Birds : illustrated by color photography : a monthly serial ..

| ALLUSTRATED By ae

| Ber “ekg

STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO-

Entered at Chicago Post Office as Sécond Class Mat

| Sundourrenognas Obeice

December 26, 1896. a.

We E. Watt, President &e.,
Fisher Building,

277 Dearborn St., Chicago, Ill.
My dear sir:

“Please accept my thanks for a copy of the fiist

publication of "Birds." Please enter my name as a regular ag
= ; ov See rs aie
puneeniben. It is one of the most beautiful and interesting — \

publications yet At temp yey in this ‘direction. es Bee bir ae
attractions in addition to ate beauty; con it must win teem .
ay to popular favor.

Wishing the handsome little magazine abundant preepenag |

I remain

Yours very respectfully,

NONPAREIL.
LIFE SIZE.

ayy. 09 uStSse pue JATY °9 UTMPE ‘Aq wory 4ITe we se

. Ee = - geutzeSeu GUTMOTTOE ey voTssecoe aseoTd

F : b :

ace fies a - u0aysy

Brel

OUIGUS MIRAI IBY COMO IPs aRaUe sw

A OWOUNG LY Si hasee

DESIGNED TO PROMOTE

KNOWLEDGE OF BIRD-LIFE

“With cheerful hop from perch to spray,
They sport along the meads;
In social bliss together stray,
Where love or fancy leads.

Through spring’s gay scenes each happy pair
Their fluttering joys pursue;

Its various charms and produce share,
Forever kind and true.”’

(CIBOUC AVEO), 10h Se A\c
NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY, PUBLISHERS

1896

PREFACE.

T’ has become a universal custom to obtain and preserve the likenesses
of one’s friends. Photographs are the most popular form of these like-
nesses, as they give the true exterior outlines and appearance, (except
coloring) of the subjects. But how much more popular and useful docs

photography become, when it can be used as a means of securing plates from
which to print photographs in a regular printing press, and, what is more
astonishing and delightful, to produce the REAI, COLORS of nature as shown in
the subject, no matter how brilliant or varied.

We quote from the December number of the Caclies Home Journal:
“An excellent suggestion was recently made by the Department of Agriculture
at Washington that the public schools of the country shall have a new holiday,
to be known as Bird Day. ‘Three cities have already adopted the suggestion,
and it is likely that others will quickly follow. Of course, Bird Day will differ
from its successful predecessor, Arbor Day. We can plant trees but not birds.
It is suggested that Bird Day take the form of bird exhibitions, of bird exer-
cises, of bird studies—any form of entertainment, in fact, which will bring
children closer to their little brethren of the air, and in more intelligent
sympathy with their life and ways. There is a wonderful story in bird life, and
but few of our children know it. Few of our elders do, for that matter. A
whole day of a year can well and profitably be given over to the birds. Than
such study, nothing can be more interesting. The cultivation of an intimate
acquaintanceship with our feathered friends is a source of genuine pleasure,
We are under greater obligations to the birds than we dream of. Without them
the world would be more barren than we imagine. Consequently, we have
some duties which we owe them. What these duties are only a few of us
know or have ever taken the trouble to find out. Our children should not be
allowed to grow to maturity without this knowledge. The more they know of
the birds the better men and women they will be. We can hardly encourage
such studies too much.”

Of all animated nature, birds are the most beautiful in coloring, most
graceful in form and action, swiftest in motion and most perfect emblems of
freedom.

They are withal, very intelligent and have many remarkable traits,
so that their habits and characteristics make a delightful study for all lovers of
nature. In view of the facts, we feel that we are doing a useful work for the
young, and one that will be appreciated by progressive parents, in placing
within the easy possession of children in the homes these beautiful photographs
of birds.

The text is prepared with the view of giving the children as clear an idea
as possible, of haunts, habits, characteristics and such other information as will
lead them to love the birds and delight in their study and acquaintance.

NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING CO.
Copyrighted, 1896.

THE NONPAREIL.

I am called the Nonpareil be-
eause there is no other bird
equal to me.

[have many names. Some call
me the ~Painted Finch” or
‘Painted Bunting.” Others call
me ~ The Pope,” because I wear
a purple hood.

I live in a cage, eat seeds, and
am very fond of flies and spi-
ders.

Sometimes they let me out of
the cage and I fly about the
room and catch flies. I lke to
catch them while they are fly-
Snes

WEET warblers of the sunny hours,
Forever on the wing,

I love thee as I love the flowers,
The sunlight and the spring.

6eé

They come like pleasant memories
In summer’s joyous time,

And sing their gushing melodies,
As I would sing a rhyme.

In the green and quiet places,
Where the golden sunlight falls,
- We sit with smiling faces
To list their silver calls,

When I am tired I stop and
sing. ‘There is a vase of flowers
in front of the mirror.

I fly to this vase where I can
see myself in the glass. Then
I sing as loud as I can. They
like to hear me sing.

I take a bath every day and
how I do make the water fly!

