babeuteeeubotund = URE R Ty Ener Ear eneeeeNerertns: * pr eorecrouenautesurarer 22 PPAR p Ree wTEs Sete mye eeen EES: pepesssescerers SOPt EL RE RE Re TES) Mypwn ees enae mea ge NET meme = slalateorsptaeyasoren porenesseroeelone mens erenanseerbe big yateees era roca ang ¢ Lreweranak erst Tbh aM DPR ean tree ew anges Te ORE NNER ET Aad PETE ees Stare ark beg Py ee EON EET ENS OS MSs rT ENG NEI Me piaterarenprre emp erars telysporerwens 3 ae~ veto oe sebemerareneer ro St pn Meee Aner awe ten mr eneneer st verwn Dye epe pts were stee Sn te ee ree EIT ET TTT pases Redes ors Hp Sseouecelonencneey pap trat ae At been pr Oren ens a phen eae tbe HP ae Ht PUTS T EERE NTS etal eens ee Steer ne nese ee meee wren r PSP RRESCSSR SSIS STS RRP EEE TSS eee ceeseaabaeeeanne -oneneenn nese Seececurnt ase on puenenes SesesessSeoes SSS SSPCSSSSSES SSNS TLDS TES SERIEDESESE SETS SON SS SR eT ree cowl © Leer hit Pe Ria ; hoe i iG 4) Hea 4 \ 1 at fT Ae A AM ih ee Pa ay 1 hi ae an tein Laie a Teds bee ee ee ; PA 5 A) Bila UA eek Wal een any Te oa ne aye: Muy ) pees Pn tbee » ae wht j , ; wii Pall Lala ae Vas oo AN aes a) i : Pa Be ey wis pa ay ; are od Meta oe . : ty ae a Al ae H i ; we " Spat ing uf : ee, AE aA hee) as he ae Bk eee ? ii aN ‘ i ” bd , , i S { x 5 x \ , i i 4 i Eby, ff ah 2 ike h AT Pr 5 We ip Ph. Ng 7 ¥ in 1 4 in hi fh \ , nl - a Al, ie ny j PY? nee } } ‘ Wy ee * Hie a ) rl a | ae ts : by "se | } iD i al y y ii We ak “- Pr 1 vat \ ee | ry 7 i} 4 eA i } 7 ‘ Ay] ie Bi iy f ; if a GN | . 4 ' . ; ' fy : y ; i 7 i j el ; s/ 4 q i is Delia ' 7 f ‘ ‘ i ' ’ * f ; ‘ i } Yi i fi ‘ af i 4 ri ; ‘A s > it f y . 1 ? « = ees | t : | ‘ ' i ii | {OX } y } | | ¥ ' ’ 4 : ; £ AS ' ss Y a rs j is vi * J a - i = ' = a oh { a anol 2 = 4 ' i I | i , ‘ i ue , / J ‘ by Wy } bia i i 1 t + A i t i = I i . i tii ‘ 3 { ' ) ’ 1 ae 5 | i f F \ ML 1e' : hee 2 Ritts) } / M } i i bed nie { i { n . f haat # Ve i wae ey nt ae Bey Tha { ' > ih ee ay Br bh Wy ih “1 : } ’ j “ lad Poe 1 Pe | ' i, by Seen Na aia, +a ae j 5 ; ‘) jaf ta : nl ‘ uy tis ka td “eal ions > : ean 4 / 77) ee i te f ) A f + i Dp? s Teh tale 4 a i ¥ A & ai | 4 Gp Olive Thorne sliller THE BIRD OUR BROTHER. age 11 cents. HARRY’S RUNAWAY AND WHAT CAME OF IT. Illustrated. 12mo, $1.25. WHAT HAPPENED TO BARBARA. 12m, $1.25. KRISTY’S RAINY DAY PICNIC. Illustrated in color. I2M0O, $1.25. KRISTY’S SURPRISE PARTY. Illustrated in color. 12mo, $1.25. KRISTY'S QUEER CHRISTMAS. With colored fron- tispiece. 12mo, $1.25, WITH THE BIRDS IN MAINE. 16mo, $1.10 xed. Postpaid, $1.20. TRUE BIRD STORIES FROM MY NOTE-BOOKS, With a colored frontispiece ard illustrations by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. Square 12mo, $1.00, xe?. Postpaid, $1.08; also School Edition, 60 cents, net. THE FIRST BOOK OF BIRDS. With many IIlustra- tions, including 8 full-page colored Plates. Square 12m0, $1.00; also School Edition, 60 cents, vet. THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS: Bird Families. Illustrated with 24 full-page pictures, eight of which are in color, after drawings by Louis Agassiz Fu- ertes. Square 12mo, $1.00, zet. Postpaid, $1.10. UPON THE TREE-TOPS. With 10 Illustrations by J. CARTER BEARD. 16mo, $1.25. A BIRD-LOVER IN THE WEST. 16mo, $1.25. LITTLE BROTHERS OF THE AIR. 16mo, $1.25. BIRD-WAYS. 16mo, $1.25; also in Riverside School Library, 16mo, half leather, 60 cents, zet. IN NESTING TIME. 16mo, $1.25. FOUR-HANDED FOLK. Illustrated. r16mo, $1.253 alsoin Riverside Library for Young People, 16mo, 75 cents. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY Boston AND New YorkK 12mMo, $1.25 et. Post- ~ = PE Setecnost”., BARN SWALLOW ON Meex ID! Birds THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS, Bird Famtlies BY OLIVE THORNE MILLER, Harriet Vo WITH EIGHT COLORED PLATES FROM DESIGNS BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES, AND SIX- TEEN OTHER FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS JUL 22 1987 LIBRARIES rate BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY Che Hiverside Press Cambridge COPYRIGHT, I901, BY H. M. MILLER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published June, 1g0r PREFACE In offering this Second Book, to supplement the First Book of Birds, I should like to say that I have in each family spoken of species to be found in the South and West as well as in the Eastern States. As the biographies of Western birds have not been fully written, my information has sometimes been meagre, but I have done the best I could. For authority on Western birds, I have depended upon Major Bendire (Life His- tories of North American Birds), Professor Keeler (Bird Notes Afield), and Miss Florence A. Merriam (A-Birding on a Bronco). In introducing each family I have selected the most common, or the typical species of that family. In cases where it was possible, I have chosen species represented in the different sec tions of the country, not only because the family traits are better shown, but because it 1s more encouraging to a beginner to become acquainted with birds he can see almost anywhere. When iv PREFACE familiar with these, he will be able to identify and study the more rare species. It may be thought that I have not dwelt suf- ficiently on the generally assumed evil tendencies of certain birds. I have tried to be perfectly just, but there has been so much exaggeration and sensationalism in writing of birds, that | have been careful to investigate all accusations. Much harm has been done by guessing at a bird’s motives, and assuming always that he is in mis- chief. I have rejected all conjectures of the sort, and accepted only what has been thoroughly proved, and reported by trustworthy witnesses. I retain the old arrangement of the families because that brings the more familiar and inter- esting birds first, and my aim is, first to interest, and then to instruct. The scientific names of Families and Species as given in the Table of Contents are according to the Check-List of the American Ornithologists’ Union. OLIVE THORNE MILLER. Brooxtyn, N. Y., 1901. III. VIL Vir: 7x. CONTENTS - WHAT Is) A Brep: BAM, Gs ois) aiew wih oe Ce! DeRusH AMPA, Dania) te iscliea te) ck % American Robin. Merula migratoria, . Western Robin. Merula migratoria propinqua Hermit Thrush. Hylocichla aonalaschke pallasii . Dwarf Hermit Thrush. Hylocichla aonalaschke . THE KINGLET AND GNATCATCHER Famity. Sylviide Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Regulus calendula . Blue-gray Gnateatcher. Polioptila cerulea . Western Gnateatcher. Polioptila cerulea obscura . Toe NutTHaAaTcH AND CHICKADEE Famity. Paride. White-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta carolinensis : Slender-billed Nuthatch. Svtta carolinensis aculeata Red-breasted Nuthatch. Sitta canadensis Chickadee. Parus atricapillus Mountain Chickadee. Parus gambeli . Tufted Titmouse. Parus bicolor . THe CREEPER Famity. Certhiide Brown Creeper. Certhia familiaris fusca s Californian Creeper. Certhia familiaris hevidentalis . THe Cave-pweLuinc Famity. Troglodytide. ins Branch) ‘ House Wren. Heagladiytes aedon: A Parkman’s Wren. Troglodytes aédon Pea 7 THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY. “iii need (Second Branch) Mockingbird. Min mus pol iolaieeas Catbird. Galeoscoptes carolinensis Thrasher. Harporhynchus rufus . Californian Thrasher. Harporhynchus headings A ate Tue Dierer Famity. Cinclide American Dipper. Cinclus mexicanus Tar Wactram Famiiy. Motacilide ...... . Sprague’s Pipit. Anthus spraguett. . . + « « « « vi XIII. XIV. DONE XVI. XVII. CONTENTS . THe WARBLER Famitny. Mniotiltide .... . Yellow Warbler. Dendroica estiva Oven-bird. Seiurus aurocapillus . Yellow-breasted Chat. Icteria virens . . . . . Long-tailed Chat. Icteria virens longicauda . THe Vrreo Famity. Vireonide Yellow-throated Vireo. Vireo flavifrons Warbling Vireo. Vireo gilvus ; THE SHRIKE Famity. Laniide : Loggerhead Shrike. Lanius ludovicianus THe Waxwine Famity. Ampelide . Cedar-bird. Ampelis cedrorum Phainopepla. Phainopepla nitens . THE Swattow Famity. Hirundinide . Barn Swallow. Hirundo erythrogaster : Cliff Swallow, or Eave Swallow. Petrochelidon inefeons Purple Martin. Progne subis Tue TANAGER Famity. Tanagride . Searlet Tanager. Piranga erythromelas Summer Tanager. Piranga rubra Louisiana Tanager. Piranga ludoviciana . THE SPARROW AND Finc# Famity. Fringillide SPARROWS Song Sparrow. Melospiza fasciata FINCHES Goldfinch. Astragalinus tristis . ‘ Willow Goldfinch. Astragalinus tristis Raleenmtuns ; Towhee, or Chewink. Pzipilo erythrophthalmus Spurred Towhee. Pipilo maculatus megalonyx THE GROSBEAK BrancuH. Fringillid@ (continued) . Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Zamelodia ludoviciana Black-headed Grosbeak. Zamelodia melanocephala Cardinal Grosbeak, or Cardinal. Cardinalis cardinalis . Tue Crosspitt Brancu. Fringillide (continued) . American Crossbill. Lozia curvirostra minor . White-winged Crossbill. ZLoxia leucoptera THe Buackpirp Faminy. Icteride MarsH Buackpirps Redwinged Blackbird. Agelaius pheniceus Cowbird. Molothrus ater . . THe Meapow Sraruines. Icteride (eontinaeayy XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXYV. XXVI. XXVILI. XXVIII. XXIX. CONTENTS Meadowlark. Sturnella magna . Western Meadowlark. Sturnella apne pegloctta THe OrI0LE Brancu. Icteride (continued) . Baltimore Oriole. Icterus galbula Orchard Oriole. Icterus spurius Arizona Hooded Oriole. Icterus cdedlchis nelen THe Crow-Biackpirp Brancu. Icteride (con- tinted) hai fateia) (os cea rae Ms. Meer Purple Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula . Bronzed Grackle. Quiscalus quiscula eneus . Brewer’s Blackbird. Scolecophagus pia eis THE Crow Faminy. Corvide ° : American Crow. Corvus americanus Blue Jay. Cyanocitta cristata . Steller’s Jay. Cyanocitta stelleri . American Magpie. Pica pica hudsonica . THe Lark Faminy. Alaudide Horned Lark. Otocoris alpestris . : ; Prairie Horned Lark. Otocoris dineurts ee ticola THE FLYCATCHING Bae Deannidee Kingbird. Tyrannus tyrannus : Arkansas Kingbird. Tyrannus sericalis ‘ Wood Pewee. Contopus virens Western Wood Pewee. Contopus richardson THE Hoummine Famity. Trochilide . ‘ Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Trochilus eludes , Anna’s Hummingbird. Calypte anna : THe Swirt Faminy. Micropodide Chimney Swift. Chetura pelagica Vaux’s Swift. Chetura vauzrii THE GOATSUCKER Famity. Capcimulgide. Whip-poor-will. Antrostomus vociferus : Chuck-will’s-widow. Antrostomus carolinensis . Poor-will. Phalenoptilus nuttallit Nighthawk. Chordeiles virginianus THe WoopprckER Famity. Picide . Northern Flicker. Colaptes auratus luteus Red-shafted Flicker. Colaptes cafer : Red-headed Woodpecker. el erates. lus ° . . e . ° . ° e e e e e vil 100 102 104 104 107 108 110 112 112 115 Vili XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXII. XXXIV. XXXY. CONTENTS Californian Woodpecker. Melanerpes ee: bairdi fh THE crm carat Rigo Bisareadecl Be pat Belted Kingfisher. Ceryle alcyon Tuer Cuckoo Faminy. Cuculide . : Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Coccyzus americanus . California Cuckoo. Coccyzus americanus occidentalis THE Own Famity. Bubonide . Sereech Owl. Megascops asio . California Screech Owl. Megascops asio shendne Burrowing Owl. Speotyto cunicularia hypogea . Tue Barn Own Faminy. Strigide . American Barn Owl. Strix pratinclla. . . . . Tue Hawk Anp EAGLE Faminy. Falconide American Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius . : American Osprey, or Fish Hawk. Pandion haliaé- tus carolinensis : Prva lied lal ie Bald Eagle. Halicetus feupesiliatas THe SCAVENGER Famity. Cathartide . Turkey Vulture. Cathartesaura ... .« » LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Barn SwAwow (colored) . : : : . Frontispiece Hermit THRUSH . F : E : : : ‘ : 10 RuUBY-CROWNED KINGLET . a F A F F : 14 WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH . : A ‘ 5 ‘ A 18 Brown CREEPER (colored) . : : : : ; - 28 Brown THRASHER . : ; F d ; ‘ ; 38 AMERICAN DIPPER ; : ‘ : : : “ : 42 SPRAGUE’s Pirit é : ‘ P : : é ‘ : 46 YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT (colored) . aes ales 52 LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE . ; : ; : : ‘ ; 60 SCARLET TANAGER : : : - : : : F 76 RousE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (colored) . : - : : 86 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD . : ‘ é : : : 94 AMERICAN MAGPIE (colored) . ‘ : : : : fede DrsERT HornepD LARK * ; ‘ : ‘ : : 182 KINGBIRD (colored) . : : ; : - : os 36 RvuBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD . : : : ‘ : 144 NIGHTHAWK. . ‘ ‘ ; s : é : ‘ SA LOS Downy WoOopDPECKER . : : - : : . 166 BELTED KINGFISHER (colored) A - : : : LO YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO . P F ‘ ‘ 4 : 174 SCREECH OWL . : ; : : ; : P ‘ Pid ed bo) SPARROW Hawk . : ‘ : : ‘ : : ; 188 AMERICAN OsPREY, OR FisH Hawk (colored) . . =, 190 Notr. — L. A. Fuertes designed the colored plates. The black plates are from mounted specimens, by the courteous permission of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. y oa ¢ 7 NM (ara Wee a ! ea a 3 Hoy i pei be ihe r t THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS i WHAT IS A BIRD FAMILY ? In the “ First Book of Birds” I told you about the common life of a bird; what sort of a home he has, and how he is taken care of when little ; then how he lives when grown up; what he eats ; where he sleeps ; and something about how he is made. In this book, I want to help you a step further on in your study of birds. I shall tell you some- thing about particular birds, about the families they belong to, and the different ways in which they live. To begin with: What is a bird family? In life, a bird family is exactly ike a human family. It consists of father, mother, and children. But in the books, a family means quite another thing. Men who study the Science of Birds, or Orni- 2 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS thology, have placed the birds in groups which they call families, to make it easier to find out about them, and write about them. This way of arranging them in books is called classification — or forming them into classes. Birds are classified, not by the way they look, but by the way they are made, or their structure, and this is found out by the study of Scientific Ornithology. Birds may look a good deal alike, and act alike, and yet be differently made. There is first the grand class Aves, which includes all creatures who wear feathers. This class is divided into orders. Orders are made by putting together a large number of birds who are alike in one thing. For instance, all birds who have feet made to clasp a perch, and so are perchers, are put m an order together. But many birds have feet for perching who are very different in other ways. So orders are divided into families, which I shall tell you about in this book. In each family I shall tell you about one or more of the best known, or the ones you are most likely to see, and that will help you to know the rest of the family when you begin to study birds out of doors, and use the manual to learn the names. , WHAT IS A BIRD FAMILY 3 I shall often speak of what has been found out about the food of birds, and I want to tell you here, once for all, how it was done, so that you may understand just what I mean when I speak of the work of the Department of Agriculture. The Government of the United States has in Washington a department with a head and many men under him, whose business it is to take charge of everything concerning agriculture, that is, farming, fruit-growing, etc. This 1s called the Department of Agriculture. Farmers and fruit-growers made so much com- plaint of the damage done to crops by birds, that this department determined to find out Just what birds do eat. The only way it could be done was by having the birds killed and seeing what food was in their stomachs, for it 1s almost impossible to tell by watching them. To know positively which birds do harm by eating more grain or fruit than insects, and which do good by eating more insects, would save the lives of many thousands. So the killing of those they studied was useful to the whole race. When they wanted to find out what crows eat, they had crows killed all over the country — hundreds of them — and the stomachs, with the food in, sent to them in Washington. Then they went to work and examined every one. They 4 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS could tell by the shells of seeds and the hard parts of insects, and bones and hair of mice, etc., just what had been eaten. And the contents of every stomach was written down and preserved ina book. Thus, you see, they could tell what crows were in the habit of feeding upon. They did this with many other birds who are said to do harm, — hawks, owls, blackbirds, king- birds, and others. That is how we come to know what birds eat, and can tell whether they do harm or good. There can be no mistake in this way of knowing, and so what comes from this depart- ment may be relied upon as true. I want this little book to help the bird-lovers in the South and West of our big country, as well as in the East; and so, in each Family, I shall try to tell about a bird who may be seen in each part. A good many of our birds are found both East and West, with slight differ- ences, but some that are in one part are not in the other. I THE THRUSH FAMILY (Turdide) * Tus family is named after the thrushes, but our familiar robin belongs to it, and also the sweet-voiced bluebird. The birds of this family are all rather good sized, and excepting the blue- bird show no bright colors. Nearly all of them have spotted breasts when young, and many of them keep the spots all their lives. Young rob- | ins and bluebirds have spots on breasts and shoul- ders, but when they get their grown-up plumage there are none to be seen. The thrush family get around by hopping, and do not walk, though some of them run, as you have seen the robin do on the lawn. Most of them live in the woods, and feed on the ground, and all of them eat insects. Because their feed- ing grounds freeze up in winter, most of these birds go to a warmer climate, or migrate. They are all good singers, and some of them among the best in America. 1 See Appendix, 1. 6 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS The best known of this family is the robin, American Ropsrn, to give him his whole name. He is found all over the United States. In the summer he lives in the Eastern and Middle States, in the winter he lives in the Southern States, and he lives all the year round in Cali- fornia. The California robin is called the Western Robin, and is a little lighter in color than his Eastern brother; but he is the same jolly fellow under his feathers, and robin song is about the same from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I’m sure you all know how he looks, with black head, slate-colored back and wings, streaked throat, and dull red or chestnut breast. His mate is not quite so dark in color. Robins start for their nesting-place, which is their real home, very early, almost the first of the birds. They make a nest, not very high, in a tree or about our houses, with a good deal of mud in it. Not all nests are alike. Sometimes a bird will show a fancy for a pretty-looking nest. J have seen one made of the white flowers of life-everlasting. The stems were woven to- gether for the framework, and the little clusters of blossoms left outside for ornament. The young robin just out of the nest is a pretty fellow, with spots all over his breast and THE THRUSH FAMILY 7 shoulders. He spends most of his time calling for food, for he is always hungry. He 1s rather clumsy in getting about, and often falls to the ground. But if you pick him up and put him on a low branch out of the reach of cats, he will fly as soon as your hand leaves him, and gener- ally come to the ground again. So it is of no use to try to help him that way. The only thing you can do is to keep cats and bad boys away from him, until he flies up into a tree. The robin gets his food on the ground, or just under the surface. He eats many caterpil- lars and grubs that are harmful to us. One that he specially likes is the cutworm, which has a bad way of biting off young plants. In the Kast he eats many earthworms, which we see him pull out of the ground on the lawn, but in the West, where there are not so many earthworms, he picks up insects of various kinds. All through spring, when insects are hard at work destroying our fruit and vegetables and young grains, the robin spends almost his whole time catching them; first for his own eating, but many more when his little ones get out of the shell, for young birds eat a great amount of food. Then, when he has spent months in our service killing inseets, so that our fruit and vegetables can grow, do you not think he has earned part of the cherries he has saved? 