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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Neighbors, by Neltje Blanchan
+
+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 Neighbors
+       An Introductory Acquaintance with One Hundred and Fifity
+       Birds Commonly Found in the Gardens, Meadows, and Woods
+       About Our Homes
+
+Author: Neltje Blanchan
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2011 [EBook #37735]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD NEIGHBORS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tom Cosmas and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: GOLDFINCH]
+
+
+  BIRD NEIGHBORS. AN
+  INTRODUCTORY ACQUAINTANCE
+  WITH ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
+  BIRDS COMMONLY FOUND IN
+  THE GARDENS, MEADOWS, AND
+  WOODS ABOUT OUR HOMES
+
+  BY
+  NELTJE BLANCHAN
+
+  WITH INTRODUCTION BY
+  JOHN BURROUGHS
+
+  WITH MANY PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS
+  IN COLOR AND IN BLACK AND WHITE
+
+  [Printer's Logo]
+
+  GARDEN CITY  NEW YORK
+  DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
+  1923
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1904, 1922, BY
+  DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY
+  DOUBLEDAY & MCCLURE COMPANY
+
+  COLOURED PLATES COPYRIGHTED, 1897, BY
+  THE NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY
+  CHICAGO, ILL.
+
+  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
+  INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN
+
+  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
+  AT
+  THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+  INTRODUCTION BY JOHN BURROUGHS                                   vii
+
+  PREFACE                                                           ix
+
+  LIST OF COLORED PLATES                                            xi
+
+    I. BIRD FAMILIES:
+
+         Their Characteristics and the Representatives of Each
+           Family included in "Bird Neighbors"                       1
+
+   II. HABITATS OF BIRDS                                            17
+
+  III. SEASONS OF BIRDS                                             25
+
+   IV. BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZE                              33
+
+    V. DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR:
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Black                                  39
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Black and White                        51
+
+         Dusky, Gray, and Slate-colored Birds                       65
+
+         Blue and Bluish Birds                                      97
+
+         Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and
+           Gray Sparrowy Birds                                     113
+
+         Green, Greenish Gray, Olive, and Yellowish Olive Birds    167
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Yellow and Orange                     187
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Red of any Shade                      213
+
+  INDEX                                                            229
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Not to have so much as a bowing acquaintance with the birds that nest
+in our gardens or under the very eaves of our houses; that haunt our
+wood-piles; keep our fruit-trees free from slugs; waken us with their
+songs, and enliven our walks along the roadside and through the woods,
+seems to be, at least, a breach of etiquette toward some of our most
+kindly disposed neighbors.
+
+Birds of prey, game and water birds are not included in the book. The
+following pages are intended to be nothing more than a familiar
+introduction to the birds that live near us. Even in the principal
+park of a great city like New York, a bird-lover has found more than
+one hundred and thirty species; as many, probably, as could be
+discovered in the same sized territory anywhere.
+
+The plan of the book is not a scientific one, if the term scientific
+is understood to mean technical and anatomical. The purpose of the
+writer is to give, in a popular and accessible form, knowledge which
+is accurate and reliable about the life of our common birds. This
+knowledge has not been collected from the stuffed carcasses of birds
+in museums, but gleaned afield. In a word, these short narrative
+descriptions treat of the bird's characteristics of size, color, and
+flight; its peculiarities of instinct and temperament; its nest and
+home life; its choice of food; its songs; and of the season in which
+we may expect it to play its part in the great panorama Nature unfolds
+with faithful precision year after year. They are an attempt to make
+the bird so live before the reader that, when seen out of doors, its
+recognition shall be instant and cordial, like that given to a friend.
+
+The coloring described in this book is sometimes more vivid than that
+found in the works of some learned authorities whose conflicting
+testimony is often sadly bewildering to the novice. In different parts
+of the country, and at different seasons of the year, the plumage of
+some birds undergoes many changes. The reader must remember,
+therefore, that the specimens examined and described were not, as
+before stated, the faded ones in our museums, but live birds in their
+fresh, spring plumage, studied afield.
+
+The birds have been classed into color groups, in the belief that this
+method, more than any other will make identification most easy. The
+color of the bird is the first, and often the only, characteristic
+noticed. But they have also been classified according to the
+localities for which they show decided preferences and in which they
+are most likely to be found. Again, they have been grouped according
+to the season when they may be expected. In the brief paragraphs that
+deal with groups of birds separated into the various families
+represented in the book, the characteristics and traits of each clan
+are clearly emphasized. By these several aids it is believed the
+merest novice will be able to quickly identify any bird neighbor that
+is neither local nor rare.
+
+To the uninitiated or uninterested observer, all small, dull-colored
+birds are "common sparrows." The closer scrutiny of the trained eye
+quickly differentiates, and picks out not only the Song, the Canada,
+and the Fox Sparrows, but finds a dozen other familiar friends where
+one who "has eyes and sees not" does not even suspect their presence.
+Ruskin says: "The more I think of it, I find this conclusion more
+impressed upon me, that the greatest thing a human soul ever does in
+this world is to _see_ something. Hundreds of people can talk for one
+who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see
+clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion--all in one."
+
+While the author is indebted to all the time-honored standard
+authorities, and to many ornithologists of the present day--too many
+for individual mention--it is to Mr. John Burroughs her deepest debt
+is due. To this clear-visioned prophet, who has opened the blind eyes
+of thousands to the delights that Nature holds within our easy reach,
+she would gratefully acknowledge many obligations; first of all, for
+the plan on which "Bird Neighbors" is arranged; next, for his patient
+kindness in reading and annotating the manuscript of the book; and,
+not least, for the inspiration of his perennially charming writings
+that are so largely responsible for the ready-made audience now
+awaiting writers on out-of-door topics.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is hoped that the illustrations in this edition of "Bird Neighbors"
+will do much to add to the pleasure and profit of the reader. Through
+the courtesy of the National Association of Audubon Societies, the
+pictures painted by artists who are specialists in bird portraiture
+embellish this book. Each portrait has been examined and corrected
+when necessary by an authority. The birds are pictured as they are in
+life, each according to its own habit of existence.
+
+The author takes this opportunity to express her appreciation of the
+work the National Association of Audubon Societies has done and is
+doing to prevent the slaughter of birds in all parts of the United
+States, to develop bird sanctuaries and inaugurate protective
+legislation. Indeed to it, more than to all other agencies combined,
+is due the credit of eliminating so much of the Prussian like cruelty
+toward birds that once characterized American treatment of them, from
+the rising generation.
+
+                                                      NELTJE BLANCHAN.
+
+
+
+
+THE NATURE LIBRARY
+
+By JOHN BURROUGHS
+
+
+I do not propose in these introductory remarks to this Nature Library
+to discuss the merits or the character of the separate volumes further
+than to say that they are all by competent hands and, so far as I can
+judge, entirely reliable. While accurate and scientific, I have found
+them very readable. The treatment is popular without being
+sensational.
+
+This library is free from the scientific dry rot on the one hand and
+from the florid and misleading romanticism of much recent nature
+writing on the other. It is a safe guide to the world of animal and
+plant life that lies about us. And that is all the wise reader wants.
+He should want to explore this world for himself. Indeed,
+nature-study, as it appeals to us in books, fails of its chief end if
+it does not send us to nature itself. What we want is not the mere
+facts about the flowers or the animals--we want through them to add to
+the resources of our lives; and I know of nothing better calculated to
+do this than the study of nature at first hand. To add to the
+resources of one's life--think how much that means! To add to those
+things that make us more at home in the world; that help guard us
+against ennui and stagnation; that invest the country with new
+interest and enticement; that make every walk in the fields or woods
+an excursion into a land of unexhausted treasures; that make the
+returning seasons fill us with expectation and delight; that make
+every rod of ground like the page of a book in which new and strange
+things may be read; in short, those things that help keep us fresh and
+sane and young, and make us immune to the strife and fever of the
+world.
+
+The main thing is to feel an interest in Nature--an interest that
+leads to a loving unconscious study of her. Not entirely a scientific
+interest, but a human interest as well; science upon the one hand and
+an appreciation of the mystery, the beauty, and the bounty of life
+upon the other. The child feels a human interest in nature: when the
+schoolgirls come to school with their hands full of wild flowers, or
+the boys make excursions to the woods in May for wintergreens, or
+black birch, or crinkle root, they are all moved by an interest that
+is old and deep-seated in the race. Now, if to this interest and
+curiosity we can add a little science, just enough to guide them, we
+lift these feelings to another plane and give them a longer lease of
+life. The boy will not be so likely to rob birds' nests after the
+savage in him has been humanized by a touch of real knowledge and he
+has come to look upon the bird as something worthy of naming and
+studying and that has its place in the economy of the fields and
+woods.
+
+A touch of real knowledge--how humanizing and elevating it is! Simply
+to learn that all the plants have been studied and named, even the
+humblest; that they all have vital relations with one another--family
+ties; that the great biological laws are operative in them also; that
+the deep, mysterious principle of variation, which is at the bottom of
+Darwin's theory of the origin of the species, is working in the
+lowliest plant we tread upon; to know that the chain of cause and
+effect runs through the whole organic world, binding together its
+remotest parts; that everywhere is plan, development, evolution--to
+know these and kindred things--a few of the fundamentals of
+science--is a joy to the spirit and a light to the mind.
+
+Science in the world is like the surveyor and the engineer in a new
+country; it opens up highways for the mind; it bridges the chasms and
+marshes; it gives us dominion over the wild; it brings order out of
+chaos. What a maze, what a tangle the world is till we come to look
+upon it with the clews and solutions in mind which science affords!
+The heavens seem a haphazard spatter of stars, the earth a wild jumble
+of plants, and animals, and blind forces all struggling with one
+another--confusion, contradiction, failure everywhere. And so it was
+to the early men, and so it still is to those who have not the light
+of science, but so it need not remain to the child born into the world
+to-day. The great mysteries of life and death, of final causes and
+ultimate ends, still remain and will continue, but nature now,
+compared with the nature of a few centuries ago, is like a land
+subdued and peopled and cultivated compared with a pathless
+wilderness. And yet I would not in this connection, when considering
+the field of natural history, lay too much stress upon the scientific
+aspects of the question. To the real nature-lover the bird in the bush
+is worth much more than the bird in the hand, because the nature-lover
+is not after a specimen: he is after a living fact; he is after a new
+joy in life.
+
+It is an important part, but by no means the main part of what
+ornithology holds for us, to be able to name every bird on sight or
+call. To love the bird, to appreciate its place in the landscape and
+in the season, to relate it to your daily life, to divine its
+character, to know it emotionally in your heart--that is much more. To
+know the birds as the sportsman knows his game; to experience the same
+thrill, purged of all thoughts of slaughter; to make their songs music
+in your life--this is indeed something to be desired.
+
+The same with botany. I regard its class-room uses as very slight. The
+educational value of the technical part is almost _nil_. But the
+humanizing value of a love of the flowers, the hygienic value of a
+walk in their haunts, the æsthetic value of the observation of their
+forms and tints--these are all vital. The scientific value which
+attaches to your knowledge of the names of their parts or of their
+families--what is that? Their habits are interesting; their means of
+fertilization are interesting; the part insects play in their
+lives--the honey-yielders, the pollen-yielders, their means of
+scattering their seeds, and so forth--all are interesting. To know
+their habitats and seasons; to have associations with them when you go
+fishing; to land your trout in a bed of bee-palm or jewel-weed; to
+pluck the linnæa in the moss on the Adirondack mountain you are
+climbing; to gather pond-lilies from a boat with your friend; to pluck
+the arbutus on the first balmy day of April; to see the scarlet
+lobelia lighting up a dark nook by the stream as you row by in August;
+to walk or drive past vast acres of purple loosestrife, looking like a
+lake or sea of color--this is botany with something back of it, and
+the only place to learn it is where it grows. The botany that trails
+the days and the season and the woods and the fields with it--that is
+the kind that has educational value in it.
+
+I confess I have not much sympathy with the laboratory study of
+nature, except for economic purposes. Nature under the dissecting
+knife and the microscope yields important secrets to the students of
+biology, but the unprofessional students want but little of all this.
+I know a young woman who took a post-graduate course in biology at a
+noted summer school, and the one thing she learned was that certain
+bacilli were found only in the aqueous humor of the eyes of white
+mice. The world is full of curious facts like that, that have no human
+interest or educational value whatever.
+
+If one could number all the trees of the forest and all the leaves
+upon the trees, what would it profit him? To know the different kinds
+of trees when you see them, and the function of the leaves upon
+them--that were more worth while. I have read studies of leaves that
+were just as profitless as to know their numbers. I have heard
+discourses upon the changes in the plumage of certain water-fowl from
+youth to age, and from one moult to another, that were as profitless
+and wearisome as studying the variations of the leaves or their
+numbers.
+
+I hardly know why I am impatient when people come to me with their
+hands full of different leaves and ask me what tree is this from, and
+this, and this? If your business is not with trees, if you live in the
+city and care mainly for city things, why bother about the trees,
+unless for the pleasure of it during your summer excursions into the
+country; and if it affords you pleasure, you will not want any one to
+tell you: you will want to identify the trees themselves.
+
+The same with the birds. The main profit of this branch of natural
+history is in the pursuit--not in the name, but in the bird. It is the
+chase that allures the sportsman, and it is the chase that profits the
+nature-student. Did you ever receive a gift of brook-trout by express?
+How pitiful they look--stale fish only! But the trout you brought in
+at night after threading for miles the mountain stream: its voice all
+day in your ears; its sparkle all day in your eyes; the love of its
+beauty and purity all day in your heart; wading through bee-balm or
+jewel-weed; skirting wild pastures; starting the grouse or the
+woodcock with their young; surprising bird and beast at their home
+occupations--these were trout with a flavor.
+
+Whatever opens up new doors or windows for us into the world about us,
+whatever widens the field of our interests and sympathies, has some
+sort of value--moral, intellectual, or æsthetic. But much of the
+so-called nature-study opens no new doors or windows; it affords no
+mental satisfaction, or illumination, or æsthetic pleasure; it is
+mainly pottering with dry, unimportant facts and details. Do you know
+the edelweiss of our own matchless arbutus after you have merely
+analyzed and classified them? No more than you know a man after having
+weighed and measured him. The function of things is always
+interesting. What do they do? How do they pay their way in the rigid
+economy of nature? How do they survive? How does the bulb of the
+common fawn-lily[1] get deeper and deeper into the ground each year?
+Why does the wild ginger hide its blossom when nearly all other plants
+flaunt theirs? Why are the plants of the common mouse-ear
+(_antennaria_)[2] always in groups, one sex here, another there, as if
+prohibited from mingling by some moral code in nature? Why do nearly
+all our trees have a twist to the right or the left--hard woods one
+way, and soft woods the other? Why do the roots of trees flow through
+the ground like "runnels of molten metal," often separating and
+uniting again while the branches are thrust out in right lines or
+curves? Why is our common yellow birch more often than any other tree
+planted upon a rock? Why do oaks or chestnuts so often spring up where
+a pine or hemlock forest has been cleared away? Why does lightning so
+commonly strike a hemlock tree or a pine or an oak, and rarely or
+never a beech? Why does the bolt sometimes scatter the tree about, and
+at others only plow a channel down its trunk? Why does the bumblebee
+complain so loudly when working upon certain flowers? Why does the
+honey-bee lose the sting when it stings a person, while the wasp, the
+hornet, and the bumblebee do not? How does the chimney-swallow get the
+twigs it builds its nest with? From what does the hornet make its
+paper?
+
+One of Herbert Spencer's questions was, Why do animals and birds of
+prey have their eyes in front, and others, as sheep and domestic fowl,
+on the side of the head? Man, then, by the position of his eyes
+belongs to the predaceous animals. I have never been greatly
+interested in spiders, but I have always wanted to know how a certain
+spider managed to stretch her cable squarely across the road in the
+woods about my height from the ground? Why are mud turtles so wild?
+Why is the excrement of the young of some birds carried away by the
+parents, while with others it is voided from the nest? Among certain
+of our birds the family relation, more or less marked, is kept up a
+long time after the young have left the nest. One sees the parent
+birds and the young going about in loose flocks often till late into
+the fall. Of what birds is this true?
+
+   [1] The adder's tongue.
+
+   [2] Everlasting.
+
+The questions I have suggested are not important; they do not hold the
+key to any great storehouse of natural knowledge. Their only value is
+as a means to quicken the powers of observation. We see vaguely,
+diffusely. Concentrate the attention--not to the extent of missing
+total effects, as the specialist so often does, but for the purpose of
+reading correctly the play of life that is constantly going about us.
+
+Nature's book is like any other book: you must open the covers; you
+must fix your eyes upon the text; you must get into the spirit of it.
+When you have read one sentence correctly you are so much the better
+prepared to read the next one.
+
+A world of nature about us that we are quite apt to be oblivious to,
+except as it results in our annoyance, is the insect world. We do not
+take an intelligent interest in the ants, or the bees, or the moths,
+or the butterflies, yet here is a field of observation that will amply
+repay one. One day in a great city I saw a butterfly calmly winging
+its way high above the crowded street. I knew it was the monarch
+(_Anosia plexippus_), probably the greatest traveler of all our
+butterflies. It is quite certain that they migrate to the South in the
+fall, and that many return in the spring. I learn from Mr. Holland's
+Butterfly Book in this library that they have even crossed both
+oceans--of course, by catching a ride on vessels--and are now found in
+Australia and in the Philippines, and they have been collected in
+England. Have you not seen its chrysalis suspended from some weed or
+bush, looking like the trunk from some tiny warrior encased in
+pale-green armor, riveted with gold-headed rivets, a broad, heavy
+shield over the abdomen, and plate upon plate over the shoulders and
+back? It is a milkweed butterfly, and will serve as a good
+introduction to this new world of winged life. Early last spring I
+found upon the window of my cabin in the woods a butterfly that had
+evidently hybernated in some snug crack or corner of the building.
+This was the mourning cloak, with me the first vernal butterfly. When
+one sees this butterfly dancing through the open sunny woods in March
+or early April he may know spring has really come and that the first
+hepatica will soon open its blue eye.
+
+Mr. Howard's Insect Book ought to start many of its readers to
+observing flies and bees and prying into their life-histories, many of
+which are as yet not fully known. Not a farm-boy but knows of the big
+fat grubs in cows' backs in the spring. It was always a mystery to me
+how they got there. Now it is known that the creature has traveled all
+the way from the cow's stomach, where the egg of its parent--the
+bot-fly--was hatched, making its way slowly "through the connective
+tissues of the cow, between the skin and the flesh, penetrating
+gradually along the neck, and ultimately reaching a point beneath the
+skin on the back of the animal."
+
+We have only to look into nature a little more closely and intently,
+to whet our powers of observation by the use of such books as this
+Nature Library contains, to add vastly to our pleasure in and our
+knowledge of the world that lies about us.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+I write these few introductory sentences to this volume only to second
+so worthy an attempt to quicken and enlarge the general interest in
+our birds. The book itself is merely an introduction, and is only
+designed to place a few clews in the reader's hands which he himself
+or herself is to follow up. I can say that it is reliable and is
+written in a vivacious strain and by a real bird lover, and should
+prove a help and a stimulus to any one who seeks by the aid of its
+pages to become better acquainted with our songsters. The pictures,
+with a few exceptions, are remarkably good and accurate, and these,
+with the various grouping of the birds according to color, season,
+habitat, etc., ought to render the identification of the birds, with
+no other weapon than an opera glass, an easy matter.
+
+When I began the study of the birds I had access to a copy of Audubon,
+which greatly stimulated my interest in the pursuit, but I did not
+have the opera glass, and I could not take Audubon with me on my
+walks, as the reader may this volume, and he will find these colored
+plates quite as helpful as those of Audubon or Wilson.
+
+But you do not want to make out your bird the first time; the book or
+your friend must not make the problem too easy for you. You must go
+again and again, and see and hear your bird under varying conditions
+and get a good hold of several of its characteristic traits. Things
+easily learned are apt to be easily forgotten. Some ladies, beginning
+the study of birds, once wrote to me, asking if I would not please
+come and help them, and set them right about certain birds in dispute.
+I replied that that would be getting their knowledge too easily; that
+what I and any one else told them they would be very apt to forget,
+but that the things they found out themselves they would always
+remember. We must in a way earn what we have or keep. Only thus does
+it become _ours_, a real part of us.
+
+Not very long afterward I had the pleasure of walking with one of the
+ladies, and I found her eye and ear quite as sharp as my own, and that
+she was in a fair way to conquer the bird kingdom without any outside
+help. She said that the groves and fields, through which she used to
+walk with only a languid interest, were now completely transformed to
+her and afforded her the keenest pleasure; a whole new world of
+interest had been disclosed to her; she felt as if she was constantly
+on the eve of some new discovery; the next turn in the path might
+reveal to her a new warbler or a new vireo. I remember the thrill she
+seemed to experience when I called her attention to a purple finch
+singing in the tree-tops in front of her house, a rare visitant she
+had not before heard. The thrill would of course have been greater had
+she identified the bird without my aid. One would rather bag one's own
+game, whether it be with a bullet or an eyebeam.
+
+The experience of this lady is the experience of all in whom is
+kindled this bird enthusiasm. A new interest is added to life; one
+more resource against ennui and stagnation. If you have only a city
+yard with a few sickly trees in it, you will find great delight in
+noting the numerous stragglers from the great army of spring and
+autumn migrants that find their way there. If you live in the country,
+it is as if new eyes and new ears were given you, with a
+correspondingly increased capacity for rural enjoyment.
+
+The birds link themselves to your memory of seasons and places, so
+that a song, a call, a gleam of color, set going a sequence of
+delightful reminiscences in your mind. When a solitary great Carolina
+wren came one August day and took up its abode near me and sang and
+called and warbled as I had heard it long before on the Potomac, how
+it brought the old days, the old scenes back again, and made me for
+the moment younger by all those years!
+
+A few seasons ago I feared the tribe of bluebirds were on the verge of
+extinction from the enormous number of them that perished from cold
+and hunger in the South in the winter of '94. For two summers not a
+blue wing, not a blue warble. I seemed to miss something kindred and
+precious from my environment--the visible embodiment of the tender sky
+and the wistful soil. What a loss, I said, to the coming generations
+of dwellers in the country--no bluebird in the spring! What will the
+farm-boy date from? But the fear was groundless: the birds are
+regaining their lost ground; broods of young blue-coats are again seen
+drifting from stake to stake or from mullen-stalk to mullen-stalk
+about the fields in summer, and our April air will doubtless again be
+warmed and thrilled by this lovely harbinger of spring.
+
+    JOHN BURROUGHS.
+
+    _August 17, 07._
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF COLOURED PLATES
+
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+  GOLDFINCH--_Frontispiece_
+  KINGBIRD                                                          12
+  MOCKING-BIRD                                                      13
+  CROW                                                              28
+  RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD                                              29
+  PURPLE MARTIN                                                     44
+  DOWNY WOODPECKER                                                  45
+  TOWHEES                                                           58
+  ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS                                           59
+  BOBOLINKS                                                         74
+  PHOEBE                                                            75
+  CHICKADEE                                                         78
+  TUFTED TITMOUSE                                                   79
+  CATBIRD                                                           86
+  WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH                                           87
+  CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER                                            94
+  BLUE BIRD                                                         95
+  KINGFISHER                                                       102
+  BLUE JAY                                                         103
+  BARN SWALLOW                                                     110
+  MOURNING DOVE                                                    111
+  HOUSE WREN                                                       118
+  BROWN THRASHER                                                   119
+  VEERY                                                            126
+  WOOD THRUSH                                                      127
+  FLICKER                                                          134
+  MEADOWLARK                                                       135
+  HORNED LARK                                                      138
+  WHIPPOORWILL                                                     139
+  NIGHT HAWK                                                       154
+  YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO                                             155
+  CEDAR WAXWING                                                    158
+  CHIPPING SPARROW                                                 159
+  SONG SPARROW                                                     166
+  TREE SPARROW                                                     167
+  WHITE-THROATED SPARROW                                           170
+  TREE SWALLOW                                                     171
+  RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS                                       186
+  RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET                                             187
+  REDSTART                                                         190
+  BALTIMORE ORIOLE                                                 191
+  CARDINAL                                                         198
+  SCARLET TANAGER                                                  199
+  RED CROSSBILL                                                    226
+  PURPLE FINCH                                                     226
+  ROBIN                                                            226
+  ORCHARD ORIOLE                                                   227
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF HALF-TONE PLATES
+
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+  CROW ON NEST                                                      16
+  BLUE-WINGED WARBLER ALIGHTING TO FEED HER YOUNG                   17
+  YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST                             24
+  WINTER VISITORS: REDPOLLS                                         25
+  YOUNG KINGFISHERS                                                 48
+  GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG                                          49
+  YELLOWBIRD'S NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD'S EGG                          54
+  BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, TWO
+    WEEKS OLD                                                       55
+  ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD                             55
+  CHIMNEY SWIFT                                                     66
+  YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS WITH HAIR STANDING ON END              106
+  YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD                                               107
+  HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS                                       107
+  A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY                                  122
+  THE WOOD THRUSH HEARS THE CLICK OF THE CAMERA                    123
+  YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS THE DAY BEFORE LEAVING NEST                202
+  FIELD SPARROW BABIES                                             203
+  MOTHER OVENBIRD IN NEST; A BABY BIRD ON IT                       218
+  THE ROBIN'S MUD-WALLED NURSERY                                   219
+
+
+
+
+ BIRD FAMILIES
+
+ THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND THE REPRESENTATIVES
+ OF EACH FAMILY INCLUDED IN "BIRD NEIGHBORS"
+
+
+
+
+_Order Coccyges_: CUCKOOS AND KINGFISHERS
+
+
+_Family Cuculidæ_: CUCKOOS
+
+Long, pigeon-shaped birds, whose backs are grayish brown with a bronze
+lustre and whose under parts are whitish. Bill long and curved. Tail
+long; raised and drooped slowly while the bird is perching. Two toes
+point forward and two backward. Call-note loud and like a tree-toad's
+rattle. Song lacking. Birds of low trees and undergrowth, where they
+also nest; partial to neighborhood of streams, or wherever the tent
+caterpillar is abundant. Habits rather solitary, silent, and
+eccentric. Migratory.
+
+    Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
+    Black-billed Cuckoo.
+
+
+_Family Alcedinidæ_: KINGFISHERS
+
+Large, top-heavy birds of streams and ponds. Usually seen perching
+over the water looking for fish. Head crested; upper parts slate-blue;
+underneath white, and belted with blue or rusty. Bill large and heavy.
+Middle and outer toes joined for half their length. Call-note loud and
+prolonged, like a policeman's rattle. Solitary birds; little inclined
+to rove from a chosen locality. Migratory.
+
+    Belted Kingfisher.
+
+
+
+
+_Order Pici_: WOODPECKERS
+
+
+_Family Picidæ_: WOODPECKERS
+
+Medium-sized and small birds, usually with plumage black and white,
+and always with some red feathers about the head. (The flicker is
+brownish and yellow instead of black and white.) Stocky,
+high-shouldered build; bill strong and long for drilling holes in bark
+of trees. Tail feathers pointed and stiffened to serve as a prop. Two
+toes before and two behind for clinging. Usually seen clinging erect
+on tree-trunks; rarely, if ever, head downward, like the nuthatches,
+titmice, etc. Woodpeckers feed as they creep around the trunks and
+branches. Habits rather phlegmatic. The flicker has better developed
+vocal powers than other birds of this class, whose rolling tattoo,
+beaten with their bills against the tree-trunks, must answer for their
+love-song. Nest in hollowed-out trees.
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.
+    Hairy Woodpecker.
+    Downy Woodpecker.
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.
+    Flicker.
+
+
+
+
+_Order Macrochires_: GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, AND HUMMING-BIRDS
+
+
+_Family Caprimulgidæ_: NIGHTHAWKS, WHIPPOORWILLS, ETC.
+
+Medium-sized, mottled brownish, gray, black, and white birds of heavy
+build. Short, thick head; gaping, large mouth; very small bill, with
+bristles at base. Take insect food on the wing. Feet small and weak;
+wings long and powerful. These birds rest lengthwise on their perch
+while sleeping through the brightest daylight hours, or on the ground,
+where they nest.
+
+    Nighthawk.
+    Whippoorwill.
+
+
+_Family Micropolidæ_: SWIFTS
+
+Sooty, dusky birds seen on the wing, never resting except in chimneys
+of houses, or hollow trees, where they nest. Tips of tail feathers
+with sharp spines, used as props. They show their kinship with the
+goatsuckers in their nocturnal as well as diurnal habits, their small
+bills and large mouths for catching insects or the wing, and their
+weak feet. Gregarious, especially at the nesting season.
+
+    Chimney Swift.
+
+
+_Family Trochilidæ_: HUMMING-BIRDS
+
+Very small birds with green plumage (iridescent red or orange breast
+in males); long, needle-shaped bill for extracting insects and nectar
+from deep-cupped flowers, and exceedingly rapid, darting flight. Small
+feet.
+
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird.
+
+
+
+
+_Order Passeres_: PERCHING BIRDS
+
+
+_Family Tyrannidæ_: FLYCATCHERS
+
+Small and medium-sized dull, dark-olive, or gray birds, with big heads
+that are sometimes crested. Bills hooked at end, and with bristles at
+base. Harsh or plaintive voices. Wings longer than tail; both wings
+and tails usually drooped and vibrating when the birds are perching.
+Habits moody and silent when perching on a conspicuous limb, telegraph
+wire, dead tree, or fence rail and waiting for insects to fly within
+range. Sudden, nervous, spasmodic sallies in midair to seize insects
+on the wing. Usually they return to their identical perch or lookout.
+Pugnacious and fearless. Excellent nest builders and devoted mates.
+
+    Kingbird.
+    Ph[oe]be.
+    Wood Pewee.
+    Acadian Flycatcher.
+    Great Crested Flycatcher.
+    Least Flycatcher.
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher.
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.
+    Say's Flycatcher.
+
+
+_Family Alaudidæ_: LARKS
+
+The only true larks to be found in this country are the two species
+given below. They are the kin of the European skylark, of which
+several unsuccessful attempts to introduce the bird have been made in
+this country. These two larks must not be confused with the meadow
+larks and titlarks, which belong to the blackbird and pipit families
+respectively. The horned larks are birds of the ground, and are seen
+in the United States only in the autumn and winter. In the nesting
+season at the North their voices are most musical. Plumage grayish and
+brown, in color harmony with their habitats. Usually found in flocks;
+the first species on or near the shore.
+
+    Horned Lark.
+    Prairie Horned Lark.
+
+
+_Family Corvidæ_: CROWS AND JAYS
+
+The crows are large black birds, walkers, with stout feet adapted for
+the purpose. Fond of shifting their residence at different seasons
+rather than strictly migratory, for, except at the northern limit of
+range, they remain resident all the year. Gregarious. Sexes alike.
+Omnivorous feeders, being partly carnivorous, as are also the jays.
+Both crows and jays inhabit wooded country. Their voices are harsh and
+clamorous; and their habits are boisterous and bold, particularly the
+jays. Devoted mates; unpleasant neighbors.
+
+    Common Crow.
+    Fish Crow.
+    Northern Raven.
+    Blue Jay.
+    Canada Jay.
+
+
+_Family Icteridæ_: BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC.
+
+Plumage black or a brilliant color combined with black. (The meadow
+lark a sole exception.) Sexes unlike. These birds form a connecting
+link between the crows and the finches. The blackbirds have strong
+feet for use upon the ground, where they generally feed, while the
+orioles are birds of the trees. They are both seed and insect eaters.
+The bills of the bobolink and cowbird are short and conical, for they
+are conspicuous seed eaters. Bills of the others long and conical,
+adapted for insectivorous diet. About half the family are gifted
+songsters.
+
+    Red-winged Blackbird.
+    Rusty Blackbird.
+    Purple Grackle.
+    Bronzed Grackle.
+    Cowbird.
+    Meadow Lark.
+    Western Meadow Lark.
+    Bobolink.
+    Orchard Oriole.
+    Baltimore Oriole.
+
+
+_Family Fringillidæ_: FINCHES, SPARROWS, GROSBEAKS,
+   BUNTINGS, LINNETS, AND CROSSBILLS
+
+Generally fine songsters. Bills conical, short, and stout for cracking
+seeds. Length from five to nine inches, usually under eight inches.
+This, the largest family of birds that we have (about one-seventh of
+all our birds belong to it), comprises birds of such varied plumage
+and habit that, while certain family resemblances may be traced
+throughout, it is almost impossible to characterize the family as
+such. The _sparrows_ are comparatively small gray and brown birds with
+striped upper parts, lighter underneath. Birds of the ground, or not
+far from it, elevated perches being chosen for rest and song. Nest in
+low bushes or on the ground. (Chipping sparrow often selects tall
+trees.) Coloring adapted to grassy, dusty habitats. Males and females
+similar. Flight labored. About forty species of sparrows are found in
+the United States; of these, fourteen may be met with by a novice, and
+six, at least, surely will be.
+
+The _finches_ and their larger kin are chiefly bright-plumaged birds,
+the females either duller or distinct from males; bills heavy, dull,
+and conical, befitting seed eaters. Not so migratory as insectivorous
+birds nor so restless. Mostly phlegmatic in temperament. Fine
+songsters.
+
+    Chipping Sparrow.                  Pine Siskin (or Finch).
+    English Sparrow.                   Purple Finch.
+    Field Sparrow.                     Goldfinch.
+    Fox Sparrow.                       Redpoll.
+    Grasshopper Sparrow.               Greater Redpoll.
+    Savanna Sparrow.                   Red Crossbill.
+    Seaside Sparrow.                   White-winged Red Crossbill.
+    Sharp-tailed Sparrow.              Cardinal Grosbeak.
+    Song Sparrow.                      Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
+    Swamp Song Sparrow.                Pine Grosbeak.
+    Tree Sparrow.                      Evening Grosbeak.
+    Vesper Sparrow.                    Blue Grosbeak.
+    White-crowned Sparrow.             Indigo Bunting.
+    White-throated Sparrow.            Junco.
+    Lapland Longspur.                  Snowflake.
+    Smith's Painted Longspur.          Chewink.
+
+
+_Family Tanagridæ_: TANAGERS
+
+Distinctly an American family, remarkable for their brilliant plumage,
+which, however, undergoes great changes twice a year, Females
+different from males, being dull and inconspicuous. Birds of the
+tropics, two species only finding their way north, and the summer
+tanager rarely found north of Pennsylvania. Shy inhabitants of woods.
+Though they may nest low in trees, they choose high perches when
+singing or feeding upon flowers, fruits, and insects. As a family, the
+tanagers have weak, squeaky voices, but both our species are good
+songsters. Suffering the fate of most bright-plumaged birds, immense
+numbers have been shot annually.
+
+    Scarlet Tanager.
+    Summer Tanager.
+
+
+_Family Hirundinidæ_: SWALLOWS
+
+Birds of the air, that take their insect food on the wing. Migratory.
+Flight strong, skimming, darting; exceedingly graceful. When not
+flying they choose slender, conspicuous perches like telegraph wires,
+gutters, and eaves of barns. Plumage of some species dull, of others
+iridescent blues and greens above, whitish or ruddy below. Sexes
+similar. Bills small; mouths large. Long and pointed wings, generally
+reaching the tip of the tail or beyond. Tail more or less forked. Feet
+small and weak from disuse. Song a twittering warble without power.
+Gregarious birds.
+
+    Barn Swallow.
+    Bank Swallow.
+    Cliff (or Eaves) Swallow.
+    Tree Swallow.
+    Bough-winged Swallow.
+    Purple Martin.
+
+
+_Family Ampelidæ_: WAXWINGS
+
+Medium-sized Quaker-like birds, with plumage of soft browns and grays.
+Head crested; black band across forehead and through the eye. Bodies
+plump from indolence. Tail tipped with yellow; wings with red tips to
+coverts, resembling sealing-wax. Sexes similar. Silent, gentle,
+courteous, elegant birds. Usually seen in large flocks feeding upon
+berries in the trees or perching on the branches, except at the
+nesting season. Voices resemble a soft, lisping twitter.
+
+    Cedar Bird.
+    Bohemian Waxwing.
+
+
+_Family Laniidæ_: SHRIKES
+
+Medium-sized grayish, black-and-white birds, with hooked and hawk-like
+bill for tearing the flesh of smaller birds, field-mice, and large
+insects that they impale on thorns. Handsome, bold birds, the terror
+of all small, feathered neighbors, not excluding the English sparrow.
+They choose conspicuous perches when on the lookout for prey: a
+projecting or dead limb of a tree, the cupola of a house, the
+ridge-pole or weather-vane of a barn, or a telegraph wire, from which
+to suddenly drop upon a victim. Eyesight remarkable. Call-notes harsh
+and unmusical. Habits solitary and wandering. The first-named species
+is resident during the colder months of the year; the latter is a
+summer resident only north of Maryland.
+
+    Northern Shrike.
+    Loggerhead Shrike.
+
+
+_Family Vireonidæ_: VIREOS OR GREENLETS
+
+Small greenish-gray or olive birds, whitish or yellowish underneath,
+their plumage resembling the foliage of the trees they hunt, nest, and
+live among. Sexes alike. More deliberate in habit than the restless,
+flitting warblers that are chiefly seen darting about the ends of
+twigs. Vireos are more painstaking gleaners; they carefully explore
+the bark, turn their heads upward to investigate the under side of
+leaves, and usually keep well hidden among the foliage. Bill hooked at
+tip for holding worms and insects. Gifted songsters, superior to the
+warblers. This family is peculiar to America.
+
+    Red-eyed Vireo.
+    Solitary Vireo.
+    Warbling Vireo.
+    White-eyed Vireo.
+    Yellow-throated Vireo.
+
+
+_Family Mniotiltidæ_: WOOD WARBLERS
+
+A large group of birds, for the most part smaller than the English
+sparrow; all, except the ground warblers, of beautiful plumage, in
+which yellow, olive, slate-blue, black, and white are predominant
+colors. Females generally duller than males. Exceedingly active,
+graceful, restless feeders among the terminal twigs of trees and
+shrubbery; haunters of tree-tops in the woods at nesting time.
+Abundant birds, especially during May and September, when the majority
+are migrating to and from regions north of the United States; but they
+are strangely unknown to all but devoted bird lovers, who seek them
+out during these months that particularly favor acquaintance. Several
+species are erratic in their migrations and choose a different course
+to return southward from the one they travelled over in spring. A few
+species are summer residents, and one, at least, of this tropical
+family, the myrtle warbler, winters at the north. The habits of the
+family are not identical in every representative; some are more
+deliberate and less nervous than others; a few, like the Canadian and
+Wilson's warblers, are expert flycatchers, taking their food on the
+wing, but not usually returning to the same perch, like true
+flycatchers; and a few of the warblers, as, for example, the
+black-and-white, the pine, and the worm-eating species, have the
+nuthatches' habit of creeping around the bark of trees. Quite a number
+feed upon the ground. All are insectivorous, though many vary their
+diet with blossom, fruit, or berries, and naturally their bills are
+slender and sharply pointed, rarely finch-like. The yellow-breasted
+chat has the greatest variety of vocal expressions. The ground
+warblers are compensated for their sober, thrush-like plumage by their
+exquisite voices, while the great majority of the family that are
+gaily dressed have notes that either resemble the trill of midsummer
+insects or, by their limited range and feeble utterance, sadly belie
+the family name.
+
+    Bay-breasted Warbler.               Nashville Warbler.
+    Blackburnian Warbler.               Palm Warbler.
+    Blackpoll Warbler.                  Parula Warbler.
+    Black-throated Blue Warbler.        Pine Warbler.
+    Black-throated Green Warbler.       Prairie Warbler.
+    Black-and-white Creeping Warbler.   Redstart.
