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diff --git a/30552.txt b/30552.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f4fda9 --- /dev/null +++ b/30552.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1712 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds Illustrated by Colour Photography, +Vol II. No. 4, October, 1897, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Birds Illustrated by Colour Photography, Vol II. No. 4, October, 1897 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: November 27, 2009 [EBook #30552] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRDS ILLUSTRATED BY COLOUR *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Anne Storer, some +images courtesy of The Internet Archive and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + Transcriber's Note: Title page added. + + * * * * * + + + + + BIRDS + + A MONTHLY SERIAL + + ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY + + DESIGNED TO PROMOTE + + KNOWLEDGE OF BIRD-LIFE + + + VOLUME II. + + + CHICAGO. + NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY. + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1897 + BY + NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING CO. + CHICAGO. + + + + + BIRDS. + ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY + ================================ + VOL. II. OCTOBER NO. 4 + ================================ + + + + +BIRDS IN CAPTIVITY. + + +It was our intention in this article to give a number of instances of +a pathetic nature concerning the sufferings of the various species of +birds which it has been, and still is, a habit with many people to keep +confined in cages totally inadequate for any other purpose than that of +cruelty. The argument that man has no moral right to deprive an innocent +creature of liberty will always be met with indifference by the majority +of people, and an appeal to their intelligence and humanity will rarely +prove effective. To capture singing birds for any purpose is, in many +states, prohibited by statute. But the law is violated. Occasionally an +example is made of one or more transgressors, but as a rule the officers +of the law, whose business it should be to prevent it, manifest no +interest whatever in its execution. The bird trappers as well know that +it is against the law, but so long as they are unmolested by the police, +they will continue the wholesale trapping. A contemporary recently said: +"It seems strange that this bird-catching industry should increase so +largely simultaneously with the founding of the Illinois Audubon +Society. The good that that society has done in checking the habit of +wearing birds in bonnets, seems to have been fairly counterbalanced by +the increase in the number of songsters captured for cage purposes. +These trappers choose the nesting season as most favorable for their +work, and every pair of birds they catch means the loss of an entire +family in the shape of a set of eggs or a nestful of young left to +perish slowly by starvation." + +This is the way the trappers proceed. They are nearly all Germans. Bird +snaring is a favorite occupation in Germany and the fondness for the +cruel work was not left behind by the emigrants. More's the pity. These +fellows fairly swarm with their bird limes and traps among the suburbs, +having an eye only to the birds of brightest plumage and sweetest song. +"They use one of the innocents as a bait to lure the others to a +prison." "Two of the trappers," says one who watched them, "took their +station at the edge of an open field, skirted by a growth of willows. +Each had two cage traps. The device was divided into two parts by wires +running horizontally and parallel to the plane of the floor. In the +lower half of each cage was a male American Goldfinch. In the roof of +the traps were two little hinged doors, which turned backward and +upward, leaving an opening. Inside the upper compartment of the trap, +and accessible through the doorway in the roof, was a swinging perch. +The traps were placed on stumps among the growth of thistles and dock +weed, while the trappers hid behind the trees. The Goldfinches confined +in the lower sections of the traps had been the victims of the trappers +earlier in the season, and the sight of their familiar haunts, the +sunlight, the breeze, and the swaying willow branches, where so often +they had perched and sung, caused them to flutter about and to utter +pathetically the call note of their days of freedom. It is upon this +yearning for liberty and its manifestation that the bird trappers depend +to secure more victims. No sooner does the piping call go forth from the +golden throats of the little prisoners, than a reply comes from the +thistle tops, far down the field. A moment more and the traps are +surrounded with the black and yellow beauties. The fact that one of +their own kind is within the curious little house which confronts them +seems to send all their timidity to the winds and they fairly fall over +one another in their endeavor to see what it all means. Finally one +finds the doorway in the roof and drops upon the perch within. Instantly +the doors close and a Goldfinch is a prisoner." + +Laurence Sterne alone, of sentimental writers, has put in adequate +language something of the feeling that should stir the heart of the +sympathetic, at least, on seeing the unjust confinement of innocent +birds. The Starling, which is the subject of his elevated sentiment, +will appear in an early number of BIRDS. Sterne had just been +soliloquizing somewhat favorably of the Bastile, when a voice, which he +took to be that of a child, complained "it could not get out." "I looked +up and down the passage, and seeing neither man, woman, nor child, I +went out without further attention. In my return back through the +passage, I heard the same words repeated twice over, and looking up, I +saw it was a Starling hung in a little cage. 'I can't get out, I can't +get out,' said the Starling. I stood looking at the Bird, and to every +person who came through the passage, it ran fluttering to the side, +towards which they approached it, with the same lamentation of its +captivity. 'I can't get out,' said the Starling. 'God help thee!' said +I, 'but I'll let thee out, cost what it will;' so I turned about the +cage to get the door. It was twisted and double-twisted so fast with +wire, there was no getting it open without pulling the cage to pieces. I +took both hands to it. The bird flew to the place where I was attempting +its deliverance, and thrusting his head through the trellis, pressed his +breast against it as if impatient. 'I fear, poor creature,' said I, 'I +can't set thee at liberty.' 'No,' said the Starling, 'I can't get out,' +'I can't get out,' said the Starling. I vow I never had my affections +more tenderly awakened; or do I remember an incident in my life where +the dissipated spirits, to which my reason had been a bubble, were so +suddenly called home. Mechanical as the notes were, yet so true in tune +to Nature were they chanted, that disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, +'Slavery,' said I, 'still thou art a bitter draught; and though +thousands in all ages have been made to drink of thee, thou art no less +bitter on that account. No, thou thrice sweet and gracious goddess +liberty, whose taste is grateful, and ever will be so, till nature +herself shall change; no tint of woods can spot thy snowy mantle.'" + +The bird in his cage pursued Sterne into his room, where he composed +his apostrophe to liberty. It would be well indeed, if a sentiment +could be aroused which would prohibit absolutely the caging of birds, +as well as their wanton destruction, and if the children are taught that +"tenderness which is the charm of youth," another generation will see it +accomplished. + + C. C. MARBLE. