How to tell the birds from the flowers and other Woodcuts. A rev. manual of flornithology for beginners

MOW TO JELL

THE BIRDS
FROM THE FLOWERS

And Other
Woodcuts

ROBERT

WILLIAMS

WOOD

ffi

^ INFERENCE

1^31663***

To 111 T

T

(TO@°

A Revised Manual oj Flornithology .Jor

Beginners.

verses and Illustrations

By Robert Williams Wood.

Published by

Dodd, Mead and Company

New York

Copyright 1917

By

Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc.

.iA -.A ijL IvlliiL. li/K y/U ll. I Jilll.il/W/fc. /»..!«

26th Edition

PROPERTY OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK

F928553

By other Nature books lin sure ,

you've often been misled ,
you've tried a wall-flower to secure.

Aid "picked a hen" instead :
you've wondered what the e§s-planfs

AM why the chestnut s burred ,
find i$ the hop-vine hops auiay ,

Its perfectly absurd.
I hence submit for your inspection ,

This verij new and choice collection ,
Of flowers on Storks, and Phlox of birds.

With some explanatory words.
Not even/ one is always able

To recognize a vegetable ,

Tor some are guided by tradition ,
While others use their intuition ,
And even I make no pretense
Of having more than common sense.
Indeed these strange homologies
Are in most $tornitholo§ies,
And I have Jreely drawn upon
The works of Gray and Audubon,
Avoiding though the frequent blunders
OJ those who stud]/ Nature's wonders.

The Burr. The Bird. 1. TheBtuler-Ml.The Buttercup. 16.

The Crow. The Crocus. 2. The Roc. The Shamrock. 17.

The Plover. The Clover. 3. A Sparrer. Asparagus. j&

Ole Gander. Oleander. 4. The Blue Mountain lonj. 19.

The Hen. The Lichen. 5. The Blue Horning Glory. 19.

The Pelican The Panicle 6. The Tern. The Turnip. 20.

The Pea . The Peuiee. 7. The Larks.The Larkspur 11.

The Parrot .The Carrot. 8 Cross Bill . Suieel William. 23.

The Hue . The Rooster. 9. The Ibis. The 'Ibiscus. 24

The Hawk.The Hollyhock. 10. The Pipe. The Snipe. 25.

The Pecan. TheToucan. n. The Bay . The Jay . 26,
The Cat-bird.The Cat-nip. 12. The Gent-ian.Thebdy-bird.27.

Tnepuail. The Kale, 13. Pujjin. Nujfin. IB.

The Auk. The Orchid. 14. Bee. Beet. Beetle. 29.
The Cow-bird. The Cowslip, is. TheBunmj.TheTunmj.

ThePuss.The Octopus. 31 The Pipe-jish.The Sea-$ar. 42.

TheEel.TheEelephanl. 32. The ElKThe WhelK *3.

TheM.TheTlieasant. 33. TheP-cock.Thep-cumber. 44.

The Hare .TheHarrier. 34-. me Sloe. The Slolli 45.
The Pen-suin.TheSu»ord-]is)i.35. The Coui.The Couiry . 46.

The Gnu.TheNeuit. 36. TheMelope.The Cantelope. 47.

The Haif . The Raven . 38. The Pansy .The Ctiiro-pansiJ.48.

The .flpe.The Crape 40. Naught. Nautilus. 4.9

The Doe . The Dodo 41.

Who is there luVio has never "heard,
About the Burdodt and the Bird ?
And yet houi very very jeiu ,
Discriminate betuieen thetiuo,
White even Mr.BurbanK carit.
Transform a Bird into a Plant .

1.

Some are unable , as _you Know,
To tell the Crocus jrom the Croat;
The reason why is just be-caius
They are not versed in Nature's laws.
The noisu caiuins Croius all come,
Obedient to the Cro'custom,
A lar^e Crom Caui-cus to convoKe.
you never hear the Crocus croaK !

The Plover and the Clover can be
told apart urith ease,
paying close attention to the
habits o$ the Bees,

lor En-to molo-sists aver, the Bee

can be in Cloven
While Ety-molovsisls concur,
there is no B in Plover.

Has
The Gander loves to promenade,

ground the farmers poultry yard,
While as tue see, the Oleander
Is quite unable to meander:
The Gardener tied it up indeed,
Fearinj that it mi$ht run to seed.