I used to live in the woods
where there were many birds
like me. We build our nests in
bushes, hedges, and low trees.
How happy we were.

My cage is pretty but I wish
I could go back to my home in
the woods.

See page I5.

And when their holy anthems
Come pealing through the air,
Our hearts leap forth to meet them

With a blessing and a prayer.

Amid the morning’s fragrant dew,
Amid the mists of even,

They warble on as if they drew
Their music down from heaven.

How sweetly sounds each mellow note
Beneath the moon’s pale ray,

When dying zephyrs rise and float
Like lovers’ sighs away!”’

THE RESPLENDENT TROGON.

A Letter to Litttle Boys and Girls of the United States.

Is it cold where you live,
little boys and girls? It is not
where | live. Don’t you think
my feathers grew in the bright
sunshine ?

My home is way down where
the big oceans almost meet.
The sun is almost straight over-
head every noon.

I live in the woods, way back
where the trees are tall and
thick. I don’t fly around much,
but sit on a limb of a tree way
up high.

Don’t you think my red breast
looks pretty among the green
leaves ?

When I see a fly or a berry I
dart down after it. My long
tail streams out behind like
four ribbons. J wish you could
see me. My tail never gets in
the way.

Wouldn’t you like to have me
sit on your shoulder, little boy ?
You see my tail would reach
almost to the ground.

If you went out into the street
with me on your shoulder, I

would call whe-vo, whe-oo, the
way I do in the woods.

All the little boys and girls
playing near would look around
and say, “ What is that noise ?”
Then they would see you and
IM GNC! IO WO ASE ancl sayy
~ Where did you get that bird?”

The little girls would want to
pull out my tail feathers to put
around their hats. You would
not let them, would you?

IT have a mate. I think she is
vor mee, laler wall ns mon so
long as mine. Would you like
to see her too? She lays eggs
every year, and sits on them till
little birds hatch out. They are
just like us, but they have to
erow and get dressed in the
pretty feathers like ours. They
look like little dumplings when
they come out of the eggs.

But they are all right. They
set very hungry and we carry
them lots of things to eat, so
they 2an grow fast.

Your friend,

RESPLENDENT TROGON.
% Life-size.

oe
“

THE RESPLENDENT TROGON.

ESPLENDENT ‘Trogons are

natives of Central America.

There are fifty kinds, and

(oS iS Woe leweerssie, 8h

systematic account of the superb tribe

has been given by Mr. Gould, the

only naturalist who has made him-
self fully acquainted with them.

Of all birds there are few which
excite so much admiration as the
Resplendent Trogon.

The skin is so singularly thin that
it has been not inaptly compared to
wet blotting paper, and the plumage
has so light a hold upon the skin
that when the bird is shot the feathers
are plentifully struck from their
sockets by its fall and the blows
which it receives from the branches as
it comes to the ground.

Its eggs, of a pale bluish-green,
were first procured by Mr. Robert
Owen. Its chief home is in the
mountains near Coban in Vera Paz,
but it also inhabits forests in othe1
parts of Guatemala at an elevation
of from 6,000 to 9,000 feet.

From Mr. Salvin’s account of his
shooting in Vera Paz we extract the
following hunting story:

‘‘My companions are ahead and
Filipe comes back to say that they
have heard a quesal, (Resplendent
Trogon). Of course, being anxious
to watch as well as to shoot one of
these birds myself, I immediately
hurry to the spot. I have not to

wait long. A distant clattering
noise indicates that the bird is on
the wing. He settles—a splendid

male—on the bough of a tree not
seventy yards from where we are
hidden. It sits almost motionless on
its perch, the body remaining in the
‘same position, the head only moving
from side to side. ‘The tail does not
hang quite perpendicularly, the angle

between the true tail and the vertical
being perhaps as much as fifteen or
twenty degrees. The tail is occasion-
ally jerked open and closed again,
and now and then slightly raised, °
causing the long tail coverts to vibrate
coco, I logy wot seem ail, A.
ripe fruit catches the quesal’s eye
and he darts from his perch, plucks
the berry, and returns to his former
position. This is done with a degree
of elegance that defies description. A
low whistle from Capriano calls the
bird near, and a moment afterward it is
in my hand—the first quesal I have
seen and shot.”

The above anecdote is very beauti-
ful and graphic, but we read the last
sentence with pain. We wish to go
on record with this our first number
as being unreconciled to the ruthless
killing of the birds. He who said,
not a sparrow “shall fall on the
ground without your Father,’ did
not intend such birds to be killed, but
to beautify the earth.

Wie GES “Oi wove Gloreszyl zuce
various. They consist principally of a
low note, zhe-00, whe-oo, which the
bird repeats, whistling it. softly at
first, then gradually swelling it
into a loud and not unmelodious cry.
This is often succeeded by a long note,

which begins low and after swelling

dies away asit began. Other cries are
harsh and discordant. The flight of the
Trogon is rapid and straight. The
long tail feathers, which never seem
to be in the way, stream atter him.
The bird is never found except in
forests of the loftiest. trees, the
lower branches of which, being high
above the ground, seem to be its
favorite resort. Its food consists
principally of fruit, but occasionally
a caterpillar is found in its stomach.

