A popular handbook of the ornithology of the United States and Canada, based on Nuttall's Manual

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Illustration of Snowy Owl by Louts Agassiz Fuertes

DATE DUE

GAYLORD

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

Cornell University

Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
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POPULAR HANDBOOK

OF THE

ORNITHOLOGY

OF THE

UNITED STATES AND CANADA,

Basev on Nuttall’s Manual,

By MONTAGUE CHAMBERLAIN.

STONY BROOK LIBRARY
VoL. I.

THE LAND BIRDS.

BOSTON:
- LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
1891.

Copyright, 1891,
By LITTLE, BROWN, AND ComPaNny.

Anibersity Press :
Joun Wi ison anp Son, CAMBRIDGE.

PREFACE.

HIS work is practically an edition of “ A Manual
of the Ornithology of the United States and of
Canada,” written by THoMAS NUTTALL, though only as
much of the original title has been retained as seemed
consistent with the changed character of the text.
Nuttall’s work has been out of print for several years;
but its popularity and real value have kept it in demand,
and the few copies recently offered for sale were dis-
posed of at high prices. A new edition was thus called
for; but it seemed unwise to issue the work in its origi-
nal form, or to remodel it to the extent that would be
required to arrange it in harmony with the new régime
of affairs ornithological; for the science has advanced
rapidly since the ‘ Manual” was written, and the
changes effected have been numerous and important.
A new and entirely different system of classification has
come in vogue; the nomenclature has been altered and
trinomials introduced; and, indeed, little is left of
American ornithology as Nuttall knew it, except the
birds, —and even of these, two species have become
extinct, and a large number of new forms have been
discovered.
Thomas Nuttall came to this country from England
in 1808, and between 1825 and 1834 held the positions

vi PREFACE.

of Curator of the Botanic Garden and Lecturer on
Natural History at Harvard University. In 1842 he
returned to England, where he resided until his death
in 1859, at the age of seventy-three.

The first volume of the “ Manual,” containing an
account of the Land Birds, was published in 1832, and
a second edition, with some additional matter, appeared
in 1840. The second volume, of which one edition only
was issued, came out in 1834.

The ‘ Manual” was the first hand-book of the subject
that had been published, and its delightful sketches of
bird-life and its fragrance of the field and forest carried
it into immediate favor. But Nuttall was more than a
mere lover of Nature, he had considerable scientific at-
tainment; and though he appears to have enjoyed the
study of bird-life more than he did the musty side of
ornithology, with its dried skins and drier technicalities,
he had an eye trained for careful observation and a stu-
dent’s respect for exact statement. It was this rare com-
bination that gave to Nuttall’s work its real value; and
these chapters of his are still valuable, — much too valu-
able to be lost; for if a great advance has been made in
the study of scientific ornithology, — which term repre-
sents only the science of bird-skins, the names by which
they are labelled, and the sequence of these names,
in other words, the classification of birds, —if this science
has advanced far beyond Nuttall’s work, the study of
bird-life, the real history of our birds, remains just about
where Nuttall and his contemporaries left it. The pres-
ent generation of working ornithologists have been too
busy in hunting up new species and in variety-making

PREFACE. “ti

to study the habits of birds with equal care and dili-
gence, and it is to Wilson and Audubon and Nuttall
that we are chiefly indebted even at this day for what
we know of bird-life. I must not, however, be under-
stood as implying that no additions have been made to
this branch of knowledge, nor as undervaluing the im-
portance of recent observations. But the field is large;
and in comparison with the work accomplished by the
older writers, and with that which is still unknown, the
recent acquisitions must be termed slight.

It was suggested to me that the new might be com-
bined with the old,—that an interesting and useful
book might be prepared by taking Nuttall’s biographies
and inserting brief notes relating the results of recent
determinations in distribution and habits. That is what
I have attempted in the present work. The Introduc-
tion has been given exactly as it appeared in Nuttall’s
second edition, and the text of the biographical matter
has been changed but little. My notes follow each
chapter in a smaller type, that they may be readily
distinguished. I have also rewritten the descriptions of
plumage, and have endeavored to phrase these in such
well-known and untechnical terms that they may be
understood by unskilled readers. To these I have
added a description of the nest and eggs of each
species. In short, an effort has been made to prepare
a work that will be useful to young students, as well
as entertaining to those who are merely interested in
birds.

The new matter has been selected with special re-
gard for the needs of these classes of readers, for I

vill PREFACE,

have had another motive in the preparation of this
work besides that of preserving Nuttall’s biographies.
Some time ago I made a promise to several Canadian
friends to prepare a book treating of Canadian birds
that would be scientifically correct and at the same time
“popular” in its style. So while writing these pages
I have kept Canadian readers constantly in mind, and
have given here an account of every species that has
been found within the Dominion east of the Manitoba
plains, together with their Canadian distribution.

The limits of a “ hand-book” demanding the most
rigid economy of space, when treating of so extensive
a subject I have been compelled to omit those species
which occur only to the westward of the Mississippi.
valley, though I have endeavored to make mention of
every bird that has occurred within this Eastern Faunal
Province, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean,
and to give their distribution and breeding area so far
as these are known. Nuttall knew very little about
the Western birds, and therefore only a few short
chapters of his have been lost through restricting the
scope of the present work to Eastern forms.

The nomenclature adopted is that of the ‘“ Check-
List” issued by the American Ornithologists’ Union.
The sequence of species is that arranged by Nuttall,
with some few trifling alterations; and being radically
different from that of recent authors, the student must
be referred to other works for guidance in classification
as well as for diagnoses of the higher groups. Coues’
“Key to North American Birds” is a useful work, and
contains matter not obtainable elsewhere, though the

PREFACE. ix

system of classification now generally used is more
clearly stated in Ridgway’s “Manual of North Amer-
ican Birds.” But the most complete work at present
obtainable, and one which every student should have at
hand, is “The History of North American Birds,” by
Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway. With that work and the
“A. O. U. Check-List” to guide him, the student will
be equipped for thorough study.

It only remains for me to thank many friends who
have aided me. To Mr. William Brewster and Mr.
Charles F. Batchelder, the president and the treasurer
of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, I am particularly
indebted for kind advice and assistance. Nor must I
forget to mention the name of my fellow-worker, Ernest
E. Thompson, of Toronto. A large number of the
illustrations are from drawings made especially for this
work by Mr. Thompson.

M. C.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
September, 1891.

CONTENTS.

BLACKBIRD, Red-winged
Rusty ...
Yellow-headed

Bluebird

Bobolink .

Bunting, Indigo.

Painted

Caracara, Audubon’s .
Cardinal
Catbird Pxeloi
Chat. -s 8 Ks we a
Chickadee é
Carolina .
Hudsonian
Chuck-will’s-widow
Cowbird ae
Creeper, Bahama Honey
Brown.
Crossbill, American . .
White-winged
Crow . oy nk
Fish . . .
Cuckoo, Black-billed .
Mangrove .
Yellow-billed

DICKCISSEL

EAGLE, Bald .
Golden .
Gray Sea

FINCH, Purple .
Flicker

Flycatcher, Acadian .
Crested
Least . »
Olive-sided .
Traill’s. 2. 2.
Yellow-bellied .

GNATCATCHER .
Goldfinch .
American .
Goshawk .
Grackle, Boat-tailed .
Purple
Grosbeak, Blue .
Evening . .
Pine . §
Rose-breasted
Gyrfalcon .

Hawk, Broad-winged
Cooper’s
Duck
Harris’s
Marsh
Pigeon : 7
Red-shouldered .
Red-tailed
Rough-legged
Sharp-shinned
Short-tailed .
Sparrow
Humming Bird

Jay, Blue
Canada .

Xil CONTENTS.

Pace Pace
Jay, Florida . + oe © « » 137 | RAVEN «4 5 6 «© « + « 120
Junco, Slate-colored . . . . 339 | Redpoll .... 18 8 355
Hoary ... . » 358
KINGBIRD. . . . . . . 404 | Redstart... aw ec1bd.
Gray . . . . . 414 | Robin ‘ i & & = » #998
Kingfisher . . . . 461
Kinglet, Golden- crowned . . 283 | SAPSUCKER . . : » 450
Ruby-crowned . . 281 | Shrike, Tueypeehead agence’ ATO?!
Kite, Everglade 3) & 40 Northern. . . . . 159
Mississippi wee A 37 | Siskin, Pine. . oe i a BGT
Swallow-tailed . . . . 39 | Skylark . . . . . 1. . 207
White-tailed. . . . . 38] Snowflake . . - 300
Sparrow, Acadian Sharp- ‘tailed 345
LAPLAND Longspur . . . . 304 Bachman’s. . . . 327
Lark, Horned 294 Chipping + 333
Meadow 79 Field . 330
Fox : - 338
Martin, Purple . . 301 Grasshopper . - 329
Maryland Wellow-dheoat ; 249 Henslow’s . 330°
Mocking Bird . 187 House s 6 6 354
Ipswich . . . . 326
NIGHTHAWK. . » + 470 Lark. . 6. . 317
Nuthatch, Brown-headed « 386 Le Conte’s. . . 331
Red-breasted. . . 385 Enicelais = a 328
White-breasted . 383 Nelson’s . . . . 346
Savanna... 325
ORIOLE, Baltimore . . . 83 Seaside. . . 346
Orchard . + 93 Sharp-tailed . . 344
Osprey nae i sp 27 Song. . + + + 322
Oven Bird Se we ae SES Swamp... . 342
Owl, Barn. ee . 75 Tree. . . . . 332
Barred . om ey a “70 Vesper . . . . 320
Burrowing. . 78 White-crowned . . 315
Great Gray . . . . . 64 White-throated . . 318
Great Horned . . . 6; | Swallow, Bank . . . . . gor
Hawk... r 53 Barn. . . . . . 304
Long-eared en ig 66 Cliff. . . + + 396
Richardson’s . . 73 Rough-winged . + 403
Saw-whet . Bo ay net San 92 . Tree : + 399
Screech . . . . 87 Swift, Chimney. . . » 463
Short-eared . . . - 68
Snowy - . . . . . 55 | TANAGER, Scarlet. . . . . 306
Summer . . . . 309
PAROQUET, Carolina. . . . 428 | Thrasher, Brown 2 @ » F92
Pewee, Wood . . . . . . 419 | Thrush, Bicknell’s. . . . . 212
Phoebe . a a sone ATS Gray-cheeked . . . 211

Pipit . ee ee ee ee 292 Hermit ‘ +. 205

CONTENTS,

Pace

Thrush, Louisiana Water . 214

Olive-backed . 211

Water . » 212

Wilson’s . . 207

Wood . + 202

Titmouse, Tufted . . {42

Towhee - 359

VIREO, Blue-headed . . 176

Philadelphia . . 186

Red-eyed . 182

Warbling . . 180

White-eyed . 178

Yellow-throated » 174

Vulture, Black . 4

Turkey I

WARBLER, Bachman’s 261

Bay-breasted 237

Black and white 389

Blackburnian 232

Black-poll . . . 238

Black-throated Blue 245
Black-throated

Green 230

Blue-winged . 258

Canadian . 227

Cape May 226

Cerulean - . 247

Chestnut-sided . . 235

Connecticut . 2 253

Golden-winged. 260

Hooded . 167

Kentucky . . 246

Kirtland’s . 265

xiii

Pace

Warbler, Magnolia. . + 224

Mourning + 251

Myrtle. . . 217

Nashville . » 263

Orange-crowned 264

Parula . « 244

Pine » 239

Prairie . 242

Prothonotary . 257

Swainson’s » 256

Tennessee . 261

Wilson’s . . 168

Worm-eating » 255

Yellow .. + 220

Yellow Palm . . 219

Yellow-throated . 228

Waxwing, Bohemian - 152

Cedar . 154

Wheatear . 290

Whip-poor-will . . 467
Woodpecker, American three-

toed . 456

Arctic three-toed 455

Downy. + 452

Hairy . . - 451

Ivory- Bitted » 44

Pileated . . 444

Red-bellied 448

Red-cockaded . 454

Red-headed . 446

Wren, Bewick’s + 276

Carolina 292

House . . . . 266

Long-billed Marsh » 279

Short-billed Marsh . 277

Winter . : . 270

INTRODUCTION.

OF all the classes of animals by which we are surrounded in
the ample field of Nature, there are none more remarkable in
their appearance and habits than the feathered inhabitants of
the air. They play around us like fairy spirits, elude approach
in an element which defies our pursuit, soar out of sight in the
yielding sky, journey over our heads in marshalled ranks, dart
like meteors in the sunshine of summer, or, seeking the solitary
recesses of the forest and the waters, they glide before us like
beings of fancy. They diversify the still landscape with the
most lively motion and beautiful association; they come and
go with the change of the season; and as their actions are di-
rected by an uncontrollable instinct of provident Nature, they
may be considered as concomitant with the beauty of the sur-
rounding scene. With what grateful sensations do we involun-
tarily hail the arrival of these faithful messengers of spring and
summer, after the lapse of the dreary winter, which compelled
them to forsake us for more favored climes. Their songs, now
heard from the leafy groves and shadowy forests, inspire de-
light, or recollections of the pleasing past, in every breast.
How volatile, how playfully capricious, how musical and happy,
are these roving sylphs of Nature, to whom the air, the earth,
and the waters are alike habitable! Their lives are spent in
boundless action; and Nature, with an omniscient benevo-
lence, has assisted and formed them for this wonderful display
of perpetual life and vigor, in an element almost their own.

xvi INTRODUCTION.

If we draw a comparison between these inhabitants of the
air and the earth, we shall perceive that, instead of the large
head, formidable jaws armed with teeth, the capacious chest,
wide shoulders, and muscular legs of the quadrupeds, they
have bills, or pointed jaws destitute of teeth ; a long and pliant
neck, gently swelling shoulders, immovable vertebre ; the fore-
arm attenuated to a point and clothed with feathers, forming
the expansive wing, and thus fitted for a different species of
motion ; likewise the wide extended tail, to assist the general
provision for buoyancy throughout the whole anatomical frame.
For the same general purpose of lightness, exists the contrast
of slender bony legs and feet. So that, in short, we perceive
in the whole conformation of this interesting tribe, a structure
wisely and curiously adapted for their destined motion through
the air. Lightness and buoyancy appear in every part of the
structure of birds: to this end nothing contributes more than
the soft and delicate plumage with which they are so warmly
clad; and though the wings (or great organs of aérial motion
by which they swim, as it were, in the atmosphere) are formed
of such light materials, yet the force with which they strike the
air is so great as to impel their bodies with a rapidity unknown
to the swiftest quadruped. The same grand intention of form-
ing a class of animals to move in the ambient desert they
occupy above the earth, is likewise visible in their internal
structure. Their bones are light and thin, and all the muscles
diminutive but those appropriated for moving the wings. The
lungs are placed near to the back-bone and ribs; and the air
is not, as in other animals, merely confined to the pulmonary
organs, but passes through, and is then conveyed into a num-
ber of membranous cells on either side the external region of
the heart, communicating with others situated beneath the
chest. In some birds these cells are continued down the
wings, extending even to the pinions, bones of the thighs, and
other parts of the body, which can be distended with air at
the pleasure or necessity of the animal. This diffusion of air
is not only intended to assist in lightening and elevating the
body, but also appears necessary to prevent the stoppage or

INTRODUCTION. XVII

interruption of respiration, which would otherwise follow the
rapidity of their motion through the resisting atmosphere ; and
thus the Ostrich, though deprived of the power of flight, runs
almost with the swiftness of the wind, and requires, as he
possesses, the usual resources of air conferred on other birds.
Were it possible for man to move with the rapidity of a Swal-
low, the resistance of the air, without some such peculiar pro-
vision as in birds, would quickly bring on suffocation. The
superior vital heat of this class of beings is likewise probably
due to this greater aération of the vital fluid.

Birds, as well as quadrupeds, may be generally distinguished
into two great classes from the food on which they are destined
to subsist ; and may, consequently, be termed carnivorous and
granivorous. Some also hold a middle nature, or partake of
both. The granivorous and herbivorous birds are provided
with larger and longer intestines than those of the carnivorous
kinds. Their food, consisting chiefly of grain of various sorts,
is conveyed whole into the craw or first stomach, where it is
softened and acted upon by a peculiar glandular secretion
thrown out upon its surface; it is then again conveyed into a
second preparatory digestive organ; and finally transmitted
into the true stomach, or gizzard, formed of two strong muscles
connected externally with a tendinous substance, and lined in-
ternally with a thick membrane of great power and strength ;
and in this place the unmasticated food is at length completely
triturated, and prepared for the operation of the gastric juice.
The extraordinary powers of the gizzard in comminuting food,
to prepare it for digestion, almost exceeds the bounds of cred-
ibility. Turkeys and common fowls have been made to swal-
low sharp angular fragments of glass, metallic tubes, and balls
armed with needles, and even lancets, which were found
broken and compressed, without producing any apparent pain
or wounds in the stomach. The gravel pebbles swallowed by
this class of birds with so much avidity, thus appear useful in
bruising and comminuting the grain they feed on, and prepar-
ing it for the solvent action of the digestive organs.

Those birds which live chiefly on grain and vegetable sub-

VOL. 1.—0

XVIil INTRODUCTION.

stances partake in a degree of the nature and disposition of
herbivorous quadrupeds. In both, the food and the provision
for its digestion are very similar. Alike distinguished for
sedentary habits and gentleness of manners, their lives are
harmlessly and usefully passed in collecting seeds and fruits,
and ridding the earth of noxious and destructive insects ; they
live wholly on the defensive with all the feathered race, and
are content to rear and defend their offspring from the attacks
of their enemies. It is from this tractable and gentle race, as
well as from the amphibious or aquatic tribes, that man has
long succeeded in obtaining useful and domestic species,
which, from their prolificacy and hardihood, afford a vast
supply of wholesome and nutritious food. Of these, the Hen,
originally from India; the Goose, Duck, and Pigeon of
Europe; the Turkey of America; and the Pintado, or Guinea-
hen of Africa, are the principal: to which may also be ad-
ded, as less useful, or more recently naturalized, the Peacock
of India, the Pheasant of the same country, the Chinese
and Canada Goose, the Muscovy Duck, and the European
Swan,

Carnivorous birds by many striking traits evince the destiny
for which they have been created; they are provided with
wings of great length, supported by powerful muscles, which
enable them to fly with energy and soar with ease at the
loftiest elevations: They are armed with strong hooked bills
and with the sharp and formidable claws of the tiger; they are
also further distinguished by their large heads, short necks,
strong muscular thighs in aid of their retractile talons, and
a sight so piercing as to enable them, while soaring at the
greatest height, to perceive their prey, upon which they some-
times descend, like an arrow, with undeviating aim. In these
birds the stomach is smaller than in the granivorous kinds, and
their intestines are shorter. Like beasts of prey, they are of a
fierce and unsociable nature ; and so far from herding together
like the inoffensive tribes, they drive even their offspring from
the eyry, and seek habitually the shelter of desert rocks, ne-
glected ruins, or the solitude of the darkest forest, from whence

INTRODUCTION, xix

they utter loud, terrific, or piercing cries, in accordance with
the gloomy rage and inquietude of their insatiable desires.

Besides these grand divisions of the winged nations, there
are others, which, in their habits and manners, might be com-
pared to the amphibious animals, as they live chiefly on the
water, and feed on its productions. To enable them to swim
and dive in quest of their aquatic food, their toes are con-
nected by broad membranes or webs, with which, like oars,
they strike the water, and are impelled with force. In this way
even the seas, lakes, and rivers, abounding with fish, insects,
and seeds, swarm with birds of various kinds, which all obtain
an abundant supply. There are other aquatic birds, frequent-
ing marshes and the margins of lakes, rivers, and the sea,
which seem to partake of an intermediate nature between the
land and water tribes. Some of these feed on fishes and rep-
tiles ; others, with long and sensible bills and extended necks,
seek their food in wet and muddy marshes. These birds are
not made for swimming ; but, familiar with water, they wade,
and many follow the edge of the retiring waves of the sea,
gleaning their insect prey at the recession of the tides: for
this kind of life Nature has provided them with long legs, bare
of feathers even above the knees; their toes, unconnected by
webs, are only partially furnished with membranous appen-
dages, just sufficient to support them on the soft and boggy
grounds they frequent. To this tribe belong the Cranes, Snipes,
Sandpipers, Woodcocks, and many others.

In comparing the senses of animals in connection with their
instinct, we find that of s¢gh¢ to be more extended, more acute,
and more distinct in birds, in general, than in quadrupeds. I
say ‘‘in general,” for there are some birds, such as the Owls,
whose vision is less clear than that of quadrupeds; but this
rather results from the extreme sensibility of the eye, which,
though dazzled with the glare of full day, nicely distinguishes
even small objects by the aid of twilight. In all birds the
organ of sight is furnished with two membranes, — an external
and internal, — additional to those which occur in the human
subject. The former, membrana nictitans, or external mem-

XX INTRODUCTION.

brane, is situated in the larger angle of the eye, and is, in
fact, a second and more transparent eyelid, whose motions are
directed at pleasure, and its use, besides occasionally cleaning
and polishing the cornea, is to temper the excess of light and
adjust the quantity admitted to the extreme delicacy of the
organ. The other membrane, situated at the bottom of the
eye, appears to be an expansion of the optic nerve, which, re-
ceiving more immediately the impressions of the light, must be
much more sensible than in other animals; and consequently
the sight is in birds far more perfect, and embraces a wider
range. Facts and observations bear out this conclusion ; for a
Sparrow-hawk, while hovering in the air, perceives a Lark or
other small bird, sitting on the ground, at twenty times the dis-
tance that such an object would be visible to a man or dog.
A Kite, which soars beyond the reach of human vision, yet
distinguishes a lizard, field-mouse, or bird, and from this lofty
station selects the tiny object of his prey, descending upon it
in nearly a perpendicular line. But it may also be added that
this prodigious extent of vision is likewise accompanied with
equal accuracy and clearness; for the eye can dilate or con-
tract, be shaded or exposed, depressed or made protuberant,
so as readily to assume the precise form suited to the degree
of light and the distance of the object; the organ thus answer-
ing, as it were, the purpose of a self-adjusting telescope, with a
shade for examining the most luminous and dazzling objects ;
and hence the Eagle is often seen to ascend to the higher
regions of the atmosphere, gazing on the unclouded sun as on
an ordinary and familiar object.

The rapid motions executed by birds have also a reference
to the perfection of their vision; for if Nature, while she en-
dowed them with great agility and vast muscular strength, had
left them as short-sighted as ourselves, their latent powers
would have availed them nothing, and the dangers of a per-
petually impeded progress would have repressed or extin-
guished their ardor. We may then, in general, consider the
celerity with which an animal moves, as a just indication of
the perfection of its vision. A bird, therefore, shooting swiftly

INTRODUCTION. Xxi

through the air, must undoubtedly see better than one which
slowly describes a waving tract. The weak-sighted bat, flying
carefully through bars of willow, even when the eyes were ex-
tinguished, may seem to suggest an exception to this rule of
relative velocity and vision ; but in this case, as in that of some
blind individuals of the human species, the exquisite auditory
apparatus seems capable of supplying the defect of sight. Nor
are the flickerings of the bat, constantly performed in a narrow
circuit, at all to be compared to the distant and lofty soarings
of the Eagle, or the wide wanderings of the smaller birds, who
often annually pass and repass from the arctic circle to the
equator.

The idea of motion, and all the other ideas connected with
it, such as those of relative velocities, extent of country, the
proportional height of eminences, and of the various inequali-
ties that prevail on the surface, are therefore more precise in
birds, and occupy a larger share of their conceptions, than in
the grovelling quadrupeds. Nature would seem to have pointed
out this superiority of vision, by the more conspicuous and
elaborate structure of its organ ; for in birds the eye is larger in
proportion to the bulk of the head than in quadrupeds; it is
also more delicate and finely fashioned, and the impressions it
receives must consequently excite more vivid ideas.

Another cause of difference in the instincts of birds and
quadrupeds is the nature of the element in which they live.
Birds know better than man the degrees of resistance in the
air, its temperature at different heights, its relative density, and
many other particulars, probably, of which we can form no
adequate conception. They foresee more than we, and indi-
cate better than our weather-glasses, the changes which happen
in that voluble fluid; for often have they contended with the
violence of the wind, and still oftener have they borrowed the
advantage of its aid. The Eagle, soaring above the clouds, can
at will escape the scene of the storm, and in the lofty region of
calm, far within the aérial boundary of eternal frost,’ enjoy a

1 The mean heights of eternal frost under the equator and at the latitude of
30° and 60° are, respectively, 15,207, 11,484, and 3,818 feet.

XXii INTRODUCTION.

serene sky and a bright sun, while the terrestrial animals re-
main involved in darkness and exposed to all the fury of the
tempest. In twenty-four hours it can change its climate, and
sailing over different countries, it will form a picture exceeding
the powers of the pencil or the imagination. The quadruped
knows only the spot where it feeds, — its valley, mountain, or
plain; it has no conception of the expanse of surface or of
remote distances, and generally no desire to push forward its
excursions beyond the bounds of its immediate wants. Hence
remote journeys and extensive migrations are as rare among
quadrupeds as they are frequent among birds. It is this
desire, founded on their acquaintance with foreign countries,
on the consciousness of their expeditious course, and on their
foresight of the changes that will happen in the atmosphere,
and the revolutions of seasons, that prompts them to retire
together at the powerful suggestions of an unerring instinct.
When their food begins to fail, or the cold and heat to incom-
mode them, their innate feelings and latent powers urge them
to seek the necessary remedy for the evils that threaten their
being. The inquietude of the old is communicated to the
young; and collecting in troops by common consent, influ-
enced by the same general wants, impressed with the approach-
ing changes in the circumstances of their existence, they give
way to the strong reveries of instinct, and wing their way over
land and sea to some distant and better country.

Comparing animals with each other, we soon perceive that
smell, in general, is much more acute among the quadrupeds
than the birds. Even the pretended scent of the Vulture is
imaginary, as he does not perceive the tainted carrion, on
which he feeds, through a wicker basket, though its odor is as
potent as in the open air. This choice also of decaying flesh
is probably regulated by his necessities and the deficiency of
his muscular powers to attack a living, or even tear in pieces a
recent, prey. The structure of the olfactory organ in birds is
obviously inferior to that of quadrupeds ; the external nostrils
are wanting, and those odors which might excite sensation
have access only to the duct leading from the palate ; and even

INTRODUCTION. XXiil

in those, where the organ is disclosed, the nerves, which take
their origin from it, are far from being so numerous, so large,
or so expanded as in the quadrupeds. We may therefore
regard fouch in man, smed/ in the quadruped, and sight in
birds, as respectively the three most perfect senses which
exercise a general influence on the character.

After sight, the most perfect of the senses in birds appears
to be hearing, which is even superior to that of the quadru-
peds, and scarcely exceeded in the human species. We per-
ceive with what facility they retain and repeat tones, successions
of notes, and even words; we delight to listen to their un-
wearied songs, to the incessant warbling of their tuneful affec-
tion. Their ear and throat are more ductile and powerful
than in other animals, and their voice more capacious and
generally agreeable. A Crow, which is scarcely more than the
thousandth part the size of an ox, may be heard as far, or
farther ; the Nightingale can fill a wider space with its music
than the human voice. This prodigious extent and power of
sound depend entirely on the structure of their organs; but
the support and continuance of their song result solely from
their internal emotions.

The windpipe is wider and stronger in birds than in any
other class of animals, and usually terminates below in a large
cavity that augments the sound. The lungs too have greater
extent, and communicate with internal cavities which are
capable of being expanded with air, and, besides lightening
the body, give additional strength to the voice. Indeed, the
formation of the thorax, the lungs, and all the organs connected
with these, seems expressly calculated to give force and dura-
tion to their utterance.

Another circumstance, showing the great power of voice in
birds, is the distance at which they are audible in the higher
regions of the atmosphere. An Eagle may rise at least to the
height of seventeen thousand feet, for it is there just visible.
Flocks of Storks and Geese may mount still higher, since, not-
withstanding the space they occupy, they soar almost out of
sight ; their cry will therefore be heard from an altitude of

XXIV INTRODUCTION.

more than three miles, and is at least four times as powerful as
the voice of men and quadrupeds.

Sweetness of voice and melody of song are qualities which in
birds are partly natural and partly acquired. The facility with
which they catch and repeat sounds, enables them not only to
borrow from each other, but often even to copy the more diffi-
cult inflections and tones of the human voice, as well as of
musical instruments. It is remarkable that in the tropical
regions, where the birds are arrayed in the most glowing
colors, their voices are hoarse, grating, singular, or terrific.
Our sylvan Orpheus (the Mocking-bird), the Brown Thrush,
the Warbling Flycatcher, as well as the Linnet, the Thrush,
the Blackbird, and the Nightingale of Europe, pre-eminent for
song, are all of the plainest colors and weakest tints.

The natural tones of birds, setting aside those derived from
education, express the various modifications of their wants and
passions ; they change even according to different times and
circumstances. The females are much more silent than the
males; they have cries of pain or fear, murmurs of inquietude
or solicitude, especially for their young; but of song they are
generally deprived. The song of the male is inspired by ten-
der emotion, he chants his affectionate lay with a sonorous
voice, and the female replies in feeble accents. The Nightin-
gale, when he first arrives in the spring, without his mate, is
silent ; he begins his lay in low, faltering, and unfrequent airs ;
and it is not until his consort sits on her eggs that his en-
chanting melody is complete: he then tries to relieve and
amuse her tedious hours of incubation, and warbles more
pathetically and variably his amorous and soothing lay. In a
state of nature this propensity for song only continues through
the breeding season, for after that period it either entirely
ceases, becomes enfeebled, or loses its sweetness.

Conjugal fidelity and parental affection are among the most
conspicuous traits of the feathered tribes. The pair unite their
labors in preparing for the accommodation of their expected
progeny; and during the time of incubation their participa-
tion of the same cares and solicitudes continually augments

INTRODUCTION, XXV

their mutual attachment. When the young appear, a new
source of care and pleasure opens to them, still strengthening
the ties of affection; and the tender charge of rearing and
defending their infant brood requires the joint attention of
both parents. The warmth of first affection is thus succeeded
by calm and steady attachment, which by degrees extends,
without suffering any diminution, to the rising branches of the
family.

This conjugal union, in the rapacious tribe of birds, the
Eagles and Hawks, as well as with the Ravens and Crows, con-
tinues commonly through life. Among many other kinds it is
also of long endurance, as we may perceive in our common
Pewee and the Blue-bird, who year after year continue to fre-
quent and build in the same cave, box, or hole in the decayed
orchard tree. But, in general, this association of the sexes
expires with the season, after it has completed the intentions
of reproduction, in the preservation and rearing of the off-
spring. The appearance even of sexual distinction often van-
ishes in the autumn, when both the parents and their young
are then seen in the same humble and oblivious dress. When
they arrive again amongst us in the spring, the males in flocks,
often by themselves, are clad anew in their nuptial livery; and
with vigorous songs, after the cheerless silence in which they
have passed the winter, they now seek out their mates, and
warmly contest the right to their exclusive favor.

With regard to food, birds have a more ample latitude than
quadrupeds ; flesh, fish, amphibia, reptiles, insects, fruits, grain,
seeds, roots, herbs, —in a word, whatever lives or vegetates.
Nor are they very select in their choice, but often catch indif-
ferently at what they can most easily obtain. Their sense of
taste appears indeed much less acute than in quadrupeds ; for
if we except such as are carnivorous, their tongue and palate
are, in general, hard, and almost cartilaginous. Sight and scent
can only direct them, though they possess the latter in an infe-
rior degree. The greater number swallow without tasting ; and
mastication, which constitutes the chief pleasure in eating, is
entirely wanting to them. As their horny jaws are unprovided

XXV1 INTRODUCTION.

with teeth, the food undergoes no preparation in the mouth,
but is swallowed in unbruised and untasted morsels. Yet there
is reason to believe that the first action of the stomach, or its
preparatory ventriculus, affords in some degree the ruminating
gratification of taste, as after swallowing food, in some insectiv-
orous and carnivorous birds, the motion of the mandibles, ex-
actly like that of ordinary tasting, can hardly be conceived to
exist without conveying some degree of gratifying sensation.

The clothing of birds varies with the habits and climates
they inhabit. The aquatic tribes, and those which live in
northern regions, are provided with an abundance of plumage
and fine down, — from which circumstance often we may form a
correct judgment of their natal regions. In all climates, aqua-
tic birds are almost equally feathered, and are provided with
posterior glands containing an oily substance for anointing
their feathers, which, aided by their thickness, prevents the
admission of moisture to their bodies. These glands are less
conspicuous in land birds, — unless, like the fishing Eagles, their
habits be to plunge in the water in pursuit of their prey.

The general structure of feathers seems purposely adapted
both for warmth of clothing and security of flight. In the
wings of all birds which fly, the webs composing the vanes, or
plumy sides of the feather, mutually interlock by means of reg-
ular rows of slender, hair-like teeth, so that the feather, except
at and towards its base, serves as a complete and close screen
from the weather on the one hand, and as an impermeable oar
on the other, when situated in the wing, and required to catch
_and retain the impulse of the air. In the birds which do not
fly, and inhabit warm climates, the feathers are few and thin,
and their lateral webs are usually separate, as in the Ostrich,
Cassowary, Emu, and extinct Dodo. In some cases feathers
seem to pass into the hairs, which ordinarily clothe the quadru-
peds, as in the Cassowary, and others; and the base of the
bill’in many birds is usually surrounded with these capillary
plumes. .

The greater number of birds cast their feathers annually, and
appear to suffer much more from it than the quadrupeds do

INTRODUCTION. XXVil

from a similar change. The best-fed fowl ceases at this time
to lay. The season of moulting is generally the end of summer
or autumn, and their feathers are not completely restored till
the spring. The male sometimes undergoes, as we have already
remarked, an additional moult towards the close of summer;
and among many of the waders and web-footed tribes, as Sand-
pipers, Plovers, and Gulls, both sexes experience a moult twice
in the year, so that their summer and winter livery appears
wholly different.

The stratagems and contrivances instinctively employed by
birds for their support and protection are peculiarly remark-
able ; in this way those which are weak are enabled to elude
the pursuit of the strong and rapacious. Some are even
screened from the attacks of their enemies by an arrangement
of colors assimilated to the places which they most frequent
for subsistence and repose: thus the Wryneck is scarcely to be
distinguished from the tree on which it seeks its food ; or the
Snipe from the soft and springy ground which it frequents.
The Great Plover finds its chief security in stony places, to
which its colors are so nicely adapted that the miost exact
observer may be deceived. The same resort is taken advantage
of by the Night Hawk, Partridge, Plover, and the American
Quail, the young brood of which squat on the ground, instinc-
tively conscious of being nearly invisible, from their close
resemblance to the broken ground on which they lie, and trust
to this natural concealment. The same kind of deceptive and
protecting artifice is often employed by birds to conceal or
render the appearance of their nests ambiguous. Thus the
European Wren forms its nest externally of hay, if against
a hayrick; covered with lichens, if the tree chosen is so
clad ; or made of green moss, when the decayed trunk in which
it is built, is thus covered; and then, wholly closing it above,
leaves only a concealed entry in the side. Our Humming-
bird, by external patches of lichen, gives her nest the appear-
ance of a moss-grown knot. A similar artifice is employed by
our Yellow-breasted Flycatcher, or Vireo, and others. The

XXVili INTRODUCTION.

Golden-crowned Thrush (Seivrus aurocapillus) makes a nest
like an oven, erecting an arch over it so perfectly resem-
bling the tussuck in which it is concealed that it is only dis-
coverable by the emotion of the female when startled from its
covert.

The Butcher-bird is said to draw around him his feathered
victims by treacherously imitating their notes. The Kingfisher
of Europe is believed to allure his prey by displaying the
brilliancy of his colors as he sits near some sequestered place
on the margin of a rivulet; the fish, attracted by the splen-
dor of his fluttering and expanded wings, are detained while
the wily fisher takes an unerring aim! The Erne, and our
Bald Eagle, gain a great part of their subsistence by watching
the success of the Fish Hawk, and robbing him of his finny prey
as soon as it is caught. In the same way also the rapacious
Burgomaster, or Glaucous Gull (Zarus glaucus), of the North
levies his tribute of food from all the smaller species of his
race, who, knowing his strength and ferocity, are seldom inclined
to dispute his piratical claims. Several species of Cuckoo, and
the Cow Troopial of America, habitually deposit their eggs in
the nests of other small birds, to whose deceived affection are
committed the preservation and rearing of the parasitic and
vagrant brood. The instinctive arts of birds are numerous ;
but treachery, like that which obtains in these parasitic species,
is among the rarest expedients of nature in the feathered
tribes, though not uncommon among some insect families.

The art displayed by birds in the construction of their tem-
porary habitations, or nests, is also deserving of passing
attention. Among the Gallinaceous tribe, including our land
domestic species, as well as the aquatic and wading kinds,
scarcely any attempt at anest is made. The birds which swarm
along the sea-coast often deposit their eggs on the bare ground,
sand, or slight depressions in shelving rocks; governed alone
by grosser wants, their mutual attachment is feeble or nugatory,
and neither art nor instinct prompts attention to the construc-

1The bright feathers of this bird enter often successfully, with others, into
the composition of the most attractive artificial flies employed by anglers,

INTRODUCTION. XXiX

tion of a nest, — the less necessary, indeed, as the young run or
take to the water as soon as hatched, and early release them-
selves from parental dependence. The habits of the other aqua-
tic birds are not very dissimilar to these; yet it is singular to
remark that while our common Geese and Ducks, like domestic
Fowls, have no permanent selective attachment for their mates,
the Canadian Wild Goose, the Eider Duck, and some others,
are constantly and faithfully paired through the season; so
that this neglect of accommodation for the young in the fabri-
cation of an artificial nest, common to these with the rest of
their tribe, has less connection with the requisition of mutual
aid than with the hardy and precocious habits of these unmusi-
cal, coarse, and retiring birds. It is true that some of them
show considerable address, if little of art, in providing security
for their young ; in this way some of the Razor-bills (including
the Common Puffin) do not trust the exposure of their eggs,
like the Gulls, who rather rely on the solitude of their retreat,
than art in its defence; but with considerable labor some of
the Alcas form a deep burrow for the security of their brood.
Birds of the same genus differ much in their modes of nidi-
fication. Thus the Martin makes a nest within a rough-cast
rampart of mud, and enters by a flat opening in the upper
edge. The Cliff Swallow of Bonaparte conceals its warm and
feathered nest in a receptacle of agglutinated mud resembling
a narrow-necked purse or retort. Another species, in the
Indian seas, forms a small receptacle for its young entirely
of interlaced gelatinous fibres, provided by the mouth and
stomach ; these nests, stuck in clusters against the rocks, are
collected by the Chinese, and boiled and eaten in soups as
the rarest delicacy. The Bank Martin, like the Kingfisher,
burrows deep into the friable banks of rivers to secure a de-
pository for its scantily feathered nest. The Chimney Swallow,
originally an inhabitant of hollow trees, builds in empty chim-
neys a bare nest of agglutinated twigs. The Woodpecker,
Nuthatch, Titmouse, and our rural Bluebird, secure their
young in hollow trees; and the first often gouge and dig
through the solid wood with the success and industry of car-

XXX INTRODUCTION.

penters, and without the aid of any other chisel than their
wedged bills.

But the most consummate ingenuity of ornithal architecture
is displayed by the smaller and more social tribes of birds, who,
in proportion to their natural enemies, foreseen by Nature, are
provided with the means of instinctive defence. In this labor
both sexes generally unite, and are sometimes occupied a week
or more in completing this temporary habitation for their
young. We can only glance at a few examples, chiefly domes-
tic ; since to give anything like a general view of this subject
of the architecture employed by birds would far exceed the
narrow limits we prescribe. And here we may remark that,
after migration, there is no more certain display of the reveries
of instinct than what presides over this interesting and neces-
sary labor of the species. And yet so nice are the gradations
betwixt this innate propensity and the dawnings of reason that
it is not always easy to decide upon the characteristics of
one as distinct from the other. Pure and undeviating in-
stincts are perhaps wholly confined to the invertebral class of
animals.

In respect to the habits of birds, we well know that, like
quadrupeds, they possess, though in a lower degree, the capa-
city for a certain measure of what may be termed education,
or the power of adding to their stock of invariable habits the
additional traits of an inferior degree of reason. Thus in those
birds who have discovered (like the faithful dog, that humble
companion of man) the advantages to be derived from asso-
ciating round his premises, the regularity of their instinctive
habits gives way, in a measure, to improvable conceptions. In
this manner our Golden Robin (/eerus baltimore), or Fiery
Hang Bird, originally only a native of the wilderness and the
forest, is now a constant summer resident in the vicinity of
villages and dwellings. From the depending boughs of our
towering elms, and other spreading trees, like the Oriole of
Europe, and the Cassican of tropical America, he weaves his
pendulous and purse-like nest of the most tenacious and dur-
able materials he can collect. These naturally consist of the

INTRODUCTION. XXXI1

Indian hemp, flax of the silk-weed (Asclepias species), and
other tough and fibrous substances ; but with a ready ingenuity
he discovers that real flax and hemp, as well as thread, cotton,
yarn, and even hanks of silk, or small strings, and horse and
cow hair, are excellent substitutes for his original domestic ma-
terials; and in order to be convenient to these accidental
resources, — a matter of some importance in so tedious a labor,
— he has left the wild woods of his ancestry, and conscious of
the security of his lofty and nearly inaccessible mansion, has
taken up his welcome abode in the precincts of our habitations.
The same motives of convenience and comfort have had their
apparent influence on many more of our almost domestic
feathered tribes; the Bluebirds, Wrens, and Swallows, original
inhabitants of the woods, are now no less familiar than our
Pigeons. The Catbird often leaves his native solitary thickets
for the convenience and refuge of the garden, and watch-
ing, occasionally, the motions of the tenant, answers to his
whistle with complacent mimicry, or in petulant anger scolds at
his intrusion. The Common Robin, who never varies his simple
and coarse architecture, tormented by the parasitic Cuckoo
or the noisy Jay, who seek at times to rob him of his progeny,
for protection has been known fearlessly to build his nest
within a few yards of the blacksmith’s anvil, or on the stern
timbers of an unfinished vessel, where the carpenters were still
employed in their noisy labors. That sagacity obtains its influ-
ence over unvarying instinct in these and many other familiar
birds, may readily be conceived when we observe that this
venturous association with man vanishes with the occasion
which required it; for no sooner have the Oriole and Robin
reared their young than their natural suspicion and shyness
again return.

Deserts and solitudes are avoided by most kinds of birds.
In an extensive country of unvarying surface, or possessing but
little variety of natural productions, and particularly where
streams and waters are scarce, few of the feathered tribes are
to be found. The extensive prairies of the West, and the
gloomy and almost interminable forests of the North, as well as

XXXil INTRODUCTION.

the umbrageous, wild, and unpeopled banks of the Mississippi,
and other of the larger rivers, no less than the vast pine-bar-
rens of the Southern States, are nearly without birds as perma-
nent residents. In crossing the desolate piny glades of the
South, with the exception of Creepers, Nuthatches, Wood-
peckers, Pine Warblers, and flocks of flitting Larks (Sturnel/a),
scarcely any birds are to be seen till we approach the mean-
ders of some stream, or the precincts of a plantation. The
food of birds being extremely various, they consequently con-
gregate only where sustenance is to be obtained; watery situa-
tions and a diversified vegetation are necessary for their support,
and convenient for their residence; the fruits of the garden
and orchard, the swarms of insects which follow the progress of
agriculture, the grain which we cultivate, — in short, everything
which contributes to our luxuries and wants, in the way of
subsistence, no less than the recondite and tiny enemies which
lessen or attack these various resources, all conduce to the
support of the feathered race, which consequently seek out and
frequent our settlements as humble and useful dependents.
The most ingenious and labored nest of all the North Amer-
ican birds is thatwof the Orchard Oriole, or Troopial. It is
suspended, or pensile, like that of the Baltimore Bird, but, with
the exception of hair, constantly constructed of native mate-
rials, the principal of which is a kind of tough grass. The
blades are formed into a sort of platted purse but little inferior
to a coarse straw bonnet; the artificial labor bestowed is so
apparent that Wilson humorously adds, on his showing it to a
matron of his acquaintance, betwixt joke and earnest, she
asked “if he thought it could not be taught to darn stock-
ings.” Every one has heard of the Tailor Bird of India (Syiva
sutoria) ; this little architect, by way of saving labor and gain-
ing security for its tiny fabric, sometimes actually, as a seam-
stress, sews together the edges of two leaves of a tree, in which
her nest, at the extremity of the branch, is then secured for the
period of incubation. Among the Sy/vdas, or Warblers, there
is a species, inhabiting Florida and the West Indies, the
Sylvia pensilis, which forms its woven, covered nest to rock in

INTRODUCTION. XXxXiil

the air at the end of two suspending strings, rather than trust
it to the wily enemies by which it is surrounded ; the entrance,
for security, is also from below, and through a winding vestibule.

Our little cheerful and almost domestic Wren ( 77oglodytes
Julvus), which so often disputes with the Martin and the Blue-
bird the possession of the box set up for their accommodation
in the garden or near the house, in his native resort of a hollow
tree, or the shed of some neglected out-house, begins his fabric
by forming a barricade of crooked interlacing twigs, — a kind
of chevaux-de-frise, — for the defence of his internal habitation,
leaving merely a very small entrance at the upper edge. The
industry of this little bird, and his affection for his mate, are
somewhat remarkable, as he frequently completes his habita-
tion without aid, and then searches out a female on whom to
bestow it; but not being always successful, or the premises not
satisfactory to his mistress, his labor remains sometimes with-
out reward, and he continues to warble out his lay in solitude.
The same gallant habit prevails also with our recluse Wren of
the marshes. Wilson’s Marsh Wren (Zroglodytes palustris),
instead of courting the advantages of a proximity to our dwel-
lings, lives wholly among the reed-fens, suspending his mud-
plastered and circularly covered nest usually to the stalks of
the plant he so much affects. Another marsh species inhabits
the low and swampy meadows of our vicinity (Z7eglodytes bre-
virostris), and with ready address constructs its globular nest
wholly of the intertwined sedge-grass of the tussock on which
it is built; these two species never leave their subaquatic
retreats but for the purpose of distant migration, and avoid
and deprecate in angry twitterings every sort of society but
their own.

Among the most extraordinary habitations of birds, illustra-
tive of their instinctive invention, may be mentioned that of
the Bengal Grosbeak, whose pensile nest, suspended from the
lofty boughs of the Indian fig-tree, is fabricated of grass, like
cloth, in the form of a large bottle, with the entrance down-
wards ; it consists also of two or three chambers, supposed to
be occasionally illuminated by the fire-flies, which, however,

VOL. I.-C

XXXIV INTRODUCTION.

only constitute a part of the food it probably conveys for the
support of its young. But the most extraordinary instinct of
this kind known, is exhibited by the Sociable, or Republican
Grosbeak (Ploceus socius, CUVIER), of the Cape of Good Hope.
In one tree, according to Mr. Paterson, there could not be
fewer than from eight hundred to one thousand of these nests,
covered by one general roof, resembling that of a thatched
house, and projecting over the entrance of the nest. Their
common industry almost resembles that of bees. Beneath this
roof there are many entrances, each of which forms, as it were,
a regular street, with nests on either side, about two inches dis-
tant from each other. The material which they employ in this
building is a kind of fine grass, whose seed, also, at the same
time serves them for food.

That birds, besides their predilection for the resorts of men,
are also capable of appreciating consequences to themselves
and young, scarcely admits the shadow of a doubt; they are
capable of communicating their fears and nicely calculating
the probability of danger or the immunities of favor. We talk
of the cunning of the Fox and the watchfulness of the Weasel ;
but the Eagle, Hawk, Raven, Crow, Pye, and Blackbird pos-
sess those traits of shrewdness and caution which would seem
to arise from reflection and prudence. They well know the
powerful weapons and wiles of civilized man. Without being
able to smel/ powder, —a vulgar idea, — the Crow and Blackbird
at once suspect the character of the fatal gun ; they will alight on
the backs of cattle without any show of apprehension, and the
Pye even hops upon them with insulting and garrulous playful-
ness ; but he flies instantly from his human enemy, and seems,
by his deprecating airs, aware of the proscription that affects
his existence. A man on horseback or in a carriage is much
less an object of suspicion to those wily birds than when alone ;
and I have been frequently both amused and surprised, in the
Southern States, by the sagacity of the Common Blackbirds in
starting from the ploughing field, with looks of alarm, at the
sight of a white man, as distinct from and more dangerous than
the black slave, whose furrow they closely and familiarly fol-

INTRODUCTION, XXXV

lowed, for the insect food it afforded them, without betraying
any appearance of distrust. Need we any further proof of
the capacity for change of disposition than that which has so
long operated upon our domestic poultry ? — “ those victims,”
as Buffon slightingly remarks, “which are multiplied without
trouble, and sacrificed without regret.”” How different the hab-
its of our Goose and Duck in their wild and tame condition!
Instead of that excessive and timid cautiousness, so peculiar
to their savage nature, they keep company with the domestic
cattle, and hardly shuffle out of our path. Nay, the Gander
is a very ban-dog, — noisy, gabbling, and vociferous, he gives
notice of the stranger’s approach, is often the terror of the
meddling school-boy, in defence of his fostered brood; and it
is reported of antiquity, that by their usual garrulity and watch-
fulness they once saved the Roman capitol. Not only is the
disposition of these birds changed by domestication, but even
their strong instinct to migration, or wandering longings, are
wholly annihilated. Instead of joining the airy phalanx which
wing their way to distant regions, they grovel contented in the
perpetual abundance attendant on their willing slavery. If
instinct can thus be destroyed or merged in artificial circum-
stances, need we wonder that this protecting and innate intelli-
gence is capable also of another change by improvement,
adapted to new habits and unnatural restraints? Even without
undergoing the slavery of domestication, many birds become
fully sensible of immunities and protection ; and in the same
aquatic and rude family of birds already mentioned we may
quote the tame habits of the Eider Ducks. In Iceland and
other countries, where they breed in such numbers as to render
their valuable down an object of commerce, they are forbidden
to be killed under legal penalty ; and as if aware of this legisla-
tive security, they sit on their eggs undisturbed at the approach
of man, and are entirely as familiar, during this season of
breeding, as our tamed Ducks. Nor are they apparently aware
of the cheat habitually practised upon them of abstracting the
down with which they line their nests, though it is usually
repeated until they make the third attempt at incubation. If,

XXXVI INTRODUCTION.

however, the last nest, with its eggs and down, to the lining
of which the male is now obliged to contribute, be taken away,
they sagaciously leave the premises, without return. The pious
Storks, in Holland, protected by law for their usefulness, build
their nests on the tops of houses and churches, often in the
midst of cities, in boxes prepared for them, like those for our
Martins ; and, walking about the streets and gardens without
apprehension of danger, perform the usual office of domestic
scavengers.

That birds, like our moré sedentary and domestic quadru-
peds, are capable of exhibiting attachment to those who feed
and attend them, is undeniable. Deprived of other society,
some of our more intelligent species, particularly the Thrushes,
soon learn to seek out the company of their friends or protec-
tors of the human species. The Brown Thrush and Mocking
Bird become in this way extremely familiar, cheerful, and
capriciously playful ; the former, in particular, courts the atten-
tion of his master, follows his steps, complains when neglected,
flies to him when suffered to be at large, and sings and reposes
gratefully perched on his hand, — in short, by all his actions he
appears capable of real and affectionate attachment, and is
jealous of every rival, particularly any other bird, which he
persecutes from his presence with unceasing hatred. His pet-
ulant dislike to particular objects of less moment is also dis-
played by various tones and gestures, which soon become
sufficiently intelligible to those who are near him, as well as
his notes of gratulation and satisfaction. His language of
fear and surprise could never be mistaken, and an imitation of
his guttural low ¢sherr, ¢sherr, on these occasions, answers as
a premonitory warning when any danger awaits him from the
sly approach of cat or squirrel. As I have now descended, as
I may say, to the actual biography of one of these birds, which
T raised and kept uncaged for some time, I may also add, that
besides a playful turn for mischief and interruption, in which
he would sometimes snatch off the paper on which I was writ-
ing, he had a good degree of curiosity, and was much surprised
one day by a large springing beetle or Evater (£. ocellatus),

AY

INTRODUCTION. XXXVil

which I had caught and placed in a tumbler. On all such
occasions his looks of capricious surprise were very amusing ; he
cautiously approached the glass with fanning and closing wings,
and in an under-tone confessed his surprise at the address and
jumping motion of the huge insect. At length he became
bolder, and perceiving it had a relation to his ordinary prey of
beetles, he, with some hesitation, ventured to snatch at the
prisoner between temerity and playfulness. But when really
alarmed or offended, he instantly flew to his loftiest perch, for-
bid all friendly approaches, and for some time kept up his low
and angry “herr. My late friend, the venerable William Bar-
tram, was also much amused by the intelligence displayed by
this bird, and relates that one which he kept, being fond of
hard bread-crumbs, found, when they grated his throat, a very
rational remedy in softening them, by soaking in his vessel of
water; he likewise, by experience, discovered that the painful
prick of the wasps on which he fed, could be obviated by ex-
tracting their stings. But it would be too tedious and minute
to follow out these glimmerings of intelligence, which exist
as well in birds as in our most sagacious quadrupeds. The
remarkable talent of the Parrot for imitating the tones of the
human voice has long been familiar. The most extraordinary
and well-authenticated account of the actions of one of the
common ash-colored species is that of a bird which Colonel
O’Kelly bought for a hundred guineas at Bristol. This indi-
vidual not only repeated a great number of sentences, but
answered many questions, and was able to whistle a variety of
tunes. While thus engaged it beat time with all the appear-
ance of science, and possessed a judgment, or ear so accurate,
that if by chance it mistook a note, it would revert to the bar
where the mistake was made, correct itself, and still beating
regular time, go again through the whole with perfect exact-
ness. So celebrated was this surprising bird that an obituary
notice of its death appeared in the “General Evening Post”’
for the gth of October, 1802. In this account it is added, that
besides her great musical faculties, she could express her wants
articulately, and give her orders in a manner approaching to

gta

XXXVI INTRODUCTION.

rationality. She was, at the time of her decease, supposed to
be more than thirty years of age. The colonel was repeat-
edly offered five hundred guineas a year for the bird, by
persons who wished to make a public exhibition of her; but
out of tenderness to his favorite he constantly refused the
offer.

The story related by Goldsmith of a parrot belonging to
King Henry the Seventh, is very amusing, and possibly true. It
was kept in a room in the Palace of Westminster, overlooking
the Thames, and had naturally enough learned a store of boat-
men’s phrases; one day, sporting somewhat incautiously, Poll
fell into the river, but had rationality enough, it appears, to
make a profitable use of the words she had learned, and ac-
cordingly vociferated, ‘A boat! twenty pounds fora boat!”
This welcome sound reaching the ears of a waterman, soon
brought assistance to the Parrot, who delivered it to the
king, with a request to be paid the round sum so readily prom-
ised by the bird; but his Majesty, dissatisfied with the exor-
bitant demand, agreed, at any rate, to give him what the
bird should now award; in answer to which reference, Poll
shrewdly cried, “Give the knave a groat!”

“~The story given by Locke, in his “Essay on the Human

Understanding,” though approaching closely to rationality, and
apparently improbable, may not be a greater effort than could
have been accomplished by Colonel O’Kelly’s bird. This
Parrot had attracted the attention of Prince Maurice, then
governor of Brazil, who had a curiosity to witness its powers.
The bird was introduced into the room, where sat the prince
in company with several Dutchmen. On viewing them, the
Parrot exclaimed, in Portuguese, “ What a company of white
men are here!” Pointing to the prince, they asked, “ Who is
that man?” to which the Parrot replies, “Some general or
other.” The prince now asked, “From what place do you
come?” The answer was, “From Marignan.” ‘To whom
do you belong?” It answered, ‘To a Portuguese.” «What
do you do there?” To which the Parrot replied, “I look after
chickens!” The prince, now laughing, exclaimed, “ Vou look

INTRODUCTION. XXXIX

after chickens!” To which Poll pertinently answered, “ Yes,
J, — and I know well enough how to do it; clucking at the
same instant in the manner of a calling brood-hen.

The docility of birds in catching and expressing sounds
depends, of course, upon the perfection of their voice and
hearing, — assisted also by no inconsiderable power of memory.
The imitative actions and passiveness of some small birds, such
as Goldfinches, Linnets, and Canaries, are, however, quite as
curious as their expression of sounds. A Sieur Roman exhib-
ited in England some of these birds, one of which simulated
death, and was held up by the tail or claw without showing any
active signs of life. A second balanced itself on the head,
with its claws in the air. A third imitated a milkmaid going to
market, with pails on its shoulders. A fourth mimicked a
Venetian girl looking out at a window. A fifth acted the
soldier, and mounted guard as a sentinel. The sixth was a
cannonier, with a cap on its head, a firelock on its shoulder,
and with a match in its claw discharged a small cannon. ‘The
same bird also acted as if wounded, was wheeled in a little
barrow, as it were to the hospital; after which it flew away
before the company. The seventh turned a kind of windmill ;
and the last bird stood amidst a discharge of small fireworks,
without showing any sign of fear.

A similar exhibition, in which twenty-four Canary birds
were the actors, was also shown in London in 1820, by a
Frenchman named Dujon; one of these suffered itself to be
shot at, and falling down, as if dead, was put into a little
wheelbarrow and conveyed away by one of its comrades.

The docility of the Canary and Goldfinch is thus, by dint of
severe education, put in fair competition with that of the dog ;
and we cannot deny to the feathered creation a share of that
kind of rational intelligence exhibited by some of our sagacious
quadrupeds, — an incipient knowledge of cause and effect far
removed from the unimprovable and unchangeable destinies of
instinct. Nature probably delights less in producing such
animated machines than we are apt to suppose; and amidst
the mutability of circumstances by which almost every animated

xl INTRODUCTION,

being is surrounded, there seems to be a frequent demand for
that relieving invention denied to those animals which are
solely governed by inflexible instinct.

The velocity with which birds are able to travel in their
aérial element has no parallel among terrestrial animals ; and
this powerful capacity for progressive motion is bestowed in
aid of their peculiar wants and instinctive habits. The swiftest
horse may perhaps proceed a mile in something less than two
minutes ; but such exertion is unnatural, and quickly fatal. An
Eagle, whose stretch of wing exceeds seven feet, with ease and
majesty, and without any extraordinary effort, rises out of sight
in less than three minutes, and therefore must fly more than
three thousand five hundred yards in a minute, or at the rate
of sixty miles in an hour. At this speed a bird would easily per-
form a journey of six hundred miles in a day, since ten hours
only would be required, which would allow frequent halts, and
the whole of the night forrepose. Swallows and other migra-
tory birds might therefore pass from northern Europe to the
equator in seven or eight days. In fact, Adanson saw, on the
coast of Senegal, Swallows that had arrived there on the gth of
October, or eight or nine days after their departure from the
colder continent. A Canary Falcon, sent to the Duke of Lerma,
returned in sixteen hours from Andalusia to the island of Tene-
riffe, — a distance of seven hundred and fifty miles. The Gulls
of Barbadoes, according to Sir Hans Sloane, make excursions in
flocks to the distance of more than two hundred miles after
their food, and then return the same day to their rocky roosts.

If we allow that any natural powers come in aid of the
instinct to migration, so powerful and uniform in birds, besides
their vast capacity for motion, it must be in the perfection and
delicacy of their vision, of which we have such striking ex-
amples in the rapacious tribes. It is possible that at times
they may be directed principally by atmospheric phenomena
alone ; and hence we find that their appearance is frequently
a concomitant of the approaching season, and the wild Petrel
of the ocean is not the only harbinger of storm and coming
change. The currents of the air, in those which make exten-

INTRODUCTION, xli

sive voyages, are sedulously employed ; and hence, at certain
seasons, when they are usually in motion, we find their arrival
or departure accelerated by a favorable direction of the winds,
That birds also should be able to derive advantage in their
journeys from the acuteness of their vision, is not more wonder-
ful than the capacity of a dog to discover the path of his
master, for many miles in succession, by the mere scent of his
steps. It is said, indeed, in corroboration of this conjecture,
that the Passenger, or Carrying Pigeon, is not certain to return
to the place from whence it is brought, unless it be conveyed
in an open wicker basket admitting a view of the passing
scenery. Many of our birds, however, follow instinctively the
great valleys and river-courses, which tend towards their
southern or warmer destination; thus the great valleys of
the Connecticut, the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna,
the Santee, and more particularly the vast Mississippi, are often,
in part, the leading routes of our migrating birds. But, in fact,
mysterious as is the voyage and departure of our birds, like
those of all other countries where they remove at all, the des-
tination of many is rendered certain, as soon as we visit the
southern parts of the Union, or the adjoining countries of Mex-
ico, to which they have retired for the winter; for now, where
they were nearly or wholly unknown in summer, they throng
by thousands, and flit before our path like the showering leaves
of autumn. It is curious to observe the pertinacity of this
adventurous instinct in those more truly and exclusively insec-
tivorous species which wholly leave us for the mild and genial
regions of the tropics. Many penetrate to their destination
through Mexico overland; to these the whole journey is
merely an amusing and varied feast. But to a much smaller
number, who keep too far toward the sea-coast, and enter the
ocean-bound peninsula of Florida, a more arduous aerial voy-
age is presented; the wide ocean must be crossed, by the
young and inexperienced as well as the old and venturous,
before they arrive either at the tropical continent or its scat-
tered islands. When the wind proves propitious, however,
our little voyagers wing their unerring way like prosperous

xii INTRODUCTION.

fairies; but baffled by storms and contrary gales, they often
suffer from want, and at times, like the Quails, become victims
to the devouring waves. On such unfortunate occasions (as
Mr. Bullock! witnessed in a voyage near to Vera Cruz late in
autumn), the famished travellers familiarly crowd the decks of
the vessel, in the hope of obtaining rest and a scanty meal
preparatory to the conclusion of their unpropitious flight.

Superficial observers, substituting their own ideas for facts,
are ready to conclude, and frequently assert, that the old and
young, before leaving, assemble together for mutual departure ;
this may be true in many instances, but in as many more a
different arrangement obtains. The young, often instinctively
vagrant, herd together in separate flocks previous to their
departure, and guided alone by the innate monition of Nature,
seek neither the aid nor the company of the old ; consequently
in some countries flocks of young of particular species are alone
observed, and in others, far distant, we recognize the old.
From parental aid the juvenile company have obtained all that
Nature intended to bestow, — existence and education; and
they are now thrown upon the world among their numerous
companions, with no other necessary guide than self-preserving
instinct. In Europe it appears that these bands of the young
always affect even a warmer climate than the old; the aération
of their blood not being yet complete, they are more sensible
to the rigors of cold. The season of the year has also its effect
on the movements of birds; thus certain species proceed to
their northern destination more to the eastward in the spring,
and return from it to the south-westward in autumn.

The habitudes and extent of the migrations of birds admit
of considerable variety. Some only fly before the inundating
storms of winter, and return with the first dawn of spring;
these do not leave the continent, and only migrate in quest of
food when it actually begins to fail. Among these may be
named our common Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Blue-
bird, Robin, Pewee, Cedar Bird, Blackbird, Meadow Lark, and
many more. Others pass into warmer climates in the autumn,

1 Travels in Mexico,

INTRODUCTION. xliii

after rearing their young. Some are so given to wandering
that their choice of a country is only regulated by the resources
which it offers for subsistence ; such are the Pigeons, Herons
of several kinds, Snipes, wild Geese and Ducks, the wandering
Albatros, and Waxen Chatterer.

The greater number of birds travel in the night; some
species, however, proceed only by day, as the diurnal birds of
prey, — Crows, Pies, Wrens, Creepers, Cross-bills, Larks, Blue-
birds, Swallows, and some others. Those which travel wholly
in the night are the Owls, Butcher Birds, Kingfishers, Thrushes,
Flycatchers, Night Hawks, Whip-poor-wills, and also a great
number of aquatic birds, whose motions are also principally
nocturnal, except in the cold and desolate northern regions,
where they usually retire to breed. Other birds are so pow-
erfully impelled by this governing motive to migration that
they stop neither day nor night; such are the Herons, Mota-
cillas, Plovers, Swans, Cranes, Wild Geese, Storks, etc. When
untoward circumstances render haste necessary, certain kinds
of birds, which ordinarily travel only in the night, continue
their route during the day, and scarcely allow themselves time
to eat; yet the singing-birds, properly so called, never migrate
by day, whatever may happen to them. And it may here be
inquired, with astonishment, how these feeble but enthusiastic
animals are able to pass the time, thus engaged, without the
aid of recruiting sleep? But so powerful is this necessity for
travel that its incentive breaks out equally in those which are
detained in captivity, —so much so that although during the
day they are no more alert than usual, and only occupied
in taking nourishment, at the approach of night, far from seek-
ing repose, as usual, they manifest great agitation, sing without
ceasing in the cage, whether the apartment is lighted or not ;
and when the moon shines, they appear still more restless, as it
is their custom, at liberty, to seek the advantage of its light
for facilitating their route. Some birds, while engaged in their
journey, still find means to live without halting, — the Swallow,
while traversing the sea, pursues its insect prey; those who
can subsist on fish without any serious effort, feed as they pass

xliv INTRODUCTION.

or graze the surface of the deep. If the Wren, the Creeper,
and the Titmouse rest for an instant on a tree to snatch a hasty
morsel, in the next they are on the wing, to fulfil their destina-
tion. However abundant may be the nourishment which
presents itself to supply their wants, in general, birds of passage
rarely remain more than two days together in a place.

The cries of many birds, while engaged in their aérial voy-
age, are such as are only heard on this important occasion, and
appear necessary for the direction of those which fly in assem-
bled ranks.

During these migrations it has been observed that birds
fly ordinarily in the higher regions of the air, except when
fogs force them to seek a lower elevation. This habit is
particularly prevalent with Wild Geese, Storks, Cranes, and
Herons, which often pass at such a height as to be scarcely
distinguishable.

We shall not here enter into any detailed description of the
manner in which each species conducts its migration, but
shall content ourselves with citing the single remarkable exam-
ple of the motions of the Cranes, Of all migrating birds, these
appear to be endowed with the greatest share of foresight.
They never undertake the journey alone; throughout a circle
of several miles they appear to communicate the intention
of commencing their route. Several days previous to their
departure they call upon each other by a peculiar cry, as if
giving warning to assemble at a central point; the favorable
moment being.at length arrived, they betake themselves to
flight, and, in military style, fall into two lines, which, uniting
at the summit, form an extended angle with two equal sides.
At the central point of the phalanx, the chief takes his station,
to whom the whole troop, by their subordination, appear to
have pledged their obedience. The commander has not only
the painful task of breaking the path through the air, but he
has also the charge of watching for the common safety; to
avoid the attacks of birds of prey; to range the two lines in a
circle at the approach of a tempest, in order to resist with
more effect the squalls which menace the dispersion of the

INTRODUCTION. xlv

linear ranks ; and, lastly, it is to their leader that the fatigued
company look up to appoint the most convenient places for
nourishment and repose. Still, important as is the station and
function of the aérial director, its existence is but momentary.
As soon as he feels sensible of fatigue, he cedes his place to
the next in the file, and retires himself to its extremity. Dur-
ing the night their flight is attended with considerable noise ;
the loud cries which we hear, seem to be the marching orders
of the chief, answered by the ranks who follow his commands.
Wild Geese and several kinds of Ducks also make their aérial
voyage nearly in the same manner as the Cranes. The loud
call of the passing Geese, as they soar securely through the
higher regions of the air, is familiar to all; but as an additiona
proof of their sagacity and caution, we may remark that when
fogs in the atmosphere render their flight necessarily low, they
steal along in silence, as if aware of the danger to which their
lower path now exposes them.

The direction of the winds is of great importance to the
migration of birds, not only as an assistance when favorable,
but to be avoided when contrary, as the most disastrous of
accidents, when they are traversing the ocean. If the breeze
suddenly change, the aérial voyagers tack to meet it, and di-
verging from their original course, seek the asylum of some
land or island, as is the case very frequently with the Quails,
who consequently, in their passage across the Mediterranean,
at variable times, make a descent in immense numbers on the
islands of the Archipelago, where they wait, sometimes for
weeks, the arrival of a propitious gale to terminate their jour-
ney. And hence we perceive the object of migrating birds,
when they alight upon a vessel at sea: it has fallen in their
course while seeking refuge from a baffling breeze or over-
whelming storm, and after a few hours of rest they wing their
way to their previous destination. That Nature has provided
ample means to fulfil the wonderful instinct of these feeble but
cautious wanderers, appears in every part of their economy.
As the period approaches for their general departure, and the
chills of autumn are felt, their bodies begin to be loaded with

xvi INTRODUCTION.

cellular matter, and at no season of the year are the true birds
of passage so fat as at the approach of their migration. The
Gulls, Cranes, and Herons, almost proverbially macilent, are at
this season loaded with this reservoir of nutriment, which is
intended to administer to their support through their arduous
and hazardous voyage. With this natural provision, dormant
animals also commence their long and dreary sleep through
the winter, —a nutritious resource no less necessary in birds
while engaged in fulfilling the powerful and waking reveries of
instinct.

But if the act of migration surprise us when performed by
birds of active power of wing, it is still more remarkable when
undertaken by those of short and laborious flight, like the
Coots and Rails, who, in fact, perform a part of their route on
foot. The Great Penguin (A/ca impennis), the Guillemot, and
the Divers, even make their voyage chiefly by dint of swim-
ming. The young Loons (Colymdus glacialis), bred in inland
ponds, though proverbially lame (and hence the name of Lom,
or Loon), without recourse to their wings, which are at this
time inefficient, continue their route from pond to pond,
floundering over the intervening land by night, until at length
they gain some creek of the sea, and finally complete their
necessary migration by water.

Birds of passage, both in the old and new continents, are
observed generally to migrate southwest in autumn, and to
pass to the northeast in spring. Parry, however, it seems, ob-
served the birds of Greenland proceed to the southeast. This
apparent aberration from the usual course may be accounted
for by considering the habits of these aquatic birds. Intent on
food and shelter, a part, bending their course over the cold
regions of Norway and Russia, seek the shores of Europe ;
while another division, equally considerable, proceeding south-
west, spread themselves over the interior of the United States
and the coast and kingdom of Mexico.

This propensity to change their climate, induced by what-
ever cause, is not confined to the birds of temperate regions ;
it likewise exists among many of those who inhabit the tropics.

INTRODUCTION. xlvii

Aquatic birds of several kinds, according to Humboldt, cross
the line on either side about the time of the periodical rise of
the rivers. Waterton, likewise, who spent much time in Dem-
erara and the neighboring countries, observed that the visits of
many of the tropical birds were periodical. Thus the wonder-
ful Campanero, whose solemn voice is heard at intervals tolling
like the convent-bell, was rare to Waterton, but frequent in
Brazil, where it most probably retires to breed. The failure
of particular food at any season, in the mildest climate, would
be a sufficient incentive to a partial and overland migration
with any species of the feathered race.

The longevity of birds is various, and, different from the
case of man and quadrupeds, seems to bear but little propor-
tion to the age at which they acquire maturity of character. A
few months seems sufficient to bring the bird into full posses-
sion of all its native powers ; and there are some, as our Marsh
Titmouse or Chickadee, which, in fact, as soon as fledged, are
no longer to be distinguished from their parents. Land ani-
mals generally live six or seven times as long as the period
required to attain maturity; but in birds the rate is ten times
greater. In proportion to their size, they are also far more
vivacious and long-lived than other animals of the superior
class. Our knowledge of the longevity of birds is, however,
necessarily limited to the few examples of domesticated species
which we have been able to support through life: the result of
these examples is, that our domestic Fowls have lived twenty
years; Pigeons have exceeded that period ; Parrots have at-
tained more than thirty years. Geese live probably more than
half a century ; a Pelican has lived to eighty years ; and Swans,
Ravens, and Eagles have exceeded a century. Even Linnets,
in the unnatural restraints of the cage, have survived for four-
teen or fifteen years, and Canaries twenty-five. To account for
this remarkable tenacity of life, nothing very satisfactory has
been offered; though Buffon is of opinion that the soft and
porous nature of their bones contributes to this end, as the
general ossification and rigidity of the system perpetually tends
to abridge the boundaries of life.

xlvili INTRODUCTION.

In a general way it may be considered as essential for the
bird to fly as it is for the fish to swim or the quadruped to
walk ; yet in all these tribes there are exceptions to the general
habits. Thus among quadrupeds the bats fly, the seals swim,
and the beaver and otter swim better than they can walk. So
also among birds, the Ostrich, Cassowary, and some others,
incapable of flying, are obliged to walk ; others, as the Dippers,
fly and swim but never walk. Some, like the Swallows and
Humming Birds, pass their time chiefly on the wing. A far
greater number of birds live on the water than of quadrupeds,.
for of the latter there are not more than five or six kinds fur-
nished with webbed or oar-like feet, whereas of birds with this
structure there are several hundred. The lightness of their
feathers and bones, as well as the boat-like form of their bodies,
contributes greatly to facilitate their buoyancy and progress in
the water, and their feet serve as oars to propel them.

Thus in whatever way we view the feathered tribes which
surround us, we shall find much both to amuse and instruct.
We hearken to their songs with renewed delight, as the harbin-
gers and associates of the season they accompany. ‘Their
return, after a long absence, is hailed with gratitude to the
Author of all existence ; and the cheerless solitude of inani-
mate Nature is, by their presence, attuned to life and harmony.
Nor do they alone administer to the amusement and luxury of
life ; faithful aids as well as messengers of the seasons, they
associate round our tenements, and defend the various produc-
tions of the earth, on which we so much rely for subsistence,
from the destructive depredations of myriads of insects, which,
but for timely riddance by unnumbered birds, would be fol-
lowed by a general failure and famine. Public economy and
utility, then, no less than humanity, plead for the protection of
the feathered race; and the wanton destruction of birds, so
useful, beautiful, and amusing, if not treated as such by law,
ought to be considered as a crime by every moral, feeling, and
reflecting mind.

ORNITHOLOGY

OF THE

UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

TURKEY VULTURE.
TURKEY BUZZARD.

CATHARTES AURA.

CuAR. Brownish black; head bare of feathers and bright red; bill
white; length about 2 feet.

Nest. Ina stump, or cavity among rocks, without additional material.

£ggs, 2; white, or with a tinge of green or yellow, spotted with brown
and purple; 2.75 X I.go.

This common Turkey-like Vulture is found abundantly in
both North and South America, but seems wholly to avoid the
Northeastern or New England States, a straggler being seldom
seen as far as the latitude of 41°. Whether this limit arises
from some local antipathy, their dislike of the cold eastern
storms which prevail in the spring till the time they usually

VOL. I. —I

2 BIRDS OF PREY.

breed, or some other cause, it is not easily assignable ; and the
fact is still more remarkable, as they have been observed in the
interior by Mr. Say as far as Pembino, in the 4gth degree
of north latitude, by Lewis and Clarke near the Falls of the
Oregon, and they are not uncommon throughout that territory.
They are, however, much more abundant in the warmer than
in the colder regions, and are found beyond the equator, even
as far or farther than the La Plata. All the West India islands
are inhabited by them, as well as the tropical continent, where,
as in the Southern States of the Union, they are commonly
protected for their services as scavengers of carrion, which
would prove highly deleterious in those warm and humid cli-
mates. In the winter they generally seek out warmth and
shelter, hovering often like grim and boding spectres in the
suburbs, and on the roofs and chimneys of the houses, around
the cities of the Southern States. A few brave the winters of
Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, but the greater part
migrate south at the approach of cold weather.

The Turkey Buzzard has not been known to breed north of
New Jersey in any of the Atlantic States. Here they seek out
the swampy solitudes, and, without forming any nest, deposit
two eggs in the stump of a hollow tree or log, on the mere
fragments of rotten wood with which it is ordinarily strewed.
Occasionally, in the Southern States, they have been known to
make choice of the ruined chimney of a deserted house for
this purpose. The eggs are larger than those of a Turkey, of
a yellowish white, irregularly blotched with dark brown and
blackish spots, chiefly at the larger end. The male often at-
tends while the female is sitting; and if not materially dis-
turbed, they will continue to occupy the same place for several
years in succession.

The young are covered with a whitish down, and, in common
with the habit of the old birds, will often eject, upon those who
happen to molest them, the filthy contents of their stomachs.

In the cities of the South they appear to be somewhat grega-
rious, and as if aware of the protection afforded them, pre-
sent themselves often in the streets, and particularly near the

TURKEY VULTURE. 3

shambles. They also watch the emptying of the scavengers’
carts in the suburbs, where, in company with the still more
domestic Black Vultures, they search out their favorite morsels
amidst dust, filth, and rubbish of all descriptions. Bits of
cheese, of meat, fish, or anything sufficiently foetid, and easy of
digestion, is greedily sought after, and eagerly eyed. When
the opportunity offers they eat with gluttonous voracity, and
fill themselves in such a manner as to be sometimes incapa-
ble of rising from the, ground. They are accused at times
of attacking young pigs and lambs, beginning their assault by
picking out the eyes. Mr. Waterton, however, while at Dem-
erara watched them for hours together amidst reptiles of all
descriptions, but they never made any attack upon them. He
even killed lizards and frogs and put them in their way, but
they did not appear to notice them until they attained the
putrid scent. So that a more harmless animal, living at all
upon flesh, is not in existence, than the Turkey Vulture.
At night they roost in the neighboring trees, but, I believe,
seldom in flocks like the Black kind. In winter they some-
times pass the night in numbers on the roofs of the houses in
the suburbs of the Southern cities, and appear particularly
desirous of taking advantage of the warmth which they dis-
cover to issue from the chimneys. Here, when the sun shines,
they and their black relatives, though no wise social, may be
observed perched in these conspicuous places basking in the
feeble rays, and stretching out their dark wings to admit the
warmth directly to their chilled bodies. And when not en-
gaged in acts of necessity, they amuse themselves on fine clear
days, even at the coolest season of the year, by soaring, in
companies, slowly and majestically into the higher regions of
the atmosphere ; rising gently, but rapidly, in vast spiral circles,
they sometimes disappear beyond the thinnest clouds. They
practise this lofty flight particularly before the commencement
of thunder-storms, when, elevated above the war of elements,
they float at ease in the ethereal space with outstretched wings,
making no other apparent effort than the light balloon, only
now and then steadying their sailing pinions as they spread

4 BIRDS OF PREY.

them to the fanning breeze, and become abandoned to its
accidental sports. In South America, according to Humboldt,
they soar even in company with the Condor in his highest
flights, rising above the summits of the tropical Andes.

Examples of this species still wander occasionally to New Eng-
land and to Grand Menan, and in 1887 Mr. Philip Cox reported
the capture of two near the mouth of the Miramichi River, on the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, in latitude 47°. It occurs regularly on the
St. Clair Flats, in Ontario.

The Vultures are not classed as the first of birds by the syste-
matists of the present day. Now the singing-birds — the Oscimes —
are considered the most highly developed, and of these the Thrush
family is given highest rank. The Vultures are classed as the
lowest of the birds of prey; and this entire order has been moved
down below the Swifts and the Woodpeckers.

BLACK VULTURE.
CARRION CROW.
CATHARISTA ATRATA.

Cuar. Dull black; head dusky and partially covered above with
feathers. Length about 2 feet.

Nest. On the ground screened by bushes, or in a stump. (No attempt
is made to build a nest or even to lay a cushion for the eggs.)

£ggs. 1-3 (usually 2); bluish white, marked with several shades of
brown; 3.10 X 2.05.

This smaller, black, and truly gregarious species of Vulture
in the United States appears to be generally confined to the
Southern States, and seems to be most numerous and familiar
in the large maritime towns of North and South Carolina,
Georgia, and Florida. They are also met with in several of
the Western States, and as far up the Ohio as Cincinnati. In
the tropical regions of America they are also very common,
and extend at least as far as Chili. Like the former species,
with which they associate only at meal-times, they are tacitly
allowed a public protection for the service they render in rid-
ding the earth of carrion and other kinds of filth. They are

BLACK VULTURE. 5

much more familiar in the towns than the preceding, delight-
ing, during winter, to remain on the roofs of houses, catching
the feeble rays of the sun, and stretching out their wings to ad-
mit the warm air over their foetid bodies. When the weather
becomes unusually chilly, or in the mornings, they may be
seen basking upon the chimneys in the warm smoke, which,
as well as the soot itself, can add no additional darkness or
impurity to such filthy and melancholy spectres. Here, or on
the limbs of some of the larger trees, they remain in listless
indolence till aroused by the calls of hunger.

Their flight is neither so easy nor so graceful as that of the
“Turkey Buzzard. They flap their wings and then soar hori-
zontally, renewing the motion of their pinions at short inter-
vals. At times, however, they rise to considerable elevations.
In the cities of Charleston and Savannah they are to be seen in
numbers walking the streets with all the familiarity of domestic
Fowls, examining the channels and accumulations of filth in
order to glean up the offal or animal matter of any kind
which may happen to be thrown out. They appeared to be
very regular in their attendance around the shambles, and
some of them become known by sight. This was particularly
the case with an old veteran who hopped upon one foot
(having by some accident lost the other), and had regularly
appeared round the shambles to claim the bounty of the
butchers for about twenty years. In the country, where I have
surprised them feeding in the woods, they appeared rather shy
and timorous, watching my movements alertly like Hawks ;
and every now and then one or two of them, as they sat in
the high boughs of a neighboring oak, communicated to the
rest, as I slowly approached, a low bark of alarm, or wawgh,
something like the suppressed growl of a puppy, at which the
whole flock by degrees deserted the dead hog upon which
they happened to be feeding. Sometimes they will collect
together about one carcase to the number of two hundred
and upwards; and the object, whatever it may be, is soon
robed in living mourning, scarcely anything being visible but
a dense mass of these sable scavengers, who may often be

6 BIRDS OF PREY.

seen jealously contending with each other, both in and out of
the carcase, defiled with blood and filth, holding on with their
feet, hissing and clawing each other, or tearing off morsels so
as to fill their throats nearly to choking, and occasionally
joined by growling dogs, —the whole presenting one of the
most savage and disgusting scenes in nature, and truly worthy
the infernal bird of Prometheus.

This species is very rarely seen north of the Carolinas, though
a few examples have been taken in New England and at Grand
Menan.

AUDUBON’S CARACARA.
CARACARA EAGLE. KING BUZZARD.
POLYBORUS CHERIWAY.

CHAR. General color brownish black; fore part of back and breast
barred with white ; tail white, with bars of black. Length 20} to 25 inches.

Nest. On a low tree or bush; made of sticks and leaves.

Eggs. 2-4 (usually 2); brownish white or pale brown, blotched with

deeper brown; 2.30 X 1.75.

This very remarkable and fine bird was first met with by Mr.
Audubon near St. Augustine, in East Florida. He afterwards
also found it on Galveston Island, in Texas. From its general
habits and graceful, sweeping flight, it was for some time mis-
taken for a Hawk. Though common in many parts of South
America, it is within the limits of the United States merely an
accidental visitor. It is said, however, to breed in Florida, in
the highest branches of tall trees in the pine-barrens, making
a rough nest of sticks like a Hawk. In Texas it breeds, accord-
ing to Audubon, in the tops of bushes.

Since Nuttall wrote, the Caracara has been found in numbers

in parts of Florida, and it is not uncommon in Texas, southern
Arizona, and Lower California.

WHITE GYRFALCON.

FALCO ISLANDUS. :

CHAR. Prevailing color white, often immaculate, but usually with
dark markings. Legs partially feathered. A sharp tooth near point of
upper mandible; the end of under mandible notched. Length 21 to 24
inches. .

Nest. Usually on a cliff; roughly made of sticks, — large dry twigs.

Eggs. 3-4; buff or brownish, marked with reddish brown; 2.25
X 1.25.

GRAY GYRFALCON.

FALCO RUSTICOLUS.

Cuar. Prevailing color dull gray, with whitish and slaty-blue bands
and spots; sometimes white prevails ; thighs usually barred.

8 BIRDS OF PREY.

GYRFALCON.

FALCO RUSTICOLUS GYRFALCO.

Cuar. Upper parts dull brownish (dusky), with bars of bluish gray ;
lower parts white, or mostly white marked with dusky; thighs heavily
barred.

BLACK GYRFALCON.
FALcO RUSTICOLUS OBSOLETUS.

Cuar. Prevailing color brownish black; usually barred with lighter
tints, but sometimes the bars are indistinct.

This elegant and celebrated Falcon is about two feet in
length ; the female two or three inches longer. They particu-
larly abound in Iceland, and are found also throughout Siberia,
and the North of Europe as far as Greenland; Mr. Hutchins,
according to Pennant, saw them commonly about Fort Albany,
at Hudson’s Bay. Occasionally a pair is also seen in this
vicinity in the depth of winter. They brave the coldest cli-
mates, for which they have such a predilection as seldom to
leave the Arctic regions ; the younger birds are commonly seen
in the North of Germany, but very rarely the old, which are
readily distinguished by the superior whiteness of their plumage,
which augments with age, and by the increasing narrowness
of the transverse stripes that ornament the upper parts of the
body. The finest of these Falcons were caught in Iceland by
means of baited nets. The bait was commonly a Ptarmigan,
Pigeon, or common Fowl; and such was the velocity and
power of his pounce that he commonly severed the head
from the baited bird as nicely as if it had been done by a
razor. These birds were reserved for the kings of Denmark,
and from thence they were formerly transported into Ger-
many, and even Turkey and Persia. The taste for the amuse-
ment of falconry was once very prevalent throughout Europe,
and continued for several centuries; but at this time it has
almost wholly subsided. The Tartars, and Asiatics gener-
ally, were also equally addicted to this amusement. A Sir

DUCK HAWK, 9

Thomas Monson, no later than the reign of James the First,
is said to have given a thousand pounds for a cast of Hawks.

Next to the Eagle, this bird is the most formidable, active,
and intrepid, and was held in the highest esteem for falconry.
It boldly attacks the largest of birds; the Swan, Goose, Stork,
Heron, and Crane are to it easy victims. In its native regions
it lives much on the hare and Ptarmigan; upon these it darts
with astonishing velocity, and often seizes its prey by pouncing
upon it almost perpendicularly. It breeds in the cold and
desert regions where it usually dwells, fixing its nests amidst
the most lofty and inaccessible rocks.

Nuttall treated the four forms as one, while I follow the A. O. U.
in separating them; though I do not think that the present classifi-
cation will be retained. The accessible material is very limited,
but it appears to indicate that there is but one species with two,
or possibly three, geographical races. The nests and eggs and
the habits are similar, the difference being entirely that of plu
mage, — the prevalence of the dark or white color.

The White breeds chiefly in North Greenland and along the bor-
ders of the Arctic Ocean ; the Gray breeds in South Greenland ; the
Black is restricted to Labrador; and the habitat of gyvfalco is given
as “interior of Arctic America from Hudson’s Bay to Alaska.”
Specimens of all four have been taken south of latitude 45°, and
a few of the Black have been taken, in winter, as far south as
southern New England and New York.

Note. — A few examples of the PRAIRIE FALCON (Falco mext-
canus) have accidentally wandered to the prairie districts of
Illinois.

DUCK HAWK.
PEREGRINE FALCON. GREAT-FOOTED HAWK.
FALCO PEREGRINUS ANATUM.

Cuar. Above, bluish ash or brownish black, the edges of the feathers
paler; below, ashy or dull tawny, with bars or streaks of brownish; a
black patch on the cheeks. Bill of bluish color, and toothed and notched,
as in all true Falcons; cere yellow. Wing long, thin, and pointed.
Length 17 to 19 inches.

10 BIRDS OF PREY.

Nest. On tree or cliff; a loosely arranged platform of dry sticks,
sometimes partially lined with grass, leaves, or moss.

Leggs. 2-4; reddish brown — sometimes of bright tint — marked with
dull red and rich brown ; 2.10 X 1.60.

The celebrated, powerful, and princely Falcon is common
both to the continent of Europe and America. In the former
they are chiefly found in mountainous regions, and make their
nests in the most inaccessible clefts of rocks, and very rarely
in trees, laying 3 or 4 eggs of a reddish-yellow, with brown
spots. In Europe they seldom descend to the plains, and
avoid marshy countries. The period of incubation lasts but
a short time, and commences in winter, or very early in the
spring, so that the young acquire their full growth by the
middle of May. They are supposed to breed in the tall trees
of the desolate cedar swamps in New Jersey. Audubon, how-
ever, found them nesting on shelving rocks on the shores of
Labrador and Newfoundland, laying from 2 to 5 eggs of a
rusty yellowish brown, spotted and blotched with darker tints
of the same color. They also breed on shelving rocks in the
Rocky Mountains, where Mr. Townsend obtained a specimen
on Big Sandy River of the Colorado of the West in the month
of July. When the young have attained their growth, the
parents drive ther from their haunts, with incessant and
piercing screams and complaints, — an unnatural propensity
which nothing but dire necessity, the difficulty of acquiring
sustenance, can palliate.

In strength and temerity the Falcon is not exceeded by
any bird of its size. He soars with easy and graceful motions
amidst the clouds or clear azure of the sky; from this lofty
elevation he selects his victim from among the larger birds, —
Grouse, Pheasants, Pigeons, Ducks, or Geese. Without being
perceived, he swiftly descends, as if falling from the clouds in
a perpendicular line, and carries terror and destruction into
the timid ranks of his prey. Instead of flying before their
relentless enemy, the Partridge and Pheasant run and closely
hide in the grass, the Pigeons glance aside to avoid the fatal
blow which is but too sure in its aim, and the Water Fowls seek

PIGEON HAWK. Il

a more certain refuge in diving beneath their yielding element.
If the prey be not too large, the Falcon mounts into the air,
bearing it off in his talons, and then alights to gorge himself
with his booty at leisure. Sometimes he attacks the Kite,
another fellow-plunderer, either in wanton insult, or more
probably to rob him of his quarry.

The Peregrine is very generally distributed throughout America,
but excepting on the Atlantic coast of Labrador, and possibly on
Newfoundland, it is nowhere common in this faunal province. It
is a winter visitor chiefly in Ohio and southern Ontario, but it is
known to breed on isolated cliffs in the Maritime Provinces and the
New England States, and it is said that nests have been found in
Pennsylvania and Maryland. The report of its building in a swamp
in New Jersey has not been confirmed.

PIGEON HAWK.
FaLcoO COLUMBARIUS.

Cuar. Generally the prevailing color, above, is blackish brown, though
the older birds assume a dull tint approaching bluish gray; wings, back,
and tail streaked and barred with buffy or reddish brown. Tail tipped with
white ; the middle tail-feathers in male with four bands of blackish, and
in female about six pale bands. Below, dull, pale reddish brown, lighter
on breast and throat. Length 11 to 13 inches.

Nest. Usually on branches of trees, though found sometimes in cavi-
ties of dead trees and on cliffs; loosely built of twigs, and lined with grass
and leaves.

Eggs. 3-6; buffy or pale reddish-brown ground color, blotched with
dull red and brown ; 1.30 X 1.55.

This species is a little larger than the following, but by no
means so abundant; though met with in latitude forty-eight
degrees by Long’s Northwestern Expedition, and occasion-
ally extending its migrations from Texas to Hudson’s Bay, and
rearing its young in the interior of Canada. Its nest was also
observed by Audubon in Labrador in the low fir-trees, and con-
tained five eggs, laid about the 1st of June. It is shy, skulk-
ing, and watchful, seldom venturing beyond the unreclaimed
forest, and flies rapidly, but, I believe, seldom soars or hovers.

12 BIRDS OF PREY.

Small birds and mice constitute its principal food; and ac-
cording to Wilson, it follows often in the rear of the gregarious
birds, such as the Blackbirds and Reedbirds, as well as after
the flitting flocks of Pigeons and Robins, picking up the strag-
glers, the weak and unguarded, as its legitimate prey. Some-
times, when shot at without effect, it will fly in circles around
the gunner and utter impatient shrieks, — probably in appre-
hension for the safety of the mate, or to communicate a cry
of alarm.

The Pigeon Hawk is not a common bird in Massachusetts, though
a few pairs breed in the State; and it has been found in summer in
Connecticut, as well as in Illinois and Ohio, though MclIlwraith
considers it a migrant only in southern Ontario. It breeds spar-
ingly in the northern portions of New England, the Maritime Prov-
inces of Canada and north to the lower fur countries, and in winter
ranges to the Southern States.

Note. — One example of the European MERLIN (Falco regulus)
has been captured off the coast of Greenland.

AMERICAN SPARROW HAWK.

FALCO SPARVERIUS.

Cuar. Adult male : head bluish ash, with reddish patch on crown, and
black patch on sides and nape; back rufous; wings bluish and black in
bars ; tail tawny, with black band, and tipped with white ; below, buffish or
tawny. Female: rufous and black, more streaked than the male; the
tai] tawny, with several blackish bars. Length 10 to 11 inches.

Nest. Usually in cavities of trees, often in Woodpecker’s holes, some-
times in deserted nest of a Crow.

Zggs. 5-7; buffish, occasionally white, blotched with dull red and
brown; 1.33 X 1.12.

This beautiful and singularly marked bird appears to reside
principally in the warmer parts of the United States. They are
particularly abundant in the winter throughout South Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, whither they assemble from
the remote interior of the Northern States, wandering in sum-
mer as far as the Rocky Mountains, and were even seen by
Dr. Richardson in the remote latitude of 53°; these appear,
however, to be only stragglers, nor do they seem at all to visit

14 BIRDS OF PREY.

the maritime districts of New England. As they were seen in
St. Domingo, by Veillot, abundantly in April and May, the
breeding-season, we may naturally conclude that this species
has a much greater predilection for the warm than the cold
climates. On the south side of the equator, even in Cayenne
and Paraguay, they are still found, in all of which countries
they probably breed.

According to the habits of this tribe of rapacious birds
it appears that the nest is built in a hollow, shattered, or
decayed tree at a considerable elevation.

Its motions appear somewhat capricious; it occasionally
hovers with beating wings, reconnoitring for prey, and soon
impatiently darts off to a distance to renew the same ma-
noeuvre. In the winter, however, it is most commonly seen
perched on some dead branch, or on a pole or stalk in the
fields, often at a little distance from the ground, keeping up a
frequent jerking of the tail, and attentively watching for some
such humble game as mice, grasshoppers, or lizards. At this
time it is likewise so familiar as to enter the garden, orchard,
or premises near to the house, and shows but little alarm on
being approached. It is, however, by no means deficient in
courage, and, like the larger Falcons, often makes a fatal and
rapid sweep upon Sparrows or those small birds which are its
accustomed prey.

Instead of being a mere straggler outside the warmer portions of
the United States, as Nuttall appears to have considered this Fal-
con, it is quite common throughout most of the continent, and not
only breeds in New England, but winters there. It breeds also
throughout Canada, north to the lower fur countries, and retires to
the Southern States during the cold weather.

*

Note.— The CuBAN SPARROW Hawk (falco sparverioides)
has been found in Florida; and two examples of the KESTREL
(Falco tinunculus) have been captured on this side of the Atlantic,
—one off the coast of Greenland, and the other at Nantasket,
Mass., in 1887.

fendi}
nit
YAN \

GOLDEN EAGLE. |.
AQUILA CHRYSAETOS.

CuHar. Dark brown, head and neck tawny brown; legs feathered to
the toes; in the young, tail whitish, with broad terminal band of black.

Vest. On a tree, sometimes on a high cliff; loosely built of dry sticks,
lined with twigs, grass, moss, leaves, and feathers.

£ggs. 2-3 (usually 2); dull white or pale buff, spotted and blotched
more or less thickly with reddish brown and lavender ; 3.00 X 2.30.

This ancient monarch of the birds is found in all the cold
and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, taking up
his abode by choice in the great forests and plains, and in wild,
desert, and mountainous regions. His eyry, commonly formed
of an extensive set of layers of large sticks, is nearly horizontal,
and occasionally extended between some rock and adjoining

16 BIRDS OF PREY.

tree, as was the one described by Willughby in the Peak of
Derbyshire. About thirty miles inland from the Mandan Fort
on the Missouri I once had occasion to observe the eyry of
this noble bird, which here consisted of but a slender lining of
sticks conveyed into a rocky chasm on the face of a lofty hill
rising out of the grassy, open plain. It contained one young
bird, nearly fledged, and almost of the color of the Gyrfalcon.
Near their rocky nests they are seen usually in pairs, at times
majestically soaring to a vast height and gazing on the sun,
towards which they ascend until they disappear from view.
From this sublime elevation they often select their devoted
prey, — sometimes a kid or a lamb from the sporting flock, or
the timid rabbit or hare crouched in the furrow or sheltered in
some bush. The largest birds are also frequently their victims ;
and in extreme want they will not refuse to join with the
alarmed Vulture in his cadaverous repast. After this gorging
meal the Eagle can, if necessary, fast for several days. The
precarious nature of his subsistence and the violence by which
it is constantly obtained seem to produce a moral effect on
the disposition of this rapacious bird : though in pairs, they are
never seen associated with their young; their offspring are
driven forth to lead the same unsocial, wandering life as their
unfeeling progenitors. This harsh and tyrannical disposition is
strongly displayed.even when they lead a life of restraint and
confinement. The weaker bird is never willingly suffered to
eat a single morsel ; and though he may cower and quail under
the blow with the most abject submission, the same savage
deportment continues towards him as long as he exists. Those
which I have seen in confinement frequently uttered hoarse
and stridulous cries, sometimes almost barkings, accompanied
by vaporous breathings, strongly expressive of their ardent,
unquenchable, and savage appetites. Their fire-darting eyes,
lowering brows, flat foreheads, restless disposition, and terrific
plaints, together with their powerful natural weapons, seem to
assimilate them to the tiger rather than the timorous bird. Yet
it would appear that they may be rendered docile, as the Tar-
tars (according to Marco Polo in 1269) were said to train

GOLDEN EAGLE. iy

this species to the chase of hares, foxes, wolves, antelopes, and
other kinds of large game, in which it displayed all the docility
of the Falcon. The longevity of the Eagle is as remarkable as
its strength ; it is believed to subsist for a century, and is about
three years in gaining its complete growth and fixed plumage.
This bird was held in high estimation by the ancients on ac-
count of its extraordinary magnitude, courage, and sanguinary
habits. The Romans chose it as an emblem for their imperial
standard ; and from its aspiring flight and majestic soaring it
was fabled to hold communication with heaven and to be the
favorite messenger of Jove. The Tartars have a particular
esteem for the feathers of the tail, with which they supersti-
tiously think to plume invincible arrows. It is no less the
venerated War-Lagle of our Northern and Western aborigines ;
and the caudal feathers are extremely valued for talismanic
head-dresses and as sacred decorations for the Pipe of Peace.

The Eagle appears to be more abundant around Hudson’s
Bay than in the United States; but they are not unfrequent in
the great plains of the Mississippi and Missouri, as appears
from the frequent use of the feathers by the natives. The
wilderness seems their favorite resort, and they neither crave
nor obtain any advantage from the society of man. Attached
to the mountains in which they are bred, it is a rare occurrence
to see the Eagle in this vicinity ; and, as with some other birds,
it would appear that the young only are found in the United
States, while the old remain in Labrador and the northern
regions. The lofty mountains of New Hampshire afford suit-
able situations for the eyry of the Eagle, over whose snow-clad
summits he is seen majestically soaring in solitude and gran-
deur. A young bird from this region, which I have seen in a
state of domestication, showed considerable docility. He had,
however, been brought up from the nest, in which he was found
in the month of August ; he appeared even playful, turning his
head about in a very antic manner, as if desirous to attract
attention, — still, his glance was quick and fiery. When birds
were given to him, he plumed them very clean before he began
his meal, and picked the subject to a perfect skeleton.

VOL. I. — 2

18 BIRDS OF PREY.

The ferocious and savage nature of the Eagle, in an unre-
claimed state, is sometimes displayed in a remarkable manner.
A peasant attempted to rob an eyry of this bird situated at the
Lake of Killarney: for this purpose he stripped and swam over
to the spot in the absence of the old birds; but on his return,
while yet up to the chin in water, the parents arrived, and
missing their young, instantly fell on the unfortunate plunderer
and killed him on the spot.

There are several well-authenticated instances of their carry-
ing off children to their nests. In 1737, in the parish of
Norderhougs, in Norway, a boy over two years old, on his way
from the cottage to his parents, at work in the fields at no great
distance, fell into the pounce of an Eagle, who flew off with
the child in their sight, and was seen no more. Anderson, in
his history of Iceland, says that in that island children of four
or five years of age have occasionally been borne away by
Eagles ; and Ray relates that in one of the Orkneys a child of
a year old was seized in the talons of this ferocious bird and
carried about four miles to its nest, but the mother, knowing
the place of the eyry, followed the bird, and recovered her child
yet unhurt.

The Common, or Ring-tailed Eagle, is now found to be the
young of the Golden Eagle. These progressive changes have
been observed by Temminck on two living subjects which he
kept for several years.

The Golden Eagle is generally considered to be a rare bird in
New England and Canada, and, indeed, throughout the settled dis-
tricts everywhere ; though examples have been taken the continent
over, from Greenland to Mexico, and west to the Pacific.

BALD EAGLE.

WASHINGTON EAGLE.
HALLZETUS LEUCOCEPHALUS.

Cuar. Adult: blackish brown, paler on margin of feathers; head and
tail white after third year; bill and feet yellow; legs bare of feathers.
Young: darker than the adult; no white on head or tail (or concealed by
contour feathers); bill and feet brownish.

Length 30 to 40 inches. (The young are larger than the adult birds,
and are very similar to the young of the Golden Eagle, though the latter
are easily distinguished by their feathered legs.)

Nest. On a high tree, usually in a crotch, seldom on a dead tree, some-
times on a cliff; made of dry sticks loosely arranged, and occasionally
weed-stems and coarse grass are added ; but there is‘rarely any attempt at
a lining.

Eggs. 2-3; white or pale buff; 2.90 X 2.25.

20 BIRDS OF PREY.

The Washington Eagle. —It is to the indefatigable Audu-
bon that we owe the distinct note and description of this noble
Eagle, which first drew his attention while voyaging far up the
Mississippi, in the month of February, 1814. At length he had
the satisfaction of discovering its eyry, in the high cliffs of Green
River, in Kentucky, near to its junction with the Ohio: two
young were discovered loudly hissing from a fissure in the
rocks, on the approach of the male, from whom they received
a fish. The female now also came, and with solicitous alarm
for the safety of her young, gave a loud scream, dropped the
food she had brought, and hovering over the molesting party,
kept up a growling and threatening cry by way of intimidation ;
and in fact, as our disappointed naturalist soon discovered, she
from this time forsook the spot, and found means to convey
away her young. The discoverer considers the species as rare,
— indeed, its principal residence appears to be in the northern
parts of the continent, particularly the rocky solitudes around
the Great Northwestern Lakes, where it can at all times col-
lect its finny prey and rear its young without the dread of man.
In the winter season, about January and February, as well as at
a later period of the spring, these birds are occasionally seen
in this vicinity (Cambridge, Mass.),—rendered perhaps bolder
and more familiar by want, as the prevalence of the ice and
cold at this season drives them to the necessity of wandering far-
ther than usual in search of food. At this early period Audubon
observed indications of the approach of the breeding-season.
They are sometimes seen contending in the air, so that one of
the antagonists will suddenly drop many feet downwards, as if
wounded or alarmed. My friend Dr. Hayward, of Boston, had
in his possession one of these fine, docile Eagles for a consid-
erable time ; but desirous of devoting it to the then Linnzan
Museum, he attempted to poison it by corrosive sublimate of
mercury: several times, however, doses even of two drams
were given to it, concealed in fish, without producing any inju-
rious effect on its health.

The Washington Eagle, bold and vigorous, disdains the
Ppiratical habits of the Bald Eagle, and invariably obtains his

BALD EAGLE. 21

own sustenance without molesting the Osprey. ‘The circles he
describes in his flight are wider than those of the White-
headed Eagle ; he also flies nearer to the land or the surface
of the water ; and when about to dive for his prey, he descends
in circuitous, spiral rounds, as if to check the retreat of the
fish, on which he darts only when within the distance of a few
yards. When his prey is obtained, he flies out at a low eleva-
tion to a considerable distance to enjoy his repast at leisure.
The quantity of food consumed by this enormous bird is very
great, according to the account of those who have had them
in confinement. Mr, Audubon’s male bird weighed fourteen
and one half pounds avoirdupois. One ina small museum in
Philadelphia (according to the account of my friend Mr. C.
Pickering), also a male, weighed much more, — by which dif-
ference it would appear that they are capable of becoming
exceedingly fat ; for the length of this bird was about the same
as that of Audubon, — three feet six or seven inches. ‘The
width, however, was only about seven feet, — agreeing pretty
nearly with a specimen now in the New England Museum.
The male of the Golden Eagle, the largest hitherto known, is
seldom more than three feet long.

That this bird is not the White-tailed Eagle (Fako adbi-
cilla), or its young, the Sea Eagle (7. ossif/ragus), is obvi-
ous from the difference in size alone, the male of that bird
being little over two feet four inches in length, or a little
less even than the Bald Eagle. The female of the Washing-
ton Eagle must, of course, be six or eight inches longer, —
which will give a bird of unparalleled magnitude amongst the
whole Eagle race. This measurement of the Sea Eagle is
obtained from Temminck’s “ Manual of Ornithology,’’ who has
examined more than fifty individuals. At the same time I have
a suspicion that the Washington Eagle, notwithstanding this,
exists also in Europe; as the great Sea Eagle of Brisson is
described by this author as being three feet six inches in length
from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, and the stretch
of the wings about seven feet! These measurements also are
adopted by Buffon ; but the individuals were evidently in young

22 BIRDS OF PREY.

plumage, in which state, as described by Brisson, they again
approach the present species. Nor need it be considered as
surprising if two different species be confounded in the Sea
Eagle of Europe, as the recently established Imperial Eagle
had ever been confounded with the Golden. Another distin-
guishing trait of the Washington Eagle is in the length of the
tail, which is one and one half inches longer than the folded
wings. In the White-tailed species this part never extends
beyond the wings.