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER. + + +If the children had had the naming of birds we venture to say that it +would have been more appropriately done, and "Blackburnian," as many +other names of Warblers, would have had no place in literature. There +are about seventy-five well known Warblers, nearly all with common +names indicating the most characteristic colors or habits, or partly +descriptive of the bird itself. The common names of this beautiful +Warbler are Orange-throated Warbler and Hemlock Warbler. Some one has +suggested that it should be called the Torch Bird, for "half a dozen +of them as they flash about in the pines, raising their wings and +jerking their tails, make the darkest shadows seem breaking into +little tongues of flame." + +The Orange-throat is only migratory in Illinois, passing through in +spring and fall, its summer home being chiefly if not wholly, to +the northward, while it passes the winter in Central America and +northern South America. It is found in New York and in portions of +Massachusetts, frequenting the coniferous forests, and building its +nest in bushes or small trees a few feet above the ground. Dr. C. Hart +Merriam found a pair of these birds nesting in a grove of large white +pines in Lewis County, New York. In the latter part of May the female +was observed building, and on the second of June the nest contained +four fresh eggs of the Warbler and one of the Cow bird. The nest was +saddled on the horizontal limb about eight feet from the ground and +about ten feet from the trunk. Nests have been found in pine trees in +Southern Michigan at an elevation of forty feet. In all cases the +nests are placed high in hemlocks or pines, which are the bird's +favorite resorts. From all accounts the nests of this species are +elegantly and compactly made, consisting of a densely woven mass of +spruce twigs, soft vegetable down, rootlets, and fine shreds of bark. +The lining is often intermixed with horse hairs and feathers. Four +eggs of greenish-white or very pale bluish-green, speckled or spotted, +have usually been found in the nests. + +The autumnal male Warblers resemble the female. They have two white +bands instead of one; the black stripes on the side are larger; under +parts yellowish; the throat yellowish, passing into purer yellow +behind. Few of our birds are more beautiful than the full plumaged +male of this lovely bird, whose glowing orange throat renders it a +conspicuous object among the budding and blossoming branches of the +hemlocks. Chapman says, coming in May, before the woods are fully +clad, he seems like some bright plumaged tropical bird who has lost +his way and wandered to northern climes. The summer is passed among +the higher branches in coniferous forests, and in the early fall the +bird returns to surroundings which seem more in keeping with its +attire. + +Mr. Minot describes the Blackburnian Warbler's summer song as +resembling the syllables _wee-see-wee-see_, while in the spring its +notes may be likened to _wee-see-wee-see, tsee, tsee, tsee_, repeated, +the latter syllables being on ascending scale, the very last shrill +and fine. + + + + +THE LOST MATE. + + + Shine! Shine! Shine! + Pour down your warmth, great Sun! + While we bask--we two together. + + Two together! + Winds blow south, or winds blow north, + Day come white, or night come black, + Home, or rivers and mountains from home, + Singing all time, minding no time, + If we two but keep together. + + Till of a sudden, + May be killed, unknown to her mate, + One forenoon the she-bird crouched not on the nest, + Nor returned that afternoon, nor the next, + Nor ever appeared again. + + And thence forward, all summer, in the sound of the sea, + And at night, under the full of moon, in calmer weather, + Over the hoarse surging of the sea, + Or flitting from briar to briar by day, + I saw, I heard at intervals, the remaining one. + + Blow! blow! blow! + Blow up, sea-winds, along Paumanok's shore! + I wait and I wait, till you blow my mate to me. + + --WALT WHITMAN. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + GOLDFINCH. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. + + +"Look, Mamma, look!" cried a little boy, as one day late in June my +mate and I alighted on a thistle already going to seed. "Such a lovely +bird! How jolly he looks, with that black velvet hat drawn over his +eyes!" + +"That's a Goldfinch," replied his mamma; "sometimes called the Jolly +Bird, the Thistle Bird, the Wild Canary, and the Yellow Bird. He +belongs to the family of Weed Warriors, and is very useful." + +"He sings like a Canary," said Bobbie. "Just hear him talking to that +little brown bird alongside of him." + +That was my mate, you see, who _is_ rather plain looking, so to please +him I sang my best song, "_Per-chic-o-ree, per-chic-o-ree_." + +"That sounds a great deal better," said Bobbie; "because it's not sung +by a little prisoner behind cage bars, I guess." + +"It certainly is wilder and more joyous," said his mamma. "He is very +happy just now, for he and his mate are preparing for housekeeping. +Later on, he will shed his lemon-yellow coat, and then you won't be +able to tell him from his mate and little ones." + +"How they are gobbling up that thistle-down," cried Bobbie. "Just +look!" + +"Yes," said his mamma, "the fluff carries the seed, like a sail to +which the seed is fastened. By eating the seed, which otherwise would +be carried by the wind all over the place, these birds do a great +amount of good. The down they will use to line their nests." + +"How I should like to peep into their nest," said Bobbie; "just to +peep, you know; not to rob it of its eggs, as boys do who are not well +brought up." + +My mate and I were so pleased at that, we flew off a little way, +chirping and chattering as we went. + +"Up and down, up and down," said Bobbie; "how prettily they fly." + +"Yes," said his mamma; "that is the way you can always tell a +Goldfinch when in the air. A dip and a jerk, singing as he flies." + +"What other seeds do they eat, mamma?" presently asked Bobbie. + +"The seeds of the dandelion, the sunflower, and wild grasses +generally. In the winter, when these are not to be had, the poor +little fellows have a very hard time. People with kind hearts, scatter +canary seed over their lawns to the merry birds for their summer +songs, and for keeping down the weeds." + + + + +THE GOLDFINCH. + + +According to one intelligent observer, the Finches are, in Nature's +economy, entrusted with the task of keeping the weeds in subjection, +and the gay and elegant little Goldfinch is probably one of the most +useful, for its food is found to consist, for the greater part, of +seeds most hurtful to the works of man. "The charlock that so often +chokes his cereal crops is partly kept in bounds by his vigilance, and +the dock, whose