| BIRDS: OF VILIAAG: ANDFIELD ~ a A-BIRD-BOOK:FOR-BEGINNERS | QL 6§ | Bid. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY RETURN TO ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. DATE DUE GAYLORD PRINIEDINU.S.A. Books bp Florence A. sHlerviam, BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. In Riverside Library for Young People. Illustra- ted. 16mo, 75 cents. MY SUMMERIN AMORMON VILLAGE. With © an Illustration. s6mo, $1.00. A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. Illustrated. 16mo0, $1.25. BIRDS OF VILLAGE AND FIELD. A Bird Book for Beginners, Fully illustrated. 12mo, $2.00. HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. Boston AND New York. Puate I. — GOLDFINCH (Page 145) BIRDS OF VILLAGE AND FIELD A Bird Wook for Weginners BY FLORENCE A. MERRIAM ILLUSTRATED BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY Che Riverside press, Cambridge 1900 POE YFG by oe Copyright, 1898, By FLORENCE A. MERRIAM. All rights reserved. PREFATORY NOTE In this day of outdoor and nature interest, we are coming to realize that to the birds as well as the flowers we owe much of the beauty and charm of country life; and if it could be accomplished within the narrow margins of our busy lives, we would gladly know more of the songsters. Their prevalence, though often unsuspected, helps render this possible; for they are to be found in villages and cities as well as in the fields. In a shrubby back yard in Chicago, close to one of the main thoroughfares, Mrs. Sara Hubbard has seen fifty-seven species in a year, and her re- cord for ten years was a hundred species. In an orchard in Brattleboro’, Vermont, Mrs. E. B. Davenport has noted seventy-nine species in a year. And within the limits of Portland, Con- necticut, Mr. John H. Sage has known ninety- nine kinds of birds to nest (see Appendix, p. 388). In the larger cities, cemeteries and parks offer rare opportunities for bird study. Dr. W. C. Braislin gives a list of seventy-six species for Iv PREFATORY NOTE Prospect Park, Brooklyn ; while Mr. H. E. Park- hurst has himself seen ninety-four species in Central Park, and as many as a hundred and forty-two have been recorded altogether. The question, then, is not one of finding birds, but of knowing their names when they are found ; and here the way of the beginner is hard. Years of experience with field classes of such beginners has made me appreciate the peculiar disadvan- tages under which they labor, and I have written this book to make it possible for them to know the birds without shooting them. I have done this by borrowing only necessary statistics from the ornithologies, giving untechnical descriptions, and illustrated keys based on such colors and markings as any one can note in the field; for I have written for those who do not know a Crow or a Robin as well as for boys who would get a start in bird-work, and teachers who would pre- pare themselves for this increasingly popular branch of nature study. To open the way for more intimate acquaint- ance after the formalities of introduction are over, I have offered suggestions on how to observe in the field (see Appendix, p. 380), hoping that the friendship thus acquired by seeing the songsters PREFATORY NOTE v in their homes may urge the student to go on and gain for himself the delights of a deeper study of birds. In the preparation of the Keys for this book, I have been largely helped by my brother, Dr. C. Hart Merriam; and at other points have been kindly assisted by Miss Isabel Eaton, Mrs. G. C. Maynard, Mr. Robert Ridgway, Mr. Frank M. Chapman, Mr. John H. Sage, Dr. A. K. Fisher, Dr. T. S. Palmer, Prof. F. E. L. Beal, and Mr. Sylvester Judd. The ranges given are from Chapman’s Handbook, with additional. notes by Dr. A. K. Fisher; the measurements are taken from the Handbook, but are given in round num- bers of quarter inches. Of the migration and winter bird lists (see Appendix, pp. 869-879), the Washington ones have been kindly made by Mr. William Palmer ; the St. Louis migration list has been compiled from notes by Mr. Otto Wid- mann in the files of the Biological Survey; and the Portland lists, together with that of birds known to nest in Portland, have been kindly supplied by Mr. John H. Sage. ‘The pictures of birds are from drawings by Ernest Seton Thompson, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, and John L. Ridgway. For the use of drawings vi PREFATORY NOTE of birds, insects, and plants which have previously appeared in the publications of the Department of Agriculture and the National Museum, I am indebted to the courtesy of Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Division of Entomology; Mr. F. V. Coville, Chief of the Division of Botany ; and Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture; and to Mr. F. A. Lucas, Curator of Comparative Anatomy in the National Museum. For the use of cuts previously published in the ‘Auk,’ the ‘Os- prey,’ and a report of the Illinois State Labora- tory of Natural History, I am indebted to the courtesy of Dr. J. A. Allen, Mr. Walter A. John- son, and Prof. S. A. Forbes. Fiorence A. MERRIAM. Wasuineton, D. C., June 1, 1897. ‘ CONTENTS Pace IntRopucrTion. How to find a Bird’s Name . ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ . xiii Where to find Birds , ‘ é ‘ oe 4 xiv How to watch Birds . * xv How Birds affect Village Trees, Gidend, si on xv How to keep "Birds about our Houses. xxiv General Key to Birds mentioned in Book (Ginstieted) aie HomMiInGBIRD . z : : ; é ' z 1 CaTBIRD . . A ‘ F ‘ : : a 3 6 AMERICAN CROW 5 : A ‘ . ‘i ‘ - iA Fish Crow . F a ‘ 4 , , r ‘ 16 Rosin x ‘i i é 5 : Fs ‘ ‘ . Woop Turvusx ’ . 3 i, ‘ é ‘ 5 A 22 Camyey Swirr j - é : ‘ _ 7 ~ 28 Mournine Dove . ‘ % : ‘ 3 : 29 Grounp Dove . . ° ; ‘ . , . . 81 RurrepD GROUSE . : , i ; i - 82 Bop-wHItE 2 ‘ 3 ‘ $ . . 37 Key to Grouse and Quail - ¥ ° * a ¥ 40 BLuEBIRp . : 3 ‘ : o «4 o> te (gal House Wren i ‘ ‘ , : : ; 44 Puree Marrin ci ‘ . ‘ is ‘ F . 4 Barn SwaLtow . . ‘ . * “ : 49 Eave SwaLlow é é ‘ a * . r . 52 Bank SwaLLtow ‘ e ‘ j r 7 : 54 BaLtTImoRE Quran f : : : F ‘ : . 56 OrcHARD ORIOLE . 3 : ‘ ‘ : 3 % 61 MockIncBIRD . 3 3 x . 4 ‘ : . 63 CARDINAL é ‘ x ‘ é ‘ ‘ 3 ‘i 65 CHICKADEE : i , ‘ ri i ‘ j . 67 CAROLINA CHICKADEE . ‘i . : 5 ‘ . 71 W8ITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH . ‘ P j . 7 viii CONTENTS Rep-Breastep NuTHaTcH PassENGER PIGEON . 5 é 5 Key to Pigeons and Doves . Least FLycarcuer . KincsBirp Paa@se Woop PEwrEE Crow BiackBirD Rep-winceD BuackBIRD CowBiIRD Rusty BuackBirp Bopouink . MEADOWLARK ‘ Key to Blackbirds and ‘Orioles Currring SPARROW Sone SpaRRow . VESPER SPARROW . RED-EYED VIREO WaRrpBuLine VIREO. FLIcKER RED-HEADED Wooutnaien Hairy WoopPEcKER Downy WoopDPECKER . Waxwine . GoLDFINCH Purpye Fince . Inpico Bunrine Turrep TIrMousE ‘ Key to Nuthatches and Tits Buus Jay . BrELtepD inane, YELLOW-BILLED Cuckoo . BuackK-BILLED Cuckoo . Key to Cuckoos and Kingfishers Rosk-BREASTED GROSBEAK . ScaRLet TANAGER . SummMER TANAGER : ° : Key to Tanagers é 5 é WHITE-THROATED Seamwpy é 101 103 106 111 113 116 119 120 126 127 131 135 187 141 145 148 149 151 152 154 157 160 163 165 166 170 173 174 174 CONTENTS WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. : 5 5 P : Brown THRASHER CHEWINK Fiery Sparrow WHIp-POOR-WILL NIGHTHAWK . 5 ‘ zg ‘ a Key to Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds, Swifts WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW RouGH-wInceD SWALLow Key to Swallows . Winter WREnN . CaRoLINA WREN . Bewick’s WREN Lonc-BILLED Marso WREN Key to Thrashers and Wrens YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER . RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER . RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER . PinEaTED WOODPECKER . Key to Woodpeckers . i Canapa JAY. . a ‘ ‘ ‘ a Key to Crows and Jays a ci 7 ‘ Junco. ‘ ‘ ‘ A . x : i ‘ 7% SNOWFLAKE . r ri x ‘ ‘ r : DickcIssEL és i i ‘ ‘ . . Savanna SPARROW ‘ e . . ‘ 7 ; GRASSHOPPER SPARROW . . < Z z ‘ Tree SPARROW . . . r ‘ 7 . ; Swamp SPARROW. ; ‘ « : A ‘ é Fox Sparrow F r ¥ ‘ ‘ ‘ a f Pinzr GrosBEAK ‘ ‘ z r . “ c Pint Finco . ‘i ‘ 5 . ‘ ¥ ‘ i AMERICAN CROSSBILL : i 7 i : Wuirt-wiINGED CROSSBILL . : : ; REDPOLL . : 2 ‘ ‘ ; 3 . , Lark SPARROW . : ‘ ; * , ‘i SHARP-TAILED SPARROW . Z F ‘ ‘ 5 SEASIDE SPARROW . . z é “ ‘ ‘ ‘ CLAY-COLORED SPARROW . : 2 ‘ ° ‘i A . be . . . . . 176 117 181 183 185 188 193 194 195 196 197 199 201 202 205 208 210 211 212 216 217 220 221 223 224 225 226 227 229 230 231 233 234 2385 286 237 239 240 241 x CONTENTS Bacuman’s SPARROW . 3 3 j . r Key to Finches and Sparrows 5 é 5 AcADIAN FLycaTCHER . . 2 i ‘ 4 GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER . OLIVE-sED FLYCATCHER . ° ‘ . ALDER FLYCATCHER . ‘ 7 3 ; Key to Flycatchers ‘ * C r, . Hornep Lark . i ‘ 3 5 ss - TurRKEY VULTURE Buack VULTURE i ‘ Key to Vultures . * - GOsHAWK . ‘ . : : SHARP-SHINNED rien, CoorEr’s Hawk Rep-tamep Hawk RED-SHOULDERED Hawk . BroaD-wiIncED Hawk . Sparrow Hawk Marso Hawk «: 2s é Fi ‘ Fish Hawk Bap Eacte . : 3 , ‘ é \ SWALLOW-TAILED Kren z ‘ Key to Falcons, Hawks, and Fagles . ScrREECH OwL LonG-EARED OWL. SHORT-EARED OWL BarrED Own : : Great Hornep Own ; é . Barn Own Snowy Own Key to Owls . LoGGERHEAD SHRIKE BurcHERBIRD Key to Shrikes . YELLOW-THROATED Pics WHITE-EYED VIREO . Key to Vireos YeLtow WARBLER REDSTART 242 246 254 255 257 258 260 261 263 265 266 266 268 269 271 278 275 276 278 280 282 283 285 287 290 291 292 298 294 296 298 300 800 301 302 304 307 309 CONTENTS x1 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER . F 5 ‘ , . 3810 BuiackK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER . 5 ‘ é 311 BuiaAck-THROATED BiuE WARBLER ‘ ‘ 7 . 812 Brack anp WHITE CREEPING WARBLER . ‘ ¥ 314 Maryitanp YELLOW-THROAT ‘ y : . 815 Rep-pott WARBLER . ‘ > i - ; . 316 Paruta WARBLER ‘ : ‘ ‘ i . dit CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER . : 7 ‘ 4 z 318 Buack-PoLtL WARBLER . 3 3 3 3 é . 821 CANADIAN WARBLER ‘ . % ‘ ‘ 822 NasHvVILLE WARBLER. ‘ é . ‘ » 3822 Brack anp YELLOW Weuseen ‘ _ . : * 324 Pramie WARBLER . ‘ : a a . . 3825 BLacKBURNIAN WARBLER . . : é a . 326 ‘ Hoopep WaRBLER . i : 5 e ‘ . 327 Kentucky WARBLER . 7 é : ‘i Ff ‘ 829 YELLOW-BREASTED CuHaT. Z ‘i @ . . 3381 OVEN-BIRD % , 5 ‘ : é 833 NorTHERN Wxaetliceeny * 3 : . ‘ . 335 Lovistana WATER-THRUSH . - pi " . a 336 Worm-Estinc WARBLER. < . 3a7 Wuson’s WARBLER. ‘ ‘ : : e ; 339 Key to Warblers 3 é ‘ » B42 Preir orn TiTnark ‘ . 6 . : a ; 348 Brown CREEPER. : : : : a 7 . 3849 Rvusy-cROWNED KINGLET . ‘ : 3 ‘ ‘ 354 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET . é . ‘ ‘ . 856 BiuE-GRAY GNATCATCHER . 3 ‘ ‘ B : 357 Key to Kinglets and Gnatcatchers ¢ a ‘ . B57 Vesery THRUSH . i ‘ . ‘ 4 ‘ . 358 OLIvE-BACKED THRUSH . : " ; 7 : . 3859 Hermir TorusH . : Q ; ; : F és 360 Key to Thrushes a ; 3 : - 360 APPENDIX. Migration e 4 ee OR 2 » « 867 Winter Birds : ‘ a ‘: ‘ ‘ é . 876 Field Observations . ‘ ‘ . - . 380 Observing in Towns and Villages : . . - 83888 Books of Reference . 3 Fi ‘ > 4 ‘ 390 Index to Tlustrations . i : E « ; - 3895 Index : . ‘ : ‘ ‘ ‘ : 3 399 INTRODUCTION How To FIND A Brrp’s Name. — As this book is intended for beginners, scientific classification has been disregarded, and the birds which read- ers are most likely to know and see are placed first, the rarer ones left until later. For the bene- fit of those who have a definite bird to name, a color key based on markings visible in the field has been made to all the birds taken up (see pp. xxix-xlix); this, when run down, will lead by page reference to the description and picture of the bird in the body of the book. If the family to which the bird belongs is known, the species will be found more quickly by turning to the key of the family, referred to in the index. If no definite bird isto be looked up, and one goes to the field unembarrassed by knowledge, with the whole bird world freshly opening for conquest, the matter of naming the birds and learning their ways is not a difficult one. Four things only are necessary —a scrupulous con- science, unlimited patience, a notebook, and an opera-glass. The notebook enables one to put down the points which the opera-glass has brought. within sight, and by means of which the bird may Xiv INTRODUCTION be found in the key; patience leads to trained ears and eyes, and conscience prevents hasty con- clusions and doubtful records. | Two notebooks should be kept, one for permanent records and a pocket one for field use, as elaborations from memory are of little value to one’s self, and still less to posterity. One of the best forms of per- manent notebook is a pad, punched and fastened in an adjustable cover. The notes on each bird should be written on separate pages, and as they accumulate, the pages slipped out of the cover and arranged alphabetically for easy reference. Suggestions for field notes will be found in the observation outline, Appendix, p. 380. WHERE TO FIND Birps. — Shrubby village door-yards, the trees of village streets and or- chards, roadside fences, overgrown pastures, and the borders of brooks and rivers are among the best places to look for birds. Such places afford food and protection, for there are more insects and fewer enemies in villages and about country houses than in forests; while brooks and river banks, though without the protection afforded by man, give water and abundant insect life. Very few birds care for deep woods. The heart of the dark, coniferous Adirondack forest is silent — hardly a bird is to be found there. It is along the edges of sunny, open woodland that most of the wood-loving species go to nest. INTRODUCTION XV How To watcy Birps. — In looking for birds be careful not to frighten them away. As shyer kinds are almost sure to fly before you in any case, the best way is to go quietly to a good spot and sit down and wait for them to return and proceed with their business unconscious of spec- tators. Do not look toward the sun, as colors will not show against the light. In nesting time, birds may be found at home at any hour, as the nestling’s meal-time comes with- out regard for callers; but during migration, birds are moving, and best seen from 4.30 to 8.30 a. M. and 4 to 8 P. M. If you begin watching birds in the spring, when they are coming back from a winter in the south, you will be kept busy looking up the names of the new arrivals; but even when intent on the dis- tinguishing marks of the birds, you may make a great many interesting. discoveries as to their ways of life. It is one of the pleasures of the season to keep a dated list of the migrants as they come north. The first year this will be exciting from the daily surprises of new arrivals; and as the years go by it will be of increasing interest from anticipations based on old dates, and the changes that occur with variations of season. (See Appendix, p. 367.) How Brrps aFrFrect VILLAGE TREES, GaAR- DENS, AND Farms.