4.

Lichens, regardless of conventions,

£xist in only tiuo dimensions,
n iye restricted to a plane,
On rocks and stones a greenish stain,

They live upon the simplest fare,
~ drop of dew, a breath of air,

\ the greedy Hen,
.ess regimen,

Contrast them uiit
find her most care1

She shuns the barren stones and rocte,
thrives upon the garbage box.

5.

The Panicle and Pelican have

often been confused ,
The letters tuhich spell Pelican,

in Panicle are used,
ijou recosnize this flnasram ijoiill

never §o astray ,
Or maXe the careless blunder that

luas made by Mr. Gray.

6.

T.

To tell lYie Pewee from the Pea ,
Requires great per-spi-ca-city.
Here in the pod we see the Pea.
While perched ctose bij is the Pewee;
The Pea he hears the Pewee peep,
While Pewee sees the u/ee Pea xueep,
There'll be but little time to see ,
How Pewee differs from the Pea .

7.

The Parrot and the Carrot one way

easily confoum
They're very much alike in looKs

and simitar in sound,
Werecosnhe the Parrot by his

clear articulation,
For Carrots are unable to engage

in conversation.
8.

IF.

Tte

When ijouaiuaKe at halj-past-tuio,
Aid hear a "Cock-a-doodle-doo 7
No argument need then ensue,
It is the Rooster, not the Rue,
Which never thus disturbs our dreams,
With ruthless rude nocturnal screams.
We sleep less soundly than iue used ter
And love the Rue but rue the Rooster.

9.

To recognize this bird-o$-preij ,
The broodu hen ^jou should sun/eij:
She taKesher chicKs on daily uialKs,
/bnons the nei§hborins Hollyhocks,
While with the Haiuk association,
Is quite beyond her toleration.

10.

Very feuu can
Tell the Toucan
From the Pec an -
Here's a new plan:
TotaKe the Toucan from the tree,
Requires inwnense a-gil-i-tee,
While anyone can pick uiith ease
The Pecans from the Pecan trees.
It's such an easy thins to do,
That even the Toucan he can too.

11.

Tte

Tlh

The Cat-bird's call resembles that
Emitted bi) the Pussij Cat ,
While Cat- nip growing by the umtt,
Is never Known to caterwaul:
It's odor though attracts the Kits,
And fhrouis them in Cat-nip-tion

12.

,tt

The California Quail is said.
To have a tail upon his head,
While contrary -wise lue style the Kale,
A cabbase-head upon a tail.
It is not hard to tell the two,
The Juail commences uiilh a ()ueue.

We seldom meet,ujhen oat to malk,
Either the Orchid or the Auk.
The auiK-uiard AuK is only Known
To dwellers in the Auk-tic zone,
While Orchids can be found in lesions,
Within the equatorial regions.
So it by chance uou travel on
The Lena or the Arrva-zon ,
Be certain oj the tem-pera-ture
Or you mill make mistakes tfn sure.

14.

Tl

Although the Cowslips onthisj3lant,
Surest perhaps a ru-min-am,
One never sees the opening bud,
.Devour the srass or cheui its cud.
The Cotubird picture,! suspect,
Is absolutely incorrect;
We make such errors now and then,
f\ sort of COLU slip of the pen.

15.

B
B

Tl

The little Butter-cup can sins ,

From morn 'till nisht like amjtliins.
The ouacKins of the Butter- ball,
Cannot be called a sons at all.
We thus the f louier maij learn to hnoiu,
Its sons is reproduced belou/.

Jjlj Jl Jj

^

16.

r: -•>"

Although Itnever took much stock,
In Sinbad's yarn about the Roc,
.And re ally must confess I am
Inclined to think the Hoc a sham :
Take notice that , the 5ham-rock may
Be seen upon S? Patrick's day .

17.

^ f / '

Oj foe fall of Vhe Sparroiu we ojten have heard,
And I've here represented the jail of the bird:
In the case oj Asparagus though,! may mention,
A jail such as this, is quite out oj the question:
For observe that /Isparasus, jat and well jed,
Spends all of his time in the '.spawns bed.

18.