rank vegetation would, if allowed to cast all its +seeds, spread barrenness around, is also one of his store houses, and +the rank grasses, at their seeding time, are his chief support." +Another writer, whose study of this bird has been made with care, +calls our American Goldfinch one of the loveliest of birds. With his +elegant plumage, his rhythmical, undulatory flight, his beautiful +song, and his more beautiful soul, he ought to be one of the best +beloved, if not one of the most famous; but he has never yet had half +his deserts. He is like the Chickadee, and yet different. He is not so +extremely confiding, nor should I call him merry. But he is always +cheerful, in spite of his so-called plaintive note, from which he gets +one of his names, and always amiable. So far as I know, he never +utters a harsh sound; even the young ones asking for food, use only +smooth, musical tones. During the pairing season, his delight often +becomes rapturous. To see him then, hovering and singing,--or, better +still, to see the devoted pair hovering together, billing and +singing,--is enough to do even a cynic good. The happy lovers! They +have never read it in a book, but it is written on their hearts: + + "The gentle law that each should be + The other's heaven and harmony." + +In building his nest, the Goldfinch uses much ingenuity, lichens and +moss being woven so deeply into the walls that the whole surface is +quite smooth. Instead of choosing the forks of a bough, this Finch +likes to make its nest near the end of a horizontal branch, so that +it moves about and dances up and down as the branch is swayed by the +wind. It might be thought that the eggs would be shaken out by a +tolerably sharp breeze, and such would indeed be the case, were they +not kept in their place by the form of the nest. On examination, it +will be seen to have the edge thickened and slightly turned inward, so +that when the nest is tilted on one side by the swaying of the bough, +the eggs are still retained within. It is lined with vegetable down, +and on this soft bed repose five pretty eggs, white, tinged with blue, +and diversified with small grayish purple spots. + + * * * + +A curious story is told of a caged Goldfinch, which in pleasant +weather always hung in a window. One day, hearing strange bird voices, +the owner looked up from her seat and saw a Catbird trying to induce +the Finch to eat a worm it had brought for it. By dint of coaxing and +feeding the wild bird, she finally induced it to come often to the +window, and one day, as she sat on the porch, the Catbird brought a +berry and tried to put it into her mouth. We have often seen sparrows +come to the window of rooms where canaries were imprisoned, but it has +uniformly been to get food and not to administer it. The Catbird +certainly thus expressed its gratitude. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Eugene Bliss. + CHIMNEY SWIFT. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE CHIMNEY SWIFT. + + +Chief Pokagon, of the Pottawattamie Indians, in an article in _The +Osprey_, writes delightfully of the Chimney Swift, and we quote a +portion of it describing a peculiar habit of the bird. The chief was +a youth when he made the observation, and he writes in the second +person: + +"As you look, you see the head of the young chief is turning slowly +around, watching something high in air above the stream; you now begin +to look in the same direction, catching glimpses every now and then, +of the segment of a wild revolving ring of small unnumbered birds +circling high above the trees. Their twittering notes and whizzing +wings create a musical, but wild, continued roar. You now begin to +realize he is determined to understand all about the feathered bees, +as large as little birds, the village boy had seen. The circle +continues to decrease in size, but increases the revolution until +all the living, breathing ring swings over the stream in the field +of your vision, and you begin to enquire what means all this mighty +ingathering of such multitude of birds. The young chief in admiration +claps his hands, leaping towards the stream. The twittering, whizzing +roar continues to increase; the revolving circle fast assumes a funnel +shape, moving downward until the point reaches the hollow in the stub, +pouring its living mass therein until the last bird dropped out of +sight. Rejoicing in wonder and admiration, the youth walks round the +base of the stub, listening to the rumbling roar of fluttering wings +within. Night comes on, he wraps his blanket closer about him, and +lies down to rest until the coming day, that he may witness the +swarming multitudes pass out in early morning. But not until the hour +of midnight does he fall asleep, nor does he wake until the dawn of +day, when, rising to his feet, he looks upward to the skies. One by +one the stars disappear. The moon grows pale. He listens. Last night's +familiar roar rings in his ears. He now beholds swarming from out the +stub the living, breathing mass, forming in funnel shape, revolving +like a top, rising high in air, then sweeping outward into a wide +expanding ring, until the myriads of birds are scattered wide, like +leaves before the whirlwind." + +And then what do they do? Open the mouth of a swallow that has been +flying, and turn out the mass of small flies and other insects that +have been collected there. The number packed into its mouth is almost +incredible, for when relieved from the constant pressure to which it +is subjected, the black heap begins to swell and enlarge, until it +attains nearly double its former size. + +Chimney Swallow is the name usually applied to this Swift. The habit +of frequenting chimneys is a recent one, and the substitution of this +modern artificial home for hollow trees illustrates the readiness with +which it adapts itself to a change in surroundings. In perching, they +cling to the side of the chimney, using the spine-pointed tails for a +support. They are most active early in the morning and late in the +afternoon, when one may hear their rolling twitter as they course +about overhead. + +The question whether Chimney Swifts break off twigs for their nests +with their feet is now being discussed by ornithologists. Many curious +and interesting observations have been made, and the momentous +question will no doubt in time be placed beyond peradventure. + + + + +THE LARK. + + + Up with me! up with me into the clouds! + For thy song, Lark, is strong; + Up with me! Up with me into the clouds! + Singing, singing, + With clouds and sky about thee ringing. + Lift me, guide me till I find + That spot which seems so to thy mind. + + I have walked through wildernesses dreary, + And to-day my heart is weary; + Had I now the wings of a Fairy + Up to thee would I fly. + There is madness about thee, and joy divine + In that song of thine; + Lift me, guide me high and high + To thy banqueting place in the sky. + + --WORDSWORTH. + + +SHORE LARK. + + +If the variety of names by which this Lark is known is any indication +of its popularity, its friends must be indeed numerous. Snow Lark, +Snowbird, Prairie Lark, Sky Lark, American Sky Lark, Horned Lark, are +a few of them. There is only one American Species, so far as known. It +breeds in northeastern North America and Greenland, wintering in the +United States. It