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I
VOLUME n. JULY TO DECEMBER, 1897. Periodic*/
INDEX.
Anhinga, or Snake Bird, Anhinga Anhinga pages 26-27
Avocet, American, Recurvirostra Americana " 14-15
Audubon, John James u 161
Birds of Bethlehem " 22^
Bird Song " 1-41-81
Birds in Captivity " 121
Birds of Passage " 173
Bird Miscellany ....'........ " 195-235
Blue Bird, Mountain, Sialia arctica " 203-205
Bunting, Lazuli, Passerina amoena , " 196-198-199
Chimney Swift, Ghatura pelagica " 131-133
Captive's Escape " 116
Chat, Yellow- Breasted, Icteria virens " 236-238-239
Cuckoo, Yellow-Billed, Coccyzus americanus " 94-95
Dove, Mourning, Zenaidura macrura " iri-ii2-ii3
Duck, Canvas-back, Athya valisneria . . " 18-20
Duck, Mallard, Anas boschas " 10-11-13
Duck, Wood, Aix Sponsa . " 21-23-24
Eagle, Baldheaded, Hali&tus lencocephalus " 2-3-5
Flamingo, Pluznicopterus ruber " 218-221
Flycatcher, Vermillion, Pyrocephalus rubineus mexicanus . . " 192-193
Gold Finch, American, Spinus tristis , " 128-129-130
Goose, White-fronted, Anser albifrons gambeli " 166-168169
Grackle, Bronzed, Quiscalus quiscula " 228-230-231
Grosbeak, Evening, Cocothraustes vespertina " 68-70-71
Grouse, Black, Tetrao tetrix " 217-220-223
Heron, Snowy, Ardea candidissima " 38-39
How the Birds Secured Their Rights " 115
Humming Bird, Allen's Selasphorus alleni " 210-211
Humming Bird, Ruby-Throated, Trochilus colubris .... u 97-100-103
J unco, Slate Colored, Junco hyemalis " 153-155
Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus . . " 156158159
Kingfisher, European, Alcedo ispida " 188-190-191
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned, Regulus calendula " 108110
Lark, Horned, Otocoris alpestris " 134-135
Lost Mate . "126
Merganser, Red-Breasted, Merganser serrator pages 54-55
Nuthatch, White-Breasted, Sitta carolinensis . " 118-119
Old Abe " 35
Ornithological Congress " 201
Osprey, American, Pandion palicetus carolinenses u 42-43-45
Partridge, Gambel's, Callipepla gambeli " 78-79
Phalarope, Wilson's, Phalaropus tricolor " 66-67
Pheasant, Ringnecked, Phasianus torquatus " 232-233
Phoebe, Sayornis ph<zbe " 106-107
Plover, Belted Piping, Aegialitis meloda circumcincta . ... u 174-175
Plover, Semipalmated Ring, Aegialitis semi-polmata .... " 6-8-9
Rail, Sora, Porzana Carolina " 46-48-49
Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied, Sphyrapicus varius " 137-140-143
Scoter, American, Oidemia deglandi " 32-33
Skylark, Alauda arvensis " 61-63-64
Snake Bird, (Anhinga) Anhinga anhinga " 26-27
Snowflake, Plectrophenax nivalis " 150-151-152
Sparrow, English, Passer domesticus " 206-208-209
Sparrow, Song, Melospiza fasciata " 90-91-93
Summaries " 40-80-120-
160-200-240
Tanager, Summer, Piranga rubra " 163-165
Teal, Green winged, Anas carolinensis " 213-214-215
The Bird's Story. . . . " 224
Thrush, Hermit, Turdus Aonalaschkae " 86-88-89
To a Water Fowl .^ " 76
Tropic Bird, Yellow-billed, Phaethon flavirostris . ..... " 184-186-187
Turkey, Wild, Meleagris gallopava " 177-180-183
Turnstone, Arenaria interpres " 170-171
Verdin, Auriparus flaviceps " 226-227
Vireo, Warbling, Vireo gilvus ...... " 138-141
Vulture, Turkey, Catharista Atrata . , " 72-73-75
Warbler, Blackburnian, Dendroica blackburnia '' 123-125
Warbler, Cerulean, Dendraeca caerulea " 178-181
Warbler, Kentucky, Geothlypis formosa " 50-51-53
Warbler, Yellow, Dendroica (estiva " 83-85
Woodcock, American, Philohela minor " 28-30-31
Wren, House, Troglodytes cedon " 98-101-104
Wood Pewee, Contopus Virens " 144-146-
147-148
Yellow Legs, Totanus flavipes. . " 58-60
VOLUME H. JULY TO DECEMBER, 1897.
INDEX.
Anhinga, or Snake Bird, Anhinga Anhinga pages
Avocet, American, Recurvirostra Americana "
Audubon, John James "
Birds of Bethlehem
Bird Song /
Birds in Captivity . . . . . *. . .
Birds of Passage ...
Bird Miscellany , ..-.-. -.-.. . ; '.
Blue Bird, Mountain, Sialia arctica , ._ .
Bunting, Lazuli, Passerina amoena , .
Chimney Swift, Chcetura pelagica ;
Captive's Escape n
Chat, Yellow- Breasted, Icteria virens
Cuckoo, Yellow-Billed, Coccyzus americanus . . . , . .
Dove, Mourning, Zenaidura macrura .
Duck, Canvas-back, Athya valisneria ...........
Duck, Mallard, Anas boschas . . . . .
Duck, Wood, Aix Sponsa < . ... . .
Eagle, Baldheaded, Halicetus lencocephalus
Flamingo, Phcenicopterus ruber . '.
Flycatcher, Vermillion, Pyrocephalus rubineus mexicanus .
Gold Finch, American, Spinus tnstis ; ,
Goose, White-fronted, Anser albifrons gambeli
Grackle, Bronzed, Quiscalus quiscula
Grosbeak, Evening, Cocothraustes vespertina
Grouse, Black, Tetrao tetrix . . . . -, 1 -. . . -. -V .
Heron, Snowy, Ardea candidissima . . .
How the Birds Secured Their Rights
Humming Bird, Allen's Selasphorus alleni .
Humming Bird, Ruby-Throated, Trochilus colubris . . .
Junco, Slate Colored, Junco hy emails . . . .>.',.. ,
Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus ; i' . .
Kingfisher, European, Alcedo ispida "
Kinglet, Ruby-crowned, Re gulus calendula "
Lark, Horned, Otocoris alpestris "
Lost Mate . . . . "
26-27
14^5
161
223
1-41-81
121
173
'95-235
203-205
196-198-199
116
236-238-239
94-95
111-112-113
18-20
10-11-13
21-23-24
2-3-5
218-221
192-193
128-129-130
166-168-169
228-230-231
68-70-7 i
217-220-223
38-39
"5
97-IOO-IO3
I 53~ I 55
I34-I35
126
Merganser, Red-Breasted, Merganser serrator pages 54-55
Nuthatch, White-Breasted, Sitta carolinensis " 118-119
Old Abe '..... 35
Ornithological Congress " 201
Osprey, American, Pandion palicetus carolinenses " 42-43-45
Partridge, Gambel's, Callipepla gambeli " 78-79
Phalarope, Wilson's, Phalaropus tricolor " 66-67
Pheasant, Ringnecked, Phasianus torquatus " 232-233
Phoebe, Sayornis phcebe " 106-107
Plover, Belted Piping, Aegialitis meloda circumcincta . ... u 174-175
Plover, Semipalmated Ring, Aegialitis semi-polmata .... " 6-8-9
Rail, Sora, Porzana Carolina " 46-48-49
Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied, Sphyrapicus rarius " 137-140-143
Scoter, American, Oidemia deglandi " 32-33
Skylark, Alauda arvensis ,. " 61-63-64
Snake Bird, (Anhinga) Anhinga anhinga . " 26-27
Snowflake, Plectrophenax nivalis " 150-151-152
Sparrow, English, Passer domesticus ... ....... " 206-208-^-209
Sparrow, Song, Melospisa fasciata " 90-91-93
Summaries " 40-80-120-
160-200-240
Tanager, Summer, Piranga rubra . u 163-165
Teal, Green winged, Anas carolinensis u 213-214-215
The Bird's Story. . . . , " 224
Thrush, Hermit, Turdus Aonalaschkae " 86-88-89
To a Water Fowl . . " 76
Tropic Bird, Yellow-billed, Phaethon flavirostris . - " 184-186-187
Turkey, Wild, Meleagris gallopava " 177-180-183
Turnstone, Arenaria interpres " 170171
Verdin, Auriparus flaviceps " 226227
Vireo, Warbling, Vireo gilvus " 138-141
Vulture, Turkey, Catharista Atrata " . 72-73-75
Warbler, Blackburnian, Dendroica blackburnia " 123-125
Warbler, Cerulean, Dendrceca caerulea . " 178-181
Warbler, Kentucky, Geothlypis formosa " 50-51-53
Warbler, Yellow, Dendroica astiva " 83-85
Woodcock, American, Philohela minor " 28-30-31
Wren, House, Troglodytes cedon " 98-101-104
Wood Pewee, Contopus Virens " 144-146-
147-148
Yellow Legs, Totanus flavipes " 58-60
BIRDS.
BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY.
VOL. II.
JULY, 1897.
No. i.
BIRD SONG.
i
T SHOULD not be overlooked
by the young observer that if
he would learn to recognize at
once any particular bird, he
should make himself acquainted
with the song and call notes of every
bird around him. The identification,
however, of the many feathered creatures
with which we meet in our rambles
has heretofore required so much
patience, that, though a delight to the
enthusiast, few have time to acquire
any great intimacy with them. To
get this acquaintance with the birds,
the observer has need to be prepared
to explore perilous places, to climb
lofty trees, and to meet with frequent
mishaps. To be sure if every veritable
secret of their habits is to be pried into,
this pursuit will continue to be plied
as patiently as it has ever been. The
opportunity, however, to secure a sat-
isfactory knowledge of bird song and
bird life by a most delightful method
has at last come to every one.
A gentleman who has taken a great
interest in BIRDS from the appearance
of the first number, but whose acquaint-
ance with living birds is quite limited,
visited one of our parks a few days
ago, taking with him the latest num-
ber of the magazine. His object, he
said, was to find there as many
of the living forms of the speci-
mens represented as he could. "Seat-
ing myself amidst a small grove
of trees, what was my delight at see-
ing a Red Wing alight on a telegraph
wire stretching across the park. Ex-
amining the picture in BIRDS I was
somewhat disappointed to find that the
live specimen was not so brilliantly
marked as in the picture. Presently,
however, another Blackbird alighted
near, who seemed to be the veritable
presentment of the photograph. Then
it occured to me that I had seen the
Red Wing before, without knowing its
name. It kept repeating a rich, juicy
note, oncher-la-ree-e! its tail tetering at
quick intervals. A few days later I
observed a large number of Red Wings
near the Hyde Park water works, in
the vicinity of which, among the trees
and in the marshes, I also saw many
other birds unknown to me. With
BIRDS in my hands, I identified the
Robin, who ran along the ground
quite close to me, anon summoning
with his beak the incautious angle
worm to the surface. The Jays were
noisy and numerous, and I observed
many new traits in the Wood Thrush,
so like the Robin that I was at first in
some doubt about it. I heard very
few birds sing that day, most of them
being busy in search of food for their
young."
[CONTINUED ON PAGE 17.]
THE BALD-HEADED EAGLE.
Dear Boys and Girls :
I had hoped to show you
the picture of the eagle that
went through the war with the
soldiers. They called him " Old
Abe." You will find on page
35 a long story written about
him. Ask some one to read it
to you.
I could net get " Old Abe," or
you should now be looking at
his picture. He is at present in
Wisconsin, and his owner would
not allow him to be taken from
home.
I did the next best thing, and
found one that was very much
like him. They are as near
alike as two children of a
family. Old Abe's feathers are
not quite so smooth, though. Do
you wonder, after having been
through the war? He is a
veteran, isn't he ?
The picture is that of a Bald-
headed Eagle. He is known,
also, by other names, such as
White-headed Eagle, Bird of
Washington, Sea Eagle.
You can easily see by the
picture that he is not bald-
headed. The name White-
headed would seem a better
name. It is because at a dis-
tance his head and neck appear
as though they were covered
with a white skin.
He is called u Sea Eagle "
because his food is mostly fish.
He takes the fish that are thrown
upon the shores by the waves,
and sometimes he robs the Fish
Hawk of his food.
This mighty bird usually
places his large nest in some
tall tree. He uses sticks three
to five feet long, large pieces of
sod, weeds, moss, and whatever
he can find.
The nest is sometimes five or
six feet through. Eagles use the
same nest for years, adding to
it each year.
Young eagles are queer look-
ing birds. When hatched, they
are covered with a soft down
that looks like cotton.
Their parents feed them, and
do not allow them to leave the
nest until they are old enough
to fly. When they are old
enough, the mother bird pushes .
them out of the nest. She must
be sure that they can flj 7 , or she
would not dare do this. Don't
you think so?
im col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
AMERICAN BALD EAGLE.
14 Life size.
THE BALD HEADED EAGLE.
HIS mighty bird of lofty flight
is a native of the whole of
North America, and may be
seen haunting the greater
portions of the sea coasts, as well
as the mouths of large rivers. He is
sometimes called the Whiteheaded
Eagle, the American Sea Eagle, the
Bird of Washington, the Washington
Eagle, and the Sea Eagle. On account
of thesnowy white of his head and neck,
the name Bald Eagle has been applied
to him more generally than any other.
Sea-faring men are partial to young
Eagles as pets, there being a well
established superstition among them
that the ship that carries the " King
of Birds "can never go down. The
old Romans, in selecting the Eagle as
an emblem for their imperial standard,
showed this superstitious belief, regard-
ing him as the favorite messenger of
Jupiter, holding communion with
heaven. The Orientals, too, believed
that the feathers of the Eagle's tail
rendered their arrows invincible. The
Indian mountain tribes east of Ten-
nessee venerated the Eagle as their
bird of war, and placed a high value
on his feathers, which they used for
headdresses and to decorate their pipes
of peace.
The United States seems to have an
abiding faith in the great bird, as our
minted dollars show.
The nest of the Bald Eagle is usually
placed upon the top of a giant tree,
standing far up on the side of a moun-
tain, among myriads of twining vines,
or on the summit of a high inaccessi-
ble rock. The nest in the course of
years, becomes of great size as the
Eagle lays her eggs year after year in
the same nest, and at each nesting
season adds new material to the old
nest. It is strongly and comfortably
built with large sticks and branches,
nearly flat, and bound together with
twining vines. The spacious interior
is lined with hair and moss, so minutely
woven together as to exclude the wind.
The female lays two eggs of a brown-
ish red color, with many dots and
spots, the long end of the egg tapering
to a point. The parents are affection-
ate, attend to their young as long as
they are helpless and unfledged, and
will not forsake them even though the
tree on which they rest be enveloped
in flames. When the Eaglets are
ready to fly, however, the parents push
them from the perch and trust them to
the high atmospheric currents. They
turn them out, so to speak, to shift for
themselves.
The Bald Eagle has an accommo-
dating appetite, eating almost anything
that has ever had life. He is fond of
fish, without being a great fisher, pre-
ferring to rob the Fish-hawk of the
fruits of his skillful labor. Sitting
upon the side of a mountain his keen
vision surveys the plain or valley, and
detects a sheep, a young goat, a fat
turkey or rooster, a pig, a rabbit or a
large bird, and almost within an eye-
twinkle he descends upon his victim.
A mighty grasp, a twist of his talons,
and the quarry is dead long before the
Eagle lays it down for a repast. The
impetuosity and skill with which he
pursues, overtakes and robs the Fish-
hawk, and the swiftness with which
the Bald Eagle darts down upon and
seizes the booty, which the Hawk has
been compelled to let go, is not the
least wonderful part of this striking
performance.
The longevity of the Eagle is very
great, from 80 to 160 years.
THE SEMIPALMATED RING PLOVER,
N THEIR habits the Plovers are
usually active ; they run and
fly with equal facility, and
though they rarely attempt to
swim, are not altogether unsuc-
cessful in that particular.
The Semipalmated Ring Plover
utters a plaintive whistle, and during
the nesting season can produce a few
connected pleasing notes. The three
or four pear-shaped, variagated eggs
are deposited in a slight hollow in the
ground, in which a few blades of grass
are occasionally placed. Both parents
assist in rearing the young. Worms,
small quadrupeds, and insects consti-
tute their food. Their flesh is regarded
as a delicacy, and they are therefore ob-
jects of great attraction to the sports-
man, although they often render them-
selves extremely troublesome by utter-
ingtheirshrillcryandthuswarningtheir
feathered companions of the approach
of danger. From this habit they have
received the name of "tell-tales." Dr.
Livingstone said of the African species:
U A most plaguey sort of public spirited
individual follows you everywhere,
flying overhead, and is most persever-
ing in his attempts to give fair warn-
ing to all animals within hearing to
flee from the approach of danger."
The American Ring Plover nests as
far north as Labrador, and is common
on our shores from August to October,
after which it migrates southward.
Some are stationary in the southern
states. It is often called the Ring-
Plover, and has been supposed to be
identical with the European Ringed
Plover.
It is one of the commonest of shore
birds. It is found along the beaches
and easily identified by the complete
neck ring, white upon dark and dark
upon light. Like the Sandpipers the
Plovers dance along the shore in
rhythm with the wavelets, leaving
sharp half-webbed footprints on the
wet sand. Though usually found along
the seashore, Samuels says that on
their arrival in spring, small flocks
follow the courses of large rivers, like
the Connecticut. He also found a
single pair building on Muskeget, the
famous haunt of Gulls, off the shore of
Massachusetts. It has been found near
Chicago, Illinois, in July.
THE RING PLOVER.
Plovers belong to a class of
birds called Waders.
They spend the winters
down south, and early in the
spring begin their, journey north.
By the beginning of summer
they are in the cold north, where
they lay their eggs and hatch
their young. Here they remain
until about the month of August,
when they begin to journey
southward. It is on their way
back that we see most of them.
While on their way north, they
are in a hurry to reach their
nesting places, so only stop here
and there for food and rest.
Coming back with their fam-
ilies, we often see them in
ploughed fields. Here they find
insects and seeds to eat.
The Ring Plover is so called
from the white ring around its
neck.
These birds are not particular
about their nests. They do not
build comfortable nests as most
birds do. They find a place that
is sheltered from the north
winds, and where the sun will
reach them. Here they make a
rude nest of the mosses lying
around.
The eggs are somewhat
pointed, and placed in the nest
with the points toward the cen-
ter. In this way the bird can
more easily cover the eggs.
We find, among most birds,
that after the nest is made, the
mother bird thinks it her duty
to hatch the yo.ung.
The father bird usually feeds
her while she sits on the eggs.
In some of the bird stories, you
have read how the father and
mother birds take turns in build-
ing the nest, sitting on the nest,
and feeding the young.
Some father birds do all the
work in building the nest,
and take care of the birds when
hatched.
Among plovers, the father
bird usually hatches the young,
and lets the wife do as she
pleases.
After the young are hatched
they help each other take care of
them.
Plovers have long wings, and
can fly very swiftly.
The distance between their
summer and winter homes is
sometimes very great.
THE MALLARD DUCK.
We should probably think this
the most beautiful of ducks, were
the Wood Duck not around.
His rich glossy-green head
and neck, snowy white collar,
and curly feathers of the tail
are surely marks of beauty.
But Mr. Mallard is not so
richly dressed all of the year.
Like a great many other birds,
he changes his clothes after the
holiday season is over. When
he does this, you can hardly tell
him from his mate who wears a
sober dress all the year.
Most birds that change their
plumage wear their bright,
beautiful dress during the sum-
mer. Not so with Mr. Mallard.
He wears his holiday clothes
during the winter. In the sum-
mer he looks much like his mate.
Usually the Mallard family
have six to ten eggs in their nest.
They are of a pale greenish
color very much like the eggs
of our tame ducks that we see
about the barnyards.
Those who have studied birds
say that our tame ducks are
descendants of the Mallards.
If you were to hear the Mal-
lard's quack, you could not tell it
from that of the domestic duck.
The Mallard usually makes
her nest of grass, and lines it
with down from her breast.
You will almost always find
it on the ground, near the water,
and well sheltered by weeds and
tall grasses.
It isn't often you see a duck
with so small a family. It must
be that some of the ducklings
are away picking up food.
Do you think they look like
young chickens ?
THE MALLARD DUCK.
HE Mallard Duck is generally
distributed in North America,
migrating south in winter to
Panama, Cuba, and the Ba-
hamas. In summer the full grown
male resembles the female, being
merely somewhat darker in color. 'The
plumage is donned by degrees in early
June, and in August the full rich
winter dress is again resumed. The
adult males in winter plumage vary
chiefly in the extent and richness of
the chestnut of the breast.
The Mallard is probably the best
known of all our wild ducks, being
very plentiful and remarkable on
account of its size. Chiefly migrant,
a few sometimes remain in the south-
ern portion of Illinois, and a few pairs
sometimes breed in the more secluded
localities where they are free from dis-
turbance. Its favorite resorts are mar-
gins of ponds and streams, pools and
ditches. It is an easy walker, and can
run with a good deal of speed, or dive
if forced to do so, though it never
dives for food It feeds on seeds of
grasses, fibrous roots of plants, worms,
shell fish, and insects. In feeding in
shallow water the bird keeps the hind
part of its body erect, while it searches
the muddy bottom with its bill.
When alarmed and made to fly, it
utters a loud quack, the cry of the
female being the louder. " It feeds
silently, but after hunger is satisfied,
it amuses itself with various jabberings,
swims about, moves its head backward
and forward, throws water over its
back, shoots along the surface, half
flying, half running, and seems quite
playful. If alarmed, the Mallard springs
up at once with a bound, rises obliquely
to a considerable height, and flies off
with great speed, the wings producing
a whistling sound. The flight is made
by repeated flaps, without sailing, and
when in full flight its speed is
hardly less than a hundred miles an
hour."
Early in spring the male and female
seek a nesting place, building on the
ground, in marshes or among water
plants, sometimes on higher ground,
but never far from water. The nest
is large and rudely made of sedges and
coarse grasses, seldom lined with clown
or feathers. In rare instances it nests
in trees, using the deserted nests of
hawks, crows, or other large birds.
Six or eight eggs of pale dull green
are hatched, and the young are covered
over with down. When the female
leaves the nest she conceals the eggs
with hay, down, or any convenient
material. As soon as hatched the
chicks follow the mother to the water,
where she attends them devotedly, aids
them in procuring food, and warns
them of danger. While they are at-
tempting to escape, she feigns lame-
ness to attract to herself the attention
of the enemy. The chicks are won-
derfully active little fellows, dive
quickly, and remain under water with
only the bill above the surface.
On a lovely morning, before the sun
has fairly indicated his returning pres-
ence, there can be no finer sight than
the hurrying pinions, or inspiring
note than the squawk, oft repeated, of
these handsome feathered creatures, as
they seek their morning meal in the
lagoons and marshes.
THE AMERICAN AVOCET.
KITE SNIPE, Yelper,
Lawyer, and Scooper are
some of the popular
names applied in various
localities to this remarkably long-
legged and long and slender-necked
creature, which is to be found in tem-
perate North America, and, in winter,
as far south as Cuba and Jamaica. In
north-eastern Illinois the Avocet gen-
erally occurs in small parties the last
of April and the first of May, and dur-
ing September and the early part of
October, when it frequents the borders
of marshy pools. The bird combines
the characteristics of the Curlew and
the Godwit, the bill being re-curved.
The cinnamon color on the head
and neck of this bird varies with the
individual; sometimes it is dusky gray
around the eye, especially in the
younger birds.
The Avocet is interesting and at-
tractive in appearance, without having
any especially notable characteristics.
He comes and goes and is rarely seen
by others than sportsmen.
>
v
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
AMERICAN AVOCET.
y-i Life size.
BIRD SONG Continued from page i .
Many of our singing birds may be
easily identified by any one who carries
in his mind the images which are pre-
sented in our remarkable pictures.
See the birds at home, as it were, and
hear their songs.
Those who fancy that few native
birds live in our parks will be sur-
prised to read the following list of
them now visible to the eyes of so
careful an observer as Mr. J. Chester
Lyman.
"About the 2Oth of May I walked
one afternoon in Lincoln Park with a
friend whose early study had made
him familiar with birds generally, and
we noted the following varieties :
1 Magnolia Warbler.
2 Yellow Warbler.
3 Black Poll Warbler.
4 Black-Throated Blue Warbler.
5 Black-Throated Queen Warbler.
6 Blackburnian Warbler.
7 Chestnut-sided Warbler.
8 Golden-crowned Thrush.
9 Wilson's Thrush.
10 Song Thrush.
i r Catbird.
12 Bluebird.
13 Kingbird.
14 Least Fly Catcher.
15 Wood Pewee Fly Catcher.
16 Great Crested Fly Catcher.
17 Red-eyed Virto.
18 Chimney Swallow.
19 Barn Swallow.
:o Purple Martin.
21 RedStart.
22 House Wren.
23 Purple Grackle.
24 White-throated Sparrow.
25 Song Sparrow.
26 Robin.
27 Blue Jay.
28 Red Headed Woodpecker.
29 Kingfisher.
30 Night Hawk.
31 Yellow-Billed Cuckoo.
32 Scarlet Tanager, Male and Female.
33 Black and White Creeper.
34 Gull, or Wilson's Tern.
35 The Omni-present English Sparrow.
" On a similar walk, one week ear-
lier, we saw about the same number of
varieties, including, however, the Yel-
low Breasted Chat, and the Mourning,
Bay Breasted, and Blue Yellow Backed
Warblers."
The sweetest songsters are easily
accessible, and all may enjoy their
presence.
C. C. MARBLE.
[TO BE CONTINUED.]
THE CANVAS-BACK DUCK.
names
HITE-BACK, Canard Che-
val, (New Orleans,) Bull-
Neck, and Red Headed
Bull-Neck, are common
the famous Canvas-Back,
which nests from the northern states,
northward to Alaska. Its range is
throughout nearly all of North Amer-
ica, wintering from the Chesapeake
southward to Guatemala.
" The biography of this duck," says
Mabel Osgood Wright, " belongs rather
to the cook-book than to a bird list,"
even its most learned biographers
referring mainly to its "eatable quali-
ties," Dr. Coues even taking away its
character in that respect when he says
" there is little reason for squealing in
barbaric joy over this over-rated and
generally under-done bird ; not one
person in ten thousand can tell it from
any other duck on the table, and only
then under the celery circumstances,"
referring to the particular flavor of its
flesh, when at certain seasons it feeds
on vallisneria, or " water celery,"
which won its fame. This is really
not celery at all, but an eel-grass, not
always found through the range of the
Canvas-Back. When this is scarce it
eats frogs, lizards, tadpoles, fish, etc.,
so that, says Mrs. Osgood, " a certifi-
cate of residence should be sold with
every pair, to insure the inspiring
flavor."
The opinion held as to the edible
qualities of this species varies greatly
in different parts of the country. No
where has it so high a reputation as in
the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay, where
the alleged superiority of its flesh is
ascribed to the abundance of "water
celery." That this notion is erroneous
is evident from the fact that the same
plant grows in far more abundance in
the upper Mississippi Valley, where
also the Canvas-Back feeds on it.
Hence it is highly probable that fash-
ion and imagination, or perhaps a
superior style of cooking and serving,
play a very important part in the case.
In California, however, where the
" water celery " does not grow, the
Canvas-Back is considered a very in-
ferior bird for the table.
It has been hunted on Chesapeake
Bay and its tributaries with such in-
considerate greed that its numbers have
been greatly reduced, and many have
been driven to more southern waters.
In and about Baltimore, the Canvas-
Back, like the famous terrapin, is in
as high favor for his culinary excel-
lence, as are the women for beauty and
hospitality. To gratify the healthy
appetite of the human animal this bird
wasdoubtlesssentby a kind Providence,
none the less mindful of the creature
comforts and necessities of mankind
than of the purely aesthetic senses.
r8
*fti 'IP!
THE WOOD DUCK.
A great many people think
that this is the most beautiful
bird of North America. It is
called Wood Duck because it
usually makes its nest in the
hollow of a tree that overhangs
the water. If it can find a
squirrel's or woodpecker's hole
in some stump or tree, there it
is sure to nest.
A gentleman who delighted in
watching the Wood Duck, tells
about one that built her nest in
the hollow of a tree that hung
over the water. He was anxious
to see how the little ones, when
hatched, would get down.
In a few days he knew that
the ducklings were out, for he
could hear their pee, pee, pee.
They came to the edge of the
nest, one by one, and tumbled
out into the water.
You know a duck can swim
as soon as it comes out of the
egg.
Sometimes the nest is in the
hollow of a tree that is a short
distance from the water.
Now how do you suppose the
ducklings get there as they do ?
If the nest is not far from the
ground, the mother bird lets
them drop from it on the
dried grass and leaves under
the tree. She then carries them
in her bill, one by one, to the
water and back to the nest.
If the nest should be far from
the ground, she carries them
down one by one.
This same gentleman says
that he once saw a Wood Duck
carry down thirteen little ones
in less than ten minutes. She
took them in her bill by the
back of the neck or the wing.
When they are a few days old
she needs only to lead the way
and the little ones will follow.
The Wood Duck is also called
Summer Duck. This is because
it does not stay with us during
the winter, as most ducks do.
It goes south to spend the
winter and comes back north
early in the spring.
THE WOOD DUCK.
UITB the most beautiful of
the native Ducks, with a
a richness of plumage which
gives it a bridal or
festive appearance, this
bird is specifically named Spousa, which
means betrothed. It is also called
Summer Duck, Bridal Duck, Wood
Widgeon, Acorn Duck and Tree Duck.
It is a fresh water foul, and exclu-
sively so in the selection of its nesting
haunts. It inhabits the whole of tem-
perate North America, north to the
fur countries, and is found in Cuba
and sometimes in Europe. Its favor-
ite haunts are wooded bottom-lands,
where it frequents the streams and
ponds, nesting in hollows of the largest
trees. Sometimes a hole in a hori-
zontal limb is chosen that seems too
small to hold the Duck's plump body,
and occasionally it makes use of the
hole of an Owl or Woodpecker, the
entrance to which has been enlarged
by decay.
Wilson visited a tree containing a
nest of a Wood or Summer Duck, on
the banks of Tuckahoe river, New
Jersey. The tree stood on a declivity
twenty yards from the water, and in
its hollow and broken top, about six
feet down, on the soft decayed wood
were thirteen eggs covered with down
from the mother's breast. The eggs
were of an exact oval shape, the sur-
face smooth and fine grained, of a yel-
lowish color resembling old polished
ivory. This tree had been occupied
by the same pair, during nesting time,
for four successive years. The female
had been seen to carry down from the
nest thirteen young, one by one, in
less than ten minutes. She caught
them in her bill by the wing or. back
of the neck, landed them safely at the
foot of the tree, and finally led them
to the water. If the nest be directly
over the water, the little birds as soon
as hatched drop into the water, break-
ing their fall by extending their wings.
Many stories are told of their at-
tachment to their nesting places. For
several years one observer saw a pair
of Wood Ducks make their nest in the
hollow of a hickory which stood on
the bank, half a dozen yards from a
river. In preparing to dam the river
near this point, in order to supply
water to a neighboring city, the course
of the river was diverted, leaving the
old bed an eighth of a mile behind,
notwithstanding which the ducks bred
in the old place, the female undaunted
by the distance which she would have
to travel to lead her brood to the water.
While the females are laying, and
afterwards when sitting, the male
usually perches on an adjoining limb
and keeps watch. The common note
of the drake is peet-peet, and when
standing sentinel, if apprehending
danger, he makes a noise not unlike
the crowing of a young cock, oe-eek.
The drake does not assist in sitting on
the eggs, and the female is left in the
lurch in the same manner as the Part-
ridge.
The Wood Duck has been repeat-
edly tamed and partially domesticated.
It feeds freely on corn meal soaked in
water, and as it grows, catches flies
with great dexterity.
24
From col. F. C. Baker.
ANHINGA OR SNAKE BIRD.
Ya, Life size.
THE ANHINGA OR SNAKE BIRD.
(^ I HE Snake Bird is very singular
t I indeed in appearance, and in-
OJ I teresting as well in its habits.
Tropical and sub-tropical
America, north to the Carolinas and
Southern Illinois, where it is a regular
summer resident, are its known haunts.
Here it is recognized by different
names, as Water Turkey, Darter, and
Snake Bird. The last mentioned
seems to be the most appropriate name
for it, as the shape of its head and neck
at once suggest the serpent. In Flor-
ida it is called the Grecian Lady, at
the mouth of the Mississipi, Water
Crow, and in Louisiana, Bee a Lan-
cette. It often swims with the body
entirely under water, its head and long
neck in sight like some species of
water snakes, and has no doubt more
than once left the impression on the
mind of the superstitious sailor that
he has seen a veritable sea serpent, the
fear of which lead him to exaggerate
the size of it.
This bird so strange in looks and
action is common in summer in the
South Atlantic and Gulf States, fre-
quenting the almost impenetrable
swamps, and is a constant resident of
Florida.
As a diver the Snake Bird is the
most wonderful of all the Ducks. Like
the Loon it can disappear instantly
and noislessly, swim a long distance
and reappear almost in an opposite
direction to that in which naturally it
would be supposed to go. And the
ease with which, when alarmed, it will
drop from its perch and leave scarcely
a ripple on the surface of the water,
would appear incredible in so large a
bird, were it not a well known fact.
It has also the curious habit of sinking
like a Grebe.
The nests of the Anhinga are located
in various places, sometimes in low
bushes at a height from the ground of
only a few feet, or in the upper
branches of high trees, but always over
water. Though web footed, it is
strong enough to grasp tightly the
perch on which it nests. This gives
it a great advantage over the common
Duck which can nest only on the
ground. Sometimes Snake Birds breed
in colonies with various Species of
Herons. From three to five eggs,
bluish, or dark greenish white, are
usually found in the nest.
Prof. F. C. Baker, secretary of the
Chicago Academy of Sciences, to whom
we are indebted for the specimen pre-
sented here, captured this bird at
Mi ceo, Brevard Co., Florida, in April,
1889. He says he found a peculiar
parasite in the brain ol the Arhinga.
The Arhingas consist of but one
species, which has a representative in
the warmer parts of each of the great
divisions of the earth. The number
seen together varies from eight or ten
to several hundred.
The hair-like feathers on the
neck form a sort of loose mane.
When asleep the bird stands with
its body almost erect. In rainy
weather it often spends the greater
part of the day in an erect attitude,
with its neck and head stretched up-
ward, remaining perfectly motionless,
so that the water may glide off its
plumage. The fluted tail is very thick
and beautiful and serves as a propeller
as well as a rudder in swimming.
27
THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK.
3T
I
SN'T this American Woodcock,
or indeed any member of the
family, a comical bird? His
head is almost square, and
what a remarkable eye he has !
It is a seeing eye, too, for he does not
require light to enable him to detect
the food he seeks in the bogs. He
has many namas to characterize
him, such as Bog-sucker, Mud Snipe,
Blind Snipe. His greatest enemies
are the pot hunters, who nevertheless
have nothing but praise to bestow
upon him, his flesh is so exquisitely
palatable. Even those who deplore
and deprecate the destruction of birds
are not unappreciative of his good
qualities in this respect.
The Woodcock inhabits eastern
North America, the north British
provinces, the Dakotas, Nebraska and
Kansas, and breeds throughout the
range.
