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diff --git a/30965-8.txt b/30965-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..484c4c3 --- /dev/null +++ b/30965-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1766 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds Illustrated by Color Photography +[December, 1897], Vol 2. No 6., by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Birds Illustrated by Color Photography [December, 1897], Vol 2. No 6. + +Author: Various + +Release Date: January 14, 2010 [EBook #30965] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRDS ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR *** + + + + +Produced by Chris Curnow, Joseph Cooper, Anne Storer, some +images courtesy of The Internet Archive and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: Title page added. + + + * * * * * + + + + + BIRDS + + A MONTHLY SERIAL + + ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY + + DESIGNED TO PROMOTE + + KNOWLEDGE OF BIRD-LIFE + + + VOLUME II. + + + CHICAGO. + NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY. + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1897 + BY + NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING CO. + CHICAGO. + + + + + BIRDS. + ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY + ================================ + VOL. II. DECEMBER, 1897. NO. 6 + ================================ + + + + +THE ORNITHOLOGICAL CONGRESS. + + +We had the pleasure of attending the Fifteenth Congress of the American +Ornithologists' Union, which met and held its three days annual session +in the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, November 9-11, +1897. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, of the Department of Agriculture, Washington +D.C., presided, and there were present about one hundred and fifty of +the members, resident in nearly all the states of the Union. + +The first paper read was one prepared by J. C. Merrill, entitled "In +Memoriam: Charles Emil Bendire." The character, accomplishments, and +achievements of the deceased, whose valuable work in biographizing +American birds is so well known to those interested in ornithology, +were referred to in so appropriate a manner that the paper, though not +elaborate as it is to be hoped it may ultimately be made, will no doubt +be published for general circulation. Major Bendire's services to +American ornithology are of indisputable value, and his untimely death +eclipsed to some extent, possibly wholly, the conclusion of a series of +bird biographies which, so far as they had appeared, were deemed to be +adequate, if not perfect. + +Mr. Frank M. Chapman, the well known authority on birds, and whose +recent books are valuable additions to our literature, had, it may be +presumed, a paper to read on the "Experiences of an Ornithologist in +Mexico," though he did not read it. He made, on the contrary, what +seemed to be an extemporaneous talk, exceedingly entertaining and +sufficiently instructive to warrant a permanent place for it in the +_Auk_, of which he is associate editor. We had the pleasure of examining +the advance sheets of a new book from his pen, elaborately illustrated +in color, and shortly to be published. Mr. Chapman is a comparatively +young man, an enthusiastic student and observer, and destined to be +recognized as one of our most scientific thinkers, as many of his +published pamphlets already indicate. Our limited space precludes even a +reference to them now. His remarks were made the more attractive by the +beautiful stuffed specimens with which he illustrated them. + +Prof. Elliott Coues, in an address, "Auduboniana, and Other Matters of +Present Interest," engaged the delighted attention of the Congress on +the morning of the second day's session. His audience was large. In a +biographical sketch of Audubon the Man, interspersed with anecdote, he +said so many interesting things that we regret we omitted to make any +notes that would enable us to indicate at least something of his +characterization. No doubt just what he said will appear in an +appropriate place. Audubon's portfolio, in which his precious +manuscripts and drawings were so long religiously kept, which he had +carried with him to London to exhibit to possible publishers, a book +so large that two men were required to carry it, though the great +naturalist had used it as an indispensable and convenient companion for +so many years, was slowly and we thought reverently divested by Dr. +Coues of its wrappings and held up to the surprised and grateful gaze of +the spectators. It was dramatic. Dr. Coues is an actor. And then came +the comedy. He could not resist the inclination to talk a little--not +disparagingly, but truthfully, reading a letter never before published, +of Swainson to Audubon declining to associate his name with that of +Audubon "under the circumstances." All of which, we apprehend, will duly +find a place on the shelves of public libraries. + +We would ourself like to say something of Audubon as a man. To us his +life and character have a special charm. His was a beautiful youth, like +that of Goethe. His love of nature, for which he was willing to make, +and did make, sacrifices, will always be inspiring to the youth of +noble and gentle proclivities; his personal beauty, his humanity, his +love-life, his domestic virtues, enthrall the ingenuous mind; and his +appreciation--shown in his beautiful compositions--of the valleys of the +great river, _La Belle Rivière_, through which its waters, shadowed by +the magnificent forests of Ohio and Kentucky, wandered--all of these +things have from youth up shed a sweet fragrance over his memory and +added greatly to our admiration of and appreciation for the man. + +So many subjects came before the Congress that we cannot hope to do +more than mention the titles of a few of them. Mr. Sylvester D. Judd +discussed the question of "Protective Adaptations of insects from an +Ornithological Point of View;" Mr. William C. Rives talked of "Summer +Birds of the West Virginia Spruce Belt;" Mr. John N. Clark read a paper +entitled "Ten Days among the Birds of Northern New Hampshire;" Harry C. +Oberholser talked extemporaneously of "Liberian Birds," and in a most +entertaining and instructive manner, every word he said being worthy of +large print and liberal embellishment; Mr. J. A. Allen, editor of _The +Auk_, said a great deal that was new and instructive about the "Origin +of Bird Migration;" Mr. O. Widmann read an interesting paper on "The +Great Roosts on Gabberet Island, opposite North St. Louis;" J. Harris +Reed presented a paper on "The Terns of Gull Island, New York;" A. W. +Anthony read of "The Petrels of Southern California," and Mr. George H. +Mackay talked interestingly of "The Terns of Penikese Island, Mass." + +There were other papers of interest and value. "A Naturalist's +Expedition to East Africa," by D. G. Elliot, was, however, the _pièce de +résistance_ of the Congress. The lecture was delivered in the lecture +hall of the Museum, on Wednesday at 8 p. m. It was illustrated by +stereopticon views, and in the most remarkable manner. The pictures were +thrown upon an immense canvas, were marvellously realistic, and were so +much admired by the great audience, which overflowed the large lecture +hall, that the word demonstrative does not describe their enthusiasm. +But the lecture! Description, experience, suffering, adventure, courage, +torrid heat, wild beasts, poisonous insects, venomous serpents, +half-civilized peoples, thirst,--almost enough of torture to justify +the use of Coleridge's Ancient Mariner in illustration,--and yet a +perpetual, quiet, rollicking, jubilant humor, all-pervading, and, at +the close, on the lecturer's return once more to the beginning of +civilization, the eloquent picture of the Cross, "full high advanced," +all combined, made this lecture, to us, one of the very few platform +addresses entirely worthy of the significance of unfading portraiture. + + --C. C. MARBLE. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + MOUNTAIN BLUE BIRD. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. + + +In an early number of BIRDS we presented a picture of the common +Bluebird, which has been much admired. The mountain Bluebird, whose +beauty is thought to excel that of his cousin, is probably known to few +of our readers who live east of the Rocky Mountain region, though he is +a common winter sojourner in the western part of Kansas, beginning to +arrive there the last of September, and leaving in March and April. The +habits of these birds of the central regions are very similar to those +of the eastern, but more wary and silent. Even their love song is said +to be less loud and musical. It is a rather feeble, plaintive, +monotonous warble, and their chirp and twittering notes are weak. They +subsist upon the cedar berries, seeds of plants, grasshoppers, beetles, +and the like, which they pick up largely upon the ground, and +occasionally scratch for among the leaves. During the fall and winter +they visit the plains and valleys, and are usually met with in small +flocks, until the mating season. + +Nests of the Mountain Bluebird have been found in New Mexico and +Colorado, from the foothills to near timber line, usually in deserted +Woodpecker holes, natural cavities in trees, fissures in the sides of +steep rocky cliffs, and, in the settlements, in suitable locations about +and in the adobe buildings. In settled portions of the west it nests +in the cornice of buildings, under the eaves of porches, in the nooks +and corners of barns and outhouses, and in boxes provided for its +occupation. Prof. Ridgway found the Rocky Mountain Bluebird nesting in +Virginia City, Nevada, in June. The nests were composed almost entirely +of dry grass. In some sections, however, the inner bark of the cedar +enters largely into their composition. The eggs are usually five, of a +pale greenish-blue. + +The females of this species are distinguished by a greener blue color +and longer wings, and this bird is often called the Arctic Bluebird. It +is emphatically a bird of the mountains, its visits to the lower +portions of the country being mainly during winter. + + + Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the autumn leaves lie dead; + They rustle to the eddying gust, and to the rabbits' tread. + The Robin and the Wren are flown, and from the shrubs the Jay, + And from the wood-top calls the Crow all through the gloomy day. + --BRYANT. + + + + +THE ENGLISH SPARROW. + + +"Oh, it's just a common Sparrow," I hear Bobbie say to his mamma, "why, I +see lots of them on the street every day." + +Of course you do, but for all that you know very little about me I +guess. Some people call me "Hoodlum," and "Pest," and even "Rat of the +Air." I hope you don't. It is only the folks who don't like me that call +me ugly names. + +Why don't they like me? + +Well, in the first place the city people, who like fine feathers, you +know, say I am not pretty; then the farmers, who are not grateful for +the insects I eat, say I devour the young buds and vines as well as the +ripened grain. Then the folks who like birds with fine feathers, and +that can sing like angels, such as the Martin and the Bluebird and a +host of others, say I drive them away, back to the forests where they +came from. + +Do I do all these things? + +I'm afraid I do. I like to have my own way. Maybe you know something +about that yourself, Bobbie. When I choose a particular tree or place +for myself and family to live in, I am going to have it if I have to +fight for it. I do chase the other birds away then, to be sure. + +Oh, no, I don't always succeed. Once I remember a Robin got the better +of me, so did a Catbird, and another time a Baltimore Oriole. When I +can't whip a bird myself I generally give a call and a whole troop of +Sparrows will come to my aid. My, how we do enjoy a fuss like that! + +A bully? Well, yes, if by that you mean I rule around my own house, then +I _am_ a bully. My mate has to do just as I say, and the little Sparrows +have to mind their papa, too. + +"Don't hurt the little darlings, papa," says their mother, when it comes +time for them to fly, and I hop about the nest, scolding them at the top +of my voice. Then I scold her for daring to talk to me, and sometimes +make her fly away while I teach the young ones a thing or two. Once in a +while a little fellow among them will "talk back." I don't mind that +though, if he is a Cock Sparrow and looks like his papa. + +No, we do not sing. We leave that for the Song Sparrows. We talk a great +deal, though. In the morning when we get up, and at night when we go to +bed we chatter a great deal. Indeed there are people shabby enough to +say that we are great nuisances about that time. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + ENGLISH SPARROW. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE ENGLISH SPARROW. + + +The English Sparrow was first introduced into the United States at +Brooklyn, New York, in the years 1851 and '52. The trees in our parks +were at that time infested with a canker-worm, which wrought them great +injury, and to rid the trees of these worms was the mission of the +English Sparrow. + +In his native country this bird, though of a seed-eating family (Finch), +was a great insect eater. The few which were brought over performed, at +first, the duty required of them; they devoured the worms and stayed +near the cities. With the change of climate, however, came a change in +their taste for insects. They made their home in the country as well as +the cities, and became seed and vegetable eaters, devouring the young +buds on vines and trees, grass-seed, oats, rye, and other grains. + +Their services in insect-killing are still not to be despised. A single +pair of these Sparrows, under observation an entire day, were seen to +convey to their young no less than forty grubs an hour, an average +exceeding three thousand in the course of a week. Moreover, even in the +autumn he does not confine himself to grain, but feeds on various seeds, +such as the dandelion, the sow-thistle, and the groundsel; all of which +plants are classed as weeds. It has been known, also, to chase and +devour the common white butterfly, whose caterpillars make havoc among +the garden plants. + +The good he may accomplish in this direction, however, is nullified to +the lovers of the beautiful, by the war he constantly wages upon our +song birds, destroying their young, and substituting his unattractive +looks and inharmonious chirps for their beautiful plumage and +soul-inspiring