8 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS Robins are very easily made tame, and, when well treated and not shut up in a cage, they be- come fond of people and lke to live in our houses. I know of a robin who was picked up from the ground by a lady. He could not fly, and she took him into a house and brought him up. He was never wild or afraid of people, and he never wanted to be free. His mistress would sometimes put him on her hat, without fastening him in any way, and go out to walk with him there. He liked his ride, and never thought of leaving her. She often took him with her into a piece of woods where she went. He would play around on the ground and in the trees, but the moment she started for home he flew down, ready to go. She thought perhaps he would like to be free, and she tried once or twice to leave him in this pleasant grove, but he always flew to her and re- fused to be left. He was so fond of his mistress that when she went away for a day or two he was very unhappy, hid himself in a closet, and would not eat till she came back. This robin, too, hiked the food of the family, and did not care for earthworms. In fact, he could hardly be coaxed to eat one of them, though he liked some kinds of grubs which he found on the ground. But he ate them in a dif- THE THRUSH FAMILY 9 ferent way from his wild brothers. He did not swallow them whole, but beat them to a jelly before trying to eat. This pet had a sweet, low song of his own. He never sang like his wild brothers until his second year, when he had been out and heard them sing. A pair of robins that were blown from a nest in a high wind were reared and kept in a large cage by Mrs. Grinnell in California. The first year the singer did not sing, but in the second year a wild mockingbird came to teach him. He would alight on the cage, which hung out of doors, and sing softly a long time, till the robin began to do the same. When he could sing, it was more like a mockingbird than lke a robin. The mocker was very fond of his pupil, and used to bring him berries and other wild dainties. These robins made a nest of things the mis- tress gave them, and eggs began to appear in it. But as soon as one was laid, one of the birds would jump into the nest and kick and scratch till it was thrown out and broken. They seemed to think the pretty blue eggs were playthings. When the weather grew hot, Bobby, the singer, showed his sense by spending most of his time lying in his bathing-dish, covered with water up to his ears. He would lie there an hour 10 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS at a time, too comfortable to get out even to eat. Birds who are not brought into the house often become tame when well treated. One family in Michigan had a pair of robins who nested close to the house for fourteen years. It was plain that the birds were the same pair, for they became so friendly that they let any of the family pick up a nestling, and showed no fear. But with other people they were as wild as any robins. One day a man passing by picked up one ‘of the young birds, who was scrambling about on the ground. At once the parents began loud cries of distress, and all the robins in the neigh- borhood came to help. They scolded and cried, and flew at the thief who wanted to carry off the baby. One of the family heard the row, and went out and claimed the robin, and the man gave it up. The moment the little one was in the hands of a person they knew, the cries ceased. Not only the parents but the neigh- bors seemed to understand that the nestling was safe. The way birds act when brought up by us and not by their parents shows that young birds are taught many things before they are grown up. When living in a house, they are not afraid of HERMIT THRUSH THE THRUSH FAMILY 11 cats or people, as wild ones are. They do not usually sing the robin song, nor care for the robin food, and they do not seem to know how to manage a nest. I could tell you many things to prove this. Another charming member of the Thrush Family is the Hermit Torusu. He is a beauti- ful bird, smaller than the robin. He is reddish brown on the back, with a white breast spotted with dark brown or black. He has large, full, dark eyes, which look straight at you. The hermit thrush spends his winters in the Southern States, and his summers in the North- ern. But in the far West, where are no cold winters, the hermit does not have to move back and forth. In that part of the country the bird is the Western Hermit Thrush. This bird is one of our finest singers, and a very shy bird. His home is in the woods, and from there we hear his loud, clear song, morning and evening. Many people think his song is the finest bird-song we have. His ordinary call as he goes about is a kind of “ chuck.” The West- ern hermit differs hardly at all. He may bea little smaller, but he is the same delightful singer and lovely character. The mother hermit makes her nest on the 12 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS ground, and hides it so well that it is hard te find, — though I’m afraid snakes, and squirrels, and other woods creatures who like eggs to eat find it more often than we do. Shy as the hermit is, he is an intelligent bird. A mother hermit a few years ago strayed inte the grounds of a gentleman in Massachusetts and built a nest under a pine-tree. When she was found, she was at first very much frightened. But the owner of the place was a bird-lover, and gentle and quiet in his ways, and she got so used to him that she let him photograph her many times. A gentleman, Mr. Owen, once captured a young hermit thrush so lately out of the nest that he could not fly much. He kept him in the house several weeks, and found out many inter- esting things about young thrushes. One thing he discovered was that the bird has his own notions about food. He ate raw meat and earth- worms. But when worms were fed to him that came from a dirty place, he threw them out of his mouth, wiped his beak, and showed great disgust. The worms brought from clean garden earth he ate greedily. The little captive had his own way of eating a worm. He began by worrying it awhile, and then swallowed it tail first. THE THRUSH FAMILY 13 He showed his instinct for sleeping high by being very restless at night, till let out of his cage. Then he flew to the highest perch he could find in the room, and roosted for the night. The bird showed himself friendly and not at all afraid of people. Mr. Owen got so attached to him that when he let him go in the woods he felt as if he had parted with a dear friend. In the picture you see two hermit thrushes. The upper one is singing, and the lower one looking calmly at you, in the way of these beau- tiful birds. il THE KINGLET AND GNATCATCHER FAMILY (Sylviide) * Tuts family is small in our country. There are only three members of it that we are likely to see. But they are most dainty and lovely birds. They are the two kinglets or little kings, not much bigger than hummingbirds, and the blue-gray gnatcatcher, about as small. They are all fond of living in the tops of tall trees, and they generally get their food and make their pretty nests away out of our reach. So we have to look sharp to see them. It is easier to hear them, for they are fine singers. The Rupy-crownepD Kinctet is a plump little bird in olive-green feathers. Below he is yellow- ish white, and he has two whitish wing bars. On top of his head is a narrow stripe of bright ruby color. But we see him usually from below, so that is not often noticed. He flits about tlie 1 See Appendix, 2. CROWNED KINGLET RUBY THE KINGLET AND GNATCATCHER FAMILY 15 upper branches, picking out the smallest insects and insect eggs, and eating them. So he is very useful to us. Although this bird is found all over our coun- try, he does not nest with us, except sometimes in the mountains. He goes farther north, be- yond the United States. The nests that have been found in the mountains of Colorado and Montana were partly hanging, and very large for such a tiny bird. They were made of soft, fine bark strips, and green moss, and hung to the end of a spruce or pine branch. But the ruby-crown passes his winters in the Southern States and Mexico, and when he starts for his nesting-home, he begins to sing. As he goes north, he stops a few days or a week ina place, and then is the time to hear his sweet voice. When he sings, you would hardly know him. He raises the red feathers on top of his head so that they stand up like a crown, and change his looks very much. In the picture you can see a little of the ruby stripe. Not much is known of the habits of these little birds, they are so hard to study. They are found all over the United States, in the South- ern States and California in winter, and in the Northern States in spring and fall, when migrat- ing. 16 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS The Biur-cray GNATCATCHER is a slim little bird, with a rather long tail. He is bluish gray, with some white and black on head, wings, and tail, and he is grayish white below. He has a sweet song, but it 1s so low you have to be very near and very quiet to hear it. He is such a talkative, restless fellow, however, that you often see him when you might not hear the song. The gnatcatcher is one of the most lively of birds. He bustles about in an eager way that shows everybody where to look for the nest. And when there is no nest, he flits over the tree- tops, catching tiny flying insects, and uttering a queer call that sounds something lke the mew of a cat. He does not need to be so quiet as birds who build on the ground or near it, be- cause few can get at the nest. It is too high for snakes and boys, and on branches too light for squirrels or big birds. So he can afford to be as chatty as he pleases. The nest of this bird is one of the prettiest that is made. It is a little cup, upright on a branch, usually near the end so that it is tossed by the wind. Miss Merriam found a pair of gnatcatchers in California, and watched them through many troubles. Their way of building was by felting. That is, they took fine, soft THE KINGLET AND GNATCATCHER FAMILY 17 materials like plant down, and packed it all closely together by poking with the beak and prodding it with the feet. A gnatcatcher’s nest is large for the size of the bird. It must be deep for safety, so that eggs and nestlings will not be thrown out by the wind. Three times, Miss Merriam thinks, the little family she watched had to build their nest. Each time it took more than ten days of hard work. This pretty little fellow has a long tail, and he keeps it in motion all the time. He jerks it up or down, or twitches it to one side or the other; or he flirts it open and shut lke a fan, which shows the white edges and looks very gay: Dogs and cats, as you know, show how they feel by the way they move the tail. Buirds do the same, some much more than others. If you watch the way in which they move their tails, you can learn to tell how a bird feels almost as well as if he could speak to you. IV THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY (Paride) } Tus is another family of small birds. The nuthatches are lively, restless little creatures. You generally see them scrambling over the trunks of trees, head up or head down, as it hap- pens. They are dressed in sober colors, and spend their lives picking tiny insects out of the crevices of the bark. The WHITE-BREASTED NutTHatcH is the best known in the East. In California the slender- billed takes his place, being about the same in dress and manners. Both of them, East and West, go about calling “ quank, quank.” The dress is slate-blue and white, with a white breast, a black cap, and black on wings and tail. Nuthatches nest in holes, either deserted wood- pecker nests or natural holes in trees. If such a place is not to be found, the pair will some- ' See Appendix, 3. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY 19 times dig out a home in a decayed stump for themselves. It is wonderful to see how easily and quickly a nuthatch will run over the trunk and large branches of a tree. Woodpeckers usually go upward, and brace themselves with their stiff tails. If they want to go down, they back down rather awkwardly. Creepers, who also go over tree trunks, go up only, and they also use their stiff tails for a brace. But the nuthatch goes head up, or down, or sideways, and never uses the short, square tail in the business. He can do this because his claws are very curving, al- most like hooks, and they grasp tight hold of the little rough places in the bark. It 1s a funny sight to see a mother nuthatch going about with four or five hungry little ones after her, like chickens after a hen, all calling their droll little “ quanks.” The nuthatch gets his name, it is said, from the habit of fixing a nut into a crack and ham- mering or “hacking ” it till 1t breaks. In sum- mer, when insects are to be had, this bird, like many others, eats nothing else, and he eats thousands of them. But he can live on other food, so he is not forced to migrate. To provide for winter, when insects will be gone and snow cover the seeds, he lays up a 20 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS store of food. He takes kernels of corn, if he can get them, or sunflower seeds, or nuts of various kinds. This keeps him very busy all the fall, and he has often been seen at the work. He will carry a nut to a tree and find a crack in the bark just big enough to hold it. He tries one after another till he finds one to fit. Then he hammers it in till it is secure, and leaves it there. Then in winter the same bird has been seen, when everything was covered with snow, to dig the hidden nuts out of their hiding-places and eat them. Many birds who do not migrate, but live in the same place the year round, provide for winter in the same way. So do squirrels and other ani- mals. It is pleasant to think that rough-barked trees, and knotholes, and hollows, are filled with food for the hungry birds. And if they had not that supply, they might starve, or be obliged to leave us. The Rep-sREASTED NuTHATcH is a little smaller than the white-breasted, and has a red- dish breast. His home is more toward the north, both East and West. He nests in Maine and other Northern States. His call note is different too. It sounds like the squawk of a toy trumpet. His habits are much like those of his bigger relative. THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY 21 The nuthatch is fond of his mate, and takes good care of her in nesting time. He feeds her and the young till they leave the nest. Mr. Fowler tells a story of an English nut- hatch who is almost the same as one of ours. Some bird-lovers were in the habit of putting nuts on a window-sill for these birds to carry away. One day, to see what they would do, somebody put one in a glass tumbler. The birds saw the nut and tried to get it through the glass, pecking and hammering at it a long time. Finally, one got tired or discouraged and flew up to a perch over the tumbler. Then he hap- pened to look down, and saw the nut inside the glass. Instantly he came down. He alighted on the edge of the tumbler and held on tightly, while he leaned far over inside, almost standing on his head, till he picked up the nut and carried it off. These birds are easily made tame in winter by feeding them every day when food is hard to get; and at a time when they are forced to live on seeds and nuts, they greatly enjoy scraps of meat, and most of all, suet. Many people put out food for the birds every day in winter, in some safe place where cats cannot come. They have great pleasure in watching their little guests. 22 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS Chickadees, or Titmice, as they are named in the books, belong to another branch of this Fam- ily. There are a good many titmice in the world, seventy-five kinds or species, but we in America have only thirteen. Best known in the Eastern and Middle States is the common chickadee. In California, the mountain chickadee has habits about the same, and the Southern States have the tufted titmouse. All these little fellows are pretty birds in gray, set off with black and white, with lovely soft and fluffy plumage. The common CHICKADEE and his brother of the West have black on top of the head and on the throat, and white at the side of the head. They nest in holes in a tree or stump. If they can find the old home of a woodpecker, they are glad to get it, but if they cannot find one, they are able to cut one out for themselves, though it is a hard, long job for them. These birds have very large families, sometimes as many as eight or nine little chickadees in one of those dark nurseries. How so many can live there it is hard to see. They must be all ina heap. Everybody knows the common call of the chickadee, — “ chick-a-dee-dee ;”’ but he has a THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY 23 song, too. It is slow, sad-sounding, and of two notes, almost like the common cry of the pheebe. But you must not think they have no more than these few notes. They have odd little songs, and they make queer sounds that seem much like talking. Almost all birds have many notes and calls and little chatty noises of different sorts, besides their regular song and the common call note. To hear these, and learn to know a bird whatever he says, is one of the deliglits of bird study. I hope you will some day enjoy it. The Chippewa Indians named the chickadee “ kitch- kitch-ga-ne-shi.” A chickadee is a friendly little fellow. Many times one has come down on to a man’s hand or knee. Mr. Torrey once found a pair making their nest, and he climbed up on to a branch of the tree, close by where they were working, so as to watch them. Many birds would have been frightened to have a man so near, but not the brave little chickadees. They stared at him a little, but went right on with their building. These birds, though so tiny, are among the most useful to us, because they spy out and de- stroy the insect eggs hidden in crevices of bark, or under leaves. Bigger birds might not care to pick up such small things, or their beaks might be too clumsy to get at them. 24 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS When you see a chickadee scrambling over a tree, hanging head down with all sorts of antics, he is no doubt hunting out the eggs. These eggs, if left, would hatch out into hungry in- sects, to eat the leaves or fruit, or to injure and perhaps kill the tree. The nuthatch clears up the trunk and large limbs, and the chickadee does the same for the small branches and around the leaves. It has been found out that one pair of chicka- dees with their young will destroy five hundred pests, such as caterpillars, flies, and grubs, every day. No man could do so much, if he gave his whole time to it. Besides, he could not go over the whole tree as a bird does, without doing harm to it. A chickadee hops along the small branches and twigs, looking under every leaf, sometimes hanging head down to see the under side, and picks up every insect or egg. Among his dain- ties are the eggs of the leaf-rolling caterpillar, the canker-worm, and the apple-tree moth, — all very troublesome creatures. The Turrep Tirmovuss is more common in the South and West than his cousin, the chickadee, and he is one of the prettiest of the family. He is dressed in soft gray, with a fine, showy, pointed crest. His ways are something like the chicka- THE NUTHATCH AND CHICKADEE FAMILY 25 dee’s, but he is, perhaps, even bolder and more pert, and he is easily tamed. All his notes are loud and clear, and he is never for a moment still. In winter, this bird is found in little flocks of a dozen or more. These are probably all of one family, the parents and their two broods of the year. He is one of the birds who stores up food for a time when food is scarce. In summer, he eats only insects. The tufted titmouse, like others of his race, has a. great deal of curiosity. I have heard of one who came into a house through an open win- dow. It was a female titmouse in search of a good place for a nest. After she had been in all the rooms, and helped herself to whatever she found that was good to eat, she seemed to de- cide that it was a land of plenty and she would stay. The stranger settled upon a hanging basket as nice to build in. The family did not disturb her, and she brought in her materials and made her nest. She had even laid two or three eggs, when the people began to take too much interest in her affairs, and the bird thought it best to move to a safer place. Another of these birds in Ohio, looking about for something nice and soft to line her nest, 26 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS pitched upon a gentleman’s hair. Unfortunately, he had need of the hair himself; but the saucy little titmouse did n’t mind that. She alighted on his head, seized a beakful, and then bracing herself on her stout little legs, she actually jerked out the lock, and flew away with it. So well did she like it that she came back for more. The gentleman was a bird-lover, and was pleased to give some of his hair to such a brave little crea- ture. Vv THE CREEPER FAMILY (Certhiide )} Tus is a family of birds who creep; that is, they appear not to hop up a tree trunk like a woodpecker, or walk up like a nuthatch, but they hug close to the bark with claws and tail, and seem really to creep. The one member of the family in this country is called the Brown Creeper. He is a little fellow in streaks and stripes of brown, and he looks so much like the tree trunks that one can hardly see him. He has a slender, curved bill, just the thing to poke into cracks in the bark, and pull out the insects and eggs hidden there. His tail feathers are curious. They have sharp points on the ends, so that he can press them against the bark, and help support himself. The creeper’s way of getting up a trunk is to begin near the ground, and go round and round 1 See Appendix, 4. 