— Village improvement so- Xvi INTRODUCTION cieties are doing a great deal to better and beautify our towns; but in their attempts to pre- serve the trees against the plagues of insects that in late years have descended upon them, they sometimes seem to be baffled by the magnitude of their task. Their best allies in this work have hardly been recognized, and it is most important to understand the nature and extent of the help that may be obtained. The relation of birds to insects is only just becoming known. It is said that two hundred millions of dollars that should go to the farmer, the gardener, and the fruit-grower in the United States are lost every year by the ravages. of insects — that is to say, one tenth of our agricultural products is actually destroyed by them. The ravages of the gypsy moth in sections of three counties in Massachu- setts for several years cost the State, annually, $100,000. Now, as rain is the natural check to drought, so birds are the natural check to insects, for what are pests to the farmer are necessities of life to the bird. It is calculated that an average insectivorous bird destroys 100,000 insects in a year; and when it is remembered that there are over 100,000 kinds of insects in the United States, the majority of which are injurious, and that in some cases a single individual in a year may become the progenitor of several billion descendants, it is seen how much good birds do ordinarily by simple prevention. INTRODUCTION XVil The good they do in cases of insect plagues, like that of the grasshopper scourge in Nebraska and Kansas, is still more marked. Then, as self- constituted militia, they fly to the scene of action and make way with the rioters. An interesting case of this kind was seen in an old orchard in Illinois. The cankerworm had so taken posses- sion that the orchard looked almost as if burned over. Forty different kinds of birds assem- bled in the place to feed upon the worms. One hundred and forty-one of the birds were shot and the contents of their stomachs examined, and more than one third of their food was found to be cankerworms ; the feathered army was simply wiping out the horde of worms. A similar case occurred in Massachusetts, and after the visit of the birds a good crop of apples was raised in the orchard which had been devastated. It is well known that, of the various groups of birds, the majority live upon insects; and while most insectivorous birds probably take some use- ful insects, as far as they have been studied but few eat enough to weigh against the large num- ber of harmful insects they live on throughout the year. Among the insect-eaters are the Fly- catchers, Warblers, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Ori- oles, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds, Tanagers, Wax- wings, Gnatcatchers, Kinglets, Vireos, Thrushes, Wrens, Titmice, Cuckoos, Swallows, Shrikes, Thrashers, Creepers, and Bluebirds. , XViil INTRODUCTION It is not generally known, however, that the so-called seed-eaters both feed their young largely upon insects and eat many themselves; nor is it realized how much good they do by eating weed seeds. Prof. F. E. L. Beal has calculated that the little Tree Sparrow in Iowa alone destroys 1,720,000 lbs. of noxious weed seeds every year. Moreover, in summer seed-eaters eat blueberries, huckleberries, strawberries, and raspberries, and distribute their seeds unharmed over thousands of acres which would not otherwise support such growth. These facts show how important it is that the birds should be protected and encouraged, ex- cept in the exceedingly few cases where for a short time they eat some one cultivated crop to such excess that the loss is not compensated by the good they do in destroying pests the rest of the year. The Department of Agriculture, real- izing the losses that often result from the igno- rant sacrifice of useful birds, constituted the Division of Ornithology, now a part of the Biolo- gical Survey, a court of appeal where accusations against the birds could be received and investi- gated. The method used by the division is the final one —the examination of stomach contents to prove the actual food of the birds. A reference collection of 800 kinds of seeds and 1,000 species of insects has been brought together for compari- INTRODUCTION xix son in determining the character of food-remains found. After the examination of about eighty birds, the only one actually sentenced to death is the Eng- lish Sparrow. Of all the accused Hawks, only three have been found guilty of the charges made against them, —the Goshawk, Cooper’s, and the Sharp-shinned, — while the rest are numbered among the best friends of the fruit-grower and farmer. Of the Woodpeckers, the Sapsucker and Red-head may be beneficial or injurious, according to circumstances, as is the Crow Blackbird, but the rest of the family are highly beneficial. The Crow probably does more good than harm in thickly settled parts of the country. To most of the remaining birds tried, the evi- dence is decidedly creditable. The Cherry Bird or Cedar-bird is acquitted as doing more good than harm; and it is proved that agriculturists owe especial protection and friendship to the Robin, Bluebird, Phebe, Kingbird, Catbird, Swallow, Brown Thrasher, Rose-breasted Gros- beak, House Wren, Vireos; Cuckoos, Orioles, Shore Lark, Loggerhead Shrike, Wood Thrush, Red- wing, and Meadowlark. So far as it has gone, the examination of the stomach contents of birds has proved that, ex- cept in rare cases where individuals attack culti- vated fruits and grains, our native birds preserve the balance of nature by destroying weeds that xx INTRODUCTION plague the farmer, and by checking the insects that destroy the produce of the agriculturist. The great value of birds is demonstrated. The . questions are, how to attract them where they have disappeared, and then how to protect the crops from their occasional depredations. Mr. Forbush, who has experimented in the matter in Massachusetts, both fed the birds and planted bushes to attract them. He says: “It is evi- dent that a diversity of plants, which encourages diversified insect life and assures an abundance of fruits and seeds as an attraction to birds, will insure their presence.” The cultivated' crops can be protected in two ways — either by mechanical devices that frighten the birds away from the fruit or grain fields, or by the substitution of wild or cultivated foods. To frighten the birds away, white twine can be strung across berry beds; string, hung with bits of glittering waste tin, over fields; while stuffed Hawks and cats can be kept in orchards. To attract the birds from cultivated fruit, it is well to plant some wild fruit that will bear during the weeks when the birds eat the garden or orchard crops. In this connection Mr. Forbush says: “I wish particularly to note the fact that the mul- berry-trees, which ripen their berries in June, proved to be a protection to the cultivated cher- ries, as the fruit-eating birds seem to prefer them to the cultivated cherries, perhaps because they INTRODUCTION XX1 ripen somewhat earlier ;” and he adds: “I believe it would be wise for the farmer to plant rows of these trees near his orchard, and it is possible that the early June berry or shadberry might also be useful in this respect.” Professor Beal, who has charge of the stomach examinations in the Biological Survey, suggests planting berry bushes along the roads and fences and between grain fields. To protect strawberries and cherries (May and June), plant Russian mulberry and June berry or shadberry. To protect raspberries. and blackberries (July and August), plant mulberry, buckthorn, elder, and choke-cherry. To protect apples, peaches, grapes (September and October), plant choke-cherries, elder, wild black cherry, and Virginia creeper. To protect winter fruits, plant Virginia creeper, dogwood, mountain ash, bittersweet, viburnum, hackberry, bayberry, and pokeberry. Mulberries are eaten by the Flycatchers, War- blers, Vireos, Cuckoos, Blackbirds, Orioles, Finches, Sparrows, Tanagers, Waxwings, Catbirds, Blue- birds, and Thrushes. Potato beetles are eaten by the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cuckoo, Quail, Hairy Woodpecker, Chewink, and Whip-poor-will. Tent-caterpillars (which do most harm to apple and cherry trees) are eaten by the Crow, Xxil INTRODUCTION Chickadee, Oriole, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Chipping Sparrow, and Yellow Warbler. Cutworms (which cut off corn, ete., before it is fairly started in the spring, and are very de- structive to grass) are eaten by the Robin, Crow, Catbird, Loggerhead Shrike, House W ren, Meadow- lark, Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, Brown Thrasher, and Red-winged Blackbird. Ants (which spread plant-lice, destroy timber, and infest houses) are the favorite food of the Catbird, Thrasher, House Wren, and Wood- peckers, and are eaten by almost all land birds except birds of prey. Scale insects (which are a fruit-tree pest, in- juring oranges, olives, etc.) are eaten by the Bush- tit, Woodpeckers, and Cedar-bird. The May beetle (which ravages forest trees, and also injures grain and grass lands) is eaten by the Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, Robin, Meadowlark, Brown Thrasher, Bluebird, Catbird, Blue Jay, Crow Blackbird, Crow, Loggerhead Shrike, Mockingbird, and Gray-cheeked Thrush. Weevils (which injure grain, forage, and mar- ket gardens) are eaten by the Crow, Crow Black- bird, Red-winged Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, House Wren, Meadow- lark, Cowbird, Bluebird, Robin, Swallows, Flycatch- ers, Mockingbird, Woodpeckers, Wood Thrush, Alice’s Thrush, and Scarlet Tanager. INTRODUCTION XXill The chinch bug (which eats grain and wheat) is eaten by the Brown Thrasher, Meadowlark, Catbird, Red- eyed Vireo, Robin, and Bob-white. The wire worm (which causes heavy losses in the cornfield) is eaten by the Red-winged Black- bird, Crow Blackbird, Crow, Woodpeckers, Brown Thrasher, Scarlet Tanager, Robin, Catbird, Balti- more Oriole, Meadowlark, and Cowbird. Crane flies (which eat grass roots in the hay fields) are eaten by the Robin, Catbird, Wood Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, Crow, Crow Blackbird, and Red-winged Blackbird. : Cotton worms are eaten by the Bluebird, Blue Jay, Red-winged Blackbird, Thrushes, Prairie Chicken, Quail, Kildeer, Bobolink, Mockingbird, Cardinal, Cuckoos, and Swallow-tailed Kite. Gypsy Moth. —Mr. Forbush, ornithologist of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, gives the following list of birds seen to feed on the gypsy moth: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pigeon Woodpecker, Kingbird, Great-crested Fly- catcher, Phoebe, Wood Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Blue Jay, Crow, Baltimore Oriole, Purple Grackle or Crow Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Chewink, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo-bird, Scarlet Tan- ager, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, Yel- low Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Black- XXIV INTRODUCTION throated Green Warbler, Oven-bird, Maryland Yellow-throated Warbler, American Redstart, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, House Wren, White- breasted Nuthatch, Chickadee, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Bluebird, and English Sparrow. Grasshoppers and crickets are eaten by the Mockingbird, Thrasher, Bluebird, Wrens, Shore Lark, Goldfinch, Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Junco, Lark Sparrow, Dickcissel, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Cardinal, Chewink, Bobolink, Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Meadowlark, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole, Rusty Blackbird, Crow, Blue Jay, Kingbird, Crow Blackbird, Whip-poor- will, Nighthawk, Swift, Cuckoo, Red-headed Wood- pecker, Flicker, Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, Marsh Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, Gulls, Swainson’s Hawk, Quail, Shrikes, Swallows, Vireos, Robin, Catbird, Screech Owl, Red-shouldered Hawk, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, and Prairie Hen. Army Worm.— In the Massachusetts Crop Re- port for July, 1896, Mr. William R. Sessions gives a list of the birds he has seen feeding on the army worm during the summer: Kingbird, Phebe, Bobolink, Cowbird, Red-winged Black- bird, Baltimore Oriole, Crow Blackbird, Chip- ping Sparrow, and Robin. How To KEEP BrrpDs ABOUT OUR HovUsEs. — Protection from enemies, food to live on, and INTRODUCTION XXV suitable nesting sites are the three considerations that determine a bird’s place of residence. As insects are most numerous on cultivated land, about houses, gardens, and fields where crops are grown, most birds, if not molested, prefer to live where man does. Their worst enemies are gun- ners and cats. Gunners may be kept away by posting one’s woods with signs forbidding shoot- ing, and one’s yard may be kept free from cats by fencing. Mr. William Brewster, president of the American Ornithologists’ Union, has found after many experiments that the best fence for the pur- pose is tarred fish net or seine, six feet high, at- tached at the top to flexible poles; at the bottom threaded by rods pinned to the ground by tent pegs. When acat jumps against this fence, the poles bend toward her so that she falls backwards unable to recover herself or spring over. When we have protected our birds from their enemies, the next thing is to provide them with suitable nesting places. They are particularly fond of tangles of shrubbery; and by planting a corner of the yard with sunflowers and wild berry- bearing bushes we can at once supply them with food and with good shelter for their nests. Pans of water add greatly to the comfort of birds and attract them to drink and bathe. Birds like Martins, Bluebirds, Wrens, and Chickadees will usually occupy artificial nesting places provided for them — such as cans, gourds, and bird houses. ’ XXV1 INTRODUCTION In the summer it is a very simple matter to keep the birds about us by supplying the neces- sary conditions; but people who live in the coun- try can get more pleasure from the companionship of birds in winter than summer, and the ques- tion is how to draw the winter ones from the woods. It can be done very easily by taking a little pains to feed them. Bones and a few pieces of suet or the fat of fresh pork nailed to a tree are enough to attract Chickadees, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers, and Blue Jays; and a rind of salt pork will draw the salt- eating Crossbills when they are in the neighbor- hood. For food that can be blown away or snowed under — such as grain, or crumbs from the table — it is well to nail up boxes with open fronts, placing them with the back to the prevail- ing wind. As some birds prefer to feed on the ground, it is a good thing to keep a space clear of snow under a window, from which food can be thrown without disturbing them: shy birds like Grouse will come more freely to corn or buck- wheat scattered on a barrel under the cover of an evergreen. A. window shelf protected by awning is also an admirable thing. Most of these devices have been employed with great success by Mrs. Davenport, in Brattleboro’, Vermont. She has fed the birds hemp seed, sun- flower seed, nuts, fine-cracked corn, and bread. As wheat bread freezes quickly, in very cold INTRODUCTION XXVil weather she uses bread made from one third wheat and two thirds Indian meal. Her flock, during the winter of 1895-96, in- cluded, as daily visitors, seven to ten Blue Jays, more than twenty Chickadees, three Downy Wood- peckers, one Hairy Woodpecker, three Nuthatches, more than forty Tree Sparrows, and one Junco. After the first of February new recruits joined her band —more Juncos, Song Sparrows, Fox Spar- rows, a Redpoll Linnet, and two Red-breasted Nut- hatches ; and in March a Swamp Sparrow came. A flock of Siskins were so tame that when the seed she threw to them rattled on their backs, they merely shook themselves. In March a flock of Tree Sparrows sang so cheerfully their chorus ‘made the March morning like June.’ Before the snow had gone, Purple Finches came, and they remained allsummer. On June 15, 1896, the birds that came were Purple Finches, Downy Wood- peckers, Nuthatches, Robins, Orioles, Blue Jays, '' Chipping Sparrows, and sometimes a Scarlet Tanager or a Thrush. Then followed the interest of the nesting season, when the old birds brought their broods to the house to drink and bathe. Alto- gether the response to the hospitality offered the birds was so eager that throughout the year the family almost never had a meal by daylight with- out the presence of birds on the window shelf. The pleasure Mrs. Davenport gets from her flock is particularly worthy of record, because XXVIil INTRODUCTION it is open to such a large number of bird-lovers at the cost of a little trouble, and, as she her- self tells us, “however much one may do for the birds, that which comes in the doing is a revelation of sources of happiness not before sus- pected.” FIELD COLOR KEY TO ADULT SPRING MALES MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK. I. BRIGHT OR STRIKINGLY-COLORED BIRDS. PAGE A. BLuE Conspicuous IN PLUMAGE. . . xxix B. Rep Conspicuous IN PLuMAGE . . . xxxi C. YELLow oR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE ... oa EEN D. Brack or BLack AND Winie Conspic- vous IN PLUMAGE . .. . . . .XXXvVili II. DULL-COLORED BIRDS. A. OLIVE-GREEN OR OLIVE-BRowN . . . xiii B. Gray orn Buuisw. . . . . .. |). Xtiiii C. Brown oR BROWNISH. . . + eo, “xhy [For special keys to Hawks and Owls, see pp. 285, 296.] I. BRIGHT OR STRIKINGLY-COLORED BIRDS. A. BLUE CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE. * 1, LARGE; HEAD CRESTED. 2. Upper parts and band across the white under parts bluish gray; white ring around head and neck. Found by water. Call, a loud rattle. Plunges into water for fish. p. 157. Bexrep KINGFISHER. Xxx FIELD COLOR KEY 2'. Upper parts purplish blue, black ring around head and neck ; wings and tail bright blue, << barred with black and marked with white. Imitates cries of Hawks. p. 154. Brug Jay. 1’. SMALL ; HEAD NOT CRESTED. 3. Body wholly blue or blue-black. 4. Shining blue-black. . . p.48. PurpLe Martin. 4’. Ultramarine to cerulean blue and green. p. 149. Inpico Buntine. 3’. Body not wholly blue or blue-black. 5. Under parts reddish brown. 6. Upper parts steel-blue ; tail deeply forked ; forehead chest- nut. Often seen skimming low over meadows for insects. p. 49. Barn Swa.tow. 6’. Upper parts intense blue ; tail not forked ; forehead blue like back. p.41. Bivesrirp. 5’. Under parts not reddish brown. 7. Under parts white throughout ; back steel-blue. Nests in trees or in bird- boxes. p. 194. Tree Swa.Low. 7’. Under parts not white throughout ; back grayish blue. FIELD COLOR KEY xxxi 8. Throat and sides of breast black ; back uniform, or with black markings in mid- dle ; small white spot on wing, which also identifies the dull, buffy olive female. p. 312. Buack-THRoaTeD BLUE WARBLER. 8’. Throat and breast yellow, dark band on breast; back with yellowish patch ; two white wing bars. p. 317. Paruta WARBLER. B. RED CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE. 1. Body mainly brownish. Cap, rump, and under parts pinkish red. \ Seen in flocks in winter. . . . p.236. REDPOLL. 1’. Body not mainly brownish. 2. GENERAL COLOR GREEN OR RED. 3. Body mainly green or greenish. 4, Scarlet crown patch. Migrant. p. 354. Rusy-cROwNED KINGLET. 4'. No crown patch ; throat glancing ruby- >> red. p-1. Rusy-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. 3’. Body mainly red. c 5. Bill crossed. Winter visitors that come in KB flocks with yellowish green females. Gen- erally seen on coniferous trees. p. 234. CROSSBILLS. 5/. Bill not crossed. 6. Wings and tail red. 7. Head with high crest ; bill thick and red ; black ring around base of bill. Peruals brownish ; wings and tail dullred . . ... . . p.65. CarpinaL. XXxil FIELD COLOR KEY \ 7. Head without crest ; bill not thick or red ; no black around base of bill. Female olive-green and yel- lowish. . . . . p.173. Summer TANaGeER. 6’. Wings and tail not red. é 8. Wings and tail black, body scarlet. Female yellowish green. Found in northern woods . . p.170. ScarLeT TANAGER. 8’. Wings and tail brownish, body pink- ish red ; bill short and thick. 9. Large ; winter visitors. p- 231. Prine GrosBEak. 9’. Small ; summer residents. p. 148. Purpre Fincu. 2'. GENERAL COLOR BLACK OR BLACK AND WHITE. 10. Body black. 11. With red epaulettes. Bill long and pointed like an Oriole’s. Song, o-ka- lee. Found in marshes. p. 96. Rep-wincep Biacxsirp. 11’. Without red epaulettes. Whole top of head red and crested ; nearly as large as Crow. Found in forests. p. 212. PrmeaTED WooppEcKER. 10’. Body black and white. 12. Head wholly black or red, 13. Head wholly red; throat red; belly white; back and - wings black and 7 white in large patches. Often seen on fence posts. p. 131. Rep-HEADED WooprEcuER. FIELD COLOR KEY XXXIil 13’. Head wholly black. , 14. Rose patch on breast; back black ; rump and belly white ; tail marked with white. Female sparrow-like. p. 166. Rosz-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 14’. Salmon-red patches on breast ; tail marked with salmon. . . . . . . - p. 309. REDsTART. 12’. Head not wholly black or red. 15. Top of head red ; throat red or reddish. 16. Breast black, belly yellow. Found from Massa- chusetts northward in summer. p- 208. YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 16’. No black on breast ; under parts whitish, washed with red. Common in southern states. p- 211. Rep-BELLIED WoopPECEER. 15’. Top of head not wholly red ; throat white. 17. Crown of head black ; a small red spot on each side of back of head; back barred with white. p- 210. Rep-cockapED WOoDPECKER. 17’. Crown of head with scarlet band behind ; back streaked with white. 18. Length 9 to 10 inches. p. 135. Harry WoopPEckER. 18’. Length 6 to 7 inches. p. 137. Downy Wooprrcker. Cc. YELLOW OR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE. 1. Whole head, throat, and most of back black. 2. Large ; under parts orange ; no salmon on wings or tail. Builds gray hanging nest, preferably in elms ... . . . . p. 56. BALtrmoreE ORIOLE. XxxiV FIELD COLOR KEY ~* 2’. Small; under parts white, with salmon-red patches on sides of breast, wings, and tail. Tail, when open, fan-shaped, showing’ sal- mon patches. 1’. Whole head not black. 3. CROWN BLACK. 4, Throat and breast black; forehead and cheeks yellow. p. 327. Hoopep WARBLER. 4’. Throat and breast yellow. 5. Back and under parts yellow. 6. Wings and tail black (‘Wild Canary’). p. 145. GoLDFINCH. 6’. Wings and tail not black. Migrant. p. 339. Wutson’s WARBLER. 5’. Back olive ; sides of throat black. Hunts near ground. Song, a loud ringing klur- Se wee, klur-wee, klur-wee. p. 329. Kentucky WaRBLER. 3’. CROWN NOT BLACK. 7. Crown and throat red, breast black, belly yellow. p. 208. YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 7’. Crown and throat not red. 8. Rump conspicuously white or yellow. 9. Rump white, breast with black crescent. Large. p. 127. FLicker. FIELD COLOR KEY XXXV 9’. Rump yellow. Small. 10. Crown with yellow patch; under parts black, yellow, and white; white wing bars and white on ends of tail feathers. First Warbler seen in spring and last in fall. p. 310. YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. 10’. Crown bluish gray ; under parts yellow, heavily streaked with black ; large blotches of white on wings and middle of tail. p. 324. Biack AND YELLOW WARBLER. 8’. Rump not white or yellow. 11. Throat and sides of breast black; back .olive-green, sometimes spotted with black; cheeks bright yellow; tail showing white. p. 311. Brack-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. 11’. Throat yellow or white. 12. Breast with solid black crescent ; upper parts brown, streaked. White outer tail feathers seen ‘ in flight. Ih p- 106. MEADOWLARK. 12’. Breast without solid black crescent. 13. Throat with black spots or blotches forming necklace ; sides not streaked; back, wings, and tail grayish, without white patches. Song, rup-it-che, rup-it-che, rup~it-chitt-it-lit. ee p. 322. CANADIAN WARBLER. XXXVI FIELD COLOR KEY 13’. Throat without necklace. 14. Sides of face and throat black, forming mask. Song, witch-ery, witch-ery, witch-ery. p. 315. MaryLanp YELLOW-THROAT. 14’. Sides of face and throat without black mask. 15. Entire bird yellow ; under parts —g@& streaked with reddish brown. Common in gardens, orchards, and shrubbery and along streams. : p. 307. YELLOW WARBLER. 15’. Entire bird not yellow. 16. Back olive-green. 17. Crown with patch of different color. 18. Crown patch orange and yellow, bordered by black. p. 356. GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET. 18’. Crown patch chestnut ; under parts bright yellow. 19. Head bluish gray; under parts un- streaked. p. 322. NAsHVILLE WARBLER, 19’. Head not bluish gray; sides of throat and breast streaked. p. 316. YxLitow Rep-pott. 17’. Crown without color patch. 20. Throat and breast yellow ; belly white or whitish. 21. Wing crossed by two white bars ; eye- ring yellow. p- 301. YELLOW-THROATED VIREO. FIELD COLOR KEY XXXVI * 94, Wing without bars; eye- ring and line to bill white ;S size large ; song loud and varied. p. 831. YELLOW-BREASTED CyatT. 16’. Back not olive-green. 22. Back marked by distinct color patch be- tween wings. : 23. Back patch chestnut; cheeks marked with black; bird mainly yellow. Found in juniper thickets and ~S bushy fields. " p. 325. Prairie WARBLER. 23’. Back patch yellow; bird mainly bluish ; throat yellow ; a bluish black or rufous band across breast ; belly white. Nests in gray moss. p- 317. ParuLa WARBLER. 22’. Back without color patch. 24. Throat with black patch; chin « white ; breast yellow ; back < brownish. Common in Mis- sissippi valley. Sings in clover and grain fields. p. 224. DickcissEL. 24’. Throat without black patch ; crown with patch of yellow or orange. 25. Crown patch orange; back mainly black; throat rich orange. p- 826. BrackBuRNIAN WARBLER. 1 XXXVII FIELD COLOR KEY 25’. Crown patch yellow; sides chestnut. Back streaked with black ; throat white. p. 318. CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. D. BLACK OR BLACK AND WHITE CON- SPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE. 1. MaINnLy OR WHOLLY BLACK OR BLACK- ISH. 2. Wholly black or blackish. 3. Head and neck naked. 4. Skin of head and neck red. Tips of wing feathers conspicuously separated in flight. p- 263. Turkey VULTURE. 4’. Skin of head and neck black. p. 265. Brack VULTURE. 3’. Head and neck not naked. 5. Large ; plumage always black. pp. 11, 16. Crows. 5’. Small ; plumage rusty in fall. p- 101. Rusty Biacksrrp. 2’. Not wholly black or blackish. 6. Head and neck brown or purplish. 7. Head and neck brown . . . . p. 98. Cowzirp. 7. Head and neck purplish. p- 93. Crow Bruacxerrbs. 6’. Head and neck not brown or purplish. 8. Red patches on shoulders. p. 96. Rep-wInGED BLACKBIRD. 8’. No red patches on shoulders. 9. Back marked with white. 10. Under parts and top of head wholly black ; back of neck with cream- buff patch ; back largely whitish. p. 103. Boxsottnx. FIELD COLOR KEY X¥XXIX 10’. Under parts not wholly black; throat black ; rose patch on breast ; belly and rump white. p. 166. Rosk-BREASTED GROSBEAK. 9’. Back not marked with white. 11. Throat black, belly white. 12. Sides brown; tail showing white. Seen scratching among dead leaves on ground. p. 181. CHEWINK. 12’. Sides salmon ; tail showing salmon blotches. Seen flitting about undergrowth. p. 309. REpsTaRT. 1’. Nor MAINLY OR WHOLLY BLACK. 2. Wholly black and white. 3. Striped ; head and under parts not clear white. 4. Cap solid black. p. 321. Brack-porn WARBLER. 4'. Cap striped black and white. Seen on tree trunks. ‘ p. 314. Brack anp Waits CreEerinc WARBLER. 3’. Not striped; head and under parts clear white. x 5. Size large ; tail deeply forked. 2 A southern bird of the air. Casual in Massachusetts. p- 283. SwaLLow-TaILep Kire. 5’. Size small; tail not forked ; seen in flocks in winter, at which season its back is brownish. p: 223.’ SNOWFLAKE. x] FIELD COLOR KEY 2'. Not wholly black and white. 6. UNDER PARTS MAINLY YELLOW OR ORANGE. 7. Throat black. 8. Rest of under parts orange ; upper parts black and orange . . . . .p.56. BaLtIMoRE ORIOLE. 8’. Rest of under parts yellow ; head yellow and black, back olive. . . . p. 327. Hoopep WaRBLER. 7’. Throat not black. 9. Under parts without markings. 10. Head with black cap. 11. Wings and tail black. . p.145. GoLpFINCH. 11’. Wings and tail olive-green. 12. No black on throat. p. 339. Wuison’s WARBLER. 12’. Black lines on sides of throat. p. 329. Kentucky WARBLER. 10’. Head without black cap ; a black band across fore- head and cheeks. p. 315. MaryLanp YELLOW-THROAT. 9’. Under parts with markings; head without black cap. 13. Throat and crown red ; breast black, belly yel- low. . p. 208. YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 13’. Throat and crown not red. 14. Back black ; wings and tail showing white. 15. Throat and crown-patch orange. p. 326. BiackBuRNIAN WARBLER. 15’. Throat yellow ; crown bluish gray. p. 324. Brack anp YELLOW WARBLER. 14’. Back not black. 