Night is the time when the Wood-
cock enjoys life. He never flies vol-
untarily by day, but remains secluded
in close and sheltered thickets till twi-
light, when he seeks his favorite feed-
ing places. His sight is imper-
fect by day, but at night he readily
secures his food, assisted doubtless by
an extraordinary sense of smell. His
remarkably large and handsome eye is
too sensative for the glare of the sun,
and during the greater part of the day
he remains closely concealed in marshy
thickets or in rank grass. In the
morning and evening twilight and on
moonlight nights, he seeks his food in
open places. The early riser may find
him with ease, but the first glow from
the rays of the morning sun will cause
his disappearance from the landscape.
He must be looked for in swamps,
and in meadows with soft bottoms.
During very wet seasons he seeks
higher land usually cornfields and
searches for -food in the mellow
plowed ground, where his presence is
indicated by holes made by his bill.
In seasons of excessive drought the
Woodcock resorts in large numbers to
tide water creeks and the banks of
fresh water rivers. So averse is he to
an excess of water, that after continued
or very heavy rains he has been known
suddenly to disappear from widely
extended tracts of country.
A curious habit of the Woodcock,
and one that is comparatively little
known, is that of carrying its young
in order to remove them from danger.
So many trustworthy naturalists main-
tain this to be true that it must be
accepted as characteristic of this inter-
esting bird. She takes her young from
place to place in her toe grasps as-
scarcity of food or safety may require.
As in the case of many birds whose
colors adapt them to certain localities
or conditions of existence, the patterns
of the beautiful chestnut parts of the
Woodcock mimic well the dead leaves-
and serve to protect the female and
her young. The whistle made by
their wings when flying is a manifest-
ation of one of the intelligences of
nature.
The male Woodcock, it is believed,
when he gets his " intended " off en-
tirely to himself, exhibits in peculiar
dances and jigs that he is hers and
hers only, or rises high on the wing
cutting the most peculiar capers and
gyrations in the air, protesting to her
in the grass beneath the most earnest
devotion, or advertising to her his.
whereabouts.
28
THE WOODCOCK.
Here is a bird that is not
often seen in the daytime.
During the day he stays in
the deep woods or among the
tall marsh grasses.
It is at twilight that you may
see him. He then comes out in
search of food.
Isn't he an odd-looking bird?
His bill is made long so that he
can bore into the soft ground
for earthworms.
You notice his color is much
like the Ruffed Grouse in June
" BIRDS." This seems to be the
color of a great many birds
whose home is among the
grasses and dried leaves. Maybe
you can see a reason for this.
Those who have watched the
woodcock carefully, say that he
can move the tip end of the
upper part of his bill. This
acts like a finger in helping him
to draw his food from the
ground.
What a sight it must be to see
a number of these queer looking
birds at work getting their food.
If they happen to be in a swampy
place, they often find earth-
worms by simply turning over
the dead leaves.
If there should be, near by, a
field that has been newly
plowed, they will gather in
numbers, at twilight, and search
for worms.
The Woodcock has short
wings for his size. He seems
to be able to fly very fast. You
can imagine how he looks while
flying his long bill out in front
and his legs hanging down.
3-1
THE AMERICAN SCOTER.
HE specimen we give of the
t I American Scoter is one of
oj I unusual rarity and beauty of
-^ plumage. It was seen off the
government pier, in Chicago, in No-
vember, 1895, and has been much
admired.
The Scoter has as many names as
characteristics, being called the Sea
Coot, the Butter-billed, and the Hollow-
billed Coot. The plumage of the full
grown male is entirely black, while
the female is a sooty brown, becoming
paler below. She is also somewhat
smaller.
This Duck is sometimes found in
great numbers along the entire Atlan-
tic coast where it feeds on small shell
fish which it secures by diving. A
few nest in Labrador, and in winter it
is found in New Jersey, on the Great
Lakes, and in California. The neigh-
borhoods of marshes and ponds are its
haunts, and in the Hudson Bay region
the Scoter nests in June and July.
The nest is built on the ground near
water. Coarse grass, feathers, and
down are commonly used to make it
comfortable, while it is well secreted
in hollows in steep banks and cliffs.
The eggs are from six to ten, of a dull
buff color.
Prof. Cooke states that on May 2,
1883, fifty of these ducks were seen at
Anna, Union county, Illinois, all
busily engaged in picking up millet
seed that had just been sown. If no
mistake of identification was made in
this case, the observation apparently
reveals a new fact in the habits of the
species, which has been supposed to
feed exclusively in the water, and to
subsist generally on fishes and other
aquatic animal food.
OLD ABE.
"I'd rather capture Old Abe," said Gen. Sterling Price, of the Confederate Army,
whole brigade."
than a
LD ABE" was the live
war Eagle which accom-
panied the Eighth Wis-
consin regiment, during
the War of the Rebellion. Much of a
more or less problematical character
has been written about him, but what
we regard as authentic we shall pre-
sent in this article. Old Abe was a
fine specimen of the Bald Eagle, very
like the one figure^ in this number of
BIRDS. Various stories are told of his
capture, but the most trustworthy ac-
count is that Chief Sky, a Chippewa
Indian, took him from the nest while
an Eaglet. The nest was found on a
pine tree in the Chippewa country, about
three miles from the mouth of the
Flambeau, near some rapids in the
river. He and another Indian cut the
tree down, and, amid the menaces of
the parent birds, secured two young
Eagles about the size of Prairie Hens.
One of them died. The other, which
lived to become historical, was sold to
Daniel McCann for a bushel of corn.
McCann carried it to Eau Claire, and
presented it to a company then being
organized as a part of the Eighth
Wisconsin Infantry.
What more appropriate emblem than
the American Bald Headed Bird could
have been thus selected by the patriots
who composed this regiment of free-
men ! The Golden Eagle (of which
we shall hereafter present a splendid
specimen,) with extended wings, was
the ensign of the Persian monarchs,
long before it was adopted by the
Romans. And the Persians borrowed
the symbol from the Assyrians. In
fact, the symbolical use of the Eagle
is of very remote antiquity. It was
the insignia of Egypt, of the Etruscans,
was the sacred bird of the Hindoos,
and of the Greeks, who connected him
with Zeus, their supreme deity. With
the Scandinavians the Eagle is the
bird of wisdom. The double-headed
Eagle was in use among the Byzantine
emperors, " to indicate their claims to
the empire of both the east and the
west." It was adopted in the I4th
century by the German emperors.
The arms of Prussia were disting-
uished by the Black Eagle, and
those of Poland by the White. The
great Napoleon adopted it as the em-
blem of Imperial France.
Old Abe was called by the soldiers
the "new recruit from Chippewa,"
and sworn into the service of the
United States by encircling his neck
with red, white, and blue ribbons, and
by placing on his breast a rosette of
colors, after which he was carried by
the regiment into every engagement
in which it participated, perched upon
a shield in the shape of a heart. A
few inches above the shield was a
grooved crosspiece for the Eagle to
rest upon, on either end of which were
three arrows. When in line Old Abe
was always carried on the left of the
color bearer, in the van of the regi-
ment. The color bearer wore a belt
to which was attached a socket for the
end of the staff, which was about five
feet in length. Thus the Eagle was
high above the bearer's head, in plain
sight of the column. A ring of leather
was fastened to one of the Eagle's legs
to which was connected a strong hemp
cord about twenty feet long.
Old Abe was the hero of about
twenty-five battles, and as many
skirmishes. Remarkable as it may
appear, not one bearer of the flag, or
of the Eagle, always shining marks for
the enemy's rifles, was ever shot down.
35
Once or twice Old Abe suffered the
loss of a few feathers, but he was never
wounded.
The great bird enjoyed the excite-
ment of carnage. In battle he flapped
his wings, his eyes blazed, and with
piercing screams, which arose above
the noise of the conflict, seemed to
urge the company on to deeds of valor.
David McLane, who was the first
color bearer to carry him into battle,
said:
"Old Abe, like all old soldiers,
seemed to dread the sound of musketry
but with the roll of artillery he ap-
peared to be in his glory. Then he
screamed, spread his wings at every
discharge, and reveled in the roar and
smoke of the big guns." A corres-
pondent who watched him closely said
that when a battle had fairly begun
Old Abe jumped up and down on his
perch with such wild and fearful
screams as an eagle alone can utter.
The louder the battle, the fiercer and
wilder were his screams.
Old Abe varied his voice in accord
with his emotions. When surprised
he whistled a wild melody of a melan-
choly softness ; when hovering over
his food he gave a spiteful chuckle;
when pleased to see an old friend he
seemed to say: u How do you do ? "
with a plaintive cooing. In battle his
scream was wild and commanding, a
succession of five or six notes with a
startling trill that was inspiring to
the soldiers. Strangers could not ap-
proach or touch him with safety,
though members of the regiment who
treated him with kindness were cor-
dially recognized by him. Old Abe
had his particular friends, as well as
some whom he regarded as his enemies.
There were men in the company whom
he would not permit to approach him.
He would fly at and tear them with
his beak and talons. But he would
never fight his bearer. He knew his
own regiment from every other, would
always accompany its cheer, and never
that of any other regiment.
Old Abe more than once escaped,
but was always lured by food to return.
He never seemed disposed to depart to
the blue empyrean, his ancestral home.
Having served three years, a portion
of the members of Company C were
mustered out, and Old Abe was pre-
sented to the state of Wisconsin. For
many years, on occasions of public
exercise or review, like other illustrious
veterans, he excited in parade universal
and enthusiastic attention.
He occupied pleasant quarters in the
State Capitol at Madison, Wisconsin,
until his death at an advanced age.
THE SNOWY HERON.
" What does it cost this garniture of death?
It costs the life which God alone can give ;
It costs dull silence where was music's breath,
It costs dead joy, that foolish pride may live.
Ah, life, and joy, and song, depend upon it,
Are costly trimmings for a woman's bonnet ! "
MAY RILEY SMITH.
EMPERATE and tropical Am-
erica, from Long Island to
Oregon, south to Buenos Ay-
res, may be considered the
home of the Snowy Heron, though it
is sometimes seen on the Atlantic
coast as far as Nova Scotia. It is sup-
posed to be an occasional summer res-
ident as far north as Long Island, and
it is found along the entire gulf coast
and the shores of both oceans. It is
called the Little White Egret, and is
no doubt the handsomest bird of the
tribe. It is pure white, with a crest
composed of many long hair like
feathers, a like plume on the lower
neck, and the same on the back, which
are recurved when perfect.
Snowy Herons nest in colonies, pre-
ferring willow bushes in the marshes
for this purpose. The nest is made in
the latter part of April or early June.
Along the gulf coast of Florida, they
nest on ihe Mangrove Islands, and in
the interior in the willow ponds and
swamps, in company with the Louisi-
ana and Little Blue Herons. The nest
is simply a platform of sticks, and from
two to five eggs are laid.
Alas, plume hunters have wrought
such destruction to these lovely birds
that very few are now found in the old
nesting places. About 1889, accord-
ing to Mr. F. M. Woodruff, this bird
was almost completely exterminated in
Florida, the plume hunters transfer-
ring their base of operation to the
Texas coast of the Gulf, and the bird
is now in a fair way to be utterly
destroyed there also. He found them
very rare in 1891 at Matagorda Bay,
Texas. This particular specimen is a
remarkably fine one, from the fact that
it has fifty-two plumes, the ordinary
number being from thirty to forty.
Nothing for some time has been
more commonly seen than the delicate
airy plumes which stand upright in
ladies' bonnets. These little feathers,
says a recent writer, were provided by
nature as the nuptial adornment of the
White Heron. Many kind-hearted
women who would not on any account
do a cruel act, are, by following this
fashion, causing the continuance of a
great cruelty. If ladies who are seem-
ingly so indifferent to the inhumanity
practiced by those who provide them
with this means of adornment would
apply to the Humane Education Com-
mittee, Providence, R. I., for informa-
tion on the subject, they would them-
selves be aroused to the necessity of
doing something towards the protec-
tion of our birds. Much is, however,
being done by good men and women
to this end.
The Little Egret moves through the
air with a noble and rapid flight. It
is curious to see it pass directly
overhead. The head, body and legs
are held in line, stiff and immovable,
and the gently waving wings carry the
bird along with a rapidity that seems
the effect of magic.
An old name of this bird was Hern,
or Hernshaw, from which was derived
the saying, " He does not know a
Hawk from a Hernshaw." The last
word has been corrupted into " hand-
saw," rendering the proverb meaning-
less.
39
SUMMARY
Page 3.
BALD EAGLE. Haliczetus leucocephalus.
Other names: "White-headed Eagle," "Bird
of Washington," " Gray Eagle," "Sea Eagle."
Dark brown. Head, tail, and tail coverts white.
Tarsus, naked. Young with little or no white.
RANGE North America, breeding through-
out its range.
NEST Generally in tall trees.
EGGS Two or three, dull white.
Page 8.
SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER. ^Egialitis
semi-palmetto,. Other names: " American Ring
Plover," "Ring Neck," "Beach Bird." Front,
throat, ring around neck, and entire under
parts white ; band of deep black across the
breast ; upper parts ashy brown. Toes con-
nected at base.
RANGE North America in general, breeding
in the Arctic and sub-arctic districts, winters
from the Gulf States to Brazil.
NEST Depression in the ground, with lining
of dry grass.
EGGS Three or four ; buffy white, spotted
with chocolate.
Page ii
MALLARD DUCK. Anas boschas. Other
names : ' ' Green-head , " " Wild Duck. ' ' Adult
male, in fall, winter, and spring, beauti-
fully colored ; summer, resembles female
sombre.
RANGE Northern parts of Northern Hemis-
phere.
NEST Of grasses, on the ground, usually
near the water.
EGGS Six to ten ; pale green or bluish white.
Page 15.
AMERICAN AVOCET. Recurvirostra
americana. Other names: "White Snipe,"
"Yelper," "Lawyer," "Scooper."
RANGE Temperate North America.
NEST A slight depression in the ground.
EGGS Three or four; pale olive or buffy clay
color, spotted with chocolate.
Page 20.
CANVAS -BACK. Ay thy a vallisneria.
Other names: "White-back," "Bull-neck,"
"Red -headed Bull-neck."
RANGE North America. Breeds only in the
interior, from northwestern states to the Arctic
circle ; south in winter to Guatemala.
NEST On- the ground, in marshy lakesides.
EGGS Six to ten; buffy white, with bluish
tinge.
Page 21.
WOOD DUCK. Aix sponsa. Coloring,,
varied ; most beautiful of ducks. Other names:
"Summer Duck," "Bridal Duck," "Wood
Widgeon," "Tree Duck."
RANGE North America. Breeds from
Florida to Hudson's Bay ; winters south.
NEST Made of grasses, usually placed in a
hole in tree or stump.
EGGS Eight to fourteen ; pale, buffy white.
Page 26.
SNAKE BIRD. Anhinga anhinga. Other
names: " Water Turkey," "Darter," "Water
Crow," " Grecian Lady."
RANGE Tropical and sub-tropical America.
NEST Of sticks, lined with moss, rootlets,
etc., in a bush or tree over the water.
EGGS Two to four ; bluish white, with a
chalky deposit.
Page 30.
AMERICAN WOODCOCK. Philohela
minor. Other names : "Bog-sucker," "Mud
Snipe," " Blind Snipe."
RANGE Eastern North America, breeding
throughout its range.
NEST Of dried leaves, on the ground.
EGGS Four ; buffy, spotted with shades of
rufous.
Page 33.
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER. Oidemia
deglandi. Other names: "American Velvet
Scoter," ''White-winged Coot," "Uncle Sam
Coot."
RANGE Northern North America ; breeding
in Labrador and the fur countries ; south in
winter.
NEST On the ground, beneath bushes.
EGGS Six to ten ; pale, dull buff.
Page 38.
SNOWY HERON. Ardea candidissima.
Other names : ' ' Little Egret, " " White-crested
Egret," "White Poke."
RANGE Tropical and temperate America.
NEST A platform of sticks, in bushes, over
water.
EGGS Three to five ; pale, dull blue.
40
BIRDS.
ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRf\PY.
VOL. II.
AUGUST.
No. 2.
BIRD SONG.
E made several early morn-
ing excursions into the
woods and fields during
the month of June, and
were abundantly rewarded in many
ways by beholding the gracious
awakening of Nature in her various
forms, kissed into renewed activity by
the radiance of morn ; by the sweet
smelling air filled with the perfume of
a multitude of opening flowers which
had drunk again the dew of heaven;
by the sight of flitting clouds across
the bluest of skies, patching the green
earth with moving shadows, and sweet-
est of all, by the twittering, calling,
musical sounds of love and joy which
came to the ear from the throats of the
feathered throng. How pleasant to
lie prone on one's back on the cool
grass, and gaze upward through the
shady green canopy of boughs, watch-
ing the pretty manoevers, the joyous
greetings, the lively anxieties, the
graceful movements, and even the
sorrowful happenings of the bird-life
above us.
Listen to the variety of their tones,
as manifest as the difference of form
and color. What more interesting
than to observe their habits, and dis-
cover their cosy nests with their beau-
tiful eggs in the green foliage? Strange
that so many persons think only of
making a collection of them, robbing
the nests with heartless indifference to
the suffering of the parents, to say
nothing of the invasion which they
make of the undoubted rights the birds
have from nature to protection and
perpetuation.
Strictly speaking, there are few
birds to which the word "singing"
can properly be applied, the majority
of them not having more than two or
three notes, and they with little sug-
gestion of music in them. Chanti-
cleer crows, his spouse cackles or
clucks, as may be suitable to the
occasion. To what ear are these
noises musical? They are rather lang-
uage, and, in fact, the varying notes of
every species of bird have a significance
which can alone be interpreted by its
peculiar habits. If careful note be
made of the immediate conduct of the
male or female bird, as the case may
be, after each call or sound, the mean-
ing of it becomes plain.
A hen whose chicks are scattered in
search of food, upon seeing a hawk,
utters a note of warning which we
have all heard, and the young scamper
to her for protection beneath her
wings. When she has laid an egg,
Gut-cut-cut-cut-dt-cut! announces it from
the nest in the barn. When the chicks
are hatched, her cluck, cluck, cluck,
calls them from the nest in the wide
world, and her chick, chick, chick, uttered
quickly, selects for them the dainty
which she has found, or teaches them
what is proper for their diet. A good
listener will detect enough intonations
in her voice to constitute a consid-
erable vocabulary, which, if imitated
[CONTINUKD ON PAGE 57.]
41
THE AMERICAN OSPREY.
Here is the picture of a
remarkable bird. We know
him better by the name Fish
Hawk. He looks much like the
Eagle in July " BIRDS." The
Osprey has no use for Mr. Eagle
though.
You know the Bald Eagle or
Sea Eagle is very fond of fish.
Well, he is not a very good
fisherman and from his lofty
perch he watches for the Fish
Hawk or Osprey. Do you ask
why ? Well, when he sees a
Fish Hawk with his prey, he is
sure to chase him and take it
from him. It is for this reason
that Ospreys dislike the Bald
Eagle.
Their food is fish, which as a
rule they catch alive.
It must be interesting to watch
the Osprey at his fishing. He
wings his way slowly over the
water, keeping a watch for fish
as they appear near the surface.
When he sees one that suits
him, he hovers a moment, and
then, closing his wings, falls
upon the fish.
Sometimes he* strikes it with
such force that he disappears in
the water for a moment. Soon
we see him rise from the water
with the prey in his claws.
He then flies to some tall tree
and if he has not been discovered
by his enemy, the Eagle, can
have a good meal for his hard
work.
Look at his claws ; then think
of them striking a fish as they
must when he plunges from on
high.
A gentleman tells of an Osprey
that fastened his claws in a fish
that was too large for him.
The fish drew him under and
nothing more was seen of Mr.
Osprey. 'Flic same gentleman
tells of a fish weighing six
pounds that fell from the claws
of a Fish Hawk that became
frightened by an Eagle.
The Osprey builds his nest
much like the Bald Eagle. It is
usually found in a tall tree and
out of reach.
Like the Eagle, he uses the
same nest each year, adding to
it. Sometimes it measures five
feet high and three feet across.
One nest that was found, con-
tained enough sticks, cornstalks,
weeds, moss, and the like, to fill
a cart, and made a load for a
horse to draw. Like the Crows
and Blackbirds they prefer to
live together in numbers. Over
three hundred nests have been
found in the trees on a small
island.
One thing I want you to
remember about the Osprey.
They usually remain mated for
life.
From col. F. M. "WooJruff.
\\
^
OSPREY.
y A Life size.
THE AMERICAN OSPREY.
North
islands
N interesting bird, " Winged
Fisher," as he has been hap-
pily called, is seen in places
suited to his habits,
throughout temperate
America, particularly about
and along the seacoast. At
Shelter Island, New York, they are
exceedingly variable in the choice of
a nesting place. On Gardiner's Island
they all build in trees at a distance
varying from ten to seventy-five feet
from the ground ; on Plum Island,
where large numbers of them nest,
many place their nests on the ground,
some being built up to a height of four
or five feet while others are simply a
few sticks arranged in a circle, and the
eggs laid on the bare sand. On Shelter
Island they build on the chimneys of
houses, and a pair had a nest on the
cross-bar of a telegraph pole. Another
pair had a nest on a large rock. These
were made of coarse sticks and sea
weed, anything handy, such as bones,
old shoes, straw, etc. A curious nest
was found some years ago on the coast
of New Jersey. It contained three
eggs, and securely imbedded in the
loose material of the Osprey's nest
was a nest of the Purple Crackle,
containing five eggs, while at the
bottom of the Hawk's nest was a thick,
rotten limb, in which was a Tree
Swallow's nest of seven eggs.
In the spring and early autumn this
familiar eagle-like bird can be seen
hovering over creek, river, and sound.
It is recognized by its popular name of
Fish-Hawk. Following a school of
fish, it dashes from a considerable
height to seize its prey with its stout
claws. If the fish is small it is at once
swallowed, if it is large, (and the Os-
prey will occasionally secure shad,
blue fish, bass, etc., weighing five or
six pounds,) the fish is carried to a
convenient bluff or tree and torn to bits.
The Bald Eagle often robs him of
the fish by seizing it, or startling him
so that he looses his hold.
The Osprey when fishing makes one
of the most breezy, spirited pictures
connected with the feeding habits of
any of our birds, 'as often there is a
splashing and a struggle under water
when the fish grasped is too large
or the great talons of the bird gets
entangled. He is sometimes carried
under and drowned, and large fish
have been washed ashore with these
birds fastened to them by the claws.
Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright says: " I
found an Osprey's nest in a crooked
oak on Wakeman's Island in late April,
1893. As I could not get close to the
nest (the island is between a network
of small creeks, and the flood tides
covered the marshes,) I at first thought
it was a monstrous crow's nest, but on
returning the second week in May I
saw a pair of Ospreys coming and go-
ing to and fro from the nest. I hoped
the birds might return another season,
as the nest looked as if it might have
been used for two or three years, and
was as lop-sided as a poorly made hay-
stack. The great August storm of the
same year broke the tree, and the nest
fell, making quite a heap upon the
ground. Among the debris were
sticks of various sizes, dried reeds, two
bits of bamboo fishing rod, seaweeds,
some old blue mosquito netting, and
some rags of fish net, also about half
a bushel of salt hay in various stages
of decomposition, and malodorous dirt
galore."
It is well known that Ospreys,
if not disturbed, will continue indefin-
ately to heap rubbish upon their nests
till their bulk is very great. Like the
Owls they can reverse the rear toe.
45
THE SORA RAIL.
ARIOUS are the names re-
quired to distinguish the
little slate-colored Carolina
Rail from its brethern, Sora,
Common Rail, and, on the Potomac
river, Ortolan, being among them.
He is found throughout temperate
North America, in the weedy swamps'
of the Atlantic states in great abund-
ance, in the Middle states, and in Cal-
ifornia. In Ohio he is a common sum-
mer resident, breeding in the exten-
sive swamps and wet meadows. The
nest is a rude affair made of grass and
weeds, placed on the ground in a tus-
sock of grass in a boggy tract of land,
where there is a growth of briars, etc.,
where he may skulk and hide in the
wet grass to elude observation. The
nest may often be discovered at a dis-
tance by the appearance of the sur-
rounding grass, the blades of which
are in many cases interwoven over the
nest, apparently to shield the bird
from the fierce rays of the sun, which
are felt with redoubled force on the
marshes.
The Rails feed on both vegetable
and animal food. During the months
of September and October, the weeds
and wild oats swarm with them.
They feed on the nutricious seeds,
small snail shells, worms and larvae of
insects, which they extract from the
mud. The habits of the Sora Rail,
its thin, compressed body, its aversion
to take wing, and the dexterity with
which it runs or conceals itself among
the grass and sedge, are exactly simi-
lar to those of the more celebrated
Virginia Rail.
The Sora frequents those parts of
marshes preferably where fresh water
springs rise through the morass. Here
it generally constructs its nest, " one
of which," says an observer, " we had
the good fortune to discover. It was
built in the bottom of a tuft of grass
in the midst of an almost impenetrable
quagmire, and was composed alto-
gether of old wet grass and rushes.
The eggs had been flooded out of the
nest by the extraordinary rise of the
tide in a violent northwest storm, and
lay scattered about the drift weed.
The usual number of eggs is from six
to ten. They are of a dirty white or
pale cream color, sprinkled with specks
of reddish and pale purple, most num-
erous near the great end."
When on the wing the Sora Rail flies
in a straight line for a short distance
with dangling legs, and suddenly
drops into the water.
The Rails have many foes, and
many nests are robbed of their eggs by
weasels, snakes, Blackbirds, and Marsh
Hawks, although the last cannot
disturb them easily, as the Marsh
Hawk searches for its food while fly-
ing and a majority of the Rails' nests
are covered over, making it hard to
distinguish them when the Hawk is
above.
46
THE SORA RAIL,
This is one of our fresh-water
marsh birds. I show you his
picture taken where he spends
most of his time.
If it were not for the note
calls, these tall reeds and grasses
would keep from us the secret
of the RaiTs home.
Like most birds, though, they
must be heard, and so late in the
afternoon you may hear their
clear note, ker-wee.
From all parts of the marsh
you will hear their calls which
they keep up long after darkness
has set in.
This Rail was just about to
step out from the grasses to
feed when the artist took his
picture. See him head up, and
tail up. He steps along care-
fully. He feels that it is risky
to leave his shelter and is ready
at" the first sign of danger, to
dart back under cover.
There are very few fresh-
water marshes where the Rail is
not found.
\\hen a boy, I loved to hear
their note calls and w T ould spend
hours on the edge of a marsh
near my home.
It seemed to me there was no
life among the reeds and cat-
tails of the marsh, but when I
threw a stone among them, the
Rails would always answer with
their peeps or keeks,
And so I used to go down to
the marsh with my pockets filled
with stones. Not that I desired
or even expected to injure
one of these birds. Far from it.
It pleased me to hear their calls
from the reeds and grass that
seemed deserted.
Those of you who live near
wild-rice or wild-oat marshes
have a good chance to become
acquainted with this Rail.
In the south these Rails are
found keeping company with
the Bobolinks or Reed-birds as
they are called down there.
THE KENTUCKY WARBLER.
Although this bird is called
the Kentucky Warbler, we must
not think he visits that state
alone.
We find him all over eastern
North America. And a beauti-
ful bird he is.
As his name tells you he is
one of a family of Warblers.
I told you somewhere else
that the Finches are the largest
family of birds. Next to them
come the Warblers.
Turn back now and see how
many Warblers have been pic-
tured so far.
See if you can tell what things
group them as a family. Notice
their bills and feet.
This bird is usually found in
the dense woods, especially
where there are streams of
water.
He is a good singer, and his
song is very different from that
of any of the other Warblers.
I once watched one of these
birds olive-green above and
yellow beneath. His mate was
on a nest near by and he was
entertaining her with his song.
He kept it up over two hours,
stopping only a few seconds
between his songs. When I
reached the spot with my field-
glass I was attracted by his
peculiar song. I don't know
how long he had been singing.
I stayed and spent two hours
with him and he showed no
signs of stopping. He may be
singing yet. I hope he is.
You see him here perched on
a granite cliff. I suppose his
nest is near by.
He makes it of twigs and
rootlets, with several thicknesses
of leaves. It is neatly lined
with fine rootlets and you will
always find it on or near the
ground.
In the September and October
number of u BIRDS " you will find
several Warblers and Finches.
Try to" keep track of them and
may be you can do as many
others have done tell the names
of new birds that come along by
their pictures which you have
seen in
" BIRDS/'
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
KENTUCKY WARBLER.
Life size.
THE KENTUCKY WARBLER.
ETWEEN sixty and seventy
warblers are described by
Davie in his "Nests and
Eggs of North American
Birds," and the Kentucky
Warbler is recognized as one of the
most beautiful of the number, in its
manners almost the counterpart of the
Golden Crowned Thrush (soon to
delight the eyes of the readers of
BIRDS), though it is altogether a
more conspicuous bird, both on
account of its brilliant plumage and
greater activity, the males being,
during the season of nesting, very
pugnacious, continually chasing one
another about the woods. It lives
near the ground, making its artfully
concealed nest among the low herbage
and feeding in the undergrowth, the
male singing from some old log or
low bush, his song recalling that of
the Cardinal, though much weaker.
The ordinary note is a soft
schip, somewhat like the common
call of the Pewee. Considering its
great abundance, says an observer, the
nest of this charmer is very difficult
to find; the female, he thought, must
slyly leave the nest at the approach of
an intruder, running beneath the
herbage until a considerable distance
from the nest, when, joined by her
mate, the pair by their evident anxiety
mislead the stranger as to its location.
It has been declared that no group
of birds better deserves the epithet
"pretty "than the Warblers. Tanagers
are splendid, Humming Birds reful-
gent, others brilliant, gaudy, or mag-
nificent, but Warblers alone are pretty.
The Warblers are migratory birds,
the majority of them passing rapidly
across the United States in spring on
the way to their northern nesting
grounds, and in autumn to their winter
residence within the tropics. When
the apple trees bloom they revel
among the flowers, vicing in activity
and numbers with the bees ; "now
probing the recesses of a blossom for
an insect, then darting to another,
where, poised daintily upon a slender
twig, or suspended from it, they
explore hastily but carefully for
another morsel. Every movement is
the personification of nervous activity,
as if the time for their jonrney was
short ; as, indeed, appears to be the
case, for two or three days at most suf-
fice some species in a single locality."
We recently saw a letter from a
gentleman living at Lake Geneva, in
which he referred with enthusiasm to
BIRDS, because it had enabled him to
identify a bird which he had often
seen in the apple trees among the
blossoms, particularly the present
season, with which he was unac-
quainted by name. It was the Orchard
Oriole, and he was glad to have a
directory of nature which would enable
him to add to his knowledge and correct
errors of observation. The idea is a
capitol one,and the beautiful Kentucky
Warbler, unknown to many who see
it often, may be recognized in the
same way by residents of southern
Indiana and Illinois, Kansas, some
localities in Ohio, particularly in the
southwestern portion, in parts of New
York and New Jersey, in the District
of Columbia, and in North Carolina.
It has not heretofore been possible,
even with the best painted specimens
of birds in the hand, to satisfactorily
identify the pretty creatures, but with
BIRDS as a companion, which may
readily be consulted, the student can-
not be led into error.
53
THE RED BREASTED MERGANSER.
HY this duck should be
called red-breasted is not
at first apparent, as at a
a distance the color can
not be distinguished, but seen near, the
reason is plain. It is a common bird
in the United States in winter, where
it is found in suitable localities in the
months of May and June. It is also
a resident of the far north, breeding
abundantly in Newfoundland, Labra-
dor, Greenland, and Iceland. It is
liberally supplied with names, as Red-
breasted Goosander or Sheldrake, Gar-
bill, Sea Robin, etc.
There is a difference in opinion as
to the nesting habits of the Red-breast,
some authorities claiming that, like
the Wood Duck, the nest is placed in
the cavity of a tree, others that it is
usually found on the ground among
brushwood, surrounded with tall
grasses and at a short distance from
water. Davie says that most gener-
ally it is concealed by a projecting
rock or other object, the nest being
made of leaves and mosses, lined with
feathers and down, which are plucked
from the breast of the bird. The ob-
servers are all probably correct, the
bird adapting itself to the situation.
Fish is the chief diet of the Mergan-
ser, for which reason its flesh is rank
and unpalatable. The Bird's appetite
is insatiable, devouring its food in
such quantities that it has frequently
to disgorge several times before it is
able to rise from the water. This
Duck can swallow fishes six or seven
inches in length, and will attempt to
swallow those of a larger size, choking
in the effort.
The term Merganser is derived from
the plan of the bird's bill, which is
furnished with saw teeth fitting into
each other.
The eggs of the Red -Breasted Mer-
ganser vary from six to twelve, are
oval in shape, and are of a yellowish
or reddish-drab, sometimes a dull
buffy-green.
You may have seen pictures of this
Duck, which frequently figures ;n
dining rooms on the ornamental panels
of stuffed game birds, but none which
could cause you to remember its life-
like appearance. You here see before
you an actual Red-Breasted Merganser.
54
BIRD SONG Continued from page 41.
with exactness, will deceive Mistress
Pullet herself.
To carry the idea further, we will
take the notes of some of the birds
depicted in this number of BIRDS.
The Osprey, or Fish-Hawk, has been
carefully observed, and his only dis-
covered note is a high, rapidly repeated
whistle, very plaintive. Doubtless
this noise is agreeable and intelligible
to his mate, but cannot be called a song,
and has no significance to the listener.
The Vulture utters a low, hissing
sound when disturbed. This is its
only note. Not so with the Bald
Eagle, whose scream emulates the rage
of the tempest, and implies courage,
the quality which associates him with
patriotism and freedom. In the notes
of the Partridge there is a meaning
recognizable by every one. After the
nesting season, when the birds are in
bevies, their notes are changed to what
sportsmen term "scatter calls.'' Not
long after a bevy has been flushed,
and perhaps widely scattered, the
members of the disunited family may
be heard signaling to one another in
sweet minor calls of two and three
notes, and in excitement, they utter
low, twittering notes.
Of the Sora Rails, Mr. Chapman
says, " knowing their calls, you have
only to pass a May or June evening
near a marsh to learn whether they
inhabit it. If there, they will greet
you late in the afternoon with a clear
whistled ker-wee, which soon comes
from dozens of invisible birds about
you, and long after night has fallen, it
continues like a springtime chorus of
piping hylas. Now and again it is
interrupted by a high-voiced, rolling
whinney, which, like a call of alarm,
is taken up and repeated by different
birds all over the marsh."
Poor Red-breasted Merganser ! He
has only one note, a croak. Perhaps
it was of him that Bryant was think-
ing when he wrote the stanzas " To a
Water- Fowl.''
" The sentiment of feeling awakened
by any of the aquatic fowls is pre-
eminently one of loneliness," say s John
Burroughs. " The Wood Duck (see
July BIRDS) which you approach,
starts from the pond or the marsh, the
Loon neighing down out of the April
sky, the Wild Goose, the Curlew, the
Stork, the Bittern, the Sandpiper, etc.,
awaken quite a different train of emo-
tions from those awakened by the land
birds. They all have clinging to them
some reminiscence and suggestion of
the sea. Their cries echo its wildness
and desolation ; their wings are the
shape of its billows."
But the Evening Grosbeak, the
Kentucky Warbler, the Skylark, land
birds all, are singers. They have
music in their throats and in their
souls, though of varying quality. The
Grosbeak's note is described by differ-
ent observers as a shrill chcepy tee and
a frog-like peep, while one writer re-
marks that the males have a single
metallic cry like the note of a trumpet,
and the females a loud chattering like
the large Cherry Birds.