songs. + +Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller in "Bird Ways" gives a fascinating picture of +the wooing of a pair of Sparrows in a maple tree, within sight of her +city window, their setting up house-keeping, domestic quarrel, +separation, and the bringing home, immediately after, of a new bride +by the Cock Sparrow. + +She knows him to be a domestic tryant, a bully in fact, self-willed and +violent, holding out, whatever the cause of disagreement, till he gets +his own will; that the voices of the females are less harsh than the +males, the chatter among themselves being quite soft, as is their +"baby-talk" to the young brood. + +That they delight in a mob we all know; whether a domestic skirmish or +danger to a nest, how they will all congregate, chirping, pecking, +scolding, and often fighting in a fierce yet amusing way! One cannot +read these chapters of Mrs. Miller's without agreeing with Whittier: + + "Then, smiling to myself, I said,-- + How like are men and birds!" + +Although a hardy bird, braving the snow and frost of winter, it likes a +warm bed, to which it may retire after the toils of the day. To this end +its resting place, as well as its nest, is always stuffed with downy +feathers. Tramp, Hoodlum, Gamin, Rat of the Air! Notwithstanding these +more or less deserved names, however, one cannot view a number of +homeless Sparrows, presumably the last brood, seeking shelter in any +corner or crevice from a winter's storm, without a feeling of deep +compassion. The supports of a porch last winter made but a cold roosting +place for three such wanderers within sight of our study window, and +never did we behold them, 'mid a storm of sleet and rain, huddle down in +their cold, ill-protected beds, without resolving another winter should +see a home prepared for them. + + + + +ALLEN'S HUMMING BIRD. + + +The Humming birds, with their varied beauties, constitute the most +remarkable feature of the bird-life of America. They have absolutely no +representatives in any other part of the world, the Swifts being the +nearest relatives they have in other countries. Mr. Forbes says that +they abound most in mountainous countries, where the surface and +productions of the soil are most diversified within small areas. They +frequent both open and rare and inaccessible places, and are often found +on the snowy peaks of Chimborazo as high as 16,000 feet, and in the very +lowest valleys in the primeval forests of Brazil, the vast palm-covered +districts of the deltas of the Amazon and Orinoco, the fertile flats and +savannahs of Demarara, the luxurious and beautiful region of Xalapa, +(the realm of perpetual sunshine), and other parts of Mexico. Many of +the highest cones of extinct and existing volcanoes have also furnished +great numbers of rare species. + +These birds are found as small as a bumble bee and as large as a +Sparrow. The smallest is from Jamaica, the largest from Patagonia. + +Allen's Hummer is found on the Pacific coast, north to British Columbia, +east to southern Arizona. + +Mr. Langille, in "Our Birds in their Haunts," beautifully describes +their flights and manner of feeding. He says "There are many birds the +flight of which is so rapid that the strokes of their wings cannot be +counted, but here is a species with such nerve of wing that its wing +strokes cannot be seen. 'A hazy semi-circle of indistinctness on each +side of the bird is all that is perceptible.' Poised in the air, his +body nearly perpendicular, he seems to hang in front of the flowers +which he probes so hurriedly, one after the other, with his long, +slender bill. That long, tubular, fork-shaped tongue may be sucking up +the nectar from those rather small cylindrical blossoms, or it may be +capturing tiny insects housed away there. Much more like a large sphynx +moth hovering and humming over the flowers in the dusky twilight, than +like a bird, appears this delicate, fairy-like beauty. How the bright +green of the body gleams and glistens in the sunlight. Each +imperceptible stroke of those tiny wings conforms to the mechanical +laws of flight in all their subtle complications with an ease and +gracefulness that seems spiritual. Who can fail to note that fine +adjustment of the organs of flight to aerial elasticity and gravitation, +by which that astonishing bit of nervous energy can rise and fall almost +on the perpendicular, dart from side to side, as if by magic, or, +assuming the horizontal position, pass out of sight like a shooting +star? Is it not impossible to conceive of all this being done by that +rational calculation which enables the rower to row, or the sailor to +sail his boat?" + + "What heavenly tints in mingling radiance fly, + Each rapid movement gives a different dye; + Like scales of burnished gold they dazzling show, + Now sink to shade, now like a furnace glow." + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + ALLENS HUMMING BIRD. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + +THE GREEN-WINGED TEAL. + + +Just a common Duck? + +No, I'm not. There is only one other Duck handsomer than I am, and he is +called the Wood Duck. You have heard something about him before. I am a +much smaller Duck, but size doesn't count much, I find when it comes to +getting on in the world--in _our_ world, that is. I have seen a Sparrow +worry a bird four times its size, and I expect you have seen a little +boy do the same with a big boy many a time. + +What is the reason I'm not a common Duck? + +Well, in the first place, I don't waddle. I can walk just as gracefully +as I can swim. Your barn-yard Duck can't do that. I can run, too, +without getting all tangled up in the grass, and he can't do that, +either. But sometimes I don't mind associating with the common Duck. If +he lives in a nice big barn-yard, that has a good pond, and is fed with +plenty of grain, I visit him quite often. + +Where do I generally live? + +Well, along the edges of shallow, grassy waters, where I feed upon +grass, seeds, acorns, grapes, berries, as well as insects, worms, and +small snails. I walk quite a distance from the water to get these +things, too. + +Can I fly? + +Indeed I can, and very swiftly. You can see I am no common Duck when I +can swim, and walk, and fly. _You_ can't do the last, though you can the +first two. + +Good to eat? + +Well, yes, they say when I feed on rice and wild oats I am perfectly +delicious. Some birds were, you see, born to sing, and flit about in the +trees, and look beautiful, while some were born to have their feathers +taken off, and be roasted, and to look fine in a big dish on the table. +The Teal Duck is one of those birds. You see we are useful as well as +pretty. We don't mind it much if you eat us and say, "what a fine bird!" +but when you call us "tough," that hurts our feelings. + +Good for Christmas? + +Oh, yes, or any other time--when you can catch us! We fly so fast that +it is not easy to do; and can dive under the water, too, when +wounded. + +Something about our nests? + +Oh, they are built upon the ground, in a dry tuft of grass and weeds and +lined with feathers. My mate often plucks the feathers from her own +breast to line it. Sometimes she lays ten eggs, indeed once she laid +sixteen. + +Such a family of Ducklings as we had that year! You should have seen +them swimming after their mother, and all crying, _Quack, quack, quack!