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Nature Neighbors

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON EDITION
Limited to Two Thousand and Fifty Sets

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HOODED ORIOLE.

(Ieterus cucullatus),

, Life-size

2, BY A. Ww. MUMFORD

, CHICASA

,

NATURE NEIGHBORS

Embracing

BIRDS, PLANTS, ANIMALS,
MINERALS

In Natural Colors by Color Photography

Containing Articles by Gerard Alan Abbott, Dr. Albert Schneider, William
Kerr Higley, Thomas Crowder Chamberlin, John Merle Coulter,
David Starr Jordan, and Other Eminent Naturalists.

Edited by Nathaniel Moore Banta

Six Hundred Forty-eight Full-page Color Plates

Containing Accurate Photographic Illustrations in Natural Colors
of Over Fifteen Hundred Nature Specimens

VOL. IV—BIRDS

AMERICAN AUDUBON ASSOCIATION
CHICAGO

Copyright, 1914
By Nathaniel Moore Banta

tafo F cs

Birds

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The publishers desire to extend their acknowledgment and thanks
to the firms who have kindly permitted the use of material in this
work: To the publisher, A. W. Mumford, for the articles from “* Birds
and Nature”; all unsigned articles from this source are marked with
an asterisk ; to the publisher, John C. Mountjoy, for the articles from
the writings of Gerard Alan Abbott and Harold B. Shinn. All articles
in the Bird Volumes, not otherwise accounted for, are written by
Gerard Alan Abbott.

CHAPTER XIV
CROWS, JAYS, ETC.

Tue Horned Lark, the only representative of the lark fam-
ily found in America, is closely allied to the skylark of the
Old World. Larks are terrestrial birds, their colors har-
monizing with the prairies where they are found. Except
when nesting they are gregarious.

Crows, Jays, Magpies, and Nutcrackers, all members of
the Corvide family, are omnivorous feeders, living upon
both animal and vegetable foods. Many of them are not
migratory, while others are migratory to a limited extent.
These birds are of unusual intelligence; many of this family
may be taught to speak. The starlings are Old World birds.
Those found in this country have been introduced from
Europe. In the East they are increasing in number to such
an extent as to be a menace; hence all should be interested
in their peculiarities.

HORNED OR SHORE LARK*

If the variety of names by which this lark is known is
any indication of its popularity, its friends must be indeed
numerous. Snow Lark, Snowbird, Prairie Lark, Sky
Lark, American Sky Lark, Horned Lark, are a few of them.
There is only one American species, so far as known. It
breeds in northeastern North America and Greenland, win-

265

266 BIRDS

tering in the United States. It also inhabits northern por-
tions of the old world. The common name is derived from
the tufts of black feathers over each ear, which the birds
have the power of erecting at will, like the so-called horns
of some owls.

In the Eastern States, during the winter months, flocks
of horned larks, varying in size from a dozen to those of a
hundred or more, may be seen frequenting open plains, old
fields, dry shores of bays, and the banks of rivers. Accord-
ing to Davie, as there are a number of geographical varie-
ties of the horned lark, the greatest uncertainty has always
attended their identification even by experts, and the breed-
ing and winter ranges of the various sub-species do not yet
seem to be clearly defined.

Audubon found this species on the low, mossy, and
sheltered hills along the dreary coast of Labrador. In the
midst of the mosses and lichens that covered the rocks, the
bird imbedded its nest, composed of fine grasses, arranged
in a circular form and lined with the feathers of grouse and
other birds.

Chapman says these larks take wing with a sharp whis-
tled note and seek fresh fields or, hesitating, finally swing
about and return to near the spot from which they were
flushed. They are sometimes found associated with snow-
flakes. The pinkish-gray coloring is very beautiful, but in
the Middle and Eastern States this bird is rarely seen in his
spring garb, says an observer, and his winter plumage lacks
the vivid contrasts and prime color.

As a singer the Shore Lark is not to be despised, espe-
cially in his nesting haunts, He has a habit of singing as

94 HORNED LARK, OPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

$ Life-size.

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CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 267

he soars in the air, after the manner of the European
Skylark.
MAGPIE

The Magpie is a handsome scamp. Like the Canada
jay, he is a born thief and has the same sneaking ways
which other members of the crow family possess. Magpies
usually confine themselves to rough or mountainous regions,
chiefly from New Mexico, Colorado, and Montana west-
ward to the coast. The only other species common to the
American continent is the yellow-billed Magpie, inhabiting
the coast region of southern California.

Magpies are long-billed birds, probably handsomer than
other members of the family except the jays. The flight,
like that of the blue jay, is straight, horizontal, and slow.
They are very fond of feeding on the carcasses of sheep
and cattle. While collecting over the stock ranges in the
Yellowstone region of Montana, I always encountered mag-
pies about the herders’ camps. These birds are not so noisy
as many jays, despite the fact we often hear the expres-
sion, “chatter like magpies.” The birds are mischievous in
captivity, though they are intelligent and may be taught
to speak.

The nests are remarkably large for the size of the birds.
Like the oven bird and marsh wren, the nests are covered,
and the only entrance is through a little hole on the side.
These nests, usually placed close to the trunk of a tree,
preferably a willow along creek bottoms and in cafions, are
made of twigs and hay, lined with any soft substance avail-
able, such as wool, hair, and grass.

268 BIRDS

: >

From examining a dozen nests, I judge the birds lay
at intervals of from two to four days, yet incubation begins
from time of deposit of first egg. In color the eggs resem-
ble those of the yellow-headed blackbird or loggerhead
shrike. The background is pale bluish-white, but the entire
surface of the shell is almost completely covered with spots
of light brown. These prolific birds lay seven or eight eggs.

BLUE JAY

The jays, like the hummingbirds, are found chiefly in
the western and southwestern portions of North America.
We have but two jays inhabiting the Great Lakes region.
The Canada jay is the other representative. A very hand-
some jay inhabits the brushy sections of Florida, and is
known as the Florida jay. The Blue Jay is common in the
United States east of the Great Plains, from Florida to
Canada. Throughout the year it remains in most of its
range, though in Northern States its numbers are somewhat
reduced in winter. During spring and summer the jay is
forced to become an industrious hunter for insects for the
brood, and it is not so conspicuous as when out roaming the
country at will after the household duties are over.

The blue jay partakes of other birds’ eggs and the
young, and many farmers condemn its love for corn.
Three-fourths of the bird’s food consists of vegetable mat-
ter. It is difficult to decide, on summing up good and bad
traits, whether to forgive the faults of this interesting scamp
or to condemn and kill it.

The usual call or alarm note is suggestive of the word

— ET

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STELLAR'’S JAY. COF YRIGNT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
\% Life-size,

315

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CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 269

“Jay.” The birds are clever imitators, one of their favor-
ite pastimes being to perch near a group of chickens or
other birds, and then give a perfect imitation of the call of
the red-shouldered hawk, varied perhaps by imitating the
red-tailed and the sparrow hawks. The result is a scurry
for shelter as the jay flies away triumphantly. It delights
in worrying owls and other birds, being unequaled as a
tease.

Blue jays are noisy except when nesting, when they
exhibit the usual cunning of the crow and jay family. Co-
niferous trees are used as nesting sites. In early April,
before the foliage appears on the deciduous trees, the jay
cleverly builds her nest among the large limbs of the tree so
as to escape detection.

The nest is of small roots and sticks, lined with root-
lets and grass. Four or five dark green eggs are laid.
The markings are drab and dark brown. Eggs from differ-
ent nests exhibit considerable variation. ‘Two broods are
often reared in a season.

STELLER’S JAY *

This is an abundant and interesting cousin of the blue
jay, and is found along the Pacific coast from northern
California northward. It is a very common resident of
Oregon, is noisy, bold, and dashing. The nest of this bird
is built in firs and other trees and in bushes, ten to twenty
feet from the ground. It is bulky and made of large sticks
and twigs, generally put together with mud, and lined with
fine, dry grasses and hair. The eggs are three to five, pale

270 BIRDS

>
green or bluish-green, speckled with olive-brown, with an
average size of 1.28 inches by .85 inch. There seems no
doubt that many jays have been observed robbing nests of
other birds, but thousands have been seen that were not so
engaged. It has been shown that animal matter comprises
only about twenty-five per cent of the bird’s diet.

LONG-CRESTED JAY

The majority of our American jays inhabit mountainous
districts in the western portions of the United States. The
Long-Crested Jay is common in the Rocky Mountains,
ranging through New Mexico and Colorado. Like the blue
jay it possesses a crest, which the birds erect when alarmed
or agitated.

Long-crested jays are partial to coniferous trees, and
in the pine districts of Arizona they are permanent res-
idents. Noisy troops of this species rove about the canyons
during the winter months, at times their notes resembling
those of the eastern blue jay.

The nests are usually concealed in a mass of twigs at
the top of an evergreen tree. Sticks and weed stalks are
used in the construction of the nest. Four or five light
green eggs marked with brown and purple are laid in May
or June.

Steller’s jay, of which the long-crested is a sub-species,
is confined to the Pacific coast from northern California
to Alaska. The blue-fronted jay is another sub-species
inhabiting the Sierra Nevada range, south of the region
occupied by Steller’s jay.

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LONG-CRESTED JAY.
(Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha).
Nearly Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD,

CHICAGO

COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAG(

10 ARIZONA JAY.

2 Life-size.

CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 271

THE ARIZONA GREEN JAY *

The geographical range of the Arizona Jay is in south-
ern New Mexico and Arizona and south into Sonora and
Chihuahua, Mexico. It is a common resident throughout
the oak belt which generally fringes the foothills of the
mountains and ranges well up among the pines. In suitable
localities it is very abundant. It is rarely seen at any dis-
tance out of the arid plains; but after the breeding season
is over, small flocks are sometimes met with among the
shrubbery of the few water courses, several miles away
from their regular habitat. They are seen in the early
spring, evidently on a raid for eggs and the young of
smaller birds. On such occasions they are very silent, and
their presence is only betrayed by the scoldings they receive
from other birds. On their own heath they are as noisy
as any of our jays, and apparently far more sociable, a
number of pairs frequently nesting close to each other in
a small oak grove. They move about in small family parties
of from half a dozen to twenty or thirty, being rarely seen’
alone. They are restless, constantly on the move, prying
into this or that, spending a good portion of their time on
the ground, now hopping on a low limb, and the next
minute down again, twitching their tails almost constantly.
Their call notes are harsh and far-reaching, and are
somewhat similar to those of the California jay.

Their nests are usually of small sticks, lined with
smaller roots and twigs, all rather loosely arranged. They
lay four eggs of a bluish color without markings.

272 BIRDS

CANADA JAY

The Canada Jay, known as the Moose Bird, Whisky
Jack, Camp Robber, Grease Bird or Venison Heron, is
decidedly a bird of the north or Alpine region; therefore,
it is found in the United States only in the northern portion
of the northern states, except perhaps in the mountainous
regions of Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho.

Blanchan writes: “'The Canada jay looks like an exag-
gerated chickadee, and both birds are equally fond of bitter
cold weather, but here the similarity stops short. Where
the chickadee is friendly the jay is impudent and bold;
hardly less of a villain than his blue relative when it
comes to marauding other birds’ nests and destroying their
young. With all his vices, however, intemperance cannot
be attributed to him; in spite of the name given him by
Adirondack lumbermen and guides, ‘Whisky John’ is a
purely innocent corruption of ‘ Wis-ka-tjon’ as the Indians
call this bird that haunts their camps and familiarly enters
their wigwams. ‘The numerous popular names by which
the Canada jays are known are admirably accounted for
by Mr. Hardy in a bulletin issued by the Smithsonian
Institution:

“They will enter the tents, and often alight on the bow
of a canoe, where the paddle at every stroke comes within
eighteen inches of them. I know nothing which can be
eaten that they will not take, and I had one steal all my
candles, pulling them out endwise, one by one, from a piece
of birch bark in which they were rolled, and another peck

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CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 273

a large hole in a keg of castile soap. A duck, which I had
picked and laid down for a few minutes, had the entire
breast eaten out by one or more of these birds. I have
seen one alight in the middle of my canoe and peck away
at the carcass of a beaver I had skinned. They often
spoil deer saddles by pecking into them near the kidneys.
They do great damage to the trappers by stealing the bait
from traps set for martens and minks and by eating trapped
game. ‘They will sit quietly and see you build a log trap
and bait it, and then, almost before your back is turned,
you hear their hateful ca-ca-ca as they glide down and
peer into it. They will work steadily carrying off meat
and hiding it. I have thrown out pieces and watched one
to see how much he would carry off. He flew across a wide
stream, and in a short time looked as bloody as a butcher
from carrying huge pieces; but his patience held out longer
than mine. I think one would work as long as Mark
Twain’s California jay did trying to fill a miner’s cabin
' with acorns through a knothole in the roof. They are fond
of the berries of the mountain-ash, and, in fact, few things
come amiss; I believe they do not possess a single good
quality except industry.”

Very few zoologists have been able to procure the eggs
of this hardy bird, because they are laid in February or
March when the snow is deep and travel through the forest
is laborious. A few persevering collectors have success-
fully hunted the nests on snow-shoes. The three or four
blue eggs, finely speckled with dark brown, are deposited
in a large bulky nest made of stems, fur, feathers and moss,
warmly lined and placed among the thickest branches.

274 BIRDS

RAVEN

The Raven in appearance reminds one of an overgrown
crow, though less gregarious, more shy, and more boreal.
The raven has been observed near Lake Michigan about
northern Illinois and Indiana during severest winters, and
may be met with on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts
as well as in the interior.

The sub-species known as the northern raven undoubt-
edly reaches the coldest climates of any living creature.
Arctic explorers in their search for the Pole have observed
the raven where all other signs of animate life cease to
exist. The plumage is in striking contrast to that of other
boreal creatures, such as the ptarmigan, Arctic fox, snowy
owl, and polar bear. Blacks being the warmest color,
undoubtedly explains this bird’s ability to reach such a
northerly latitude.

Ravens may be frequently observed walking leisurely
along the beaches just above the water line picking up the
mollusks and other bits of marine life. Their note is a
coarse croak, which seems to issue from the throat and is
less musical than the call of the crow. In the northern
countries of the Eastern Hemisphere, the raven is regarded
by some races as a bird of ill-omen. Ravens are readily
taught to speak and are at times kept as pets.

Like the crow and jay, the raven is omniverous, feed-
ing on fish, grain, berries, and other forms of animal and
vegetable life. Quite a few ravens breed in the mountains
along the Pacific coast of California. The large nests of

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CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 275

sticks are placed on little shelves in almost inaccessible
places. They also breed along the rocky coasts of Maine,
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia.

The raven lays from two to five eggs; in shape and
coloration they resemble the eggs of the crow, but like the
bird are considerably larger.

CROW

Crows range from northern Mexico to the Arctic regions,
where they are then replaced by their larger relative, the
northern raven. Crows which breed from northern United
States northward usually migrate at the beginning of cold
weather; in other localities, they are generally resident.
The Florida, fish, and northwestern crows inhabit the
extreme portions of North America and are all closely
allied to our common crow, the principal differences being
in the size of the bills, feet, and wings. A typical crow is
entirely black with a metallic luster which is suggestive of
purple or steel blue.