+    Blue-winged Warbler.                Wilson's Warbler.
+    Canadian Warbler.                   Worm-eating Warbler.
+    Chestnut-sided Warbler.             Yellow Warbler.
+    Golden-winged Warbler.              Yellow Palm Warbler.
+    Hooded Warbler.                     Ovenbird.
+    Kentucky Warbler.                   Northern Water Thrush.
+    Magnolia Warbler.                   Louisiana Water Thrush.
+    Mourning Warbler.                   Maryland Yellowthroat.
+    Myrtle Warbler.                     Yellow-breasted Chat
+
+
+_Family Motacillidæ_: WAGTAILS AND PIPITS
+
+Only three birds of this family inhabit North America, and of these
+only one is common enough, east of the Mississippi, to be included in
+this book. Terrestrial birds of open tracts near the coast,
+stubble-fields, and country roadsides, with brownish plumage to
+harmonize with their surroundings. The American pipit, or titlark, has
+a peculiar wavering flight when, after being flushed, it reluctantly
+leaves the ground. Then its white tail feathers are conspicuous. Its
+habit of wagging its tail when perching is not an exclusive family
+trait, as the family name might imply.
+
+    American Pipit, or Titlark.
+
+
+_Family Troglodytidæ_: THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC.
+
+_Subfamily Miminæ_: THRASHERS, MOCKING-BIRDS, AND CATBIRDS
+
+Apparently the birds that comprise this large general family are too
+unlike to be related, but the missing links or intermediate species
+may all be found far South. The first subfamily is comprised of
+distinctively American birds. Most numerous in the tropics. Their long
+tails serve a double purpose--in assisting their flight and acting as
+an outlet for their vivacity. Usually they inhabit scrubby undergrowth
+bordering woods. They rank among our finest songsters, with
+ventriloquial and imitative powers added to sweetness of tone.
+
+    Brown Thrasher.
+    Catbird.
+    Mocking-bird.
+
+
+   [Illustration: KINGBIRD]
+
+   [Illustration: MOCKING-BIRD]
+
+
+_Subfamily Troglodytinæ_: WRENS
+
+Small brown birds, more or less barred with darkest brown above, much
+lighter below. Usually carry their short tails erect. Wings are small,
+for short flight. Vivacious, busy, excitable, easily displeased, quick
+to take alarm. Most of the species have scolding notes in addition to
+their lyrical, gushing song, that seems much too powerful a
+performance for a diminutive bird. As a rule, wrens haunt thickets or
+marshes, but at least one species is thoroughly domesticated. All are
+insectivorous.
+
+    Carolina Wren.
+    House Wren.
+    Winter Wren.
+    Long-billed Marsh Wren.
+    Short-billed Marsh Wren.
+
+
+_Family Certhiidæ_: CREEPERS
+
+Only one species of this Old World family is found in America. It is a
+brown, much mottled bird, that creeps spirally around and around the
+trunks of trees in fall and winter, pecking at the larvæ in the bark
+with its long, sharp bill, and doing its work with faithful exactness
+but little spirit. It uses its tail as a prop in climbing, like the
+woodpeckers.
+
+    Brown Creeper.
+
+
+_Family Paridæ_: NUTHATCHES AND TITMICE
+
+Two distinct subfamilies are included under this general head.
+
+The nuthatches (_Sittinæ_) are small, slate-colored birds, seen
+chiefly in winter walking up and down the barks of trees, and
+sometimes running along the under side of branches upside down, like
+flies. Plumage compact and smooth. Their name is derived from their
+habit of wedging nuts (usually beech-nuts) in the bark of trees, and
+then hatching them open with their strong straight bills.
+
+    White-breasted Nuthatch.
+    Red-breasted Nuthatch.
+
+The titmice or chickadees (_Parinæ_) are fluffy little gray birds, the
+one crested, the other with a black cap. They are also expert
+climbers, though not such wonderful gymnasts as the nuthatches. These
+cousins are frequently seen together in winter woods or in the
+evergreens about houses. Chickadees are partial to tree-tops,
+especially to the highest pine cones, on which they hang fearlessly.
+Cheerful, constant residents, retreating to the deep woods only to
+nest.
+
+    Tufted Titmouse.
+    Chickadee.
+
+
+_Family Sylviidæ_: KINGLETS AND GNATCATCHERS
+
+The kinglets (_Regulinæ_) are very small greenish-gray birds, with
+highly colored crown patch, that are seen chiefly in autumn, winter,
+and spring south of Labrador. Habits active; diligent flitters among
+trees and shrubbery from limb to limb after minute insects. Beautiful
+nest builders. Song remarkable for so small a bird.
+
+    Golden-crowned Kinglet.
+    Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
+
+The one representative of the distinctly American subfamily of
+gnatcatchers (_Polioptilinæ_) that we have, is a small blue-gray bird,
+whitish below. It is rarely found outside moist, low tracts of
+woodland, where insects abound. These it takes on the wing with
+wonderful dexterity. It is exceedingly graceful and assumes many
+charming postures. A bird of trees, nesting in the high branches. A
+bird of strong character and an exquisitely finished though feeble
+songster.
+
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+
+
+_Family Turdidæ_: THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC.
+
+This group includes our finest songsters. Birds of moderate size,
+stout build; as a rule, inhabitants of woodlands, but the robin and
+the bluebird are notable exceptions. Bills long and slender, suitable
+for worm diet. Only casual fruit-eaters. Slender, strong legs for
+running and hopping. True thrushes are grayish or olive-brown above;
+buff or whitish below, heavily streaked or spotted.
+
+    Bluebird.
+    Robin.
+    Alice's Thrush.
+    Hermit Thrush.
+    Olive-backed Thrush.
+    Wilson's Thrush (Veery).
+    Wood Thrush.
+
+
+
+
+Order _Columbæ_: PIGEONS AND DOVES
+
+
+Family _Columbidæ_: PIGEONS AND DOVES
+
+The wild pigeon is now too rare to be included among our bird
+neighbors; but its beautiful relative, without the fatally gregarious
+habit, still nests and sings _a-coo-oo-oo_ to its devoted mate in
+unfrequented corners of the farm or the borders of woodland.
+Delicately shaded fawn-colored and bluish plumage. Small heads,
+protruding breasts. Often seen on ground. Flight strong and rapid,
+owing to long wings.
+
+    Mourning or Carolina Dove.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CROW ON NEST.]
+
+   [Illustration: BLUE-WINGED WARBLER ALIGHTING TO FEED HER YOUNG.]
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+HABITATS OF BIRDS
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE AIR CATCHING THEIR FOOD AS THEY FLY
+
+Acadian Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher,
+Olive-sided Flycatcher, Say's Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Kingbird, Ph[oe]be, Wood Pewee, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, Barn
+Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Tree Swallow, Rough-winged
+Swallow, Canadian Warbler, Blackpoll, Wilson's Warbler, Nighthawk,
+Whippoorwill, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+
+
+BIRDS MOST FREQUENTLY SEEN IN THE UPPER HALF OF TREES
+
+Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole,
+Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, nearly all the
+Warblers except the Ground Warblers; Cedar Bird, Bohemian Waxwing, the
+Vireos, Robin, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Purple Grackle,
+Bronzed Grackle, Redstart, Northern Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, Crow,
+Fish Crow, Raven, Purple Finch, Tree and Chipping Sparrows, Cardinal,
+Blue Jay, Kingbird, the Crested and other Flycatchers.
+
+
+BIRDS OF LOW TREES OR LOWER PARTS OF TREES
+
+Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, the Sparrows, the Thrushes,
+the Grosbeaks, Goldfinch, Summer Yellowbird and other Warblers; the
+Wrens, Bluebird, Mocking-bird, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Maryland
+Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat.
+
+
+BIRDS OF TREE-TRUNKS AND LARGE LIMBS
+
+Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker,
+Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, Flicker, White-breasted Nuthatch,
+Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse,
+Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-and-white Creeping
+Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Pine Warbler,
+Blackpoll Warbler, Whippoorwill, Nighthawk.
+
+
+BIRDS THAT SHOW A PREFERENCE FOR PINES AND OTHER EVERGREENS
+
+Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, the Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, the
+Kinglets, Pine Warbler, Black-and-white Creeping Warbler and all the
+Warblers except the Ground Warblers; Pine Siskin, Cedar Bird and
+Bohemian Waxwing (in juniper and cedar trees), Pine Grosbeak, Red
+Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, the Grackles, Crow, Raven, Pine
+Finch.
+
+
+BIRDS SEEN FEEDING AMONG THE FOLIAGE AND TERMINAL TWIGS OF TREES
+
+The Red-eyed Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Solitary Vireo,
+Yellow-throated Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
+Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow Warbler or Summer
+Yellowbird, nearly all the Warblers except the Pine and the Ground
+Warblers; the Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+
+
+BIRDS THAT CHOOSE CONSPICUOUS PERCHES
+
+Northern Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, Kingbird, the Wood Pewee, the
+Ph[oe]be and other Flycatchers, the Swallows, Kingfisher, Crows,
+Grackles, Blue Jay and Canada Jay; the Song, the White-throated, and
+the Fox Sparrows; the Grosbeaks, Cedar Bird, Goldfinch, Robin, Purple
+Finch, Cowbird, Brown Thrasher while in song.
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS
+
+Bluebird, Robin; the English, Song, White-throated, Vesper,
+White-crowned, Fox, Chipping, and Tree Sparrows; Ph[oe]be, Wood Pewee,
+the Least Flycatcher, Crested Flycatcher, Kingbird, Brown Thrasher,
+Wood Thrush, Mocking-bird, Catbird, House Wren; nearly all the
+Warblers, especially at blossom time among the shrubbery and fruit
+trees; Cedar Bird, Purple Martin, Eaves Swallow, Barn Swallow, Purple
+Finch, Cowbird, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Purple Grackle, Bronzed
+Grackle, Blue Jay, Crow, Fish Crow, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated
+Humming-bird, the Woodpeckers, Flicker, the Nuthatches, Chickadee,
+Tufted Titmouse, the Cuckoos, Mourning Dove, Junco, Starling.
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE WOODS
+
+The Warblers almost without exception; the Thrushes, the Woodpeckers,
+the Flycatchers, the Winter and the Carolina Wrens, the Tanagers, the
+Nuthatches and Titmice, the Kinglets, the Water Thrushes, the Vireos,
+Whippoorwill, Nighthawk, Kingfisher, Cardinal, Ovenbird, Brown
+Creeper, Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow,
+White-crowned Sparrow, Junco.
+
+
+BIRDS SEEN NEAR THE EDGES OF WOODS
+
+The Wrens, the Woodpeckers, the Flycatchers, the Warblers, Purple
+Finch, the Cuckoos, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, Cowbird, Brown
+Creepers, the Nuthatches and Titmice, the Kinglets, Chewink; the
+White-crowned, White-throated, Tree, Fox, and Song Sparrows;
+Humming-bird, Bluebird, Junco, the Crossbills, the Grosbeaks,
+Nighthawk, Whippoorwill, Mourning Dove, Indigo Bird, Brown Thrasher.
+
+
+BIRDS OF SHRUBBERY, BUSHES, AND THICKETS
+
+Maryland Yellowthroat, Ovenbird (in woods); Myrtle Warbler, Mourning
+Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and other Warblers during the
+migrations; the Shrikes; the White-throated, the Fox, the Song, and
+other Sparrows; Chickadee, Junco, Chewink, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
+Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Catbird, Mocking-bird, Wilson's Thrush,
+Goldfinch, Redpolls, Maryland Yellowthroat, White-eyed Vireo, Hooded
+Warbler.
+
+
+BIRDS SEEN FEEDING ON THE GROUND
+
+The Sparrows, Junco, Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Chewink, Robin,
+Ovenbird, Pipit or Titlark, Redpoll, Greater Redpoll, Snowflake,
+Lapland Longspur, Smith's Painted Longspur, Rusty Blackbird,
+Red-winged Blackbird, the Crows, Cowbird, the Water Thrushes,
+Bobolink, Canada Jay, the Grackles, Mourning Dove; the Worm-eating,
+the Prairie, the Kentucky, and the Mourning Ground Warblers; Flicker.
+
+
+BIRDS OF MEADOW, FIELD, AND UPLAND
+
+The Field and Vesper Sparrows, Bobolink, Meadowlark, Horned Lark,
+Goldfinch, the Swallows, Pipit or Titlark, Cowbird, Redpoll, Greater
+Redpoll, Snowflake, Junco, Lapland Longspur, Smith's Painted Longspur,
+Rusty Blackbird, Crow, Fish Crow, Nighthawk, Whippoorwill; the Yellow,
+the Palm, and the Prairie Warblers; the Grackles, Flicker, Bluebird,
+Indigo Bird.
+
+
+BIRDS OF ROADSIDE AND FENCES
+
+The Sparrows, Kingbird, Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat,
+Indigo Bird, Bluebird, Flicker, Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Catbird,
+Robin, the Woodpeckers, Yellow Palm Warbler, the Vireos.
+
+
+BIRDS OF MARSHES AND BOGGY MEADOWS
+
+Long-billed Marsh Wren, Short-billed Marsh Wren; the Swamp, the
+Savanna, the Sharp-tailed, and the Seaside Sparrows; Red-winged
+Blackbird.
+
+
+BIRDS OF WET WOODLANDS AND MARSHY THICKETS
+
+Northern Water Thrush, Louisiana Water Thrush, Ovenbird, Winter Wren,
+Carolina Wren, Ph[oe]be; Wood Pewee and the other Flycatchers;
+Wilson's Thrush or Veery, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat;
+the Canadian, Wilson's Black-capped, the Maryland Yellowthroat, the
+Hooded, and the Yellow-throated Warblers.
+
+
+BIRDS FOUND NEAR SALT WATER
+
+Fish Crow, Common Crow, Bank Swallow, Tree Swallow, Savanna Sparrow,
+Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Horned Lark, Pipit or Titlark.
+
+
+BIRDS FOUND NEAR STREAMS AND PONDS
+
+Kingfisher, the Swallows, Northern Water Thrush, Louisiana Water
+Thrush, Ph[oe]be, Wood Pewee, the Flycatchers, Winter Wren, Wilson's
+Black-capped Warbler, the Canadian and the Yellow Warblers.
+
+
+BIRDS THAT SING ON THE WING
+
+Bobolink, Meadowlark, Indigo Bird, Purple Finch, Goldfinch, Ovenbird,
+Kingbird, Vesper Sparrow (rarely), Maryland Yellowthroat, Horned Lark,
+Kingfisher, the Swallows, Chimney Swift, Nighthawk, Song Sparrow,
+Red-winged Blackbird, Pipit or Titlark, Mocking-bird.
+
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST]
+
+   [Illustration: WINTER VISITORS: REDPOLLS]
+
+
+
+
+ III
+
+ SEASONS OF BIRDS
+
+
+ THE SEASONS OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK OR,
+ APPROXIMATELY, OF THE FORTY-SECOND DEGREE OF LATITUDE
+
+ THE LATITUDE OF NEW YORK IS TAKEN AS AN ARBITRARY DIVISION
+ FOR WHICH ALLOWANCES MUST BE MADE FOR OTHER LOCALITIES
+
+
+PERMANENT RESIDENTS
+
+    Hairy Woodpecker.                  Swamp Sparrow.
+    Downy Woodpecker.                  Song Sparrow.
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.         Cedar Bird.
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.             Cardinal.
+    Flicker.                           Carolina Wren.
+    Meadowlark.                        White-breasted Nuthatch.
+    Prairie Horned Lark.               Tufted Titmouse.
+    Blue Jay.                          Chickadee.
+    Crow.                              Robin.
+    Fish Crow.                         Bluebird.
+    English Sparrow.                   Goldfinch.
+    Social Sparrow.                    Starling
+
+
+WINTER RESIDENTS AND VISITORS
+
+  BIRDS SEEN BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND APRIL
+
+     English Sparrow.                  Red-breasted Nuthatch.
+     Tree Sparrow.                     Tufted Titmouse.
+     White-throated Sparrow.           Chickadee.
+     Swamp Sparrow.                    Robin.
+     Vesper Sparrow.                   Bluebird.
+     White-crowned Sparrow.            Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
+     Fox Sparrow.                      Golden-crowned Kinglet.
+     Song Sparrow.                     Brown Creeper.
+     Snowflake.                        Carolina Wren.
+     Junco.                            Winter Wren.
+     Horned Lark.                      Pipit.
+     Meadowlark.                       Purple Finch.
+     Pine Grosbeak.                    Goldfinch.
+     Redpoll.                          Pine Siskin.
+     Greater Redpoll.                  Lapland Longspur.
+     Cedar Bird.                       Smith's Painted Longspur.
+     Bohemian Waxwing.                 Evening Grosbeak.
+     Hairy Woodpecker.                 Cardinal.
+     Downy Woodpecker.                 Blue Jay.
+     Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.        Red Crossbill.
+     Flicker.                          White-winged Crossbill.
+     Myrtle Warbler.                   Crow.
+     Northern Shrike.                  Fish Crow.
+     White-breasted Nuthatch.          Kingfisher.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CROW]
+
+   [Illustration: RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Upper Figure, Male;
+      Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+
+SUMMER RESIDENTS
+
+  BIRDS SEEN BETWEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER
+
+    Mourning Dove.                     Red-winged Blackbird.
+    Black-billed Cuckoo.               Rusty Blackbird.
+    Yellow-billed Cuckoo.              Orchard Oriole.
+    Kingfisher.                        Baltimore Oriole.
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.             Purple Grackle.
+    Hairy Woodpecker.                  Bronzed Grackle.
+    Downy Woodpecker.                  Crow.
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.         Fish Crow.
+    Flicker.                           Raven.
+    Whippoorwill.                      Blue Jay.
+    Nighthawk.                         Canada Jay.
+    Chimney Swift.                     Chipping Sparrow.
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird.        English Sparrow.
+    Kingbird.                          Field Sparrow.
+    Wood Pewee.                        Fox Sparrow.
+    Ph[oe]be.                          Grasshopper Sparrow.
+    Acadian Flycatcher.                Savanna Sparrow.
+    Crested Flycatcher.                Seaside Sparrow.
+    Least Flycatcher.                  Sharp-tailed Sparrow.
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher.            Swamp Song Sparrow.
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.         Song Sparrow.
+    Say's Flycatcher.                  Vesper Sparrow.
+    Bobolink.                          Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
+    Cowbird.                           Blue Grosbeak.
+    Indigo Bird.                       Yellow-breasted Chat.
+    Scarlet Tanager.                   Maryland Yellowthroat.
+    Purple Martin.                     Mocking-bird.
+    Barn Swallow.                      Catbird.
+    Bank Swallow.                      Brown Thrasher.
+    Cliff Swallow.                     House Wren.
+    Tree Swallow.                      Carolina Wren.
+    Rough-winged Swallow.              Long-billed Marsh Wren.
+    Red-eyed Vireo.                    Short-billed Marsh Wren.
+    White-eyed Vireo.                  Alice's Thrush.
+    Solitary Vireo.                    Hermit Thrush.
+    Warbling Vireo.                    Olive-backed Thrush.
+    Yellow-throated Vireo.             Wilson's Thrush or Veery.
+    Black-and-white Warbler.           Wood Thrush.
+    Black-throated Green Warbler.      Meadowlark.
+    Blue-winged Warbler.               Western Meadowlark.
+    Chestnut-sided Warbler.            Prairie Horned Lark.
+    Golden-winged Warbler.             White-breasted Nuthatch.
+    Hooded Warbler.                    Chickadee.
+    Pine Warbler.                      Tufted Titmouse.
+    Prairie Warbler.                   Chewink.
+    Parula Warbler.                    Purple Finch.
+    Worm-eating Warbler.               Goldfinch.
+    Yellow Warbler.                    Cardinal.
+    Redstart.                          Robin.
+    Ovenbird.                          Bluebird.
+    Northern Water Thrush.             Cedar-Bird.
+    Louisiana Water Thrush.            Loggerhead Shrike.
+
+
+SPRING AND AUTUMN MIGRANTS ONLY, OR RARE SUMMER VISITORS
+
+  The following Warblers:
+
+    Bay-breasted.                      Myrtle.
+    Blackburnian.                      Nashville.
+    Blackpolled.                       Wilson's Black-capped.
+    Black-throated Blue.               Palm.
+    Canadian.                          Yellow Palm.
+    Magnolia.                          Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+    Mourning.                          Summer Tanager.
+
+
+
+
+MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS IN VICINITY OF NEW YORK
+
+
+FEBRUARY 15 TO MARCH 15
+
+Bluebird, Robin, the Grackles, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Red-winged
+Blackbird, Kingfisher, Flicker, Purple Finch.
+
+
+MARCH 15 TO APRIL 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Cowbird, Meadowlark, Phoebe; the
+Field, the Vesper, and the Swamp Sparrows.
+
+
+APRIL 1 TO 15
+
+The White-throated and the Chipping Sparrows, the Tree and the Barn
+Swallows, Rusty Blackbird, the Red-headed and the Yellow-bellied
+Woodpeckers, Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pipit; the Pine, the
+Myrtle, and the Yellow Palm Warblers; Goldfinch.
+
+
+APRIL 15 TO MAY 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Brown Thrasher; Alice's, the
+Olive-backed, and the Wood Thrushes; Chimney Swift, Whippoorwill,
+Chewink, the Purple Martin, and the Cliff and the Bank Swallows; Least
+Flycatcher; the Black-and-white Creeping, the Parula, and the
+Black-throated Green Warblers; Ovenbird, House Wren, Catbird.
+
+
+MAY 1 TO 15
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wilson's Thrush or Veery;
+Nighthawk, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, the Cuckoos, Crested
+Flycatcher, Kingbird, Wood Pewee, the Marsh Wrens, Bank Swallow, the
+five Vireos, the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Bobolink, Indigo Bird,
+Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Maryland Yellowthroat,
+Yellow-breasted Chat, the Water Thrushes; and the Magnolia, the
+Yellow, the Black-throated Blue, the Bay-breasted, the Chestnut-sided,
+and the Golden-winged Warblers.
+
+
+MAY 15 TO JUNE 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Mocking-bird, Summer Tanager; and the Blackburnian, the Blackpoll, the
+Worm-eating, the Hooded, Wilson's Black-capped, and the Canadian
+Warblers.
+
+
+JUNE, JULY, AUGUST
+
+In June few species of birds are not nesting; in July they may rove
+about more or less with their increased families, searching for their
+favorite foods; August finds them moulting and moping in silence, but
+toward the end of the month, thoughts of returning southward set them
+astir again.
+
+
+AUGUST 15 TO SEPTEMBER 15
+
+Bobolink, Cliff Swallow, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Purple Martin; the Blackburnian, the Worm-eating, the Bay-breasted,
+the Chestnut-sided, the Hooded, the Mourning, Wilson's Black-capped,
+and the Canadian Warblers; Baltimore Oriole, Humming-bird.
+
+
+SEPTEMBER 15 TO OCTOBER 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wilson's Thrush, Wood Thrush,
+Kingbird, Wood Pewee, Crested Flycatcher; the Least, the Olive-sided,
+and the Acadian Flycatchers; the Marsh Wrens, the Cuckoos,
+Whippoorwill, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Indigo Bird; the
+Warbling, the Solitary, and the Yellow-throated Vireos; the
+Black-and-white Creeping, the Golden-winged, the Yellow, and the
+Black-throated Blue Warblers; Maryland Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted
+Chat, Redstart.
+
+
+OCTOBER 1 TO 15
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Hermit Thrush, Catbird, House
+Wren, Ovenbird, the Water Thrushes, the Red-eyed and the White-eyed
+Vireos, Wood Pewee, Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Cowbird, Horned Lark,
+Winter Wren, Junco; the Tree, the Vesper, the White-throated, and the
+Grasshopper Sparrows; the Blackpoll, the Parula, the Pine, the Yellow
+Palm, and the Prairie Warblers; Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse.
+
+
+OCTOBER 15 TO NOVEMBER 15
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wood Thrush, Wilson's Thrush or
+Veery, Alice's Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, Robin, Chewink, Brown
+Thrasher, Ph[oe]be, Shrike; the Fox, the Field, the Swamp, the
+Savanna, the White-crowned, the Chipping, and the Song Sparrows; the
+Red-winged and the Rusty Blackbirds; Meadowlark, the Grackles,
+Flicker, the Red-headed and the Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers; Purple
+Finch, the Kinglets, the Nuthatches, Pine Siskin.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZE
+
+
+SMALLER THAN THE ENGLISH SPARROW
+
+    Humming-bird.                      The Redpolls.
+    The Kinglets.                      Goldfinch.
+    The Wrens.                         Pine Siskin.
+    All the Warblers not               Savanna Sparrow.
+       mentioned elsewhere.            Grasshopper Sparrow.
+    Redstart.                          Sharp-tailed Sparrow.
+    Ovenbird.                          Chipping Sparrow.
+    Chickadee.                         Field Sparrow.
+    Tufted Titmouse.                   Swamp Song Sparrow.
+    Red-breasted Nuthatch.             Indigo-Bunting.
+    White-breasted Nuthatch.           Warbling Vireo.
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.             Yellow-throated Vireo.
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.         Red-eyed Vireo.
+    Acadian Flycatcher.                White-eyed Vireo.
+    Least Flycatcher.                  Brown Creeper.
+
+
+ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE ENGLISH SPARROW
+
+    Purple Finch.                      Junco.
+    The Crossbills.                    Song Sparrow.
+    The Longspurs.                     Solitary Vireo.
+    Vesper Sparrow.                    The Water-thrushes.
+    Seaside Sparrow.                   Pipit or Titlark.
+    Tree Sparrow.                      Downy Woodpecker.
+
+
+LARGER THAN THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND SMALLER THAN THE ROBIN
+
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.         The Grosbeaks: Evening, Blue,
+    Chimney Swift (apparently).        Pine, Rose-breasted, and Cardinal.
+    The Swallows (apparently).         Snowflake.
+    Kingbird.                          White-crowned Sparrow.
+    Crested Flycatcher.                White-throated Sparrow.
+    Phoebe.                            Fox Sparrow.
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher.            The Tanagers.
+    Wood Pewee.                        Cedar Bird.
+    Horned Lark.                       Bohemian Waxwing.
+    Bobolink.                          Yellow-breasted Chat.
+    Cowbird.                           The Thrushes.
+    Orchard Oriole.                    Bluebird.
+    Baltimore Oriole.
+
+
+ ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THE ROBIN      LONGER THAN THE ROBIN
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.             Mourning Dove.
+    Hairy Woodpecker.                  The Cuckoos.
+    Red-winged Blackbird.              Kingfisher.
+    Rusty Blackbird.                   Flicker.
+    Loggerhead Shrike.                 Raven.
+    Northern Shrike.                   Crow.
+    Mocking-bird.                      Fish Crow.
+    Catbird.                           Blue Jay.
+    Chewink.                           Canada Jay.
+    Purple Martin (apparently).        Meadowlark.
+    Starling.                          Whippoorwill (apparently).
+                                       Nighthawk (apparently).
+                                       The Grackles.
+                                       Brown Thrasher.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK
+
+    Common Crow.
+    Fish Crow.
+    American Raven.
+    Purple Grackle.
+    Bronzed Grackle.
+    Rusty Blackbird.
+    Red-winged Blackbird.
+    Purple Martin.
+    Cowbird.
+    Starling.
+
+See also several of the Swallows; the Kingbird, the Phoebe, the Wood
+Pewee and other Flycatchers; the Chimney Swift; and the Chewink.
+
+
+    The Common Crow
+
+    (_Corvus Aamericanus_) Crow family
+
+    _Called also_: CORN THIEF
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 16 and 28)
+
+
+    _Length_--16 to 17.50 inches.
+
+    _Male_--Glossy black with violet reflections. Wings appear
+       saw-toothed when spread, and almost equal the tail in length.
+
+    _Female_--Like male, except that the black is less brilliant.
+
+    _Range_--Throughout North America, from Hudson Bay to the Gulf
+       of Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October. Summer and winter resident.
+
+
+If we have an eye for the picturesque, we place a certain value upon
+the broad, strong dash of color in the landscape, given by a flock of
+crows flapping their course above a corn-field, against an October
+sky; but the practical eye of the farmer looks only for his gun in
+such a case. To him the crow is an unmitigated nuisance, all the more
+maddening because it is clever enough to circumvent every means
+devised for its ruin. Nothing escapes its rapacity; fear is unknown to
+it. It migrates in broad daylight, chooses the most conspicuous
+perches, and yet its assurance is amply justified in its steadily
+increasing numbers.
+
+In the very early spring, note well the friendly way in which the crow
+follows the plow, ingratiating itself by eating the larvæ, field mice,
+and worms upturned in the furrows, for this is its one serviceable act
+throughout the year. When the first brood of chickens is hatched, its
+serious depredations begin. Not only the farmer's young fledglings,
+ducks, turkeys, and chicks, are snatched up and devoured, but the
+nests of song birds are made desolate, eggs being crushed and eaten on
+the spot, when there are no birds to carry off to the rickety, coarse
+nest in the high tree top in the woods. The fish crow, however, is the
+much greater enemy of the birds. Like the common crows, this, their
+smaller cousin, likes to congregate in winter along the seacoast to
+feed upon shell-fish and other sea-food that the tide brings to its
+feet.
+
+Samuels claims to have seen a pair of crows visit an orchard and
+destroy the young in two robins' nests in half an hour. He calculates
+that two crows kill, in one day alone, young birds that in the course
+of the season would have eaten a hundred thousand insects. When, in
+addition to these atrocities, we remember the crow's depredations in
+the corn-field, it is small wonder that among the first laws enacted
+in New York State was one offering a reward for its head. But the more
+scientific agriculturists now concede that the crow is the farmer's
+true friend.
+
+
+    Fish Crow
+
+    (_Corvus ossifragus_) Crow family
+
+
+    _Length_--14 to 16 inches. About half as large again as the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Glossy black, with purplish-blue
+       reflections, generally greener underneath. Chin naked.
+
+    _Range_--Along Atlantic coast and that of the Gulf of Mexico,
+       northward to southern New England. Rare stragglers on the
+       Pacific coast.
+
+    _Migrations_--March or April. September. Summer resident only
+       at northern limit of range. Is found in Hudson River valley
+       about half-way to Albany.
+
+Compared with the common crow, with which it is often confounded, the
+fish crow is of much smaller, more slender build. Thus its flight is
+less labored and more like a gull's, whose habit of catching fish that
+may be swimming near the surface of the water it sometimes adopts.
+Both Audubon and Wilson, who first made this species known, record its
+habit of snatching food as it flies over the southern waters--a rare
+practice at the north. Its plumage, too, differs slightly from the
+common crow's in being a richer black everywhere, and particularly
+underneath, where the "corn thief" is dull. But it is the difference
+between the two crows' call-note that we chiefly depend upon to
+distinguish these confusing cousins. To say that the fish crow says
+_car-r-r_ instead of a loud, clear _caw_, means little until we have
+had an opportunity to compare its hoarse, cracked voice with the other
+bird's familiar call.
+
+From the farmer's point of view, there is still another distinction:
+the fish crow lets his crops alone. It contents itself with picking up
+refuse on the shores of the sea or rivers not far inland; haunting the
+neighborhood of fishermen's huts for the small fish discarded when the
+seines are drawn, and treading out with its toes the shell-fish hidden
+in the sand at low tide. When we see it in the fields it is usually
+intent upon catching field-mice, grubs, and worms, with which it often
+varies its fish diet. It is, however, the worst nest robber we have;
+it probably destroys ten times as many eggs and young birds as its
+larger cousin.
+
+The fishermen have a tradition that this southern crow comes and goes
+with the shad and herring--a saw which science unkindly disapproves.
+
+
+    American Raven
+
+    (_Corvus corax principalis_) Crow family
+
+
+    _Called also_: NORTHERN RAVEN
+
+    _Length_--26 to 27 inches. Nearly three times as large as a
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Glossy black above, with purplish and
+       greenish reflections. Duller underneath. Feathers of the
+       throat and breast long and loose, like fringe.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from polar regions to Mexico. Rare
+       along Atlantic coast and in the south. Common in the west, and
+       very abundant in the northwest.
+
+    _Migrations_--An erratic wanderer, usually resident where it
+       finds its way.
+
+The weird, uncanny voice of this great bird that soars in wide circles
+above the evergreen trees of dark northern forests seems to come out
+of the skies like the malediction of an evil spirit. Without uttering
+the words of any language--Poe's "Nevermore" was, of course, a poetic
+license--people of all nationalities appear to understand that some
+dire calamity, some wicked portent, is being announced every time the
+unbirdlike creature utters its rasping call. The superstitious folk
+crow with an "I told you so," as they solemnly wag their heads when
+they hear of some death in the village after "the bird of ill-omen"
+has made an unwelcome visit to the neighborhood. It receives the
+blame for every possible misfortune.
+
+When seen in the air, the crow is the only other bird for which the
+raven could be mistaken; but the raven does more sailing and less
+flapping, and he delights in describing circles as he easily soars
+high above the trees. On the ground, he is seen to be a far larger
+bird than the largest crow. The curious beard or fringe of feathers on
+his breast at once distinguishes him.
+
+These birds show the family instinct for living in flocks large and
+small, not of ravens only, but of any birds of their own genera. In
+the art of nest building they could instruct most of their relatives.
+High up in evergreen trees or on the top of cliffs, never very near
+the seashore, they make a compact, symmetrical nest of sticks, neatly
+lined with grasses and wool from the sheep pastures, adding soft,
+comfortable linings to the old nest from year to year for each new
+brood. When the young emerge from the eggs, which take many curious
+freaks of color and markings, they are pied black and white,
+suggesting the young of the western white-necked raven, a similarity
+which, so far as plumage is concerned, they quickly outgrow. They
+early acquire the fortunate habit of eating whatever their parents set
+before them--grubs, worms, grain, field-mice; anything, in fact, for
+the raven is a conspicuously omnivorous bird.
+
+
+   [Illustration: PURPLE MARTIN]
+
+   [Illustration: DOWNY (figs. 1 and 2) and HAIRY WOODPECKERS (fig 3)]
+
+
+    Purple Grackle
+
+    (_Quiscalus quiscula_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: CROW BLACKBIRD; MAIZE THIEF; KEEL-TAILED GRACKLE
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 49)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Iridescent black, in which metallic violet, blue,
+       copper, and green tints predominate. The plumage of this
+       grackle has iridescent bars. Iris of eye bright yellow and
+       conspicuous. Tail longer than wings.
+
+    _Female_--Less brilliant black than male, and smaller.
+
+    _Range_--Gulf of Mexico to 57th parallel north latitude.
+
+    _Migrations_--Permanent resident in Southern States. Few are
+       permanent throughout range. Migrates in immense flocks in
+       March and September.
+
+
+This "refined crow" (which is really no crow at all except in
+appearance) has scarcely more friends than a thief is entitled to;
+for, although in many sections of the country it has given up its old
+habit of stealing Indian corn and substituted ravages upon the
+grasshoppers instead, it still indulges a crow-like instinct for
+pillaging nests and eating young birds.
+
+Travelling in immense flocks of its own kind, a gregarious bird of the
+first order, it nevertheless is not the social fellow that its cousin,
+the red-winged blackbird, is. It especially holds aloof from mankind,
+and mankind reciprocates its suspicion.
+
+The tallest, densest evergreens are not too remote for it to build its
+home, according to Dr. Abbott, though in other States than New Jersey,
+where he observed them, an old orchard often contains dozens of nests.
+One peculiarity of the grackles is that their eggs vary so much in
+coloring and markings that different sets examined in the same groups
+of trees are often wholly unlike. The average groundwork, however, is
+soiled blue or greenish, waved, streaked, or clouded with brown. These
+are laid in a nest made of miscellaneous sticks and grasses, rather
+carefully constructed, and lined with mud. Another peculiarity is the
+bird's method of steering itself by its tail when it wishes to turn
+its direction or alight.
+
+Peering at you from the top of a dark pine tree with its staring
+yellow eye, the grackle is certainly uncanny. There, very early in the
+spring, you may hear its cracked and wheezy whistle, for, being aware
+that however much it may look like a crow it belongs to another
+family, it makes a ridiculous attempt to sing. When a number of
+grackles lift up their voices at once, some one has aptly likened the
+result to a "good wheel-barrow chorus!" The grackle's mate alone
+appreciates his efforts as, standing on tiptoe, with half-spread wings
+and tail, he pours forth his craven soul to her through a disjointed
+larynx.
+
+With all their faults, and they are numerous, let it be recorded of
+both crows and grackles that they are as devoted lovers as
+turtle-doves. Lowell characterizes them in these four lines:
+
+   "Fust come the black birds, 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."
+
+          *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Bronzed Grackle (_Quiscalus quiscula æneus_) differs from the
+preceding chiefly in the more brownish bronze tint of its plumage and
+its lack of iridescent bars. Its range is more westerly, and in the
+southwest it is particularly common; but as a summer resident it finds
+its way to New England in large numbers. The call-note is louder and
+more metallic than the purple grackle's. In nearly all respects the
+habits of these two birds are identical.
+
+
+    Rusty Blackbird
+
+    (_Scolecophagus carolinus_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: THRUSH BLACKBIRD; RUSTY GRACKLE; RUSTY ORIOLE;
+       RUSTY CROW; BLACKBIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 9.55 inches. A trifle smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--In full plumage, glossy black with metallic
+       reflections, intermixed with rusty brown that becomes more
+       pronounced as the season advances. Pale straw-colored eyes.
+
+    _Female_--Duller plumage and more rusty, inclining to gray.
+       Light line over eye. Smaller than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to Gulf of Mexico
+       and westward to the Plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. A few winter north.
+
+A more sociable bird than the grackle, though it travel in smaller
+flocks, the rusty blackbird condescends to mingle freely with other
+feathered friends in marshes and by brooksides. You can identify it by
+its rusty feathers and pale yellow eye, and easily distinguish the
+rusty-gray female from the female red-wing that is conspicuously
+streaked.
+
+In April flocks of these birds may frequently be seen along sluggish,
+secluded streams in the woods, feeding upon the seeds of various water
+or brookside plants, and probably upon insects also. At such times
+they often indulge in a curious spluttering, squeaking, musical
+concert that one listens to with pleasure. The breeding range is
+mostly north of the United States. But little seems to be known of the
+birds' habits in their northern home.
+
+Why it should ever have been called a thrush blackbird is one of those
+inscrutable mysteries peculiar to the naming of birds which are so
+frequently called precisely what they are not. In spite of the
+compliment implied in associating the name of one of our finest
+songsters with it, the rusty blackbird has a clucking call as
+unmusical as it is infrequent, and only very rarely in the spring does
+it pipe a note that even suggests the sweetness of the redwing's.
+
+
+    Red-winged Blackbird
+
+    (_Agelaius ph[oe]niceus_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAMP BLACKBIRD; RED-WINGED ORIOLE; RED-WINGED STARLING
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 29)
+
+
+    _Length_--Exceptionally variable--7.50 to 9.80 inches. Usually
+       about an inch smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Coal-black. Shoulders scarlet, edged with yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Feathers finely and inconspicuously speckled with
+       brown, rusty black, whitish, and orange. Upper wing-coverts
+       rusty black, tipped with white, or rufous and sometimes
+       spotted with black and red.
+
+    _Range_--North America. Breeds from Texas to Columbia River,
+       and throughout the United States. Commonly found from Mexico
+       to 57th degree north latitude.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October. Common summer resident.
