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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/26046-0.txt b/26046-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..52fc845 --- /dev/null +++ b/26046-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4147 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Stories from Burroughs, by John Burroughs + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Bird Stories from Burroughs + Sketches of Bird Life Taken from the Works of John Burroughs + +Author: John Burroughs + +Illustrator: Louis Agassiz Fuertes + +Release Date: July 12, 2008 [EBook #26046] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: GOLDFINCH (page 125)] + + + + + BIRD STORIES + FROM BURROUGHS + + SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE + TAKEN FROM THE WORKS OF + + JOHN BURROUGHS + + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES_ + + + [Device] + + + BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO + HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + The Riverside Press Cambridge + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1881, 1886, 1894, 1899, 1903, +1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, BY JOHN BURROUGHS + +COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Hyphenation has been standardised. Minor typographical errors have + been corrected without note. + + + + +PUBLISHERS' NOTE + + +John Burroughs's first book, "Wake-Robin," contained a chapter entitled +"The Invitation." It was an invitation to the study of birds. He has +reiterated it, implicitly if not explicitly, in most of the books he has +published since then, and many of his readers have joyfully accepted it. +Indeed, such an invitation from Mr. Burroughs is the best possible +introduction to the birds of our Northeastern States, and it is likewise +an introduction to some very good reading. To convey this invitation to +a wider circle of young readers the most interesting bird stories in Mr. +Burroughs's books have been gathered into a single volume. A chapter is +given to each species of bird, and the chapters are arranged in a sort +of chronological order, according to the time of the bird's arrival in +the spring, the nesting time, or the season when for some other reason +the species is particularly conspicuous. In taking the stories out of +their original setting a few slight verbal alterations have been +necessary here and there, but these have been made either by Mr. +Burroughs himself or with his approval. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + THE BLUEBIRD 1 + + THE BLUEBIRD (_poem_) 13 + + THE ROBIN 15 + + THE FLICKER 21 + + THE PHÅ’BE 28 + + THE COMING OF PHÅ’BE (_poem_) 31 + + THE COWBIRD 33 + + THE CHIPPING SPARROW 36 + + THE CHEWINK 39 + + THE BROWN THRASHER 42 + + THE HOUSE WREN 47 + + THE SONG SPARROW 53 + + THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 61 + + THE OVEN-BIRD 69 + + THE CATBIRD 72 + + THE BOBOLINK 77 + + THE BOBOLINK (_poem_) 82 + + THE WOOD THRUSH 83 + + THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE 91 + + THE WHIP-POOR-WILL 95 + + THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER: A SEARCH FOR + A RARE NEST 100 + + THE MARSH HAWK: A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG + HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST 106 + + THE WINTER WREN 119 + + THE CEDAR-BIRD 122 + + THE GOLDFINCH 125 + + THE HEN-HAWK 130 + + THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE 133 + + THE PARTRIDGE (_poem_) 137 + + THE CROW 138 + + THE CROW (_poem_) 144 + + THE NORTHERN SHRIKE 147 + + THE SCREECH OWL 151 + + THE CHICKADEE 157 + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 161 + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER (_poem_) 169 + + INDEX 173 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + GOLDFINCH (_in color_). (page 125) _Frontispiece_ + + A PAIR OF BLUEBIRDS 8 + + FLICKER (_in color_) 22 + + CHEWINK, MALE AND FEMALE (_in color_) 40 + + WOOD THRUSH 84 + + BALTIMORE ORIOLE, MALE AND FEMALE 92 + + WHIP-POOR-WILL 96 + + DOWNY WOODPECKER (_in color_) 162 + + + + +BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS + + + + +THE BLUEBIRD + + +It is sure to be a bright March morning when you first hear the +bluebird's note; and it is as if the milder influences up above had +found a voice and let a word fall upon your ear, so tender is it and so +prophetic, a hope tinged with a regret. + +There never was a happier or more devoted husband than the male +bluebird. He is the gay champion and escort of the female at all times, +and while she is sitting he feeds her regularly. It is very pretty to +watch them building their nest. The male is very active in hunting out a +place and exploring the boxes and cavities, but seems to have no choice +in the matter and is anxious only to please and encourage his mate, who +has the practical turn and knows what will do and what will not. After +she has suited herself he applauds her immensely, and away the two go in +quest of material for the nest, the male acting as guard and flying +above and in advance of the female. She brings all the material and +does all the work of building, he looking on and encouraging her with +gesture and song. He acts also as inspector of her work, but I fear is a +very partial one. She enters the nest with her bit of dry grass or +straw, and, having adjusted it to her notion, withdraws and waits near +by while he goes in and looks it over. On coming out he exclaims very +plainly, "Excellent! excellent!" and away the two go again for more +material. + +I was much amused one summer day in seeing a bluebird feeding her young +one in the shaded street of a large town. She had captured a cicada or +harvest-fly, and, after bruising it awhile on the ground, flew with it +to a tree and placed it in the beak of the young bird. It was a large +morsel, and the mother seemed to have doubts of her chick's ability to +dispose of it, for she stood near and watched its efforts with great +solicitude. The young bird struggled valiantly with the cicada, but made +no headway in swallowing it, when the mother took it from him and flew +to the sidewalk, and proceeded to break and bruise it more thoroughly. +Then she again placed it in his beak, and seemed to say, "There, try it +now," and sympathized so thoroughly with his efforts that she repeated +many of his motions and contortions. But the great fly was unyielding, +and, indeed, seemed ridiculously disproportioned to the beak that held +it. The young bird fluttered and fluttered, and screamed, "I'm stuck, +I'm stuck!" till the anxious parent again seized the morsel and carried +it to an iron railing, where she came down upon it for the space of a +minute with all the force and momentum her beak could command. Then she +offered it to her young a third time, but with the same result as +before, except that this time the bird dropped it; but she reached the +ground as soon as the cicada did, and taking it in her beak flew a +little distance to a high board fence, where she sat motionless for some +moments. While pondering the problem how that fly should be broken, the +male bluebird approached her, and said very plainly, and I thought +rather curtly, "Give me that bug," but she quickly resented his +interference and flew farther away, where she sat apparently quite +discouraged when I last saw her. + + * * * * * + +One day in early May, Ted and I made an expedition to the Shattega, a +still, dark, deep stream that loiters silently through the woods not far +from my cabin. As we paddled along, we were on the alert for any bit of +wild life of bird or beast that might turn up. + +There were so many abandoned woodpecker chambers in the small dead +trees as we went along that I determined to secure the section of a tree +containing a good one to take home and put up for the bluebirds. "Why +don't the bluebirds occupy them here?" inquired Ted. "Oh," I replied, +"bluebirds do not come so far into the woods as this. They prefer +nesting-places in the open, and near human habitations." After carefully +scrutinizing several of the trees, we at last saw one that seemed to +fill the bill. It was a small dead tree-trunk seven or eight inches in +diameter, that leaned out over the water, and from which the top had +been broken. The hole, round and firm, was ten or twelve feet above us. +After considerable effort I succeeded in breaking the stub off near the +ground, and brought it down into the boat. "Just the thing," I said; +"surely the bluebirds will prefer this to an artificial box." But, lo +and behold, it already had bluebirds in it! We had not heard a sound or +seen a feather till the trunk was in our hands, when, on peering into +the cavity, we discovered two young bluebirds about half grown. This was +a predicament indeed! + +Well, the only thing we could do was to stand the tree-trunk up again as +well as we could, and as near as we could to where it had stood before. +This was no easy thing. But after a time we had it fairly well +replaced, one end standing in the mud of the shallow water and the other +resting against a tree. This left the hole to the nest about ten feet +below and to one side of its former position. Just then we heard the +voice of one of the parent birds, and we quickly paddled to the other +side of the stream, fifty feet away, to watch her proceedings, saying to +each other, "Too bad! too bad!" The mother bird had a large beetle in +her beak. She alighted upon a limb a few feet above the former site of +her nest, looked down upon us, uttered a note or two, and then dropped +down confidently to the point in the vacant air where the entrance to +her nest had been but a few moments before. Here she hovered on the wing +a second or two, looking for something that was not there, and then +returned to the perch she had just left, apparently not a little +disturbed. She hammered the beetle rather excitedly upon the limb a few +times, as if it were in some way at fault, then dropped down to try for +her nest again. Only vacant air there! She hovers and hovers, her blue +wings flickering in the checkered light; surely that precious hole +_must_ be there; but no, again she is baffled, and again she returns to +her perch, and mauls the poor beetle till it must be reduced to a pulp. +Then she makes a third attempt, then a fourth, and a fifth, and a +sixth, till she becomes very much excited. "What could have happened? am +I dreaming? has that beetle hoodooed me?" she seems to say, and in her +dismay she lets the bug drop, and looks bewilderedly about her. Then she +flies away through the woods, calling. "Going for her mate," I said to +Ted. "She is in deep trouble, and she wants sympathy and help." + +In a few minutes we heard her mate answer, and presently the two birds +came hurrying to the spot, both with loaded beaks. They perched upon the +familiar limb above the site of the nest, and the mate seemed to say, +"My dear, what has happened to you? I can find that nest." And he dived +down, and brought up in the empty air just as the mother had done. How +he winnowed it with his eager wings! how he seemed to bear on to that +blank space! His mate sat regarding him intently, confident, I think, +that he would find the clew. But he did not. Baffled and excited, he +returned to the perch beside her. Then she tried again, then he rushed +down once more, then they both assaulted the place, but it would not +give up its secret. They talked, they encouraged each other, and they +kept up the search, now one, now the other, now both together. Sometimes +they dropped down to within a few feet of the entrance to the nest, and +we thought they would surely find it. No, their minds and eyes were +intent only upon that square foot of space where the nest had been. Soon +they withdrew to a large limb many feet higher up, and seemed to say to +themselves, "Well, it is not there, but it must be here somewhere; let +us look about." A few minutes elapsed, when we saw the mother bird +spring from her perch and go straight as an arrow to the nest. Her +maternal eye had proved the quicker. She had found her young. Something +like reason and common sense had come to her rescue; she had taken time +to look about, and behold! there was that precious doorway. She thrust +her head into it, then sent back a call to her mate, then went farther +in, then withdrew. "Yes, it is true, they are here, they are here!" Then +she went in again, gave them the food in her beak, and then gave place +to her mate, who, after similar demonstrations of joy, also gave them +his morsel. + +Ted and I breathed freer. A burden had been taken from our minds and +hearts, and we went cheerfully on our way. We had learned something, +too; we had learned that when in the deep woods you think of bluebirds, +bluebirds may be nearer you than you think. + + * * * * * + +One mid-April morning two pairs of bluebirds were in very active and at +times violent courtship about my grounds. I could not quite understand +the meaning of all the fuss and flutter. Both birds of each pair were +very demonstrative, but the female in each case the more so. She +followed the male everywhere, lifting and twinkling her wings, and +apparently seeking to win him by both word and gesture. If she was not +telling him by that cheery, animated, confiding, softly endearing speech +of hers, which she poured out incessantly, how much she loved him, what +was she saying? She was constantly filled with a desire to perch upon +the precise spot where he was sitting, and if he had not moved away I +think she would have alighted upon his back. Now and then, when she +flitted away from him, he followed her with like gestures and tones and +demonstrations of affection, but never with quite the same ardor. The +two pairs kept near each other, about the house, the bird-boxes, the +trees, the posts and vines in the vineyard, filling the ear with their +soft, insistent warbles, and the eye with their twinkling azure wings. + + [Illustration: BLUEBIRD + Upper, male; lower, female] + +Was it this constant presence of rivals on both sides that so stimulated +them and kept them up to such a pitch of courtship? Finally, after I had +watched them over an hour, the birds began to come into collision. As +they met in the vineyard, the two males clinched and fell to the +ground, lying there for a moment with wings sprawled out, like birds +brought down by a gun. Then they separated, and each returned to his +mate, warbling and twinkling his wings. Very soon the females clinched +and fell to the ground and fought savagely, rolling over and over each +other, clawing and tweaking and locking beaks and hanging on like bull +terriers. They did this repeatedly; once one of the males dashed in and +separated them, by giving one of the females a sharp tweak and blow. +Then the males were at it again, their blue plumage mixing with the +green grass and ruffled by the ruddy soil. What a soft, feathery, +ineffectual battle it seemed in both cases!--no sound, no blood, no +flying feathers, just a sudden mixing up and general disarray of blue +wings and tails and ruddy breasts, there on the ground; assault but no +visible wounds; thrust of beak and grip of claw, but no feather loosened +and but little ruffling; long holding of one down by the other, but no +cry of pain or fury. It was the kind of battle that one likes to +witness. The birds usually locked beaks, and held their grip half a +minute at a time. One of the females would always alight by the +struggling males and lift her wings and utter her soft notes, but what +she said--whether she was encouraging one of the blue coats or berating +the other, or imploring them both to desist, or egging them on--I could +not tell. So far as I could understand her speech, it was the same that +she had been uttering to her mate all the time. + +When my bluebirds dashed at each other with beak and claw, their +preliminary utterances had to my ears anything but a hostile sound. +Indeed, for the bluebird to make a harsh, discordant sound seems out of +the question. Once, when the two males lay upon the ground with +outspread wings and locked beaks, a robin flew down by them and for a +moment gazed intently at the blue splash upon the grass, and then went +his way. + +As the birds drifted about the grounds, first the males, then the +females rolling on the grass or in the dust in fierce combat, and +between times the members of each pair assuring each other of undying +interest and attachment, I followed them, apparently quite unnoticed by +them. Sometimes they would lie more than a minute upon the ground, each +trying to keep his own or to break the other's hold. They seemed so +oblivious of everything about them that I wondered if they might not at +such times fall an easy prey to cats and hawks. Let me put their +watchfulness to the test, I said. So, as the two males clinched again +and fell to the ground, I cautiously approached them, hat in hand. When +ten feet away and unregarded, I made a sudden dash and covered them with +my hat. The struggle continued for a few seconds under there, then all +was still. Sudden darkness had fallen upon the field of battle. What did +they think had happened? Presently their heads and wings began to brush +the inside of my hat. Then all was still again. Then I spoke to them, +called to them, exulted over them, but they betrayed no excitement or +alarm. Occasionally a head or a body came in gentle contact with the top +or the sides of my hat. + +But the two females were evidently agitated by the sudden disappearance +of their contending lovers, and began uttering their mournful +alarm-note. After a minute or two I lifted one side of my hat and out +darted one of the birds; then I lifted the hat from the other. One of +the females then rushed, apparently with notes of joy and +congratulation, to one of the males, who gave her a spiteful tweak and +blow. Then the other came and he served her the same. He was evidently a +little bewildered, and not certain what had happened or who was +responsible for it. Did he think the two females were in some way to +blame? But he was soon reconciled to one of them again, as was the +other male with the other, yet the two couples did not separate till the +males had come into collision once more. Presently, however, they +drifted apart, and each pair was soon holding an animated conversation +punctuated by those pretty wing gestures, about the two bird-boxes. + +These scenes of love and rivalry had lasted nearly all the forenoon, and +matters between the birds apparently remained as they were before--the +members of each pair quite satisfied with each other. One pair occupied +one of the bird-boxes in the vineyard and reared two broods there during +the season, but the other pair drifted away and took up their abode +somewhere else. + + +THE BLUEBIRD + + A wistful note from out the sky, + "Pure, pure, pure," in plaintive tone, + As if the wand'rer were alone, + And hardly knew to sing or cry. + + But now a flash of eager wing, + Flitting, twinkling by the wall, + And pleadings sweet and am'rous call,-- + Ah, now I know his heart doth sing! + + O bluebird, welcome back again, + Thy azure coat and ruddy vest + Are hues that April loveth best,-- + Warm skies above the furrowed plain. + + The farm boy hears thy tender voice, + And visions come of crystal days, + With sugar-camps in maple ways, + And scenes that make his heart rejoice. + + The lucid smoke drifts on the breeze, + The steaming pans are mantling white, + And thy blue wing's a joyous sight, + Among the brown and leafless trees. + + Now loosened currents glance and run, + And buckets shine on sturdy boles, + The forest folk peep from their holes, + And work is play from sun to sun. + + The downy beats his sounding limb, + The nuthatch pipes his nasal call, + And Robin perched on tree-top tall + Heavenward lifts his evening hymn. + + Now go and bring thy homesick bride, + Persuade her here is just the place + To build a home and found a race + In Downy's cell, my lodge beside. + + + + +THE ROBIN + + +Not long after the bluebird comes the robin. In large numbers they scour +the fields and groves. You hear their piping in the meadow, in the +pasture, on the hillside. Walk in the woods, and the dry leaves rustle +with the whir of their wings, the air is vocal with their cheery call. +In excess of joy and vivacity, they run, leap, scream, chase each other +through the air, diving and sweeping among the trees with perilous +rapidity. + +In that free, fascinating, half-work-and-half-play +pursuit,--sugar-making,--a pursuit which still lingers in many parts of +New York, as in New England,--the robin is one's constant companion. +When the day is sunny and the ground bare, you meet him at all points +and hear him at all hours. At sunset, on the tops of the tall maples, +with look heavenward, and in a spirit of utter abandonment, he carols +his simple strain. And sitting thus amid the stark, silent trees, above +the wet, cold earth, with the chill of winter still in the air, there is +no fitter or sweeter songster in the whole round year. It is in keeping +with the scene and the occasion. How round and genuine the notes are, +and how eagerly our ears drink them in! The first utterance, and the +spell of winter is thoroughly broken, and the remembrance of it afar +off. + +One of the most graceful of warriors is the robin. I know few prettier +sights than two males challenging and curveting about each other upon +the grass in early spring. Their attentions to each other are so +courteous and restrained. In alternate curves and graceful sallies, they +pursue and circumvent each other. First one hops a few feet, then the +other, each one standing erect in true military style while his fellow +passes him and describes the segment of an ellipse about him, both +uttering the while a fine complacent warble in a high but suppressed +key. Are they lovers or enemies? the beholder wonders, until they make a +spring and are beak to beak in the twinkling of an eye, and perhaps +mount a few feet into the air, but rarely actually deliver blows upon +each other. Every thrust is parried, every movement met. They follow +each other with dignified composure about the fields or lawn, into trees +and upon the ground, with plumage slightly spread, breasts glowing, +their lisping, shrill war-song just audible. It forms on the whole the +most civil and high-bred tilt to be witnessed during the season. + +In the latter half of April, we pass through what I call the "robin +racket,"--trains of three or four birds rushing pell-mell over the lawn +and fetching up in a tree or bush, or occasionally upon the ground, all +piping and screaming at the top of their voices, but whether in mirth or +anger it is hard to tell. The nucleus of the train is a female. One +cannot see that the males in pursuit of her are rivals; it seems rather +as if they had united to hustle her out of the place. But somehow the +matches are no doubt made and sealed during these mad rushes. Maybe the +female shouts out to her suitors, "Who touches me first wins," and away +she scurries like an arrow. The males shout out, "Agreed!" and away they +go in pursuit, each trying to outdo the other. The game is a brief one. +Before one can get the clew to it, the party has dispersed. + + * * * * * + +The first year of my cabin life a pair of robins attempted to build a +nest upon the round timber that forms the plate under my porch roof. But +it was a poor place to build in. It took nearly a week's time and caused +the birds a great waste of labor to find this out. The coarse material +they brought for the foundation would not bed well upon the rounded +surface of the timber, and every vagrant breeze that came along swept it +off. My porch was kept littered with twigs and weed-stalks for days, +till finally the birds abandoned the undertaking. The next season a +wiser or more experienced pair made the attempt again, and succeeded. +They placed the nest against the rafter where it joins the plate; they +used mud from the start to level up with and to hold the first twigs and +straws, and had soon completed a firm, shapely structure. When the young +were about ready to fly, it was interesting to note that there was +apparently an older and a younger, as in most families. One bird was +more advanced than any of the others. Had the parent birds intentionally +stimulated it with extra quantities of food, so as to be able to launch +their offspring into the world one at a time? At any rate, one of the +birds was ready to leave the nest a day and a half before any of the +others. I happened to be looking at it when the first impulse to get +outside the nest seemed to seize it. Its parents were encouraging it +with calls and assurances from some rocks a few yards away. It answered +their calls in vigorous, strident tones. Then it climbed over the edge +of the nest upon the plate, took a few steps forward, then a few more, +till it was a yard from the nest and near the end of the timber, and +could look off into free space. Its parents apparently shouted, "Come +on!" But its courage was not quite equal to the leap; it looked around, +and, seeing how far it was from home, scampered back to the nest, and +climbed into it like a frightened child. It had made its first journey +into the world, but the home tie had brought it quickly back. A few +hours afterward it journeyed to the end of the plate again, and then +turned and rushed back. The third time its heart was braver, its wings +stronger, and, leaping into the air with a shout, it flew easily to some +rocks a dozen or more yards away. Each of the young in succession, at +intervals of nearly a day, left the nest in this manner. There would be +the first journey of a few feet along the plate, the first sudden panic +at being so far from home, the rush back, a second and perhaps a third +attempt, and then the irrevocable leap into the air, and a clamorous +flight to a near-by bush or rock. Young birds never go back when they +have once taken flight. The first free flap of the wings severs forever +the ties that bind them to home. + + * * * * * + +I recently observed a robin boring for grubs in a country dooryard. It +is a common enough sight to witness one seize an angle-worm and drag it +from its burrow in the turf, but I am not sure that I ever before saw +one drill for grubs and bring the big white morsel to the surface. The +robin I am speaking of had a nest of young in a maple near by, and she +worked the neighborhood very industriously for food. She would run +along over the short grass after the manner of robins, stopping every +few feet, her form stiff and erect. Now and then she would suddenly bend +her head toward the ground and bring eye or ear for a moment to bear +intently upon it. Then she would spring to boring the turf vigorously +with her bill, changing her attitude at each stroke, alert and watchful, +throwing up the grass roots and little jets of soil, stabbing deeper and +deeper, growing every moment more and more excited, till finally a fat +grub was seized and brought forth. Time after time, during several days, +I saw her mine for grubs in this way and drag them forth. How did she +know where to drill? The insect was in every case an inch below the +surface. Did she hear it gnawing the roots of the grasses, or did she +see a movement in the turf beneath which the grub was at work? I know +not. I only know that she struck her game unerringly each time. Only +twice did I see her make a few thrusts and then desist, as if she had +been for the moment deceived. + + + + +THE FLICKER + + +Another April comer, who arrives shortly after Robin Redbreast, with +whom he associates both at this season and in the autumn, is the +golden-winged woodpecker, _alias_ "high-hole," _alias_ "flicker," +_alias_ "yarup," _alias_ "yellow-hammer." He is an old favorite of my +boyhood, and his note to me means very much. He announces his arrival by +a long, loud call, repeated from the dry branch of some tree, or a stake +in the fence,--a thoroughly melodious April sound. I think how Solomon +finished that beautiful description of spring, "and the voice of the +turtle is heard in our land," and see that a description of spring in +this farming country, to be equally characteristic, should culminate in +like manner,--"and the call of the high-hole comes up from the wood." It +is a loud, strong, sonorous call, and does not seem to imply an answer, +but rather to subserve some purpose of love or music. It is "Yarup's" +proclamation of peace and good-will to all. + +I recall an ancient maple standing sentry to a large sugar-bush, that, +year after year, afforded protection to a brood of yellow-hammers in its +decayed heart. A week or two before the nesting seemed actually to have +begun, three or four of these birds might be seen, on almost any bright +morning, gamboling and courting amid its decayed branches. Sometimes you +would hear only a gentle persuasive cooing, or a quiet confidential +chattering; then that long, loud call, taken up by first one, then +another, as they sat about upon the naked limbs; anon, a sort of wild, +rollicking laughter, intermingled with various cries, yelps, and +squeals, as if some incident had excited their mirth and ridicule. +Whether this social hilarity and boisterousness is in celebration of the +pairing or mating ceremony, or whether it is only a sort of annual +"house-warming" common among high-holes on resuming their summer +quarters, is a question upon which I reserve my judgment. + +[Illustration: FLICKER] + +Unlike most of his kinsmen, the golden-wing prefers the fields and the +borders of the forest to the deeper seclusion of the woods, and hence, +contrary to the habit of his tribe, obtains most of his subsistence from +the ground, probing it for ants and crickets. He is not quite satisfied +with being a woodpecker. He courts the society of the robin and the +finches, abandons the trees for the meadow, and feeds eagerly upon +berries and grain. What may be the final upshot of this course of living +is a question worthy the attention of Darwin. Will his taking to the +ground and his pedestrian feats result in lengthening his legs, his +feeding upon berries and grains subdue his tints and soften his voice, +and his associating with Robin put a song into his heart? + + * * * * * + +In the cavity of an apple-tree, much nearer the house than they usually +build, a pair of high-holes took up their abode. A knot-hole which led +to the decayed interior was enlarged, the live wood being cut away as +clean as a squirrel would have done it. The inside preparations I could +not witness, but day after day, as I passed near, I heard the bird +hammering away, evidently beating down obstructions and shaping and +enlarging the cavity. The chips were not brought out, but were used +rather to floor the interior. The woodpeckers are not nest-builders, but +rather nest-carvers. + +The time seemed very short before the voices of the young were heard in +the heart of the old tree,--at first feebly, but waxing stronger day by +day until they could be heard many rods distant. When I put my hand upon +the trunk of the tree, they would set up an eager, expectant chattering; +but if I climbed up it toward the opening, they soon detected the +unusual sound and would hush quickly, only now and then uttering a +warning note. Long before they were fully fledged they clambered up to +the orifice to receive their food. As but one could stand in the opening +at a time, there was a good deal of elbowing and struggling for this +position. It was a very desirable one aside from the advantages it had +when food was served; it looked out upon the great, shining world, into +which the young birds seemed never tired of gazing. The fresh air must +have been a consideration also, for the interior of a high-hole's +dwelling is not sweet. When the parent birds came with food, the young +one in the opening did not get it all, but after he had received a +portion, either on his own motion or on a hint from the old one, he +would give place to the one behind him. Still, one bird evidently +outstripped his fellows, and in the race of life was two or three days +in advance of them. His voice was loudest and his head oftenest at the +window. But I noticed that, when he had kept the position too long, the +others evidently made it uncomfortable in his rear, and, after +"fidgeting" about awhile, he would be compelled to "back down." But +retaliation was then easy, and I fear his mates spent few easy moments +at that lookout. They would close their eyes and slide back into the +cavity as if the world had suddenly lost all its charms for them. + +This bird was, of course, the first to leave the nest. For two days +before that event he kept his position in the opening most of the time +and sent forth his strong voice incessantly. The old ones abstained from +feeding him almost entirely, no doubt to encourage his exit. As I stood +looking at him one afternoon and noting his progress, he suddenly +reached a resolution,--seconded, I have no doubt, from the rear,--and +launched forth upon his untried wings. They served him well, and carried +him about fifty yards up-hill the first heat. The second day after, the +next in size and spirit left in the same manner; then another, till only +one remained. The parent birds ceased their visits to him, and for one +day he called and called till our ears were tired of the sound. His was +the faintest heart of all. Then he had none to encourage him from +behind. He left the nest and clung to the outer bole of the tree, and +yelped and piped for an hour longer; then he committed himself to his +wings and went his way like the rest. + +The matchmaking of the high-holes, which often comes under my +observation, is in marked contrast to that of the robins and the +bluebirds. There does not appear to be any anger or any blows. The male +or two males will alight on a limb in front of the female, and go +through with a series of bowings and scrapings that are truly comical. +He spreads his tail, he puffs out his breast, he throws back his head +and then bends his body to the right and to the left, uttering all the +while a curious musical hiccough. The female confronts him unmoved, but +whether her attitude is critical or defensive, I cannot tell. Presently +she flies away, followed by her suitor or suitors, and the little comedy +is enacted on another stump or tree. Among all the woodpeckers the drum +plays an important part in the matchmaking. The male takes up his stand +on a dry, resonant limb, or on the ridgeboard of a building, and beats +the loudest call he is capable of. A favorite drum of the high-holes +about me is a hollow wooden tube, a section of a pump, which stands as a +bird-box upon my summer-house. It is a good instrument; its tone is +sharp and clear. A high-hole alights upon it, and sends forth a rattle +that can be heard a long way off. Then he lifts up his head and utters +that long April call, _Wick, wick, wick, wick_. Then he drums again. If +the female does not find him, it is not because he does not make noise +enough. But his sounds are all welcome to the ear. They are simple and +primitive, and voice well a certain sentiment of the April days. As I +write these lines I hear through the half-open door his call come up +from a distant field. Then I hear the steady hammering of one that has +been for three days trying to penetrate the weather boarding of the big +icehouse by the river, and to reach the sawdust filling for a +nesting-place. + + + + +THE PHÅ’BE + + +Another April bird whose memory I fondly cherish is the phÅ“be-bird, the +pioneer of the flycatchers. In the inland farming districts, I used to +notice him, on some bright morning about Easter Day, proclaiming his +arrival, with much variety of motion and attitude, from the peak of the +barn or hay-shed. As yet, you may have heard only the plaintive, +homesick note of the bluebird, or the faint trill of the song sparrow; +and the phÅ“be's clear, vivacious assurance of his veritable bodily +presence among us again is welcomed by all ears. At agreeable intervals +in his lay he describes a circle or an ellipse in the air, ostensibly +prospecting for insects, but really, I suspect, as an artistic flourish, +thrown in to make up in some way for the deficiency of his musical +performance. If plainness of dress indicates powers of song, as it +usually does, the phÅ“be ought to be unrivaled in musical ability, for +surely that ashen-gray suit is the superlative of plainness; and that +form, likewise, would hardly pass for a "perfect figure" of a bird. The +seasonableness of his coming, however, and his civil, neighborly ways, +shall make up for all deficiencies in song and plumage. + +The phÅ“be-bird is a wise architect and perhaps enjoys as great an +immunity from danger, both in its person and its nest, as any other +bird. Its modest ashen-gray suit is the color of the rocks where it +builds, and the moss of which it makes such free use gives to its nest +the look of a natural growth or accretion. But when it comes into the +barn or under the shed to build, as it so frequently does, the moss is +rather out of place. Doubtless in time the bird will take the hint, and +when she builds in such places will leave the moss out. I noted but two +nests the summer I am speaking of: one in a barn failed of issue, on +account of the rats, I suspect, though the little owl may have been the +depredator; the other, in the woods, sent forth three young. This latter +nest was most charmingly and ingeniously placed. I discovered it while +in quest of pond-lilies, in a long, deep, level stretch of water in the +woods. A large tree had blown over at the edge of the water, and its +dense mass of upturned roots, with the black, peaty soil filling the +interstices, was like the fragment of a wall several feet high, rising +from the edge of the languid current. In a niche in this earthy wall, +and visible and accessible only from the water, a phÅ“be had built her +nest and reared her brood. I paddled my boat up and came alongside +prepared to take the family aboard. The young, nearly ready to fly, +were quite undisturbed by my presence, having probably been assured that +no danger need be apprehended from that side. It was not a likely place +for minks, or they would not have been so secure. + + +THE COMING OF PHÅ’BE + + When buckets shine 'gainst maple trees + And drop by drop the sap doth flow, + When days are warm, but still nights freeze, + And deep in woods lie drifts of snow, + When cattle low and fret in stall, + Then morning brings the phÅ“be's call, + "PhÅ“be, + PhÅ“be, phÅ“be," a cheery note, + While cackling hens make such a rout. + + When snowbanks run, and hills are bare, + And early bees hum round the hive, + When woodchucks creep from out their lair + Right glad to find themselves alive, + When sheep go nibbling through the fields, + Then PhÅ“be oft her name reveals, + "PhÅ“be, + PhÅ“be, phÅ“be," a plaintive cry, + While jack-snipes call in morning sky. + + When wild ducks quack in creek and pond + And bluebirds perch on mullein-stalks, + When spring has burst her icy bond + And in brown fields the sleek crow walks, + When chipmunks court in roadside walls, + Then PhÅ“be from the ridgeboard calls, + "PhÅ“be, + PhÅ“be, phÅ“be," and lifts her cap, + While smoking Dick doth boil the sap. + + + + +THE COWBIRD + + +The cow blackbird is a noticeable songster in April, though it takes a +back seat a little later. It utters a peculiarly liquid April sound. +Indeed, one would think its crop was full of water, its notes so bubble +up and regurgitate, and are delivered with such an apparent stomachic +contraction. This bird is the only feathered polygamist we have. The +females are greatly in excess of the males, and the latter are usually +attended by three or four of the former. As soon as the other birds +begin to build, they are on the _qui vive_, prowling about like gypsies, +not to steal the young of others, but to steal their eggs into other +birds' nests, and so shirk the labor and responsibility of hatching and +rearing their own young. + +The cowbird's tactics are probably to watch the movements of the parent +bird. She may often be seen searching anxiously through the trees or +bushes for a suitable nest, yet she may still oftener be seen perched +upon some good point of observation watching the birds as they come and +go about her. There is no doubt that, in many cases, the cowbird makes +room for her own illegitimate egg in the nest by removing one of the +bird's own. I found a sparrow's nest with two sparrow's eggs and one +cowbird's egg, and another egg lying a foot or so below it on the +ground. I replaced the ejected egg, and the next day found it again +removed, and another cowbird's egg in its place. I put it back the +second time, when it was again ejected, or destroyed, for I failed to +find it anywhere. Very alert and sensitive birds, like the warblers, +often bury the strange egg beneath a second nest built on top of the +old. A lady living in the suburbs of an Eastern city heard cries of +distress one morning from a pair of house wrens that had a nest in a +honeysuckle on her front porch. On looking out of the window, she beheld +this little comedy,--comedy from her point of view, but no doubt grim +tragedy from the point of view of the wrens: a cowbird with a wren's egg +in its beak running rapidly along the walk, with the outraged wrens +forming a procession behind it, screaming, scolding, and gesticulating +as only these voluble little birds can. The cowbird had probably been +surprised in the act of violating the nest, and the wrens were giving +her a piece of their minds. + +Every cowbird is reared at the expense of two or more song-birds. For +every one of these dusky little pedestrians there amid the grazing +cattle there are two or more sparrows, or vireos, or warblers, the less. +It is a big price to pay,--two larks for a bunting,--two sovereigns for +a shilling; but Nature does not hesitate occasionally to contradict +herself in just this way. The young of the cowbird is disproportionately +large and aggressive, one might say hoggish. When disturbed, it will +clasp the nest and scream and snap its beak threateningly. One was +hatched out in a song sparrow's nest which was under my observation, and +would soon have overridden and overborne the young sparrow which came +out of the shell a few hours later, had I not interfered from time to +time and lent the young sparrow a helping hand. Every day I would visit +the nest and take the sparrow out from under the potbellied interloper, +and place it on top, so that presently it was able to hold its own +against its enemy. Both birds became fledged and left the nest about the +same time. Whether the race was an even one after that, I know not. + + + + +THE CHIPPING SPARROW + + +When the true flycatcher catches a fly, it is quick business. There is +no strife, no pursuit,--one fell swoop, and the matter is ended. Now +note that yonder little sparrow is less skilled. It is the chippy, and +he finds his subsistence properly in various seeds and the larvæ of +insects, though he occasionally has higher aspirations, and seeks to +emulate the pewee, commencing and ending his career as a flycatcher by +an awkward chase after a beetle or "miller." He is hunting around in the +grass now, I suspect, with the desire to indulge this favorite whim. +There!--the opportunity is afforded him. Away goes a little +cream-colored meadow-moth in the most tortuous course he is capable of, +and away goes Chippy in pursuit. The contest is quite comical, though I +dare say it is serious enough to the moth. The chase continues for a few +yards, when there is a sudden rushing to cover in the grass,--then a +taking to wing again, when the search has become too close, and the moth +has recovered his wind. Chippy chirps angrily, and is determined not to +be beaten. Keeping, with the slightest effort, upon the heels of the +fugitive, he is ever on the point of halting to snap him up, but never +quite does it; and so, between disappointment and expectation, is soon +disgusted, and returns to pursue his more legitimate means of +subsistence. + + * * * * * + +Last summer I made this record in my notebook: "A nest of young robins +in the maple in front of the house being fed by a chipping sparrow. The +little sparrow is very attentive; seems decidedly fond of her adopted +babies. The old robins resent her services, and hustle her out of the +tree whenever they find her near the nest. (It was this hurried +departure of Chippy from the tree that first attracted my attention.) +She watches her chances, and comes with food in their absence. The young +birds are about ready to fly, and when the chippy feeds them her head +fairly disappears in their capacious mouths. She jerks it back as if she +were afraid of being swallowed. Then she lingers near them on the edge +of the nest, and seems to admire them. When she sees the old robin +coming, she spreads her wings in an attitude of defense, and then flies +away. I wonder if she has had the experience of rearing a cow-bunting?" +(A day later.) "The robins are out of the nest, and the little sparrow +continues to feed them. She approaches them rather timidly and +hesitatingly, as if she feared they might swallow her, then thrusts her +titbit quickly into the distended mouth and jerks back." + +Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, whether she was an unmated +bird, or whether the case was simply the overflowing of the maternal +instinct, it would be interesting to know. + + + + +THE CHEWINK + + +The chewink is a shy bird, but not stealthy. It is very inquisitive, and +sets up a great scratching among the leaves, apparently to attract your +attention. The male is perhaps the most conspicuously marked of all the +ground-birds except the bobolink, being black above, bay on the sides, +and white beneath. The bay is in compliment to the leaves he is forever +scratching among,--they have rustled against his breast and sides so +long that these parts have taken their color; but whence come the white +and the black? The bird seems to be aware that his color betrays him, +for there are few birds in the woods so careful about keeping themselves +screened from view. When in song, its favorite perch is the top of some +high bush near to cover. On being disturbed at such times, it pitches +down into the brush and is instantly lost to view. + + [Illustration: CHEWINK + Upper, male; lower, female] + +This is the bird that Thomas Jefferson wrote to Wilson about, greatly +exciting the latter's curiosity. Wilson was just then upon the threshold +of his career as an ornithologist, and had made a drawing of the Canada +jay which he sent to the President. It was a new bird, and in reply +Jefferson called his attention to a "curious bird" which was everywhere +to be heard, but scarcely ever to be seen. He had for twenty years +interested the young sportsmen of his neighborhood to shoot one for him, +but without success. "It is in all the forests, from spring to fall," he +says in his letter, "and never but on the tops of the tallest trees, +from which it perpetually serenades us with some of the sweetest notes, +and as clear as those of the nightingale. I have followed it for miles, +without ever but once getting a good view of it. It is of the size and +make of the mockingbird, lightly thrush-colored on the back, and a +grayish-white on the breast and belly. Mr. Randolph, my son-in-law, was +in possession of one which had been shot by a neighbor," etc. Randolph +pronounced it a flycatcher, which was a good way wide of the mark. +Jefferson must have seen only the female, after all his tramp, from his +description of the color; but he was doubtless following his own great +thoughts more than the bird, else he would have had an earlier view. The +bird was not a new one, but was well known then as the ground-robin. The +President put Wilson on the wrong scent by his erroneous description, +and it was a long time before the latter got at the truth of the case. +But Jefferson's letter is a good sample of those which specialists +often receive from intelligent persons who have seen or heard something +in their line very curious or entirely new, and who set the man of +science agog by a description of the supposed novelty,--a description +that generally fits the facts of the case about as well as your coat +fits the chair-back. Strange and curious things in the air, and in the +water, and in the earth beneath, are seen every day except by those who +are looking for them, namely, the naturalists. When Wilson or Audubon +gets his eye on the unknown bird, the illusion vanishes, and your +phenomenon turns out to be one of the commonplaces of the fields or +woods. + + + + +THE BROWN THRASHER + + +Our long-tailed thrush, or thrasher, delights in a high branch of some +solitary tree, whence it will pour out its rich and intricate warble for +an hour together. This bird is the great American chipper. There is no +other bird that I know of that can chip with such emphasis and military +decision as this yellow-eyed songster. It is like the click of a giant +gunlock. Why is the thrasher so stealthy? It always seems to be going +about on tip-toe. I never knew it to steal anything, and yet it skulks +and hides like a fugitive from justice. One never sees it flying aloft +in the air and traversing the world openly, like most birds, but it +darts along fences and through bushes as if pursued by a guilty +conscience. Only when the musical fit is upon it does it come up into +full view, and invite the world to hear and behold. + +Years pass without my finding a brown thrasher's nest; it is not a nest +you are likely to stumble upon in your walk; it is hidden as a miser +hides his gold, and watched as jealously. The male pours out his rich +and triumphant song from the tallest tree he can find, and fairly +challenges you to come and look for his treasures in his vicinity. But +you will not find them if you go. The nest is somewhere on the outer +circle of his song; he is never so imprudent as to take up his stand +very near it. The artists who draw those cozy little pictures of a +brooding mother bird, with the male perched but a yard away in full +song, do not copy from nature. The thrasher's nest I found was thirty or +forty rods from the point where the male was wont to indulge in his +brilliant recitative. It was in an open field under a low +ground-juniper. My dog disturbed the sitting bird as I was passing near. +The nest could be seen only by lifting up and parting away the branches. +All the arts of concealment had been carefully studied. It was the last +place you would think of looking in, and, if you did look, nothing was +visible but the dense green circle of the low-spreading juniper. When +you approached, the bird would keep her place till you had begun to stir +the branches, when she would start out, and, just skimming the ground, +make a bright brown line to the near fence and bushes. I confidently +expected that this nest would escape molestation, but it did not. Its +discovery by myself and dog probably opened the door for ill luck, as +one day, not long afterward, when I peeped in upon it, it was empty. The +proud song of the male had ceased from his accustomed tree, and the +pair were seen no more in that vicinity. + +After a pair of nesting birds have been broken up once or twice during +the season, they become almost desperate, and will make great efforts to +outwit their enemies. A pair of brown thrashers built their nest in a +pasture-field under a low, scrubby apple-tree which the cattle had +browsed down till it spread a thick, wide mass of thorny twigs only a +few inches above the ground. Some blackberry briers had also grown +there, so that the screen was perfect. My dog first started the bird, as +I was passing near. By stooping low and peering intently, I could make +out the nest and eggs. Two or three times a week, as I passed by, I +would pause to see how the nest was prospering. The mother bird would +keep her place, her yellow eyes never blinking. One morning, as I looked +into her tent, I found the nest empty. Some night-prowler, probably a +skunk or a fox, or maybe a black snake or a red squirrel by day, had +plundered it. It would seem as if it was too well screened; it was in +such a spot as any depredator would be apt to explore. "Surely," he +would say, "this is a likely place for a nest." The birds then moved +over the hill a hundred rods or more, much nearer the house, and in some +rather open bushes tried again. But again they came to grief. Then, +after some delay, the mother bird made a bold stroke. She seemed to +reason with herself thus: "Since I have fared so disastrously in seeking +seclusion for my nest, I will now adopt the opposite tactics, and come +out fairly in the open. What hides me hides my enemies: let us try +greater publicity." So she came out and built her nest by a few small +shoots that grew beside the path that divides the two vineyards, and +where we passed to and fro many times daily. I discovered her by chance +early in the morning as I proceeded to my work. She started up at my +feet and flitted quickly along above the ploughed ground, almost as red +as the soil. I admired her audacity. Surely no prowler by night or day +would suspect a nest in this open and exposed place. There was no cover +by which they could approach, and no concealment anywhere. The nest was +a hasty affair, as if the birds' patience at nest-building had been +about exhausted. Presently an egg appeared, and then the next day +another, and on the fourth day a third. No doubt the bird would have +succeeded this time had not man interfered. In cultivating the vineyards +the horse and cultivator had to pass over this very spot. Upon this the +bird had not calculated. I determined to assist her. I called my man, +and told him there was one spot in that vineyard, no bigger than his +hand, where the horse's foot must not be allowed to fall, nor tooth of +cultivator to touch. Then I showed him the nest, and charged him to +avoid it. Probably if I had kept the secret to myself, and let the bird +run her own risk, the nest would have escaped. But the result was that +the man, in elaborately trying to avoid the nest, overdid the matter; +the horse plunged, and set his foot squarely upon it. Such a little +spot, the chances were few that the horse's foot would fall exactly +there; and yet it did, and the birds' hopes were again dashed. The pair +then disappeared from my vicinity, and I saw them no more. + + + + +THE HOUSE WREN + + +A few years ago I put up a little bird-house in the back end of my +garden for the accommodation of the wrens, and every season a pair have +taken up their abode there. One spring a pair of bluebirds looked into +the tenement and lingered about several days, leading me to hope that +they would conclude to occupy it. But they finally went away, and later +in the season the wrens appeared, and, after a little coquetting, were +regularly installed in their old quarters, and were as happy as only +wrens can be. + +One of our younger poets, Myron Benton, saw a little bird + + "Ruffled with whirlwind of his ecstasies," + +which must have been the wren, as I know of no other bird that so throbs +and palpitates with music as this little vagabond. And the pair I speak +of seemed exceptionally happy, and the male had a small tornado of song +in his crop that kept him "ruffled" every moment in the day. But before +their honeymoon was over the bluebirds returned. I knew something was +wrong before I was up in the morning. Instead of that voluble and +gushing song outside the window, I heard the wrens scolding and crying +at a fearful rate, and on going out saw the bluebirds in possession of +the box. The poor wrens were in despair; they wrung their hands and tore +their hair, after the wren fashion, but chiefly did they rattle out +their disgust and wrath at the intruders. I have no doubt that, if it +could have been interpreted, it would have been proven the rankest and +most voluble billingsgate ever uttered. For the wren is saucy, and he +has a tongue in his head that can outwag any other tongue known to me. + +The bluebirds said nothing, but the male kept an eye on Mr. Wren, and, +when he came too near, gave chase, driving him to cover under the fence, +or under a rubbish-heap or other object, where the wren would scold and +rattle away, while his pursuer sat on the fence or the pea-brush waiting +for him to reappear. + +Days passed, and the usurpers prospered and the outcasts were wretched; +but the latter lingered about, watching and abusing their enemies, and +hoping, no doubt, that things would take a turn, as they presently did. +The outraged wrens were fully avenged. The mother bluebird had laid her +full complement of eggs and was beginning to set, when one day, as her +mate was perched above her on the barn, along came a boy with one of +those wicked elastic slings and cut him down with a pebble. There he +lay like a bit of sky fallen upon the grass. The widowed bird seemed to +understand what had happened, and without much ado disappeared next day +in quest of another mate. + +In the mean time the wrens were beside themselves with delight; they +fairly screamed with joy. If the male was before "ruffled with whirlwind +of his ecstasies," he was now in danger of being rent asunder. He +inflated his throat and caroled as wren never caroled before. And the +female, too, how she cackled and darted about! How busy they both were! +Rushing into the nest, they hustled those eggs out in less than a +minute, wren time. They carried in new material, and by the third day +were fairly installed again in their old quarters; but on the third day, +so rapidly are these little dramas played, the female bluebird +reappeared with another mate. Ah! how the wren stock went down then! +What dismay and despair filled again those little breasts! It was +pitiful. They did not scold as before, but after a day or two withdrew +from the garden, dumb with grief, and gave up the struggle. + + * * * * * + +The chatter of a second brood of nearly fledged wrens is heard now +(August 20) in an oriole's nest suspended from the branch of an +apple-tree near where I write. Earlier in the season the parent birds +made long and determined attempts to establish themselves in a cavity +that had been occupied by a pair of bluebirds. The original proprietor +of the place was the downy woodpecker. He had excavated it the autumn +before, and had passed the winter there, often to my certain knowledge +lying abed till nine o'clock in the morning. In the spring he went +elsewhere, probably with a female, to begin the season in new quarters. +The bluebirds early took possession, and in June their first brood had +flown. The wrens had been hanging around, evidently with an eye on the +place (such little comedies may be witnessed anywhere), and now very +naturally thought it was their turn. A day or two after the young +bluebirds had flown, I noticed some fine, dry grass clinging to the +entrance to the cavity; a circumstance which I understood a few moments +later, when the wren rushed by me into the cover of a small Norway +spruce, hotly pursued by the male bluebird. It was a brown streak and a +blue streak pretty close together. The wrens had gone to housecleaning, +and the bluebird had returned to find his bed and bedding being pitched +out of doors, and had thereupon given the wrens to understand in the +most emphatic manner that he had no intention of vacating the premises +so early in the season. Day after day, for more than two weeks, the male +bluebird had to clear his premises of these intruders. It occupied much +of his time and not a little of mine, as I sat with a book in a +summer-house near by, laughing at his pretty fury and spiteful onset. On +two occasions the wren rushed under the chair in which I sat, and a +streak of blue lightning almost flashed in my very face. One day, just +as I had passed the tree in which the cavity was located, I heard the +wren scream desperately; turning, I saw the little vagabond fall into +the grass with the wrathful bluebird fairly upon him; the latter had +returned just in time to catch him, and was evidently bent on punishing +him well. But in the squabble in the grass the wren escaped and took +refuge in the friendly evergreen. The bluebird paused for a moment with +outstretched wings looking for the fugitive, then flew away. A score of +times during the month of June did I see the wren taxing every energy to +get away from the bluebird. He would dart into the stone wall, under the +floor of the summer-house, into the weeds,--anywhere to hide his +diminished head. The bluebird, with his bright coat, looked like an +officer in uniform in pursuit of some wicked, rusty little street gamin. +Generally the favorite house of refuge of the wrens was the little +spruce, into which their pursuer made no attempt to follow them. The +female would sit concealed amid the branches, chattering in a scolding, +fretful way, while the male with his eye upon his tormentor would perch +on the topmost shoot and sing. Why he sang at such times, whether in +triumph and derision, or to keep his courage up and reassure his mate, I +could not make out. When his song was suddenly cut short, and I glanced +to see him dart down into the spruce, my eye usually caught a twinkle of +blue wings hovering near. The wrens finally gave up the fight, and their +enemies reared their second brood in peace. + + + + +THE SONG SPARROW + + +The first song sparrow's nest I observed in the spring of 1881 was in a +field under a fragment of a board, the board being raised from the +ground a couple of inches by two poles. It had its full complement of +eggs, and probably sent forth a brood of young birds, though as to this +I cannot speak positively, as I neglected to observe it further. It was +well sheltered and concealed, and was not easily come at by any of its +natural enemies, save snakes and weasels. But concealment often avails +little. In May, a song sparrow, which had evidently met with disaster +earlier in the season, built its nest in a thick mass of woodbine +against the side of my house, about fifteen feet from the ground. +Perhaps it took the hint from its cousin the English sparrow. The nest +was admirably placed, protected from the storms by the overhanging eaves +and from all eyes by the thick screen of leaves. Only by patiently +watching the suspicious bird, as she lingered near with food in her +beak, did I discover its whereabouts. That brood is safe, I thought, +beyond doubt. But it was not: the nest was pillaged one night, either by +an owl, or else by a rat that had climbed into the vine, seeking an +entrance to the house. The mother bird, after reflecting upon her ill +luck about a week, seemed to resolve to try a different system of +tactics, and to throw all appearances of concealment aside. She built a +nest a few yards from the house, beside the drive, upon a smooth piece +of greensward. There was not a weed or a shrub or anything whatever to +conceal it or mark its site. The structure was completed, and incubation +had begun, before I discovered what was going on. "Well, well," I said, +looking down upon the bird almost at my feet, "this is going to the +other extreme indeed; now the cats will have you." The desperate little +bird sat there day after day, looking like a brown leaf pressed down in +the short green grass. As the weather grew hot, her position became very +trying. It was no longer a question of keeping the eggs warm, but of +keeping them from roasting. The sun had no mercy on her, and she fairly +panted in the middle of the day. In such an emergency the male robin has +been known to perch above the sitting female and shade her with his +outstretched wings. But in this case there was no perch for the male +bird, had he been disposed to make a sunshade of himself. I thought to +lend a hand in this direction myself, and so stuck a leafy twig beside +the nest. This was probably an unwise interference: it guided disaster +to the spot; the nest was broken up, and the mother bird was probably +caught, as I never saw her afterward. + +One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards from where I was sitting with +a book: two song sparrows were trying to defend their nest against a +black snake. The curious, interrogating note of a chicken who had +suddenly come upon the scene in his walk first caused me to look up from +my reading. There were the sparrows, with wings raised in a way +peculiarly expressive of horror and dismay, rushing about a low clump of +grass and bushes. Then, looking more closely, I saw the glistening form +of the black snake, and the quick movement of his head as he tried to +seize the birds. The sparrows darted about and through the grass and +weeds, trying to beat the snake off. Their tails and wings were spread, +and, panting with the heat and the desperate struggle, they presented a +most singular spectacle. They uttered no cry, not a sound escaped them; +they were plainly speechless with horror and dismay. Not once did they +drop their wings, and the peculiar expression of those uplifted palms, +as it were, I shall never forget. It occurred to me that perhaps here +was a case of attempted bird-charming on the part of the snake, so I +looked on from behind the fence. The birds charged the snake and +harassed him from every side, but were evidently under no spell save +that of courage in defending their nest. Every moment or two I could see +the head and neck of the serpent make a sweep at the birds, when the one +struck at would fall back, and the other would renew the assault from +the rear. There appeared to be little danger that the snake could strike +and hold one of the birds, though I trembled for them, they were so bold +and approached so near to the snake's head. Time and again he sprang at +them, but without success. How the poor things panted, and held up their +wings appealingly! Then the snake glided off to the near fence, barely +escaping the stone which I hurled at him. I found the nest rifled and +deranged; whether it had contained eggs or young, I know not. The male +sparrow had cheered me many a day with his song, and I blamed myself for +not having rushed at once to the rescue, when the arch enemy was upon +him. There is probably little truth in the popular notion that snakes +charm birds. The black snake is the most subtle, alert, and devilish of +our snakes, and I have never seen him have any but young, helpless birds +in his mouth. + + * * * * * + +If one has always built one's nest upon the ground, and if one comes of +a race of ground-builders, it is a risky experiment to build in a tree. +The conditions are vastly different. One of my near neighbors, a little +song sparrow, learned this lesson the past season. She grew ambitious; +she departed from the traditions of her race, and placed her nest in a +tree. Such a pretty spot she chose, too,--the pendent cradle formed by +the interlaced sprays of two parallel branches of a Norway spruce. These +branches shoot out almost horizontally; indeed, the lower ones become +quite so in spring, and the side shoots with which they are clothed +droop down, forming the slopes of miniature ridges; where the slopes of +two branches join, a little valley is formed, which often looks more +stable than it really is. My sparrow selected one of these little +valleys about six feet from the ground, and quite near the walls of the +house. "Here," she thought, "I will build my nest, and pass the heat of +June in a miniature Norway. This tree is the fir-clad mountain, and this +little vale on its side I select for my own." She carried up a great +quantity of coarse grass and straws for the foundation, just as she +would have done upon the ground. On the top of this mass there gradually +came into shape the delicate structure of her nest, compacting and +refining till its delicate carpet of hairs and threads was reached. So +sly as the little bird was about it, too,--every moment on her guard +lest you discover her secret! Five eggs were laid, and incubation was +far advanced, when the storms and winds came. The cradle indeed did +rock. The boughs did not break, but they swayed and separated as you +would part your two interlocked hands. The ground of the little valley +fairly gave way, the nest tilted over till its contents fell into the +chasm. It was like an earthquake that destroys a hamlet. + +No born tree-builder would have placed its nest in such a situation. +Birds that build at the end of the branch, like the oriole, tie the nest +fast; others, like the robin, build against the main trunk; still others +build securely in the fork. The sparrow, in her ignorance, rested her +house upon the spray of two branches, and when the tempest came, the +branches parted company and the nest was engulfed. + +A little bob-tailed song sparrow built her nest in a pile of dry brush +very near the kitchen door of a farmhouse on the skirts of the northern +Catskills, where I was passing the summer. It was late in July, and she +had doubtless reared one brood in the earlier season. Her toilet was +decidedly the worse for wear. I noted her day after day, very busy about +the fence and quince bushes between the house and milk house, with her +beak full of coarse straw and hay. To a casual observer, she seemed +flitting about aimlessly, carrying straws from place to place just to +amuse herself. When I came to watch her closely to learn the place of +her nest, she seemed to suspect my intention, and made many little +feints and movements calculated to put me off my track. But I would not +be misled, and presently had her secret. The male did not assist her at +all, but sang much of the time in an apple-tree or upon the fence, on +the other side of the house. + +The song sparrow nearly always builds upon the ground, but my little +neighbor laid the foundations of her domicile a foot or more above the +soil. And what a mass of straws and twigs she did collect together! How +coarse and careless and aimless at first,--a mere lot of rubbish dropped +upon the tangle of dry limbs; but presently how it began to refine and +come into shape in the centre! till there was the most exquisite +hair-lined cup set about by a chaos of coarse straws and branches. What +a process of evolution! The completed nest was foreshadowed by the first +stiff straw; but how far off is yet that dainty casket with its +complement of speckled eggs! The nest was so placed that it had for +canopy a large, broad, drooping leaf of yellow dock. This formed a +perfect shield against both sun and rain, while it served to conceal it +from any curious eyes from above,--from the cat, for instance, prowling +along the top of the wall. Before the eggs had hatched, the docken leaf +wilted and dried and fell down upon the nest. But the mother bird +managed to insinuate herself beneath it, and went on with her brooding +all the same. + +Then I arranged an artificial cover of leaves and branches, which +shielded her charge till they had flown away. A mere trifle was this +little bob-tailed bird with her arts and her secrets, and the male with +his song, and yet the pair gave a touch of something to those days and +to that place which I would not willingly have missed. + + + + +THE CHIMNEY SWIFT + + +One day a swarm of honey-bees went into my chimney, and I mounted the +stack to see into which flue they had gone. As I craned my neck above +the sooty vent, with the bees humming about my ears, the first thing my +eye rested upon in the black interior was a pair of long white pearls +upon a little shelf of twigs, the nest of the chimney swallow, or +swift,--honey, soot, and birds' eggs closely associated. The bees, +though in an unused flue, soon found the gas of anthracite that hovered +about the top of the chimney too much for them, and they left. But the +swifts are not repelled by smoke. They seem to have entirely abandoned +their former nesting-places in hollow trees and stumps, and to frequent +only chimneys. A tireless bird, never perching, all day upon the wing, +and probably capable of flying one thousand miles in twenty-four hours, +they do not even stop to gather materials for their nests, but snap off +the small dry twigs from the tree-tops as they fly by. Confine one of +these swifts to a room and it does not perch, but after flying till it +becomes bewildered and exhausted, it clings to the side of the wall till +it dies. Once, on returning to my room after several days' absence, I +found one in which life seemed nearly extinct; its feet grasped my +finger as I removed it from the wall, but its eyes closed, and it seemed +about on the point of joining its companion, which lay dead upon the +floor. Tossing it into the air, however, seemed to awaken its wonderful +powers of flight, and away it went straight toward the clouds. On the +wing the chimney swift looks like an athlete stripped for the race. +There is the least appearance of quill and plumage of any of our birds, +and, with all its speed and marvelous evolutions, the effect of its +flight is stiff and wiry. There appears to be but one joint in the wing, +and that next the body. This peculiar inflexible motion of the wings, as +if they were little sickles of sheet iron, seems to be owing to the +length and development of the primary quills and the smallness of the +secondary. The wing appears to hinge only at the wrist. The barn swallow +lines its rude masonry with feathers, but the swift begins life on bare +twigs, glued together by a glue of home manufacture as adhesive as +Spaulding's. + +The big chimney of my cabin "Slabsides" of course attracted the chimney +swifts, and as it was not used in summer, two pairs built their nests in +it, and we had the muffled thunder of their wings at all hours of the +day and night. One night, when one of the broods was nearly fledged, the +nest that held them fell down into the fireplace. Such a din of +screeching and chattering as they instantly set up! Neither my dog nor I +could sleep. They yelled in chorus, stopping at the end of every +half-minute as if upon signal. Now they were all screeching at the top +of their voices, then a sudden, dead silence ensued. Then the din began +again, to terminate at the instant as before. If they had been long +practicing together, they could not have succeeded better. I never +before heard the cry of birds so accurately timed. After a while I got +up and put them back up the chimney, and stopped up the throat of the +flue with newspapers. The next day one of the parent birds, in bringing +food to them, came down the chimney with such force that it passed +through the papers and brought up in the fireplace. On capturing it I +saw that its throat was distended with food as a chipmunk's cheek with +corn, or a boy's pocket with chestnuts. I opened its mandibles, when it +ejected a wad of insects as large as a bean. Most of them were much +macerated, but there were two house-flies yet alive and but little the +worse for their close confinement. They stretched themselves and walked +about upon my hand, enjoying a breath of fresh air once more. It was +nearly two hours before the swift again ventured into the chimney with +food. + +These birds do not perch, nor alight upon buildings or the ground. They +are apparently upon the wing all day. They outride the storms. I have in +my mind a cheering picture of three of them I saw facing a heavy +thunder-shower one afternoon. The wind was blowing a gale, the clouds +were rolling in black, portentous billows out of the west, the peals of +thunder were shaking the heavens, and the big drops were just beginning +to come down, when, on looking up, I saw three swifts high in air, +working their way slowly, straight into the teeth of the storm. They +were not hurried or disturbed; they held themselves firmly and steadily; +indeed, they were fairly at anchor in the air till the rage of the +elements should have subsided. I do not know that any other of our land +birds outride the storms in this way. + +In the choice of nesting-material the swift shows no change of habit. +She still snips off the small dry twigs from the tree-tops and glues +them together, and to the side of the chimney, with her own glue. The +soot is a new obstacle in her way, that she does not yet seem to have +learned to overcome, as the rains often loosen it and cause her nest to +fall to the bottom. She has a pretty way of trying to frighten you off +when your head suddenly darkens the opening above her. At such times she +leaves the nest and clings to the side of the chimney near it. Then, +slowly raising her wings, she suddenly springs out from the wall and +back again, making as loud a drumming with them in the passage as she is +capable of. If this does not frighten you away, she repeats it three or +four times. If your face still hovers above her, she remains quiet and +watches you. + +What a creature of the air this bird is, never touching the ground, so +far as I know, and never tasting earthly food! The swallow does perch +now and then and descend to the ground for nesting-material, but not so +the swift. The twigs for her nest she gathers on the wing, sweeping +along like children on a "merry-go-round" who try to seize a ring, or to +do some other feat, as they pass a given point. If the swift misses the +twig, or it fails to yield to her the first time, she tries again and +again, each time making a wider circuit, as if to tame and train her +steed a little and bring him up more squarely to the mark next time. + +Though the swift is a stiff flyer and apparently without joints in her +wings, yet the air of frolic and of superabundance of wing-power is +more marked with her than with any other of our birds. Her feeding and +twig-gathering seem like asides in a life of endless play. Several times +both in spring and fall I have seen swifts gather in immense numbers +toward nightfall, to take refuge in large unused chimney-stacks. On such +occasions they seem to be coming together for some aerial festival or +grand celebration; and, as if bent upon a final effort to work off a +part of their superabundant wing-power before settling down for the +night, they circle and circle high above the chimney-top, a great cloud +of them, drifting this way and that, all in high spirits and chippering +as they fly. Their numbers constantly increase as other members of the +clan come dashing in from all points of the compass. Swifts seem to +materialize out of empty air on all sides of the chippering, whirling +ring, as an hour or more this assembling of the clan and this flight +festival go on. The birds must gather in from whole counties, or from +half a State. They have been on the wing all day, and yet now they seem +as tireless as the wind, and as if unable to curb their powers. + +One fall they gathered in this way and took refuge for the night in a +large chimney-stack in a city near me, and kept this course up for more +than a month and a half. Several times I went to town to witness the +spectacle, and a spectacle it was: ten thousand swifts, I should think, +filling the air above a whole square like a whirling swarm of huge black +bees, but saluting the ear with a multitudinous chippering, instead of a +humming. People gathered upon the sidewalks to see them. It was a rare +circus performance, free to all. After a great many feints and playful +approaches, the whirling ring of birds would suddenly grow denser above +the chimney; then a stream of them, as if drawn down by some power of +suction, would pour into the opening. For only a few seconds would this +downward rush continue; then, as if the spirit of frolic had again got +the upper hand of them, the ring would rise, and the chippering and +circling go on. In a minute or two the same manÅ“uvre would be repeated, +the chimney, as it were, taking its swallows at intervals to prevent +choking. It usually took a half-hour or more for the birds all to +disappear down its capacious throat. There was always an air of timidity +and irresolution about their approach to the chimney, just as there +always is about their approach to the dead tree-top from which they +procure their twigs for nest-building. Often did I see birds hesitate +above the opening and then pass on, apparently as though they had not +struck it at just the right angle. On one occasion a solitary bird was +left flying, and it took three or four trials either to make up its mind +or to catch the trick of the descent. On dark or threatening or stormy +days the birds would begin to assemble by mid-afternoon, and by four or +five o'clock were all in their lodgings. + + + + +THE OVEN-BIRD + + +Every loiterer about the woods knows this pretty, speckled-breasted, +olive-backed little bird, which walks along over the dry leaves a few +yards from him, moving its head as it walks, like a miniature domestic +fowl. Most birds are very stiff-necked, like the robin, and as they run +or hop upon the ground, carry the head as if it were riveted to the +body. Not so the oven-bird, or the other birds that walk, as the +cow-bunting, or the quail, or the crow. They move the head forward with +the movement of the feet. The sharp, reiterated, almost screeching song +of the oven-bird, as it perches on a limb a few feet from the ground, +like the words "preacher, preacher, preacher," or "teacher, teacher, +teacher," uttered louder and louder, and repeated six or seven times, is +also familiar to most ears; but its wild, ringing, rapturous burst of +song in the air high above the tree-tops is not so well known. From a +very prosy, tiresome, unmelodious singer, it is suddenly transformed for +a brief moment into a lyric poet of great power. It is a great surprise. +The bird undergoes a complete transformation. Ordinarily it is a very +quiet, demure sort of bird. It walks about over the leaves, moving its +head like a little hen; then perches on a limb a few feet from the +ground and sends forth its shrill, rather prosy, unmusical chant. Surely +it is an ordinary, commonplace bird. But wait till the inspiration of +its flight-song is upon it. What a change! Up it goes through the +branches of the trees, leaping from limb to limb, faster and faster, +till it shoots from the tree-tops fifty or more feet into the air above +them, and bursts into an ecstasy of song, rapid, ringing, lyrical; no +more like its habitual performance than a match is like a rocket; brief +but thrilling; emphatic but musical. Having reached its climax of flight +and song, the bird closes its wings and drops nearly perpendicularly +downward like the skylark. If its song were more prolonged, it would +rival the song of that famous bird. The bird does this many times a day +during early June, but oftenest at twilight. + +About the first of June there is a nest in the woods, upon the ground, +with four creamy-white eggs in it, spotted with brown or lilac, chiefly +about the larger ends, that always gives the walker who is so lucky as +to find it a thrill of pleasure. It is like a ground sparrow's nest with +a roof or canopy to it. The little brown or olive backed bird starts +away from your feet and runs swiftly and almost silently over the dry +leaves, and then turns her speckled breast to see if you are following. +She walks very prettily, by far the prettiest pedestrian in the woods. +But if she thinks you have discovered her secret, she feigns lameness +and disability of both leg and wing, to decoy you into the pursuit of +her. This is the oven-bird. The last nest of this bird I found was while +in quest of the pink cypripedium. We suddenly spied a couple of the +flowers a few steps from the path along which we were walking, and had +stooped to admire them, when out sprang the bird from beside them, +doubtless thinking she was the subject of observation instead of the +rose-purple flowers that swung but a foot or two above her. But we never +should have seen her had she kept her place. She had found a rent in the +matted carpet of dry leaves and pine needles that covered the ground, +and into this had insinuated her nest, the leaves and needles forming a +canopy above it, sloping to the south and west, the source of the more +frequent summer rains. + + + + +THE CATBIRD + + +It requires an effort for me to speak of the singing catbird as he; all +the ways and tones of the bird seem so distinctly feminine. But it is, +of course, only the male that sings. At times I hardly know whether I am +more pleased or annoyed with him. Perhaps he is a little too common, and +his part in the general chorus a little too conspicuous. If you are +listening for the note of another bird, he is sure to be prompted to the +most loud and protracted singing, drowning all other sounds; if you sit +quietly down to observe a favorite or study a new-comer, his curiosity +knows no bounds, and you are scanned and ridiculed from every point of +observation. Yet I would not miss him; I would only subordinate him a +little, make him less conspicuous. + +He is the parodist of the woods, and there is ever a mischievous, +bantering, half-ironical undertone in his lay, as if he were conscious +of mimicking and disconcerting some envied songster. Ambitious of song, +practicing and rehearsing in private, he yet seems the least sincere and +genuine of the sylvan minstrels, as if he had taken up music only to be +in the fashion, or not to be outdone by the robins and thrushes. In +other words, he seems to sing from some outward motive, and not from +inward joyousness. He is a good versifier, but not a great poet. +Vigorous, rapid, copious, not without fine touches, but destitute of any +high, serene melody, his performance, like that of Thoreau's squirrel, +always implies a spectator. + +There is a certain air and polish about his strain, however, like that +in the vivacious conversation of a well-bred lady of the world, that +commands respect. His parental instinct, also, is very strong, and that +simple structure of dead twigs and dry grass is the centre of much +anxious solicitude. Not long since, while strolling through the woods, +my attention was attracted to a small densely-grown swamp, hedged in +with eglantine, brambles, and the everlasting smilax, from which +proceeded loud cries of distress and alarm, indicating that some +terrible calamity was threatening my sombre-colored minstrel. On +effecting an entrance, which, however, was not accomplished till I had +doffed coat and hat, so as to diminish the surface exposed to the thorns +and brambles, and, looking around me from a square yard of terra firma, +I found myself the spectator of a loathsome yet fascinating scene. Three +or four yards from me was the nest, beneath which, in long festoons, +rested a huge black snake; a bird two-thirds grown was slowly +disappearing between his expanded jaws. As he seemed unconscious of my +presence, I quietly observed the proceedings. By slow degrees he +compassed the bird about with his elastic mouth; his head flattened, his +neck writhed and swelled, and two or three undulatory movements of his +glistening body finished the work. Then he cautiously raised himself up, +his tongue flaming from his mouth the while, curved over the nest, and, +with wavy, subtle motions, explored the interior. I can conceive of +nothing more overpoweringly terrible to an unsuspecting family of birds +than the sudden appearance above their domicile of the head and neck of +this arch-enemy. It is enough to petrify the blood in their veins. Not +finding the object of his search, he came streaming down from the nest +to a lower limb, and commenced extending his researches in other +directions, sliding stealthily through the branches, bent on capturing +one of the parent birds. That a legless, wingless creature should move +with such ease and rapidity where only birds and squirrels are +considered at home, lifting himself up, letting himself down, running +out on the yielding boughs, and traversing with marvelous celerity the +whole length and breadth of the thicket, was truly surprising. One +thinks of the great myth of the Tempter and the "cause of all our woe," +and wonders if the Arch Enemy is not now playing off some of his pranks +before him. Whether we call it snake or devil matters little. I could +but admire his terrible beauty, however; his black, shining folds, his +easy, gliding movement, head erect, eyes glistening, tongue playing like +subtle flame, and the invisible means of his almost winged locomotion. + +The parent birds, in the mean while, kept up the most agonizing cry, at +times fluttering furiously about their pursuer, and actually laying hold +of his tail with their beaks and claws. On being thus attacked, the +snake would suddenly double upon himself and follow his own body back, +thus executing a strategic movement that at first seemed almost to +paralyze his victim and place her within his grasp. Not quite, however. +Before his jaws could close upon the coveted prize the bird would tear +herself away, and, apparently faint and sobbing, retire to a higher +branch. His reputed powers of fascination availed him little, though it +is possible that a frailer and less combative bird might have been held +by the fatal spell. Presently, as he came gliding down the slender body +of a leaning alder, his attention was attracted by a slight movement of +my arm; eyeing me an instant, with that crouching, utterly motionless +gaze which I believe only snakes and devils can assume, he turned +quickly--a feat which necessitated something like crawling over his own +body--and glided off through the branches, evidently recognizing in me a +representative of the ancient parties he once so cunningly ruined. A few +moments later, as he lay carelessly disposed in the top of a rank alder, +trying to look as much like a crooked branch as his supple, shining form +would admit, the old vengeance overtook him. I exercised my prerogative, +and a well-directed missile, in the shape of a stone, brought him +looping and writhing to the ground. After I had completed his downfall +and quiet had been partly restored, a half-fledged member of the +bereaved household came out from his hiding-place, and, jumping upon a +decayed branch, chirped vigorously, no doubt in celebration of the +victory. + + + + +THE BOBOLINK + + +The bobolink has a secure place in literature, having been laureated by +no less a poet than Bryant, and invested with a lasting human charm in +the sunny page of Irving, and is the only one of our songsters, I +believe, that the mockingbird cannot parody or imitate. He affords the +most marked example of exuberant pride, and a glad, rollicking, holiday +spirit, that can be seen among our birds. Every note expresses +complacency and glee. He is a beau of the first pattern, and, unlike any +other bird of my acquaintance, pushes his gallantry to the point of +wheeling gayly into the train of every female that comes along, even +after the season of courtship is over and the matches are all settled; +and when she leads him on too wild a chase, he turns lightly about and +breaks out with a song that is precisely analogous to a burst of gay and +self-satisfied laughter, as much as to say, "_Ha! ha! ha! I must have my +fun, Miss Silverthimble, thimble, thimble, if I break every heart in the +meadow, see, see, see!