The female is slightly smaller than her mate. Crows
adapt themselves to almost any diet; in fact, the bill of
fare is as varied as are the call notes. Fruits, seeds, grain,
insects, crawfish, carrion, eggs, and young birds are all
agreeable to a crow’s palate; it is doubtful if he destroys
enough insects to pay for his depredations.

Crows are intelligent birds, possessing calls so varied
that naturalists have termed it a “Crow language.” When
taken young they may be taught to speak. They are
cunning, mischievous, inquisitive, and daring, so their repu-

276 BIRDS

tation among other birds (also the farmer) is far from
enviable. Although few are their friends and numerous
their enemies, they have their virtues. Fond of corn and
especially sprouting corn, they are often shot for pulling
it up, when they are really feeding upon worms. Crows
are loyal to each other, and I know of no other bird (aside
from the English sparrow) more capable of holding his
own against all comers.

Less than seventy years ago the Indian, wolf, prairie
chicken, and wild-fowl, together with the crow, were the
most prominent features of the Calumet region, in and
about where Chicago is now located. With the encroach-
ment of civilization, all have vanished save the crow, which
continues to nest in considerable numbers within the city
limits of Chicago. From October to April they congre-
gate at dusk by the hundreds about some favorite roosting
place, and at early morn they scatter about the country,
apparently in search of adventure as well as of food.

The nesting season extends from March to June,
according to locality. In the Great Lakes region eggs are
deposited in April. Nests are placed from twenty-five to
seventy feet above the ground, preferably in the crotch
of a forest tree. In Dakota, where timber is scarce, during
the latter part of May, 1900, I found them nesting only
ten feet above the ground. Recently I have located about
Chicago several nests which were only fifteen feet above
the ground, while other pairs continue housekeeping at
an elevation of sixty feet.

The bulky, substantial nests are constructed of twigs,
hay, roots, grass, and sod, with a lining of finer material

980

CLARKE’S NUTCRACKER.
(Nucifraga columbiana).
About % Life-size.

MUMFURD, CHICAGO.

CROWS, JAYS, ETC. Q77

consisting of bark strips and bunches of hair and wool.
Last year’s nests are a favorite receptacle for the eggs of
the horned and barred owls, which utilize them for breeding
purposes in February and March. The four to seven eggs
so vary in size, shape, and color, that eggs from the same
nest frequently appear to have been laid by different birds.

Read “Silver Spot, the Crow,” by Ernest Seton-
Thompson.

CLARKE’S NUTCRACKER

Clarke’s Nutcracker, or Clarke’s Crow, is smaller than
our true crows but larger than the jays. It is a shy,
cautious bird inhabiting the mountainous regions of the
United States and Canada. Comparatively little has been
written about the habits of this bird owing to its shyness
and retiring disposition. Naturalists find it difficult to
visit the breeding grounds while the birds are laying their
eggs or rearing their young.

Their food consists almost entirely of pine seeds, which
they dexterously extract from cones, hence the range of
the birds from year to year varies according to the abun-
dance of pine cones. The female guards her eggs so closely
that it is possible to remove the bird from her nest with
the hand. Like the Canada jay and magpie, the nut-
cracker is possessed of great cunning, and is a restless,
uneasy fellow.

In March and April when the snow is still deep on the
mountain slopes, the nutcracker is constructing a warm
nest in the densest part of some coniferous tree. In appear-
ance the nest might readily be mistaken for that of a

278 BIRDS .

squirrel, being a substantial, warm structure in which the
birds lay two to four eggs.

STARLING

The original home of this bird is Kurope. About two
hundred varieties of the Starling occur in various parts of
Europe and Asia, but this introduced species is the only
true starling to be found in America. The starling was
originally given a place on the list of North American
birds through record of a specimen from Greenland. Sey-
eral unsuccessful attempts were made to introduce this
bird into the United States before the last importation
proved only too successful. About half a hundred birds
were liberated in Central Park, New York, in 1890. They
are now found resident from New Haven and Boston on
the east to Philadelphia on the south and Albany on the
north. So prolific are they that they increase in numbers
and extend the range almost as rapidly as did the English
sparrow when first introduced. It is likely that a war of
extermination will soon be declared.

Like our other foreigner, the English sparrow, these
birds take refuge about the habitations of man, nesting
in the crevices of buildings and hollow trees and lately in
branches of trees. Outside of the breeding season they
congregate in flocks about parks and orchards. Like our
crow and meadowlark, the starling progresses on land by
walking instead of hopping or running.

They are birds with handsome, glossy plumage and
exhibit to a certain degree some of the intelligence and

STARLING.
Sturnus vulgaris).
“4 Life-size

COPYRIGHT 1

MUMFORD,

CHIC

AGO

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CROWS, JAYS, ETC. 2719

cunning possessed by our crows and jays. They are fond
of mimicking other birds, and this trait can be cultivated
to a remarkable degree by birds in captivity, for like some
other members of the intelligent family they may be taught
to speak.

In the Old World the starling, like the English sparrow
constructs a nest in the trees, under the eaves, in church
steeples, and in boxes erected for their accommodation.
Outwardly the nests are constructed of twigs, straws, and
grasses, lined with finer material. The eggs are about the
size of a meadowlark’s and are pale blue unspotted.

CHAPTER XV
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC.

Buacxksirps, Orioles, Grackles, Cowbirds, and Meadow-
larks are members of the Icteride family.

While birds of this family are usually tropical, some of
our very interesting species belong to this group. Except-
ing the orioles, they are gregarious after nesting; some
flock throughout the year, others during migration. They
are found living in all kinds of territory, from marshes to
the driest plains. ‘They feed on fruit, seeds, and insects;
the males are often adorned with bright plumage. Some
of these, birds are noted for song, as the meadowlark and
bobolink.

BOBOLINK

Most everybody knows the Bobolink, or Skunk Black-
bird, so called because of the pattern of the male’s plumage.
Famous in prose and verse, he is the most popular songster
of the starling family.

Bobolinks winter in South America, south of the Ama-
zon. ‘The plumage at that season of the year is light
brown, the feathers being lighter on the margins, both
sexes being dressed alike. In March the northward flight
begins, and, when the birds reach Florida in April, the
males have acquired the black and white plumage, and
also their bubbling, rollicking song, so in keeping with the

281

282 BIRDS

breezy meadows and flowering prairies. About May Ist,
flocks of the males arrive in the central United States
from New York west across the Mississippi Valley. The
females appear about a week later, when the game of hide
and seek begins.

Bobolinks are abundant in certain localities from the
central United States northward into southern Canada. In
many a low pasture or weedy marsh, many swaying weed
stalks contain a male bobolink. Suddenly a female, which
always wears the same plumage used by both during the fall
and winter months, arises from the ground, where she has
been deciding upon a suitable place in which to conceal her
nest. Immediately from two to six males, singing simulta-
neously, pursue her in a zigzag course low over the waving
vegetation. She drops to the ground, but her pursuers con-
tinue in the air, flying in different directions before return-
ing to their respective perches. Frequently while waiting
for the object of their affection to present herself, their
ecstasy and passion seems uncontrollable, and they launch
into the air with outstretched wings, and soar for perhaps
thirty seconds in little circles, uttering their bubbling, laugh-
ing song; then with upraised wings they gradually drop like
a parachute to terra firma.

A bobolink is a true sport while nesting lasts. In July
his ardor has cooled, for, before the month expires, molting
has set in. He again assumes the dull plumage of the
female, and his only note is a metallic pink-pink.

After molting, the birds gather in flocks and resort to
rivers and marshes for the wild rice. Here they are slaugh-
tered in great numbers as the popular game bird, the reed

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BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 283

bird or rice bird. They feed upon both insect and vege-
table material while nesting, and in the North are highly
beneficial, as they consume vast numbers of insects while
nesting. Later, in August and September, rice is their
principal food, and they are slaughtered in numbers in the
rice fields of the South.

No nest is harder to find, considering the abundance of
the bird, than that of the bobolink. The nest is placed on
the ground, usually in a little hollow flush with the sur-
face. Sometimes the vegetation so cleverly conceals the
nest, containing four to seven darkly spotted eggs, that one
must carefully part the grass blades in order to see the
hidden treasures. Many nests, however, are placed in open
situations where the grass is short and scant. When you
infer that the male is pouring forth his eloquence to vie
with the neighboring bobolinks, he is really cautioning his
mate and warning her of your presence; he sweeps about
and at the psychological moment inserts into his music the
bobolink signal. Madam gently arises from her nest and
moves through the grass until she is probably fifty feet
away before she ventures to expose herself, or in any way
seems to recognize your presence. The nest may be in any
direction from where you first discover the female, and
neither parent is inclined to aid you in your difficult search.
If the eggs are about to hatch or if the nestlings require the
mother’s warmth, she is loath to regard the warning notes
of her mate, and may allow you to almost tread upon her
before she flutters reluctantly away.

Other names: Rice Bird, Reed Bird, Rice Bunting,
Reed Bunting, Butter Bird, Rice Troopial, Bobolinkum.

284 BIRDS ;

COWBIRD

Our common Cowbird is found from the Atlantic west
to the Plains; nesting from Texas to New Brunswick and
Manitoba, wintering in southern Illinois south. It derives
its name from the habit of feeding around cattle. Often
several may be seen gathered about the feet of cattle, and
even alighting upon the backs of the animals, where they
search for ticks and other parasitic insects. They also
destroy great numbers of flies and other annoying pests
about cattle, and also feed upon worms, grubs, and other
insect life which they are apt to obtain from nearby places,
as plowed fields. They also consume a small amount of
grain; but for their parasitic habits, they would be a most
useful bird.

The head and throat of the male during the spring and
summer months is cinnamon brown, the other parts of the
plumage a glossy black. The female is dull brownish,
without any luster to the plumage.

The call note of the cowbird is a sound not unlike the
whistle of a woodcock’s wing. ‘These polygamous birds
move about in groups of three to six, and the females seem
to outnumber the males in the ratio of about two to one.
The South Atlantic and Gulf States are the home of the
dwarf cowbird, a distinct species, but very similar in habits.
West of the Mississippi and northward into Canada is the
range of the red-eyed cowbird, which, unlike its near rela-
tive, lays a light blue unspotted egg.

Like the European cuckoo in one respect only, the

04

990

999 YELLOW-HEADED BLACK BIRD.

24 Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD CHICAGO

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 285

cowbird, or cow blackbird, deposits her eggs in the nests
of other birds, usually some smaller variety, as she builds
no nest, but leaves her eggs solely to the care of the foster
parents. Nests of the yellow warbler, bobolink, indigo
bunting, song sparrow, field sparrow, towhee, yellow-
breasted chat, red-winged blackbird, and redstart are fre-
quently used for this purpose. Sometimes the eggs of the
cowbird closely resemble those of the owner of the nest, as
is true with the eggs of the towhee, chat, and cardinal.

Such birds as the catbird, wood thrush, and prairie
horned lark resent such imposture, and destroy or remove
the cowbird’s eggs. Some of the smaller species, as the
yellow warbler, unable to cope with the situation, build
over the intruder’s eggs, since the cowbird often deposits
her eggs before the owner of the nest begins to lay. I have
known yellow warblers to repeat this operation three times
in one nest in their effort to rid themselves of the unwel-
come eggs. If hatched, the intruders monopolize the nest,
crowding the nestlings from their own cradle or starving
and smothering them.

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD

Like the dickcissel, the occurrence of the Yellow-headed
Blackbird is uncertain and erratic. In many sections from
the Mississippi to the Pacific they may be found breeding
singly or in small flocks, usually returning annually to the
same swamps and marshes. Kast of the Mississippi their
appearance is uncertain and rare. During years of study
and observation in northern Illinois, I never discovered this

286 BIRDS

bird spending the summer with us until 1900, when I
observed a small colony nesting in a bayou on the South
Side of Chicago, in company with redwings. The latter
appeared to be in perfect plumage, but the yellow-heads
were a sorry-looking lot, as the bright head, neck, and throat
had lost the luster. I finally concluded that the birds had
soiled the plumage with soot by frequenting a patch of par-
tially burned rushes.

The notes of the yellow-head are less vivacious than
those of our other starlings, except the cowbird. The notes
are uttered deep down in the throat and convey the impres-
sion that the birds are attempting a sarcastic laugh at the
expense of their vivacious associates, the red-winged black-
birds. These birds are also frequently found in company
with the cowbird around cattle, excepting at nesting time.
In habits and food they are similar to the redwing, making
the bird a friend to agriculture. While nesting they feed
their young each day worms and grubs by the hundreds.

During the last five years the yellow-heads have colonized
in several places near Chicago, and appear to increase in
numbers annually. They invariably nest in bulrushes or
cattails over water. Externally the nests are composed of
strips of bulrushes; sometimes wild rice and other reeds
are used in the composition, with a lining of the same
material, but finer. Three to five eggs are deposited about
the middle of May. The background is pale bluish-white,
so thickly covered with specks and spots of light brown
that we imagine we have found a nest of brown eggs, when
we first stand up in the boat and peer over the edge of the
nest.

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BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 287

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

The Red-winged Blackbird, or Red-shouldered Black-
bird, or Red-winged Starling, inhabits the United States
and southern Canada, west to the Plains. Abundant where
marshes and lakes are common, of late years several divi-
sions have been made in the geographical distribution of this
species, and as a result several sub-species have appeared
on our bird list, though the habits and general appearance
is the same in all. The males have a scarlet patch on the
bend of the wings, and the females, while not possessing
any of the bright effects, are also handsome birds, as
streaks of black, grayish, and white run lengthwise on the
under parts of the female, giving her a pleasing appearance.

The call, “Konk-la-ree,” the last syllable having a
drawn-out effect, is the song of the redwing, and, though
his attempt at singing is really a failure, the notes are well
in keeping with the dismal swamps and marshes frequented.
His haunts are the retreats of many other birds, but he is
the only red-plumaged bird among them. Both sexes pro-
duce the mellow “chink” characteristic of blackbirds in
general. It may be heard in August and September, when
great flocks of the redwings descend upon the grain fields
and wild rice. At that season they are frequently served
on the bill of fare as reed birds, which name supposedly
refers to the bobolink only.

Before the snow disappears from the shady fence cor-
ners, and thin ice still forms after sunset, the redwing
returns, and we welcome the notes, ‘‘ konk-la-ree,” which

288 BIRDS

_
we hear from a distant willow just as the ducks are settling
in the bay for their evening repast.

Redwings subsist on seeds, including grain, fruits, and
insects. While breeding they destroy great numbers of
insects, while their fondness for grain is manifested when
they congregate in the late summer months and stop in the
cultivated fields on their southward journey.

Farmers’ Bulletin No. 54 states that little grain is con-
sumed by these birds, while about 57 per cent of their fare
is injurious weed seeds. It eats but little fruit and alto-
gether it is estimated that seven-eighths of its food is inju-
rious weed seeds and insects, indicating that the bird should
be protected. In fact they are highly useful to the farmer
by the benefit they confer in the destruction of grub
worms, caterpillars, and various kinds of larve, the secret
and deadly enemies of vegetation. It has been estimated
that in a single season these birds destroy twelve thousand
millions of noxious insects.