The Kentucky Warbler's song is
entirely unlike that of any other
Warbler, and is a loud, clearly whis-
tled performance of five, six, or seven
notes, turdle, turdle, turdle, resembling
in tone some of the calls of the Caro-
lina Wren. He is so persistent in his
singing, however, that the Red-Breasted
Merganser's simple croak would some-
times be preferable to it.
"But the Skylark
"All the earth and air
With thy voice is loud,
As, when night is bare
From one lonely cloud
The moon rains out her beams and heaven is
over-flowed."
C. C. MARBLE.
57
THE YELLOW LEGS.
Xx?)/^
\X/ELL<
,OW LEGS, or Lesser
v( Tell tale sometimes called
|g) Yellow-leg Snipe, and Little
Cucu, inhabits the whole of
North America, nesting in the cold
temperate and subarctic districts of the
northern continent, migrating south
in winter to Argentine and Chili. It
is much rarer in the western than
eastern province of North America,
and is only accidental in Europe. It
is one of the wading birds, its food con-
sisting of larvae of insects, small shell
fish and the like.
The nest of the Lesser Yellow
Shanks, which it is sometimes called,
is a mere depression in the ground,
without any lining. Sometimes, how-
ever, it is placed at the foot of a bush,
with a scanty lining of withered leaves.
Four eggs of light drab, buffy or cream
color, sometimes of light brown, are
laid, and the breast of the female is
found to be bare of feathers when en-
gaged in rearing the young. The
Lesser Yellow legs breeds in central
Ohio and Illinois, where it is a regular
summer resident, arriving about the
middle of April, the larger portion of
flocks passing north early in May and
returning about the first of September
to remain until the last of October.
A nest of this species of Snipe was
found situated in a slight depression at
the base of a small hillock near the
border of a prairie slough near Evans-
ton, Illinois, and was made of grass
stems and blades. The color of the
eggs in this instance was a deep gray-
ish white, three of w hich were marked
with spots of dark brown, and the
fourth egg with spots and well defined
blotches of a considerably lighter shade
of the same.
THE SKYLARK.
This is not an American bird.
I have allowed his picture to be
taken and placed here because
so many of our English friends
desired it.
The skylark is probably the
most noted of birds in Europe.
He is found in all of the coun-
tries of Europe, but England
seems to claim it. Here it stays
during the summer, and goes
south in the winter.
Like our own Meadow Lark,
he likes best to stay in the fields.
Here you will find it when not
on the wing.
Early in the spring the Sky-
lark begins his song, and he may
be heard for most of the year.
Sometimes he sings while on
the ground, but usually it is
while he is soaring far above us.
Skylarks do not often seek
the company of persons. There
are some birds, you know, that
seem happy only when they are
near people. Of course, they
are somewhat shy, but as a rule
they prefer to be near people.
While the Skylark does not seek
to be near persons, yet it is not
afraid of them.
A gentleman, while riding
through the country, was sur-
prised to see a Skylark perch on
his saddle. When he tried to
touch it, the Lark moved along
on the horse's back, and finally
dropped under the horse's feet.
Here it seemed to hide. The
rider, looking up, saw a hawk
flying about. This explained the
cause of the skylark's strange
actions.
A pair of these Larks had
built their nest in a meadow.
When the time came for mow-
ing the grass, the little ones
were not large enough to leave
the nest. The mother bird laid
herself flat on the ground, with
her wings spread out. The
father bird took one of the little
ones from the nest and placed
it on the mother's back. She
flew away, took the baby bird
to a safe place, and came back
for another.
This time the father took his
turn. In this way they carried
the little ones to a safe place be-
fore the mowers came.
Like our Meadow Lark, the
Skylark builds her nest on the
ground never in bushes or
trees. Usually it is built in a
hole below the surface of the
ground. It is for this reason
that it is hard to find.
Then, too, the color of the nest
is much like that of the ground.
Four or five eggs are usually
laid, and in two weeks the little
larks crack the shells, and come
into the world crying for worms
and bugs.
THE SKYLARK.
HE English Skylark has been
more celebrated in poetry than
any other song-bird. Shel-
ley's famous poem is too long
to quote and too symmetrical to present
in fragmentary form. It is almost as
musical as the sweet singer itself.
' By the first streak of dawn," says
one familiar with the Skylark, "he
bounds from the dripping herbage,
and on fluttering wings mounts the
air for a few feet ere giving forth his
cheery notes. Then upward, appar-
ently without effort he sails, sometimes
drifting far away as he ascends, borne
as it were by the ascending vapors, so
easily he mounts the air. His notes
are so pure and sweet, and yet so loud
and varied withal, that when they first
disturb the air of early morning all the
other little feathered tenants of the
fields and hedgerows seem irresistibly
compelled to join him in filling the
air with melody. Upwards, ever up-
wards, he mounts, until like a speck
in the highest ether he appears motion-
less ; yet still his notes are heard,
lovely in their faintness, now gradually
growing louder and louder as he
descends, until within a few yards of
the earth they cease, and he drops like
a fragment hurled from above into the
herbage, or flits about it for a short
distance ere alighting." The Lark
sings just as richly on the ground as
when on quivering wing. When in
song he is said to be a good guide to
the weather, for whenever we see him
rise into the air, despite the gloomy
looks of an overcast sky, fine weather
is invariably at hand.
The nest is most frequently in the
grass fields, sometimes amongst the
young corn, or in places little fre-
quented. It is made of dry grass and
moss, and lined with fibrous roots and
a little horse hair. The eggs, usually
four or five in number, are dull white,
spotted, clouded, and blotched over the
entire surface with brownish green.
The female Lark, says Dixon, like all
ground birds, is a very close sitter,.
remaining faithful to her charge. She
regains her nest by dropping to the
ground a hundred yards or more from
its concealment.
The food of the Lark is varied, in
spring and summer, insects and their
larvae, and worms and slugs, in autumn
and winter, seeds.
Olive Thome Miller tells this pretty
anecdote of a Skylark which she
emancipated from a bird store: " I
bought the 'skylark, though I did not
want him. I spared no pains to make
the stranger happy. I procured a
beautiful sod of uncut fresh grass, of
which he at once took possession,
crouching or sitting low among the
stems, and looking most bewitching.
He seemed contented, and uttered no
more that appealing cry, but he did
not show much intelligence. His cage
had a broad base behind which he
delighted to hide, and for hours as I
sat in the room I could see nothing of
him, although I would hear him stir-
ring about. If I rose from my seat he
was instantly on the alert, and stretched
his head up to look over at me. I
tried to get a better view of him by
hanging a small mirror at an angle
over his cage, but he was so much
frightened by it that I removed it."
"This bird," Mrs. Miller says "never
seemed to know enough to go home.
Even when very hungry he would
stand before his wide open door, where
one step would take him into his
beloved grass thicket, and yet that one
step he would not take. When his
hunger became intolerable he ran
around the room, circled about his
cage, looking in, recognizing his food
dishes, and trying eagerly to get
between the wires to reach them ; and
yet when he came before the open door
he would stand and gaze, but never
go in. After five months' trial, during
which he displayed no particular
intelligence, and never learned to enter
his cage, he passed out of the bird
room, but not into a store."
WILSON'S PHALAROPE.
the most interest-
ing, as it is certainly the
most uncommon, charac-
teristic of this species of
birds is that the male re-
lieves his mate from all domestic duties
except the laying of the eggs. He
usually chooses a thin tuft of grass on
a level spot, but often in an open
place concealed by only a few strag-
gling blades. He scratches a shallow
depression in the soft earth, lines it
with a thin layer of fragments of old
grass blades, upon which the eggs,
three or four, are laid about the last of
May or first of June. Owing to the
low situation in which the nest is
placed, the first set of eggs are often
destroyed by a heavy fall of rain caus-
ing the water to rise so as to submerge
the nest. The instinct of self preser-
vation in these birds, as in many others,
seems lacking in this respect. A
second set, numbering two or three, is
often deposited in a depression
scratched in the ground, as at first, but
with no sign of any lining.
Wilson's Phalarope is exclusively
an American bird, more common in
the interior than along the sea coast.
The older ornithologists knew little of
it. It is now known to breed in
northern Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, the Dakotas, Utah, and
Oregon. It is recorded as a summer
resident in northern Indiana and in
western Kansas. Mr. E. W. Nelson
states that it is the most common
species in northern Illinois, frequent-
ing grassy marshes and low prairies,
and is not exceeded in numbers even by
the ever-present Spotted Sandpiper.
While it was one of our most common
birds in the Calumet region it is now
becoming scarce.
The adult female of this beautiful
species is by far the handsomest of the
small waders. The breeding plumage
is much brighter and richer than that
of the male, another peculiar charac-
teristic, and the male alone possesses
the naked abdomen. The female
always remains near the nest while he
is sitting, and shows great solicitude
upon the approach of an intruder.
The adults assume the winter plumage
during July.
67
THE EVENING GROSBEAK.
" ^) ANDSOMER birds there
may be, but in the opinion
of many this visitant to
/ various portions of west-
ern North America is
in shape, color, and markings one of the
most exquisite of the feather- wearers.
It has for its habitation the region
extending from the plains to the Pa-
cific ocean and from Mexico into British
America. Toward the North it ranges
further to the east ; so that, while it
appears to be not uncommon about
Lake Superior, it has been reported as
occuring in Ohio, New York, and Can-
ada. In Illinois it was observed at
Freeport during the winter of 1870
and 1871, and at Waukegan during
January, 1873. It is a common resi-
dent of the forests of the State of
Washington, and also of Oregon. In the
latter region Dr. Merrill observed the
birds carrying building material to a
huge fir tree, but was unable to locate
the nest, and the tree was practically
inaccessable. Mr. Walter E. Bryant
was the first to record an authentic
nest and eggs of the Evening Gros-
beak. In a paper read before the Cal-
ifornia Academy of Sciences he de-
scribes a nest of this species containing
four eggs, found in Yolo county, Cal-
ifornia. The nest was built in a small
live oak, at a height of ten feet, and
was composed of small twigs support-
ing a thin -layer of fibrous bark and a
lining of horse hair. The eggs are of
a clear greenish-ground color, blotched
with pale brown. According to Mr.
Davie, one of the leading authorities
on North American birds, little if any
more information has been obtained
regarding the nests and eggs of the
Evening Grosbeak.
As to its habits, Mr. O. P. Day says,
that about the year 1872, while hunt-
ing during fine autumn weather in the
woods about Eureka, Illinois, he fell
in with a number of these Grosbeaks.
They were feeding in the tree tops no
the seeds of the sugar maple, just then
ripening, and were excessively fat.
They were very unsuspicious, and for
a long time suffered him to observe
them. They also ate the buds of
the cottonwood tree in company with
the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
The song of the Grosbeak is singu-
larly like that of the Robin, and to
one not thoroughly familiar with the
notes of the latter a difference would
not at first be detected. There is a very
decided difference, however, and by
repeatedly listening to both species in
full voice it will be discovered more
and more clearly. The sweet and
gentle strains of music harmonize de-
lightfully, and the concert they make
is well worth the careful attention of
the discriminating student. The value
of such study will be admitted by all
who know how little is known of the
songsters. A gentleman recently said
to us that one day in November
the greater part of the football field
at the south end of Lincoln Park
was covered with Snow Birds. There
were also on the field more than
one hundred grammar and high school
boys waiting the arrival of the foot-
ball team. There was only one
person present who paid any atten-
tion to the birds which were picking
up the food, twittering, hopping, and
flying about, and occasionally indulg-
ing in fights, and all utterly oblivious
of the fact that there were scores of
shouting school boys around and
about them. The gentleman called
the attention of one after another of
ten of the high school boys to the snow
birds and asked what they were. They
one and all declared they were Eng-
lish Sparrows, and seemed astounded
that any one could be so ignorant as
not to know what an English Sparrow
was. So much for the city-bred boy's
observation of birds.
68
THE EVENING GROSBEAK.
In the far Northwest we find
this beautiful bird the year
around. During the winter he
often comes farther south in
company with his cousin, the
Hose-breasted Grosbeak.
What a beautiful sight it
must be to see a flock of these
birds Evening Grosbeaks and
Hose-breasted in their pretty
plumage.
Grosbeaks belong to a family
called Finches. The Sparrows,
Buntings, and Crossbills belong
to the same family. It is the
largest family among birds.
You will notice that they all
have stout bills. Their food is
mostly grains and their bills are
well formed to crush the seeds.
Look at your back numbers of
BIRDS " and notice the pictures
of the other Finches I have
named. Don't you think Dame
Nature is very generous with
her colors sometimes ?
Only a few days ago while
strolling through the woods with
my field glass, I saw a pretty
sight. On one tree I saw a Red-
headed Woodpecker, a Flicker,
an Indigo Bunting, and a Rose-
breasted jGrrosbeak. I thought
then, if we could only have the
Evening Grosbeak our group of
colors would be complete.
Have you ever wondered at
some birds being so prettily
dressed while others have such
dull colors ?
Some people say that the birds
who do not sing must have
bright feathers to make them
attractive. We cannot believe
this. Some of our bright colored
birds are sweet singers, and
surely many of our dull colored
birds cannot sing very well.
Next month you will see the
pictures of several home birds.
See if dull colors have anything
to do with sweet song.
THE TURKEY VULTURE.
This bird is found mostly in
the southern states. Here he is
known by the more common
name of Turkey Buzzard.
He looks like a noble bird but
he isn't. While he is well fitted
for flying, and might, if he tried,
catch his prey, he prefers to eat
dead animals.
. The people down south never
think of burying a dead horse or
cow. They just drag it out
away from their homes and
leave it to the Vultures who are
sure to dispose of it.
It is very seldom that they
attack a live animal.
They will even visit the streets
of the cities in search of dead
animals for food, and do not
show much fear of man. Often-
times they are found among the
chickens and ducks in the barn-
yard, but have never been known
to kill any.
One gentleman who has
studied the habits of the Vulture
says that it has been known to
suck the eggs of Herons. This
is not common, though. As I
said they prefer dead animals
for their food and even eat their
own dead.
The Vulture is very graceful
while on the wing. He sails
along and you can hardly see
his wings move as he circles
about looking for food on the
ground below.
Many people think the Vulture
looks much like our tame tur-
key.
If you know of a turkey near
by, just compare this picture
with it and you won't think so.
See how chalk -white his bill
is. No feathers on his head, but
a bright red skin'
What do think of the young
chick ? It doesn't seem as
though he could ever be the
large, heavy bird his parent
seems to be.
Now turn back to the first
page of July " BIRDS " and see
how he differs from the Eagle.
THE TURKEY VULTURE.
URKEY BUZZARD is the
familiar name applied to this
bird, on account of his remark-
able resemblance to our com-
mon Turkey. This is the only respect
however, in which they are alike. It
inhabits the United States and British
Provinces from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, south through Central and
most of South America. Every farmer
knows it to be an industrious scaven-
ger, devouring at all times the putrid
or decomposing flesh of carcasses.
They are found in flocks, not only
flying and feeding in company, but
resorting to the same spot to roost ;
nesting also in communities ; deposit-
ing their eggs on the ground, on rocks,
or in hollow logs and stumps, usually
in thick woods or in a sycamore grove,
in the bend or fork of a stream. The
nest is frequently built in a tree, or in
the cavity of a sycamore stump, though
a favorite place for depositing the
eggs is a little depression under a small
bush or overhanging rock on a steep
hillside.
Renowned naturalists have long
argued that the Vulture does not have
an extraordinary power of smell, but,
according to Mr. Davie, an excellent
authority, it has been proven by the
most satisfactory experiments that the
Turkey Buzzard does possess a keen
sense of smell by which it can dis-
tinguish the odor of flesh at a great
distance.
The flight of the Turkey Vulture is
truly beautiful, and no landscape with
its patches of green woods and grassy
fields, is perfect without its dignified
figure high in the air, moving round in
circles, steady, graceful and easy, and
apparently without effort. " It sails,"
says Dr. Brewer, "with a steady, even
motion, with wings just above the
horizontal position, with their tips
slightly raised, rises from the ground
with a single bound, gives a few flaps
of the wings, and then proceeds with
its peculiar soaring flight, rising very
high in the air."
The Vulture pictured in the accom-
panying plate was obtained between the
Brazos river and Matagorda bay. With
it was found the Black Vulture, both
nesting upon the ground. As the
nearest trees were .thirty or forty miles
distant these Vultures were always
found in this situation. The birds
selected an open spot beneath a heavy
growth of bushes, placing the eggs
upon the bare ground. The old bird
when approached would not attempt
to leave the nest, and in the case of
the young bird in the plate, the female
to protect it from harm, promptly dis-
gorged the putrid contents of her
stomach, which was so offensive that
the intruder had to close his nostrils
with one hand while he reached for
the young bird with the other.
The Turkey Vulture is a very silent
bird, only uttering a hiss of defiance
or warning to its neighbors when feed-
ing, or a low gutteral croak of alarm
when flying low overhead.
The services of the Vultures as scav-
engers in removing offal render them
valuable, and almost a necessity in
southern cities. If an animal is killed
and left exposed to view, the bird is
sure to find out the spot in a very short
time, and to make its appearance as if
called by some magic spell from the
empty air.
' ' Never stoops the soaring Vulture
On his quarry in the desert,
On the sick or wounded bison,
But another Vulture, watching,
From, his high aerial lookout,
Sees the downward plunge and follows;
And a third pursues the second,
Coming from the invisible ether,
First a speck, and then a Vulture,
Till the air is dark with pinions."
75
TO A WATER FOWL.
Whither, 'midst falling dew
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way ?
Vainly the fowler's eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.
Seek'st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocky billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean side.
There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast
The desert and illimitable air
Lone wandering, but not lost.
All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere,
Yet stooprnot, weary, to the welcome land
Though the dark night is near.
And soon that toil shall end;
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and nest,
And scream among thy fellows ; reeds shall bend,
Soon o'er thy sheltered nest.
Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form ; yet on my heart
Deeply has sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.
He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.
WIGWAM GULDEN BRYANT.
From col, F. M. Woodruff.
GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE.
l /t Life size.
CHICAGO COLORTYPE CO.
GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE.
AMBEL'S PARTRIDGE, of
which comparatively little
is known, is a characteristic
game bird of Arizona and
New Mexico, of rare beauty, and with
habits similar to others of the species
of which there about two hundred.
Mr. W. E. D. Scott found the species
distributed throughout the entire Cat-
alina region in Arizona below an alti-
tude of 5,000 feet. The bird is also
known as the Arizona Quail.
The nest is made in a depression in
the ground sometimes without any
lining. From eight to sixteen eggs
are laid. They are most beautifully
marked on a creamy-white ground
with scattered spots and blotches of
old gold, and sometimes light drab and
chestnut red. In some specimens the
gold coloring is so pronounced that it
strongly suggests :o the imagination
that this quail feeds upon the grains
of the precious metal which character-
izes its home, and that the pigment
is imparted to the eggs.
After the nesting season these birds
commonly gather in "coveys" or bevies,
usually composed of the members 'of
but one family. As a rule they are
terrestrial, but may take to trees when
flushed. They are game birds par
excellence, and, says Chapman, trusting
to the concealment afforded by their
dull colors, attempt to avoid detection
by hiding rather than by flying. The
flight is rapid and accompanied by a
startling whirr, caused by the quick
strokes of their small, concave, stiff-
feathered wings. They roost on the
ground, tail to tail, with heads point-
ing outward ; " a bunch of closely
huddled forms a living bomb whose
explosion is scarcely less startling
than that of dynamite manufacture."
The Partridge is on all hands ad-
mitted to be wholly harmless, and at
times beneficial to the agriculturist.
It is an undoubted fact that it thrives
with the highest system of cultivation,
and the lands that are the most care-
fully tilled, and bear the greatest quan-
tity of grain and green crops, generally
produce the greatest number of Part-
ridges.
79
SUMMARY.
Page 43.
AMERICAN OSPREY. Pandion paliaetus
carolinensis.
RANGE North America; breeds from Florida
to Labrador ; winters from South Carolina
to northern South America.
NEST Generally in a tree, thirty to fifty feet
from the ground, rarely on the ground.
EGGS Two to four ; generally buffy white,
heavily marked with chocolate.
Page 48.
SORA RAIL. Porzana Carolina.
RANGE Temperate North America, south to
the West Indies and northern South America.
NEST Of grass and reeds, placed on the
ground in a tussock of grass, where there is a
growth of briers.
EGGS From seven to fourteen ; of a ground
color, of dark cream or drab, with reddish
brown spots.
Page 51.
KENTUCKY WARBLER. Geothlypis
formosa.
RANGE Eastern United States ; breeds from
the Gulf States to Iowa and Connecticut ;
winters in Central America.
NEST Bulky, of twigs and rootlets, firmly
wrapped with leaves, on or near the ground.
EGGS Four or five ; white or grayish white,
speckled or blotched with rufous.
Page 55
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. Mer-
ganset Serrator.
RANGE Northern parts of the Northern
Hemisphere ; in America breeds from northern
Illinois and New Brunswick northward to the
arctic regions ; winters southward to Cuba.
NEST Of leaves, grasses, mosses, etc., lined
with down, on the ground near water, among
rocks or scrubby bushes.
EGGS Six to twelve ; creamy buff.
Page 60.
YELLOW-LEGS. Totanus flavipes.
RANGE North America, breeding chiefly in
the interior from Minnesota, northern Illinois,
Ontario County, N. Y., northward to the Arctic
regions; winters from the Gulf States to
Patagonia.
EGGS Three or four ; buffy, spotted or
blotched with dark madder or van dyke
brown and purplish gray.
Page 61.
SKYLARK. Alauda arvensis.
RANGE Europe and portions of Asia and
Africa ; accidental in the Bermudas and in
Greenland.
NEST Placed on the ground, in meadows or
open grassy places, sheltered by a tuft of grass;
the materials are grasses, plant stems, and a
few chance leaves.
EGGS Three to five, of varying form, color,
and size.
Page 66.
WILSON'S PHALAROPE. Phalaropus
tricolor.
RANGE Temperate North America, breeding
from northern Illinois and Utah northward to
the Saskatchewan region ; south in winter to
Brazil and Patagonia.
NEST A shallow depression in soft earth,
lined with a thin layer of fragments of grass.
EGGS Three to four ; cream buff or buffy
white, heavily blotched with deep chocolate.
GROSBEAK.
Cocothraustes
Page 70.
EVENING
vespertina.
RANGE Interior of North America, from
Manitoba northward ; southeastward in winter
to the upper Mississippi Valley and casually to
the northern Atlantic States.
NEST Of small twigs, lined with bark, hair,
or rootlets, placed within twenty feet of the
ground.
EGGS Three or four ; greenish, blotched
with pale brown.
Page 73.
TURKEY VULTURE. Catharista Atrata.
RANGE Temperate America, from New
Jersey southward to Patagonia.
NEST In hollow stump or log, or on ground
beneath bushes or palmettos.
EGGS One to three ; dull white, spotted and
blotched with chocolate marking.
Page 78.
GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE. - - Callipepla
gain be li
RANGE Northwestern Mexico, Arizona, New
Mexico, southern Utah, and western Utah and
western Texas.
NEST Placed on the ground, sometimes
without any lining.
EGGS From eight to sixteen.
80
BIRDS.
ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY.
VOL. II.
SEPTEMBER.
No. 3.
BIRD SONG.
How songs are made
Is a mystery,
Which studied for ye t ars
Still baffles me.
R. H. STODDARD.
OME birds are poets and
sing all summer,' 1 says
Thoreau. "They are the
true singers. Any man
can write verses in the
love season. We are most interested
in those birds that sing for the love of
music, and not of their mates ; who
meditate their strains and amuse
themselves with singing ; the birds
whose strains are of deeper sentiment."
Thoreau does not mention by name
any of the poet-birds to which he
alludes, but we think our selections
for the present month include some of
them. The most beautiful specimen
of all, which is as rich in color and
"sun-sparkle'' as the most polished
gem to which he owes his name, the
Ruby-thrdated Humming-bird, cannot
sing at all, uttering only a shrill
mouse-like squeak. The humming
sound made by his wings is far more
agreeable than his voice, for "when
the mild gold stars flower out" it an-
nounces his presence. Then
"A dim shape quivers about
Some sweet rich heart of a rose."
He hovers over all the flowers that
possess the peculiar sweetness that he
loves the blossoms of the honey-
suckle, the red, the white, and the
yellow roses, and the morning glory.
The red clover is as sweet to him as
to the honey bee, and a pair of them
may often be seen hovering over the
blossoms for a moment, and then dis-
appearing with the quickness of a
flash of light, soon to return to the
same spot and repeat the performance.
Squeak, squeak! is probably their call
note.
Something of the poet is the Yellow
Warbler, though his song is not quite
as long as an epic. He repeats it a
little too often, perhaps, but there is
such a pervading cheerfulness about
it that we will not quarrel with the
author. Sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-
sweeter-sweeter! is his frequent contri-
bution to the volume of nature, and
all the while he is darting about the
trees, "carrying sun-glints on his back
wherever he goes." His song is ap-
propriate to every season, but it is in
the spring, when we hear it first, that
it is doubly welcome to the ear. The
grateful heart asks with Bourdillon:
"What tidings hath the Warbler heard
That bids him leave the lands of summer
For woods and fields where April yields
Bleak welcome to the blithe newcomer?"
The Mourning Dove may be called
the poet of melancholy, for its song
is, to us, without one element of cheer-
fulness. Hopeless despair is in every
note, and, as the bird undoubtedly
does have cheerful moods, as indicated
by its actions, its song must be ap-
preciated only by its mate. Coo-o, coo-o!
suddenly thrown upon the air and
resounding near and far is something
hardly to be extolled, we should think,
and yet the beautiful and graceful
Dove possesses so many pretty ways
that every one is attracted to it, and
the tender affection of the mated pair
81
is so manifest, and their constancy so
conspicuous, that the name has become
a symbol of domestic concord.
The Cuckoo must utter his note in
order to be recognized, for few that
are learned in bird lore can discrimi-
nate him save from his notes. He
proclaims himself by calling forth his
own name, so that it is impossible to
make a mistake about him. Well,
his note is an agreeable one and has
made him famous. As he loses his
song in the summer months, he is
inclined to make good use of it when
he finds it again. English boys are
so skillful in imitating the Cuckoo's
song, which they do to an exasperating
extent, that the bird himself may
often wish for that of the Nightingale,
which is inimitable.
But the Cuckoo's song, monotonous
as it is, is decidedly to be preferred to
that of the female House Wren, with its
Chit-chit-chit-chit, when suspicious or in
anger. The male, however, is a real
poet, let us say and sings a merry
roulade, sudden, abruptly ended, and
frequently repeated. He sings, ap-
parently, for the love of music, and is
as merry and gay when his mate is
absent as when she is at his side,
proving that his singing is not solely
for her benefit.
So good an authority as Dr. Coues
vouches for the exquisite vocalization
of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Have
you ever heard a wire vibrating? Such
is the call note of the Ruby, thin and
metallic. But his song has a fullness,
a variety, and a melody, which, being
often heard in the spring migration,
make this feathered beauty addition-
ally attractive. Many of the fine
songsters are not brilliantly attired,
but this fellow has a combination of
attractions to commend him as worthy
of the bird student's careful attention.
Of the Hermit Thrush, whose song
is celebrated, we will say only, "Read
everything you can find about him."
He will not be discovered easily, for
even Olive Thome Miller, who is pre-
sumed to know all about birds, tells of
her pursuit of the Hermit in northern
New York, where it was said to be
abundant, and finding, when she
looked for him, that he had always
"been there" and was gone. But one
day in August she saw the bird and
heard the song and exclaimed : "This
only was lacking this crowns my
summer."
The Song Sparrow can sing too, and
the Phoebe, beloved of man, and the
White-breasted Nuthatch, a little.
They do not require the long-seeking
of the Hermit Thrush, whose very
name implies that he prefers to flock
by himself, but can be seen in our
parks throughout the season. But the
Sparrow loves the companionship of
man, and has often been a solace to
him. It is stated by the biographer of
Kant, the great metaphysician, that
at the age of eighty he had become
indifferent to much that was passing
around him in which he had formerly
taken great interest. The flowers
showed their beautious hues to him in
vain; his weary vision gave little heed
to their loveliness; their perfume
came unheeded to the sense which
before had inhaled it with eagerness.
The coming on of spring, which he
had been accustomed to hail with
delight, now gave him no joy save
that it brought back a little Sparrow,
which came annually and made its
home in a tree that stood by his
window. Year after year, as one
generation went the way of all the
.earth, another would return to its
birth-place to reward the tender care
of their benefactor by singing to him
their pleasant songs. And he longed
for their return in the spring with "an
eagerness and intensity of expecta-
tion."
How many provisions nature has
for keeping us simple-hearted and
child-like ! The Song Sparrow is one
of them. C. C. MARBLE.
82
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
SUMMER YELLOW-BIRD.
3 ft Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Tub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE YELLOW WARBLER.
fN a recent article Angus Gaines
describes so delightfully some
of the characteristics of the
Yellow Warbler, or Summer
Yellow bird, sometimes called
the Wild Canary, that we are tempted
to make use of part of it. "Back and
forth across the garden the little yel-
low birds were flitting, dodging
through currant and gooseberry
bushes, hiding in the lilacs, swaying
for an instant on swinging sprays of
grape vines, and then flashing out
across the garden beds like yellow
sunbeams. They were lithe, slender,
dainty little creatures, and were so
quick in their movements that I could
not recognize them at first, but when
one of them hopped down before me,
lifted a fallen leaf and dragged a cut-
worm from beneath it, and, turning
his head, gave me a sidewise glance
with his victim still struggling in his
beak, I knew him. His gay coat was
yellow without the black cap, wings,
and tail which show in such marked
contrast to the bright canary hue of
that other yellow bird, the Gold-finch.
"Small and delicate as these birds
are, they had been on a long journey
to the southward to spend the winter,
and now on the first of May, they had
returned to their old home to find the
land at its fairest all blossoms, buds,
balmy air, sunshine, and melody. As
they flitted about in their restless way,
they sang the soft, low, warbling trills,
which gave them their name of Yellow
Warbler."
Mrs. Wright says these beautiful
birds come like whirling leaves, half
autumn yellow, half green of spring,
the colors blending as in the outer
petals of grass-grown daffodils.
"Lovable, cheerful little spirits, dart-
ing about the trees, exclaiming at each
morsel that they glean. Carrying
sun glints on their backs wherever
they go, they should make the
gloomiest misanthrope feel the season's
charm. They are so sociable and
confiding, feeling as much at home in
the trees by the house as in seclusion."
The Yellow-bird builds in bushes,,
and the nest is a wonderful example
of bird architecture. Milkweed, lint
and its strips of fine bark are glued to
twigs, and form the exterior of the
nest. Its inner lining is made of the
silky down on dandelion-balls woven
together with horse-hair. In this
dainty nest are laid four or five creamy
white eggs, speckled with lilac tints
and red-browns. The unwelcome egg
of the Cow-bird is often found in the
Yellow-bird's nest, but this Warbler
builds a floor over the egg, repeating
the expedient, if the Cow-bird con-
tinues her mischief, until sometimes a
third story is erected.
A pair of Summer Yellow-birds, we
are told, had built their nest in a wild
rose bush, and were rearing their
family in a wilderness of fragrant
blossoms whose tinted petals dropped
upon the dainty nest, or settled upon
the back of the brooding mother.
The birds, however, did not stay "to
have their pictures taken," but their
nest may be seen afnong the roses.
The Yellow Warbler's song is Sweet-
sweet-sweet- sweet - sweet - sweet - sweeter-
sweeter: seven times repeated.
85
THE HERMIT THRUSH.
sr
I
'N John Burroughs' "Birds and
Poets" this master singer is
described as the most melodious
of our songsters, with the ex-
ception of the Wood Thrush,
a bird whose strains, more than any
other's, express harmony and serenity,
and he complains that no merited
poetic monument has yet been reared
to it. But there can be no good
reason for complaining of the
absence of appreciative prose concern-
ing the Hermit. One writer says:
"How pleasantly his notes greet the
ear amid the shrieking of the wind
and the driving snow, or when in a
calm and lucid interval of genial
weather we hear him sing, if possible,
more richly than before. His song
reminds us of a coming season when
the now dreary landscape will be
clothed in a blooming garb befitting
the vernal year of the song of the
Blackbird and Lark, and hosts of other
tuneful throats which usher in that
lovely season. Should you disturb
him when singing he usually drops
down and awaits your departure,
though sometimes he merely retires to
a neighboring tree and warbles as
sweetly as before."
In "Birdcraft" Mrs. Wright tells us,
better than any one else, the story of
the Hermit. She says: "This spring,
the first week in May, when standing
at the window about six o'clock in the
morning, I heard an unusual note, and
listened, thinking it at first a Wood
Thrush and then a Thrasher, but soon
finding that it was neither of these I
opened the window softly and looked
among the near by shrubs, with my
glass. The wonderful melody ascended
gradually in the scale as it progressed,
now trilling, now legato, the most
perfect, exalted, unrestrained, yet
withal, finished bird song that I ever
heard. At the first note I caught
sight of the singer perching among
the lower sprays of a dogwood tree.
I could see him perfectly: it was the
Hermit Thrush. In a moment he
began again. I have never heard the
Nightingale, but those who have say
that it is the surroundings and its con-
tinuous night singing that make it even
the equal of our Hermit; for, while
the Nightingales sing in numbers in
the moonlit groves, the Hermit tunes
his lute sometimes in inaccessible soli-
tudes, and there is something imma-
terial and immortal about the
song."
The Hermit Thrush is comparatively
common in the northeast, and in
Pennsylvania it is, with the exception
of the Robin, the commonest of the
Thrushes. In the eastern, as in many
of the middle states, it is only a
migrant. It is usually regarded as a
shy bird. It is a species of more
general distribution than any of the
small Thrushes, being found entirely
across the continent and north to the
Arctic regions. It is not quite the
same bird, however, in all parts of its
range, the Rocky Mountain region
being occupied by a larger, grayer
race, while on the Pacific coast a
dwarf race takes its place. It is
known in parts of New England as
the "Ground Swamp Robin," and in
other localities as "Swamp Angel."
True lovers of nature find a certain
spiritual satisfaction in the song of
this bird. "In the evening twilight
of a June day," says one of these,
"when all nature seemed resting in
quiet, the liquid, melting, lingering
notes of the solitary bird would steal
out upon the air and move us strange-
ly. What was the feeling it awoke in
our hearts? Was it sorrow or joy,
fear or hope, memory or expectation?
And while we listened, we thought
the meaning of it all was coming; it
was trembling on the air, and in an
instant it would reach us. Then it
faded, it was gone, and we could not
even remember what it had been."
86
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
HERMIT THRQSH.
a /5 Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE HERMIT THRUSH.
I am sorry, children, that I
cannot give you a specimen of
my song as an introduction to 1
the short story of my life. One
writer about my family says it
is like this: U spheral, spheral!
holy, holy! clear away,
clear away! clear up, clear
up!" as if I were talking to the
weather. May be my notes do
sound something like that, but
1 prefer you should hear me
sing when I am alone in the
woods, and other birds are
silent. It is ever being said of
me that I am as fine a singer as
the English Nightingale. I
wish I could hear this rival of
mine, and while I have no doubt
his voice is a sweet one, and I
am not too vain of my own, I
should like to'" compare notes "
with him. Why do not some of
you children ask your parents to
invite a few pairs of Nightin-
gales to come and settle here ?
They would like our climate,
and would, I am sure, be wel-
comed by all the birds with a
warmth not accorded the Eng-
lish Sparrow, who has taken
possession and, in spite of my
love for secret hiding places,
will not let even me alone.