also inhabits northern portions of the old world. +The common name is derived from the tufts of black feathers over each +ear, which the birds have the power of erecting at will like the +so-called horns of some owls. + +In the Eastern States, during the winter months, flocks of Horned +Larks, varying in size from a dozen to those of a hundred or more, may +be seen frequenting open plains, old fields, dry shores of bays, and +the banks of rivers. According to Davie, as there are a number of +geographical varieties of the Horned Lark, the greatest uncertainty +has always attended their identification even by experts, and the +breeding and winter ranges of the various subspecies do not yet seem +to be clearly defined. + +Audubon found this species on the low, mossy and sheltered hills along +the dreary coast of Labrador. In the midst of the mosses and lichens +that covered the rocks the bird imbedded its nest, composed of fine +grasses, arranged in a circular form and lined with the feathers of +grouse and other birds. + +Chapman says these Larks take wing with a sharp, whistled note, and +seek fresh fields or, hesitating, finally swing about and return to +near the spot from which they were flushed. They are sometimes found +associated with Snowflakes. The pinkish grey coloring is very +beautiful, but in the Middle and Eastern States this bird is rarely +seen in his spring garb, says an observer, and his winter plumage +lacks the vivid contrasts and prime color. + +As a singer the Shore Lark is not to be despised, especially in his +nesting haunts. He has a habit of singing as he soars in the air, +after the manner of the European Skylark. + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + HORNED LARK. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + +THE YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. + + When the veins of the birch overflow in the spring, + Then I sharpen my bill and make the woods ring, + Till forth gushes--rewarding my tap, tap, tap! + The food of us Suckers--the rich, juicy sap. + + --C. C. M. + + +Many wild birds run up and down trees, and it seems to make little +difference which end up they are temporarily, skirmishing ever to the +right and left, whacking the bark with their bills, then quiet a brief +moment, and again skirmishing around the tree. Sometimes an apple +tree, says a recent writer, will have a perfect circle, not seldom +several rings or holes round the tree--holes as large as a buck shot. +The little skirmisher makes these holes, and the farmer calls it a +Sapsucker. And such it is. Dr. Coues, however, says it is not a bird, +handsome as it is, that you would care to have come in great numbers +to your garden or orchard, for he eats the sap that leaks out through +the holes he makes in the trees. When a great many holes have been +bored near together, the bark loosens and peels off, so that the tree +is likely to die. The Sapsucker also eats the soft inner bark which is +between the rough outside bark and the hard heart-wood of the tree, +which is very harmful. Nevertheless the bird does much good in +destroying insects which gather to feed on the oozing sap. It sweeps +them up in its tongue, which is not barbed, like that of other +woodpeckers, but has a little brush on the end of it. It lacks the +long, extensile tongue which enables the other species to probe the +winding galleries of wood-eating larvae. + +Mr. William Brewster states that throughout the White Mountains of New +Hampshire, and in most sections of Northern Maine, the Yellow-Bellied +Woodpeckers outnumber all the other species in the summer season. +Their favorite nesting sites are large dead birches, and a decided +preference is manifested for the vicinity of water, though some nests +occur in the interior of woods. The average height of the nesting hole +from the ground is about forty feet. Many of the nests are gourd-like +in shape, with the ends very smoothly and evenly chiseled, the average +depth being about fourteen inches. The labors of excavating the nest +and those of rearing the young are shared by both sexes. While this +Sapsucker is a winter resident in most portions of Illinois, and may +breed sparingly in the extreme northern portion, no record of it has +been found. + +A walk in one of our extensive parks is nearly always rewarded by the +sight of one or more of these interesting and attractive birds. They +are usually so industriously engaged that they seem to give little +attention to your presence, and hunt away, tapping the bole of the +tree, until called elsewhere by some more promising field of +operations. Before taking flight from one tree to another, they stop +the insect search and gaze inquisitively toward their destination. If +two of them meet, there is often a sudden stopping in the air, a +twisting upward and downward, followed by a lively chase across the +open to the top of a dead tree, and then a sly peeping round or over a +limb, after the manner of all Woodpeckers. A rapid drumming with the +bill on the tree, branch or trunk, it is said, serves for a love-song, +and it has a screaming call note. + + + + +THE WARBLING VIREO. + + +The Vireos are a family of singers and are more often heard than seen, +but the Warbler has a much more musical voice, and of greater compass +than any other member of the family. The song ripples like a brook, +floating down from the leafiest tree-tops. It is not much to look at, +being quite plainly dressed in contrast with the red-eyed cousin, the +largest of the Vireos. In nesting time it prefers seclusion, though in +the spring and mid-summer, when the little ones have flown, and +nesting cares have ceased, it frequents the garden, singing in the +elms and birches, and other tall trees. It rambles as well through the +foliage of trees in open woodland, in parks, and in those along the +banks of streams, where it diligently searches the under side of +leaves and branches for insect life, "in that near-sighted way +peculiar to the tribe." It is a very stoic among birds, and seems +never surprised at anything, "even at the loud report of a gun, with +the shot rattling about it in the branches, and, if uninjured, it will +stand for a moment unconcerned, or move along, peering on every side +amongst the foliage, warbling its tender, liquid strains." + +The nest of this species is like that of the Red-eyed Vireo--a +strong, durable, basket-like fabric, made of bark strips, lined with +fine grasses. It is suspended by the brim in slender, horizontal forks +of branches, at a great height from the ground. + +The Vireo is especially numerous among the elms of Boston Common, +where at almost any hour of the day, from early in the month of May, +until long after summer has gone, may be heard the prolonged notes of +the Warbling species, which was an especial favorite of Dr. Thomas M. +Brewer, author of "History of North American Birds." Its voice is +not powerful, but its melody, it is said, is flute-like and tender, +and its song is perhaps characterized more by its air of happy +contentment, than by any other special quality. No writer on birds has +grown enthusiastic on the subject, and Bradford Torrey alone among +them does it scant justice, when he says this Vireo "is admirably +named; there is no one of our birds that can more properly be said to +warble. He keeps further from the ground than the others, and shows a +strong preference for the elms of village streets, out of which his +delicious music drops upon the ears of all passers underneath. How +many of them hear it and thank the singer, is unhappily another +question." + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + WARBLING VIREO. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + +THE SAPSUCKER. + + +My Dear Young Friends: + +During the long summer days, when you were enjoying golden vacation +hours, I often took a peep at you from some dead tree limb or the side +of a hemlock or beech. You saw me, perhaps, and were surprised at my +courage; for other small birds whose voices you heard, but whose tiny +bodies escaped your young eyes, appeared very timid in comparison. + +But I am not so brave, after all, and know full well when my red hat +is in danger. I am a good flyer, too, and can soon put a wide space +between myself and certain wicked boys, who, I hope, by next vacation +time will have learned so much about us that they will love every +little feathered creature, and not seek to do them any harm. + +Can you guess why I have such a queer name? I really ought to be +popular in Illinois, for they tell me it is called the Sucker State, +and that the people are proud of it. Well, I am called Sapsucker +because much, if not most, of my food consists of the secret juices +which flow through the entire body of the tree which you probably saw +me running up and down and around. But you saw me, you say, very +often on dead branches of trees, and surely they had no sap in them? +No, but if you will look closely into my actions, you will see that I +destroy many insects which drill their way into the wood and deposit +their eggs. In my opinion, I do far more good than harm, though you +will find some people who think otherwise. + +Then, again, if there is utility in beauty, surely I am a benefit to +every one. One day I heard a lady say that she never saw my head pop +up from behind an old stump without bursting into laughter, I looked +so funny. Now I took that as a compliment; for to give pleasure to +those around us, I have heard, is one of our highest duties. + +Next summer when you seek the pleasant places where I dwell,--in the +old deadening where the trees wear girdles around them; in the open +groves, where I flit from tree to tree; in the deep wooded districts, +whence one hears the tinkling ripple of running waters, you may, if +good and gentle, see pop up behind a stump the red hat of + + SAPSUCKER. + + + + +THE WOOD PEWEE. + + + The listening Dryads hushed the woods; + The boughs were thick, and thin and few + The golden ribbons fluttering through; + Their sun-embroidered leafy hoods + The lindens lifted to the blue; + Only a little forest-brook + The farthest hem of silence shook; + When in the hollow shades I heard-- + Was it a spirit or a bird? + Or, strayed from Eden, desolate, + Some Peri calling to her mate, + Whom nevermore her mate would cheer? + "Pe-ri! Pe-ri! Peer!" + + * * * + + To trace it in its green retreat + I sought among the boughs in vain; + And followed still the wandering strain + So melancholy and so sweet, + The dim-eyed violets yearned with pain. + + * * * + + Long drawn and clear its closes were-- + As if the hand of Music through + The sombre robe of Silence drew + A thread of golden gossamer; + So pure a flute the fairy blue. + Like beggared princes of the wood, + In silver rags the birches stood; + The hemlocks, lordly counselors, + Were dumb; the sturdy servitors, + In beechen jackets patched and gray, + Seemed waiting spellbound all the day + That low, entrancing note to hear-- + "Pe-wee! Pe-wee! Peer!" + + * * * + + "Dear bird," I said, "what is thy name?" + And thrice the mournful answer came, + So faint and far, and yet so near, + "Pe-wee! Pe-wee! Peer!" + --J. T. TROWBRIDGE. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + WOOD PEWEE. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE WOOD PEWEE. + + +I am called the Wood Pewee, but I don't always stay in the woods. If +you have an orchard or a nice garden, you will hear me singing there +in June. + +People think I am not a happy bird, because my song seems so sad. They +are very much mistaken. I am just as happy as any other little fellow +dressed in feathers, and can flirt and flutter with the best of them. + +_Pewee! Pewee! Peer!_ + +That is my song, and my mate thinks it is beautiful. She is never far +away, and always comes at my call. + +Always, did I say? + +No; one day, when we were busy building our nest--which is very +pretty, almost as dainty as that of our neighbor the Humming Bird--she +flew away to quite a distance to find some soft lining-stuff on which +to lay her eggs. I had been fetching and carrying all day the lichens +to put round the nest, which was hidden among the thick leaves on the +bough of a tree, and was resting by the side of it. + +_Pewee! Pewee! Peer!_ + +"She will hear that," thought I, and again I sang it as loud as I +could. + +"I'll bring that fellow down, too," said a boy, who surely had never +heard anything about our happy, innocent lives, and as I peered down +at him, he flung a large stone, which struck the bough on which I sat. +Oh, how frightened I was, and how quickly I flew away! + +"He has killed my little mate," I thought. Still, I called in my +plaintive way, _Pewee! Pewee! Peer!_ + +A faint, low cry led me to the foot of a large tree, and there on the +ground lay my mate, struggling to rise and fly to me. + +"I think my wing is broken," she sobbed. "Oh, that wicked, wicked +boy!" + +I petted her with my broad, flat beak, and after a while she was able +to fly with me to our nest; but it was days and days before she was +out of pain. I am sure if that boy sees my story in BIRDS, he will +never give such an innocent _little_ creature misery again. + +I dress plainly, in a coat of olive and brown, and they _do_ say my +manners are stiff and abrupt. + +But my voice is very sweet, and there is something about it which +makes people say: "Dear little bird, sad little bird! what may your +name be?" + +Then I answer: + +_Pewee! Pewee! Peer!_ + + + + +THE WOOD PEWEE. + + +Although one of the most abundant species, common all over the United +States, the retiring habits, plainness of dress, and quiet manners of +this little bird have caused it to be comparatively little known. Dr. +Brewer says that if noticed at all, it is generally confounded with +the common Pewee, or Phoebe bird, though a little observation is +sufficient to show how very distinct they are. The Wood Pewee will sit +almost motionless for many minutes in an erect position, on some dead +twig or other prominent perch, patiently watching for its insect prey. +While its position is apparently so fixed, however, its eyes are +constantly on the alert, and close watching will show that the bird +now and then turns its head as its glance follows the course of some +distant insect, while anon the feathers of the crown are raised, so as +to form a sort of blunt pyramidal crest. This sentinel-like attitude +of the Wood Pewee is in marked contrast to the restless motion of the +Phoebe, who, even if perched, keeps its tail constantly in motion, +while the bird itself seldom remains long in a fixed position. The +notes of the two species (see August BIRDS) are as