28 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS the trunk till he reaches the lowest branch. Then he flings himself off, and flies to the roots of another tree, and goes up that in the same way. A brown creeper once came into a house, and found it so comfortable, and food so plenti- ful, and people so kind, that he stayed. He was very tame, and his great pleasure was to climb up a man’s leg or a woman’s skirt, exactly as he climbs a tree trunk, going round and round. Quiet and demure as he looks, this little bird sometimes plays rather funny pranks. He has been seen to whirl around like a top, and again to fly up and down close to a tree trunk, appar- ently just for fun. He has a sweet little song, which we do not often hear, for his voice is not strong. The brown creeper mother takes a droll place for a nest. It is behind the loose bark of an old tree. She makes a snug little home under the bark roof, and lines it with feathers, and there she brings up her three or four little creepers. She is as well protected from sun and rain as if she had an umbrella, and it is such an odd place that it was not for a long time known where her cunning little nest was made. This bird nests in the Eastern States, in northern New York and New England, and in California he nests in the mountains, but he goes BROWN CREEPER THE CREEPER FAMILY 29 South in winter. When he wants to hide, he makes use of a clever trick, which shows that he knows how much he looks like the trunk of a tree. He simply flattens himself against the bark, and keeps perfectly still. Then you can hardly see him, though you look right at him. You can see in the picture how he looks. VI THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY ( Troglodytide) * First BRANCH Tuis is a family of singers, who dress in plain colors. There is not a red or blue stripe, and not a yellow or purple feather, among them. The family has two branches, or subfamilies as the books call them. The first branch, which gives the name to the family, is made of birds who are really a sort of cave-dwellers, — the wrens. Wrens are lively little birds, excitable and afraid of nothing. They are in plain browns, barred off with another shade of the same color. They are so near the color of the ground, where they spend most of their time, that they are not easily seen. They have a way of holding their tails up, some of them much more than others, by which one may know a wren wherever he sees it. 1 See Appendix, 5. THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 31 The most common one of the family is the House Wren. He is found all over the Kastern States. In the Western States the same bird, except in the shade of his coat, is called the Western House Wren. The house wren 1s fond of a snug place for a nest. Ifa wren box is to be had, he will take that; but if not, he will seek some cozy nook, which he will furnish, mostly with fine twigs, and then wait for his mate to appear. Sometimes the bird takes queer places to live in. I once found a wren family inside a hollow iron hitching-post in a city street. The birds went in through the hole for the hitching-strap. I wondered how the wrenlings would get out through the long, dark passage. Another nest was made in an oriole’s hanging cradle, after the young orioles had flown. It was filled up with sticks to make it suitable for baby wrens. One that I found last summer was in a hole in a gate- post. The place is usually chosen by the male, who stuffs it full of fine twigs, and then sings and calls for his mate to come. He will sing hour after hour his sweet little song, stopping every few minutes to bring another stick to add to his store. The wren is a droll fellow about one thing, — 32 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS he never knows when he has enough furniture for his house. He will bring twigs and stuff them into the box or hole, till he can’t get another one in. Sometimes even till his mate can’t get in herself. A pair began to build in a shed room, and apparently set out to fill the whole room with twigs. They brought in so much stuff that the owner had to stop up the hole they used for a door and make them go some- where else. He was willing to share the room with them, but he could n’t spare the whole. The house wren is a plucky little fellow, and as he likes the same kind of places the English sparrow wants, they often quarrel over a box or a nice snug hole. Small as he is, the wren often succeeds in keeping the place he wants, and driving the sparrow away. English sparrows can be kept out of wren houses by making the opening too small for the bigger bird. An auger hole one inch in diame- ter will be large enough for wrens, but too small for sparrows. A sparrow has sometimes been seen trying to get into one of these wren boxes, and very droll he looks, when he sticks his head in, and struggles and kicks violently to push himself in. I found a pair of house wrens in Colorado one summer. The singer spent most of his time THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 33 scrambling about a pile of brush, apparently try- ing to make me think that was where he lived. But I was sure he had a mate and a nest some- where else, and I kept watch for them. One day I happened to see a little brown bird fly up under the eaves of a summer cottage not much bigger than a tent. On looking closely, I found that there were openings under the eaves. The birds had taken one of these for a door, and built a nest inside, in the box frame over a window. After that I looked at them through another window. Everything went well till the wrenlings left the nest and began to fly around. Then they seemed to lose their wits, or not to mind their parents. They flew wildly about in the cottage, bumping against the glass, and seem- ing not able to find the door to get out. I had not the key to open the big door, so I could not help them in their trouble. And the old birds were so frantic when I looked in at the window, while they were trying to get their family out, that I went away and left them. In an hour or two I went back, and found every- thing quiet, and the wren babies all out on the trees. Vil THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY SECOND BRANCH Tue second branch of this family is very dif- ferent from the first; it 1s composed of mock- ingbirds, catbirds, and thrashers. These birds were once placed with the thrushes, and by hab- its and manners they seem to belong there. But, as I told you, families in the bird world are made by structure, — by the way the bird is made. These birds have scales on the leg, and some other things like the wrens, so now they belong to the cave-dwelling family, though they never dwell in caves. They live in shrubbery , and low trees. They are larger than any wren, but they are like those birds in being good singers and dressed in plain colors. Wherever they are placed in the books, they are interesting and delightful birds to know. The most famous of this branch is the Mock- INGBIRD, found in the Southern States and Cali- THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 35 fornia. He is a beautiful and graceful fellow in gray, with large white patches in his wings. The nest of the mockingbird is a rather rough affair, built in a low tree or a bush. One that I saw was in a tree about as high as an apple-tree. The bird gets his food on the ground, and has a curious habit of lifting his wings as he is about to attack a beetle. The mockingbird is a celebrated singer. Many persons think him the finest m America. He is especially famous for repeating the notes of other birds; but he can imitate other sounds, such as a policeman’s rattle, a postman’s whistle, and almost anything else. Sometimes a caged one makes mischief by this accomplishment. He has no need to borrow, for he has a fine song of his own. Besides being famous in this way, he is a very knowing bird, and a most interesting one to study. The young mocker is a spirited fellow, who can’t endure to stay in the nest till his wings are strong enough to bear him. He usually tries to fly too soon, and so comes to the ground. Coming to the ground is a great misfortune to the bird, for he is easily caught and put in a cage. | Being fine singers, mockingbirds are often kept in cages. In the late summer, the bird 36 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS stores in New York have hundreds of them for sale, birds so young that they still wear the speckled bibs of baby-days. Many of them die, and so every year they are growing more rare. A lady wrote me the story of a young mock- ingbird, whose mother saved it from a cage. The — little fellow was just out of the nest, and could not fly far, and a young man thought he would catch him and take him to his sister; but the mother bird wished to save him from such a fate. When the man went toward the youngster on the ground, the mother flew down, seized him, lifted him up, and flew away with him. She carried him a little way and then let go. He flew as far as he could, but soon came to the ground again. Then the man started for him. Again the anxious mother flew down and lifted him into the air, and again he flew a little and fell to the ground. So it went on for some time, till the young man began to feel ashamed of himself. Then he took up the cage and went away, leav- ing’ the little one to his mother’s care. The mockingbird is one of our most knowing birds, and when one is tamed and free in a house, he is very