When you are older, children,
you can read all about me in
another part of BIRDS. I will
merely tell you here that I live
with you only from May to
October, coming and going away
in company with the other
Thrushes, though I keep pretty
well to myself while here, and
while building my nest and
bringing up my little ones I
hide myself from the face of
man, although I do not fear his
presence. That is why I am
called the Hermit.
If you wish to know in what
way I am unlike my cousin
Thrushes in appearance, turn
to pages 84 and 182, Yol. 1, of
BIRDS. There you will see their
pictures. I am one of the small-
est of the family, too. Some
call me " the brown bird with
the rusty tail," and other names
have been fitted to me, as
Ground Gleaner, Tree Trapper,
and Seed Sower. But I do not
like nicknames, and am just
plain,
HERMIT THRUSH.
8 9
THE SONG SPARROW.
Glimmers gay the leafless thicket
Close beside my garden gate,
Where, so light, from post to wicket,
Hops the Sparrow, blithe, sedate;
Who, with meekly folded wing,
Comes to sun himself and sing.
It was there, perhaps, last year,
That his little house he built;
For he seemed to perk and peer
And to twitter, too, and tilt
The bare branches in between,
With a fond, familiar mien.
GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP.
do not think it at all
amiss to say that this dar-
ling among song birds
can be heard singing
nearly everywhere the whole year
round, although he is supposed to
come in March and leave us in Nov-
ember. We have heard him in Feb-
ruary, when his little feet made tracks
in the newly fallen snow, singing as
cheerily as" in April, May, and June,
when he is supposed to be in ecstacy.
Even in August, when the heat of
the dog-days and his molting time
drive him to leafy seclusion, his liquid
notes may be listened for with cer-
tainty, while "all through October
they sound clearly above the rustling
leaves, and some morning he conies to
the dog-wood by the arbor and an-
nounces the first frost in a song that is
more direct than that in which he
told of spring. While the chestnuts
fall from their velvet nests, he is
singing in the hedge ; but when the
brush heaps burn away to fragrant
smoke in November, they veil his
song a little, but it still continues."
While the Song Sparrow nests in
the extreme northern part of Illinois,
it is known in the more southern
portions only as a winter resident.
This is somewhat remarkable, it is
thought, since along the Atlantic
coast it is one of the most abundant
summer residents throughout Mary-
land and Virginia, in the same lati-
tudes as southern Illinois, where it is
a winter sojourner, abundant, but
very retiring, inhabiting almost solely
the bushy swamps in the bottom
lands, and unknown as a song bird.
This is regarded as a remarkable
instance of variation in habits with
locality, since in the Atlantic states
it breeds abundantly, and is besides
one of the most familiar of the native
birds.
The location of the Song Sparrow's
nest is variable; sometimes on the
ground, or in a low bush, but usually
in as secluded a place as its instinct of
preservation enables it to find. A
favorite spot is a deep shaded ravine
through which a rivulet ripples, where
the solitude is disturbed only by the
notes of his song, made more sweet
and clear by the prevailing silence.
90
THE SONG SPARROW.
DEAR YOUNG READERS :
I fancy many of the little
folks who are readers of BIRDS
are among my acquaintances.
Though I have never spoken to
you, I have seen your eyes
brighten when my limpid little
song has been borne to you by a
passing breeze which made
known my presence. Once I
saw a pale, worn face turn to
look at me from a window, a
smile of pleasure lighting it up.
And I too was pleased to think
that I had given some one a
moment's happiness. I have
seen bird lovers (for we have
lovers, and many of them ) pause
on the highway and listen to
my pretty notes, which I know
as well as any one have a cheer-
ful and patient sound, and
which all the world likes, for to
be cheered and encouraged
along the pathway of life is like
a pleasant medicine to my weary
and discouraged fellow citizens.
For you must know I am a citi-
zen, as my friend Dr. Coues
calls me, and all my relatives.
He and Mrs. Mabel Osgood
Wright have written a book
about us called u Citizen Bird,"
and in it they have supported us
in all our rights, which even
you children are beginning to
admit we have. You are kinder
to us than you used to.be. Some
of you come quickly to our
rescue from untaught and
thoughtless boys who, we think,,
if they were made to know how
sensitive we are to suffering and
wrong, would turn to be our
friends and protectors instead.
One dear boy I remember well
(and he is considered a hero by
the Song Sparrows) saved a nest
of our birdies from a cruel
school boy robber. Why should
not all strong boys become our
champions ? Many of them
have great, honest, sympathetic
hearts in their bosoms, and, if
we can only enlist them in our
favor, they can give us a peace
and protection for which for
years we have been sighing.
Yes, sighing, because our hearts,
though little, are none the less
susceptible to all the asperities
the terrible asperities of
human nature. Papa will tell
you what I mean: you would
not understand bird language.
Did you ever see my nest? I
build it near the ground, and
sometimes, when kind friends
prepare a little box for me, I
occupy it. My song is quite
varied, but you will always
recognize me by my call note,
Chek! Chek! Chek! Some people
say they hear me repeat u Maids,
maids, maids, hang on your
teakettle," but I think this is
only fancy, for I can sing a real
song, admired, I am sure, by all
who love
SONG SPARROW.
93
THE CUCKOO.
UR first introduction to the
Cuckoo was by means of
the apparition which issued
hourly from a little German
clock, such as are frequently
found in country inns. This particu-
lar clock had but one dial hand, and
the exact time of day could not
be determined by it until the appear-
ance of the Cuckoo, who, in a squeak-
ing voice, seemed to announce that it
was just one hour later or earlier, as
the case might be, than at his last
appearance. We were puzzled, and
remember fancying that a sun dial, in
clear weather, would be far more
satisfactory as a time piece. "Coo-coo,"
the image repeated, and then retired
until the hour hand should summon
him once more.
To very few people, not students of
birds, is the Cuckoo really known.
Its evanescent voice is often recog-
nized, but being a solitary wanderer
even ornithologists have yet to learn
much of its life history. In their
habits the American and European
Cuckoos are so similar that whatever
of poetry and sentiment has been
written of them is applicable alike to
either. A delightful account of the
species may be found in Dixon's Bird
Life, a book of refreshing and original
observation.
"The Cuckoo is found in the verdant
woods, in the coppice, and even on
the lonely moors. He flits from one
stunted tree to another and utters his
notes in company with the wild song
of the Ring Ousel and the harsh calls
of the Grouse and Plover. Though
his notes are monotonous, still no one
gives them this appellation. No! this
little wanderer is held too dear by us
all as the harbinger of spring for
aught but praise to be bestowed on his
mellow notes, which, though full and
soft, are powerful, and may on a calm
morning, before the every-day hum of
human toil begins, be heard a mile
away, over wood, field, and lake.
Toward the summer solstice his notes
are on the wane, and when he gives
them forth we often hear him utter
them as if laboring under great diffi-
culty, and resembling the syllables,
" Coo-coo-coo-coo. ' '
On one occasion Dixon says he
heard a Cuckoo calling in treble
notes, Giick-oo-oo, cuck-oo-oo, inex-
pressibly soft and beautiful, notably
the latter one. He at first supposed
an echo was the cause of these strange
notes, the bird being then half a mile
away, but he satisfied himself that this
was not the case, as the bird came and
alighted on a noble oak a few yards
from him and repeated the notes.
The Cuckoo utters his notes as he
flies, but only, as a rule, when a few
yards from the place on which he
intends alighting.
The opinion is held by some ob-
servers that Nature has not intended
the Cuckoo to build a nest, but influ-
ences it to lay its eggs in the nests of
other birds, and intrust its young to
the care of those species best adapted
to bring them to maturity. But the
American species does build a nest,
and rears its young, though Audubon
gives it a bad character, saying: "It
robs smaller birds of their eggs." It
does not deserve the censure it has
received, however, and it is useful
in many ways. Its hatred of the
worm is intense, destroying many
more than it can eat. So thoroughl}-
does it do its work, that orchards,
which three years ago, were almost
leafless, the trunks even being covered
by slippery webbing, are again yield-
ing a good crop.
In September and October the
Cuckoo is silent and suddenly disap-
pears. "He seldom sees the lovely
tints of autumn, and never hears the
wintry storm-winds' voice, for, im-
pelled by a resistless impulse, he
wings his way afar over mountain,
stream, and sea, to a land where
northern blasts are not felt, and where
a summer sun is shining in a cloud-
less sky."
94
THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD.
Is it a gem, half bird,
Or is it a bird, half gem ?
EDGAR FAWCETT.
F all animated beings this is
the most elegant in form
and the most brilliant in
colors, says the great nat-
uralist Buffbn. The stones
and metals polished by our arts are
not comparable to this jewel of Nature.
She has it least in size of the order of
birds, maxime miranda in minimis. Her
masterpiece is the Humming-bird, and
upon it she has heaped all the gifts
which the other birds may only share.
Lightness, rapidity, niuibleness, grace,
and rich apparel all belong to this
little favorite. The emerald, the ruby,
and the topaz gleam upon its dress.
It never soils them with the dust of
earth, and its aerial life scarcely
touches the turf an instant. Always
in the air, flying from flower to flower,
it has their freshness as well as their
brightness. It lives upon their nectar,
and dwells only in the climates where
they perennially bloom.
All kinds of Humming-birds are
found in the hottest countries of the
New World. They are quite numer-
ous and seem to be confined between
the two tropics, for those which pene-
trate the temperate zones in summer
stay there only a short time. They
seem to follow the sun in its advance
and retreat ; and to fly on the zephyr
wing after an eternal spring.
The smaller species of the Hum-
ming-birds are less in size than the
great fly wasp, and more slender than
the drone. Their beak is a fine needle
and their tongue a slender thread.
Their little black eyes are like two
shining points, and the feathers of
their wings so delicate that they seem
transparent. Their short feet, which
they use very little, are so tiny one
can scarcely see them. They rarely
alight during the day. They have a
swift continual humming flight. The
movement of their wings is so rapid
that when pausing in the air, the bird
seems quite motionless. One sees him
stop before a blossom, then dart like .a
flash to another, visiting all, plunging
his tongue into their hearts, flattening
them with his wings, never settling
anywhere, but neglecting none. He
hastens his inconstancies only to pur-
sue his loves more eagerly and to
multiply his innocent joys. For this
light lover of flowers lives at their
expense without ever blighting them.
He only pumps their honey, and for
this alone his tongue seems designed.
The vivacity of these small birds is
only equaled by their courage, or
rather their audacity. Sometimes
they may be seen furiously chasing-
birds twenty times their size, fastening
upon their bodies, letting themselves
be carried along in their flight, while
they peck fiercely until their tiny rage
is satisfied. Sometimes they fight
each other vigorously. Impatience
seems their very essence. If they ap-
proach a blossom and find it faded,
they mark their spite by a hasty rend-
ing of the petals. Their only voice is
a weak cry of Screp, screp, frequent
and repeated, which they utter in the
woods from dawn until at the first rays
of the sun they all take flight and
scatter over the country.
The Ruby-throat is the only native
Humming-bird of eastern North
America, where it is a common sum-
mer resident from May to October,
breeding from Florida to Labrador.
The nest is a circle an inch and a half
in diameter, made of fern wood, plant
down, and so forth, shingled with
lichens to match the color of the
branch on which it rests. Its only
note is a shrill, mouse-like squeak.
97
THE HOUSE WREN.
All the children, it seems to
me, are familiar with the habits
of Johnny and Jenny Wren ;
and many of them, especially
such as have had some experi-
ence with country life, could
themselves tell a story of these
mites of birds. Mr. F. Saunders
tells one: u Perhaps you may
think the Wren is so small a
bird he cannot sing much of a
song, but he can. The way we
first began to notice him was by
seeing our pet cat jumping about
the yard, dodging first one way
and then another, then darting
up a tree; looking surprised,
and disappointingly jumping
down again.
"Pussy had found a new play-
mate, for the little Wren evi-
dently thought it great fun to
fly down just in front of her and
dart away before she could
reach him, leading her from one
spot to another, hovering above
her head, chattering to her all
the time, and at last flying up
far out of her reach. This he
repeated day after day, for some
time, seeming to enjoy the fun
of disappointing her so nicely
and easily. But after a while
the little fellow thought he
would like a play-mate nearer
his own size, and went off to
find one. But he came back all
alone, and perched himself on
the very tip-top of a lightning-
rod on a high barn at the back
of the yard; and there he would
sing his sweet little trilling
song, hour after hour, hardly
stopping long enough to find
food for his meals. We won-
dered that he did not grow tired
of it. For about a week we
watched him closely, and one
day I came running into the
house to tell the rest of the
family with surprise and delight
that our little Wren knew what
he was about, for with his win-
ning song he had called a mate
to him. He led her to the tree
where he had played with pussy,
and they began building a nest;
but pussy watched then as well
as we, and meant to have her
revenge upon him yet, so she
sprang into the tree, tore the
nest to pieces, and tried to catch
Jenny. The birds rebuilt their
nest three times, and finally we
came to their rescue and placed
a box in a safe place under the
eves of the house, and Mr.
Wren with his keen, shrewd
eyes, soon saw and appropriated
it. There they stayed and raised
a pretty family of birdies; and
I hope he taught them, as he
did me, a lesson in perseverence
I'll never forget."
9 8
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
RUBY -THROATED HUMMING BIRDS.
Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
HOUSE WREN.
Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD.
DEAR YOUNG FOLKS :
I fancy you think I cannot
stop long enough to tell you a
story, even about myself. It is
true, I am always busy with the
flowers, drinking their honey
with my long bill, as you must
be busy with your books, if you
would learn what they teach.
I always select for my food the
sweetest flowers that grow in
the garden.
Do you think you would be
vain if you had my beautiful
colors to wear? Of course, you
would not, but so many of my
brothers and sisters have been
destroyed to adorn the bonnets
and headdresses of the thought-
less that the children cannot be
too early taught to love us too
well to do us harm. Have you
ever seen a ruby? It is one of
the most valued of gems. It is
the color of my throat, and from
its rare and brilliant beauty I
get a part of my name. The
ruby is worn by great ladies
and, with the emerald and topaz,
whose bright colors I also wear,
is much esteemed as an orna-
ment.
If you will come into the
garden in the late afternoon,
between six and seven o'clock,
when I am taking my supper,
and when the sun is beginning
to close his great eye, you will
see his rays shoot sidewise and
show all the splendor of my
plumage. You will see me, too,
if your eyes are sharp enough,
draw up my tiny claws, pause in
front of a rose,, and remain
seemingly motionless. But
listen, and you will hear the
reason for my name a tense
humming sound. Some call me
a Hummer indeed.
I spend only half the year in
the garden, coming in May and
saying farewell in October.
After my mate and I are gone
you may find our nest. But
your eyes will be sharp indeed
if they detect it when the leaves
are on the trees, it is so small
and blends with the branches.
We use fern-wool and soft down
to build it, and shingle it with
lichens to match the branch it
nests upon. You should see the
tiny eggs of pure white. But
we, our nest and our eggs, are
so dainty and delicate that they
should never be touched. We
are only to be looked at and
admired.
Farewell. Look for me when
you go a-Maying. RUBY.
103
THE HOUSE WREN.
I
"It was a merry time
When Jenny Wren was young,
When prettily she looked,
And sweetly, too, she sung."
'N looking over an old memo-
randum book the other day,"
says Col. S. T. Walker, of
Florida, "I came across the
following notes concerning
the nesting of the House Wren. I
was sick at the time, and watched the
whole proceeding, from the laying of
the first stick to the conclusion. The
nest was placed in one of the pigeon-
holes of my desk, and the birds
effected an entrance to the room
through sundry cracks in the log
cabin.
Nest begun ...... April
Nest completed and first egg laid, April 27.
I/ast egg laid ...... May 3rd.
Began sitting ...... May 4th.
Hatching completed .... May i8th.
Young began to fly .... May 27th.
Young left the nest .... June ist.
Total time occupied .... 47 days.
Such is the usual time required for
bringing forth a brood of this species
of Wren, which is the best known of
the family. In the Atlantic states it
is more numerous than in the far west,
where wooded localities are its chosen
haunts, and where it is equally at
home in the cottonwoods of the river
valleys, and on the aspens j'ust below
the timber line on lofty mountains.
Mrs. Osgood Wright says very
quaintly that the House Wren is a
bird who has allowed . the word male
to be obliterated from its social consti-
tution at least: that we always speak
of Jenny Wren: always refer to the
Wren as she, as we do of a ship. That
it is Johnny Wren who sings and dis-
ports himself generally, but it is Jenny,
who, by dint of much scolding and
fussing, keeps herself well to the front.
She chooses the building-site and
settles all the little domestic details.
If Johnny does not like her choice, he
may go away and stay away; she will
remain where she has taken up her
abode and make a second matrimonial
venture.
The House Wren's song is a merry
one, sudden, abrubtly ended, and fre-
quently repeated. It is heard from the
middle of April to October, and upon
the bird's arrival it at on'ce sets about
preparing its nest, a loose heap of sticks
with a soft lining, in holes, boxes, and
the like. From six to ten tiny, cream-
colored eggs are laid, so thickly spotted
with brown that the whole egg is
tinged.
The House Wren is not only one
of our most interesting and familiar
neighbors, but it is useful as an
exterminator of insects, upon which it
feeds. Frequently it seizes small but-
terflies when on the wing. We have
in mind a sick child whose conva-
lescence was hastened and cheered by
the near-by presence of the merry
House Wren, which sings its sweet
little trilling song, hour after hour,
hardly stopping long enough to find
food for its meals.
104
THE PHOEBE.
Oft the Phoebe's cheery notes
Wake the laboring swain ;
"Come, come ! " say the merry throats,
"Morn is here again."
Phoebe, Phoebe ! let them sing for aye,
Calling him to labor at the break of day.
C. C. M.
EARLY everywhere in the
United States we find this
cheerful bird, known as
Pewee, Barn Pewee,
Bridge Pewee, or Phoebe, or Pewit
Flycatcher. "It is one of that charm-
ing coterie of the feathered tribe who
cheer the abode of man with their
presence." There are few farmyards
without a pair of Pewees, who do the
farmer much service by lessening the
number of flies about the barn, and by
calling him to his work in the morn-
ing by their cheery notes.
Dr. Brewer says that this species is
attracted both to the vicinity of water
and to the neighborhood of dwellings,
probably for the same reason the
abundance of insects in either situation*.
They are a familiar, confiding, and
gentle bird, attached to localities, and
returning to them year after year.
Their nests are found in sheltered
situations, as under a bridge, a pro-
jecting rock, in the porches of houses,
etc. They have been known to build
on a small shelf in the porch of a
dwelling, against the wall of a railroad
station, within reach of the passengers,
and under a projecting window-sill, in
full view of the family, entirely
unmoved by the presence of the latter
at meal time.
Like all the flycatcher family the
Phoebe takes its food mostly flying.
Mrs. Wright says that the Pewee in
his primitive state haunts dim woods
and running water, and that when
domesticated he is a great bather, and
may be seen in the half-light dashing
in and out of the water as he makes
trips to and from the nest. After the
young are hatched both old and young
disport themselves about the water
until moulting time. She advises:
"Do not let the Phoebes build under
the hoods of your windows, for their
spongy nests harbor innumerable bird-
lice, and under such circumstances
your fly-screens will become infested
and the house invaded."
In its native woods the nest is of
moss, mud, and grass placed on a rock,
near and over running water; but in
the vicinity of settlements and villages
it is built on a horizontal bridge beam,
or on timber supporting a porch or
shed. The eggs are pure white, some-
what spotted. The notes, to some
ears, are Phoebe, phoebe, pewit, phoebe!
to others, of somewhat duller sense of
hearing, perhaps, Pewee, pewee, pewee!
We confess to a fancy that the latter
is the better imitation.
107
THE RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.
ASKETT says that the
Kinglets come at a certain
early spring date before
the leaves are fully ex-
panded, and flutter up-
ward, while they take something from
beneath the budding leaf or twig. It
is a peculiar motion, which with their
restless ways, olive-green color, and
small size, readily distinguishes them.
It is rare that one is still. "But the
ruby-crowned sometimes favors me
with a song, and as it is a little long,
he usually is quiet till done. It is
one of the sweetest little lullaby-like
strains. One day I saw him in the
rose bush just near voluntarily expand
the plumage of his crown and show
the brilliant golden-ruby feathers
beneath. Usually they are mostly
concealed. It was a rare treat, and
visible to me only because of my
rather exalted view. He generally
reserves this display for his mate, but
he was here among some Snow-birds
and Tree Sparrows, and seemed to be
trying to make these plain folks
envious of the pretty feathers in his
hat."
These wonderfully dainty little
birds are of great value to the farmer
and the fruit grower, doing good work
among all classes of fruit trees by
killing grubs and larvae. In spite of
their value in this respect, they have
been, in common with many other
attractive birds, recklessly killed for
millinery purposes.
It is curious to see these busy
wanderers, who are always cheery and
sociable, come prying and peering
about the fruit trees, examining every
little nook of possible concealment
with the greatest interest. They do
not stay long after November, and
return again in April.
The nest of this Kinglet is rarely
seen. It is of matted hair, feathers,,
moss, etc., bulky, round, and partly
hanging. Until recently the eggs
were unknown. They are of a dirty
cream-white, deepening at larger end
to form a ring, some specimens being
spotted.
Mr. Nehrling, who has heard this
Kinglet sing in central Wisconsin and
northern Illinois, speaks of the "power,
purity, and volume of the notes, their
faultless modulation and long con-
tinuance," and Dr. Elliott Coues says
of it: "The Kinglet's exquisite vocal-
ization defies description." Dr. Brewer
says that its song is clear, resonant,
and high, a prolonged series, varying
from the lowest tones to the highest,
and terminating with the latter. It
may be heard at quite a distance, and
in some respects bears more resem-
blance to the song of the English
Sky-lark than to that of the Canary,,
to which Mr. Audubon compares it.
108
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.
Life-size.
Nature Study
Copyrighted by
udy Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE MOURNING DOVE.
THE DOVE AND THE STRANGER.
Stranger Why mourning there so sad, thou gentle dove?
Dove I mourn, unceasing mourn, my vanished love.
Stranger What, has thy love then fled, or faithless proved ?
Dove Ah no ! the sportsman wounded him I loved !
Stranger Unhappy one ! beware ! that sportman's nigh !
Dove Oh, let him come or else of grief I die. FROM THE RUSSIAN.
(5 THROUGHOUT the state of
^ I Illinois and adjacent states
QJ I this bird of sad refrain is a
~~^ permanent resident, though
less numerous and of uncertain oc-
currence in winter. In the spring of
1883, all the specimens seen at Wheat-
land, Indiana, had the ends of the
toes frozen off, showing that they had
braved the almost unprecedented cold
of the preceding winter. They have
been known to winter as far north as
Canada, and in December considerable
numbers have been seen about Wind-
sor, Ontario.
The female is a little smaller than
the male, and the young are duller
and more brownish in color. In many
places the Mourning Dove becomes
half domesticated, nesting in the trees
in the yard, showing but little fear
when approached. While the Turtle
Dove keeps the deepest woodland
solitudes, and rarely seeks the fields
and open places, this Dove is as often
seen out of the woods as in them, for
the greater part of the year at least ;
and, though a wary bird, it is not
what we can call a shy one.
The love note of the Mourning
Dove, though somewhat monotonous,
"sounds particularly soothing and
pleasant as we wander through the
otherwise almost silent woods, just as
they are about to don their leafy
vestures, under the gentle influence of
an April sun." If the birds be abun-
dant, their low and plaintive note,
Coo-oo-oo, coo-oo-oo, fills the entire forest
with its murmur. Gentle, indeed, as
the Dove is thought to be, still this
does not hold good in the mating sea-
son, for two male birds will often fight
with fury for the possession of a
female. These encounters, however,
are only between young or single
birds.
If unmolested, these birds will nest
in one certain locality for years. Mrs.
Wright says the female is a most
prettily shiftless house-wife. "Even
though her mate should decline to
furnish her with more liberal supply
of sticks, she could arrange those she
has to better advantage; but she evi-
dently lacks that indispensable some-
thing, called faculty, which must be
inborn. The eggs or bodies of the
young show plainly through the rude
platform and bid fair to either fall
through it or roll out, but they seldom
do. Meanwhile she coos regretfully,
but does not see her way to bettering
things, saying 'I know I'm a poor
house-keeper, but it runs in our family;'
but when the Dove chooses a flattened
out Robin's nest for a platform, the
nestlings fare very well'."
The Dove's food is confined mainly
to vegetable matter, peas, beans,
lintels, grains, and small seeds of
various kinds. They frequent newly
sown land and feed upon the seed
grain; they search under the oak trees
for acorns, and under beech trees for
mast, sometimes feeding in the
branches; in autumn the stubble field
is a favorite feeding spot, where they
pick up the scattered grain, and eat
the tender heart shoots of the clover,
and, Dixon says, they feed upon the
growing turnip plants, and in keen
weather when the snow lies deep they
will make a meal on the turnips them-
selves. In their favor, however, is
the fact that in the crops of these
Doves are often found the seeds of
noxious weeds, as the charlock and
dock.
THE MOURNING DOVE.
DEAR YOUNG BIRD LOVERS :
Most every person thinks that,
while my actions are very pretty
and attractive, and speak much
in my favor, I can only really
say, Coo-o, Coo-o, which they also
think does not mean anything at
all. Well, I just thought I
would undeceive them by writ-
ing you a letter. Many grown
up people fancy that we birds
cannot express ourselves be-
cause we don't know very much.
Of course, there is a good reason
why they have this poor opinion
of us. They are so busy with
their own private concerns that
they forget that there are little
creatures like ourselves in the
world who, if they would take a
little time to become acquainted
with them, would fill their few
hours of leisure with a sweeter
recreation than they find in
many of their chosen outings.
A great English, poet, whose
writings you will read when you
get older, said you should look
through Nature up to Nature's
God. What did he mean? I
think he had us birds in his
mind, for it is through a study
of our habits, more perhaps than
that of the voiceless trees or the
dumb four-footed creatures that
roam the fields, that your hearts
are opened to see and admire
real beauty. We birds are the
true teachers of faith, hope, and
charity, faith, because we trust
one another; hope, because,
even when our mother Nature
seems unkind, sending the drift-
ing snow and the bitter blasts
of winter, we sing a song of
summer time; and charity, be-
cause we are never fault finders.
I believe, without knowing it,
I have been telling you about
myself and my mate. We
Doves are very sincere, and
every one says we are constant.
If you live in the country,
children, you must often hear
our voices. We are so tender
and fond of each other that we
are looked upon as models for
children, and even grown-up
folks. My mate does not build
a very nice nest only uses a
few sticks to keep the eggs from
falling out but she is a good
mother and nurses the little
ones very tenderly. Some peo-
ple are so kind that they build
for us a dove cote, supply us
with wheat and corn, and make
our lives as free from care and
danger as they can. Come and
see us some day, and then you
can tell whether my picture is a
good one. The artist thinks it
is and he certainly took lots of
pains with it.
Now, if you will be kind to
all birds, you will find me, in
name only,
MOURNING DOVE.
HOW THE BIRDS SECURED THEIR RIGHTS.
Deuteronomy xxxii 6-7. "If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree, or on the ground,
young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shall not take the dam with the
young. But thou shall in anywise let the dam go, that it may be well with thee, and that thou may prolong thy
days."
'T is said that the following peti-
tion was instrumental in secur-
ing the adoption in Massachu-
setts of a law prohibiting the
wearing of song and insectivor-
ous birds on women's hats. It is
stated that the interesting document
was prepared by United States Senator
Hoar. The foregoing verse of Scrip-
ture might have been quoted by the
petitioning birds to strengthen their
position before the lawmakers:
"To THE GREAT AND GENERAL
COURT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
MASSACHUSETTS : We, the song birds
of Massachusetts and their playfellows,
make this our humble petition. We
know more about you than you think
we do. We know how good you are.
We have hopped about the roofs and
looked in at the windows of the houses
you have built for poor and sick and
hungry people, and little lame and
deaf and blind children. We have
built our nests in the trees and sung
many a song as we flew about the
gardens and parks you have made so
beautiful for your children, especially
your poor children, to play in. Every
year we fly a great way over the
country, keeping all the time where
the sun is bright and warm. And we
know that whenever you do anything
the other people all over this great
land between the seas and the great
lakes find it out, and pretty soon will
try to do the same. We know. We
know.
"We are Americans just the same as
you are. Some of us, like some of
you, came across the great sea. But
most of the birds like us have lived
here a long while; and the birds like
us welcomed your fathers when they
came here many, many years ago. Our
fathers and mothers have always done
their best to please your fathers and
mothers.
"Now we have a sad story to tell
you. Thoughtless or bad people are
trying to destroy us. They kill us
because our feathers are beautiful.
Even pretty and sweet girls, who we
should think would be our best friends,
kill our brothers and children so that
they may wear our plumage on their
hats. Sometimes people kill us for
mere wantonness. Cruel boys destroy
our nests and steal our eggs and our
young ones. People with guns and
snares lie in wait to kill us; as if the
place for a bird were not in the sky,
alive, but in a shop window or in a
glass case. If this goes on much
longer all our song birds will be gone.
Already we are told in some other
countries that used to be full of birds
they are now almost gone. Even the
Nightingales are being killed in Italy.
"Now we humbly pray that you
will stop all this and will save us from
this sad fate. You have already made
a law that no one shall kill a harm-
less song bird or destroy our nests or
our eggs. Will you please make an-
other one that no one shall wear our
feathers, so that no one shall kill us to
get them? We want them all our-
selves. Your pretty girls are pretty
enough without them. We are told
that it is as easy for you to do it as for
a blackbird to whistle. '
"If you will, we know how to pay
you a hundred times over. We will
teach your children to keep them-
selves clean and neat. We will show
them how to live together in peace
and love and to agree as we do in our
nests. We will build pretty houses
which you will like to see. We will
play about your garden and flowerbeds
ourselves like flowers on wings
without any cost to you. We will
destroy the wicked insects and worms
that spoil your cherries and currants
and plums and apples and roses. We
will give you our best songs, and make
the spring more beautiful and the
summer sweeter to you. Every June
morning when you go out into the
field, Oriole and Bluebird and Black-
bird and Bobolink will fly after you,
and make the day more delightful to
you. And when you go home tired after,
sundown Vesper Sparrow will tell you
how grateful we are. When you sit
down on your porch after dark, Fifebird
and Hermit Thrush and Wood Thrush
will sing to you; and even Whip-poor-
will will cheer you up a little. We
know where we are safe. In a little
while all the birds will come to live
in Massachusetts again, and everbody
who loves music will like to make a
summer home with you."
The singers are :
Brown Thrasher,
Robert o'Lincoln,
Vesper Sparrow,
Hermit Thrush,
Robin Redbreast.
Song Sparrow,
Scarlet Tanager,
Summer Redbird,
Blue Heron,
Humming Bird,
Yellow Bird,
Whip-poor-will,
Water Wagtail,
Woodpecker,
Pigeon Woodpecker,
Indigo Bird,
Yellow Throat,
Wilson's Thrush,
Chickadee.
King Bird,
Swallow.
Cedar Bird,
Cow Bird,
Martin,
Veery,
Vireo,
Oriole,
Blackbird,
Fife Bird,
Wren,
Linnet,
Pewee,
Phoebe,
Yoke Bird,
Lark,
Sandpiper,
Chewink.
THE CAPTIVE'S ESCAPE.
I saw such a sorrowful sight, my dears,
Such a sad and sorrowful sight,
As I lingered under the swaying vines,
In the silvery morning light.
The skies were so blue and the day was so fair
With beautiful things untold,
You would think no sad and sorrowful thing
Could enter its heart of gold.
A fairy-like cage was hanging there,
So gay with turret and -dome,
You'd be sure a birdie would gladly make
Such a beautiful place its home.
But a wee little yellow-bird sadly chirped
As it fluttered to and fro ;
I know it was longing with all its heart
To its wild-wood home to go.
I heard a whir of swift-rushing wings,
And an answering gladsome note;
As close to its nestlings prison bars,
I saw the poor mother bird float.
I saw her flutter and strive in vain
To open the prison door.
Then sadly cling with drooping wing
As if all her hopes were o'er.
But ere I could reach the prison house
And let its sweet captive free,
She was gone like a yellow flash of light,
To her home in a distant tree.
"Poor birdie," I thought, "you shall surely go,
When mamma comes back again ;"
For it hurt me so that so small a thing
Should suffer so much of pain.
And back in a moment she came again
And close to her darling's side
With a bitter-sweet drop of honey dew,
Which she dropped in its mouth so wide.
Then away, with a strange wild mournful note
Of sorrow, which seemed to say
"Goodbye, my darling, my birdie dear,
Goodbye tor many a day."
A quick wild flutter of tiny wings,
A faint low chirp of pain,
A throb of the little aching heart
And birdie was free again.
Oh sorrowful anguished mother-heart,
'Twas all that she could do,
She had set it free from a captive's life
In the only way she knew.
Foor little birdie! it never will fly
On tiny and tireless wing,
Through the pearly blue of the summer sky,
Or sing the sweet songs of spring.
And I think, little dears, if you had seen
The same sad sorrowful sight,
You never would cage a free wild bird
To suffer a captive's plight.
MARY MORRISON.
116
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
WHITE-BREASTED NUT HATCH.
Life-size-
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.
I EARLY every one readily
recognizes this species as it
runs up and down and
around the branches
and trunks of trees in
search of insect food, now and then
uttering its curious Quauk, quauk,quauk.
The White-breasted Nuthatch is often
improperly called "Sapsucker," a
name commonly applied to the Downy
Woodpecker and others. It is a coin-
mom breeding bird and usually begins
nesting early in April, and two broods
are frequently reared in a season. For
its nesting place it usually selects the
decayed trunk of a tree or stub, rang-
ing all the way from two to sixty feet
above the ground. The entrance may
be a knot hole, a small opening, or a
small round hole with a larger cavity
at the end of it. Often the old exca-
vation of the Downy Woodpecker is
made use of. Chicken feathers, hair,
and a. few dry leaves loosely thrown
together compose the nest.
This Nuthatch is abundant through-
out the State of Illinois, arid is a
permanent resident everywhere except
perhaps of the extreme northern
counties. It seems to migrate in
spring and return in autumn, but, in
reality, as is well known, only retreats
to the woodlands to breed, emerging
again when the food supply grows
scant in the autumn.
The Nuthatches associate familiarly
with the Kinglets and Titmice, and
often travel with them. Though
regarded as shy birds they are not
really so. Their habits of restlessness
render them difficult of examination.
"Tree-mice" is the local name given
them by the fanners, and would be
very appropriate could they sometimes
remain as motionless as that diminu-
tive animal.
Careful observation has disclosed
that the Nuthatches do not suck the
sap from trees, but that they knock
off bits of decayed or loose bark with
the beak to obtain the grubs or larvae
beneath. They are beneficial to vege-
tation. Ignorance is responsible for
the misapplied names given to many
of our well disposed and useful birds,
and it would be well if teachers were
to discourage the use of inappropriate
names and familiarize the children
with those recognized by the best
authorities.
Referring to the Nuthatches Mr.
Basket says: "They are little bluish
gray birds, with white undervests
sometimes a little soiled. Their tails
are ridiculously short, and never touch
the tree; neither does the body, unless
they are suddenly affrighted, when
they crouch and look, with their beaks
extended, much like a knot with a
broken twig on it. I have sometimes
put the bird into this attitude by
clapping my hands loudly near the
window. It is an impulse that seems
to come to the bird before flight,
especially if the head should be down-
ward. His arrival is sudden, and
seems often to be distinguished by
turning a somersault before alighting,
head downward, on the tree trunk, as
if he had changed his mind so sud-
denly -about alighting that it un-
balanced him.
