza next my studio listening, as usual, to the sparrows, when a pathetic strain caught my ear from the direction of the boat-landing; it was the same familiar melody, but strangely enough rendered in the minor key. Whatdid that mean? Was it the same bird or another? I dropped my paint-brush, seized my opera-glass, and ran down on the meadow to investigate. Yes, there was the bird in his customary position on the top twig of the bush next * to the one in which his mate had built a nest not far from the ground. Then I looked for the nest; it was there, too, but there was no mate. ‘* Ah-ha!” I said to myself, ‘‘a case of domestic * He wisely refrained from singing in the same bush which con- tained the nest, for that might lead to discovery, 116 me” wee a i}: 3 ¥ SONG SPARROW. infelicity ”; so when the little fellow wiped his bill on the twig, and sang again the doleful strain, I fitted, in imagination, these words to it: om tdorato® ee, be et é rasa vam j ee AS | A ; : ee | aD Meee TE 3 Thea 1 if 4 tyr . Wail, wall, fickle wife isshe, Flown dnay and left me! Pa ss er. 8 TAY PA <— then, taking my cue from another singer, I whistled a reply as follows, == =} 4 = PS > pri e =" ott + Vo tax?- (Sa git ad acme se a True, true, very trae you see, Shes comeagain to lve with me. | SS a ers SS 117 he: = ' / FAMILY Fringillide. So I knew everything was all right down there and did not take the trouble to go and see! Nonsense,—all this, every one will of course say! But what about that melody in both the major and minor keys! That remains a re- markable fact. Again, how another little bird gave me a fragment of a Chopinlike mazourka, is worth the tell- © ing. The motive was suggestive of something more which I never got; it ran thus: ¢= 138 -— spoerate, £ af 3s ee Ske Py ” = Rup-it ‘rup-it rup-it, spits wig a gee! NV.B. Do not mind the s lables, they are not more nonsenstheal A+ than those emp oyed bi the age for — fy wide i iad ? vr ‘ SSS and that was very aggravating, for it should have been rounded off thus; : Ast ending 2nd. ending 3ze & ’ “*~ e c 2 os + Sa | i = q af * wily et ee | ¥ oe ae vi u a complete: melody will sound better; though less birdlike, of ple ed an octave lower, | ; : ral vi a n oe : — = i i + | SR RR But it never was rounded off, so I had to accept the fact that even the Song Sparrow does not always know how to finish a thing. There is a very good story told of Beethoven, I believe, which illustrates, in an amusing way, the annoyance ofa ‘* tie-up” in music. The good old master had gone to bed and was tossing restlessly on his pillow, because his nephew Carl, downstairs, was repeatedly practising what a musician would call a harmony in suspension ; some- thing which goes like this: 118 SONG SPARROW. f) Sempre legato. __ oe .2 ee a 2 SPI ot La After a while poor Beethoven, who could not stand that sort of thing indefinitely, shouted down to his pupil, “‘ Carl, give us the resolution.” But Carl misunderstood the command, thought he was told to stop, and went to bed leaving the tones ‘‘ hung up.” That was beyond en- durance, so Beethoven arose, hurried into his dressing- gown, ran down to the piano, struck a modulation or two, and landed fortissimo on the proper key, thus: a P ) mr = aA pore 4 Gq te a = pp sa eo ao ae S Thatsettled it, hecould now goto bed and sleep peacefully! This suspension or incompletion of a musical idea is what we are always regretfully discovering in a bird’s song, and the attempt to find a finish anywhere usually results in failure unless we piece two tunes together. The little songster’s conception of music is limited to the abstract. What should he know about a finish? His song is an overflow of good spirits, and you must chop off his head if you seek a finale. His song is simply a bit of untrammelled self-expression that goes on like Tennyson’s brook, notwithstanding human rules about ‘*resolutions ” and “finales.” But it is a fact that the Song Sparrow is often an exception to the rule; he is a II9 PAMILY Fringillide. bird of parts, and the songster above all others most likely to end his tune upon the tonic. Here are three striking proofs (all from one individual) of his ability in this direction: 4= 138 Con precisione > > 4 YR rT] sa ah te KT. ; he Thee P *] }—t f y “A |Z I No.1 . ¥ ii i A Sy) EAE Why not go on? Mo ppp eee «o F » 2s. wr “The No.1 motive — is so good, one wishes the bird had continued No2 < way; BUT HE DID NOT! CYA j hii 2 : } 4 Fr — v a ¢ = 138 GN freee eg ta ae 17.6 FHT? | oh ol —_— a eS {a Bee 2 ° 2 | ae a, Se j Pi Se | } ae 1 7 / 1 mf fa’ i 4 ‘a i" i 4 ; ee } i | i - D n ] oe Pl Dasa | [7a : 32126 3 4 -: = oN Moderato. >» ce; >) faeese ie ‘ em mu Ge? Pane - i= | Eo: 2 « a ae i a yr = Tay" Pat BacART vr =e VIZ Ld U T T “ Wertz, wertz, werlz, weet-weet-weet-weet spee-ge-wee-ge-dee; -weet-weet, oe bo +* oa i= A\" p47 O bt a. aT Le aa : = Ld 7 120 SONG SPARROW, All of these are somewhat reminiscent of the winding of a hunter’s horn. But the next song, with a mazourka- like measure, does not end with the tonic and conse- quently leaves us with the impression that something must be added. I supplied the deficiency: a Toderato ve 2: “>> # ‘ me ime CP PeES 48:6. to 4 a | ¥ ‘ S ——— 7 om, cres ; but my own ; added. Sigale | $ ee ; ace nee Ae. t 3 t i . 1 . | WAL “s a o e The bird that sang this melody, however, had his own ideas about the tune, and it appears my addition was remature, for after a few days’ acquaintance with him I eard him sing this, oN ra a -. = og eH | oo ao 22 fereee sala LN = ta 24 form, : y T 1 T T id L AJ a " hdl which was certainly a continuation of the theme. That being the case I listened for more; the wait was no longer than the greater part of the morning, when to my sur- prise he suddenly abandoned both familiar forms and switched off on a new one which, musically speaking, Not the birdS Us ee eee ** landed ”’ nowhere! oo ye a pf EF a nid } J me. } Nia 374 ‘ form. es , | | FAMILY Fringillide. Here was a case of suspension indeed, and as the problem seemed too difficult for either the bird or me to solve, I concluded to place it in this book with the hope that it might meet the eye of a musician who would piece the fragments together and arrive at some logical conclu- sion. For aught I know to the contrary that bird tc this very day may be trying every possible key in a vain search fora finale! But the Song Sparrow is not always unsatisfying in the matter of a conclusion, for here is a double record obtained from a-little fellow who knew how to supplement a really beautiful theme with an- other similar one which brought it to a most satisfactory end: A. —— tr dA 7 g " But it would not be appropriate for me to close my records of this delightful songster with a finished tune. It is logical therefore to return to the melody in suspen- sion, and add the two following brilliant songs, both of which came from a bird in the Arnold Arboretum, near 122 / SONG SPARROW. Boston, not less than two hundred miles away from the other singers whose music is recorded above. Moderato, ww ~ fe 2 (ia eee pA ee Oe we | — |) i 2d | ~ a) FOREN ES ee r u i F e 7 f accel, : Aw $a ww iy P ae ? Sa a A J 7 a ¢ -—y . mf accel ! 3 | | | I -. § }#5 al [ t SE A_= tare | : | nd 1) Ii\A 8 o ¢ <¥ 4 Mr. Torrey, in that delightful little volume entitled Footing it in Franconia, makes a comparison of the music of the Song and Vesper Sparrows as follows: ** Now a Song Sparrow breaks out in his breezy, charac- teristically abrupt manner. He is a bird with fine gifts of cheeriness and versatility; but when he sets himself against the Vesper, as now, it is like prose against poetry, plain talk against music. So it seems to me at this mo- ment, I mean to say. At another time, in another mood, I might tone down the comparison, though I could never say less than that the Vesper is my favorite, His gifts are sweetness and perfection.” But I_ am disposed to believe that every one who will ‘study the music of the Song Sparrow long enough will inevitably come to the conclusion that he is Nature’s clev- erest song genius. Indeed, in justification of such belief, I have only to call attention again to the extraordinary 123 FAMILY Fringillidx. melodic value of the songs above recorded and say to the one still unconvinced ‘‘ Match these if you can!” Swamp In appearance the Swamp Sparrow re- Sparrow sembles the Chippy, but he is a trifle Melospiza larger, and his coloring is not quite the Tame inhids same, Crown chestnut or Venetian red, Aprilioth, or forehead black; a gray stripe over the eye allthe year and asepia line back of it; neck below the crown ashen gray slightly striped with sepia; back ruddy brown with black and ochre or buff streaks; throat dull white toned to light gray on the breast; sides gray brown; under parts dull white; wing coverts ruddy brown; tail gray-brown. Female similarly marked. Nest built on the ground, and similar to that of tlfe Song Sparrow. Egg also similar to that of the Song Sparrow, but more heavily marked. This bird is common on wet meadows, in the thickets of marshes, and on the margins of streams bordered with cat-tails or reeds, It is dis- tributed throughout eastern North America. Not in- frequently it winters in Massachusetts, or the States farther south, This Sparrow is rarely seen beyond his chosen retreat; he is a persistent skulker among the thickets of the swamp or the borders of the wet meadow, and, as a con- sequence, his song is scarcely as common as the mon- otonous one of the Chippy which it resembles. But there is a distinct difference between the voice of this bird and that of the Chippy; as a monotone it may be considered a trifle more musical, and nearer related to the voice of the Field Sparrow; but it certainly lacks the sweetness of tone which characterizes the music of the latter bird, and it is equally certain it is pitched lower than the stridulous effort of the Chippy. The song scarcely deserves a record, yet it could be adequately rendered thus: Three times 8va....~ Hecelerando. nd ba. 4. 4.4.4.2 6 6 4 4 £4 2 4 2424 ee ee [ A LD A EE I AE LOG AE j i | {eS i SEE ee ae We BT Le i i a. SS i i i | i ea = as . Weet-weet-weet-weet-t-t-t-¢ ete. 124 CHEWINK TOWHEE. ‘ lt possesses a very perceptible accelerando. Perhaps I should say it generally finishes with a trill, but I have been unable to discover any approach to the two tones which necessarily constitute the trill. Nuttall, how- ever, seéms to think the song is made up of “a few tril- ling, rather monotonous notes resembling the song of the Field Sparrow,” and he is not so very far away from the truth. tg This bird is one of the most vivacious ree and beautiful members of the Finch Fam- — Fipiloerytiropl-s1 His black back, white breast, and L.8.35inches chestnut sides form an uncommon and April 30th striking combination of color at once es- thetic and distinguished. Beside the Chewink his near relative, the Song Sparrow is a very ordinary and insig- nificant-appearing individual. The upper parts of the Chewink, including head, chest, wings, and tail, are a glossy black; outer edges of the primaries white; white also begins at the middle of the chest and extends down- ward throughout the under parts; sides a bright chestnut red—almost a pure Venetian red; the iris red, and pupil black. Female with the same color-pattern, but the black replaced by lightish brown, the sides a less bril- liant chestnut, and the tail an umber brown. Nest built of dried leaves, grasses, and plant fibre, lined with finer grasses; it is generally placed on the ground, or very near it. Egg white flecked with madder brown. The bird is common throughout eastern North America, though somewhat locally distributed, There are very few in Campton, N. H., plenty on the slopes of Monad- nock, in southern New Hampshire, near the summer residence of Mr. G. B. Upton, and extremely few in the recesses of the White Mountains. As a musician the Chewink is not remarkable for melodic ability or for brilliant execution; in these re- spects he differs widely from both Song Sparrow and Wood Thrush, Either of these two talented singers can hot fail to impress upon the hearer a sense of the beauty of melody rendered by the mellow whistle of a bird; but the efforts of the Chewink are amateurish in comparison, 125 FAMILY Fringillidez. Ld and one is surprised to find his song limited to a prom ising but exceedingly short beginning; nothing more seems to follow! There is an attempt at melody and a failure to realize it. The common form of the song may be represented by dots, thus: Ernest E. Thompson writes it, chuck-burr, pill-a-will- a-will-a-will, which is a very fair representation of the notes providing one is told that the bird rapidly pro- gresses upward with clear whistled tones, first a fifth, and then about a fourth, so the whole compass covers approximately a jump of nine tones, or just one tone over an octave. This, however, - would be the form of but one song, whether it is called common or not. niwice 8yv4d..... a 7 . Chuck-burr pill-a-will-a-will ete, Somehow or other these particular tones remind one of. the violinist trying his violin, and one naturally waits for the bird to begin the real song—but he never does ! Here is another form with a lesser junip—the first inter- val a third, and the second, a fourth—which is certainly more satisfactory to the ear: Vivace. (Ihe bird sings twiceBva) a a A a rf i! Z i i be These notes might be rendered at the piano asa trill i.e. DandE oF: csia an Yy « And here is again very nearly the same form dropped a full tone: 126 CHEWINK TOWHEEB. Lh L im | Se A Thy EE) SS. SS aK ee See rw 4 Ly je 4 I obtained both songs in Dublin, N. H.; they came from the vicinity of the same field where many birds were singing, and each was an evident and quick response to the other. As one may well imagine the antiphonal effect was delightfully pleasing. Frequently the Che- wink strikes a perfect octave with two notes of equal value, thus: Twice 8va. , Ss i 1 ‘fs i i ee. ee | i A\ iz ] Se vot i = ee Boom jig pil-il-itilititil His intervals, as a rule, are eminently satisfactory, and one only regrets that after so fine a start the little fellow does not accomplish something more extensive in the ' line of melody; but it is rarely the case that his song comprises more than three notes; if it does, the chances are, that he has doubled-up on form. Here is a proof of that point; the record was obtained in the Arnold Ar- boretum, near Boston. Vivace. J - i 2 \ Se T alte ok oe = = > TA\V A ’ 5) ome TN ee PS er “ aA AN) is U | a 1 é [ hk -.. 9 i h JY HV" A << 127 FAMILY Fringillide. The next is also from the same place, and shows that the bird occasionally stops short of the final so-called trill: Vivace. iw Ma - + ie , ee an 4 v3 ¥ Pf | 7 I should say at once in reference to the term trill, that in my estimation the Chewink rapidly repeats one tone and does not actually trill. Mr. Cheney evidently thought otherwise, for all his records of this bird’s music show two alternating tones for the final note; but I think a close study of the song will convince the lis- tener that this is unquestionably composed of a single tone rapidly reiterated. There are undoubtedly many variations of the Chiewink’s song, and it is not impossi- ble that some birds may trill, just as others may adopt for a time some unusual form, in proof of which Mr. Cheney remarks: ‘‘ This bird, like many others, can ex- temporize finely when the spirit moves him. For several successive days, one season, a Chewink gave me very interesting exhibitions of the kind. He fairly revelled in the new song, repeating it times without number. Whether he stole it from the first strain of Rock of Ages or it was stolen from him or some of his family, is a question yet to be decided. The following is an exact copy of his variation”: tae Oe e fy — a (ye 2 I question the hey:the Chewink must a Ces sung this higher than twice 8va.) The Chewink is distinctively a ground bird, and con- sequently one whose song will be heard issuing from the shrubbery more frequently than from the topmost twig 128 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, of atree. The last, however, is not an uncommon posi- tion for him, and I recollect being greatly puzzled by an eccentric form of his song coming from the very top of a giant oak on or near the estate of Mr. A. Hemenway, near the Blue Hills, Mass. It was the first time I had heard the song composed of a single sustained tone and the so-called trill. 1 i a | al i i i His common call, chewink, certainly should be recog- nized by every one; it is composed of two distinct tones rapidly whistled, with a rising inflection approximately covering a sixth, and characterized by an overtone which I have already explained is best imitated by humming and whistling simultaneously. preston — SY f- t rad Che-wink! This large and bustling Finch is famous for his devo- tion to the leaf-strewn ground beneath thickets and brush-heaps; there he will be found in spring grubbing with an intensity of purpose only equalled by the Fox Sparrow or the itinerant hen! An ornithological friend told me he once saw an energetic Fox Sparrow scratch- ing with both feet in concert, not alternately after the manner of the slow barn fowl! Rose-breasted The charming Rose-breasted Grosbeak panes resplendent in his striking costume of amelodia 3 3 F ludoviciana lack, white, and crimson, is one of the L. 8.10 inches sweetest singers in this part of our coun- May 12th try. Heisa robust fellow with an over- large, parrotlike, yellow ivory-colored bill, a somewhat nervous, restless temperament, and a special penchant for the trees of the orchard or grove. He is not as com- mon as he ought to be, which is in part, at least, due to 9 129 FAMILY Fringillide. his brilliant feathers. Mr. F. E. L. Beal writes: “On account of this attractive plumage the birds are highly prized for ladies’ hats, and consequently have been shot in season and out, till the wonder is not that there are so few, but that any remain atall.” Head, throat, and up- per parts jet black; breast marked with a triangle (point down) of rose-red, or deep rose madder, which color ex-- tends beneath the wings over the under coverts, and rarely down the centre of the white underparts; lower back white tipped with black; primaries white at the base; the outer feathers of the tail tipped with white on the inner webs. Female marked like a Sparrow; upper parts gray-brown, pale ochre, and brownish gray; a buff line on the crown, and a dull white one over each eye; wings and tail darker gray-brown; light dull orange un- der the wings replaces the rose color of the male; upper wing coverts tipped with white; under parts light buff streaked with gray-brown. Nest loosely woven of root- lets, twigs, and plant fibres; lodged in thick under- growth, or in trees from five to twenty feet from the ground. Egg pale greenish blue with a variety of brown narkings. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are supposed to be common throughout eastern North America as far north as Maine; they winter in Central and South America, These birds, however, are unevenly distributed. I have found them far more frequently in the vicinities of Boston, Cambridge, Mass., and Morristown, N. J., than in Campton, N. H. Mr. Scott also says the birds ‘are commonly found in some of our thickly built suburban towns, where, undisturbed by the vicinity of man, they seem as much at home as in the wilder woodlands, Such conditions I have observed in the town of Cam- bridge, Mass., where this is an almost abundant garden vird; and in South Orange, N. J., and vicinity, much the same is the case.” The food of the bird is largely composed of beetles and a variety of injurious insects. He has a great liking for the potato beetle. The song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been gen- erally described as similar to that of the Robin, but this similarity, from a musical point of view, is altogether to- superficial to deserve serious attention. I most emphati- 130 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. cally agree with what Mr. Chapman has to say about this bird’s song, but at the same time venture to suggest that notations of Robin and Grosbeak songs should not necessarily show that similarity of form which he seems to think is inevitable. He says (1 quote from the Handbook of Birds): *‘ The song of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is generally compared to that of the Robin, and musical notations would doubtless show that the com- parison is not misleading. But the similarity is largely - one of form; in expression there is no more resemblance in their voices than there is between the birds them- selves.” That is true, yet it is nothing less than an enigma to find out precisely where the difference lies; I should certainly say it was pretty close to form, expres- sion, and something else besides ! The form of the Robin’s song may be definitely repre- sented by dots; there is no question about his triplets: I suppose it would be safe is say ire 4 are ‘fen triplets to each doublet. In other words, the abiding characteristic of the Robin’s song is his triple note. On the contrary no such rule will hold with reference to the Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s song; the triplets which he sings are not by any means distinctly separate groups. Itis perfectly apparent toan attentive ear that the song of this bird flows with a certain degree of smoothness, or evenness which is not characteristic of the Robin’s jerky efforts. Here is an ocular proof of SRM ISIN, ois) Siete es oe — .—. Thesedotsshow two things quite plainly: first, that the song is almost, if not quite continuous, and second, that some of the tones are sustained longer than others, thus: Vixgee. 1 ri Again, there are other significant points about this bird’s music which dots and dashes can not show. Few, if any, of his notes are rendered staccato, many with remark- able expression glide up or down the scale a whole mu- sical third and even a fifth, and all, or nearly all, are 131 FAMILY Fringillide. characterized by a delicate overtone. To these facts we must add the important one that, for an apparently anx- ious and restless bird always seeming to be in a hurry (at least during the courting period), the tempo of his song is quite moderate. This description is about as unlike the music of the Robin as it could possibly be. Robin’s notes are all emphatically staccato, few slide—and these are ac- cidental, hurried, and without expression, — only occa- sionally are any characterized by what might be termed a crude overtone, and all progress in a lively, bustling way without any regard for moderation. Here is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s song obtained in Campton, N. H., in June, 1903. I do not think it is radically different from others which follow, yet in su. perficial appearance it might suggest the Robin’s song while these others do not; if so, the reason may be at- tributed to the tying together of the notes in groups of twos and threes: pSostenuto Rd _di Ld * ‘ Observe that the strain is in the minor key, yet it has a dancing rhythm which gives it a character of sprightli- ness, Now compare this with the next record in another and a major key, and the family resemblance of the two songs will at once become apparent, notwithstanding the fact that this second record does not in the remotest de- gree suggest the Robin’s song. f\ r _ “TD. ra 7P— fs ‘The tone very slightly burred. j i i i 4 ". ae i Vi x vw : a 7 i 7 ry oy : 332 eA ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. The old adage that ‘‘ there ’s more than one way of K.l- ing a cat” applies to the Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s song in musical notation, for, furthermore, if we turn to Mr. Cheney’s Wood Notes Wild, we find the follow- ing, which bears not the slightest resemblance to my own records given abovel Loudand rapids Mr. Cheney's record CI Ri ——_ a —— But Mr. Cheney admits writing this music from memory though with a feeling of confidence in the accuracy of its main features and spirit. _I, also, can see the accuracy of the record, and by whistling the tune in the Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s way conjure up a very tolerable idea of what Mr. Cheney must have heard. If, therefore, I write this bit of music as I whistle it, its appearance must be different from that of Mr, Cheney’s writing, thus: d. =100 Con spirit ito. (The tone. slightly burred) aA PS gl Oats i &@aiert fil Peua8? i #4 Fe + BT + a” i = om = Pp — eres., f/f.) ~ dim. cy ae Sie el Lyi ™~/ 5 = ware r oe = __ 4 >} __ 4 > = — rs TA te TA 5 T kd Prd The difference is attributable to the facts that the slurs, in my estimation, are important and inseparable from a proper rendering of this bird’s music, the burring tones are similarly important, and the pitch of the bird’s tones being indefinite my rendering requires aslight variation of the notes, For that matter it must become very evi- dent to one who studies this bird’s music carefully, that he is woefully lacking in pitch. There is no certainty about his tones; in every instance it is a questionable C, D, or E, and one has to supply the deficiency. Hence the bird never sings his song out of tune, simply because 133 FAMILY Fringillidez. there is no tune to his song—leastwise, one can claim only a suggestion of a tune! But we can always rely upon the bird’s rhythm; it is utterly unlike that of the Robin, and possesses a smooth and graceful flow not to be excelled by the best of our woodland songsters, the Thrushes not excepted. In Arlington Heights, Mass., I obtained a record of one of the most even-flowing songs of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak I have ever heard; it shows a far greater range of voice than Mr. Cheney’s record, but, as usual, there was no accuracy of pitch. Vivace. @.=66 Again, on Linnzan Street, Cambridge, I obtained an- other smooth and even record scarcely inferior: {) Moderato ad rallent, page EGE The grace notes here, indicate an indefinite fall of the voice. Nearly all the songs show at the end a rising inflection - of the voice, which is given in a most enticing and per- suasive manner. Only the Purple Finch can equal the Rose-breasted Grosbeak in this bit of pure sentimental- ity, and in the case of both birds the effect is certainly very telling. To the rising and falling inflections of this Grosbeak’s voice, it is therefore reasonable to suppose one may at- tribute the sentimental character of the song. Such an element is wholly absent in the Robin’s music, and on that account alone from a musician’s point of view the songs of the two birds must certainly be considered ab- solutely dissimilar. Most writers on birds are not less than enthusiastic 14 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. about the music of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, ana I - am inclined to think this is wholly due to its sentimental character. E. A. Samuels writes, ‘‘ The song is difficult of description; it is a sweet warble,” (in this regard my opinion differs from his, for I do not consider the bird warbles at all!) ‘‘ with various emphatic passages, and sometimes a plaintive strain, exceedingly tender and affecting.”” H. D, Minot also falls into the error of the ‘* warble”; he writes, ‘‘ he pours out an extremely mel- low warble, like that of the Robin, but very much finer. Sometimes he sings in the night, and with an ardor which adds to the beauty of his song.” Nuttall, too, is not behind Minot in the matter of the *‘ warble,” for he writes that the bird ‘“‘is a most melodious and inde- fatigable warbler, frequently in fine weather, as in its state of freedom, passing a great part of the night in singing, with all the varied and touching tones of the Nightingale. . . . The notes are wholly warbled, now loud, clear, and vaulting with a querulous air, then perhaps sprightly, and finally lower, tender, and pa- thetic.” John Burroughs writes in Wake Robin that ‘‘he has fine talents, but not genius.” Mr, Cheney writes, ‘‘his loud, ringing song surely arrests the ear. He sings rapidly and energetically, as if in a hurry to be through and off. No bird sings with moreardor. While on paper his song resembles the Robin’s, . . . the voice and delivery are very unlike the Robin’s.” But Mr. Chapman’s admiration of the bird’s voice is evidently unlimited ; for he says, ‘‘ There is an exquisite purity in the joyous carol of the Grosbeak; his song tells of all the gladness of a May morning; I have heard few hap- pier strains of bird music. "With those who are deaf to its message of good cheer I can only sympathize, pitying the man whose heart does not leap with enthusiasm at the sight of rival males dashing through the woods like winged meteors, leaving in their wake a train of spark- ling notes.” The call-note of this Grosbeak is a ridiculously high piping pip, or a metallic pink with a shade of anxiety to the tone, which seems quite unrelated to so large a bird. But the song is truly an inspired bit of bird-carolling, to 135 FAMILY Fringillidz. be valued less for its melody than for its incomparable dancing tempo and its inimitable tenderness. If the music were embodied in a form easily interpreted by the piano, it would appear thus: Scherzando @.-|(4. Con expressione, Lo << FE be 1 oo 1 i -_ [@) we 4 Renae, aa cres. Vs ~ Sf rallent. A piano interpretation. db hd te ad PRE — —— Indigo Bunting The intensely blue Indigo Bunting, or In- Cyanospiza — digo Bird, often appears a mere tiny black ape inches Sihouette against the brilliant sky as he May 12th is perched in his favorite commanding position on the topmost twig of the towering tree beside the road. That is the place where it has been my cus- tom to find him. But for a better view of his magnifi- cent color we must wait for him to descend from his high perch, or else, in some manner, we must endeavor to gain a position between him and the sun so its rays will illuminate his intense and lustrous plumage. Ex- cepting his wings and tail which are black margined with blue, his whole body is a deep Prussian blue of an iridescent quality comparable only to that which we see on the Peacock’s neck. The color is deepest on the head, and brightest on the back and neck; the cheeks are blackish. The female is brown, streaked above, and pale on the under parts fading to brown-white; wings and tail brown faintly margined with blue. Nest usu- ally placed near the ground in the Y of a bush or shrub, and made up of dead leaves, grasses, plant fibres, and bark, lined with horse-hair and other fine material. Egg blue-white. The bird is common throughout the eastern United States; it winters in Central America. The song of the Indigo Bunting is one of the most en- livening and cheerful little lays which one may hear 136 INDIGO BUNTING. along the roadside, for the little fellow is one of the - commonest birds of the highway. But he has no gift of melody, and of sentiment he knows nothing. His is a canarylike voice, pitched almost beyond the keyboard limit of the piano, and composed of a series of loud, ringing metallic chirp-notes of very nearly equal value, which slightly diminish in volume as the song nears the end. Expressed by agroup of dashes (these, rather than dots, would seem to be nearer a good representation of far-reaching chirps), the song should appear thus: SPELANNTINNG 0 He always introduces his song with a pianissimo downward chirp, then proceeds loudly with two or three upward chirps, continues with a series which alternates up and down, and finishes with three (some- times two or four) monotone notes which are remark- ably suggestive of the words fish, fish, fish! He is an indefatigable songster, and during the nuptial period it is common for him to sing at the rate of five songs a minute for an hour at a time. His interims, too, are short, and it would be a conservative estimate at this rate to say the song is repeated (without any variation, or with trifling variation) not less than two thousand times in a day! Of course, the form of the song—that is, the rising and falling inflections of the voice which are properly called chirps, their repetitions, the diminuendo, and the few monotones together with the comparatively equal value of all the notes—is always the same; but the particular song which is illustrated by the dashes above, and again represented by this record— aw nw __ aim. yp | a tae 8 | Bre oan / Jomtien ss verpennes y is only one of a great number belonging to the Indigo Bunting’s repertoire, for no two birds sing exactly alike. There is a striking similarity, though, in the songs of particular families. I have become familiar with the 137 PAMILY Fringillide. character of the music of individuals belonging to differ- ent generations, and the results of my observations when recorded upon paper have proved surprisingly similar. It must be remembered that birds frequently come back to their old nesting places; so when I say that I have noted with interest the musical efforts of a particular in- dividual and his descendants for four, yes, five succes- sive seasons, the records of the findings will not seem so much like results of one’s imagination. The following three songs belong respectively to a grandfather, son, and grandson; the family resemblance of the music is, to say the least, remarkable: dim. . 1 Songs of birds of three generations. | 7 lemaodcme! 