amusing. He is as full of fun asa catbird, and as funny to watch. A true story was told in one of the papers, of a captive who \ THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 37 had some queer tricks. One was hunting in a workbox for a paper of needles, taking it down to the floor, and working it open, then suddenly giving it a jerk that sent the needles in a shower all over the floor. This bird was once shut up in a room alone, while the family were at table. He did not like it, for he wanted to be with them ; so he amused himself unwinding all the spools of thread in the workbox. He took one end of the thread and carried it all about the room, around everything and over everything — vases on the shelf, pic- tures on the wall, chair-legs, sofas, and lamps. Everything in the room was tied together, so that no one could go in lest something should be thrown down. The naughty bird was de- lighted with his mischief. He sat there singing at the top of his voice. The only way the family could get into the room was to get SCIS- sors and cut their way in. They found empty spools all over the floor, and hundreds of yards of thread used. The Carsrrp is dressed in plain slate-color. He is a near relative of the mockingbird, and better known in the Eastern States. He is also a fine singer, though he is not so famous. This is partly because he sings usually from the mid- 38 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS dle of a thick bush and so is not seen, and partly because he does not smg so loud. There is a great charm in the catbird’s song. The catbird is a charming fellow aside from his music. He is as knowing as the mocking- bird, and not much afraid of people. He will come near to houses to nest, and if not fright- ened or disturbed, he will be very familiar. Like many other birds, the catbird is kind to others in trouble. A pair had a nest near that of a pair of robins. One day the robins disap- peared — killed, no doubt—and the young in the nest began to cry. When one of the catbirds came with food for its own nestlings, the robin babies would cry to be fed too. Pretty soon the catbirds began to feed them. And at night, when bird babies need to be covered up by the warm feather-bed of their mother’s breast, one of the friendly catbirds filled her place, and kept them warm all night. So it went on till both families were grown up and could fly. One writer says: “ All day long the catbird watches over the fruit-trees, and kills the insects that would destroy them or the fruit. Of course he takes his share, especially of cherries, but for every one he takes, he eats thousands of insects. Where there are no small birds, there will be no fruit.” Thirty grasshoppers have been found in BROWN THRASHER THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 39 one small catbird’s stomach by the Department of Agriculture. A story showing how much the catbird knows and understands is of one in Iowa who had a nest in some vines over a porch. A tornado tore the vines so as to uncover the nest, and the lady of the house feared some one would disturb it. So she began to draw the vines together around it to hide it. While she was doing this, one of the old birds came and began to shriek, and ery, and fly round her head, threatening to dash at her eyes. The mate came too, and acted in the same way, supposing, no doubt, that she was doing some harm to their nest. She shielded her head and finished the work, and went into the house. The next morning she was sitting on the bal- cony the other side of the house. All at once a catbird flew down and perched on the railing within six feet of her, which no catbird had ever done before. She kept still, and he began jerk- ing his body and uttering sweet little calls and twitters, turning his head this side and that, with eyes fixed on her. He acted exactly as if he were talking to her, and after a while he broke out with a song, low and very sweet. She sat still, and after the song he began his twittering again, then sang once more. She had never heard anything so beautiful, and she was sure that he 40 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS was trying to express his thanks to her, and his regrets at the way he had treated her the day before. At least, that was the way it seemed to her. A catbird is as full of fun and pranks as a mockingbird. He may sometimes be seen to do what looks like playing jokes on others. A lady told me she saw a catbird drive a crow nearly wild by mocking his “ caw.” He cawed as well as the crow himself, and the crow was furious, dashing down at his small tormentor, and in every way showing anger at what no doubt seemed a great insult. The TurasHER, or Brown THRUSH, 1s also of this family. He is reddish brown on the back, and heavily spotted on the breast, and he has a long tail which he jerks about a good deal. He is known all over the Eastern and Southern States, and his California brother is almost ex- actly like him. He is a fine singer, and has been called the French mockingbird. Sometimes it is hard to tell his song from the mockingbird’s. The thrasher’s nest is usually made in a bush, the thickest and thorniest that can be found, and the brave little parents will make a great fight to keep their nestlings from harm. At one time, when a boy went to carry off some THE CAVE-DWELLING FAMILY 41 young thrashers, the old birds called together quite an army of birds to help defend them. There were at least fifty birds of many kinds, all flying around his head, screaming at him and trying to pick at his eyes. The boy was ashamed, and put back the little ones, glad to get away with his eyes safe. A Western bird, the Arizona thrasher, builds a nest in the middle of a cactus so full of sharp thorns like fine needles that it is a wonder how the birds can get into it. They pull off the thorns to make a passage, but the nestlings do sometimes get caught and die there. They must, however, be safe from most enemies. One pair that Mr. Palmer tells about built a regular hall- way of sticks six or eight inches long. All the birds of this family have great indi- viduality ; that is, no two are alike. The better you know birds, the more you will see that they do not act, or sing, or even look exactly alike. That is one reason why they are so interesting to study. vill THE DIPPER FAMILY (Cinclide) 3 THERE is only one member of this family in the United States, and that one lives in the Rocky Mountains and the mountains of Califor- nia. It is the AMERICAN DippER, or WATER OUZEL. The body of the ouzel is about as big asa robin’s, but looks much smaller, because his very short tail gives him a “chunky” look. His wings are short and rounded, and his plumage is very soft and so thick that he can go under water without getting wet. He is slate-color all over, a little paler on the breast, and his mate is exactly like him, but the young ouzel has all the under feathers tipped with white, and usually a white throat. Both old and young have shin- ing white eyelids which show very plainly among their dark feathers. The dipper is a water lover. The nest is 1 See Appendix, 6. AMERICAN DIPPER THE DIPPER FAMILY 43 placed close to it, generally near a waterfall, sometimes even behind a waterfall, where he has to go through a curtain of falling water to reach it. It is on a shelf of rock, and shaped like a little hut, with a hole on one side for a door. It is made of soft green moss, which is kept alive and growing by constant sprinkling. Sometimes the waterfall itself keeps it wet, but the birds have been seen to sprinkle it themselves. They do it by diving into the water, then going to the top of the nest and shaking themselves vio- lently. This bird is a curious fellow. His food is the small insects which live under water, and he is as much at home there as other birds are in the air. He can walk on the bottom with swift run- ning water over his head, and he can really fly under water, using his wings as he does in the air. I have seen him do it. The water ouzel cares nothing for the cold. On cold mornings when all other birds sit humped up with feathers puffed out over their feet to keep warm, he is as jolly and lively as ever. He flies about in the snow, dives under the ice, and comes out at an airhole, and sings as if it were summer weather. Mr. John Muir, who knows so well the West- ern mountains and the creatures who live there, 44 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS has told us most of what we know about this bird. He says the ouzel sings all winter, and never minds the weather; also that he never goes far from the stream. If he flies away, he flies close over the brook, and follows all its windings and never goes “across lots.” When the young ouzel is out of the nest and wants to be fed, he stands on a rock and “ dips,” that is, bends his knees and drops, then stands up straight again. He looks very droll. Dr. Merriam tells a story which shows how fond the dipper is of water, especially of a sprinkle, and explains why he always chooses to live by a waterfall. The doctor was camping out on the bank of a stream where one of these birds lived, and one morning he threw some water out of a cup. Instantly the bird flew into the little shower as if he liked it. To see if he really wanted to get into the water, the doctor threw out some more. Again the bird flew into it, and as long as he would throw out water, the ouzel would dash in for his sprinkle. Besides showing that the water ouzel likes water, this little story shows another thing, — that birds are not naturally afraid of us. On far-off islands where men have seldom been, birds do not run away from people. They have not learned to fear them. They will come up to THE DIPPER FAMILY 45 men, perch on their shoulders, and ride with them on their boats. I have read that in Nor- way, where everybody is kind to birds, they are not at all afraid. They will come into a barn or a house when the weather is cold, or they are hungry, and no man or boy thinks of Pee ing or hurting them. Mr. C. Lloyd Morgan has reared many birds by hatching the eggs in an incubator, so that they cannot be taught by their parents. He says that the birds of the wildest parents hatched in that way are never afraid of people who move quietly, or of a cat, or a quiet dog. Any sudden movement startles a young bird, but they are as much afraid of a dead leaf blown by the wind as they are of a hawk. It is the suddenness that alarms them. Some of them