16. Size large ; black crescent on breast ; upper parts brownish . . . p.106. MrapowLark. FIELD COLOR KEY xli 16’. Size small ; breast with necklace of black spots ; upper parts gray. p. 322. CANADIAN WARBLER. 6’. UNDER PARTS NOT MAINLY YELLOW OR ORANGE. 17. Top of head red. 18. Back uniformly barred with black and white; under parts whitish, washed with red. p. 211. ReEp-BELLIED WoODPECKER. 18’. Back divided into black and white areas ; whole head and throat red ; belly white. p- 131. Rep-HEADED WooDPECKER. 17’. Top of head not red. 19. Breast and belly chestnut ; whole head, throat, and most of back black. . p. 61. OrcHARD ORIOLE. + 19’. Breast and belly not chestnut ; whole head not black. 20. Front of head and throat white ; back of head and neck blackish ; rest of body mainly grayish ; plu- mage soft and fluffy. Northern birds. p. 217. Canapa Jay. 20’. Front of head and throat not white ; back of head and neck not blackish. 21. Upper parts blue. 22. Head crested ; throat gray with black collar. p. 154. Brus Jay. 22’. Head not crested ; throat and sides black. p- 312. Biack-THROATED BLUE WARBLER. 21’. Upper parts not blue. 23. Throat white, sides of breast and rump yellow ; breast black. p. 310. YeELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, xlii FIELD COLOR KEY 23’. Throat and sides of breast black ; sides of head yellow. p- 311. Biack-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. i II. DULL-COLORED BIRDS. PAGE A. OLIVE-GREEN OR OLIVE-BRownN. . . . xlii B. Gray or ButuisH. ..... . . . xiiii C. Brown or BrownisH ..... . . xiv A. OLIVE-GREEN OR OLIVE-BROWN. 1. UNDER PARTS SPOTTED. 2. Crown with cap of different color. Crown golden, bordered by black lines. ““X Common in dry woodlands. Song, a cres- cendo teach, or teacher, teacher, teacher, | teacher. p. 333. OVEN-BIRD. 2'. Crown without cap of different color. 3. White line over eye; under parts streaked with black, except on throat and middle of belly. Wild, shy bird, difficult to approach: 3’. Buffy line over eye; under parts— in- cluding throat —streaked with black. Comparatively tame and unsuspicious. ‘ p. 335. Water-THRUusH. 1’. UNDER PARTS NOT SPOTTED. 4, Head striped ; top of head with four black lines alternating with yellowish lines. Found in dry, open woodland, near the ground. . . . p. 337. WorM-zaTInG WARBLER. 4’. Head not striped. 5. Crown with red or orange patch. p. 857. KINGLets. FIELD COLOR KEY xlili 5’. Crown without red or orange patch. 6. With wing bars. 7. Conspicuous yellow ring around eye; eye white. Found in undergrowth. Song emphatic: “ Who are you, ch?”. . . p. 302. WHITE-EYED VIREO. 7. No yellow ring around eye ; eye dark. Found by streams in woods. Call, pe-ah-yuk’. p. 254. AcADIAN FLYCATCHER. 6’. Without wing bars. 8. White line over eye. Cap gray, bordered by blackish. Song broken and in triplets. Common everywhere in trees. p. 120. Rep-EYED VIREO. 8’. No white line over eye. Head and back uniform olive-gray. Song a sweet flowing warble. Found high in village elms. p. 126. WarsLine VIREO. B. GRAY OR BLUISH GRAY. 1. PLUMAGE DISTINCTLY MARKED WITH BLACK. 2. Throat black. Cap black, back gray. Call, chick-a-dee. * pp. 67, 71. CHICKADEES. 2'. Throat not black. 3. Back bluish. 4. Top of head black; seen on tree trunks. 5. Under parts white ; no line on side of head. Common resident from Gulf states to Canada. p. 73. WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. xliv FIELD COLOR KEY 5’. Under parts brown ; black line on side of head. Winter visitor ; nests mainly in mountains, or north of United States. p. 76. Rep-BREASTED NUTHATCH. 4'. Top of head bluish ; not seen on tree trunks. Tail black ; outer feathers white. Flits about actively, catching insects. > p- 357. Brour-Gray GNATCATCHER. 3'. Back gray or slate. 6. Crown gray like back; black bar on A side of face; sides of tail white. Perches in exposed positions. p. 300. SHRIKEs. 6’. Crown black ; no black on face ; no white on tail; under parts slate ; 5 under tail patch reddish brown. Fre- quents thickets. p. 6. CATBIRD. 1/ PLUMAGE NOT DISTINCTLY MARKED WITH BLACK. < 7. Outer tail feathers white; head not crested. 8. Back and breast slate gray; belly abruptly white. Common, familiar Snowbird. p. 221. Junco. 8’. Back lighter gray ; breast and belly white; size large. A well-known bird of the southern states. p. 63. Mocxinezirp. 7’. Outer tail feathers not white; head with high crest ; size small. Song, pe-to, pe-to, pe-to. p. 151. Turrep Tirmoussr. FIELD COLOR KEY xlv C. BROWN OR BROWNISH. 1. Sizz RATHER LARGE. 2. Conspicuous white patches on wings, tail, or rump. 3. Wings long and pointed. 4, Wings marked with white bar ; no white on rump ; tail forked ; throat white; no bristles at base of bill. Call, meat heard as bird flies high in air. p- 188. NicHTHAWKE. 4’. Wings not marked with white bar; rump white ; tailnot forked . . . . p. 278. Marsu Hawk. 3’. Wings rather short and rounded, not marked with white ; tail not forked. * 5. Rump white ; under side of wings and tail yellow ; black crescent on breast . . . p. 127. Fricker. 5’. Rump not white ; under side of wings and tail not yellow. 6. Throat blackish, bordered by white bar ; whole outer side of tail white ; conspicuous bristles at base of bill. p. 185. WHutp-Poor-wILL. 6’. Throat not blackish ; white of tail limited. 7. Top of head not same color as etek. Forehead brownish ; back of head bluish slate; tail gradu- * ated and showing white bor- dering in flight. p- 29. Movurnine Dove. xlvi FIELD COLOR KEY 7’. Top of head same color as back. 8. Head and back bluish slate; breast pinkish. Outer tail feathers, only, showing grayish white in flight . . . .p. 78. PasseneEeR PIGEON. 8’. Head and back brownish ; under parts whitish. 9. Lower half of bill yellow; outer tail feathers black, broadly tipped with white ; wings largely ru- fous ; ring around eye yellow. p- 160. YxELLOw-BILLED Cuckoo. = 9’. Lower half of bill black ; outer tail feathers brown, very narrowly = tipped with white; wings without rufous; ring ; around eye red. p. 163. BLACK-BILLED Cuckoo. 2',.No white patches on wings, tail, or rump. : 10. Form slender ; tail long ; upper parts rich reddish brown ; under parts white, heavily streaked with black. Song long and varied. . . . . . p.177. Brown THRASHER. 10’. Form stout, hen-like; tail not long ; body covered with markings. 11. Neck with conspicuous black ruff ; end of tail barred. p. 32. Rurrep Grouse. 11’. Neck with- & out ruff; end of tail not barred. p. 37. Bon went: QuaIL. RourFED GROUSE. FIELD COLOR KEY xlvii 1’. Sizz MEDIUM OR SMALL. 2. Breast reddish brown or pinkish. . 3. Breast reddish brown ; top of head blackish. p- 17. Rosi. 3’. Breast and forehead pinkish. p. 31. Grounp Dove. 2’. Breast not reddish brown or pinkish. 4, Tail ending in needle-like spines ; wings a long, narrow, and curved. se p. 23. Caimney Swirt. 4’. Tail not ending in needle-like spines. 5. Head with high crest ; end of tail with yellow band. p. 141. Waxwine. 5’. Head without high crest ; end of tail without yellow band. 6. Forehead and throat yellow ; aslen- der tuft of black feathers over each eye; a black bar across front of head, and black crescent on breast. p. 261. Hornep Larx. 6’. Forehead and throat not yellow ; no tuft of fea- thers over eyes ; no black bar across head. 7. Tail with white bar across end ; crown with con- cealed orange patch ; under parts whitish. p. 83. KIneBrrp. 7, Tail without white bar; crown without color patch. 8. Tail showing reddish in flight; throat pearl gray ; belly yellow ; head moderately crested. p: 255. GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. xviii FIELD COLOR KEY 8’. Tail not showing reddish in flight ; throat not gray ; belly not yellow. 9. Upper parts uniform brownish or olive-brown ; no spots, streaks, or bars above or below ; usually seen making short sallies into the ! air for insects, returning to the same perch or another convenient one. p. 260. FLYcATCHERS. 9'. Upper parts not uniform brownish or brownish olive ; body more or less marked. 10. Wings long and powerful; feet small and weak ; usually seen on the wing. p. 196. Swaxtows. 10’. Wings not long and powerful ; feet not small and weak ; not usually seen on the wing. 11. Tail stiff and ee used aS a prop in ato Sze climbing. Seen on tree trunks . . p. 349. Brown CREEPER. 11’. Tail not stiff and pointed, and not used as a prop in climbing. 12. Bill conical for cracking : ° seeds ; color variable ; nee >< ly ground and bush-haunting birds. p. 246. FINcHES AND SPARROWS. 12’. Bill slender for catching insects. 13. Wagtails ; tails constantly wagged ; usually seen in flocks on ground. Hind toe-nail elongated . . p. 348. Prprr. \ FIELD COLOR KEY xlix 13’. Not Wagtails. 14, Size relatively large; upper parts and tail not barred or streaked; breast spotted. . . . . p. 360. Turusues. 14’, Size relatively small ; upper parts or tail barred or streaked ; breast ° not spotted . . . . p. 205. Wrens. BIRDS OF VILLAGE AND FIELD Fig. 1. Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Trochilus colubris. Adult male, upper parts, bright green; throat, metallic ruby red. Female and young, similar, but without red on throat. Length, about 32 inches. Geocrapuic Distripurion.— Eastern North America; breeds from Florida to Labrador; winters from southern Florida to Central America, What tantalizing little sprites these airy dart- ers are! Quietly feeding before the trumpet-vine 2 RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD over the piazza one moment, gone with a whirr the next, where, how far, who can say? As the mother bird vanishes and reappears, reappears and vanishes, it becomes plain that she is carry- ing food to her young. Her nest is the most exquisite of all the beautiful structures of winged architects, her domestic life and ways of caring for her young among the most original and curi- ous. Surely the patience of the bird-lover should be equal to the task of discovering her home. When found, it proves to be, like its builder, the smallest of its kind, a thimble of plant-down coated with delicate green lichen, formed and decorated with wonderful skill, and saddled so dextrously to a bough that it would seem but a part of the tree itself. When the eggs are first laid, their white shells are so thin as to be almost transparent, and when the young come out of the little white pearls it seems a seven days’ marvel that such mites can ever become birds. It takes three full weeks for them to reach man’s estate and leave the nest. During -that time the care of the mother is most interesting. She is certainly kept busy, for sixteen young spiders have been found in the stomach of a nest- ling only two days old. The Hummer feeds the young by regurgitation, plunging her needle-like bill into their tiny throats —‘a frightful-look- ing act,’ as Mr. Torrey says. When she finds the brood ready to leave the nest, her anxiety \ RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 3 becomes so great that her nerves quite get the better of her. One mother bird Mr. Torrey was watching at such a time went so far as to leave her tree and fly tempestuously at an innocent Sparrow, driving him well out of the tomato patch. When her young were fairly launched upon the world, her happiness was shown by a most re- markable exhibition of ‘maternal ecstasy.’ She came intending to feed a nestling perched on a branch, but then, as a human mother unexpect- edly stops to caress her little one, she opened her wings and circled around her little bird’s head. Lighting beside him, her feelings again overcame her, and she rose and flew around him once more. As Mr. Torrey writes, “ It was a beautiful act, .. . beautiful beyond the power of any words of mine to set forth; . . . the sight repaid all my watch- ings thrice over, and even now I feel my heart growing warm at the recollection of it.” “Strange thoughtlessness, is it not,” he asks pertinently, “which allows mothers capable of such passionate devotion — tiny, defenseless things — to be slaugh- tered by the million for the enhancement of woman’s charms!” While the mother is so devotedly caring for her little ones, what is the father doing? That seems to be the question. Mr. Torrey has been look- ing up the matter, and in ‘The Footpath Way’ tells us that out of fifty nests of which he has had 4 RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD reports, only two were favored by the presence of the male, as far as the evidence went. On the other hand, Mr. Torrey himself watched one male who, whether a householder or a bachelor, devoted himself most assiduously to doing no- thing. Hour after hour, day after day, and week after week, he was found perching in the same tree, apparently scarcely allowing himself time for three meals a day. Here certainly are mysteries worth clearing up. Such conduct must not pass unchallenged. Let each field student hie forth with glass and book, and wrest from these un- natural Benedicts full accounts of themselves. It is not in its home life alone that the Hum- mingbird is interesting. We can hardly see one without being filled with wonder. While stand- ing in the garden watching the ‘burly dozing humblebee’ wandering in ‘waving lines’ from flower to flower, who has not been startled by the sudden vision of a whizzing Hummer darting past straight to some favorite blossom? How do these little flower-lovers work together — does the world hold blooms enough for bee and bird, or can the bee glean when the Hummingbird has done? This much we know: while, as Emerson says, the bee is ‘sipping only what is sweet,’ the Hummer is probing for tiny gauzy wings hidden in the sweet. And, whatever their own wants, both little crea- tures are at work helping to carry out the mar- RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD 5 velous ends of the great mother Nature ; for while the plants supply them with food, they in turn leave the flowers laden with rich pollen, carrying it on their rounds, and leaving it where it will give new life to other blossoms. How perfectly the little feathered messenger is fitted for his task! See the long bill that enables him to probe the flower tubes. Watch him as he feeds before a honeysuckle. There he stands as steadily as though perched on a branch, held up by the whirring mill fan-wings whose rapid motion renders them almost invisible. What power is lodged in those inch-long feathers! In autumn they will bear him away over rivers, over mountains, far from the snow-covered north, to the land of the orange and palm. In nature the race is to the swift, and surely these little Hummingbirds are well fitted to com- pete with their fellows. Even their dress is per- fectly adapted to the conditions of their lives. To attract the favor of his lady, the Hummingbird wooer has a throat of flaming ruby; while she, to whom a flashing gorget would bring danger at the nest, is clad in quiet green; and the young, untaught in the ways and dangers of the great world, are dressed in the inconspicuous tints of their mother. 