6 epeetseercoer ( : . y p y 9 Sip, swee, swee, chi, chir wis wis wis sir sirsir? A NY = + we i | ; ei heater! Six, chewe,chewe. cheer, cheer,swe,swe,chir,chir,sir,sir, See, see, fish fish, fish! AY a Sh ee ‘a. e * na 4 pigiy ti we | | ee “a 7 tag enoeen fish fish, fish fish! The third bird sang in 1902 and added one more fish to the song!! But still more remarkable;was the gradual musical de- velopment of each song through each season to its com- plete form; there would not be enough space in this book to show that, and its practical value would be in- deed questionable. Recollecting that there is no tangible melody to this Bunting’s song such as that which characterizes the Song Sparrow’s extraordinary essay, it will be readily under- stood why the tonic and key are not easily determined. Besides, it becomes still more difficult to record a bird’s song when the register is half-way off the keyboard of the piano! The Indigo Bunting sings too high for one to be sure of his key without considerable study. Mr. Cheney gives us a characteristic record, and draws the 138 » INDIGO BUNTING. s conclusion that the key wasF. I have taken the liberty of slurring the notes. aa sam Sl Ls a L y —T elelele ly J 7: I made a somewhat similar record at the railroad depot of Campton, N. H., August 15, 1901 (this shows how late the little fellow sings), and there appeared to be no question about the key; it was B flat. yn £n valsant. en, — a 4 id 7 : —¢ 41 This is 2 very, fait » continuation & of a Ws a birds theme! _¥ Y + —F— ; | 8 ¢ 4s}: p oe ) Z There is in this song, as there is in almost every Bunting’s song, a particular note which is burred. Of all the birds belonging to the Finch Family this is the one whose song sounds most like that of the Canary, though I must except, to a certain degree, the Goldfinch. But quite unlike the Canary, the Indigo Bunting never gives the rapidly repeated note which is generally called a trill, or any complication of bubbling tones. His is the simplest kind of a performance, brief, and at the same time full of beauty and good cheer. He is classed among those immensely useful birds which destroy not only an infinite number of injurious beetles and bugs, but also an incalculable amount of weed seed., Although in the vicinity of my summer home in Campton he is most frequently seen at the top of some gray birch, or the wild cherry-tree, he is often found, late in the season, hunting for seeds on the roadside. Mr. F, E. L. Beal in writing about the annual destruc- tion of weed seed by the Junco in the State of Iowa, says: ‘‘ Upon the basis of one-fourth of an ounce of seed eaten daily by each bird, and supposing that the birds 139 vo FAMILY Tanagride. averaged ten to each square mile and that they remained in their winter range two hundred days, we should have a total of 1,750,000 pounds, or 875 tons, of weed seed con- sumed by this one species in a single season. Large as these figures may seem, they certainly fall far short of the reality. The estimate of ten birds to a square mile is much within the truth, for the Tree Sparrow is certainly more abundant than this in winter in Massachusetts where the food supply is less than in the western States; and I have known places in Iowa where several thousand could be seen within the space of a few acres. This esti- mate, moreover, is for a single species, while, as a mat- ter of fact, there are at least half a dozen birds (not all Sparrows) that habitually feed on these seeds during the winter.” Family Tanagride. TANAGERS. The Family of Tanagers belongs exclusively to the New World, and the great majority of its members are found only in the tropics. According to Mr. Chap- man but five out of about three hundred and fifty species visit the United States. Of these there are two which may be seen in the eastern section of the country, the Scarlet Tanager and the Summer Tanager, and the latter is an extremely rare bird north of southern New Jersey and Illinois, Even the Scarlet Tanager can not be called common; he comes late and departs again quite early, frequenting, in the northern parts of his range, the se- cluded margin of the woods. The Tanager Family is remarkable for the splendor of its plumage, and a few of its members possess unusually fine voices bearing a re- mote resemblance in song-form to the robust voice of therobin. , Scarlet Tanager This splendidly apparelled bird—a flash sang of color from the tropics—invariably erythromelas Z L.7.20inches C@USes an exclamation of surprise and May 14th delight to burst from the lips of even the most unemotional observer. A sight of him through the opera-glass is an unexpected revelation of vivid scar- let, the like of which is only comparable to one of those 140 Scarlet Tanager f (Male above, female below) SCARLET TANAGER. prilliant aniline dyes which fairly makes the eyes swim! The whole plumage of the bird, except wings and tail, is an intense red-scarlet; not a vermilion color, for that lacks life, but a vivid hue such as one can only produce by superimposing Geranium Lake upon Scarlet Ver- - milion. The wings and tail are glossy black; the under _wing-coverts white. Female light olive green above, - _ yellow-green beneath; wings and tail umber brown margined with dull olive green. Young males like the _ female but with black wings and tail. By the first of September the adult male moults his scarlet feathers, _ and these are replaced for winter wear by others of a __ bright olive green hue.* The nest is a loose-woven cup- like structure of coarse grass, plant stalks, and vine ~ tendrils lightly but skilfully put together; it is usually located near the end of a horizontal limb, about twenty _ feet (often much less) above the ground. Egg pale greenish blue, strongly marked with madder brown. This bird is distributed from southern Illinois and Vir- ginia northward to New Brunswick and Manitoba. The song of the Scarlet Tanager like that of the Rose- breasted Grosbeak has been frequently compared to the Robin. H. L. Nelson and E. A. Samuels, both writers about our northeastern birds, express the opinion that the songs are similar. Florence A. Merriam also says the song suggests that of the Robin, and J. B. Grant thinks ‘‘ there is indeed a likeness between the two, the Robin’s song excelling, however, in heartiness if not in variety.” Some years ago when I first made the ac- quaintance of the bird, I was deceived into thinking the song was that of the Robin; but in a minute of time I discovered a peculiar burred character to the voice and shortly afterward traced it to its proper source. To be sure, there is a certain wild-wood likeness between all bird songs, and between those of the Rose-breasted *W.E. D. Scott says, in Bird Studies; “‘The males... vary very much in the shade and intensity of both the red of the body and black of the wings and tail. They also present curious ex- amples of color variation. . .. One of the most frequent of these divergences is in the direction of one or two more or less clearly defined scarlet or bright yellow wing-bars. These occur most often in very intensely colored birds,” 141 FAMILY Tanagide. Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, and Robin, there are un- mistakable resemblances which it would be fatuitous to ignore. But it must be remembered such similarities are wholly superficial, and that an ordinarily discrimi- nating ear would have no difficulty in recognizing the fact. The most pronounced feature of the Scarlet Tanager’s voice is its quality of tone; every note is strongly double- toned or burred. Mr. Bradford Torrey has been quick to recognize this fact for he remarks, in Footing it in Franconia, that the Scarlet Tanager is still singing hoarsely! That exactly expresses a tone quality not only nearly absent in the Robin’s voice, but in a matter of degree decidedly unique in the Tanager’s voice. A very few of the Robin’s notes are burred (sometimes not one); many of those of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak are slightly burred (sometimes nearly all); but the abiding characteristic of all the Tanager’s notes is a double- tone which can only be imitated by strongly humming and whistling at thesametime. There isa lazy, drowsy, dozy buzz to this beautiful bird’s voice which one can only liken to a giant musical bumblebee, or an old-time hurdy-gurdy; the unobtrusive music speaks of sum- mer’s peace and rest, soft zephyrs blowing over sighing pine-trees, and tinkling shallows of woodland brooks. From a point of view confined to pure sentiment there is not the slightest similarity between this serene, crooning melody and the rollicking carol of the Robin. There are also several other very pronounced differences between the songs of the two birds: the Tanager sings in groups of two, occasionally three, notes, and vice versa, the Robin in groups of three, and but rarely two, notes; also, the triple notes of the Tanager are tied together very closely and are not delivered staccato as are those of the Robin. In Mr Cheney’s records (pages 74 and 75 of his Wood Notes Wild) there are nineteen two-note groups and but ten three-note groups. Among five of my own records I find twenty-four groups of twos against only six groups of threes! In both of these col- lections it is plain that all the triple notes were slurred, and no note anywhere rendered staccato. These differ. 142 SCARLET TANAGER. ances certainly reveal a distinct contrast between the songs of the two birds and minimize all theories about their resemblance; furthermore, we still have the melody of the Scarlet Tanager to reckon with, and before Lhave finished with that it may possibly become evident that it bears no relationship whatever to that of the Robin. An illustration of the Tanager’s song by aseries of signs —using dashes rather than dots to represent the legato in contradistinction to the staccato character—should legato. appear thisway:—— —— —— -— 7-77 7 The musical notation of this song very plainly shows the two-note groups which distinguishes it from the Robin’s efforts: — AWW nan - Moderato. “nw Onn we ene OS OQ < bd —=_ ——e Observe that all notes are overshadowed by the burr sign, and that the song, not finished on the tonic, is a shorter one than the average performance of the Robin. This record was taken from a bird which sang in the Arnold Arboretum, near Boston; two days after it was obtained I heard the same bird sing again, and another little red-coat make a charming response in the minor: we * AY AYV AV nev wv EST ge ROT Ey a BI cay 8 Mh a i Ta ¢ ; Jigi dig: «£5 G}- a ae * Pw ry ee EL {——* I Vp T J = I have combined the theme with its response thus*: * These two songs are so arranged by slight additions that they form a complete melody of no insignfiicant character, but one alto- gether different from anything that we could venture to call Robin like. ! 143 FAMILY Tanagride. Ist bird ys Teor 4.90 | ae Le be) a a x | —— yD To. . . Lal . [e) = . Summers coming, symmers coming! Prat lin Birds Sd The tones strongly burred < ‘¢ 9 oY throughout, : ‘ od : > : a: r — —s it 4 Eph VO One | i | T > — F ki | L =a i * YD O ° = L ~ . The bird sang twice 8va. P 2 This is the response in the minor. 4 N , FINE 2nd bird Ss — i v | 4 . * oe y £ 7 Coming this —_ , Mildwoods sighing, Winters Fig: £ Small le. 71 acu L ye -4 a * e ball ; ial oe —.,,Y 5 i i Lai | i (ii | i ie 1 -— Fame 2b. iV, faye D ANZ a Hail! "Tis. blithe May. ~ Coming Junes | day! oa = Ft 4 a Ich | ors | In the course of another season I was greatly surprised to hear a New Hampshire bird sing a song almost identi- cal with a record made by Mr. Cheney in Vermont: a — Moderato. MAA —, —! ™ nf a mot : Fo ho carom L@J bo o ! An excellent addition to this theme may be found in Mr. Cheney’s record on page 75 of Wood Notes Wild: 144 ~ Se e: . a a a SCARLET TANAGER. ae wy aaa on aaaad Aw aad De a. Lm“ PRN As te 2 iftiaerm™ v mp v o. i . a * a > Pe a+ : a <> # if | al oe ae a RT i“ i “Sa pes es tT i. + ) WU Mabaah Vhaw figs Lae —+~— “ viv But another time the bird changed the key and discarded the minor rendering as follows: $f = 7 : y/ The call of the Scarlet Tanager has been adequately rendered by various authors chip-cherr ; the syllables are self-explanatory and scarcely need my musical addition: i — ! ” Chip-cherr But this may aid one in remembering the ever-present overtone in the bird’s voice. Mr. Torrey, in his Birdsin * Curiously enough this advanced musical effort is set in the keys of D flat and its relative B flat minor. Quite an accomplished bird, this! 146 ON a ee CEDAR WAXWING. the Bush, says of the call-note: ‘‘ Formerly I gave the Tanager credit for only:one song,—the one which sug- gests the Robin laboring under an attack of hoarseness; _. but I have discovered that he himself regards his chip- cherr as of equal value.” Possibly there are many who do not esteem the song of the Tanager very highly. To tell the truth, the gorgeousness of the little fellow’s cos- tume eclipses his fame as a musician; but we must travel far to hear another voice with such a perfectly delicious reedlike quality, and it would tax the ingenuity of an accomplished whistler to imitate it with any approach to a creditable semblance of its singular beauty. Family Ampelide. WAXWINGS. This small family includes but one species, the Cedar- bird, which may be justly called common in the eastern United States. It is devoid of any musical ability, but is otherwise very interesting. ? Cedar Wax- This Cedar Waxwing, or Cedarbird, as wing he is sometimes called, is most certainly a Cherrybird ‘ tail de” bird if | f Ampetis tailor-made ” bir ever there was one auipairaes which deserved that significant appella- L.7.15inches tion. His feathers are a close fit, his style Aprilioth,or refined and irreproachable; his orderly all the year ~ ES BS ES. appearance is in sharp contrast with that characteristically dishevelled morsel of bird-life which we call the Chickadee, and his dignified carriage is an unexceptionable model for other members of the feath- ered tribe. * His colors (and conduct as well) are quiet almost to the point of being Quakerish; upper parts a soft tone of light brown graded to gray on wings and tail; head conspicuously crested; region about the eye and beneath the bill black; tail tipped with a yellow band; secondaries, and sometimes tail, in the yellow part, tipped with scarlet spots resembling red sealing- wax. Under parts like the back, but paling to a yellow: * Mr. Ned Dearborn, in his Birds of Durham, calls them “‘ the tip tops of feathered aristocracy.” 147 FAMILY Sf ae ish tint lower down. Female sivafigat marked. Nest built in some tree usually near the house (not infre- quently a fruit-tree), bulky, and woven with grasses, bark, twigs, moss, and rootlets, sometimes with a basis of mud; the lining of similar but finer material. Egg purplish or bluish gray variously spotted with umber or black. The breeding season is late—about early July. The birds range throughout North America, breeding from Virginia northward, and among the Alleghany Mountains south to South Carolina; they winter from the northern United States to northern South America, They are characteristic wanderers—Mr. Scott calls them gypsies—who come and go in squads of six or seven, or more, regardless of migration periods. Their quiet un- obtrusiveness, their silence, their gentle manners and re- fined appearance always make them peculiarly attractive to the bird-lover, in spite of the fact that they have an unfortunate reputation for being over-fond of cherries. But I think Mr. F. E. L. Beal has proved that this is an onus of unjust opinion saddled upon a bird of generally beneficent habits. He says: ‘‘ much complaint has been made on account of the fruit eaten. Observation has shown, however, that the depredations are confined to trees on which the fruit ripens earliest, while later varie- ties are comparatively untouched. Thisis probably owing to the fact that when wild fruits ripen they are preferred to cherries, and really constitute the bulk of the Cedar- bird’s diet. In one hundred and fifty-two stomachs ex- amined, animal matter formed only thirteen and vegetable eighty-seven per cent., showing that the bird was not wholly a fruit eater. . . . Of the eighty-seven per cent. of vegetable food, seventy-four consisted entirely of wild fruit or seeds, and thirteen of cultivated fruit, but a large part of the latter was made up of black- berries and raspberries, and it is very doubtful whether these represented cultivated varieties. Cherry-stealing is the chief complaint against this bird, but of the one hundred and fifty-two stomachs only nine, all taken in June and July, contained any remains of cultivated cherries, and these would aggregate but five per cent. of the year’s food.” 148 RED-EYED VIREO. The handsome Cedar Waxwing is therefore a bird of use as well as beauty; but alas for his song! It does not exist, or if it ever did it is now reduced to the level of a pianissimo imitation of the whistle belonging to the Italian’s peanut roaster which sings on the corner of our city streets. Mr. Torrey writes pleasingly about the al- most unbroken silence of this bird’s life, and adds: ‘‘ Of course I refer to the Waxwing whose faint, sibilant whisper can scarcely be thought to contradict the fore- going description. By what strange freak he has lapsed into this ghostly habit, nobody knows. I make no ac- count of the insinuation that he gave up music because _ it hindered his success in cherry-stealing. He likes ; cherries it is true, . . . but he would need to work hard to steal more than does that indefatigable songster, _ the Robin.” I have managed, not without some difficulty, to locate the note of the average Waxwing at E flat, just three tones beyond the limit of the piano! Three tones above highest C ppnapy : Bee There is also a burred note, which Thoreau calls his ‘*beady note,” included in the above notation. That is the best and only representation it is possible for me to give of the voice of this esthetic squeaker. Family Vireonide. VIREOS. This group of birds is very nearly related to the War- blers; but in song and habits the Vireos show traits which are distinctly their own. There are about fifty species in America, to which country this family exclu- sively belongs, but only five species may be considered common in eastern North America. Red-eyed The few species of Vireos commonly haat found in the eastern part of our country Vireo olivaceus : 4 : L.6.20inches 2r¢ extremely interesting and useful birds, May i2th far more musical than the so-called War- blers to which they are closely related, and certainly 149 FAMILY Vireonide. more deliberate in character and action, They are, like the Warblers, great insect destroyers. It is very signi- ficant in view of the differences between the two classes of birds that the Vireos almost invariably sing in alle- gro and the Warblers in presto time, that the voices of the tiny Warblers are weak, thin, and pitched very high, and that those of the more robust Vireos are louder and pitched much lower. The Red-eyed Vireo is one of the commonest of birds, and is easily recognized by his intermittent song. He is in évery orchard, along every highway and byway, and on the margin of every wooded hill throughout the country. His crown is dark gray margined by an al- most black line sharply contrasted with a white one directly over the eye; the iris is reddish; upper part of wings (with no wing-bars) light brownish olive; under parts white or yellower white as the season is advanced. Female similar in coloring. The nest is pensile and woven of dried grasses and the shredded stems or branches of weeds; plant down, bits of paper,* and birch-bark are also often used in its construction. About one half of the edge of the nest is attached to some forked limb anywhere from five to thirty (or rarely more) feet high. Egg white, sparingly flecked with umber or sepia. The range of this Vireo is throughout eastern North America; it winters in Central and South America. There is no bird song more easily traced to its source after a little experience with the roadside songsters than this one. It is not necessary to leave the road to find the singer, he will surely be directly overhead or on the other side of the way before one has walked five minutes; he is omnipresent, persistently loquacious, indefatigable, and irrepressible! He has something to say at all times and under all circumstances, and one may absolutely rely upon his having the /ast word unless the matter is settled with a gun! Heis a restless fellow and is seldom in one place for more than a few seconds ata time. All through the long summer day he sings his rhythmically * A young lady once showed me a nest belonging to her collection, in which was weven a bit of newspaper with the print in plain sight; it read—or part of it did—* front door this side.” 150 ” — sa" ~~. hl . . ig as = -RED-EYED VIREO. broken, interrupted song, and one may always depend upon this fragmentary character for its unmistakable identification. The dots show the disconnected charac- ter of the song perfectly: we @ ote @ o*e, e re ra a « n s The musical notation in general appearance does not look unlike that of the Robin: Hilegro agitate, DD Hil twice 8va, GQ J _/T} _ Fo mf 3X sempre staccato. 73 —s 2 in “ Or' the fal lowing: Allegro agitato. - ~ aa, i, : a oom 2 ff ele 7A 4__£ a oir, TTT rd ars a 2 2 [ome | TTI eet i ie ell lif 4 — tected 4 juaan | eae ~ But there are really great differences, and appearances at best. are superficial; the Red-eyed Vireo’s voice is pitched on a higher key, the notes are more rapid al- though the pauses are much longer, and the whistle is an apparently clear one by no means running along in unaltering three-note groups. Henry Ward Beecher, crediting the Vireo with a devotional nature, has said of him, ‘‘ He pauses between each morsel of food to give thanks to Heaven,” which is exactly the case if one con- siders the half-note rests as the time required to devour the morsels! But Wilson Flagg’s description of the song places the bird at once among the clergy, and one won- ders whether the Vireo is not after all a religious charac- ter, for he says: ‘‘ The Preacher is more generally known by his note, because he is incessant in his song. Though constantly talking, he takes the part of a 151 a, FAMILY Vireonide. deliberate orator who explains his subject in a few words and then makes a pause for his hearers to reflect upon it. - « + ‘You see it—you know it—do you hear me?— do you believe it?’” W. E. D. Scott says of the song, it is ‘‘slow, drowsy, and broken. Hesitating as if at a loss for the next series of notes, the pause is long but they are sure to come.” But I can not, myself, see any- thing slow or drowsy about it; instead, one would im- agine the choppy sentences indicated that thebird was ever on the qui vive for the unexpected. Wilson has another idea about the music, for he says: ‘‘ Indeed, on attentively listening for some time to this bird in the full ardor of his song, it requires but little of imagination to fancy that you hear it pronounce these words, ‘ Tom- kelly . . . whip-tom-kelly!’ very distinctly.” But after all, from a human point of view, the language of a bird is entirely shaped by our state of mind and environ- ment; therefore, if we separate ourselves as far as possi- ble from such influences, and imagine that the bird is expressing his exuberant feelings by idle chatter as he searches for his breakfast and thinks his wife ought to be by his side to share it—I should venture to suggest he said this: ‘‘Fat worms . . . plenty to eat Gobble ‘em up . . . they ’re sweet. . . . Come dear . don’t delay ... Fly thisway ... I’m here!” —but how do we know that? The fact of the case, how- ever, is not altered by imagined sentences; the mechani- cal rhythm of the Vireo’s song is perfectly expressed by a series of rapid beats, or taps, or sentences, or notes— one does not care which—widely separated. There are two, three, four, or even five notes in a group, and these are given with such rapidity and with such a lack of true pitch, that all semblance of concerted tones or any- thing like tunefulness must not be expected at all! The bird can not sing a connected song; his attempt is asort of musical hash, a potpourri of tones, not melodies, Not the best songster in the country on the morning of the rarest day in June can give us a livelier, cheerier roundelay. In the gayest of spirits he sings from early May until the middle of August, and if some hot day in midsummer you enter the woods, and far up among 152 lt ht ee WARBLING VIREO. the tree-tops where the light is greened by the forest’s multitude of leaves hear the following song; Aegroagits fo. “Twice 8va. 7 aN ia) a anor ow 7s Y= mete “a0 JGUsSe 4K PA LA hal ‘Ss zome Porras you may be sure it is that of the Red-eyed Vireo; the notes are clearly whistled, there is scarcely a suggestion of the overtone, they are pitched very high, and the groups themselves are closely connected—in fact, slurred. My rendering of the music shows that the bird attempts intervals of a third, fourth, fifth, and even an octave; but very few of these are really accurate; one has to presume more than half the time that the bird meant to do thus, or so, and take no note of failures. Warbling A smaller bird than the Red-eyed Vireo; ts pes the upper parts a dull olive-gray inclined L. 5.75 inches toward brown; under parts dull white May 12th slightly dashed with pale yellow on the breast; the first primary wing feather exceedingly short, the long feathers of the wing and those of the tail tipped with olive at the edges; no wing-bars; a well-defined line of white-gray over the eye; the general color a grada- tion from gray on the head to olive-brown on the back. The pensile nest, usually attached to a Y branch well above one’s head, is woven of various vegetable fibres and lined with soft grasses. Egg whitespeckled slightly with umber, red-brown, or sepia. The range of this Vireo extends throughout North America. This familiar bird may be justly termed a village character.. He makes his home among the maples and elms of Plymouth, N. H.; and Cambridge, as well as subur- ban New York knows his cheery song throughout May and June. Unfortunately he is not as easily seen as heard. His time is spent among the tree-tops exploring every leaf and twig with tireless energy; the best way to find him is to be on the lookout for a group of agitated, wagging leaves; there in the midst of the disturbance a tiny, restless, busy figure will presently appear and 153 FAMILY Vireonidz. disappear before one can adjust the opera-glass—it is hel But there can be no doubt about the identification of the slippery little fellow if one will depend upon the ear rather than the eye, for the song is a continuous warble exclusively his own, although resembling in its general free character that of the Purple Finch, Different writers describe his voice as a rambling soprano; which is all well enough in its way, but generalities, as a rule, are unsatisfactory and misleading, and such a descrip- tion tells less than half the truth. There is more in the Warbling Vireo’s song than at first would appear, In construction it is a smooth, continuous flow of about nine or more notes of equal value. There is no other Vireo that sings thisway. Again, the Warbling Vireo's attempt at music does not resemble a song as much as it does a bit of a fantasia, caprice, or the somewhat rapid movement of a sonata. When the bird begins he runs on until he has finished, without break, pause, or any unevenness whatever. Here isa record from Saxton’s River, Vt., taken May 23, 1901: ‘Twice a ETI = : 4 / i" » "A “mp ces. Ff So little is there of variation in the character of the song, that a sufficient proof of that fact is found in the record I made in Cambridge, Linnean Street, two years earlier—May 21, 1899. a mp Cres. x 3 This song is constructively identical with the record taken in Vermont. One needs to bear several points in mind in ledrning the character of the Warbling Vireo’s music. Itisalmost entirely without definite pitch—that is, the bird does not seem to sing on any particular key (I can not too emphatically state that fact); furthermore, 154 Warbling Vireo WARBLING VIREO, the notes are closely connected together and seem to be _ rolled around in his bill like a sugarplum, but in spite of this effect they are apparently delivered staccato; the last note in particular is struck and left abruptly, as though it were red-hot! Finally, it is evident that a slight overtone distinguishes every note, that each note gathers force as it goes, and that the last-one will be found to be the highest in the great majority of songs. Although, note for note, the first phrase of Chopin’s wild but beautiful Impromptu Fantasia does not correspond with this Vireo’s song, it can not be denied that there is a striking similarity in the construction of the two frag- ments: Alegro agitate. ———_ Cio TRY hts ses eda ae rr P ae ae Re oie ied ———— Both bits of music roll triumphantly toward a high note in a sort of spontaneous ebullition of feeling, and there the matter ends—with the Vireo; but Chopin goes on, and his sprightly embroidery of tones is ultimately suc- ceeded by the more substantial form of a slow and dignified melody. If we take the Vireo’s song and give it the advantage of a harmonious setting, the result is not a bad one: Allegro 2. - ~ fe 7 = The birdsan twice 8va. ¥ mp cres, © 4 4 = sa FAMILY Vireonide. Now if we take the trouble to look over the first few phrases of that lively old Sonata of Scarlatti, which I regret to say is not as popular as it deserves to be, we will find the ninth bar is as follows: >” pete , eal ——————e a form almost identical with my interpretation of the Vireo’s song! But if it is difficult to catch the idea of the music from these notations, there is still an oppor- tunity of catching it by studying the mechanical rhythm; that may be represented by a series of nine or eleven even taps on the table with the pencil, accom- panied by an undulating whistle, not forgetting the overtone. Or, if weresort to a demonstration of the form by means of syllables, the best that can be done is this: too-te-terte—™~ too-te-ter/ te-ter To - too I have bound these syHables together with the tie sign of music, which, it seems unnecessary to add, is so im- portant that if unheeded it would not be possible to get at the true character of the music at all! It is necessary also to attach the greatest importance to the crescendo of this bird’s song; he begins perhaps moderately but he ends with emphasis, and certainly he is an artist in smooth execution! "Watch him closely if opportunity affords, and you will find his music and business are inseparable; he is a busybody, occupying every moment, never stopping to sing, never idle; his refrain is: “* Can’t you see it’s best to sing and work like me/” 156 YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. His tone of voice is a bit argumentative and persuasive, the crescendo attests to that, and what Wilson savs of it is perfectly true, although he fails to hear the emphasis inseparable from the crescendo, ‘‘ This little bird may be distinguished from all the rest of our songsters by the soft, tender, easy flow of its notes while hidden among the foliage. In these there is nothing harsh, sudden, or emphatic; they glide along in a kind of meandering strain that is peculiarly its own.” Yellow- This less common Vireo is a more beau- throated Vireo tifylly marked and colored bird than any Vireo 3 $ = » favifrons other member of his tribe. The back is a L.5.75inches clear olive green modified to gray on the May toth rump; there are two white wing-bars; the throat, breast, and a ring around the eye are bright. yel- low; this color fades to white at the undermost parts. The prevailing tones of color are olive-gray and yellow. Female similarly marked. The pensile nest is built of shreds of bark and plant fibres well woven together and lined with soft grasses; it is suspended from a Y branch usually about twenty feet from the ground, Egg white sparingly flecked with umber, red-brown, or sepia. The range of the bird is throughout eastern North America. My first acquaintance with this Vireo dates back many years to the day my Manx cat entered the studio with the little creature in his mouth quite dead. I had been puzzled by the distinctly different character of two songs I had heard, evidently belonging to two species of Vireo. These proved to be the songs of the Red-eye and Yellow- throat. The attempt to connect each song with the right bird was not a difficult task, but I really obtained no as- sistance whatever from the books. For two birds whose songs were so entirely different it seemed absurd that they had been so slightingly treated from a musical point of view. There are certain radically opposite characteristics to the songs of the two species. It is commonly said that the Red-eye has a soprano, and the Yellow-throat a contralto voice; that is a fairly good comparison as the. Red-eye really does pitch his voice in a high key and 157 FAMILY Vireonide, the Yellow-throat in a much lower one. But the most striking difference between the voices.of the birds is less a matter of key than quality of tone—in a word, the Yellow-throat’s notes are completely dominated by over- tones, and the Red-eye’s notes are not. To imitate this effect I hum any tone away down in the base and at the same time whistle up high in a very slurring fashion the three or four notes common to the Yellow-throat’s song. Of course, music of that nature does not bear any rela- tion to the full, pure tones of a contralto singer. It is nearer the truth to say, rather, that the Yellow-throat has a violin quality to his voice, or better, a reedlike quality; Bradford Torrey calls it an ‘‘organ tone.” At any rate there is no clear whistle to this Vireo’s music, and on the contrary there is to the Red-eye’s music. That is the whole matter in a nut-shell! For the rest I may add that the Yellow-throat’s tempo is much slower, and that he does not indulge in such an interminable amount of singing! Red-eye takes life much less seri- ously, and Mr. Gilbert’s sentiments placed in Bunthorn’s mouth (in Patience) regarding the esthetic poet, exactly fit his case: ** It really does n’t matter If it ’s only idle chatter Of a transcendental kind!” The deliberate way in which the Yellow-throat sings is also another characteristic of the bird which must always separate his song from that of all his relatives. He is never in a hurry, and after singing three or four clusters of slurred notes, thus: / dseeme! Im here, where are you? he gives you plenty of time to think the matter over be- fore he makes another remark, and always, you will no- 158 YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. tice, he sticks to that locustlike buzz which I have described as reedlike. As for what he says, thatis again a matter of opinion. Mr. Chapman gives the syllables as follows, but I place them up and down off the line to in- dicate the pitch: ** See here; are me; I’m where you?” At the time of the Boer War I imagined this interesting bird was telling me all about it in the following way: U een aes Mafeking. Hodder Fiver Butanege. Molappo. Boer wart Certainly one finds the word Buluwayo fits a particular group of four notes remarkably well, though they are fused together almost inseparably. There is no variation from this kind of singing so far as I am aware, except that the little fellow occasionally talks to himself sotto voce, as many another bird does, when his remarks become musically incoherent. I rec- ollect whistling to him one day, in his own fashion, when we met in the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, and to my infinite surprise he dropped his stereotyped song, and ran rippling along among a lot of trills and warbles, pianissimo et gracioso! That was a surprise, and I wondered whether it was meant for a tender love ditty, with myself mistaken for the charming Juliet! Perhaps so, who can tell? As for the stereotyped song of the Yellow-throat, that, like all the other Vireos’ songs, is very uncertain in pitch; one is never sure about the key, for one group of notes may suggest B flat andanother F. Butif Ishould render the melody with an accompaniment as one might reasonably suppose the bird would render it if he only knew how to stick to a given key and sing with the piano, the result would be something like the following coherent melodic form: | hese WEN cas, pe Oa 7 FAMILY Vireonide. Moderato “OY RR saps AO — _ AS) M }:; + 5 | ol 5) A. a a Tl ATT ou a a ot | 1 7 1 i =a & The bird rapidly slurs — the note 4 #3) Mi g 2 Q cluster. = ° : pP- ae L j | | tt Ge: | ' ' ' 7 T T Cer ‘ But one must remember that the song is greatly discon- nected—seriously so, for the time is so long between the little groups of notes that this interpretation might prove misleading unless the reader is warned beforehand. My intention is simply to illustrate the fact that the song tends towards a coherent form which it just fails to at- tain. So perfect is the pitch of those slurred four tones to which the word Buluwayo has been applied, that I think anybody would recognize their repeated occurrence in the Impromptu Fantasia of Chopin; here they are: 8yva Creecetescececsceseces d= 168. > > : PN 4 —~— > bad i ta out > a ie ante, Ptr If the little bird could only sustain himself, musically speaking, he might do as well as Chopin for a bar or two atleast. But hecan not, and we must be content with his random phrases, which separately considered are musical enough to satisfy the most exacting ear. At the very least he must always stand as a most expressive singer. Solitary Vireo This Vireo is a woodland character aga a whose voice is often heard where the road mee solitarius Winds through the woods at the foot of L.5.60inches the hill. He is one of the few birds who May ist does not hesitate to do the best with his limited musical score in the latter part of September as 160 r Heit 4 : 4 Pai tg Nar ia ne oS) a =a we : eh 4 gogae™ | \ | | { “ rv 7 = “ , White-eyed Vireo Solitary Vireo (above) (below) ~, SN BLUER-HEADED VIREO, well as the first of May. He is one of the first birds to arrive in the northern woods and the last to depart in the autumn. His colors are simple but tasteful. Head, top and sides, blue-gray; back olive green brighter on the rump; a white eye-ring, and white between the eye and the bill; two distinct white wing-bars; outer web of inner secondaries white; under parts white but tinted with green-yellow on the sides. Female similarly colored. Nest pensile, about ten feet from the ground, and placed in the Y of a slender branch; it is usually built of plant fibres and pine needles. Egg white lightly speckled with umber or sepia, mostly at the larger end. _ This bird’s range is throughout eastern North America. It breeds on the crests of the Alleghanies, and north- ward from Connecticut. It winters from Florida to Central America. As a singer the Solitary Vireo will rank as high as, if not higher than, any of his relatives. His music is not remarkable for pitch, precision of intervals, or melody; indeed, he is simply an expert in emphatic expression. In this respect he is quite the equal of his querulous cousin, the White-eye, though he certainly lacks the im- pertinence of that bird. He may be classed at once among those songsters who can slur over a short passage with remarkable skill and leave one in complete mystery as to what tones were given! To this class belong the lazy Wood Pewee and the somewhat melancholy Mead- owlark. But the slur of the Solitary Vireo is of an- other nature; like the musical swishing of a whip-lash it is fraught with emphasis! Unlike the common note of the White-eye, which consists of four syllables, this Vireo seems to me exclusively to sing notes of two and three syllables. Also, I have noticed him do something which I have never observed any other Vireo attempt; that is, string together no less than three or four of his two-cluster notes; here is an illustration of that point: , ‘Notes all slurs, Twice Bue ¢ a ) | t “ y ‘~. T Smee FAMILY Vireonide. The structure of his song is not unlike that of the Yellow-throated Vireo, as the following notation will show; but there is a certain elementary character to the song of each of the birds which written music can not easily express—i. e., the buzz of one and emphasis of the other: Sforzando. NOE — - abe hax: i | nS ra 4 is SI + . . o — . 