THE MANDARIN DUCK.
A Letter from China.

Quack! Quack! I got in just
in time.

I came as fast as I could, as I
was afraid of being whipped.
You see I live in a boat with
a great many other ducks.

My master and his family live
in Wine Oz WOO, lism woe
funny place to live in?

We stay in all night. Waking
up early in the morning, we cry
Quack! Quack! until we wake
the master.

He gets up and opens the gate
for us and out we tumble into
the water. We are in such a
hurry that we fall over each
other. We swim about awhile
and then we go to shore for
breakfast.

There are wet places near the
shore where we find worms,
grubs, and roots. When even-
ing comes the master blows a
whistle... Then we know it is
time to come home.

We start as soon as we hear
it, and hurry, because the last
duck in gets a whipping. It

does not hurt much but we do
not like it, so we all try to get
home first.

I have web feet, but I perch
like other birds on the branches
of the trees near the river.

My feathers are beautiful in
the sunlight. My wife always
sits near me. Her dress is not
like imine.) it sis) bronvaneennel
orey.

From May to August I lose
my bright feathers, then I put
on a dress like my wife’s.

My master’s family are Chi-
nese, and they are very queer.
They would not sell me for
anything, as they would not
like to have me leave China.

Sometimes a pair of us are
put in a gay cage and carried to
a wedding. After the wedding
we are given to the bride and
room.

I hear the master’s whistle
again. He wants me to come in
and go to bed. Quack! Quack!
Good bye!

IWANDARIN DUCK.
% Life-size.

86

THE MANDARIN DUCK.

MORE magnificently clothed
bird,” says Wood, “‘than the
male Chinese Mandarin

IDOE, Can Inanclhy lo
found, when in health and full nuptial
plumage. ‘They are natives of China
and Japan, and are held in such high
esteem by the Chinese that they can
hardly be obtained at any price, the
natives having a singular dislike to
seeing the birds pass into the possession
of EKuropeans.”’

Though web-footed, the birds have
the power of perching and it is a
curious sight to watch them on the
branches of trees overhanging the
pond in which they live, the male and
female being always close together,
the one gorgeous in purple, green,
white, and chestnut, and the other
soberly apparelled in brown and grey.
This handsome plumage the male
loses during four months of the year,
from May to August, when he
throws off his fine crest, his wing-fans,
and all his brilliant colors, assuming
the sober tinted dress of his mate.
The Summer Duck of America bears
a close resemblance to the Mandarin
Duck, both in plumage and man-
ners, and at certain times of the year
is hardly to be distinguished from
that bird.

The foreign duck has been success-
fully reared in Zoological Gardens,
some being hatched under the parent
bird and others under a domestic hen,
the latter hatching the eggs three days
in advance of the former.

“The Chinese,” says Dr. Bennett,
“highly esteem the Mardarin Duck,
which exhibits, as they think, a most
striking example of conjugal attach-
ment and fidelity. A pair of them are
frequently placed in a gaily decorated
cage and carried in their marriage
processions, to be presented to the

Il

bride and groom as worthy objects
of emulation.”

“I could more easily,”’ wrote a friend
of Dr. Bennett’s in China to whom he
had expressed his desire for a pair of
these birds, ‘‘send you two live Man-
darins than a pair of Mandarin
Ducks.”

Concerning their attachment and
fidelity to one another, Dr. Bennett
recites the following:

“Mr. Beale’s aviary at Maceo one
day was broken open and the male
bird stolen from the side of its mate.
She refused to be comforted, and, retir-
ing to the farthest part of the aviary,
sat disconsolate, rarely partaking of
food, and giving no attention to her
soiled and rumpled plumage. In vain
did another handsome drake endeavor
to console her for her loss. After some
time the stolen bird was found in the
quarters of a miserable Chinaman, and
at once restored to its mate. As soon
as he recognized his abode he began to
flap his wings and quack vehemently.
She heard his voice and almost
quacked to screaming with ecstacy,
both expressing their joy by crossing
necks and quacking in concert. ‘The
next morning he fell upon the unfor-
tunate drake who had made consola-
tory advances to his mate, pecked out
his eyes and so injured him that the »
poor fellow died in the course of a few
days.”

According to Schrenck, this species
appears in the countries watered by
the Amoor about May, and departs
again at the end of August; at this
season it is always met with in small
or large flocks, which are so extremely
shy that they rarely come within gun-
shot. Whilst on the wing these par-
ties crowd closely together in front, the
birds in the rear occupying a compara-
tively free space.

THE GOLDEN PHEASANT

They call me the Golden
Pheasant, because I have a
golden crest. It is like a king’s
crown. Don’t you think my
dress is beautiful enough for a
king?

See the large ruff around my
neck. I can raise and lower
it as I please.

L am a vyerr lara lon.
am fourteen inches tail and
twenty-eight inches long. I
can step right over your little
robins and meadow larks and
blue jays and not touch them.