The White-headed or Bald Eagle. — This noble and daring
Eagle is found along the sea-coasts, lakes, and rivers through-
out the northern regions, being met with in Asia, Europe, and
America, where they extend to the shores of the Pacific, and
as far as the confines of California. In Behring’s Isle, Mack-
enzie’s River, and Greenland, they are not uncommon. But
while they are confined in the Old World to this cheerless re-
gion so constantly that only “wo instances are known of their
appearance in the centre of Europe, in the United States they
are most abundant in the milder latitudes, residing, breeding,
and rearing their young in all the intermediate space from
Nova Scotia or Labrador to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
The rocky coast of this part of New England (Massachusetts)
is, however, seldom tenanted by this species, though they are
occasionally seen in the spring and about the commencement
of winter. In the United States it is certain that they show a
decided predilection for the milder climates. It is probable
that in Europe they are deterred in their migrations by the
tyrannical persecution of the White-tailed Eagle (7. albicilla),
which abounds in that country, living also principally on fish,
and therefore selecting the same maritime situations as our
Eagle. In the United States he sways almost without control
the whole coast of the Atlantic, and has rendered the rival
Osprey his humble tributary, proscribing, in his turn, the ap-
pearance of the Sea Eagle, which, if it exist at all with us, is
equally as rare as the present species appears to be in Europe.

Though on Behring’s Isle the Bald Eagle is said to nest on

BALD EAGLE, 23

cliffs, as the only secure situation that probably offers, in the
United States he usually selects, near the sea-coast, some lofty
pine or cypress tree for his eyry; this is built of large sticks,
several feet in length, forming a floor, within and over which
are laid sods of earth, hay, moss, dry reeds, sedge-grass, pine-
tops, and other coarse materials, piled after several incubations
to the height of 5 or 6 feet, and 4 or 5 feet in breadth. On
this almost level bed the female early in February deposits two
dull white eggs, one of which is said sometimes to be laid after
an interval so considerable that the young are hatched at dif-
ferent periods. Lawson, however, says that they breed so
often as to commence laying again under their callow young,
whose warmth assists the hatching of the eggs. This eyry or
breeding-place continues to be perpetually occupied and re-
paired as long as the tree endures, — indeed their attachment
to particular places is so strong that after their habitation has
been demolished, by the destruction of the tree that supported
it, they have very contentedly taken possession of an adjoin-
ing one. Nor is the period of incubation the only time spent
in the nest by this species; it is a shelter and common habi-
tation at all times and seasons, being a home like the hut to
the savage, or the cottage to the peasant.

The helpless young, as might be supposed, are fed with
great attention, and supplied with such a superfluity of fish
and other matters that they often lie scattered around the
tree, producing the most putrid and noisome effluvia. The
young are at first clothed with a whitish down; they gradually
become gray, and continue of a brownish gray until the third
year, when the characteristic white of the head and tail be-
comes perfectly developed. As their food is abundant, the
young are not forcibly driven from the nest, but fed for some
time after they have left it. They are by no means shy or
timorous, will often permit a near approach, and sometimes
even bristle up their feathers in an attitude of daring de-
fence. Their cry is sonorous and lamentable, like that of the
Great Eagle, and when asleep they are said to make a very
audible snoring sound.

24 BIRDS OF PREY,

The principal food of the Bald Eagle is fish 3 and though he
possesses every requisite of alertness and keenness of vision
for securing his prey, it is seldom that he obtains it by any
other means than stratagem and rapine. For this habitual
daring purpose he is often seen perching upon the naked
limb of some lofty tree which commands an extensive view of
the ocean. In this attitude of expectation he heedlessly sur-
veys the active employment of the feathered throng, which
course along the wavy strand, or explore the watery deep with
beating wing, until from afar he attentively scans the motions
of his provider, the ample-winged and hovering Osprey. At
length the watery prey is espied, and the feathered fisher de-
scends like a falling rack; cleaving the wave, he now bears his
struggling victim from the deep, and mounting in the air,
utters an exulting scream. At this signal the Eagle pirate
gives chase to the fortunate fisher, and soaring above him, by
threatening attitudes obliges him to relinquish his prey; the
Eagle, now poising for a surer aim, descends like an arrow,
and snatching his booty before it arrives at the water, retires
to the woods to consume it at leisure. These perpetual dep-
redations on the industrious Osprey sometimes arouse him to
seek for vengeance, and several occasionally unite to banish
their tyrannical invader. When greatly pressed by hunger, the
Bald Eagle has sometimes been observed to attack the Vul-
ture in the air, obliging him to disgorge the carrion in his
craw, which he snatches up before it reaches the ground. He
is sometimes seen also to drive away the Vultures, and feed
voraciously on their carrion. Besides fish, he preys upon
Ducks, Geese, Gulls, and other sea-fowl; and when the re-
sources of the ocean diminish, or fail from any cause, par-
ticularly on the southern migration of the Osprey, his inland
depredations are soon notorious, young lambs, pigs, fawns, and
even deer often becoming his prey. So indiscriminate in-
deed is the fierce appetite of this bold bird that instances are
credibly related of their carrying away infants. An attempt of
this kind, according to Wilson, was made upon a child lying
by its mother as she was weeding a garden at Great Egg-

BALD EAGLE. 25

Harbor, in New Jersey; but the garment seized upon by the
Eagle giving way at the instant of the attempt, the life of the
child was spared. I have heard of another instance, said to
have happened at Petersburgh, in Georgia, near the Savannah
River, where an infant, sleeping in the shade near the house,
was seized and carried to the eyry near the edge of a swamp
five miles distant, and when found, almost immediately, the
child was dead. The story of the Eagle and child, in “The
History of the House of Stanley,” the origin of the crest of
that family, shows the credibility of the exploit, as supposed to
have been effected by the White-tailed Eagle, so nearly related
to the present. Indeed, about the year 1745 some Scotch
reapers, accompanied by the wife of one of them with an
infant, repaired to an island in Loch Lomond ; the mother laid
down her child in the shade at no great distance from her, and
while she was busily engaged in labor, an Eagle of this kind
suddenly darted upon the infant and immediately bore it away
to its rocky eyry on the summit of Ben Lomond. The alarm
of this shocking event was soon spread; and a considerable
party, hurrying to the rescue, fortunately succeeded in recover-
ing the child alive.

The Bald Eagle, like most of the large species, takes wide
circuits in its flight, and soars at great heights. In these sub-
lime attitudes he may often be seen hovering over waterfalls
and lofty cataracts, particularly that of the famous Niagara,
where he watches for the fate of those unfortunate fish and
other animals that are destroyed in the descent of the tumul-
tuous waters.

All ornithologists of the present day agree in the opinion that
Audubon’s “ Bird of Washington” was an immature Bald Eagle,
——the difference in size and coloration accounting for the error.

Nuttall, following Audubon, wrote of the two phases as of dis-
tinct species; for it was not until about 1870 that washingtont was
dropped from the lists. I have given the two biographies as they
appeared in the original work, for together they form a good his-
tory of the bird’s distinctive habits. The difference in habits noted
is not due to difference of age, as might be supposed, but to the
different conditions under which the birds chanced to be observed.

26 BIRDS OF PREY.

I will take this opportunity of protesting against the perpetua-
tion of an idea, still current, which originated with the older writers,
concerning the “nobility” of the Fadconide, under which family
name are grouped the Eagles, Falcons, Kites, and Hawks. They
were until quite recently classed among the first of the feathered
race ; but the systematists now place them below the Woodpeckers,
and next above the Grouse and Pigeons.

The majority of the Fa/conid@ have an attractive physique and
superior strength, as well as a haughty bearing. They are hand-
some, stalwart ruffians, but they are nothing more. They are
neither the most intelligent nor most enterprising of birds, nor the
bravest. They are not even the swiftest, or most dexterous on the
wing ; and in bearing, proudly as they carry themselves, are not
supreme.

It is now considered probable that the tales of Eagles carrying
off children are myths.

GRAY SEA EAGLE.
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.
HALI£ETUS ALBICILLA.

Cuar. General color, grayish-brown (paler on margin of feathers);
head and neck gray, — paler in old birds ; tail white; legs bare.

Length: male, 33 inches; female, 38 inches.

Vest. Ina tree or on a rock, sometimes on the ground; made of dry
sticks loosely arranged and often piled to considerable height.

£ggs. 1-3 (usually 2); dull white; 2.85 X 2.25.

Mr. Hagerup reports that this European bird breeds in southern
Greenland and is quite common there. It feeds principally on fish,
but will eat any kind of meat or carrion, being particularly partial
to water fowl, and is much more enterprising than is its congener,
the Bald Eagle.

AMERICAN OSPREY.
FISH HAWK.

PANDION HALIAETUS CAROLINENSIS.

CHAR. Above, dark brown; head and neck white, with dark stripe on
side of the head ; tail grayish, with several narrow dark bars, and tipped
with white; under-parts white or buffish, sometimes (in female) streaked
with brown. Feet and claws large and strong. Hook of the bill long.
Length 21 to 25 inches. :

Vest. Of loosely arranged sticks on top of high tree,— generally a
dead tree is selected; usually near water.

Zgegs. 2to4; variable in shape, color, size, and markings; ground
color generally whitish, with yellow or red tint, blotched with reddish
brown of various shades. Size about 2.50 X 1.75.

This large and well-known species, allied to the Eagles, is
found near fresh and salt water in almost every country in the

28 BIRDS OF PREY.

world. In summer it wanders into the Arctic regions of
Europe, Asia, and America; it is also equally prevalent in the
milder parts of both continents, as in Greece and Egypt. In
America it is found in the summer from Labrador, and the
interior around Hudson’s Bay, to Florida; and according to
Buffon, it extends its residence to the tropical regions of
Cayenne.
Its food being almost uniformly fish, it readily acquires sub-
- sistence as long as the waters remain unfrozen; but at the
commencement of cool weather, even as early as the close of
September, or at farthest the middle of October, these birds
leave New York and New Jersey and go farther south. This
early period of departure is, in all probability, like their arrival
towards the close of March, wholly regulated by the coming
and going of the shoals of fish on which they are accustomed
to feed. Towards the close of March or beginning of April
“they arrive in the vicinity of Boston with the first shoal of
alewives or herrings ; but yet are seldom known to breed along
the coast of Massachusetts. ‘Their arrival in the spring is wel-
comed by the fisherman as the sure indication of the approach
of those shoals of shad, herring, and other kinds of fish which
‘ now begin to throng the bays, inlets, and rivers near the ocean ;
and the abundance with which the waters teem affords ample
sustenance for both the aérial and terrestrial fishers, as each
pursues in peace his favorite and necessary employment. In
' short, the harmless industry of the Osprey, the familiarity with
which he rears his young around the farm, his unexpected
neutrality towards all the domestic animals near him, his sub-
limely picturesque flight and remarkable employment, with the
strong affection displayed towards his constant mate and long
helpless young, and the wrongs he hourly suffers from the
pirate Eagle, are circumstances sufficiently calculated, without
the aid of ready superstition, to ensure the public favor and
tolerance towards this welcome visitor. Driven to no harsh
necessities, like his superiors the Eagles, he leads a compar-
atively harmless life ; and though unjustly doomed to servitude,
his address and industry raise him greatly above his oppressor,
so that he supplies himself and his young with a plentiful

AMERICAN OSPREY. 29

sustenance. His docility and adroitness in catching fish have
also sometimes been employed by man for his advantage.

Intent on exploring the sea for his food, he leaves the nest
and proceeds directly to the scene of action, sailing round in
easy and wide circles, and turning at times as on a pivot, ap-
parently without exertion, while his long and curving wings
seem scarcely in motion. At the height of from one hundred
to two hundred feet he continues to survey the bosom of the
deep. Suddenly he checks his course and hovers in the air
with beating pinions; he then descends with rapidity, but the
wily victim has escaped. Now he courses near the surface, and
by a dodging descent, scarcely wetting his feet, he seizes a fish,
which he sometimes drops, or yields to the greedy Eagle ; but,
not discouraged, he again ascends in spiral sweeps to regain
the higher regions of the air and renew his survey of the watery
expanse. His prey again espied, he descends perpendicularly
like a falling plummet, plunging into the sea with a loud, rush-
ing noise.and with an unerring aim. In an instant he emerges
with the struggling prey in his talons, shakes off the water
from his feathers, and now directs his laborious course to land,
beating in the wind with all the skill of a practised seaman.
The fish which he thus carries may be sometimes from six to
eight pounds ; and so firm sometimes is the penetrating grasp
of his talons that when by mistake he engages with one which
is too large, he is dragged beneath the waves, and at length
both fish and bird perish.

From the nature of its food, the flesh, and even the eggs, are
rendered exceedingly rank and nauseous. Though its prey is
generally taken in the bold and spirited manner described, an
Osprey sometimes sits on a tree over a pond for an hour at
a time, quietly waiting its expected approach.

Unlike other rapacious birds, these may be almost con-
sidered gregarious, breeding so near each other that, accord-
ing to Mr. Gardiner, there were on the small island on which
he resided, near to the eastern extremity of Long Island
(New York), no less than three hundred nests with young.
Wilson observed twenty of their nests within half a mile. I
have seen them nearly as thick about Rehoboth Bay in Dela-

30 BIRDS OF PREY.

ware. Here they live together at least as peaceably as rooks ;
and so harmless are they considered by other birds that, ac-
cording to Wilson, the Crow Blackbirds, or Grakles, are some-
times allowed refuge by the Ospreys, and construct their nests
in the very interstices of their eyry. It would appear some-
times that, as with Swallows, a general assistance is given in
the constructing of a new nest; for previous to this event, a
flock have been seen to assemble in the same tree, squealing as
is their custom when anything materially agitates them. At
times they are also seen engaged in social gambols high in the
air, making loud vociferations, suddenly darting down, and then
sailing in circles; and these innocent recreations, like many
other unmeaning things, are construed into prognostications of
stormy or changing weather. Their common friendly call is a
kind of shrill whistle, "phew, ’phew, phew, repeated five or six
times, and somewhat similar to the tone of a fife. Though
social, they are sometimes seen to combat in the air, instigated
probably more by jealousy than a love of rapine, as their food
is always obtained from an unfailing source.

Early in May the Osprey commences laying, and has from
two to four eggs. They are a little larger than those of the
Common Fowl, and are from a reddish or yellowish cream-color
to nearly white, marked with large blotches and points of
reddish brown. During the period of incubation the male
frequently supplies his mate with food, and she leaves her eggs
for very short intervals.

The young appear about the last of June, and are most
assiduously attended and supplied. On the approach of any
person towards the nest, the parent utters a peculiar plaintive,
whistling note, which increases as it takes to wing, sailing
round, and at times making a quick descent, as if aiming at
the intruder, but sweeping past at a short distance. On the
nest being invaded, either while contaming eggs or young,
the male displays great courage and makes a violent and
dangerous opposition. The young remain a long time in the
nest, so that the old are sometimes obliged to thrust them
out and encourage them to fly ; but they still, for a period, con-
tinue to feed them in the air.

AMERICAN GOSHAWK.
BLUE HEN HAWK.

ACCIPITER ATRICAPILLUS.

Cuar. Above, dark bluish gray; top of head black, the feathers be-
neath the surface white; white stripe over the eye; tail with four dark
bands ; below, white barred and streaked with narrow dark lines. Young
very different ; above, brown, edges of feathers buffish ; tail lighter, tipped
with white and crossed by four or five dark bands; below, buffish, streaked
with brown. Length 22 to 24 inches.

Nest. Ina tree; made of twigs.

£ggs. 3-4; bluish white, with buff or reddish brown markings; 2.30

xX 175.

The foreign representative of this elegant and spirited spe-
cies of Hawk appears to be common in France, Germany, the
northern parts of Great Britain, Russia, and Siberia, and ex-
tends into Chinese Tartary. Our species, so nearly related to
the European bird, is very rare, migrating to the South ap-
parently at the approach of winter. On the 26th of October,
1830, I received one of these birds from the proprietor of

32 BIRDS OF PREY.

Fresh Pond Hotel, in the moult, having the stomach crammed
with moles and mice, and it was shot in the act of devouring
a Pigeon.

The Goshawk was held in considerable esteem for falconry,
and, according to Bell, was employed for this amusement by
the emperor of China, who moved sometimes to these excur-
sions in great state, often bearing a Hawk on his hand, to let
fly at any game that might be raised, which was usually Pheas-
ants, Partridges, Quails, or Cranes. In 1269 Marco Polo
witnessed this diversion of the emperor, which probably had
existed for many ages previous. The falconers distinguished
these birds of sport into two classes, — namely, those of falconry
properly so called, and those of hawking; and in this second
and inferior class were included the Goshawk, the Sparrow
Hawk, Buzzard, and Harpy. This species does not soar so high
as the longer-winged Hawks, and darts upon its quarry by a side
glance, not by a direct descent, like the true Falcon. These
birds were caught in nets baited with live Pigeons, and reduced
to obedience by the same system of privation and discipline
as the Falcon.

A pair of Goshawks were kept for a long time in a cage by
Buffon ; he remarks that the female was at least a third larger
than the male, and the wings, when closed, did not reach
within six inches of the end of the tail. The male, though
smaller, was much more fierce and untamable. They often
fought with their claws, but seldom used the bill for any other
purpose than tearing their food. If this consisted of birds,
they were plucked as neatly as by the hand of the poulterer ;
but mice were swallowed whole, and the hair and skin, and
other indigestible parts, after the manner of the genus, were
discharged from the mouth rolled up in little balls. Its cry
was raucous, and terminated by sharp, reiterated, piercing
notes, the more disagreeable the oftener they were repeated ;
and the cage could never be approached without exciting
violent gestures and screams. Though of different sexes, and
confined to the same cage, they contracted no friendship for
each other which might soothe their imprisonment, and finally,

GOSHAWK. 33

to end the dismal picture, the female, in a fit of indiscriminate
rage and violence, murdered her mate in the silence of the
night, when all the other feathered race were wrapped in
repose. Indeed, their dispositions are so furious that a Gos-
hawk, left with any other Falcons, soon effects the destruction
of the whole. Their ordinary food is young rabbits, squirrels,
mice, moles, young Geese, Pigeons, and small birds, and, with
a cannibal appetite, they sometimes even prey upon the young
of their own species.

The Goshawk is not so rare in America as the older naturalists
supposed ; indeed, it is quite a common bird in the maritime Prov-
inces of Canada and in northern New England, where it is found
during the entire year. It occurs also west to Manitoba (though
apparently rare in the Lake Superior region), and ranges, in winter,
south to Maryland, Kentucky, and Ohio.

Its usual breeding area is from about latitude 45° to the fur
‘countries ; though a few pairs probably build every year in southern
New England. So few, comparatively, of the older and full-plu-
maged birds are seen that the species is not well known, the
younger brown birds being almost indistinguishable from the
young of several other Hawks.

There are several species that receive the name of “ Hen Hawk ”
from the farmer; but none is so much dreaded as the “ Blue Hawk,”
—and for good reason. With a boldness, strength, and dexterity of
flight that is rivalled only by the Peregrine, the Goshawk com-
bines a spirit of enterprise worthy of the Osprey, and a ferocity
and cunning that are unmatched by any of the tribe. I have seen
one swoop into a farmyard while the fowls were being fed, and
carry off a half-grown chick without any perceptible pause in the
flight.

VOL. I. -— 3

STONY BROOK LIBRARY

COOPER’S HAWK.

ACCIPITER COOPERI.

Cuar. Adult bluish gray or almost bluish ash, head darker ; below,
whitish, breast and belly thickly streaked with reddish brown, sides with
a bluish tinge; wings and tail barred with dark brown, tail tipped with
white. Length about 16 inches (female 2 to 3 inches longer).

Nest. Ina tree, near the trunk; made of twigs, lined with grass.

£ggs. 3-4; bluish white spotted with reddish brown (sometimes im-
maculate) ; 1.90 X I.50.

This fine species of Hawk is found in considerable numbers
in the Middle States, particularly New York and New Jersey,
in the autumn and at the approach of winter. It is also
seen in the Oregon territory to the shores of the Pacific. Its
food appears principally to be birds of various kinds; from
the Sparrow to the Ruffed Grouse, all contribute to its rapa-
cious appetite. I have also seen this species as far south as
the capital of Alabama, and, in common with the preceding,
its depredations among the domestic fowls are very destructive.
Mr. Cooper informs me that the plumage of the adult male
bears the same analogy to the adult of /. fuscus as the young
of that species does to the present, excepting that the rufous

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. 35

tints are paler. The difference in size between the two is as
2, Or even 3, to I.

Cooper’s Hawk is generally distributed throughout North Amer-
ica from the fur countries to Mexico (in winter), though most
abundant in the southern portions of New England and in the
Middle States.

It is called “ Chicken Hawk” by the Northern farmers.

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK.
ACCIPITER VELOX.

CuHar. The adult may be best described as a small edition of
Cooper’s Hawk, which it resembles in almost everything but size. The
top of the head is bluish, and the cheeks have a reddish tinge. Length
of male about 11 inches ; female some 2 inches longer.

Nest. Ina tree; made of twigs, and lined with leaves and grass.

Eggs. 3-5; bluish white or greenish white blotched with brown;

1.45 X 1.15.

This bold and daring species possesses all the courageous
habits and temerity of the true Falcon; and if the princely
amusement to which these birds were devoted was now in
fashion, few species of the genus would be found more san-
guinary and pugnacious than the present. The young bird is
described by Pennant under the name of the Dubious Falcon,
and he remarks its affinity to the European Sparrow Hawk.
It is, however, somewhat less, differently marked on the head,
and much more broadly and faintly barred below. The nest
of our species, according to Audubon, is made in a tree, and the
eggs are four or five, grayish white, blotched with dark brown ;
they lay about the beginning to the middle of March. The
true Sparrow Hawk shows considerable docility, is easily trained
to hunt Partridges and Quails, and makes great destruction
among Pigeons, young poultry, and small birds of all kinds.
In the winter they migrate from Europe into Barbary and
Greece, and are seen in great numbers out at sea, making such
havoc among the birds of passage they happen to meet in
their way that the sailors in the Mediterranean call them
Corsairs. Wilson observed the female of our species descend

36 BIRDS OF PREY.

upon its prey with great velocity in a sort of zig-zag pounce,
after the manner of the Goshawk. Descending furiously and
blindly upon' its quarry, a young Hawk of this species broke
through the glass of the greenhouse at the Cambridge Botanic
Garden, and fearlessly passing through a second glass parti-
tion, he was only brought up by the third, and caught, though
little stunned by the effort. His wing-feathers were much torn
by the glass, and his flight in this way so impeded as to allow
of his being approached. This species feeds principally upon
mice, lizards, small birds, and sometimes even squirrels. In
the thinly settled States of Georgia and Alabama this Hawk
seems to abound, and proves extremely destructive to young
chickens, a single bird having been known regularly to come
every day until he had carried away between twenty and thirty.
At noon-day, while I was conversing with a planter, one of these
Hawks came down, and without any ceremony, or heeding the
loud cries of the housewife, who most reluctantly witnessed the
robbery, snatched away a chicken directly before us. At an-
other time, near Tuscaloosa, in Alabama, I observed a pair of
these birds furiously attack the large Red-tailed Hawk, squall-
ing very loudly, and striking him on the head until they had
entirely chased him out of sight. This enmity appeared to
arise from a suspicion that the Buzzard was prowling round
the farm-house for the poultry, which these Hawks seemed to
claim as their exclusive perquisite. As this was, however, the
13th of February, these insulting marauders might possibly be
already preparing to breed, and thus be incited to drive away
every suspicious intruder approaching their nest. In fine
weather I have observed this species soar to a great elevation,
and ascend above the clouds. In this exercise, as usual, the
wings seem but little exercised, the ascent being made in a
sort of swimming gyration ; though while near the surface of
the earth the motion of the wings in this bird is rapid and
continuous.

The Sharp-shinned is the commonest Hawk throughout New
England and the settled portions of Canada. In winter it ranges
south to Panama.

MISSISSIPPI KITE.

BLUE KITE.

Icrmna MiISSISSIPPIENSIS.

Cuar. General color bluish-gray, lighter on the head and seconda-
ries, darker on primaries and tail. Length, 13 to 15% inches.

Nest. Ona tree; of small sticks, lined with moss and leaves.

Eggs. 2-3; bluish white; size variable, averaging 1.65 X 1.35.

This remarkably long-winged and beautiful Hawk does not
appear to extend its migrations far within the United States.
Wilson observed it rather plentiful about and below Natchez
in the summer season, sailing in easy circles, sometimes at
a great elevation, so as to keep company with the Turkey
Buzzards in the most elevated regions of the air; at other times
they were seen among the lofty forest trees, like Swallows
sweeping along, and collecting the locusts (Cicade) which
swarmed at this season. My friend Mr. Say observed this
species pretty far up the Mississippi, at one of Major Long’s
‘cantonments. But except on the banks of this great river,
it is rarely seen even in the most southern States. Its food,

38 BIRDS OF PREY.

no doubt, abounds more along the immense valley of the Mis-
sissippi than in the interior regions, and, besides large in-
sects, probably often consists of small birds, lizards, snakes,
and other reptiles, which swarm in these their favorite resorts.
On the failure of food these birds migrate by degrees into the
Mexican and South American provinces, and were observed
by D’Azara in Guiana, about the latitude of 7°. According to
Audubon, this Kite breeds in the Southern States as well as
in Texas, selecting the tall magnolias and white-oaks. From
the narrow limits within which this bird inhabits in the United
States, it is more than probable that the principal part of the
species are constant residents in the warmer parts of the Ameri-
can continent. They begin to migrate early in August.

The range of this species is given as “southern United States
southward from South Carolina, and Wisconsin and Iowa to
Mexico.”

WHITE-TAILED KITE.
BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE.
ELANUS LEUCURUS.

Cuar. General color bluish gray fading to white on head and tail; a
large patch of black on shoulder; lower parts white. Length 15 to 1634
inches. :

Nest. Ina tree, loosely built of sticks and leaves.

£ggs. 2-4; dull white, heavily blotched with brown, 1.60 x 1.25.

This beautiful Hawk, scarcely distinguishable from a second
African species of this section, chiefly inhabits the continent
of South America as far as Paraguay. In the United States it
is only seen occasionally in the peninsula of East Florida, con-
fining its visits almost to the southern extremity of the Union.
It appears to be very shy and difficult of approach ; flying in
easy circles at a moderate elevation, or at times seated on the
deadened branches of the majestic live-oak, it attentively |
watches the borders of the salt-marshes and watery situations

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE. 39

for the field-mice of that country, or unwary Sparrows, that
approach its perch. ‘The bird of Africa and India is said to
utter a sharp and piercing cry, which is often repeated while
the bird moves in the air. It builds, in the forks of trees, a
broad and shallow nest, lined internally with moss and feathers.
A pair have been known to breed on the Santee River in the
month of March, according to Audubon.

This Kite occurs regularly in the Southern States, north to
South Carolina, and Mr. Ridgway has met with it in southern
Illinois. It extends its range westward to California.

SWALLOW-TAILED KITE.
FORK-TAILED KITE.
ELANOIDES FORFICATUS.

Cuar. Head, neck, rump, and lower parts white, other parts black ;
tail deeply forked. Length 19% to 25% inches.

Vest. Ina tree; of sticks and moss, lined with grass and leaves.

figgs. 2-3; white, with buff or green tinge, spotted with various shades

of brown; 1.85 X 1.50.

This beautiful Kite breeds and passes the summer in the
warmer parts of the United States, and is also probably resi-
dent in all tropical and temperate America, migrating into the
southern as well as the northern hemisphere. In the former,
according to Viellot, it is found in Peru and as far as Buenos
Ayres; and though it is extremely rare to meet with this
species as far as the latitude of 40° in the Atlantic States,
yet, tempted by the abundance of the fruitful valley of the
Mississippi, individuals have been seen along that river as
far as the Falls of St. Anthony, in the 44th degree of north
latitude. Indeed, according to Fleming two stragglers have
even found their devious way to the strange climate of Great
Britain.

These Kites appear in the United States about the close of
April or beginning of May, and are very numerous in the Mis-

40 BIRDS OF PREY.

sissippi territory, twenty or thirty being sometimes visible at
the same time ; often collecting locusts and other large insects,
which they are said to feed on from their claws while flying,
at times also seizing upon the nests of locusts and wasps, and,
like the Honey Buzzard, devouring both the insects and their
larvee. Snakes and lizards are their common food in all parts
of America. In the month of October they begin to retire to
the South, at which season Mr. Bartram observed them in
great numbers assembled in Florida, soaring steadily at great
elevations for several days in succession, and slowly passing
towards their winter quarters along the Gulf of Mexico. From
the other States they migrate early in September.

This species is most abundant in the western division of the Gulf
States, but is irregularly distributed over the Southern, Western,
and Middle States. It has occasionally visited New England, and
examples have been seen in Manitoba and near London and
Ottawa in Ontario.

EVERGLADE KITE.
BLACK KITE. HOOK-BILL KITE. SNAIL HAWK.
ROSTRHANIUS SOCIABILIS.

Cuar. Prevailing color dull bluish ash, darker on tail, wings, and an-
terior portion of head; rump white, with terminal bar of light brown ;
bill black; feet orange. Length 16 to 18 inches.

Nest. A platform with a slight depression, composed of sticks or dried
grass, built in a low bush or amid tall grass.

Eggs. 2-3; brownish white blotched with various shades of brown;

1.70 X 1.45.

This is a tropical species that occurs in Florida. Mr. W. E. D.
Scott reports finding it abundant at Panasofkee Lake, and says:
“Their food at this point apparently consists of a kind of large
fresh-water snail which is very abundant. . . . They fish over the
shallow water, reminding one of gulls in their motions; and having
secured a snail by diving, they immediately carry it to the nearest
available perch, when the animal is dexterously taken from the
shell, without injury to the latter.”

AMERICAN ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.
BLACK HAWK.

ARCHIBUTEO LAGOPUS SANCTI-JOHANNIS.

Cuar. General color variable, — dark or light brown, or brownish gray,
sometimes black ; all the feathers edged with lighter color, producing an
appearance of streaks. The absence of these streaks on the belly forms
adark band. Tail with dark and light bars, and whitish at its base.
Easily distinguished from any other Hawk by the feathered shank. Length
193% to 22 inches.

Vest. In a large tree, or on rocks; of sticks lined with grass, dry
moss, and feathers.

Eggs. 2-3; white or creamy, more or less spotted with brown; 1.90

X 1.55.

This remarkable species of Buzzard appears to take up its
residence chiefly in the northern and western wilds of America.
My friend Mr. Townsend found its nest on the banks of Bear
River, west of the Rocky Mountains. The nest, formed of
large sticks, was in a thick willow bush about ten feet from
the ground, and contained two young almost fledged. It is

42 BIRDS OF PREY.

said to, lay four eggs, clouded with reddish. It is common
also to the north of Europe, if not to Africa. The usual station
of these birds is on the outskirts of woods, in the neighborhood
of marshes, — situations suited for supplying them with their
usual humble prey of frogs, mice, reptiles, and straggling birds,
for which they patiently watch for hours together, from daybreak
to late twilight. When prey is perceived, the bird takes a cau-
tious, slow, circuitous course near the surface, and sweeping over
the spot where the object of pursuit is lurking, he instantly
grapples it, and flies off to consume it at leisure. Occasionally
they feed on crabs and shell-fish, The inclement winters of
the high northern regions, where they are usually bred, failing
to afford them food, they are under the necessity of making a
slow migration towards those countries which are less severe.
According to Wilson, no less than from twenty to thirty young
individuals of this species continued regularly to take up their
winter quarters in the low meadows below Philadelphia. They
are never observed to soar, and when disturbed, utter a loud,
squealing note, and only pass from one neighboring tree to
another.

The great variation in the plumage of this Hawk has been the
cause of considerable controversy. Wilson wrote of the black and
the brown phases as of two species, giving them distinct habits.
Nuttall, following Audubon, considered the changes from light to
dark due only to age. Spencer Baird (in 1858), Cassin, and Dr. .
Brewer agreed with Wilson. Later authorities, however, with
more material to aid them, have pronounced both views incorrect,
and have decided that there is but one species, — that the black is
but a melanistic phase. Our systematists now separate the Ameri-
can from the Eurcpean form, giving to the former varietal rank,
as its “trinomial appellation” denotes.

Nuttall does not mention the occurrence of this bird in Massa-
chusetts, though Dr. Brewer states that at one time it was abun-
dant near Boston, and within more recent years numbers have been
captured by Mr. E. O. Damon on the Holyoke Hills, near Spring-
field. It occurs within the United States principally as a winter
visitor, its chief breeding-ground lying in the Labrador and Hudson
Bay district.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.
WINTER HAWK.

BUTEO LINEATUS.

Cuar. Adult: general color dark reddish brown; head and neck ru-
fous: below, lighter, with dark streaks and light bars; wings and tail
black with white bars; lesser wing-coverts chestnut. Young, with little
of the rufous tinge. below, buffy with dark streaks, Length 19 to 22

inches.
Nest. In a tree; of loosely arranged twigs, lined with grass and

feathers.
Zegs. 2-4; bluish white or buffy blotched with brown; 2.20 X 1.70.

This very elegant Hawk does not migrate or inhabit very
far to the north. It is never seen in Massachusetts, nor per-
haps much farther than the State of Pennsylvania. In the
Southern States, during winter, these birds are very common in
swampy situations, where their quailing cry of mutual recogni-
tion may be heard from the depths of the dark forest almost

44 BIRDS OF PREY.

every morning of the season. This plaintive echoing note
resembles somewhat the garrulous complaint of the Jay, £ee-0d,
keé-o6, keé-o6, continued with but little intermission sometimes
for near twenty minutes. At length it becomes loud and im-
patient; but on being distantly answered by the mate, the
sound softens and becomes plaintive like £é¢é-00. This morn-
ing call is uttered most loudly and incessantly by the male,
inquiring for his adventurous mate, whom the uncertain result
of the chase has perhaps separated from him for the night.
As this species is noways shy, and very easily approached, I
have had the opportunity of studying it closely. At length,
but in no haste, I observed the female approach and take her
station on the same lofty, decayed limb with her companion,
who, grateful for this attention, plumed the feathers of his
mate with all the assiduous fondness of a Dove. Intent upon
her meal, however, she soon flew off to a distance, while the
male still remained on his perch, dressing up his beautiful
feathers for near half an hour, often shaking his tail, like some
of the lesser birds, and occasionally taking an indifferent sur-
vey of the hosts of small chirping birds which surrounded him,
who followed without alarm their occupation of gleaning seeds
and berries for subsistence. I have occasionally observed
them perched on low bushes and stakes in the rice-fields, re-
maining thus for half an hour at a time, and then darting after
their prey as it comes in sight. I saw one descend upon a
Plover, as I thought, and Wilson remarks their living on these
birds, Larks, and Sandpipers. The same pair that I watched
also hung on the rear of a flock of cow-buntings which were
feeding and scratching around them. They sometimes attack
squirrels, as I have been informed, and Wilson charges them
with preying also upon Ducks.

I never observed them to soar, at least in winter, their time
being passed very much in indolence and in watching for
their game. Their flight is almost as easy and noiseless as
that of the Owl. In the early part of the month of March
they were breeding in West Florida, and seemed to choose
the densest thickets and not to build at any great height from

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. 45

the ground. On approaching these places, the 2eé-0d became
very loud and angry.

Winter Hawk. — This large American Buzzard is not un-
common in this vicinity, as well as in the neighborhood of
Philadelphia, where Wilson met with it along the marshes and
meadows, feeding almost wholly upon frogs. It is abundant
toward winter. It appears to have very much the manners
of the European Buzzard, remaining inactive for hours to-
gether on the edges of wet meadows, perched upon the larger
limbs of trees, and at times keeping up a regular quailing and
rather hoarse keigh-oo, ketgh-oo, which at intervals is answered
by the mate. When approached, it commonly steals off to
some other tree at no great distance from the first; but if
the pursuit be continued, it flies out and hovers at a consider-
able height. It is also an inhabitant of Hudson’s Bay and
Newfoundland.

Nuttall regarded the old and young as distinct species, giving
to them not only distinctive names, but a different distribution.
Taken together, his two biographies tell about all that is yet known
of the habits and range of the species. It is found throughout this
faunal province, from the Gulf States to the southern border of the
fur countries, has been taken at York Factory on Hudson’s Bay,
and is common in Manitoba.

Nore. — The FLor1pA RED-SHOULDERED Hawk (8udéeo linea-
tus alleni) is a Southern form restricted to Florida and Texas.
It differs from true /zeatus in having the rufous tinge on the
head and neck replaced by brownish gray.

46 BIRDS OF PREY.

HARRIS’S HAWK.

PARABUTEO UNICINCTUS HARRISI.

Cuar. Prevailing color black, sometimes chocolate brown, tinged with
chestnut on the rump; shoulders and lining of wings chestnut ; tail-coverts,
base of tail, and terminal band, white. Length about 20 inches.

West. Ona cliff or in a tree, — usually the latter; a mere platform of
twigs and roots, lined with grass.

Eggs. 2-5 (usually 3); white, tinged with yellow, sometimes marked
with brown or lavender, or both, 2.15 X 1.65.

Harris’s Hawk is abundant in parts of Texas and in Mexico,
and occurs in small numbers in the southern part of Mississippi.
It is usually represented as a rather sluggish bird, associating with
the Vultures and joining in their feasts of carrion, but sometimes
preying upon the small reptiles that infest the banks of streams
and pools. Mr. Sennett, however, describes those he saw along
the lower Rio Grande as more active, feeding chiefly on birds,
mice, and gophers.

RED-TAILED HAWK.
BUTEO BOREALIS.

Cuar. Above, dull brown streaked with rufous and grayish; below,
whitish or tawny streaked with brown; tail chestnut above and gray
beneath, with a band of black near the end and tipped with white. In
the young the tail is grayish brown crossed by some nine dark bars,
and the underparts are white with brown streaks. Length 1914 to 23
inches. ,

Nest. In a high tree; of sticks, lined with grass, sometimes with
feathers.

£gegs. 2-4; whitish or bluish white, usually heavily spotted or blotched
with reddish brown; 2 30 X 1.80.

This beautiful Buzzard inhabits most parts of the United
States, being observed from Canada to Florida; also, far
westward up the Missouri, and even on the coasts of the
northern Pacific Ocean, by Lewis and Clarke. Wilson found
the young to be fully grown in the month of May, about
latitude 31° on the banks of the Mississippi; at this period
they were very noisy and clamorous, keeping up an inces-
sant squealing. It also occasionally nests and breeds in large

RED-TAILED HAWK. 47

trees in the secluded forests of this part of Massachusetts.
The young birds soon become very submissive, and allow them-
selves to be handled with impunity by those who feed them.
The older birds sometimes contest with each other in the air
about their prey, and nearly or wholly descend to the earth
grappled in each other’s talons. Though this species has the
general aspect of the Buzzard, its manners are very similar to
those of the Goshawk; it is equally fierce and predatory,
prowling around the farm often when straitened for food,
and seizing, now and then, a hen or chicken, which it snatches
by making a lateral approach: it sweeps along near the sur-
face of the ground, and grasping its prey in its talons, bears it
away to devour in some place of security. These depredations
on the farm-yard happen, however, only in the winter; at all
other seasons this is one of the shyest and most difficult
birds to approach. It will at times pounce upon rabbits and
considerable-sized birds, particularly Larks, and has been
observed in the Southern States perseveringly to pursue
squirrels from bough to bough until they are overtaken and
seized in the talons. It is frequently seen near wet meadows
where mice, moles, and frogs are prevalent, and also feeds
upon lizards, — appearing, indeed, often content with the
most humble game.

They usually associate in pairs, and seem much attached to
each other; yet they often find it convenient and profitable to
separate in hunting their prey, about which they would readily
quarrel if brought into contact. Though a good deal of their
time passes in indolence, while perched in some tall and dead-
ened tree, yet at others they may be seen beating the ground
as they fly over it in all directions in quest of game. On some
occasions they amuse themselves by ascending to a vast eleva-
tion, like the aspiring Eagle. On a fine evening, about the
middle of January, in South Carolina, I observed one of these
birds leave its withered perch, and soaring aloft over the wild
landscape, in a mood of contemplation, begin to ascend
towards the thin skirting of elevated clouds above him. At
length he passed this sublime boundary, and was now per-

48 BIRDS OF PREY.

ceived and soon followed by his ambitious mate, and in a little
time, by circular ascending gyrations, they both disappeared in
the clear azure of the heavens; and though I waited for their
re-appearance half an hour, they still continued to be wholly
invisible. This amusement, or predilection for the cooler
regions of the atmosphere, seems more or less common to all
the rapacious birds. In numerous instances this exercise must
be wholly independent of the inclination for surveying their
prey, as few of them besides the Falcon descend direct upon
their quarry. Many, as well as the present species, when on
the prowl fly near to the surface of the ground, and often wait
and watch so as to steal upon their victims before they can
take the alarm. Indeed the Condor frequents and nests upon
the summit of the Andes, above which they are seen to soar
in the boundless ocean of space, enjoying the invigorating and
rarefied atmosphere, and only descending to the plains when
impelled by the cravings of hunger.

The Eastern variety of the Red-tail is a common bird through-
out eastern North America north to about latitude 49°, and was
taken by Dr. Bell at Fort Churchill, on Hudson’s Bay. It ranges
westward to the Great Plains, where it is replaced by the sub-
species kriderz. From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific it is
represented by caduzus, and examples of this latter variety have
been taken, occasionally, as far east as Illinois. The Red-tail is a
summer resident only of the Maritime Provinces, but a few are
found in winter in southern Ontario and New England.

Note. — Mr. Ridgway now considers HarLANn’s Hawk to be
a variety of the Red-tail, and he proposes to name it Budeo borealis
harlanz. Its usual habitat is along the lower Mississippi; but exam-
ples have been taken in Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

Two examples of SwarInson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsonz), a
Western species, have been taken in Massachusetts, —one at
Wayland in 1876, and the other near Salem in 1878.

BROAD-WINGED HAWK.

BUTEO LATISSIMUS.

Cuar. Above, dull brown, the feathers with paler edges; tail brown
with four light bars and tipped with white; below, buffish or tawny,
barred and streaked with rufous ; wings short and broad. Length 1334 to
15 inches.

Nest. In a tree; loosely built of twigs, and lined with leaves and
feathers.

Eggs. 2-4; buffish, blotched with reddish brown of various shades ;
1.90 X 1.55. ;

This species was obtained by Wilson, in the vicinity of
Philadelphia, in the act of feeding on a meadow-mouse. On
being approached, it uttered a whining whistle and flew to
another tree, where it was shot. Its great breadth of wing, as
well as of the head and body, compared with its length, ap-
pears remarkably characteristic. The following day the mate
was observed sailing in wide circles, the wings scarcely moving,
and presenting almost a semi-circular outline. These two in-
dividuals appear to be all that were known to Wilson of this

VOL. I. — 4

50 BIRDS OF PREY.

species. Audubon considers it by no means a rare species
in Virginia, Maryland, and all the States to the eastward of
these. Its usual prey is small birds, very young poultry, small
quadrupeds, and insects.

The Broad-wing occurs throughout this eastern faunal province,
but is somewhat local in distribution. In portions of the Maritime
Provinces it is abundant, though in general it is rather uncommon.
Mr. John Neilson considers it common near the city of Quebec, but
Mr. Ernest Wintle reports it rare at Montreal, while Mr. William
L. Scott thinks it the commonest Hawk in the Ottawa valley. Mr.
Thomas Mcllwraith gives it as a “casual visitor” to the southern
portions of Ontario, and Mr. Ernest Thompson found it abundant
in the Muskoka district. Thompson also reports it common in
Manitoba.

In the more northern portions of New England it is a fairly
common summer visitor, while it is found in Massachusetts and
Connecticut throughout the year, but is rather rare. It occurs
also in more or less abundance in all the Middle, Western, and
Southern States. ;

My observations in New Brunswick have led me to form a dif-
ferent opinion of the characteristics of this Hawk from those
expressed by several writers. The examples I met with were not
peculiarly void of either boldness or vigor in pursuit of their prey,
nor peculiarly spiritless when wounded. They did, of course, like
others of the tribe, pursue weak prey, and displayed little true
bravery; but bravery is not a characteristic of the Hawks. A
wounded Broad-wing, however, acts just as does the boldest of
them, — he turns on his back and hits out with claws, beak, and
wings ; and the gunner who thinks he has a meek or spiritless bird
to handle may regret the thought.

SHORT-TAILED HAWK.

BUTEO BRACHYURUS.

CuHar. Above, brownish black or blackish brown; forehead and cheeks
white; tail brownish gray barred with black and tipped with white;
beneath, pure white, a patch of rufous on side of chest. Length 16
inches.

Vest. In a tall tree; made of dry twigs, lined with fresh twigs ‘of
cypress.

£ggs. 1-3; dull white, spotted on large end with reddish brown.

MARSH HAWK, SI

The black and brown phases of plumage worn by this bird have
caused the scientific ornithologists no little perplexity, and been the
subject of some controversy; so a brief summary of the various
opinions held may serve as an illustration of the evolution of many
scientific names.

The species was first described from a specimen in brown plu-
mage and given the name it now bears; then a young bird came
into the hands of another systematist, and supposing it to be a new
species, he named it B. oxypterus; and afterwards an example in
black was taken by still another, who supposed it to be something
new, so he wrote it down B. fuliginosus. These two last-men-
tioned were disposed of by other writers as synonyms of sqwazn-
sont, oxypterus being considered the young plumage, and /uligz-
nosus a melanistic phase, while in several more recent works the
latter, as the Little Black Hawk, was restored to specific rank.
These opinions have recently been abandoned for that which has
been held for a long time by the few, —that both fuligznosus and
oxyplerus are synonyms of the present species.

It cannot, however, be said that the matter is finally adjusted, for
the black color still presents this problem: Is it individual or sex-
ual, —a melanistic phase, or the normal color of the adult male?

The bird is entirely tropical in its range, and is found within the
United States only in the tropical portions of Florida. It was sup-
posed formerly to occur there merely as a casual or accidental
straggler; but recent observations have proved it to be a regular
though uncommon visitor, and breeding there.

MARSH HAWK.
MARSH HARRIER. BLUE HAWK.
CIRCUS HUDSONIUS.

Cuar. Adult male: above, bluish gray; tail with dark bands; rump
white ; beneath white. Adult female and young: above, dark brown
streaked with rufous; tail with dark bands; rump white ; beneath, tawny
with dark streaks. Length 19 to 24 inches.

West. On the ground, in damp meadow or cedar swamp; a loosely
arranged platform of dried grass some four to six inches high, with little
depression, occasionally lined with softer material.

Leggs. 3-8; bluish white, sometimes spotted with buffish or brown;
1.80 X 1.40.

52 BIRDS OF PREY.

This species is common to the northern and temperate, as
well as the warmer parts of the old and new continents, being
met with in Europe, Africa, South America, and the West
Indies. In the winter season it extends its peregrinations
from Hudson’s Bay to the Oregon territory and the southern
parts of the United States, frequenting chiefly open, low, and
marshy situations, over which it sweeps or skims along, at a
little distance usually from the ground, in quest of mice, small
birds, frogs, lizards, and other reptiles, which it often selects
by twilight as well as in the open day; and at times, pressed
by hunger, it is said to join the Owls and seek out its prey
even by moonlight. Instances have been known in England
in which this bird has carried its temerity so far as to pursue
the same game with the armed fowler, and even snatch it from

his grasp after calmly waiting for it to be shot, and without a
even betraying timidity at the report of the gun. The nest of

this species is made on the ground, in swampy woods or
among rushes, occasionally also under the protection of rocky
precipices, and is said to be formed of sticks, reeds, leaves,
straw, and similar materials heaped together, and finished with
a lining of feathers, hair, or other soft substances. In the
fF. cineraceus, so nearly related to this species, the eggs are of
a pure white. When their young are approached, the parents,
hovering round the intruder and uttering a sort of uncouth
syllable, like geg geg gag, or ge ge ne ge ge, seem full of afright
and anxiety. The Crows, however, are their greatest enemies,
and they often succeed in demolishing the nests. The young
are easily tamed, and feed almost immediately without exhib-
iting any signs of fear.

Nuttall has told about all that more modern observers have to
tell of this species. The authorities differ chiefly in descriptions of
the structure of the nest and the markings on the eggs. The nests
that I have examined have been composed entirely of coarse grass,
without lining, though the softest of the grass was laid on top.
The eggs were unspotted.

HAWK OWL.

SURNIA ULULA CAPAROCH.

Cuar. Above, dull blackish brown, spotted with white; crown without
spots; dark patch on the cheeks; face white, the feathers with dark
margins; tail and wing with white bars; below, white with dark bars.
Length 143 to 17%4 inches.

Nest. Ona tree; of twigs lined with feathers.

L£ggs. 2-7; dull white; 1.55 X 1.25.

This remarkable species, forming a connecting link with
the preceding genus of the Hawks, is nearly confined to the
Arctic wilds of both continents, being frequent in Siberia and
the fur countries from Hudson’s Bay to the Pacific. A few
stragglers, now and then, at distant intervals and in the depths
of winter, penetrate on the one side into the northern parts of
the United States, and on the other they occasionally appear
in Germany, and more rarely in France. At Hudson’s Bay
they are observed by day flying high and preying on the White
Grouse and other birds, sometimes even attending the hunter
like a Falcon, and boldly taking up the wounded game as it

54 BIRDS OF PREY.

flutters on the ground. They are also said to feed on mice
and insects, and (according to Meyer) they nest upon trees,
laying two white eggs. They are said to be constant atten-
dants on the Ptarmigans in their spring migrations towards the
North, and are observed to hover round the camp-fires of the
natives, in quest probably of any offal or rejected game.

In Massachusetts and the more southern portions of New Eng-
land the Hawk Owl is only an occasional winter visitor; but in
northern New England and the Maritime Provinces it occurs regu-
larly, though of varying abundance, in some seasons being quite
rare. It is fairly common near Montreal, and rare in Ontario and
in Ohio. Thompson reports it abundant in Manitoba, but only
one example has been taken in Illinois (Ridgway). It breeds in
Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands, and north to sub-arctic
regions.

SNOWY OWL.

NYCTEA NYCTEA.

CuHar. General color pure white, with markings of dull brown or
brownish black, the abundance and shade of the spots varying with age.
A large, stout bird. Length 23 to 27 inches.

Nest. On the ground, of twigs and-grass, lined with feathers.

Lggs. §to10; white; 2.55 X 1.90.

This very large and often snow-white species of Owl is
almost an exclusive inhabitant of the Arctic regions of both
continents, being common in Iceland, the Shetland Islands,
Kamtschatka, Lapland, and Hudson’s Bay. In these dreary
wilds, surrounded by an almost perpetual winter, he dwells,
breeds, and obtains his subsistence. His white robe renders

LAS Ee”
56 BIRDS OF PREY. ( Tee

him scarcely discernible from the overwhelming snows, where
he reigns, like the boreal spirit of the storm. His loud, hol-
low, barking growl, ’whowh, ’whowh, ’whowh hah, hah, hah,
hah, and other more dismal cries, sound like the unearthly
ban of Cerberus ; and heard amidst a region of cheerless soli-
tude, his lonely and terrific voice augments rather than relieves
the horrors of the scene.

Clothed with a dense coating of feathers, which hide even
the nostrils, and leave only the talons exposed, he ventures
abroad boldly at all seasons, and, like the Hawks, seeks his
prey by daylight as well as dark, skimming aloft and reconnoi-
tring his prey, which is commonly the White Grouse or some
other birds of the same genus, as well as hares. On these he
darts from above, and rapidly seizes them in his resistless
talons. At times he watches for fish, and condescends also to
prey upon rats, mice, and even carrion.

These birds appear to have a natural aversion to settled
countries ; for which.reason, perhaps, and the severity of the
climate of Arctic America, they are frequently known to wander
in the winter south through the thinly settled interior of the
United States. They migrate probably by pairs; and accord-
ing to Wilson, two of these birds were so stupid, or dazzled,
as to alight on the roof of the court-house in the large town of
Cincinnati. In South Carolina Dr. Garden saw them occa-
sionally, and they were, in this mild region, observed to hide
themselves during the day in the palmetto-groves of the sea-
coast, and only sallied out towards night in quest of their prey.
Their habits, therefore, seem to vary considerably, according
to circumstances and climate.

This species is a regular winter visitor to the Northern and
Middle States, and during some seasons has been quite abundant.
A few pairs have been seen in summer in northern Maine, New
Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; but the usual breeding-ground is
from about latitude 50° to the Arctic regions.

While in their more southern resorts they are rarely found far
from the forest districts.

1 These latter syllables with the usual quivering sound of the Owl.

SCREECH OWL.
MOTTLED OWL. RED OWL.

MEGASCOPS ASIO.

CuHar. Above, varying greatly from brownish gray to brownish red,
spotted (mottled) with darker shades of the same tint and with blackish;
below, dull whitish or with a rufous tint and heavily marked with dull
brown or blackish. In highly colored red examples the spots are less
frequent. Large ear tufts ; wings and tail barred with the light and dark
colors ; legs feathered and toes bristled. Length 7 to 10 inches.

Vest. Ina hollow tree or stump; the bottom of the hole slightly lined
with leaves or feathers.

Eggs. 4-8; white, nearly round; 1.35 X 1.20.

Mottled Owl.— This common, small, and handsome species,
known as the Little Screech Owl, is probably resident in every
part of the United States, and, in fact, inhabits from Greenland
to Florida, and westward to the Oregon. It appears more
abundant in autumn and winter, as at those seasons, food {fail-

58 BIRDS OF PREY.

ing, it is obliged to approach habitations and barns, in which
the mice it chiefly preys on now assemble ; it also lies in wait
for small birds, and feeds on beetles, crickets, and other in-
sects. The nest is usually in the hollow of an old orchard tree,
about the months of May or June; it is lined carelessly with
a little hay, leaves, and feathers, and the eggs are commonly
four to six, white, and nearly round. Aldrovandus remarks
that the Great Horned Owl provides so plentifully for its
young that a person might obtain some dainties from the
nest, and yet leave a sufficiency for the Owlets besides. The
same remark may also apply to this species, as in the hollow
stump of an apple-tree, which contained a brood of these
young Owls, were found several Bluebirds, Blackbirds, and
Song Sparrows, intended as a supply of food.

During the day these birds retire into hollow trees and un-
frequented barns, or hide in the thickest evergreens. At times
they are seen abroad by day, and in cloudy weather they wake
up from their diurnal slumbers a considerable time before
dark. In the day they are always drowsy, or, as if dozing,
closing, or scarcely half opening their heavy eyes, presenting
the very picture of sloth and nightly dissipation. When per-
ceived by the smaller birds, they are at once recognized as
their insidious enemies ; and the rareness of their appearance,
before the usual roosting-time of other birds, augments the
suspicion they entertain of these feline hunters. From com-
plaints and cries of alarm, the Thrush sometimes threatens
blows; and though evening has perhaps set in, the smaller
birds and cackling Robins re-echo their shrill chirpings and
complaints throughout an extensive wood, until the nocturnal
monster has to seek safety in a distant flight. Their notes are
most frequent in the latter end of summer and autumn, crying
in a sort of wailing quiver, not very unlike the whining of a
puppy dog, 40, hd hd hd hé hé hd, proceeding from high and
clear to a low guttural shake or trill. These notes, at little in-
tervals, are answered by some companion, and appear to be
chiefly a call of recognition from young of the same brood, or
pairs who wish to discover each other after having been sepa-

RED OWL. 59

rated while dozing in the day. On moonlight evenings this
slender wailing is kept up nearly until midnight.

feed Owl. — From the very satisfactory and careful observa-
tions of Dr. Ezra Michener, of New Garden, Chester County,
Pennsylvania, published in the eighth volume of the Journal of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, it appears
certain that the Red and Gray “ Screech Owls” of the United
States are specifically distinct ; he has observed that the Red
Owls rear young of the same color, and that the Gray Owls
of the preceding species have also young which are gray and
mottled from the very nest. Still different as they are in
plumage, the habits of the species are nearly alike. The
present inhabits and breeds in most parts of the United States.
In Pennsylvania they are hatched by the latter end of May,
breeding in hollow trees. The eggs are about four.

I have had an opportunity of verifying all that Wilson re-
lates of the manners of this species ina Red or young Owl,
taken out of a hollow apple-tree, which I kept for some
months. A dark closet was his favorite retreat during the
day. In the evening he became very lively and restless, glid-
ing across the room in which he was confined, with a side-
long, noiseless flight, as if wafted by the air alone. At times
he clung to the wainscot, and, unable to turn, he brought his
head round to his back, so as to present, by the aid of his
brilliant eyes, a most spectral and unearthly appearance. As
the eyes of all the Owls, according to Wilson, are fixed im-
movably in the socket by means of a many cleft capsular liga-
ment, this provision for the free versatile motion of the head
appears necessary. When approached towards evening, he
appeared strongly engaged in reconnoitring the object, blow-
ing with a hissing noise (shay, shay, shay), common to other
species, and stretching out his neck with a waving, lateral
motion, in a threatening attitude, and, on a nearer approach,
made a snapping with the bill, produced by striking together
both mandibles, as they are equally movable. He was a very -
expert mouse-catcher, swallowed his prey whole, and then,
after some time, ejected from the bill the bones, skin, and

60 BIRDS OF PREY.

hair, in pellets. He also devoured large flies, which at this
time came into the room in great numbers; and even the dry
parts of these were also ejected from the stomach without di-
gestion. A pet of this species, which Dr. Michener had,
drank frequently, and was accustomed to wash every day in
a basin of cold water during the heat of summer.

Nuttall, following Wilson and Audubon, treated the gray and
red phases of this bird as two distinct species, and wrote separate
biographies, which I insert in full. Some ornithologists have sup-
posed that the gray specimens were the young birds; but it has
been proved beyond question that the two phases are simply indi-
vidual variations of the same species. Gray and red birds have
been found in one nest, with both parents gray, or both red, or with
one of each color.

Note. — A smaller and darker race is found in South Carolina,
Georgia, and Florida. It is named FLortipA SCREECH OWL
(4. asto floridanus). In this race the reddish feathers wear a
richer rufous tint, and the gray are more deeply tinged with
brown.

GREAT HORNED OWL.
CAT OWL.

Buso VIRGINIANUS.

CHAR. Plumage very variable, of mottled black, light and dark
brown, buff, and tawny. A white band on the throat, and a white stripe
down the breast,—the latter sometimes obscure. Ear-tufts large and
conspicuous; legs and toes feathered. Length 1S to 25 inches.

Nest. Sometimes within a hollow tree, but usually on an upper limb.
A deserted nest of Crow or Hawk is often used, and then it is a clumsy,
bulky affair of sticks, lined with feathers.

Eggs. 2-3; white and nearly spherical ; 2.20 X 1.80.

This species, so nearly related to the Great Eared Owl of
Europe, is met with occasionally from Hudson’s Bay to

62 BIRDS OF PREY.

Florida, and in Oregon; it exists even beyond the tropics,
being very probably the same bird described by Marcgrave as
inhabiting the forests of Brazil. All climates are alike to this
Eagle of the night, the king of the nocturnal tribe of American
birds. The aboriginal inhabitants of the country dread his
boding howl, dedicating his effigies to their solemnities, and, as
if he were their sacred bird of Minerva, forbid the mockery of
his ominous, dismal, and almost supernatural cries. His favor-
ite resort, in the dark and impenetrable swampy forests, where
he dwells in chosen solitude secure from the approach of every
enemy, agrees with the melancholy and sinister traits of his
character. To the surrounding feathered race he is the Pluto
of the gloomy wilderness, and would scarcely be known out of
the dismal shades where he hides, but to his victims, were he
as silent as he is solitary. Among the choking, loud, guttural
sounds which he sometimes utters in the dead of night, and
with a suddenness which always alarms, because of his noiseless
approach, is the ’waugh ho! ’waugh hd! which, Wilson re-
marks, was often uttered at the instant of sweeping down
around his camp-fire. Many kinds of Owls are similarly daz-
zled and attracted by fire-lights, and occasionally finding, no
doubt, some offal or flesh thrown out by those who encamp in
the wilderness, they come round the nocturnal blaze with other
motives than barely those of curiosity. The solitary travellers
in these wilds, apparently scanning the sinister motive of his
visits, pretend to interpret his address into “’ Who ’cooks for
you ail/” and with a strong guttural pronunciation of the final
syllable, to all those who have heard this his common cry, the
resemblance of sound is well hit, and instantly recalls the
ghastly serenade of his nocturnal majesty in a manner which
is not easily forgotten. The shorter cry which we have
mentioned makes no inconsiderable approach to that uttered
by the European brother of our species, as given by Buffon,
namely, ’he-hoo, ’hoo-hoo, boo-hoo, etc. The Greeks called this
transatlantic species Byas, either from its note or from the
resemblance this bore to the bellowing of the ox. The Latin
name Sudo has also reference to the same note of this noc-

GREAT HORNED OWL. 63

turnal bird. According to Frisch, who kept one of these birds
alive, its cries varied according to circumstances ; when hungry
it had a muling cry like Paid. I have remarked the young,
probably, of our species utter the same low, quailing cry, while
yet daylight, as it sat on the low branch of a tree; the sound
of both is, at times, also not unlike that made by the Hawks or
diurnal birds of prey. Indeed, in gloomy weather I have seen
our species on the alert, flying about many hours before dark,
and uttering his call of ko ko, ko ké ho. Their usual prey is
young rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, Quails, and small birds of
various kinds ; and when these resources fail or diminish, they
occasionally prowl pretty boldly around the farm-yard in quest
of Chickens, which they seize on the roost. Indeed the Euro-
pean Horned Owl frequently contends with the Buzzard for its
prey, and generally comes off conqueror; blind and infuriate
with hunger, one of these has been known to dart even upon
a man, as if for conflict, and was killed in the encounter. My
friend Dr. Boykin, of Milledgeville, in Georgia, assured me that
one of our own daring nocturnal adventurers, prowling round
his premises, saw a cat dozing on the roof of a smoke-house,
and supposing grimalkin a more harmless, rabbit-like animal
than appeared in the sequel, blindly snatched her up in his
talons; but finding he had caught a Tartar, it was not long be-
fore he allowed: puss once more to tread the ground. In

England the same error was committed by an Eagle, who,

after a severe conflict with a cat he had carried into the air,
was at length brought to the ground before he could disengage
himself from the feline grasp.

An Owl of this species, which I have observed in a cage,
appeared very brisk late in the morning, hissed and blew when
approached with a stick, and dashed at it very heedlessly with
his bill; he now and then uttered a ’£o-koh, and was pretty
loud in his call at an earlier hour. When approached, he cir-
cularly contracted the iris of the eyes to obtain a clearer view
of the threatened object ; he also listened with great quickness
to any sound which occurred near his prison, and eyed the
flying Pigeons, which passed by at some distance, with a scruti-

Be Se

64. BIRDS OF PREY.

nizing and eager glance. When fed he often had the habit of
hiding away his superfluous provision.

As far as I have been able to observe the retiring manners
of this recluse, he slumbers out the day chiefly in the dark tops
of lofty trees. In these, according to Wilson, he generally be-
gins to build in the month of May, though probably earlier in
the Southern States. The nest is usually placed in the fork of
a tree, made of a considerable pile of sticks, and lined with
dry leaves and some feathers ; and, as a saving of labor, some-
times they select a hollow tree for the purpose.

This Owl is usually found in woods of rather large growth; but
Nuttall slightly exaggerated in naming the “ dark and impenetrable
swampy forest” as its “favorite resort.” Throughout the Mari-
time Provinces it is found on the outskirts of settlements, as well
as in the wilderness.

An interesting account of the habits of this species in captivity,
from the note-book of Mr. James W. Banks, of St. John, N. B.,
appeared in “ The Auk” for April, 1884.

Note. — There are two geographical races of this species that
should be named here. The Dusky HorneED OWL (2B. virgi-
nianus saturatus),an extremely dark form, occurs in Labrador, and
is found also on the coast of the Northwest. The WESTERN
HORNED OwL (2. virginianus subarcticus), a light-gray form, is
usually restricted to the middle faunal province, but has been taken
in Illinois and Wisconsin.

GREAT GRAY OWL.
ULULA CINEREA.

Cuar. Above, sooty brown mottled with irregular bars of dull gray;
below, paler tints of same colors in wavy stripes. No ear-tufts. The
largest of the Owls. Length, 23 to 30 inches.

West. Ina tree.

L£ges. 2-3; white; 2.15 X 1.70.

This is the largest American species known, and if the S.
lapponica, common also to the Arctic circle, and seldom leav-
ing it, being only accidental about Lake Superior, and occa-

GREAT GRAY OWL. 65

sionally seen in Massachusetts in the depth of severe winters.
One was caught perched on a wood-pile, in a state of listless
inactivity, in the morning after daylight, at Marblehead, in
February, 1831. This individual survived for several months,
and showed a great partiality for fish and birds. At times he
uttered a tremulous cry or Ad 4d hé hd hoo, not very dissimilar
to that of the Mottled Owl. At Hudson’s Bay and Labrador
these Owls reside the whole year, and were found in the Ore-
gon territory by Mr. Townsend. They associate in pairs, fly
very low, and feed on mice and hares, which they seize with
such muscular vigor as sometimes to sink into the snow after
them a foot deep. With ease they are able to carry off the
alpine hare alive in their talons. In Europe the species ap-
pears wholly confined to the desert regions of Lapland, two or
three stragglers being all that have been obtained out of that
country by naturalists.

Dr. Richardson says that it is by no means a rare bird in the
fur countries, being an inhabitant of all the woody districts
lying between Lake Superior and latitudes 67° or 68° and
between Hudson’s Bay and the Pacific. It is common on
the borders of Great Bear Lake ; and there, and in the higher
parallels of latitude, it must pursue its prey, during the summer
months, by daylight. It keeps, however, within the woods, and
does not frequent the barren grounds, like the Snowy Owl, nor
is it so often met with in broad daylight as the Hawk Owl, but
hunts principally when the sun is low, — indeed, it is only at such
times, when the recesses of the woods are deeply shadowed,
that the American hare and the marine animals on which the
Cinereous Owl chiefly preys, come forth to feed. On the 23d
of May I discovered a nest of this Owl, built on the top of a
lofty balsam poplar, of sticks, and lined with feathers. It con-
tained three young, which were covered with a whitish down.

The capture in New England of several examples of this species
has been recorded. During the winter of 1889-90, a number were
seen along the northern border of these States and in the southern

portions of Canada. Mr. Mcllwraith reported that a large number
had been taken near Hamilton.

VOL. I. — 5

LONG-EARED OWL.

ASIO WILSONIANUS.

Cuar. Above, finely mottled with dark brown, dull buff, and gray ;
breast similar, but of reddish tint; belly paler, with dark markings. Ear-
tufts large; toes feathered. Length 15 inches.

Vest. Usually in a tree; of twigs, lined with grass and feathers.
Sometimes a deserted Crow’s or Hawk’s nest is used.

£ggs. 3-6; white and oval; 1.65 X 1.30.

This species, like several others of the genus, appears to be
almost a denizen of the world, being found from Hudson’s Bay
to the West Indies and Brazil, throughout Europe, in Africa,
northern Asia, and probably China, in all which countries
it appears to be resident, but seems more abundant in certain
places in winter, following rats and mice to their retreats in or
near houses and barns. It also preys upon small birds, and
in summer destroys beetles. It commonly lodges in ruined
buildings, the caverns of rocks, or in hollow trees. It defends

LONG-EARED OWL. 67

itself with great spirit from the attacks of larger birds, making
a ready use of its bill and talons, and when wounded is dan-
gerous and resolute.

The Long-Eared Owl seldom, if ever, takes the trouble
to construct a nest of its own; it seeks shelter amidst ruins
and in the accidental hollows of trees, and rests content with
the dilapidated nursery of the Crow, the Magpie, that of the
Wild Pigeon, of the Buzzard, or even the tufted retreat of the
squirrel. True to these habits, Wilson found one of these
Owls sitting on her eggs in the deserted nest of the Qua Bird,
on the 25th of April, six or seven miles below Philadelphia, in
the midst of the gloomy enswamped forest which formed the
usual resort of these solitary Herons. So well satisfied was she
in fact with her company, and so peaceable, that one of the Quas
had a nest in the same tree with the Owl. The young, until
nearly fully grown, are grayish white, and roost close together
on a large branch during the day, sheltered and hid amidst the
thickest foliage ; they acquire their natural color in about fifteen
days. Besides mice and rats, this species also preys on field-
mice, moles, and beetles. The plaintive cry or hollow moan-
ing made by this bird, “clw cloud,” incessantly repeated
during the night, so as to be troublesome where they frequent,
is very attractive to the larger birds, who out of curiosity and
for persecution assemble around this species when employed
as a decoy, and are thus shot or caught by limed twigs.

This Owl occurs throughout temperate North America, and is a
common resident everywhere excepting along the northern limit of
its range, where it is less abundant, and appears in summer only.

SHORT-EARED OWL.

ASIO ACCIPITRINUS.

Cuar. Above, mottled with dark brown, tawny, and buffish white ;
below, paler; feet feathered ; ear-tufts inconspicuous. Some examples
are much paler, as if the colors had faded. Length about 15 inches.

Vest. On the ground amid tall grass, and composed of a few twigs and
a few feathers.

Leggs. 3-6; white and oval; 1.60 X 1.20.

This is another of those nocturnal wanderers which now and
then arrive amongst us from the northern regions, where they
usually breed. It comes to Hudson’s Bay from the South
about May, where it makes a nest of dry grass on the ground,
and, as usual, has white eggs. After rearing its brood it de-
parts for the South in September, and in its migrations has
been met with as far as New Jersey, near Philadelphia, where,
according to Wilson, it arrives in November and departs in
April. Pennant remarks that it has been met with in the

SHORT-EARED OWL. 69

southern continent of America at the Faikland Islands. It is
likewise spread through every part of Europe, and is common
in all the forests of Siberia; it also visits the Orkney Islands
and Iceland, and we have observed it at Atooi, one of the
Sandwich Islands, in the Pacific, as well as in the territory of
Oregon. In England it appears and disappears with the mi-
grations of the Woodcock. Its food is almost exclusively mice,
for which it watches, seated on a stump, with all the vigilance
of a cat, listening attentively to the low squeak of its prey,
to which it is so much alive as to be sometimes brought in
sight by imitating the sound. It is readily attracted by the
blaze of nocturnal fires, and on such occasions has sometimes
had the blind temerity to attack men, and come so close to
combat as to be knocked down with sticks. When wounded
it also displays the same courageous ferocity, so as to be
dangerous to approach. In dark and cloudy weather it some-
times ventures abroad by daylight, takes short flights, and
when sitting and looking sharply round, it erects the short, ear-
like tufts of feathers on the head which are at other times
scarcely visible. Like all other migrating birds, roving indif-
ferently over the country in quest of food alone, these Owls
have sometimes been seen in considerable numbers together ;
Bewick even remarks that 28 of them had been counted at
once in a turnip-field in England. They are also numerous in
Holland in the months of September and October, and in all
countries are serviceable for the destruction they make among
house and field mice, their principal food. Although they
usually breed in high ground, they have also been observed in
Europe to nest in marshes, in the middle of the high herbage,
—a situation chosen both for safety and solitude.

This is one of the commonest of the New England Owls, and
breeds in all the suitable marsh land along the coast. It ranges
north to the fur countries, south to the Gulf States and beyond,
and west to the Pacific.

BARRED OWL.
HOOT OWL.

SYRNIUM NEBULOSUM.

CuHar. Above, brown barred, spotted, and striped with dull gray or
tawny ; below, similar colors of paler tints; face, gray stripes; tail
barred ; iris brownish black; bill yellow. Length 193, to 24 inches.

Easily distinguished from all other species by its dark eyes.

Vest. Usually in a hollow tree, but often a deserted nest of Crow or
Hawk is re-lined and used.

£ggs. 2-4; white and nearly spherical ; 1.95 X 1.65.

This species inhabits the northern regions of both the old
and new continent, but with this difference, as in the Bald
Eagle, that in the ancient continent it seldom wanders be-
yond the Arctic circle, being found no farther to the south than
Sweden and Norway; while in America it dwells and breeds
at least in all the intermediate region from Hudson’s Bay to
Florida, being considerably more numerous even than other
species throughout the swamps and dark forests of the South-

BARRED OWL. 71

ern States. Its food is principally rabbits, squirrels, Grouse,
Quails, rats, mice, and frogs. From necessity, as well as choice,
these birds not unfrequently appear around the farm-house and
garden in quest of the poultry, particularly young chickens.
At these times they prowl abroad towards evening, and fly low
and steadily about, as if beating for their prey. In Alabama,
Georgia, West Florida, and Louisiana, where they abound, they
are often to be seen abroad by day, particularly in cloudy
weather, and at times even soar and fly with all the address of
diurnal birds of prey. Their loud guttural call of ’2oh ’koh ’ho
ko, hd, or ’whah’whah’whah’whah-aa, may be heard occasion-
ally both by day and night, and as a note of recognition, is
readily answered when mimicked, so as to decoy the original
towards the sound. One which I received, in the month of
December (1830), was hovering over a covey of Quails in the
day-time; and though the sportsman had the same aim, the
Owl also joined the chase, and was alone deterred from his
sinister purpose by receiving the contents of the gun intended
only for the more favorite game. When the young leave the
nest they still keep together for mutual warmth and safety in
the high, shaded branches of the trees where they have prob-
ably been hatched. On being approached by the parents,
they utter a hissing call audible for some distance. According
to Audubon, when kept in captivity they prove very useful
in catching mice. Their flesh is also eaten by the creoles of
Louisiana, and considered as palatable.

An interesting article, containing the most valuable information
regarding the habits of this Owl that has yet been published, ap-
peared in “ The Auk ” for April, 1890. The writer, Mr. Frank Bolles,
kept a pair for several years; and one of these, having broken its
wing, was reduced to such subjection that Mr. Bolles was enabled
to make use of it in hunting for other birds, and thus gained
an insight into the bird’s methods that no other naturalist has
equalled.

NoTE. — The FLORIDA BARRED OWL (S. xebulosum allent),
a somewhat darker variety, is restricted to the Gulf States and
Florida.

72 BIRDS OF PREY.

SAW-WHET OWL.
ACADIAN OWL.
NYCTALA ACADICA.

Cuar. Above, dark grayish brown spotted with white; below, white,
spotted with reddish brown; tail short, with three narrow bands of white
spots. Young almost solid brown of reddish tint, and face with white
markings. Length 7% to 8% inches.

Nest. Ahole in a tree (often in a hole that has been deserted by Wood-
peckers), lined with feathers.

Eggs. 3-6 (usually 4); white; 1.20 X 1.00.

This very small species is believed to be an inhabitant of the
northern regions of both continents, from which in Europe it
seldom wanders, being even very rare in the North of Germany.
In the United States it is not uncommon as far to the south as
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where it is resident, having ap-
parently a predilection for the sea-coast, living and nesting in
the pine-trees or in the clefts of rocks, and laying 4 or 5
white eggs. It is generally nocturnal; and if accidentally
abroad by day, it flies quickly to some shelter from the light.
It is very solitary in its habits, living wholly in the evergreen
forests, and coming out only towards night or early in the
morning in search of mice, beetles, moths, and grasshoppers..

The note of this species is very different from that of the
Strix passerina, or Little Owl, to which it is nearly related.
This latter kind has a reiterated cry, when flying, like podpod
podpod. Another note, which it utters sitting, appears so much
like the human voice calling out aimé, hemé, ¢dmé, that accord-
ing to Buffon, it deceived one of his servants, who lodged in
one of the old turrets of the castle of Montbard ; and waking
him up at three o’clock in the morning, with this singular cry,
he opened the window and called out, “JVho's there below ?
My name is not EpMeE, but Peter /”

The Saw-whet — called so from its note, which resembles the
filing of a saw — breeds from the Middle States northward to about
latitude 50°, but is not an abundant bird anywhere.

RICHARDSON’S OWL.

SPARROW OWL.

NYcCTALA TENGMALMI RICHARDSONI.

Cuar. Above, dark brown spotted with white; beneath, white streaked
with brown; legs and feet buffy, sometimes spotted. Similar to the Saw-
whet, but with more white on head and neck. Length 9 to 12 inches.

Nest. Ina tree; of grass and leaves.

Eggs. 2-4; white; 1.35 X 1.15.

This is a small and nocturnal species, and so much so that
when it accidentally wanders abroad by day it is so much daz-
zled by the light as to be rendered unable to make its escape
when surprised, and may then be readily caught by the hand.
Its nocturnal cry consists of a single melancholy note repeated
at the long intervals of a minute or two: and it is one of the
superstitious practices of the Indians to whistle when they hear
it; and if the bird remains silent after this interrogatory chal-
lenge, the speedy death of the inquirer is augured ; and hence
among the Crees it has acquired the omnious appellation of
the Bird of Death (Cheepomeseés). According to M. Hutch-
ins, it builds a nest of grass half way up a pine-tree, and lays

74 BIRDS OF PREY.

2 eggs in the month of May. It feeds on mice and beetles.
It probably inhabits all the forests of the fur countries from
Great Slave Lake to the United States. On the banks of the
Saskatchewan it is so common that its voice is heard almost
every night by the traveller wherever he may select his camp.
It inhabits the woods along the streams of the Rocky Moun-
tains down to the Oregon, and betrays but little suspicion
when approached.

Richardson’s Owl is usually a rare winter visitor to the Maritime
Provinces; but Mr. C. B. Cory found it common and breeding on
the Magdalene Islands, and a few examples have been taken in
New Brunswick in summer.

It is common on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
though rare near the city of Quebec; it occurs sparingly in winter
along the northern border of New England and in southern Onta-
rio, and occasionally straggles to Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Thompson reports it common in Manitoba.

BARN OWL.

STRIX PRATINCOLA.

CHAR. Colors extremely variable. Above, usually yellowish tawny or
orange brown, clouded with darker tints and spotted with white ; beneath,
buffish with dark spots; face white, tinged with tawny; bill whitish.
Some examples have but little marking on the back, and the face and
lower parts are pure white. Easily distinguished from other Owls by
peculiar facial disc. Length 15 to 21 inches.

Vest. In barn or church tower or hollow tree, — usually the last. The
eggs are laid upon a mat of loosely laid twigs and weed-stems or grass.

Eggs. 3-11; white; 1.75 X 1.30.

There is scarcely any part of the world in which this com-
mon species is not found ; extending even to both sides of the
equator, it is met with in New Holland, India, and Brazil. It
is perhaps nowhere more rare than in this part of the United
States, and is only met with in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
in cold and severe winters. Nor is it ever so familiar as in
Europe, frequenting almost uniformly the hollows of trees.

76 BIRDS OF PREY.

In the old continent it is almost domestic, inhabiting even pop-
ulous towns, and is particularly attached to towers, belfries,
the roofs of churches, and other lofty buildings, which afford
it a retreat during the day. The elegant, graphic lines of
Gray, describing its romantic haunt, are in the recollection of

every one, —
“From yonder ivy-mantled tower
The moping Owl does to the moon complain
Of such as, wandering near her secret bower,
Molest her ancient solitary reign.”

Superstition laid aside, these Owls render essential service to
the farmer by destroying mice, rats, and shrews, which infest
houses and barns; they also catch bats and beetles. They
likewise clear churches of such vermin, and now and then,
pressed by hunger, they have been known to sip, or rather eat,
the oil from the lamps when congealed by cold. A still more
extraordinary appetite, attributed to them, is that of catch-
ing fish, on which they fed their voracious young. In autumn
also they have been known to pay a nightly visit to the places
where springes were laid for Woodcocks and Thrushes. The
former they killed and ate on the spot; but sometimes carried
off the Thrushes and smaller birds, which, like mice, they either
swallowed entire, rejecting the indigestible parts by the bill,.
or if too large, they plucked off the feathers and then bolted
them whole, or only took them down piecemeal.

In fine weather they venture out into the neighboring woods
at night, returning to their usual retreat at the approach of
morning. When they first sally from their holes, their eyes
hardly well opened, they fly tumbling along almost to the
ground, and usually proceed side-ways in their course. In
severe seasons, 5 or 6, probably a family brood, are discoy-
ered in the same retreat, or concealed in the fodder of the
barn, where they find shelter, warmth, and food. The Barn
Owl drops her eggs in the bare holes of walls, in the joists
of houses, or in the hollows of decayed trees, and spreads
no lining to receive them; they are 3 to 5 in number, of a
whitish color, and rather long than round.

BARN OWL. 77

When out abroad by day, like most of the other species,
they are numerously attended by the little gossiping and insult-
ing birds of the neighborhood ; and to add to their’ distraction,
it is not an uncommon practice, in the North of England, for
boys to set up a shout and follow the Owl, who becomes so
deafened and stunned as at times nearly to fall down, and
thus become an easy prey to his persecutors. And the prob-
ability of such an effect will not be surprising when we con-
sider the delicacy and magnitude of the auditory apparatus of
this bird, the use of which is probably necessary to discover
the otherwise silent retreats of their tiny prey. When taken
captive, according to Buffon, they do not long survive the loss
of liberty, and pertinaciously refuse to eat, —a habit very differ-
ent from that of the young Red Owl, who allowed himself to
feed from my hand, and tugged greedily and tamely at the
morsel held out to him until he got it in his possession ; small
birds also he would instantly grasp in his talons, and hiss and
shaié, shaié, when any attempt was made to deprive him of his
booty.

The young of this species, when they have just attained their
growth, are, in France, considered good food, as they are then
fat and plump. When first hatched they are so white and
downy as almost entirely to resemble. a powder puff. At
Hudson’s Bay a large Owl, resembling the cinereous, is like-
wise eaten, and esteemed a delicacy, according to Pennant.

The Barn Owl occurs regularly from the Middle States south-
ward, though it is not abundant north of South Carolina. A few
examples have been taken in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and
Mr. Mcllwraith reports that four have been taken in Ontario.

FLORIDA BURROWING OWL.

SPEOTYTO CUNICULARIA FLORIDANA.

Cuar. Above, grayish brown spotted and barred with white; below,
pale buffish barred with brown; a patch of white on the breast; legs long
and slender, and covered with buffish bristles. Length about ro inches.

Vest, At the end of a burrow in the ground, lined with grass and
feathers.

£ggs. 4-10; white, varying in shape, usually nearly round; 1.25
X 1.00.

This variety, which is found in Florida only, is smaller and lighter-
colored than is the well-known bird of the prairies. In habits the
two differ little, the Florida birds living in communities, — sometimes
several pairs in one burrow, — and feeding on mice and small birds.
The tales related of Burrowing Owls and rattlesnakes occupying
the same burrow are “ hunter’s tales,” and lack confirmation.

Note. — The Western form of the BURROWING OWL (S. cuvi-
cularia hypogea, has been taken in Massachusetts; but its occur-
rence to the eastward of the Great Plains is accidental.

Zi y
s p Mig ly ws?

MEADOW_ LARK.

FIELD LARK.
STURNELLA MAGNA.

Cuar. Above, grayish brown barred with black; crown with medial
stripe of buff; lateral tail-feathers white; below yellow, sides darker
and spotted with brown; black crescent on the breast. Length about
Io inches.

Vest. Made of dry grass and placed amid a tuft of long grass in
a meadow ; often covered, and the opening placed at the side.

£ggs. 4-6; white, thickly spotted with reddish brown and lilac;
Lis X 80.

This well-known harmless inhabitant of meadows and of@
fields is not only found in every part of the United States, but
appears to be a resident in all the intermediate region, from
the frigid latitude of 53° and the territory of Oregon, to
the mild table-land of Mexico and the savannahs of Guiana.
In the winter these birds abound in Alabama and Western

80 SINGING BIRDS.

Florida ; so that in some degree, like the Jays and the legiti-
mate Starlings, they partially migrate in quest of food during
the severity of the weather in the colder States. It is not, how-
ever, improbable but that most of the migrating families of these
birds, which we find at this season, have merely travelled east-
ward from the cold Western plains that are annually covered
with snow. They are now seen in considerable numbers in and
round the salt-marshes, roving about in flocks of ten to thirty
or more, seeking the shelter of the sea-coast, though not in
such dense flocks as the true Starlings ; these, in the manner of
our common Blackbirds, assemble in winter like dark clouds,
moving as one body, and when about to descend, perform pro-
gressive circular evolutions in the air like a phalanx in the
order of battle ; and when settled, blacken the earth with their
numbers, as well as stun the ears with their chatter. Like
Crows also, they seek the shelter of reed-marshes to pass the
night, and in the day take the benefit of every sunny and shel-
tered covert.

Our Starling, like the American Quail, is sociable, and some-
what gregarious; and though many, no doubt, wander some
distance after food, yet a few, in Pennsylvania as well as in
this rigorous climate, may be seen in the market after the
ground is covered with snow. Wilson even observed them
in the month of February, during a deep snow, among the
heights of the Alleghanies, gleaning their scanty pittance on
the road, in company with the small Snow Birds.

The flesh of our bird is white, and for size and delicacy it is
considered little inferior to the Partridge ; but that of the Euro-
pean species is black and bitter.

The flight of these Larks is laborious and steady, like that
of the Quail, with the action of the wings renewed at short in-
tervals. They often alight on trees, and select usually the main
branches or topmost twigs on which to perch, though their food
is commonly collected from the ground. At various times of
the day, and nearly through the winter, in the milder States,
their very peculiar lisping, long, and rather melancholy note is
heard at short intervals ; and without the variations, which are

MEADOW LARK. 81

not inconsiderable, bears some resemblance to the slender sing-
ing and affected pronunciation of é¢ sé dé ah, and psédee etsilio,
or ¢at sediio in a slow, wiry, shrill tone, and sometimes differ-
ently varied and shortened. The same simple ditty is repeated
in the spring, when they associate in pairs; the female also, as
she rises or descends, at this time frequently gives a reiterated
guttural chirp, or hurried twitter, like that of the female Red-
winged Blackbird. I have likewise at times heard them utter
notes much more musical and vigorous, not very unlike the fine
tones of the Sky Lark; but I.can by no means compare our
lisping songster with that blithe “harbinger of day.’’ There
is a monotonous affectation in the song of our Lark which
appears indeed somewhat allied to the jingling, though not
unpleasant, tune of the Starling. The Stare, moreover, had the
faculty of imitating human: speech (which ours has not, as far
as we yet know), and could indifferently speak even French,
English, German, Latin, and Greek, or any other language
within his hearing, and repeat short phrases ; so that “‘ Z can’¢
get out, [ can’t get out, says the Starling,” which accidentally
afforded Sterne such a beautiful and pathetic subject for his
graphic pen, was probably no fiction.

At the time of pairing, our Lark exhibits a little of the
jealous disposition of his tribe ; and having settled the dispute
which decides his future condition, he retires from his fra-
ternity, and, assisted by his mate, selects a thick tuft for the
reception of his nest, which is pretty compact, made of dry,
wiry grass, and lined with finer blades of the same. It is
usually formed with a covered entrance in the surrounding
withered grass, through which a hidden and almost winding
path is made, and generally so well concealed that the nest is
only to be found when the bird is flushed.

The eggs are four or five, white, with a very faint tint of
blue, almost round, and rather large, for the size of the bird,
marked with numerous small reddish-brown spots, more nu-
merous at the greater end, blended with other lighter and
darker points and small spots of the same. They probably
often raise two broods in the season. About the time of

VOL. I. — 6

82 SINGING BIRDS.

pairing, in the latter end of the month of April, they have
a call, like ’shzp, twee, the latter syllable in a fine and slender
tone, — something again allied to the occasional notes of the
Red-winged Blackbird, to which genus (/e“7ws) our Sturnella
is not very remotely allied. Towards the close of June little
else is heard from the species but the noisy twitter of the
female, preceded by a hoarse and sonorous 77’¢m or 77 '%, ac-
companied by an impatient raising and lowering of the wings,
and, in short, all the unpleasant and petulant actions of a
brood-hen, as she is now assiduously engaged in fostering
and supporting her helpless and dependent offspring.

Their food consists of the larvee of various insects, as well as
worms, beetles, and grass-seeds, to assist the digestion of
which they swallow a considerable portion of gravel. It does
not appear that these birds add berries or fruits of any kind
to their fare, like the Starling, but usually remain the whole
summer in moist meadows, and in winter retire to the open
grassy woods, having no inclination to rob the orchard or gar-
den, and, except in winter, are of a shy, timid, and retiring
disposition.

In the East the Meadow Lark seldom ranges north of latitude 45°.
I met with but one example in New Brunswick, and learn that it is

rare near Montreal. It is common around Ottawa and throughout
southern Ontario.

Note.— A larger and paler form, named the WESTERN MrEapD-
ow Lark (S. magna neglecta), occurs in Wisconsin, Illinois, and
Towa; and Mr. W. E. D. Scott has lately announced that the birds
found in southwestern Florida should be referred to mexicana,
the MExIcAN MEapow Lark, which is the smallest of the three.

A stray STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris) is said to have wandered
from Europe to Greenland; and a TROUPIAL (/c/erus icterus), a
South American bird, was taken by Audubon near Charleston,
S.C.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE.
GOLDEN ROBIN. HANG-NEST. FIRE BIRD.

IcTERUS GALBULA.

CuHar. Male: head, neck, throat, back, wings, and greater part of
tail black; wing-coverts and secondaries tipped with white; other parts
orange. Bill and feet blue black. Female: smaller and paler, some-
times the black replaced by olive or grayish. Young similar to female.

Length 7 to 8 inches.

est, Pensile and purse-shaped, 6 to 8 inches deep, suspended from
extremity of branch Io to 50 feet from the ground, composed of yarn,
string, horsehair, grass, etc., woven into a compact texture.

£ggs. 4-6; dull white, blotched irregularly with dark brown ; .go X .60.

84 SINGING BIRDS.

These gay, lively, and brilliant strangers, leaving their hi-
bernal retreat in South America, appear in New England about
the first week in May, and more than a month earlier in Loui-
siana, according to the observations of Audubon. ‘They were
not seen, however, in West Florida by the middle of March,
although vegetation had then so far advanced that the oaks
were in leaf, and the white flowering cornel was in full
blossom.

It is here that they pass the most interesting period of their
lives; and their arrival is hailed as the sure harbinger of
approaching summer. Full of life and activity, these fiery
sylphs are now seen vaulting and darting incessantly through
the lofty boughs of our tallest trees; appearing and vanishing
with restless inquietude, and flashing at quick intervals into
sight from amidst the tender waving foliage, they seem like
living gems intended to decorate the verdant garment of the
new-clad forest. But the gay Baltimore is neither idle nor
capricious ; the beautiful small beetles and other active-winged
insects on which he now principally feeds are in constant mo-
tion, and require perpetual address in their capture. At first
the males only arrive, but without appearing in flocks; their
mates are yet behind, and their social delight is incomplete.
They appear to feel this temporary bereavement, and in shrill
and loud notes they fife out their tender plaints in quick suc-
cession, as they pry and spring through the shady boughs for
their tiny and eluding prey. ‘They also now spend much time
in the apple-trees, often sipping honey from the white blossoms,
over which they wander with peculiar delight, continually roving
amidst the sweet and flowery profusion. The mellow whistled
notes which they are heard to trumpet from the high branches
of our tallest trees and gigantic elms resemble, at times,
*tshippe-tshayia too too, and sometimes ‘¢shippee étshippee
(lispingly), oo zoo (with the two last syllables loud and full).
These notes are also varied by some birds so as to resemble
"tsh ’tsh tsheetshoo tshoo tshoo, also *tsh ’tsheefa ’tsheefa ’ tsheefa

1The first three of these notes are derived from the Summer Yellow Bird,
though not its most usual tones.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 85

tshoo and ’k’ tif & tif & tif a téa kérry;) another bird I have
occasionally heard to call for hours, with some little variation,
tui téo téo téo teo too, in a loud, querulous, and yet almost lu-
dicrously merry strain. At other intervals the sensations of
solitude seem to stimulate sometimes a loud and _interrog-
atory note, echoed forth at intervals, as 2’7ry kerry? and
terminating plaintively 2’rry k’rry k’rry, ta; the voice falling
off very slenderly in the last long syllable, which is apparently
an imitation from the Cardinal Grosbeak, and the rest is de-
rived from the Crested Titmouse, whom they have already
heard in concert as they passed through the warmer States.
Another interrogatory strain which I heard here in the spring
of 1830 was precisely, ’yzp k’rry, "vip, ’yip R'rry, very loud and
oft repeated. Another male went in his ordinary key, ahérry
tshérry, ishipee tsh’rry, — notes copied from the exhaustless stock
of the Carolina Wren (also heard on his passage), but modu-
lated to suit the fancy of our vocalist. The female likewise
sings, but less agreeably than the male. One which I had
abundant opportunity of observing, while busied in the toil of
weaving her complicated nest, every now and then, as a relief
from the drudgery in which she was solely engaged, sung, in a
sort of querulous and rather plaintive strain, the strange, un-
couth syllables, ’ka ’kead kiwa, keka keka, the final tones loud
and vaulting, which I have little doubt were an imitation of the
discordant notes of some South American bird. For many
days she‘ continued this tune at intervals without any variation.
The male, also while seeking his food in the same tree with his
mate, or while they are both attending on their unfledged~
brood, calls frequently in a low, friendly whisper, ’¢waz¢, tw’ ??.
Indeed, all the individuals of either sex appear pertinaciously
to adhere for weeks to the same quaint syllables which they
have accidentally collected.

This bird then, like the Starling, appears to have a taste for
mimicry, or rather for sober imitation. A Cardinal Grosbeak
happening, very unusually, to pay us a visit, his harmonious

1 The last phrase loud and ascending, the Zea plaintive, and the last syllable
tender and echoing.

86 SINGING BIRDS.

and bold whistle struck upon the ear of a Baltimore with great
delight ; and from that moment his ordinary notes were laid
aside for ’zwozt, ’woit, ted, and other phrases previously foreign
to him for that season. I have likewise heard another individ-
ual exactly imitating the soft and somewhat plaintive zi yz,
vit yiu of the same bird, and in the next breath the pem?, or
call of Wilson’s Thrush; also at times the earnest song of the
Robin. Indeed his variations and imitations have sometimes
led me to believe that I heard several new and melodious
birds, and I was only undeceived when I beheld his brilliant
livery. So various, in fact, are the individual phrases chanted
by this restless and lively bird that it is scarcely possible to fix
on any characteristic notes by which he may be recognized ;
his singular, loud, and almost plaintive tone, and a fondness
for harping long on the same string, are perhaps more peculiar
than any particular syllables which he may be heard to utter.
When alarmed or offended at being too closely watched or
approached, both male and female utter an angry, rattling “her
tsh’r, or hiss, ¢sh’ tsh’ tsh’ 'tsh.

The beautiful Baltimore bird is only one of the tribe of true
Ictert, which, except the present and two following species,
remain within the tropical regions, or only migrate to short
distances in the rainy season. Ours wing their way even
into Canada as far as the 55th degree, and breed in every
intermediate region to the table-land of Mexico. A yellow
Brazilian species of the section of this genus, called cassicus,
according to Waterton inhabits also Demerara, where, like our
bird, he familiarly weaves his pendulous nest near the planter’s
house, suspending it from the drooping branches of trees, and
so low that it may be readily looked into even by the incu-
rious. Omnivorous like the Starling, he feeds equally on insects,
fruits, and seeds. He is called the Mocking Bird, and for hours
together, in gratitude as it were for protection, he serenades
the inhabitants with his imitative notes. His own song, though
short, is sweet and melodious. But hearing perhaps the yelp-
ing of the Toucan, he drops his native strain to imitate it, or
place it in ridicule by contrast. Again, he gives the cackling

BALTIMORE ORIOLE. 87

cries of the Woodpecker, the bleating of the sheep ; an inter-
val of his own melody, then probably a puppy dog or a Guinea-
fowl receives his usual attention: and the whole of this mim-
icry is accompanied by antic gestures indicative of the sport
and company which these vagaries afford him. Hence we see
that the mimicking talent of the Stare is inherent in this
branch of the gregarious family, and our own Baltimore, in a
humbler style, is no less delighted with the notes of his feathered
neighbors.

There is nothing more remarkable in the whole instinct of
our Golden Robin than the ingenuity displayed in the fabrica-
tion of its nest, which is, in fact, a pendulous cylindric pouch
of five to seven inches in depth, usually suspended from near
the extremities of the high, drooping branches of trees (such
as the elm, the pear or apple tree, wild-cherry, weeping-willow,
tulip-tree, or buttonwood). It is begun by firmly fastening
natural strings of the flax of the silk-weed, or swamp-holyhock,
or stout artificial threads, round two or more forked twigs,
corresponding to the intended width and depth of the nest.
With the same materials, willow down, or any accidental ravel-
lings,. strings, thread, sewing-silk, tow, or wool, that may be
lying near the neighboring houses, or round the grafts of trees,
it interweaves and fabricates a sort of coarse cloth into the
form intended, towards the bottom of which is placed the
real nest, made chiefly of lint, wiry grass, horse and cow hair,
sometimes, in defect of hair, lining the interior with a mixture
of slender strips of smooth vine-bark, and rarely with a few
feathers, the whole being of a considerable thickness, and
more or less attached to the external pouch. Over the top,
the leaves, as they grow out, form a verdant and agreeable
canopy, defending the young from the sun and rain. There is
sometimes a considerable difference in the manufacture of
these nests, as well as in the materials which enter into their
composition. Both sexes seem to be equally adepts at this
sort of labor, and I have seen the female alone perform the
whole without any assistance, and the male also complete this
laborious task nearly without the aid of his consort, — who, how-

88 SINGING BIRDS.

ever, in general, is the principal worker. I have observed a
nest made almost wholly of tow, which was laid out for the
convenience of a male bird, who with this aid completed his
labor in a very short time, and frequently sang in a very ludi-
crous manner while his mouth was loaded with a mass larger
than his head. So eager are these birds to obtain fibrous ma-
terials that they will readily tug at and even untie hard knots
made of tow. In Audubon’s magnificent plates a nest is rep-
resented as formed outwardly of the long-moss; where this
abounds, of course, the labor of obtaining materials must be
greatly abridged. The author likewise remarks that the whole
fabric consists almost entirely of this material, loosely inter-
woven, without any warm lining, —a labor which our ingenious
artist seems aware would be superfluous in the warm forests of
the lower Mississippi. A female, which I observed attentively,
carried off to her nest a piece of lamp-wick ten or twelve feet
long. This long string, and many other shorter ones, were left
hanging out for about a week before both the ends were wat-
tled into the sides of the nest. Some other little birds, making
use of similar materials, at times twitched these flowing ends,
and generally brought out the busy Baltimore from her occupa-
tion in great anger.

The haste and eagerness of one of these airy architects,
which I accidentally observed on the banks of the Susque-
hanna, appeared likely to prove fatal to a busy female who,
in weaving, got a loop round her neck ; and no sooner was she
disengaged from this snare than it was slipped round her feet,
and thus held her fast beyond the power of escape! The male
came frequently to the scene, now changed from that of joy
and hope into despair, but seemed wholly incapable of com-
prehending or relieving the distress of his mate. In a second
instance I have been told that a female has been observed
dead in the like predicament.

The eggs of this species are usually four or five, white, with
a faint, indistinct tint of bluish, and marked, chiefly at the
greater end, though sometimes scatteringly, with straggling,
serpentine, dark-brown lines and spots, and fainter hair streaks,

BALTIMORE ORIOLE, 89

looking sometimes almost like real hair, and occasionally lined
only, and without the spots. The period of incubation is four-
teen days. In Louisiana, according to Audubon, they fre-
quently raise two broods in the season, arriving in that country
with the opening of the early spring. Here they raise but a
single brood, whose long and tedious support in their lofty
cradle absorbs their whole attention; and at this interesting
period they seem, as it were, to live only to protect, cherish,
and educate their young. The first and general cry which the
infant brood utter while yet in the nest, and nearly able to
take wing, as well as for some days after, is a kind of #-did #-
aid, te-did, kat-té-té-did, or’ télé’ te 'té tt ’t+-did, which becomes
clamorous as the parents approach them with food. They soon
also acquire the scolding rattle and short notes which they
probably hear around them, such as peet-weet, the cry of the
spotted Sandpiper, and others, and long continue to be assidu-
ously fed and guarded by their very affectionate and devoted
parents. Unfortunately, this contrivance of instinct to secure
the airy nest from the depredations of rapacious monkeys, and
other animals which frequent trees in warm or mild climates,
is also occasionally attended with serious accidents, when the
young escape before obtaining the perfect use of their wings.
They cling, however, with great tenacity either to the nest or
neighboring twigs ; yet sometimes they fall to the ground, and,
if not killed on the spot, soon become a prey to numerous
enemies. On such occasions it is painful to hear the plaints
and wailing cries of the parents. And when real danger offers,
the generous and brilliant male, though much the less queru-
lous of the two, steps in to save his brood at every hazard ; and
I have known one so bold in this hopeless defence as to suffer
himself to be killed, by a near approach with a stick, rather
than desert his offspring. Sometimes, after this misfortune, or
when the fell cat has devoured the helpless brood, day after
day the disconsolate parents continue to bewail their loss.
They almost forget to eat amidst their distress, and after leav-
ing the unhappy neighborhood of their bereavement, they still
come, at intervals, to visit and lament over the fatal spot, as if

90 SINGING BIRDS.

spell-bound by despair. If the season be not too far advanced,
the loss of their eggs is generally soon repaired by constructing
a second nest, in which, however, the eggs are fewer.

The true Oriole (O. ga/duda), which migrates into Africa,
and passes the breeding season in the centre of Europe. also
makes a pendulous nest, and displays great courage in the de-
fence of its young, being so attached to its progeny that the
female has been taken and conveyed to a cage on her eggs, on
which, with resolute and fatal instinct, she remained faithfully
sitting until she expired.

The Baltimore bird, though naturally shy and suspicious,
probably for greater security from more dangerous enemies,
generally chooses for the nest the largest and tallest spreading
trees near farm-houses, and along frequented lanes and roads ;
and trusting to the inaccessibleness of its ingenious mansion,
it works fearlessly and scarcely studies concealment. But
as soon as the young are hatched, here, towards the close of
June, the whole family begin to leave the immediate neighbor-
hood of their cares, flit through the woods, — a shy. roving, and
nearly silent train ; and when ready for the distant journey be-
fore them, about the end of August or beginning of September,
the whole at once disappear, and probably arrive, as with us,
amidst the forests of South America in a scattered flock, and
continue, like Starlings. to pass the winter in celibacy, wholly
engaged in gleaning a quiet subsistence until the return of
spring. Then, incited by instinct to prepare for a more pow-
erful passion, they again wing their way to the regions of the
north, where, but for this wonderful instinct of migration, the
whole race would perish in a single season. As the sexes
usually arrive in different flocks, it is evident that the conjugal
tie ceases at the period of migration, and the choice of mates
is renewed with the season; during which the males, and
sometimes also the females, carry on their jealous disputes
with much obstinacy.

That our Oriole is not familiar with us, independent of the
all-powerful natural impulse which he obeys, is sufficiently
obvious when he nests in the woods. Two of these solitary

BALTIMORE ORIOLE. gI

and retiring pairs had this summer, contrary to their usual
habits, taken up their abode in the lofty branches of a gigantic
Buttonwood in the forest. As soon as we appeared they took
the alarm, and remained uneasy and irritable until we were
wholly out of sight. Others, again, visit the heart of the popu-
lous city, and pour forth their wild and plaintive songs from the
trees which decorate the streets and gardens, amid the din of
the passing crowd and the tumult of incessant and noisy occu-
pations. Audubon remarks that their migrations are performed
singly and during the day, and that they proceed high, and fly
straight and continuous.

The food of the Baltimore appears to be small caterpillars, —
sometimes those of the apple-trees, — some uncommon kinds
of beetles, cimices, and small flies, like a species of cynips.
Occasionally I have seen an individual collecting Czcindedi by
the sides of sandy and gravelly roads. They feed their young
usually with soft caterpillars, which they swallow, and disgorge
on arriving at the nest; and in this necessary toil both sexes
assiduously unite. They seldom molest any of the fruits of our
gardens, except a few cherries and mulberries, and are the
most harmless, useful, beautiful, and common birds of the
country. They are, however, accused of sometimes accom-
panying their young to the garden peas, which they devour
while small and green; and being now partly gregarious, the
damage they commit is at times rendered visible. Occasionally
they are seen in cages, being chiefly fed on soaked bread, or
meal and water; they appear also fond of cherries, straw-
berries, currants, raisins, and figs, so that we may justly
consider them, like the Cassicans and Starlings, as omnivorous,
though in a less degree. They sing and appear lively in con-
finement or domestication, and become very docile, playful,
and friendly, even going in and out of the house, and some-
times alighting at a whistle on the hand of their protector.
The young for a while require to be fed on animal food alone,
and the most suitable appears to be fresh minced meat, soaked
in new milk. In this way they may be easily raised almost
from the first hatching ; but at this time vegetable substances

92 SINGING BIRDS.

appear to afford them no kind of nutrition, and at all times
they will thrive better if indulged with a little animal food or
insects, as well as hard-boiled eggs.

The summer range of this beautiful bird in the fur countries
extends to the 55th degree of latitude, arriving on the plains
of the Saskatchewan, according to Richardson, about the roth
of May, or nearly as early as their arrival in Massachusetts.
Those which thus visit the wilds of Canada in all probability
proceed at once from Mexico, or ascend the great valley of
the Mississippi and Missouri.