I once saw two Nuthatches at what
I then supposed was a new habit. One
spring day some gnats were engaged
in their little crazy love waltzes in the
air, forming small whirling clouds,
and the birds left off bark-probing and
began capturing insects on the wing.
They were awkward about it with
their short wings, and had to alight
frequently to rest. I went out to
them, and so absorbed were they that
they allowed me to approach within
a yard of a limb that I came to rest
upon, where they would sit and
pant till they caught their breath,
when they went at it again. They
seemed fairly to revel in a new diet
and a new exercise."
119
SUMMARY
Page 83.
YELLOW WARBLER. Dendroica cestiva.
Other names: " Summer Yellow-bird, " "Wild
Canary , " " Yellow-poll Warbler. ' '
RANGE The whole of North America ; breed-
ing throughout its range. In winter, the whole
of middle America and northern South Amer-
ica.
NEST Built in an apple tree, cup-shaped,
neat and compact, composed of plant fibres,
bark, etc.
EGGS Four or five ; greenish-white, spotted
Page 88.
HERMIT THRUSH. Turd us aonalaschka:
pallasii. Other names: "Swamp Angel,"
" Ground Swamp Robin."
RANGE Eastern North America, breeding
from northern United States northward ; win-
tering from about latitude 40 to the Gulf coast.
NEST On the ground, in some low, secluded
spot, beneath shelter of deep shrubbery. Bulky
and loosely made of leaves, bark, grasses,
mosses, lined with similar finer material.
EGGS Three or four ; of greenish blue,
unspotted.
Page 91.
SONG SPARROW. Melospiza fasciata.
RANGE Eastern United States and British
Provinces, west to the Plains, breeding chiefly
north of 40, except east of the Alleghenies.
NEST On the ground, or in low bushes, of
grasses, weeds, and leaves, lined with fine grass
stems, roots, and, in some cases, hair.
EGGS Four to seven ; varying in color from
greenish or pinkish white to light bluish green,
spotted with dark reddish brown.
Page 95.
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. Coccyzus
americanus. Other names: "Rain Crow,"
" Rain Dove," and " Chow-Chow."
RANGE Eastern North America to British
Provinces, west to Great Plains, south in winter,
West Indies and Costa Rica.
NEST In low tree or bush, of dried sticks,
bark strips and catkins.
EGGS Two to four ; of glaucous green which
fades on exposure to the light.
Page 100.
RUBY THROATED HUMMING BIRD.
Trochilus colubris.
RANGE Eastern North America to the Plains
north to the fur countries, and south in winter
to Cuba and Veragua.
NEST A circle an inch and a half in dia-
meter, made of fern wool, etc., shingled with
lichens to match the color of the branch on
which it is saddled.
EGGS Two ; pure white, the size of soup
beans.
Page 10 1.
HOUSE WREN. Troglodytes aedon.
RANGE Eastern United States and southern
Canada, west to the Mississippi Valley ; winters
in southern portions.
NEST Miscellaneous rubbish, sticks, grasses,
hay, and the like.
EGGS Usually seven ; white, dotted with
reddish brown.
Page 1 06.
PHOEBE. Sayotnis phoebe. Other names :
"Pewit," "Pewee."
RANGE Eastern North America ; in winter
south to Mexico and Cuba.
NEST Compactly and neatly made of mud
and vegetable substances, with lining of grass
and feathers.
EGGS Four or five ; pure white, sometimes
sparsely spotted with reddish brown dots at
larger end.
Page no.
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. Regulus
calendula.
RANGE Entire North America, wintering in
the South and in northern Central America.
NEST Very rare, only six known ; of - hair,
feathers, moss, etc., bulky, globular, and
partly pensile.
EGGS Five to uine ; dull whitish or pale
puffy, speckled.
Page 113.
MOURNING DOVE.Zenaidura macrura.
Other names: "Carolina Dove," "Turtle
Dove."
RANGE Whole of temperate North America,
south to Panama and the West Indies.
NEST Rim of twigs sufficient to retain the
eggs.
EGGS Usually two ; white.
Page 1 1 8.
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Sitta
carolinensis. Other name: "Sapsucker,"
improperly called.
RANGE Eastern United States and British
Provinces.
NEST Decayed trunk of tree or stub, from
two to six feet from ground, composed of chicken
feathers, hair, and dry leaves.
EGGS Five to eight; white with a roseate
tinge, speckled with reddish brown and a slight
! tinge of purple.
BIRDS.
ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY.
VOL. II.
OCTOBER.
No. 4.
BIRDS IN CAPTIVITY.
I
oil
'T was our intention in this article
to give a number of instances
of a pathetic nature concerning
the sufferings of the various
species of birds which it has
been, and still is, a habit with many
people to keep confined in cages
totally inadequate for any other pur-
pose than that of cruelty. The argu-
ment that man has no moral right to
deprive an innocent creature of liberty
will always be met with indifference
by the majority of people, and an
appeal to their intelligence and
humanity will rarely prove effective.
To capture singing birds for any pur-
pose is, in many states, prohibited by
statute. But the law is violated.
Occasionally an example is made of
one or more transgressors, but as a
rule the officers of the law, whose
business it should be to prevent it,
manifest no interest whatever in its exe-
cution. The bird trappers as well
know that it is against the law, but so
long as they are unmolested by the
police, they will continue the whole-
sale trapping. A contemporary recently
said: "It seems strange that this
bird-catching industry should increase
so largely simultaneously with the
founding of the Illinois Audubon
Society. The good that that society
has done in checking the habit of
wearing birds in bonnets, seems to
have been fairly counterbalanced
by the increase in the number of
songsters captured for cage ourposes.
These trappers choose the nesting
season as most favorable for their work,
and every pair of birds they catch
means the loss of an entire family in
the shape of a set of eggs or a nestful
of young left to perish slowly by
starvation."
This is the way the trappers pro-
ceed. They are nearly all Germans.
Bird snaring is a favorite occupation
in Germany and the fondness for the
cruel work was not left behind by the
emigrants. More's the pity. These
fellows fairly swarm with their bird
limes and traps among the suburbs,
having an eye only to the birds of
brightest plumage and sweetest song.
" They use one of the innocents as a
bait to lure the others to a prison."
" Two of the trappers," says one who
watched them, " took their station at
the edge of an open field, skirted by a
growth of willows. Each had two
cage traps. The device was divided
into two parts by wires running
horizontally and parallel to the plane
of the floor. In the lower half of each
cage was a male American Goldfinch.
In the roof of the traps were two little
hinged doors, which turned backward
and upward, leaving an opening.
Inside the upper compartment of the
trap, and accessible through the door-
way in the roof, was a swinging perch.
The traps were placed on stumps
among the growth of thistles and dock
weed, while the trappers hid behind
the trees. The Goldfinches confined
in the lower sections of the traps had
been the victims of the trappers earlier
in the season, and the sight of their
familiar haunts, the sunlight, the
breeze, and the swaying willow
branches, where so often they had
perched and sung, t caused them to
nutter about and to utter pathetically
the call note of their days of freedom .
It is upon this yearning for liberty and
its manifestation that the bird trappers
depend to secure more victims. No
sooner does the piping call go forth
from the golden throats of the little
prisoners, than a reply comes from <the
thistle tops, far down the field. A
moment more and the traps are sur-
rounded with the black and yellow
beauties. The fact that one of their
own kind is within the curious little
house which confronts them seems to
send all their timidity to the winds
and they fairly fall over one another
in their endeavor to see what it all
means. Finally one finds the door-
way in the roof and drops upon the
perch within. Instantly the doors
close and a Goldfinch is a prisoner."
Lawrence Sterne alone, of senti-
mental writers, has put in adequate
language something of the feeling
that should stir the heart of the
sympathetic, at least, on seeing the
unjust confinement of innocent birds.
The Starling, which is the subject of
his elevated sentiment, will appear in
an early number of BIRDS. Sterne
had just been soliloquizing somewhat
favorably of the Bastile, when a voice,
which he took to be that of a child,
complained " it could not get out."
" I looked up and down the passage,
and seeing neither man, woman, nor
child, I went out without further
attention. In my return back through
the passage, I heard the same words
repeated twice over, and looking up, I
saw it was a Starling hung in a little
cag*e. 'I can't get out, I can't get
out,' said the Starling. I stood look-
ing at the Bird, and to every person
who came through the passage, it ran
fluttering to the side, towards which
they approached it, with the same
lamentation of its captivity. ' I can't
get out,' said the Starling. ' God help
thee ! ' said I, ' but I'll let thee out,
cost what it will ;' so I turned about
the cage to get the door. It was
twisted and double-twisted so fast with
wire, there was no getting it open
without pulling the cage to pieces. I
took both hands to it. The bird flew
to the place where I was attempting
its deliverance, and thrusting his head
through the trellis, pressed his breast
against it as if impatient. ' I fear,
poor creature,' said I, ' I can't set thee
at liberty.' ' No,' said the Starling, 'I
can't get out,' ' I can't get out,' said
the Starling. I vow I never had my
affections more tenderly awakened ; or
do I remember an incident in my life
where the dissipated spirits, to which
my reason had been a bubble, were so
suddenly called home. Mechanical as
the notes were, yet so true in tune to
Nature were they chanted, that disguise
thyself as thou wilt, still, Slavery,'
said I, 'still thou art a bitter draught;
and though thousands in all ages have
been made to drink of thee, thou art no
less bitter on that account. No, thou
thrice sweet and gracious goddess
liberty, whose taste is grateful, and ever
will be so, till nature herself shall
change ; no tint of woods can spot thy
snowy mantle.' '
The bird in his cage pursued Sterne
into his room, where he composed his
apostrophe to liberty. It would be
well indeed, if a sentiment could be
aroused which would prohibit
absolutely the caging of birds, as well
as their wanton destruction, and if the
children are taught that " tenderness
which is the charm of youth," another
generation will see it accomplished.
C. C. MARBLE.
From eel. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER.
Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER
F the children had had the nam-
ing of birds we venture to say
that it would have been more
appropriately done, and "Black-
burnian," as many other names
of Warblers, would have had no place
in literature. There are about seventy-
five well known Warblers, nearly all
with common names indicating the
most characteristic colors or habits, or
partly descriptive of the bird itself.
The common names of this beautiful
Warbler are Orange-throated Warbler
and Hemlock Warbler. Some one has
suggested that it should be called the
Torch Bird, for " half a dozen of them
as they flash about in the pines, rais-
ing their wings and jerking their tails,
make the darkest shadows seem break-
ing into little tongues of flame."
The Orange-throat is only migratory
in Illinois, passing through in spring
and fall, its summer home being chiefly
if not wholly, to the northward, while
it passes the winter in Central America
and northern South America. It is
found in New York and in portions of
Massachusetts, frequenting the conif-
erous forests, and building its nest in
bushes or small trees a few feet above
the ground. Dr. C. Hart Merriam
found a pair of these birds nesting in
a grove of large white pines in Lewis
county, New York. In the latter part
of May the female was observed build-
ing, and on the second of June the
nest contained four fresh eggs of the
Warbler and one of the Cow bird.
The nest was saddled on the horizontal
limb about eight feet from the ground
and about ten feet from the trunk.
Nests have been found in pine trees in
Southern Michigan at an elevation of
forty feet. In all cases the nests are
placed high in hemlocks or pines,
which are the bird's favorite resorts.
From all accounts the nests of this
species are elegantly and compactly
made, consisting of a densely woven
mass of spruce twigs, soft vegetable
down, rootlets, and fine shreds of bark.
The lining is often intermixed with
horse hairs and feathers. Four eggs
of greenish-white or very pale bluish-
green, speckled or spotted, have usually
been found in the nests.
The autumnal male Warblers resem-
ble the female. They have two white
bands instead of one ; the black stripes
on the side are larger ; under parts
yellowish ; the throat yellowish, pas-
sing into purer yellow behind. Few
of our birds are more beautiful than
the full plumaged male of this lovely
bird, whose glowing orange throat
renders it a conspicuous object among
the budding and blossoming branches
of the hemlocks. Chapman says, com-
ing in May, before trie woods are fully
clad, he seems like some bright plum-
aged tropical bird who has lost his
way and wandered to northern climes.
The summer is passed among the
higher branches in coniferous forests,
and in the early fall the bird returns
to surroundings which seem more in
keeping with its attire.
Mr. Minot describes the Blackburn-
ian Warbler's summer song as resemb-
ling the sylables wee-see-wee-see, while
in the spring its notes may be likened
to wee-see-wee-see ', tsee,tsee,tsee, repeated,
the latter sylables being on ascending
scale, the very last shrill and fine.
125
THE LOST MATE,
Shine ! Shine ! Shine !
Pour down your warmth, great Sun !
While we bask we two together.
Two together !
Winds blow south, or winds blow north,
Day come white, or night eome black,
Home, or rivers and mountains from home,
Singing all time, minding no time,
If we two but keep together.
Till of a sudden,
May be killed, unknown to her mate,
One forenoon the she-bird crouched not on the nest,
Nor returned that afternoon, nor the next,
Nor ever appeared again.
And thence forward, all summer, in the sound of the sea,
And at night, under the full of moon, in calmer weather,
Over the hoarse surging of the sea,
Or' flitting from briar to briar by day,
I saw, I heard at intervals, the remaining one.
Blow ! blow ! blow !
Blow up, sea-winds, along Paumanok's shore !
I wait and I wait, till you blow my mate to me.
WAI/T WHITMAN.
126
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
GOLDFINCH.
% Life -size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.
"Look, Mamma, look ! " cried
a little boy, as one day late in
June my mate and I alighted on
a thistle already going to seed.
" Such a lovely bird ! How
jolly he looks, with that black
velvet hat drawn over his eyes!"
" That's a Goldfinch," replied
his mamma; "sometimes called
the Jolly Bird, the Thistle Bird,
the Wild Canary, and the Yellow
Bird. He belongs to the family
of Weed Warriors, and is very
useful."
'' He sings like a Canary,"
said Bobbie. u Just hear him
talking to that little brown bird
alongside of him."
That was my mate, you see,
who is rather plain looking, so
to please him I sang my best
song, " Per-chic-o-ree, per-chic-o-
rce"
" That sounds a great deal
Better," said Bobbie ; " because
it's not sung by a little prisoner
behind cage bars, I guess."
' ; It certainly is wilder and
more joyous," said his mamma.
pt He is very happy just now, for
he and his mate are preparing
for housekeeping. Later on, he
w r ill shed his lemon-yellow coat,
and then you won't be able to
tell him from his mate and little
ones."
"How they are gobbling up
that thistle-down," cried Bobbie.
" Just look!"
I Yes," said his mamma, u the
fluff carries the seed, like a
sail to which the seed is
fastened. By eating the seed,
which otherwise would be car-
ried by the wind all over the
place, these birds do a great
amount of good. The down
they will use to line their
nests."
"How I should like to peep
into their nest," said Bobbie ;
"just to peep, you know; not to
rob it of its eggs, as boys do
who are not well brought up."
My mate and I were so pleased
at that, we flew off a little way,
chirping and chattering as we
went.
II Up and down, up and down,"
said Bobbie; "how prettily they
fly."
' Yes," said his mamma; "that
is the way you can always tell a
Goldfinch when in the air. A
dip and a jerk, singing as he
flies."
1 What other seeds do they
eat, mamma?" presently asked
Bobbie.
"The seeds of the dandelion,
the sunflower, and wild grasses
generally. In the winter, when
these are not to be had, the poor
little fellows have a very hard
time. People with kind hearts,
scatter canary seed over their
lawns to the merry birds for their
summer songs, and for keeping
down the weeds.
I 2C)
THE GOLDFINCH.
CCORDING to one intelligent
observer, the Finches are, in
Nature's economy, entrusted
with the task of keeping
the weeds in subjection,
and the gay and elegant little Gold-
finch is probably one of the most use-
ful, for its food is found to consist, for
the greater part, of seeds most hurtful
to the works of man. " The charlock
that so often chokes his cereal crops is
partly kept in bounds by his vigilance,
and the dock, whose rank vegetation
would, if allowed to cast all its seeds,
spread barrenness around, is also one of
his store houses, and the rank grasses,
at their seeding time, are his chief
support." Another writer, whose
study of this bird has been made with
care, calls our American Goldfinch one
of the loveliest of birds. With his
elegant plumage, his rythmical, un-
dulatory flight, his beautiful song, and
his more beautiful soul, he ought to be
one of the best beloved, if not one of
the most famous ; but he has never yet
had half his deserts. He is like the
Chickadee, and yet different. He is not
so extremely confiding, nor should I call
him merry. But he is always cheerful,
in spite of his so-called plaintive
note, from which he gets one of his
names, and always amiable. So far as
I know, he never utters a harsh sound;
even the young ones asking for food,
use only smooth, musical tones. Dur-
the pairing season, his delight often
becomes rapturous. To see him then,
hovering and singing, or, better still,
to see the devoted- pair hovering
together, billing and singing, is
enough to do even a cynic good. The
happy lovers ! They have never read
it in a book, but it is written on their
hearts,
" The gentle law that each should be
The other's heaven and harmony."
In building his nest, the Goldfinch
uses much ingenuity, lichens and moss
being woven so deeply into the walls
that the whole surface is quite smooth.
Instead of choosing the forks of a
bough, this Finch likes to make its
nest near the end of a horizontal
branch, so that it moves about and
dances up and down as the branch is
swayed by the wind. It might be
thought that the eggs would be shaken
out by a tolerably sharp breeze, and
such would indeed be the case, were
they not kept in their place by the
form of the nest. On examination, it
will be seen to have the edge thickened
and slightly turned inward, so that
when the nest is tilted on one side by
the swaying of the bough, the eggs
are still retained within. It is lined
with vegetable down, and on this soft
bed repose five pretty eggs, white,
tinged with blue, and diversified with
small grayish purple spots.
A curious story is told of a caged
Goldfinch, which in pleasant weather
always hung in a window. One day,
hearing strange bird voices, the owner
looked up from her seat and saw a
Catbird trying to induce the Finch to
eat a worm it had brought for it. By
dint of coaxing and feeding the wild
bird, she finally induced it to come
often to the window, and one day,
as she sat on the porch, the Cat-
bird brought a berry and tried to
put it into her mouth. We have often
seen sparrows come to the window of
rooms where canaries were imprisoned,
but it has uniformly been to get food
and not to administer it. The Catbird
certainly thus expressed its gratitude.
130
'w
<
!
From col. Eugene Bliss.
CHIMNEY SWIFT.
% Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897,
Chicago.
".'
cv.-~
-
?-;; rr -r.
*TI '"
' -K"
~ *-
-
THE CHIMNEY SWIFT.
k HIEF POKAGON, of the
Pottawattamie Indians, in
an article in The Osprey,
writes delightfully of the
Chimney Swift, and we
quote a portion of it describing a
peculiar habit of the bird. The chief
was a youth when he made the observa-
tion, and he writes in the second
person :
"As you look, you see the head of
the young chief is turning slowly
around, watching something high in
air above the stream ; you now begin
to look in the same direction, catching
glimpses every now and then, of the
segment of a wild revolving ring of
small unnumbered birds circling high
above the trees. Their twittering
notes and whizzing wings create a
musical, but wild, continued roar.
You now begin to realize he is
determined to understand all about
the feathered bees, as large as little
birds, the village boy had seen. The
circle continues to decrease in size,
but increases the revolution until all
the living, breathing ring swings over
the stream in the field of your vision,
and you begin to enquire what means
all this mighty ingathering of such
multitude of birds. The young chief
in admiration claps his hands, leaping
towards the stream. The twittering,
whizzing roar continues to increase ;
the revolving circle fast assumes a
funnel shape, moving downward until
the point reaches the hollow in the
stub, pouring its living mass therein
until the last bird dropped out of
sight. Rejoicing in wonder and admir-
ation, the youth walks round the base
of the stub, listening to the rumbling
roar of fluttering wings within. Night
comes on, he wraps his blanket closer
about him, and lies down to rest until
the coming day, that he may witness
the swarming multitudes pass out in
early morning. But not until the
hour of midnight does he fall asleep,
nor does he wake until the dawn of
day, when, rising to his feet, he looks
upward to the skies. One by one the
stars disappear. The moon grows pale.
He listens. Last night's familiar roar
rings in his ears. He now beholds
swarming from out the stub the
living, breathing mass, forming in
funnel shape, revolving like a top,
rising high in air, then sweeping out-
ward into a wide expanding ring, until
the myriads of birds are scattered
wide, like leaves before the whirl-
wind."
And then what do they do ? Open
the mouth of a swallow that has been
flying, and turn out the mass of small
flies and other insects that have been
collected there. The number packed
into its mouth is almost incredible,
for when relieved from the constant
pressure to which it is subjected, the
black heap begins to swell and en-
large, until it attains nearly double
its former size.
Chimney Swallow is the name
usually applied to this Swift. The
habit of frequenting chimneys is a
recent one, and the substitution of
this modern artificial home for hollow
trees illustrates the readiness with
which it adapts itself to a change in
surroundings. In perching, they
cling to the side of the chimney, using
the spine-pointed tails for a support.
They are most active early in the
morning and late in the afternoon,
when one may hear their rolling
twitter as they course about over-
head.
The question whether Chimney
Swifts break off twigs for their nests
with their feet is now being discussed
by ornithologists. Many curious and
interesting observations have been
made, and the momentous question
will no doubt in time be placed be-
yond peradventure.
133
THE LARK.
Up with ine ! up with me into the clouds !
For thy song, Lark, is strong ;
Up with me ! Up with me into the clouds !
Singing, singing,
With clouds and sky about thee ringing.
Lift me, guide me till I find
That spot which seems so to thy mind.
I have walked through wildernesses dreary,
And to-day my heart is weary;
Had I now the wings of a Fairy
Up to thee would I fly.
There is madness about thee, and joy divine
In that song of thine ;
Lift me, guide me high and high
To thy banqueting place in the sky.
WORDSWORTH.
SHORE LARK.
!'
ell
F the variety of names by which
this Lark is known is any indica-
tion 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, winter-
ing in the United States. It also in-
habits northern portions 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 erect-
ing 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.
According to Davie, as there are a
number of geographical varieties of the
Horned Lark, the greatest uncertainty
has always attended their identification
even by experts, and the breeding 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, whistled 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 Snowflakes. The pinkish grey
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, especially in his nesting
haunts. He has a habit of singing as
he soars in the air, after the manner
of the European Skylark.
'34
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
HORNED LARK.
4 /e Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE YELOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.
When the veins of the birch overflow in the spring,
Then I sharpen my bill and make the woods ring,
Till forth gushes rewarding my tap, tap, tap !
The food of us Suckers the rich, juicy sap.
C. C. M.
ANY wild birds run up
and down trees, and it
seems to make little dif-
ference which end up
they are temporarily,
skirmishing ever to the right and left,
whacking the bark with their bills,
then quiet a brief moment, and again
skirmishing around the tree. Some-
times an apple tree, says a recent
writer, will have a perfect circle, not
seldom several rings or holes round
the tree holes as large as a buck
shot. The little skirmisher makes
these holes, and the farmer calls it a
Sapsucker. And such it. is. Dr.
Coues, however, says it is not a bird,
handsome as it is, that you would care
to have come in great numbers to your
garden or orchard, for he eats the sap
that leaks out through the holes he
makes in the trees. When a great
many holes have been bored near
together, the bark loosens and peels
off, so that the tree is likely to die.
The Sapsucker also eats the soft inner
bark which is between the rough out-
side bark and the hard heart-wood of
the tree, which is very harmful.
Nevertheless the bird does much good
in destroying insects which gather to
feed on the oozing sap. It sweeps
them up in its tongue, which is not
barbed, like that of other woodpeckers,
but has a little brush on the end of it.
It lacks the long, extensile tongue
which enables the other species to
probe the winding galleries of wood-
eating larvae.
Mr. William Brewster states that
throughout the White Mountains of
New Hampshire, and in most sections
of Northern Maine, the Yellow-Bellied
Woodpeckers outnumber all the other
species in the summer season. Their
favorite nesting sites are large dead
birches, and a decided preference is
manifested for the vicinity of water,
though some nests occur in the in-
terior of woods. The average height
of the nesting hole from the ground is
about forty feet. Many of the nests
are gourd-like in shape, with the ends
very smoothly and evenly chiseled,
the average depth being about four-
teen inches. The labors of excavating
the nest and those of rearing the
young are shared by both sexes.
While this Sapsucker is a winter resi-
dent in most portions of Illinois, and
may breed sparingly in the extreme
northern portion, no record of it has
been found.
A walk in one of our extensive
parks is nearly always rewarded by
the sight of one or more of these
interesting and attractive birds. They
are usually so industriously engaged
that they seem to give little attention
to your presence, and hunt away,
tapping the bole of the tree, until
called elsewhere by some more promis-
ing field of operations. Before taking
flight from one tree to another, they
stop the insect search and paze in-
quisitively toward their destination.
If two of them meet, there is often a
sudden stopping in the air, a twisting
upward and downward, followed by a
lively chase across the open to the top
of a dead tree, and then a sly peeping
round or over a limb, after the man-
ner of all Woodpeckers. A rapid
drumming with the bill on the tree,
branch or trunk, it is said, serves for a
love-song, and it has a screaming call
note.
THE WARBLING VIREO.
HE Vireos are a family of
singers and are more often
heard than seen, but the
Warbler has a much more
musical 'voice, and of greater compass
than any other member of the family.
The song ripples like a brook, float-
ing down from the leanest tree-tops. It
is not much to look at, being quite
plainly dressed in contrast with the
red-eyed cousin, the largest of the
Vireos. In nesting time it prefers
seclusion, though in the spring and
mid-summer, when the little ones have
flown, and nesting cares have ceased, it
frequents the garden, singing in the
elms and birches, and other tall trees.
It rambles as well through the foliage
of trees in open woodland, in parks,
and in those along the banks of
streams, where it diligently searches
the under side of leaves and branches
for insect life, " in that near-sighted
way peculiar to the tribe." It is a
very stoic among birds, and seems
never surprised at anything, " even at
the loud report of a gun, with the shot
rattling about it in the branches, and,
if uninjured, it will stand for a moment
unconcerned, or move along, peering
on every side amongst the foliage,
warbling its tender, liquid strains. "
The nest of this species is like that
of the Red-eyed Vireo a strong,
durable, basket-like fabric, made of
bark strips, lined with fine grasses.
It is suspended by the brim in slender,
horizontal forks of branches, at a great
height from the ground.
The Vireo is especially numerous
among the elms of Boston Common,
where at almost any hour of the day,
from early in the month of May, until
long after summer has gone, may be
heard the prolonged notes of the
Warbling species, which was an
especial favorite of Dr. Thomas M.
Brewer, author of " History of North
American Birds." Its voice is not
powerful, but its melody, it is said, is
flute-like and tender, and its song is
perhaps characterized more by its air
of happy contentment, than by any
other special quality. No writer on
birds has grown enthusiastic on the
subject, and Bradford Torrey alone
among them does it scant justice,
when he says this Vireo " is admirably
named ; there is no one of our
birds that can more properly be said
to warble. He keeps further from the
ground than the others, and shows a
strong preference for the elms of
village streets, out of which his
delicious music drops upon the ears of
all passers underneath. How many of
them hear it and thank the singer, is
unhappily another question."
138
Horn col. F. M Woodruff.
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.
3 5 Life -size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study l''ub. (Jo.. 1H!7, Cliicsipo.
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
WARBLING VIREO.
Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Tub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE SAPSUCKER.
My Dear Young Friends :
During the long summer days,
when you were enjoying golden
vacation hours, I often took a
peep at you from some dead tree
limb or the side of a hemlock or
beech. You saw me, perhaps,
and were surprised at my
courage ; for other small birds
whose voices you heard, but
whose tiny bodies escaped your
young eyes, appeared very timid
in comparison.
But I am not so brave, after
all, and know full well when my
red hat is in danger. I am a
good flyer, too, and can soon put
a wide space between myself
and certain wicked boys, who, I
hope, by next vacation time will
have learned so much about us
that they will love every little
feathered creature, and not seek
to do them any harm.
Can you guess why I have
such a queer name? I really
ought to be popular in Illinois,
for they tell me it is called the
Sucker State, and that the peo-
ple are proud of it. Well, I am
called Sapsucker because much,
if not most, of my food consists
of the secret juices which flow
through the entire body of the
tree which you probably saw
me running up and down and
around. But you saw me, you
say, very often on dead branches
of trees, and surely they had no
sap in them? No, but if you
will look closely into my actions,
you will see that I destroy many
insects which drill their way
into the wood and deposit their
eggs. In my opinion, I do far
more good than harm, though
you will find some people who
think otherwise.
Then, again, if there is utility
in beauty, surely I am a benefit
to every one. One day I heard
a lady say that she never saw
my head pop up from behind an
old stump without bursting into
laughter, I looked so funny.
Now I took that as a compli-
ment ; for to give pleasure to
those around us, I have heard,
is one of our highest duties.
Next summer when you seek
the pleasant places where I
dwell, in the old deadening
where the trees wear girdles
around them ; in the open groves,
where I flit from tree to tree; in
the deep wooded districts,
whence one hears the tinkling
ripple of running waters, you
may, if good and gentle, see pop
up behind a stump the red hat of
SAPSUCKER.
143
THE WOOD PEWEE.
The listening Dryads hushed the woods ;
The boughs were thick, and thin and few
The golden ribbons fluttering through ;
Their sun-embroidered leafy hoods
The lindens lifted to the blue ;
Only a little forest-brook
The farthest hem of silence shook ;
When in the hollow shades I heard
Was it a spirit or a bird ?
Or, strayed from Eden, desolate,
Some Peri calling to her mate,
Whom nevermore her mate would cheer?
" Pe-ri! Pe-ri ! Peer! "
********
To trace it in its green retreat
I sought among the boughs in vain ;
And followed still the wandering strain
So melancholy and so sweet,
The dim-eyed violets yearned with pain.
********
Long drawn and clear its closes were
As if the hand of Music through
The sombre robe of Silence drew
A thread of golden gossamer ;
So pure a flute the fairy blue.
Like beggared princes of the wood,
In silver rags the birches stood ;
The hemlocks, lordly counselors,
Were dumb ; the sturdy servitors,
In beechen jackets patched and gray,
Seemed waiting spellbound all the day
That low, entrancing note to hear
" Pe-wee ! Pe-wee ! Peer ! "
********
" Dear bird," I said, "what is thy name? "
And thrice the mournful answer came,
So faint and far, and yet so near,
" Pe-wee ! Pe-wee ! Peer ! "
J. T. TROWBRIDGB.
144
From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
WOOD PEWEE.
8 /s Life-size.
Copyrighted l.y
Nature Study Tub. (Jo., 1897, Chicago.
THE WOOD PEWEE.
I am called the Wood Pewee,
but I don't always stay in the
woods. If you have an orchard
or a nice garden, you will hear
me singing there in June.
People think I am not a happy
bird, because my song seems so
sad. They are very much mis-
taken. I am just as happy as
any other little fellow dressed
in feathers, and can flirt and
flutter with the best of them.
Pewee ! Pewee ! Peer !
That is my song, and my mate
thinks it is beautiful. She is
never far away, and always
comes at my call.
Always, did I say ?
No; one day, when we were
busy building our nest which
is very pretty, almost as dainty
as that of our neighbor the
Humming Bird she flew away
to quite a distance to find some
soft lining-stuff on which to lay
her eggs. I had been fetching
and carrying all day the lichens
to put round the nest, which was
hidden among the thick leaves
on the bough of a tree, and was
resting by the side of it.
Pewee ! Pewee I Peer !
u She will hear that," thought
I, and again I sang it as loud as
I could.
"I'll bring that fellowdown,
too," said a boy, who surely had
never heard anything about our
happy, innocent lives, and as I
peered down at him, he flung a
large stone, which struck the
bough on which I sat. Oh, how
frightened I was, and how
quickly I flew away!
u He has killed my little
mate, I thought. Still, I called
in my plaintive way, Pewee!
Pewee! Peer!"
A faint, low cry led me to the
foot of a large tree, and there
on the ground lay my mate,
struggling to rise and fly to
me."
pt I think my wing is broken,"
she sobbed. u Oh, that wicked,
wicked boy!"
I petted her with my broad,
flat beak, and after a while she
was able to fly with me to our
nest; but it it was days and
days before she was out of pain.
I am sure if that boy sees my
story in BIRDS, he will never give
such an innocent little creature
misery again.
I dress plainly, in a coat of
olive and brown, and they do
say my manners are stiff and
abrupt.
But my voice is very sweet, and
there is something about it which
makes people say: "Dear little
bird, sad little bird ! what may
your name be?"
Then I answer :
u Pewee ! Pewee ! Peer !
147
THE WOOD PEWEE.
LTHOUGH one of the most
abundant species, common
all over the United States,
the retiring habits, plain-
ness of dress, and quiet
manners of this little bird have caused
it to be comparatively little known.
Dr. Brewer says that if noticed at all,
it is generally confounded with the
common Pewee, or Phoebe bird,
though a little observation is sufficient
to show how very distinct they are.
The Wood Pewee will sit almost
motionless for many minutes in an
erect position, on some dead twig or
other prominent perch, patiently
watching for its insect prey. While
its position is apparently so fixed,
however, its eyes are constantly on the
alert, and close watching will show
that the bird now and then turns its
head as its glance follows the course
of some distant insect, while anon the
feathers of the crown are raised, so as
to form a sort of blunt pyramidal
crest. This sentinel-like attitude of
the Wood Pewee is in marked contrast
to the restless motion of the Phoebe,
who, even if perched, keeps its tail
constantly in motion, while the bird
itself seldom remains long in a fixed
position. The notes of the two species
(see August BIRDS) are as different as
their habits, those of the Wood
Pewee being peculiarly plaintive a
sort of wailing pe-e-e-e-i, wee, the first
syllable emphasized and long drawn
out, and the tone, a clear, plaintive,
wiry whistle, strikingly different from
the cheerful, emphatic notes of the
true Pewee.
The Wood Pewee, like all of its
family, is an expert catcher of insects,
even the most minute, and has a
remarkably quick perception of their
near presence, even when the light of
day has nearly gone and in the deep
gloom of the thick woods. Dr. Brewer
describes it as taking its station at the
end of a low dead limb, from which
it darts out in quest of insects, some-
times for a single individual, which it
seizes with a sharp snap of its bill;
and, frequently meeting insect after
insect, it keeps up a constant snapping
sound as it passes on, and finally returns
to its post to resume its watch. While
watching it occasionally twitters, with
a quivering movement of the head and
tail, uttering a feeble call-note, sound-
ing like pee-e.
The nest of the Wood Pewee, which
is always " saddled " and securely
attached to a rather stout branch,
usually lichen-covered, is said to be
one of the most elegant examples of
bird architecture. From beneath it
so much resembles a natural portion
of the limb, but for its betrayal by the
owner, it would seldom be discovered.
It is saucer-shaped, with thick walls,
and the whole exterior is a beautiful
"mosaic" of green, gray, and glaucous
lichen. The eggs are a rich delicate
cream color, ornamented by a "wreath"
round the larger end of madder-brown,
purple, and lilac spots.
The Wood Pewee has many ad-
mirers, a more interesting creature to
watch while feeding being hard to
imagine. Often you will find him in
the parks. Sitting in some quiet,
shady spot, if you wait, he will soon
show himself as he darts from the
fence post not far away, to return to it
time after time with, possibly, the
very insect that has been buzzing
about your face and made you
miserable. His movements are so
quick that even the fly cannot elude
him.
And to some he is pleasant as a
companion. One who loves birds
once saw this Flycatcher flying in a
circle and repeating breathlessly his
emphatic chebcc. "He sang on the
wing, and I have never heard notes
which seemed more expressive of hap-
piness."