+
+In oozy pastures where a brook lazily finds its way through the farm
+is the ideal pleasure ground of this "bird of society." His notes,
+"_h'-wa-ker-ee_" or "_con-quer-ee_" (on an ascending scale), are
+liquid in quality, suggesting the sweet, moist, cool retreats where he
+nests. Liking either heat or cold (he is fond of wintering in Florida,
+but often retreats to the north while the marshes are still frozen);
+enjoying not only the company of large flocks of his own kind with
+whom he travels, but any bird associates with whom he can scrape
+acquaintance; or to sit quietly on a tree-top in the secluded,
+inaccessible bog while his mate is nesting; satisfied with cut-worms,
+grubs, and insects, or with fruit and grain for his food--the
+blackbird is an impressive and helpful example of how to get the best
+out of life.
+
+Yet, of all the birds, some farmers complain that the blackbird is the
+greatest nuisance. They dislike the noisy chatterings when a flock is
+simply indulging its social instincts. They complain, too, that the
+blackbirds eat their corn, forgetting that having devoured innumerable
+grubs from it during the summer, the birds feel justly entitled to a
+share of the profits. Though occasionally guilty of eating the
+farmer's corn and oats and rice, yet it has been found that nearly
+seven-eighths of the redwing's food is made up of weed-seeds or of
+insects injurious to agriculture.
+
+This bird builds its nest in low bushes on the margin of ponds or low
+in the bog grass of marshes. From three to five pale-blue eggs,
+curiously streaked, spotted, and scrawled with black or purple,
+constitute a brood. Nursery duties are soon finished, for in July the
+young birds are ready to gather in flocks with their elders.
+
+   "The blackbirds make the maples ring
+    With social cheer and jubilee;
+    The red-wing flutes his 'O-ka-lee!'"
+
+                            --_Emerson._
+
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG KINGFISHERS]
+
+   [Illustration: GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG.]
+
+
+    Purple Martin
+
+    (_Progne subis_) Swallow family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 44)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. Two or three inches smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Rich glossy black with bluish and purple reflections;
+       duller black on wings and tail. Wings rather longer than the
+       tail, which is forked.
+
+    _Female_--More brownish and mottled; grayish below.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to America. Penetrates from Arctic Circle to
+       South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. Early September. Summer resident.
+
+In old-fashioned gardens, set on a pole over which honeysuckle and
+roses climbed from a bed where China pinks, phlox, sweet Williams, and
+hollyhocks crowded each other below, martin boxes used always to be
+seen with a pair of these large, beautiful swallows circling overhead.
+But now, alas! the boxes, where set up at all, are quickly monopolized
+by the English sparrow, a bird that the martin, courageous as a
+kingbird in attacking crows and hawks, tolerates as a neighbor only
+when it must.
+
+Bradford Torrey tells of seeing quantities of long-necked squashes
+dangling from poles about the negro cabins all through the South. One
+day he asked an old colored man what these squashes were for.
+
+"Why, deh is martins' boxes," said Uncle Remus. "No danger of hawks
+carryin' off de chickens so long as de martins am around."
+
+The Indians, too, have always had a special liking for this bird. They
+often lined a hollowed-out gourd with bits of bark and fastened it in
+the crotch of their tent poles to invite its friendship. The Mohegan
+Indians have called it "the bird that never rests"--a name better
+suited to the tireless barn swallow, Dr. Abbott thinks.
+
+Wasps, beetles, and all manner of injurious garden insects constitute
+its diet--another reason for its universal popularity. It is simple
+enough to distinguish the martins from the other swallows by their
+larger size and iridescent dark coat, not to mention their song, which
+is very soft and sweet, like musical laughter, rippling up through the
+throat.
+
+
+    Cowbird
+
+    (_Molothrus ater_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: BROWN-HEADED ORIOLE; COW-PEN BIRD; COW BLACKBIRD;
+       COW BUNTING
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Iridescent black, with head, neck, and breast
+       glistening brown. Bill dark brown, feet brownish.
+
+    _Female_--Dull grayish-brown above, a shade lighter below, and
+       streaked with paler shades of brown.
+
+    _Range_--United States, from coast to coast. North into
+       British America, south into Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Common summer resident.
+
+The cowbird takes its name from its habit of walking about among the
+cattle in the pasture, picking up the small insects which the cattle
+disturb in their grazing. The bird may often be seen within a foot or
+two of the nose of a cow or heifer, walking briskly about like a
+miniature hen, intently watching for its insect prey.
+
+Its marital and domestic character is thoroughly bad. Polygamous and
+utterly irresponsible for its offspring, this bird forms a striking
+contrast to other feathered neighbors, and indeed is almost an anomaly
+in the animal kingdom. In the breeding season an unnatural mother may
+be seen skulking about in the trees and shrubbery, seeking for nests
+in which to place a surreptitious egg, never imposing it upon a bird
+of its size, but selecting in a cowardly way a small nest, as that of
+the vireos or warblers or chipping sparrows, and there leaving the
+hatching and care of its young to the tender mercies of some already
+burdened little mother. It has been seen to remove an egg from the
+nest of the red-eyed vireo in order to place one of its own in its
+place. Not finding a convenient nest, it will even drop its eggs on
+the ground, trusting them to merciless fate, or, still worse,
+devouring them. The eggs are nearly an inch long, white speckled with
+brown or gray. (Illustration facing p. 54.)
+
+Cowbirds are gregarious. The ungrateful young birds, as soon as they
+are able to go roaming, leave their foster-parents and join the flock
+of their own kind. In keeping with its unclean habits and unholy life
+and character, the cowbird's ordinary note is a gurgling, rasping
+whistle, followed by a few sharp notes.
+
+
+    The Starling
+
+    (_Sturnus vulgaris_)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 9 inches. Weight about equals that of robin,
+       but the starling, with its short, drooping tail, is chunkier
+       in appearance.
+
+    _Male_--Iridescent black with glints of purple, green, and
+       blue. On back the black feathers, with iridescence of green,
+       and bronze, are tipped with brown, as are some of the tail and
+       wing feathers. In autumn and early winter feathers of sides of
+       head, breast, flanks and underparts are tipped with white,
+       giving a gray, mottled appearance. During the winter most of
+       the white tips on breast and underparts wear off. Until the
+       first moult in late summer the young birds are a dark
+       olive-brown in color, with white or whitish throat. These
+       differences in plumage at different seasons and different ages
+       make starlings hard to identify. Red-winged blackbirds and
+       grackles are often mistaken for them. From early spring till
+       mid-June, starling's rather long, sharp bill is yellow. Later
+       in summer it darkens. No other black bird of ours has this
+       yellow bill at any season.
+
+    _Female_--Similar in appearance.
+
+    _Range_--Massachusetts to Maryland. Not common beyond 100
+       miles inland. (Native of northern Europe and Asia.)
+
+    _Migrations_--Permanent resident, but flocks show some
+       tendency to drift southward in winter.
+
+This newcomer to our shores is by no means so black as he has been
+painted. Like many other European immigrants he landed at or near
+Castle Garden, New York City, and his descendants have not cared to
+wander very far from this vicinity, preferring regions with a pretty
+numerous human population. The starlings have increased so fast in
+this limited region since their first permanent settlement in Central
+Park about 1890 that farmers and suburban dwellers have feared that
+they might become as undesirable citizens as some other Europeans--the
+brown rat, the house mouse, and the English sparrow. But a very
+thorough investigation conducted by the United States Bureau of
+Biological Survey (Bulletin No. 868, 1921) is most reassuring in its
+results.
+
+Let us first state the case for the prosecution: (1) the starling must
+plead guilty to a fondness for cultivated cherries; (2) he is often a
+persecutor of native birds, like the bluebird and flicker; (3) his
+roosts, where he sometimes congregates in thousands in the autumn, are
+apt to become public nuisances, offensive alike to the eye, the nose
+and the ear.
+
+But these offences are not so very serious after all. He does not eat
+so many cherries as our old friend the robin, though his depredations
+are more conspicuous, for whereas the robins in ones and twos will
+pilfer steadily from many trees for many days without attracting
+notice, a crowd of starlings is occasionally observed to descend _en
+masse_ upon a single tree and strip it in a few hours. Naturally such
+high-handed procedure is observed by many and deeply resented by the
+owner of the tree, who suffers the steady but less spectacular raids
+of the robins without serious disquiet.
+
+Less can be said in defense of the starling's scandalous treatment of
+some native birds. "Unrelenting perseverance dominates the starling's
+activities when engaged in a controversy over a nesting site. More of
+its battles are won by dogged persistence in annoying its victim than
+by bold aggression, and its irritating tactics are sometimes carried
+to such a point that it seems almost as if the bird were actuated
+more by a morbid pleasure of annoying its neighbors than by any
+necessity arising from a scarcity of nesting sites....
+
+"In contests with the flicker the starling frequently makes up in
+numbers what disadvantage it may have in size. Typical of such combats
+was the one observed on May 9, at Hartford, Conn., where a group of
+starlings and a flicker were in controversy over a newly excavated
+nest. The number of starlings varied, but as many as 6 were noted at
+one time. Attention was first attracted to the dispute by a number of
+starlings in close proximity to the hole and by the sounds of a tussle
+within. Presently a flicker came out dragging a starling after him.
+The starling continued the battle outside long enough to allow one of
+its comrades to slip into the nest. Of course the flicker had to
+repeat the entire performance. He did this for about half an hour,
+when he gave up, leaving the starlings in possession of the nest....
+
+"Economically considered, the starling is the superior of either the
+flicker, the robin, or the English sparrow, three of the species with
+which it comes in contact in its breeding operations. The eggs and
+young of bluebirds and wrens may be protected by the use of nest boxes
+with circular openings 1-1/2 inches or less in diameter. This leaves
+the purple martin the only species readily subject to attack by the
+starling, whose economic worth may be considered greater than that of
+the latter, but in no case was the disturbance of a well-established
+colony of martins noted."
+
+As for the nuisance of a big established roost of starlings, it may be
+abated by nightly salvos of Roman candles or blank cartridges,
+continued for a week or at most ten days.
+
+So much for the starling in his aspect as an undesirable citizen.
+Government investigators, by a long-continued study, have discovered
+that his good deeds far outnumber his misdemeanors. Primarily he feeds
+on noxious insects and useless wild fruits. Small truck gardens and
+individual cherry trees may be occasionally raided by large flocks
+with disastrous results in a small way. But on the whole he is a
+useful frequenter of our door-yards who pays his way by destroying
+hosts of cut-worms and equally noxious insects. "A thorough
+consideration of the evidence at hand indicates that, based on food
+habits, the adult starling is the economic superior of the robin,
+catbird, flicker, red-winged blackbird, or grackle." Need more be said
+for him?
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK AND WHITE
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker
+    Hairy Woodpecker
+    Downy Woodpecker
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
+    Chewink
+    Snowflake
+    Rose-breasted Grosbeak
+    Bobolink
+    Blackpoll Warbler
+    Black-and-white Creeping Warbler
+
+
+See also the Swallows; the Shrikes; Nuthatches and Titmice; the
+Kingbird and other Flycatchers; the Nighthawk; the Redstart; and the
+following Warblers: the Myrtle; the Bay-breasted; the Blackburnian;
+and the Black-throated Blue Warbler.
+
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker
+
+    (_Melanerpes erythrocephalus_) Woodpecker family
+
+    _Called also_: TRI-COLOR, RED-HEAD
+
+
+    _Length_--8.50 to 9.75 inches. An inch or less smaller than
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Head, neck, and throat crimson; breast and
+       underneath white; back black and white; wings and tail blue
+       black, with broad white band on wings conspicuous in flight.
+
+    _Range_--United States, east of Rocky Mountains and north to
+       Manitoba.
+
+    _Migrations_--Abundant but irregular migrant. Most commonly
+       seen in Autumn, and rarely resident.
+
+In thinly populated sections, where there are few guns about, this is
+still one of the commonest as it is perhaps the most conspicuous
+member of the woodpecker family, but its striking glossy
+black-and-white body and its still more striking crimson head,
+flattened out against the side of a tree like a target, where it is
+feeding, have made it all too tempting a mark for the rifles of the
+sportsmen and the sling-shots of small boys. As if sufficient
+attention were not attracted to it by its plumage, it must needs keep
+up a noisy, guttural rattle, _ker-r-ruck, ker-r-ruck,_ very like a
+tree-toad's call, and flit about among the trees with the restlessness
+of a flycatcher. Yet, in spite of these invitations for a shot to the
+passing gunner, it still multiplies in districts where nuts abound,
+being "more common than the robin" about Washington, says John
+Burroughs.
+
+All the familiar woodpeckers have two characteristics most prominently
+exemplified in this red-headed member of their tribe. The hairy, the
+downy, the crested, the red-bellied, the sapsucker, and the flicker
+have each a red mark somewhere about their heads as if they had been
+wounded there and bled a little--some more, some less; and the figures
+of all of them, from much flattening against tree-trunks, have become
+high-shouldered and long-waisted.
+
+The red-headed woodpecker selects, by preference, a partly decayed
+tree in which to excavate a hole for its nest, because the digging is
+easier, and the sawdust and chips make a softer lining than green
+wood. Both male and female take turns in this hollowing-out process.
+The one that is off duty is allowed "twenty minutes for refreshments,"
+consisting of grubs, beetles, ripe apples or cherries, corn, or
+preferably beech-nuts. At a loving call from its mate in the hollow
+tree, it returns promptly to perform its share of the work, when the
+carefully observed "time is up." The heap of sawdust at the bottom of
+the hollow will eventually cradle from four to six glossy-white eggs.
+
+This woodpecker has the thrifty habit of storing away nuts in the
+knot-holes of trees, between cracks in the bark, or in decayed fence
+rails--too often a convenient storehouse at which the squirrels may
+help themselves. But it is the black snake that enters the nest and
+eats the young family, and that is a more deadly foe than even the
+sportsman or the milliner.
+
+   [Illustration: YELLOWBIRD'S NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD'S EGG]
+
+   [Illustration: BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS,
+      TWO WEEKS OLD]
+
+   [Illustration: ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD.]
+
+
+    The Hairy Woodpecker
+
+    (_Dryobates villosus_) Woodpecker family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 45)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Black and white above, white beneath. White stripe down
+       the back, composed of long hair-like feathers. Bright-red
+       band on the nape of neck. Wings striped and dashed with black
+       and white. Outer tail feathers white, without bars. White
+       stripe about eyes and on sides of the head.
+
+    _Female_--Without the red band on head, and body more brownish
+       than that of the male.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of United States, from the Canadian
+       border to the Carolinas.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident throughout its range.
+
+The bill of the woodpecker is a hammering tool, well fitted for its
+work. Its mission in life is to rid the trees of insects, which hide
+beneath the bark, and with this end in view, the bird is seen clinging
+to the trunks and branches of trees through fair and wintry weather,
+industriously scanning every inch for the well-known signs of the
+boring worm or destructive fly.
+
+In the autumn the male begins to excavate his winter quarters,
+carrying or throwing out the chips, by which this good workman is
+known, with his beak, while the female may make herself cosey or not,
+as she chooses, in an abandoned hole. About her comfort he seems
+shamefully unconcerned. Intent only on his own, he drills a perfectly
+round hole, usually on the under side of a limb where neither snow nor
+wind can harm him, and digs out a horizontal tunnel in the dry,
+brittle wood in the very heart of the tree, before turning downward
+into the deep, pear-shaped chamber, where he lives in selfish
+solitude. But when the nesting season comes, how devoted he is
+temporarily to the mate he has neglected and even abused through the
+winter! Will she never learn that after her clear-white eggs are laid
+and her brood raised he will relapse into the savage and forget all
+his tender wiles?
+
+The hairy woodpecker, like many another bird and beast, furnishes much
+doubtful weather lore for credulous and inexact observers. "When the
+woodpecker pecks low on the trees, expect warm weather" is a common
+saying, but when different individuals are seen pecking at the same
+time, one but a few feet from the ground, and another among the high
+branches, one may make the prophecy that pleases him best.
+
+The hairy woodpeckers love the deep woods. They are drummers, not
+singers; but when walking in the desolate winter woods even the
+drumming and tapping of the busy feathered workmen on a resonant limb
+is a solace, giving a sense of life and cheerful activity which is
+invigorating.
+
+
+    The Downy Woodpecker
+
+    (_Dryobates pubescens_) Woodpecker family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 45)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Black above, striped with white. Tail shaped like a
+       wedge. Outer tail feathers white, and barred with black.
+       Middle tail feathers black. A black stripe on top of head, and
+       distinct white band over and under the eyes. Red patch on
+       upper side of neck. Wings, with six white bands crossing them
+       transversely; white underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but without scarlet on the nape, which is white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Labrador to Florida.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident all the year throughout its range.
+
+The downy woodpecker is similar to his big relative, the hairy
+woodpecker, in color and shape, though much smaller. His outer tail
+feathers are white, barred with black, but the hairy's white outer
+tail feathers lack these distinguishing marks.
+
+He is often called a sapsucker--though quite another bird alone merits
+that name--from the supposition that he bores into the trees for the
+purpose of sucking the sap; but his tongue is ill adapted for such
+use, being barbed at the end, and most ornithologists consider the
+charge libellous. It has been surmised that he bores the numerous
+little round holes close together, so often seen, with the idea of
+attracting insects to the luscious sap. The woodpeckers never drill
+for insects in live wood. The downy actually drills these little holes
+in apple and other trees to feed upon the inner milky bark of the
+tree--the cambium layer. The only harm to be laid to his account is
+that, in his zeal, he sometimes makes a ring of small holes so
+continuous as to inadvertently damage the tree by girdling it. The
+bird, like most others, does not debar himself entirely from fruit
+diet, but enjoys berries, especially poke-berries.
+
+He is very social with birds and men alike. In winter he attaches
+himself to strolling bands of nuthatches and chickadees, and in summer
+is fond of making friendly visits among village folk, frequenting the
+shade trees of the streets and grapevines of back gardens. He has even
+been known to fearlessly peck at flies on window panes.
+
+In contrast to his large brother woodpecker, who is seldom drawn from
+timber lands, the little downy member of the family brings the comfort
+of his cheery presence to country homes, beating his rolling tattoo in
+spring on some resonant limb under our windows in the garden with a
+strength worthy of a larger drummer.
+
+This rolling tattoo, or drumming, answers several purposes: by it he
+determines whether the tree is green or hollow; it startles insects
+from their lurking places underneath the bark, and it also serves as a
+love song.
+
+
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
+
+    (_Sphyrapicus varius_) Woodpecker family
+
+    _Called also_: THE SAPSUCKER
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 8.6 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Black, white, and yellowish white above, with
+       bright-red crown, chin, and throat. Breast black, in form of
+       crescent. A yellowish-white line, beginning at bill and
+       passing below eye, merges into the pale yellow of the bird
+       underneath. Wings spotted with white, and coverts chiefly
+       white. Tail black; white on middle of feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Paler, and with head and throat white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Labrador to Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Resident north of Massachusetts.
+       Most common in autumn.
+
+It is sad to record that this exquisitely marked woodpecker, the most
+jovial and boisterous of its family, is one of the very few bird
+visitors whose intimacy should be discouraged. For its useful appetite
+for slugs and insects which it can take on the wing with wonderful
+dexterity, it need not be wholly condemned. But as we look upon a
+favorite maple or fruit tree devitalized or perhaps wholly dead from
+its ravages, we cannot forget that this bird, while a most abstemious
+fruit-eater, has a pernicious and most intemperate thirst for sap.
+Indeed, it spends much of its time in the orchard, drilling holes into
+the freshest, most vigorous trees; then, when their sap begins to
+flow, it siphons it into an insatiable throat, stopping in its orgie
+only long enough to snap at the insects that have been attracted to
+the wounded tree by the streams of its heart-blood now trickling down
+its sides. Another favorite pastime is to strip the bark off a tree,
+then peck at the soft wood underneath--almost as fatal a habit. It
+drills holes in maples in early spring for sap only. If it drills
+holes in fruit trees it is for the cambium layer, a soft, pulpy,
+nutritious under-bark.
+
+These woodpeckers have a variety of call-notes, but their rapid
+drumming against the limbs and trunks of trees is the sound we always
+associate with them and the sound that Mr. Bicknell says is the
+love-note of the family.
+
+Unhappily, these birds, that many would be glad to have decrease in
+numbers, take extra precautions for the safety of their young by
+making very deep excavations for their nests, often as deep as
+eighteen or twenty inches.
+
+
+    The Chewink
+
+    (_Pipilo erythrophthalmus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: GROUND ROBIN; TOWHEE; TOWHEE BUNTING; TOWHEE GROUND
+       FINCH; GRASEL
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts black, sometimes margined with rufous.
+       Breast white; chestnut color on sides and rump. Wings marked
+       with white. Three outer feathers of tail striped with white,
+       conspicuous in flight. Bill black and stout. Red eyes; feet
+       brown.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish where the male is black. Abdomen shading
+       from chestnut to white in the centre.
+
+    _Range_--From Labrador, on the north, to the Southern States;
+       west to the Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September and October. Summer resident.
+       Very rarely a winter resident at the north.
+
+The unobtrusive little chewink is not infrequently mistaken for a
+robin, because of the reddish chestnut on its under parts. Careful
+observation, however, shows important distinctions. It is rather
+smaller and darker in color; its carriage and form are not those of
+the robin, but of the finch. The female is smaller still, and has an
+olive tint in her brown back. Her eggs are inconspicuous in color,
+dirty white speckled with brown, and laid in a sunken nest on the
+ground. Dead leaves and twigs abound, and form, as the anxious mother
+fondly hopes, a safe hiding place for her brood. So careful
+concealment, however, brings peril to the fledglings, for the most
+cautious bird-lover may, and often does, inadvertently set his foot on
+the hidden nest.
+
+The chewink derives its name from the fancied resemblance of its note
+to these syllables, while those naming it "towhee" hear the sound
+_to-whick_, _to-whick_, _to-whee_. Its song is rich, full, and
+pleasing, and given only when the bird has risen to the branches above
+its low foraging ground.
+
+It frequents the border of swampy places and bushy fields. It is
+generally seen in the underbrush, picking about among the dead leaves
+for its steady diet of earthworms and larvæ of insects, occasionally
+regaling itself with a few dropping berries and fruit.
+
+When startled, the bird rises not more than ten or twelve feet from
+the earth, and utters its characteristic calls. On account of this
+habit of flying low and grubbing among the leaves, it is sometimes
+called the ground robin. In the South our modest and useful little
+food-gatherer is often called grasel, especially in Louisiana, where
+it is white-eyed, and is much esteemed, alas! by epicures.
+
+   [Illustration: TOWHEE (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+   [Illustration: ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (Upper Figure, Female;
+      Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+
+    Snowflake
+
+    (_Plectrophenax nivalis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SNOW BUNTING; WHITEBIRD; SNOWBIRD; SNOW LARK
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Head, neck, and beneath soiled white, with
+       a few reddish-brown feathers on top of head, and suggesting an
+       imperfect collar. Above, grayish brown obsoletely streaked
+       with black, the markings being most conspicuous in a band
+       between shoulders. Lower tail feathers black; others, white
+       and all edged with white. Wings brown, white, and gray.
+       Plumage unusually variable. In summer dress (in arctic
+       regions) the bird is almost white.
+
+    _Range_--Circumpolar regions to Kentucky (in winter only).
+
+    _Migrations_--Midwinter visitor; rarely, if ever, resident
+       south of arctic regions.
+
+These snowflakes (mentioned collectively, for it is impossible to
+think of the bird except in great flocks) are the "true spirits of the
+snowstorm," says Thoreau. They are animated beings that ride upon it,
+and have their life in it. By comparison with the climate of the
+arctic regions, no doubt our hardiest winter weather seems luxuriously
+mild to them. We associate them only with those wonderful midwinter
+days when sky, fields, and woods alike are white, and a "hard, dull
+bitterness of cold" drives every other bird and beast to shelter. It
+is said they often pass the night buried beneath the snow. They have
+been seen to dive beneath it to escape a hawk.
+
+Whirling about in the drifting snow to catch the seeds on the tallest
+stalks that the wind in the open meadows uncovers, the snowflakes
+suggest a lot of dead leaves being blown through the all-pervading
+whiteness. Beautiful soft brown, gray, and predominating
+black-and-white coloring distinguish these capricious visitors from
+the slaty junco, the "snowbird" more commonly known. They are, indeed,
+the only birds we have that are nearly white; and rarely, if ever, do
+they rise far above the ground their plumage so admirably imitates.
+
+At the far north, travellers have mentioned their inspiriting song,
+but in the United States we hear only their cheerful twitter. Nansen
+tells of seeing an occasional snow bunting in that desolation of
+arctic ice where the _Fram_ drifted so long.
+
+
+    The Rose-breasted Grosbeak
+
+    (_Habia ludoviciana_) Finch family
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 55 and 59)
+
+
+    _Length_--7.75 to 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Head and upper parts black. Breast has rose-carmine
+       shield-shaped patch, often extending downward to the centre of
+       the abdomen. Underneath, tail quills, and two spots on wings
+       white. Conspicuous yellow, blunt beak.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish, with dark streakings, like a sparrow. No
+       rose-color. Light sulphur yellow under wings. Dark brown,
+       heavy beak.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from southern Canada to
+       Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. September. Summer resident.
+
+A certain ornithologist tells with complacent pride of having shot
+over fifty-eight rose-breasted grosbeaks in less than three weeks
+(during the breeding season) to learn what kind of food they had in
+their crops. This kind of devotion to science may have quite as much
+to do with the growing scarcity of this bird in some localities as the
+demands of the milliners, who, however, receive all of the blame for
+the slaughter of our beautiful songsters. The farmers in Pennsylvania,
+who, with more truth than poetry, call this the potato-bug bird, are
+taking active measures, however, to protect the neighbor that is more
+useful to their crop than all the insecticides known. It also eats
+flies, wasps, and grubs.
+
+Seen upon the ground, the dark bird is scarcely attractive with his
+clumsy beak overbalancing a head that protrudes with stupid-looking
+awkwardness; but as he rises into the trees his lovely rose-colored
+breast and under-wing feathers are seen, and before he has had time to
+repeat his delicious, rich-voiced warble you are already in love with
+him. Vibrating his wings after the manner of the mocking-bird, he
+pours forth a marvellously sweet, clear, mellow song (with something
+of the quality of the oriole's, robin's, and thrush's notes), making
+the day on which you first hear it memorable. This is one of the few
+birds that sing at night. A soft, sweet, rolling warble, heard when
+the moon is at its full on a midsummer night, is more than likely to
+come from the rose-breasted grosbeak.
+
+It is not that his quiet little sparrow-like wife has advanced notions
+of feminine independence that he takes his turn at sitting upon the
+nest, but that he is one of the most unselfish and devoted of mates.
+With their combined efforts they construct only a coarse, unlovely
+cradle in a thorn-bush or low tree near an old, overgrown pasture lot.
+The father may be the poorest of architects, but as he patiently sits
+brooding over the green, speckled eggs, his beautiful rosy breast just
+showing above the grassy rim, he is a sufficient adornment for any
+bird's home.
+
+
+    The Bobolink
+
+    (_Dolichonyx oryzivorus_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: REEDBIRD; MAYBIRD; MEADOW-BIRD; AMERICAN ORTOLAN;
+       BUTTER-BIRD; SKUNK BLACKBIRD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 74)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_In spring plumage_: black, with light-yellow patch on
+       upper neck, also on edges of wings and tail feathers. Rump and
+       upper wings splashed with white. Middle of back streaked with
+       pale buff. Tail feathers have pointed tips. _In autumn
+       plumage_, resembles female.
+
+    _Female_--Dull yellow-brown, with light and dark dashes on
+       back, wings, and tail. Two decided dark stripes on top of
+       head.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from eastern coast to western
+       prairies. Migrates in early autumn to Southern States, and in
+       winter to South America and West Indies.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. From August to October. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+Perhaps none of our birds have so fitted into song and story as the
+bobolink. Unlike a good child, who should "be seen and not heard," he
+is heard more frequently than seen. Very shy, of peering eyes, he
+keeps well out of sight in the meadow grass before entrancing our
+listening ears. The bobolink never soars like the lark, as the poets
+would have us believe, but generally sings on the wing, flying with a
+peculiar self-conscious flight horizontally thirty or forty feet above
+the meadow grass. He also sings perched upon the fence or tuft of
+grass. He is one of the greatest _poseurs_ among the birds.
+
+In spring and early summer the bobolinks respond to every poet's
+effort to imitate their notes. "Dignified 'Robert of Lincoln' is
+telling his name," says one; "Spink, spank, spink," another hears him
+say. But best of all are Wilson Flagg's lines:
+
+           ... "Now they rise and now they fly;
+   They cross and turn, and in and out,
+    and down the middle and wheel about,
+   With a 'Phew, shew, Wadolincon;
+    listen to me Bobolincon!'"
+
+After midsummer the cares of the family have so worn upon the jollity
+of our dashing, rollicking friend that his song is seldom heard. The
+colors of his coat fade into a dull yellowish brown like that of his
+faithful mate, who has borne the greater burden of the season, for he
+has two complete moults each year.
+
+The bobolinks build their nest on the ground in high grass. The eggs
+are of a bluish white. Their food is largely insectivorous:
+grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, with seeds of grass
+especially for variety.
+
+In August they begin their journey southward, flying mainly by night.
+Arriving in the Southern States, they become the sad-colored,
+low-voiced rice or reed bird, feeding on the rice fields, where they
+descend to the ignominious fate of being dressed for the plate of the
+epicure.
+
+Could there be a more tragic ending to the glorious note of the gay
+songster of the north?
+
+
+    Blackpoll Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica striata_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Black cap; cheeks and beneath grayish white, forming a
+       sort of collar, more or less distinct. Upper parts striped
+       gray, black, and olive. Breast and under parts white, with
+       black streaks. Tail olive-brown, with yellow-white spots.
+
+    _Female_--Without cap. Greenish-olive above, faintly streaked
+       with black. Paler than male. Bands on wings, yellowish.
+
+    _Range_--North America, to Greenland and Alaska. In winter, to
+       northern part of South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Last of May. Late October.
+
+A faint "_screep_, _screep_," like "the noise made by striking two
+pebbles together," Audubon says, is often the only indication of the
+blackpoll's presence; but surely that tireless bird-student had heard
+its more characteristic notes, which, rapidly uttered, increasing in
+the middle of the strain and diminishing toward the end, suggest the
+shrill, wiry hum of some midsummer insect. After the opera-glass has
+searched him out we find him by no means an inconspicuous bird. A
+dainty little fellow, with a glossy black cap pulled over his eyes, he
+is almost hidden by the dense foliage on the trees by the time he
+returns to us at the very end of spring. Giraud says that he is the
+very last of his tribe to come north, though the bay-breasted warbler
+has usually been thought the bird to wind up the spring procession.
+
+The blackpoll has a certain characteristic motion that distinguishes
+him from the black-and-white creeper, for which a hasty glance might
+mistake him, and from the jolly little chickadee with his black cap.
+Apparently he runs about the tree-trunk, but in reality he so flits
+his wings that his feet do not touch the bark at all; yet so rapidly
+does he go that the flipping wing-motion is not observed. He is most
+often seen in May in the apple trees, peeping into the opening
+blossoms for insects, uttering now and then his slender, lisping,
+brief song.
+
+Vivacious, a busy hunter, often catching insects on the wing like the
+flycatchers, he is a cheerful, useful neighbor the short time he
+spends with us before travelling to the far north, where he mates and
+nests. A nest has been found on Slide Mountain, in the Catskills, but
+the hardy evergreens of Canada, and sometimes those of northern New
+England, are the chosen home of this little bird that builds a nest of
+bits of root, lichens, and sedges, amply large for a family twice the
+size of his.
+
+
+    Black-and-white Creeping Warbler
+
+    (_Mniotilta varia_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: VARIED CREEPING WARBLER; BLACK-AND-WHITE CREEPER;
+       WHITEPOLL WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts white, varied with black. A white stripe
+       along the summit of the head and back of the neck, edged with
+       black. White line above and below the eye. Black cheeks and
+       throat, grayish in females and young. Breast white in middle,
+       with black stripes on sides. Wings and tail rusty black, with
+       two white cross-bars on former, and soiled white markings on
+       tail quills.
+
+    _Female_--Paler and less distinct markings throughout.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to America. Eastern United States and
+       westward to the plains. North as far as the fur countries.
+       Winters in tropics south of Florida.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. Late September. Summer resident.
+
+Nine times out of ten this active little warbler is mistaken for the
+downy woodpecker, not because of his coloring alone, but also on
+account of their common habit of running up and down the trunks of
+trees and on the under side of branches, looking for insects, on which
+all the warblers subsist. But presently the true warbler
+characteristic of restless flitting about shows itself. A woodpecker
+would go over a tree with painstaking, systematic care, while the
+black-and-white warbler, no less intent upon securing its food,
+hurries off from tree to tree, wherever the most promising _menu_ is
+offered.
+
+Clinging to the mottled bark of the tree-trunk, which he so closely
+resembles, it would be difficult to find him were it not for these
+sudden flittings and the feeble song, "_Weachy_, _weachy_, _weachy_,
+_'twee_, _'twee_, _'tweet_," he half lisps, half sings between his
+dashes after slugs. Very rarely indeed can his nest be found in an old
+stump or mossy bank, where bark, leaves, and hair make the downy
+cradle for his four or five tiny babies.
+
+
+
+
+DUSKY AND GRAY AND SLATE-COLORED BIRDS
+
+    Chimney Swift                      Junco
+    Kingbird                           White-breasted Nuthatch
+    Wood Pewee                         Red-breasted Nuthatch
+    Ph[oe]be and Say's Ph[oe]be        Loggerhead Shrike
+    Crested Flycatcher                 Northern Shrike
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher             Bohemian Waxwing
+    Least Flycatcher                   Bay-breasted Warbler
+    Chickadee                          Chestnut-sided Warbler
+    Tufted Titmouse                    Golden-winged Warbler
+    Canada Jay                         Myrtle Warbler
+    Catbird                            Parula Warbler
+    Mocking-bird                       Black-throated Blue Warbler
+
+See also the Grayish Green and the Grayish Brown Birds, particularly
+the Cedar Bird, several Swallows, the Acadian and the Yellow-bellied
+Flycatchers; Alice's and the Olive-backed Thrushes; the Louisiana
+Water Thrush; the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; and the Seaside Sparrow. See
+also the females of the following birds: Pine Grosbeak; White-winged
+Red Crossbill; Purple Martin; and the Nashville, the Pine, and the
+Magnolia Warblers.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CHIMNEY SWIFT (_One-half natural size_)]
+
+
+    Chimney Swift
+
+    (_Chætura pelagica_) Swift family
+
+    _Called also:_ CHIMNEY SWALLOW; AMERICAN SWIFT
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 66)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.45 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow. Long wings make its length appear greater.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Deep sooty gray; throat of a trifle lighter
+       gray. Wings extend an inch and a half beyond the even tail,
+       which has sharply pointed and very elastic quills, that serve
+       as props. Feet are muscular, and have exceedingly sharp claws.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to North America east of the Rockies, and
+       from Labrador to Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September or October. Common summer resident.
+
+The chimney swift is, properly speaking, not a swallow at all, though
+chimney swallow is its more popular name. Rowing towards the roof of
+your house, as if it used first one wing, then the other, its flight,
+while swift and powerful, is stiff and mechanical, unlike the
+swallow's, and its entire aspect suggests a bat. The nighthawk and
+whippoorwill are its relatives, and it resembles them not a little,
+especially in its nocturnal habits.
+
+So much fault has been found with the misleading names of many birds,
+it is pleasant to record the fact that the name of the chimney swift
+is everything it ought to be. No other birds can surpass and few can
+equal it in its powerful flight, sometimes covering a thousand miles
+in twenty-four hours, it is said, and never resting except in its
+roosting places (hollow trees or chimneys of dwellings), where it does
+not perch, but rather clings to the sides with its sharp claws, partly
+supported by its sharper tail. Audubon tells of a certain plane tree
+in Kentucky where he counted over nine thousand of these swifts
+clinging to the hollow trunk.
+
+Their nest, which is a loosely woven twig lattice, made of twigs of
+trees, which the birds snap off with their beaks and carry in their
+beaks, is glued with the bird's saliva or tree-gum into a solid
+structure, and firmly attached to the inside of chimneys, or hollow
+trees where there are no houses about. Two broods in a season usually
+emerge from the pure white, elongated eggs.
+
+What a twittering there is in the chimney that the swifts appropriate
+after the winter fires have died out! Instead of the hospitable column
+of smoke curling from the top, a cloud of sooty birds wheels and floats
+above it. A sound as of distant thunder fills the chimney as a host of
+these birds, startled, perhaps, by some indoor noise, whirl their way
+upward. Woe betide the happy colony if a sudden cold snap in early
+summer necessitates the starting of a fire on the hearth by the
+unsuspecting householder! The glue being melted by the fire, "down comes
+the cradle, babies and all" into the glowing embers. A prolonged, heavy
+rain also causes their nests to loosen their hold and fall with the soot
+to the bottom.
+
+Thrifty New England housekeepers claim that bedbugs, commonly found on
+bats, infest the bodies of swifts also, which is one reason why wire
+netting is stretched across the chimney tops before the birds arrive
+from the South.
+
+
+    Kingbird
+
+    (_Tyrannus tyrannus_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also:_ TYRANT FLYCATCHER; BEE MARTIN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 12)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 inches. About two inches shorter than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Ashy black above; white, shaded with ash-color,
+       beneath. A concealed crest of orange-red on crown. Tail black,
+       terminating with a white band conspicuous in flight. Wing
+       feathers edged with white. Feet and bill black.
+
+    _Female_--Similar to the male, but lacking the crown.
+
+    _Range_--United States to the Rocky Mountains. British
+       provinces to Central and South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+If the pugnacious propensity of the kingbird is the occasion of its
+royal name, he cannot be said to deserve it from any fine or noble
+qualities he possesses. He is a born fighter from the very love of
+it, without provocation, rhyme, or reason. One can but watch with a
+degree of admiration his bold sallies on the big, black crow or the
+marauding hawk, but when he bullies the small inoffensive birds in
+wanton attacks for sheer amusement, the charge is less entertaining.
+Occasionally, when the little victim shows pluck and faces his
+assailant, the kingbird will literally turn tail and show the white
+feather. His method of attack is always when a bird is in flight; then
+he swoops down from the telegraph pole or high point of vantage, and
+strikes on the head or back of the neck, darting back like a flash to
+the exact spot from which he started. By these tactics he avoids a
+return blow and retreats from danger. He never makes a fair
+hand-to-hand fight, or whatever is equivalent in bird warfare. It is a
+satisfaction to record that he does not attempt to give battle to the
+catbird, but whenever in view makes a grand detour to give him a wide
+berth.
+
+The kingbird feeds on beetles, canker-worms, and winged insects, with
+an occasional dessert of berries. He is popularly supposed to prefer
+the honey-bee as his favorite tidbit, but the weight of opinion is
+adverse to the charge of his depopulating the beehive, even though he
+owes his appellation bee martin to this tradition. One or two
+ornithologists declare that he selects only the drones for his diet,
+which would give him credit for marvellous sight in his rapid motion
+through the air. The kingbird is preëminently a bird of the garden and
+orchard. The nest is open, though deep, and not carefully concealed.
+Eggs are nearly round, bluish white spotted with brown and lilac. With
+truly royal exclusiveness, the tyrant favors no community of interest,
+but sits in regal state on a conspicuous throne, and takes his grand
+flights alone or with his queen, but never with a flock of his kind.
+
+
+    Wood Pewee
+
+    (_Contopus virens_) Flycatcher family
+
+
+    _Length_--6.50 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Dusky brownish olive above, darkest on head; paler on
+       throat, lighter still underneath, and with a yellowish tinge
+       on the dusky gray under parts. Dusky wings and tail, the wing
+       coverts tipped with soiled white, forming two indistinct bars.