6 CATBIRD Uj fg 3 “y OG iB Fig. 2. Catbird : Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Body, slate gray; cap and tail, black; patch under base of tail, reddish brown. Length, about 9 inches. Grocrapuic Disrrieution. — Breeds from the northern por- tion of the Gulf states to New Brunswick; west to the Rocky Mountains and Saskatchewan; winters from Florida southward to Panama. To any one who really knows him, it seems almost incredible that this much loved bird of our gardens and homes, this Mockingbird of the north, should be the subject of persecution, but so it often is; for however much the birds trust us, and whatever pleasure they give us, if they chance to help themselves to ever so little of our fruit — material creatures that we are —all the rest is CATBIRD / 7 forgotten, and they are at once doomed. Ordi- narily the Catbirds take such a small fraction of the growing fruit that we should be glad to share with them, and even when they take more, a third of their diet for the year is still made up of inju- rious insects. Putting aside all sentiment, how- ever, as a simple matter of economics it is bad policy to destroy any bird, except as a last resort. As has been said by Mr. Judd, one of the govern- ment examiners of their food, “by killing the birds their services as insect-destroyers would be lost, so the problem is to keep both the birds and the fruit.” The study of this problem has led to a most important discovery, that some birds, the Catbird among the number, actually prefer wild fruit to cultivated. Most of the complaints of depredations come from parts of the country where there is little wild fruit. From this it will be seen that by planting berry-bearing bushes and trees it may be possible to prevent losses to cultivated fruits, and at the same time attract more birds, and so secure their much-needed help in destroying insect pests. A slight idea of the good the Catbird does in destroying pests may be had from the fact that 30 grasshoppers have been found in each of 5 Catbird stomachs, while one third of the bird’s food is made up of in- sects. Experiments have shown that he prefers the red mulberry to cherries and strawberries ; and stomach examinations show that he eats twice 8 CATBIRD as much wild fruit as cultivated. He is reported to do much more harm in the central United States, where wild fruits are scarce, than near the coast, where they are abundant. Mr. Judd suggests that where he does damage to cherries and strawberries, such crops can be protected by planting the prolific Russian mulberry, which also affords good food for domestic fowls. In speak- ing of the Catbird’s diet, Mr. Nehrling, who has made a special study of the food of birds, assures us that the Catbird’s “ usefulness as a destroyer of innumerable noxious insects cannot be estimated too highly,” that “it is a service compared with which the small allowance of fruit it steals is of little importance ;” for “from early morning to sunset it watches over the fruit-trees and kills the insects that would destroy them or their fruit.” “Of course it takes its share, especially of cherries, but for every one it takes, it eats thousands of insects ;’’ and the economist con- cludes wisely, ‘‘ Where there are no small birds there will be little fruit.” When feeding their young, the Catbirds are continually bringing them numbers of caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths, bee- tles, spiders, and other insects, and in the south the numbers are doubled, as the birds raise two broods. The old birds often begin preparing for the second family a few days after the first has left the nest; but, while the female is engaged, the CATBIRD 9 male takes care of the first brood, warning, feed- ing, and guiding them till, by the time the second brood claim the father’s attention, the first know how to care for themselves. “That the parents love their young exceedingly,” as Mr. Nehrling says, ‘‘is evident on approaching the nest. With anxious cries, with ruffled plumage, and drooping wings they flutter about the intruder.” If re- assured by kindness, though, they become very trustful, and discriminate only against those they do not know. One pair which the ornithologist watched “would allow even the children to look at their eggs and young without becoming in the least uneasy and frightened. They certainly knew that they were protected and that the children too loved them. But as soon as a stranger ap- proached the structure they screamed so loudly and evinced such noisy distress that the chick- ens in the barnyard cackled, and old hens hurried to get their broods in safety.” In protecting their young against cats and snakes in the woods and thickets, the birds make such a commotion they warn other birds and even quadrupeds of impending danger. The nest which the Catbird defends with so much courage is a bulky mass of twigs, grasses, and dead leaves, and is lined with rootlets; a very different type from the compact, delicate little cup of the Hummingbird. But if there is any lack of beauty in the nest itself, it is made up by the eggs, which are a rich greenish 10 CATBIRD blue, and might well excite the pride ef any mother bird. , While the Catbird’s reputed power of mimicry is very great, some consider its song almost entirely original. Besides the song, and the mew- ing call that has given the bird its name, Mr. Bicknell, in his valuable paper on ‘The Singing of our Birds,’ calls attention to another “ charac- teristic vocal accomplishment —a short, sharp, crackling sound, like the snapping of small fag- ots”? — which, he adds, is heard in the dog days, and is generally given hurriedly as the bird seeks the security of some bushy patch, or darts into the thick cover along the road. For several summers one of these friendly birds was the chorister and companion of a gentle old lady, a lover of birds and flowers, who lived alone in a cottage hidden behind an old-fashioned gar- den, whose rose-covered trellises and rich masses of fragrant blooming lilacs, flowering shrubs, and encircling trees made a favorite resting-place for feathered travelers in spring and fall, and the chosen home of many birds in summer. Of all those that built in the garden, the Catbird was the pet and comrade of the garden’s hospitable owner. When she threw open her blinds in the morning, he would fly up and call till she came out and answered him; then he would seat himself con- tentedly and pour out his morning song. During the day he would often call her to the window or AMERICAN CROW 11 door in the same way, never resting till she whistled back to him. His nest was in a tangle beside the garden fence, which ran under a cover of bushes ; and after he had promenaded back and forth on it all day, attending to his domestic duties, at sunset he would fly to his favorite branch in the garden to sing before his sympa- thetic friend. And so, through the soft twilight, as she sat alone looking out upon the flaming poppies, opening yellow primroses, and tall stately lilies, cheered and enraptured she would listen to his impassioned sunset song. That the friendly bird was really attracted to the garden by his love of human companionship was shown pre- sumably one spring, for his gentle mistress was away from home when he came north, and though the garden was blooming, it apparently seemed deserted to him, for he went elsewhere to build his nest. When the old lady returned she missed him sadly, but later she was satisfied that it was he who sometimes appeared in the garden at sun- set and sang to her in the home trees. American Crow: Corvus americanus. Entirely black, with steel-blue or purplish reflections. Length, about 194 inches. Gzocraraic Disrrisution. — North America, from the fur countries to Mexico; winters from the northern United States southward. " Crows are known to every one, and most of us have seen long lines of them straggling across the 12 AMERICAN CROW sky at sunset, and have watched the black proces- sions, more scattered and flying low, as the birds returned looking for food the following morn- ing. The country people tell us they are going to a Crow caucus, and perhaps that is as near the truth as we can guess; for, if they do not gather to talk things over, it is surely the social instinct that moves them. In some places, as many as 300,000 gather at these nightly roosts, scattering to their feeding grounds when morning comes. One of the winter roosts is on historic ground at Arlington, the old home of General Lee. This roost covers fifteen acres of land, and all winter, from the middle of the afternoon till twilight, the birds may be seen from Washington crossing over the Potomac to the heights beyond. Some years ago Staten Island was visited by birds from three New Jersey roosts in winter, and in summer there were two roosts on the island itself. When the Crows scatter to nest, scarecrows appear in the country, for the farmers are much troubled by the sight of the birds in the corn- fields. Professor Beal acknowledges that when Crows and Blackbirds gather in great numbers about cornfields, or Woodpeckers are noticed at work in an orchard, it is perhaps not surprising that they are accused of doing harm. But he adds that careful investigation will often show that they are actually destroying noxious insects, and that even those which do harm at one season AMERICAN CROW 13 may compensate for it by eating noxious species at another. When the Crows are actually eating corn, however, the dangling, dejected-looking effigies put out to scare them have little effect; but cords strung across a field, and hung with bits of tin that swing and glitter in the sun, seem to suggest a trap, and so keep the wary birds away. A still surer method of crop protection is to soak some corn in tar and scatter it on the borders of the field subject to their attacks. A few quarts of corn used in this way will protect a field of eight to ten acres. Professor Beal’s conclusions regarding this much-discussed bird are, that ‘in the more thickly settled parts of the country the Crow probably does more good than harm, at least when ordi- nary precautions are taken to protect newly planted corn and young poultry against his de- predations. If, how- ever, corn is planted with no provision against possible ma- rauders, if hens and turkeys are allowed to nest and to roam Fic. 3.0 Sarl Asia: hueoleat Grasshopper, oe by a distance from farm buildings, losses must be expected.” It cer- tainly seems worth while to take a little trouble to make the Crows harmless, for they eat so many 14 AMERICAN CROW grasshoppers, tent-caterpillars, May beetles, and other pests that their service in destroying inju- rious insects can hardly be overestimated. When gypsy moths are stripping the woods of their foliage, the old Crows often take their young to feed on them; besides this, they kill so many field-mice, rabbits, and other harmful rodents that, apart from their good offices as scavengers, they prove themselves most valuable farm hands. Some farmers appreciate this, and, when not tarring the corn, take the trouble to feed the birds old corn during the time when they would be pulling up the young sprouts, for they realize that the work- man is worthy of his hire, and would no more think of shoot- ing Crows than horses and cows because they demand grain in in return for their work. Though the Crow is of espe- cial interest to the farmer, he is of still greater interest to the bird student; for he is one of the drollest, most intelligent, and individual of birds. His sedate walk, his gestures and conversation, proclaim him a bird of originality and reflection, who will repay our closest study. He is sure to be discovered in peculiar pursuits. Doctor Mearns found him Fic. 4. Footprint of Crow. AMERICAN CROW 15 fishing through the ice on the Hudson, watching at the fissures in the ice alongshore, at low tide, pulling out whatever fish were passing. And we are told by Mr. A. M. Frazer of an original pet Crow who ‘had a way of his own to rid himself of parasites. He would “deliberately take his stand upon an ant mound and permit the ants to crawl over him and carry away the troublesome vermin.” The intelligence of the Crow is dlso seen at the nest, where his domestic virtues shine out brightly. To cradle his heavy young, he, picks out strong twigs and carries them high up in a treetop, and, when the nest is done, stands guard over his handsome green eggs, and later his young, by keenly scrutinizing all passing gunners and boys of evil intent. Nuttall ascribes strong family affection to the Crows. He thinks they remain mated through life, and says that, not only does the male feed his mate on the nest and brood the eggs in her absence, but when the young have left the nest, both old birds “ con- tinue the whole succeeding summer to succor and accompany their offspring in all their undertak- ings and excursions.” 