_" + +At the approach of the breeding-season the bobolink undergoes a complete +change; his form changes, his color changes, his flight changes. From +mottled brown or brindle he becomes black and white, earning, in some +localities, the shocking name of "skunk bird"; his small, compact form +becomes broad and conspicuous, and his ordinary flight is laid aside for +a mincing, affected gait, in which he seems to use only the very tips of +his wings. It is very noticeable what a contrast he presents to his mate +at this season, not only in color but in manners, she being as shy and +retiring as he is forward and hilarious. Indeed, she seems disagreeably +serious and indisposed to any fun or jollity, scurrying away at his +approach, and apparently annoyed at every endearing word and look. It is +surprising that all this parade of plumage and tinkling of cymbals +should be gone through with and persisted in to please a creature so +coldly indifferent as she really seems to be. + +I know of no other song-bird that expresses so much self-consciousness +and vanity, and comes so near being an ornithological coxcomb. The +redbird, the yellowbird, the indigo-bird, the oriole, the cardinal +grosbeak, and others, all birds of brilliant plumage and musical +ability, seem quite unconscious of self, and neither by tone nor act +challenge the admiration of the beholder. + +If I were a bird, in building my nest I should follow the example of the +bobolink, placing it in the midst of a broad meadow, where there was no +spear of grass, or flower, or growth unlike another to mark its site. I +judge that the bobolink escapes the dangers to which nesting birds are +liable as few or no other birds do. Unless the mowers come along at an +earlier date than she has anticipated, that is, before July 1, or a +skunk goes nosing through the grass, which is unusual, she is as safe as +bird well can be in the great open of nature. She selects the most +monotonous and uniform place she can find amid the daisies or the +timothy and clover, and places her simple structure upon the ground in +the midst of it. There is no concealment, except as the great conceals +the little, as the desert conceals the pebble, as the myriad conceals +the unit. You may find the nest once, if your course chances to lead you +across it, and your eye is quick enough to note the silent brown bird as +she darts swiftly away; but step three paces in the wrong direction, and +your search will probably be fruitless. My friend and I found a nest by +accident one day, and then lost it again one minute afterward. I moved +away a few yards to be sure of the mother bird, charging my friend not +to stir from his tracks. When I returned, he had moved two paces, he +said (he had really moved four), and we spent a half-hour stooping over +the daisies and the buttercups, looking for the lost clew. We grew +desperate, and fairly felt the ground over with our hands, but without +avail. I marked the spot with a bush, and came the next day, and, with +the bush as a centre, moved about it in slowly increasing circles, +covering, I thought, nearly every inch of ground with my feet, and +laying hold of it with all the visual power I could command, till my +patience was exhausted, and I gave up, baffled. I began to doubt the +ability of the parent birds themselves to find it, and so secreted +myself and watched. After much delay, the male bird appeared with food +in his beak, and, satisfying himself that the coast was clear, dropped +into the grass which I had trodden down in my search. Fastening my eye +upon a particular meadow-lily, I walked straight to the spot, bent down, +and gazed long and intently into the grass. Finally my eye separated the +nest and its young from its surroundings. My foot had barely missed them +in my search, but by how much they had escaped my eye I could not tell. +Probably not by distance at all, but simply by unrecognition. They were +virtually invisible. The dark gray and yellowish-brown dry grass and +stubble of the meadow-bottom were exactly copied in the color of the +half-fledged young. More than that, they hugged the nest so closely and +formed such a compact mass, that though there were five of them, they +preserved the unit of expression,--no single head or form was defined; +they were one, and that one was without shape or color, and not +separable, except by closest scrutiny, from the one of the +meadow-bottom. That nest prospered, as bobolinks' nests doubtless +generally do; for, notwithstanding the enormous slaughter of the birds +by Southern sportsmen during their fall migrations, the bobolink appears +to hold its own, and its music does not diminish in our Northern +meadows. + + +THE BOBOLINK + + Daisies, clover, buttercup, + Redtop, trefoil, meadowsweet, + Ecstatic pinions, soaring up, + Then gliding down to grassy seat. + + Sunshine, laughter, mad desires, + May day, June day, lucid skies, + All reckless moods that love inspires-- + The gladdest bird that sings and flies. + + Meadows, orchards, bending sprays, + Rushes, lilies, billowy wheat, + Song and frolic fill his days, + A feathered rondeau all complete. + + Pink bloom, gold bloom, fleabane white, + Dewdrop, raindrop, cooling shade, + Bubbling throat and hovering flight, + And jocund heart as e'er was made. + + + + +THE WOOD THRUSH + + +The wood thrush is the handsomest species of the thrush family. In grace +and elegance of manner he has no equal. Such a gentle, high-bred air, +and such inimitable ease and composure in his flight and movement! He is +a poet in very word and deed. His carriage is music to the eye. His +performance of the commonest act, as catching a beetle, or picking a +worm from the mud, pleases like a stroke of wit or eloquence. Was he a +prince in the olden time, and do the regal grace and mien still adhere +to him in his transformation? What a finely proportioned form! How +plain, yet rich, his color,--the bright russet of his back, the clear +white of his breast, with the distinct heart-shaped spots! It may be +objected to Robin that he is noisy and demonstrative; he hurries away or +rises to a branch with an angry note, and flirts his wings in ill-bred +suspicion. The thrasher, or red thrush, sneaks and skulks like a +culprit, hiding in the densest alders; the catbird is a coquette and a +flirt, as well as a sort of female Paul Pry; and the chewink shows his +inhospitality by espying your movements like a detective. The wood +thrush has none of these underbred traits. He regards me +unsuspiciously, or avoids me with a noble reserve--or, if I am quiet and +incurious, graciously hops toward me, as if to pay his respects, or to +make my acquaintance. I have passed under his nest within a few feet of +his mate and brood, when he sat near by on a branch eying me sharply, +but without opening his beak; but the moment I raised my hand toward his +defenseless household his anger and indignation were beautiful to +behold. + +What a noble pride he has! Late one October, after his mates and +companions had long since gone South, I noticed one for several +successive days in the dense part of this next-door wood, flitting +noiselessly about, very grave and silent, as if doing penance for some +violation of the code of honor. By many gentle, indirect approaches, I +perceived that part of his tail-feathers were undeveloped. The sylvan +prince could not think of returning to court in this plight, and so, +amid the falling leaves and cold rains of autumn, was patiently biding +his time. + +[Illustration: WOOD THRUSH] + +It is a curious habit the wood thrush has of starting its nest with a +fragment of newspaper or other paper. Except in remote woods, I think it +nearly always puts a piece of paper in the foundation of its nest. Last +spring I chanced to be sitting near a tree in which a wood thrush had +concluded to build. She came with a piece of paper nearly as large as my +hand, placed it upon the branch, stood upon it a moment, and then flew +down to the ground. A little puff of wind caused the paper to leave the +branch a moment afterward. The thrush watched it eddy slowly down to the +ground, when she seized it and carried it back. She placed it in +position as before, stood upon it again for a moment, and then flew +away. Again the paper left the branch, and sailed away slowly to the +ground. The bird seized it again, jerking it about rather spitefully, I +thought; she turned it round two or three times, then labored back to +the branch with it, upon which she shifted it about as if to hit upon +some position in which it would lie more securely. This time she sat +down upon it for a moment, and then went away, doubtless with the +thought in her head that she would bring something to hold it down. The +perverse paper followed her in a few seconds. She seized it again, and +hustled it about more than before. As she rose with it toward the nest, +it in some way impeded her flight, and she was compelled to return to +the ground with it. But she kept her temper remarkably well. She turned +the paper over and took it up in her beak several times before she was +satisfied with her hold, and then carried it back to the branch, where, +however, it would not stay. I saw her make six trials of it, when I was +called away. I think she finally abandoned the restless fragment, +probably a scrap that held some "breezy" piece of writing, for later in +the season I examined the nest and found no paper in it. + +How completely the life of a bird revolves about its nest, its home! In +the case of the wood thrush, its life and joy seem to mount higher and +higher as the nest prospers. The male becomes a fountain of melody; his +happiness waxes day by day; he makes little triumphal tours about the +neighborhood, and pours out his pride and gladness in the ears of all. +How sweet, how well-bred, is his demonstration! But let any accident +befall that precious nest, and what a sudden silence falls upon him! +Last summer a pair of wood thrushes built their nest within a few rods +of my house, and when the enterprise was fairly launched and the mother +bird was sitting upon her four blue eggs, the male was in the height of +his song. How he poured forth his rich melody, never in the immediate +vicinity of the nest, but always within easy hearing distance! Every +morning, as promptly as the morning came, between five and six, he would +sing for half an hour from the top of a locust-tree that shaded my +roof. I came to expect him as much as I expected my breakfast, and I was +not disappointed till one morning I seemed to miss something. What was +it? Oh, the thrush had not sung this morning. Something is the matter; +and, recollecting that yesterday I had seen a red squirrel in the trees +not far from the nest, I at once inferred that the nest had been +harried. Going to the spot, I found my fears were well grounded; every +egg was gone. The joy of the thrush was laid low. No more songs from the +tree-top, and no more songs from any point, till nearly a week had +elapsed, when I heard him again under the hill, where the pair had +started a new nest, cautiously tuning up, and apparently with his recent +bitter experience still weighing upon him. + +There is no nest-builder that suffers more from crows and squirrels and +other enemies than the wood thrush. It builds as openly and +unsuspiciously as if it thought all the world as honest as itself. Its +favorite place is the fork of a sapling, eight or ten feet from the +ground, where it falls an easy prey to every nest-robber that comes +prowling through the woods and groves. It is not a bird that skulks and +hides, like the catbird, the brown thrasher, the chat, or the chewink, +and its nest is not concealed with the same art as theirs. Our thrushes +are all frank, open-mannered birds; but the veery and the hermit build +on the ground, where they may at least escape the crows, owls, and jays, +and stand a good chance of being overlooked by the red squirrel and +weasel also; while the robin seeks the protection of dwellings and +outbuildings. For years I have not known the nest of a wood thrush to +succeed. During the season referred to I observed but two, both +apparently a second attempt, as the season was well advanced, and both +failures. In one case, the nest was placed in a branch that an +apple-tree, standing near a dwelling, held out over the highway. The +structure was barely ten feet above the middle of the road, and would +just escape a passing load of hay. It was made conspicuous by the use of +a large fragment of newspaper in its foundation,--an unsafe material to +build upon in most cases. Whatever else the press may guard, this +particular newspaper did not guard this nest from harm. It saw the egg +and probably the chick, but not the fledgeling. A murderous deed was +committed above the public highway, but whether in the open day or under +cover of darkness I have no means of knowing. The frisky red squirrel +was doubtless the culprit. The other nest was in a maple sapling, within +a few yards of the little rustic summer-house already referred to. The +first attempt of the season, I suspect, had failed in a more secluded +place under the hill; so the pair had come up nearer the house for +protection. The male sang in the trees near by for several days before I +chanced to see the nest. The very morning, I think, it was finished, I +saw a red squirrel exploring a tree but a few yards away; he probably +knew what the singing meant as well as I did. I did not see the inside +of the nest, for it was almost instantly deserted, the female having +probably laid a single egg, which the squirrel had devoured. + +One evening, while seated upon my porch, I had convincing proof that +musical or song contests do take place among the birds. Two wood +thrushes who had nests near by sat on the top of a dead tree and pitted +themselves against each other in song for over half an hour, contending +like champions in a game, and certainly affording the rarest treat in +wood-thrush melody I had ever had. They sang and sang with unwearied +spirit and persistence, now and then changing position or facing in +another direction, but keeping within a few feet of each other. The +rivalry became so obvious and was so interesting that I finally made it +a point not to take my eyes from the singers. The twilight deepened till +their forms began to grow dim; then one of the birds could stand the +strain no longer, the limit of fair competition had been reached, and +seeming to say, "I will silence you, anyhow," it made a spiteful dive at +its rival, and in hot pursuit the two disappeared in the bushes beneath +the tree. + + + + +THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE + + +The nest of nests, the ideal nest, is unquestionably that of the +Baltimore oriole. It is the only perfectly pensile nest we have. The +nest of the orchard oriole is indeed mainly so, but this bird generally +builds lower and shallower, more after the manner of the vireos. + +The Baltimore oriole loves to attach its nest to the swaying branches of +the tallest elms, making no attempt at concealment, but satisfied if the +position be high and the branch pendent. This nest would seem to cost +more time and skill than any other bird structure. A peculiar flax-like +material seems to be always sought after and always found. The nest when +completed assumes the form of a large, suspended gourd. The walls are +thin but firm, and proof against the most driving rain. The mouth is +hemmed or over-handed with strings or horsehair, and the sides are +usually sewed through and through with the same. + +Not particular as to the matter of secrecy, the bird is not particular +as to material, so that it be of the nature of strings or threads. A +lady friend once told me that, while she was working by an open window, +one of these birds approached while her back was turned, and, seizing a +skein of some kind of thread or yarn, made off with it to its +half-finished nest. But the perverse yarn caught fast in the branches, +and, in the bird's efforts to extricate it, got hopelessly tangled. She +tugged away at it all day, but was finally obliged to content herself +with a few detached portions. The fluttering strings were an eyesore to +her ever after, and, passing and repassing, she would give them a +spiteful jerk, as much as to say, "There is that confounded yarn that +gave me so much trouble." + + [Illustration: BALTIMORE ORIOLE + Upper, male; lower, female] + +One day in Kentucky I saw an oriole weave into her nest unusual +material. As we sat upon the lawn in front of the cottage, we had +noticed the bird just beginning her structure, suspending it from a +long, low branch of the Kentucky coffee-tree that grew but a few feet +away. I suggested to my host that if he would take some brilliant yarn +and scatter it about upon the shrubbery, the fence, and the walks, the +bird would probably avail herself of it, and weave a novel nest. I had +heard of its being done, but had never tried it myself. The suggestion +was at once acted upon, and in a few moments a handful of zephyr yarn, +crimson, orange, green, yellow, and blue, was distributed about the +grounds. As we sat at dinner a few moments later, I saw the eager bird +flying up toward her nest with one of these brilliant yarns streaming +behind her. They had caught her eye at once, and she fell to work upon +them with a will; not a bit daunted by their brilliant color, she soon +had a crimson spot there amid the green leaves. She afforded us rare +amusement all the afternoon and the next morning. How she seemed to +congratulate herself over her rare find! How vigorously she knotted +those strings to her branch and gathered the ends in and sewed them +through and through the structure, jerking them spitefully like a +housewife burdened with many cares! How savagely she would fly at her +neighbor, an oriole that had a nest just over the fence a few yards +away, when she invaded her territory! The male looked on approvingly, +but did not offer to lend a hand. There is something in the manner of +the female on such occasions, something so decisive and emphatic, that +one entirely approves of the course of the male in not meddling or +offering any suggestions. It is the wife's enterprise, and she evidently +knows her own mind so well that the husband keeps aloof, or plays the +part of an approving spectator. + +The woolen yarn was ill-suited to the Kentucky climate. This fact the +bird seemed to appreciate, for she used it only in the upper part of +her nest, in attaching it to the branch and in binding and compacting +the rim, making the sides and bottom of hemp, leaving it thin and airy, +much more so than are the same nests with us. No other bird would, +perhaps, have used such brilliant material; their instincts of +concealment would have revolted, but the oriole aims more to make its +nest inaccessible than to hide it. Its position and depth insure its +safety. + + + + +THE WHIP-POOR-WILL + + +One day in May, walking in the woods, I came upon the nest of a +whip-poor-will, or rather its eggs, for it builds no nest,--two +elliptical whitish spotted eggs lying upon the dry leaves. My foot was +within a yard of the mother bird before she flew. I wondered what a +sharp eye would detect curious or characteristic in the ways of the +bird, so I came to the place many times and had a look. It was always a +task to separate the bird from her surroundings, though I stood within a +few feet of her, and knew exactly where to look. One had to bear on with +his eye, as it were, and refuse to be baffled. The sticks and leaves, +and bits of black or dark-brown bark, were all exactly copied in the +bird's plumage. And then she did sit so close, and simulate so well a +shapeless, decaying piece of wood or bark! Twice I brought a companion, +and, guiding his eye to the spot, noted how difficult it was for him to +make out there, in full view upon the dry leaves, any semblance to a +bird. When the bird returned after being disturbed, she would alight +within a few inches of her eggs, and then, after a moment's pause, +hobble awkwardly upon them. + +[Illustration: WHIP-POOR-WILL] + +After the young had appeared, all the wit of the bird came into play. I +was on hand the next day, I think. The mother bird sprang up when I was +within a pace of her, and in doing so fanned the leaves with her wings +till they sprang up, too; as the leaves started the young started, and +as they were of the same color, to tell which was the leaf and which the +bird was a trying task to any eye. I came the next day, when the same +tactics were repeated. Once a leaf fell upon one of the young birds and +nearly hid it. The young are covered with a reddish down, like a young +partridge, and soon follow their mother about. When disturbed, they gave +but one leap, then settled down, perfectly motionless and stupid, with +eyes closed. The parent bird, on these occasions, made frantic efforts +to decoy me away from her young. She would fly a few paces and fall upon +her breast, and a spasm, like that of death, would run through her +tremulous outstretched wings and prostrate body. She kept a sharp eye +out the mean while to see if the ruse took, and, if it did not, she was +quickly cured, and, moving about to some other point, tried to draw my +attention as before. When followed she always alighted upon the ground, +dropping down in a sudden, peculiar way. The second or third day both +old and young had disappeared. + +The whip-poor-will walks as awkwardly as a swallow, which is as awkward +as a man in a bag, and yet she manages to lead her young about the +woods. The latter, I think, move by leaps and sudden spurts, their +protective coloring shielding them most effectively. + + * * * * * + +As the shadows deepen and the stars begin to come out, the +whip-poor-will suddenly strikes up. What a rude intrusion upon the +serenity and harmony of the hour! A cry without music, insistent, +reiterated, loud, penetrating, and yet the ear welcomes it; the night +and the solitude are so vast that they can stand it; and when, an hour +later, as the night enters into full possession, the bird comes and +serenades me under my window or upon my doorstep, my heart warms toward +it. Its cry is a love-call, and there is something of the ardor and +persistence of love in it, and when the female responds, and comes and +hovers near, there is an interchange of subdued, caressing tones between +the two birds that it is a delight to hear. During my first summer in my +cabin one bird used to strike up every night from a high ledge of rocks +in front of my door. At just such a moment in the twilight he would +begin, the first to break the stillness. Then the others would follow, +till the solitude was vocal with their calls. They are rarely heard +later than ten o'clock. Then at daybreak they take up the tale again, +whipping poor Will till one pities him. One April morning between three +and four o'clock, hearing one strike up near my window, I began counting +its calls. My neighbor had told me he had heard one call over two +hundred times without a break, which seemed to me a big story. But I +have a much bigger one to tell. This bird actually laid upon the back of +poor Will one thousand and eighty-eight blows, with only a barely +perceptible pause here and there, as if to catch its breath. Then it +stopped about half a minute and began again, uttering this time three +hundred and ninety calls, when it paused, flew a little farther away, +took up the tale once more, and continued till I fell asleep. + +By day the whip-poor-will apparently sits motionless upon the ground. A +few times in my walks through the woods I have started one up from +almost under my feet. On such occasions the bird's movements suggest +those of a bat; its wings make no noise, and it wavers about in an +uncertain manner, and quickly drops to the ground again. One June day we +flushed an old one with her two young, but there was no indecision or +hesitation in the manner of the mother bird this time. The young were +more than half fledged, and they scampered away a few yards and +suddenly squatted upon the ground, where their assimilative coloring +rendered them almost invisible. Then the anxious parent put forth all +her arts to absorb our attention and lure us away from her offspring. +She flitted before us from side to side, with spread wings and tail, now +falling upon the ground, where she would remain a moment as if quite +disabled, then perching upon an old stump or low branch with drooping, +quivering wings, and imploring us by every gesture to take her and spare +her young. My companion had his camera with him, but the bird would not +remain long enough in one position for him to get her picture. + + + + +THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER + +A SEARCH FOR A RARE NEST + + +I had set out in hopes of finding a rare nest,--the nest of the +black-throated blue-backed warbler, which, it seemed, with one or two +others, was still wanting to make the history of our warblers complete. +The woods were extensive, and full of deep, dark tangles, and looking +for any particular nest seemed about as hopeless a task as searching for +a needle in a haystack, as the old saying is. Where to begin, and how? +But the principle is the same as in looking for a hen's nest,--first +find your bird, then watch its movements. + +The bird is in these woods, for I have seen him scores of times, but +whether he builds high or low, on the ground or in the trees, is all +unknown to me. That is his song now,--"twe-twea-twe-e-e-a," with a +peculiar summer languor and plaintiveness, and issuing from the lower +branches and growths. Presently we--for I have been joined by a +companion--discover the bird, a male, insecting in the top of a newly +fallen hemlock. The black, white, and blue of his uniform are seen at a +glance. His movements are quite slow compared with some of the warblers. +If he will only betray the locality of that little domicile where his +plainly clad mate is evidently sitting, it is all we will ask of him. +But this he seems in no wise disposed to do. Here and there, and up and +down, we follow him, often losing him, and as often refinding him by his +song; but the clew to his nest, how shall we get it? Does he never go +home to see how things are getting on, or to see if his presence is not +needed, or to take madam a morsel of food? No doubt he keeps within +earshot, and a cry of distress or alarm from the mother bird would bring +him to the spot in an instant. Would that some evil fate would make her +cry, then! Presently he encounters a rival. His feeding-ground infringes +upon that of another, and the two birds regard each other threateningly. +This is a good sign, for their nests are evidently near. + +Their battle-cry is a low, peculiar chirp, not very fierce, but +bantering and confident. They quickly come to blows, but it is a very +fantastic battle, and, as it would seem, indulged in more to satisfy +their sense of honor than to hurt each other, for neither party gets the +better of the other, and they separate a few paces and sing, and squeak, +and challenge each other in a very happy frame of mind. The gauntlet is +no sooner thrown down than it is again taken up by one or the other, and +in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes they have three or four +encounters, separating a little, then provoked to return again like two +cocks, till finally they withdraw beyond hearing of each other,--both, +no doubt, claiming the victory. But the secret of the nest is still +kept. Once I think I have it. I catch a glimpse of a bird which looks +like the female, and near by, in a small hemlock about eight feet from +the ground, my eye detects a nest. But as I come up under it, I can see +daylight through it, and that it is empty,--evidently only partly +finished, not lined or padded yet. Now if the bird will only return and +claim it, the point will be gained. But we wait and watch in vain. The +architect has knocked off to-day, and we must come again, or continue +our search. + +Despairing of finding either of the nests of the two males, we pushed on +through the woods to try our luck elsewhere. Before long, just as we +were about to plunge down a hill into a dense, swampy part of the woods, +we discovered a pair of the birds we were in quest of. They had food in +their beaks, and, as we paused, showed great signs of alarm, indicating +that the nest was in the immediate vicinity. This was enough. We would +pause here and find this nest, anyhow. To make a sure thing of it, we +determined to watch the parent birds till we had wrung from them their +secret. So we doggedly crouched down and watched them, and they watched +us. It was diamond cut diamond. But as we felt constrained in our +movements, desiring, if possible, to keep so quiet that the birds would, +after a while, see in us only two harmless stumps or prostrate logs, we +had much the worst of it. The mosquitoes were quite taken with our +quiet, and knew us from logs and stumps in a moment. Neither were the +birds deceived, not even when we tried the Indian's tactics, and plumed +ourselves with green branches. Ah, the suspicious creatures, how they +watched us with the food in their beaks, abstaining for one whole hour +from ministering to that precious charge which otherwise would have been +visited every few moments! Quite near us they would come at times, +between us and the nest, eying us so sharply. Then they would move off, +and apparently try to forget our presence. Was it to deceive us, or to +persuade himself and his mate that there was no serious cause for alarm, +that the male would now and then strike up in full song and move off to +some distance through the trees? But the mother bird did not allow +herself to lose sight of us at all, and both birds, after carrying the +food in their beaks a long time, would swallow it themselves. Then they +would obtain another morsel and apparently approach very near the nest, +when their caution or prudence would come to their aid, and they would +swallow the food and hasten away. I thought the young birds would cry +out, but not a syllable from them. Yet this was, no doubt, what kept the +parent birds away from the nest. The clamor the young would have set up +on the approach of the old with food would have exposed everything. + +After a time I felt sure I knew within a few feet where the nest was +concealed. Indeed, I thought I knew the identical bush. Then the birds +approached each other again and grew very confidential about another +locality some rods below. This puzzled us, and, seeing the whole +afternoon might be spent in this manner and the mystery unsolved, we +determined to change our tactics and institute a thorough search of the +locality. This procedure soon brought things to a crisis, for, as my +companion clambered over a log by a little hemlock, a few yards from +where we had been sitting, with a cry of alarm out sprang the young +birds from their nest in the hemlock, and, scampering and fluttering +over the leaves, disappeared in different directions. Instantly the +parent birds were on the scene in an agony of alarm. Their distress was +pitiful. They threw themselves on the ground at our very feet, and +fluttered, and cried, and trailed themselves before us, to draw us away +from the place, or distract our attention from the helpless young. I +shall not forget the male bird, how bright he looked, how sharp the +contrast as he trailed his painted plumage there on the dry leaves. +Apparently he was seriously disabled. He would start up as if exerting +every muscle to fly away, but no use; down he would come, with a +helpless, fluttering motion, before he had gone two yards, and +apparently you had only to go and pick him up. But before you could pick +him up, he had recovered somewhat and flown a little farther; and thus, +if you were tempted to follow him, you would soon find yourself some +distance from the scene of the nest, and both old and young well out of +your reach. The female bird was not less solicitous, and practiced the +same arts upon us to decoy us away, but her dull plumage rendered her +less noticeable. The male was clad in holiday attire, but his mate in an +every-day working-garb. + +The nest was built in the fork of a little hemlock, about fifteen inches +from the ground, and was a thick, firm structure, composed of the finer +material of the woods, with a lining of very delicate roots or rootlets. +There were four young birds and one addled egg. + + + + +THE MARSH HAWK + +A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST + + +Most country boys, I fancy, know the marsh hawk. It is he you see flying +low over the fields, beating about bushes and marshes and dipping over +the fences, with his attention directed to the ground beneath him. He is +a cat on wings. He keeps so low that the birds and mice do not see him +till he is fairly upon them. The hen-hawk swoops down upon the +meadow-mouse from his position high in air, or from the top of a dead +tree; but the marsh hawk stalks him and comes suddenly upon him from +over the fence, or from behind a low bush or tuft of grass. He is nearly +as large as the hen-hawk, but has a much longer tail. When I was a boy I +used to call him the long-tailed hawk. The male is of a bluish +slate-color; the female reddish-brown, like the hen-hawk, with a white +rump. + +Unlike the other hawks, they nest on the ground in low, thick marshy +places. For several seasons a pair have nested in a bushy marsh a few +miles back of me, near the house of a farmer friend of mine, who has a +keen eye for the wild life about him. Two years ago he found the nest, +but when I got over to see it the next week, it had been robbed, +probably by some boys in the neighborhood. The past season, in April or +May, by watching the mother bird, he found the nest again. It was in a +marshy place, several acres in extent, in the bottom of a valley, and +thickly grown with hardback, prickly ash, smilax, and other low thorny +bushes. My friend took me to the brink of a low hill, and pointed out to +me in the marsh below us, as nearly as he could, just where the nest was +located. Then we crossed the pasture, entered upon the marsh, and made +our way cautiously toward it. The wild, thorny growths, waist-high, had +to be carefully dealt with. As we neared the spot, I used my eyes the +best I could, but I did not see the hawk till she sprang into the air +not ten yards away from us. She went screaming upward, and was soon +sailing in a circle far above us. There, on a coarse matting of twigs +and weeds, lay five snow-white eggs, a little more than half as large as +hens' eggs. My companion said the male hawk would probably soon appear +and join the female, but he did not. She kept drifting away to the east, +and was soon gone from our sight. + +We presently withdrew and secreted ourselves behind the stone wall, in +hopes of seeing the mother hawk return. She appeared in the distance, +but seemed to know she was being watched, and kept away. + +About ten days later we made another visit to the nest. An adventurous +young Chicago lady also wanted to see a hawk's nest, and so accompanied +us. This time three of the eggs were hatched, and as the mother hawk +sprang up, either by accident or intentionally she threw two of the +young hawks some feet from the nest. She rose up and screamed angrily. +Then, turning toward us, she came like an arrow straight at the young +lady, a bright plume in whose hat probably drew her fire. The damsel +gathered up her skirts about her and beat a hasty retreat. Hawks were +not so pretty as she thought they were. A large hawk launched at one's +face from high in the air is calculated to make one a little nervous. It +is such a fearful incline down which the bird comes, and she is aiming +exactly toward your eye. When within about thirty feet of you, she turns +upward with a rushing sound, and, mounting higher, falls toward you +again. She is only firing blank cartridges, as it were; but it usually +has the desired effect, and beats the enemy off. + +After we had inspected the young hawks, a neighbor of my friend offered +to conduct us to a quail's nest. Anything in the shape of a nest is +always welcome, it is such a mystery, such a centre of interest and +affection, and, if upon the ground, is usually something so dainty and +exquisite amid the natural wreckage and confusion. A ground nest seems +so exposed, too, that it always gives a little thrill of pleasurable +surprise to see the group of frail eggs resting there behind so slight a +barrier. I will walk a long distance any day just to see a song +sparrow's nest amid the stubble or under a tuft of grass. It is a jewel +in a rosette of jewels, with a frill of weeds or turf. A quail's nest I +had never seen, and to be shown one within the hunting-ground of this +murderous hawk would be a double pleasure. Such a quiet, secluded, +grass-grown highway as we moved along was itself a rare treat. +Sequestered was the word that the little valley suggested, and peace the +feeling the road evoked. The farmer, whose fields lay about us, half +grown with weeds and bushes, evidently did not make stir or noise enough +to disturb anything. Beside this rustic highway, bounded by old mossy +stone walls, and within a stone's throw of the farmer's barn, the quail +had made her nest. It was just under the edge of a prostrate thorn-bush. + +"The nest is right there," said the farmer, pausing within ten feet of +it, and pointing to the spot with his stick. + +In a moment or two we could make out the mottled brown plumage of the +sitting bird. Then we approached her cautiously till we bent above her. + +She never moved a feather. + +Then I put my cane down in the brush behind her. We wanted to see the +eggs, yet did not want rudely to disturb the sitting hen. + +She would not move. + +Then I put down my hand within a few inches of her; still she kept her +place. Should we have to lift her off bodily? + +Then the young lady put down her hand, probably the prettiest and the +whitest hand the quail had ever seen. At least it started her, and off +she sprang, uncovering such a crowded nest of eggs as I had never before +beheld. Twenty-one of them! a ring or disk of white like a china +tea-saucer. You could not help saying, How pretty! How cunning! like +baby hens' eggs, as if the bird were playing at sitting, as children +play at housekeeping. + +If I had known how crowded her nest was, I should not have dared disturb +her, for fear she would break some of them. But not an egg suffered harm +by her sudden flight. And no harm came to the nest afterward. Every egg +hatched, I was told, and the little chicks, hardly bigger than +bumblebees, were led away by the mother into the fields. + +In about a week I paid another visit to the hawk's nest. The eggs were +all hatched, and the mother bird was hovering near. I shall never forget +the curious expression of those young hawks sitting there on the ground. +The expression was not one of youth, but of extreme age. Such an +ancient, infirm look as they had,--the sharp, dark, and shrunken look +about the face and eyes, and their feeble, tottering motions! They sat +upon their elbows and the hind part of their bodies, and their pale, +withered legs and feet extended before them in the most helpless +fashion. Their angular bodies were covered with a pale yellowish down, +like that of a chicken; their heads had a plucked, seedy appearance; and +their long, strong, naked wings hung down by their sides till they +touched the ground: power and ferocity in the first rude draught, shorn +of everything but its sinister ugliness. Another curious thing was the +gradation of the young in size; they tapered down regularly from the +first to the fifth, as if there had been, as probably there was, an +interval of a day or two between the hatchings. + +The two older ones showed some signs of fear on our approach, and one of +them threw himself upon his back, and put up his impotent legs, and +glared at us with open beak. The two smaller ones regarded us not at +all. Neither of the parent birds appeared during our stay. + +When I visited the nest again, eight or ten days later, the birds were +much grown, but of as marked a difference in size as before, and with +the same look of extreme old age,--old age in men of the aquiline type, +nose and chin coming together, and eyes large and sunken. They now +glared upon us with a wild, savage look, and opened their beaks +threateningly. + +The next week, when my friend visited the nest, the larger of the hawks +fought him savagely. But one of the brood, probably the last to hatch, +had made but little growth. It appeared to be on the point of +starvation. The mother hawk (for the male seemed to have disappeared) +had perhaps found her family too large for her, and was deliberately +allowing one of the number to perish; or did the larger and stronger +young devour all the food before the weaker member could obtain any? +Probably this was the case. + +Arthur brought the feeble nestling away, and the same day my little boy +got it and brought it home, wrapped in a woolen rag. It was clearly a +starved bantling. It cried feebly but would not lift up its head. + +We first poured some warm milk down its throat, which soon revived it, +so that it would swallow small bits of flesh. In a day or two we had it +eating ravenously, and its growth became noticeable. Its voice had the +sharp whistling character of that of its parents, and was stilled only +when the bird was asleep. We made a pen for it, about a yard square, in +one end of the study, covering the floor with several thicknesses of +newspapers; and here, upon a bit of brown woolen blanket for a nest, the +hawk waxed strong day by day. An uglier-looking pet, tested by all the +rules we usually apply to such things, would have been hard to find. +There he would sit upon his elbows, his helpless feet out in front of +him, his great featherless wings touching the floor, and shrilly cry for +more food. For a time we gave him water daily from a stylograph-pen +filler, but the water he evidently did not need or relish. Fresh meat, +and plenty of it, was his demand. And we soon discovered that he liked +game, such as mice, squirrels, birds, much better than butcher's meat. + +Then began a lively campaign on the part of my little boy against all +the vermin and small game in the neighborhood, to keep the hawk +supplied. He trapped and he hunted, he enlisted his mates in his +service, he even robbed the cats to feed the hawk. His usefulness as a +boy of all work was seriously impaired. "Where is J----?" "Gone after a +squirrel for his hawk." And often the day would be half gone before his +hunt was successful. The premises were very soon cleared of mice, and +the vicinity of chipmunks and squirrels. Farther and farther he was +compelled to hunt the surrounding farms and woods to keep up with the +demands of the hawk. By the time the hawk was ready to fly, it had +consumed twenty-one chipmunks, fourteen red squirrels, sixteen mice, and +twelve English sparrows, besides a great deal of butcher's meat. + +His plumage very soon began to show itself, crowding off tufts of the +down. The quills on his great wings sprouted and grew apace. What a +ragged, uncanny appearance he presented! but his look of extreme age +gradually became modified. What a lover of the sunlight he was! We would +put him out upon the grass in the full blaze of the morning sun, and he +would spread his wings and bask in it with the most intense enjoyment. +In the nest the young must be exposed to the full power of the midday +sun during our first heated terms in June and July, the thermometer +often going up to ninety-three or ninety-five degrees, so that sunshine +seemed to be a need of his nature. He liked the rain equally well, and +when put out in a shower would sit down and take it as if every drop did +him good. + +His legs developed nearly as slowly as his wings. He could not stand +steadily upon them till about ten days before he was ready to fly. The +talons were limp and feeble. When we came with food, he would hobble +along toward us like the worst kind of a cripple, drooping and moving +his wings, and treading upon his legs from the foot back to the elbow, +the foot remaining closed and useless. Like a baby learning to stand, he +made many trials before he succeeded. He would rise up on his trembling +legs only to fall back again. + +One day, in the summer-house, I saw him for the first time stand for a +moment squarely upon his legs with the feet fully spread beneath them. +He looked about him as if the world suddenly wore a new aspect. + +His plumage now grew quite rapidly. One red squirrel a day, chopped fine +with an axe, was his ration. He began to hold his game with his foot +while he tore it. The study was full of his shed down. His dark-brown +mottled plumage began to grow beautiful. The wings drooped a little, but +gradually he got control of them, and held them in place. + +It was now the 20th of July, and the hawk was about five weeks old. In a +day or two he was walking or jumping about the grounds. He chose a +position under the edge of a Norway spruce, where he would sit for hours +dozing, or looking out upon the landscape. When we brought him game, he +would advance to meet us with wings slightly lifted, and uttering a +shrill cry. Toss him a mouse or sparrow, and he would seize it with one +foot and hop off to his cover, where he would bend above it, spread his +plumage, look this way and that, uttering all the time the most exultant +and satisfied chuckle. + +About this time he began to practice striking with his talons, as an +Indian boy might begin practicing with his bow and arrow. He would +strike at a dry leaf in the grass, or at a fallen apple, or at some +imaginary object. He was learning the use of his weapons. His wings +also,--he seemed to feel them sprouting from his shoulders. He would +lift them straight up and hold them expanded, and they would seem to +quiver with excitement. Every hour in the day he would do this. The +pressure was beginning to centre there. Then he would strike playfully +at a leaf or a bit of wood, and keep his wings lifted. + +The next step was to spring into the air and beat his wings. He seemed +now to be thinking entirely of his wings. They itched to be put to use. + +A day or two later he would leap and fly several feet. A pile of brush +ten or twelve feet below the bank was easily reached. Here he would +perch in true hawk fashion, to the bewilderment and scandal of all the +robins and catbirds in the vicinity. Here he would dart his eye in all +directions, turning his head over and glancing up into the sky. + +He was now a lovely creature, fully fledged, and as tame as a kitten. +But he was not a bit like a kitten in one respect,--he could not bear to +have you stroke or even touch his plumage. He had a horror of your hand, +as if it would hopelessly defile him. But he would perch upon it, and +allow you to carry him about. If a dog or cat appeared, he was ready to +give battle instantly. He rushed up to a little dog one day, and struck +him with his foot savagely. He was afraid of strangers, and of any +unusual object. + +The last week in July he began to fly quite freely, and it was necessary +to clip one of his wings. As the clipping embraced only the ends of his +primaries, he soon overcame the difficulty, and, by carrying his broad, +long tail more on that side, flew with considerable ease. He made +longer and longer excursions into the surrounding fields and vineyards, +and did not always return. On such occasions we would go to find him and +fetch him back. + +Late one rainy afternoon he flew away into the vineyard, and when, an +hour later, I went after him, he could not be found, and we never saw +him again. We hoped hunger would soon drive him back, but we have had no +clew to him from that day to this. + + + + +THE WINTER WREN + + +An old hemlock wood at the head waters of the Delaware is a chosen haunt +of the winter wren. His voice fills these dim aisles, as if aided by +some marvelous sounding-board. Indeed, his song is very strong for so +small a bird, and unites in a remarkable degree brilliancy and +plaintiveness. I think of a tremulous, vibrating tongue of silver. You +may know it is the song of a wren from its gushing, lyrical character; +but you must needs look sharp to see the little minstrel, especially +while in the act of singing. He is nearly the color of the ground and +the leaves; he never ascends the tall trees, but keeps low, flitting +from stump to stump and from root to root, dodging in and out of his +hiding-places, and watching all intruders with a suspicious eye. He has +a very pert, almost comical look. His tail stands more than +perpendicular: it points straight toward his head. He is the least +ostentatious singer I know of. He does not strike an attitude, and lift +up his head in preparation, and, as it were, clear his throat; but sits +there on a log and pours out his music, looking straight before him, or +even down at the ground. As a songster, he has but few superiors. I do +not hear him after the first week in July. + +The winter wren is so called because he sometimes braves our northern +winters, but it is rarely that one sees him at this season. I think I +have seen him only two or three times in winter in my life. The event of +one long walk, recently, in February, was seeing one of these birds. As +I followed a byroad, beside a little creek in the edge of a wood, my eye +caught a glimpse of a small brown bird darting under a stone bridge. I +thought to myself no bird but a wren would take refuge under so small a +bridge as that. I stepped down upon it and expected to see the bird dart +out at the upper end. As it did not appear, I scrutinized the bank of +the little run, covered with logs and brush, a few rods farther up. + +Presently I saw the wren curtsying and gesticulating beneath an old log. +As I approached he disappeared beneath some loose stones in the bank, +then came out again and took another peep at me, then fidgeted about for +a moment and disappeared again, running in and out of the holes and +recesses and beneath the rubbish like a mouse or a chipmunk. The winter +wren may always be known by these squatting, bobbing-out-and-in habits. + +As I sought a still closer view of him, he flitted stealthily a few +yards up the run and disappeared beneath a small plank bridge near a +house. + +I wondered what he could feed upon at such a time. There was a light +skim of snow upon the ground, and the weather was cold. The wren, so far +as I know, is entirely an insect-feeder, and where can he find insects +in midwinter in our climate? Probably by searching under bridges, under +brush-heaps, in holes and cavities in banks where the sun falls warm. In +such places he may find dormant spiders and flies and other hibernating +insects or their larvæ. We have a tiny, mosquito-like creature that +comes forth in March or in midwinter, as soon as the temperature is a +little above freezing. One may see them performing their fantastic +air-dances when the air is so chilly that one buttons his overcoat about +him in his walk. They are darker than the mosquito,--a sort of dark +water-color,--and are very frail to the touch. Maybe the wren knows the +hiding-place of these insects. + + + + +THE CEDAR-BIRD + + +How alert and vigilant the birds are, even when absorbed in building +their nests! In an open space in the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds +collecting moss from the top of a dead tree. Following the direction in +which they fly, I soon discover the nest placed in the fork of a small +soft maple, which stands amid a thick growth of wild cherry-trees and +young beeches. Carefully concealing myself beneath it, without any fear +that the workmen will hit me with a chip or let fall a tool, I await the +return of the busy pair. Presently I hear the well-known note, and the +female sweeps down and settles unsuspectingly into the half-finished +structure. Hardly have her wings rested before her eye has penetrated my +screen, and with a hurried movement of alarm she darts away. In a moment +the male, with a tuft of wool in his beak (for there is a sheep pasture +near), joins her, and the two reconnoitre the premises from the +surrounding bushes. With their beaks still loaded, they flit round with +a frightened look, and refuse to approach the nest till I have moved off +and lain down behind a log. Then one of them ventures to alight upon +the nest, but, still suspecting all is not right, quickly darts away +again. Then they both together come, and after much peeping and spying +about, and apparently much anxious consultation, cautiously proceed to +work. In less than half an hour it would seem that wool enough has been +brought to supply the whole family, real and prospective, with socks, if +needles and fingers could be found fine enough to knit it up. In less +than a week the female has begun to deposit her eggs,--four of them in +as many days,--white tinged with purple, with black spots on the larger +end. After two weeks of incubation the young are out. + +Excepting the American goldfinch, this bird builds later in the season +than any other, its nest, in our northern climate, seldom being +undertaken till July. As with the goldfinch, the reason is, probably, +that suitable food for the young cannot be had at an earlier period. + +I knew a pair of cedar-birds, one season, to build in an apple-tree, the +branches of which rubbed against the house. For a day or two before the +first straw was laid, I noticed the pair carefully exploring every +branch of the tree, the female taking the lead, the male following her +with an anxious note and look. It was evident that the wife was to have +her choice this time; and, like one who thoroughly knew her mind, she +was proceeding to take it. Finally the site was chosen upon a high +branch, extending over one low wing of the house. Mutual congratulations +and caresses followed, when both birds flew away in quest of +building-material. That most freely used is a sort of cotton-bearing +plant which grows in old worn-out fields. The nest is large for the size +of the bird, and very soft. It is in every respect a first-class +domicile. + +The cedar-bird is the most silent bird we have. Our neutral-tinted +birds, like him, as a rule are our finest songsters; but he has no song +or call, uttering only a fine bead-like note on taking flight. This note +is the cedar-berry rendered back in sound. When the ox-heart cherries, +which he has only recently become acquainted with, have had time to +enlarge his pipe and warm his heart, I shall expect more music from him. +But in lieu of music, what a pretty compensation are those minute, +almost artificial-like, plumes of orange and vermilion that tip the ends +of his wing quills! Nature could not give him these and a song too. + + + + +THE GOLDFINCH + + +About the most noticeable bird of August in New York and New England is +the yellowbird, or goldfinch. This is one of the last birds to nest, +seldom hatching its eggs till late in July. It seems as if a particular +kind of food were required to rear its brood, which cannot be had at an +earlier date. The seed of the common thistle is apparently its mainstay. +There is no prettier sight at this season than a troop of young +goldfinches, led by their parents, going from thistle to thistle along +the roadside and pulling the ripe heads to pieces for the seed. The +plaintive call of the young is one of the characteristic August sounds. +Their nests are frequently destroyed, or the eggs thrown from them, by +the terrific July thunder-showers. Last season a pair had a nest on the +slender branch of a maple in front of the door of the house where I was +staying. The eggs were being deposited, and the happy pair had a loving +conversation about them many times each day, when one afternoon a very +violent storm arose which made the branches of the trees stream out like +wildly disheveled hair, quite turning over those on the windward side, +and emptying the pretty nest of its eggs. In such cases the birds build +anew,--a delay that may bring the incubation into August. + +It is a deep, snug, compact nest, with no loose ends hanging, placed in +the fork of a small limb of an apple-tree, a peach-tree, or an +ornamental shade-tree. The eggs are faint bluish-white. + +While the female is sitting, the male feeds her regularly. She calls to +him on his approach, or when she hears his voice passing by, in the most +affectionate, feminine, childlike tones, the only case I know where the +sitting bird makes any sound while in the act of incubation. When a +rival male invades the tree, or approaches too near, the male whose nest +it holds pursues and reasons or expostulates with him in the same +bright, amicable, confiding tones. Indeed, most birds make use of their +sweetest notes in war. The song of love is the song of battle too. The +male yellowbirds flit about from point to point, apparently assuring +each other of the highest sentiments of esteem and consideration, at the +same time that one intimates to the other that he is carrying his joke a +little too far. It has the effect of saying with mild and good-humored +surprise, "Why, my dear sir, this is my territory; you surely do not +mean to trespass; permit me to salute you, and to escort you over the +line." Yet the intruder does not always take the hint. Occasionally the +couple have a brief sparring-match in the air, and mount up and up, beak +to beak, to a considerable height, but rarely do they actually come to +blows. + +The yellowbird becomes active and conspicuous after the other birds have +nearly all withdrawn from the stage and become silent, their broods +reared and flown. August is his month, his festive season. It is his +turn now. The thistles are ripening their seeds, and his nest is +undisturbed by jay-bird or crow. He is the first bird I hear in the +morning, circling and swinging through the air in that peculiar +undulating flight, and calling out on the downward curve of each stroke, +"Here we go, here we go!" Every hour in the day he indulges in his +circling, billowy flight. It is a part of his musical performance. His +course at such times is a deeply undulating line, like the long, gentle +roll of the summer sea, the distance from crest to crest or from valley +to valley being probably thirty feet; this distance is made with but one +brief beating of the wings on the downward curve. As he quickly opens +them, they give him a strong upward impulse, and he describes the long +arc with them closely folded. Thus, falling and recovering, rising and +sinking like dolphins in the sea, he courses through the summer air. In +marked contrast to this feat is his manner of flying when he indulges in +a brief outburst of song on the wing. Now he flies level, with broad +expanded wings nearly as round and as concave as two shells, which beat +the air slowly. The song is the chief matter now, and the wings are used +only to keep him afloat while delivering it. In the other case, the +flight is the main concern, and the voice merely punctuates it. + + * * * * * + +Among our familiar birds the matchmaking of none other is quite so +pretty as that of the goldfinch. The goldfinches stay with us in loose +flocks and clad in a dull-olive suit throughout the winter. In May the +males begin to put on their bright summer plumage. This is the result of +a kind of superficial moulting. Their feathers are not shed, but their +dusky covering or overalls are cast off. When the process is only partly +completed, the bird has a smutty, unpresentable appearance. But we +seldom see them at such times. They seem to retire from society. When +the change is complete, and the males have got their bright uniforms of +yellow and black, the courting begins. All the goldfinches of a +neighborhood collect together and hold a sort of musical festival. To +the number of many dozens they may be seen in some large tree, all +singing and calling in the most joyous and vivacious manner. The males +sing, and the females chirp and call. Whether there is actual +competition on a trial of musical abilities of the males before the +females or not, I do not know. The best of feeling seems to pervade the +company; there is no sign of quarreling or fighting; "all goes merry as +a marriage bell," and the matches seem actually to be made during these +musical picnics. Before May is passed the birds are seen in couples, and +in June housekeeping usually begins. This I call the ideal of +love-making among birds, and is in striking contrast to the squabbles +and jealousies of most of our songsters. + +I have known the goldfinches to keep up this musical and love-making +festival through three consecutive days of a cold northeast rainstorm. +Bedraggled, but ardent and happy, the birds were not to be dispersed by +wind or weather. + + + + +THE HEN-HAWK[1] + + +August is the month of the high-sailing hawks. The hen-hawk is the most +noticeable. He likes the haze and calm of these long, warm days. He is a +bird of leisure, and seems always at his ease. How beautiful and +majestic are his movements! So self-poised and easy, such an entire +absence of haste, such a magnificent amplitude of circles and spirals, +such a haughty, imperial grace, and, occasionally, such daring aerial +evolutions! + +With slow, leisurely movement, rarely vibrating his pinions, he mounts +and mounts in an ascending spiral till he appears a mere speck against +the summer sky; then, if the mood seizes him, with wings half closed, +like a bent bow, he will cleave the air almost perpendicularly, as if +intent on dashing himself to pieces against the earth; but on nearing +the ground he suddenly mounts again on broad, expanded wing, as if +rebounding upon the air, and sails leisurely away. It is the sublimest +feat of the season. One holds his breath till he sees him rise again. + +If inclined to a more gradual and less precipitous descent, he fixes +his eye on some distant point in the earth beneath him, and thither +bends his course. He is still almost meteoric in his speed and boldness. +You see his path down the heavens, straight as a line; if near, you hear +the rush of his wings; his shadow hurtles across the fields, and in an +instant you see him quietly perched upon some low tree or decayed stub +in a swamp or meadow, with reminiscences of frogs and mice stirring in +his maw. + +When the south wind blows, it is a study to see three or four of these +air-kings at the head of the valley far up toward the mountain, +balancing and oscillating upon the strong current; now quite stationary, +except for a slight tremulous motion like the poise of a rope-dancer, +then rising and falling in long undulations, and seeming to resign +themselves passively to the wind; or, again, sailing high and level far +above the mountain's peak, no bluster and haste, but, as stated, +occasionally a terrible earnestness and speed. Fire at one as he sails +overhead, and, unless wounded badly, he will not change his course or +gait. + +The calmness and dignity of this hawk, when attacked by crows or the +kingbird, are well worthy of him. He seldom deigns to notice his noisy +and furious antagonists, but deliberately wheels about in that aerial +spiral, and mounts and mounts till his pursuers grow dizzy and return to +earth again. It is quite original, this mode of getting rid of an +unworthy opponent,--rising to heights where the braggart is dazed and +bewildered and loses his reckoning! I am not sure but it is worthy of +imitation. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks are both called hen-hawks. + + + + +THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE + + +Whir! whir! whir! and a brood of half-grown partridges start up like an +explosion, a few paces from me, and, scattering, disappear into the +bushes on all sides. Let me sit down here behind the screen of ferns and +briers, and hear this wild hen of the woods call together her brood. At +what an early age the partridge flies! Nature seems to concentrate her +energies on the wing, making the safety of the bird a point to be looked +after first; and while the body is covered with down, and no signs of +feathers are visible there, the wing-quills sprout and unfold, and in an +incredibly short time the young make fair headway in flying. + +Hark! there arises over there in the brush a soft, persuasive cooing, a +sound so subtle and wild and unobtrusive that it requires the most alert +and watchful ear to hear it. How gentle and solicitous and full of +yearning love! It is the voice of the mother hen. Presently a faint +timid "Yeap!" which almost eludes the ear, is heard in various +directions,--the young responding. As no danger seems near, the cooing +of the parent bird is soon a very audible clucking call, and the young +move cautiously in that direction. Let me step never so carefully from +my hiding-place, and all sounds instantly cease, and I search in vain +for either parent or young. + +The partridge is one of our native and most characteristic birds. The +woods seem good to be in where I find him. He gives a habitable air to +the forest, and one feels as if the rightful occupant were really at +home. The woods where I do not find him seem to want something, as if +suffering from some neglect of Nature. And then he is such a splendid +success, so hardy and vigorous. I think he enjoys the cold and the snow. +His wings seem to rustle with more fervency in midwinter. If the snow +falls very fast, and promises a heavy storm, he will complacently sit +down and allow himself to be snowed under. When you approach him at such +times, he suddenly bursts out of the snow at your feet, scattering the +flakes in all directions, and goes humming away through the woods like a +bomb-shell,--a picture of native spirit and success. + +His drum is one of the most welcome and beautiful sounds of spring. +Scarcely have the trees expanded their buds, when, in the still April +mornings, or toward nightfall, you hear the hum of his devoted wings. He +selects, not, as you would predict, a dry and resinous log, but a +decayed and crumbling one, seeming to give the preference to old +oak-logs that are partly blended with the soil. If a log to his taste +cannot be found, he sets up his altar on a rock, which becomes resonant +beneath his fervent blows. Who has seen the partridge drum? It is the +next thing to catching a weasel asleep, though by much caution and tact +it may be done. He does not hug the log, but stands very erect, expands +his ruff, gives two introductory blows, pauses half a second, and then +resumes, striking faster and faster till the sound becomes a continuous, +unbroken whir, the whole lasting less than half a minute. The tips of +his wings barely brush the log, so that the sound is produced rather by +the force of the blows upon the air and upon his own body as in flying. +One log will be used for many years, though not by the same drummer. It +seems to be a sort of temple and held in great respect. The bird always +approaches on foot, and leaves it in the same quiet manner, unless +rudely disturbed. He is very cunning, though his wit is not profound. It +is difficult to approach him by stealth; you will try many times before +succeeding; but seem to pass by him in a great hurry, making all the +noise possible, and with plumage furled he stands as immovable as a +knot, allowing you a good view. + +The sharp-rayed track of the partridge adds another figure to the +fantastic embroidery upon the winter snow. Her course is a clear, strong +line, sometimes quite wayward, but generally very direct, steering for +the densest, most impenetrable places,--leading you over logs and +through brush, alert and expectant, till, suddenly, she bursts up a few +yards from you, and goes humming through the trees,--the complete +triumph of endurance and vigor. Hardy native bird, may your tracks never +be fewer, or your visits to the birch-tree less frequent! + + +THE PARTRIDGE + + List the booming from afar, + Soft as hum of roving bee, + Vague as when on distant bar + Fall the cataracts of the sea. + + Yet again, a sound astray, + Was it the humming of the mill? + Was it cannon leagues away? + Or dynamite beyond the hill? + + 'T is the grouse with kindled soul, + Wistful of his mate and nest, + Sounding forth his vernal roll + On his love-enkindled breast. + + List his fervid morning drum, + List his summons soft and deep, + Calling Spice-bush till she come, + Waking Bloodroot from her sleep. + + Ah! ruffled drummer, let thy wing + Beat a march the days will heed, + Wake and spur the tardy spring, + Till minstrel voices jocund ring, + And spring is spring in very deed. + + + + +THE CROW + + +The crow may not have the sweet voice which the fox in his flattery +attributed to him, but he has a good, strong, native speech +nevertheless. How much character there is in it! How much thrift and +independence! Of course his plumage is firm, his color decided, his wit +quick. He understands you at once and tells you so; so does the hawk by +his scornful, defiant _whir-r-r-r-r_. Hardy, happy outlaws, the crows, +how I love them! Alert, social, republican, always able to look out for +himself, not afraid of the cold and the snow, fishing when flesh is +scarce, and stealing when other resources fail, the crow is a character +I would not willingly miss from the landscape. I love to see his track +in the snow or the mud, and his graceful pedestrianism about the brown +fields. + +He is no interloper, but has the air and manner of being thoroughly at +home, and in rightful possession of the land. He is no sentimentalist +like some of the plaining, disconsolate song-birds, but apparently is +always in good health and good spirits. No matter who is sick, or +dejected, or unsatisfied, or what the weather is, or what the price of +corn, the crow is well and finds life sweet. He is the dusky embodiment +of worldly wisdom and prudence. Then he is one of Nature's +self-appointed constables and greatly magnifies his office. He would +fain arrest every hawk or owl or grimalkin that ventures abroad. I have +known a posse of them to beset the fox and cry "Thief!" till Reynard hid +himself for shame. Do I say the fox flattered the crow when he told him +he had a sweet voice? Yet one of the most musical sounds in nature +proceeds from the crow. All the crow tribe, from the blue jay up, are +capable of certain low ventriloquial notes that have peculiar cadence +and charm. I often hear the crow indulging in his in winter, and am +reminded of the sound of the dulcimer. The bird stretches up and exerts +himself like a cock in the act of crowing, and gives forth a peculiarly +clear, vitreous sound that is sure to arrest and reward your attention. +This is, no doubt, the song the fox begged to be favored with, as in +delivering it the crow must inevitably let drop the piece of meat. + +The crow has fine manners. He always has the walk and air of a lord of +the soil. One morning I put out some fresh meat upon the snow near my +study window. Presently a crow came and carried it off, and alighted +with it upon the ground in the vineyard. While he was eating it, +another crow came, and, alighting a few yards away, slowly walked up to +within a few feet of this fellow and stopped. I expected to see a +struggle over the food, as would have been the case with domestic fowls +or animals. Nothing of the kind. The feeding crow stopped eating, +regarded the other for a moment, made a gesture or two, and flew away. +Then the second crow went up to the food, and proceeded to take his +share. Presently the first crow came back, when each seized a portion of +the food and flew away with it. Their mutual respect and good-will +seemed perfect. Whether it really was so in our human sense, or whether +it was simply an illustration of the instinct of mutual support which +seems to prevail among gregarious birds, I know not. Birds that are +solitary in their habits, like hawks or woodpeckers, behave quite +differently toward each other in the presence of their food. + +The crow will quickly discover anything that looks like a trap or snare +set to catch him, but it takes him a long time to see through the +simplest contrivance. As I have above stated, I sometimes place meat on +the snow in front of my study window to attract him. On one occasion, +after a couple of crows had come to expect something there daily, I +suspended a piece of meat by a string from a branch of the tree just +over the spot where I usually placed the food. A crow soon discovered +it, and came into the tree to see what it meant. His suspicions were +aroused. There was some design in that suspended meat, evidently. It was +a trap to catch him. He surveyed it from every near branch. He peeked +and pried, and was bent on penetrating the mystery. He flew to the +ground, and walked about and surveyed it from all sides. Then he took a +long walk down about the vineyard as if in hope of hitting upon some +clew. Then he came to the tree again, and tried first one eye, then the +other, upon it; then to the ground beneath; then he went away and came +back; then his fellow came, and they both squinted and investigated, and +then disappeared. Chickadees and woodpeckers would alight upon the meat +and peck it swinging in the wind, but the crows were fearful. Does this +show reflection? Perhaps it does, but I look upon it rather as that +instinct of fear and cunning so characteristic of the crow. Two days +passed thus: every morning the crows came and surveyed the suspended +meat from all points in the tree, and then went away. The third day I +placed a large bone on the snow beneath the suspended morsel. Presently +one of the crows appeared in the tree, and bent his eye upon the +tempting bone. "The mystery deepens," he seemed to say to himself. But +after half an hour's investigation, and after approaching several times +within a few feet of the food upon the ground, he seemed to conclude +there was no connection between it and the piece hanging by the string. +So he finally walked up to it and fell to pecking it, flickering his +wings all the time, as a sign of his watchfulness. He also turned up his +eye, momentarily, to the piece in the air above, as if it might be some +disguised sword of Damocles ready to fall upon him. Soon his mate came +and alighted on a low branch of the tree. The feeding crow regarded him +a moment, and then flew up to his side, as if to give him a turn at the +meat. But he refused to run the risk. He evidently looked upon the whole +thing as a delusion and a snare, and presently went away, and his mate +followed him. Then I placed the bone in one of the main forks of the +tree, but the crows kept at a safe distance from it. Then I put it back +to the ground, but they grew more and more suspicious; some evil intent +in it all, they thought. Finally a dog carried off the bone, and the +crows ceased to visit the tree. + + * * * * * + +From my boyhood I have seen the yearly meeting of the crows in September +or October, on a high grassy hill or a wooded ridge. Apparently, all +the crows from a large area assemble at these times; you may see them +coming, singly or in loose bands, from all directions to the rendezvous, +till there are hundreds of them together. They make black an acre or two +of ground. At intervals they all rise in the air, and wheel about, all +cawing at once. Then to the ground again, or to the tree-tops, as the +case may be; then, rising again, they send forth the voice of the +multitude. What does it all mean? I notice that this rally is always +preliminary to their going into winter quarters. It would be interesting +to know just the nature of the communication that takes place between +them. + + +THE CROW + + +I + + My friend and neighbor through the year, + Self-appointed overseer + + Of my crops of fruit and grain, + Of my woods and furrowed plain, + + Claim thy tithings right and left, + I shall never call it theft. + + Nature wisely made the law, + And I fail to find a flaw + + In thy title to the earth, + And all it holds of any worth. + + I like thy self-complacent air, + I like thy ways so free from care, + + Thy landlord stroll about my fields, + Quickly noting what each yields; + + Thy courtly mien and bearing bold, + As if thy claim were bought with gold; + + Thy floating shape against the sky, + When days are calm and clouds are high; + + Thy thrifty flight ere rise of sun, + Thy homing clans when day is done. + + Hues protective are not thine, + So sleek thy coat each quill doth shine. + + Diamond black to end of toe, + Thy counterpoint the crystal snow. + + +II + + Never plaintive nor appealing, + Quite at home when thou art stealing, + + Always groomed to tip of feather, + Calm and trim in every weather, + + Morn till night my woods policing, + Every sound thy watch increasing. + + Hawk and owl in tree-top hiding + Feel the shame of thy deriding. + + Naught escapes thy observation, + None but dread thy accusation. + + +III + + Hunters, prowlers, woodland lovers + Vainly seek the leafy covers. + + Noisy, scheming, and predacious, + With demeanor almost gracious, + + Dowered with leisure, void of hurry, + Void of fuss and void of worry, + + Friendly bandit, Robin Hood, + Judge and jury of the wood, + + Or Captain Kidd of sable quill, + Hiding treasures in the hill, + + Nature made thee for each season, + Gave thee wit for ample reason, + + Good crow wit that's always burnished + Like the coat her care has furnished. + + May thy numbers ne'er diminish! + I'll befriend thee till life's finish. + + May I never cease to meet thee! + May I never have to eat thee! + + And mayest thou never have to fare so + That thou playest the part of scarecrow! + + + + +THE NORTHERN SHRIKE + + +Usually the character of a bird of prey is well defined; there is no +mistaking him. His claws, his beak, his head, his wings, in fact his +whole build, point to the fact that he subsists upon live creatures; he +is armed to catch them and to slay them. Every bird knows a hawk and +knows him from the start, and is on the lookout for him. The hawk takes +life, but he does it to maintain his own, and it is a public and +universally known fact. Nature has sent him abroad in that character, +and has advised all creatures of it. Not so with the shrike; here she +has concealed the character of a murderer under a form as innocent as +that of the robin. Feet, wings, tail, color, head, and general form and +size are all those of a song-bird,--very much like that master songster, +the mockingbird,--yet this bird is a regular Bluebeard among its kind. +Its only characteristic feature is its beak, the upper mandible having +two sharp processes and a sharp hooked point. It usually impales its +victim upon a thorn, or thrusts it in the fork of a limb. For the most +part, however, its food seems to consist of insects,--spiders, +grasshoppers, beetles, etc. It is the assassin of the small birds, whom +it often destroys in pure wantonness, or merely to sup on their brains, +as the Gaucho slaughters a wild cow or bull for its tongue. It is a wolf +in sheep's clothing. Apparently its victims are unacquainted with its +true character and allow it to approach them, when the fatal blow is +given. I saw an illustration of this the other day. A large number of +goldfinches in their fall plumage, together with snowbirds and sparrows, +were feeding and chattering in some low bushes back of the barn. I had +paused by the fence and was peeping through at them, hoping to get a +glimpse of that rare sparrow, the white-crowned. Presently I heard a +rustling among the dry leaves as if some larger bird were also among +them. Then I heard one of the goldfinches cry out as if in distress, +when the whole flock of them started up in alarm, and, circling around, +settled in the tops of the larger trees. I continued my scrutiny of the +bushes, when I saw a large bird, with some object in its beak, hopping +along on a low branch near the ground. It disappeared from my sight for +a few moments, then came up through the undergrowth into the top of a +young maple where some of the finches had alighted, and I beheld the +shrike. The little birds avoided him and flew about the tree, their +pursuer following them with the motions of his head and body as if he +would fain arrest them by his murderous gaze. The birds did not utter +the cry or make the demonstration of alarm they usually do on the +appearance of a hawk, but chirruped and called and flew about in a half +wondering, half bewildered manner. As they flew farther along the line +of trees the shrike followed them as if bent on further captures. I then +made my way around to see what the shrike had caught, and what he had +done with his prey. As I approached the bushes I saw the shrike +hastening back. I read his intentions at once. Seeing my movements, he +had returned for his game. But I was too quick for him, and he got up +out of the brush and flew away from the locality. On some twigs in the +thickest part of the bushes I found his victim,--a goldfinch. It was not +impaled upon a thorn, but was carefully disposed upon some horizontal +twigs,--laid upon the shelf, so to speak. It was as warm as in life, and +its plumage was unruffled. On examining it I found a large bruise or +break in the skin on the back of the neck, at the base of the skull. +Here the bandit had no doubt gripped the bird with his strong beak. The +shrike's bloodthirstiness was seen in the fact that he did not stop to +devour his prey, but went in quest of more, as if opening a market of +goldfinches. The thicket was his shambles, and if not interrupted, he +might have had a fine display of titbits in a short time. + +The shrike is called a butcher from his habit of sticking his meat upon +hooks and points; further than that, he is a butcher because he devours +but a trifle of what he slays. + + + + +THE SCREECH OWL + + +At one point in the grayest, most shaggy part of the woods, I come +suddenly upon a brood of screech owls, full grown, sitting together upon +a dry, moss-draped limb, but a few feet from the ground. I pause within +four or five yards of them and am looking about me, when my eye lights +upon these gray, motionless figures. They sit perfectly upright, some +with their backs and some with their breasts toward me, but every head +turned squarely in my direction. Their eyes are closed to a mere black +line; through this crack they are watching me, evidently thinking +themselves unobserved. The spectacle is weird and grotesque, and +suggests something impish and uncanny. It is a new effect, the night +side of the woods by daylight. After observing them a moment I take a +single step toward them, when, quick as thought, their eyes fly wide +open, their attitude is changed, they bend, some this way, some that, +and, instinct with life and motion, stare wildly around them. Another +step, and they all take flight but one, which stoops low on the branch, +and with the look of a frightened cat regards me for a few seconds over +its shoulder. They fly swiftly and softly, and disperse through the +trees. + + * * * * * + +A winter neighbor of mine, in whom I am interested, and who perhaps +lends me his support after his kind, is a little red owl, whose retreat +is in the heart of an old apple-tree just over the fence. Where he keeps +himself in spring and summer, I do not know, but late every fall, and at +intervals all winter, his hiding-place is discovered by the jays and +nuthatches, and proclaimed from the tree-tops for the space of half an +hour or so, with all the powers of voice they can command. Four times +during one winter they called me out to behold this little ogre feigning +sleep in his den, sometimes in one apple-tree, sometimes in another. +Whenever I heard their cries, I knew my neighbor was being berated. The +birds would take turns at looking in upon him, and uttering their +alarm-notes. Every jay within hearing would come to the spot, and at +once approach the hole in the trunk or limb, and with a kind of +breathless eagerness and excitement take a peep at the owl, and then +join the outcry. When I approached they would hastily take a final look, +and then withdraw and regard my movements intently. After accustoming my +eye to the faint light of the cavity for a few moments, I could usually +make out the owl at the bottom feigning sleep. Feigning, I say, because +this is what he really did, as I first discovered one day when I cut +into his retreat with the axe. The loud blows and the falling chips did +not disturb him at all. When I reached in a stick and pulled him over on +his side, leaving one of his wings spread out, he made no attempt to +recover himself, but lay among the chips and fragments of decayed wood, +like a part of themselves. Indeed, it took a sharp eye to distinguish +him. Not till I had pulled him forth by one wing, rather rudely, did he +abandon his trick of simulated sleep or death. Then, like a detected +pickpocket, he was suddenly transformed into another creature. His eyes +flew wide open, his talons clutched my finger, his ears were depressed, +and every motion and look said, "Hands off, at your peril." Finding this +game did not work, he soon began to "play possum" again. I put a cover +over my study wood-box and kept him captive for a week. Look in upon him +at any time, night or day, and he was apparently wrapped in the +profoundest slumber; but the live mice which I put into his box from +time to time found his sleep was easily broken; there would be a sudden +rustle in the box, a faint squeak, and then silence. After a week of +captivity I gave him his freedom in the full sunshine; no trouble for +him to see which way and where to go. + +Just at dusk in the winter nights, I often hear his soft _bur-r-r-r_, +very pleasing and bell-like. What a furtive, woody sound it is in the +winter stillness, so unlike the harsh scream of the hawk! But all the +ways of the owl are ways of softness and duskiness. His wings are shod +with silence, his plumage is edged with down. + +Another owl neighbor of mine, with whom I pass the time of day more +frequently than with the last, lives farther away. I pass his castle +every night on my way to the post-office, and in winter, if the hour is +late enough, am pretty sure to see him standing in his doorway, +surveying the passers-by and the landscape through narrow slits in his +eyes. For four successive winters now have I observed him. As the +twilight begins to deepen, he rises up out of his cavity in the +apple-tree, scarcely faster than the moon rises from behind the hill, +and sits in the opening, completely framed by its outlines of gray bark +and dead wood, and by his protective coloring virtually invisible to +every eye that does not know he is there. Probably my own is the only +eye that has ever penetrated his secret, and mine never would have done +so had I not chanced on one occasion to see him leave his retreat and +make a raid upon a shrike that was impaling a shrew-mouse upon a thorn +in a neighboring tree, and which I was watching. I was first advised of +the owl's presence by seeing him approaching swiftly on silent, level +wing. The shrike did not see him till the owl was almost within the +branches. He then dropped his game, and darted back into the thick +cover, uttering a loud, discordant squawk, as one would say, "Scat! +scat! scat!" The owl alighted, and was, perhaps, looking about him for +the shrike's impaled game, when I drew near. On seeing me, he reversed +his movement precipitately, flew straight back to the old tree, and +alighted in the entrance to the cavity. As I approached, he did not so +much seem to move as to diminish in size, like an object dwindling in +the distance; he depressed his plumage, and, with his eye fixed upon me, +began slowly to back and sidle into his retreat till he faded from my +sight. The shrike wiped his beak upon the branches, cast an eye down at +me and at his lost mouse, and then flew away. + +A few nights afterward, as I passed that way, I saw the little owl again +sitting in his doorway, waiting for the twilight to deepen, and +undisturbed by the passers-by; but when I paused to observe him, he saw +that he was discovered, and he slunk back into his den as on the former +occasion. Ever since, while going that way, I have been on the lookout +for him. Dozens of teams and foot-passengers pass him late in the day, +but he regards them not, nor they him. When I come along and pause to +salute him, he opens his eyes a little wider, and, appearing to +recognize me, quickly shrinks and fades into the background of his door +in a very weird and curious manner. When he is not at his outlook, or +when he is, it requires the best powers of the eye to decide the point, +as the empty cavity itself is almost an exact image of him. If the whole +thing had been carefully studied, it could not have answered its purpose +better. The owl stands quite perpendicular, presenting a front of light +mottled gray; the eyes are closed to a mere slit, the ear-feathers +depressed, the beak buried in the plumage, and the whole attitude is one +of silent, motionless waiting and observation. If a mouse should be seen +crossing the highway, or scudding over any exposed part of the snowy +surface in the twilight, the owl would doubtless swoop down upon it. I +think the owl has learned to distinguish me from the rest of the +passers-by; at least, when I stop before him, and he sees himself +observed, he backs down into his den, as I have said, in a very amusing +manner. + + + + +THE CHICKADEE + + +The chickadees we have always with us. They are like the evergreens +among trees and plants. Winter has no terrors for them. They are +properly wood-birds, but the groves and orchards know them also. Did +they come near my cabin for better protection, or did they chance to +find a little cavity in a tree there that suited them? Branch-builders +and ground-builders are easily accommodated, but the chickadee must find +a cavity, and a small one at that. The woodpeckers make a cavity when a +suitable trunk or branch is found, but the chickadee, with its small, +sharp beak, rarely does so; it usually smooths and deepens one already +formed. This a pair did a few yards from my cabin. The opening was into +the heart of a little sassafras, about four feet from the ground. Day +after day the birds took turns in deepening and enlarging the cavity: a +soft, gentle hammering for a few moments in the heart of the little +tree, and then the appearance of the worker at the opening, with the +chips in his, or her, beak. They changed off every little while, one +working while the other gathered food. Absolute equality of the sexes, +both in plumage and in duties, seems to prevail among these birds, as +among a few other species. During the preparations for housekeeping the +birds were hourly seen and heard, but as soon as the first egg was laid, +all this was changed. They suddenly became very shy and quiet. Had it +not been for the new egg that was added each day, one would have +concluded that they had abandoned the place. There was a precious secret +now that must be well kept. After incubation began, it was only by +watching that I could get a glimpse of one of the birds as it came +quickly to feed or to relieve the other. + +One day a lot of Vassar girls came to visit me, and I led them out to +the little sassafras to see the chickadee's nest. The sitting bird kept +her place as head after head, with its nodding plumes and millinery, +appeared above the opening to her chamber, and a pair of inquisitive +eyes peered down upon her. But I saw that she was getting ready to play +her little trick to frighten them away. Presently I heard a faint +explosion at the bottom of the cavity, when the peeping girl jerked her +head quickly back, with the exclamation, "Why, it spit at me!" The trick +of the bird on such occasions is apparently to draw in its breath till +its form perceptibly swells, and then give forth a quick, explosive +sound like an escaping jet of steam. One involuntarily closes his eyes +and jerks back his head. The girls, to their great amusement, provoked +the bird into this pretty outburst of her impatience two or three times. +But as the ruse failed of its effect, the bird did not keep it up, but +let the laughing faces gaze till they were satisfied. + +I was much interested in seeing a brood of chickadees, reared on my +premises, venture upon their first flight. Their heads had been seen at +the door of their dwelling--a cavity in the limb of a pear-tree--at +intervals for two or three days. Evidently they liked the looks of the +great outside world; and one evening, just before sundown, one of them +came forth. His first flight was of several yards, to a locust, where he +alighted upon an inner branch, and after some chirping and calling +proceeded to arrange his plumage and compose himself for the night. I +watched him till it was nearly dark. He did not appear at all afraid +there alone in the tree, but put his head under his wing and settled +down for the night as if it were just what he had always been doing. +There was a heavy shower a few hours later, but in the morning he was +there upon his perch in good spirits. + +I happened to be passing in the morning when another one came out. He +hopped out upon a limb, shook himself, and chirped and called loudly. +After some moments an idea seemed to strike him. His attitude changed, +his form straightened up, and a thrill of excitement seemed to run +through him. I knew what it all meant; something had whispered to the +bird, "Fly!" With a spring and a cry he was in the air, and made good +headway to a near hemlock. Others left in a similar manner during that +day and the next, till all were out. + + + + +THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + +The bird that seems to consider he has the best right to my hospitality +is the downy woodpecker, my favorite neighbor among the winter birds. +His retreat is but a few paces from my own, in the decayed limb of an +apple-tree, which he excavated several autumns ago. I say "he" because +the red plume on the top of his head proclaims the sex. It seems not to +be generally known to our writers upon ornithology that certain of our +woodpeckers--probably all the winter residents--each fall excavate a +limb or the trunk of a tree in which to pass the winter, and that the +cavity is abandoned in the spring, probably for a new one in which +nidification takes place. + +The particular woodpecker to which I refer drilled his first hole in my +apple-tree one fall four or five years ago. This he occupied till the +following spring, when he abandoned it. The next fall he began a hole in +an adjoining limb, later than before, and when it was about half +completed a female took possession of his old quarters. I am sorry to +say that this seemed to enrage the male very much, and he persecuted the +poor bird whenever she appeared upon the scene. He would fly at her +spitefully and drive her off. One chilly November morning, as I passed +under the tree, I heard the hammer of the little architect in his +cavity, and at the same time saw the persecuted female sitting at the +entrance of the other hole as if she would fain come out. She was +actually shivering, probably from both fear and cold. I understood the +situation at a glance; the bird was afraid to come forth and brave the +anger of the male. Not till I had rapped smartly upon the limb with my +stick did she come out and attempt to escape; but she had not gone ten +feet from the tree before the male was in hot pursuit, and in a few +moments had driven her back to the same tree, where she tried to avoid +him among the branches. There is probably no gallantry among the birds +except at the mating season. I have frequently seen the male woodpecker +drive the female away from the bone upon the tree. When she hopped +around to the other end and timidly nibbled it, he would presently dart +spitefully at her. She would then take up her position in his rear and +wait till he had finished his meal. The position of the female among the +birds is very much the same as that of women among savage tribes. Most +of the drudgery of life falls upon her, and the leavings of the males +are often her lot. + +[Illustration: DOWNY WOODPECKER] + +My bird is a genuine little savage, doubtless, but I value him as a +neighbor. It is a satisfaction during the cold or stormy winter nights +to know he is warm and cozy there in his retreat. When the day is bad +and unfit to be abroad in, he is there too. When I wish to know if he is +at home, I go and rap upon his tree, and, if he is not too lazy or +indifferent, after some delay he shows his head in his round doorway +about ten feet above, and looks down inquiringly upon me--sometimes +latterly I think half resentfully, as much as to say, "I would thank you +not to disturb me so often." After sundown, he will not put his head out +any more when I call, but as I step away I can get a glimpse of him +inside looking cold and reserved. He is a late riser, especially if it +is a cold or disagreeable morning, in this respect being like the barn +fowls; it is sometimes near nine o'clock before I see him leave his +tree. On the other hand, he comes home early, being in, if the day is +unpleasant, by four P.M. He lives all alone; in this respect I do not +commend his example. Where his mate is, I should like to know. + +I have discovered several other woodpeckers in adjoining orchards, each +of which has a like home, and leads a like solitary life. One of them +has excavated a dry limb within easy reach of my hand, doing the work +also in September. But the choice of tree was not a good one; the limb +was too much decayed, and the workman had made the cavity too large; a +chip had come out, making a hole in the outer wall. Then he went a few +inches down the limb and began again, and excavated a large, commodious +chamber, but had again come too near the surface; scarcely more than the +bark protected him in one place, and the limb was very much weakened. +Then he made another attempt still farther down the limb, and drilled in +an inch or two, but seemed to change his mind; the work stopped, and I +concluded the bird had wisely abandoned the tree. Passing there one +cold, rainy November day, I thrust in my two fingers and was surprised +to feel something soft and warm: as I drew away my hand the bird came +out, apparently no more surprised than I was. It had decided, then, to +make its home in the old limb; a decision it had occasion to regret, for +not long after, on a stormy night, the branch gave way and fell to the +ground:-- + + "When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, + And down will come baby and cradle and all." + +Another trait our woodpeckers have that endears them to me is their +habit of drumming in the spring. They are songless birds, and yet all +are musicians; they make the dry limbs eloquent of the coming change. +Did you think that loud, sonorous hammering which proceeded from the +orchard or from the near woods on that still March or April morning was +only some bird getting its breakfast? It is Downy, but he is not rapping +at the door of a grub; he is rapping at the door of spring, and the dry +limb thrills beneath the ardor of his blows. + +A few seasons ago, a downy woodpecker, probably the individual one who +is now my winter neighbor, began to drum early in March in a partly +decayed apple-tree that stands in the edge of a narrow strip of woodland +near me. When the morning was still and mild I would often hear him +through my window before I was up, or by half-past six o'clock, and he +would keep it up pretty briskly till nine or ten o'clock, in this +respect resembling the grouse, which do most of their drumming in the +forenoon. His drum was the stub of a dry limb about the size of one's +wrist. The heart was decayed and gone, but the outer shell was hard and +resonant. The bird would keep his position there for an hour at a time. +Between his drummings he would preen his plumage and listen as if for +the response of the female, or for the drum of some rival. How swiftly +his head would go when he was delivering his blows upon the limb! His +beak wore the surface perceptibly. When he wished to change the key, +which was quite often, he would shift his position an inch or two to a +knot which gave out a higher, shriller note. When I climbed up to +examine his drum, he was much disturbed. I did not know he was in the +vicinity, but it seems he saw me from a near tree, and came in haste to +the neighboring branches, and with spread plumage and a sharp note +demanded plainly enough what my business was with his drum. I was +invading his privacy, desecrating his shrine, and the bird was much put +out. After some weeks the female appeared; he had literally drummed up a +mate; his urgent and oft-repeated advertisement was answered. Still the +drumming did not cease, but was quite as fervent as before. If a mate +could be won by drumming, she could be kept and entertained by more +drumming; courtship should not end with marriage. If the bird felt +musical before, of course he felt much more so now. Besides that, the +gentle deities needed propitiating in behalf of the nest and young as +well as in behalf of the mate. After a time a second female came, when +there was war between the two. I did not see them come to blows, but I +saw one female pursuing the other about the place, and giving her no +rest for several days. She was evidently trying to run her out of the +neighborhood. Now and then, she, too, would drum briefly, as if sending +a triumphant message to her mate. + +The woodpeckers do not each have a particular dry limb to which they +resort at all times to drum, like the one I have described. The woods +are full of suitable branches, and they drum more or less here and there +as they are in quest of food; yet I am convinced each one has its +favorite spot, like the grouse, to which it resorts especially in the +morning. The sugar-maker in the maple woods may notice that this sound +proceeds from the same tree or trees about his camp with great +regularity. A woodpecker in my vicinity has drummed for two seasons on a +telegraph-pole, and he makes the wires and glass insulators ring. +Another drums on a thin board on the end of a long grape-arbor, and on +still mornings can be heard a long distance. + + * * * * * + +I watch these woodpeckers daily to see if I can solve the mystery as to +how they hop up and down the trunks and branches without falling away +from them when they let go their hold. They come down a limb or trunk +backward by a series of little hops, moving both feet together. If the +limb is at an angle to the tree and they are on the under side of it, +they do not fall away from it to get a new hold an inch or half-inch +farther down. They are held to it as steel to a magnet. Both tail and +head are involved in the feat. At the instant of making the hop the head +is thrown in and the tail thrown out, but the exact mechanics of it I +cannot penetrate. Philosophers do not yet know how a backward-falling +cat turns in the air, but turn she does. It may be that the woodpecker +never quite relaxes his hold, though to my eye he appears to do so. + + +THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + Downy came and dwelt with me, + Taught me hermit lore; + Drilled his cell in oaken tree + Near my cabin door. + + Architect of his own home + In the forest dim, + Carving its inverted dome + In a dozy limb. + + Carved it deep and shaped it true + With his little bill; + Took no thought about the view, + Whether dale or hill. + + Shook the chips upon the ground, + Careless who might see. + Hark! his hatchet's muffled sound + Hewing in the tree. + + Round his door as compass-mark, + True and smooth his wall; + Just a shadow on the bark + Points you to his hall. + + Downy leads a hermit life + All the winter through; + Free his days from jar and strife, + And his cares are few. + + Waking up the frozen woods, + Shaking down the snows; + Many trees of many moods + Echo to his blows. + + When the storms of winter rage, + Be it night or day, + Then I know my little page + Sleeps the time away. + + Downy's stores are in the trees, + Egg and ant and grub; + Juicy tidbits, rich as cheese, + Hid in stump and stub. + + Rat-tat-tat his chisel goes, + Cutting out his prey; + Every boring insect knows + When he comes its way. + + Always rapping at their doors, + Never welcome he; + All his kind, they vote, are bores, + Whom they dread to see. + + Why does Downy live alone + In his snug retreat? + Has he found that near the bone + Is the sweetest meat? + + Birdie craved another fate + When the spring had come; + Advertised him for a mate + On his dry-limb drum. + + Drummed her up and drew her near, + In the April morn, + Till she owned him for her dear + In his state forlorn. + + Now he shirks all family cares, + This I must confess; + Quite absorbed in self affairs + In the season's stress. + + We are neighbors well agreed + Of a common lot; + Peace and love our only creed + In this charmèd spot. + + + + +INDEX + + + Blackbird, cow. See Cowbird. + + Bluebird, arrival in spring, 1; + nest-building, 1, 2; + young and cicada, 2, 3; + a bewildered pair, 3-7; + love and rivalry, 7-12; + war with house wrens, 47-52. + + _Bluebird, The_, poem, 13. + + Bobolink, courtship, 77, 78; + concealment of nest, 78-81. + + _Bobolink, The_, poem, 82. + + Bob-white. See Quail. + + Butcher-bird. See Shrike, northern. + + + Catbird, song of, 72, 73; + and black snake, 73-76; + a coquette, 83. + + Cedar-bird, nest-building, 122, 123; + notes of, 124. + + Chewink, markings of, 39; + Thomas Jefferson writes to Alexander Wilson about, 39-41; + inhospitality of, 83. + + Chickadee, nesting of, 157-160. + + Chippy. See Sparrow, chipping. + + _Coming of PhÅ“be, The_, poem, 31. + + Cowbird, notes of, 33; + parasitic habits of, 33-35. + + Crow, character of, 138, 139; + manners of, 139, 140; + wariness of, 140-142; + yearly meeting, 142, 143. + + _Crow, The_, poem, 144. + + + _Downy Woodpecker, The_, poem, 169. + + + Flicker, call of, 21; + courtship, 22, 25, 26; + not satisfied with being a woodpecker, 22, 23; + excavating a nest, 23; + young, 23-25; + drumming, 26, 27. + + + Goldfinch, nesting, 125, 126; + notes of, 126-128; + flight of, 127, 128; + musical festivals, 128, 129. + + Grouse, ruffed, 133-136. + + + Hawk, marsh, habits of, 106; + nest of, 106-108; + young, 111, 112; + a pet young one, 112-117. + + Hawk, red-shouldered. See Hen-hawk. + + Hawk, red-tailed. See Hen-hawk. + + Hen-hawk, flight of, 130-132. + + High-hole. See Flicker. + + + Jefferson, Thomas, 39, 40. + + + Oriole, Baltimore, nests of, 91-94. + + Oven-bird, walk of, 69; + the two songs of, 69, 70; + nest of, 70, 71. + + Owl, screech, a brood, 151, 152; + two owl neighbors, 152-156; + a captive, 153; + note of, 154; + disappearing in his hole, 154-156. + + + Partridge, 133-136. + + _Partridge, The_, poem, 137. + + PhÅ“be, arrival in spring, 28; + nests of, 29, 30. + + _PhÅ“be, The Coming of_, poem, 31. + + + Quail, on nest, 109-111. + + + Robin, arrival in spring, 15; + a graceful warrior, 16; + the "robin racket," 16, 17; + nest and young, 18, 19; + boring for grubs, 19, 20. + + + Shrike, northern, 147-150; + raided by a screech owl, 155. + + Snake, black, and song sparrows, 55, 56; + and catbirds, 73-76. + + Sparrow, chipping, trying to catch a miller, 36; + feeding young robins, 37, 38. + + Sparrow, song, unsuccessful nestings, 53, 54; + and a black snake, 55, 56; + a risky experiment, 56-58; + a bob-tailed song sparrow's nest, 58-60. + + Swallow, chimney. See Swift, chimney. + + Swift, chimney, nest of, 61, 62; + flight of, 61, 62; + young, 63, 64; + outriding the storms, 64; + habits of, 64-66; + great gatherings and aerial evolutions of, 66-68. + + + Thrasher, brown, stealthiness of, 42; + nests of, 42-46; + skulking, 83. + + Thrush, wood, grace and elegance of, 83, 84; + newspaper in nests, 84-86; + the song and the nests, 86, 87; + unsuccessful nestings, 87-89; + song contests, 89, 90. + + Towhee. See Chewink. + + + Warbler, black-throated blue, a successful search for the nest + of, 100-105. + + Whip-poor-will, eggs of, 95; + assimilative coloration of, 95, 97, 99; + young, 96; + gait of, 97; + song of, 97, 98; + an old bird with her young, 98, 99. + + Wilson, Alexander, 39-41. + + Woodpecker, downy, a winter neighbor, 161-164; + drumming, 164-167; + the mystery of his hopping up and down the trunks and + branches, 167, 168. + + _Woodpecker, The Downy_, poem, 169. + + Woodpecker, golden-winged. See Flicker. + + Wren, house, song of, 47; + war with bluebirds, 47-52. + + Wren, winter, in his summer home, 119, 120; + in winter, 120, 121. + + + Yarup. See Flicker. + + Yellowbird. See Goldfinch. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Bird Stories from Burroughs, by John Burroughs + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + +***** This file should be named 26046-0.txt or 26046-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/4/26046/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/26046-0.zip b/26046-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c152c0b --- /dev/null +++ b/26046-0.zip diff --git a/26046-8.txt b/26046-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc123ff --- /dev/null +++ b/26046-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4147 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Stories from Burroughs, by John Burroughs + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Bird Stories from Burroughs + Sketches of Bird Life Taken from the Works of John Burroughs + +Author: John Burroughs + +Illustrator: Louis Agassiz Fuertes + +Release Date: July 12, 2008 [EBook #26046] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: GOLDFINCH (page 125)] + + + + + BIRD STORIES + FROM BURROUGHS + + SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE + TAKEN FROM THE WORKS OF + + JOHN BURROUGHS + + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES_ + + + [Device] + + + BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO + HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + The Riverside Press Cambridge + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1881, 1886, 1894, 1899, 1903, +1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, BY JOHN BURROUGHS + +COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Hyphenation has been standardised. Minor typographical errors have + been corrected without note. The oe ligature is represented by [oe]. + + + + +PUBLISHERS' NOTE + + +John Burroughs's first book, "Wake-Robin," contained a chapter entitled +"The Invitation." It was an invitation to the study of birds. He has +reiterated it, implicitly if not explicitly, in most of the books he has +published since then, and many of his readers have joyfully accepted it. +Indeed, such an invitation from Mr. Burroughs is the best possible +introduction to the birds of our Northeastern States, and it is likewise +an introduction to some very good reading. To convey this invitation to +a wider circle of young readers the most interesting bird stories in Mr. +Burroughs's books have been gathered into a single volume. A chapter is +given to each species of bird, and the chapters are arranged in a sort +of chronological order, according to the time of the bird's arrival in +the spring, the nesting time, or the season when for some other reason +the species is particularly conspicuous. In taking the stories out of +their original setting a few slight verbal alterations have been +necessary here and there, but these have been made either by Mr. +Burroughs himself or with his approval. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + THE BLUEBIRD 1 + + THE BLUEBIRD (_poem_) 13 + + THE ROBIN 15 + + THE FLICKER 21 + + THE PH[OE]BE 28 + + THE COMING OF PH[OE]BE (_poem_) 31 + + THE COWBIRD 33 + + THE CHIPPING SPARROW 36 + + THE CHEWINK 39 + + THE BROWN THRASHER 42 + + THE HOUSE WREN 47 + + THE SONG SPARROW 53 + + THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 61 + + THE OVEN-BIRD 69 + + THE CATBIRD 72 + + THE BOBOLINK 77 + + THE BOBOLINK (_poem_) 82 + + THE WOOD THRUSH 83 + + THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE 91 + + THE WHIP-POOR-WILL 95 + + THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER: A SEARCH FOR + A RARE NEST 100 + + THE MARSH HAWK: A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG + HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST 106 + + THE WINTER WREN 119 + + THE CEDAR-BIRD 122 + + THE GOLDFINCH 125 + + THE HEN-HAWK 130 + + THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE 133 + + THE PARTRIDGE (_poem_) 137 + + THE CROW 138 + + THE CROW (_poem_) 144 + + THE NORTHERN SHRIKE 147 + + THE SCREECH OWL 151 + + THE CHICKADEE 157 + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 161 + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER (_poem_) 169 + + INDEX 173 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + GOLDFINCH (_in color_). (page 125) _Frontispiece_ + + A PAIR OF BLUEBIRDS 8 + + FLICKER (_in color_) 22 + + CHEWINK, MALE AND FEMALE (_in color_) 40 + + WOOD THRUSH 84 + + BALTIMORE ORIOLE, MALE AND FEMALE 92 + + WHIP-POOR-WILL 96 + + DOWNY WOODPECKER (_in color_) 162 + + + + +BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS + + + + +THE BLUEBIRD + + +It is sure to be a bright March morning when you first hear the +bluebird's note; and it is as if the milder influences up above had +found a voice and let a word fall upon your ear, so tender is it and so +prophetic, a hope tinged with a regret. + +There never was a happier or more devoted husband than the male +bluebird. He is the gay champion and escort of the female at all times, +and while she is sitting he feeds her regularly. It is very pretty to +watch them building their nest. The male is very active in hunting out a +place and exploring the boxes and cavities, but seems to have no choice +in the matter and is anxious only to please and encourage his mate, who +has the practical turn and knows what will do and what will not. After +she has suited herself he applauds her immensely, and away the two go in +quest of material for the nest, the male acting as guard and flying +above and in advance of the female. She brings all the material and +does all the work of building, he looking on and encouraging her with +gesture and song. He acts also as inspector of her work, but I fear is a +very partial one. She enters the nest with her bit of dry grass or +straw, and, having adjusted it to her notion, withdraws and waits near +by while he goes in and looks it over. On coming out he exclaims very +plainly, "Excellent! excellent!" and away the two go again for more +material. + +I was much amused one summer day in seeing a bluebird feeding her young +one in the shaded street of a large town. She had captured a cicada or +harvest-fly, and, after bruising it awhile on the ground, flew with it +to a tree and placed it in the beak of the young bird. It was a large +morsel, and the mother seemed to have doubts of her chick's ability to +dispose of it, for she stood near and watched its efforts with great +solicitude. The young bird struggled valiantly with the cicada, but made +no headway in swallowing it, when the mother took it from him and flew +to the sidewalk, and proceeded to break and bruise it more thoroughly. +Then she again placed it in his beak, and seemed to say, "There, try it +now," and sympathized so thoroughly with his efforts that she repeated +many of his motions and contortions. But the great fly was unyielding, +and, indeed, seemed ridiculously disproportioned to the beak that held +it. The young bird fluttered and fluttered, and screamed, "I'm stuck, +I'm stuck!" till the anxious parent again seized the morsel and carried +it to an iron railing, where she came down upon it for the space of a +minute with all the force and momentum her beak could command. Then she +offered it to her young a third time, but with the same result as +before, except that this time the bird dropped it; but she reached the +ground as soon as the cicada did, and taking it in her beak flew a +little distance to a high board fence, where she sat motionless for some +moments. While pondering the problem how that fly should be broken, the +male bluebird approached her, and said very plainly, and I thought +rather curtly, "Give me that bug," but she quickly resented his +interference and flew farther away, where she sat apparently quite +discouraged when I last saw her. + + * * * * * + +One day in early May, Ted and I made an expedition to the Shattega, a +still, dark, deep stream that loiters silently through the woods not far +from my cabin. As we paddled along, we were on the alert for any bit of +wild life of bird or beast that might turn up. + +There were so many abandoned woodpecker chambers in the small dead +trees as we went along that I determined to secure the section of a tree +containing a good one to take home and put up for the bluebirds. "Why +don't the bluebirds occupy them here?" inquired Ted. "Oh," I replied, +"bluebirds do not come so far into the woods as this. They prefer +nesting-places in the open, and near human habitations." After carefully +scrutinizing several of the trees, we at last saw one that seemed to +fill the bill. It was a small dead tree-trunk seven or eight inches in +diameter, that leaned out over the water, and from which the top had +been broken. The hole, round and firm, was ten or twelve feet above us. +After considerable effort I succeeded in breaking the stub off near the +ground, and brought it down into the boat. "Just the thing," I said; +"surely the bluebirds will prefer this to an artificial box." But, lo +and behold, it already had bluebirds in it! We had not heard a sound or +seen a feather till the trunk was in our hands, when, on peering into +the cavity, we discovered two young bluebirds about half grown. This was +a predicament indeed! + +Well, the only thing we could do was to stand the tree-trunk up again as +well as we could, and as near as we could to where it had stood before. +This was no easy thing. But after a time we had it fairly well +replaced, one end standing in the mud of the shallow water and the other +resting against a tree. This left the hole to the nest about ten feet +below and to one side of its former position. Just then we heard the +voice of one of the parent birds, and we quickly paddled to the other +side of the stream, fifty feet away, to watch her proceedings, saying to +each other, "Too bad! too bad!" The mother bird had a large beetle in +her beak. She alighted upon a limb a few feet above the former site of +her nest, looked down upon us, uttered a note or two, and then dropped +down confidently to the point in the vacant air where the entrance to +her nest had been but a few moments before. Here she hovered on the wing +a second or two, looking for something that was not there, and then +returned to the perch she had just left, apparently not a little +disturbed. She hammered the beetle rather excitedly upon the limb a few +times, as if it were in some way at fault, then dropped down to try for +her nest again. Only vacant air there! She hovers and hovers, her blue +wings flickering in the checkered light; surely that precious hole +_must_ be there; but no, again she is baffled, and again she returns to +her perch, and mauls the poor beetle till it must be reduced to a pulp. +Then she makes a third attempt, then a fourth, and a fifth, and a +sixth, till she becomes very much excited. "What could have happened? am +I dreaming? has that beetle hoodooed me?" she seems to say, and in her +dismay she lets the bug drop, and looks bewilderedly about her. Then she +flies away through the woods, calling. "Going for her mate," I said to +Ted. "She is in deep trouble, and she wants sympathy and help." + +In a few minutes we heard her mate answer, and presently the two birds +came hurrying to the spot, both with loaded beaks. They perched upon the +familiar limb above the site of the nest, and the mate seemed to say, +"My dear, what has happened to you? I can find that nest." And he dived +down, and brought up in the empty air just as the mother had done. How +he winnowed it with his eager wings! how he seemed to bear on to that +blank space! His mate sat regarding him intently, confident, I think, +that he would find the clew. But he did not. Baffled and excited, he +returned to the perch beside her. Then she tried again, then he rushed +down once more, then they both assaulted the place, but it would not +give up its secret. They talked, they encouraged each other, and they +kept up the search, now one, now the other, now both together. Sometimes +they dropped down to within a few feet of the entrance to the nest, and +we thought they would surely find it. No, their minds and eyes were +intent only upon that square foot of space where the nest had been. Soon +they withdrew to a large limb many feet higher up, and seemed to say to +themselves, "Well, it is not there, but it must be here somewhere; let +us look about." A few minutes elapsed, when we saw the mother bird +spring from her perch and go straight as an arrow to the nest. Her +maternal eye had proved the quicker. She had found her young. Something +like reason and common sense had come to her rescue; she had taken time +to look about, and behold! there was that precious doorway. She thrust +her head into it, then sent back a call to her mate, then went farther +in, then withdrew. "Yes, it is true, they are here, they are here!" Then +she went in again, gave them the food in her beak, and then gave place +to her mate, who, after similar demonstrations of joy, also gave them +his morsel. + +Ted and I breathed freer. A burden had been taken from our minds and +hearts, and we went cheerfully on our way. We had learned something, +too; we had learned that when in the deep woods you think of bluebirds, +bluebirds may be nearer you than you think. + + * * * * * + +One mid-April morning two pairs of bluebirds were in very active and at +times violent courtship about my grounds. I could not quite understand +the meaning of all the fuss and flutter. Both birds of each pair were +very demonstrative, but the female in each case the more so. She +followed the male everywhere, lifting and twinkling her wings, and +apparently seeking to win him by both word and gesture. If she was not +telling him by that cheery, animated, confiding, softly endearing speech +of hers, which she poured out incessantly, how much she loved him, what +was she saying? She was constantly filled with a desire to perch upon +the precise spot where he was sitting, and if he had not moved away I +think she would have alighted upon his back. Now and then, when she +flitted away from him, he followed her with like gestures and tones and +demonstrations of affection, but never with quite the same ardor. The +two pairs kept near each other, about the house, the bird-boxes, the +trees, the posts and vines in the vineyard, filling the ear with their +soft, insistent warbles, and the eye with their twinkling azure wings. + + [Illustration: BLUEBIRD + Upper, male; lower, female] + +Was it this constant presence of rivals on both sides that so stimulated +them and kept them up to such a pitch of courtship? Finally, after I had +watched them over an hour, the birds began to come into collision. As +they met in the vineyard, the two males clinched and fell to the +ground, lying there for a moment with wings sprawled out, like birds +brought down by a gun. Then they separated, and each returned to his +mate, warbling and twinkling his wings. Very soon the females clinched +and fell to the ground and fought savagely, rolling over and over each +other, clawing and tweaking and locking beaks and hanging on like bull +terriers. They did this repeatedly; once one of the males dashed in and +separated them, by giving one of the females a sharp tweak and blow. +Then the males were at it again, their blue plumage mixing with the +green grass and ruffled by the ruddy soil. What a soft, feathery, +ineffectual battle it seemed in both cases!--no sound, no blood, no +flying feathers, just a sudden mixing up and general disarray of blue +wings and tails and ruddy breasts, there on the ground; assault but no +visible wounds; thrust of beak and grip of claw, but no feather loosened +and but little ruffling; long holding of one down by the other, but no +cry of pain or fury. It was the kind of battle that one likes to +witness. The birds usually locked beaks, and held their grip half a +minute at a time. One of the females would always alight by the +struggling males and lift her wings and utter her soft notes, but what +she said--whether she was encouraging one of the blue coats or berating +the other, or imploring them both to desist, or egging them on--I could +not tell. So far as I could understand her speech, it was the same that +she had been uttering to her mate all the time. + +When my bluebirds dashed at each other with beak and claw, their +preliminary utterances had to my ears anything but a hostile sound. +Indeed, for the bluebird to make a harsh, discordant sound seems out of +the question. Once, when the two males lay upon the ground with +outspread wings and locked beaks, a robin flew down by them and for a +moment gazed intently at the blue splash upon the grass, and then went +his way. + +As the birds drifted about the grounds, first the males, then the +females rolling on the grass or in the dust in fierce combat, and +between times the members of each pair assuring each other of undying +interest and attachment, I followed them, apparently quite unnoticed by +them. Sometimes they would lie more than a minute upon the ground, each +trying to keep his own or to break the other's hold. They seemed so +oblivious of everything about them that I wondered if they might not at +such times fall an easy prey to cats and hawks. Let me put their +watchfulness to the test, I said. So, as the two males clinched again +and fell to the ground, I cautiously approached them, hat in hand. When +ten feet away and unregarded, I made a sudden dash and covered them with +my hat. The struggle continued for a few seconds under there, then all +was still. Sudden darkness had fallen upon the field of battle. What did +they think had happened? Presently their heads and wings began to brush +the inside of my hat. Then all was still again. Then I spoke to them, +called to them, exulted over them, but they betrayed no excitement or +alarm. Occasionally a head or a body came in gentle contact with the top +or the sides of my hat. + +But the two females were evidently agitated by the sudden disappearance +of their contending lovers, and began uttering their mournful +alarm-note. After a minute or two I lifted one side of my hat and out +darted one of the birds; then I lifted the hat from the other. One of +the females then rushed, apparently with notes of joy and +congratulation, to one of the males, who gave her a spiteful tweak and +blow. Then the other came and he served her the same. He was evidently a +little bewildered, and not certain what had happened or who was +responsible for it. Did he think the two females were in some way to +blame? But he was soon reconciled to one of them again, as was the +other male with the other, yet the two couples did not separate till the +males had come into collision once more. Presently, however, they +drifted apart, and each pair was soon holding an animated conversation +punctuated by those pretty wing gestures, about the two bird-boxes. + +These scenes of love and rivalry had lasted nearly all the forenoon, and +matters between the birds apparently remained as they were before--the +members of each pair quite satisfied with each other. One pair occupied +one of the bird-boxes in the vineyard and reared two broods there during +the season, but the other pair drifted away and took up their abode +somewhere else. + + +THE BLUEBIRD + + A wistful note from out the sky, + "Pure, pure, pure," in plaintive tone, + As if the wand'rer were alone, + And hardly knew to sing or cry. + + But now a flash of eager wing, + Flitting, twinkling by the wall, + And pleadings sweet and am'rous call,-- + Ah, now I know his heart doth sing! + + O bluebird, welcome back again, + Thy azure coat and ruddy vest + Are hues that April loveth best,-- + Warm skies above the furrowed plain. + + The farm boy hears thy tender voice, + And visions come of crystal days, + With sugar-camps in maple ways, + And scenes that make his heart rejoice. + + The lucid smoke drifts on the breeze, + The steaming pans are mantling white, + And thy blue wing's a joyous sight, + Among the brown and leafless trees. + + Now loosened currents glance and run, + And buckets shine on sturdy boles, + The forest folk peep from their holes, + And work is play from sun to sun. + + The downy beats his sounding limb, + The nuthatch pipes his nasal call, + And Robin perched on tree-top tall + Heavenward lifts his evening hymn. + + Now go and bring thy homesick bride, + Persuade her here is just the place + To build a home and found a race + In Downy's cell, my lodge beside. + + + + +THE ROBIN + + +Not long after the bluebird comes the robin. In large numbers they scour +the fields and groves. You hear their piping in the meadow, in the +pasture, on the hillside. Walk in the woods, and the dry leaves rustle +with the whir of their wings, the air is vocal with their cheery call. +In excess of joy and vivacity, they run, leap, scream, chase each other +through the air, diving and sweeping among the trees with perilous +rapidity. + +In that free, fascinating, half-work-and-half-play +pursuit,--sugar-making,--a pursuit which still lingers in many parts of +New York, as in New England,--the robin is one's constant companion. +When the day is sunny and the ground bare, you meet him at all points +and hear him at all hours. At sunset, on the tops of the tall maples, +with look heavenward, and in a spirit of utter abandonment, he carols +his simple strain. And sitting thus amid the stark, silent trees, above +the wet, cold earth, with the chill of winter still in the air, there is +no fitter or sweeter songster in the whole round year. It is in keeping +with the scene and the occasion. How round and genuine the notes are, +and how eagerly our ears drink them in! The first utterance, and the +spell of winter is thoroughly broken, and the remembrance of it afar +off. + +One of the most graceful of warriors is the robin. I know few prettier +sights than two males challenging and curveting about each other upon +the grass in early spring. Their attentions to each other are so +courteous and restrained. In alternate curves and graceful sallies, they +pursue and circumvent each other. First one hops a few feet, then the +other, each one standing erect in true military style while his fellow +passes him and describes the segment of an ellipse about him, both +uttering the while a fine complacent warble in a high but suppressed +key. Are they lovers or enemies? the beholder wonders, until they make a +spring and are beak to beak in the twinkling of an eye, and perhaps +mount a few feet into the air, but rarely actually deliver blows upon +each other. Every thrust is parried, every movement met. They follow +each other with dignified composure about the fields or lawn, into trees +and upon the ground, with plumage slightly spread, breasts glowing, +their lisping, shrill war-song just audible. It forms on the whole the +most civil and high-bred tilt to be witnessed during the season. + +In the latter half of April, we pass through what I call the "robin +racket,"--trains of three or four birds rushing pell-mell over the lawn +and fetching up in a tree or bush, or occasionally upon the ground, all +piping and screaming at the top of their voices, but whether in mirth or +anger it is hard to tell. The nucleus of the train is a female. One +cannot see that the males in pursuit of her are rivals; it seems rather +as if they had united to hustle her out of the place. But somehow the +matches are no doubt made and sealed during these mad rushes. Maybe the +female shouts out to her suitors, "Who touches me first wins," and away +she scurries like an arrow. The males shout out, "Agreed!" and away they +go in pursuit, each trying to outdo the other. The game is a brief one. +Before one can get the clew to it, the party has dispersed. + + * * * * * + +The first year of my cabin life a pair of robins attempted to build a +nest upon the round timber that forms the plate under my porch roof. But +it was a poor place to build in. It took nearly a week's time and caused +the birds a great waste of labor to find this out. The coarse material +they brought for the foundation would not bed well upon the rounded +surface of the timber, and every vagrant breeze that came along swept it +off. My porch was kept littered with twigs and weed-stalks for days, +till finally the birds abandoned the undertaking. The next season a +wiser or more experienced pair made the attempt again, and succeeded. +They placed the nest against the rafter where it joins the plate; they +used mud from the start to level up with and to hold the first twigs and +straws, and had soon completed a firm, shapely structure. When the young +were about ready to fly, it was interesting to note that there was +apparently an older and a younger, as in most families. One bird was +more advanced than any of the others. Had the parent birds intentionally +stimulated it with extra quantities of food, so as to be able to launch +their offspring into the world one at a time? At any rate, one of the +birds was ready to leave the nest a day and a half before any of the +others. I happened to be looking at it when the first impulse to get +outside the nest seemed to seize it. Its parents were encouraging it +with calls and assurances from some rocks a few yards away. It answered +their calls in vigorous, strident tones. Then it climbed over the edge +of the nest upon the plate, took a few steps forward, then a few more, +till it was a yard from the nest and near the end of the timber, and +could look off into free space. Its parents apparently shouted, "Come +on!" But its courage was not quite equal to the leap; it looked around, +and, seeing how far it was from home, scampered back to the nest, and +climbed into it like a frightened child. It had made its first journey +into the world, but the home tie had brought it quickly back. A few +hours afterward it journeyed to the end of the plate again, and then +turned and rushed back. The third time its heart was braver, its wings +stronger, and, leaping into the air with a shout, it flew easily to some +rocks a dozen or more yards away. Each of the young in succession, at +intervals of nearly a day, left the nest in this manner. There would be +the first journey of a few feet along the plate, the first sudden panic +at being so far from home, the rush back, a second and perhaps a third +attempt, and then the irrevocable leap into the air, and a clamorous +flight to a near-by bush or rock. Young birds never go back when they +have once taken flight. The first free flap of the wings severs forever +the ties that bind them to home. + + * * * * * + +I recently observed a robin boring for grubs in a country dooryard. It +is a common enough sight to witness one seize an angle-worm and drag it +from its burrow in the turf, but I am not sure that I ever before saw +one drill for grubs and bring the big white morsel to the surface. The +robin I am speaking of had a nest of young in a maple near by, and she +worked the neighborhood very industriously for food. She would run +along over the short grass after the manner of robins, stopping every +few feet, her form stiff and erect. Now and then she would suddenly bend +her head toward the ground and bring eye or ear for a moment to bear +intently upon it. Then she would spring to boring the turf vigorously +with her bill, changing her attitude at each stroke, alert and watchful, +throwing up the grass roots and little jets of soil, stabbing deeper and +deeper, growing every moment more and more excited, till finally a fat +grub was seized and brought forth. Time after time, during several days, +I saw her mine for grubs in this way and drag them forth. How did she +know where to drill? The insect was in every case an inch below the +surface. Did she hear it gnawing the roots of the grasses, or did she +see a movement in the turf beneath which the grub was at work? I know +not. I only know that she struck her game unerringly each time. Only +twice did I see her make a few thrusts and then desist, as if she had +been for the moment deceived. + + + + +THE FLICKER + + +Another April comer, who arrives shortly after Robin Redbreast, with +whom he associates both at this season and in the autumn, is the +golden-winged woodpecker, _alias_ "high-hole," _alias_ "flicker," +_alias_ "yarup," _alias_ "yellow-hammer." He is an old favorite of my +boyhood, and his note to me means very much. He announces his arrival by +a long, loud call, repeated from the dry branch of some tree, or a stake +in the fence,--a thoroughly melodious April sound. I think how Solomon +finished that beautiful description of spring, "and the voice of the +turtle is heard in our land," and see that a description of spring in +this farming country, to be equally characteristic, should culminate in +like manner,--"and the call of the high-hole comes up from the wood." It +is a loud, strong, sonorous call, and does not seem to imply an answer, +but rather to subserve some purpose of love or music. It is "Yarup's" +proclamation of peace and good-will to all. + +I recall an ancient maple standing sentry to a large sugar-bush, that, +year after year, afforded protection to a brood of yellow-hammers in its +decayed heart. A week or two before the nesting seemed actually to have +begun, three or four of these birds might be seen, on almost any bright +morning, gamboling and courting amid its decayed branches. Sometimes you +would hear only a gentle persuasive cooing, or a quiet confidential +chattering; then that long, loud call, taken up by first one, then +another, as they sat about upon the naked limbs; anon, a sort of wild, +rollicking laughter, intermingled with various cries, yelps, and +squeals, as if some incident had excited their mirth and ridicule. +Whether this social hilarity and boisterousness is in celebration of the +pairing or mating ceremony, or whether it is only a sort of annual +"house-warming" common among high-holes on resuming their summer +quarters, is a question upon which I reserve my judgment. + +[Illustration: FLICKER] + +Unlike most of his kinsmen, the golden-wing prefers the fields and the +borders of the forest to the deeper seclusion of the woods, and hence, +contrary to the habit of his tribe, obtains most of his subsistence from +the ground, probing it for ants and crickets. He is not quite satisfied +with being a woodpecker. He courts the society of the robin and the +finches, abandons the trees for the meadow, and feeds eagerly upon +berries and grain. What may be the final upshot of this course of living +is a question worthy the attention of Darwin. Will his taking to the +ground and his pedestrian feats result in lengthening his legs, his +feeding upon berries and grains subdue his tints and soften his voice, +and his associating with Robin put a song into his heart? + + * * * * * + +In the cavity of an apple-tree, much nearer the house than they usually +build, a pair of high-holes took up their abode. A knot-hole which led +to the decayed interior was enlarged, the live wood being cut away as +clean as a squirrel would have done it. The inside preparations I could +not witness, but day after day, as I passed near, I heard the bird +hammering away, evidently beating down obstructions and shaping and +enlarging the cavity. The chips were not brought out, but were used +rather to floor the interior. The woodpeckers are not nest-builders, but +rather nest-carvers. + +The time seemed very short before the voices of the young were heard in +the heart of the old tree,--at first feebly, but waxing stronger day by +day until they could be heard many rods distant. When I put my hand upon +the trunk of the tree, they would set up an eager, expectant chattering; +but if I climbed up it toward the opening, they soon detected the +unusual sound and would hush quickly, only now and then uttering a +warning note. Long before they were fully fledged they clambered up to +the orifice to receive their food. As but one could stand in the opening +at a time, there was a good deal of elbowing and struggling for this +position. It was a very desirable one aside from the advantages it had +when food was served; it looked out upon the great, shining world, into +which the young birds seemed never tired of gazing. The fresh air must +have been a consideration also, for the interior of a high-hole's +dwelling is not sweet. When the parent birds came with food, the young +one in the opening did not get it all, but after he had received a +portion, either on his own motion or on a hint from the old one, he +would give place to the one behind him. Still, one bird evidently +outstripped his fellows, and in the race of life was two or three days +in advance of them. His voice was loudest and his head oftenest at the +window. But I noticed that, when he had kept the position too long, the +others evidently made it uncomfortable in his rear, and, after +"fidgeting" about awhile, he would be compelled to "back down." But +retaliation was then easy, and I fear his mates spent few easy moments +at that lookout. They would close their eyes and slide back into the +cavity as if the world had suddenly lost all its charms for them. + +This bird was, of course, the first to leave the nest. For two days +before that event he kept his position in the opening most of the time +and sent forth his strong voice incessantly. The old ones abstained from +feeding him almost entirely, no doubt to encourage his exit. As I stood +looking at him one afternoon and noting his progress, he suddenly +reached a resolution,--seconded, I have no doubt, from the rear,--and +launched forth upon his untried wings. They served him well, and carried +him about fifty yards up-hill the first heat. The second day after, the +next in size and spirit left in the same manner; then another, till only +one remained. The parent birds ceased their visits to him, and for one +day he called and called till our ears were tired of the sound. His was +the faintest heart of all. Then he had none to encourage him from +behind. He left the nest and clung to the outer bole of the tree, and +yelped and piped for an hour longer; then he committed himself to his +wings and went his way like the rest. + +The matchmaking of the high-holes, which often comes under my +observation, is in marked contrast to that of the robins and the +bluebirds. There does not appear to be any anger or any blows. The male +or two males will alight on a limb in front of the female, and go +through with a series of bowings and scrapings that are truly comical. +He spreads his tail, he puffs out his breast, he throws back his head +and then bends his body to the right and to the left, uttering all the +while a curious musical hiccough. The female confronts him unmoved, but +whether her attitude is critical or defensive, I cannot tell. Presently +she flies away, followed by her suitor or suitors, and the little comedy +is enacted on another stump or tree. Among all the woodpeckers the drum +plays an important part in the matchmaking. The male takes up his stand +on a dry, resonant limb, or on the ridgeboard of a building, and beats +the loudest call he is capable of. A favorite drum of the high-holes +about me is a hollow wooden tube, a section of a pump, which stands as a +bird-box upon my summer-house. It is a good instrument; its tone is +sharp and clear. A high-hole alights upon it, and sends forth a rattle +that can be heard a long way off. Then he lifts up his head and utters +that long April call, _Wick, wick, wick, wick_. Then he drums again. If +the female does not find him, it is not because he does not make noise +enough. But his sounds are all welcome to the ear. They are simple and +primitive, and voice well a certain sentiment of the April days. As I +write these lines I hear through the half-open door his call come up +from a distant field. Then I hear the steady hammering of one that has +been for three days trying to penetrate the weather boarding of the big +icehouse by the river, and to reach the sawdust filling for a +nesting-place. + + + + +THE PH[OE]BE + + +Another April bird whose memory I fondly cherish is the ph[oe]be-bird, +the pioneer of the flycatchers. In the inland farming districts, I used +to notice him, on some bright morning about Easter Day, proclaiming his +arrival, with much variety of motion and attitude, from the peak of the +barn or hay-shed. As yet, you may have heard only the plaintive, +homesick note of the bluebird, or the faint trill of the song sparrow; +and the ph[oe]be's clear, vivacious assurance of his veritable bodily +presence among us again is welcomed by all ears. At agreeable intervals +in his lay he describes a circle or an ellipse in the air, ostensibly +prospecting for insects, but really, I suspect, as an artistic flourish, +thrown in to make up in some way for the deficiency of his musical +performance. If plainness of dress indicates powers of song, as it +usually does, the ph[oe]be ought to be unrivaled in musical ability, for +surely that ashen-gray suit is the superlative of plainness; and that +form, likewise, would hardly pass for a "perfect figure" of a bird. The +seasonableness of his coming, however, and his civil, neighborly ways, +shall make up for all deficiencies in song and plumage. + +The ph[oe]be-bird is a wise architect and perhaps enjoys as great an +immunity from danger, both in its person and its nest, as any other +bird. Its modest ashen-gray suit is the color of the rocks where it +builds, and the moss of which it makes such free use gives to its nest +the look of a natural growth or accretion. But when it comes into the +barn or under the shed to build, as it so frequently does, the moss is +rather out of place. Doubtless in time the bird will take the hint, and +when she builds in such places will leave the moss out. I noted but two +nests the summer I am speaking of: one in a barn failed of issue, on +account of the rats, I suspect, though the little owl may have been the +depredator; the other, in the woods, sent forth three young. This latter +nest was most charmingly and ingeniously placed. I discovered it while +in quest of pond-lilies, in a long, deep, level stretch of water in the +woods. A large tree had blown over at the edge of the water, and its +dense mass of upturned roots, with the black, peaty soil filling the +interstices, was like the fragment of a wall several feet high, rising +from the edge of the languid current. In a niche in this earthy wall, +and visible and accessible only from the water, a ph[oe]be had built her +nest and reared her brood. I paddled my boat up and came alongside +prepared to take the family aboard. The young, nearly ready to fly, +were quite undisturbed by my presence, having probably been assured that +no danger need be apprehended from that side. It was not a likely place +for minks, or they would not have been so secure. + + +THE COMING OF PH[OE]BE + + When buckets shine 'gainst maple trees + And drop by drop the sap doth flow, + When days are warm, but still nights freeze, + And deep in woods lie drifts of snow, + When cattle low and fret in stall, + Then morning brings the ph[oe]be's call, + "Ph[oe]be, + Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," a cheery note, + While cackling hens make such a rout. + + When snowbanks run, and hills are bare, + And early bees hum round the hive, + When woodchucks creep from out their lair + Right glad to find themselves alive, + When sheep go nibbling through the fields, + Then Ph[oe]be oft her name reveals, + "Ph[oe]be, + Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," a plaintive cry, + While jack-snipes call in morning sky. + + When wild ducks quack in creek and pond + And bluebirds perch on mullein-stalks, + When spring has burst her icy bond + And in brown fields the sleek crow walks, + When chipmunks court in roadside walls, + Then Ph[oe]be from the ridgeboard calls, + "Ph[oe]be, + Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," and lifts her cap, + While smoking Dick doth boil the sap. + + + + +THE COWBIRD + + +The cow blackbird is a noticeable songster in April, though it takes a +back seat a little later. It utters a peculiarly liquid April sound. +Indeed, one would think its crop was full of water, its notes so bubble +up and regurgitate, and are delivered with such an apparent stomachic +contraction. This bird is the only feathered polygamist we have. The +females are greatly in excess of the males, and the latter are usually +attended by three or four of the former. As soon as the other birds +begin to build, they are on the _qui vive_, prowling about like gypsies, +not to steal the young of others, but to steal their eggs into other +birds' nests, and so shirk the labor and responsibility of hatching and +rearing their own young. + +The cowbird's tactics are probably to watch the movements of the parent +bird. She may often be seen searching anxiously through the trees or +bushes for a suitable nest, yet she may still oftener be seen perched +upon some good point of observation watching the birds as they come and +go about her. There is no doubt that, in many cases, the cowbird makes +room for her own illegitimate egg in the nest by removing one of the +bird's own. I found a sparrow's nest with two sparrow's eggs and one +cowbird's egg, and another egg lying a foot or so below it on the +ground. I replaced the ejected egg, and the next day found it again +removed, and another cowbird's egg in its place. I put it back the +second time, when it was again ejected, or destroyed, for I failed to +find it anywhere. Very alert and sensitive birds, like the warblers, +often bury the strange egg beneath a second nest built on top of the +old. A lady living in the suburbs of an Eastern city heard cries of +distress one morning from a pair of house wrens that had a nest in a +honeysuckle on her front porch. On looking out of the window, she beheld +this little comedy,--comedy from her point of view, but no doubt grim +tragedy from the point of view of the wrens: a cowbird with a wren's egg +in its beak running rapidly along the walk, with the outraged wrens +forming a procession behind it, screaming, scolding, and gesticulating +as only these voluble little birds can. The cowbird had probably been +surprised in the act of violating the nest, and the wrens were giving +her a piece of their minds. + +Every cowbird is reared at the expense of two or more song-birds. For +every one of these dusky little pedestrians there amid the grazing +cattle there are two or more sparrows, or vireos, or warblers, the less. +It is a big price to pay,--two larks for a bunting,--two sovereigns for +a shilling; but Nature does not hesitate occasionally to contradict +herself in just this way. The young of the cowbird is disproportionately +large and aggressive, one might say hoggish. When disturbed, it will +clasp the nest and scream and snap its beak threateningly. One was +hatched out in a song sparrow's nest which was under my observation, and +would soon have overridden and overborne the young sparrow which came +out of the shell a few hours later, had I not interfered from time to +time and lent the young sparrow a helping hand. Every day I would visit +the nest and take the sparrow out from under the potbellied interloper, +and place it on top, so that presently it was able to hold its own +against its enemy. Both birds became fledged and left the nest about the +same time. Whether the race was an even one after that, I know not. + + + + +THE CHIPPING SPARROW + + +When the true flycatcher catches a fly, it is quick business. There is +no strife, no pursuit,--one fell swoop, and the matter is ended. Now +note that yonder little sparrow is less skilled. It is the chippy, and +he finds his subsistence properly in various seeds and the larvæ of +insects, though he occasionally has higher aspirations, and seeks to +emulate the pewee, commencing and ending his career as a flycatcher by +an awkward chase after a beetle or "miller." He is hunting around in the +grass now, I suspect, with the desire to indulge this favorite whim. +There!--the opportunity is afforded him. Away goes a little +cream-colored meadow-moth in the most tortuous course he is capable of, +and away goes Chippy in pursuit. The contest is quite comical, though I +dare say it is serious enough to the moth. The chase continues for a few +yards, when there is a sudden rushing to cover in the grass,--then a +taking to wing again, when the search has become too close, and the moth +has recovered his wind. Chippy chirps angrily, and is determined not to +be beaten. Keeping, with the slightest effort, upon the heels of the +fugitive, he is ever on the point of halting to snap him up, but never +quite does it; and so, between disappointment and expectation, is soon +disgusted, and returns to pursue his more legitimate means of +subsistence. + + * * * * * + +Last summer I made this record in my notebook: "A nest of young robins +in the maple in front of the house being fed by a chipping sparrow. The +little sparrow is very attentive; seems decidedly fond of her adopted +babies. The old robins resent her services, and hustle her out of the +tree whenever they find her near the nest. (It was this hurried +departure of Chippy from the tree that first attracted my attention.) +She watches her chances, and comes with food in their absence. The young +birds are about ready to fly, and when the chippy feeds them her head +fairly disappears in their capacious mouths. She jerks it back as if she +were afraid of being swallowed. Then she lingers near them on the edge +of the nest, and seems to admire them. When she sees the old robin +coming, she spreads her wings in an attitude of defense, and then flies +away. I wonder if she has had the experience of rearing a cow-bunting?" +(A day later.) "The robins are out of the nest, and the little sparrow +continues to feed them. She approaches them rather timidly and +hesitatingly, as if she feared they might swallow her, then thrusts her +titbit quickly into the distended mouth and jerks back." + +Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, whether she was an unmated +bird, or whether the case was simply the overflowing of the maternal +instinct, it would be interesting to know. + + + + +THE CHEWINK + + +The chewink is a shy bird, but not stealthy. It is very inquisitive, and +sets up a great scratching among the leaves, apparently to attract your +attention. The male is perhaps the most conspicuously marked of all the +ground-birds except the bobolink, being black above, bay on the sides, +and white beneath. The bay is in compliment to the leaves he is forever +scratching among,--they have rustled against his breast and sides so +long that these parts have taken their color; but whence come the white +and the black? The bird seems to be aware that his color betrays him, +for there are few birds in the woods so careful about keeping themselves +screened from view. When in song, its favorite perch is the top of some +high bush near to cover. On being disturbed at such times, it pitches +down into the brush and is instantly lost to view. + + [Illustration: CHEWINK + Upper, male; lower, female] + +This is the bird that Thomas Jefferson wrote to Wilson about, greatly +exciting the latter's curiosity. Wilson was just then upon the threshold +of his career as an ornithologist, and had made a drawing of the Canada +jay which he sent to the President. It was a new bird, and in reply +Jefferson called his attention to a "curious bird" which was everywhere +to be heard, but scarcely ever to be seen. He had for twenty years +interested the young sportsmen of his neighborhood to shoot one for him, +but without success. "It is in all the forests, from spring to fall," he +says in his letter, "and never but on the tops of the tallest trees, +from which it perpetually serenades us with some of the sweetest notes, +and as clear as those of the nightingale. I have followed it for miles, +without ever but once getting a good view of it. It is of the size and +make of the mockingbird, lightly thrush-colored on the back, and a +grayish-white on the breast and belly. Mr. Randolph, my son-in-law, was +in possession of one which had been shot by a neighbor," etc. Randolph +pronounced it a flycatcher, which was a good way wide of the mark. +Jefferson must have seen only the female, after all his tramp, from his +description of the color; but he was doubtless following his own great +thoughts more than the bird, else he would have had an earlier view. The +bird was not a new one, but was well known then as the ground-robin. The +President put Wilson on the wrong scent by his erroneous description, +and it was a long time before the latter got at the truth of the case. +But Jefferson's letter is a good sample of those which specialists +often receive from intelligent persons who have seen or heard something +in their line very curious or entirely new, and who set the man of +science agog by a description of the supposed novelty,--a description +that generally fits the facts of the case about as well as your coat +fits the chair-back. Strange and curious things in the air, and in the +water, and in the earth beneath, are seen every day except by those who +are looking for them, namely, the naturalists. When Wilson or Audubon +gets his eye on the unknown bird, the illusion vanishes, and your +phenomenon turns out to be one of the commonplaces of the fields or +woods. + + + + +THE BROWN THRASHER + + +Our long-tailed thrush, or thrasher, delights in a high branch of some +solitary tree, whence it will pour out its rich and intricate warble for +an hour together. This bird is the great American chipper. There is no +other bird that I know of that can chip with such emphasis and military +decision as this yellow-eyed songster. It is like the click of a giant +gunlock. Why is the thrasher so stealthy? It always seems to be going +about on tip-toe. I never knew it to steal anything, and yet it skulks +and hides like a fugitive from justice. One never sees it flying aloft +in the air and traversing the world openly, like most birds, but it +darts along fences and through bushes as if pursued by a guilty +conscience. Only when the musical fit is upon it does it come up into +full view, and invite the world to hear and behold. + +Years pass without my finding a brown thrasher's nest; it is not a nest +you are likely to stumble upon in your walk; it is hidden as a miser +hides his gold, and watched as jealously. The male pours out his rich +and triumphant song from the tallest tree he can find, and fairly +challenges you to come and look for his treasures in his vicinity. But +you will not find them if you go. The nest is somewhere on the outer +circle of his song; he is never so imprudent as to take up his stand +very near it. The artists who draw those cozy little pictures of a +brooding mother bird, with the male perched but a yard away in full +song, do not copy from nature. The thrasher's nest I found was thirty or +forty rods from the point where the male was wont to indulge in his +brilliant recitative. It was in an open field under a low +ground-juniper. My dog disturbed the sitting bird as I was passing near. +The nest could be seen only by lifting up and parting away the branches. +All the arts of concealment had been carefully studied. It was the last +place you would think of looking in, and, if you did look, nothing was +visible but the dense green circle of the low-spreading juniper. When +you approached, the bird would keep her place till you had begun to stir +the branches, when she would start out, and, just skimming the ground, +make a bright brown line to the near fence and bushes. I confidently +expected that this nest would escape molestation, but it did not. Its +discovery by myself and dog probably opened the door for ill luck, as +one day, not long afterward, when I peeped in upon it, it was empty. The +proud song of the male had ceased from his accustomed tree, and the +pair were seen no more in that vicinity. + +After a pair of nesting birds have been broken up once or twice during +the season, they become almost desperate, and will make great efforts to +outwit their enemies. A pair of brown thrashers built their nest in a +pasture-field under a low, scrubby apple-tree which the cattle had +browsed down till it spread a thick, wide mass of thorny twigs only a +few inches above the ground. Some blackberry briers had also grown +there, so that the screen was perfect. My dog first started the bird, as +I was passing near. By stooping low and peering intently, I could make +out the nest and eggs. Two or three times a week, as I passed by, I +would pause to see how the nest was prospering. The mother bird would +keep her place, her yellow eyes never blinking. One morning, as I looked +into her tent, I found the nest empty. Some night-prowler, probably a +skunk or a fox, or maybe a black snake or a red squirrel by day, had +plundered it. It would seem as if it was too well screened; it was in +such a spot as any depredator would be apt to explore. "Surely," he +would say, "this is a likely place for a nest." The birds then moved +over the hill a hundred rods or more, much nearer the house, and in some +rather open bushes tried again. But again they came to grief. Then, +after some delay, the mother bird made a bold stroke. She seemed to +reason with herself thus: "Since I have fared so disastrously in seeking +seclusion for my nest, I will now adopt the opposite tactics, and come +out fairly in the open. What hides me hides my enemies: let us try +greater publicity." So she came out and built her nest by a few small +shoots that grew beside the path that divides the two vineyards, and +where we passed to and fro many times daily. I discovered her by chance +early in the morning as I proceeded to my work. She started up at my +feet and flitted quickly along above the ploughed ground, almost as red +as the soil. I admired her audacity. Surely no prowler by night or day +would suspect a nest in this open and exposed place. There was no cover +by which they could approach, and no concealment anywhere. The nest was +a hasty affair, as if the birds' patience at nest-building had been +about exhausted. Presently an egg appeared, and then the next day +another, and on the fourth day a third. No doubt the bird would have +succeeded this time had not man interfered. In cultivating the vineyards +the horse and cultivator had to pass over this very spot. Upon this the +bird had not calculated. I determined to assist her. I called my man, +and told him there was one spot in that vineyard, no bigger than his +hand, where the horse's foot must not be allowed to fall, nor tooth of +cultivator to touch. Then I showed him the nest, and charged him to +avoid it. Probably if I had kept the secret to myself, and let the bird +run her own risk, the nest would have escaped. But the result was that +the man, in elaborately trying to avoid the nest, overdid the matter; +the horse plunged, and set his foot squarely upon it. Such a little +spot, the chances were few that the horse's foot would fall exactly +there; and yet it did, and the birds' hopes were again dashed. The pair +then disappeared from my vicinity, and I saw them no more. + + + + +THE HOUSE WREN + + +A few years ago I put up a little bird-house in the back end of my +garden for the accommodation of the wrens, and every season a pair have +taken up their abode there. One spring a pair of bluebirds looked into +the tenement and lingered about several days, leading me to hope that +they would conclude to occupy it. But they finally went away, and later +in the season the wrens appeared, and, after a little coquetting, were +regularly installed in their old quarters, and were as happy as only +wrens can be. + +One of our younger poets, Myron Benton, saw a little bird + + "Ruffled with whirlwind of his ecstasies," + +which must have been the wren, as I know of no other bird that so throbs +and palpitates with music as this little vagabond. And the pair I speak +of seemed exceptionally happy, and the male had a small tornado of song +in his crop that kept him "ruffled" every moment in the day. But before +their honeymoon was over the bluebirds returned. I knew something was +wrong before I was up in the morning. Instead of that voluble and +gushing song outside the window, I heard the wrens scolding and crying +at a fearful rate, and on going out saw the bluebirds in possession of +the box. The poor wrens were in despair; they wrung their hands and tore +their hair, after the wren fashion, but chiefly did they rattle out +their disgust and wrath at the intruders. I have no doubt that, if it +could have been interpreted, it would have been proven the rankest and +most voluble billingsgate ever uttered. For the wren is saucy, and he +has a tongue in his head that can outwag any other tongue known to me. + +The bluebirds said nothing, but the male kept an eye on Mr. Wren, and, +when he came too near, gave chase, driving him to cover under the fence, +or under a rubbish-heap or other object, where the wren would scold and +rattle away, while his pursuer sat on the fence or the pea-brush waiting +for him to reappear. + +Days passed, and the usurpers prospered and the outcasts were wretched; +but the latter lingered about, watching and abusing their enemies, and +hoping, no doubt, that things would take a turn, as they presently did. +The outraged wrens were fully avenged. The mother bluebird had laid her +full complement of eggs and was beginning to set, when one day, as her +mate was perched above her on the barn, along came a boy with one of +those wicked elastic slings and cut him down with a pebble. There he +lay like a bit of sky fallen upon the grass. The widowed bird seemed to +understand what had happened, and without much ado disappeared next day +in quest of another mate. + +In the mean time the wrens were beside themselves with delight; they +fairly screamed with joy. If the male was before "ruffled with whirlwind +of his ecstasies," he was now in danger of being rent asunder. He +inflated his throat and caroled as wren never caroled before. And the +female, too, how she cackled and darted about! How busy they both were! +Rushing into the nest, they hustled those eggs out in less than a +minute, wren time. They carried in new material, and by the third day +were fairly installed again in their old quarters; but on the third day, +so rapidly are these little dramas played, the female bluebird +reappeared with another mate. Ah! how the wren stock went down then! +What dismay and despair filled again those little breasts! It was +pitiful. They did not scold as before, but after a day or two withdrew +from the garden, dumb with grief, and gave up the struggle. + + * * * * * + +The chatter of a second brood of nearly fledged wrens is heard now +(August 20) in an oriole's nest suspended from the branch of an +apple-tree near where I write. Earlier in the season the parent birds +made long and determined attempts to establish themselves in a cavity +that had been occupied by a pair of bluebirds. The original proprietor +of the place was the downy woodpecker. He had excavated it the autumn +before, and had passed the winter there, often to my certain knowledge +lying abed till nine o'clock in the morning. In the spring he went +elsewhere, probably with a female, to begin the season in new quarters. +The bluebirds early took possession, and in June their first brood had +flown. The wrens had been hanging around, evidently with an eye on the +place (such little comedies may be witnessed anywhere), and now very +naturally thought it was their turn. A day or two after the young +bluebirds had flown, I noticed some fine, dry grass clinging to the +entrance to the cavity; a circumstance which I understood a few moments +later, when the wren rushed by me into the cover of a small Norway +spruce, hotly pursued by the male bluebird. It was a brown streak and a +blue streak pretty close together. The wrens had gone to housecleaning, +and the bluebird had returned to find his bed and bedding being pitched +out of doors, and had thereupon given the wrens to understand in the +most emphatic manner that he had no intention of vacating the premises +so early in the season. Day after day, for more than two weeks, the male +bluebird had to clear his premises of these intruders. It occupied much +of his time and not a little of mine, as I sat with a book in a +summer-house near by, laughing at his pretty fury and spiteful onset. On +two occasions the wren rushed under the chair in which I sat, and a +streak of blue lightning almost flashed in my very face. One day, just +as I had passed the tree in which the cavity was located, I heard the +wren scream desperately; turning, I saw the little vagabond fall into +the grass with the wrathful bluebird fairly upon him; the latter had +returned just in time to catch him, and was evidently bent on punishing +him well. But in the squabble in the grass the wren escaped and took +refuge in the friendly evergreen. The bluebird paused for a moment with +outstretched wings looking for the fugitive, then flew away. A score of +times during the month of June did I see the wren taxing every energy to +get away from the bluebird. He would dart into the stone wall, under the +floor of the summer-house, into the weeds,--anywhere to hide his +diminished head. The bluebird, with his bright coat, looked like an +officer in uniform in pursuit of some wicked, rusty little street gamin. +Generally the favorite house of refuge of the wrens was the little +spruce, into which their pursuer made no attempt to follow them. The +female would sit concealed amid the branches, chattering in a scolding, +fretful way, while the male with his eye upon his tormentor would perch +on the topmost shoot and sing. Why he sang at such times, whether in +triumph and derision, or to keep his courage up and reassure his mate, I +could not make out. When his song was suddenly cut short, and I glanced +to see him dart down into the spruce, my eye usually caught a twinkle of +blue wings hovering near. The wrens finally gave up the fight, and their +enemies reared their second brood in peace. + + + + +THE SONG SPARROW + + +The first song sparrow's nest I observed in the spring of 1881 was in a +field under a fragment of a board, the board being raised from the +ground a couple of inches by two poles. It had its full complement of +eggs, and probably sent forth a brood of young birds, though as to this +I cannot speak positively, as I neglected to observe it further. It was +well sheltered and concealed, and was not easily come at by any of its +natural enemies, save snakes and weasels. But concealment often avails +little. In May, a song sparrow, which had evidently met with disaster +earlier in the season, built its nest in a thick mass of woodbine +against the side of my house, about fifteen feet from the ground. +Perhaps it took the hint from its cousin the English sparrow. The nest +was admirably placed, protected from the storms by the overhanging eaves +and from all eyes by the thick screen of leaves. Only by patiently +watching the suspicious bird, as she lingered near with food in her +beak, did I discover its whereabouts. That brood is safe, I thought, +beyond doubt. But it was not: the nest was pillaged one night, either by +an owl, or else by a rat that had climbed into the vine, seeking an +entrance to the house. The mother bird, after reflecting upon her ill +luck about a week, seemed to resolve to try a different system of +tactics, and to throw all appearances of concealment aside. She built a +nest a few yards from the house, beside the drive, upon a smooth piece +of greensward. There was not a weed or a shrub or anything whatever to +conceal it or mark its site. The structure was completed, and incubation +had begun, before I discovered what was going on. "Well, well," I said, +looking down upon the bird almost at my feet, "this is going to the +other extreme indeed; now the cats will have you." The desperate little +bird sat there day after day, looking like a brown leaf pressed down in +the short green grass. As the weather grew hot, her position became very +trying. It was no longer a question of keeping the eggs warm, but of +keeping them from roasting. The sun had no mercy on her, and she fairly +panted in the middle of the day. In such an emergency the male robin has +been known to perch above the sitting female and shade her with his +outstretched wings. But in this case there was no perch for the male +bird, had he been disposed to make a sunshade of himself. I thought to +lend a hand in this direction myself, and so stuck a leafy twig beside +the nest. This was probably an unwise interference: it guided disaster +to the spot; the nest was broken up, and the mother bird was probably +caught, as I never saw her afterward. + +One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards from where I was sitting with +a book: two song sparrows were trying to defend their nest against a +black snake. The curious, interrogating note of a chicken who had +suddenly come upon the scene in his walk first caused me to look up from +my reading. There were the sparrows, with wings raised in a way +peculiarly expressive of horror and dismay, rushing about a low clump of +grass and bushes. Then, looking more closely, I saw the glistening form +of the black snake, and the quick movement of his head as he tried to +seize the birds. The sparrows darted about and through the grass and +weeds, trying to beat the snake off. Their tails and wings were spread, +and, panting with the heat and the desperate struggle, they presented a +most singular spectacle. They uttered no cry, not a sound escaped them; +they were plainly speechless with horror and dismay. Not once did they +drop their wings, and the peculiar expression of those uplifted palms, +as it were, I shall never forget. It occurred to me that perhaps here +was a case of attempted bird-charming on the part of the snake, so I +looked on from behind the fence. The birds charged the snake and +harassed him from every side, but were evidently under no spell save +that of courage in defending their nest. Every moment or two I could see +the head and neck of the serpent make a sweep at the birds, when the one +struck at would fall back, and the other would renew the assault from +the rear. There appeared to be little danger that the snake could strike +and hold one of the birds, though I trembled for them, they were so bold +and approached so near to the snake's head. Time and again he sprang at +them, but without success. How the poor things panted, and held up their +wings appealingly! Then the snake glided off to the near fence, barely +escaping the stone which I hurled at him. I found the nest rifled and +deranged; whether it had contained eggs or young, I know not. The male +sparrow had cheered me many a day with his song, and I blamed myself for +not having rushed at once to the rescue, when the arch enemy was upon +him. There is probably little truth in the popular notion that snakes +charm birds. The black snake is the most subtle, alert, and devilish of +our snakes, and I have never seen him have any but young, helpless birds +in his mouth. + + * * * * * + +If one has always built one's nest upon the ground, and if one comes of +a race of ground-builders, it is a risky experiment to build in a tree. +The conditions are vastly different. One of my near neighbors, a little +song sparrow, learned this lesson the past season. She grew ambitious; +she departed from the traditions of her race, and placed her nest in a +tree. Such a pretty spot she chose, too,--the pendent cradle formed by +the interlaced sprays of two parallel branches of a Norway spruce. These +branches shoot out almost horizontally; indeed, the lower ones become +quite so in spring, and the side shoots with which they are clothed +droop down, forming the slopes of miniature ridges; where the slopes of +two branches join, a little valley is formed, which often looks more +stable than it really is. My sparrow selected one of these little +valleys about six feet from the ground, and quite near the walls of the +house. "Here," she thought, "I will build my nest, and pass the heat of +June in a miniature Norway. This tree is the fir-clad mountain, and this +little vale on its side I select for my own." She carried up a great +quantity of coarse grass and straws for the foundation, just as she +would have done upon the ground. On the top of this mass there gradually +came into shape the delicate structure of her nest, compacting and +refining till its delicate carpet of hairs and threads was reached. So +sly as the little bird was about it, too,--every moment on her guard +lest you discover her secret! Five eggs were laid, and incubation was +far advanced, when the storms and winds came. The cradle indeed did +rock. The boughs did not break, but they swayed and separated as you +would part your two interlocked hands. The ground of the little valley +fairly gave way, the nest tilted over till its contents fell into the +chasm. It was like an earthquake that destroys a hamlet. + +No born tree-builder would have placed its nest in such a situation. +Birds that build at the end of the branch, like the oriole, tie the nest +fast; others, like the robin, build against the main trunk; still others +build securely in the fork. The sparrow, in her ignorance, rested her +house upon the spray of two branches, and when the tempest came, the +branches parted company and the nest was engulfed. + +A little bob-tailed song sparrow built her nest in a pile of dry brush +very near the kitchen door of a farmhouse on the skirts of the northern +Catskills, where I was passing the summer. It was late in July, and she +had doubtless reared one brood in the earlier season. Her toilet was +decidedly the worse for wear. I noted her day after day, very busy about +the fence and quince bushes between the house and milk house, with her +beak full of coarse straw and hay. To a casual observer, she seemed +flitting about aimlessly, carrying straws from place to place just to +amuse herself. When I came to watch her closely to learn the place of +her nest, she seemed to suspect my intention, and made many little +feints and movements calculated to put me off my track. But I would not +be misled, and presently had her secret. The male did not assist her at +all, but sang much of the time in an apple-tree or upon the fence, on +the other side of the house. + +The song sparrow nearly always builds upon the ground, but my little +neighbor laid the foundations of her domicile a foot or more above the +soil. And what a mass of straws and twigs she did collect together! How +coarse and careless and aimless at first,--a mere lot of rubbish dropped +upon the tangle of dry limbs; but presently how it began to refine and +come into shape in the centre! till there was the most exquisite +hair-lined cup set about by a chaos of coarse straws and branches. What +a process of evolution! The completed nest was foreshadowed by the first +stiff straw; but how far off is yet that dainty casket with its +complement of speckled eggs! The nest was so placed that it had for +canopy a large, broad, drooping leaf of yellow dock. This formed a +perfect shield against both sun and rain, while it served to conceal it +from any curious eyes from above,--from the cat, for instance, prowling +along the top of the wall. Before the eggs had hatched, the docken leaf +wilted and dried and fell down upon the nest. But the mother bird +managed to insinuate herself beneath it, and went on with her brooding +all the same. + +Then I arranged an artificial cover of leaves and branches, which +shielded her charge till they had flown away. A mere trifle was this +little bob-tailed bird with her arts and her secrets, and the male with +his song, and yet the pair gave a touch of something to those days and +to that place which I would not willingly have missed. + + + + +THE CHIMNEY SWIFT + + +One day a swarm of honey-bees went into my chimney, and I mounted the +stack to see into which flue they had gone. As I craned my neck above +the sooty vent, with the bees humming about my ears, the first thing my +eye rested upon in the black interior was a pair of long white pearls +upon a little shelf of twigs, the nest of the chimney swallow, or +swift,--honey, soot, and birds' eggs closely associated. The bees, +though in an unused flue, soon found the gas of anthracite that hovered +about the top of the chimney too much for them, and they left. But the +swifts are not repelled by smoke. They seem to have entirely abandoned +their former nesting-places in hollow trees and stumps, and to frequent +only chimneys. A tireless bird, never perching, all day upon the wing, +and probably capable of flying one thousand miles in twenty-four hours, +they do not even stop to gather materials for their nests, but snap off +the small dry twigs from the tree-tops as they fly by. Confine one of +these swifts to a room and it does not perch, but after flying till it +becomes bewildered and exhausted, it clings to the side of the wall till +it dies. Once, on returning to my room after several days' absence, I +found one in which life seemed nearly extinct; its feet grasped my +finger as I removed it from the wall, but its eyes closed, and it seemed +about on the point of joining its companion, which lay dead upon the +floor. Tossing it into the air, however, seemed to awaken its wonderful +powers of flight, and away it went straight toward the clouds. On the +wing the chimney swift looks like an athlete stripped for the race. +There is the least appearance of quill and plumage of any of our birds, +and, with all its speed and marvelous evolutions, the effect of its +flight is stiff and wiry. There appears to be but one joint in the wing, +and that next the body. This peculiar inflexible motion of the wings, as +if they were little sickles of sheet iron, seems to be owing to the +length and development of the primary quills and the smallness of the +secondary. The wing appears to hinge only at the wrist. The barn swallow +lines its rude masonry with feathers, but the swift begins life on bare +twigs, glued together by a glue of home manufacture as adhesive as +Spaulding's. + +The big chimney of my cabin "Slabsides" of course attracted the chimney +swifts, and as it was not used in summer, two pairs built their nests in +it, and we had the muffled thunder of their wings at all hours of the +day and night. One night, when one of the broods was nearly fledged, the +nest that held them fell down into the fireplace. Such a din of +screeching and chattering as they instantly set up! Neither my dog nor I +could sleep. They yelled in chorus, stopping at the end of every +half-minute as if upon signal. Now they were all screeching at the top +of their voices, then a sudden, dead silence ensued. Then the din began +again, to terminate at the instant as before. If they had been long +practicing together, they could not have succeeded better. I never +before heard the cry of birds so accurately timed. After a while I got +up and put them back up the chimney, and stopped up the throat of the +flue with newspapers. The next day one of the parent birds, in bringing +food to them, came down the chimney with such force that it passed +through the papers and brought up in the fireplace. On capturing it I +saw that its throat was distended with food as a chipmunk's cheek with +corn, or a boy's pocket with chestnuts. I opened its mandibles, when it +ejected a wad of insects as large as a bean. Most of them were much +macerated, but there were two house-flies yet alive and but little the +worse for their close confinement. They stretched themselves and walked +about upon my hand, enjoying a breath of fresh air once more. It was +nearly two hours before the swift again ventured into the chimney with +food. + +These birds do not perch, nor alight upon buildings or the ground. They +are apparently upon the wing all day. They outride the storms. I have in +my mind a cheering picture of three of them I saw facing a heavy +thunder-shower one afternoon. The wind was blowing a gale, the clouds +were rolling in black, portentous billows out of the west, the peals of +thunder were shaking the heavens, and the big drops were just beginning +to come down, when, on looking up, I saw three swifts high in air, +working their way slowly, straight into the teeth of the storm. They +were not hurried or disturbed; they held themselves firmly and steadily; +indeed, they were fairly at anchor in the air till the rage of the +elements should have subsided. I do not know that any other of our land +birds outride the storms in this way. + +In the choice of nesting-material the swift shows no change of habit. +She still snips off the small dry twigs from the tree-tops and glues +them together, and to the side of the chimney, with her own glue. The +soot is a new obstacle in her way, that she does not yet seem to have +learned to overcome, as the rains often loosen it and cause her nest to +fall to the bottom. She has a pretty way of trying to frighten you off +when your head suddenly darkens the opening above her. At such times she +leaves the nest and clings to the side of the chimney near it. Then, +slowly raising her wings, she suddenly springs out from the wall and +back again, making as loud a drumming with them in the passage as she is +capable of. If this does not frighten you away, she repeats it three or +four times. If your face still hovers above her, she remains quiet and +watches you. + +What a creature of the air this bird is, never touching the ground, so +far as I know, and never tasting earthly food! The swallow does perch +now and then and descend to the ground for nesting-material, but not so +the swift. The twigs for her nest she gathers on the wing, sweeping +along like children on a "merry-go-round" who try to seize a ring, or to +do some other feat, as they pass a given point. If the swift misses the +twig, or it fails to yield to her the first time, she tries again and +again, each time making a wider circuit, as if to tame and train her +steed a little and bring him up more squarely to the mark next time. + +Though the swift is a stiff flyer and apparently without joints in her +wings, yet the air of frolic and of superabundance of wing-power is +more marked with her than with any other of our birds. Her feeding and +twig-gathering seem like asides in a life of endless play. Several times +both in spring and fall I have seen swifts gather in immense numbers +toward nightfall, to take refuge in large unused chimney-stacks. On such +occasions they seem to be coming together for some aerial festival or +grand celebration; and, as if bent upon a final effort to work off a +part of their superabundant wing-power before settling down for the +night, they circle and circle high above the chimney-top, a great cloud +of them, drifting this way and that, all in high spirits and chippering +as they fly. Their numbers constantly increase as other members of the +clan come dashing in from all points of the compass. Swifts seem to +materialize out of empty air on all sides of the chippering, whirling +ring, as an hour or more this assembling of the clan and this flight +festival go on. The birds must gather in from whole counties, or from +half a State. They have been on the wing all day, and yet now they seem +as tireless as the wind, and as if unable to curb their powers. + +One fall they gathered in this way and took refuge for the night in a +large chimney-stack in a city near me, and kept this course up for more +than a month and a half. Several times I went to town to witness the +spectacle, and a spectacle it was: ten thousand swifts, I should think, +filling the air above a whole square like a whirling swarm of huge black +bees, but saluting the ear with a multitudinous chippering, instead of a +humming. People gathered upon the sidewalks to see them. It was a rare +circus performance, free to all. After a great many feints and playful +approaches, the whirling ring of birds would suddenly grow denser above +the chimney; then a stream of them, as if drawn down by some power of +suction, would pour into the opening. For only a few seconds would this +downward rush continue; then, as if the spirit of frolic had again got +the upper hand of them, the ring would rise, and the chippering and +circling go on. In a minute or two the same man[oe]uvre would be +repeated, the chimney, as it were, taking its swallows at intervals to +prevent choking. It usually took a half-hour or more for the birds all +to disappear down its capacious throat. There was always an air of +timidity and irresolution about their approach to the chimney, just as +there always is about their approach to the dead tree-top from which +they procure their twigs for nest-building. Often did I see birds +hesitate above the opening and then pass on, apparently as though they +had not struck it at just the right angle. On one occasion a solitary +bird was left flying, and it took three or four trials either to make up +its mind or to catch the trick of the descent. On dark or threatening or +stormy days the birds would begin to assemble by mid-afternoon, and by +four or five o'clock were all in their lodgings. + + + + +THE OVEN-BIRD + + +Every loiterer about the woods knows this pretty, speckled-breasted, +olive-backed little bird, which walks along over the dry leaves a few +yards from him, moving its head as it walks, like a miniature domestic +fowl. Most birds are very stiff-necked, like the robin, and as they run +or hop upon the ground, carry the head as if it were riveted to the +body. Not so the oven-bird, or the other birds that walk, as the +cow-bunting, or the quail, or the crow. They move the head forward with +the movement of the feet. The sharp, reiterated, almost screeching song +of the oven-bird, as it perches on a limb a few feet from the ground, +like the words "preacher, preacher, preacher," or "teacher, teacher, +teacher," uttered louder and louder, and repeated six or seven times, is +also familiar to most ears; but its wild, ringing, rapturous burst of +song in the air high above the tree-tops is not so well known. From a +very prosy, tiresome, unmelodious singer, it is suddenly transformed for +a brief moment into a lyric poet of great power. It is a great surprise. +The bird undergoes a complete transformation. Ordinarily it is a very +quiet, demure sort of bird. It walks about over the leaves, moving its +head like a little hen; then perches on a limb a few feet from the +ground and sends forth its shrill, rather prosy, unmusical chant. Surely +it is an ordinary, commonplace bird. But wait till the inspiration of +its flight-song is upon it. What a change! Up it goes through the +branches of the trees, leaping from limb to limb, faster and faster, +till it shoots from the tree-tops fifty or more feet into the air above +them, and bursts into an ecstasy of song, rapid, ringing, lyrical; no +more like its habitual performance than a match is like a rocket; brief +but thrilling; emphatic but musical. Having reached its climax of flight +and song, the bird closes its wings and drops nearly perpendicularly +downward like the skylark. If its song were more prolonged, it would +rival the song of that famous bird. The bird does this many times a day +during early June, but oftenest at twilight. + +About the first of June there is a nest in the woods, upon the ground, +with four creamy-white eggs in it, spotted with brown or lilac, chiefly +about the larger ends, that always gives the walker who is so lucky as +to find it a thrill of pleasure. It is like a ground sparrow's nest with +a roof or canopy to it. The little brown or olive backed bird starts +away from your feet and runs swiftly and almost silently over the dry +leaves, and then turns her speckled breast to see if you are following. +She walks very prettily, by far the prettiest pedestrian in the woods. +But if she thinks you have discovered her secret, she feigns lameness +and disability of both leg and wing, to decoy you into the pursuit of +her. This is the oven-bird. The last nest of this bird I found was while +in quest of the pink cypripedium. We suddenly spied a couple of the +flowers a few steps from the path along which we were walking, and had +stooped to admire them, when out sprang the bird from beside them, +doubtless thinking she was the subject of observation instead of the +rose-purple flowers that swung but a foot or two above her. But we never +should have seen her had she kept her place. She had found a rent in the +matted carpet of dry leaves and pine needles that covered the ground, +and into this had insinuated her nest, the leaves and needles forming a +canopy above it, sloping to the south and west, the source of the more +frequent summer rains. + + + + +THE CATBIRD + + +It requires an effort for me to speak of the singing catbird as he; all +the ways and tones of the bird seem so distinctly feminine. But it is, +of course, only the male that sings. At times I hardly know whether I am +more pleased or annoyed with him. Perhaps he is a little too common, and +his part in the general chorus a little too conspicuous. If you are +listening for the note of another bird, he is sure to be prompted to the +most loud and protracted singing, drowning all other sounds; if you sit +quietly down to observe a favorite or study a new-comer, his curiosity +knows no bounds, and you are scanned and ridiculed from every point of +observation. Yet I would not miss him; I would only subordinate him a +little, make him less conspicuous. + +He is the parodist of the woods, and there is ever a mischievous, +bantering, half-ironical undertone in his lay, as if he were conscious +of mimicking and disconcerting some envied songster. Ambitious of song, +practicing and rehearsing in private, he yet seems the least sincere and +genuine of the sylvan minstrels, as if he had taken up music only to be +in the fashion, or not to be outdone by the robins and thrushes. In +other words, he seems to sing from some outward motive, and not from +inward joyousness. He is a good versifier, but not a great poet. +Vigorous, rapid, copious, not without fine touches, but destitute of any +high, serene melody, his performance, like that of Thoreau's squirrel, +always implies a spectator. + +There is a certain air and polish about his strain, however, like that +in the vivacious conversation of a well-bred lady of the world, that +commands respect. His parental instinct, also, is very strong, and that +simple structure of dead twigs and dry grass is the centre of much +anxious solicitude. Not long since, while strolling through the woods, +my attention was attracted to a small densely-grown swamp, hedged in +with eglantine, brambles, and the everlasting smilax, from which +proceeded loud cries of distress and alarm, indicating that some +terrible calamity was threatening my sombre-colored minstrel. On +effecting an entrance, which, however, was not accomplished till I had +doffed coat and hat, so as to diminish the surface exposed to the thorns +and brambles, and, looking around me from a square yard of terra firma, +I found myself the spectator of a loathsome yet fascinating scene. Three +or four yards from me was the nest, beneath which, in long festoons, +rested a huge black snake; a bird two-thirds grown was slowly +disappearing between his expanded jaws. As he seemed unconscious of my +presence, I quietly observed the proceedings. By slow degrees he +compassed the bird about with his elastic mouth; his head flattened, his +neck writhed and swelled, and two or three undulatory movements of his +glistening body finished the work. Then he cautiously raised himself up, +his tongue flaming from his mouth the while, curved over the nest, and, +with wavy, subtle motions, explored the interior. I can conceive of +nothing more overpoweringly terrible to an unsuspecting family of birds +than the sudden appearance above their domicile of the head and neck of +this arch-enemy. It is enough to petrify the blood in their veins. Not +finding the object of his search, he came streaming down from the nest +to a lower limb, and commenced extending his researches in other +directions, sliding stealthily through the branches, bent on capturing +one of the parent birds. That a legless, wingless creature should move +with such ease and rapidity where only birds and squirrels are +considered at home, lifting himself up, letting himself down, running +out on the yielding boughs, and traversing with marvelous celerity the +whole length and breadth of the thicket, was truly surprising. One +thinks of the great myth of the Tempter and the "cause of all our woe," +and wonders if the Arch Enemy is not now playing off some of his pranks +before him. Whether we call it snake or devil matters little. I could +but admire his terrible beauty, however; his black, shining folds, his +easy, gliding movement, head erect, eyes glistening, tongue playing like +subtle flame, and the invisible means of his almost winged locomotion. + +The parent birds, in the mean while, kept up the most agonizing cry, at +times fluttering furiously about their pursuer, and actually laying hold +of his tail with their beaks and claws. On being thus attacked, the +snake would suddenly double upon himself and follow his own body back, +thus executing a strategic movement that at first seemed almost to +paralyze his victim and place her within his grasp. Not quite, however. +Before his jaws could close upon the coveted prize the bird would tear +herself away, and, apparently faint and sobbing, retire to a higher +branch. His reputed powers of fascination availed him little, though it +is possible that a frailer and less combative bird might have been held +by the fatal spell. Presently, as he came gliding down the slender body +of a leaning alder, his attention was attracted by a slight movement of +my arm; eyeing me an instant, with that crouching, utterly motionless +gaze which I believe only snakes and devils can assume, he turned +quickly--a feat which necessitated something like crawling over his own +body--and glided off through the branches, evidently recognizing in me a +representative of the ancient parties he once so cunningly ruined. A few +moments later, as he lay carelessly disposed in the top of a rank alder, +trying to look as much like a crooked branch as his supple, shining form +would admit, the old vengeance overtook him. I exercised my prerogative, +and a well-directed missile, in the shape of a stone, brought him +looping and writhing to the ground. After I had completed his downfall +and quiet had been partly restored, a half-fledged member of the +bereaved household came out from his hiding-place, and, jumping upon a +decayed branch, chirped vigorously, no doubt in celebration of the +victory. + + + + +THE BOBOLINK + + +The bobolink has a secure place in literature, having been laureated by +no less a poet than Bryant, and invested with a lasting human charm in +the sunny page of Irving, and is the only one of our songsters, I +believe, that the mockingbird cannot parody or imitate. He affords the +most marked example of exuberant pride, and a glad, rollicking, holiday +spirit, that can be seen among our birds. Every note expresses +complacency and glee. He is a beau of the first pattern, and, unlike any +other bird of my acquaintance, pushes his gallantry to the point of +wheeling gayly into the train of every female that comes along, even +after the season of courtship is over and the matches are all settled; +and when she leads him on too wild a chase, he turns lightly about and +breaks out with a song that is precisely analogous to a burst of gay and +self-satisfied laughter, as much as to say, "_Ha! ha! ha! I must have my +fun, Miss Silverthimble, thimble, thimble, if I break every heart in the +meadow, see, see, see!_" + +At the approach of the breeding-season the bobolink undergoes a complete +change; his form changes, his color changes, his flight changes. From +mottled brown or brindle he becomes black and white, earning, in some +localities, the shocking name of "skunk bird"; his small, compact form +becomes broad and conspicuous, and his ordinary flight is laid aside for +a mincing, affected gait, in which he seems to use only the very tips of +his wings. It is very noticeable what a contrast he presents to his mate +at this season, not only in color but in manners, she being as shy and +retiring as he is forward and hilarious. Indeed, she seems disagreeably +serious and indisposed to any fun or jollity, scurrying away at his +approach, and apparently annoyed at every endearing word and look. It is +surprising that all this parade of plumage and tinkling of cymbals +should be gone through with and persisted in to please a creature so +coldly indifferent as she really seems to be. + +I know of no other song-bird that expresses so much self-consciousness +and vanity, and comes so near being an ornithological coxcomb. The +redbird, the yellowbird, the indigo-bird, the oriole, the cardinal +grosbeak, and others, all birds of brilliant plumage and musical +ability, seem quite unconscious of self, and neither by tone nor act +challenge the admiration of the beholder. + +If I were a bird, in building my nest I should follow the example of the +bobolink, placing it in the midst of a broad meadow, where there was no +spear of grass, or flower, or growth unlike another to mark its site. I +judge that the bobolink escapes the dangers to which nesting birds are +liable as few or no other birds do. Unless the mowers come along at an +earlier date than she has anticipated, that is, before July 1, or a +skunk goes nosing through the grass, which is unusual, she is as safe as +bird well can be in the great open of nature. She selects the most +monotonous and uniform place she can find amid the daisies or the +timothy and clover, and places her simple structure upon the ground in +the midst of it. There is no concealment, except as the great conceals +the little, as the desert conceals the pebble, as the myriad conceals +the unit. You may find the nest once, if your course chances to lead you +across it, and your eye is quick enough to note the silent brown bird as +she darts swiftly away; but step three paces in the wrong direction, and +your search will probably be fruitless. My friend and I found a nest by +accident one day, and then lost it again one minute afterward. I moved +away a few yards to be sure of the mother bird, charging my friend not +to stir from his tracks. When I returned, he had moved two paces, he +said (he had really moved four), and we spent a half-hour stooping over +the daisies and the buttercups, looking for the lost clew. We grew +desperate, and fairly felt the ground over with our hands, but without +avail. I marked the spot with a bush, and came the next day, and, with +the bush as a centre, moved about it in slowly increasing circles, +covering, I thought, nearly every inch of ground with my feet, and +laying hold of it with all the visual power I could command, till my +patience was exhausted, and I gave up, baffled. I began to doubt the +ability of the parent birds themselves to find it, and so secreted +myself and watched. After much delay, the male bird appeared with food +in his beak, and, satisfying himself that the coast was clear, dropped +into the grass which I had trodden down in my search. Fastening my eye +upon a particular meadow-lily, I walked straight to the spot, bent down, +and gazed long and intently into the grass. Finally my eye separated the +nest and its young from its surroundings. My foot had barely missed them +in my search, but by how much they had escaped my eye I could not tell. +Probably not by distance at all, but simply by unrecognition. They were +virtually invisible. The dark gray and yellowish-brown dry grass and +stubble of the meadow-bottom were exactly copied in the color of the +half-fledged young. More than that, they hugged the nest so closely and +formed such a compact mass, that though there were five of them, they +preserved the unit of expression,--no single head or form was defined; +they were one, and that one was without shape or color, and not +separable, except by closest scrutiny, from the one of the +meadow-bottom. That nest prospered, as bobolinks' nests doubtless +generally do; for, notwithstanding the enormous slaughter of the birds +by Southern sportsmen during their fall migrations, the bobolink appears +to hold its own, and its music does not diminish in our Northern +meadows. + + +THE BOBOLINK + + Daisies, clover, buttercup, + Redtop, trefoil, meadowsweet, + Ecstatic pinions, soaring up, + Then gliding down to grassy seat. + + Sunshine, laughter, mad desires, + May day, June day, lucid skies, + All reckless moods that love inspires-- + The gladdest bird that sings and flies. + + Meadows, orchards, bending sprays, + Rushes, lilies, billowy wheat, + Song and frolic fill his days, + A feathered rondeau all complete. + + Pink bloom, gold bloom, fleabane white, + Dewdrop, raindrop, cooling shade, + Bubbling throat and hovering flight, + And jocund heart as e'er was made. + + + + +THE WOOD THRUSH + + +The wood thrush is the handsomest species of the thrush family. In grace +and elegance of manner he has no equal. Such a gentle, high-bred air, +and such inimitable ease and composure in his flight and movement! He is +a poet in very word and deed. His carriage is music to the eye. His +performance of the commonest act, as catching a beetle, or picking a +worm from the mud, pleases like a stroke of wit or eloquence. Was he a +prince in the olden time, and do the regal grace and mien still adhere +to him in his transformation? What a finely proportioned form! How +plain, yet rich, his color,--the bright russet of his back, the clear +white of his breast, with the distinct heart-shaped spots! It may be +objected to Robin that he is noisy and demonstrative; he hurries away or +rises to a branch with an angry note, and flirts his wings in ill-bred +suspicion. The thrasher, or red thrush, sneaks and skulks like a +culprit, hiding in the densest alders; the catbird is a coquette and a +flirt, as well as a sort of female Paul Pry; and the chewink shows his +inhospitality by espying your movements like a detective. The wood +thrush has none of these underbred traits. He regards me +unsuspiciously, or avoids me with a noble reserve--or, if I am quiet and +incurious, graciously hops toward me, as if to pay his respects, or to +make my acquaintance. I have passed under his nest within a few feet of +his mate and brood, when he sat near by on a branch eying me sharply, +but without opening his beak; but the moment I raised my hand toward his +defenseless household his anger and indignation were beautiful to +behold. + +What a noble pride he has! Late one October, after his mates and +companions had long since gone South, I noticed one for several +successive days in the dense part of this next-door wood, flitting +noiselessly about, very grave and silent, as if doing penance for some +violation of the code of honor. By many gentle, indirect approaches, I +perceived that part of his tail-feathers were undeveloped. The sylvan +prince could not think of returning to court in this plight, and so, +amid the falling leaves and cold rains of autumn, was patiently biding +his time. + +[Illustration: WOOD THRUSH] + +It is a curious habit the wood thrush has of starting its nest with a +fragment of newspaper or other paper. Except in remote woods, I think it +nearly always puts a piece of paper in the foundation of its nest. Last +spring I chanced to be sitting near a tree in which a wood thrush had +concluded to build. She came with a piece of paper nearly as large as my +hand, placed it upon the branch, stood upon it a moment, and then flew +down to the ground. A little puff of wind caused the paper to leave the +branch a moment afterward. The thrush watched it eddy slowly down to the +ground, when she seized it and carried it back. She placed it in +position as before, stood upon it again for a moment, and then flew +away. Again the paper left the branch, and sailed away slowly to the +ground. The bird seized it again, jerking it about rather spitefully, I +thought; she turned it round two or three times, then labored back to +the branch with it, upon which she shifted it about as if to hit upon +some position in which it would lie more securely. This time she sat +down upon it for a moment, and then went away, doubtless with the +thought in her head that she would bring something to hold it down. The +perverse paper followed her in a few seconds. She seized it again, and +hustled it about more than before. As she rose with it toward the nest, +it in some way impeded her flight, and she was compelled to return to +the ground with it. But she kept her temper remarkably well. She turned +the paper over and took it up in her beak several times before she was +satisfied with her hold, and then carried it back to the branch, where, +however, it would not stay. I saw her make six trials of it, when I was +called away. I think she finally abandoned the restless fragment, +probably a scrap that held some "breezy" piece of writing, for later in +the season I examined the nest and found no paper in it. + +How completely the life of a bird revolves about its nest, its home! In +the case of the wood thrush, its life and joy seem to mount higher and +higher as the nest prospers. The male becomes a fountain of melody; his +happiness waxes day by day; he makes little triumphal tours about the +neighborhood, and pours out his pride and gladness in the ears of all. +How sweet, how well-bred, is his demonstration! But let any accident +befall that precious nest, and what a sudden silence falls upon him! +Last summer a pair of wood thrushes built their nest within a few rods +of my house, and when the enterprise was fairly launched and the mother +bird was sitting upon her four blue eggs, the male was in the height of +his song. How he poured forth his rich melody, never in the immediate +vicinity of the nest, but always within easy hearing distance! Every +morning, as promptly as the morning came, between five and six, he would +sing for half an hour from the top of a locust-tree that shaded my +roof. I came to expect him as much as I expected my breakfast, and I was +not disappointed till one morning I seemed to miss something. What was +it? Oh, the thrush had not sung this morning. Something is the matter; +and, recollecting that yesterday I had seen a red squirrel in the trees +not far from the nest, I at once inferred that the nest had been +harried. Going to the spot, I found my fears were well grounded; every +egg was gone. The joy of the thrush was laid low. No more songs from the +tree-top, and no more songs from any point, till nearly a week had +elapsed, when I heard him again under the hill, where the pair had +started a new nest, cautiously tuning up, and apparently with his recent +bitter experience still weighing upon him. + +There is no nest-builder that suffers more from crows and squirrels and +other enemies than the wood thrush. It builds as openly and +unsuspiciously as if it thought all the world as honest as itself. Its +favorite place is the fork of a sapling, eight or ten feet from the +ground, where it falls an easy prey to every nest-robber that comes +prowling through the woods and groves. It is not a bird that skulks and +hides, like the catbird, the brown thrasher, the chat, or the chewink, +and its nest is not concealed with the same art as theirs. Our thrushes +are all frank, open-mannered birds; but the veery and the hermit build +on the ground, where they may at least escape the crows, owls, and jays, +and stand a good chance of being overlooked by the red squirrel and +weasel also; while the robin seeks the protection of dwellings and +outbuildings. For years I have not known the nest of a wood thrush to +succeed. During the season referred to I observed but two, both +apparently a second attempt, as the season was well advanced, and both +failures. In one case, the nest was placed in a branch that an +apple-tree, standing near a dwelling, held out over the highway. The +structure was barely ten feet above the middle of the road, and would +just escape a passing load of hay. It was made conspicuous by the use of +a large fragment of newspaper in its foundation,--an unsafe material to +build upon in most cases. Whatever else the press may guard, this +particular newspaper did not guard this nest from harm. It saw the egg +and probably the chick, but not the fledgeling. A murderous deed was +committed above the public highway, but whether in the open day or under +cover of darkness I have no means of knowing. The frisky red squirrel +was doubtless the culprit. The other nest was in a maple sapling, within +a few yards of the little rustic summer-house already referred to. The +first attempt of the season, I suspect, had failed in a more secluded +place under the hill; so the pair had come up nearer the house for +protection. The male sang in the trees near by for several days before I +chanced to see the nest. The very morning, I think, it was finished, I +saw a red squirrel exploring a tree but a few yards away; he probably +knew what the singing meant as well as I did. I did not see the inside +of the nest, for it was almost instantly deserted, the female having +probably laid a single egg, which the squirrel had devoured. + +One evening, while seated upon my porch, I had convincing proof that +musical or song contests do take place among the birds. Two wood +thrushes who had nests near by sat on the top of a dead tree and pitted +themselves against each other in song for over half an hour, contending +like champions in a game, and certainly affording the rarest treat in +wood-thrush melody I had ever had. They sang and sang with unwearied +spirit and persistence, now and then changing position or facing in +another direction, but keeping within a few feet of each other. The +rivalry became so obvious and was so interesting that I finally made it +a point not to take my eyes from the singers. The twilight deepened till +their forms began to grow dim; then one of the birds could stand the +strain no longer, the limit of fair competition had been reached, and +seeming to say, "I will silence you, anyhow," it made a spiteful dive at +its rival, and in hot pursuit the two disappeared in the bushes beneath +the tree. + + + + +THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE + + +The nest of nests, the ideal nest, is unquestionably that of the +Baltimore oriole. It is the only perfectly pensile nest we have. The +nest of the orchard oriole is indeed mainly so, but this bird generally +builds lower and shallower, more after the manner of the vireos. + +The Baltimore oriole loves to attach its nest to the swaying branches of +the tallest elms, making no attempt at concealment, but satisfied if the +position be high and the branch pendent. This nest would seem to cost +more time and skill than any other bird structure. A peculiar flax-like +material seems to be always sought after and always found. The nest when +completed assumes the form of a large, suspended gourd. The walls are +thin but firm, and proof against the most driving rain. The mouth is +hemmed or over-handed with strings or horsehair, and the sides are +usually sewed through and through with the same. + +Not particular as to the matter of secrecy, the bird is not particular +as to material, so that it be of the nature of strings or threads. A +lady friend once told me that, while she was working by an open window, +one of these birds approached while her back was turned, and, seizing a +skein of some kind of thread or yarn, made off with it to its +half-finished nest. But the perverse yarn caught fast in the branches, +and, in the bird's efforts to extricate it, got hopelessly tangled. She +tugged away at it all day, but was finally obliged to content herself +with a few detached portions. The fluttering strings were an eyesore to +her ever after, and, passing and repassing, she would give them a +spiteful jerk, as much as to say, "There is that confounded yarn that +gave me so much trouble." + + [Illustration: BALTIMORE ORIOLE + Upper, male; lower, female] + +One day in Kentucky I saw an oriole weave into her nest unusual +material. As we sat upon the lawn in front of the cottage, we had +noticed the bird just beginning her structure, suspending it from a +long, low branch of the Kentucky coffee-tree that grew but a few feet +away. I suggested to my host that if he would take some brilliant yarn +and scatter it about upon the shrubbery, the fence, and the walks, the +bird would probably avail herself of it, and weave a novel nest. I had +heard of its being done, but had never tried it myself. The suggestion +was at once acted upon, and in a few moments a handful of zephyr yarn, +crimson, orange, green, yellow, and blue, was distributed about the +grounds. As we sat at dinner a few moments later, I saw the eager bird +flying up toward her nest with one of these brilliant yarns streaming +behind her. They had caught her eye at once, and she fell to work upon +them with a will; not a bit daunted by their brilliant color, she soon +had a crimson spot there amid the green leaves. She afforded us rare +amusement all the afternoon and the next morning. How she seemed to +congratulate herself over her rare find! How vigorously she knotted +those strings to her branch and gathered the ends in and sewed them +through and through the structure, jerking them spitefully like a +housewife burdened with many cares! How savagely she would fly at her +neighbor, an oriole that had a nest just over the fence a few yards +away, when she invaded her territory! The male looked on approvingly, +but did not offer to lend a hand. There is something in the manner of +the female on such occasions, something so decisive and emphatic, that +one entirely approves of the course of the male in not meddling or +offering any suggestions. It is the wife's enterprise, and she evidently +knows her own mind so well that the husband keeps aloof, or plays the +part of an approving spectator. + +The woolen yarn was ill-suited to the Kentucky climate. This fact the +bird seemed to appreciate, for she used it only in the upper part of +her nest, in attaching it to the branch and in binding and compacting +the rim, making the sides and bottom of hemp, leaving it thin and airy, +much more so than are the same nests with us. No other bird would, +perhaps, have used such brilliant material; their instincts of +concealment would have revolted, but the oriole aims more to make its +nest inaccessible than to hide it. Its position and depth insure its +safety. + + + + +THE WHIP-POOR-WILL + + +One day in May, walking in the woods, I came upon the nest of a +whip-poor-will, or rather its eggs, for it builds no nest,--two +elliptical whitish spotted eggs lying upon the dry leaves. My foot was +within a yard of the mother bird before she flew. I wondered what a +sharp eye would detect curious or characteristic in the ways of the +bird, so I came to the place many times and had a look. It was always a +task to separate the bird from her surroundings, though I stood within a +few feet of her, and knew exactly where to look. One had to bear on with +his eye, as it were, and refuse to be baffled. The sticks and leaves, +and bits of black or dark-brown bark, were all exactly copied in the +bird's plumage. And then she did sit so close, and simulate so well a +shapeless, decaying piece of wood or bark! Twice I brought a companion, +and, guiding his eye to the spot, noted how difficult it was for him to +make out there, in full view upon the dry leaves, any semblance to a +bird. When the bird returned after being disturbed, she would alight +within a few inches of her eggs, and then, after a moment's pause, +hobble awkwardly upon them. + +[Illustration: WHIP-POOR-WILL] + +After the young had appeared, all the wit of the bird came into play. I +was on hand the next day, I think. The mother bird sprang up when I was +within a pace of her, and in doing so fanned the leaves with her wings +till they sprang up, too; as the leaves started the young started, and +as they were of the same color, to tell which was the leaf and which the +bird was a trying task to any eye. I came the next day, when the same +tactics were repeated. Once a leaf fell upon one of the young birds and +nearly hid it. The young are covered with a reddish down, like a young +partridge, and soon follow their mother