4 7 a - =e ; . —"—‘This\grouptis coe : ee Characteristic. <4 iw Ld —— — | , f- ~ —— all This group of three SH x, NEY | = slurred tones ts characteristic. 2 One need not suppose for an instant, that the notes as I have recorded them represent tones accurately struck by the bird; they do not. But they do represent the approximate swing of his slurred tones placed as cor- rectly as possible upon the musical staff. One may think that the music looks like that of the Robin; but I am quite sure that my explanations and musical signs will constitute an evidence sufficient to show that such an impression produced upon the eye could not be other than an entirely superficial one. White-eyed The White-eyed Vireo is an extremely bik uncommon bird in New England. In noveboracensis Campton, N. H., his voice is never heard, L. 5.2sinches and in the vicinity of Boston it is very May 15th. rare. In northern New Jersey, however, the bird is an almost common summer resident, and his notes enliven the thick shrubbery and undergrowth wherever there is a pond or stream with a marshy border. He is also common in the vicinity of Washing- ton. His colors are, gray olive-green on the back; brown-olive on wings and tail; two distinct yellowish cream wing-bars on each wing; the region in front of and around the eye yellow; throat and under parts dull white; breast and sides tinged with greenish yellow 162 WHITE-EYED VIREO. fading into the white; the iris white in spring and early , summer only. Femalesimilarly colored. Nest like that of the Red-eyed Vireo. Egg white with a few markings of umber, red-brown, or sepia at the larger end. The range of this bird is from Florida to New Hampshire and Minnesota; it winters from Florida to Honduras. The favorite retreat of the White-eyed Vireo is the thicket of the swamp. There, his querulous notes will be heard with a certain impatient inflection of the voice which unmistakably denotes dissatisfaction—at least, that is the impression one gets upon hearing him for the first time. If one stops to investigate the little fellow with the opera-glass, and he discovers the intruder, there is pretty sure to be expostulations on his part of a significant if not a saucy nature. He seems to whistle at one angrily—Who are you there?. . Go ’way... Get out! His range of voice is much wider than that of the Red-eye, his whistle is almost as clear, but his notes are slurred—not delivered staccato. To my mind his voice more nearly resembles that of the Solitary Vireo. Mr. Torrey considers the bird a singer of astonishing spirit and a skilful ventriloquist. The following is my only notation: ‘, Sforzando. , : (AS te a az. 4 % (Noles all slurs) It does not differ in appearance from that of other Vireos, but the inflections of the bird’s voice, are, nevertheless distinctly his own. Family Mniotiltide. Woop WARBLERS. This remarkable and large family of so-called soft- billed birds is distinctively American. According to Mr. Chapman there are one hundred species known, of which some seventy visit the United States, the rest re- maining in the tropical regions. Of the seventy species, about thirty may be considered more or less common, generally or locally, and of this number certainly not more than a score are likely to become familiar to the 163 FAMILY Mniotiltide. ordinary bird student through their songs. These songs, without exception, are pitched extremely high, There are a few I can find with a register that extends be- low the highest G of the piano, and many extend ap- proximately to G an octave above that, which is fou: whole tones more than the piano undertakes to account for! When a bird sings as high as that, we may as well admit that a musical ear is sorely puzzled, and a defec- tive one hopelessly tone-deaf, It is therefore no simple matter to determine the intervals in a Warbler’s song, and notation must represent them approximately rather than exactly; this, however, will in no wise prevent a due recognition of the song printed on paper, for its mechanical rhythm is of far greater importance than its pitch. Naturally enough no musician will consider the Warblers good songsters—on the contrary, as a class. they are the very poorest of the woodland singers. In imitating their songs I have to produce a lisping whistle by placing the tongue immediately back of the upper front teeth, and forcing the tonein between, and making it high or low by the movement of the lips. In this way alone should my notations be read, and not with the aid of the piano except as it may serve in locating the tones. The majority of the Warblers arrive late in the spring, most of them travelling by night. Their food consists mainly of insects, untold myriads of which they destroy during one season alone. How much such work accrues to our benefit, who shall say! Black and This Warbler, sometimes called the Black White Warbler .,4 White Creeper, is very common and Mniotilta varia qt ° : L. 5.25 inches ™ost easily recognized. He has a habit of April 25th walking upside down as well as right side up with the ease and agility of a true Creeper, hence a confusion of titles. The bird is admirably marked; he is a symphony in black and white; Nature has rung all the changes possible with those colors, Head barred black and white, a white stripe over each eye; ear coverts black; upper parts streaky black and white; two white wing-bars on each wing; inner webs of outer tail feath- ers white-patched; throat and upper breast black, or 104 eee eee Black and White Warbler BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER. striped irregularly with white; under parts white. Fe- male similarly marked but with less black beneath, and a rusty black or brownish tone on the sides. Nest on the ground at the base of a stump or at the root end of some overthrown tree; it is woven of strips of bark, plant fibres, and grasses, and is lined with rootlets, hairs, etc. Egg white with specks of varying brown at the larger end. This Warbler is distributed throughout eastern North America; it winters from the Gulf States to Central America. The song of the Black and White Warbler, if one can call any of the tsippings of the Warblers by the dignified term song, is a series of two distinctly separate high tones approximately at highest C and the second whole tone higher, off the piano keyboard. These two tones are wagged back and forth a number of times, and that constitutes the song: ; there is nothing more to it, and yet an acute observer will notice that there is something peculiar about the accent: it is shifted; the wag is upward in the first half of the song and downward in the last half. The bird is somehow or other overcome with an exuberance of high spirits, and lisps hysterically! There is not a person, who, when he heartily laughs, does not do something very similar, We say, ‘‘ Mr. —— was convulsed with laughter,” but we took no note of the nature of the convulsion ; if we did, we would remember that there was a continuous shifting of accent as well as tone in the laugh. Some Black and White Warblers are, of course, young, and these have not yet advanced so far as a shift in the accent of the song—in fact, they do not, to use a popular term, knowit all. The musical nota- tion shows the character of the song perfectly, but I must emphasize the fact that the tones are altogether too high to be accurately located on the staff: d Met f ve. raat! 8 nes > aim. ad S ee > > > LA 2 ia ~ a. “a a | a | ul | a | t i i i L i ~ de es = 105 FAMILY Mnaiotiltida. ‘o imitate these high tones it is necessary to place the tongue in a rigid position behind the upper front teeth, an eighth of an inch, perhaps, away from them, and force the whistled tone between; the lips will easily manage the third interval by a slight shift. Golden-winged This beautiful gray Warbler with his Warbler P noe Helutathrophiic of gold and his funny, quizzical chrysoptera face (when you get a good front view of L.5.10inches it) is rather a late arrival. He appears in May 14th. the vicinity of New York about May 8th, and around Boston several days later. His colors are unique and refined. Top of head bright lemon yellow; upper parts a light blue-gray, with sometimes a slight greenish tinge; two narrow wedges of black extend from about the eye backward, and another from the chin downward, the intervening space being white; a narrow white line over the eye; two overlapping bars on the blue-gray wings form a conspicuous yellow patch; the three outer tail feathers have white patches on the inner vanes; sides light gray; lower breast and under parts white. Female similarly marked, but the black displaced by gray, and the yellow by pale ochre-yellow. Nest on the ground among the bushes in field borders; it is built of dead leaves, bark, and tendrils, and lined with finer material. Egg white speckled on the larger end with varied brown. The bird is distributed throughout the eastern United States and breeds in the more northern ones including northern New Jersey. It winters in Central and northern South America, I have never seen it in Campton, N. H., and according to Mr. Ned Dearborn’s report it has not been discovered within the limits of New Hampshire. It is, however, a common bird in the Arnold Arboretum, near Boston, The song of the Golden-winged Warbler is something of a puzzle to the initiated as well as the uninitiated; it is generally reported as a monotonous zee-zee-zee-zee, which is all right in part. Evidently it is a case of tone-deafness with those who have reported the song thus imperfectly, otherwise it is difficult to understand 166 J9{qIVM pesuIM-uspfoy JIIQIVM ITIAYSeyy pa + 2 : 5 - r ee a ie . + cons ks age y fee 3 ‘ 4 j ek, ee aN ee Bs i 4g (al GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. why they should not have favored us with the first syllable. I have never heard the bird sing zee-zee-zee-zee alone; for those who listen with a sharp ear he will always sing Ps-s-s-st zee-zee-zee-zee, or some similar form which is duly recorded here. It is a notable fact that many people are partly tone-deaf; I have the acquaintance of several so afflicted, therefore, it is not surprising that the syllable Ps-s-s-st has not (to my knowledge) been reported, for the note is pitched so inconceivably high that there is little use in placing it in any definite position on, or relatively with, the musi- cal staff! Of course such a tone can not be heard by one who is tone-deaf. The other four notes (there may be less, rarely more of them) are characteristically burred, and one has to hum and at the same time whistle in a lisping way between the teeth to imitate them. Here is a fair representation of the song by a series of signs: .... or, rendering this form in musical notation, the aspect is certainly not materially changed: 4 ie LY > rn a2. | A OZ res | | | i | ed a Ps-5-$t zee-zee-zee-zee. 60 7 LangoT hee times Sve. But this Warbler, like many another bird, indulges iv certain variations; here is one: Cres. MWK S eI Cs eee That consists of two long notes and two short ones; the record belongs to a particular individual, and I have been unable thus far to duplicate it, so I suppose it may be considered eccentric. By far the commonest record I have is a form comprising only four notes with the in. terval of a third between the first and second note thus: 167 FAMILY Maiotiltide. COS SADA Rssst zee-zee-zee. + * Then, a very unusual form seems to me to be one where the general order of the song is reversed, and the buzz- ing note is higher than the others, thus: creés. are . = ih Oe i oe SE I can not promise that the intervals as they are recorded here are absolutely correct; it must be admitted that they are mostly guesswork. But I am strongly of the opinion that the greatest interval the bird sings is not over a minor third; about from D to F beyond highest C. - Unfortunately the lower note, D, is so completely domi- nated by a buzzing overtone that the bird’s voice seems to many people to be pitched very low; but that burred effect can not be substituted for a legitimate tone; the tone is present, and it is at least approximately located at D, a note that I can easily whistle, and, of course, recognize although it is beyond the limit of the piano keyboard. I have no other types of the Golden-wing’s song, though it is very evident others exist. Exactly what form of song Mr. Bradford Torrey heard from his Blue Golden-wing I am unable to imagine, but it is extremely doubtful whether any of the forms here recorded would correspond with his description. He says: ‘‘ The best of the three songs of the Blue Golden-wing I have never heard except on one occasion, but then it was repeated for half an hour under my very eyes. It bore no re-- semblance to the common dsee, dsee, dsee, of the species, and would appear to be seldom used; for not only have L never heard it since, but none of the writers seem ever to have heard it at all. However I still keep a careful description of it, which I took down on the spot, and which I expect some future Golden-wing to verify.” * * Vide Birds in the Bush, page 42 108 NASHVILLE WARBLER. Nashville This delightful little Warbler with a Warbler jolly song and engaging, cheerful man- eee ners, is measurably common throughout err eee New York and New England. His color- L. 4.75 inches ing is as refined as that of the Golden- May 8th wing, though it is a little more pronounced in effect. The top and sides of head blue-gray; beneath the crown-feathers in partial concealment is a patch of burnt sienna or chestnut feathers; upper parts olive green; no wing-bars; lower parts beautifully graded from pale cadmium yellow to yellow-white; wings and tail edged with clear olive green. Female similarly colored but the yellow not quite so bright. Nest on the ground in brushy pastures or sparse woods; it is built of plant fibres, moss, and rootlets, and lined with finer material of the same nature. Egg white pro- fusely speckled with red-brown especially at the larger end. The bird is distributed throughout eastern North America; it breeds from Connecticut northward, and winters in Central America. Its favorite haunts are the half overgrown pasture, or open woodland where the trees are mostly very young. I recollect spending an hour of the early morning, on the twenty-second of May last, in the hilly pasture of the Davis place, Camp- ton, watching no less than fifteen Nashville Warblers joyously chasing each other about among the tops of the young spruces and firs, and singing incessantly while on the wing. The song of the Nashville is a delightfully typical one with little or no rhythmic variation so far as my knowledge extends. Few could fail to recognize its stereotyped character after once having had that fully explained to them. Those who can depend upon time beats for the recognition of a bird’s song will experience no difficulty with the well-accented music of the Nash- ville. I have already represented the song by dots in the Musical Key ; it is a bit of rhythm that skips along in a most lively fashion and ends with a ripple! Ex- pressed by dots, it should appear thus: or, if one preferssyllables, thus: Te-dum’, te-dum', te-dum’, 169 FAMILY Mnaiotiltide. te-dum’', te-did-dle-te-dee! Langille compares the first half of the song to that of the Black and White Warbler, and the last half to that of the Chipping Sparrow, which, as the saying goes, is not half bad! Buta full knowl- edge of time in music,,and the comparative values of notes, knocks all comparisons like that endways. Com pare my notations of the Black and White Warbler’s music with those of the Nashville, further on, and the difference will become apparent at a glance, One bird tsips back and forth evenly, the other does not; one goes with a measured pace, the other, so to speak, lame- legged! Perhaps some will think this is a bit of hair-split- ting discrimination, but it is nothing of the kind; on the contrary, it is a simple elucidation of one of those subtile differences in bird songs (particularly Warbler’s songs) upon which we must depend for a more perfect know!l- edge of bird music. Here is my notation of the song previously expressed in the series of dots: Presto 3times 8va. a a. a a. ; i | AP a » a _ i“ j . Per-che perake per-che © perche per-chipy-cher pee, There are few varieties to this form. Rev. J. H. Lan- gille represents the song in syllables thus: “‘ Ke-tsee, ke- tsee, ke-tsee, chip-ee-chip-ee-chip-ee-chip,” which shows that his bird sang only three slurred double chirps, but added two more trill notes to the tail end of the song than my bird did. But I have also another form where the trilled notes are low instead of high, thus: Presto. | SS a a aa | [ FS ee SS | = C Te-dum, te-dum, te-dum, tedum, te-did-dle-te-de-de and still another where the bird ‘‘doubled-up” on the two first rapid trill notes in this fashion: Presto. eee Me j a 170 NORTHERN PARULA WARBLER. In every case the Nashville accents (i. e., goes lame- legged on) one or the other of his slurred notes, and that ought to be a very strong point in the identification of the song, regardless of its unique dual character. Minot evidently heard the accent on the first syllable instead of the second, for he writes it: ‘‘ Wee’-see, wee'-see, wit-a- wit-a-wit.” I remember hearing my friend Prof. J. B. Sharland tell his quartette to sing the notes in the open- ing bars of Rossini’s Carnovale, as they were written, ** lame-legged,” thus: The Carnovale. Rossini. Allegroo yw lg i eet Cer ae ——t— } | | PR ak TR an # i | Ee ” Ls ae | 28S SE 4 ad Ci + | ag ~ We are beggars struck with blind nessLiving on the rich mans kindness. The rhythm is exactly that of the Nashville’s song! Northern Pa- This tiny jewellike Warbler is locally rula Warbler Common in New England. He is fre- pa. cua quently called the Blue Yellow-backed americana une Warbler. His colors are a rather ex- L. 4-72 inches traordinary combination of zsthetic tones. May roth Crown gray-blue; upper parts blue-gray, but middle of the back bright greenish yellow forming a definite patch; black-gray in front of the eye; two white wing-bars; outer tail feathers white-patched near the tip; throat and breast yellow, the latter marked with a burnt sienna or chestnut band in spots, the color ex- tending to the throat, sides brownish gray. Female similarly colored, but the chestnut necklace generally absent. Nest built of moss, lichens, dead leaves, and bits of twigs; it is generally constructed (at least in mountain regions where such material is plenty) of the long, stringy moss known as usnea, which is commonly found suspended from the dead under-limbs of spruces and firs. Egg white with chestnut speckles thickest at the largerend. The birdis distributed throughout North America as far north as Canada; it breeds locally in New England, New York, and the States on the northern 17t FAMILY Malotiltide. border. It winters from Florida through the West In- dies southward, This Warbler is a common resident of the woodlands where there are well-grown trees of vari- ous species. I have often seen him in the Harvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge, in the migratory season. The song of the Parula* Warbler is a very simple and unassuming one. The tone of voice is exceedingly thin; indeed, so thin that it has been described as hairlike! It also has a slight overtone quality. The song begins with three (sometimes two, and sometimes four) nearly double tones best expressed with added grace notes, and ends with three rapid tones with the effect of a trill, thus: sae cres, 3 times 8va. eres tir Pe-tse, pe-tse, pe-tse, pe-see-see The song has been fairly well expressed by the syllables pe-tse’, pe-tse’, pe-tse', pe-see-see, but my notation lo- cates the tones. This is the song of one individual, though, and I cannot promise that it is thoroughly typi- cal. Mr. Bicknell recognizes another song which he describes as a fine trill. Cape May This rather rare Warbler of New Eng- be cscnieed land is easily recognized by his chestnut Dendroica s 3 tigrina ear-coverts. His colors are peculiar, and L. 5-ooinches not at all brilliant; a combination of May 15th warm yellow and browns. Top of head black, the feathers tipped with olive green; ear-coverts (the area back of the eye) burnt sienna or chestnut; be- hind these a patch of warm yellow; upper back olive green heavily streaked with black, the lower back yellow-green; a large white area on the wing’, and on the inner web of the outer tail feathers; under parts warm cadmium yellow streaked with black, very much lighter below. Female gray olive-green above, the * Pronounced Par’-oo-la, not Par-oo’-la, 172 Parula W irbler 3 2 a z > S = a g 1S) mt > rc yy. i ar x “= CAPE MAY WARBLER. rump yellower; a yellow line over the eye; wing coverts tipped with dull white, under parts paler yellow streaked with sepia. Nest semi-pensile, built of fine grasses, twigs, and rootlets, fastened with spiders’ webs and fine plant fibres, and lined with horse hairs; it depends from the low branch of a tree in rather open woodlands, or sometimes the tree is an isolated one in the field. Egg buff white or light buff, slightly speckled with light purple madder or umber. The range of this Warbler is throughout eastern North America, north to Winnipeg and Hudson’s Bay; it breeds from northern New Eng- land north to the range limit, and winters in the West Indies and Central America. Although this is a gen- erally rare bird, in the migratory seasons it will not infrequently be seen in association with some of the distinctive woodland Warblers; in summer it will be found among the higher branches of hemlocks, spruces, etc., on the borders of the forest, and also among the fruit trees of the orchard. The song of the Cape May is similar to those of the Black Poll and Black and White Warbler; but it is shorter, more monotonous, and is delivered with moder- ate speed and in softer tone of voice. As I have but one notation it is impossible for me to say that this is thoroughly representative: , Three times Sva. : 2 o- ——— pos - Prof, A. W. Butler describes the song in the following syllables which seem to fit my notation tolerably well: ‘“‘awit-awit awit-awit-awit.” Mr. Torrey says in Spring Notes from Tennessee: ‘‘The Magnolia and the Black- burnian were in high feather, and made a gorgeous pair as chance brought them side by side in the same tree. They sang with much freedom, But the Cape Mays kept silence, to my deep regret, notwithstanding the philosophical remarks just now volunteered about the advantages derivable from a bird’s gradual disclosure of himself, . . . The Cape May’s song is next to nothing, 173 FAMILY Mnoiotiltide. —suggestive of the Black Poll’s, I am told,—but I would gladly have bought a ticket to hear it.” Yellow This is one of our commonest Warblers, Warbler and it is often, but most mistakenly, Dendroica A ” perce called a ‘‘ Wild Canary.” Such an egre- L.s.10inches gious error of popular indiscrimination, May sth however, needs no comment. The pre- vailing color of this species is yellow throughout; bright on the crown, greenish on the back, and brown- ish on the tail; under parts bright yellow marked with burnt sienna or chestnut streaks from the throat down- ward. Female dull green-yellow; tail brown-yellow. Nest built of fine grasses, plant fibre, and fern down, lined with the down and sometimes horse hairs; it is generally located in a Y branch of a shrub or tree on a lawn or in an orchard, usually near the ground, or at most not more than fifteen feet from it. One of the most interesting instances of bird-nesting I have ever known was that of a Yellow Warbler who had chosen an upper branch of a Scotch rosebush for her dwelling, and had arranged the nest in such a position that eventually a large cluster of the yellow roses bloomed directly over her head, thus effectually shielding her from observation more by a condition of analogous coloring than by actual interposition. The little eggs were greenish or bluish white strongly marked with cinnamon brown. This Warbler is distributed through North America ex- cepting the southwestern part. It winters in Central and the northern portion of South America. There are several types of the Yellow Warbler’s song, two of which are extremely common. Here is one: eles The notes are all of equal value, the interval is approxi- mately a third between the fourth and fifth notes, and the seventh (the last note) slides downward (by a slur) apparently another third. The bird sings in presto time, and his tones are clearly and loudly lisped at the very top of the keyboard and perhaps three notes higher. Here is the musical notation: 174 = Semi ke F ae. ie ei : ed a a a ae ya by al Pa ? i ‘fe ’ ‘s > “ = n i “ “om . ay ' » ‘ ea r | ral i & fo a . “9 -) - oe or e ot « : Ps > = © f Tt te . B : ~ r Ms t mF ri U 4 « : : “ee — - af ~ 4 ae, a . “ 1 { a '_ . 4 = , « YELLOW WARBLER. } No. 1. @= 184 Presto. 3 times 8 vz. I do not think there is any reason to mistake that song; itis a logical bit of even time-keeping in rapid move- ment. The second common type I think must be the one which various writers say resembles the Chestnut- sided’s song (that is not my opinion, however); it can be demonstrated this way: There are three downward chirps of an interval approxi- mating a fifth, then the single higher note (the half of the chirp) followed by two notes just a third lower, then a last highest, thus: No. 2. Presto ral oe => => | > hence Some evidently think that all the Yellow Warbler’s songs end on a high note, but this is not so; my records: prove something quite the contrary. What about such a form as this which ends about as it begins? Presto, oe = and this one which likewise ends as it begins. Presto. LUD at 2 Ld i } oS (St a A and yet again this one which drops to a tone lower than the one on which it begins: 175 FAMILY Mniotlitide. Nor must we forget my first record which shows a final drop of fully a fifth! How to find a parallel between any of these types and the syllables given by various au- thors, I confess is a difficult problem; but I am disposed to consider that one of those given by Mr. Lynes Jones is adaptable; for instance, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet- er, sweet-er, if the syllables of the last two words are dis- tinctly separated, will fit song No.1. I get no further encouragement; even the notations of Mr. Cheney on page 47 of Wood Notes Wild do not correspond with anything I have heard from the bird, so the evidence goes to show that the little singer is versatile. It is a simple matter to prove that fact. Mr. Lynes Jones gives three forms of the song different from mine, and Mr. Cheney three more; to these must be added all but one of the records given here; a total of thirteen! The songs which end with the high note are many; here is one: rey r= oN Te. Te, wv and here is another, showing how the type remains the same though the bird rings a change in the positions of the last few notes: Presto ' esl . Pe bh ee ot Be oh BY od 2 a These two records were taken in Cambridge and the Arnold Arboretum between May 14 and 21, 1901, afte. I had thought I had gauged all the possibilities of varia- tion in the song of this species! Eventually I have had to add still another type to my collection, whichstrangely reverses the order of the song, thus: 476 YELLOW WARBLER, Pres, It is to be hoped future observations will not reveal new forms, otherwise, one will be inclined to charge the Yel- low Warbler with musical plagiarism! But from whom could he steal such forms? Certainly they do not accu- rately represent those of any other Warbler, and who can find fault with a bird who chooses to strike out experimentally on new lines! The Yellow Warbler is an interesting as well as a beautiful character; he sings early in the morning and late in the afternoon, he is quick in his motions, even more rapid in song, charming in his almost fearless man- ners, and marvellous in his sagacity, for not infrequently the wise little creature outwits the miserable Cowbird, and builds a new nest over the one in which the strange egg has been surreptitiously deposited. I quote from William Hamilton Gibson an amusing account of an extreme instance: ‘‘ Have we fully examined this nest of our Yellow Warbler? Even now the lower section seems more bulky than the normal nest should be. Can we not trace still another faint outline of a transverse division in the fabric about an inch below the one al- ready separated? Yes; it parts easily with a little dis- entangling of the fibres, and another spotted egg is seen within. A three-storied nest! A nest full of sto- ries—certainly. I recently read of a specimen contain- ing four stories, upon the top of which downy pile the little Warbler sat like Patience on a monument, pre- sumably smiling at the discomfiture of the outwitted Cowbird parasite, who had thus exhausted her powers of mischief for the season, and doubtless convinced her- self of the folly of ‘ putting all her eggs in one basket.’” The voice of this Warbler is loud and exceedingly penetrating. Travelling in an express train over the Boston and Albany Railroad, I have more than once clearly distinguished the song as it slipped in through the ventilators of the car, and really dominated the din of the train. a 177 FAMILY Mnaiotiltide. Black-throated This bird represents an esesthetic combi- esses irik bler nation of such ordinary colors as black, cerulescens, lue, and white, the black and white tones L.5.20inches predominating. Upper parts gray-blue May 1oth with black washings on the back; sides of the head, region of the eye, throat, and sides of the body black; the bases of the primary wing feathers white, forming a conspicuous wing-bar; inner webs of the outer tail feathers with more or less white at their tips; wings and tail edged with blue. Female with a substitution of dull olive green for the blue of the male; the tail with a bluer tinge; the white patches on tail and wings scarcely apparent; region of the eye brown-gray; lower parts pale olive gray on the sides and dull yellow- buff below. Nest usually near the ground, in the un- derbrush of thick woods; it is built of bark, grasses, pine-needles, etc., and lined with fine plant fibres and rootlets; it is never over two feet from the woodland floor. Egg dull pearl or gray white with varied brown markings mostly at the larger end. This Warbler is found throughout North America; it breeds from New England northward to Labrador, and winters in the West Indies and Central America. The Black-throated Blue is a bird with a characteristic but not a soul-inspiring song. His is an effort withouta tune; a sound comparable to an accidental scraping of the bow over the “‘ cello” strings with the musical tone somewhat decimated. The song is generally described in syllables, thus: zwee-zwee-zwee-e. John Burroughs writes it, ‘‘ twea-twea-tweaee” and says it goes with an ‘*upward slide and the peculiar z-ing of summer insects, but not destitute of a certain plaintive cadence. It is one of the most languid, unhurried sounds in all the woods. I feel like reclining upon the dry leaves at once. Audubon says he has never heard his love-song; but this is all the love-song he has.” That, for a word description of the music, is about as near the truth as it is possible for one to approach. The song is short and deliberate, and the extremely high tone is dominated by a correspondingly low overtone—the buzz which Mr. Burroughs likens to the z-ing of an