Sometimes people get some of
our eggs and put them under
an old hen. By and by little
pheasants hatch out, and the
hen is very good to them. She
watches over them and feeds
them, but they do not wish to
stay with her, they lke then
wild life. If they are not well
fed they will iy away.

I have a wite. Her feathers
are beginning to grow like mine.
In a fewyears she will look as I
do. Welke to have our nests
by a fallen tree.

HE well-known Chinese Pheas-
ant, which we have named
the Golden Pheasant, as well
as its more _ sober-colored

cousin, the Silver Pheasant, has its
home in Eastern Asia.

China is pre-eminently the land of
Pheasants; for, besides those just men-
tioned, several other species of the
same family are found there. Japan
comes next to China as a pheasant
country and there are some in India.

In China the Golden Pheasant is a
great favorite, not only for its splendid
plumage and elegant form, but for the
excellence of its flesh, which is said to
surpass even that of the common
pheasant. It has been introduced into
Europe, but is fitted only for the aviary.

For purposes of the table it is not
likely to come into general use, as

there are great difficulties in the way
of breeding it in sufficient numbers,
and one feels a natural repugnance to
the killing of so beautiful a bird
ir wx GSS Or Calon wt, ‘ine
magnificent colors belong only to the
male, the female being reddish brown,
spotted and marked with a darker hue.
Mhe tailof the temale is ‘shorts. he
statement is made, however, that some
hens kept for six years by Lady Essex
gradually assumed an attire like that
of the males.

Fly-fishers highly esteem the crest
and feathers on the back of the neck
of the male, as many of the artificial
baits owe their chief beauty to the
Golden Pheasant.

According to Latham, it is called
by the Chinese Keuki, or Keukee, a
word which means gold flower fowl.

‘(A merry welcome to thee, glittering bird!
Lover of summer flowers and sunny things!
A night hath passed since my young buds have heard
The music of thy rainbow-colored wings—
Wings that flash spangles out where’er they quiver,
Like sunlight rushing o’er a river.”’

UA «

GOLDEN PHEASANT
14g Life-size.
Tail somewhat shortened. ‘

—s ee

THE NONPARIEL.

O full of fight is this little
bird, that the bird trap-
pers take advantage of
his disposition to make

him a prisoner. ‘They place a decoy
bird on a cage trap in the attitude of
defense, and when it is discovered by
the bird an attack at once follows,
and the fighter soon finds himself
caught.

They are a great favorite for the
cage, being preferred by many to the
Canary. Whatever he may lack asa
songster he more than makes up by
his wonderful beauty. These birds
are very easily tamed, the female, even
in the wild state, being so gentle that
she allows herself to be lifted from the
nest. ‘They are also called the Painted
Finch or Painted Bunting. ‘They are
found in our Southern States and
Mexico. ‘They are very numerous in
the State of Louisiana and especially
about the City of New Orleans, where
they are greatly admired by the French
inhabitants, who, true to their native
instincts, admire anything with gay
colors. As the first name indicates,

_ he has no equal, perhaps, among the

songsters for beauty of dress. On ac-
count of this purple hood, he is called
by the French Le Pape, meaning The
Pope.

The bird makes its appearance
in the Southern States the last of April
and, during the breeding season, which
lasts until July, two broods are raised.
The nests are made of fine grass and
rest in the crotches of twigs of the low
bushes and hedges. The eggs have a
dull or pearly-white ground and are

negro, hearing

15

marked with blotches and dots of
purplish and reddish brown.

It is very pleasing to watch the
numerous changes which the feathers
undergo before the male bird attains
his full beauty of color. The young
birds of both sexes during the first
season are of a fine olive green color on
the upper parts anda pale yellow below.
The female undergoes no material
change in color except becoming
darker as she grows older. ‘The
male, on the contrary, is three seasons
in obtaining his full variety of colors.
In the second season the blue begins
to show on his head and the red also
makes its appearance in spots on the
breast. ‘The third year he attains his
full beauty.

Their favorite resorts are small
thickets of low trees and bushes, and
when singing they select the highest
branches of the bush. ‘They are
passionately fond of flies and insects
and also eat seeds and rice.

Thousands of these birds are trapped
for the cage, and sold annually to our
notthern people and also in Europe.
They are comparatively cheap, even in
our northern bird markets, as most of
them are exchanged for our Canaries
and imported birds that cannot be
sent directly to the south on account ©
of climatic conditions.

Many anorthern lady, while visiting
the orange groves of Florida, becomes
enchanted with the Nonpareil in his
wild state, and some shrewd and wily
her expressions of
delight, easily procures one, and dis-
poses of it to her at an extravagant
price.

THE AUSTRALIAN GRASS PARRAKEET.

IT am a Parrakeet. I belong
to the Parrot family. A man
bought me and brought me here.

It is not warm here, as it was
where I came from. I almost
froze coming over here.

Tam not kept in a cage. I
stay in the house and go about
as I please.

There is a Pussy Cat in the
house. Sometimes I ride on her
back. I lke that.