different as their +habits, those of the Wood Pewee being peculiarly plaintive--a sort of +wailing _pe-e-e-e-i, wee_, the first syllable emphasized and long +drawn out, and the tone, a clear, plaintive, wiry whistle, strikingly +different from the cheerful, emphatic notes of the true Pewee. + +The Wood Pewee, like all of its family, is an expert catcher of +insects, even the most minute, and has a remarkably quick perception +of their near presence, even when the light of day has nearly gone +and in the deep gloom of the thick woods. Dr. Brewer describes it as +taking its station at the end of a low dead limb, from which it darts +out in quest of insects, sometimes for a single individual, which it +seizes with a sharp snap of its bill; and, frequently meeting insect +after insect, it keeps up a constant snapping sound as it passes on, +and finally returns to its post to resume its watch. While watching it +occasionally twitters, with a quivering movement of the head and tail, +uttering a feeble call-note, sounding like _pee-e_. + +The nest of the Wood Pewee, which is always "saddled" and securely +attached to a rather stout branch, usually lichen-covered, is said +to be one of the most elegant examples of bird architecture. From +beneath it so much resembles a natural portion of the limb, but +for its betrayal by the owner, it would seldom be discovered. It is +saucer-shaped, with thick walls, and the whole exterior is a beautiful +"mosaic" of green, gray, and glaucous lichen. The eggs are a rich +delicate cream color, ornamented by a "wreath" round the larger end of +madder-brown, purple, and lilac spots. + +The Wood Pewee has many admirers, a more interesting creature to watch +while feeding being hard to imagine. Often you will find him in the +parks. Sitting in some quiet, shady spot, if you wait, he will soon +show himself as he darts from the fence post not far away, to return +to it time after time with, possibly, the very insect that has been +buzzing about your face and made you miserable. His movements are so +quick that even the fly cannot elude him. + +And to some he is pleasant as a companion. One who loves birds once +saw this Flycatcher flying in a circle and repeating breathlessly his +emphatic _chebec_. "He sang on the wing, and I have never heard notes +which seemed more expressive of happiness." + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + SNOW BUNTING. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE SNOWFLAKE. + + +Bobbie didn't want to go to school that morning, and he looked very +cheerfully out upon the cloudy sky and falling flakes of snow, +pretending to shiver a little when the angry gusts of wind blew the +snow sharply into people's faces. + +"I guess it's better for little boys like me to stay at home in such +weather as this, mamma," said he, all the while hoping the snow would +soon be deep enough for him to ride down the hill on his sled. + +Before his mamma could reply Bobbie gave a cry of delight which drew +her at once to the window. + +As from the snow clouds, on bold and rapid wing, came whirling down an +immense flock of birds, white, streaked with gray and brown, chirping, +calling to one another, the whole flock settling upon the open places +in a field in front of Bobbie's house. + +"Oh, the dear little things," said Bobbie, "they looked like little +white angels dropping out of the clouds." + +"Those are our winter neighbors," said his mamma, "the Snow Buntings +or Snowflakes--they visit us only in winter, their summer homes being +away up North near the Arctic Circle in the region of perpetual +snow." + +"Do they build their nests in trees?" asked Bobbie, who never tired +hearing about the birds. + +"There are no trees in that bleak region, only scrubby bushes," was +the answer. "They build a thick, deep grassy nest, well lined with +rabbit fur, or Snow Owl feathers, which they tuck under a ledge of +rock or bunch of grass." + +"They chirrup just like sparrows," reflected Bobbie, "can they sing?" + +"They only sing when up in their Northern home. There a male Snowflake +will sing as merrily as his cousin the Goldfinch." + +"They look like Sparrows, too," said Bobbie, "only whiter and softer, +I think." + +"In the summer they are nearly all white, the brown edges having +worn away, leaving them pure black and white. They are very shy and +suspicious, and at the least sound you will see them all whirl aloft +braving the blasts of winter like little heroes." + +"Well," said Bobbie, after a while, "if those little soft white birds +can go about in such weather, I guess I can too," and in a few minutes +with high rubber boots, and a fur cap drawn over his ears, off trudged +Bobbie like another little hero to school. + + + + +THE SNOWFLAKE. + + +This charming bird comes to us at a time when his presence may be +truly welcomed and appreciated, nearly all our summer companions of +the feathered tribe having departed. He might not inappropriately be +named the great Snowflake, though in winter he wears a warm brown +cloak, with black stripes, brown collar, and a brown and white vest. +In summer, however, he is snow white, with black on the back, wings, +and tail. He lives all over northern North America, and in the United +States as far south as Georgia. + +About the first of November, flocks of Snowflakes may be seen +arriving, the males chanting a very low and somewhat broken, but +very pleasant song. Some call him White Snowbird, and Snow Bunting, +according to locality. The birds breed throughout the Arctic regions +of both continents, the National Museum at Washington possessing nests +from the most northern points of Alaska, (Point Barrow), and from +Labrador, as well as from various intermediate localities. + +These birds are famous seed eaters, and are rarely found in trees. +They should be looked for on the ground, in the air, for they are +constantly seeking new feeding grounds, in the barn-yard, or about the +hay stack, where seeds are plentiful. They also nest on the ground, +building a deep, grassy nest, lined with rabbit fur or feathers, under +a projecting ledge of rock or thick bunch of grass. It seems curious +that few persons readily distinguish them from their sparrow cousins, +as they have much more white about them than any other color. Last +November multitudes of them invaded Washington Park, settling on the +ground to feed, and flying up and scurrying away to successive +pastures of promise. With their soft musical voices and gentle +manners, they were a pleasing feature of the late Autumn landscape. +"Chill November's surly blast" making "field and forest bare," had no +terrors for them, but rather spread before them a feast of scattered +seeds, winnowed by it from nature's ripened abundance. + +The Snowflakes disappear with the melting of their namesake, the +snow. They are especially numerous in snowy seasons, when flocks of +sometimes a thousand are seen in the old fields and meadows. It is +unusual, though it has been known to breed in the Northern States. In +July, 1831, Audubon found it nesting in the White Mountains, and Dr. +J. A. Allen notes a pair as breeding near Springfield, Mass. The +Arctic regions are its nesting place however, and these birds were +probably belated on their return migration. The Snowflake and +Shorelark are so much alike in habits, that the two species +occasionally associate. Ernest E. Thompson says: "Apparently the +Snowflakes get but little to eat, but in reality they always find +enough to keep them in health and spirits, and are as fat as butter +balls. In the mid-winter, in the far north, when the thermometer +showed thirty degrees below zero, and the chill blizzard was blowing +on the plains, I have seen this brave little bird gleefully chasing +his fellows, and pouring out, as he flew, his sweet voluble song with +as much spirit as ever Skylark has in the sunniest days of June." + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + JUNCO. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE SLATE-COLORED JUNCO. + + +Black snowbird, in most of the United States and in Ontario, where it +is a common resident, and White Bill, are names more often applied to +this species of Sparrow than the one of Junco, by which it is known to +ornithologists. It nests in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania, +New York, and New England, and is a resident throughout the year in +northeastern Ohio, and in Michigan. In all probability, the Snowbird +does not breed, even occasionally, anywhere within the limits of the +state of Illinois, though individuals may in very rare instances be +found several weeks after others have departed for the north, these +having probably received some injury which prevents their migration. +Prof. Forbes refers to such an instance, which came under his own +observation. He saw on a tree in the edge of a wood, in the southern +part of the state, an adult specimen of the Junco, and only one, +which, he says, astonished him. + +Mr. William L. Kells states that in Ontario this Junco selects a +variety of places for nesting sites, such as the upturned roots of +trees, crevices in banks, under the sides of logs and stumps, a cavity +under broken sod, or in the shelter of grass or other vegetation. The +nest is made of dry grasses, warmly and smoothly lined with hair. The +bird generally begins to nest the first week of May, and nests with +eggs are found as late as August. A nest of the Junco was found on the +rafters of a barn in Connecticut. + +Almost any time after the first of October, little excursion parties +of Juncos may be looked for, and the custom continues all winter long. +When you become acquainted with him, as you surely will, during his +visit, you will like him more and more for his cheerful habits. He +will come to your back door, and present his little food petition, +very merrily indeed. He is very friendly with the Chick-a-dee, and +they are often seen together about in the barn-yards, and he even +ventures within the barn when seeds are frozen to the ground. + +"The Doctor," in _Citizen Bird_, tells this pretty story of his winter +pets: + +"My flock of Juncos were determined to brave all weathers. First they +ate the seeds of all the weeds and tall grasses that reached above +the snow, then they cleaned the honeysuckles of their watery black +berries. When these were nearly gone, I began to feed them every day +with crumbs, and they soon grew very tame. At Christmas an ice storm +came, and after that the cold was bitter indeed. For two days I did +not see my birds; but on the third day, in the afternoon, when I was +feeding the hens in the barn-yard, a party of feeble, half-starved +Juncos, hardly able to fly, settled down around me and began to pick +at the chicken food. I knew at a glance that after a few hours more +exposure all the poor little birds would be dead. So I shut up the +hens and opened the door of the straw-barn very wide, scattered a +quantity of meal and cracked corn in a line on the floor, and crept +behind the door to watch. First one bird hopped in and tasted the +food; he found it very good and evidently called his brothers, for in +a minute they all went in and I closed the door upon them. And I slept +better that night, because I knew that my birds were comfortable. The +next afternoon they came back again. I kept them at night in this way +for several weeks, and one afternoon several Snowflakes came in with +them." (See page 150.) + + + + +THE KINGBIRD. + + +It is somewhat strange that there should be little unity of opinion +concerning a bird as well known as is this charming fellow, who has +at least one quality which we all admire--courage. We will quote a +few of the opinions of well-known observers as to whether his other +characteristics are admirable, and let the reader form his own +conclusion. + +John Burroughs says of him: "The exquisite of the family, and the +braggart of the orchard, is the Kingbird, a bully that loves to strip +the feathers off its more timid neighbors like the Bluebird, that +feeds on the stingless bees of the hive, the drones, and earns the +reputation of great boldness by teasing large hawks, while it gives a +wide berth to the little ones." Decidedly, this classifies him with +the English Sparrow. But we will hear Dr. Brewer: "The name, Kingbird, +is given it on the supposition that it is superior to all other birds +in the reckless courage with which it will maintain an unequal +warfare. My own observations lead me to the conclusion that writers +have somewhat exaggerated the quarrelsome disposition of this bird. I +have never, or very rarely, known it to molest or attack any other +birds than those which its own instinct prompts it to drive away in +self-defense, such as Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Crows, Jays, Cuckoos, and +Grackles." That Dr. Coues is a friend of the Kingbird, his language +amply proves: "The Kingbird is not quarrelsome--simply very lively. +He is the very picture of dash and daring in defending his home, +and when he is teaching his youngsters how to fly. He is one of +the best of neighbors, and a brave soldier. An officer of the guild +of Sky Sweepers, also a Ground Gleaner and Tree Trapper killing +robber-flies, ants, beetles, and rose-bugs. A good friend to horses +and cattle, because he kills the terrible gadflies. Eats a little +fruit, but chiefly wild varieties, and only now and then a bee." If +you now have any difficulty in making up your verdict, we will present +the testimony of one other witness, who is, we think, an original +observer, as well as a delightful writer, Bradford Torrey. He was in +the country. "Almost, I could have believed myself in Eden," he says. +"But, alas, even the birds themselves were long since shut out of that +garden of innocence, and as I started back toward the village a Crow +went hurrying past me, with a Kingbird in hot pursuit. The latter was +more fortunate than usual, or more plucky, actually alighting on the +Crow's back, and riding for some distance. I could not distinguish his +motions--he was too far away for that--but I wished him joy of his +victory, and grace to improve it to the full. For it is scandalous +that a bird of the Crow's cloth should be a thief; and so, although I +reckon him among my friends--in truth, _because_ I do so--I am always +able to take it patiently when I see him chastised for his fault." + +The Kingbird is a common bird in Eastern United States, but is rare +west of the Rocky Mountains. It is perhaps better known by the name of +Beebird or Bee-martin. The nest is placed in an orchard or garden, or +by the roadside, on a horizontal bough or in the fork at a moderate +height; sometimes in the top of the tallest trees along streams. It is +bulky, ragged, and loose, but well capped and brimmed, consisting of +twigs, grasses, rootlets, bits of vegetable down, and wool firmly +matted together, and lined with feathers, hair, etc. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + KING BIRD. + Copyrighted by Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE KINGBIRD. + + +You think, my young friends, because I am called Kingbird I should be +large and fine looking. + +Well, when you come to read about Kings in your history-book you will +find that size has nothing to do with Kingliness. I have heard, +indeed, that some of them were very puny little fellows, in mind as +well as in body. + +If it is courage that makes a king then I have the right to be called +Kingbird. They say I have a reckless sort of courage, because I attack +birds a great deal larger than myself. + +I would not call it courage to attack anything smaller than myself, +would you? A big man finds it easy to shoot a little bird in the air; +and a big boy does not need to be brave to kill or cripple some poor +little animal that crosses his path. He only needs to be a coward to +do that! + +I only attack my enemies,--the Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Crows, Jays, and +Cuckoos. They would destroy my young family if I did not drive them +away. Mr. Crow especially is a great thief. When my mate is on her +nest I keep a sharp lookout, and when one of my enemies approaches I +give a shrill cry, rise in the air, and down I pounce on his back; I +do this more than once, and how I make the feathers fly! + +The little hawks and crows I never attack, and yet they call me a +bully. Sometimes I do go for a Song-bird or a Robin, but only when +they come too near my nest. People wonder why I never attack the +cunning Catbird. I'll never tell them, you may be sure! + +To what family do I belong? To a large family called Flycatchers. +Because some Kings are tyrants I suppose, they call me the Tyrant +Flycatcher. Look for me next summer on top of a wire fence or dead +twig of a tree, and watch me, every few minutes, dash into the air, +seize a passing insect, and then fly back to the same perch again. + +Any other names? Yes, some folks call me the Bee Bird or Bee Martin. +Once in awhile I change my diet and do snap up a bee! but it is always +a drone, not a honey-bee. Some ill-natured people say I choose the +drones because they can't sting, and not because they are tramp bees +and will not work. + +Sing? Yes, when my mate is on her nest I please her with a soft pretty +song, at other times my call-note is a piercing Kyrie-K-y-rie! I live +with you only in the summer. When September comes I fly away to a +warmer climate. + + + + +SUMMARY + + +Page 123. + +#BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER.#--_Dendroica blackburniae._ + +RANGE--Eastern North America; breeds from northern Minnesota and +southern Maine northward to Labrador and southward along the +Alleghenies to South Carolina; winters in the tropics. + +NEST--Of fine twigs and grasses, lined with grasses and tendrils, in +coniferous trees, ten to forty feet up. + +EGGS--Four, grayish white or bluish white, distinctly and obscurely +spotted, speckled, and blotched with cinnamon brown or olive brown. + + * * * * * + +Page 128. + +#AMERICAN GOLDFINCH.#--_Spinus tristis._ Other names: "Yellow-bird," +"Thistle-bird." + +RANGE--Eastern North America; breeds from South Carolina to southern +Labrador; winters from the northern United States to the Gulf. + +NEST--Externally, of fine grasses, strips of bark and moss, thickly +lined with thistle down; in trees or bushes, five to thirty feet up. + +EGGS--Three to six, pale bluish white. + + * * * * * + +Page 131. + +#CHIMNEY SWIFT.#--_Chaetura pelagica._ Other name: "Chimney Swallow." + +RANGE--Eastern North America; breeds from Florida to Labrador; winters +in Central America. + +NEST--A bracket-like basket of dead twigs glued together with saliva, +attached to the wall of a chimney, generally about ten feet from the +top, by the gummy secretions of the bird's salivary glands. + +EGGS--Four to six, white. + + * * * * * + +Page 135. + +#HORNED LARK.#--_Otocoris alpestris._ Other name: "Shore Lark." + +RANGE--Breeds in northern Europe, Greenland, Newfoundland, Labrador, +and Hudson Bay region; southward in winter into eastern United States +to about latitude 35 deg.. + +NEST--Of grasses, on the ground. + +EGGS--Three or four, pale bluish or greenish white, minutely and +evenly speckled with pale grayish brown. + + * * * * * + +Page 140. + +#SAPSUCKER, YELLOW-BELLIED.#--_Sphyrapicus varius._ + +RANGE--Eastern North America; breeds from Massachusetts northward, and +winters from Virginia to Central America. + +NEST--About forty feet from the ground. + +EGGS--Five to seven. + + * * * * * + +Page 141. + +#WARBLING VIREO.#--_Vireo gilvus._ Other name: "Yellow-throated Vireo." + +RANGE--North America; breeds as far north as the Hudson Bay region; +winters in the tropics. + +NEST--Pensile, of grasses and plant fibres, firmly and smoothly +interwoven, lined with fine grasses, suspended from a forked branch +eight to forty feet up. + +EGGS--Three or four, white, with a few specks or spots of black umber, +or rufous-brown, chiefly about the larger end. + + * * * * * + +Page 146. + +#WOOD PEWEE.#--_Contopus Virens._ + +RANGE--Eastern North America; breeds from Florida to Newfoundland; +winters in Central America. + +NEST--Compact and symmetrical, of fine grasses, rootlets and moss, +thickly covered with lichens, saddled on a limb, twenty to forty feet +up. + +EGGS--Three or four, white, with a wreath of distinct and obscure +markings about the larger end. + + * * * * * + +Page 150. + +#SNOWFLAKE.#--_Plectrophenax nivalis._ Other name: "Snow Bunting." + +RANGE--Northern parts of northern hemisphere, breeding in the arctic +regions; in North America, south in Winter into the northern United +States, irregularly to Georgia, southern Illinois, and Kansas. + +NEST--Of grasses, rootlets, and moss, lined with finer grasses and +feathers, on the ground. + +EGGS--Four to seven, pale bluish white, thinly marked with umber or +heavily spotted or washed with rufous-brown. + + * * * * * + +Page 153. + +#JUNCO#--_Junco hyemalis._ Other name: "Snowbird." + +RANGE--North America; breeds from northern Minnesota to northern New +York and southward along the summits of the Alleghenies to Virginia; +winters southward to the Gulf States. + +NEST--Of grasses, moss, and rootlets, lined with fine grasses and long +hairs, on or near the ground. + +EGGS--Four or five, white or bluish white, finely or evenly speckled +or spotted, sometimes heavily blotched at the larger end with +rufous-brown. + + * * * * * + +Page 158. + +#KINGBIRD.#--_Tyrannus tyrannus._ + +RANGE--North America north to New Brunswick and Manitoba; rare west of +the Rocky Mountains; winters in Central and South America. + +NEST--Compact and symmetrical, of weed-stocks, grasses, and moss, +lined with plant down, fine grasses, and rootlets, generally at the +end of a branch fifteen to twenty-five feet from the ground. + +EGGS--Three to five, white, spotted with umber. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds Illustrated by Colour +Photography, Vol II. 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