about. When disturbed, they gave +but one leap, then settled down, perfectly motionless and stupid, with +eyes closed. The parent bird, on these occasions, made frantic efforts +to decoy me away from her young. She would fly a few paces and fall upon +her breast, and a spasm, like that of death, would run through her +tremulous outstretched wings and prostrate body. She kept a sharp eye +out the mean while to see if the ruse took, and, if it did not, she was +quickly cured, and, moving about to some other point, tried to draw my +attention as before. When followed she always alighted upon the ground, +dropping down in a sudden, peculiar way. The second or third day both +old and young had disappeared. + +The whip-poor-will walks as awkwardly as a swallow, which is as awkward +as a man in a bag, and yet she manages to lead her young about the +woods. The latter, I think, move by leaps and sudden spurts, their +protective coloring shielding them most effectively. + + * * * * * + +As the shadows deepen and the stars begin to come out, the +whip-poor-will suddenly strikes up. What a rude intrusion upon the +serenity and harmony of the hour! A cry without music, insistent, +reiterated, loud, penetrating, and yet the ear welcomes it; the night +and the solitude are so vast that they can stand it; and when, an hour +later, as the night enters into full possession, the bird comes and +serenades me under my window or upon my doorstep, my heart warms toward +it. Its cry is a love-call, and there is something of the ardor and +persistence of love in it, and when the female responds, and comes and +hovers near, there is an interchange of subdued, caressing tones between +the two birds that it is a delight to hear. During my first summer in my +cabin one bird used to strike up every night from a high ledge of rocks +in front of my door. At just such a moment in the twilight he would +begin, the first to break the stillness. Then the others would follow, +till the solitude was vocal with their calls. They are rarely heard +later than ten o'clock. Then at daybreak they take up the tale again, +whipping poor Will till one pities him. One April morning between three +and four o'clock, hearing one strike up near my window, I began counting +its calls. My neighbor had told me he had heard one call over two +hundred times without a break, which seemed to me a big story. But I +have a much bigger one to tell. This bird actually laid upon the back of +poor Will one thousand and eighty-eight blows, with only a barely +perceptible pause here and there, as if to catch its breath. Then it +stopped about half a minute and began again, uttering this time three +hundred and ninety calls, when it paused, flew a little farther away, +took up the tale once more, and continued till I fell asleep. + +By day the whip-poor-will apparently sits motionless upon the ground. A +few times in my walks through the woods I have started one up from +almost under my feet. On such occasions the bird's movements suggest +those of a bat; its wings make no noise, and it wavers about in an +uncertain manner, and quickly drops to the ground again. One June day we +flushed an old one with her two young, but there was no indecision or +hesitation in the manner of the mother bird this time. The young were +more than half fledged, and they scampered away a few yards and +suddenly squatted upon the ground, where their assimilative coloring +rendered them almost invisible. Then the anxious parent put forth all +her arts to absorb our attention and lure us away from her offspring. +She flitted before us from side to side, with spread wings and tail, now +falling upon the ground, where she would remain a moment as if quite +disabled, then perching upon an old stump or low branch with drooping, +quivering wings, and imploring us by every gesture to take her and spare +her young. My companion had his camera with him, but the bird would not +remain long enough in one position for him to get her picture. + + + + +THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER + +A SEARCH FOR A RARE NEST + + +I had set out in hopes of finding a rare nest,--the nest of the +black-throated blue-backed warbler, which, it seemed, with one or two +others, was still wanting to make the history of our warblers complete. +The woods were extensive, and full of deep, dark tangles, and looking +for any particular nest seemed about as hopeless a task as searching for +a needle in a haystack, as the old saying is. Where to begin, and how? +But the principle is the same as in looking for a hen's nest,--first +find your bird, then watch its movements. + +The bird is in these woods, for I have seen him scores of times, but +whether he builds high or low, on the ground or in the trees, is all +unknown to me. That is his song now,--"twe-twea-twe-e-e-a," with a +peculiar summer languor and plaintiveness, and issuing from the lower +branches and growths. Presently we--for I have been joined by a +companion--discover the bird, a male, insecting in the top of a newly +fallen hemlock. The black, white, and blue of his uniform are seen at a +glance. His movements are quite slow compared with some of the warblers. +If he will only betray the locality of that little domicile where his +plainly clad mate is evidently sitting, it is all we will ask of him. +But this he seems in no wise disposed to do. Here and there, and up and +down, we follow him, often losing him, and as often refinding him by his +song; but the clew to his nest, how shall we get it? Does he never go +home to see how things are getting on, or to see if his presence is not +needed, or to take madam a morsel of food? No doubt he keeps within +earshot, and a cry of distress or alarm from the mother bird would bring +him to the spot in an instant. Would that some evil fate would make her +cry, then! Presently he encounters a rival. His feeding-ground infringes +upon that of another, and the two birds regard each other threateningly. +This is a good sign, for their nests are evidently near. + +Their battle-cry is a low, peculiar chirp, not very fierce, but +bantering and confident. They quickly come to blows, but it is a very +fantastic battle, and, as it would seem, indulged in more to satisfy +their sense of honor than to hurt each other, for neither party gets the +better of the other, and they separate a few paces and sing, and squeak, +and challenge each other in a very happy frame of mind. The gauntlet is +no sooner thrown down than it is again taken up by one or the other, and +in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes they have three or four +encounters, separating a little, then provoked to return again like two +cocks, till finally they withdraw beyond hearing of each other,--both, +no doubt, claiming the victory. But the secret of the nest is still +kept. Once I think I have it. I catch a glimpse of a bird which looks +like the female, and near by, in a small hemlock about eight feet from +the ground, my eye detects a nest. But as I come up under it, I can see +daylight through it, and that it is empty,--evidently only partly +finished, not lined or padded yet. Now if the bird will only return and +claim it, the point will be gained. But we wait and watch in vain. The +architect has knocked off to-day, and we must come again, or continue +our search. + +Despairing of finding either of the nests of the two males, we pushed on +through the woods to try our luck elsewhere. Before long, just as we +were about to plunge down a hill into a dense, swampy part of the woods, +we discovered a pair of the birds we were in quest of. They had food in +their beaks, and, as we paused, showed great signs of alarm, indicating +that the nest was in the immediate vicinity. This was enough. We would +pause here and find this nest, anyhow. To make a sure thing of it, we +determined to watch the parent birds till we had wrung from them their +secret. So we doggedly crouched down and watched them, and they watched +us. It was diamond cut diamond. But as we felt constrained in our +movements, desiring, if possible, to keep so quiet that the birds would, +after a while, see in us only two harmless stumps or prostrate logs, we +had much the worst of it. The mosquitoes were quite taken with our +quiet, and knew us from logs and stumps in a moment. Neither were the +birds deceived, not even when we tried the Indian's tactics, and plumed +ourselves with green branches. Ah, the suspicious creatures, how they +watched us with the food in their beaks, abstaining for one whole hour +from ministering to that precious charge which otherwise would have been +visited every few moments! Quite near us they would come at times, +between us and the nest, eying us so sharply. Then they would move off, +and apparently try to forget our presence. Was it to deceive us, or to +persuade himself and his mate that there was no serious cause for alarm, +that the male would now and then strike up in full song and move off to +some distance through the trees? But the mother bird did not allow +herself to lose sight of us at all, and both birds, after carrying the +food in their beaks a long time, would swallow it themselves. Then they +would obtain another morsel and apparently approach very near the nest, +when their caution or prudence would come to their aid, and they would +swallow the food and hasten away. I thought the young birds would cry +out, but not a syllable from them. Yet this was, no doubt, what kept the +parent birds away from the nest. The clamor the young would have set up +on the approach of the old with food would have exposed everything. + +After a time I felt sure I knew within a few feet where the nest was +concealed. Indeed, I thought I knew the identical bush. Then the birds +approached each other again and grew very confidential about another +locality some rods below. This puzzled us, and, seeing the whole +afternoon might be spent in this manner and the mystery unsolved, we +determined to change our tactics and institute a thorough search of the +locality. This procedure soon brought things to a crisis, for, as my +companion clambered over a log by a little hemlock, a few yards from +where we had been sitting, with a cry of alarm out sprang the young +birds from their nest in the hemlock, and, scampering and fluttering +over the leaves, disappeared in different directions. Instantly the +parent birds were on the scene in an agony of alarm. Their distress was +pitiful. They threw themselves on the ground at our very feet, and +fluttered, and cried, and trailed themselves before us, to draw us away +from the place, or distract our attention from the helpless young. I +shall not forget the male bird, how bright he looked, how sharp the +contrast as he trailed his painted plumage there on the dry leaves. +Apparently he was seriously disabled. He would start up as if exerting +every muscle to fly away, but no use; down he would come, with a +helpless, fluttering motion, before he had gone two yards, and +apparently you had only to go and pick him up. But before you could pick +him up, he had recovered somewhat and flown a little farther; and thus, +if you were tempted to follow him, you would soon find yourself some +distance from the scene of the nest, and both old and young well out of +your reach. The female bird was not less solicitous, and practiced the +same arts upon us to decoy us away, but her dull plumage rendered her +less noticeable. The male was clad in holiday attire, but his mate in an +every-day working-garb. + +The nest was built in the fork of a little hemlock, about fifteen inches +from the ground, and was a thick, firm structure, composed of the finer +material of the woods, with a lining of very delicate roots or rootlets. +There were four young birds and one addled egg. + + + + +THE MARSH HAWK + +A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST + + +Most country boys, I fancy, know the marsh hawk. It is he you see flying +low over the fields, beating about bushes and marshes and dipping over +the fences, with his attention directed to the ground beneath him. He is +a cat on wings. He keeps so low that the birds and mice do not see him +till he is fairly upon them. The hen-hawk swoops down upon the +meadow-mouse from his position high in air, or from the top of a dead +tree; but the marsh hawk stalks him and comes suddenly upon him from +over the fence, or from behind a low bush or tuft of grass. He is nearly +as large as the hen-hawk, but has a much longer tail. When I was a boy I +used to call him the long-tailed hawk. The male is of a bluish +slate-color; the female reddish-brown, like the hen-hawk, with a white +rump. + +Unlike the other hawks, they nest on the ground in low, thick marshy +places. For several seasons a pair have nested in a bushy marsh a few +miles back of me, near the house of a farmer friend of mine, who has a +keen eye for the wild life about him. Two years ago he found the nest, +but when I got over to see it the next week, it had been robbed, +probably by some boys in the neighborhood. The past season, in April or +May, by watching the mother bird, he found the nest again. It was in a +marshy place, several acres in extent, in the bottom of a valley, and +thickly grown with hardback, prickly ash, smilax, and other low thorny +bushes. My friend took me to the brink of a low hill, and pointed out to +me in the marsh below us, as nearly as he could, just where the nest was +located. Then we crossed the pasture, entered upon the marsh, and made +our way cautiously toward it. The wild, thorny growths, waist-high, had +to be carefully dealt with. As we neared the spot, I used my eyes the +best I could, but I did not see the hawk till she sprang into the air +not ten yards away from us. She went screaming upward, and was soon +sailing in a circle far above us. There, on a coarse matting of twigs +and weeds, lay five snow-white eggs, a little more than half as large as +hens' eggs. My companion said the male hawk would probably soon appear +and join the female, but he did not. She kept drifting away to the east, +and was soon gone from our sight. + +We presently withdrew and secreted ourselves behind the stone wall, in +hopes of seeing the mother hawk return. She appeared in the distance, +but seemed to know she was being watched, and kept away. + +About ten days later we made another visit to the nest. An adventurous +young Chicago lady also wanted to see a hawk's nest, and so accompanied +us. This time three of the eggs were hatched, and as the mother hawk +sprang up, either by accident or intentionally she threw two of the +young hawks some feet from the nest. She rose up and screamed angrily. +Then, turning toward us, she came like an arrow straight at the young +lady, a bright plume in whose hat probably drew her fire. The damsel +gathered up her skirts about her and beat a hasty retreat. Hawks were +not so pretty as she thought they were. A large hawk launched at one's +face from high in the air is calculated to make one a little nervous. It +is such a fearful incline down which the bird comes, and she is aiming +exactly toward your eye. When within about thirty feet of you, she turns +upward with a rushing sound, and, mounting higher, falls toward you +again. She is only firing blank cartridges, as it were; but it usually +has the desired effect, and beats the enemy off. + +After we had inspected the young hawks, a neighbor of my friend offered +to conduct us to a quail's nest. Anything in the shape of a nest is +always welcome, it is such a mystery, such a centre of interest and +affection, and, if upon the ground, is usually something so dainty and +exquisite amid the natural wreckage and confusion. A ground nest seems +so exposed, too, that it always gives a little thrill of pleasurable +surprise to see the group of frail eggs resting there behind so slight a +barrier. I will walk a long distance any day just to see a song +sparrow's nest amid the stubble or under a tuft of grass. It is a jewel +in a rosette of jewels, with a frill of weeds or turf. A quail's nest I +had never seen, and to be shown one within the hunting-ground of this +murderous hawk would be a double pleasure. Such a quiet, secluded, +grass-grown highway as we moved along was itself a rare treat. +Sequestered was the word that the little valley suggested, and peace the +feeling the road evoked. The farmer, whose fields lay about us, half +grown with weeds and bushes, evidently did not make stir or noise enough +to disturb anything. Beside this rustic highway, bounded by old mossy +stone walls, and within a stone's throw of the farmer's barn, the quail +had made her nest. It was just under the edge of a prostrate thorn-bush. + +"The nest is right there," said the farmer, pausing within ten feet of +it, and pointing to the spot with his stick. + +In a moment or two we could make out the mottled brown plumage of the +sitting bird. Then we approached her cautiously till we bent above her. + +She never moved a feather. + +Then I put my cane down in the brush behind her. We wanted to see the +eggs, yet did not want rudely to disturb the sitting hen. + +She would not move. + +Then I put down my hand within a few inches of her; still she kept her +place. Should we have to lift her off bodily? + +Then the young lady put down her hand, probably the prettiest and the +whitest hand the quail had ever seen. At least it started her, and off +she sprang, uncovering such a crowded nest of eggs as I had never before +beheld. Twenty-one of them! a ring or disk of white like a china +tea-saucer. You could not help saying, How pretty! How cunning! like +baby hens' eggs, as if the bird were playing at sitting, as children +play at housekeeping. + +If I had known how crowded her nest was, I should not have dared disturb +her, for fear she would break some of them. But not an egg suffered harm +by her sudden flight. And no harm came to the nest afterward. Every egg +hatched, I was told, and the little chicks, hardly bigger than +bumblebees, were led away by the mother into the fields. + +In about a week I paid another visit to the hawk's nest. The eggs were +all hatched, and the mother bird was hovering near. I shall never forget +the curious expression of those young hawks sitting there on the ground. +The expression was not one of youth, but of extreme age. Such an +ancient, infirm look as they had,--the sharp, dark, and shrunken look +about the face and eyes, and their feeble, tottering motions! They sat +upon their elbows and the hind part of their bodies, and their pale, +withered legs and feet extended before them in the most helpless +fashion. Their angular bodies were covered with a pale yellowish down, +like that of a chicken; their heads had a plucked, seedy appearance; and +their long, strong, naked wings hung down by their sides till they +touched the ground: power and ferocity in the first rude draught, shorn +of everything but its sinister ugliness. Another curious thing was the +gradation of the young in size; they tapered down regularly from the +first to the fifth, as if there had been, as probably there was, an +interval of a day or two between the hatchings. + +The two older ones showed some signs of fear on our approach, and one of +them threw himself upon his back, and put up his impotent legs, and +glared at us with open beak. The two smaller ones regarded us not at +all. Neither of the parent birds appeared during our stay. + +When I visited the nest again, eight or ten days later, the birds were +much grown, but of as marked a difference in size as before, and with +the same look of extreme old age,--old age in men of the aquiline type, +nose and chin coming together, and eyes large and sunken. They now +glared upon us with a wild, savage look, and opened their beaks +threateningly. + +The next week, when my friend visited the nest, the larger of the hawks +fought him savagely. But one of the brood, probably the last to hatch, +had made but little growth. It appeared to be on the point of +starvation. The mother hawk (for the male seemed to have disappeared) +had perhaps found her family too large for her, and was deliberately +allowing one of the number to perish; or did the larger and stronger +young devour all the food before the weaker member could obtain any? +Probably this was the case. + +Arthur brought the feeble nestling away, and the same day my little boy +got it and brought it home, wrapped in a woolen rag. It was clearly a +starved bantling. It cried feebly but would not lift up its head. + +We first poured some warm milk down its throat, which soon revived it, +so that it would swallow small bits of flesh. In a day or two we had it +eating ravenously, and its growth became noticeable. Its voice had the +sharp whistling character of that of its parents, and was stilled only +when the bird was asleep. We made a pen for it, about a yard square, in +one end of the study, covering the floor with several thicknesses of +newspapers; and here, upon a bit of brown woolen blanket for a nest, the +hawk waxed strong day by day. An uglier-looking pet, tested by all the +rules we usually apply to such things, would have been hard to find. +There he would sit upon his elbows, his helpless feet out in front of +him, his great featherless wings touching the floor, and shrilly cry for +more food. For a time we gave him water daily from a stylograph-pen +filler, but the water he evidently did not need or relish. Fresh meat, +and plenty of it, was his demand. And we soon discovered that he liked +game, such as mice, squirrels, birds, much better than butcher's meat. + +Then began a lively campaign on the part of my little boy against all +the vermin and small game in the neighborhood, to keep the hawk +supplied. He trapped and he hunted, he enlisted his mates in his +service, he even robbed the cats to feed the hawk. His usefulness as a +boy of all work was seriously impaired. "Where is J----?" "Gone after a +squirrel for his hawk." And often the day would be half gone before his +hunt was successful. The premises were very soon cleared of mice, and +the vicinity of chipmunks and squirrels. Farther and farther he was +compelled to hunt the surrounding farms and woods to keep up with the +demands of the hawk. By the time the hawk was ready to fly, it had +consumed twenty-one chipmunks, fourteen red squirrels, sixteen mice, and +twelve English sparrows, besides a great deal of butcher's meat. + +His plumage very soon began to show itself, crowding off tufts of the +down. The quills on his great wings sprouted and grew apace. What a +ragged, uncanny appearance he presented! but his look of extreme age +gradually became modified. What a lover of the sunlight he was! We would +put him out upon the grass in the full blaze of the morning sun, and he +would spread his wings and bask in it with the most intense enjoyment. +In the nest the young must be exposed to the full power of the midday +sun during our first heated terms in June and July, the thermometer +often going up to ninety-three or ninety-five degrees, so that sunshine +seemed to be a need of his nature. He liked the rain equally well, and +when put out in a shower would sit down and take it as if every drop did +him good. + +His legs developed nearly as slowly as his wings. He could not stand +steadily upon them till about ten days before he was ready to fly. The +talons were limp and feeble. When we came with food, he would hobble +along toward us like the worst kind of a cripple, drooping and moving +his wings, and treading upon his legs from the foot back to the elbow, +the foot remaining closed and useless. Like a baby learning to stand, he +made many trials before he succeeded. He would rise up on his trembling +legs only to fall back again. + +One day, in the summer-house, I saw him for the first time stand for a +moment squarely upon his legs with the feet fully spread beneath them. +He looked about him as if the world suddenly wore a new aspect. + +His plumage now grew quite rapidly. One red squirrel a day, chopped fine +with an axe, was his ration. He began to hold his game with his foot +while he tore it. The study was full of his shed down. His dark-brown +mottled plumage began to grow beautiful. The wings drooped a little, but +gradually he got control of them, and held them in place. + +It was now the 20th of July, and the hawk was about five weeks old. In a +day or two he was walking or jumping about the grounds. He chose a +position under the edge of a Norway spruce, where he would sit for hours +dozing, or looking out upon the landscape. When we brought him game, he +would advance to meet us with wings slightly lifted, and uttering a +shrill cry. Toss him a mouse or sparrow, and he would seize it with one +foot and hop off to his cover, where he would bend above it, spread his +plumage, look this way and that, uttering all the time the most exultant +and satisfied chuckle. + +About this time he began to practice striking with his talons, as an +Indian boy might begin practicing with his bow and arrow. He would +strike at a dry leaf in the grass, or at a fallen apple, or at some +imaginary object. He was learning the use of his weapons. His wings +also,--he seemed to feel them sprouting from his shoulders. He would +lift them straight up and hold them expanded, and they would seem to +quiver with excitement. Every hour in the day he would do this. The +pressure was beginning to centre there. Then he would strike playfully +at a leaf or a bit of wood, and keep his wings lifted. + +The next step was to spring into the air and beat his wings. He seemed +now to be thinking entirely of his wings. They itched to be put to use. + +A day or two later he would leap and fly several feet. A pile of brush +ten or twelve feet below the bank was easily reached. Here he would +perch in true hawk fashion, to the bewilderment and scandal of all the +robins and catbirds in the vicinity. Here he would dart his eye in all +directions, turning his head over and glancing up into the sky. + +He was now a lovely creature, fully fledged, and as tame as a kitten. +But he was not a bit like a kitten in one respect,--he could not bear to +have you stroke or even touch his plumage. He had a horror of your hand, +as if it would hopelessly defile him. But he would perch upon it, and +allow you to carry him about. If a dog or cat appeared, he was ready to +give battle instantly. He rushed up to a little dog one day, and struck +him with his foot savagely. He was afraid of strangers, and of any +unusual object. + +The last week in July he began to fly quite freely, and it was necessary +to clip one of his wings. As the clipping embraced only the ends of his +primaries, he soon overcame the difficulty, and, by carrying his broad, +long tail more on that side, flew with considerable ease. He made +longer and longer excursions into the surrounding fields and vineyards, +and did not always return. On such occasions we would go to find him and +fetch him back. + +Late one rainy afternoon he flew away into the vineyard, and when, an +hour later, I went after him, he could not be found, and we never saw +him again. We hoped hunger would soon drive him back, but we have had no +clew to him from that day to this. + + + + +THE WINTER WREN + + +An old hemlock wood at the head waters of the Delaware is a chosen haunt +of the winter wren. His voice fills these dim aisles, as if aided by +some marvelous sounding-board. Indeed, his song is very strong for so +small a bird, and unites in a remarkable degree brilliancy and +plaintiveness. I think of a tremulous, vibrating tongue of silver. You +may know it is the song of a wren from its gushing, lyrical character; +but you must needs look sharp to see the little minstrel, especially +while in the act of singing. He is nearly the color of the ground and +the leaves; he never ascends the tall trees, but keeps low, flitting +from stump to stump and from root to root, dodging in and out of his +hiding-places, and watching all intruders with a suspicious eye. He has +a very pert, almost comical look. His tail stands more than +perpendicular: it points straight toward his head. He is the least +ostentatious singer I know of. He does not strike an attitude, and lift +up his head in preparation, and, as it were, clear his throat; but sits +there on a log and pours out his music, looking straight before him, or +even down at the ground. As a songster, he has but few superiors. I do +not hear him after the first week in July. + +The winter wren is so called because he sometimes braves our northern +winters, but it is rarely that one sees him at this season. I think I +have seen him only two or three times in winter in my life. The event of +one long walk, recently, in February, was seeing one of these birds. As +I followed a byroad, beside a little creek in the edge of a wood, my eye +caught a glimpse of a small brown bird darting under a stone bridge. I +thought to myself no bird but a wren would take refuge under so small a +bridge as that. I stepped down upon it and expected to see the bird dart +out at the upper end. As it did not appear, I scrutinized the bank of +the little run, covered with logs and brush, a few rods farther up. + +Presently I saw the wren curtsying and gesticulating beneath an old log. +As I approached he disappeared beneath some loose stones in the bank, +then came out again and took another peep at me, then fidgeted about for +a moment and disappeared again, running in and out of the holes and +recesses and beneath the rubbish like a mouse or a chipmunk. The winter +wren may always be known by these squatting, bobbing-out-and-in habits. + +As I sought a still closer view of him, he flitted stealthily a few +yards up the run and disappeared beneath a small plank bridge near a +house. + +I wondered what he could feed upon at such a time. There was a light +skim of snow upon the ground, and the weather was cold. The wren, so far +as I know, is entirely an insect-feeder, and where can he find insects +in midwinter in our climate? Probably by searching under bridges, under +brush-heaps, in holes and cavities in banks where the sun falls warm. In +such places he may find dormant spiders and flies and other hibernating +insects or their larvæ. We have a tiny, mosquito-like creature that +comes forth in March or in midwinter, as soon as the temperature is a +little above freezing. One may see them performing their fantastic +air-dances when the air is so chilly that one buttons his overcoat about +him in his walk. They are darker than the mosquito,--a sort of dark +water-color,--and are very frail to the touch. Maybe the wren knows the +hiding-place of these insects. + + + + +THE CEDAR-BIRD + + +How alert and vigilant the birds are, even when absorbed in building +their nests! In an open space in the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds +collecting moss from the top of a dead tree. Following the direction in +which they fly, I soon discover the nest placed in the fork of a small +soft maple, which stands amid a thick growth of wild cherry-trees and +young beeches. Carefully concealing myself beneath it, without any fear +that the workmen will hit me with a chip or let fall a tool, I await the +return of the busy pair. Presently I hear the well-known note, and the +female sweeps down and settles unsuspectingly into the half-finished +structure. Hardly have her wings rested before her eye has penetrated my +screen, and with a hurried movement of alarm she darts away. In a moment +the male, with a tuft of wool in his beak (for there is a sheep pasture +near), joins her, and the two reconnoitre the premises from the +surrounding bushes. With their beaks still loaded, they flit round with +a frightened look, and refuse to approach the nest till I have moved off +and lain down behind a log. Then one of them ventures to alight upon +the nest, but, still suspecting all is not right, quickly darts away +again. Then they both together come, and after much peeping and spying +about, and apparently much anxious consultation, cautiously proceed to +work. In less than half an hour it would seem that wool enough has been +brought to supply the whole family, real and prospective, with socks, if +needles and fingers could be found fine enough to knit it up. In less +than a week the female has begun to deposit her eggs,--four of them in +as many days,--white tinged with purple, with black spots on the larger +end. After two weeks of incubation the young are out. + +Excepting the American goldfinch, this bird builds later in the season +than any other, its nest, in our northern climate, seldom being +undertaken till July. As with the goldfinch, the reason is, probably, +that suitable food for the young cannot be had at an earlier period. + +I knew a pair of cedar-birds, one season, to build in an apple-tree, the +branches of which rubbed against the house. For a day or two before the +first straw was laid, I noticed the pair carefully exploring every +branch of the tree, the female taking the lead, the male following her +with an anxious note and look. It was evident that the wife was to have +her choice this time; and, like one who thoroughly knew her mind, she +was proceeding to take it. Finally the site was chosen upon a high +branch, extending over one low wing of the house. Mutual congratulations +and caresses followed, when both birds flew away in quest of +building-material. That most freely used is a sort of cotton-bearing +plant which grows in old worn-out fields. The nest is large for the size +of the bird, and very soft. It is in every respect a first-class +domicile. + +The cedar-bird is the most silent bird we have. Our neutral-tinted +birds, like him, as a rule are our finest songsters; but he has no song +or call, uttering only a fine bead-like note on taking flight. This note +is the cedar-berry rendered back in sound. When the ox-heart cherries, +which he has only recently become acquainted with, have had time to +enlarge his pipe and warm his heart, I shall expect more music from him. +But in lieu of music, what a pretty compensation are those minute, +almost artificial-like, plumes of orange and vermilion that tip the ends +of his wing quills! Nature could not give him these and a song too. + + + + +THE GOLDFINCH + + +About the most noticeable bird of August in New York and New England is +the yellowbird, or goldfinch. This is one of the last birds to nest, +seldom hatching its eggs till late in July. It seems as if a particular +kind of food were required to rear its brood, which cannot be had at an +earlier date. The seed of the common thistle is apparently its mainstay. +There is no prettier sight at this season than a troop of young +goldfinches, led by their parents, going from thistle to thistle along +the roadside and pulling the ripe heads to pieces for the seed. The +plaintive call of the young is one of the characteristic August sounds. +Their nests are frequently destroyed, or the eggs thrown from them, by +the terrific July thunder-showers. Last season a pair had a nest on the +slender branch of a maple in front of the door of the house where I was +staying. The eggs were being deposited, and the happy pair had a loving +conversation about them many times each day, when one afternoon a very +violent storm arose which made the branches of the trees stream out like +wildly disheveled hair, quite turning over those on the windward side, +and emptying the pretty nest of its eggs. In such cases the birds build +anew,--a delay that may bring the incubation into August. + +It is a deep, snug, compact nest, with no loose ends hanging, placed in +the fork of a small limb of an apple-tree, a peach-tree, or an +ornamental shade-tree. The eggs are faint bluish-white. + +While the female is sitting, the male feeds her regularly. She calls to +him on his approach, or when she hears his voice passing by, in the most +affectionate, feminine, childlike tones, the only case I know where the +sitting bird makes any sound while in the act of incubation. When a +rival male invades the tree, or approaches too near, the male whose nest +it holds pursues and reasons or expostulates with him in the same +bright, amicable, confiding tones. Indeed, most birds make use of their +sweetest notes in war. The song of love is the song of battle too. The +male yellowbirds flit about from point to point, apparently assuring +each other of the highest sentiments of esteem and consideration, at the +same time that one intimates to the other that he is carrying his joke a +little too far. It has the effect of saying with mild and good-humored +surprise, "Why, my dear sir, this is my territory; you surely do not +mean to trespass; permit me to salute you, and to escort you over the +line." Yet the intruder does not always take the hint. Occasionally the +couple have a brief sparring-match in the air, and mount up and up, beak +to beak, to a considerable height, but rarely do they actually come to +blows. + +The yellowbird becomes active and conspicuous after the other birds have +nearly all withdrawn from the stage and become silent, their broods +reared and flown. August is his month, his festive season. It is his +turn now. The thistles are ripening their seeds, and his nest is +undisturbed by jay-bird or crow. He is the first bird I hear in the +morning, circling and swinging through the air in that peculiar +undulating flight, and calling out on the downward curve of each stroke, +"Here we go, here we go!" Every hour in the day he indulges in his +circling, billowy flight. It is a part of his musical performance. His +course at such times is a deeply undulating line, like the long, gentle +roll of the summer sea, the distance from crest to crest or from valley +to valley being probably thirty feet; this distance is made with but one +brief beating of the wings on the downward curve. As he quickly opens +them, they give him a strong upward impulse, and he describes the long +arc with them closely folded. Thus, falling and recovering, rising and +sinking like dolphins in the sea, he courses through the summer air. In +marked contrast to this feat is his manner of flying when he indulges in +a brief outburst of song on the wing. Now he flies level, with broad +expanded wings nearly as round and as concave as two shells, which beat +the air slowly. The song is the chief matter now, and the wings are used +only to keep him afloat while delivering it. In the other case, the +flight is the main concern, and the voice merely punctuates it. + + * * * * * + +Among our familiar birds the matchmaking of none other is quite so +pretty as that of the goldfinch. The goldfinches stay with us in loose +flocks and clad in a dull-olive suit throughout the winter. In May the +males begin to put on their bright summer plumage. This is the result of +a kind of superficial moulting. Their feathers are not shed, but their +dusky covering or overalls are cast off. When the process is only partly +completed, the bird has a smutty, unpresentable appearance. But we +seldom see them at such times. They seem to retire from society. When +the change is complete, and the males have got their bright uniforms of +yellow and black, the courting begins. All the goldfinches of a +neighborhood collect together and hold a sort of musical festival. To +the number of many dozens they may be seen in some large tree, all +singing and calling in the most joyous and vivacious manner. The males +sing, and the females chirp and call. Whether there is actual +competition on a trial of musical abilities of the males before the +females or not, I do not know. The best of feeling seems to pervade the +company; there is no sign of quarreling or fighting; "all goes merry as +a marriage bell," and the matches seem actually to be made during these +musical picnics. Before May is passed the birds are seen in couples, and +in June housekeeping usually begins. This I call the ideal of +love-making among birds, and is in striking contrast to the squabbles +and jealousies of most of our songsters. + +I have known the goldfinches to keep up this musical and love-making +festival through three consecutive days of a cold northeast rainstorm. +Bedraggled, but ardent and happy, the birds were not to be dispersed by +wind or weather. + + + + +THE HEN-HAWK[1] + + +August is the month of the high-sailing hawks. The hen-hawk is the most +noticeable. He likes the haze and calm of these long, warm days. He is a +bird of leisure, and seems always at his ease. How beautiful and +majestic are his movements! So self-poised and easy, such an entire +absence of haste, such a magnificent amplitude of circles and spirals, +such a haughty, imperial grace, and, occasionally, such daring aerial +evolutions! + +With slow, leisurely movement, rarely vibrating his pinions, he mounts +and mounts in an ascending spiral till he appears a mere speck against +the summer sky; then, if the mood seizes him, with wings half closed, +like a bent bow, he will cleave the air almost perpendicularly, as if +intent on dashing himself to pieces against the earth; but on nearing +the ground he suddenly mounts again on broad, expanded wing, as if +rebounding upon the air, and sails leisurely away. It is the sublimest +feat of the season. One holds his breath till he sees him rise again. + +If inclined to a more gradual and less precipitous descent, he fixes +his eye on some distant point in the earth beneath him, and thither +bends his course. He is still almost meteoric in his speed and boldness. +You see his path down the heavens, straight as a line; if near, you hear +the rush of his wings; his shadow hurtles across the fields, and in an +instant you see him quietly perched upon some low tree or decayed stub +in a swamp or meadow, with reminiscences of frogs and mice stirring in +his maw. + +When the south wind blows, it is a study to see three or four of these +air-kings at the head of the valley far up toward the mountain, +balancing and oscillating upon the strong current; now quite stationary, +except for a slight tremulous motion like the poise of a rope-dancer, +then rising and falling in long undulations, and seeming to resign +themselves passively to the wind; or, again, sailing high and level far +above the mountain's peak, no bluster and haste, but, as stated, +occasionally a terrible earnestness and speed. Fire at one as he sails +overhead, and, unless wounded badly, he will not change his course or +gait. + +The calmness and dignity of this hawk, when attacked by crows or the +kingbird, are well worthy of him. He seldom deigns to notice his noisy +and furious antagonists, but deliberately wheels about in that aerial +spiral, and mounts and mounts till his pursuers grow dizzy and return to +earth again. It is quite original, this mode of getting rid of an +unworthy opponent,--rising to heights where the braggart is dazed and +bewildered and loses his reckoning! I am not sure but it is worthy of +imitation. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks are both called hen-hawks. + + + + +THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE + + +Whir! whir! whir! and a brood of half-grown partridges start up like an +explosion, a few paces from me, and, scattering, disappear into the +bushes on all sides. Let me sit down here behind the screen of ferns and +briers, and hear this wild hen of the woods call together her brood. At +what an early age the partridge flies! Nature seems to concentrate her +energies on the wing, making the safety of the bird a point to be looked +after first; and while the body is covered with down, and no signs of +feathers are visible there, the wing-quills sprout and unfold, and in an +incredibly short time the young make fair headway in flying. + +Hark! there arises over there in the brush a soft, persuasive cooing, a +sound so subtle and wild and unobtrusive that it requires the most alert +and watchful ear to hear it. How gentle and solicitous and full of +yearning love! It is the voice of the mother hen. Presently a faint +timid "Yeap!" which almost eludes the ear, is heard in various +directions,--the young responding. As no danger seems near, the cooing +of the parent bird is soon a very audible clucking call, and the young +move cautiously in that direction. Let me step never so carefully from +my hiding-place, and all sounds instantly cease, and I search in vain +for either parent or young. + +The partridge is one of our native and most characteristic birds. The +woods seem good to be in where I find him. He gives a habitable air to +the forest, and one feels as if the rightful occupant were really at +home. The woods where I do not find him seem to want something, as if +suffering from some neglect of Nature. And then he is such a splendid +success, so hardy and vigorous. I think he enjoys the cold and the snow. +His wings seem to rustle with more fervency in midwinter. If the snow +falls very fast, and promises a heavy storm, he will complacently sit +down and allow himself to be snowed under. When you approach him at such +times, he suddenly bursts out of the snow at your feet, scattering the +flakes in all directions, and goes humming away through the woods like a +bomb-shell,--a picture of native spirit and success. + +His drum is one of the most welcome and beautiful sounds of spring. +Scarcely have the trees expanded their buds, when, in the still April +mornings, or toward nightfall, you hear the hum of his devoted wings. He +selects, not, as you would predict, a dry and resinous log, but a +decayed and crumbling one, seeming to give the preference to old +oak-logs that are partly blended with the soil. If a log to his taste +cannot be found, he sets up his altar on a rock, which becomes resonant +beneath his fervent blows. Who has seen the partridge drum? It is the +next thing to catching a weasel asleep, though by much caution and tact +it may be done. He does not hug the log, but stands very erect, expands +his ruff, gives two introductory blows, pauses half a second, and then +resumes, striking faster and faster till the sound becomes a continuous, +unbroken whir, the whole lasting less than half a minute. The tips of +his wings barely brush the log, so that the sound is produced rather by +the force of the blows upon the air and upon his own body as in flying. +One log will be used for many years, though not by the same drummer. It +seems to be a sort of temple and held in great respect. The bird always +approaches on foot, and leaves it in the same quiet manner, unless +rudely disturbed. He is very cunning, though his wit is not profound. It +is difficult to approach him by stealth; you will try many times before +succeeding; but seem to pass by him in a great hurry, making all the +noise possible, and with plumage furled he stands as immovable as a +knot, allowing you a good view. + +The sharp-rayed track of the partridge adds another figure to the +fantastic embroidery upon the winter snow. Her course is a clear, strong +line, sometimes quite wayward, but generally very direct, steering for +the densest, most impenetrable places,--leading you over logs and +through brush, alert and expectant, till, suddenly, she bursts up a few +yards from you, and goes humming through the trees,--the complete +triumph of endurance and vigor. Hardy native bird, may your tracks never +be fewer, or your visits to the birch-tree less frequent! + + +THE PARTRIDGE + + List the booming from afar, + Soft as hum of roving bee, + Vague as when on distant bar + Fall the cataracts of the sea. + + Yet again, a sound astray, + Was it the humming of the mill? + Was it cannon leagues away? + Or dynamite beyond the hill? + + 'T is the grouse with kindled soul, + Wistful of his mate and nest, + Sounding forth his vernal roll + On his love-enkindled breast. + + List his fervid morning drum, + List his summons soft and deep, + Calling Spice-bush till she come, + Waking Bloodroot from her sleep. + + Ah! ruffled drummer, let thy wing + Beat a march the days will heed, + Wake and spur the tardy spring, + Till minstrel voices jocund ring, + And spring is spring in very deed. + + + + +THE CROW + + +The crow may not have the sweet voice which the fox in his flattery +attributed to him, but he has a good, strong, native speech +nevertheless. How much character there is in it! How much thrift and +independence! Of course his plumage is firm, his color decided, his wit +quick. He understands you at once and tells you so; so does the hawk by +his scornful, defiant _whir-r-r-r-r_. Hardy, happy outlaws, the crows, +how I love them! Alert, social, republican, always able to look out for +himself, not afraid of the cold and the snow, fishing when flesh is +scarce, and stealing when other resources fail, the crow is a character +I would not willingly miss from the landscape. I love to see his track +in the snow or the mud, and his graceful pedestrianism about the brown +fields. + +He is no interloper, but has the air and manner of being thoroughly at +home, and in rightful possession of the land. He is no sentimentalist +like some of the plaining, disconsolate song-birds, but apparently is +always in good health and good spirits. No matter who is sick, or +dejected, or unsatisfied, or what the weather is, or what the price of +corn, the crow is well and finds life sweet. He is the dusky embodiment +of worldly wisdom and prudence. Then he is one of Nature's +self-appointed constables and greatly magnifies his office. He would +fain arrest every hawk or owl or grimalkin that ventures abroad. I have +known a posse of them to beset the fox and cry "Thief!" till Reynard hid +himself for shame. Do I say the fox flattered the crow when he told him +he had a sweet voice? Yet one of the most musical sounds in nature +proceeds from the crow. All the crow tribe, from the blue jay up, are +capable of certain low ventriloquial notes that have peculiar cadence +and charm. I often hear the crow indulging in his in winter, and am +reminded of the sound of the dulcimer. The bird stretches up and exerts +himself like a cock in the act of crowing, and gives forth a peculiarly +clear, vitreous sound that is sure to arrest and reward your attention. +This is, no doubt, the song the fox begged to be favored with, as in +delivering it the crow must inevitably let drop the piece of meat. + +The crow has fine manners. He always has the walk and air of a lord of +the soil. One morning I put out some fresh meat upon the snow near my +study window. Presently a crow came and carried it off, and alighted +with it upon the ground in the vineyard. While he was eating it, +another crow came, and, alighting a few yards away, slowly walked up to +within a few feet of this fellow and stopped. I expected to see a +struggle over the food, as would have been the case with domestic fowls +or animals. Nothing of the kind. The feeding crow stopped eating, +regarded the other for a moment, made a gesture or two, and flew away. +Then the second crow went up to the food, and proceeded to take his +share. Presently the first crow came back, when each seized a portion of +the food and flew away with it. Their mutual respect and good-will +seemed perfect. Whether it really was so in our human sense, or whether +it was simply an illustration of the instinct of mutual support which +seems to prevail among gregarious birds, I know not. Birds that are +solitary in their habits, like hawks or woodpeckers, behave quite +differently toward each other in the presence of their food. + +The crow will quickly discover anything that looks like a trap or snare +set to catch him, but it takes him a long time to see through the +simplest contrivance. As I have above stated, I sometimes place meat on +the snow in front of my study window to attract him. On one occasion, +after a couple of crows had come to expect something there daily, I +suspended a piece of meat by a string from a branch of the tree just +over the spot where I usually placed the food. A crow soon discovered +it, and came into the tree to see what it meant. His suspicions were +aroused. There was some design in that suspended meat, evidently. It was +a trap to catch him. He surveyed it from every near branch. He peeked +and pried, and was bent on penetrating the mystery. He flew to the +ground, and walked about and surveyed it from all sides. Then he took a +long walk down about the vineyard as if in hope of hitting upon some +clew. Then he came to the tree again, and tried first one eye, then the +other, upon it; then to the ground beneath; then he went away and came +back; then his fellow came, and they both squinted and investigated, and +then disappeared. Chickadees and woodpeckers would alight upon the meat +and peck it swinging in the wind, but the crows were fearful. Does this +show reflection? Perhaps it does, but I look upon it rather as that +instinct of fear and cunning so characteristic of the crow. Two days +passed thus: every morning the crows came and surveyed the suspended +meat from all points in the tree, and then went away. The third day I +placed a large bone on the snow beneath the suspended morsel. Presently +one of the crows appeared in the tree, and bent his eye upon the +tempting bone. "The mystery deepens," he seemed to say to himself. But +after half an hour's investigation, and after approaching several times +within a few feet of the food upon the ground, he seemed to conclude +there was no connection between it and the piece hanging by the string. +So he finally walked up to it and fell to pecking it, flickering his +wings all the time, as a sign of his watchfulness. He also turned up his +eye, momentarily, to the piece in the air above, as if it might be some +disguised sword of Damocles ready to fall upon him. Soon his mate came +and alighted on a low branch of the tree. The feeding crow regarded him +a moment, and then flew up to his side, as if to give him a turn at the +meat. But he refused to run the risk. He evidently looked upon the whole +thing as a delusion and a snare, and presently went away, and his mate +followed him. Then I placed the bone in one of the main forks of the +tree, but the crows kept at a safe distance from it. Then I put it back +to the ground, but they grew more and more suspicious; some evil intent +in it all, they thought. Finally a dog carried off the bone, and the +crows ceased to visit the tree. + + * * * * * + +From my boyhood I have seen the yearly meeting of the crows in September +or October, on a high grassy hill or a wooded ridge. Apparently, all +the crows from a large area assemble at these times; you may see them +coming, singly or in loose bands, from all directions to the rendezvous, +till there are hundreds of them together. They make black an acre or two +of ground. At intervals they all rise in the air, and wheel about, all +cawing at once. Then to the ground again, or to the tree-tops, as the +case may be; then, rising again, they send forth the voice of the +multitude. What does it all mean? I notice that this rally is always +preliminary to their going into winter quarters. It would be interesting +to know just the nature of the communication that takes place between +them. + + +THE CROW + + +I + + My friend and neighbor through the year, + Self-appointed overseer + + Of my crops of fruit and grain, + Of my woods and furrowed plain, + + Claim thy tithings right and left, + I shall never call it theft. + + Nature wisely made the law, + And I fail to find a flaw + + In thy title to the earth, + And all it holds of any worth. + + I like thy self-complacent air, + I like thy ways so free from care, + + Thy landlord stroll about my fields, + Quickly noting what each yields; + + Thy courtly mien and bearing bold, + As if thy claim were bought with gold; + + Thy floating shape against the sky, + When days are calm and clouds are high; + + Thy thrifty flight ere rise of sun, + Thy homing clans when day is done. + + Hues protective are not thine, + So sleek thy coat each quill doth shine. + + Diamond black to end of toe, + Thy counterpoint the crystal snow. + + +II + + Never plaintive nor appealing, + Quite at home when thou art stealing, + + Always groomed to tip of feather, + Calm and trim in every weather, + + Morn till night my woods policing, + Every sound thy watch increasing. + + Hawk and owl in tree-top hiding + Feel the shame of thy deriding. + + Naught escapes thy observation, + None but dread thy accusation. + + +III + + Hunters, prowlers, woodland lovers + Vainly seek the leafy covers. + + Noisy, scheming, and predacious, + With demeanor almost gracious, + + Dowered with leisure, void of hurry, + Void of fuss and void of worry, + + Friendly bandit, Robin Hood, + Judge and jury of the wood, + + Or Captain Kidd of sable quill, + Hiding treasures in the hill, + + Nature made thee for each season, + Gave thee wit for ample reason, + + Good crow wit that's always burnished + Like the coat her care has furnished. + + May thy numbers ne'er diminish! + I'll befriend thee till life's finish. + + May I never cease to meet thee! + May I never have to eat thee! + + And mayest thou never have to fare so + That thou playest the part of scarecrow! + + + + +THE NORTHERN SHRIKE + + +Usually the character of a bird of prey is well defined; there is no +mistaking him. His claws, his beak, his head, his wings, in fact his +whole build, point to the fact that he subsists upon live creatures; he +is armed to catch them and to slay them. Every bird knows a hawk and +knows him from the start, and is on the lookout for him. The hawk takes +life, but he does it to maintain his own, and it is a public and +universally known fact. Nature has sent him abroad in that character, +and has advised all creatures of it. Not so with the shrike; here she +has concealed the character of a murderer under a form as innocent as +that of the robin. Feet, wings, tail, color, head, and general form and +size are all those of a song-bird,--very much like that master songster, +the mockingbird,--yet this bird is a regular Bluebeard among its kind. +Its only characteristic feature is its beak, the upper mandible having +two sharp processes and a sharp hooked point. It usually impales its +victim upon a thorn, or thrusts it in the fork of a limb. For the most +part, however, its food seems to consist of insects,--spiders, +grasshoppers, beetles, etc. It is the assassin of the small birds, whom +it often destroys in pure wantonness, or merely to sup on their brains, +as the Gaucho slaughters a wild cow or bull for its tongue. It is a wolf +in sheep's clothing. Apparently its victims are unacquainted with its +true character and allow it to approach them, when the fatal blow is +given. I saw an illustration of this the other day. A large number of +goldfinches in their fall plumage, together with snowbirds and sparrows, +were feeding and chattering in some low bushes back of the barn. I had +paused by the fence and was peeping through at them, hoping to get a +glimpse of that rare sparrow, the white-crowned. Presently I heard a +rustling among the dry leaves as if some larger bird were also among +them. Then I heard one of the goldfinches cry out as if in distress, +when the whole flock of them started up in alarm, and, circling around, +settled in the tops of the larger trees. I continued my scrutiny of the +bushes, when I saw a large bird, with some object in its beak, hopping +along on a low branch near the ground. It disappeared from my sight for +a few moments, then came up through the undergrowth into the top of a +young maple where some of the finches had alighted, and I beheld the +shrike. The little birds avoided him and flew about the tree, their +pursuer following them with the motions of his head and body as if he +would fain arrest them by his murderous gaze. The birds did not utter +the cry or make the demonstration of alarm they usually do on the +appearance of a hawk, but chirruped and called and flew about in a half +wondering, half bewildered manner. As they flew farther along the line +of trees the shrike followed them as if bent on further captures. I then +made my way around to see what the shrike had caught, and what he had +done with his prey. As I approached the bushes I saw the shrike +hastening back. I read his intentions at once. Seeing my movements, he +had returned for his game. But I was too quick for him, and he got up +out of the brush and flew away from the locality. On some twigs in the +thickest part of the bushes I found his victim,--a goldfinch. It was not +impaled upon a thorn, but was carefully disposed upon some horizontal +twigs,--laid upon the shelf, so to speak. It was as warm as in life, and +its plumage was unruffled. On examining it I found a large bruise or +break in the skin on the back of the neck, at the base of the skull. +Here the bandit had no doubt gripped the bird with his strong beak. The +shrike's bloodthirstiness was seen in the fact that he did not stop to +devour his prey, but went in quest of more, as if opening a market of +goldfinches. The thicket was his shambles, and if not interrupted, he +might have had a fine display of titbits in a short time. + +The shrike is called a butcher from his habit of sticking his meat upon +hooks and points; further than that, he is a butcher because he devours +but a trifle of what he slays. + + + + +THE SCREECH OWL + + +At one point in the grayest, most shaggy part of the woods, I come +suddenly upon a brood of screech owls, full grown, sitting together upon +a dry, moss-draped limb, but a few feet from the ground. I pause within +four or five yards of them and am looking about me, when my eye lights +upon these gray, motionless figures. They sit perfectly upright, some +with their backs and some with their breasts toward me, but every head +turned squarely in my direction. Their eyes are closed to a mere black +line; through this crack they are watching me, evidently thinking +themselves unobserved. The spectacle is weird and grotesque, and +suggests something impish and uncanny. It is a new effect, the night +side of the woods by daylight. After observing them a moment I take a +single step toward them, when, quick as thought, their eyes fly wide +open, their attitude is changed, they bend, some this way, some that, +and, instinct with life and motion, stare wildly around them. Another +step, and they all take flight but one, which stoops low on the branch, +and with the look of a frightened cat regards me for a few seconds over +its shoulder. They fly swiftly and softly, and disperse through the +trees. + + * * * * * + +A winter neighbor of mine, in whom I am interested, and who perhaps +lends me his support after his kind, is a little red owl, whose retreat +is in the heart of an old apple-tree just over the fence. Where he keeps +himself in spring and summer, I do not know, but late every fall, and at +intervals all winter, his hiding-place is discovered by the jays and +nuthatches, and proclaimed from the tree-tops for the space of half an +hour or so, with all the powers of voice they can command. Four times +during one winter they called me out to behold this little ogre feigning +sleep in his den, sometimes in one apple-tree, sometimes in another. +Whenever I heard their cries, I knew my neighbor was being berated. The +birds would take turns at looking in upon him, and uttering their +alarm-notes. Every jay within hearing would come to the spot, and at +once approach the hole in the trunk or limb, and with a kind of +breathless eagerness and excitement take a peep at the owl, and then +join the outcry. When I approached they would hastily take a final look, +and then withdraw and regard my movements intently. After accustoming my +eye to the faint light of the cavity for a few moments, I could usually +make out the owl at the bottom feigning sleep. Feigning, I say, because +this is what he really did, as I first discovered one day when I cut +into his retreat with the axe. The loud blows and the falling chips did +not disturb him at all. When I reached in a stick and pulled him over on +his side, leaving one of his wings spread out, he made no attempt to +recover himself, but lay among the chips and fragments of decayed wood, +like a part of themselves. Indeed, it took a sharp eye to distinguish +him. Not till I had pulled him forth by one wing, rather rudely, did he +abandon his trick of simulated sleep or death. Then, like a detected +pickpocket, he was suddenly transformed into another creature. His eyes +flew wide open, his talons clutched my finger, his ears were depressed, +and every motion and look said, "Hands off, at your peril." Finding this +game did not work, he soon began to "play possum" again. I put a cover +over my study wood-box and kept him captive for a week. Look in upon him +at any time, night or day, and he was apparently wrapped in the +profoundest slumber; but the live mice which I put into his box from +time to time found his sleep was easily broken; there would be a sudden +rustle in the box, a faint squeak, and then silence. After a week of +captivity I gave him his freedom in the full sunshine; no trouble for +him to see which way and where to go. + +Just at dusk in the winter nights, I often hear his soft _bur-r-r-r_, +very pleasing and bell-like. What a furtive, woody sound it is in the +winter stillness, so unlike the harsh scream of the hawk! But all the +ways of the owl are ways of softness and duskiness. His wings are shod +with silence, his plumage is edged with down. + +Another owl neighbor of mine, with whom I pass the time of day more +frequently than with the last, lives farther away. I pass his castle +every night on my way to the post-office, and in winter, if the hour is +late enough, am pretty sure to see him standing in his doorway, +surveying the passers-by and the landscape through narrow slits in his +eyes. For four successive winters now have I observed him. As the +twilight begins to deepen, he rises up out of his cavity in the +apple-tree, scarcely faster than the moon rises from behind the hill, +and sits in the opening, completely framed by its outlines of gray bark +and dead wood, and by his protective coloring virtually invisible to +every eye that does not know he is there. Probably my own is the only +eye that has ever penetrated his secret, and mine never would have done +so had I not chanced on one occasion to see him leave his retreat and +make a raid upon a shrike that was impaling a shrew-mouse upon a thorn +in a neighboring tree, and which I was watching. I was first advised of +the owl's presence by seeing him approaching swiftly on silent, level +wing. The shrike did not see him till the owl was almost within the +branches. He then dropped his game, and darted back into the thick +cover, uttering a loud, discordant squawk, as one would say, "Scat! +scat! scat!" The owl alighted, and was, perhaps, looking about him for +the shrike's impaled game, when I drew near. On seeing me, he reversed +his movement precipitately, flew straight back to the old tree, and +alighted in the entrance to the cavity. As I approached, he did not so +much seem to move as to diminish in size, like an object dwindling in +the distance; he depressed his plumage, and, with his eye fixed upon me, +began slowly to back and sidle into his retreat till he faded from my +sight. The shrike wiped his beak upon the branches, cast an eye down at +me and at his lost mouse, and then flew away. + +A few nights afterward, as I passed that way, I saw the little owl again +sitting in his doorway, waiting for the twilight to deepen, and +undisturbed by the passers-by; but when I paused to observe him, he saw +that he was discovered, and he slunk back into his den as on the former +occasion. Ever since, while going that way, I have been on the lookout +for him. Dozens of teams and foot-passengers pass him late in the day, +but he regards them not, nor they him. When I come along and pause to +salute him, he opens his eyes a little wider, and, appearing to +recognize me, quickly shrinks and fades into the background of his door +in a very weird and curious manner. When he is not at his outlook, or +when he is, it requires the best powers of the eye to decide the point, +as the empty cavity itself is almost an exact image of him. If the whole +thing had been carefully studied, it could not have answered its purpose +better. The owl stands quite perpendicular, presenting a front of light +mottled gray; the eyes are closed to a mere slit, the ear-feathers +depressed, the beak buried in the plumage, and the whole attitude is one +of silent, motionless waiting and observation. If a mouse should be seen +crossing the highway, or scudding over any exposed part of the snowy +surface in the twilight, the owl would doubtless swoop down upon it. I +think the owl has learned to distinguish me from the rest of the +passers-by; at least, when I stop before him, and he sees himself +observed, he backs down into his den, as I have said, in a very amusing +manner. + + + + +THE CHICKADEE + + +The chickadees we have always with us. They are like the evergreens +among trees and plants. Winter has no terrors for them. They are +properly wood-birds, but the groves and orchards know them also. Did +they come near my cabin for better protection, or did they chance to +find a little cavity in a tree there that suited them? Branch-builders +and ground-builders are easily accommodated, but the chickadee must find +a cavity, and a small one at that. The woodpeckers make a cavity when a +suitable trunk or branch is found, but the chickadee, with its small, +sharp beak, rarely does so; it usually smooths and deepens one already +formed. This a pair did a few yards from my cabin. The opening was into +the heart of a little sassafras, about four feet from the ground. Day +after day the birds took turns in deepening and enlarging the cavity: a +soft, gentle hammering for a few moments in the heart of the little +tree, and then the appearance of the worker at the opening, with the +chips in his, or her, beak. They changed off every little while, one +working while the other gathered food. Absolute equality of the sexes, +both in plumage and in duties, seems to prevail among these birds, as +among a few other species. During the preparations for housekeeping the +birds were hourly seen and heard, but as soon as the first egg was laid, +all this was changed. They suddenly became very shy and quiet. Had it +not been for the new egg that was added each day, one would have +concluded that they had abandoned the place. There was a precious secret +now that must be well kept. After incubation began, it was only by +watching that I could get a glimpse of one of the birds as it came +quickly to feed or to relieve the other. + +One day a lot of Vassar girls came to visit me, and I led them out to +the little sassafras to see the chickadee's nest. The sitting bird kept +her place as head after head, with its nodding plumes and millinery, +appeared above the opening to her chamber, and a pair of inquisitive +eyes peered down upon her. But I saw that she was getting ready to play +her little trick to frighten them away. Presently I heard a faint +explosion at the bottom of the cavity, when the peeping girl jerked her +head quickly back, with the exclamation, "Why, it spit at me!" The trick +of the bird on such occasions is apparently to draw in its breath till +its form perceptibly swells, and then give forth a quick, explosive +sound like an escaping jet of steam. One involuntarily closes his eyes +and jerks back his head. The girls, to their great amusement, provoked +the bird into this pretty outburst of her impatience two or three times. +But as the ruse failed of its effect, the bird did not keep it up, but +let the laughing faces gaze till they were satisfied. + +I was much interested in seeing a brood of chickadees, reared on my +premises, venture upon their first flight. Their heads had been seen at +the door of their dwelling--a cavity in the limb of a pear-tree--at +intervals for two or three days. Evidently they liked the looks of the +great outside world; and one evening, just before sundown, one of them +came forth. His first flight was of several yards, to a locust, where he +alighted upon an inner branch, and after some chirping and calling +proceeded to arrange his plumage and compose himself for the night. I +watched him till it was nearly dark. He did not appear at all afraid +there alone in the tree, but put his head under his wing and settled +down for the night as if it were just what he had always been doing. +There was a heavy shower a few hours later, but in the morning he was +there upon his perch in good spirits. + +I happened to be passing in the morning when another one came out. He +hopped out upon a limb, shook himself, and chirped and called loudly. +After some moments an idea seemed to strike him. His attitude changed, +his form straightened up, and a thrill of excitement seemed to run +through him. I knew what it all meant; something had whispered to the +bird, "Fly!" With a spring and a cry he was in the air, and made good +headway to a near hemlock. Others left in a similar manner during that +day and the next, till all were out. + + + + +THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + +The bird that seems to consider he has the best right to my hospitality +is the downy woodpecker, my favorite neighbor among the winter birds. +His retreat is but a few paces from my own, in the decayed limb of an +apple-tree, which he excavated several autumns ago. I say "he" because +the red plume on the top of his head proclaims the sex. It seems not to +be generally known to our writers upon ornithology that certain of our +woodpeckers--probably all the winter residents--each fall excavate a +limb or the trunk of a tree in which to pass the winter, and that the +cavity is abandoned in the spring, probably for a new one in which +nidification takes place. + +The particular woodpecker to which I refer drilled his first hole in my +apple-tree one fall four or five years ago. This he occupied till the +following spring, when he abandoned it. The next fall he began a hole in +an adjoining limb, later than before, and when it was about half +completed a female took possession of his old quarters. I am sorry to +say that this seemed to enrage the male very much, and he persecuted the +poor bird whenever she appeared upon the scene. He would fly at her +spitefully and drive her off. One chilly November morning, as I passed +under the tree, I heard the hammer of the little architect in his +cavity, and at the same time saw the persecuted female sitting at the +entrance of the other hole as if she would fain come out. She was +actually shivering, probably from both fear and cold. I understood the +situation at a glance; the bird was afraid to come forth and brave the +anger of the male. Not till I had rapped smartly upon the limb with my +stick did she come out and attempt to escape; but she had not gone ten +feet from the tree before the male was in hot pursuit, and in a few +moments had driven her back to the same tree, where she tried to avoid +him among the branches. There is probably no gallantry among the birds +except at the mating season. I have frequently seen the male woodpecker +drive the female away from the bone upon the tree. When she hopped +around to the other end and timidly nibbled it, he would presently dart +spitefully at her. She would then take up her position in his rear and +wait till he had finished his meal. The position of the female among the +birds is very much the same as that of women among savage tribes. Most +of the drudgery of life falls upon her, and the leavings of the males +are often her lot. + +[Illustration: DOWNY WOODPECKER] + +My bird is a genuine little savage, doubtless, but I value him as a +neighbor. It is a satisfaction during the cold or stormy winter nights +to know he is warm and cozy there in his retreat. When the day is bad +and unfit to be abroad in, he is there too. When I wish to know if he is +at home, I go and rap upon his tree, and, if he is not too lazy or +indifferent, after some delay he shows his head in his round doorway +about ten feet above, and looks down inquiringly upon me--sometimes +latterly I think half resentfully, as much as to say, "I would thank you +not to disturb me so often." After sundown, he will not put his head out +any more when I call, but as I step away I can get a glimpse of him +inside looking cold and reserved. He is a late riser, especially if it +is a cold or disagreeable morning, in this respect being like the barn +fowls; it is sometimes near nine o'clock before I see him leave his +tree. On the other hand, he comes home early, being in, if the day is +unpleasant, by four P.M. He lives all alone; in this respect I do not +commend his example. Where his mate is, I should like to know. + +I have discovered several other woodpeckers in adjoining orchards, each +of which has a like home, and leads a like solitary life. One of them +has excavated a dry limb within easy reach of my hand, doing the work +also in September. But the choice of tree was not a good one; the limb +was too much decayed, and the workman had made the cavity too large; a +chip had come out, making a hole in the outer wall. Then he went a few +inches down the limb and began again, and excavated a large, commodious +chamber, but had again come too near the surface; scarcely more than the +bark protected him in one place, and the limb was very much weakened. +Then he made another attempt still farther down the limb, and drilled in +an inch or two, but seemed to change his mind; the work stopped, and I +concluded the bird had wisely abandoned the tree. Passing there one +cold, rainy November day, I thrust in my two fingers and was surprised +to feel something soft and warm: as I drew away my hand the bird came +out, apparently no more surprised than I was. It had decided, then, to +make its home in the old limb; a decision it had occasion to regret, for +not long after, on a stormy night, the branch gave way and fell to the +ground:-- + + "When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, + And down will come baby and cradle and all." + +Another trait our woodpeckers have that endears them to me is their +habit of drumming in the spring. They are songless birds, and yet all +are musicians; they make the dry limbs eloquent of the coming change. +Did you think that loud, sonorous hammering which proceeded from the +orchard or from the near woods on that still March or April morning was +only some bird getting its breakfast? It is Downy, but he is not rapping +at the door of a grub; he is rapping at the door of spring, and the dry +limb thrills beneath the ardor of his blows. + +A few seasons ago, a downy woodpecker, probably the individual one who +is now my winter neighbor, began to drum early in March in a partly +decayed apple-tree that stands in the edge of a narrow strip of woodland +near me. When the morning was still and mild I would often hear him +through my window before I was up, or by half-past six o'clock, and he +would keep it up pretty briskly till nine or ten o'clock, in this +respect resembling the grouse, which do most of their drumming in the +forenoon. His drum was the stub of a dry limb about the size of one's +wrist. The heart was decayed and gone, but the outer shell was hard and +resonant. The bird would keep his position there for an hour at a time. +Between his drummings he would preen his plumage and listen as if for +the response of the female, or for the drum of some rival. How swiftly +his head would go when he was delivering his blows upon the limb! His +beak wore the surface perceptibly. When he wished to change the key, +which was quite often, he would shift his position an inch or two to a +knot which gave out a higher, shriller note. When I climbed up to +examine his drum, he was much disturbed. I did not know he was in the +vicinity, but it seems he saw me from a near tree, and came in haste to +the neighboring branches, and with spread plumage and a sharp note +demanded plainly enough what my business was with his drum. I was +invading his privacy, desecrating his shrine, and the bird was much put +out. After some weeks the female appeared; he had literally drummed up a +mate; his urgent and oft-repeated advertisement was answered. Still the +drumming did not cease, but was quite as fervent as before. If a mate +could be won by drumming, she could be kept and entertained by more +drumming; courtship should not end with marriage. If the bird felt +musical before, of course he felt much more so now. Besides that, the +gentle deities needed propitiating in behalf of the nest and young as +well as in behalf of the mate. After a time a second female came, when +there was war between the two. I did not see them come to blows, but I +saw one female pursuing the other about the place, and giving her no +rest for several days. She was evidently trying to run her out of the +neighborhood. Now and then, she, too, would drum briefly, as if sending +a triumphant message to her mate. + +The woodpeckers do not each have a particular dry limb to which they +resort at all times to drum, like the one I have described. The woods +are full of suitable branches, and they drum more or less here and there +as they are in quest of food; yet I am convinced each one has its +favorite spot, like the grouse, to which it resorts especially in the +morning. The sugar-maker in the maple woods may notice that this sound +proceeds from the same tree or trees about his camp with great +regularity. A woodpecker in my vicinity has drummed for two seasons on a +telegraph-pole, and he makes the wires and glass insulators ring. +Another drums on a thin board on the end of a long grape-arbor, and on +still mornings can be heard a long distance. + + * * * * * + +I watch these woodpeckers daily to see if I can solve the mystery as to +how they hop up and down the trunks and branches without falling away +from them when they let go their hold. They come down a limb or trunk +backward by a series of little hops, moving both feet together. If the +limb is at an angle to the tree and they are on the under side of it, +they do not fall away from it to get a new hold an inch or half-inch +farther down. They are held to it as steel to a magnet. Both tail and +head are involved in the feat. At the instant of making the hop the head +is thrown in and the tail thrown out, but the exact mechanics of it I +cannot penetrate. Philosophers do not yet know how a backward-falling +cat turns in the air, but turn she does. It may be that the woodpecker +never quite relaxes his hold, though to my eye he appears to do so. + + +THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + Downy came and dwelt with me, + Taught me hermit lore; + Drilled his cell in oaken tree + Near my cabin door. + + Architect of his own home + In the forest dim, + Carving its inverted dome + In a dozy limb. + + Carved it deep and shaped it true + With his little bill; + Took no thought about the view, + Whether dale or hill. + + Shook the chips upon the ground, + Careless who might see. + Hark! his hatchet's muffled sound + Hewing in the tree. + + Round his door as compass-mark, + True and smooth his wall; + Just a shadow on the bark + Points you to his hall. + + Downy leads a hermit life + All the winter through; + Free his days from jar and strife, + And his cares are few. + + Waking up the frozen woods, + Shaking down the snows; + Many trees of many moods + Echo to his blows. + + When the storms of winter rage, + Be it night or day, + Then I know my little page + Sleeps the time away. + + Downy's stores are in the trees, + Egg and ant and grub; + Juicy tidbits, rich as cheese, + Hid in stump and stub. + + Rat-tat-tat his chisel goes, + Cutting out his prey; + Every boring insect knows + When he comes its way. + + Always rapping at their doors, + Never welcome he; + All his kind, they vote, are bores, + Whom they dread to see. + + Why does Downy live alone + In his snug retreat? + Has he found that near the bone + Is the sweetest meat? + + Birdie craved another fate + When the spring had come; + Advertised him for a mate + On his dry-limb drum. + + Drummed her up and drew her near, + In the April morn, + Till she owned him for her dear + In his state forlorn. + + Now he shirks all family cares, + This I must confess; + Quite absorbed in self affairs + In the season's stress. + + We are neighbors well agreed + Of a common lot; + Peace and love our only creed + In this charmèd spot. + + + + +INDEX + + + Blackbird, cow. See Cowbird. + + Bluebird, arrival in spring, 1; + nest-building, 1, 2; + young and cicada, 2, 3; + a bewildered pair, 3-7; + love and rivalry, 7-12; + war with house wrens, 47-52. + + _Bluebird, The_, poem, 13. + + Bobolink, courtship, 77, 78; + concealment of nest, 78-81. + + _Bobolink, The_, poem, 82. + + Bob-white. See Quail. + + Butcher-bird. See Shrike, northern. + + + Catbird, song of, 72, 73; + and black snake, 73-76; + a coquette, 83. + + Cedar-bird, nest-building, 122, 123; + notes of, 124. + + Chewink, markings of, 39; + Thomas Jefferson writes to Alexander Wilson about, 39-41; + inhospitality of, 83. + + Chickadee, nesting of, 157-160. + + Chippy. See Sparrow, chipping. + + _Coming of Ph[oe]be, The_, poem, 31. + + Cowbird, notes of, 33; + parasitic habits of, 33-35. + + Crow, character of, 138, 139; + manners of, 139, 140; + wariness of, 140-142; + yearly meeting, 142, 143. + + _Crow, The_, poem, 144. + + + _Downy Woodpecker, The_, poem, 169. + + + Flicker, call of, 21; + courtship, 22, 25, 26; + not satisfied with being a woodpecker, 22, 23; + excavating a nest, 23; + young, 23-25; + drumming, 26, 27. + + + Goldfinch, nesting, 125, 126; + notes of, 126-128; + flight of, 127, 128; + musical festivals, 128, 129. + + Grouse, ruffed, 133-136. + + + Hawk, marsh, habits of, 106; + nest of, 106-108; + young, 111, 112; + a pet young one, 112-117. + + Hawk, red-shouldered. See Hen-hawk. + + Hawk, red-tailed. See Hen-hawk. + + Hen-hawk, flight of, 130-132. + + High-hole. See Flicker. + + + Jefferson, Thomas, 39, 40. + + + Oriole, Baltimore, nests of, 91-94. + + Oven-bird, walk of, 69; + the two songs of, 69, 70; + nest of, 70, 71. + + Owl, screech, a brood, 151, 152; + two owl neighbors, 152-156; + a captive, 153; + note of, 154; + disappearing in his hole, 154-156. + + + Partridge, 133-136. + + _Partridge, The_, poem, 137. + + Ph[oe]be, arrival in spring, 28; + nests of, 29, 30. + + _Ph[oe]be, The Coming of_, poem, 31. + + + Quail, on nest, 109-111. + + + Robin, arrival in spring, 15; + a graceful warrior, 16; + the "robin racket," 16, 17; + nest and young, 18, 19; + boring for grubs, 19, 20. + + + Shrike, northern, 147-150; + raided by a screech owl, 155. + + Snake, black, and song sparrows, 55, 56; + and catbirds, 73-76. + + Sparrow, chipping, trying to catch a miller, 36; + feeding young robins, 37, 38. + + Sparrow, song, unsuccessful nestings, 53, 54; + and a black snake, 55, 56; + a risky experiment, 56-58; + a bob-tailed song sparrow's nest, 58-60. + + Swallow, chimney. See Swift, chimney. + + Swift, chimney, nest of, 61, 62; + flight of, 61, 62; + young, 63, 64; + outriding the storms, 64; + habits of, 64-66; + great gatherings and aerial evolutions of, 66-68. + + + Thrasher, brown, stealthiness of, 42; + nests of, 42-46; + skulking, 83. + + Thrush, wood, grace and elegance of, 83, 84; + newspaper in nests, 84-86; + the song and the nests, 86, 87; + unsuccessful nestings, 87-89; + song contests, 89, 90. + + Towhee. See Chewink. + + + Warbler, black-throated blue, a successful search for the nest + of, 100-105. + + Whip-poor-will, eggs of, 95; + assimilative coloration of, 95, 97, 99; + young, 96; + gait of, 97; + song of, 97, 98; + an old bird with her young, 98, 99. + + Wilson, Alexander, 39-41. + + Woodpecker, downy, a winter neighbor, 161-164; + drumming, 164-167; + the mystery of his hopping up and down the trunks and + branches, 167, 168. + + _Woodpecker, The Downy_, poem, 169. + + Woodpecker, golden-winged. See Flicker. + + Wren, house, song of, 47; + war with bluebirds, 47-52. + + Wren, winter, in his summer home, 119, 120; + in winter, 120, 121. + + + Yarup. See Flicker. + + Yellowbird. See Goldfinch. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Bird Stories from Burroughs, by John Burroughs + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + +***** This file should be named 26046-8.txt or 26046-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/4/26046/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Bird Stories from Burroughs + Sketches of Bird Life Taken from the Works of John Burroughs + +Author: John Burroughs + +Illustrator: Louis Agassiz Fuertes + +Release Date: July 12, 2008 [EBook #26046] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 364px;"><a name="i1" id="i1"></a> +<img src="images/001.jpg" width="364" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +GOLDFINCH (page <a href="#Page_125">125</a>)</div> + +<hr /> + +<h1>BIRD STORIES<br /> +FROM BURROUGHS</h1> + +<div class="p1"><big>SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE<br /> +TAKEN FROM THE WORKS OF</big></div> + +<h2>JOHN BURROUGHS</h2> + +<div class="p2"><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS<br /> +BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES</i></div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 91px;"> +<img src="images/002.png" width="91" height="125" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<div class="p3"><small>BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO</small><br /> +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY<br /> +<small><b>The Riverside Press Cambridge</b></small></div> + +<hr /> +<div class="center"><small>COPYRIGHT, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1881, 1886, 1894, 1899, 1903, 1904,<br /> +1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, BY JOHN BURROUGHS<br /><br /> +COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY</small></div> + +<div class="trn"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> +Hyphenation has been standardised. Minor typographical errors have +been corrected without note.</div> + +<hr /> +<h2>PUBLISHERS' NOTE</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">John Burroughs's</span> first book, "Wake-Robin," +contained a chapter entitled "The Invitation." +It was an invitation to the study of +birds. He has reiterated it, implicitly if not explicitly, +in most of the books he has published +since then, and many of his readers have joyfully +accepted it. Indeed, such an invitation +from Mr. Burroughs is the best possible introduction +to the birds of our Northeastern States, +and it is likewise an introduction to some very +good reading. To convey this invitation to a +wider circle of young readers the most interesting +bird stories in Mr. Burroughs's books have +been gathered into a single volume. A chapter +is given to each species of bird, and the chapters +are arranged in a sort of chronological order, +according to the time of the bird's arrival in the +spring, the nesting time, or the season when for +some other reason the species is particularly conspicuous. +In taking the stories out of their original +setting a few slight verbal alterations have +been necessary here and there, but these have +been made either by Mr. Burroughs himself or +with his approval.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td class="td1">The Bluebird</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td3">The Bluebird (<span class="sp1">poem</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Robin</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Flicker</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Phœbe</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td3">The Coming of Phœbe (<span class="sp1">poem</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_31">31</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Cowbird</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Chipping Sparrow</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Chewink</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Brown Thrasher</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The House Wren</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Song Sparrow</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Chimney Swift</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Oven-Bird</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Catbird</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Bobolink</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td3">The Bobolink (<span class="sp1">poem</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Wood Thrush</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Baltimore Oriole</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Whip-poor-will</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Black-throated Blue Warbler: A Search for<br /> +<span class="sp2">a Rare Nest</span></td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Marsh Hawk: A Marsh Hawk's Nest, a Young<br /> +<span class="sp2">Hawk, and a Visit to a Quail on her Nest</span></td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_106">106</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Winter Wren</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Cedar-Bird</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Goldfinch</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Hen-Hawk</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Ruffed Grouse, or Partridge</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td3">The Partridge (<span class="sp1">poem</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Crow</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td3">The Crow (<span class="sp1">poem</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Northern Shrike</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Screech Owl</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Chickadee</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">The Downy Woodpecker</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td3">The Downy Woodpecker (<span class="sp1">poem</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Index</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td class="td1">Goldfinch (<span class="sp1">in color</span>). (page 125)</td><td class="td2"><i><a href="#i1">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">A Pair of Bluebirds</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Flicker (<span class="sp1">in color</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Chewink, Male and Female (<span class="sp1">in color</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Wood Thrush</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Baltimore Oriole, Male and Female</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Whip-poor-will</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td></tr> +<tr><td class="td1">Downy Woodpecker (<span class="sp1">in color</span>)</td><td class="td2"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h1>BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS</h1> + +<h2>THE BLUEBIRD</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> is sure to be a bright March morning when +you first hear the bluebird's note; and it is as +if the milder influences up above had found a +voice and let a word fall upon your ear, so tender +is it and so prophetic, a hope tinged with a +regret.</p> + +<p>There never was a happier or more devoted +husband than the male bluebird. He is the +gay champion and escort of the female at all +times, and while she is sitting he feeds her regularly. +It is very pretty to watch them building +their nest. The male is very active in hunting +out a place and exploring the boxes and cavities, +but seems to have no choice in the matter and is +anxious only to please and encourage his mate, +who has the practical turn and knows what will +do and what will not. After she has suited herself +he applauds her immensely, and away the two +go in quest of material for the nest, the male +acting as guard and flying above and in advance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> +of the female. She brings all the material and +does all the work of building, he looking on and +encouraging her with gesture and song. He acts +also as inspector of her work, but I fear is a very +partial one. She enters the nest with her bit of +dry grass or straw, and, having adjusted it to +her notion, withdraws and waits near by while he +goes in and looks it over. On coming out he exclaims +very plainly, "Excellent! excellent!" and +away the two go again for more material.</p> + +<p>I was much amused one summer day in seeing +a bluebird feeding her young one in the shaded +street of a large town. She had captured a cicada +or harvest-fly, and, after bruising it awhile on +the ground, flew with it to a tree and placed it +in the beak of the young bird. It was a large +morsel, and the mother seemed to have doubts +of her chick's ability to dispose of it, for she stood +near and watched its efforts with great solicitude. +The young bird struggled valiantly with the cicada, +but made no headway in swallowing it, +when the mother took it from him and flew to +the sidewalk, and proceeded to break and bruise +it more thoroughly. Then she again placed it in +his beak, and seemed to say, "There, try it now," +and sympathized so thoroughly with his efforts +that she repeated many of his motions and contortions. +But the great fly was unyielding, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> +indeed, seemed ridiculously disproportioned to +the beak that held it. The young bird fluttered +and fluttered, and screamed, "I'm stuck, I'm +stuck!" till the anxious parent again seized the +morsel and carried it to an iron railing, where +she came down upon it for the space of a minute +with all the force and momentum her beak could +command. Then she offered it to her young a +third time, but with the same result as before, +except that this time the bird dropped it; but +she reached the ground as soon as the cicada did, +and taking it in her beak flew a little distance to +a high board fence, where she sat motionless for +some moments. While pondering the problem +how that fly should be broken, the male bluebird +approached her, and said very plainly, and +I thought rather curtly, "Give me that bug," +but she quickly resented his interference and +flew farther away, where she sat apparently quite +discouraged when I last saw her.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>One day in early May, Ted and I made an expedition +to the Shattega, a still, dark, deep stream +that loiters silently through the woods not far +from my cabin. As we paddled along, we were +on the alert for any bit of wild life of bird or +beast that might turn up.</p> + +<p>There were so many abandoned woodpecker<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +chambers in the small dead trees as we went along +that I determined to secure the section of a tree +containing a good one to take home and put up +for the bluebirds. "Why don't the bluebirds occupy +them here?" inquired Ted. "Oh," I replied, +"bluebirds do not come so far into the +woods as this. They prefer nesting-places in the +open, and near human habitations." After carefully +scrutinizing several of the trees, we at last +saw one that seemed to fill the bill. It was a +small dead tree-trunk seven or eight inches in +diameter, that leaned out over the water, and from +which the top had been broken. The hole, round +and firm, was ten or twelve feet above us. After +considerable effort I succeeded in breaking the +stub off near the ground, and brought it down +into the boat. "Just the thing," I said; "surely +the bluebirds will prefer this to an artificial box." +But, lo and behold, it already had bluebirds in +it! We had not heard a sound or seen a feather +till the trunk was in our hands, when, on peering +into the cavity, we discovered two young bluebirds +about half grown. This was a predicament +indeed!</p> + +<p>Well, the only thing we could do was to stand +the tree-trunk up again as well as we could, and +as near as we could to where it had stood before. +This was no easy thing. But after a time we had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +it fairly well replaced, one end standing in the +mud of the shallow water and the other resting +against a tree. This left the hole to the nest +about ten feet below and to one side of its former +position. Just then we heard the voice of one of +the parent birds, and we quickly paddled to the +other side of the stream, fifty feet away, to watch +her proceedings, saying to each other, "Too +bad! too bad!" The mother bird had a large +beetle in her beak. She alighted upon a limb a +few feet above the former site of her nest, looked +down upon us, uttered a note or two, and then +dropped down confidently to the point in the +vacant air where the entrance to her nest had +been but a few moments before. Here she hovered +on the wing a second or two, looking for +something that was not there, and then returned +to the perch she had just left, apparently not a +little disturbed. She hammered the beetle rather +excitedly upon the limb a few times, as if it were +in some way at fault, then dropped down to try +for her nest again. Only vacant air there! She +hovers and hovers, her blue wings flickering in +the checkered light; surely that precious hole +<i>must</i> be there; but no, again she is baffled, and +again she returns to her perch, and mauls the +poor beetle till it must be reduced to a pulp. +Then she makes a third attempt, then a fourth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +and a fifth, and a sixth, till she becomes very much +excited. "What could have happened? am I +dreaming? has that beetle hoodooed me?" she +seems to say, and in her dismay she lets the bug +drop, and looks bewilderedly about her. Then she +flies away through the woods, calling. "Going +for her mate," I said to Ted. "She is in deep +trouble, and she wants sympathy and help."</p> + +<p>In a few minutes we heard her mate answer, +and presently the two birds came hurrying to the +spot, both with loaded beaks. They perched +upon the familiar limb above the site of the nest, +and the mate seemed to say, "My dear, what +has happened to you? I can find that nest." +And he dived down, and brought up in the empty +air just as the mother had done. How he winnowed +it with his eager wings! how he seemed +to bear on to that blank space! His mate sat regarding +him intently, confident, I think, that he +would find the clew. But he did not. Baffled and +excited, he returned to the perch beside her. +Then she tried again, then he rushed down once +more, then they both assaulted the place, but it +would not give up its secret. They talked, they encouraged +each other, and they kept up the search, +now one, now the other, now both together. +Sometimes they dropped down to within a few +feet of the entrance to the nest, and we thought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> +they would surely find it. No, their minds and +eyes were intent only upon that square foot of +space where the nest had been. Soon they withdrew +to a large limb many feet higher up, and +seemed to say to themselves, "Well, it is not +there, but it must be here somewhere; let us +look about." A few minutes elapsed, when we saw +the mother bird spring from her perch and go +straight as an arrow to the nest. Her maternal eye +had proved the quicker. She had found her young. +Something like reason and common sense had +come to her rescue; she had taken time to look +about, and behold! there was that precious doorway. +She thrust her head into it, then sent back a +call to her mate, then went farther in, then withdrew. +"Yes, it is true, they are here, they are +here!" Then she went in again, gave them the +food in her beak, and then gave place to her +mate, who, after similar demonstrations of joy, +also gave them his morsel.</p> + +<p>Ted and I breathed freer. A burden had been +taken from our minds and hearts, and we went +cheerfully on our way. We had learned something, +too; we had learned that when in the deep +woods you think of bluebirds, bluebirds may be +nearer you than you think.