insect. I must imi- 178 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. tate that, of course, by simultaneously humming and whistling through the teeth. The range of voice is evi- dently comprehended by a fifth interval, and commonly by afourth. There are three, four, and sometimes five ascending notes to the song (commonly four), but these are so closely run together—i. e., slurred, that their in- dividuality is lost; by lines, the song should appear thus: In musical notation it should appear thus: Jtoderato. ..3 times 8va. J pn IA ] Gad And that covers the ground, so far as type is concerned. I have another common form which shows that the bird is capable of variation both as to length of note and expression: eres. S£ ! Ww We Ww iw a in. LX gay : rE. Fr AL “ i | y Also Mr. Lynes Jones makes mention of several render- ings which suggest some difference with the foregoing notations, one is chweu-chweu-chweu with each syllable uniform, and another is we-we-z-z-2-2-z-z with a harsh and penetrating accent. But I question whether such variations would cause any trouble in the identification of the song; all writers seem to agree that it begins pianissimo and ends with a shrill fortissimo, and it only remains for me to add that it is completely off the keyboard of the piano, notwithstanding its low-pitched overtone. The Black-throated Blue is essentially a woodland bird, but he frequently visits the roadside and the vicinity of dwellings. He is also a fearless little fellow, compara- . tively speaking, not altogether free from consuming 179 PAMILY Moiotiltide, curiosity, On one occasion I had the pleasure of seeing him hop to within three inches of my shoe in a persist- ent endeavor to find out whether I was myself a bird or held one captive. Of course, I was conversing with him in his own language, but I have not an idea what we talked about! Myrtle The Myrtle or Yellow-rumped Warbler be hogs ened is a frequent visitor of the grounds about ie aial the house in Apriland May. He is plainly, L. 5.65 inches not conspicuously, marked, with excellent April 20th, points which serve for his identification. orallthe year There is a yellow patch on crown and rump, and another on either side of the breast; upper parts blue-gray streaked with black; two white wing- bars; the cuter tail feathers have white spots on their in- ner vanes near the tips; throat white, and upper breast heavily streaked with black which lessens as it reaches the lower parts; these are white. Female similarly marked, but with less black below, and with sepia brown above. Nest of moss, rootlets, and vegetable fibres, lined with fine grasses, generally situated in evergreen trees, five to nine feet above the ground. Egg gray or pearl white, spotted with various browns. The range of this bird extends throughout North America east of the Rockies. It breeds in the northern States and north- ward, and winters from southern New England to Panama. The species is a hardy one. The birds are particularly fond of the bayberry (Myrica cerifera), and will remain during the autumn season a long time where that favorite food is plentiful. Mr. Ned Dear- born writes: ‘‘ A fortunate versatility of appetite enables them to change their diet when the supply of insects wanes. Their chief food while in Durham consists of bayberries, Stomachs of late spring and early fall speci- mens contain little besides insects; but nearer the ex- tremities of winter, these berries are eaten to a great extent. After the arrival of the large flocks in the fall, they almost constantly remain in the vicinity of patches of bayberry bushes.” These remarks would apply with equal truth to the birds which visit Martha’s Vineyard 180 MAGNOLIA WARBLER. and Nantucket, many of which remain through the winter. . The Myrtle Warbler is an indifferent songster. His call-note is a familiar and characteristically staccato tchip, and his song is not unlike that of the Chipping Sparrow, a monotonous, wiry, and thin tswe, tswe, tswe, tswe, tswe, etc., pitched beyond the keyboard limit, thus: eres. . . e | i = ree times 8va, This is the only record I possess of this Warbler’s song; consequently 1 can not promise that it is an absolutely typical specimen. Possibly other birds might sing in a way that would prove this theme had its variations, but I have my doubts about that. Magnolia This is another streaky-marked bird bidendens: which is easily identified. His less com- endroica . wiabaiiabiiete mon name is the Black and Yellow L.5.10inches Warbler and he may be esthetically con- May 15th sidered a color symphony in those two contrasting tones. Crown ashen gray bordered by a narrow line of white, a decidedly bluer gray in spring specimens; the forehead and sides of the face well below and back of the eye black; upper parts black bordered with olive green; lower parts, throat, and rump bright yellow; breast and sides strongly striped with black; tail black with the inner vanes of all except the middle feathers white-patched midway, leaving the terminal third black; a large white patch on the wing-coverts. Female similarly marked but the colors duller and less sharply defined. Nest generally in evergreen-trees, built of fine twigs, leaf stems, moss, and rootlets, lined with finer material of the same nature; it is generally from three to six feet above the ground. Egg white marked about the larger end with cinnamon brown and olive brown. This bird is common throughout eastern North America; it breeds from northern New England and Michigan north to Hudson’s Bay, and south along the 181 FAMILY Mniotiltide. crests of the Alleghanies to Virginia, Scott says he found the birds breeding at Mountain Lake, Giles Co., Virginia (the altitude of which is over four thousand feet), in the summer of 1889. The song of the Magnolia is loud, clear, slightly like that of the Yellow Warbler so far as tone is concerned, and unique in the arrangement of the (generally) seven notes. The first four have a rising inflection, or an in- definite upward progression to the extent of a fourth in- terval, and among the next three the middle one is the highest; the song begins loud and ends with a diminu- endo, thus: Cama, Sot 7 > dim 8 That is the form which I know best, and here it is according to my notation: Vixace St 3times 8va. ia » J | et i ie Once in a while a very indistinct high note is added to this form. Here is another common form which I think fits Rev. J. H. Langille’s syllables exceedingly well, though possibly it is not exactly the song he heard: Vivace dim. Here is also another which fits one of Mr. 8. E. White’s series of syllables (see the Auk) perfectly: vi dim Ni ~~! S| | } ™ ™ There are probably five or six forms of the song, but I have none other than the three foregoing ones. It is evident from these and the testimony of several writ- 182 ~CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. ers that the song nearly always ends with a falling inflection of the voice. Mr. White records a falsetto warble, purr-a-e whu-a which I have never heard. The Magnolia’s summer home is among the evergreen- trees, and he may easily be found among the firs and hemlocks of old overgrown pastures, ever on the move; and seldom flying higher than the top of one’s head.. The species is a regular summer resident in parts of the White Mountains. Chestnut-sided This handsome little bird is one of our edema commonest Warblers, and next to the pensylvanica Yellow Warbler the most familiar and in- L. 5.10 inches teresting one though he is by no means as May 8th musical as the Black-throated Green. He is quickly identified by his costume. Top of head bright yellow bordered on the sides with black; a band of black, beginning between the eye and the bill, extends down- ward on either side of the throat; the sides of the face, _ the throat, and under parts are white; sides burnt sienna or chestnut; back of the neck streaked with black and gray; lower back black striped with greenish yellow; wings with two yellow-white bars; tail black with the inner vanes of the outer feathers white-patched near the tip. Female similar in markings but duller in color. Nest usually in a low bush; it is built of plant fibre, bark, rootlets, and leaf stems, and lined with finer ma- terial of the same nature. Egg white marked with cinnamon brown and olive brown mainly at the larger end. This bird is distributed through eastern North America as far north as Newfoundland and Manitoba. It breeds from northern New Jersey and Illinois north- ward, and along the Alleghanies south to South Carolina; it winters in Central America. Its chosen haunts are the overgrown pasture where bushes are plenty, bushy road- sides, the borders of woodlands. The Chestnut-sided Warbler has several forms of song, and it requires a discriminating ear to distinguish one of the commonest from that of the Yellow Warbler, the notation of which I have marked No. 2. But a careful comparison of these songs will show that there is no 183 PAMILY Mniotiltide., need whatever of getting them confused. Here is one of those distinctions again which possibly some one may be inclined to classify among the hair-splitting order; if so, I must say it will be wholly because insufficient attention is paid to those graphic signs belonging to musical notation which a child could understand! Com- pare my notations. Here is the Chesnueaiaes War- bler’s song in dots:. * .°* .°* . 6 a here it is in easily obtained musical form: Presto,, 3 times 8va cres L / wish, Bsn, I a, to see JMiss To use a trite saying, the difference between this and the Yellow Warbler song No. 2 is as’ plain as the nose on your face! One bird chirps up, the other down, for the first three or four double notes, then one bird sings a group of notes down, up, and down, and the other, vice versa (with absolute distinctness) up, down, and up! There is a slight hesitancy which one merely suspects in the Chestnut-sided’s effort just before he reaches the group of the three final notes, so this I have properly in- dicated by the very short rest. Thus, we have, I be- lieve, a perfectly simple analysis of a certain difference between two similar songs, which, for one reason o another, the ornithologists have been unable to give us. I need not add that without musical notation it would be practically impossible to prove the case. So much for the usefulness of scientific music in its relation to a bird’s song! It is generally true that the song of the Chestnut-sided consists of seven (Mr. Jones seems to thinks sia) syllables; but once in a while the little fellow disregards the rule and sings on this wise: Presto R - eres. ‘ae 7 Sy A A ) rt ; Chu-it, chu-it, chu-it, chuit wit chu-it f 184 Jg[qieAy pepts-jnuysoyD JaqieM poysvoiq-Avg CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, in that case he is practically rounding out the song with- out the suspicion of the pause noted in my previous record, Here isanother form in which he retains both pause and extra note: Presto. CIOS. Kp- J. Cee These are subtle differences which only a quick ear can detect and musical notation accurately express! As I have said in the beginning of this book, time is an all- important element of music, and there is no denying the fact that it occupies a very important place in precisely this part of the Chestnut-sided’s song. Often when time is not concerned with difference in bird song, this differ- ence becomes apparent in a certain method of delivery. For instance, the following transcription was obtained in Campton, June 26, 1899: Presto. Cres. § ff é Nearly a year later, May 23, 1900, practically the same song was differently rendered by another bird in Arling- ton Heights, Mass., fully one hundred and thirty miles farther south; this song is my first notation herewith. A comparison of the two records will show that one bird pitched his first four notes higher than the other bird and at the same time slurred each one. But these fine points do not represent the only variations in this War- bler’s song; there are some uncommon forms which doubtless should be referred to eccentric individuals. Here is one which came from a bird which also sang the form which I have at first given: Presto. Che-ne, we, we, we, che-we-o This type is so nearly like one belonging to the Yellow 185 FAMILY Mnaoiotiltide, Warbler that it is difficult to tell where the difference lies; but a certain hesitancy near the end of the Chest- nut-sided’s song usually betrays its author. Here again is another variation which shows that the bird had revised almost the whole structure of the typical song, and, regardless of the whole tribe of Warblers with all their musical traditions, had decided like the wilful Scotchman to “‘ gang his ain gait”: Presto. eres, —_—_—~ A s a] a | I might say now, with Mr, Cheney, ‘‘ match that if you can!” The voice of the Chestnut-sided Warbler is only mod- erately clear, and is therefore far less penetrating than that of the Yellow Warbler. Such a tone, too, implied by the syllable chew or cher, reveals a quality sus- piciously near the overtone. But, as a matter of fact, there is no real overtone present in any of the bird’s notes. In a great number of the songs there are only six syllables, but these do not otherwise differ from the common type as I have represented it here. Miss Ethel Dame Roberts’s “‘ tsee, tsee, tsee, Happy to meet you!” is analogous to another popular saying of the bird, I wish, I wish, to see Miss Beecher! If there is any one who can whistle that lady’s name better than the Chest- nut-sided Warbler he must be a ventriloquist of excep- tional ability! Bay-breasted This Warbler is a rather uncommon bird 2 cbeant seen only during its passage to and from ae saa its home in the extensive coniferous for- L. 5.7oinches estsof Canada. The year of the great mi- May 20th gration, 1899, probably saw more of this species in unexpected places than any records will ever show. The bird is beautifully marked, in colors not un- like those of the Orchard Oriole. Crown, and entire throat, breast, and sides rich burnt sienna or chestnut, 186 B8LACK-POLL WARBLER, lighter or darker; forehead and cheeks black; a pale buff patch on the sides of the neck; back ash gray streaked with black; two white wing-bars, and a patch of white on the inner vanes of the outer tail feathers near the tip; under parts white suffused with buff. Female with the crown olive green streaked with black and possibly ‘chestnut; only a suggestion of chestnut on the throat and sides; otherwise duller in color than the male. In autumn male, female, and young birds almost exactly resemble the Black-poll Warbler, except the lighter green upper parts and the buff tone of the lower parts. Nest in evergreen-trees and situated at a Y branch from five to twenty feet above the ground; it is built of grasses and plant fibres, and lined with hairs and plant down. Egg white finely marked with cinnamon brown and olive brown mainly at the larger end. The range of this bird is through eastern North America north to Hudson’s Bay; it breeds from northern New England north, and winters in Central America. The Bay-breasted Warbler’s song is still an enigma to me. The only time I ever saw the handsome little fel- low he would not sing. Rev. J. H. Langille writes: ‘‘Their song, said to begin like that of the Black-poll and end like that of the Redstart, bears to my ear no re- semblance whatever to either, but is a very soft warble, somewhat resembling the syllables tse-chee, tse-chee, tse- chee, tse-chee, tse-chee, but far too liquid to admit of exact spelling.” Mr. Torrey thinks the song resembles that of the Black-poll, but says it is hardly so weak and formless. Black-poll This somewhat common bird resembles diag ih the Black and White Warbler in color, aiken but its markings are altogether different. L. 5.50 inches Crown black; sides of the head white; up- May 15th per parts gray streaked with black; two white wing-bars, and the inner vanes of the outer tail feathers with white patches on the tip; under parts white streaked with black, the streaks conspicuous on the gray-white sides. Female olive green above streaked with black; under parts yellowish white. Nest in ever- 187 PAMILY Mnaiotiltida., green-trees, and situated not more than six feet above the ground; it is built of twigs, moss, and rootlets, and lined with fine grasses. Egg white heavily spotted on the larger end with madder brown, cinnamon brown, and olive. The range of the bird is through eastern North America and northward; it breeds from New England northward to Greenland and Alaska, and win- ters in northern South America. The Black-poll Warbler has a very thin voice and a monotonous song nearly confined to one tone, and re- sembling the rather more musical effort of the Myrtle Warbler. The notes are slightly characterized by an overtone, but are too stridulent in quality to possess any musical merit. Here is one of the only two records I possess: aires Pines eres. w dim. The song begins with a crescendo and a slight diminu- endo almost immediately succeeds. There is another form, which tolerably represents the syllables ‘‘ tsip, tsip, tsip, tsee, tsee, te” of Mr. Lynes Jones. But I can not see that this differs materially from the form given in my first notation : crés. .) av This warbler is a distinctive woodland character often heard rather than seen in the forests of the White Moun- tains, and partial to the upper branches of the trees, though he not infrequently visits the ground, My own observations in this respect are sustained by those of Mr, Torrey, who says he saw some feeding upon a lawn for a long time, during his visit to Chattanooga.* * Vide Spring Notes from Tennessee, page 96. 188 Black-poll Warbler BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. Blackburnian This may be justly considered the most marble beautifully colored bird belonging to the Dendroica ¢ ° : blackburnie Family of Warblers, and it certainly can L. 5.25 inches not be counted an uncommon one.* Mid- May 15th dle of the head, a band over each eye extending well back, a patch behind the black ear- coverts, the throat, and breast, all brilliant cadmium orange; the rest of the head and the back black, the back streaked with cream white; wings black with white coverts forming a conspicuous patch; the inner vanes of most of the tail feathers white; the outer vane of the outer tail feather white at the base; under parts yellow white-tinged; sides streaked with black. Female marked like the male, but the orange extremely dull, and the upper parts gray olive streaked with dull white. Nest from ten to thirty (sometimes more) feet above the ground in evergreen-trees; it is built of fine twigs and grasses, and lined with moss, tendrils, fine rootlets, etc. Egg gray or pearl white thickly speckled with cinna- mon brown and olive. The bird is found throughout eastern North America; it breeds from Minnesota and. Maine north to Labrador, and south along the Allegha- nies to South Carolina; it winters in the tropics. It prefers the coniferous woods where hemlock and spruce are plenty. ‘The song of the Blackburnian Warbler is a distinctly characteristic one; there are about three double chirps, succeeded by as many ascending notes with a distinct overtone, thus: Pipace. rs 3 times Oya. nnn | Zillup zillup,zillup, zip-zip2ip. The tone of voice is wiry and thin, and the delivery is rapid. It would be difficult to get this song confused with thatof any other Warbler, if strict attention is paid to its dual character. Mr. Torrey describes the song by the syllables *‘ zillup, zillup, zillup, zip, zip, zip,” which, * Mr. Ned Dearborn reports seeing not less than six in the same tree at once, in the vicinity of Durham, N. H. 189 FAMILY Mniotiltide, it will be seen, exactly fit my notation; consequently, 1 suspect the bird has few if any variations to his song. Mr. Minot describes a form by syllables which may be slightly different: ‘‘ wee-see-wee-see, tsee-see, tsee, tsee, tsee-see tsee, tsee,” but it is perhaps only a double form, if I read the two hyphened syllables tsee-see aright; naturally, I take them to be given quicker than the others, Black-throated This is one of our commoner Warblers, pa Warbler and by all odds the finest singer of the endroica brent whole group. At best his song is exceed- L.s.10inches ingly brief and high-pitched, and his May 5th voice is thin; but one entertains little doubt about his intervals; they are tolerably good, and greatly help to make the well-marked rhythm attractive. The bird is also beautifully colored. Top of head and region nearly down to the shoulders yellow-green; a bar over the eye, the sides of the face and neck bright yel- low; back olive green rarely black-spotted; ear-coverts dusky yellow; throat and breast jet black; two white wing-bars on each wing; the inner vanes of outer tail- feathers entirely white, the outer web with a white base; under parts white sometimes suffused with pale yellow. Female similarly marked but the black largely reduced by yellow and rendered dusky. Nest in ever- green-trees and situated from ten to forty feet above the ground; it is built of fine twigs, rootlets, moss, and grasses, and lined with finer material of the same nature. Egg white spotted with umber and olive mostly at the larger end. The bird is distributed throughout eastern North America; it breeds from Connecticut north to Hudson’s Bay, and at high eleva- tions of the Alleghanies south to South Carolina. Its favorite tree is the pine, although it may be found in the deciduous woods quite frequently. The song of the Black-throated Green Warbler is dis- tinguished for its suggestive rhythm and its deliberate tempo. This bird is not in such a hurry as the others of the family, and his voice possesses the pleasing variety _ of contrast in tone. Of the usual five notes which he Igo ‘ JaIQIeEM UseIH p 338 O1l}-OVTT Ja[qiveA URIUINGHIeTY_ ro 4 ee & Fat ae - ef : ri. ~ - ; ; ; veo, fh - LN et Ae ws oe Sy y= aoe me Pa rh ie4 o Fa. hat) ya . ‘ ae y . ox ‘ Pie ¥ ~~) er. 3 . | i ae ey : , nl ae > AP i de _* n Se ae ONY ayo ; + ; es ae ‘ tg oh ; , tia ‘ alo —s.. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. sings the two next to the last are burred, the others are clear. Mr. John Burroughs writes the song by a series of lines thus: __. ——— V —— which form, so far as it will answer the purpose of identification, can not be im- proved upon. But I shall always hold the opinion that a representation of sound, not to speak of song—wild or cultivated,—by other than scientific music signs, is an ex- tremely dubious method of conveying ideas. For that reason, I have taken particular pains throughout this book to show the parallels of haphazard symbols and exact musical notations. The foregoing signs, there- fore are properly interpreted this way: P] = Twice &i > A iv ae ak oe ee f I Trees, trees murmiring trees, mp, Cres ff Desires wk oe 3 — 4+ 7 - I have added the popular idea about the sentiment of a song; that will certainly help to emphasize the rhythm. If you whistle this song between the teeth, and burr the two notes next to the last by humming and whistling simultaneously, you will obtain a very tolerable idea of the Black-throated Green’s song. It is surely un- necessary to add that the song must be whiStled in the high register where it belongs in accordance with the instruction on my record, or one will not get a proper impression of it. The song of this Warbler is really not without senti- ment if one is caught in the proper mood, as the follow- ing form, obtained on one of the foot-hills of the Franconia Mountains, and the very common instance connected with it will testify. The day was a brilliant one of early June; the cumulus clouds lay piled away up in the north over the blue and jagged horizon line formed by Lafayette, the Notch, and Cannon Mountain; below, in the broad sunlit valley, the beautiful Pemige- Pee ) FAMILY Mniotiltide. wasset wound its silvery way between the wooded hills and the spreading green intervale; the little hill on which I stood was carpeted with the rich rusty-brown pine needles of past seasons, and here and there a gray lichen-covered boulder cropped out from among the green ferns and the forest’s russet floor. It was indeed a lovely spot. Some bright-faced, appreciative girl would have said, had she been present, ‘‘ What a sweet place for a picnic!” Perhaps I thought so too, for, at the moment, I heard, among the green, swaying, sighing pine branches overhead, a tiny bird distinctly sing: Twice 8va. diesce ba a ¢ ef in f 1 | 1°) + YU ss Vo! oO 7 "Tis ‘tis tid sweet here. mp. eres. Po This, then, is a second frequent song of the Black- throated Green. Here is another rendering of the same song; it comprises a major third, instead of a minor third like the other, and one more note is added: * V7 ace. 3 limes 8va. K . cres. J ww > Z | a TAy . : J i 1 i i ~/ a_i J . J , This came from the Arnold Arboretum. Here is yet another similar song from Arlington Heights, Mass., which is exactly like the record given by Mr. Cheney: Vivace. r, oe Sea cen foe This, he likens to a bar of the familiar old sea song Lar- board Watch in which the notes are dotted; that, how- Ig2 BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. ever, is the only difference between the two bits of melody: rit ! | Lar-board watch Pai-hoy! Then, again, I have an excellent song from Campton which suggests the one that the gastronomic observer set to strange, unbirdlike sentiments! Vixece. og $——~ SZ j i —- —-— a ————— Cheese, cheese, a little more cheese! Perhaps there is a syllable wanting, butI find the Black- throated Green is not at all particular about syllables; in fact, he is not half so particular in observing them as the bird student is in limiting him to a certain number, for on May 6, 1902, at ten o’clock in the morning, I heard him singing amid the thick branches of a Norway spruce on the grounds of the Harvard Astronomical Observatory in Cambridge, this next sarcastic refrain, in more syl- lables than the law allowed! All but the music was imagination, but why did such an unusual song fit such significant words, in precisely this situation? Vives @ Se FERS 7 Sweeping skies witha spy-glass! Evidently the Black-throated Green is not inclined to confine himself to one strict form either of time or melody. Besides the foregoing records, here are a sufficient number of others to prove the fact. Not in- frequently he burrs the first two notes and clearly whistles the others, thus reversing his usual custom: WiKaCes Warr cres. ¥ ww cy eSaa eae 93 , FAMILY Mnaoiotiltide. Again he will clearly enunciate three syllables in that part of the song (commonly burred) immediately pre- ceding the last note, thus: Probably this form is the one to which were originally applied the words, trees, trees, murmuring trees, and cheese, cheese, a little more cheese! But I am confident that the bird’s commonest form of rhythm consists of but two rapid syllables preceding the last one. I say rapid because if one will strictly observe the bird’s time it will be found that he sings these two or sometimes three notes in a space of time exactly equivalent to that of one of the other notes. And yet there are those who insist that a bird has no conception of rhythm! There’ are, then, entirely aside from melodic variation, four distinct rhythmic forms to this Warbler’s song; here they are: ) e ° ee . Trees, trees, murm’- ring trees! ee Ne ee lee 8 Sleep, sleep, pretty one, sleep! 3. 6) Hor. Si itet te i be Larboard watch a- hoy! or ’T is, ’t is, ’t is sweet here! 4. © © «© e+ « «+ Sweeping skies with a spy-glass { Pine Warbler This bird has the Creeper’s habit of cling- Dendroica ing to the branches or trunk of a tree. It ence inches 18 @ fairly abundant Warbler, but is one of April 15th decidedly local proclivities; it is scarcely found outside of the pine grove. The colors are not striking. Upper parts olive slightly suffused with gray; wings brownish gray tinged with olive, and with lighter edgings of gray; two dull white wing- bars; inner vanes of the outer tail feathers with white patches near the tip; throat and sides bright cadmium yellow fading into white on the under parts; sides of 194 Redstart Pine Warbler (above) (below) YELLOW RED-POLL. breast and region below the eye slightly black-striped, the stripes sometimes extending to the sides, Female similarly marked but much duller in color; the tone of the back browner. Nest in pines, cedars, or other ever- green-trees; it is usually situated more than twenty-five feet above the ground, and is built of bark, leaves, plant fibres, etc. Egg white with red-brown and umber mark- ings mostly at the larger end. This bird is distributed throughout eastern North America; it is a resident of the great pine forests of the southern States; it winters from Illinois and the Carolinas southward. The song of the Pine Warbler is a simple so-called trill—a reiterated note, with an exceedingly high pitch like that of the Chipping Sparrow. His voice is more musical, and his tones are sharp and clear, without a suggestion of the overtone; the song should appear thus: . 3 times Sra. Vivace TeceL. 4 .s v A simple, short, rather musical one, but according to my observations without the shadow of a variation. Iam ynot sure, though, that this bird does not vary his song; the Chippy does, and why should not he? My notations are extremely meagre, as well as similar, so I can not promise that there are not variations of the type. Yellow Red- This Warbler according to Mr. Chap- poll. Yellow nan is a renegade Dendroica who is in- Palm Warbler .. : Dendroica pal- “ifferent to the wood and has no particular marum hypo- liking for even the trees in the open. The chrysea _ last time I saw him he was wagging his i. 0 tail in a tree by the roadside in the Mid- dlesex Fells, just north of Boston, entirely disdainful of my chirpings put forth in a vain effort to induce him to ‘tune up.” In colors, he is a bit attrac- tive though not startling. Crown chestnut; back olive green with a brownish tone, greener on the rump; no wing-bars; the inner vanes of the outer tail feathers 195 FAMILY Maiotiltide. with white patches near the tip; eye-ring and a line over the eye yellow; lower parts bright cadmium yellow throughout; throat, breast, and sides streaked with bright burnt sienna or chestnut. Female similarly marked, Nest on the ground or near it; usually built of coarse grasses lined with finer ones. This bird is common in eastern North America and breeds from Nova Scotia north to Hudson’s Bay; it migrates southward through the Atlantic States, and winters in the south Atlantic and Gulf States, The song of the Yellow Red-poll is described as a sim- ple trill like that of the Chipping Sparrow; but as I have always failed to discover the bird in a singing mood, I doubt whether his song is very often (in this part of the country) placed on the spring program. The colors of the Yellow Red-poll are very pretty, though, and his migratory visits so very common that I have ventured to include him in my list with the hope that at some future day he may be found with a voice. The tail is incessantly bobbing, so I do not doubt that he can keep time, and as wall, perhaps, as a drum-major! Prairie This is one of the tiniest and most de- Warbler lightful common Warblers, with a charac- Dendroica ar : ‘ bikastoe teristic song which runs up the chromatic L.4-75inches scale. Only one other Warbler’s voice is May toth like it in this respect, and that belongs to the Black-throated Blue. The Prairie Warbler is tastefully but not conspicuously dressed. Upper parts olive green, with the back considerably spotted with burnt sienna or chestnut; wings and tail brownish olive; a single light buff-yellow wing-bar on each wing; inner webs of the outer tail feathers white almost to the tip; a bar of yellow above, another below the eye; in front of and behind the eye black; a broad black stripe extends from the corner of the bill across the cheek; the yellow sides are conspicuously barred with black; under parts light yellow, Female similarly marked, but duller in color and with little or no chestnut on the back. Nest in briers or other tangled bushes or young cedars in partly open ground; it is built of plant fibres and plant 196 Prairie Warbler Yellow Red-poll (above) (below) _ down, and lined with caterpillar’s silk and the fine fibre of grape-vine bark. Egg white spotted at the larger end with a variety of browns. This bird is distributed (perhaps unevenly) over the eastern United States; it breeds from Florida to Michigan and southern New Eng- land, and winters in Florida and the West Indies. Un- like most of the Wood Warblers, it frequents open places and bushy fields or clearings. The song of the Prairie is a delightful little bit of a _ chromatic run, consisting of six or seven notes, all char- acterized by a distinct overtone, thus: 3times 8yva. Vivace accel. i. cid al "Z T Z — A The time is moderate and slightly accelerated, all the notes are closely connected, and there is a perceptible drop of a semitone at the close of thesong. At the same time the song is not like the harsh-toned one of the Black- throated Blue; the voice has a higher pitch, a far more lively movement, and it does not remind one of the mournful refrain of the young turkey as does the voice of the other bird. Oven-bird This is the noisiest and least musical ees Warbler in the whole family; nothing less oat than a double forte mark will express his Seiurus emphatic accents in musical notation. aurocapillus That character of his song ought to be L. 6.20inches sufficient for its immediate identification Maye Ors without a further description of its swing- ing tones. The colors of the bird are not unlike those of a Thrush, hence the popular name. Crown striped, the centre golden ochre bounded on either side by black; the upper parts generally light, brownish, olive green; no wing-bars nor tail patches; under parts white with strong sepia-black markings beginning at the corners of 197 FAMILY Mnaiotiltide, the bill and extending downward either side of the throat to the heavily streaked breast; sides also streaked with sepia-black. Female similarly marked. Nest on the ground, bulky, and built in the shape of a primeval oven, covered, and open on one side; it is built of leaves, bark, grasses, and plant fibre, and lined with fine grasses and rootlets; it is generally situated in an open place just within or near the woods. Egg white speckled with a variety of ruddy browns. This bird is commonly distributed throughout eastern North Amer- ica; it breeds from Kansas and Virginia northward to Manitoba and Labrador, and southward along the higher Alleghanies to South Carolina; it winters from Florida to the West Indies and Central America. The bird is a walker, and it has a characteristic way of wag- ging its tail as it walks. The Oven-bird is a songster of indifferent merit; the remarkable musical effort that has been attributed to him while on the wing fails to impress one with its beauty from a musical point of view. Mr. Bicknell describes it as bursting forth ‘‘ with a wild out-pouring of intricate and melodious song,” and Dr. Coues calls it a *‘ luxuri- ous, nuptial song.” It has the effect, in a very great measure, of the Bobolink’s spontaneous outburst, but it has neither the force nor the tinkling glass quality of that remarkable musician’s song. Here is the best of a half-dozen transcriptions I have made: Leal Queecher, weet aieaetie The structure is slightly similar to that of the song of the Warbling Vireo, but there the similarity ends. It is really remarkable for its spontaneity and exuberance; beyond that I do not think it can be called extraordi- nary, as it certainly carries with it no suggestion of melody. The identification of the song is beyond any possibility of a doubt; listen attentively, and if you hear a wild, lawless kind of a song immediately suc- 198 — i tage re ae Maryland Yellow-throat Oven-bird (above) (below) wot ems es 7 OVEN-BIRD. ceeded by a more moderate form of the noisy queecher, queecher, queecher, queecher, queecher of the Oven-bird, do not doubt for a moment that it is this fellow alone who has sung the whole song; the time, most likely, will be late afternoon just when the other birds are be- ginning to sing vespers! Mr. Torrey says, describing the song, the bird ‘‘takes to the air (usually starting from a tree-top, although I have seen him rise from the ground), whence, after a preliminary chip, chip, he lets fall a hurried flood of notes, in the midst of which can usually be distinguished his familiar weechee, weechee, weechee.” But whether these syllables occur most frequently in the middle or at the close of the song is an indifferent matter; it is sufficiently to the point to know that they are bound to occur. They have been excellently represented by Mr. Burroughs, on this wise: Teacher, teacher, TEACHER, TEACHER, TEACHER. Naturally we would accent that word on the first sylla- ble, but I will leave it with any acute observer to say whether Iam not right in insisting that the bird does nothing of the kind, but on the contrary lays particular stress on the second sylluble,* thus: TEA-CHER’. ** Here,” I imagine some one will say, ‘‘is another of his hair-splitting differences!” Yet, for all that, I presume it will be admitted that one can not be too accurate in the statement of fact, and it goes without saying, facts must be carefully presented in their relation to bird music otherwise they may prove valueless. Musically considered that accent on the second syllable is of the greatest importance, for it enables me to express with perfect ease and accuracy the character of the Oven- bird’s peculiarly noisy song; also, the slurs and the re- markable crescendo are so pronounced, that, regardless of tone or pitch, it is difficult to understand how the *I notice Mr. Cheney’s notation places the accent on the /jirst syllable ; but I am confident that the second syllable is the stronger one, and that a more extended study of the song by Mr. Cheney would have resulted in a shift of his accent,® 199 FAMILY Maiotiltide. bird’s song can be adequately represented without musi- cal notation. Here it is*: Sforzando. mp. aes It Wid : >_@\> _@\>_@\>" @\>_@\>_@\> ae | | i BLE | lf + —. _ _ =. cher Teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher. or this: te ce if Lf a 6>> 62g _6>2—¢>—@>=. =. —_— >= i i The tone of voice is a bit unique; it is dominated by no overtone, yet it is not a clear whistle; it sounds, in fact, as if the bird threw it out from his cheeks rather than his lungs. I suppose most musicians would call ita ‘*mouthy ” tone notwithstanding its fortissimo charac- ter! The remarkable thing about it is its relation with the size of the bird. Itis the case of a David with the voice of a Goliath! The woods fairly ring with the sound, and the voices of the other birds, for the time, are completely lost. Maryland This bird is certainly one of the com. Yellow-throat 1 onest members of the Warbler Family. Geothlypis z Se P - trick Its voice is heard wherever there is a bit brachidactyla of running water that finds its way through L.5.30inches an impassable thicket. A sight of the May 1oth bird is therefore less common than the sound of his voice. He is as_ beautifully marked as any other member of his tribe, and in the best of Spanish taste. He affects a harmony in black and yellow, with the black appropriately encircling his face ! A black band crosses the forehead and covers the cheeks and ear coverts; it is bordered above and backward by *I do not consider the musical interval of any consequence ; some birds seem to sing a questionable third, others a fourth, and still others a fifth. The shift back and forth is more an extreme inflection of the voice than anything else, and it is very difficult to locate the terminating tones. 