_ +like babies as they were. + + + + +THE GREEN-WINGED TEAL. + + +A handsome little Duck indeed is this, well known to sportsmen, and very +abundant throughout North America. It is migratory in its habits, and +nests from Minnesota and New Brunswick northward, returning southward in +winter to Central America and Cuba. + +The green wing is commonly found in small flocks along the edges of +shallow, grassy waters, feeding largely upon seeds of grasses, small +acorns, fallen grapes or berries, as well as aquatic insects, worms, and +small snails. In their search for acorns these ducks are often found +quite a distance from the water, in exposed situations feeding largely +in the night, resting during the day upon bogs or small bare spots, +closely surrounded and hidden by reeds and grasses. + +On land this Duck moves with more ease and grace than any other of its +species except the Wood Duck, and it can run with considerable speed. In +the water also it moves with great ease and rapidity, and on the wing it +is one of the swiftest of its tribe. From the water it rises with a +single spring and so swiftly that it can be struck only by a very expert +marksman; when wounded it dives readily. + +As the Teal is more particular in the selection of its food than are +most Ducks, its flesh, in consequence, is very delicious. Audubon says +that when this bird has fed on wild oats at Green Bay, or soaked rice in +the fields of Georgia or Carolina, it is much superior to the Canvas +back in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. + +G. Arnold, in the _Nidologist_, says while traveling through the +northwest he was surprised to see the number of Ducks and other wild +fowl in close proximity to the railway tracks. He found a number of +Teal nests within four feet of the rails of the Canadian Pacific in +Manitoba. The warm, sun-exposed banks along the railway tracks, shrouded +and covered with thick grass, afford a very fair protection for the +nests and eggs from water and marauders of every kind. As the section +men seldom disturbed them--not being collectors--the birds soon learned +to trust them and would sit on their nests by the hour while the men +worked within a few feet of them. + +The green-winged Teal is essentially a fresh-water bird, rarely being +met with near the sea. Its migrations are over the land and not along +the sea shore. It has been seen to associate with the Ducks in a +farmer's yard or pond and to come into the barn-yard with tame fowls +and share the corn thrown out for food. + +The nests of the Teal are built upon the ground, generally in dry tufts +of grass and often quite a distance from the water. They are made of +grass, and weeds, etc., and lined with down. In Colorado under a sage +brush, a nest was found which had been scooped in the sand and lined +warmly with down evidently taken from the bird's own breast, which was +plucked nearly bare. This nest contained ten eggs. + +The number of eggs, of a pale buff color, is usually from eight to +twelve, though frequently sixteen or eighteen have been found. It is far +more prolific than any of the Ducks resorting to Hudson's Bay, and Mr. +Hearn says he has seen the old ones swimming at the head of seventeen +young when the latter were not much larger than walnuts. + +In autumn the males usually keep in separate flocks from the females and +young. Their notes are faint and piping and their wings make a loud +whistling during flight. + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + GREEN-WINGED TEAL. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + +THE BLACK GROUSE. + + + Alone on English moors I've seen the Black Cock stray, + Sounding his earnest love-note on the air. + --ANON. + +Well known as the Black Cock is supposed to be, we fancy few of our +readers have ever seen a specimen. It is a native of the more southern +countries of Europe, and still survives in many portions of the British +Islands, especially those localities where the pine woods and heaths +afford it shelter, and it is not driven away by the presence of human +habitation. + +The male bird is known to resort at the beginning of the nesting season +to some open spot, where he utters his love calls, and displays his new +dress to the greatest advantage, for the purpose of attracting as many +females as may be willing to consort with him. His note when thus +engaged is loud and resonant, and can be heard at a considerable +distance. This crowing sound is accompanied by a harsh, grating, +stridulous kind of cry which has been compared to the noise produced by +whetting a scythe. The Black Cock does not pair, but leaves his numerous +mates to the duties of maternity and follows his own desires while they +prepare their nests, lay their eggs, hatch them, and bring up the young. +The mother bird, however, is a fond, watchful parent, and when she has +been alarmed by man or a prowling beast, has been known to remove her +eggs to some other locality, where she thinks they will not be +discovered. + +The nest is carelessly made of grasses and stout herbage, on the ground, +under the shelter of grass and bushes. There are from six to ten eggs +of yellowish gray, with spots of light brown. The young are fed first +upon insects, and afterwards on berries, grain, and the buds and shoots +of trees. + +The Black Grouse is a wild and wary creature. The old male which has +survived a season or two is particularly shy and crafty, distrusting +both man and dog, and running away as soon as he is made aware of +approaching danger. + +In the autumn the young males separate themselves from the other sex and +form a number of little bachelor establishments of their own, living +together in harmony until the next nesting season, when they all begin +to fall in love; "the apple of discord is thrown among them by the +charms of the hitherto repudiated sex, and their rivalries lead them +into determined and continual battles, which do not cease until the end +of the season restores them to peace and sobriety." + +The coloring of the female is quite different from that of the male +Grouse. Her general color is brown, with a tinge of orange, barred with +black and speckled with the same hue, the spots and bars being larger on +the breast, back, and wings, and the feathers on the breast more or less +edged with white. The total length of the adult male is about twenty-two +inches, and that of the female from seventeen to eighteen inches. She +also weighs nearly one-third less than her mate, and is popularly termed +the Heath Hen. + + + + +THE AMERICAN FLAMINGO. + + +In this interesting family of birds are included seven species, +distributed throughout the tropics. Five species are American, of which +one reaches our southern border in Florida. Chapman says that they are +gregarious at all seasons, are rarely found far from the seacoasts, and +their favorite resorts are shallow bays or vast mud flats which are +flooded at high water. In feeding the bill is pressed downward into the +mud, its peculiar shape making the point turn upward. The ridges along +its sides serve as strainers through which are forced the sand and mud +taken in with the food. + +The Flamingo is resident in the United States only in the vicinity of +Cape Sable, Florida, where flocks of sometimes a thousand of these