16 FISH CROW Fish Crow: Corvus ossifragus. Entirely black, more glossy than the common Crow, and usually much smaller. Length, 16 inches. Grocrapaic Distripurion. — Gulf and Atlantic coast as far north as southern Connecticut ; resident except at the extreme northern part of its range. In Washington the Fish Crows are very com- mon, and the black figures may often be seen on the towers of the Smithsonian, when their raven- like croak may be plainly heard and interpreted as a solemn ‘never more’ by jocose ornithologists discussing their stuffed brothers inside. In the National Zodlogical Park they are more common than the ordinary Crow, and may be seen wading in the shallows of Rock Creek. When the other Crows are with them, they may still be readily known, if not by their smaller size, by their hoarse, guttural car, which Mr. Burroughs de- scribes as less masculine than the clear, strong caw of the American Crow. ROBIN 17 Fic. 5. Robin: Merula migratoria. Adults, upper parts blackish brown ; under parts bright red- dish brown ; throat striped black and white; corners of tail white. Young in nesting plumage, spotted with black. Length, 10 inches. Groerapuic Distrigution. — Breeds from the mountains of the Carolinas and Virginia westward to the Great Plains, and northward to the arctic coast ; winters from southern Canada and the northern states (irregularly) southward. Though the Robin is a common bird, he is un- commonly interesting, because he is an old friend, and so secure of our friendship that he lets us share his home life as few birds will. Great 18 M ROBIN intelligence was shown by a Robin family of my acquaintance, not only in the construction of the strong adobe frame for their nest, but — after the hatching of the blue eggs — in methods of family government and parental care ; in disciplining the greedy, carefully feeding the weak; and finally, when the tremulous nestlings were launched on their own wings, in teaching them caution, and driving off their enemies sometimes, in cases of extraordinary danger, by rousing the neighbor- hood against the threatening monsters. What human tenderness the old birds show in their family relations, not only in caring for their little ones, but in the small offices of daily happy com- panionship! how grateful is the gentle song, how tender the watchful solicitude of the male, and how trustful the quiet home affection of his mate as they work together for their brood! Other delights of discovery await the patient, unobtrusive observer as.he listens to the song of the Robin, with its individual variations — the cries of warning, anxiety, and simple good cheer ; the joyous daybreak chorus; the tender carol at the nest, and the low, meditative evening song rising from the dewy lawn. But, beside the sympathy and affection which the Robin rouses by his love and song, the bird has a habit which in recent years has called the attention of the ornithological world to him with renewed interest. Mr. William Brewster has ROBIN 19 announced that, as the Crow resorts to roosts in winter and after the nesting season, the Robin betakes him to similar roosts before and dur- ing the nesting season, sometimes as many as 25,000 birds being found together! Most com- monly, the male Robin seems to go to the nightly roosts with his first brood of big spotted young while his mate is on the nest with her second set of eggs or young. At first this seems too much like the club habit which affects family men of larger growth, but on closer examination it proves very harmless. Mr. Walter Faxon, a close ob- server of a roosting’ father bird, found him a most exemplary Robin. He did not leave home till nearly sunset, after he had fed his little family of young for the night. Then he flew to the top of a spruce-tree, and, “after singing a good-night to his wife and babies, took a direct flight for the roost.” Then next morning the “model husband ‘and father returned to his fam- ‘ily at 3.40 (sunrise, 4.29), his arrival being an- nounced by his glad call and morning song.” Indeed, far from interfering with family life, the summer Robin roosts have an important office to fulfill, for in going to them the young birds are taught to follow the lead of their parents, and so prepared for the migration that is before them. On their way south, near St. Louis, Mr. Otto Widmann has found the Robins roosting in winter 1 The Auk, vol. vii. No. iv. p. 860; The Footpath Way, p. 153. 20 eaten by Robin. ROBIN in a tract of reeds! In ordinary win- ters they probably remain till spring, he thinks, but when severe weather comes presumably go on to roosts still farther south. As the Robin is particularly fond of wild fruit, he can winter comfortably wherever wild berries still cling to the bushes. This diet seems to agree with him, though nearly half his food for the year is animal. He not only eats wasps, bugs, spiders, angle-worms, and a large number of grasshoppers, crickets, and caterpillars, but destroys the March fly larve that injure the grass in the hay- field. He also ate the army worm that invaded the country in 1896 (Fig. 6). The Robin has been accused of taking cultivated fruit, but examinations show that less than 5 per cent. of his food is grown by man. As Professor Bruner, the author of ‘ Birds of Nebraska,’ and one of the close students of bird econ- omy, pertinently remarks: “He is a poor business man who pays ten dollars for that which he knows must later be sold for fifteen cents or even less. Yet I have known of instances where a Robin that had saved from ten to fif- 1 The Auk, vol. xii. No. i. p. 1. ROBIN 21 teen bushels of apples that were worth a dollar per bushel, by clearing the trees from canker- worms in the spring, was shot when he simply pecked one of the apples that he had saved for the grateful or ungrateful fruit-grower.” Professor Beal, who has made a study of the Robin question, suggests that as the Russian mulberry ripens at the same time as the cherry, if those who complain that the Robin eats their cherries will only plant a few mulberry bushes around their gardens or orchards, they will probably protect the more val- uable fruit. The wild fruits the Robin eats are of interest to most bird-lovers as showing what can be planted not only to prevent the bird from doing harm, but to attract him about our homes. The wild fruits found in his stomach are dogwood, wild grapes, wild black cherry, choke-cherry, bird cherry, mulberry, greenbrier berry, cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, holly berry, elderberry, hackberry, service berry, spice berry, hawthorn, bittersweet, Virginia creeper, moonseed, mountain ash, black haw, barberry, pokeberry, strawberry bush, juniper, persimmon, saw palmetto, Califor- nia mistletoe, and bayberry. Many of these berries remain on the bushes till winter, and so keep the birds from going south for food, for the Robin will linger if he can find anything to live on. Doubtless it was imagina- tion, for others report differently, but the Robins I saw in Florida sat around in the orange groves 22 WOOD THRUSH with a homesick air, as if they were only waiting till time to start home again. When they do come back, what good cheer they bring with them! I remember one long winter spent in the country when it seemed that spring would never come. At last one day the call of a Robin rang out, and on one of the few bare spots made by the melting snow there stood the first redbreasts ! It was a sight I can never forget, for the intense delight of such moments make bright spots in a lifetime. Wood Thrush: Turdus mustelinus. (See Fig. 220, p. 361.) Upper parts warm brown, brightest on head ; under parts white, heavily spotted with black. Length, about 8} inches. Grocraruic DistrieuTion. — Eastern United States; breeds as far north as Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Ontario; win- ters in Central America. The Wood Thrush is probably the best known and the most familiar of the thrushes. In Nor- wich, Connecticut, I have seen it nesting close by the sidewalk of a village street. Its large size, heavily spotted breast, and the rich golden brown of its back, brightest on its head, distinguish it from the other thrushes. Its nest is sometimes near the ground, but usually fifteen to twenty-five feet above it. The nest is made largely of leaves, and has an inner wall of mud, like that of its cousin the Robin, and its eggs are similar to the Robin’s. CHIMNEY SWIFT 23 The call note of the Wood Thrush is a rapid pit-pit ; his song a calm, rich melody which, heard beside the chorus of spring songs, chattering Wrens, loquacious Vireos, and jovial Catbirds, Thrashers and Chats, sets vibrating chords that none of the others touch. As a young woman told me once, after first hearing the Thrush: “T don’t know what it is, but,” putting her hand on her heart, “it makes me feel queer.” Indeed, the song is so distinct one does not need to build up associations in order to appreciate it, as is the case with so many songs, but can at once feel the quieting touch of its hymn-like melody. Chimney Swift: Chetura pelagica. (Plate IL. p. 24.) GrocRAPuic Distrigution. — Breeds from Florida to Labra- dor ; west to the Great Plains; winters in Mexico and Central America. Among the commonest birds seen in the sky over a New England village are the Swifts. They are dark little birds, who row through the air like racers, twittering socially as they go. Sometimes as ‘you watch them on a village street you will see them suddenly stop short and pitch down the black mouth of a chimney, for it is now only the most old-fashioned ones who nest in hollow trees. In many inland towns, attention is attracted to the Swifts by their habit of roosting at night in 24 CHIMNEY SWIFT the large chimneys of church or court-house. In Wooster, Ohio, Mr. Oberholser has seen as many as a thousand about the court-house, and large numbers have been noted in Norwich, Conn. It is interesting to watch their movements. As Nuttall says, when the birds go to roost, “ before descending, they fly in large flocks, making 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.” However much we believe in change of scene, it seems odd for a balloonist to live in a cellar, to be coursing about among the stars one moment, hung up on the wall of a dark sooty flue the next; but the Swifts are quite put to it, for it would be very bad form, in fact do outrage to all the traditions of the race, if one of them were to perch on a tree for a moment. There is actually no record of their alighting anywhere except in a hollow tree or chimney. They even gather their nesting materials on the wing, break- ing off bits of twig in their feet and, it is said, with their bills, literally, in passing. Accord- ingly, as by our deeds the world knows us, their wings are developed till they look like strips of cardboard more than bunches of feathers, out- doing those of their Hummingbird connections, who transact their business as they go. On the other hand, their feet, like those of Chinese ladies, Puate II.— CHIMNEY SWIFT Sooty, throat whitish ; wings long and slender ; tail tipped with spines. Length, about 54 inches. CHIMNEY SWIFT 25 are so little used that they are small and weak (Fig. 7). They serve mainly as pic- ture-hooks, for the birds hook them SS over the edge of the nest or into a crack in the chimney, and proceed to go to sleep hanging like pictures on Fic. 7. a wall. Even when thus employed, Weak foot of the feet do not have to do the ‘ whole poe duty of man’; for the tail comes in to ec act as a prop, being bent under the bird to brace against the wall. Doubtless, by this habit, the end of the tail has gradually lost its feathery character, the webbing being worn off, till now only the stiff, bone-like quills of the feathers remain. These he Tail feather of uses like little awls, to stick into Chimney Swift, used the bricks (Fig. 8). eet As the Swifts get their meals was on the wing —they are exclusively insectivorous, and are good enough to eat mainly what are to us either disagreeable or positively injurious insects — they have wide gaping mouths and tiny bills, in marked contrast to the Hummingbirds, which, though in the same order, have with different food habits developed in the opposite direction, and have long probe-like bills to suit their needs (Figs. 9 and 10). Another phase of this wonderful adaptation of form to habit is shown when the Swift comes to 26 CHIMNEY SWIFT build its nest. It would be quite impossible for an ordinary bird to fasten a wall-pocket of twigs to a perpendicular chimney, but the Swift is pro- vided with a sali- ke vary glue that de- . fies anything but ae: Fic. 9. heavy rain, actu- Short, ‘ Fic. 10. widely gap- ally having been Long, probe-like bill ing bill of knowntoholdfirm —¢¢ Hummingbird. Swift. when the brick to which it had glued the nest was broken away. Nature selects beneficial qualities rigorously, or rather the struggle for life is so intense that only the best fitted survive to hand down their charac- ters to their race ; but Nature makes no meaning- less display. Eggs are colored because they are exposed to enemies, and those whose colors best disguise them are most likely to escape the eyes of enemies; but let the eggs be laid in a tree trunk, a hole in the ground, or otherwise out of sight, and as a general rule they will be white. There is no force at work to eliminate the white ones. So we see this negative adaptation in the eggs which the Swift secretes in a chimney, — they are pure white. It would be exceedingly interesting to watch the Swifts at the nest; and while their habits or- dinarily render this impracticable, Mr. Otto Wid- mann, the original and philosophical student of birds, has shown how it may be done. He accom- CHIMNEY SWIFT 27 plished it by building a miniature chimney, a wooden shaft eighteen inches square and six feet high, on top of a flat tower where he could look down on the birds at will. It is encouraging to read that it was occupied the day after it was completed. In studying his tenants, Mr. Wid- mann found that the birds cannot build in damp weather, as the glue must have dry air to harden in. As only a small amount of this glue is secreted daily, nest-building, with the interrup- tions of rainy days, sometimes takes nearly three weeks. One pair of Mr. Widmann’s birds spent two days in laying their foundation, besmearing the wall and fastening the first sticks to it. When the first egg was laid, ten days later, the nest was only half done, and from that time, curiously enough, building and laying went on together. When the young were two weeks old, Mr. Wid- mann could not find them when he went to the chimney; but while wondering what had become of them, one of the parents came with food, and he discovered that “all four were huddling side by side, hanging on the wall immediately below the nest and entirely hidden from view above.” The next week, Mr. Widmann says, “I was still more. surprised when, bending my head over the shaft, the youngsters jumped right against my face with a strong, hissing noise, which I believe must be a very effective means of frightening unsuspecting visitors.” When the brood actually 28 CHIMNEY SWIFT left the chimney for several nights they were brought back by the parents. Doctor Brewer notes that Swifts often feed their young quite late into the night, and this ean readily be believed by those who have heard the rumbling and roaring in chimneys where they live. Mr. Chamberlain, in his notes on Canadian birds, tells us that the first flight of the Swifts is most interesting to witness. “ The solicitude of the parents and their coaxing ways; the timid hesita- tion of the young birds, and their evident desire to emulate their seniors; the final plunge into mid air, and the first few awkward efforts to mas- ter the wingstroke, make this one of the episodes of bird life which bring these children of the air very close to the hearts of their human brethren.” Major Bendire, in his monumental work, ‘ Life Histories of North American Birds,’ says that few birds are more devoted to their young than the Chimney Swift, cases being recorded where the parent was seén to enter a chimney in a burn- ing house, even after the entire roof was a mass of flames, preferring to perish with its offspring rather than forsake them. A most remarkable case of devotion is cited in the Life Histories from Forest and Stream. A full month after the ’ other Swifts had gone south for the winter, an old bird was discovered bringing food to one