+       Whitish eye-ring. Wings longer than tail.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but slightly more buff underneath.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Florida to northern
+       British provinces. Winters in Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+The wood pewee, like the olive-sided flycatcher, has wings decidedly
+longer than its tail, and it is by no means a simple matter for the
+novice to tell these birds apart or separate them distinctly in the
+mind from the other members of a family whose coloring and habits are
+most confusingly similar. This dusky haunter of tall shady trees has
+not yet learned to be sociable like the ph[oe]be; but while it may not
+be so much in evidence close to our homes, it is doubtless just as
+common. The orchard is as near the house as it often cares to come. An
+old orchard, where modern insecticides are unknown and neglect allows
+insects to riot among the decayed bark and fallen fruit, is a happy
+hunting ground enough; but the bird's real preferences are decidedly
+for high tree-tops in the woods, where no sunshine touches the
+feathers on his dusky coat. It is one of the few shade-loving birds.
+In deep solitudes, where it surely retreats by nesting time, however
+neighborly it may be during the migrations, its pensive, pathetic
+notes, long drawn out, seem like the expression of some hidden sorrow.
+_Pe-a-wee_, _pe-a-wee_, _pewee-ah-peer_ is the burden of its plaintive
+song, a sound as depressing as it is familiar in every walk through
+the woods, and the bird's most prominent characteristic.
+
+To see the bird dashing about in his aërial chase for insects, no one
+would accuse him of melancholia. He keeps an eye on the "main chance,"
+whatever his preying grief may be, and never allows it to affect his
+appetite. Returning to his perch after a successful sally in pursuit
+of the passing fly, he repeats his "sweetly solemn thought" over and
+over again all day long and every day throughout the summer.
+
+The wood pewees show that devotion to each other and to their home,
+characteristic of their family. Both lovers work on the construction
+of the flat nest that is saddled on some mossy or lichen-covered limb,
+and so cleverly do they cover the rounded edge with bits of bark and
+lichen that sharp eyes only can detect where the cradle lies.
+Creamy-white eggs, whose larger end is wreathed with brown and lilac
+spots, are guarded with fierce solicitude.
+
+Trowbridge has celebrated this bird in a beautiful poem.
+
+
+    Ph[oe]be
+
+    (_Sayornis ph[oe]be_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also:_ DUSKY FLYCATCHER; BRIDGE PEWEE; WATER PEWEE
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 75)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. About an inch longer than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Dusky olive-brown above; darkest on head,
+       which is slightly crested. Wings and tail dusky, the outer
+       edges of some tail feathers whitish. Dingy yellowish white
+       underneath. Bill and feet black.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to the South
+       Atlantic States, and westward to the Rockies. Winters south of
+       the Carolinas, into Mexico, Central America, and the West
+       Indies.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October. Common summer resident.
+
+The earliest representative of the flycatcher family to come out of
+the tropics where insect life fairly swarms and teems, what does the
+friendly little ph[oe]be find to attract him to the north in March
+while his prospective dinners must all be still in embryo? He looks
+dejected, it is true, as he sits solitary and silent on some
+projecting bare limb in the garden, awaiting the coming of his tardy
+mate; nevertheless, the date of his return will not vary by more than
+a few days in a given locality year after year. Why birds that are
+mated for life, as these are said to be, and such devoted lovers,
+should not travel together on their journey north, is another of the
+many mysteries of bird-life awaiting solution.
+
+The reunited, happy couple go about the garden and outbuildings like
+domesticated wrens, investigating the crannies on piazzas, where
+people may be coming and going, and boldly entering barn-lofts to find
+a suitable site for the nest that it must take much of both time and
+skill to build.
+
+_Pewit_, _ph[oe]be_, _ph[oe]be_; _pewit_, _ph[oe]be_, they contentedly
+but rather monotonously sing as they investigate all the sites in the
+neighborhood. Presently a location is chosen under a beam or rafter,
+and the work of collecting moss and mud for the foundation and hair
+and feathers or wool to line the exquisite little home begins. But the
+labor is done cheerfully, with many a sally in midair either to let
+off superfluous high spirits or to catch a morsel on the wing, and
+with many a vivacious outburst of what by courtesy only we may name a
+song.
+
+When not domesticated, as these birds are rapidly becoming the
+ph[oe]bes dearly love a cool, wet woodland retreat. Here they hunt and
+bathe; here they also build in a rocky bank or ledge of rocks or
+underneath a bridge, but always with clever adaptation of their nest
+to its surroundings, out of which it seems a natural growth. It is one
+of the most finished, beautiful nests ever found.
+
+A pair of ph[oe]bes become attached to a spot where they have once
+nested; they never stray far from it, and return to it regularly,
+though they may not again occupy the old nest. This is because it soon
+becomes infested with lice from the hen's feathers used in lining it,
+for which reason too close relationship with this friendly
+bird-neighbor is discouraged by thrifty housekeepers. When the baby
+birds have come out from the four or six little white eggs, their
+helpless bodies are mercilessly attacked by parasites, and are often
+so enfeebled that half the brood die. The next season another nest
+will be built near the first, the following summer still another,
+until it would appear that a colony of birds had made their homes in
+the place.
+
+Throughout the long summer--for as the ph[oe]be is the first
+flycatcher to come, so it is the last to go--the bird is a tireless
+hunter of insects, which it catches on the wing with a sharp click of
+its beak, like the other members of its dexterous family.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Say's Ph[oe]be (_Sayornis saya_) is the Western representative of the
+Eastern species, which it resembles in coloring and many of its
+habits. It is the bird of the open plains, a tireless hunter in midair
+sallies from an isolated perch, and has the same vibrating motion of
+the tail that the Eastern ph[oe]be indulges in when excited. This bird
+differs chiefly in its lighter coloring, but not in habits, from the
+black pewee of the Pacific slope.
+
+
+    Great-crested Flycatcher
+
+    (_Myiarchus crinitus_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: CRESTED FLYCATCHER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 106)
+
+
+    _Length_--8.50 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Feathers of the head pointed and erect.
+       Upper parts dark grayish-olive, inclining to rusty brown on
+       wings and tail. Wing coverts crossed with two irregular bars
+       of yellowish white. Throat gray, shading into sulphur-yellow
+       underneath, that also extends under the wings. Inner vane of
+       several tail quills rusty red. Bristles at base of bill.
+
+    _Range_--From Mexico, Central America, and West Indies
+       northward to southern Canada and westward to the plains. Most
+       common in Mississippi basin; common also in eastern United
+       States, south of New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+The most dignified and handsomely dressed member of his family, the
+crested flycatcher has, nevertheless, an air of pensive melancholy
+about him when in repose that can be accounted for only by the pain he
+must feel every time he hears himself screech. His harsh, shrill call,
+louder and more disagreeable than the kingbird's, cannot but rasp his
+ears as it does ours. And yet it is chiefly by this piercing note,
+given with a rising inflection, that we know the bird is in our
+neighborhood; for he is somewhat of a recluse, and we must often
+follow the disagreeable noise to its source in the tree-tops before we
+can catch a glimpse of the screecher. Perched on a high lookout, he
+appears morose and sluggish, in spite of his aristocratic-looking
+crest, trim figure, and feathers that must seem rather gay to one of
+his dusky tribe. A low soliloquy, apparently born of discontent, can
+be overheard from the foot of his tree. But another second, and he has
+dashed off in hot pursuit of an insect flying beyond our sight, and
+with extremely quick, dexterous evolutions in midair, he finishes the
+hunt with a sharp click of his bill as it closes over the unhappy
+victim, and then he returns to his perch. On the wing he is
+exceedingly active and joyous; in the tree he appears just the
+reverse. That he is a domineering fellow, quite as much of a tyrant as
+the notorious kingbird, that bears the greater burden of opprobrium,
+is shown in the fierce way he promptly dashes at a feathered stranger
+that may have alighted too near his perch, and pursues it beyond the
+bounds of justice, all the while screaming his rasping cry into the
+intruder's ears, that must pierce as deep as the thrusts from his
+relentless beak. He has even been known to drive off woodpeckers and
+bluebirds from the hollows in the trees that he, like them, chooses
+for a nest, and appropriate the results of their labor for his
+scarcely less belligerent mate. With a slight but important and
+indispensable addition, the stolen nest is ready to receive her four
+cream-colored eggs, that look as if a pen dipped in purple ink had
+been scratched over them.
+
+The fact that gives the great-crested flycatcher a unique interest
+among all North American birds is that it invariably lines its nest
+with snake-skins if one can be had. Science would scarcely be worth
+the studying if it did not set our imaginations to work delving for
+plausible reasons for Nature's strange doings. Most of us will
+doubtless agree with Wilson (who made a special study of these
+interesting nests and never found a single one without cast
+snake-skins in it, even in districts where snakes were so rare they
+were supposed not to exist at all), that the lining was chosen to
+terrorize all intruders. The scientific mind that is unwilling to
+dismiss any detail of Nature's work as merely arbitrary and haphazard,
+is greatly exercised over the reason for the existence of crests on
+birds. But, surely, may not the sight of snake-skins that first greet
+the eyes of the fledgling flycatchers as they emerge from the shell be
+a good and sufficient reason why the feathers on their little heads
+should stand on end? "In the absence of a snake-skin, I have found an
+onion skin and shad scales in the nest," says John Burroughs, who
+calls this bird "the wild Irishman of the flycatchers."
+
+
+   [Illustration: BOBOLINK (Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+   [Illustration: THE PH[OE]BE]
+
+
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher
+
+    (_Contopus borealis_) Flycatcher family
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About an inch longer than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Dusky olive or grayish brown above; head
+       darkest. Wings and tail blackish brown, the former sometimes,
+       but not always, margined and tipped with dusky white. Throat
+       yellowish white; other under parts slightly lighter shade than
+       above. Olive-gray on sides. A tuft of yellowish-white, downy
+       feathers on flanks. Bristles at base of bill.
+
+    _Range_--From Labrador to Panama. Winters in the tropics.
+       Nests usually north of United States, but it also breeds in
+       the Catskills.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Resident only in northern part
+       of its range.
+
+Only in the migrations may people south of Massachusetts hope to see
+this flycatcher, which can be distinguished from the rest of its kin
+by the darker under parts, and by the fluffy, yellowish-white tufts of
+feathers on its flanks. Its habits have the family characteristics: it
+takes its food on the wing, suddenly sallying forth from its perch,
+darting about midair to seize its prey, then as suddenly returning to
+its identical point of vantage, usually in some distended, dead limb
+in the tree-top; it is pugnacious, bold, and tyrannical; mopish and
+inert when not on the hunt, but wonderfully alert and swift when in
+pursuit of insect or feathered foe. The short necks of the flycatchers
+make their heads appear large for their bodies, a peculiarity slightly
+emphasized in this member of the family.
+
+High up in some evergreen tree, well out on a branch, over which the
+shapeless mass of twigs and moss that serves as a nest is saddled,
+four or five buff-speckled eggs are laid, and by some special
+dispensation rarely fall out of their insecure cradle. A sharp, loud
+whistle, _wheu--o-wheu-o-wheu-o_, rings out from the throat of this
+olive-sided tyrant, warning all intruders off the premises; but
+however harshly he may treat the rest of the feathered world, he has
+only gentle devotion to offer his brooding mate.
+
+
+    Least Flycatcher
+
+    (_Empidonax minimus_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: CHEBEC
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Gray or olive-gray above, paler on wings and lower
+       part of back, and a more distinct olive-green on head.
+       Underneath grayish white, sometimes faintly suffused with pale
+       yellow. Wings have whitish bars. White eye-ring. Lower half of
+       bill horn-color.
+
+    _Female_--Is slightly more yellowish underneath.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from tropics northward to Quebec.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+This, the smallest member of its family, takes the place of the more
+southerly Acadian flycatcher, throughout New England and the region of
+the Great Lakes. But, unlike his Southern relative, he prefers
+orchards and gardens close to our homes for his hunting grounds rather
+than the wet recesses of the forests. _Che-bec_, _che-bec_, the
+diminutive olive-pated gray sprite calls out from the orchard between
+his aërial sallies after the passing insects that have been attracted
+by the decaying fruit, and chebec is the name by which many New
+Englanders know him.
+
+While giving this characteristic call-note, with drooping jerking
+tail, trembling wings, and uplifted parti-colored bill, he, looks
+unnerved and limp by the effort it has cost him. But in the next
+instant a gnat flies past. How quickly the bird recovers itself, and
+charges full-tilt at his passing dinner! The sharp click of his little
+bill proves that he has not missed his aim; and after careering about
+in the air another minute or two, looking for more game to snap up on
+the wing, he will return to the same perch and take up his familiar
+refrain. Without hearing this call-note one might often mistake the
+bird for either the wood pewee or the ph[oe]be, for all the three are
+similarly clothed and have many traits in common. The slightly larger
+size of the ph[oe]be and pewee is not always apparent when they are
+seen perching on the trees. Unlike the "tuft of hay" to which the
+Acadian flycatcher's nest has been likened, the least flycatcher's
+home is a neat, substantial cup-shaped cradle softly lined with down
+or horsehair, and placed generally in an upright crotch of a tree,
+well above the ground.
+
+
+    The Chickadee
+
+    (_Parus atricapillus_) Titmouse family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE; BLACK-CAP TIT
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 78)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Not crested. Crown and nape and throat
+       black. Above gray, slightly tinged with brown. A white space,
+       beginning at base of bill, extends backward, widening over
+       cheeks and upper part of breast, forming a sort of collar that
+       almost surrounds neck. Underneath dirty white, with pale
+       rusty-brown wash on sides. Wings and tail gray, with white
+       edgings. Plumage downy.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. North of the Carolinas to
+       Labrador. Does not migrate in the North.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late September. May. Winter resident; permanent
+       resident in northern parts of the United States.
+
+No "fair weather friend" is the jolly little chickadee. In the depth
+of the autumn equinoctial storm it returns to the tops of the trees
+close by the house, where, through the sunshine, snow, and tempest of
+the entire winter, you may hear its cheery, irrepressible
+_chickadee-dee-dee-dee_ or _day-day-day_ as it swings around the
+dangling cones of the evergreens. It fairly overflows with good
+spirits, and is never more contagiously gay than in a snowstorm. So
+active, so friendly and cheering, what would the long northern winters
+be like without this lovable little neighbor?
+
+It serves a more utilitarian purpose, however, than bracing
+faint-hearted spirits. "There is no bird that compares with it in
+destroying the female canker-worm moths and their eggs," writes a
+well-known entomologist. He calculates that as a chickadee destroys
+about 5,500 eggs in one day, it will eat 138,750 eggs in the
+twenty-five days it takes the canker-worm moth to crawl up the trees.
+The moral that it pays to attract chickadees about your home by
+feeding them in winter is obvious. Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, in her
+delightful and helpful book "Birdcraft," tells us how she makes a sort
+of a bird-hash of finely minced raw meat, waste canary-seed,
+buckwheat, and cracked oats, which she scatters in a sheltered spot
+for all the winter birds. The way this is consumed leaves no doubt of
+its popularity. A raw bone, hung from an evergreen limb, is equally
+appreciated.
+
+Friendly as the chickadee is--and Dr. Abbott declares it the tamest
+bird we have--it prefers well-timbered districts, especially where
+there are red-bud trees, when it is time to nest. It is very often
+clever enough to leave the labor of hollowing out a nest in the
+tree-trunk to the woodpecker or nuthatch, whose old homes it readily
+appropriates; or, when these birds object, a knot-hole or a hollow
+fence-rail answers every purpose. Here, in the summer woods, when
+family cares beset it, a plaintive, minor whistle replaces the
+_chickadee-dee-dee_ that Thoreau likens to "silver tinkling" as he
+heard it on a frosty morning.
+
+   "Piped a tiny voice near by,
+    Gay and polite, a cheerful cry--
+    Chick-chickadeedee! saucy note
+    Out of sound heart and merry throat,
+    As if it said, 'Good-day, good Sir!
+    Fine afternoon, old passenger!
+    Happy to meet you in these places
+    Where January brings few faces.'"
+                           --_Emerson._
+
+
+    Tufted Titmouse
+
+    (_Parus bicolor_) Titmouse family
+
+    _Called also_: CRESTED TITMOUSE; CRESTED TOMTIT
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 79)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.5 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Crest high and pointed. Leaden or ash-gray
+       above; darkest on wings and tail. Frontlet, bill, and
+       shoulders black; space between eyes gray. Sides of head dull
+       white. Under parts light gray; sides yellowish, tinged with red.
+
+    _Range_--United States east of plains, and only rarely seen so
+       far north as New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Winter resident, but also found
+       throughout the year in many States.
+
+"A noisy titmouse is Jack Frost's trumpeter" may be one of those few
+weather-wise proverbs with a grain of truth in them. As the chickadee
+comes from the woods with the frost, so it may be noticed his cousin,
+the crested titmouse, is in more noisy evidence throughout the winter.
+
+One might sometimes think his whistle, like a tugboat's, worked by
+steam. But how effectually nesting cares alone can silence it in
+April!
+
+Titmice always see to it you are not lonely as you walk through the
+woods. This lordly tomtit, with his jaunty crest, keeps up a
+persistent whistle at you as he flits from tree to tree, leading you
+deeper into the forest, calling out "_Here-here-here!_" and looking
+like a pert and jaunty little blue jay, minus his gay clothes. Mr.
+Nehrling translates one of the calls "_Heedle-dee-dle-dee-dle-dee!_"
+and another "_Peto-peto-peto-daytee-daytee!_" But it is at the former,
+sharply whistled as the crested titmouse gives it, that every dog
+pricks up his ears.
+
+Comparatively little has been written about this bird, because it is
+not often found in New England, where most of the bird _litterateurs_
+have lived. South of New York State, however, it is a common resident,
+and much respected for the good work it does in destroying injurious
+insects, though it is more fond of varying its diet with nuts,
+berries, and seeds than that all-round benefactor, the chickadee.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CHICKADEE]
+
+   [Illustration: _National Association of Audubon Societies_
+      _See page 37_   TUFTED TITMOUSE]
+
+
+    Canada Jay
+
+    (_Perisoreus canadensis_) Crow and Jay family
+
+    _Called also_: WHISKY JACK OR JOHN; MOOSE-BIRD; MEAT-BIRD;
+       VENISON HERON; GREASE-BIRD; CANADIAN CARRION-BIRD; CAMP ROBBER
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. About two inches larger than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts gray; darkest on wings and tail;
+       back of the head and nape of the neck sooty, almost black.
+       Forehead, throat, and neck white, and a few white tips on wings
+       and tail. Underneath lighter gray. Tail long. Plumage fluffy.
+
+    _Range_--Northern parts of the United States and British
+       provinces of North America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident where found.
+
+The Canada jay looks like an exaggerated chickadee, and both birds are
+equally fond of bitter cold weather, but here the similarity stops
+short. Where the chickadee is friendly the jay is impudent and bold;
+hardly less of a villain than his blue relative when it comes to
+marauding other birds' nests and destroying their young. With all his
+vices, however, intemperance cannot be attributed to him, in spite of
+the name given him by the Adirondack lumbermen and guides. "Whisky
+John" is a purely innocent corruption of "Wis-ka-tjon," as the Indians
+call this bird that haunts their camps and familiarly enters their
+wigwams. The numerous popular names by which the Canada jays are known
+are admirably accounted for by Mr. Hardy in a bulletin issued by the
+Smithsonian Institution.
+
+"They will enter the tents, and often alight on the bow of a canoe,
+where the paddle at every stroke comes within eighteen inches of them.
+I know nothing which can be eaten that they will not take, and I had
+one steal all my candles, pulling them out endwise, one by one, from a
+piece of birch bark in which they were rolled, and another peck a
+large hole in a keg of castile soap. A duck which I had picked and
+laid down for a few minutes, had the entire breast eaten out by one or
+more of these birds. I have seen one alight in the middle of my canoe
+and peck away at the carcass of a beaver I had skinned. They often
+spoil deer saddles by pecking into them near the kidneys. They do
+great damage to the trappers by stealing the bait from traps set for
+martens and minks and by eating trapped game. They will sit quietly
+and see you build a log trap and bait it, and then, almost before your
+back is turned, you hear their hateful _ca-ca-ca!_ as they glide down
+and peer into it. They will work steadily, carrying off meat and
+hiding it. I have thrown out pieces, and watched one to see how much
+he would carry off. He flew across a wide stream, and in a short time
+looked as bloody as a butcher from carrying large pieces; but his
+patience held out longer than mine. I think one would work as long as
+Mark Twain's California jay did trying to fill a miner's cabin with
+acorns through a knot-hole in the roof. They are fond of the berries
+of the mountain ash, and, in fact, few things come amiss; I believe
+they do not possess a single good quality except industry."
+
+One virtue not mentioned by Mr. Hardy is their prudent saving from the
+summer surplus to keep the winter storeroom well supplied like a
+squirrel's. Such thrift is the more necessary when a clamorous, hungry
+family of young jays must be reared while the thermometer is often as
+low as thirty degrees below zero at the end of March. How eggs are
+ever hatched at all in a temperature calculated to freeze any sitting
+bird stiff, is one of the mysteries of the woods. And yet four or five
+fluffy little jays, that look as if they were dressed in gray fur,
+emerge from the eggs before the spring sunshine has unbound the icy
+rivers or melted the snowdrifts piled high around the evergreens.
+
+
+    Catbird
+
+    (_Galeoscoptes carolinensis_) Mocking-bird family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-CAPPED THRUSH
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 86)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 inches. An inch shorter than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Dark slate above; below somewhat paler; top
+       of head black. Distinct chestnut patch under the tail, which
+       is black; feet and bill black also. Wings short, more than two
+       inches shorter than the tail.
+
+    _Range_--British provinces to Mexico; west to Rocky Mountains,
+       rarely to Pacific coast. Winters in Southern States, Central
+       America, and Cuba.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. November. Common summer resident.
+
+Our familiar catbird, of all the feathered tribe, presents the most
+contrary characteristics, and is therefore held in varied
+estimation--loved, admired, ridiculed, abused. He is the veriest "Dr.
+Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" of birds. Exquisitely proportioned, with finely
+poised black head and satin-gray coat, which he bathes most carefully
+and prunes and prinks by the hour, he appears from his toilet a Beau
+Brummell, an aristocratic-looking, even dandified neighbor. Suddenly,
+as if shot, he drops head and tail and assumes the most hang-dog air,
+without the least sign of self-respect; then crouches and lengthens
+into a roll, head forward and tail straightened, till he looks like a
+little, short gray snake, lank and limp. Anon, with a jerk and a
+sprint, every muscle tense, tail erect, eyes snapping, he darts into
+the air intent upon some well-planned mischief. It is impossible to
+describe his various attitudes or moods. In song and call he presents
+the same opposite characteristics. How such a bird, exquisite in
+style, can demean himself to utter such harsh, altogether hateful
+catcalls and squawks as have given the bird his common name, is a
+wonder when in the next moment his throat swells and beginning
+_phut-phut-coquillicot_, he gives forth a long glorious song, only
+second to that of the wood thrush in melody. He is a jester, a
+caricaturist, a mocking-bird.
+
+The catbird's nest is like a veritable scrap-basket, loosely woven of
+coarse twigs, bits of newspaper, scraps, and rags, till this rough
+exterior is softly lined and made fit to receive the four to six
+pretty dark green-blue eggs to be laid therein.
+
+As a fruit thief harsh epithets are showered upon the friendly,
+confiding little creature at our doors; but surely his depredations
+may be pardoned, for he is industrious at all times and unusually
+adroit in catching insects, especially in the moth stage.
+
+
+    The Mocking-bird
+
+    (_Mimus polyglottus_) Mocking-bird family
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 13 and 107)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Gray above; wings and wedge-shaped tail
+       brownish; upper wing feathers tipped with white; outer tail
+       quills white, conspicuous in flight; chin white; underneath
+       light gray, shading to whitish.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to torrid and temperate zones of two Americas.
+
+    _Migrations_--No fixed migrations; usually resident where seen.
+
+North of Delaware this commonest of Southern birds is all too rarely
+seen outside of cages, yet even in midwinter it is not unknown in
+Central Park, New York. This is the angel that it is said the catbird
+was before he fell from grace. Slim, neat, graceful, imitative,
+amusing, with a rich, tender song that only the thrush can hope to
+rival, and with an instinctive preference for the society of man, it
+is little wonder he is a favorite, caged or free. He is a most devoted
+parent, too, when the four or six speckled green eggs have produced as
+many mouths to be supplied with insects and berries.
+
+In the Connecticut Valley, where many mocking-birds' nests have been
+found, year after year, they are all seen near the ground, and without
+exception are loosely, poorly constructed affairs of leaves, feathers,
+grass, and even rags.
+
+With all his virtues, it must be added, however, that this charming
+bird is a sad tease. There is no sound, whether made by bird or beast
+about him, that he cannot imitate so clearly as to deceive every one
+but himself. Very rarely can you find a mocking-bird without
+intelligence and mischief enough to appreciate his ventriloquism. In
+Sidney Lanier's college note-book was found written this reflection:
+"A poet is the mocking-bird of the spiritual universe. In him are
+collected all the individual songs of all individual natures." Later
+in life, with the same thought in mind, he referred to the bird as
+"yon slim Shakespeare on the tree." His exquisite stanzas, "To Our
+Mocking-bird," exalt the singer with the immortals:
+
+   "Trillets of humor,--shrewdest whistle-wit--
+    Contralto cadences of grave desire,
+    Such as from off the passionate Indian pyre
+    Drift down through sandal-odored flames that split
+    About the slim young widow, who doth sit
+    And sing above,--midnights of tone entire,--
+    Tissues of moonlight, shot with songs of fire;--
+    Bright drops of tune, from oceans infinite
+    Of melody, sipped off the thin-edged wave
+    And trickling down the beak,--discourses brave
+    Of serious matter that no man may guess,--
+    Good-fellow greetings, cries of light distress--
+    All these but now within the house we heard:
+    O Death, wast thou too deaf to hear the bird?
+
+          *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Nay, Bird; my grief gainsays the Lord's best right.
+    The Lord was fain, at some late festal time,
+    That Keats should set all heaven's woods in rhyme,
+    And Thou in bird-notes. Lo, this tearful night
+    Methinks I see thee, fresh from Death's despite,
+    Perched in a palm-grove, wild with pantomime
+    O'er blissful companies couched in shady thyme.
+    Methinks I hear thy silver whistlings bright
+    Meet with the mighty discourse of the wise,--
+    'Till broad Beethoven, deaf no more, and Keats,
+    'Midst of much talk, uplift their smiling eyes
+    And mark the music of thy wood-conceits,
+    And half-way pause on some large courteous word,
+    And call thee 'Brother,' O thou heavenly Bird!"
+
+
+    Junco
+
+    (_Junco hyemalis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SNOWBIRD; SLATE-COLORED SNOWBIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6.5 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts slate-colored; darkest on head and neck,
+       which are sometimes almost black and marked like a cowl. Gray
+       on breast, like a vest. Underneath white. Several outer tail
+       feathers white, conspicuous in flight.
+
+    _Female_--Lighter gray, inclining to brown.
+
+    _Range_--North America. Not common in warm latitudes. Breeds
+       in the Catskills and northern New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--September. April. Winter resident.
+
+"Leaden skies above; snow below," is Mr. Parkhurst's suggestive
+description of this rather timid little neighbor, that is only starved
+into familiarity. When the snow has buried seed and berries, a flock
+of juncos, mingling sociably with the sparrows and chickadees about
+the kitchen door, will pick up scraps of food with an intimacy quite
+touching in a bird naturally rather shy. Here we can readily
+distinguish these "little gray-robed monks and nuns," as Miss Florence
+Merriam calls them.
+
+They are trim, sprightly, sleek, and even natty; their dispositions
+are genial and vivacious, not quarrelsome, like their sparrow cousins,
+and what is perhaps best about them, they are birds we may surely
+depend upon seeing in the winter months. A few come forth in
+September, migrating at night from the deep woods of the north, where
+they have nested and moulted during the summer; but not until frost
+has sharpened the air are large numbers of them seen. Rejoicing in
+winter, they nevertheless do not revel in the deep and fierce arctic
+blasts, as the snowflakes do, but take good care to avoid the open
+pastures before the hard storms overtake them.
+
+Early in the spring their song is sometimes heard before they leave us
+to woo and to nest in the north. Mr. Bicknell describes it as "a crisp
+call-note, a simple trill, and a faint, whispered warble, usually much
+broken, but not without sweetness."
+
+
+    White-breasted Nuthatch
+
+    (_Sitta carolinensis_) Nuthatch family
+
+    _Called also_: TREE-MOUSE; DEVIL DOWNHEAD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 87)
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts slate-color. Top of head and
+       nape black. Wings dark slate, edged with black, that fades to
+       brown. Tail feathers brownish black, with white bars. Sides of
+       head and underneath white, shading to pale reddish under the
+       tail. (Female's head leaden.) Body flat and compact. Bill
+       longer than head.
+
+    _Range_--British provinces to Mexico. Eastern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Common resident. Most prominent
+       in winter.
+
+   "Shrewd little haunter of woods all gray,
+    Whom I meet on my walk of a winter day--
+    You're busy inspecting each cranny and hole
+    In the ragged bark of yon hickory bole;
+    You intent on your task, and I on the law
+    Of your wonderful head and gymnastic claw!
+
+    The woodpecker well may despair of this feat--
+    Only the fly with you can compete!
+    So much is clear; but I fain would know
+    How you can so reckless and fearless go,
+    Head upward, head downward, all one to you,
+    Zenith and nadir the same in your view?"
+
+                                 --_Edith M. Thomas._
+
+Could a dozen lines well contain a fuller description or more apt
+characterization of a bird than these "To a Nuthatch"?
+
+With more artless inquisitiveness than fear, this lively little
+acrobat stops his hammering or hatcheting at your approach, and
+stretching himself out from the tree until it would seem he must fall
+off, he peers down at you, head downward, straight into your upturned
+opera-glasses. If there is too much snow on the upper side of a
+branch, watch how he runs along underneath it like a fly, busily
+tapping the bark, or adroitly breaking the decayed bits with his bill,
+as he searches for the spider's eggs, larvæ, etc., hidden there; yet
+somehow, between mouthfuls, managing to call out his cheery _quank!_
+_quank!_ _hank!_ _hank!_
+
+Titmice and nuthatches, which have many similar characteristics, are
+often seen in the most friendly hunting parties on the same tree. A
+pine woods is their dearest delight. There, as the mercury goes down,
+their spirits only seem to go up higher. In the spring they have been
+thought by many to migrate in flocks, whereas they are only retreating
+with their relations away from the haunts of men to the deep, cool
+woods, where they nest. With infinite patience the nuthatch excavates
+a hole in a tree, lining it with feathers and moss, and often
+depositing as many as ten white eggs (speckled with red and lilac) for
+a single brood.
+
+
+    Red-breasted Nuthatch
+
+    (_Sitta canadensis_) Nuthatch family
+
+    Called also: CANADA NUTHATCH
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 87)
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 4.75 inches. One-third smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Lead-colored above; brownish on wings and tail. Head, neck,
+       and stripe passing through eye to shoulder, black. Frontlet,
+       chin, and shoulders white; also a white stripe over eye, meeting
+       on brow. Under parts light, rusty red. Tail feathers barred with
+       white near end, and tipped with pale brown.
+
+    _Female_--Has crown of brownish black, and is lighter beneath
+       than male.
+
+    _Range_--Northern parts of North America. Not often seen south
+       of the most northerly States.
+
+    _Migrations_--November. April. Winter resident.
+
+The brighter coloring of this tiny, hardy bird distinguishes it from
+the other and larger nuthatch, with whom it is usually seen, for the
+winter birds have a delightfully social manner, so that a colony of
+these Free masons is apt to contain not only both kinds of nuthatches
+and chickadees, but kinglets and brown creepers as well. It shares the
+family habit of walking about the trees, head downward, and running
+along the under side of limbs like a fly. By Thanksgiving Day the
+_quank!_ _quank!_ of the white-breasted species is answered by the
+_tai-tai-tait!_ of the red-breasted cousin in the orchard, where the
+family party is celebrating with an elaborate _menu_ of slugs,
+insects' eggs, and oily seeds from the evergreen trees.
+
+For many years this nuthatch, a more northern species than the
+white-breasted bird, was thought to be only a spring and autumn
+visitor, but latterly it is credited with habits like its congener's
+in nearly every particular.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CATBIRD]
+
+   [Illustration: WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Upper Figures, Male and Female
+      RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Lower Figures, Male and Female]
+
+
+    Loggerhead Shrike
+
+    (_Lanius ludovicianus_) Shrike family
+
+
+    _Length_--8.5 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts gray; narrow black line across
+       forehead, connecting small black patches on sides of head at
+       base of bill. Wings and tail black, plentifully marked with
+       white, the outer tail feathers often being entirely white and
+       conspicuous in flight. Underneath white or very light gray.
+       Bill hooked and hawk-like.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern United States to the plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Summer resident.
+
+It is not easy, even at a slight distance, to distinguish the
+loggerhead from the Northern shrike. Both have the pernicious habit of
+killing insects and smaller birds and impaling them on thorns; both
+have the peculiarity of flying, with strong, vigorous flight and much
+wing-flapping, close along the ground, then suddenly rising to a tree,
+on the lookout for prey. Their harsh, unmusical call-notes are similar
+too, and their hawk-like method of dropping suddenly upon a victim on
+the ground below is identical. Indeed, the same description very
+nearly answers for both birds. But there is one very important
+difference. While the Northern shrike is a winter visitor, the
+loggerhead, being his Southern counterpart, does not arrive until
+after the frost is out of the ground, and he can be sure of a truly
+warm welcome. A lesser distinction between the only two
+representatives of the shrike family that frequent our
+neighborhood--and they are two too many--is in the smaller size of the
+loggerhead and its lighter-gray plumage. But as both these birds
+select some high, commanding position, like a distended branch near
+the tree-top, a cupola, house-peak, lightning-rod, telegraph wire, or
+weather-vane, the better to detect a passing dinner, it would be quite
+impossible at such a distance to know which shrike was sitting up
+there silently plotting villainies, without remembering the season
+when each may be expected.
+
+
+    Northern Shrike
+
+    (_Lanius borealis_) Shrike family
+
+    _Called also_: BUTCHER-BIRD; NINE-KILLER
+
+
+    _Length_--9.5 to 10.5 inches. About the size of the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts slate-gray; wing quills and tail black,
+       edged and tipped with white, conspicuous in flight; a white
+       spot on centre of outer wing feathers. A black band runs from
+       bill, through eye to side of throat. Light gray below, tinged
+       with brownish, and faintly marked with waving lines of darker
+       gray. Bill hooked and hawk-like.
+
+    _Female_--With eye-band more obscure than male's, and with more
+       distinct brownish cast on her plumage.
+
+    _Range_--Northern North America. South in winter to middle portion of
+       United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--November, April. A roving winter resident.
+
+"Matching the bravest of the brave among birds of prey in deeds of
+daring, and no less relentless than reckless, the shrike compels that
+sort of deference, not unmixed with indignation, we are accustomed to
+accord to creatures of seeming insignificance whose exploits demand
+much strength, great spirit, and insatiate love for carnage. We cannot
+be indifferent to the marauder who takes his own wherever he finds
+it--a feudal baron who holds his own with undisputed sway--and an ogre
+whose victims are so many more than he can eat, that he actually keeps
+a private graveyard for the balance." Who is honestly able to give the
+shrikes a better character than Dr. Coues, just quoted? A few offer
+them questionable defence by recording the large numbers of English
+sparrows they kill in a season, as if wanton carnage were ever
+justifiable.
+
+Not even a hawk itself can produce the consternation among a flock of
+sparrows that the harsh, rasping voice of the butcher-bird creates,
+for escape they well know to be difficult before the small ogre swoops
+down upon his victim, and carries it off to impale it on a thorn or
+frozen twig, there to devour it later piecemeal. Every shrike thus
+either impales or else hangs up, as a butcher does his meat, more
+little birds of many kinds, field-mice, grasshoppers, and other large
+insects than it can hope to devour in a week of bloody orgies.
+Field-mice are perhaps its favorite diet, but even snakes are not
+disdained.
+
+More contemptible than the actual slaughter of its victims, if
+possible, is the method by which the shrike often lures and sneaks
+upon his prey. Hiding in a clump of bushes in the meadow or garden, he
+imitates with fiendish cleverness the call-notes of little birds that
+come in cheerful response, hopping and flitting within easy range of
+him. His bloody work is finished in a trice. Usually, however, it must
+be owned, the shrike's hunting habits are the reverse of sneaking.
+Perched on a point of vantage on some tree-top or weather-vane, his
+hawk-like eye can detect a grasshopper going through the grass fifty
+yards away.
+
+What is our surprise when some fine warm day in March, just before our
+butcher, ogre, sneak, and fiend leaves us for colder regions, to hear
+him break out into song! Love has warmed even his cold heart, and with
+sweet, warbled notes on the tip of a beak that but yesterday was
+reeking with his victim's blood, he starts for Canada, leaving behind
+him the only good impression he has made during a long winter's visit.
+
+
+    Bohemian Waxwing
+
+    (_Ampelis garrulus_) Waxwing family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-THROATED WAXWING; LAPLAND WAXWING;
+       SILKTAIL
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 9.5 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--General color drab, with faint brownish
+       wash above, shading into lighter gray below. Crest
+       conspicuous, being nearly an inch and a half in length;
+       rufous at the base, shading into light gray above.
+       Velvety-black forehead, chin, and line through the eye. Wings
+       grayish brown, with very dark quills, which have two white
+       bars; the bar at the edge of the upper wing coverts being
+       tipped with red sealing-wax-like points, that give the bird
+       its name. A few wing feathers tipped with yellow on outer
+       edge. Tail quills dark brown, with yellow band across the end,
+       and faint red streaks on upper and inner sides.
+
+    _Range_--Northern United States and British America. Most
+       common in Canada and northern Mississippi region.
+
+    _Migrations_--Very irregular winter visitor.
+
+When Charles Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, who was the first to count
+this common waxwing of Europe and Asia among the birds of North
+America, published an account of it in his "Synopsis," it was
+considered a very rare bird indeed. It may be these waxwings have
+greatly increased, but however uncommon they may still be considered,
+certainly no one who had ever seen a flock containing more than a
+thousand of them, resting on the trees of a lawn within sight of New
+York City, as the writer has done, could be expected to consider the
+birds "very rare."
+
+The Bohemian waxwing, like the only other member of the family that
+ever visits us, the cedar-bird, is a roving gipsy. In Germany they say
+seven years must elapse between its visitations, which the
+superstitious old cronies are wont to associate with woful stories of
+pestilence--just such tales as are resurrected from the depths of
+morbid memories here when a comet reappears or the seven-year locust
+ascends from the ground.
+
+The goings and comings of these birds are certainly most erratic and
+infrequent; nevertheless, when hunger drives them from the far north
+to feast upon the juniper and other winter berries of our Northern
+States, they come in enormous flocks, making up in quantity what they
+lack in regularity of visits and evenness of distribution.
+
+Surely no bird has less right to be associated with evil than this
+mild waxwing. It seems the very incarnation of peace and harmony. Part
+of a flock that has lodged in a tree will sit almost motionless for
+hours and whisper in softly hissed twitterings, very much as a company
+of Quaker ladies, similarly dressed, might sit at yearly meeting.
+Exquisitely clothed in silky-gray feathers that no berry juice is ever
+permitted to stain, they are dainty, gentle, aristocratic-looking
+birds, a trifle heavy and indolent, perhaps, when walking on the
+ground or perching; but as they fly in compact squads just above the
+tree-tops their flight is exceedingly swift and graceful.
+
+
+    Bay-breasted Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica castanea_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.25 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides dull
+       chestnut. Forehead, sides of head, and cheeks black. Above
+       olive-gray, streaked with black. Underneath buffy. Two white
+       wing-bars. Outer tail quills with white patches on tips.