200 MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. a streak of whitish ash; upper parts, wings, and tail olive green, slightly tinged with brown; there are no wing-bars nor tail patches; throat and breast bright yellow, lighter at the under parts; sides olive brown. Female similarly marked, but browner on the back, and with the black replaced by a brown-olive tone; yellow of throat also paler. Nest on or near the ground; built of dead leaves, strips of bark, and plant fibre, and lined with finer material of the same nature. Egg white and speckled mostly at the larger end with madder brown and umber. This bird’s range is throughout eastern North America west to the Plains, and north to Mani- _toba and Labrador. It breeds from southern Georgia northward, and- winters from the Gulf States to the tropics. The familiar song of the Maryland Yellow-throat scarcely needs description. It is commonly composed of three syllables, rendered in a variety of ways. To wit: Witchery, witchery, witchery! or Which-way-sir ? which-way-sir ? which-way-sir? or Wichity, wichity, etc., or Rapity, rapity, etc., or Which-is-it ? which-is-it ? etc., or What-a-pity, what-a-pity! etc., or I-beseech-you, I-beseech-you! etc., etc. One is at liberty therefore to take his pick of the various sentiments. In any case the rhythm of the bird is remarkably exact and there is no missing the song. After hearing all the Maryland Yellow-throats about Boston and also the White Moun- tain region sing a trisyllabic song, I was delighted to find, one early morning in the Arnold Arboretum, one of Mr. Chapman’s New York birds singing the four-sylla- bled J-beseech-you version, thus: d= Sforzando : cres, 3 times 8va. a i + ied Pie a. 2 iY 2a. FE > ey tan Sa [Ai Wo OD Os A ~-G AE Ae anand a ae jj Uo | AEE | aad if tl | — | — TT | =| youyou, I be-seech you, I be-seech you I be-seech- ze ee 23 ae ee. ist fe) T i ' U But the bird sang the song his own way, and did not conform strictly to Mr. Chapman’s rendering on page 871 of his Handbook, as my word accompaniment shows ! FAMILY Mniotiltidz. The commoner song of this Warbler is, Sforzando > {} EE V7 ee 7 ass =- FS “ —¥ y" 4 y and still another less common form is, Treble 8 va. ‘The bird ings 3 times va. fh paw ¢ —— AY} j 4a se « ie wit Witch- -e- ry Witch- -e- ry Witch- -@- LY Witch. SF . J- dim vj i hs) | ht Mn) iat vs ii ii whe U 7 The tonic is never distinct but the rhythm is emphatically 50. Then in the Which-is-it form he often begins on a high note and descends, reversing the order, thus: ret real d-=92 ee 22S: Ti, f => es Play af I, all al is-it? = Which-is- it? Whi -1S-/t ? fe ide 4 é The commoner form runs this way: by | eg i = | j a * 7 iS A Fine Ga GES. -4 —~_g a e— 7 = rr 7 = aa ay -(5-tt? ¥ Which -(5-itP 202 v Which-15-/t ? YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. There is no more tone to this bird’s voice than there is to that of the Oven-bird; consequently I can not say that the intervals as I render them represent true pitch. All I can promise is, that the swing of the Maryland Yellow-throat’s voice is accurately reported in the shape in which it reached my ear. Yellow~ The Chat is the largest member of the ia ge seh Warbler Family, and an eccentric charac- L. 7.45 inches *T in the largest sense of the word. His May ist colors are bright. Upper parts olive green; a broad white line extends from the nostril over and back of the eye; region in front of and below the eye slaty black graded to olive; eye-ring white; throat and chest bright cadmium yellow fading to white on the under parts; sides gray-olive. Female similarly marked. Nest a rather bulky affair built of dead leaves, coarse grasses, and bark fibre well interwoven, and lined with finer material of the same nature; it is lodged in tangled undergrowth, near the ground. This bird is distributed from the Gulf States to Massachusetts and Southern Minnesota; it winters in Central America.. It is shy, retiring, and chooses the dense thicket for its home. I find it fairly common in the vicinity of New York and southward, but I have never seen it near Boston. The song of the Yellow-breasted Chat scarcely de- serves the name, and it would be a hopeless task to give any truthful idea of it by means of the musical staff. In the line of music, he can, however, give us an excel- lent ritardando and diminuendo, a time arrangement exactly the reverse of that of. the Field Sparrow; but one cannot call such a series of clucks musical: Pee. ritard. et dim p It is proper to’say of this performance that it is a com- bination of voice tones without either key or pitch. Certain strange and sudden monosyllables of the bird 203 FAMILY Maiotiltide. sound exactly like, Quirp! chuck! cop! chack! charr! etc. These it is risky to place on the staff lest one should be led to think they were really musical tones. They are simply indescribable noises, that is all. Mr. Scott’s remarks on the subject are quite to the point; he says, ‘‘such a mixture of curious notes is poured out as has no kind of parallel in our bird acquaintance. This is no soft melody that one has to be near to hear, but a series of loud, jerky, detached notes, now whistles, now chucks, and again croaks and chuckles that defy imita- tion, musical or otherwise.” I might add that the bird frequently gives a number of clear whistles of accurate pitch; but these, though I place them on the staff, must prove to be such fragmentary bits of the song that it would be useless to depend upon them for purposes of identification. The fact is the Chat may be considered a mere chatterer whose flippant conversation is carried on in aseries of grotesque syllables alternating with a few clearly whistled staccato tones, thus: S/erzando._ > ae > a > (ee ie oe ee Se Sa) UT na | : SR A A ~ Cop!copicop! charr! chack! quirp, quirp, cop! co-0-0-0-0-0f Hooded The Hooded Warbler, who in effect of Warbler coloring is almost exactly the reverse of Wilsonia seitratis the Maryland Yellow-throat, is so con- L.5.60inches Spicuously marked that he can not fail May 15th to attract attention. His general appear- ance, in character at least, is so similar to that of the other bird that one is surprised to find the ornithologist’s classification separates them by interposing the Chat. This Warbler’s colors are yellow and olive accented by a jet black hood over the head, throat, and peek Fore- head and cheeks bright yellow; crown black with a bandlike connection at the neck with the black throat; upper parts including the wings and tail olive green; no wing-bars; the inner vanes of the outer tail feathers pale 204 See ee eee * a > ns ih ory Leeeeeay | HOODED WARBLER, yellow; lower parts bright lemon yellow of a light tone; bill with bristles at the base. Female similarly marked but the colors dull, and the more restricted hood less sharply defined. Nest in a bush or small tree, and gen- erally situated in a Y fork, a few feet from the ground; it is built of dried leaves, shreds of bark, rootlets, and grasses, and lined with finer material of the same nature. Egg cream white slightly spotted with ruddy brown thicker at the larger end. This bird is distributed through eastern North America as far north as southern Michigan and Ontario in the interior, and to southeast- ern New York and Connecticut on the seaboard; it breeds from the Gulf States north to the limit of the range, and winters in Central America. The song of the Hooded Warbler is in no respect like thatof the Maryland Yellow-throat; it lacks the power- ful accent and the pointed rhythm of that bird’s well- known wichity, wichity, etc. The Rev. J. H. Langille describes it in syllables thus: che-ree, cheree, chi-de-ee, and besides, gives another form that the bird sings at night of which I know nothing. Still another form is given by Mr. Jones, but it is evidently not the one which I know, for the syllables will not fit my notations; it runs thus: che-weo-tsip che-we-eo. The music which follows shows two slightly sustained syllables succeeded by about three short and rapid ones, thus: Vivace £ 3 times 8va. FSR, LS | AEE 7 Nee TA” a ae CE. 4 bane Cheree, cheree, ehi-di-ee, There is a drop of the voice at the end of the song which is’ similar to that in the song of the Chestnut-sided. AsI have but this one record of the Hooded Warbler’s song, and the bird seems to be so very uncommon as far nortin as New Jersey, it is impossible to say whether I have caught the typical song or not. Mr. Torrey gives no syllabic form in his writings, as far as my knowledge goes, but reports the bird very common in the country around Chatta- nooga, Tenn. 205 FAMILY Maoiotiltide. Wilson’s Wilson’s Warbler, or Wilson’s Blackcap bse as he is often called, is sufficiently common pusilla about New York and Boston to be included L.5-ooinches in the list of familiar Warblers. Except May 15th for the black cap he is not conspicuously marked. Forehead a slightly greenish yellow; crown black; upper parts bright olive green including the wings and tail; no wing-bars nor tail patches; under parts bright light yellow; bill with conspicuous bristles at the base. Female similarly colored but lacking the black cap. Nest on the ground generally in thin, swampy woods; it is built of leaves, grasses, and mosses, and lined with finer material of a similar nature. Egg cream white speckled with madder brown and pale madder purple (lavender). This bird is distributed throughout eastern and northern America, and breeds from the northern boundaries of the United States north- ward; it winters in Central America. This familiar lit tle Warbler is the one most frequently found in the tangled undergrowth of swampy woodlands; he appa- rently prefers the damp woods near the water where he can easily capture on the wing the insects which form his natural prey. The song of Wilson’s Warbler is very short and similar to that of the Redstart; the bird’s voice is thin and almost insectlike, the pitch is extremely high, and the quality is slightly suggestive of an overtone, though there is not enough of that to remind one in the remotest way of the Black-throated Blue’s voice. Nuttall writes the song ‘‘’tsh-’tsh-’tsh-‘tshea,” which, in a measure, suggests the quality of tone, and the evenness of the rhythm, but it throws no light on what might be called the song’s structure; that can only be properly expressed by notation, and the following is the nearest approach to its rather subtile though simple character: Vivace. 3 times 8va. y= SS eS | ad See Ifa i Jj j Mtinst 2 Rs ” [sh, tsh, tsh tshea. 206 CANADIAN WARBLER. There is a slight upward inflection to the voice and a final drop. It is also a shorter song than that of the Redstart. Canadian This beautiful Yellow-breasted Warbler Warbler with the black necklace is a familiar in- Wisonie = habitant of the lowland woods. Like his canadensis Z 8 > < L. 56.0 inches near relative, Wilson’s Blackcap, he will May 20th always be found somewhere in the wet woods near the water. His markings are similar to those of the Parula Warbler, but he is a bird, as the say- ing is, “‘of another color.” Upper parts slate gray, _ wings and tail with more of an olive brown tone; no wing-bars nor tail patches ; a band from the bill to the eye, and the under parts bright yellow; crown spotted with black, and region below and behind the eye black; a necklace of black spots festooned across the breast; the adult male with conspicuous bill bristles. Female simi- larly marked but with dusky olive brown replacing the black. Nest on the ground, set on a mossy bank or among the roots of a protecting shrub; it is built of dead leaves, shreds of bark, moss, and rootlets, and lined with similar finer material. Egg white speckled with red or madder brown mostly at the larger end. This Warbler is distributed through eastern North America, ranging as far north as Newfoundland, Labrador, and Lake Win- nipeg; it breeds from Michigan and Massachusetts north- ward to the range limit, and southward along the higher Alleghanies to North Carolina; it winters in Central, and northern South America. Although in the times of migration this bird will be seen in association with other Warblers, it is pre-eminently a retiring character, with fly-catching tendencies (it is not infrequently called the Canadian Flycatcher), and a decided preference for the wooded banks of streams. The song of the Canadian Warbler is but slightly like that of the Yellow Warbler, though some writers seem to think the resemblance is strong. But I have long since called attention to the fact that these superficial similarities will not stand the test of thorough musical analysis. Compare my notations of the Yellow Warbler’s 207 FAMILY Maiotiltide. song with these of the Candian Warbler and I am sure further explanation or comment will be unnecessary. There are no two tunes alike, so the similarities must be confined mostly to quality of tone. The Canadian War- bler sings this way: _ — — ~~~~- _. — or this way: _. ~~~ — — The lines express the rhythm in a very lame way, however; here is the notation of the first form: Vivace. 3 times va ff Gtr 7 | a and here is that of the second form: Vivace. “ f “ Tu,tu, t-swe-e, tu, tu. Neither of these songs resembles that of any other Warbler; besides, the pitch of the Canadian’s voice is much higher than that of the Yellow Warbler, the song is less melodic, and the crescendo comes just before the last two notes. The syllables recorded by Mr. Jones are, “tu, tu, tswee tu tu.” These seem to fit my second notation. American This little jet black Warbler with his Redstart vivid patches of salmon-scarlet possesses a Setophaga s = P ruticilla scheme of coloring at variance with that L.5-40inches Of every other member of the Warbler May toth Family. He strikes a discordant note, somehow or other, which sets us to wondering whether he really belongs where the ornithologist has placed him! Perhaps, however, we might find in South Amer- ica some of his relatives who would supply the missing colo links. The bird is a symphony in black and red; a subject for the brush of a Whistler! His upper parts, throat and breast are lustrous black; terminal parts of 208 Canadian Warbler Wilson’s Warbler (above) (below) that | wy AMERICAN REDSTART. the wing feathers, two middle tail feathers, and the ter- minal third of the rest of the tail feathers black; other portions of these feathers and the sides of the breast and flanks scarlet-salmon or orange salmon; extreme under parts white tinged with salmon; bill with bristles at the base. Female, salmon color replaced by light ochre yellow; head brown-gray; back olive green with a gray tinge; under parts except where marked with dull yel- low, gray white. There are birds whose yellow tones have a greenish cast. Nest in the Y of a young tree or shrub; it is lodged at a point anywhere from five to twenty-five feet above the ground, and is skilfully woven - with plant fibres, leaf stalks, and fine rootlets, and lined with finer material of the same nature including plant down. Egg a blue-gray white speckled mostly at the larger end with cinnamon and olive browns. This bird is distributed throughout North America; it breeds from North Carolina and Kansas to Hudson’s Bay, and winters in the West Indies and tropical South America. The song of the Redstart is a very simple and mon- otonous one generally consisting of seven notes all of a kind, except the last one which is in most cases a drop of about a major third. It could be fairly represented by a series of dots, thus: . ..... The musical notation does not look very different: Vivace. cres. accel. The voice is pitched very high, there is no overtone, and there is a slight crescendo and accelerando; but it is very slight. The song has few if any variations; the follow- ing record will show how slight they usually are, and how fixed the monotonous rhythm is: ° 3 times 8va. Vivac € “eres. accel, a +4 PAMILY Troglodytide. ———EE I have found most writers express the song by a series of simple syllables which properly carry the idea of mon- otony with them, Mr, Chapman writes it ‘‘ Ching, ching, chee,” and Mr. Jones, ‘*‘ Che, che, che, che, pa.” Evi- dently both are shorter forms of the song as I have recorded it above. It is a comparatively simple matter to record any or all of the Warblers’ songs on the musical staff pro- vided one can obtain them ; but it is an extremely diffi- cult task to supply one’s self with the immense equipment necessary to perform such work completely. It is an ut- terly discouraging thing for one who wishes to learn the songs, to have nothing but meaningless syllables to de- pend upon, and it is quite as discouraging to the one who desires to collect the music and incorporate it in its proper form on the musical staff, to find that he must travel from Dan to Beersheba and hear thousands of ‘Warblers before he can be sure of his song types, and write authoritatively about the small matter of a score of species! So far, that has never been done, but no doubt it will be done—in time. If, therefore, some of my no- tations belonging to certain Warblers are meagre and unsatisfactory, the reason is obvious; after years of watching and waiting I obtained but little. But I am convinced that this little in true musical form is worth all the silly syllables that ever were invented by impress- ing our sensible English language for a service which it was certainly never intended to perform. Family Troglodytide, MOCKINGBIRDS, THRASHERS, WRENS, ETO. In this family are the Mockingbird, Catbird, and Brown Thrasher, all distinctively American birds, and the Wren. Itis a significant fact that their music is very similar, although the songs of the Wrens are decidedly fluent, and in this respect different from the hesitating, halting character of those of the other three birds. —— 310 ——— CATBIRD. Catbird The Catbird, from the musical point of Galeoscoptes —_ view, is the northern representative of the coKOkn es Mockingbird. His song is only remarkable L. 8.90 inches 7 4 May 8th for its splendid style; neither in melody nor rhythm (excepting its characteristic hesitancy or interruption) does it show any adherence to rule. The colors of the bird are rather sombre. Top of head and tail sooty black; general coloring slate-gray; under tail-coverts chestnut, or burnt sienna of a ruddy tone; eyes brown. Female similarly colored: Nest built in the Y branches of small trees or shrubbery—often the lilac and elderberry; it is bulky, loosely woven with twigs, roots, grasses, etc., and lined with finer rootlets and grasses, Egg deep blue-green, unspotted. This bird is common throughout North America; it breeds in the eastern United States from the Gulf States northward to New Brunswick and the Saskatchewan, and winters from Florida southward. There is a certain lawless freedom to the song of the Catbird which invests it with a character essentially wild. The bird does not appear to entertain any regard for set rhythm; he proceeds with a series of miscellane- ous, interrupted sentences which bear no relationship with one another. The fact is, he is an imitator, and possibly does not know himself exactly what he is talk- ing about, or what impression he will embody in ‘‘ the next line.” He can imitate anything from a squeaking cart-wheel to the song of a Thrush. He intersperses his melodic phrases with quotations from the highest au- thorities—Thrush, Song Sparrow, Wren, Oriole, and Whip-poor-will! The yowl of the cat is thrown in any- _where, the guttural remarks of the frog are repeated without the slightest deference to good taste or appro- priateness, and the harsh squawk of the old hen, or the chirp of the lost chicken, is always added in some mal- ad propos manner, All is grist which comes to the Catbird’s musical mill, and all is ground out according to the bird’s own way of thinking. To set his music on paper in a thoroughly complete manner cne would need to write the score of Nature's orchestra, and a correct record of the scope of his voice 2ir FAMILY Trogiodytidx. would nécessitate the employment of both treble and bass staffs. His song is no ordinary one; it is like some long rigmarole the drift of which is humorously incom- prehensible, though the bird apparently considers his remarkable strophes both serious and important. Listen to him sometime while he is singing in the shadowy tangies of the briers and willows through which winds the brook with gurgling, petulant impatience, and you will hear some unmistakable tuneful expostulations. persuasions, and remonstrances, nearly half of which are delivered sotto voce, and the rest with emphatic insistence on some point which the bird considers vitally important. When he has finished you will wonder what it was all about—whether he was telling the brook that such fretful slipping over the pebbly shallows was an undignified and needlessly noisy proceeding. But the music is no index to the sentiments of the bird; the drift of his remarks still remains a mystery even if one reads with ease this simple notation: . bee Allegro. yi scherzando, p m Bird N71 e f < Z —~ 2 gf; a — aa “4 “ U uy at “4 “ le! \ F . ‘the keys weréed trifledubious. _._ if sotto voce, Bird ae we a = - if 4 =~ ” i} oo 7 p dolce mf staccato, Vdelicato.”””’ smorzando, Some of the notes are like those of the Robin, others re- semble those of the Red-eyed Vireo, and still others those of the Chat. But the Catbird’s music is all his own; he suggests the songs of various birds—never delivers the notes in their way! His voice is not as strong as that of the Thrasher, nor can he sing as well as that bird, but his song is refined, sprightly, and interesting although dis- jointed, jumbled, and lacking in melody. His catlike Me-& Urn! every one knows, but not all are familiar 212 BROWN THRASHER. | with that remarkable and lively medley, strenuously continued at times for two or three minutes, which is indeed his love song. He isa bird with an uneasy and restless disposition, shifting his perch, dodging between the leaves, bobbing his tail up and down, raising his crest, puffing out his feathers, and otherwise showing his disapprobation of the intrusion on his private grounds whenever you approach to watch him. His only note at such a time is the harsh and nasal meou so suggestive of the cat. Brown The Thrasher, sometimes called the —— Brown Thrush, is one of our finest singers cafe whose music is a medley of rapidly re- L. 11.25 inches peated tones not unlike those of the Cat- May ist bird. His color is a refined and delicate brown. Upper parts, wings, and tail light sienna brown; wing-coverts tipped with dull white; under ‘parts white heavily streaked with black-sepia except on the throat and extreme under parts; eyes yellow. Fe- male similarly marked. Nest built of coarse twigs, grasses, and leaves, lined with fine rootlets and plant fibres; it is generally placed on or near the ground, but sometimes high in bushes, and not infrequently in low branches of trees. Egg blue-white finely speckled with sienna brown. This bird is distributed through eastern North America as far north as New Brunswick; it breeds from the Gulf States northward, and winters from Vir- ginia southward. The voice of the Brown Thrasher is so similar to that of the Catbird that one might be easily mistaken for the other; but there is an unvarying difference between the songs of the two birds: the Thrasher repeats his notes and the Catbird does not. Hence, we find the report in various books that the Thrasher advises the farmer about his various duties in emphatic insistence, thus: ** Shuck it, shuck it; sow it, sow it; Plough it, plough it; hoe it, hoe it!” 213 FAMILY Troglodytide. Again, the voice of the Catbird generally comes from the thicket, perhaps near some meandering streamlet, and to see the fellow sing is indeed a rare treat, for he does not fancy being watched. But with the Thrasher ~ conditions are reversed; his voice comes from one of the topmost branches of a tree on the meadow where he holds a conspicuous position and commands an exten- sive outlook. He does not care in the least whether you observe him or not; the business of song is too import- ant a matter to brook interruption, so he proceeds in an energetic manner with an eye on you and a mental reservation, perhaps, to be on guard lest you approach too near, and finally finishes the task in hand as though it were a good thing to get it off his mind in thoroughly complete shape, without haste and without rest. Mr. Cheney seems to think he sings in a fine frenzy of in- spiration; he says, ‘‘ As the fervor increases his long and elegant tail droops; all his feathers separate; his whole plumage is lifted, it floats, trembles; his head is raised and his bill is wide open; there is no mistake, it is the power. of the god. No pen can report him now; we must wait until the frenzy passes.” That is an exceedingly good pen description of the bird in the attitude of singing, which it would be idle to attempt to match. Watch the graceful little musician as he performs, and note his complete absorption in the music; his long, slender bill is wide open, his head is thrown back, and his notes are poured forth in rapid succession; his pauses are rhyth- mical and almost exactly in accordance with metronome time; his notes are in groups of two, three, four, and even five, nearly every group is repeated once, and each one is in a voice register sharply contrasting with the other; he sings high and he sings low, sometimes with an overpowering overtone, other times with a clear and liquid whistle; every one of the note-groups resembles some portion of the Catbird’s song, yet each is delivered in a manner altogether too loud and emphatic to keep one long in doubt as to the singer.* My notation shows repeated phrases and rhythmic pauses. * Read also what Mr. Bradford Torrey has so charmingly written of the song on page 117 of Birds in the Bush. 214 Brown Thrasher ma oe a, / a | $ ' at a X z Lr ine , i a Ri BROWN THRASHER. ee Patee Hurry up, up, plough it, plough it it, harrow it, hoe it, hoe ithoell. Ben marcato. f et few | “= a4 ey U al . ; ‘ . . af Scstterte scatterit, seed it, seed, cover ut over, rake it, rake tt, tut-tut, seed, Pas , 20 @2.C Bw iS Ss - ED ty T | - _# = ANI 7 ay ay a é leave italone! pushitim,pushit in, weed it, weed it, pullem up, pull em up, The Catbird’s song, on the other hand, is distinguished by a greater versatility and refinement of style; there is a pleasing confidential quality to it, also, which flatters one into thinking it was meant wholly for one’s self and not for the public at large. Now the Thrasher takes to the top of the big tree with an evident intention toaddress the whole world—or as much of it as he can see! There he sings his phrases exactly as the poet has said: ‘**That’s the wise thrush: he sings each song twice over, Lest you should think he never could recapture The first fine careless rapture !” Carolina Wren ‘This is the largest member of the Wren ‘hryothorus family, easily distinguished by its superior ‘udovicianus f 4 : L. 5.55 inches Size and the decidedly ruddy or Venetian May rst red-brown color of the back. A conspicu- ‘ous whitish line extends over and back of the eye, the wings and tail are rusty brown finely barred with black, under parts a pale or creamy buff whiter at the throat and merging into a slightly barred area at the neck. Female similarly marked. The slender and curved bill is long and an extremely dark sepia brown. Nest in holes of trees or stumps, or in sheltered nooks of old houses. Egg cream white with a circle of cinnamon brown markings around the larger end. The range of this Wren is the 215 FAMILY Troglodytide. eastern United States as far north as eastern Massachu- setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the Palisades of the Hudson, thence south throughout the Gulf States, and west to Iowa and Illinois. It is a common permanent resident of Washington, D. C., and West Virginia, but a rare summer visitant north of these points. It is one of the earlier migrants of spring, and on April 9, 1918, it was reported from the shores of Buzzards Bay, Mass. The loud and cheery song of the Carolina Wren is rather extraordinary forsosmallabird. It somewhat resembles in its trisyllabic form the song of the Maryland Yellow- throat, but there the similarity ceases for the voice of the Wren is clear and musical whereas that of the Yellow- throat is almost toneless and certainly lacks melodie dis- tinction. For example, a Maryland Yellow-throat singing in Blair, New Hampshire, July, 1919, gave me a four- syllabled song for many days in succession, which after study and some hesitation I considered not a monotone, thus: Moderato; Thrice 8va 7 key of A minor. A te \F et iF os @F iW JG@2 UA US Ae Ue AZ Et et el it ey | Get a penny, Geta penny, etc. Yet a similarly four-syllabled song in exactly the same locality July, 1908, was certainly composed of three mixed tones, thus: Moderato, Thrice 8va..-.-...- ay feceaieaee Dont youdoit, dosit you doit, dont you Now that vagueness of tonality, or rather what might be called musical indecision, does not obtain in the song of the Carolina Wren, there is a definite and emphatic swing from one note to another, and the three syllables are given in different tones whether these are in accurate pitch or not. There is no doubt about the burden of this Wren’s 216 WRENS, | song, it celebrates the name of a familiar kitchen utensil an indefinite number of times: mbit Twice 8va... ...+~ * . may 2a Aero 7 aaa a a OP a a ‘faa DF 2) <2 Su Pee -tle Teahkettle Tea kettle Teakettle. ete, The following record of Dr. Henry Oldys is remarkably similar: reerily, cheerily, cheerily, etc. Dr.Henry Oldys' record This is the commoner form, one which I constantly heard in May, 1909, near Rowlesburg, West Virginia. It is also common with the few Wrens of this species at the foot of the Palisades in the vicinity of Englewood, N. J. An- other not unusual song is distinctly two-syllabled, though there is no avoiding the impression one gets of the grace note and strong accent on the first syllable: Ty. Chery, cheery, cheery, cheery, ohedry, ghauny, cheery, The bird’s musical performance is always strenuous and emphatic, and the movements before and after it are hurried to the point of nervous agitation. Like the Red- eyed Vireo the Carolina Wren is an unremitting and tire- less singer who is sure to be heard if he is anywhere near you. Dodging in and out among the brushwood, his tail flipping about like the baton of a band conductor, stopping a moment to carol a cheery, cheery, cheery, or else a tea- kettle, tea-kettle, tea-kettle, etc., you gather the impression he is out after guests for some social function! In the South he is known as the Mocking Wren, but there is no other reason for this beyond the fact that some of his notes closely resemble those of the Tufted Tit-mouse and the Cardinal. 