I used to live in the grass
lands. It was very warm there.
I ran among the thick grass
blades, and sat on the stems and
ate seeds.

ARRAKEETS have a great
fondness for the grass
lands, where they may be
seen in great numbers,

running amid the thick grass blades,
clinging to their stems, or feeding on
their seeds.

Grass seed is their constant food
in their native country. In cap-
tivity they take well to canary seed,
and what is remarkable, never pick
food with their feet, as do other species
of parrots, but always use their beaks.
“They do not build a nest, but must
be given a piece of wood with a rough
hole in the middle, which they will
fill to their liking, rejecting all soft lin-
ing of wool or cotton that you may
furnish them.”

Only the male sings, warbling
nearly all day long, pushing his beak
at times into his mate’s ear as though
to give her the full benefit of his
song. The lady, however, does not

i had a wite then. ier
feathers were almost like mine.
We never made nests. When
we wanted a nest, we found a
hole ina gum tree. I used -to
sing to my wife while she sat on
the nest.

T can mock other birds. Some-
times I warble and chirp at the
same time. Thenit sounds like
two birds singing. My tongue
is short and thick, and this helps
me to talk. But I have been
talking too much. My tongue
is getting tired.

I think I'll have a ride on
Pussy’s back. Good bye.

seem to appreciate his efforts, but
generally pecks him sharply in return.

A gentleman who brought a Parra-
keet from Australia to England,
says it suffered greatly from the
cold and change of climate and was.
kept alive by a kind-hearted weather-
beaten sailor, who kept it warm_
and comfortable in his bosom. It
was not kept in a cage, but roamed
at will about the room, enjoying
greatly at times, a ride on the cat’s.
back. Atmeals he perched upon his.
master’s shoulder, picking the bits he
liked from a plate set before him. If
the weather was cold or chilly, he
would pull himself up by his master’s
whiskers and warm his feet by stand-
ing on his bald head. He always.
announced his master’s coming by a
shrill call, and no matter what the
hour of night, never failed to utter a
note of welcome, although apparently
asleep with his head tucked under
his wing. :

T6

4

pat owitiny

ara

AUSTRALIAN GRASS PARRAKERT.
Life-size.

COCK-OF-THH-ROCK.
5, Life-size.

steht

sys

dies

THE COCK OF THE ROCK.

HE Cock-of-the-Rock lives in
Guiana. Its nest is found
amore tie wok, IC, IX
Salmon says: ‘I once went

to see the breeding place of the Cock- |

of-the-Rock ; and a darker or wilder
place I have never beenin. Follow-
ing up a mountain stream the
gorge became gradually more en-
closed and more rocky, till I arrived
at the mouth of acave with high rock
on each side, and overshadowed by
high trees, into which the sun never
penetrated. All was wet and dark,
and the only sound heard was the
rushing of the water over the rocks.
We had hardly become accustomed to
the gloom when a nest was found, a
dark bird stealing away from what
seemed to be a lump of mud upon the
face of the rock. This was a nest
of the Cock-of-the-Rock, containing
two eggs; it was built upon a pro-
jecting piece, the body being made
of mud or clay, then a few sticks,
and on the top lined with green moss.
It was about five feet from the water.
- I did not see the male bird, and, indeed,
I have rarely ever seen the male and
female birds together, though I have
seen both sexes in separate flocks.”
The eggs are described as pale buff
with various sized spots of shades from
red-brown to pale lilac.

It is a solitary and wary bird,
feeding before sunrise and after sunset
and hiding through the day in sombre
ravines.

Robert Schomburgh decribes its
dance as follows:

“While traversing the mountains
of Western Guiana we fell in witha
pack of these splendid birds, which

gave me the opportunity of being an
eye witness of their dancing, an ac-
complishment which I had hitherto
regarded as a fable. We cautiously
approached their ballet ground and
place of meeting, which lay some little
distance from the road. ‘The stage, if
we may so call it, measured from four
to five feet in diameter; every blade of
grass had been removed and the ground
was as smooth as if leveled by human
hands. On this space we saw one of
the birds dance and jump about, while
the others evidently played the part of
admiring spectators. At one moment
it expanded its wings, threw its head
in the air, or spread out its tail like a
peacock scratching the ground with
its foot ; all this took place with a sort
of hopping gait, until tired, when on
emitting a peculiar note, its place was
immediately filled by another per-
former. In this manner the different
birds went through their terpsichorean
exercises, each retiring to its place
among the spectators, who had settled
on the low bushes near the theatre of
operations. We counted ten males
and two females in the flock. The
noise of a breaking stick unfortunately
raised an alarm, when the whole com-
pany of dancers immediately flew off.”

‘¢ The Indians, who place great value
on their skins, eagerly seek out their
playing grounds, and armed with
their blow-tubes and poisoned arrows,
lie in wait for the dances. ‘The hunter
does not attempt to use his weapon
until the company is quite engrossed
in the performance, when the birds
become so pre-occupied with their
amusement that four or five are often
killed before the survivors detect the
danger and decamp.”’

THE

My home is on an island
where it is very warm. I fly
among the tall trees and eat
fruit and insects.