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>One mid-April morning two pairs of bluebirds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> +were in very active and at times violent courtship +about my grounds. I could not quite understand +the meaning of all the fuss and flutter. +Both birds of each pair were very demonstrative, +but the female in each case the more so. She +followed the male everywhere, lifting and twinkling +her wings, and apparently seeking to win +him by both word and gesture. If she was not +telling him by that cheery, animated, confiding, +softly endearing speech of hers, which she poured +out incessantly, how much she loved him, what +was she saying? She was constantly filled with +a desire to perch upon the precise spot where he +was sitting, and if he had not moved away I +think she would have alighted upon his back. +Now and then, when she flitted away from him, +he followed her with like gestures and tones and +demonstrations of affection, but never with quite +the same ardor. The two pairs kept near each +other, about the house, the bird-boxes, the trees, +the posts and vines in the vineyard, filling the +ear with their soft, insistent warbles, and the eye +with their twinkling azure wings.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 337px;"> +<img src="images/003.jpg" width="337" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +BLUEBIRD<br /> +Upper, male; lower, female</div> + +<p>Was it this constant presence of rivals on both +sides that so stimulated them and kept them up +to such a pitch of courtship? Finally, after I +had watched them over an hour, the birds began +to come into collision. As they met in the vineyard,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> +the two males clinched and fell to the +ground, lying there for a moment with wings +sprawled out, like birds brought down by a gun. +Then they separated, and each returned to his +mate, warbling and twinkling his wings. Very +soon the females clinched and fell to the ground +and fought savagely, rolling over and over each +other, clawing and tweaking and locking beaks +and hanging on like bull terriers. They did this +repeatedly; once one of the males dashed in and +separated them, by giving one of the females a +sharp tweak and blow. Then the males were at +it again, their blue plumage mixing with the +green grass and ruffled by the ruddy soil. What +a soft, feathery, ineffectual battle it seemed in +both cases!—no sound, no blood, no flying feathers, +just a sudden mixing up and general disarray +of blue wings and tails and ruddy breasts, there +on the ground; assault but no visible wounds; +thrust of beak and grip of claw, but no feather +loosened and but little ruffling; long holding of +one down by the other, but no cry of pain or +fury. It was the kind of battle that one likes to +witness. The birds usually locked beaks, and +held their grip half a minute at a time. One of +the females would always alight by the struggling +males and lift her wings and utter her soft +notes, but what she said—whether she was encouraging<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> +one of the blue coats or berating the +other, or imploring them both to desist, or egging +them on—I could not tell. So far as I could +understand her speech, it was the same that she +had been uttering to her mate all the time.</p> + +<p>When my bluebirds dashed at each other with +beak and claw, their preliminary utterances had +to my ears anything but a hostile sound. Indeed, +for the bluebird to make a harsh, discordant +sound seems out of the question. Once, when +the two males lay upon the ground with outspread +wings and locked beaks, a robin flew +down by them and for a moment gazed intently +at the blue splash upon the grass, and then went +his way.</p> + +<p>As the birds drifted about the grounds, first +the males, then the females rolling on the grass +or in the dust in fierce combat, and between +times the members of each pair assuring each +other of undying interest and attachment, I followed +them, apparently quite unnoticed by them. +Sometimes they would lie more than a minute +upon the ground, each trying to keep his own or +to break the other's hold. They seemed so oblivious +of everything about them that I wondered +if they might not at such times fall an easy prey +to cats and hawks. Let me put their watchfulness +to the test, I said. So, as the two males<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> +clinched again and fell to the ground, I cautiously +approached them, hat in hand. When ten feet +away and unregarded, I made a sudden dash and +covered them with my hat. The struggle continued +for a few seconds under there, then all +was still. Sudden darkness had fallen upon the +field of battle. What did they think had happened? +Presently their heads and wings began +to brush the inside of my hat. Then all was still +again. Then I spoke to them, called to them, exulted +over them, but they betrayed no excitement +or alarm. Occasionally a head or a body +came in gentle contact with the top or the sides +of my hat.</p> + +<p>But the two females were evidently agitated +by the sudden disappearance of their contending +lovers, and began uttering their mournful alarm-note. +After a minute or two I lifted one side of +my hat and out darted one of the birds; then I +lifted the hat from the other. One of the females +then rushed, apparently with notes of joy and +congratulation, to one of the males, who gave +her a spiteful tweak and blow. Then the other +came and he served her the same. He was evidently +a little bewildered, and not certain what +had happened or who was responsible for it. +Did he think the two females were in some way +to blame? But he was soon reconciled to one of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +them again, as was the other male with the other, +yet the two couples did not separate till the males +had come into collision once more. Presently, however, +they drifted apart, and each pair was soon +holding an animated conversation punctuated by +those pretty wing gestures, about the two bird-boxes.</p> + +<p>These scenes of love and rivalry had lasted +nearly all the forenoon, and matters between the +birds apparently remained as they were before—the +members of each pair quite satisfied with +each other. One pair occupied one of the bird-boxes +in the vineyard and reared two broods +there during the season, but the other pair drifted +away and took up their abode somewhere else.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE BLUEBIRD</h3> + +<div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">A wistful</span> note from out the sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">"Pure, pure, pure," in plaintive tone,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">As if the wand'rer were alone,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And hardly knew to sing or cry.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">But now a flash of eager wing,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Flitting, twinkling by the wall,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And pleadings sweet and am'rous call,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ah, now I know his heart doth sing!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">O bluebird, welcome back again,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Thy azure coat and ruddy vest<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Are hues that April loveth best,—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Warm skies above the furrowed plain.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The farm boy hears thy tender voice,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And visions come of crystal days,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With sugar-camps in maple ways,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And scenes that make his heart rejoice.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The lucid smoke drifts on the breeze,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The steaming pans are mantling white,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And thy blue wing's a joyous sight,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Among the brown and leafless trees.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Now loosened currents glance and run,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And buckets shine on sturdy boles,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The forest folk peep from their holes,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And work is play from sun to sun.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">The downy beats his sounding limb,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The nuthatch pipes his nasal call,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And Robin perched on tree-top tall<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Heavenward lifts his evening hymn.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now go and bring thy homesick bride,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Persuade her here is just the place<br /></span> +<span class="i2">To build a home and found a race<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In Downy's cell, my lodge beside.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE ROBIN</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Not</span> long after the bluebird comes the robin. +In large numbers they scour the fields and groves. +You hear their piping in the meadow, in the pasture, +on the hillside. Walk in the woods, and the +dry leaves rustle with the whir of their wings, +the air is vocal with their cheery call. In excess +of joy and vivacity, they run, leap, scream, chase +each other through the air, diving and sweeping +among the trees with perilous rapidity.</p> + +<p>In that free, fascinating, half-work-and-half-play +pursuit,—sugar-making,—a pursuit which +still lingers in many parts of New York, as in +New England,—the robin is one's constant companion. +When the day is sunny and the ground +bare, you meet him at all points and hear him at +all hours. At sunset, on the tops of the tall +maples, with look heavenward, and in a spirit of +utter abandonment, he carols his simple strain. +And sitting thus amid the stark, silent trees, +above the wet, cold earth, with the chill of winter +still in the air, there is no fitter or sweeter songster +in the whole round year. It is in keeping +with the scene and the occasion. How round and +genuine the notes are, and how eagerly our ears<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> +drink them in! The first utterance, and the spell +of winter is thoroughly broken, and the remembrance +of it afar off.</p> + +<p>One of the most graceful of warriors is the +robin. I know few prettier sights than two males +challenging and curveting about each other upon +the grass in early spring. Their attentions to each +other are so courteous and restrained. In alternate +curves and graceful sallies, they pursue and +circumvent each other. First one hops a few feet, +then the other, each one standing erect in true +military style while his fellow passes him and describes +the segment of an ellipse about him, both +uttering the while a fine complacent warble in a +high but suppressed key. Are they lovers or enemies? +the beholder wonders, until they make +a spring and are beak to beak in the twinkling +of an eye, and perhaps mount a few feet into +the air, but rarely actually deliver blows upon +each other. Every thrust is parried, every movement +met. They follow each other with dignified +composure about the fields or lawn, into trees and +upon the ground, with plumage slightly spread, +breasts glowing, their lisping, shrill war-song just +audible. It forms on the whole the most civil and +high-bred tilt to be witnessed during the season.</p> + +<p>In the latter half of April, we pass through +what I call the "robin racket,"—trains of three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +or four birds rushing pell-mell over the lawn and +fetching up in a tree or bush, or occasionally +upon the ground, all piping and screaming at +the top of their voices, but whether in mirth or +anger it is hard to tell. The nucleus of the train +is a female. One cannot see that the males in +pursuit of her are rivals; it seems rather as if they +had united to hustle her out of the place. But +somehow the matches are no doubt made and +sealed during these mad rushes. Maybe the female +shouts out to her suitors, "Who touches +me first wins," and away she scurries like an +arrow. The males shout out, "Agreed!" and +away they go in pursuit, each trying to outdo the +other. The game is a brief one. Before one can +get the clew to it, the party has dispersed.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>The first year of my cabin life a pair of robins +attempted to build a nest upon the round timber +that forms the plate under my porch roof. But +it was a poor place to build in. It took nearly a +week's time and caused the birds a great waste +of labor to find this out. The coarse material +they brought for the foundation would not bed +well upon the rounded surface of the timber, and +every vagrant breeze that came along swept it +off. My porch was kept littered with twigs and +weed-stalks for days, till finally the birds abandoned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> +the undertaking. The next season a wiser or +more experienced pair made the attempt again, and +succeeded. They placed the nest against the rafter +where it joins the plate; they used mud from +the start to level up with and to hold the first +twigs and straws, and had soon completed a firm, +shapely structure. When the young were about +ready to fly, it was interesting to note that there +was apparently an older and a younger, as in most +families. One bird was more advanced than any +of the others. Had the parent birds intentionally +stimulated it with extra quantities of food, so as +to be able to launch their offspring into the +world one at a time? At any rate, one of the birds +was ready to leave the nest a day and a half before +any of the others. I happened to be looking +at it when the first impulse to get outside the +nest seemed to seize it. Its parents were encouraging +it with calls and assurances from some +rocks a few yards away. It answered their calls +in vigorous, strident tones. Then it climbed over +the edge of the nest upon the plate, took a few +steps forward, then a few more, till it was a yard +from the nest and near the end of the timber, +and could look off into free space. Its parents +apparently shouted, "Come on!" But its courage +was not quite equal to the leap; it looked +around, and, seeing how far it was from home,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> +scampered back to the nest, and climbed into it +like a frightened child. It had made its first journey +into the world, but the home tie had brought it +quickly back. A few hours afterward it journeyed +to the end of the plate again, and then turned +and rushed back. The third time its heart was +braver, its wings stronger, and, leaping into the +air with a shout, it flew easily to some rocks a +dozen or more yards away. Each of the young +in succession, at intervals of nearly a day, left +the nest in this manner. There would be the first +journey of a few feet along the plate, the first +sudden panic at being so far from home, the +rush back, a second and perhaps a third attempt, +and then the irrevocable leap into the air, and a +clamorous flight to a near-by bush or rock. +Young birds never go back when they have once +taken flight. The first free flap of the wings +severs forever the ties that bind them to home.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>I recently observed a robin boring for grubs +in a country dooryard. It is a common enough +sight to witness one seize an angle-worm and +drag it from its burrow in the turf, but I am not +sure that I ever before saw one drill for grubs +and bring the big white morsel to the surface. +The robin I am speaking of had a nest of young +in a maple near by, and she worked the neighborhood<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +very industriously for food. She would +run along over the short grass after the manner +of robins, stopping every few feet, her form stiff +and erect. Now and then she would suddenly +bend her head toward the ground and bring eye +or ear for a moment to bear intently upon it. +Then she would spring to boring the turf vigorously +with her bill, changing her attitude at each +stroke, alert and watchful, throwing up the grass +roots and little jets of soil, stabbing deeper and +deeper, growing every moment more and more +excited, till finally a fat grub was seized and +brought forth. Time after time, during several +days, I saw her mine for grubs in this way and +drag them forth. How did she know where to +drill? The insect was in every case an inch below +the surface. Did she hear it gnawing the +roots of the grasses, or did she see a movement +in the turf beneath which the grub was at work? +I know not. I only know that she struck her +game unerringly each time. Only twice did I +see her make a few thrusts and then desist, as if +she had been for the moment deceived.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE FLICKER</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Another</span> April comer, who arrives shortly after +Robin Redbreast, with whom he associates both +at this season and in the autumn, is the golden-winged +woodpecker, <i>alias</i> "high-hole," <i>alias</i> +"flicker," <i>alias</i> "yarup," <i>alias</i> "yellow-hammer." +He is an old favorite of my boyhood, and +his note to me means very much. He announces +his arrival by a long, loud call, repeated from the +dry branch of some tree, or a stake in the fence,—a +thoroughly melodious April sound. I think +how Solomon finished that beautiful description +of spring, "and the voice of the turtle is heard +in our land," and see that a description of spring +in this farming country, to be equally characteristic, +should culminate in like manner,—"and the +call of the high-hole comes up from the wood." +It is a loud, strong, sonorous call, and does not +seem to imply an answer, but rather to subserve +some purpose of love or music. It is "Yarup's" +proclamation of peace and good-will to all.</p> + +<p>I recall an ancient maple standing sentry to a +large sugar-bush, that, year after year, afforded +protection to a brood of yellow-hammers in its +decayed heart. A week or two before the nesting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +seemed actually to have begun, three or four +of these birds might be seen, on almost any +bright morning, gamboling and courting amid +its decayed branches. Sometimes you would hear +only a gentle persuasive cooing, or a quiet confidential +chattering; then that long, loud call, +taken up by first one, then another, as they sat +about upon the naked limbs; anon, a sort of +wild, rollicking laughter, intermingled with various +cries, yelps, and squeals, as if some incident +had excited their mirth and ridicule. Whether +this social hilarity and boisterousness is in celebration +of the pairing or mating ceremony, or +whether it is only a sort of annual "house-warming" +common among high-holes on resuming +their summer quarters, is a question upon which +I reserve my judgment.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 358px;"> +<img src="images/004.jpg" width="358" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +FLICKER</div> + +<p>Unlike most of his kinsmen, the golden-wing +prefers the fields and the borders of the forest +to the deeper seclusion of the woods, and hence, +contrary to the habit of his tribe, obtains most +of his subsistence from the ground, probing it +for ants and crickets. He is not quite satisfied +with being a woodpecker. He courts the society +of the robin and the finches, abandons the trees +for the meadow, and feeds eagerly upon berries +and grain. What may be the final upshot of this +course of living is a question worthy the attention<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> +of Darwin. Will his taking to the ground +and his pedestrian feats result in lengthening his +legs, his feeding upon berries and grains subdue +his tints and soften his voice, and his associating +with Robin put a song into his heart?</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>In the cavity of an apple-tree, much nearer the +house than they usually build, a pair of high-holes +took up their abode. A knot-hole which led +to the decayed interior was enlarged, the live +wood being cut away as clean as a squirrel would +have done it. The inside preparations I could +not witness, but day after day, as I passed near, +I heard the bird hammering away, evidently beating +down obstructions and shaping and enlarging +the cavity. The chips were not brought out, but +were used rather to floor the interior. The woodpeckers +are not nest-builders, but rather nest-carvers.</p> + +<p>The time seemed very short before the voices +of the young were heard in the heart of the old +tree,—at first feebly, but waxing stronger day +by day until they could be heard many rods distant. +When I put my hand upon the trunk of +the tree, they would set up an eager, expectant +chattering; but if I climbed up it toward the +opening, they soon detected the unusual sound +and would hush quickly, only now and then uttering<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> +a warning note. Long before they were fully +fledged they clambered up to the orifice to receive +their food. As but one could stand in the +opening at a time, there was a good deal of elbowing +and struggling for this position. It was a +very desirable one aside from the advantages it +had when food was served; it looked out upon +the great, shining world, into which the young +birds seemed never tired of gazing. The fresh +air must have been a consideration also, for the +interior of a high-hole's dwelling is not sweet. +When the parent birds came with food, the young +one in the opening did not get it all, but after +he had received a portion, either on his own motion +or on a hint from the old one, he would give +place to the one behind him. Still, one bird evidently +outstripped his fellows, and in the race of +life was two or three days in advance of them. +His voice was loudest and his head oftenest at +the window. But I noticed that, when he had +kept the position too long, the others evidently +made it uncomfortable in his rear, and, after +"fidgeting" about awhile, he would be compelled +to "back down." But retaliation was then +easy, and I fear his mates spent few easy moments +at that lookout. They would close their +eyes and slide back into the cavity as if the world +had suddenly lost all its charms for them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> + +<p>This bird was, of course, the first to leave the +nest. For two days before that event he kept his +position in the opening most of the time and sent +forth his strong voice incessantly. The old ones +abstained from feeding him almost entirely, no +doubt to encourage his exit. As I stood looking +at him one afternoon and noting his progress, he +suddenly reached a resolution,—seconded, I have +no doubt, from the rear,—and launched forth +upon his untried wings. They served him well, +and carried him about fifty yards up-hill the first +heat. The second day after, the next in size and +spirit left in the same manner; then another, till +only one remained. The parent birds ceased their +visits to him, and for one day he called and +called till our ears were tired of the sound. His +was the faintest heart of all. Then he had none +to encourage him from behind. He left the nest +and clung to the outer bole of the tree, and yelped +and piped for an hour longer; then he committed +himself to his wings and went his way like the +rest.</p> + +<p>The matchmaking of the high-holes, which +often comes under my observation, is in marked +contrast to that of the robins and the bluebirds. +There does not appear to be any anger or any +blows. The male or two males will alight on a +limb in front of the female, and go through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +with a series of bowings and scrapings that are +truly comical. He spreads his tail, he puffs +out his breast, he throws back his head and +then bends his body to the right and to the +left, uttering all the while a curious musical +hiccough. The female confronts him unmoved, +but whether her attitude is critical or defensive, +I cannot tell. Presently she flies away, followed +by her suitor or suitors, and the little +comedy is enacted on another stump or tree. +Among all the woodpeckers the drum plays an +important part in the matchmaking. The male +takes up his stand on a dry, resonant limb, or +on the ridgeboard of a building, and beats the +loudest call he is capable of. A favorite drum of +the high-holes about me is a hollow wooden tube, +a section of a pump, which stands as a bird-box +upon my summer-house. It is a good instrument; +its tone is sharp and clear. A high-hole alights +upon it, and sends forth a rattle that can be +heard a long way off. Then he lifts up his head +and utters that long April call, <i>Wick, wick, wick, +wick</i>. Then he drums again. If the female does +not find him, it is not because he does not make +noise enough. But his sounds are all welcome to +the ear. They are simple and primitive, and voice +well a certain sentiment of the April days. As I +write these lines I hear through the half-open<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> +door his call come up from a distant field. Then +I hear the steady hammering of one that has been +for three days trying to penetrate the weather +boarding of the big icehouse by the river, and +to reach the sawdust filling for a nesting-place.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE PHŒBE</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Another</span> April bird whose memory I fondly +cherish is the phœbe-bird, the pioneer of the flycatchers. +In the inland farming districts, I used +to notice him, on some bright morning about +Easter Day, proclaiming his arrival, with much +variety of motion and attitude, from the peak of +the barn or hay-shed. As yet, you may have +heard only the plaintive, homesick note of the +bluebird, or the faint trill of the song sparrow; +and the phœbe's clear, vivacious assurance of his +veritable bodily presence among us again is welcomed +by all ears. At agreeable intervals in his +lay he describes a circle or an ellipse in the air, +ostensibly prospecting for insects, but really, I +suspect, as an artistic flourish, thrown in to make +up in some way for the deficiency of his musical +performance. If plainness of dress indicates +powers of song, as it usually does, the phœbe +ought to be unrivaled in musical ability, for +surely that ashen-gray suit is the superlative of +plainness; and that form, likewise, would hardly +pass for a "perfect figure" of a bird. The seasonableness +of his coming, however, and his civil, +neighborly ways, shall make up for all deficiencies +in song and plumage.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> + +<p>The phœbe-bird is a wise architect and perhaps +enjoys as great an immunity from danger, both +in its person and its nest, as any other bird. Its +modest ashen-gray suit is the color of the rocks +where it builds, and the moss of which it makes +such free use gives to its nest the look of a natural +growth or accretion. But when it comes into +the barn or under the shed to build, as it so +frequently does, the moss is rather out of place. +Doubtless in time the bird will take the hint, and +when she builds in such places will leave the moss +out. I noted but two nests the summer I am +speaking of: one in a barn failed of issue, on +account of the rats, I suspect, though the little +owl may have been the depredator; the other, in +the woods, sent forth three young. This latter +nest was most charmingly and ingeniously placed. +I discovered it while in quest of pond-lilies, in a +long, deep, level stretch of water in the woods. +A large tree had blown over at the edge of the +water, and its dense mass of upturned roots, with +the black, peaty soil filling the interstices, was +like the fragment of a wall several feet high, rising +from the edge of the languid current. In a +niche in this earthy wall, and visible and accessible +only from the water, a phœbe had built her +nest and reared her brood. I paddled my boat up +and came alongside prepared to take the family<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> +aboard. The young, nearly ready to fly, were +quite undisturbed by my presence, having probably +been assured that no danger need be apprehended +from that side. It was not a likely +place for minks, or they would not have been so +secure.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> + +<h3>THE COMING OF PHŒBE</h3> + +<div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">When</span> buckets shine 'gainst maple trees<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And drop by drop the sap doth flow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When days are warm, but still nights freeze,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And deep in woods lie drifts of snow,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When cattle low and fret in stall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then morning brings the phœbe's call,<br /></span> +<span class="i12">"Phœbe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Phœbe, phœbe," a cheery note,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While cackling hens make such a rout.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">When snowbanks run, and hills are bare,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And early bees hum round the hive,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When woodchucks creep from out their lair<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Right glad to find themselves alive,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When sheep go nibbling through the fields,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then Phœbe oft her name reveals,<br /></span> +<span class="i12">"Phœbe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Phœbe, phœbe," a plaintive cry,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While jack-snipes call in morning sky.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">When wild ducks quack in creek and pond<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And bluebirds perch on mullein-stalks,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When spring has burst her icy bond<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And in brown fields the sleek crow walks,<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> +<span class="i0">When chipmunks court in roadside walls,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then Phœbe from the ridgeboard calls,<br /></span> +<span class="i12">"Phœbe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Phœbe, phœbe," and lifts her cap,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">While smoking Dick doth boil the sap.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE COWBIRD</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> cow blackbird is a noticeable songster in +April, though it takes a back seat a little later. +It utters a peculiarly liquid April sound. Indeed, +one would think its crop was full of water, its +notes so bubble up and regurgitate, and are delivered +with such an apparent stomachic contraction. +This bird is the only feathered polygamist +we have. The females are greatly in excess of +the males, and the latter are usually attended by +three or four of the former. As soon as the +other birds begin to build, they are on the <i>qui +vive</i>, prowling about like gypsies, not to steal +the young of others, but to steal their eggs into +other birds' nests, and so shirk the labor and responsibility +of hatching and rearing their own +young.</p> + +<p>The cowbird's tactics are probably to watch +the movements of the parent bird. She may often +be seen searching anxiously through the trees or +bushes for a suitable nest, yet she may still oftener +be seen perched upon some good point of +observation watching the birds as they come and +go about her. There is no doubt that, in many +cases, the cowbird makes room for her own illegitimate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +egg in the nest by removing one of the +bird's own. I found a sparrow's nest with two +sparrow's eggs and one cowbird's egg, and another +egg lying a foot or so below it on the +ground. I replaced the ejected egg, and the +next day found it again removed, and another +cowbird's egg in its place. I put it back the second +time, when it was again ejected, or destroyed, +for I failed to find it anywhere. Very alert and +sensitive birds, like the warblers, often bury the +strange egg beneath a second nest built on top +of the old. A lady living in the suburbs of an +Eastern city heard cries of distress one morning +from a pair of house wrens that had a nest in a +honeysuckle on her front porch. On looking out +of the window, she beheld this little comedy,—comedy +from her point of view, but no doubt +grim tragedy from the point of view of the +wrens: a cowbird with a wren's egg in its beak +running rapidly along the walk, with the outraged +wrens forming a procession behind it, +screaming, scolding, and gesticulating as only +these voluble little birds can. The cowbird had +probably been surprised in the act of violating +the nest, and the wrens were giving her a piece +of their minds.</p> + +<p>Every cowbird is reared at the expense of two +or more song-birds. For every one of these dusky<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> +little pedestrians there amid the grazing cattle +there are two or more sparrows, or vireos, or +warblers, the less. It is a big price to pay,—two +larks for a bunting,—two sovereigns for a +shilling; but Nature does not hesitate occasionally +to contradict herself in just this way. The +young of the cowbird is disproportionately large +and aggressive, one might say hoggish. When +disturbed, it will clasp the nest and scream and +snap its beak threateningly. One was hatched out +in a song sparrow's nest which was under my observation, +and would soon have overridden and +overborne the young sparrow which came out of +the shell a few hours later, had I not interfered +from time to time and lent the young sparrow a +helping hand. Every day I would visit the nest +and take the sparrow out from under the potbellied +interloper, and place it on top, so that +presently it was able to hold its own against its +enemy. Both birds became fledged and left the +nest about the same time. Whether the race was +an even one after that, I know not.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CHIPPING SPARROW</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">When</span> the true flycatcher catches a fly, it is +quick business. There is no strife, no pursuit,—one +fell swoop, and the matter is ended. Now +note that yonder little sparrow is less skilled. It is +the chippy, and he finds his subsistence properly +in various seeds and the larvæ of insects, +though he occasionally has higher aspirations, +and seeks to emulate the pewee, commencing and +ending his career as a flycatcher by an awkward +chase after a beetle or "miller." He is hunting +around in the grass now, I suspect, with the desire +to indulge this favorite whim. There!—the +opportunity is afforded him. Away goes a little +cream-colored meadow-moth in the most tortuous +course he is capable of, and away goes Chippy +in pursuit. The contest is quite comical, though +I dare say it is serious enough to the moth. The +chase continues for a few yards, when there is a +sudden rushing to cover in the grass,—then a +taking to wing again, when the search has become +too close, and the moth has recovered his +wind. Chippy chirps angrily, and is determined +not to be beaten. Keeping, with the slightest +effort, upon the heels of the fugitive, he is ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> +on the point of halting to snap him up, but +never quite does it; and so, between disappointment +and expectation, is soon disgusted, and +returns to pursue his more legitimate means of +subsistence.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>Last summer I made this record in my notebook: +"A nest of young robins in the maple in +front of the house being fed by a chipping sparrow. +The little sparrow is very attentive; seems +decidedly fond of her adopted babies. The old +robins resent her services, and hustle her out of +the tree whenever they find her near the nest. +(It was this hurried departure of Chippy from +the tree that first attracted my attention.) She +watches her chances, and comes with food in +their absence. The young birds are about ready +to fly, and when the chippy feeds them her head +fairly disappears in their capacious mouths. She +jerks it back as if she were afraid of being swallowed. +Then she lingers near them on the edge of +the nest, and seems to admire them. When she sees +the old robin coming, she spreads her wings in an +attitude of defense, and then flies away. I wonder +if she has had the experience of rearing a +cow-bunting?" (A day later.) "The robins are +out of the nest, and the little sparrow continues +to feed them. She approaches them rather timidly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> +and hesitatingly, as if she feared they might +swallow her, then thrusts her titbit quickly into +the distended mouth and jerks back."</p> + +<p>Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, +whether she was an unmated bird, or whether +the case was simply the overflowing of the maternal +instinct, it would be interesting to know.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CHEWINK</h2> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 368px;"> +<img src="images/005.jpg" width="368" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +CHEWINK<br /> +Upper, male; lower, female</div> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> chewink is a shy bird, but not stealthy. +It is very inquisitive, and sets up a great scratching +among the leaves, apparently to attract your +attention. The male is perhaps the most conspicuously +marked of all the ground-birds except +the bobolink, being black above, bay on the +sides, and white beneath. The bay is in compliment +to the leaves he is forever scratching among,—they +have rustled against his breast and sides +so long that these parts have taken their color; +but whence come the white and the black? The +bird seems to be aware that his color betrays him, +for there are few birds in the woods so careful +about keeping themselves screened from view. +When in song, its favorite perch is the top of +some high bush near to cover. On being disturbed +at such times, it pitches down into the +brush and is instantly lost to view.</p> + +<p>This is the bird that Thomas Jefferson wrote +to Wilson about, greatly exciting the latter's curiosity. +Wilson was just then upon the threshold +of his career as an ornithologist, and had +made a drawing of the Canada jay which he sent +to the President. It was a new bird, and in reply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> +Jefferson called his attention to a "curious +bird" which was everywhere to be heard, but +scarcely ever to be seen. He had for twenty +years interested the young sportsmen of his +neighborhood to shoot one for him, but without +success. "It is in all the forests, from spring to +fall," he says in his letter, "and never but on +the tops of the tallest trees, from which it perpetually +serenades us with some of the sweetest +notes, and as clear as those of the nightingale. I +have followed it for miles, without ever but once +getting a good view of it. It is of the size and +make of the mockingbird, lightly thrush-colored +on the back, and a grayish-white on the breast +and belly. Mr. Randolph, my son-in-law, was in +possession of one which had been shot by a +neighbor," etc. Randolph pronounced it a flycatcher, +which was a good way wide of the mark. +Jefferson must have seen only the female, after +all his tramp, from his description of the color; +but he was doubtless following his own great +thoughts more than the bird, else he would have +had an earlier view. The bird was not a new one, +but was well known then as the ground-robin. +The President put Wilson on the wrong scent +by his erroneous description, and it was a long +time before the latter got at the truth of the +case. But Jefferson's letter is a good sample of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> +those which specialists often receive from intelligent +persons who have seen or heard something +in their line very curious or entirely new, and +who set the man of science agog by a description +of the supposed novelty,—a description that +generally fits the facts of the case about as well +as your coat fits the chair-back. Strange and curious +things in the air, and in the water, and in +the earth beneath, are seen every day except by +those who are looking for them, namely, the +naturalists. When Wilson or Audubon gets his +eye on the unknown bird, the illusion vanishes, +and your phenomenon turns out to be one of the +commonplaces of the fields or woods.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE BROWN THRASHER</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Our</span> long-tailed thrush, or thrasher, delights +in a high branch of some solitary tree, whence it +will pour out its rich and intricate warble for an +hour together. This bird is the great American +chipper. There is no other bird that I know of +that can chip with such emphasis and military +decision as this yellow-eyed songster. It is like +the click of a giant gunlock. Why is the thrasher +so stealthy? It always seems to be going about +on tip-toe. I never knew it to steal anything, and +yet it skulks and hides like a fugitive from justice. +One never sees it flying aloft in the air and +traversing the world openly, like most birds, +but it darts along fences and through bushes as +if pursued by a guilty conscience. Only when +the musical fit is upon it does it come up into +full view, and invite the world to hear and behold.</p> + +<p>Years pass without my finding a brown thrasher's +nest; it is not a nest you are likely to stumble +upon in your walk; it is hidden as a miser hides +his gold, and watched as jealously. The male +pours out his rich and triumphant song from the +tallest tree he can find, and fairly challenges you to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +come and look for his treasures in his vicinity. But +you will not find them if you go. The nest is somewhere +on the outer circle of his song; he is never +so imprudent as to take up his stand very near it. +The artists who draw those cozy little pictures of +a brooding mother bird, with the male perched but +a yard away in full song, do not copy from nature. +The thrasher's nest I found was thirty or +forty rods from the point where the male was +wont to indulge in his brilliant recitative. It was +in an open field under a low ground-juniper. My +dog disturbed the sitting bird as I was passing +near. The nest could be seen only by lifting up +and parting away the branches. All the arts of +concealment had been carefully studied. It was +the last place you would think of looking in, and, +if you did look, nothing was visible but the dense +green circle of the low-spreading juniper. When +you approached, the bird would keep her place +till you had begun to stir the branches, when +she would start out, and, just skimming the +ground, make a bright brown line to the near +fence and bushes. I confidently expected that +this nest would escape molestation, but it did not. +Its discovery by myself and dog probably opened +the door for ill luck, as one day, not long afterward, +when I peeped in upon it, it was empty. The +proud song of the male had ceased from his accustomed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> +tree, and the pair were seen no more +in that vicinity.</p> + +<p>After a pair of nesting birds have been broken +up once or twice during the season, they become +almost desperate, and will make great efforts to +outwit their enemies. A pair of brown thrashers +built their nest in a pasture-field under a low, +scrubby apple-tree which the cattle had browsed +down till it spread a thick, wide mass of thorny +twigs only a few inches above the ground. Some +blackberry briers had also grown there, so that the +screen was perfect. My dog first started the bird, +as I was passing near. By stooping low and peering +intently, I could make out the nest and eggs. +Two or three times a week, as I passed by, I +would pause to see how the nest was prospering. +The mother bird would keep her place, her yellow +eyes never blinking. One morning, as I looked +into her tent, I found the nest empty. Some +night-prowler, probably a skunk or a fox, or +maybe a black snake or a red squirrel by day, +had plundered it. It would seem as if it was too +well screened; it was in such a spot as any depredator +would be apt to explore. "Surely," he +would say, "this is a likely place for a nest." +The birds then moved over the hill a hundred +rods or more, much nearer the house, and in some +rather open bushes tried again. But again they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> +came to grief. Then, after some delay, the mother +bird made a bold stroke. She seemed to +reason with herself thus: "Since I have fared so +disastrously in seeking seclusion for my nest, I +will now adopt the opposite tactics, and come +out fairly in the open. What hides me hides my +enemies: let us try greater publicity." So she +came out and built her nest by a few small shoots +that grew beside the path that divides the two +vineyards, and where we passed to and fro many +times daily. I discovered her by chance early in +the morning as I proceeded to my work. She +started up at my feet and flitted quickly along +above the ploughed ground, almost as red as the +soil. I admired her audacity. Surely no prowler +by night or day would suspect a nest in this open +and exposed place. There was no cover by which +they could approach, and no concealment anywhere. +The nest was a hasty affair, as if the +birds' patience at nest-building had been about +exhausted. Presently an egg appeared, and then +the next day another, and on the fourth day a +third. No doubt the bird would have succeeded +this time had not man interfered. In cultivating +the vineyards the horse and cultivator had to +pass over this very spot. Upon this the bird had +not calculated. I determined to assist her. I +called my man, and told him there was one spot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +in that vineyard, no bigger than his hand, where +the horse's foot must not be allowed to fall, nor +tooth of cultivator to touch. Then I showed him +the nest, and charged him to avoid it. Probably +if I had kept the secret to myself, and let the +bird run her own risk, the nest would have escaped. +But the result was that the man, in elaborately +trying to avoid the nest, overdid the +matter; the horse plunged, and set his foot +squarely upon it. Such a little spot, the chances +were few that the horse's foot would fall exactly +there; and yet it did, and the birds' hopes were +again dashed. The pair then disappeared from +my vicinity, and I saw them no more.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE HOUSE WREN</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">A few</span> years ago I put up a little bird-house +in the back end of my garden for the accommodation +of the wrens, and every season a pair have +taken up their abode there. One spring a pair of +bluebirds looked into the tenement and lingered +about several days, leading me to hope that they +would conclude to occupy it. But they finally +went away, and later in the season the wrens appeared, +and, after a little coquetting, were regularly +installed in their old quarters, and were as +happy as only wrens can be.</p> + +<p>One of our younger poets, Myron Benton, saw +a little bird</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<span class="i0">"Ruffled with whirlwind of his ecstasies,"<br /></span> +</div> + +<p class="noin">which must have been the wren, as I know of no +other bird that so throbs and palpitates with music +as this little vagabond. And the pair I speak +of seemed exceptionally happy, and the male had +a small tornado of song in his crop that kept +him "ruffled" every moment in the day. But before +their honeymoon was over the bluebirds returned. +I knew something was wrong before I was +up in the morning. Instead of that voluble and +gushing song outside the window, I heard the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> +wrens scolding and crying at a fearful rate, and +on going out saw the bluebirds in possession of +the box. The poor wrens were in despair; they +wrung their hands and tore their hair, after the +wren fashion, but chiefly did they rattle out their +disgust and wrath at the intruders. I have no +doubt that, if it could have been interpreted, it +would have been proven the rankest and most +voluble billingsgate ever uttered. For the wren +is saucy, and he has a tongue in his head that +can outwag any other tongue known to me.</p> + +<p>The bluebirds said nothing, but the male kept +an eye on Mr. Wren, and, when he came too +near, gave chase, driving him to cover under the +fence, or under a rubbish-heap or other object, +where the wren would scold and rattle away, +while his pursuer sat on the fence or the pea-brush +waiting for him to reappear.</p> + +<p>Days passed, and the usurpers prospered and +the outcasts were wretched; but the latter lingered +about, watching and abusing their enemies, and +hoping, no doubt, that things would take a turn, +as they presently did. The outraged wrens were +fully avenged. The mother bluebird had laid her +full complement of eggs and was beginning to +set, when one day, as her mate was perched above +her on the barn, along came a boy with one of +those wicked elastic slings and cut him down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +with a pebble. There he lay like a bit of sky +fallen upon the grass. The widowed bird seemed +to understand what had happened, and without +much ado disappeared next day in quest of another +mate.</p> + +<p>In the mean time the wrens were beside themselves +with delight; they fairly screamed with joy. +If the male was before "ruffled with whirlwind +of his ecstasies," he was now in danger of being +rent asunder. He inflated his throat and caroled +as wren never caroled before. And the female, +too, how she cackled and darted about! How +busy they both were! Rushing into the nest, +they hustled those eggs out in less than a minute, +wren time. They carried in new material, +and by the third day were fairly installed again +in their old quarters; but on the third day, so +rapidly are these little dramas played, the female +bluebird reappeared with another mate. Ah! how +the wren stock went down then! What dismay +and despair filled again those little breasts! It +was pitiful. They did not scold as before, but +after a day or two withdrew from the garden, +dumb with grief, and gave up the struggle.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>The chatter of a second brood of nearly fledged +wrens is heard now (August 20) in an oriole's +nest suspended from the branch of an apple-tree<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> +near where I write. Earlier in the season the +parent birds made long and determined attempts +to establish themselves in a cavity that had been +occupied by a pair of bluebirds. The original +proprietor of the place was the downy woodpecker. +He had excavated it the autumn before, +and had passed the winter there, often to my +certain knowledge lying abed till nine o'clock in +the morning. In the spring he went elsewhere, +probably with a female, to begin the season in +new quarters. The bluebirds early took possession, +and in June their first brood had flown. +The wrens had been hanging around, evidently +with an eye on the place (such little comedies +may be witnessed anywhere), and now very naturally +thought it was their turn. A day or two +after the young bluebirds had flown, I noticed +some fine, dry grass clinging to the entrance to +the cavity; a circumstance which I understood +a few moments later, when the wren rushed by +me into the cover of a small Norway spruce, +hotly pursued by the male bluebird. It was a +brown streak and a blue streak pretty close together. +The wrens had gone to housecleaning, +and the bluebird had returned to find his bed +and bedding being pitched out of doors, and +had thereupon given the wrens to understand in +the most emphatic manner that he had no intention<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> +of vacating the premises so early in the season. +Day after day, for more than two weeks, the +male bluebird had to clear his premises of these +intruders. It occupied much of his time and not +a little of mine, as I sat with a book in a summer-house +near by, laughing at his pretty fury and +spiteful onset. On two occasions the wren rushed +under the chair in which I sat, and a streak of +blue lightning almost flashed in my very face. +One day, just as I had passed the tree in which +the cavity was located, I heard the wren scream +desperately; turning, I saw the little vagabond +fall into the grass with the wrathful bluebird +fairly upon him; the latter had returned just in +time to catch him, and was evidently bent on +punishing him well. But in the squabble in the +grass the wren escaped and took refuge in the +friendly evergreen. The bluebird paused for a +moment with outstretched wings looking for the +fugitive, then flew away. A score of times during +the month of June did I see the wren taxing +every energy to get away from the bluebird. He +would dart into the stone wall, under the floor of +the summer-house, into the weeds,—anywhere +to hide his diminished head. The bluebird, with +his bright coat, looked like an officer in uniform +in pursuit of some wicked, rusty little street +gamin. Generally the favorite house of refuge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +of the wrens was the little spruce, into which +their pursuer made no attempt to follow them. +The female would sit concealed amid the branches, +chattering in a scolding, fretful way, while the +male with his eye upon his tormentor would +perch on the topmost shoot and sing. Why he +sang at such times, whether in triumph and derision, +or to keep his courage up and reassure his +mate, I could not make out. When his song was +suddenly cut short, and I glanced to see him dart +down into the spruce, my eye usually caught a +twinkle of blue wings hovering near. The wrens +finally gave up the fight, and their enemies reared +their second brood in peace.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE SONG SPARROW</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> first song sparrow's nest I observed in the +spring of 1881 was in a field under a fragment of +a board, the board being raised from the ground +a couple of inches by two poles. It had its full +complement of eggs, and probably sent forth a +brood of young birds, though as to this I cannot +speak positively, as I neglected to observe it further. +It was well sheltered and concealed, and was +not easily come at by any of its natural enemies, +save snakes and weasels. But concealment often +avails little. In May, a song sparrow, which had +evidently met with disaster earlier in the season, +built its nest in a thick mass of woodbine against +the side of my house, about fifteen feet from the +ground. Perhaps it took the hint from its cousin +the English sparrow. The nest was admirably +placed, protected from the storms by the overhanging +eaves and from all eyes by the thick +screen of leaves. Only by patiently watching the +suspicious bird, as she lingered near with food in +her beak, did I discover its whereabouts. That +brood is safe, I thought, beyond doubt. But it +was not: the nest was pillaged one night, either +by an owl, or else by a rat that had climbed into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> +the vine, seeking an entrance to the house. The +mother bird, after reflecting upon her ill luck +about a week, seemed to resolve to try a different +system of tactics, and to throw all appearances +of concealment aside. She built a nest a +few yards from the house, beside the drive, upon +a smooth piece of greensward. There was not a +weed or a shrub or anything whatever to conceal +it or mark its site. The structure was completed, +and incubation had begun, before I discovered +what was going on. "Well, well," I said, looking +down upon the bird almost at my feet, "this is going +to the other extreme indeed; now the cats +will have you." The desperate little bird sat there +day after day, looking like a brown leaf pressed +down in the short green grass. As the weather +grew hot, her position became very trying. It +was no longer a question of keeping the eggs +warm, but of keeping them from roasting. The +sun had no mercy on her, and she fairly panted +in the middle of the day. In such an emergency +the male robin has been known to perch above +the sitting female and shade her with his outstretched +wings. But in this case there was no +perch for the male bird, had he been disposed to +make a sunshade of himself. I thought to lend a +hand in this direction myself, and so stuck a leafy +twig beside the nest. This was probably an unwise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> +interference: it guided disaster to the spot; +the nest was broken up, and the mother bird was +probably caught, as I never saw her afterward.</p> + +<p>One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards +from where I was sitting with a book: two song +sparrows were trying to defend their nest against +a black snake. The curious, interrogating note +of a chicken who had suddenly come upon the +scene in his walk first caused me to look up from +my reading. There were the sparrows, with +wings raised in a way peculiarly expressive of +horror and dismay, rushing about a low clump +of grass and bushes. Then, looking more closely, +I saw the glistening form of the black snake, and +the quick movement of his head as he tried to +seize the birds. The sparrows darted about and +through the grass and weeds, trying to beat the +snake off. Their tails and wings were spread, and, +panting with the heat and the desperate struggle, +they presented a most singular spectacle. They +uttered no cry, not a sound escaped them; they +were plainly speechless with horror and dismay. +Not once did they drop their wings, and the +peculiar expression of those uplifted palms, as +it were, I shall never forget. It occurred to me +that perhaps here was a case of attempted bird-charming +on the part of the snake, so I looked +on from behind the fence. The birds charged the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> +snake and harassed him from every side, but were +evidently under no spell save that of courage in +defending their nest. Every moment or two I +could see the head and neck of the serpent make +a sweep at the birds, when the one struck at would +fall back, and the other would renew the assault +from the rear. There appeared to be little danger +that the snake could strike and hold one of +the birds, though I trembled for them, they were +so bold and approached so near to the snake's +head. Time and again he sprang at them, but +without success. How the poor things panted, and +held up their wings appealingly! Then the snake +glided off to the near fence, barely escaping the +stone which I hurled at him. I found the nest +rifled and deranged; whether it had contained +eggs or young, I know not. The male sparrow +had cheered me many a day with his song, +and I blamed myself for not having rushed +at once to the rescue, when the arch enemy +was upon him. There is probably little truth in +the popular notion that snakes charm birds. The +black snake is the most subtle, alert, and devilish +of our snakes, and I have never seen him have +any but young, helpless birds in his mouth.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>If one has always built one's nest upon the +ground, and if one comes of a race of ground-builders,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +it is a risky experiment to build in a +tree. The conditions are vastly different. One of +my near neighbors, a little song sparrow, learned +this lesson the past season. She grew ambitious; +she departed from the traditions of her race, and +placed her nest in a tree. Such a pretty spot she +chose, too,—the pendent cradle formed by the interlaced +sprays of two parallel branches of a Norway +spruce. These branches shoot out almost horizontally; +indeed, the lower ones become quite so +in spring, and the side shoots with which they are +clothed droop down, forming the slopes of miniature +ridges; where the slopes of two branches +join, a little valley is formed, which often looks +more stable than it really is. My sparrow selected +one of these little valleys about six feet from the +ground, and quite near the walls of the house. +"Here," she thought, "I will build my nest, and +pass the heat of June in a miniature Norway. +This tree is the fir-clad mountain, and this little +vale on its side I select for my own." She carried +up a great quantity of coarse grass and straws +for the foundation, just as she would have done +upon the ground. On the top of this mass there +gradually came into shape the delicate structure +of her nest, compacting and refining till its delicate +carpet of hairs and threads was reached. So +sly as the little bird was about it, too,—every moment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> +on her guard lest you discover her secret! +Five eggs were laid, and incubation was far advanced, +when the storms and winds came. The +cradle indeed did rock. The boughs did not break, +but they swayed and separated as you would part +your two interlocked hands. The ground of the +little valley fairly gave way, the nest tilted over +till its contents fell into the chasm. It was like +an earthquake that destroys a hamlet.</p> + +<p>No born tree-builder would have placed its +nest in such a situation. Birds that build at the +end of the branch, like the oriole, tie the nest +fast; others, like the robin, build against the +main trunk; still others build securely in the +fork. The sparrow, in her ignorance, rested her +house upon the spray of two branches, and when +the tempest came, the branches parted company +and the nest was engulfed.</p> + +<p>A little bob-tailed song sparrow built her nest +in a pile of dry brush very near the kitchen door +of a farmhouse on the skirts of the northern +Catskills, where I was passing the summer. It was +late in July, and she had doubtless reared one +brood in the earlier season. Her toilet was decidedly +the worse for wear. I noted her day after +day, very busy about the fence and quince bushes +between the house and milk house, with her beak +full of coarse straw and hay. To a casual observer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> +she seemed flitting about aimlessly, carrying +straws from place to place just to amuse herself. +When I came to watch her closely to learn the +place of her nest, she seemed to suspect my intention, +and made many little feints and movements +calculated to put me off my track. But +I would not be misled, and presently had her +secret. The male did not assist her at all, but +sang much of the time in an apple-tree or upon +the fence, on the other side of the house.</p> + +<p>The song sparrow nearly always builds upon +the ground, but my little neighbor laid the foundations +of her domicile a foot or more above the +soil. And what a mass of straws and twigs she +did collect together! How coarse and careless +and aimless at first,—a mere lot of rubbish +dropped upon the tangle of dry limbs; but +presently how it began to refine and come into +shape in the centre! till there was the most exquisite +hair-lined cup set about by a chaos of +coarse straws and branches. What a process of +evolution! The completed nest was foreshadowed +by the first stiff straw; but how far off is yet +that dainty casket with its complement of speckled +eggs! The nest was so placed that it had for +canopy a large, broad, drooping leaf of yellow +dock. This formed a perfect shield against both +sun and rain, while it served to conceal it from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> +any curious eyes from above,—from the cat, +for instance, prowling along the top of the wall. +Before the eggs had hatched, the docken leaf +wilted and dried and fell down upon the nest. +But the mother bird managed to insinuate herself +beneath it, and went on with her brooding +all the same.</p> + +<p>Then I arranged an artificial cover of leaves +and branches, which shielded her charge till +they had flown away. A mere trifle was this +little bob-tailed bird with her arts and her secrets, +and the male with his song, and yet the +pair gave a touch of something to those days and +to that place which I would not willingly have +missed.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CHIMNEY SWIFT</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">One</span> day a swarm of honey-bees went into my +chimney, and I mounted the stack to see into +which flue they had gone. As I craned my neck +above the sooty vent, with the bees humming +about my ears, the first thing my eye rested upon +in the black interior was a pair of long white +pearls upon a little shelf of twigs, the nest of the +chimney swallow, or swift,—honey, soot, and +birds' eggs closely associated. The bees, though +in an unused flue, soon found the gas of anthracite +that hovered about the top of the chimney +too much for them, and they left. But the swifts +are not repelled by smoke. They seem to have +entirely abandoned their former nesting-places +in hollow trees and stumps, and to frequent only +chimneys. A tireless bird, never perching, all +day upon the wing, and probably capable of flying +one thousand miles in twenty-four hours, +they do not even stop to gather materials for +their nests, but snap off the small dry twigs +from the tree-tops as they fly by. Confine one of +these swifts to a room and it does not perch, but +after flying till it becomes bewildered and exhausted, +it clings to the side of the wall till it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +dies. Once, on returning to my room after several +days' absence, I found one in which life seemed +nearly extinct; its feet grasped my finger as I +removed it from the wall, but its eyes closed, and +it seemed about on the point of joining its companion, +which lay dead upon the floor. Tossing it +into the air, however, seemed to awaken its wonderful +powers of flight, and away it went straight +toward the clouds. On the wing the chimney +swift looks like an athlete stripped for the race. +There is the least appearance of quill and plumage +of any of our birds, and, with all its speed +and marvelous evolutions, the effect of its flight +is stiff and wiry. There appears to be but one +joint in the wing, and that next the body. This +peculiar inflexible motion of the wings, as if they +were little sickles of sheet iron, seems to be +owing to the length and development of the primary +quills and the smallness of the secondary. +The wing appears to hinge only at the wrist. +The barn swallow lines its rude masonry with +feathers, but the swift begins life on bare twigs, +glued together by a glue of home manufacture +as adhesive as Spaulding's.</p> + +<p>The big chimney of my cabin "Slabsides" of +course attracted the chimney swifts, and as it was +not used in summer, two pairs built their nests +in it, and we had the muffled thunder of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> +wings at all hours of the day and night. One +night, when one of the broods was nearly fledged, +the nest that held them fell down into the fireplace. +Such a din of screeching and chattering +as they instantly set up! Neither my dog nor I +could sleep. They yelled in chorus, stopping at +the end of every half-minute as if upon signal. +Now they were all screeching at the top of their +voices, then a sudden, dead silence ensued. Then +the din began again, to terminate at the instant +as before. If they had been long practicing together, +they could not have succeeded better. I +never before heard the cry of birds so accurately +timed. After a while I got up and put them +back up the chimney, and stopped up the throat +of the flue with newspapers. The next day one +of the parent birds, in bringing food to them, +came down the chimney with such force that it +passed through the papers and brought up in +the fireplace. On capturing it I saw that its +throat was distended with food as a chipmunk's +cheek with corn, or a boy's pocket with chestnuts. +I opened its mandibles, when it ejected a +wad of insects as large as a bean. Most of them +were much macerated, but there were two house-flies +yet alive and but little the worse for their +close confinement. They stretched themselves and +walked about upon my hand, enjoying a breath<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +of fresh air once more. It was nearly two hours +before the swift again ventured into the chimney +with food.</p> + +<p>These birds do not perch, nor alight upon +buildings or the ground. They are apparently upon +the wing all day. They outride the storms. I +have in my mind a cheering picture of three of +them I saw facing a heavy thunder-shower one +afternoon. The wind was blowing a gale, the +clouds were rolling in black, portentous billows +out of the west, the peals of thunder were shaking +the heavens, and the big drops were just beginning +to come down, when, on looking up, I saw +three swifts high in air, working their way slowly, +straight into the teeth of the storm. They were +not hurried or disturbed; they held themselves +firmly and steadily; indeed, they were fairly at +anchor in the air till the rage of the elements +should have subsided. I do not know that any +other of our land birds outride the storms in this +way.</p> + +<p>In the choice of nesting-material the swift +shows no change of habit. She still snips off the +small dry twigs from the tree-tops and glues them +together, and to the side of the chimney, with +her own glue. The soot is a new obstacle in her +way, that she does not yet seem to have learned +to overcome, as the rains often loosen it and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +cause her nest to fall to the bottom. She has a +pretty way of trying to frighten you off when +your head suddenly darkens the opening above +her. At such times she leaves the nest and clings +to the side of the chimney near it. Then, slowly +raising her wings, she suddenly springs out from +the wall and back again, making as loud a drumming +with them in the passage as she is capable of. +If this does not frighten you away, she repeats it +three or four times. If your face still hovers +above her, she remains quiet and watches you.</p> + +<p>What a creature of the air this bird is, never +touching the ground, so far as I know, and never +tasting earthly food! The swallow does perch +now and then and descend to the ground for +nesting-material, but not so the swift. The twigs +for her nest she gathers on the wing, sweeping +along like children on a "merry-go-round" who +try to seize a ring, or to do some other feat, as +they pass a given point. If the swift misses the +twig, or it fails to yield to her the first time, she +tries again and again, each time making a wider +circuit, as if to tame and train her steed a little +and bring him up more squarely to the mark next +time.</p> + +<p>Though the swift is a stiff flyer and apparently +without joints in her wings, yet the air of +frolic and of superabundance of wing-power is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> +more marked with her than with any other of our +birds. Her feeding and twig-gathering seem like +asides in a life of endless play. Several times both +in spring and fall I have seen swifts gather in +immense numbers toward nightfall, to take refuge +in large unused chimney-stacks. On such occasions +they seem to be coming together for some +aerial festival or grand celebration; and, as if +bent upon a final effort to work off a part of +their superabundant wing-power before settling +down for the night, they circle and circle high +above the chimney-top, a great cloud of them, +drifting this way and that, all in high spirits and +chippering as they fly. Their numbers constantly +increase as other members of the clan come dashing +in from all points of the compass. Swifts +seem to materialize out of empty air on all sides +of the chippering, whirling ring, as an hour or +more this assembling of the clan and this flight +festival go on. The birds must gather in from +whole counties, or from half a State. They have +been on the wing all day, and yet now they seem +as tireless as the wind, and as if unable to curb +their powers.</p> + +<p>One fall they gathered in this way and took +refuge for the night in a large chimney-stack in +a city near me, and kept this course up for more +than a month and a half. Several times I went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +to town to witness the spectacle, and a spectacle +it was: ten thousand swifts, I should think, filling +the air above a whole square like a whirling +swarm of huge black bees, but saluting the +ear with a multitudinous chippering, instead of a +humming. People gathered upon the sidewalks +to see them. It was a rare circus performance, +free to all. After a great many feints and playful +approaches, the whirling ring of birds would +suddenly grow denser above the chimney; then +a stream of them, as if drawn down by some +power of suction, would pour into the opening. +For only a few seconds would this downward +rush continue; then, as if the spirit of frolic had +again got the upper hand of them, the ring would +rise, and the chippering and circling go on. In a +minute or two the same manœuvre would be repeated, +the chimney, as it were, taking its swallows +at intervals to prevent choking. It usually +took a half-hour or more for the birds all to disappear +down its capacious throat. There was always +an air of timidity and irresolution about +their approach to the chimney, just as there always +is about their approach to the dead tree-top +from which they procure their twigs for nest-building. +Often did I see birds hesitate above the +opening and then pass on, apparently as though +they had not struck it at just the right angle.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> +On one occasion a solitary bird was left flying, +and it took three or four trials either to make up +its mind or to catch the trick of the descent. On +dark or threatening or stormy days the birds +would begin to assemble by mid-afternoon, and +by four or five o'clock were all in their lodgings.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE OVEN-BIRD</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Every</span> loiterer about the woods knows this +pretty, speckled-breasted, olive-backed little bird, +which walks along over the dry leaves a few yards +from him, moving its head as it walks, like a +miniature domestic fowl. Most birds are very +stiff-necked, like the robin, and as they run or +hop upon the ground, carry the head as if it were +riveted to the body. Not so the oven-bird, or the +other birds that walk, as the cow-bunting, or the +quail, or the crow. They move the head forward +with the movement of the feet. The sharp, reiterated, +almost screeching song of the oven-bird, as +it perches on a limb a few feet from the ground, +like the words "preacher, preacher, preacher," +or "teacher, teacher, teacher," uttered louder and +louder, and repeated six or seven times, is also +familiar to most ears; but its wild, ringing, rapturous +burst of song in the air high above the +tree-tops is not so well known. From a very prosy, +tiresome, unmelodious singer, it is suddenly transformed +for a brief moment into a lyric poet of +great power. It is a great surprise. The bird undergoes +a complete transformation. Ordinarily it +is a very quiet, demure sort of bird. It walks<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> +about over the leaves, moving its head like a +little hen; then perches on a limb a few feet from +the ground and sends forth its shrill, rather prosy, +unmusical chant. Surely it is an ordinary, commonplace +bird. But wait till the inspiration of +its flight-song is upon it. What a change! Up +it goes through the branches of the trees, leaping +from limb to limb, faster and faster, till it shoots +from the tree-tops fifty or more feet into the air +above them, and bursts into an ecstasy of song, +rapid, ringing, lyrical; no more like its habitual +performance than a match is like a rocket; brief +but thrilling; emphatic but musical. Having +reached its climax of flight and song, the bird +closes its wings and drops nearly perpendicularly +downward like the skylark. If its song were more +prolonged, it would rival the song of that famous +bird. The bird does this many times a day +during early June, but oftenest at twilight.</p> + +<p>About the first of June there is a nest in the +woods, upon the ground, with four creamy-white +eggs in it, spotted with brown or lilac, chiefly +about the larger ends, that always gives the +walker who is so lucky as to find it a thrill of +pleasure. It is like a ground sparrow's nest with +a roof or canopy to it. The little brown or olive +backed bird starts away from your feet and runs +swiftly and almost silently over the dry leaves,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +and then turns her speckled breast to see if you +are following. She walks very prettily, by far the +prettiest pedestrian in the woods. But if she +thinks you have discovered her secret, she feigns +lameness and disability of both leg and wing, to +decoy you into the pursuit of her. This is the +oven-bird. The last nest of this bird I found was +while in quest of the pink cypripedium. We suddenly +spied a couple of the flowers a few steps +from the path along which we were walking, and +had stooped to admire them, when out sprang +the bird from beside them, doubtless thinking +she was the subject of observation instead of +the rose-purple flowers that swung but a foot +or two above her. But we never should have +seen her had she kept her place. She had found +a rent in the matted carpet of dry leaves and pine +needles that covered the ground, and into this +had insinuated her nest, the leaves and needles +forming a canopy above it, sloping to the south +and west, the source of the more frequent summer +rains.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CATBIRD</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> requires an effort for me to speak of the +singing catbird as he; all the ways and tones of +the bird seem so distinctly feminine. But it is, +of course, only the male that sings. At times +I hardly know whether I am more pleased or +annoyed with him. Perhaps he is a little too +common, and his part in the general chorus a little +too conspicuous. If you are listening for the +note of another bird, he is sure to be prompted +to the most loud and protracted singing, drowning +all other sounds; if you sit quietly down to +observe a favorite or study a new-comer, his curiosity +knows no bounds, and you are scanned and +ridiculed from every point of observation. Yet I +would not miss him; I would only subordinate +him a little, make him less conspicuous.</p> + +<p>He is the parodist of the woods, and there is +ever a mischievous, bantering, half-ironical undertone +in his lay, as if he were conscious of mimicking +and disconcerting some envied songster. +Ambitious of song, practicing and rehearsing in +private, he yet seems the least sincere and genuine +of the sylvan minstrels, as if he had taken up +music only to be in the fashion, or not to be outdone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> +by the robins and thrushes. In other words, +he seems to sing from some outward motive, and +not from inward joyousness. He is a good versifier, +but not a great poet. Vigorous, rapid, copious, +not without fine touches, but destitute of +any high, serene melody, his performance, like +that of Thoreau's squirrel, always implies a spectator.</p> + +<p>There is a certain air and polish about his +strain, however, like that in the vivacious conversation +of a well-bred lady of the world, that +commands respect. His parental instinct, also, is +very strong, and that simple structure of dead +twigs and dry grass is the centre of much anxious +solicitude. Not long since, while strolling +through the woods, my attention was attracted +to a small densely-grown swamp, hedged in with +eglantine, brambles, and the everlasting smilax, +from which proceeded loud cries of distress and +alarm, indicating that some terrible calamity was +threatening my sombre-colored minstrel. On effecting +an entrance, which, however, was not accomplished +till I had doffed coat and hat, so as +to diminish the surface exposed to the thorns and +brambles, and, looking around me from a square +yard of terra firma, I found myself the spectator +of a loathsome yet fascinating scene. Three or +four yards from me was the nest, beneath which,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> +in long festoons, rested a huge black snake; a +bird two-thirds grown was slowly disappearing +between his expanded jaws. As he seemed unconscious +of my presence, I quietly observed the proceedings. +By slow degrees he compassed the bird +about with his elastic mouth; his head flattened, +his neck writhed and swelled, and two or three +undulatory movements of his glistening body finished +the work. Then he cautiously raised himself +up, his tongue flaming from his mouth the +while, curved over the nest, and, with wavy, subtle +motions, explored the interior. I can conceive +of nothing more overpoweringly terrible to an +unsuspecting family of birds than the sudden appearance +above their domicile of the head and +neck of this arch-enemy. It is enough to petrify +the blood in their veins. Not finding the object +of his search, he came streaming down from the +nest to a lower limb, and commenced extending +his researches in other directions, sliding stealthily +through the branches, bent on capturing one +of the parent birds. That a legless, wingless +creature should move with such ease and rapidity +where only birds and squirrels are considered at +home, lifting himself up, letting himself down, +running out on the yielding boughs, and traversing +with marvelous celerity the whole length and +breadth of the thicket, was truly surprising. One<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +thinks of the great myth of the Tempter and the +"cause of all our woe," and wonders if the Arch +Enemy is not now playing off some of his pranks +before him. Whether we call it snake or devil +matters little. I could but admire his terrible +beauty, however; his black, shining folds, his +easy, gliding movement, head erect, eyes glistening, +tongue playing like subtle flame, and the invisible +means of his almost winged locomotion.</p> + +<p>The parent birds, in the mean while, kept +up the most agonizing cry, at times fluttering +furiously about their pursuer, and actually laying +hold of his tail with their beaks and claws. On +being thus attacked, the snake would suddenly +double upon himself and follow his own body +back, thus executing a strategic movement that +at first seemed almost to paralyze his victim and +place her within his grasp. Not quite, however. +Before his jaws could close upon the coveted prize +the bird would tear herself away, and, apparently +faint and sobbing, retire to a higher branch. His +reputed powers of fascination availed him little, +though it is possible that a frailer and less combative +bird might have been held by the fatal +spell. Presently, as he came gliding down the +slender body of a leaning alder, his attention was +attracted by a slight movement of my arm; eyeing +me an instant, with that crouching, utterly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +motionless gaze which I believe only snakes and +devils can assume, he turned quickly—a feat +which necessitated something like crawling over +his own body—and glided off through the +branches, evidently recognizing in me a representative +of the ancient parties he once so cunningly +ruined. A few moments later, as he lay +carelessly disposed in the top of a rank alder, trying +to look as much like a crooked branch as his +supple, shining form would admit, the old vengeance +overtook him. I exercised my prerogative, +and a well-directed missile, in the shape of a stone, +brought him looping and writhing to the ground. +After I had completed his downfall and quiet had +been partly restored, a half-fledged member of +the bereaved household came out from his hiding-place, +and, jumping upon a decayed branch, +chirped vigorously, no doubt in celebration of the +victory.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE BOBOLINK</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> bobolink has a secure place in literature, +having been laureated by no less a poet than +Bryant, and invested with a lasting human charm +in the sunny page of Irving, and is the only one +of our songsters, I believe, that the mockingbird +cannot parody or imitate. He affords the most +marked example of exuberant pride, and a glad, +rollicking, holiday spirit, that can be seen among +our birds. Every note expresses complacency and +glee. He is a beau of the first pattern, and, unlike +any other bird of my acquaintance, pushes +his gallantry to the point of wheeling gayly into +the train of every female that comes along, even +after the season of courtship is over and the +matches are all settled; and when she leads him +on too wild a chase, he turns lightly about and +breaks out with a song that is precisely analogous +to a burst of gay and self-satisfied laughter, as +much as to say, "<i>Ha! ha! ha! I must have my +fun, Miss Silverthimble, thimble, thimble, if I +break every heart in the meadow, see, see, see!</i>"</p> + +<p>At the approach of the breeding-season the +bobolink undergoes a complete change; his form +changes, his color changes, his flight changes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +From mottled brown or brindle he becomes black +and white, earning, in some localities, the shocking +name of "skunk bird"; his small, compact +form becomes broad and conspicuous, and his +ordinary flight is laid aside for a mincing, affected +gait, in which he seems to use only the very tips +of his wings. It is very noticeable what a contrast +he presents to his mate at this season, not +only in color but in manners, she being as shy +and retiring as he is forward and hilarious. Indeed, +she seems disagreeably serious and indisposed +to any fun or jollity, scurrying away at +his approach, and apparently annoyed at every +endearing word and look. It is surprising that +all this parade of plumage and tinkling of cymbals +should be gone through with and persisted +in to please a creature so coldly indifferent as she +really seems to be.</p> + +<p>I know of no other song-bird that expresses +so much self-consciousness and vanity, and comes +so near being an ornithological coxcomb. The +redbird, the yellowbird, the indigo-bird, the oriole, +the cardinal grosbeak, and others, all birds of +brilliant plumage and musical ability, seem quite +unconscious of self, and neither by tone nor act +challenge the admiration of the beholder.</p> + +<p>If I were a bird, in building my nest I should +follow the example of the bobolink, placing it in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> +the midst of a broad meadow, where there was +no spear of grass, or flower, or growth unlike +another to mark its site. I judge that the bobolink +escapes the dangers to which nesting birds +are liable as few or no other birds do. Unless the +mowers come along at an earlier date than she +has anticipated, that is, before July 1, or a skunk +goes nosing through the grass, which is unusual, +she is as safe as bird well can be in +the great open of nature. She selects the most +monotonous and uniform place she can find +amid the daisies or the timothy and clover, and +places her simple structure upon the ground in +the midst of it. There is no concealment, +except as the great conceals the little, as the +desert conceals the pebble, as the myriad conceals +the unit. You may find the nest once, if your +course chances to lead you across it, and your +eye is quick enough to note the silent brown +bird as she darts swiftly away; but step three +paces in the wrong direction, and your search +will probably be fruitless. My friend and I found +a nest by accident one day, and then lost it again +one minute afterward. I moved away a few yards +to be sure of the mother bird, charging my friend +not to stir from his tracks. When I returned, he +had moved two paces, he said (he had really +moved four), and we spent a half-hour stooping<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> +over the daisies and the buttercups, looking for +the lost clew. We grew desperate, and fairly felt +the ground over with our hands, but without +avail. I marked the spot with a bush, and came +the next day, and, with the bush as a centre, +moved about it in slowly increasing circles, covering, +I thought, nearly every inch of ground with +my feet, and laying hold of it with all the visual +power I could command, till my patience was exhausted, +and I gave up, baffled. I began to doubt +the ability of the parent birds themselves to find +it, and so secreted myself and watched. After +much delay, the male bird appeared with food in +his beak, and, satisfying himself that the coast +was clear, dropped into the grass which I had +trodden down in my search. Fastening my eye +upon a particular meadow-lily, I walked straight +to the spot, bent down, and gazed long and intently +into the grass. Finally my eye separated +the nest and its young from its surroundings. +My foot had barely missed them in my search, +but by how much they had escaped my eye I +could not tell. Probably not by distance at all, +but simply by unrecognition. They were virtually +invisible. The dark gray and yellowish-brown +dry grass and stubble of the meadow-bottom were +exactly copied in the color of the half-fledged +young. More than that, they hugged the nest so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> +closely and formed such a compact mass, that +though there were five of them, they preserved +the unit of expression,—no single head or form +was defined; they were one, and that one was +without shape or color, and not separable, except +by closest scrutiny, from the one of the meadow-bottom. +That nest prospered, as bobolinks' nests +doubtless generally do; for, notwithstanding the +enormous slaughter of the birds by Southern +sportsmen during their fall migrations, the bobolink +appears to hold its own, and its music does +not diminish in our Northern meadows.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE BOBOLINK</h3> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Daisies</span>, clover, buttercup,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Redtop, trefoil, meadowsweet,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Ecstatic pinions, soaring up,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Then gliding down to grassy seat.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Sunshine, laughter, mad desires,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">May day, June day, lucid skies,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All reckless moods that love inspires—<br /></span> +<span class="i2">The gladdest bird that sings and flies.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Meadows, orchards, bending sprays,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Rushes, lilies, billowy wheat,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Song and frolic fill his days,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">A feathered rondeau all complete.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Pink bloom, gold bloom, fleabane white,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Dewdrop, raindrop, cooling shade,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Bubbling throat and hovering flight,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And jocund heart as e'er was made.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE WOOD THRUSH</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> wood thrush is the handsomest species of +the thrush family. In grace and elegance of +manner he has no equal. Such a gentle, high-bred +air, and such inimitable ease and composure +in his flight and movement! He is a poet in very +word and deed. His carriage is music to the eye. +His performance of the commonest act, as catching +a beetle, or picking a worm from the mud, +pleases like a stroke of wit or eloquence. Was +he a prince in the olden time, and do the regal +grace and mien still adhere to him in his transformation? +What a finely proportioned form! +How plain, yet rich, his color,—the bright russet +of his back, the clear white of his breast, +with the distinct heart-shaped spots! It may be +objected to Robin that he is noisy and demonstrative; +he hurries away or rises to a branch +with an angry note, and flirts his wings in ill-bred +suspicion. The thrasher, or red thrush, sneaks +and skulks like a culprit, hiding in the densest +alders; the catbird is a coquette and a flirt, as +well as a sort of female Paul Pry; and the chewink +shows his inhospitality by espying your +movements like a detective. The wood thrush<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> +has none of these underbred traits. He regards +me unsuspiciously, or avoids me with a noble reserve—or, +if I am quiet and incurious, graciously +hops toward me, as if to pay his respects, +or to make my acquaintance. I have passed under +his nest within a few feet of his mate and brood, +when he sat near by on a branch eying me +sharply, but without opening his beak; but the +moment I raised my hand toward his defenseless +household his anger and indignation were beautiful +to behold.</p> + +<p>What a noble pride he has! Late one October, +after his mates and companions had long since +gone South, I noticed one for several successive +days in the dense part of this next-door wood, +flitting noiselessly about, very grave and silent, +as if doing penance for some violation of the code +of honor. By many gentle, indirect approaches, I +perceived that part of his tail-feathers were undeveloped. +The sylvan prince could not think of +returning to court in this plight, and so, amid +the falling leaves and cold rains of autumn, was +patiently biding his time.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 379px;"> +<img src="images/006.jpg" width="379" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +WOOD THRUSH</div> + +<p>It is a curious habit the wood thrush has of +starting its nest with a fragment of newspaper or +other paper. Except in remote woods, I think it +nearly always puts a piece of paper in the foundation +of its nest. Last spring I chanced to be sitting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> +near a tree in which a wood thrush had concluded +to build. She came with a piece of paper nearly +as large as my hand, placed it upon the branch, +stood upon it a moment, and then flew down to the +ground. A little puff of wind caused the paper +to leave the branch a moment afterward. The +thrush watched it eddy slowly down to the +ground, when she seized it and carried it back. +She placed it in position as before, stood upon it +again for a moment, and then flew away. Again +the paper left the branch, and sailed away slowly +to the ground. The bird seized it again, jerking +it about rather spitefully, I thought; she turned +it round two or three times, then labored back +to the branch with it, upon which she shifted it +about as if to hit upon some position in which it +would lie more securely. This time she sat down +upon it for a moment, and then went away, +doubtless with the thought in her head that she +would bring something to hold it down. The +perverse paper followed her in a few seconds. +She seized it again, and hustled it about more +than before. As she rose with it toward the nest, +it in some way impeded her flight, and she was +compelled to return to the ground with it. But +she kept her temper remarkably well. She turned +the paper over and took it up in her beak several +times before she was satisfied with her hold, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +then carried it back to the branch, where, however, +it would not stay. I saw her make six trials +of it, when I was called away. I think she finally +abandoned the restless fragment, probably a scrap +that held some "breezy" piece of writing, for +later in the season I examined the nest and found +no paper in it.</p> + +<p>How completely the life of a bird revolves +about its nest, its home! In the case of the wood +thrush, its life and joy seem to mount higher and +higher as the nest prospers. The male becomes a +fountain of melody; his happiness waxes day by +day; he makes little triumphal tours about the +neighborhood, and pours out his pride and gladness +in the ears of all. How sweet, how well-bred, +is his demonstration! But let any accident befall +that precious nest, and what a sudden silence +falls upon him! Last summer a pair of wood +thrushes built their nest within a few rods of +my house, and when the enterprise was fairly +launched and the mother bird was sitting upon +her four blue eggs, the male was in the height +of his song. How he poured forth his rich melody, +never in the immediate vicinity of the nest, +but always within easy hearing distance! Every +morning, as promptly as the morning came, between +five and six, he would sing for half an +hour from the top of a locust-tree that shaded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> +my roof. I came to expect him as much as I expected +my breakfast, and I was not disappointed +till one morning I seemed to miss something. +What was it? Oh, the thrush had not sung this +morning. Something is the matter; and, recollecting +that yesterday I had seen a red squirrel +in the trees not far from the nest, I at once inferred +that the nest had been harried. Going to +the spot, I found my fears were well grounded; +every egg was gone. The joy of the thrush was +laid low. No more songs from the tree-top, and +no more songs from any point, till nearly a week +had elapsed, when I heard him again under the +hill, where the pair had started a new nest, cautiously +tuning up, and apparently with his recent +bitter experience still weighing upon him.</p> + +<p>There is no nest-builder that suffers more +from crows and squirrels and other enemies than +the wood thrush. It builds as openly and unsuspiciously +as if it thought all the world as honest +as itself. Its favorite place is the fork of a +sapling, eight or ten feet from the ground, where +it falls an easy prey to every nest-robber that +comes prowling through the woods and groves. +It is not a bird that skulks and hides, like the +catbird, the brown thrasher, the chat, or the chewink, +and its nest is not concealed with the same +art as theirs. Our thrushes are all frank, open-mannered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +birds; but the veery and the hermit +build on the ground, where they may at least escape +the crows, owls, and jays, and stand a good +chance of being overlooked by the red squirrel +and weasel also; while the robin seeks the protection +of dwellings and outbuildings. For years +I have not known the nest of a wood thrush to +succeed. During the season referred to I observed +but two, both apparently a second attempt, +as the season was well advanced, and both failures. +In one case, the nest was placed in a branch +that an apple-tree, standing near a dwelling, held +out over the highway. The structure was barely +ten feet above the middle of the road, and would +just escape a passing load of hay. It was made +conspicuous by the use of a large fragment of +newspaper in its foundation,—an unsafe material +to build upon in most cases. Whatever else +the press may guard, this particular newspaper +did not guard this nest from harm. It saw the +egg and probably the chick, but not the fledgeling. +A murderous deed was committed above +the public highway, but whether in the open day +or under cover of darkness I have no means of +knowing. The frisky red squirrel was doubtless +the culprit. The other nest was in a maple sapling, +within a few yards of the little rustic summer-house +already referred to. The first attempt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> +of the season, I suspect, had failed in a more secluded +place under the hill; so the pair had come +up nearer the house for protection. The male +sang in the trees near by for several days before +I chanced to see the nest. The very morning, I +think, it was finished, I saw a red squirrel exploring +a tree but a few yards away; he probably +knew what the singing meant as well as I +did. I did not see the inside of the nest, for it +was almost instantly deserted, the female having +probably laid a single egg, which the squirrel +had devoured.</p> + +<p>One evening, while seated upon my porch, I +had convincing proof that musical or song contests +do take place among the birds. Two wood +thrushes who had nests near by sat on the top +of a dead tree and pitted themselves against each +other in song for over half an hour, contending +like champions in a game, and certainly affording +the rarest treat in wood-thrush melody I had +ever had. They sang and sang with unwearied +spirit and persistence, now and then changing +position or facing in another direction, but keeping +within a few feet of each other. The rivalry +became so obvious and was so interesting that I +finally made it a point not to take my eyes from +the singers. The twilight deepened till their +forms began to grow dim; then one of the birds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> +could stand the strain no longer, the limit of fair +competition had been reached, and seeming to +say, "I will silence you, anyhow," it made a +spiteful dive at its rival, and in hot pursuit the +two disappeared in the bushes beneath the tree.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> nest of nests, the ideal nest, is unquestionably +that of the Baltimore oriole. It is the +only perfectly pensile nest we have. The nest of +the orchard oriole is indeed mainly so, but this +bird generally builds lower and shallower, more +after the manner of the vireos.</p> + +<p>The Baltimore oriole loves to attach its nest to +the swaying branches of the tallest elms, making +no attempt at concealment, but satisfied if the +position be high and the branch pendent. This +nest would seem to cost more time and skill +than any other bird structure. A peculiar flax-like +material seems to be always sought after and +always found. The nest when completed assumes +the form of a large, suspended gourd. The walls +are thin but firm, and proof against the most +driving rain. The mouth is hemmed or over-handed +with strings or horsehair, and the sides +are usually sewed through and through with the +same.