217 FAMILY Troglodytide. Bewick’s Wren A very rare species east of the Alleghanies parsotior“s but one which has been found in Ontario, L. 5.00 inches SOuthern New Hampshire, central Penn- April roth sylvania, and Washington, D. C. Its common range is from southern Michigan, northern Illi- nois and western Pennsylvania south to Georgia, northern Mississippi, central Alabama and eastern Texas; westward it extends to the borders of the Prairie Lands. It has not yet been reported from New York. In color and size it, closely resembles the House Wren, but the wings and tail are a trifle longer, the deep cinnamon brown of the back is less mixed with other tones, and the primary feathers (long wing feathers) are not barred, the middle tail-feathers are black-barred, and the outer ones are black tipped with pale gray, under parts gray white, and a white line extends over the eye. The nest and its location is like that of the House Wren. Egg china white sprinkled with sienna brown or lavender, sometimes in a wreath at the larger end. The song is a loud and clear roundelay in tone quality similar to that of the Carolina Wren but far sweeter, with- out the fixed reiteration of the latter bird’s rhythm, and with much of the freedom and exuberance of the music of the inimitable Winter Wren. But I have no notations which would demonstrate its rhythmic character. Ridg- way says the song may be heard a quarter of a mile or more away. Itis far more deliberate in its movements than the Carolina Wren. House Wren The commonest and most familiar mem- Troglodytes 240” her of the Wren family; a tiny bird with an L. 4.75 inches ; ait) aa ‘ April 30th extensive, rippling, laughing song which reminds one strongly of a musical waterfall or purling brook. His upturned, perky tail, however, is quite as notable a mark of his personality. The upper parts are mixed cinnamon brown and olive brown becoming more ruddy on the rump and tail, the back with ill-defined darker bars, the wings and tail finely barred with sepia, the sides similarly barred, and the under parts very pale gray or Quaker drab. The range is throughout eastern North America from Wisconsin eastward to New Brunswick, and southward to Virginia and Kentucky. The nest, 218 WREN HOUSE "8 ‘ ne ré % o> = ty ae te = » « ts i A's * »7¢ " | a as _« ’ 4 a. > : . ¢ a eel , ora ie . : n> Oe eS St) ae WRENS. generally built of fine twigs and lined with dried grasses or other soft material, is commonly located in the hole of some old apple tree or in the crannies or knot holes preferably of an old house. Egg pale pinkish buff, brown-speckled or usually with a wreath at the larger end. No song could be more spontaneous and rollicking than that of the House Wren, though it lacks a distinct and full tone, that defect is more than atoned for by irrepressible spirit; beginning sotto voce with an inexplicable jumble of unmusical grating sounds, it proceeds with a series of rapid trills from a high to a considerably lower register without pause or slackening of speed. Here are three records taken - in different localities, Millington, N. J., Englewood, N. J., and Blair, N. H., each in the order named: UD RIA hoe Si ge Aa on ERE Allegro, There is practically no difference in the rhythmic form, no great variation in the pitch, and only slight variation in melodie structure, as my notations very plainly show. However, aside from musical form of the song it possesses a rapturous abandon which at once captures the heart of the listener just as his eyes would be entranced by the sight of a beautiful cascade in a mountain glen. The jubilant music drops like silvery spray; the songster should have been named Minnehaha—Laughing Water! 219 FAMILY Troglodytide = Winter Wren The Winter Wren is the most glorious > annus hiemalis singer ag well as the smallest member of his - 4.10 inches ‘ > ee ¢ April 20th family. The species is decidedly boreal, a common resident of the Canadian zone, and breeds from Alberta to Newfoundland, southward to Minnesota, the mountain regions of New York and New England, and along the Alleghanies to North Carolina. To hear its song one must journey to the North Woods of the higher mountains where the lively, dancing melody reverberates through the spruce forests like the tinkling of silver bells. The appearance of the bird is similar to that of the House Wren; a fluffy little ball of mottled brown feathers, with a perked up tail and a bobbing head all too tiny to belong to a song so loud and ringing, yet it is indeed the inimitable Winter Wren which sings. The colored markings of this species differ from those of the House Wren in the following particulars; upper parts a deeper brown, the barring especially on the under parts much more distinct, the short line over and back of the eye pale brown. The short tail also is usually held higher than that of the House Wren. Female similarly marked. The nest constructed of tiny twigs, mosses, and lichens has a circular opening and is lined with moss, hair, and feathers; it is most often lodged in the roots of an upturned tree or the cavity of an old log. Egg, cream white finely flecked with sienna brown and lavender, sometimes very scantily marked. Here is a record of the song taken on the slopes of Mt. Mansfield, Vt., on July 10, 1908, the high C is the highest on the piano keyboard, and the rapidity with which the song was delivered was almost incredible. Twice .8va -e*rere © - = -“*e eetenennnee Presto. Py eS ee oo needs: Feeees — — a Ce h 4 4 A c = ~—# as ay a om | SE ee v rrr ly) ARSE t a [ errr Soaked GE It is quite evident that the initial note of the various trills is accented and sustained a trifle longer than the succeeding reiterated lower-pitched notes. That is the distinguishing character of this Wren’s song, and along 220 WRENS. with it goes the equally,evident dual structure, the first part in a low register, the rest sometimes a whole major sixth or even an octave higher. The following record was secured in early July, 1914, near Lonesome Lake which lies in the slight depression of the southern buttress of Cannon Mountain in the Fran- conia Notch. The elevation was about 3600 ft., and the Winter Wrens were singing in every direction among the spruces. ; > 5) we ‘Twice set ye SE he ae errr ee x -~sere ee as sao spin Pe Pe ~ i ) oh ont at ol > = Va I A. ee oS eo >* i + ST ce ae ij} J The next notation came from a splendid singer in the Notch, on the path up Mt. Lafayette: ‘se cse#eeeset aeaeceasne Presto. ep te ery: > A > ~ Chickadees “a a a coy otiene r+ a t 4 ; CHICKADEBR. The Chickadee is a noisy, restless little acrobat as well as an educated musician, and his appearance with a dozen of his fellows in the pine-tree near my cottage is the signal for a circus performance with an orchestral accompaniment, including (if it is the fall season) the penny-trumpet tones of a friendly Nuthatch or two. There is at once a Babel of squeaks and chattering, and an obligato yank, yank which announces the entry in the ring of Mr. White-vested Nuthatch, who proceeds at once to walk upside-down! Then the nimble Chicka- dees shake up the old pine-tree into active life until every green needle quivers with excitement, and the little gray-costumed tumblers are at it with all the sprightliness of which they are capable. That means that most of them are wrong end up, the others are bal- ancing sideways, and that while you are endeavoring to adjust your opera-glass every one has turned a summer- sault and flown to the other side of the tree, after having devoured every insect’s egg that could be found on the nearer side! It is a lively performance and the ‘‘ band” continues the squeaks and the ‘‘ dee dees” until you in- terpose the magic influence of two pure whistled high tones, when there is a momentary pause and you are an- swered—probably in analogous tones: a OQ : TT whistled—* The bird responded .« I have more than once persuaded the Chickadee to drop his own notes and adopt mine, but I have never yet been able to inveigle him back again to the first ones. Wilson says of the Chickadee;—‘“‘ it has been found on the western coast of America as far north as lat. 62°; it is common at Hudson’s Bay, and most plentiful there during winter, as it then approaches the settlements in quest of food. Protected by a remarkably thick covering of long, soft, downy plumage, it braves the severest cold of those northern regions.” In Central Park, N. Y., in the Arnold Arboretum, near Boston, in the White Moun- tains, and in the vicinity of Gloucester, Mass., Chicka- 231 FAMILY Paride. dees live all the year around and some may be found fearless enough to eat from one’s hand. Not long ago I received a snap-shot picture of the little bird perched upon the hand of the good Hermit of Gloucester, a man who is on intimate terms with the birds of that region. This particular little fellow had more wits than one would naturally attribute to such ah insignificant bunch of feathers, and when, one cold winter’s day, the friendly hand offered him some much-prized hemp-seed he gladly accepted the invitation, and attempted to wrestle with the big, hard slippery things; but he was so unsuccess- ful that several were lost in the snow. Then the little fellow resolved to take no more risks, so he carefully took the next seed in his bill, flew away to a neighbor- ing tree, jammed it firmly in a crevice of the bark, and pegged away at it until the hard shell was broken and he obtained the sweet meat within! That is indeed living by one’s wits ! Carolina This species is largely a permanent resi- oo dent of the southeastern United States, aa ee mostly the Gulf States, and is very common L.4.60 inches about Washington, D. C. The northern Allthe year _—_ limit of its range is central Missouri, Indiana, Central Ohio, Pennsylvania, and central New Jersey. Itisa trifle smaller than the common Chickadee of the North, and in mountain districts the ranges of the two birds over- lap. In color the Carolina Chickadee is similar to the other bird, but the feathers of the wings below the shoulder (the greater wing-coverts) are not margined with gray- white, and the wing and tail have less white on the outer vanes of the feathers, a significant though not very pro- nounced difference. The nest and eggs are similar to those of the other species which it displaces absolutely in Florida. The Carolina Chickadee does not possess the deliberate, clearly whistled two notes of the common Chickadee, but in their place sings a somewhat monotonous and plaintive swee-dee, swee-dee thus: f 232 CHICKADEE. pVivace Thrice Sv. ‘ Swee-dee, swee-deo,swee-dee The call sick-a-dee, dee, dee is also higher pitched and more lively than that of the other species. aVivace Thrice 8va... | ll | ee | Dd TER aes | v Sick-a dee-dee-dee-dee Mr. Chapman describes the whistled call as resembling the - words my watcher key, my watcher key. Hudsonian The Hudsonian, or, as it is sometimes palenanee called, the Acadian Chickadee, is a sub- Penthestes d i P APM Et species distinctively boreal in character. littoralis The range of this Chickadee is from L.5.00inches northern Quebec and Newfoundland south eer to the borders of the extreme north- eastern States; on these borders it is often found in association with the Black-capped Chicka- dee, especially in the fall and winter. It is a permanent resident of the spruce forests in the mountain regions of northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine; in summer among the White and Green Mountains it remains in the upper spruce belts at an altitude of about three thousand feet, rarely visiting the valleys before October, and then usually in the company of the Black- cap. The appearance of the Hudsonian is wholly different from that of the Black-cap; the head is not black but brown. The coloring—to use the artist’s expression—is very much warmer. Upper parts a dilute burnt umber brown, or brown ash, head a ruddier tone, wings and tail a warm gray, under parts and neck dull white, sides a reduced ruddy umber. Nest built of mosses and dried grass lined with fine hairs and plant down, the egg similar to that of the Black-cap. The notes of the Hudsonian Chickadee are a bit lower in pitch and more deliberate than those of the Black-cap, the song itself assuming the character of a weak but sweet rippling medley not unlike some of the indecisive notes of 233 FAMILY Paridz. the Black-cap, but there is never a suggestion of the latter’s mellow, whistled phebe; Stimes 8va. .... cet. ; Twice FVid.y, Bos ey Un dale “ nzentony nw o— eae Ci o - . “ Pst zee-zee-zee Pst tree-e-e-e-e The song has been described by Dr. Townsend in his Noles on the Birds of Cape Breton Island,* as follows (which inclines me to believe I have not heard the full song): ‘‘Several times in different places I was treated to a pleas- ant little warble . . . which appeared to my companion and myself to easily merit the name of song. It was a low, bubbling, warbling song, which I vainly attempted to describe in my notes. It began with a pstt or tsee, followed by a sweet but short warble . . . quite different from the irregular rolling notes that the Black-cap occasionally emits.’’ That would mean that the thin, rippling notes I heard from the Hudsonian could not be the full song and that my record above does not fairly represent it. Mr. Horace W. Wright also describes the song as he heard it at Ipswich, Mass., November 12, 1904 as a “‘sweet warbling song” and again, for another song heard in Belmont, November 25th, he uses the same terms.** But of one fact we may be certain, the differences between the various notes of the Black-cap and the Hudsonian are distinct and absolute, the call of the latter is a low-pitched, drawled pst, zee, zee, zee, that of the Black-cap is sick-a-dee-dee-dee. This difference may be easily recognized by any mountain climber or autumn visitor in the White Mountains who is fortunate enough to meet with the two species. tinted te Closely related to the Chickadees this Beolophus alert and fearless little bird resembles them bicolor to a certain extent in character, habit, and L. 6.10 inches Ae Year coloring. Forehead black, a pronounced crest, upper parts ashen gray with wings and tail a trifle deeper, under parts dull white with a wash * Vide The Auk, Vol. XXIII, No. 2, April, 1906. ** Vide The Auk, Vol. XXII, 1905, p. 87. 234 -CROWNED KINGLET PROTHONOTARY WARBLER (above) (below) on Mes hia GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. of ruddy color on either side. Like the Chickadee it is more commonly found in thin woodlands. Its range is from the Gulf States through the warmer portions of the United States as far north as Nebraska, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York (in the warmer parts, locally), New Jersey, and Connecticut; it occasionally visits Wiscon- sin and Michigan. Records of its breeding on Staten Island and Long Island are very rare; in Connecticut it occurs only as a rare visitant, but it is a very common permanent resident of Washington, D.C. Nest similar to that of the Chickadee. Egg, cream white flecked with burnt sienna brown. ~ T have no record of this bird’s note. Its common song is in a monotone and is described as a frequently reiterated loud, clear whistle like the syllables peto, peto, peto, peto; it has a sibilant call like the Chickadee’s. Family Sylviidae Golden- There are only two members of the Old cae’ ' World Family called Sylviide, with which we Regulus satrapa May become acquainted in the eastern United L.4.10 inches States, the Golden-crowned and Ruby- April roth crowned Kinglets, if we except the Blue- gray Gnat-catcher which is extremely rare in the North, and breeds only in the West and South, or sometimes as far north as New Jersey. The Golden-crown is not a gifted singer, like all the misnamed Warblers it fails to warble! But the beautiful little creature is too attractive to pass without notice. Upper parts gray-olive, two dull white wing- bars the one nearer the shoulder indistinct, a white-gray area around the eye whitest above it, the centre of the crown cadmium orange margined by pure yellow which is again bordered by black, under parts dull white. Nest pensile or globular, usually woven of green mosses lined with finer material and feathers, lodged high up in a cedar, pine, or hemlock in swamp, or mountain ravine; sometimes it is sixty feet above the ground. Egg, half an inch long, cream or ochery white flecked and blotched with pale brown. The range of the species isfrom Alberta to southern Ungava and Cape Breton Island, south to the mountains of Massachu- setts, New York, the higher Alleghanies of North Carolina, 235 FAMILY Sylviide. Michigan, and the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. The song of the Golden-crowned Kinglet is character- ized by a series of three or four (possibly more) high- pitched, quavering notes which ascend the scale rather unevenly and are succeeded by an indefinite number of sharply staccato descending trills, the first three or four notes have the zee, zee, zee quality of tone described by Bradford Torrey in Birds in the Bush. Bearing in mind that this bird is singing mostly in the highest octave of the piano and quite a major third above the final C, it is not surprising that the ornithologist is at a loss for some means to describe such a song. Below, it appears as I obtained it among the spruces of the Franconia Notch: Tirree Gd. oe US ee oes iA Allegro wees Nw eile acl) ict Bradford Torrey calls these descending tones ‘‘a hurried, jumbled, ineffective coda,’”’* which is not flattering but truthful. The common call is two or t wiry notes in an impossible, high E or F expressed by a sibilant see, see see. Ruby-crowned This Kinglet is infinitely the superior sing- Sree er of the two. He is not more beautiful, Nceictas however, in the coloring of his head which E. 4.30 inches carries a crest of ruby-red feathers under or- April 4th dinary circumstances partly or entirely con- cealed, but the little flaming crest is erect under stress of ex- citement.. The upper and under parts of the Ruby-crown are similar to those of the Golden-crown, and the two wing- bars are the same, but there is a tinge of Naples yellow on the sides of this bird not present on the other. Nest and eggs similar to those of the Golden-crown, but the egg more lightly marked. The range of the species is from Alaska to central Ungava south to Nova Scotia, northern Maine, On- tario, and through the mountains to New Mexico and south- ern California. It winters from Iowa and Virginia southward toGuatemala. The Kinglets are often associated with the Chickadees in winter in the northern parts of New England. * Vide Footing it in Franconia, p. 192. 236 i -s T RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. The song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is astonishingly loud and clear for so tiny a singer, and it is praised by all who are acquainted with it for a most remarkable sweetness and brilliance of tone. . That, however, does not help us to recognize the song in the woods; such expressions might apply equally well to the inimitable song of the Hermit Thrush. The question is, what occurs in his song which differentiates it from all others? To answer that one should confine the analysis to simple facts, which must largely discount pure sentiment. I quote from Bradford Torrey, that incomparable analyst of character in nature, who writes comparing the songs of the Golden-crown and the Ruby-crown—‘‘The two songs are evidently of a common origin, though the Ruby-crown’s is so immeasur- ably superior . . . none the less, the resemblance is real. The homeliest man may bear a family likeness to his hand- some brother, though it may show itself only at times, and chance acquaintances may easily be unaware of its existence.’’* That is exactly true, the structural characters of the two songs bear a strong family resemblance, as is evidenced by the ascent and descent of the scale and the quavering, trilling notes; but the Ruby-crown reverses the order by commonly trilling first and sustaining a few notes afterwards. Notice this point in the following songs obtained in Smuggler’s Notch, under Mt. Mansfield, Vt. illegro vivaed 7"? Ones sé. ay és abdoce | é ae a - a eae And still Mr. Torrey notes another character of the song which is distinctively good analysis—‘‘a prolonged and varied warble, introduced and broken into with delightful effect, by a wrennish chatter. For fluency, smoothness, and ease, and especially for purity and sweetness of tone, I have never heard any bird-song that seemed to me more nearly perfect.’’+ My next notation seems like concrete evidence of the truth of these statements. The song was * Vide Footing it in Franconia, p. 192. t Vide Birds in the Bush, p. 236. 237 FAMILY Sylviide. both wonderfully limpid and smooth-flowing though inter- rupted by the wrenlike grating notes which really deserve no place on the musical scale. The trills or reiterations upon the triad show the unique character of the song. Allegro vivad irre? 8va oe @ « © 2 f/4 @ © 46 ‘Sree 7 (4 + i a | Li eA ca i 1 re 3 @ r 4 } 3 r (There was merely the impression of the G minor key) As a rule the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is so absorbingly inter- ested in the business he has on hand, that he sometimes allows one to approach—if one is quiet and cautious— within ten feet of him, and thus observe his sprightly and restless movements. The bird is far from uncommon among the spruces which clothe the slopes of the White Mountains. Blue-gray A southern species but a somewhat common Gnatcatcher = ymmer resident of Washington, D.C. It Polioptila 4 ‘ a la is an irregular visitant of New York, and L. 4.70 inches records have been taken of it on Long Island April sth at Canarsie, Far Rockaway, Fort Hamilton, Montauk Point, Bridgehampton, Shelter Island, and Bell- port; it has also been observed in other parts of the State, Rochester being the most northerly point. The range of this Gnatcatcher extends from the Gulf States northward to Eastern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, Michigan, On-. tario, southwestern Pennsylvania, and southern New Jersey. Like some of the Warblers its colors form a charming symphony in gray; upper parts blue-gray, under parts gray-white, forehead and a line over the eye black, tail black with the feathers mostly white, the inner third feather only tipped with white, wings edged dark gray and white-gray. Nest cup-shaped (similar to that of the Hummingbird) on a horizontal bough or in a crotch, built of tendrils, bark, lichens, and grasses, lodged usually high up in the tree. Egg, bluish white thickly speckled with cinnamon brown, burnt sienna, or umber. 238 Oa se - WOOD THRUSH, The song of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is composed of a series of soft, drawling whistles comparable to some of the notes of the Nightingale, but without the volume and passionate character of the latter bird’s music. I have no transcript of the song, and only one of the call note, which has been compared to the twanging staccato tone of a banjo string, that is, the thumb or melody string, usually G, thus: Ova. w | T Tang ! in quality it bears some resemblance to the Nuthatch’s yank though in much higher pitch, and has been called by one author “‘a complaining or snarling note.” J Family Turdide. THRUSHES, ROBIN, BLUEBIRD, ETC. This large family includes about three hundred species. About one half of these represent the true Thrushes. Of the Thrushes some twelve species are found in the United States, four of which are tolerably though locally common. The Thrushes are distinctive woodland birds, some of them retiring to the fastnesses of the northern forests and choosing high altitudes for their breeding places. As musicians all are singularly gifted, and in the case of the Hermit Thrush we are in possession of the most talented and brilliant melodist in the world, the Nightingale not excepted. Wood Thrush The Wood Thrush is the most strikingly Hyori marked member of his tribe, and certainly mustelina : : : L.8.2ginches One Of the sweetest of singers. His coloring May 1oth is more pronounced than that of the other Thrushes. Upper parts cinnamon or sienna brown, brighter on the head, and merging gradually into light olive-brown on the tail; under parts white conspicu- ously marked with large round sepia-black spots; throat 239 rAMILY Turdide. white defined on either side by a line of small spots ex- tending from the bill to the markings on breast. Female similarly marked. Nest usually in young trees or saplings, ahd lodged from eight to ten feet above the ground; it is built of twigs, roots, and dead leaves; an inner wall of mud is lined with fine rootlets and shreds of plant-stems. Egg green-blue like that of the Robin. This Thrush is distributed over the eastern United States westward _to the Plains, and northward to Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, and southern (rarely central) New Hampshire. It breeds from Kansas, Kentucky, and Virginia northward, and winters in Central Amer- ica. Ihave heard the Wood Thrush sing along with the Hermit Thrush on the slopes of Mt. Monadnock, and not infrequently his voice is a familiar one in the vicinity of Lake Winnepesaukee, and as far north as Franconia and Jefferson, N. H. There are very few of the woodland singers that are equally gifted with the Wood Thrush; only the Hermit excels him in melody and in brilliant execution, and it is a question whether any of his other relatives can rival him either in tone of voice or in song motive. His notes are usually in clusters of three, and these are of equal value * ; the commonest one of the clusters is an admira- ble rendering of the so-called tonic, the third, and the fifth tones, thus: Sve. Allegro... WS “Come to me. That is one of the best things the Thrush can do, and he does it splendidly too; there is no doubt about his inter- vals; they compose a perfect minor chord. After a pause of a second or two the bird supplements the minor with the major form a third lower, thus: « * The Hermit, on the contrary, sustains his first note and follows it with a series of rapid and brilliant ones. 240 Wood Thrush (above) WOOD THRUSH, ee Za i I am here. Then after that comes something like this, with the last note doubled: Sweetest singer which is immediately succeeded by a pretty relative phrase with a vibrating final note: a at 7 aN “ Ptr ma LA Call iia) _>. CVZ ~~ Warbling cheerily. Still the singer continues, and in a burst of feeling rap- idly reels off the following: an ~ — = “ -Tra-la-la-la-z-2-2z\" There is a harmonic overtone to nearly all the notes of the song, and frequently a strange and vibrant if not harsh tone succeeds the three-note group, thus: = Ss ZAOCQY T ; al It is difficult to explain the nature of a voice so pecul- iarly musical; undoubtedly the Thrushes possess ex- tremely short and extremely long vocal cords, and probably the latter are vibrated along with the former thus producing a singular effect of harmony. The rap- idly repeated resonant note which frequently completes a phrase has a distinct metallic ring which strongly re’ 241 FAMILY Turdide. minds one of the musical ripple of the blacksmith’s ham. mer as it bounces upon the anvil between the blows dealt — to the red-hot horse-shoe, Could it be possible that the ancestor of this Thrush learned his song near the door- way of Mime’s forge! cap feet + noc? oS os Ll If one strings together a succession of the Wood Thrush’s triplets the result is rather pleasing: 8yva. Al . Allegretto 2 a “a Cc - + , 5» \\ i All Lge a "tT 2 CSli a ee ee | ie a aa Se : T u it i _ i 2 C) and not altogether different from the following song which was obtained in Englewood, N. J., on Hillside Avenue: 8va. pe tn es: Meaiien APLEE be hve FP" a A a Na | o i . * Av T Tl ree if 1 ; Tt r i | _* i | a The song of a bird which I listened to in the Arnold Arboretum, near Boston, is not essentially different from either of the above notations: 242 — WOOD THRUSH, fa , Allegretto. Sete: i eS Se a = (Sa SS a CC | ores. F a . ty Ge : ? | —e iS AT aca 8 Ti it lg a | This goes to prove that the essential character of the Wood Thrush’s song is the comparative even value of the first two of the three notes which constitute its common form. No other Thrush sings exactly that way; the Hermit’s notes are not even, and those of the Olive-back although even are not limited to three. The Wood Thrush is the one who sings in the vicinity of New York and south of that point, indeed, I might just as well say the rule also applies to Boston; but then, both the Hermit and the Olive-back are occasionally heard about the latter city en passant, and I very much doubt whether one is likely to hear either bird around New York or a considerable distance north of it. The com- parative merits of the Thrushes as singers are, in a great measure, a matter of opinion; but it is a question whether such a brilliant vocalist as the Hermit can be relegated to a second place relatively with any wood- land singer in the world. The best proof of that bird’s superiority may be found among the succeeding pages where musical notations seem to make the truth very plain. The facts of the case, however, do not in any way disparage the splendid vocal ability of the Wood Thrush; his music steals upon the senses like the open- ing notes of the great Fifth Symphony of Beethoven: it fills one’s heart with the solemn beauty of simple melody rendered by an inimitable voice! No violin, no piano, no organ confined to such a limited score can appeal to one so strongly. The quality of tone is indescribably fascinating; it is like the harmonious tinkling of crystal wine-glasses combined with the vow angelica stop of the cathedral organ. The song suggests divine inspiration; to quote Mr. Cheney, ‘in a moment one is oblivious to 243 FAMILY Turdide. all else, and ready to believe that the little song is notof earth, but a wandering strain from the skies.” John Burroughs, in Wake, Robin, calls it ‘‘ golden and leisurely.” Certainly one is hypnotized by such music as that, and even circumspect Mr. Torrey is captured and writes admiringly about the surprising ‘‘ drop to a deep contralto,” calls it ‘‘ the most glorious bit of vocal- ism to be heard in our woods,” and records, apparently with the delight of a musician, ‘‘ the tinkle or spray of bell-like tones at the other extreme of the gamut”*; and for my own part I think the rest of us must agree with him! Veery. Wil- This Thrush is very easily distinguished sas: edna , {70m all the others by the unique charac- Hytdeiohla rus" ter of both its coloring and song; the fuscescens former is a peculiar tan-brown, the latter L. 7.40 inches is a strange combination of slurred over- May oth tones. The bird is shy and has been popu- larly dubbed ‘‘ the skulking Veery.” His markings as well as his colors are in strong contrast with those of the Wood Thrush. Upper parts including wings and tail a light golden brown like raw sienna; under parts inclu- ding the throat white, with a delicate tinge of buff on the sides of both throat and breast; small wedge-shaped sienna spots also define the borders of throat, and are sprinkled over the upper breast; sides white with a light tintof gray. Femalesimilarly marked. Nest on or very near the ground; it is built of dead leaves, shreds of bark, and roots, and lined with finer rootlets and dried grasses. Egg like that of the Wood Thrush, light green- blue. This bird is common in eastern North America as far north as Newfoundland and Manitoba; it breeds from northern New Jersey northward, and southward along the Alleghanies to North Carolina; it winters in Central America. The situations preferred by the Veery are the thick damp woods beside the river’s brink, and the dense undergrowth of low woodlands; sometimes the bird chooses a high, wooded knoll, but it is generally very near the water. * Vide, Footing it in Franconia, page 113. 244 VEERY. The song of this Thrush with which Wilson himself is apparently unfamiliar, though the bird was named for him, is a most remarkable and beautiful glissando of overtones, without melody, and in a measure without definite pitch.* The tone effect at a distance is like the metallic twang of the Jew’s harp; nearer by it resembles a reedy, harmonic strain from an accordion swinging in the air. Some one, I do not know who, has called the song ‘‘ a spiral, tremulous silver thread of music.” The song is generally composed of, first, a pianissimo up- ward run of, perhaps, a minor third (a purely prelimi- nary one), second, a downward chromatic run repeated once, and third, another downward chromatic run, ap- parently beginning a minor third or maybe a major third below the other, and also repeated; the run in both cases is an indefinite one; it might include a third, a fourth, or even a fifth. The song could be represented — in curving lines, thus: O, veery, veery, very veery! ' but I think it can be clearly and logically expressed in musical notation, thus: Sestenuto, This and the following records are twice 8va., exact pitch, CIR as a ne ‘\ mp. * QO, veery, veery, veery, veery. To be sure there are variations of this form; for instance, I have often heard a song with four, instead of five, divisions, and with each of the three divisions succeed- ing the first dropping approximately a third, thus: * The fact that this Thrush sings far on into the evening hour has, through popular misapprehension, earned for it the strange title, American Nightingale! 245 FAMILY Turdide. Apparently this is the form recorded by Mr; Cheney, thus * ; (Ye | pi =—— = — a a "This record from Mr: Cheneys Wood Notes Wild simply shows a different method of notation> But the general principle remains the same; the swing- ing slurs are there, and so is the sustained, deliberate high tone, and the pianissimo introduction. I have also heard another variation involving a complete change in the relationship of the tones; in this instance the Veery dropped the chromatic scale and adopted in its stead dis- tinct intervals: : accel. Sostenato. : OR OTE a £ RES SOS a mp. ae s £F The tones were bell-like and resonant, in fact, the singer was the best of his kind I have ever heard. There isa predominant overtone to all of the Veery’s notes, he never whistles a perfectly clear tone unless it is that of his call-note, the rather softly rendered whieu, but even this is broadly slurred, just exactly as any one might whistle it in token of surprise; so it does not in the re- motest way resemble a pure, clear tone such as that sung by the Chickadee. Moreover the bird has another * Vide Wood Notes Wild, page 58. 