I have had a male bird ina state of domestication raised from
the nest very readily on fresh minced meat soaked in milk.
When established, his principal food was scalded Indian corn-
meal, on which he fed contentedly, but was also fond of sweet
cakes, insects of all descriptions, and nearly every kind of fruit.
In short, he ate everything he would in a state of nature, and
did not refuse to taste and eat of everything but the condi-
ments which enter into the multifarious diet of the human
species: he was literally omnivorous.

No bird could become more tame, allowing himself to be
handled with patient indifference, and sometimes~with play-
fulness. The singular mechanical application of his bill was
remarkable, and explains at once the ingenious art employed
by the species in weaving their nest. If the folded hand was
presented to our familiar Oriole, he endeavored to open it by
inserting his pointed and straight bill betwixt the closed fingers,
and then by pressing open the bill with great muscular force,
in the manner of an opening pair of compasses, he contrived,
if the force was not great, to open the hand and examine its
contents. If brought to the face he did the same with the
mouth, and would try hard to open the closed teeth. In this
way, by pressing open any yielding interstice, he could readily
insert the threads of his nest, and pass them through an infinity
of openings, so as-to form the ingenious net-work or basis of his
suspensory and procreant cradle.

This is a familiar bird throughout the greater part of this faunal
‘ province north to the southern portions of Ontario and Quebec,

ORCHARD ORIOLE. 93

and it occurs sparingly in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It
winters southward to Panama.

NoTE, —A single example of BULLock’s ORIOLE (/cterus
bullockt), which was shot near Bangor, Maine, in 1889, gives this
species a right to be mentioned here. The usual habitat of this
species is between the eastern base of the Rockies and the Pacific
coast.

ORCHARD ORIOLE.
IcCTERUS SPURIUS.

CuaR. Male: head, neck, back, wings, and tail black; other parts
‘chestnut, deepest on breast. Female: yellowish olive inclining to brown ;

wings dusky brown with 2 white bands; beneath, olive yellow. Young
similar to female. Length 6 to 7% inches.

Vest. A handsome basket-like structure, about 4 inches in depth,
composed of grasses woven into a smooth firm fabric, and lined with
feathers or other soft material. It is sometimes partly supported in the
forks of small twigs, and often entirely pendent. Usually about 10 feet
from the ground and near the end of the branch.

Eggs. 3-6 (generally 4); white with blue or green tint, irregularly
marked with lilac and brown; .80 X .60.

This smaller and plainer species has many of the habits of
the Baltimore bird, and arrives in Pennsylvania about a week
later. They enter the southern boundary of the United States
early in March, and remain there until October. They do not
however, I believe, often migrate farther north and east than
the State of Connecticut. I have never seen or heard of them
in Massachusetts, any more than my scientific friend, and close
observer, Mr. C. Pickering. Their stay in the United States, it
appears from Wilson, is little more than four months, as they
retire to South America early in September, or at least do not
winter in the Southern States. According to my friend Mr.
Ware, they breed at Augusta, in Georgia; and Mr. Say ob-
served the Orchard Oriole at Major Long’s winter quarters on
the banks of the Missouri. Audubon has also observed the
species towards the sources of the Mississippi, as well as in the
State of Maine. The same author likewise remarks that their

94 SINGING BIRDS.

northern migrations, like those of the Baltimore bird, are per-
formed by day, and that the males arrive a week or ten davs
sooner than their mates. They appear to affect the elevated
and airy rezions of the Alleghany mountains, where they are
much more numerous than the Baltimore.

The Orchard Oriole is an exceedingly active, sprightly, and
restless bird; in the same instant almost, he is on the ground
after some fallen insect, fluttering amidst the foliage of the
trees. prying and springing after his lurking prey. or flying and
tuning his lively notes in a manner so hurried, mpid, and
seemingly confused that the ear is scarce able to thread out
the shnill and lively tones of his agitated ditty. Between these
hurried attempts he also gives others, which are distinct and
agreeable, and not unlike the sweet warble of the Red-Breasted
Grosbeak, though more brief and less varied. In choosing the
situation of his nest he is equally familiar with the Baltimore
Oriole, and seems to enjoy the general society of his species,
suspending his most ingenious and pensile fabric from the
bending twig of the apple-tree, which, like the nest of the
other, is constructed in the form of a pouch from three to five
inches in depth, according to the strength or flexibility of the
tree on which he labors ; so that in a weeping-willow, according
to Wilson, the nest is one or two inches deeper than if in an
apple-tree, to obviate the danger of throwing out the eggs and
young by the sweep of the long, pendulous branches. It is
likewise slighter, as the crowding leaves of that tree afford a
natural shelter of considerable thickness. That economy of
this kind should be studied by the Orchard Oriole will scarcely
surprise so much as the laborious ingenuity and beautiful tissue
of its nest. It is made exteriorly of a fine woven mat of long,
tough, and flexible grass, as if darned with a needle. The
form is hemispherical, and the inside is lined with downy
substances, — sometimes the wool of the seeds of the Button-
wood, — forming thus a commodious and soft bed for the young.
This precaution of a warm lining, as in the preceding species,
is, according to Audubon, dispensed with in the warm climate
of Louisiana. The eggs are 4 or 5, of a very pale bluish

ORCHARD ORIOLE. 95

tint, with a few points of brown, and spots of dark purple,
chiefly disposed at the greater end. The female sits about
14 days, and the young continue in the nest 10 days before
they become qualified to flit along with their parents; but
they are generally seen abroad about the middle of June.
Previously to their departure, the young, leaving the care of
their parents, become gregarious, and assemble sometimes in
flocks of separate sexes, from 30 to 40 or upwards, — in the
South frequenting the savannahs, feeding much on crickets,
grasshoppers, and spiders ; and at this season their flesh is much
esteemed by the inhabitants. Wilson found them easy to raise
from the nest, but does not say on what they were fed, though
they probably require the same treatment as the Baltimore
Oriole. According to Audubon, they sing with great liveliness
in cages, being fed on rice and dry fruits when fresh cannot be
procured. Their ordinary diet, it appears, is caterpillars and
insects, of which they destroy great quantities. In the course
of the season they likewise feed on various kinds of juicy fruits
and berries ; but their depredations on the fruits of the orchard
are very unimportant.

This is a summer visitor throughout the Eastern States, though
not common north of the Connecticut valley. It occurs regularly
in Massachusetts and southern Ontario, and has been taken in
Maine and New Brunswick.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD.

AGELAIUS PHCENICEUS.

CuHar. Male: black; lesser wing-coverts vermilion, bordered with
buff. Female: above, blackish brown streaked with paler and grayish ;
lower parts dusky white streaked with reddish brown; sometimes wing-
coverts have a reddish tinge. Young like female, but colors deeper.
Length 7% to Io inches.

Nest. Ina tuft of grass or on a bush; composed of grass, leaves, and
mud, lined with soft grass.

£gegs. 3-5; color varies from bluish white to greenish blue, blotched,
streaked, and spotted with lilac and dark brown; size variable, average
about 1.00 X .go.

The Red-Winged Troopial in summer inhabits the whole of
North America from Nova Scotia to Mexico, and is found in
the interior from the 53d degree across the whole continent to
the shores of the Pacific and along the coast as far as Cali-
fornia. They are migratory north of Maryland, but pass the
winter and summer in great numbers in all the Southern States,
frequenting chiefly the settlements and rice and corn fields ;
towards the sea-coast, where they move about like blackening
clouds, rising suddenly at times with a noise like thunder, and
exhibiting amidst the broad shadows of their funereal plumage
the bright flashing of the vermilion with which their wings are
so singularly decorated. After whirling and waving a little
distance like the Starling, they descend as a torrent, and, dark-

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 97

ening the branches of the trees by their numbers, they com-
mence a general concert that may be heard for more than two
miles. This music seems to be something betwixt chattering
and warbling, — jingling liquid notes like those of the Bobolink,
with their peculiar kong-guér-reé and bob & le, o-bob & lee; then
complaining chirps, jars, and sounds like saw-filing, or the
motion of a sign-board on its rusty hinge ; the whole constitu-
ting a novel and sometimes grand chorus of discord and
harmony, in which the performers seem in good earnest, and
bristle up their feathers as if inclined at least to make up in
quantity what their show of music may lack in quality.

When their food begins to fail in the fields, they assemble
with the Purple Grakles very familiarly around the corn-cribs
and in the barn-yards, greedily and dexterously gleaning up
everything within their reach. In the month of March Mr.
Bullock found them very numerous and bold near the city of
Mexico, where they followed the mules to steal a tithe of their
barley.

From the beginning of March to April, according to the
nature of the season, they begin to visit the Northern States in
scattered parties, flying chiefly in the morning. As they wing
their way they seem to relieve their mutual toil by friendly
chatter, and being the harbingers of spring, their faults are
forgot in the instant, and we cannot help greeting them as old
acquaintances in spite of their predatory propensities. Selec-
ting their accustomed resort, they make the low meadows
resound again with their notes, particularly in the morning and
evening before retiring to or leaving the roost; previous to
settling themselves for the night, and before parting in the
day, they seem all to join in a general chorus of liquid warb-
ling tones, which would be very agreeable but for the inter-
ruption of the plaints and jarring sounds with which it is
blended. They continue to feed in small parties in swamps
and by slow streams and ponds till the middle or close of
April, when they begin to separate in pairs. Sometimes, how-
ever, they appear to be partly polygamous, like their cousins
the Cow Troopials ; as amidst a number of females engaged in

VOL. 1. —7

98 SINGING BIRDS.

incubation, but few of the other sex appear associated with
them ; and as among the Bobolinks, sometimes two or three of
the males may be seen in chase of an individual of the other
sex, but without making any contest or show of jealous feud
with each other, as a concubinage rather than any regular
mating seems to prevail among the species.

Assembled again in their native marshes, the male perched,
upon the summit of some bush surrounded by water, in com-
pany with his mates, now sings out, at short intervals, his
guttural Long-guér-ree, sharply calls 7 ¢shéah, or when disturbed,
plaintively utters ’¢4A+ay , to which his companions, not insen-
sible to these odd attentions, now and then return a gratulatory
cackle or reiterated chirp, like that of the native Meadow
Lark. Asa pleasant and novel, though not unusual, accompa-
niment, perhaps the great bull-frog elevates his green head
and brassy eyes from the stagnant pool, and calls out in a loud
and echoing bellow, ’z’sr00, ’warroo, ‘worrérroo, 'boaroo, which
is again answered, or, as it were, merely varied by the creaking
or cackling voice of his feathered neighbors. This curious
concert, uttered as it were from the still and sable waters of
the Styx, is at once both ludicrous and solemn.

About the end of April or early in May, in the middle and
northern parts of the Union, the Red-Winged Blackbirds com-
mence constructing their nests. The situation made choice of
is generally in some marsh, swamp, or wet meadow, abounding
with alder (A/zus) or button-bushes ( Cephalanthus) ; in these,
commonly at the height of five to seven feet from the ground,
or sometimes in a detached bush or tussock of rank grass in
the meadow, the nest is formed. Outwardly it is composed of
a considerable quantity of the long dry leaves of sedge-grass
(Carex), or other kinds collected in wet situations, and occa-
sionally the slender leaves of the flag (/ris) carried round all
the adjoining twigs of the bush by way of support or suspen-
sion, and sometimes blended with strips of the lint of the
swamp Asclepias, or silk-weed (Asclepias incarnata). The
whole of this exterior structure is also twisted in and out, and
carried in loops from one side of the nest to the other, pretty

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. 99

much in the manner of the Orioles, but made of less flexible
and handsome materials. The large interstices that remain, as
well as the bottom, are then filled in with rotten wood, marsh-
grass roots, fibrous peat, or mud, so as to form, when dry, a
stout and substantial, though concealed shell, the whole very
well lined with fine dry stalks of grass or with slender rushes
(Scirpz). When the nest is in a tussock, it is also tied to the
adjoining stalks of herbage ; but when on the ground this pre-
caution of fixity is laid aside. The eggs are from 3 to 5,
white, tinged with blue, marked with faint streaks of light pur-
ple, and long, straggling, serpentine lines and dashes of very
dark brown; the markings not very numerous, and disposed
almost wholly at the greater end. They raise two broods com-
monly in the season. If the nest is approached while the
female is sitting, or when the young are hatched, loud cries of
alarm are made by both parties, but more particularly by the
restless male, who flies to meet the intruder, and generally
brings together the whole sympathizing company of his fellows,
whose nests sometimes are within a few yards of each other.
The female cries ’gueah, "puech, and at length, when the mis-
chief they dreaded is accomplished, the louder notes give way
to others which are more still, slow, and mournful; one of
which resembles /’ai, 7’ai, or “a and fésheah. When the young
are taken or destroyed, the-pair continue restless cand de dejected
for several days ; but from the force of their gregarious habit
they again commence building, usually soon after, in the same
meadow or swamp with their neighbors. In the latter part of
July and August the young birds, now resembling the female,
begin to fly in flocks and release themselves partly from depen-
dence on their parents, whose cares up to this time are faithful
and unremitting ; a few males only seem inclined to stay and
direct their motions.

About the beginning of September these flocks, by their
formidable numbers, do great damage to the unripe corn,
which is now a favorite repast; and they are sometimes seen
whirling and driving over the devoted cornfields and meadows
so as to darken the air with their numbers. The destruction

Too SINGING BIRDS.

at this time made among them by the gun and the Hawks pro-
duces but little effect upon the remainder, who continue fear-
lessly, and in spite of all opposition, from morning to night
to ravage the cornfields while anything almost remains to be
eaten. The farms near the sea-coast, or alluvial situations,
however, are their favorite haunts; and towards the close of
September, the corn becoming hard, it is at length rejected for
the seeds of the wild rice (Zsania aguatica) and other aquatic
plants, which now begin to ripen, and afford a more harmless
and cheap repast to these dauntless marauders. At this time,
also, they begin to roost in the reeds, whither they repair in
large flocks every evening from all the neighboring quarters of
the country ; upon these they perch or cling, so as to obtain a
support above the surrounding waters of the marsh. When
the reeds become dry, advantage is taken of the circumstance
to destroy these unfortunate gormandizers by fire; and those
who might escape the flames are shot down in vast numbers as
they hover and scream around the spreading conflagration.
Early in November they generally leave the Northern and
colder States, with the exception of straggling parties, who
still continue to glean subsistence, in the shelter of the sea-
coast, in Delaware, Maryland, and even in the cold climate of
the State of Massachusetts.?

To those who seem inclined to extirpate these erratic depre-
dators, Wilson justly remarks, as a balance against the damage
they commit, the service they perform in the spring season, by
the immense number of insects and their larvee which they
destroy, as their principal food, and which are of kinds most
injurious to the husbandman. Indeed, Kalm remarked that
after a great destruction made among these and the common
Blackbirds for the legal reward of 3 pence a dozen, the
Northern States, in 1749, experienced a complete loss of the
grass and grain crops, which were now devoured by insects.

Like the Troopial (Oriolus icterus, Laru.), the Redwing
shows attachment and docility in confinement, becoming, like

1 My friend Mr. S. Green, of Boston, assures me that he has seen these birds.
near Newton, in a ceclar-swamp, in January.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. IOI

the Starling, familiar with those who feed him, and repaying
the attention he receives, by singing his monotonous ditty
pretty freely, consisting, as we have already remarked, of vari-
ous odd, grating, shrill, guttural, and sometimes warbling tones,
which become at length somewhat agreeable to the ear; and
instances are said to have occurred of their acquiring the power
of articulating several words pretty distinctly.

The flesh of this bird is but little esteemed except when
young, being dark and tough like that of the Starling; yet in
some of the markets of the United States they are at times
exposed for sale.

The Red-wing is a common summer visitor to the Eastern States
and Canada, breeding as far north as latitude 50°. In the West it
ranges through the Saskatchewan valley to Great Slave Lake. It
winters south to Mexico; but a few individuals have been known to
brave a New England winter. During the winter of 1889-90, a

male was seen about the Fresh Pond marshes by several members
of the Nuttall Club of Cambridge.

Note.=-The BAHAMAN RED-WING (A. phenicus bryantz), a
smaller, darker race, is found on the Bahama Islands and in south-
ern Florida.

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD.
XANTHOCEPHALUS XANTHOCEPHALUS.

CuHarR. Male: head, neck, and breast yellow; large patch on wing
white; other parts black. Female and young: general colgr blackish
brown; wings without the white spot; throat and breast dull yellow.

Length 9 to 11 inches.

Nest. — Of dried grass, firmly woven and fastened to twigs of a bush or
stalks of rushes, in a marsh or swampy meadow.

Eggs. — 2-6; grayish white, sometimes with a green tint, irregularly
marked with brown; 1.05 X 0.70.

The Yellow-headed Troopial, though long known as an
inhabitant of South America, was only recently added to the
fauna of the United States by Major Long’s expedition. It
was seen in great numbers near the banks of the River Platte,
around the villages of the Pawnees, about the middle of May ;
and the different sexes were sometimes observed associated in
separate flocks, as the breeding season had not yet probably
commenced. The range of this fine species is, apparently,
from Cayenne, in tropical America, to the banks of the River
Missouri, where Mr. Townsend and myself observed examples
not far from the settled line of Missouri State. It has been
seen by Dr. Richardson, in summer, as far as the 58th par-
allel. Its visits in the United States are yet wholly confined to

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. 103

the west side of the Mississippi, beyond which, not even a
straggler has been seen, These birds assemble in flocks, and
in all their movements, aérial evolutions, and predatory char-
acter, appear as the counterpart of their Red-winged relatives.
They are also seen to frequent the ground in search of food,
in the manner of the Cow-Bunting, or Troopial. In the
spring season they wage war upon the insect tribes and their
larve, like the Red-wings, but in autumn they principally
depend on the seeds of vegetables. At Demerara, Waterton
observed them in flocks, and, as might have been suspected
from their habits, they were very greedy after Indian corn.

On the 2d of May, in our western tour across the continent,
around the Kansa Indian Agency, we now saw abundance of
the Yellow-headed Troopial, associated with the Cowbird.
They kept wholly on the ground in companies, the males, at
this time, by themselves. In loose soil they dig into the earth
with their bills in quest of insects and larve, are very active,
straddle about with a quaint gait, and now and then, in the
manner of the Cowbird, whistle out with great effort a chuck-
ling note sounding like Ro-kwkkle-’ait, often varying into a
straining squeak, as if using their utmost endeavor to make
some kind of noise in token of sociability. Their music is,
however, even inferior to the harsh note of the Cowbird.
In the month of June, by the edge of a grassy marsh, in the
open plain of the Platte, several hundred miles inland, Mr.
Townsend found the nest of this species built under a tussock
formed of fine grasses and canopied over like that of the
Sturnella, or Meadow Lark.

While essentially a bird of the prairie, this species occurs reg-
ularly and in abundance in Wisconsin and Illinois. It has been
observed occasionally in southern Ontario, and examples have been

taken at Point des Monts, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and in
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Florida.

104 SINGING BIRDS.

COWBIRD.
COW BLACKBIRD.
MOLOTHRUS ATER.

Cuar. Male: head and neck dull brown; other parts glossy black.
Female and young: brownish gray, paler below, with dark streaks.
Length 7 to § inches.

Nest. Does not build any, but lays its eggs in nests of other species,
usually of smaller birds, such as the Yellow Warbler, Chipping Sparrow,
or one of the Vireos.

Eggs. ? (number unknown, probably 4) ; dull white, sometimes with
green or buff tint, irregularly marked with various shades of brown;
085 X 0.65.

The Cow-pen Bird, perpetually gregarious and flitting, is
observed to enter the Middle and Northern States in the latter
end of March or the beginning of April. They make their mi-
gration now chiefly under cover of the night, or early dawn ;
and as the season becomes milder they pass on to Canada, and
perhaps follow the Warblers and other small birds into the
farthest regions of the north, for they are seen no more after
the middle of June until the return of autumn, when, with the
colds of October, they again reappear in numerous and aug-
mented flocks, usually associated with their kindred Red-wings,
to whom they bear a sensible likeness, as well as a similarity in
notes and manners. They pass the winter in the warmer parts
of America as well as in the Southern States, where I have
observed them in the ploughed fields, gleaning along with the
Red-wings and the common Blackbirds. They are also very
familiar around the cattle, picking up insects which they
happen to disturb, or that exist in their ordure. When on the
ground, they scratch up the soil and appear very intent after
their food. Sometimes even, infringing on the rights of the
Plover, individuals, in the winter, frequent the margins of
ponds in quest of aquatic insects and small shell-fish ; and they
may be seen industriously occupied in turning over the leaves
of the water-plants to which they adhere. They also frequent

COWBIRD. 105

occasionally the rice and corn fields, as well as their more
notorious associates, but are more inclined to native food and
insects at all times, so that they are more independent and
less injurious to the farmer. As they exist in Mexico and
California, it is probable that they are also bred in the higher
_table-lands, as well as in the regions of the north. In Loui-
siana, however, according to Audubon, they are rare visitors
at any season, seeming more inclined to follow their route
through the maritime districts. Over these countries, high in
the air, in the month of October, they are seen by day winging
their way to the remoter regions of the south.

We have observed that the Red-wings separate in parties,
and pass a considerable part of the summer in the necessary
duties of incubation. But the Cow-pen Birds release them-
selves from all hindrance to their wanderings. The volatile
disposition and instinct which prompt birds to migrate, as the
seasons change and as their food begins to fail, have only a
periodical influence ; and for a while they remain domestic,
passing a portion of their time in the cares and enjoyments of
the conjugal state. But with our bird, like the European
Cuckoo, this season never arrives; the flocks live together
without ever pairing. A general concubinage prevails among
them, scarcely exciting any jealousy, and unaccompanied by any
durable affection. From the commencement of their race they
have been bred as foundlings in the nests of other birds, and
fed by foster-parents under the perpetual influence of delusion
and deception, and by the sacrifice of the concurrent progeny
of the nursing birds. Amongst all the feathered tribes hitherto
known, this and the European Cuckoo, with a few other species
indigenous to the old continent, are the only kinds who never
make a nest or hatch their young. That this character is not
a vice of habit, but a perpetual instinct of nature, appears from
various circumstances, and from none more evidently than from
this, that the eggs of the Cow Troopial are earlier hatched than
those of the foster-parent, — a singular and critical provision, on
which perhaps the existence of the species depends; for did
the natural brood of the deceived parent come first into exis-

106 SINGING BIRDS.

tence, the strange egg on which they sat would generally be
destroyed.

When the female is disposed to lay, she appears restless and
dejected, and separates from the unregarding flock. Stealing
through the woods and thickets, she pries into the bushes and
brambles for the nest that suits her, into which she darts in the
absence of its owner, and in a few minutes is seen to rise on the
wing, cheerful, and relieved from the anxiety that oppressed her,
and proceeds back to the flock she had so reluctantly forsaken.
If the egg be deposited in the nest alone, it is uniformly
forsaken ; but if the nursing parent have any of her own,
she immediately begins to sit. The Red-eyed Flycatcher, in
whose beautiful basket-like nests I have observed these eggs,
proves a very affectionate and assiduous nurse to the uncouth
foundling. In one of these I found an egg of each bird, and
the hen already sitting. I took her own egg and left the
strange one; she soon returned, and as if sensible of what
had happened, looked with steadfast attention, and shifted the
egg about, then sat upon it, but soon moved off, again renewed
her observation, and it was a considerable time before she
seemed willing to take her seat; but at length I left her on
the nest. ‘Two or three days after, I found that she had relin-
quished her attention to the strange egg and forsaken the
nest. Another of these birds, however, forsook the nest on
taking out the Cowbird’s egg, although she had still two of her
own left. The only example, perhaps, to the contrary of de-
serting the nest when solely occupied by the stray egg, is in
the Bluebird, who, attached strongly to the breeding-places in
which it often continues for several years, has been known to
lay, though with apparent reluctance, after the deposition of
the Cowbird’s egg. My friend Mr. C. Pickering found two
nests of the Summer-yellow Bird, in which had been deposited
an egg of the Cowbird previously to any of their own; and
unable to eject it, they had buried it in the bottom of the nest
and built over it an additional story! I also saw, in the sum-
mer of 1830, a similar circumstance with the same bird, in
which the Cowbird’s egg, though incarcerated, was still visible

COWBIRD. 107

on the upper edge, but could never have been hatched. At
times I think it probable that they lay in the nests of larger
birds, who throw out the egg, or that they drop their eggs on
the ground without obtaining a deposit, as I have found an egg
of this kind thus exposed and broken. On placing an egg of
this bird in the Catbird’s nest it was almost instantly ejected ;
and this would probably be the usual fate of the strange egg if
the diminutive nurses, thus wisely chosen, were capable of
removing it.

The most usual nurse of this bird appears to be the Red-
eyed Vireo, who commences sitting as soon as the Cowbird’s
egg is deposited. On these occasions I have known the Vireo
to begin her incubation with only an egg of each kind, and in
other nests I have observed as many as 3 of her own, with
that of the intruder. From the largeness of the strange egg,
probably the nest immediately feels filled, so as to induce the
nurse directly to sit. This larger egg, brought nearer to the
body than her own, is consequently better warmed and sooner
hatched ; and the young of the Cowbird, I believe, appears
about the 12th or 13th day of sitting. The foundling is very
faithfully nursed by the affectionate Vireo, along with her own
brood, who make their appearance about a day later than the
Troopial. From the great size of the parasite, the legitimate
young are soon stifled, and, when dead, are conveyed, as usual,
by the duped parent to a distance before being dropped ; but
they are never found immediately beneath the nest, as would
invariably happen if they were ejected by the young Troopial.
In the summer of 1839 I actually saw a Chipping Sparrow car-
rying out to a distance one of its dead young thus stifled; and
a second nest of the same species in which 3 of its own brood
were hatched soon after the Cow Troopial: these survived 2 or
3 days, and as they perished were carried away by the parent
bird. As far as I have had opportunity of observing, the
foundling shows no hostility to the natural brood of his nurses,
but he nearly absorbs their whole attention, and early displays
his characteristic cunning and self-possession. When fully
fledged, they quickly desert their foster-parent, and skulk

108 SINGING BIRDS.

about in the woods until, at length, they instinctively join com-
pany with those of the same feather, and now becoming more
bold, are seen in parties of 5 or 6, in the fields and lanes,
gleaning their accustomed subsistence. They still, however,
appear shy and watchful, and seem too selfish to study any-
thing more than their own security and advantage. :

The song of the Cowbird is guttural and unmusical, uttered
with an air of affectation, and accompanied by a bristling of
the feathers and a swelling of the body in the manner of the
Turkey. These are also all the notes of the species in the
season of their attachment; so that their musical talent rates
lower than that of any other bird perhaps in the genus. Some-
times the tones of the male resemble the liquid clinking of the
Bobolink and Red-winged Blackbird. Sitting on the summit
of a lofty branch, he amuses himself perhaps for an hour with
an occasional ’Auck ’¢seé, the latter syllable uttered in a drawl-
ing hiss like that of the Red-wing. Accompanied by his mates,
he also endeavors to amuse them by his complaisant chatter ;
and watching attentively for their safety, they flit together at
the instant he utters the loud tone of alarm; and they are
always shy and suspicious of the designs of every observer.
On a fine spring morning, however, perched towards the sum-
mit of some tree in the forest where they seek rest after their
twilight wanderings, small and select parties may be seen grate-
fully basking in the mild beams of the sunshine. The male on
such occasions seems as proud of his uncouth jargon, and as
eager to please his favorite companions, as the tuneful Night-
ingale with his pathetic and varied lay.

The Cowbird is a common summer resident of New England,
though of rather local distribution. Dr. Wheaton reported it as
abundant in Ohio during the summer months, and Mr. Mcllwraith
made a similar report for Ontario. It is rather uncommon in the
Maritime Provinces, but ranges as far northward as the soth par-
allel. In January, 1883, two specimens were taken near Cambridge,
Mass., by Mr. William Brewster and Mr. Henry M. Spellman.

BOBOLINK.
RICE BIRD, SKUNK BLACKBIRD. MEADOW-WINK.

DOLICHONYX ORYZIVORUS.

+CuHar. Male in summer: black; back of head and hind-neck buff ;
scapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts ashy white. Male in winter,
female, and young: above, yellowish brown, beneath paler, more buffy;
light stripe on crown. Length 6% to 7% inches.

Vest. Ina meadow; made of dried grass.

£ggs. 4-6; white with green or buff tint, irregularly marked with
lilac and brown; 0.85 X 0.60.

The whole continent of America, from Labrador to Mexico,
and the Great Antilles, are the occasional residence of this truly
migratory species. About the middle of March or beginning
of April the cheerful Bobolink makes his appearance in the
southern extremity of the United States, becoming gradually
arrayed in his nuptial livery, and accompanied by troops of his
companions, who often precede the arrival of their more tardy

110 SINGING BIRDS.

mates. According to Richardson it is the beginning of June
when they arrive at their farthest boreal station in the 54th
degree. We observed them in the great western plains to the
base of the Rocky Mountains, but not in Oregon. Their win-
tering resort appears to be rather the West Indies than the
tropical continent, as their migrations are observed to take
place generally to the east of Louisiana, where their visits are
rare and irregular. At this season also they make their ap-
proaches chiefly by night, obeying, as it were, more distinctly,
the mandates of an overruling instinct, which prompts them to
seek out their natal regions; while in autumn, their progress,
by day only, is alone instigated by the natural quest of food.
About the 1st of May the meadows of Massachusetts begin to
re-echo their lively ditty. At this season, in wet places, and
by newly ploughed fields, they destroy many insects and their
larvee. According to their success in obtaining food, parties
often delay their final northern movement as late as the mid-
dle of May, so that they appear to be in no haste to arrive at
their destination at any exact period. The principal business
of their lives, however, the rearing of their young, does not
take place until they have left the parallel of the 4oth degree.
In the savannahs of Ohio and Michigan, and the cool grassy
meadows of New York, Canada, and New England, they fix
their abode, and obtain a sufficiency of food throughout the
summer without molesting the harvest of the farmer, until the
ripening of the latest crops of oats and barley, when, in their
autumnal and changed dress, hardly now known as the same
species, they sometimes show their taste for plunder, and flock
together like the greedy and predatory Blackbirds. Although
they devour various kinds of insects and worms on their first
arrival, I have found that their frequent visits among the grassy
meadows were often also for the seeds they contain; and they
are particularly fond of those of the dock and dandelion, the
latter of which is sweet and oily. Later in the season, and pre-
viously to leaving their native regions, they feed principally on
various kinds of grass-seeds, particularly those of the Panicums,
which are allied to millet. They also devour crickets and grass-
hoppers, as well as beetles and spiders. Their nest is fixed on

BOBOLINK. II!

the ground in a slight depression, usually in a field of meadow
grass, either in a dry or moist situation, and consists merely of
a loose bedding of withered grass, so inartificial as scarcely to
be distinguishable from the rest of the ground around it. The
eggs are 5 or 6, of a dull white, inclining to olive, scattered all
over with small spots and touches of lilac brown, with some
irregular blotches of dark rufous brown, chiefly disposed to-
wards the larger end.

The males, arriving a little earlier than the other sex, now
appear very vigorous, lively, and familiar. Many quarrels
occur before the mating is settled ; and the females seem at first
very coy and retiring. Emulation fires the Bobolink at this
period, and rival songsters pour out their incessant strains of
enlivening music from every fence and orchard tree. The
quiet females keep much on the ground; but as soon as they
appear, they are pursued by the ardent candidates for their
affection, and if either seems to be favored, the rejected suitor
is chased off the ground, as soon as he appears, by his more
fortunate rival. The song of the male continues with little in-
terruption as long as the female is sitting, and his chant, at all
times very similar, is both singular and pleasant. Often, like
the Skylark, mounted, and hovering on the wing, at a small height
above the field, as he passes along from one tree-top or weed
to another, he utters such a jingling medley of short, variable
notes, so confused, rapid, and continuous, that it appears
almost like the blending song of several different birds. Many
of these tones are very agreeable ; but they are delivered with

-such rapidity that the ear can scarcely separate them. The
general effect, however, like all the simple efforts of Nature, is
good, and when several are chanting forth in the same meadow,
the concert is very cheerful, though monotonous, and somewhat
quaint. Among the few phrases that can be distinguished, the
liquid sound of 06-6-lee bob-o-link bob-0-linké, is very distinct.
To give an idea of the variable extent of song, and even an
imitation, in some measure, of the chromatic period and air of
this familiar and rather favorite resident, the boys of this part
of New England make him spout, among others, the following

I12 SINGING BIRDS.

ludicrous dunning phrase, as he rises and hovers on the wing
near his mate, “’S0d-d-dink, ’Bob-d-link, Tom Dénny’ Tom
Dénny.—’ Come pay me the two aad six pence you've owed
more than a year and & half ago! —’tshé thé 'tshé,tsh tsh
"thé, modestly diving at the same instant down into the grass
as if to avoid altercation. However puerile this odd phrase
may appear, it is quite amusing to find how near it approaches
to the time and expression of the notes, when pronounced in
a hurried manner. It would be unwise in the naturalist to
hold in contempt anything, however trifling, which might tend
to elucidate the simple truth of nature; I therefore give the
thing as I find it. This relish for song and merriment, con-
fined wholly to the male, diminishes as the period of incubation
advances ; and when the brood begin to flutter around their
parents and protectors, the song becomes less frequent, the
cares of the parents more urgent, and any approach to the
secret recess of their helpless family is deplored with urgent
and incessant cries as they hover fearfully around the inten-
tional or accidental intruder. They appear sometimes inclined
to have a second brood, for which preparation is made while
they are yet engaged in rearing the first; but the male gen-
erally loses his musical talent about the end of the first week
in July, from which time his nuptial or pied dress begins
gradually to be laid aside for the humble garb of the female.
The whole, both young and old, then appear nearly in the
same songless livery, uttering only a ch/nk of alarm when sur-
prised in feeding on the grass seeds, or the crops of grain
which still remain abroad. When the voice of the Bobolink
begins to fail, with the progress of the exhausting moult, he flits
over the fields in a restless manner, and merely utters a broken
‘bob’ lec, ?b60 lee, or with his songless mate, at length, a ’weer
‘weet, Dleet bleet, and a noisy and disagreeable cackling
chirp. At the early dawn of day, while the tuneful talent of
the species is yet unabated, the effect of their awakening and
faltering voices from a wide expanse of meadows, is singular
and grand. The sounds mingle like the noise of a distant
torrent, which alternately subsides and rises on the breeze as

BOBOLINK. 113

the performers awake or relapse into rest; it finally becomes
more distinct and tumultuous, till with the opening day it as-
sumes the intelligible character of their ordinary song. The
young males, towards the close of July, having nearly acquired
their perfect character, utter also in the morning, from the
trees which border their favorite marshy meadows, a very
agreeable and continuous low warble, more like that of the
Yellow Bird than the usual song of the species; in fact, they
appear now in every respect as Finches, and only become
jingling musicians when robed in their pied dress as Icteri.

About the middle of August, in congregating numbers, di-
vested already of all selective attachment, vast foraging parties
enter New York and Pennsylvania, on their way to the South.
Here, along the shores of the large rivers, lined with floating
fields of the wild rice, they find an abundant means of sub-
sistence during their short stay ; and as their flesh, now fat, is
little inferior to that of the European Ortolan, the Reed or Rice
Birds, as they are then called in their Sparrow-dress, form a
favorite sport for gunners of all descriptions, who turn out on
the occasion and commit prodigious havoc among the almost
silent and greedy roosting throng. The markets are then filled
with this delicious game, and the pursuit, both for success and
amusement, along the picturesque and reedy shores of the Del-
aware and other rivers is second to none but that of Rail-
shooting. As soon as the cool nights of October commence,
and as the wild rice crops begin to fail, the Reed Birds
take their departure from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in
their farther progress through the Southern States they swarm
in the rice fields; and before the crop is gathered they have
already made their appearance in the islands of Cuba and
Jamaica, where they also feed on the seeds of the Guinea
grass, become so fat as to deserve the name of “ Butter-birds,”
and are in high esteem for the table.

Near the Atlantic coast the Bobolink is not common north of
the 45th parallel ; but in the West it ranges to much higher latitudes.
A few examples have been observed on the New Brunswick shore
of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

vol.. I. — 8

114 SINGING BIRDS.

BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE.
JACKDAW.
QUISCALUS MAJOR.

Cuar. Extremely long, wedge-shaped tail, less conspicuous in female.
Male: black, with metallic tints of green, blue, and purple. Length 15 to
17% inches. Female: above, brown; beneath, grayish brown, changing to
reddish and butfy on breast and throat. Length, 11% to 13 inches.

Vest. A bulky structure of dried grass and strips of bark, cemented
with mud and lined with fine grass; placed in a tree in swamp or near a
marsh, sometimes fastened to rushes.

Eggs. 3-5; grayish drab with tints of green or blue, marked with
black and brown blotches and lines; 1.25 X 0.go.

This large and Crow-like species, sometimes called the Jack-
daw, inhabits the southern maritime parts of the Union only,
particularly the States of Georgia and Florida, where they are
seen as early as the close of January or beginning of February,
but do not begin to pair before March, previously to which
season the sexes are seen in separate flocks. But about the
latter end of November they quit even the mild climate of
Florida, generally, and seek winter-quarters probably in the
West Indies, where they are known to be numerous, as well as
in Mexico, Louisiana, and Texas; but they do not ever extend
their northern migrations as far as the Middle States. Previ-
ous to their departure, at the approach of winter, they are seen
to assemble in large flocks, and every morning flights of them,
at a great height, are seen moving away to the south.

Like most gregarious birds, they are of a very sociable
disposition, and are frequently observed to mingle with the
common Crow Blackbirds. They assemble in great numbers
among the sea islands, and neighboring marshes on the main-
land, where they feed at low water on the oyster-beds and sand-
flats. Like Crows, they are omnivorous, their food consisting
of insects, small shell-fish, corn, and small grain, so that by
turns they may be viewed as the friend or plunderer of the
planter.

PURPLE GRACKLE, 115

The note of this species is louder than that of the common
kind, according to Audubon resembling a loud, shrill whistle,
often accompanied by a cry like crick crick cree, and in the
breeding-season changing almost into a warble. They are only
heard to sing in the spring, and their concert, though inclining
to sadness, is not altogether disagreeable. Their nests are
built in company, on reeds and bushes, in the neighborhood
of salt-marshes and ponds. They begin to lay about the
beginning of April; soon after which the males leave their
mates, not only with the care of incubation, but with the rear-
ing of the young, moving about in separate flocks like the
Cowbirds, without taking any interest in the fate of their
progeny.

This species is rarely found north of Virginia. Several instances
of its occurrence in New England have been reported; but the
correctness of these reports has been challenged, and Mr. Allen

omitted the species from his list of Massachusetts birds issued in
1886.

PURPLE GRACKLE.
CROW BLACKBIRD.
QUISCALUS QUISCULA.

CuHar. Black, with rich metallic tints of steel blue and purple, the
female somewhat duller. Length, 11 to 13% inches.

Vest. On the branch of a tree or in a hollow stub; large and roughly
made of coarse grass and twigs, and lined with finer grass, sometimes
cemented with mud.

Zeges. 4-6; extremely variable in shape, color, and size ; ground color
greenish white to reddish brown, with irregular markings of dark brown;
1.25 X 0.90.

This very common bird is an occasional or constant resident
in every part of America, from Hudson’s Bay and the northern
interior to the Great Antilles, within the tropic. In most parts
of this wide region they also breed, at least from Nova Scotia to
Louisiana, and probably farther south. Into the States north
of Virginia they begin to migrate from the beginning of March

116 SINGING BIRDS.

to May, leaving those countries again in numerous troops about
the middle of November. Thus assembled from the North and
West in increasing numbers, they wholly overrun, at times, the
warmer maritime regions, where they assemble to pass the
winter in the company of their well-known cousins the Red-
winged Troopials or Blackbirds; for both, impelled by the
same predatory appetite, and love of comfortable winter
quarters, are often thus accidentally associated in the plun-
dering and gleaning of the plantations. The amazing
numbers in which the present species associate are almost
incredible. Wilson relates that on the zoth of January, a few
miles from the banks of the Roanoke in Virginia, he met with
one of those prodigious armies of Blackbirds, which, as he ap-
proached, rose from the surrounding fields with a noise like
thunder, and descending on the stretch of road before him,
covered it and the fences completely with black ; rising again,
after a few evolutions, they descended on the skirt of a leafless
wood, so thick as to give the whole forest, for a considerable
extent, the appearance of being shrouded in mourning, the
numbers amounting probably to many hundreds of thousands.
Their notes and screams resembled the distant sound of a
mighty cataract, but strangely attuned into a musical cadence,
which rose and fell with the fluctuation of the breeze, like the
magic harp of olus.

Their depredations on the maize crop or Indian corn com-
mence almost with the planting. The infant blades no sooner
appear than they are hailed by the greedy Blackbird as the
signal for a feast; and without hesitation, they descend on the
fields, and regale themselves with the sweet and sprouted seed,
rejecting and scattering the blades around as an evidence of
their mischief and audacity. Again, about the beginning of
August, while the grain is in the milky state, their attacks are
renewed with the most destructive effect, as they now assemble
as it were in clouds, and pillage the fields to such a degree
that in some low and sheltered situations, in the vicinity of
rivers, where they delight to roam, one fourth of the crop is
devoured by these vexatious visitors. The gun, also, notwith-

PURPLE GRACKLE. 117

standing the havoc it produces, has little more effect than to
chase them from one part of the field to the other. In the
Southern States, in winter, they hover round the corn-cribs in
swarms, and boldly peck the hard grain from the cob through
the air openings of the magazine. In consequence of these
reiterated depredations, they are detested by the farmer as
a pest to his industry; though on their arrival their food for
a long time consists wholly of those insects which are calculated
to do the most essential injury to the crops. They at this season
frequent swamps and meadows, and familiarly following the fur-
rows of the plough, sweep up all the grub-worms and other
noxious animals as soon as they appear, even scratching up the
loose soil, that nothing of this kind may escape them. Up to the
time of harvest I have uniformly, on dissection, found their food
to consist of these larvee, caterpillars, moths, and beetles, of
which they devour such numbers that but for this providential
economy the whole crop of grain, in many places, would prob-
ably be destroyed by the time it began to germinate. In
winter they collect the mast of the beech and oak for food,
and may be seen assembled in large bodies in the woods for
this purpose. In the spring season the Blackbirds roost in the
cedars and pine-trees, to which in the evening they retire with
friendly and mutual chatter. On the tallest of these trees, as
well as in bushes, they generally build their nests, — which work,
like all their movements, is commonly performed in society, so
that 10 or 15 of them are often seen in the same tree; and
sometimes they have been known to thrust their nests into
the interstices of the Fish Hawk’s eyry, as if for safety and
protection. Occasionally they breed in tall poplars near to
habitations, and if not molested, continue to resort to the same
place for several years in succession. The nest is composed
of mud, mixed with stalks and knotty roots of grass, and lined
with fine dry grass and horse-hair. According to Audubon,
the same species in the Southern States nests in the hollows of
decayed trees, after the manner of the Woodpecker, lining the
cavity with grass and mud. They seldom produce more than a
single brood in the season. In the autumn, and at the approach

118 SINGING BIRDS.

of winter, numerous flocks, after foraging through the day, return
from considerable distances to their general roosts among the
reeds. On approaching their station, each detachment, as it
arrives, in straggling groups like crows, sweeps round the marsh
in waving flight, forming circles ; amidst these bodies, the note
of the old reconnoitring leader may be heard, and no sooner

has he fixed upon the intended spot than they all descend and
' take their stations in an instant. At this time they are also
frequently accompanied by the Ferruginous species, with which
they associate in a friendly manner.

The Blackbird is easily tamed, sings in confinement, and
may be taught to articulate some few words pretty distinctly.
Among the variety of its natural notes, the peculiarly affected
sibilation of the Starling is heard in the wdtfitshee, wottitshee,
and whistle, which often accompanies this note.

In Nuttall’s day variety making had not come in fashion, and
the systematists were content to treat the Crow Blackbirds of east-
ern North America as of one form. Now we have three forms,
with three “distinctive scientific appellations.” It is somewhat
difficult to distinguish these forms, except in extreme phases of
plumage, for many specimens of the Northern variety have the
diagnostic characters of the Southern birds. The present race is
said to occur only on “the Atlantic coast of the United States,
north to Massachusetts and west to eastern Tennessee.”

The Bronze GRACKLE (Q. guiscula e@neus) lacks the purple
metallic tint on the body, that being replaced by a tint of bronze;
the purple and blue tints are restricted to the head and neck. The
wings and tail are purple. This form is abundant throughout the
New England States and Canada, and ranges north to Hudson’s
Bay and west to the Great Plains. I have seen nests of these
birds placed on the beams of barns in New Brunswick. The
farmers along the St. John and Kenebecasis rivers erect barns on
the marshy islands and “intervales” to store their hay until it can
be carried to the mainland on the ice; and these barns, being un-
used during the breeding season, offer excellent building sites for
colonies of Crow Blackbirds and Swallows. The nests are fastened
to the beams with mud in much the same method as that adopted
by Robins.

A smaller race with a larger tail is restricted to southern Florida.
It is named the FLORIDA GRACKLE (Q. guiscula agleus).

RUSTY BLACKBIRD. 119

RUSTY BLACKBIRD.
SCOLECOPHAGUS CAROLINUS.

CuaR. Male in summer. glossy black, generally more or less feathers
edged with reddish brown. Male in winter: the brown more conspic-
uous, the lower parts marked with buffy. Female and young: dull rusty
brown above, rusty and ashy beneath. Length 8% to 934 inches.

Vest. In a spruce-tree or alder; a large but solid structure of twigs
and vines, sometimes cemented with mud, lined with grass and leaves.

£ggs. 4-7; grayish green to pale green, thickly blotched with light and
dark brown and purple; 1.00 X 0.76.

This species, less frequent than the preceding, is often
associated with it or with the Red-winged Troopial or the
Cowpen Bird; and according to the season, they are found
throughout America, from Hudson’s Bay to Florida, and west-
ward to the Pacific Ocean. Early in April, according to
Wilson, they pass hastily through Pennsylvania, on their
return to the North to breed. In the month of March he
observed them on the banks of the Ohio, near Kentucky River,
during a snow-storm. They arrive in the vicinity of Hudson’s
Bay about the beginning of May, and feed much in the manner
of the common Crow Blackbird on insects which they find on
or near the ground. Dr. Richardson saw them in the winter
as far as the latitude of 53°, and in summer they range to the
68th parallel or to the extremity of the wooded region. They
sing in the pairing season, but become nearly silent while
rearing their young; though when their brood release them
from care, they again resume their lay, and may occasionally be
heard until the approach of winter. Their song is quite as
agreeable and musical as that of the Starling, and greatly sur-
passes that of any of the other species. I have heard them
singing until the middle of October.

They are said to build in trees and bushes at no great dis-
tance from the ground, making a nest similar to the other
species, and lay five eggs, of a pale blue spotted with black.
The young and old, now assembling in large troops, retire from
the northern regions in September. From the beginning of

120 SINGING BIRDS.

October to the middle of November, they are seen in flocks
through the Eastern States. During their stay in this vicinity
they assemble towards night to roost in or round the reed-
marshes of Fresh Pond, near Cambridge. Sometimes they
select the willows by the water for their lodging, in preference
to the reeds, which they give up to their companions the
Crow Blackbirds. Early in October they feed chiefly on
grasshoppers and berries, and at a later period pay a transient
visit to the corn-fields. They pass the winter in the Southern
States, and, like their darker relatives, make familiar visits to
the barn-yard and corn-cribs. Wilson remarks that they are
easily domesticated, and in a few days become quite familiar,
being reconciled to any quarters while supplied with plenty of
food.

The Rusty Blackbird breeds from about the 45th parallel to the
lower fur countries. It is fairly common near the Atlantic, but is
more abundant in the interior, and Mr. Thompson reports it com-
monly abundant in Manitoba. In this region it does not always
select an alder swamp for a nesting site, as some authors have
stated. A nest discovered by my friend Banks was amid the upper
branches of a good sized spruce on a dry hillside in Mr. William
Jack’s park, near St. John.

NORTHERN RAVEN.

CoRVUS CORAX PRINCIPALIS.

CuHar. Black with bluish purple gloss. Length 22 to 26% inches.

Nest. Ona cliff or in a tree; made of sticks carefully and compactly
arranged, lined with grass or wool, — repaired year after year, and thus
increased to considerable bulk.

Eggs. 2-7; pale olive, marked with olive-brown blotches and streaks ;
2.00 X 1.40.

The sable Raven has been observed and described from the
earliest times, and is a resident of almost every country in the
world ; but is more particularly abundant in the western than
the eastern parts of the United States, where it extends along

the Oregon to the shores of the Pacific. This ominous bird

NORTHERN RAVEN. 121

has been generally despised and feared by the superstitious
even more than the nocturnal Owl, though he prowls abroad in
open day. He may be considered as holding a relation to the
birds of prey, feeding not only on carrion, but occasionally
seizing on weakly lambs, young hares or rabbits, and seems
indeed to give a preference to animal food; but at the same
time, he is able to live on all kinds of fruits and grain, as well
as insects, earth-worms, even dead fish, and in addition to all,
is particularly fond of eggs, so that no animal seems more truly
omnivorous than the Raven.

If we take into consideration his indiscriminating voracity,
sombre livery, discordant, croaking cry, with his ignoble, wild,
and funereal aspect, we need not be surprised that in times of
ignorance and error he should have been so generally regarded
as an object of disgust and fear. He stood pre-eminent in the
list of sinister birds, or those whose only premonition was the
announcing of misfortunes ; and, strange to tell, there are many
people yet in Europe, even in this enlightened age, who trem-
ble and become uneasy at the sound of his harmless croaking.
According to Adair, the Southern aborigines also invoke the
Raven for those who are sick, mimicking his voice; and the
natives of the Missouri, assuming black as their emblem of
war, decorate themselves on those occasions with the plumes
of this dark bird. But all the knowledge of the future, or in-
terest in destiny, possessed by the Raven, like that of other
inhabitants of the air, is bounded by an instinctive feeling of
the changes which are about to happen in the atmosphere, and
which he has the faculty of announcing by certain cries and
actions produced by these external impressions. In the south-
ern provinces of Sweden, as Linneeus remarks, when the sky is
serene the Raven flies very high and utters a hollow sound,
like the word ¢/ong, which is heard to a great distance. Some-
times he has been seen in the midst of a thunder-storm with
the electric fire streaming from the extremity of his bill, —a
natural though extraordinary phenomenon, sufficient to terrify
the superstitious and to stamp the harmless subject of it with
the imaginary traits and attributes of a demon.

122 SINGING BIRDS.

In ancient times, when divination made a part of religion,
the Raven, though a bad prophet, was yet a very interesting
bird; for the passion for prying into future events, even the
most dark and sorrowful, is an original propensity of human
nature. Accordingly, all the actions of this sombre bird, all
the circumstances of its flight, and all the different intonations
of its discordant voice, of which no less than sixty-four were
remarked, had each of them an appropriate signification ; and
there were never wanting impostors to procure this pretended
intelligence, nor people simple enough to credit it. Some
even went so far as to impose upon themselves, by devouring
the heart and entrails of the disgusting Raven, in the strange
hope of thus appropriating its supposed gift of prophecy.

The Raven indeed not only possesses a great many natural
inflections of voice corresponding to its various feelings, but it
has also a talent for imitating the cries of other animals, and
‘even mimicking language. According to Buffon, colas is a
word which he pronounces with peculiar facility. Connecting
circumstances with his wants, Scaliger heard one, which when
hungry, learnt very distinctly to call upon Conrad the cook.
The first of these words bears a great resemblance to one of
the ordinary cries of this species, kowallah, kéwallah. Besides
possessing in some measure the faculty of imitating human
speech, they are at times capable of manifesting a durable
attachment to their keeper, and become familiar about the
house.

The sense of smell, or rather that of sight, is very acute in
the Raven, so that he discerns the carrion, on which he often
feeds, at a great distance. Thucydides even attributes to him
the sagacity of avoiding to feed on animals which had died of
the plague. Pliny relates a singular piece of ingenuity em-
ployed by this bird to quench his thirst: he had observed
water near the bottom of a narrow-necked vase, to obtain
which, he is said to have thrown in pebbles, one at a time,
until the pile elevated the water within his reach. Nor does
this trait, singular as it is, appear to be much more sagacious
than that of carrying up nuts and shell-fish into the air, and

NORTHERN RAVEN, 123

dropping them on rocks, for the purpose of breaking them
to obtain their contents, otherwise beyond his reach, — facts
observed by men of credit, and recorded as an instinct of the
Raven by Pennant and Latham. It is, however, seldom that
these birds, any more than the rapacious kinds, feel an inclina-
tion for drinking, as their thirst is usually quenched by the
blood and juices of their prey. The Ravens are also more
social than the birds of prey, — which arises from the promis-
cuous nature and consequent abundance of their food, which
allows a greater number to subsist together in the same place,
without being urged to the stern necessity of solitude or fam-
ine, — a condition to which the true rapacious birds are always
driven. The habits of these birds are much more generally
harmless than is usually imagined ; they are useful to the farmer
in the destruction they make of moles and mice, and are often
very well contented with insects and earth-worms.

Though spread over the whole world, they are rarely ever
birds of passage, enduring the winters even of the Arctic circle,
or the warmth of Mexico, St. Domingo, and Madagascar.
They are particularly attached to the rocky eyries where they
have been bred and paired. Throughout the year they are
observed together in nearly equal numbers, and they never
entirely abandon this adopted home. If they descend into
the plain, it is to collect subsistence ; but they resort to the
low grounds more in winter than summer, as they avoid the
heat and dislike to wander from their cool retreats. They never
roost in the woods, like Crows, and have sufficient sagacity to
choose in their rocky retreats a situation defended from the
winds of the north, — commonly under the natural vault formed
by an extending ledge or cavity of the rock. Here they retire
during the night in companies of 15 to 20. They perch upon
the bushes which grow straggling in the clefts of the rocks;
but they form their nests in the rocky crevices, or in the
holes of the mouldering walls, at the summits of ruined towers ;
and sometimes upon the high branches of large and solitary
trees. After they have paired, their fidelity appears to continue
through life. The male expresses his attachment by a particu-

124 SINGING BIRDS.

lar strain of croaking, and both sexes are observed caressing, by
approaching their bills, with as much semblance of affection as
the truest turtle-doves. In temperate climates the Raven be-
gins to jay in the months of February or March. The eggs are
5 or 6, of a pale, muddy bluish green, marked with numerous
spots and lines of dark olive brown. She sits about 20 days,
and during this time the male takes care to provide her with
abundance of nourishment. Indeed, from the quantity of grain,
nuts, and fruits which have been found at this time in the envi-
rons of the nest, this supply would appear to be a store laid up
for future occasions. Whatever may be their forethought re-
garding food, they have a well-known propensity to hide things
which come within their reach, though useless to themselves,
and appear to give a preference to pieces of metal, or any-
thing which has a brilliant appearance. At Erfurt, one of
these birds had the patience to carry and hide, one by one,
under a stone in the garden, a quantity of small pieces of
money, which amounted, when discovered, to 5 or 6 florins ;
and there are few countries which cannot afford similar instan-
ces of their domestic thefts.

Of the perseverance of the Raven in the act of incubation,
Mr. White has related the following remarkable anecdote: In
the centre of a grove near Selborne there stood a tall and
shapeless oak which bulged out into a large excrescence near
the middle of the stem. On this tree a pair of Ravens had
fixed their residence for such a series of years that the oak
was distinguished by the title of “The Raven Tree.’ Many
were the attempts of the neighboring youths to get at this nest.
The difficulty whetted their inclinations, and each was ambi-
tious of accomplishing the arduous task ; but when they arrived
at the swelling, it jutted out so in their way, and was so far
beyond their grasp, that the boldest lads were deterred, and
acknowledged the undertaking to be too hazardous. Thus the
Ravens continued to build, and rear their young in security,
until the fatal day on which the wood was to be levelled.
This was in the month of February, when these birds usually
begin to sit. The saw was applied to the trunk, the wedges

NORTHERN RAVEN. 125

were driven, the woods echoed to the heavy blows of the beetle
or mallet, and the tree nodded to its fall; but still the devoted
Raven sat on. At last, when it gave way, she was flung from
her ancient eyry; and a victim to parental affection, was
whipped down by the twigs, and brought lifeless to the
ground.

The young, at first more white than black, are fed by food
previously prepared in the craw of the mother and then dis-
gorged by the bill, nearly in the manner of pigeons. The male
at this time, doubly vigilant and industrious, not only provides
for, but defends his family vigorously from every hostile attack,
and shows a particular enmity to the Kite when he appears in
his neighborhood, pouncing upon him and striking with his
bill until sometimes both antagonists descend to the ground.
The young are long and affectionately fed by the parents ; and
though they soon leave the nest, they remain perching on the
neighboring rocks, yet unable to make any extensive flight, and
pass the time in continual complaining cries till the approach
of the parent with food, when their note changes into craw,
craw, craw. Now and then as they gain strength they make
efforts to fly, and then return to their rocky roost. About 15
days after leaving the nest, they become so well prepared for
flight as to accompany the parents out on their excursions from
morning to night; and it is amusing to watch the progress of
this affectionate association, the young continuing the whole
summer to go out with the old in the morning, and as regularly
return with them again in the evening, so that however we may
despise the appetite of the Raven, we cannot but admire the
instinctive morality of his nature.

Like birds of prey, the Ravens reject from the stomach, by
the bill, the hard and indigestible parts of their food, as the
stones of fruit and the bones of small fish which they some-
times eat.

The Northern Raven has been separated lately from the “ Mexi-
can” race (for which latter the name of szzzatus has been retained);
but the limits of their distribution have not been determined. The
northern form occurs throughout Canada north to the Arctic Ocean

126 SINGING BIRDS.

and west to the Pacific; but to which form the birds found in the
Eastern States are to be referred, has not been settled by the
authorities.

Of late years the Raven has almost forsaken the New England
shores, though it is still numerous around the Bay of Fundy, and
occurs locally in small numbers along the entire coast of the
Atlantic, and throughout this faunal province. It is more abundant
to the westward of the Mississippi.

CROW.
CoRVUS AMERICANUS.

Cuar. Black, with gloss of purple tinge. Length 17 to 21 inches.
Nest. Ina tree; made of sticks and twigs, lined with grass and leaves.
Eggs. 4-6; sea-green to dull olive, blotched with brown ; 1.70 X 1.20.

The Crow, like the Raven, which it greatly resembles, is a
denizen of nearly the whole world. It is found even in New
Holland and the Philippine Islands, but is rare in Sweden,
where the Raven abounds. It is also common in Siberia, and
plentiful in the Arctic deserts beyond the Lena.

The native Crow is a constant and troublesomely abundant
resident in most of the settled districts of North America,
as well as an inhabitant of the Western wilds throughout
the Rocky Mountains, to the banks of the Oregon and the
shores of the Pacific. These birds only retire into the forests
in the breeding season, which lasts from March to May. At
this time they are dispersed through the woods in pairs, and
roost in the neighborhood of the spot which they have selected
for their nest ; and the conjugal union, once formed, continues
for life. They are now very noisy, and vigilant against any
intrusion on their purpose, and at times appear influenced by
mutual jealousy, but never proceed to any violence. The
tree they select is generally lofty, and preference seems often
given to some dark and concealing evergreen. The nest is
formed externally of small twigs coarsely interlaced together,
plastered and matted with earth, moss, and long horse-hair,

CROW. toy

and thickly and carefully lined with large quantities of the last
material, wool, or the finest fibres of roots, so as to form a very
comfortable bed for the helpless and naked young.

The male at this season is extremely watchful, reconnoitring
the neighborhood, and giving an alarm as any person happens
to approach towards their nest, when both retire to a distance
till the intruder disappears ; and in order the better to conceal
their brood, they remain uncommonly silent until these are in
a situation to follow them on the wing. The male also carries
food to his mate while confined to her eggs, and at times
relieves her by sitting in her absence. In Europe, when the
Raven, the Buzzard, or the Kestrel makes his appearance, the
pair join instantly in the attack, and sometimes, by dint of furi-
ous blows, destroy their enemy; yet the Butcher Bird, more
alert and courageous, not only resists, but often vanquishes
the Crows and carries off their young. Like the Ravens,
endued with an unrestrained and natural affection, they con-
tinue the whole succeeding summer to succor and accompany
their offspring in all their undertakings and excursions.

The Crow is equally omnivorous with the Raven ; insects,
worms, carrion, fish, grain, fruits, and in short everything
digestible by any or all the birds in existence, being alike
acceptable to this gormandizing animal. Its destruction of
bird-eggs is also very considerable. In Europe Crows are often
detected feeding their voracious young with the precious eggs
of the Partridge; which they very sagaciously convey by care-
fully piercing and sticking them expertly on the bill. They
also know how to break nuts and shell-fish by dropping them
from a great height upon the rocks below. They visit even the
snares and devour the birds which they find caught, attacking
the weak and wounded game. They also sometimes seize on
young chickens and Ducks, and have even been observed to
pounce upon Pigeons in the manner of Hawks, and with almost
equal success. So familiar and audacious are they in some
parts of the Levant that they will frequent the courts of houses,
and, like Harpies, alight boldly on the dishes, as the servants are
conveying in the dinner, and carry off the meat, if not driven

128 SINGING BIRDS.

away by blows. In turn, however, the Crow finds enemies too
powerful for him to conquer, such as the Kite and Eagle Owl,
who occasionally make a meal of this carrion bird, — a voracious
propensity which the Virginian Owl also sometimes exhibits
towards the same species. Wherever the Crow appears, the
smaller birds take the alarm, and vent upon him their just
suspicions and reproaches. But it is only the redoubtable
King Bird who has courage for the attack, beginning the onset
by pursuing and diving on his back from above, and _haras-
sing the plunderer with such violence that he is generally glad
to get out of the way and forego his piratical visit; in short, a
‘single pair of these courageous and quarrelsome birds are suf-
ficient to clear the Crows from an extensive cornfield.

The most serious mischief of which the Crow is guilty
is that of pillaging the maize-field. He commences at the
planting-time by picking up and rooting out the sprouting
grain, and in the autumn, when it becomes ripe, whole flocks,
now assembled at their roosting-places, blacken the neighboring
fields as soon as they get into motion, and do extensive dam-
age at every visit, from the excessive numbers who now rush to
the inviting feast.

Their rendezvous or roosting-places are the resort in au-
tumn of all the Crows and their families for many miles round.
The blackening silent train continues to arrive for more than
an hour before sunset, and some still straggle on until dark.
They never arrive in dense flocks, but always in long lines,
each falling into the file as he sees opportunity. This gregarious
inclination is common to many birds in the autumn which
associate only in pairs in the summer. The forests and groves,
stripped of their agreeable and protecting verdure, seem no
longer safe and pleasant to the feathered nations. Exposed to
the birds of prey, which daily augment in numbers ; penetrated
by the chilling blasts, which sweep without control through the
naked branches, — the birds, now impelled by-an overruling
instinct, seek in congregated numbers some general, safer, and
more commodious retreat. Islands of reeds, dark and solitary
thickets, and neglected swamps, are the situations chosen for

CROW. 129

their general diurnal retreats and roosts. Swallows, Blackbirds,
Rice Birds, and Crows seem always to prefer the low shelter of
reed-flats. On the River Delaware, in Pennsylvania, there are
two of these remarkable Crow-roosts. The one mentioned by
Wilson is an island near Newcastle called the Pea-Patch, — a
low, flat, alluvial spot, just elevated above high-water mark,
and thickly covered with reeds, on which the Crows alight
and take shelter for the night. Whether this roost be now
occupied by these birds or not, I cannot pretend to say; but in
December, 1829, I had occasion to observe their arrival on
Reedy Island, just above the commencement of the bay of that
river, in vast numbers; and as the wind wafted any beating
vessel towards the shore, they rose in a cloud and filled the
air with clamor. Indeed, their vigilant and restless cawing
continued till after dark.

Creatures of mere instinct, they foresee no perils beyond
their actual vision; and thus, when they least expect it, are
sometimes swept away by an unexpected destruction. Some
years ago, during the prevalence of a sudden and violent north-
east storm accompanied by heavy rains, the Pea-Patch Island
was wholly inundated in the night ; and the unfortunate Crows,
dormant and bewildered, made no attempts to escape, and
were drowned by thousands, so that their bodies blackened the
shores the following day for several miles in extent.

The Crows, like many other birds, become injurious and
formidable only in the gregarious season. At other times they
live so scattered, and are so shy and cautious, that they are
but seldom seen. But their armies, like all other great and
terrific assemblies, have the power, in limited districts, of
doing very sensible mischief to the agricultural interests of the
community; and in consequence, the poor Crows, notwith-
standing their obvious services in the destruction of a vast host
of insects and their larvee, are proscribed as felons in all civil-
ized countries, and, with the wolves, panthers, and foxes, a
price is put upon their heads. In consequence, various means
of ensnaring the outlaws have been had recourse to. Of the
gun they are very cautious, and suspect its appearance at the

VOL. 1. —9

130 SINGING BIRDS.

first glance, perceiving with ready sagacity the wily manner of
the fowler. So fearful and suspicious are they of human arti-
fices that a mere line stretched round a field is often found
sufficient to deter these wily birds from a visit to the cornfield.
Against poison they are not so guarded, and sometimes corn
steeped in hellebore is given them, which creates giddiness
and death.

Another curious method is that of pinning a live Crow to the
ground by the wings, stretched out on his back, and retained
in this posture by two sharp, forked sticks. In this situation,
his loud cries attract other Crows, who come sweeping down
to the prostrate prisoner, and are grappled in his claws. In
this way each successive prisoner may be made the innocent
means of capturing his companion. The reeds in which they
roost, when dry enough, are sometimes set on fire also to pro-
cure their destruction ; and to add to the fatality produced by
the flames, gunners are also stationed round to destroy those
that attempt to escape by flight. In severe winters they suffer
occasionally from famine and cold, and fall sometimes dead
in the fields. According to Wilson, in one of these severe
seasons, more than 600 Crows were shot on the carcase of a
dead horse, which was placed at a proper shooting distance
from a stable. The premiums obtained for these, and the price
procured for the quills, produced to the farmer nearly the value
of the horse when living, besides affording feathers sufficient to
fill a bed.

The Crow is easily raised and domesticated, and soon learns
to distinguish the different members of the family with which
he is associated. He screams at the approach of a stranger ;
learns to open the door by alighting on the latch; attends
regularly at meal times ; is very noisy and loquacious ; imitates
the sounds of various words which he hears; is very thievish,
given to hiding curiosities in holes and crevices, and is very
fond of carrying off pieces of metal, corn, bread, and food of
all kinds ; he is also particularly attached to the society of his
master, and recollects him sometimes after a long absence.

It is commonly believed and asserted in some parts of this

FISH CROW. 131

country that the Crows engage at times in general combat ;
but it has never been ascertained whether this hostility arises
from civil discord, or the opposition of ¢wo different species
contesting for some exclusive privilege of subsisting ground.
It is well known that Rooks often contend with each other,
and drive away by every persecuting means individuals who
arrive among them from any other rookery.

Note. — The FLoripa Crow (C. americanus floridanus) differs
from true americanus in having the wings and tail shorter, and the
bill and feet larger. It is restricted to southern Florida.

FISH CROW.
CORVUS OSSIFRAGUS.

Cuar. Black glossed with steel-blue. Length 15 to 17% inches.

Nest. Ona tree; of sticks and twigs firmly laid, lined with leaves.

Eggs. 5-7; sea-green or olive, blotched and spotted with brown;
1.50 X 1.05.

Wilson was the first to observe the distinctive traits of this
smaller and peculiar American species of Crow along the sea-
coast of Georgia. It is met with as far north as the coast of
New Jersey; and although we did not see it in the western
interior of the continent, it is common on the banks of the
Oregon, where it was nesting in the month of April. It
keeps apart from the common species, and instead of assem-
bling to roost among the reeds at night, retires, towards
evening, from the shores which afford it a subsistence, and
perches in the neighboring woods. Its notes, probably various,
are at times hoarse and guttural, at others weaker and higher.
These Crows pass most of their time near rivers, hovering over
the stream to catch up dead and perhaps living fish, or other
animal matters which float within their reach; at these they
dive with considerable celerity, and seizing them in their claws,
convey them to an adjoining tree, and devour the fruits of
their predatory industry at leisure. They also snatch up water-

132 SINGING BIRDS.

lizards in the same manner, and feed upon small crabs; at
times they are seen even contending with the Gulls for their
prey. It is amusing to see with what steady watchfulness they
hover over the water in search of their precarious food, having,
in fact, all the traits of the Gull; but they subsist more on
accidental supplies than by any regular system of fishing. On
land they have sometimes all the familiarity of the Magpie,
hopping upon the backs of cattle, in whose company they no
doubt occasionally meet with a supply of insects when other
sources fail. They are also regular in their attendance on the
fishermen of New Jersey for the purpose of gleaning up the
refuse of the fish. They are less shy and suspicious than
the common Crow, and showing no inclination for plundering
the cornfields, are rather friends than enemies to the farmer.
They appear near Philadelphia from the middle of March to
the beginning of June, during the season of the shad and herring
fishery.

The habitat now accorded to this species is ‘the Atlantic and
Gulf States north to Long Island and west to Louisiana.” It
probably occurs occasionally along the Connecticut shore, and may
straggle into Massachusetts ; though Mr. Allen has omitted it from
his list.

On the Pacific coast it is replaced by C. caurinus.

All Crows are more or less fish-eaters, and in some localities fish
forms their staple diet. On the shores of Cape Breton, near the
coal districts, the fish-eating Crows are separated by the natives
from the common sort. It is said that the flight and voice of these
birds can be readily distinguished. Some miners working at
Lepreaux, in New Brunswick, who were familiar with the fish-
eating Crows of Cape Breton, drew my attention to a flock of
apparently small and peculiar-voiced Crows gleaning along the
shores; but though easily trapped by a fish bait, they proved to
be nothing more than rather small common Crows.

Note.— The AMERICAN MacpiE (Pica pica hudsonica) is a
Western and Northwestern bird, and occurs as a straggler only
east of the Mississippi. It has been taken in Michigan, northern
Illinois, and western Ontario; also at Chambly, near Montreal.

BLUE JAY.

CYANOCITTA CRISTATA.

Cuar. Above, purplish blue; below, pale purplish gray, lighter on
throat and tail-coverts ; wings and tail bright blue barred with black; wing-
coverts, secondaries, and most of tail-feathers broadly tipped with white.
Head conspicuously crested ; tail wedge-shaped. Length 11 to 12% inches.

Vest. In a small conifer, about 20 feet from the ground, situated in
deep forest or near a settlement; roughly but firmly constructed of twigs
and roots, and lined with fine roots.

£ggs. 4-5; pale olive or buff, spotted with yellowish brown; 1.10
X 0.85. ~

This elegant and common species is met with in the interior,
from the remote northwestern regions near Peace River, in the
54th to the 56th degree, Lake Winnipeg in the 49th degree,
the eastern steppes of the Rocky Mountains, and southwest-
ward to the banks of the Arkansas; also along the Atlantic
regions from the confines of Newfoundland to the peninsula of
Florida and the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

134 SINGING BIRDS.

The Blue Jay is a constant inhabitant both of the wooded
wilderness and the vicinity of the settled farm, though more
familiar at the approach of winter and early in spring than at
any other season. These wanderings or limited migrations are
induced by necessity alone; his hoards of grain,- nuts, and
acorns either have failed or are forgotten: for, like other
misers, he is more assiduous to amass than to expend or en-
joy his stores, and the fruits of his labors very frequently either
devolve to the rats or squirrels, or accidentally assist in the
replanting of the forest. His visits at this time are not un-
frequent in the garden and orchard, and his usual petulant
address of aay, jay, jdy, and other harsh and trumpeting
articulations, soon make his retreat known to all in his neigh-
borhood. So habitual is this sentinel cry of alarm, and so ex-
pressive, that all the birds within call, as well as other wild
animals, are instantly on the alert, so that the fowler and
hunter become generally disappointed of their game by this
his garrulous and noisy propensity; he is therefore, for his
petulance, frequently killed without pity or profit, as his flesh,
though eaten, has but little to recommend it. His more com-
plaisant notes, when undisturbed, though guttural and echoing,
are by no means unpleasant, and fall in harmoniously with the
cadence of the feathered choristers around him, so as to form
a finishing part to the general music of the grove. His ac-
cents of blandishment, when influenced by the softer passions,
are low and musical, so as to be scarcely heard beyond the
thick branches where he sits concealed; but as soon as dis-
covered he bursts out into notes of rage and reproach, accom-
panying his voice by jerks and actions of temerity and defiance.
Indeed the Jay of Europe, with whom our beau agrees entirely
in habits, is so irascible and violent in his movements as some-
times to strangle himself in the narrow fork of a branch from
which he has been found suspended. Like the European spe-
cies, he also exhibits a great antipathy to the Owl, and by his
loud and savage vociferation soon brings together a noisy troop
of all the busy birds in the neighborhood. To this garrulous
attack the night wanderer has no reply but a threatening stare

BLUE JAY. 135

of indifference ; and as soon as opportunity offers, he quietly
slips from his slandering company. Advantage in some coun-
tries is taken of this dislike for the purpose of catching birds ;
thus the Owl, being let out of a box, sometimes makes a hoot,
which instantly assembles a motley group, who are then caught
by liming the neighboring twigs on which they perch. In this
gossip the Jay and Crow are always sure to take part if within
sight or hearing of the cad/, and are thus caught or destroyed
at will. The common Jay is even fond of imitating the harsh
voice of the Owl and the noisy Kestrel. I have also heard the
Blue Jay mock with a taunting accent the £é¢ vo, ké v0, or quail-
ing, of the Red-shouldered Hawk. Wilson likewise heard him
take singular satisfaction in teasing and mocking the little
American Sparrow Hawk, and imposing upon him by the pre-
tended plaints of a wounded bird ; in which frolic several would
appear to join, until their sport sometimes ended in sudden
consternation, by the Hawk, justly enough, pouncing on one of
them as his legitimate and devoted prey.

His talent for mimicry when domesticated is likewise so far
capable of improvement as to ‘enable him to imitate human
speech, articulating words with some distinctness; and on
hearing voices, like a Parrot, he would endeavor to contribute
his important share to the tumult. Bewick remarks of the
common Jay of Europe that he heard one so exactly counter-
feit the action of a saw that, though on a Sunday, he could
scarcely be persuaded but that some carpenter was at work.
Another, unfortunately, rendered himself a serious nuisance by
learning to hound a cur dog upon the domestic cattle, whistling
and calling him by name, so that at length a serious accident
occurring in consequence, the poor Jay was proscribed.

One which I have seen in a state of domestication behaved
with all the quietness and modest humility of Wilson’s caged
bird with a petulant companion. He seldom used his voice,
came in to lodge in the house at night in any corner where he
was little observed, but unfortunately perished by an accident
before the completion of his education.

The favorite food of this species is chestnuts, acorns, and

136 SINGING BIRDS.

Indian corn or maize, the latter of which he breaks before
swallowing. He also feeds occasionally on the larger insects
and caterpillars, as well as orchard fruits, particularly cherries,
and does not even refuse the humble fare of potatoes. In
times of scarcity he falls upon carrion, and has been known to
venture into the barn, through accidental openings; when, as
if sensible of the danger of purloining, he is active and silent,
and if surprised, postponing his garrulity, he retreats with
noiseless precipitation and with all the cowardice of a thief.
The worst trait of his appetite, however, is his relish for the
eggs of other birds, in quest of which he may frequently be
seen prowling; and with a savage cruelty he sometimes also
devours the callow young, spreading the plaint of sorrow and
alarm wherever he flits. The whole neighboring community
of little birds, assembled at the cry of distress, sometimes, how-
ever, succeed in driving off the ruthless plunderer, who, not
always content with the young, has been seen to attack the old,
though with dubious success; but to the gallant and quarrel-
some King Bird he submits like a coward, and driven to seek
shelter, even on the ground, from the repeated blows of his
antagonist, sneaks off well contented to save his life.

Although a few of these birds are seen with us nearly through
the winter, numbers, no doubt, make predatory excursions to
milder regions, so that they appear somewhat abundant at this
season in the Southern States ; yet they are known to rear their
young from Canada to South Carolina, so that their migrations
may be nothing more than journeys from the highlands
towards the warmer and more productive sea-coast, or eastern
frontier.

East of the Mississippi the Blue Jay has been rarely seen north
of the soth parallel.

Norte. — A smaller race, which differs also from true crzs¢afa in
having less white on the tips of the secondaries and tail-feathers,
has been named the FLor1pA BLUE Jay (C. cristata florincola).
It is found in Florida only.

FLORIDA JAY. 137

FLORIDA JAY.
APHELOCOMA FLORIDANA.

Cuar. Above, dull azure blue; back with patch of brownish gray;
throat and chest grayish white streaked with ashy; belly, brownish gray.
No crest ; tail longer than wing. Length 10% to 12% inches.

Nest. In low tree or thicket of bushes; made of twigs and roots, lined
with fine roots and moss.

£ggs. 4-5; pale green or bluish gray, spotted with rufous and black ;
110 X 0.80.

This elegant species is, as far as yet known, almost wholly
confined to the interior of the mild peninsula of East Florida.
In a tour through the lower parts of Georgia and West Florida,
protracted to the middle of March, I saw none of these birds ;
and at the approach of winter they even retire to the south
of St. Augustine, as Mr. Ord did not meet with them until
about the middle of February ; from that time, however, they
were seen daily, flying low and hopping through the luxuriant
thickets, or peeping from the dark branches of the live-oaks
which adorn the outlet of the St. Juan. These birds appear
to possess the usual propensities of their tribe, being quarrel-
some, active, and garrulous. Their voice is less harsh than
that of the common Blue Jay, and they have a variety of notes,
some of which, probably imitations, are said to have a resem-
blance to the song of the Thrush and the call of the common
Jay.

Only a single brood is raised in the season. Its food is very
similar to that of the other species; namely, berries, fruits,
mast, and insects. It likewise collects snails from the marshy
grounds, feeds largely on the seeds of the sword-palmetto ;
and, in the manner of the Titmouse, it secures its food be-
tween its feet, and breaks it into pieces previous to swallowing.
Like other species of the genus, it destroys the eggs and young
of small birds, despatching the latter by repeated blows on the
head. It is also easily reconciled to the cage, and feeds on
fresh or dried fruits and various kinds of nuts. Its attempts at
mimicry in this state are very imperfect.

CANADA JAY.
WHISKEY JACK. MOOSE BIRD.

PERISOREUS CANADENSIS.

Cuar. Above, ashy gray; head and nape smoky black; forehead
and lower parts whitish gray; breast brownish gray; wings and tail
dark ashy, tipped obscurely with white. Young: uniform dull smoky
black, paler beneath. Length, 11 to 12 inches.

Nest. In a coniferous tree; a bulky but compact structure of dried
twigs, shreds of bark and moss thickly lined with feathers.

Eggs. 4-5; of light gray or buffish, spotted with dark gray, lilac gray,
and pale brown; 1.15 X 0.80.

This species, with the intrusive habits and plain plumage of
the Pie, is almost confined to the northern regions of America,
being met with around Hudson’s Bay, but becoming rare near
the St. Lawrence, and in winter only straggling along the coast
as far as Nova Scotia. Westward, occasionally driven by the
severity of the weather and failure of food, they make their
appearance in small parties in the interior of Maine and north-

CANADA JAY. 139

ern parts of Vermont, where, according to Audubon, they are
frequently known to breed. They also descend into the State
of New York as far as the town of Hudson and the banks of
the Mohawk. In the month of May I observed a wandering
brood of these birds, old and young, on the shady borders
of the Wahlamet, in the Oregon territory, where they had
probably been bred. They descended to the ground near a
spring in quest of insects and small shells.

According to Mr. Hutchins, like the Pie, when near the
habitations and tents of the inhabitants and natives, it is given
to pilfering everything within reach, and is sometimes so bold
as to venture into the tents and snatch the meat from the
dishes even, whether fresh or salt. It has also the mischievous
sagacity of watching the hunters set their traps for the Martin,
from which it purloins the bait. Its appetite, like that of the
Crow, appears omnivorous. It feeds on worms, various insects,
and their larvee, and on flesh of different kinds ; lays up stores
of berries in hollow trees for winter; and at times, with the
reindeer, is driven to the necessity of feeding on lichens.
The severe winters of the wilds it inhabits, urges it to seek
support in the vicinity of habitations. Like the common Jay,
at this season it leaves the woods to make excursions after
food, trying every means for subsistence ; and tamed by hun-
ger, it seeks boldly the society of men and animals. These
birds are such praters as to be considered Mocking Birds, and
are superstitiously dreaded by the aborigines. They com-
monly fly in pairs or rove in small families, are no way difficult
to approach, and keep up a kind of friendly chattering, some-
times repeating their notes for a quarter of an hour at a time,
immediately before snow or falling weather. When caught,
they seldom long survive, though they never neglect their food.
Like most of their genus, they breed early in the spring, build-
ing their nests, which are formed of twigs and grass in the pine-
trees. They lay 4 to 6 light-grayish eggs, faintly marked with
brown spots. The young brood, at first, are perfect Crows, or
nearly quite black, and continue so for some time.

According to Richardson, this inelegant but familiar bird

140 SINGING BIRDS.

inhabits all the woody districts of the remote fur countries from
the 65th parallel to Canada, and now and then in severe win-
ters extends his desultory migrations within the northern limits
of the United States. Scarcely has the winter traveller in those
cold regions chosen a suitable place of repose in the forest,
cleared away the snow, lighted his fire, and prepared his tent,
when Whiskey Jack insidiously pays him a visit, and boldly
descends into the social circle to pick up any crumbs of frozen
fish or morsels of dry meat that may have escaped the mouths
of the weary and hungry sledge-dogs. This confidence is almost
the only recommendation of our familiar intruder. There is
nothing pleasing in his voice, plumage, or attitudes. But this
dark, sinister dwarf of the North is now the only inhabitant of
those silent and trackless forests, and trusting from necessity in
the forbearance of man, he fearlessly approaches, and craves
his allowed pittance from the wandering stranger who visits his
dreary domain. At the fur posts and fishing stations he is also
a steady attendant, becoming so tamed in the winter by the
terrible inclemency of the climate as to eat tamely from the
offered hand; yet at the same time, wild and indomitable
under this garb of humility, he seldom survives long in confine-
ment, and pines away with the loss of his accustomed liberty.
He hops with activity from branch to branch, but when at rest,
sits with his head drawn in, and with his plumage loose. The
voice of this inelegant bird is plaintive and squeaking, though
he occasionally makes a low chattering, especially when his food
appears in view. Like our Blue Jay, he has the habit of hoard-
ing berries, morsels of meat, etc., in the hollows of trees or
beneath their bark. These magazines prove useful in winter,
and enable him to rear his hardy brood even before the disap-
pearance of the snow from the ground, and long before any
other bird indigenous to those climates. The nest is concealed
with such care that but few of the natives have seen it.

Whiskey Jack has evidently moved somewhat southward since
Nuttall made his observations, for the species is now a fairly com-
mon resident of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, as well as of
the northern portions of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New

CANADA JAY. 141

York, and Michigan. Near Ottawa, and in the Muskoka district
of Ontario, it occurs regularly, though it is not abundant. In Oc-
tober, 1889, one example was taken at Arlington Heights, near
Boston.

I examined a nest taken near Edmundston, New Brunswick, on
April 7, 1883, at which date the country there was covered with
snow and ice. The nest was placed on a small tree near the main
highway, and not many hundred yards from the railroad station.
As the cold in that region is intense, the temperature often being at
— 30° to — 4o° F. in midwinter, it is surprising that the eggs are
ever hatched. But the nest is made very warm, and the birds sit
close, and when one parent steps off the other at once steps on.

By the first of June the young are in full feather and taking care
of themselves.

Nuttall’s opinion that these birds appear bold and familiar only
when pressed by the hunger of winter, has not found support in my
experience. Frequently when camping in the New Brunswick
woods during the summer vacation I have seen numbers of these
birds gather about my camp-fire within a few minutes after it has
been lighted; and they did not hesitate to pick up a piece of meat
thrown toward them. Several other observers, however, have re-
corded a similar opinion to Nuttall’s; and it may be that the fearless
birds are restricted to localities where they are not disturbed.

The Canadian hunters and lumbermen have a superstitious
respect for these birds, fearing the ill-luck that is said to result
from killing one, and Whiskey Jack may have discovered that.

Note. — The LaBRADOR JAy (S. canadensis nigricapilus)
differs from true cazadenszs in being darker in general coloration.
It is restricted to the coast region of Labrador.

TUFTED TITMOUSE.

PARUS BICOLOR.

Cuar. Above, bluish ash; beneath, dull white; flanks tinged with
yellowish brown ; forehead black ; head conspicuously crested. Length
534 to 6% inches.

vest. In a cavity of a tree or stump; composed of leaves, moss, or
woollen material, lined with feathers.

Eggs. 5-8; white or pale cream, spotted with reddish brown; 0.75
X 0.55.

From the geographic limits of this species, as it occurs to
me, I am inclined to believe that the bird seen in Greenland
may be different from the present, as it scarcely appears to
exist north beyond the States of Pennsylvania or New York.
They are seldom, if ever, seen or heard in this part of Massa-
chusetts, and instead of being more abundant to the north, as
believed by Wilson, they are probably not known there at all.
In the Southern States, at least in winter and spring, they are
very common, and present all the usual habits and notes of the
genus. The numbers which I saw in the Southern States from
January to March would seem to indicate a migratory habit ;
but whether they had arrived from the Northeast, or from the
great forests of the West, could not be conjectured.

The eto, as I may call this bird from one of his character-
istic notes, and the Carolina Wren, were my constant and
amusing companions during the winter as I passed through the
dreary solitudes of the Southern States. The sprightliness,
caprice, and varied musical talent of this species are quite
interesting, and more peculiarly so when nearly all the other
vocal tenants of the forest are either absent or silent. To

TUFTED TITMOUSE. 143

hear in the middle of January, when at least the leafless trees
and dark cloudy skies remind us of the coldest season, the
lively, cheering, varied pipe of this active and hardy bird, is
particularly gratifying ; and though his voice on paper may ap-
pear to present only a list of quaint articulations, yet the deli-
cacy, energy, pathos, and variety of his simple song, like many
other things in Nature, are far beyond the feeble power of
description ; and if in these rude graphic outlines of the inim-
itable music of birds I am able to draw a caricature sufficient
to indicate the individual performer, I shall have attained all
the object to be hoped for in an attempt at natural delineation.

The notes of the Peto generally partake of the high, echo-
ing, clear tone of the Baltimore Bird. Among his more extra-
ordinary expressions I was struck with the call of ’zAzp-/om-
killy killy, and now and then ’wh7p tom killy, with occasionally
some variation in the tone and expression, which was very
lively and agreeable. The middle syllable (46m) was pro-
nounced in a hollow reverberating tone. In a few minutes
after the subject and its variations were finished, in the estima-
tion of the musical performer, he suddenly twisted himself
round the branch on which he had sat, with a variety of odd
and fantastic motions; and then, in a lower, hoarser, harsh
voice, and in a peevish tone, exactly like that of the Jay and
the Chickadee, went day-da)-day-ddy, and day-day-diy-day-
ddit; sometimes this loud note changed into one which be-
came low and querulous. On some of these occasions he also
called ’¢shica dee-dee. The jarring call would then change
occasionally into kaz-tee-did did-dit-did. ‘These peevish notes
would often be uttered in anger at being approached ; and
then again would perhaps be answered by some neighboring
rival, against whom they appeared levelled in taunt and ridi-
cule, being accompanied by extravagant gestures.

Later in the season, in February, when in the lower part of
Alabama the mild influence of spring began already to be felt,
our favorite, as he gayly pursued the busy tribe of insects, now
his principal food, called, as he vaulted restlessly from branch
to branch, in an echoing rapid voice, at short intervals, pedd-

144 SINGING BIRDS.

peto-peto-petd. This tender call of recognition was at length
answered, and continued at intervals for a minute or two; they
then changed their quick call into a slower pé/o peto péto ; and
now the natural note passed into the plaintive key, sounding
like gue-ah gue-ah ; then in the same breath a jarring note like
that of the Catbird, and in part like the sound made by put-
ting the lower lip to the upper teeth, and calling ’¢sh’ vah, ’¢sh’
vah, After this the call of kerry-kerry-kerry-kerry struck up
with an echoing sound, heightened by the hollow bank of the
river whence it proceeded. At length, more delicately than at
first, in an under tone, you hear anew, and in a tender accent,
peto peto peto. In the caprice and humor of our performer,
tied by no rules but those of momentary feeling, the expression
will perhaps change into a slow and full peet-peet-a-peet-a-peet,
then a low and very rapid her-ker-ker-ker-ker-kerry, sometimes
so quick as almost to resemble the rattle of a watchman. At
another time his morning song commences like the gentle
whispers of an aérial spirit, and then becoming high and clear
like the voice of the nightingale, he cries keeva keeva kéeva
keeva , but soon falling into the querulous, the day-day-day-day-
day-dait of the Chickadee terminates his performance Imita-
tive, as well as inventive, I have heard the Peto also sing
something like the lively chatter of the Swallow, /eta-/eta-leta-
Zetaht, and then vary into péto-péto-péto-péto-peto extremely
quick. Unlike the warblers, our cheerful Peto has no trill, or
any other notes than these simple, playful, or pathetic calls;
yet the compass of voice and the tone in which they are
uttered, their capricious variety and their general effect, at the
season of the year when they are heard, are quite as pleasing
to the contemplative observer as the more exquisite notes of
the summer songsters of the verdant forest.

The sound of ’zhip-tom-kelly, which I heard this bird utter,
on the 17th of January, 1830, near Barnwell, in South Carolina,
is very remarkable, and leads me to suppose that the species is
also an inhabitant of the West India Islands, where Sloane
attributes this note to the Red-eyed Flycatcher ; but it is now
known to be the note of a tropical species, the vireo longiros-

TUFTED TITMOUSE. 145

tris, and which our bird had probably heard and mimicked in its
distant clime.

The Peto, besides insects, like the Jay, to which he is allied,
chops up acorns, cracks nuts and hard and shelly seeds to get
at their contents, holding them meanwhile in his feet. He
also searches and pecks decayed trees and their bark with con-
siderable energy and industry in quest of larva; he often also
enters into hollow trunks, prying after the same objects. In
these holes they commonly roost in winter, and occupy the
same secure situations, or the holes of the small Woodpecker,
for depositing and hatching their eggs, which takes place early
in April or in May, according to the different parts of the
Union they happen to inhabit. Sometimes they dig out a
cavity for themselves with much labor, and always line the
hollow with a variety of warm materials. Their eggs, about six
to eight, are white with a few small specks of brownish red near
the larger end. The whole family, young and old, may be seen
hunting together throughout the summer and winter, and keep-
ing up a continued mutual chatter.

According to the observations of Wilson it soon becomes
familiar in confinement, and readily makes its way out of a
wicker cage by repeated blows at the twigs. It may be fed
on hemp-seed, cherry-stones, apple-pippins, and hickory nuts,
broken and thrown in to it. In its natural state, like the rest
of its vicious congeners, it sometimes destroys small birds by
blows on the skull.

This species belongs to the Carolinian faunal area, and occurs
regularly only from about the goth parallel southward; north of
that it is but an accidental straggler.

VOL. I. — 10

146 SINGING BIRDS.

CHICKADEE.

PARUS ATRICAPILLUS.

Cuar. Above, ashy gray; below, grayish white; flanks buffy; crown
and throat black; cheek white. Length 434 to 534 inches.

Vest. Ina cavity made in a decayed stump, entering from the top or
side; composed of wool or inner fur of small mammals firmly and
compactly felted. Sometimes moss and hair are used, and a lining of
feathers.

£ggs. 5-8; white speckled with reddish brown, 0.60 X 0.50.

This familiar, hardy, and restless little bird chiefly inhabits
the Northern and Middle States as well as Canada, in which it
is even resident in winter around Hudson’s Bay, and has been
met with at 62° on the northwest coast. In all the Northern
and Middle States, during autumn and winter, families of these
birds are seen chattering and roving through the woods, busily
engaged in gleaning their multifarious food, along with Nut-
hatches and Creepers, the whole forming a busy, active, and
noisy group, whose manners, food, and habits bring them
together in a common pursuit. Their diet varies with the
season ; for besides insects, their larvee and eggs, of which they
are more particularly fond, in the month of September they
leave the woods and assemble familiarly in our orchards and
gardens, and even enter the thronging cities in quest of that
support which their native forests now deny them. Large
seeds of many kinds, particularly those which are oily, as the
sunflower and pine and spruce kernels, are now sought after.
‘These seeds, in the usual manner of the genus, are seized in
the claws and held against the branch until picked open by the
bill to obtain their contents. Fat of various kinds is also
greedily eaten, and they regularly watch the retreat of the hog-
killers in the country, to glean up the fragments of meat which
adhere to the places where the carcases have been suspended.
At times they feed upon the wax of the candle-berry myrtle
(Abjrica cerzfera) ; they likewise pick up crumbs near the houses,
and search the weather-boards, and even the window-sills,

CHICKADEE. 147

familiarly for their lurking prey, and are particularly fond of
spiders and the eggs of destructive moths, especially those of
the canker-worm, which they greedily destroy in all its stages
of existence. It is said that they sometimes attack their own
species when the individual is sickly, and aim their blows at
the skull with a view to eat the brain ; but this barbarity I have
never witnessed. In winter, when satisfied, they will descend
to the snow-bank beneath and quench their thirst by swallow-
ing small pieces; in this way their various and frugal meal is
always easily supplied ; and hardy, and warmly clad in light
and very downy feathers, they suffer little inconvenience from
the inclemency of the seasons. Indeed in the winter, or about
the close of October, they at times appear so enlivened as
already to show their amorous attachment, like our domestic
cock, the male approaching his mate with fluttering and vibra-
ting wings; and in the spring season, the males have obstinate
engagements, darting after each other with great velocity and
anger. Their roost is in the hollows of decayed trees, where
they also breed, making a soft nest of moss, hair, and feathers,
and laying from six to twelve eggs, which are white, with
specks of brown-red. They begin to lay about the middle or
close of April ; and though they commonly make use of natural
or deserted holes of the Woodpecker, yet at times they are
said to excavate a cavity for themselves with much labor. The
first brood take wing about the 7th or roth of June, and they
have sometimes a second towards the end of July. The young,
as soon as fledged, have all the external marks of the adult, —
the head is equally black, and they chatter and skip about
with all the agility and self-possession of their parents, who
appear nevertheless very solicitous for their safety. From this
time the whole family continue to associate together through
the autumn and winter. They seem to move by concert from
tree to tree, keeping up a continued ’¢she-de-de-de-de, and ’ tshe-
de-de-de-dait, preceded by a shrill whistle, all the while busily
engaged picking round the buds and branches hanging from
their extremities and proceeding often in reversed postures,
head downwards, like so many tumblers, prying into every

148 SINGING BIRDS.

crevice of the bark, and searching around the roots and in
every possible retreat of their insect prey or its larve. If the
object chance to fall, they industriously descend to the ground
and glean it up with the utmost economy.

On seeing a cat or other object of natural antipathy, the
Chickadee, like the peevish Jay, scolds in a loud, angry, and
hoarse note, like '¢she déigh ddigh ddigh. Among the other
notes of this species I have heard a call like “he-de-jay, tshe-
dezay, the two first syllables being a slender chirp, with the yay
strongly pronounced. Almost the only note of this bird which
may be called a song is one which is frequently heard at inter-
vals in the depth of the forest, at times of the day usually when
all other birds are silent. We then may sometimes hear in the
midst of this solitude two feeble, drawling, clearly whistled, and
rather melancholy notes, like ’#-dérry, and sometimes ’ye-
pérrit, and occasionally, but much more rarely, in the same
wiry, whistling, solemn tone, ’#244é. The young, in winter, also
sometimes drawl out these contemplative strains. In all cases
the first syllable is very high and clear, the second word drops
low and ends like a feeble plaint. This is nearly all the quaint
song ever attempted by the Chickadee, and is perhaps the two
notes sounding like the whetting of a saw, remarked of ‘the
Marsh Titmouse in England by Mr. White, in his “ Natural
History of Selborne.” On fine days, about the commencement
of October, I have heard the Chickadee sometimes for half an
hour at a time attempt a lively, petulant warble very different
from his ordinary notes. On these occasions he appears to
flit about, still hunting for his prey, but almost in an ecstasy of
delight and vigor. But after a while the usual drawling note
again occurs. These birds, like many others, are very subject
to the attacks of vermin, and they accumulate in great numbers
around that part of the head and front which is least accessible
to their feet.

The European bird, so very similar to ours, is partial to
marshy situations. Ours has no such predilection, nor do the
American ones, that I can learn, ever lay up or hide any’store
of seeds for provision, —a habit reported of the foreign family.

CHICKADEE, 149

In this fact, with so many others, we have an additional evi-
dence of affinity between the Titmouse and Jay, particularly
that short-billed section which includes the Garrulus cana-
densis and G. infaustus. Even the blue color, so common
with the latter, is possessed by several species of this genus.
Indeed, from their aggregate relation and omnivorous habit
we see no better place of arrangement for these birds than
succinctly after the Garruli, or Jays.

Following the authority of Temminck and Montagu, I con-
sidered this bird the same as the European Marsh Titmouse.
I have since seen the bird of Europe in its native country, and
have good reason to believe it wholly different from our lively
and familiar Chickadee. Unlike our bird, it is rather shy, seldom
seen but in pairs or solitary, never in domestic premises, usu-
ally and almost constantly near streams or watercourses, on
the willows, alders, or other small trees impending over
streams, and utters now and then a feeble complaining or
querulous call, and rarely if ever the chicka dee-dee. It also
makes a noise in the spring, as it is said, like the whetting of a
saw, which ours never does. The Chickadee is seldom seen
near waters; often, even in summer, in dry, shady, and se-
cluded woods; but when the weather becomes cold, and as
early as October, roving families, pressed by necessity and the
failure of their ordinary insect fare, now begin to frequent
orchards and gardens, appearing extremely familiar, hungry,
indigent, but industrious, prying with restless anxiety into every
cranny of the bark or holes in decayed trees after dormant in-
sects, spiders, and larvee, descending with the strictest economy
tothe ground in quest of every stray morsel of provision which
happens to fall from their grasp. Their quaint notes and jing-
ling warble are heard even in winter on fine days when the
weather relaxes in its severity ; and, in short, instead of being
the river hermit of its European analogue, it adds by its
presence, indomitable action and chatter, an air of cheerful-
ness to the silent and dreary winters of the coldest parts of
America.

150 SINGING BIRDS.

CAROLINA CHICKADEE.
PARUS CAROLINENSIS.
Cuar. Above, ashy gray tinged with dull brown; head and throat

black; cheek white; beneath, brownish white; flanks buffish. Length
4% to 4% inches.

Nest. In a cavity of decayed stump, composed of grass or shreds of
bark, and lined with feathers. Sometimes composed entirely of fur or
fine wool felted compactly.

Z£egs. 5-8; white often spotted with reddish brown ; 0.60 X 0.50.

This species, detected by Mr. Audubon, is a constant inhab-
itant of the Southern and Middle States from the borders of
New Jersey to East Florida. It has a predilection for the
borders of ponds, marshes, and swamps, and less gregarious
than the preceding, seldom more than a pair or family are
seen together. It is also shy and retiring; inhabiting at all
times a mild and genial clime, it never seeks out domestic
premises, nor even the waysides, but, like the European Marsh
Titmouse, it remains throughout the year in the tangled woods
and swamps which gave it birth. In the wilds of Oregon late
in autumn we frequently saw small roving restless flocks of
these birds associated often with the Chestnut-Backed species.
At such times both parties were querulous and noisy; but the
tshe te de de is comparatively feeble, uttered in a slender, wiry
tone. At such times intently gleaning for insects, they show very
little fear, but a good deal of sympathy for their wounded com-
panions, remaining round them and scolding in a petulant and
plaintive tone. At the approach of winter those in the Atlan-
tic region retire farther to the south, and on the Pacific border
they are to be seen in winter in the woods of Upper California ;
but in no instance did we see them approach the vicinity of
the trading posts or the gardens.

A nest of this species discovered by Dr. Bachman was in a
hollow stump about four feet from the ground ; it was rather
shallow, composed of fine wool, cotton, and some fibres of
plants, the whole fitted together so as to be of an uniform
thickness throughout, and contained pure white eggs.

HUDSONIAN CHICKADEE. 151

HUDSONIAN CHICKADEE.
PaRUS HUDSONICUS.

Cuar. Above, pale dull brown, darker on crown; cheeks white;
below, grayish white; flanks rusty; throat brownish black. Length
5 to 5%.

Vest. In an excavation in a decayed stump, usually entering from the
top. On the bottom of the cavity is placed a platform of dried moss, and
on this another of felted fur, and upon this latter is set the graceful pouch-
shaped nest of firm felt, made of the inner fur of small mammals.

£ggs. 6-10; creamy white with brown spots in a circle around the
larger end; 0.58 X 0.58.

This more than usually hardy species continues the whole
year about Severn River, braving the inclemency of the winters,
and frequents the juniper-bushes on the buds of which it feeds.
In winter, like the common species, it is seen roving about
in small flocks, busily foraging from tree to tree. It is said to
lay five eggs. Mr. Audubon met with it on the coast of Lab-
rador, where it was breeding, about the middle of July. He
describes the nest as being placed at the height of not more
than three feet from the ground, in the hollow of a decayed
low stump scarcely thicker than a man’s leg, the whole so
rotten that it crumbled to pieces on being touched. It was
shaped like a purse, eight inches in depth, two in diameter in-
side, its sides about a half an inch thick. It was composed of
the finest fur of different quadrupeds, so thickly matted through-
out that it looked as if it had been felted by the hand of man.
On the nest being assailed, the male flew at the intruder, utter-
ing an angry é-te-/e-tee.

The Hudson Bay Chickadee is fairly common in the Maritime
Provinces, though more abundant in winter than in summer. It
has been found breeding, also, in the northern parts of Maine, New
Hampshire, New York, and Michigan, and in the Muskoka districts
of Ontario. Mr. Walter Faxon considers it a rare though regular
migrant to the eastern part of Massachusetts, but thinks it occurs
in numbers in winter amid the Berkshire hills.

One example has been taken in Connecticut, and one in Rhode
Island.

152 SINGING BIRDS.

BOHEMIAN WAXWING.

AMPELIS GARRULUS.

Cuar. Prevailing color cinnamon brown or fawn color, darker on
front head and cheeks, changing to ashy on rump; chin and line across
forehead and through the eyes, rich black; wings and tail slaty; tail
tipped with yellow ; primaries tipped with white, secondaries with appen-
dages like red sealing-wax. Head with long pointed crest. Length 7%
to $3, inches. Easily distinguished from the Cedar Bird by its larger size
and darker color.

-Vest. In a tree, a bulky structure of twigs and roots, lined with
feathers.

£ggs. 3-5; bluish white spotted with lilac and brown; 1.00 X 0.70.

The Waxwing, of which stragglers are occasionally seen in
Nova Scotia, Massachusetts, Long Island, and the vicinity of
Philadelphia, first observed in America in the vicinity of the
Athabasca River, near the region of the Rocky Mountains, in
the month of March, is of common occurrence as a passenger
throughout the colder regions of the whole northern hemi-
sphere. Like our Cedar Birds, they associate in numerous
flocks, pairing only for the breeding season; after which the
young and old give way to their gregarious habits, and collec-
ting in numerous companies, they perform extensive journeys,
and are extremely remarkable for their great and irregular
wanderings. The circumstances of incubation in this species
are wholly unknown. It is supposed that they retire to the
remote regions to breed ; yet in Norway they are only birds of
passage, and it has been conjectured that they pass the sum-
mer in the elevated table-land of Central Asia. Wherever they
dwell at this season, it is certain that in spring and late autumn
they visit northern Asia or Siberia and eastern Europe in vast
numbers, but are elsewhere only uncertain stragglers, whose ap-
pearance, at different times, has been looked upon as ominous
of some disaster by the credulous and ignorant.

The Waxen Chatterers, like our common Cedar Birds, ap-
pear destitute of song, and only lisp to each other their usual
low, reiterated call of 2é 2¢ re, which becomes more audible

BOHEMIAN WAXWING. 153

when they are disturbed and as they take to wing. They are
also very sociable and affectionate to their whole fraternity,
and sit in rows often on the same branch, when not employed
in collecting their food, which is said to consist of juicy fruits
of various kinds, particularly grapes; they will also eat juniper
and laurel berries, as well as apples, currants, and figs, and are
often seen to drink.

Dr. Richardson informs us that this bird appears in flocks at
Great Bear Lake about the 24th of May, when they feed on
the berries of the alpine arbutus, marsh vaccinium, and other
kinds exposed again to the surface after the spring thaw.
Another flock of three or four hundred individuals was seen on
the banks of the Saskatchewan, at Carlton House, early in the
same month. In their usual manner they all settled together
on one or two trees, and remained together about the same
place for an hour in the morning, making a loud twittering
noise, and were too shy to be approached within gunshot.
Their stay at most did not exceed a few days, and none of the
Indians knew of their nests; though the doctor had reason to
believe that they retired in the breeding season to the broken
and desolate mountain-limestone districts in the 67th or 68th
parallels, where they find means to feed on the fruit of the
common juniper, so abundant in that quarter. Neither Mr.
Townsend nor myself observed this bird either in the Columbia
River district or on the Rocky Mountains.

The Bohemian is still a rover of uncertain and irregular habits,
occasionally in winter appearing along the northern border of the
United States and through the settled portions of Canada in large
flocks, but sometimes absent for several seasons. Colonel Goss
found a nest in Labrador, and several have been taken in the
Northwest.

154 SINGING BIRDS.

CEDAR WAXWING.
CEDAR BIRD. CHERRY BIRD.
AMPELIS CEDRORUM.