+       Cream-white patch on either side of neck.
+
+    _Female_--Has more greenish-olive above.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Hudson's Bay to Central
+       America. Nests north of the United States. Winters in tropical
+       limit of range.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Rare migrant.
+
+The chestnut breast of this capricious little visitor makes him look
+like a diminutive robin. In spring, when these warblers are said to
+take a more easterly route than the one they choose in autumn to
+return by to Central America, they may be so suddenly abundant that
+the fresh green trees and shrubbery of the garden will contain a dozen
+of the busy little hunters. Another season they may pass northward
+either by another route or leave your garden unvisited; and perhaps
+the people in the very next town may be counting your rare bird
+common, while it is simply perverse.
+
+Whether common or rare, before your acquaintance has had time to ripen
+into friendship, away go the freaky little creatures to nest in the
+tree-tops of the Canadian coniferous forests.
+
+
+    Chestnut-sided Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica pennsylvanica_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLOODY-SIDED WARBLER
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 94 and 122)
+
+
+    _Length_--About 5 inches. More than an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Top of head and streaks in wings yellow. A black line
+       running through the eye and round back of crown, and a black
+       spot in front of eye, extending to cheeks. Ear coverts, chin,
+       and underneath white. Back greenish gray and slate, streaked
+       with black. Sides of bird chestnut. Wings, which are streaked
+       with black and yellow, have yellowish-white bars. Very dark
+       tail with white patches on inner vanes of the outer quills.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but duller. Chestnut sides are often
+       scarcely apparent.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to
+       the tropics, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident, most common in
+       migrations.
+
+In the Alleghanies, and from New Jersey and Illinois northward, this
+restless little warbler nests in the bushy borders of woodlands and
+the undergrowth of the woods, for which he forsakes our gardens and
+orchards after a very short visit in May. While hopping over the
+ground catching ants, of which he seems to be inordinately fond, or
+flitting actively about the shrubbery after grubs and insects, we may
+note his coat of many colors--patchwork in which nearly all the
+warbler colors are curiously combined. With drooped wings that often
+conceal the bird's chestnut sides, which are his chief distinguishing
+mark, and with tail erected like a redstart's, he hunts incessantly.
+Here in the garden he is as refreshingly indifferent to your interest
+in him as later in his breeding haunts he is shy and distrustful. His
+song is bright and animated, like that of the yellow warbler.
+
+
+    Golden-winged Warbler
+
+    (_Helminthophila chrysoptera_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--About 5 inches. More than an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Yellow crown and yellow patches on the wings. Upper
+       parts bluish gray, sometimes tinged with greenish. Stripe
+       through the eye and throat black. Sides of head, chin, and
+       line over the eye white. Underneath white, grayish on sides. A
+       few white markings on outer tail feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Crown duller; gray where male is black, with olive
+       upper parts and grayer underneath.
+
+    _Range_--From Canadian border to Central America, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+After one has seen a golden-winged warbler fluttering hither and
+thither about the shrubbery of a park within sight and sound of a
+great city's distractions and with blissful unconcern of them all,
+partaking of a hearty lunch of insects that infest the leaves before
+one's eyes, one counts the bird less rare and shy than one has been
+taught to consider it. Whoever looks for a warbler with gaudy yellow
+wings will not find the golden-winged variety. His wings have golden
+patches only, and while these are distinguishing marks, they are
+scarcely prominent enough features to have given the bird the rather
+misleading name he bears. But, then, most warblers' names are
+misleading. They serve their best purpose in cultivating patience and
+other gentle virtues in the novice.
+
+Such habits and choice of haunts as characterize the blue-winged
+warbler are also the golden-winged's. But their voices are quite
+different, the former's being sharp and metallic, while the latter's
+_zee, zee, zee_ comes more lazily and without accent.
+
+
+    Myrtle Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica coronata_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER; MYRTLE-BIRD;
+       YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_In summer plumage_: A yellow patch on top of head,
+       lower back, and either side of the breast. Upper parts bluish
+       slate, streaked with black. Upper breast black; throat white;
+       all other under parts whitish, streaked with black. Two white
+       wing-bars, and tail quills have white spots near the tip. _In
+       winter_: Upper parts olive-brown, streaked with black; the
+       yellow spot on lower back the only yellow mark remaining.
+       Wing-bars grayish.
+
+    _Female_--Resembles male in winter plumage.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. Occasional on Pacific slope.
+       Summers from Minnesota and northern New England northward to
+       Fur Countries. Winters from Middle States southward into
+       Central America; a few often remaining at the northern United
+       States all the winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. November. Also, but more rarely,
+       a winter resident.
+
+The first of the warblers to arrive in the spring and the last to
+leave us in the autumn, some even remaining throughout the northern
+winter, the myrtle warbler, next to the summer yellowbird, is the most
+familiar of its multitudinous kin. Though we become acquainted with it
+chiefly in the migrations, it impresses us by its numbers rather than
+by any gorgeousness of attire. The four yellow spots on crown, lower
+back, and sides are its distinguishing marks; and in the autumn these
+marks have dwindled to only one, that on the lower back or rump. The
+great difficulty experienced in identifying any warbler is in its
+restless habit of flitting about.
+
+For a few days in early May we are forcibly reminded of the Florida
+peninsula, which fairly teems with these birds; they become almost
+superabundant, a distraction during the precious days when the rarer
+species are quietly slipping by, not to return again for a year,
+perhaps longer, for some warblers are notoriously irregular in their
+routes north and south, and never return by the way they travelled in
+the spring.
+
+But if we look sharply into every group of myrtle warblers, we are
+quite likely to discover some of their dainty, fragile cousins that
+gladly seek the escort of birds so fearless as they. By the last of
+May all the warblers are gone from the neighborhood except the
+constant little summer yellowbird and redstart.
+
+In autumn, when the myrtle warblers return after a busy enough summer
+passed in Canadian nurseries, they chiefly haunt those regions where
+juniper and bay-berries abound. These latter (_Myrica cerifera_), or
+the myrtle wax-berries, as they are sometimes called, and which are
+the bird's favorite food, have given it their name. Wherever the
+supply of these berries is sufficient to last through the winter,
+there it may be found foraging in the scrubby bushes. Sometimes driven
+by cold and hunger from the fields, this hardiest member of a family
+that properly belongs to the tropics, seeks shelter and food close to
+the outbuildings on the farm.
+
+
+    Parula Warbler
+
+    (_Compsothlypis americana_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 4.75 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Slate-colored above, with a greenish-yellow
+       or bronze patch in the middle of the back. Chin, throat, and
+       breast yellow. A black, bluish, or rufous band across the
+       breast, usually lacking in female. Underneath white, sometimes
+       marked with rufous on sides, but these markings are variable.
+       Wings have two white patches; outer tail feathers have white
+       patch near the end.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. Winters from Florida southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Summer resident.
+
+Through an open window of an apartment in the very heart of New York
+City, a parula warbler flew this spring of 1897, surely the daintiest,
+most exquisitely beautiful bird visitor that ever voluntarily lodged
+between two brick walls.
+
+A number of such airy, tiny beauties flitting about among the blossoms
+of the shrubbery on a bright May morning and swaying on the slenderest
+branches with their inimitable grace, is a sight that the memory
+should retain into old age. They seem the very embodiment of life,
+joy, beauty, grace; of everything lovely that birds by any possibility
+could be. Apparently they are wafted about the garden; they fly with
+no more effort than a dainty lifting of the wings, as if to catch the
+breeze, that seems to lift them as it might a bunch of thistledown.
+They go through a great variety of charming posturings as they hunt
+for their food upon the blossoms and tender fresh twigs, now creeping
+like a nuthatch along the bark and peering into the crevices, now
+gracefully swaying and balancing like a goldfinch upon a slender,
+pendent stem. One little sprite pauses in its hunt for the insects to
+raise its pretty head and trill a short and wiry song.
+
+But the parula warbler does not remain long about the gardens and
+orchards, though it will not forsake us altogether for the Canadian
+forests, where most of its relatives pass the summer. It retreats only
+to the woods near the water, if may be, or to just as close a
+counterpart of a swampy southern woods, where the Spanish or Usnea
+"moss" drapes itself over the cypresses, as it can find here at the
+north. Its rarely beautiful nest, that hangs suspended from a slender
+branch very much like the Baltimore oriole's, is so woven and
+festooned with this moss that its concealment is perfect.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER]
+
+   [Illustration: BLUEBIRD]
+
+
+    Black-throated Blue Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica cærulescens_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_---5.30 inches. About an inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Slate-color, not blue above; lightest on forehead and
+       darkest on lower back. Wings and tail edged with bluish.
+       Cheeks, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides black. Breast
+       and underneath white. White spots on wings, and a little white
+       on tail.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-green above; underneath soiled yellow. Wing-spots
+       inconspicuous. Tail generally has a faint bluish tinge.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Labrador to tropics,
+       where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Usually a migrant only in the
+       United States.
+
+Whoever looks for this beautifully marked warbler among the bluebirds,
+will wish that the man who named him had possessed a truer eye for
+color. But if the name so illy fits the bright slate-colored male, how
+grieved must be his little olive-and-yellow mate to answer to the name
+of black-throated blue warbler when she has neither a black throat nor
+a blue feather! It is not easy to distinguish her as she flits about
+the twigs and leaves of the garden in May or early autumn, except as
+she is seen in company with her husband, whose name she has taken with
+him for better or for worse. The white spot on the wings should always
+be looked for to positively identify this bird.
+
+Before flying up to a twig to peck off the insects, the birds have a
+pretty vireo trick of cocking their heads on one side to investigate
+the quantity hidden underneath the leaves. They seem less nervous and
+more deliberate than many of their restless family.
+
+Most warblers go over the Canada border to nest, but there are many
+records of the nests of this species in the Alleghanies as far south
+as Georgia, in the Catskills, in Connecticut, northern Minnesota and
+Michigan. Laurel thickets and moist undergrowth of woods in the United
+States, and more commonly pine woods in Canada, are the favorite
+nesting haunts. A sharp _zip_, _zip_, like some midsummer insect's
+noise, is the bird's call-note, but its love-song, _zee_, _zee_,
+_zee_, or _twee_, _twea_, _twea-e-e_, as one authority writes it, is
+only rarely heard in the migrations. It is a languid, drawling little
+strain, with an upward slide that is easily drowned in the full bird
+chorus of May.
+
+
+
+
+BLUE AND BLUISH BIRDS
+
+    Bluebird
+    Indigo Bunting
+    Belted Kingfisher
+    Blue Jay
+    Blue Grosbeak
+    Barn Swallow
+    Cliff Swallow
+    Mourning Dove
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
+
+Look also among Slate-colored Birds in preceding group, particularly
+among the Warblers there, or in the group of Birds conspicuously,
+Yellow and Orange.
+
+
+    The Bluebird
+
+    (_Sialia sialis_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE ROBIN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 95)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. About an inch longer than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts, wings, and tail bright blue, with rusty
+       wash in autumn. Throat, breast, and sides cinnamon-red.
+       Underneath white.
+
+    _Female_--Has duller blue feathers, washed with gray, and a
+       paler breast than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Nova Scotia and Manitoba to Gulf
+       of Mexico. Southward in winter from Middle States to Bermuda
+       and West Indies.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Summer resident. A few
+       sometimes remain throughout the winter.
+
+With the first soft, plaintive warble of the bluebirds early in March,
+the sugar camps, waiting for their signal, take on a bustling
+activity; the farmer looks to his plough; orders are hurried off to
+the seedsmen; a fever to be out of doors seizes one: spring is here.
+Snowstorms may yet whiten fields and gardens, high winds may howl
+about the trees and chimneys, but the little blue heralds persistently
+proclaim from the orchard and garden that the spring procession has
+begun to move. _Tru-al-ly_, _tru-al-ly_, they sweetly assert to our
+incredulous ears.
+
+The bluebird is not always a migrant, except in the more northern
+portions of the country. Some representatives there are always with
+us, but the great majority winter south and drop out of the spring
+procession on its way northward, the males a little ahead of their
+mates, which show housewifely instincts immediately after their
+arrival. A pair of these rather undemonstrative, matter-of-fact lovers
+go about looking for some deserted woodpecker's hole in the orchard,
+peering into cavities in the fence-rails, or into the bird-houses
+that, once set up in the old-fashioned gardens for their special
+benefit, are now appropriated too often by the ubiquitous sparrow.
+Wrens they can readily dispossess of an attractive tenement, and do.
+With a temper as heavenly as the color of their feathers, the
+bluebird's sense of justice is not always so adorable. But sparrows
+unnerve them into cowardice. The comparatively infrequent nesting of
+the bluebirds about our homes at the present time is one of the most
+deplorable results of unrestricted sparrow immigration. Formerly they
+were the commonest of bird neighbors.
+
+Nest-building is not a favorite occupation with the bluebirds, that
+are conspicuously domestic none the less. Two, and even three, broods
+in a season fully occupy their time. As in most cases, the mother-bird
+does more than her share of the work. The male looks with wondering
+admiration at the housewifely activity, applauds her with song, feeds
+her as she sits brooding over the nestful of pale greenish-blue eggs,
+but his adoration of her virtues does not lead him into emulation.
+
+    "Shifting his light load of song,
+     From post to post along the cheerless fence,"
+
+Lowell observed that he carried his duties quite as lightly.
+
+When the young birds first emerge from the shell they are almost
+black; they come into their splendid heritage of color by degrees,
+lest their young heads might be turned. It is only as they spread
+their tiny wings for their first flight from the nest that we can see
+a few blue feathers.
+
+With the first cool days of autumn the bluebirds collect in flocks,
+often associating with orioles and kingbirds in sheltered, sunny
+places where insects are still plentiful. Their steady, undulating
+flight now becomes erratic as they take food on the wing--a habit that
+they may have learned by association with the kingbirds, for they have
+also adopted the habit of perching upon some conspicuous lookout and
+then suddenly launching out into the air for a passing fly and
+returning to their perch. Long after their associates have gone
+southward, they linger like the last leaves on the tree. It is indeed
+"good-bye to summer" when the bluebirds withdraw their touch of
+brightness from the dreary November landscape.
+
+The bluebirds from Canada and the northern portions of New England
+and New York migrate into Virginia and the Carolinas; the birds from
+the Middle States move down into the Gulf States to pass the winter.
+It was there that countless numbers were cut off by the severe winter
+of 1894-95, which was so severe in that section.
+
+
+    Indigo Bunting
+
+    (_Passerina cyanea_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: INDIGO BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. Smaller than the English sparrow,
+       or the size of a canary.
+
+    _Male_--In certain lights rich blue, deepest on head. In
+       another light the blue feathers show verdigris tints. Wings,
+       tail, and lower back with brownish wash, most prominent in
+       autumn plumage. Quills of wings and tail deep blue, margined
+       with light.
+
+    _Female_--Plain sienna-brown above. Yellowish on breast and
+       shading to white underneath, and indistinctly streaked. Wings
+       and tail darkest, sometimes with slight tinge of blue in outer
+       webs and on shoulders.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama. Most common
+       in eastern part of United States. Winters in Central America
+       and Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+The "glowing indigo" of this tropical-looking visitor that so
+delighted Thoreau in the Walden woods, often seems only the more
+intense by comparison with the blue sky, against which it stands out
+in relief as the bird perches singing in a tree-top. What has this
+gaily dressed, dapper little cavalier in common with his dingy sparrow
+cousins that haunt the ground and delight in dust-baths, leaving their
+feathers no whit more dingy than they were before, and in temper, as
+in plumage, suggesting more of earth than of heaven? Apparently he has
+nothing, and yet the small brown bird in the roadside thicket, which
+you have misnamed a sparrow, not noticing the glint of blue in her
+shoulders and tail, is his mate. Besides the structural resemblances,
+which are, of course, the only ones considered by ornithologists in
+classifying birds, the indigo buntings have several sparrow-like
+traits. They feed upon the ground, mainly upon seeds of grasses and
+herbs, with a few insects interspersed to give relish to the grain;
+they build grassy nests in low bushes or tall, rank grass; and their
+flight is short and labored. Borders of woods, roadside thickets, and
+even garden shrubbery, with open pasture lots for foraging grounds
+near by, are favorite haunts of these birds, that return again and
+again to some preferred spot. But however close to our homes they
+build theirs, our presence never ceases to be regarded by them with
+anything but suspicion, not to say alarm. Their metallic _cheep_,
+_cheep_, warns you to keep away from the little blue-white eggs,
+hidden away securely in the bushes; and the nervous tail twitchings
+and jerkings are pathetic to see. Happily for the safety of their
+nest, the brooding mother has no tell-tale feathers to attract the
+eye. Dense foliage no more conceals the male bird's brilliant coat
+than it can the tanager's or oriole's.
+
+With no attempt at concealment, which he doubtless understands would
+be quite impossible, he chooses some high, conspicuous perch to which
+he mounts by easy stages, singing as he goes; and there begins a loud
+and rapid strain that promises much, but growing weaker and weaker,
+ends as if the bird were either out of breath or too weak to finish.
+Then suddenly he begins the same song over again, and keeps up this
+continuous performance for nearly half an hour. The noonday heat of an
+August day that silences nearly every other voice, seems to give to
+the indigo bird's only fresh animation and timbre.
+
+
+  [Illustration: BELTED KINGFISHER (Upper Figure, Female;
+     Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+   [Illustration: BLUE JAY]
+
+
+    The Belted Kingfisher
+
+    (_Ceryle alcyon_) Kingfisher family
+
+    _Called also_: THE HALCYON
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 48)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper part grayish blue, with prominent crest on head
+       reaching to the nape. A white spot in front of the eye. Bill
+       longer than the head, which is large and heavy. Wings and the
+       short tail minutely speckled and marked with broken bands of
+       white. Chin, band around throat, and underneath white. Two
+       bluish bands across the breast and a bluish wash on sides.
+
+    _Female_--Female and immature specimens have rufous bands
+       where the adult male's are blue. Plumage of both birds oily.
+
+    _Range_--North America, except where the Texan kingfisher
+       replaces it in a limited area in the Southwest. Common from
+       Labrador to Florida, east and west. Winters chiefly from
+       Virginia southward to South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. December. Common summer resident. Usually
+       a winter resident also.
+
+If the kingfisher is not so neighborly as we could wish, or as he used
+to be, it is not because he has grown less friendly, but because the
+streams near our homes are fished out. Fish he must and will have, and
+to get them nowadays it is too often necessary to follow the stream
+back through secluded woods to the quiet waters of its source: a
+clear, cool pond or lake whose scaly inmates have not yet learned
+wisdom at the point of the sportsman's fly.
+
+In such quiet haunts the kingfisher is easily the most conspicuous
+object in sight, where he perches on some dead or projecting branch
+over the water, intently watching for a dinner that is all
+unsuspectingly swimming below. Suddenly the bird drops--dives; there
+is a splash, a struggle, and then the "lone fisherman" returns
+triumphant to his perch, holding a shining fish in his beak. If the
+fish is small it is swallowed at once, but if it is large and bony it
+must first be killed against the branch. A few sharp knocks, and the
+struggles of the fish are over, but the kingfisher's have only begun.
+How he gags and writhes, swallows his dinner, and then, regretting his
+haste, brings it up again to try another wider avenue down his throat!
+The many abortive efforts he makes to land his dinner safely below in
+his stomach, his grim contortions as the fishbones scratch his
+throat-lining on their way down and up again, force a smile in spite
+of the bird's evident distress. It is small wonder he supplements his
+fish diet with various kinds of the larger insects, shrimps, and
+fresh-water mollusks.
+
+Flying well over the tree-tops or along the waterways, the kingfisher
+makes the woodland echo with his noisy rattle, that breaks the
+stillness like a watchman's at midnight. It is, perhaps, the most
+familiar sound heard along the banks of the inland rivers. No love or
+cradle song does he know. Instead of softening and growing sweet, as
+the voices of most birds do in the nesting season, the endearments
+uttered by a pair of mated kingfishers are the most strident, rattly
+shrieks ever heard by lovers It sounds as if they were perpetually
+quarrelling, and yet they are really particularly devoted.
+
+The nest of these birds, like the bank swallow's, is excavated in the
+face of a high bank, preferably one that rises from a stream; and at
+about six feet from the entrance of the tunnel six or eight clear,
+shining white eggs are placed on a curious nest. All the fishbones and
+scales that, being indigestible, are disgorged in pellets by the
+parents, are carefully carried to the end of the tunnel to form a
+prickly cradle for the unhappy fledglings. Very rarely a nest is made
+in the hollow trunk of a tree; but wherever the home is, the
+kingfishers become strongly attached to it, returning again and again
+to the spot that has cost them so much labor to excavate. Some
+observers have accused them of appropriating the holes of the
+water-rats.
+
+In ancient times of myths and fables, kingfishers or halcyons were
+said to build a floating nest on the sea, and to possess some
+mysterious power that calmed the troubled waves while the eggs were
+hatching and the young birds were being reared, hence the term
+"halcyon days," meaning days of fair weather.
+
+
+    Blue Jay
+
+    (_Cyanocitta cristata_) Crow and Jay family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 103)
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. A little larger than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Blue above. Black band around the neck,
+       joining some black feathers on the back. Under parts dusky
+       white. Wing coverts and tail bright blue, striped transversely
+       with black. Tail much rounded. Many feathers edged and tipped
+       with white. Head finely crested; bill, tongue, and legs black.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern coast of North America to the plains, and
+       from northern Canada to Florida and eastern Texas.
+
+    _Migrations_--Permanent resident. Although seen in flocks
+       moving southward or northward, they are merely seeking happier
+       hunting grounds, not migrating.
+
+No bird of finer color or presence sojourns with us the year round
+than the blue jay. In a peculiar sense his is a case of "beauty
+covering a multitude of sins." Among close students of bird traits, we
+find none so poor as to do him reverence. Dishonest, cruel,
+inquisitive, murderous, voracious, villainous, are some of the
+epithets applied to this bird of exquisite plumage. Emerson, however,
+has said in his defence he does "more good than harm," alluding, no
+doubt, to his habit of burying nuts and hard seeds in the ground, so
+that many a waste place is clothed with trees and shrubs, thanks to
+his propensity and industry.
+
+He is mischievous as a small boy, destructive as a monkey, deft at
+hiding as a squirrel. He is unsociable and unamiable, disliking the
+society of other birds. His harsh screams, shrieks, and most
+aggressive and unmusical calls seem often intended maliciously to
+drown the songs of the sweet-voiced singers.
+
+From April to September, the breeding and moulting season, the blue
+jays are almost silent, only sallying forth from the woods to pillage
+and devour the young and eggs of their more peaceful neighbors. In a
+bulky nest, usually placed in a tree-crotch high above our heads, from
+four to six eggs, olive-gray with brown spots, are laid and most
+carefully tended.
+
+Notwithstanding the unlovely characteristics of the blue jay, we could
+ill spare the flash of color, like a bit of blue sky dropped from
+above, which is so rare a tint even in our land, that we number not
+more than three or four true blue birds, and in England, it is said,
+there is none.
+
+
+    Blue Grosbeak
+
+    (_Guiraca cærulea_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. About an inch larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Deep blue, dark, and almost black on the back; wings
+       and tail black, slightly edged with blue, and the former
+       marked with bright chestnut. Cheeks and chin black. Bill heavy
+       and bluish.
+
+    _Female_--Grayish brown above, sometimes with bluish tinge on
+       head, lower back, and shoulders. Wings dark olive-brown, with
+       faint buff markings; tail same shade as wings, but with
+       bluish-gray markings. Underneath brownish cream-color, the
+       breast feathers often blue at the base.
+
+    _Range_--United States, from southern New England westward to
+       the Rocky Mountains and southward into Mexico and beyond. Most
+       common in the Southwest. Rare along the Atlantic seaboard.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+This beautiful but rather shy and solitary bird occasionally wanders
+eastward to rival the bluebird and the indigo bunting in their rare
+and lovely coloring, and eclipse them both in song. Audubon, we
+remember, found the nest in New Jersey. Pennsylvania is still favored
+with one now and then, but it is in the Southwest only that the blue
+grosbeak is as common as the evening grosbeak is in the Northwest.
+Since rice is its favorite food, it naturally abounds where that
+cereal grows. Seeds and kernels of the hardest kinds, that its heavy,
+strong beak is well adapted to crack, constitute its diet when it
+strays beyond the rice-fields.
+
+Possibly the heavy bills of all the grosbeaks make them look stupid
+whether they are or not--a characteristic that the blue grosbeak's
+habit of sitting motionless with a vacant stare many minutes at a time
+unfortunately emphasizes.
+
+When seen in the roadside thickets or tall weeds, such as the field
+sparrow chooses to frequent, it shows little fear of man unless
+actually approached and threatened, but whether this fearlessness
+comes from actual confidence or stupidity is by no means certain.
+Whatever the motive of its inactivity, it accomplishes an end to be
+desired by the cleverest bird; its presence is almost never suspected
+by the passer-by, and its grassy nest on a tree-branch, containing
+three or four pale bluish-white eggs, is never betrayed by look or
+sign to the marauding small boy.
+
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS WITH HAIR STANDING ON END.]
+
+   [Illustration: Copyright, 1900, by A. R Dugmore
+      HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS]
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD]
+
+
+    Barn Swallow
+
+    (_Chelidon erythrogaster_) Swallow family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 110)
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English
+       sparrow. Apparently considerably larger, because of its wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male_--Glistening steel-blue shading to black above. Chin,
+       breast, and underneath bright chestnut-brown and brilliant
+       buff that glistens in the sunlight. A partial collar of
+       steel-blue. Tail very deeply forked and slender.
+
+    _Female_--Smaller and paler, with shorter outer tail feathers,
+       making the fork less prominent.
+
+    _Range_--Throughout North America. Winters in tropics of both
+       Americas.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September. Summer resident.
+
+Any one who attempts to describe the coloring of a bird's plumage
+knows how inadequate words are to convey a just idea of the delicacy,
+richness, and brilliancy of the living tints. But, happily, the
+beautiful barn swallow is too familiar to need description. Wheeling
+about our barns and houses, skimming over the fields, its bright sides
+flashing in the sunlight, playing "cross tag" with its friends at
+evening, when the insects, too, are on the wing, gyrating, darting,
+and gliding through the air, it is no more possible to adequately
+describe the exquisite grace of a swallow's flight than the glistening
+buff of its breast.
+
+This is a typical bird of the air, as an oriole is of the trees and a
+sparrow of the ground. Though the swallow may often be seen perching
+on a telegraph wire, suddenly it darts off as if it had received a
+shock of electricity, and we see the bird in its true element.
+
+While this swallow is peculiarly American, it is often confounded with
+its European cousin _Hirundo rustica_ in noted ornithologies.
+
+Up in the rafters of the barn, or in the arch of an old bridge that
+spans a stream, these swallows build their bracket-like nests of clay
+or mud pellets intermixed with straw. Here the noisy little broods
+pick their way out of the white eggs curiously spotted with brown and
+lilac that were all too familiar in the marauding days of our
+childhood.
+
+
+    Cliff Swallow
+
+    (_Petrochelidon lunifrons_) Swallow family
+
+    _Called also_: EAVE SWALLOW; CRESCENT SWALLOW;
+       ROCKY MOUNTAIN SWALLOW
+
+
+    _Length_--6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+       Apparently considerably larger because of its wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Steel-blue above, shading to blue-black on
+       crown of head and on wings and tail. A brownish-gray ring
+       around the neck. Beneath dusty white, with rufous tint.
+       Crescent-like frontlet. Chin, throat, sides of head, and tail
+       coverts rufous.
+
+    _Range_--North and South America. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early April. Late September. Summer resident.
+
+Not quite so brilliantly colored as the barn swallow, nor with tail so
+deeply forked, and consequently without so much grace in flying, and
+with a squeak rather than the really musical twitter of the gayer
+bird, the cliff swallow may be positively identified by the rufous
+feathers of its tail coverts, but more definitely by its
+crescent-shaped frontlet shining like a new moon; hence its specific
+Latin name from _luna_ = moon, and _frons_ = front.
+
+Such great numbers of these swallows have been seen in the far West
+that the name of Rocky Mountain swallows is sometimes given to them;
+though however rare they may have been in 1824, when DeWitt Clinton
+thought he "discovered" them near Lake Champlain, they are now common
+enough in all parts of the United States.
+
+In the West this swallow is wholly a cliff-dweller, but it has learned
+to modify its home in different localities. As usually seen, it is
+gourd-shaped, opened at the top, built entirely of mud pellets
+("bricks without straw"), softly lined with feathers and wisps of
+grass, and attached by the larger part to a projecting cliff or eave.
+
+Like all the swallows, this bird lives in colonies, and the
+clay-colored nests beneath the eaves of barns are often so close
+together that a group of them resembles nothing so much as a gigantic
+wasp's nest. It is said that when swallows pair they are mated for
+life; but, then, more is said about swallows than the most tireless
+bird-lover could substantiate. The tradition that swallows fly low
+when it is going to rain may be easily credited, because the air
+before a storm is usually too heavy with moisture for the winged
+insects, upon which the swallows feed, to fly high.
+
+
+    Mourning Dove
+
+    (_Zenaidura macroura_) Pigeon family
+
+    _Called also_: CAROLINA DOVE; TURTLE DOVE
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 111)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-half as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Grayish Drown or fawn-color above, varying to bluish
+       gray. Crown and upper part of head greenish blue, with green
+       and golden metallic reflections on sides of neck. A black spot
+       under each ear. Forehead and breast reddish buff; lighter
+       underneath. (General impression of color, bluish fawn.) Bill
+       black, with tumid, fleshy covering; feet red; two middle tail
+       feathers longest; all others banded with black and tipped
+       with ashy white. Wing coverts sparsely spotted with black.
+       Flanks and underneath the wings bluish.
+
+    _Female_--Duller and without iridescent reflections on neck.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Quebec to Panama, and westward to
+       Arizona. Most common in temperate climate, east of Rocky
+       Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Common summer resident; not
+       migratory south of Virginia.
+
+The beautiful, soft-colored plumage of this incessant and rather
+melancholy love-maker is not on public exhibition. To see it we must
+trace the _a-coo-o, coo-o, coo-oo, coo-o_ to its source in the thick
+foliage in some tree in an out-of-the-way corner of the farm, or to an
+evergreen near the edge of the woods. The slow, plaintive notes, more
+like a dirge than a love-song, penetrate to a surprising distance.
+They may not always be the same lovers we hear from April to the end
+of summer, but surely the sound seems to indicate that they are. The
+dove is a shy bird, attached to its gentle and refined mate with a
+devotion that has passed into a proverb, but caring little or nothing
+for the society of other feathered friends, and very little for its
+own kind, unless after the nesting season has passed. In this respect
+it differs widely from its cousins, the wild pigeons, flocks of which,
+numbering many millions, are recorded by Wilson and other early
+writers before the days when netting these birds became so fatally
+profitable.
+
+What the dove finds to adore so ardently in the "shiftless housewife,"
+as Mrs. Wright calls his lady-love, must pass the comprehension of the
+ph[oe]be, that constructs such an exquisite home, or of a bustling,
+energetic Jenny wren, that "looketh well to the ways of her household
+and eateth not the bread of idleness." She is a flabby, spineless
+bundle of flesh and pretty feathers, gentle and refined in manners,
+but slack and incompetent in all she does. Her nest consists of a few
+loose sticks, without rim or lining; and when her two babies emerge
+from the white eggs, that somehow do not fall through or roll out of
+the rickety lattice, their tender little naked bodies must suffer from
+many bruises. We are almost inclined to blame the inconsiderate mother
+for allowing her offspring to enter the world unclothed--obviously not
+her fault, though she is capable of just such negligence. Fortunate
+are the baby doves when their lazy mother scatters her makeshift nest
+on top of one that a robin has deserted, as she frequently does. It
+is almost excusable to take her young birds and rear them in
+captivity, where they invariably thrive, mate, and live happily,
+unless death comes to one, when the other often refuses food and
+grieves its life away.
+
+In the wild state, when the nesting season approaches, both birds make
+curious acrobatic flights above the tree-tops; then, after a short
+sail in midair, they return to their perch. This appears to be their
+only giddiness and frivolity, unless a dust-bath in the country road
+might be considered a dissipation.
+
+In the autumn a few pairs of doves show slight gregarious tendencies,
+feeding amiably together in the grain fields and retiring to the same
+roost at sundown.
+
+
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
+
+    (_Polioptila cærulea_) Gnatcatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: SYLVAN FLYCATCHER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 inches. About two inches smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Grayish blue above, dull grayish white below. Grayish
+       tips on wings. Tail with white outer quills changing gradually
+       through black and white to all black on centre quills. Narrow
+       black band over the forehead and eyes. Resembles in manner and
+       form a miniature catbird.
+
+    _Female_--More grayish and less blue, and without the black on head.
+
+    _Range_--United States to Canadian border on the north, the
+       Rockies on the west, and the Atlantic States, from Maine to
+       Florida; most common in the Middle States. A rare bird north
+       of New Jersey. Winters in Mexico and beyond.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+In thick woodlands, where a stream that lazily creeps through the
+mossy, oozy ground attracts myriads of insects to its humid
+neighborhood, this tiny hunter loves to hide in the denser foliage of
+the upper branches. He has the habit of nervously flitting about from
+twig to twig of his relatives, the kinglets, but unhappily he lacks
+their social, friendly instincts, and therefore is rarely seen.
+Formerly classed among the warblers, then among the flycatchers, while
+still as much a lover of flies, gnats, and mosquitoes as ever, his
+vocal powers have now won for him recognition among the singing birds.
+Some one has likened his voice to the squeak of a mouse, and Nuttall
+says it is "scarcely louder," which is all too true, for at a little
+distance it is quite inaudible. But in addition to the mouse-like
+call-note, the tiny bird has a rather feeble but exquisitely finished
+song, so faint it seems almost as if the bird were singing in its
+sleep.
+
+If by accident you enter the neighborhood of its nest, you soon find
+out that this timid, soft-voiced little creature can be roused to
+rashness and make its presence disagreeable to ears and eyes alike as
+it angrily darts about your unoffending head, pecking at your face and
+uttering its shrill squeak close to your very ear-drums. All this
+excitement is in defence of a dainty, lichen-covered nest, whose
+presence you may not have even suspected before, and of four or five
+bluish-white, speckled eggs well beyond reach in the tree-tops.
+
+During the migrations the bird seems not unwilling to show its
+delicate, trim little body, that has often been likened to a
+diminutive mocking-bird's, very near the homes of men. Its graceful
+postures, its song and constant motion, are sure to attract attention.
+In Central Park, New York City, the bird is not unknown.
+
+
+   [Illustration: BARN SWALLOW]
+
+   [Illustration: MOURNING DOVE]
+
+
+
+
+BROWN, OLIVE OR GRAYISH BROWN, AND BROWN AND GRAY SPARROWY BIRDS
+
+    House Wren                         Bank Swallow and
+    Carolina Wren                        Rough-winged Swallow
+    Winter Wren                        Cedar Bird
+    Long-billed Marsh Wren             Brown Creeper
+    Short-billed Marsh Wren            Pine Siskin
+    Brown Thrasher                     Smith's Painted Longspur
+    Wilson's Thrush or Veery           Lapland Longspur
+    Wood Thrush                        Chipping Sparrow
+    Hermit Thrush                      English Sparrow
+    Alice's Thrush                     Field Sparrow
+    Olive-backed Thrush                Fox Sparrow
+    Louisiana Water Thrush             Grasshopper Sparrow
+    Northern Water Thrush              Savanna Sparrow
+    Flicker                            Seaside Sparrow
+    Meadowlark and                     Sharp-tailed Sparrow
+      Western Meadowlark               Song Sparrow
+    Horned Lark and                    Swamp Song Sparrow
+      Prairie Horned Lark              Tree Sparrow
+    Pipit or Titlark                   Vesper Sparrow
+    Whippoorwill                       White-crowned Sparrow
+    Nighthawk                          White-throated Sparrow
+    Black-billed Cuckoo
+
+See also winter plumage of the Bobolink, Goldfinch, and Myrtle
+Warbler. See females of Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, the
+Grackles, Bobolink, Cowbird, the Redpolls, Purple Finch, Chewink,
+Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Baltimore Oriole, Cardinal, and of the
+Evening, the Blue, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. See also Purple
+Finch, the Redpolls, Mourning Dove, Mocking-bird, Robin.
+
+
+    House Wren
+
+    (_Troglodytes aëdon_) Wren family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 118)
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 5 inches. Actually about one-fourth smaller
+       than the English sparrow; apparently only half as large
+       because of its erect tail.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts cinnamon-brown. Deepest shade
+       on head and neck; lightest above tail, which is more rufous.
+       Back has obscure, dusky bars; wings and tail are finely
+       barred. Underneath whitish, with grayish-brown wash and faint
+       bands most prominent on sides.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Manitoba to the Gulf. Most common
+       in the United States, from the Mississippi eastward. Winters
+       south of the Carolinas.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+Early some morning in April there will go off under your window that
+most delightful of all alarm-clocks--the tiny, friendly house wren,
+just returned from a long visit south. Like some little mountain
+spring that, having been imprisoned by winter ice, now bubbles up in
+the spring sunshine, and goes rippling along over the pebbles,
+tumbling over itself in merry cascades, so this little wren's song
+bubbles, ripples, cascades in a miniature torrent of ecstasy.
+
+Year after year these birds return to the same nesting places: a box
+set up against the house, a crevice in the barn, a niche under the
+eaves; but once home, always home to them. The nest is kept
+scrupulously clean; the house-cleaning, like the house-building and
+renovating, being accompanied by the cheeriest of songs, that makes
+the bird fairly tremble by its intensity. But however angelic the
+voice of the house wren, its temper can put to flight even the English
+sparrow. Need description go further?
+
+Six to eight minutely speckled, flesh-colored eggs suffice to keep the
+nervous, irritable parents in a state bordering on frenzy whenever
+another bird comes near their habitation. With tail erect and head
+alert, the father mounts on guard, singing a perfect ecstasy of love
+to his silent little mate, that sits upon the nest if no danger
+threatens; but both rush with passionate malice upon the first
+intruder, for it must be admitted that Jenny wren is a sad shrew.
+
+While the little family is being reared, or, indeed, at any time, no
+one is wise enough to estimate the millions of tiny insects from the
+garden that find their way into the tireless bills of these wrens.
+
+It is often said that the house wren remains at the north all the
+year, which, though not a fact, is easily accounted for by the coming
+of the winter wrens just as the others migrate in the autumn, and by
+their return to Canada when Jenny wren makes up her feather-bed under
+the eaves in the spring.
+
+
+    Carolina Wren
+
+    (_Thryothorus ludovicianus_) Wren family
+
+    _Called also_: MOCKING WREN
+
+
+    _Length_--6 inches. Just a trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Chestnut-brown above. A whitish streak,
+       beginning at base of bill, passes through the eye to the nape
+       of the neck. Throat whitish. Under parts light buff-brown.
+       Wings and tail finely barred with dark.
+
+    _Range_--United States, from Gulf to northern Illinois and
+       southern New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--A common resident except at northern boundary of
+       range, where it is a summer visitor.
+
+This largest of the wrens appears to be the embodiment of the entire
+family characteristics: it is exceedingly active, nervous, and easily
+excited, quick-tempered, full of curiosity, peeping into every hole
+and corner it passes, short of flight as it is of wing, inseparable
+from its mate till parted by death, and a gushing lyrical songster
+that only death itself can silence. It also has the wren-like
+preference for a nest that is roofed over, but not too near the homes
+of men.
+
+Undergrowths near water, brush heaps, rocky bits of woodland, are
+favorite resorts. The Carolina wren decidedly objects to being stared
+at, and likes to dart out of sight in the midst of the underbrush in a
+twinkling while the opera-glasses are being focussed.