See my beautiful feathers.
The ladies like to wear them in
their hats.

The feathers of my wife are
brown, but she has no long tail
feathers.

My wife thinks my plumes
are very beautiful.

When we have a party, we go

Wana Oulie wWohyves wo 2 welll ieee, |

We spread our beautiful plumes
while our wives sit and watch
us.

RED BIRD OF PARADISE.

Sometimes a man finds our
tree and builds a hut among the
lower branches.

He hides in the hut and while
we are spreading our feathers
shoots at us.

The arrows are not sharp.
They do not draw blood.

When they dry the skins they
take off the feet and wings.
This is why people used to think
we had neither feet nor wings.

They also thought we lived
on the dews of heaven and the
honey of flowers. This is why
we are called the Birds of
Paradise.

“Upon its waving feathers poised in air,
Feathers, or rather clouds of golden down,
With streamers thrown Juxuriantly out
In all the wantonness of winged wealth.”’

22

!

RED BIRD OF PARADISE. |
47) Life-size.

Att ice
o ;

THE RED BIRD OF PARADISE.

IRDS of Paradise are found
only in New Guinea and
ontheneighboring islands.
Thespecies presented here

is found only on a few islands.

In former days very singular ideas
prevailed concerning these birds and
the most extravagant tales were told
of the life they led in their native
lands. ‘The natives of New Guinea, in
preparing their skins for exportation,
had removed all traces of legs, so that it
was popularly supposed they possessed
none, and on account of their want of
feet and their great beauty, were called
the Birds of Paradise, retaining, it
was thought, the forms they had
borne in the Garden of Eden, living
upon dew or ether, through which it
was imagined they perpetually floated
_by the aid of their long cloud-like
plumage.

Of one in confinement Dr. Bennett
says: “I observed the bird, before
eating a grasshopper, place the in-
sect upon the perch, keep it firmly
fixed by the claws, and, divesting it of
the legs, wings, etc., devour it with
the head alwaysfirst. It rarely alights
upon the ground, and so proud is the
creature of its elegant dress that it
never permits a soil to remain upon it,
frequently spreading out its wings and
feathers, regarding its splendid self in
every direction.”

The sounds uttered by this bird are
very peculiar, resembling somewhat
the cawing of the Raven, but change
gradually to a varied scale in musical
gradations, like he, hz, ho, how! He
frequently raises his voice, sending
forth notes of such power as to be
heard at along distance. These notes
ate whack, whack, uttered in a barking
tone, the last being a low note in
conclusion.

While creeping amongstthe branches
in search of insects, he utters a soft

25

clucking note. During the entire day
he flies incessantly from one tree to
another, perching but a few moments,
and concealing himself among the
foliage at the least suspicion of danger.

In Bennett’s “Wanderings” is an
entertaining description of Mr. Beale’s
bird at Maceo. “This elegant bird,”
he says, “has a light, playful, and
graceful manner, with an arch and
impudent look, dances about when a
visitor approaches the cage, and seems
delighted at being made an object of
admiration. It bathes twice daily,
and after performing its ablutions
throws its delicate feathers up nearly
over its head, the quills of which
have a peculiar structure, enabling
ne lose 1) Sheet das Oloyect
LO weir Wats lowecl agee slits
toilet is one of the most interesting
sights of nature; the vanity which
inspires its every movement, the
rapturous delight with which it views
its enchanting self, its arch look when
demanding the spectator’s admiration,
are all pardonable in a delicate
creature so richly embellished, so neat
and cleanly, so fastidious 1n its tastes,
so scrupulously exact in its observ-
ances, and so winning in all its ways.”

Says a traveler in New Guinea:
‘““As we were drawing near a small
grove of teak-trees, our eyes were
dazzled with a sight more beautiful
than any I had yet beheld. It was
that of a Bird of Paradise moving
through the bright light of the morn-
ing sun. I now saw that the birds
must be seen alive in their native
forests, in order to fully comprehend
the poetic beauty of the words Birds
of Paradise. ‘They seem the inhabi-
tants of a fairer world than ours,
things that have wandered in some
way from their home, and found the
eatth to show us something of the
beauty of worlds beyond.”

THE YELLOW THROATED ‘TOUCAN.

I am a Toucan and I live ina
very warm country.

See my handsome black coat
and my yellow vest.

My toes are like a parrot’s,
two in front and two behind.

They help me to hold to the
limbs.

Look at my large beak. It
looks heavy but it is not, as it is
filled with air cells. These
make it very ight. Do you like
my blue eyes ?

My nest is very hard to find.
li AS tele you where iit is, youl
will not take the eggs, will you?
It is in a hollow limb of a very
high tree.

I am very fond of fruit, and
for this reason the people on the
plantations do not like me very
well.

I can fly very fast, but I can-
not get along so well on the
sromnc ll kee my ies star
apart and hop.

29

I like to sit in the top of the
tallest trees. Then I am not
afraid. Nothing can reach me
there but a riffle ball.