Cuar. Prevailing color cinnamon brown or fawn color, changing to
ashy on rump; chin and line across forehead and through eyes, rich black ;
wings and tail slaty; tail tipped with yellow; secondaries sometimes with
red, wax-like appendages. Head with long, pointed crest. Length 6%
to 7% inches.

Nest. Ina tree; large and loosely made of twigs and grass, lined with
grass, hair, or feathers.

£ggs. 3-5; bluish white spotted with lilac and brown; 0.85 X 0.60.

This common native wanderer, which in summer extends its
migrations to the remotest unpeopled regions of Canada, is
also found throughout the American continent to Mexico, and
parties even roam to the tropical forests of Cayenne. In all this
extensive geographical range, where great elevation or latitude
tempers the climate so as to be favorable to the production
of juicy fruits, the Cedar Bird will probably be found either
almost wholly to reside, or to pass the season of reproduction.
Like its European representative (the Waxen Chatterer), it is
capable of braving a considerable degree of cold ; for in Penn-
sylvania and New Jersey some of these birds are seen through-
out the winter, where, as well as in the early part of the
summer and fall, they are killed and brought to market, gen-
erally fat, and much esteemed as food. Silky softness of
plumage, gentleness of disposition, innocence of character,
extreme sociability, and an innate, inextinguishable love of
freedom, accompanied by a constant desire of wandering, are
characteristic traits in the physical and moral portrait of the
second as well as. the preceding species of this peculiar and
extraordinary genus.

Leaving the northern part of the continent, situated beyond
the goth degree, at the approach of winter, they assemble
in companies of twenty to a hundred, and wander through the
Southern States and Mexico to the confines of the equator, in

CEDAR WAXWING, 155

all of which countries they are now either common or abun-
dant. As observed by Audubon, their flight is easy, continued,
and often performed at a considerable height ; and they move
in flocks or companies, making several turns before they alight.
As the mildness of spring returns, and with it their favorite
food, they reappear in the Northern and Eastern States about
the beginning of April, before the ripening of their favorite
fruits, the cherries and mulberries. But at this season, to re-
pay the gardener for the tithe of his crop, their natural due,
they fail not to assist in ridding his trees of more deadly ene-
mies which infest them, and the small caterpillars, beetles, and
various insects now constitute their only food; and for hours
at a time they may be seen feeding on the all-despoiling canker-
worms which infest our apple-trees and elms. On these oc-
casions, silent and sedate, after plentifully feeding, they sit
dressing their feathers in near contact on the same branch to
the number of 5 or 6; and as the season of selective attach-
ment approaches, they may be observed pluming each other,
and caressing with the most gentle fondness, — a playfulness in
which, however, they are even surpassed by the contemned
Raven, to which social and friendly family our Cedar Bird,
different as he looks, has many traits of alliance. But these
demonstrations of attachment, which in a more vigorous kind
would kindle the feud of jealousy, apparently produce in this
bird scarcely any diminution of the general social tie; and as
they are gregarious to so late a period of the inviting season of
incubation, this affection has been supposed to be independent
of Sexual distinction. This friendly trait is carried so far that
an eye-witness assures me he has seen one among a row of
these birds seated upon a branch dart after an insect, and offer
it to his associate when caught, who very disinterestedly passed
it to the next, and each delicately declining the offer, the morsel
has proceeded backwards and forwards before it was appro-
priated. Whatever may be the fact, as it regards this peculiar
sociability, it frequently facilitates the means of their destruc-
tion with the thoughtless and rapacious sportsman, who, be-
cause many of these unfortunate birds can be killed in an

156 SINGING BIRDS.

instant, sitting in the same range, thinks the exercise of the gun
must be credited only by the havoc which it produces against
a friendly, useful, and innocent visitor.

Towards the close of May or beginning of June the Cherry
Birds, now paired, commence forming the cradle of their young ;
yet still so sociable are they that several nests may be observed
in the same vicinity. The materials and trees chosen for their
labors are various, as well as the general markings of their eggs.
Two nests, in the Botanic Garden at Cambridge, were formed
in small hemlock-trees, at the distance of 16 or 18 feet from
the ground, in the forks of the main branches. One of these
was composed of dry, coarse grass, interwoven roughly with a
considerable quantity of dead hemlock sprigs, further con-
nected by a small quantity of silk-weed lint, and lined with
a few strips of thin grape-vine bark, and dry leaves of the
silver fir. In the second nest the lining was merely fine root-
fibres. On the 4th of June this nest contained 2 eggs, — the
whole number is generally about 4 or 5 ; these are of the usual
form (not remarkable for any disproportion of the two ends), of
a pale clay white, inclining to olive, with a few well-defined
black or deep umber spots at the great end, and with others
seen, as it were, beneath the surface of the shell. Two or
three other nests were made in the apple-trees of an adjoining
orchard, one in a place of difficult access, the other on a de-
pending branch easily reached by the hand. These were
securely fixed horizontally among the ascending twigs, and were
formed externally of a mass of dry, wiry weeds, the materials
being firmly held together by a large quantity of cudweed
down, in some places softened with glutinous saliva so as to
be formed into coarse, connecting shreds. The round edge of
the nest was made of coils of the wiry stolons of a common
Cinquefoil then lined with exceedingly fine root-fibres; over
the whole, to give elasticity, were laid fine stalks of a slender
Juncus, or minute rush. In these nests the eggs were, as de-
scribed by Wilson (except as to form), marked with smaller
and more numerous spots than the preceding. From the late-
ness of the autumn, at which period incubation is still going

CEDAR WAXWING. 137

on, it would appear that this species is very prolific, and must
have at least two hatches in the season ; for as late as the 7th
of September a brood, in this vicinity, were yet in the nest.
The period of sitting is about 15 or 16 days; and while the
young are still helpless, it is surprising to witness the silence of
the parents, uttering no cries, nor making any approaches to
those who may endanger or jeopard the safety of their brood ;
still, they are flying round, and silently watching the dreaded
result, and approach the nest the moment the intruder disap-
pears. They feed the young, at first, with insects and smooth
caterpillars ; but at the end of the 3d or 4th day they are fed,
like the old ones, aimost exclusively on sweet and juicy fruits,
such as whortle and service berries, wild and cultivated cher-
ries, etc. A young bird from one of the nests described, in the
hemlock, was thrown upon my protection, having been by
some means ejected from his cradle. In this critical situation,
however, he had been well fed, or rather gorged, with berries,
and was merely scratched by the fall he had received. Fed on
cherries and mulberries, he was soon well fledged, while his
mate in the nest was suffered to perish by the forgetfulness of
his natural protectors. Coeval with the growth of his wing-
feathers were already seen the remarkable red waxen append-
ages, showing that their appearance indicates no particular age
or sex; many birds, in fact, being without these ornaments
during their whole lives. I soon found my interesting protégé
impatient of the cage and extremely voracious, gorging him-
self to the very mouth with the soft fruits on which he was
often fed. The throat, in fact, like a craw, admits of distention,
and the contents are only gradually passed off into the stomach.
I now suffered the bird to fly at large, and for several days he
descended from the trees, in which he perched, to my arm for
food ; but the moment he was satisfied, he avoided the cage,
and appeared unable to survive the loss of liberty. He now
came seldomer to me, and finally joined the lisping muster-cry
of tze tze tzé, and was enticed away by more attractive associates.
When young, nature provided him with a loud, impatient voice,
and #é-did, té-did, kai-tédid (often also the clamorous cry of

158 SINGING BIRDS.

the young Baltimore), was his deafening and almost incessant
call for food. Another young bird of the first brood, probably
neglected, cried so loud and plaintively to a male Baltimore
Bird in the same tree that he commenced feeding it. Mr.
Winship, of Brighton, informs me that one of the young Cedar
Birds, who frequented the front of his house in quest of honey-
suckle berries, at length, on receiving food (probably also
abandoned by his roving parents), threw himself wholly on his
protection. At large day and night, he still regularly attended
the dessert of the dinner-table for his portion of fruit, and re-
mained steadfast in his attachment to Mr. W. till killed by an
accident, being unfortunately trodden under foot.

Though harmless, exceedingly gentle and artless, they make
some show of defence when attacked; as a second bird which
I brought up, destitute of the red appendages on the wings,
when threatened elevated his crest, looked angry, and repeat-
edly snapped with his bill.

Almost all kinds of sweet berries are sought for food by the
American Waxen-wing. In search of whortle-berries, they
retire in Pennsylvania to the western mountain-chains of the
Alleghany range ; and in autumn, until the approach of winter,
they are equally attached to the berries of the Virginia juniper,
as well as those of the sour-gum tree and the wax-myrtle.
They also feed late in the season on ripe persimmons, small
winter-grapes, bird-cherries, the fruit of the pride of China,
and other fruits. The kernels and seeds of these, uninjured by
the action of the stomach, are strewed about, and thus acci-
dentally planted in abundance wherever these birds frequent.
Like their prototype, the preceding species, the migrations,
and time and place of breeding, are influenced by their supply
of food. In the spring of 1831 they arrived in this vicinity as
usual; but in consequence of the failure of cherries, scarcely
any were bred, and very few were either to be heard or seen
in the vicinity. In parts of New England this bird is known
by the name of the Canada Rodin; and by the French Cana-
diaris it is fancifully called Aecol/ez, from the color of its crest
resembling that of the hood of this religious order.

NORTHERN SHRIKE.
BUTCHER BIRD.

LaNIUS BOREALIS.

Cuar. Above, bluishash, paler on rump; under parts dull white, with
fine wavy lines of brownish gray; bar on side of head black; wings and
tail black tipped with white; white patch on wing; outer tail feathers
white. Length 9% to 1034 inches.

Nest. In a tree or low bush; large and roughly made of sticks and
grass, lined with leaves or feathers.

Zggs. 4-6; dull gray with green tint, spotted with lilac and brown ;
1.05 X 0.75.

This little wary Northern hunter is most commonly seen in
this part of the continent at the commencement of winter, a
few remaining with us throughout that season. They extend
their wanderings, according to Audubon, as far as Natchez,
and are not uncommon in Kentucky in severe winters. In
March they retire to the North, though some take up their
summer abode in the thickest forests in Pennsylvania and New
England. The nest is said to be large and compact, in the
fork of a small tree, and sometimes in an apple-tree, composed
externally of dried grass, with whitish moss, and well lined with
feathers. The eggs are about 6, of a pale cinereous white,

160 SINGING BIRDS.

thickly marked at the greater end with spots and streaks of
rufous. The period of sitting is about 15 days. The young
appear early in June or the latter end of May.

The principal food of this species is large insects, such as
grasshoppers, crickets, and spiders. With the surplus of the
former, as well as small birds, he disposes in a very singular
manner, by impaling them upon thorns, as if thus providing
securely for a future supply of provision. In the abundance,
however, which surrounds him in the ample store-house of
Nature, he soon loses sight of this needless and sportive econ-
omy, and, like the thievish Pie and Jay, he suffers his forgotten
store to remain drying and bleaching in the elements till no
longer palatable or digestible. As this little Butcher, like his
more common European representative, preys upon birds,
these impaled grasshoppers were imagined to be lures to attract
his victims ; but his courage and rapacity render such snares
both useless and improbable, as he has been known, with the
temerity of a Falcon, to follow a bird into an open cage sooner
than lose his quarry. Mr. J. Brown, of Cambridge, informs me
that one of these birds had the boldness to attack two Canaries
in a cage, suspended one fine winter’s day at the window. The
poor songsters in their fears fluttered to the side of the cage,
and one of them thrust his head through the bars of his prison ;
at this instant the wily Butcher tore off his head, and left the
body dead in the cage. The cause of the accident seemed
wholly mysterious, till on the following day the bold hunter
was found to have entered the room, through the open window,
with a view to despatch the remaining victim; and but for
timely interference it would have instantly shared the fate of
its companion. On another occasion, while a Mr. Lock in this
vicinity was engaged in fowling, he wounded a Robin, who
flew to a little distance and descended to the ground ; he soon
heard the disabled bird uttering unusual cries, and on approach-
ing found him in the grasp of the Shrike. He snatched up the
bird from its devourer; but having tasted blood, it still fol-
lowed, as if determined not to relinquish its proposed prey,
and only desisted from the quest on receiving a mortal wound.

NORTHERN SHRIKE. 161

The propensity for thus singularly securing its prey is also
practised on birds, which it impales in the same manner, and
afterwards tears them to pieces at leisure.

From his attempts to imitate the notes of other small birds,
in Canada and some parts of New England he’ is sometimes
called a Mocking Bird. His usual note, like that of the follow-
ing species, resembles the discordant creaking of a sign-board
hinge ; and my friend Mr. Brown has heard one mimicking the
quacking of his Ducks, so that they answered to him as to a
decoy fowl. They also imitate other birds, and I have been
informed that they sing pretty well themselves at times, or
rather chatter, and mimic the songs of other birds, as if with a
view to entice them into sight, for the purpose of making them
their prey. This fondness for imitation, as in the Pies, may
however be merely the result of caprice.

So complete at times is the resemblance between the
Mocking Bird (AZimus pollyglottus) and this species of Lanius,
that it is difficult to distinguish them apart. I have lately
heard one (November roth, 1833), employed in a low and soft
warble resembling that of the Song Sparrow at the present
season, and immediately after his note changed to that of the
Catbird. Like that pre-eminent minstrel, the Orpheus, he
also mounts to the topmost spray of some lofty tree to display
his deceptive talent and mislead the small birds so as to bring
them within his reach. His attitudes are also light and airy,
and his graceful, flowing tail is kept in fantastic motion.

The parents and their brood move in company in quest of
their subsistence, and remain together the whole season. The
male boldly attacks even the Hawk or the Eagle in their de-
fence, and with such fury that they generally decline the onset.

The Butcher Bird breeds from about latitude 50° northward, mi-
grating in winter south to the Potomac and Ohio valleys.

Dr. Arthur Chadbourne, of Cambridge, reports that he has heard
a female sing, and describes her as “an unusually fine singer and
quite a mimic.”

VOL. I. — II

162 SINGING BIRDS.

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE.

LANIUS LUDOVICIANUS.

*

Cuar. Above, bluish ash, generally not much paler on rump; under-
parts pure white, rarely any lines of gray; flanks tinged with gray;
forehead and side of head black ; wings and tail black tipped with white ;
white patch on wings; outer tail feathers white. Length 8% to 9%

inches.

Distinguished from Jorealis by smaller size and by the black forehead
and white under-parts.

Nest. Inatree; roughly made of twigs and grass, lined with leaves
and feathers.

Eggs. 4-6; dull gray with green tint spotted with lilac and brown;

0.95 X 0.70.

This species principally inhabits the warmer parts of the
United States, residing and breeding from North Carolina to
Florida, where I have observed it likewise in winter. It was
also seen in the table-land of Mexico by that enterprising natu-
ralist and collector, Mr. Bullock, and my friend Mr. T. Town-
send found it in the Rocky Mountain range and in the territory
of Oregon. According to Audubon it affects the low countries,
being seldom met with in the mountainous districts.

Its habits are shy and retiring, and it renders itself useful,
and claims protection by destroying mice around the planta-
tion, for which it sits and watches near the rice-stacks for
hours together, seldom failing of its prey as soon as it appears.
Like most of the genus, it is also well satisfied with large in-
sects, crickets, and grasshoppers, which like the preceding
species it often impales. In the breeding-season, according
to Dr. Bachman, it has a song which bears some resemblance
to that of the young Brown Thrush ; and though very irregular,
the notes are not unpleasing. At other times its discordant
call may almost be compared to the creaking of a sign-board
in windy weather; it probably has also the usual talent for
mimicry. The pairs mate about March, at which time the
male frequently feeds the female, and shows great courage in
defending his nest from the intrusion of other birds. The nest

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. 163

is, according to Dr. Bachman, usually made in the outer limbs
of a tree such as the live-oak or sweet-gum, and often on a
cedar 15 to 30 feet from the ground. It is coarsely made of
dry crooked twigs, and lined with root-fibres and slender grass.
The eggs, 3 to 5, are greenish white. Incubation is per-
formed by both sexes in turn, but each bird procures its own
food in the intervals. They rear two broods in the season.
Its manners resemble those of a Hawk; it sits silent and
watchful until it espies its prey on the ground, when it pounces
upon it, and strikes first with the bill, in the manner of small
birds, seizing the object immediately after in its claws; but it
seldom attacks birds except when previously wounded.

The Loggerhead is now said to be restricted to the southern
portion of the Eastern States north to Ohio and southern Illinois ;
but birds have been found breeding in Vermont, Maine, and New
Brunswick that resembled true /udoviccanus more than excudzto-
vides, to which variety some authorities have referred them.

Note. — The WHITE-RUMPED SHRIKE (L. ludowicianus excu-
bitorides) is a pale form, usually restricted to the Western plains,
but ranging occasionally through the region of the Great Lakes,
east to northern New England and the Maritime Provinces of
Canada.

REDSTART.

SETOPHAGA RUTICILLA.

CHAR. Male: lustrous blue-black; belly white; patch on sides of
breast, basal half of wing-quills and of tail, orange red. Female: the
black of the male replaced by olive brown, the red replaced by dull
yellow. Young males like female, but gradually changing to full plumage.
Bill and feet black. Length 5 to 5% inches.

West. An exceedingly graceful and compact structure saddled ona
branch, or supported by forked twigs of a sapling, from 5 to 20 feet from
the ground. It is composed of a variety of materials, in this region
most commonly of grass and vegetable fibres lined with fine grass or
horse-hair.

Eggs. 4-5; dull white, spotted chiefly around the larger end with
brown and lilac; 0.65 X 0.50

This beautiful and curious bird takes up its summer resi-
dence in almost every part of the North American continent,
being found in Canada, in the remote interior near Red River
in the latitude of 49 degrees, throughout Louisiana, Arkansas,
and the maritime parts of Mexico; in all of which vast coun-
tries it familiarly breeds and resides during the mild season,
withdrawing early in September to tropical America, where, in,
the perpetual spring and summer of the larger West India
islands, the species again find means of support. At length,
instigated by more powerful feelings than those of ordinary
want, the male, now clad in his beautiful nuptial livery, and
accompanied by his mate, seeks anew the friendly but far
distant natal regions of his race. In no haste, the playful

REDSTART. 165

Redstart does not appear in Pennsylvania until late in April.
The month of May, about the close of the first week, ushers
his arrival into the States of New England; but in Louisiana
he is seen as early as the beginning of March. He is no pen-
sioner upon the bounty of man. Though sometimes seen, on
his first arrival, in the darkest part of the orchard or garden,
or by the meandering brook, he seeks to elude observation,
and now, the great object of his migrations having arrived, he
retires with his mate to the thickest of the sylvan shade. Like
his relative Sylvias, he is full of life and in perpetual motion.
He does not, like the loitering Pewee, wait the accidental ap-
proach of his insect prey, but carrying the war amongst them,
he is seen flitting from bough to bough, or at times pursuing
the flying troop of winged insects from the top of the tallest
tree in a zig-zag, hawk-like, descending flight, to the ground,
while the clicking of the bill declares distinctly both his object
and success. Then alighting on some adjoining branch, in-
tently watching with his head extended, he runs along upon it
for an instant or two, flirting like a fan his expanded, brilliant
tail from side to side, and again suddenly shoots off like an
arrow in a new direction, after the fresh game he has discov-
ered in the distance, and for which he appeared to be -recon-
noitring. At first the males are seen engaged in active strife,
pursuing each other in wide circles through the forest. The
female seeks out her prey with less action and flirting, and in
her manners resembles the ordinary Sylvias.

The notes of the male, though not possessed of great com-
pass, are highly musical, and at times sweet and agreeably
varied like those of the Warblers. Many of these tones, as they
are mere trills of harmony, cannot be recalled by any words.
Their song on their first arrival is however nearly uniform, and
greatly resembles the ’tsh ’tsh sh tshee, tshé, tshe, tshe tshea, or’ tsh
‘th tsh tshitshee of the summer Yellow Bird (Sylvia estiva),
uttered in a piercing and rather slender tone; now and then
also agreeably varied with a somewhat plaintive flowing ’sshé
tshé tshé, or a more agreeable ’¢shit tshit a ’tshee, given almost
in the tones of the common Yellow Bird (Fringilla tristis). 1

166 SINGING BIRDS.

have likewise heard individuals warble out a variety of sweet
and tender, trilling, rather loud and shrill notes, so superior to
the ordinary lay of incubation that the performer would
scarcely be supposed the same bird. On some occasions the
male also, when angry or alarmed, utters a loud and snapping
chirp.

The nest of this elegant Sylvan Flycatcher is very neat and
substantial, fixed occasionally near the forks of a slender
hickory or beech sapling, but more generally fastened or agglu-
tinated to the depending branches or twigs of the former ;
sometimes securely seated amidst the stout footstalks of the
waving foliage in the more usual manner of the delicate cradle
of the Indian Tailor Bird, but in the deep and cool shade of the
forest, instead of the blooming bower. Both parents, but par-
ticularly the male, exhibit great concern for the safety of their
nest, whether containing eggs only or young, and on its being
approached, the male will flit about within a few feet of the
invader, regardless of his personal safety, and exhibiting unequi-
vocal marks of distress. The parents also, in their solicitude
and fear, keep up an incessant ’és4zp when their infant brood
are even distantly approached.

Nuttall classed the Redstart with the Flycatchers, as some of
its habits —such as darting from a perch, and capturing insects
while on the wing — are typical of that family; but the more mod-
ern systematists class it with the Wood Warblers. It is an abun-
dant summer resident of this eastern province, breeding from
about the valley of the Potomac to southern Labrador.

HOODED WARBLER.

SYLVANIA MITRATA.

CuarR. Male: above, yellow olive ; beneath, rich yellow; sides shaded
with pale olive; head and neck black, enclosing a wide band of yellow
across forehead and through eyes; tail with patch of white on two or
three outer tail-feathers. Bill black, feet flesh-color. Female: similar to
male, but sometimes lacking the black, in which specimens the crown is
olive and the throat yellow.

Nest. In a low bush; made of leaves and vegetable fibre, lined with

grass or horse-hair.
£ggs. 4-5; creamy white, spotted chiefly around the larger end with
brown and lilac; 0.70 x 0.53.

This beautiful and singularly marked summer species, com-
mon in the South, is rarely seen to the north of the State
of Maryland. It retires to Mexico or the West Indies proba-
bly to pass the winter. At Savannah, in Georgia, it arrives
from the South about the 2oth of March, according to Wilson.
It is partial to low and shady situations darkened with under-
wood, is frequent among the cane-brakes of Tennessee and
Mississippi, and is exceedingly active, and almost perpetually
engaged in the pursuit of winged insects. While thus em-
ployed, it now and then utters three loud, and not unmusical,
very lively notes, resembling the words, twee twee ’twittshe.
In its simple song and general habits it therefore much resem-
bles the summer Yellow Bird. Its neat and compact nest
is generally fixed in the fork of a small bush, formed outwardly
of moss and flax, lined with hair, and sometimes feathers ; the

168 SINGING BIRDS.

eggs, about 5, are grayish white, with reddish spots towards the
great end.

The Hooded Warbler is a Southern species, but is a regular
summer resident of the Connecticut valley, and has been found
breeding near Cleveland, Ohio, and in southern Michigan. It
is said to be more abundant in South Carolina than elsewhere.

Note.— The SMALL-HEADED FLYCATCHER (Wilsonia minuta
and Sylvia minuta of Wilson and Audubon) was given a place in
the “Manual” by Nuttall, who alleged to have seen the species,
Not having been found by any of the more modern observers, it has
been omitted from many recent works. It was placed on the “ hypo-
thetical list” by the A. O. A. committee, but has been again brought
forward by Ridgeway, in his “ Manual.” Wilson stated that he
saw it in New Jersey; Audubon said he shot one in Kentucky; and
Nuttall’s examples were in Massachusetts. As the birds were seen
by Nuttall only “at the approach of winter,” it is probable they
were the young of the year of some of the more northern breed-
ing species.

WILSON’S WARBLER.
WILSON’S BLACK CAP,
SYLVANIA PUSILLA.

CuHar. Above, olive; crown black; forehead, cheeks, and entire under
parts yellow. Female and young duller, and black cap often obscure,
sometimes lacking. Length, 4% to 5 inches.

Nest. On the ground, in a bushy swamp, or on branch of low bush;
of twigs and vegetable fibre lined with moss or fine grass.

Z£ggs. 4-6; white spotted with brown and lavender; 0.60 X 0.50.

This remarkable species of sylvan Flycatcher was first ob-
served by Wilson in New Jersey and Delaware as a transitory
bird of passage. Audubon has noticed it in Labrador and
Newfoundland, where it was breeding, and it is not uncommon
in the State of Maine. He also saw it in his way to Texas
early in April. It begins to migrate from Newfoundland
about the middle of August, and is seen in Maine in October.
Mr. Townsend and myself had the pleasure of observing the

WILSON’S WARBLER. 169

arrival of the little cheerful songsters in the wilds of Oregon
about the first week of May, where these birds commonly take
up their summer residence, and seem almost the counterpart of
our brilliant and cheerful Yellow Birds (Sy/va e@snva), tuning
their lay to the same brief and lively ditty, like ’ah ’sh ssh
tshea, or something similar; their call, however, is more brief
and less loud. They were rather familiar and unsuspicious, kept
in bushes more than trees, particularly in the thickets which
bordered the Columbia, busily engaged collecting their insect
fare, and only varying their employment by an occasional and
earnest warble. By the 12th of May they were already feed-
ing their full-fledged young, though I also found a nest on the
16th of the same month, containing 4 eggs, and just commen-
cing incubation. The nest was in the branch of a small service
bush, laid very adroitly as to concealment upon an accidental
mass of old moss (Usnea) that had fallen from a tree above.
It was made chiefly of ground moss (Aypuum), with a thick
lining of dry, wiry, slender grass. The female, when ap-
proached, went off slyly, running along the ground like a
mouse. The eggs are very similar to those of the summer
Yellow Bird, sprinkled with spots of pale olive brown, inclined
‘to be disposed in a ring at the greater end, as observed by Mr.
Audubon in a nest which he found in Labrador made in a
dwarf fir, also made of moss and slender fir-twigs.

Witson’s BLack CaP isa regular, though not common, summer
resident of northern New England, breeding chiefly north of the
United States. It is not uncommon in the Maritime Provinces,
and fairly common as a migrant about Montreal, but is rarely seen
‘in Ontario, though abundant in Ohio.

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER.
POLIOPTILA C/ERULEA.

CuHar. Male: above, bluish gray, darker on head, paler on rump;
forehead and line over the eye black; beneath, pale bluish white; wings
dusky; tail longer than the body, the outer feathers partly white. Fe-
male: similar to the male, but lacking the black on head. Length 4%
to § inches.

Vest. A graceful, cup-shaped structure, saddled on limb of a tree 15
or 20 feet from the ground; composed of felted plant fibre ornamented
externally with lichens and lined with feathers.

Leggs. 3-5; bluish white, speckled with bright brown; 0.55 X 0.45.

But for the length of the tail, this would rank among the
most diminutive of birds. It is a very dexterous, lively insect-
hunter, and keeps commonly in the tops of tall trees; its
motions are rapid and incessant, appearing always in quest of
its prey, darting from bough to bough with hanging wings and
elevated tail, uttering only at times a feeble song of dsee tsee tree,
scarcely louder than the squeak of a mouse. It arrives in the
State of Pennsylvania from the South about the middle of April,
and seldom passes. to the north of the States of New York and
Ohio, though others, following the course of the large rivers, pen-
etrate into Kentucky, Indiana, and Arkansas. Its first visits
are paid to the blooming willows along the borders of water-
courses, and besides other small insects it now preys on the
troublesome mosquitoes. About the beginning of May it forms
its nest, which is usually fixed among twigs, at the height of 10,
or sometimes even 50, feet from the ground, near the summit

BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER. 171

of a forest tree. It is formed of slight materials, such as the
scales of buds, stems and parts of fallen leaves, withered blos-
soms, fern down, and the silky fibres of various plants, lined
with a few horsehairs, and coated externally with lichens. In
this frail nest the Cow Troopial sometimes deposits her egg, and
leaves her offspring to the care of these affectionate and pigmy
nurses. In this case, as with the Cuckoo in the nest of the
Yellow Wren and that of the Red-tailed Warbler, the egg is
probably conveyed by the parent, and placed in this small and
slender cradle, which would not be able to sustain the weight
or receive the body of the intruder.

Though classed with the Flycatchers by Nuttall and other writers
of his day, this species is now ranked as one of the highest types of
the Oscines, or Singing Birds, and a sub-family has been made for
this and the two Western forms. Mr. William Saunders finds the
present species fairly common near London, Ontario, but it is only
casual in Massachusetts, and is rarely seen north of latitude 42°.
It winters in the Gulf States and southward.

YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.
ICTERIA VIRENS.

CuHar. Above, olive; lores black; throat and breast rich yellow;
belly white. Length 7 to 8 inches.

Vest. Ina thicket 2 or 3 feet from the ground ; of dried leaves, strips
of bark, or grass lined with fine grass or fibres.

Eggs. 3-4; white, with pink tint, spotted with brown and lilac; 0.90
X 0.70.

This remarkable bird is another summer resident of the
United States which passes the winter in tropical America,
being found in Guiana and Brazil, so that its migrations prob-
ably extend indifferently into the milder regions of both
hemispheres. Even the birds essentially tropical are still
known to migrate to different distances on either side the
equator, so essential and necessary is this wandering habit to
almost all the feathered race.

The Icteria arrives in Pennsylvania about the first week in
May, and does not usually appear to proceed farther north and
east than the States of New York or Connecticut. To the
west it is found in Kentucky, and ascends the Ohio to the
borders of Lake Erie. In the distant interior, however, near
the Rocky Mountains, towards the sources of the Arkansas,
this bird was observed by Mr. Say, and Mr. Townsend saw it

YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. 173

at Walla-Walla, on the Columbia, breeding in the month of
June. It retires to the south about the middle of August, or
as soon as the only brood it raises are fitted to undertake their
distant journey.

The males, as in many other migrating birds, who are not
continually paired, arrive several days before the females. As
soon as our bird has chosen his retreat, which is commonly in
some thorny or viny thicket where he can obtain concealment,

Me becomes jealous of his assumed rights and resents the least
mtrusion, scolding all who approach in a variety of odd and
uncouth tones very difficult to describe or imitate, except by
a whistling, in which case the bird may be made to approach,
but seldom within sight. His responses on such occasions are
constant and rapid, expressive of anger and anxiety; and still
unseen, his voice shifts from place to place amidst the thicket.
Some of these notes resemble the whistling of the wings of a
flying duck, at first loud and rapid, then sinking till they seem
to end in single notes. A succession of other tones are now
heard, some like the barking of young puppies, with a variety
of hollow, guttural, uncommon sounds frequently repeated,
and terminated occasionally by something like the mewing of
a cat, but hoarser, —a tone to which all our Vireos, particularly
the young, have frequent recurrence. All these notes are
uttered with vehemence, and with such strange and various
modulations as to appear near or distant, like the manceuvres
of ventriloquism. In mild weather also, when the moon
shines, this exuberant gabbling is heard nearly throughout the
night, as if the performer was disputing with the echoes of his
own voice.

Soon after their arrival, or about the middle of May, the
Icterias begin to build, fixing the nest commonly in a bramble-
bush, in an interlaced thicket, a vine, or small cedar, 4 or 5
feet from the ground. The young are hatched in the short
period of 12 days, and leave the nest about the second week
in June. While the female is sitting, the cries of the male are
still more loud and incessant. He now braves concealment,
and at times mounts into the air almost perpendicularly 30

174 SINGING BIRDS.

or 40 feet, with his legs hanging down, and descending as he
rose, by repeated jerks, he seems to be in a paroxysm of fear
and anger. The usual mode of flying is not, however, different
from that of other birds.

The food of the Icteria consists of beetles and other shelly
insects; and as the summer advances, they feed on various
kinds of berries, like the Flycatchers, and seem particularly
fond of whortleberries. They are frequent through the Middle
States, in hedges, thickets, and near rivulets and watery
situations.

This Chat is now found regularly in Connecticut and northern
Ohio, and sparingly in Massachusetts. A few examples have been
taken in New Hampshire and southern Ontario.

YELLOW-THROATED VIREO.

VIREO FLAVIFRONS.

Cuar. Above, rich olive, shading to ashy gray on the rump: line
across the forehead and around the eyes yellow; throat and breast rich
yellow ; belly white, sides shaded with pale olive ; wings dusky with two
white bars; tail dusky, the feathers edged with white. Length 5 to6
inches.

West. In woods or orchard; suspended from fork of branch 5 to 30
feet from the ground (usually about 10 feet); a graceful and compact
structure of grass and strips of bark covered with lichens and lined with
grass or pine needles.

£ggs. 3-5; white with roseate tint, thickly spotted around the large
end with shades of brown; 0.80 X 0.60.

This species of Vireo, or Warbling Flycatcher, visits the
Middle and Northern States of the Union about the beginning
of May or as soon as his insect food allows him a means of
subsistence. He resides chiefly in the forests, where he hunts
his tiny prey among the high branches; and as he shifts from
twig to twig in restless pursuit, he often relieves his toil with a
somewhat sad and indolent note, which he repeats, with some
variation, at short intervals. This song appears like ’preca
"preed, etc., and it sometimes finishes with a complaining call

YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. 175

of recognition, "prréaigh 'prréaigh. ‘These syllables rise and
fall in different tones as they are repeated, but though usually
sweet and impressive, are delivered too slow and solemn to be
generally pleasing. In other respects they considerably resem-
ble the song of the Red-Eyed Warbling Flycatcher, in whose
company it is often heard, blending its deep but languid
warble with the loud, energetic notes of the latter; and their
united music, uttered during summer, even at noonday, is
rendered peculiarly agreeable, as nearly all the songsters of
the grove are now seeking a silent shelter from the sultry heat.
In the warmest weather the lay of this bird is indeed peculiarly
strong and lively ; and his usually long-drawn, almost plaintive
notes, are now delivered in fine succession, with a peculiar
echoing and impressive musical cadence, appearing like a
romantic and tender revery of delight. The song, now almost
incessant, heard from this roving sylvan minstrel is varied in
bars nearly as follows: pred pred preot, preait preoit prriweet
preeai, pewal praiou, preeal preeo praoit, preeo preawit preeoo.
When irritated, he utters a very loud and hoarse mewing
praigh praigh. As soon, however, as the warm weather begins
to decline, and the business of incubation is finished, about
the beginning of August, this sad and slow but interesting
musician nearly ceases his song, a few feeble farewell notes
only being heard to the first week in September.

This species, like the rest of the genus, constructs a very
beautiful pendulous nest about 3 inches deep and 2% in
diameter. One, which I now more particularly describe, is
suspended from the forked twig of an oak in the near neigh-
borhood of a dwelling-house in the country. It is attached
firmly all round the curving twigs by which it is supported ;
the stoutest external materials or skeleton of the fabric is
formed of interlaced folds of thin strips of red cedar bark,
connected very intimately by coarse threads and small masses
of the silk of spiders’ nests and of the cocoons of large moths.
These threads are moistened by the glutinous saliva of the
bird. Among these external materials are also blended fine
blades of dry grass. The inside is thickly bedded with this

176 SINGING BIRDS.

last material and fine root-fibres ; but the finishing layer, as if
to preserve elasticity, is of rather coarse grass-stalks. Exter-
nally the nest is coated over with green lichen, attached very
artfully by slender strings of caterpillars’ silk, and the whole
afterwards tied over by almost invisible threads of the same, so
as to appear as if glued on; and the entire fabric now resem-
bles an accidental knot of the tree grown over with moss.

The food of this species during the summer is insects, but
towards autumn they and their young feed also on various
small berries. About the middle of September the whole move
off and leave the United States, probably to winter in tropical
America.

Nuttall followed the older authors in naming the forest as the
favorite haunt of this species. Later observers consider that it
frequents orchards and fields quite as much as the woods, and it is
reported as common in the gardens near Boston.

It occurs throughout the New England and Middle States as
far west as Iowa, and in Manitoba, where it is common. It has
not been found in the Maritime Provinces, but is common near
Montreal and in Ontario.

BLUE-HEADED VIREO.
SOLITARY VIREO.
VIREO SOLITARIUS.

CuHar. Above, bright olive; line from nostril to and around the eyes
whitish ; crown and sides of head bluish ash; beneath, white, sides and
flanks shaded with olive and yellow; wings dusky with two bars of
yellowish white; tail dusky, feathers edged with white. Length 5 to 6
inches.

Nest. Suspended from fork of branch of low tree or bush; composed
of grass or vegetable fibre, ornamented with moss or lichens, lined with
grass and plant down.

£ggs, Creamy white, spotted, in wreath around larger end, with bright
brown; 0.80 X 0.50.

This is one of the rarest species of the genus, and from
Georgia to Pennsylvania seems only as a straggler or acci-
dental visitor.

BLUE-HEADED VIREO, 177

It possesses all the unsuspicious habits of the genus, allow-
ing a near approach without alarm. It seldom rises beyond
the tops of the canes or low bushes amidst which it is com-
monly seen hopping in quest of its subsistence, which consists
of insects and berries. Its flight is generally tremulous and
agitated. According to Dr. Bachman, “it is every year be-
coming more abundant in South Carolina, where it remains
from about the middle of February to that of March, keeping
to the woods. It has a sweet and loud song of half a dozen
notes, heard at a considerable distance.”

About the beginning of May, in the oaks already almost
wholly in leaf, on the banks of the Columbia, we heard around
us the plaintive deliberate warble of this species, first noticed
by Wilson. Its song seems to be intermediate between that of
the Red-eyed and Yellow-breasted species, having the preaz,
preai, etc., of the latter, and the fine variety of the former in
its tones. It darted about in the tops of the trees, incessantly
engaged in quest of food, now and then disputing with some
rival. The nest of this bird is made much in the same manner
as that of the Vireo olivaceus. One which I examined was
suspended from the forked twig of the wild crab-tree, at about
ten feet from the ground. The chief materials were dead
and whitened grass leaves, with some cobwebs agglutinated
together, externally scattered with a few shreds of moss
(Aypnum), to resemble the branch on which it was hung ;
here and there were also a few of the white paper-like cap-
sules of the spider’s nest, and it was lined with fine blades of
grass and slender root-fibres. The situation, as usual, was
open but shady.

This is a fairly common summer resident of northern New
England, and it breeds sparingly south to the Middle States, and
north to Hudson’s Bay. It is a rare bird in the Maritime Prov-
inces and in Quebec, though common in parts of Ontario.

Note. — The Mountain SoLirary ViREO (V. solitarius alti-
cola), \ately discovered by Mr. William Brewster in western North
Carolina, is described as “nearly uniform blackish plumbeous, with
only a faint tinge of green on the back.”

VOL. 1. — 12

WHITE-EYED VIREO.

‘VIREO NOVEBORACENSIS.

Cuar. Above, olive, shading to ash on hind neck and rump; line
from nostril to and around eyes, yellow ; beneath, white, duller on throat
and breast; sides shaded with yellow; wings and tail dusky; wing-bars
yellow. Length about 5 inches.

Vest. Suspended from forked twig of low bush in a thicket, some-
times on edge of swamp; composed of various materials, — grass, twigs,
etc., — ornamented with moss and lichens, and lined with grass, etc.

£ggs. 3-5; white, spotted around larger end with brown; 0.75 X 0.55.

This interesting little bird appears to be a constant resident
within the limits of the United States; as, on the 12th of Jan-
uary, I saw them in great numbers near Charleston, S. C.,
feeding on the wax-myrtle berries, in company with the Yellow-
Rumped Sylvias. At this season they were silent, but very
familiar, descending from the bushes when whistled too, and
peeping cautiously, came down close to me, looking about with
complacent curiosity, as if unconscious of any danger. In the
last week of February, Wilson already heard them singing in
the southern parts of Georgia, and throughout that month to
March, I saw them in the swampy thickets nearly every day,
so that they undoubtedly reside and pass the winter in the
maritime parts of the Southern States. The arrival of this
little unsuspicious warbler in Pennsylvania and New England
is usually about the middle of April or earlier. On the 12th’
of March I first heard his voice in the low thickets of West
Florida. His ditty was now simply ss’¢ (with a whistle) wé
witte witte we-wd (the first part very quick). As late as in
the first week in May I observed a few stragglers in this vicinity

WHITE-EYED VIREO. 179

peeping through the bushes; and in the latter end of the
month a pair had taken up their abode in the thickets of
Fresh Pond, so that those which first arrive leave us and pro-
ceed farther to the north. On the 22d of June I heard the
male in full song, near his nest in our neighborhood, where in-
cubation was going on. His warble was very pleasing, though
somewhat monotonous and whimsical. This affectionate note,
often repeated near to his faithful mate while confined to
her nest, was like '¢shippewee-wa-say, tshippewee-wéee-was-say,
sweetly whistled, and with a greater compass of voice and
loudness than might have been expected from the size of the
little vocalist. The song is sometimes changed two or three
times in the course of twenty minutes; and I have heard the
following phrases: att shippewat wurr, tshippewat’wurr ; at
another time, ’¢shipeway ’tshe 6 et ’tsherr. On another visit
the little performer had changed his song to 'pip # waigh &
t#hewa, with a guttural trill, as usual, at the last syllable. He
soon, however, varied his lay to ’whip ce woi wee, the last sylla-
ble but one considerably lengthened and clearly whistled. Such
were the captious variations of this little quaint. and peculiarly
earnest musician, whose notes are probably almost continually
varied. On the 6th of October I still heard one of these wan-
dering little minstrels, who at intervals had for several weeks
visited the garden, probably in quest of berries. His short,
quaint, and more guttural song was now azshée-vait (probably
the attempt of a young bird). As late as the 30th of October
the White-Eyed Vireo still lingered around Cambridge, and
on the margin of a pond, surrounded by weeds and willows, he
was actively employed in gleaning up insects and their larvee ;
and now, with a feebler tone of voice, warbled with uncommon
sweetness wholly different from his usual strain, sounding some-
thing like the sweet whisperings of the Song Sparrow at the
present season, and was perhaps an attempt at mimickry.
Occasionally, also, he blended in his harsher, scolding, or
querulous mewing call.

This species, like the rest, build commonly a pensile nest
suspended by the upper edge of the two sides on the circular

180 SINGING BIRDS.

bend, often of the smilax or green briar vine. In the Middle
States they often raise 2 broods in the season, generally make
choice of thorny thickets for their nest, and show much con-
cern when it is approached, descending within a few feet of
the intruder, looking down and hoarsely mewing and scolding
with great earnestness. This petulant display of irritability is
also continued when the brood are approached, though as large
and as active as their vigilant and vociferous parents. In the
Middle States this is a common species, but in Massachusetts
rather rare. Its food, like the rest of the Vireos, is insects
and various kinds of berries, for the former of which it hunts
with great agility, attention, and industry.

“ Eastern United States, west to the Rockies, south in winter to
Guatemala,” 1s usually given as the habitat of this species. It has
been seen rarely north of southern New England, and only one
example has been taken in New Brunswick, though Mr: J. M.
Jones considers it fairly common in portions of Nova Scotia.
There is no authentic report of its occurrence in Ontario, but Mr.
Mcllwraith thinks it may yet be found there.

Note. — Mr. William Brewster has lately described the KEy
WEsT VIREO (V. noveboracensis maynardi) as a larger bird than
the type and of duller color, the yellow paler.

BELL’s ViREO (Vireo bellz),a bird of much the same appearance
and habits as the White-eyed, is found in the prairie districts of
Illinois and Iowa. It ranges thence to the eastern base of the
Rockies.

WARBLING VIREO.

VIREO GILVUS.

Cuar. Above, grayish olive brighter on the rump, shading to ashy on
the head; beneath, buffy white, flanks and sides tinged with olive yellow.
Length 5 to 5% inches.

Vest. In open pasture or shaded street, suspended from fork of a
high branch; composed of grass and vegetable fibre, and lined with fine
grass.

L£ggs. 3-4; white, spotted, chiefly about the larger end, with brown;
0.75 X O55.

WARBLING VIREO. 181

This sweetest and most constant warbler of the forest, ex-
tending his northern migrations to the confines of Canada and
along the coast of the Pacific to the Oregon, arrives from trop-
ical America in Pennsylvania about the middle of April, and
reaches this part of New England early in May. His livery,
like that of the Nightingale, is plain and unadorned ; but the
sweet melody of his voice, — surpassing, as far as Nature usually
surpasses art, the tenderest airs of the flute, — poured out often
from the rising dawn of day to the approach of evening, and
vigorous even during the sultry heat of noon, when most other
birds are still, gives additional interest to this little vocalist.
While chanting forth his easy, flowing, tender airs, apparently
without effort, so contrasted with the interrupted emphatical
song of the Red-Eye, he is gliding along the thick and leafy
branches of our majestic elms and tallest trees busied in quest
of his restless insect prey. With us, as in Pennsylvania, the
species is almost wholly confined to our villages, and even
cities. It is rarely ever observed in the woods; but from the
tall trees which decorate the streets and lanes, the almost in-
visible musician, secured from the enemies of the forest, is
heard to cheer the house and cottage with his untiring song.
As late as the 2d of October I still distinguished his tuneful voice
from amidst the yellow fading leaves of the linden, near which
he had passed away the summer. The approaching dissolu-
tion of those delightful connections which had been cemented
by affection and the cheerless stillness of autumn, still called
up a feeble and plaintive revery. Some days after this late
period, warmed by the mild rays of the morning sun, I heard,
as it were, faintly warbled, a parting whisper; and about the
middle of this month our vocal woods and fields were once
more left in dreary silence.

When offended or irritated, our bird utters an angry "shay
*¢shay, like the Catbird and the other Vireos, and sometimes
makes a loud snapping with his bill. The nest of the Warbling
Vireo is generally pendulous, and ambitiously and securely sus-
pended at great elevations. In our elms I have seen one of
these airy cradles at the very summit of one of the most gigan-

182 SINGING BIRDS.

tic, more than 100 feet from the ground. At other times they
are not more than 50 to 70 feet high. ‘The only nest I have
been able to examine was made externally of flat and dry
sedge-grass blades, for which, as I have observed, are occa-
sionally substituted strings of bass. These dry blades and
strips are confined and tied into the usual circular form by
caterpillars’ silk, blended with bits of wool, silk-weed lint, and
an accidental and sparing mixture of vernal grass tops and old
apple-blossoms. It was then very neatly lined with the small
flat blades of the meadow grass called Poa compressa.

This species is rather uncommon in the Maritime Provinces
excepting near the Maine border in New Brunswick, and in the
more southern portions of Nova Scotia. It is fairly common in
southern Quebec, and abundant in Ontario. In the New England
and Middle States it is an abundant summer resident. At the West
it ranges north to the fur countries.

RED-EYED VIREO.
VIREO OLIVACEOUS.

Cuar. Above, bright olive, crown ashy ; beneath, white faintly tinged
with dull olive on sides; wings and tail dusky. Length 5% to 6%
inches.

Nest. In an open pasture or along margin of field; suspended from
fork of an upper branch; composed of grass and vegetable fibre, and
lined with fine grass, etc.

Z£ggs. 3-5; white (sometimes with a faint pink tint) spotted sparingly,
around larger end, with dull brown; 0.80 X 0.55.

These common and indefatigable songsters appear to inhabit
every part of the American continent, from Labrador to the
large tropical islands of Jamaica and St. Domingo ; they are
likewise resident in the mild tableland of Mexico. Those
individuals who pass the summer with us, however, migrate to
the warmer regions at the commencement of winter, as none
are found at that season within the limits of the United States.
The Red-Eyed Vireo arrives in Pennsylvania late in April, and
in New England about the beginning of May. It inhabits the

RED-EYED VIREO. 183

shady forests or tall trees near gardens and the suburbs of
villages, where its loud, lively, and energetic song is often con-
tinued, with little intermission, for several hours at a time, as
it darts and pries among the thick foliage in quest of insects
and small caterpillars. From its first arrival until August it is
the most distinguished warbler of the forest, and when almost
all the other birds have become mute, its notes are yet heard
with unabated vigor. Even to the 5th of October, still enliv-
ened by the feeble rays of the sun, the male faintly recalls his
song, and plaintively tunes a farewell to his native woods. His
summer notes are uttered in short, emphatical bars of 2 or 3
syllables, and have something in them like the simple lay of
the Thrush or American Robin when he first earnestly and
slowly commences his song. He often makes use, in fact, of
the same expressions; but his tones are more monotonous as
well as mellow and melodious, like the rest of the Vireos. In
moist and dark summer weather his voice seems to be one
continued, untiring warble of exquisite sweetness; and in the
most populous and noisy streets of Boston his shrill and tender
lay is commonly heard from the tall elms; and as the bustle of
carts and carriages attempts to drown his voice, he elevates his
pipe with more vigor and earnestness, as if determined to be
heard in spite of every discord. The call of “ Whip-Zom-
kelly,” attributed to this species by Sloane and even Wilson, I
have never heard; and common as the species is throughout
the Union, the most lively or accidental fit of imagination
never yet in this country conceived of such an association of
sounds. I have already remarked, indeed, that this singular
call is, in fact, sometimes uttered by the Tufted Titmouse.
When our Vireo sings slow enough to be distinctly heard, the
following sweetly warbled phrases, variously transposed and
tuned, may often be caught by the attentive listener: ’/shode
peweé peeai misik 'du 'dii du, ’tshoove ’hére ’hére, hear here,
‘Ring 'ritshard,'p shégru 'tshevit, tsheevoo 'tshiivee peeait 'peroi,
—the whole delivered almost without any sensible interval, with
eamest animation, in a pathetic, tender, and pleasing strain,
well calculated to produce calm and thoughtful reflection in

184 SINGING BIRDS.

the sensitive mind. Yet while this heavenly revery strikes on
the human ear with such peculiar effect, the humble musician
himself seems but little concerned ; for all the while, perhaps,
that this flowing chorus enchants the hearer, he is casually
hopping from spray to spray in quest of his active or crawling
prey, and if a cessation occurs in his almost untiring lay, it is
occasioned by the caterpillar or fly he has just fortunately cap-
tured. So unaffected are these delightful efforts of instinct,
and so unconscious is the performer, apparently, of this pleas-
ing faculty bestowed upon him by Nature, that he may truly be
considered as a messenger of harmony to man a/one. Wan-
tonly to destroy these delightful aids to sentimental happiness
ought therefore to be viewed, not only as an act of barbarity,
but almost as a sacrilege.

The Red-Eyed Vireo is one of the most favorite of all the
adopted nurses of the Cowbird; and the remarkable gentle-
ness of its disposition and watchful affection for the safety of
its young, or of the foundling confided to its care, amply justi-
fies this selection of a foster-parent. The male, indeed, de-
fends his nest while his mate is sitting, with as much spirit as
the King Bird, driving away every intruder and complaining in
a hoarse mewing tone when approached by any inquisitive
observer. By accident the eggs were destroyed in a nest of
this species in the Botanic Garden, in a sugar-maple about 20
feet from the ground. At this time no complaints were heard,
and the male sang all day as cheerful as before. In a few
days, unwilling to leave the neighborhood, they had made a
second nest in a beech at the opposite side of the same prem-
ises; but now the male drove away every intruder with the
greatest temerity. The young of this species are often hatched
in about 13 days, or 24 hours later than the parasitic Troopial ;
but for want of room the smaller young are usually stifled or
neglected. I have, however, seen in one nest a surviving bird
of each kind in a fair way for being reared; yet by a singular
infatuation the supposititious bird appeared by far the most
assiduously attended, and in this case the real young of the
species seemed to be treated as puny foundlings.

RED-EYED VIREO. 185

In the month of August the young fed greedily on the small
berries of the bitter cornel and astringent Viburnum dentatum,
as well as other kinds. One of these inexperienced birds
hopped close round me in an adjoining bush, without any fear-
ful apprehension; and as late as the 26th of October two
young. birds of the Red-Eye were still lingering in this vicinity,
and busily engaged in gleaning subsistence. Eager after flies,
about the 25th of August a young bird with hazel instead of
red eyes entered a chamber in the neighborhood and became
my inmate. I clipped his wing and left him at large in a
room; he soon became very gentle, took grasshoppers and
flies out of my hand, eat Vidurnum berries with a good appe-
tite, and in short seemed pleased with his quarters. A fly
could not stir but it was instantly caught; his only difficulty
was with a lame King Bird who occupied the same apartment.
The King appeared very jealous of this little harmless com-
panion ; snapped his bill at him when he approached, and be-
grudged him subsistence when he perceived that he fed on the
same food with himself. At length he would come to me for
provision and for protection from his tyrannical associate. But
the career of my interesting and lively companion was soon
terminated by death, occasioned, in all probability, by a diar-
rhcea produced in consequence of swallowing a small lock of
hair with his food, which was found in his stomach. This bird,
very different from a Sylvia autumnalis which I afterwards had
in my possession, regurgitated by the bill, like the King Bird,
pellets of the indigestible parts of his food, such as the legs
and wings of grasshoppers and flies, and the skins and seeds of
berries. Unlike the King Bird in one particular, however, he
folded his head under his wing when at rest, and reposed with
great soundness ; whereas for eight months I was never able to
detect the former asleep.

186 SINGING BIRDS.

PHILADELPHIA VIREO.

VIREO PHILADELPHICUS.

Cuar. Above, grayish olive, brighter on rump, shading to ashy on
crown; beneath, very pale yellow, whiter on throat and belly; sides
shaded with olive. Length about 43 inches.

West. Ina grove; suspended from forked twigs of low branch; com-
posed of grass and birch bark.

£ggs. 4-2; white, spotted with brown; ——?

This species was first described by Mr. Cassin, in 1851, from
a specimen shot by him near Philadelphia in 1842. The bird’s
habits remain almost unknown. The only nest yet discovered was
found by Mr. Ernest E. Thompson in Manitoba.

Of the bird’s range very little is known. A few examples have
been taken in New England, and in 1882 our party secured several
at Edmundston, in New Brunswick, near the Quebec border. Dr.
Wheaton considered it a regular spring and fall migrant through
Ohio, but very few have been observed in Ontario.

Note. — Mr. Comeau has taken at Godbout, on the north shore
of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, one example of the YELLOW-GREEN
VIREO (V. flavovirides), a bird of Mexico and Central America.

MOCKING BIRD.

MIMuUS POLYGLOTTUS.

Cuar. Above, ashy gray, darker on wings and tail; wings with two
white bars; outer tail-feathers white ; beneath, white, tinged with gray on
the breast; bill and feet black. Length 9 to 11 inches.

Vest. Ina thicket or bunch of low bushes ; composed of twigs, roots,
grass, etc.

£ggs. 4-6; greenish blue to pale buff, marked with reddish brown;
0.95 X 0.70.

This unrivalled Orpheus of the forest and natural wonder of
America inhabits the whole continent, from the State of Rhode
Island to the larger isles of the West Indies; and continuing
through the equatorial regions, is found in the southern hemi-
sphere as far as Brazil. Nor is it at all confined to the Eastern
or Atlantic States. It also exists in the wild territory of Ar-
kansas more than a thousand miles from the mouth of Red
River ; and I have since seen it in the scanty forests of Upper
California. It breeds at the distant western sources of the
Platte, near the base of the Rocky Mountains, as well as in
Texas ; and Mr. Bullock saw it in the table-land of Mexico.
The Mocking Bird rears its young, and consequently displays
its wonderful powers, in all the intermediate regions of its
residence in the United States to the peninsula of Florida. It
appears, in short, permanently to inhabit the milder regions of

188 SINGING BIRDS.

the western world in either hemisphere; and the individuals
bred north of the Delaware, on this side the equator, are all
that ever migrate from their summer residence. A still more
partial migration takes place also, probably, from west to east,
in quest of the food and shelter which the maritime districts
afford. Though now so uncommon in that vicinity, 50 or 60
years ago, according to Bartram, it even wintered near Phila-
delphia, and made a temporary abode in the mantling ivy of
his venerable mansion. In summer a few proceed as far as
Rheade Island, following the mild temperature of the sea-coast ;
but farther north these birds are, I believe, nearly unknown,
except rarely and occasionally in Massachusetts near the sea.
With the advance of the season, also, in the country which it
inhabits, varies the time of incubation. Early in April the
nests are begun in the maritime parts of Georgia, but not before
the middle of May in Pennsylvania.

In the winter these birds chiefly subsist on berries, partic-
ularly those of the Virginia juniper (called red cedar), wax-
myrtle, holly, smilax, sumach, sour-gum, and a variety of
others, which furnish them and many other birds with a plen-
tiful repast. Insects, worms, grasshoppers, and larvee are the
food on which they principally subsist when so eminently vocal
and engaged in the task of rearing their young. In the South-
ern States, where they are seldom molested, with ready saga-
city they seem to court the society of man and fearlessly hop
around the roof of the house or fly before the planter’s door.
When a dwelling is first settled in the wilderness, this bird is
not seen sometimes in the vicinity for the first year; but at
length he pays his welcome visit to the new-comer, gratified
with the little advantages he discovers around him, and seek-
ing out also the favor and fortuitous protection of human
society. He becomes henceforth familiar, and only quarrels
with the cat and dog, whose approach he instinctively dreads
near his nest, and never ceases his complaints and attacks until
they retreat from his sight.

None of the domestic animals, or man himself, but partic-
ularly the cat and dog, can approach during the period of
incubation, without receiving an attack from these affectionate

MOCKING BIRD. 189

guardians of their brood. Their most insidious and deadly
enemies, however, are reptiles, particularly the black snake,
who spares neither the eggs nor young. As soon as his fatal
approach is discovered by the male, he darts upon him without
hesitation, eludes his bite, and striking him about the head,
and particularly the eyes, where most vulnerable, he soon suc-
ceeds in causing him to retreat, and by redoubling his blows,
in spite of all pretended fascination, the wily monster often
falls a victim to his temerity ; and the heroic bird, leaving his
enemy dead on the field he provoked, mounts on the bush
above his affectionate mate and brood, and in token of victory
celebrates with his loudest song.

The Mocking Bird, like the Nightingale, is destitute of bril-
liant plumage ; but his form is beautiful, delicate, and symmet-
rical in its proportions. His motions are easy, rapid, and
graceful, perpetually animated with a playful caprice and a
look that appears full of shrewdness and intelligence. He
listens with silent attention to each passing sound, treasures up
lessons from everything vocal, and is capable of imitating with
exactness, both in measure and accent, the notes of all the
feathered race. And however wild and discordant the tones
and calls may be, he contrives, with an Orphean talent pecu-
liarly his own, to infuse into them that sweetness of expression
and harmonious modulation which characterize this inimi-
table and wonderful composer. With the dawn of morning,
while yet the sun lingers below the blushing horizon, our sub-
lime songster, in his native wilds, mounted on the topmost
branch of a tall bush or tree in the forest, pours out his admi-
rable song, which, amidst the multitude of notes from all the
warbling host, still rises pre-eminent, so that his solo is heard
alone, and all the rest of the musical choir appear employed in
mere accompaniments to this grand actor in the sublime opera
of Nature. Nor is his talent confined to imitation ; his native
notes are also bold, full, and perpetually varied, consisting of
short expressions of a few variable syllables, interspersed with
imitations and uttered with great emphasis and volubility,
sometimes for half an hour at a time, with undiminished ardor.
These native strains bear a considerable resemblance to those

190 SINGING BIRDS.

of the Brown Thrush, to whom he is so nearly related in form,
habits, and manners; but, like rude from cultivated genius, his
notes are distinguished by the rapidity of their delivery, their
variety, sweetness, and energy. As if conscious of his unri-
valled powers of song, and animated by the harmony of his
own voice, his music is, as it were, accompanied by chromatic
dancing and expressive gestures; he spreads and closes his
light and fanning wings, expands his silvered tail, and with
buoyant gayety and enthusiastic ecstasy he sweeps around, and
mounts and descends into the air from his lofty spray as his
song swells to loudness or dies away in sinking whispers.
While thus engaged, so various is his talent that it might be
supposed a trial of skill from all the assembled birds of the
country; and so perfect are his imitations that even the
sportsman is at times deceived, and sent in quest of birds that
have no existence around him. The feathered tribes them-
selves are decoyed by the fancied call of their mates, or dive
with fear into the close thicket at the well-feigned scream of
the Hawk. :

Soon reconciled to the usurping fancy of man, the Mocking
Bird often becomes familiar with his master; playfully attacks
him through the bars of his cage, or at large in a room; rest-
less and capricious, he seems to try every expedient of a lively
imagination that may conduce to his amusement. Nothing
escapes his discerning and intelligent eye or faithful ear. He
whistles perhaps for the dog, who, deceived, runs to meet his
master; the cries of the chicken in distress bring out the
clucking mother to the protection of her brood. The barking
of the dog, the piteous wailing of the puppy, the mewing of
the cat, the action of a saw, or the creaking of a wheelbarrow,
quickly follow with exactness. He repeats a tune of consider-
able length ; imitates the warbling of the Canary, the lisping
of the Indigo Bird, and the mellow whistle of the Cardinal, in
a manner-so superior to the originals that, mortified and aston-
ished, they withdraw from his presence, or listen in silence as
he continues to triumph by renewing his efforts.

In the cage also, nearly as in the woods, he is full of life and
action while engaged in song, throwing himself round with in-

MOCKING BIRD. 191

_ spiring animation, and, as it were, moving in time to the melody
of his own accents. Even the hours of night, which consign
nearly all other birds to rest and silence, like the Nightingale
he oft employs in song, serenading the houseless hunter and
silent cottager to repose, as the rising moon illumines the
darkness of the shadowy scene. His capricious fondness for
contrast and perpetual variety appears to deteriorate his pow-
ers. His imitations of the Brown Thrush are perhaps inter-
rupted by the crowing of the cock or the barking of the dog;
the plaintive warblings of the Bluebird are then blended with
the chatter of the Swallow or the cackling of the hen; amid
the simple lay of the native Robin we are surprised with the
vociferations of the Whip-poor-will; while the notes of the
garrulous Jay, Wren, and many others succeed with such an
appearance of reality that we almost imagine ourselves in the
presence of the originals, and can scarcely realize the fact that
the whole of this singular concert is the effort of a single
bird. Indeed, it is impossible to listen to these Orphean
strains, when delivered by a superior songster in his native
woods, without being deeply affected and almost riveted to
the spot by the complicated feelings of wonder and delight
in which, from the graceful and sympathetic action, as well as
enchanting voice of the performer, the eye is no less gratified
than the ear. It is, however, painful to reflect that these ex-
traordinary powers of nature, exercised with so much generous
freedom in a state of confinement, are not calculated for long
endurance, and after this most wonderful and interesting pris-
oner has survived for 6 or 7 years, blindness often terminates
his gay career; and thus shut out from the cheering light, the
solace of his lonely but active existence, he now after a time
droops in silent sadness and dies.

The Mocking Bird is a rare but regular summer visitor to Rhode
Island, Connecticut, and southern Massachusetts, and examples
have been taken in Maine. Mr. Mcllwraith reports that a pair
spent the summer of 1883 near Hamilton, Ontario, and C. A.
McLennan records in the O. & O. the capture of one near Truro,
N.S. The species is chiefly restricted to the Southern States.

BROWN THRASHER.
BROWN THRUSH.

HARPORHYNCHUS RUFUS.

Cuar. Above, bright reddish brown or rufous; beneath, white, tinged
with rufous or buff; breast and side spotted with brown; bill about as
long as the head. Length 10% to 12 inches.

Nest. Ina thicket or low bush, and sometimes on the ground; bulky,
and loosely constructed of twigs, roots, and dried grass, sometimes lined
with horse-hair or feathers.

Eggs. 3-6 (usually 4); dull white with buff or green tint, marked with
minute spots of reddish brown; 1.00 X 0.80.

This large and well-known songster, inferior to none but the
Mocking Bird in musical talent, is found in every part of this
continent, from Hudson’s Bay to the shores of the Mexican
Gulf, breeding in all the intermediate space, though more
abundantly towards the North. It retires to the South early in
October, in the States north of the Carolinas, and probably ex-
tends its migrations at this season through the warmer regions
towards the borders of the tropics.

From the 15th of April to early in May these birds begin to
revisit the Middle and Northern States, keeping pace in some
measure with the progress of vegetation and the comparative

BROWN THRASHER. 193

advancement of the season. They appear always to come in
pairs, so that their mutual attachment is probably more durable
than the season of incubation. Stationed on the top of some
tall orchard or forest tree, the male, gay and animated, salutes.
the morn of his arrival with his loud and charming song. His.
voice, somewhat resembling that of the Thrush of Europe, but
far more varied and powerful, rises pre-eminent amidst all the
vocal choir of the forest. His music has the full charm of in-
nate originality; he takes no delight in mimickry, and has
therefore no title to the name of Mocking Bird. On his first
appearance he falters in his song, like the Nightingale; but
when his mate commences her cares and labors, his notes
attain all their vigor and variety. The young birds, even of
the first season, in a state of solitary domestication, without the
aid of the parent’s voice, already whisper forth in harmonious
revery the pathetic and sweet warble instinctive to the species.
In the month of May, while the blooming orchards perfume
and decorate the landscape, the enchanting voice of the
Thrasher in his affectionate lay seems to give grateful utter-
ance for the bounty and teeming profusion of Nature, and
falls in pleasing unison with the harmony and beauty of the
season.

From the beginning to the middle of May the Thrashers are
engaged in building their nest, selecting for this purpose usu-
ally a low, thick bush, in some retired thicket or swamp a few
feet from the earth, and sometimes even on the ground in
some sheltered tussuck, or near the root of a bush. They dis-
play the most ardent affection for their young, attacking
snakes, dogs, and cats in their defence. One of the parents,
usually the male, seems almost continually occupied in guard-
ing against any dangerous intruder. The cat is attacked com-
monly at a considerable distance from the young, and the
woods echo with his plaintive yé-ow, yé-ow, and the low,
guttural, angry ’ésh ’¢sh ’ésh "tsh. The enemy is thus pursued
off the field, commonly with success, as guilty grimalkin ap-
pears to understand the threatening gestures and complaints
with which she is so incessantly assailed. ‘Towards their more

VOL. I. — 13

194 SINGING BIRDS.

insidious enemies of the human species, when approaching the
helpless or unfledged young, every art is displayed; threats,
entreaties, and reproaches the most pathetic and powerful, are
tried in no equivocal strain; they dart at the ravisher in wild
despair, and lament, in the most touching strains of sorrow, the
bereavement they suffer. I know of nothing equal to the burst
of grief manifested by these affectionate parents excepting the
afflicting accents of suffering humanity.

Their food consists of worms and insects generally; also
caterpillars, beetles, and other coleopterous tribes, as well as
various kinds of berries. In the month of January I observed
this Thrush and the Mocking Bird feed on the berries of the
sumach. Sometimes they raise up a few grains of planted
corn, but this is more the effect of caprice than appetite, as
the search for grubworms is what commonly induces this
resort to scratching up the soil. The Thrasher is an active,
watchful, shy, and vigorous species, generally flying low, dwel-
ling among thickets, and skipping from bush to bush with his
long tail sometimes spread out like a fan. About the first week
in October, after moulting, they disappear for the season and
pass the winter in the Southern States. By the middle of
February, or early in March, they already display their vocal
powers in the warmer parts of Georgia and West Florida.
They are easily reared, and become very familiar and amusing
companions, showing a strong attachment to the hand that
feeds and protects them. In their manners, intelligence, song,
and sagacity, they nearly approach to the Mocking Bird, being
equally playful, capricious, petulant, and affectionate.

The Thrasher is abundant in Massachusetts, and is found in Ver-
mont and New Hampshire, but near the Atlantic seaboard does
not go farther north than southern Maine. It occurs regularly in
the vicinity of Montreal, and is common in Ontario and Manitoba.
It winters from about 37° southward.

CATBIRD. 195

CATBIRD.
GALEOSCOPTES CAROLINENSIS.

CHAR. General color dark slate, paler beneath; top of head and tail
black ; under tail-coverts chestnut. Length 8 to 9% inches.

Nest. In thicket or orchard ; bulky, and rudely constructed of twigs,
leaves, and grass, lined with grass or fine roots.

£ggs. 4-6; deep bluish green; 0.95 X 0.70.

This quaint and familiar songster passes the winter in the
southern extremities of the United States and along the coast
of Mexico, whence as early as February it arrives in Geor-
gia. About the middle of April it is first seen in Penn-
sylvania, and at length leisurely approaches this part of New
England by the close of the first or beginning of the second
week in May. ‘These birds continue their migration also to
Canada, where they proceed into the fur-countries as far as
the 45th parallel, arriving on the banks of the Saskatchewan
about the close of May. Throughout this extent and to the
territory of the Mississippi they likewise pass the period of in-
cubation and rearing their young. They remain in New Eng-
land till about the middle of October, at which time the young
feed principally upon wild berries.

The Catbird often tunes his cheerful song before the break
of day, hopping from bush to bush with great agility after his
insect prey, while yet scarcely distinguishable amidst the dusky
shadows of the dawn. The notes of different individuals vary
considerably, so that sometimes his song in sweetness and
compass is scarcely at all inferior to that of the Ferruginous
Thrush. A quaintness, however, prevails in all his efforts, and
his song is frequently made up of short and blended imitations
of other birds, — given, however, with great emphasis, melody,
and variety of tone, and, like the Nightingale, invading the
hours of repose. In the late twilight of a summer’s evening,
when scarce another note is heard but the hum of the drowsy
beetle, his music attains its full effect, and often rises and falls
with all the swell and studied cadence of finished harmony.

196 SINGING BIRDS.

During the heat of the day, or late in the morning, the variety
of his song declines, or he pursues his employment in silence
and retirement.

About the 25th of May one of these familiar birds came into
the Botanic Garden and took up his summer abode with us.
Soon after his arrival he called up in low whisperings the notes
of the Whip-poor-will, the Redbird, the peto Zeto of the Tufted
Titmouse, and other imitations of Southern birds which he had
collected on his leisurely route from the South. He also soon
mocked the ’¢she-yah ’tshe-yah of the little Acadian Flycatch-
ers, with which the neighborhood now abounded. He fre-
quently answered to my whistle in the garden, was very silent
during the period of incubation, and expressed great anxiety
and complaint on my approaching the young after their leaving
the nest.

One of the most remarkable propensities of the Catbird, and
to which it owes its name, is the unpleasant, loud, and grating
cat-like mew ('pay, "pay, Pay) which it often utters on being
approached or offended. As the irritation increases, this note
becomes more hoarse, reiterated, and vehement; and some-
times this petulance and anger are carried so far as to per-
secute every intruder who approaches the premises. This
temper often prevails after the young are fledged ; and though
originating no doubt in parental anxiety, it sometimes appears
to outlive that season, and occasionally becomes such an an-
noyance that a revengeful and fatal blow from a stick or stone
is but too often, with the thoughtless and prejudiced, the re-
ward of this harmless and capricious provocation. At such
times, with little apparent cause, the agitation of the bird is
excessive ; she hurries backward and forward with hanging
wings and open mouth, mewing and screaming in a paroxysm
of scolding anger, and alighting almost to peck the very hand
that offers the insult. To touch a twig or branch in any part
of the garden or wood is often amply sufficient to call down
the amusing termagant. This harmless excess, and simulation
of grimalkin’s tone, — that wizard animal so much disliked by
many, — are unfortunate associations in the cry of the Ca¢bird ;

CATBIRD. 197

and thus, coupled with an ill name, this delightful and familiar
songster, who seeks out the very society of man and reposes
an unmerited confidence in his protection, is treated with un-
deserved obloquy and contempt. The flight of the Catbird is
laborious, and usually continued only from bush to bush; his
progress, however, is very wily, and his attitudes and jerks
amusingly capricious. He appears to have very little fear of
enemies, often descends to the ground in quest of insects, and
though almost familiar, is very quick in his retreat from real
danger.

The food of the Catbird is similar to that of the preceding
- species, being insects and worms, particularly beetles, and va-
rious garden fruits; feeding his young often on cherries and
various kinds of berries. Sometimes these birds are observed
to attack snakes when they approach the vicinity of the nest,
and commonly succeed in driving off the enemy; when bitten,
however, by the poisonous kinds, it is probable, as related,
that they may act in such a manner as to appear laboring
under the influence of fascination. The Catbird, when raised
from the nest, is easily domesticated, becomes a very amusing
inmate, and seems attached to his cage, as to a dwelling or
place of security. About dawn of day, if at large, he flirts
about with affected wildness, repeatedly jerks his tail and
wings with the noise almost of a whip, and stretching forth his
head, opens his mouth and mews. Sometimes. this curious
cry is so guttural as to be uttered without opening the bill. He
often also gives a squeal as he flies from one place to another,
and is very tame, though pugnacious to all other birds which
approach him for injury. When wanting food, he stirs round
with great uneasiness, jerks everything about within his reach,
and utters the feeble cry of the caged Mocking Bird. A very
amusing individual, which I now describe, began his vocal
powers by imitating the sweet and low warble of the Song
Sparrow, as given in the autumn; and from his love of imita-
tion on other occasions, I am inclined to believe that he pos-
sesses no original note of his own, but acquires and modulates
the songs of other birds. Like the Robin, he is exceedingly

198 SINGING BIRDS.

fond of washing, and dashes about in the water till every
feather appears drenched; he also, at times, basks in the
gravel in fine weather. His food, in confinement, is almost
everything vegetable except unbruised seeds, — as bread, fine
pastry, cakes, scalded cornmeal, fruits, particularly those which
are juicy, and now and then insects and minced flesh.

The Catbird occurs: regularly along the Annapolis valley in
Nova Scotia, and in New Brunswick between the Maine border
and the valley of the St. John, but it is rarely seen elsewhere in the

Maritime Provinces. It is fairly common near the city of Quebec,
and abundant about Montreal and in Ontario.

ROBIN.
MERULA MIGRATORIA.

CuHar. Above, olive gray; head and neck darker, sometimes black ;
wings and tail dusky; outer tail-feathers broadly tipped with white ; be-
neath, brownish red; throat white with dark streaks; under tail-coverts
white; bill yellow. Length 9 to ro inches.

Nest. Usually in a tree, but often on fence-rail or window-ledge of
house or barn; a bulky but compact structure of grass, twigs, etc.,
cemented with mud.

Eggs. 4-5; greenish blue (occasionally speckled); 1.15 X 0.80.

The familiar and welcome Robins are found in summer
throughout the North American continent from the desolate
regions of Hudson’s Bay, in the 53d degree, to the tableland
of Mexico. In all this vast space the American Fieldfares rear
their young, avoiding only the warmer maritime districts, to
which, however, they flock for support during the inclemency
of winter. The Robins have no fixed time for migration, nor
any particular rendezvous; they retire from the higher lati-
tudes only as their food begins to fail, and so leisurely and
desultory are their movements that they make their appear-
ance in straggling parties even in Massachusetts, feeding on
winter berries till driven to the South by deep and inundating
snows. At this season they swarm in the Southern States,
though they never move in large bodies. The holly, prinos,

ROBIN. 199

sumach, smilax, candle-berry myrtle, and the Virginian juniper
now afford them an ample repast in the winter, in the absence
of the more juicy berries of autumn, and the insects and
worms of the milder season. Even in the vicinity of Boston
flocks of Robins are seen, in certain seasons, assembling round
open springs in the depth of winter, having arrived probably
from the colder interior of the State ; and in those situations they
are consequently often trapped and killed in great numbers.
Towards the close of January in South Carolina the Robin
at intervals still tuned his song ; and about the second week of
March, in the Middle States, before the snows of winter have
wholly disappeared, a few desultory notes are already given.
As soon as the roth of this month they may at times also be
heard in this part of New England. Early in April, however,
at the close of the jealous contests, which are waged with ob-
stinacy, they are only seen in pairs; and now from the orchard
or the edge of the forest, deliver their simple, thrilling lays in
all the artless energy of true affection. This earnest song re-
calls to mind the mellow whistle of the Thrush, which in the
charming month of May so sweetly rises in warbling echoes
from the low copse and shady glen. Our American bird has
not, however, the compass and variety of that familiar and
much-loved songster; but his freedom and willingness to
please, render him an universal favorite, and he now comes,
as it were, with the welcome prelude to the general concert
about to burst upon us from all the green woods and blooming
orchards. With this pleasing association with the opening
season, amidst the fragrance of flowers and the improving ver-
dure of the fields, we listen with peculiar pleasure to the sim-
ple song of the Robin. The confidence he reposes in us by
making his abode in our gardens and orchards, the frankness
and innocence of his manners, besides his vocal powers to
please, inspire respect and attachment even in the truant
school-boy, and his exposed nest is but rarely molested. He
owes, however, this immunity in no small degree to the fortu-
nate name which he bears; as the favorite Robin Redbreast,
said to have covered with a leafy shroud the lost and wander-

200 SINGING BIRDS.

ing “ babes in the woods,” is held in universal respect in every
part of Europe, where he is known by endearing names, and so
familiar in winter that he sometimes taps at the window or
enters the house in search of crumbs, and like the domestic
fowls, claims his welcome pittance at the farmer’s door.

The nest of this species is often on the horizontal branch of
an apple-tree, or in a bush or tree in the woods, and so large
as to be scarcely ever wholly concealed. The parents show
great affection, courage, and anxiety for the safety of their
young, keeping up a noisy cackling chirp when the place is
approached, sometimes even boldly pecking at the hand or
flying in the face of the intruder; and they have often serious
contests with the piratical Cuckoo, who slyly watches the ab-
sence of the parents to devour their eggs. To avoid these
visits and the attacks of other enemies, the Robin has been
known to build his nest within a few yards of the blacksmith’s
anvil; and in Portsmouth (New Hampshire) one was seen to
employ for the same purpose the stern timbers of an unfin-
ished vessel, in which the carpenters were constantly at work,
the bird appearing by this adventurous association as if con-
scious of the protection of so singular and bold a situation. I
have also seen a nest of the Robin bottomed with a mass of
pine shavings taken without alarm from the bench of the car-
penter. From the petulant and reiterated chirp so commonly
uttered by the Robin when surprised or irritated, the Indians
of Hudson’s Bay call him, from this note, Fee-pée-tshu. They
often also utter a loud echoing ’£2 ’£A ’kA, and sometimes
chirp in a high or slender tone when alarmed, and with an
affectation of anger sharply flirt the tail and ends of the wings.
They raise several broods in a season, and considerable num-
bers flock together in the latter end of summer and autumn.
When feeding on cherries, poke, sassafras, and sour-gum_ber-
ries, they are so intent as to be easily approached and shot
down in numbers ; and when fat are justly esteemed for food
and often brought to market. In the spring they frequently
descend to the ground in quest of worms and insects, which
then constitute their principal support.

ROBIN. 201

They are commonly brought up in the cage, and seem very
docile and content. They sing well, readily learn to imitate
lively parts of tunes, and some have been taught to pipe forth
psalms even to so dull and solemn a measure as that of “ O47
flundred” ! They acquire also a considerable taste for mim-
ickry, imitating the notes of most of the birds around them,
such as the Bluebird, Pewee, Whip-poor-will, and others. On
being approached with the finger, they usually make some
show of anger by cracking and snapping the bill. At times
they become very tame, and will go in and out of the house
with domestic confidence, feel uneasy when left alone, and on
such occasions have sometimes the sagacity of calling attention
by articulating endearing words, as pretty, pretty, etc., connec-
ting, apparently with these expressions, their general import of
attentive blandishment. They become almost naked in the
moulting season, in which they appear to suffer considerably,
yet have been known to survive for 17 years or upwards. The
rufous color of the breast becomes deeper in those birds which
thus live in confinement. Their principal song is in the morn-
ing, and commences before sunrise, at which time it is very
loud, full, and emphatic.

The eastern form of this species is not found westward of the
Great Plains excepting in the far North, where it has been traced
to the Yukon district of Alaska. From the eastern base of the
Rockies to the Pacific it is replaced by propingua, a larger, grayer
variety.

I have seen large flocks of Robins in New Brunswick during
some winters, and every year they are more or less common during
the cold months. These winter birds have much more white on
their under parts than is seen on specimens taken in the summer,
and their entire plumage is hoary. They doubtless spend the sum-
mer much farther north, — probably on the barren lands which
border the Arctic Ocean, -- and are but the northernmost edge of
that cloud of Robins which every autumn rises from their breeding-
grounds and sails away southward until, when it has finally settled,
its eastern margin is found stretched from the Gulf of St. Lawrence
to the West Indies. Throughout this range, embracing as it does
many variations of climate, Robins may be found in suitable Jocal-
ities during every winter, — rather rare, sometimes, at the north,
but increasing in abundance towards the South.”

202 SINGING BIRDS.

The habit of this species of assembling in large communities to
roost at night, during the summer months, was unknown to natur-
alists until a few years ago, and no mention of this habit appeared
in print until October, 1890, when detailed accounts of several
“roosts” that had been discovered in the vicinity of Boston were
published in the * Atlantic Monthly ” and “ The Auk.” They were
written by Mr. Bradford Torrey and Mr. William Brewster re-
spectively. The “roosts” are situated in Norton’s Woods, on
Beaver Brook, Belmont, in Longwood, and in Melrose.

The Robins assembling in these places are numbered by
thousands.

Notre.— A few examples of the VARIED THRUSH (Hesfero-
cichla nevia) have wandered from the Pacific coast to the Eastern
States; and the RED-WINGED THRUSH (Zurdus tliacus) occasion-
ally wanders from Europe to Greenland.

WOOD THRUSH.
TURDUS MUSTELINUS.

Cuar. Above, tawny, brightest on head, shading to olive on rump and
tail; beneath, white; breast and sides spotted with dusky. Length 7%
to 8% inches.

Nest. In a thicket or on low branch of small tree, usually in a moist
place; of grass and leaves cemented with mud, lined with fine roots.

Leggs. 3-5; greenish blue; 1.05 X 0.75.

This solitary and retiring songster during summer inhabits
the whole continent from Hudson’s Bay to Florida; and ac-
cording to my friend Mr. Ware, breeds as far south as the
vicinity of Natchez, in the territory of Mississippi. Whether
it leaves the boundaries of the United States in the winter is
not satisfactorily ascertained ; as the species is then silent, and
always difficult of access, its residence is rendered peculiarly
doubtful. The lateness of the season in which it still lingers
renders it probable that it may winter in the Southern States,
as a young bird, gleaning insects and berries, has been caught
in a garden in Boston on the 26th of October.

From the southern parts of the Union, or wherever he may
winter, the Wood Thrush arrives in the Middle States from the

WOOD THRUSH. 203

ist to the 15th of April; though his appearance here, where
the species is scarce, does not take place earlier than the be-
ginning of May. At the dawn of morning he now announces
his presence in the woods, and from the top of some tall tree,
rising through the dark and shady forest, he pours out his few,
clear, and harmonious notes in a pleasing revery, as if inspired
by the enthusiasm of renovated Nature. The prelude to this
song resembles almost the double tonguing of the flute, blended
with a tinkling, shrill, and solemn warble which re-echoes from
his solitary retreat like the dirge of some sad recluse who
shuns the busy haunts of life. ‘The whole air consists usually
of 4 parts or bars, which succeed, in deliberate time, and
finally blend together in impressive and soothing harmony,
becoming more mellow and sweet at every repetition. Rival
performers seem to challenge each other from various parts of
the wood, vying for the favor of their mates with sympathetic
responses and softer tones; and some, waging a jealous strife,
terminate the warm dispute by an appeal to combat and vio-
lence. Like the Robin and the Thrasher, in dark and gloomy
weather, when other birds are sheltered and silent, the clear
notes of the Wood Thrush are heard through the dropping
woods from dawn to dusk, so that the sadder the day, the
sweeter and more constant is his song. His clear and inter-
rupted whistle is likewise often nearly the only voice of melody
heard by the traveller, to mid-day, in the heat of summer, as he
traverses the silent, dark, and wooded wilderness, remote from
the haunts of men. It is nearly impossible by words to con-
vey any idea of the peculiar warble of this vocal hermit; but
amongst his phrases the sound of ’a/réee, peculiarly liquid, and
followed by a trill repeated in two interrupted bars, is readily
recognizable. At times the notes bear a considerable resem-
blance to those of Wilson’s Thrush ; such as ch rhehu ’urhehu,
then varied to ’eh villia villia,’ch villia vrhehu, then ’eh velu
viliiu, high and shrill.

The Wood Thrush is always of a shy and retiring disposi-
tion, appearing alone or only in single pairs, and while he
willingly charms us with his song, he is content and even soli-

204. SINGING BIRDS.

citous to remain concealed. His favorite haunts are low, shady
glens by watercourses, often rendered dark with alder-bushes,
mantled with the trailing grape-vine. In quest of his insect
prey, he delights to follow the meanders of the rivulet, through
whose leafy shades the sunbeams steal only in a few inter-
rupted rays over the sparkling surface of the running brook.
So partial is this bird to solitude that I have known one to
sing almost uniformly in the same place, though nearly half a
mile from his mate and nest. At times indeed he would ven-
ture a few faltering, low notes in an oak near his consort, but
his mellowest morning and evening warble was always deliv-
ered from a tall hickory, overtopping a grove of hemlock firs,
in which the dimness of twilight prevailed even at noon. The
Wood Thrush, like the Nightingale, therefore feels inspired in
darkness ; but instead of waiting for the setting sun, he chooses
a retreat where the beams of day can seldom’enter. These
shady retreats have also an additional attraction to our Thrush ;
it is here that the most interesting scene of his instinctive
labor begins and ends ; here he first saw the light and breathed
into existence ; and here he now bestows his nest in a sapling
oak, or in the next thick laurel or blooming alder, whose ber-
ries afford him ample repast in the coming autumn. Beetles,
caterpillars, various insects, and in autumn, berries, constitute
the principal food of the Wood Thrush. The young remain
for weeks around gardens in quest of berries, and are particu-
larly fond of those of the various species of cornel and vibur-
num. At this season they occasionally leave their .favorite
glens, and in their devious wanderings, previous to their de-
parture, sometimes venture to visit the rural suburbs of the
city. The young are easily raised, and sing nearly as well in
the cage as in their native wilds.

Nuttall made a mistake in giving to the Wood Thrush so ex-
tended a range, and must have confused this species with the
Olive-backed, of which he makes no mention. The Wood Thrush
has not been seen farther north than Massachusetts, southern
Ontario, and southern Michigan. It nests southward to Georgia
and westward to eastern Kansas, and winters south to Guatemala
and Cuba.

HERMIT THRUSH. 205

HERMIT THRUSH.
SWAMP ROBIN.
TURDUS AONALASCHK PALLASII.

CuHar. Above, olive, shading to rufous on rump and tail; beneath
white or buffish, shaded with olive on sides; throat and breast spotted
with dark olive. Length 6% to 7 inches.

West. On the ground, loosely made of leaves, grass, and moss.

£egs. 3-5; greenish blue ; 0.85 X 0.65.

This species, so much like the Nightingale in color, is scarce
inferior to that celebrated bird in its powers of song, and
greatly exceeds the Wood Thrush in the melody and sweetness
of its lay. It inhabits the United States from the lofty alpine
mountains of New Hampshire to Florida. It is also met with
on the tableland of Mexico and in the warmer climate of the
Antilles. In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New England, at
the close of autumn, it appears to migrate eastward to the sea-
coast in quest of the winter berries on which it now feeds; in
spring and summer it lives chiefly on insects and their larve,
and also collects the surviving berries of the AZitchella repens.

Like the preceding species, it appears to court solitude, and
lives wholly in the woods. In the Southern States, where it
inhabits the whole year, it frequents the dark and desolate
shades of the cane swamps. In these almost Stygian regions,
which, besides being cool, abound probably with its favorite
insect food, we are nearly sure to meet our sweetly vocal
hermit flitting through the settled gloom, which the brightest
rays of noon scarcely illumine with more than twilight. In one
of such swamps, in the Choctaw nation, Wilson examined a.
nest of this species which was fixed on the horizontal branch
of a tree, formed with great neatness and without using any
plastering of mud. The outside was made of a layer of coarse
grass, having the roots attached, and intermixed with horse-
hair; the lining consisted of green filiform blades of dry grass
very neatly wound about the interior.

In the Middle States these birds are only seen for a few

206 SINGING BIRDS.

weeks in the spring and fall. They arrive in this part of New
England about the roth of April, and disperse to pass the
summer in the seclusion of the forest. They are often seen on
the ground in quest of their food, and frequent low and thick
copses, into which they commonly fly for concealment when
too attentively observed ; though when in small companies, in
the spring season, they do not appear very shy, but restless
from the unsettled state of their circumstances. When dis-
persed, they utter a low, chirping call, and for some time
continue to frequent the same secluded part of the forest
in society. At times, like the Wagtail, they keep this part of
their body in a slow, vertical motion. In manners they strongly
resemble the following species, but their song seems to be
unusually lively and varied.

The Hermit is a common bird in the Maritime Provinces and
Quebec, and nests from about latitude 44° northward. It is com-
mon on Anticosti and along the north shore of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and has been taken at Lake Mistassini. In Ontario it
occurs chiefly as a migrant, though breeding in the Muskoka
district. In New England also it is principally known as a
migrant, breeding in numbers only along the northern border and
on the higher hills of Connecticut and Massachusetts. The nest
has been taken in Ohio and in southern Michigan.

The opinions expressed by Nuttall that the Hermit Thrush is a
peculiarly shy and solitary bird, and that its favorite resorts are
amid the deep forests, are, I think, somewhat misleading; at least
my observations in New Brunswick led me to form quite different
opinions. I did find these birds courting retirement and appar-
ently destitute of either vanity or curiosity; but they always dis-
played a calm self-possession that is inconsistent with shyness.
Nor were they peculiarly solitary, for though it was unusual to see
a number of them in close companionship, it was not unusual to
meet with half a dozen in as many minutes, or to find as many
nests within a small area.

Like all woodland birds, they prefer the groves to the open fields,
and they enjoy a cool shade in a moist valley; but they build
their nests near the settlements, and rarely go into the denser for-
ests. This is their habit in New Brunswick, though of course when
farther north they must resort to the timber districts; there are
few settlements to attract them.

WILSON’S THRUSH.
TAWNY THRUSH. VEERY.

TURDUS FUSCESCENS.

Cuar. Above, light tawny or rufous; beneath, white, shaded with
creamy buff on breast, and with olive on sides; breast spotted with
tawny. Length 6% to 73¢ inches.

/Vest. On the ground or near it, usually at the base of small tree or in
tuft of old grass; of leaves and grass, lined with fine roots.

£ggs. 3-5; pale greenish blue; 0.85 X 0.65.

This common Northern species arrives in Pennsylvania and
New England about the beginning of May, and its northern
range extends as far as Labrador. It appears to retire to the
South early in October, and is more decidedly insectivorous
than any other native species. According to Wilson, many of

208 SINGING BIRDS.

these birds winter in the myrtle-swamps of South Carolina. I
have not, however, seen them in the Southern States at that
season, and most part of the species pass on probably as far as
the coast of the Mexican Gulf. They do not, according to
Wilson, breed in the lower parts of Pennsylvania, though un-
doubtedly they do in the mountainous districts, where they are
seen as late as the 2oth of May. They propagate and are very
common in Massachusetts.

In its retiring habits and love of concealment this Thrush
resembles the preceding. It frequents the dark and shady
borders of small brooks and woods, and sometimes the bushy
and retired parts of the garden; from whence, without being
often seen, in the morning and particularly the evening to the
very approach of night, we often hear the singular, quaint, and
musical note of this querulous species at short intervals, as one
perches upon some low branch of a tree or bush. This curious
whistling note sounds like ’vehu ’u’rehu ’u'rehu ’v'rehu, and
sometimes ’ved ved ’vrehd 'vreh&é vehu, ranning up the notes
till they become shrill and quick at the close, in the first
phrase, but from high to low, and terminating slender and
slow, in the latter; another expression seems to be, ‘ve ’vead
vehurr, ascending like a whistle. The song of another indi-
vidual was expressed in the following manner: ’ve 'v7//id2’v//il
‘tullill'tulliil. Ut was then repeated with variation, ‘ve vi@/ilil
vill villi! ; then willilidl villilill, tulliill tulfiil; the whole
agreeably and singularly delivered in a shrill, hollow voice,
almost like the sound of liquor passing through a tunnel into a
bottle. I have also heard several of these sounds, sometimes
occasionally prefaced by a mewing or chirping warble. These
sounds, though monotonous, are possessed of greater variety
than is at first imagined, the terminating tone or key changing
through several repetitions, so as to constitute a harmony and
melody in some degree approaching the song of the more
musical Wood Thrush. From this habit of serenading into
the night, the species is sometimes here dignified with the
nickname of the Nightingale. Occasionally he utters an angry,
rather plaintive mew, like the Catbird, or a quivering bleat

WILSON’S THRUSH. 209

almost similar to that of a lamb ; and when approached, watches
and follows the intruder with an angry or petulant gueah
gueah ; at other times a sort of mewing, melancholy, or com-
plaining y’eow ’y’eow is heard, and then, perhaps, a hasty and
impatient péiu¢ pet follows. The food of this species, at least
during the early part of summer, appears to be shelly insects of
various kinds, particularly Chrysomedas, or lady-bugs, and those
many legged hard worms of the genus Judus.

A good while after the commencement of the period of in-
cubation I have observed the males engaged in obstinate quar-
rels. On the 4th of June, 1830, I observed two of these
petulant Thrushes thus fiercely and jealously contending; one
of them used a plaintive and angry tone as he chased his
antagonist up and down the tree. At length, however, a cousin
Catbird, to which this species has some affinity, stepped in be-
twixt the combatants, and they soon parted. One of these
birds had a nest and mate in the gooseberry bush of a neigh-
boring garden ; the second bird was thus a dissatisfied hermit,
and spent many weeks in the Botanic Garden, where, though
at times sad and solitary, yet he constantly amused us with his
forlorn song, and seemed at last, as it were, acquainted with
those who whistled for him, peeping out of the bushes with a
sort of complaisant curiosity, and from his almost nocturnal
habits became a great persecutor of the assassin Owl whenever
he dared to make his appearance.

The nest of Wilson’s Thrush (commenced about the close of
the first week in May) is usually in a low and thorny bush in
the darkest part of the forest, at no great distance from the
ground (1 to 3 feet), sometimes indeed on the earth, but
raised by a bed of leaves, and greatly resembles that of the
Catbird. This species seems, indeed, for security artfully to
depend on the resemblance of itself and its leafy nest with the
bosom of the forest on which it rests, and when approached it
sits so close as nearly to admit of being taken up by the hand.
The nest sometimes ‘appears without any shelter but shade and
association of colors with the place on which it rests. I have
seen one placed on a mass of prostrated dead brambles, on a

VOL. I. — 14

210 SINGING BIRDS.

fallen heap of lilac twigs in a ravine, and also in a small
withered branch of red oak which had fallen into a bush; be-
low it was also bedded with exactly similar leaves, so as easily
to deceive the eye. But with all these precautions they appear
to lose many eggs and young by squirrels and other animals.
The nest is usually bottomed with dry oak or beech leaves,
coarse stalks of grass and weeds, and lined very generally with
naturally dissected foliage, its stalks, some fine grass, and at
other times a mixture of root-fibres ; but no earth is employed
in the fabric. The eggs, 4 or 5, are of an emerald green with-
out spots, and differ from those of the Catbird only in being a
little smaller and more inclined to blue. So shy is the species
that though I feigned a violent chirping near the nest contain-
ing their young, which brought Sparrows and a neighboring
Baltimore to the rescue, the parents, peeping at a distance, did
not venture to approach or even express any marked concern,
though they prove very watchful guardians when their brood
are fledged and with them in the woods. They have com-
monly two broods in the season; the second being raised
about the middle of July, after which their musical notes are
but seldom heard. I afterwards by an accident obtained a
young fledged bird, which retained in the cage the unsocial
and silent timidity peculiar to the species.

Wilson’s Thrush breeds farther to the southward than the Her-
mit, but does not range quite so far north. It is common in the
Maritime Provinces and near the city of Quebec, but has not been
taken recently on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It
breeds abundantly in Ontario and in northern Ohio.

In New Brunswick I have found the nest as frequently in an
open pasture as in more obscure places.

GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH. 211

OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH.
TURDUS USTULATUS SWAINSONIL.

Cuar. Above, olive; beneath, white, shaded with olive on the sides ;
sides of head, neck, and breast tinged with buff; throat and breast
spotted with olive; yellowish ring around the eye. Length 6% to 7%
inches.

Vest. Ina low tree or bush; of twigs, leaves, grass, etc.

£ggs. 3-4; greenish blue speckled with brown; 0.90 X 0.65.

This species was omitted by Nuttall, though given by Wilson. It
has much the same range and similar habits as the Hermit, though
differing in its song and the location of its nest. The tone of its
voice is richer and rounder — more flute-like and less metallic —
than that of any other of the small Thrushes; but the song lacks
that spiritual quality so conspicuous in the hymn-like melody of
the Hermit.

The Olive-backed is found throughout the temperate region of
eastern North America, and westward to the eastern base of the
Rockies. It breeds in northern New England and northward, and
in the elevated portions of Massachusetts and Connecticut, as well
as in northern New York and Michigan, and winters in the Gulf
States and southward to Panama.

It is common in the Maritime Provinces, but is reported rather
rare between Montreal and Lake Huron, though it being an abun-
dant migrant through Ohio, I should expect to find it plentiful in
portions of Ontario.

GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH.
ALICE’S THRUSH.
TURDUS ALICLE.

Cuar. Above, olive; cheeks grayish; beneath, white; sides tinged
with olive; throat and breast tinged with buff and marked with large dark
spots. Length 7 to 73 inches.

Vest. In a low bush or on the ground; of grass and leaves, etc.,
lined with fine grass.

£eggs. 3-43; greenish blue spotted with brown; 0.90 X 0.70.

After much contention as to the validity of Alice’s Thrush as a
variety of the Olive-backed, the systematists have decided to give it

212 SINGING BIRDS.

specific rank. In appearance it differs from swaznsondd chiefly in
lacking the yellow around the eye, and in having gray instead of
buff cheeks. AJécé@ is also a trifle the larger of the two.

The distribution of the present species has not yet been thor-
oughly worked out, for only a few years have passed since its
discovery; but it is known to occur in the United States and the
settled portions of Canada as a migrant only, breeding north to
the Arctic, and wintering south to Costa Rica.

BICKNELL’S THRUSH.

TURDUS ALICIZ BICKNELLI.

Cuar. Above, olive, varying from a grayish to a russet tint; wings
and tail slightly browner than back ; distinct ring of pale buff around the
eyes; cheeks buffish; beneath, white, tinged with olive on the sides;
throat and breast tinged with buff and marked with large dark spots.
Length 7 to 7% inches. |

Vest. On the ground, in a thicket ; composed of twigs, grass, and moss,
lined with grass.

£ggs. 3-4; pale blueish green speckled with brown; 0.85 X 0.65.

This variety of the Gray-cheeked Thrush was discovered by
Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell amid the Catskill Mountains in 1885. It
has been found on all the higher ranges of Eastern America and
in Illinois, and Mr. Langille claims to have discovered the nest
on an island off the southern coast of Nova Scotia.

WATER THRUSH.
WATER WAGTAIL.
SEIURUS NOVEBORACENSIS.

Cuar. Above, deep olive brown; line over the eye whitish: beneath,
white tinged with bright yellow, and spotted with olive. Length 534 to
6 inches.

West. On the ground, in border of swamp or stream; bulky, and
loosely made of moss, leaves, and grass, lined with roots. Sometimes
deeply imbedded in moss, or covered with it.

£ggs. 4-6; white, spotted, most heavily near the larger end, with
brown and lilac; 0.75 X 0.55.

WATER THRUSH. 213

This shy and retiring sylvan species extends its summer
migrations throughout the United States, breeding rarely in
Pennsylvania, proceeding principally to the western and
northern regions at the period of incubation. Mr. Townsend
and myself observed this bird in Oregon, as well as in Missouri,
where it was, no doubt, breeding, and sung in a very lively
manner, keeping in a shady wood which bordered a small
stream, often descending to the ground after aquatic insects or
larve, and with the tail in a constant balancing motion, re-
minding us strongly of the Wagtail or Motacilla of Europe.

The Aquatic Thrush has, indeed, a particular partiality for
the vicinity of waters, wading in the shallow streams in search
of insects, moving its tail as it leisurely follows its pursuit, and
chattering as it flies. During its transient migrating visits it is
very timid, and darts into the thickets as soon as approached,
uttering a sharp and rather plaintive whip’ of alarm. About
the beginning of May, these birds appear in Pennsylvania from
the South, and stay around dark and solitary streams for ten
or twelve days, and then disappear until about the middle of
August, when, on their way to their tropical winter quarters,
they leave the swamps and mountains of their summer retreat,
and, after again gleaning a transient subsistence for a few days
towards the sea-coast, depart for the season. In Massachu-
setts they are scarcely everseen except in the autumn, and
continue in shady gardens, probably feeding on small wild
berries till nearly the close of September.

It appears, according to Wilson, that the favorite resort of
this species is in the cane-brakes, swamps, river shores, and
watery solitudes of Louisiana, Tennéssee, and Mississippi.
Here it is abundant, and is eminently distinguished by the
loudness, sweetness, and expressive vivacity of its notes, which,
beginning high and clear, flow and descend in a cadence so
delicate as to terminate in sounds that are scarcely audible.
At such times the singer sits perched on some branch which
stretches impending over the flowing stream, and pours out his
charming melody with such effect as to be heard at the dis-
tance of nearly half a mile, giving a peculiar charm to the dark

aia SINGING BIRDS,

and solitary wilds he inhabits. The silence of night is also, at
times, relieved by the incessant warble of this Western Philo-
mel, whose voice, breaking upon the ear of the lonely traveller
in the wilderness, seems like the dulcet lay of something super-
natural. His song is also heard in the winter when the
weather proves mild. In this habit he appears considerably
allied to the Reed Thrush or River Nightingale of Europe,
which night and day almost ceaselessly sings, and soothes his
sitting mate, among the reeds and marshes of his favorite
resorts.

Since Nuttall’s day the Water Thrush has been separated from
the true Thrushes and classed with the Warblers. The birds seen
by Wilson and Audubon in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi
were doubtless referable to motacz/la, for though the present spe-
cies is found throughout this Eastern Province, west to Illinois and
Manitoba, it seldom has been discovered breeding south of 45°. It
is a rather common spring and autumn visitor to Massachusetts.

On the plains the type is replaced by the variety named xotadziis,
—GRINNELL’S WATER THRUSH, —which is larger and darker.
Notabilis occurs occasionally in Illinois and Indiana.

LOUISIANA WATER THRUSH.
SEIURUS MOTACILLA.

CuHaR. Similar to xoveboracensés, but larger, and bill longer and stouter.
Under parts tinged with buff, but never with bright yellow; throat free
from spots. Length 534 to 6% inches.

Vest. On the ground, hidden amid roots of fallen tree, or on a mossy
bank ; composed of leaves, grass, and moss, lined with grass and hair.

Eggs. 4-6; white, sometimes with creamy tint, speckled with brown
and lilac; 0.75 X0.60.

The range of this species extends from southern New England
and the Great Lakes (in summer) to the Gulf States and Central
America (in winter). A few pairs are seen every season in southern
Ontario. Its habits do not differ from those of its congener.

OVEN BIRD.
GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH.

SEIURUS AUROCAPILLUS.

Cur. Above, olive ; crown orange-brown, bordered with black stripes,
white ring around the eyes; beneath, white, spotted with olive. Length
534 to 6% inches.

Vest. On the ground, at the foot of a tree or in the moss on a decayed
log ; rather loosely made of twigs, grass, leaves, and moss, lined with fine
grass and hair. The top is often completely roofed, sometimes arched or
domed; the entrance on the side.

Legs. 4-6; creamy white, spotted with brown and lilac; 0.80 X 0.55.

This rather common bird, so nearly allied to the true
Thrushes, is found throughout the forests of the United States,
Canada, and in the territory of Oregon during the summer,
arriving in the Middle and Northern States about the beginning
of May or close of April, and departing for tropical America,
Mexico, and the larger West India islands early in September.

The Golden-crowned Thrush, shy and retiring, is never seen
out of the shade of the woods, and sits and runs along the
ground often like the Lark; it also frequents the branches of
trees, and sometimes moves its tail in the manner of the Wag-
tails. It has few pretensions to song, and while perched in
the deep and shady part of the forest, it utters, at intervals, a
simple, long, reiterated note of ‘¢sh’e tshe tshe tshe ¢tshe, rising
from low to high and shrill, so as to give but little idea of the
distance or place from whence the sound proceeds, and often
appearing, from the loudness of the closing cadence, to be much

216 SINGING BIRDS.

nearer than it really is. As soon as discovered, like the Wood
Thrush, it darts at once timidly into the depths of its sylvan
retreat. During the period of incubation, the deliberate lay
of the male, from some horizontal branch of the forest tree,
where it often sits usually still, is a ’¢she ze tshe té the # tshee,
gradually rising and growing louder. ‘Towards dusk in the
evening, however, it now and then utters a sudden burst of
notes with a short, agreeable warble, which terminates com-
monly in the usual ’éshe fe ¢tyhe. Its curious oven-shaped nest
is known to all the sportsmen who traverse the solitary wilds
which it inhabits. This ingenious fabric is sunk a little into the
ground, and generally situated on some dry and mossy bank
contiguous to bushes, or on an uncleared surface ; it is formed,
with great neatness, of dry blades of grass, and lined with the
same ; it is then surmounted by a thick inclined roof of simi-
lar materials, the surface scattered with leaves and twigs so as
to match the rest of the ground, and an entrance is left at the
side. Near Milton hills, in this vicinity, the situation chosen
was among low whortleberry bushes, in a stunted cedar and
oak grove. When surprised, the bird escapes, or runs from the
nest with the silence and celerity of a mouse. If an attempt
be made to discover the nest from which she is flushed, she
stops, flutters, and pretends lameness, and watching the success
of the manceuvre, at length, when the decoy seems complete,
she takes to wing and disappears. The Oven Bird is another
of the foster-parents sometimes chosen by the Cow Troopial ;
and she rears the foundling with her accustomed care and
affection, and keeps up an incessant “#7 when her unfledged
brood are even distantly approached. These birds have often
two broods in a season in the Middle States. Their food is
wholly insects and their larvee, particularly small coleopterous
kinds and ants, chiefly collected on the ground.