+
+To let off some of his superfluous vivacity, Nature has provided him
+with two safety-valves: one is his voice, another is his tail. With
+the latter he gesticulates in a manner so expressive that it seems to
+be a certain index to what is passing in his busy little
+brain--drooping it, after the habit of the catbird, when he becomes
+limp with the emotion of his love-song, or holding it erect as, alert
+and inquisitive, he peers at the impudent intruder in the thicket
+below his perch.
+
+But it is his joyous, melodious, bubbling song that is his chief
+fascination. He has so great a variety of strains that many people
+have thought that he learned them from other birds, and so have called
+him what many ornithologists declare that he is not--a mocking wren.
+And he is one of the few birds that sing at night--not in his sleep or
+only by moonlight, but even in the total darkness, just before dawn,
+he gives us the same wide-awake song that entrances us by day.
+
+
+    Winter Wren
+
+    (_Troglodytes hiemalis_) Wren family
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 4.5 inches. About one-third smaller than the
+       English sparrow. Apparently only half the size.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Cinnamon-brown above, with numerous short,
+       dusky bars. Head and neck without markings. Underneath rusty,
+       dimly and finely barred with dark brown. Tail short.
+
+    _Range_--United States, east and west, and from North Carolina
+       to the Fur Countries.
+
+    _Migrations_--October, April. Summer resident. Commonly a
+       winter resident in the South and Middle States only.
+
+It all too rarely happens that we see this tiny mouse-like wren in
+summer, unless we come upon him suddenly and overtake him unawares as
+he creeps shyly over the mossy logs or runs literally "like a flash"
+under the fern and through the tangled underbrush of the deep, cool
+woods. His presence there is far more likely to be detected by the ear
+than the eye.
+
+Throughout the nesting season music fairly pours from his tiny throat;
+it bubbles up like champagne; it gushes forth in a lyrical torrent and
+overflows into every nook of the forest, that seems entirely pervaded
+by his song. While music is everywhere, it apparently comes from no
+particular point, and, search as you may, the tiny singer still
+eludes, exasperates, and yet entrances.
+
+If by accident you discover him balancing on a swaying twig, never far
+from the ground, with his comical little tail erect, or more likely
+pointing towards his head, what a pert, saucy minstrel he is! You are
+lost in amazement that so much music could come from a throat so tiny.
+
+Comparatively few of his admirers, however, hear the exquisite notes
+of this little brown wood-sprite, for after the nesting season is over
+he finds little to call them forth during the bleak, snowy winter
+months, when in the Middle and Southern States he may properly be
+called a neighbor. Sharp hunger, rather than natural boldness, drives
+him near the homes of men, where he appears just as the house wren
+departs for the South. With a forced confidence in man that is almost
+pathetic in a bird that loves the forest as he does, he picks up
+whatever lies about the house or barn in the shape of food--crumbs
+from the kitchen door, a morsel from the dog's plate, a little seed in
+the barn-yard, happily rewarded if he can find a spider lurking in
+some sheltered place to give a flavor to the unrelished grain. Now he
+becomes almost tame, but we feel it is only because he must be.
+
+The spot that decided preference leads him to, either winter or
+summer, is beside a bubbling spring. In the moss that grows near it
+the nest is placed in early summer, nearly always roofed over and
+entered from the side, in true wren-fashion; and as the young
+fledglings emerge from the creamy-white eggs, almost the first lesson
+they receive from their devoted little parents is in the fine art of
+bathing. Even in winter weather, when the wren has to stand on a rim
+of ice, he will duck and splash his diminutive body. It is recorded of
+a certain little individual that he was wont to dive through the icy
+water on a December day. Evidently the wrens, as a family, are not far
+removed in the evolutionary scale from true water-birds.
+
+
+   [Illustration: HOUSE WREN]
+
+   [Illustration: BROWN THRASHER]
+
+
+    Long-billed Marsh Wren
+
+    (_Cistothorus palustris_) Wren family
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 5.2 inches. Actually a little smaller than
+       the English sparrow. Apparently half the size.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, with white line over the eye,
+       and the back irregularly and faintly streaked with white.
+       Wings and tail barred with darker cinnamon-brown. Underneath
+       white. Sides dusky. Tail long and often carried erect. Bill
+       extra long and slender.
+
+    _Range_--United States and southern British America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+Sometimes when you are gathering cat-tails in the river marshes an
+alert, nervous little brown bird rises startled from the rushes and
+tries to elude you as with short, jerky flight it goes deeper and
+deeper into the marsh, where even the rubber boot may not follow. It
+closely resembles two other birds found in such a place, the swamp
+sparrow and the short-billed marsh wren; but you may know by its long,
+slender bill that it is not the latter, and by the absence of a bright
+bay crown that it is not the shyest of the sparrows.
+
+These marsh wrens appear to be especially partial to running water;
+their homes are not very far from brooks and rivers, preferably those
+that are affected in their rise and flow by the tides. They build in
+colonies, and might be called inveterate singers, for no single bird
+is often permitted to finish his bubbling song without half the colony
+joining in a chorus.
+
+Still another characteristic of this particularly interesting bird is
+its unique architectural effects produced with coarse grasses woven
+into globular form and suspended in the reeds. Sometimes adapting its
+nest to the building material at hand, it weaves it of grasses and
+twigs, and suspends it from the limb of a bush or tree overhanging the
+water, where it swings like an oriole's. The entrance to the nest is
+invariably on the side.
+
+More devoted homebodies than these little wrens are not among the
+feathered tribe. Once let the hand of man desecrate their nest, even
+before the tiny speckled eggs are deposited in it, and off go the
+birds to a more inaccessible place, where they can enjoy their home
+unmolested. Thus three or four nests may be made in a summer.
+
+
+    Short-billed Marsh Wren
+
+    (_Cistothorus stellaris_) Wren family
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 5 inches. Actually about one-third smaller than
+       the English sparrow, but apparently only half its size.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, faintly streaked with white, black,
+       and buff. Wings and tail barred with same. Underneath white, with
+       buff and rusty tinges on throat and breast. Short bill.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Manitoba southward in winter to
+       Gulf of Mexico. Most common in north temperate latitudes.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Late September.
+
+Where red-winged blackbirds like to congregate in oozy pastures or
+near boggy woods, the little short-billed wren may more often be heard
+than seen, for he is more shy, if possible, than his long-billed
+cousin, and will dive down into the sedges at your approach, very much
+as a duck disappears under water. But if you see him at all, it is
+usually while swaying to and fro as he clings to some tall stalk of
+grass, keeping his balance by the nervous, jerky tail motions
+characteristic of all the wrens, and singing with all his might.
+Oftentimes his tail reaches backward almost to his head in a most
+exaggerated wren-fashion.
+
+Samuels explains the peculiar habit both the long-billed and the
+short-billed marsh wrens have of building several nests in one season,
+by the theory that they are made to protect the sitting female, for it
+is noticed that the male bird always lures a visitor to an empty nest,
+and if this does not satisfy his curiosity, to another one, to prove
+conclusively that he has no family in prospect.
+
+Wild rice is an ideal nesting place for a colony of these little marsh
+wrens. The home is made of sedge grasses, softly lined with the softer
+meadow grass or plant-down, and placed in a tussock of tall grass, or
+even upon the ground. The entrance is on the side. But while fond of
+moist places, both for a home and feeding ground, it will be noticed
+that these wrens have no special fondness for running water, so dear
+to their long-billed relatives. Another distinction is that the eggs
+of this species, instead of being so densely speckled as to look
+brown, are pure white.
+
+
+    Brown Thrasher
+
+    (_Harporhynchus rufus_) Thrasher and Mocking-bird family
+
+    _Called also_: BROWN THRUSH; GROUND THRUSH; RED THRUSH; BROWN
+       MOCKING-BIRD; FRENCH MOCKING-BIRD; MAVIS
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 119)
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 11.5 inches. Fully an inch longer than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Rusty red-brown or rufous above; darkest on wings, which
+       have two short whitish bands. Underneath white, heavily
+       streaked (except on throat) with dark-brown, arrow-shaped spots.
+       Tail very long. Yellow eyes. Bill long and curved at tip.
+
+    _Female_--Paler than male.
+
+    _Range_--United States to Rockies. Nests from Gulf States to
+       Manitoba and Montreal. Winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+    "There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree;
+     He is singing to me! He is singing to me!
+     And what does he say, little girl, little boy?
+     'Oh, the world's running over with joy!'"
+
+The hackneyed poem beginning with this stanza that delighted our
+nursery days, has left in our minds a fairly correct impression of the
+bird. He still proves to be one of the perennially joyous singers,
+like a true cousin of the wrens, and when we study him afield,
+he appears to give his whole attention to his song with a
+self-consciousness that is rather amusing than the reverse. "What
+musician wouldn't be conscious of his own powers," he seems to
+challenge us, "if he possessed such a gift?" Seated on a conspicuous
+perch, as if inviting attention to his performance, with uplifted head
+and drooping tail he repeats the one exultant, dashing air to which
+his repertoire is limited, without waiting for an encore. Much
+practice has given the notes a brilliancy of execution to be compared
+only with the mocking-bird's; but in spite of the name "ferruginous
+mocking-bird" that Audubon gave him, he does not seem to have the
+faculty of imitating other birds' songs. Thoreau says the
+Massachusetts farmers, when planting their seed, always think they
+hear the thrasher say, "Drop it, drop it--cover it up, cover it
+up--pull it up, pull it up, pull it up."
+
+One of the shatterings of childish impressions that age too often
+brings is when we learn by the books that our "merry brown thrush" is
+no thrush at all, but a thrasher--first cousin to the wrens, in spite
+of his speckled breast, large size, and certain thrush-like instincts,
+such as never singing near the nest and shunning mankind in the
+nesting season, to mention only two. Certainly his bold, swinging
+flight and habit of hopping and running over the ground would seem to
+indicate that he is not very far removed from the true thrushes. But
+he has one undeniable wren-like trait, that of twitching, wagging, and
+thrashing his long tail about to help express his emotions. It swings
+like a pendulum as he rests on a branch, and thrashes about in a most
+ludicrous way as he is feeding on the ground upon the worms, insects,
+and fruit that constitute his diet.
+
+Before the fatal multiplication of cats, and in unfrequented, sandy
+locations still, the thrasher builds her nest upon the ground, thus
+earning the name "ground thrush" that is often given her; but with
+dearly paid-for wisdom she now most frequently selects a low shrub or
+tree to cradle the two broods that all too early in the summer
+effectually silence the father's delightful song.
+
+
+    Wilson's Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus fuscescens_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: VEERY; TAWNY THRUSH
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 126)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Uniform olive-brown, with a tawny cast above.
+       Centre of the throat white, with cream-buff on sides of throat
+       and upper part of breast, which is lightly spotted with
+       wedge-shaped, brown points. Underneath white, or with a faint
+       grayish tinge.
+
+    _Range_--United States, westward to plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Summer resident.
+
+To many of us the veery, as they call the Wilson's thrush in New
+England, is merely a voice, a sylvan mystery, reflecting the sweetness
+and wildness of the forest, a vocal "will-o'-the-wisp" that, after
+enticing us deeper and deeper into the woods, where we sink into the
+spongy moss of its damp retreats and become entangled in the wild
+grapevines twined about the saplings and underbrush, still sings to us
+from unapproachable tangles. Plainly, if we want to see the bird, we
+must let it seek us out on the fallen log where we have sunk exhausted
+in the chase.
+
+Presently a brown bird scuds through the fern. It is a thrush, you
+guess in a minute, from its slender, graceful body. At first you
+notice no speckles on its breast, but as it comes nearer, obscure
+arrow-heads are visible--not heavy, heart-shaped spots such as
+plentifully speckle the larger wood thrush or the smaller hermit. It
+is the smallest of the three commoner thrushes, and it lacks the ring
+about the eye that both the others have. Shy and elusive, it slips
+away again in a most unfriendly fashion, and is lost in the wet tangle
+before you have become acquainted. You determine, however, before you
+leave the log, to cultivate the acquaintance of this bird the next
+spring, when, before it mates and retreats to the forest, it comes
+boldly into the gardens and scratches about in the dry leaves on the
+ground for the lurking insects beneath. Miss Florence Merriam tells of
+having drawn a number of veeries about her by imitating their
+call-note, which is a whistled _wheew, whoit_, very easy to
+counterfeit when once heard. "_Taweel-ab, taweel-ab, twil-ab,
+twil-ab!_" Professor Ridgeway interprets their song, that descends in
+a succession of trills without break or pause; but no words can
+possibly convey an idea of the quality of the music. The veery, that
+never claims an audience, sings at night also, and its weird, sweet
+strains floating through the woods at dusk, thrill one like the
+mysterious voice of a disembodied spirit.
+
+Whittier mentions the veery in "The Playmate":
+
+    "And here in spring the veeries sing
+     The song of long ago."
+
+
+   [Illustration: A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY.]
+
+   [Illustration: THE WOOD THRUSH HEARS THE CLICK OF THE CAMERA]
+
+
+    Wood Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus mustelinus_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: SONG THRUSH; WOOD ROBIN; BELLBIRD
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 123 and 127)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 8.3 inches. About two inches shorter than the
+    robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, reddish on head and shoulders,
+       and shading into olive-brown on tail. Throat, breast, and
+       underneath white, plain in the middle, but heavily marked on
+       sides and breast with heart-shaped spots of very dark brown.
+       Whitish eye-ring.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April or early May. October. Summer resident.
+
+When Nuttall wrote of "this solitary and retiring songster," before
+the country was as thickly settled as it is to-day, it possibly had
+not developed the confidence in men that now distinguishes the wood
+thrush from its shy congeners that are distinctly wood birds, which it
+can no longer strictly be said to be. In city parks and country
+places, where plenty of trees shade the village streets and lawns, it
+comes near you, half hopping, half running, with dignified
+unconsciousness and even familiarity, all the more delightful in a
+bird whose family instincts should take it into secluded woodlands
+with their shady dells. Perhaps, in its heart of hearts, it still
+prefers such retreats. Many conservative wood thrushes keep to their
+wild haunts, and it must be owned not a few liberals, that discard
+family traditions at other times, seek the forest at nesting time. But
+social as the wood thrush is and abundant, too, it is also eminently
+high-bred; and when contrasted with its tawny cousin, the veery, that
+skulks away to hide in the nearest bushes as you approach, or with the
+hermit thrush, that pours out its heavenly song in the solitude of the
+forest, how gracious and full of gentle confidence it seems! Every
+gesture is graceful and elegant; even a wriggling beetle is eaten as
+daintily as caviare at the king's table. It is only when its
+confidence in you is abused, and you pass too near the nest, that
+might easily be mistaken for a robin's, just above your head in a
+sapling, that the wood thrush so far forgets itself as to become
+excited. _Pit, pit, pit_, sharply reiterated, is called out at you
+with a strident quality in the tone that is painful evidence of the
+fearful anxiety your presence gives this gentle bird.
+
+Too many guardians of nests, whether out of excessive happiness or
+excessive stupidity, have a dangerous habit of singing very near them.
+Not so the wood thrush. "Come to me," as the opening notes of its
+flute-like song have been freely translated, invites the intruder
+far away from where the blue eggs lie cradled in ambush.
+"_Uoli-a-e-o-li-noli-nol-aeolee-lee!_" is as good a rendering into
+syllables of the luscious song as could very well be made. Pure, liquid,
+rich, and luscious, it rings out from the trees on the summer air and
+penetrates our home like a strain of music from a stringed quartette.
+
+
+    Hermit Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus aonalaschkæ pallasii_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAMP ANGEL; LITTLE THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--7.25 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts olive-brown, reddening near the
+       tail, which is pale rufous, quite distinct from the color of
+       the back. Throat, sides of neck, and breast pale buff.
+       Feathers of throat and neck finished with dark arrow-points at
+       tip; feathers of the breast have larger rounded spots. Sides
+       brownish gray. Underneath white. A yellow ring around the eye.
+       Smallest of the thrushes.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of North America. Most common in the
+       United States to the plains. Winters from southern Illinois
+       and New Jersey to Gulf.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. Summer resident.
+
+The first thrush to come and the last to go, nevertheless the hermit
+is little seen throughout its long visit north. It may loiter awhile
+in the shrubby roadsides, in the garden or the parks in the spring
+before it begins the serious business of life in a nest of moss,
+coarse grass, and pine-needles placed on the ground in the depths of
+the forest, but by the middle of May its presence in the neighborhood
+of our homes becomes only a memory. Although one never hears it at its
+best during the migrations, how one loves to recall the serene,
+ethereal evening hymn! "The finest sound in Nature," John Burroughs
+calls it. "It is not a proud, gorgeous strain like the tanager's or
+the grosbeak's," he says; "it suggests no passion or emotion--nothing
+personal, but seems to be the voice of that calm, sweet solemnity one
+attains to in his best moments. It realizes a peace and a deep, solemn
+joy that only the finest souls may know."
+
+Beyond the question of even the hypercritical, the hermit thrush has a
+more exquisitely beautiful voice than any other American bird, and
+only the nightingale's of Europe can be compared with it. It is the
+one theme that exhausts all the ornithologists' musical adjectives in
+a vain attempt to convey in words any idea of it to one who has never
+heard it, for the quality of the song is as elusive as the bird
+itself. But why should the poets be so silent? Why has it not called
+forth such verse as the English poets have lavished upon the
+nightingale? Undoubtedly because it lifts up its heavenly voice in the
+solitude of the forest, whereas the nightingales, singing in loud
+choruses in the moonlight under the poet's very window, cannot but
+impress his waking thoughts and even his dreams with their melody.
+
+Since the severe storm and cold in the Gulf States a few winters ago,
+where vast numbers of hermit thrushes died from cold and starvation,
+this bird has been very rare in haunts where it used to be abundant.
+The other thrushes escaped because they spend the winter farther
+south.
+
+
+    Alice's Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus aliciæ_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 to 8 inches. About the size of the bluebird.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts uniform olive-brown. Eye-ring
+       whitish. Cheeks gray; sides dull grayish white. Sides of the
+       throat and breast pale cream-buff, speckled with arrow-shaped
+       points on throat and with half-round dark-brown marks below.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Labrador and Alaska to Central
+       America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April or May. October. Chiefly seen in
+       migrations, except at northern parts of its range.
+
+One looks for a prettier bird than this least attractive of all the
+thrushes in one that bears such a suggestive name. Like the
+olive-backed thrush, from which it is almost impossible to tell it
+when both are alive and hopping about the shrubbery, its plumage above
+is a dull olive-brown that is more protective than pleasing.
+
+Just as Wilson hopelessly confused the olive-backed thrush with the
+hermit, so has Alice's thrush been confounded by later writers with
+the olive-backed, from which it differs chiefly in being a trifle
+larger, in having gray cheeks instead of buff, and in possessing a few
+faint streaks on the throat. Where it goes to make a home for its
+greenish-blue speckled eggs in some low bush at the northern end of
+its range, it bursts into song, but except in the nesting grounds its
+voice is never heard. Mr. Bradford Torrey, who heard it singing in the
+White Mountains, describes the song as like the thrush's in quality,
+but differently accented: "_Wee-o-wee-o-tit-ti-wee-o!_"
+
+In New England and New York this thrush is most often seen during its
+autumn migrations. As it starts up and perches upon a low branch
+before you, it appears to have longer legs and a broader, squarer tail
+than its congeners.
+
+
+   [Illustration: VEERY OR WILSON'S THRUSH]
+
+   [Illustration: WOOD THRUSH]
+
+
+    Olive-backed Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus ustulatus swainsonii_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAINSON'S THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.50 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts olive-brown. Whole throat and
+       breast yellow-buff, shading to ashy on sides and to white
+       underneath. Buff ring around eye. Dark streaks on sides of
+       throat (none on centre), and larger, more spot-like marks on
+       breast.
+
+    _Range_--North America to Rockies; a few stragglers on Pacific
+       slope. Northward to arctic countries.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Summer resident in Canada.
+       Chiefly a migrant in United States.
+
+Mr. Parkhurst tells of finding this "the commonest bird in the Park
+(Central Park, New York), not even excepting the robin," during the
+last week of May on a certain year; but usually, it must be owned, we
+have to be on the lookout to find it, or it will pass unnoticed in the
+great companies of more conspicuous birds travelling at the same time.
+White-throated sparrows often keep it company on the long journeys
+northward, and they may frequently be seen together, hopping sociably
+about the garden, the thrush calling out a rather harsh note--_puk!
+puk!_--quite different from the liquid, mellow calls of the other
+thrushes, to resent either the sparrows' bad manners or the
+inquisitiveness of a human disturber of its peace. But this gregarious
+habit and neighborly visit end even before acquaintance fairly begins,
+and the thrushes are off for their nesting grounds in the pine woods
+of New England or Labrador if they are travelling up the east coast,
+or to Alaska, British Columbia, or Manitoba if west of the
+Mississippi. There they stay all summer, often travelling southward
+with the sparrows in the autumn, as in the spring.
+
+Why they should prefer coniferous trees, unless to utilize the needles
+for a nest, is not understood. Low trees and bushes are favorite
+building sites with them as with others of the family, though these
+thrushes disdain a mud lining to their nests. Those who have heard the
+olive-backed thrush singing an even-song to its brooding mate compare
+it with the veery's, but it has a break in it and is less simple and
+pleasing than the latter's.
+
+
+    Louisiana Water Thrush
+
+    (_Seiurus motacilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.28 inches. Just a trifle smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Grayish olive-brown upper parts, with
+       conspicuous white line over the eye and reaching almost to the
+       nape. Underneath white, tinged with pale buff. Throat and line
+       through the middle, plain. Other parts streaked with very dark
+       brown, rather faintly on the breast, giving them the speckled
+       breast of the thrushes. Heavy, dark bill.
+
+    _Range_--United States, westward to the plains; northward to
+       southern New England. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. October. Summer resident.
+
+This bird, that so delighted Audubon with its high-trilled song as he
+tramped with indefatigable zeal through the hammocks of the Gulf
+States, seems to be almost the counterpart of the Northern water
+thrush, just as the loggerhead is the Southern counterpart of the
+Northern shrike. Very many Eastern birds have their duplicates in
+Western species, as we all know, and it is most interesting to trace
+the slight external variations that different climates and diet have
+produced on the same bird, and thus differentiated the species. In
+winter the Northern water thrush visits the cradle of its kind, the
+swamps of Louisiana and Florida, and, no doubt, by daily contact with
+its congeners there, keeps close to their cherished traditions, from
+which it never deviates farther than Nature compels, though it
+penetrate to the arctic regions during its summer journeys.
+
+With a more southerly range, the Louisiana water thrush does not
+venture beyond the White Mountains and to the shores of the Great
+Lakes in summer, but even at the North the same woods often contain
+both birds, and there is opportunity to note just how much they
+differ. The Southern bird is slightly the larger, possibly an inch; it
+is more gray, and it lacks a few of the streaks, notably on the
+throat, that plentifully speckle its Northern counterpart; but the
+habits of both of these birds appear to be identical. Only for a few
+days in the spring or autumn migrations do they pass near enough to
+our homes for us to study them, and then we must ever be on the alert
+to steal a glance at them through the opera-glasses, for birds more
+shy than they do not visit the garden shrubbery at any season. Only
+let them suspect they are being stared at, and they are under cover in
+a twinkling.
+
+Where mountain streams dash through tracts of mossy, spongy ground
+that is carpeted with fern and moss, and overgrown with impenetrable
+thickets of underbrush and tangles of creepers--such a place is the
+favorite resort of both the water thrushes. With a rubber boot
+missing, clothes torn, and temper by no means unruffled, you finally
+stand over the Louisiana thrush's nest in the roots of an upturned
+tree immediately over the water, or else in a mossy root-belaced bank
+above a purling stream. A liquid-trilled warble, wild and sweet,
+breaks the stillness, and, like Audubon, you feel amply rewarded for
+your pains though you may not be prepared to agree with him in
+thinking the song the equal of the European nightingale's.
+
+
+    Northern Water Thrush
+
+    (_Seiurus noveboracensis_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: NEW YORK WATER THRUSH; AQUATIC WOOD WAGTAIL;
+       AQUATIC THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Uniform olive or grayish brown above. Pale
+       buff line over the eye. Underneath, white tinged with
+       sulphur-yellow, and streaked like a thrush with very dark
+       brown arrow-headed or oblong spots that are also seen
+       underneath wings.
+
+    _Range_--United States, westward to Rockies and northward
+       through British provinces. Winters from Gulf States southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. October. Summer resident.
+
+According to the books we have before us, a warbler; but who, to look
+at his speckled throat and breast, would ever take him for anything
+but a diminutive thrush; or, studying him from some distance through
+the opera-glasses as he runs in and out of the little waves along the
+brook or river shore, would not name him a baby sandpiper? The rather
+unsteady motion of his legs, balancing of the tail, and sudden jerking
+of the head suggest an aquatic bird rather than a bird of the woods.
+But to really know either man or beast, you must follow him to his
+home, and if you have pluck enough to brave the swamp and the almost
+impenetrable tangle of undergrowth where the water thrush chooses to
+nest, there "In the swamp in secluded recesses, a shy and hidden bird
+is warbling a song;" and this warbled song that Walt Whitman so adored
+gives you your first clue to the proper classification of the bird. It
+has nothing in common with the serene, hymn-like voices of the true
+thrushes; the bird has no flute-like notes, but an emphatic smacking
+or chucking kind of warble. For a few days only is this song heard
+about the gardens and roadsides of our country places. Like the
+Louisiana water thrush, this bird never ventures near the homes of men
+after the spring and autumn migrations, but, on the contrary, goes as
+far away from them as possible, preferably to some mountain region,
+beside a cool and dashing brook, where a party of adventurous young
+climbers from a summer hotel or the lonely trout fisherman may startle
+it from its mossy nest on the ground.
+
+
+    Flicker
+
+    (_Colaptes auratus_) Woodpecker family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER; CLAPE; PIGEON
+       WOODPECKER; YELLOWHAMMER; HIGH-HOLE OR HIGH-HOLDER;
+       YARUP; WAKE-UP; YELLOW-SHAFTED WOODPECKER
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 24 and 134)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Head and neck bluish gray, with a red
+       crescent across back of neck and a black crescent on breast.
+       Male has black cheek-patches, that are wanting in female.
+       Golden brown shading into brownish-gray, and barred with black
+       above. Underneath whitish, tinged with light chocolate and
+       thickly spotted with black. Wing linings, shafts of wing, and
+       tail-quills bright yellow. Above tail white, conspicuous when
+       the bird flies.
+
+    _Range_--United States, east of Rockies; Alaska and British
+       America, south of Hudson Bay. Occasional on Pacific slope.
+
+    _Migrations_--Most commonly seen from April to October.
+       Usually resident.
+
+If we were to follow the list of thirty-six aliases by which this
+largest and commonest of our woodpeckers is known throughout its wide
+range, we should find all its peculiarities of color, flight, noises,
+and habits indicated in its popular names. It cannot but attract
+attention wherever seen, with its beautiful plumage, conspicuously
+yellow if its outstretched wings are looked at from below,
+conspicuously brown and white if seen upon the ground. At a distance
+it suggests the meadowlark. Both birds wear black, crescent breast
+decorations, and the flicker also has the habit of feeding upon the
+ground, especially in autumn, a characteristic not shared by its
+relations.
+
+Early in the spring this bird of many names and many voices makes
+itself known by a long, strong, sonorous call, a sort of proclamation
+that differs from its song proper, which Audubon calls "a prolonged
+jovial laugh" (described by Mrs. Wright as "_Wick, wick, wick,
+wick!_"), and differs also from its rapidly repeated, mellow, and most
+musical _cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh_, uttered during the nesting season.
+
+Its nasal _kee-yer_, vigorously called out in the autumn, is less
+characteristic, however, than the sound it makes while associating
+with its fellows on the feeding ground--a sound that Mr. Frank M.
+Chapman says can be closely imitated by the swishing of a willow wand.
+
+A very ardent and ridiculous-looking lover is this bird, as, with tail
+stiffly spread, he sidles up to his desired mate and bows and bobs
+before her, then retreats and advances, bowing and bobbing again, very
+often with a rival lover beside him (whom he generously tolerates)
+trying to outdo him in grace and general attractiveness. Not the least
+of the bird's qualities that must commend themselves to the bride is
+his unfailing good nature, genial alike in the home and in the field.
+
+The "high-holders" have the peculiar and silly habit of boring out a
+number of superfluous holes for nests high up in the trees, in
+buildings, or hollow wooden columns, only one of which they intend to
+use. Six white eggs is the proper number for a household, but Dr.
+Coues says the female that has been robbed keeps on laying three or
+even four sets of eggs without interruption.
+
+
+    Meadowlark
+
+    (_Sturnella magna_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: FIELD LARK; OLDFIELD LARK
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 135)
+
+
+    _Length_--10 to 11 inches. A trifle larger than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts brown, varied with chestnut, deep brown,
+       and black. Crown streaked with brown and black, and with a
+       cream-colored streak through the centre. Dark-brown line
+       apparently running through the eye; another line over the eye,
+       yellow. Throat and chin yellow; a large, conspicuous black
+       crescent on breast. Underneath yellow, shading into buffy
+       brown, spotted or streaked with very dark brown. Outer tail
+       feathers chiefly white, conspicuous in flight. Long, strong
+       legs and claws, adapted for walking. Less black in winter
+       plumage, which is more grayish brown.
+
+    _Female_--Paler than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to the Gulf of
+       Mexico, and westward to the plains, where the Western
+       meadowlark takes its place. Winters from Massachusetts and
+       Illinois southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. Late October. Usually a resident, a few
+       remaining through the winter.
+
+In the same meadows with the red-winged blackbirds, birds of another
+feather, but of the same family, nevertheless, may be found flocking
+together, hunting for worms and larvæ, building their nests, and
+rearing their young very near each other with the truly social
+instinct of all their kin.
+
+The meadowlarks, which are really not larks at all, but the
+blackbirds' and orioles' cousins, are so protected by the coloring of
+the feathers on their backs, like that of the grass and stubble they
+live among, that ten blackbirds are noticed for every meadowlark,
+although the latter is very common. Not until you flush a flock of
+them as you walk along the roadside or through the meadows and you
+note the white tail feathers and the black crescents on the yellow
+breasts of the large brown birds that rise towards the tree-tops with
+whirring sound and a flight suggesting the quail's, do you suspect
+there are any birds among the tall grasses.
+
+Their clear and piercing whistle, "_Spring o' the y-e-a-r, Spring o'
+the year!_" rings out from the trees with varying intonation and
+accent, but always sweet and inspiriting. To the bird's high vantage
+ground you may not follow, for no longer having the protection of the
+high grass, it has become wary and flies away as you approach, calling
+out _peent-peent_ and nervously flitting its tail (again showing the
+white feather), when it rests a moment on the pasture fence-rail.
+
+It is like looking for a needle in a haystack to try to find a
+meadowlark's nest, an unpretentious structure of dried grasses partly
+arched over and hidden in a clump of high timothy, flat upon the
+ground. But what havoc snakes and field-mice play with the
+white-speckled eggs and helpless fledglings! The care of rearing two
+or three broods in a season and the change of plumage to duller winter
+tints seem to exhaust the high spirits of the sweet whistler. For a
+time he is silent, but partly regains his vocal powers in the autumn,
+when, with large flocks of his own kind, he resorts to marshy feeding
+grounds. In the winter he chooses for companions the horned larks,
+that walk along the shore, or the snow buntings and sparrows of the
+inland pastures, and will even include the denizens of the barn-yard
+when hunger drives him close to the haunts of men.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Western Meadowlark or Prairie Lark (_Sturnella magna neglecta_),
+which many ornithologists consider a different species from the
+foregoing, is distinguished chiefly by its lighter, more grayish-brown
+plumage, by its yellow cheeks, and more especially by its richer,
+fuller song. In his "Birds of Manitoba," Mr. Ernest E. Thompson says of
+this meadowlark: "In richness of voice and modulation it equals or
+excels both wood thrush and nightingale, and in the beauty of its
+articulation it has no superior in the whole world of feathered
+choristers with which I am acquainted."
+
+
+    Horned Lark
+
+    (_Otocoris alpestris_) Lark family
+
+    _Called also_: SHORE LARK
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 138)
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts dull brown, streaked with lighter on edges
+       and tinged with pink or vinaceous; darkest on back of head,
+       neck, shoulders, and nearest the tail. A few erectile feathers
+       on either side of the head form slight tufts or horns that are
+       wanting in female. A black mark from the base of the bill
+       passes below the eye and ends in a horn-shaped curve on
+       cheeks, which are yellow. Throat clear yellow. Breast has
+       crescent-shaped black patch. Underneath soiled white, with
+       dusky spots on lower breast. Tail black, the outer feathers
+       margined with white, noticed in flight.
+
+    _Female_--Has yellow eye-stripe; less prominent markings,
+       especially on head, and is a trifle smaller.
+
+    _Range_--Northeastern parts of North America, and in winter
+       from Ohio and eastern United States as far south as North
+       Carolina.
+
+    _Migrations_--October and November. March. Winter resident.
+
+Far away to the north in Greenland and Labrador this true lark, the
+most beautiful of its genus, makes its summer home. There it is a
+conspicuously handsome bird with its pinkish-gray and chocolate
+feathers, that have greatly faded into dull browns when we see them in
+the late autumn. In the far north only does it sing, and, according to
+Audubon, the charming song is flung to the breeze while the bird soars
+like a skylark. In the United States we hear only its call-note.
+
+Great flocks come down the Atlantic coast in October and November, and
+separate into smaller bands that take up their residence in sandy
+stretches and open tracts near the sea or wherever the food supply
+looks promising, and there the larks stay until all the seeds, buds of
+bushes, berries, larvæ, and insects in their chosen territory are
+exhausted. They are ever conspicuously ground birds, walkers, and when
+disturbed at their dinner, prefer to squat on the earth rather than
+expose themselves by flight. Sometimes they run nimbly over the frozen
+ground to escape an intruder, but flying they reserve as a last
+resort. When the visitor has passed they quickly return to their
+dinner. If they were content to eat less ravenously and remain
+slender, fewer victims might be slaughtered annually to tickle the
+palates of the epicure. It is a mystery what they find to fatten upon
+when snow covers the frozen ground. Even in the severe midwinter
+storms they will not seek the protection of the woods, but always
+prefer sandy dunes with their scrubby undergrowth or open meadow
+lands. Occasionally a small flock wanders toward the farms to pick up
+seeds that are blown from the hayricks or scattered about the
+barn-yard by overfed domestic fowls.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Prairie Horned Lark (_Otocoris alpestris praticola_) is similar to
+the preceding, but a trifle smaller and paler, with a white instead of
+a yellow streak above the eye, the throat yellowish or entirely white
+instead of sulphur-yellow, and other minor differences. It has a far
+more southerly range, confined to northern portions of the United
+States from the Mississippi eastward. Once a distinctly prairie bird,
+it now roams wherever large stretches of open country that suit its
+purposes are cleared in the East, and remains resident. This species
+also sings in midair on the wing, but its song is a crude,
+half-inarticulate affair, barely audible from a height of two hundred
+feet.
+
+
+   [Illustration: FLICKER]
+
+   [Illustration: MEADOWLARK]
+
+
+    American Pipit
+
+    (_Anthus pensilvanicus_) Wagtail family
+
+    _Called also_: TITLARK; BROWN OR RED LARK
+
+
+    _Length_--6.38 to 7 inches. About the size of a sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts brown; wings and tail dark
+       olive-brown; the wing coverts tipped with buff or whitish, and
+       ends of outer tail feathers white, conspicuous in flight.
+       White or yellowish eye-ring, and line above the eye.
+       Underneath light buff brown, with spots on breast and sides,
+       the under parts being washed with brown of various shades.
+       Feet brown. Hind toe-nail as long as or longer than the toe.
+
+    _Range_--North America at large. Winters south of Virginia to
+       Mexico and beyond.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October or November. Common in the United
+       States, chiefly during the migrations.
+
+The color of this bird varies slightly with age and sex, the under
+parts ranging from white through pale rosy brown to a reddish tinge;
+but at any season, and under all circumstances, the pipit is a
+distinctly brown bird, resembling the water thrushes not in plumage
+only, but in the comical tail waggings and jerkings that alone are
+sufficient to identify it. However the books may tell us the bird is a
+wagtail, it certainly possesses two strong characteristics of true
+larks: it is a walker, delighting in walking or running, never hopping
+over the ground, and it has the angelic habit of singing as it flies.
+
+During the migrations the pipits are abundant in salt marshes or open
+stretches of country inland, that, with lark-like preference, they
+choose for feeding grounds. When flushed, all the flock rise together
+with uncertain flight, hovering and wheeling about the place, calling
+down _dee-dee_, _dee-dee_ above your head until you have passed on
+your way, then promptly returning to the spot from whence they were
+disturbed. Along the roadsides and pastures, where two or three birds
+are frequently seen together, they are too often mistaken for the
+vesper sparrows because of their similar size and coloring, but their
+easy, graceful walk should distinguish them at once from the hopping
+sparrow. They often run to get ahead of some one in the lane, but
+rarely fly if they can help it, and then scarcely higher than a
+fence-rail. Early in summer they are off for the mountains in the
+north. Labrador is their chosen nesting ground, and they are said to
+place their grassy nest, lined with lichens or moss, flat upon the
+ground--still another lark trait. Their eggs are chocolate-brown
+scratched with black.
+
+
+    Whippoorwill
+
+    (_Antrostomus vociferus_) Goatsucker family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 139)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+       Apparently much larger, because of its long wings and wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male_--A long-winged bird, mottled all over with reddish
+       brown, grayish black, and dusky white; numerous bristles
+       fringing the large mouth. A narrow white band across the upper
+       breast. Tail quills on the end and under side white.
+
+    _Female_--Similar to male, except that the tail is dusky in
+       color where that of the male is white. Band on breast buff
+       instead of white.
+
+    _Range_--United States, to the plains. Not common near the sea.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April to middle of September. Summer resident.
+
+The whippoorwill, because of its nocturnal habits and plaintive note,
+is invested with a reputation for occult power which inspires a
+chilling awe among superstitious people, and leads them insanely to
+attribute to it an evil influence; but it is a harmless, useful night
+prowler, flying low and catching enormous numbers of hurtful insects,
+always the winged varieties, in its peculiar fly-trap mouth.
+
+It loves the rocky, solitary woods, where it sleeps all day; but it is
+seldom seen, even after painstaking search, because of its dull,
+mottled markings conforming so nearly to rocks and dry leaves, and
+because of its unusual habit of stretching itself lengthwise on a tree
+branch or ledge, where it is easily confounded with a patch of lichen,
+and thus overlooked. If by accident one happens upon a sleeping bird,
+it suddenly rouses and flies away, making no more sound than a passing
+butterfly--a curious and uncanny silence that is quite remarkable.
+When the sun goes down and as the gloaming deepens, the bird's
+activity increases, and it begins its nightly duties, emitting from
+time to time, like a sentry on his post or a watchman of the night,
+the doleful call which has given the bird its common name. It
+
+    "Mourns unseen, and ceaseless sings
+     Ever a note of wail and woe,"
+
+that our Dutch ancestors interpreted as "_Quote-kerr-kee_" and so
+called it. They had a tradition that no frost ever appeared after the
+bird had been heard calling in the spring, and that it wisely left for
+warmer skies before frost came in the autumn. Prudent bird, never
+caught napping!
+
+It is erratic in its choice of habitations, even when rock and
+solitude seem suited to its taste. Very rarely is this odd bird found
+close to the seashore, and in the Hudson River valley it keeps a half
+mile or more back from the river.