The Insects, to avoid surprise
By Birds, sometimes themselves disguise
J\s leaves and turiss, and thus escape
The appetizing Insects fate.
Observe how cleverly this Vine

Has forced its leaves and f lowers totuiine
Themselves into a Bird design.
And houj its artful turns ana Tuiists,
Hides it from zealous Botanists.

19.

T©F1

To tett the Turnip ^rom the Tern,
A thins luhich everyone should learn,
Observe the Tern up in the air,
See hovu he turns, and nouj compare
Htm with this in-ert ves-et-able,
Who thus to turn is quite unable,
For he is rooted to the spot,

20.

While as lue see,theTern is not:
He is not always doomed to be
Thus bound to earth e-terrj-aUy
For"coohed to a tern" may be inferred,
To chanse the Turnip to a bird.

-<r

mW&

„>» V, 1M A(V/y>!— -

r

f/

Observe the Turnip in the Pot.
The Tern is jgtad that he is not !

11.

TtelLi

you must not make ad-verse remarks,

About my drawing of the Larks.
For, by the minor poets lore
ThelarKs-per-peHially soar.
While Larkspurs, borderins garden uialHs,
Are perched securely on their stalks.

Z2.

Nobodij but an imbecile
Mistakes Smeet William for Cross Bill:
^nd even I can scarcely claim,
The skill to make them look the same.
Some other shrubs and vines and trees,
Express emotion much like these,
you've seen the mad-uiort plant Isu
And weeping millou/s and si^h-press,
The passion-ilou/er,atit's climax,
The slad-iolus and the smile-ax.

The sacred Ibis, one might sau ,
Was classified a"8ird-of-Pray"
His bodj.{, after death, mas dried,
embalmed in pitch, and mumnujjied,
And thus tuas handed doain to us
In some old King's sarcophagus.
The Malloui, srouiins in the boss,
('Ibiscus termed by peda^p^ues)
,Ismuch opposed to dessicalion,
J\nd bears no marks oj veneration.

24.

Tl

Obseri/e the hijbrid Indian Pipe,
Line wise the hi^h- bred Er^Ush Snipe,
Who is distin$uished,as we see,
By his superior pedigree.

Two CROsses botonntj
Bend sinister

S/»8le.

25.

The Blue Jay, as ute clearly see.
Is 50 much tike the s^een Bay tree
That one might say the only clue.
Lies in their di^-fer-ence of hue,
And if you have a color sense,
you'll see at once this difference.

26,

11

The reason why this beetle say ,
Is called the Lady-bird, they say,
Is just because he wastes his hours,
In running ajter pretty flowers,
Who, quite regardless of conventions,
Most openly invite attentions.

(And hence are aptly termed the Gent-ians)

27.

Upon this caKe of ice is perched.
The paddle-footed puftin:
To find his double 1 have searched.
But have discovered - Nuft in'.

28.

.'--,

rVA

•/•<

vSK IL xft

s\

TI

ali

Ti

Good Mr. Darwin once contended
That Beetles were from Bees descended,
flndasmy pictures show I think
The Beet must be the missins link.
The susar-beet and honey-bee
Supply the Beetles pedigree:
Thejamilu is noiu complete,—
The Bee,tne Beetle and trie Beet.

29.

R-W.VJ.

TteTas

The superficial naturalists haue

ojten been misled,
By jai\in3 ty discriminate between

tVie tail and head:
It reallij is unfortunate such

carelessness prevails,
Because the Bunnies have their
heads inhere Tunnies have their fails.

30. -

•jr. i». i

Tl

The Octopus or Cuttle-fish !

Im sure that none of us mould wish
To have him scuttle 'round the house,
LiKe Puss, u/hen she espies a mouse :
When you secure your house-hold pel ,
Be very sure you do not $et
The Octopus, or there may be
Domestic in- fetis - itu .

^/ .^— •^^— — ~ ^J

31.

The marked aversion which me jeel,

When in the presence of the Eel ,
.AYaKes many View with consternation,
The Elephanfs front, ele-vation.
Such folhj miLsl be clearly due
To their peculiar point of view.

32

Tl

The ant is known by his ant-ennae,

Where-as the pheas-ant hasht any,
And that is wiry he wears instead,
J\ small red cap upon his head:
Without his Fez, indeed the pheasant,
Would be quite bald and (juite un-pleasant.

33.