I do not like the owl, he is so
ugly. When we find an owl we
get in a circle around him and
snap our great beaks, and jerk
our tails up and down and
scream. Heis very much afraid
of us.

The people where I live like
our yellow breasts. They wear
them on their heads, and also
put them on the ends of their

| bows.

We sometimes sit together in
a tree and snap our beaks and
shout. This 1s why we have
been called “ Preacher Birds.”

Wecan scream so loud that we
may be heard a mile away. Our
songis Tucano! Tucano!”

I think it is a pretty song, but
the people do not like it very
much.

YELLOW THROATED TOUCAN.
% Tile-size.

5 AAD: Hie
ay i
i

THE YELLOW THROATED TOUCAN.

HE ‘Youcans are a numerous
race of South American birds,
at once recognizable by the
prodigious size of their beaks

and by the richness of their plumage.
“These birds are very common,” says
Prince Von Wied, ‘in all parts of the
extrensive forests of the Brazils and
chem illedesiore tiem table sinus lance
numbers during the cool seasons.
Their eggs are deposited in the hollow
limbs and holes of the colossal trees, so
common in the tropical forests, but
their nests are very difficult to find.
The egg is said to be white. They are
very fond of fruit, oranges, guavas and
plantains, and when these fruits are
ripe make sad havoc among the neigh-
boring plantations. In return for
these depredations the planter eats
their flesh, which is very delicate.”

The flight of these birds is easy and
graceful, sweeping with facility over
the loftiest trees of their native forests,
their strangely developed bills being
no encumbrance to them, replete as
they are with a tissue of air-filled cells
rendering them very light and even
buoyant.

On the ground they get along with
a tather awkward hopping movement,
their legs being kept widely apart. In
ascending a tree they do not climb
but mount from one branch to another
with a series of jumps, ascending to
the tops of the very loftiest trees, safe
from every missle except a rifle ball.
They have a habit of sitting on the
branches in flocks, lifting their bills,
clattering them together, and shouting
hoarsely all the while, from which
custom the natives call them Preacher-

birds. Sometimes the whole party,
IMelIcine) tie Sentinel, Vset sup ya
simultaneous yell so deafeningly

foud that it) can bey heard ay mule:
They are very loquacious birds and are
often discovered through their perpet-
ual chattering. Their cry resembles
the word ‘‘Tucano,’’ which has given
origin to the peculiar name.

When settling itself to sleep, the
Toucan packs itself up in a very sys-
tematic manner, supporting its huge
beak by resting it on its back, and tuck-
ing it completely among the feathers,
while it doubles its tail across its back
just as if it moved on hinges. So com-
pletely is the large bill hidden among
the feathers, that hardly a trace of it is
visible in spite of its great size and
bright color, so that the bird when
sleeping looks like a great ball of loose
feathers.

Sir R. Owen concludes that the
large beak is of service in masticating
food compensating for the absence of
any grinding structures in the in-
testinal tract.

Says a naturalist: ‘‘We turned into
a gloomy forest and for some time saw
nothing but a huge brown moth, which
looked almost like a bat on the wing.
Suddenly we heard high upon the trees
a short shrieking sort of noise end-
ing in a hiss, and our guide became
excited and said, “Toucan!” ‘The
birds were very wary and made off.
They are much in quest and often shot
at. At last we caught sight of a pair,
but they were at the top ofsucha high
tree that they were out of range.
Presently, when I had about lost hope,
I heard loud calls, and three birds came
and settled in a low bush in the middle
of the path. I shot oneand it proved to
be a very large toucan. The bird was
not quite dead when I picked it up,
and it bit me severely with its huge
bill.”

29

THE RED RUMPED TANAGER.,.

I have just been singing my |

morning song, and I wish you
could have heard it. J think
you would have hiked it.

I always sing very early in
the morning. I sing because I
am happy, and the people lke
to hear me.

My home is near a small
stream, where there are low
woods and underbrush along
its banks.

There is. am old ceacl uee
there, and just before the sun is
up I fly to this tree.

I sit on one of the branches
and sing for about half an hour.
Waem Il uby aya cw Gey wy
breakfast.

i amo very, fond) Voie dinunte
Bananas grow where I live, and
I like them best of all. —

I eat insects, and sometimes I
fly to the rice fields and swing
on the stalks and eat rice.

The people say I do much
harm to the rice, but I do not
see why it is wrong for me to
eat 1t, for I think there isenough
Ore Aull

I must go now and get my
breakdast. lie syoulever™ come
to see me I will sing to you.

I will show you my wife, too.
She looks just ike me. Besure
to get up very early. If you do
not, you will be too late for my

-| song.

“Birds, Birds! ye are beautiful things,
With your earth-treading feet and your cloud-cleaving wings.
Where shall man wander, and where shall he dwell—
Beautiful birds—that ye come not as well?
Ve have nests on the mountain, all rugged and stark,
Ye have nests in the forest, all tangled and dark ;
Ye build and ye brood ’neath the cottagers’ eaves,
And ye sleep on the sod, ’mid the bonnie green leaves ;
Ye hide in the heather, ye lurk in the brake,
Ye dine in the sweet flags that shadow the lake ;
Ye skim where the stream parts the orchard decked land,
Ye dance where the foam sweeps the desolate strand.”