stop instantly on a sudden noise, like a sneeze or acough. If one foot happens to be raised to step, they will hold it so, and if the head is one side, it will stay so, exactly as if they were all turned to stone. IX THE WAGTAIL FAMILY (Motacillide) * Ir does not seem very polite to call a family of birds wagtails, just because they have the habit of jerking their tails as they go about. But that is the name they go by in the books, and we have two of them in the United States. We call them pipits or titlarks. The best known is SpracuE’s Pipir, called the Missouri skylark, or sometimes the prairie skylark. This bird gets the name of skylark because he sings while soaring about in the air far over our heads. He could not sing on a tree if he wanted to, for he lives on the plains between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, where are few or no trees. The pipits live on the ground, and walk and run, not hop. As they go, they bob their heads, and jerk their tails. They are a little larger 1 See Appendix, 7. SPRAGUE’S PIPIT THE WAGTAIL FAMILY 47 than an English sparrow, and they go in flocks. They are never seen in the woods, but in open pastures or plains, or beside a road. Sprague’s Pipit is all in streaks of brown and gray, and lighter below. He has a large foot, which shows that he lives on the ground, and a very long claw on the hind toe. The nest of the pipit is made by hollowing out a little place in the ground and lining it with fine grasses. Though on the ground, it is one of the hardest to find, because it is lightly cov- ered with the dry grasses, and when the bird is sitting, she matches the grasses so well that one can hardly see her, even when looking right at her. The birds eat insects and weed seeds, and go about in flocks. Even then they are hard to see, because when they are startled they do not flutter or fly, but crouch or squat at once, and stay perfectly still. This bird is noted, as I said, for his song. It is said to be as fine as that of the English sky- lark of which we hear so much. Perhaps his way of singing makes it still more interesting. He starts up on wing, flies a little one way, then the other, all the time going higher and higher. So he climbs on up, up, up, in a zigzag way, till he is fairly out of sight, all the time giving a 48 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS wonderfully sweet song. It is not very loud, but of such a kind that it is heard when the bird is far out of sight. When he can no longer be seen, one may still follow him with a good field- glass. He will sing without stopping for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then suddenly he stops, closes his wings, and comes head first towards the ground. It seems as if he would dash his brains out against the earth, but just before he touches, he opens his wings and alights like a feather, almost where he started from. He should be as famous as the English bird, and will be, no doubt, when he is better known. One of the things which make bird-study so interesting to us is that there is so much to be found out about our birds. European birds have been studied much longer, but we have still many beautiful ones whose manners and ways of living are almost unknown. These things are left for you young folk to find out when you are grown up. Xx THE WARBLER FAMILY (Mniotiltide) * THE gayest, the liveliest, and almost the small- est of our birds are the warblers. Some of _ them are not over five inches long from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail. Almost all wear bright colors, and the pair are never alike, while the youngsters are different from both. But few of them warble. Then why are they named so? Well, I have n’t found out; but we must call them warblers because that is their name in the books. Most of them have funny little songs of a few notes, which they jerk out every minute as they scramble about on the trees. We have seventy species of these little birds in the United States, and every one is working as hard as he can from morning till night, for our benefit. For every one eats insects, and enor- mous numbers of them. Some scramble over trees and pick them out from bud and blossom 1 See Appendix, 8. 50 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS and under leaves, others go over the bark, and others fly out like flycatchers. Some of them work in the tops of tall trees, others work in the orchards, some in bushes, and some on the ground. But wherever they live, they are beautiful to look at, and bewitching to study. Though they are little, they have plenty of spirit. I know of one kept in a room with sev- eral other birds, all bigger than himself. You might think he would be treated as big boys would treat a little one. But no, indeed! the tiny fellow made himself ruler of the whole party. He took the biggest bathing-dish, the best seed-cup, and the most desirable perch, and drove away any big bird who dared to claim either. The YELLOw WARBLER, found all over the country, is often called the wild canary, for, as you see him fly, he appears to be entirely yellow, but when you get nearer, you will see that on his breast are fine stripes. of reddish brown. His mate is all in yellow-olive color. They are very sweet little creatures, and make one of the prettiest nests in America. It is usually in an upright fork of a tree, or bush. It is made of fine material, among the rest a THE WARBLER FAMILY 5k good deal of a gray silky stuff which gives it a beautiful look. This bird is one of the few who will not bring up a cowbird baby. When the tiny mother finds a cowbird’s egg in her nest, she builds another story on top of the nest, leaving the egg to spoil. Sometimes a cowbird finds the second nest, and then the warbler adds a third story. Nests have been found three stories high, with a dried-up cowbird egg in each of the two lower stories. A strange thing happened once to a pair of yellow warblers. When the nest was done and the eggs laid, a storm threw it out of place, and tipped it over to one side, so that the little mother did not dare trust it fora cradle. So she built another nest in the same bush, and went to sitting on that. One day a bird-lover chanced to see the two nests, one with the bird sitting, the other tipped partly over and left with the eggs still in it. To see what the birds would do, he put the fallen nest back in place, and made it firm, and then went away. The little pair looked at the nest, and had a great deal of chatter over it. It was their own nest and their own eggs, but the mother could not sit in two places. Finally, the singer took his place on the re- stored nest. After that it was watched, and the 52 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS two birds sat on the two nests till all the young were hatched, and then fed and reared them. When they were ready to fly, the happy birds had a big family to take care of. Besides these tiny fellows that we call war- blers, there gre four bigger birds classed with the family, who do not look or act like warblers. They are the golden-crowned thrush or oven- bird, the water-thrush, the Louisiana water- thrush, and the yellow-breasted chat. The OveEn-BrrD gets his name from the nest, which is shaped like an old-fashioned oven. It is on the ground in the woods, often on the side of a little slope. It has a roof over it covered with sticks and leaves like the ground around it, so that it is hard to see. If you were to see this bird walking about on the ground, as he does, you would think him a thrush. He is something the same color, and he has a speckled breast like a thrush. His mate is dressed in the same way, and they have a dull yellowish stripe over the crown. He is the fellow you hear in the woods, calling “Teacher ! teacher! teacher!’’ He is found all over the United States east of the Rocky Moun- tains. YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT THE WARBLER FAMILY 53 The YELLOW-BREASTED CuarT is perhaps the drollest bird in North America. He is a beauti- ful bird, nearly as large as an oriole, olive green above and brilliant yellow below, and his mate is the same. He is found all over the country south of the latitude of Massachusetts. In the West and California, the chat is a little more gray in color, and has a longer tail. He is called the long-tailed chat, but a chat is the same funny fellow, wherever he is found. He reminds one of a clown, he plays so many antics, and makes such queer sounds, hardly in the least like a song. He will whistle, bark like a puppy, mew like a cat, or laugh hke an old man, all in a loud, strange voice. Besides this, the chat is a ventriloquist, that is, can make his voice appear to come from some place far off, when he is near, and so fool us. The chat has a way of flying up into the air with wings fluttering and legs dangling as if they were not well fastened on, and looking as if he would fall to pieces himself. He does not like to be seen, either. He prefers to hide in a thick bush, and make all sorts of strange noises to deceive one. The one thing a chat hates more than any- thing else is to have his nest found. I have known a chat to desert a nest with three lovely 54 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS eggs in it, just because it was looked at, though neither nest nor eggs were touched. I found that nest myself, and I wanted very much to see how the birds live and bring up the little ones, so I was careful not to disturb any- thing. I hid myself a long way off, where I could see the nest with a field-glass, and where I thought the birds would not notice me. I sat there perfectly still for hours, till the eggs had time to get cold, and I saw another bird carry them off. No doubt they saw me, however, for they never came back to the nest. XI THE VIREO FAMILY (Vireonide) * THE vireos are a small family, fifty species, found only n America. They are very quietly dressed in greenish olive hues, with hardly a bright color among them. They were once called greenlets. They all live in trees and catch insects, going about over the twigs. They sing as they go, like the warblers, combining work and _ play. Some of them sing almost without stopping, and it gets to be rather tiresome after a while. One or two of them even sing on the nest, which hardly another bird does. The vireos make the prettiest nests. They are swinging baskets, hung between the forks of a twig, and usually near the end, where they rock in every breeze. They are not often very high. The birds are easily tamed by one who is quiet, and careful not to frighten them. 1 See Appendix, 9. 