The Oven Bird, like the Water Thrush, has been removed by
modern authorities from classification with the Thrush family and
placed with the Warblers. It is now known to breed from Virginia
and the Ohio valley to Labrador and Hudson Bay. It is abund-
ant in Massachusetts and the Maritime Provinces, and common

over its entire range.

MYRTLE WARBLER. 217

MYRTLE WARBLER.
YELLOW-RUMP WARBLER. YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER.
DENDROICA CORONATA.

_CHAR. Male: above, bluish gray streaked with black; sides of head
black; breast and sides mostly black; patches of yellow on crown and
rump and sides of breast ; throat and belly white ; wing-bars and patches
on tail white. Female, young, and male in winter: similar, but the back
with a tint of brown in place of blue, and al] colors duller, and markings
less distinct. Length 5 to 6 inches.

4Vest. Ina coniferous tree 5 to 10 feet from the ground, in a pasture or
open grove of woodland; composed of twigs and grass, lined with fine
grass, sometimes with feathers.

£ggs. 4-5; dull white or creamy white, spotted chiefly around the
larger end with brown and lilac; 0.70 X 0.50.

The history of this rather common Warbler remains very
imperfect. In the Middle and Northern States it is a bird of
passage, arriving from the South about the close of April or
beginning of May, and proceeding north as far as Canada and
Labrador to pass the summer season in the cares of breeding
and rearing the young. As early as the 30th of August, or after
an absence of little more than three months, these birds again
appear; and being hardy, passing parties continue with us in
gardens and woods till about the close of November, feeding
now almost exclusively on the myrtle-wax berries (Africa ceri-
fera), or on those of the Virginian juniper. These, other late
and persisting berries, and occasional insects, constitute their
winter food in the Southern States, where, in considerable num-
bers, in the swamps and sheltered groves of the sea-coast, they
pass the cold season. In fine weather, in the early part of Oc-
tober, they may be seen, at times, collecting grasshoppers and
moths from the meadows and pastures, and, like the Blue Bird,
they often watch for the appearance of their prey from a neigh-
boring stake, low bough, or fence-rail; and at this time are so
familiar and unsuspicious, particularly the young, as fearlessly
to approach almost within the reach of the silent spectator. At

218 SINGING BIRDS.

the period of migration, they appear in an altered and less
brilliant dress. The bright yellow spot on the crown is now
edged with brownish olive, so that the prevailing color of this
beautiful mark is only seen on shedding the feathers with the
hand ; a brownish tint is also added to the whole plumage. But
Wilson’s figure of this supposed autumnal change only repre-
sents the young bird. The old is, in fact, but little less brilliant
than in summer, and I have a well-founded suspicion that the
wearing of the edges of the feathers, or some other secondary
cause, alone produces this change in the livery of spring, par-
ticularly as it is not any sexual distinction.

While feeding they are very active, in the manner of Fly-
catchers, hovering among the cedars and myrtles with hanging
wings, and only rest when satisfied with gleaning food. In
spring they are still more timid, busy, and restless. According
to Audubon, the nest and eggs are scarcely to be distinguished
from those of Sy/via @stiva ; one which he examined from
Nova Scotia was made in the extremity of the branch of a low
fir-tree, about five feet from the ground. When approached,
or while feeding, they only utter a feeble, plaintive ¢s/zp of
alarm. This beautiful species arrives here about the 7th or
8th of May, and now chiefly frequents the orchards, uttering
at short intervals, in the morning, a sweet and varied, rather
plaintive warble, resembling in part the song of the Summer
Yellow Bird, but much more the farewell, solitary autumnal
notes of the Robin Redbreast of Europe. The tones at times
are also so ventriloquial and variable in elevation that it is not
always easy to ascertain the spot whence they proceed. While
thus engaged in quest of small caterpillars, the Myrtle seems
almost insensible to obtrusion, and familiarly searches for its
prey, however near we may approach. :

The “ Yellow-rump ” — by which name this species is best known
—breeds regularly in Vermont and New Hampshire, and north-
ward to southern Labrador. It is an abundant summer resident of
the Maritime Provinces, but elsewhere, in the settled portions of
Canada, occurs as a migrant only. It winters regularly in Massa-
chusetts and central Ohio, and thence southward as far as Central
America.

YELLOW PALM WARBLER. 219

YELLOW PALM WARBLER.
YELLOW RED-POLL WARBLER.

DENDROICA PALMARUM HYPOCHRYSEA.

Cuar. Above, brownish olive; rump yellowish, dusky streaks on the
back ; crown chestnut; line over eye and under parts rich yellow; breast
and sides streaked with brown; no white wing bars; square patches of
white on two pairs of outer tail-teathers. Length 5 to 534 inches.

Vest. On the ground on border of swamp; loosely made of grass,
weeds, and moss fastened with caterpillar’s silk, lined with roots, hair,
pine-needles, or feathers.

Eggs. 4-5; creamy white, sometimes with roseate tinge, marked on
larger end with fine spots of brown and lilac; 0.65 X 0.50.

The Yellow Red-polls in small numbers arrive in the Middle
and Northern States in the month of April; many proceed as
far as Labrador, where they were seen in summer by Audubon,
and in the month of August the young were generally fledged.
In the Southern States they are abundant in winter. While
here, like many other transient passengers of the family, they
appear extremely busy in quest of their restless insect prey.
They frequent low, swampy thickets, are rare, and their few
feeble notes are said scarcely to deserve the name of a song.
These stragglers remain all summer in Pennsylvania, but the
nest is unknown. They depart in September or early in Octo-
ber, and some probably winter in the southernmost States, as
they were met with in February, by Wilson, near Savannah.
This is a different species from the Palm Warbler, which prob-
ably does not exist in the United States.

This bird appears yet to be very little known. Pennant has
most strangely blended up its description with that of the
Ruby-crowned Wren! his supposed female being precisely
that bird.

The Eastern form of the Palm Warbler is a common bird from
the Atlantic to the Mississippi valley, where it is replaced by true
palmarum. The Eastern bird is abundant in summer in northern

Maine and New Brunswick, and Aububon considered it common
in Labrador, though late observers there have rarely found it.

220 SINGING BIRDS.

Mr. Neilson thinks it uncommon near Dornald, Quebec, and
says he never sees a specimen later than June 1st. Dr. Wheaton
has reported it as a common migrant through Ohio, but it is re-
ported rare in Ontario. Nuttall’s statement, borrowed from Wilson,
that some remained in Pennsylvania during the breeding season,
has not been confirmed by more recent observations. It winters in
the Southern and Gulf States.

In habits this species stands peculiar. Unlike other Dendroica, it
nests on the ground, and unlike all other Warblers, it shows a
strong preference for fields and road-sides, where it may be found
hopping along with the Sparrows, and flirting its tail like a Titlark.

The song is a very simple affair, —a few sweet notes.

Note.— The Patm WARBLER (Dendroica palmarum) differs
from hypochrysea in being smaller and much duller colored. It is
usually restricted to the Mississippi valley; but some winter in
Florida, and occasionally a solitary straggler has been seen in the
Atlantic States.

AUDUBON’s WARBLER (Dendroica auduboni), though a bird of
the Western Plains, has a right to mention here through one exam-
ple having been taken in Cambridge, Mass.

YELLOW WARBLER.
SUMMER YELLOW BIRD. SUMMER WARBLER.
DENDROICA STIVA.

Cuar. General color golden yellow, upper parts tinged with olive ;
breast and sides streaked with orange brown. Length 4}3 to 5% inches.

Vest. On a bush or low tree, in a garden or open pasture ; gracefully
formed and compactly woven, of various vegetable fibres, — grass, stems,
etc., — usually lined with hair or plant down, sometimes with feathers.

Eggs. 3-5; dull white or greenish white, marked chiefly around the
larger end with brown and lilac; 0.65 X 0.45.

This very common and brilliant summer species is found in
all parts of the American continent, from the confines of the
Arctic circle to Florida and Texas, as well as Oregon and the
Rocky Mountains, where it spends the mild season. About
the middle of March I already heard the song amidst the

YELLOW WARBLER. 221

early blooming thickets and leafy woods of the Altamaha ; but
the birds do not arrive in Pennsylvania and this part of New
England before the 1st of May. About the close of August in
the Northern, and by the middle of September in the Central
States of the Union, or as soon as their second brood are capa-
ble of joining the migrating host, they disappear, probably in
the twilight, and wing their way by easy stages to their trop-
ical destination, passing through Louisiana in October and
appearing at length about Vera Cruz, whence they spread their
numerous host through tropical America to Guiana, Cayenne,
St. Domingo, and other of the larger contiguous islands of the
West Indies.

This is a very lively, unsuspicious, and almost familiar little
bird, and its bright golden color renders it very conspicuous,
as in pursuit of flitting insects it pries and darts among the
blooming shrubs and orchards. It is particularly attached to
willow-trees and other kinds in moist and shady situations, that
afford this and other species a variety of small larvee and cater-
pillars, on which they delight to feed. While incessantly and
busily employed it occasionally mounts the twig, and with a
loud, shrill, and almost piercing voice it earnestly utters, at short
and irregular intervals, —’¢sh’ ’tsh’ 'tsh’ ’tsh’ 'tshaia, or tshe tshe
tsh tshayia tshe tshe ; this Jast phrase rather plaintive and inter-
rogatory, as if expecting the recognition of its mate. Some--
times, but particularly after the commencement of incubation,
a more extended and pleasingly modulated song is heard, as se
te te tshitshoo, or tsh’ tsh’ tsh’ tsheetshoo, 'tshe ’tshe ’tshe ’tshoo
*peetshee, and ’tshe 'tshe’tshe'tshe'tshaia’tship 6 way ; the ter-
mination tender, plaintive, and solicitous. I have heard this
note also sometimes varied to ’soit’sodt soit soit tship & wee.
The female sometimes sings nearly as well as the male, partic-
ularly about the time she is engaged in fabricating her nest.
Although the song of these birds may be heard, less vigorously,
to the month of August, yet they do not here appear to raise
more than a single brood.

The nest, in Massachusetts, is commonly fixed in the forks
of a barberry bush, close shrub, or sapling, a few feet from the

222 SINGING BIRDS.

ground ; at other times, I have known the nest placed upon the
horizontal branch of a hornbeam, more than 15 feet from
the ground, or even 50 feet high in the forks of a thick sugar-
maple or orchard tree. These lofty situations are, however,
extraordinary; and the little architects, in instances of this
kind, sometimes fail of giving the usual security to their habita-
tion. The nest is extremely neat and durable; the exterior is
formed of layers of Asclepias, or silk-weed lint, glutinously
though slightly attached to the supporting twigs, mixed with
some slender strips of fine bark and pine leaves, and thickly
bedded with the down of willows, the nankeen-wool of the Vir-
ginian cotton-grass, the down of fern-stalks, the hair from the
downy seeds of the buttonwood (//aanus), or the pappus of
compound flowers; and then lined either with fine-bent grass
(Agrostis), or down, and horse-hair, and rarely with a few acci-
dental feathers. Circumstances sometimes require a variation
from the usual habits of the species. In a garden in Roxbury,
in the vicinity of Boston, I saw a nest built in a currant-bush,
in a small garden very near to the house; and as the branch
did not present the proper site of security, a large floor of dry
grass and weeds was first made betwixt it and a contiguous
board fence ; in the midst of this mass of extraneous materials,
the small nest was excavated, then lined with a considerable
quantity of white horse-hair, and finished with an interior bed
of soft cow-hair. The season proving wet and stormy, the
nest in this novel situation fell over, but was carried, with the
young to a safe situation near the piazza of the house, where
the parents now fed and reared their brood. The labor of
forming the nest seems often wholly to devolve on the female.
On the roth of May I observed one of these industrious matrons
busily engaged with her fabric in a low barberry bush, and by
the evening of the second day the whole was completed, to the
lining, which was made, at length, of hair and willow down, of
which she collected and carried mouthfuls so large that she
often appeared almost like a mass of flying cotton, and far ex-
ceeded in industry her active neighbor, the Baltimore, who
was also engaged in collecting the same materials. Notwith-

YELLOW WARBLER. 223

standing this industry, the completion of the nest, with this and
other small birds, is sometimes strangely protracted or not im-
mediately required. Yet occasionally I have found the eggs
of this species improvidently laid on the ground. It is amus-
ing to observe the sagacity of this little bird in disposing of the
eggs of the vagrant and parasitic Cow Troopial. The egg, de-
posited before the laying of the rightful tenant, too large for
ejectment, is ingeniously incarcerated in the bottom of the
nest, and a new lining placed above it, so that it is never
hatched to prove the dragon of the brood. Two instances of
this kind occurred to the observation of my friend Mr. Charles
Pickering ; and in 1833 I obtained a nest with the adventi-
tious egg about two thirds buried, the upper edge only being
visible, so that in many instances it is probable that this spe-
cies escapes from the unpleasant imposition of becoming a
nurse to the sable orphan of the Cow Bird. She however
acts faithfully the part of a foster-parent when the egg is laid
after her own.

I have heard of two instances in which three of the Yellow
Bird’s own eggs were covered along with that of the Cow
Blackbird. In a third, after a Blackbird’s egg had been thus
concealed, a second was laid, which was similarly treated, thus
finally giving rise to a three-storied nest.

The Summer Yellow Bird, to attract attention from its nest,
when sitting, or when the nest contains young, sometimes
feigns lameness, hanging its tail and head, and fluttering feebly
along, in the path of the spectator; at other times, when cer-
tain that the intrusion had proved harmless, the bird would
only go off a few feet, utter a feeble complaint, or remain
wholly silent, and almost instantly resume her seat. The male,
as in many other species of the genus, precedes a little the arri-
val of his mate. Towards the latter end of summer the young
and old feed much on juicy fruits, as mulberries, cornel berries,
and other kinds.

The habitat of the present form is not extended beyond the
eastern base of the Rockies ; westward from that line it is replaced
by morcomz, a much paler race.

224 SINGING BIRDS.

MAGNOLIA WARBLER.
BLACK-AND-YELLOW WARBLER,
DENDROICA MACULOSA.

Cuar. Male: back black, the feathers edged with olive; rump yel-
low; crown ash, bordered by black and white; beneath, rich yellow,
thickly spotted on breast and sides with black; wing-bars and tail-patches
white. Female: similar, but colors duller, and back sometimes entirely
olive.

est. On a horizontal branch of spruce or fir, usually 3 to 6 feet from
the ground, but sometimes higher; made of twigs and grass, lined with
fine black roots.

£ggs. 4-5; creamy white, spotted with lilac and several shades of
brown; 0.60 X 0.50.

This rare and beautiful species is occasionally seen in very
small numbers in the Southern, Middle, and Northern States, in
the spring season, on its way to its Northern breeding-places.
In Massachusetts I have seen it in this vicinity about the mid-
dle of May. Its return to the South is probably made through
the western interior, — a route so generally travelled by most of
our birds of passage at this season ; in consequence of which
they are not met with, or but very rarely, in the Atlantic States
in autumn. In this season they have been seen at sea off the
island of Jamaica, and have been met with also in Hispaniola,
whither they retire to pass the winter. Like all the rest of the
genus, stimulated by the unquiet propensity to migrate, they
pass only a few days with us, and appear perpetually employed
in pursuing or searching out their active insect prey or larve ;
and while thus engaged, utter only a few chirping notes. The
Magnolia has a shrill song, more than usually protracted on the
approach of wet weather, so that the Indians bestow upon it
the name of Rain Bird. According to Audubon, many of
these birds breed in Maine and the British Provinces, as well
as in Labrador, and extend their summer residence to the
banks of the Saskatchewan. They have also a clear and sweetly
modulated song.

Although rare in the United States, it appears, according to
Richardson, that this elegant species is a common bird on the

MAGNOLIA WARBLER. 225

banks of the Saskatchewan, where it is as familiar as the com-
mon Summer Yellow Bird (.S. @st/va), which it also resembles
closely in its manners and in its breeding station, but is gifted
with a more varied and agreeable song. It frequents the
thickets of young spruce-trees and willows, flitting from branch
to branch, at no great distance from the ground, actively en-
gaged in the capture of winged insects, which now constitute
its principal fare.

The Magnolia is not so rare a bird as Nuttall supposed, — indeed,
it is common everywhere between the Atlantic and the eastern
base of the Rockies, breeding in northern New England and in
the northern portions of New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and
thence to Labrador and Great Slave Lake.

In Massachusetts it is chiefly a spring and autumn visitor, though
Mr. William Brewster found a few pairs nesting in the Berkshire
Hills. It winters in Central America, Cuba, and the Bahamas.

In its habits this bird combines the Creeper and the Flycatcher
in true Warbler fashion, picking insects and larva from the cran-
nies of the bark and from the leaves, and capturing on the wing the
flying mites. The favorite nesting site is the border of a wood
or an open pasture, though I have found nests in the deep forest,
usually on the margin of an open glade.

The song is Warbler-like in its simplicity, yet is an attractive
melody, the tones sweet and musical.

Nuttall’s idea that the autumn route of migration taken by more
northern breeding birds lies somewhere to the westward of New
England, is not consistent with more recent observation ; for while
it is true that large numbers follow the valley of the Mississippi, —
some of them crossing to the Atlantic when south of the Allegha-
nies, —it has also been ascertained that immense flights of birds
that breed in the interior go southward along the coast-line. Many
species that are not seen in New England during the spring migra-
tion are abundant in the autumn.

VOL. 1, —— 15

226 SINGING BIRDS.

CAPE MAY WARBLER.
DENDROICA TIGRINA.

CuHar. Male: back yellowish olive, with darker spots; crown blackish;
ear-patch chestnut; line from bill around the eyes black; rump yellow,
wing-bars white and fused into one large patch ; white blotches on three
pairs of tail-feathers ; beneath, yellow tinged with orange on chin and
throat, spotted with black on breast and sides. Female: similar, but
back grayish, and lacking distinctive marking on head; under parts paler ;
spots on wings and tail smaller or obscure.

Nest. Ina pasture or open woodland, on low branch of small tree; a
neat, cup-shaped structure, partially pensile, composed of twigs and grass
fastened with spider’s webbing, lined with horse-hair.

Levys. 3-4; dull white or buffy, slightly specked, and wreathed around
larger end with spots of brown and lilac; 0.70 X 0.50.

This very rare Warbler has only been seen near the swamps
of Cape May by Edward Harris, Esq.; near Moorestown, in
New Jersey; and in the vicinity of Philadelphia, about the
middle of May, — probably as a straggler on its way to some
Northern breeding-place. Its notes and further history are yet
unknown.

Since Nuttall wrote, we have learned a little more of.the life his-
tory of this feathered beauty, though our knowledge of the bird’s
habits is still very limited. So rare is the bird that examples adorn
but few collections ; yet it has been seen occasionally throughout the
Eastern States, and is reported by Thompson as “ plentiful” along
the Red River, in Manitoba. It has been traced north to Hudson
Bay, and south (in winter) to the West Indies. The southern limit
of its breeding area is probably about the 45th parallel. The nest
has been found by Mr. H. B. Bailey at Umbagog Lake, in Maine,
and by Mr. James W. Banks near St. John, N. B.

Banks’s nest, which I had the privilege of examining, was com-
pletely hidden amid the dense foliage of a clump of cedars, growing
on an open hill-side, and quite close to a much-used thoroughfare.
When first discovered it was unfinished, and the female was at
work upon it. The male never appeared, nor was he heard in the
vicinity, though the spot was visited frequently. After four eggs
had been laid, female, nest, and eggs were “gathered.”

The species had not been observed before near St. John, though
Mr. Boardman had reported taking examples at St. Stephen’s, and
I had seen several at Edmundston, near the Quebec border.

CANADIAN WARBLER. 227

The Edmundston birds were seen in early June, and those secured
proved to be males. As they sang with great frequency, they were
easily discovered, and were invariably found amid the top branches
of high spruce and fir trees on the crest of a hill. We were anxious
to obtain a nest, and of course hunted through these high branches,
little thinking that this coterie of Benedicts were making holiday
while their industrious but neglected spouses were attending to
housekeeping affairs down yonder in the valley. We learned the
song, however, and discovered that its theme resembled somewhat
the simple lay of the Nashville, though the voice is neither so
full nor so sweet, recalling rather the thin, wiry tones of the Black
and White Creeper.

CANADIAN WARBLER.

SYLVANIA CANADENSIS.

Cuar. Above, bluish ash; crown marked with black; line from bill
around the eyes, yellow ; line from beneath the eyes to sides of breast
black; under parts yellow spotted with black, the spots forming a line or
crescent across the breast; throat unspotted. Length 5 to 534 inches.

Nest. On the ground, sometimes near border of a stream or by a moist
meadow, placed on side of mound or among upturned roots of a tree ; com-
posed of grass and stems, lined with hair.

£ges. 4-5; white or creamy, spotted, chiefly around the larger end,
with brown and lilac ; 0.70 X 0.50.

This is a rare summer species in the Atlantic States, appear-
ing singly, and for a few days only, on the passage north or
south in the spring or autumn. ‘These birds breed in Canada
and Labrador, and are more abundant in mountainous interior,
— the route by which they principally migrate. They winter
in the tropical regions, are then silent, and, like the rest of
their tribe, very active in darting through the branches after
insects.

Audubon found this species breeding in the Great Pine
Forest of the Pokono in Pennsylvania, as well as in Maine, the
British Provinces, and Labrador. They have a short, unattrac-
tive note in the spring, and in the mountains where they dwell
they have a predilection for the shady borders of streams where
laurels grow.

228 SINGING BIRDS.

The Canadian Warbler is common during the migrations, from
the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and though breeding chiefly north of
43°, Some pairs nest in Massachusetts, New York, southern Ontario,
and Illinois. It has been taken in Labrador and is common in
Manitoba. It winters in Central America. ;

YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER.

DENDROICA DOMINICA.

Cuar. Above, grayish ash; forehead and sides of head, black; line
from nostril to hind neck, yellow; wing-bars white ; beneath, yellowish
white ; chin and throat rich yellow; sides of breast streaked with black.
Length 434 to 534 inches.

/Vest. Inan open grove or the edge of heavy woods, on top of horizontal
branch or at the forks of a limb, or “‘ concealed in pendant moss,” 20 to 90
feet from the ground; made of grass-weed stems, strips of bark, and moss,
lined with vegetable fibre, horse-hair, or feathers.

Eggs. 3-5; white, tinged with green, spotted around the larger end
with brown and lilac; 0.70 X 0.50.

These elegant and remarkable birds reside in the West
Indies, and also migrate in considerable numbers into the
southern parts of the United States, particularly Louisiana and
Georgia, whence indeed they only absent themselves in the
two inclement months of December and January. They are
seen in February in Georgia, but very rarely venture as far
north as Pennsylvania. The song is pretty loud and agreeable,
according to Latham and Wilson, resembling somewhat the
notes of the Indigo Bird. In the tropical countries they inhabit,
this delicate music is continued nearly throughout the year,
and participated also by the female, though possessed of in-
ferior vocal powers. The bird appears to have many of the
habits of the Creeping Warbler (.S. varia), running spirally
around the trunks of the pine-trees, on which it alights, and
ascending or descending in the active search of its insect
fare.

The sagacity displayed by this bird in the construction and
situation of its nest is very remarkable. This curious fabric is

YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER. 229

suspended to a kind of rope which hangs from tree to tree,
usually depending from branches that bend over rivers or
ravines. The nest itself is made of dry blades of grass, the
ribs of leaves, and slender root-fibres, the whole interwoven
together with great art; it is also fastened to, or rather worked
into, the pendant strings made of the tough silky fibres of some
species of Lchzzes, or other plant of that family. It is, in fact,
a small circular bed, so thick and compact as to exclude the
rain, left to rock in the wind without sustaining or being ac-
cessible to any injury. The more securely to defend this
precious habitation from the attacks of numerous enemies, the
opening, or entrance, is neither made on the top nor the side,
but at the bottom ; nor is the access direct, for after passing
the vestibule, it is necessary to go over a kind of partition, and
through another aperture, before it descends into the guarded
abode of its eggs and young. This interior lodgment is round
and soft, being lined with a kind of lichen, or the silky down
of plants. ,

This species is confined chiefly to the South Atlantic States,
though occasionally a few wander to New York, Connecticut,
and Massachusetts.

Note.— The SYCAMORE WARBLER (D. dominica albilora)
differs from the type in being smaller (length 4% to 5% inches)
and in having the line over the eyes w/zfe, instead of yellow. It
occurs along the Mississippi valley and eastward to Ohio, where
it is common. It has been taken also in South Carolina and
Florida.

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER.

DENDROICA VIRENS.

CuHar. Male in spring: above, bright olive; line on sides of head rich
yellow ; wings and tail dusky; wing-bars and outer tail-feathers white ;
beneath, white tinged with yellow; throat and chest rich black. Male in
autumn, female, and young: similar, but black of throat mixed with yellow,
sometimes obscured.

West. On the border of heavy woods, in fork of coniferous tree 30 to
so feet from the ground; of twigs, grass, etc., lined with hair and down.

Eggs. 3-4; white or creamy white wreathed around larger end with
spots of brown and lilac; 0.65 X 0.50.

This rather rare species arrives from its tropical winter-
quarters in Pennsylvania towards the close of April or begin-
ning of May. About the 12th of the latter month it is seen in
this part of Massachusetts ; but never more than a single pair
are seen together. At this season a silent individual may be
occasionally observed, for an hour at a time, carefully and ac-

°

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. 231

tively searching for small caterpillars and winged insects amidst
the white blossoms of the shady apple-tree ; and so inoffensive
and unsuspicious is the little warbler that he pursues without
alarm his busy occupation, as the spectator within a few feet of
him watches at the foot of the tree. Early in October these
birds are seen in small numbers roving restlessly through the
forest, preparatory to their departure for the South.

Though the greater part of the species probably proceed
farther north to rear their young, a few spend the summer in
the Middle and Northern States; but from their timorous and
retiring habits it is not easy to trace out their retreats at the
period of breeding. In the summer of 1830, however, on the
8th of June, I was so fortunate as to find a nest of this species
in a perfectly solitary situation on the Blue Hills of Milton.
The female was now sitting, and about to hatch. The nest was
in a low, thick, and stunted Virginia juniper. When I ap-
proached near to the nest the female stood motionless on its
edge and peeped down in such a manner that I imagined her
to be a young bird. She then darted directly to the earth and
ran; but when, deceived, I sought her on the ground, she had
very expertly disappeared, and I now found the nest to con-
tain 4 roundish eggs, white, inclining to flesh-color, variegated,
more particularly at the great end, with pale, purplish points
of various sizes, interspersed with other large spots of brown
and blackish. The nest was formed of circularly entwined
fine strips of the inner bark of the juniper and the tough white
fibrous bark of some other plant, then bedded with soft feath-
ers of the Robin, and lined with a few horse-hairs and some
slender tops of bent-grass (Agrostis). The male was singing
his simple chant at the distance of a quarter of a mile from the
nest, and was now nearly in the same dark wood of tall oaks
and white pines in which I had first heard him a fortnight be-
fore. This simple, rather drawling, and somewhat plaintive
song, uttered at short intervals, resembled the syllables ’¢e dé
tervitscad, sometimes te derisca, pronounced pretty loud and
slow, and the tones proceeded from high to low. In the inter-
vals he was perpetually busied in catching small cynips and

232 SINGING BIRDS.

other kinds of flies, keeping up a smart snapping of his bill,
almost similar to the noise made by knocking pebbles together.
This quaint and indolent ditty I have often heard before in
the dark and solitary woods of west Pennsylvania; and here,
as there, it affords an agreeable relief in the dreary silence and
gloom of the thick forest. This note is very much like the
call of the Chicadee, and at times both are heard amidst
the reigning silence of the summer noon. In the whole dis-
trict of this extensive hill or mountain, in Milton, there ap-
peared to exist no other pair of these lonely Warblers but the
present. Another pair, however, had probably a nest in the
vicinity of the woods of Mount Auburn in Cambridge, and
in the spring of the present year (1831) several pairs of these
birds were seen for a transient period.

Nuttall was not the only one of the older writers who expressed
the opinion that this and other species of the family were less
abundant than more modern observers have found them. Wilson
and Audubon made similar statements.

This Warbler is now known to be a common bird throughout
these Eastern States, and may be found, in summer, in any coni-
ferous forest in Massachusetts, and thence northward to the fur-
countries and westward to the plains. It breeds also, sparingly, in
southern New England, northern Ohio, Illinois, etc., and winters
in the West Indies and Central America.

BLACKBURN IAN WARBLER.

DENDROICA BLACKBURNIE.

CHAR. Male: above, black, back streaked with whitish ; sides of head
black; crown patch, line over eye, and entire throat and breast rich
orange or flame color ; belly yellowish white; sides streaked with black ;
large white patches on wings; outer tail-feathers nearly all white.
Female: similar, but black replaced by grayish brown, and orange by
dull yellow; two white wing-bars. Length 5% to 5 % inches.

Nest. Usually in coniferous woods, saddled on horizontal limb of pine
or hemlock, 20 to 40 feet from the ground; composed of twigs, roots, and
shreds of bark mixed with vegetable down, lined with feathers, hair, and
down.

Eggs. 4; white, often tinged with green, spotted, chiefly around larger
end, with brown and lilac; 0.70 X 0.50.

BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. 233

The Blackburnian Warbler is one of the rarest and most
beautiful species of the genus, which from the rst to the 15th
of May, or sometimes later, pays a transient visit to the Middle
and Northern States, on its way to its remote boreal place of
retirement for the breeding season. It is still more rarely seen
in the autumn, about the month of September, in its passage
to tropical America, where it winters, as may be presumed, from
its occurrence late in autumn about Vera Cruz, according to
Mr. Bullock. It is an exceedingly nimble insect-hunter, keep-
ing towards the tops of trees, scarcely uttering even an audible
chirp, and at this season no song as far as is yet known.

On the Magdalene Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in
June, Audubon remarks that he heard the song of this beauti-
ful warbler, consisting of five or six loud notes, which it uttered
from the branches of a fir-tree while engaged in quest of its
prey. The nest found in Nova Scotia was made externally of
coarse materials and lined with silky fibres and delicate strips
of bark, over which lay a thick bed of feathers and horse-hair.
It was found in a small fork of a tree, 5 or 6 feet from the
ground, near a brook. Dr. Brewer also found a nest of this
species in Massachusetts.

The very rare adult of the Hemlock Warbler was found by
Wilson in the Great Pine Swamp in Pennsylvania, and ap-
peared to take up its residence in the dark hemlock-trees of
that desolate region. It was very lively and active, climbing
among the branches and hanging from the twigs like a Tit-
mouse. It darted after flies to a considerable distance, and
beginning with the lower branches, hunted with regularity up-
wards to the summit of the tree, and in this way it proceeded
very industriously to forage through the forest till satisfied. At
intervals it stopped an instant to warble out a few low and
sweet notes, probably for the recognition or company of its
mate, which the discoverer, however, did not see.

The nest of this species, according to Audubon, who discov-
ered it in the Great Pine Swamp, was made in a hemlock or

234 SINGING BIRDS.

spruce tree at a considerable elevation. Lichens, dry leaves of
the hemlock, and slender twigs formed the exterior; it was
then lined with hair or fur and the feathers of the Ruffed
Grouse. He afterwards met with this species in Maine and
Newfoundland.

Nothing is more remarkable in the history of this species
than the rarity of the adult and the abundance of the young
birds ; these last, which we have long known as the Autumnal
Warbler, appear in gregarious flocks in the larger solitary for-
ests of Massachusetts as early as the 2oth of July, assembled
from the neighboring districts probably, in which they have
been reared. They remain there usually until the middle of
October, at which time they are also seen in the Middle
States. They feed on small insects and berries. Late in the
season, on a fine autumnal morning, troops of them may be
seen in the fields and lanes, sometimes descending to the
ground, and busily employed in turning over the new fallen
leaves, or perambulating and searching the chinks of the bark
of the trees, or the holes in the posts of the fence,-in quest of
lurking moths and spiders; and while thus eagerly engaged,
they are occasionally molested or driven away by the more
legitimate Creepers or Nuthatches, whose jealousy they thus
arouse by their invasion. Earlier in the season they prey on
cynips, flies, and more active game, in pursuit of which they
may be seen fluttering and darting through the verdant boughs
of the forest trees. One of these little visitors, which I ob-
tained by its flying inadvertently into an open chamber, soon
became reconciled to confinement, flew vigorously after house-
flies, and fed greedily on grasshoppers and ivy berries (Cissus
hederacea) ; at length it became so sociable as to court my
acquaintance and eat from my hand. Before I restored it to
liberty, its occasional ¢zwee? attracted several of its companions
to the windows of its prison. At this time the bird is desti-
tute of song, and only utters a plaintive call of recognition.

Nuttall followed Wilson and Audubon in considering the young
Blackburnians a different species, naming it the “Hemlock War-
bler.” I have given above Nuttall’s account of the two.

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. 235

The Blackburnian is rather common in the Atlantic States and
westward to the Plains, breeding chiefly north of 45°, and sparingly
in Massachusetts and Connecticut. It winters from the Bahamas
and eastern Mexico southward.

Many Canadian observers have considered this Warbler rather
rare, but the opinion has probably arisen from the secluded habits
of the bird while in its summer home. It shows a preference for
the higher branches, and its favorite haunts are amid the deeper
forests’ where the pine and hemlock flourish.

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER.

DENDROICA PENSYLVANICA.

Cuar. Back black, streaked with olive of grayish or yellowish tint;
crown yellow; sides of head white, enclosing a patch of black ; sides of
neck and entire under parts white; sides streaked with chestnut, which
extends from neck to flanks ; wing-bars and blotches on tail white. Length
434 to 54 inches.

Vest. On the edge of an open woodland or the margin of a moist
meadow, in low tree or bush; composed of grass and strips of bark fas-
tened with insect silk, and lined with grass or leaves or hair.

£iggs. 4-5; white or creamy, spotted, chiefly around the larger end,
- which is sometimes wreathed, with reddish brown and lilac ; 0.68 X 0.50.

This rare and beautiful Sylvia, which probably winters in
tropical America, appears in the Middle and Northern States
early in May on its way north to breed; it is also seen in the
spring in Canada and around Hudson’s Bay. A few pairs re-
main, no doubt, to rear their young in secluded mountainous
situations in the Northern States, as on the 22d of May,
1830, a pair appeared to have fixed their summer abode
near the summit of the Blue Hills of Milton. The note of the
male was very similar to that of the Summer Yellow Bird, being
only a little louder, and less whistling ; it resembles ’Zsh ‘¢sh
‘ssh *tshyia, given at about an interval of half a minute, and
answered by his mate at some distance, near which, it is proba-
ble, there was a nest. He appeared to be no way suspicious
of our approach ; his restlessness was subdued, and he quietly
sat near the same low bushes, amusing himself and his consort,
for an hour at a time, with the display of his lively and simple

236 SINGING BIRDS.

ditty. On their first arrival, previous to pairing, these birds
are like the rest of the genus, restless, and intently engaged
in the chase of insects amidst the blossoms and tender leaves ;
they likewise pursue common and green bottle flies with avidity
and success. On the 27th of June, 1831, I observed a pair
selecting food for their young, with their usual address and
activity, by the margin of a bushy and secluded swamp on the
west side of Fresh Pond, in this vicinity; but I had not the
good fortune to discover the nest. I have, however, since, I
believe, discovered the nest of this bird, in a hazel copse in a
wood in Acton, in this State. It is fixed in the forked twigs of
a hazel about breast high. The fabric is rather light and airy,
being made externally of a few coarse blades and stalks of
dead grass, then filled in with finer blades of the same, the
whole matted and tied with caterpillar’s silk, and lined with
very slender strips of brown bark and similar white-pine leaves.
It appeared to have been forsaken before its completion, and
the eggs I have never seen.

In the woods around Farranville, on the Susquehanna,
within the range of the Alleghany chain, in the month of May,
1830, I saw and heard several males in full song, in the
shady forest trees by a small stream, and have no doubt of
their breeding in that situation, though I was not fortunate
enough to find a nest.

This species is now acommon summer resident of New England
and the settled portions of Canada, and occurs westward to the
Plains. It breeds in numbers as far south as the fortieth parallel,
and regularly, though sparingly, on the elevated lands southward
to Georgia, and I have found the nest in New Brunswick north of
latitude 47°. It winters southward to the Bahamas and Central
America,

BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, 237

BAY-BREASTED WARBLER.

DENDROICA CASTANEA.

CHAR. Male: back grayish olive, streaked with black; forehead and
sides of head black; sides of neck buffy; throat, breast, and sides chest-
nut ; remainder of under parts buffish ; wing-bars and patches on tail white.
Female : above, olive streaked with black ; beneath, buffy, sides and breast
tinged with dull rufous. Length 5% to 6 inches.

Nest. In an open woodland, on horizontal branch of coniferous tree
10 to 20 feet from the ground; of twigs, shreds of bark, grass roots, and
moss, lined with fine roots, moss, or pine-needles.

£ggs. 3-6 (usually 4); white, with blue tint, or bluish green, spotted
with reddish brown ; 0.70 X 0.50.

This is a still rarer and more transient visitor than the last.
It arrives in Pennsylvania from the South some time in April
or about the beginning of May, and towards the 12th or 15th
of the same month it visits Massachusetts, but seldom stays
more than a week or ten days, and is very rarely seen on its
return in the autumn. Audubon once observed several in
Louisiana late in June, so that it probably sometimes breeds
in very secluded places without regularly proceeding to the
northern regions. It is an active insect-hunter, and keeps
much towards the tops of the highest trees, where it darts about
with great activity, and hangs from the twigs with fluttering
wings. One of these birds, which was wounded in the wing,
soon became reconciled to confinement, and greedily caught
and devoured the flies which I offered him; but from the
extent of the injury, he did not long survive. In habits and
manners, as well as markings, this species greatly resembles
the preceding.

This Warbler is exceptional in being more abundant in New
England in spring than inautumn. Mr. Mcllwraith reports that
the same rule obtains in Ontario, but Dr. Wheaton considered that
in Ohio the birds were more numerous during the autumn; and
these apparently conflicting statements suggest an interesting phase
in the question of migration routes.

The bird is common as a summer resident in the northern por-
tions of New England, New York, and Michigan, though rather rare

238 SINGING BIRDS.

in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. The most southern point
at which it has been found breeding is Chicarua, N. H., in lati-
tude 44°, where Mr. Frank Bolles obtained a nest in 1890. The spe-
cies ranges north to Hudson Bay, and south to Central America.

BLACK-POLL WARBLER.
DENDROICA STRIATA.

Cuar. Above, grayish olive thickly streaked with black; top of head
black; cheeks and entire under parts white; sides streaked with black;
wing-bars and tail-patches white. Length 5% to 534 inches.

Nest. In an evergreen forest on low branch (sometimes on the ground) ;
of grass, roots, twigs, and lichens; lined with grass covered with white
feathers.

Eggs. 4-5; white, with various tints (usually pale pink or creamy),
more or less spotted with reddish brown and lilac, — often dark brown
and olive gray; 0.75 X 0.55.

This rather common and well-marked species is observed to
arrive in Pennsylvania from the South about the 2oth of April,
but in Massachusetts hardly before the middle of May ; it re-
turns early in September, and appears to feed wholly on insects.
In the Middle States it is confined chiefly to the woods, where,
in the summits of the tallest trees, it is seen in busy pursuit of
its favorite prey. On its first arrival it keeps usually in the
tops of the maples, darting about amidst the blossoms. As
the woods become clothed with leaves, it may be found pretty
generally as a summer resident ; it often also seeks the banks
of creeks and swamps, in which situations it probably‘ passes the
breeding season. In this vicinity the Black-poll is a familiar
visitor in the lowest orchard-trees, where it feeds on canker-
worms and other small caterpillars, as well as flies of different
kinds, etc. At this time, towards the month of June, it is no
longer a restless wanderer, but having fixed upon its station for
the summer, it now begins, in a humble way, to display its
musical talents in the cherished and constant company of its
faithful mate. This note, uttered at intervals of half a minute,
is like the sound of zsh’ tsh tsh tshé tshé, from low to high, but

.

PINE WARBLER, 239

altogether so shrill and slender as to sound almost like the
faint filing of a saw. This species extends its migrations to
Newfoundland, according to Pennant. In the month of
June, Audubon found the nest in Labrador placed about
3 feet from the ground, in the fork of a small branch, close
to the main stem of a fir-tree. It was formed of green and
white moss and lichens, intermixed with coarse dried grass ;
within this was a layer of bent-grass, the lining, of dark-colored
dry moss, looked like horse-hair, and was arranged in a circu-
lar direction with great care; lastly was a thick bed of large
soft feathers, — some of them were from Ducks, but most of
them from the Willow Grouse. It contained 4 eggs.

The Black-poll breeds sparingly in northern New England, New
Brunswick, and northern Michigan, building chiefly beyond the
Laurentian hills, in Quebec and Ontario; though Dr. L. B. Bishop
found it breeding in numbers on the Magdalen Islands, and Mr.
J. P. Norris took a number of nests on Grand Menan. It ranges
northward to the Barren Grounds and to Alaska, and winters in
northern South America.

PINE WARBLER.
DENDROICA VIGORSII.

Cuar. Above, olive ; beneath, yellow, paler (or white) on belly ; wing-
bars and blotches on outer tail-feathers, white. Length 5% to 53/
inches.

West. Usually in evergreen woods, on horizontal bough of pine or
cedar 30 or 40 feet from the ground; of weed stems, shreds of bark,
and leaves fastened with insect silk, lined with hair and feathers.

£ggs. 4-5; dull white or gray, spotted with brown and lilac; 0.70
X 0.50.

This common species, to the commencement of winter, in-
habits all parts of the United States, and probably extends
its northern migrations to the forests of Newfoundland. It
arrives in Pennsylvania at the close of March and beginning of
April, and soon after is seen in all parts of New England,
amidst the pine and juniper forests, in which it principally

240 SINGING BIRDS.

resides. Both the old and young remain with us till nearly the
close of October; stragglers have even been seen in mid-win-
ter in the latitude of 43°. In winter they rove through the
pine forests and barrens of the Southern States in companies
of 20 to 50 or more, alighting at times on the trunks of the
trees, and attentively searching them for lurking larvee, but are
most frequently employed in capturing the small insects which
infest the opening buds of the pine, around which they may be
seen perpetually hovering, springing, or creeping, with restless
activity ; in this way they proceed, from time to time, foraging
through the forest; occasionally, also, they alight on the
ground in quest of worms and grubs of various kinds, or dart
irregularly after hovering flies, almost in the manner of the Fly-
catchers. In these states they are by far the most numerous of
allthe Warblers. In the month of March they already began
to show indications for pairing, and jealous contests ensued
perpetually among the males. The principal body of the spe-
cies probably remain the year round in the Southern forests,
where I saw them throughout the winter; great numbers are
also bred in the Northern States. In summer their food is the
eggs and larve of various insects, as well as flies or cynips,
caterpillars, coleoptera, and ants. In autumn, the young fre-
quent the gardens, groves, and orchards, feeding likewise on
berries of various kinds, ason those of the cornel, wild grape,
and five-leaved ivy ; at this season they are very fat, and fly and
forage in families. They now only utter a shrill and plaintive
chip. I have had a male Pine Warbler, domesticated for a
short time ; he fed gratefully, from the instant he was caught,
upon flies, small earthworms, and minced flesh, and was so
tame and artless as to sit contented on every hand, and
scarcely shift himself securely from my feet. On offering him
drink he walked directly into the vessel, without using the
slightest precaution or exhibiting any trace of fear. His #ship
and manner in all respects were those of the Autumnal
Warbler.

The song of the Pine Warbler, though agreeable, amidst the
dreary solitude of the boundless forests which he frequents, has

PINE WARBLER. 241

but little compass or variety ; sometimes it approaches the sim-
plest trill of the Canary, but it is commonly a reverberating,
gently rising, or murmuring sound, like er ’7’r'r’r'r'r dh; or,
in the spring, ’¢we ’twe 'tw ’tw tw’ tw ’tw, and sometimes like
‘gsh th tsh' tw’ tw’ tw’tw'tw; when harkened to some time,
there is a variation in the cadence, which, though rather feeble
at a distance, is not unpleasant, as the little minstrel tunes his
pipe during the heat’ of the summer day, while he flits gently
and innocently fearless through the shady boughs of the pine or
cedar in perpetual quest of his untiring prey. This song is
commonly heard at a considerable distance from his mate and
nest, from whom he often widely strays, according to the suc-
cess of his precarious pursuit. As the sound of the warble
varies from slender to high or low, it is often difficult to dis-
cover the retreat of the little busy musician, which appears far-
or near with the modulation of his almost ventriloquous note.
The female likewise tunes, at times, her more slender lay in
a wiry tone, almost like that of the S. vavza, in early spring.
About the 7th of June, 1830, I discovered a nest of this
species in a Virginian juniper, near Mount Auburn, in this vicin-
ity, at the height of about 40 feet from the ground. It was
firmly fixed in the upright twigs of a close branch. The nest
was thin, but very neat ; the principal material was the wiry old
stems of the slender knot-weed (Folygonum tenue), circularly
interlaced, and connected externally with rough linty fibres of
some species of Asclepias, and blended with caterpillar’s webs.
The lining was made ofa few hog’s bristles, slender root-fibres,
a mat of the down of fern-stalks, and one or two feathers of
the Robin’s breast, — acurious medley, but all answering the
pose of warmth and shelter for the expected brood. I saw
several of these nests, which had at different times been thrown
to the ground, and in all, the wiry grass and general material
were the same as in the one now described; and this, of
course, is entirely different from that given by Wilson on the
authority of Mr. Abbot. The nest there mentioned is nothing
more than the usual pendulous fabric of the Red-eyed Warbling

Flycatcher. The eggs in ours were 4, and, advanced towards
VOL. I. — 16

242 SINGING BIRDS.

hatching, they were white, with a slight tinge of green, very
full of small pale brown spots, somewhat more numerous
towards the larger end, where they appear connected or aggre-
gated around a purplish ground. ‘The female made some little
complaint, but almost immediately resumed her seat, though 2
of the eggs were taken away; the male made off immediately,
and was but seldom seen near the place.

The Pine Warbler is a common summer resident of New Eng-
land, but I seldom saw it in New Brunswick, and can find no evi-
dence of its occurrence in Nova Scotia. Mr. Neilson thinks it
uncommon, and only a migrant in the vicinity of Quebec city, and
Mr. Mcllwraith makes a similar report for Ontario. It winters in
the Southern States.

PRAIRIE WARBLER.
DENDROICA DISCOLOR.

Cuar. Above, olive; back with patch of red spots; forehead, line
over the eyes, wing-bars, and entire under parts rich yellow ; black streak
on sides of head; sides spotted with black; 3 outer tail-feathers with
broad patches of white. Length 4% to 5 inches.

Nest. In open woodland or old meadow, on small tree or bush ; neatly
and compactly made of grass and vegetable fibre lined with hair or
feathers.

Zegs. 4-5; white, spotted around larger end with brown; 0.63 X

0.47.

These birds, rare in the Atlantic States, appear to be some-
what more common in the solitary barrens of Kentucky and
the open woods of the Choctaw country. Here they. prefer the
open plains thinly covered with trees; and without betraying
alarm at the visits of a spectator, leisurely pursue their search
for caterpillars and small flies, examining among the leaves or
hopping among the branches, and at times descending pretty
near, and familiarly examining the observer, with a confidence
and curiosity seldom witnessed in these shy and retiring
species. Such was the conduct of a male bird in this vicinity,
on the 4th of June, whom I discovered by his slender filing
notes, which were uttered every half minute, and like those of

PRAIRIE WARBLER. 243

the Black-poll Warbler resembled the suppressed syllables ’s/
‘tsh ‘tsh *tshéa’, beginning low, and gradually growing louder,
having nearly the same slender whistle as that species, though
somewhat stronger. The pair were busily engaged collecting
flies and larvze from a clump of young locust-trees in the woods
of Mount Auburn, and occasionally they flitted among the
Virginian junipers ; the familiar visit of the male appeared for
the purpose of discovering my intentions near the nest, about
which he was naturally solicitous, though he made his ap-
proaches with the appearance of accident. The female was
more timid ; yet while I was still engaged in viewing this little
interesting and secluded pair, she, without any precaution or
concealment, went directly to the nest in the forks of a low
barberry bush near by, and when there, she sat and looked at
me some time before she removed. She made, however, no
pretences to draw me away from the spot, where she was sit-
ting on 4 eggs, of which I took away 2; her approaches to the
nest were now more cautious, and she came escorted and en-
couraged by the presence of her mate. Two eggs were again
soon added, and the young brood, I believe, reared without
any accident.

The nest was scarcely distinguishable from that of the Sum-
mer Yellow Bird, and quite different from the nests described
by Wilson and Audubon. My opportunity for examination,
so long continued, seemed to preclude the possibility of error
in the investigation ; neither can I compare the slender note
of this species to any whirring sound, which would more
nearly approach to the song of the Pine Warbler. The Prairie
Warbler visits Cambridge about the first or second week in
May, and according to the observations of my friend Mr.
Cooper, is seen probably about the same time in the vicinity
of New York in small numbers and in pairs, and retires to
winter in the West Indies about the middle of September.

This species is now considered common in Massachusetts,
though it has not been taken farther northward. It occurs in
Ohio and in Michigan, but not in Ontario. It winters in south-
em Florida and the West Indies.

PARULA WARBLER.

BLUE-YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER.

COMPSOTHLYPIS AMERICANA.

CHAR. Male: above, bright ashy blue, an olive patch on the back;
throat and breast yellow, a patch of rich brown on the breast; belly
white ; wings with 2 broad white bars; white patches on inner web of
outer tail-feathers. Female: similar, but colors duller and the patches on
back and breast obscure or absent. Length 432 to 43¢ inches.

Vest. In moist woodland or on border of swamp; usually in a bunch
of “ beard-moss ” (sea) hanging from the trunk or branch of a tree Io
to 4o feet from the ground, and composed of threads of the moss and fine
grass or hair compactly woven; sometimes lined with pine-needles or
hair.

£ggs. 3-7 (usually 4); white or creamy, thickly spotted with several
shades of reddish brown ; 0.65 X 0.45.

This remarkable species visits the Middle and Northern
States about the rst to the 15th of May, and is seen again
early in October on its way to the West Indies (St. Domingo
and Porto Rico), whither it retires at the approach of winter.
A few, according to Catesby, pass the whole year in South Car-
olina. It is very abundant in the summer in the woods of
Kentucky, is active and restless on its first arrival, and fre-
quents the summits of the highest trees, being particularly
fond of the small caterpillars and flies of various kinds which
are, in the early part of spring, attracted to the open blossoms
and tender shoots. It also possesses in some degree the
creeping and prying habits of the Titmouse, to which genus it
it was referred by Linnzus and Pennant. Entering the south-

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. 245

ern extremity of the Union by the first approach of spring, it
is now seen searching for its insect food on shrubs and plants
in moist places, by the borders of Jakes and streams. In this
vicinity it is not common; but as it was singing as late as the
22d of May in the woody solitude of the Blue Hills of
Milton, it must undoubtedly breed there.

The notes of this species resemble those of the Prairie
Warbler in some respects, though sufficiently different; the
tones, rising from low to high, are rather weak and insignificant.

In Nuttall’s day this dainty bird was named “ Party-colored War-
bler ” and “ Finch Creeper.” It is now considered a rather com-
mon summer resident in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and breeds
northward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The nests have been
found also in northern Ohio and southern Illinois, and in winter
the birds range through southern Florida and among the more
northern West Indies.

The Parula is associated in my mind with secluded woods on
cool and shaded hill-sides bordering a stream, and the song comes
to me from amid the top branches of tall trees, — birch and poplar.
It is an attractive song, though it has little theme, — merely a
rapid trill of some twenty sibilant notes delivered with a rising in-
flection ; but the tones are sweet, and the effect is pleasing. The
song is clearly an outburst of joyous emotion.

BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER.

DENDROICA CARULESCENS.

Cuar. Male: above, dull blue, back sometimes streaked with black ;
sides of head, throat, and chest rich black; remainder of under parts
white; white spot on wing; tail with large white blotches. Female:
above, dull olive; beneath, dull greenish yellow; white spot on wing.
Length § to 5/4 inches.

Lest. In deep woods amid thick underbrush or on high branch; of
grass, twigs, vines, and lichens, fastened with insect silk, lined with roots
and hair.

£ggs. 3-5; white, with green or buff tint, often, when fresh, tinged
with rosy, marked with large spots of reddish brown; 0.70 X 0. 50.

Of this uncommon species we know very little. It appears
only as a transient visitor in the month of April, in the Middle

246 SINGING BIRDS.

States, and after staying to feed for a week or ten days, it
proceeds to its northern breeding-place in the wilds of Canada,
of which we are wholly ignorant. In November I have ob-
served a few on their return to the South, and according to
Vieillot, they winter in St. Domingo and other of the larger
West India islands.

Near Farranville, on the Susquehanna, within the range of
the Alleghany Mountains, in the month of May, I saw and
heard several pairs of this rare species in the shady hemlock-
trees. The males were uttering their slender, wiry, and very
peculiar notes, while busily engaged in foraging for insects,
and seemed, by being paired, to prepare for incubation.

The Pine Swamp Warbler (SyZa sphagnosa) is now consid-
ered only as the young of this species, of which, however, I
think there yet remains some doubt.

The history of this species need no longer remain a mystery, for
while not abundant, its nesting habits may be studied in any suita-
ble locality in New England or northern New York, or along the
higher altitudes of the Alleghanies as far down as Georgia ; though
the major portion of the flocks pass on to the Canadian faunal area
before stopping to build.

I did not meet with many examples in New Brunswick, and Mr.
Neilson thinks it rare near Quebec city; but Mr. Wintle calls it

common near Montreal, and the Ontario observers also regard it
as common. It winters in Florida as well as in the West Indies.

KENTUCKY WARBLER.
GEOTHLYPIS FORMOSA.

Cuar. Above, olive; crown and sides of head and neck, black; line
from nostril to and around the eye yellow; beneath, yellow, the sides
shaded with olive. Length 5% to 53, inches.

-Vest. On the ground, in rather thick woods ; a bulky affair of loosely
laid leaves and grass, lined with vegetable down, roots, or hair.

Eggs. 4-6; white or creamy, spotted with lilac and several shades of
brown; 0.73 X 0.56.

This beautiful species, first described by Wilson, frequents
the dark forests of the southwestern parts of the Union, being

CERULEAN WARBLER. 247

particularly abundant in Louisiana, and not uncommon in Ken-
tucky and Tennessee, and from thence inhabiting throughout
the country to the estuaries of the Mississippi. It frequents
low, damp woods and the desolate borders of the lagoons,
cane-brakes, and swamps near the banks of the great rivers.
It arrives in Kentucky about the middle of April, but enters
the southern extremity of the Union from Mexico by the same
time in March, and by the middle of September retires south
of the United States. The males are very pugnacious in the
pairing season of spring, and utter some loud hotes, in threes,
resembling the sound of ’tweed/e tweedle tweedle. ‘The nest is
often attached to stems of stout weeds, or placed in a tuft of
grass. It is made of the dry bark of herbaceous plants, mixed
with downy substances, and lined with the cotton of the seed
of the wild poplar. ‘The species is scarcely known to the east
of North Carolina.

In the A. O. U. check-list the habitat of this species is given as
“Eastern United States, west to the Plains, and north to southern
New England and southern Michigan. In winter, West Indies
and Central America.” Itis most abundant along the Mississippi
valley, and has been seen but rarely east of the Alleghanies.
There is only one record of its occurrence in New England, —a pair
taken in 1876, at Suffield, Conn. Mr. John Neilson reports that a
pair were frequently seen by him near the city of Quebec during
the early part of July, 1879.

Those who have heard the song pronounce it an attractive
melody, the tones being loud and clear and the theme pleasing.

Mr. Wn. Brewster ranks it among the best of the Sylvicoline per-
formances.

CERULEAN WARBLER.
BLUE WARBLER.
DENDROICA CRULEA.

Cuar. Above, bright azure blue; back streaked with black; line of
dusky blue through the eyes; wings with two white bars; all tail-
feathers but inner pair spotted with white; beneath, white; breast and
sides streaked with dusky blue. Length 4% to 5 inches.

Vest. In open woodland, on horizontal bough 30 to 50 feet from the

248 SINGING BIRDS.

ground; of grass and lichens fastened with insect silk, lined with fine
grass.

Eggs. 4; white with green or blue tint, spotted chiefly around the
larger end with reddish brown and lilac ; 0.70 X 0.53.

This very delicately colored species is among the rarest
summer residents of the Atlantic States, and does not probably
migrate or rather stray farther north than the State of New
York. In the Southwestern States, particularly Tennessee and
West Florida, it is one of the most abundant species ; it is also
found in the western wilderness beyond the Mississippi. It is
only in the summer that it ventures into the Middle States,
from which it retires almost before the first chills of autumn, or
by the middle of August. It frequents the borders of streams
and marshes, and possesses many of the habits of the Fly-
catchers, warbling also at times in a lively manner, and
though its song be short, it is at the same time sweet and
mellow.

The principal range of this daintily dressed songster is through
the southwestern division of this Eastern Province, between the
valley of the Mississippi and the Alleghanian hills, north to Ohio
(where it is abundant), southern Ontario, Indiana, and Illinois.

It occasionally wanders eastward to central New York, Rhode
Island, and Connecticut.

MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT.
GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS.

CuHar. Above, olive, duller on the head, brighter on rump; fore-
head and broad band on side of head black, with whitish border; beneath
rich yellow, paler on the belly. Length 434 to 5% inches.

West, Hidden by tuft of grass, or amid thicket of briers, usually in a
moist woodland or on border of swamp ; composed exteriorly of loosely
laid grass, twigs, etc., lined with fine grass compactly woven.

£ggs. 4-6; white, sometimes creamy, spotted around larger end with
brown and lilac ; often a few black spots and lines ; 0.70 X 0.52. -

This common and familiar species extends its summer mi-
grations from Florida to Nova Scotia, arriving in Pennsylvania
towards the middle of April, and in this part of New England
about the first week in May. The majority return to the South
in September ; a few stragglers of the young, however, may be
seen to the first week in October, and though some may re-
main and winter in the Southern States, it is more probable
that the main body retire at this season into the interior of
tropical America, as they were seen late in autumn around
Vera Cruz by the naturalist and traveller Mr. Bullock. Early
in the month of March, however, I heard this species singing
in the forests of West Florida.

The Maryland Yellow-Throat, with cheerful devotedness to the
great object of his summer migration, — the attachments and
cares of his species, — passes his time near some shady rill of
water, amidst briers, brambles, alders, and such other shrubbery
as grows in low and watery situations. Unambitious to be seen,

250 SINGING BIRDS.

he seldom ascends above the tops of the underwood, where he
dwells, busily employed in collecting the insects on which he
feeds. After these, like the Wren, he darts into the deepest
thicket, and threads his devious way through every opening ;
he searches around the stems, examines beneath the leaves,
and raising himself on his peculiarly pale and slender legs,
peeps into each crevice in order to seize by surprise his tiny
lurking prey. While thus engaged, his affection to his neigh-
boring mate is not forgotten, and with a simplicity, agreeable
and characteristic, he twitters forth at short intervals his
’whititetee ’whititetee ’whititetee, but his more common song is
‘whittitshee ’whitittshee, or 'wetttshee wetitshee wee ; and some-
times I have heard his note like, ’weditshee wetitshee, ’wit’yu
we. On this last syllable a plaintive sinking of the voice ren-
ders the lively, earnest ditty of the active minstrel peculiarly
agreeable. Copying apparently from the Cardinal Bird, the
song was, in one instance, which came to my notice, ‘w7¢iva
‘vitiyu ’vitiyw. The whole is likewise often varied and lowered
into a slender whisper, or tender revery of vocal instinct.
Sometimes he calls out, ‘eetshoo, teetshoo, and sewaidédit
sewaidédit sewaiditsewee, or sewaididit sewaiditsiwee, as he
busily darts through the blooming and odor-breathing shrubs
of the grove or garden, which he examines with minute atten-
tion, and sometimes springs perpendicularly after his retreating
and discovered prey. He appears by no means shy or sus-
picious, as long as his nest is unapproached.; but for the safety
of that precious treasure he scolds, laments, and entreats with
great anxiety.

The species generally nest in the recluse thickets of the
forest, or the low bushy meadow; but sometimes they take up
their abode in the garden, or the field contiguous to the house,
and if undisturbed, show a predilection for the place which
has afforded security to themselves and their young. They
commence their labor of building about the middle of May,
fixing the nest on or near the ground, among dry leaves,
withered grass, or brush, and choose often for security the most
intricate thicket of briers, so that the nest is often sheltered

MOURNING WARBLER. 251

and concealed by projecting weeds and grass. Sometimes a
mere tussuck of grass or accidental pile of brush is chosen.
It is made of dry sedge-grass (Carex), and a few leaves loosely
wound together and supported by the weeds or twigs where it
rests; the lining consists entirely of fine bent-grass (Agrostis).
The young leave the nest, here, about the middle of June,
and a second brood is sometimes raised in the course of
the season. The parents and young now rove about in
restless prying troops, and take to the most secluded bushy
marshes, where they pass their time in comparative security
till the arrival of that period of scarcity which warns them to
depart. As early as the close of July, the lively song of the
male ceases to be heard, and the whole party now forage in
silence.

This species is common throughout the settled portions of Can-
ada, from the Atlantic to Lake Huron.

Note. — The Western form has lately been separated from true
trichas and given varietal rank with the name G. ¢riéchas occidentalis.
Its habitat is from the Mississippi valley to the Pacific. It is some-
what larger and more brightly colored than is the eastern race.
Another geographical race, the FLORIDA YELLOW-THROAT (G.
trichas ignota), —lately described by Mr. Frank M. Chapman from
specimens taken in Florida and Georgia, — differs from typical
trichas in having the yellow of under parts of deeper shade and
greater extent; the facial mask is wider also.

MOURNING WARBLER.

GEOTHLYPIS PHILADELPHIA.

Cuar. Above, olive ; head, neck, and breast ashy ; breast mottled with

black ; remainder of under parts yellow. Length 51/ to 5% inches.
Nest. In open woodland or pasture, on the ground or in low tree or

bush; of vegetable fibre, lined with hair.
Eggs. 3-5; white or creamy, with brown and lilac spots wreathed

around the larger end; 0.70 X 0.54.
Wilson, the discoverer of this curious species, never met with
more than a single individual, which in its habits of frequent-

252 SINGING BIRDS.

ing marshy ground, and flitting through low bushes in quest of
insects, appears very similar to the Maryland Yellow-throat.
The discoverer, however, also distinguished it more importantly
by the zovelty of its sprightly and pleasant warble ; we may
therefore perhaps consider it as a solitary straggler from the
main body in the western regions of this vast continent. It
was shot in the early part of June near Philadelphia.

On the 2oth of May, 1831, I saw, as I believe, the made of
this species in the dark shrubbery of the Botanic Garden
(Cambridge). It possessed all the manners of the common
species, was equally busy in search of insects in the low bushes,
and at little intervals warbled out some very pleasant notes,
which though they resembled the lively chant of the Maryland
Yellow-throat, even to the wetitshee, yet they were more agree-
ably varied, so as to approach in some degree the song of the
Summer Yellow Bird (Sy/da estiva). This remarkable note,
indeed, set me in quest of the bird, which I followed for some
time ; but at last, perceiving himself watched, he left the gar-
den. As far as I was able to observe this individual, he was
above of a dark olive-green, very cinereous on the fore part of
the head, with a band of black through the eyes, which de-
scended from the side of the neck, where at length it joined
with a crescent of dusky or black spots upon the breast ; the
throat was yellow and the under parts paler.

Mr. Townsend saw a specimen on the shady borders of the
Schuylkill in the month of May last, and a second individual
has been obtained by Mr. De Rham in the vicinity of New York.
Two or three other specimens have also been obtained in the
vicinity of Philadelphia and in New Jersey. It is, however,
still a very rare species, and its proper habitation 1s yet to be
discovered.

This is still a rare bird in many localities, and it is among the
desiderata of most collectors; yet within the limits of its favorite
breeding areas, — at the higher altitudes of the Alleghanies ; on the
Berkshire Hills; along the northern borders of Vermont and New
Hampshire; in portions of New York; and elsewhere between the
Atlantic coast and the Plains where suitable conditions of environ-

CONNECTICUT WARBLER. 253

ment are obtainable, —the Mourning Warbler is not at all rare,
and in the West—in Minnesota, Dakota, and Manitoba — it is
decidedly abundant. Evidently it has no special liking for the
Maritime Provinces nor for any portion of Canada east of Lake
Winnipeg, for Canadian observers in general report it rare or
uncommon. Yet one of the few nests that have been discovered
was secured by Mr. Kells, near Listowel, in Ontario. This nest
was in a cedar swamp and placed on the horizontal branch of
a small tree quite close to the ground.

The examples I saw in New Brunswick were in small flocks,
and were a very busy and very merry company, — busy in searching
for their food, moving in most sprightly and vivacious manner,
and making merry with sweet voices. The song consists of a few
simple notes, though sometimes, when hovering while on the wing,
it is more elaborate.

CONNECTICUT WARBLER. |
GRAY-HEADED WARBLER.
GEOTHLYPIS AGILIS,

Cuar. Above, olive; head, neck, and breast ashy, darkest on breast
and crown; white ring around the eyes; chest and belly yellow, sides
shaded with olive. Length 5% to 6 inches.

Vest. Hidden on a tuft of weeds, or sunk in mossy mound, in swampy
woods ; composed of dried grass.

Eggs. 4-?3 creamy, spotted, chiefly around the larger end, with black,
brown, and lilac; 0.75 + 0.55.

This rare species, discovered by Wilson in Connecticut and
afterwards in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, appears to
frequent low thickets, and is exceedingly active in pursuit of
its prey, scarcely remaining a moment in the same place.
Wilson afterwards shot two specimens of a bird which in every
particular agreed with the above, except in having the throat
dull buff instead of pale ash. These were both females, as he
supposed, of the present species.

The history of this bird is still interestingly obscure, so much
has yet to be learned; but gleaning from records made by obser-
vers in various parts of the country, I am enabled to add a little to
Nuttall’s account.

254 SINGING BIRDS.

The bird has been taken throughout the greater part of this
Eastern Province; but its distribution appears, from the evidence
so far gathered, to be somewhat peculiar. It winters in Mexico
and southward, and in the spring migrates wholly along the Missis-
sippi valley, where it is more or less abundant north to Manitoba,
though it is rarely seen at that season to the eastward of Illinois.
It breeds in Minnesota, Dakota, and Manitoba, and in the au-
tumn part of the flocks go south along the Mississippi, while others
pass eastward along the shores of the Great Lakes, and thence to
Massachusetts, the most northern limit of the bird’s range on
the Atlantic side, where it is common during the first half of
September, after which the flocks continue on a gradual movement
southward.

Dr. Wheaton considered the species very rare in Ohio, and it
was thought to be rare in Ontario until 1884, when my friend Wil-
liam Saunders found it common in the vicinity of London. The
only nest yet taken was discovered by another friend and fellow-
worker Ernest Thompson. It was found near Carberry, Manitoba,
in 1883, sunk amid a mossy mound in a tamarack swamp, —“‘a
dark, gray waste.”

In the West, during the spring migrations, these birds are exceed-
ingly active and very shy, moving incessantly among the branches
in quest of insects, and when approached darting into the thickest
covers; but those I saw on the Fresh Pond marsh at Cambridge
fed chiefly on the ground, among the leaves, and when disturbed
flew generally but a short distance to a low branch, and sat as com-
posedly as a Thrush. :

Thompson describes the song as similar to the Golden-crowned
Thrush, and says it may be suggested by the syllables dcecher-
beecher-beecher-beecher-beecher-beecher, sung at the same pitch
throughout.

WORM-EATING WARBLER.

HELMITHERUS VERMIVORUS.

Cuar. Above, olive; head buff, with four stripes of black; beneath,
buff, paler on belly. Length 5% to 534 inches.

Nest. On the ground, often covered by a bush, or beside a fallen log;
of leaves, moss, and grass, lined with moss. fine grass. or hair.

Leggs. 3-6 (usually 5); variable in shape and color; white, sometimes
with buff or pink tint, marked with fine spots of reddish brown and
lilac; 0.70 X 0.55.

These birds arrive in Pennsylvania about the middle of
May, and migrate to the South towards the close of Septem-
ber; they were seen feeding their young in that State about
the 25th of June by Wilson, so that some pairs stay and breed
there. They are very active and indefatigable insect-hunters,
and have the note and many of the manners of the Marsh
‘Titmouse or Chickadee. About the 4th of October I have seen
a pair of these birds roving through the branches of trees with
restless agility, hanging on the twigs and examining the trunks,
in quest probably of spiders and other lurking and dormant
insects and their larvee. One of them likewise kept up a con-
stant complaining call, like the sound of she de de.

According to Richardson this species visits the fur coun-
tries, where a single specimen was procured at Cumberland
House, on the banks of the Saskatchewan. It is found also in
Maine and the British Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia. Dr. Bachman says that it breeds sparingly in the

256 SINGING BIRDS.

swamps of Carolina, as he observed a pair followed by three
or four young ones nearly fledged, all of which already exhibi-
ted the markings on the head.

Richardson led Nuttall into a mistake regarding the distribution
of this species. Itis a Southern bird, breeding chiefly south of lati-
tude 4o°, and occurs but rarely along the northern limit of its range,
—southern New England, the southern shores of Lake Erie, and
northern Illinois, It has not been taken in the Provinces.

Usually these birds feed on the ground among the dead leaves,
but sometimes rise amid the branches, as described by Nuttall.
They are not “shy” birds, for they will remain on the nest until
fairly driven off, and when feeding are apparently indifferent about
being watched.

SWAINSON’S WARBLER.
HELINAIA SWAINSONIIL

Cuar. Above, dull olive, head and wings tinged with reddish brown;
dark streak through the eyes; line over eyes and under parts white with
yellow tint; sides tinged with olive. Length 5% to 6 inches.

Vest. Ina swamp, or near stagnant pool, or on dry upland; in cane-
stalk or on bush, 4 to 10 feet from the ground; a bulky and inartistic
affair of dead leaves, lined with roots and pine-needles.

Leggs. 3-4; white with blue tint, unmarked ; 0.75 X 0.60.

Dr. Bachman, who discovered this species near the banks
of the Edisto River, in South Carolina, remarks: “I was first
attracted by the novelty of its notes, four or five in number,
repeated at intervals of five or six minutes apart. These notes.
were loud, clear, and more. like a whistle than a song. They
resembled the sound of some extraordinary ventriloquist in such
a degree that I supposed the bird much farther off than it
really was; for after some trouble caused by these fictitious
notes, I observed it near me, and soon shot it.”” These birds
appear to have a predilection for swampy, muddy places, usu-
ally more or less covered with water. They feed on coleop-
terous insects and the larvee which infest the pond-lily. They
usually keep in low bushes, and retire southward at the close
of summer. They breed, it appears, in South Carolina.

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. 257

Until recently, naturalists knew nothing more of this species than
Nuttall put into the above few lines ; and for that information he was
indebted to Audubon. Only three examples were taken between
Audubon’s time and 1873, when Nathan C. Brown captured three
more in Alabama; and eleven years afterwards, in 1884, William
Brewster collected fifty specimens in the vicinity of Charleston,
and published in “ The Auk” for January, 1885, an interesting
account of the bird’s habits.

He reports that he met with this bird in dry, scrubby woods or
open orange-groves, though it prefers the ranker growth of the
swamps, to which it appears to be confined during the breeding
season. Its song is said to be “very loud, very rich, very beau-
tiful, while it has an indescribable tender quality that thrills the
senses after the sound has ceased.”

The distribution of the species has not yet been very satisfac-
torily determined, but it probably occurs in all the South Atlantic
and Gulf States, and along the Mississippi valley north to Illinois
and Indiana.

PROTHONOTARY WARBLER.
PROTONOTARIA CITREA.

Cuar. Head, neck, and under parts golden yellow; back bright
olive; wings, tail, and rump, bluish ash ; inner webs of tail-feathers white.
Length about 5% inches.

Nest. On the margin of a stream or pond or in a swamp; a cavity in
dead tree, often a deserted nest of Woodpecker or Chickadee, generally
near the ground; lined with leaves and moss.

£ggs. 4-7 (usually 6); white, or with buff tint, thickly spotted with
brownish red; 0.70 X 0.55.

This beautiful species inhabits the Southern States commonly
in summer, being plentiful in the low, dark, and swampy forests
of the Mississippi near New Orleans, as well as in Louisiana
and the wilds of Florida. In these solitary retreats individuals
are seen nimbly flitting in search of insects, caterpillars, larve,
and small land shells, every now and then uttering a few creak-
ing notes scarcely deserving the name of song. They some-
times, though very rarely, proceed as far north as Pennsylvania.
They appear to affect watery places in swamps which abound
with lagoons, and are seldom seen in the woods. According to

VOL. I. — 17

258 SINGING BIRDS.

Dr. Bachman, these birds breed in South Carolina, as he saw a
pair and their young near Charleston.

This species is common in the Gulf States, and ranges along the
Mississippi valley, being peculiarly abundant in southern Illinois
and southwestern Indiana, but near the Atlantic is rarely seen
north of Georgia. A few stragglers have been encountered in
New England, while one has been taken at St. Stephen, New
Brunswick, by Mr. George A. Boardman, and another near Hamil-
ton, Ontario, by H. C. MclIlwraith.

It is said to be more deliberate and thrushlike in its movements
than are its sprightly congeners, the Dendroice. The song most
frequently heard is described as a simple but pleasing whistle, like
that of the solitary Sandpiper, though when the singer is near at
hand, almost startling in its intensity. Mr. Brewster mentions
hearing another song delivered on the wing, and intended for the
ear of the mate alone. It is generally heard only after incubation
has commenced, and is low, but very sweet, and resembles some-
what the song of a Canary, delivered in an undertone.

BLUE-WINGED WARBLER.
HELMINTHOPHILA PINUS.

Cuar. Above, bright olive; wings and tail dull blue; wings with two
white bars; tail with several white blotches; black line through the eye ;
crown and under parts yellow. Length about 5 inches.

Nest. Ina tuft of grass amid thicket of underbrush or along margin of
woods; bulky, and loosely made of dried leaves and vegetable fibre, lined
with fine grass.

Eggs. 4-5; white, faintly speckled with brown; 0.60 X 0.50.

About the beginning of May this species enters Pennsylvania
from the South, and frequents thickets and shrubberies in quest
of the usual insect food of its tribe. At the approach of win-
ter, very different from the Pine Warbler, with which it has
sometimes been confounded, it retires to pass the winter in
tropical America, having been seen around Vera Cruz in
autumn by Mr. Bullock. On its arrival it frequents gardens,
orchards, and willow trees, gleaning among the blossoms, but
at length withdraws into the silent woods remote, from the

BLUE-WINGED WARBLER. 259

haunts of men, to pass the period of breeding and rearing its
young in more security.

The apparent distribution of this species, judged by the records
of recent observations, is somewhat peculiar. It seems to be
abundant in the southwestern portion of this Eastern Province, and
rarely ranges east of the Alleghanian hills until north of 40°, when
it spreads off to the shores of the Atlantic, though seldom going
beyond latitude 42°. A few examples only have been taken in
Massachusetts, and though common in Ohio it has not been seen
in Ontario. Farther west it is found north to the southern por-
tions of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It winters south to
eastern Mexico and Guatemala.

The nests that have been discovered in recent years are not
fashioned like that described by Wilson, for instead of being
funnel-shaped, they have the ordinary cup-like form.

Opinions differ regarding the song, but I am inclined to believe
that it is a rapid trill of strong, sweet tones, limited in compass and
executed with little art, —a merry whistle rather than an artistic
melody.

260 SINGING BIRDS.

GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER.

HELMINTHOPHILA CHRYSOPTERA.

Cuar. Above, bluish gray; crown yellow; side of head yellowish
white, with broad patch of black from bill through eyes ; two wing-bars,
yellow ; blotches on tail white ; beneath, white tinged with yellow; throat
black; sides tinged with gray. Length about 5 inches.

Nest, Amida tuft of long grass, in moist meadow or damp margin of
woods; constructed of shreds of bark, roots, etc., lined with fine grass.

Lggs. 4-6; white spotted with brown and lilac; 0.65 X 0.50.

This scarce species appears only a few days in Pennsylvania
about the last of April or beginning of May. It darts actively
through the leafy branches, and like the Titmouse examines the
stems for insects, and often walks with the head downwards ;
its notes and actions are also a good deal similar, in common
with the Worm-eating Warbler. I have never yet seen it in
Massachusetts, and if it really does proceed north to breed, it
must follow a western route.

The Golden-wing still remains a somewhat “scarce” bird, but it
occurs regularly in Connecticut and southern Massachusetts, and
in some few localities is often quite numerous. Its general breeding
area lies north of latitude 40°, though nests have been found among
the hills of Georgia and North Carolina. To the westward it breeds
in Ohio, southern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and in the
vicinity of London, Ontario, where Saunders reports it quite com-
mon. It winters south to Central America.

TENNESSEE WARBLER. 261

BACHMAN’S WARBLER.

HELMINTHOPHILA BACHMANI.

Cuar. Above, olive; head dull ashy; black band across crown ; fore-
head and underparts yellow, with large patch of black on the breast ;
yellow band on wing. Length 4% inches.

Nest. Ina low tree.

£egs. 4; dull white, heavily wreathed around larger end with dark
brown and spotted with lilac; 0.74 X 0.60.

This species was first obtained a few miles from Charles-
ton, S. C., in July 1833, by Dr. Bachman, after whom it is
named. It appears to be a lively, active species, frequenting
thick bushes, through which it glides after insects, or occasion-
ally, mounting on wing, it seizes them in the air. Several
individuals were seen in the same neighborhood.

Nothing more was heard of this interesting bird than the little
told by Audubon and Nuttall, until 1883, when Mr. H. B. Bailey
described the nest and eggs from examples collected in Georgia,
by Dr. S. W. Wilson, somewhere between 1853 and 1865. The
male and female secured by Dr. Bachinan were the only specimens
taken until 1886, when a third was shot by Charles S. Galbraith,
in Louisiana, and announced by Mr. George N. Lawrence in “ The
Auk” of January, 1887. A fourth, taken in Florida in March, 1887,
was announced by Dr. Merriam, and during that year others were
reported. Since then the bird has been discovered to be fairly
common in the South Atlantic and Gulf States.

It is described as an active, quarrelsome bird, wary and difficult
to approach. When searching for food, its manner is suggestive of
the Parula. It frequents both shrubbery and high trees, but shows
a preference for the latter and for a rather thick growth.

TENNESSEE WARBLER.
HELMINTHOPHILA PEREGRINA.

Cuar. Above, olive, brightest on rump, shading to ashy on head;
wings and tail dusky ; beneath, white, with faint tint of yellow; sides tinged
with gray. Length 4% to 43 inches.

Nest. On a low bush in open woodland; made of grass, moss, and
vegetable fibre, lined with hair.

262 SINGING BIRDS.

Eggs. 0-0 (probably 4 or 5); white, wreathed around larger end with
brown and purplish spots : 0.65 X 0.50 (?).

This rare and plain species was discovered by Wilson on
the banks of Cumberland River, in the State of Tennessee. It
was hunting with great agility among the opening leaves in
spring, and like the rest of the section to which it appertains,
possesses a good deal of the habits of the Titmouse. Its notes
were few and weak, and its food, as usual, smooth caterpillars
and winged insects. It is still so rare that Audubon never
saw more than three individuals, — two in Louisiana, and one at
Key West in East Florida, all of which were males.

Ornithologists of the present day do not consider this Warbler
quite so rare as did Nuttall and his contemporaries, though it is
somewhat local in its distribution, and is only met with occasionally
at many places within its range. In the Eastern States it is rather
rare, excepting on the northern border.of New York and New Eng-
land, where it breeds; but it is more numerous in the Mississippi
valley, and Dr. Coues found it migrating in abundance along the
Red River, through Minnesota and Dakota, while Thompson
reports it as “a common summer resident ” in parts of Manitoba.
Dr. Wheaton considered it rare in Ohio, but Saunders reports it
“common at times” in the southern peninsula of Ontario, while
Mcllwraith has seen it but twice near Hamilton. It is rare in the
Ottawa valley and near the city of Quebec, while common near
Montreal. Comeau says it breeds in numbers near Point de
Monts, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Macoun
reports it common around Lake Misstissini. It is not uncommon in
some few localities in New Brunswick, where it remains all sum-
mer. Mr. Walter Faxon reports seeing.an example on Graylock
and another on the White Mountains. Very few nests have been
discovered, and one of these was taken near Springfield, Mass.

It is an active bird and very wary, always on the alert, — darting
rapidly from branch to branch. The song is a sweet-toned, cheery
whistle, —somewhat similar to that of the Nashville.

NASHVILLE WARBLER. 263

NASHVILLE WARBLER.
HELMINTHOPHILA RUFICAPILLA.

CuHar. Above, olive, brighter on rump; head ashy gray, with con-
cealed patch of reddish brown; yellow ring around the eyes; beneath,

bright yellow, paler on the belly; sides shaded with olive. Length 4% to
5 inches.

Nest. Amida tuft of weeds in pasture or open woodland; composed
of leaves and vegetable fibre, lined with grass, pine-needles, or hair.
Eggs. 3-5 (usually 4); white or creamy, marked with fine spots of

reddish brown and lilac ; 0.60 X 0.50.

This rare species was discovered by Wilson in the vicinity of
Nashville in Tennessee ; it also exists in the neighboring States
in summer, and occasionally proceeds as far north as Philadel-
phia, and even the neighborhood of Salem in this State [Mas-
sachusetts]. Its discoverer was first attracted to it by the
singular noise which it made, resembling the breaking of small
dry twigs, or the striking together of pebbles, for six or seven
times in succession, and loud enough to be heard at the dis-
tance of thirty or forty yards. A similar sound, produced, no
doubt, by the smart snapping of the bill, is given by the Stone-
chat of Europe, — which hence, in fact, derives its name. Au-
dubon says, the male, while standing in a still and erect posture,
utters a few low, eagerly repeated, creaking notes. This spe-
cies has all the active habits of the family to which it more
particularly belongs. Audubon says that these birds are not
in fact rare, as he saw them in considerable numbers in the
month of April, towards Texas, on their way eastward ; he also
saw-them in Maine and the Provinces of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia. A few proceed to Labrador, and Dr. Richardson
mentions the occurrence of a straggler in the fur countries.

However rare the Nashville may have been when Nuttall lived
in Cambridge, it is not a rare bird here to-day. It is, indeed, a
common summer resident throughout New England and the Mari-
tine Provinces, and occurs in more or less abundance westward to
Manitoba. It winters south to Mexico and Guatemala.

On the arrival of these birds in the spring they frequent the sub-

264 SINGING BIRDS.

urban gardens and orchards, but soon retire to a more secluded
place to build; and hidden away amid the thicker bushes of their
favorite haunts, are often overlooked by the collector, —the or-
nithological reporter, — and thus the species has acquired a repu-
tation of being ‘ uncommon.”

The song is a typical Warbler-like performance, —a short trill of
sweet notes, whistled with little variation in tone, and little effort
at artistic execution; but I have not heard any of the “harsh”
and “creaking” effects noted by some writers.

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER.
HELMINTHOPHILA CELATA.

Cuar. Above, olive, brightest on the rump; crown with concealed
patch of brownish orange; line over and around the eyes, pale yellow;
beneath, pale greenish yellow ; sides shaded with olive. Length 4% to
54 inches.

Nest. On the ground among clumps of bushes; made of grass, moss,
and plant stems, lined with hair.

Eggs. 4-6; white or creamy, marked, chiefly around the larger end,
with spots of reddish brown and purplish slate ; 0.65 X 0.50.

This species, first discovered, early in May, on the banks of
the Missouri by my friend Mr. T. Say, appeared to be on its
passage farther north. It is not uncommon in winter in the
orange-groves of West Florida, where it proceeds to pass the
season, around St. Augustine; and its note is described as a
mere chirp and faint squeak, scarcely louder than that of a
mouse.

According to Audubon, these birds breed in the eastern part
of Maine and in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In the
month of May we saw them abundant in the forests of the
Oregon, where no doubt they breed. The song is weak, some-
what resembling that of most of the Sylvicolas.

Audubon must have gathered in all the New Brunswick Orange
Crowns, for none have been seen there since his visit, nor can I
learn of any having been observed elsewhere in eastern Canada,
excepting the few discovered by Mcllwraith and Saunders in

KIRTLAND’S WARBLER. 265

southern Ontario, and one taken by Ernest D. Wintle near Mon-
treal in 1890.

Accidental stragglers have been taken in New England, but it is
chiefly a Western bird, breeding in the far North, though it winters
in the Southern and Gulf States.

KIRTLAND’S WARBLER.
DENDROICA KIRTLANDI.

Cuar. Above, slate blue, the feathers of head and back streaked with
black ; line across forehead and through the eyes, black; beneath, yellow,
breast and sides spotted with black ; two white wing-bars; white blotches
on tail. Length 5% to 6 inches.

Nest and Z£ggs. Unknown.

Only a few specimens of this bird, discovered by Dr. Kirtland,
near Cleveland, in 1851, have as yet been seen, and these few were
captured in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Missouri during the
spring migrations. Mr. Charles B. Cory secured one in the Baha-
mas in winter. The habits of the bird are unknown, but Mr.
Chubb, who shot a male and female near Cleveland in 1880, says:
“T am inclined to think they are rather terrestrial in their habits,
frequenting bushy fields near woods.”

Note. — The CARBONATED WARBLER (Dendroica carbonata),
mentioned by Nuttall on the authority of Audubon, who killed two
specimens in Kentucky, has been placed on the “ Hypothetical
List” by the A. O. U. Committee, as has also the BLUE MOUNTAIN
WARBLER (Dendroica montana) and the SMALL-HEADED WaAR-
BLER (Sylvania microcephala), mentioned by Wilson and Audu-
bon. No specimens of either have been taken in recent years.
On this same list has been placed the CINCINNATI WARBLER (/Ye/-
minthophila cincinnatiensis), which is probably ahybrid of 7.
pinus and G. formosa; also LAWRENCE’S WARBLER (/7. lawrenci)
and BREWSTER’S WARBLER (4. leucobronchialis), both supposed
to be hybrids of H. pimus and H. chrysoptera.

Mr. F.M. Chapman states that he saw a typical lewcobronchialis
in New Jersey in May, 1890.

TOWNSEND’S WARBLER (Dendroica townsendi), described by
Nuttall and named in honor of its discoverer, is a rare bird of the
Far West, and its claim to mention here rests on the accidental
occurrence of one example near Philadelphia in 1868.

HOUSE WREN.
WOOD WREN.

TROGLODYTES AEDON.

CuHar. Above, reddish brown (sometimes with dark bars), darker on
the head; below, brownish white, marked irregularly with dark lines;
wings and tail with fine waved lines. Length about 5 inches.

Nest. On the eaves of houses or in a barn or hollow tree, etc. ; made
of grass, twigs, etc.; the hole generally filled with rubbish and lined
with feathers.

Eggs. 7-9; white tinted with pink, densely marked with reddish
brown; 0.65 X 0.50.

This lively, cheerful, capricious, and well-known little min-
strel is only a summer resident in the United States. Its
northern migrations extend to Labrador, but it resides and
rears its young principally in the Middle States. My friend
Mr. Say also observed this species near Pembino, beyond the
sources of the Mississippi, in the Western wilderness of the
4gth degree of latitude. It is likewise said to be an inhabitant
of Surinam, within the tropics, where its delightful melody has
gained it the nickname of the Nightingale. This region, or
the intermediate country of Mexico, is probably the winter
quarters of our domestic favorite. In Louisiana it is unknown
even as a transient visitor, migrating apparently to the east of

HOUSE WREN. 267

the Mississippi, and sedulously avoiding the region generally
inhabited by the Carolina Wren. It is a matter of surprise
how this, and some other species, with wings so short and a
flight so fluttering, are ever capable of arriving and returning
from such distant countries. At any rate, come from where
it may, it makes its appearance in the Middle States about the
12th or r5th of April, and is seen in New England in the latter
end of that month or by the beginning of May. It takes its
departure for the South towards the close of September or
early in October, and is not known to winter within the limits
of the Union.

Some time in the early part of May our little social visitor
enters actively into the cares as well as pleasures which preside
instinctively over the fiat of propagation. His nest, from pref-
erence, near the house, is placed beneath the eaves, in some
remote corner under a shed, out-house, barn, or in a hollow
orchard tree ; also in the deserted cell of the Woodpecker, and
when provided with the convenience, in a wooden box along
with the Martins and Bluebirds. He will make his nest even
in an old hat, nailed up, and perforated with a hole for en-
trance, or the skull of an ox stuck upon a pole; and Audubon
saw one deposited in the pocket of a broken-down carriage.
So pertinacious is the House Wren in thus claiming the con-
venience and protection of human society that, according to
Wilson, an instance once occurred where a nest was made in
the sleeve of a mower’s coat, which, in the month of June, was
hung up accidentally for two or three days in a shed near a
barn.

The nest of this species, though less curious than that
of some other kinds, is still constructed with considerable
appearance of contrivance. The external approach is bar-
ricaded with a strong outwork of sticks, interlaced with
much labor and ingenuity. When the nest, therefore, is
placed beneath the eaves, or in some other situation contig-
uous to the roof of the building, the access to the inner fabric
is so nearly closed by this formidable mass of twigs that a
mere portion of the edge is alone left open for the female,

268 SINGING BIRDS.

just sufficient for her to creep in and out. Within this judi-
cious fort is placed the proper nest, of the usual hemispherical
figure, formed of layers of dried stalks of grass, and lined with
feathers. The eggs, from 6 to 9, are of a reddish flesh-color,
sprinkled all over with innumerable fine grains of a somewhat
deeper tint. They generally rear two broods in the season:
the first take to flight about the beginning of June, and the
second in July or August. The young are early capable of
providing for their own subsistence and twittering forth their
petulant cry of alarm. It is both pleasant and amusing to
observe the sociability and activity of these recent nurslings,
who seem to move in a body, throwing themselves into antic
attitudes, often crowding together into the old nests of other
birds, and for some time roosting near their former cradle,
under the affectionate eye of their busy parents, who have
perhaps already begun to prepare the same nest for a new
progeny. Indeed, so prospective and busy is the male that
he frequently amuses himself with erecting another mansion
even while his mate is still sitting on her eggs; and this curi-
ous habit of superfluous labor seems to be more or less common
to the whole genus.

One of these Wrens, according to Wilson, happened to lose
his mate by the sly and ravenous approaches of a cat, — an ani-
mal which they justly hold in abhorrence. The day after this
important loss, our little widower had succeeded in introducing
to his desolate mansion a second partner, whose welcome
appeared by the ecstatic song which the bridegroom now
uttered ; after this they remained together, and reared their
brood. In the summer of 1830 I found a female Wren who
had expired on the nest in the abortive act of laying her first
egg. I therefore took away the nest from under the edge of the
shed in which it was built. The male, however, continued
round the place as before, and still cheerfully uttered his
accustomed song. Unwilling to leave the premises, he now
went to work and made, unaided, another dwelling, and after
a time brought a new mate to take possession ; but less faith-
ful than Wilson’s bird, or suspecting some lurking danger, she

HOUSE WREN. 269

forsook the nest after entering, and never laid in it. But still
the happy warbler continued his uninterrupted lay, apparently
in solitude.

The song of our familiar Wren is loud, sprightly, and tremu-
lous, uttered with peculiar animation, and rapidly repeated ; at
first the voice seems ventriloquial and distant, and then bursts
forth by efforts into a mellow and echoing warble. The trill-
ing, hurried notes seem to reverberate from the leafy branches
in which the musician sits obscured, or are heard from the low
roof of the vine-mantled cottage like the shrill and unwearied
pipe of some sylvan elf. The strain is continued even during
the sultry noon of the summer’s day, when most of the feath-
ered songsters seek repose and shelter from the heat. His
lively and querulous ditty is, however, still accompanied by
the slower-measured, pathetic chant of the Red-eyed Fly-
catcher, the meandering, tender warble of the Musical Vireo,
or the occasional loud mimicry of the Catbird; the whole
forming an aerial, almost celestial concert, which never tires
the ear. Though the general performance of our Wren bears
no inconsiderable resemblance to that of the European species,
yet his voice is louder, and his execution much more varied and
delightful. He is rather a bold and insolent intruder upon those
birds who reside near him or claim the same accommodation.
He frequently causes the mild Bluebird or the Martin to relin-
quish their hereditary claims to the garden box, and has been
accused also of sucking their eggs. Nor is he any better con-
tented with neighbors of his own fraternity who settle near him,
keeping up frequent squabbles, like other little busybodies,
who are never happy but in mischief; so that upon the whole,
though we may justly admire the fine talents of this petulant
domestic, he is, like many other actors, merely a good per-
former. He is still upon the whole a real friend to the farmer
and horticulturist, by the number of injurious insects and their
destructive larvee on which both he and his numerous family
subsist. Bold and fearless, seeking out every advantageous
association, and making up in activity what he may lack in
strength, he does not confine his visits to the cottage or the

270 SINGING BIRDS.

country, but may often be heard on the tops of houses even in
the midst of the city, warbling with his usual energy.

The House Wren is a common summer resident of Massachu-
setts, but is rarely seen north of this State.

The only instance of its occurrence in New Brunswick is that of
a pair seen at Grand Falls by Mr. C. F. Batchelder. It is fairly
common near Montreal and through southern Ontario, and is
abundant in Manitoba. It winters in the Middle States and
southward.

Note. —A Western form — distinguished from true aédon by the
prevalence of gray on its upper parts and its more distinct bars on
the back — occurs from Illinois and Manitoba westward. This is
PARKMAN’S WREN (7. aédon parkmanit).

The Woop WREN (7. americanus), mentioned by Nuttall on the
authority of Audubon, should have been referred to 7. aédon.

WINTER WREN.
TROGLODYTES HIEMALIS.

CuHar. Above, reddish brown, brightest on the rump, marked with dark
waved lines ; wings dusky, with dark bars and white spots ; under parts
paler brown, belly and under tail-coverts with dark bars. Length about
4 inches.

Vest. At the foot of a moss-covered stump, or under a fallen tree, or
amid a pile of brush; composed of twigs and moss, lined with feathers.

£ggs. 4-6; white, spotted, chiefly near the larger end, with reddish
brown and purple ; 0.70 X 0.50.

This little winter visitor, which approaches the Middle States
in the month of October, seems scarcely in any way distin-
guishable from the Common Wren of Europe. It sometimes
passes the winter in Pennsylvania, and according to Audubon
even breeds in the Great Pine Swamp in that State, as well as
in New York. Early in the spring it is seen on its returning
route to the Northwest. Mr. Say observed it in summer near
the base of the Rocky Mountains; it was also seen, at the
same season, on the White Mountains of New Hampshire by
the scientific exploring party of Dr. Bigelow, Messrs. Boott

WINTER WREN. 271

and Gray, so that it must retire to the Western or mountainous
solitudes to pass the period of incubation. Mr. Townsend
obtained specimens of this bird in the forests of the Colum-
bia. During its residence in the Middle States it frequents
the broken banks of rivulets, old roots, and decayed logs near
watery places in quest of its insect food. As in Europe, it also
approaches the farm-house, examines the wood-pile, erecting
its tail, and creeping into the interstices like a mouse. It
frequently mounts on some projecting object and sings with
great animation. In the gardens and outhouses of the city it
appears equally familiar as the more common House Wren.

The Wren has a pleasing warble, and much louder than
might be expected from its diminutive size. Its song likewise
continues more or less throughout the year, — even during the
prevalence of a snowstorm it has been heard as cheerful as
ever ; it likewise continues its note till very late in the evening,
though not after dark.

This species is common throughout the Eastern States, breeding
in northern New England and north to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
and westward through northern Ohio and Ontario to Manitoba.
During the summer it occurs also, sparingly, on the Berkshire Hills
in Massachusetts. It winters from about 40° southward.

Had Nuttall ever met with the Winter Wren in its summer
haunts ; had he heard its wild melody break the stillness of the
bird’s forest home, or known of the power controlled by that tiny
throstle and of its capacity for brilliant execution; had he but once
listened to its sweet and impassioned tones, and the suggestive
joyousness of its rapid trills; had Nuttall, in short, ever heard
the bird sing, — he could not, surely, have damned it with such
faint praise.

The song of this Wren is not well known, for the bird seldom
sings beyond the nesting period, and then is rarely heard away
from the woodland groves. But once heard, the song is not soon
forgotten ; it is so wild and sweet a lay, and is flung upon the
woodland quiet with such energy, such hilarious abandon, that it
commands attention. Its merits entitle it to rank among the best
of our sylvan melodies.

CAROLINA WREN.
MOCKING WREN.

THRYOTHORUS LUDOVICIANUS.

CuHar. Above, reddish brown, with fine black bars ; below, tawny buff ;
long line over the eye white or buff; wings and tail with dark bars.
Length 5% to 6 inches.

Vest. In any available hole, often in hollow tree, sometimes in brush
heap, usually in the woods ; composed of grass, leaves, etc., sometimes
fastened with corn-silk, lined with feathers, grass, or horse-hair.

£ggs. 3-6; white, with pink or buff tint, thickly speckled around
larger end with reddish brown; 0.75 X 0.60.

This remarkable mimicking and Musical Wren is a constant
resident in the Southern States from Virginia to Florida, but
is rarely seen at any season north of the line of Maryland or
Delaware, though, attracted by the great river-courses, it is
abundant from Pittsburg to New Orleans. A few individuals
stray, in the course of the spring, as far as the line of New
York, and appear in New Jersey and the vicinity of Philadel-
phia early in the month of May. On the 17th of April, re-
turning from a Southern tour of great extent, I again recognized
my old and pleasing acquaintance, by his usual note, near
Chester, on the Delaware, where, I have little doubt, a few
remain and pass the summer, retiring to the South only

CAROLINA WREN. 273

as the weather becomes inclement. On the banks of the
Patapsco, near Baltimore, their song is still heard to the close
of November.

Our bird has all the petulance, courage, industry, and famili-
arity of his particular tribe. He delights to survey the mean-
ders of peaceful streams, and dwell amidst the shady trees
which adorn their banks. His choice seems to convey a taste
for the picturesque and beautiful in Nature, himself, in the
foreground, forming one of the most pleasing attractions of
the scene. Approaching the waterfall, he associates with its
murmurs the presence of the Kingfisher, and modulating the
hoarse rattle of his original into a low, varied, desponding note,
he sits on some depending bough by the stream, and calls, at
intervals, in a slow voice, “e-yurrh tee-yurrh, or chr’r'r’rrh.
In the tall trees by the silent stream, he recollects the lively,
common note of the Tufted Titmouse, and repeats the peto peto
peto peet, or his peevish katétédid, katétédid, katedid, While
gleaning low, amidst fallen leaves and brushwood, for hiding
and dormant insects and worms, he perhaps brings up the note
of his industrious neighbor, the Ground Robin, and sets to his
own sweet and liquids tones the simple /oweet foweet toweet.
The tremulous trill of the Pine Warbler is then recollected,
and ¢rrr'rr'rh is whistled. In the next breath comes his
imitation of the large Woodpecker, worty wotty woity and
wotchy wotchy wotchy, or tshovee tshovee tshof, and tshooddee
tshooadee tshooadeet, then varied to tshuvai tshuvat tshuvat, and
toovaitah toovatiah toovaiiatoo. Next comes perhaps his more
musical and pleasing version of the Blackbird’s short song,
wottitshee wotthitshee wottitshee. To the same smart tune is
now set a chosen part of the drawling song of the Meadow
Lark, precédo precédo preceet, then varied, recédo recédo receet
and ‘tecedo tecedo teceet; or changing to a bass key, he tunes
sooteet sooteet soot. Once, I heard this indefatigable mimic
attempt delightfully the warble of the Bluebird in the month of
February. The bold whistle of the Cardinal Bird is another
of the sounds he delights to imitate and repeat in his own
quaint manner ; such as wtyw vit-yu vit-yu, and vishnu vishnu

VOL. I. — 18

274 SINGING BIRDS.

vishnu, then his wortee woitee woitee and wiltee wiltee wiltee.
Soon after I first heard the note of the White-eyed Vireo in
March, the Carolina Wren immediately mimicked the note of
tecah wéwd wittee weewd. Some of these notes would appear
to be recollections of the past season, as imitations of the
Maryland Yellow-Throat (wittisee wittisee wittisee wit, and
shewaidit shewaidit shewaidit), not yet heard or arrived within
the boundary of the United States. So also his ¢sherry tsherry
tsherry tshup is one of the notes of the Baltimore Bird, yet in
South America.

While at Tuscaloosa, about the z2oth of February, one of
these Wrens, on the borders of a garden, sat and repeated for
some time Ahe-whiskee whiskee whiskee, then soolait soolait
soolait ; another of his phrases is ashukadee tshukadee thuka-
deetshoo and chjibway chfibway chfibway, uttered quick ; the
first of these expressions is in imitation of one of the notes of
the Scarlet Tanager. Amidst these imitations and variations,
which seem almost endless, and lead the stranger to imagine
himself, even in the depth of winter, surrounded by all the
quaint choristers of the summer, there is still, with our capri-
cious and tuneful mimic, a favorite theme more constantly
and regularly repeated than the rest. This was also the first
sound that I heard from him, delivered with great spirit, though
in the dreary month of January. This sweet and melodious
ditty, ¢see-toot tsee-toot tsee-toot, and sometimes ¢sce-toot tsee-
toot seet, was usually uttered in a somewhat plaintive or tender
strain, varied at each repetition with the most delightful and
delicate tones, of which no conception can be formed without
experience. That this song has a sentimental air may be con-
ceived from its interpretation by the youths of the country,
who pretend to hear it say sawéet-heart swéet-heart sweet / Nor
is the illusion more than the natural truth; for, usually, this
affectionate ditty is answered by its mate, sometimes in the
same note, at others, in a different call. In most cases it will
be remarked that the phrases of our songster are uttered in
3's; by this means it will generally be practicable to distinguish
its performance from that of other birds, and particularly from

CAROLINA WREN. 275

the Cardinal Grosbeak, whose expressions it often closely imi-
tates both in power and delivery. I shall never, I believe,
forget the soothing satisfaction and amusement I derived from
this little constant and unwearied minstrel, my sole vocal com-
panion through many weary miles of a vast, desolate, and
otherwise cheerless wilderness. Yet with all his readiness to
amuse by his Protean song, the epitome of all he had ever
heard or recollected, he was still studious of concealment,
keeping busily engaged near the ground, or in low thickets, in
quest of his food; and when he mounted a log or brush pile,
which he had just examined, his color, so similar to the fallen
leaves and wintry livery of Nature, often prevented me from
gaining a glimpse of this wonderful and interesting mimic.

Like the preceding species, he has restless activity and a
love for prying into the darkest corners after his prey, and is
particularly attached to the vicinity of rivers and wet places,
when not surrounded by gloomy shade. His quick and capri-
cious motions, antic jerks, and elevated tail resemble the actions
of the House Wren. Eager and lively in his contracted flight,
before shifting he quickly throws himself forward, so as nearly
to touch his perch previous to springing from his legs. In
Tuscaloosa and other towns iri Alabama he appeared frequently
upon the tops of the barns and out-houses, delivering with
energy his varied and desultory lay. At Tallahassee, in West
Florida, I observed one of these birds chanting near the door
of a cottage, and occasionally imitating, in his way, the squall-
ing of the crying child within, so that, like the Mocking Bird,
all sounds, if novel, contribute to his amusement.

This species is common in the Southern States and north to 40°,

being extremely abundant in southern Illinois, and it occasionally
wanders to northern Ohio and to Massachusetts.

Nore. — The FLORIDA WreEN (7. ludovicianus miamenstis) is
a larger, darker form, which is restricted to southeastern Florida.

276 SINGING BIRDS.

BEWICK’S WREN.
LONG-TAILED HOUSE WREN.
THRYOTHORUS BEWICKIL

Cuar. Above, chestnut brown; wings and tail with dark bars; buff
stripe over eye; below, dull white; flanks brown. Length 5 to 5%
inches.

Nest. Almost anywhere. In settled districts it is usually built in a
crevice of a house or barn; but in the woods a hollow tree or stump is
selected, or a clump of bushes. Composed of a mass of leaves, grass, etc.,
roughly put together.

£ggs. 4-7; white or with pink tint, thickly marked with fine spots of
reddish brown and purple; 0.65 X 0.50.

For the discovery of this beautiful species of Wren, appar-
-ently allied to the preceding, with which it seems nearly to
agree in size, we are indebted to the indefatigable Audubon, in
whose splendid work it is for the first time figured. It was
observed by its discoverer, towards the approach of winter, in
the lower part of Louisiana. Its manners are very similar to
those of other species, but instead of a song, at this season it
only uttered a low twitter.

Dr. Bachman found this species to be the most prevalent of
any other in the mountains of Virginia, particularly about the
Salt Sulphur Springs, where they breed and pass the season.
The notes bear some resemblance to those of the Winter Wren,
being scarcely louder or more connected. From their habit of
prying into holes and hollow logs they are supposed to breed in
such situations, Mr. Trudeau believes that they breed in Loui-
siana. In the marshy meadows of the Wahlamet Mr. Townsend
and myself frequently saw this species, accompanied by the
young, as early as the month of May. At this time they have
much the habit and manners of the Marsh Wren, and probably
nest in the tussocks of rank grass in which we so frequently
saw them gleaning their prey. They were now shy, and rarely
seen in the vicinity of our camp.