30

RED RUMPED TANAGER.
Life-size.

Pies
at

ha ar =:

ete,
RAs
1

THE RED RUMPED TANAGER.

‘'N American family, the Tan-

agers are mostly birds of

very brilliant plumage.

There are 300 species,

a few being tropical birds. They are

found in British and French Guiana,

living in the latter country in open

spots of dwellings and feeding on

bananas and other fruits. ‘They are

also said to do much harm in the
tice fields.

list Sans Aut? re Jprollhig soya, IMGs,
George K. Cherrie, of the Field Mus-
eum, says of the Red-Ruinped Tanager.

“During my stay at Boruca and
Palmar, (the last of February) the
breeding season was at its height, and
I observed many of the Costa Rica
Red-Rumps nesting. In almost every
instance where possible I collected
both parents of the nests, and in the
majority of cases found the males wear-
ing the same dress as the females.
In a few instances the male was in
mottled plumage, evidently just assum-
ing the adult phase, and in a lesser
number of examples the male was in
fully adult plumage—velvety black
and crimson red. From the above it
is clear that the males begin to breed
before they attain fully adult plumage,
and that they retain the dress of the
female until, at least, the beginning
of the second year.

“While on this trip I had many
proofs that, in spite of its rich plumage,
Audi pene vay bird ot) the tropics,
it is well worthy to hold a place of

honor among the song birds. And
if the bird chooses an early hour
and a secluded spot for expressing its
happiness, the melody is none the less
delightful. At the little village of
Buenos Aires, on the Rio Grande of
Terraba, I heard the song more fre-
quently than at any other point.
Close by the ranch house at which we
were staying, there is a small stream
bordered by low woods and _ under-
brush, that formed a favorite resort for
the birds. Just below the ranch isa
convenient spot where we took our
morning bath. I was always there
just as the day was breaking. On the
opposite bank was a small open space
in the brush occupied by the limbs of
a dead tree. On one of these branches,
and always the same one, was the spot
chosen by a Red-rump to pour forth
his morning song. Some mornings I
found him busy with his music when
I arrived, and again he would be a few
minutes behind me. Sometimes he
would come from one direction, some-
times from another, but he always
alighted at the same spot and then
lost no time in commencing his song.
While singing, the body was swayed to
and fro, much after the manner of a
canary while singing. The song would
last for perhaps half an hour, and then
away the singer would go. I have not
enough musical ability to describe the
song, but will say that often I remained
standing quietly for a long time, only
that I might listen to the music.”

33

THE GOLDEN ORIOLE.

E find the Golden Oriole
in America only. Accord-
ing to Mr. Nuttall, it is
migratory, appearing in

considerable numbers in West Florida
about the middle of March. It isa
good songster, and in a state of
captivity imitates various tunes.

This beautiful bird feeds on fruits
aml imisects, acl WS wesc WS Coie
structed of blades of grass, wool, hair,
fine strings, and various vegetable
fibers, which are so curiously inter-

woven as to confine and sustain each |
The nest is usually suspended |

other.
from a forked and slender branch, in
shape like a deep basin and generally
lined with fine feathers.

‘OM enemyme at tnebe lomeeching
locality they appear full of life and
activity, dartine incessantly through
the lofty branches of the tallest trees,
appearing and vanishing restlessly,
flashing at intervals into sight from
amidst the tender waving foliage,
and seem like living gems intended to
decorate the verdant garments of the
fresh clad forest.”

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

An Indiana gentleman relates the
following story:

“When I was a boy living in the
hilly country of Southern Indiana, I

remember very vividly the nesting of
a pair of fine Onoles) Mherestood
in the barn yard a large and tall
sugar tree with limbs within six or
eight feet of the ground.

Ae aloomtt Wmbiny tet Aloove ine
ground I discovered evidences of
an Oriole’s nest. A few days later I
noticed they had done considerably
more work, and that they were using
horse hair, wool and fine strings.
sins <ecoud visite scemedstommencaue
consternation in the minds of the
birds, who made a great deal of noise,
apparently trying to frighten me
away. I went to the barn and gota
bunch of horse hair and soine wool, and
hung it on linbs near the nest. Then
climbines ip) whigher se iconcealed
myself where I could watch the work.
In less than five minutes they were
using the materials and chatted with
evident pleasure over the abundant
supply at hand.

Sitinesy aoe 1 IaAve some
knowledge of spinning, as they would
take a horse hair and seemingly wrap it
with wool before placing it in position |
on the nest.

“JT visited these birds almost daily,
and shortly after the nest was com-
pleted I noticed five little speckled
eggs init. The female was so attached
to) the mest that I) oltentiubbedieher
on) thie back and evenuliitedminciamte
look at the eggs.”

34°

CHICAGO COLORTYPE CO.

GOLDEN ORIOLE.
Life-size.

nN

| 3137