+
+The eggs, generally two in number, are creamy white, dashed with dark
+and olive spots, and laid on the ground on dry leaves, or in a little
+hollow in rock or stump--never in a nest built with loving care. But
+in extenuation of such carelessness it may be said that, if disturbed
+or threatened, the mother shows no lack of maternal instinct, and
+removes her young, carrying them in her beak as a cat conveys her
+kittens to secure shelter.
+
+
+   [Illustration: HORNED LARK (_One-half natural size_)]
+
+   [Illustration: WHIP-POOR-WILL]
+
+
+    Nighthawk
+
+    (_Chordeiles virginianus_) Goatsucker family
+
+    _Called also_: NIGHTJAR; BULL-BAT; MOSQUITO HAWK;
+       WILL-O'-THE-WISP; PISK; PIRAMIDIG; LONG-WINGED GOATSUCKER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 154)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the same length as the robin,
+       but apparently much longer because of its very wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Mottled blackish brown and rufous above,
+       with a multitude of cream-yellow spots and dashes. Lighter
+       below, with waving bars of brown on breast and underneath.
+       White mark on throat, like an imperfect horseshoe; also a band
+       of white across tail of male bird. These latter markings are
+       wanting in female. Heavy wings, which are partly mottled, are
+       brown on shoulders and tips, and longer than tail. They have
+       large white spots, conspicuous in flight, one of their
+       distinguishing marks from the whippoorwill. Head large and
+       depressed, with large eyes and ear-openings. Very small bill.
+
+    _Range_--From Mexico to arctic islands.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+The nighthawk's misleading name could not well imply more that the
+bird is not: it is not nocturnal in its habits, neither is it a hawk,
+for if it were, no account of it would be given in this book, which
+distinctly excludes birds of prey. Stories of its chicken-stealing
+prove to be ignorant rather than malicious slanders. Any one disliking
+the name, however, surely cannot complain of a limited choice of other
+names by which, in different sections of the country, it is quite as
+commonly known.
+
+Too often it is mistaken for the whippoorwill. The nighthawk does not
+have the weird and woful cry of that more dismal bird, but gives
+instead a harsh, whistling note while on the wing, followed by a
+vibrating, booming, whirring sound that Nuttall likens to "the rapid
+turning of a spinning wheel, or a strong blowing into the bung-hole of
+an empty hogshead." This peculiar sound is responsible for the name
+nightjar, frequently given to this curious bird. It is said to be made
+as the bird drops suddenly through the air, creating a sort of
+stringed instrument of its outstretched wings and tail. When these
+wings are spread, their large white spots running through the feathers
+to the under side should be noted to further distinguish the
+nighthawk from the whippoorwill, which has none, but which it
+otherwise closely resembles. This booming sound, coming from such a
+height that the bird itself is often unseen, was said by the Indians
+to be made by the shad spirits to warn the scholes of shad about to
+ascend the rivers to spawn in the spring, of their impending fate.
+
+The flight of the nighthawk is free and graceful in the extreme.
+Soaring through space without any apparent motion of its wings,
+suddenly it darts with amazing swiftness like an erratic bat after the
+fly, mosquito, beetle, or moth that falls within the range of its
+truly hawk-like eye.
+
+Usually the nighthawks hunt in little companies in the most sociable
+fashion. Late in the summer they seem to be almost gregarious. They
+fly in the early morning or late afternoon with beak wide open,
+hawking for insects, but except when the moon is full they are not
+known to go a-hunting after sunset. During the heat of the day and at
+night they rest on limbs of trees, fence-rails, stone walls,
+lichen-covered rocks or old logs--wherever Nature has provided
+suitable mimicry of their plumage to help conceal them.
+
+With this object in mind, they quite as often choose a hollow surface
+of rock in some waste pasture or the open ground on which to deposit
+the two speckled-gray eggs that sixteen days later will give birth to
+their family. But in August, when family cares have ended for the
+season, it is curious to find this bird of the thickly wooded country
+readily adapting itself to city life, resting on Mansard roofs,
+darting into the streets from the house-tops, and wheeling about the
+electric lights, making a hearty supper of the little, winged insects
+they attract.
+
+
+    Black-billed Cuckoo
+
+    (_Coccyzus erythrophthalmus_) Cuckoo family
+
+    _Called also_: RAIN CROW
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. About one-fifth larger than the
+       robin
+
+    _Male_--Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in feathers.
+       Underneath grayish white; bill, which is long as head and
+       black, arched and acute. Skin about the eye bright red. Tail
+       long, and with spots on tips of quills that are small and
+       inconspicuous.
+
+    _Female_--Has obscure dusky bars on the tail.
+
+    _Range_--Labrador to Panama; westward to Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+    "O cuckoo! shall I call thee bird?
+     Or but a wandering voice?"
+
+From the tangled shrubbery on the hillside back of Dove Cottage,
+Keswick, where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy listened for the
+coming of this "darling of the spring"; in the willows overhanging
+Shakespeare's Avon; from the favorite haunts of Chaucer and Spenser,
+where
+
+    "Runneth meade and springeth blede,"
+
+we hear the cuckoo calling; but how many on this side of the Atlantic
+are familiar with its American counterpart? Here, too, the cuckoo
+delights in running water and damp, cloudy weather like that of an
+English spring; it haunts the willows by our river-sides, where as yet
+no "immortal bard" arises to give it fame. It "loud sings" in our
+shrubbery, too. Indeed, if we cannot study our bird afield, the next
+best place to become acquainted with it is in the pages of the English
+poets. But due allowance must be made for differences of temperament.
+Our cuckoo is scarcely a "merry harbinger"; his talents, such as they
+are, certainly are not musical. However, the guttural cluck is not
+discordant, and the black-billed species, at least, has a soft, mellow
+voice that seems to indicate an embryonic songster. "_K-k-k-k,
+kow-kow-ow-kow-ow!_" is a familiar sound in many localities, but the
+large, slim, pigeon-shaped, brownish-olive bird that makes it,
+securely hidden in the low trees and shrubs that are its haunts, is
+not often personally known. Catching a glimpse only of the
+grayish-white under parts from where we stand looking up into the tree
+at it, it is quite impossible to tell the bird from the yellow-billed
+species. When, as it flies about, we are able to note the red circles
+about its eyes, its black bill, and the absence of black tail
+feathers, with their white "thumb-nail" spots, and see no bright
+cinnamon feathers on the wings (the yellow-billed specie's
+distinguishing marks), we can at last claim acquaintance with the
+black-billed cuckoo. Our two common cuckoos are so nearly alike that
+they are constantly confused in the popular mind and very often in the
+writings of ornithologists. At first glance the birds look alike.
+Their haunts are almost identical; their habits are the same; and, as
+they usually keep well out of sight, it is not surprising if confusion
+arise.
+
+Neither cuckoo knows how to build a proper home; a bunch of sticks
+dropped carelessly into the bush, where the hapless babies that emerge
+from the greenish eggs will not have far to fall when they tumble out
+of bed, as they must inevitably do, may by courtesy only be called a
+nest. The cuckoo is said to suck the eggs of other birds; but, surely,
+such vice is only the rarest dissipation. Insects of many kinds and
+"tent caterpillars" chiefly are their chosen food.
+
+
+    Yellow-billed Cuckoo
+
+
+    (_Coccyzus americanus_) Cuckoo family
+
+    Called _also_: RAIN CROW
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 155 and 202)
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. About one-fifth longer than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in
+       feathers. Underneath grayish white. Bill, which is as long as
+       head, arched, acute, and more robust than the black-billed
+       species, and with lower mandible yellow. Wings washed with
+       bright cinnamon-brown. Tail has outer quills black,
+       conspicuously marked with white thumb-nail spots. Female
+       larger.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Mexico to Labrador. Most common
+       in temperate climates. Rare on Pacific slope.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. September. Summer resident.
+
+"_Kak, k-kuk, k-kuk, k-kuk!_" like an exaggerated tree-toad's rattle,
+is a sound that, when first heard, makes you rush out of doors
+instantly to "name" the bird. Look for him in the depths of the tall
+shrubbery or low trees, near running water, if there is any in the
+neighborhood, and if you are more fortunate than most people, you will
+presently become acquainted with the yellow-billed cuckoo. When seen
+perching at a little distance, his large, slim body, grayish brown,
+with olive tints above and whitish below, can scarcely be
+distinguished from that of the black-billed species. It is not until
+you get close enough to note the yellow bill, reddish-brown wings, and
+black tail feathers with their white "thumb-nail" marks, that you know
+which cuckoo you are watching. In repose the bird looks dazed or
+stupid, but as it darts about among the trees after insects,
+noiselessly slipping to another one that promises better results, and
+hopping along the limbs after performing a series of beautiful
+evolutions among the branches as it hunts for its favorite "tent
+caterpillars," it appears what it really is: an unusually active,
+graceful, intelligent bird.
+
+A solitary wanderer, nevertheless one cuckoo in an apple orchard is
+worth a hundred robins in ridding it of caterpillars and inch-worms,
+for it delights in killing many more of these than it can possibly
+eat. In the autumn it varies its diet with minute fresh-water
+shell-fish from the swamp and lake. Mulberries, that look so like
+caterpillars the bird possibly likes them on that account, it devours
+wholesale.
+
+Family cares rest lightly on the cuckoos. The nest of both species is
+a ramshackle affair--a mere bundle of twigs and sticks without a rim
+to keep the eggs from rolling from the bush, where they rest, to the
+ground. Unlike their European relative, they have the decency to rear
+their own young and not impose this heavy task on others; but the
+cuckoos on both sides of the Atlantic are most erratic and irregular
+in their nesting habits. The overworked mother-bird often lays an egg
+while brooding over its nearly hatched companion, and the two or three
+half-grown fledglings already in the nest may roll the large greenish
+eggs out upon the ground, while both parents are off searching for
+food to quiet their noisy clamorings. Such distracting mismanagement
+in the nursery is enough to make a homeless wanderer of any father. It
+is the mother-bird that tumbles to the ground at your approach from
+sheer fright; feigns lameness, trails her wings as she tries to entice
+you away from the nest. The male bird shows far less concern; a no
+more devoted father, we fear, than he is a lover. It is said he
+changes his mate every year.
+
+Altogether, the cuckoo is a very different sort of bird from what our
+fancy pictured. The little Swiss creatures of wood that fly out of the
+doors of clocks and call out the bed-hour to sleepy children, are
+chiefly responsible for the false impressions of our mature years. The
+American bird does not repeat its name, and its harsh, grating "_kuk,
+kuk_," does not remotely suggest the sweet voice of its European
+relative.
+
+
+    Bank Swallow
+
+    (_Clivicola riparia_) Swallow family
+
+    _Called also_: SAND MARTIN; SAND SWALLOW
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its
+       wide wing-spread.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Grayish brown or clay-colored above. Upper
+       wings and tail darkest. Below, white, with brownish band
+       across chest. Tail, which is rounded and more nearly square
+       than the other swallows, is obscurely edged with white.
+
+    _Range_--Throughout North America south of Hudson Bay.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Summer resident.
+
+Where a brook cuts its way through a sand bank to reach the sea is an
+ideal nesting ground for a colony of sand martins. The face of the
+high bank shows a number of clean, round holes indiscriminately bored
+into the sand, as if the place had just received a cannonading; but
+instead of war an atmosphere of peace pervades the place in midsummer,
+when you are most likely to visit it. Now that the young ones have
+flown from their nests that your arm can barely reach through the
+tunnelled sand or clay, there can be little harm in examining the
+feathers dropped from gulls, ducks, and other water-birds with which
+the grassy home is lined.
+
+The bank swallow's nest, like the kingfisher's, which it resembles, is
+his home as well. There he rests when tired of flying about in pursuit
+of insect food. Perhaps a bird that has been resting in one of the
+tunnels, startled by your innocent house-breaking, will fly out across
+your face, near enough for you to see how unlike the other swallows he
+is: smaller, plainer, and with none of their glinting steel-blues and
+buffs about him. With strong, swift flight he rejoins his fellows,
+wheeling, skimming, darting through the air above you, and uttering
+his characteristic "giggling twitter," that is one of the cheeriest
+noises heard along the beach. In early October vast numbers of these
+swallows may be seen in loose flocks along the Jersey coast, slowly
+making their way South. Clouds of them miles in extent are recorded.
+
+Closely associated with the sand martin is the Rough-winged Swallow
+(_Stelgidopteryx serripennis_), not to be distinguished from its
+companion on the wing, but easily recognized by its dull-gray throat
+and the absence of the brown breast-band when seen at close range.
+
+
+    Cedar Bird
+
+    (_Ampelis cedrorum_) Waxwing family
+
+    _Called also_: CEDAR WAXWING; CHERRY-BIRD; CANADA ROBIN;
+       RÉCOLLET
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 158)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts rich grayish brown, with plum-colored
+       tints showing through the brown on crest, throat, breast,
+       wings, and tail. A velvety-black line on forehead runs through
+       the eye and back of crest. Chin black; crest conspicuous;
+       breast lighter than the back, and shading into yellow
+       underneath. Wings have quill-shafts of secondaries elongated,
+       and with brilliant vermilion tips like drops of sealing-wax,
+       rarely seen on tail quills, which have yellow bands across the
+       end.
+
+    _Female_--With duller plumage, smaller crest, and narrower
+       tail-band.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from northern British provinces to
+       Central America in winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--A roving resident, without fixed seasons for
+       migrating.
+
+As the cedar birds travel about in great flocks that quickly exhaust
+their special food in a neighborhood, they necessarily lead a nomadic
+life--here to-day, gone to-morrow--and, like the Arabs, they "silently
+steal away." It is surprising how very little noise so great a company
+of these birds make at any time. That is because they are singularly
+gentle and refined; soft of voice, as they are of color, their plumage
+suggesting a fine Japanese water-color painting on silk, with its
+beautiful sheen and exquisitely blended tints.
+
+One listens in vain for a song; only a lisping "_Twee-twee-ze_," or "a
+dreary whisper," as Minot calls their low-toned communications with
+each other, reaches our ears from their high perches in the cedar
+trees, where they sit, almost motionless hours at a time, digesting
+the enormous quantities of juniper and whortle berries, wild
+cherries, worms, and insects upon which they have gormandized.
+
+Nuttall gives the cedar birds credit for excessive politeness to each
+other. He says he has often seen them passing a worm from one to
+another down a whole row of beaks and back again before it was finally
+eaten.
+
+When nesting time arrives--that is to say, towards the end of the
+summer--they give up their gregarious habits and live in pairs,
+billing and kissing like turtle-doves in the orchard or wild
+crab-trees, where a flat, bulky nest is rather carelessly built of
+twigs, grasses, feathers, strings--any odds and ends that may be lying
+about. The eggs are usually four, white tinged with purple and spotted
+with black.
+
+Apparently they have no moulting season; their plumage is always the
+same, beautifully neat and full-feathered. Nothing ever hurries or
+flusters them, their greatest concern apparently being, when they
+alight, to settle themselves comfortably between their over-polite
+friends, who are never guilty of jolting or crowding. Few birds care
+to take life so easily, not to say indolently.
+
+Among the French Canadians they are called Récollet, from the color of
+their crest resembling the hood of the religious order of that name.
+Every region the birds pass through, local names appear to be applied
+to them, a few of the most common of which are given above.
+
+Of the three waxwings known to scientists, two are found in America,
+and the third in Japan.
+
+
+    Brown Creeper
+
+    (_Certbia familiaris americana_) Creeper family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, varied with ashy-gray stripes
+       and small, lozenge-shaped gray mottles. Color lightest on
+       head, increasing in shade to reddish brown near tail. Tail
+       paler brown and long; wings brown and barred with whitish.
+       Beneath grayish white. Slender, curving bill.
+
+    _Range_--United States and Canada, east of Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September. Winter resident.
+
+This little brown wood sprite, the very embodiment of virtuous
+diligence, is never found far from the nuthatches, titmice, and
+kinglets, though not strictly in their company, for he is a rather
+solitary bird. Possibly he repels them by being too exasperatingly
+conscientious.
+
+Beginning at the bottom of a rough-barked tree (for a smooth bark
+conceals no larvæ), the creeper silently climbs upward in a sort of
+spiral, now lost to sight on the opposite side of the tree, then
+reappearing just where he is expected to, flitting back a foot or two,
+perhaps, lest he overlooked a single spider egg, but never by any
+chance leaving a tree until conscience approves of his thoroughness.
+And yet with all this painstaking workman's care, it takes him just
+about fifty seconds to finish a tree. Then off he flits to the base of
+another, to repeat the spiral process. Only rarely does he adopt the
+woodpecker process of partly flitting, partly rocking his way with the
+help of his tail straight up one side of the tree.
+
+Yet this little bird is not altogether the soulless drudge he appears.
+In the midst of his work, uncheered by summer sunshine, and clinging
+with numb toes to the tree-trunk some bitter cold day, he still finds
+some tender emotion within him to voice in a "wild, sweet song" that
+is positively enchanting at such a time. But it is not often this song
+is heard south of his nesting grounds.
+
+The brown creeper's plumage is one of Nature's most successful feats
+of mimicry--an exact counterfeit in feathers of the brown-gray bark on
+which the bird lives. And the protective coloring is carried out in
+the nest carefully tucked under a piece of loosened bark in the very
+heart of the tree.
+
+
+    Pine Siskin
+
+    (_Spinus pinus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PINE FINCH; PINE LINNET
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. Over an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Olive-brown and gray above, much streaked
+       and striped with very dark brown everywhere. Darkest on head
+       and back. Lower back, base of tail, and wing feathers pale
+       sulphur-yellow. Under parts very light buff brown, heavily
+       streaked.
+
+    _Range_--North America generally. Most common in north
+       latitudes. Winters south to the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--Erratic winter visitor from October to April.
+       Uncommon in summer.
+
+A small grayish-brown brindle bird, relieved with touches of yellow on
+its back, wings, and tail, may be seen some winter morning roving on
+the lawn from one evergreen tree to another, clinging to the pine
+cones and peering attentively between the scales before extracting the
+kernels. It utters a call-note so like the English sparrow's that you
+are surprised when you look up into the tree to find it comes from a
+stranger. The pine siskin is an erratic visitor, and there is always
+the charm of the unexpected about its coming near our houses that
+heightens our enjoyment of its brief stay.
+
+As it flies downward from the top of the spruce tree to feed upon the
+brown seeds still clinging to the pigweed and goldenrod stalks
+sticking out above the snow by the roadside, it dips and floats
+through the air like its charming little cousin, the goldfinch. They
+have several characteristics in common besides their flight and their
+fondness for thistles. Far at the north, where the pine siskin nests
+in the top of the evergreens, his sweet-warbled love-song is said to
+be like that of our "wild canary's," only with a suggestion of
+fretfulness in the tone.
+
+Occasionally some one living in an Adirondack or other mountain camp
+reports finding the nest and hearing the siskin sing even in
+midsummer; but it is, nevertheless, considered a northern species,
+however its erratic habits may sometimes break through the
+ornithologist's traditions.
+
+
+    Smith's Painted Longspur
+
+    (_Calcarius pictus_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 inches. About the size of a large English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts marked with black, brown, and
+       white, like a sparrow; brown predominant. Male bird with more
+       black about head, shoulders, and tail feathers, and a whitish
+       patch, edged with black, under the eye. Underneath pale brown,
+       shading to buff. Hind claw or spur conspicuous.
+
+    _Range_--Interior of North America, from the arctic coast to
+       Illinois and Texas.
+
+    _Migrations_--Winter visitor. Without fixed season.
+
+Confined to a narrower range than the Lapland longspur, this bird,
+quite commonly found on the open prairie districts of the middle West
+in winter, is, nevertheless, so very like its cousin that the same
+description of their habits might very well answer for both. Indeed,
+both these birds are often seen in the same flock. Larks and the
+ubiquitous sparrows, too, intermingle with them with the familiarity
+that only the starvation rations of midwinter, and not true
+sociability, can effect; and, looking out upon such a heterogeneous
+flock of brown birds as they are feeding together on the frozen
+ground, only the trained field ornithologist would find it easy to
+point out the painted longspurs.
+
+Certain peculiarities are noticeable, however. Longspurs squat while
+resting; then, when flushed, they run quickly and lightly, and "rise
+with a sharp click, repeated several times in quick succession, and
+move with an easy, undulating motion for a short distance, when they
+alight very suddenly, seeming to fall perpendicularly several feet to
+the ground." Another peculiarity of their flight is their habit of
+flying about in circles, to and fro, keeping up a constant chirping or
+call. It is only in the mating season, when we rarely hear them, that
+the longspurs have the angelic manner of singing as they fly, like the
+skylark. The colors of the males, among the several longspurs, may
+differ widely, but the indistinctly marked females are so like each
+other that only their mates, perhaps, could tell them apart.
+
+
+    Lapland Longspur
+
+    (_Calcarius lapponicus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: LAPLAND SNOWBIRD; LAPLAND LARK BUNTING
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Color varies with season. _Winter plumage_: Top of
+       head black, with rusty markings, all feathers being tipped
+       with white. Behind and below the eye rusty black. Breast and
+       underneath grayish white, faintly streaked with black. Above,
+       reddish brown with black markings. Feet, which are black, have
+       conspicuous, long hind claws or spur.
+
+    _Female_--Rusty gray above, less conspicuously marked. Whitish
+       below.
+
+    _Range_--Circumpolar regions; northern United States;
+       occasional in Middle States; abundant in winter as far as
+       Kansas and the Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--Winter visitors, rarely resident, and without a
+       fixed season.
+
+This arctic bird, although considered somewhat rare with us, when seen
+at all in midwinter is in such large flocks that, before its visit in
+the neighborhood is ended, and because there are so few other birds
+about, it becomes delightfully familiar as it nimbly runs over the
+frozen ground, picking up grain that has blown about from the barn,
+when the seeds of the field are buried under snow. This lack of fear
+through sharp hunger, that often drives the shyest of the birds to our
+very doors in winter, is as pathetic as it is charming. Possibly it is
+not so rare a bird as we think, for it is often mistaken for some of
+the sparrows, the shore larks, and the snow buntings, that it not only
+resembles, but whose company it frequently keeps, or for one of the
+other longspurs.
+
+At all seasons of the year a ground bird, you may readily identify the
+Lapland longspur by its tracks through the snow, showing the mark of
+the long hind claw or spur. In summer we know little or nothing about
+it, for, with the coming of the flowers, it is off to the far north,
+where, we are told, it depresses its nest in a bed of moss upon the
+ground, and lines it with fur shed from the coat of the arctic fox.
+
+
+    Chipping Sparrow
+
+    (_Spizella socialis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: CHIPPY; HAIR-BIRD; CHIP-BIRD; SOCIAL SPARROW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 159)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. An inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Under the eye, on the back of the neck, underneath,
+       and on the lower back ash-gray. Gray stripe over the eye, and
+       a blackish brown one apparently through it. Dark red-brown
+       crown. Back brown, slightly rufous, and feathers streaked with
+       black. Wings and tail dusty brown. Wing-bars not conspicuous.
+       Bill black.
+
+    _Female_--Lacks the chestnut color on the crown, which is
+       streaked with black. In winter the frontlet is black. Bill
+       brownish.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to the Gulf of
+       Mexico and westward to the Rockies. Winters in Gulf States and
+       Mexico. Most common in eastern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident, many
+       birds remaining all the year from southern New England
+       southward.
+
+Who does not know this humblest, most unassuming little neighbor that
+comes hopping to our very doors; this mite of a bird with "one talent"
+that it so persistently uses all the day and every day throughout the
+summer? Its high, wiry trill, like the buzzing of the locust, heard in
+the dawn before the sky grows even gray, or in the middle of the
+night, starts the morning chorus; and after all other voices are
+hushed in the evening, its tremolo is the last bed-song to come from
+the trees. But however monotonous such cheerfulness sometimes becomes
+when we are surfeited with real songs from dozens of other throats,
+there are long periods of midsummer silence that it punctuates most
+acceptably.
+
+Its call-note, _chip! chip!_ from which several of its popular names
+are derived, is altogether different from the trill which must do duty
+as a song to express love, contentment, everything that so amiable a
+little nature might feel impelled to voice.
+
+But with all its virtues, the chippy shows lamentable weakness of
+character in allowing its grown children to impose upon it, as it
+certainly does. In every group of these birds throughout the summer we
+can see young ones (which we may know by the black line-stripes on
+their breasts) hopping around after their parents, that are often no
+larger or more able-bodied than they, and teasing to be fed; drooping
+their wings to excite pity for a helplessness that they do not possess
+when the weary little mother hops away from them, and still
+persistently chirping for food until she weakly relents, returns to
+them, picks a seed from the ground and thrusts it down the bill of the
+sauciest teaser in the group. With two such broods in a season the
+chestnut feathers on the father's jaunty head might well turn gray.
+
+Unlike most of the sparrows, the little chippy frequents high trees,
+where its nest is built quite as often as in the low bushes of the
+garden. The horsehair, which always lines the grassy cup that holds
+its greenish-blue, speckled eggs, is alone responsible for the name
+hair-bird, and not the chippy's hair-like trill, as some suppose.
+
+
+    English Sparrow
+
+    (_Passer domesticus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: HOUSE SPARROW
+
+
+    _Length_--6.33 inches.
+
+    _Male_--Ashy above, with black and chestnut stripes on back
+       and shoulders. Wings have chestnut and white bar, bordered by
+       faint black line. Gray crown, bordered from the eye backward
+       and on the nape by chestnut. Middle of throat and breast
+       black. Underneath grayish white.
+
+    _Female_--Paler; wing-bars indistinct, and without the black
+       marking on throat and breast.
+
+    _Range_--Around the world. Introduced and naturalized in
+       America, Australia, New Zealand.
+
+    _Migrations_--Constant resident.
+
+"Of course, no self-respecting ornithologist will condescend to
+enlarge his list by counting in the English sparrow--too pestiferous
+to mention," writes Mr. H. E. Parkhurst, and yet of all bird neighbors
+is any one more within the scope of this book than the audacious
+little gamin that delights in the companionship of humans even in
+their most noisy city thoroughfares?
+
+In a bulletin issued by the Department of Agriculture it is shown that
+the progeny of a single pair of these sparrows might amount to
+275,716,983,698 in ten years! Inasmuch as many pairs were liberated in
+the streets of Brooklyn, New York, in 1851, when the first importation
+was made, the day is evidently not far off when these birds, by no
+means meek, "shall inherit the earth."
+
+In Australia Scotch thistles, English sparrows, and rabbits, three
+most unfortunate importations, have multiplied with equal rapidity
+until serious alarm fills the minds of the colonists. But in England a
+special committee appointed by the House of Commons to investigate
+the character of the alleged pest has yet to learn whether the
+sparrow's services as an insect-destroyer do not outweigh the injury
+it does to fruit and grain.
+
+
+    Field Sparrow
+
+    (_Spizella pusilla_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: FIELD BUNTING; WOOD SPARROW; BUSH SPARROW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 203)
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Chestnut crown. Upper back bright chestnut, finely
+       streaked with black and ashy brown. Lower back more grayish.
+       Whitish wing-bars. Cheeks, line over the eye, throat, pale
+       brownish drab. Tail long. Underneath grayish white, tinged
+       with palest buff on breast and sides. Bill reddish.
+
+    _Female_--Paler; the crown edged with grayish.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from British provinces to the Gulf,
+       and westward to the plains. Winters from Illinois and Virginia
+       southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. Common summer resident.
+
+Simply because both birds have chestnut crowns, the field sparrow is
+often mistaken for the dapper, sociable chippy; and, no doubt because
+it loves such heathery, grassy pastures as are dear to the vesper
+sparrow, and has bay wings and a sweet song, these two cousins also
+are often confused. The field sparrow has a more reddish-brown upper
+back than any of its small relatives; the absence of streaks on its
+breast and of the white tail quills so conspicuous in the vesper
+sparrow's flight, sufficiently differentiate the two birds, while the
+red bill of the field sparrow is a positive mark of identification.
+
+This bird of humble nature, that makes the scrubby pastures and
+uplands tuneful from early morning until after sunset, flies away with
+exasperating shyness as you approach. Alighting on a convenient
+branch, he lures you on with his clear, sweet song. Follow him, and he
+only hops about from bush to bush, farther and farther away, singing
+as he goes a variety of strains, which is one of the bird's
+peculiarities. The song not only varies in individuals, but in
+different localities, which may be one reason why no two
+ornithologists record it alike. Doubtless the chief reason for the
+amusing differences in the syllables into which the songs of birds are
+often translated in the books, is that the same notes actually sound
+differently to different individuals. Thus, to people in Massachusetts
+the white-throated sparrow seems to say, "_Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y,
+Pea-bod-y!_" while good British subjects beyond the New England border
+hear him sing quite distinctly, "_Sweet Can-a-da, Can-a-da,
+Can-a-da!_" But however the opinions as to the syllables of the field
+sparrow's song may differ, all are agreed as to its exquisite quality,
+that resembles the vesper sparrow's tender, sweet melody. The song
+begins with three soft, wild whistles, and ends with a series of
+trills and quavers that gradually melt away into silence: a serene and
+restful strain as soothing as a hymn. Like the vesper sparrows, these
+birds sometimes build a plain, grassy nest, unprotected by overhanging
+bush, flat upon the ground. Possibly from a prudent fear of field-mice
+and snakes, the little mother most frequently lays her bluish-white,
+rufous-marked eggs in a nest placed in a bush of a bushy field. Hence
+John Burroughs has called the bird the "bush sparrow."
+
+
+    Fox Sparrow
+
+    (_Passerella ilica_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: FOX-COLORED SPARROW; FERRUGINOUS FINCH;
+        FOXY FINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 to 7.25 inches. Nearly an inch longer than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts reddish brown, varied with ash
+       gray, brightest on lower back, wings, and tail. Bluish slate
+       about the head. Underneath whitish; the throat, breast, and
+       sides heavily marked with arrow-heads and oblong dashes of
+       reddish brown and blackish.
+
+    _Range_--Alaska and Manitoba to southern United States.
+       Winters chiefly south of Illinois and Virginia. Occasional
+       stragglers remain north most of the winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Most common in the migrations.
+
+There will be little difficulty in naming this largest, most plump and
+reddish of all the sparrows, whose fox-colored feathers, rather than
+any malicious cunning of its disposition, are responsible for the name
+it bears. The male bird is incomparably the finest singer of its
+gifted family. His faint _tseep_ call-note gives no indication of his
+vocal powers that some bleak morning in early March suddenly send a
+thrill of pleasure through you. It is the most welcome "glad surprise"
+of all the spring. Without a preliminary twitter or throat-clearing of
+any sort, the full, rich, luscious tones, with just a tinge of
+plaintiveness in them, are poured forth with spontaneous abandon. Such
+a song at such a time is enough to summon anybody with a musical ear
+out of doors under the leaden skies to where the delicious notes issue
+from the leafless shrubbery by the roadside. Watch the singer until
+the song ends, when he will quite likely descend among the dead leaves
+on the ground and scratch among them like any barn-yard fowl, but
+somehow contriving to use both feet at once in the operation, as no
+chicken ever could. He seems to take special delight in damp thickets,
+where the insects with which he varies his seed diet are plentiful.
+
+Usually the fox sparrows keep in small, loose flocks, apart by
+themselves, for they are not truly gregarious; but they may sometimes
+be seen travelling in company with their white-throated cousins. They
+are among the last birds to leave us in the late autumn or winter. Mr.
+Bicknell says that they seem indisposed to sing unless present in
+numbers. Indeed, they are little inclined to absolute solitude at any
+time, for even in the nesting season quite a colony of grassy
+nurseries may be found in the same meadow, and small companies haunt
+the roadside shrubbery during the migrations.
+
+
+   [Illustration: NIGHTHAWK]
+
+   [Illustration: YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO]
+
+
+    Grasshopper Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus savannarum passerinus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.4 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--A cream-yellow line over the eye; centre of
+       crown, shoulders, and lesser wing coverts yellowish. Head
+       blackish; rust-colored feathers, with small black spots on
+       back of the neck; an orange mark before the eye. All other
+       upper parts varied red, brown, cream, and black, with a drab
+       wash. Underneath brownish drab on breast, shading to soiled
+       white, and without streaks. Dusky, even, pointed tail feathers
+       have grayish-white outer margins.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from British provinces to Cuba.
+       Winters south of the Carolinas.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+It is safe to say that no other common bird is so frequently
+overlooked as this little sparrow, that keeps persistently to the
+grass and low bushes, and only faintly lifts up a weak, wiry voice
+that is usually attributed to some insect. At the bend of the wings
+only are the feathers really yellow, and even this bright shade often
+goes unnoticed as the bird runs shyly through an old dairy field or
+grassy pasture. You may all but step upon it before it takes wing and
+exhibits itself on the fence-rail, which is usually as far from the
+ground as it cares to go. If you are near enough to this perch you may
+overhear the _zee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e_ that has earned it the name of
+grasshopper sparrow. If you persistently follow it too closely, away
+it flies, then suddenly drops to the ground where a scrubby bush
+affords protection. A curious fact about this bird is that after you
+have once become acquainted with it, you find that instead of being a
+rare discovery, as you had supposed, it is apt to be a common resident
+of almost every field you walk through.
+
+
+    Savanna Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SAVANNA BUNTING
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Cheeks, space over the eye, and on the bend
+       of the wings pale yellow. General effect of the upper parts
+       brownish drab, streaked with black. Wings and tail dusky, the
+       outer webs of the feathers margined with buff. Under parts
+       white, heavily streaked with blackish and rufous, the marks on
+       breast feathers being wedge-shaped. In the autumn the plumage
+       is often suffused with a yellow tinge.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to Mexico.
+       Winters south of Illinois and Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. A few remain in sheltered
+       marshes at the north all winter.
+
+Look for the savanna sparrow in salt marshes, marshy or upland
+pastures, never far inland, and if you see a sparrowy bird, unusually
+white and heavily streaked beneath, and with pale yellow markings
+about the eye and on the bend of the wing, you may still make several
+guesses at its identity before the weak, little insect-like trill
+finally establishes it. Whoever can correctly name every sparrow and
+warbler on sight is a person to be envied, if, indeed, he exists at
+all.
+
+In the lowlands of Nova Scotia and, in fact, of all the maritime
+provinces, this sparrow is the one that is perhaps most commonly seen.
+Every fence-rail has one perched upon it, singing "_Ptsip, ptsip,
+ptsip, zee-e-e-e-e_" close to the ear of the passer-by, who otherwise
+might not hear the low grasshopper-like song. At the north the bird
+somehow loses the shyness that makes it comparatively little known
+farther south. Depending upon the scrub and grass to conceal it, you
+may almost tread upon it before it startles you by its sudden rising
+with a whirring noise, only to drop to the ground again just as
+suddenly a few yards farther away, where it scuds among the underbrush
+and is lost to sight. Tall weeds and fence-rails are as high and
+exposed situations as it is likely to select while singing. It is most
+distinctively a ground bird, and flat upon the pasture or in a
+slightly hollowed cup it has the merest apology for a nest. Only a few
+wisps of grass are laid in the cavity to receive the pale-green eggs,
+that are covered most curiously with blotches of brown of many shapes
+and tints.
+
+
+    Seaside Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus maritimus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: MEADOW CHIPPY; SEASIDE FINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--6 inches. A shade smaller than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts dusky grayish or olivaceous
+       brown, inclining to gray on shoulders and on edges of some
+       feathers. Wings and tail darkest. Throat yellowish white,
+       shading to gray on breast, which is indistinctly mottled and
+       streaked. A yellow spot before the eye and on bend of the
+       wing, the bird's characteristic marks. Blunt tail.
+
+    _Range_--Atlantic seaboard, from Georgia northward. Usually
+       winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. A few remain in sheltered
+       marshes all winter.
+
+The savanna, the swamp, the sharp-tailed, and the song sparrows may
+all sometimes be found in the haunts of the seaside sparrow, but you
+may be certain of finding the latter nowhere else than in the salt
+marshes within sight or sound of the sea. It is a dingy little bird,
+with the least definite coloring of all the sparrows that have
+maritime inclinations, with no rufous tint in its feathers, and less
+distinct streakings on the breast than any of them. It has no black
+markings on the back.
+
+Good-sized flocks of seaside sparrows live together in the marshes;
+but they spend so much of their time on the ground, running about
+among the reeds and grasses, whose seeds and insect parasites they
+feed upon, that not until some unusual disturbance in the quiet place
+flushes them does the intruder suspect their presence, Hunters after
+beach-birds, longshoremen, seaside cottagers, and whoever follows the
+windings of a creek through the salt meadows to catch crabs and eels
+in midsummer, are well acquainted with the "meadow chippies," as the
+fishermen call them. They keep up a good deal of chirping,
+sparrow-fashion, and have four or five notes resembling a song that is
+usually delivered from a tall reed stalk, where the bird sways and
+balances until his husky performance has ended, when down he drops
+upon the ground out of sight. Sometimes, too, these notes are uttered
+while the bird flutters in the air above the tops of the sedges.
+
+
+    Sharp-tailed Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus caudacutus_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.25 to 5.85 inches. A trifle smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts brownish or grayish olive, the
+       back with black streaks, and gray edges to some feathers. A
+       gray line through centre of crown, which has maroon stripes;
+       gray ears enclosed by buff lines, one of which passes through
+       the eye and one on side of throat; brownish orange, or buff,
+       on sides of head. Bend of the wing yellow. Breast and sides
+       pale buff, distinctly streaked with black. Underneath whitish.
+       Each narrow quill of tail is sharply pointed, the outer ones
+       shortest.
+
+    _Range_--Atlantic coast. Winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. Summer resident.
+
+This bird delights in the company of the dull-colored seaside sparrow,
+whose haunts in the salt marshes it frequents, especially the drier
+parts; but its pointed tail-quills and more distinct markings are
+sufficient to prevent confusion. Mr. J. Dwight, Jr., who has made a
+special study of maritime birds, says of it: "It runs about among the
+reeds and grasses with the celerity of a mouse, and it is not apt to
+take wing unless closely pressed." (Wilson credited it with the
+nimbleness of a sandpiper.) "It builds its nest in the tussocks on the
+bank of a ditch, or in the drift left by the tide, rather than in the
+grassier sites chosen by its neighbors, the seaside sparrows."
+
+Only rarely does one get a glimpse of this shy little bird, that darts
+out of sight like a flash at the first approach. Balancing on a
+cat-tail stalk or perched upon a bit of driftwood, it makes a feeble,
+husky attempt to sing a few notes; and during the brief performance
+the opera-glasses may search it out successfully. While it feeds upon
+the bits of sea-food washed ashore to the edge of the marshes, it
+gives us perhaps the best chance we ever get, outside of a museum, to
+study the bird's characteristics of plumage.
+
+"Both the sharp-tailed and the seaside finches are crepuscular," says
+Dr. Abbott, in "The Birds About Us." They run up and down the reeds
+and on the water's edge long after most birds have gone to sleep.
+
+
+    Song Sparrow
+
+    (_Melospiza fasciata_) Finch family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 166)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.5 inches. About the same size as the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown head, with three longitudinal gray
+       bands. Brown stripe on sides of throat. Brownish-gray back,
+       streaked with rufous. Underneath gray, shading to white,
+       heavily streaked with darkest brown. A black spot on breast.
+       Wings without bars. Tail plain grayish brown.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Fur Countries to the Gulf States.
+       Winters from southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the Gulf.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. A few birds remain at the north
+       all the year.