240 ~ VEERY., call-note, very loud and strongly burred, to which he commonly resorts when annoyed or alarmed. In Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway’s North American Birds (vol. i., pg. 10) is this account of the song: ‘‘ There isa solemn harmony and a beautiful expression which com- bine to make the song of this Thrush surpass that of all the other American Wood Thrushes”; it consists of ‘*an inexpressibly delicate metallic utterance of the syl- lables ta-weel'ah, ta-weel'ah, ta-wil'ah, twil'ah, accom- panied by a fine trill which renders it truly seductive. The last two notes are uttered in a soft and subdued un- dertone, thereby producing, in effect, an echo of the others.” This description coincides perfectly with my first notation which represents with tolerable accuracy _. that duplication of the tones which the author calls an echo. Nelson considers the Veery’s song the most spir- itual one of all the wild-wood singers, and perhaps he is right, for the bird sings a vesper hymn to the dying day, and unless he stirred the deepest feelings of te heart at such a solemn hour, we could never have had these beautiful lines from the pen of Dr. van Dyke: ' “The moonbeams over Arno’s vale in silver flood were pouring, When first I heard the nightingale a long-lost love deploring. So passionate, so full of pain, it sounded strange and eerie; I longed to hear a simpler strain—the wood-notes of the Veery. FAMILY Turdide. But far away, and far away, the Tawny Thrush is singing; New England’s woods at close of day, with that clear chant are ringing; And when my light of life is low, and heart and flesh are weary, I fain would hear before I go, the wood-notes of the Veery.” Gray-cheeked The Gray-cheeked Thrush is seen only in Thrush ~—_the time of migration, and its song from the Hylocichlaalicie ‘ r A = . 5 L. 7.60 inches ™usical point of view still remains undis- May 15th covered. That it must be distinctly differ- ent from the songs of all the other Thrushes goes without saying, but that there should be a radical difference in ton- ality, pitch, and scale, or in the thrushlike character of the melody, is next toimpossible. This Thrush is boreal, and to hear the song one must journey to the evergreen forests of northern Canada and Labrador. Without doubt, in the wildernesses of the far North and nowhere else, the music of this unfamiliar species would reveal something not to be found in any of the other Thrushes’ Songs—the question is, what? During migration, as far as my knowledge goes, the bird does not sing, and the call note, a sharp, nasal cree-a, gives one no clew as to the character of the full song. Bick- nell’s Thrush is a sub-species, merely a smaller form of this Thrush, and if the relationship between the two is so very close, then there should be a correspondingly close resem- blance between their songs in some essential particular. The upper parts of the Gray-cheeked Thrush are brown- ish olive similar to that of the Olive-backed Thrush, the eye ring whitish, the region between the eye and the bill grayish, sides of the throat and the breast very slightly tinged with pale buff, the spotting exactly like that of the Olive-Backed Thrush. The nest is built of dry grasses, leaves and shreds of bark lined with finer material. Egg, greenish blue flecked with burnt-sienna brown. This species breeds in the Hudsonian zone from Alaska and the western Yukon territory in the region of the Mackenzie River to central Ungava, Labrador, and New- 248 EE ——— BICKNELL’S THRUSH. foundland*; it winters in northern South America. It was named for Miss Alice Kennicott of Illinois. Bicknell’s Bicknell’s Thrushf is very similar to the Thrush ~—_ preceding of which it is a subspecies, the Hylocichlaalicie ’,. - : bicknelli difference is rather one of size more than L. 7.00 inches anythingelse. It is a mountain species with May 2sth a song remarkably like that of the Veery especially in its tonal quality. The colors are practically the same as those of the Gray-cheeked Thrush, but the upper parts, especially the tail, are a trifle darker and browner; indeed it may be called the darkest of all the Thrushes, although I should call that difference very tri- fling. But the differences between the Thrushes when we compare their songs are absolute and invariable. The nest of Bicknell’s Thrush is built in a stunted tree or low bush, generally in the recesses of the tangled growth of dwarf spruces or firs on the shoulder or crest of some mountain of the northeastern States, at an altitude of not less than 2500 feet. Its structure is similar to that of the Gray-cheeked Thrush, the egg, perhaps, is a greener blue more finely speckled than that of the Olive-backed Thrush. The song of this Thrush is interesting, but is not com- parable with that of the Hermit or the Olive-back. Its close resemblance to the song of the Veery inclines one to - question whether the two species may not be more nearly related than the ornithologist has determined; but that the music of a given species should be accounted a diagnostic point in matters of relationship with other species probably would draw onlya smile from the skeptical ornithologistwho prefers scientifically to depend upon bones and feathers.{ But compare the records of the songs of the Veery on *Vide Report on Natural History Collections made in Alaska. Edw. W. Nelson. t Named for Eugene P. Bicknell, its discoverer. ft That, however, leaves two unaccountably similar birdsongs in the lurch the origin of which the scientist has been at no pains to discover. Now, it seems to me a perfectly logical conclusion that strikingly similar effects are deducible from a common cause, and ' one is justified in concluding that the common ancestry of Bick- nell’s Thrush and the Veery are identical on the basic idea that differences in dimensions and color are due more to environment than to inheritance, 249 FAMILY Turdide. pages 246 with the following records and it is unnecessary to draw attention to their remarkable similarity. Besides the trivial difference of pitch, a matter at most of a major seventh (the smaller species having the higher voice), there remains only a final group of notes in the Bicknell song which has no place in that of the Veery. Sostenuto. Thrice 8va . . . . . . * . . * . a’ Winsome me Sea, Wee--o, wWee--0, Wee--o tit-ti wee--o Those ascending notes absolutely decide the species; no other bird but Bicknelli sings that song, how much or how little of it Alicie sings remains to be discovered, but that he must sing some of it, no matter how little, there can be no possible shadow of doubt, otherwise Bicknelli could not be a subspecies of Alicia. The same effect of a “silvery spiral thread of music” obtains in this bird’s song as it does in the Veery’s, the same vague, mysterious descent of three or four mixed tones but with the addition of a distinctly solitary one—or perhaps two—and a final uprising mixed tone. These two records obtained on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, close to the Summit house, under the “‘Nose’’ and in the very midst of the breeding ground of Bicknell Thrushes show no very marked differences of structure: prestezuto Thrice Sva.. . OF a a : Midd a VY PAT = Se tt { ! — nS _——_ — —_—— “ae mf acce = The high C is the final C of the piano, and a practiced and musical ear will detect an initial tone in some songs even higher. But the actual pitch of the song is less important 250 BICKNELL’S THRUSH ay BICKNELL’S THRUSH, \ than its final ascent of the scale, that is unique! The call notes of this mountain Thrush are like those of the Veery but in most instances nearly an octave higher. Legato wand mes Sra. TE eg oR: POA yan aya Ue SRT Pony Whieu, Whieu, Whieu, Whieu Whieun Ue-e Call notes. Bicknell’s Thrush is by no means an uncommon bird, at least at an elevation of three thousand feet. On the crest of Cannon Mountain and among the dwarf spruces on the - shoulders of Mt. Lafayette in the Franconia Notch, he is always in evidence along with the Olive-backed Thrush in June and early July; but the latter bird nests rather lower down in more sheltered spots. I have heard several times the songs of both these Thrushes simultaneously, notably on the occasion of a visit with some lady friends to the charming wilderness camp of the late William C. Prime at Lonesome Lake on the southern slope of Cannon Mountain. Here, indeed, is the ‘‘ Lodge in some vast wilderness’”’ for which the poet Cowper yearned, here is the home of the mountain Thrush who flutes his weird and silvery threnody _ to the dying day! This is the like of the Mountain Tarn —but margined with American Labrador Tea and moun- tain Vacciniums—of which Frederick Faber wrote: There is a-power to bless In hillside loneliness, In tarns and dreary places; A virtue in the brook, A freshness in the look Of mountains’ joyless faces. Bradford Torrey renders the song of this Thrush in syl- lables which are not difficult for me to fit to the records I made at Lonesome Lake. His form wee-o at the end, however, might prove misleading, for the Thrush rises on the musical scale at precisely that finale, and Mr. Torrey uses the same syllables for the first part of the song where the bird’s voice falls; hence it would have been wiser to 251 FAMILY Turdidz. have employed a different syllabic form for the rise. Never- theless Mr. Torrey’s description is delightfully happy—‘I stood on the piazza while they sang in full chorus. At least six of them were in tune at once. Wee-o, wee-o, wee-o, tit-ti wee-o,—something like this the music ran, with many variations; a most ethereal sound, at the very top of the scale, but faint and sweet; quite in tune also with my mood, for I had just come in from gazing long at the sunset, with Lake Champlain like a sea of gold for perhaps a hundred miles, and a stretch of the St. Lawrence showing far away in the north.”” And again, ‘‘The moment the road entered the ancient forest, the Olive-backs began to make them- selves heard, and, half-way up the mountain path the Gray- cheeks (Bicknell’s) took up the strain and carried it on to its heavenly conclusion. A noble processional!’’* Olive-backed This Thrush is far more retiring than Thrush the Hermit Thrush. His home is prefera- Swainson’s = bly within the spruce or deciduous forests Thrush > Hylocichla ustu-Of the north, and usually at a considerable lata swainsont altitude. In coloring he nearly resembles L. 7.00inches the Hermit, but the tail is olive-colored May 2oth like the back, and there is a conspicuous ring of buff about the eye. Upper parts brown olive including wings and tail. Under parts white with a suffusion of buff; spots on throat similar to those of the Hermit; round spots on breast. at the tips of feathers; sides of the face from the bill backward clear buff with brown streaks. Female similarly marked. Nest built in low bushes or small trees, and situated about four feet or less from the ground; it is woven of coarse grasses, mosses, leaves, strips of bark, and fine rootlets. This Thrush appears in the middle States later in spring and earlier in fall than the Hermit; its breeding range is the same as his; it winters in the West Indies and Cen-— tral and South America. The song of Swainson’s Thrush is one of the most charming examples of a harmony in suspension which it is possible to find in all the realm of music. The bird * Vide The Footpath Way, pp. 19 and 94. 252 - OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH. deliberately chooses a series of even intervals and climbs up the scale with a thought entirely single to harmoni- ous results. Technically the song is compassed by a di- minished seventh; it ascends in two-note groups, the notes evidently separated by minor third intervals with each second note the lower of the two; it might be repre- sented by a zigzag line thus: crescendo. f fove love! love l love you! Cénstractively considered the music strongly resembles these somewhat meandering but soothing phrases in the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata: 2 a SS ——ute teste > con The great musician, however, goes slow and continues the theme; the bird does not, but after giving the third or fourth rapid group of notes, is dissatisfied with the pitch and tries a lower or a higher one, thus: ~“_< d= S8va, P—~ Sv. es Allegro. See tres i J, 3 | | a lave, I love, I love, I love you! Ilove,/ love, 1 lave, I love you! Like all the northern Thrushes, he is a transcendentalist, who is never satisfied with a creditable effort, but must try for something better and then “goes to pieces” in the attempt! Here is as near a representation of that idea as it is possible to get; notice how the bird contiau- ally tries for something on a higher key,.and finally en is with a jumble of high notes: 253 FAMILY Turdide. the bird sings va. 4 < io sings 8 va. Hhleg ro. J=% bom a 3 on Z PONE 0 Ger cs Se S > P -= Q | MG ER | Be I Lf ; A j i a aL ° * _é - | t —— = = W + The higher tones of this Thrushare, like those of the Wood Thrush, decidedly harmonic. oe | al reson geirritepG ies ‘ ¥ + r4 orb fi

ee se es _ - Ll . \ Ll — Expressivo. ‘ Pat we A rT SI i dididid alata Li ll Te » Ll Also, the next transcription, taken from Athanasius Kircher’s Musurgia Universalis written as early as the year 1590, still more pointedly shows the extreme melodic limitation of the Nightingale; the fragment is a justly representative one. Now the Hermit Thrush is an altogether different kind of a singer, as the ensuing notations willshow. He is brilliant in execution beyond description, as versatile in melody as a genius, and as pure in his tones as refined silver. It would be useless to attempt a representation of the song by a series of dots and dashes; the mechani- cal rhythm is completely overshadowed by the wonder- ful way in which the singer delivers his sustained tonic and then embroiders it with a rapid and brilliant cadenza. The one prime point which distinguishes the song of this Thrush from all others, is the long, loud, liquid-clear tone with which it is begun; here is an illustration: +1 Ll y *Un jeune Fg repre vient de mettre en musique le chant du Rossignol. Voici paroles de ce petit chef-d’ceuvre: Tiudu, tidu, tidu, tidu, utio, qutio, qutio, qutio, Lpé tid zqua ; Zquo, ZQUO, ZqUO, ead” uorror pipu, Zi, zi. zi, zi, zi, zi, zi 0, tio, tio, tio, tix ; Quorror ‘tia zqua ‘pipiql } 255 HERMIT THRUSH. “ejeasoasuy) ePSsnenw Oy ‘s9qoIF I SHyseuByry Aq eeSuHYsIy OY} Jo ssn “‘Sriw$ 10407, *snwsD)S a. jenusobiy snwmsiro) 5 smu #106 suvjaffo pind | i a ao | amar ac O/289u WNDIMOWADYUA - 021} DIU04Y-> snwstxo7 5 sniusij0big a ras « ‘gnwistxo 18 slides aca a J ; PP snmsnobig itpeg so ‘$m sitoy 5 ‘snuisrjobiq ‘WwAsasgo DNuIOSN'T ut Ipuamiuadee 071919 UiNUOI)DINPOW 314181) }0] FAMILY Turdide. This is completely beyond the ability of the Nightingale; it is a theme worthy of elaboration at the hands of a master musician; but the Hermit does his own elabora- ting as my succeeding notations will show. If there are those who suppose that the Veery is the only bird which sings late in the evening they are greatly mis- taken, for here is a set of records taken from two Hermits which sang at ten minutes of eight on June 29, 1903, ina pasture directly behind my house in Campton, N. H. = eed * ia egro. rer, aim. ~~ ~ - y 2 ai > | al . | : e bird @varied “this—theme Ev) Laccords ing to "WP 6. 3 “4 £ > — : + o}—5 T | tao 2 | 4 4 4 “Bil © | SS 8 z mas FA ‘ cres. f - ‘NS at ee. a. wh | > aes we 1 i iil ss J. Li 474. varia this theme ae will Be ound inN° 7 i as a “T Tl 17 ; 7 Sk” a a ” | - . [4 ¥ ’ : = : — 5&6 are beautiful” themes. pe cres mm. e. mS e “= Tih * | Y : = + a0 tm Cou, . HERMIT THRUSH. Some of the themes are in the minor key and some in the major; some are plaintive, others are joyous, all are melodious; there is no score of the Nightingale which can compare with such records as these; notice particu- larly the fifth one. It must be remembered, however, that bird songs are most ethereal things, a great deal like the wonderful tinting and delicate spiral weaving in Venetian glass; one must see the color or hear the melody in order to fully appreciate its subtile beauty; the song is charming because of its spirituality of tone and its depth of expression; how can the meagre out- lines of music notation convey such truths! Who can justly report the Hermit’s song! there is a silvery sus- tained tone like that of a flute, then a burst of brilliant scintillating music: and the song’s complete, With such a wealth of melody sweet As never the organ pipe could blow And never musician think or know! One of the most fantastic and perhaps extraordinary themes I ever heard from this Thrush, was obtained late in July, in the White Mountains: Jillegro. aN / nf ieeeeare G q > a da. he im, P S grrr ~ va T a t — sa t 2 bl bs in e f fe, + i L Ss) sii =I TH T i, itt “= a 201 FAMILY Turdide. In structure it closely resembles that tempestuous and wild movement that opens the finale of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata: Constructively the Hermits music resembles this; but the bird . reverses the order of dynamics. = “ } ra i i i i ae | i ’ . a a a a a a a. ci —_ : — a. s — ic . Ss rr a r4 # £ #¢ $= $F Z But Beethoven emphasizes the tonic at the close of the run; the Hermit does so in the beginning; both bits of music progress in presto time, and both rush onward to a high climax, The Thrush moreover is a transcenden- talist, he climbs higher than his voice will carry, and like many another aspiring songster, makes a ludicrous failure of the highest notes. After one or two bad breaks, which apparently threaten the woodland sym- phony with the ignominy of disaster, the Hermit—who sings the prima donna’s part in the score—seems to say to himself, after a short pause, ‘‘See here, my fine fel- low, this will never do, that portamento was out of place, and the high note sounded like the whetting of a scythe! Try a lower key and silence that ‘Swainson’ over yonder mouthing his zigzag notes as though he were trying to make them creep upstairs! Shucks! Show him how to soar!” And the bird is at it again entirely oblivious of the fact that he steadily climbs in keys until he goes to pieces again somewhere around G sharp, whole octaves higher than the limit of the piano! Such is the character of the singer and hissong. But what a consummate tone artist heis! Not content with a single key, he deliberately chooses several in major and minor relationship, and elaborates these with perfectly charming arpeggios and wonderful ventriloquous triads, executed with all the technical skill of a master singer. And what a wealth of melody there isin his varied themes! Note the suggestive motives of the following record ; =02 HERMIT THRUSH. Allegro. \ » Faeteti & ae ge tito es +t Sf D > bbs L roo a» Bva--a°- fe atate Dos Poe Se at oe Vi 7 gi 4 ee ,4 j +4 ff \V VY 5 yt = kl —_i r Wagner himself, in the Ring of the Nibelung, has scarcely given a better song to the bird that addresses Siegfried, than this which a Hermit Thrush gave me one afternoon on a ferny hill of Campton. Pp. O! wheel-y-will-y-will-y-il. And how close it is to the last passage here in Wagner's music, which one will recognize at once as the Tarnhelm motive. The little bird sang this strain, together with the Rhine daughter’s motive, to Siegfried, 263 FAMILY Turdidz. This was. th® Rhine Pte ang Moderato. stste > tive which the little r SANG. nT T m sempre po Hi / Siegfried. doth t @_» - nee PP: @ e a? < oe a p i 1) 1? L «a J, es t TL % D There is nothing the Wood Thrush can do which will compare with a performance like this. I am sorry to disagree with the opinions of several writers on orni- thology who find certain restrictions in the Hermit’s song, and think the notes are not remarkable for variety or volume, but it seems to me, the magnitude of this Thrush’s melodic ability, not to speak of his brilliant ex- ecution, is beyond the conception of any one until he devotes at least three or four seasons to a studied analy- sis of the music. Some of the notes possess sufficient volume to be distinctly heard at a distance of a quarter of a mile, yet unless one is within thirty feet or less of the singer, it is impossible to catch the tout ensemble of the song, or gauge the extent of its melodic variety, 265 FAMILY Turdide. There is an immense contrast in the dynamics of the song; it ranges from pp to ff ; there is nothing of this kind which characterizes the Wood Thrush’s music. Also, there is a remarkable, mysterious overtone, purely har- monic and ventriloquistic in quality, which at times dominates the cadenza of the song and holds the listener in rapt surprise! Unless one is very near the singer this, and all the wonderful pianissimo effects are completely lost. Onthe contrary, at near range, some of the more powerful notes are almost ear-splitting. I am not alone in this estimate of the Hermit’s song, as the following lines from the pen of Prof. Theodore Clarke Smith will testify *: ‘‘ The voice of the Hermit Thrush was made in- dividual by overtones giving it a considerable richness and penetration and even a metallic burr or buzz. It suggested somewhat the reed-quality of the oboe super- added to a flute’s open tone. . . . The ‘ burr’ was audible at short rangesonly. At a hundred yards or less it blended to give the voice a singularly ringing metallic quality which gave it a carrying power unapproached by any other bird of thatregion. . . . Heard from a very close range the long full notes were fairly pierc- ing, so sweet, full, and vibrant were they. They were too loud for comfort, and when the bird suddenly began to sing while perched on a fence about ten feet from my | tent it fairly made my ears ring.” Prof. Smith has also stated that he heard this Thrush’s song at a distance of fully three quarters of a mile over Lake Memphrema- gog. After such testimony as this it does not seem necessary to further refute the statement that the Her- mit Thrush’s song is lacking in volume. As for the variety of his notes, the notations herewith speak for themselves; and lest anyone should think these are a bit florid, I again take the liberty of quoting from Prof. Smith’s article, and suggest that his following notation be compared with some of mine: * Vide The Ohio Naturalist, Vol. ILL, No. 4, pg. 371. A Hermit Thrush Song. This isa truthful and most excellent analysis of the music of this remarkable Thrush, whose song is not as familia” to the bird-lover as it ought to be. 2600 BIRDS OF WINTER, SPRING, AND AUTUMN. a — oe, > Prof TC. Smiths notation. Undoubtedly we both have listened to the same species of Thrush, else the similarity of song-construction would be wholly unaccountable. Wilson was apparently ignorant of the music of this Thrush, and many other writers have been content with recording the fact that the bird is an eminent vocalist, but Mr. Cheney as a musician valued the singer as only a musician can, and has compared the climax of the song to the bursting of a musical rocket that fills the air with silver tones! Yes, the tones are silver—burnished silver, and sweeter far than those of any instrument created by the hand of man! The singer, too, is a bird of genius; a gentle and retiring spirit ; the first of the Thrushes to come, the last to go, the soonest to pipe his joyous lay after the clearing away of the storm, the last to sing the vesper hymn, and the earliest to open the matutinal chorus at break of day. It was of him the ~ poet wrote: ‘*T heard from morn to morn a merry Thrush Sing hymns of rapture, while I drank the sound With joy—and oft an ia hg guest, I watched him. . BIRDS OF WINTER, EARLY SPRING, AND LATE AUTUMN This somewhat elastic classification includes three members of the two Owl Families, Alconide and Strigide; one member each of the Kingfisher Family, Alcedinide, the Woodpecker Family, Picide, the Flycatcher Family, Tyrannide, the Starling Family, Sturnide, and the Wax- wing Family, Bombycillide; and many members of the Finch or Sparrow Family, Fringillide. With four excep- 267 BIRDS OF WINTER, SPRING, AND AUTUMN, tions (Barn Owl, Alder Flycatcher, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and Cardinal) all of these birds may be found in the northerly States during the winter, although the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Belted Kingfisher, and Savannah Sparrow, as the case may be, do not linger farther north than Massa- chusetts, southern New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Illinois. The Cardinal is a distinctly southern bird, but it is sometimes found about Washington in the winter. Many birds with respect to a winter list are merely casual visitants, others are permanent residents. Few sing in winter, and these are generally members of the Fringillide division. Our winter birds may be listed as follows: Bos-WHITE LONG-EARED OWL SHORT-EARED OWL BaRRED OWL ScrEECH OWL Great Hornep OWL Snowy Ow. KINGFISHER Harry WoopDPECKER Downy WoopPEcKER Arctic THREE-TOED Woop- PECKER YELLOW-BELLIED Sap- SUCKER NORTHERN PILEATED W OoDPECKER RED-HEADED WOODPECKER FLICKER Crow Buus Jay CANADA JAY STARLING CowBIRD MEADOWLARK EVENING GROSBEAK Pine GROSBEAK Rep CrossBiLL Wuite Wina’p CRossBILL REDPOLL PurpPLe Fincu Am. GOLDFINCH SNOWFLAKE ' Ipswich SPARROW SAVANNAH SPARROW WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW WHITE-THROATED SPARROW TREE SPARROW JUNCO Sona SPARROW Swamp SPARROW Fox Sparrow BoHEMIAN WAXWING CreparR WAxwING NORTHERN SHRIKE WINTER WREN Myrtr_Le WARBLER Brown CREEPER WHITE-BREASTED NotT- HATCH RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH CHICKADEE HupsoniIAN CHICKADEE GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET Rosin 268 BARN OWL. Family Aluconide. Barn OwLs. A family related to the Goatsuckers, but sharing with the other owls their characteristic habits. Barn Owl A southern species rarely found north o. Aluco pratincola 7 ong Island, absolutely nocturnal in habit, L. r5=18 inches ‘ . All the year 20d keeping itself well concealed through the day. Its physiognomy is triangular heart-shaped rather than rounded and is singularly like that of a monkey. It is very nearly related to the European species Strix flammea which has an almost world-wide range. The upper parts are ocher-buff mixed with gray and speckled with sepia and white, face and under parts varying from white to buff with the marginal feathers tipped with brown of an ocherous or ruddy tone; wings and tail barred and spotted with sepia, the eyes black. Nest in barn gables, towers, and steeples. Egg white unmarked. This species breeds from New York south- ward into Mexico. The common note of this owl is an unmusical geep, geep, similar to that of the Night Hawk, or else the bird on extraordinary occasions lets out an unearthly, blood-curdl- ing scream which entitles him to be esteemed an evil creature. The poet Burns must have had just such screams in mind when he wrote of circumspect Tam o’Shanter— ‘“Whiles glowering around wi’ prudent cares Lest bogles catch him unawares, Kirk-Alloway was drawing nigh, Where ghaists and houlets nightly cry.” There is no questioning the point that an owl’s idea of music is writ in blood and tragedy; why not? If you hap- pen to have examined the contents of some seventeen owls’ stomachs and found therein the remains of mice* are you not convinced? Family Strigide. Ow.s. In this family, aside from several structural differences, is included the very obvious ones, the rounded face-disks and the large external ears. '* That is a record of Mr. Fisher's investigations. 269 FAMILY Strigide. Barred or One of our commonest Owls, resident ro Ow! throughout the year except at the most irvix varia ae Z - ° - L. 21.75 inches 20rtherly limit of its range, which is Hudson All the year Bay and Newfoundland; thence it extends south to Kansas and Georgia. Like the Snowy Owl, it is round-headed—without ear-tufts. Its colors are a general grayish brown, each feather with buffy white bars on the sides, its face has well-defined grayish disks surrounding dark brown eyes with black pupils, tail with six to eight buffy bars, under parts dull white, barred on the breast, and broadly streaked with sepia brown on the sides and belly. Nest in a hollow tree; sometimes it is a remodeled old one of a crow or large Hawk. Egg white, nearly two inches long; from two to four are laid. ‘‘In New York,” Mr. Eaton writes, ‘‘it is undoubtedly the commonest Owl in the Adirondacks, and is still common in all the more wooded districts of the State.” It is also one of the most familiar Owls of the White Mountain district at all times of the year, particularly in the autumn. The notes of this Owl are as melodramatic as one can possibly imagine, deep-toned, and sentimentally expressive of misery—yet that is the human point of view! Possibly with his Whoo-whoo-whoo, Wh-whoo, to-whoo-ah—which has given the bird the name “Eight hooter’’ among the Adirondack Woods guides—he addresses his mate in terms of endearment, but it does not sound that way! The tones are mostly in E, or not far away from it, close to the middle C of the piano, and they should appear on the musical staff, thus: Moderato ot Hay— > =x - i> ‘ape 4 Whoo, hed hols wh- shh to -whdox h! mf ; The next to the last syllable descends the scale indefinitely to ah and is entirely different in quality of tone from the whoos—it is a sheeplike blatt. There is unending variety to the uncanny, mirthless performance of two or three Hoot Owls, the sounds mostly suggesting demoniacal and derisive laughter. Some authors also attribute to this 270 nak 7 ; ” Snowy Ow. “SNOWY OWL. Owl a nerve-racking, blood-curdling shriek in a higher pitched voice, but I have been unfortunate or, perhaps, fortunate enough not to have heard that! Snowy Ow! —— This handsome, large, white Ow! is easily eae recognized, for none other is white, and November roth there is a distinct advantage to the observer April 20th in its being diurnal in its habits, though like other Owls it is more active in the dusk of the evening. Mr. Eaton reports that in the State of New York, the duck hunters are sometimes surprised to see it descend upon their decoys while they are concealed in their blinds! It _ not infrequently has been my experience to have observed it in broad daylight flying above the highway or through the cool woodland of the White Mountains in winter and as early as October and as late as April; that is not sur- prising for it isa cold country, and one may encounter snow flurries in both those months through that region as far south as Plymouth and West Ossipee. The male Owls are smaller and whiter than the females, though both are more or less flecked or barred with a dilute sepia brown on.the crown, back, wings, tail, and often the lower breast; the face, throat, and upper breast are unmarked; feet hidden with very thick, white feathering, eyes yellow, bill black imbedded in feathers, no ear-tufts. Distinctly arctic in its range, it. wanders southward at very irregular intervals; during the winters of 1876, ’82, ’83, ’89, 90, 1901, ’02, ’14, "17 it appeared in unusual numbers in the northeastern portions of the United States and in Canada. It breeds as far south as central Ungava and Keewatin, and its winter flights occasionally extend to the Carolinas, Louisiana, and Texas. The nest is built on the ground, or in the sheltered nook of some rocky cliff; it is commonly lined with moss and feathers. Egg white, about 2.20 inches long. I have no record of the Snowy Owl’s voice, but if we may believe what Pennant writes of it, there is nothing worse possessed by any bird, the Loon not excepted—‘“‘It adds horror even to the regions of Greenland by its hideous cries which resemble those of a man in deep distress.”” Why not come nearer home and say it almost equals the hair-raising, blood-curdling yells of an ordinary city cat’s nocturne! 271 _ FAMILY Alcedinide. Family Alcedinide. rap : This is the “‘Lone Fisherman” of the Cake Toke birds, an altogether interesting though song- L. 12.78 less character. Alert and energetic the April ist Kingfisher takes a commanding position over the pool and nothing that happens on its surface escapes his eye, quick as a flash he darts down at the water and in another moment he is hammering the life out of some small fish on the rock near his perch, then the crushed fish, perhaps three or four inches long, is swallowed whole— head first! The bird utters an unmusical, rattling chuckle after he secures his prey. The Belted Kingfisher breeds from the far northwestern limit of trees and Labrador south to the Gulf coast; it winters from Massachusetts, Illinois, and British Columbia ‘southward to northern South America. Artistically con- sidered his costume in both color and pattern is without reproach; head feathers strongly crested, black bill about two inches long, rather straight, powerful, and sharp, tail short and stumpy, wings long and pointed, general coloring blue-gray with a clearly defined white collar not quite meeting at the back, the wings and tail flecked with white, a white spot in front of the eye, gray on the chest below the collar, lower breast duller white, in the female this is banded with brick red which extends backward and down- ward at either side. Nest formed of bones and fish scales ejected from the bird’s stomach, with other miscellaneous material at the bottom of a remarkably long burrow four to six feet deep in the bank: Egg, white, 1.34 inches long. The Kingfisher makes a noise like a small watchman’s rattle when disturbed: Presto. 