Redwings are very jealous of their eggs and young,
and attack without hesitancy all hawks, crows, or other
marauders with almost as much aggressiveness as does the
kingbird.

The nests are placed in low bushes on or near the water.
Many times the nests are woven to the upright stalks of cat-
tails or bulrushes. Dry grass, stems, and strips of rushes
are used externally, and the inside is lined with fine stems.
Some nests have Indian hemp on the outside, giving them
the appearance of a large yellow warbler’s nest. The four
or five eggs are light blue, marked with scrawls and streaks
of deep purple and black, chiefly about the large end.

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 289

MEADOWLARK

All United States and southern Canada is favored with
the presence of the Meadowlark, sometimes wrongly called
field-lark. Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are inhabited
by the Southern meadowlark. From Iowa and Minnesota
westward across the continent in the United States and
Canada, the Western meadowlark, a more musical variety,
ranges. Southwestern Texas, along the Rio Grande, east
to Louisiana, is the home of the Mexican or Rio Grande
meadowlark. The true meadowlark occurs from New
York, New England, and Quebec, west to the States bor-
dering the Mississippi on the west. In portions of Iowa
and Missouri, both the Western and Eastern meadowlark
may be found breeding together.

Before there is the slightest indication of budding life,
except in the redding of the willow stems, this robust little
fellow returns from the South to his favorite meadow or
pasture. No bird becomes more attached to a given locality
than this starling. He weathers many a cold northwestern,
eking out an existence on weed seeds and a little grain.
Old tussocks of grass or a weather-beaten corn shock offer
protection from the frosty nights, which are still due for
five or six weeks. The flight is low and he moves in a
horizontal line, alternately flapping and sailing much like
the bob-white, the field-mark being the two white outer
tail feathers. His mode of travel through the air would
suggest that his flight was uncertain and that he had not
fully developed or mastered the art of aviation.

290 BIRDS

.

What can be more cheerful than the whistle of this lark?
The song flight is a more pronounced demonstration of
affection, and is probably for the benefit of his mate, which
may be pursued, or vice versa.

I quote the following from F. EK. L. Beal’s report in
Farmers’ Bulletin No. 54: “In 285 stomachs examined,
animal food (practically all insects) constituted 73 per cent
of the contents, and the vegetable matter 27 per cent. As
would naturally be supposed, the insects were ground spe-
cies, such as bugs, beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars,
together with a few flies, wasps, and spiders. A number of
stomachs were taken from birds killed when the ground
was covered with snow, but even these contained a large
percentage of insects, showing the bird’s skill in finding
proper food under adverse circumstances.” Grasshoppers
seem to be the natural food.

More than half of the meadowlark’s food consists of
harmful insects. Its vegetable food is composed either of
obnoxious weeds or waste grain. The strong point in the
bird’s favor is that, although naturally an insect-eater, it
is able to subsist on vegetable food, and consequently is not
forced to migrate in cold weather farther than is necessary
to find the ground free from snow. It should never be
regarded as a game bird, nor is it right that these useful
birds be protected in the North only to furnish Southern
pot-pies. |

So closely do these birds guard the contents of their
nests that the farmer’s mower frequently passes over the
hidden treasures without fatal results to the close-sitting
parent. They gather in migrating flocks in fall.

) GOLDEN ORIOLE. COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A» Ws MUMFORD, CHICAGO
Life-size.

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AUDUBONS ORIOLE

COPYRIGHT 1901, BY
A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO.

>

a

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 291

AUDUBON’S ORIOLE *

Audubon’s Oriole, the male of which we illustrate, has
a very limited range, including the “valley of the Lower
Rio Grande in Texas and southward in Mexico to Oaxaca.”
Their usual song is a prolonged and repeated whistle of
extraordinary mellowness and sweetness.

The nest of this oriole is usually placed in mesquite
trees, in thickets, and open woods, from six to fourteen
feet from the ground. It is a semipensile structure, woven
of fine, wire-like grass used while still green and resembles
those of the hooded and orchard orioles, which are much
better known. The nest is firmly attached, both on the
top and sides, to small branches and growing twigs and,
for the size of the bird, it appears rather small. One now
before me measures three inches in depth inside by about
the same in inner diameter. The rim of the nest is some-
what contracted to prevent the eggs from being thrown out
during high winds. The inner lining consists of somewhat
finer grass tops, which still retain considerable strength and
are even now, when perfectly dry, difficult to break.

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE *

We find the Golden Oriole in America only. Accord-
ing to Mr. Nuttall, it is migratory, appearing in consider-
able numbers in west Florida about the middle of March.
It is a good songster, and in a state of captivity imitate
various tunes. .

292 BIRDS

>

This beautiful bird feeds on fruits and insects, and its
nest is constructed of blades of grass, wool, hair, fine
strings, and various vegetable fibers, which are so curiously
interwoven as to confine and sustain each other. The nest
is usually suspended from a forked or slender branch, in
shape like a deep basin, and generally lined with fine
feathers.

“On arriving at their breeding locality, they appear full
of life and activity, darting mcessantly through the lofty
branches of the tallest trees, appearing and vanishing rest-
lessly, flashing at intervals into sight from amidst the ten-
der, waving foliage, and seem like living gems intended to
decorate the verdant garments of the fresh-clad forest.”

t is said these birds are so attached to their young that
the female has been taken and conveyed on her eggs, upon
which, with resolute and fatal instinct, she remained faith-
fully sitting until she expired.

An Indiana gentleman relates the following story:

“When I was a boy, living in the hilly country of
southern Indiana, I remember very vividly the nesting of a
pair of fine orioles. There stood in the barn yard a large
and tall sugar tree with limbs within six or eight feet of the
ground. .

“ At about thirty feet above the ground I discovered
evidences of an oriole’s nest. A few days later I noticed
they had done considerable more work, and that they were
using horse hair, wool, and fine strings.

“They appeared to have some knowledge of spinning,
as they would take a horse hair and seemingly wrap it
with wool before placing it in position on the nest.”

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 293

THE HOODED ORIOLE *

Only a very limited portion of the United States is
beautified by the presence of the bright-colored Hooded
Oriole. The North has the richly plumaged Baltimore
oriole for a short time each year, but only the far south-
eastern part of Texas is enlivened by this graceful, active
bird of our illustration, which is “so full of song that the
woods are filled with music all the day.” Both of these
birds seem scarcely to belong to the North, where somber
colors seem more in harmony with a severer climate.

The hooded oriole has a very narrow range, reaching
from Texas southward through eastern Mexico to Hon-
duras, and during our Northern winters it has the Balti-
more as an associate. It is a social bird and frequents the
home of man. One writer, relating his experiences with
this oriole, says: “They were continually appearing about
the thatched roof of our houses and the arbors adjoining
for insects; they were more familiar than any of the other
orioles about the ranch.”

It not only delights man by its song and beautiful
coloring, but its presence is also beneficial, for it destroys
countless adult insects and their larve.

The hooded oriole seldom builds its nest higher than
from six to twelve feet above the ground, though in a few
instances it has been found as high as thirty feet. Dr. James
C. Merrill, in his “ Notes on the Ornithology of Texas,”
says: “The nests of this bird found here are perfectly
characteristic, and cannot be confounded with those of any

294 BIRDS .

allied species. They are usually found in one of the two
following situations: the first and most frequent is in a
bunch of hanging moss, usually at no great height from
the ground; when so placed the nests are formed almost
entirely by hollowing out and matting the moss, with a few
filaments of a dark, hairlike moss as a lining; the second
situation is in a bush growing to a height of about six feet,
a nearly bare stem, throwing out two or three irregular
masses of leaves at the top.

ORCHARD ORIOLE

The Orchard Oriole ranges throughout eastern North
America, from the Gulf to Canada, wintering in Central
America.

The orchard oriole was until fifteen years ago one of the
characteristic birds of the Chicago area, and he appeared
the embodiment of this hustling center, as he is apparently
always in a hurry. Even his notes, though pleasing, are
uttered while he is rapidly moving through the foliage
removing caterpillars from the leaves or other forms of
insect life from the bark of trees. It, like the Baltimore
oriole, is weleome about the home, as the beauty, the song,
and the destruction of insect life make it a highly useful
bird.

The plumage of the male orchard oriole is darker than
that of our other American orioles, and should not be mis-
taken for the more common Baltimore. With the Balti-
more oriole, this is the only species common to eastern
North America. Orioles are not forest-loving birds, but

49 ORCHARD ORIOLE COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W- MUMFORD, CHICAGO

2 Life-Size

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BALTIMORE ORIOLE,

\% Life-size,

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 295

seem to prefer orchards, shade trees, or a narrow growth of
trees along streams.

Unlike the Baltimore, the orchard oriole uses grass
almost exclusively in constructing a nest. The grass con-
sists of long blades obtained while green. After the nest
is completed, the grass becomes cured into a beautiful yel-
lowish-green. The shape of the nest and the attachment to
the small twigs remind one of the nests built by our vireos,
but is somewhat larger and built of different material.

Frequently the orchard oriole has the peculiar habit of
constructing two adjacent nests. Four to six eggs are
laid; the background is bluish-gray and the markings
appear in the form of dots, irregular blotches of dark brown
and black. They bear a general resemblance to the eggs
of the red-winged blackbird, being without the scrawls or
pen lines so frequently seen on the eggs of the Baltimore
oriole.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

The “Fire Bird,” “Hang Nest,” or. “Troupalo,” is
named in honor of Lord Baltimore, who wore the black and
orange robe. In the eastern United States this is the most
striking of the starling family. It breeds from the Gulf
to Canada, wintering in Mexico and Central America. The
orioles live principally on worms and their larve. They are
among our most valuable birds, and should be encouraged
to nest about yards and orchards by putting out nesting
material.

The notes of the male oriole are more musical than those
of the various blackbirds, and are perhaps slightly sug-

296 BIRDS

gestive of the whistle of the meadowlark, though less clear
and uttered more hastily. The call or alarm note used by
both sexes is a low rattle, suggestive of the kingfisher’s note.

Their nests are placed at the extremities of drooping
branches, preferably those of the elm, maple, and locust,
being wonderful examples of bird architecture. The mate-
rial used in construction varies greatly with the bird’s
locality, but is largely of uniform material, so as to weave
the better. Some nests are constructed almost exclusively
of horse hair; others are made of grayish-white plant down
known as Indian hemp, or of string and ravelings. The
inside of the nest is of finer material, and the whole struc-
ture is so fastened to the limbs or branches that it swings
in the breeze usually independent of the limbs to which it
is attached. The mother bird lays her eggs and hatches in
a cradle her young where they may be lulled to sleep by the
warm winds of May and June.

The four to six eggs have a white background and are
remarkably colored with scrawls or pen lines of dark brown
or black, resembling Chinese writing.

Year after year the birds return to the same tree to
nest. Roadsides, orchards, or a large shade tree close by
the water’s edge are favorite sites.

BULLOCK’S ORIOLE

This handsome bird is probably the commonest of the
Western orioles. In size and shape it resembles our East-
ern variety, the Baltimore oriole. Inhabiting the territory
west of the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean, it is common

BULLOCK’S ORIOLE.
417 (Icterus bullocixi}.
24 Life-size

COPYRIGHT 1901, BY Ae W. MUMFORD, CH!CAGO

RUS rY BLACKBIRD OR GR ACKI E COPYRIGHT 1901, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
411 (Scolecophagus carolinus).
24 Life-size

AD

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 297

in both flat and mountainous sections. While taking a few
berries to mix with the insect diet, like the orioles found in
eastern North America, it is highly beneficial because of
insect diet gleaned from foliage and bark of trees. The call
note is rather melancholy, a whistle and warble combined.

The nests, like those of the Baltimore oriole, are pen-
sile, and attached to the smaller branches of limbs at an
elevation ranging from ten to thirty feet. The nests are
constructed of various kinds of material; usually the most
available is utilized. This may be string, plant fiber, horse
hair, or grass. The inside of the nest is lined with finer
substances. The nests, while securely attached to the limbs
and stems, frequently swing independently of the branch to
which they are attached.

Four to five eggs are laid usually in May. The back-
ground is pale bluish-white and the markings appear in
the form of scrawls and pen lines of deep purple and black.

RUSTY BLACKBIRD

The Rusty Blackbird, or Grackle, is about the size of
our common red-winged blackbird. These hardy birds fre-
quently spend the winter in southern Illinois and Indiana.
The feathers are edged with brown and this appearance has
caused many observers to describe this bird as the thrush
blackbird. These birds do not congregate in immense droves
like some of our starling family, but usually appear in the
Great Lakes region semi-annually in small flocks, in spring
singing the musical medleys. They are often mistaken for
female redwings; and sometimes mistaken for grackles,

298 BIRDS

though the smaller size and duller plumage readily distin-
guish them from the grackles.

The bird lives practically upon insects, except during
the migrations, when a moderate amount of grain and small
wild fruit is consumed. It is therefore useful, and should
be protected. Brewer’s blackbird, a species similar to the
rusty blackbird, is found breeding in the western portions
of the United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the
Pacific.

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Lab-
rador are favorite nesting grounds. The nests are composed
of stems, grass, and moss mixed with mud and usually
placed in coniferous trees similar to the abode of the purple
and bronzed grackles. The eggs are light blue, distinctly
marked with blotches and spots of dark brown and purple.

BRONZED GRACKLE

The Bronzed Grackle, or the “Crow Blackbird,” or one
or more of its sub-species, is a familiar object in all the
States east of the Rocky Mountains. In size, habits, etc.,
this bird is so much like the purple grackle that one plate
does for both. Throughout the year it is resident as far
north as southern Illinois, and in summer extends its range
into the British provinces. In the Mississippi Valley it is
one of the most abundant birds, preferring to nest in the
artificial groves and windbreaks near farms instead of in
the natural “timber” which it formerly used. It breeds
also in parks and near buildings, often in considerable colo-
nies. In New England, it is only locally abundant, though

HICAGO

MUMF

BRONZED GRACKLE.

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? Life-si

BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. 299

frequently seen in migration. After July it becomes very
rare, or entirely disappears, owing to the fact that it col-
lects in large flocks and retires to some quiet place where
food is abundant and where it can remain undisturbed dur-
ing the molting season; but in the latter days of August
and throughout September it usually reappears in immense
flocks before moving southward.

“The crow blackbird is accused of many sins, such as
stealing grain and fruit and robbing the nests of other
birds, but the farmers do not undertake a war of extermi-
nation against it, and for the most part allow it to nest
undisturbed about their premises. An examination of 2,346
stomachs shows that nearly one-third of its food consists
of insects, of which the greater part are injurious. The
bird also eats a few snails, crawfishes, salamanders, small
fish, and occasionally a mouse. The stomach contents do
not indicate that it robs other birds to any great extent, as
remains of birds and birds’ eggs amount to less than half of
one per cent.