Bewick’s Wren is abundant along the Mississippi valley, but is
rarely seen east of the Alleghanies or north of latitude 40°.

SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN. 277

SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN.
CISTOTHORUS STELLARIS.

CuHar. Above, brown, very dark on crown and back, and streaked
everywhere with white; wings and tail with dark bars; below, buffy
white, paler on throat and belly; breast and sides shaded with brown.
Length 4% inches.

Vest. On the ground, amid a tuft of high grass, in fresh-water marsh or
swampy meadow ; composed of grass, lined with vegetable down. Usu-
ally the tops of surrounding grass are weaved above the nest, leaving an
entrance at the side.

Lggs. 6-8; white; 0.65 X 0.50.

This amusing and not unmusical little species inhabits the
lowest marshy meadows, but does not frequent the reed-flats.
It never visits cultivated grounds, and is at all times shy, timid,
and suspicious. It arrives in this part of Massachusetts about
the close of the first week in May, and retires to the South by
the middle of September at farthest, probably by night, as it is
never seen in progress, so that its northern residence is only
prolonged about four months. In winter this bird is seen from
South Carolina to Texas.

His presence is announced by his lively and quaint song of
’tsh 'tship, & diy day diy day, delivered in haste and earnest
at short intervals, either when he is mounted on a tuft of
sedge, or while perching on some low bush near the skirt of
the marsh. The ’¢sh ’¢shzp is uttered with a strong aspiration,
and the remainder with a guttural echo. While thus engaged,
his head and tail are alternately depressed and elevated, as if
the little odd performer were fixed on a pivot. Sometimes the
note varies to 'éship ‘tship ‘tshia, dh’ dh’ dh’ dh’, the latter
part being a pleasant trill. When approached too closely, —
which not often happened, as he never permitted me to come
within two or three feet of his station, —his song became
harsh and more hurried, like ’¢ship dé da da, and de de de de
a a’ dh, or tshe de de de de, rising into an angry, petulant cry,
sometimes also a low, hoarse, and scolding daigh daigh ; then
again on invading the nest the sound sank to a plaintive ’¢sh

278 SINGING BIRDS.

tship, 'tsh tship. In the early part of the breeding season the
male is very lively and musical, and in his best humor he tunes
up a ‘ship ‘tship tship a dee, with a pleasantly warbled and
reiterated de. At a later period another male uttered little else
than a hoarse and guttural dazgh, hardly louder than the croak-
ing ofa frog. When approached, these birds repeatedly descend
into the grass, where they spend much of their time in quest of
insects, chiefly crustaceous, which with moths, constitute their
principal food; here, unseen, they still sedulously utter their
quaint warbling, and “hip tship a day day day day may for
about a month from their arrival be heard pleasantly echoing
ona fine morning from the borders of every low marsh and wet
meadow provided with tussocks of sedge-grass, in which they
indispensably dwell, for a time engaged in the cares and grati-
fication of raising and providing for their young.

The nest of the Short-billed Marsh Wren is made wholly of
dry or partly green sedge, bent usually from the top of the
grassy tuft in which the fabric is situated. With much inge-
nuity and labor these simple materials are loosely entwined
together into a spherical form, with a small and rather obscure
entrance left in the side; a thin lining is sometimes added to
the whole, of the linty fibres of the silk-weed or some other
similar material. The eggs, pure white and destitute of spots,
are probably from 6 to 8. In a nest containing 7 eggs there
were 3 of them larger than the rest and perfectly fresh, while
the 4 smaller were far advanced towards hatching ; from this
circumstance we may fairly infer that #wo different individuals
had laid in the same nest,—a circumstance more common
among wild birds than is generally imagined. This is also the
more remarkable as the male of this species, like many other
Wrens, is much employed in making nests, of which not more
than one in three or four are ever occupied by the females.

The summer limits of this species, confounded with the
ordinary Marsh-Wren, are yet unascertained ; and it is singu-
lar to remark how near it approaches to another species in-
habiting the temperate parts of the southern hemisphere in
America, namely, the Sy/via p/atensis, figured and indicated by

LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN. 279

Buffon. The time of arrival and departure in this species,
agreeing exactly with the appearance of the Marsh Wren of
Wilson, appears to prove that it also exists in Pennsylvania
with the following, whose migration, according to Audubon, is
more than a month earlier and later than that of our bird. Mr.
Cooper, however, has not been able to meet with it in the
vicinity of New York, but Dr. Trudeau found its nest in the
marshes of the Delaware.

This Wren occurs throughout the Eastern Province north to
Massachusetts on the Atlantic, and in the west to Manitoba, breed-
ing generally north of 40°, and wintering in the Gulf States. It is
found in eastern Canada only on the marshes near Lake St. Clair.

LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN.
CISTOTHORUS PALUSTRIS.

Cuar. Above, dull reddish brown, darker on crown; back black,
streaked with white ; white line over eyes; wings and tail with dark bars;
below, buffy white, shaded on sides with brown. Length 5 inches.

Vest. Ina salt marsh or reedy swamp of interior, fastened to reeds or
cat-tails or a small bush; composed of grass and reeds, sometimes
plastered with mud, lined with fine grass or feathers. It is bulky and
spherical in form, the entrance at the side.

£ggs. 6-10; generally so thickly covered with dark-brown spots as to
appear uniform chocolate with darker spots; 0.65 X 0.50.

This retiring inhabitant of marshes and the wet and sedgy
borders of rivers arrives in the Middle States of the Union
early in April, and retires to the South about the middle of
October. It is scarcely found to the north of the State of
New York, its place in New England being usually occupied
by the preceding species, though a few individuals are known
to breed in the marshes near Cambridge and Boston.

It is a remarkably active and quaint little bird, skipping
and diving about with great activity after its insect food and
their larvee among the rank grass and rushes, near ponds and
the low banks of rivers, where alone it affects to dwell, laying
no claims to the immunities of the habitable circle of man,
but content with its favorite marshes; neglected and seldom

280 SINGING BIRDS.

seen, it rears its young in security. The song, according to the
observations of a friend, is very similar to that of the preced-
ing,—a sort of short, tremulous, and hurried warble. Its
notes were even yet heard in an island of the Delaware, oppo-
site to Philadelphia, as late as the month of September, where
they were still in plenty in this secluded asylum. Towards the
close of the breeding season the song often falls off into a low,
guttural, bubbling sound, which appears almost like an effort of
ventriloquism.

The nest, according to Wilson, is generally suspended
among the reeds and securely tied to them at a sufficient
height above the access of the highest tides. It is formed of
wet rushes well intertwisted together, mixed with mud, and
fashioned into the form of a cocoa-nut, having a small orifice
left in the side for entrance. The principal material of this
nest, as in the preceding species, is, however, according to
Audubon, the leaves of the sedge-grass, on a tussock of which
it also occasionally rests. The young quit the nest about the
2oth of June, and they generally have a second brood in the
course of the season. From the number of empty nests found
in the vicinity of the residence of the Marsh Wren, it is
pretty evident that it is also much employed in the usual
superfluous or capricious labor of the genus. The pugnacious
character of the males, indeed, forbids the possibility of so
many nests being amicably occupied in the near neighborhood
in which they are commonly found.

This Wren is common in suitable localities in Massachusetts, but
has not been found farther northward. It occurs westward to the

Pacific, and south (in winter) to the Gulf States. It appears on
Canadian territory only in southern Ontario and Manitoba.

Norte. — Mr. W.E.D. Scott discovered at Tarpon Springs, Flor-
ida, in 1888, a Wren that resembles palustris, but differs in having
bars on the upper and under tail-coverts ; also the brown color has
a more decided tinge of olive than of rufous. Mr. Scott has named
the bird, in honor of his wife, Marian’s MARSH WREN (C7isto-
thorus marian@). It is common along the southwestern coast of
Florida.

RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET. 281

RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET.

REGULUS CALENDULA.

CuHar, Above, olive, brighter on rump; crown with a concealed patch
of rich scarlet, white at the base, — wanting in female and young ; white
ring around the eyes; wings and tail dusky, the feathers edged with dull
buff; wings with two white bars; below, dull white tinged with buff.
Length about 434 inches.

Nest. In woodland, usually partially pensile, suspended from extrem-
ity of branch,—often placed on top of branch, sometimes against the
trunk, — on coniferous tree, 10 to 30 feet from the ground; neatly and
compactly made of shreds of bark, grass, and moss, lined with feathers or
hair.

Eggs. 6-9; dull white or buff, spotted, chiefly around larger end, with
bright reddish brown; 0.55 X 0.43.

These beautiful little birds pass the summer and breeding
season in the colder parts of the North American continent,
penetrating even to the dreary coasts of Greenland, where, as
well as around Hudson’s Bay and Labrador, they rear their
young in solitude, and obtain abundance of the diminutive
flying insects, gnats, and cynips, on which with small cater-
pillars they and their young delight to feed. In the months of
October and November the approach of winter in their natal
regions stimulates them to migrate towards the South, when
they arrive in the Eastern and Middle States, and frequent in
a familiar and unsuspicious manner the gardens and orchards ;
how far they proceed to the South is uncertain. On the 12th
of January I observed them near Charleston, South Carolina,
with companies of Sy/v7as busily darting through the ever-
greens in swampy situations in quest of food, probably minute
larvee. About the first week in March I again observed them
in West Florida in great numbers, busily employed for hours
together in the tallest trees, some of which were already un-
folding their blossoms, such as the maples and oaks. About
the beginning of April they are seen in Pennsylvania on their
way to the dreary limits of the continent, where they only
arrive towards the close of May, so that in the extremity of
their range they do not stay more than three months. Wilson,

282 SINGING BIRDS.

it would appear, sometimes met with them in Pennsylvania
even in summer; but as far as I can learn, they are never ob-
served in Massachusetts at that season, and with their nest and
habits of incubation we are unacquainted. In the fall they
seek society apparently with the Titmouse and Golden-Crested
Kinglet, with whom they are intimately related in habits, man-
ners, and diet; the whole forming a busy, silent, roving com-
pany, with no object in view but that of incessantly gleaning
their now scanty and retiring prey. So eagerly, indeed, are
they engaged at this time that scarcely feeling sympathy
for each other, or willing to die any death but that of famine,
they continue almost uninterruptedly to hunt through the same
tree from which their unfortunate companions have just fallen
by the destructive gun. They only make at this time, occa-
sionally, a feeble chirp, and take scarcely any alarm, however
near they are observed. Audubon met with this species breed-
ing in Labrador, but did not discover the nest; its song, he
remarks, is fully as sonorous as that of the Canary, — as pow-
erful and clear, and even more varied.

This species probably breeds from about latitude 45° to the
lower fur countries, and on the higher mountains to the southward.
Few nests have been discovered. Rev. Frank Ritchie found one
near Lennoxville, Quebec, and Harry Austen has taken another
near Halifax, in which he found 11 eggs.

The full song is much more elaborate and more beautiful than
the bird has usually been credited with, for it has been described
by writers who have heard only the thin, weak notes more gener-
ally uttered. Those who have compared it to the Skylark and the
Canary have not grossly exaggerated.

Nore. —Cuvier’s KINGLET (Regulus cuvier?) was placed on
the “Hypothetical List” by the A. O. U. Committee. The single
bird shot by Audubon in Pennsylvania is the only specimen that
has been obtained.

GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET.
REGULUS SATRAPA.

Cuar. Above, olive, brightest on the rump; crown with patch of
orange red and yellow, bordered by black (female and young lacking the
red) ; forehead and line over eyes and patch beneath, dull white ; wings
and tail dusky, the feathers edged with dull buff; two white bars on
wings; below, dull white with buff tint. Length 4 inches.

Vest. In damp coniferous woods, often wholly or partially pendent
from small twigs near end of branch (sometimes saddled upon the branch)
10 to So feet from the ground; usually made of green moss and lichens,
lined at bottom with shreds of soft bark and roots, and often with feathers
fastened to inside of edge, and so arranged that the tips droop over and
conceal the eggs; sometimes the nest is a spherical mass of moss and
lichens, lined with vegetable down and wool; the entrance at the side.

£eggs. 6-10; usually creamy or pale buff, sometimes white, unmarked,
or dotted with pale reddish brown and lavender over entire surface,
often merely a wreath, more or less distinct around larger end; 0.55
X 0.45.

These diminutive birds are found, according to the season,
not only throughout North America, but even in the West
Indies. They appear to be associated only in pairs, and are
seen on their southern route, in this part of Massachusetts, a
few days in October, and about the middle of the month, or a
little earlier or later according to the setting in of the season,
as they appear to fly before the desolating storms of the north-
ern regions, whither they retire about May to breed. Some
few remain in Pennsylvania until December or January, pro-
ceeding probably but little farther south during the winter.
They are not known to reside in any part of New England,
retiring to the same remote and desolate limits of the farthest
North with the preceding species, of which they have most of

284 SINGING BIRDS.

the habits. They are actively engaged during their transient
visits to the South in gleaning up insects and their lurking
larvee, for which they perambulate the branches of trees of
various kinds, frequenting gardens and orchards, and skipping
and vaulting from the twigs, sometimes head downwards like
the Chickadee, with whom they often keep company, making
only now and then a feeble chirp. They appear at this time
to search chiefly after spiders and dormant concealed coleop-
terous or shelly insects; they are also said to feed on small
berries and some kinds of seeds, which they break open by
pecking with the bill in the manner of the Titmouse. They
likewise frequent the sheltered cedar and pine woods, in which
they probably take up their roost at night. Early in April
they are seen on their return to the North in Pennsylvania ; at
this time they dart among the blossoms of the maple and elm
in company with the preceding species, and appear more vola-
tile and actively engaged in seizing small flies on the wing, and
collecting minute, lurking caterpillars from the opening leaves.
On the 21st of May, 1835, I observed this species feeding
its full-fledged young in a tall pine-tree on the banks of the
Columbia River.

The range of this species is now set down as ‘“‘ Eastern North
America west to the Rockies, breeding from the northern border
of the United States northward, wintering in the Eastern States
and south to Gautemala.” Until quite recently it was supposed to
be a migrant through Massachusetts, wintering in small numbers,
but has been discovered breeding in both Berkshire and Worcester
counties. Nests have been taken also on the Catskills. It is a
resident of the settled portion of Canada, though not common west
of the Georgian Bay, and rarely breeding south of latitude 45°.

The song is a rather simple “twittered warble,” shrill and high-
pitched.

BLUEBIRD.

SIALIA SIALIS.

CHAR. Male: above, azure blue, duller on cheeks; throat, breast, and
sides reddish brown; belly and under tail-coverts white; shafts of feathers
in wing and tail, black. Female: duller, blue of back mixed:with grayish
brown; breast with less of rufous tint. Length about 63 inches.

vest. Ina hollow tree, deserted Woodpecker’s hole, or other excava-
tion or crevice, or in a bird-box ; meagrely lined with grass or feathers.

Eggs. 4-6; usually pale blue, sometimes almost white; 0.85 X 0.65.

These well-known and familiar favorites inhabit almost the
whole eastern side of the continent of America, from the 48th
parallel to the very line of the tropics. Some appear to mi-
grate in winter to the Bermudas and Bahama islands, though
most of those which pass the summer in the North only retire
to the Southern States or the tableland of Mexico. In South
Carolina and Georgia they were abundant in January and Feb-
ruary, and even on the 12th and 28th of the former month, the
weather being mild, a few of these wanderers warbled out their
simple notes from the naked limbs of the long-leaved pines.
Sometimes they even pass the winter in Pennsylvania, or at
least make their appearance with almost every relenting of the
severity of the winter or warm gleam of thawing sunshine.
From this circumstance of their roving about in quest of their
scanty food, like the hard-pressed and hungry Robin Redbreast,
who by degrees gains such courage from necessity as to enter
the cottage for his allowed crumbs, it has, without foundation,

286 * SINGING BIRDS.

been supposed that our Bluebird, in the intervals of his absence,
passes the tedious and stormy time in a state of dormancy;
but it is more probable that he flies to some sheltered glade,
some warm and more hospitable situation, to glean his frugal
fare from the berries of the cedar or the wintry fruits which
still remain ungathered in the swamps. Defended from the
severity of the cold, he now also, in all probability, roosts in
the hollows of decayed trees, —a situation which he generally
chooses for the site of his nest. In the South, at this cheer-
less season, Bluebirds are seen to feed on the glutinous berries
of the mistletoe, the green-brier, and the sumach. Content with
their various fare, and little affected by the extremes of heat
and cold, they breed and spend the summer from Labrador to
Natches, if not to Mexico, where great elevation produces the
most temperate and mild of climates. They are also abundant,
at this season, to the west of the Mississippi, in the territories
of the Missouri and Arkansas,

In the Middle and Northern States the return of the Blue-
bird to his old haunts round the barn and the orchard is
hailed as the first agreeable presage of returning spring, and he
is no less a messenger of grateful tidings to the farmer, than
an agreeable, familiar, and useful companion to all. Though
sometimes he makes a still earlier flitting visit, from the 3d to
the middle of March he comes hither as a permanent resident,
and is now accompanied by his mate, who immediately visits the
box in the garden, or the hollow in the decayed orchard tree,
which has served as the cradle of preceding generations of his
kindred. Affection and jealousy, as in the contending and re-
lated Thrushes, have considerable influence over the Bluebird.
He seeks perpetually the company of his mate, caresses and
soothes her with his amorous song, to which she faintly replies ;
and, like the faithful Rook, seeks occasion to show his gallan-
try by feeding her with some favorite insect. Ifa rival make
his appearance, the attack is instantaneous, the intruder is
driven with angry chattering from the precincts he has chosen,
and he now returns to warble out his notes of triumph by the
side of his cherished consort. The business of preparing and

BLUEBIRD. 287

cleaning out the old nest or box now commences; and even
in October, before they bid farewell to their favorite mansion,
on fine days, influenced by the anticipation of the season, they
are often observed to go in and out of the box, as if examining
and planning out their future domicile. Little pains, however,
are requisite for the protection of the hardy young, and a sub-
stantial lining of hay, and now and then a few feathers, is all
that is prepared for the brood beyond the natural shelter of
the chosen situation. As the Martin and House Wren seek
out the favor and convenience of the box, contests are not
unfrequent with the parties for exclusive possession; and the
latter, in various clandestine ways, exhibits his envy and hos-
tility to the favored Bluebird. As our birds are very prolific,
and constantly paired, they often raise 2 and sometimes prob-
ably 3 broods in the season; the male taking the youngest
under his affectionate charge, while the female is engaged in
the act of incubation.

Their principal food consists of insects, particularly beetles
and other shelly kinds; they are also fond of spiders and
grasshoppers, for which they often, in company with their
young, in autumn, descend to the earth, in open pasture fields
or waste grounds. Like our Thrushes, they, early in spring,
also collect the common wire-worm, or /w/us, for food, as well
as other kinds of insects, which they commonly watch for,
while perched on the fences or low boughs of trees, and dart
after them to the ground as soon as perceived. They are
not, however, flycatchers, like the Sy/icolas and Muscicapas,
but are rather industrious searchers for subsistence, like the
Thrushes, whose habits they wholly resemble in their mode
of feeding. In the autumn they regale themselves on various
kinds of berries, as those of the sour-gum, wild-cherry, and
others ; and later in the season, as winter approaches, they
frequent the red cedars and several species of sumach for
their berries, eat persimmons in the Middle States, and many
other kinds of fruits, and even seeds, — the last never enter-
ing into the diet of the proper Flycatchers. They have also,
occasionally, in a state of confinement, been reared and fed

288 SINGING BIRDS.

on soaked bread and vegetable diet, on which they thrive as
well as does the Robin.

The song of the Bluebird, which continues almost uninter-
ruptedly from March to October, is a soft, rather feeble, but
delicate and pleasing warble, often repeated at various times
of the day, but most frequently in early spring when the sky
is serene and the temperature mild and cheering. At this
season, before the earnest Robin pours out his more energetic
lay from the orchard tree or fence-rail, the simple song of this
almost domestic favorite is heard nearly alone; and if at
length he be rivalled, at the dawn of day, by superior and
bolder songsters, he still relieves the silence of later hours by
his unwearied and affectionate attempts to please and accom-
pany his devoted mate. All his energy is poured out into this
simple ditty, and with an ecstatic feeling of delight he often
raises and quivers his wings like the Mocking Orpheus, and
amidst his striving rivals in song, exerts his utmost powers to
introduce variety into his unborrowed and simple strain. On
hearkening some time to his notes, an evident similarity to the
song of the Thrush is observable; but the accents are more
weak, faltering, and inclining to the plaintive. As in many
other instances, it is nearly impossible to give any approxi-
mating idea of the expression of warbled sounds by words; yet
their resemblance to some quaint expressions, in part, may not
be useless, as an attempt to recall to memory these pleasing
associations with native harmony: so the Bluebird often at
the commencement of his song seems tenderly to call in a
whistled tone hear — héar bitty, buty ? or merely hear — bitty,
and instantly follows this interrogatory call with a soft and warb-
ling trill. So much is this sound like that which these birds
frequently utter that on whistling the syllables in their accent,
even in the cool days of autumn, when they are nearly silent,
they often resume the answer in sympathy. During the period
of incubation, the male becomes much more silent, and utters
his notes principally in the morning. More importantly
engaged, in now occasionally feeding his mate as well as him-
self, and perhaps desirous of securing the interesting occupa-

BLUEBIRD. 289

tion of his devoted consort, he avoids betraying the resort of
his charge by a cautious and silent interest in their fate. Gen-
tle, peaceable, and familiar when undisturbed, his society is
courted by every lover of rural scenery; and it is not un-
common for the farmer to furnish the Bluebird with a box, as
well as the Martin, in return for the pleasure of his company,
the destruction he makes upon injurious insects, and the cheer-
fulness of his song. Confident in this protection, he shows
but little alarm for his undisturbed tenement; while in the
remote orchard, expecting no visitor but an enemy, in com-
pany with his anxious mate he bewails the approach of the
intruder, and flying round his head and hands, appears by his
actions to call down all danger upon himself rather than suffer
any injury to arrive to his helpless brood.

Towards autumn, in the month of October, his cheerful song
nearly ceases, or is now changed into a single plaintive note
of ¢hay-wit, while he passes with his flitting companions over
the fading woods; and as his song first brought the welcome
intelligence of spring, so now his melancholy plaint presages
but too truly the silent and mournful decay of Nature. Even
when the leaves have fallen, and the forest no longer affords a
shelter from the blast, the faithful Bluebirds still linger over
their native fields, and only take their departure in November,
when at a considerable elevation, in the early twilight of the
morning, till the opening of the day, they wing their way in
small roving troops to some milder regions in the South. But
yet, after this period, in the Middle States, with every return
of moderate weather we hear their sad note in the fields or in
the air, as if deploring the ravages of winter; and so frequent
are their visits that they may be said to follow fair weather
through all their wanderings till the permanent return of spring.

If the Bluebird ever tried the climate of Labrador, it evidently
discovered that the weather there was not suitable, for now it rarely
goes north of latitude 45°. A few pairs are seen every season
about the farm-lands on the upper St. John, in New Brunswick,
and Philip Cox has seen several at Newcastle, near the mouth of
the Miramichi. Comeau found a pair breeding at Godbout,— the
only occurrence reported recently from that latitude.

VOL. 1. — 19

WHEATEAR.

SAXICOLA CENANTHE.

Cuar. Above, bluish gray; forehead and stripe over eyes white;
patch on cheek and wings black; rump white; middle tail-feathers black,
rest white, broadly tipped with black; under parts white. In the female
the upper parts are brown, and under parts buff. Length 63% inches.

West. Ina crevice of a stone wall or a stone heap; made of plant
stems and grass, lined with feathers, hair, or rabbit’s fur.

Eggs. 5-7; pale blue, sometimes spotted with pale tawny, or purple;
0.85 X 0.65.

The first mention of the occurrence of this species in eastern
America appeared in Holbdll’s account of the birds of Greenland,
issued in 1846; it had been reported previously from the Pacific
coast by Vigors. In 1854 the name appeared in Cassin’s work,
and in Baird’s “Report” of 1859 it was recorded as “accidental
in the northern part of North America.”

It should not be termed accidental at the present day, for it
occurs regularly in Greenland and Labrador and at Godbout, on
the St. Lawrence, and has been taken in winter in Nova Scotia,
Maine, New York, Long Island, Louisiana, and Bermuda.

American writers formerly gave the vernacular name as “ Stone-
chat,” or “Stone Chat,”—Coues alone adding Wheatear (as a
synonym).

WHEATEAR. 291

The Stonechat is a different bird, though Magillivray called
the present species the “ White-rumped Stonechat.” Throughout
Europe the bird is commonly known as the “ White-rump,” and
Saunders considers the name ‘“‘ wheatear” a corruption of whzte
and @rs,—the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the modern word
vc rump.”

In Europe and Asia the species is abundant, breeding from cen-
tral Europe far to the northward, and migrating in winter to north.
ern Africa. A few winter in the British Islands, though these may
be of the Greenland race, which some authors think is a distinct
form, —larger than those that breed in Europe,—as the Green-
land birds are known to migrate across Great Britain. Ridgway
states that the examples taken on our western coast are smaller and
more like those found in central Europe.

Formerly large numbers were trapped in the autumn on the
Southdowns in England, and marketed, being considered little
inferior in delicacy to the famous Ortolans.

The favorite resorts of the Wheatear at all seasons are the lonely
moors or open meadows by the sea-shore. It is an active bird and
always alert, keeping up a perpetual flitting. It is very terrrestrial,
though the Greenland race is said to perch on trees more fre-
quently than the European bird.

The song is sweet and sprightly, and the male often sings while
hovering over his mate.

Mr. Hagerup writes to me that the birds in Greenland sing at
times very similarly to the Snow Buntings, —a song that he never
heard from the Wheatears of Denmark, — and this song is ren-
dered by both females and males.

AMERICAN PIPIT.
TITLARK.

ANTHUS PENNSYLVANICUS.

Cuar. Above, olive brown, edges of the feathers paler; line over
and around the eye pale buff; wings dusky, edges of feathers pale brown ;
tail dusky, middle feathers olive brown, large patches of white on outer
feathers ; below, dull buff, breast and sides spotted with brown. Length
634 inches.

est. On the ground, usually sheltered by stone or mound; a bulky
affair of grass, stems, moss, and lichens, — sometimes only grass ‘is used,
— often loosely made, occasionally compact.

£ggs. 4-6; variable in color, usually dull white covered thickly with
reddish brown and purplish brown; sometimes the markings so nearly
conceal the ground color as to give appearance of a brown egg with
gray streaks; 0.80 X 0.60.

This is a winter bird of passage in most parts of the United
States, arriving in loose, scattered flocks from the North, in
the Middle and Eastern States, about the second week in
October. In the month of April we saw numerous flocks
flitting over the prairies of Missouri, on their way, no doubt,
to their breeding quarters in the interior. Audubon found
these birds also in the summer on the dreary coast of Labra-
dor. During the breeding season the male often rises on wing
to the height of eight or ten yards, uttering a few clear and

AMERICAN PIPIT. 293

mellow notes, and then suddenly settles down near the nest or
on some projecting rock. They leave Labrador and New-
foundland as soon as the young are able to fly, or about the
middle of August. According to their well-known habits, they
frequent open flats, commons, and ploughed fields, like a
Lark, running rapidly along the ground, taking by surprise their
. insect prey of flies, midges, and other kinds, and when rest-
ing for an instant, keeping the tail vibrating in the manner of
the European Wagtail. They also frequent the river shores,
particularly where gravelly, in quest of minute shell-fish, as
well as aquatic insects and their larve. At this time they
utter only a feeble note or call, like tweet twée¢, with the final
tone often plaintively prolonged ; and when in flocks, wheel
about and fly pretty high, and to a considerable distance before
they alight. Sometimes families of these birds continue all
winter in the Middle States, if the season prove moderate. In
the Southern States, particularly North and South Carolina,
they appear in great flocks in the depth of winter. On the
shores of the Santee, in January, I observed them gleaning
their food familiarly amidst the Vultures, drawn by the rubbish
of the city conveyed to this quarter. They likewise frequent
the cornfields and rice-grounds for the same purpose. They
emigrate to the Bermudas, Cuba, and Jamaica, and penetrate
in the course of the winter even to Mexico, Guiana, and
Brazil. They also inhabit the plains of the Oregon. They
are again seen on their return to the North, in Pennsylvania,
about the beginning of May or close of April.

Nests of the Titlark have been found on the mountains of
Colorado.

NotTE.— Two European congeners of the Titlark, the WHITE
WactTalL (MJotacilla alba) and the MEADow Pipir (Anthus pra-
tensis) have been captured in Greenland, but should be considered
merely as “ accidentals ” in that region.

HORNED LARK.
SHORE LARK.

OTOCORIS ALPESTRIS.

Cuar. Above, dull grayish brown streaked with darker; nape, shoul-
ders, and rump pink-vinaceous cinnamon; black bar across forehead and
along sides of head, terminating in erectile horn-like tufts; throat and
line over the eyes, yellow; black bar from nostril curving below the eyes;
below, dull white, shaded on the sides with same color as back; breast
tinged with yellow and bearing large black patch; middle tail-feathers
like back, the rest black, with white patches on outer pair. Length about
7% inches.

Nest. On the ground, amid a bed of moss; composed of grass, lined
with feathers.

Eggs. 4-5; dull white with buff or purple tint spotted with purplish
brown or olive brown and lilac; 0.93 X 0.70.

This beautiful species is common to the north of both the old
and new continent ; but, as in some other instances already re-
marked, the Shore Lark extends its migrations much farther over
America than over Europe and Asia. Our bird has been met
with in the Arctic regions by the numerous voyagers, and Mr.
Bullock saw it in the winter around the city of Mexico, so that
in their migrations over this continent these birds spread them-
selves across the whole habitable northern hemisphere to the
very equator ; while in Europe, according to the careful obser-

HORNED LARK. 295

vations of Temminck, they are unknown to the south of Ger-
many. Pallas met with these birds round Lake Baikal and on
the Volga, in the 53d degree of latitude. Westward they have
also been seen in the interior of the United States, along the
shores of the Missouri.

They arrive in the Northern and Middle States late in the
fall or commencement of winter. In New England they are
seen early in October, and disappear generally on the approach
of the deep storms of snow, though straggling parties are still
found nearly throughout the winter. In the other States to
the South they are more common at this season, and are par-
ticularly numerous in South Carolina and Georgia, frequenting
open plains, old fields, common grounds, and the dry shores
and banks of bays and rivers, keeping constantly on the
ground, and roving about in families under the guidance of the
older birds, who, watching for any approaching danger, give
the alarm to the young in a plaintive call very similar to that
which is uttered by the Skylark in the same circumstances.
Inseparable in all their movements, like the hen and her fos-
tered chickens, they roost together in a close ring or com-
pany, by the mere edge of some sheltering weed or tuft of
grass on the dry and gravelly ground, and thickly and warmly
clad, they abide the frost and the storm with hardy indiffe-
rence. They fly rather high and loose, in scattered companies,
and follow no regular time of migration, but move onward only
as their present resources begin to fail. They are usually fat,
esteemed as food, and are frequently seen exposed for sale in
our markets. ‘Their diet, as usual, consists of various kinds of
seeds which still remain on the grass and weeds they frequent,
and they swallow a considerable portion of gravel to assist
their digestion. They also collect the eggs and dormant
larvee of insects when they fall in their way. About the middle
of March they retire to the North, and are seen about the
beginning of May round Hudson Bay, after which they are
no more observed till the return of autumn. They arrive in
the fur countries along with the Lapland Buntings, with which
they associate ; and being more shy, act the sentinel usually to

296 SINGING BIRDS.

the whole company in advertising them of the approach of
danger. They soon after retire to the marshy and woody dis-
tricts to breed, extending their summer range to the Arctic Sea.
They are said to sing well, rising into the air and warbling as
they ascend, in the manner of the Skylark of Europe. “The
male,”’ says Audubon, like the Common Lark, “soars into the
air, sings with cheerfulness over the resort of his mate, and
roosts beside her and his nest on the ground, having at this
season a very remarkable appearance in the development of
the black and horn-like egrets.”

Happy Nuttall, to have died before “variety making” came into
fashion! You had but one form of Horned Lark to deal with,
while I am confronted with e/even. Fortunately a large number of
these sub-species have never taken it into their horned heads to
cross into the territory under present consideration, so I am saved
from puzzling myself and my readers with their diagnosis.

The true a/pfestris is found during summer in the region be-
tween the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Greenland west to Hudson
Bay, and in winter south to about latitude 35°. It is quite common
along the New England shores while migrating and in winter.

The PRAIRIE HORNED Lark (0. alpestris praticola) is a smaller
bird with very gray back; line over eyes white; chin fade yellow.

This race is found in summer along the upper Mississippi valley
and Great Lake region, eastward sparingly to Montreal, Vermont,
and Long Island. It is resident over the greater portion of its
range, but some few winter south to the Carolinas and Texas.

SKYLARK.

ALAUDA ARVENSIS.

Cuar. Above, yellowish brown streaked with dark brown, darkest on
back and crown ; buff streak over the eye; wings brown, margined with
buff and tipped with white ; outer tail-feathers mostly white ; below, pale
buff, spotted and streaked with brown. Length about 7 inches.

Vest, In a meadow, under a tuft of grass; made of coarse and fine
grass. :
£ggs. 3-5; dull gray, marked with olive brown; 0.95 X 0.70.

Although not mentioned by Nuttall, this European bird becomes
entitled to a place among the birds of America through its occur-
rence casually in Greenland and Bermuda. It also has been in-
troduced lately into New York State and New Jersey; and though
the success of the experiment is not yet assured, recent reports of
the abundance and evident nesting of the birds on Long Island
leave little doubt concerning it.

3

298 SINGING BIRDS.

DICKCISSEL.
BLACK-THROATED BUNTING.
SPIZA AMERICANA.

CHAR. Male: above, gray brown, middle of back streaked with
black ; nape and side of head ash, crown olive streaked with dusky ; line
over the eyes yellow; chin white; large patch of black on throat; two
wing-bars chestnut; edge of wing yellow; below, white tinged with yel-
low ; sides shaded with brown. Female: similar, somewhat smaller;
throat without patch, but with black spots ; less tinge of yellow on lower
parts. Length 6 to 7 inches.

Vest. On the prairie or in a field or pasture or open scrubby woods ;
placed upon the ground or in a bush or low tree, sometimes Io to 20
feet from ground; made of grass, weed-stalks, leaves, and roots, lined
with fine grass or hair.

£ggs. 4-5; pale greenish blue, unspotted ; 0.80 X 0.60.

These birds arrive in Pennsylvania and New England from
the South about the middle of May, and abound in the vicinity
of Philadelphia, where they seem to prefer level fields, building
their nests on the ground, chiefly of fine withered grass. They
also inhabit the prairies of Missouri, the State of New York,
the remote northern regions of Hudson’s Bay, and are not un-
common in this part of New England, dwelling here, however,
almost exclusively in the high, fresh meadows near the salt-
marshes. Their song, simple and monotonous, according to
Wilson consists only of five notes, or rather two, the first
being repeated twice and slowly, the second thrice and rapidly,
resembling ¢shsp tship, tshe tshe tshé. With us their call is 4
"ne —tshé tshé tshé tship, and tship tship, thé tshé tshé tship.
From their arrival nearly to their departure, or for two or three
months, this note is perpetually heard from every level field of
grain or grass; both sexes also often mount to the top of some
low tree of the orchard or meadow, and there continue to
chirp forth in unison their simple ditty for an hour at a time.
While thus engaged they may be nearly approached without
exhibiting any appearance of alarm or suspicion; and though
the species appears to be numerous, they live in harmony, and

DICKCISSEL, 299

rarely display any hostility to the birds around them, or
amongst each other. In August they become mute, and about
the beginning of September depart for the South, wintering as
well as breeding in Texas and other parts of Mexico, but are
not seen in the Southern States at any period of the winter.
Their food consists of seeds, eggs of insects, and gravel, and in
the early part of summer they subsist much upon caterpillars
and small coleopterous insects ; they are also among the many
usual destroyers of the ruinous cankerworm.

This species occurs regularly in southern New England, but is
rather rare in Massachusetts, and is merely accidental farther to
the northward. The only examples that have been met with in
Canada were the few that Mr. William E. Saunders found breeding
at Point Pelee in southern Ontario.

Note. — TOWNSEND’S BUNTING (Sfiza townsendi?) was placed
on the “ Hypothetical List ” by the A.O. U. Committee. The type
specimen taken by Mr. Townsend in Pennsylvania remains unique.

The Lark BUNTING (Calamospiza melanocorys) has been seen
in Massachusetts, —the only instance of its occurrence east of the
Great Plains.

SNOWFLAKE.
SNOW BUNTING. WHITE SNOW BIRD.

PLECTROPHENAX NIVALIS.

Cuar. In summer, prevailing color white; middle of back, wings, and
tail mixed with black. In autumn the dark color is extended, the black
being broadly margined with tawny brown, which gradually becomes white
as winter advances. Length about 634 inches.

Nest. On a barren hillside, under shelter of a rock or in a stone heap,
sometimes in cavity of a sand-bank; compactly built of dry grass, plant
stems, and moss, lined with feathers and hair.

Eggs. 4-6; dull white, with faint tint of blue or green, spotted, chiefly
around larger end, with reddish brown and lavender; 0.90 X 0.65.

This messenger of cold and stormy weather chiefly in-
habits the higher regions of the Arctic circle, whence, as the
severity of the winter threatens, they migrate indifferently over
Europe, eastern Asia, and the United States. On their way to
the South they appear round Hudson Bay in September, and
stay till the frosts of November again oblige them to seek out
warmer quarters. Early in December they make their descent

SNOWFLAKE. 301

into the Northern States in whirling roving flocks, either im-
mediately before or soon after an inundating fall of snow.
Amidst the drifts, and as they accumulate with the blast, flocks
of these wars fogel, or bad-weather birds, of the Swedes, like
the spirits of the storm are to be seen flitting about in restless
and hungry troops, at times resting on the wooden fences,
though but for an instant, as, like the congenial Tartar hordes
of their natal regions, they appear now to have no other
object in view but an escape from famine and to carry on a
general system of forage.while they happen to stay in the
vicinity. At times, pressed by hunger, they alight near the
door of the cottage and approach the barn, or even venture
into the out-houses in quest of dormant insects, seeds, or
crumbs wherewith to allay their hunger; they are still, how-
ever, generally plump and fat, and in some countries much
esteemed for the table. In fine weather they appear less rest-
less, somewhat more familiar, and occasionally even at this
season they chant out a few unconnected notes as they survey
the happier face of Nature. At the period of incubation they
are said to sing agreeably, but appear to seek out the most
desolate regions of the cheerless North in which to waste the
sweetness of their melody, unheard by any ear but that of their
mates. In the dreary wastes of Greenland, the naked Lapland
Alps, and the scarcely habitable Spitzbergen, bound with eter-
nal ice, they pass the season of reproduction seeking out the
fissures of rocks on the mountains in which to fix their nests
about the month of May or June. A few are known to breed
in the alpine declivities of the White Mountains of New
Hampshire. The nest is here fixed on the ground in the
shelter of low bushes, and formed nearly of the same materials
as that of the Common Song Sparrow.

At times they proceed as far south in the United States as
the State of Maryland. They are here generally known by the
name of the White Snow Bird, to distinguish them from the
more common dark-bluish Sparrow, so called. They vary in
their color according to age and season, and have always a
great predominance of white in their plumage.

302 SINGING BIRDS.

The Snow Buntings are seen in spring to assemble in Nor-
way and its islands in great numbers ; and after a stay of about
three weeks they disappear for the season, and migrate across
the Arctic Ocean to the farthest known land. On their return
in winter to the Scottish Highlands their flocks are said to be
immense, mingling, by an aggregating close flight, almost into
the form of a ball, so as to present a very fatal and successful
mark for the fowler. They arrive lean, but soon become fat.
In Austria they are caught in snares or traps, and when fed |
with millet become equal to the Ortolan in value and flavor.
When caged they show a very wakeful disposition, instantly
hopping about in the night when a light is produced. Indul-
gence in this constant train of action and perpetual watchful-
ness may perhaps have its influence on this species, in the
selection of their breeding places within the Arctic regions,
where for months they continue to enjoy a perpetual day.

The food of these birds consists of various kinds of seeds
and the larve of insects and minute shell-fish; the seeds of
aquatic plants are also sometimes sought by them, and I have
found in their stomachs those of the Ruppia, species of Poly-
gonum, and gravel. In a state of confinement they shell and
eat oats, millet, hemp-seed, and green peas, which they split.
They rarely perch, and, like Larks, live much on the ground.

This harbinger of winter breeds in the northernmost of the
American islands and on all the shores of the continent from
Chesterfield Inlet to Behring’s Straits. ‘The most southerly of
its breeding stations in America, according to Richardson, is
Southampton Island, in the 62d parallel, where Captain Lyons
found a nest, by a strange fatality, placed in the bosom of the
exposed corpse of an Esquimaux child. Well clothed and
hardy by nature, the Snow Bunting even lingers about the forts
of the fur countries and open places, picking up grass-seeds,
until the snow becomes deep. It is only during the months
of December and January that it retires to the southward
of Saskatchewan, and it is seen again there on its return
as early as the middle of February, two months after which
it arrives in the 65th parallel, and by the beginning of May it

SNOWFLAKE. 303

has penetrated to the coast of the Polar Sea. At this period it
feeds upon the buds of the purple saxifrage (Saxifraga opposi-
“ifolia), one of the most early of the Arctic plants.

As the Snow Bunting sometimes begins to visit the United
States in October, it appears pretty certain that some of these
birds breed almost, if not quite, within the northern limits of
the Union; and as stated elsewhere, a nest has been found
near the rocky summit of the White Mountains of New
Hampshire.

The Snow Bunting is usually restricted in summer to the higher
latitudes, — from Labrador and the Great Slave Lake region to’the
Arctic Ocean, — but an occasional flock is seen farther southward,
and nests have been taken in the White Mountains and at Spring-
field, Mass.

Mr. A. Hagerup, who saw considerable of this bird when in
Greenland, writes to me that the song is a sweet and pleasing
melody, though rather disconnected, “delivered in short stanzas.”
“ Warbling,” he adds, “is perhaps the English word best suited to
describe its character.”

LAPLAND LONGSPUR.

CALCARIUS LAPPONICUS.

Cuar. Above, brownish black, the feathers edged with dull buff,
wing-feathers with dull bay; head and throat rich black (female and
young have the crown same as back); line from eyes and down side of
throat, white ; band of bright chestnut across hind-neck; tail with patches
of white on outer feathers ; below, dull white, breast and sides marked
with black; bill yellow, tipped with black; legs and feet black. Length
about 6% inches.

LVest. In swampy moorlands, amid deep moss or tuft of grass, or at
the base of a mound; composed of grass, plant-stems, roots, and moss,
lined with feathers or deer’s hair.

£ggs. 4-7; pale grayish brown or reddish brown, marked with dark
brown ; 0.80 X 0.60.

This species generally inhabits the desolate Arctic regions of
both continents. Inthe United States a few stragglers from
the greater body show themselves in winter in the remote and

LAPLAND LONGSPUR. 305

unsettled parts of Maine, Michigan, and the Northwestern
Territories. Large flocks also at times enter the Union, and
contrary to their usual practice of resting and living wholly on
the ground, occasionally alight on trees. They leave the colder
Arctic deserts in the autumn, and are found around Hudson
Bay on their way to the South in winter, not making their
appearance there before November. Near Severn River they
haunt the cedar-trees, upon whose berries they now princi-
pally feed. They live in large flocks, and are so gregarious
that when separated from their own species, or in small par-
ties, they usually, in Europe, associate with the common Larks,
or, in America, they join the roving bands of Snow Birds. In
the fur countries they extend their migrations in the spring as
far as the 65th parallel, where they were seen about Fort
Franklin by the beginning of May ; at this time they fed much
upon the seeds of the Alpine arbutus. ‘They feed principally
on seeds, and also on grass, leaves, buds, and insects. They
breed on small hillocks, among moss and stones, in open
marshy fields, and the nest is thickly and loosely constructed
of moss and grass, and lined with a few feathers and deer’s
hair. The Longspur, like the Lark, sings only as it rises in
the air, in which, suspended aloft, it utters a few agreeable and
melodious notes.

The Longspur occurs in winter in South Carolina, Kentucky,
and Kansas, though it is not common south of about 40°.

Of its song Mr. Hagerup writes to me: “It sounds best when
the bird, after mounting up in the sky, drops slowly to the earth
with extended wings. The song is not very long, but has a sweet,
flute-like tone, and though the melody is attractive, it is almost mel-
ancholy in its wild plaintiveness, — as, indeed, all the notes of this
species are.”

Note. — One example of the CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR
(Calcarius ornatus) was captured in Massachusetts in 1876. The
usual range of this bird is limited to the Central Plains, — from
Texas to the Saskatchewan.

SMITH’S LONGSPUR (Calcarius pictus), which occurs in the in-
terior, — breeding from the Great Slave Lake district to the Arctic
Ocean, — is found, in winter, in Illinois.

VOL. I. — 20

SCARLET TANAGER.

PIRANGA ERYTHROMELAS.

Cuar. Male: scarlet, with black wings and tail. Female and young:
above, olive; wings and tail dusky, the feathers edged with olive ; below,
greenish yellow. Length 7 to 73 inches.

Nest. In a woodland grove, sometimes in an orchard, placed near the
extremity of a horizontal limb ro to 20 feet from the ground; composed
of twigs, roots, or shreds of bark, and lined with roots, sometimes with
pine-needles.

Eggs. 3-5 (usually 4); dull white or with blue tinge, thickly marked,
chiefly about larger end, with several shades of brown and lilac; 0.95
x 0.65.

This splendid and transient resident, accompanying fine
weather in all his wanderings, arrives from his winter station in
tropical America from the beginning to the middle of May,
and extends his migrations probably to Nova Scotia as well as
Canada. With the shy, unsocial, and suspicious habits of his
gaudy fraternity, he takes up his abode in the deepest recess

SCARLET TANAGER. 307

of the forest, where, timidly flitting from observation, he darts
from tree to tree like a flashing meteor. A gaudy sylph, con-
scious of his brilliance and the exposure to which it subjects
him, he seems to avoid remark, and is only solicitous to be
known to his humble mate, and hid from all besides. He
therefore rarely approaches the habitations of men, unless
perhaps the skirts of the orchard, where he sometimes, how-
ever, builds his nest, and takes a taste of the early and inviting,
though forbidden, cherries.

Among the thick foliage of the tree in which he seeks sup-
port and shelter, from the lofty branches, at times we hear his
almost monotonous ¢ship witee, tship-idee, or tshikadee, tshit-
kadee repeated at short intervals and in a pensive undertone,
heightened by the solitude in which he delights to dwell. The
same note is also uttered by the female when the retreat of
herself and young is approached ; and the male occasionally
utters in recognition to his mate, as they perambulate the
branches, a low whispering ’Zaz/in a tone of caution and tender-
ness. But besides these calls on the female, he has also dur-
ing the period of incubation, and for a considerable time after,
a more musical strain, resembling somewhat in the mellowness
” of its tones the song of the fifing Baltimore. The syllables
to which I have hearkened appear like ‘¢shoove wait ’wait
‘ychdwit wait, and ’watt ’vehdwit vea wait, with other addi-
tions of harmony for which no words are adequate. This
pleasing and highly musical meandering ditty is delivered for
hours, in a contemplative mood, in the same tree with his
busy consort. If surprised, they flit together, but soon return
to their favorite station in the spreading boughs of the shady
oak or hickory. The song resembles that of the Red-eyed
Vireo in its compass and strain, though much superior, the
‘wait wait being whistled very sweetly in several tones and
with emphasis, so that upon the whole, our Piranga may be
considered as duly entitled to various excellence, being harmless
to the farmer, brilliant in plumage, and harmonious in voice.

These birds only sojourn long enough to rear their single
brood, which are here fledged early in July, leaving us already

308 SINGING BIRDS.

for the South about the middle or close of August, or as soon
as the young are well able to endure the fatigue of an extensive
migration in company with their parents. The female shows
great solicitude for the safety of her only brood, and on an
approach to the nest appears to be in great distress and appre-
hension. When they are released from her more immediate
protection, the male, at first cautious and distant, now attends
and feeds them with activity, being altogether indifferent to
that concealment which his gaudy dress seems to require from
his natural enemies. So attached to his now interesting brood
is the Scarlet Tanager that he has been known, at all hazards,
to follow for half a mile one of his young, submitting to feed
it attentively through the bars of a cage, and, with a devotion
which despair could not damp, roost by in the branches of the
same tree with its prison; so strong, indeed, is this innate and
heroic feeling that life itself is less cherished than the desire
of aiding and supporting his endearing progeny (Wilson).

The food of the Scarlet Tanager while with us consists
chiefly of winged insects, wasps, hornets, and wild bees, as
well as smaller kinds of beetles and other shelly tribes; it
probably also sometimes feeds on seeds, and is particularly
partial to whortleberries and other kinds which the season
affords.

About the beginning of August the male begins to moult,
and then exchanges his nuptial scarlet for the greenish livery
of the female. At this period these birds leave us; and having
passed the winter in the celibacy indicated by this humble
garb, they arrive again among us on its vernal renewal, and
so soon after this change that individuals are at this time occa-
sionally seen with the speckled livery of early autumn, or with
a confused mixture of green and scarlet feathers in scattered
patches.

The Scarlet Tanager is common throughout this Eastern Prov-
ince north to about latitude 44°, and occurs sparingly along the
Annapolis valley, in Nova Scotia and along the valley of the St.
John in New Brunswick, also near the city of Quebec and in the
vicinity of Lake Winnipeg. It winters in the West Indies and
northern South America.

SUMMER TANAGER. 309

SUMMER TANAGER.
SUMMER RED-BIRD.
PIRANGA RUBRA.

Cuar. Male: rich vermilion, duller above. Female and young:
above, dull olive; below, dull buff. Length about 7% inches.

est. On the edge of an open grove or by a roadside, placed near
the extremity of a horizontal limb; composed of grass, leaves, and vege-
table fibre, lined with grass.

£ggs. 3-4; bright green, sometimes with a tinge of blue, spotted,
chiefly near the larger end, with various shades of brown and purple;
0.95 X 0.65.

This brilliant and transient resident, like the former species,
passes the greatest part of the year in tropical America, whence
in his gaudy nuptial suit he presents himself with his humble
mate in the Southern States in the latter end of April or by
the rst of May. In Pennsylvania these birds are but rarely
seen, though in the warm and sandy barren forests of New
Jersey several pairs may usually be observed in the course of
every season; farther north they are unknown, ceding those
regions apparently to the scarlet species. They are not con-
fined to any particular soil, though often met with in bushy,
barren tracts, and are consequently common even to the west
of the Mississippi, in Louisiana and the Territory of Arkansas,
as well as Mexico; they also breed near the banks of that
river around Natchez.

The nest is built in the woods on the low, horizontal branch
of a tree, often in an evergreen ro or 12 feet from the ground.
Both parents assist in incubation, and the young are fledged
by the middle or latter end of June. They only raise a single
brood in the season, and towards the middle or close of
August the whole party disappear on their way to the South,
though the young remain later than the old and more restless
birds.

The note of the male, like that of the Baltimore Bird, is said
to be a strong and sonorous whistle, resembling the trill or

310 SINGING BIRDS.

musical shake on the fife, and is frequently repeated. The
note of the female is a chattering, and appears almost like the
rapid pronunciation of shicky-tukky-tuk, tshicky-tukky-tuk, and
is chiefly uttered in alarm when any person approaches the
vicinity of her nest. From the similarity of her color to the
‘foliage of the trees, she is, however, rarely seen, and is usually
mute ; while the loquacity and brilliance of the male render
him, as he flits timidly and wildly through the branches, a most
distinguished and beautiful object.

The food of the Summer Red Bird is very similar to that of
the preceding species ; bugs, beetles, and stinging bees make
part of his repast, as well as flies and cynips of various kinds,
after which he often darts about until hindered by the ap-
proach of night. The late suppers are probably necessary,
from the almost nocturnal habits of some of these insect
tribes. After the period of incubation, and until their depar-
ture, whortleberries and other kinds of berries form no incon-
siderable part of the food of these birds.

This species does not occur regularly north of New Jersey,
southern Ohio, and southern Illinois. Occasionally stragglers are
found in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and two examples have
been taken in New Brunswick, one in Nova Scotia, four near
Montreal, and one at Hamilton, Ontario.

NoTE. — One specimen of the Louistana TANAGER (P2ranga
/udoviciana) — a Western species — has been taken in New Eng-
land. It was shot near Lynn in 1878.

INDIGO BUNTING.
PASSERINA CYANEA.

Cuar. Male: indigo blue, intense on head and throat, other parts
tinged with green; black bar from bill to eyes; wings dull brown, the
edge of feathers tinged with dull blue. Female: above, brown; below,
much paler, with dark streaks. Length about 5% inches.

Nest. On the margin of a meadow or country road, or in an orchard
or garden, in a bush or low tree, placed in an upright crotch; a rather

INDIGO BUNTING. 311

clumsy and bulky affair of twigs, stems, grass, etc., lined with fine grass,
etc., sometimes with horse-hair.

£ggs. 4-5; white, sometimes with blue or green tint, occasionally with
a few fine spots of purplish brown; 0.75 X 0.55.

This very beautiful and rather familiar messenger of summer,
after passing the winter in tropical America, towards the 15th
of May, decked in his brilliant azure livery of the nuptial sea-
son, again joyfully visits his natal regions in the Middle States ;
and about a week or ten days later his lively trill in the garden,
orchard, or on the top of the house, its chimney, or vane, is
first heard in this part of New England. Still later, accompa-
nied by his mate, he passes on to Nova Scotia, and probably to
the precincts of Labrador. After raising and training their
only brood in a uniform and more humble dress, the whole
family, in color like so many common Sparrows, begin to
retire to the South from the first to the middle of September.
They are also known in Mexico, where, as well as in the
Southern States to the peninsula of Florida, they breed and
pass the summer as with us. There is reason, however, to
believe that they are less abundant, if seen at all, to the west
of the Mississippi; but yet they are met with in the Western
States up to the alluvial lands of that great natural boundary.

Their food in the early part of the season, as well as that of
their young for a considerable time, is chiefly insects, worms,
and caterpillars, as well as grasshoppers, of which they are
particularly fond. They likewise eat seeds of various kinds,
and are readily reared in a cage on the usual diet of the
Canary.

Though naturally shy, active, and suspicious, particularly the
brilliant male, they still at this interesting period of procrea-
tion resort chiefly to the precincts of habitations, around which
they are far more common than in the solitary woods, seeking
their borders or the thickets by the sides of the road; but
their favorite resort is the garden, where, from the topmost
bough of some tall tree which commands the whole wide land-
scape, the male regularly pours out his lively chant, and con-
tinues it for a considerable length of time. Nor is this song

312 SINGING BIRDS.

confined to the cool and animating dawn of morning, but it
is renewed and still more vigorous during the noon-day heat
of summer. This lively strain seems composed of a repeti-
tion of short notes; commencing loud and rapid, and then,
slowly falling, they descend almost to a whisper, succeeded by
a silent interval of about half a minute, when the song is again
continued as before. The most common of these vocal expres-
sions sounds like she she tshe —tshé tshéé tshéé — tshé tshé
tshe. The middle syllables are uttered lispingly, in a very
peculiar manner, and the three last gradually fall; sometimes
the song is varied and shortened into ¢shea tshea tshea tshréh,
the last sound being sometimes doubled. This shorter song
is usually uttered at the time that the female is engaged in
the cares of incubation, or as the brood already appear, and
when too great a display of music might endanger the retiring
security of the family. From a young or imperfectly moulted
male, on the summit of a weeping-willow, I heard the following
singularly lively syllables, ’#e ’#e ’He ta lee, repeated at short
intervals. While thus prominently exposed to view, the little
airy minstrel is continually on the watch against any surprise,
and if he be steadily looked at or hearkened to with visible
attention, in the next instant he is off to seek out some securer
elevation. In the village of Cambridge I have seen one of
these azure, almost celestial musicians, regularly chant to the
inmates of a tall dwelling-house from the summit of the chim-
ney or the point of the forked lightning-rod. I have also
heard a Canary, within hearing, repeat and imitate the slowly
lisping trill of the Indigo Bird, whose warble indeed often
greatly resembles that of this species. The female, before
hatching her brood, is but seldom seen, and is then scarcely
distinguishable from a common Sparrow ; nor is she ever to be
observed beyond the humble bushes and weeds in which she
commonly resides.

The nest of our bird is usually built in a low bush partly con-
cealed by rank grass or grain; at times in the forks of a young
orchard tree 10 or 12 feet from the ground. I have also seen
one suspended in a complicated manner in a trellised grape-

INDIGO BUNTING. 313

vine. If left undisturbed, they often build in the same garden
or orchard for several successive years. When in a bush, the
nest is suspended betwixt two twigs, passing up on either side.
Externally it is composed of coarse sedge-grass, some withered
leaves, and lined with fine stalks of the same, and the slender
hair-like tops of the bent-grass (Agrostis), with a very few
cow-hairs ; though sometimes they make a substantial lining of
hair. The nest which I saw in the vine was composed out-
wardly of coarse strips of bass-mat, weeds, and some strings
picked up in the garden, and lined with horse-hair and a few
tops of bent-grass. The young here scarcely leave the nest
before the end of July or the first week in August, and they
raise usually but a single brood in the season. They appear
to show great timidity about their nest, and often readily for-
sake it when touched, or when an egg is abstracted. Their
usual note of alarm when themselves or their young are
approached is a sharp ¢s/zf, quickly and anxiously repeated,
resembling almost the striking of two pebbles. They will not
forsake their young, however ready they may be to relinquish
their eggs; and they have been known to feed their brood
very faithfully through the bars of a cage in which they were
confined.

This species is a common summer resident from South Carolina
to western Maine and the city of Quebec, and westward through
Ontario and Illinois to the Great Plains. It also occurs occasion-
ally in eastern Maine and the Maritime Provinces.

Note. — One example of the VARIED BUNTING (Passerina
versicolor) has been captured in southern Michigan. Its usual
habitat is the valley of the Rio Grande and Lower California.

314 SINGING BIRDS.

PAINTED BUNTING.
NONPAREIL.
PASSERINA CIRIS.

CuHar. Male: headand neck purplish blue; eyelids red; back yellow-
ish green; rump purplish red; wings dusky, glossed with green and red ;
tail purplish brown; below, vermilion. Female: above, pale olive; be-
low, dull buff. Length 54 to 534 inches.

Vest. In a thicket of low bushes; compactly made of twigs, roots,
shreds of bark and grass, lined with fine grass or horse-hair, or fine roots.

Eggs. 4-5; dull white, or with blue tint, marked chiefly around larger
end with purplish and reddish brown; 0.80 X 0.60.

This splendid, gay, and docile bird, known to the Americans
as the Vonparei/, and to the French Louisianians as the Pufe,
inhabits the woods of the low countries of the Southern States,
in the vicinity of the sea and along the borders of the larger
rivers, from North Carolina to Mexico. It arrives from its
tropical quarters in Louisiana and Georgia from the middle
to the zoth of April; but impatient of cold, retires to the
South early in October, and is supposed to winter about Vera
Cruz. For the sake of their song as well as beauty of plum-
age, these birds are commonly domesticated in the houses of
the French inhabitants of New Orleans and its vicinity; and
some have succeeded in raising them in captivity, where plenty
of room was allowed in an aviary. They are familiar also in
the gardens and orchards, where their warbling notes are al-
most perpetually heard throughout the summer. Their song
much resembles that of the Indigo Bird, but their voice is
more feeble and concise. Soon reconciled to the cage, they
will sing even a few days after being caught. Their food con-
sists of rice, insects, and various kinds of seeds; they collect
also the grains of the ripe figs, and, frequenting gardens, build
often within a few paces of the house, being particularly
attached to the orangeries.

Their nests are usually made in the hedges of the orange, or
on the lower branches of the same tree, likewise occasionally
in a bramble or thorny bush. In the mildest climates in which

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. 315

they pass the summer, they raise two broods in the season.
They are commonly caught in trap-cages, to which they are
sometimes allured by a stuffed bird, which they descend to
attack ; and they have been known to survive in domestica-
tion for upwards of ten years.

This species is common in the South Atlantic and Gulf States,
and has been taken north to southern IJinois and North Carolina.

NotE.— The Grassquit (Euetheia bicolor) and the MELO-
pious GRassquit (Euetheia canora) — both West India birds —
have been taken in southern Florida, though they are merely
accidental wanderers there.

WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.
ZONOTRICHIA LEUCOPHRYS.

Cuar. Upper parts brown, streaked with brownish black, dull bay,
and pale ash; crown white, bordered by bands of black; lines of black
and white from eyes to hind neck; wings with two white bars; below, dark
ash, whitening on throat and belly; flanks shaded with brown. Length
about 7 inches.

Vest. In an open woodland, on the ground or in a low bush, —
usually concealed in grass at the foot of a bush; firmly made of dried
grass lined with fine grass, —sometimes with deer’s hair or feathers, or
roots.

Eggs. 4-6; greenish white or bluish white thickly spotted with red-
dish brown; 0.90 X 0.65.

This rare and handsome species is very little known in any
part of the United States, a few stragglers only being seen
about the beginning of winter, and again in May or earlier, on
their way back to their Northern breeding-places, in the fur
countries and round Hudson’s Bay, which they visit from the
South in May, and construct their nests in June in the vicinity
of Albany Fort and Severn River. These are fixed on the
ground, or near it, in the shelter of the willow-trees which
they glean, probably with many other birds, for the insects
which frequent them.

316 SINGING BIRDS.

At this season the male sings in a loud, clear, musical, but
rather plaintive tone, the song consisting of six or seven notes ;
these he repeats at short intervals during the whole day. On
the 13th of April, 1835, I saw flocks of this species among
the thickets in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, Upper California,
They sung with a feeble, quaint note, to me unlike that of any
other species, and almost similar to some of the notes of the
Chickadee. As they depart from Hudson Bay in September,
it is probable that they principally winter in the Canadian
provinces, otherwise, as passengers farther south, they would
be seen more abundantly in the United States than they are.
Indeed, as they approach this part of New England only in
small desultory parties in the winter, as in November and
December, it is evident that they only migrate a short distance
in quest of food, and return to the North at the approach of
fine weather. While here they appear silent and solitary, and
are not difficult to approach. Their food, as usual, is seeds of
grasses, insects, and their larve.

This species is not so rare in our day as Nuttall evidently con-
sidered it, for it is now more or less abundant throughout this
Eastern Province, though likely to appear in irregular numbers at
any given locality. It breeds in northern Maine and New Bruns-
wick, and north to sub-arctic regions. Nests have been found also
in Vermont and New York. The birds are met with in winter from
southern New England southward.

LARK SPARROW.
LARK FINCH.

CHONDESTES GRAMMACUS.

CuHarR. Above, grayish olive; the back brown, with fine streaks of
black ; tail black, — excepting central feathers, — tipped with white, outer
web of outer pair entirely white; crown chestnut, with median line of
dull white; line over the eye dull white; white crescent under the eyes
bordered by black, and behind by chestnut; below white tinged with
brown; breast with patch of black. Length 6% to 7 inches.

Nest. Usually amid a tuft of grass, but sometimes in a tree or bush;
composed of grass and vegetable fibre.

Eggs. 3-5 (usually 4); white or with blue or buff tint, marked with
spots and lines of dark brown or black; 0.85 X 0.65.

For this species we are again indebted to Mr. Say, who ob-
served it in abundance near the Council Bluffs and the neigh-
boring country of the Missouri in the spring, as well as in the
month of June. It appears to be wholly confined to the west
side of the Mississippi, and probably extends into Mexico.
These birds frequent the prairie grounds, and seldom if ever
alight on trees; they sing sweetly, and, like the Larks, have
the habit of continuing their notes while on the wing.

Mr. Townsend observes : “ This species inhabits several hun-
dred miles of the Platte plains in great numbers, as well as the
banks of the Columbia River. It generally affects the low
bushes of wormwood (Artemisia), from the summit of which

318 SINGING BIRDS.

it pours forth a variety of pretty notes.” At the commence-
ment of the pairing season the males are very pugnacious,
fighting often on wing, and the conquering rival, repairing to
the nearest bush, tunes his lively pipe in token of success.

The Lark Finch is common along the Mississippi valley north to
Iowa and southern Michigan. It has been taken occasionally in
Manitoba and in Ontario, and a few examples have appeared in
New England. It is said to be the finest songster of the North
American Sparrows.

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.
PEABODY BIRD. OLD-TOM-PEABODY.
ZONOTRICHIA ALBICOLLIS.

Cuar. Back straked, reddish brown, black and dull buff; sides of
head, breast, and rump ashy; crown with median stripe of white bordered
by stripes of black; stripes of yellow from bill to eyes; stripes of white
over eyes; stripes of black through eyes; throat white, bordered by
black ; belly white, the sides shaded with brown; wings with two white
bars. Length 6% to 7 inches.

Vest. In an old meadow or open woodland, or on the edge of a grove ;
placed on the ground upon a cushion of moss; composed of grass, stems,
roots, etc, lined with fine grass or roots, —sometimes with hair or
feathers.

Lggs. 4-5; pale greenish blue, thickly marked with several shades of
reddish brown; 0.85 X 0.60. ‘

These large and handsome Sparrows are seen in this part of
Massachusetts only as transient visitors at the approach of
winter, or in spring about the first week in May. In the
Middle and Southern States they pass the inclement season,
and appear there as a numerous species. A flock has been
observed in the State of New York in the month of January.
In their hibernal resorts they are seen in bands, and show a
predilection for thickets, swamps, small streams, and the bor-
ders of ponds, where, among the tall and bleaching weeds,
they continue to collect the seeds, and probably insect larve,
which constitute their usual fare. While here they keep much
on the ground, and seek out cool and shady situations, scratch-

WHITE-THROATED SPARROW. 319

ing up the fallen leaves in quest of worms and other insects,
and are at this time often very unsuspicious, allowing a near
approach without betraying any alarm; but when in large
flocks, they move about in timorous haste as soon as ap-
proached. About the 15th of April they leave the Middle
States, and retire to the high northern latitudes to breed, hav-
ing been seen in Labrador, Newfoundland, and the fur coun-
tries up to the 66th parallel in summer. At the period of
breeding the male sings with considerable energy and melody
already in the early spring ; also before their departure to the
North, on fine mornings, they are heard to whisper forth a few
sweet and clear notes, as in a revery of the approaching hap- ’
piness of their more lively and interesting condition.

This Sparrow — known to the country people of the East as the
“Peabody Bird” — breeds abundantly in the northern portions of
New York and New England as well as in the Maritime Provinces ;
and at the west in northern Michigan and Manitoba. Two nests
have been discovered in Massachusetts. The bird winters from
southern New England southward.

The song, which is loud and sweet, is familiar in the district
where the birds build, for they sing all day long, and are often
heard during the night. It has been interpreted ped-pod-pedbody-
petbody-pedbody, hence the name.

ny

Nig A

VESPER SPARROW,
GRASS FINCH. BAY-WINGED BUNTING.
POOCETES GRAMINEUS.

CuHar. Above, yellowish brown, streaked with darker ; line over and
around eyes, white; shoulder chestnut or bay; two white bars on wing;
two outer tail-feathers partly white ; below, white with buffy tinge; breast
and sides streaked with brown. Length about 6% inches.

Nest. Ina field, old meadow, open pasture, or roadside, on the ground,
— usually hidden by tuft of grass or under alow bush; composed of grass
and roots, and lined with fine grass, sometimes with hair.

£ges. 4-6; grayish white, sometimes with green or pink tint, thickly
marked with several shades of brown; 0.80 X 0.60.

This plain-looking Finch chiefly frequents dry pastures and
meadows, and is often seen perched on the fences and in :
orchard trees; it also often approaches the public roads and
gathers its subsistence tamely from various sources. It is
abundant in all the States east of the Alleghanies, where many
pass the whole year ; yet great numbers also winter in the south-
ern parts of the Union, proceeding as far as the maritime
districts of Georgia and Florida. From the beginning of
April to the beginning of June, the males sing with a clear and
agreeable note, scarcely inferior to that of the Canary, though
less loud and varied. On their first arrival, as with the Song
Sparrow, their notes are often given in an under-tone of con-
siderable sweetness. Their song begins at early dawn, and is .
again peculiarly frequent after sunset until dark, when, from

VESPER SPARROW. 321

the fence of some elevated pasture-field, in the cool of the
summer evening, when other songsters have retired to rest, the
Grass Sparrow, more than usually wakeful, after a silence which
has perhaps continued nearly through the warmer part of the
day, pipes forth his clear and slender, though now almost mo-
notonous song, near to the favorite spot where his mate hatches
or fosters her tender brood; and from all the neighboring
meadows, at this silent hour, as the last rays of the sun are re-
flected from the dusky horizon, we hear a constant repetition
of an echoing and shrill ah ’¢sh ’tsheé te tshéte tshéte, with warb-
ling tones blended and varied, at the beginning and close of
this simple, rather pensive, but agreeable ditty. They are
more common in fields than thickets, and run along the ground
in the manner of the Lark. They likewise frequent ploughing
fields, searching on the ground for insects, and are very fond
of dusting themselves and basking in dry places.

Being nearly sedentary, they raise probably several broods
in the season. Sometimes when started from the nest, the
female simulates lameness with remarkable dexterity, so as
very readily to draw off the attention of her enemies or in-
truders. The young are easily raised from the nest, and
become very tame, clean, and domestic, but readily quarrel
with each other.

The “ Bay-winged Bunting ” of earlier writers was named “ Ves-
per Sparrow” by Wilson Flagg, from its habit of singing during
‘the early evening. It breeds from Virginia and Kentucky to Mani-
toba and the Maritime Provinces, and is one of the most abundant
Sparrows in New England and Ontario.

VOL. I. — 21

SONG SPARROW.

MELOSPIZA FASCIATA.

Cuar. Back streaked with black, bay, and ash; crown bay, streaked
with black and with two stripes of ash; wings grayish brown edged with
dull rufous ; tail grayish brown, with dark wavy cross-bars , below, white ;
breast, sides of throat, and sides of body spotted with brown, the spots
forming a “ patch ” on the breast. Length 6 to 6% inches.

Nest. Ina field or open pasture, amid a tuft of grass or under a low
bush, sometimes fastened to bush or vine, occasionally placed in a cavity
in a tree; composed of twigs, grass, roots, and leaves, lined with grass
and roots, or hair.

Eggs. 3-7 (usually 4 or 5); dull white or with tint of green, blue, or
pink, thickly marked with several shades of brown occasionally un-
spotted ; 0.80 X 0.60. :

This familiar and almost domestic bird is one of the most
common and numerous Sparrows in the United States; it is
also, with the Bluebird, which it seems to accompany, one
of the two earliest, sweetest, and most enduring warblers.

SONG SPARROW. RES

Though many pass on to the Southern States at the commence-
ment of winter, yet 2 few seem to brave the colds of New
England as long as the snowy waste does not conceal their
last resource of nutriment. When the inundating storm at
length arrives, they no longer, in the sheltering swamps and
borders of bushy streams, spend their time in gleaning an in-
sufficient subsistence; but in the month of November begin to
retire to the warmer States; and here, on fine days, even in
January, whisper forth their usual strains. As early as the 4th
of March, the weather being mild, the Song Sparrow and the
Bluebird here jointly arrive, and cheer the yet dreary face of
Nature with their familiar songs. The latter flits restlessly
through the orchard or neighboring fields ; the Sparrow, more
social, frequents the garden, barn-yard, or road-side in quest
of support, and from the top of some humble bush, stake, or
taller bough tunes forth his cheering lay, in frequent repetitions,
for half an hour or more at atime. These notes have some
resemblance to parts of the Canary’s song, and are almost
uninterruptedly and daily delivered, from his coming to the
commencement of winter. When the birds first arrive, while
the weather is yet doubtful and unsettled, the strain appears
contemplative, and is often delivered in a peculiarly low and
tender whisper, which, when hearkened to for some time, will
be found more than usually melodious, seeming as a sort of
revery, or innate hope of improving seasons, which are recalled
with a grateful, calm, and tender delight. At the approach of
winter, this vocal thrill, sounding like an Orphean farewell to
the scene and season, is still more exquisite, and softened by
the sadness which seems to breathe almost with sentiment,
from the decaying and now silent face of Nature. Our song-
ster, never remarkable for sprightliness, as the spring advances
delivers his lay louder and more earnestly. He usually begins
with a sh’ sh’ tshé te tshéte tshéte, and blends in a good deal of
quivering notes. Individuals also excel, and vary their song from
time to time with very agreeable effect ; and it is only because
our familiar vocalist is so constantly heard and seen that so little
value is set upon his agreeable, cheerful, and faithful perform-

324 SINGING BIRDS.

ance. When not attached to the garden, our Sparrow seems
fond of frequenting low bushy meadows, streams, swamps, and
watery situations, which afford him ready shelter, and his usual
food of worms, insects, larvee, and seeds. Such situations are
also their favorite resorts when, in gregarious and miscellaneous
flocks with other congeneric kinds, they are seen to crowd the
sheltered marshes of the Southern States. They are also com-
monly seen nimbly running along the ground, and gliding
through low thickets in quest of their insect fare; and in fine
weather they dust themselves, and bask in the sun. They often
likewise frequent the water, being fond of washing ; and some-
times are seen to swim across small streams, particularly when
disabled from flying by a gunshot wound.

The nest is usually formed of a considerable portion of fine
dry grass neatly put together, and mostly lined with horse-hair.
These birds are very prolific, raising as many as three broods
in a season, the young being occasionally hatched, in the Mid-
dle States, from the close of April to the end of August. They
are very solicitous for the safety of their young, keeping up at
this time often a tiresome chirping; and on the destruction of
the female and most of her young, I have known the remain-
ing male, with unceasing and anxious attention, raise a solitary
survivor of his ruined family with the most devoted affection.
As they keep the young and their habitation so very clean, and
are so prolific, it is a matter of surprise that they do not re-
occupy the premises; instances are, however, not wanting in
which they have been known to raise two broods in the same
nest. Both parents join in the duty of incubation, and alter-
nately feed each other while so engaged..

This species nests from South Carolina to Lake Mistassini, and
from central Ohio and northern Illinois to Lake Winnipeg. It
arrives at St. John, N. B., during the second week in April in im-
mense flocks, and is usually accompanied by similar flocks of
Robins and Juncos. Occasionally a few winter in the Maritime
Provinces and in Quebec, as well as in New England. :

SAVANNA SPARROW. 325

SAVANNA SPARROW.
GROUND SPARROW.
AMMODRAMUS SANDWICHENSIS SAVANNA.

Cuar. Above, streaked with grayish brown, black, rufous, and gray ;
line over the eyes and edges of wings yellow; crown with median stripe
of yellowish white ; line from lower mandible yellowish white bordered
by brown; below, white tinged with buff, breast and sides streaked with
brown and black. Length 5% inches.

Vest. In a salt-marsh or along a river bank, sometimes in a dry
inland meadow, concealed by tall grass or tuft of weeds ; composed of
grass, sometimes mixed with fine roots, and occasionally lined with
horse-hair.

£ggs. 3-6; variable in shape, size, and markings, usually dull white
or with green tint, thickly spotted with dark brown, rich brown, and
lilac; 0.70 X 0.55

This Sparrow, allied to the preceding, but far less familiar, is
commonly seen in this part of New England from April to
October, migrating towards the South in severe weather, though
many pass the whole winter in the Middle States. In Georgia
and West Florida these birds are rather numerous in the cold
season, migrating in quest of food probably from the West ;
and the whole species generally show a predilection for the
warm and sheltered vicinage of the sea, where the seeds and
insects they feed on are most abundant. On their first arrival
in Massachusetts they frequent the sandy beaches and shores
of the bays in quest of Czcindele and other coleopterous
insects which frequent such situations; and they are at this
time exceedingly fat, though their moult is not yet completed.
In summer this shy and timid species lives wholly in pastures
or grass fields, and often descends to the ground in quest of
food. Its nest, also laid in the grass and made of the dry
blades of the same, very similar to that of the Song Sparrow, is
usually built about the close of April.

In the month of March, in Georgia, I observed these Spar-
rows in the open grassy pine woods on the margins of small
swamps or “ galls.’” At times they utter a note almost exactly
similar to the chirpings of a cricket, so that it might be easily
mistaken for that insect. At other times they utter a few

326 SINGING BIRDS.

pleasant notes somewhat similar to the song of the Song Spar-
row, but sufficiently distinct.

The Savanna Sparrow breeds more abundantly along the coast
of Massachusetts than in the interior, and perhaps this may apply
to all localities ; but the opinion expressed by many writers that it
is almost exclusively a bird of the sea-shore — of the salt-marshes
—is far from correct. I traced it up the valley of the St. John as far
as there were cleared fields or marshy meadows, and in no locality
was it more abundant than at Fort Kent, —the most northern point
of Maine. It occurs throughout the southern portions of Canada.

These birds are rarely seen off the ground; an occasional perch
on a stone heap or a fence being the only deviation from this rule.

IPSWICH SPARROW.
AMMODRAMUS PRINCEPS.

CuHar. General appearance of a large pale Savanna Sparrow. Above,
grayish brown, each feather streaked with black and rufous ; crown stripe
dull buff or buffy white ; stripe over eyes similar but paler ; wings black-
ish brown, edged with rufous; tail blackish brown tipped with white;
beneath, dull white tinged with buff; chest and sides streaked with
brown. Length 6 to 63¢ inches.

Nest and Zggs. Unknown.

This interesting bird was first described by Mr. C. J. Maynard
from a specimen taken by him at Ipswich, Mass., in 1868. For
two years the type remained unique, and for several years later the
species was supposed to be rare. It has since been found all along
the Atlantic coast from Georgia to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It
usually frequents the sea-shore or salt-meadows near by, though Mr.
N. C. Brown reports that he has seen it at Lake Umbagog, in the
interior of Maine. I met with it in New Brunswick only for a few
days during the early spring; its breeding place is farther north.
When feeding on the sandy shore in company with other Sparrows
(the snow still covered the fields), it was not difficult to distinguish
the Ipswich from their congeners, but it is difficult to define the
distinguishing characteristics.

A nest and eggs supposed to be of this species are in the National
Museum at Washington. They were taken on Sable Island, off
the coast of Nova Scotia; but the identification is too doubtful to
permit of their being accepted without question. The nest and
eggs are described as similar to those of the Savanna Sparrow,
the eggs being somewhat larger.

BACHMAN’S SPARROW.
SUMMER FINCH.

PEUCHA ASTIVALIS BACHMANII.

Cuar. Above, rufous streaked with black and ash; lines over the
eyes ash; edge of wing yellow; below, buff, sides shaded with ash, breast
with brown. Length 6% inches.

Vest. In open grassy woodland, half-cleared field, or old meadow;
placed on the ground ; made of dry grass or mixed with roots ; sometimes
the top is roofed, the entrance at the side.

Eggs. 4-5; white; 0.75 X 0.60.

This interesting species was first made known to Audubon
by Dr. Bachman, who found it near the Edisto River, and
afterwards breeding in the vicinity of Charleston, South Caro-
lina, in the pine barrens. The discoverer remarks of this
bird: “When I first heard its notes they so nearly resembled
those of the Towee Bunting that I took it to be that bird. As
soon as it is seen in the tall pine-trees where it usually sits to
warble out its melodious notes, it darts down and conceals
itself in the rank grass, through which it runs off like a mouse,
and is flushed with difficulty.” It is believed to breed on the
ground. It is said to be the finest songster of the Sparrow
family in the United States. Its notes are loud for the size of
the bird, and heard nearly alone in the region it frequents.
About the month of November it proceeds to migrate farther
south, though a few stragglers still remain throughout the
winter. According to Latham, its nest is usually on the ground
among the grass, under small bushes; it is composed of dry

328 SINGING BIRDS.

grass for the most part, and the eggs are dusky white. He,
also adds that these birds inhabit Georgia the whole year,
frequenting fences, brushwood, and thickets.

Some years ago in Georgia in the month of March I ob-
served these Sparrows in the open grassy pine woods, on the
margins of small swamps or galls. On being suddenly sur-
prised, they often flew off a little distance, and then, if followed,
descended to the ground, and ran and hid closely in the tall
tufts of grass.

Their notes at this time were very long, piping, and ele-
vated, and resembling often “hé tship tship tship tship tship
éship, then tshe ch’ tsh’ tsh’ ts’h ts’h. Some of these notes were
as fine and lively as those of the Canary, — loud, echoing, and
cheerful.

The food of this species consists of grass seeds, coleoptera,
and a variety of small berries as they come in seasqgn. The
sexes are nearly alike in plumage.

This species occurs in the Gulf States and north to South Caro-
lina and southern Illinois, but the vicinity of Charleston, S. C., is
the only locality in which it has been found in abundance. Very
little is known of its habits or of its distribution.

Note. — The type of this species is larger and darker than
bachmanii. It is restricted to southern Georgia and Florida, and
has been named the PINE Woops SPARROW (Peucea estivalis).

LINCOLN’S SPARROW.
LINCOLN’S FINCH.
MELOsPIZA LINCOLNI.

Cuar. Above, streaked with brown, gray, and black; below, white ;
band across the breast and on sides brownish yellow. Length about
5% inches.

Nest. On the ground, amid low bushes, along the skirts of marshy
meadow, or on a dry grassy hillock in an open woodland; composed of
grass.

Eggs. 4-5; pale green or buffish,— sometimes almost white, — thickly
spotted and blotched with reddish brown and lilac ; 0.80 X 0.60.

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. 329

The habits of this boreal species, discovered by Audubon in
Labrador, are very similar to those of the Song Sparrow. Like
it, mounted on the topmost twig of some -tree or tall shrub, it
chants for hours together; or, diving into the thicket, it hops
from branch to branch until it reaches the ground in quest of
its usual fare of insects and berries. It moves off swiftly when
watched, and if forced to take wing flies low and with rapidity
to some considerable distance. It is met with usually near
streams, in the sheltered valleys of that cold and desolate
region. By the 4th of.July the young had left the nest, and in
August they had begun their migrations to the South. Speci-
mens have been obtained by Mr. W. Cooper near New York
city.

Lincoln’s Finch is now considered less “ boreal ” in its distribu-
tion than Nuttall and his contemporaries supposed, for though it
has been found in Labrador and in the high Arctic regions of the
West, yet nests have been discovered in Nova Scotia, northern
New York, and Wisconsin, as well as on the higher mountains of

the West down nearly to the Mexican border. It isa rare bird
near the Atlantic, but is abundant along the Mississippi valley.

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.
YELLOW- WINGED SPARROW. YELLOW-WINGED BUNTING.
AMMODRAMUS SAVANNARUM PASSERINUS.

Cuar. Above, streaked with bay, black, buff, and ash; crown black-
ish, with median line of buff; lines over the eye buff; bend of wing bright
yellow; below, buff, shading to white on the belly. Length about 5
inches.

Nest, In a field, concealed by long grass; composed of grass, lined
with horse-hair.

Leggs. 4-5; white, spotted with rich brown and lilac; 0.75 X 0.60.

This small Sparrow is a summer resident in the United
States, in the distant territory of the Oregon, and is likewise,
according to Sloane, a common species in the savannas or
open glades of the island of Jamaica. From what little is
known of it as a bird of the United States, it appears to

330 SINGING BIRDS.

remain in the sheltered plains of the sea-coast of New York
and New Jersey until the very commencement of winter. It is
also observed in the lower parts of Pennsylvania ; and about the
middle of May, or later, they are occasionally seen in the gar-
dens in Cambridge, Mass., on their way apparently to some
other breeding-station. On these occasions they perch in
sheltered trees in pairs, and sing in an agreeable voice some-
what like that of the Purple Finch, though less vigorously. In
the West Indies they live much on the ground, and run like
Larks, flying low when flushed, and soon alighting. Their nest
is likewise fixed on the ground, among the grass, where they
collect their usual fare of seeds and insects.

The majority of local students of bird life to-day consider this
species more or less common in Massachusetts and Connecticut,
and it is known to occur in parts of the more northern New Eng.
land States, and in New York, Ohio, Ontario, and Michigan. One
example has been taken in New Brunswick. Its supposed rarity
by earlier observers was probably due to its usual concealment
amid the tall grass and to its lack of an attractive song ; for in spite
of Nuttall’s assurance to the contrary, modern observers have in-
dorsed the opinion expressed by one of their leaders that “its best
vocalization is scarcely stronger or more musical than the stridula-
tion of a grasshopper.”

HENSLOW’S SPARROW.
HENSLOW’S BUNTING.
AMMODRAMUS HENSLOWIL

CuHar. Above, streaked with olive brown, bay, and gray; crown olive
gray, with two blackish stripes; edge of wing yellow; below, buff, paler
on throat and belly; sides of throat and sides of body streaked with
black. Length about 5 inches.

Vest. In a field, concealed amid long grass; made of grass with a
lining of hair.

Eggs. 4-5; dull white, sometimes tinged with green, spotted with
brown and lilac; 0.75 X 0.60.

This species, so much allied to the Yellow-winged Finch
discovered by Audubon, is known to breed in New Jersey.

LE CONTE’S SPARROW. 331

As a winter bird of passage it is common in South Carolina,
and equally abundant in the pine forests of Florida, seeking
out by choice the light sandy soils overgrown with pines,
though it keeps on the ground wholly, running with celerity,

and threading its way through the grass with the nimbleness
of a mouse.

Henslow’s Sparrow breeds from southern New England to South
Carolina, and from Ontario and Illinois southward. One nest has
been discovered in New Hampshire. It is more abundant to the
westward than near the Atlantic seaboard.

LE CONTE’S SPARROW.
LE CONTE’S BUNTING.
AMMODRAMUS LECONTEII.

Cuar. General color reddish brown, streaked with brownish black,
the feathers margined with pale buff ; crown with two black stripes sepa-
rated by a narrow stripe of pale buffish gray; cheeks and stripes over the
eyes buff; hind neck rufous; under parts buff, paler on the belly; no
streaks on the breast. Bill small and slender; tail-feathers narrow,
tapering, and extremely pointed. Length about 5 inches.

Vest. Ina marsh or wet meadow, raised from the ground by tangled
grass; made of fine grass.

£ggs. 3-?; delicate pink, with a few spots of brownish and of black
towards the larger end; 0.75 X 0.50.

This interesting bird was first described by Audubon in the 1843
edition of his work, — issued after Nuttall had written. Audubon
secured but one specimen, and only one other was discovered until
1873, when Dr. Coues took several examples on the Dakota plains.
Since then the species has been found by a number of naturalists,
and it is now known to breed on the plains of Dakota, Minnesota,
and Manitoba, migrating in the autumn through Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, etc., to South Carolina and Florida. It is by no means
a rare bird, — Ridgeway thinks it abundant in Illinois, and Thomp-
son reports it common in Manitoba; but, as Dr. Coues suggests, its
retiring habits and the nature of its resorts have doubtless caused
it to be overlooked.

The birds resemble Henslow’s Sparrow, and the habits of the
two species are similar. Only one nest and set of eggs have been
discovered, and they were taken by Mr. Ernest Thompson on the
Manitoba plains.

TREE SPARROW.

SPIZELLA MONTICOLA.

Cuar. Above, streaked with black, bay, and buff; crown chestnut, —
sometimes the feathers edged with ashy; sides of head and neck ashy ;
line from behind eyes chestnut ; wings with two white bars; edges of tail-
feathers white ; below, dull white, breast and throat tinged with ash ; spot
of brown on the breast; flanks shaded with brown. Length 6% inches.

Nest. On the ground or in a low bush; made of grass, twigs, and
roots, —sometimes cemented with mud, — lined with hair or feathers.

£ggs. 4-5; pale green or greenish blue, spotted with reddish brown ;
0.75 X 0.60.

This handsome winter Sparrow arrives from the northern
regions in New England about the close of October, withdraw-
ing from Hudson Bay and the neighboring countries some-
time in the month of September. The species consequently,
like many more of our /ringil/as, only measures its speed by
the resources of subsistence it is able to obtain, and thus
straggling southward as the winter advances, it enters Pennsyl-
vania only about the beginning of November ; there, as well as
in the maritime parts of Massachusetts, and perhaps as far
south as Virginia, the Tree Sparrow is often associated with
the hardy Snow Birds, gleaning a similar kind of subsistence ;
and when the severity of winter commences, leaving the woods,
gardens, and uplands in which it is an occasional visitor, it
seeks in company the shelter of some bushy swamp, thickly
shaded brook, or spring. Near Fresh Pond, in this vicinity,

CHIPPING SPARROW. 333

these birds are at that season numerous, and roost together
near the margin of the reeds, almost in the society of the
Blackbirds, who seek out a similar place of warmth and shelter
as the chilling frosts begin to prevail.

At this cool and gloomy season, and down to the close of
the first week in November, as they pass from branch to
branch and play capriciously round each other, they keep up
almost perpetually a low and pleasant liquid warble, not much
unlike that of the Yellow Bird (/ringidla tristis), but less
varied. Sometimes two or three at the same time will tune up
s'weedit s'weedit weet, and s’waidit s' waidit weet, accompanied
by some tremulous trilling and variation, which, though rather
sad and querulous, is heard at this silent season with peculiar
delight. In summer, during the breeding-time, they express
considerable melody.

According to Mr. Hutchins they breed around the Hudson
Bay settlements, making a nest in the herbage, formed exter-
nally of dry grass, and lined with soft hair or down, probably
from vegetables, in the manner of the Yellow Bird. About the
beginning of April they leave the Middle States for their sum-
mer quarters, and arrive around Severn River in May; they
also probably propagate in Newfoundland, where they have
been observed. With us they are still seen in numbers to the
1gth of April.

Numbers of the Tree Sparrow winter regularly in the Maritime
Provinces of Canada. Macoun reports the species common in

summer at Lake Mistassini, which lies a little to the southward of
Hudson Bay.

CHIPPING SPARROW.
CHIPPY. HAIR-BIRD.
SPIZELLA SOCIALIS.

Cuar. Above, streaked with grayish brown, black, and bay ; crown
chestnut ; forehead black; sides of head and neck ashy; dull white line
over eyes ; dusky stripe from bill through eyes; tail forked and dusky
with pale edgings ; wings with two white bars; below, dull white, tinged
with ash on breast and sides. Length about 5% inches.

334 SINGING BIRDS.

Nest. Ina pasture, orchard, or garden, placed in a bush or low tree;
composed of grass, — sometimes mixed with roots, — thickly lined with
horse-hair.

fggs. 4-5; bluish green, spotted, chiefly about the larger end, with
brown, black, and lilac; 0.70 X 0.50.

This species, with the Song Sparrow, is probably the most
numerous, common, and familiar bird in the United States,
inhabiting from Nova Scotia to Florida, westward to the banks
of the Missouri, and Mr. Townsend found it to be a common
species in the Territory of Oregon. Aware of the many para-
sitic enemies of the feathered race which it has to encounter,
who prowl incessantly, and particularly in quest of its eggs, it
approaches almost instinctively the precincts of houses, barns,
and stables, and frequently ventures into the centre of the
noisy and bustling city, to seek in the cultivated court an
asylum for its expected progeny. Soon sensible of favor or
immunity, it often occupies with its nest the thick shrubs of
the garden within a few yards of the neighboring habitation,
by the side perhaps of a frequented walk, in the low rose-bush,
the lilac, or any other familiar plant affording any degree of
shelter or security, and will at times regularly visit the thresh-
old, the piazza, or farm-yard for the crumbs which intention
or accident may afford it. On other occasions the orchard
trees are chosen for its habitation, or in the lonely woods an
evergreen, cedar, or fir is selected for the purpose. It makes
no pretensions to song, but merely chips in complaint when
molested, or mounting the low boughs of some orchard tree or
shrub, utters a quickly articulated ascending sh ssh ’tsh 'tsh
’tsh tshe tshe, almost like the jingling of farthings, and a little
resembling the faint warble of the Canary, but without any of
its variety or loudness. This note, such as it is, is continued
often for half an hour at a time, but is little louder than the
chirping of a cricket, and uttered by the male while attending
his brooding mate. For many weeks through the summer and
during fine weather this note is often given from time to time
in the night, like the revery of a dream.

The nest of the Chipping Bird varies sometimes consider-
ably in its materials and composition. The external layer,

CHIPPING SPARROW. 335

seldom so thick but that it may be readily seen through, is
composed of dry stalks of withered grass, and lined more or
less with horse or cow hair. The Cuckoo destroys many eggs
of this timid, harmless, and sociable little bird, as the nests are
readily discovered and numerous; on such occasions the little
sufferer expresses great and unusual anxiety for the security of
her charge, and after being repeatedly robbed, the female sits
closely sometimes upon perhaps only two eggs, desirous at any
rate to escape if possible with some of her little offspring. Two
or more broods are raised in the season.

Towards the close of summer the parents and their brood
are seen busily engaged collecting seeds and insects in the
neighboring fields and lanes, and now become so numerous, as
the autumn advances, that flitting before the path on either
side as the passenger proceeds, they almost resemble the
falling leaves of the season rustling before the cheerless blast ;
and finally, as their food fails and the first snows begin to
appear, advertised of the threatening famine, they disappear
and winter in the Southern States. In the month of January,
in Georgia, during the continuance of the cool weather and
frosty nights, I frequently heard at dusk a confused chirping or
piping like that of frogs, and at length discovered the noise to
proceed from dense flocks of the Chipping Sparrows roosting
or huddling near together in a pile of thick brush, where, with
the Song Sparrow also, they find means to pass the cool
nights. The Chipping Sparrow occurs throughout the Mari-
time Provinces and westward to the Rockies and northward to
the Great Slave Lake region. It is abundant in Quebec and
Ontario.

Note. — One example of BREwER’s SPARROW (Sfézel/a
brewerz), a bird that dwells chiefly on the western slopes of the
Rockies, has been taken in Massachusetts.

336 SINGING BIRDS.

FIELD SPARROW.
SPIZELLA PUSILLA.

Cuar. Above, streaked rufous, black, and buff; crown chestnut, with
obscure median line of ash; hind neck, sides of head and neck ash; cheek
shaded with brown; wings with two white bars; below, white ; breast and
throat tinged with yellow. Length 534 inches.

Nest. Ina field, pasture, or open woodland, amid a tuft of grass or in
a tangled thicket, sometimes placed on a low bush or vine; composed of
grass, twigs, and straw, lined with hair, fine roots, or fur.

Zeggs. 3-5; dull white or with buff or green tint, usually thickly spotted
with reddish brown; 0.70 X 0.55.

The Small Brown Sparrow arrives in Pennsylvania and New
England from the Southern States, where it passes the winter,
in the beginning of April. It is with us a shy, wild, and retir-
ing species, partial to dry hills and pastures, and open, bushy,
secluded woods, living much in trees. In autumn, indeed, the
pair, accompanied by their brood, in small flitting flocks leave
their native wilds, and glean at times in the garden or orchard ;
yet but little is now seen of them, as they only approach culti-
vated grounds a few weeks before their departure. These
Sparrows, if indeed they are the same as those described by
Wilson, in winter flock together in great numbers in the
Southern States, and mingling with the Chipping Birds and
other species, they now line the roads, fences, and straggling
bushes near the plantations in such numbers as, with their
sober and brown livery, to resemble almost a shower of rust-
ling and falling leaves, continually haunting the advancing
steps of the traveller in hungry, active flocks, driven by the
storms of winter into this temporary and irksome exile. But
no sooner does the return of early spring arrive than they flit
entirely from the Southern wilds to disperse in pairs and seek
out again their favorite natal regions of the North.

Our little bird has a pretty loud and shrill note, which may
be heard at a considerable distance, and possesses some variety
of tone and expression. Sometimes it is something like sé
twee twai, tw tw tw tw 'tw ‘tw ’tw, beginning loud and

FIELD SPARROW. 337

slow, and going up and down, shrill and quick, with a reverbe-
rating tone almost as rapid as the drumming of the Ruffed
Grouse. At other times the sound appears like ze de de de de
2 ad aad @& dr, rapid and echoing; then weet weet weed
wat te’a’d’d’d’d’d, also weet weet weet weet wl wl wt
we trr; the whole of these notes rising and running together
into a short trill something like the song of the Canary, but
less varied, and usually in a querulous or somewhat plaintive
tone, though towards the close of summer I have heard indi-
viduals nearly as musical and warbling as the common Yellow
Bird. These tones are also somewhat similar to the reverbera-
tions of the Chipping Bird, but quite loud and sonorous, and
without the changeless monotony of that species. In fact, our
bird would be worthy a place in a cage as a songster of some
merit. Like most of the Sparrows, the food of this species
consists of seeds and insects; and they also search the leaves

and branches at times in quest of moths, of which they appear
fond.

The Field Sparrow is rather rare north of Massachusetts. It
has not been taken in the Maritime Provinces, though Mr. Neilson
thinks it not uncommon near the city of Quebec, and it is common
throughout Ontario and in Manitoba.

Note. — A few examples of the CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
(Spizella pallida) wander every year from their usual habitat on
the Great Plains to Iowa and Illinois.

VOL. I. —— 22

FOX SPARROW.

PASSERELLA ILIACA.

Cuar. Above, foxy red (brightest on wings and rump) streaked with
ash (in winter the ash is sometimes obscure); head and tail without
streaks; wings with two white bars; below, white spotted with red.
Length about 7 inches.

Vest. Amid moss, or on a Jow bush ; composed of grass and moss, lined
with grass, roots, and feathers.

Zges. 4-5; white with green or blue tinge, spotted and blotched with
brown of several shades (sometimes the brown almost conceals the
ground color); great variation in size, average about 0.80 X 0 65.

This large and handsome Sparrow, after passing the summer
and breeding-season in the northern regions of the continent
around Hudson Bay, and farther north and west perhaps to
the shores of the Pacific, visits us in straggling parties or pairs
from the middle of October to November. At this time it
frequents low, sheltered thickets in moist and watery situations,
where it usually descends to the ground and is busily employed
in scratching up the earth and rustling among the fallen leaves
in quest of seeds, worms, and insects, but more particularly the
last. It migrates in a desultory manner, and sometimes arrives

SLATE-COLORED JUNCO, 339

as far south as Georgia, passing the winter in the Southern
States and retiring early in the spring to its favorite boreal
retreats. These Sparrows are silent birds, rather tame and
unsuspicious ; when alarmed or separated their call is simply
shep, shep; yet at times in the spring, a little before their
departure, they whisper forth a few low and sweet notes indi-
cative of the existence of vocal powers in the pairing season.

According to Richardson this species breeds in the woody
districts of the fur countries up to the 68th parallel.

Nuttall was correct in his conjecture that the Fox Sparrow is a
vocalist. It ranks as a peer of the best songsters of the entire
Sparrow-Finch tribe. :

I have heard the song frequently in New Brunswick, when cold
storms have detained the birds on their journey north until the
approach of their mating season. Sometimes they arrive there
early in March, and pass on in a couple of weeks, without uttering
any other note than a metallic cheep. But when they tarry until
after the first week in April they then burst into full song, and
sing almost continuously. It is a “fervent, sensuous, and withal
perfectly rounded carol,” writes William Brewster; and he adds:
“It expresses careless joy and exultant masculine vigor rather than
the finer shades of sentiment.” The voice is strong, of wide com.
pass, and sweet, rich tone.

Nests of this species have been found on the Magdalen Islands
and in Newfoundland, where it is called the Hedge Sparrow, and
Thompson reports it breeding in numbers on Duck Mountain in
Manitoba.

SLATE-COLORED JUNCO.
SNOW BIRD. WHITE BILL.
JuNCO HYEMALIS.

CHAR. Upper parts, neck, and breast dark slate or blackish ash;
below — from breast backward—white; outer tail-feathers and bill,
white. Length 6% to 6% inches.

Nest. In grassy woodland, or old meadow, or by the roadside, some-
times in the garden of a farm-house; placed under the shelter of a mound
or stump, or amid long grass, composed, usually, of grass, sometimes
mixed with roots or moss; lining usually of feathers, but sometimes hair,
fur, or moss is used.

340 SINGING BIRDS.

Eggs. 4-5; dull white, or tinted with green or buff, spotted chiefly
around larger end with reddish-brown and lilac; 0.80 X 0.60.

This hardy and very numerous species, common to both
continents, pours in flocks from the northern regions into the
United States about the middle of October, where their ap-
pearance is looked upon as the presage of approaching winter.
At this season they migrate into the Southern States in great
numbers, and seem to arrive in augmenting hosts with the
progress of the wintry storms and driving snows, before which
they fly for food rather than shelter; for even during the
descent of the whitening inundation, and while the tempest
still rages without abatement, these hardy and lonely wander-
ers are often seen flitting before the blast, and, seeking ad-
vantage from the sweeping current, descend to collect a scanty
pittance from the frozen and exposed ground, or stop to col-
lect the seeds which still remain upon the unshorn weeds
rising through the dreary waste. At such times they are also
frequently accompanied by the Snow Bunting, the humbly
dressed Yellow Bird, and the querulous Chickadee. Driven
to straits, however, by hunger, they at length become more
familiar, and are now seen about the barns and out-houses,
spreading themselves in busy groups over the yard, and even
approaching the steps of the door in towns and cities, and
gleaning thankfully from the threshold any crumbs or acci-
dental fragments of provision. Amidst all this threatening and
starving weather, which they encounter almost alone, they are
still lively, active, and familiar. The roads, presenting an
accidental resource of food for these northern swarms, are con-
sequently more frequented by them than the fields. Before the
severity of the season commences, they are usually only seen
moving in families ; and the parents, watchful for the common
safety, still continue by reiterated chirpings to warn their full-
grown brood of every approach of danger, and, withdrawing
them from any suspicious observation, wander off to securer
ground. At this time they frequent the borders of woods, seek
through the thickets and among the fallen leaves for their
usual food of seeds and dormant insects or their larve. Their

SLATE-COLORED JUNCO., 341

caution is not unnecessary, for on the skirts of the larger flocks
the famished Hawk prowls for his fated prey, and descending
with a sudden and successful sweep, carries terror through ail
the wandering and retreating ranks.

In the latter end of March or beginning of April, as the
weather begins to be mild, they re-appear in flocks from the
South, frequenting the orchard trees, or retreating to the shel-
ter of the woods, and seem now to prefer the shade of thickets
or the sides of hills, and frequently utter a few sweet, clear, and
tender notes, almost similar to the touching warble of the
European Robin Redbreast. The jealous contest for the
selection of mates already also takes place, soon after which
they retire to the northern regions to breed ; though, accord-
ing to Wilson, many remove only to the high ranges of the
Alleghany Mountains, where, in the interior of Virginia, and
towards the western sources of the Susquehanna, they also
breed in great numbers, fixing their nests on the ground or
among the grass, the pairs still associating in near communion
with each other. In the fur countries they were not observed
by Richardson beyond the 57th parallel.

The Junco breeds from northern New England northward, and
on the higher hills south to North Carolina. It is an abundant
summer resident of the Maritime Provinces, and winters there in
small numbers. It also winters sparsely in northern New England,
and from Massachusetts southward it is a common winter bird.

The song is very similar to that of the Chipping Sparrow.
Though usually building its nest on the ground, a few have been
found in other situations. Sheriff Bishop, of Kentville, N, S., re-
corded in the O. & O. for September, 1888, finding nests on branch :s
of low trees, in holes in apple-trees, etc.

Note. — Examples of the OREGON JuNCO (/. hyemalis oregonus),
which was discovered by Nuttall and Richardson in the forests of
Oregon, have wandered into Michigan and Massachusetts.

Another species, the CAROLINA JuNcO (/Junco carolinensis),
was first described by Mr. William Brewster from specimens ob-
tained by him on the mountains of North Carolina in June, 1885.
It is much larger and lighter colored than hyemad/is, and has a
horn-colored bill.

342 SINGING BIRDS.

SWAMP SPARROW.
MELOSPIZA GEORGIANA.

Cuar. Above, streaked with brown, black, and buff; crown bay,
sometimes with indistinct median line of ash and streaks of black; fore-
head black; brown stripe behind eyes; sides of head and neck ash;
below, dull white, breast shaded with ash, sides shaded with brown;
wings and tail tinged with bay. Length about 534 inches.

Nest. Under cover of long grass, in a swamp or wet meadow; usually
made entirely of grass, though sometimes weed-stems are added to the
exterior, and hair is used in lining.

£ggs. 4-6; dull white, tinted with green, blue, or pink, blotched, often
clouded, with lilac and several shades of brown; 0.80 X 0.60,

The aquatic habits of these common, though little known,
birds is one of their most remarkable peculiarities. In New
England they arrive from the Southern States, where they win-
ter, about the middle of April, and take up their summer resi-
dence in the swamps and marshy meadows through which,
often without flying, they thread their devious way with the
same alacrity as the Rail, with whom they are indeed often
associated in neighborhood. In consequence of this perpetual
brushing through sedge and bushes, their feathers are fre-
quently so worn that their tails appear almost like those of
rats, and are very often flirted in the manner of the Wagtail.
Occasionally, however, they mount to the tops of low bushes
or willow-trees and chant forth a few trilling, rather monoto-
nous minor notes, resembling, in some measure, the song of
the Field Sparrow, and appearing like ¢wé fw’ tw’ tw’ to’ tw’
twé, and tol’ te’l’tw tw’ twé, uttered in a pleasant and some-
what varied warble. These notes are made with considerable
effort, and sometimes with a spreading of the tail. In the
spring, on their first arrival, this song is delivered with much
spirit, and echoes through the marshes like the trill of the
Canary. The sound now resembles the syllables ’#w ’¢w 'taw
"twee twee ’tw ’twe ’twe, or ’tshp 'tshp 'tshe ’tsh 'tsh 'tsh ’tsh,
beginning loud, sweet, and somewhat plaintive; and the song
is continued till late in the morning, and after sunset in the
evening. This reverberating tone is again somewhat similar

SWAMP SPARROW, 343

to that of the Chipping Sparrow, but far louder and more musi-
cal. In the intervals the Swamp Sparrow descends into the
grassy tussocks and low bushes in quest of his insect food, as
well as to repose out of sight; and while here his movements
are as silent and secret as those of a mouse. The rice planta-
tions and river swamps are the favorite hibernal resorts of
these birds in Louisiana, Georgia, and the Carolinas ; here they
are very numerous, and skulk among the canes, reeds, and rank
grass, solicitous of concealment, and always exhibiting their
predilection for watery places. In the breeding season, before
the ripening of many seeds, they live much on the insects of
the marshes in which they are found, particularly the smaller
coleopterous kinds, Caradz and Curculiones. They extend
their northern migrations as far as the coasts of Labrador and
Newfoundland.