148
-\
, p
moBBfm
THE SNOWFLAKE.
Bobbie didn't want to go to
school that morning, and he look-
ed very cheerfully out upon the
cloudy sky and falling flakes
of snow, pretending to shiver a
little when the angry gusts of
wind blew the snow sharply into
people's faces.
"I guess it's better for little
boy's like me to stay at home
such weather as this, mamma,"
said he, all the while hoping the
snow would soon be deep enough
for him to ride down the hill
on his sled.
Before his mamma could reply
Bobbie gave a cry of delight
which drew her at once to the
window.
As from the snow clouds, on
bold and rapid wing, came
whirling down an immense flock
of birds, white, streaked with
gray and brown, chirping, calling
to one another, the whole flock
settling upon the open places in
a field in front of Bobbie's house.
"Oh, the dear little things,"
said Bobbie, " they looked like
little white angels dropping out
of the clouds."
" Those are our winter neigh-
bors," said his mamma, "the
Snow Buntings or Snowflakes
they visit us only in winter, their
summer homes being away up
North near the Arctic Circle in
the region of perpetual snow."
" Do they build their nests in
trees ? " asked Bobbie, who never
tired hearing about the birds.
"There are no trees in that
bleak region, only scrubby bush-
es," was the answer. 'They
build a thick, deep grassy nest,
well lined with rabbit fur, or Snow
Owl feathers, which they tuck
under a ledge of rock or bunch
of grass."
" They chirrup just like spar-
rows," reflected Bobbie, " can
they sing?"
" They only sing when up in
their Northern home. There a
male Snowflake will sing as
merrily as his cousin the Gold-
finch."
" They look like Sparrows,
too, " said Bobbie, " only whiter
and softer, I think."
" In the summer they are
nearly all white, the brown
edges having worn away, leaving
them pure black and white. They
are very shy and suspicious, and
at the least sound you will see
them all whirl aloft braving the
blasts of winter like little
heroes."
" Well," said Bobbie, after a
while, " if those little soft white
birds can go about in such
weather, I guess I can too," and
in a few minutes with high rub-
ber boots, and a fur cap drawn
over his ears, off trudged Bobbie
like another little hero to school.
THE SNOWFLAKE.
HIS charming bird comes to us
j I at a time when his presence
a I may be truly welcomed and
~~^ appreciated, nearly all our
summer companions of the feathered
tribe having departed. He might not
inappropriately be named the great
Snowflake, though in winter he wears
a warm brown cloak, with black
stripes, brown collar, and a brown and
white vest. In summer, however, he
is snow white, with black on the back,
wings, and tail. He lives all over
northern North America, and in the
United States as far south as Georgia
About the first of November, flocks
of Snowflakes may be seen arriving,
the males chanting a very low and
somewhat broken, but very pleasant
song. Some call him White Snow-
bird, and Snow Bunting, according to
locality. The birds breed throughout
the Arctic regions of both continents,
the National Museum at Washington
possessing nests from the most northern
points of Alaska, (Point Barrow), and
from Labrador, as well as from various
intermediate localities.
These birds are famous seed eaters,
and are rarely found in trees. They
should be looked for on the ground, in
the air, for they are constantly seeking
new feeding grounds, in the barn-yard,
or about the hay stack, where seeds
are plentiful. They also nest on the
ground, building a deep, grassy nest,
lined with rabbit fur or feathers, under
a projecting ledge of rock or thick
bunch of grass. It seems curious that
few persons readily distinguish them
from their sparrow cousins, as they
have much more white about them
than any other color. Last November
multitudes of them invaded Washing-
ton Park, settling on the ground to
feed, and flying up and scurrying away
to successive pastures of promise.
With their soft musical voices and
gentle manners, they were a pleasing
feature of the late Autumn landscape.
" Chill November's surly blast " mak-
ing " field and forest bare, " had no
terrors for them, but rather spread
before them a feast of scattered seeds,
winnowed by it from nature's ripened
abundance.
The Snowflakes disappear with the
melting of their namesake, the snow.
They are especially numerous in snowy
seasons, when flocks of sometimes a
thousand are seen in the old fields and
meadows. It is unusual, though it has
been known to breed in the Northern
States. In July, 1831, Audubon
found it nesting in the White Moun-
tains, and Dr. J. A. Allen notes a pair
as breeding near Springfield, Mass.
The Arctic regions are its nesting place
however, and these birds were probably
belated on their return migration.
The Snowflake and Shorelark are so
much alike in habits, that the two
species occasionally associate. Ernest
E. Thompson says : " Apparently
the Snowflakes get but little to eat,
but in reality they always find enough
to keep them in health and spirits,
and are as fat as butter balls.
In the mid-winter, in the far north,
when the thermometer showed thirty
degrees below zero, and the chill
blizzard was blowing on the plains, I
have seen this brave little bird glee-
fully chasing his fellows, and pouring
out, as he flew, his sweet voluble song
with as much spirit as ever Skylark
has in the sunniest days of June."
152
From col. F. M. Woodruff
JUNCO.
Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897. Chicago.
THE SLATE-COLORED JUNCO.
LACK SNOWBIRD, in
most of the United States
and in Ontario, where it
is a common resident,
and White Bill, are names more often
applied to this species of Sparrow than
the one of Junco, by which it is known
to ornithologists. It nests in the
mountains of northern Pennsylvania,
New York, and New England, and is
a resident throughout the year in north-
eastern Ohio, and in Michigan. In all
probability, the Snowbird does not
breed, even occasionally, anywhere
within the limits of the state of
Illinois, though individuals may in
very rare instances be found several
weeks after others have departed for
the north, these having probably
received some injury which prevents
their migration. Prof. Forbes refers
to such an instance, which came under
his own observation. He saw on a
tree in the edge of a wood, in
the southern part of the state, an
adult specimen of the Junco, and
only one. which, he says, astonished
him.
Mr. William L. Kells states that in
Ontario this Junco selects a variety of
places for nesting sites, such as the up-
turned roots of trees, crevices in banks,
under the sides of logs and stumps, a
cavity under broken sod, or in the
shelter of grass or other vegetation.
The nest is made of dry grasses, warmly
and smoothly lined with hair. The
bird generally begins to nest the first
week of May, and nests with eggs are
found as late as August. A nest of
the Junco was found on the rafters of
a barn in Connecticut.
Almost any time after the first of
October, little excursion parties of
Juncos may be looked for, and the
custom continues all winter long.
When you become acquainted with
him, as you surely will, during his
visit, you will like him more and more
for his cheerful habits. He will
come to your back door, and pre-
sent his little food petition, very
merrily indeed. He is very friendly
with the Chick-a-dee, and they are
often seen together about in the barn-
yards, and he even ventures within the
barn when seeds are frozen to the
ground.
"The Doctor, " in Citizen Bird, tells
this pretty story of his winter pets :
" My flock of Juncos were de-
termined to brave all weathers. First
they ate the seeds of all the weeds and
tall grasses that reached above the
snow, then they cleaned the honey-
suckles of their watery black berries.
When these were nearly gone, I began
to feed them every day with crumbs,
and they soon grew very tame. At
Christmas an ice storm came, and after
that the cold was bitter indeed. For
two days I did not see my birds; but on
the third day, in the afternoon, when
I was feeding the hens in the barn-
yard, a party of feeble, half-starved
Juncos, hardly able to fly, settled down
around me and began to pick at the
chicken food. I knew at a glance that
after a few hours more exposure all
the poor little birds would be dead. So
I shut up the hens and opened the
door of the straw-barn very wide,
scattered a quantity of meal and cracked
corn in a line on the floor, and crept
behind the door to watch. First one
bird hopped in and tasted the food ; he
found it very good and evidently called
his brothers, for in a minute the} 7 all
went in and I closed the door upon
them. And I slept better that night,
because I knew that my birds were
comfortable." The next afternoon
they came back again. " I kept them
at night in this way for several weeks,
and one afternoon several Snowflakes
came in with them. (See page 150.)
155
THE KINGBIRD.
I
ell
T is somewhat strange that there
should be little unity of opinion
concerning a bird as well known
as is this charming fellow,, who
has at least one quality which
we all admire courage. We will
quote a few of the opinions of well-
known observers as to whether his
other characteristics are admirable,
and let the reader form his own con-
clusion.
John Burroughs says of him : "The
exquisite of the family, and the braggart
of the orchard, is the Kingbird, a
bully that loves to strip the feathers
off its more timid neighbors like the
Bluebird, that feeds on the stingless
bees of the hive, the drones, and earns
the reputation of great boldness by
teasing large hawks, while it gives a
wide berth to the little ones." De-
cidedly, th : s classifies him with the
English Sparrow. But we will hear
Dr. Brewer : " The name, Kingbird,
is given it on the supposition that it
is superior to all other birds in the
reckless courage with which it will
maintain an unequal warfare. My
own observations lead me to the con-
clusion that writers have somewhat
exaggerated the quarrelsome disposi-
tion of this bird. I have never, or
very rarely, known it to molest or
attack any other birds than those
which its own instinct prompts it to
drive away in self-defense, such as
Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Crows, Jays,
Cuckoos, and Crackles." That Dr.
Coues is a friend of the Kingbird, his
language amply proves : " The King-
bird is not quarrelsome simply very
lively. He is the very picture of dash
and daring in defending his home, and
when he is teaching his youngsters how
to fly. He is one of the best of neigh-
bors, and a brave soldier. An officer
of the guild of Sky Sweepers, also a
Ground Gleaner and Tree Trapper
killing robber -flies, ants, beetles, and
rose-bugs. A good friend to horses
and cattle, because he kills the terrible
gadflies. Eats a little fruit, but chiefly
wild varieties, and only now and then
a bee." If you now have any diffi-
culty in making up your verdict, we
will present the testimony of one
other witness, who is, we think, an
original observer, as well as a delight-
ful writer, Bradford Torrey. He was
in the country. "Almost, I could
have believed myself in Eden," he
says. " But, alas, even the birds
themselves were long since shut out
of that garden of innocence, and as I
started back toward the village a
Crow went hurrying past me, with a.
Kingbird in hot pursuit. The latter
was more fortunate than usual, or
more plucky, actually alighting on
the Crow's back, and riding for some
distance. I could not distinguish his
motions he was too far away for
that but I wished him joy of his
victory, and grace to improve it to the
full. For it is scandalous that a bird
of the Crow's cloth should be a thief;
and so, although I reckon him among
my friends in truth, because I do so
I am always able to take it patiently
when I see him chastised for his
fault."
The Kingbird is a common bird in
Eastern United States, but is rare
west of the Rocky Mountains. It is
perhaps better known by the name of
Beebird or Bee-martin. The nest is
placed in an orchard or garden, or by
the roadside, on a horizontal bough or
in the fork at a moderate height ;
sometimes in the top of the tallest
trees along streams. It is bulky,
ragged, and loose, but well capped and
brimmed, consisting of twigs, grasses,
rootlets, bits of vegetable down, and
wool firmly matted together, and lined
with feathers, hair, etc.
156
THE KINGBIRD.
You think, my young friends,
because I am called Kingbird I
should be large and fine looking.
Well, when you come to read
about Kings in your history-
book you will find that size has
nothing to do with Kingliness.
I have heard, indeed, that some
of them were very puny little
fellows, in mind as well as in
body.
If it is courage that makes a
king then I have the right to be
called Kingbird. They say I
have a reckless sort of courage,
because I attack birds a great
deal larger than myself.
I would not call it courage to
attack anything smaller than
myself, would you? A big man
finds it easy to shoot a little bird
in the air; and a big boy does
not need to be brave to kill or
cripple some poor little animal
that crosses his path. He only
needs to be a coward to. do that!
I only attack my enemies, the
Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Crows,
Jays, and Cuckoos. They would
destroy my young family if I did
not drive them away. Mr. Crow
especially is a great thief. When
my mate is on her nest I keep
a sharp lookout, and when one
of my enemies approaches I give
a shrill cry, rise in the air, and
down I pounce on his back ; I do
this more than once, and how I
make the feathers fly !
The little hawks and crows I
never attack, and yet they call
me a bully. Sometimes I do go
for a Song-bird or a Eobin, but
only when they come too near my
nest. People wonder why I never
attack the cunning Catbird. I'll
never tell them, you may be sure!
To what family do I belong?
To a large family called Fly-
catchers. Because some Kings
are tyrants I suppose, they call
me the Tyrant Flycatcher. Look
for me next summer on top of a
wire fence or dead twig of a tree,
and watch me, every few min-
utes, dash into the air, seize a
passing insect, and then fly back
to the same perch again.
Any other names ? Yes, some
folks call me the Bee Bird or Bee
Martin. Once in awhile I change
my diet and do snap up a bee !
but it is always a drone, not a
honey-bee. Some ill-natured
people say I choose the drones
because they can't sting, and
not because they are tramp bee s
and will not work.
Sing? Yes, when my mate is
on her nest I please her with a
soft pretty song, at other times
my call-note is a piercing- Kyrie-
K-y-rie ! I live with you only
in the summer. When Sep-
tember comes I fly away to a
warmer climate.
159
SUMMARY.
Page 123.
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. Dendroica
blackburnice.
RANGE Eastern North America; breeds
from northern Minnesota and southern Maine
northward to Labrador and southward along
the Alleghanies to South Carolina ; winters in
the tropics.
NEST Of fine twigs and grasses, lined with
grasses and tendrils, in coniferous trees, ten to
forty feet up.
EGGS Four, grayish white or bluish white,
distinctly and obscurely spotted, speckled, and
blotched with cinnamon brown or olive brown.
Page 128.
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. Spin us tristis.
Other names : "Yellow-bird," "Thistle-bird,"
RANGE Eastern North America; breeds
from South Carolina to southern Labrador ;
winters from the northern United States to the
Gulf.
NEST Externally, of fine grasses, strips of
bark and moss, thickly lined with thistle down;
in trees or bushes, five to thirty feet up.
EGGS Three to six, pale bluish white.
Page 131.
CHIMNEY SWIFT. Chcetura pelagica.
Other name: "Chimney Swallow."
RANGE Eastern North America; breeds from
Florida to Labrador; winters in Central America.
NEST A bracket-like basket of dead twigs
glued together with saliva, attached to the wall
of a chimney, generally about ten feet from the
top, by the gummy secretions of the bird's
salivary glands.
EGGS Four to six, white.
Page 135.
HORNED LARK. Oiocoris alpestris.
Other name: "Shore Lark."
RANGE Breeds in northern Europe, Green-
land, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Hudson Bay
region ; southward in winter into eastern United
States to about latitude 35
NEST Of grasses, on the ground.
EGGS Three or four, pale bluish or greenish
white, minutely and evenly speckled with pale
grayish brown.
Page 140.
SAPSUCKER, YELLOW-BELLIED. Sphy-
rapicus vanus.
RANGE Eastern NorthAmerica; breeds from
Massachusetts northward, and winters from Vir-
ginia to Central America."
NKST About forty feet from the ground.
EGGS Five to seven.
Page 141.
WARBLING VIREO. Vireogilvus. Other
name : ' ' Yellow-throated Vireo. ' '
RANGE North America ; breeds as far north
as the Hudson Bay region ; winters in the
tropics.
NEST Pensile, of grasses and plant fibres,
firmly and smoothly interwoven, lined with fine
grasses, suspended from a forked branch eight
to forty feet up.
EGGS Three or four, white, with a few specks
or spots of black umber, or rufous brown, chiefly
about the larger end.
Page 146.
WOOD PEWEE. Contopus Virens.
RANGE Eastern North America ; breeds from
Florida to Newfoundland ; winters in Central
America.
NEST Compact and symmetrical, of fine
grasses, rootlets and moss, thickly covered with
lichens, saddled on a limb, twenty to forty feet
up.
EGGS Three or four, white, with a wreath of
distinct and obscure markings about the larger
end.
Page 150.
SNOWFLAKE Plectrophenax nivalis. Other
name: ' Snow Bunting. "
RANGE Northern parts of northern hemis-
phere, breeding in the arctic regions ; in North
America, south in Winter into the northern
United States, irregularly to Georgia, southern
Illinois, and Kansas.
NEST Of grasses, rootlets, and moss, lined
with finer grasses and feathers, on the ground.
EGGS Four to seven, pale bluish white,
thinly marked with umber or heavily spotted or
washed with rufous-brown.
Page 153.
JUN CO -Junco hyemalis. Other name:
"Snowbird."
RANGE North America ; breeds from north-
ern Minnesota to northern New York and
southward along the summits of the Alle-
ghanies to Virginia; winters southward to the
Gulf States.
NEST Of grasses, moss, and rootlets, lined
with fine grasses and long hairs, on or near the
ground.
EGGS Four or five, white or bluish white,
finely or evenly speckled or spotted, sometimes
heavily blotched at the larger end with rufous-
brown.
Page 158.
KINGBIRD. Tyrannus tyrannus.
RANGE North America north to New Bruns-
wick and Manitoba ; rare west of the Rocky
Mountains ; winters in Central and South
America.
NEST Compact and symmetrical, of weed-
stocks, grasses, and moss, lined with plant
down, fine grasses, and rootlets, generally at the
end of a branch fifteen to twenty-five feet from
the ground.
EGGS Three to five, white, spotted with
umber.
160
VOL. II.
NOVEMBER.
No. 5.
TORN JAMES AUDUBON.
'OHN JAMES AUDUBON has
always been a favorite with
the writer, for the invincible-
ness of his love of Nature and
of birds is only equaled by
the spontaneous freshness of his style,
springing from an affectionate and joy-
ous nature. Recently there was found
by accident, in an old calf-skin bound
volume, an autobiography of the
naturalist. It is entitled " Audubon's
Story of his Youth,'' and would make
a very pretty book. As introductory
to the diaries and ornithological
biographies of the birds, it would be
very useful.
Two or three incidents in the life of
this fascinating character are interest-
ing as showing the influence of the
accidental in ultimate achievement.
" One incident," he says, "which is
as perfect in my memory as if it had
occured this very day, I have thought
thousands of times since, and will now
put on paper as one of the curious
things which perhaps did lead me in
after times to love birds, and to finally
study them with pleasure infinite. My
mother had several beautiful parrots,
and some monkeys ; one of the latter
was a full-grown male of a very large
species. One morning, while the
servants were engaged in arranging
the room I was in, ' Pretty Polly '
asking for her breakfast as usual,
' Du pain au lait pour le perroquet
Mignonne] (bread and milk for the par-
rot Mignonne,) the man of the woods
probably thought the bird presuming
upon his rights in the scale of nature ;
be this as it may, he certainly showed
his supremacy in strength over the
denizen of the air, for, walking
deliberately and uprightly toward the
poor bird, he at once killed it, with
unnatural composure. The sensations
of my infant heart at this cruel sight
were agony to me. I prayed the
servant to beat the monkey, but he,
who for some reason, preferred the
monkey to the parrot, refused. I
uttered long and piercing cries, my
mother rushed into the room ; I was
tranquilized ; the monkey was forever
afterward chained, and Mignonne
buried with all the pomp of a cherished
lost one. This made, as I have said, a
very deep impression on my youthful
mind."
In consequence of the long absences
of his father, who was an admiral in
the French navy, the young naturalist's
education was neglected, his mother
suffering him to do much as he pleased,
and it was not to be wondered at, as
he says, that instead of applying closely
to his studies, he preferred associating
with boys of his own age and dis-
position, who were more fond of going
in search of bird's nests,fishing,or shoot-
ing, than of better studies. Thus almost
every day, instead of going to school,
he usually made for the fields where
he spent the day, returning with his
little basket filled with what he called
curosities, such as birds' nests, birds'
161
eggs, curious lichens, flowers of all
sorts, and even pebbles gathered along
the shore of some rivulet. Neverthe-
less, he did study drawing and music,
for which he had some talent. His sub-
sequent study of drawing under the
celebrated David, richly equipped him
for a work which he did not know
was ever to be his, and enabled him to
commence a series of drawings of birds
of France, which he continued until
he had upwards of two hundred com-
pleted. "All bad enough," he says,
"yet they were representations of birds,
and I felt pleased with them." Before
sailing for France, he had begun a
series of drawings of the birds of
America, and had also begun a study
of their habits. His efforts were com-
mended by one of his friends, who
assured him the time might come
when he should be a great American
naturalist, which had such weight
with him that he felt a certain degree
of pride in the words, even then, when
he was about eighteen years of age.
" The store at Louisville went on
prosperously, when I attended to it ;
but birds were birds then as now, and
my thoughts were ever and anon
turning toward them as the objects of
my greatest delight. I shot, I drew, I
looked on nature only ; my days were
happy beyond human conception, and
beyond this I really cared not." [How
like Agassiz, who said he had not time
to make money. ] As he could not bear
to give the attention required by his
business, his business abandoned him.
" Indeed, I never thought of business
beyond the ever-engaging journeys
which I was in the habit of taking to
Philadelphia or New York, to purchase
goods; those journeys I greatly enjoyed,
as they afforded me ample means to
study birds and their habits as I
traveled throiigh the beautiful, the
darling forests of Ohio, Kentucky, and
Pennsylvania." Poor fellow, how many
ups and downs he had ! He lost every-
thing and became burdened with
debt. But he did not despair for
had he not a talent for drawing?
He at once undertook to take portraits
of the human head divine in black
chalk, and thanks to his master, David,
succeeded admirably. He established
a large drawing school at Cincinnati,
and formed an engagement to stuff
birds for the museum there at a large
salary.
" One of the most extraordinary
things among all these adverse circum-
stances" he adds, "was, that I never for
a day give up listening to the songs of
our birds, or watching their peculiar
habits, or delineating them in the best
way I could ; nay, during my deepest
troubles, I frequently would wrench
myself from the persons around me
and retire to some secluded part of our
noble forests ; and many a time, at the
sound of the wood-thrushes' melodies,
have I fallen on my knees and there
prayed earnestly to our God. This
never failed to bring me the most
valuable of thoughts, and always com-
fort, and it was often necessary for me
to exert my will and compel myself to
return to my fellow-beings."
Do you not fancy that Audubon
was himself a rara avis and worthy of
admiration and study ?
Such a man, in the language of a
contemporary, should have a mon-
ument in the old Creole country in
which he was born, and whose birds
inspired his childish visions. It should
be the most beautiful work possible to
the sculptor's art, portraying Audubon
in the garb he wore when he was
proud and happy to be called the
" American Woodman, " and at his
feet should stand the Eagle which he
named the " Bird of Washington," and
near should perch the Mocking Bird,
as once, in his description, it flew
and fluttered and sang to the mind's
eye and ear from the pages of the old
reading book. C. C. MARBLE.
162
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
SUMMER TANAGER
Yv Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study l : 'ub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE SUMMER TANAGER.
HE TANAGERS are birds of
such uncommon beauty that
when we have taken the pic-
tures of the entire family the
group will be a notable one and will
add attractiveness to the portfolio. [See
Vol. I, pp. 31 and 215.] This speci-
men is also called the Summer Red-
bird or Rose Tanager, and is found
pretty generally distributed over the
United States during the summer
months, wintering in Cuba, Central
America, and northern South America.
As will be seen, the adult male is a
plain vermilion red. The plumage of
the female is less attractive. In habits
this species resembles the Scarlet Tana-
ger,~perhaps the most brilliant of the
group, but is not so retiring, frequent-
ing open groves and often visiting
towns and cities.
The nesting season of this charming
bird extends to the latter part of July,
but varies with the latitude and season.
Bark strips and leaves interwoven with
various vegetable substances compose
the nest, which is usually built on a
horizontal or drooping branch, near
its extremity and situated at the edge
of a grove near the roadside. Davie
says: "All the nests of this species
which I have seen collected in Ohio
are very thin and frail structures ; so
thin that the eggs may often be seen
from beneath. A nest sent me from
Lee county, Texas, is compactly built
of a cottony weed, a few stems of
Spanish moss, and lined with fine
grass stems." Mr. L. O. Pindar states
that nests found in Kentucky are com-
pactly built, but not very thickly
lined. The eggs are beautiful, being
a bright, light emerald green, spotted,
dotted, and blotched with various
shades of lilac, brownish-purple, and
dark brown.
Chapman says the Summer Tanager
may be easily identified, not alone by
its color but by its unique call-note, a
clearly enunciated chicky, tucky, tuck.
Its song bears a general resemblance
to that of the, Scarlet, but to some ears
is much sweeter, better sustained, and
more musical. It equals in strength,
according to one authority, that of the
Robin, but is uttered more hurriedly,
is more " wiry," and much more
continued.
The Summer Tanager is to a greater
or less extent known to farmers as the
Red Bee-Bird. Its food consists largely
of hornets, wasps, and bees.
The male of this species requires
several years to attain the full plum-
age. Immature individuals, it is said,
show a mixture of red and yellow
in relative proportions according to
age. The female has more red than
the male, but the tint is peculiar, a
dull Chinese orange, instead of a pure
rosy vermilion, as in the male.
An interesting study for many of
our readers during the summer months
when the Tanagers are gay in their
full plumage, would be to seek out,
with BIRDS in hand, the most attractive
denizens of the groves, identifying and
observing them in their haunts until
the entire group, of which five species
are represented in the United States,
is made familiar. When we remem-
ber that there are about three hundred
and eighty known, species of Tanagers
in Tropical America, it would seem a
light task to acquaint oneself with the
small family at home.
165
THE AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.
"As stupid as a Goose! "
Yes, I know that is the way
our family is usually spoken of.
But then I'm not a tame Goose,
you know. We wild fellows
think we know a little more than
the one which waddles about
the duck-pond in your back yard.
He sticks to one old place all
the time. Waddles and talks
and looks the same year after
year. We migratory birds, on
the other hand, fly from place to
place. Our summers are passed
here, our winters there ; so that
we pick up a thing or two the
common Goose never dreams of.
" The laughing Goose ! "
Yes, some people call me that.
I don't know why, unless my
Honk, honk, honk! sounds like a
laugh. Perhaps, though, it is
because the look about my
mouth is so pleasant.
Did you ever see a flock of us
in motion, in October or Novem-
ber, going to our winter home ?
Ah, that is a sight! When
the time comes for us to start,
we form ourselves into a figure
like this "]> a big gander tak-
ing the lead where the dot is.
Such a honk, honk, honking you
never heard. People who have
heard us, and seen us, say it
sounds like a great army over-
head.
Where do we live in summer,
and what do we eat?
You will find us throughout
the whole of North America, but
in greater numbers on the Pacific
coast. The fresh-water lakes
are our favorite resorts. We
visit the wheat fields and corn
fields, nibbling the young, ten-
der blades and feeding on the
scattered grain. The farmers
don't like it a bit, but we don't
care. That is the reason our
flesh tastes so sweet.
And tough !
My, how you talk! It is only
we old fellows that are tough, we
fellows over a year old. But of
course a great many people
don't know that, or don't care.
Why, I once heard of a gan-
der that had waddled aroirnd a
barn-yard for five long years.
Thanksgiving Day arrived, and
they roasted him for dinner.
Think of eating an old, old
friend like that !
Where do we build our nests?
Away up north, in Alaska,
and on the islands of the Arctic
Sea. We make them of hay,
feathers, and down, buildingthem
in hollow places on the ground.
How many eggs?
Six. I am very good to
my mate, and an affectionate
father.
166 .
THE AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.
KITE -FRONTED or
L,aughing Geese are found
in considerable numbers
on the prairies of the
Mississippi Valley. They are called
Prairie Brant by market-men and
gunners. Though not abundant on the
Atlantic seaboard, vast flocks may be
seen in the autumn months on
the Pacific Slope. In Oregon and
northern California some remain all
winter, though the greater number go
farther south. They appear to prefer
the grassy patches along streams flowing
into the ocean, or the tide-water flats
so abundant in Oregon and Washing-
ton, where the Speckle-bellies, as they
are called, feed in company with
the Snow Geese. The nesting place
of this favorite species is in the wooded
districts of Alaska and along the
Yukon river. No nest is formed, from
seven to ten eggs being laid in a
depression in the sand.
It is said that notwithstanding all
references to their ungainly movement
and doltish intellect, the Wild Goose,
of which the White-fronted is one of
the most interesting, is held in high
estimation by the sportsman, and even
he, if keen of observation, will learn
from it many things that will entitle
the species to advancement in the
mental grade, and prove the truth of a
very old adage, that you cannot judge
of things by outward appearance. A
goose, waddling around the barnyard,
may not present a very graceful appear-
ance, nor seem endowed with much
intelligence, yet the ungainly creature,
when in its natural state, has an ease
of motion in flight which will compare
with that of any of the feathered
tribe, and shows a knowledge of the
means of defense, and of escaping the
attacks of its enemies, that few
possess. There is probably no bird
more cautious, vigilant, and fearful at
danger than this. Should their
suspicion be aroused, they rise upward
slowly in a dense cloud of white, and
sound their alarm notes, but they may
not go over fifty yards before they
alight again, so that the amusement of
watching them may be continued
without much toil or inconvenience.
The White-fronted Goose visits
Illinois only during its migrations,
coining some time in October or early
in November, and returning in March
or April. During its sojourn there it
frequents chiefly open prairies, or
wheat fields, where it nibbles the
young and tender blades, and corn-
fields, where it feeds upon the scattered
grains. In California, Ridgway says,
it is so numerous in winter as to be
very destructive of the growing wheat
crop, and it is said that in the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin valleys, farmers
often find it necessary to employ men
by the month to hunt and drive them
from the fields. This is most success-
fully accomplished by means" of brush
hiding places, or " blinds," or by
approaching the flocks on horseback
by the side of an ox which has been
trained for the purpose.
The White-fronted Goose is greatly
esteemed for the excellent quality of
its flesh, which, by those who have
learned to appreciate it, is generally
considered superior to that of any other
species. While the cruel pursuit of
the bird, merely for purpose of sport
ought not to be continued, appreciation
of its value as food may well be
encouraged.
169
THE TURNSTONE.
HIS small plover-like bird is
^ I found on the sea-coasts of
<2J I nearly all countries ; in Amer-
ica, from GreenlandandAlaska
to Chili and Brazil ; more or less com-
mon in the interior along the shores of
the Great Lakes and larger rivers.
It is generally found in company
with flocks of the smaller species ot
Sandpipers, its boldly marked plumage
contrasting with surroundings, while
the Sandpipers mingle with the sands
and unless revealed by some abrupt
movement can hardly be seen at a little
distance.
The name Turnstone has been
applied to this bird on account of its
curious habit of dexterously inserting
its bill beneath stones and pebbles along
the shore in quest of food, overturning
them in search of the insects or prey
of any kind which may be lurking
beneath. It is found on smooth, sandy
beaches, though more commonly about
the base of rocky cliffs and cones.
The eggs of horseshoe crabs are its
particular delight.
In the nesting season the Turnstone
is widely distributed throughout the
northern portions of both continents,
and wanders southward along the sea-
coasts of all countries. In America it
breeds commonly in the Barren Lands
of the Arctic coasts and the Anderson
River districts, on the Islands of
Franklin and Liverpool bays, nesting
in July. In the Hudson's Bay country
the eggs are laid in June. The nest is
a hollow scratched in the earth, and is
lined with bits of grass.
The Turnstone is known by various
names: "Brant Bird, " "Bead Bird,"
" Horse-foot-Snipe, " " Sand-runner,"
"Calico-back," " Chicaric " and
"Chickling." The two latter names
have reference to its rasping notes,
"Calico-back," to the variegated
plumage of the upper parts.
In summer the adults are oddly pied
above with black, white, brown, and
chestnut-red, but the red is totally
wanting in winter. They differ from
the true Plovers in the well developed
hind-toe, and the strong claws, but
chiefly in the more robust feet, without
trace of web between the foes.
The eggs are greenish-drab in color,
spotted, blotched, and dotted irregularly
and thickly with yellowish and umber
brown. The eggs are two or four,
abruptly pyriform in shape.
SNOWBIRDS.
Along the narrow sandy height
I watch them swiftly come and go,
Or round the leafless wood,
Like flurries of wind-driven snow,
Revolving in perpetual flight,
A changing multitude.
Nearer and nearer still they sway,
And, scattering in a circled sweep,
Rush down without a sound ;
And now I see them peer and peep,
Across yon level blealc and gray,
Searching the frozen ground,
Until a little wind upheaves,
And makes a sudden rustling there,
And then they drop their play,
Flash up into the sunless air,
And like a flight of silver leaves
Swirl round and sweep nwa}'.
ARCHIBALD LAMI-MAN.
170
BIRDS OF PASSAGE.
Black shadows fall
From the lindens tall,
That lift aloft their massive wall
Against the southern sky ;
And from the realms
Of the shadowy elms,
A tide-like darkness overwhelms
The fields that round us lie.
But the night is fair
And everywhere
A warm, soft vapor fills the air
And distant sounds seem near ;
And above, in the light
Of the star-lit night,
Swift birds of passage wing their flight
Through the dewy atmosphere.
I hear the beat
Of their pinions fleet,
As from the land of snow and sleet
They seek a southern lea.
I hear the cry
Of their voices high *
Falling dreamily through the sky,
But their forms I cannot see.
LONGFELLOW.
173
THE BELTED PIPING PLOVER.
3T
I
N the Missouri river region and
in contiguous parts of the
interior of the United States,
the Belted Piping Plover is a
common summer resident, and
is found along the shores of the great
lakes, breeding on the flat, pebbly
beach between the sand dunes and
shore. It is the second of the ring-
necked Plovers, and arrives in April
in scattering flocks, which separate
into pairs a month later. It strays at
times into the interior, and has been
known to breed on the borders of ponds
many miles from the coast. In New
England, however, it seldom wanders
far from the shore, and prefers sand
islands near the main land for its nest-
ing haunts. Nelson says, that some
thirty pairs, which were breeding
along the beach at Waukegan, within
a space of t\yo miles, successfully con-
cealed their nests, for which he made
diligent search, although the birds
were continually circling about or
standing at a short distance, uttering
an occasional note of alarm.
These birds have a soft, low, piping
note, which they utter not only upon
the wing, but occasionally as they run
about upon the ground, and, during
the early nesting season, a peculiar,
loud, prolonged, musical call, that
readily attracts attention. In other
respects, their habits are not noticeably
differed from the Semi-palmated. (See
July BIRDS, p. 8.)
Their nests are without lining, a
mere depression in the sand. The
eggs are usually four, light gray to
creamy buff, finely and rather sparsely
speckled or dotted with blackish brown
and purplish gray.
The female Belted Piping Plover is
similar to the male, but with the dark
colors lighter and less in extent. The
young have no black band in front,
while the collar around the neck is
ashy brown.
These interesting and vahiable game
birds are found associated with various
beach birds and Sand-Pipers, and they
become exceedingly fat during the
latter part of the summer.
- All the Plovers have a singular
habit when alighting on the ground
in the nesting time ; they drop their
wings, stand with their legs half bent,
and tremble as if unable to support
their bodies. In this absurd position
they will stand, according to a well-
known observer, for several minutes,
uttering a curious sound, and then
seem to balance themselves with great
difficulty. This singular manoeuvre is
no doubt intended to produce a belief
that they may be easily caught, and
thus turn the attention of the egg-
gatherer from the pursuit of the eggs
to themselves, their eggs being
recognized the world over, as a great
delicacy.
The Plover utters a piping sound
While on the wing or on the ground ;
All a tremble it drops its wings,
And, with legs half bent, it sings :
"My nest is near, come take the eggs,
And take me too, I'm off my legs."
In vain men search with eager eyes,
No nest is found, the Plover flies !