“It is on account of its vegetable food that the grackle
is most likely to be accused of doing damage. Grain is
eaten during the whole year, and during only a short time
in summer is other food attractive enough to induce the
bird to alter its diet. The grain taken in the winter and
spring months probably consists of waste kernels gathered
from the stubble. The stomachs do not indicate that the
bird pulls sprouting grain, but the wheat eaten in July and
August and the corn eaten in the fall are probably taken
from fields of standing grain. The total grain consumed
during the year constitutes 45 per cent of the whole food,

300 BIRDS "

but it is safe to say at least half is waste grain, and conse-
quently of no value. Although the crow blackbird eats in
their season a few cherries and blackberries, and in the fall
some wild fruit, it apparently does little damage in this way.

“Large flocks of grackles no doubt do considerable
injury to grain crops; and there seems to be no remedy
except the destruction of the birds, which is in itself expen-
sive. During the breeding season, however, the species does
much good by eating insects and by feeding them to its
young, which are reared almost entirely upon this food.
The bird does the greatest amount of good in spring, when
it follows the plow in search of large grub-worms, of which
it is so fond that it sometimes literally crams its stomach
full of them.” (Farmers’ Bulletin No. 54.)

The bronzed grackle is the Western form of the purple
grackle, commonly known as the crow blackbird. These
birds are very sociable, and frequently nest in colonies.
Until recent years, the bronzed grackle exhibited a decided
preference for coniferous trees, and the scarcity of these
birds in Chicago was probably due to the fact that few
places afforded suitable nesting sites. Outside our ceme-
teries, evergreen trees were uncommon. Since 1904 the
bronzed blackbird has become abundant in northern Illinois,
nesting in public parks and shade trees. This bird is not
legally protected in many of our States, owing to the great
ravages they make upon the grain fields and berry crops.
Their notes are hoarse and unmusical; the flight slow and
laborious.

The nest is a bulky affair of dried grass, stems, and
roots, lined with light grass, and placed usually in a conif-

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BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. . 801

erous tree. The three to six eggs are light blue, marked
and scrawled with irregular shades of brownish-black.

THE GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE*

The Great-tailed Grackle belongs to a family of birds
that is “eminently characteristic of the New World, all the
species being peculiar to America.” It is the family of
the blackbird and oriole, of the bobolink and the meadow-
lark. It is called the Icteride, from a Greek word, ikteros,
meaning a yellow bird. The majority of the one hundred
and fifty or more species that are grouped in this family
make their home in the tropics, where their brilliant colors
are emphasized by the ever-green foliage and the bright
sunshine.

The family is interesting because the species, though
closely related, vary so widely in their habits. They “are
found living in ground of every nature, from dry plains
and wet marshes to the densest forest growth.” Here are
classed some of the birds which are among the most beauti-
ful of our songsters. Here, too, are classed some species
that never utter a musical sound, and whose voices are
harsh and rough. The sexes are usually dissimilar, the
female being the smaller and generally much duller in color.

The great-tailed grackle is a native of eastern Texas
and the country southward into Central America. The
grackles are sometimes called crow blackbirds. There are
five species, all found in the United States. The bronzed
and the purple grackles are the most generally distributed
and best known.

302 BIRDS

The great-tailed grackle, as well as the other species,
usually builds rude and bulky nests in trees, sometimes at
quite a height from the ground. It will also nest in shrubs
and it is said that it will occasionally select holes in large
trees. The males are an iridescent black in color, and the
females are brown and much smaller. Both sexes spend
most of their time on the ground. Their feet are strong
and large, and, when upon the ground, they walk or run
and never hop.

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CHAPTER XVI
FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC.

TuE family Fringillade includes sparrows, various finches,
crossbills, dickcissels, ete. This is the largest family of birds
and contains some of our most sociable species. Most birds
of the family feed on the ground. The beak is strong, as
most birds of the family feed on seeds. Some are migra-
tory, while many of them are resident throughout the year.
Many of them are noted songsters. They vary in plumage
from the beautiful cardinal to the dull-colored sparrow; the
bright-colored grosbeaks and finches are usually arboreal.

EVENING GROSBEAK

The Evening Grosbeak is a rather heavy-set bird with
large head and powerful beak. This form occurs from
Maine, New Brunswick, and Labrador west to Manitoba
and Alaska; south in winter to northern United States.
The Western evening grosbeak is a species of lighter col-
oration, and occurs in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra
Nevadas. Grosbeaks winter in Alpine regions bordering
on the plains and in Canada south to northern United
States into New York, Ohio, and Illinois at irregular inter-
vals from October to May.

Evening grosbeaks are very sociable fellows, often asso-
ciating with pine finches, crossbills, and waxwings. ‘They

303

304 BIRDS

thrive on buds and winter berries. During the coldest days
of January these hardy birds may be seen moving in flocks
of from, say, six to sixty, from limb to limb, calling to each
other in their mild, subdued notes, “chee, chee, chee.” By
no means shy birds, they are found in our public parks and
highways, perfectly unconcerned.

I have a nest and three eggs taken June 11, 1909, on
the mountains in Arizona at an altitude of 7,000 feet. The
nest was placed 55 feet up in a pine tree and on a limb 20
feet from the trunk. The nest is made of dead pine twigs,
lined with fine grass and rootlets.

PINE GROSBEAK

The Pine Grosbeak, like the crossbills and evening gros-
beak, is an inhabitant of northerly latitudes, and may be
observed in the northern portions of the United States only
during the late fall and winter months. As its name would
imply, it is a lover of evergreen forests. It inhabits the
northern portions of both the Eastern and Western Hemi-
spheres. Ernest E. Thompson says: “Its form resembles
that of the robin, but the resemblance ceases when we
notice the short, thick beak and forked tail.” Like the
evening grosbeak, it moves leisurely among the trees; the
flight is accompanied by a loud, clear whistle.

These birds become reconciled to cages and make inter-
esting pets. During the mating season their song is
extremely sweet and varied. They breed early, while snow
is still on the ground. They feed largely on wild berries
like those of the juniper, mountain ash, sumac, ete.

11

PINE GROSBEAK,
(Pinicola enucleator.)
3 Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1901, BY A. W. MUMFGRD, CHICAGO

PURPLE FINCH. COPYRIGHT

44 Life size,

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 305

The nests are of twigs, rootlets, and finer materials,
placed at a rather low elevation in some coniferous tree.
The three eggs in my collection were laid by a pair of birds
which Mr. O..W. Knight, a Maine bird student, kept in
captivity. They are deep greenish-blue, sparingly spotted
with dark brown.

PURPLE FINCH

The Purple Finch nests in the mountainous regions of
New York, but the favorite summer home of this little
fellow is through northern Wisconsin, east across the north-
ern tier of States and well up into Canada. The name in
describing the color of this bird is slightly misleading, the
plumage being more red than purple. “Females and
young males bear a decided resemblance to some spar-
rows, but the rounded bill, tufts of feathers over the nos-
trils, and the forked tails are distinguishing characteristics.”

It is a clever little songster. Led by a roving disposi-
tion, during the winter it wanders over temperate North
America, visiting our city parks, orchards, and shade trees,
though its fondness for fruit buds and blossoms makes it
no favorite of the fruit grower.

The nests are usually placed in coniferous trees; some-
times a fruit tree is selected. Grass, roots, and feathers
are used in the outward construction of the nest, lined with
‘long horse hairs.

In appearance, size, and construction it bears a strong
resemblance to the chipping sparrow’s nest. The eggs,
like the nest, are also suggestive of the chipping sparrow,
but are larger.

306 BIRDS

THE HOUSE FINCH *

This active and pretty little bird is an attractive feature
of the landscape of the western United States. It is a com-
mon bird throughout its range, which extends from Oregon
southward into Lower California and western Mexico.
Eastward its range extends to Colorado and the western
part of Texas. It is one of the best known of the birds of
southern California, where it is often called the California
finch or linnet. ‘The brightly colored plumage of its head
has also given it the name Red-headed Linnet. ‘This bird
is better known in many localities by the names Burion and
Crimson-fronted Finch.

The House Finch is not particular in the selection of a
site for its home, and will build “anywhere, from the limb
of any tree to the side of a haystack, or in a tin can on a
porch.” Neither is it particular in the choice of building
materials, using those which are furnished by its environ-
ment. Though the nests are usually constructed with coarse
grasses or weeds and lined with soft fibers, hair or fine
roots, the bird may use straws, strings, small roots, strips
of bark fibers, and hair in the outer wall, and feathers for
the lining. It has been known to preémpt the unoccupied
nests of other birds, such as those of the oriole, the cliff
swallow, and also woodpecker holes.

Its song is lively and varied, and is heard throughout
the year wherever the bird is a constant resident. When
caged, they are called California linnets, and they seem to
thrive in captivity.

5

HOUSE FINCH.
(Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis)
About $ Life-size.

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FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 307

Though the house finch feeds on the seeds of the wild
mustard and of other wild herbaceous plants, as well as on
the seeds of the cottonwood and other trees, it is also very
destructive to the seeds, fruits, and tender young plants of
gardens. As it enjoys the society of man and seeks his
protection, when abundant it is often very destructive in
his cultivated grounds, and gains only his enmity.

CROSSBILL

The American Crossbills, or Red Crossbills, are great
wanderers. Their appearance in any locality is erratic, and,
while we consider them as a winter resident in the United
States, we should not be surprised to encounter them during
any month of the year. Their range seldom extends beyond
the southern boundary of the States bordering the Great
Lakes. The males are considerably brighter in color than
their mates. The feathers are marked with red only on the
tips, and at close range the observer might not feel justified
in calling them red crossbills. Their habits remind one of a
parrot. In moving about the trees they often progress by
means of both feet and bill. It is not an uncommon occur-
rence to see them grasp a twig in their beak and thus pull
themselves along the branch. When cracking seeds or when
eating fruit, the morsel is sometimes held in the claw as
. they eat while perched on one foot.

The formation of the freak beak facilitates the removal
of seeds from the cones of the various coniferous trees. As
many of these trees do not bear cones some years, the cross-
bills are of uncertain occurrence. Their movements are

308 BIRDS

never hurried by frigid weather. A few years ago one of
my correspondents discovered a colony of crossbills com-
prising both varieties, the red and white-winged, nesting in
the virgin forests of Nova Scotia. ‘The birds were sitting
upon their nests in February, when the temperature was
10 to 20 degrees below zero.

I have a nest and four eggs of each species, sent me
from this locality. The nests are of broken twigs, green
moss, and hair, matted together and warmly lined with moss
and fur. The nests in this colony were placed in coniferous
trees at elevations ranging from twenty to sixty feet.

The Western form of the crossbill has been known to
nest in the higher altitudes of Montana. Some years ago,
while spending the early spring and summer in eastern
Michigan, a number of crossbills were wandering about a
large grove of pine and spruce. We hoped for an oppor-
tunity to study the home life of a pair of these birds, which
had begun to nest in a remote corner of the college campus,
but a sudden rise in the temperature caused the crossbills to
make a hasty departure for the North.

I was playing golf one August afternoon, when I
noticed a sparrow-like bird bathing in a pail of water. I
was surprised to discover that the unsuspicious visitor was
a red crossbill. I could not account for his appearance in
Chicago at that time of the year, but the incident is in
keeping with the eccentric nature of the species.

“When feeding they have a short, whistled call-note;
they take wing in a body, and their undulating flight is
accompanied by a sharp clicking or whistled note. Their
song is varied and pleasing but not powerful.”

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. COPYRIGHT 1301, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
277 (Loxia leucoptera.)
About 24 Life-size.

i \

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 309

)

THE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL *

The common name Crossbill, or, as the bird is some-
times called, Crossbeak, describes the peculiar structure of
the bill, which marks them as perhaps the most peculiar of
our song birds. The bill is quite deeply cut at the base and
compressed near the tips of the two parts, which are quite
abruptly bent, one upward and the other downward, so that
the points cross at an angle of about forty-five degrees.
This characteristic gives this bird a parrot-like appearance.

Their peculiar bills are especially fitted for obtaining
their food, which consists to a great extent of the seeds of
cone-bearing trees, such as the pine, the hemlock, and the
spruce.

The two sexes vary in color, the body of the male being
a dull carmine-red, which is brighter on the rump, and that
of the female is brownish, tinged with olive-green and with
brownish-yellow on the rump. The young males are simi-
lar in color to the females, but pass through a changeable
plumage while maturing.

The crossbill usually builds its nest in a cone-bearing
tree and does not always choose the most inconspicuous
locality. The nest is generally constructed of rather coarse
twigs and strips of birch or cedar bark and lichens. This
is lined with hair, the softer fibers of bark, fine rootlets,
‘grass, and feathers. The whole nest is saucer-shaped and
about four inches in diameter, outside measurement, by one
and one-half in depth. Authorities tell us that the eggs are
usually three in number. In color they are a pale blue,

310 BIRDS

3 a
nearly spotless at the smaller end, but at the larger end
marked with irregular streaks or dots of lavender or red-
dish-brown. The eggs are small, about eight-tenths of an
inch long by nearly six-tenths in diameter.

GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH

By a recent comfnittee of the American Ornithologists’
Union this bird was given the name of Gray-crowned Rosy
Finch, instead of gray-crowned leucosticte. In the United
States and Canada we have several varieties of the leu-
costicte, but they are chiefly confined to the western por-
tions of the continent. Members of the Alpine regions,
like the. ouzels and the longspurs, they- are social little
fellows.

Their choice of territory for breeding purposes is in
keeping with those of the evening grosbeak and white-
tailed ptarmigan in nesting in the far North or in the high-
est mountains. The birds spend most of their time upon
the ground, collecting their food of seeds and insects.

Little has been written regarding the rosy finch and its
near allies, chiefly because their summer range takes them
to the more inaccessible mountain regions, where collecting
is difficult, unless a small number of naturalists organize an
expedition for that purpose.

The nest of the leucosticte, constructed almost entirely
of grass, is placed in crevices of the rocks, under boulders,
or on little ridges at altitudes above timber line. Like the
eges of swifts, owls, petrels, and other birds which nest in
dark places or in crevices, they are white, unspotted.

31 GRAY-CROWNED LEUCOSTICTE. COPYRIGHT 1902, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
(Leucosticte tephrocotis.)
Life-size.

1

REDPOLL.
Acanthis linaria).
About Life-size

COPYRIGHT 1803, Oy

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. $11

REDPOLL

The Redpoll might properly be called the American
linnet. In general habits and appearance these birds resem-
ble little sparrows, but they have the distinctive undulating
flight possessed by the goldfinch, and a little call note which
accompanies each downward swoop. Like the Bohemian
waxwings and American crossbill, their summer home is in
the fur countries, but occasionally they have been known to
appear in the northern portions of New England. During
severe winters they may be observed about the Great Lakes
region of Illinois and Indiana, about the same time we look
for the hardy pine grosbeak or jolly snowflake and the
wary raven. Their appearance in the Central States is
unquestionably due to the scarcity of food in more northerly
latitudes. They are familiar birds, and resort to our gar-
dens and orchards to feed on grass and weed seed. Easily
tamed, they make interesting pets.

The eggs of this species found in collections, like those
of the snowflake, usually come from Iceland. I have four
eggs which were taken from a nest of grass and moss, lined
with hair and feathers.

GOLDFINCH

The names Goldfinch and Wild Canary are applied
indiscriminately by the casual observer to a score of differ-
ent birds when some yellow warbler chances in the path of
an inexperienced but enthusiastic bird admirer.