They probably raise two or three broods in a season, being
equally prolific with our other Sparrows. They express extreme
solicitude for their young even after they are fully fledged and
able to.provide for themselves ; the young also, in their turn,
possess uncommon cunning and agility, running and concealing
themselves in the sedge of the wet meadows. They are quite
as difficult to catch as field-mice, and seldom on these emer-
gencies attempt to take wing. We have observed one of these
sagacious birds dart from one tussock to another, and at last
dive into the grassy tuft in such a manner, or elude the grasp
so well, as seemingly to disappear or burrow into the earth.
Their robust legs and feet, as well as long claws, seem pur-
posely provided to accelerate this clinging and running on the
uneven ground.

This species is common throughout the settled portions of east-
ern Canada, and abundant on the St. Clair Flats and in Manitoba.

SHARP-TAILED SPARROW.
SHORE FINCH.

AMMODRAMUS CAUDACUTUS.

Cuar. Above, brownish gray tinged with olive; crown darker, with
median stripe of ashy gray and two stripes of black; back streaked with
black; stripes of buff above and below eyes meeting behind ear-coverts ;
wings edged with yellow; tail-feathers narrow, with acutely pointed tips;
below, dull white, breast and sides tinged with buff and streaked with
black. Length about 5% inches.

Vest. Ina salt-marsh or wet meadow, amid a cluster of reeds or tuft
of sedges, to the stems of which it is sometimes fastened; a somewhat
bulky structure of grass and weed-stems, lined with fine grass.

Eggs. 4-5; dull white or tinged with buff or green, thickly spotted
with brown and lilac; 0.75 X 0.55.

The Shore Finch is an inhabitant of the low islands and
marshy sea-coasts from Massachusetts to Texas, living on
small shrimps, marine insects, and probably grass seeds, mov-
ing through the rank herbage nearly with the same agility and
timidity as a Swamp Sparrow, to which in structure of the
feet and stoutness of the bill it bears considerable affinity.

ACADIAN SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. 345

These birds are not rare, though not so numerous as the Sea-
side Sparrow, with which they commonly associate.

These Finches frequent the water, and walk on the floating
weeds as if on the land; throughout the winter they remain
gregarious till spring, when they separate for the purpose of
breeding. They are almost silent, a single /weet being now
all they are heard to utter; and even in the spring, so defec-
tive are they in melody that their notes are scarcely worthy
the name of a song. They nest on the ground, amid the short
marsh-grass near the line of high-water mark; a slight hollow
is made, and then lined with delicate grass. They raise two
broods in the season in the Middle States.

‘ Sharp-tails ” have been traced north to Prince Edward’s Island,
but in 1887 Mr. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., discovered that true cauda-
cutus had not been taken beyond Portsmouth, N. H., the birds
found to the northward of that point being a distinct variety, which
he named subvirgatus.

ACADIAN SHARP-TAILED SPARROW.

AMMODRAMUS CAUDACUTUS SUBVIRGATUS.

Cuar. “Similar in size and coloring to 4. caudacutus, but paler and
much less conspicuously streaked beneath with pale greenish gray instead
of black or deep brown. Bill averages smaller. Compared with xelsonz
it is much paler and grayer, generally larger, and with a longer bill”
(Dwight).

Nest and Zggs are not known to differ from those of true caudacutus.

The habitat of this newly discovered sub-species, or, rather, the
limit of its range, has not yet been determined. Mr. Dwight gives
it as “Marshes of southern New Brunswick, Prince Edward’s
Island, and probably Nova Scotia, and southward in migration
along the Atlantic coast.” In habits the present bird differs from
caudacutus in frequenting fresh-water marshes and dry meadows
on the margins of inland streams.

The song of this bird —if its few wheezy notes deserve such
recognition — is a rather ludicrous effort, and suggests a bad cold
in the head. Mr. Dwight represents it by the syllables /éc-sé-é-
&é-00f. All I remember having heard from the specimens I
encountered is the séé@¢-é-é-00p, delivered with apparent effort, as
if choking.

346 SINGING BIRDS.

NELSON’S SPARROW.
AMMODRAMUS CAUDACUTUS NELSONI.

Cuar. Differs from the type by the colors of the back being very
sharply defined, the white a clearer shade, and the brown a richer and
more decided umber; chest and sides deep buff. Size larger than true
caudacutus.

Nest and Eggs similar to caudacutus.

Nelson’s Sharp-tail was described by Mr. J. A. Allen in 1875.
It is found in summer on the marshes of the Mississippi valley,
and in winter on the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts (sparingly)
to North Carolina, and possibly to the Gulf States.

SEASIDE SPARROW.
SEASIDE FINCH.
AMMODRAMUS MARITIMUS.

Cuar. Above, dull olive brown, back and head with indistinct streaks
of ashy ; superciliary line and edge of wing yellow ; below, dull white, the
breast and sides with dark streaks. Length about 6 inches.

Nest. Hidden amid a tuft of grass or coarse sedges in a salt marsh or
wet meadow ; sometimes placed on the ground, often a few inches above
it; composed of dry grass.

£ges. 4-6; dull white with green or buff tint, spotted with brown;
0.80 X 0.60.

This species is not uncommon in the maritime marshy
grounds and in the sea islands along the Atlantic coast from
Massachusetts to the Southern States. It confines its excur-
sions almost wholly within the bounds of the tide-water, leav-
ing its favorite retreats for more inland situations only after
the prevalence of violent easterly storms. In quest of marine
insects, crustacea, shrimps, and minute shell-fish, it courses
along the borders of the strand with all the nimbleness of a
Sandpiper, examining the sea-weeds and other exuviz for its
fare; it seeks out its prey also at dusk, as well as at other
times, and usually roosts on the ground like a Lark. In short,
it derives its whole subsistence from the margin of the ocean,

SEASIDE SPARROW. 347

and its flesh is even imbued with the rank or fishy taste to be
expected from the nature of its food. At other times it re-
mains amidst the thickest of the sea-grass, and climbs upon
the herbage with as much dexterity as it runs on the ground.
Its feet and legs for this purpose are robust, as in the Swamp
Sparrow. It appears to rear two broods in the season. In
May and June the Seaside Finch may be seen almost at all
‘hours perched on the top of some rank weed near the salt-
marsh, singing with much emphasis the few notes which com-
pose its monotonous song. When approached it seeks refuge
in the rank grass by descending down the stalks, or flies off to
a distance, flirting its wings, and then, alighting suddenly, runs
off with great nimbleness.

The Seaside Finch is now considered a rare bird in Massa-
chusetts, though common, if not abundant, in Connecticut. It is
not quite so exclusively maritime as Nuttall supposed, as it is found
on the margins of rivers so far inland that the water is scarcely
brackish.

Note. — Scott’s SEASIDE SPARROW (A. maritimus penin-
sul@) was first described from specimens taken by Mr. W. E. D.
Scott at Tarpon Springs, Florida, in 1888. It is intermediate in
coloration between A. xzgrescens and A. maritimus.

This race has been found only along the southwestern coast of
Florida and on Grand Isle, off Louisiana.

The Dusky SEASIDE SPARROW (A mmodramus nigrescens) —
which differs from marztimus in being black above, streaked with
olive and gray, beneath white, streaked with black —occurs in
southern Florida.

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.

YELLOW BIRD. THISTLE BIRD. THISTLE FINCH. WILD
CANARY.

SPINUS TRISTIS.

CuHar. Male in summer: bright gamboge yellow; crown, wings, and
tail black; upper and under tail-coverts, wing and tail markings, white.
In winter the male resembles the female, though with less olive tint.
Female: above, olive brown; below, paler or yellowish; forehead with-
out black ; wings and tail much the same as in the male. Length about

434 inches.
Vest. Ina pasture or orchard; usually placed in a crotch of a decidu-

ous tree Io to 20 feet from the ground; a compact and gracefully formed
cup, made of grass and vegetable fibre, lined with grass and plant down,
and often with hair. :

£ggs. 3-6; white with tint of green or greenish blue, occasionally
marked with faint spots of brown; 0.65 X 0.50.

This common, active, and gregarious Goldfinch is a very
general inhabitant of the United States. It is also found in
summer in the remote interior of Canada, in the fur countries
and near Lake Winnipique, in the 49th degree of latitude, as
well as in the remote territory of Oregon and the Rocky
Mountains, on the banks of Lewis’s River, where I found the
nest as usual with white eggs. On the other hand, it is also
met with in Mexico, and even in Guiana and Surinam in trop-
ical America, where it frequents the savannas. Although
many of these birds which spend the summer here leave at
the approach of winter, yet hungry flocks are seen to arrive in

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 349

this part of New England throughout that season; and some-
times, in company with the Snow Buntings, in the inclement
months of January and February, they may be seen busily
employed in gleaning a scanty pittance from the seeds of the
taller weeds, which rise above the deep and drifted snows. As
late as the 15th of September I have observed a nest of the
Yellow Bird with the young still unfledged. Their migrations
are very desultory, and do not probably extend very far, their
progress being apparently governed principally by the scarcity
or abundance of food with which they happen to be supplied.
Thus, though they may be numerous in the depth of winter, as
soon as the weather relaxes in the month of March, scarcely
any more of them are to be seen, having at this time, in quest
of sustenance, proceeded probably to the southern extremity of
the United States. Those observed in tropical America may
be hibernal wanderers from the cooler parts of Mexico. At
all events they select the milder climates of the Union in
which to pass the breeding season, as at this time they are but
rarely seen in the Southern States, Kentucky being about the
boundary of their summer residence.

Naturally vagrant and wandering, they continue to live in
flocks or in near vicinage, even throughout the greatest part of
the selective season. As the fine weather of spring approaches
they put off their humble winter dress, and the males, now
appearing in their temporary golden livery, are heard tuning
their lively songs as it were in concert, several sitting on the
same tree enjoying the exhilarating scene, basking and pluming
themselves, and vying with each other in the delivery of their
varied, soft, and cheerful warble. They have also the faculty
of sinking and raising their voices in such a delightful cadence
that their music at times seems to float on the distant breeze,
scarcely louder than the hum of bees; it then breaks out as it
were into a crescendo, which rings like the loud song of the
Canary. In cages, to which they soon become familiar and
reconciled, their song is nearly as sonorous and animated as
that of the latter. When engaged in quarrel they sometimes
hurl about in a whole flock, some, as it were, interfering to

350 SINGING BIRDS.

make peace, others amused by the fray, all uttering loud and
discordant chirpings. One of their most common whining
calls while engaged in collecting seeds in gardens, where they
seem to be sensible of their delinquency, is ’mdy bé, ’may be.
They have also a common cry like ’¢sheveet ’¢shevee, uttered in
a slender, complaining accent. These and some other twitter-
ing notes are frequently uttered at every impulse while pursu-
ing their desultory waving flight, rising and falling as they shut
or expand their laboring wings. They are partial to gardens
and domestic premises in the latter end of summer and
autumn, collecting oily seeds of various kinds and shelling
them with great address and familiarity, if undisturbed often
hanging and moving about head downwards, to suit their con-
venience while thus busily and craftily employed. They have
a particular fondness for thistle seeds, spreading the down in-
clouds around them, and at this time feeding very silently and
intently ; nor are they very easily disturbed while thus engaged
in the useful labor of destroying the germs of these noxious
weeds. They do some damage occasionally in gardens by
their indiscriminate destruction of lettuce and flower seeds,
and are therefore often disliked by gardeners; but their use-
fulness in other respects far counterbalances the trifling inju-
ries they produce. They are very fond, also, of washing and
bathing themselves in mild weather; and as well as tender
buds of trees they sometimes collect the Confervas of springs
and brooks as a variety to their usual fare.

They raise sometimes two broods in the season, as their
nests are found from the first week in July to the middle of
September. In 1831 I examined several nests, and from the
late period at which they begin to breed it is impossible that
they can ever act in the capacity of nurses to the Cow
Troopial. This procrastination appears to be occasioned by
the lack of sufficiently nutritive diet, the seeds on which they
principally feed not ripening usually before July.

Note. — The BLACK-HEADED GOLDFINCH (Spiémus notatus),
a Mexican bird, is credited with an accidental occurrence in
Kentucky.

PINE SISKIN, 351

PINE SISKIN.
PINE FINCH. PINE LINNET.
SPINUS PINUS.

Cuar. Above, olive brown or dark flaxen, streaked with dusky;
wings and tail black, the feathers edged with yellow; wings with two
buffish bars; below streaked with dusky and yellowish white. Length
about 434 inches.

Nest. Usually in a deep forest, on a horizontal branch of an evergreen
tree 20 to 40 feet from the ground. It is fairly well built, as a rule,
but is neither as compact nor graceful as the Thistle Bird’s, and is com-
posed of various materials, though generally grass, twigs, and pine-needles
form the exterior, while the lining is either feathers or hair, or both.

£ggs. 3-53; pale green or greenish blue spotted with light reddish
brown and lilac; 0.70 X 0.50.

Our acquaintance with this little northern Goldfinch is very
unsatisfactory. It visits the Middle States in November, fre-
quents the shady, sheltered borders of creeks and rivulets, and
is particularly fond of the seeds of the hemlock-tree. Among
the woods, where these trees abound, these birds assemble in
flocks, and contentedly pass away the winter. Migrating for
no other purpose but subsistence, their visits are necessarily
desultory’ and uncertain. My friend Mr. Oakes, of Ipswich,
has seen them in large flocks in that vicinity in winter. With
us they are rare, though their favorite food is abundant. They
are by no means shy, and permit a near approach without tak-
ing alarm, often fluttering among the branches in which they
feed, hanging sometimes by.the cones, and occasionally utter-
ing notes very similar to those of the American Goldfinch.
Early in March they proceed to the North, and my friend
Audubon observed them in families, accompanied by their
young, in Labrador in the month of July. They frequented
low thickets in the vicinity of water, and were extremely fear-
less and gentle. Their summer plumage, as we have since
also found in the Oregon Territory, where they abound and
breed, is entirely similar to the garb in which they visit us in
the winter, with the sole exception that the yellow of the wings
is brighter.

352 SINGING BIRDS.

They sing on the wing in the manner of the Goldfinch.
Their notes are clear, lively, and mellow, like as in that bird,
but still sufficiently distinct ; they fly out in the same graceful,
deep curves, emitting also the common call-note at every
effort to proceed.

The history of this interesting bird is but little better known to-
day than when Nuttall wrote. Our ignorance is partly due to the
irregular, nomadic habits of the bird, but chiefly because its favorite
haunts are in out-of-the-way places, amid the deeper recesses of the
forests, where few observers penetrate. At intervals large flocks
visit the outskirts of settlements, and even look in upon the vil-
lages; but these are merely excursions by the way introduced into
the migration programme. Its habitat is now given as “ North
America in general, breeding mostly north of the United States.”
In the east, nests have been found in New York State by Dr. C.
Hart Merriam and Dr. A. K. Fisher, and a few pairs are known
to breed yearly in Massachusetts; but the major portion of the
eastern flocks go to the more northern portions of New England
and beyond before settling down for the summer.

The dates usually given for the nesting are early in May; but
a much earlier time is given by Dr. A. Leith Adams, an Eng-
lish naturalist who met with the species in New Brunswick. In
his “ Field and Forest Rambles,” he writes: “It breeds early, and
has its young flying before the first summer migrants arrive in
April, when large flocks may be observed feeding on the buds of
the hawthorn preparatory to their departure northward.” He adds
that it is a choice cage-bird, and is easily tamed. He kept some
for several months, and when liberated they all returned to their
cages after an absence of several days.

The biography of this species forms an interesting chapter in
that interesting book, “The Land Birds and Game Birds of New
England,” by H. D. Minot, —a book, by the way, that has not
received the recognition its merit deserves.

GOLDFINCH.

CARDUELIS CARDUELIS.

Cuar. Forehead and throat crimson; cheeks and lower throat white ;
crown and nape black, the latter being bordered by a narrow line of
white; back brown; wings black, tipped with white and barred with
yellow; tail-coverts white with black bases; three outer tail-feathers
black, with white central spots, the remainder black, tipped with white ;
breast white, banded with brownish buff; flanks buffy; belly and under
tail-coverts white. Length about 5 inches.

Vest. In an orchard or garden, placed in a fork of a tree or bush; a
compact and neatly made structure of fine grass and moss, lined with
grass and plant down, etc.

Leggs. 4-6; dull white tinged with blue or green, spotted and streaked
with purplish brown; 0.70 X 0.50.

This European songster has been introduced within recent years,
and though increasing slowly, appears to be thoroughly naturalized.

It is most abundant near Hoboken, N. J., where a number were
set at liberty in 1878, but examples have been taken in other States.
A nest and eggs were discovered in Cambridge some ten years
ago, and during the summer of 1890 a nest was taken near
Worcester, Mass. ;

In Great Britain it is very common, and breeds north to. Caith-
ness, and one nest has been taken on the south side of Skye.

The young are fed on insects and larve; but Mr. Saunders says
“the principal food of the Goldfinch consists of seeds of the thistle,
knapweed, groundsel, dock, and other plants.”

VOL. I. — 23

354 SINGING BIRDS.

HOUSE SPARROW.
ENGLISH SPARROW.
PASSER DOMESTICUS.

Cuar. General color grayish brown, the back streaked with black; a
narrow stripe of white over the eyes; cheeks with patches of chestnut and
white ; sides and neck white ; throat and breast black, sometimes washed
with chestnut; wings brown with white bar; tail brown; belly dull white.
Female: paler, without the black throat-patch. Length about 6 inches.

Nest. Anywhere and of any material, — usually a bulky affair, roughly
made of dry grass and feathers.

£ggs. 4-73 grayish white speckled with rich brown and pale lavender ;
0.85 X 0.60.

This is another introduced species; but about z¢s naturalization
there is, unfortunately, no doubt.

The history of the introduction of this bird, and its relation to
American agriculture, is exhaustively treated in a volume prepared
by Mr. Walter B. Barrows, under the direction of Dr. C. Hart
Merriam, ornithologist to the Department of Agriculture, and
issued from the Government Printing Office at Washington in
1889. From it we learn that the first importation of this Sparrow
was made by Hon. Nicholas Pike, and the birds were liberated in
Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1851. The first batch did not thrive, so others
— about a hundred — were brought over during 1852 and 1853. In
1854 Colonel Rhodes, of Quebec, brought a number from England
and liberated some in Portland, Me., the remainder being taken
to Quebec. During the following ten years a few hundred were
brought from Europe and scattered between Portland and New
York, some thirty being turned out on Boston Common. About
1869 a thousand were taken to Philadelphia, and several cities in
the interior received each a few pairs.

From these imported birds have sprung the hosts of “ruffians in
feathers” that have taken possession of every town and village,
from Cape Breton to Florida, and west to Kansas.

A few pairs were taken to southern Greenland, and though some
lived through several winters, the entire flock at last perished.

NoTE.— The EUROPEAN TREE SPARROW (Passer montanus)
has also been introduced. A few years ago a number were liber-
ated in St. Louis, and have become thoroughly naturalized there.
This bird is closely related to the House Sparrow, which it resembles
in appearance and in habits. The Tree Sparrow has not, however,
increased so rapidly as its congener, nor proved so great a pest.

REDPOLL.
LESSER REDPOLL. REDPOLL LINNET.

ACANTHIS LINARIA.

Cuar. Above, brownish gray streaked with dusky; rump white,
tinged with rose pink and streaked with dusky; forehead with patch of
deep carmine; wings dusky brown with two white bars; below, white,
sides heavily streaked with dusky; chin and throat dusky; breast deep
rose pink. Bill extremely acute ; in winter its color is yellow tipped with
black, but in summer the color is dull blackish. (Female differs from
male only in lacking the red tints on rump and breast.) Length 4% to 5
inches.

Vest. In a low tree or amid a tuft of grass; composed of dry grass and
moss lined with hair or feathers or plant down.

£ggs. 4-6; white tinged with green or blue, spotted with reddish
brown ; 0.65 X 0.50.

These elegant birds, which only pay us occasional and
transient visits at distant intervals, are inhabitants of the whole
Arctic circle to the confines of Siberia, and are found in Kam-
tschatka and Greenland as well as the colder parts of Europe.
Arriving in roving flocks from the northern wilds of Canada,
they are seen at times in the western parts of the State of New
York with the fall of the first deep snow, and occasionally pro-
ceed eastward to the very city of New York, where in the
depth of winter, and for several weeks, they have been seen
gleaning their scanty food of various kinds of seeds in the
gardens of the town and suburbs. Flocks are likewise some-
times seen in the vicinity of Philadelphia in severe winters,
though at remote periods; as according to Mr. Ord they have
not visited that part of Pennsylvania since the winter of

356 SINGING BIRDS,

1813-14. They appear very unsuspicious while feeding in the
gardens, or on the seeds of the alder-bush, one of their favor-
ite repasts, and thus engaged allow a near approach while
searching for their food in every posture, and sometimes head
downwards. They are also fond of the seeds of the pine, the
linden, and rape, and in the winter sometimes content them-
selves even with the buds of the alder. Wilson believed he
heard this species utter a few interrupted notes, but nothing
satisfactory is known of its vocal powers. Mr. Ord remarks
that their call much resembles that of the common Yellow
Bird, to which, indeed, they are allied. They are said to
breed in the Highlands of Scotland, and to select the heath
and furze for the situation of their nests, though they more
commonly choose alder-bushes and the branches of the pine.
According to Richardson, these birds are among the few
hardy and permanent residents in the fur countries, where they
may be seen in the coldest weather on the banks of lakes and
rivers, hopping among the reeds and carices or clinging to their
stalks. They are numerous throughout the year even in the
most northern districts, and from the rarity of their migrations
into the United States it is obvious that they are influenced by
no ordinary causes to evacuate the regions in which they are
bred. Famine, in all probability, or the scarcity of food, urges
them to advance towards the South. It is certain that they do
not forsake their natal regions to seek shelter from the cold.
This season, by the 7th or 8th of November (1833), before
the occurrence of any extraordinary cold weather, they arrived
in this vicinity (Cambridge, Mass.) in considerable flocks, and
have not paid a visit to this quarter before to my knowledge
for 10 or 12 years. They now regularly assemble in the birch-
trees every morning to feed on their seeds, in which employ-
ment they are so intent that it is possible to advance to the
slender trees in which they are engaged and shake them off by
surprise before they think of taking wing. They hang upon
the twigs with great tenacity, and move about while feeding in
reversed postures, like the Chickadees. After being shot at
they only pass on to the next tree and resume their feeding as

REDPOLL. 357

before. They have a quailing call perfectly similar to that
of the Yellow Bird (Fringilla tristis), twée twée, or tshe-vee ;
and when crowding together in flight make a confused chirp-
ing ‘twit ¢todt twit’ twit tort, with a rattling noise, and some-
times go off with a simultaneous twitter. Occasionally they
descend from their favorite birches and pick up sunflower
seeds and those of the various weedy Chenopfodiums growing
in wastes. At length they seemed attracted to the pines by
the example of the Crossbills, and were busily employed in
collecting their seeds. As the weather becomes colder they
also roost in these sheltering evergreens; and confused flocks
are seen whirling about capriciously in quest of fare, sometimes
descending on the fruit-trees to feed on their buds by way of
variety. Though thus urged from their favorite regions in the
north, there appeared no obvious reason for their movements,
as we found them fat and not driven to migrate from any
imminent necessity.

In Nuttall’s day but two forms of Redpoll were recognized by
naturalists, — /ézaria and canescens (= exilipes); but now there
are five, — or six, if we count the hypothetical drewsterdz. Similar
as these appear to the casual observer, an expert can readily divide
them when examples of the different races are compared, though it
is sometimes difficult to refer a specimen with accuracy unless so
compared.

The habitat of true Zaria is now given as “northern portions
of northern hemisphere, excepting Greenland, in North America;
migrating south in winter to about 40°.”

Note. — HOLBGLL’s REDPOLL (Acanthis linaria holb@ilit) is
larger than the type, —length 5 to 5% inches, with a propor-
tionately larger bill. It is usually restricted to the northern coasts
of Europe and Asia, but examples have been taken in Alaska and
at Quebec.

The GREATER REDPOLL (Acanthis linaria rostrata) is still
larger, —length 5 to 53/ inches, — and the colors are darker, with
the under parts more broadly striped. It is found in southern
Greenland in summer, and in winter migrates sparingly south to
New England, and west to Manitoba and northern IIlinois.

HOARY REDPOLL.
MEALY REDPOLL.

ACANTHIS HORNEMANII EXILIPES,

CuHar. Above, dull white or pale brownish white, streaked with dusky
brown ; rump white unstreaked, — in the male usually washed with pink;
wings dusky brown with two white bars; below, dull white sparsely
streaked with dusky; chin and throat dusky; breast delicate rose pink.
Length 4% to 5 inches.

Similar to A. Zénarza, but colors paler, — the brown largely replaced by
gray, and the red of a paler shade and more restricted.

Vest. In a low tree or on the ground; composed of grass and twigs
lined with feathers.

Eggs. 3-5; white tinged with blue or green, spotted with reddish
brown ; 0.65 X 0.50.

This species, so nearly allied to the last, is met with partly
in the same remote boreal regions in the summer, but is of
much more rare occurrence ; it is also found in the territory
of Oregon, and stragglers have been obtained as far south as
New Jersey and New York. In Maine it is less rare. These
birds have a note very similar to the last species, but distinct.
They are full of activity and caprice while engaged in feeding,
making wide circles and deep undulations in their flight. Like

TOWHEE. 359

Titmice also, they frequently feed and hang to the twigs in
reversed postures.

This form summers in the Arctic regions, and in winter migrates
southward, a few examples reaching the northern border of the
United States.

Note. — The GREENLAND REDPOLL (Acanthis hornemannit)
is larger than exd/ipes, —length 514 to 6% inches. It breeds in
Greenland and the eastern part of Arctic America, and in winter
ranges as far south as Labrador.

BREWSTER’S LINNET (Acanthis brewsterit) is a “Redpoll”
without any red on its poll; it differs also from the other forms in
lacking the dusky spot on the throat and in having a portion of its
plumage tinged with yellow. The type specimen was taken at
Waltham, Mass., in 1870, and remains unique. The A. O. U. have
placed the name in that “lock-up” for suspicious characters, the
“ hypothetical list.”

TOWHEE.
GROUND ROBIN. CHEWINK.
PIPILO ERYTHROPHTHALMUS.

Cuar. Black with white belly and bay sides and vent; outer tail-
feathers partly white ; white spot on wing; iris red. Female and young
tawny brown where the adult male is black.

West. Near the margin of woodland or in an overgrown pasture ;
usually placed on the ground and concealed in a tuft of grass or brush-
heap, or under a log or bush, — sometimes fastened to a low bush; loosely
made of dry leaves, grape-vines, weed-stems, and grass, lined with fine
grass, roots, or pine-needles.

£ggs. 4-6; dull white thickly marked with fine spots of warm, reddish
brown and lilac; sometimes the marks are bolder ; 0.95 X 0.75

This is a very common, humble, and unsuspicious bird,
dwelling commonly in thick dark woods and their borders,
flying low, and frequenting thickets near streams of water,
where it spends much time in scratching up the withered
leaves for worms and their larvee, and is particularly fond of
wire-worms (or /w/), as well as various kinds of seeds and
gravel. Its rustling scratch among the leafy carpet of the
forest is often the only indication of its presence, excepting

360 SINGING BIRDS.

now and then a call upon its mate (ww-qwee, Ww-wee, tow-
weet), with which it is almost constantly associated. While
thus busily engaged in foraging for subsistence, it may be
watched and approached without showing any alarm; and
taking a look often at the observer, without suspicion, it
scratches up the leaves as before. ‘This call of recognition is
uttered in a low and somewhat sad tone, and if not soon
answered it becomes louder and interrogatory, ow-wee towee ?
and terminates often with /oweet. These birds are accused
of sometimes visiting the pea-fields to feed, but occasion no
sensible damage.

In the pairing season and throughout the period of incuba-
tion the male frequently mounts to the top of some bush
amidst the thickets where he usually passes the time, and from
hence in a clear and sonorous voice chants forth his simple
guttural and monotonous notes for an hour or so at a time,
while his faithful mate is confined to her nest. This quaint
and somewhat pensive song often sounds like fsh’d wike iw ¢é
“e té té, or ’bid-wi tee, tr tr 'tr ’tr,—the latter part a sort of
quaint and deliberate quivering trill; sometimes it sounds like
*bid tsherr 'rh ’rh, rrh ’wt, then ’fwee twee f tsher’ rr, also
et sé ya, ya’ya ’ya "ya "ya; the latter notes, attempted to be
expressed by whistled and contracted consonant syllables, are
trilled with this sound.

Ground Robins, sometimes also called Zshe-wink and Pee-
wink, from another of their notes, are general inhabitants of
Canada and the United States even to the base of the Rocky
Mountains and the peninsula of Florida, in all of which regions,
except the last, with Louisiana and the contiguous countries,
they pass the summer and rear their young, migrating, how-
ever, from the Northern and Middle States in October, and
returning again about the middle or close of April, according
to the advancement of the season, at which time also the
males usually precede the arrival of their mates. They pass
the winter generally to the south of Pennsylvania, and are then
very abundant in all the milder States in the Union.

They are said to show some address at times: in concealing

TOWHEE. 361

their nest, which is fixed on the ground in a dry and elevated
situation and sunk beneath the surface among the fallen leaves,
sometimes under the shelter of a small bush, thicket, or brier.
According to the convenience of the site, it is formed of differ-
ent materials, sometimes, according to Wilson, being made of
leaves, strips of grape-vine bark, lined with fine stalks of dry
grass, and occasionally in part hidden with hay or herbage.
Most of the nests in this vicinity are made in solitary dry pine
woods without any other protection than some small bush or
accidental fallen leaves; and the external materials, rather
substantial, are usually slightly agglutinated strips of red-cedar
bark, or withered grass with a neat lining of the same and
fallen pine leaves; the lining sometimes made wholly of the
latter. The nest is also at times elevated from the ground by
a layer of coarse leaf-stalks such as those of the hickory. The
first brood are raised early in June, and a second is often
observed in the month of July; but in this part of New Eng-
land they seldom raise more than one. The pair show great
solicitude for the safety of their young, fluttering in the path
and pretending lameness with loud chirping when their nest is
too closely examined.

The eastern form of the Towhee is not found west of Minnesota,
Kansas, and Texas. In the more northern and unsettled portions
of New England it is very rare or absent. It is common in Man-
itoba and southern Ontario, but rare in Quebec ; and one example,
captured near St. John, N. B., in 1881, is the only known instance
of its occurrence in the Maritime Provinces.

Note, — The WHITE-EYED TOWHEE (Pifilo erythrophthalmus
alleni) differs from the northern race chiefly in being of somewhat
smaller size, and in the iris being white instead of red.

It was discovered during the spring of 1879 by Mr. C. J. May-
nard in Florida, to which State it is restricted.

CARDINAL.
REDBIRD.

CARDINALIS CARDINALIS.

Cuar. Head with conspicuous crest. Male: above, bright vermi-
lion, shaded with gray on the back; beneath, paler; forehead and throat
black. Female: above, olive gray; beneath, buffy. Young similar to
female, but duller. Length about 8 to 8% inches.

Nest. In a variety of situations, most frequently amid a thicket of
brambles or in a low tree; loosely made of twigs, strips of grape-vine,
dry grass, weed-stems, lined with fine grass or roots, sometimes with
hair.

Eggs. 3-5; dull white or tinged with blue, green, or buff; spotted
with reddish brown and lilac; 1.00 X 0.75.

These splendid and not uncommon songsters chiefly reside
in the warmer and more temperate parts of the United States
from New York to Florida, and a few stragglers even proceed
as far to the north as Salem in Massachusetts. They also
inhabit the Mexican provinces, and are met with south as far
as Carthagena ; adventurously crossing the intervening ocean,
they are likewise numerous in the little temperate Bermuda
islands, but do not apparently exist in any of the West Indies.
As might be supposed, from the range already stated, the Red-
birds are not uncommon throughout Louisiana, Missouri, and
Arkansas Territory. Most of those which pass the summer in

CARDINAL, 363

the cooler and Middle States retire to the South at the com-
mencement of winter; though a few linger in the sheltered
swamps of Pennsylvania and near the shores of the Delaware
almost through the winter. ‘They also, at this season, probably
assemble towards the sea-coast from the west, in most of the
Southern States, where roving and skulking timid families are
now seen flitting silently through thickets and swampy woods,
eager alone to glean a scanty subsistence, and defend them-
selves from prowling enemies. At all times, however, they
appear to have a predilection for watery groves and shaded
running streams, abounding with evergreens and fragrant mag-
nolias, in which they are so frequent as to be almost concomi-
tant with the scene. But though they usually live only in
families or pairs, and at all times disperse into these selective
groups, yet in severe weather, at sunset, in South Carolina, I
observed a flock passing to a roost in a neighboring swamp
and bushy lagoon, which continued, in lengthened file, to fly
over my head at a considerable height for more than twenty
minutes together. ‘The beautiful procession, illumined by the
last rays of the setting sun, was incomparably splendid as the
shifting shadowy light at quick intervals flashed upon their
brilliant livery. They had been observed to pass in this man-
ner to their roost for a considerable time, and, at daybreak,
they were seen again to proceed and disperse for subsistence.
How long this timid and gregarious habit continues, I cannot
pretend to say; but by the first week in February the song of
the Redbird was almost daily heard. As the season advances,
roving pairs, living, as it were, only with and for each other, flit
from place to place ; and following also their favorite insect or
vegetable fare, many proceed back to the same cool region in
which they were bred, and from which they were reluctantly
driven ; while others, impelled by interest, caprice, and adven-
ture, seek to establish new families in the most remote limits of
their migration. Some of these more restless wanderers occa-
sionally, though rarely, favor this part of New England with a
visit. After listening with so much delight to the lively fife of
the splendid Cardinal, as I travelled alone through the deep and

364 SINGING BIRDS.

wild solitudes which prevail over the Southern States, and bid,
as I thought, perhaps an eternal adieu to the sweet voice of my
charming companions, what was my surprise and pleasure, on
the 7th of May, to hear, for the first time in this State, and in
the Botanic Garden, above an hour together, the lively and
loud song of this exquisite vocalist, whose voice rose above
every rival of the feathered race, and rung almost in echoes
through the blooming grove in which he had chosen his re-
treat. In the Southern States, where these birds everywhere
breed, they become familiarly attached to gardens, which, as
well as cornfields, afford them a ready means of subsistence ;
they are also fond of the seeds of most of the orchard fruits,
and are said occasionally to prey upon bees.

The lay of the Cardinal is a loud, mellow, and pleasingly
varied whistle, delivered with ease and energy for a consider-
able time together. To give it full effect, he chooses the sum-
mit of some lofty branch, and elevating his melodious voice in
powerful as well as soothing and touching tones, he listens,
delighted as it were, with the powers of his own music, at
intervals answered and encouraged by the tender responses of
his mate. It is thus the gilded hours of his existence pass
away in primeval delight, until care and necessity break in
upon his contemplative reveries, and urge him again to pursue
the sober walks of active life. .

The song of the Redbird, like that of so many others,
though possessed of great originality, often consists in part of
favorite borrowed and slightly altered phrases. It would be
a difficult and fruitless task to enumerate all the native notes
delivered by this interesting songster; a few may be perhaps
excused by those who wish, in their rural walks, to be made, in
any way, acquainted with the language of the feathered vocal-
ists that surround them. All the tones of the Cardinal are
whistled much in the manner of the human voice. Late in
February, while travelling in Alabama, I heard one crying
wooltt, wolt wolt wolt, then in a quicker tone dutsh bittsh
bittsh biitsh, and "tshooway tshooway tshooway. At another
time the song was "zt a’wit, "ted, then ¢sheut tsheve teu,

CARDINAL. 365

‘whott ’whoit 'whoit teu (the ‘whoit an exact human whistle,
and the ez tenderly emphatic). Another bird called #0 ééo
téo, tshooé tshove tshooe tshooe, then to teo teo teo alone, or
’wott wot wot ’wort, with the last word delivered slower, and
in a sinking, delicately plaintive tone. These phrases were
also answered in sympathy by the female, at a little distance
up the meandering brook where they were engaged in collect-
ing their food. In Florida, about the 12th of March, I heard
a very fine Redbird singing ’whittoo wittoo widoo ’widdoo.
He began low, almost in a whisper, but very clearly articu-
lated, and gradually raised his voice to loudness, in the manner
of the Nightingale. He now changed the strain into ’vicu,
wilt wilt wilt wilt; then ‘victu tshooé 'tshodoe tshéoe tshdve,
afterwards “i tu ’victu, and ‘victu tu tu, then varying ’¢shdoee,
etc., in a lower key. On approaching this bird, to see and
hear him more distinctly, he exhibited his anger by scolding in
a hoarse tone almost like that of a squirrel, and from the sea-
son, and absence of respondence in the female, I imagine he
already had a nest in the neighboring thicket. The bird, which
frequented the Botanic Garden for several days, in the morn-
ing sang fearlessly and loudly, but at other times the pair hid
themselves amongst the thickest bushes, or descended to the
ground to feed among the grass and collect insects and worms ;
now and then however, in an undertone, as if afraid of attract-
ing notice, he whispered to his mate sez teu teu, wott, ’wott
’wott, elevating his tone of recognition a little at the close of
the call, and going over other of the usual phrases in the same
whispering and slenderly rising voice. About the 4th of July,
the same pair, apparently, paid us a parting visit, and the male
sang with great energy, '/v’ tw’, weld weld weld ‘weld 'weld
watt, then waitip waitip waitip waitip, tshow tshow thow
tshow tshow. On whistling any of these notes within hearing
of the Cardinal, a response is almost certain, as this affectionate
recognition is frequently answered by the female. His phrase
may also be altered at will, by whistling some other than that
which he repeats, as he often immediately answers in the call
he hears, supposing it to be that of his approaching mate.

366 SINGING BIRDS.

On their arrival in the Middle States, in spring, violent con-
tests sometimes ensue between the unmated and jealous males.
When the dispute is for the present closed, the pair, probably
for greater security, and dreading a recurring quarrel of doubt-
ful issue, wander off to a remote distance from their usual,
abode, and in this way, no doubt, occasionally visit countries
but little frequented by the rest of their species. Early in
May, it seems, in Pennsylvania, according to Wilson, they
begin to prepare their nests, which are often placed in an ever-
green bush, cedar, laurel, or holly. They usually raise two
broods in the season. As they are so easily domesticated im-
mediately after being caught in trap cages, it is unnecessary to
raise them from the nest. By this kind of unnatural confine-
ment, the brilliant color of the male is found sometimes to
fade until it becomes of a pale whitish red. They live, how-
ever, long in confinement, and an instance is known of one
which had survived for 21 years. In the cage, they have not
that variety of song which they exhibit in their native wilds ;
and this, judging from the frequent repetition of the same
phrase, would appear to be a monotonous performance, if the
variety of expression, tone, and key did not perpetually relieve
and enhance the character of the lay. His song also con-
tinues for 6 or 8 months in the year, and is, even, as among
the Thrushes, more lively in wet weather, the sadness of
Nature, softening and soothing the tender vocalist into a lively,
pathetic, and harmonious revery. So highly were these birds
esteemed for their melody that, according to Gemelli Careri,
the Spaniards of Havanna, in a time of public distress and
scarcity, bought so many of these birds, with which a vessel
was partly freighted, from Florida, that the sum expended, at
10 dollars apiece, amounted to no less than 18,000 dollars!
Indeed, Latham admits that the notes of our Cardinal “are
almost equal to those of the Nightingale,” the sweetest feath-
ered minstrel of Europe. The style of their performance is,
however, wholly different. The bold, martial strains of the
Redbird, though relieved by tender and exquisite touches,
possess not the enchanting pathos, the elevated and varied

EVENING GROSBEAK. 367

expression of the far-famed Philomel, nor yet those contrasted
tones, which, in the solemn stillness of the growing night, fall
at times into a soothing whisper, or slowly rise and quicken
into a loud and cheering warble. A strain of almost senti-
mental tenderness and sadness pervades by turns the song of
the Nightingale ; it flows like a torrent, or dies away like an
echo; his varied ecstasies poured to the pale moonbeams,
now meet with no response but the sighing zephyr or the ever-
murmuring brook. The notes of our Cardinal are as full of
hilarity as of tender expression ; his whistling call is uttered in
the broad glare of day, and is heard predominant over most of
the feathered choir by which he is surrounded. His respond-
ing mate is the perpetual companion of all his joys and cares;
simple and content in his attachment, he is a stranger to
capricious romance of feeling, and the shades of melancholy,
however feeble and transient, find no harbor in his preoc-
cupied affections.

The Cardinal occurs regularly but sparingly in southern New
England, and it has been occasionally seen in Massachusetts and
northward. Two examples visited Halifax, N.S, in 1871. It is
quite common in Ohio, and has been taken, across the lake, in
Ontario.

EVENING GROSBEAK.
COCCOTHRAUSTES VESPERTINA.

CuHarR. Dusky olivaceous, shading to yellowish on the rump; fore-
head, line over the eyes, and under tail-coverts, yellow; crown, wings,
and tail black; secondaries mostly white; bill greenish yellow, conspicu-
ously large. Female differs slightly from the male, but is readily identi-
fied. Length about 714 to 8 inches.

Vest. In the deep forest, usually on a branch of a tall tree, sometimes
in low bush; composed of twigs and roots, lined with roots or hair.

L£ggs. 4-?; pale dull green, marked with pale brown spots.

This beautiful species inhabits the solitudes of the North-
western interior, being met with from the extremity of the
Michigan Territory to the Rocky Mountains. It is not un-
common towards the upper extremity of Lake Superior and

368 SINGING BIRDS.

the borders of Athabasca Lake; to the east of these limits
these birds appear to be only transient visitors in spring and
fall. They are common inhabitants of the fur countries, and
particularly of the maple woods of the Saskatchewan, where
they do not arrive from the South before the commencement
of the month of June. In the pine woods of Oregon (accord-
ing to Mr. Townsend) numerous flocks are seen about the mid-
dle of May, and at this time they are very tame and unsuspicious,
moving about in considerable numbers throughout the whole
of the day, and seem no way given to retiring before sunset.
Their ordinary note while feeding consists of a single rather
screaming call. At other times, particularly about mid-day, the
male from the branches of some tall pine-tree utters a single
warbling note much like the interrupted beginning of the
Robin’s song, but not so sweet. They feed upon the seeds
of the pine and other trees, alighting upon the large limbs,
and proceed by a series of hops to the very extremities of
the branches. They also occasionally devour the larvee of ants,
and probably other kinds of insects.

The Evening Grosbeak occurs regularly in winter in Wisconsin,
Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan, and occasionally in Ohio and Ontario.
During the latter part of the winter of 1889-90 numbers were
seen eastward to Montreal and the New England States.

Its nesting habits are almost unknown.

ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK.

HABIA LUDOVICIANA.

CHAR. Male: above, black; rump white; wings and tail black with
white markings; below, white; breast and under tail-coverts deep rose
pink. Female: above, streaked blackish and olive; crown with central
stripe of white; rump white; under parts dull white, streaked with brown ;
no red on the breast. Length 7% to 8% inches.

Vest. Usually on the margin of woods, or in a dense alder-swamp, —
occasionally in a garden or open pasture; composed of grass, ws#ea moss,
roots, stalks, and twigs, lined with fine grass, roots, or pine-needles.

L£ggs. 3-5; dull green or bluish green variously marked with spots
and blotches of reddish brown, lilac, and pale lavender; 1.00 X 0.70.

The remote Northwestern Territories of the Union, Canada,
and the cool regions towards the Rocky Mountains appear to
be the general residence of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. A
few pairs breed on the banks of the Mohawk, and probably
in the interior of Pennsylvania. Mr. Say met with it in the
spring, on the lower part of the Missouri; and at Pembino, on
the 5th of August, in the 49th parallel. Dr. Richardson also
observed it in the latitude of 53°, and Audubon found it breed-
ing in Newfoundland. It has likewise been seen in Mexico
and Texas. These are, no doubt, its proper natal regions, and
the course of its migrations, from which it only ventures acci-
dentally in severe winters, and is then transiently seen in pairs
east of the Atlantic mountains, which constitute the general
boundary of its range. It is thus seen occasionally in the

VOL. I. — 24

370 SINGING BIRDS.

vicinity of Philadelphia, in the State of New York, particularly
along the borders of Lake Ontario, and in Connecticut, but
rarely in this part of New England. Pennant speaks of its
arrival in the State of New York in May, where it has a nest of
5 eggs, and then retires in August. It is also unknown in the
Southern States.

My friend Mr. Cooper remarks that though this species is
rare in the vicinity of New York, a few probably breed in the
woods of the Hudson, as at Tappan, 30 miles up that river, it
is frequently seen in the cherry-trees in the month of June,
and is said to be common in the forests along the south shore
of Lake Erie, and usually breeds there. It thrives very well
in a cage, is a most melodious and indefatigable warbler, fre-
quently in fine weather, as in its state of freedom, passing a
great part of the night in singing, with all the varied and touch-
ing tones of the Nightingale.

While thus earnestly engaged, it seems to mount on tiptoe
in an ecstasy of enthusiasm and delight at the unrivalled har-
mony of its own voice. The notes are wholly warbled, now
loud, clear, and vaulting with a querulous air; then perhaps
sprightly ; and finally lower, tender, and pathetic. In short,
I am not acquainted with any of our birds superior in song
to the present, with the solitary exception of our Orphean
Mocking Bird.

The Louisiana Grosbeak is fed with the usual kinds of bird-
seed, and in its wild state seems to be particularly fond of
the kernels of the sour-gum berries; it probably also feeds
upon the berries of the juniper, which abound in the regions
it usually inhabits.

Though somewhat local in its distribution, this attractive bird
occurs regularly throughout the Eastern States, but is uncommon
in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is found in some
parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec, and is quite
common in Ontario, and abundant in Manitoba.

Though generally selecting a secluded spot for nesting, a pair
will occasionally wander away from the forest and thicket, and even
build in the heart of a town. In 1890 a nest was built and a brood
raised not a hundred yards from where I am penning these words,

BLUE GROSBEAK. 371

—almost within the shadow of Memorial Hall. The nest was
laid upon a branch that hung over the sidewalk of Oxford Street,
not more than ten or twelve feet from the ground, the tree being
in the garden adjoining the residence of Mr, Francis Foster.

BLUE GROSBEAK.
GUIRACA CARULEA.

CHAR. Male: general plumage rich blue, darker on the back; feath-
ers around base of bill, wings, and tail black; two bright rufous bands
on the wings. Female: smaller; above, yellowish brown; below, dark
buff. Length 6% to 7 inches.

Nest. Ona low branch of a tree or bush, situated along the margin of
a wood, or in an open pasture or orchard, or by a roadside, — sometimes
in an alder swamp or blackberry thicket; composed of leaves, weed-
stems, and grass, lined with horse-hair, roots, or fine grass; occasionally
pieces of snake skin or newspaper are worked into the exterior.

Eggs. 3-4; light blue; 0.85 X 0.65.

This shy ‘and almost solitary species chiefly inhabits the
warmer parts of America from Brazil to Virginia; stragglers
occasionally also visit the lower parts of Pennsylvania and
New Jersey, and Bullock observed them on the tableland of
Mexico. According to Wilson, it is nearly a silent bird, seldom
singing in the cage, its usual note of alarm being merely a
loud chuck ; though at times its musical capacity under more
favorable circumstances is suggested by a few low and sweet-
toned notes. It may be fed on Indian corn, hemp-seed,
millet, and the kernels of several kinds of berries.

According to Audubon, these birds arrive in Louisiana
about the middle of March. They proceed through Alabama,
Georgia, and the Carolinas, in all which districts they breed ;
and although rarely seen in the Western States, Mr. Townsend
and myself met with them in May on the borders of the
Platte, near Scott’s Bluffs, where they were already mated and
breeding. They are sometimes met with along the Atlantic
coast as far as New Jersey, and Audubon found a nest in that
State within a few miles of Philadelphia. Their food consists

372 SINGING BIRDS.

principally of different sorts of seeds; they are also fond of
those of rice, and grass of all kinds. At the period of breeding
they sing with great sweetness and melody.

This species is still considered a Southern bird; but it regularly
visits Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Kansas, and has been taken in
Massachusetts and New Brunswick.

PURPLE FINCH.
LINNET.
CaRPODACUS PURPUREUS,

CuHar. Male: no “purple;” body rosy crimson, brightest on the
head, darkest on the back, palest on the breast; belly white ; wings and
tail dusky; everywhere streaked more or less with brown and gray.
Female and young: without red; streaked brown and gray, sometimes
with olive tint.

Vest. Near a settlement and in some old pasture, open grove, park, or
orchard; composed of twigs, weed-stems, roots, and bark, lined with fine
grass or hair.

Zgegs. 4-5; pale dull bluish green, variously marked with dark brown
and lilac; 0.85 X 0.60.

These brilliant and cheerful songsters inhabit the Northern
and Western States during the summer, where they rear their
young. They appear to have a great predilection for resinous
evergreens, pine, and spruce, and feed upon the berries of the
juniper and red cedar as well as the seeds of the tulip-tree and
others ; they likewise frequent gardens for the same purpose,
and are particularly pleased with sunflower seeds and other
oily kinds. When reduced to necessity they are observed to
eat the buds of the beech and those of the fruit-trees, — prob-
ably for the sake of the stamens contained in them, of which
they are greedy when displayed in the opening blossoms. The
stipules of the expanding buds of the elm, which are sweet
and mucilaginous, as well as the young capsules of the willow
in the spring, also make a common part of their fare. Their
food in summer, however, consists principally of insects and
juicy berries, as those of the honeysuckle and others.

PURPLE FINCH. 375

Although the Purple Finch breeds and passes the season in
this vicinity, yet as early as the close of September they leave
us for the South ; about which time and nearly to the close of
October, small, hungry, roving flocks arrive from the more
northern States and Canada or Newfoundland. At the same
time likewise great numbers visit Pennsylvania, the maritime
parts of New York and New Jersey, and many pass the winter
in the Middle States, while others proceed as far south as the
States of Louisiana, Florida, and Texas, returning north in the
latter end of March or early in April, and arriving with us in
the month of May to pass the most important period of their
existence. Roving flocks are also seen here as early as the
24th of March, singing while they stay with great energy and
cheerfulness ; these in all probability proceed to Labrador or
Newfoundland to breed. The males now have many bitter
contests for the choice of their mates, and are very bold and
pugnacious in confinement, attempting to destroy every other
bird introduced into the same cage. They also bite severely
when taken up wounded, but are directly reconciled to the
cage, finding their most important wants so amply supplied ;
yet in this state they often refuse to sing, and after moulting
into the humble plumage of the female, frequently remain so,
without ever renewing their crimson dress. They are here
exposed in cages for sale at high prices (by the name of
Linnets), and sing pretty commonly in confinement. Their
notes are very similar to those of the Warbling Vireo, but
louder, and more agreeably diversified. From the tops of our
lofty and spreading elms or shadowy spruce trees, where they
delight to pass the time, their varied and very cheerful melody
is often continued for hours almost without interval, and
poured forth like a torrent. After a combat with a rival, his
towering notes of victory burst out into rapture, and he now
seems to triumph with loud and petulant hilarity. The song
of this beautiful Finch is indeed much finer than that of the
Canary; the notes are remarkably clear and mellow, and the
trilling sweet and various, particularly on their first arrival. At
times the warble is scarcely audible, and appears at a distance ;

374 SINGING BIRDS.

it then, by a fine crescendo, bursts into loudness and falls into
an ecstasy of ardent and overpowering expression; at such
times the usual pauses of the song are forgotten, and like the
varied lay of the Nightingale, the ravishing performer, as if in
serious emulation, seems to study every art to produce the
effect of brilliant and well-contrasted harmony. As he sits on
the topmost bough of some tall sapling or more lofty tree, sur-
veying the wide landscape, his proud voice and elevated action
seem to bid defiance to competition ; and while thus earnestly
engaged, he seems to fear no spectator, however near may be
his approaches. The rapidity of his performance and the pre-
eminent execution with which it is delivered seem almost like
the effort of a musical-box or fine-toned, quickly moving, deli-
cate strain on the organ. While feeding in the month of
March these birds also utter a querulous “hippee tshee, in
nearly the same sad and liquid tone as that uttered by the
Yellow Birds while thus engaged. The dull-colored birds, in
the attire of the female, do not sing either so well or in the
same manner as the crimson-colored individuals.

The nest of this species is, as I have observed in two in-
stances in Cambridge, made in the horizontal branches of the
balsam-fir. In the first, which I saw in the garden of Professor
Farrar, it was made in a young tree about 6 feet from the
ground. On approaching it the female sat still until I nearly
touched her, and made very little complaint when off. The
nest was coarse and substantial, very much like that of the
Song Sparrow, composed of coarse grass and lined with fine
root-fibres. From this nest was raised in a cage one of the
young, which became exceedingly docile and affectionate, but
was not remarkable for its song.

In winter the Purple Finch is found regularly, though sparingly,
through the southern and central portions of New England and in
Ontario, and I have heard its song in mid-winter in a New Bruns-
wick forest.

PINE GROSBEAK.

PINICOLA ENUCLEATOR.

Cuar. Male: dark brown and ash washed with rosy carmine ; wings
with two white bands. Female and young male have no red; head and
rump bronze. Length 8% to 9 inches.

Vest. On the border of a swamp or the margin of a stream running
through an evergreen forest ; saddled on a low branch or in a crotch of
a low bush, or placed in a crevice of a rock. A bulky, ill-made affair
of moss, or twigs and roots or strips of bark, and lined with fine grass,
roots, or vegetable fibre.

Zeggs. 4-?; pale greenish blue marked with dark brown and lilac;
1.05 X 0.75,

These splendid and very hardy birds appear to dwell almost
wholly within the cold and Arctic regions of both continents,
whence, only in severe winters, a few migrate into Can-
ada and the United States, where they are consequently of
rare and uncertain occurrence. They have been seen in
winter in the lower part of Missouri, and at the same season,
occasionally, in the maritime parts of Massachusetts and Penn-
sylvania, and are observed to return to Hudson Bay as early as
April. According to Mr. Pennant, they frequent the woods of
pine and juniper, and are now possessed of musical talents ;

376 SINGING BIRDS.

but as the period of incubation approaches they grow silent.
Suited to the sterile climates they inhabit, their fare, besides
the seeds of the pine, alpine plants, and berries, often consists
of the buds of the poplar, willow, and other northern trees and
shrubs ; so that they are generally secure of the means of sub-
sistence as long as the snows are not too overwhelming. The
individuals as yet seen in the United States are wholly young
birds, which, it seems, naturally seek out warmer climates than
the adult and more hardy individuals.

According to Mr. T. McCulloch, of Pictou, Nova Scotia, in
very severe winters flocks of these birds, driven from the pine
forests by famine and cold, collect about the barns, and even
enter the streets of Pictou, alighting in quest of food. A male
bird at this season, caught in a trap, became very familiar, and
as the spring approached he resumed his song in the mornings,
and his notes, like those of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, were
exceedingly rich and full. As, however, the period for migra-
tion approached, his familiarity disappeared, and the desire of
liberty seemed to overcome every other feeling. For four days
in succession his food remained untouched, and his piteous
wailing excited so much commiseration that at length he was
released. The Pine Grosbeak is said to breed in Maine as
well as in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The visits of this handsome bird to New England and the more
southern portions of Canada are decidedly irregular. During an
occasional winter the flocks are large and numerous, while again
for several seasons but a few stragglers may appear.

Dr. Coues thinks that there is no question but that the bird is a
“resident” in northern New England, breeding in some parts of
Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont; but I am much inclined
to question it. Very possibly a few pairs may pass an occasional
summer in that region, but I can find no evidence of the birds
having been seen there with sufficient frequency to warrant their
being termed residents.

The only known instances of this species having built in the
vicinity of northern New England must be credited to New
Brunswick. These are Boardman’s hypothetical nest, found near
“St. Stephen; the unfinished nest which Banks discovered the
parents at work upon, near St. John; and the nest with three

PINE GROSBEAK. 377

young and one egg taken by Cox on the Restigouche, in latitude
47° But excepting in these three instances, and a fourth where
young birds were seen on the Tobique River, the species has
been unknown as a summer resident in New Brunswick. Cox
saw several examples along the Restigouche in July, 1888, but I
have hunted for them up and down the same river, from the
Wagan to the Metapedia, both in July and September, without
seeing or hearing so much as one.

Some years ago I kept a male in confinement, and found hima
delightful pet. He was healthy and happy in his cage, was easily
tamed, being confiding and affectionate, and added to his other
good qualities a sweet voice and pretty melody.

The song differs with the season. In winter it is strong and
cheery, as befits a stalwart fellow who laughs at Jack Frost and
makes merry when the north wind blows. But when the spring-
time comes he tells the old, old story in most gentle tones, —a
whispered love song, sweet and tender, yet with a wild plaintive-
ness that makes it peculiarly pleasing.

AMERICAN CROSSBILL.
COMMON CROSSBILL. RED CROSSBILL.

LoOXIA CURVIROSTRA MINOR.

Cuar. Bill long and compressed, mandibles curved at the points,
which cross or overlap. In young birds the bill is straight. Adult males:
dull red, variable in shade; wings and tail blackish brown. Young males:
yellowish olive. In changing plumage they display great variety of com-
binations of yellow, olive, and red. Females: above, dull olive; rump

and crown yellow; wings and tail as male; below, grayish. Length 5%
to 6 inches.

Vest. Usually in a dense wood, on a branch of an evergreen tree 15
to 30 feet from the ground; made of twigs, strips of bark, weed-stems,
and roots, lined thickly with grass, roots, hair, and feathers.

£ges. 3-4; pale green dotted, near larger end, with brown and laven-

der; 0.75 X 0.57.

This more common species, like the preceding, inhabits the
high northern and arctic regions of both continents, where it
breeds, and is met with from Greenland to Pennsylvania, or
farther south, according to the season and the success in
obtaining food when driven to make a southern descent or
migration. From September to April these birds are found
inhabiting the extensive pine forests in the mountainous and
interior districts of Pennsylvania and other States to the north ;
they also extend their winter migrations into the lower parts of
the State of Missouri. They have occasionally been seen in
the maritime parts of Massachusetts, but are less common

AMERICAN CROSSBILL. 379

here than the following species, generally taking, in their irregu-
lar incursions, a more interior and mountainous route. In the
eastern chain of the Alleghanies, in Pennsylvania, according to
Wilson, they appear to be at times very abundant visitors,
feeding so steadily on the seeds of the white pine and hem-
lock spruce as to be approached without taking alarm. They
have also a loud, sharp, and not unmusical note, chattering as
they fly, and during the prevalence of deep snows become so
tamed by hunger as to alight round the mountain cabins, even
settling on the roofs when disturbed, and, like pigeons, de-
scending in the next moment to feed as if they had never
been molested. They are then easily trapped, and so eager
and unsuspicious as to allow an approach so near that they
may be knocked down with sticks. In these very familiar visits
they are observed even to pick off the clay from the logs of the
house, and to swallow the mere earth to allay the cravings of
hunger. In cages they show many of the habits of the Parrot,
climbing up the sides and holding the pine-cones given them in
one claw while they extract the seeds. Like the same bird in
Louisiana, they also do considerable damage at times in the
orchard by tearing apples to pieces for the sake of getting at
the seeds only. They feed likewise on the seeds of the alder,
as well as the kernels of other fruits and the buds of trees.
Scarcely any of these birds have yet been observed to breed
within the United States, as they retire for this purpose to their
favorite pine forests in high and more cool latitudes, where in
security and solitude they pursue the duties of procreation.
Dr. Brewer, of Boston, however, obtained eggs of these birds
from Coventry, in Vermont. Like the preceding species, they
often breed in winter in more temperate countries, as in
January and February, and the young fly in March.

This bird was not observed by the naturalists of the north-
ern expeditions in any part of the fur countries. It is, how-
ever, described by Forster. In the winter of 1832, during or
soon after a severe snow-storm, a large flock of these uncer-
tain winter visitors were seen in a red-cedar grove near to
Mount Auburn, in this vicinity. In 1833, accompanied by the

380 SINGING BIRDS.

White-winged species, a flock of the same birds made their
appearance as early as the 11th of November in some tall
pine-trees in the same place they visited the last year in the
depth of winter. They are very busy and unsuspicious, having
very much the manners of Parrots in their feeding. At some
distance beneath the trees where they are engaged, we can
hear them forcing open the scales of the rigid pine cones with
a considerable crackling, and the wings of the seeds fly about
in all directions. Sometimes the little Redpolls also attend to
snatch a seed or two as they are spread to the winds. They
fly somewhat like the Yellow Birds, by repeated jerks and sink-
ings and risings in their course, but proceed more swiftly and
directly to their destination ; they also utter a rather loud and
almost barking or fifing chirp, particularly the females, like
‘tsh 'tship 'tsh ’tshif. Their enemies seem also to follow them
into this distant and unusual retreat. One evening, as they
were uttering their quailing chirp, and about to roost in the
pines, we heard an unusual cry, and found that the alarm was
justly occasioned by the insidious and daring attack of a bold
Butcher Bird (Landus borealis), who had taken advantage of
their bewildered confusion at the moment of retiring to repose.
Besides their call and ordinary plaints, we hear, as I have
thought, now and then, in the warmer part of the day, a rather
agreeable, but somewhat monotonous, song. We found these
birds, as well as the Redpolls, very fat and plump; and they
devour a great quantity of pine-seeds, with which the cesopha-
gus is perpetually gorged as full as in the gluttonous and tune-
less Cedar Birds (Bombycilia).

The Red Crossbill is still known to be chiefly a winter visitor to
New England and the Middle States, though every summer a
small number may be met with in the more northern districts and
on the higher hills, and nests have been taken in Maine, Vermont,
Massachusetts, and New York. In April, 1889, Mr. G. S. Miller,
Jr., found a flock on Cape Cod, and upon dissecting several, he dis-
covered evidence that they were nesting.

In northern Maine and New Brunswick numbers have been
seen during the summer months; but even in these regions it is
chiefly a winter visitor.

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL. 381

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL.
LoxIA LEUCOPTERA,

Cuar. Bill long and compressed, mandibles curved at the points,
which cross or overlap. Male: dull rosy, clouded with dull dark brown
on the back; wings and tail black; two broad white bars on the wings;
belly dull white streaked with brown. Female: dull olive, paler beneath;
rump buffy. Young similar to female, but paler olive above, and more
decided yellow beneath, streaked everywhere with dark brown. Length
about 6 to 6% inches.

Nest. In the deep forest, usually saddled on a fork of an evergreen,
amid the denser foliage near the centre of the tree; made of twigs and
strips of birch bark, covered exteriorly with moss (zszea), and lined with
soft moss and hair.

Eggs. 3-2; pale blue, spotted and streaked near larger end with red-
dish brown and lilac; 0.80 X 0.55.

This beautiful and well-distinguished species inhabits the
northern regions of the American continent only, whence,
at irregular intervals, on the approach of winter, it arrives in
the Northern and Middle States, and, as usual with the rest of
this curious family, seeks out the pine and hemlock-spruce
forests. Its visits to this State [Massachusetts] are very
irregular. About two years ago, large, gregarious, famished
flocks were seen near Newburyport and other neighboring
towns in the vicinity of the sea-coast, at which time many
were caught, killed, and caged. The habits of this bird are
almost entirely similar to those of the preceding species. Its
song-is said to be mellow and agreeable, and in captivity it
becomes gentle and familiar.

According to Mr. Hutchins, it arrives around Hudson Bay
in March, and in May builds a nest of grass, mud, and feath-
ers, fixed generally about half way up a pine-tree, and lays 5
white eggs marked with yellowish spots. The young fly about
the end of June. It remains in this country till the close of
November, after which it retires, probably to the South; and
Wilson’s bird was obtained in the Great Pine Swamp or forest
of the Pokono (Pennsylvania), in the month of September,
so that it may be possible that some few pairs breed in this
situation.

382 SINGING BIRDS.

This species, according to Richardson, inhabits the dense
white spruce forests of the fur countries, feeding principally on
the seeds of the cones. It ranges through the whole breadth
of the continent, and probably up to the 68th parallel, where
the forests terminate. It is usually seen in the upper branches
of trees, and when wounded still clings so fast as to remain
suspended after death. In September, collecting in small
flocks, they fly from tree to tree in a restless manner and make
a chattering noise ; and in the depth of winter they retire from
the coast to seek shelter in the thick woods of the interior.

This interesting bird must still be written “irregular” in its oc-
currence in this State, though usually more or less abundant in
winter down to the 4oth parallel.

It is partially sedentary in northern New England and the Mari-
time Provinces of Canada, though much more abundant in winter
than during the warm weather. The nest is built in January and
February, — I have known of numerous nests being discovered in
New Brunswick in those months, —and it is probable that both
-young and old retire farther northward after the young birds are
able to fly.

WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.

SITTA CAROLINENSIS.

Cuar. Above, bluish ash; top of head and neck black; wings black,
blue, and white ; tail black, marked with white; beneath, white; under
tail-coverts reddish brown. Bill long and acute. Female and young
similar, but black of head tinged with ashy or wanting. Length 53/
inches.

Nest. In open woodland, placed at the bottom of a cavity excavated
in a dead tree or stump, — sometimes an old woodpecker’s nest is used;
made of leaves, grass, feathers, and hair.

* £ges. 4-8 (occasionally as many as Io, usually 5); white tinged with
rose pink, and spotted with reddish brown and lilac; 0.80 X 0.60.

This species, so nearly allied to the European Nuthatch, re-
sides permanently throughout North America, from Hudson
Bay and Oregon to the tableland of Mexico, appearing only
more common and familiar at the approach of winter in con-
sequence of the failure of its food in its favorite sylvan re-
treats, which it now often forsakes for the open fields, orchards,
or gardens, where, in pairs or small and sometimes contending

384 SINGING BIRDS.

parties, they cautiously glean a transient means of subsistence,
and wander from place to place as the supply diminishes. At
the welcome return, however, of the month of April, with the
revival and renewal of its insect fare the Nuthatch becomes
more domestic; and retiring into the forest with its mate, it
prepares for its progeny in some hollow tree, or even in a rail
of the neighboring fence. The male is now assiduously atten-
tive to his sitting mate, supplying her regularly with food; on
which occasion he affectionately calls her from the mouth of
her dark and voluntary prison, where sometimes, in mere
sociability, he attempts in his rude way to soothe her with his
complaisant chatter. He is too affectionate to ramble from
this favorite spot, where he not only accompanies his consort,
but, sentinel-like, watches and informs her of every threaten-
ing danger. When the pair are feeding on the trunk of the
same tree, or near to each other in the same wood, the faithful
male is heard perpetually calling upon his companion at short
intervals as he circumambulates the trunk. His approach is
announced usually at a distance by his nasal Aank hank,
frequently repeated, as in spiral circles round the trunk of
some tree he probes, searches, and shells off the bark in quest
of his lurking prey of spiders, ants, insects, and their larvee in
general. So tight and secure is his hold that he is known to
roost indifferently with his head up or down from the tree;
and when wounded, while any spark of life remains, his con-
vulsive and instinctive grasp is still firmly and obstinately
maintained. Sometimes, with a sort of complaisant curiosity,
one of the birds, when there is a pair, will silently descend
nearly to the foot of the tree, where the spectator happens to
stand, stopping, head downwards, and stretching out his neck,
as it were, to reconnoitre your appearance and motives; and
after an interval of silence, wheeling round, he again ascends
to his usual station, trumpeting his notes as before. He seldom
wholly quits the forest, but when baffled by the slippery sleet
which denies him a foothold, he is sometimes driven to the
necessity of approaching the barnyard and stables, or the
precincts of the dwelling, where, occasionally mixing among

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 385

the common fowls, entering the barn, examining its beams and
rafters, he seems to leave no means untried to secure a
subsistence.

This species is doubtless a resident in Ontario and New Eng-
land, becoming more abundant during the winter months; but in
the Maritime Provinces it is only a summer visitor.

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH.
SITTA CANADENSIS.

Cuar. Above, ashy blue; top and side of head black; broad stripe
of white over the eyes; wings blackish, with ashy and white markings ;
outer tail-feathers black and white; beneath, reddish brown, — paler in
the female; chin white; bill long and acute. Length 4% inches.

Nest. In open woodland ; an excavation in a decayed stub, lined with
grass and roots, —sometimes with feathers. Often the entrance is sur-
rounded with fir balsam.

£ggs. 4-6; white with pale roseate tint and thickly spotted with brown
and lilac ; 0.60 X 0.50.

The habits of these smaller birds are almost similar to the
preceding ; they have, however, a predilection for pine forests,
feeding much on the oily seeds of these evergreens. In these
barren solitudes they are almost certain to be found in busy
employment, associating in pairs with the Chickadees and
smaller Woodpeckers, the whole forming a hungry, active, and
noisy group, skipping from tree to tree with petulant chatter,
probing and rattling the dead or leafless branches, prying in
every posture for their scanty food, and, like a horde of Tar-
tars, proceed through the forest and leisurely overrun the whole
of the continent to the very confines of the tropics, retiring
north in the same manner with the advance of the spring.

The notes of this species of Nuthatch, though similar, are
sharper than those of the preceding, resembling day day datz,
and sounding almost like a child’s trumpet. Its motions are
also quicker. They cling to the bark of the tree and roost
commonly with the head downwards, in the manner of their
whole tribe.

VOL. I. — 25

386 SINGING BIRDS.

This species has a more extended range than carolinensis, being
found farther west and farther north. It breeds in northern New
England and northward to about 50°. It occurs sparingly in winter
in New Brunswick. A good account of its nesting habits, written
by Mr. Manly Hardy, appeared in the Bulletin of the Nuttall Club
for October, 1878.

BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH.
SITTA PUSILLA.

Cuar. Above, ashy blue; top of head and neck brown ; white spot on
back of neck; wings black and bluish; middle tail-feathers like back,
others black tipped with bluish; beneath, dull brownish white tinged
with pale ash behind; throat white. Bill long, slender, and acute.
Length 334 to 44 inches.

Nest. In open woodland; an excavation in a dead stump, lined with
grass, leaves, and feathers.

Leggs. 4-6; white, thickly marked with fine spots of reddish brown and
pale lilac ; 0.60 X 0.50.

This small species is seldom seen to the north of the State
of Virginia. In the Southern States it is rather common, and
is also met with in the island of Jamaica. Like the last, which
it resembles in manners, it is very fond of pine-trees, and
utters a similar note, but more shrill and chirping. Its food,
besides the seeds of the pine, is usually the insects which infest
the forest trees. In winter families of this species of 8 or 10
individuals may be seen busily hunting in company, and keep-
ing up a perpetual and monotonous screeping. It is less
suspicious than most other sylvan birds, sometimes descending
down the trunk of a tree watching the motions of the by-
stander; and if the intrusion happens to be near the nest, or
while engaged in digging it out, the little harmless mechanic
utters a sort of complaining note, and very unwillingly relin-
quishes his employment, which is instantly renewed on the
removal of the observer.

This species is restricted to the Southern and Gulf States, rarely
wandering north of Virginia and Maryland; but examples have
been taken in Missouri, Ohio, and Michigan.

BROWN CREEPER. 387

BROWN CREEPER.

CERTHIA FAMILIARIS AMERICANA.

Cuar. Above, grayish brown, each feather streaked with dull white ;
rump rufous; wings with two bars of dull or reddish white; beneath, dull
white or pale gray. Length about 5% inches.

Vest. In deep woods, placed behind a sliver of loose bark on a
decayed tree or stub; made of shreds of bark and wszea moss firmly
interwoven and set on a platform of twigs. It is sometimes lined with
feathers.

£ggs. 4-8; white or creamy, — when freshly laid, tinted with pale
roseate, — spotted with reddish brown ; 0.60 X 0.50.

This industrious forager for insects, chiefly dwelling in the
seclusion of the forest, is but seldom seen in the summer; but
on the approach of winter, with other hungry wanderers of
similar habits such as the small Woodpeckers and Nuthatches,
it makes its appearance on the wooded skirts of the village,
particularly among the pine-trees, and occasionally becomes
familiar enough to pay a passing visit to the orchard. In this
country, however, the species is neither common nor familiar,
nor is it more abundant in the Northern than the Middle
States, though its breeding range extends from Pennsylvania to
Newfoundland.

The bill of the Creeper not being of sufficient strength to
probe the wood, it rests contented with examining the crevices
of the bark for insects and their eggs, proceeding leisurely
upwards or downwards in straight or spiral lines towards the
top of the tree, dodging dexterously to the opposite side from
the observer, and only resuming its occupation when assured
of solitude and safety. While thus employed it utters at short
intervals a sharp, quick, rather grating note, by which its resort
may be discovered, though it requires some time and a good
eye to perceive it if on the upper branches of a tall tree.
Though it lives chiefly on insects, it also, according to Wilson,
collects the seeds of the pine for food, and is particularly fond
of the vermin which prey on those kinds of trees. In the
thick forests which it inhabits in the Northern and Western

388 SINGING BIRDS,

States about the middle of April, it commences the nest in the
hollow trunk or branch of a tree which has been exposed to
decay by injury or accident. Here in the accidental cavities
or deserted holes of the squirrel or Woodpecker the Creeper
deposits her eggs. The young creep about with great caution
previous to taking to their wings.

The Brown Creeper is a common bird in New England, though
in the southern portions it is less numerous in the breeding season
than during the colder months. It is common in Ontario and
Quebec, but less abundant in the Maritime Provinces. An inter-
esting account of the breeding habits of this bird, written by Mr.
William Brewster, appeared in the Nuttall Bulletin for July, 1879.

BAHAMA HONEY CREEPER.
CERTHIOLA BAHAMENSIS.

Cuar. Above, dark brown; rump yellow; stripe over eyes and under-
parts dull white; breast and edge of wing pale yellow; tail broadly
tipped with white. Length 4% inches.

Vest. Ina low tree or bush; a large, pensile, dome-shaped structure,
the entrance at the side ; made of weed-stems and grass, and lined with
plant down.

Eggs. 2-4; white, tinged with green and speckled with rufous: 0.65
X 0.60.

The home of this species is on the Bahamas, but it is found
regularly along the southeastern coast of Florida. Mr. Gosse in
his “Birds of Jamaica” gives an interesting account of its
habits. He describes it as obtaining its food in much the same
manner as Humming Birds, —by probing the flowers; but in-
stead of hovering in front of a flower, the Creeper alights on the
tree. When examining a flower for the insects which are at the
bottom of the cup, the bird throws its body into a variety of posi-
tions, sometimes with the back downward, the better to reach the
interior of a blossom with its curved bill and peculiar tongue. The
bird is unsuspecting and familiar, and freely resorts to the blossom-
ing shrubs of a garden.

BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER.
BLACK AND WHITE CREEPER.
MNIOTILTA VARIA.

Cuar. Above, black striped with white, head, wings, and tail mostly
black; beneath, white, more or less striped with black. Female and
young without stripes on the throat. Length 4% to 5% inches.

West. In open woodland or pasture; placed at the foot of a tree or
stump, or at the base of a moss-covered rock, sometimes in a hole; made
of grass, moss, and shreds of bark, and lined with grass, hair, roots, and
vegetable down.

£ggs. 4-5; creamy white, thickly spotted with pale reddish brown;
0.65 X 0.50.

This remarkable bird, allied to the Creepers, is another
rather common summer resident in most parts of the United
States, and probably migrates pretty far to the north. It
arrives in Louisiana by the middle of February, visits Pennsyl-
vania about the second week in April, and a week later appears
in the woods of New England, protracting its stay in those
countries till the beginning of October, and lingering on the
southern limits of the Union a month later, so that it does not
appear to be much affected by the commencement of frost,
and probably at this season occasionally feeds on berries.
As numbers are observed round Vera Cruz toward the com-
mencement of winter, and are described as inhabiting the
West India islands, it is probable they pass the extremity of
the winter beyond the southern boundary of the Union.

390 SINGING BIRDS.

Like the Creepers and Nuthatches, these birds are seldom
seen to perch upon the branches of trees, but creep spirally
around the trunk and larger boughs up and down, in quest of
insects which alight upon or hide within the crevices of the
bark. In this employment they display all the dexterity of the
more regular climbers. For this purpose the hind toe is rather
stout, and extends backward so as to balance with the anterior
part of the foot, and allow a motion like that of the Creepers,
from which genus they are at the same time wholly distinct.

At the period of breeding, the male scrapes out a little
monotonous ditty in recognition of his mate, resembling some-
what the syllables ze ¢she tshe tshe tsh' tsheté, proceeding from
high to low in a tolerably strong and shrill, but somewhat
filing tone. As the season of incubation advances, this note,
however, becomes more mellow and warbling, and though
feeble, is very pleasing, bearing at this time some resemblance
to that of the Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). This song is like
the ascending call of "twee "twee ’twee ’twee tweet. At the
romantic estate of the Cold Spring place in Roxbury the pro-
prietor, Mr. Newman, pointed out to me the nest of this bird,
which on the 27th of June contained four young about a week
old. Other birds of this species I had seen fledged this year
about the 17th of the same month, and as Wilson remarks the
flight of the young in July, we may suppose that they raise two
broods in the season. The nest was niched in the shelving of
a rock on the surface of the ground, and was externally com-
posed of coarse strips of the inner bark of the hemlock-trees,
which overshadowed the situation. With these were mixed soft,
dissected old leaves and a few stalks of dead grass; the lining
was made of a thin layer of black hair. According to Audu-
bon, these birds nest in Louisiana in some small hole in a tree,
and employ dry moss and a lining of downy substances. The
pair fed the young before us with affectionate attention, and
did not seem more uneasy at our presence than the common
and familiar summer Yellow Bird. They crept about the trunks
of the neighboring trees, often head downwards, like the Sittas,
and carried large smooth caterpillars to their young. This is,

PURPLE MARTIN, 391

in fact, at all times a familiar, active, and unsuspicious little
visitor of the shady gardens and orchards, as well as woods
and solitudes.

The Black and White Creeper, as this species is usually called,
occurs west to the Mississippi valley, and is abundant in Manitoba.
It is a common summer resident of the Maritime Provinces.

It was first classed with the Warblers by Spencer Baird in 1859,
and has been retained there by all later authorities. Nuttall con-
sidered that there were two species, one of which he named dorealzs ;
but it has not been considered valid, though Ridgway, in his “ Man-
ual,” suggests the name MZ. varia borealis for a supposed Missis-
sippi valley and Middle American race, which he describes as
somewhat smaller than true varia; but he thinks the material at
hand insufficient to warrant a positive decision, so we are saved the
infliction of this much “ hair-splitting.”

PURPLE MARTIN.
PROGNE SUBIS.

Cuar. Male: lustrous black with purple tint, wings and tail with
brownish tint. Female and young: browner above, and beneath grayish.
Length 7% inches.

Nest. Ina box, or attached to the eave of a house; sometimes in a
decayed tree; made of grass, leaves, etc.

£ggs. 4-6; white and glossy; 0.95 X 0.75.

According to the progress of the season in the very different
climates of the United States, is measured the arrival of this
welcome messenger of spring. Around the city of New Or-
leans, for example, the Purple Martin is seen from the 1st to
the gth of February. At the Falls of the Ohio, it is not seen
before the middle of March, and representatives do not arrive
in the vicinity of Philadelphia until the first week in April; on
the 25th of that month, or later, they visit the vicinity of Bos-
ton, and penetrate even to the cold regions of Hudson Bay,
where they arrive in May and retire in August ; about the 2oth
of the same month they also leave the State of Pennsylvania.
The migrations of these birds are remarkably extensive, as
they were seen by Mr. Swainson in great numbers around Per-

392 SINGING BIRDS,

nambuco. Mr. Townsend met with them on the Rocky Moun-
tains, and Audubon observed them breeding in Texas. In
Oregon we found them nesting in the knot-holes of the oaks,
and they did not appear to court the society of man, as we
seldom saw them near the fort. In their haste to return to
their natal climes, they sometimes expose themselves to fatal
accidents from changeable and unfavorable weather. In the
maritime parts of Massachusetts, and probably throughout the
State, a few years ago after a rainy midsummer, many were
found dead in their boxes, and they have since been far less
numerous than formerly.

This beautiful species, like many others of the family, seeks
out the dwellings of man, associating itself equally with the
master and the slave, the colonist and the aboriginal. To the
Martin it is indifferent whether its mansion be carved and
painted, or humbled into the hospitable shell of the calabash
or gourd. Secure of an asylum for its mate and young, while
under the protection of man it twitters forth its gratitude, and
is everywhere welcomed to a home. So eager is it to claim
this kind of protection that sometimes it ventures hostilities
with the Bluebirds and domestic Pigeons, who are often forced
to abandon their hereditary claims. Satisfied with the recep-
tion and success, like so many contented and faithful domes-
tics, it returns year after year to the same station. The
services of the Martin in driving away Hawks and Crows from
the premises he claims, are also important inducements for
favor; he has even the courage to attack the redoubtable
Kingbird, when its visits are too familiar near the nest.

At the approaching dawn the merry Martin begins a lively
twitter, which, continuing for half a minute, subsides until the
twilight is fairly broken. To this prelude succeeds an ani-
mated and incessant musical chattering, sufficient, near the
dwelling, to awaken the soundest sleeper. His early vigils are
scarcely exceeded by the domestic Cock; the industrious
farmer hears the pleasing call to labor, and associates with this
favorite bird the idea of an economical, cheerful, and useful

guest.

PURPLE MARTIN. 393

In the Middle States, from the 15th to the 2oth of April,
the Martins begin to prepare their nest, which is usually made
of small green or dry leaves, straws, hay, and feathers, laid in
considerable quantities. They rear two broods in the season.
Several pairs also dwell harmoniously in the same box. The
male, very attentive to his sitting mate, also takes part in the
task of incubation ; and his notes at this time have apparently
a peculiar and expressive tenderness.

The food of the Martin is usually the larger winged insects,
as wasps, bees, large beetles, such as the common Ceéondas, or
goldsmiths, which are swallowed whole. His flight possesses
all the swiftness, ease, and grace of the tribe. Like the Swift,
he glides along, as it were, without exertion. Sometimes he is
seen passing through the crowded streets, eluding the passen-
gers with the rapidity of thought; at others he sails among
the clouds at a dizzy height like something almost ethereal.

The Purple Martin occurs throughout the Maritime Provinces,
though nowhere common, and is extremely local in its distribution.
It is rather rare near Quebec, but common at Montreal and
throughout Ontario. Observers in Winnipeg consider the bird
abundant there, and it is said to range north to the Saskatchewan
valley.

Small colonies of these Martins are found scattered through
New England at widely separated localities, accepting, usually, the
proffered hospitality of friendly villagers who provide them with
homes, though an occasional coterie may be found nesting in the
primitive manner of their ancestors,—rearing their broods in
natural cavities of trees or in crevices of rocks, as was the custom
of their race before the European led them into more Sybaritic
habits.

BARN SWALLOW.

CHELIDON ERYTHROGASTER.

CuHaR. Upper parts steel blue; breast rich chestnut; belly paler;
tail deeply forked, — outer feathers several inches longer than the inner.
Length 5% to 7% inches.

West. Attached to a rafter of a barn or the side of a cave; cup
shaped; made of pellets of mud bound with grass, and lined with grass
and feathers.

£ggs. 3-6; white, variously marked with dark brown, reddish brown,
or purplish brown and lilac; 0.75 X 0.55,

The Barn Swallows arrive in Florida and the maritime parts
of Georgia about the middle of March, but are not seen in the
Middle States before the last of that month or the beginning

BARN SWALLOW. 395

of April. Their northern migration extends to the sources of
the Mississippi, the Rocky Mountains, and the fur countries,
where, distant from the habitations of man, they inhabit caves,
particularly those in the limestone rocks. They retire from
Massachusetts about the 18th of September, and are observed
in the same month and in October passing over the penin-
sula of Florida on their way to tropical America, where they
probably pass the winter. I have seen a straggling pair in
this vicinity even on the 15th of October. The fleetness with
which they move, and the peculiarity of their insect fare, are
circumstances which would impel a prompt transition to more
favorable climates. Accidental fits of torpidity, like those
which occasionally and transiently take place with the Hum-
ming Bird, have undoubtedly happened to Swallows, without
proving anything against the general migrating instinct of the
species, which as long back as the time of Anacreon has been
generally observed.

Early in May they begin to build against a beam or rafter,
usually in the barn. The external and rounding shell is made
of pellets of mud tempered with fine hay and rendered more
adhesive by the glutinous saliva of the bird; within is laid a
bed of fine hay, and the lining is made of loosely arranged
feathers. ‘They have usually two broods in the season, and the
last leave the nest about the first week in August. Twenty or
thirty nests may sometimes be seen in the same barn, and two
or three in a cluster, where each pursues his busy avocation in
the most perfect harmony. When the young are fledged, the
parents, by their actions and twitterings, entice them out of
the nest, to exercise their wings within the barn, where they sit
in rows amid the timbers of the roof, or huddle closely to-
gether in cool or rainy weather for mutual warmth. At length
they venture out with their parents, and, incapable of constant
exercise, may now be seen on trees, bushes, or fence-rails, near
some pond or creek convenient to their food; and their diet
is disgorged from the stomachs or crops of their attentive
parents. When able to provide for themselves, they are still
often fed on the wing, without either party alighting ; so aérial

396 SINGING BIRDS.

and light are all their motions that the atmosphere alone
seems to be their favorite element. In the latter end of
summer, parties of these social birds may be often seen by the
sides of dusty roads, in which they seem pleased to bask.

About the middle of August they leave the barns, and begin
to prepare for their departure, assembling in great numbers on
the roofs, still twittering with great cheerfulness. Their song
is very sprightly, and sometimes a good while continued. Some
of these sounds seem like ’?/ ’?/e ’?/e/alit, utteréd with rapid-
ity and great animation. A while before their departure, they
are observed skimming along the rivers and ponds after insects
in great numbers, till the approach of sunset, when they assem-
ble to roost in the reeds.

The Barn Swallow is a common bird throughout this Eastern

Province, and northward to the lower fur countries.
It winters in the West Indies and Central America.

CLIFF SWALLOW.
EAVE SWALLOW.
PETROCHELIDON LUNIFRONS.

Cuar. Above, dark steel blue ; forehead dull white; wings and tail
brownish black ; rump rufous; chin, throat, and collar around neck deep
chestnut ; patch of blue black on breast; remaining under-parts pale
gray tinged with rufous. Length about 5% inches.

West. Fastened to the side of a cliff or the eave of a building ; made
of pellets of mud and lined with grass and feathers. Usually gourd-
shaped, the entrance at the mouth of the gourd,—sometimes open on
top.

£egs. 4-6; white, variously marked with shades of brown and purple;
0.80 X 0.55.

The Cliff Swallows have but recently come to the notice of
naturalists. Their summer residence in the temperate parts
of America is singularly scattered. They have long occupied
the regions of the Rocky Mountains, extending to the banks of
the Columbia, and the cliffs of the Missouri, and are probably
to be found on other large Western rivers. According to

CLIFF SWALLOW, 397

Richardson they are extremely abundant in the fur countries.
In 1815 they were observed for the first time at Henderson,
on the banks of the Ohio, and at Newport in Kentucky. In
1817 they made their appearance at Whitehall, near Lake
Champlain, in the western part of the State of New York. In
these places their increase seems to have kept pace with the
time since their arrival, augmenting their nests from a single
cluster to several hundreds in the course of four or five years.
Vieillot observed one at sea off Nova Scotia, and they have, in
fact, long been commonly known in that Province. In 1818,
as I learn from J. W. Boott, Esq., they began to build at Craw-
ford’s, near the base of the White Mountains of New Hamp-
shire. In the summer of 1830 a few nests were seen by
General Dearborn at Winthrop in Maine; he had also heard
of one at Gardiner in the same State. The hibernal retreat of
these birds would appear to be in the West Indies, as they
were seen in Porto Rico by Vieillot, and one was also observed
in St. Domingo by the same author.

In the Western States they arrive from the South early in
April, and almost immediately begin to construct their nests.
They commence their labor at the dawn, and continue their
operations until near mid-day. The nests are made of pellets
of sandy mud, disposed in layers until the fabric, with its
entrance, assumes the form of a projecting retort, agglutinated
to cliffs or the walls of buildings as convenience may offer.
From the nature of the friable materials employed, the whole
is frail, and would crumble in the possession of any but the
airy owners. The internal lining is of’straw and dried grass
negligently disposed for the reception of the eggs. They raise
but a single brood, who, with their parents, after several
attempts at mustering, finally disappear in August as suddenly
as they came. Mr. Townsend says: “In the neighborhood of
the Columbia River the Cliff Swallow attaches its nest to the
trunks of trees, making it of the same form and materials as
elsewhere.” The face of Pillar Rock, an isolated columnar
mass of basalt near Chinhook, at the estuary of the Columbia,
was rendered still more fantastic and picturesque by the nests

398 SINGING BIRDS.

of the Cliff Swallow with which it was faced; a small colony
having taken up their abode here. These were, as usual, made
of pellets of mud, enclosed at the top, but without the retort
necks,

Like the rest of their congeners, these birds are almost per-
petually on the wing in quest of flies and other small insects
which constitute their ordinary food. Their note does not
appear to resemble a twitter, and according to Audubon it
may be imitated by rubbing a moistened cork round in the
neck of a bottle. In Kentucky, until the commencement of
incubation, the whole party resorted to roost in the hollow
limbs of the buttonwood-trees. However curious, it is certain
that the birds have but recently discovered the advantage of
associating round the habitations of men.

Numerous colonies of this species are found throughout New
England and the Maritime Provinces, and a few pairs have been
seen at Point de Monts, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Law-
rence, which is the limit of its northward range near the Atlantic.

It is highly probable that the habit of breeding in large commu-
nities, and thus becoming “local” in distribution, will account for
the report of their having moved eastward during the first half of
the present century. As a matter of fact, Audubon discovered the
species in Kentucky five years before Say found it among the
Rockies. That the older writers knew so little about the bird
should not be taken as evidence of its absence, —they failed to
learn the history of several equally common species ; and after the
added years we are still ignorant of the breeding habits of some of
these birds.

TREE SWALLOW.
WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW. SINGING SWALLOW.

TACHYCINETA BICOLOR.

Cuar. Above, rich steel blue, wings and tail with green reflections ;
beneath, white. Length about 6 inches.

West. Ina cavity of a tall dead tree, — often a deserted Woodpecker’s
hole, — sometimes in a bird box; made of grass and straw, lined with
feathers.

Zggs. 4-9 (usually 5); white; 0.75 X 0.55.

This species, less common than the Barn Swallow and nearly
allied to the common Martin, arrives in Pennsylvania and
New England about the middle of April, and extends its migra-
tions over the continent nearly to the Arctic circle, having
been seen by Dr. Richardson in the latitude of 53°; it is
also abundantly dispersed over the Rocky Mountains and the
Columbia River, where it breeds, as well as around Hudson
Bay and throughout the Northern and Middle States. On its
arrival, like many other species, it seeks out the society of
man and frequently takes possession of the mansion of the
Martin. When these advantages are unattainable it will be
content with the eaves of some deserted dwelling, a hollow
tree, its ancient residence, or even an horizontal branch when
large and convenient.

The note of these birds is a shrill, lively, warbling twitter ;
but they are more quarrelsome and less sociable in the breed-

400 SINGING BIRDS.

ing season that the Barn Swallow. In the spring their pro-
tracted, angry contentions, and rapid chatter are often heard in
the air. Their food is similar to that of the species above
mentioned, and they make a snapping sound with the bill in
the act of seizing their prey. They proceed to the South in
September, and according to the observations of Audubon
pass nearly, if not quite, the whole winter in the cypress swamps
near to New Orleans, and probably in the Mexican vicinity.
He observed them about the middle of December, and also
near to the close of January. “ During the whole winter many
retired to the holes around houses, but the greater number
resorted to the lakes, and spent the night among the branches
of the wax-myrtle,”” whose berries at this season afford them a
support on which they fatten, and are then considered as excel-
lent food. About sunset they usually began to flock together
at a peculiar call, and were then seen almost in clouds moving
towards the neighboring lagoons or the estuaries of the Mis-
sissippi. Before alighting they perform their aérial evolutions
to reconnoitre the place of roosting, soon after which they
rapidly descend as it were in a spiral vortex almost like the
fall of a water-spout, and when within a few feet of the wax-
myttles they disperse and settle at leisure ; but their twittering
and the motions of their wings are heard throughout the night.
At dawn they rise, at first flying low over the waters which
they almost touch, and then rising gradually separate in quest
of food. During their low flight numbers of them are often
killed by canoe-men with the mere aid of their paddles
(Aububon). This predilection for the borders of lakes and
ponds led some of the ancient writers to believe that Swallows
retired to the bottom of the water during the winter; and
some fishermen on the coast of the Baltic pretended to have
taken them up in their nets in large knots, clinging together
by their bills and claws in a state of torpidity.

BANK SWALLOW.
SAND MARTIN.

CLIVICOLA RIPARIA.

CuHar. Above, dull grayish brown, which extends around the neck and
across the breast; beneath, white. Length about 5 inches.

Nest. At the end of a burrow excavated in a bank of sand or gravel,
— usually within a few feet of the top; the bank generally near a stream
of water; the excavation is 2 to 4 feet deep, and widens at the inner end,
where a little dry grass and a few feathers are loosely placed, and on this
cushion the eggs are laid.-

Eggs. 4-6; white; 0.70 X 0.50.

These plain-looking and smaller birds, though equally grega-
rious with other kinds, do not court the protection or society
of man, —at least their habitations are remote from his, They
commonly take possession for this purpose of the sandy bank
or bluff of a river, quarry, or gravel pit, 2 or 3 feet below the
upper surface of the bank. In such places, in the month of
April, they may be observed burrowing horizontally with their
awl-like bills, when at length, having obtained a foot-hold in
the cliff, they also use their feet and continue this labor to the
depth of 2 or 3 feet. Many of these holes may be often seen

within a few inches of each other. This species has gener-
VOL. I, — 26

402 SINGING BIRDS.

ally two broods in the season, and on the egress of the young
in the latter end of May the piratical Crows often await their
opportunity to destroy them as they issue from the nest. In
rocky countries the birds often take possession of the clefts
on the banks of rivers for their dwelling, and sometimes they
content themselves with the holes of trees.

Their voice is only a low twitter of short lisping notes; and
while busily passing backwards and forwards in the air around
their numerous burrows, they seem at a distance almost similar
to hiving bees. As they arrive earlier than other species, the
cold and unsettled weather often drives them for refuge in
their holes, where they cluster together for warmth, and have
thus been found almost reduced to a state of torpidity. Dwel-
ling thus shut up, they are often troubled with swarms of infest-
ing insects, resembling fleas, which assemble in great numbers
around their holes. They begin to depart to the South from
the close of September to the middle of October. Although
they avoid dwelling near houses, they do not fly from settled
vicinities ; and parties of six or more, several miles from their
nests, have been seen skimming through the streets of adjacent
villages in the province of Normandy.

They are found on both sides of North America, from the
shores of the Atlantic to the borders of the Columbia, and in
all the intermediate region suited to their manner of breeding.
According to Audubon, they winter in great numbers in Florida,
and breed from Labrador to Louisiana.

If the Bank Swallow was found in Labrador by Audubon it has
since changed its addfat to the extent of deserting that country,
for during recent years only one example has been seen on the
northern side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, though colonies have
been found on Anticosti and the Magdalen Islands.

In the Far West these birds range to much higher latitudes, a
few having been met with along the valley of the Mackenzie
River. The winter resorts of the species are in South America.

ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 403

ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.

STELGIDOPTERYX SERRIPENNIS.

CHAR. Above, grayish brown; beneath, brownish gray, whitening on
the belly. Edge of wings rough to the touch. Length 5 to 5% inches.

Nest. Ina cavity of a bank or in a crevice of a stone wall or bridge,
usually near a stream ; made of dry grass lined with feathers.

Leggs. 4-7; white; 0.75 X 0.50.

We are indebted to Audubon for the discovery of this spe-
cies so much allied to the preceding, who first observed it
near Bayou Sara, and afterwards in South Carolina. Of its
habits he says nothing; but it is rarer, and he thinks its
habitual residence may prove to be far to the westward, —
perhaps the valleys of the Columbia.

This species is more common in the Western Faunal Province
than in the East; it is abundant in British Columbia. It occurs
regularly, however, throughout the Eastern States north to New
York, Ohio, and Illinois, and sparingly in Connecticut. It has also
been found in parts of Ontario.

In appearance and habits it so closely resembles the Bank Swal-
low that it may be overlooked by the casual observer ; it does not,
however, confine its choice of a nesting site to a sand-bank, but
will place its nest amid the stones of a wall or bridge, in a crevice
of a building, or even in a knot-hole.

Note. — The CuBAN CLIFF SwaLLow (Petrochelidon fulva)
and the BanaMaA SwaLLow (Calichelidon cyaneovirides) have
been added to the United States fauna by Mr. W. E. D. Scott, who
captured examples on Dry Tortugas island during March and
April, 1890.

KINGBIRD.

BEE MARTIN.

TYRANNUS TYRANNUS.

CuHar. Above, blackish ash, darker on the head; beneath, white;
breast tinged with gray; tail black, tipped with broad band of white.
Crown with concealed patch of yellow or orange red. Length 8 to 9
inches.

Vest. On a branch or in fork of a tree, in garden or pasture; com-
posed of twigs, roots, and moss, lined with roots, horse-hair, and feathers.
The exterior is loosely laid, but the interior is neat and compact.

Eggs. 4-5; creamy white, spotted with light and dark brown; 0.95
X 070.

KINGBIRD. 405

This well-known, remarkable, and pugnacious bird takes up
his summer residence in all the intermediate region from the
temperate parts of Mexico to the uninhabited and remote inte-
rior of Canada. In all this vast geographical range the King-
bird seeks his food and rears his young. According to Audu-
bon they appear in Louisiana by the middle of March; and
about the 2oth of April Wilson remarked their arrival in
_ Pennsylvania in small parties of five or six; but they are seldom
seen in this part of New England before the middle of May.
They are now silent and peaceable, until they begin to pair,
and form their nests, which takes place from the first to the
last week in May or early in June, according to the advance-
ment of the season in the latitudes of 4o and 43 degrees.
The nest is usually built in the orchard, on the horizontal
branch of an apple or pear tree, sometimes in an oak, in the
adjoining forest, at various heights from the ground, seldom
carefully concealed, and firmly fixed at the bottom to the sup-
porting twigs of the branch. The outside consists of coarse
stalks of dead grass and wiry weeds, the whole well connected
and bedded with cut-weed down, tow, or an occasional rope-
yarn and wool; it is then lined with dry, slender grass, root
fibres, and horse-hair. The eggs are generally 3 to 5, yel-
lowish white, and marked with a few large, well-defined spots
of deep and bright brown. They often build and hatch twice
in the season.

The Kingbird has no song, only a shrill, guttural twitter,
somewhat like that of the Martin, but no way musical. At
times, as he sits watching his prey, he calls to his mate with a
harsh ¢shézp, rather quickly pronounced, and attended with
some action. As insects approach him, or as he darts after
them, the snapping of his bill is heard like the shutting of a
watch-case, and is the certain grave of his prey. Beetles,
grasshoppers, crickets, and winged insects of all descriptions
form his principal summer food. I have also seen him col-
lecting the canker-worms from the Elm. Towards autumn, as
various kinds of berries ripen, they constitute a very consider-
able and favorite part of his subsistence ; but with the excep-

406 FLYCATCHERS.

tion of currants (of which he only eats perhaps when confined),
he refuses all exotic productions, contenting himself with
blackberries, whortle-berries, the berries of the sassafras, cornel,
viburnum, elder, poke, and five-leaved ivy. Raisins, foreign
currants, grapes, cherries, peaches, pears, and apples were
never even tasted when offered to a bird of this kind, which I
had many months as my pensioner; of the last, when roasted,
sometimes, however, a few mouthfuls were relished in the
absence of other more agreeable diet. Berries he always swal-
lowed whole, grasshoppers, if too large, were pounded and
broken on the floor as he held them in his bill. To manage the
larger beetles was not so easy ; these he struck repeatedly against
the ground, and then turned them from side to side, by throwing
them dexterously into the air, after the manner of the Toucan,
and the insect was uniformly caught reversed, as it descended,
with the agility of a practised cup-and-ball player. At length
the pieces of the beetle were swallowed, and he remained still
to digest his morsel, tasting it distinctly soon after it entered
the stomach, as became obvious by the ruminating motion of
his mandibles. When the soluble portion was taken up, large
pellets of the indigestible legs, wings, and shells, as likewise
the skins and seeds of berries, were, in half an hour or less,
brought up and ejected from the mouth in the manner of the
Hawks and Owls. When other food failed he appeared very
well satisfied with fresh minced meat, and drank water fre-
quently, even during the severe frosts of January, which he
endured without much difficulty; basking, however, like Dio-
genes, in the feeble beams of the sun, which he followed round
the room of his confinement, well satisfied when no intruder
or companion threw him into the shade. Some very cold
evenings he had the sagacity to retire under the shelter of a
depending bed-quilt, was very much pleased with the warmth
and brilliancy of lamp-light, and would eat freely at any hour
of the night. Unacquainted with the deceptive nature of
shadows, he sometimes snatched at them for the substances
they resembled. Unlike the Vieros, he retired to rest without
hiding his head in the wing, and was extremely watchful,

KINGBIRD. 407

though not abroad till after sunrise. His taciturnity and disin-
clination to friendship, and familiarity in confinement, were strik-
ing traits. His restless, quick, and side-glancing eye enabled
him to follow the motions of his flying insect prey, and to as-
certain precisely the infallible instant of attack. He readily
caught morsels of food in his bill before they reached the
ground, when thrown across the room, and on these occa-
sions seemed pleased with making the necessary exertion.
He had also a practice of cautiously stretching out his neck,
like a snake, and peeping about either to obtain sight of his
food, to watch any approach of danger, or to examine any-
thing that appeared strange. At length we became so well
acquainted that when very hungry he would express his grati-
tude on being fed by a shrill twitter and a lively look, which
was the more remarkable as at nearly all other times he was
entirely silent.

In a natural state he takes his station on the top of an
apple-tree, a stake, or a tall weed, and betwixt the amusement
of his squeaking twitter, employs himself in darting after his
insect food. Occasionally he is seen hovering over the field,
with beating wing, almost like a Hawk, surveying the ground or
herbage for grasshoppers, which are a favorite diet. At other
times these birds may be observed in companies flickering over
still waters in the same employment, — the gratification of appe-
tite. Now and then, during the heat of summer, they are seen
to dip and bathe in the watery mirror ; and with this washing,
drying, and pluming, they appear to be both gratified and
amused. During the season of their sojourn the pair are
often seen moving about in company, with a rapid quivering
of the wings and a continued tremulous, shrieking twitter.
Their energetic and amusing motions are most commonly per-
formed in warm and fine weather, and continue, with little
interruption, until towards the close of August.

One of the most remarkable traits in the character of the
Kingbird is the courage and affection which he displays for his
mate and young ; for on his first arrival he is rather timid, and
readily dodges before the Swallow and Purple Martin. Indeed

408 FLYCATCHERS.

at this season I have seen the Spotted Sandpiper drive away a
pair of Kingbirds because they happened to approach the
premises of her nest. But he now becomes, on this important
occasion, so tenacious of his rights as readily to commence the
attack against all his feathered enemies, and he passes several
months of the summer in a scene of almost perpetual contest ;
and not overrating his hostile powers, he generally finds means
to come off with impunity. Eagles, Hawks, Crows, Jays, and
in short every bird which excites his suspicion by its inten-
tional or accidental approach, are attacked with skill and
courage; he dives upon the heads and backs of the larger
intruders, who become so annoyed and tormented as willingly
to make a precipitate retreat. He pursues his foes sometimes
for a mile ; and at length, assured of conquest, he returns to his
prominent watch-ground, again quivering his wings in gratula-
tion, and rapidly uttering his shrill and triumphant notes. He
is therefore the friend of the farmer, as the scourge of the pil-
ferers and plunderers of his crop and barn-yard. But that he
might not be perfectly harmless, he has sometimes a propensity
for feeding on the valuable tenants of the bee-hive; for these
he watches, and exultingly twitters at the prospect of success
as they wing their way engaged in busy employment ; his quick-
sighted eyes now follow them, until one, more suitable than the
rest, becomes his favorite mark. This selected victim is by
some farmers believed to be a drone rather than the stinging
neutral worker. The selective discernment of the eyes of
this bird has often amused me ; berries of different kinds, held
to my domestic Kingbird, however similar, were rejected
or snatched as they suited his instinct, with the nicest
discrimination.