56 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS Mr. Torrey found a vireo on her nest, and by gentle ways got her to let him stroke her. Next day he took some rose leaves with aphides on them, and holding one of the insects on his finger, he offered it to the bird on the nest. She took it, and then another and another, till finally she began to be very eager for them, and he could hardly feed her fast enough. Then he took a teaspoon full of water up to her, and she drank. Another gentleman — Mr. Hoffmann — did still more. He coaxed a YELLOW-THROATED Vireo till she took food out of his lips. Black ants and cankerworms were the things he fed her. She preferred the ants, and would scold him a little at first when he offered the worms, though she took them at last. This bird was so tame she would let a man lift her off her nest and put her on his shoulder while he looked at the eggs. She would stay there till he put her back. The yellow-throat, besides making a pretty hanging basket, covers the outside with lichens of different colors, green, dark and light, yellow, and almost black. It is said that these pretty things are put on by the male while his mate is sitting. A pair was once watched at their building. THE VIREO FAMILY 57 The female was lining and shaping the inside, and her mate working silky-looking strips from plants into the framework, and then covering the whole with lichens. He was so happy, he sang as he worked. The one of this family most widely spread over the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is the Warsiinc Vireo. His song is the most agreeable of the vireo songs, being truly a war- ble of six or eight notes, of which one does not get tired. The dress of the Western warbling vireo is a little paler, but the habits and man- ners are about the same as those of his Eastern brother. Vireos were once common in the shade-trees of our city streets, and are still in some places where English sparrows have not taken every- thing, and boys are not allowed to throw stones or shoot. I know one city in Massachusetts where trees are very lovely and musical with yel- low-throats. We can still have these and other birds in our yards — we who do not live in the middle of a big city — by protecting them from cats and bad boys, and furnishing good places to nest. Mr. Lloyd Morgan tells of a garden near his own where there were fifty-three nests, besides swal- 58 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS lows’. The owner planted thick bushes, and some cone-bearing trees. He put bird-boxes and old flower-pots and other things suitable to build in, in convenient places in the trees. The birds appreciated all this and came and stayed with him. XIT THE SHRIKE FAMILY (Laniide) } A SHRIKE is a pretty gray bird with white and black trimmings. He is nearly as large as a robin, and has a bill slightly hooked on the end. This is to help catch living prey, for he eats mice and other little mammals, besides grasshoppers, crickets, and sometimes small birds. This family have a curious habit of sticking dead grasshoppers, or mice, or other food, on a thorn, to keep till they are wanted. Because of this habit they have been called butcher-birds. The LoGGERHEAD SHRIKE, who is perhaps the most widely known, builds a bulky nest in a tree, and is very attentive to his mate while she is sitting. She looks exactly like him. He is a very quiet bird, and three or four or more of them may often be seen in a little party together, flying and hopping about in a tree, or 1 See Appendix, 10. 60 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS on the ground, in the most amiable way. This shrike is a sweet singer, too. The song is not loud, but very pleasing. A great deal that is not true has been said about this bird. Some people seem to think he is in the habit of tormenting and killing little birds for fun, and he is called many hard names. But he does not deserve them. His way of keep- ing his food has been spoken of as if it were a crime. He lives generally on crickets, grasshop- pers, meadow mice, and small snakes, besides cut-worms, cankerworms, and many others. He is extremely useful to farmers and cultivators on that account. Sometimes, when other food is scarce, he eats small birds, but they are by no means his usual food. I have watched a family of shrikes sev- eral times, and always looked very sharply to see if they touched birds. I have seen them eat many sorts of insects and grubs, and meadow mice, but never saw one disturb a bird. Other people who have watched them closely have told that their experience was the same. And writers about birds who study for themselves, and do not merely repeat what others have said, generally agree that the bird kills his prey be- fore he impales it. More than that, the number of birds he kills is very small compared to the LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE THE SHRIKE FAMILY 61 hosts of troublesome insects and small animals he eats. The conclusion of the Agricultural Depart- ment as to the food of shrikes all over the coun- try is that it consists mainly of grasshoppers, and that the good they do is much greater than the harm, and therefore they should be protected. Mr. Keyser once saw a shrike catch a meadow mouse, and carry it up into a tree. First he killed it, and then tried to wedge it into a crotch so that he could eat it. But finally he found the sharp end of a broken snag, on which he fastened it. There is no doubt that the shrike impales his prey so that he can pull it to pieces to eat, for his feet are too small to hold it. I have seen a shrike throw a dead meadow mouse over a fence wire that had sagged to the ground, in order to get bits off to eat. A lady in New Hampshire who had a captive shrike tells in “ Bird-Lore” that he was unable to eat a piece of meat until he could find a place to fasten it. He hopped around the room, looking for something, till she guessed what he wanted. Then she brought a kitchen fork with two tines. The moment he saw it he ran to her, hopped up on her hand, jerked his meat over the tines, and at once began to eat. 62 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS An interesting little action of one of these birds was seen by a gentleman traveling in Florida last winter. Wishing to have one of the birds to add to a collection, he shot one (I’m sorry to say). The bird was not killed, but wounded so that he could not fly. As the man came near to pick it up, the poor fellow gave a cry of distress, and fluttered away on his broken wing with great difficulty. His call for help was heard. Another shrike at once flew down from a tree, and went to his aid. He flew close around him and under him, in some way holding him up as he was about to fall. He helped him so well that the two began to rise in the air, and before the eyes of the surprised hunter, at last got safely into the top of a tall tree, where he left them. If you ever happen to find a shrike nesting, I hope you will watch the birds for yourself, and see how they act, and not take the word of any one about them. Then you will really know them. The picture shows a shrike as I have often seen one, sitting on the top twig of the tree that holds his nest, watching to see that no harm comes to it. XI THE WAXWING FAMILY (Ampelide) ' THE waxwings are a family of beautiful birds, with elegant pointed crests, and wonderfully silky plumage. Excepting one species they are in soft grayish or reddish brown colors, with yellow tips to their tails and black lines on the head that look like spectacles, and give them a wise appearance. Best known is the Cepar W AxwIna, or CEDAR- BIRD. He isa citizen at large, you may say, for he is known from sea to sea, and from Canada to Mexico. He nests all over the northern parts, and winters in the southern parts. This bird gets his name of cedar-bird from the fact that he is fond of cedar berries. He is often called cherry-bird also, because he likes cherries. His name waxwing comes from the little tips like red sealing-wax which are on some 1 See Appendix, 11. 64 THE SECOND BOOK OF BIRDS of his wing feathers. In Maine he is called the bonnet-bird because of his crest, and in some places he is called silk-tail from his silky plum- age. You see he has plenty of names. Among the strange things about him is that he has almost no voice. The loudest sound he is known to make is a sort of whistle, so low it is like a whisper. The cedar-bird builds a very neat nest in a tree, and feeds his mate while she is sitting, as well as helps her feed the little folk. The young cedar-bird is a winsome youngster, gentle in his ways, and pretty in his soft gray suit and spotted breast. One day last summer, a man walking down a quiet road was surprised by a young bird alight- ing on his shoulder. He walked on home with it, and when he took it off found it was a baby cedar-bird. No doubt he had tried to fly too far and got tired. The family kept the bird a day or two, and then brought him to me. He was not afraid of anybody, and was perfectly happy so long as some one would keep him warm between two hands. It was hard to get him to eat, and there were plenty of his grown-up relatives about, probably his own family among them. So IJ thought it THE WAXWING FAMILY 65 would be safe to put him out. I took him to the woods where I had seen a little family of young cedar-birds, and placed him on a low tree. He brightened up at once, and began to call, and flew to another tree. Fearing that my being there might prevent his mother coming to him, I left him. When I went out again I could not find him, so I hope he was safe with his friends. I was more certain of it, because I know that these birds are kind to all birds in distress. A lady was once watching a nest of robins when the parents disappeared, no doubt killed. She was much troubled to know how she should get at the high nest to feed the young ones who were calling for their dinner, when she saw a cedar-bird go to them and feed them. After that she kept close watch, and saw the cedar-bird feed them every day, and take care of the nestlings till they could fly. He no doubt taught them to take care of themselves, but this she could not see, for they flew away. The ordinary food of this bird is insects that are found on trees, especially among fruit. But they have taken to fly-catching also.