C. C. M
174
THE WILD TURKEY,
'T has been observed that when
the Turkey makes its appear-
ance on table all conversation
should for the moment be
suspended. That it is eaten in
silence on some occasions may be
inferred from the following anecdote :
A certain judge of Avignon, famous
for his love of the glorious bird, which
the American people have wisely
selected for the celebration of Thanks-
giving Day, said to a friend: "We
have just been dining on a superb
Turkey. It was excellent. Stuffed
with truffles to the very throat ten-
der, delicate, filled with perfume ! We
left nothing but the bones ! " " How
many were there of you ? " asked his
friend. "Two," replied the judge,
"the Turkey and myself!" The
reason, no doubt, why this brilliant
bird, which so much resembles the
domestic Turkey, is now almost ex-
tinct. It was> formerly a resident of
New England, and is still found to
some extent as far north-west as the
Missouri River and south-west as
Texas. In Ohio it was formerly an
abundant resident. Dr. Kirtland
(1850) mentions the time when Wild
Turkeys were more common than
tame ones are now.
The nests of this bird are very
difficult to discover, as they are made
on the ground, midst tall, thick weeds
or tangled briars. The female will
not leave the nest until almost trodden
upon. It is stated that when the eggs
are once touched, she will abandon
her nest.
The Turkey became known to
Europeans almost immediately upon
the discovery of America by the
Spaniards in 1518, and it is probable
that it is distinctively an American
bird. In its wild state, its plumage,
as in the case of the Honduras Turkey,
grows more lustrous and magnificent
as the family extends southward.
The "Gobblers," as the males are
called, associate in parties of ten to
one hundred, seeking their food apart
from the females, which wander singly
with their young or in troops with
other hens and their families, some-
times to the number of seventy or
eighty. They travel on foot, unless
disturbed by the hunter or a river
compels them to take wing. It is
said that when about to cross a river,
they select a high eminence from
which to start, that their flight may
be more sure, and in such a position
they sometimes remain for a day or
more, as if in consultation. On such
occasions the males gobble vociferously,
strutting about pompously as if to
animate their companions. At the
signal note of their leader, they wing
their way to the opposite shore.
The Wild Turkey feeds on many
kinds of berries, fruits, and grasses,
Beetles, tadpoles, young frogs, and
lizards are sometimes found in its
crop. When the Turkeys reach
their destination, they disperse in
flocks, devouring the mast as they
proceed.
Pairing time begins in March. The
sexes roost apart, but at no great
distance, so that when the female
utters a call, every male within hear-
ing responds, rolling note after note in
rapid succession, in a voice resembling
that of the tame Turkey when he
hears any unusual noise. Where the
Turkeys are numerous, the woods
from one end to the other, sometimes
for many miles, resound with these
voices of wooing.
The specimen of the Wild Turkey
presented in this number of BIRDS is
of extraordinary size and beauty, and
has been much admired. The day is
not far distant when a living specimen
of this noble bird will be sought for in
vain in the United States.
177
THE CERULEAN WARBLER,
HIS beautiful little sky-blue
feathered, creature is well
named Azure Warbler, or
again White - throated Blue
Warbler, and is the most abundant of
the genus here.
It is a bird of the wood, everywhere
associated with the beautiful tall for-
ests of the more northern counties of
western New York, sometimes found
in the open woods of pasture-lands,
and quite partial to hardwood trees.
In its flitting motion in search of in-
sect-prey, and in the jerking curves of
its more prolonged flight, as also in
its structure, it is a genuine Wood
Warbler and keeps for the most part
to what Thoreau calls the "upper story"
of its sylvan domain.
All Warblers, it has been said, de-
pend upon their markings rather
than song for their identity, which
renders the majority of the tribe of
greater interest to the scientist than
to the novice. Until you have named
four or five of the commonest species
as landmarks, you will be considerably
confused.
Audubon described the song of the
Cerulean Warbler as " extremely sweet
and mellow," whereas it is a modest
little strain, says Chapman, or trill,
divided into sylables like zee, zee, zee,
ze-ee-ee-eep, or according to another
observer, rheet, rheet, rheet, rheet, ridi,
idi, e-e-e-e-ee ; beginning with several
soft warbling notes and ending in a
rather prolonged but quite musical
squeak. The latter and more rapid
part of the strain, which is given in
the upward slide, approaches an insect
qiiality of tone which is more or less
peculiar to all true Warblers, a song
so common as to be a universal char-
acteristic of our tall forests.
It is not strange that the nest of this
species has been so seldom discovered,
even where the bird is very abund-
ant during the breeding season. It is
built in the higher horizontal branches
of forest trees, always out some dis-
tance from the trunk, and ranging from
twenty to fifty feet above the ground.
One described by Dr. Brewer, found in
Ontario, near Niagara Falls, was built
in a large oak tree at the height of
fifty or more feet from the ground.
It was placed horizontally on the
upper surface of a slender limb be-
tween two small twigs ; and the branch
on which it was thus saddled was only
an inch and a half in thickness, be-
ing nine feet from the trunk of the
tree. The abandoned home was se-
cured with great difficulty.
The nest is a rather slender fabric,
somewhat similar to the nest of the
Redstart, and quite small for the bird,
consisting chiefly of a strong rim firmly
woven of strips of fine bark, stems of
grasses, and pine needles,*bound round
with flaxen fibres of plants and wool.
Around the base a few bits of hornets'
nests, mosses, and lichens are loosely
fastened. The nest within is fur-
nished with fine stems and needles, the
flooring very thin and slight.
The bird is shy when started from
the nest, and has a sharp chipping
alarm-note common to the family. .
The Cerulean Warbler is found in
the Eastern States, but is more num-
erous west of the Allegheny moun-
tains, and throughout the heavily
wooded districts of the Mississippi val-
ley. In winter it migrates to Central
America and Cuba. The Warblers
are of unfailing interest to the lover of
bird life. Apart from the beauty of
the birds themselves, with their per-
petually contrasting colors among the
green leaves, their pretty ways furnish
to the silent watcher an ever changing
spectacle of the innocent life in the
tree-tops.
178
THE WILD TURKEY.
I thought my picture would
appear in this number of BIRDS.
What would Thanksgiving be
without a Turkey, I'd like to
know.
The editor says that I am a
bird of ex-traor-di-na-ry size
and beauty. That word is as
big as I am, but by spelling it, I
guess you will understand.
I look as proud as a peacock,
don't I? Well, I am just as
proud. You ought to see me
strut, and hear me talk when
the hen-turkeys are around.
Why, sometimes when there is
a large troop of us in the woods
you can hear us gobble, gobble,
gobble, for many miles. We are
so fond of talking to each other.
That is when we are about to
set up housekeeping, you think.
Yes, in March and April.
After the nests are made, and
the little turkeys hatched out,
we big, handsome fellows go off
to ourselves. The hen-turkeys,
with their young broods, do the
same.
Sometimes there are as many
as a hundred in our troop and
seventy or eighty in theirs. We
travel on foot, picking up food
as we go, till we meet a man
with a gun, or come to a wide
river.
Then we have to fly.
In a flock? Oh, yes. We
choose some high place from
which to get a good start.
There we all stay, sometimes a
day or two, strutting about and
talking big. It is gobble, gobble
gobble, from morning till night.
Just like one of your conven-
tions, you know. After awhile
our leader gives the signal and
off we all fly to the opposite
shore.
Did you ever see one of our
nests? No? Well, they are
not easily seen, though they are
made on the ground. You see,
we are cunning and build them
among tall, thick weeds and
tangled briars.
I hope, if you ever come
across one, you will not touch it,
because my mate would never
return to it again, if you did.
What do we eat?
Berries, fruit and grasses,
beetles, tadpoles, frogs and
lizards. In fact anything we
consider good.
183
THE YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIRD.
5T
I
N appearance this bird resembles
a large Tern (see Vol. i, page
103), and its habits are similar
to those of the Terns. Inter-
topical, it is of a wandering dis-
position, breeding on the islands of
mid-ocean thousands of miles apart.
It is noted for its elegant, airy, and long-
protracted flight. Davie says that
on Bourbon, Mauritius and other
islands east and south of Madagascar
it breeds in the crevices of the rocks
of inaccessible cliffs, and in hollow
trees. In the Bermuda Islands it nests
about the first of May in holes in high
rocky places along the shores. Here
its favorite resorts are the small islands
of Great Sound, Castle Harbor, and
Harrington Sound. The Phaeton, as
it is felicitously called, nests in the
Bahamas in holes in the perpendicular
faces of cliffs and on the flat surfaces
of rocks. A single egg is laid, which
has a ground-color of purplish brown-
ish white, covered in some specimens
almost over the entire surface with
fine reddish chocolate-colored spots.
These species compose the small but
distinct family of tropic birds and are
found throughout the tropical and sub-
tropical regions of the world. Long
journeys are made by them across the
open sea, their flight when emigrating
being strong, rapid, and direct, and
immense distances are covered by them
as they course undismayed by wind or
storm. In feeding, Chapman says,
they course over the water, beating
back and forth at a height of about
forty feet, and their long willowly tail-
feathers add greatly to the grace and
beauty of their appearance when on
the wing. They are of rare and
probably accidental occurrence on our
coasts.
The Songs of Nature never cease,
Her players sue not for release
In nearer fields, on hills afar,
Attendant her musicians are :
From water brook or forest tree,
For aye conies gentle melody,
The very air is music blent
An universal instrument.
JOHN VANCE CHENEY.
184
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
YELLOW -BILLED TROPIC BIRD.
% Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIRD.
The people who make- a study
of birds say that I look like a
large Tern, and that my habits
are like his.
I don't know whether that is
so, I am sure, for I have no
acquaintance with that bird, but
you little folks can turn to your
March number of BIRDS and see
for yourselves if it is true.
For my part, I think I am the
prettier of the two on account of
my long, willowy tail feathers.
They add greatly, it is said, to
the grace and beauty of my
appearance when on the wing.
Then, the color of my coat is
much more beautiful than his, I
think, don't you think so, too?
We are not so common as the
Terns, either, for they are very
numerous. There are only three
species of our family, so we
consider ourselves quite distinct.
What are we noted for?
Well, principally for our long
distance flights across the sea,
elegant and airy, as the writers
say of us. Maybe that is the
reason they call us the Phaeton
sometimes.
Do we go north in the summer
as so many other birds do ?
Ugh! You make me shudder.
No, indeed! We never go
farther north than Florida. Our
home, or where we build our
nests, is in the tropical and sub-
tropical regions, where the
weather is very warm, you
know.
We are great wanderers and
build our nests on islands, way
out in the ocean many thousands
of miles apart.
In trees?
Oh, no, but in any hole we see
in the face of a great rock or
cliff, and sometimes right on the
top of a rock.
How many eggs?
Only one. That is the reason,
you see, that our family remains
small.
Sing?
Oh, my, no! We are not sing-
ing birds. We have a call-note,
though harsh and gutteral,
which sounds like tip, tip, tip.
187
THE EUROPEAN KINGFISHER
places.
Dixon,
|ARELY indeed is this charm-
ing bird now found in Eng-
land, where formerly it could
be seen darting hither and
thither in most frequented
Of late years, according to
he has been persecuted so
greatly, partly by the collector, who
never fails to secure the brilliant
creature for his cabinet at every oppor-
tunity, and partly by those who have
an inherent love for destroying every
living object around them. Game-
keepers, too, are up in arms against
him, because of his inordinate love of
preying on the finny tribe. Where the
Kingfisher now is seen is in the most
secluded places, the author adds,
where the trout streams murmur
through the silent woods, but seldom
trod by the foot of man ; or in the
wooded gullies down which the stream
from the mountains far above rushes
and tumbles over the huge rocks, or
lies in pools smooth as the finest mir-
ror.
The Kingfisher is comparatively a
silent bird, though he sometimes utters
a few harsh notes as he flies swift as a
meteor through the wooded glades.
You not unfrequently flush the King-
fisher from the holes in the banks, and
amongst the brambles skirting the
stream. He roosts at night in holes,
usually the nesting cavity. Sometimes
he will alight on stumps and branches
projecting from the water, and sit quiet
and motionless, but on your approach
he darts quickly away, often uttering
a feeble seep, seep, as he goes.
The habits of the English Kingfisher
are identical with those of the
American, though th.e former is the
more brilliant bird in plumage. (See
BIRDS, Vol. I, p. 62.) The ancients
had a very absurd idea as to its nesting
habits. They believed that the bird
built a floating nest, and whenever the
old bird and her charge were drifted
by the winds, as they floated over the
briny deep, the sea remained calm.
He was, therefore, to the ancient
mariner, a bird held sacred in the
extreme. Even now these absurd
superstitions have not wholly dis-
appeared. For instance, the nest is
said to be made of the fish bones ejected
by the bird, while the real facts are,
that they not only nest but roost in
holes, and it must follow that vast
quantities of rejected fish bones
accumulate, and on these the eggs are
of necessity laid.
These eggs are ' very beautiful
objects, being of a deep pinkish hue,
usually six in number.
The food of the Kingfisher is not
composed entirely of fish, the remains
of fresh-water shrimps being found in
their stomachs, and doubtless other
animals inhabiting the waters are from
time to time devoured.
The English Kingfisher, says Dixon,
remains throughout the year, but
numbers perish when the native
streams are frozen. There is, perhaps,
not a bird in all the ranks of the
feathered gems of equatorial regions,
be it ever so fair, the Humming-bird
excepted, that can boast a garb so
lovely as this little creature of the
northland. Naturalists assert that the
sun has something to do with the
brilliant colors of the birds and insects
of the tropics, but certainly, the King-
fisher is an exception of the highest
kind. Alas, that he has no song to
inspire the muse of some English bard!
188
From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
EUROPEAN KINGFISHER.
Vio Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE EUROPEAN KINGFISHER.
Little Folks :
I shouldn't have liked it one
bit if my picture had been left
'out of this beautiful book. My
cousin, the American Kingfisher,
had his in the February number,
and I find he had a good deal
to say about himself in his letter,
too.
Fine feathers make fine birds,
they say. Well, if that is true,
I must be a very fine bird, for
surely my feathers are gay
enough to please anybody 1
think.
To see me in all my beauty,
you must seek me in my native
wood. I look perfectly gorgeous
there, flitting from tree to tree.
Or maybe you would rather see
me sitting on a stump, gazing
down into the clear pool which
looks like a mirror. *
" Oh, what a vain bird ! " you
would say; u see him looking
at himself in the water ; " when
all the time I had my eye on a
fine trout which I intended to
catch for my dinner.
Well, though I wear a brighter
dress than my American cousin,
our habits are pretty much alike.
I am sure he catches fish the
same way I do when he is
hungry.
With a hook and line, as you
do?
Oh, no ; with my bill, which is
long, you observe, and made for
that very purpose. You should
just see me catch a fish ! Down
I fly to a stump near the brook,
or to a limb of a tree which
overhangs the water, and there
I sit as quiet as & mouse for
quite a while.
Everything being so quiet, a
fine speckled trout, or a school
of troutlets, play near the sur-
face. Now is my chance! Down
I swoop, and up I come with a
fish crosswise in my bill.
Back I go to my perch, toss
the minnow into the air, and as
it falls catch it head first and
swallow it whole. I tell you
this because you ought to know
why I am called Kingfisher.
Do we swallow bones and all?
Yes, but we afterwards eject
the bones, when we are resting
or roosting in our holes in the
banks of the stream. That must
be the reason people who write
about us say we build our nests
of fish bones.
Sing?
Oh, no, we are not singing
birds ; but sometimes, when fly-
ing swiftly through the air, we
give a harsh cry that nobody
but a bird understands.
Your friend,
THE ENGLISH KINGFISHER.
191
THE VERMILION FLY-CATCHER.
HICKETS along water courses
are favorite resorts of this
beautiful Fly-qatcher, which
may be seen only on the
southern border of the United States,
south through Mexico to Guatemala,
where it is a common species. Mr.
W. E. D. Scott notes it as a common
species about Riverside, Tucson, and
Florence, Arizona. Its habits are
quite similar to those of other Fly-
catchers, though it has not been so
carefully observed as its many cousins
in other parts of the country. During
the nesting season, the male frequently
utters a twittering song while poised
in the air, in the manner of the
Sparrow Hawk, and during the song
it snaps its bill as if catching insects.
The Vermilion's nest is usually
placed in horizontal forks of ratana
trees, and often in mesquites, not more
then six feet from the ground; they are
composed of small twigs and soft
materials felted together, with the
rims covered with lichens, and the
shallow cavity lined with a few
horse or cow hairs. Dr. Merrill states
that they bear considerable resemblance
to nests of the Wood Pewee in appear-
ance and the manner in which they
are saddled to the limb. Nests have
been found, however, which lacked
the exterior coating of lichens.
Three eggs are laid of a rich
creamy-white with a ring of large
brown and lilac blotches at the larger
end.
A WINTER NEST.
Pallid, wan-faced clouds
Press close to the frozen pines,
And follow the jagged lines
Of fence, that the sleet enshrouds.
Sharp in the face of the sky,
Gaunt, thin-ribbed leaves are blown ;
They rise with a shuddering moan,
Then sink in the snow and die.
At the edge of the wood a vine
Still clings to the sleeping beech,
While its stiffened tendrils reach
A nest, and around it twine.
A little gray nest all alone,
With its feathery lining of snow,
Where bleak winds, piping low,
Croon a sweet minor tone.
NORA A. PIPER.
192
From col. George F. Breninger.
VERMILION FLYCATCHER.
3 /s Life-Size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., l97. Chicago.
BIRD MISCELLANY.
Red and yellow, green and brown,
Leaves are whirling, rustling down ;
Acorn babes in their cradles lie,
Through the bare trees the brown birds fly ;
The Robin chirps as he flutters past
November days have coine at last.
CLARA LOUISE STRONG.
" I have watched birds at their singing under many and widely differing
circumstances, and I am sure that they express joyous anticipation, present
content, and pleasant recollection, each as the mood moves, and with equal
ease."
M. THOMPSON.
" The act of singing is evidently a pleasurable one ; and it probably serves
as an outlet for superabundant nervous energy and excitement, just as dancing,
singing, and field sports do with us."
A. R. WALLACE.
" The bird upon the tree utters the meaning of the wind a voice of the
grass and wild flower, words of the green leaf; they speak through that slender
tone. Sweetness of dew and rifts of sunshine, the dark hawthorn touched
with breadths of open bud, the odor of the air, the color of the daffodil all that
is delicious and beloved of spring-time are expressed in his song."
RICHARD JEFFERIES.
195
THE LAZULI BUNTING.
I
The joy is great of him who strays
In shady woods on summer days.
MAURICE THOMPSON.
N Colorado and Arizona the
Lazuli Painted Finch, as it is
called, is common, while in
California it is very abundant,
being, in fact, generally dis-
tributed 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, (See BIRDS, Vol. I,
page 173,) 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 charm-
ing book, " A-Birding on a Bronco,"
we select a description of the pretty
manners of this attractive bird. She
says :
" While waiting for the Wood-
peckers, 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 joy. He 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 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. He
could be afraid of me if he liked, I
thought, for after a certain amount of
suspicion, an innocent person gets
resentful ; at any rate I was going to
see that nest. Creeping up cautiously
when the mother bird was away, so as
not to scare her, and carefully parting
the mallows, I looked in. Yes, there
it was, a beautiful little sage-queen
nest of old grass laid in a coil. I felt
as pleased as if having a right to share
the family happiness. After that I
watched the small worker gather
material with new interest, knowing
where she was going to put it. She
worked fast, but did not take the first
thing she found, by any means. With
a flit of the wing she went in nervous
haste from cockle to cockle, looking
eagerly about her. Jumping down to
the ground, she picked up a bit .of
grass, threw it down dissatisfied, and
turned away like a person looking for
something. At last she lit on the side
.of a thistle, and tweaking out a fibre,
flew with it to the nest. (
" A month after the first encounter
with the father Lazuli, I found him '
looking at me around the corner of a
cockle stalk, and in passing back
again, caught him singing full tilt,
though his bill was full of insects!
After we had turned our backs I looked
over my shoulder and had the satis-
faction of seeing him take his beakful
to the nest. You couldn't help admir-
ing him, for though not a warrior who
would snap his bill over the head of
an enemy of his home, he had a gallant
holiday air with his blue coat and
merry song, and you felt sure his little
brown mate would get cheer and
courage enough from his presence to
make family dangers appear less
frightful."
196
From col. John F. Ferry.
CHICAGO COLORTYPE CO
LAZULI BUNTING.
% Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.
THE LAZULI BUNTING.
You think you have seen me
before ? Well, I must admit my
relative, the Indigo Bunting, and
I do look alike. They say
though, I am the prettier bird of
the two. Turn to your March
number, page 173, and decide for
yourselves.
I live farther west than he
does. You find him in the
eastern and middle states. Then
he disappears and I take his
place, all the way from the Great
Plains to the Pacific Ocean.
Some people call me the
Lazuli Painted Finch. That's
funny, for I never painted any-
thing in my life not even my
cheeks. Would you like to know
how my mate and I go to house-
keeping? A lady who visits
California, where I live, will tell
you all about it. She rides a
horse called Mountain Billy.
He will stand still under a tree
so that she can peep into nests
and count the eggs, when the
mother bird is away.
She can travel a good many
miles in that way, and meet lots
of birds. She says in her book,
that she has got acquainted with
seventy-five families, without
robbing one nest, or doing the
little creatures any harm.
Well, one day this lady saw a
brownish bird flying busily back
and forth to some tall green
weeds. After a while a hand-
some blue Bunting flew along
side of her, full of life and joy.
That was my mate and I.
How frightened I was ! for our
nest was in those green weeds
and not very far from the
ground. I flew away as soon as
I could pluck up courage, but
not far, so that I could watch
the lady and the nest. How my
heart jumped when I saw her
creep up, part the weeds and
look in. All she saw was a few
twigs and a sage-green nest of
old grass laid in a coil. My
mate hadn't put in the lining
yet ; you see it takes her quite a
while to get the thistle down and
the hair and strips of bark for
the inside. The next time the
lady passed, the house was done
and my mate was sitting on the
nest. She just looked down at
us from the back of Mountain
Billy and passed on.
Four weeks after, she came
again, and there I was, flying
about and singing u like a bird,"
my mouth full of insects, too. I
waited 'till she had turned away
before I flew to the nest to feed
our little ones. I didn't know,
you see, that she was such a
good friend of ours, or I
wouldn't have been so afraid.
199
SUMMARY
Page 163.
SUMMER TAN ACER. Piranha rubra.
Other names : "Summer Red-bird," "Rose
Tanager."
RANGE Eastern United States west to the
edge of the Plains; north regularly to about 40
New Jersey, central Ohio, Illinois, casually
north to Connecticut and Ontario, accidently to
Nova Scotia, wintering in Cuba, Central Amer-
ica, and northern South America. (Davie.)
NEST Of bark strips and leaves interwoven
with various vegetable substances, on drooping
branch of tree.
EGGS Three or four, bluish white or greenish
blue, with cinnamon or olive-brown markings.
Page 168.
AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
Anser albifrons gambeli. Other names :
" Laughing Goose," " Speckle Belly."
RANGE North America, breeding far north-
ward ; in winter south to Mexico and Cuba,
rare on the Atlantic coast.
NEST On the ground, of grasses lined with
down.
EGGS Six or seven, dull greenish yellow
with obscure darker tints.
Page 171.
TURNSTONE. Arenaria interpres. Other
names : "Brant Bird," "Calico-back," " Bead-
bird," "Sand-runner," "Chickling," " Horse -
foot Snipe "
RANGE Nearly cosmopolitan ; nests in the
Arctic regions, and in America migrates south-
ward to Patagonia. (Chapman.) .,
NEST A slight depression on the ground.
EGGS Two or four, greenish drab, spotted
all over with brown.
Page 175.
THE BELTED PIPING PLOVER. Aegi-
alitis meloda circumcincta.
RANGE Missouri river region ; occasionally
eastward to the Atlantic coast.
NEST Depression in the sand without lining.
EGGS Four, light gray to creamy buff,
finely speckled with blackish brown and purp-
lish gray.
EGGS Ten to fourteen, pale cream buff, finely
and evenly speckled with grayish brown.
Page 180.
"WILD TURKEY Meleagris gallopava.
RANGE Eastern United States from Penn-
sylvania southward to Florida, west to Wiscon-
sin, the Indian Territory and Texas.
NEST On the ground, at the base of a bush
or tree.
Page 181.
CERULEAN WARBLER Dendrczca caeru-
lea. Other names : "Azure Warbler ; " " White-
throated Blue Warbler."
RANGE Mississippi valley as far north as
Minnesota, and eastward as far as Lockport, N.
Y. (Davison.) Winters in the tropics.
NEST Of fine grasses bound with spider's
silk, lined with strips of bark and with a few
lichens attached to its upper surface, in a tree,
twenty-five to fifty feet from the ground. (Chap-
man.)
EGGS Four, creamy white, thickly covered
with rather heavy blotches of reddish brown.
Page 186.
YELLOW-BILLED TROPIC BIRD. Phae-
thonflavirostris. Other names: '.'Phaeton."
RANGE Tropical coasts; Atlantic coasts of
tropical America, West Indies, Bahamas, Ber-
mudas ; casual in Florida and accidental in
Western New York and Nova Scotia. (Chap-
man.)
NEST In holes in the perpendicular faces of
cliffs, also on the flat surfaces of rocks.
EGGS-One, ground color of purplish brownish
white, covered with fine reddish chocolate-
colored spots. (Davie.)
Page 190.
EUROPEAN KINGFISHER. Alcedo ispida.
RANGE England and portions of Europe.
NEST In holes of the banks of streams.
EGGS Usually six, of a deep pinkish hue.
Page 193.
VERMILION FLYCATCHER. Pyroceph-
alus rubineus mexicanus.
RANGE Southern Border of the United
States south through Mexico and Guatemala.
NEST In forks of ratana trees, not more than
six feet up, of small twigs and soft materials
felted together, the rims covered with lichens ;
the cavity is shallow.
EGGS Usually three, the ground color a rich
creamy white, with a ring of large brown and
lilac blotches at the larger end.
Page 198.
LAZULI BUNTING. Passerina amoena.
Other name : ' Lazuli Painted Finch."
RANGE Western United States from the
Great Plains to the Pacific'; south in winter to
Western Mexico.
NEST In a bush or the lower limbs of trees,
a few feet from the ground, of fine strips of bark,
small twigs, grasses, and is lined with hair.
EGGS Usually four, light bluish green.
VOL. II.
BIRDS
ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY.
DECEMBER, 1897.
No. 6.
THE ORNITHOLOGICAL CONGRESS.
E had the pleasure of
attending the Fifeeenth
Congress of the American
Ornithologists' Union,
which met and held its three days
annual session in the American
Museum of Natural History, New
York City, November 9-11, 1897.
Dr. C. Hart Merriam, of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, Washington,
D. C., presided, and there were present
about one hundred and fifty of the
members, resident in nearly all the
states of the Union.
The first paper read was one pre-
pared by J. C. Merrill, entitled " In
Memoriam : Charles Emil Bendire."
The character, accomplishments, and
achievements of the deceased, whose
valuable work in biographizing Amer-
ican birds is so well known to those
interested in ornithology, were referred
to in so appropriate a manner that the
paper, though not elaborate as it is to
be hoped it may ultimately be made,
will no doubt be published for general
circulation. Major Bendire's services
to American ornithology are of indis-
putable value, and his untimely death
eclipsed to some extent, possibly
wholly, the conclusion of a series of
bird biographies which, so far as they
had appeared, were deemed to be
adequate, if not perfect.
Mr. Frank M. Chapman, the well
known authority on birds, and whose
recent books are valuable additions to
our literature, had, it may be presumed,
a paper to read on the "Experiences
of an Ornithologist in Mexico," though
he did not read it. He made, on the
contrary, what seemed to be an
extemporaneous talk, exceedingly
entertaining and sufficiently instruc-
tive to warrant a permanent place for
it in the Auk, of which he is associate
editor. We had the pleasure of exam-
ining the advance sheets of a new book
from his pen, elaborately illustrated in
color, and shortly to be published.
Mr. Chapman is a comparatively
young man, an enthusiastic student and
observer, and destined to be recognized
as one of our most scientific thinkers,
as many of his published pamphlets
already indicate. Our limited space
precludes even a reference to them now.
His remarks were made the more attrac-
tive by the beautiful stuffed specimens
with which he illustrated them.
Prof. Elliott Coues, in an address,
"Auduboniana, and Other Matters of
Present Interest," engaged the de-
lighted attention of the Congress on
the morning of the second day's session.
His audience was large. In a bio-
graphical sketch of Audubon the Man,
interspersed with anecdote, he said so
many interesting things that we regret
we omitted to make any notes that
would enable us to indicate at least
something of his characterization. No
doubt just what he said will appear in
an appropriate place. Audubon's port-
folio, in which his precious manu-
.scripts and drawings were so long
religiously kept, which he had carried
with him to London to exhibit to possi-
ble publishers, a book so large that
two men were required to carry it,
though the great naturalist had used
it as an indispensable and convenient
companion for so many years, was
slowly and we thought reverently
divested by Dr. Coues of its wrappings
and held up to the surprised and grate-
ful gaze of the spectators. It was
dramatic. Dr. Coues is an actor.
And then came the comedy. He
could not resist the inclination to talk
a little not disparagingly, but truth-
fully, reading a letter never before
published, of Swainson to Audubon
declining to associate his name with
that of Audubon " under the circum-
stances." All of which, we apprehend,
will duly find a place on the shelves
of public libraries.
We would ourself like to say
something of Audubon as a man. To
us his life and character have a special
charm. His was a beautiful youth,
like that of Goethe. His love of
nature, for which he was willing to
make, and did make, sacrifices, will
always be inspiring to the youth of
noble and gentle proclivities ; his per-
sonal beauty, his humanity, his love-
life, his domestic virtues, enthrall the
ingenuous mind ; and his appreciation
shown in his beautiful composi-
tions of the valleys of the great river,
La Belle Riviere, through which its
waters, shadowed by the magnificent
forests of Ohio and Kentucky, wan-
dered all of these things have from
youth up shed a sweet fragrance over
his memory and added greatly to our
admiration of and appreciation for the
man.
So many subjects came before the
Congress that we cannot hope to do
more than mention the titles of a few
of them. Mr. Sylvester D. Judd dis-
cussed the question of " Protective
Adaptations of insects from an Orni-
thological Point of View;" Mr. William
C. Rives talked of " Summer Birds of
the West Virginia Spruce Belt ; " Mr.
John N. Clark read a paper entitled
" Ten Days among the Birds of North-
ern New Hampshire ; " Harry C. Ober-
holser talked extemporaneously of
" Liberian Birds," and in a most enter-
taining and instructive manner, every
word he said being worthy of large print
and liberal embellishment ; Mr. J. A.
Allen, editor of The Auk, said a great
deal that was new and instructive
about the " Origin of Bird Migration ;"
Mr. O. Widmann read an interesting
paper on " The Great Roosts on Gab-
beret Island, opposite North St. Louis;"
J. Harris Reed presented a paper on
"The Terns of Gull Island, New
York ; " A. W. Anthony read of " The
Petrels of Southern California," and
Mr. George H. Mackay talked interest-
ingly of " The Terns of Penikese
Island, Mass." .
There were other papers of interest
and value. " A Naturalist's Expedition
to East Africa," by D. G. Elliot, was,
however, the piece de resistance of the
Congress. The lecture was delivered
in the lecture hall of the Museum, on
Wednesday at 8 p. in. It was illus-
trated by stereopticon views, and in
the most remarkable manner. The
pictures were thrown upon an immense
canvas, were marvellously realistic, and
were so much admired by the great
audience, which overflowed the large
lecture hall, that the word demon-
strative does not describe their
enthusiasm. But the lecture ! Descrip-
tion, experience, suffering, adventure,
courage, torrid heat, wild beasts,
poisonous insects, venomous serpents,
half-civilized peoples, thirst, almost
enough of torture to justify the use of
Coleridge's Ancient Mariner in illustra-
tion, and yet a perpetual, quiet,
rollicking, jubilant humor, all-pervad-
ing, and, at the close, on the lecturer's
return once more to the beginning of
civilization, the eloquent picture of the
Cross, " full high advanced," all com-
bined, made this lecture, to us, one of
the very few platform addresses entirely
worthy of the significance of unfading
portraiture. C. C. MARBLE.
From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences
MOUNTAIN BLUE BIRD.
3 /s Life-size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 187, Chicago.
THE MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.
3P
I
N an early number of BIRDS we
presented a picture of the com-
mon Bluebird, which has been
much admired. The mountain
Bluebird, whose beauty is
thought to excel that of his cousin, is
probably known to few of our readers
who live east of the Rocky Mountain
region, though he is a common winter
sojourner in the western part of Kan-
sas, beginning to arrive there the last
of September, and leavingin March and
April. The habits of these birds of
the central regions are very similar to
those of the eastern, but more wary
and silent. Even their love song is
said to be less loud and musical. It is
a rather feeble, plaintive, monotonous
warble, and their chirp and twittering
notes are weak. They subsist upon
the cedar berries, seeds of plants,. grass-
hoppers, beetles, and the like, which
they pick up largely upon the ground,
and occasionally scratch for among
the leaves. During the fall and win-
ter they visit the plains and valleys,
and are usually met with in small
flocks, until the mating season.
Nests of the Mountain Bluebird
have been found in New Mexico and
Colorado, from the foothills to near
timber line, usually in deserted Wood-
pecker holes, natural cavities in trees,
fissures in the sides of steep rocky
cliffs, and, in the settlements, in suit-
able locations about and in the adobe
buildings. In settled portions of the
west it nests in the cornice of build-
ings, under the eaves of porches, in the
nooks and corners of barns and out-
houses, and in boxes provided for its
occupation. Prof. Ridgway found the
Rocky Mountain Bluebird nesting in
Virginia City, Nevada, in June. The
nests were composed almost entirely
of dry grass. In some sections, how-
ever, the inner bark of the cedar enters
largely into their composition. The
eggs are usually five, of a pale greenish-
blue. ;
The females of this species are dis-
tinguished by a greener blue color and
longer wings, and this bird is often
called the Arctic Bluebird. Itis emphat-
ically a bird of the mountains, its vis-
its to the lower portions of the country
being mainly during winter.
Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the autumn leaves lie dead ;
They rustle to the eddying gust, and to the rabbits' tread.
The Robin and the Wren are flown, and from the shrubs the Jay,
And from the wood-top calls the Crow all through the gloomy day.
BRYANT.
205
THE ENGLISH SPARROW,
u Oh, it's just a common Spar-
row," I hear Bobbie say to his
mamma, " why, I see lots of them
on the street every day."
Of course you do, but for all
that you know very little about
me I guess. Some people call
me "Hoodlum," and " Pest,"
and even "Rat of the Air." I
hope you don't. It is only the
folks who don't like me that call
me ugly names.
Why don't they like me ?
Well, in the first place the city
people, who like fine feathers,
you know, say I am not pretty ;
then the farmers, who are not
grateful for the insects I eat, say
I devour the young buds and
vines as well as the ripened
grain. Then the folks who like
birds with fine feathers, and
that can sing like angels, such
as the Martin and the Bluebird
and a host of others, say I drive
them away, back to the forests
where they came from.
Do I do all these things?
I'm afraid I do. I like to
have my own way. Maybe you
know something about that your-
self, Bobbie. When I choose
a particular tree or place
for myself and family to live in,
I am going to have it if I have
to fight for it. I do chase the
other birds away then, to be
sure.
Oh, no, I don't always succeed.
Once I remember a Robin got
the better of me, so did a Cat-
bird, and another time a Balti-
more Oriole. Wlien I can't
whip a bird myself I generally
give a call and -a whole troop of
Sparrows will come to my aid.