As the young acquire strength for their distant journey, they
may be seen in August and September assembling together in
almost silent, greedy, and watchful parties of a dozen or more,
feeding on various berries, particularly those of the sassafras
and cornel, from whence they sometimes drive away smaller
birds, and likewise spar and chase each other as the supply
diminishes. Indeed, my domestic allowed no other bird to

KINGBIRD. 409

live in peace near him when feeding on similar food; and
though lame of a wing, he often watched his opportunity for
reprisal and revenge, and became so jealous that, instead of
being amused by companions, sometimes he caught hold of
them with his bill, and seemed inclined to destroy them for
invading his usurped privileges. In September the Kingbird
begins to leave the United States and proceeds to pass the
winter in tropical America. During the period of migration
southward, Audubon remarks that they fly and sail through the
air with great ease at a considerable elevation ; and they thus
continue their silent retreat throughout the night until about
the first of October, when they are no longer to be seen
within the limits of the Middle States.

All lovers of birds and of justice will thank Mrs. Olive Thorne
Miller for her noble defence of this chivalrous and much maligned
bird, which appeared in the “ Atlantic Monthly ” for August, 1890.
The systematists have dubbed him “tyrant of the tyrants,” but
his friends know him to be a true knight, the real “king of the
air.”

Nore. — The ARKANSAS KINGBIRD (7. verticalis) differs from
tyrannus in being light ashy gray on head, neck, and breast, and
other lower parts yellow. In size the two birds are much the same,
some examples of the Western form being slightly larger.

Its habitat is the Western plains ; but specimens have been taken
in the Middle and Northern States.

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER.
CONTOPUS BOREALIS.

Cuar. Above, dull olive brown, darker on head, paler on rump; tail
dusky, tipped with gray ; wings dusky, with gray band; lower parts yel-
lowish white ; flanks pale olive. Length 7% to 8 inches.

West. Saddled on horizontal limb of tall tree; of twigs and grass lined
with grass and moss.

£ggs. 3-5; creamy white, spotted near larger end with reddish brown
and pale purple; 0.85 X 0.65.

This remarkable species, which appertains to the group of
Pewees, was obtained in the woods of Mount Auburn, in this
vicinity, by Mr. John Bethune, of Cambridge, on the 7th of
June, 1830. This, and a second specimen acquired soon
afterwards, were females on the point of incubation. A third
individual of the same sex was killed on the 21st of June,
1831. They were all of them fat, and had their stomachs
filled with torn fragments of wild bees, wasps, and other sim-
ilar insects. I have watched the motions of two other living
individuals who appeared tyrannical and quarrelsome even with
each other; the attack was always accompanied with a whir-
ring, querulous twitter. Their dispute was apparently, like
that of savages, about the rights of their respective hunting-
grounds. One of the birds, the female, whom I usually saw
alone, was uncommonly sedentary. The territory she seemed

OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. 4II

determined to claim was circumscribed by the tops of a cluster
of tall Virginia junipers or red cedars, and an adjoining elm
and decayed cherry-tree. From this sovereign station, in the
solitude of a barren and sandy piece of forest adjoining Mount
Auburn, she kept a sharp lookout for passing insects, and pur-
sued them with great vigor and success as soon as they ap-
peared, sometimes chasing them to the ground, and generally
resuming her perch with an additional mouthful, which she
swallowed at leisure. On descending to her station she occa-
sionally quivered her wings and tail, erected her blowsy cap,
and kept up a whistling, oft-repeated, whining call of ’pu ’pi,
then varied to pu pip, and ’fip pit, also at times 'Sip "Dip "pu
‘pip "pip ‘pip, "pit 'pit pip, or 'ti, 'té ‘tt, and ti ti. This
shrill, pensive, and quick whistle sometimes dropped almost to
a. whisper or merely ’A#%. The tone was in fact much like that
of the "phi "phi ’phit of the Fish Hawk. The male, however,
besides this note, at long intervals had a call of ’eh’phédze or
‘h’phebéd, almost exactly in the tone of the circular tin whistle,
or bird-call, being loud, shrill, and guttural at the commence-
ment. The nest of this pair I at length discovered in the
horizontal branch of a tall red cedar 40 or 50 feet from the
ground. It was formed much in the manner of the Kingbird,
externally made of interlaced dead twigs of the cedar, inter-
nally of the wiry stolons of the common cinquefoil, dry grass,
and some fragments of branching Zichen or Usnea. It con-
tained 3 young and had probably 4 eggs. The eggs had been
hatched about the 2oth of June, so that the pair had arrived in
this vicinity about the close of May.

The young remained in the nest no less than 23 days, and
were fed from the first on beetles and perfect insects, which
appeared to have been wholly digested, without any regurgi-
tation. Towards the close of this protracted period the young
could fly with all the celerity of the parents; and they prob-
ably went to and from the nest repeatedly before abandoning
it. The male was at this time extremely watchful, and fre-
quently followed me from his usual residence, after my paying
him a visit, nearly half a mile. These birds, which I watched

412 FLYCATCHERS,

on several successive days, were no way timid, and allowed
me for some time previous to visiting their nest to investigate
them and the premises they had chosen, without showing any
sign of alarm or particular observation.

This bird appears to have been discovered in the fur coun-
tries about the same time as in the United States. According
to Dr. Richardson, the specimen, figured so spiritedly in the
“ Northern Zoology of Canada,’”’ was shot on the banks of the
Saskatchewan as it was flying near the ground.

In 1832, about the middle of June, the same pair appar-
ently had again taken possession of a small juniper not more
than 300 yards from the tree they had occupied the preceding
year, about 14 or 15 feet up which they had fixed their thin
twiggy nest as in the preceding year. It contained 4 eggs, on
which the female had commenced sitting; these, except in
their superior size, were precisely similar with those of the
Wood Pewee, — yellowish-cream color, with dark-brown and
lavender-purple spots, rather thinly dispersed. Being unfortu-
nate enough to shake out the two eggs I intended to leave in
the nest, the pair had to commence their labors of preparing
for a progeny anew; and a few days after, a second nest was
made in another Virginian juniper at a very short distance
from the preceding. The present year, however, they did not
return to their accustomed retreat, and no individual was seen
in this vicinity. In all places it appears, in fact, a scarce and
widely dispersed species. Audubon has since observed this
bird in other parts of Massachusetts, Maine, the Magdalen
Islands, and the coast of Labrador. He has also seen it in
Georgia and in Texas. This species is a common inhabitant
of the dark fir-woods of the Columbia, where it arrives
towards the close of May. We again heard, at intervals, the
same curious call, like ‘gh-phebéa, and sometimes like the gut-
tural sound ’egh-phebeé, commencing with a sort of suppressed
chuck ; at other times the note varied into a lively and some-
times quick /’¢-defoway. This, no doubt, is the note attributed
by Wilson to the Wood Pewee. When approached, or when
calling, we heard the pu pu pu.

CRESTED FLYCATCHER. 413

The Olive-sided Flycatcher is a rare summer resident in the
southern portions of New England, but is quite common in
Maine and New Brunswick, and ranges north to about the soth
parallel. In the region of the Great Lakes it occurs but rarely.

CRESTED FLYCATCHER.

MYIARCHUS CRINITUS.

Cuar. Upper parts olive, inclined to brown on the head; lower parts
bright yellow, excepting throat and cheek, which are dark ash; wings and
tail dusky, marked with rufous. Head crested. Length 8% to g inches.

Nest. Ina cavity of a tree; of twigs, grass-roots, feathers, and usually
a cast-off snake-skin.

Leggs. 4-6; light buffy brown, marked with lines of brown and purple;
0.85 X 0.65.

This species, nearly unknown in New England, arrives in
Pennsylvania early in May, and builds his nest in the deserted
holes of the Woodpecker or Bluebird. He also frequents the
orchard, and is equally fond of bees with the Kingbird. He
has no other note than a harsh squeak, which sounds like 'paip,
"paip, payitp, ‘paywep, with a strong accent on the first syl-
lable. He preys actively on insects, which he collects from
his stand, and, in short, has most of the manners and _physi-
ognomy of the whole section or family to which he belongs.
The note of the male appears often delivered in anger and
impatience, and he defends his retreat from the access of all
other birds with the tyrannic insolence characteristic of the
Kingbird.

Towards the end of summer these birds feed on berries of
various kinds, being particularly partial to pokeberries and
whortleberries, which for a time seem to constitute the prin-
cipal food of the young. They remain in Pennsylvania till about
the middle of September, when they retire to tropical America.
In July, 1831, I observed a pair in an orchard at Acton, in this
State (Massachusetts). They had reared a brood in the vicinity,
and still appeared very stationary on the premises; their harsh

414 FLYCATCHERS.

payup, and sometimes a slender twittering, as they took the
perch, were heard almost from morn to night, and resembled
at first the chirp of a young Robin. They fed on the cater-
pillars or vermin of some kind which happened to infest the
apple-trees. I was told that they utter a different and more
musical note about sunrise ; but of this I cannot speak from my
own knowledge. They are unknown in the vicinity of the
sea-coast of Massachusetts. According to Audubon, they are
found on the upper Missouri during summer. Many also
pass the winter in the warmer parts of Florida. They also
breed in Texas.

This species is common in the Eastern States north to Connec-
ticut and northern Ohio and in southern Ontario. It is rare in
Massachusetts, but examples have been observed in Maine and

New Brunswick.
Those who know the bird best say it has the courage of the
Kingbird, and a knack of quarrelling that is all its own.

GRAY KINGBIRD.
TYRANNUS DOMINICENSIS.

Cuar. Very similar to the Kingbird, but of paler color; the upper
parts, including the head, being ashy gray. Its size is somewhat larger, —
about an inch in length.

West. Ina tree ; composed of twigs, lined with roots or moss.

£ggs. 3-4; white, tinged with pale buff or salmon pink and spotted
with brown and purple; 1.00 X 0.75.

This fine tropical species was discovered by Audubon on
the Florida Keys, where it arrives about the first of April, and
spreads over the peninsula as far as Cape Florida. It is com-
mon in Cuba and several other of the West India islands.
Stragglers, however, appear to wander at times as far to the
north as South Carolina; a pair and their nest having been
found in a college yard, where they continued to return for
several years in succession, rearing two broods in a season,
Its whole demeanor so much resembles that of the common

PHBE. 415

Kingbird that but for its superior size and note it might be
mistaken for that species.

These, birds flutter while flying, and sometimes during the
breeding season the pair, crossing each other’s path, rise in
spiral evolutions, loudly twittering as they ascend. When
interrupted, alarmed by pursuit, or in quest of insects, they
dart off with great velocity. If a large bird, as a Heron or
Crow, or indeed any intruder, pass near their station, they
immediately pursue it, and that often to a considerable dis-
tance. At the same time they appear careless of the approach
of man except when the nest is invaded, when they fly about
in great anger, snapping their bills and loudly chattering ; but
when relieved from their unwelcome visitors, they return to
their stand with notes of exultation.

Nuttall, following Audubon, named this species the Pipiry Fly-
catcher. It is abundant in the West Indies and is quite common
in parts of Florida, but occurs at no other locality within the limits
of the United States except as an accidental wanderer. Examples
have been taken on Long Island and at Lynn, in Massachusetts.

PHCEBE.
PEWEE. PEWIT.
© SAVORNIS PHBE.

Cuar. Upper parts dull olive brown, darker on head; under parts
whitish, changing to pale yellow on belly, and brownish on flanks; wings
and tail dusky, outer tail feathers and wing bar whitish; white rinz
around the eyes; bill and feet black. Head with inconspicuous crest.
Length 6% to 7 inches.

West. Attached to the under-side of a bridge, or to a rock, or the side
of a cave; of twigs, roots, and moss, cemented with mud, lined with grass
and feathers.

ges. 4-5; white, sometimes speckled with pale brown; 0 80 X 0.55.

This familiar species inhabits the continent of North Amer-
ica from Canada and- Labrador to Texas, retiring from the
Northern and Middle States at the approach of winter. How

416 FLYCATCHERS.

far they proceed to the South at this season is not satisfac-
torily ascertained ; a few, no doubt, winter in the milder parts
of the Union, as Wilson saw them in February in the swamps
of North and South Carolina, where they were feeding on
smilax berries, and occasionally even giving their well-known
notes ; but in the winter and early spring of 1830, while em-
ployed in an extensive pedestrian journey from South Carolina
to Florida and Alabama, I never heard or met with an individ-
ual of the species. Audubon found them abundant in the
Floridas in winter.

These faithful messengers of spring return to Pennsylvania as
early as the first week in March, remain till October, and
sometimes nearly to the middle of November. In Massa-
chusetts they arrive about the beginning of April, and at first
chiefly frequent the woods.

Their favorite resort is near streams, ponds, or stagnant
waters, about bridges, caves, and barns, where they choose to
breed ; and, in short, wherever there is a good prospect for
obtaining their insect food. Near such places our little hunter
sits on the roof of some out-building, on a stake of the fence,
or a projecting branch, calling out at short intervals and in a
rapid manner phedé phedé, and at times in a more plaintive
tone phee-be-ee. This quaint and querulous note, occasionally
approaching to a warble, sometimes also sounds like pewazt
pewait, and then fé-wai-ee, also phebe phé-beé-ee, twice alter-
nated ; the latter phrase somewhat soft and twittering. In the
spring this not unpleasing guttural warble is kept up for hours
together until late in the morning, and though not loud, may
be heard to a considerable distance. From a roof I have
heard these notes full half a mile acrdss the water of a small
lake ; and this cheerful, though monotonous, ditty is only in-
terrupted for a few seconds as the performer darts and sweeps
after his retreating prey of flies, frequently flirting and quiver-
ing his tail and elevating his feathery cap, while sharply
watching the motions of his fickle game.

In the Middle States he begins to construct his nest about
the latter end of March, in Massachusetts not before the first

PHBE. 417

week in April. The nest is situated under a bridge, in a cave,
the side of a well 5 or 6 feet down, under a shed, or in the
shelter of the low eaves of a cottage, and even in an empty
kitchen ; sometimes it rests on a beam, though it is frequently
attached to the side of a piece of roofing timber in the manner
of the Swallow.

According to the touching relation of Wilson, this humble
and inoffensive bird forms conjugal attachments which prob-
ably continue through life; for, like the faithful Bluebirds,
a pair continued for several years to frequent and build in a
romantic cave in the forest which made part of the estate of
the venerable naturalist, William Bartram. Here our unfortu-
nate birds had again taken up their welcome lease for the
summer, again chanted forth their simple lay of affection, and
cheered my aged friend with the certain news of spring ; when
unexpectedly a party of idle boys, one fatal Saturday, de-
stroyed with the gun the parents of this old and peaceful
settlement ; and from that time forward no other pair were
ever seen around this once happy, now desolate spot.

Their attachment to particular places is indeed remarkable.
About the middle of April, 1831, at the Fresh Pond Hotel, in
this vicinity, three different nests were begun in the public
boat-house, which may be here considered almost as a thorough-
fare. Only one nest, however, was completed ; and we could
not help admiring the courage and devotedness with which
the parents fed their young, and took their alternate station
by the side of the nest, undaunted in our presence, only now
and then uttering a ’és47f when observed too narrowly. Some
ruffian at length tore down the nest and carried off the brood ;
but our Pewit immediately commenced a new fabric, laid 5
additional eggs in the same place with the first, and, in haste
to finish her habitation, lined it with the silvery shreds of a
Manilla rope which she discovered in the contiguous loft
over the boat-house. For several previous seasons the parents
had taken up their abode in this vicinity, and seemed unwil-
ling to remove from the neighborhood they had once chosen,
in spite of the most untoward circumstances. In two other

VOL. I. — 27

418 FLYCATCHERS.

instances I have known a pair, when the nest and eggs were
taken by some mischievous boys, commence a new nest in
the same place, and laying a smaller number of eggs, raised
a second brood. In one of those nests, under a bridge, the
insidious Cowbird had also dropped her parasitic egg.

Towards the time of their departure for the South, which is
about the middle of October, they are silent, and previously
utter their notes more seldom, as if mourning the decay of
Nature, and anticipating the approaching famine which now
urges their migration. In the Middle States they raise two
broods in the season; but in Massachusetts the Pewit rarely
raises more than a single brood, unless, as in the instance re-
lated, they have had the misfortune to lose the first hatch.
The young, dispersed through the woods in small numbers,
may now and then be heard to the close of September exer-
cising their feeble voices in a guttural phédé. But the old birds
are almost wholly silent, or but little heard, as they flit timidly
through the woods, when once released from the cares of rear-
ing their infant brood ; so that here the Phcoebe’s note is almost
a concomitant of spring and the mildest opening of summer, —
it is, indeed, much more vigorous in April and May than at
any succeeding period.

The Phcebe is an uncommon bird in the Maritime Provinces,
but more common in the vicinity of Montreal and westward to

Western Ontario, and in all the Eastern States. It winters in
the Gulf States as well as in Cuba and Mexico.

Note. — Mr. G. S. Miller, Jr., captured on Cape Cod, in Sep-
tember, 1889, an example of Say’s PH@EBE (Sayornis saya), the first
that has been taken to the eastward of the Great Plains.

WOOD PEWEE. 419

WOOD PEWEE.

CONTOPUS VIRENS.

CHAR. Upper parts olive brown, darker on the head; lower parts
whitish, with dull yellow tinge; sides pale olive, extending across the
breast; tail and wings dusky; wings with bars of whitish. Head with
inconspicuous crest. Length 6 to 6% inches.

Nest. On branch of a tree; of twigs and grass, covered exteriorly
with lichens and lined with moss.

Eggs. 3-4; creamy white with spots of brown and lilac wreathed
about the larger end; 0.75 X 7.55.

This species has much the appearance of the common Pewit
Flycatcher, but differs essentially by its note and habits. The
Wood Pewee appears generally to winter south of the United
States, and scarcely arrives in Pennsylvania or New England
before the middle of May; its migrations, in all probability,
extend to Canada. According to Audubon, many of them
winter in the southern extremity of the United States, and Mr.
Townsend and myself frequently saw them in the dark forests
of the Oregon. It is a solitary species, frequenting gloomy
forests and dark orchards, where, watching on some dead and
projecting branch for its insect prey, it sweeps at intervals
amidst the shade, and the .occasional snapping of its bill an-
nounces the success of its flight. It then again alights as
before, sometimes uttering a sort of gratulatory low twitter,
accompanied by a quivering of the wings and tail; and in the
lapse of its employment, in a feeble, sighing tone, often cries
pee-wée or pee-é, and sometimes f2-wee pewittitee or pewittee
peé-wee. This note is continued often till quite late in the
evening, at which time many of the insect brood and moths
are abundant. Most of these birds, indeed, appear capable of
collecting their food by the feeblest light, the only season when
some of their favorite prey ever stir abroad. ‘This species also
appears particularly fond of small wild bees. From June to
September, its solitary notes are heard in the field and forest ;
after which time, preparing for its departure, and intently glean-
ing food in every situation, it sometimes approaches the city,

420 FLYCATCHERS.

often examines the courts and gardens, at the same time feed-
ing and training its young to the habits of their subsistence,
and about the first week in October it retires south to pass the
winter.

The Pewee is a very expert and cautious flycatcher ; and as
if aware of the drowsiness of insects in the absence of the sun’s
broad light, he is on the alert at day-dawn after his prey. At
this early period, and often in the dusk of evening, for the most
part of summer till the middle of August, he serenades the
neighborhood of his mansion from 3 to 4 or 5 o’clock in the
morning, with an almost uninterrupted chanting ditty, sweet,
but monotonous, like fé-ay pay-wée, pe-ay pay-wée, then in a
little higher and less sing-song tone, his usual and more serious
pee-d-wee. In dark and damp mornings this curious warble is
sometimes continued nearly to 8 o’clock; and the effect of
this tender, lulling lay in the gray dawn, before the awakening
of other birds, and their mingling chorus, is singular and pecu-
liarly pleasing. It is a gratulatory feeling of unmixed and
placid delight, concomitant with the mild reviving light of the
opening day and the perfect joy of the mated male, satisfied in
every reasonable desire, —in short, a hymn of praise to the
benevolent Author and Supporter of existence !

Towards the period of departure, they become wholly silent ;
and driven to extremity, they may now be seen watching the
stagnant pools and ponds, dipping occasionally into the still
surface after their drowsy and languid prey. Like the King-
bird, this species at times displays a tyrannical disposition ; and
I have observed one to chase a harmless Sparrow to the ground
for safety, who merely by inadvertence happened to approach
the station he had temporarily chosen for collecting his insect
game.

The notes of peto-way peto-way pee-way are never uttered
by this species; but on the 12th of February, 1830, in Ala-
bama, I heard, at that season, a bird uttering this note, and
several times afterwards I saw a rather large and dark Fly-
catcher in the pine woods, to which I attributed this call, and
which must be a distinct species, as its notes bear no resem-

LEAST FLYCATCHER, 421

blance to those of the Wood Pewee, — at this season probably
in South America.

The Pewee, I believe, raises here but a single brood, which
are not abroad before the middle of July. The nest is ex-
tremely neat and curious, almost universally saddled upon an
old moss-grown and decayed limb in an horizontal position,
and is so remarkably shallow, and incorporated upon the
branch, as to be very easily overlooked. The body of the
fabric consists of wiry grass or root-fibres, often blended with
small branching lichens, held together with cobwebs and cat-
erpillar’s silk, moistened with saliva; externally it is so coated
over with bluish crustaceous lichens as to be hardly discernible
from the moss upon the tree. It is lined with finer root-fibres
or slender grass stalks. Some nests are, however, scarcely
lined at all, being so thin as readily to admit the light through
them, and are often very lousy, with a species of acarus which
probably infests the old birds.

The plaintive and almost pathetic note of the Wood Pewee is a
familiar sound amid the orchards of New Brunswick, and the bird

is of common occurrence through Quebec and Ontario. It winters
southward to Mexico and Guatemala.

LEAST FLYCATCHER.
CHEBEC.
EMPIDONAX MINIMUS.

Cuar. Upper parts olive; lower parts white, tinged with yellow;
wings with two bars of grayish white. Length 5 to 5% inches.

West. On fork of a tree; of twigs and grass, lined with grass or
feathers.

£ggs. 3-5; creamy white, usually unspotted ; 0.65 X 0.50.

This is one of our most common summer birds in this part
of New England, arriving from the South about the last week
in April, and leaving us to retire probably to tropical America
‘about the beginning of September or sometimes a little later.
It also extends its migrations to Labrador and the Oregon

422 FLYCATCHERS.

Territory, and seems most abundant in the Northern and
Eastern States. Though, like the preceding, these are solitary,
retiring birds, and fond of the shade of the forest, yet in this
vicinity their nests are numerous. On their first arrival, pre-
vious to pairing, they are engaged in constant quarrels about
their mates, and often molest other birds whom they happen to
see employed in pursuit of the same kind of food with them-
selves. Like the preceding species, they take their station on
a low branch to reconnoitre the passing insects on which they
feed, and from time to time make a circular sweep for their
prey. When seated, they utter very frequently a sharp, un-
pleasant squeak, somewhat resembling that of the Kingbird,
sounding like guvedh, and sometimes ’¢sh’ah, or tsheah, tsheah,
and ¢shooé, with a guttural, snapping sound, succeeded by a
kind of querulous, low twitter uttered as they fly from tree to
tree, and chiefly at the instant of alighting. At other times
they have a recognizing, rather low call of ’whit, ‘whit, re-
peated at short intervals; again, in the warmest weather, I
have heard one of these Pewees call something like the whist-
ling of ’weet, ’weet, ‘weet, ‘will, Occasionally, when fighting
or in flying, it also makes an echoing ¢shirr. It possesses all
the habits of the Kingbird, catches bees, flies, and moths, ex-
hibits a variety of quivering motions, and defends its nest with
great courage against the approach of larger birds.

The nest of the Small Pewee is usually fixed in the slender,
upright forks of a young forest tree from 6 to 20 or.30 feet
from the ground. I have also-found the nests on the horizon-
tal branch of an apple-tree or forest tree. In most instances
in the woods a gloomy, solitary situation is chosen. The mate-
rials of this fabric vary according to circumstances; for the
first brood a very soft and warm nest is usually made of dry
grass, willow, and cud-weed down in large quantities, partly
felted or matted together externally with the saliva of the
bird. Common tow, if convenient, is also occasionally em-
ployed when the nest is in an apple-tree, for which some neigh-
boring graft is probably unravelled. The interior is usually
formed of slender, narrow strips of bark, bass, and dry grass;

LEAST FLYCATCHER. 423

the lining is commonly of fine root-fibres, slender tops of bent
grass, and at times a few hairs and feathers. Occasionally the
principal external material consists of strips or strings of silk-
weed lint and the bark of the common virgin’s bower. The
nest is extremely neat and uniform, resembling a complete
hemisphere. As nests may be found late in July, it is
probable they have a second brood in the course of the
season. ‘They are extremely attached to their offspring, and
keep up an incessant, almost choking shedh tshedh when
any person approaches the tree where they have their
brood. The young and old now move about in company,
and at this time feed on various kinds of berries, partic-
ularly those of the cornel and whortleberry. At length the
young are seen to select each other’s society, and rove about
without any fixed resort, previous to their gradual departure.
A pair, probably of the same brood, still lingered here in Sep-
tember, and like the little Parrots called Inseparable, appeared
fondly to cherish each other’s company. It was toward even-
ing when I saw them, and at first they appeared inclined to
roost in the shady willow-tree in which they had alighted. They
nestled close to each other with looks and notes of tenderness
and affection ; wherever one went, the other instantly followed,
and the same branch contained the same contented pair.

Nuttall followed Wilson in the mistake of supposing this species
and acadicus to be identical, and in his account has mingled the
biographies of the two. The latter is more southern in its distri-
bution. “Chebec” is a common summer resident from southern
New England to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and westward to the
prairies. It winters south to Panama:

TRAILL’S FLYCATCHER.
EMPIDONAX PUSILLUS TRAILLII.

Cuar. Upper parts olive brown, darker on the head, lighter on the
rump ; under parts whitish, the sides tinged with pale olive, which ex-
tends nearly across the breast, the belly tinged with yellow; wings dusky,
with yellowish white bars. Length 5% to 6 inches.

est. Onan upright fork in a clump of alders or low deciduous tree,
1 to 8 feet from the ground; composed of grass roots or hempen fibre,
lined usually with fine grass, sometimes with horse-hair or thistle-down.

Leggs. 3-4; creamy white or buff, boldly spotted with light and dark
brown chiefly about the larger end; 0.70 X 0.53.

This species, so nearly allied to the last, was first distin-
guished by Audubon. Its note resembles the syllable ‘whee?,
’wheet, articulated clearly while in the act of flying. It was
first observed on the wooded skirts of the prairies along the
banks of the Arkansas. Mr. Townsend and myself observed it
in various places in the skirts of the forests of the Columbia
and Wahlamet during the summer, when it was breeding, but
we could not discover the nest. Its motions are thus de-
scribed by Audubon: “When leaving the top branches of a
low tree this bird takes long flights, skimming in zig-zag lines,
passing close over the tops of the tall grasses, snapping at and
seizing different species of winged insects, and returning to the
same trees to alight.”

Traill’s Flycatcher is chiefly a spring and autumn migrant
through southern New England, though a few pairs breed as far

ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. 425

south as Long Island. It is a common summer resident of Maine
and of the northern part of Vermont and New Hampshire. It is
common also in New Brunswick. West of this region it breeds
farther to the southward, being common in the middle of Ohio and
in southern Illinois and Missouri. Mr. Mcllwraith considers it
uncommon in Ontario.

There has been considerable discussion over the breeding habits
of this species, caused by the difference in habits of the Western
birds from those which breed near the Atlantic. Here the favorite
site is a clump of alders near a running stream, and the nest is
placed within a foot or two of the ground; while in the West a
small tree is generally selected, — sometimes an oak, — and the nest
is placed as high as ten feet. The nest, in the West, is not so com-
pactly or neatly made, and the materials are coarser. The note of
this bird — for while the Flycatchers are not classed with the
Oscines, or Singing-Birds, they add not a little to our forest melo-
dies —is peculiar, though strictly of the family type. It sounds
something like 2e-wzk delivered with a rising inflection and the
accent on the final sound, which is prolonged, — quite a different
note from the abrupt chebec of minimus. 1 have never heard the
song uttered on the wing; but when the bird is perching, the
head is tossed back and the note is ffuug out with a decided
emphasis of manner as well as of voice.

ACADIAN FLYCATCHER.
EMPIDONAX ACADICUS.

Cuar. Upper parts olive, slightly darker on crown; under parts
whitish, the sides tinged with pale olive, which reaches almost across the
breast; belly tinged with pale yellow; wings and tail dusky; wing-bars
byffy. Length 5% to 6 inches.

Vest. Ina tree, suspended on fork of twigs at the extremity of a low
limb; rather loosely made of moss or grasses and shreds of bark bound
with spider’s webbing.

£ggs. 2-4; buff or creamy white, spotted, chiefly about the larger end,
with reddish brown; 0.75 X 0.55.

The older writers had rather confused ideas regarding these
small Flycatchers, and Nuttall supposed he was writing of the
present species, when the bird he had in mind was mdnimus.

The Acadian Flycatcher belongs to the Middle States rather
than to New England, and has never been taken north of the

426 FLYCATCHERS.

Connecticut valley. It is abundant in Ohio and Illinois, but has
not been observed in Ontario.

I have not met with this species in the field, but those who have
been so fortunate describe it as a shy bird, seeking the low, moist
thicket and shaded groves rather than the open pastures. Dr.
Coues thinks the nest “may be compared to a light hammock
swung between forks.” It is shallow and saucer-shaped, and so
loosely made that the eggs may be seen from below. Dr. Wheaton
states that so much loose grass is left on the outside of the nest
“that it looks like a tuft of hay caught by the limb from a load
driven under it.”

YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER.
EMPIDONAX FLAVIVENTRIS.

CHAR. Upper parts dull olive, darker on the crown; under parts
bright yellow, shaded with olive on the breast; wing-bars pale yellow; a
yellow ring around the eye. Length 5% to 6 inches.

Vest. Amid moss-covered roots of upturned tree or mossy log; of
twigs, or vegetable fibre, or moss, lined with roots, or fine grass, or
moss.

figgs. 4; pale buff, sparingly spotted, mostly about larger end, with
reddish brown; 0.70 X 0.50.

This species was discovered about 1843, and for many years — as
late as 1880—was considered a rare bird. Even now compar-
atively few persons are familiar with it, though it occurs through-
out this Eastern Province. It is common in New England,
breeding in the northern portion, and occurs on the higher hills
elsewhere. I found it abundant in New Brunswick, and it has
been traced northward to the lower Hudson Bay region. Macoun
reports it common at Lake Mistissini.

Dr. Wheaton considered it a common migrant through Ohio, but
observers in Ontario have met with it so seldom as to think it rare.
It is common in Illinois and in portions of Manitoba.

The notes of this species have caused much discussion, — some
writers claiming for it an individuality, and others insisting that it
utters nothing different from the notes of ¢vadl/dZ or minimus. The
hil-lic of flaviventris seems, to my ear, quite different from the
ke-wink of Traill’s,-—which is rather sibilant, and is delivered
with a rising inflection, —as also from the che-bec of the Least
Flycatcher. While the latter delivers his two notes in rapid stac-

YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. 427

cato, and makes more or less pause after each couplet, the Yellow-
bellied whistles four notes, 22/-léc Rzl-/ic, with but a short pause —
a mere vest — between each pair, and delivers the notes with a
trifle less abruptness.

Other notes of the present species resemble gea and fe-we-yea.
These are heard when a pair are in close companionship. They
are soft, sweet, cooing-notes, delivered in a plaintive tone that
suggests the tender pathos of the Pewee’s.

Note. — The ForRK-TAILED FLYCATCHER (Milvulus tyrannus),
a bird of Central and South America, has occasionally wandered
north, and been taken in Mississippi, Kentucky, and New Jersey.

Also a few examples of the SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER
(Milvulus forficatus), which rarely appears north or east of Texas,
have been seen in Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ontario, and
Manitoba, and one wandered to the shores of Hudson Bay.

CAROLINA PAROQUET.
CAROLINA PARROT. PARAKEET.

CONURUS CAROLINENSIS.

Cuar. Head and neck yellow; forehead and sides of head orange
red; body and tail green, the belly tinged with yellow; wings green and
yellow, the edges tinged with orange red. In immature specimens the
yellow of head and neck is replaced by green. Length about 13 inches.

Vest. In dense woods or cypress swamp; placed on a fork near the
end of a branch or in a hole ina tree. When on a branch it is made of
cypress twigs loosely woven, and a nest in a hole is usually lined with
cypress twigs. When abundant the birds generally build in large colonies.

Legs. 2-5 (?); greenish white or creamy; I.40 X 1.05.

Of more than 200 species now known to belong to this
remarkable and brilliant genus, the present is the only one
found inhabiting the United States; it is also restricted to the
warmer parts, rarely venturing beyond the State of Virginia.
West of the Alleghanies, however, circumstances induce these
birds commonly to visit much’ higher latitudes; so that, fol-

CAROLINA PAROQUET. 429

lowing the great valley of the Mississippi, they are seen to
frequent the banks of the Illinois, and occasionally to approach
the southern shores of Lake Michigan. Straggling parties
even have sometimes been seen in the valley of the Juniata in
Pennsylvania, and a flock, to the great surprise of the Dutch
inhabitants of Albany, are said to have appeared in that vicin-
ity. They constantly inhabit and breed in the Southern States,
and are so far hardy as to make their appearance, commonly
in the depth of winter, along the woody banks of the Ohio,
the interior of Alabama, the banks of the Mississippi and
Missouri around St. Louis, and other places, when nearly all
other birds have migrated before the storms of the season.
The Carolina Parrakeets in all their movements, which are
uniformly gregarious, show a peculiar predilection for the allu-
vial, rich, and dark forests bordering the principal rivers and
larger streams, in which the towering cypress and gigantic
sycamore spread their vast summits, or stretch their innumer-
able arms over a wide waste of moving or stagnant waters.
From these, the beech, and the hack-berry, they derive an
important supply of food. The flocks, moving in the manner
of wild Pigeons, dart in swift and airy phalanx through the
green boughs of the forest ; screaming in a general concert, they
wheel in wide and descending circles round the tall button-
wood, and all alight at the same instant, their green vesture,
like the fairy mantle, rendering them nearly invisible beneath
the shady branches, where they sit perhaps arranging their
plumage and shuffling side by side, seeming to caress and
scratch each other’s heads with all the fondness and unvarying
friendship of affectionate Doves. If the gun thin their ranks
they hover over the screaming, wounded, or dying, and return-
ing and flying around the place where they miss their compan-
ions, in their sympathy seem to lose all idea of impending
danger. When more fortunate in their excursions, they next
proceed to gratify the calls of hunger, and descend to the
banks of the river or the neighboring fields in quest of the
inviting kernels of the cockle-burr, and probably of the bitter-
weed, which they extract from their husks with great dexterity.

430 PARROTS.

In the depth of winter, when other resources begin to fail,
they, in common with the Yellow Bird and some other
Finches, assemble among the tall sycamores, and hanging
from the extreme twigs in the most airy and graceful postures,
scatter around them a cloud of down from the pendant balls
in quest of the seeds, which now afford them an ample repast.
With that peculiar caprice, or perhaps appetite, which char-
acterizes them, they are also observed to frequent the saline
springs or Zicks to gratify their uncommon taste for salt. Out
of mere wantonness they often frequent the orchards, and
appear delighted with the fruitless frolic of plucking apples
from the trees and strewing them on the ground untasted.
So common is this practice among them in Arkansas Territory
that no apples are ever suffered to ripen. They are also fond
of some sorts of berries, and particularly of mulberries, which
they eat piecemeal in their usual manner as they hold them by
the foot. According to Audubon, they likewise attack the
outstanding stacks of grain in flocks, committing great waste ;
and on these occasions, as well as the former, they are so
bold or incautious as readily to become the prey of the sports-
man in great numbers. Peculiarity of food appears wholly to
influence the visits and residence of this bird, and in plain,
champaign, or mountainous countries they are wholly strangers,
though common along the banks of all the intermediate
watercourses and lagoons.

Of their manners at the interesting period of propagation
and incubation we are not yet satisfactorily informed. They
nest in hollow trees and take little if any pains to provide more
than a simple hollow in which to lay their eggs, like the Wood-
peckers. They are at all times particularly attached to the
large sycamores, in the hollow trunks of which they roost in
close community, and enter at the same aperture into which
they climb. They are said to cling close to the sides of the
tree, holding fast by the claws and bill; and into these hollows
they often retire during the day, either in very warm or incle-
ment weather, to sleep or pass away the time in indolent and
social security, like the Rupicolas of the Peruvian caves, at

CAROLINA PAROQUET. 431

length only hastily aroused to forage at the calls of hunger.
Indeed, from the swiftness and celerity of their aerial move-
ments, darting through the gleaming sunshine like so many
sylvan cherubs decked in green and gold, it is obvious that
their actions as well as their manners are not calculated for
any long endurance ; and shy and retiring from all society but
that to which they are inseparably wedded, they rove abroad
with incessant activity until their wants are gratified, when, hid
from sight, they again relapse into that indolence which seems
a relief to their exertions.

The Carolina Parrot is readily tamed, and early shows an
attachment to those around who bestow any attention on its
wants ; it soon learns to recollect its name and to answer and
come when called on. It does not, however, evince much, if
any, capacity for mimicking human speech or sounds of any
kind, and as a domestic is very peaceable and rather taciturn.
It is extremely fond of nuts and almonds, and may be sup-
ported on the vegetable food usually given to other species.
One which I saw at Tuscaloosa, a week after being disabled in
the wing, seemed perfectly reconciled to its domestic condi-
tion; and as the weather was rather cold, it remained the
greater part of the time in the house, climbing up the sides of
the wire fender to enjoy the warmth of the fire. I was in-
formed that when first caught it scaled the side of the room
at night, and rocsted in a hanging posture by the bill and
claws; but finding the labor difficult and fruitless, having no
companion near which to nestle, it soon submitted to pass the
night on the back of a chair.

I fear that the story of this gorgeously apparalled bird is nearly
finished. It is not quite exterminated yet, but of the large flocks
that were once to be seen all over the Southern States, only a mere
remnant can be found, and these are hidden amid the dense
swamps of central Florida and along the lower valley of the Mis-
sissippi. The farmers and fruit-growers were obliged to kill large
numbers, and later woman’s vanity and man’s greed have joined
hands to carry on the slaughter. From the combined attack of
such foes the remnant has but slight chance for escape.

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO.
RAIN CROW.

CoccyZUS AMERICANUS.

Cuar. Upper mandible and tip of lower, black; rest of lower mandi-
ble and cutting edges of upper, yellow. Upper parts olive, with a slight
metallic gloss, tinged with ash toward the bill ; wings tinged with rufous;
middle feathers of tail like back, remainder black tipped with white ;
beneath, white or creamy. Length about 12 inches.

Vest. In a thicket by the side of a stream or on the border of a
swamp ; placed in a bush or lowtree. A flat, frail affair made of twigs
loosely laid, sometimes lined with bark strips or grass.

fggs. 2-6 (usually 4) ; pale dull green or bluish green; 1.25 X 0.90.

The American Cuckoo arrives in the middle and colder
States of the Union about the close of April or the first week
of May, and proceeds to the north as far as Nova Scotia.
It probably winters in Mexico, and individuals pass no farther
than the forests of Louisiana. We also met with it in the
remote Territory of Oregon. Latham speaks of these birds
also as inhabitants of the tropical island of Jamaica. They
delight in the shady retirement of the forest, and are equally
common in tall thickets and orchards, where, like piratical-
prowlers, they skulk and hide among the thickest boughs; and
although, unlike the European Cuckoo, they are faithfully paired,
yet the pair are seldom seen in the same tree, but, shy and
watchful, endeavor to elude everything like close observation.

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 433

The male, however, frequently betrays his snug retreat by his
monotonous and guttural kéw kow kéw kéw, or koo koo koo
hoo, and ko kik, ké kik, koo koo koo kuk, koo kb koo, koo
ko koo, uttered rather low and plaintively, like the call of the
Dove. At other times the how kow kow, and ’tk 'th ’th th
‘tak, or ‘kh ’kh 'RA ’kh hah kow kow kow kow, beginning
slow, rises, and becomes so quick as almost to resemble the
grating of a watchman’s rattle, or else, commencing with this
call, terminates in the distant cry of 2ow kow kow. From this
note, supposed to be most clamorous at the approach of rain,
it has received in Virginia and other States the name of Razn-
Crow and Cow-Bird. At various seasons during the contin-
uance of warm weather the vigil kow kéw kow kow of the
faithful male is uttered for hours at intervals throughout the
night. The same notes, but delivered in a slower and rather
tender strain, are given with great regularity likewise in the
day as long as the period of incubation continues. He often
steadfastly watches any approach to the nest, going to it occa-
sionally to assure himself that it is unmolested; and at times
he may be observed darting even at the dormant bat, who
accidentally seeks repose beneath the shady leaves of some
contiguous tree, so that he is no less vigilant in seeking the
security of his own progeny than in piratically robbing the
nests of his neighbors. There are two or three other species
in Jamaica and other parts of tropical America possessing a
note very similar to that of our bird, which also frequently
approaches, when delivered in the plaintive mood, 2é0 hoo and
koo koo kéo, the usual sound of the European Cuckoo. There
is a Mexican species (Cuculus ridibundus) which so simulates
laughter as to have excited the superstition of the natives,
by whom it is hated as a messenger of evil, its accidental
note of risibility being construed into an ominous delight in
misfortune.

The whole tribe of Cuckoos are in disgrace for the unnatural
conduct of the European and some other foreign species, who,
making no nests nor engaging in conjugal cares parasitically
deposit their eggs one by one in the nests of other small birds,

VOL. I. — 28

434 CUCKOOS.

to whom the care of rearing the vagrant foundling is uniformly
consigned.

But we may turn with satisfaction to the conjugal history of
our own subject, which, early in May or soon after its arrival,
may be at times observed obstinately engaged in the quarrels
of selective attachment. The dispute being settled, the nest is
commenced, and usually fixed either in the horizontal branches
of an apple-tree or in a thicket, a thorn-bush, crab, cedar, or
other small tree in some retired part of the woods. The fabric
is usually very slovenly and hastily put together, and possesses
scarcely any concavity for the reception of the young, who in
consequence often fall out of their uncomfortable cradle. The
nest is a mere flooring of twigs put together in a zig-zag form,
then blended with green weeds or leaves and withered blos-
soms of the maple, apple, or hickory catkins. A nest near the
Botanic Garden had, besides twigs, fragments of bass-mat, and
was very uncomfortably heated, and damp with the fermenta-
tion of the green tops of a species of maple introduced into it,
and the whole swarmed with thrush-lice or millipedes. The
eggs are of a bluish-green color, often pale, varying in the
shade and without spots; they are somewhat round and rather
large. If they are handled before the commencement of incu-
bation, the owner generally forsakes the nest, but is very tena-
cious and affectionate towards her young, and sits so close as
almost to allow of being taken off by the hand. She then
frequently precipitates herself to the ground, fluttering, tumb-
ling, and feigning lameness, in the manner of many other affec-
tionate and artful birds, to draw the intruder away from the
premises of her brood. At such times the mother also adds to
the contrivance by uttering most uncouth and almost alarming
guttural sounds, like gua guah gwath, as if choking, as she runs
along the ground. While the female is thus dutifully engaged
in sitting on her charge, the male takes his station at no great
distance, and gives alarm by his notes at the approach of any
intruder; and when the young are hatched, both unite in the
labor of providing them with food, which, like their own, con-
sists chiefly of the hairy caterpillars, rejected by other birds,

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 435

that so commonly infest the apple-trees, and live in commu-
nities within a common silky web. They also devour the large
yellow cockchafer, Caradz, and other kinds of insects, as well
as various sorts of berries; but their worst propensity is the
parasitic habit of sucking the eggs of other birds, thus spread-
ing ruin and dismay wherever they approach. They hatch
several broods in a season, and I have seen a nest with eggs in
it as late as the 28th of August !— though they usually take their
departure in some part of the month of September. Consid-
ering the time they are engaged in breeding, they raise but few
young, appearing to be improvident nurses and bad _ nest-
makers, so that a considerable part of their progeny are either
never hatched, or perish soon after. These birds are greatly
attached to places where small birds resort, for the sake of
sucking their eggs; and I have found it difficult at times to
eject them, as when their nests are robbed, without much con-
cern they commence again in the same vicinity, but adding
caution to their operations in proportion to the persecution
they meet with. In this way, instead of their exposing the
nest in some low bush, I have with difficulty met with one at
least in a tall larch, more than fifty feet from the ground.
When wholly routed, the male kept up a mournful Aw’ how
Row for several days, appearing now sensible by experience of
his own predatory practices.

Careless in providing comfort for her progeny, the Amer-
ican Cuckoo, like that of Europe, seems at times inclined to
throw the charge of her offspring on other birds. Approach-
ing to this habit, I have found an egg of the Cuckoo in the
nest of a Catbird; yet though the habitation was usurped, the
intruder probably intended to hatch her own eggs. At another
time, on the 15th of June, 1830, I saw a Robin’s nest with two
eggs in it indented and penetrated by the bill of a bird, and
the egg of a Cuckoo deposited in the same nest. Both
birds forsook the premises, so that the object of this forcible
entry was not ascertained,—though the mere appropriation
of the nest would seem to have been the intention of the
Cuckoo.

436 CUCKOOS.

This Cuckoo is common in southern Ontario, but elsewhere in
the Dominion it is rather rare. Nuttall has not mentioned one
peculiar habit of this bird, — that of laying eggs at such long inter-
vals that young in very different stages of maturity are frequently
found in the same nest, as also young birds and partially incubated
eggs. The practice of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds is
seldom indulged in, — indeed, the known instances are extremely
rare.

BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO.
RAIN CROW.
CoccyzUS ERYTHROPHTHALMUS.

CuHar. Above, olive brown with a slight metallic gloss, tinged with
ash toward the bill; wings slightly tinged with rufous; tail similar to
back, outer feathers slightly tinged with gray, narrowly tipped with white.
Beneath, white, tinged on the throat with pale buff. Bill black. Length
about 12 inches.

Nest. On the edge of a swampy wood, usually in a retired situation
placed generally in a low bush; made of twigs, strips of bark, moss, and
catkins. Similar to the nest of the Yellow-billed, but somewhat firmer
and more artistic.

Zggs. 2-6 (usually 4); deep glaucous green; 1.10 X 0.80.

This species, so nearly related to the preceding, is also
equally common throughout the United States in summer, and
extends its migrations about as far as the line of Nova Scotia
or Newfoundland. This kind also exists in the island of St.
Domingo and Guiana, and the birds which visit us probably
retire to pass the winter in the nearest parts of tropical
America. ‘They arrive in Massachusetts later than the Yellow-
billed Cuckoo, and the first brood are hatched here about the
4th of June. In Georgia they begin to lay towards the close
of April. Their food, like that of the preceding species, also
consists of hairy caterpillars, beetles, and other insects, and
even minute shell-fish. They also, like many birds of other
orders, swallow gravel to assist digestion.

They usually retire into the woods to breed, being less
familiar than the former, choosing an evergreen bush or sap-
ling for the site of the nest, which is made of twigs pretty well

MANGROVE CUCKOO. 437

put together, but still littie more than a concave flooring, and
lined with moss occasionally, and withered catkins of the hick-
ory. The female sits very close on the nest, admitting a near
approach before flying; the young, before acquiring their
feathers, are of a uniform bright grayish blue; at a little dis-
tance from the nest the male keeps up the usual rattling call
of kow kow kow kow, the note increasing in loudness and
quickness ; sometimes the call seems like 22’ 2h’ kh’ kh’ ’hh
’kah, the notes growing louder, and running together like those
of the Yellow-winged Woodpecker. This species has also,
before rain, a peculiar call, in a raucous, guttural voice, like
orrattotoo or worrattotoo. It is less timorous than the Yellow-
billed kind ; and near the nest with young, I have observed
the parent composedly sit and plume itself for a considerable
time without showing any alarm at my presence. It is equally
addicted to the practice of sucking the eggs of other birds.
Indeed, one that I saw last summer, kept up for hours a con-
stant watch after the eggs of a Robin sitting in an apple-tree,
which, with her mate, kept up at intervals a running fight with
the Cuckoo for two days in succession.

This species is considered less abundant than the Yellow-billed,
but it has much the same general distribution; it goes, however,
farther north, having been taken in Newfoundland and Labrador,
and is common in Manitoba, where the Yellow-billed is not found.
The Black-billed is rather common in New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia,

MANGROVE CUCKOO.

Coccyzus MINOR.

Cuar. Above, olive; head, ashy; below, buff with tawny tinge, paler
towards the chi.; middle tail-feather olive, rest black, broadly tipped
with white. Length 12 inches.

Vest. Ina low tree or bush; loosely made of twigs.

Figgs. 3-4; pale green or bluish green; 1.25 X 0.90.

The Mangrove Cuckoo is especially a West Indian bird, but is
a resident also of the Florida Keys, though not common there.
A few examples have been met with in Louisiana.

438 WOODPECKERS.

Note. — Maynarp’s Cuckoo (C. minor maynardi), a smaller
race, with paler lower parts, is found in the Bahama islands and in
Southern Florida.

Note. — Nuttall made no mention in his book of the ANI (Grofto-
phaga ani), a South American bird that had been found in Loui-
siana and Florida. It was but a straggler within the borders of the
United States in his day, and is still considered a rare bird here.
A few years ago one was taken near Philadelphia by Mr. John
Krider.

FLICKER.

GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. PIGEON WOODPECKER.
HIGH-HOLDER.

COLAPTES AURATUS.

Cuar. Above, olive brown barred with black; crown and sides of
neck bluish gray; red crescent on nape; male with black “moustache ; ”
rump white; beneath, pale brown with pink and yellow tints, each feather
bearing a spot of black; shafts and under surface of wings and tail
golden yellow. Length about 12% inches.

Vest. In open woodland, pasture, or orchard; a cavity excavated in
dead trunk, and unlined save for the fine chips made by the boring.

Eggs. 6-10 (usually 2 or 7); snow white, with surface like highly
polished ivory; 1.10 X 0.90.

This beautiful and well-known bird breeds and inhabits
throughout North America, from Labrador and the remotest
wooded regions of the fur countries to Florida, being partially
migratory only from Canada and the Northern States, proceed-
ing to the South in October, and returning North in April.
From the great numbers seen in the Southern States in winter
it is evident that the major part migrate thither from the North
and West to pass the inclement season, which naturally de-
prives them of the means of acquiring their usual sustenance.
At this time also they feed much on winter berries, such as
those of the sumach, smilax, and mistletoe. In the Middle
States some of these birds find the means of support through
the most inclement months of the winter. In New England
they reappear about the beginning of April, soon after which

FLICKER. 439

they commence to pair and build ; for this purpose they often
make choice of the trunk of a decayed apple or forest tree, at
different heights from the ground. When an accidental cavity
is not conveniently found, confident in the formidable means
provided them by nature, with no other aid than the bill, they
have been known to make a winding burrow through a solid
oak for 15 inches in length. At this labor, for greater secu-
rity and privacy, they continue till late in the evening, and
may be heard dealing blows as loud and successive as if aided
by the tools of the carpenter. My friend Mr. Gambel ob-
served the present spring (1840) a burrow of this kind in
Cambridge, excavated out of the living trunk of a sassafras
about 15 feet from the ground. It was about 8 inches in
diameter and 18 inches deep, dug with a shelving inclination ;
and was continued at intervals for more than 4 weeks before
it was completed. The eggs, about 6, and pure white, are
deposited merely upon the fragments of wood which line the
natural or artificial cavity thus forming the nest. This cell,
before the young are fledged, acquires a rank and disagreeable
smell; and on inserting the hand into it, the brood unite in
producing a hissing, like so many hidden snakes. They at
length escape from this fetid den in which they are hatched ;
and climbing sometimes into the higher branches of the tree,
are there fed until able to fly. At other times the young cling
to their protecting cell with great pertinacity, so that the
female will often call upon them for hours together (gueah
gueah), trying every art to induce them to quit their cradle,
punishing them by fasting, till at length they are forced to
come out and answer to her incessant plaint. If not disturbed,.
they will occasionally approach the farm-house; and I have
known a pair, like the Bluebirds, repair to the same hole in a
poplar-tree for several years in succession, merely cleaning out
the old bed for the reception of their eggs and young. They
incubate by turns, feeding each other while thus confined to
the nest, and are both likewise equally solicitous in feeding
and protecting their young ; the food on this occasion is raised
often from the throat, where it has undergone a preparatory

440 WOODPECKERS.

process for digestion. In the month of March, in Florida and
Alabama, I observed them already pairing, on which occasion
many petulant quarrels daily ensued from a host of rival sui-
tors, accompanied by their ordinary cackling and squealing.
One of their usual complaisant recognitions, often delivered on
a fine morning from the summit of some lofty dead limb, is
"wit a’wit’wit’wit wit 'wit’wit weet and woit a woit, wott
wot wot wot, commencing loud, and slowly rising and quick-
ening till the tones run together into a noise almost like that
of a watchman’s rattle. They have also a sort of complaining
call, from which they have probably derived their name of
pee wt, pee ut; and at times a plaintive guéadh quééh. Occa-
sionally they also utter in a squealing tone, when surprised, or
engaged in amusing rivalry with their fellows, we-cégh we-cigh
we-cogh we-cogh or wecip weciip wecitp.

The food of these birds varies with the season. They are
at all times exceedingly fond of wood-lice, ants, and their
larvee ; and as the fruits become mature, they also add to their
ample fare common cherries, bird cherries, winter grapes, gum-
berries, the berries of the red-cedar, as well as of the sumach,
smilax, and other kinds. As the maize too ripens, the Flicker
pays frequent visits to the field; and the farmer, readily for-
getful of its past services, only remembers its present faults,
and closing its career with the gun, unthinkingly does to him-
self and the public an essential injury in saving a few unim-
portant ears of corn. In this part of New England it is known
by the name of Pigeon Woodpecker, from its general bulk and
appearance ; and, to the disgrace of our paltry fowlers, it is
in the autumn but too frequently seen exposed for sale in the
markets, though its flesh is neither fat nor delicate. It is
exceedingly to be regretted that ignorance and wantonness in
these particulars should be so productive of cruelty, devas-
tation, and injurious policy in regard to the animals with whose
amusing and useful company Nature has so wonderfully and
beneficently favored us.

IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER.

CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS.

Cuar. Glossy black; white stripe from bill down sides of neck ; scap-
ulars and secondaries white; bill ivory white. Male with crest of scarlet
and black ; female with crest of black. Length 21 inches.

Vest. Ina cypress-swamp or deep forest; a cavity excavated in a live
tie,

Leggs. 4-6; white; 1.40 X I.00.

This large and splendid bird is a native of Brazil, Mexico,
and the Southern States, being seldom seen to the north of
Virginia, and but rarely in that State. He is a constant
resident in the countries where he is found, breeding in
the rainy season, and the pair are believed to be united
for life. More vagrant, retiring, and independent than the
rest of his family, he is never found in the precincts of

442 WOODPECKERS.

cultivated tracts; the scene of his dominion is the lonely
forest, amidst trees of the greatest magnitude. His reiterated
trumpeting note, somewhat similar to the high tones of the
clarinet (pait pait pait pait), is heard soon after day, and until
a late morning hour, echoing loudly from the recesses of the
dark cypress-swamps, where he dwells in domestic security
without showing any impertinent or necessary desire to quit
his native solitary abodes. Upon the giant trunk and moss-
grown arms of this colossus of the forest, and amidst almost
inaccessible and ruinous piles of mouldering logs, the high,
rattling clarion and rapid strokes of this princely Woodpecker
are often the only sounds which vibrate through and commu-
nicate an air of life to these dismal wilds. His stridulous,
interrupted call, and loud, industrious blows may often be
heard for more than half a mile, and become audible at vari-
ous distances as the elevated mechanic raises or depresses his
voice, or as he flags or exerts himself in his laborious employ-
ment. His retiring habits, loud notes, and singular occupa-
tion, amidst scenes so savage yet majestic, afford withal a
peculiar scene of solemn grandeur on which the mind dwells
for a moment with sublime contemplation, convinced that
there is no scene in Nature devoid of harmonious consistence.
Nor is the performance of this industrious hermit less remark-
able than the peals of his sonorous voice or the loud choppings
of his powerful bill. He is soon surrounded with striking
monuments of his industry ; like a real carpenter (a nick-name
given him by the Spainards), he is seen surrounded with cart-
loads of chips and broad flakes of bark which rapidly accumu-
late round the roots of the tall pine and cypress where he has
been a few hours employed; the work of half a dozen men
felling trees for a whole morning would scarcely exceed the
pile he has produced in quest of a single breakfast upon those
insect larvee which have already, perhaps, succeeded in dead-
ening the tree preparatory to his repast. Many thousand
acres of pine-trees in the Southern States have been destroyed
in a single season by the insidious attacks of insects which in
the dormant state are not larger than a grain of rice. It

1VUKY-BLLLED WOODPECKER,. 443

is in quest of these enemies of the most imposing part of the
vegetable creation that the industrious and indefatigable Wood-
pecker exercises his peculiar labor. In the sound and healthy
tree he finds nothing which serves him for food.

One of these birds, which Wilson wounded, survived with
him nearly three days, but was so savage and unconquerable as
to refuse all sustenance. When taken, he reiterated a loud and
piteous complaint, almost exactly like the violent crying of a
young child ; and on being left alone in a tavern, in the course
of an hour he had nearly succeeded in making his way through
the side of the wooden house. He also cut the author severely
in several places while engaged in drawing his portrait, and
displayed, as long as he survived, the unconquerable spirit of a
genuine son of the forest. From his magnanimous courage
and ardent love of liberty, the head and bill are in high esteem
among the amulets of the Southern Indians.

The nest of this species is usually made in the living trunk
of the cypress-tree at a considerable height, both sexes alter-
nately engaging in the labor. The excavation is said to be
two or more feet in depth. The young are fledged and abroad
about the middle of June. It is usually known by the name of
“Large Log-cock.’’ This species appears to live almost wholly
upon insects, and chiefly those that bore into the wood, which
never fail in the country he inhabits; nor is he ever known
to taste of Indian corn or any sort of grain or orchard

fruits, though he has a fondness for grapes and other kinds of
berries.

This species is now restricted to the Gulf States and lower
Mississippi valley.

PILEATED WOODPECKER.
LOG-COCK. BLACK WOODCOCK.

CEOPHLEUS PILEATUS.

CHAR. General color greenish black; wide stripe of white from the
bill down the sides of the neck; chin, throat, and part of wings white or
pale yellow. Male with scarlet crown, crest, and cheek patch. Female
with crest partly black and no scarlet on cheek. Length about 18
inches.

Lest. Ina deep forest or the seclusion of a swampy grove; excavated
in high trees, and lined only with fine chips.

Eggs. 4-6; snow white and glossy; 1.25 X 1.00.

This large and common Woodpecker, considerably resem-
bling the preceding species, is not unfrequent in well-timbered
forests from Mexico and Oregon to the remote regions of
Canada, as far as the 63d degree of north latitude ; and in all
the intermediate region he resides, breeds, and passes most of
the year, retiring in a desultory manner only into the Southern
States for a few months in the most inclement season from the
North and West. In Pennsylvania, however, he is seen as
a resident more or less throughout the whole year; and Mr.

PILEATED WOODPECKER. 445

Hutchins met with him in the interior of Hudson Bay, near
Albany River, in the month of January. It is, however, suf-
ficiently singular, and shows perhaps the wild timidity of this
northern chief of his tribe, that though an inhabitant towards
the savage and desolate sources of the Mississippi, he is un-
known at this time in all the maritime parts of the populous
and long-settled State of Massachusetts. In the western parts
of the State of New York he is sufficiently common in the
uncleared forests, which have been the perpetual residence of
his remotest ancestry. From the tall trees which cast their
giant arms over all the uncleared river lands, may often be
heard his loud, echoing, and incessant cackle as he flies
restlessly from tree to tree, presaging the approach of rainy
weather. These notes resemble chkerek rek rek rek rek rek rek
uttered in a loud cadence which gradually rises and falls. The
marks of his industry are also abundantly visible on the decay-
ing trees, which he probes and chisels with great dexterity,
stripping off wide flakes of loosened bark to come at the bur-
rowing insects which chiefly compose his food. In whatever
engaged, haste and wildness seem to govern all his motions,
and by dodging and flying from place to place as soon as
observed, he continues to escape every appearance of danger.
Even in the event of a fatal wound he still struggles with uncon-
querable resolution to maintain his grasp on the trunk to which
he trusts for safety to the very instant of death. When caught
by a disabling wound, he still holds his ground against a tree,
and strikes with bitterness the suspicious hand which attempts
to grasp him, and, resolute for his native liberty, rarely submits
to live in confinement. Without much foundation, he is charged
at times with tasting maize. I have observed one occasionally
making a hearty repast on holly and smilax berries.

This species is being driven back by “civilization,” and is now
found only in the deeper forests. Mr. William Brewster reports
that a few pairs still linger in the northern part of Worcester
County, Mass.

446 WOODPECKERS.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.

MELANERPES ERYTHROCEPHALUS.

Cuar. Back, tail, and primaries blue black ; head, neck, and breast
crimson; belly, ramp, and secondaries white. Length 9 to 934 inches.

Nest. In woodland, pasture, or orchard; usually a cavity in a decayed
tree.

Eggs. 4-6; glossy white; 1.00 X 0.80.

This common and well-known species is met with along the
coast from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico, and inland in
the region of the Rocky Mountains and about the sources of
the Mississippi. In all the intermediate country, however
extensive, it probably resides and breeds. At the approach
of winter, or about the middle of October, these birds migrate
from the North and West, and consequently appear very
numerous in the Southern States at that season. Many of
them also probably pass into the adjoining provinces of Mex-
ico, and they reappear in Pennsylvania (according to Wilson)
about the first of May. According to Audubon, they effect
their migration in the night, flying high above the trees in a
straggling file, at which time they are heard to emit a sharp
and peculiar note, easily heard from the ground, although the
birds themselves are elevated beyond the sight. Like the
Log-cock, the present species is but rarely seen in the mari-
time parts of Massachusetts; this region is only occasionally
visited by solitary stragglers, yet in the western parts of the
State it is said to be as common as in the Middle States.

These birds live principally in old forests of tall trees, but are
much less shy than most of the genus, frequently visiting the
orchards in quest of ripe fruits, particularly cherries and juicy
pears and apples, with which they likewise occasionally feed
their young. They also at times eat acorns, of which they are
said to lay up a store, and visit the maize-fields, being partial
to the corn while in its juicy or milky state. In consequence
of these dependent habits of subsistence, the Red-headed
Woodpecker is a very familiar species, and even sometimes

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 447

not only nests in the orchard which supplies him with suste-
nance, but ventures to rear his brood within the boundaries of
the most populous towns. In the latter end of summer its
reiterated tappings and cackling screams are frequently heard
from the shady forests which border the rivulets in more
secluded and less fertile tracts. It is also not uncommon to
observe them on the fence-rails and posts near the public
roads, flitting before the passenger with the familiarity of
Sparrows. In the Southern States, where the mildness of the
climate prevents the necessity of migration, this brilliant bird
seems half domestic. The ancient live-oak, his cradle and
residence, is cherished as a domicile; he creeps around its
ponderous weathered arms, views the passing scene with com-
placence, turns every insect visit to his advantage, and for
hours together placidly reconnoitres the surrounding fields. At
times he leaves his lofty citadel to examine the rails of the
fence or the boards of the adjoining barn; striking terror into
his lurking prey by the stridulous tappings of his bill, he
hearkens to their almost inaudible movements, and discovering
their retreat, dislodges them from their burrows by quickly
and dexterously chiselling out the decaying wood in which they
are hid, and transfixing them with his sharp and barbed
tongue. But his favorite and most productive resort is to the
adjoining fields of dead and girdled trees, amidst whose
bleaching trunks and crumbling branches he long continues to
find an ample repast of depredating and boring insects. When
the cravings of appetite are satisfied, our busy hunter occa-
sionally gives way to a playful or quarrelsome disposition, and
with shrill and lively vociferations not unlike those of the
neighboring tree-frog, he pursues in a graceful, curving flight his
companions or rivals round the bare limbs of some dead tree
to which they resort for combat or frolic.

About the middle of May, in Pennsylvania, they burrow out
or prepare their nests in the large limbs of trees, adding no
materials to the cavity which they smooth out for the purpose.
As with the Bluebird, the same tree continues to be employed
for several years in succession, and probably by the same undi-

448 WOODPECKERS.

vided pair. The eggs and young of this and many other birds
occasionally fall a prey to the attacks of the common black
snake. The young are easily tamed for a while, and when left
at large come for some time regularly to be fed, uttering a cry
to call attention. I have seen them feed on corn-meal paste,
a large piece of which the bird would carry off to a distance
and eat at leisure.

This species is common in Ontario and near Montreal, but is
only an accidental visitor to other portions of eastern Canada. It
is usually a rare bird to the eastward of the Hudson River, though
in the fall of 1881 it was quite common in parts of Connecticut and
Massachusetts.

The habit of this bird —in common with others of the family -—
to store nuts and grain for winter use, briefly alluded to by Nuttall,
has been confirmed frequently by recent observers. An interesting
paper on this subject by O. P. Hay appeared in the “ Auk” for
July, 1887.

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER.

MELANERPES CAROLINUS.

Cuar. Above, black and white in narrow bands; tail black and
white; beneath, pale buff; belly rosy red. Male, with crown and back
of head scarlet, which in the female is replaced by dull ash.

West. Usually in a secluded forest of tall trees; a cavity cut in a dead
trunk or limb.

£ggs. 4-6; white and glossy; 1.00 X 0.75.

This species inhabits the whole North American continent,
from the interior of Canada to Florida, and even the island of
Jamaica, in all of which countries it probably rears its young,
migrating only partially from the colder regions. This also,
like the preceding, is unknown in all the eastern parts of Mas-
sachusetts, and probably New Hampshire.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker dwells in the solitude of the
forest ; amidst the tall and decayed trees only he seeks his less
varied fare, and leads a life of roving wildness and independ-
ence, congenial with his attachment to freedom and liberty.
Sometimes, however, on the invasion of his native haunts by

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 449

the progress of agriculture, he may be seen prowling among
the dead and girdled trees which now afford him an augmented:
source of support; and, as a chief of the soil, he sometimes
claims his native rights by collecting a small tithe from the
usurping field of maize. His loud and harsh call of ’¢show
‘tshow ’tshow 'tshow, reiterated like the barking of a cur, may
often be heard, through the course of the day, to break the
silence of the wilderness in which his congenial tribe are
almost the only residents. On a fine spring morning I have
observed his desultory ascent up some dead and lofty pine,
tapping at intervals, and dodging from side to side, as he as-
cended in a spiral line ; at length, having gained the towering
summit, while basking in the mild sunbeams, he surveys the
extensive landscape, and almost with the same reverberating
sound as his blows, at intervals he utters a loud ‘and solitary
‘currh in a tone as solemn as the tolling of the Campanero.
He thus hearkens, as it were, to the shrill echoes of his own
voice, and for an hour at a time seems alone employed in con-
templating, in cherished solitude and security, the beauties and
blessings of the rising day.

The nest, early in April, is usually made in some lofty
branch ; and in this labor both the sexes unite to dig out a cir-
cular cavity for the purpose, sometimes out of the solid wood,
but more commonly into a hollow limb. The young appear
towards the close of May or early in June, climbing out upon
the higher branches of the tree, where they are fed and reared
until able to fly, though in the mean time from their exposure
they often fall a prey to prowling Hawks. These birds usually
raise but one brood in the season, and may be considered, like
the rest of their insect-devouring fraternity, as useful scaven-
gers for the protection of the forest ; their attacks, as might be
reasonably expected, being always confined to decaying trees,
which alone afford the prey for which they probe.

This bird is common in parts of Ontario, but has not been taken
elsewhere in Canada. It is common in Ohio, and ranges as far to
the southward as Florida, but is very rare in New England.

VOL. I. — 29

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.
SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS.

Cuar. Above, black and white, back tinged with yellow; crown and
chin scarlet, bordered by black; cheeks black, bordered by white or pale
yellow; breast black; belly pale yellow. In females the scarlet on chin
is replaced by white. Length 8% inches.

Vest. In woodland; a cavity in a dead trunk of large tree; sometimes
excavated in a live tree.

Eegs. 4-7; white; 0.85 X 0.60.

This species, according to the season, extends over the
whole American continent, from the 53d degree to the tropics,
where it is seen in Cayenne. With us it is most common
in summer in the Northern and Middle States, and as far
north as Nova Scotia. At this season it is seldom seen beyond
the precincts of the forest, in which it selects the most solitary
recesses, leaving its favorite haunts only at the approach of
winter, and seeking, from necessity or caprice, at this roving
season the boundaries of the orchard. The habits of this bird
are but little different from those of the Hairy and Downy
Woodpeckers, with which it is often associated in their fora-
ging excursions. The nest, as usual, is made in the body of
some decayed orchard or forest tree, the circular entrance to

HAIRY WOODPECKER. 451

which is left only just sufficient for the passage of the parties.
The depth of the cavity is about 15 inches, and the eggs, 4 or
upwards, are white. The principal food of these birds is insects,
for they sometimes bore the trunks of the orchard trees.

The “sapsucking ” habit of this species, denied by some of our
most eminent naturalists, has been established by Mr. Frank
Bolles, who published an interesting account of his observations in
“The Auk” for July, 1891.

For several days Mr. Bolles almost continuously watched a
number of these birds while they operated on trees in the vicinity
of his summer home at Chicarua, N. H. The birds drilled holes
in maple, oak, birch, and ash trees, and drank the sap as it dripped
from these holes. When one set of holes became “dry,” others
were drilled, eight to sixteen on each tree, the new holes being
made higher up than the old. Some of the birds spent about
nine tenths of the time in drinking the sap. Mr. Bolles placed
under the trees cups made of birch bark and filled with maple
syrup, which the birds drank freely. Later brandy was added,
with amusing consequences, the mixture finally acting as an emetic.
He moreover states that the sap was not used as a trap for insects,
as some writers have supposed; and while the birds caught insects
occasionally, these did not appear to form a large part of their diet.
An examination of the stomachs of a few birds revealed but little
insect remains, and that little was composed chiefly of ants.

HAIRY WOODPECKER.

DRYOBATES VILLOSUS.

CuHar, Above, black and white, the back with long, slender, loose
hair-like feathers; beneath, white; outer tail-feathers white. Male with
scarlet band at back of head, which in the female is black. In immature
birds the crown is more or less tinged with red, or, sometimes with
yellow. Length 8% to g inches.

Nest. In open woodland, pasture, or orchard; a cavity in a dead
trunk, without lining.

L£ggs. 4-5; white and glossy; 1.00 X 0.70.

This common and almost familiar species is a resident
in most parts of America, from Hudson Bay to Florida, fre-

452 WOODPECKERS.

quently approaching the cottage or the skirts of the town as
well as the forest. It is likewise much attached to orchards,
an active borer of their trunks, and an eager hunter after in-
sects and larve in all kinds of decayed wood, even to stumps
and the rails of the fences. In autumn it also feeds on berries
and other fruits. In the month of May, accompanied by his
mate, the male seeks out the seclusion of the woods, and
taking possession of a hollow branch, or cutting out a cavity
anew, he forms his nest in a deep and secure cavern, though
sometimes a mere stake of the fence answers the purpose. In
the Southern States these birds have usually two broods in the
season, and raise them both in the same nest, which is not
infrequently at no great distance from habitations. Their call
consists in a shrill and rattling whistle, heard to a consid-
erable distance. They also give out a single querulous note of
recognition while perambulating the trunks for food.

The habitat of true vz//osus is now considered as restricted to
the middle portion of the Eastern States. At the North it is
represented by D. willosus leucomelas, a larger variety (length
Io to If inches), and at the South by D. véllosus audubonii, which
measures but 8 to 8% inches in length.

DOWNY WOODPECKER.
DRYOBATES PUBESCENS.

Cuar. Similar to D. villosus, but smaller. Above, black and white,
the back with long, slender, loose hair-like (“downy”) feathers; beneath,
white; outer tail-feathers barred. Male with scarlet band at back of
head, which in the female is black. In immature birds the crown is more
or less tinged with red, or, sometimes, with yellow. Length 6% to 7
inches.

Nest. In open woodland, pasture, or orchard; a cavity in a dead
trunk, without lining.

Eggs. 4-6; white and glossy ; 0.80 X 0.60.

This species, the smallest of American Woodpeckers, agrees
almost exactly with the P. v//osws in its colors and markings.
It is likewise resident throughout the same countries. About

DOWNY WOODPECKER. 453

the middle of May also, the pair begin to look out a suitable
deposit for their eggs and young. The entrance is in the form
of a perfect circle, and left only just large enough for an indi-
vidual to pass in and out. Both sexes labor for about a week
at this task with indefatigable diligence, carrying on the burrow
in some orchard tree, in two different directions, to the depth
of 16 to 20 inches down; and to prevent suspicion the chips
are carried out and strewn at a distance. The male occa-
sionally feeds his mate while sitting; and about the close of
June the young are observed abroad, climbing up the tree with
considerable address. Sometimes the crafty House Wren in-
terferes, and, driving the industrious tenants from their hole,
usurps possession. These birds have a shrill cackle and a reit-
erated call, which they frequently utter while engaged in quest
of their prey. In the autumn they feed on various kinds of
berries as well as insects. No species can exceed the present
in industry and perseverance. While thus regularly probing
the bark of the tree for insects, it continues so much engaged
as to disregard the approaches of the observer, though imme-
diately under the tree. These perforations, made by our Sa-
suckers, —as the present and Hairy species are sometimes
called,—are carried round the trunks and branches of the
orchard trees in regular circles, so near to each other that,
according to Wilson, eight or ten of them may be covered by
a dollar. The object of this curious piece of industry is not
satisfactorily ascertained ; but whether it be done to taste the
sap of the tree, or to dislodge vermin, it is certain that the
plant escapes uninjured, and thrives as well or better than
those which are unperforated.

This diminutive and very industrious species is a constant
inhabitant of the fur countries up to the 58th parallel, seeking
its food principally on the maple, elm, and ash, and north of
latitude 54 degrees, where the range of these trees terminates,
on the aspen and birch. The circles of round holes which it
makes with so much regularity round the trunks of living trees
are no doubt made for the purpose of getting at the sweet sap
which they contain. In the month of February, 1830, I

454 , WOODPECKERS,

observed these borers busy tapping the small live trunks of
several wax-myrtles (Afyrica cerifera) ; and these perforations
were carried down into the alburnum, or sap-wood, but no
farther: no insects could be expected, of course, in such situ-
ations, and at this season very few could be obtained anywhere.
On examining the oozing sap, I found it to be exceedingly
saccharine, but in some instances astringent or nearly taste-
less. To a bird like the present, which relishes and devours
also berries, I make no doubt but that this native nectar is
sought after as agreeable and nutritious food, in the same
manner as the Baltimore Bird collects the saccharine secretion
of the fruit blossoms; and in fact I have observed the Wood-
pecker engaged in the act of sipping this sweet fluid, which so
readily supplies it on all occasions with a temporary substitute
for more substantial fare. Sometimes, however, on discovering
insects in a tree, it forgets its taste for the sap, and in quest
of its prey occasionally digs deep holes into the trees large
enough to admit its whole body.

The Downy Woodpecker is found throughout the eastern and
northern portions of North America, and like its congener, the
Hairy, is a resident, rather than a migratory species, breeding usu-
ally wherever it is found. There is no such difference in the two
birds as is represented by the names “hairy” and “downy;” the
long feathers of the back from which the names are derived are
exactly similar. The differentiation lies in the size of the birds
and in some markings on the tail-feathers.

THE RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER.

DRYOBATES BOREALIS.

Cuar. Above, black and white, barred transversely; crown, black;
sides of head with white patch, bordered, above, by red stripe; beneath,
white, sides streaked with black. Length 7% to 8% inches.

Vest. In pine woods; an excavation in a decayed trunk or living tree.

Eggs. 4-6; white, with but little gloss; 0.95 X 0.70.

This species, remarkable for the red stripe on the side of
its head, was discovered by Wilson in the pine woods of

ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 455

North Carolina, whence it occurs to the coast of the Mexican
Gulf, and as far to the north and west as New Jersey and
Tennessee. It is a very active and noisy species, gliding with
alertness along the trunks and branches of trees, principally
those of oak and pine. At almost every move it utters a short,
shrill, and clear note, audible at a considerable distance. In
the breeding season its call, still more lively and petulant, is
reiterated through the pine forests, where it now chiefly dwells.
These birds are frequently seen by pairs in the company of
the smaller Woodpeckers and Nuthatches in the winter sea-
son, and they now feed by choice principally upon ants and
small coleoptera.

In Florida they are already mated in the month of January,
and prepare their burrows in the following month. The nest
is frequently in a decayed trunk 20 to 30 feet from the
ground. In the winter season, and in cold and wet weather,
this bird is in the habit of roosting in its old nests or in the
holes of decayed trees, and frequently retreats to such places
when wounded or pursued.

The habitat of this species as at present determined is the South-
eastern States, including North Carolina and Tennessee, and the
bird also occurs sparingly in New Jersey.

ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER.
BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER.
PICOIDES ARCTICUS.

CuHar. Only three toes. Above, black; white stripe on side of head;
outer tail-feathers white ; beneath, white barred with black. Adult male
with square patch of yellow on the crown. Length 9% to Io inches.

West. Ina deep forest, an excavation in a dead tree.

L£ggs. 4-6; white and glossy; 0.95 X 0.75.

This species is an inhabitant of the northern regions from
Maine to the fur countries, dwelling among deep forests in
mountainous regions. Its voice and habits are indeed pre-
cisely similar to those of the Spotted Woodpeckers, to which it

450 WOODPECKERS.

is closely allied. Its food consists of insects, their eggs and
larvee, to which it sometimes adds, according to the season,
seeds and berries. Audubon had the good fortune to meet
with it in the pine forests of the Pokono Mountains in Penn-
sylvania. It is, however, sufficiently common in the dreary
wilds around Hudson Bay and Severn River. It is remarkable
that a third species, so nearly allied to the present as to have
been confounded with it merely as a variety, is found to inhabit
the woods of Guiana. In this (the Picus undulatus of Vieillot)
the crown, however, is red instead of yellow; the tarsi are also
naked, and the black of the back undulated with white.

This species occurs sparingly in winter in northern New Eng-
land and southern Canada, and representatives have been taken
in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Occasionally one is met in
summer in northern Maine and New Brunswick.

AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER.
BANDED-BACKED WOODPECKER.
PICOIDES AMERICANUS.

CuHarR. Only three toes. Above, black, thickly spotted with white
about the head and neck; back barred with white; beneath, white;
sides barred with black. Adult male with yellow patch on the crown.
Length about 9g inches.

Nest. Ina deep forest; an excavation in a dead tree.

Eggs. 4- ?; cream white; 0.90 X 0.70.

According to Richardson, this bird exists as a permanent
resident in all the spruce-forests between Lake Superior and
the Arctic Sea, and is the most common Woodpecker north
of Great Slave Lake. It resembles P. z/osus in its habits,
seeking its food, however, principally on decaying trees of the
pine tribe, in which it frequently burrows holes large enough
to bury itself.

This is only a rare winter visitor as far south as New Brunswick,

though it has been taken in Massachusetts, and Dr. Merriam has
found a nest in the Adirondacks.

RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD.
TROCHILUS COLUBRIS.

Cuar. Above, metallic green; wings and tail brownish violet or
bronzy; chin velvety black ; throat rich ruby, reflecting various hues
from brownish black to bright crimson ; belly whitish. Female and young
without red on the throat, which is dull gray; tail-feathers barred with
black and tipped with white. Length 3 to 3% inches.

Nest. Inan orchard or open woodland; placed on a horizontal branch
or in a crotch; made of plant down firmly felted and covered exteriorly
with lichens.

£ggs. 2-?; white, with rosy tint when fresh ; 0.50 X 0.30.

This wonderfully diminutive and brilliant bird is the only
one of an American genus of more than a hundred species,
which ventures beyond the limit of tropical climates. Its
approaches towards the north are regulated by the advances of
the season. Fed on the honeyed sweets of flowers, it is an
exclusive attendant on the varied bounties of Flora. By the
1oth to the zoth of March, it is already seen in the mild
forests of Louisiana and the warmer maritime districts of
Georgia, where the embowering and fragrant Gedsemium, the
twin-leaved Bignonia, with a host of daily expanding flowers,
invite our little sylvan guest to the retreats it had reluctantly

458 HUMMING BIRDS.

forsaken. Desultory in its movements, roving only through
the region of blooming sweets, its visits to the Northern States
are delayed till the month of May. Still later, as if deter-
mined that no flower shall “blush unseen, or waste its sweet-
ness on the desert air,” our little sylph, on wings as rapid as
the wind, at once launches without hesitation into the flowery
wilderness of the north.

The first cares of the little busy pair are now bestowed on
their expected progeny. This instinct alone propelled them
from their hibernal retreat within the tropics ; strangers amidst
their numerous and brilliant tribe, they seek only a transient
asylum in the milder regions of their race. With the earliest
dawn of the northern spring, in pairs, as it were with the celer-
ity of thought, they dart at intervals through the dividing
space, till they again arrive in the genial and more happy re-
gions of their birth. The enraptured male is now assiduous
in attention to his mate; forgetful of selfish wants, he feeds
his companion with nectared sweets, and jealous of danger
and interruption to the sole companion of his delights, he often
almost seeks a quarrel with the giant birds which surround him :
he attacks even the Kingbird, and drives the gliding Martin
to the retreat of his box. The puny nest is now prepared in
the long-accustomed orchard or neighboring forest. It is con-
cealed by an artful imitation of the mossy branch to which
it is firmly attached and incorporated. Bluish-gray lichens,
agglutinated by saliva and matched with surrounding objects,
instinctively form the deceiving external coat; portions of the
cunning architecture, for further security, are even tied down
to the supporting station. Within are laid copious quantities of
the pappus or other down of plants; the inner layer of this
exquisite bed is finished with the shortwood of the budding
flatanus, the mullein, or the soft clothing of unfolding fern-
stalks. Incubation, so tedious to the volatile pair, is completed
in the short space of ten days, and in the warmer States a
second brood is raised. When the nest is approached, the
parents dart around the intruder, within a few inches of his
face ; and the female, if the young are out, often resumes her

RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD. 459

seat, though no more than three or four feet from the observer.
In a single week the young are on the wing, and in this situa-
tion still continue to be fed with their nursing sweets by the
assiduous parents.

Creatures of such delicacy and uncommon circumstances,
the wondrous sports of Nature, everything appcars provided
for the security of their existence; the brood are introduced
to life in the warmest season of the year: variation of tempera-
ture beyond a certain medium would prove destructive to
these exquisite forms. The ardent heats of America have
alone afforded them support ; no region so cool as the United
States produces a set of feathered beings so delicate and
tender; and, consequently, any sudden extremes, by produ-
cing chill and famine, are fatal to our Humming Birds. In the
remarkably wet summer of 1831 very few of the young were
raised in New England. In other seasons they comparatively
swarm, and the numerous and almost gregarious young are
then seen, till the close of September, eagerly engaged in sip-
ping the nectar from various showy and tubular flowers, partic-
ularly those of the trumpet Bignonia and wild balsam, with
many other conspicuous productions of the fields and gardens.
Sometimes they may also be seen collecting dimunitive in-
sects, or juices from the tender shoots of the pine-tree. While
thus engaged in strife and employment, the scene is peculiarly
amusing. Approaching a flower, and vibrating on the wing
before it, with the rapidity of lightning the long, cleft, and
tubular tongue is exerted to pump out the sweets, while the
buzzing or humming of the wings reminds us of the approach
of some larger sphinx or droning bee. No other sound or
song is uttered, except occasionally a slender chirp while flit-
ting from a flower, until some rival bird too nearly approaches
the same plant; a quick, faint, and petulant squeak is then
uttered, as the little glowing antagonists glide up in swift and
angry gyrations into the air. The action at the same time is so
sudden, and the flight so rapid, that the whole are only traced
for an instant, like a gray line in the air. Sometimes, without
any apparent provocation, the little pugnacious vixen will, for

460 HUMMING BIRDS.

mere amusement, pursue larger birds, such as the Yellow Bird
and Sparrows. To man they show but little either of fear or
aversion, often quietly feeding on their favorite flowers when
so nearly approached as to be caught. They likewise fre-
quently enter the green houses and windows of dwellings
where flowers are kept in sight. After feeding for a time, the
individual settles on some small and often naked bough or
slender twig, and dresses its feathers with great composure,
particularly preening and clearing the plumes of the wing.

The old and young are soon reconciled to confinement. In
an hour after the loss of liberty the cheerful little captive will
often come and suck diluted honey, or sugar and water, from
the flowers held out to it; and ina few hours more it becomes
tame enough to sip its favorite beverage from a saucer, in the
interval flying backwards and forwards in the room for mere
exercise, and then resting on some neighboring elevated object.
In dark or rainy weather it seems to pass the time chiefly
dozing on the perch. It is also soon so familiar as to come to
the hand that feeds it. In cold nights, or at the approach of
frost, the pulsation of this little dweller in the sunbeam be-
comes nearly as low as in the torpid state of the dormouse ;
but on applying warmth, the almost stagnant circulation
revives, and slowly increases to the usual state.

Near the Atlantic this frail creature nests regularly as far north
as the Laurentian hills of Quebec. It is an abundant summer res-
ident of the Maritime Provinces, but occurs in southern Ontario
as a migrant only.

The fact that insects form a staple diet of these diminutive birds
has been satisfactorily proved, though formerly they were sup-
posed to feed entirely on honey. Honey doubtless forms a part
of their food, and they also drink freely of the sweet sap which the
Woodpeckers draw from the maple and birch.

Another mistake regarding the Humming Birds, — that they
never alight while feeding, — has been rectified by several trust-
worthy observers. The birds have been seen to alight on the
leaves of the trumpet-flower while gathering honey, and also to
rest on the tapped trees while they leisurely drank of the flowing
sap.

The young birds are fed by regurgitation.

BELTED KINGFISHER.

CERYLE ALCYON.

Cuar. Above, slaty blue; head with long crest; beneath, white.
Male with blue band across breast. Female and young with breast-band
and sides of belly pale chestnut. Length 12 to 13 inches.

Vest. An excavation in a sandbank, — usually by the side of a stream;
lined with grass and feathers.

£ggs. 6-8; white and glossy; 1.35 X 1.05.

This wild and grotesque-looking feathered angler is a well-
known inhabitant of the borders of fresh waters from the re-
mote fur countries in the 67th parallel to the tropics. Its
delight is to dwell amidst the most sequestered scenes of
uncultivated nature, by the borders of running rivulets, near
the roar of the waterfall, or amidst the mountain streamlets
which abound with the small fish and insects that constitute
its accustomed fare. Mill-dams and the shelving and friable
banks of watercourses, suited for the sylvan retreat of its
brood, have also peculiar and necessary attractions for our re-
tiring Kingfisher. By the broken, bushy, or rocky banks of

462 KINGFISHERS.

its solitary and aquatic retreat, this bird may often be seen °
perched on some dead and projecting branch, scrutinizing the
waters for its expected prey. If unsuccessful, it quickly courses
the meanders of the streams or borders of ponds just above
their surface, and occasionally hovers for an instant, with rap-
idly moving wings, over the spot where it perceives the gliding
quarry; in the next instant, descending with a quick spiral
sweep, a fish is seized from the timid fry, with which it returns
to its post and swallows in an instant. When startled from
the perch, on which it spends many vacant hours digesting its
prey, it utters commonly a loud, harsh, and grating cry, very
similar to the interrupted creakings of a watchman’s rattle, and
almost, as it were, the vocal counterpart to the watery tumult
amidst which it usually resides.

The nest—a work of much labor—is now burrowed in some
dry and sandy or more tenacious bank of earth, situated be-
yond the reach of inundation. At this task both the parties
join with bill and claws, until they have horizontally perforated
the bank to the depth of 5 or 6 feet. With necessary precau-
tion, the entrance is only left sufficient for the access of a
single bird. The extremity, however, is rounded like an oven,
so as to allow the individuals and their brood a sufficiency of
room. This important labor is indeed prospective, as the same
hole is employed for a nest and roost for many succeeding
years. Here the eggs are deposited. Incubation, in which
both parents engage, continues for sixteen days; and they
exhibit great solicitude for the safety of their brood. The
mother, simulating lameness, sometimes drops on the water,
fluttering as if wounded, and unable to rise from the stream.
The male also, perched on the nearest bough, or edge of the
projecting bank, jerks his tail, elevates his crest, and passing to
and fro before the intruder, raises his angry and vehement
rattle of complaint (Audubon). At the commencement of
winter, the frost obliges our humble Fisher to seek more open
streams, and even the vicinity of the sea; but it is seen to
return to Pennsylvania by the commencement of April.

CHIMNEY SWIFT.

CHIMNEY SWALLOW.

CHATURA PELAGICA.

CuHar. General color sooty brown, paler on the throat and breast,
tinged with green above. Length about 5% inches.

Vest. Usually in a chimney, sometimes in a hollow tree or a barn;
made of twigs cemented with saliva.

Leggs. 4-5; white; 0.70 X 0.50.

This singular bird, after passing the winter in tropical Amer-
ica, arrives in the Middle and Northern States late in April or
early in May. Its migrations extend at least to the “sources
of the Mississippi, where it was observed by Mr. Say. More
social than the foreign species, which frequents rocks and ruins,
our Swift takes advantage of unoccupied and lofty chimneys,
the original roost and nesting situation being tall, gigantic
hollow trees such as the elm and buttonwood (Platanus).
The nest is formed of slender twigs neatly interlaced, some-
what like a basket, and connected sufficiently together by a
copious quantity of adhesive gum or mucilage secreted by the
stomach of the curious architect. This rude cradle of the
young is small and shallow, and attached at the sides to
‘the wall of some chimney or the inner surface of a hollow

464 SWIFTS.

tree; it is wholly destitute of lining. ‘They have commonly
two broods in the season. So assiduous are the parents that
they feed the young through the greater part of the night;
their habits, however, are nearly nocturnal, as they fly abroad
most at and before sunrise, and in the twilight of evening.
The noise which they, make while passing up and down the
chimney resembles almost the rumbling of distant thunder.
When the nests get loosened by rains so as to fall down, the
young, though blind, find means to escape, by creeping up and
clinging to the sides of the chimney walls; in this situation
they continue to be fed for a week or more. Soon tired of
their hard cradle, they generally leave it long before they are
capable of flying.

On their first arnival, and for a considerable time after, the
males, particularly, associate to roost in a general resort. ‘This
situation, in the remote and*unsettled parts of the country, is
usually a large hollow tree, open at top. These well-known
Swallow trees are ignorantly supposed to be the winter quar-
ters of the species, where, in heaps, they doze away the cold
season in a state of torpidity ; but no proof of the fact is ever
adduced. The length of time such trees have been resorted
to by particular flocks may be conceived, perhaps, by the
account of a hollow tree of this kind described by the Rev. Dr.
Harris in his Journal. The /la¢anus alluded to, grew in the
upper part of Waterford, in Ohio, two miles from the Muskin-
gum, and its hollow trunk, now fallen, of the diameter of 514
feet, and for nearly 15 feet upwards, contained an entire mass
of decayed Swallow feathers, mixed with brownish dust and
the exuvize of insects. In inland towns these birds have been
known to make their general roost in the chimney of the
court-house. Before descending, they fly in large flocks, mak-
ing many ample and circuitous sweeps in the air; and as the
point of the vortex falls, individuals drop into the chimney
by degrees, until the whole have descended, which generally
takes place in the dusk of the evening. They all, however,
disappear about the first week in August. Like the rest of the
tribe, the Chimney Swift flies very quick, and with but slight

CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW. 405

vibrations of its wings, appearing as it were to swim in the air
in widening circles, shooting backwards and forwards through
the ambient space at great elevations; and yet scarcely moving
its wings. Now and then it is heard to utter, in a hurried
manner, a sound like “7p ftp dip dsee tee. It is never seen to
alight but in hollow trees or chimneys, and appears always
most gay and active in wet and gloomy weather.

Near the Atlantic border this species is found north to 50°, but
in the West it ranges still farther northward.

CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW.
ANTROSTOMUS CAROLINENSIS.

Cuar. Gape extremely wide, the rictal bristles with lateral filaments.
General color reddish brown mottled with black, white, and tawny ; throat
with collar of pale tawny, terminal third of outer tail-feathers white or
buffy; under parts tawny white. Length 11 to 12 inches.

Vest. In open woods or dense thicket. No attempt is made at build-
ing a receptacle for the eggs, which are laid on the bare ground or upon
fallen leaves.

£ggs. 2; white or buffish, marked with brown and lavender; 1.40
X 1.00.

The Carolina Goatsucker is seldom seen to the north of
Virginia, though in the interior its migrations extend up the
shores of the Mississippi to the 38th degree. After wintering
in some part of the tropical continent of America, it arrives in
Georgia and Louisiana about the middle of March, and in Vir-
ginia early in April. Like the following species, it commences
its singular serenade of ’chuck-’will’s-widow in the evening
soon after sunset, and continues it with short interruptions for
several hours. Towards morning the note is also renewed
until the opening dawn. In the day, like some wandering
spirit, it retires to secrecy and silence, as if the whole had only
been a disturbed dream. Ina still evening this singular call
may be heard for half a mile, its tones being slower, louder,
and more full than those of the Whip-poor-will. The species
is particularly numerous in the vast forests of the Mississippi,

VOL. I. — 30

466 GOATSUCKERS.

where throughout the evening its echoing notes are heard in
the solitary glens and from the surrounding and silent hills,
becoming almost incessant during the shining of the moon ;
and at the boding sound of its elfin voice, when familiar and
strongly reiterated, the thoughtful, superstitious savage becomes
sad and pensive. Its flight is low, and it skims only a few feet
above the surface of the ground, frequently settling on logs
and fences, whence it often sweeps around in pursuit of flying
moths and insects, which constitute its food. Sometimes these
birds are seen sailing near the ground, and occasionally descend
to pick up a beetle, or flutter lightly around the trunk of a tree
in quest of some insect crawling upon the bark. In rainy and
gloomy weather they remain silent in the hollow log which
affords them and the bats a common roost and refuge by day.
When discovered in this critical situation, and without the
means of escape, they ruffle up their feathers, spread open
their enormous mouths, and utter a murmur almost like the
hissing of a snake, thus endeavoring, apparently, to intimidate
their enemy when cut off from the means of escape.

This species also lays its eggs, two in number, merely on the
ground, and usually in the woods; if they be handled, or even
the young, the parents, suspicious of danger, remove them to
some other place. As early as the middle of August, accord-
ing to Audubon, these birds retire from the United States ;
though some winter in the central parts of East Florida.

The general habitat of this species is the South Atlantic and
Gulf States and the lower Mississippi valley. The bird ranges to
North Carolina, and Mr. Ridgeway reports it not uncommon in
southern Illinois.

WHIP-POOR-WILL. 467

WHIP-POOR-WILL
ANTROSTOMUS VOCIFERUS.

CuHar. Gape extremely wide; rictal bristles without lateral filaments.
General color dull gray brown, mottled with black, white, and tawny;
throat with collar of white or tawny; outer tail-feathers partly white;
under parts gray mottled with black. Length 9% to 10 inches.

Nest. In dense woods or shady dells; eggs laid on the ground or
amid dry leaves. -

£ggs. 2; white or buffy marked brown and lavender; 1.12 X 0.85.

This remarkable and well-known nocturnal bird arrives in
the Southern States in March, and in the Middle States about
the close of April or the beginning of May, and proceeds in
its vernal migrations along the Atlantic States to the centre
of Massachusetts, being seldom seen beyond the latitude of
43°; and yet in the interior of the continent, according to
Vieillot, it continues as far as Hudson Bay, and was heard, as
usual, by Mr. Say at Pembino, in the high latitude of 49°. In
all this vast intermediate space, as far south as Natchez on the
Mississippi, and the interior of Arkansas, these birds familiarly
breed and take up their temporary residence. Some also pass
the winter in the interior of East Florida, according to Audu-
bon. In the eastern part of Massachusetts, however, they are
uncommon, and always affect sheltered, wild, and hilly situa-
tions, for which they have in general a preference. About
the same time that the sweetly echoing voice of the Cuckoo is
first heard in the north of Europe, issuing from the leafy
groves as the sure harbinger of the flowery month of May,
arrives amongst us, in the shades of night, the mysterious
Whip-poor-will. The well-known saddening sound is first
only heard in the distant forest, re-echoing from the lonely glen
or rocky cliff ; at length the oft-told solitary tale is uttered from
the fence of the adjoining field or garden, and sometimes the
slumbering inmates of the cottage are serenaded from the low
roof or from some distant shed. Superstition, gathering terror
from every extraordinary feature of nature, has not suffered
this harmless nocturnal babbler to escape suspicion, and his

468 GOATSUCKERS.

familiar approaches are sometimes dreaded as an omen of
misfortune,

In the lower part of the State of Delaware, I have found
these birds troublesomely abundant in the breeding season, so
that the reiterated echoes of ’whip-’whip-podr-will, ’whip-péri-
wil, issuing from several birds at the same time, occasioned
such a confused vociferation as at first to banish sleep. This
call, except in moonlight ‘nights, is continued usually till mid-
night, when they cease until again aroused, for a while, at the
commencement of twilight. The first and last syllables of
this brief ditty receive the strongest emphasis, and now and
then a sort of, guttural c/vck is heard between the repetitions ;
but the whole phrase is uttered in little more than a second
of time.

Although our Whip-poor-will seems to speak out in such
plain English, to the ears of the aboriginal Delaware its call was
wecoatis, though this was probably some favorite phrase or
interpretation, which served it for a name. The Whip-poor-
will, when engaged in these nocturnal rambles, is seen to fly
within a few feet of the surface in quest of moths and other
insects, frequently, where abundant, alighting around the house.
During the day the birds retire into the darkest woods, usually
on high ground, where they pass the time in silence and
repose, the weakness of their sight by day compelling them
to avoid the glare of the light.

The female commences laying about the second week in
May in the Middle States, considerably later in Massachusetts ;
she is at no pains to form a nest, though she selects for her
deposit some unfrequented part of the forest near a pile of
brush, a heap of leaves, or the low shelving of a hollow rock,
and always in a dry situation; here she lays two eggs, without
any appearance of an artificial bed. This deficiency of nest is
amply made up by the provision of nature, for, like Partridges,
the young are soon able to run about after their parents; and
until the growth of their feathers they seem such shapeless
lumps of clay-colored down that it becomes nearly impossible
to distinguish them from the ground on which they repose.

WHIP-POOR-WILL. 469

Were a nest present in the exposed places where we find the
young, none would escape detection. The mother also, faith-
ful to her charge, deceives the passenger by prostrating herself
along the ground with beating wings, as if in her dying agony.
The activity of the young and old in walking, and the absence
of a nest, widely distinguishes these birds from the Swallows,
with which they are associated. A young fledged bird of this
species, presented to me, ran about with great celerity, but
refused to eat, and kept continually calling out at short inter-
vals fé-%gh in a low, mournful note.

After the period of incubation, or about the middle of June,
the vociferations of the males cease, or are but rarely given.
Towards the close of summer, previously to their departure,
they are again occasionally heard, but their note is now languid
and seldom uttered ; and early in September they leave us for
the more genial climate of tropical America, being there found
giving their usual lively cry in the wilds of Cayenne and
Demerara. They enter the United States early in March, but
are some weeks probably in attaining their utmost northern
limit.

Their food appears to be large moths, beetles, grasshoppers,
ants, and such insects as frequent the bark of decaying timber.
Sometimes, in the dusk, they will skim within a few feet ofa
person, making a low chatter as they pass. They also, in com-
mon with other species, flutter occasionally around the domes-
‘tic cattle to catch any insects which approach or rest upon
them ; and hence the mistaken notion of their sucking goats,
while they only cleared them of molesting vermin.

The Whip-poor-will is a common summer resident throughout
New England, and is not uncommon in the Maritime Provinces. It

is common also in Ontario, and Dr. Robert Bell reports finding it
in the southern parts of the Hudson Bay region.

.

NIGHTHAWK.
GOATSUCKER. BULL BAT.

CHORDEILES VIRGINIANUS.

CuHaR. Gape wide; bill extremely small; no rictal bristles. Above,
dull black mottled with brown and gray ; wings brown, a patch of white
on five outer primaries; tail dusky, with bars of gray and a patch of
white near the extremity ; lower parts reddish white with bars of brown;
throat with patch of white. Length about 9% inches.

Vest. Usually in open woods; the eggs generally laid upon a rock or
on the turf, — sometimes they are laid on a gravel roof in a city.

£ggs. 2; dull white or buff, thickly mottled with brown, slate, and
lilac; 1.25 X 0.85.

Towards the close of April the Nighthawks arrive in the
Middle States, and early in May they are first seen near the
sea-coast of Massachusetts, which at all times appears to be a
favorite resort. In the interior of the continent they penetrate
as far as the sources of the Mississippi, the Rocky Mountains,
and the Territory of Oregon; they are likewise observed
around the dreary coasts of Hudson Bay and the remotest
Arctic islands, breeding in the whole intermediate region to
the more temperate and elevated parts of Georgia. They are
now commonly seen towards evening, in pairs, sailing round in
sweeping circles high in the air, occasionally descending lower

oo
Ne

NIGHTHAWK. 471

to capture flying insects, chiefly of the larger kind, such as
wasps, beetles, and moths. About the middle of May, or
later, the female selects some open spot in the woods, the
comer of a corn-field or dry gravelly knoll, on which to
deposit her eggs, which are only two, and committed to the
bare ground, where, however, from the similarity of their tint
with the soil, they are, in fact, more secure from observation
than if placed in a nest. Here the male and his mate reside
during the period of incubation, roosting at a distance from
each other on the ground or in the neighboring trees; and in
consequence of the particular formation of their feet, like the
rest of the genus, they roost or sit lengthwise on the branch.
During the progress of incubation the female is seen frequently,
for some hours before nightfall, playing about in the air over
the favorite spot, mounting in wide circles, occasionally pro-
pelled by alternate quick and slow vibrations of the wings,
until at times he nearly ascends beyond the reach of sight,
and is only known by his sharp and sudden squeak, which
greatly resembles the flying shriek of the towering Swift. At
other times he is seen suddenly to precipitate himself down-
wards for 60 or 80 feet, and wheeling up again as rapidly; at
which instant a hollow whirr, like the rapid turning of a
spinning-wheel or a strong blowing into the bung-hole of an
-empty hogshead, is heard, and supposed to be produced by
the action of the air on the wings or in the open mouth of the
bird. He then again mounts as before, playing about in his
ascent and giving out his harsh squeak till in a few moments
the hovering is renewed as before; and at this occupation the
male solely continues till the close of twilight. The Euro-
pean Goatsucker is heard to utter the hollow whirr when
perched and while holding it head downwards, so that it does
not appear to be produced by the rushing of the air. The
female, if disturbed while sitting on her charge, will suffer the
spectator to advance within a foot or two of her before she
leaves the nest; she then tumbles about and flutters with an
appearance of lameness to draw off the observer, when at
length she mounts into the air and disappears. On other

472 GOATSUCKERS.

occasions the parent, probably the attending male, puffs him-
self up as it were into a ball of feathers; at the same time
striking his wings on the ground and opening his capacious
mouth to its full extent, he stares wildly and utters a blowing
hiss like that of the Barn Owl when surprised in his hole. On
observing this grotesque manceuvre, and this appearance so
unlike that of a volatile bird, we are struck with the propriety
of the metaphorical French name of Crapaud volans, or
Flying Toad, which this bird indeed much resembles while
thus shapelessly tumbling before the astonished spectator.
The same feint is also made when he is wounded, on being
approached. Like some of the other species, instinctively
vigilant for the safety of their misshapen and tender brood,
these birds also probably convey them or the eggs from the
scrutiny of the meddling observer. In our climate they have
no more than a single brood.

Sometimes the Nighthawk, before his departure, is seen to
visit the towns and cities, sailing in circles and uttering his
squeak as he flies high and securely over the busy streets,
occasionally sweeping down, as usual, with his whirring notes ;
and at times he may be observed, even on the tops of chim-
neys, uttering his harsh call. In gloomy weather these birds
are abroad nearly the whole day, but are most commonly in
motion an hour or two before dusk. Sometimes indeed they.
are seen out in the brightest and hottest weather, and occa-
sionally, while basking in the sun, find means to give chase to
the Cicindeh, Carabi, and other entirely diurnal insects, as
well as grasshoppers, with which they often gorge themselves
in a surprising manner; but they probably seldom feed more
than an hour or two in the course of the day. On Wappatoo
Island, at the estuary of the Wahlamet, they were till the roth
of September numerous and familiar, alighting often close to
the dwellings, in quest probably of crawling insects which come
out in the dark.

About the middle of August they begin their migrations
towards the south, on which occasion they may be seen in the
evening moving in scattered flocks consisting of several hun-

NIGHTHAWK. 473

dreds together, and darting after insects or feeding leisurely as
they advance towards more congenial climes. For two or
three weeks these processions along the rivers and their banks,
tending towards their destination, are still continued. Mingled
with the wandering host are sometimes also seen the different
species of Swallow, — a family to which they are so much allied
in habits and character; but by the 20th of September the
whole busy troop have disappeared for the season.

I have observed Nighthawks flying over the city of St. John, in
New Brunswick, during most of the summer months, and have
known of the eggs being found frequently on gravel roofs in that
city.

Note. — The FLroripa NIGHTHAWK (C. vwirginianus chap-

mant),a smaller race, has been discovered breeding at Tarpon
Springs, Florida.

END OF VOL. I.

STONY BROOK NATURE CENTER
AND WILD LIFE SANCTUARY
NORTH STREET (
NORFOLK, MASSACHUSETTS 02056