312 BIRDS ;

In the United States, our true goldfinch, or wild canary,
remains with us throughout the year, and is known in vari-
ous phases of plumage according to the season. The flight
and flight note betray these birds after the fall molting,
when they have left off the bright colors.

The charming ways of a devoted pair of these hardy
creatures should render them easy of identification at all
times. Few farm orchards or thistle patches are without
a pair of these little birds. The male, with a voice equal
in tone and quality to his beautiful plumage of black and
yellow, finds a warm place in the heart of the bird-lover,
naturalist, and agriculturist. The mating song is espe-
cially noticeable, coming so late in the year. These are
not the only virtues possessed by the goldfinch, as he is
of great economic value, because of the destruction of seeds
of the thistle, the dandelion, and other noxious plants.

The female is less vivacious than her mate, but she has
that small sweet call note so full of expression. Their
voices have always impressed me as having something
human about them. Goldfinches are fond of each other’s
society, and are usually found in flocks except when nest-
ing. Their flight is conducted in a peculiar undulatory man-
ner, as both sexes dart back and forth above the tree tops
whose dense foliage shelters many a nest of treasures.
Twittering incessantly while on the wing, their life appears
one perpetual round of happiness. Their mating song is
beautiful, and is striking, as it is heard after most other
song birds are silent for the year.

In July or August, when thistle-down is floating in the
air, the female usually selects for a nesting site the crotch of

GOLDFINCH.,
(Spinus tristis),
% Life-size,

COPYRIGH® *900 BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

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93 ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH.
(Spinus psaltria).
Life-size

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 313

a fruit or shade tree, often close to dwellings. Indian
hemp, vegetable-down, and plant fibers are securely woven
and matted together, forming a substantial, broad-brimmed,
deeply hollowed nest, into which a bountiful supply of
thistle-down is placed. 'The nest is usually situated within
twenty feet of the ground. They often nest on the tops of
thistles, from which habit, and because of fondness for
seeds and down, they often take the name thistle bird.
Three to six faint bluish-white eggs are laid. The period
of incubation is two weeks.

The nest of the goldfinch here illustrated was built in
an oak shrub, five feet from the ground, and was taken
September 1, 1901. At this late date, incubation had only
commenced, and, although the timber about the nesting site
swarmed with migrants passing southward, Mother Gold-
finch expressed no anxiety over the late condition of her
household affairs.

THE ARKANSAS GOLDFINCH *

This bright and sprightly bird enlivens the shrubby
ravines and weedy places from Oregon southward through
the United States, and from the Pacific Coast eastward
into Colorado. Throughout its range it is quite common,
and nests on the plains and also in the mountains to a dis-
. tance of nine thousand feet. Abundant in many mountain-
ous regions, it has been given the name Rocky Mountain
Goldfinch, and the olive-green color of the plumage of its
back has given it the very appropriate name Arkansas

Green-backed Goldfinch.

314 BIRDS

Like the common thistle-bird, it has a social disposition,
and feeds with its fellows in flocks of a greater or less
number. Not infrequently several individuals will alight
on the same plant and immediately begin a diligent search
search for their food of seeds. Active and of a seemingly
impatient temperament, it seldom remains long in any one
locality, yet a garden rich in sunflower blossoms or a field
full of blooming thistles furnishes so tempting a larder that
a flock may patiently labor therein for some time, gathering
an abundance of goldfinch dainties.

Its notes are similar to those of the thistle-birds. “The
ordinary note is a plaintive, mellow, whistling call, impos-
sible to describe, and so inflected as to produce a very
mournful effect.” While pursuing its undulating flight, it
utters a sweet song, which is in harmony with the rise and
fall of its onward motion, and is indicative of its sweet dis-
position. Its nest is a dainty structure built of fine bark
and other vegetable fibers, fine grasses, and moss, compactly
bound together and quite thickly lined with plant down.

PINE SISKIN

The Pine Siskin, or Pine Finch, is with us merely as a
winter visitant. It occurs throughout the continent, breed-
ing mostly north of the United States. At first glance this
bird suggests one of the sparrow flock, but the siskins are
less quarrelsome, more dignified, and partial to budding
trees or wheat fields. A captive siskin in the possession of
the writer shows great intelligence, and eats freely from the
hand. His cage contains a large wheel, in which the bird

01

PINE SISKIN.
(Spinus pinus).
Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1903, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

\ ) ait
Sel

BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

COPYRIGHT 1900,

SNOWFLAKE.

(Plectrophenax nivalis.)

98

Life-size.

ft

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 315

revolves with great rapidity, hopping from perch to perch.
He enjoys singing in an undertone, apparently only for the
benefit of himself.

In the wild state siskins show a fondness for coniferous
trees, and often move about in company with the redpolls
and purple finches. It is erratic in its movements, like the
crossbill.

The eggs of the siskin are pale blue, delicately marked
on the larger end with spots of black. These are placed in
a nest of stems, hair, rootlets, and moss, matted together
and placed in the branch of a tree, often at considerable
height from the ground.

SNOWFLAKE

The Snowflake ranges throughout the northern part of
the northern hemisphere, breeding in Arctic regions; south
in winter to Illinois and Pennsylvania.

The snowflake, or snow bunting, is the true snow bird.
It is a sociable creature, visitng the Great Lakes region
during our severe weather, in company with longspurs and
horned larks. Like the snowy owl, the range extends to
the far North. The food consists principally of weed seeds,
which they gather about meadows, pastures, and stubble
land. Particularly fond of the black bind weed and foxtail
grass, they are a most useful bird. In their evolutions they
present a pretty sight, and have a pleasant, mellow chirp
which is quite impressive when uttered simultaneously by
several score of throats.

The little fellow should be readily distinguished from

316 BIRDS

all other finches, as it is the only white form. It is strictly
terrestrial, never alighting in trees, but is sometimes seen on
rail fences or on the roofs of outbuildings. Like the horned
lark, it walks and does not hop. Snowflakes are of an opti-
mistic disposition, considering the scarcity of suitable food
during our severe weather, which scarcity often forces them
to visit our homes and barnyards. Nevertheless, during
zero weather they may be seen playfully chasing each other
over the snowdrifts, as do the bobolink during the balmy
days of June. But few American collectors have ventured
to the far North, where this little bird breeds. Oologists
usually obtain the eggs from Iceland. The eggs, number-
ing four to seven, are pale greenish-white, lightly blotched
with pale brown.

THE LAPLAND LONGSPUR *

The Lapland Longspur is a bird that delights in the
fresh and bracing air of the Arctic regions of both conti-
nents. ‘There it builds its nest, rears its young, and voices
its happiness in song. Loving the cool atmosphere of the
North, it migrates southward only when its food supply of
grain and other seeds is exhausted or becomes covered with
snow. During the winter months they are abundant in the
interior of the United States as far south as Kansas, and
are not uncommon in Texas.

The Lapland longspurs are highly gregarious. They
associate with the horned larks and the snowflakes, though
they range somewhat farther south in winter than the latter
birds. Not infrequently, when a flock of horned larks is

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FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 317

passing overhead, the presence of the longspurs is revealed
by their quiet but characteristic twitter. Like the snow-
flake, the hind claw is greatly developed, and it is this char-
acteristic that has given the bird of our illustration its com-
mon name.

Mr. Montague Chamberlain, writing of the longspurs
in Greenland, speaks of their song, which he describes as
“not very long, but has a fine flute-like tone, and though
agreeable to the ear, is rather melancholy, as all the notes
of this bird are.” Continuing, he says: “There is no varia-
tion in the song, nor is it repeated with great frequency.
It is, however, the finest heard in these wilds.”

The nest of this attractive bird is placed on the ground,
under tufts of grass or bunches of small willows. It is con-
structed with moss and fine grasses and lined with grasses,
and frequently, also, with feathers. The female is a close
sitter and relies on the color of her plumage and the position
of her nest for protection. She will sometimes remain on
her nest until nearly trodden on.

SMITH’S LONGSPUR

Longspurs have the nail on the hind toe remarkably
developed, enabling the birds to scratch in weedy sections
for various seeds and insects. Longspurs are found in
flocks, except when nesting. They visit the central portions
of the United States, often in company with horned larks
and snowflakes. They are sociable little fellows, often
calling to each other as they move over the snow-covered
prairies in immense flocks.

i
318 BIRDS

*

Smith’s longspur, or the painted longspur, as it is fre-
quently called, may be found about the southern part of the
Great Lakes region from November until April. It is a
handsome bird with a black and white head; the rest of the
plumage is a rich coppery brown. The female is decidedly
paler and inconspicuous. The territory through the Sas-
katchewan and Mackenzie River regions is the breeding-
grounds of the painted longspur. Longspurs have been
met with in summer as far north as the Arctic Coast and
upper Yukon Valley; in winter they reach as far south as
Tennessee and northern Texas.

I have four eggs taken by a missionary in the Macken-
zie River region. ‘They are clay colored and clouded with
obscure blotches of dark purplish-brown. The nest was in
a tussock of grass and composed of moss and fine stems.
The nests are sometimes lined with a few large feathers
from the wild fowl that breed in the same territory.

THE ENGLISH SPARROW *

The English Sparrow was first introduced into the
United States at Brooklyn, New York, in the years 1851
and °52. The trees in our parks were at that time infested
with a canker-worm, which wrought them great injury, and
to rid the trees of these worms was the mission of the
English sparrow.

In his native country this bird, though of a seed-eating
family (Finch), was a great insect eater. The few which
were brought over performed, at first, the duty required of
them; they devoured the worm and stayed near the cities.

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FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 319

With the change of climate, however, came a change in
their taste for insects. They made their home in the coun-
try, as well as in the cities, and became seed and vegetable
eaters, devouring the young buds on vines and trees, grass-
seed, oats, rye, and other grains.

Their services in insect-killing are still not to be
despised. A single pair of these sparrows, under observa-
tion an entire day, were seen to convey to their young no
less than forty grubs an hour, an average exceeding three
thousand in the course of a week. Moreover, even in the
autumn he does not confine himself to grain, but feeds on
various seeds, such as the dandelion, the sow-thistle, and
the groundsel, all of which plants are classed as weeds. It
has been known, also, to chase and devour the common
white butterfly, whose caterpillars make havoc among the
garden plants.

The good he may accomplish in this direction, however,
is nullified to the lovers of the beautiful by the war he con-
stantly wages upon our song birds, destroying their young
and substituting his unattractive looks and inharmonious
chirps for their beautiful plumage and soul-inspiring songs.

VESPER SPARROW

The true form of the Vesper Sparrow, Bay-winged
Bunting, or Grass Finch ranges from the plains eastward
across the United States to southern Canada. The terri-
tory known as the Great Plas northward into Canada is
inhabited by a sub-species known as the western vesper
sparrow. In the Northwest, through Oregon, Washington,

320 BIRDS

and portions of the Canadian provinces, another species
called the Oregon vesper sparrow occurs.

Like the junco, the vesper sparrow may be recognized
by the white outer tail feathers. It spends most of the time
on the ground, rising to fence posts and low trees to sing
the evening carol. I have often thought that the song of
the vesper sparrow is sweeter than that of any other spar-
row. It may be heard, long after sunset, coming across
the fields when the little screech owl and the whip-poor-will
are calling. Pastures, orchards, grain fields, and the right-
of-way along railroads are frequented by the grass finch.
It feeds almost exclusively on weed seeds, and is, conse-
quently, beneficial to agriculture.

The nest of grass, stems, and reotlets, lined with grass
and hair, is placed on the ground. A little hollow is scraped
at the base of a thistle, mullein, other weed stalk, or hill of
corn. The female sits close and offers little protest when
disturbed. The four bluish-white eggs are blotched and
spotted with reddish-brown. 'Two broods are reared in a
season.

THE SAVANNA SPARROW *

“The Savanna Sparrow is one of those inconspicuous
little birds which hide in the grass or run stealthily along
the fences or furrows, having nothing special in their
appearance or habits to attract particular attention.” These
are the words of Dr. Robert Ridgway regarding this retir-
ing but useful little bird. In its habits it very closely
resembles its relative, the vesper sparrow. Both frequent
meadows and nest on the ground. Not infrequently, when

SAVANNA SPARROW. COPYRIGHT 1903, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
(Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna).
Life-size.

yo i
‘ ~

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.
z r asseri

Life-size.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 321

walking through a meadow, one will be startled by the
sudden whirr of wings as one of these sparrows flies away
from a spot almost beneath his feet. Its habits are decid-
edly terrestrial, and it is not infrequently called the ground
sparrow.

The Savanna sparrow is an abundant species through-
out the eastern portion of North America, breeding in the
northern United States and Canada and wintering in the
Southern States, Mexico, and the adjacent islands. Near
the Atlantic Coast, where it is a common resident, its
favorite feeding-grounds are the salt marshes. Here its
food consists of small mollusks, as well as of insects and
grass seeds.

The nest of the Savanna sparrow is constructed on the
ground, in hollows under the protecting shade of a tussock
of grass or a clump of weeds. The materials used in
building this simple home are usually grasses and fine roots
or moss neatly twined together and lined with very fine
grass and hair. Not infrequently two broods are raised in
a season.

Mr. J. Dwight says: “The song is insignificant — a
weak, musical little trill followig a grasshopper-like intro-
duction, is of such small volume that it can be heard but a
few rods. It usually resembles tsip-tsip-tsip-se-e-e-s’r-r-r.”

THE GRASSHOPPER SPARROW *

This little bird of the meadow and hayfield is quite
easily identified by the marked yellow color at the shoulders
of the wings, the yellowish color of the lesser wing coverts,

322 BIRDS

the buff-colored breast, and the orange-colored line before
the eyes. Its home is on the ground, where its retiring
habits lead it to seek the protecting cover of tall grass and
other herbage. As it is not often seen except when flushed,
or when it rises to the rail of a fence or to the top of a
tall spear of grass to utter its peculiar song, it is often
considered rare. It is, however, a common bird in many
localities of its range, which covers the whole of eastern
North America, where it builds, upon the ground, its nest
of grass lined with hair and a few feathers. It nests as far
north as Massachusetts and Minnesota and winters in the
Southern States and the adjacent islands.

This bird was given the name Grasshopper Sparrow
from the fancied resemblance of its weak cherup— “a
peculiar monotonous song” —to the shrilling produced by
the long-horned grasshopper. However, the song often
begins and ends with a faint warble. Mr. Chapman says
that these notes “may be written pit tuck zee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e.”

The name of this little bird is not only appropriate
because of its song, but also on account of its food. A
very large percentage of its food consists of grasshoppers.

In rural districts it is seldom called a sparrow, and is
more commonly called grass-bird, ground-bird, or grass-
hopper-bird. Another appropriate name is yellow-winged
sparrow. All these names well portray its habits and char-
acteristics. Its flights are short and rapid, but “on the
ground or in the grass it runs like meadow mice to elude
the presence and notice of intruders.”

Both sexes bear the responsibilities of brooding and
their home life seems to be one round of contentment.

LECONTE’S SPARROW. COPYRIGHT 1802, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO.
474 (Ammodramus leconteii.)
About Life-size.

«

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 323

“Although the male seeks to win the affections of his lady
love by persistently shrilling near her the story of his pas-
sion, he generally represses his love trills near the home
which his mistress has established.”