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;"> +<img src="images/007.jpg" width="400" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +BALTIMORE ORIOLE<br /> +Upper, male; lower, female</div> + +<p>Not particular as to the matter of secrecy, the +bird is not particular as to material, so that it +be of the nature of strings or threads. A lady +friend once told me that, while she was working<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +by an open window, one of these birds approached +while her back was turned, and, seizing a skein +of some kind of thread or yarn, made off with +it to its half-finished nest. But the perverse yarn +caught fast in the branches, and, in the bird's +efforts to extricate it, got hopelessly tangled. +She tugged away at it all day, but was finally +obliged to content herself with a few detached +portions. The fluttering strings were an eyesore +to her ever after, and, passing and repassing, +she would give them a spiteful jerk, as much +as to say, "There is that confounded yarn that +gave me so much trouble."</p> + +<p>One day in Kentucky I saw an oriole weave +into her nest unusual material. As we sat upon +the lawn in front of the cottage, we had noticed +the bird just beginning her structure, suspending +it from a long, low branch of the Kentucky +coffee-tree that grew but a few feet away. I suggested +to my host that if he would take some +brilliant yarn and scatter it about upon the +shrubbery, the fence, and the walks, the bird +would probably avail herself of it, and weave a +novel nest. I had heard of its being done, but +had never tried it myself. The suggestion was +at once acted upon, and in a few moments a handful +of zephyr yarn, crimson, orange, green, yellow, +and blue, was distributed about the grounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> +As we sat at dinner a few moments later, I saw +the eager bird flying up toward her nest with +one of these brilliant yarns streaming behind +her. They had caught her eye at once, and she +fell to work upon them with a will; not a bit +daunted by their brilliant color, she soon had a +crimson spot there amid the green leaves. She +afforded us rare amusement all the afternoon and +the next morning. How she seemed to congratulate +herself over her rare find! How vigorously +she knotted those strings to her branch and +gathered the ends in and sewed them through +and through the structure, jerking them spitefully +like a housewife burdened with many cares! +How savagely she would fly at her neighbor, an +oriole that had a nest just over the fence a few +yards away, when she invaded her territory! The +male looked on approvingly, but did not offer to +lend a hand. There is something in the manner +of the female on such occasions, something so +decisive and emphatic, that one entirely approves +of the course of the male in not meddling or offering +any suggestions. It is the wife's enterprise, +and she evidently knows her own mind so well +that the husband keeps aloof, or plays the part +of an approving spectator.</p> + +<p>The woolen yarn was ill-suited to the Kentucky +climate. This fact the bird seemed to appreciate,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +for she used it only in the upper part +of her nest, in attaching it to the branch and in +binding and compacting the rim, making the +sides and bottom of hemp, leaving it thin and +airy, much more so than are the same nests with +us. No other bird would, perhaps, have used +such brilliant material; their instincts of concealment +would have revolted, but the oriole +aims more to make its nest inaccessible than to +hide it. Its position and depth insure its safety.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE WHIP-POOR-WILL</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">One</span> day in May, walking in the woods, I +came upon the nest of a whip-poor-will, or rather its +eggs, for it builds no nest,—two elliptical whitish +spotted eggs lying upon the dry leaves. My foot +was within a yard of the mother bird before she +flew. I wondered what a sharp eye would detect +curious or characteristic in the ways of the bird, +so I came to the place many times and had a +look. It was always a task to separate the bird +from her surroundings, though I stood within a +few feet of her, and knew exactly where to look. +One had to bear on with his eye, as it were, and +refuse to be baffled. The sticks and leaves, and +bits of black or dark-brown bark, were all exactly +copied in the bird's plumage. And then she +did sit so close, and simulate so well a shapeless, +decaying piece of wood or bark! Twice I brought +a companion, and, guiding his eye to the spot, +noted how difficult it was for him to make out +there, in full view upon the dry leaves, any semblance +to a bird. When the bird returned after +being disturbed, she would alight within a few +inches of her eggs, and then, after a moment's +pause, hobble awkwardly upon them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 359px;"> +<img src="images/008.jpg" width="359" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +WHIP-POOR-WILL</div> + +<p>After the young had appeared, all the wit of +the bird came into play. I was on hand the next +day, I think. The mother bird sprang up when +I was within a pace of her, and in doing so +fanned the leaves with her wings till they sprang +up, too; as the leaves started the young started, +and as they were of the same color, to tell which +was the leaf and which the bird was a trying task +to any eye. I came the next day, when the same +tactics were repeated. Once a leaf fell upon one +of the young birds and nearly hid it. The young +are covered with a reddish down, like a young +partridge, and soon follow their mother about. +When disturbed, they gave but one leap, then +settled down, perfectly motionless and stupid, +with eyes closed. The parent bird, on these occasions, +made frantic efforts to decoy me away +from her young. She would fly a few paces and +fall upon her breast, and a spasm, like that of +death, would run through her tremulous outstretched +wings and prostrate body. She kept a +sharp eye out the mean while to see if the ruse +took, and, if it did not, she was quickly cured, +and, moving about to some other point, tried to +draw my attention as before. When followed +she always alighted upon the ground, dropping +down in a sudden, peculiar way. The second or +third day both old and young had disappeared.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> + +<p>The whip-poor-will walks as awkwardly as a +swallow, which is as awkward as a man in a bag, +and yet she manages to lead her young about +the woods. The latter, I think, move by leaps +and sudden spurts, their protective coloring shielding +them most effectively.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>As the shadows deepen and the stars begin to +come out, the whip-poor-will suddenly strikes up. +What a rude intrusion upon the serenity and harmony +of the hour! A cry without music, insistent, +reiterated, loud, penetrating, and yet the ear +welcomes it; the night and the solitude are so +vast that they can stand it; and when, an hour +later, as the night enters into full possession, the +bird comes and serenades me under my window +or upon my doorstep, my heart warms toward it. +Its cry is a love-call, and there is something of +the ardor and persistence of love in it, and when +the female responds, and comes and hovers near, +there is an interchange of subdued, caressing +tones between the two birds that it is a delight +to hear. During my first summer in my cabin +one bird used to strike up every night from a +high ledge of rocks in front of my door. At just +such a moment in the twilight he would begin, +the first to break the stillness. Then the others +would follow, till the solitude was vocal with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> +their calls. They are rarely heard later than ten +o'clock. Then at daybreak they take up the +tale again, whipping poor Will till one pities +him. One April morning between three and four +o'clock, hearing one strike up near my window, +I began counting its calls. My neighbor had told +me he had heard one call over two hundred times +without a break, which seemed to me a big story. +But I have a much bigger one to tell. This bird +actually laid upon the back of poor Will one +thousand and eighty-eight blows, with only a +barely perceptible pause here and there, as if to +catch its breath. Then it stopped about half +a minute and began again, uttering this time +three hundred and ninety calls, when it paused, +flew a little farther away, took up the tale once +more, and continued till I fell asleep.</p> + +<p>By day the whip-poor-will apparently sits motionless +upon the ground. A few times in my +walks through the woods I have started one up +from almost under my feet. On such occasions +the bird's movements suggest those of a bat; its +wings make no noise, and it wavers about in +an uncertain manner, and quickly drops to the +ground again. One June day we flushed an old +one with her two young, but there was no indecision +or hesitation in the manner of the mother +bird this time. The young were more than half<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> +fledged, and they scampered away a few yards +and suddenly squatted upon the ground, where +their assimilative coloring rendered them almost +invisible. Then the anxious parent put forth all +her arts to absorb our attention and lure us away +from her offspring. She flitted before us from +side to side, with spread wings and tail, now falling +upon the ground, where she would remain a +moment as if quite disabled, then perching upon +an old stump or low branch with drooping, quivering +wings, and imploring us by every gesture +to take her and spare her young. My companion +had his camera with him, but the bird would not +remain long enough in one position for him to +get her picture.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER<br /> +<small>A SEARCH FOR A RARE NEST</small></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">I had</span> set out in hopes of finding a rare nest,—the +nest of the black-throated blue-backed +warbler, which, it seemed, with one or two others, +was still wanting to make the history of our +warblers complete. The woods were extensive, +and full of deep, dark tangles, and looking for +any particular nest seemed about as hopeless a +task as searching for a needle in a haystack, as +the old saying is. Where to begin, and how? +But the principle is the same as in looking for a +hen's nest,—first find your bird, then watch its +movements.</p> + +<p>The bird is in these woods, for I have seen +him scores of times, but whether he builds high or +low, on the ground or in the trees, is all unknown +to me. That is his song now,—"twe-twea-twe-e-e-a," +with a peculiar summer languor and plaintiveness, +and issuing from the lower branches +and growths. Presently we—for I have been +joined by a companion—discover the bird, a +male, insecting in the top of a newly fallen hemlock. +The black, white, and blue of his uniform<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> +are seen at a glance. His movements are quite +slow compared with some of the warblers. If he +will only betray the locality of that little domicile +where his plainly clad mate is evidently sitting, +it is all we will ask of him. But this he seems +in no wise disposed to do. Here and there, and +up and down, we follow him, often losing him, +and as often refinding him by his song; but the +clew to his nest, how shall we get it? Does he +never go home to see how things are getting on, +or to see if his presence is not needed, or to take +madam a morsel of food? No doubt he keeps +within earshot, and a cry of distress or alarm from +the mother bird would bring him to the spot in +an instant. Would that some evil fate would +make her cry, then! Presently he encounters a +rival. His feeding-ground infringes upon that of +another, and the two birds regard each other +threateningly. This is a good sign, for their +nests are evidently near.</p> + +<p>Their battle-cry is a low, peculiar chirp, not +very fierce, but bantering and confident. They +quickly come to blows, but it is a very fantastic +battle, and, as it would seem, indulged in more +to satisfy their sense of honor than to hurt each +other, for neither party gets the better of the +other, and they separate a few paces and sing, and +squeak, and challenge each other in a very happy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +frame of mind. The gauntlet is no sooner thrown +down than it is again taken up by one or the +other, and in the course of fifteen or twenty +minutes they have three or four encounters, separating +a little, then provoked to return again +like two cocks, till finally they withdraw beyond +hearing of each other,—both, no doubt, claiming +the victory. But the secret of the nest is +still kept. Once I think I have it. I catch a +glimpse of a bird which looks like the female, and +near by, in a small hemlock about eight feet from +the ground, my eye detects a nest. But as I come +up under it, I can see daylight through it, and +that it is empty,—evidently only partly finished, +not lined or padded yet. Now if the bird will +only return and claim it, the point will be gained. +But we wait and watch in vain. The architect +has knocked off to-day, and we must come again, +or continue our search.</p> + +<p>Despairing of finding either of the nests of +the two males, we pushed on through the woods +to try our luck elsewhere. Before long, just as +we were about to plunge down a hill into a dense, +swampy part of the woods, we discovered a pair +of the birds we were in quest of. They had food +in their beaks, and, as we paused, showed great +signs of alarm, indicating that the nest was in +the immediate vicinity. This was enough. We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> +would pause here and find this nest, anyhow. To +make a sure thing of it, we determined to watch +the parent birds till we had wrung from them +their secret. So we doggedly crouched down and +watched them, and they watched us. It was diamond +cut diamond. But as we felt constrained +in our movements, desiring, if possible, to keep +so quiet that the birds would, after a while, see +in us only two harmless stumps or prostrate logs, +we had much the worst of it. The mosquitoes +were quite taken with our quiet, and knew us +from logs and stumps in a moment. Neither were +the birds deceived, not even when we tried the +Indian's tactics, and plumed ourselves with green +branches. Ah, the suspicious creatures, how they +watched us with the food in their beaks, abstaining +for one whole hour from ministering to that +precious charge which otherwise would have been +visited every few moments! Quite near us they +would come at times, between us and the nest, +eying us so sharply. Then they would move off, +and apparently try to forget our presence. Was it +to deceive us, or to persuade himself and his mate +that there was no serious cause for alarm, that the +male would now and then strike up in full song +and move off to some distance through the trees? +But the mother bird did not allow herself to lose +sight of us at all, and both birds, after carrying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +the food in their beaks a long time, would swallow +it themselves. Then they would obtain another +morsel and apparently approach very near +the nest, when their caution or prudence would +come to their aid, and they would swallow the +food and hasten away. I thought the young +birds would cry out, but not a syllable from them. +Yet this was, no doubt, what kept the parent +birds away from the nest. The clamor the young +would have set up on the approach of the old +with food would have exposed everything.</p> + +<p>After a time I felt sure I knew within a few +feet where the nest was concealed. Indeed, I +thought I knew the identical bush. Then the +birds approached each other again and grew very +confidential about another locality some rods below. +This puzzled us, and, seeing the whole +afternoon might be spent in this manner and +the mystery unsolved, we determined to change +our tactics and institute a thorough search of the +locality. This procedure soon brought things to a +crisis, for, as my companion clambered over a log +by a little hemlock, a few yards from where we had +been sitting, with a cry of alarm out sprang the +young birds from their nest in the hemlock, and, +scampering and fluttering over the leaves, disappeared +in different directions. Instantly the parent +birds were on the scene in an agony of alarm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> +Their distress was pitiful. They threw themselves +on the ground at our very feet, and fluttered, and +cried, and trailed themselves before us, to draw us +away from the place, or distract our attention +from the helpless young. I shall not forget the +male bird, how bright he looked, how sharp the +contrast as he trailed his painted plumage there +on the dry leaves. Apparently he was seriously disabled. +He would start up as if exerting every muscle +to fly away, but no use; down he would come, +with a helpless, fluttering motion, before he had +gone two yards, and apparently you had only to go +and pick him up. But before you could pick him +up, he had recovered somewhat and flown a little +farther; and thus, if you were tempted to follow +him, you would soon find yourself some distance +from the scene of the nest, and both old and young +well out of your reach. The female bird was not +less solicitous, and practiced the same arts upon us +to decoy us away, but her dull plumage rendered +her less noticeable. The male was clad in holiday +attire, but his mate in an every-day working-garb.</p> + +<p>The nest was built in the fork of a little hemlock, +about fifteen inches from the ground, and +was a thick, firm structure, composed of the finer +material of the woods, with a lining of very delicate +roots or rootlets. There were four young +birds and one addled egg.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE MARSH HAWK<br /> +<small>A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST</small></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Most</span> country boys, I fancy, know the marsh +hawk. It is he you see flying low over the fields, +beating about bushes and marshes and dipping +over the fences, with his attention directed to +the ground beneath him. He is a cat on wings. +He keeps so low that the birds and mice do not +see him till he is fairly upon them. The hen-hawk +swoops down upon the meadow-mouse from his +position high in air, or from the top of a dead +tree; but the marsh hawk stalks him and comes +suddenly upon him from over the fence, or from +behind a low bush or tuft of grass. He is nearly +as large as the hen-hawk, but has a much longer +tail. When I was a boy I used to call him the +long-tailed hawk. The male is of a bluish slate-color; +the female reddish-brown, like the hen-hawk, +with a white rump.</p> + +<p>Unlike the other hawks, they nest on the +ground in low, thick marshy places. For several +seasons a pair have nested in a bushy marsh a +few miles back of me, near the house of a farmer +friend of mine, who has a keen eye for the wild<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> +life about him. Two years ago he found the +nest, but when I got over to see it the next week, +it had been robbed, probably by some boys in the +neighborhood. The past season, in April or May, +by watching the mother bird, he found the nest +again. It was in a marshy place, several acres in +extent, in the bottom of a valley, and thickly +grown with hardback, prickly ash, smilax, and +other low thorny bushes. My friend took me to +the brink of a low hill, and pointed out to me +in the marsh below us, as nearly as he could, +just where the nest was located. Then we crossed +the pasture, entered upon the marsh, and made +our way cautiously toward it. The wild, thorny +growths, waist-high, had to be carefully dealt +with. As we neared the spot, I used my eyes the +best I could, but I did not see the hawk till she +sprang into the air not ten yards away from us. +She went screaming upward, and was soon sailing +in a circle far above us. There, on a coarse +matting of twigs and weeds, lay five snow-white +eggs, a little more than half as large as hens' +eggs. My companion said the male hawk would +probably soon appear and join the female, but +he did not. She kept drifting away to the east, +and was soon gone from our sight.</p> + +<p>We presently withdrew and secreted ourselves +behind the stone wall, in hopes of seeing the mother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> +hawk return. She appeared in the distance, +but seemed to know she was being watched, and +kept away.</p> + +<p>About ten days later we made another visit to +the nest. An adventurous young Chicago lady +also wanted to see a hawk's nest, and so accompanied +us. This time three of the eggs were +hatched, and as the mother hawk sprang up, +either by accident or intentionally she threw +two of the young hawks some feet from the nest. +She rose up and screamed angrily. Then, turning +toward us, she came like an arrow straight at +the young lady, a bright plume in whose hat +probably drew her fire. The damsel gathered up +her skirts about her and beat a hasty retreat. +Hawks were not so pretty as she thought they +were. A large hawk launched at one's face from +high in the air is calculated to make one a little +nervous. It is such a fearful incline down which +the bird comes, and she is aiming exactly toward +your eye. When within about thirty feet of you, +she turns upward with a rushing sound, and, +mounting higher, falls toward you again. She is +only firing blank cartridges, as it were; but it +usually has the desired effect, and beats the +enemy off.</p> + +<p>After we had inspected the young hawks, a +neighbor of my friend offered to conduct us to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> +quail's nest. Anything in the shape of a nest is +always welcome, it is such a mystery, such a centre +of interest and affection, and, if upon the +ground, is usually something so dainty and exquisite +amid the natural wreckage and confusion. +A ground nest seems so exposed, too, that it always +gives a little thrill of pleasurable surprise +to see the group of frail eggs resting there behind +so slight a barrier. I will walk a long distance +any day just to see a song sparrow's nest +amid the stubble or under a tuft of grass. It is +a jewel in a rosette of jewels, with a frill of +weeds or turf. A quail's nest I had never seen, +and to be shown one within the hunting-ground +of this murderous hawk would be a double pleasure. +Such a quiet, secluded, grass-grown highway +as we moved along was itself a rare treat. +Sequestered was the word that the little valley +suggested, and peace the feeling the road evoked. +The farmer, whose fields lay about us, half grown +with weeds and bushes, evidently did not make +stir or noise enough to disturb anything. Beside +this rustic highway, bounded by old mossy +stone walls, and within a stone's throw of the +farmer's barn, the quail had made her nest. It +was just under the edge of a prostrate thorn-bush.</p> + +<p>"The nest is right there," said the farmer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +pausing within ten feet of it, and pointing to the +spot with his stick.</p> + +<p>In a moment or two we could make out the +mottled brown plumage of the sitting bird. Then +we approached her cautiously till we bent above +her.</p> + +<p>She never moved a feather.</p> + +<p>Then I put my cane down in the brush behind +her. We wanted to see the eggs, yet did +not want rudely to disturb the sitting hen.</p> + +<p>She would not move.</p> + +<p>Then I put down my hand within a few inches +of her; still she kept her place. Should we have +to lift her off bodily?</p> + +<p>Then the young lady put down her hand, probably +the prettiest and the whitest hand the quail +had ever seen. At least it started her, and off +she sprang, uncovering such a crowded nest of +eggs as I had never before beheld. Twenty-one +of them! a ring or disk of white like a china tea-saucer. +You could not help saying, How pretty! +How cunning! like baby hens' eggs, as if the bird +were playing at sitting, as children play at housekeeping.</p> + +<p>If I had known how crowded her nest was, I +should not have dared disturb her, for fear she +would break some of them. But not an egg suffered +harm by her sudden flight. And no harm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> +came to the nest afterward. Every egg hatched, +I was told, and the little chicks, hardly bigger +than bumblebees, were led away by the mother +into the fields.</p> + +<p>In about a week I paid another visit to the +hawk's nest. The eggs were all hatched, and the +mother bird was hovering near. I shall never +forget the curious expression of those young +hawks sitting there on the ground. The expression +was not one of youth, but of extreme age. +Such an ancient, infirm look as they had,—the +sharp, dark, and shrunken look about the face +and eyes, and their feeble, tottering motions! +They sat upon their elbows and the hind part of +their bodies, and their pale, withered legs and +feet extended before them in the most helpless +fashion. Their angular bodies were covered with +a pale yellowish down, like that of a chicken; +their heads had a plucked, seedy appearance; +and their long, strong, naked wings hung down +by their sides till they touched the ground: +power and ferocity in the first rude draught, +shorn of everything but its sinister ugliness. Another +curious thing was the gradation of the +young in size; they tapered down regularly from +the first to the fifth, as if there had been, as probably +there was, an interval of a day or two between +the hatchings.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> + +<p>The two older ones showed some signs of fear +on our approach, and one of them threw himself +upon his back, and put up his impotent legs, and +glared at us with open beak. The two smaller +ones regarded us not at all. Neither of the parent +birds appeared during our stay.</p> + +<p>When I visited the nest again, eight or ten +days later, the birds were much grown, but of as +marked a difference in size as before, and with +the same look of extreme old age,—old age in +men of the aquiline type, nose and chin coming +together, and eyes large and sunken. They now +glared upon us with a wild, savage look, and +opened their beaks threateningly.</p> + +<p>The next week, when my friend visited the +nest, the larger of the hawks fought him savagely. +But one of the brood, probably the last +to hatch, had made but little growth. It appeared +to be on the point of starvation. The mother +hawk (for the male seemed to have disappeared) +had perhaps found her family too large for her, +and was deliberately allowing one of the number +to perish; or did the larger and stronger young +devour all the food before the weaker member +could obtain any? Probably this was the case.</p> + +<p>Arthur brought the feeble nestling away, and +the same day my little boy got it and brought it +home, wrapped in a woolen rag. It was clearly a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> +starved bantling. It cried feebly but would not +lift up its head.</p> + +<p>We first poured some warm milk down its +throat, which soon revived it, so that it would +swallow small bits of flesh. In a day or two we +had it eating ravenously, and its growth became +noticeable. Its voice had the sharp whistling +character of that of its parents, and was stilled +only when the bird was asleep. We made a pen +for it, about a yard square, in one end of the study, +covering the floor with several thicknesses of +newspapers; and here, upon a bit of brown woolen +blanket for a nest, the hawk waxed strong day by +day. An uglier-looking pet, tested by all the rules +we usually apply to such things, would have been +hard to find. There he would sit upon his elbows, +his helpless feet out in front of him, his great featherless +wings touching the floor, and shrilly cry +for more food. For a time we gave him water daily +from a stylograph-pen filler, but the water he +evidently did not need or relish. Fresh meat, and +plenty of it, was his demand. And we soon discovered +that he liked game, such as mice, squirrels, +birds, much better than butcher's meat.</p> + +<p>Then began a lively campaign on the part of +my little boy against all the vermin and small +game in the neighborhood, to keep the hawk supplied. +He trapped and he hunted, he enlisted his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> +mates in his service, he even robbed the cats to +feed the hawk. His usefulness as a boy of all +work was seriously impaired. "Where is J——?" +"Gone after a squirrel for his hawk." And +often the day would be half gone before his hunt +was successful. The premises were very soon +cleared of mice, and the vicinity of chipmunks and +squirrels. Farther and farther he was compelled +to hunt the surrounding farms and woods to keep +up with the demands of the hawk. By the time +the hawk was ready to fly, it had consumed +twenty-one chipmunks, fourteen red squirrels, +sixteen mice, and twelve English sparrows, besides +a great deal of butcher's meat.</p> + +<p>His plumage very soon began to show itself, +crowding off tufts of the down. The quills on his +great wings sprouted and grew apace. What a +ragged, uncanny appearance he presented! but +his look of extreme age gradually became modified. +What a lover of the sunlight he was! We +would put him out upon the grass in the full blaze +of the morning sun, and he would spread his wings +and bask in it with the most intense enjoyment. +In the nest the young must be exposed to the +full power of the midday sun during our first +heated terms in June and July, the thermometer +often going up to ninety-three or ninety-five degrees, +so that sunshine seemed to be a need of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> +his nature. He liked the rain equally well, and +when put out in a shower would sit down and +take it as if every drop did him good.</p> + +<p>His legs developed nearly as slowly as his +wings. He could not stand steadily upon them +till about ten days before he was ready to fly. +The talons were limp and feeble. When we came +with food, he would hobble along toward us like +the worst kind of a cripple, drooping and moving +his wings, and treading upon his legs from +the foot back to the elbow, the foot remaining +closed and useless. Like a baby learning to stand, +he made many trials before he succeeded. He +would rise up on his trembling legs only to fall +back again.</p> + +<p>One day, in the summer-house, I saw him for +the first time stand for a moment squarely upon +his legs with the feet fully spread beneath them. +He looked about him as if the world suddenly +wore a new aspect.</p> + +<p>His plumage now grew quite rapidly. One red +squirrel a day, chopped fine with an axe, was +his ration. He began to hold his game with his +foot while he tore it. The study was full of +his shed down. His dark-brown mottled plumage +began to grow beautiful. The wings drooped a +little, but gradually he got control of them, and +held them in place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was now the 20th of July, and the hawk +was about five weeks old. In a day or two he was +walking or jumping about the grounds. He chose +a position under the edge of a Norway spruce, +where he would sit for hours dozing, or looking +out upon the landscape. When we brought him +game, he would advance to meet us with wings +slightly lifted, and uttering a shrill cry. Toss him +a mouse or sparrow, and he would seize it with +one foot and hop off to his cover, where he +would bend above it, spread his plumage, look +this way and that, uttering all the time the most +exultant and satisfied chuckle.</p> + +<p>About this time he began to practice striking +with his talons, as an Indian boy might begin +practicing with his bow and arrow. He would +strike at a dry leaf in the grass, or at a fallen +apple, or at some imaginary object. He was learning +the use of his weapons. His wings also,—he +seemed to feel them sprouting from his +shoulders. He would lift them straight up and +hold them expanded, and they would seem to +quiver with excitement. Every hour in the day +he would do this. The pressure was beginning to +centre there. Then he would strike playfully at +a leaf or a bit of wood, and keep his wings +lifted.</p> + +<p>The next step was to spring into the air and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> +beat his wings. He seemed now to be thinking +entirely of his wings. They itched to be put to +use.</p> + +<p>A day or two later he would leap and fly several +feet. A pile of brush ten or twelve feet below +the bank was easily reached. Here he would +perch in true hawk fashion, to the bewilderment +and scandal of all the robins and catbirds in the +vicinity. Here he would dart his eye in all directions, +turning his head over and glancing up into +the sky.</p> + +<p>He was now a lovely creature, fully fledged, +and as tame as a kitten. But he was not a bit like a +kitten in one respect,—he could not bear to have +you stroke or even touch his plumage. He had a +horror of your hand, as if it would hopelessly defile +him. But he would perch upon it, and allow you +to carry him about. If a dog or cat appeared, he +was ready to give battle instantly. He rushed +up to a little dog one day, and struck him with +his foot savagely. He was afraid of strangers, +and of any unusual object.</p> + +<p>The last week in July he began to fly quite +freely, and it was necessary to clip one of his +wings. As the clipping embraced only the ends +of his primaries, he soon overcame the difficulty, +and, by carrying his broad, long tail more on that +side, flew with considerable ease. He made longer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> +and longer excursions into the surrounding fields +and vineyards, and did not always return. On such +occasions we would go to find him and fetch him +back.</p> + +<p>Late one rainy afternoon he flew away into the +vineyard, and when, an hour later, I went after +him, he could not be found, and we never saw him +again. We hoped hunger would soon drive him +back, but we have had no clew to him from that +day to this.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE WINTER WREN</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">An</span> old hemlock wood at the head waters of +the Delaware is a chosen haunt of the winter +wren. His voice fills these dim aisles, as if aided +by some marvelous sounding-board. Indeed, his +song is very strong for so small a bird, and unites +in a remarkable degree brilliancy and plaintiveness. +I think of a tremulous, vibrating tongue +of silver. You may know it is the song of a wren +from its gushing, lyrical character; but you must +needs look sharp to see the little minstrel, especially +while in the act of singing. He is nearly the +color of the ground and the leaves; he never +ascends the tall trees, but keeps low, flitting +from stump to stump and from root to root, dodging +in and out of his hiding-places, and watching +all intruders with a suspicious eye. He has a very +pert, almost comical look. His tail stands more +than perpendicular: it points straight toward his +head. He is the least ostentatious singer I know +of. He does not strike an attitude, and lift up +his head in preparation, and, as it were, clear his +throat; but sits there on a log and pours out his +music, looking straight before him, or even down +at the ground. As a songster, he has but few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +superiors. I do not hear him after the first week +in July.</p> + +<p>The winter wren is so called because he sometimes +braves our northern winters, but it is rarely +that one sees him at this season. I think I have seen +him only two or three times in winter in my life. +The event of one long walk, recently, in February, +was seeing one of these birds. As I followed a +byroad, beside a little creek in the edge of a wood, +my eye caught a glimpse of a small brown bird +darting under a stone bridge. I thought to myself +no bird but a wren would take refuge under +so small a bridge as that. I stepped down upon +it and expected to see the bird dart out at the +upper end. As it did not appear, I scrutinized +the bank of the little run, covered with logs and +brush, a few rods farther up.</p> + +<p>Presently I saw the wren curtsying and gesticulating +beneath an old log. As I approached +he disappeared beneath some loose stones in the +bank, then came out again and took another peep +at me, then fidgeted about for a moment and disappeared +again, running in and out of the holes +and recesses and beneath the rubbish like a mouse +or a chipmunk. The winter wren may always be +known by these squatting, bobbing-out-and-in +habits.</p> + +<p>As I sought a still closer view of him, he flitted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +stealthily a few yards up the run and disappeared +beneath a small plank bridge near a +house.</p> + +<p>I wondered what he could feed upon at such +a time. There was a light skim of snow upon the +ground, and the weather was cold. The wren, so +far as I know, is entirely an insect-feeder, and +where can he find insects in midwinter in our +climate? Probably by searching under bridges, +under brush-heaps, in holes and cavities in banks +where the sun falls warm. In such places he may +find dormant spiders and flies and other hibernating +insects or their larvæ. We have a tiny, +mosquito-like creature that comes forth in March +or in midwinter, as soon as the temperature is a +little above freezing. One may see them performing +their fantastic air-dances when the air is +so chilly that one buttons his overcoat about him +in his walk. They are darker than the mosquito,—a +sort of dark water-color,—and are very +frail to the touch. Maybe the wren knows the +hiding-place of these insects.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CEDAR-BIRD</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">How</span> alert and vigilant the birds are, even when +absorbed in building their nests! In an open +space in the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds +collecting moss from the top of a dead tree. Following +the direction in which they fly, I soon +discover the nest placed in the fork of a small +soft maple, which stands amid a thick growth of +wild cherry-trees and young beeches. Carefully +concealing myself beneath it, without any fear +that the workmen will hit me with a chip or let +fall a tool, I await the return of the busy pair. +Presently I hear the well-known note, and the +female sweeps down and settles unsuspectingly +into the half-finished structure. Hardly have her +wings rested before her eye has penetrated my +screen, and with a hurried movement of alarm +she darts away. In a moment the male, with a +tuft of wool in his beak (for there is a sheep pasture +near), joins her, and the two reconnoitre +the premises from the surrounding bushes. With +their beaks still loaded, they flit round with a +frightened look, and refuse to approach the +nest till I have moved off and lain down behind +a log. Then one of them ventures to alight upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +the nest, but, still suspecting all is not right, +quickly darts away again. Then they both together +come, and after much peeping and spying +about, and apparently much anxious consultation, +cautiously proceed to work. In less than +half an hour it would seem that wool enough +has been brought to supply the whole family, +real and prospective, with socks, if needles and +fingers could be found fine enough to knit it up. +In less than a week the female has begun to deposit +her eggs,—four of them in as many days,—white +tinged with purple, with black spots on +the larger end. After two weeks of incubation +the young are out.</p> + +<p>Excepting the American goldfinch, this bird +builds later in the season than any other, its +nest, in our northern climate, seldom being undertaken +till July. As with the goldfinch, the +reason is, probably, that suitable food for the +young cannot be had at an earlier period.</p> + +<p>I knew a pair of cedar-birds, one season, to +build in an apple-tree, the branches of which +rubbed against the house. For a day or two before +the first straw was laid, I noticed the pair +carefully exploring every branch of the tree, the +female taking the lead, the male following her +with an anxious note and look. It was evident +that the wife was to have her choice this time;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +and, like one who thoroughly knew her mind, she +was proceeding to take it. Finally the site was +chosen upon a high branch, extending over one +low wing of the house. Mutual congratulations +and caresses followed, when both birds flew away +in quest of building-material. That most freely +used is a sort of cotton-bearing plant which grows +in old worn-out fields. The nest is large for the +size of the bird, and very soft. It is in every respect +a first-class domicile.</p> + +<p>The cedar-bird is the most silent bird we have. +Our neutral-tinted birds, like him, as a rule are +our finest songsters; but he has no song or call, +uttering only a fine bead-like note on taking +flight. This note is the cedar-berry rendered back +in sound. When the ox-heart cherries, which he +has only recently become acquainted with, have +had time to enlarge his pipe and warm his heart, +I shall expect more music from him. But in lieu +of music, what a pretty compensation are those +minute, almost artificial-like, plumes of orange +and vermilion that tip the ends of his wing quills! +Nature could not give him these and a song too.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE GOLDFINCH</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">About</span> the most noticeable bird of August in +New York and New England is the yellowbird, +or goldfinch. This is one of the last birds to nest, +seldom hatching its eggs till late in July. It seems +as if a particular kind of food were required to +rear its brood, which cannot be had at an earlier +date. The seed of the common thistle is apparently +its mainstay. There is no prettier sight at +this season than a troop of young goldfinches, +led by their parents, going from thistle to thistle +along the roadside and pulling the ripe heads to +pieces for the seed. The plaintive call of the +young is one of the characteristic August sounds. +Their nests are frequently destroyed, or the eggs +thrown from them, by the terrific July thunder-showers. +Last season a pair had a nest on the +slender branch of a maple in front of the door +of the house where I was staying. The eggs +were being deposited, and the happy pair had a +loving conversation about them many times each +day, when one afternoon a very violent storm +arose which made the branches of the trees stream +out like wildly disheveled hair, quite turning over +those on the windward side, and emptying the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> +pretty nest of its eggs. In such cases the birds +build anew,—a delay that may bring the incubation +into August.</p> + +<p>It is a deep, snug, compact nest, with no loose +ends hanging, placed in the fork of a small limb +of an apple-tree, a peach-tree, or an ornamental +shade-tree. The eggs are faint bluish-white.</p> + +<p>While the female is sitting, the male feeds her +regularly. She calls to him on his approach, or +when she hears his voice passing by, in the most +affectionate, feminine, childlike tones, the only +case I know where the sitting bird makes any +sound while in the act of incubation. When a +rival male invades the tree, or approaches too +near, the male whose nest it holds pursues and +reasons or expostulates with him in the same +bright, amicable, confiding tones. Indeed, most +birds make use of their sweetest notes in war. +The song of love is the song of battle too. The +male yellowbirds flit about from point to point, +apparently assuring each other of the highest +sentiments of esteem and consideration, at the +same time that one intimates to the other that +he is carrying his joke a little too far. It has the +effect of saying with mild and good-humored surprise, +"Why, my dear sir, this is my territory; +you surely do not mean to trespass; permit me +to salute you, and to escort you over the line."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> +Yet the intruder does not always take the hint. +Occasionally the couple have a brief sparring-match +in the air, and mount up and up, beak to +beak, to a considerable height, but rarely do they +actually come to blows.</p> + +<p>The yellowbird becomes active and conspicuous +after the other birds have nearly all withdrawn +from the stage and become silent, their +broods reared and flown. August is his month, +his festive season. It is his turn now. The thistles +are ripening their seeds, and his nest is undisturbed +by jay-bird or crow. He is the first bird +I hear in the morning, circling and swinging +through the air in that peculiar undulating flight, +and calling out on the downward curve of each +stroke, "Here we go, here we go!" Every hour +in the day he indulges in his circling, billowy +flight. It is a part of his musical performance. +His course at such times is a deeply undulating +line, like the long, gentle roll of the summer sea, +the distance from crest to crest or from valley to +valley being probably thirty feet; this distance +is made with but one brief beating of the wings +on the downward curve. As he quickly opens +them, they give him a strong upward impulse, +and he describes the long arc with them closely +folded. Thus, falling and recovering, rising and +sinking like dolphins in the sea, he courses through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> +the summer air. In marked contrast to this feat +is his manner of flying when he indulges in a +brief outburst of song on the wing. Now he flies +level, with broad expanded wings nearly as round +and as concave as two shells, which beat the +air slowly. The song is the chief matter now, +and the wings are used only to keep him afloat +while delivering it. In the other case, the flight +is the main concern, and the voice merely punctuates +it.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>Among our familiar birds the matchmaking +of none other is quite so pretty as that of the +goldfinch. The goldfinches stay with us in loose +flocks and clad in a dull-olive suit throughout +the winter. In May the males begin to put on +their bright summer plumage. This is the result +of a kind of superficial moulting. Their feathers +are not shed, but their dusky covering or overalls +are cast off. When the process is only partly +completed, the bird has a smutty, unpresentable +appearance. But we seldom see them at such +times. They seem to retire from society. When +the change is complete, and the males have got +their bright uniforms of yellow and black, the +courting begins. All the goldfinches of a neighborhood +collect together and hold a sort of musical +festival. To the number of many dozens<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> +they may be seen in some large tree, all singing +and calling in the most joyous and vivacious manner. +The males sing, and the females chirp and +call. Whether there is actual competition on a +trial of musical abilities of the males before the +females or not, I do not know. The best of feeling +seems to pervade the company; there is no +sign of quarreling or fighting; "all goes merry +as a marriage bell," and the matches seem actually +to be made during these musical picnics. +Before May is passed the birds are seen in +couples, and in June housekeeping usually begins. +This I call the ideal of love-making among +birds, and is in striking contrast to the squabbles +and jealousies of most of our songsters.</p> + +<p>I have known the goldfinches to keep up this +musical and love-making festival through three +consecutive days of a cold northeast rainstorm. +Bedraggled, but ardent and happy, the birds were +not to be dispersed by wind or weather.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE HEN-HAWK<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">August</span> is the month of the high-sailing hawks. +The hen-hawk is the most noticeable. He likes +the haze and calm of these long, warm days. He +is a bird of leisure, and seems always at his ease. +How beautiful and majestic are his movements! +So self-poised and easy, such an entire absence +of haste, such a magnificent amplitude of circles +and spirals, such a haughty, imperial grace, and, +occasionally, such daring aerial evolutions!</p> + +<p>With slow, leisurely movement, rarely vibrating +his pinions, he mounts and mounts in an ascending +spiral till he appears a mere speck against +the summer sky; then, if the mood seizes him, +with wings half closed, like a bent bow, he will +cleave the air almost perpendicularly, as if intent +on dashing himself to pieces against the earth; +but on nearing the ground he suddenly mounts +again on broad, expanded wing, as if rebounding +upon the air, and sails leisurely away. It is the +sublimest feat of the season. One holds his breath +till he sees him rise again.</p> + +<p>If inclined to a more gradual and less precipitous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> +descent, he fixes his eye on some distant +point in the earth beneath him, and thither bends +his course. He is still almost meteoric in his speed +and boldness. You see his path down the heavens, +straight as a line; if near, you hear the rush +of his wings; his shadow hurtles across the fields, +and in an instant you see him quietly perched +upon some low tree or decayed stub in a swamp +or meadow, with reminiscences of frogs and mice +stirring in his maw.</p> + +<p>When the south wind blows, it is a study to +see three or four of these air-kings at the head +of the valley far up toward the mountain, balancing +and oscillating upon the strong current; +now quite stationary, except for a slight tremulous +motion like the poise of a rope-dancer, then rising +and falling in long undulations, and seeming +to resign themselves passively to the wind; +or, again, sailing high and level far above the +mountain's peak, no bluster and haste, but, as +stated, occasionally a terrible earnestness and +speed. Fire at one as he sails overhead, and, unless +wounded badly, he will not change his course +or gait.</p> + +<p>The calmness and dignity of this hawk, when +attacked by crows or the kingbird, are well worthy +of him. He seldom deigns to notice his noisy +and furious antagonists, but deliberately wheels<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> +about in that aerial spiral, and mounts and mounts +till his pursuers grow dizzy and return to earth +again. It is quite original, this mode of getting +rid of an unworthy opponent,—rising to heights +where the braggart is dazed and bewildered and +loses his reckoning! I am not sure but it is worthy +of imitation.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks are both called +hen-hawks.</p></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Whir! whir! whir!</span> and a brood of half-grown +partridges start up like an explosion, a few paces +from me, and, scattering, disappear into the bushes +on all sides. Let me sit down here behind the +screen of ferns and briers, and hear this wild +hen of the woods call together her brood. At +what an early age the partridge flies! Nature +seems to concentrate her energies on the wing, +making the safety of the bird a point to be +looked after first; and while the body is covered +with down, and no signs of feathers are visible +there, the wing-quills sprout and unfold, and in +an incredibly short time the young make fair +headway in flying.</p> + +<p>Hark! there arises over there in the brush a +soft, persuasive cooing, a sound so subtle and +wild and unobtrusive that it requires the most +alert and watchful ear to hear it. How gentle +and solicitous and full of yearning love! It is +the voice of the mother hen. Presently a faint +timid "Yeap!" which almost eludes the ear, is +heard in various directions,—the young responding. +As no danger seems near, the cooing of the +parent bird is soon a very audible clucking call,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +and the young move cautiously in that direction. +Let me step never so carefully from my hiding-place, +and all sounds instantly cease, and I +search in vain for either parent or young.</p> + +<p>The partridge is one of our native and most +characteristic birds. The woods seem good to be +in where I find him. He gives a habitable air to +the forest, and one feels as if the rightful occupant +were really at home. The woods where I +do not find him seem to want something, as if +suffering from some neglect of Nature. And +then he is such a splendid success, so hardy and +vigorous. I think he enjoys the cold and the +snow. His wings seem to rustle with more fervency +in midwinter. If the snow falls very fast, +and promises a heavy storm, he will complacently +sit down and allow himself to be snowed under. +When you approach him at such times, he suddenly +bursts out of the snow at your feet, scattering +the flakes in all directions, and goes +humming away through the woods like a bomb-shell,—a +picture of native spirit and success.</p> + +<p>His drum is one of the most welcome and +beautiful sounds of spring. Scarcely have the +trees expanded their buds, when, in the still April +mornings, or toward nightfall, you hear the hum +of his devoted wings. He selects, not, as you +would predict, a dry and resinous log, but a decayed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> +and crumbling one, seeming to give the +preference to old oak-logs that are partly blended +with the soil. If a log to his taste cannot be +found, he sets up his altar on a rock, which becomes +resonant beneath his fervent blows. Who +has seen the partridge drum? It is the next +thing to catching a weasel asleep, though by +much caution and tact it may be done. He does +not hug the log, but stands very erect, expands +his ruff, gives two introductory blows, pauses +half a second, and then resumes, striking faster +and faster till the sound becomes a continuous, +unbroken whir, the whole lasting less than half +a minute. The tips of his wings barely brush the +log, so that the sound is produced rather by the +force of the blows upon the air and upon his +own body as in flying. One log will be used for +many years, though not by the same drummer. +It seems to be a sort of temple and held in great +respect. The bird always approaches on foot, +and leaves it in the same quiet manner, unless +rudely disturbed. He is very cunning, though his +wit is not profound. It is difficult to approach +him by stealth; you will try many times before +succeeding; but seem to pass by him in a great +hurry, making all the noise possible, and with +plumage furled he stands as immovable as a knot, +allowing you a good view.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> + +<p>The sharp-rayed track of the partridge adds +another figure to the fantastic embroidery upon +the winter snow. Her course is a clear, strong +line, sometimes quite wayward, but generally very +direct, steering for the densest, most impenetrable +places,—leading you over logs and through +brush, alert and expectant, till, suddenly, she +bursts up a few yards from you, and goes humming +through the trees,—the complete triumph +of endurance and vigor. Hardy native bird, may +your tracks never be fewer, or your visits to the +birch-tree less frequent!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE PARTRIDGE</h3> + +<div class="poem" style="width: 17em;"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">List</span> the booming from afar,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Soft as hum of roving bee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Vague as when on distant bar<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Fall the cataracts of the sea.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Yet again, a sound astray,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Was it the humming of the mill?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Was it cannon leagues away?<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Or dynamite beyond the hill?<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">'T is the grouse with kindled soul,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Wistful of his mate and nest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sounding forth his vernal roll<br /></span> +<span class="i2">On his love-enkindled breast.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">List his fervid morning drum,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">List his summons soft and deep,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Calling Spice-bush till she come,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Waking Bloodroot from her sleep.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Ah! ruffled drummer, let thy wing<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Beat a march the days will heed,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Wake and spur the tardy spring,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till minstrel voices jocund ring,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And spring is spring in very deed.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CROW</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> crow may not have the sweet voice which +the fox in his flattery attributed to him, but he +has a good, strong, native speech nevertheless. +How much character there is in it! How much +thrift and independence! Of course his plumage +is firm, his color decided, his wit quick. He understands +you at once and tells you so; so does +the hawk by his scornful, defiant <i>whir-r-r-r-r</i>. +Hardy, happy outlaws, the crows, how I love +them! Alert, social, republican, always able to +look out for himself, not afraid of the cold and +the snow, fishing when flesh is scarce, and stealing +when other resources fail, the crow is a +character I would not willingly miss from the +landscape. I love to see his track in the snow or +the mud, and his graceful pedestrianism about +the brown fields.</p> + +<p>He is no interloper, but has the air and manner +of being thoroughly at home, and in rightful +possession of the land. He is no sentimentalist +like some of the plaining, disconsolate song-birds, +but apparently is always in good health +and good spirits. No matter who is sick, or dejected, +or unsatisfied, or what the weather is, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> +what the price of corn, the crow is well and finds +life sweet. He is the dusky embodiment of +worldly wisdom and prudence. Then he is one +of Nature's self-appointed constables and greatly +magnifies his office. He would fain arrest every +hawk or owl or grimalkin that ventures abroad. +I have known a posse of them to beset the fox +and cry "Thief!" till Reynard hid himself for +shame. Do I say the fox flattered the crow when +he told him he had a sweet voice? Yet one of +the most musical sounds in nature proceeds from +the crow. All the crow tribe, from the blue jay +up, are capable of certain low ventriloquial notes +that have peculiar cadence and charm. I often +hear the crow indulging in his in winter, and am +reminded of the sound of the dulcimer. The bird +stretches up and exerts himself like a cock in the +act of crowing, and gives forth a peculiarly clear, +vitreous sound that is sure to arrest and reward +your attention. This is, no doubt, the song the +fox begged to be favored with, as in delivering +it the crow must inevitably let drop the piece of +meat.</p> + +<p>The crow has fine manners. He always has +the walk and air of a lord of the soil. One morning +I put out some fresh meat upon the snow +near my study window. Presently a crow came +and carried it off, and alighted with it upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> +ground in the vineyard. While he was eating it, +another crow came, and, alighting a few yards +away, slowly walked up to within a few feet of +this fellow and stopped. I expected to see a +struggle over the food, as would have been the +case with domestic fowls or animals. Nothing of +the kind. The feeding crow stopped eating, regarded +the other for a moment, made a gesture +or two, and flew away. Then the second crow +went up to the food, and proceeded to take his +share. Presently the first crow came back, when +each seized a portion of the food and flew away +with it. Their mutual respect and good-will +seemed perfect. Whether it really was so in our +human sense, or whether it was simply an illustration +of the instinct of mutual support which +seems to prevail among gregarious birds, I know +not. Birds that are solitary in their habits, like +hawks or woodpeckers, behave quite differently +toward each other in the presence of their food.</p> + +<p>The crow will quickly discover anything that +looks like a trap or snare set to catch him, but it +takes him a long time to see through the simplest +contrivance. As I have above stated, I sometimes +place meat on the snow in front of my study +window to attract him. On one occasion, after a +couple of crows had come to expect something +there daily, I suspended a piece of meat by a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> +string from a branch of the tree just over the +spot where I usually placed the food. A crow +soon discovered it, and came into the tree to +see what it meant. His suspicions were aroused. +There was some design in that suspended meat, +evidently. It was a trap to catch him. He surveyed +it from every near branch. He peeked and +pried, and was bent on penetrating the mystery. +He flew to the ground, and walked about and +surveyed it from all sides. Then he took a long +walk down about the vineyard as if in hope of +hitting upon some clew. Then he came to the +tree again, and tried first one eye, then the other, +upon it; then to the ground beneath; then he +went away and came back; then his fellow came, +and they both squinted and investigated, and +then disappeared. Chickadees and woodpeckers +would alight upon the meat and peck it swinging +in the wind, but the crows were fearful. Does +this show reflection? Perhaps it does, but I look +upon it rather as that instinct of fear and cunning +so characteristic of the crow. Two days +passed thus: every morning the crows came and +surveyed the suspended meat from all points in +the tree, and then went away. The third day I +placed a large bone on the snow beneath the suspended +morsel. Presently one of the crows appeared +in the tree, and bent his eye upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> +tempting bone. "The mystery deepens," he +seemed to say to himself. But after half an hour's +investigation, and after approaching several times +within a few feet of the food upon the ground, +he seemed to conclude there was no connection +between it and the piece hanging by the string. +So he finally walked up to it and fell to pecking +it, flickering his wings all the time, as a sign of +his watchfulness. He also turned up his eye, +momentarily, to the piece in the air above, as if +it might be some disguised sword of Damocles +ready to fall upon him. Soon his mate came and +alighted on a low branch of the tree. The feeding +crow regarded him a moment, and then flew +up to his side, as if to give him a turn at the +meat. But he refused to run the risk. He evidently +looked upon the whole thing as a delusion +and a snare, and presently went away, and his +mate followed him. Then I placed the bone in +one of the main forks of the tree, but the crows +kept at a safe distance from it. Then I put it +back to the ground, but they grew more and +more suspicious; some evil intent in it all, they +thought. Finally a dog carried off the bone, and +the crows ceased to visit the tree.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>From my boyhood I have seen the yearly meeting +of the crows in September or October, on a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +high grassy hill or a wooded ridge. Apparently, +all the crows from a large area assemble at these +times; you may see them coming, singly or in +loose bands, from all directions to the rendezvous, +till there are hundreds of them together. They +make black an acre or two of ground. At intervals +they all rise in the air, and wheel about, all +cawing at once. Then to the ground again, or to +the tree-tops, as the case may be; then, rising +again, they send forth the voice of the multitude. +What does it all mean? I notice that this rally +is always preliminary to their going into winter +quarters. It would be interesting to know just +the nature of the communication that takes place +between them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE CROW</h3> + +<h4>I</h4> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">My</span> friend and neighbor through the year,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Self-appointed overseer<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Of my crops of fruit and grain,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of my woods and furrowed plain,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Claim thy tithings right and left,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I shall never call it theft.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Nature wisely made the law,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And I fail to find a flaw<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">In thy title to the earth,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And all it holds of any worth.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">I like thy self-complacent air,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I like thy ways so free from care,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Thy landlord stroll about my fields,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Quickly noting what each yields;<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Thy courtly mien and bearing bold,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As if thy claim were bought with gold;<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Thy floating shape against the sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When days are calm and clouds are high;<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Thy thrifty flight ere rise of sun,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thy homing clans when day is done.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Hues protective are not thine,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So sleek thy coat each quill doth shine.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Diamond black to end of toe,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thy counterpoint the crystal snow.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<h4>II</h4> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Never plaintive nor appealing,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Quite at home when thou art stealing,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Always groomed to tip of feather,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Calm and trim in every weather,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Morn till night my woods policing,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Every sound thy watch increasing.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Hawk and owl in tree-top hiding<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Feel the shame of thy deriding.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Naught escapes thy observation,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">None but dread thy accusation.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<h4>III</h4> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Hunters, prowlers, woodland lovers<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Vainly seek the leafy covers.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Noisy, scheming, and predacious,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With demeanor almost gracious,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Dowered with leisure, void of hurry,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Void of fuss and void of worry,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Friendly bandit, Robin Hood,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Judge and jury of the wood,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Or Captain Kidd of sable quill,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hiding treasures in the hill,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Nature made thee for each season,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Gave thee wit for ample reason,<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Good crow wit that's always burnished<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Like the coat her care has furnished.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">May thy numbers ne'er diminish!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">I'll befriend thee till life's finish.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">May I never cease to meet thee!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">May I never have to eat thee!<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">And mayest thou never have to fare so<br /></span> +<span class="i0">That thou playest the part of scarecrow!<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE NORTHERN SHRIKE</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Usually</span> the character of a bird of prey is well +defined; there is no mistaking him. His claws, +his beak, his head, his wings, in fact his whole +build, point to the fact that he subsists upon live +creatures; he is armed to catch them and to slay +them. Every bird knows a hawk and knows him +from the start, and is on the lookout for him. +The hawk takes life, but he does it to maintain +his own, and it is a public and universally known +fact. Nature has sent him abroad in that character, +and has advised all creatures of it. Not so +with the shrike; here she has concealed the character +of a murderer under a form as innocent as +that of the robin. Feet, wings, tail, color, head, +and general form and size are all those of a song-bird,—very +much like that master songster, the +mockingbird,—yet this bird is a regular Bluebeard +among its kind. Its only characteristic +feature is its beak, the upper mandible having two +sharp processes and a sharp hooked point. It usually +impales its victim upon a thorn, or thrusts it +in the fork of a limb. For the most part, however, +its food seems to consist of insects,—spiders, +grasshoppers, beetles, etc. It is the assassin of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> +the small birds, whom it often destroys in pure +wantonness, or merely to sup on their brains, as +the Gaucho slaughters a wild cow or bull for its +tongue. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Apparently +its victims are unacquainted with its true +character and allow it to approach them, when +the fatal blow is given. I saw an illustration of +this the other day. A large number of goldfinches +in their fall plumage, together with snowbirds +and sparrows, were feeding and chattering +in some low bushes back of the barn. I had +paused by the fence and was peeping through at +them, hoping to get a glimpse of that rare sparrow, +the white-crowned. Presently I heard a rustling +among the dry leaves as if some larger bird +were also among them. Then I heard one of the +goldfinches cry out as if in distress, when the +whole flock of them started up in alarm, and, +circling around, settled in the tops of the larger +trees. I continued my scrutiny of the bushes, +when I saw a large bird, with some object in its +beak, hopping along on a low branch near the +ground. It disappeared from my sight for a few +moments, then came up through the undergrowth +into the top of a young maple where some of the +finches had alighted, and I beheld the shrike. +The little birds avoided him and flew about the +tree, their pursuer following them with the motions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> +of his head and body as if he would fain +arrest them by his murderous gaze. The birds did +not utter the cry or make the demonstration of +alarm they usually do on the appearance of a +hawk, but chirruped and called and flew about +in a half wondering, half bewildered manner. As +they flew farther along the line of trees the +shrike followed them as if bent on further captures. +I then made my way around to see what the +shrike had caught, and what he had done with +his prey. As I approached the bushes I saw the +shrike hastening back. I read his intentions at +once. Seeing my movements, he had returned +for his game. But I was too quick for him, and +he got up out of the brush and flew away from +the locality. On some twigs in the thickest part +of the bushes I found his victim,—a goldfinch. +It was not impaled upon a thorn, but was carefully +disposed upon some horizontal twigs,—laid +upon the shelf, so to speak. It was as warm +as in life, and its plumage was unruffled. On examining +it I found a large bruise or break in the +skin on the back of the neck, at the base of the +skull. Here the bandit had no doubt gripped the +bird with his strong beak. The shrike's bloodthirstiness +was seen in the fact that he did not +stop to devour his prey, but went in quest of +more, as if opening a market of goldfinches. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> +thicket was his shambles, and if not interrupted, +he might have had a fine display of titbits in a +short time.</p> + +<p>The shrike is called a butcher from his habit +of sticking his meat upon hooks and points; +further than that, he is a butcher because he devours +but a trifle of what he slays.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE SCREECH OWL</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">At</span> one point in the grayest, most shaggy part +of the woods, I come suddenly upon a brood of +screech owls, full grown, sitting together upon a +dry, moss-draped limb, but a few feet from the +ground. I pause within four or five yards of them +and am looking about me, when my eye lights +upon these gray, motionless figures. They sit +perfectly upright, some with their backs and +some with their breasts toward me, but every +head turned squarely in my direction. Their eyes +are closed to a mere black line; through this +crack they are watching me, evidently thinking +themselves unobserved. The spectacle is weird +and grotesque, and suggests something impish +and uncanny. It is a new effect, the night side +of the woods by daylight. After observing them +a moment I take a single step toward them, when, +quick as thought, their eyes fly wide open, their +attitude is changed, they bend, some this way, +some that, and, instinct with life and motion, +stare wildly around them. Another step, and +they all take flight but one, which stoops low on +the branch, and with the look of a frightened +cat regards me for a few seconds over its shoulder.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +They fly swiftly and softly, and disperse through +the trees.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>A winter neighbor of mine, in whom I am interested, +and who perhaps lends me his support +after his kind, is a little red owl, whose retreat +is in the heart of an old apple-tree just over the +fence. Where he keeps himself in spring and +summer, I do not know, but late every fall, and +at intervals all winter, his hiding-place is discovered +by the jays and nuthatches, and proclaimed +from the tree-tops for the space of half +an hour or so, with all the powers of voice they +can command. Four times during one winter +they called me out to behold this little ogre feigning +sleep in his den, sometimes in one apple-tree, +sometimes in another. Whenever I heard their +cries, I knew my neighbor was being berated. +The birds would take turns at looking in upon +him, and uttering their alarm-notes. Every jay +within hearing would come to the spot, and at +once approach the hole in the trunk or limb, and +with a kind of breathless eagerness and excitement +take a peep at the owl, and then join the +outcry. When I approached they would hastily +take a final look, and then withdraw and regard +my movements intently. After accustoming my +eye to the faint light of the cavity for a few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> +moments, I could usually make out the owl at the +bottom feigning sleep. Feigning, I say, because +this is what he really did, as I first discovered +one day when I cut into his retreat with the axe. +The loud blows and the falling chips did not +disturb him at all. When I reached in a stick +and pulled him over on his side, leaving one of +his wings spread out, he made no attempt to recover +himself, but lay among the chips and fragments +of decayed wood, like a part of themselves. +Indeed, it took a sharp eye to distinguish him. +Not till I had pulled him forth by one wing, +rather rudely, did he abandon his trick of simulated +sleep or death. Then, like a detected pickpocket, +he was suddenly transformed into another +creature. His eyes flew wide open, his talons +clutched my finger, his ears were depressed, and +every motion and look said, "Hands off, at your +peril." Finding this game did not work, he soon +began to "play possum" again. I put a cover +over my study wood-box and kept him captive +for a week. Look in upon him at any time, night +or day, and he was apparently wrapped in the +profoundest slumber; but the live mice which I +put into his box from time to time found his +sleep was easily broken; there would be a sudden +rustle in the box, a faint squeak, and then silence. +After a week of captivity I gave him his freedom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> +in the full sunshine; no trouble for him to see +which way and where to go.</p> + +<p>Just at dusk in the winter nights, I often +hear his soft <i>bur-r-r-r</i>, very pleasing and bell-like. +What a furtive, woody sound it is in the winter +stillness, so unlike the harsh scream of the hawk! +But all the ways of the owl are ways of softness +and duskiness. His wings are shod with silence, +his plumage is edged with down.</p> + +<p>Another owl neighbor of mine, with whom I +pass the time of day more frequently than with +the last, lives farther away. I pass his castle +every night on my way to the post-office, and in +winter, if the hour is late enough, am pretty +sure to see him standing in his doorway, surveying +the passers-by and the landscape through +narrow slits in his eyes. For four successive +winters now have I observed him. As the twilight +begins to deepen, he rises up out of his cavity +in the apple-tree, scarcely faster than the moon +rises from behind the hill, and sits in the opening, +completely framed by its outlines of gray +bark and dead wood, and by his protective coloring +virtually invisible to every eye that does +not know he is there. Probably my own is +the only eye that has ever penetrated his secret, +and mine never would have done so had I not +chanced on one occasion to see him leave his retreat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> +and make a raid upon a shrike that was +impaling a shrew-mouse upon a thorn in a neighboring +tree, and which I was watching. I was +first advised of the owl's presence by seeing him +approaching swiftly on silent, level wing. The +shrike did not see him till the owl was almost +within the branches. He then dropped his game, +and darted back into the thick cover, uttering a +loud, discordant squawk, as one would say, "Scat! +scat! scat!" The owl alighted, and was, perhaps, +looking about him for the shrike's impaled game, +when I drew near. On seeing me, he reversed +his movement precipitately, flew straight back to +the old tree, and alighted in the entrance to the +cavity. As I approached, he did not so much +seem to move as to diminish in size, like an object +dwindling in the distance; he depressed his plumage, +and, with his eye fixed upon me, began +slowly to back and sidle into his retreat till he +faded from my sight. The shrike wiped his beak +upon the branches, cast an eye down at me and +at his lost mouse, and then flew away.</p> + +<p>A few nights afterward, as I passed that way, +I saw the little owl again sitting in his doorway, +waiting for the twilight to deepen, and undisturbed +by the passers-by; but when I paused to +observe him, he saw that he was discovered, and +he slunk back into his den as on the former occasion.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +Ever since, while going that way, I have +been on the lookout for him. Dozens of teams +and foot-passengers pass him late in the day, +but he regards them not, nor they him. When I +come along and pause to salute him, he opens +his eyes a little wider, and, appearing to recognize +me, quickly shrinks and fades into the background +of his door in a very weird and curious +manner. When he is not at his outlook, or +when he is, it requires the best powers of the +eye to decide the point, as the empty cavity itself +is almost an exact image of him. If the +whole thing had been carefully studied, it could +not have answered its purpose better. The owl +stands quite perpendicular, presenting a front of +light mottled gray; the eyes are closed to a +mere slit, the ear-feathers depressed, the beak +buried in the plumage, and the whole attitude is +one of silent, motionless waiting and observation. +If a mouse should be seen crossing the highway, +or scudding over any exposed part of the snowy +surface in the twilight, the owl would doubtless +swoop down upon it. I think the owl has learned +to distinguish me from the rest of the passers-by; +at least, when I stop before him, and he sees +himself observed, he backs down into his den, as +I have said, in a very amusing manner.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE CHICKADEE</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> chickadees we have always with us. They +are like the evergreens among trees and plants. +Winter has no terrors for them. They are properly +wood-birds, but the groves and orchards +know them also. Did they come near my cabin +for better protection, or did they chance to find +a little cavity in a tree there that suited them? +Branch-builders and ground-builders are easily +accommodated, but the chickadee must find +a cavity, and a small one at that. The woodpeckers +make a cavity when a suitable trunk or +branch is found, but the chickadee, with its +small, sharp beak, rarely does so; it usually +smooths and deepens one already formed. This +a pair did a few yards from my cabin. The opening +was into the heart of a little sassafras, about +four feet from the ground. Day after day the +birds took turns in deepening and enlarging the +cavity: a soft, gentle hammering for a few moments +in the heart of the little tree, and then the +appearance of the worker at the opening, with +the chips in his, or her, beak. They changed off +every little while, one working while the other +gathered food. Absolute equality of the sexes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> +both in plumage and in duties, seems to prevail +among these birds, as among a few other species. +During the preparations for housekeeping the +birds were hourly seen and heard, but as soon as +the first egg was laid, all this was changed. +They suddenly became very shy and quiet. Had +it not been for the new egg that was added each +day, one would have concluded that they had +abandoned the place. There was a precious secret +now that must be well kept. After incubation +began, it was only by watching that I could +get a glimpse of one of the birds as it came +quickly to feed or to relieve the other.</p> + +<p>One day a lot of Vassar girls came to visit me, +and I led them out to the little sassafras to see +the chickadee's nest. The sitting bird kept her +place as head after head, with its nodding plumes +and millinery, appeared above the opening to +her chamber, and a pair of inquisitive eyes peered +down upon her. But I saw that she was getting +ready to play her little trick to frighten them +away. Presently I heard a faint explosion at the +bottom of the cavity, when the peeping girl +jerked her head quickly back, with the exclamation, +"Why, it spit at me!" The trick of the +bird on such occasions is apparently to draw in +its breath till its form perceptibly swells, and +then give forth a quick, explosive sound like an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> +escaping jet of steam. One involuntarily closes +his eyes and jerks back his head. The girls, to +their great amusement, provoked the bird into +this pretty outburst of her impatience two or +three times. But as the ruse failed of its effect, +the bird did not keep it up, but let the laughing +faces gaze till they were satisfied.</p> + +<p>I was much interested in seeing a brood of +chickadees, reared on my premises, venture upon +their first flight. Their heads had been seen at +the door of their dwelling—a cavity in the limb +of a pear-tree—at intervals for two or three +days. Evidently they liked the looks of the great +outside world; and one evening, just before sundown, +one of them came forth. His first flight +was of several yards, to a locust, where he alighted +upon an inner branch, and after some chirping +and calling proceeded to arrange his plumage +and compose himself for the night. I watched +him till it was nearly dark. He did not appear +at all afraid there alone in the tree, but put his +head under his wing and settled down for the +night as if it were just what he had always +been doing. There was a heavy shower a few +hours later, but in the morning he was there upon +his perch in good spirits.</p> + +<p>I happened to be passing in the morning +when another one came out. He hopped out upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> +a limb, shook himself, and chirped and called +loudly. After some moments an idea seemed +to strike him. His attitude changed, his form +straightened up, and a thrill of excitement seemed +to run through him. I knew what it all meant; +something had whispered to the bird, "Fly!" +With a spring and a cry he was in the air, and +made good headway to a near hemlock. Others +left in a similar manner during that day and the +next, till all were out.</p> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> +<h2>THE DOWNY WOODPECKER</h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> bird that seems to consider he has the best +right to my hospitality is the downy woodpecker, +my favorite neighbor among the winter birds. +His retreat is but a few paces from my own, in +the decayed limb of an apple-tree, which he excavated +several autumns ago. I say "he" because +the red plume on the top of his head proclaims +the sex. It seems not to be generally known +to our writers upon ornithology that certain of our +woodpeckers—probably all the winter residents—each +fall excavate a limb or the trunk of a +tree in which to pass the winter, and that the cavity +is abandoned in the spring, probably for a +new one in which nidification takes place.</p> + +<div class="figright" style="width: 328px;"> +<img src="images/009.jpg" width="328" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +DOWNY WOODPECKER</div> + +<p>The particular woodpecker to which I refer +drilled his first hole in my apple-tree one fall +four or five years ago. This he occupied till the +following spring, when he abandoned it. The +next fall he began a hole in an adjoining limb, +later than before, and when it was about half completed +a female took possession of his old quarters. +I am sorry to say that this seemed to enrage +the male very much, and he persecuted the poor +bird whenever she appeared upon the scene. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> +would fly at her spitefully and drive her off. +One chilly November morning, as I passed under +the tree, I heard the hammer of the little +architect in his cavity, and at the same time saw +the persecuted female sitting at the entrance of +the other hole as if she would fain come out. +She was actually shivering, probably from both +fear and cold. I understood the situation at a +glance; the bird was afraid to come forth and +brave the anger of the male. Not till I had +rapped smartly upon the limb with my stick did +she come out and attempt to escape; but she had +not gone ten feet from the tree before the male +was in hot pursuit, and in a few moments had +driven her back to the same tree, where she tried +to avoid him among the branches. There is probably +no gallantry among the birds except at the +mating season. I have frequently seen the male +woodpecker drive the female away from the bone +upon the tree. When she hopped around to the +other end and timidly nibbled it, he would presently +dart spitefully at her. She would then +take up her position in his rear and wait till he +had finished his meal. The position of the female +among the birds is very much the same as that +of women among savage tribes. Most of the +drudgery of life falls upon her, and the leavings +of the males are often her lot.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>My bird is a genuine little savage, doubtless, +but I value him as a neighbor. It is a satisfaction +during the cold or stormy winter nights to know +he is warm and cozy there in his retreat. When +the day is bad and unfit to be abroad in, he is +there too. When I wish to know if he is at home, +I go and rap upon his tree, and, if he is not too +lazy or indifferent, after some delay he shows +his head in his round doorway about ten feet +above, and looks down inquiringly upon me—sometimes +latterly I think half resentfully, as +much as to say, "I would thank you not to disturb +me so often." After sundown, he will not +put his head out any more when I call, but +as I step away I can get a glimpse of him inside +looking cold and reserved. He is a late riser, +especially if it is a cold or disagreeable morning, +in this respect being like the barn fowls; it is +sometimes near nine o'clock before I see him +leave his tree. On the other hand, he comes home +early, being in, if the day is unpleasant, by four +<span class="smcapl">P.M.</span> He lives all alone; in this respect I do not +commend his example. Where his mate is, I +should like to know.</p> + +<p>I have discovered several other woodpeckers +in adjoining orchards, each of which has a like +home, and leads a like solitary life. One of them +has excavated a dry limb within easy reach of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> +my hand, doing the work also in September. But +the choice of tree was not a good one; the limb +was too much decayed, and the workman had +made the cavity too large; a chip had come out, +making a hole in the outer wall. Then he went +a few inches down the limb and began again, +and excavated a large, commodious chamber, but +had again come too near the surface; scarcely +more than the bark protected him in one place, +and the limb was very much weakened. Then he +made another attempt still farther down the +limb, and drilled in an inch or two, but seemed +to change his mind; the work stopped, and I +concluded the bird had wisely abandoned the +tree. Passing there one cold, rainy November +day, I thrust in my two fingers and was surprised +to feel something soft and warm: as I drew +away my hand the bird came out, apparently no +more surprised than I was. It had decided, then, +to make its home in the old limb; a decision it +had occasion to regret, for not long after, on a +stormy night, the branch gave way and fell to +the ground:—</p> + +<div class="poem" style="width: 20em;"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And down will come baby and cradle and all."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Another trait our woodpeckers have that endears +them to me is their habit of drumming in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> +the spring. They are songless birds, and yet all +are musicians; they make the dry limbs eloquent +of the coming change. Did you think that loud, +sonorous hammering which proceeded from the +orchard or from the near woods on that still +March or April morning was only some bird getting +its breakfast? It is Downy, but he is not rapping +at the door of a grub; he is rapping at the +door of spring, and the dry limb thrills beneath +the ardor of his blows.</p> + +<p>A few seasons ago, a downy woodpecker, probably +the individual one who is now my winter +neighbor, began to drum early in March in a +partly decayed apple-tree that stands in the edge +of a narrow strip of woodland near me. When +the morning was still and mild I would often +hear him through my window before I was up, or +by half-past six o'clock, and he would keep it up +pretty briskly till nine or ten o'clock, in this respect +resembling the grouse, which do most of +their drumming in the forenoon. His drum was +the stub of a dry limb about the size of one's +wrist. The heart was decayed and gone, but the +outer shell was hard and resonant. The bird +would keep his position there for an hour at a +time. Between his drummings he would preen +his plumage and listen as if for the response of +the female, or for the drum of some rival. How<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> +swiftly his head would go when he was delivering +his blows upon the limb! His beak wore the surface +perceptibly. When he wished to change the +key, which was quite often, he would shift his +position an inch or two to a knot which gave +out a higher, shriller note. When I climbed up +to examine his drum, he was much disturbed. I +did not know he was in the vicinity, but it seems +he saw me from a near tree, and came in haste to +the neighboring branches, and with spread plumage +and a sharp note demanded plainly enough +what my business was with his drum. I was invading +his privacy, desecrating his shrine, and the +bird was much put out. After some weeks the +female appeared; he had literally drummed up a +mate; his urgent and oft-repeated advertisement +was answered. Still the drumming did not cease, +but was quite as fervent as before. If a mate could +be won by drumming, she could be kept and entertained +by more drumming; courtship should +not end with marriage. If the bird felt musical +before, of course he felt much more so now. +Besides that, the gentle deities needed propitiating +in behalf of the nest and young as well as in +behalf of the mate. After a time a second female +came, when there was war between the two. I did +not see them come to blows, but I saw one female +pursuing the other about the place, and giving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> +her no rest for several days. She was evidently +trying to run her out of the neighborhood. +Now and then, she, too, would drum +briefly, as if sending a triumphant message to her +mate.</p> + +<p>The woodpeckers do not each have a particular +dry limb to which they resort at all times to +drum, like the one I have described. The woods +are full of suitable branches, and they drum more +or less here and there as they are in quest of +food; yet I am convinced each one has its favorite +spot, like the grouse, to which it resorts +especially in the morning. The sugar-maker in +the maple woods may notice that this sound proceeds +from the same tree or trees about his camp +with great regularity. A woodpecker in my vicinity +has drummed for two seasons on a telegraph-pole, +and he makes the wires and glass insulators +ring. Another drums on a thin board +on the end of a long grape-arbor, and on still +mornings can be heard a long distance.</p> + +<hr class="tb1" /> + +<p>I watch these woodpeckers daily to see if I +can solve the mystery as to how they hop up and +down the trunks and branches without falling +away from them when they let go their hold. +They come down a limb or trunk backward by a +series of little hops, moving both feet together.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> +If the limb is at an angle to the tree and they +are on the under side of it, they do not fall away +from it to get a new hold an inch or half-inch +farther down. They are held to it as steel to a +magnet. Both tail and head are involved in the +feat. At the instant of making the hop the head +is thrown in and the tail thrown out, but the +exact mechanics of it I cannot penetrate. Philosophers +do not yet know how a backward-falling +cat turns in the air, but turn she does. +It may be that the woodpecker never quite relaxes +his hold, though to my eye he appears to +do so.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> +<h3>THE DOWNY WOODPECKER</h3> + +<div class="poem" style="width: 16em;"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Downy</span> came and dwelt with me,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Taught me hermit lore;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Drilled his cell in oaken tree<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Near my cabin door.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Architect of his own home<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In the forest dim,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Carving its inverted dome<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In a dozy limb.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Carved it deep and shaped it true<br /></span> +<span class="i2">With his little bill;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Took no thought about the view,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Whether dale or hill.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Shook the chips upon the ground,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Careless who might see.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Hark! his hatchet's muffled sound<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Hewing in the tree.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Round his door as compass-mark,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">True and smooth his wall;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Just a shadow on the bark<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Points you to his hall.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Downy leads a hermit life<br /></span> +<span class="i2">All the winter through;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Free his days from jar and strife,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">And his cares are few.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Waking up the frozen woods,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Shaking down the snows;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Many trees of many moods<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Echo to his blows.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">When the storms of winter rage,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Be it night or day,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Then I know my little page<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Sleeps the time away.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Downy's stores are in the trees,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Egg and ant and grub;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Juicy tidbits, rich as cheese,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Hid in stump and stub.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Rat-tat-tat his chisel goes,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Cutting out his prey;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Every boring insect knows<br /></span> +<span class="i2">When he comes its way.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Always rapping at their doors,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Never welcome he;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">All his kind, they vote, are bores,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Whom they dread to see.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +<span class="i0">Why does Downy live alone<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In his snug retreat?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Has he found that near the bone<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Is the sweetest meat?<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Birdie craved another fate<br /></span> +<span class="i2">When the spring had come;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Advertised him for a mate<br /></span> +<span class="i2">On his dry-limb drum.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Drummed her up and drew her near,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In the April morn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Till she owned him for her dear<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In his state forlorn.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Now he shirks all family cares,<br /></span> +<span class="i2">This I must confess;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Quite absorbed in self affairs<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In the season's stress.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We are neighbors well agreed<br /></span> +<span class="i2">Of a common lot;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Peace and love our only creed<br /></span> +<span class="i2">In this charmèd spot.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> +<h2>INDEX</h2> + +<ul><li>Blackbird, cow. See <a href="#Cowbird">Cowbird</a>.</li> + +<li>Bluebird, arrival in spring, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>;<ul> +<li>nest-building, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;</li> +<li>young and cicada, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</li> +<li>a bewildered pair, <a href="#Page_3">3-7</a>;</li> +<li>love and rivalry, <a href="#Page_7">7-12</a>;</li> +<li>war with house wrens, <a href="#Page_47">47-52</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><i>Bluebird, The</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> + +<li>Bobolink, courtship, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;<ul> +<li>concealment of nest, <a href="#Page_78">78-81</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><i>Bobolink, The</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> + +<li>Bob-white. See <a href="#Quail">Quail</a>.</li> + +<li>Butcher-bird. See <a href="#Shrike">Shrike, northern</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Catbird, song of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;<ul> +<li>and black snake, <a href="#Page_73">73-76</a>;</li> +<li>a coquette, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Cedar-bird, nest-building, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;<ul> +<li>notes of, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><a name="Chewink" id="Chewink"></a>Chewink, markings of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;<ul> +<li>Thomas Jefferson writes to Alexander Wilson about, <a href="#Page_39">39-41</a>;</li> +<li>inhospitality of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Chickadee, nesting of, <a href="#Page_157">157-160</a>.