My, how we do enjoy a fuss like
that!
A bully ? Well, yes, if by that
you mean I rule around my own
house, then I am a bully. My
mate has to do just as I say, and
the little Sparrows have to mind
their papa, too.
" Don't hurt the little darlings,
papa," says their mother, when it
comes time for them to fly, and
I hop about the nest, scolding
them at the top of my voice.
Then I scold her for daring to
talk -to me, and sometimes make
her fly away while I teach the
young ones a thing or two.
Once in a while a little fellow
among them will u talk back."
I don't mind that though, if he
is a Cock Sparrow and looks
like his papa.
No, we do not sing. We leave
that for the Song Sparrows. We
talk a great deal, though. In
the morning when we get up,
and at night when we go to bed
we chatter a great deal. Indeed
there are people shabby enough
to say that we are great nuis-
ances about that time.
206
From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.
ENGLISH SPARROW.
Life-size.
J
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. (Jo., 1897, Chicago.
THE ENGLISH SPARROW.
HE 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 worms and stayed
near the cities. With the change of
climate, however, came a change in
their taste for insects. They made
their home in the country as well as
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 observation
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 constantly wages upon our song
birds, destroying their young, and
substituting his unattractive looks and
inharmonious chirps for their beauti-
ful plumage and soul-inspiring songs.
Mrs. Olive Thome Miller in " Bird
Ways " gives a fascinating picture of
the wooing of a pair of Sparrows in a
maple tree, within sight of her city
window, their setting up house-keep-
ing, domestic quarrel, separation, and
the bringing home, immediately after,
of a new bride by the Cock Sparrow.
She knows him to be a domestic
tryant, a bully in fact, self-willed and
violent, holding out, whatever the
cause of disagreement, till he gets his
own will ; that the voices of the females
are less harsh than the males', the
chatter among themselves being quite
soft, as is their " baby-talk " to the
young brood.
That they delight in a mob we all
know ; whether a domestic skirmish or
danger to a nest, how they will all
congregate,chirping, pecking, scolding,
and often fighting in a fierce yet amus-
ing way ! One cannot read these
chapters of Mrs. Miller's without agree-
ing with Whittier :
" Then, smiling to myself, I said,
How like are men and birds ! "
Although a hardy bird, braving the
snow and frost of winter, it likes a
warm bed, to which it may retire after
the toils of the day. To this end its
resting place, as well as its nest, is
always stuffed with downy feathers.
Tramp, Hoodlum, Gamin, Rat of the
Air ! Notwithstanding these more or
less deserved names, however, one can-
not view a number of homeless Spar-
rows, presumably the last brood, seek-
ing shelter in any corner or crevice
from a winter's storm, without a feel-
ing of deep compassion. The supports
of a porch last winter made but a cold
roosting place for three such wanderers
within sight of our study window, and
never did we behold them, 'mid a
storm of sleet and rain, huddle down
in their cold, ill-protected beds, with-
out resolving another winter should
see a home prepared for them.
209
ALLEN'S HUMMING BIRD.
HE Humming birds, with their
varied beauties, constitute
the most remarkable feature
of the bird-life of America.
They have absolutely no representa-
tives in any other part of the world,
the Swifts being the nearest relatives
they have in other countries. Mr.
Forbes says that they abound most in
mountainous countries, where the sur-
face and productions of the soil are
most diversified within small areas.
They frequent both open and rare and
inaccessible places, and are often
found on the snowy peaks of Chim-
borazo as high as 16,000 feet, and in
the very lowest- valleys in the primeval
forests of Brazil, the vast palm-covered
districts of the deltas of the Amazon
and Orinoco, the fertile flats and
savannahs of Demarara, the luxuri-
ous and beautiful region of Xalapa,
(the realm of perpetual sunshine), and
other parts of Mexico. Many of the
highest cones of extinct aiid existing
volcanoes have also furnished great
numbers of rare species.
These birds are found as small as
a bumble bee and as large as a Spar-
row. TJie smallest is from Jamaica,
the largest from Patagonia.
Allen's Hummer is found on the
Pacific coast, north to British Colum-
bia, east to southern Arizona.
Mr. Langille, in " Our Birds in their
Haunts," beautifully describes their
flights and manner of feeding. He
says "There are many birds the flight
of which is so rapid that the strokes of
their wings cannot be counted, but here
is a species with such nerve of wing
that its wing strokes cannot be seen.
'A hazy semi-circle of indistinctness on
each side of the bird is all that is
perceptible.' Poised in the air, his
body nearly perpendicular, he seems to
hang in front of the flowers which he
probes so hurriedly, one after the other,
with his long, slender bill. That long,
tubular, fork-shaped tongue may be
sucking up the nectar from those rather
small cylindrical blossoms, or it may
be capturing tiny insects housed away
there. Much more like a large sphynx
moth hovering and humming over
the flowers in the dusky twilight, than
like a bird, appears this delicate, fairy-
like beauty. How the bright green of
the body gleams and glistens in the
sunlight. Each imperceptible stroke
of those tiny wings conforms to the
mechanical laws of flight in all their
subtle complications with an ease and
gracefulness that seems spiritual. Who
can fail to note that fine adjustment of
the organs of flight to aerial elasticity
and gravitation, by which that astonish-
ing bit of nervous energy can rise and
fall almost on the perpendicular, dart
from side to side, as if by magic, or,
assuming the horizontal position, pass
out of sight like a shooting star ? Is it
not impossible to conceive of all this
being done by that rational calculation'
which enables the rower to row, or the
sailor to sail his boat ? "
" What heavenly tints in mingling radiance
fly,
Each rapid movement gives a different dye ;
Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling
show,
Now sink to shade, now like a furnace glow."
2IO
From col. F. M. Woodruff.
ALLENS HUMMING- BIRD.
Life-size.
Copyrighted hy
Nature Study i'ub. Co., 1897. Chicago.
THE GREEN-WINGED TEAL,
Just a common Duck ?
No, I'm not There is only one
other Duck handsomer than I am, and
he is called the Wood Duck. You
have heard something about him
before. I am a much smaller Duck,
but size doesn't count much, I find
when it comes to getting on in the
world in our world, that is. I have
seen a Sparrow worry a bird four times
its size, and I expect you have seen a
little boy do the same with a big boy
many a time.
What is the reason I'm not a com-
mon Duck ?
Well, in the first place, I don't wad-
dle. I can walk just as gracefully as I
can swim. Your barn-yard Duck
can't do that. I can run, too, without
getting all tangled up in the grass, and
he can't do that, either. But some-
times I don't mind associating with
the common Duck. If he lives in a
nice big barn -yard, that has a good
pond, and is fed with plenty of grain,
I visit him quite often.
Where do I generally live ?
Well, along the edges of shallow,
grassy waters, where I feed upon
grass, seeds, acorns, grapes, berries, as
well as insects, worms, and small snails.
I walk quite a distance from the water
to get these things, too.
Can I fly ?
Indeed I can, and very swiftly. You
can see I am no common Duck when
I can swim, and walk, and fly. You
can't do the last, though you can the
first two.
Good to eat ?
Well, yes, they say .when I feed on
rice and wild oats I am perfectly
delicious. Some birds were, you see,
born to sing, and flit about in the
trees, and look beautiful, while some
were born to have their feathers taken
off, and be roasted, and to look fine
in a big dish on the table. The
Teal Duck is one of those birds. You
see we are useful as well as pretty.
We don't mind it much if you eat us
and say, " what a fine bird ! " but
when you call us " tough, " that hurts
our feelings.
Good for Christmas ?
Oh, yes, or any other time when
you can catch us ! We fly so fast that
that it is not easy to do ; and can dive
under the water, too, when wounded.
Something about our nests ?
Oh, they are built upon the ground,
in a dry tuft of grass and weeds and
lined with feathers. My mate often
plucks the feathers from her own
breast to line it. Sometimes she lays
ten eggs, indeed once she laid sixteen.
Such a family of Ducklings as we
had that year ! You should have seen
them swimming after their mother,
and all crying, Quack, quack, quack f
like babies as they were.
213
THE GREEN-WINGED TEAL.
HANDSOME little Duck
indeed is this, well known
to sportsmen, and very
abundant throughout
North America. It is
migratory in its habits, and nests from
Minnesota and New Brunswick north-
ward, returning southward in winter
to Central America and Cuba.
The green wing is commonly found
in small flocks along the edges of
shallow, grassy waters, feeding largely
upon seeds of grasses, small acorns,
fallen grapes or berries, as well as
aquatic insects, worms, and small snails.
In their search for acorns these ducks
are often found quite a distance from
the water, in exposed situations feeding
largely in the night, resting during
the day upon bogs or small bare spots,
closely surrounded and hidden by
reeds and grasses.
On land this Duck moves with more
ease and grace than any other of its
species except the Wood Duck, and it
can run with considerable speed. In
the water also it moves with great
ease and rapidity-, and on the wing it
is one of the swiftest of its tribe. From
the water it rises with a single spring
and so swiftly that it can be struck
only by a very expert marksman ;
when wounded it dives readily.
As the Teal is more particular in
the selection of its food than are most
Ducks, its flesh, in consequence, is very
delicious. Audubon says that when
this bird has fed on wild oats at Green
Bay, or soaked rice in the fields of
Georgia or Carolina, it is much supe-
rior to the Canvas back in tenderness,
juiciness, and flavor.
G. Arnold, in the Nidologist^ says
while traveling through the northwest
he was surprised to see the number of
Ducks and other wild fowl in close
proximity to the railway tracks. He
found a number of Teal nests with-
in four feet of the rails of the Canad-
ian Pacific in Manitoba. The warm,
sun-exposed banks along the railway
tracks, shrouded and covered with
thick grass, afford a very fair pro-
tection for the nests and eggs from
water and marauders of every kind.
As the section men seldom disturbed
them not being collectors the birds
soon learned to trust them and would
sit on their nests by the hour while the
men worked within a few feet of them.
The green-winged Teal is essentially
a fresh -water bird, rarely being met with
near the sea. Its migrations are over
the land and not along the sea shore.
It has been seen to associate with the
Ducks in a farmer's yard or pond and
to come into the barnyard with tame
fowls and share the corn thrown out
for food.
The nests of the Teal are built upon
the ground, generally in dry tufts of
grass and often quite a distance from
the water. They are made of grass,
and weeds, etc., and lined with down.
In Colorado under a sage brush, a nest
was found which had been scooped in
the sand and lined warmly with down
evidently taken from the bird's own
breast, which was plucked nearly bare.
This nest contained ten eggs.
The number of eggs, of a pale buft
color, is usually from eight to twelve,
though frequently sixteen or eighteen
have been found. It is far more pro-
lific than any of the Ducks resorting
to Hudson's Bay, and Mr. Hearn says
he has seen -the old ones swimming at
the head of seventeen young when the
latter were not much larger than wal-
nuts.
In autumn the males usually keep
in separate flocks from the females
and young. Their notes are faint and
piping and their wings make a loud
whistling during flight.
214
THE BLACK GROUSE,
Alone on English moor's I've seen the Black Cock stray,
Sounding his earnest love-note on the air.
ANON.
ELL known as the Black
Cock is supposed to be,
, we fancy few of our read-
ers have ever seen a spec-
imen. It is a native of the more
southern countries of Europe, and still
survives in many portions of the British
Islands, especially those localities
where the pine woods and heaths afford
it shelter, and it is not driven away by
the presence of human habitation.
The male bird is known to resort at
the beginning of the nesting season to
some open spot, where he utters his
love calls, and displays his new dress
to the greatest advantage, for the pur-
pose of attracting as many females as
may be willing to consort with him.
His note when thus engaged is loud
and resonant, and can be heard at a
considerable distance. This crowing
sound is accompanied by a harsh,
grating, stridulous kind of cry which
has been compared to the noise pro-
duced by whetting a scythe. The
Black Cock does not pair, but leaves
his numerous mates to the duties of
maternity and follows his own desires
while they prepare their nests, lay
their eggs, hatch them, and bring up
the young. The mother bird, how-
ever, is a fond, watchful parent, and
when she has been alarmed by man or
a prowling beast, has been known to
remove her eggs to some other locality,
where she thinks they will not be
discovered.
The nest is carelessly made of grasses
and stout herbage, on the ground,
under the shelter of grass and bushes.
There are from six to ten eggs of yel-
lowish gray, with spots of light
brown. The young are fed first upon
insects, and afterwards on berries,
grain, and the buds and shoots of trees.
The Black Grouse is a wild and
wary creature. The old male which
has survived a season 01 two is particu-
larly shy and crafty, distrusting both
man and dog, and running away as
soon as he is made aware of approach-
ing danger.
In the autumn the young males
separate themselves from the other sex
and form a number of little bachelor
establishments of their own, living
togetherinharmony until the next nest-
ing season, when they all begin to fall
in love ; " the apple of discord is
thrown among them by the charms of
the hitherto repudiated sex, and their
rivalries lead them into determined
and continual battles, which do not
cease until the end of the season
restores them to peace and sobriety."
The coloring of the female is quite
different from that of the male Grouse.
Her general color is brown, with a
tinge of orange, barred with black and
speckled with the same hue, the spots
and bars being larger on the breast,
back, and wings, and the feathers on
the breast more or less edged with
white. The total length of the adult
male is about twenty-two inches, and
that of the female from seventeen to
eighteen inches. She also weighs
nearly one-third less than her mate,
and is popularly termed the Heath
Hen.
217
THE AMERICAN FLAMINGO.
3T
I
"N this interesting family of birds
are included seven species, dis-
tributed throughout the tropics.
Five species are American, of
which one reaches our southern
border in Florida. Chapman says
that they are gregarious at all seasons,
are rarely found far from the seacoasts,
and their favorite resorts are shallow
bays or vast mud flats which are
flooded at high water. In feeding the
bill is pressed downward into the
mud, its peculiar shape making the
point turn upward. The ridges along
its sides serve as strainers through
which are forced the sand and mud
taken in with the food.
The Flamingo is resident in the
United States only in the vicinity
of Cape Sable, Florida, where flocks
of sometimes a thousand of these
rosy vermillion creatures are seen.
A wonderful sight indeed. Mr. D.
P. Ingraham spent more or less
of his time for four seasons in the
West Indies among them. He states
that the birds inhabit the shallow
lagoons and bays having soft clayey
bottoms. On the border of these the
nest is made by working the clay up
into a mound which, in the first
season is perhaps not more than a foot
high and about eight inches in
diameter at the top and fifteen inches
at the base. If the birds are unmo-
lested they will return to the same
nesting place from year to year, each
season augmenting the nest by the
addition of mud at the top, leaving a
slight depression for the eggs. He
speaks of visiting the nesting grounds
where the birds had nested the previous
year and their mound-like nests were
still standing. The birds nest in June.
The number of eggs is usually two,
sometimes only one and rarely three.
When three are found in a nest it is
generally believed that the third has
been laid by another female.
The stature of this remarkable bird
is nearly five feet, and it weighs in the
flesh six or eight pounds. On the
nest the birds sit with their long legs
doubled under them. The old story
of the Flamingo bestriding its nest
in an ungainly attitude while sitting
is an absurd fiction.
The eggs are elongate-ovate in shape,
with a thick shell, roughened with a
white flakey substance, but bluish
when this is scraped off. It requires
thirty-two days for the eggs to hatch.
The very fine specimen we present
in BIRDS represents the Flamingo
feeding, the upper surface of the
unique bill, which is abruptly bent in
the middle, facing the ground.
218
THE BIRDS OF BETHLEHEM.
I.
I heard the bells of Bethlehem ring
Their voice was sweeter than the priests';
I heard the birds of Bethlehem sing
Unbidden in the churchly feasts.
II.
They clung and swung on the swinging chain
High in the dim and incensed air:
The priest, with repetitions vain,
Chanted a never ending prayer.
III.
So bell and bird and priest I heard,
But voice of bird was most to me
It had no ritual, no word,
And yet it sounded true and free.
IV.
I thought child Jesus, were he there,
Would like the singing birds the best,
And clutch his little hands in air
And smile upon his mother's breast.
R. W. GiLDER, in The Century.
223
THE BIRD'S STORY.
1 1 once lived in a little house,
And lived there very well ;
I thought the world was small and round,
And made of pale blue shell.
I lived next in a little nest, * '
Nor needed any other ;
I thought the world was made of straw,
And brooded by my mother.
One day I fluttered from the nest
To see what I could find.
I said : l The world is made of leaves,
I have been very blind.'
At length I flew beyond the tree,
Quite fit for grown-up labors ;
I don't know how the world is made,
And neither do my neighbors."
224
> u
From col. F. M Woodruff.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago
THE VERDIN.
DAINTY little creature
indeed is the Yellow-headed
Bush Tit, or Verdin, being
smaller than the (largest
North American Hum-
ming Bird, which inhabits southern
Arizona and southward. It is a com-
mon bird in suitable localities through-
out the arid regions of Northern
Mexico, the southern portions of Texas,
Arizona, New Mexico, and in Lower
California. In spite of its diminutive
size it builds a remarkable structure
for a nest large and bulky, and a
marvel of bird architecture. Davie
says it is comparatively easy to find,
being built near the ends of the
branches of some low, thorny tree or
shrub, and in the numerous varieties
t
of cacti and thorny bushes which grow
in the regions of its home.
The nest is globular, flask-shaped or
retort shape in form, the outside being
one mass of thorny twigs and stems
interwoven, while the middle is com-
posed of flower-stems and the lining is
of feathers. The entrance is a small
circular opening. Mr. Atwater says
that the birds occupy the nests during
the winter months. They are gener-
ally found nesting in the high, dry
parts of the country, away from tall
timber, where the thorns are the
thickest. From three to six eggs are
laid, of a bluish or greenish-white or
pale blue, speckled, chiefly round the
larger end, with reddish brown.
" The woods were made for the hunters of dreams,
The brooks for the fishers of song.
To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game
The woods and the streams belong.
There are thoughts that moan from the soul of the pine,
And thoughts in the flower-bell curled,
And the thoughts that are blown from the scent of the fern
Are as new and as old as the world."
227
THE BRONZED CRACKLE.
You can call me the Crow
Blackbird, little folks, if you
want to. People generally call
me by that name.
I look something like the Crow
in the March number of BIRDS,
don't I ? My dress is hand-
somer than his, though. Indeed
I am said to be a splendid look-
ing bird, my bronze coat show-
ing very finely in the trees.
The Crow said Caw, Caw,
Caw ! to the little boys and
girls. That was his way of
talking. My voice is not so
harsh as his. I have a note
which some people think is
quite sweet ; then my throat
gets rusty and I have some
trouble in finishing my tune. I
puff out my feathers, spread my
wifigs and tail, then lifting
myself on 1 the perch force out
the other notes of my song.
Maybe you have seen a singer
on the stage, instead of a perch,
do the same thing. Had to get
on his tip-toes to reach a high
note, you know.
Like the Crow I visit the corn-
fields, too. In the spring when
the man with the plow turns
over the rich earth, I follow
after and pick up all the grubs
and insects I can find. They
would destroy the young corn
if I didn't eat them. Then,
when the corn grows up, I, my
sisters, and my cousins, and my
aunts drop down into the field in
great numbers. Such a picnic
as we do have ! The farmers
don't seem to like it, but cer-
tainly they ought to pay us for
our work in the spring, don't
you think ? Then I think
worms as a steady diet are not
good for anybody, not even a
Crow, do you ?
We like nuts, too, and little
crayfish which we find on the
edges of ponds. No little boy
among you can beat us in going
a-nutting.
We Grackles are a very
sociable family, and like to visit
about among our neighbors.
Then we hold meetings and all
of us try to talk at once. People
say we are very noisy at such
times, and complain a good deal.
They ought to think of their
own meetings. They do a great
deal of talking at such times, too,
and sometimes break up in a fight.
How do I know? Well, a Lit-
tle bird told me so.
Yes, we build our nest as other
birds do ; ours is not a dainty
.affair ; any sort of trash mixed
with mud will do for the out-
side. The inside we line with
fine dry grass. 'My mate does
most of the work, while I do the
talking. That is to let the
Robin and other birds know I
am at home, and they better not
come around.
Yours,
MR. BRONZED GRACKLE.
228
THE BRONZED CRACKLE.
First come the Blackbirds clatt'rin in tall trees,
And settlin' things in windy congresses,
Queer politicians though, for I'll be skinned
If all on 'em don't head against the wind.
LOWELL.
Y the more familiar name
of Crow Blackbird this
fine but unpopular bird is
known, unpopular among
the fanners for his depre-
dations in their cornfields, though the
good he does in ridding the soil, even
at the harvest season, of noxious
insects and grubs should be set down
to his credit.
The Bronzed Grackle or Western
Crow Blackbird, is a common species
everywhere in its range, from the
Alleghanies and New England north
to Hudson Bay, and west to the Rocky
Mountains. It begins nesting in fav-
orable seasons as early as the middle
of March, and by the latter part of
April many of the nests are finished.
It nests anywhere in trees or bushes
or boughs, or in hollow limbs or
stumps at any height. A clump of
evergreen trees in a lonely spot is a
favorite site, in sycamore groves along
streams, and in oak woodlands. It is
by no means unusual to see in the
same tree several nests, some saddled
on horizontal branches, others built in
large forks, and others again in holes,
either natural or those made by the
Flicker. A long list of nesting sites
might be given, including Martin-
houses, the sides of Fish Hawk's nests,
and in church spires, where the Black-
birds' " clatterin' '' is drowned by the
tolling bell.
The nest is a coarse, bulky affair,
composed of grasses, knotty roots
mixed with mud, and lined with fine
dry grass, horse hair, or sheep's wool.
The eggs are light greenish or smoky
blue, with irregular lines, dots and
blotches distributed over the surface.
The eggs average four to six, though
nests have been found containing seven.
The Bronze Grackle is a bird of
many accomplishments. He does not
hop like the ordinary bird, but
imitates the Crow in his stately walk,
says one who has watched him with
interest. He can pick beech nuts,
catch cray fish without getting nipped,
and fish for minnows alongside of any
ten - year* old. While he is flying
straight ahead you do not notice any-
thing unusual, but as soon as he turns
or wants to alight you see his tail
change from the horizontal to the
vertical into a rudder. Hence he is
called keel-tailed.
The Grackle is as omnivorous as the
Crow or Blue Jay, without their sense
of humor, and whenever opportunity
offers will attack and eat smaller birds,
especially the defenseless young. His
own meet with the like fate, a fox
squirrel having been seen to emerge
from a hole in a large dead tree with
a young Blackbird in its mouth. The
Squirrel was attacked by a number
of Blackbirds, who were greatly
excited, but it paid no attention to
their demonstrations and scampered
off into the wood with his prey. Of
their quarrels with Robins and other
birds much might be written. Those
who wish to investigate their remark-
able habits will do well to read the acute
and elaborate observations of Mr.
Lyndes Jones, in a recent Bulletin of
Oberlin College. He has studied for
several seasons the remarkable Bronze
Grackle roost on the college campus
at that place, where thousands of these
birds congregate from year to year,
and, though more or less offensive to
some of the inhabitants, add consid-
erably to the attractiveness of the
university town.
231
THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.
E are fortunate in being
able to present our readers
with a genuine specimen
of the Ring-Necked spec-
ies of this remarkable family of birds,
as the Ring-Neck has been crossed
with the Mongolian to such an extent,
especially in many parts of the United
States, that they are practically the
same bird now. They are gradually
taking the place of Prairie Chickens,
which are becoming extinct The
hen will hatch but once each year, and
then in the late spring. She will
hatch a covey of from eighteen to
twenty-two young birds from each set-
ting. The bird likes a more open
country than the quail, and nests only
in the open fields, although it will
spend much time roaming through
timberland. Their disposition is much
like that of the quail, and at the first
sign of danger they will rush into hid-
ing. They are handy and swift flyers
and runners. In the western states
they will take the place of the Prairie
Chicken, and in Ohio will succeed the
Quail and common Pheasant.
While they are hardy birds, it is said
that the raising of Mongolian-English
Ring-Necked Pheasants is no easy
task. The hens do not make
regular nests, but lay their eggs on the
ground of the coops, where they are
picked up and placed in a patent box,
which turns the eggs over daily.
After the breeding season the male
birds are turned into large parks until
February.
The experiment which is now being
made in Ohio if it can be properly so
termed, thousands of birds having been
liberated and begun to increase has
excited wide-spread interest. A few
years ago the Ohio Fish and Game
Commission, after hearing of the great
success of Judge Denny, of Portland,
Oregon, in rearing these birds in that
state, decided it would be time and
money well spent if they should devote
their attention and an "appropriation"
to breeding and rearing these attractive
game birds. And the citizens of that
state are taking proper measures to see
that they are protected. Recently
more than two thousand Pheasants
were shipped to various counties of the
state, where the natural conditions are
favorable, and where the commission
has the assurance that the public will
organize for the purpose of protecting
the Pheasants. A law has been enacted
forbidding the killing of the birds
until November 15, 1900. Two hun-
dred pairs liberated last year increased
to over two thousand. When not
molested the increase is rapid. If the
same degree of success is met with
between now and 1900, with the strict
enforcement of the game laws, Ohio
will be well stocked with Pheasants in
a few years. They will prove a great
benefit to the farmers, and will more
than recompense them for the little
grain they may take from the fields in
destroying bugs and insects that are
now agents of destruction to the grow-
ing crops.
The first birds were secured by Mr.
E. H. Shorb, of Van Wert, Ohio, from
Mr. Verner De Guise, of Rahway, N. J.
A pair of Mongolian Pheasants, and a
pair of English Ring-Necks were
secured from the Wyandache Club,
Smithtown, L,. I. These birds were
crossed, thus producing the English
Ring - Neck Mongolian Pheasants,
which are larger and better birds, and
by introducing the old English Ring-
Neck blood, a bird was produced that
does not wander, as the thoroughbred
Mongolian Pheasant does.
Such of our readers as appreciate
the beauty jand quality of this superb
specimen will no doubt wish to have
it framed for the embellishment of the
dining room.
232
BIRD MISCELLANY.
Knowledge never learned of schools
Of the wild bee's morning chase,
Of the wild-flowers' time and place,
Flight of fowl and habitude
Of the tenants of the wood ;
How the tortoise bears his shell ;
How the woodchuck digs his cell
And the ground-mole makes his well ;
How the robin feeds her young ;
How the oriole's nest is hung.
WHITTIER.
Consider the marvellous life of a bird and the manner of its whole
existence. . . . Consider the powers of that little mind of which the inner light
flashes from the round bright eye ; the skill in building its home, in finding its
food, in protecting its mate, in serving its offspring, in preserving its own
existence, surrounded as it is on all sides by the most rapacious enemies. . . .
When left alone it is such a lovely little life cradled among the hawthorn
buds, searching for aphidae amongst apple blossoms, drinking dew from the
cup of a lily ; awake when the gray light breaks in the east, throned on the
topmost branch of a tree, swinging with it in the sunshine, flying from it
through the air ; then the friendly quarrel with a neighbor over a worm or
berry ; the joy of bearing grass-seed to his mate where she sits low down amongst
the docks and daisies; the triumph of singing the praise of sunshine or of moon-
light ; the merry, busy, useful days ; the peaceful sleep, steeped in the scent of
the closed flower, with head under one wing and the leaves forming a green
roof above.
OUIDA.
235
THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.
I am often heard, but seldom
seen. If I were a little boy or a
little girl, grown people would
me I tell should be seen and not
heard. That's the difference
between you and a bird like me,
you see.
It would repay you to make
my acquaintance. I am such a
jolly bird. Sometimes- 1 get all
the dogs in my neighborhood
howling by whistling just like
their masters. Another time I
mew like a cat, then again I give
some soft sweet notes different
from those of any bird you ever
heard.
In the spring, when my mate
and I begin housekeeping, I do
some very funny things, like the
clown in a circus. I feel so
happy that I go up a tree branch
by branch, by short flights and
jumps, till I get to the very top.
Then I launch myself in the air,
as a boy dives when he goes
swimming, and you would laugh
to see me flirting my tail, and
dangling my legs, coming down
into the thicket by odd jerks and
motions.
It really is so funny that I
burst out laughing myself, say-
ing, chatter-chatter, chat-chat-chat-
chat! I change my tune some-
times, and it sounds like who
who, and tea-boy.
You must be cautious though,
if you want to see me go through
my performance. Even when I
am doing those funny things in
the air I have an eye out for
my enemies. Should I see you
I would hide myself in the
bushes and as long as you were
in sight I would be angry and
say chut, chut! as cross as
could be.
Have I any other name ?
Yes, I am called the Yellow
Mockingbird. But that name
belongs to another. His picture
was in the June number of BIRDS,
so you know something about
him. They say I imitate other
birds as he does. But I do
more than that. I can throw my
voice in one place, while I arn in
another.
It is a great trick, and I get
lots of sport out of it.
Do you know what that trick
is called ? If not ask your
papa. It is such a long word I
am afraid to use it.
About my nest ?
Oh, yes, I am coming to that.
I arrive in this country about
May 1, and leave for the south
in the winter. My nest is noth-
ing to boast of ; rather big, made
of leaves, bark, and dead twigs,
and lined with fine grasses and
fibrous roots. My mate lays
eggs, white in color, and our
little ones are, like their papa,
very handsome.
236
From col. F. M. Woodruff. YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.
CHICAGO COLORTYPE CO. y^ Life-Size.
Copyrighted by
Nature Study Tub. Co., 1SM7, Chicago.
THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.
COMMON name for this
bird, the largest of the warb-
lers, is the Yellow Mocking-
bird. It is found in the
eastern United States,
north to the Connecticut Valley and
Great Lakes ; west to the border of the
Great Plains ; and in winter in eastern
Mexico and Guatemala. It frequents
the borders of thickets, briar patches,
or wherever there is a low, dense
growth of bushes the thornier and
more impenetrable the better.
"After an acquaintance of many
years," says Frank M. Chapman, "I
frankly confess that the character of
the Yellow -Crested Chat is a mystery
to me. While listening to his strange
medley and watching his peculiar
actions, we are certainly justified in
calling him eccentric, but that there
is a method in his madness no one who
studies him can doubt."
By many observers this bird is
dubbed clown or harlequin, so peculiar
are his antics or somersaults in the air;
and by others "mischief maker,"
because of his ventriloquistic and
imitating powers, and the variety of his
notes. In the latter direction he is
surpassed only by the Mockingbird.
The mewing of a cat, the barking of
a dog, and the whistling sound pro-
duced by a Duck's wings when flying,
though much louder, are common
imitations with him. The last can
be perfectly imitated by a good
whistler, bringing the bird instantly to
the spot, where he will dodge in and
out among the bushes, uttering, if the
whistling be repeated, a deep toned
emphatic tac, or hollow, resonant
meow.
In the mating season he is the nois-
iest bird in the woods. At this time
he may be observed in his wonderful
aerial evolutions, dangling his legs
and flirting his tail, singing vocifer-
ously the while a sweet song differ-
ent from all his jests and jeers and
descending by odd jerks to the thicket.
After a few weeks he abandons these
clown-like maneuvers and becomes a
shy, suspicious haunter of the depths
of the thicket, contenting himself in
taunting, teasing, and misleading, by
his variety of calls, any bird, beast, or
human creature within hearing.
All these notes are uttered with
vehemence, and with such strange and
various modulations as to appear near
or distant, in the manner of a ventril-
oquist. In mild weather, during
moonlight nights, his notes are heard
regularly, as though the performer
were disputing with the echoes of his
own voice.
" Perhaps I ought to be ashamed to
confess it," says Mr. Bradford Torrey,
after a visit to the Senate and House
of Representatives at Washington,
" but after all, the congressman in
feathers interested me most. I thought
indeed, that the Chat might well
enough have been elected to the lower
house. His volubility and waggish
manners would have made him quite
at home in that assembly, while his
orange colored waistcoat would have
given him an agreeable conspicuity.
But, to be sure, he would have needed
to learn the use of tobacco."
The nest of the Chat is built in a
thicket, usually in a thorny bush or
thick vine five feet above the ground.
It is bulky, composed exteriorly of dry
leaves, strips of loose grape vine bark,
and similar materials, and lined with
fine grasses and fibrous roots. The
eggs are three to five in number, glossy
white, thickly spotted with various
shades of rich, reddish brown and
lilac ; some specimens however have
a greenish tinge, and others a pale
pink.
239
SUMMARY.
Page 203.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. Sialia arctica.
Other names: "Rocky Mountain" and
"Arctic Bluebird."
RANGE Rocky Mountain region, north to
Great Slave Lake, south to Mexico, west to the
higher mountain ranges along the Pacific.
NEST Placed in deserted Woodpecker holes,
natural cavities of trees, nooks and corners of
barns and outhouses ; composed of dry grass.
EGGS Commonly five, of pale, plain greenish
blue.
Page 208.
ENGLISH SPARROW. Passer domesticus.
Other names: "European Sparrow," "House
Sparrow."
RANGE Southern Europe. Introduced into
and naturalized in North America, Australia,
and other countries.
NEST Of straw and refuse generally, in
holes, boxes, trees, any place that will afford
protection.
EGGS Five to seven.
Page 211.
ALLEN'S HUMMING BIRD. Selasphorus
alleni.
RANGE Pacific coast, north to British Colum-
bia, east to southern Arizona.
NEST Plant down, covered with lichens.
EGGS Two, white.
Page 215.
GREEN-WINGED TEAL. Anas caroli-
nensis.
RANGE North America, migrating south to
Honduras and Cuba.
NEST On the ground, in a thick growth
of grass.
EGGS Five to eight, greenish-buff, usually
oval.
Page 220.
BLACK GROUSE. Tetrao tetrix. Other
name: " Black Cock. "
RANGE Southern Europe and the British
Islands.
NEST Carelessly made, of grasses and stout
herbage, on the ground.
EGGS Six to ten, of yellowish gray, with
spots of light brown.
Page 221.
AMERICAN FLAMINGO. Phcenicopterus
ruber.
RANGE. Atlantic coasts of sub-tropical and
tropical America ; Florida Keys.
NEST Mass of earth , sticks, and other
material scooped up to the height of several feet
and hollow at the top.
EGGS. One or two, elongate-ovate in shape,
with thick shell, roughened with a white flakey
substance, but bluis'i when this is scraped off.
Page 226.
VERDIN. Auriparus flaviceps. Other
name : ' ' Yellow-headed Bush Tit. ' '
RANGE Northern regions of Mexico and
contiguous portions of the United States, from
southern Texas to Arizona and Lower California.
NEST Globular, the outside being one mass
of thorny twigs and stems interwoven, and
lined with feathers.
EGGS Three to six, of a bluish or greenish
white color, speckled with reddish brown.
Page 230.
BRONZED GRACKLE. Quiscalus quiscula
ceneus.
RANGE Eastern North America from the
Alleghanies and New England north to Hudson
Bay, west to the Rocky Mountains.
NEST In sycamore trees and oak woodlands
a coarse bulky structure of grasses, knotty roots,
mixed with mud, lined with horse hair or wool.
EGGS Four to six, of a light greenish or
smoky-blue, with lines, dots, blotches and
scrawls on the surface.
Page 233.
RING-NECKED PHEASANT. Phasianus
torquatus.
RANGE Throughout China ; have been
introduced into England and the United States.
NEST On the ground under bushes.
EGGS Vary, from thirteen to twenty.
Page 238.
YELLOW - BREASTED CHAT. Ideria
virens.
RANGE Eastern United States to the Great
Plains, north to Ontario and southern New
England ; south in winter through eastern
Mexico to Northern Central America.
NEST In briar thickets from two to five feet
up, of withered leaves, dry grasses, strips of'
bark, lined with finer grasses.
EGGS Three or four, white, with a glossy
surface.
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