THE LECONTE’S SPARROW *

The Leconte’s Sparrow has an interesting history. It
was first discovered and named by Audubon in 1843.
Later his account seemed almost a myth, for no more indi-
viduals were taken, and even the specimen on which he
based his published report of the new species was lost. It
was not seen again until Dr. Coues rediscovered it in 1873,
obtaining his specimens on the Turtle Mountain, near the
border of Dakota.

Of their habits: Dr. Coues says: “In their mode of
flight the birds resemble wrens; a simile which suggested
itself to me at the time was that of a bee returning home
laden with pollen; they flew straight and steady enough,
but rather feebly, as if heavily freighted for their very
short wings.”

Its range is quite extensive, for it is found from the
great plains eastward through Illinois and Indiana and
from Manitoba southward. During the winter months it
frequents the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. This
sparrow is often seen in the stubble of grain fields which
have become covered with grass and low weeds, to the cover
of which it will retreat when frightened. In this respect
it resembles the grasshopper sparrow, and, like it, is easily
overlooked. Mr. Nelson found it on moist prairies that

324 BIRDS

were covered with a growth of coarse grass.” It is also fre-
quently seen in the swampy prairies of the Mississippi
bottom lands.

Mr. Oliver Davie quotes the following description of the
bird’s habits from an observer who studied their habits in
Manitoba, where they nest extensively: “Leconte’s spar-
rows are fairly numerous in Manitoba. Their peculiar note
can be heard both day and night in fine weather; the only
sound I can compare it to is the note of the grasshopper.”

The nests are described as concealed in a thick tuft of
grass and are rather deep and cup-shaped. They are con-
structed of fine grass and fibers.

Though this elegant little sparrow baffled bird-lovers for
so many years, it is now known to be abundant in many
localities, and it is only because of its peculiar and retiring
habits, living, as it does, in grassy places not easily accessi-
ble, that it is not more often observed.

LARK SPARROW

The Lark Sparrows are found in the central portions
of the United States from Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas
eastward to Michigan and Illinois. They breed from Texas
northward into Wisconsin, North Dakota, and casually east
to New York and New England. They migrate south in
winter to Florida and the Gulf States.

The lark bunting is one of the finest songsters among
our native sparrows. ‘Twenty years ago they were a com-
mon summer resident about northern Illinois, but of late
years they have become rare. The sub-species described as

585 LARK SPARROW. OPYRIGHT 1903, BY A. W- MUMFORD, CHICAGO
About Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1803, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CFKICACO

HARRIS’S SPARROW.
(Zonotrichia querula).
Life-size.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 325

the western lark sparrow, occurring west of the Mississippi,
appears to be more abundant than the eastern form.

Mr. Ridgway describes the song as being composed of
a series of chants, each syllable rich, loud, and clear, inter-
spersed with emotional trills.

These birds nest in May and June. The nests are built
on the ground, in weedy fields or neglected pastures. One
of their favorite nesting spots when the birds were common
about Chicago, was the right-of-way between the railroad
bed and the fence enclosing the tracks.

Mr. E. R. Ford, one of Chicago’s advanced bird stu-
dents, presented me with a nest of four eggs taken May 31,
1891, along the railroad track in what is now the subdivi-
sion of Argyle Park, Chicago. The nest was composed of
wood fiber, rootlets, and grass, lined with horse hair. ‘The
four eggs have a white background and are beautifully
marked with black scrawls and lines, suggestive of the
Baltimore oriole or red-winged blackbird.

THE HARRIS’S SPARROW *

Dr. Coues has said of the Harris’s Sparrow that it may
be regarded as the most characteristic bird of the Missouri
region. Its range is mainly confined to the central United
States, reaching from Illinois on the east to middle Kansas
and the Dakotas on the west. North and south its range
extends from the interior of British America to Texas.
During its migrations it travels in small flocks, which sud-
denly appear in patches of shrubbery, where it feeds for a
time and soon disappears as quietly and suddenly as it

326 BIRDS

came. It enjoys the undergrowth and Peet that are
found in ravines and along the banks of streams. An
interesting habit, that does not fail to make Harris’s spar-
row a conspicuous object, is that of perching, when dis-
turbed, on some high branch of a shrub, in order that it
may obtain an uninterrupted view of its surroundings and
of the intruder. |

An observer who has studied the habits of the species
as it passes through the state of Iowa during its migrations
says: “This beautiful sparrow is one of the commonest
of the Fringillide that pass through the state in spring and
fall, associating at such times with the other sparrows and
finches and frequenting similar haunts. Its notes in the fall
are a simple loud chirp, not distinguishable from that of
the white-throated sparrow, and occasionally a low sweet
warble,” its music being chuckling and contented. Goss
describes its song as composed of “pleasing, plaintive,
whistling notes in musical tone like the white-throat, but
delivered in a widely different song.”

This sparrow is of large size and when dressed in its
summer plumage it is a strikingly beautiful bird. The
glossy black of its crown and throat are made prominent
by the “bright coat of the usual sparrow mixture of colors”
that covers the remainder of the body.

But little is known of the breeding habits of this spar-
row. Its nests are built in the northern part of its range,
probably only in the interior of British America. Its nest
is made of bark and grass and located in small shrubs or
weed stalks. 'The eggs, which are of a whitish color, are
thickly spotted with brown.

COPYRIGHT 1902, EY A, W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

-CROWNED SPARROW.

(Zonotrichia leucophrys).

WHITE

Life-size.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 327

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW

Probably the handsomest of our American sparrows,
they range from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains,
spending the winter many miles south of their breeding-
grounds. The birds rarely nest in the United States, except
in Alpine regions of the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky
Mountains. They generally resort to the moist sections of
Labrador, Newfoundland, and west across the northern
portions of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Their nests
are of grasses, on the ground or in bushes. Four or five
pale greenish-blue eggs are laid. They winter through-
out the United States and south into Mexico. The bird
reminds one of the white-throated sparrow, or peabody
bird, but the White-crowned Sparrow has no white on the
under parts. It is less common than the white-throated
sparrow and moves northward usually in May, sometimes
lingering in the Great Lakes region until June Ist.

Ernest E. Thompson describes the song as resembling
that of the white-throated, with a peculiarly sad cadence
and in a clear, soft whistle that is characteristic of the
group. Another peculiarity of this species is its habit of
singing some of its sweetest refrains during the darkest
hours of night.

The bird is of great economical value, subsisting during
its migrations almost exclusively on the seeds of various
weeds obtained in the fence corners, along hedges, and
about gardens. The young when first hatched are fed upon
insects.

328 BIRDS

THE GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW *

It is very disappointing to the lover of the beautiful in
nature that the exquisite Golden-crowned Sparrow is con-
tent to remain in so small an area as its range covers. One
need hardly wonder, however, that it is attracted to that
narrow strip of country lying along the Pacific Coast from
Alaska to southern California. There this sparrow finds
on the foothills and on the sides of the ravines and canyons
a luxurious growth of shrubbery unmarred by the hand of
man. ‘There, also, unmolested in the quiet solitude of
nature, it finds an abundant supply of food.

It is a shy bird during the breeding season, but later on,
when with its young and its only care is that of obtaining
food, it becomes more fearless and will often visit the vicin-
ity of dwellings. It resembles the white-crowned sparrow
of eastern North America, but may be easily distinguished
from that bird by its golden crown. During the cooler
months it associates with the white-crowned sparrow, though
it is much less familiar and not as inclined to visit inhabited
localities.

Observers describe the nest of the golden-crowned spar-
row as being composed of the “coarse stalks of weeds and
lined internally with fine roots.” Mr. E. W. Nelson says
that “Its breeding-ground in Alaska is in the alder patches
along the hillsides, where the various bush-loving species
make their homes in the matted thickets, well protected
from birds of prey and most other foes by an almost
impenetrable wall of gnarled and twisted branches.”

641

GOLDEN -CROWNED SPARROW.
(Zonotrichia coronata).
# Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1904, BY A. W- MUMFORD, CHICAGO

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WHITE - THROATED SPARROW, COPYRIGHT 1901, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
427 (Zonotrichia albicollis).
About Life-size.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 329

Many observers speak of its song as only an occasional
“chirp.” During the spring and autumn migrations ‘the
golden-crowned warbler passes through the states of Ore-
gon and Washington. Writing of its appearance in those
states, Mr. William Rogers Lord says: “Many persons
will observe a sparrow, beautiful to the eye and, should the
occasional song be heard, charming to the ear.”

THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW *

The White-throated Sparrow is one of the handsomest
of the sparrows. It is one of the exquisite parts of nature.
Migratory in habits, its range covers all of eastern North
America, nesting from Michigan and Massachusetts north-
ward and wintering from the latter state southward to
Florida.

Its scientific name is descriptive of the marked color
characteristic of its crown and throat. Zonotrichia means
hair or crown bands, and albicollis is from the Latin, mean-
ing white-throated. It is sometimes called Peabody bird,
especially by the New Englanders, with whom Peabody is
an important traditional name, and they hear the birds say
in its song, “I-I Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea-body.” This
rendering of its plaintive song is a caricature, yet the name
clings to the bird even in other parts of the country. The
reserved manner of its movements would hardly lead one to
expect that a beautiful song could flow from its white
throat.

The nest, too, is a neat creation of small roots, coarse
grass, bark, and moss and lined with a bedding of fine

330 BIRDS

grass and moss. It is usually placed on the ground in fields

or open woods, where it is protected by the taller grasses.
Sometimes, however, low bushes or the lower branches of
trees are selected. So careful is the white-throat in the
constructing of its nest not to disturb the surrounding
vegetation, and so neutral is the color of the material used,
that one may hunt for a long time without finding it unless
he luckily stumbles upon it.

TREE SPARROW

Many cold winter days when the snow lies in drifts
along the hedges have I found the little tree sparrow the
only evidence of bird life. Of the size of our common
chipping sparrow, it is readily distinguishable by a small
black spot in the center of the breast.

Tree sparrows breed in the far north, along the ice-
bound coast of Labrador and beyond. They are with us in
the Great Lakes region from November until late March, a
sociable little fellow usually traveling in flocks. They have
a faint call note, a mere chirp; but their song, which is often
poured forth while the days are short and cold, is a very
pleasing little ditty.

Probably no other sparrow is more beneficial. In every
waste spot where the sod has been disturbed, unless kept
down, rank weeds spring up and often form dense thickets.
These fields afford food and shelter for many winter birds,
enabling them to withstand the cold and the snow. Visiting
one of these growths on a cold January morning, one is
surprised at the animation of the busy little tree sparrows

oo

TREE SPARROW.
(Spizella monticola).
About Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1901, BY A #. MUMFORD, CHICAGC

45¥ CHIPPING SPARROW, COPYRIGHT 1901, BY A. W- MUM=ORD, CHICAGO
About Life-size.

-

=)

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 331

as they move rapidly about devouring on an average each
one-quarter ounce of noxious seeds per day.

The eggs of the tree sparrow are pea-green, spotted and
speckled with reddish-brown. Three to five eggs are laid in
the warm little nest constructed of grass, rootlets, and hair.
The nests are placed in mossy situations on the ground or in
a little shrub at a low elevation.

The western tree sparrow, very similar in plumage and
habits, is the form occurring from the great plains north-
ward to Great Slave Lake, and even to Alaska.

CHIPPING SPARROW

The Chipping Sparrow ranges throughout eastern North
America, breeding from the Gulf to Newfoundland and
Great Slave Lake, wintering in the Gulf States and Mex-
ico.

The “chippy” is the dooryard sparrow, or was until the
unwelcome English sparrow put in an appearance. The
monotonous little trill may be heard about our porches, in
the vines, lilac bushes, and hedges. Fond of little conifer-
ous trees, three or four pair often spend the summer about a
single farmhouse.

The nests are composed almost entirely of horse hair,
with outer covering of rootlets. By some the little fellow
is known as the hair bird. These nests are usually placed in
a little cluster of branches not to exceed twenty feet above
the ground, often as low as four feet. Orchard trees are
favorite nesting sites, and the birds also are to be found in
the berry patches occupied by the indigo bunting and field

332 BIRDS .
sparrow. Some years ago I had the unusual experience of
finding four nests of the chipping sparrow within a radius
of 150 yards, all of which were placed on the ground, an
unusual occurrence, especially as three of the nests were
practically in the shade of orchard trees.

Four blue eggs, dotted at the larger end with black, are
laid in May. A second brood is often reared in July.

FIELD SPARROW

The range of the Field Sparrow is eastern North Amer-
ica, breeding from North Carolina to Quebec and Manitoba
and wintering from southern Illinois and Virginia south-
ward.

In appearance this bird reminds us of the chipping spar-
row, but is slightly smaller. Gardens, brushy pastures, and
second-growth timber are favorite resorts of this bird, which
is very common east of the plains in temperate North Amer-
ica. Their song, like that of the indigo bunting and dick-
cissel, is not uttered at any particular time of day, but we
are apt to hear the little fellow singing when the sun is
shining the hottest. The rather wierd notes are in the form
of a prolonged musical trill, though subject to great indi-
vidual variation.

Though comparatively unsuspicious, the field sparrow is
not so familiar about the haunts of man as some other vari-
eties. It prefers a little patch of berry bushes or growth of
haw where the grass and weeds are long and thick.

The nests are often placed in tussocks of grass at the
base of a bush or among the twigs of a shrub at low eleva-

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20M COL. F. M. WOODRUFF SLATE-COLORED JUNCO, COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD CHICAGO
9 (Junco hyemalis),
Life-size,

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 333

tions. Long fine grass is used in constructing the nest.
The lining may consist largely of horse hair. The back-
ground of the three or four eggs is pale bluish-green and
the markings are in the form of reddish spots, chiefly at the
larger end. ‘Two broods are often reared in a season. In
the Great Lakes region these birds arrive from the south
about the middle of April and depart in October, though,
their song is not often heard after the middle of July.

SLATE-COLORED JUNCO

The Junco ranges throughout North America, breeding
from northern Minnesota and New York northward and
along the Alleghany Mountains to Virginia, wintering
southward to the Gulf.

This bird is commonly known as junco, or black snow-
bird. This is the only representative of the large junco
family east of the Rocky Mountains. Like the vesper spar-
row, the outer tail feathers are white, serving as a con-
venient field mark. The upper breast is a dark mouse color
and the upper parts in the male are slaty gray, usually
slightly lighter than the coloring on the breast. The plu-
mage of the female is considerably lighter. The bill and
legs are pinkish or flesh color.

Occasionally these sociable little fellows spend the winter
in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and Indiana.
Were it not for our snowfalls, we would undoubtedly have
them with us as a winter resident. ‘They feed upon the
ground, faintly calling to each other in a low little chirp,
occasionally bursting into a sweet song which is a favorite

334 BIRDS

melody during March and April, when the birds are moving
toward their summer quarters.

They nest commonly in northern Michigan, Wisconsin,
and Minnesota. In their summer haunts the junco retires
to dense forests, building a nest in crevices along little
ravines, under the roots of upturned trees, or among
fallen logs where the country is almost inaccessible. Their
demeanor is quite different from that of the migrating
junco which visits our dooryards picking up the bread
crumbs or feed about the barnyards.