</li> + +<li>Chippy. See <a href="#Sparrow_chipping">Sparrow, chipping</a>.</li> + +<li><i>Coming of Phœbe, The</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + +<li><a name="Cowbird" id="Cowbird"></a>Cowbird, notes of, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;<ul> +<li>parasitic habits of, <a href="#Page_33">33-35</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Crow, character of, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>;<ul> +<li>manners of, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>;</li> +<li>wariness of, <a href="#Page_140">140-142</a>;</li> +<li>yearly meeting, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><i>Crow, The</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li><i>Downy Woodpecker, The</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li><a name="Flicker" id="Flicker"></a>Flicker, call of, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>;<ul> +<li>courtship, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</li> +<li>not satisfied with being a woodpecker, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</li> +<li>excavating a nest, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</li> +<li>young, <a href="#Page_23">23-25</a>;</li> +<li>drumming, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul><li><a name="Goldfinch" id="Goldfinch"></a>Goldfinch, nesting, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>;<ul> +<li>notes of, <a href="#Page_126">126-128</a>;</li> +<li>flight of, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> +<li>musical festivals, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Grouse, ruffed, <a href="#Page_133">133-136</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Hawk, marsh, habits of, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;<ul> +<li>nest of, <a href="#Page_106">106-108</a>;</li> +<li>young, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;</li> +<li>a pet young one, <a href="#Page_112">112-117</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Hawk, red-shouldered. See <a href="#Hen-hawk">Hen-hawk</a>.</li> + +<li>Hawk, red-tailed. See <a href="#Hen-hawk">Hen-hawk</a>.</li> + +<li><a name="Hen-hawk" id="Hen-hawk"></a>Hen-hawk, flight of, <a href="#Page_130">130-132</a>.</li> + +<li>High-hole. See <a href="#Flicker">Flicker</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Jefferson, Thomas, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Oriole, Baltimore, nests of, <a href="#Page_91">91-94</a>.</li> + +<li>Oven-bird, walk of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;<ul> +<li>the two songs of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>;</li> +<li>nest of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Owl, screech, a brood, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>;<ul> +<li>two owl neighbors, <a href="#Page_152">152-156</a>;</li> +<li>a captive, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</li> +<li>note of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;</li> +<li>disappearing in his hole, <a href="#Page_154">154-156</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Partridge, <a href="#Page_133">133-136</a>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></li> + +<li><i>Partridge, The</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + +<li>Phœbe, arrival in spring, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;<ul> +<li>nests of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><i>Phœbe, The Coming of</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li><a name="Quail" id="Quail"></a>Quail, on nest, <a href="#Page_109">109-111</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Robin, arrival in spring, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;<ul> +<li>a graceful warrior, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li> +<li>the "robin racket," <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li> +<li>nest and young, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</li> +<li>boring for grubs, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul><li><a name="Shrike" id="Shrike"></a>Shrike, northern, <a href="#Page_147">147-150</a>;<ul> +<li>raided by a screech owl, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Snake, black, and song sparrows, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;<ul> +<li>and catbirds, <a href="#Page_73">73-76</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><a name="Sparrow_chipping" id="Sparrow_chipping"></a>Sparrow, chipping, trying to catch a miller, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;<ul> +<li>feeding young robins, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Sparrow, song, unsuccessful nestings, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;<ul> +<li>and a black snake, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li> +<li>a risky experiment, <a href="#Page_56">56-58</a>;</li> +<li>a bob-tailed song sparrow's nest, <a href="#Page_58">58-60</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Swallow, chimney. See <a href="#Swift">Swift, chimney</a>.</li> + +<li><a name="Swift" id="Swift"></a>Swift, chimney, nest of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;<ul> +<li>flight of, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</li> +<li>young, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> +<li>outriding the storms, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li> +<li>habits of, <a href="#Page_64">64-66</a>;</li> +<li>great gatherings and aerial evolutions of, <a href="#Page_66">66-68</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Thrasher, brown, stealthiness of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;<ul> +<li>nests of, <a href="#Page_42">42-46</a>;</li> +<li>skulking, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Thrush, wood, grace and elegance of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>;<ul> +<li>newspaper in nests, <a href="#Page_84">84-86</a>;</li> +<li>the song and the nests, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li> +<li>unsuccessful nestings, <a href="#Page_87">87-89</a>;</li> +<li>song contests, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Towhee. See <a href="#Chewink">Chewink</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Warbler, black-throated blue, a successful search for the nest of, <a href="#Page_100">100-105</a>.</li> + +<li>Whip-poor-will, eggs of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;<ul> +<li>assimilative coloration of, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</li> +<li>young, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</li> +<li>gait of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</li> +<li>song of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>;</li> +<li>an old bird with her young, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Wilson, Alexander, <a href="#Page_39">39-41</a>.</li> + +<li>Woodpecker, downy, a winter neighbor, <a href="#Page_161">161-164</a>;<ul> +<li>drumming, <a href="#Page_164">164-167</a>;</li> +<li>the mystery of his hopping up and down the trunks and branches, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li><i>Woodpecker, The Downy</i>, poem, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + +<li>Woodpecker, golden-winged. See <a href="#Flicker">Flicker</a>.</li> + +<li>Wren, house, song of, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;<ul> +<li>war with bluebirds, <a href="#Page_47">47-52</a>.</li></ul></li> + +<li>Wren, winter, in his summer home, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;<ul> +<li>in winter, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<ul><li>Yarup. See <a href="#Flicker">Flicker</a>.</li> + +<li>Yellowbird. See <a href="#Goldfinch">Goldfinch</a>.</li> +</ul> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Bird Stories from Burroughs, by John Burroughs + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + +***** This file should be named 26046-h.htm or 26046-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/4/26046/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Bird Stories from Burroughs + Sketches of Bird Life Taken from the Works of John Burroughs + +Author: John Burroughs + +Illustrator: Louis Agassiz Fuertes + +Release Date: July 12, 2008 [EBook #26046] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + + + + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: GOLDFINCH (page 125)] + + + + + BIRD STORIES + FROM BURROUGHS + + SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE + TAKEN FROM THE WORKS OF + + JOHN BURROUGHS + + + _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS + BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES_ + + + [Device] + + + BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO + HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + The Riverside Press Cambridge + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1881, 1886, 1894, 1899, 1903, +1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, BY JOHN BURROUGHS + +COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Hyphenation has been standardised. Minor typographical errors have + been corrected without note. The oe ligature is represented by [oe]. + + + + +PUBLISHERS' NOTE + + +John Burroughs's first book, "Wake-Robin," contained a chapter entitled +"The Invitation." It was an invitation to the study of birds. He has +reiterated it, implicitly if not explicitly, in most of the books he has +published since then, and many of his readers have joyfully accepted it. +Indeed, such an invitation from Mr. Burroughs is the best possible +introduction to the birds of our Northeastern States, and it is likewise +an introduction to some very good reading. To convey this invitation to +a wider circle of young readers the most interesting bird stories in Mr. +Burroughs's books have been gathered into a single volume. A chapter is +given to each species of bird, and the chapters are arranged in a sort +of chronological order, according to the time of the bird's arrival in +the spring, the nesting time, or the season when for some other reason +the species is particularly conspicuous. In taking the stories out of +their original setting a few slight verbal alterations have been +necessary here and there, but these have been made either by Mr. +Burroughs himself or with his approval. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + THE BLUEBIRD 1 + + THE BLUEBIRD (_poem_) 13 + + THE ROBIN 15 + + THE FLICKER 21 + + THE PH[OE]BE 28 + + THE COMING OF PH[OE]BE (_poem_) 31 + + THE COWBIRD 33 + + THE CHIPPING SPARROW 36 + + THE CHEWINK 39 + + THE BROWN THRASHER 42 + + THE HOUSE WREN 47 + + THE SONG SPARROW 53 + + THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 61 + + THE OVEN-BIRD 69 + + THE CATBIRD 72 + + THE BOBOLINK 77 + + THE BOBOLINK (_poem_) 82 + + THE WOOD THRUSH 83 + + THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE 91 + + THE WHIP-POOR-WILL 95 + + THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER: A SEARCH FOR + A RARE NEST 100 + + THE MARSH HAWK: A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG + HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST 106 + + THE WINTER WREN 119 + + THE CEDAR-BIRD 122 + + THE GOLDFINCH 125 + + THE HEN-HAWK 130 + + THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE 133 + + THE PARTRIDGE (_poem_) 137 + + THE CROW 138 + + THE CROW (_poem_) 144 + + THE NORTHERN SHRIKE 147 + + THE SCREECH OWL 151 + + THE CHICKADEE 157 + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 161 + + THE DOWNY WOODPECKER (_poem_) 169 + + INDEX 173 + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + GOLDFINCH (_in color_). (page 125) _Frontispiece_ + + A PAIR OF BLUEBIRDS 8 + + FLICKER (_in color_) 22 + + CHEWINK, MALE AND FEMALE (_in color_) 40 + + WOOD THRUSH 84 + + BALTIMORE ORIOLE, MALE AND FEMALE 92 + + WHIP-POOR-WILL 96 + + DOWNY WOODPECKER (_in color_) 162 + + + + +BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS + + + + +THE BLUEBIRD + + +It is sure to be a bright March morning when you first hear the +bluebird's note; and it is as if the milder influences up above had +found a voice and let a word fall upon your ear, so tender is it and so +prophetic, a hope tinged with a regret. + +There never was a happier or more devoted husband than the male +bluebird. He is the gay champion and escort of the female at all times, +and while she is sitting he feeds her regularly. It is very pretty to +watch them building their nest. The male is very active in hunting out a +place and exploring the boxes and cavities, but seems to have no choice +in the matter and is anxious only to please and encourage his mate, who +has the practical turn and knows what will do and what will not. After +she has suited herself he applauds her immensely, and away the two go in +quest of material for the nest, the male acting as guard and flying +above and in advance of the female. She brings all the material and +does all the work of building, he looking on and encouraging her with +gesture and song. He acts also as inspector of her work, but I fear is a +very partial one. She enters the nest with her bit of dry grass or +straw, and, having adjusted it to her notion, withdraws and waits near +by while he goes in and looks it over. On coming out he exclaims very +plainly, "Excellent! excellent!" and away the two go again for more +material. + +I was much amused one summer day in seeing a bluebird feeding her young +one in the shaded street of a large town. She had captured a cicada or +harvest-fly, and, after bruising it awhile on the ground, flew with it +to a tree and placed it in the beak of the young bird. It was a large +morsel, and the mother seemed to have doubts of her chick's ability to +dispose of it, for she stood near and watched its efforts with great +solicitude. The young bird struggled valiantly with the cicada, but made +no headway in swallowing it, when the mother took it from him and flew +to the sidewalk, and proceeded to break and bruise it more thoroughly. +Then she again placed it in his beak, and seemed to say, "There, try it +now," and sympathized so thoroughly with his efforts that she repeated +many of his motions and contortions. But the great fly was unyielding, +and, indeed, seemed ridiculously disproportioned to the beak that held +it. The young bird fluttered and fluttered, and screamed, "I'm stuck, +I'm stuck!" till the anxious parent again seized the morsel and carried +it to an iron railing, where she came down upon it for the space of a +minute with all the force and momentum her beak could command. Then she +offered it to her young a third time, but with the same result as +before, except that this time the bird dropped it; but she reached the +ground as soon as the cicada did, and taking it in her beak flew a +little distance to a high board fence, where she sat motionless for some +moments. While pondering the problem how that fly should be broken, the +male bluebird approached her, and said very plainly, and I thought +rather curtly, "Give me that bug," but she quickly resented his +interference and flew farther away, where she sat apparently quite +discouraged when I last saw her. + + * * * * * + +One day in early May, Ted and I made an expedition to the Shattega, a +still, dark, deep stream that loiters silently through the woods not far +from my cabin. As we paddled along, we were on the alert for any bit of +wild life of bird or beast that might turn up. + +There were so many abandoned woodpecker chambers in the small dead +trees as we went along that I determined to secure the section of a tree +containing a good one to take home and put up for the bluebirds. "Why +don't the bluebirds occupy them here?" inquired Ted. "Oh," I replied, +"bluebirds do not come so far into the woods as this. They prefer +nesting-places in the open, and near human habitations." After carefully +scrutinizing several of the trees, we at last saw one that seemed to +fill the bill. It was a small dead tree-trunk seven or eight inches in +diameter, that leaned out over the water, and from which the top had +been broken. The hole, round and firm, was ten or twelve feet above us. +After considerable effort I succeeded in breaking the stub off near the +ground, and brought it down into the boat. "Just the thing," I said; +"surely the bluebirds will prefer this to an artificial box." But, lo +and behold, it already had bluebirds in it! We had not heard a sound or +seen a feather till the trunk was in our hands, when, on peering into +the cavity, we discovered two young bluebirds about half grown. This was +a predicament indeed! + +Well, the only thing we could do was to stand the tree-trunk up again as +well as we could, and as near as we could to where it had stood before. +This was no easy thing. But after a time we had it fairly well +replaced, one end standing in the mud of the shallow water and the other +resting against a tree. This left the hole to the nest about ten feet +below and to one side of its former position. Just then we heard the +voice of one of the parent birds, and we quickly paddled to the other +side of the stream, fifty feet away, to watch her proceedings, saying to +each other, "Too bad! too bad!" The mother bird had a large beetle in +her beak. She alighted upon a limb a few feet above the former site of +her nest, looked down upon us, uttered a note or two, and then dropped +down confidently to the point in the vacant air where the entrance to +her nest had been but a few moments before. Here she hovered on the wing +a second or two, looking for something that was not there, and then +returned to the perch she had just left, apparently not a little +disturbed. She hammered the beetle rather excitedly upon the limb a few +times, as if it were in some way at fault, then dropped down to try for +her nest again. Only vacant air there! She hovers and hovers, her blue +wings flickering in the checkered light; surely that precious hole +_must_ be there; but no, again she is baffled, and again she returns to +her perch, and mauls the poor beetle till it must be reduced to a pulp. +Then she makes a third attempt, then a fourth, and a fifth, and a +sixth, till she becomes very much excited. "What could have happened? am +I dreaming? has that beetle hoodooed me?" she seems to say, and in her +dismay she lets the bug drop, and looks bewilderedly about her. Then she +flies away through the woods, calling. "Going for her mate," I said to +Ted. "She is in deep trouble, and she wants sympathy and help." + +In a few minutes we heard her mate answer, and presently the two birds +came hurrying to the spot, both with loaded beaks. They perched upon the +familiar limb above the site of the nest, and the mate seemed to say, +"My dear, what has happened to you? I can find that nest." And he dived +down, and brought up in the empty air just as the mother had done. How +he winnowed it with his eager wings! how he seemed to bear on to that +blank space! His mate sat regarding him intently, confident, I think, +that he would find the clew. But he did not. Baffled and excited, he +returned to the perch beside her. Then she tried again, then he rushed +down once more, then they both assaulted the place, but it would not +give up its secret. They talked, they encouraged each other, and they +kept up the search, now one, now the other, now both together. Sometimes +they dropped down to within a few feet of the entrance to the nest, and +we thought they would surely find it. No, their minds and eyes were +intent only upon that square foot of space where the nest had been. Soon +they withdrew to a large limb many feet higher up, and seemed to say to +themselves, "Well, it is not there, but it must be here somewhere; let +us look about." A few minutes elapsed, when we saw the mother bird +spring from her perch and go straight as an arrow to the nest. Her +maternal eye had proved the quicker. She had found her young. Something +like reason and common sense had come to her rescue; she had taken time +to look about, and behold! there was that precious doorway. She thrust +her head into it, then sent back a call to her mate, then went farther +in, then withdrew. "Yes, it is true, they are here, they are here!" Then +she went in again, gave them the food in her beak, and then gave place +to her mate, who, after similar demonstrations of joy, also gave them +his morsel. + +Ted and I breathed freer. A burden had been taken from our minds and +hearts, and we went cheerfully on our way. We had learned something, +too; we had learned that when in the deep woods you think of bluebirds, +bluebirds may be nearer you than you think. + + * * * * * + +One mid-April morning two pairs of bluebirds were in very active and at +times violent courtship about my grounds. I could not quite understand +the meaning of all the fuss and flutter. Both birds of each pair were +very demonstrative, but the female in each case the more so. She +followed the male everywhere, lifting and twinkling her wings, and +apparently seeking to win him by both word and gesture. If she was not +telling him by that cheery, animated, confiding, softly endearing speech +of hers, which she poured out incessantly, how much she loved him, what +was she saying? She was constantly filled with a desire to perch upon +the precise spot where he was sitting, and if he had not moved away I +think she would have alighted upon his back. Now and then, when she +flitted away from him, he followed her with like gestures and tones and +demonstrations of affection, but never with quite the same ardor. The +two pairs kept near each other, about the house, the bird-boxes, the +trees, the posts and vines in the vineyard, filling the ear with their +soft, insistent warbles, and the eye with their twinkling azure wings. + + [Illustration: BLUEBIRD + Upper, male; lower, female] + +Was it this constant presence of rivals on both sides that so stimulated +them and kept them up to such a pitch of courtship? Finally, after I had +watched them over an hour, the birds began to come into collision. As +they met in the vineyard, the two males clinched and fell to the +ground, lying there for a moment with wings sprawled out, like birds +brought down by a gun. Then they separated, and each returned to his +mate, warbling and twinkling his wings. Very soon the females clinched +and fell to the ground and fought savagely, rolling over and over each +other, clawing and tweaking and locking beaks and hanging on like bull +terriers. They did this repeatedly; once one of the males dashed in and +separated them, by giving one of the females a sharp tweak and blow. +Then the males were at it again, their blue plumage mixing with the +green grass and ruffled by the ruddy soil. What a soft, feathery, +ineffectual battle it seemed in both cases!--no sound, no blood, no +flying feathers, just a sudden mixing up and general disarray of blue +wings and tails and ruddy breasts, there on the ground; assault but no +visible wounds; thrust of beak and grip of claw, but no feather loosened +and but little ruffling; long holding of one down by the other, but no +cry of pain or fury. It was the kind of battle that one likes to +witness. The birds usually locked beaks, and held their grip half a +minute at a time. One of the females would always alight by the +struggling males and lift her wings and utter her soft notes, but what +she said--whether she was encouraging one of the blue coats or berating +the other, or imploring them both to desist, or egging them on--I could +not tell. So far as I could understand her speech, it was the same that +she had been uttering to her mate all the time. + +When my bluebirds dashed at each other with beak and claw, their +preliminary utterances had to my ears anything but a hostile sound. +Indeed, for the bluebird to make a harsh, discordant sound seems out of +the question. Once, when the two males lay upon the ground with +outspread wings and locked beaks, a robin flew down by them and for a +moment gazed intently at the blue splash upon the grass, and then went +his way. + +As the birds drifted about the grounds, first the males, then the +females rolling on the grass or in the dust in fierce combat, and +between times the members of each pair assuring each other of undying +interest and attachment, I followed them, apparently quite unnoticed by +them. Sometimes they would lie more than a minute upon the ground, each +trying to keep his own or to break the other's hold. They seemed so +oblivious of everything about them that I wondered if they might not at +such times fall an easy prey to cats and hawks. Let me put their +watchfulness to the test, I said. So, as the two males clinched again +and fell to the ground, I cautiously approached them, hat in hand. When +ten feet away and unregarded, I made a sudden dash and covered them with +my hat. The struggle continued for a few seconds under there, then all +was still. Sudden darkness had fallen upon the field of battle. What did +they think had happened? Presently their heads and wings began to brush +the inside of my hat. Then all was still again. Then I spoke to them, +called to them, exulted over them, but they betrayed no excitement or +alarm. Occasionally a head or a body came in gentle contact with the top +or the sides of my hat. + +But the two females were evidently agitated by the sudden disappearance +of their contending lovers, and began uttering their mournful +alarm-note. After a minute or two I lifted one side of my hat and out +darted one of the birds; then I lifted the hat from the other. One of +the females then rushed, apparently with notes of joy and +congratulation, to one of the males, who gave her a spiteful tweak and +blow. Then the other came and he served her the same. He was evidently a +little bewildered, and not certain what had happened or who was +responsible for it. Did he think the two females were in some way to +blame? But he was soon reconciled to one of them again, as was the +other male with the other, yet the two couples did not separate till the +males had come into collision once more. Presently, however, they +drifted apart, and each pair was soon holding an animated conversation +punctuated by those pretty wing gestures, about the two bird-boxes. + +These scenes of love and rivalry had lasted nearly all the forenoon, and +matters between the birds apparently remained as they were before--the +members of each pair quite satisfied with each other. One pair occupied +one of the bird-boxes in the vineyard and reared two broods there during +the season, but the other pair drifted away and took up their abode +somewhere else. + + +THE BLUEBIRD + + A wistful note from out the sky, + "Pure, pure, pure," in plaintive tone, + As if the wand'rer were alone, + And hardly knew to sing or cry. + + But now a flash of eager wing, + Flitting, twinkling by the wall, + And pleadings sweet and am'rous call,-- + Ah, now I know his heart doth sing! + + O bluebird, welcome back again, + Thy azure coat and ruddy vest + Are hues that April loveth best,-- + Warm skies above the furrowed plain. + + The farm boy hears thy tender voice, + And visions come of crystal days, + With sugar-camps in maple ways, + And scenes that make his heart rejoice. + + The lucid smoke drifts on the breeze, + The steaming pans are mantling white, + And thy blue wing's a joyous sight, + Among the brown and leafless trees. + + Now loosened currents glance and run, + And buckets shine on sturdy boles, + The forest folk peep from their holes, + And work is play from sun to sun. + + The downy beats his sounding limb, + The nuthatch pipes his nasal call, + And Robin perched on tree-top tall + Heavenward lifts his evening hymn. + + Now go and bring thy homesick bride, + Persuade her here is just the place + To build a home and found a race + In Downy's cell, my lodge beside. + + + + +THE ROBIN + + +Not long after the bluebird comes the robin. In large numbers they scour +the fields and groves. You hear their piping in the meadow, in the +pasture, on the hillside. Walk in the woods, and the dry leaves rustle +with the whir of their wings, the air is vocal with their cheery call. +In excess of joy and vivacity, they run, leap, scream, chase each other +through the air, diving and sweeping among the trees with perilous +rapidity. + +In that free, fascinating, half-work-and-half-play +pursuit,--sugar-making,--a pursuit which still lingers in many parts of +New York, as in New England,--the robin is one's constant companion. +When the day is sunny and the ground bare, you meet him at all points +and hear him at all hours. At sunset, on the tops of the tall maples, +with look heavenward, and in a spirit of utter abandonment, he carols +his simple strain. And sitting thus amid the stark, silent trees, above +the wet, cold earth, with the chill of winter still in the air, there is +no fitter or sweeter songster in the whole round year. It is in keeping +with the scene and the occasion. How round and genuine the notes are, +and how eagerly our ears drink them in! The first utterance, and the +spell of winter is thoroughly broken, and the remembrance of it afar +off. + +One of the most graceful of warriors is the robin. I know few prettier +sights than two males challenging and curveting about each other upon +the grass in early spring. Their attentions to each other are so +courteous and restrained. In alternate curves and graceful sallies, they +pursue and circumvent each other. First one hops a few feet, then the +other, each one standing erect in true military style while his fellow +passes him and describes the segment of an ellipse about him, both +uttering the while a fine complacent warble in a high but suppressed +key. Are they lovers or enemies? the beholder wonders, until they make a +spring and are beak to beak in the twinkling of an eye, and perhaps +mount a few feet into the air, but rarely actually deliver blows upon +each other. Every thrust is parried, every movement met. They follow +each other with dignified composure about the fields or lawn, into trees +and upon the ground, with plumage slightly spread, breasts glowing, +their lisping, shrill war-song just audible. It forms on the whole the +most civil and high-bred tilt to be witnessed during the season. + +In the latter half of April, we pass through what I call the "robin +racket,"--trains of three or four birds rushing pell-mell over the lawn +and fetching up in a tree or bush, or occasionally upon the ground, all +piping and screaming at the top of their voices, but whether in mirth or +anger it is hard to tell. The nucleus of the train is a female. One +cannot see that the males in pursuit of her are rivals; it seems rather +as if they had united to hustle her out of the place. But somehow the +matches are no doubt made and sealed during these mad rushes. Maybe the +female shouts out to her suitors, "Who touches me first wins," and away +she scurries like an arrow. The males shout out, "Agreed!" and away they +go in pursuit, each trying to outdo the other. The game is a brief one. +Before one can get the clew to it, the party has dispersed. + + * * * * * + +The first year of my cabin life a pair of robins attempted to build a +nest upon the round timber that forms the plate under my porch roof. But +it was a poor place to build in. It took nearly a week's time and caused +the birds a great waste of labor to find this out. The coarse material +they brought for the foundation would not bed well upon the rounded +surface of the timber, and every vagrant breeze that came along swept it +off. My porch was kept littered with twigs and weed-stalks for days, +till finally the birds abandoned the undertaking. The next season a +wiser or more experienced pair made the attempt again, and succeeded. +They placed the nest against the rafter where it joins the plate; they +used mud from the start to level up with and to hold the first twigs and +straws, and had soon completed a firm, shapely structure. When the young +were about ready to fly, it was interesting to note that there was +apparently an older and a younger, as in most families. One bird was +more advanced than any of the others. Had the parent birds intentionally +stimulated it with extra quantities of food, so as to be able to launch +their offspring into the world one at a time? At any rate, one of the +birds was ready to leave the nest a day and a half before any of the +others. I happened to be looking at it when the first impulse to get +outside the nest seemed to seize it. Its parents were encouraging it +with calls and assurances from some rocks a few yards away. It answered +their calls in vigorous, strident tones. Then it climbed over the edge +of the nest upon the plate, took a few steps forward, then a few more, +till it was a yard from the nest and near the end of the timber, and +could look off into free space. Its parents apparently shouted, "Come +on!" But its courage was not quite equal to the leap; it looked around, +and, seeing how far it was from home, scampered back to the nest, and +climbed into it like a frightened child. It had made its first journey +into the world, but the home tie had brought it quickly back. A few +hours afterward it journeyed to the end of the plate again, and then +turned and rushed back. The third time its heart was braver, its wings +stronger, and, leaping into the air with a shout, it flew easily to some +rocks a dozen or more yards away. Each of the young in succession, at +intervals of nearly a day, left the nest in this manner. There would be +the first journey of a few feet along the plate, the first sudden panic +at being so far from home, the rush back, a second and perhaps a third +attempt, and then the irrevocable leap into the air, and a clamorous +flight to a near-by bush or rock. Young birds never go back when they +have once taken flight. The first free flap of the wings severs forever +the ties that bind them to home. + + * * * * * + +I recently observed a robin boring for grubs in a country dooryard. It +is a common enough sight to witness one seize an angle-worm and drag it +from its burrow in the turf, but I am not sure that I ever before saw +one drill for grubs and bring the big white morsel to the surface. The +robin I am speaking of had a nest of young in a maple near by, and she +worked the neighborhood very industriously for food. She would run +along over the short grass after the manner of robins, stopping every +few feet, her form stiff and erect. Now and then she would suddenly bend +her head toward the ground and bring eye or ear for a moment to bear +intently upon it. Then she would spring to boring the turf vigorously +with her bill, changing her attitude at each stroke, alert and watchful, +throwing up the grass roots and little jets of soil, stabbing deeper and +deeper, growing every moment more and more excited, till finally a fat +grub was seized and brought forth. Time after time, during several days, +I saw her mine for grubs in this way and drag them forth. How did she +know where to drill? The insect was in every case an inch below the +surface. Did she hear it gnawing the roots of the grasses, or did she +see a movement in the turf beneath which the grub was at work? I know +not. I only know that she struck her game unerringly each time. Only +twice did I see her make a few thrusts and then desist, as if she had +been for the moment deceived. + + + + +THE FLICKER + + +Another April comer, who arrives shortly after Robin Redbreast, with +whom he associates both at this season and in the autumn, is the +golden-winged woodpecker, _alias_ "high-hole," _alias_ "flicker," +_alias_ "yarup," _alias_ "yellow-hammer." He is an old favorite of my +boyhood, and his note to me means very much. He announces his arrival by +a long, loud call, repeated from the dry branch of some tree, or a stake +in the fence,--a thoroughly melodious April sound. I think how Solomon +finished that beautiful description of spring, "and the voice of the +turtle is heard in our land," and see that a description of spring in +this farming country, to be equally characteristic, should culminate in +like manner,--"and the call of the high-hole comes up from the wood." It +is a loud, strong, sonorous call, and does not seem to imply an answer, +but rather to subserve some purpose of love or music. It is "Yarup's" +proclamation of peace and good-will to all. + +I recall an ancient maple standing sentry to a large sugar-bush, that, +year after year, afforded protection to a brood of yellow-hammers in its +decayed heart. A week or two before the nesting seemed actually to have +begun, three or four of these birds might be seen, on almost any bright +morning, gamboling and courting amid its decayed branches. Sometimes you +would hear only a gentle persuasive cooing, or a quiet confidential +chattering; then that long, loud call, taken up by first one, then +another, as they sat about upon the naked limbs; anon, a sort of wild, +rollicking laughter, intermingled with various cries, yelps, and +squeals, as if some incident had excited their mirth and ridicule. +Whether this social hilarity and boisterousness is in celebration of the +pairing or mating ceremony, or whether it is only a sort of annual +"house-warming" common among high-holes on resuming their summer +quarters, is a question upon which I reserve my judgment. + +[Illustration: FLICKER] + +Unlike most of his kinsmen, the golden-wing prefers the fields and the +borders of the forest to the deeper seclusion of the woods, and hence, +contrary to the habit of his tribe, obtains most of his subsistence from +the ground, probing it for ants and crickets. He is not quite satisfied +with being a woodpecker. He courts the society of the robin and the +finches, abandons the trees for the meadow, and feeds eagerly upon +berries and grain. What may be the final upshot of this course of living +is a question worthy the attention of Darwin. Will his taking to the +ground and his pedestrian feats result in lengthening his legs, his +feeding upon berries and grains subdue his tints and soften his voice, +and his associating with Robin put a song into his heart? + + * * * * * + +In the cavity of an apple-tree, much nearer the house than they usually +build, a pair of high-holes took up their abode. A knot-hole which led +to the decayed interior was enlarged, the live wood being cut away as +clean as a squirrel would have done it. The inside preparations I could +not witness, but day after day, as I passed near, I heard the bird +hammering away, evidently beating down obstructions and shaping and +enlarging the cavity. The chips were not brought out, but were used +rather to floor the interior. The woodpeckers are not nest-builders, but +rather nest-carvers. + +The time seemed very short before the voices of the young were heard in +the heart of the old tree,--at first feebly, but waxing stronger day by +day until they could be heard many rods distant. When I put my hand upon +the trunk of the tree, they would set up an eager, expectant chattering; +but if I climbed up it toward the opening, they soon detected the +unusual sound and would hush quickly, only now and then uttering a +warning note. Long before they were fully fledged they clambered up to +the orifice to receive their food. As but one could stand in the opening +at a time, there was a good deal of elbowing and struggling for this +position. It was a very desirable one aside from the advantages it had +when food was served; it looked out upon the great, shining world, into +which the young birds seemed never tired of gazing. The fresh air must +have been a consideration also, for the interior of a high-hole's +dwelling is not sweet. When the parent birds came with food, the young +one in the opening did not get it all, but after he had received a +portion, either on his own motion or on a hint from the old one, he +would give place to the one behind him. Still, one bird evidently +outstripped his fellows, and in the race of life was two or three days +in advance of them. His voice was loudest and his head oftenest at the +window. But I noticed that, when he had kept the position too long, the +others evidently made it uncomfortable in his rear, and, after +"fidgeting" about awhile, he would be compelled to "back down." But +retaliation was then easy, and I fear his mates spent few easy moments +at that lookout. They would close their eyes and slide back into the +cavity as if the world had suddenly lost all its charms for them. + +This bird was, of course, the first to leave the nest. For two days +before that event he kept his position in the opening most of the time +and sent forth his strong voice incessantly. The old ones abstained from +feeding him almost entirely, no doubt to encourage his exit. As I stood +looking at him one afternoon and noting his progress, he suddenly +reached a resolution,--seconded, I have no doubt, from the rear,--and +launched forth upon his untried wings. They served him well, and carried +him about fifty yards up-hill the first heat. The second day after, the +next in size and spirit left in the same manner; then another, till only +one remained. The parent birds ceased their visits to him, and for one +day he called and called till our ears were tired of the sound. His was +the faintest heart of all. Then he had none to encourage him from +behind. He left the nest and clung to the outer bole of the tree, and +yelped and piped for an hour longer; then he committed himself to his +wings and went his way like the rest. + +The matchmaking of the high-holes, which often comes under my +observation, is in marked contrast to that of the robins and the +bluebirds. There does not appear to be any anger or any blows. The male +or two males will alight on a limb in front of the female, and go +through with a series of bowings and scrapings that are truly comical. +He spreads his tail, he puffs out his breast, he throws back his head +and then bends his body to the right and to the left, uttering all the +while a curious musical hiccough. The female confronts him unmoved, but +whether her attitude is critical or defensive, I cannot tell. Presently +she flies away, followed by her suitor or suitors, and the little comedy +is enacted on another stump or tree. Among all the woodpeckers the drum +plays an important part in the matchmaking. The male takes up his stand +on a dry, resonant limb, or on the ridgeboard of a building, and beats +the loudest call he is capable of. A favorite drum of the high-holes +about me is a hollow wooden tube, a section of a pump, which stands as a +bird-box upon my summer-house. It is a good instrument; its tone is +sharp and clear. A high-hole alights upon it, and sends forth a rattle +that can be heard a long way off. Then he lifts up his head and utters +that long April call, _Wick, wick, wick, wick_. Then he drums again. If +the female does not find him, it is not because he does not make noise +enough. But his sounds are all welcome to the ear. They are simple and +primitive, and voice well a certain sentiment of the April days. As I +write these lines I hear through the half-open door his call come up +from a distant field. Then I hear the steady hammering of one that has +been for three days trying to penetrate the weather boarding of the big +icehouse by the river, and to reach the sawdust filling for a +nesting-place. + + + + +THE PH[OE]BE + + +Another April bird whose memory I fondly cherish is the ph[oe]be-bird, +the pioneer of the flycatchers. In the inland farming districts, I used +to notice him, on some bright morning about Easter Day, proclaiming his +arrival, with much variety of motion and attitude, from the peak of the +barn or hay-shed. As yet, you may have heard only the plaintive, +homesick note of the bluebird, or the faint trill of the song sparrow; +and the ph[oe]be's clear, vivacious assurance of his veritable bodily +presence among us again is welcomed by all ears. At agreeable intervals +in his lay he describes a circle or an ellipse in the air, ostensibly +prospecting for insects, but really, I suspect, as an artistic flourish, +thrown in to make up in some way for the deficiency of his musical +performance. If plainness of dress indicates powers of song, as it +usually does, the ph[oe]be ought to be unrivaled in musical ability, for +surely that ashen-gray suit is the superlative of plainness; and that +form, likewise, would hardly pass for a "perfect figure" of a bird. The +seasonableness of his coming, however, and his civil, neighborly ways, +shall make up for all deficiencies in song and plumage. + +The ph[oe]be-bird is a wise architect and perhaps enjoys as great an +immunity from danger, both in its person and its nest, as any other +bird. Its modest ashen-gray suit is the color of the rocks where it +builds, and the moss of which it makes such free use gives to its nest +the look of a natural growth or accretion. But when it comes into the +barn or under the shed to build, as it so frequently does, the moss is +rather out of place. Doubtless in time the bird will take the hint, and +when she builds in such places will leave the moss out. I noted but two +nests the summer I am speaking of: one in a barn failed of issue, on +account of the rats, I suspect, though the little owl may have been the +depredator; the other, in the woods, sent forth three young. This latter +nest was most charmingly and ingeniously placed. I discovered it while +in quest of pond-lilies, in a long, deep, level stretch of water in the +woods. A large tree had blown over at the edge of the water, and its +dense mass of upturned roots, with the black, peaty soil filling the +interstices, was like the fragment of a wall several feet high, rising +from the edge of the languid current. In a niche in this earthy wall, +and visible and accessible only from the water, a ph[oe]be had built her +nest and reared her brood. I paddled my boat up and came alongside +prepared to take the family aboard. The young, nearly ready to fly, +were quite undisturbed by my presence, having probably been assured that +no danger need be apprehended from that side. It was not a likely place +for minks, or they would not have been so secure. + + +THE COMING OF PH[OE]BE + + When buckets shine 'gainst maple trees + And drop by drop the sap doth flow, + When days are warm, but still nights freeze, + And deep in woods lie drifts of snow, + When cattle low and fret in stall, + Then morning brings the ph[oe]be's call, + "Ph[oe]be, + Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," a cheery note, + While cackling hens make such a rout. + + When snowbanks run, and hills are bare, + And early bees hum round the hive, + When woodchucks creep from out their lair + Right glad to find themselves alive, + When sheep go nibbling through the fields, + Then Ph[oe]be oft her name reveals, + "Ph[oe]be, + Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," a plaintive cry, + While jack-snipes call in morning sky. + + When wild ducks quack in creek and pond + And bluebirds perch on mullein-stalks, + When spring has burst her icy bond + And in brown fields the sleek crow walks, + When chipmunks court in roadside walls, + Then Ph[oe]be from the ridgeboard calls, + "Ph[oe]be, + Ph[oe]be, ph[oe]be," and lifts her cap, + While smoking Dick doth boil the sap. + + + + +THE COWBIRD + + +The cow blackbird is a noticeable songster in April, though it takes a +back seat a little later. It utters a peculiarly liquid April sound. +Indeed, one would think its crop was full of water, its notes so bubble +up and regurgitate, and are delivered with such an apparent stomachic +contraction. This bird is the only feathered polygamist we have. The +females are greatly in excess of the males, and the latter are usually +attended by three or four of the former. As soon as the other birds +begin to build, they are on the _qui vive_, prowling about like gypsies, +not to steal the young of others, but to steal their eggs into other +birds' nests, and so shirk the labor and responsibility of hatching and +rearing their own young. + +The cowbird's tactics are probably to watch the movements of the parent +bird. She may often be seen searching anxiously through the trees or +bushes for a suitable nest, yet she may still oftener be seen perched +upon some good point of observation watching the birds as they come and +go about her. There is no doubt that, in many cases, the cowbird makes +room for her own illegitimate egg in the nest by removing one of the +bird's own. I found a sparrow's nest with two sparrow's eggs and one +cowbird's egg, and another egg lying a foot or so below it on the +ground. I replaced the ejected egg, and the next day found it again +removed, and another cowbird's egg in its place. I put it back the +second time, when it was again ejected, or destroyed, for I failed to +find it anywhere. Very alert and sensitive birds, like the warblers, +often bury the strange egg beneath a second nest built on top of the +old. A lady living in the suburbs of an Eastern city heard cries of +distress one morning from a pair of house wrens that had a nest in a +honeysuckle on her front porch. On looking out of the window, she beheld +this little comedy,--comedy from her point of view, but no doubt grim +tragedy from the point of view of the wrens: a cowbird with a wren's egg +in its beak running rapidly along the walk, with the outraged wrens +forming a procession behind it, screaming, scolding, and gesticulating +as only these voluble little birds can. The cowbird had probably been +surprised in the act of violating the nest, and the wrens were giving +her a piece of their minds. + +Every cowbird is reared at the expense of two or more song-birds. For +every one of these dusky little pedestrians there amid the grazing +cattle there are two or more sparrows, or vireos, or warblers, the less. +It is a big price to pay,--two larks for a bunting,--two sovereigns for +a shilling; but Nature does not hesitate occasionally to contradict +herself in just this way. The young of the cowbird is disproportionately +large and aggressive, one might say hoggish. When disturbed, it will +clasp the nest and scream and snap its beak threateningly. One was +hatched out in a song sparrow's nest which was under my observation, and +would soon have overridden and overborne the young sparrow which came +out of the shell a few hours later, had I not interfered from time to +time and lent the young sparrow a helping hand. Every day I would visit +the nest and take the sparrow out from under the potbellied interloper, +and place it on top, so that presently it was able to hold its own +against its enemy. Both birds became fledged and left the nest about the +same time. Whether the race was an even one after that, I know not. + + + + +THE CHIPPING SPARROW + + +When the true flycatcher catches a fly, it is quick business. There is +no strife, no pursuit,--one fell swoop, and the matter is ended. Now +note that yonder little sparrow is less skilled. It is the chippy, and +he finds his subsistence properly in various seeds and the larvae of +insects, though he occasionally has higher aspirations, and seeks to +emulate the pewee, commencing and ending his career as a flycatcher by +an awkward chase after a beetle or "miller." He is hunting around in the +grass now, I suspect, with the desire to indulge this favorite whim. +There!--the opportunity is afforded him. Away goes a little +cream-colored meadow-moth in the most tortuous course he is capable of, +and away goes Chippy in pursuit. The contest is quite comical, though I +dare say it is serious enough to the moth. The chase continues for a few +yards, when there is a sudden rushing to cover in the grass,--then a +taking to wing again, when the search has become too close, and the moth +has recovered his wind. Chippy chirps angrily, and is determined not to +be beaten. Keeping, with the slightest effort, upon the heels of the +fugitive, he is ever on the point of halting to snap him up, but never +quite does it; and so, between disappointment and expectation, is soon +disgusted, and returns to pursue his more legitimate means of +subsistence. + + * * * * * + +Last summer I made this record in my notebook: "A nest of young robins +in the maple in front of the house being fed by a chipping sparrow. The +little sparrow is very attentive; seems decidedly fond of her adopted +babies. The old robins resent her services, and hustle her out of the +tree whenever they find her near the nest. (It was this hurried +departure of Chippy from the tree that first attracted my attention.) +She watches her chances, and comes with food in their absence. The young +birds are about ready to fly, and when the chippy feeds them her head +fairly disappears in their capacious mouths. She jerks it back as if she +were afraid of being swallowed. Then she lingers near them on the edge +of the nest, and seems to admire them. When she sees the old robin +coming, she spreads her wings in an attitude of defense, and then flies +away. I wonder if she has had the experience of rearing a cow-bunting?" +(A day later.) "The robins are out of the nest, and the little sparrow +continues to feed them. She approaches them rather timidly and +hesitatingly, as if she feared they might swallow her, then thrusts her +titbit quickly into the distended mouth and jerks back." + +Whether the chippy had lost her own brood, whether she was an unmated +bird, or whether the case was simply the overflowing of the maternal +instinct, it would be interesting to know. + + + + +THE CHEWINK + + +The chewink is a shy bird, but not stealthy. It is very inquisitive, and +sets up a great scratching among the leaves, apparently to attract your +attention. The male is perhaps the most conspicuously marked of all the +ground-birds except the bobolink, being black above, bay on the sides, +and white beneath. The bay is in compliment to the leaves he is forever +scratching among,--they have rustled against his breast and sides so +long that these parts have taken their color; but whence come the white +and the black? The bird seems to be aware that his color betrays him, +for there are few birds in the woods so careful about keeping themselves +screened from view. When in song, its favorite perch is the top of some +high bush near to cover. On being disturbed at such times, it pitches +down into the brush and is instantly lost to view. + + [Illustration: CHEWINK + Upper, male; lower, female] + +This is the bird that Thomas Jefferson wrote to Wilson about, greatly +exciting the latter's curiosity. Wilson was just then upon the threshold +of his career as an ornithologist, and had made a drawing of the Canada +jay which he sent to the President. It was a new bird, and in reply +Jefferson called his attention to a "curious bird" which was everywhere +to be heard, but scarcely ever to be seen. He had for twenty years +interested the young sportsmen of his neighborhood to shoot one for him, +but without success. "It is in all the forests, from spring to fall," he +says in his letter, "and never but on the tops of the tallest trees, +from which it perpetually serenades us with some of the sweetest notes, +and as clear as those of the nightingale. I have followed it for miles, +without ever but once getting a good view of it. It is of the size and +make of the mockingbird, lightly thrush-colored on the back, and a +grayish-white on the breast and belly. Mr. Randolph, my son-in-law, was +in possession of one which had been shot by a neighbor," etc. Randolph +pronounced it a flycatcher, which was a good way wide of the mark. +Jefferson must have seen only the female, after all his tramp, from his +description of the color; but he was doubtless following his own great +thoughts more than the bird, else he would have had an earlier view. The +bird was not a new one, but was well known then as the ground-robin. The +President put Wilson on the wrong scent by his erroneous description, +and it was a long time before the latter got at the truth of the case. +But Jefferson's letter is a good sample of those which specialists +often receive from intelligent persons who have seen or heard something +in their line very curious or entirely new, and who set the man of +science agog by a description of the supposed novelty,--a description +that generally fits the facts of the case about as well as your coat +fits the chair-back. Strange and curious things in the air, and in the +water, and in the earth beneath, are seen every day except by those who +are looking for them, namely, the naturalists. When Wilson or Audubon +gets his eye on the unknown bird, the illusion vanishes, and your +phenomenon turns out to be one of the commonplaces of the fields or +woods. + + + + +THE BROWN THRASHER + + +Our long-tailed thrush, or thrasher, delights in a high branch of some +solitary tree, whence it will pour out its rich and intricate warble for +an hour together. This bird is the great American chipper. There is no +other bird that I know of that can chip with such emphasis and military +decision as this yellow-eyed songster. It is like the click of a giant +gunlock. Why is the thrasher so stealthy? It always seems to be going +about on tip-toe. I never knew it to steal anything, and yet it skulks +and hides like a fugitive from justice. One never sees it flying aloft +in the air and traversing the world openly, like most birds, but it +darts along fences and through bushes as if pursued by a guilty +conscience. Only when the musical fit is upon it does it come up into +full view, and invite the world to hear and behold. + +Years pass without my finding a brown thrasher's nest; it is not a nest +you are likely to stumble upon in your walk; it is hidden as a miser +hides his gold, and watched as jealously. The male pours out his rich +and triumphant song from the tallest tree he can find, and fairly +challenges you to come and look for his treasures in his vicinity. But +you will not find them if you go. The nest is somewhere on the outer +circle of his song; he is never so imprudent as to take up his stand +very near it. The artists who draw those cozy little pictures of a +brooding mother bird, with the male perched but a yard away in full +song, do not copy from nature. The thrasher's nest I found was thirty or +forty rods from the point where the male was wont to indulge in his +brilliant recitative. It was in an open field under a low +ground-juniper. My dog disturbed the sitting bird as I was passing near. +The nest could be seen only by lifting up and parting away the branches. +All the arts of concealment had been carefully studied. It was the last +place you would think of looking in, and, if you did look, nothing was +visible but the dense green circle of the low-spreading juniper. When +you approached, the bird would keep her place till you had begun to stir +the branches, when she would start out, and, just skimming the ground, +make a bright brown line to the near fence and bushes. I confidently +expected that this nest would escape molestation, but it did not. Its +discovery by myself and dog probably opened the door for ill luck, as +one day, not long afterward, when I peeped in upon it, it was empty. The +proud song of the male had ceased from his accustomed tree, and the +pair were seen no more in that vicinity. + +After a pair of nesting birds have been broken up once or twice during +the season, they become almost desperate, and will make great efforts to +outwit their enemies. A pair of brown thrashers built their nest in a +pasture-field under a low, scrubby apple-tree which the cattle had +browsed down till it spread a thick, wide mass of thorny twigs only a +few inches above the ground. Some blackberry briers had also grown +there, so that the screen was perfect. My dog first started the bird, as +I was passing near. By stooping low and peering intently, I could make +out the nest and eggs. Two or three times a week, as I passed by, I +would pause to see how the nest was prospering. The mother bird would +keep her place, her yellow eyes never blinking. One morning, as I looked +into her tent, I found the nest empty. Some night-prowler, probably a +skunk or a fox, or maybe a black snake or a red squirrel by day, had +plundered it. It would seem as if it was too well screened; it was in +such a spot as any depredator would be apt to explore. "Surely," he +would say, "this is a likely place for a nest." The birds then moved +over the hill a hundred rods or more, much nearer the house, and in some +rather open bushes tried again. But again they came to grief. Then, +after some delay, the mother bird made a bold stroke. She seemed to +reason with herself thus: "Since I have fared so disastrously in seeking +seclusion for my nest, I will now adopt the opposite tactics, and come +out fairly in the open. What hides me hides my enemies: let us try +greater publicity." So she came out and built her nest by a few small +shoots that grew beside the path that divides the two vineyards, and +where we passed to and fro many times daily. I discovered her by chance +early in the morning as I proceeded to my work. She started up at my +feet and flitted quickly along above the ploughed ground, almost as red +as the soil. I admired her audacity. Surely no prowler by night or day +would suspect a nest in this open and exposed place. There was no cover +by which they could approach, and no concealment anywhere. The nest was +a hasty affair, as if the birds' patience at nest-building had been +about exhausted. Presently an egg appeared, and then the next day +another, and on the fourth day a third. No doubt the bird would have +succeeded this time had not man interfered. In cultivating the vineyards +the horse and cultivator had to pass over this very spot. Upon this the +bird had not calculated. I determined to assist her. I called my man, +and told him there was one spot in that vineyard, no bigger than his +hand, where the horse's foot must not be allowed to fall, nor tooth of +cultivator to touch. Then I showed him the nest, and charged him to +avoid it. Probably if I had kept the secret to myself, and let the bird +run her own risk, the nest would have escaped. But the result was that +the man, in elaborately trying to avoid the nest, overdid the matter; +the horse plunged, and set his foot squarely upon it. Such a little +spot, the chances were few that the horse's foot would fall exactly +there; and yet it did, and the birds' hopes were again dashed. The pair +then disappeared from my vicinity, and I saw them no more. + + + + +THE HOUSE WREN + + +A few years ago I put up a little bird-house in the back end of my +garden for the accommodation of the wrens, and every season a pair have +taken up their abode there. One spring a pair of bluebirds looked into +the tenement and lingered about several days, leading me to hope that +they would conclude to occupy it. But they finally went away, and later +in the season the wrens appeared, and, after a little coquetting, were +regularly installed in their old quarters, and were as happy as only +wrens can be. + +One of our younger poets, Myron Benton, saw a little bird + + "Ruffled with whirlwind of his ecstasies," + +which must have been the wren, as I know of no other bird that so throbs +and palpitates with music as this little vagabond. And the pair I speak +of seemed exceptionally happy, and the male had a small tornado of song +in his crop that kept him "ruffled" every moment in the day. But before +their honeymoon was over the bluebirds returned. I knew something was +wrong before I was up in the morning. Instead of that voluble and +gushing song outside the window, I heard the wrens scolding and crying +at a fearful rate, and on going out saw the bluebirds in possession of +the box. The poor wrens were in despair; they wrung their hands and tore +their hair, after the wren fashion, but chiefly did they rattle out +their disgust and wrath at the intruders. I have no doubt that, if it +could have been interpreted, it would have been proven the rankest and +most voluble billingsgate ever uttered. For the wren is saucy, and he +has a tongue in his head that can outwag any other tongue known to me. + +The bluebirds said nothing, but the male kept an eye on Mr. Wren, and, +when he came too near, gave chase, driving him to cover under the fence, +or under a rubbish-heap or other object, where the wren would scold and +rattle away, while his pursuer sat on the fence or the pea-brush waiting +for him to reappear. + +Days passed, and the usurpers prospered and the outcasts were wretched; +but the latter lingered about, watching and abusing their enemies, and +hoping, no doubt, that things would take a turn, as they presently did. +The outraged wrens were fully avenged. The mother bluebird had laid her +full complement of eggs and was beginning to set, when one day, as her +mate was perched above her on the barn, along came a boy with one of +those wicked elastic slings and cut him down with a pebble. There he +lay like a bit of sky fallen upon the grass. The widowed bird seemed to +understand what had happened, and without much ado disappeared next day +in quest of another mate. + +In the mean time the wrens were beside themselves with delight; they +fairly screamed with joy. If the male was before "ruffled with whirlwind +of his ecstasies," he was now in danger of being rent asunder. He +inflated his throat and caroled as wren never caroled before. And the +female, too, how she cackled and darted about! How busy they both were! +Rushing into the nest, they hustled those eggs out in less than a +minute, wren time. They carried in new material, and by the third day +were fairly installed again in their old quarters; but on the third day, +so rapidly are these little dramas played, the female bluebird +reappeared with another mate. Ah! how the wren stock went down then! +What dismay and despair filled again those little breasts! It was +pitiful. They did not scold as before, but after a day or two withdrew +from the garden, dumb with grief, and gave up the struggle. + + * * * * * + +The chatter of a second brood of nearly fledged wrens is heard now +(August 20) in an oriole's nest suspended from the branch of an +apple-tree near where I write. Earlier in the season the parent birds +made long and determined attempts to establish themselves in a cavity +that had been occupied by a pair of bluebirds. The original proprietor +of the place was the downy woodpecker. He had excavated it the autumn +before, and had passed the winter there, often to my certain knowledge +lying abed till nine o'clock in the morning. In the spring he went +elsewhere, probably with a female, to begin the season in new quarters. +The bluebirds early took possession, and in June their first brood had +flown. The wrens had been hanging around, evidently with an eye on the +place (such little comedies may be witnessed anywhere), and now very +naturally thought it was their turn. A day or two after the young +bluebirds had flown, I noticed some fine, dry grass clinging to the +entrance to the cavity; a circumstance which I understood a few moments +later, when the wren rushed by me into the cover of a small Norway +spruce, hotly pursued by the male bluebird. It was a brown streak and a +blue streak pretty close together. The wrens had gone to housecleaning, +and the bluebird had returned to find his bed and bedding being pitched +out of doors, and had thereupon given the wrens to understand in the +most emphatic manner that he had no intention of vacating the premises +so early in the season. Day after day, for more than two weeks, the male +bluebird had to clear his premises of these intruders. It occupied much +of his time and not a little of mine, as I sat with a book in a +summer-house near by, laughing at his pretty fury and spiteful onset. On +two occasions the wren rushed under the chair in which I sat, and a +streak of blue lightning almost flashed in my very face. One day, just +as I had passed the tree in which the cavity was located, I heard the +wren scream desperately; turning, I saw the little vagabond fall into +the grass with the wrathful bluebird fairly upon him; the latter had +returned just in time to catch him, and was evidently bent on punishing +him well. But in the squabble in the grass the wren escaped and took +refuge in the friendly evergreen. The bluebird paused for a moment with +outstretched wings looking for the fugitive, then flew away. A score of +times during the month of June did I see the wren taxing every energy to +get away from the bluebird. He would dart into the stone wall, under the +floor of the summer-house, into the weeds,--anywhere to hide his +diminished head. The bluebird, with his bright coat, looked like an +officer in uniform in pursuit of some wicked, rusty little street gamin. +Generally the favorite house of refuge of the wrens was the little +spruce, into which their pursuer made no attempt to follow them. The +female would sit concealed amid the branches, chattering in a scolding, +fretful way, while the male with his eye upon his tormentor would perch +on the topmost shoot and sing. Why he sang at such times, whether in +triumph and derision, or to keep his courage up and reassure his mate, I +could not make out. When his song was suddenly cut short, and I glanced +to see him dart down into the spruce, my eye usually caught a twinkle of +blue wings hovering near. The wrens finally gave up the fight, and their +enemies reared their second brood in peace. + + + + +THE SONG SPARROW + + +The first song sparrow's nest I observed in the spring of 1881 was in a +field under a fragment of a board, the board being raised from the +ground a couple of inches by two poles. It had its full complement of +eggs, and probably sent forth a brood of young birds, though as to this +I cannot speak positively, as I neglected to observe it further. It was +well sheltered and concealed, and was not easily come at by any of its +natural enemies, save snakes and weasels. But concealment often avails +little. In May, a song sparrow, which had evidently met with disaster +earlier in the season, built its nest in a thick mass of woodbine +against the side of my house, about fifteen feet from the ground. +Perhaps it took the hint from its cousin the English sparrow. The nest +was admirably placed, protected from the storms by the overhanging eaves +and from all eyes by the thick screen of leaves. Only by patiently +watching the suspicious bird, as she lingered near with food in her +beak, did I discover its whereabouts. That brood is safe, I thought, +beyond doubt. But it was not: the nest was pillaged one night, either by +an owl, or else by a rat that had climbed into the vine, seeking an +entrance to the house. The mother bird, after reflecting upon her ill +luck about a week, seemed to resolve to try a different system of +tactics, and to throw all appearances of concealment aside. She built a +nest a few yards from the house, beside the drive, upon a smooth piece +of greensward. There was not a weed or a shrub or anything whatever to +conceal it or mark its site. The structure was completed, and incubation +had begun, before I discovered what was going on. "Well, well," I said, +looking down upon the bird almost at my feet, "this is going to the +other extreme indeed; now the cats will have you." The desperate little +bird sat there day after day, looking like a brown leaf pressed down in +the short green grass. As the weather grew hot, her position became very +trying. It was no longer a question of keeping the eggs warm, but of +keeping them from roasting. The sun had no mercy on her, and she fairly +panted in the middle of the day. In such an emergency the male robin has +been known to perch above the sitting female and shade her with his +outstretched wings. But in this case there was no perch for the male +bird, had he been disposed to make a sunshade of himself. I thought to +lend a hand in this direction myself, and so stuck a leafy twig beside +the nest. This was probably an unwise interference: it guided disaster +to the spot; the nest was broken up, and the mother bird was probably +caught, as I never saw her afterward. + +One day a tragedy was enacted a few yards from where I was sitting with +a book: two song sparrows were trying to defend their nest against a +black snake. The curious, interrogating note of a chicken who had +suddenly come upon the scene in his walk first caused me to look up from +my reading. There were the sparrows, with wings raised in a way +peculiarly expressive of horror and dismay, rushing about a low clump of +grass and bushes. Then, looking more closely, I saw the glistening form +of the black snake, and the quick movement of his head as he tried to +seize the birds. The sparrows darted about and through the grass and +weeds, trying to beat the snake off. Their tails and wings were spread, +and, panting with the heat and the desperate struggle, they presented a +most singular spectacle. They uttered no cry, not a sound escaped them; +they were plainly speechless with horror and dismay. Not once did they +drop their wings, and the peculiar expression of those uplifted palms, +as it were, I shall never forget. It occurred to me that perhaps here +was a case of attempted bird-charming on the part of the snake, so I +looked on from behind the fence. The birds charged the snake and +harassed him from every side, but were evidently under no spell save +that of courage in defending their nest. Every moment or two I could see +the head and neck of the serpent make a sweep at the birds, when the one +struck at would fall back, and the other would renew the assault from +the rear. There appeared to be little danger that the snake could strike +and hold one of the birds, though I trembled for them, they were so bold +and approached so near to the snake's head. Time and again he sprang at +them, but without success. How the poor things panted, and held up their +wings appealingly! Then the snake glided off to the near fence, barely +escaping the stone which I hurled at him. I found the nest rifled and +deranged; whether it had contained eggs or young, I know not. The male +sparrow had cheered me many a day with his song, and I blamed myself for +not having rushed at once to the rescue, when the arch enemy was upon +him. There is probably little truth in the popular notion that snakes +charm birds. The black snake is the most subtle, alert, and devilish of +our snakes, and I have never seen him have any but young, helpless birds +in his mouth. + + * * * * * + +If one has always built one's nest upon the ground, and if one comes of +a race of ground-builders, it is a risky experiment to build in a tree. +The conditions are vastly different. One of my near neighbors, a little +song sparrow, learned this lesson the past season. She grew ambitious; +she departed from the traditions of her race, and placed her nest in a +tree. Such a pretty spot she chose, too,--the pendent cradle formed by +the interlaced sprays of two parallel branches of a Norway spruce. These +branches shoot out almost horizontally; indeed, the lower ones become +quite so in spring, and the side shoots with which they are clothed +droop down, forming the slopes of miniature ridges; where the slopes of +two branches join, a little valley is formed, which often looks more +stable than it really is. My sparrow selected one of these little +valleys about six feet from the ground, and quite near the walls of the +house. "Here," she thought, "I will build my nest, and pass the heat of +June in a miniature Norway. This tree is the fir-clad mountain, and this +little vale on its side I select for my own." She carried up a great +quantity of coarse grass and straws for the foundation, just as she +would have done upon the ground. On the top of this mass there gradually +came into shape the delicate structure of her nest, compacting and +refining till its delicate carpet of hairs and threads was reached. So +sly as the little bird was about it, too,--every moment on her guard +lest you discover her secret! Five eggs were laid, and incubation was +far advanced, when the storms and winds came. The cradle indeed did +rock. The boughs did not break, but they swayed and separated as you +would part your two interlocked hands. The ground of the little valley +fairly gave way, the nest tilted over till its contents fell into the +chasm. It was like an earthquake that destroys a hamlet. + +No born tree-builder would have placed its nest in such a situation. +Birds that build at the end of the branch, like the oriole, tie the nest +fast; others, like the robin, build against the main trunk; still others +build securely in the fork. The sparrow, in her ignorance, rested her +house upon the spray of two branches, and when the tempest came, the +branches parted company and the nest was engulfed. + +A little bob-tailed song sparrow built her nest in a pile of dry brush +very near the kitchen door of a farmhouse on the skirts of the northern +Catskills, where I was passing the summer. It was late in July, and she +had doubtless reared one brood in the earlier season. Her toilet was +decidedly the worse for wear. I noted her day after day, very busy about +the fence and quince bushes between the house and milk house, with her +beak full of coarse straw and hay. To a casual observer, she seemed +flitting about aimlessly, carrying straws from place to place just to +amuse herself. When I came to watch her closely to learn the place of +her nest, she seemed to suspect my intention, and made many little +feints and movements calculated to put me off my track. But I would not +be misled, and presently had her secret. The male did not assist her at +all, but sang much of the time in an apple-tree or upon the fence, on +the other side of the house. + +The song sparrow nearly always builds upon the ground, but my little +neighbor laid the foundations of her domicile a foot or more above the +soil. And what a mass of straws and twigs she did collect together! How +coarse and careless and aimless at first,--a mere lot of rubbish dropped +upon the tangle of dry limbs; but presently how it began to refine and +come into shape in the centre! till there was the most exquisite +hair-lined cup set about by a chaos of coarse straws and branches. What +a process of evolution! The completed nest was foreshadowed by the first +stiff straw; but how far off is yet that dainty casket with its +complement of speckled eggs! The nest was so placed that it had for +canopy a large, broad, drooping leaf of yellow dock. This formed a +perfect shield against both sun and rain, while it served to conceal it +from any curious eyes from above,--from the cat, for instance, prowling +along the top of the wall. Before the eggs had hatched, the docken leaf +wilted and dried and fell down upon the nest. But the mother bird +managed to insinuate herself beneath it, and went on with her brooding +all the same. + +Then I arranged an artificial cover of leaves and branches, which +shielded her charge till they had flown away. A mere trifle was this +little bob-tailed bird with her arts and her secrets, and the male with +his song, and yet the pair gave a touch of something to those days and +to that place which I would not willingly have missed. + + + + +THE CHIMNEY SWIFT + + +One day a swarm of honey-bees went into my chimney, and I mounted the +stack to see into which flue they had gone. As I craned my neck above +the sooty vent, with the bees humming about my ears, the first thing my +eye rested upon in the black interior was a pair of long white pearls +upon a little shelf of twigs, the nest of the chimney swallow, or +swift,--honey, soot, and birds' eggs closely associated. The bees, +though in an unused flue, soon found the gas of anthracite that hovered +about the top of the chimney too much for them, and they left. But the +swifts are not repelled by smoke. They seem to have entirely abandoned +their former nesting-places in hollow trees and stumps, and to frequent +only chimneys. A tireless bird, never perching, all day upon the wing, +and probably capable of flying one thousand miles in twenty-four hours, +they do not even stop to gather materials for their nests, but snap off +the small dry twigs from the tree-tops as they fly by. Confine one of +these swifts to a room and it does not perch, but after flying till it +becomes bewildered and exhausted, it clings to the side of the wall till +it dies. Once, on returning to my room after several days' absence, I +found one in which life seemed nearly extinct; its feet grasped my +finger as I removed it from the wall, but its eyes closed, and it seemed +about on the point of joining its companion, which lay dead upon the +floor. Tossing it into the air, however, seemed to awaken its wonderful +powers of flight, and away it went straight toward the clouds. On the +wing the chimney swift looks like an athlete stripped for the race. +There is the least appearance of quill and plumage of any of our birds, +and, with all its speed and marvelous evolutions, the effect of its +flight is stiff and wiry. There appears to be but one joint in the wing, +and that next the body. This peculiar inflexible motion of the wings, as +if they were little sickles of sheet iron, seems to be owing to the +length and development of the primary quills and the smallness of the +secondary. The wing appears to hinge only at the wrist. The barn swallow +lines its rude masonry with feathers, but the swift begins life on bare +twigs, glued together by a glue of home manufacture as adhesive as +Spaulding's. + +The big chimney of my cabin "Slabsides" of course attracted the chimney +swifts, and as it was not used in summer, two pairs built their nests in +it, and we had the muffled thunder of their wings at all hours of the +day and night. One night, when one of the broods was nearly fledged, the +nest that held them fell down into the fireplace. Such a din of +screeching and chattering as they instantly set up! Neither my dog nor I +could sleep. They yelled in chorus, stopping at the end of every +half-minute as if upon signal. Now they were all screeching at the top +of their voices, then a sudden, dead silence ensued. Then the din began +again, to terminate at the instant as before. If they had been long +practicing together, they could not have succeeded better. I never +before heard the cry of birds so accurately timed. After a while I got +up and put them back up the chimney, and stopped up the throat of the +flue with newspapers. The next day one of the parent birds, in bringing +food to them, came down the chimney with such force that it passed +through the papers and brought up in the fireplace. On capturing it I +saw that its throat was distended with food as a chipmunk's cheek with +corn, or a boy's pocket with chestnuts. I opened its mandibles, when it +ejected a wad of insects as large as a bean. Most of them were much +macerated, but there were two house-flies yet alive and but little the +worse for their close confinement. They stretched themselves and walked +about upon my hand, enjoying a breath of fresh air once more. It was +nearly two hours before the swift again ventured into the chimney with +food. + +These birds do not perch, nor alight upon buildings or the ground. They +are apparently upon the wing all day. They outride the storms. I have in +my mind a cheering picture of three of them I saw facing a heavy +thunder-shower one afternoon. The wind was blowing a gale, the clouds +were rolling in black, portentous billows out of the west, the peals of +thunder were shaking the heavens, and the big drops were just beginning +to come down, when, on looking up, I saw three swifts high in air, +working their way slowly, straight into the teeth of the storm. They +were not hurried or disturbed; they held themselves firmly and steadily; +indeed, they were fairly at anchor in the air till the rage of the +elements should have subsided. I do not know that any other of our land +birds outride the storms in this way. + +In the choice of nesting-material the swift shows no change of habit. +She still snips off the small dry twigs from the tree-tops and glues +them together, and to the side of the chimney, with her own glue. The +soot is a new obstacle in her way, that she does not yet seem to have +learned to overcome, as the rains often loosen it and cause her nest to +fall to the bottom. She has a pretty way of trying to frighten you off +when your head suddenly darkens the opening above her. At such times she +leaves the nest and clings to the side of the chimney near it. Then, +slowly raising her wings, she suddenly springs out from the wall and +back again, making as loud a drumming with them in the passage as she is +capable of. If this does not frighten you away, she repeats it three or +four times. If your face still hovers above her, she remains quiet and +watches you. + +What a creature of the air this bird is, never touching the ground, so +far as I know, and never tasting earthly food! The swallow does perch +now and then and descend to the ground for nesting-material, but not so +the swift. The twigs for her nest she gathers on the wing, sweeping +along like children on a "merry-go-round" who try to seize a ring, or to +do some other feat, as they pass a given point. If the swift misses the +twig, or it fails to yield to her the first time, she tries again and +again, each time making a wider circuit, as if to tame and train her +steed a little and bring him up more squarely to the mark next time. + +Though the swift is a stiff flyer and apparently without joints in her +wings, yet the air of frolic and of superabundance of wing-power is +more marked with her than with any other of our birds. Her feeding and +twig-gathering seem like asides in a life of endless play. Several times +both in spring and fall I have seen swifts gather in immense numbers +toward nightfall, to take refuge in large unused chimney-stacks. On such +occasions they seem to be coming together for some aerial festival or +grand celebration; and, as if bent upon a final effort to work off a +part of their superabundant wing-power before settling down for the +night, they circle and circle high above the chimney-top, a great cloud +of them, drifting this way and that, all in high spirits and chippering +as they fly. Their numbers constantly increase as other members of the +clan come dashing in from all points of the compass. Swifts seem to +materialize out of empty air on all sides of the chippering, whirling +ring, as an hour or more this assembling of the clan and this flight +festival go on. The birds must gather in from whole counties, or from +half a State. They have been on the wing all day, and yet now they seem +as tireless as the wind, and as if unable to curb their powers. + +One fall they gathered in this way and took refuge for the night in a +large chimney-stack in a city near me, and kept this course up for more +than a month and a half. Several times I went to town to witness the +spectacle, and a spectacle it was: ten thousand swifts, I should think, +filling the air above a whole square like a whirling swarm of huge black +bees, but saluting the ear with a multitudinous chippering, instead of a +humming. People gathered upon the sidewalks to see them. It was a rare +circus performance, free to all. After a great many feints and playful +approaches, the whirling ring of birds would suddenly grow denser above +the chimney; then a stream of them, as if drawn down by some power of +suction, would pour into the opening. For only a few seconds would this +downward rush continue; then, as if the spirit of frolic had again got +the upper hand of them, the ring would rise, and the chippering and +circling go on. In a minute or two the same man[oe]uvre would be +repeated, the chimney, as it were, taking its swallows at intervals to +prevent choking. It usually took a half-hour or more for the birds all +to disappear down its capacious throat. There was always an air of +timidity and irresolution about their approach to the chimney, just as +there always is about their approach to the dead tree-top from which +they procure their twigs for nest-building. Often did I see birds +hesitate above the opening and then pass on, apparently as though they +had not struck it at just the right angle. On one occasion a solitary +bird was left flying, and it took three or four trials either to make up +its mind or to catch the trick of the descent. On dark or threatening or +stormy days the birds would begin to assemble by mid-afternoon, and by +four or five o'clock were all in their lodgings. + + + + +THE OVEN-BIRD + + +Every loiterer about the woods knows this pretty, speckled-breasted, +olive-backed little bird, which walks along over the dry leaves a few +yards from him, moving its head as it walks, like a miniature domestic +fowl. Most birds are very stiff-necked, like the robin, and as they run +or hop upon the ground, carry the head as if it were riveted to the +body. Not so the oven-bird, or the other birds that walk, as the +cow-bunting, or the quail, or the crow. They move the head forward with +the movement of the feet. The sharp, reiterated, almost screeching song +of the oven-bird, as it perches on a limb a few feet from the ground, +like the words "preacher, preacher, preacher," or "teacher, teacher, +teacher," uttered louder and louder, and repeated six or seven times, is +also familiar to most ears; but its wild, ringing, rapturous burst of +song in the air high above the tree-tops is not so well known. From a +very prosy, tiresome, unmelodious singer, it is suddenly transformed for +a brief moment into a lyric poet of great power. It is a great surprise. +The bird undergoes a complete transformation. Ordinarily it is a very +quiet, demure sort of bird. It walks about over the leaves, moving its +head like a little hen; then perches on a limb a few feet from the +ground and sends forth its shrill, rather prosy, unmusical chant. Surely +it is an ordinary, commonplace bird. But wait till the inspiration of +its flight-song is upon it. What a change! Up it goes through the +branches of the trees, leaping from limb to limb, faster and faster, +till it shoots from the tree-tops fifty or more feet into the air above +them, and bursts into an ecstasy of song, rapid, ringing, lyrical; no +more like its habitual performance than a match is like a rocket; brief +but thrilling; emphatic but musical. Having reached its climax of flight +and song, the bird closes its wings and drops nearly perpendicularly +downward like the skylark. If its song were more prolonged, it would +rival the song of that famous bird. The bird does this many times a day +during early June, but oftenest at twilight. + +About the first of June there is a nest in the woods, upon the ground, +with four creamy-white eggs in it, spotted with brown or lilac, chiefly +about the larger ends, that always gives the walker who is so lucky as +to find it a thrill of pleasure. It is like a ground sparrow's nest with +a roof or canopy to it. The little brown or olive backed bird starts +away from your feet and runs swiftly and almost silently over the dry +leaves, and then turns her speckled breast to see if you are following. +She walks very prettily, by far the prettiest pedestrian in the woods. +But if she thinks you have discovered her secret, she feigns lameness +and disability of both leg and wing, to decoy you into the pursuit of +her. This is the oven-bird. The last nest of this bird I found was while +in quest of the pink cypripedium. We suddenly spied a couple of the +flowers a few steps from the path along which we were walking, and had +stooped to admire them, when out sprang the bird from beside them, +doubtless thinking she was the subject of observation instead of the +rose-purple flowers that swung but a foot or two above her. But we never +should have seen her had she kept her place. She had found a rent in the +matted carpet of dry leaves and pine needles that covered the ground, +and into this had insinuated her nest, the leaves and needles forming a +canopy above it, sloping to the south and west, the source of the more +frequent summer rains. + + + + +THE CATBIRD + + +It requires an effort for me to speak of the singing catbird as he; all +the ways and tones of the bird seem so distinctly feminine. But it is, +of course, only the male that sings. At times I hardly know whether I am +more pleased or annoyed with him. Perhaps he is a little too common, and +his part in the general chorus a little too conspicuous. If you are +listening for the note of another bird, he is sure to be prompted to the +most loud and protracted singing, drowning all other sounds; if you sit +quietly down to observe a favorite or study a new-comer, his curiosity +knows no bounds, and you are scanned and ridiculed from every point of +observation. Yet I would not miss him; I would only subordinate him a +little, make him less conspicuous. + +He is the parodist of the woods, and there is ever a mischievous, +bantering, half-ironical undertone in his lay, as if he were conscious +of mimicking and disconcerting some envied songster. Ambitious of song, +practicing and rehearsing in private, he yet seems the least sincere and +genuine of the sylvan minstrels, as if he had taken up music only to be +in the fashion, or not to be outdone by the robins and thrushes. In +other words, he seems to sing from some outward motive, and not from +inward joyousness. He is a good versifier, but not a great poet. +Vigorous, rapid, copious, not without fine touches, but destitute of any +high, serene melody, his performance, like that of Thoreau's squirrel, +always implies a spectator. + +There is a certain air and polish about his strain, however, like that +in the vivacious conversation of a well-bred lady of the world, that +commands respect. His parental instinct, also, is very strong, and that +simple structure of dead twigs and dry grass is the centre of much +anxious solicitude. Not long since, while strolling through the woods, +my attention was attracted to a small densely-grown swamp, hedged in +with eglantine, brambles, and the everlasting smilax, from which +proceeded loud cries of distress and alarm, indicating that some +terrible calamity was threatening my sombre-colored minstrel. On +effecting an entrance, which, however, was not accomplished till I had +doffed coat and hat, so as to diminish the surface exposed to the thorns +and brambles, and, looking around me from a square yard of terra firma, +I found myself the spectator of a loathsome yet fascinating scene. Three +or four yards from me was the nest, beneath which, in long festoons, +rested a huge black snake; a bird two-thirds grown was slowly +disappearing between his expanded jaws. As he seemed unconscious of my +presence, I quietly observed the proceedings. By slow degrees he +compassed the bird about with his elastic mouth; his head flattened, his +neck writhed and swelled, and two or three undulatory movements of his +glistening body finished the work. Then he cautiously raised himself up, +his tongue flaming from his mouth the while, curved over the nest, and, +with wavy, subtle motions, explored the interior. I can conceive of +nothing more overpoweringly terrible to an unsuspecting family of birds +than the sudden appearance above their domicile of the head and neck of +this arch-enemy. It is enough to petrify the blood in their veins. Not +finding the object of his search, he came streaming down from the nest +to a lower limb, and commenced extending his researches in other +directions, sliding stealthily through the branches, bent on capturing +one of the parent birds. That a legless, wingless creature should move +with such ease and rapidity where only birds and squirrels are +considered at home, lifting himself up, letting himself down, running +out on the yielding boughs, and traversing with marvelous celerity the +whole length and breadth of the thicket, was truly surprising. One +thinks of the great myth of the Tempter and the "cause of all our woe," +and wonders if the Arch Enemy is not now playing off some of his pranks +before him. Whether we call it snake or devil matters little. I could +but admire his terrible beauty, however; his black, shining folds, his +easy, gliding movement, head erect, eyes glistening, tongue playing like +subtle flame, and the invisible means of his almost winged locomotion. + +The parent birds, in the mean while, kept up the most agonizing cry, at +times fluttering furiously about their pursuer, and actually laying hold +of his tail with their beaks and claws. On being thus attacked, the +snake would suddenly double upon himself and follow his own body back, +thus executing a strategic movement that at first seemed almost to +paralyze his victim and place her within his grasp. Not quite, however. +Before his jaws could close upon the coveted prize the bird would tear +herself away, and, apparently faint and sobbing, retire to a higher +branch. His reputed powers of fascination availed him little, though it +is possible that a frailer and less combative bird might have been held +by the fatal spell. Presently, as he came gliding down the slender body +of a leaning alder, his attention was attracted by a slight movement of +my arm; eyeing me an instant, with that crouching, utterly motionless +gaze which I believe only snakes and devils can assume, he turned +quickly--a feat which necessitated something like crawling over his own +body--and glided off through the branches, evidently recognizing in me a +representative of the ancient parties he once so cunningly ruined. A few +moments later, as he lay carelessly disposed in the top of a rank alder, +trying to look as much like a crooked branch as his supple, shining form +would admit, the old vengeance overtook him. I exercised my prerogative, +and a well-directed missile, in the shape of a stone, brought him +looping and writhing to the ground. After I had completed his downfall +and quiet had been partly restored, a half-fledged member of the +bereaved household came out from his hiding-place, and, jumping upon a +decayed branch, chirped vigorously, no doubt in celebration of the +victory. + + + + +THE BOBOLINK + + +The bobolink has a secure place in literature, having been laureated by +no less a poet than Bryant, and invested with a lasting human charm in +the sunny page of Irving, and is the only one of our songsters, I +believe, that the mockingbird cannot parody or imitate. He affords the +most marked example of exuberant pride, and a glad, rollicking, holiday +spirit, that can be seen among our birds. Every note expresses +complacency and glee. He is a beau of the first pattern, and, unlike any +other bird of my acquaintance, pushes his gallantry to the point of +wheeling gayly into the train of every female that comes along, even +after the season of courtship is over and the matches are all settled; +and when she leads him on too wild a chase, he turns lightly about and +breaks out with a song that is precisely analogous to a burst of gay and +self-satisfied laughter, as much as to say, "_Ha! ha! ha! I must have my +fun, Miss Silverthimble, thimble, thimble, if I break every heart in the +meadow, see, see, see!