The Harrier, harassed by the Hare.
Presents a picture o£ despair;
Although as far as Im concerned,
I love to see the tables turned.
The Harrier JUes with all his might,
It is a haruni-scare'm flight:

I'm not surprised he does not care
To meet the fierce pursuing Hare.

"34.

(Ira

We have form any yeans been bored
By that old saw about the sword
And. pen, and now uie all rejoice , ;
To see how Nature made her choice :
She made, regardless of oftendirf,
The Suiord-jish mightier than the Penguin.

35.

The Gnu conspicuously wears.
His coat of snumerous bristling hairs,
While,as me see, the modest Newt
Of such a coat is destitute.
( Im only telling this to you ,
^nd it is strictly "entre §nu" )
In point o| fact the Netut Is nude,
/Ind therefore he does not obtrude,
But hides in some secluded §nook,
Beneath the surface of the brook.

36.

Its almost more than he can bear.

To issue slyly jrom his lair,

find snatch a hasty breath of air,
His need of which is absolute.
Be cause, you see, he is a pneu-t.*

* This tuordjOf air is emblematic ,
Greek ,"pneumos"- air- compare Pneumatic.

37.

Tl

TteBa

I always sin^ the hymn of hate,
When I perceive the Ray (or skate)
His usVy mouth I cant abide,
His eyes are on the oher side,
His features are all out of place
He hasrit even ani/ face.

I dp not mind the Haven, thoii5h
/lali^ned by Edgar Allan Poe :

38. ;^

his jun-er-ial array
We recognize him jrom the Bay,
Whose epiderrn is white as snow,
Not black as flight, like Mr Crow.

Though blacK , morose , and quite
unshaven
lin sure we all prefer the Raven .

39.

To .see "her .shape,
Invert the /{pe !

T

The Apes, from luhoni we are descended,
Hang ape-x down from trees suspended,
And since we jind them in the trees,
We term them arbor-issues.
This quite explains the monkey -shines
Cut up by those mho plucK jrom vines
The Grape, and then subject its juices,
To Bacchanalian abuses.

. N 40.

II

The Doe and her phonetic double,
No Ion5er are a source of trouble,
Because the Dodo, it appears,
Has been extinct for many years:
SJle was too haughty to embark,
With total stransers in Noah's ark,
And we rejoice because her pride,
Our nature book has simplified.

41.

o

I;

To smoke a herring is to make
h most I amen- table mistaKe,

Particularly since there are
The pipe-jtsh and the long Sea-^ar.

Bear this in mind oihen next you u/ish
To smoke your after- dinner |ish.

42.

TY) Tj^3

teE

A roar oj uielkome through the welkin.
Is certain proof you'll find the Elk in ;
But if you listen to the shell,
In uihich the Whelk Is said to dwell,
nd hear a roar, beyond a doubt
It indicates theWhelK is out.

43.

The striKins similaritj/ oj this

P-p-liar pair,

No longer need en-cumber us,
or Jill us uiith despair:
The P-Cock and the p-Cumber
JJOLL never need confus
you pay attention to the EyeS|
and mind i/our Ps and Q's.

44.

Tl

See what a fix the Sloth is in ,
He has been captured by the §in:
This gin is not the same gin though,
In uihich we sometimes find the oloe.
This shou/s hpiu careful one must be.
To treat the gin most gingerly .

45.

II

Ti

f(

TheCowrij seems to be,somehouj,
A sort of mouth- piece for the GOUJ:
A speaking likeness one might say,
Which I've endeavored to portray.

46.

you mill tap the Cantelope

reposing on the ground

It will not move, but just emit

a melon- choty sound
But \$ you try this method on
the altered antetope,
His departure mill convince you
that he is a nris-anthrope.

47.

Observe how Natures necromancies
Have dearly painted on the Pansies,
These almost human countenances,
In yellow, btue and black nu-ances.

The Jace however seems to me
To be that of the Chim-pan-zee;
R Jacl that makes the gentle Pansy,
Appeal no longer to my fancy.

48.

The Arso- naut or Nautilus ,
With habits quite adventurous,
A com- bin- a-t ion of a snail,
•fl jelly-fish and paper sail.
The parts of him that did riot jel
Are packed securely in his shel
It is not strange that uihen I sought
To find his double , I found Naught.

49.

I.