of its young which had fallen from the nest, and had MOURNING DOVE 29 become so entangled in a hair that it could not get out of the chimney. The note says: “ His anxious mother who had cast in her lot with him, to remain and to die with him, for the time of insects was about gone, came into the chimney and actually waited beside me while I snipped the strong hair and released him.” As Major Bendire comments, from his sympathetic know- ledge of bird life: “ This instance certainly shows a tender side of bird nature, and such instances are far more common than they appear to be, if we could only see them.” Mourning Dove: Zenaidura macroura. General coloring fawn ; under parts pinkish; sides of the neck with metallic pink reflections; a small black mark below the ear; tail showing a bordering of black and white in flight. Young, feathers tipped with whitish. Length, about 12 inches. Grocrapuic Distrisurion. — North America, breeding from Cuba north to southern Canada and New England, and win- tering from southern Illinois and New York to the Greater Antilles and Panama. It is pleasant to know that this beauti- ful Dove is a familiar resident of most of the United States, for it is one of our most attrac- tive birds. Sometimes we see the soft fawn- colored creature look- Mourning Dove. 30 MOURNING DOVE ing out at us from the foliage of a tree, turning its head from side to side to inspect us, while its mate calls solicitously, “‘coo-0-0, ah-coo-0-o—coo- 0-0—coo-0-0 ;” again, we see it walking along the ground, moving its head back and forth with the peculiar motion of the Doves; then we hear a musical whirr as it passes swiftly through the air beside us, and on looking up catch sight of the Fie. 12. Tail of Mourning Dove. white circlet of its long vanishing tail (Fig. 12) ; or perhaps watch it soar low over the bushes with wings stiffly spread till it gets near the nest, when it alights with a wabbling motion of wings and tail. But the pleasantest part of this acquaintance comes when we visit the bird at its nest. To be sure it does not always build where there are peo- ple. In the dry part of Arizona, Major Bendire found it nesting a long distance from water, so far that it could only go to drink twice a day, but GROUND DOVE 31 its habit was so well known that old mountaineers followed it when in search of water. In the east, however, when sure of protection the Dove will make its home in our gardens. In southern California one gentle brooding bird let me come close under her loose twig nest to talk to her, though her mate was troubled at first, for he is a watchful and devoted guardian. Major Bendire thinks the pairs remain mated through the year, as they are seen together summer and winter. Indeed, the name ‘Turtle Dove’ which has become synonymous with tenderness and affec- tion is more appropriate than the name Mourning Dove, for with long familiarity the low cooing, which at first seems mournful, sounds more tender and soothing than sad. At times the bird seems almost to speak its own Latin name, ma-crou-ra ; but at all events its sweet musical call bespeaks the gentle nature of the Dove. Ground Dove: Columbigallina passerina terrestris. Adult male, forehead and under parts pinkish; top of head gray; back brownish; wings showing reddish brown in flight; tail blackish. Adult female, similar, but forehead and under parts almost without pink. Length, 62 inches. Grocrapuic Disrrrsution. —South Atlantic and Gulf states; north to North Carolina; west to Texas; more common near the coast than inland. i In the south, this little Dove makes a pretty picture of trustfulness as it walks down the streets of the towns. But the tourists, who should 82 RUFFED GROUSE be most anxious to preserve the beautiful objects of the countries they visit, have done their best to destroy it; and as the friendly birds are also victims of the millinery craze, they are fast being killed off. In Florida they are particularly fond of the orange groves, but in Bermuda they may be found almost anywhere. Near the shore one day I stopped under a small red cedar, when to my astonishment one of the Doves came tumbling down almost upon my head. When it fluttered off trailing, I looked up in the cedar and was delighted to discover a nest among the branches. The birds are noted for their devotion to their young, and this was only another touching in- stance of the way they will endanger their own lives to save those of their little ones. In feeding their nestlings, these as well as other Doves regurgitate the food they have taken into their crops, and when it is mixed with the milky fluid which softens it give it to the tender young in a form that makes appropriate the fabled name of ‘ Pigeon’s milk.’ Ruffed Grouse: Bonasa umbellus and races. GxocRApPuic Distripution. — Northern North America; north in the eastern states to British Provinces; south to middle states, and in the mountains to northern Georgia; resident. Walk through the market and you will recog- nize pathetic strings of game hanging by their RUFFED GROUSE 33 necks in the shambles. The beauty and life of the poor birds being gone, they seem without in- terest. But walk through a Partridge woods and the presence of the living birds in the shadowy forest lends it charm and new delight. You are startled by a loud whirr, and a covey of birds, _ before invisible, rises from almost un- der your feet, Fic. 13. whirling away’ Ruffed Grouse. through the bushes so fast your eye can scarcely follow their flight. As they disappear you berate your dull- ness, for they look so large it seems inexcusable that you have not discovered them. They are almost the size of the domestic fowls, to which they are related; but though they walk about on the ground like hens, their soft wood-colors tone in with the colors of the sunlit brown leaves, and neutralize the light so perfectly that it is a diffi- cult matter to see them. They are protectively colored, we have been accustomed to say, meaning that they approach the colors of their surround- 34 RUFFED GROUSE ings, being ground-color to match the ground, as the Hummingbird is green to match the green leaves on the trees he frequents, and as the desert birds are sand-color and the arctic ones white to match the snow. But Mr. Abbott H. Thayer, the artist, has shown that there is something more than mere color likeness in protective coloration, a marvelous gradation of tint to counteract the effects of light and shade. As he states the law: “ Animals are painted by nature, darkest on those parts which tend to be most lighted by the sky’s light, and vice versa,” ! that is, darker above and lighter below. He demonstrates this most conclusively by means of pictures of birds as they are in nature, in contrast to those in which he has painted the under parts uniform with the dark up- per parts, or, as he says, ‘‘ extended the protective coloration all over them.” As we look at the pic- tures, the natural birds are almost invisible, seem scarcely to exist; while the painted ones stand out boldly, unmasked, before us (Plate III.). The Grouse is one of the best examples of this wonderful law of adaptation, of the gradation of tints ; and it is also a wonderful example of pure color correspondence to surroundings, and the use of color pattern to disguise form. When the brooding bird sits on her buffy eggs at the foot of a tree, the white that is mixed with the dark brown of her back matches the effect of sunlight 1 The Auk, vol. xiii. No. ii. p. 125. Cynp ayy, Jo Asoyanoa Aq) -soyour py ‘ysburT capeuuayz ayy at JaT[VOUS SYNYF “Yoel JO Mosq saappuoys Wo sya f ystuaoaq YLA peateq ‘YsYTpA syred gapun f youlq puke unorq YIM poaieq ATesdeasuvly [ley !yoRyTq pue szlyA YIIM poyvorjs ‘uMoIq WIA syed edd SLUVd WdiddA HLIM WHOdIND qdoOLYN HQVW SLUVd YACNO HLIM ASNOUD GUAT NY NI SV USNOUD AAsdNU — TIT ILA RUFFED GROUSE 85 on the brown leaves so well that it is hard to tell where the leaves end and the bird begins. Then the dark band crossing the end of her tail breaks the tail form. The Grouse is well adapted to the needs of its life in matters of form as well as coloration. As it spends its time on the ground, it has a strong foot, like that of the hen and pheasant, its con- geners, in contrast to the weak perching foot of the air-dwelling Swift. (See Fig. 7, p. 25.) In winter this is still more remarkably modified to suit its habits. The bird does not go south in winter, but has to wade through the snow for its food; and to meet this necessity its toes, which in summer are bare and slender, in winter are fringed so that they serve admirably for snowshoes. The short, rounded, hen-like wings of the Grouse also suit its short, rapid flights; for the bird does not migrate, and when startled in the woods does little more than shoot out like a bomb and then gradually curve back to earth again, contrasting markedly both in form and _ habit with the long, slender-winged Swift (see Fig. 19, p. 45), who lives in air and winters in Central America. Though the wings of the Grouse are not suited to long flights, they are admirably formed for musical instruments. The domestic rooster claps his as he crows; but the Grouse when moved to song instead of crowing beats the air with his wings till it resounds with his 36 RUFFED GROUSE resonant drumming. He often does this at night in spring and fall, and has been known to drum by moonlight when the snow was on the ground and the mercury near zero. He usually has one special drumming log, and the roll of his tattoo - coming through the woods is one of the best- loved sounds in nature, calling one’s thoughts to the quiet shaded depths of the forest. As the Grouse is a shy woods bird, it is a rare pleasure to have him live on your preserves; but it can easily be accomplished. Protect your woods with signs forbidding hunting, and in winter when he can no longer find maple-leaf worms, and the buds of the trees are small, scatter corn and buckwheat between the house and the woods, and soon you will find his pretty footprints in the snow beside the tracks of the squirrels. Then some winter morning, as you look through your blinds, perchance you will be rewarded by the sight of the handsome bird himself, with ruffs and tail spread out, strutting turkey-cock fashion before his mate. In summer you may have the added pleasure of coming on a brood of young Partridges, soft and downy as little chickens, stroll- ing along the wooded edge of a meadow, daintily picking wild strawberries under the eye of their mother. She clucks to them, and when they have had their fill squats on the ground and takes them under her protecting wings like a devoted hen. The Partridge is an anxious parent, decoy- BOB-WHITE 37 ing the observer away from her young with signs of great distress. Wilson, of the classic trium- virate, Audubon, Wilson, and Nuttall, gives a most interesting experience of his with a Par- tridge who had only one young bird, and on being overtaken, after fluttering before him for a mo- ment, “suddenly darting toward the young one, seized it in her bill and flew off.” Bob-white: Colinus virginianus. Adult male, upper parts wood-brown; throat and line from bill to neck white ; black patch on breast ; rest of under parts whitish barred with black. Adult female, similar, but throat buffy, and black of breast less or absent. Length, 10 inches. GrocRaPHic Distrisution. — Eastern United States from southern Maine and the ‘Dakotas southward to the Gulf of Mexico ; resident wherever found. This beautiful bird is known mainly as ‘ Quail on toast,’ but in use- fulness and interest of habit it holds a high place among our birds. As a weed-seed and in- sect destroyer it is of such economic importance that in Wisconsin, where Fie. 14. it has been practi- Bidicwi lice: cally exterminated, attempts have recently been made to reéstablish it. 388 BOB-WHITE It eats the potato beetle — seventy-five potato bugs were found in one Quail stomach — and it is par- ticularly fond of the moth that lays the egg that produces the injurious, omnivorous cutworm. As each moth lays multitudes of eggs, the destruction of a few thousands of moths at the right time Fic. 15. Cutworm, eaten by Quail. would prevent the hatching of an army of worms able to destroy large fields of corn and grain; so that in a field where there were a few old Quail, as the birds raise two to three broods of from ten to thirty young each, but few moths would lay their eggs. It would be wise for other states to follow the example of Wisconsin and introduce fresh Quail in the old haunts where they have been thoughtlessly exterminated. Aside from the use of the Quails as game birds, their numbers suffer great loss by winter snows; for like their BOB-WHITE ‘* 39 relatives the Grouse they do not migrate, and in severe storms often huddle together and are buried, when, if a crust forms over them, they are unable to get out, and die in large numbers. Those who know the Quail in the field are familiar with his delightful call of Bob-white, a loud clear whistle that locates him at a long dis- tance. It is such a striking note that once, when a single Quail strayed beyond his usual limits in northern New York, he was fairly driven back by the excited dogs of the neighborhood, for at sound of his whistle they would go bounding over the fields toward him, as if in answer to the call of their masters. The result of this reception of the stranger was a sore disappointment to the observers of the locality, for Bob-white is one of the most delightful birds to study. There are few prettier sights than a family of old Quail with their young walking about fear- lessly in a woodland meadow. The bird’s domes- tic life is particularly interesting from the part the male plays in the family, helping to build the nest, feeding his mate on the eggs, and, in case of her death, brooding in her place. Doctor Brewer, in his biographies of North American birds, gives a graphic account of meeting with a male engaged in the care of his brood. ‘They did not see me until I was close upon them,” he says, “when the old bird, a fine old male, flew directly towards me, and tumbled at my feet as if in a 40 KEY TO GROUSE AND QUAIL dying condition, giving at the same time a shrill whistle, expressive of intense alarm. I stooped and put my hand upon his extended wings, and could easily have caught him. The young birds, at the ery of the parent, flew in all directions, and their devoted father soon followed them, and began calling to them in a low cluck.” The Bob-white like the Partridge readily re- sponds to protection, and when not shot at will become very tame, even nesting about houses and gardens. For three successive years Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright had broods raised in a tangle in her garden, old and young ranging in the neigh- borhood during the summer, but in the shooting season returning to hide under a protecting hem- lock hedge. The Ruffed Grouse and Bob-white are the only members of their family we are likely to meet, and there is no question of confusing such hen-like birds with those of any other family, while there’ is little danger of mistaking one for the other. Key to Male Grouse and Quail. Common Characters. —Hen-like birds ae that live on the ground. f 1. Large (length about 17 inches). Ce. Ruffs on shoulders ; dark bands on tail . . p.32. Rurrep Grovse. 