7 toneless rattle or cackle. Ie ~/ Sola c 4 ea aveee i eS crese. at times this is accentuated with a shrill crescendo and it often happens when the bird alights upon some conspicu- ous, high perch. One may drift fairly near him in a canoe if that is done with scrupulous care and a motionless 272 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. paddle, but one is not allowed to come too near, and I think a matter of fifteen feet is the limit, at that point occurs a strident and cackling adieu! Family Picide. Yellow-bellied This is one of our most beautiful and Sapencker interesting spring birds; it is one of the Sphyrapicus ; nai commonest woodpeckers of northern New L.8.s5 inches York and New England, arriving from the April 15th south about April 15th, the autumn migra- tion occurring between September 20th and November Ist, but winter records of the bird are common in the warmer portions of the northeastern States. The breeding ground extends throughout the boreal zone of eastern America from the highlands of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minne- sota northward to Quebec, Ungava, and Mackenzie. It winters from southern New York and Illinois southward to the Gulf coast and eastern Mexico. Its coloring is unique; crown and throat deep scarlet-red margined with black, a broad crescent-shaped band of black below the scarlet on the upper breast, upper parts more or less barred with black and yellowish white, a conspicuous, irregularly broad, white wing-bar, wing feathers black barred with white, tail feathers black except inner webs of middle pair, base of the tail largely white, under parts strongly tinged with yellow especially on the border of the black crescent. The female has a white instead of scarlet throat. Nest excavated in a dead tree about twenty-five feet from the ground. Egg, china white. The note of this Sapsucker is a high-pitched, clear call which Mr. Brewster interprets as cleur given several times in succession. I am placing that note on the staff exactly where it belongs, although it has no musical merit and is simply a quick-swinging tone from highest G to B flat: Twice 8va. 273 FAMILY Tyrannide. The trunk of an old apple tree behind my summer cot- tage is fairly riddled with holes which are the work of this Sapsucker. As a rule he is ‘‘on the job” early in the New Hampshire spring before I am on the ground, but I was once early enough to catch him as we say, red-handed! His voice was cracked and he greeted me with a few maud- lin clacks expressive of sappy sentimentality—alas, when birds and men drink too much! I wondered whether he would be able to find his way home—if he had any. But he flew off on balanced wings so it was presumable that the fermented ‘‘stuff’’ had not completely befuddled his head! Occasionally a Sapsucker will so gorge himself with sap that one may pick him up in the hand. Family Tyrannide. Alder This is one of the northern Flycatchers Flycatcher = belonging to the Canadian zone, a rather Empidonax trailli alnorum ‘are migrant, therefore, south of central L. 5.75 inches New Hampshire excepting locally in moun- May oth tain regions. The Alder Flycatcher is some- what common in swampy tracts through and north of the White, Franconia, and Adirondack Mountains, in the valley of the Pemigewasset River as far south at least as Wood- stock, and in the valley of the Connecticut as far as Hanover. The upper parts of this species are tinged with an olive tone not present in the Chebec or the Phoebe; the wing-bars and edges of the wing pale brownish gray, under parts pale gray tinged with yellowish cream on the belly, the wings and tail sepia; lower mandible light flesh-colored. Nest, usually in a low alder, or in a swamp rose bush about three feet from the ground, or less, built of coarse grasses, plant down, and fibres, lined with softer materials, pine needles, ete. Egg cream white flecked with cinnamon brown rather more plentifully about the larger end. This is a sub- species of Traill’s Flycatcher (a western species), and its breeding ground is from central Alaska, central Quebec. and Newfoundland, south to Montana, southern Ontario, northern New Jersey, southern New York (at Nyack), northwestern Connecticut, eastern Massachusetts, central New Hampshire, and Maine. It frequents moist clearings 274 STARLING. on wooded hillsides, as well as alder thickets along rivers and in swamps, but never the forests. The Alder Flycatcher has no more of a song than the Chebec, in other words, nothing beyond three syllables generally described as ‘“‘ Wee-zee-up” or two syllables like qui-deeé or, as Bradford Torrey has it “Quay-quéer.’’ The tones are very high, without definite pitch, and decidedly as unmusical as the Phoebe’s ‘“‘tuneless performance,” however, it is possible to express both pitch and rhythm on the musical staff, and here they are: IME oe NO Vivace OV.62"6¢ 76. See oe na VW MN AAAYV Ly Pee TI os £1 } | Te: ers rs ial pe ; 2 YD Qui- deee Wee-zéé@-up ‘* Quay-queer The quality of tone is something between the Phoebe’s and that of the two-note call of a young Goldfinch, with the accent on the final guéer. Certainly this is not espe- cially musical. Family Sturnide. Starling The Starling is a European bird nearly Sturnus vulgaris related to the Crow and Blackbirds, and is L. 8.50 m ‘ Allthe year @Ssentially arboreal and gregarious. It was successfully introduced into this country by Mr. Eugene Schieffelin in 1890. Numbers which were liberated in Central Park, New York, have spread all over the country in the vicinity and as far east as Boston. It is more or less common in the Connecticut valley as far north as Springfield, up the Hudson valley as far as New- burgh, through New Jersey from Englewood and So. Orange to Princeton, and on Long Island and Staten Island. The coloring of the bird is rather odd; black throughout with magenta and green iridescence, the upper feathers spotted, i.e. tipped with light buff; lower parts, wings, and tail dark brownish gray, the bill yellow. In winter the brown-gray and buffy coloring has increased and obscured the iridescent black; plumage of the female similar but less brilliant. Nest in hollow trees or sheltered corners of old 275 FAMILY Fringillide. buildings, built mostly of grasses and twigs. Egg, blue- white or pale greenish blue. In the old world this species winters in southern Europe or crosses the Mediterranean to northern Africa. The Starling is scarcely a singer, his notes are an inde- scribable jumble of mixed tones including a few sweet whis- - tles. There is the twang of the jews’-harp, the squeak of a rusty gate-hinge, the cluck of the hen, and the rattle of a wire spring ‘in his tones—one can scarcely call them tunes! But frequently he indulges in a few short and sweet whis- tles. It would be useless to attempt any musical notations of such a voice as distinct intervals are quite lacking. I quote W. H. Hudson’s admirable description of the Star- ling’s spring efforts. ‘‘His merit lies less in the quality of the sounds he utters than in their endless variety. Ina leisurely way he will sometimes ramble on for an hour, whistling and warbling very agreeably, mingling his finer notes with chatterings, cluckings, squealings, and sounds as of snapping the fingers and of kissing, with many others quite indescribable.” ‘The fact is, the Starling is a polyglot —but not a mimic. What he has to say is all his own, and the rest of us can not match a word of it with anything we know. Being English, his song is a possible renderirig of Thomson’s “‘Come gentle spring”; but to the American ear his tongue is hopelessly twisted, which affliction may be due in part to the violence of the American spring. Would anyone venture to question that possibility? Family Fringillide. Evening The Evening Grosbeak is a boreal species Grosbeak whose winter visitations in the northerly Hesperiphona ‘all f'the Misusenans) Saal sdibertine States (especially of the Mississippi ey) L. 7.80 inches are irregular but inevitably recurrent along Winter with plentifulseed crops. Mr. Eaton reports large migrations in the years 1875, ’82,’86,’89, ’90, ’96, ’99, 1900, ’04, ’06,’10,’11. In the winter of 1919 Mr. Forbush reported the bird unusually plentiful in every county of the mainland in Massachusetts. The colors are quite distinguished, and in a measure’ like the White-winged Crossbill suggest the Canary. Forehead and a bar above 276 ROSBEAK ~; x EVENING ( PINE GROSBEAK. the eye yellow, crown sepia or smoky black, tail and wings the same, but the upper, shorter wing-feathers white, sides of the head and the neck brown-olive, rump, belly, and scapulars (i.e. feathers at top of wing over the white ones) dull yellow. Nest not very well known, lodged fifteen feet or more above the ground, usually in an evergreen tree, and built of twigs, bark, rootlets, etc., lined with softer material. Egg, pale blue-green flecked with brown ocher. The range of this species is from western Alberta, southern _ Saskatchewan and Manitoba to Missouri, Ohio, and Ken- tucky, and irregularly to Pennsylvania, New York, and New England. It breeds only in the extreme northwest. ' The Song of the Evening Grosbeak is heard only within the limits of its breeding grounds; there is no musical record of it, so far as I know. One call note has two or three syllables, and is rather high-pitched, the other, an occasional one, is a short pianissimo whistle, still high- pitched and not unlike that of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Twice 8va. . Thrice 8va... ( | fa) \ | V Tt 7 | Fee a a XY *. . dl / Chee.pe- teet “P Pip. pip. pip. The bill is extremely large, which may account in a meas- ure for the nature of the song which has been described as an irregular warble in a full rich tone of voice, beginning pianissimo and ending abruptly fortissimo. I have only these records of the call notes taken in winter in northern New Hampshire. The bird is remarkably fearless. _ Pine Grosbeak The Pine Grosbeak is a handsome, rosy- Pinicole feathered, boreal character, a common vara winter visitant of northern and central New L. 9.92 inches Hampshire, and more or less of all New York Winter and New England. On February 1, 1919, Mr. Forbush writes, ‘‘The Pine Grosbeaks which have been abundant in northern New England since December have worked southward until they have reached the southern- most States of the region, and have even appeared on the large islands along the coast. Their numbers in northern 277 FAMILY Fringillide. New England and in northern and western Massachusetts have been large and the movement has been widespread.”’ This Pine Grosbeak is neatly as large as the Robin, and his coloring is far more beautiful; the crown, back of the neck and breast strongly overlaid with rose madder or rose lake, the under color light slate gray, under parts entirely a lighter gray, wings and tail sepia, the wings with two nearly white bars and whitish edgings on the longer feath- ers, the back and rump marked with rose red and sepia; some individuals are far more roseate than others. Nest, in coniferous trees, a few feet from the ground, built of twigs and rootlets, lined with softer materials. Egg, light green-blue flecked with lavender and umber brown. The range of this species is distinctly within the Hudsonian zone and extends from Alaska through the coniferous for- ests to northern Maine; southward from Canada it is only a winter visitant. It feeds largely upon the berries of the mountain ash (Pyrus sitchensis in particular), and the seeds of sumac, wild apple, hawthorn, and the coniferous trees. The Pine Grosbeak possesses, like his congener the Pur- ple Finch, a prolonged, melodious warble; the song is not unlike that of Rose-breasted Grosbeak without the burring quality and with many clear whistled notes like those of the Cardinal. I have no record of the song, but the high- whistled call note, similar to that of the so-called Yellow- leg of the seashore marshes, is distinctly musical: Twice 8va. Red Crossbill This Red, or American, Crossbill is a Loxiacurvi- —_ boreal species which is not uncommonly a vostra minor P - L.6.25inches Permanent resident of the coniferous forests December rst in the extreme northern parts of New Eng- to April rsth land and New York. The points of the up- per and lower mandibles are twisted one over the other, and are consequently remarkably adapted for the extraction of seed from the cones of the evergreens. This case of special adaptation is an extreme.instance of utility versus «sthet- 278 — RED CROSSBILL RED CROSSBILL. ics; no artist would select such a bill as a model of beauty any more than he would use the peasant’s abused foot as a model for his beautiful statue! The color of the bird, however, is esthetic; it is one of those classic hues which has been named Pompeian red—a dull-toned vermilion, the color brightest on the head, breast, and rump, and browner on the back, the wings and tail umber brown lightly edged with dull red, the bill a light horn brown. Nest of twigs, cedar bark, and rootlets, lined with finer materials, horsehair, etc., lodged in coniferous trees perhaps fifteen feet above the ground. Egg, a pale dull green flecked with madder purple, or lavender. The movements of the species are erratic, but the breeding grounds extend as far south as the mountains of South Carolina. The song of the Red Crossbill is somewhat similar to that of the Goldfinch, or, in respect of the “reaching’’ tones, like that of the Indigo Bunting, but I have been able to gather only meagre records during the late winter and early spring, which are certainly not representative of the complete song. The notes are not as full-toned as those of the White-winged Crossbill, and many of them are like the simple, pathetic chirps of a lost chicken combined with lower toned staccato notes, thus: Teneo Oks; deck. Se a _ Yr a ET a A Cheep, cheep, cheep. © mr Gerald Thayer's description of the song as far as words go, is excellent: ‘‘A series of somewhat Goldfinchlike trills and whistles seldom of any duration and in any case far less rich than those of the White-winged Crossbill. It is more apt to keep up a low twittering while feeding than _that species.”” The notes, it is well to observe, are in the very highest octave of the piano. The bird is far from uncommon during the fall, winter, and early spring in the White Mountain region, but he does not “pipe up”’ as often as one would wish. He is a frequent winter visitor of Campton, N. H. 279 FAMILY Fringillide. White-winged A beautiful bird reminding one, perhaps, » arog of the partly yellow Canary, with two dis- oxia leucoptera ,. . : 4 L. 6.10 inches. tinct white wing-bars and a very esthetic November 1s peach-blow pink breast, but with the same to May ist awkward twisted bill which distinguishes its foregoing relative. Another winter visitant erratic in time and season and less common than the other bird. Bradford Torrey mentions meeting him in the autumn (just previous to 1902) in Franconia, New Hampshire: “The common red ones were always here . . . and on more than one visit I had found the rarer and lovelier White-winged species. . . » IT went into the woods along the path, and there, presently, I discovered a mixed flock of Crossbills—red ones and White-wings,—feeding so quietly that till now I had not suspected their presence.””’ My own acquaintance with the White-wing was later, in 1906, ’08 in Cambridge and northern New Jersey; in both instances I obtained only fragmentary notations of chirps and twitterings which could be no index of the possibilities of the full song. The visitations of these birds in New York State were in 1848, 64, ’74, ’78, ’82, ’88, ’90, ’93, 796, 797, "99 and 1906. The colors of the White-wing are, dull rose-red or pink, brighter on the head and rump, more or less barred with sepia black on the back, wings and tail sepia black, the former with two conspicuous white bars, the under parts nearly white. Nest of twigs, strips of bark, and mosses lined with softer materials and hair, usually built in the forking branch of a conifer, well up from the ground. Egg, pale greenish blue spotted near the larger end with umber brown and laven- der. The range of the species is similar to that of the Red Crossbill, it breeds more sparingly in the White and Adiron- dack Mountains than the latter. The nuptial song of the White-winged Crossbill is reported as far sweeter and more melodious than that of its more familiar relative,—a low, soft warble similar to the song of the Redpoll, a series of clearly whistled notes like those in the song of a strong-voiced Canary. My records which follow are scarcely that kind of singing, but they are the characteristic call notes which I caught in the Harvard Botanic Garden, Cambridge, and in the open country of northern New Jersey. 280 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL REDPOLL — Twice EVA. si. we oes We peg ere net Se te ah ad oe 2 _ Y | af i | , ) } i= } ~Y ant 2 Ay sl a te a IN J Weet, weet, weet-weetweet, / Cheep, cheep, cheep. Redpolt = The fearless and friendly Redpoll is a Slayer little crimson-tinged winter bird often ea acth associated in groups with the Goldfinch to April 7th during the winter months. Some individ- uals are apparently without the red, others are but slightly - tinged with it, and still others possess quite a bright color. It is a distinctly boreal species, an irregular winter visitant of New York and New England, and has been abundant in 1876, ’78, ’82, ’86, ’89, ’99, 1906, ’08, 710, ’14, ’17 and ’19. After the first week in April the bird is very seldom if ever seen. Inthe valley of the Pemigewasset River in the White Mountains, it is far from uncommon. The general color- ing is that of a sparrow; streaky, ocherous brown above, crown often a bright light crimson, forehead and upper throat dusky sepia, the lower throat, breast, and rump dull pale crimson pink, under parts dull gray white, and the wings with whitish bars and edges, the bill is small, sharp, and rather straight with no perceptible arch. Fe- male with little or no pink on the breast and rump. Nest, of dried grass and moss lined with the down of plants; it is located in low bushes or tussocks of grass. Egg, bluish or greenish white sprinkled with burnt sienna brown. The species breeds from Alaska to northern Ungava and south- ward to Alberta and the islands of the Gulf of the St. Lawrence; in winter it migrates irregularly as far south as Illinois and Virginia. To hear the song of the Redpoll one must journey to the far North; rarely the little bird pipes up before he leaves our northern States in early spring, when he does one will hear an ebullient, rippling series of notes, elosely resem- bling the rapid chirps of the Canary (never the trills), rather thin and wiry in tone with the metallic, ringing quality of cut-glass. Here is a meagre record but it is the only one I have been able to secure. 281 FAMILY Fringillide. Vivace Thrice 8va a-. 1919, se ’ . 7 . ,. . a va% — iil . iN a aan < Y an sé. 2. | ~~ 5: NIMSIS $ 3N 4. c studs : 3 HO-AVY! ~ \ Sou » +X: Nid aay “VWe Ly ~ SNWONIT » ~ LD « - { ~ - Si 3 ~ wd AS g se 2 Bs x f a .> 500 10) E ‘ALG OF ILES oS y : MIGRATORY ROUTES OF THE BLACK-THROATED GREEN, CHESTNUT-SIDED, YELLOW, AND PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, RED*EYED VIREO AND. SONG SPARROW. Only the four species,Bg,C,SgPhalt short of the limits of Colombia _ the eighteen other species (see maps) fly on, many hundreds of miles beyond. ee een ens RV- Red-eyed Vireo = Veery = Redstart = Bobolink = Kingfisher =Scarlet Tanager f | = Baltimore Oriole |/- § : Yellow Warbler BW: Black-poll Warbler Bb = Blackburn’ Warbler GT = Gray-cheek Thrush OT = Olive-back’ Thrush BT = Bicknell’s Thrush YC = Yellow-bi¢ Cuckoo BC « Black-bl¢ Cuckoo RG = Rose-br¢ Grosbeak \ | . R—-B BT =BicknellS Thrush ee PS ee "eae = Redstart NA. B - Bluebird ng Bs~\\-\ ¥ T \ Seale of Miles | R I : c MIGRATORY ROUTES OF THE BOBOLINK, VEERY, SCARLET TANAGER, BICKNELLS THRUSH, ROBIN, REDSTART, BLUEBIRD AND EASTERN MEADOWLARK. The Robin, Bluebird and Meadowlark migrate only as faras the Gulf Coast. The lines indicate the general direction of flight. Most courses spread laterally be fore the finish, many are roundabout, all vary very little from the ancient plan,and few are absolutely known in every detail. Map of So.Ameriea has initial key for other species. Df C "Raee., A SCALE OF MILES Rr = ee 1 MIGRATORY ROUTES OF THE YELLOW-BILLED AND BLACK BILLED CUCKOOS, OLIVE-BACKED AND GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES, BLACKBURNIAN AND BLACKPOLL WARBIL- -ERS, KINGFISHER, AND ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. The distanee covered by four of the species from Alaska to the shores of South America is about 6000 m, and to their southernmost halt from 7000 to 8500mites The range of the BW, KOT > is east toNewfd the BC to P Edwards [8G to Cape Breton 1. INDEX. The new scientific names not appearing in the context but in this index are those of the check-list of the American Ornithologists’ Union, revised 3d edition—i910, which date appears beside those names. The discarded older names advisedly remain, but every newer name of 1910 is also given. The single letter appearing in a name indicates a doubled specific name, thus: Acanthis I. linaria is Acanthis linaria linaria. Acadian Chickadee, 233. Acanthis1. linaria, 281. Agelaius p. pheniceus, 54. Alder Flycatcher, 274. Aluco pratincola, 269. Ammodramus savannarum aus- tralis (1910), 89. Ampelide, Family, 147. Ampbelis cedrorum, 147. Antrostomus ¥. vociferus, 26. Archilochus colubris (1910), 34. Arlington Heights, Mass., 134, 185, 192. Arnold Arboretum, Forest Hills, Mass., 4, 66, 122, 127, 143, 166, 192, 201, 231, 242. Astragalinus t. tristis, 79. Beolophus bicoler, 234. Baltimore Oriole, 64. Barn Owl, 269. Barn Swallow, 52. Barred Owl, 10, 270. Bay-breasted Warbler, 186. Belted a emg 272. Bewick’s Wren, 218. Bicknell’s Thrush, 249. ‘Black and White Creeper, 164. Warbler, 164, 187. Black and Yellow Warbler, 181. Black-billed Cuckoo, 15,17. Blackbird, Crow, 70, 71. Red-Winged, 54, 71. Blackburnian Warbler, 189. Black-capped Chickadee, 228. Blackcap, Wilson’s, 206, 207. Black-pol!l Warbler, 173,174,187. Black-throated Blue Warbler, 178, 196, 206. Black-throated Green Warbler, 190. Bluebird, 45, 313. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 238. Blue-headed Vireo, 160. Blue Hills, Mass., 129. Blue Jay, 43, 71. Blue-winged Warbler, 297. Blue Yellow-backed Warbler, 171. Bobolink, 48, 79, 198. Bob-white, 3, 7. Bohemian Waxwing, 292. Bombycilla cedrorum (1910), 147. garrula, 292. Bonasa umbellus togata (1910), 7. Rouen Mass., 59, 130, 166, 201, 2 06. Bronzed Grackle, 71. Brown Creeper, 224. Brown Thrasher, 210, 212, 213. Bubonide, Fa.nily, 10. Bubo v. virginianus, 13. Bunting, Indigo, 73, 136. Snow, 83, 85. Cambridge, Mass., 68, 130, 134, 153, 157, 193. Campton, N.H., 7, 60, 79» 108, 125, 130, 132, 139, 162, 185. Canada Jay, 46. : Canadian Flycatcher, 207. Warbler, 207. Cape May Warbler, 172. Caprimulgidea, Family, 25. Cardinal Bird, 73, 290. Cardinalis c. cardinalis, 290. Carolina Chickadee, 232. Carolina Wren, 215. Carpodacus p. purpureus, 74. Catbird, 210, 211, 213. Cedarbird, 147. Cedar Waxwing, 147, 292. Certhiafamiliaris americana,224. Ceryle alcyon, 272. Chetura pelagica, 32. Chattanooga, Tenn., 188, 205. Chat, Yellow-breasted, 16, 203. Cherrybird, 147. Chestnut-sided Warbler, 183. Chewink, 73, 125. INDEX. Chickadee, 46, 147, 227. Acadian, 233. Carolina, 232. Hudsonian, 233. Chimney Swallow, 32. Swift, 32, 65. ChippingSparrow, 101,170,181. Chippy, 89, ror, 108, 124, 195. Chordeiles v. virginianus, 30. Cistothorus stellaris, 222. Clape, 25. Coccyges, Order, 15. Coccyzus a. americanus, 15. erythrophthalmus, 17. Colaptes auratus, 23. Colinus 0. virginianus, 3. Compsothlypis americana usnea@, 171. Connecticut River Valley, 52. Connecticut Warbler, 304. Contopus virens, 38. Corvide, Family, 43. Corvus americanus, 47. b. brachyrhynchos (, 1910), 47- Coturniculus savanarum passer- inus, 89. Cowbird, 53, 177. Creeper, Blackand White, 164. Brown, 224. Crossbill, American, 278. Red, 278. White-winged, 280. Crow, A°: 43,.47- Crow, Blackbird, 70, 71. Cuckoo, Black-billed, 15, r7, 20. European, I9. Yellow-billed, 15. Cuculide, Family, 15. Cuculus canorus, 15. Cyanocitta c. cristata, 43. Cyanos piza cyanea, 136. Dendroica e@stiva, 174. blackburne, 189. c. cerulescens, 178. castanea, 186. coronata, 180. discolor, 196. fusca (1910), 189. maculosa, 18t. magnolia (1910), 18r. palmarum hypochrysea, 195. pensylvanica, 183. striata, 187. tigrina, 172. Vigorsi, 194. virens, 190. Dolichonyx oryzivorus, 48. Downy Woodpecker, 21. Dryobates pubescens medianus (1910), 21. Dublin, N. H., 127, 314. Dumetella carolinensis (1910), 2it. Empidonax minimus, 42. trailli alnorum, 274. 322 Englewood, N. J., 50, 242. Eugenes fulgens, 34. Evening Grosbeak, 276. Field Lark, 57. Field Sparrow, 73, 103, 124. ae Tass, 85. urple, 73, 74, 134, 154. Firebird, 64. tes Flicker, 23, 30. Flycatcher, Canadian, 207. Alder, 274. Family, 35. Least, 42. Forest Hills, Mass., 67. Fox Sparrow, 73, 120, 288. Franconia Notch, 251. Franconia Mountains, N. H., IQI, 254. Fringillide, Family, 73. Galeoscoptes carolinensis, 211. Galline Order, 3. Geothly pis t. trichas, 200. Gloucester, Mass., 231. Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray, 238. Golden-crowned Kinglet, 235. Golden-crowned Thrush, fy. Golden Robin, % Golden-winged Warbler, 166. Golden-winged Woodpecker, 23. Goldfinch, American, 73,79,139.- Grackle, Bronzed, 71. Purple, 70. Grass Finch, 85. Grasshopper gn int 89. Gray-cheeked Thrush, 248. Great Horned Owl, ro, 13. Grosbeak, Evening, 73, 276. Pine, 74, 277. Rose-breasted, 73, 93, 129, I4I, 142, 145. Grouse, Ruffled, 7. Hangnest, 64. Hanover, N. H., 51. Harry Wicket, 25. Helminthrophila chrysoptera, 166. rubricapilla, 169. Helmitheros vermivorus, 296. Hermit Thrush, 38, 255. Hes periphona 0. vespertina, 276. High-hole, 25. Hittock, 25. Hooded Warbler, 204. Hoot Owl, 270. House Wren, 218. Hudson River Valley, 52. Hudsonian Chickadee, 233. Hummingbird, Ruby-throated, 34- Hylocichla a. alicia, 248. a. bicknelli, 249. tf. fuscescens, 244. gultata pallasi, 255. mustelina, 239. ustulata swainsoni, 252. Icteria v. virens, 203. INDEX, Icterida, Family, 48. Icterus galbula, 64. Spurius, 63. Indigo Bird, 136. Indigo Bunting, 73, 136. Ipswich Sparrow, 283. Jay, Blue, 43, 46. Canada, Rae Jefferson, N. H., 240. Junco, 108, 139. Junco h. hyemalis, 108. Centucky Warbler, 302. Cin: ’ 35- ‘ingfisher, Belted, 272. cinglet, Golden-crowned, 235, Ruby-crowned, 236. _ A bend teed NR Lake Memphremagog, 266. Lake Winnepesaukee, 240. Lanivireo flavifrons (1910), 157. s. solitarius (1910), 160. Lark, 20. Lark, Field, 57. Least Flycatcher, 42. Lincoln's Sparrow, 287. Linnet, 74. Long-billed Marsh Wren, 223. Louisiana Water-thrush, 301. Loxia curvirostra minor, 278. leucopiera, 280. Macrochires, Order, 25. Magnolia Warbler, 181. Martha’s Vineyard, 180. Maryland Yellow-throat, 200, 204, 205. Meadowlark, 57, 161. Megascops asio, 10. Melospiza cineria melodia, 109. m. melodia (1910), 109. georgiana, 124. l. lincolni, 287. Merula migratoria, 308. Micropodide, Family, 32. Middlebury, Vt., 62, 315. . Middlesex Falls, Mass., 104. Millington, N. J., 219. Mimus Pp. polyglottos, 307. Mississippi Valley, 71, 72, 74- Mniotiltide, Family, 163. Mniotilta varia, 164. Mockingbird, 210, 211, 307. Molothrus a. ater, eS Monadnock, Mt., N. H., 125, 240. Morristown, N. J., 130. Mourning Warbler, 305. Mt. Washington, N. H., 99. Mountain Lake, Va., 182. Myrtle Warbler, 180, 188. Nannus h. hiemalis, 220. Nantucket, Mass., 59, 60, 63, 110, 181. Nashville Warbler, 169. ‘New York City, 166, 201, 206. Nighthawk, 8, 30. Nightingale, 19, 135, 256. Northampton, Mass., 49. Northern Parula Warbler, 171. Nuthatch, Red-breasted, 226. White-breasted, 226. N yctea nyctea, 271. Odontophoride, Family (Bob- _ white, 1910), 3. Olive-backed Thrush, 252. Oporornis agilis, 304. formosus, 302. Philadelphia, 305. Oriole, Baltimore, 48, 63-64, 70, 85, IOI, IFI, 145, 211. Orchard, 63, 186. Ortolan, 48. Otus a. asio (1910), Io. Oven-bird, 197, 212. | Owl, Barn, 269. Barred, 10, 270. Great Horned, 10-13. Hoot, 270. Screech, 10. Snowy, 271. Paride, Family, 225. Parine, Sub-family, 225. Partridge, 3, 7: Parus airicapillus, 227. Passerculus sandwichensis sa- vanna, 285. princeps, 283. Passerella i. iliaca, 288. Passeres, Order, 35. Passerina cyanea (1910), 136. nivalis, 83. Peabody-bird, 39, 90, 95. Pemigewasset Valley, 52, 99. Penthestes a. atricap&lus, 227. c. carolinensis, 232. hudsonicus litioralis, 233. Perisoreus c. canadensis, 46. Pewee, Wood, 38, 57, 69, 161. Philadelphia Vireo, 293. Pheebe, 37, 229. Picide, Family, 21. Pict, Order, 21. Pine Grosbeak, 277. Pine Siskin, 282. Pine Warbler, 194. Pinicola enucleator leucure, 277. Pipilo e. erythrophihalmus, 125. Piranga erythromelas, 140. Piut, 25. : Planesticus m. migratorius(1910), 308. : Plectrophenax n. nivalis (1910), 83. Plymouth, N. H., 52, 153. Polioptila c. caerulea, 238. Po@cetes g. gramineus, 85. Prairie Warbler, 196. Prothonotary Warbler, 315s. Protonotaria citrea, 315. 323 INDEX. Purple Finch, 73, 74, 134, 154. _ Purple Grackle, 70. Quail, 3, 9. European, 19. Quiscalus q. quiscalus, 70. q. quiscula aéneus, 71. Raptores, Order, 10. Red-breasted Nuthatch, 226. Sip? bet Vireo, 149, 157, 212. Red Crossbill, 278. Redpoll, 281. Red-poll, Yellow, 195. Redstart, American. 187,206,208. Red-winged Blackbird, 54. Reedbird, 48. Regulus c. calendula, 236. S. salrapa, 235. Ricebird, 48. Robin, American, 66, 93, 130, 132, 135, 141, 308. hon oo 64, 308. Golden, 64. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 93, 129, 141. Roxbury, Mass., 67. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 236. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 34. Ruffled Grouse, 7. Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied, 273. Savannah Sparrow, 285. Sayornis phebe, 37. Scarlet Tanager, 140. Screech Owl, ro. Seiurus aurocapillus, 197. motacilla, 301. n. noveboracensis, 300. Setophaga ruticilla, 208. Short-billed Marsh Wren, 222. Sialia s. sialis, 313. Siskin, Pine, 282. Sitta c. carolinensis, 226. Sittine, Sub-family, 225. Skylark, 62, 84. Snowbird, 108. snow Bunting, 83, 85. Snowy Owl, 271. Snowflake, 83. Solitary Vireo, 160, 163. Song Sparrow, 65, 86, 109, 229. South Orange, N. J., 130. Sparrow, Chipping, ror, 170,181. Field, 73, 103, 124. Fox, 73, 129, 288. Grasshopper, 80. Ipswich, 283. Lincoln's, 287. Savannah, 285. Song, 65, 86, 100, 229. Swamp, 124. Tree, 286. Vesper, 85, 92, 108, 123. White-crowned, 73, 90. White-throated, 73, 95. 7 dtd etd Sphyrapicus v. varius, 273. Spinus pinus, 282. Spizella m. monticoia, 286. ‘“* p. passerina (1910), 101. bd. pusilla, 103. _ socialis, 101. Starling, 275. Strix v. varia, 270. Sturnella m. magna, 57. Sturnus vulgaris, 275. Swainson’s Thrush, 252. Swallow, Chimney. 32. Swamp Sparrow, 124. Swift, Chimney, 32, 65. Tanager, Scarlet, 140. Summer, 140. Tanagride, Family, 140. Tangaride, Family (1910), 140. Tawny Thrush, 244. Telmatodytes p. palustris, 223. Tennessee Warbler, 208. - Tetraonide, Family (Partridge, 1910), 3. Thistle-bird, 79. Thrasher, Brown, 210, 212, 213. Thrush, Bicknell’s, 249. Golden-crowned, 197. Gray-cheeked, 248. Hermit, 38, 255. Olive-backed, 252. Swainson’s, 252. Tawny, 244. Wilson s, 244. Wood, 59. 239. 265. Thryomanesb.bewicki(1910),218. Thryothorus l. ludovicianus, 215. Tilton, N. H., 6. Titmouse, Tufted, 234. Towhee, 125. Toxostoma rufum, 213. Tree Sparrow, 286. Trochilide, Family, 33. Trochilus colubris, 34. Troglodytes a. aedon, 218. Troglodytida, Family, 210. Turdide, Family, 239. Tyrannide, Family, 35. Tyrannus tyrannus, 35. Veery, 244. Vermivora, chrysoptera 166. peregrina, 208. pinus, 207. eds fos Sey bcae {r910), 50. esper Sparrow, 85,02, 108, 123. Vireo, Blue-headed, 160. Spe pone aes 293. Red-eyed, 149. Solitary, 160. Warbling, 153. 198. White-eyed, 161, 162. Yellow-throated, 157. Vireo flavifrons, 157. gilvus, 153. g. griseus (1910), 162. (1g10), 324 INDEX. Vireonide, Family, 140. Vireo acensts, 162. olivaceus, 149. solitarius, 160. Vireo, Red-eyed, 149, 157, 212. Solitary, 160, 163. Vireosylva, g. gilva 1350); 153. olivacea (1910), 149. : philadelphica, 293. Wake-up, 25. Warbler, Bay-breasted, 186. Black and White, 164, 187. _ Black and Yellow, 181. \ Blackburnian, 189. Black-poll, 173, 174, 187. Black-throated Blue, 178, 196, 206. Black-throated Green, 190. Blue-winged, 297. Canadian, 207. Cape May, 172. Chestnut-sided, 183. Connecticut, 304. Golden-winged, 166. Hooded, 204. Kentucky, 302. Magnolia, 181. Mourning, 305. Myrtle, 180, 188. Nashville, 160. © Northern Parula, 171. Pine, 194. Prairie, 196. Tennessee, 208. Wilson's, 206. Worm-eating, 296. Yellow, 174, 184, 208. Yellow Palm, 195. Yellow-rumped, 180. Warbling Vireo, 75, 153, 198. Water-thrush, 300. Louisiana, 301. Waterville, N. H., 46. Waxwing, Bohemian, 292. Cedar, 147, 292. Wellesley Hills, Mass., 59, 62. Whip-poor-will, 26, 211. Whisky Jack, 46. White-breasted Nuthatch, 226. White-crowned Sparrow, 73, 90. White-eyed Vireo, 161, 162. White Mountains, N. H., 46, 08, 99, 108, 125, 183, 188, 201, _ 231, 2616 White-throated Sparrow, 73, 90. White-winged Crossbill, 280. Wilsonia canadensis, 207. citrina (1910), 204. mitrata, 204. p. pusilla, 206. Wilson’s Blackcap, 206, 207. Wilson’s Thrush, 244. Wilson’s Warbler, 206. ~ , Winter Wren, 220. Woodpecker, Downy, 21, 226. Golden-winged, 23. Hairy, 21, 23. Wood Pewee, 38, 57, 69, 161. Wood Thrush, 59, 239, 265. Woodwall, 25. Worm-eating Warbler, 296. Wren, 210. Bewick’s, 218. Carolina, 215. House, 218. Long-billed, 223. Short-billed Marsh, 222. Winter, 220. Yarrup, 25. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 273. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, i5. Yellow-bird, 79. Yellow-breasted Chat, 63, 203. Yellow-hammer, 25. Yellow Palm Warbler, 195. Yellow Red-poll, 195. Yellow-rumped Warbler, 180. Yellow-throat, Maryland, 200 204, 205. Yellow-throated Vireo, 157. Yellow Warbler, 174, 184, 208. Yucker, 25. Zamelodia ludoviciana, 129. Zonotrichia albicollis, 95. 1. leucophrys, 90. 325 BOOKS FOR THE COUNTRY Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music By F. Schuyler Mathews A Description of the Character and Music of Birds, Intended to Assist in the Identification of Species Common in the Eastern United States. With 53 Reproductions in Water-Color, and Numerous Pen-and-Ink Studies of Bird- Songs by the Author. G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York London Field Book of Western Wild Flowers By Margaret Armstrong 16°. Over 600 pages. 500 Black and White, 48 Color, Illustrations In collaboration with Prof. J. J. Thornber of the University of Arizona and Botanist of the Arizona Agricul- ture Experiment Station at Tucson. Bound uniform with the Field Books of Schuyler Mathews. This is the first time that an adequate field book has been presented for the use of flora lovers, living or visiting west of the Rockies. 48 illustrations in color and 500 in black and white supplement the very useful text. Technical and bo- tanical names have been translated into ordinary English. G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York London — The Field Book of Insects With Special Reference to Those of the North- eastern United States, Aiming to Answer Common Questions by Frank E. Lutz Associate Curator, Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History 16°, About 800 Illustrations, Many in Color, by Edna F, Beutenmuller Flex, clo, Flex. lea Hints concerning collecting, breeding, preserv- ing, and classifying insects; “catch characters,’’ rather than lengthy descriptions, by which com- monly observed insects, and insects which would repay observation, may be recognized; outlines of interesting or economically important insect life histories; and an untechnical but scientifi- cally accurate text. Uniform with Schuyler Mathews’s books of Birds, Flowers, and Trees. G. P. Putnam’s Sons New York London me 2% rh 4 eS ” < —~% * weet = 163069 ler uy book of wild birds and their music, Mathews, Ferdinand Sch Field ea University of Toronto — Library —_ DO NOT REMOVE THE CARD FROM THIS POCKET —_—_—_— Acme Library Card Pocket Under Pat. “Ref. Index File” : Made by LIBRARY BUREAU — a ee aoe hs wwe ae een ENE aa} Sas cite eh ahs rd sues any eG iat wean . hy) ( pA Steed Wie Aire ety AS ¥ é tLe Le Ord aie a be ete Say) Us SEA f Miah Meigs es its ie ae uN Psoen + Cpa ie 4 ae oe CGN as a sos Me ns , ANA bry! n: if x ese Aly Ae ¥ ES. Se ne ace par ent Ries ER Uke te Mice aie ope ieee HDA Fiat oo ORS Sse Bereich BS eae 3 Wee ie fie SOR ; 5 icy 4 ain cf x nS re mf BES ] By) 37 Huey ay Jes: K a ig ae sen Rens as Yevers ee Cet mee sree iN we Esato ae Ori Aiiis SSS: Hast ae + ; Ate ist oN ca ae oe xis Ne "3 hi é a Bah trent ry ie ii Me Ess 0 5 ote S oo. 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