rosy +vermillion creatures are seen. A wonderful sight indeed. Mr. D. P. +Ingraham spent more or less of his time for four seasons in the West +Indies among them. He states that the birds inhabit the shallow lagoons +and bays having soft clayey bottoms. On the border of these the nest is +made by working the clay up into a mound which, in the first season, is +perhaps not more than a foot high and about eight inches in diameter at +the top and fifteen inches at the base. If the birds are unmolested +they will return to the same nesting place from year to year, each +season augmenting the nest by the addition of mud at the top, leaving +a slight depression for the eggs. He speaks of visiting the nesting +grounds where the birds had nested the previous year and their +mound-like nests were still standing. The birds nest in June. The number +of eggs is usually two, sometimes only one and rarely three. When three +are found in a nest it is generally believed that the third has been +laid by another female. + +The stature of this remarkable bird is nearly five feet, and it weighs +in the flesh six or eight pounds. On the nest the birds sit with their +long legs doubled under them. The old story of the Flamingo bestriding +its nest in an ungainly attitude while sitting is an absurd fiction. + +The eggs are elongate-ovate in shape, with a thick shell, roughened with +a white flakey substance, but bluish when this is scraped off. It +requires thirty-two days for the eggs to hatch. + +The very fine specimen we present in BIRDS represents the Flamingo +feeding, the upper surface of the unique bill, which is abruptly bent in +the middle, facing the ground. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. C. E. Petford. + BLACK GROUSE. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + FLAMINGO. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + +THE BIRDS OF BETHLEHEM. + + +I. + + I heard the bells of Bethlehem ring-- + Their voice was sweeter than the priests'; + I heard the birds of Bethlehem sing + Unbidden in the churchly feasts. + + +II. + + They clung and swung on the swinging chain + High in the dim and incensed air; + The priest, with repetitions vain, + Chanted a never ending prayer. + + +III. + + So bell and bird and priest I heard, + But voice of bird was most to me-- + It had no ritual, no word, + And yet it sounded true and free. + + +IV. + + I thought child Jesus, were he there, + Would like the singing birds the best, + And clutch his little hands in air + And smile upon his mother's breast. + R. W. GILDER, in _The Century_. + + + + +THE BIRD'S STORY. + + + "I once lived in a little house, + And lived there very well; + I thought the world was small and round, + And made of pale blue shell. + + I lived next in a little nest, + Nor needed any other; + I thought the world was made of straw, + And brooded by my mother. + + One day I fluttered from the nest + To see what I could find. + I said: 'The world is made of leaves, + I have been very blind.' + + At length I flew beyond the tree, + Quite fit for grown-up labors; + I don't know how the world _is_ made, + And neither do my neighbors." + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + VERDIN. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE VERDIN. + + +A dainty little creature indeed is the Yellow-headed Bush Tit, or +Verdin, being smaller than the largest North American Humming Bird, +which inhabits southern Arizona and southward. It is a common bird in +suitable localities throughout the arid regions of Northern Mexico, +the southern portions of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and in Lower +California. In spite of its diminutive size it builds a remarkable +structure for a nest--large and bulky, and a marvel of bird +architecture. Davie says it is comparatively easy to find, being built +near the ends of the branches of some low, thorny tree or shrub, and in +the numerous varieties of cacti and thorny bushes which grow in the +regions of its home. + +The nest is globular, flask-shaped or retort shape in form, the outside +being one mass of thorny twigs and stems interwoven, while the middle is +composed of flower-stems and the lining is of feathers. The entrance is +a small circular opening. Mr. Atwater says that the birds occupy the +nests during the winter months. They are generally found nesting in the +high, dry parts of the country, away from tall timber, where the thorns +are the thickest. From three to six eggs are laid, of a bluish or +greenish-white or pale blue, speckled, chiefly round the larger end, +with reddish brown. + + * * * * * + + "The woods were made for the hunters of dreams, + The brooks for the fishers of song. + To the hunters who hunt for the gunless game + The woods and the streams belong. + There are thoughts that moan from the soul of the pine, + And thoughts in the flower-bell curled, + And the thoughts that are blown from the scent of the fern + Are as new and as old as the world." + + + + +THE BRONZED GRACKLE. + + +You can call me the Crow Blackbird, little folks, if you want to. People +generally call me by that name. + +I look something like the Crow in the March number of BIRDS, don't I? My +dress is handsomer than his, though. Indeed I am said to be a splendid +looking bird, my bronze coat showing very finely in the trees. + +The Crow said _Caw, Caw, Caw!_ to the little boys and girls. That was +his way of talking. My voice is not so harsh as his. I have a note which +some people think is quite sweet; then my throat gets rusty and I have +some trouble in finishing my tune. I puff out my feathers, spread my +wings and tail, then lifting myself on the perch force out the other +notes of my song. Maybe you have seen a singer on the stage, instead of +a perch, do the same thing. Had to get on his tip-toes to reach a high +note, you know. + +Like the Crow I visit the cornfields, too. In the spring when the man +with the plow turns over the rich earth, I follow after and pick up all +the grubs and insects I can find. They would destroy the young corn if I +didn't eat them. Then, when the corn grows up, I, my sisters, and my +cousins, and my aunts drop down into the field in great numbers. Such a +picnic as we do have! The farmers don't seem to like it, but certainly +they ought to pay us for our work in the spring, don't you think? Then I +think worms as a steady diet are not good for anybody, not even a Crow, +do you? + +We like nuts, too, and little crayfish which we find on the edges of +ponds. No little boy among you can beat us in going a-nutting. + +We Grackles are a very sociable family, and like to visit about among +our neighbors. Then we hold meetings and all of us try to talk at once. +People say we are very noisy at such times, and complain a good deal. +They ought to think of their own meetings. They do a great deal of +talking at such times, too, and sometimes break up in a fight. + +How do I know? Well, a little bird told me so. + +Yes, we build our nest as other birds do; ours is not a dainty affair; +any sort of trash mixed with mud will do for the outside. The inside we +line with fine dry grass. My mate does most of the work, while I do the +talking. That is to let the Robin and other birds know I am at home, and +they better not come around. + + Yours, + MR. BRONZED GRACKLE. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + BRONZED GRACKLE + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE BRONZED GRACKLE. + + + First come the Blackbirds clatt'rin in tall trees, + And settlin' things in windy congresses, + Queer politicians though, for I'll be skinned + If all on 'em don't head against the wind. + --LOWELL. + +By the more familiar name of Crow Blackbird this fine but unpopular bird +is known, unpopular among the farmers for his depredations in their +cornfields, though the good he does in ridding the soil, even at the +harvest season, of noxious insects and grubs should be set down to his +credit. + +The Bronzed Grackle or Western Crow Blackbird, is a common species +everywhere in its range, from the Alleghenies and New England north to +Hudson Bay, and west to the Rocky Mountains. It begins nesting in +favorable seasons as early as the middle of March, and by the latter +part of April many of the nests are finished. It nests anywhere in trees +or bushes or boughs, or in hollow limbs or stumps at any height. A clump +of evergreen trees in a lonely spot is a favorite site, in sycamore +groves along streams, and in oak woodlands. It is by no means unusual to +see in the same tree several nests, some saddled on horizontal branches, +others built in large forks, and others again in holes, either natural +or those made by the Flicker. A long list of nesting sites might be +given, including Martin-houses, the sides of Fish Hawk's nests, and in +church spires, where the Blackbirds' "clatterin'" is drowned by the +tolling bell. + +The nest is a coarse, bulky affair, composed of grasses, knotty roots +mixed with mud, and lined with fine dry grass, horse hair, or sheep's +wool. The eggs are light greenish or smoky blue, with irregular lines, +dots and blotches distributed over the surface. The eggs average four to +six, though nests have been found containing seven. + +The Bronze Grackle is a bird of many accomplishments. He does not hop +like the ordinary bird, but imitates the Crow in his stately walk, says +one who has watched him with interest. He can pick beech nuts, catch +cray fish without getting nipped, and fish for minnows alongside of +any ten-year-old. While he is flying straight ahead you do not notice +anything unusual, but as soon as he turns or wants to alight you see his +tail change from the horizontal to the vertical--into a rudder. Hence he +is called keel-tailed. + +The Grackle is as omnivorous as the Crow or Blue Jay, without their +sense of humor, and whenever opportunity offers will attack and eat +smaller birds, especially the defenseless young. His own meet with the +like fate, a fox squirrel having been seen to emerge from a hole in a +large dead tree with a young Blackbird in its mouth. The Squirrel was +attacked by a number of Blackbirds, who were greatly excited, but it +paid no attention to their demonstrations and scampered off into the +wood with his prey. Of their quarrels with Robins and other birds much +might be written. Those who wish to investigate their remarkable habits +will do well to read the acute and elaborate observations of Mr. Lyndes +Jones, in a recent Bulletin of Oberlin College. He has studied for +several seasons the remarkable Bronze Grackle roost on the college +campus at that place, where thousands of these birds congregate from +year to year, and, though more or less offensive to some of the +inhabitants, add considerably to the attractiveness of the university +town. + + + + +THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. + + +We are fortunate in being able to present our readers with a genuine +specimen of the Ring-Necked species of this remarkable family of birds, +as the Ring-Neck has been crossed with the Mongolian to such an extent, +especially in many parts of the United States, that they are practically +the same bird now. They are gradually taking the place of Prairie +Chickens, which are becoming extinct. The hen will hatch but once each +year, and then in the late spring. She will hatch a covey of from +eighteen to twenty-two young birds from each setting. The bird likes a +more open country than the quail, and nests only in the open fields, +although it will spend much time roaming through timberland. Their +disposition is much like that of the quail, and at the first sign of +danger they will rush into hiding. They are handy and swift flyers and +runners. In the western states they will take the place of the Prairie +Chicken, and in Ohio will succeed the Quail and common Pheasant. + +While they are hardy birds, it is said that the raising of +Mongolian-English Ring-Necked Pheasants is no easy task. The hens do not +make regular nests, but lay their eggs on the ground of the coops, where +they are picked up and placed in a patent box, which turns the eggs over +daily. After the breeding season the male birds are turned into large +parks until February. + +The experiment which is now being made in Ohio--if it can be properly +so termed, thousands of birds having been liberated and begun to +increase--has excited wide-spread interest. A few years ago the Ohio +Fish and Game Commission, after hearing of the great success of Judge +Denny, of Portland, Oregon, in rearing these birds in that state, +decided it would be time and money well spent if they should devote +their attention and an "appropriation" to breeding and rearing these +attractive game birds. And the citizens of that state are taking proper +measures to see that they are protected. Recently more than two thousand +Pheasants were shipped to various counties of the state, where the +natural conditions are favorable, and where the commission has the +assurance that the public will organize for the purpose of protecting +the Pheasants. A law has been enacted forbidding the killing of the +birds until November 15, 1900. Two hundred pairs liberated last year +increased to over two thousand. When not molested the increase is rapid. +If the same degree of success is met with between now and 1900, with the +strict enforcement of the game laws, Ohio will be well stocked with +Pheasants in a few years. They will prove a great benefit to the +farmers, and will more than recompense them for the little grain they +may take from the fields in destroying bugs and insects that are now +agents of destruction to the growing crops. + +The first birds were secured by Mr. E. H. Shorb, of Van Wert, Ohio, from +Mr. Verner De Guise, of Rahway, N. J. A pair of Mongolian Pheasants, and +a pair of English Ring-Necks were secured from the Wyandache Club, +Smithtown, L. I. These birds were crossed, thus producing the English +Ring-Neck Mongolian Pheasants, which are larger and better birds, and by +introducing the old English Ring-Neck blood, a bird was produced that +does not wander, as the thoroughbred Mongolian Pheasant does. + +Such of our readers as appreciate the beauty and quality of this superb +specimen will no doubt wish to have it framed for the embellishment of +the dining room. + + [Illustration: From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. + RING-NECKED PHEASANT. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + + + + +BIRD MISCELLANY. + + + Knowledge never learned of schools + Of the wild bee's morning chase, + Of the wild-flowers' time and place, + Flight of fowl and habitude + Of the tenants of the wood; + How the tortoise bears his shell; + How the woodchuck digs his cell; + And the ground-mole makes his well; + How the robin feeds her young; + How the oriole's nest is hung. + --WHITTIER. + + * * * * * + +Consider the marvellous life of a bird and the manner of its whole +existence.... Consider the powers of that little mind of which the inner +light flashes from the round bright eye; the skill in building its home, +in finding its food, in protecting its mate, in serving its offspring, +in preserving its own existence, surrounded as it is on all sides by the +most rapacious enemies.... + +When left alone it is such a lovely little life--cradled among the +hawthorn buds, searching for aphidæ amongst apple blossoms, drinking dew +from the cup of a lily; awake when the gray light breaks in the east, +throned on the topmost branch of a tree, swinging with it in the +sunshine, flying from it through the air; then the friendly quarrel with +a neighbor over a worm or berry; the joy of bearing grass-seed to his +mate where she sits low down amongst the docks and daisies; the triumph +of singing the praise of sunshine or of moonlight; the merry, busy, +useful days; the peaceful sleep, steeped in the scent of the closed +flower, with head under one wing and the leaves forming a green roof +above. + + --OUIDA. + + + + +THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. + + +I am often heard, but seldom seen. If I were a little boy or a little +girl, grown people would tell me I should be seen and not heard. That's +the difference between you and a bird like me, you see. + +It would repay you to make my acquaintance. I am such a jolly bird. +Sometimes I get all the dogs in my neighborhood howling by whistling +just like their masters. Another time I mew like a cat, then again I +give some soft sweet notes different from those of any bird you ever +heard. + +In the spring, when my mate and I begin house-keeping, I do some very +funny things, like the clown in a circus. I feel so happy that I go up a +tree branch by branch, by short flights and jumps, till I get to the +very top. Then I launch myself in the air, as a boy dives when he goes +swimming, and you would laugh to see me flirting my tail, and dangling +my legs, coming down into the thicket by odd jerks and motions. + +It really is so funny that I burst out laughing myself, saying, +_chatter-chatter, chat-chat-chat-chat!_ I change my tune sometimes, and +it sounds like _who who_, and _tea-boy_. + +You must be cautious though, if you want to see me go through my +performance. Even when I am doing those funny things in the air I have +an eye out for my enemies. Should I see you I would hide myself in the +bushes and as long as you were in sight I would be angry and say _chut, +chut!_ as cross as could be. + +Have I any other name? + +Yes, I am called the Yellow Mockingbird. But that name belongs to +another. His picture was in the June number of BIRDS, so you know +something about him. They say I imitate other birds as he does. But I +do more than that. I can throw my voice in one place, while I am in +another. + +It is a great trick, and I get lots of sport out of it. + +Do you know what that trick is called? If not, ask your papa. It is such +a long word I am afraid to use it. + +About my nest? + +Oh, yes, I am coming to that. I arrive in this country about May 1, and +leave for the south in the winter. My nest is nothing to boast of; +rather big, made of leaves, bark, and dead twigs, and lined with fine +grasses and fibrous roots. My mate lays eggs, white in color, and our +little ones are, like their papa, very handsome. + + + + + [Illustration: From col. F. M. Woodruff. + CHICAGO COLORTYPE CO. + YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. + Copyrighted by + Nature Study Pub. Co., 1897, Chicago.] + +THE YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. + + +A common name for this bird, the largest of the warblers, is the Yellow +Mockingbird. It is found in the eastern United States, north to the +Connecticut Valley and Great Lakes; west to the border of the Great +Plains; and in winter in eastern Mexico and Guatemala. It frequents the +borders of thickets, briar patches, or wherever there is a low, dense +growth of bushes--the thornier and more impenetrable the better. + +"After an acquaintance of many years," says Frank M. Chapman, "I frankly +confess that the character of the Yellow-Crested Chat is a mystery to +me. While listening to his strange medley and watching his peculiar +actions, we are certainly justified in calling him eccentric, but that +there is a method in his madness no one who studies him can doubt." + +By many observers this bird is dubbed clown or harlequin, so peculiar +are his antics or somersaults in the air; and by others "mischief +maker," because of his ventriloquistic and imitating powers, and the +variety of his notes. In the latter direction he is surpassed only by +the Mockingbird. + +The mewing of a cat, the barking of a dog, and the whistling sound +produced by a Duck's wings when flying, though much louder, are common +imitations with him. The last can be perfectly imitated by a good +whistler, bringing the bird instantly to the spot, where he will dodge +in and out among the bushes, uttering, if the whistling be repeated, a +deep toned emphatic _tac_, or hollow, resonant _meow_. + +In the mating season he is the noisiest bird in the woods. At this time +he may be observed in his wonderful aerial evolutions, dangling his legs +and flirting his tail, singing vociferously the while--a sweet song +different from all his jests and jeers--and descending by odd jerks to +the thicket. After a few weeks he abandons these clown-like maneuvers +and becomes a shy, suspicious haunter of the depths of the thicket, +contenting himself in taunting, teasing, and misleading, by his variety +of calls, any bird, beast, or human creature within hearing. + +All these notes are uttered with vehemence, and with such strange and +various modulations as to appear near or distant, in the manner of a +ventriloquist. In mild weather, during moonlight nights, his notes are +heard regularly, as though the performer were disputing with the echoes +of his own voice. + +"Perhaps I ought to be ashamed to confess it," says Mr. Bradford Torrey, +after a visit to the Senate and House of Representatives at Washington, +"but after all, the congressman in feathers interested me most. I +thought indeed, that the _Chat_ might well enough have been elected to +the lower house. His volubility and waggish manners would have made him +quite at home in that assembly, while his orange colored waistcoat would +have given him an agreeable conspicuity. But, to be sure, he would have +needed to learn the use of tobacco." + +The nest of the Chat is built in a thicket, usually in a thorny bush or +thick vine five feet above the ground. It is bulky, composed exteriorly +of dry leaves, strips of loose grape vine bark, and similar materials, +and lined with fine grasses and fibrous roots. The eggs are three to +five in number, glossy white, thickly spotted with various shades of +rich, reddish brown and lilac; some specimens however have a greenish +tinge, and others a pale pink. + + + + +SUMMARY. + + +Page 203. + +#MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD.#--_Sialia arctica._ Other names: "Rocky Mountain" +and "Arctic Bluebird." + +RANGE--Rocky Mountain region, north to Great Slave Lake, south to +Mexico, west to the higher mountain ranges along the Pacific. + +NEST--Placed in deserted Woodpecker holes, natural cavities of trees, +nooks and corners of barns and outhouses; composed of dry grass. + +EGGS--Commonly five, of pale, plain greenish blue. + + * * * * * + +Page 208. + +#ENGLISH SPARROW.#--_Passer domesticus._ Other names: "European +Sparrow," "House Sparrow." + +RANGE--Southern Europe. Introduced into and naturalized in North +America, Australia, and other countries. + +NEST--Of straw and refuse generally, in holes, boxes, trees, any place +that will afford protection. + +EGGS--Five to seven. + + * * * * * + +Page 211. + +#ALLEN'S HUMMING BIRD.#--_Selasphorus alleni._ + +RANGE--Pacific coast, north to British Columbia, east to southern +Arizona. + +NEST--Plant down, covered with lichens. + +EGGS--Two, white. + + * * * * * + +Page 215. + +#GREEN-WINGED TEAL.#--_Anas carolinensis._ + +RANGE--North America, migrating south to Honduras and Cuba. + +NEST--On the ground, in a thick growth of grass. + +EGGS--Five to eight, greenish-buff, usually oval. + + * * * * * + +Page 220. + +#BLACK GROUSE.#--_Tetrao tetrix._ Other name: "Black Cock." + +RANGE--Southern Europe and the British Islands. + +NEST--Carelessly made, of grasses and stout herbage, on the ground. + +EGGS--Six to ten, of yellowish gray, with spots of light brown. + + * * * * * + +Page 221. + +#AMERICAN FLAMINGO.#--_Phoenicopterus ruber._ + +RANGE--Atlantic coasts of sub-tropical and tropical America; Florida +Keys. + +NEST--Mass of earth, sticks, and other material scooped up to the height +of several feet and hollow at the top. + +EGGS--One or two, elongate-ovate in shape, with thick shell, roughened +with a white flakey substance, but bluish when this is scraped off. + + * * * * * + +Page 226. + +#VERDIN.#--_Auriparus flaviceps._ Other name: "Yellow-headed Bush Tit." + +RANGE--Northern regions of Mexico and contiguous portions of the United +States, from southern Texas to Arizona and Lower California. + +NEST--Globular, the outside being one mass of thorny twigs and stems +interwoven, and lined with feathers. + +EGGS--Three to six, of a bluish or greenish white color, speckled with +reddish brown. + + * * * * * + +Page 230. + +#BRONZED GRACKLE.#--_Quiscalus quiscula æneus._ + +RANGE--Eastern North America from the Alleghenies and New England north +to Hudson Bay, west to the Rocky Mountains. + +NEST--In sycamore trees and oak woodlands a coarse bulky structure of +grasses, knotty roots, mixed with mud, lined with horse hair or wool. + +EGGS--Four to six, of a light greenish or smoky-blue, with lines, dots, +blotches and scrawls on the surface. + + * * * * * + +Page 233. + +#RING-NECKED PHEASANT.#--_Phasianus torquatus._ + +RANGE--Throughout China; have been introduced into England and the +United States. + +NEST--On the ground under bushes. + +EGGS--Vary, from thirteen to twenty. + + * * * * * + +Page 238. + +#YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT.#--_Icteria virens._ + +RANGE--Eastern United States to the Great Plains, north to Ontario and +southern New England; south in winter through eastern Mexico to Northern +Central America. + +NEST--In briar thickets from two to five feet up, of withered leaves, +dry grasses, strips of bark, lined with finer grasses. + +EGGS--Three or four, white, with a glossy surface. + + + + +VOLUME II. JULY TO DECEMBER, 1897. + +INDEX. + + + Anhinga, or Snake Bird, _Anhinga Anhinga_ pages 26-27 + Avocet, American, _Recurvirostra Americana_ " 14-15 + Audubon, John James " 161 + + Birds of Bethlehem " 223 + Bird Song " 1-41-81 + Birds in Captivity " 121 + Birds of Passage " 173 + Bird Miscellany " 195-235 + Blue Bird, Mountain, _Sialia arctica_ " 203-205 + Bunting, Lazuli, _Passerina amoena_ " 196-198-199 + + Chimney Swift, _Chætura pelagica_ " 131-133 + Captive's Escape " 116 + Chat, Yellow-Breasted, _Icteria virens_ " 236-238-239 + Cuckoo, Yellow-Billed, _Coccyzus americanus_ " 94-95 + + Dove, Mourning, _Zenaidura macrura_ " 111-112-113 + Duck, Canvas-back, _Athya valisneria_ " 18-20 + Duck, Mallard, _Anas boschas_ " 10-11-13 + Duck, Wood, _Aix Sponsa_ " 21-23-24 + + Eagle, Baldheaded, _Halioetus lencocephalus_ " 2-3-5 + + Flamingo, _Phoenicopterus ruber_ " 218-221 + Flycatcher, Vermillion, _Pyrocephalus rubineus + mexicanus_ " 192-193 + + Gold Finch, American, _Spinus tristis_ " 128-129-130 + Goose, White-fronted, _Anser albifrons gambeli_ " 166-168-169 + Grackle, Bronzed, _Quiscalus quiscula_ " 228-230-231 + Grosbeak, Evening, _Cocothraustes vespertina_ " 68-70-71 + Grouse, Black, _Tetrao tetrix_ " 217-220-223 + + Heron, Snowy, _Ardea candidissima_ " 38-39 + How the Birds Secured Their Rights " 115 + Humming Bird, Allen's _Selasphorus alleni_ " 210-211 + Humming Bird, Ruby-Throated, _Trochilus colubris_ " 97-100-103 + + Junco, Slate Colored, _Junco hyemalis_ " 153-155 + + Kingbird, _Tyrannus tyrannus_ " 156-158-159 + Kingfisher, European, _Alcedo ispida_ " 188-190-191 + Kinglet, Ruby-crowned, _Regulus calendula_ " 108-110 + + Lark, Horned, _Otocoris alpestris_ " 134-135 + Lost Mate " 126 + + Merganser, Red-Breasted, _Merganser serrator_ " 54-55 + + Nuthatch, White-Breasted, _Sitta carolinensis_ " 118-119 + + Old Abe " 35 + Ornithological Congress " 201 + Osprey, American, _Pandion palioetus + carolinenses_ " 42-43-45 + + Partridge, Gambel's, _Callipepla gambeli_ " 78-79 + Phalarope, Wilson's, _Phalaropus tricolor_ " 66-67 + Pheasant, Ring-Necked, _Phasianus torquatus_ " 232-233 + Phoebe, _Sayornis phoebe_ " 106-107 + Plover, Belted Piping, _Aegialitis meloda + circumcincta_ " 174-175 + Plover, Semipalmated Ring, _Aegialitis + semi-polmata_ " 6-8-9 + + Rail, Sora, _Porzana Carolina_ " 46-48-49 + + Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied, _Sphyrapicus varius_ " 137-140-143 + Scoter, American, _Oidemia deglandi_ " 32-33 + Skylark, _Alauda arvensis_ " 61-63-64 + Snake Bird, (Anhinga) _Anhinga anhinga_ " 26-27 + Snowflake, _Plectrophenax nivalis_ " 150-151-152 + Sparrow, English, _Passer domesticus_ " 206-208-209 + Sparrow, Song, _Melospiza fasciata_ " 90-91-93 + Summaries " 40-80-120 + -160-200-240 + + Tanager, Summer, _Piranga rubra_ " 163-165 + Teal, Green winged, _Anas carolinensis_ " 213-214-215 + The Bird's Story " 224 + Thrush, Hermit, _Turdus Aonalaschkae_ " 86-88-89 + To a Water Fowl " 76 + Tropic Bird, Yellow-billed, _Phaethon + flavirostris_ " 184-186-187 + Turkey, Wild, _Meleagris gallopava_ " 177-180-183 + Turnstone, _Arenaria interpres_ " 170-171 + + Verdin, _Auriparus flaviceps_ " 226-227 + Vireo, Warbling, _Vireo gilvus_ " 138-141 + Vulture, Turkey, _Catharista Atrata_ " 72-73-75 + + Warbler, Blackburnian, _Dendroica blackburnia_ " 123-125 + Warbler, Cerulean, _Dendroeca caerulea_ " 178-181 + Warbler, Kentucky, _Geothlypis formosa_ " 50-51-53 + Warbler, Yellow, _Dendroica æstiva_ " 83-85 + Woodcock, American, _Philohela minor_ " 28-30-31 + Wren, House, _Troglodytes ædon_ " 98-101-104 + Wood Pewee, _Contopus Virens_ " 144-146-147-148 + + Yellow Legs, _Totanus flavipes_ " 58-60 + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Birds Illustrated by Color Photography +[December, 1897], Vol 2. 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