1’, Small (length about 10 inches). No ruffs on shoulders or bands on tail. p. 37. Bos-wHITE. BLUEBIRD 41 Bluebird : Sialia sialis. Adult male, upper parts deep blue; throat and breast reddish brown; belly white. Adult female, upper parts grayish blue ; under parts duller. Young, in nestling plumage, spotted with whitish. Length, about 7 inches. GxrocrapHic DistrisuTion. — Eastern United States; breeds from the Gulf states to Manitoba and Nova Scotia; winters from southern Illinois and southern New York southward. Although the Bluebird did not come over in the Mayflower, it is said that when the Pilgrim Fathers came to New England this bird was one of the first whose gentle warblings attracted their notice, and, from its resemblance to the beloved Robin Redbreast of their native land, they called it the Blue Robin. From that time on, this beautiful bird has shown itself so responsive to friendly treatment that it has won a deep place 49 BLUEBIRD in the affections of the people. The bird houses that were put up for it insured its presence in villages and city parks until the introduction of the House Sparrow, but since that time the old familiar friend has had to give way before the quarrelsome stranger. Mr. Nehrling, however, gives us the grateful information that by a simple device the Bluebird boxes may be protected from the Sparrow. It seems that the Sparrow, being no aeronaut,—not to say of earthly mind, — finds difficulty in entering a hole unless there is a perch beside it where, as it were, he can have his feet on the ground. The Bluebird, on the con- trary, aside from his mental cast, is so used to building in old Woodpecker holes, none of which are blessed with piazzas or front-door steps, that he has no trouble in flying directly into a nest hole. So, by making the Bluebird houses without perches, the Sparrows may be kept away. Mr. Nehrling urges that cigar boxes should never be used for bird houses, which is surely wise, for we would neither offend the nostrils of feathered parents nor contaminate the feathered youth. In the south, he tells us, the cypress knees furnish excellent materials for them. He suggests, more- over, that sections of hollow branches and hollow tree trunks can be used in addition to the usual board houses. When this is done, the section of the branch should be sawed in two, bored out for the nest cavity, and then nailed or glued together BLUEBIRD 43 and capped at each end to keep out the rain. It should then be fastened securely to a branch or tree trunk with strong wire. Bird houses of some sort are especially necessary on the prairie and in other regions where few natural nesting sites are to be found. One of the most effective ways to attract the Bluebird, however, is by planting wild berry- bearing bushes, particularly in the west, where such bushes do not grow naturally. For while three quarters of the Bluebird’s food consists of grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, and similar insects, and it is “ exceedingly useful to the horti- culturist and farmer, destroying myriads of larve and insects which would otherwise increase and multiply to the great injury of vegetation,” the Bluebird is not a bird of one idea, but extends his dietary to wild fruits, and by means of them may be brought about our houses. ‘A variety of bushes can be planted, for he has been found to eat bird cherry, chokeberry, dogwood, bush cran- berry, huckleberry, greenbrier, Virginia creeper, strawberry-bush, juniperberry, bittersweet, poke- berry, false spikenard, partridgeberry, holly, rose haws, sumac, and wild sarsaparilla. Wilson, in speaking of the Bluebird engaged in courting his mate, says in his delightful way: “Tf a rival makes his appearance, . . . he quits her in a moment, attacks and pursues the in- truder as he shifts from place to place, in tones 44 HOUSE WREN that bespeak the jealousy of his affection, con- ducts him, with many reproofs, beyond the ex- tremities of his territory, and returns to warble out his transports of triumph beside his beloved mate.” As we watch the Bluebird, one of the most noticeable things about him, in spite of his famil- iar friendliness, is a certain untamable spirit of the woods and fields. As he sits on a branch lifting his wings, there is an elusive charm about his sad quavering tru-al-ly, tru-al-ly. Ignoring our presence, he seems preoccupied with unfath- omable thoughts of field and sky. House Wren: Troglodytes aédon. Upper parts, wings, and tail brown, finely barred with black ; under parts whitish. Length, 5 inches. Grocrapuic DistRIBUTION. — Eastern North America ; breeds as far north as Manitoba and Maine; and winters from South Carolina southward. Crows, Doves, Hummingbirds, Swifts, and Quail are all birds of strongly marked family characters, but Wrens are no less so. They are small brown birds that match the color of the earth, and creep about in odd nooks and cran- nies searching diligently for insects. As their daily round is not disturbed by soaring ambition, the Wrens have short, round wings like Fie. 17. House Wren. HOUSE WREN 45 the modest Grouse and Quail, very different from the long ones of the more aspiring Doves, Hummingbirds and Swifts (see Fig. 19 and Fig. 100, p. 190). They are jolly little tots, always full of business, but still more full of song. The Crow, the Quail, and the Dove talk, and the Humming- bird and Swift sing ac- Fic. 18. cording to their light Short, round wing of Wren. and vocal anatomy, but the Wren§ and Catbirds are the only birds we have mentioned thus far who are on the list of noted Fie. 19. Long, slender wing of Swift. songsters. The House Wren is one of the most tireless of his family, fairly bubbling over with happiness and music all the day long. In north- ern New York he is not often seen, but on a visit to Vassar I remember coming face to face with a preoccupied bit of a Wren perched on a fence post, singing away with more gusto than if delivering an oration. At Farmington, Connecticut, the Wren is an established villager, so used to worldly amusements he will make love and discuss nest- 46 HOUSE WREN ing materials with his mate while the tennis balls of Miss Porter’s girls are flying through the air. In building, Wrens abhor a vacuum. One pair were so possessed to fill a space they had chosen that their eggs actually addled while they were stuffing in twigs! The eggs are rather novel in color, being uniformly marked with fine pinkish spots. Tin fruit cans, though not highly decorative, make good nests for the wrenkins, who also like olive jars and other structures not wholly modern in matters of plumbing and ventilation. When a tin can is used, it is well to turn back the lid and put in a cap of wood with a hole just large enough to admit the Wren and just small enough to keep out the House Sparrow; for, like the Bluebird, the Wren is greatly pestered by this grasping monopolist. One little bird who lived at Sing Sing, New York, was fairly besieged by the Sparrows. Fortu- nately it built near the house of a special cham- pion of birds, Dr. A. K. Fisher, and whenever the doctor heard a commotion he would go to its assistance, shooting down the Sparrows that were tormenting it. One day, when the familiar note of alarm came and he hurried to the window, the Sparrow was so near the Wren that the doctor had to shoot with great care not to hit his little friend. The Wren was not at all disturbed, how- ever, but sat on his branch unmoved while the HOUSE WREN 47 shot was fired, and as the Sparrow fell turned his head over and watched his neighbor go to the ground with unconcealed satisfaction. Wrens nest in all sorts of odd nooks and corners. A pair of Washingtonians one year started to build in Mr. Gardiner Hubbard’s greenhouse, in the pocket of the gardener’s coat. At night, when the man came for his coat, he would find sticks in his pocket, but it was not for some days that he realized who was playing this very practical joke upon him. Then the kind-hearted attendant was greatly perplexed, for he could not spare his coat. He compromised, however, by substituting an old one which suited the Wrens just as well, and in a short time there was a set of little brown eggs snugly ensconced in the bottom of his pocket. When showing them to me, the gardener got down a tall glass jar from a shelf in which was another Wren’s nest, and told me that a pair had also built on the knot of a loop of rope that had hung in the greenhouse. Mr. Nehrling speaks of a pair of Wrens which built their nest in an old wooden shoe in which a gardener kept his strings, the orthodox couple calmly accepting the strings as a special gift of Providence. Another practical pair actually crept inside a human skull Doctor Fisher was bleaching in an apple-tree, and raised their brood there, untroubled by ghosts. The doctor was so impressed by their adaptability that he waived 48 PURPLE MARTIN all claim to his skull, and the Wrens’ nest is now on exhibition in the National Museum. Original and entertaining as the wrenkins are, they are worthy of respectful consideration for another reason: they bring up their large fami- lies — sometimes they raise from twelve to sixteen young in a season—on a diet of worms; so, whether they appropriate our shoes or our skulls, they should be welcomed to our gardens, because they reduce the insects and increase the family spirits. Purple Martin: Progne subis. Adult male, shining blue black. Female and young, upper parts duller; under parts grayish. Length, 8 inches. Geocrapuic Distrisution. — North America; breeds from Florida and the table lands of Mexico north to Newfound- land and the Saskatchewan; winters in Central and South America. ‘ As long ago as when Audubon was traveling through the middle states, he reported that “almost every country tavern had a Martin-box on the upper part of its signboard,” and com- mented characteristically : “I have observed that the handsomer the box, the better does the inn generally prove to be.” He also found that the Indians hung up calabashes for the Martins, so they would keep the vultures from the deerskins and venison that were drying. Calabashes are used extensively in the south, and Mr. Nehrling assures us “that the Martin BARN SWALLOW 49 is as well satisfied with the simple hollow gourd attached to a pole near a negro hut, as with the most ornamental and best arranged Martin-house in the beautiful gardens and parks of rich plant- ers and opulent merchants. Where no nesting- boxes are provided,” he says, “ our Martin will not breed, and it hardly ever accepts nesting- boxes attached to trees, preferring locations where the chance is given to dart in and out uninter- rupted by any obstacle.” The struggle between the Martins and Spar- rows is so bitter that one pair of Martins Mr. Widmann watched, intelligently adopted the strategical plan of never leaving the nest alone, taking turns in going for food, because as he explains, “it is comparatively easy to keep a Sparrow out of a box, but it is impossible for a Martin to dislodge him after he has built a nest.” Barn Swallow: Chelidon erythrogaster. (Plate IV. p. 50.) Geocrapuic Distriution. — North America, north to Green- land and Alaska; breeds throughout the greater part of its range; winters as far south as southern Brazil. Next to the Martin, the Barn Swallow is the most easily known of his family. He is usually found beating low over a meadow for insects. As he sweeps near us, the rich metallic sheen of his back is well seen ; and as he flies up to a telegraph wire, his long forked tail and deep chocolate breast 50 BARN SWALLOW identify him beyond question. Like the Swift (see Fig. 7, p. 25) and Hummingbird, the Swal- lows live in air and feed when flying, and so have undeveloped perching feet (compare Figs. 20, 21), unfitted for walking; nevertheless they ) sometimes condescend to visit the earth for nesting materials and the lime Fic. 20. which they need to harden their egg- Weak foot shells.. Their eggs, like those of the of Barn Fave Swallow, are white, heavily spot- Swallow. : ted with brown. If you watch a row of Swallows \ perched on a telegraph wire, you will hear the bright, happy warble which Fie. 21. adds so much to their attractiveness. ae foot In addition to this twittering song, a their call note is said to be a “soft and affectionate witt, witt, and the cry given in time of danger a harsh trrrr, trrrr.” The homely old proverb, “One Swallow does not make a summer,” shows how intimately these birds are associated with the close of winter. As Mr. Nehrling puts it, in his enthusiastic way : “We welcome their first appearance with de- light, as the faithful harbingers of flowery spring and ruddy summer; and when, after a long frost-bound and boisterous winter, we hear it an- nounced that ‘the Swallows have come,’ what a train of charming ideas are associated with the simple tidings !” Pirate IV.— BARN SWALLOW Upper parts steel-blue; tail deeply forked, with white spots on outer feathers ; throat chocolate. Length, about 7 inches. BARN SWALLOW 51 But as it is a pleasure to have the birds come back in spring, it is always with a feeling of re- gret that we see them gather for their southward flight in fall; for the silence of the deserted barns and telegraph wires suggests the coming winter. Before beginning their southward journey, the Swallows gather in large flocks. Sometimes they can be followed from farm to farm. They’ go so slowly and stop so often on the way that the young birds gradually get used to following the old ones. Then they make prolonged stops at definite roosts, sometimes in trees and sometimes in marshes along river banks. It is a most inter- esting sight to watch them then. In an article in ‘The Auk,’ Mrs. Bates gives a graphic account of a roost in the willows along the Kennebec River, in Maine, at which the movements of the birds are most remarkable. At sunset, she says, they begin pouring in, and “ at intervals clouds of Swallows will evolve something like order out of their numbers and perform en masse . . . fantastic curves, spirals, counter-marches, snake-like twists and turns, with the sky for a background.” ! Mr. Chamberlain once happened on a curious meeting-place of the Swallows.