_" + +At the approach of the breeding-season the bobolink undergoes a complete +change; his form changes, his color changes, his flight changes. From +mottled brown or brindle he becomes black and white, earning, in some +localities, the shocking name of "skunk bird"; his small, compact form +becomes broad and conspicuous, and his ordinary flight is laid aside for +a mincing, affected gait, in which he seems to use only the very tips of +his wings. It is very noticeable what a contrast he presents to his mate +at this season, not only in color but in manners, she being as shy and +retiring as he is forward and hilarious. Indeed, she seems disagreeably +serious and indisposed to any fun or jollity, scurrying away at his +approach, and apparently annoyed at every endearing word and look. It is +surprising that all this parade of plumage and tinkling of cymbals +should be gone through with and persisted in to please a creature so +coldly indifferent as she really seems to be. + +I know of no other song-bird that expresses so much self-consciousness +and vanity, and comes so near being an ornithological coxcomb. The +redbird, the yellowbird, the indigo-bird, the oriole, the cardinal +grosbeak, and others, all birds of brilliant plumage and musical +ability, seem quite unconscious of self, and neither by tone nor act +challenge the admiration of the beholder. + +If I were a bird, in building my nest I should follow the example of the +bobolink, placing it in the midst of a broad meadow, where there was no +spear of grass, or flower, or growth unlike another to mark its site. I +judge that the bobolink escapes the dangers to which nesting birds are +liable as few or no other birds do. Unless the mowers come along at an +earlier date than she has anticipated, that is, before July 1, or a +skunk goes nosing through the grass, which is unusual, she is as safe as +bird well can be in the great open of nature. She selects the most +monotonous and uniform place she can find amid the daisies or the +timothy and clover, and places her simple structure upon the ground in +the midst of it. There is no concealment, except as the great conceals +the little, as the desert conceals the pebble, as the myriad conceals +the unit. You may find the nest once, if your course chances to lead you +across it, and your eye is quick enough to note the silent brown bird as +she darts swiftly away; but step three paces in the wrong direction, and +your search will probably be fruitless. My friend and I found a nest by +accident one day, and then lost it again one minute afterward. I moved +away a few yards to be sure of the mother bird, charging my friend not +to stir from his tracks. When I returned, he had moved two paces, he +said (he had really moved four), and we spent a half-hour stooping over +the daisies and the buttercups, looking for the lost clew. We grew +desperate, and fairly felt the ground over with our hands, but without +avail. I marked the spot with a bush, and came the next day, and, with +the bush as a centre, moved about it in slowly increasing circles, +covering, I thought, nearly every inch of ground with my feet, and +laying hold of it with all the visual power I could command, till my +patience was exhausted, and I gave up, baffled. I began to doubt the +ability of the parent birds themselves to find it, and so secreted +myself and watched. After much delay, the male bird appeared with food +in his beak, and, satisfying himself that the coast was clear, dropped +into the grass which I had trodden down in my search. Fastening my eye +upon a particular meadow-lily, I walked straight to the spot, bent down, +and gazed long and intently into the grass. Finally my eye separated the +nest and its young from its surroundings. My foot had barely missed them +in my search, but by how much they had escaped my eye I could not tell. +Probably not by distance at all, but simply by unrecognition. They were +virtually invisible. The dark gray and yellowish-brown dry grass and +stubble of the meadow-bottom were exactly copied in the color of the +half-fledged young. More than that, they hugged the nest so closely and +formed such a compact mass, that though there were five of them, they +preserved the unit of expression,--no single head or form was defined; +they were one, and that one was without shape or color, and not +separable, except by closest scrutiny, from the one of the +meadow-bottom. That nest prospered, as bobolinks' nests doubtless +generally do; for, notwithstanding the enormous slaughter of the birds +by Southern sportsmen during their fall migrations, the bobolink appears +to hold its own, and its music does not diminish in our Northern +meadows. + + +THE BOBOLINK + + Daisies, clover, buttercup, + Redtop, trefoil, meadowsweet, + Ecstatic pinions, soaring up, + Then gliding down to grassy seat. + + Sunshine, laughter, mad desires, + May day, June day, lucid skies, + All reckless moods that love inspires-- + The gladdest bird that sings and flies. + + Meadows, orchards, bending sprays, + Rushes, lilies, billowy wheat, + Song and frolic fill his days, + A feathered rondeau all complete. + + Pink bloom, gold bloom, fleabane white, + Dewdrop, raindrop, cooling shade, + Bubbling throat and hovering flight, + And jocund heart as e'er was made. + + + + +THE WOOD THRUSH + + +The wood thrush is the handsomest species of the thrush family. In grace +and elegance of manner he has no equal. Such a gentle, high-bred air, +and such inimitable ease and composure in his flight and movement! He is +a poet in very word and deed. His carriage is music to the eye. His +performance of the commonest act, as catching a beetle, or picking a +worm from the mud, pleases like a stroke of wit or eloquence. Was he a +prince in the olden time, and do the regal grace and mien still adhere +to him in his transformation? What a finely proportioned form! How +plain, yet rich, his color,--the bright russet of his back, the clear +white of his breast, with the distinct heart-shaped spots! It may be +objected to Robin that he is noisy and demonstrative; he hurries away or +rises to a branch with an angry note, and flirts his wings in ill-bred +suspicion. The thrasher, or red thrush, sneaks and skulks like a +culprit, hiding in the densest alders; the catbird is a coquette and a +flirt, as well as a sort of female Paul Pry; and the chewink shows his +inhospitality by espying your movements like a detective. The wood +thrush has none of these underbred traits. He regards me +unsuspiciously, or avoids me with a noble reserve--or, if I am quiet and +incurious, graciously hops toward me, as if to pay his respects, or to +make my acquaintance. I have passed under his nest within a few feet of +his mate and brood, when he sat near by on a branch eying me sharply, +but without opening his beak; but the moment I raised my hand toward his +defenseless household his anger and indignation were beautiful to +behold. + +What a noble pride he has! Late one October, after his mates and +companions had long since gone South, I noticed one for several +successive days in the dense part of this next-door wood, flitting +noiselessly about, very grave and silent, as if doing penance for some +violation of the code of honor. By many gentle, indirect approaches, I +perceived that part of his tail-feathers were undeveloped. The sylvan +prince could not think of returning to court in this plight, and so, +amid the falling leaves and cold rains of autumn, was patiently biding +his time. + +[Illustration: WOOD THRUSH] + +It is a curious habit the wood thrush has of starting its nest with a +fragment of newspaper or other paper. Except in remote woods, I think it +nearly always puts a piece of paper in the foundation of its nest. Last +spring I chanced to be sitting near a tree in which a wood thrush had +concluded to build. She came with a piece of paper nearly as large as my +hand, placed it upon the branch, stood upon it a moment, and then flew +down to the ground. A little puff of wind caused the paper to leave the +branch a moment afterward. The thrush watched it eddy slowly down to the +ground, when she seized it and carried it back. She placed it in +position as before, stood upon it again for a moment, and then flew +away. Again the paper left the branch, and sailed away slowly to the +ground. The bird seized it again, jerking it about rather spitefully, I +thought; she turned it round two or three times, then labored back to +the branch with it, upon which she shifted it about as if to hit upon +some position in which it would lie more securely. This time she sat +down upon it for a moment, and then went away, doubtless with the +thought in her head that she would bring something to hold it down. The +perverse paper followed her in a few seconds. She seized it again, and +hustled it about more than before. As she rose with it toward the nest, +it in some way impeded her flight, and she was compelled to return to +the ground with it. But she kept her temper remarkably well. She turned +the paper over and took it up in her beak several times before she was +satisfied with her hold, and then carried it back to the branch, where, +however, it would not stay. I saw her make six trials of it, when I was +called away. I think she finally abandoned the restless fragment, +probably a scrap that held some "breezy" piece of writing, for later in +the season I examined the nest and found no paper in it. + +How completely the life of a bird revolves about its nest, its home! In +the case of the wood thrush, its life and joy seem to mount higher and +higher as the nest prospers. The male becomes a fountain of melody; his +happiness waxes day by day; he makes little triumphal tours about the +neighborhood, and pours out his pride and gladness in the ears of all. +How sweet, how well-bred, is his demonstration! But let any accident +befall that precious nest, and what a sudden silence falls upon him! +Last summer a pair of wood thrushes built their nest within a few rods +of my house, and when the enterprise was fairly launched and the mother +bird was sitting upon her four blue eggs, the male was in the height of +his song. How he poured forth his rich melody, never in the immediate +vicinity of the nest, but always within easy hearing distance! Every +morning, as promptly as the morning came, between five and six, he would +sing for half an hour from the top of a locust-tree that shaded my +roof. I came to expect him as much as I expected my breakfast, and I was +not disappointed till one morning I seemed to miss something. What was +it? Oh, the thrush had not sung this morning. Something is the matter; +and, recollecting that yesterday I had seen a red squirrel in the trees +not far from the nest, I at once inferred that the nest had been +harried. Going to the spot, I found my fears were well grounded; every +egg was gone. The joy of the thrush was laid low. No more songs from the +tree-top, and no more songs from any point, till nearly a week had +elapsed, when I heard him again under the hill, where the pair had +started a new nest, cautiously tuning up, and apparently with his recent +bitter experience still weighing upon him. + +There is no nest-builder that suffers more from crows and squirrels and +other enemies than the wood thrush. It builds as openly and +unsuspiciously as if it thought all the world as honest as itself. Its +favorite place is the fork of a sapling, eight or ten feet from the +ground, where it falls an easy prey to every nest-robber that comes +prowling through the woods and groves. It is not a bird that skulks and +hides, like the catbird, the brown thrasher, the chat, or the chewink, +and its nest is not concealed with the same art as theirs. Our thrushes +are all frank, open-mannered birds; but the veery and the hermit build +on the ground, where they may at least escape the crows, owls, and jays, +and stand a good chance of being overlooked by the red squirrel and +weasel also; while the robin seeks the protection of dwellings and +outbuildings. For years I have not known the nest of a wood thrush to +succeed. During the season referred to I observed but two, both +apparently a second attempt, as the season was well advanced, and both +failures. In one case, the nest was placed in a branch that an +apple-tree, standing near a dwelling, held out over the highway. The +structure was barely ten feet above the middle of the road, and would +just escape a passing load of hay. It was made conspicuous by the use of +a large fragment of newspaper in its foundation,--an unsafe material to +build upon in most cases. Whatever else the press may guard, this +particular newspaper did not guard this nest from harm. It saw the egg +and probably the chick, but not the fledgeling. A murderous deed was +committed above the public highway, but whether in the open day or under +cover of darkness I have no means of knowing. The frisky red squirrel +was doubtless the culprit. The other nest was in a maple sapling, within +a few yards of the little rustic summer-house already referred to. The +first attempt of the season, I suspect, had failed in a more secluded +place under the hill; so the pair had come up nearer the house for +protection. The male sang in the trees near by for several days before I +chanced to see the nest. The very morning, I think, it was finished, I +saw a red squirrel exploring a tree but a few yards away; he probably +knew what the singing meant as well as I did. I did not see the inside +of the nest, for it was almost instantly deserted, the female having +probably laid a single egg, which the squirrel had devoured. + +One evening, while seated upon my porch, I had convincing proof that +musical or song contests do take place among the birds. Two wood +thrushes who had nests near by sat on the top of a dead tree and pitted +themselves against each other in song for over half an hour, contending +like champions in a game, and certainly affording the rarest treat in +wood-thrush melody I had ever had. They sang and sang with unwearied +spirit and persistence, now and then changing position or facing in +another direction, but keeping within a few feet of each other. The +rivalry became so obvious and was so interesting that I finally made it +a point not to take my eyes from the singers. The twilight deepened till +their forms began to grow dim; then one of the birds could stand the +strain no longer, the limit of fair competition had been reached, and +seeming to say, "I will silence you, anyhow," it made a spiteful dive at +its rival, and in hot pursuit the two disappeared in the bushes beneath +the tree. + + + + +THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE + + +The nest of nests, the ideal nest, is unquestionably that of the +Baltimore oriole. It is the only perfectly pensile nest we have. The +nest of the orchard oriole is indeed mainly so, but this bird generally +builds lower and shallower, more after the manner of the vireos. + +The Baltimore oriole loves to attach its nest to the swaying branches of +the tallest elms, making no attempt at concealment, but satisfied if the +position be high and the branch pendent. This nest would seem to cost +more time and skill than any other bird structure. A peculiar flax-like +material seems to be always sought after and always found. The nest when +completed assumes the form of a large, suspended gourd. The walls are +thin but firm, and proof against the most driving rain. The mouth is +hemmed or over-handed with strings or horsehair, and the sides are +usually sewed through and through with the same. + +Not particular as to the matter of secrecy, the bird is not particular +as to material, so that it be of the nature of strings or threads. A +lady friend once told me that, while she was working by an open window, +one of these birds approached while her back was turned, and, seizing a +skein of some kind of thread or yarn, made off with it to its +half-finished nest. But the perverse yarn caught fast in the branches, +and, in the bird's efforts to extricate it, got hopelessly tangled. She +tugged away at it all day, but was finally obliged to content herself +with a few detached portions. The fluttering strings were an eyesore to +her ever after, and, passing and repassing, she would give them a +spiteful jerk, as much as to say, "There is that confounded yarn that +gave me so much trouble." + + [Illustration: BALTIMORE ORIOLE + Upper, male; lower, female] + +One day in Kentucky I saw an oriole weave into her nest unusual +material. As we sat upon the lawn in front of the cottage, we had +noticed the bird just beginning her structure, suspending it from a +long, low branch of the Kentucky coffee-tree that grew but a few feet +away. I suggested to my host that if he would take some brilliant yarn +and scatter it about upon the shrubbery, the fence, and the walks, the +bird would probably avail herself of it, and weave a novel nest. I had +heard of its being done, but had never tried it myself. The suggestion +was at once acted upon, and in a few moments a handful of zephyr yarn, +crimson, orange, green, yellow, and blue, was distributed about the +grounds. As we sat at dinner a few moments later, I saw the eager bird +flying up toward her nest with one of these brilliant yarns streaming +behind her. They had caught her eye at once, and she fell to work upon +them with a will; not a bit daunted by their brilliant color, she soon +had a crimson spot there amid the green leaves. She afforded us rare +amusement all the afternoon and the next morning. How she seemed to +congratulate herself over her rare find! How vigorously she knotted +those strings to her branch and gathered the ends in and sewed them +through and through the structure, jerking them spitefully like a +housewife burdened with many cares! How savagely she would fly at her +neighbor, an oriole that had a nest just over the fence a few yards +away, when she invaded her territory! The male looked on approvingly, +but did not offer to lend a hand. There is something in the manner of +the female on such occasions, something so decisive and emphatic, that +one entirely approves of the course of the male in not meddling or +offering any suggestions. It is the wife's enterprise, and she evidently +knows her own mind so well that the husband keeps aloof, or plays the +part of an approving spectator. + +The woolen yarn was ill-suited to the Kentucky climate. This fact the +bird seemed to appreciate, for she used it only in the upper part of +her nest, in attaching it to the branch and in binding and compacting +the rim, making the sides and bottom of hemp, leaving it thin and airy, +much more so than are the same nests with us. No other bird would, +perhaps, have used such brilliant material; their instincts of +concealment would have revolted, but the oriole aims more to make its +nest inaccessible than to hide it. Its position and depth insure its +safety. + + + + +THE WHIP-POOR-WILL + + +One day in May, walking in the woods, I came upon the nest of a +whip-poor-will, or rather its eggs, for it builds no nest,--two +elliptical whitish spotted eggs lying upon the dry leaves. My foot was +within a yard of the mother bird before she flew. I wondered what a +sharp eye would detect curious or characteristic in the ways of the +bird, so I came to the place many times and had a look. It was always a +task to separate the bird from her surroundings, though I stood within a +few feet of her, and knew exactly where to look. One had to bear on with +his eye, as it were, and refuse to be baffled. The sticks and leaves, +and bits of black or dark-brown bark, were all exactly copied in the +bird's plumage. And then she did sit so close, and simulate so well a +shapeless, decaying piece of wood or bark! Twice I brought a companion, +and, guiding his eye to the spot, noted how difficult it was for him to +make out there, in full view upon the dry leaves, any semblance to a +bird. When the bird returned after being disturbed, she would alight +within a few inches of her eggs, and then, after a moment's pause, +hobble awkwardly upon them. + +[Illustration: WHIP-POOR-WILL] + +After the young had appeared, all the wit of the bird came into play. I +was on hand the next day, I think. The mother bird sprang up when I was +within a pace of her, and in doing so fanned the leaves with her wings +till they sprang up, too; as the leaves started the young started, and +as they were of the same color, to tell which was the leaf and which the +bird was a trying task to any eye. I came the next day, when the same +tactics were repeated. Once a leaf fell upon one of the young birds and +nearly hid it. The young are covered with a reddish down, like a young +partridge, and soon follow their mother about. When disturbed, they gave +but one leap, then settled down, perfectly motionless and stupid, with +eyes closed. The parent bird, on these occasions, made frantic efforts +to decoy me away from her young. She would fly a few paces and fall upon +her breast, and a spasm, like that of death, would run through her +tremulous outstretched wings and prostrate body. She kept a sharp eye +out the mean while to see if the ruse took, and, if it did not, she was +quickly cured, and, moving about to some other point, tried to draw my +attention as before. When followed she always alighted upon the ground, +dropping down in a sudden, peculiar way. The second or third day both +old and young had disappeared. + +The whip-poor-will walks as awkwardly as a swallow, which is as awkward +as a man in a bag, and yet she manages to lead her young about the +woods. The latter, I think, move by leaps and sudden spurts, their +protective coloring shielding them most effectively. + + * * * * * + +As the shadows deepen and the stars begin to come out, the +whip-poor-will suddenly strikes up. What a rude intrusion upon the +serenity and harmony of the hour! A cry without music, insistent, +reiterated, loud, penetrating, and yet the ear welcomes it; the night +and the solitude are so vast that they can stand it; and when, an hour +later, as the night enters into full possession, the bird comes and +serenades me under my window or upon my doorstep, my heart warms toward +it. Its cry is a love-call, and there is something of the ardor and +persistence of love in it, and when the female responds, and comes and +hovers near, there is an interchange of subdued, caressing tones between +the two birds that it is a delight to hear. During my first summer in my +cabin one bird used to strike up every night from a high ledge of rocks +in front of my door. At just such a moment in the twilight he would +begin, the first to break the stillness. Then the others would follow, +till the solitude was vocal with their calls. They are rarely heard +later than ten o'clock. Then at daybreak they take up the tale again, +whipping poor Will till one pities him. One April morning between three +and four o'clock, hearing one strike up near my window, I began counting +its calls. My neighbor had told me he had heard one call over two +hundred times without a break, which seemed to me a big story. But I +have a much bigger one to tell. This bird actually laid upon the back of +poor Will one thousand and eighty-eight blows, with only a barely +perceptible pause here and there, as if to catch its breath. Then it +stopped about half a minute and began again, uttering this time three +hundred and ninety calls, when it paused, flew a little farther away, +took up the tale once more, and continued till I fell asleep. + +By day the whip-poor-will apparently sits motionless upon the ground. A +few times in my walks through the woods I have started one up from +almost under my feet. On such occasions the bird's movements suggest +those of a bat; its wings make no noise, and it wavers about in an +uncertain manner, and quickly drops to the ground again. One June day we +flushed an old one with her two young, but there was no indecision or +hesitation in the manner of the mother bird this time. The young were +more than half fledged, and they scampered away a few yards and +suddenly squatted upon the ground, where their assimilative coloring +rendered them almost invisible. Then the anxious parent put forth all +her arts to absorb our attention and lure us away from her offspring. +She flitted before us from side to side, with spread wings and tail, now +falling upon the ground, where she would remain a moment as if quite +disabled, then perching upon an old stump or low branch with drooping, +quivering wings, and imploring us by every gesture to take her and spare +her young. My companion had his camera with him, but the bird would not +remain long enough in one position for him to get her picture. + + + + +THE BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER + +A SEARCH FOR A RARE NEST + + +I had set out in hopes of finding a rare nest,--the nest of the +black-throated blue-backed warbler, which, it seemed, with one or two +others, was still wanting to make the history of our warblers complete. +The woods were extensive, and full of deep, dark tangles, and looking +for any particular nest seemed about as hopeless a task as searching for +a needle in a haystack, as the old saying is. Where to begin, and how? +But the principle is the same as in looking for a hen's nest,--first +find your bird, then watch its movements. + +The bird is in these woods, for I have seen him scores of times, but +whether he builds high or low, on the ground or in the trees, is all +unknown to me. That is his song now,--"twe-twea-twe-e-e-a," with a +peculiar summer languor and plaintiveness, and issuing from the lower +branches and growths. Presently we--for I have been joined by a +companion--discover the bird, a male, insecting in the top of a newly +fallen hemlock. The black, white, and blue of his uniform are seen at a +glance. His movements are quite slow compared with some of the warblers. +If he will only betray the locality of that little domicile where his +plainly clad mate is evidently sitting, it is all we will ask of him. +But this he seems in no wise disposed to do. Here and there, and up and +down, we follow him, often losing him, and as often refinding him by his +song; but the clew to his nest, how shall we get it? Does he never go +home to see how things are getting on, or to see if his presence is not +needed, or to take madam a morsel of food? No doubt he keeps within +earshot, and a cry of distress or alarm from the mother bird would bring +him to the spot in an instant. Would that some evil fate would make her +cry, then! Presently he encounters a rival. His feeding-ground infringes +upon that of another, and the two birds regard each other threateningly. +This is a good sign, for their nests are evidently near. + +Their battle-cry is a low, peculiar chirp, not very fierce, but +bantering and confident. They quickly come to blows, but it is a very +fantastic battle, and, as it would seem, indulged in more to satisfy +their sense of honor than to hurt each other, for neither party gets the +better of the other, and they separate a few paces and sing, and squeak, +and challenge each other in a very happy frame of mind. The gauntlet is +no sooner thrown down than it is again taken up by one or the other, and +in the course of fifteen or twenty minutes they have three or four +encounters, separating a little, then provoked to return again like two +cocks, till finally they withdraw beyond hearing of each other,--both, +no doubt, claiming the victory. But the secret of the nest is still +kept. Once I think I have it. I catch a glimpse of a bird which looks +like the female, and near by, in a small hemlock about eight feet from +the ground, my eye detects a nest. But as I come up under it, I can see +daylight through it, and that it is empty,--evidently only partly +finished, not lined or padded yet. Now if the bird will only return and +claim it, the point will be gained. But we wait and watch in vain. The +architect has knocked off to-day, and we must come again, or continue +our search. + +Despairing of finding either of the nests of the two males, we pushed on +through the woods to try our luck elsewhere. Before long, just as we +were about to plunge down a hill into a dense, swampy part of the woods, +we discovered a pair of the birds we were in quest of. They had food in +their beaks, and, as we paused, showed great signs of alarm, indicating +that the nest was in the immediate vicinity. This was enough. We would +pause here and find this nest, anyhow. To make a sure thing of it, we +determined to watch the parent birds till we had wrung from them their +secret. So we doggedly crouched down and watched them, and they watched +us. It was diamond cut diamond. But as we felt constrained in our +movements, desiring, if possible, to keep so quiet that the birds would, +after a while, see in us only two harmless stumps or prostrate logs, we +had much the worst of it. The mosquitoes were quite taken with our +quiet, and knew us from logs and stumps in a moment. Neither were the +birds deceived, not even when we tried the Indian's tactics, and plumed +ourselves with green branches. Ah, the suspicious creatures, how they +watched us with the food in their beaks, abstaining for one whole hour +from ministering to that precious charge which otherwise would have been +visited every few moments! Quite near us they would come at times, +between us and the nest, eying us so sharply. Then they would move off, +and apparently try to forget our presence. Was it to deceive us, or to +persuade himself and his mate that there was no serious cause for alarm, +that the male would now and then strike up in full song and move off to +some distance through the trees? But the mother bird did not allow +herself to lose sight of us at all, and both birds, after carrying the +food in their beaks a long time, would swallow it themselves. Then they +would obtain another morsel and apparently approach very near the nest, +when their caution or prudence would come to their aid, and they would +swallow the food and hasten away. I thought the young birds would cry +out, but not a syllable from them. Yet this was, no doubt, what kept the +parent birds away from the nest. The clamor the young would have set up +on the approach of the old with food would have exposed everything. + +After a time I felt sure I knew within a few feet where the nest was +concealed. Indeed, I thought I knew the identical bush. Then the birds +approached each other again and grew very confidential about another +locality some rods below. This puzzled us, and, seeing the whole +afternoon might be spent in this manner and the mystery unsolved, we +determined to change our tactics and institute a thorough search of the +locality. This procedure soon brought things to a crisis, for, as my +companion clambered over a log by a little hemlock, a few yards from +where we had been sitting, with a cry of alarm out sprang the young +birds from their nest in the hemlock, and, scampering and fluttering +over the leaves, disappeared in different directions. Instantly the +parent birds were on the scene in an agony of alarm. Their distress was +pitiful. They threw themselves on the ground at our very feet, and +fluttered, and cried, and trailed themselves before us, to draw us away +from the place, or distract our attention from the helpless young. I +shall not forget the male bird, how bright he looked, how sharp the +contrast as he trailed his painted plumage there on the dry leaves. +Apparently he was seriously disabled. He would start up as if exerting +every muscle to fly away, but no use; down he would come, with a +helpless, fluttering motion, before he had gone two yards, and +apparently you had only to go and pick him up. But before you could pick +him up, he had recovered somewhat and flown a little farther; and thus, +if you were tempted to follow him, you would soon find yourself some +distance from the scene of the nest, and both old and young well out of +your reach. The female bird was not less solicitous, and practiced the +same arts upon us to decoy us away, but her dull plumage rendered her +less noticeable. The male was clad in holiday attire, but his mate in an +every-day working-garb. + +The nest was built in the fork of a little hemlock, about fifteen inches +from the ground, and was a thick, firm structure, composed of the finer +material of the woods, with a lining of very delicate roots or rootlets. +There were four young birds and one addled egg. + + + + +THE MARSH HAWK + +A MARSH HAWK'S NEST, A YOUNG HAWK, AND A VISIT TO A QUAIL ON HER NEST + + +Most country boys, I fancy, know the marsh hawk. It is he you see flying +low over the fields, beating about bushes and marshes and dipping over +the fences, with his attention directed to the ground beneath him. He is +a cat on wings. He keeps so low that the birds and mice do not see him +till he is fairly upon them. The hen-hawk swoops down upon the +meadow-mouse from his position high in air, or from the top of a dead +tree; but the marsh hawk stalks him and comes suddenly upon him from +over the fence, or from behind a low bush or tuft of grass. He is nearly +as large as the hen-hawk, but has a much longer tail. When I was a boy I +used to call him the long-tailed hawk. The male is of a bluish +slate-color; the female reddish-brown, like the hen-hawk, with a white +rump. + +Unlike the other hawks, they nest on the ground in low, thick marshy +places. For several seasons a pair have nested in a bushy marsh a few +miles back of me, near the house of a farmer friend of mine, who has a +keen eye for the wild life about him. Two years ago he found the nest, +but when I got over to see it the next week, it had been robbed, +probably by some boys in the neighborhood. The past season, in April or +May, by watching the mother bird, he found the nest again. It was in a +marshy place, several acres in extent, in the bottom of a valley, and +thickly grown with hardback, prickly ash, smilax, and other low thorny +bushes. My friend took me to the brink of a low hill, and pointed out to +me in the marsh below us, as nearly as he could, just where the nest was +located. Then we crossed the pasture, entered upon the marsh, and made +our way cautiously toward it. The wild, thorny growths, waist-high, had +to be carefully dealt with. As we neared the spot, I used my eyes the +best I could, but I did not see the hawk till she sprang into the air +not ten yards away from us. She went screaming upward, and was soon +sailing in a circle far above us. There, on a coarse matting of twigs +and weeds, lay five snow-white eggs, a little more than half as large as +hens' eggs. My companion said the male hawk would probably soon appear +and join the female, but he did not. She kept drifting away to the east, +and was soon gone from our sight. + +We presently withdrew and secreted ourselves behind the stone wall, in +hopes of seeing the mother hawk return. She appeared in the distance, +but seemed to know she was being watched, and kept away. + +About ten days later we made another visit to the nest. An adventurous +young Chicago lady also wanted to see a hawk's nest, and so accompanied +us. This time three of the eggs were hatched, and as the mother hawk +sprang up, either by accident or intentionally she threw two of the +young hawks some feet from the nest. She rose up and screamed angrily. +Then, turning toward us, she came like an arrow straight at the young +lady, a bright plume in whose hat probably drew her fire. The damsel +gathered up her skirts about her and beat a hasty retreat. Hawks were +not so pretty as she thought they were. A large hawk launched at one's +face from high in the air is calculated to make one a little nervous. It +is such a fearful incline down which the bird comes, and she is aiming +exactly toward your eye. When within about thirty feet of you, she turns +upward with a rushing sound, and, mounting higher, falls toward you +again. She is only firing blank cartridges, as it were; but it usually +has the desired effect, and beats the enemy off. + +After we had inspected the young hawks, a neighbor of my friend offered +to conduct us to a quail's nest. Anything in the shape of a nest is +always welcome, it is such a mystery, such a centre of interest and +affection, and, if upon the ground, is usually something so dainty and +exquisite amid the natural wreckage and confusion. A ground nest seems +so exposed, too, that it always gives a little thrill of pleasurable +surprise to see the group of frail eggs resting there behind so slight a +barrier. I will walk a long distance any day just to see a song +sparrow's nest amid the stubble or under a tuft of grass. It is a jewel +in a rosette of jewels, with a frill of weeds or turf. A quail's nest I +had never seen, and to be shown one within the hunting-ground of this +murderous hawk would be a double pleasure. Such a quiet, secluded, +grass-grown highway as we moved along was itself a rare treat. +Sequestered was the word that the little valley suggested, and peace the +feeling the road evoked. The farmer, whose fields lay about us, half +grown with weeds and bushes, evidently did not make stir or noise enough +to disturb anything. Beside this rustic highway, bounded by old mossy +stone walls, and within a stone's throw of the farmer's barn, the quail +had made her nest. It was just under the edge of a prostrate thorn-bush. + +"The nest is right there," said the farmer, pausing within ten feet of +it, and pointing to the spot with his stick. + +In a moment or two we could make out the mottled brown plumage of the +sitting bird. Then we approached her cautiously till we bent above her. + +She never moved a feather. + +Then I put my cane down in the brush behind her. We wanted to see the +eggs, yet did not want rudely to disturb the sitting hen. + +She would not move. + +Then I put down my hand within a few inches of her; still she kept her +place. Should we have to lift her off bodily? + +Then the young lady put down her hand, probably the prettiest and the +whitest hand the quail had ever seen. At least it started her, and off +she sprang, uncovering such a crowded nest of eggs as I had never before +beheld. Twenty-one of them! a ring or disk of white like a china +tea-saucer. You could not help saying, How pretty! How cunning! like +baby hens' eggs, as if the bird were playing at sitting, as children +play at housekeeping. + +If I had known how crowded her nest was, I should not have dared disturb +her, for fear she would break some of them. But not an egg suffered harm +by her sudden flight. And no harm came to the nest afterward. Every egg +hatched, I was told, and the little chicks, hardly bigger than +bumblebees, were led away by the mother into the fields. + +In about a week I paid another visit to the hawk's nest. The eggs were +all hatched, and the mother bird was hovering near. I shall never forget +the curious expression of those young hawks sitting there on the ground. +The expression was not one of youth, but of extreme age. Such an +ancient, infirm look as they had,--the sharp, dark, and shrunken look +about the face and eyes, and their feeble, tottering motions! They sat +upon their elbows and the hind part of their bodies, and their pale, +withered legs and feet extended before them in the most helpless +fashion. Their angular bodies were covered with a pale yellowish down, +like that of a chicken; their heads had a plucked, seedy appearance; and +their long, strong, naked wings hung down by their sides till they +touched the ground: power and ferocity in the first rude draught, shorn +of everything but its sinister ugliness. Another curious thing was the +gradation of the young in size; they tapered down regularly from the +first to the fifth, as if there had been, as probably there was, an +interval of a day or two between the hatchings. + +The two older ones showed some signs of fear on our approach, and one of +them threw himself upon his back, and put up his impotent legs, and +glared at us with open beak. The two smaller ones regarded us not at +all. Neither of the parent birds appeared during our stay. + +When I visited the nest again, eight or ten days later, the birds were +much grown, but of as marked a difference in size as before, and with +the same look of extreme old age,--old age in men of the aquiline type, +nose and chin coming together, and eyes large and sunken. They now +glared upon us with a wild, savage look, and opened their beaks +threateningly. + +The next week, when my friend visited the nest, the larger of the hawks +fought him savagely. But one of the brood, probably the last to hatch, +had made but little growth. It appeared to be on the point of +starvation. The mother hawk (for the male seemed to have disappeared) +had perhaps found her family too large for her, and was deliberately +allowing one of the number to perish; or did the larger and stronger +young devour all the food before the weaker member could obtain any? +Probably this was the case. + +Arthur brought the feeble nestling away, and the same day my little boy +got it and brought it home, wrapped in a woolen rag. It was clearly a +starved bantling. It cried feebly but would not lift up its head. + +We first poured some warm milk down its throat, which soon revived it, +so that it would swallow small bits of flesh. In a day or two we had it +eating ravenously, and its growth became noticeable. Its voice had the +sharp whistling character of that of its parents, and was stilled only +when the bird was asleep. We made a pen for it, about a yard square, in +one end of the study, covering the floor with several thicknesses of +newspapers; and here, upon a bit of brown woolen blanket for a nest, the +hawk waxed strong day by day. An uglier-looking pet, tested by all the +rules we usually apply to such things, would have been hard to find. +There he would sit upon his elbows, his helpless feet out in front of +him, his great featherless wings touching the floor, and shrilly cry for +more food. For a time we gave him water daily from a stylograph-pen +filler, but the water he evidently did not need or relish. Fresh meat, +and plenty of it, was his demand. And we soon discovered that he liked +game, such as mice, squirrels, birds, much better than butcher's meat. + +Then began a lively campaign on the part of my little boy against all +the vermin and small game in the neighborhood, to keep the hawk +supplied. He trapped and he hunted, he enlisted his mates in his +service, he even robbed the cats to feed the hawk. His usefulness as a +boy of all work was seriously impaired. "Where is J----?" "Gone after a +squirrel for his hawk." And often the day would be half gone before his +hunt was successful. The premises were very soon cleared of mice, and +the vicinity of chipmunks and squirrels. Farther and farther he was +compelled to hunt the surrounding farms and woods to keep up with the +demands of the hawk. By the time the hawk was ready to fly, it had +consumed twenty-one chipmunks, fourteen red squirrels, sixteen mice, and +twelve English sparrows, besides a great deal of butcher's meat. + +His plumage very soon began to show itself, crowding off tufts of the +down. The quills on his great wings sprouted and grew apace. What a +ragged, uncanny appearance he presented! but his look of extreme age +gradually became modified. What a lover of the sunlight he was! We would +put him out upon the grass in the full blaze of the morning sun, and he +would spread his wings and bask in it with the most intense enjoyment. +In the nest the young must be exposed to the full power of the midday +sun during our first heated terms in June and July, the thermometer +often going up to ninety-three or ninety-five degrees, so that sunshine +seemed to be a need of his nature. He liked the rain equally well, and +when put out in a shower would sit down and take it as if every drop did +him good. + +His legs developed nearly as slowly as his wings. He could not stand +steadily upon them till about ten days before he was ready to fly. The +talons were limp and feeble. When we came with food, he would hobble +along toward us like the worst kind of a cripple, drooping and moving +his wings, and treading upon his legs from the foot back to the elbow, +the foot remaining closed and useless. Like a baby learning to stand, he +made many trials before he succeeded. He would rise up on his trembling +legs only to fall back again. + +One day, in the summer-house, I saw him for the first time stand for a +moment squarely upon his legs with the feet fully spread beneath them. +He looked about him as if the world suddenly wore a new aspect. + +His plumage now grew quite rapidly. One red squirrel a day, chopped fine +with an axe, was his ration. He began to hold his game with his foot +while he tore it. The study was full of his shed down. His dark-brown +mottled plumage began to grow beautiful. The wings drooped a little, but +gradually he got control of them, and held them in place. + +It was now the 20th of July, and the hawk was about five weeks old. In a +day or two he was walking or jumping about the grounds. He chose a +position under the edge of a Norway spruce, where he would sit for hours +dozing, or looking out upon the landscape. When we brought him game, he +would advance to meet us with wings slightly lifted, and uttering a +shrill cry. Toss him a mouse or sparrow, and he would seize it with one +foot and hop off to his cover, where he would bend above it, spread his +plumage, look this way and that, uttering all the time the most exultant +and satisfied chuckle. + +About this time he began to practice striking with his talons, as an +Indian boy might begin practicing with his bow and arrow. He would +strike at a dry leaf in the grass, or at a fallen apple, or at some +imaginary object. He was learning the use of his weapons. His wings +also,--he seemed to feel them sprouting from his shoulders. He would +lift them straight up and hold them expanded, and they would seem to +quiver with excitement. Every hour in the day he would do this. The +pressure was beginning to centre there. Then he would strike playfully +at a leaf or a bit of wood, and keep his wings lifted. + +The next step was to spring into the air and beat his wings. He seemed +now to be thinking entirely of his wings. They itched to be put to use. + +A day or two later he would leap and fly several feet. A pile of brush +ten or twelve feet below the bank was easily reached. Here he would +perch in true hawk fashion, to the bewilderment and scandal of all the +robins and catbirds in the vicinity. Here he would dart his eye in all +directions, turning his head over and glancing up into the sky. + +He was now a lovely creature, fully fledged, and as tame as a kitten. +But he was not a bit like a kitten in one respect,--he could not bear to +have you stroke or even touch his plumage. He had a horror of your hand, +as if it would hopelessly defile him. But he would perch upon it, and +allow you to carry him about. If a dog or cat appeared, he was ready to +give battle instantly. He rushed up to a little dog one day, and struck +him with his foot savagely. He was afraid of strangers, and of any +unusual object. + +The last week in July he began to fly quite freely, and it was necessary +to clip one of his wings. As the clipping embraced only the ends of his +primaries, he soon overcame the difficulty, and, by carrying his broad, +long tail more on that side, flew with considerable ease. He made +longer and longer excursions into the surrounding fields and vineyards, +and did not always return. On such occasions we would go to find him and +fetch him back. + +Late one rainy afternoon he flew away into the vineyard, and when, an +hour later, I went after him, he could not be found, and we never saw +him again. We hoped hunger would soon drive him back, but we have had no +clew to him from that day to this. + + + + +THE WINTER WREN + + +An old hemlock wood at the head waters of the Delaware is a chosen haunt +of the winter wren. His voice fills these dim aisles, as if aided by +some marvelous sounding-board. Indeed, his song is very strong for so +small a bird, and unites in a remarkable degree brilliancy and +plaintiveness. I think of a tremulous, vibrating tongue of silver. You +may know it is the song of a wren from its gushing, lyrical character; +but you must needs look sharp to see the little minstrel, especially +while in the act of singing. He is nearly the color of the ground and +the leaves; he never ascends the tall trees, but keeps low, flitting +from stump to stump and from root to root, dodging in and out of his +hiding-places, and watching all intruders with a suspicious eye. He has +a very pert, almost comical look. His tail stands more than +perpendicular: it points straight toward his head. He is the least +ostentatious singer I know of. He does not strike an attitude, and lift +up his head in preparation, and, as it were, clear his throat; but sits +there on a log and pours out his music, looking straight before him, or +even down at the ground. As a songster, he has but few superiors. I do +not hear him after the first week in July. + +The winter wren is so called because he sometimes braves our northern +winters, but it is rarely that one sees him at this season. I think I +have seen him only two or three times in winter in my life. The event of +one long walk, recently, in February, was seeing one of these birds. As +I followed a byroad, beside a little creek in the edge of a wood, my eye +caught a glimpse of a small brown bird darting under a stone bridge. I +thought to myself no bird but a wren would take refuge under so small a +bridge as that. I stepped down upon it and expected to see the bird dart +out at the upper end. As it did not appear, I scrutinized the bank of +the little run, covered with logs and brush, a few rods farther up. + +Presently I saw the wren curtsying and gesticulating beneath an old log. +As I approached he disappeared beneath some loose stones in the bank, +then came out again and took another peep at me, then fidgeted about for +a moment and disappeared again, running in and out of the holes and +recesses and beneath the rubbish like a mouse or a chipmunk. The winter +wren may always be known by these squatting, bobbing-out-and-in habits. + +As I sought a still closer view of him, he flitted stealthily a few +yards up the run and disappeared beneath a small plank bridge near a +house. + +I wondered what he could feed upon at such a time. There was a light +skim of snow upon the ground, and the weather was cold. The wren, so far +as I know, is entirely an insect-feeder, and where can he find insects +in midwinter in our climate? Probably by searching under bridges, under +brush-heaps, in holes and cavities in banks where the sun falls warm. In +such places he may find dormant spiders and flies and other hibernating +insects or their larvae. We have a tiny, mosquito-like creature that +comes forth in March or in midwinter, as soon as the temperature is a +little above freezing. One may see them performing their fantastic +air-dances when the air is so chilly that one buttons his overcoat about +him in his walk. They are darker than the mosquito,--a sort of dark +water-color,--and are very frail to the touch. Maybe the wren knows the +hiding-place of these insects. + + + + +THE CEDAR-BIRD + + +How alert and vigilant the birds are, even when absorbed in building +their nests! In an open space in the woods I see a pair of cedar-birds +collecting moss from the top of a dead tree. Following the direction in +which they fly, I soon discover the nest placed in the fork of a small +soft maple, which stands amid a thick growth of wild cherry-trees and +young beeches. Carefully concealing myself beneath it, without any fear +that the workmen will hit me with a chip or let fall a tool, I await the +return of the busy pair. Presently I hear the well-known note, and the +female sweeps down and settles unsuspectingly into the half-finished +structure. Hardly have her wings rested before her eye has penetrated my +screen, and with a hurried movement of alarm she darts away. In a moment +the male, with a tuft of wool in his beak (for there is a sheep pasture +near), joins her, and the two reconnoitre the premises from the +surrounding bushes. With their beaks still loaded, they flit round with +a frightened look, and refuse to approach the nest till I have moved off +and lain down behind a log. Then one of them ventures to alight upon +the nest, but, still suspecting all is not right, quickly darts away +again. Then they both together come, and after much peeping and spying +about, and apparently much anxious consultation, cautiously proceed to +work. In less than half an hour it would seem that wool enough has been +brought to supply the whole family, real and prospective, with socks, if +needles and fingers could be found fine enough to knit it up. In less +than a week the female has begun to deposit her eggs,--four of them in +as many days,--white tinged with purple, with black spots on the larger +end. After two weeks of incubation the young are out. + +Excepting the American goldfinch, this bird builds later in the season +than any other, its nest, in our northern climate, seldom being +undertaken till July. As with the goldfinch, the reason is, probably, +that suitable food for the young cannot be had at an earlier period. + +I knew a pair of cedar-birds, one season, to build in an apple-tree, the +branches of which rubbed against the house. For a day or two before the +first straw was laid, I noticed the pair carefully exploring every +branch of the tree, the female taking the lead, the male following her +with an anxious note and look. It was evident that the wife was to have +her choice this time; and, like one who thoroughly knew her mind, she +was proceeding to take it. Finally the site was chosen upon a high +branch, extending over one low wing of the house. Mutual congratulations +and caresses followed, when both birds flew away in quest of +building-material. That most freely used is a sort of cotton-bearing +plant which grows in old worn-out fields. The nest is large for the size +of the bird, and very soft. It is in every respect a first-class +domicile. + +The cedar-bird is the most silent bird we have. Our neutral-tinted +birds, like him, as a rule are our finest songsters; but he has no song +or call, uttering only a fine bead-like note on taking flight. This note +is the cedar-berry rendered back in sound. When the ox-heart cherries, +which he has only recently become acquainted with, have had time to +enlarge his pipe and warm his heart, I shall expect more music from him. +But in lieu of music, what a pretty compensation are those minute, +almost artificial-like, plumes of orange and vermilion that tip the ends +of his wing quills! Nature could not give him these and a song too. + + + + +THE GOLDFINCH + + +About the most noticeable bird of August in New York and New England is +the yellowbird, or goldfinch. This is one of the last birds to nest, +seldom hatching its eggs till late in July. It seems as if a particular +kind of food were required to rear its brood, which cannot be had at an +earlier date. The seed of the common thistle is apparently its mainstay. +There is no prettier sight at this season than a troop of young +goldfinches, led by their parents, going from thistle to thistle along +the roadside and pulling the ripe heads to pieces for the seed. The +plaintive call of the young is one of the characteristic August sounds. +Their nests are frequently destroyed, or the eggs thrown from them, by +the terrific July thunder-showers. Last season a pair had a nest on the +slender branch of a maple in front of the door of the house where I was +staying. The eggs were being deposited, and the happy pair had a loving +conversation about them many times each day, when one afternoon a very +violent storm arose which made the branches of the trees stream out like +wildly disheveled hair, quite turning over those on the windward side, +and emptying the pretty nest of its eggs. In such cases the birds build +anew,--a delay that may bring the incubation into August. + +It is a deep, snug, compact nest, with no loose ends hanging, placed in +the fork of a small limb of an apple-tree, a peach-tree, or an +ornamental shade-tree. The eggs are faint bluish-white. + +While the female is sitting, the male feeds her regularly. She calls to +him on his approach, or when she hears his voice passing by, in the most +affectionate, feminine, childlike tones, the only case I know where the +sitting bird makes any sound while in the act of incubation. When a +rival male invades the tree, or approaches too near, the male whose nest +it holds pursues and reasons or expostulates with him in the same +bright, amicable, confiding tones. Indeed, most birds make use of their +sweetest notes in war. The song of love is the song of battle too. The +male yellowbirds flit about from point to point, apparently assuring +each other of the highest sentiments of esteem and consideration, at the +same time that one intimates to the other that he is carrying his joke a +little too far. It has the effect of saying with mild and good-humored +surprise, "Why, my dear sir, this is my territory; you surely do not +mean to trespass; permit me to salute you, and to escort you over the +line." Yet the intruder does not always take the hint. Occasionally the +couple have a brief sparring-match in the air, and mount up and up, beak +to beak, to a considerable height, but rarely do they actually come to +blows. + +The yellowbird becomes active and conspicuous after the other birds have +nearly all withdrawn from the stage and become silent, their broods +reared and flown. August is his month, his festive season. It is his +turn now. The thistles are ripening their seeds, and his nest is +undisturbed by jay-bird or crow. He is the first bird I hear in the +morning, circling and swinging through the air in that peculiar +undulating flight, and calling out on the downward curve of each stroke, +"Here we go, here we go!" Every hour in the day he indulges in his +circling, billowy flight. It is a part of his musical performance. His +course at such times is a deeply undulating line, like the long, gentle +roll of the summer sea, the distance from crest to crest or from valley +to valley being probably thirty feet; this distance is made with but one +brief beating of the wings on the downward curve. As he quickly opens +them, they give him a strong upward impulse, and he describes the long +arc with them closely folded. Thus, falling and recovering, rising and +sinking like dolphins in the sea, he courses through the summer air. In +marked contrast to this feat is his manner of flying when he indulges in +a brief outburst of song on the wing. Now he flies level, with broad +expanded wings nearly as round and as concave as two shells, which beat +the air slowly. The song is the chief matter now, and the wings are used +only to keep him afloat while delivering it. In the other case, the +flight is the main concern, and the voice merely punctuates it. + + * * * * * + +Among our familiar birds the matchmaking of none other is quite so +pretty as that of the goldfinch. The goldfinches stay with us in loose +flocks and clad in a dull-olive suit throughout the winter. In May the +males begin to put on their bright summer plumage. This is the result of +a kind of superficial moulting. Their feathers are not shed, but their +dusky covering or overalls are cast off. When the process is only partly +completed, the bird has a smutty, unpresentable appearance. But we +seldom see them at such times. They seem to retire from society. When +the change is complete, and the males have got their bright uniforms of +yellow and black, the courting begins. All the goldfinches of a +neighborhood collect together and hold a sort of musical festival. To +the number of many dozens they may be seen in some large tree, all +singing and calling in the most joyous and vivacious manner. The males +sing, and the females chirp and call. Whether there is actual +competition on a trial of musical abilities of the males before the +females or not, I do not know. The best of feeling seems to pervade the +company; there is no sign of quarreling or fighting; "all goes merry as +a marriage bell," and the matches seem actually to be made during these +musical picnics. Before May is passed the birds are seen in couples, and +in June housekeeping usually begins. This I call the ideal of +love-making among birds, and is in striking contrast to the squabbles +and jealousies of most of our songsters. + +I have known the goldfinches to keep up this musical and love-making +festival through three consecutive days of a cold northeast rainstorm. +Bedraggled, but ardent and happy, the birds were not to be dispersed by +wind or weather. + + + + +THE HEN-HAWK[1] + + +August is the month of the high-sailing hawks. The hen-hawk is the most +noticeable. He likes the haze and calm of these long, warm days. He is a +bird of leisure, and seems always at his ease. How beautiful and +majestic are his movements! So self-poised and easy, such an entire +absence of haste, such a magnificent amplitude of circles and spirals, +such a haughty, imperial grace, and, occasionally, such daring aerial +evolutions! + +With slow, leisurely movement, rarely vibrating his pinions, he mounts +and mounts in an ascending spiral till he appears a mere speck against +the summer sky; then, if the mood seizes him, with wings half closed, +like a bent bow, he will cleave the air almost perpendicularly, as if +intent on dashing himself to pieces against the earth; but on nearing +the ground he suddenly mounts again on broad, expanded wing, as if +rebounding upon the air, and sails leisurely away. It is the sublimest +feat of the season. One holds his breath till he sees him rise again. + +If inclined to a more gradual and less precipitous descent, he fixes +his eye on some distant point in the earth beneath him, and thither +bends his course. He is still almost meteoric in his speed and boldness. +You see his path down the heavens, straight as a line; if near, you hear +the rush of his wings; his shadow hurtles across the fields, and in an +instant you see him quietly perched upon some low tree or decayed stub +in a swamp or meadow, with reminiscences of frogs and mice stirring in +his maw. + +When the south wind blows, it is a study to see three or four of these +air-kings at the head of the valley far up toward the mountain, +balancing and oscillating upon the strong current; now quite stationary, +except for a slight tremulous motion like the poise of a rope-dancer, +then rising and falling in long undulations, and seeming to resign +themselves passively to the wind; or, again, sailing high and level far +above the mountain's peak, no bluster and haste, but, as stated, +occasionally a terrible earnestness and speed. Fire at one as he sails +overhead, and, unless wounded badly, he will not change his course or +gait. + +The calmness and dignity of this hawk, when attacked by crows or the +kingbird, are well worthy of him. He seldom deigns to notice his noisy +and furious antagonists, but deliberately wheels about in that aerial +spiral, and mounts and mounts till his pursuers grow dizzy and return to +earth again. It is quite original, this mode of getting rid of an +unworthy opponent,--rising to heights where the braggart is dazed and +bewildered and loses his reckoning! I am not sure but it is worthy of +imitation. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks are both called hen-hawks. + + + + +THE RUFFED GROUSE, OR PARTRIDGE + + +Whir! whir! whir! and a brood of half-grown partridges start up like an +explosion, a few paces from me, and, scattering, disappear into the +bushes on all sides. Let me sit down here behind the screen of ferns and +briers, and hear this wild hen of the woods call together her brood. At +what an early age the partridge flies! Nature seems to concentrate her +energies on the wing, making the safety of the bird a point to be looked +after first; and while the body is covered with down, and no signs of +feathers are visible there, the wing-quills sprout and unfold, and in an +incredibly short time the young make fair headway in flying. + +Hark! there arises over there in the brush a soft, persuasive cooing, a +sound so subtle and wild and unobtrusive that it requires the most alert +and watchful ear to hear it. How gentle and solicitous and full of +yearning love! It is the voice of the mother hen. Presently a faint +timid "Yeap!" which almost eludes the ear, is heard in various +directions,--the young responding. As no danger seems near, the cooing +of the parent bird is soon a very audible clucking call, and the young +move cautiously in that direction. Let me step never so carefully from +my hiding-place, and all sounds instantly cease, and I search in vain +for either parent or young. + +The partridge is one of our native and most characteristic birds. The +woods seem good to be in where I find him. He gives a habitable air to +the forest, and one feels as if the rightful occupant were really at +home. The woods where I do not find him seem to want something, as if +suffering from some neglect of Nature. And then he is such a splendid +success, so hardy and vigorous. I think he enjoys the cold and the snow. +His wings seem to rustle with more fervency in midwinter. If the snow +falls very fast, and promises a heavy storm, he will complacently sit +down and allow himself to be snowed under. When you approach him at such +times, he suddenly bursts out of the snow at your feet, scattering the +flakes in all directions, and goes humming away through the woods like a +bomb-shell,--a picture of native spirit and success. + +His drum is one of the most welcome and beautiful sounds of spring. +Scarcely have the trees expanded their buds, when, in the still April +mornings, or toward nightfall, you hear the hum of his devoted wings. He +selects, not, as you would predict, a dry and resinous log, but a +decayed and crumbling one, seeming to give the preference to old +oak-logs that are partly blended with the soil. If a log to his taste +cannot be found, he sets up his altar on a rock, which becomes resonant +beneath his fervent blows. Who has seen the partridge drum? It is the +next thing to catching a weasel asleep, though by much caution and tact +it may be done. He does not hug the log, but stands very erect, expands +his ruff, gives two introductory blows, pauses half a second, and then +resumes, striking faster and faster till the sound becomes a continuous, +unbroken whir, the whole lasting less than half a minute. The tips of +his wings barely brush the log, so that the sound is produced rather by +the force of the blows upon the air and upon his own body as in flying. +One log will be used for many years, though not by the same drummer. It +seems to be a sort of temple and held in great respect. The bird always +approaches on foot, and leaves it in the same quiet manner, unless +rudely disturbed. He is very cunning, though his wit is not profound. It +is difficult to approach him by stealth; you will try many times before +succeeding; but seem to pass by him in a great hurry, making all the +noise possible, and with plumage furled he stands as immovable as a +knot, allowing you a good view. + +The sharp-rayed track of the partridge adds another figure to the +fantastic embroidery upon the winter snow. Her course is a clear, strong +line, sometimes quite wayward, but generally very direct, steering for +the densest, most impenetrable places,--leading you over logs and +through brush, alert and expectant, till, suddenly, she bursts up a few +yards from you, and goes humming through the trees,--the complete +triumph of endurance and vigor. Hardy native bird, may your tracks never +be fewer, or your visits to the birch-tree less frequent! + + +THE PARTRIDGE + + List the booming from afar, + Soft as hum of roving bee, + Vague as when on distant bar + Fall the cataracts of the sea. + + Yet again, a sound astray, + Was it the humming of the mill? + Was it cannon leagues away? + Or dynamite beyond the hill? + + 'T is the grouse with kindled soul, + Wistful of his mate and nest, + Sounding forth his vernal roll + On his love-enkindled breast. + + List his fervid morning drum, + List his summons soft and deep, + Calling Spice-bush till she come, + Waking Bloodroot from her sleep. + + Ah! ruffled drummer, let thy wing + Beat a march the days will heed, + Wake and spur the tardy spring, + Till minstrel voices jocund ring, + And spring is spring in very deed. + + + + +THE CROW + + +The crow may not have the sweet voice which the fox in his flattery +attributed to him, but he has a good, strong, native speech +nevertheless. How much character there is in it! How much thrift and +independence! Of course his plumage is firm, his color decided, his wit +quick. He understands you at once and tells you so; so does the hawk by +his scornful, defiant _whir-r-r-r-r_. Hardy, happy outlaws, the crows, +how I love them! Alert, social, republican, always able to look out for +himself, not afraid of the cold and the snow, fishing when flesh is +scarce, and stealing when other resources fail, the crow is a character +I would not willingly miss from the landscape. I love to see his track +in the snow or the mud, and his graceful pedestrianism about the brown +fields. + +He is no interloper, but has the air and manner of being thoroughly at +home, and in rightful possession of the land. He is no sentimentalist +like some of the plaining, disconsolate song-birds, but apparently is +always in good health and good spirits. No matter who is sick, or +dejected, or unsatisfied, or what the weather is, or what the price of +corn, the crow is well and finds life sweet. He is the dusky embodiment +of worldly wisdom and prudence. Then he is one of Nature's +self-appointed constables and greatly magnifies his office. He would +fain arrest every hawk or owl or grimalkin that ventures abroad. I have +known a posse of them to beset the fox and cry "Thief!" till Reynard hid +himself for shame. Do I say the fox flattered the crow when he told him +he had a sweet voice? Yet one of the most musical sounds in nature +proceeds from the crow. All the crow tribe, from the blue jay up, are +capable of certain low ventriloquial notes that have peculiar cadence +and charm. I often hear the crow indulging in his in winter, and am +reminded of the sound of the dulcimer. The bird stretches up and exerts +himself like a cock in the act of crowing, and gives forth a peculiarly +clear, vitreous sound that is sure to arrest and reward your attention. +This is, no doubt, the song the fox begged to be favored with, as in +delivering it the crow must inevitably let drop the piece of meat. + +The crow has fine manners. He always has the walk and air of a lord of +the soil. One morning I put out some fresh meat upon the snow near my +study window. Presently a crow came and carried it off, and alighted +with it upon the ground in the vineyard. While he was eating it, +another crow came, and, alighting a few yards away, slowly walked up to +within a few feet of this fellow and stopped. I expected to see a +struggle over the food, as would have been the case with domestic fowls +or animals. Nothing of the kind. The feeding crow stopped eating, +regarded the other for a moment, made a gesture or two, and flew away. +Then the second crow went up to the food, and proceeded to take his +share. Presently the first crow came back, when each seized a portion of +the food and flew away with it. Their mutual respect and good-will +seemed perfect. Whether it really was so in our human sense, or whether +it was simply an illustration of the instinct of mutual support which +seems to prevail among gregarious birds, I know not. Birds that are +solitary in their habits, like hawks or woodpeckers, behave quite +differently toward each other in the presence of their food. + +The crow will quickly discover anything that looks like a trap or snare +set to catch him, but it takes him a long time to see through the +simplest contrivance. As I have above stated, I sometimes place meat on +the snow in front of my study window to attract him. On one occasion, +after a couple of crows had come to expect something there daily, I +suspended a piece of meat by a string from a branch of the tree just +over the spot where I usually placed the food. A crow soon discovered +it, and came into the tree to see what it meant. His suspicions were +aroused. There was some design in that suspended meat, evidently. It was +a trap to catch him. He surveyed it from every near branch. He peeked +and pried, and was bent on penetrating the mystery. He flew to the +ground, and walked about and surveyed it from all sides. Then he took a +long walk down about the vineyard as if in hope of hitting upon some +clew. Then he came to the tree again, and tried first one eye, then the +other, upon it; then to the ground beneath; then he went away and came +back; then his fellow came, and they both squinted and investigated, and +then disappeared. Chickadees and woodpeckers would alight upon the meat +and peck it swinging in the wind, but the crows were fearful. Does this +show reflection? Perhaps it does, but I look upon it rather as that +instinct of fear and cunning so characteristic of the crow. Two days +passed thus: every morning the crows came and surveyed the suspended +meat from all points in the tree, and then went away. The third day I +placed a large bone on the snow beneath the suspended morsel. Presently +one of the crows appeared in the tree, and bent his eye upon the +tempting bone. "The mystery deepens," he seemed to say to himself. But +after half an hour's investigation, and after approaching several times +within a few feet of the food upon the ground, he seemed to conclude +there was no connection between it and the piece hanging by the string. +So he finally walked up to it and fell to pecking it, flickering his +wings all the time, as a sign of his watchfulness. He also turned up his +eye, momentarily, to the piece in the air above, as if it might be some +disguised sword of Damocles ready to fall upon him. Soon his mate came +and alighted on a low branch of the tree. The feeding crow regarded him +a moment, and then flew up to his side, as if to give him a turn at the +meat. But he refused to run the risk. He evidently looked upon the whole +thing as a delusion and a snare, and presently went away, and his mate +followed him. Then I placed the bone in one of the main forks of the +tree, but the crows kept at a safe distance from it. Then I put it back +to the ground, but they grew more and more suspicious; some evil intent +in it all, they thought. Finally a dog carried off the bone, and the +crows ceased to visit the tree. + + * * * * * + +From my boyhood I have seen the yearly meeting of the crows in September +or October, on a high grassy hill or a wooded ridge. Apparently, all +the crows from a large area assemble at these times; you may see them +coming, singly or in loose bands, from all directions to the rendezvous, +till there are hundreds of them together. They make black an acre or two +of ground. At intervals they all rise in the air, and wheel about, all +cawing at once. Then to the ground again, or to the tree-tops, as the +case may be; then, rising again, they send forth the voice of the +multitude. What does it all mean? I notice that this rally is always +preliminary to their going into winter quarters. It would be interesting +to know just the nature of the communication that takes place between +them. + + +THE CROW + + +I + + My friend and neighbor through the year, + Self-appointed overseer + + Of my crops of fruit and grain, + Of my woods and furrowed plain, + + Claim thy tithings right and left, + I shall never call it theft. + + Nature wisely made the law, + And I fail to find a flaw + + In thy title to the earth, + And all it holds of any worth. + + I like thy self-complacent air, + I like thy ways so free from care, + + Thy landlord stroll about my fields, + Quickly noting what each yields; + + Thy courtly mien and bearing bold, + As if thy claim were bought with gold; + + Thy floating shape against the sky, + When days are calm and clouds are high; + + Thy thrifty flight ere rise of sun, + Thy homing clans when day is done. + + Hues protective are not thine, + So sleek thy coat each quill doth shine. + + Diamond black to end of toe, + Thy counterpoint the crystal snow. + + +II + + Never plaintive nor appealing, + Quite at home when thou art stealing, + + Always groomed to tip of feather, + Calm and trim in every weather, + + Morn till night my woods policing, + Every sound thy watch increasing. + + Hawk and owl in tree-top hiding + Feel the shame of thy deriding. + + Naught escapes thy observation, + None but dread thy accusation. + + +III + + Hunters, prowlers, woodland lovers + Vainly seek the leafy covers. + + Noisy, scheming, and predacious, + With demeanor almost gracious, + + Dowered with leisure, void of hurry, + Void of fuss and void of worry, + + Friendly bandit, Robin Hood, + Judge and jury of the wood, + + Or Captain Kidd of sable quill, + Hiding treasures in the hill, + + Nature made thee for each season, + Gave thee wit for ample reason, + + Good crow wit that's always burnished + Like the coat her care has furnished. + + May thy numbers ne'er diminish! + I'll befriend thee till life's finish. + + May I never cease to meet thee! + May I never have to eat thee! + + And mayest thou never have to fare so + That thou playest the part of scarecrow! + + + + +THE NORTHERN SHRIKE + + +Usually the character of a bird of prey is well defined; there is no +mistaking him. His claws, his beak, his head, his wings, in fact his +whole build, point to the fact that he subsists upon live creatures; he +is armed to catch them and to slay them. Every bird knows a hawk and +knows him from the start, and is on the lookout for him. The hawk takes +life, but he does it to maintain his own, and it is a public and +universally known fact. Nature has sent him abroad in that character, +and has advised all creatures of it. Not so with the shrike; here she +has concealed the character of a murderer under a form as innocent as +that of the robin. Feet, wings, tail, color, head, and general form and +size are all those of a song-bird,--very much like that master songster, +the mockingbird,--yet this bird is a regular Bluebeard among its kind. +Its only characteristic feature is its beak, the upper mandible having +two sharp processes and a sharp hooked point. It usually impales its +victim upon a thorn, or thrusts it in the fork of a limb. For the most +part, however, its food seems to consist of insects,--spiders, +grasshoppers, beetles, etc. It is the assassin of the small birds, whom +it often destroys in pure wantonness, or merely to sup on their brains, +as the Gaucho slaughters a wild cow or bull for its tongue. It is a wolf +in sheep's clothing. Apparently its victims are unacquainted with its +true character and allow it to approach them, when the fatal blow is +given. I saw an illustration of this the other day. A large number of +goldfinches in their fall plumage, together with snowbirds and sparrows, +were feeding and chattering in some low bushes back of the barn. I had +paused by the fence and was peeping through at them, hoping to get a +glimpse of that rare sparrow, the white-crowned. Presently I heard a +rustling among the dry leaves as if some larger bird were also among +them. Then I heard one of the goldfinches cry out as if in distress, +when the whole flock of them started up in alarm, and, circling around, +settled in the tops of the larger trees. I continued my scrutiny of the +bushes, when I saw a large bird, with some object in its beak, hopping +along on a low branch near the ground. It disappeared from my sight for +a few moments, then came up through the undergrowth into the top of a +young maple where some of the finches had alighted, and I beheld the +shrike. The little birds avoided him and flew about the tree, their +pursuer following them with the motions of his head and body as if he +would fain arrest them by his murderous gaze. The birds did not utter +the cry or make the demonstration of alarm they usually do on the +appearance of a hawk, but chirruped and called and flew about in a half +wondering, half bewildered manner. As they flew farther along the line +of trees the shrike followed them as if bent on further captures. I then +made my way around to see what the shrike had caught, and what he had +done with his prey. As I approached the bushes I saw the shrike +hastening back. I read his intentions at once. Seeing my movements, he +had returned for his game. But I was too quick for him, and he got up +out of the brush and flew away from the locality. On some twigs in the +thickest part of the bushes I found his victim,--a goldfinch. It was not +impaled upon a thorn, but was carefully disposed upon some horizontal +twigs,--laid upon the shelf, so to speak. It was as warm as in life, and +its plumage was unruffled. On examining it I found a large bruise or +break in the skin on the back of the neck, at the base of the skull. +Here the bandit had no doubt gripped the bird with his strong beak. The +shrike's bloodthirstiness was seen in the fact that he did not stop to +devour his prey, but went in quest of more, as if opening a market of +goldfinches. The thicket was his shambles, and if not interrupted, he +might have had a fine display of titbits in a short time. + +The shrike is called a butcher from his habit of sticking his meat upon +hooks and points; further than that, he is a butcher because he devours +but a trifle of what he slays. + + + + +THE SCREECH OWL + + +At one point in the grayest, most shaggy part of the woods, I come +suddenly upon a brood of screech owls, full grown, sitting together upon +a dry, moss-draped limb, but a few feet from the ground. I pause within +four or five yards of them and am looking about me, when my eye lights +upon these gray, motionless figures. They sit perfectly upright, some +with their backs and some with their breasts toward me, but every head +turned squarely in my direction. Their eyes are closed to a mere black +line; through this crack they are watching me, evidently thinking +themselves unobserved. The spectacle is weird and grotesque, and +suggests something impish and uncanny. It is a new effect, the night +side of the woods by daylight. After observing them a moment I take a +single step toward them, when, quick as thought, their eyes fly wide +open, their attitude is changed, they bend, some this way, some that, +and, instinct with life and motion, stare wildly around them. Another +step, and they all take flight but one, which stoops low on the branch, +and with the look of a frightened cat regards me for a few seconds over +its shoulder. They fly swiftly and softly, and disperse through the +trees. + + * * * * * + +A winter neighbor of mine, in whom I am interested, and who perhaps +lends me his support after his kind, is a little red owl, whose retreat +is in the heart of an old apple-tree just over the fence. Where he keeps +himself in spring and summer, I do not know, but late every fall, and at +intervals all winter, his hiding-place is discovered by the jays and +nuthatches, and proclaimed from the tree-tops for the space of half an +hour or so, with all the powers of voice they can command. Four times +during one winter they called me out to behold this little ogre feigning +sleep in his den, sometimes in one apple-tree, sometimes in another. +Whenever I heard their cries, I knew my neighbor was being berated. The +birds would take turns at looking in upon him, and uttering their +alarm-notes. Every jay within hearing would come to the spot, and at +once approach the hole in the trunk or limb, and with a kind of +breathless eagerness and excitement take a peep at the owl, and then +join the outcry. When I approached they would hastily take a final look, +and then withdraw and regard my movements intently. After accustoming my +eye to the faint light of the cavity for a few moments, I could usually +make out the owl at the bottom feigning sleep. Feigning, I say, because +this is what he really did, as I first discovered one day when I cut +into his retreat with the axe. The loud blows and the falling chips did +not disturb him at all. When I reached in a stick and pulled him over on +his side, leaving one of his wings spread out, he made no attempt to +recover himself, but lay among the chips and fragments of decayed wood, +like a part of themselves. Indeed, it took a sharp eye to distinguish +him. Not till I had pulled him forth by one wing, rather rudely, did he +abandon his trick of simulated sleep or death. Then, like a detected +pickpocket, he was suddenly transformed into another creature. His eyes +flew wide open, his talons clutched my finger, his ears were depressed, +and every motion and look said, "Hands off, at your peril." Finding this +game did not work, he soon began to "play possum" again. I put a cover +over my study wood-box and kept him captive for a week. Look in upon him +at any time, night or day, and he was apparently wrapped in the +profoundest slumber; but the live mice which I put into his box from +time to time found his sleep was easily broken; there would be a sudden +rustle in the box, a faint squeak, and then silence. After a week of +captivity I gave him his freedom in the full sunshine; no trouble for +him to see which way and where to go. + +Just at dusk in the winter nights, I often hear his soft _bur-r-r-r_, +very pleasing and bell-like. What a furtive, woody sound it is in the +winter stillness, so unlike the harsh scream of the hawk! But all the +ways of the owl are ways of softness and duskiness. His wings are shod +with silence, his plumage is edged with down. + +Another owl neighbor of mine, with whom I pass the time of day more +frequently than with the last, lives farther away. I pass his castle +every night on my way to the post-office, and in winter, if the hour is +late enough, am pretty sure to see him standing in his doorway, +surveying the passers-by and the landscape through narrow slits in his +eyes. For four successive winters now have I observed him. As the +twilight begins to deepen, he rises up out of his cavity in the +apple-tree, scarcely faster than the moon rises from behind the hill, +and sits in the opening, completely framed by its outlines of gray bark +and dead wood, and by his protective coloring virtually invisible to +every eye that does not know he is there. Probably my own is the only +eye that has ever penetrated his secret, and mine never would have done +so had I not chanced on one occasion to see him leave his retreat and +make a raid upon a shrike that was impaling a shrew-mouse upon a thorn +in a neighboring tree, and which I was watching. I was first advised of +the owl's presence by seeing him approaching swiftly on silent, level +wing. The shrike did not see him till the owl was almost within the +branches. He then dropped his game, and darted back into the thick +cover, uttering a loud, discordant squawk, as one would say, "Scat! +scat! scat!" The owl alighted, and was, perhaps, looking about him for +the shrike's impaled game, when I drew near. On seeing me, he reversed +his movement precipitately, flew straight back to the old tree, and +alighted in the entrance to the cavity. As I approached, he did not so +much seem to move as to diminish in size, like an object dwindling in +the distance; he depressed his plumage, and, with his eye fixed upon me, +began slowly to back and sidle into his retreat till he faded from my +sight. The shrike wiped his beak upon the branches, cast an eye down at +me and at his lost mouse, and then flew away. + +A few nights afterward, as I passed that way, I saw the little owl again +sitting in his doorway, waiting for the twilight to deepen, and +undisturbed by the passers-by; but when I paused to observe him, he saw +that he was discovered, and he slunk back into his den as on the former +occasion. Ever since, while going that way, I have been on the lookout +for him. Dozens of teams and foot-passengers pass him late in the day, +but he regards them not, nor they him. When I come along and pause to +salute him, he opens his eyes a little wider, and, appearing to +recognize me, quickly shrinks and fades into the background of his door +in a very weird and curious manner. When he is not at his outlook, or +when he is, it requires the best powers of the eye to decide the point, +as the empty cavity itself is almost an exact image of him. If the whole +thing had been carefully studied, it could not have answered its purpose +better. The owl stands quite perpendicular, presenting a front of light +mottled gray; the eyes are closed to a mere slit, the ear-feathers +depressed, the beak buried in the plumage, and the whole attitude is one +of silent, motionless waiting and observation. If a mouse should be seen +crossing the highway, or scudding over any exposed part of the snowy +surface in the twilight, the owl would doubtless swoop down upon it. I +think the owl has learned to distinguish me from the rest of the +passers-by; at least, when I stop before him, and he sees himself +observed, he backs down into his den, as I have said, in a very amusing +manner. + + + + +THE CHICKADEE + + +The chickadees we have always with us. They are like the evergreens +among trees and plants. Winter has no terrors for them. They are +properly wood-birds, but the groves and orchards know them also. Did +they come near my cabin for better protection, or did they chance to +find a little cavity in a tree there that suited them? Branch-builders +and ground-builders are easily accommodated, but the chickadee must find +a cavity, and a small one at that. The woodpeckers make a cavity when a +suitable trunk or branch is found, but the chickadee, with its small, +sharp beak, rarely does so; it usually smooths and deepens one already +formed. This a pair did a few yards from my cabin. The opening was into +the heart of a little sassafras, about four feet from the ground. Day +after day the birds took turns in deepening and enlarging the cavity: a +soft, gentle hammering for a few moments in the heart of the little +tree, and then the appearance of the worker at the opening, with the +chips in his, or her, beak. They changed off every little while, one +working while the other gathered food. Absolute equality of the sexes, +both in plumage and in duties, seems to prevail among these birds, as +among a few other species. During the preparations for housekeeping the +birds were hourly seen and heard, but as soon as the first egg was laid, +all this was changed. They suddenly became very shy and quiet. Had it +not been for the new egg that was added each day, one would have +concluded that they had abandoned the place. There was a precious secret +now that must be well kept. After incubation began, it was only by +watching that I could get a glimpse of one of the birds as it came +quickly to feed or to relieve the other. + +One day a lot of Vassar girls came to visit me, and I led them out to +the little sassafras to see the chickadee's nest. The sitting bird kept +her place as head after head, with its nodding plumes and millinery, +appeared above the opening to her chamber, and a pair of inquisitive +eyes peered down upon her. But I saw that she was getting ready to play +her little trick to frighten them away. Presently I heard a faint +explosion at the bottom of the cavity, when the peeping girl jerked her +head quickly back, with the exclamation, "Why, it spit at me!" The trick +of the bird on such occasions is apparently to draw in its breath till +its form perceptibly swells, and then give forth a quick, explosive +sound like an escaping jet of steam. One involuntarily closes his eyes +and jerks back his head. The girls, to their great amusement, provoked +the bird into this pretty outburst of her impatience two or three times. +But as the ruse failed of its effect, the bird did not keep it up, but +let the laughing faces gaze till they were satisfied. + +I was much interested in seeing a brood of chickadees, reared on my +premises, venture upon their first flight. Their heads had been seen at +the door of their dwelling--a cavity in the limb of a pear-tree--at +intervals for two or three days. Evidently they liked the looks of the +great outside world; and one evening, just before sundown, one of them +came forth. His first flight was of several yards, to a locust, where he +alighted upon an inner branch, and after some chirping and calling +proceeded to arrange his plumage and compose himself for the night. I +watched him till it was nearly dark. He did not appear at all afraid +there alone in the tree, but put his head under his wing and settled +down for the night as if it were just what he had always been doing. +There was a heavy shower a few hours later, but in the morning he was +there upon his perch in good spirits. + +I happened to be passing in the morning when another one came out. He +hopped out upon a limb, shook himself, and chirped and called loudly. +After some moments an idea seemed to strike him. His attitude changed, +his form straightened up, and a thrill of excitement seemed to run +through him. I knew what it all meant; something had whispered to the +bird, "Fly!" With a spring and a cry he was in the air, and made good +headway to a near hemlock. Others left in a similar manner during that +day and the next, till all were out. + + + + +THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + +The bird that seems to consider he has the best right to my hospitality +is the downy woodpecker, my favorite neighbor among the winter birds. +His retreat is but a few paces from my own, in the decayed limb of an +apple-tree, which he excavated several autumns ago. I say "he" because +the red plume on the top of his head proclaims the sex. It seems not to +be generally known to our writers upon ornithology that certain of our +woodpeckers--probably all the winter residents--each fall excavate a +limb or the trunk of a tree in which to pass the winter, and that the +cavity is abandoned in the spring, probably for a new one in which +nidification takes place. + +The particular woodpecker to which I refer drilled his first hole in my +apple-tree one fall four or five years ago. This he occupied till the +following spring, when he abandoned it. The next fall he began a hole in +an adjoining limb, later than before, and when it was about half +completed a female took possession of his old quarters. I am sorry to +say that this seemed to enrage the male very much, and he persecuted the +poor bird whenever she appeared upon the scene. He would fly at her +spitefully and drive her off. One chilly November morning, as I passed +under the tree, I heard the hammer of the little architect in his +cavity, and at the same time saw the persecuted female sitting at the +entrance of the other hole as if she would fain come out. She was +actually shivering, probably from both fear and cold. I understood the +situation at a glance; the bird was afraid to come forth and brave the +anger of the male. Not till I had rapped smartly upon the limb with my +stick did she come out and attempt to escape; but she had not gone ten +feet from the tree before the male was in hot pursuit, and in a few +moments had driven her back to the same tree, where she tried to avoid +him among the branches. There is probably no gallantry among the birds +except at the mating season. I have frequently seen the male woodpecker +drive the female away from the bone upon the tree. When she hopped +around to the other end and timidly nibbled it, he would presently dart +spitefully at her. She would then take up her position in his rear and +wait till he had finished his meal. The position of the female among the +birds is very much the same as that of women among savage tribes. Most +of the drudgery of life falls upon her, and the leavings of the males +are often her lot. + +[Illustration: DOWNY WOODPECKER] + +My bird is a genuine little savage, doubtless, but I value him as a +neighbor. It is a satisfaction during the cold or stormy winter nights +to know he is warm and cozy there in his retreat. When the day is bad +and unfit to be abroad in, he is there too. When I wish to know if he is +at home, I go and rap upon his tree, and, if he is not too lazy or +indifferent, after some delay he shows his head in his round doorway +about ten feet above, and looks down inquiringly upon me--sometimes +latterly I think half resentfully, as much as to say, "I would thank you +not to disturb me so often." After sundown, he will not put his head out +any more when I call, but as I step away I can get a glimpse of him +inside looking cold and reserved. He is a late riser, especially if it +is a cold or disagreeable morning, in this respect being like the barn +fowls; it is sometimes near nine o'clock before I see him leave his +tree. On the other hand, he comes home early, being in, if the day is +unpleasant, by four P.M. He lives all alone; in this respect I do not +commend his example. Where his mate is, I should like to know. + +I have discovered several other woodpeckers in adjoining orchards, each +of which has a like home, and leads a like solitary life. One of them +has excavated a dry limb within easy reach of my hand, doing the work +also in September. But the choice of tree was not a good one; the limb +was too much decayed, and the workman had made the cavity too large; a +chip had come out, making a hole in the outer wall. Then he went a few +inches down the limb and began again, and excavated a large, commodious +chamber, but had again come too near the surface; scarcely more than the +bark protected him in one place, and the limb was very much weakened. +Then he made another attempt still farther down the limb, and drilled in +an inch or two, but seemed to change his mind; the work stopped, and I +concluded the bird had wisely abandoned the tree. Passing there one +cold, rainy November day, I thrust in my two fingers and was surprised +to feel something soft and warm: as I drew away my hand the bird came +out, apparently no more surprised than I was. It had decided, then, to +make its home in the old limb; a decision it had occasion to regret, for +not long after, on a stormy night, the branch gave way and fell to the +ground:-- + + "When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, + And down will come baby and cradle and all." + +Another trait our woodpeckers have that endears them to me is their +habit of drumming in the spring. They are songless birds, and yet all +are musicians; they make the dry limbs eloquent of the coming change. +Did you think that loud, sonorous hammering which proceeded from the +orchard or from the near woods on that still March or April morning was +only some bird getting its breakfast? It is Downy, but he is not rapping +at the door of a grub; he is rapping at the door of spring, and the dry +limb thrills beneath the ardor of his blows. + +A few seasons ago, a downy woodpecker, probably the individual one who +is now my winter neighbor, began to drum early in March in a partly +decayed apple-tree that stands in the edge of a narrow strip of woodland +near me. When the morning was still and mild I would often hear him +through my window before I was up, or by half-past six o'clock, and he +would keep it up pretty briskly till nine or ten o'clock, in this +respect resembling the grouse, which do most of their drumming in the +forenoon. His drum was the stub of a dry limb about the size of one's +wrist. The heart was decayed and gone, but the outer shell was hard and +resonant. The bird would keep his position there for an hour at a time. +Between his drummings he would preen his plumage and listen as if for +the response of the female, or for the drum of some rival. How swiftly +his head would go when he was delivering his blows upon the limb! His +beak wore the surface perceptibly. When he wished to change the key, +which was quite often, he would shift his position an inch or two to a +knot which gave out a higher, shriller note. When I climbed up to +examine his drum, he was much disturbed. I did not know he was in the +vicinity, but it seems he saw me from a near tree, and came in haste to +the neighboring branches, and with spread plumage and a sharp note +demanded plainly enough what my business was with his drum. I was +invading his privacy, desecrating his shrine, and the bird was much put +out. After some weeks the female appeared; he had literally drummed up a +mate; his urgent and oft-repeated advertisement was answered. Still the +drumming did not cease, but was quite as fervent as before. If a mate +could be won by drumming, she could be kept and entertained by more +drumming; courtship should not end with marriage. If the bird felt +musical before, of course he felt much more so now. Besides that, the +gentle deities needed propitiating in behalf of the nest and young as +well as in behalf of the mate. After a time a second female came, when +there was war between the two. I did not see them come to blows, but I +saw one female pursuing the other about the place, and giving her no +rest for several days. She was evidently trying to run her out of the +neighborhood. Now and then, she, too, would drum briefly, as if sending +a triumphant message to her mate. + +The woodpeckers do not each have a particular dry limb to which they +resort at all times to drum, like the one I have described. The woods +are full of suitable branches, and they drum more or less here and there +as they are in quest of food; yet I am convinced each one has its +favorite spot, like the grouse, to which it resorts especially in the +morning. The sugar-maker in the maple woods may notice that this sound +proceeds from the same tree or trees about his camp with great +regularity. A woodpecker in my vicinity has drummed for two seasons on a +telegraph-pole, and he makes the wires and glass insulators ring. +Another drums on a thin board on the end of a long grape-arbor, and on +still mornings can be heard a long distance. + + * * * * * + +I watch these woodpeckers daily to see if I can solve the mystery as to +how they hop up and down the trunks and branches without falling away +from them when they let go their hold. They come down a limb or trunk +backward by a series of little hops, moving both feet together. If the +limb is at an angle to the tree and they are on the under side of it, +they do not fall away from it to get a new hold an inch or half-inch +farther down. They are held to it as steel to a magnet. Both tail and +head are involved in the feat. At the instant of making the hop the head +is thrown in and the tail thrown out, but the exact mechanics of it I +cannot penetrate. Philosophers do not yet know how a backward-falling +cat turns in the air, but turn she does. It may be that the woodpecker +never quite relaxes his hold, though to my eye he appears to do so. + + +THE DOWNY WOODPECKER + + Downy came and dwelt with me, + Taught me hermit lore; + Drilled his cell in oaken tree + Near my cabin door. + + Architect of his own home + In the forest dim, + Carving its inverted dome + In a dozy limb. + + Carved it deep and shaped it true + With his little bill; + Took no thought about the view, + Whether dale or hill. + + Shook the chips upon the ground, + Careless who might see. + Hark! his hatchet's muffled sound + Hewing in the tree. + + Round his door as compass-mark, + True and smooth his wall; + Just a shadow on the bark + Points you to his hall. + + Downy leads a hermit life + All the winter through; + Free his days from jar and strife, + And his cares are few. + + Waking up the frozen woods, + Shaking down the snows; + Many trees of many moods + Echo to his blows. + + When the storms of winter rage, + Be it night or day, + Then I know my little page + Sleeps the time away. + + Downy's stores are in the trees, + Egg and ant and grub; + Juicy tidbits, rich as cheese, + Hid in stump and stub. + + Rat-tat-tat his chisel goes, + Cutting out his prey; + Every boring insect knows + When he comes its way. + + Always rapping at their doors, + Never welcome he; + All his kind, they vote, are bores, + Whom they dread to see. + + Why does Downy live alone + In his snug retreat? + Has he found that near the bone + Is the sweetest meat? + + Birdie craved another fate + When the spring had come; + Advertised him for a mate + On his dry-limb drum. + + Drummed her up and drew her near, + In the April morn, + Till she owned him for her dear + In his state forlorn. + + Now he shirks all family cares, + This I must confess; + Quite absorbed in self affairs + In the season's stress. + + We are neighbors well agreed + Of a common lot; + Peace and love our only creed + In this charmed spot. + + + + +INDEX + + + Blackbird, cow. See Cowbird. + + Bluebird, arrival in spring, 1; + nest-building, 1, 2; + young and cicada, 2, 3; + a bewildered pair, 3-7; + love and rivalry, 7-12; + war with house wrens, 47-52. + + _Bluebird, The_, poem, 13. + + Bobolink, courtship, 77, 78; + concealment of nest, 78-81. + + _Bobolink, The_, poem, 82. + + Bob-white. See Quail. + + Butcher-bird. See Shrike, northern. + + + Catbird, song of, 72, 73; + and black snake, 73-76; + a coquette, 83. + + Cedar-bird, nest-building, 122, 123; + notes of, 124. + + Chewink, markings of, 39; + Thomas Jefferson writes to Alexander Wilson about, 39-41; + inhospitality of, 83. + + Chickadee, nesting of, 157-160. + + Chippy. See Sparrow, chipping. + + _Coming of Ph[oe]be, The_, poem, 31. + + Cowbird, notes of, 33; + parasitic habits of, 33-35. + + Crow, character of, 138, 139; + manners of, 139, 140; + wariness of, 140-142; + yearly meeting, 142, 143. + + _Crow, The_, poem, 144. + + + _Downy Woodpecker, The_, poem, 169. + + + Flicker, call of, 21; + courtship, 22, 25, 26; + not satisfied with being a woodpecker, 22, 23; + excavating a nest, 23; + young, 23-25; + drumming, 26, 27. + + + Goldfinch, nesting, 125, 126; + notes of, 126-128; + flight of, 127, 128; + musical festivals, 128, 129. + + Grouse, ruffed, 133-136. + + + Hawk, marsh, habits of, 106; + nest of, 106-108; + young, 111, 112; + a pet young one, 112-117. + + Hawk, red-shouldered. See Hen-hawk. + + Hawk, red-tailed. See Hen-hawk. + + Hen-hawk, flight of, 130-132. + + High-hole. See Flicker. + + + Jefferson, Thomas, 39, 40. + + + Oriole, Baltimore, nests of, 91-94. + + Oven-bird, walk of, 69; + the two songs of, 69, 70; + nest of, 70, 71. + + Owl, screech, a brood, 151, 152; + two owl neighbors, 152-156; + a captive, 153; + note of, 154; + disappearing in his hole, 154-156. + + + Partridge, 133-136. + + _Partridge, The_, poem, 137. + + Ph[oe]be, arrival in spring, 28; + nests of, 29, 30. + + _Ph[oe]be, The Coming of_, poem, 31. + + + Quail, on nest, 109-111. + + + Robin, arrival in spring, 15; + a graceful warrior, 16; + the "robin racket," 16, 17; + nest and young, 18, 19; + boring for grubs, 19, 20. + + + Shrike, northern, 147-150; + raided by a screech owl, 155. + + Snake, black, and song sparrows, 55, 56; + and catbirds, 73-76. + + Sparrow, chipping, trying to catch a miller, 36; + feeding young robins, 37, 38. + + Sparrow, song, unsuccessful nestings, 53, 54; + and a black snake, 55, 56; + a risky experiment, 56-58; + a bob-tailed song sparrow's nest, 58-60. + + Swallow, chimney. See Swift, chimney. + + Swift, chimney, nest of, 61, 62; + flight of, 61, 62; + young, 63, 64; + outriding the storms, 64; + habits of, 64-66; + great gatherings and aerial evolutions of, 66-68. + + + Thrasher, brown, stealthiness of, 42; + nests of, 42-46; + skulking, 83. + + Thrush, wood, grace and elegance of, 83, 84; + newspaper in nests, 84-86; + the song and the nests, 86, 87; + unsuccessful nestings, 87-89; + song contests, 89, 90. + + Towhee. See Chewink. + + + Warbler, black-throated blue, a successful search for the nest + of, 100-105. + + Whip-poor-will, eggs of, 95; + assimilative coloration of, 95, 97, 99; + young, 96; + gait of, 97; + song of, 97, 98; + an old bird with her young, 98, 99. + + Wilson, Alexander, 39-41. + + Woodpecker, downy, a winter neighbor, 161-164; + drumming, 164-167; + the mystery of his hopping up and down the trunks and + branches, 167, 168. + + _Woodpecker, The Downy_, poem, 169. + + Woodpecker, golden-winged. See Flicker. + + Wren, house, song of, 47; + war with bluebirds, 47-52. + + Wren, winter, in his summer home, 119, 120; + in winter, 120, 121. + + + Yarup. See Flicker. + + Yellowbird. See Goldfinch. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Bird Stories from Burroughs, by John Burroughs + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD STORIES FROM BURROUGHS *** + +***** This file should be named 26046.txt or 26046.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/4/26046/ + +Produced by Peter Vachuska, Chuck Greif, Stephen Blundell +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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