The nest is composed of hair, rootlets, and stems. Three
or four eggs are laid. The background is greenish-blue and
the larger half of the egg is marked with red dots, often
forming a wreath about the larger half of the shell.

These birds breed abundantly through Vermont, New
Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

THE PINK-SIDED JUNCO*

Their sweet disposition and cheerful actions, rather than
their song and brilliant colors, make the juncos attractive.

The juncos are birds of the mountain forests and are
driven to the lower altitudes and warmer climates by the
severe snows of the mountain regions. Except during the
nesting season, they are decidedly gregarious birds, and will
be seen in tlocks varying from a dozen or more to several
hundred individuals. Always active, they seem to be con-
stantly moving, either in search of food or in happy play.
They chase each other on the ground or in flight, uttering a
short note at frequent intervals. “In their homes you find

COPYRIGHT 1903, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CH.CAGO.

PINK-SIDED JUNCO.
(Junco annectens).
Life-size

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them more interesting than when in flocks, because they
are now leading individual lives; but they are still the same
trustful, gentle birds, ready to come into camp or to let
you examine their nests.” During the cooler seasons their
food consists of seeds of weeds and grasses and the crumbs
found in the dooryards. In the summer time, however,
they destroy a large number of adult insects and their
larve and eggs.

The Pink-sided Junco passes the summer season in the
Rocky Mountain region of Idaho and Montana, where it
makes a home among the pines. It has been found at an
elevation of nearly ten thousand feet. Mr. Davie describes
a nest that was found at an elevation of eight thousand feet.
He says this “nest was under a shelving stone, in a little
hollow dug out by the parents. It was rather large and
compactly built, composed of coarse, dry grasses and with
an inner lining of fine yellow straw and hair of the moun-
tain sheep.”

Ai the approach of winter these birds retreat before the
icy storms of the mountains and the snows that cover the
source of their food to the milder climate of Arizona, New
Mexico, and northern Mexico.

SONG SPARROW

The range of the Song Sparrow is eastern North Amer-
ica, breeding from northern Illinois north to Hudson Bay,
wintering from Illinois and New York to the Gulf.

Ernest E. Thompson says: “The song sparrow’s vast
range in a dozen varying climates, its readiness to adapt

336 BIRDS

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 perennial good spirits, evidenced by its
never-failing music—all proclaim that it is indeed one of
nature’s successes.

“Its irrepressible vivacity and good spirits in spite of
all circumstances are aptly illustrated by the fact that its
song may be heard every month of the year and in all
weathers; also by night as well as by day —for nothing is
more common in the darkest nights than to hear its sweet
chant in self-conscious answer to the hooting of the owl or
even the report of a gun.

“It is never seen far from the water. Its alarm note is
a simple metallic ‘chip’ which is very distinctive. But its
merry chant — which has won for it the name of ‘song spar-
row ’—is its best-known note. It is a voluble and uninter-
rupted but short refrain, and is perhaps the sweetest of the
familiar voices of the meadow-lands. The song that it occa-
sionally utters while on the wing is of quite a different char-
acter, being more prolonged and varied. Though so abun-
dant, it cannot be called a sociable species. Even during
the migrations it is never seen in compact flocks.”

We should not infer from this bird’s name that he is any
more of a musician than the other varieties; in fact, he by
no means ranks first as a songster in his class.

Probably no other bird has been dissected as much as
this species. At last accounts the ornithologists, in compil-
ing their check list of North American birds, decided that
this little fellow varied sufficiently in minute feather mark-

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 337

ings to justify dividing him into about a dozen and a half
different forms. We have, as a result, the song sparrow
proper, inhabiting the region east of the Mississippi River
to the states bordering the Atlantic; other forms are called
the Dakota song sparrow, Samuel’s song sparrow, moun-
tain, San Diego, Alameda, rusty, sooty, desert, etc., etc.
The difference, however, is not perceptible except when the
exact locality is taken into consideration, and it requires a
microscopic examination to separate them at last.

There is one species, however, which resembles this form
but is entitled to be classed separately. That is the Aleu-
tian song sparrow, a larger and darker-plumaged bird
found only on the Aleutian Islands, off the Alaskan coast.
Owing to the influence of the Japan current the climate on
the islands is comparatively mild and the bird is a resident
there the year round. Our song sparrows in the Great
Lakes region would probably never migrate were it not for
the scarcity of food during the winter months, when the
ground is apt to be covered with snow and ice.

The song sparrow is partial to willow growths, and, no
matter how early the willow stems brighten and the catkins
fill, this species is hopping among their branches just before
the sap of the hardy shrub is flowing upward.

Perhaps he is called song sparrow because he sings from
more conspicuous places than many of our other sparrows.
Perched on a naked twig or on a fence post, often within a
stone’s throw of our dwelling, he pours forth a short song
which is a liquid chirp and trill.

The nests are often placed on the ground along little
streams or in damp places. I have also found many nests

338 BIRDS

in hedges, and one or two among the crevices of decayed
wood in an old stump. ‘They seldom nest in trees unless
they contain a cluster of low branches enabling the bird to
construct her nest within four or five feet of the ground.
Grass stems, hay, and horse hair are the principal materials
used. The nests are bulky, but well cupped. Both birds
assist in nest building. They utter a saucy little chirp when
disturbed. The four or five eggs vary greatly in markings.
The background may be white, bluish-white, or light green;
the spots are red, dark brown, or lilac, often clustered and
sometimes wreathed about the larger end.

Three broods are often raised in a season. The first
nests are ready for occupancy by the last week in April,
another set of eggs are laid about June Ist, and again in
August we may expect to find the mother incubating.

This bird may be distinguished from many of our other
resident sparrows by the heavily spotted breast and the dark
brown feathers above.

THE SWAMP SPARROW *

Though the range of the Swamp Sparrow covers the
whole of the northern portion of North America, it nests
only in the northern United States and British America.
There this timid sparrow seeks a site for his home in the
“deep recesses of marshy thickets, environed with a canopy
of tangled foliage, whose treacherous quagmire abounds in
a luxurious growth of wild grasses.” The nest is placed on
the ground, and usually in low places, where it is sheltered
by a tussock of grass. In its construction grasses, weed

SWAMP SPARROW.
(Melospiza georgiana).

Life-size,

COPYRIGHT 1903,

bY A. Ww

MUMFORD, CHICAGO

FOX SPARROW,
(Passerella iliaca Merr.)
$ Life-size.

COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W, MUMFORD, CHICAGO

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FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 339

stems, leaves, and frequently bark fibers are woven together,
and it is lined with finer materials of the same kind, often
with the addition of some animal hair or vegetable down.

Here it raises its young, finds its food, and sings its
simple, sweet song, every note of which indicates a happy
disposition. Singing is a part of its nature, and even “a
suggestion of the bird’s watery home shows itself in the
liquid quality of its simple, sweet note, stronger and sweeter
than the chippy’s, and repeated many times almost like a
trill that seems to trickle from the marsh in a little rivulet
of song.”

The swamp sparrow is the handsomest of the smaller
sparrows and its habits are quite like those of the better-
known song sparrow —that delightful bird of the parks and
dooryards. From the song sparrow the bird of our illustra-
tion may be easily distinguished by the even color of the
plumage of the breast and the under side of the body, which
is entirely free from dark-colored streaks and a dark-brown
spot in the middle of the breast.

As the swamp sparrow seldom leaves its home in the
marsh to seek food on cultivated grounds, it is, perhaps, of
less economic value than many other sparrows. About half
of its food consists of insects and the remainder is chiefly
seeds.

FOX SPARROW

The Fox Sparrow, the largest of our true sparrows,
breeds in Canada and winters from Virginia southward. It
is found in the Great Lakes region during March and
April, and we have it again in October, but it is less con-

340 BIRDS

spicuous in the fall. The birds are in full song during their
spring migration and their joyous notes are very sweet and
liquid. While a few of them stop in Newfoundland, most
of them summer in Labrador and beyond to Hudson Bay.
In spring the fox sparrow is found around thickets and
woodsides, often with juncos; in fall it is usually seen along
hedges and in weedy grain fields near shrubbery, scratching
like a hen. Brush piles and thickets around swampy places
are other favorite haunts while passing through the United
States. They are very sociable birds and we regret their
preference for the more northerly latitudes, where little
opportunity has been afforded the bird-lover to effect a per-
sonal acquaintance during the mating and nesting season.

The nests are placed on the ground, securely imbedded
in the moss found under the drooping branches of conifer-
ous trees.

TOWHEE

The Towhee, Chewink, or Ground Robin is one of our
common birds in the eastern United States, but many casual
observers are not acquainted with it. It breeds from the
Gulf into southern Canada, and winters from Virginia and
Kentucky southward.

The head, throat, and upper parts, as well as spots on
wing and tail, of the males are jet black. White patches
occur also in the wing and tail feathers. On the sides of the
breast, and almost concealed when the wings are folded, is
a rich brown patch on either side. The females have the
black replaced with dull brown. The male is a handsome
bird with dark red eyes.

983 TOWHEE, COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A» W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

1% Life-size,

it

‘@ZIS-9jl'T
(1ueT[e snuyeyyydoryyAre op1dtq) rete
‘ATHMOL CHAD-ALIHM za

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 341

How many times have I been passing through the tim-
ber when a low rustle of the leaves gave promise of a grouse
or pheasant. I pause, again and again, only to be deceived
each time by some industrious towhee. 'Towhees often jump
backward, throwing the leaves in all directions, thus expos-
ing the bare earth, where these useful birds pick up choice
morsels in the form of insects, worms, and seeds.

“Chewing” is the call or alarm note and the song 1s
suggestive of “'Tow-he-eeeee,” being uttered when the male
mounts a low limb.

Brush piles, fallen logs, or neglected fence corners are
favorite nesting covers for the chewinks. They often arrive
from the south late in March, before the snow disappears,
and nest building commences late in April. The nests are
usually placed on the ground, flush with the surface, well
concealed by a fallen branch, fern, or shrub. Sometimes a
brush pile or low shrub appeals to them and they place their
nests of stems and dry grass in these low elevations. From
three to five eggs are laid. The background is pale bluish-
white and the marks are in the form of minute specks and
dots of reddish-brown. The cow-bird often deposits her
eggs in the nest of this bird.

THE WHITE-EYED TOWHEE*

The White-eyed Towhee is a geographical variety of the
northern towhee, or chewink. Its range is very limited and
includes only the southeastern United States, where it is the
most common in Florida. In Georgia and South Carolina
it grades into the common towhee, which it closely resem-

342 BIRDS

>
bles, though it is somewhat smaller, has less white on the
plumage of the wings and tail, and the iris is brownish-
yellow or yellowish-white instead of red.

The Florida towhee, as the white-eye is frequently
called, spends much of its time on the ground, under the
shade of the dwarf palm, where it scratches among the
leaves. In general it is a shy and retiring bird and is sel-
dom seen far from its wooded retreats. It is so frequently
seen among the saw-palmettos that it is often called the
palmetto chewink, or towhee. “This southern towhee
does not associate with the northern towhee, which winters
in the south. The latter selects haunts of much the same
nature as those in which it passes the summer, the former
in heavy growths of scrub palmetto.”

The call note of the white-eyed towhee sounds much like
the syllables jo-ree, with the accentuation on the last sylla-
ble. Regarding its song, Mr. J. C. Maynrad says that it
does not sing in winter, “but by the first of March the males
may be seen on the highest boughs of the small live oaks,
pouring forth their song, which is lower and sweeter than
that of the red-eye. 'This outburst of song is the prelude to
the breeding season, and soon the birds are busily engaged
in constructing their nests.”

Mr. Oliver Davie says that the white-eyed towhee has
been found breeding as far north as South Carolina. Its
nest consists of coarse weeds, pine needles, and grass, and is
lined with finer grasses. It seems to nest both in pine trees,
at heights from three to fifteen feet above the ground, and
in the dense clumps of saw-palmettos. It has also been
#tated that the nest is sometimes built on the ground.

or

ARCTIC TOWHEE.
(Pipilo maculatus arcticus).
45 Life-size

COPYRIGHT 1805, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC 343

THE ARCTIC TOWHEE*

The Arctic, or Northern, Towhee is a bird of high
altitudes and latitudes. Its breeding range is somewhat
restricted, including the plains of the Platte, upper Mis-
souri, Yellowstone and Saskatchewan rivers and the regions
westward to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. In
the winter it passes southward, finally reaching the state of
Texas. Throughout its range it frequents streams and
shores that are bordered with bushy underbrush. In some
localities, as in the valley of the Great Slave Lake, this
species is very abundant.

“The Arctic towhee appears in the vicinity of Idaho
Springs about the middle of May and in the course of a
week or two becomes rather common, though never very
abundant. It becomes rare above 8,500 feet, and above
9,000 feet disappears altogether, being most numerous from
7,500 feet down to the plains. In habits and appearance it
is quite similar to the eastern towhee, but is much shyer and
is easily frightened, when it hides in the bushes until all
appearance of danger has passed by. It utters the “che-
wink’ of the eastern towhee, or a note almost exactly like it,
though a little lower and more wiry.”

The towhees obtain a large share of their food by
scratching among the fallen leaves that lie upon the ground
under the underbrush that they frequent. The Arctic
towhee will respond to a whistled call, though it is not as
inquisitive as the eastern species.

Its nest is placed on the ground, in a slight depression

344 BIRDS

scratched out by the bird, and is usually under the protect-
ing shadows of shrubs. The nest, the rim of which is flush
with the ground, is “strongly built of bark strips, blades of
dry grass, and usually lined with yellow straw.”

THE CALIFORNIA TOWHEE*

California, with its beautiful scenery and its wonderful
variety of interesting forms of vegetable life, is the home of
the Towhee of our illustration. Its range is long and nar-
row, including only that region which lies west of the Cas-
cade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, from Oregon
southward to the northern portion of Lower California.
Like many other birds which are abundant and familiar, the
California Towhee is known by several common names.
Some of these are: Brown finch or towhee, Crissal towhee
bunting, and canyon finch. The last name, though very
commonly applied to the bird, seems quite inappropriate,
for this towhee is found not only in the canyons, but also on
the level country wherever there is a growth of trees or
shrubbery. It also frequents the mountain sides to a height
of over three thousand feet.

The California towhee is not only abundant, but it is
also one of the most characteristic birds of the State whose
name it bears. It belongs to a group of the finch family,
which contains a number of species with terrestrial or semi-
terrestrial habits. This group is represented in the eastern
portion of the United States by a single species—the che-
wink, or common towhee. In the southern and western
portions of our country, however, there are several species

“OZIS-OJI'T SGU
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"S3ONZIOS “GVOYV “IHD "109 WOHd

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90 CARDINAL, COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD CHICAGO
(Cardinalis cardinalis),
% Life-size,

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 345

and the genus reaches its greatest development in Mexico,
where there are several kinds not found elsewhere.

Regarding its nesting habits, Dr. J. G. Cooper says that
he found a large number that were “built in bushes, from
two to four feet from the ground, and containing but three
eggs, with the exception of one, which contained four.” He
also found nests that were built in low trees and in a vine
growing over the porch of a house. However, these towhees
vary greatly in the selection of a nesting site. Not infre-
quently the nest is placed on the ground, in hollow tree
trunks or in crevices of rocks which are hidden by vegeta-
tion.

CARDINAL

The Cardinal, or true “Red Bird,” is found in some
form or phase of plumage from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
It ranges south of the Great Lakes, in the Eastern and
Central States. Resident wherever found, he is generally
working his way northward, selecting river courses in reach-
ing the regions about northern Illinois and Indiana. The
males are handsome birds with dark red plumage; the
females, although possessing the handsome crest carried
by all cardinals, is much paler in plumage, having ashy-
brown feathers similar to those worn by the scarlet tanager,
indigo bunting, bobolink, and other female birds whose
mates are conspicuously colored.

Cardinals are common inhabitants of the river bottoms
about St. Louis and at points along the Illinois River one
hundred miles below Chicago. During the winter months
often two to six or more pairs will be found frequenting a

346 BIRDS

>
small thicket. Despite the fact that they are able to with-
stand cold weather, very few of them are found as far north
as the Great Lakes region.

Their powerful bills enable them to crack the seeds and
dissect fruits that other birds are unable to examine. They
are birds of great economic as well as of poetic value. A
small quantity of grain scattered about the dooryard in win-
ter will readily attract these handsome birds and cause them
to become permanent residents of a given locality of their
range. ‘The males have during breeding time a dozen dis-
tinct notes, and they may be heard whistling twelve months
in the year. As one writer says, “The notes of the car-
dinals are clear and tender— far sweeter than the mellowest
notes of fife or clarionet.” Red-birds are easily captured
and make admirable cage birds. Until our song-bird law
went into effect cardinals were handled extensively by vari-
ous song-bird dealers.

The nests are built in shrubs, vines, and young trees
about residences in small towns and villages. The nests
are of twigs, bark, grass, and leaves, lined with finer sub-
stances of the same. Three or four bluish-white eggs,
heavily spotted with dark brown and lavender, are laid.
The nests are usually not to exceed ten feet above the
ground. The birds enjoy a thicket or dense growth of
shrubbery similar to that inhabited by our catbird or
brown thrasher. They raise two broods in a season, the
male caring for the first brood while the female attends to
nesting duties. They sometimes select for nesting sites
shrubbery about porticoes, seemingly to avoid the blue jays.
They are very restless when disturbed in their nesting.

ROSE-BREASTED GROSSBEAK

dl

%16 Life-size.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 347

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK

One of the handsomest of our common North Amer-
ican songsters, the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak may be
readily identified by the bright rose-colored blotch on the
breast. The same tone may be found on the under side of
the wing in both sexes, but this is not clearly seen, and
cannot be considered a sure field mark. The birds occur
from the Atlantic west to the Great Plains and north into
southern Canada. Shrubbery along streams or low sap-
lings are favorite resorts for the grosbeak during the spring
and summer months.

The beautiful rose-breasted grosbeak breeds in the
northern half of the United States east of the Missouri
River, but spends its winters beyond our boundaries. The
beauty of the adult male is proverbial; the plumage is pure
black and white, with a broad patch of brilliant rose color
upon the breast and under each wing.

These birds are of vast importance to the agriculturist,
as they destroy Colorado potato bugs, which so few of our
birds will eat. When these beetles first swept over the
land, and naturalists and farmers were anxious to discover
whether there were any enemies to prey upon the pest, the
grosbeak was almost the only bird seen to eat them. This
favorite bird also destroys many other noxious insects.
The vegetable food of the grosbeak consists of buds and
blossoms of forest trees, and seeds, but the only damage of
which it has been accused is the stealing of green peas.
The writer has observed it eating peas, and has examined

348 BIRDS

the stomachs of several that were killed in the very act.
The stomachs contained a few peas, but enough potato
beetles, old and young, as well as other harmful insects,
to pay for all the peas the birds would be likely to eat in
an entire season. It deserves full protection. A small
potato field was so badly infested with the Colorado beetles
that the vines were completely riddled. The grosbeaks
visited the field every day, and finally brought their fledged
young. The young birds stood in a row on the topmost
rail of the fence and were fed with the beetles which their
parents gathered. When a careful inspection was made a
few days later, not a beetle could be found; so the birds
had saved the potatoes.

“There is an exquisite purity in the joyous carol of the
Grosbeak; his song tells of all the gladness of a May morn-
ing; I have heard few happier strains of bird music. With
those who are deaf to its message of good cheer I can only
sympathize.” (Chapman.)

The male, though a fine songster, makes himself useful
by relieving the female of the duties of incubation, often
singing while on the nest. In molting, the feathers come
off in patches, leaving the male a most woebegone bird and
a silent one. ‘The new coat of the male is a good match
for the sparrow-like dress of the female.

The nests are placed at elevations not to exceed fifteen
feet. They are loosely made of stiff stems and rootlets,
very little soft material is used even in the lining. Three
or four eggs are deposited in May or June. The back-
ground is deep greenish-blue and the marks are in the form
of specks and spots of deep brown, chiefly at the larger end.

COPYRIGHT 1903, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICARS.
570 BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK.
(Habia melanocephala).
Life-size

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 349

THE BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK *

The Black-headed Grosbeak may be considered the
Western representative of the rose-breasted species of the
eastern United States. Its range extends from British
Columbia and Montana southward into Mexico and Lower
California. Throughout the larger portion of this dis-
trict it is quite common. “It appears to shun the pine
woods, preferring ravines wooded with deciduous trees and
upgrown to shrubbery, as well as the thick willow copses
that fringe the mountain streams.” On the mountain sides
it seldom ventures higher than eight thousand feet.

In its flight, feeding habits, and, in fact, in all its
actions, it closely resembles its rose-breasted relative. It
does not fly high, and during the breeding season the birds,
as a rule, do not associate with each other to any great
extent. In the fall, however, they gather in small flocks.
Many people say that the rose-breasted grosbeak is the
most beautiful singer of all the birds that frequent the
Eastern States. The song of the black-headed grosbeak
very closely resembles that of the Eastern species, except
that it lacks some of the variety which is apparent in the
latter’s sweet-toned voice. The song of both species is
often compared to that of the robin. The comparison must
stop, however, with the consideration of the musical anno-
tation of the two songs. The grosbeak’s song has “a mel-
lowness about it, and running through it is a rich under-
tone, which should charm every listener.”

The nests are usually built in low deciduous trees or

350 BIRDS

>
occasionally in shrubs. They consist of twigs, herbaceous
stems, and bark fibers very loosely woven together and lined
with fine roots, grass, and hair.

Our illustration is that of the male, whose bearing is
always both dignified and attractive. In life, “his body
looks graceful as he sits upon his perch, singing his love-
song, like a master-bird as well as a master musician.”

BLUE GROSBEAK

The Blue Grosbeak is found on the Atlantic Coast in
New England westward to the Great Plains. A paler
form, known as the Western blue grosbeak, occurs in the
Rocky Mountain range, south through New Mexico and
Arizona. In the Great Lakes region of Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, and Wisconsin they are of rare occurrence, a
shy but beautiful songster. They breed from thirty-eight
degrees south into Mexico, wintering south of the United
States.

This bird is probably more common in the Southern
Atlantic States than in any other place. The favorite food
is grain, especially rice; therefore the bird may be looked
for where this cereal is cultivated. They have a remark-
ably strong, awkward-appearing bill, which enables them to
crush the hardest seeds.

Neltje Blanchan says: “This bird has the habit of sit-
ting motionless with a vacant stare many minutes at a time.
This impresses one with the fact that the bird must be
stupid, but they are exceedingly wary at times, and will not
permit close inspection.

WESTERN BLUE GROSBEAK. COPYRIGHT 1900, BY Av W» MUMFORD, CHICAGO
327 5 Life-size.

=p G4
fe

47 a COPYRIGHT 1900, BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO
INDIGO BUNTING.

About Life-size

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 351

“When seen in the roadside thickets or in tall weeds
such as the field sparrow chooses to frequent, it shows little
fear of man unless actually approached and threatened.
Whether this fearlessness comes from actual confidence or
stupidity, is not certain. Whatever the motive for its inac-
tivity, it accomplishes the desired end, for its presence is
seldom suspected by the passer-by, and its grassy nest on a
tree branch, containing three or four pale bluish-white eggs,
is never betrayed by look or sign to the small boy.”

This species makes an interesting pet. It is fond of
hemp seeds and becomes very much devoted to its keeper,
but is apt to become melancholy and refuse food if placed
in strange surroundings after being kept for some time as
a pet in one household.

The nest is of grass, in bushes or in high weeds. Three
or four pale bluish-white eggs are laid.

INDIGO BUNTING

The Indigo Bird of eastern and middle North America
is about the size of our goldfinch, and is the only small bird
we have with us whose plumage is entirely blue. The
female is very plain and her plumage is suggestive of the
female bobolink or scarlet tanager.

The Indigo Bunting, with the red-eyed vireo, dickcis-
sel, and field sparrow, comprises the Noonday Quartette.
These birds sing during the heat of the day, when other
songsters are silent. The indigo bunting sings through
August, when most birds are no longer heard. It loves to
haunt the highest bough of a shade tree, sing sweetly for

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOTS
LEBRARY

352 BIRDS

_
a few seconds, and then launch into the air, continuing to
sing as he descends obliquely to a lower brier or sapling.
The males seem to prefer conspicuous places, and seldom
alight except on the outermost branches of trees and shrubs.
They are seed eaters, also partaking of small berries and
insects, so are beneficial to the agriculturists.

They do not arrive from the South until well into May,
when the foliage is advanced. ‘Though breeding as far
north as Minnesota and Nova Scotia, two broods are reared
in a season. The first nest contains eggs about June Ist.
Low situations, particularly brier bushes and haw, are
favorite nesting sites. The three or four eggs are pale
bluish-white. The nest is constructed outwardly of dead
leaves and sometimes bits of paper are used. The lining
is of fine grass and a little horse hair. The abodes are well
hidden in dense places, and the males often retire fifty or
one hundred yards from the nesting site, thereby sparing
the female any uneasiness because of her mate’s conspicu-
ous plumage. The edges of timber tracts, roadsides, and
pastures overgrown with shrubbery are usually haunts of
the indigo bird, whose company is shared by the towhee
and little field sparrow. Sometimes the indigo bird becomes
very familiar and decides to nest in the little berry patch
just back of the dwelling on a quiet street in our smaller
towns; “the female indigo is so suspicious that it is not hard
to be vexed with her.” More than formerly, they are now
seen along the hedges and lanes in the country, sitting on
telephone wires.

The cowbird frequently deposits her eggs in the nests of
this blue finch.

LAZULI BUNTING.
1 moena

110 7 Life-size

os Sh SR! »
met TAhe: En
Py copie tt

i

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 353

THE LAZULI BUNTING *

In Colorado and Arizona the Lazuli Painted Finch, as
it is called, is common, while in California it is very abun-
dant, being, in fact, generally distributed throughout the
West, and along the Pacific Coast it is found as far north
as Puget Sound, during the summer. Davie says it replaces
the indigo bunting from the Plains to the Pacific, being
found in all suitable localities. The nest is usually built
in a bush or in the lower limbs of trees, a few feet from
the ground. Fine strips of bark, small twigs, grasses, and
hair are used in preparing it for the four tiny, light bluish-
green eggs, which readily fade when exposed to light. The
eggs so closely resemble those of the bluebird as not to be
distinguishable with certainty. The nest is an inartistic one
for a bird of gay plumage.

From Florence A. Merriam’s charming book, “ A-Bird-
ing on a Bronco,” we select a description of the pretty man-
ners of this attractive bird:

“While waiting for the woodpeckers, one day, I saw
a small brownish bird flying busily back and forth to some
green weeds. She was joined by her mate, a handsome
blue Lazuli Bunting, even more beautiful than our lovely
indigo, and he flew beside her, full of life and yoy.) : Ee
lit on the side of a cockle stem, and on the instant caught
sight of me. Alas! he seemed suddenly turned to stone.
He held onto that stalk as if his little legs had been bars of
iron and I a devouring monster. When he had collected
his wits enough to fly off, instead of the careless, gay flight

354 BIRDS

with which he had come out through the open air, he
timidly kept low within the cockle field, making a circuitous
way through the high stalks.”

PAINTED BUNTING OR NONPAREIL

The Painted Bunting, Nonpareil, or Mexican Canary
occurs in the Southern States from Florida and Carolina
westward to the eastern portions of Texas, usually winter-
ing in the tropics. A few reach the Ohio Valley in south-
ern I]linois and Indiana. In the South they are favorite
cage birds, and readily become reconciled to small quarters.
Like the indigo bunting, the male is a strikingly colored
bird, but the plumage of the female is plain olive green.
One variety spends the winter in Florida, but does not seek
a more northerly climate until about May.

In their winter haunts they are shy and retiring, remain-
ing in dense shrubbery where the country is not under cul-
tivation. Often while singing the males remain concealed
among the foliage, and are difficult to observe as is our
yellow-breasted chat. Their song may be favorably com-
pared with that of the indigo bunting.

The birds live chiefly upon seeds and berries. Until the
young leave the nest, they are fed upon insects and their
larve. 'The nests are rather loosely constructed of leaves
and stems of grass and are lined with the same material.
Low bushes and young trees are the favorite nesting sites,
although the birds are sometimes found breeding in the high
timber, several nesting at times in a single tree.

Four eggs are laid in May and a second brood is fre-

PAINTED BUNTING.
(Passerina ciris).
Nearly Life-size.

POPYPIGHT 1900. BY A- W. MUMFORD, CHICAGO

150 DICKCISSEL., COPYRIGHT 1° BY A. W. MUMFORD, CHICAG
(Spiza Americana )
24 Life-size.

FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. 355

quently reared in July. The eggs are pale bluish-white,
quite thickly speckled with reddish-brown.

DICKCISSEL

The Dickcissel, or Black-throated Bunting, is at times
of erratic occurrence. ‘They breed in Mississippi Valiey
from Texas to Minnesota, wintering in Central and South
America. Some years they are abundant in certain locali-
ties in northern Ilhnois, and perhaps the next year few are
seen. ‘The male in appearance might remind one of our
common cock sparrow with his jet throat. A closer inspec-
tion will reveal that the throat of the dickcissel is bordered
with light yellow. The song of the male is “ Dickcissel-
cissel,’ oft repeated, by no means musical, and with a
monotonous repetition continued for hours at a time. Dur-
ing the hottest days of July and August, four to eight birds
may be in voice at the same time. ‘These field birds call
from a fence post, wheat stalk, little tree, or telephone wire.

The dickcissel feeds upon crickets, bugs, weed seeds, and
sometimes wild fruits, such as strawberries.

The female is a very plain and rather shy bird. The
first nests are usually placed on the ground or a few inches
above the earth, in a tussock of grass. The four or five
eggs, laid in early May, are plain light blue. Late in July
or early August the dickcissel raises a second brood, and
this nest is usually placed in a low bush or shrub. Stems,
coarse grass, and horse hair enter into the composition of
the nest. Plant fibers such as Indian hemp are frequently
used externally, giving the nest an artistic appearance.

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