+
+Here is a veritable bird neighbor, if ever there was one; at home in
+our gardens and hedges, not often farther away than the roadside,
+abundant everywhere during nearly every month in the year, and yet was
+there ever one too many? There is scarcely an hour in the day, too,
+when its delicious, ecstatic song may not be heard; in the darkness of
+midnight, just before dawn, when its voice is almost the first to
+respond to the chipping sparrow's wiry trill and the robin's warble;
+in the cool of the morning, the heat of noon, the hush of evening--
+ever the simple, homely, sweet melody that every good American has
+learned to love in childhood. What the bird lacks in beauty it
+abundantly makes up in good cheer. Not at all retiring, though never
+bold, it chooses some conspicuous perch on a bush or tree to deliver
+its outburst of song, and sings away with serene unconsciousness. Its
+artlessness is charming. Thoreau writes in his "Summer" that the
+country girls in Massachusetts hear the bird say: "_Maids, maids,
+maids, hang on your teakettle, teakettle-ettle-ettle._" The call-note,
+a metallic _chip_, is equally characteristic of the bird's
+irrepressible vivacity. It has still another musical expression,
+however, a song more prolonged and varied than its usual performance,
+that it seems to sing only on the wing.
+
+Of course, the song sparrow must sometimes fly upward, but whoever
+sees it fly anywhere but downward into the thicket that it depends
+upon to conceal it from too close inspection? By pumping its tail as
+it flies, it seems to acquire more than the ordinary sparrow's
+velocity.
+
+Its nest, which is likely to be laid flat on the ground, except where
+field-mice are plentiful (in which case it is elevated into the crotch
+of a bush), is made of grass, strips of bark, and leaves, and lined
+with finer grasses and hair. Sometimes three broods may be reared in a
+season, but even the cares of providing insects and seeds enough for
+so many hungry babies cannot altogether suppress the cheerful singer.
+The eggs are grayish white, speckled and clouded with lavender and
+various shades of brown.
+
+In sparsely settled regions the song sparrows seem to show a fondness
+for moist woodland thickets, possibly because their tastes are
+insectivorous. But it is difficult to imagine the friendly little
+musician anything but a neighbor.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CEDAR WAXWING (_One-half natural size_)]
+
+   [Illustration: CHIPPING SPARROW]
+
+
+    Swamp Song Sparrow
+
+    (_Melospiza georgiana_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAMP SPARROW; MARSH SPARROW; RED GRASS-BIRD;
+       SWAMP FINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.8 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Forehead black; crown, which in winter has black
+       stripes, is always bright bay; line over the eye, sides of the
+       neck gray. Back brown, striped with various shades. Wing-edges
+       and tail reddish brown. Mottled gray underneath, inclining to
+       white on the chin.
+
+    _Female_--Without black forehead and stripes on head.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Texas to Labrador.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. A few winter at the north.
+
+In just such impenetrable retreats as the marsh wrens choose, another
+wee brown bird may sometimes be seen springing up from among the
+sedges, singing a few sweet notes as it flies and floats above them,
+and then suddenly disappearing into the grassy tangle. It is too
+small, and its breast is not streaked enough to be a song sparrow,
+neither are their songs alike; it has not the wren's peculiarities of
+bill and tail. Its bright-bay crown and sparrowy markings finally
+identify it. A suggestion of the bird's watery home shows itself in
+the liquid quality of its simple, sweet note, stronger and sweeter
+than the chippy's, and repeated many times almost like a trill that
+seems to trickle from the marsh in a little rivulet of song. The
+sweetness is apt to become monotonous to all but the bird itself, that
+takes evident delight in its performance. In the spring, when flocks
+of swamp sparrows come north, how they enliven the marshes and waste
+places! And yet the song, simple as it is, is evidently not uttered
+altogether without effort, if the tail-spreading and teetering of the
+body after the manner of the ovenbird, are any indications of
+exertion.
+
+Nuttall says of these birds: "They thread their devious way with the
+same alacrity as the rail, with whom, indeed, they are often
+associated in neighborhood. In consequence of this perpetual brushing
+through sedge and bushes, their feathers are frequently so worn that
+their tails appear almost like those of rats." But the swamp sparrows
+frequently belie their name, and, especially in the South, live in dry
+fields, worn-out pasture lands with scrubby, weedy patches in them.
+They live upon seeds of grasses and berries, but Dr. Abbott has
+detected their special fondness for fish--not fresh fish particularly,
+but rather such as have lain in the sun for a few days and become dry
+as a chip.
+
+Their nest is placed on the ground, sometimes in a tussock of grass or
+roots of an upturned tree quite surrounded by water. Four or five
+soiled white eggs with reddish-brown spots are laid usually twice in a
+season.
+
+
+    Tree Sparrow
+
+    (_Spizella monticola_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: CANADA SPARROW; WINTER CHIPPY; TREE BUNTING;
+       WINTER CHIP-BIRD; ARCTIC CHIPPER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 167)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.35 inches. About the same size as the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown of head bright chestnut. Line over the eye,
+       cheeks, throat, and breast gray, the breast with an indistinct
+       black spot on centre. Brown back, the feathers edged with
+       black and buff. Lower back pale grayish brown. Two whitish
+       bars across dusky wings; tail feathers bordered with grayish
+       white. Underneath whitish.
+
+    _Female_--Smaller and less distinctly marked.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to the Carolinas, and
+       westward to the plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Winter resident.
+
+A revised and enlarged edition of the friendly little chipping
+sparrow, that hops to our very doors for crumbs throughout the mild
+weather, comes out of British America at the beginning of winter to
+dissipate much of the winter's dreariness by his cheerful twitterings.
+Why he should have been called a tree sparrow is a mystery, unless
+because he does not frequent trees--a reason with sufficient
+plausibility to commend the name to several of the early
+ornithologists, who not infrequently called a bird precisely what it
+was not. The tree sparrow actually does not show half the preference
+for trees that its familiar little counterpart does, but rather keeps
+to low bushes when not on the ground, where we usually find it. It
+does not crouch upon the ground like the chippy, but with a lordly
+carriage holds itself erect as it nimbly runs over the frozen crust.
+Sheltered from the high, wintry winds in the furrows and dry ditches
+of ploughed fields, a loose flock of these active birds keep up a
+merry hunt for fallen seeds and berries, with a belated beetle to give
+the grain a relish. As you approach the feeding ground, one bird gives
+a shrill alarm-cry, and instantly five times as many birds as you
+suspected were in the field take wing and settle down in the scrubby
+undergrowth at the edge of the woods or by the way-side. No still cold
+seems too keen for them to go a-foraging; but when cutting winds blow
+through the leafless thickets the scattered remnants of a flock seek
+the shelter of stone walls, hedges, barns, and cozy nooks about the
+house and garden. It is in midwinter that these birds grow most
+neighborly, although even then they are distinctly less sociable than
+their small chippy cousins.
+
+By the first of March, when the fox sparrow and the bluebird attract
+the lion's share of attention by their superior voices, we not
+infrequently are deaf to the modest, sweet little strain that answers
+for the tree sparrow's love-song. Soon after the bird is in full
+voice, away it goes with its flock to their nesting ground in Labrador
+or the Hudson Bay region. It builds, either on the ground or not far
+from it, a nest of grasses, rootlets, and hair, without which no true
+chippy counts its home complete.
+
+
+    Vesper Sparrow
+
+    (_Po[oe]cetes gramineus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: BAY-WINGED BUNTING; GRASSFINCH; GRASS-BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--5.75 to 6.25 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, streaked and varied with gray.
+       Lesser wing coverts bright rufous. Throat and breast whitish,
+       striped with dark brown. Underneath plain soiled white. Outer
+       tail-quills, which are its special mark of identification, are
+       partly white, but apparently wholly white as the bird flies.
+       _Range_--North America, especially common in eastern parts
+       from Hudson Bay to Gulf of Mexico. Winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+Among the least conspicuous birds, sparrows are the easiest to
+classify for that very reason, and certain prominent features of the
+half dozen commonest of the tribe make their identification simple
+even to the merest novice. The distinguishing marks of this sparrow
+that haunts open, breezy pasture lands and country waysides are its
+bright, reddish-brown wing coverts, prominent among its dingy, pale
+brownish-gray feathers, and its white tail-quills, shown as the bird
+flies along the road ahead of you to light upon the fence-rail. It
+rarely flies higher, even to sing its serene, pastoral strain, restful
+as the twilight, of which, indeed, it seems to be the vocal
+expression. How different from the ecstatic outburst of the song
+sparrow! Pensive, but not sad, its long-drawn silvery notes continue
+in quavers that float off unended like a trail of mist. The song is
+suggestive of the thoughts that must come at evening to some New
+England saint of humble station after a well-spent, soul-uplifting
+day.
+
+But while the vesper sparrow sings oftenest and most sweetly in the
+late afternoon and continues singing until only he and the
+rose-breasted grosbeak break the silence of the early night, his is
+one of the first voices to join the morning chorus. No "early worm,"
+however, tempts him from his grassy nest, for the seeds in the pasture
+lands and certain tiny insects that live among the grass furnish meals
+at all hours. He simply delights in the cool, still morning and
+evening hours and in giving voice to his enjoyment of them.
+
+The vesper sparrow is preëminently a grass-bird. It first opens its
+eyes on the world in a nest neatly woven of grasses, laid on the
+ground among the grass that shelters it and furnishes it with food and
+its protective coloring. Only the grazing cattle know how many nests
+and birds are hidden in their pastures. Like the meadowlarks, their
+presence is not even suspected until a flock is flushed from its
+feeding ground, only to return to the spot when you have passed on
+your way. Like the meadowlark again, the vesper sparrow occasionally
+sings as it soars upward from its grassy home.
+
+
+    White-crowned Sparrow
+
+    (_Zonotrichia leucophrys_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. A little larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--White head, with four longitudinal black lines marking
+       off a crown, the black-and-white stripes being of about equal
+       width. Cheeks, nape, and throat gray. Light gray underneath,
+       with some buff tints. Back dark grayish brown, some feathers
+       margined with gray. Two interrupted white bars across wings.
+       Plain, dusky tail; total effect, a clear ashen gray.
+
+    _Female_--With rusty head inclining to gray on crown. Paler
+       throughout than the male.
+
+    _Range_--From high mountain ranges of western United States
+       (more rarely on Pacific slope) to Atlantic Ocean, and from
+       Labrador to Mexico. Chiefly south of Pennsylvania.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Irregular migrant in Northern
+       States. A winter resident elsewhere.
+
+The large size and handsome markings of this aristocratic-looking
+Northern sparrow would serve to distinguish him at once, did he not
+often consort with his equally fine-looking white-throated cousins
+while migrating, and so too often get overlooked. Sparrows are such
+gregarious birds that it is well to scrutinize every flock with
+especial care in the spring and autumn, when the rarer migrants are
+passing. This bird is more common in the high altitudes of the Sierra
+Nevada and Rocky Mountains than elsewhere in the United States. There
+in the lonely forest it nests in low bushes or on the ground, and
+sings its full love-song, as it does in the northern British
+provinces, along the Atlantic coast; but during the migrations it
+favors us only with selections from its repertoire. Mr. Ernest
+Thompson says, "Its usual song is like the latter half of the
+white-throat's familiar refrain, repeated a number of times with a
+peculiar, sad cadence and in a clear, soft whistle that is
+characteristic of the group." "The song is the loudest and most
+plaintive of all the sparrow songs," says John Burroughs. "It begins
+with the words _fe-u, fe-u, fe-u_, and runs off into trills and
+quavers like the song sparrow's, only much more touching." Colorado
+miners tell that this sparrow, like its white-throated relative, sings
+on the darkest nights. Often a score or more birds are heard singing
+at once after the habit of the European nightingales, which, however,
+choose to sing only in the moonlight.
+
+
+    White-throated Sparrow
+
+    (_Zonotrichia albicollis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PEABODY BIRD; CANADA SPARROW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 170)
+
+
+    _Length_--6.75 to 7 inches. Larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--A black crown divided by narrow white line.
+       Yellow spot before the eye, and a white line, apparently
+       running through it, passes backward to the nape. Conspicuous
+       white throat. Chestnut back, varied with black and whitish.
+       Breast gray, growing lighter underneath. Wings edged with
+       rufous and with two white cross-bars.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. Nests from Michigan and
+       Massachusetts northward to Labrador. Winters from southern New
+       England to Florida.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Abundant during migrations, and
+       in many States a winter resident.
+
+"_I-I, Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea-body_," are the syllables of the
+white-throat's song heard by the good New Englanders, who have a
+tradition that you must either be a Peabody or a nobody there; while
+just over the British border the bird is distinctly understood to say,
+"_Swee-e-e-t Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da._" "_All day, whit-tle-ing,
+whit-tle-ing, whit-tle-ing,_" the Maine people declare he sings; and
+Hamilton Gibson told of a perplexed farmer, Peverly by name, who, as
+he stood in the field undecided as to what crop to plant, clearly
+heard the bird advise, "_Sow wheat, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly._"
+Such divergence of opinion, which is really slight compared with the
+verbal record of many birds' songs, only goes to show how little the
+sweetness of birds' music, like the perfume of a rose, depends upon a
+name.
+
+In a family not distinguished for good looks, the white-throated
+sparrow is conspicuously handsome, especially after the spring moult.
+In midwinter the feathers grow dingy and the markings indistinct; but
+as the season advances, his colors are sure to brighten perceptibly,
+and before he takes the northward journey in April, any little lady
+sparrow might feel proud of the attentions of so fine-looking and
+sweet-voiced a lover. The black, white, and yellow markings on his
+head are now clear and beautiful. His figure is plump and
+aristocratic.
+
+These sparrows are particularly sociable travellers, and cordially
+welcome many stragglers to their flocks--not during the migrations
+only, but even when winter's snow affords only the barest gleanings
+above it. Then they boldly peck about the dog's plate by the kitchen
+door and enter the barn-yard, calling their feathered friends with a
+sharp _tseep_ to follow them. Seeds and insects are their chosen food,
+and were they not well wrapped in an adipose coat under their
+feathers, there must be many a winter night when they would go
+shivering, supperless, to their perch.
+
+In the dark of midnight one may sometimes hear the white-throat softly
+singing in its dreams.
+
+
+   [Illustration: SONG SPARROW]
+
+   [Illustration: TREE SPARROW]
+
+
+
+
+GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, OLIVE, AND YELLOWISH OLIVE BIRDS
+
+    Tree Swallow                       Warbling Vireo
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird         Ovenbird
+    Golden-crowned Kinglet             Worm-eating Warbler
+    Ruby-crowned Kinglet               Acadian Flycatcher
+    Solitary Vireo                     Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
+    Red-eyed Vireo                     Black-throated Green Warbler
+    White-eyed Vireo
+
+Look also among the Olive-brown Birds, especially for the Cuckoos,
+Alice's and the Olive-backed Thrushes; and look in the yellow group,
+many of whose birds are olive also. See also females of the Red
+Crossbill, Orchard Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager.
+
+
+    Tree Swallow
+
+    (_Tacbycineta bicolor_) Swallow family
+
+    _Called also_: WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 171)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 6 inches. A little shorter than the English
+       sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male_--Lustrous dark steel-green above; darker and shading
+       into black on wings and tail, which is forked. Under parts
+       soft white.
+
+    _Female_--Duller than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--End of March. September or later. Summer resident.
+
+    "The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times: and the
+     turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their
+     coming."--Jeremiah, viii. 7.
+
+The earliest of the family to appear in the spring, the tree swallow
+comes skimming over the freshly ploughed fields with a wide sweep of
+the wings, in what appears to be a perfect ecstasy of flight. More shy
+of the haunts of man, and less gregarious than its cousins, it is
+usually to be seen during migration flying low over the marshes,
+ponds, and streams with a few chosen friends, keeping up an incessant
+warbling twitter while performing their bewildering and tireless
+evolutions as they catch their food on the wing. Their white breasts
+flash in the sunlight, and it is only when they dart near you, and
+skim close along the surface of the water, that you discover their
+backs to be not black, but rich, dark green, glossy to iridescence.
+
+It is probable that these birds keep near the waterways because their
+favorite insects and wax-berries are more plentiful in such places;
+but this peculiarity has led many people to the absurd belief that
+the tree swallow buries itself under the mud of ponds in winter in a
+state of hibernation. No bird's breathing apparatus is made to operate
+under mud.
+
+In unsettled districts these swallows nest in hollow trees, hence
+their name; but with that laziness that forms a part of the degeneracy
+of civilization, they now gladly accept the boxes about men's homes
+set up for the martins. Thousands of these beautiful birds have been
+shot on the Long Island marshes and sold to New York epicures for
+snipe.
+
+
+   [Illustration: WHITE-THROATED SPARROW]
+
+   [Illustration: TREE SWALLOW]
+
+
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird
+
+    (_Trochilus colubris_) Humming-bird family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 171)
+
+
+    _Length_--3.5 to 3.75 inches. A trifle over half as long as
+       the English sparrow. The smallest bird we have.
+
+    _Male_--Bright metallic green above; wings and tail darkest,
+       with ruddy-purplish reflections and dusky-white tips on outer
+       tail-quills. Throat and breast brilliant metallic-red in one
+       light, orange flame in another, and dusky orange in another,
+       according as the light strikes the plumage. Sides greenish;
+       underneath lightest gray, with whitish border outlining the
+       brilliant breast. Bill long and needle-like.
+
+    _Female_--Without the brilliant feathers on throat; darker
+       gray beneath. Outer tail-quills are banded with black and
+       tipped with white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from northern Canada to the
+       Gulf of Mexico in summer. Winters in Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+This smallest, most exquisite and unabashed of our bird neighbors
+cannot be mistaken, for it is the only one of its kin found east of
+the plains and north of Florida, although about four hundred species,
+native only to the New World, have been named by scientists. How does
+it happen that this little tropical jewel alone flashes about our
+Northern gardens? Does it never stir the spirit of adventure and
+emulation in the glistening breasts of its stay-at-home cousins in the
+tropics by tales of luxuriant tangles of honeysuckle and clematis on
+our cottage porches; of deep-cupped trumpet-flowers climbing over the
+walls of old-fashioned gardens, where larkspur, narcissus, roses, and
+phlox, that crowd the box-edged beds, are more gay and honey-laden
+than their little brains can picture? Apparently it takes only the
+wish to be in a place to transport one of these little fairies either
+from the honeysuckle trellis to the canna bed or from Yucatan to the
+Hudson. It is easy to see how to will and to fly are allied in the
+minds of the humming-birds, as they are in the Latin tongue. One
+minute poised in midair, apparently motionless before a flower while
+draining the nectar from its deep cup--though the humming of its wings
+tells that it is suspended there by no magic--the next instant it has
+flashed out of sight as if a fairy's wand had made it suddenly
+invisible. Without seeing the hummer, it might be, and often is,
+mistaken for a bee improving the "shining hour."
+
+At evening one often hears of a "humming-bird" going the rounds of the
+garden, but at this hour it is usually the sphinx-moth hovering above
+the flower-beds--the one other creature besides the bee for which the
+bird is ever mistaken. The postures and preferences of this beautiful
+large moth make the mistake a very natural one.
+
+The ruby-throat is strangely fearless and unabashed. It will dart
+among the vines on the veranda while the entire household are
+assembled there, and add its hum to that of the conversation in a most
+delightfully neighborly way. Once a glistening little sprite, quite
+undaunted by the size of an audience that sat almost breathless
+enjoying his beauty, thrust his bill into one calyx after another on a
+long sprig of honeysuckle held in the hand.
+
+And yet, with all its friendliness--or is it simply fearlessness?--the
+bird is a desperate duellist, and will longe his deadly blade into the
+jewelled breast of an enemy at the slightest provocation and quicker
+than thought. All the heat of his glowing throat seems to be
+transferred to his head while the fight continues, sometimes even to
+the death--a cruel, but marvellously beautiful sight as the glistening
+birds dart and tumble about beyond the range of peace-makers.
+
+High up in a tree, preferably one whose knots and lichen-covered
+excrescences are calculated to help conceal the nest that so cleverly
+imitates them, the mother humming-bird saddles her exquisite cradle to
+a horizontal limb. She lines it with plant-down, fluffy bits from
+cat-tails, and the fronds of fern, felting the material into a circle
+that an elm-leaf amply roofs over. Outside, lichens or bits of bark
+blend the nest so harmoniously with its surroundings that one may
+look long and thoroughly before discovering it. Two infinitesimal,
+white eggs tax the nest accommodation to its utmost.
+
+In the mating season the female may be seen perching--a posture one
+rarely catches her gay lover in--preening her dainty but sombre
+feathers with ladylike nicety. The young birds do a great deal of
+perching before they gain the marvellously rapid wing-motions of
+maturity, but they are ready to fly within three weeks after they are
+hatched. By the time the trumpet-vine is in bloom they dart and sip
+and utter a shrill little squeak among the flowers, in company with
+the old birds.
+
+During the nest-building and incubation the male bird keeps so
+aggressively on the defensive that he often betrays to a hitherto
+unsuspecting intruder the location of his home. After the young birds
+have to be fed he is most diligent in collecting food, that consists
+not alone of the sweet juices of flowers, as is popularly supposed,
+but also of aphides and plant-lice that his proboscis-like tongue
+licks off the garden foliage literally like a streak of lightning.
+
+Both parents feed the young by regurgitation--a process disgusting to
+the human observer, whose stomach involuntarily revolts at the sight
+so welcome to the tiny, squeaking, hungry birds.
+
+
+    Ruby-crowned Kinglet
+
+    (_Regulus calendula_) Kinglet family
+
+    _Called also_: RUBY-CROWNED WREN; RUBY-CROWNED WARBLER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 187)
+
+
+    _Length_--4.25 to 4.5 inches. About two inches smaller than
+       the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts grayish olive-green, brighter nearer the
+       tail; wings and tail dusky, edged with yellowish olive. Two
+       whitish wing-bars. Breast and underneath light yellowish gray.
+       In the adult male a vermilion spot on crown of his ash-gray
+       head.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but without the vermilion crest.
+
+    _Range_--North America. Breeds from northern United States
+       northward. Winters from southern limits of its breeding range
+       to Central America and Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Rarely a winter resident at the
+       North. Most common during its migrations.
+
+A trifle larger than the golden-crowned kinglet, with a vermilion
+crest instead of a yellow and flame one, and with a decided preference
+for a warmer winter climate, and the ruby-crown's chief distinguishing
+characteristics are told. These rather confusing relatives would be
+less puzzling if it were the habit of either to keep quiet long enough
+to focus the opera-glasses on their crowns, which it only rarely is
+while some particularly promising haunt of insects that lurk beneath
+the rough bark of the evergreens has to be thoroughly explored. At all
+other times both kinglets keep up an incessant fluttering and
+twinkling among the twigs and leaves at the ends of the branches,
+jerking their tiny bodies from twig to twig in the shrubbery, hanging
+head downward, like a nuthatch, and most industriously feeding every
+second upon the tiny insects and larvæ hidden beneath the bark and
+leaves. They seem to be the feathered expression of perpetual motion.
+And how dainty and charming these tiny sprites are! They are not at
+all shy; you may approach them quite close if you will, for the birds
+are simply too intent on their business to be concerned with yours.
+
+If a sharp lookout be kept for these ruby-crowned migrants, that too
+often slip away to the south before we know they have come, we notice
+that they appear about a fortnight ahead of the golden-crested
+species, since the mild, soft air of our Indian summer is exactly to
+their liking. At this season there is nothing in the bird's "thin,
+metallic call-note, like a vibrating wire," to indicate that he is one
+of our finest songsters. But listen for him during the spring
+migration, when a love-song is already ripening in his tiny throat.
+What a volume of rich, lyrical melody pours from the Norway spruce,
+where the little musician is simply practising to perfect the richer,
+fuller song that he sings to his nesting mate in the far north! The
+volume is really tremendous, coming from so tiny a throat. Those who
+have heard it in northern Canada describe it as a flute-like and
+mellow warble full of intricate phrases past the imitating. Dr. Coues
+says of it: "The kinglet's exquisite vocalization defies description."
+
+Curiously enough, the nest of this bird, that is not at all rare, has
+been discovered only six times. It would appear to be over-large for
+the tiny bird, until we remember that kinglets are wont to have a
+numerous progeny in their pensile, globular home. It is made of light,
+flimsy material--moss, strips of bark, and plant-fibre well knit
+together and closely lined with feathers, which must be a grateful
+addition to the babies, where they are reared in evergreens in cold,
+northern woods.
+
+
+    Golden-crowned Kinglet
+
+    (_Regulus satrapa_) Kinglet family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN-CROWNED GOLDCREST; FIERY-CROWNED WREN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 187)
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 4.25 inches. About two inches smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts grayish olive-green; wings and tail dusky,
+       margined with olive-green. Underneath soiled whitish. Centre
+       of crown bright orange, bordered by yellow and enclosed by
+       black line. Cheeks gray; a whitish line over the eye.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but centre of crown lemon-yellow and more
+       grayish underneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America generally. Breeds from northern United
+       States northward. Winters chiefly from North Carolina to
+       Central America, but many remain north all the year.
+
+    _Migrations_--September. April. Chiefly a winter resident
+       south of Canada.
+
+If this cheery little winter neighbor would keep quiet long enough, we
+might have a glimpse of the golden crest that distinguishes him from
+his equally lively cousin, the ruby-crowned; but he is so constantly
+flitting about the ends of the twigs, peering at the bark for hidden
+insects, twinkling his wings and fluttering among the evergreens with
+more nervous restlessness than a vireo, that you may know him well
+before you have a glimpse of his tri-colored crown.
+
+When the autumn foliage is all aglow with yellow and flame this tiny
+sprite comes out of the north, where neither nesting nor moulting
+could rob him of his cheerful spirits. Except the humming-bird and the
+winter wren, he is the smallest bird we have. And yet, somewhere
+stored up in his diminutive body, is warmth enough to withstand zero
+weather. With evident enjoyment of the cold, he calls out a shrill,
+wiry _zee, zee, zee_, that rings merrily from the pines and spruces
+when our fingers are too numb to hold the opera glasses in an attempt
+to follow his restless flittings from branch to branch. Is it one of
+the unwritten laws of birds that the smaller their bodies the greater
+their activity?
+
+When you see one kinglet about, you may be sure there are others not
+far away, for, except in the nesting season, its habits are distinctly
+social, its friendliness extending to the humdrum brown creeper, the
+chickadees, and the nuthatches, in whose company it is often seen;
+indeed, it is likely to be in almost any flock of the winter birds.
+They are a merry band as they go exploring the trees together. The
+kinglet can hang upside down, too, like the other acrobats, many of
+whose tricks he has learned; and it can pick off insects from a tree
+with as business-like an air as the brown creeper, but with none of
+that soulless bird's plodding precision.
+
+In the early spring, just before this busy little sprite leaves us to
+nest in Canada or Labrador--for heat is the one thing that he can't
+cheerfully endure--a gushing, lyrical song bursts from his tiny
+throat--a song whose volume is so out of proportion to the bird's size
+that Nuttall's classification of kinglets with wrens doesn't seem far
+wrong after all.
+
+Only rarely is a nest found so far south as the White Mountains. It is
+said to be extraordinarily large for so small a bird; but that need
+not surprise us when we learn that as many as ten creamy-white eggs,
+blotched with brown and lavender, are no uncommon number for the
+pensile cradle to hold. How do the tiny parents contrive to cover so
+many eggs and to feed such a nestful of fledglings?
+
+
+    Solitary Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo solitarius_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE-HEADED VIREO
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 7 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Dusky olive above; head bluish gray, with a white line
+       around the eye, spreading behind the eye into a patch. Beneath
+       whitish, with yellow-green wash on the sides. Wings dusky
+       olive, with two distinct white bars. Tail dusky, some quills
+       edged with white.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but her head is dusky olive.
+
+    _Range_--United States to plains, and the southern British
+       provinces. Winters in Florida and southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. Early October. Common during migrations;
+       more rarely a summer resident south of Massachusetts.
+
+By no means the recluse that its name would imply, the solitary vireo,
+while a bird of the woods, shows a charming curiosity about the
+stranger with opera-glasses in hand, who has penetrated to the deep,
+swampy tangles, where it chooses to live. Peering at you through the
+green undergrowth with an eye that seems especially conspicuous
+because of its encircling white rim, it is at least as sociable and
+cheerful as any member of its family, and Mr. Bradford Torrey credits
+it with "winning tameness." "Wood-bird as it is," he says, "it will
+sometimes permit the greatest familiarities. Two birds I have seen,
+which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest manner, while
+sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as readily as any pet
+canary."
+
+The solitary vireo also builds a pensile nest, swung from the crotch
+of a branch, not so high from the ground as the yellow-throated
+vireo's nor so exquisitely finished, but still a beautiful little
+structure of pine-needles, plant-fibre, dry leaves, and twigs, all
+lichen-lined and bound and rebound with coarse spiders' webs.
+
+The distinguishing quality of this vireo's celebrated song is its
+tenderness: a pure, serene uplifting of its loving, trustful nature
+that seems inspired by a fine spirituality.
+
+
+    Red-eyed Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo olivaceus_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+    _Called also_: THE PREACHER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.75 to 6.25 inches. A fraction smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts light olive-green; well-defined
+       slaty-gray cap, with black marginal line, below which, and
+       forming an exaggerated eyebrow, is a line of white. A brownish
+       band runs from base of bill through the eye. The iris is
+       ruby-red. Underneath white, shaded with light greenish yellow
+       on sides and on under tail and wing coverts.
+
+    _Range_--United States to Rockies and northward. Winters in
+       Central and South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+"You see it--you know it--do you hear me? Do you believe it?" is
+Wilson Flagg's famous interpretation of the song of this commonest of
+all the vireos, that you cannot mistake with such a key. He calls the
+bird the preacher from its declamatory style: an up-and-down warble
+delivered with a rising inflection at the close and followed by an
+impressive silence, as if the little green orator were saying, "I
+pause for a reply."
+
+Notwithstanding its quiet coloring, that so closely resembles the
+leaves it hunts among, this vireo is rather more noticeable than its
+relatives because of its slaty cap and the black-and-white lines over
+its ruby eye, that, in addition to the song, are its marked
+characteristics.
+
+Whether she is excessively stupid or excessively kind, the
+mother-vireo has certainly won for herself no end of ridicule by
+allowing the cowbird to deposit a stray egg in the exquisitely made,
+pensile nest, where her own tiny white eggs are lying; and though the
+young cowbird crowd and worry her little fledglings and eat their
+dinner as fast as she can bring it in, no displeasure or grudging is
+shown towards the dusky intruder that is sure to upset the rightful
+heirs out of the nest before they are able to fly.
+
+In the heat of a midsummer noon, when nearly every other bird's voice
+is hushed, and only the locust seems to rejoice in the fierce
+sunshine, the little red-eyed vireo goes persistently about its
+business of gathering insects from the leaves, not flitting nervously
+about like a warbler, or taking its food on the wing like a
+flycatcher, but patiently and industriously dining where it can, and
+singing as it goes.
+
+When a worm is caught it is first shaken against a branch to kill it
+before it is swallowed. Vireos haunt shrubbery and trees with heavy
+foliage, all their hunting, singing, resting, and home-building being
+done among the leaves--never on the ground.
+
+
+    White-eyed Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo noveboracensis_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.3 inches. An inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts bright olive-green, washed with
+       grayish. Throat and underneath white; the breast and sides
+       greenish yellow; wings have two distinct bars of yellowish
+       white. Yellow line from beak to and around the eye, which has
+       a white iris. Feathers of wings and tail brownish and edged
+       with yellow.
+
+    _Range_--United States to the Rockies, and to the Gulf regions
+       and beyond in winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+"Pertest of songsters," the white-eyed vireo makes whatever
+neighborhood it enters lively at once. Taking up a residence in the
+tangled shrubbery or thickety undergrowth, it immediately begins to
+scold like a crotchety old wren. It becomes irritated over the merest
+trifles--a passing bumblebee, a visit from another bird to its tangle,
+an unsuccessful peck at a gnat--anything seems calculated to rouse its
+wrath and set every feather on its little body a-trembling, while it
+sharply snaps out what might perhaps be freely constructed into
+"cuss-words."
+
+And yet the inscrutable mystery is that this virago meekly permits the
+lazy cowbird to deposit an egg in its nest, and will patiently sit
+upon it, though it is as large as three of her own tiny eggs; and when
+the little interloper comes out from his shell the mother-bird will
+continue to give it the most devoted care long after it has shoved her
+poor little starved babies out of the nest to meet an untimely death
+in the smilax thicket below.
+
+An unusual variety of expression distinguishes this bird's voice from
+the songs of the other vireos, which are apt to be monotonous, as they
+are incessant. If you are so fortunate to approach the white-eyed
+vireo before he suspects your presence, you may hear him amusing
+himself by jumbling together snatches of the songs of the other birds
+in a sort of potpourri; or perhaps he will be scolding or arguing with
+an imaginary foe, then dropping his voice and talking confidentially
+to himself. Suddenly he bursts into a charming, simple little song, as
+if the introspection had given him reason for real joy. All these
+vocal accomplishments suggest the chat at once; but the minute your
+intrusion is discovered the sharp scolding, that is fairly screamed at
+you from an enraged little throat, leaves no possible shadow of a
+doubt as to the bird you have disturbed. It has the most emphatic call
+and song to be heard in the woods; it snaps its words off very short.
+"_Chick-a-rer chick_" is its usual call-note, jerked out with great
+spitefulness.
+
+Wilson thus describes the jealously guarded nest: "This bird builds a
+very neat little nest, often in the figure of an inverted cone; it is
+suspended by the upper end of the two sides, on the circular bend of a
+prickly vine, a species of smilax, that generally grows in low
+thickets. Outwardly it is constructed of various light materials, bits
+of rotten wood, fibres of dry stalks, of weeds, pieces of paper
+(commonly newspapers, an article almost always found about its nest,
+so that some of my friends have given it the name of the politician);
+all these materials are interwoven with the silk of the caterpillars,
+and the inside is lined with fine, dry grass and hair."
+
+
+    Warbling Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo gilvus_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Ashy olive-green above, with head and neck
+       ash-colored. Dusky line over the eye. Underneath whitish,
+       faintly washed with dull yellow, deepest on sides; no bars on
+       wings.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. Late September or early October. Summer
+       resident.
+
+This musical little bird shows a curious preference for rows of trees
+in the village street or by the roadside, where he can be sure of an
+audience to listen to his rich, continuous warble. There is a
+mellowness about his voice, which rises loud, but not altogether
+cheerfully, above the bird chorus, as if he were a gifted but slightly
+disgruntled contralto. Too inconspicuously dressed, and usually too
+high in the tree-top to be identified without opera-glasses, we may
+easily mistake him by his voice for one of the warbler family, which
+is very closely allied to the vireos. Indeed, this warbling vireo
+seems to be the connecting link between them.
+
+Morning and afternoon, but almost never in the evening, we may hear
+him rippling out song after song as he feeds on insects and berries
+about the garden. But this familiarity lasts only until nesting time,
+for off he goes with his little mate to some unfrequented lane near a
+wood until their family is reared, when, with a perceptibly happier
+strain in his voice, he once more haunts our garden and row of elms
+before taking the southern journey.
+
+
+    Ovenbird
+
+    (_Seiurus aurocapillus_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH; THE TEACHER; WOOD
+       WAGTAIL; GOLDEN-CROWNED WAGTAIL; GOLDEN-CROWNED ACCENTOR
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 218)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.15 inches. Just a shade smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts olive, with an orange-brown
+       crown, bordered by black lines that converge toward the bill.
+       Under parts white; breast spotted and streaked on the sides.
+       White eye-ring.
+
+    _Range_--United States, to Pacific slope.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+Early in May you may have the good fortune to see this little bird of
+the woods strutting in and out of the garden shrubbery with a certain
+mock dignity, like a child wearing its father's boots. Few birds can
+walk without appearing more or less ridiculous, and however gracefully
+and prettily it steps, this amusing little wagtail is no exception.
+When seen at all--which is not often, for it is shy--it is usually on
+the ground, not far from the shrubbery or a woodland thicket, under
+which it will quickly dodge out of sight at the merest suspicion of a
+footstep. To most people the bird is only a voice calling, "_Teacher,
+Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, TEACHER!_" as Mr. Burroughs has interpreted
+the notes that go off in pairs like a series of little explosions,
+softly at first, then louder and louder and more shrill until the bird
+that you at first thought far away seems to be shrieking his
+penetrating crescendo into your very ears. But you may look until you
+are tired before you find him in the high, dry wood, never near water.
+
+In the driest parts of the wood, here the ground is thickly carpeted
+with dead leaves, you may some day notice a little bunch of them, that
+look as if a plant, in pushing its way up through the ground, had
+raised the leaves, rootlets, and twigs a trifle. Examine the spot
+more carefully, and on one side you find an opening, and within the
+ball of earth, softly lined with grass, lie four or five cream-white,
+speckled eggs. It is only by a happy accident that this nest of the
+ovenbird is discovered. The concealment could not be better. It is
+this peculiarity of nest construction--in shape like a Dutch
+oven--that has given the bird what DeKay considers its "trivial name."
+Not far from the nest the parent birds scratch about in the leaves
+like diminutive barn-yard fowls, for the grubs and insects hiding
+under them. But at the first suspicion of an intruder their alarm
+becomes pitiful. Panic-stricken, they become fairly limp with fear,
+and drooping her wings and tail, the mother-bird drags herself hither
+and thither over the ground.
+
+As utterly bewildered as his mate, the male darts, flies, and tumbles
+about through the low branches, jerking and wagging his tail in
+nervous spasms until you have beaten a double-quick retreat.
+
+In nesting time, at evening, a very few have heard the "luxurious
+nuptial song" of the ovenbird; but it is a song to haunt the memory
+forever afterward. Burroughs appears to be the first writer to record
+this "rare bit of bird melody." "Mounting by easy flight to the top of
+the tallest tree," says the author of "Wake-Robin," "the ovenbird
+launches into the air with a sort of suspended, hovering flight, like
+certain of the finches, and bursts into a perfect ecstasy of
+song--clear, ringing, copious, rivalling the goldfinch's in vivacity
+and the linnet's in melody."
+
+
+    Worm-eating Warbler
+
+    (_Helmintherus vermivorus_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.50 inches. Less than an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Greenish olive above. Head yellowish brown,
+       with two black stripes through crown to the nape; also black
+       lines from the eyes to neck. Under parts buffy and white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of United States. Nests as far north as
+       southern Illinois and southern Connecticut. Winters in the
+       Gulf States and southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+In the Delaware Valley and along the same parallel, this inconspicuous
+warbler is abundant, but north of New Jersey it is rare enough to give
+an excitement to the day on which you discover it. No doubt it is
+commoner than we suppose, for its coloring blends so admirably with
+its habitats that it is probably very often overlooked. Its call-note,
+a common chirp, has nothing distinguishing about it, and all
+ornithologists confess to having been often misled by its song into
+thinking it came from the chipping sparrow. It closely resembles that
+of the pine warbler also. If it were as nervously active as most
+warblers, we should more often discover it, but it is quite as
+deliberate as a vireo, and in the painstaking way in which it often
+circles around a tree while searching for spiders and other insects
+that infest the trunks, it reminds us of the brown creeper. Sunny
+slopes and hillsides covered with thick undergrowth are its preferred
+foraging and nesting haunts. It is often seen hopping directly on the
+dry ground, where it places its nest, and it never mounts far above
+it. The well-drained, sunny situation for the home is chosen with the
+wisdom of a sanitary expert.
+
+
+    Acadian Flycatcher
+
+    (_Empidonax virescens_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: SMALL GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER; SMALL PEWEE
+
+
+    _Length_--5.75 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Dull olive above. Two conspicuous yellowish wing-bars.
+       Throat white, shading into pale yellow on breast. Light gray
+       or white underneath. Upper part of bill black; lower mandible
+       flesh-color. White eye-ring.
+
+    _Female_--Greener above and more yellow below.
+
+    _Range_--From Canada to Mexico, Central America, and West
+       Indies. Most common in south temperate latitudes. Winters in
+       southerly limit of range.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September. Summer resident.
+
+When all our northern landscape takes on the exquisite, soft green,
+gray, and yellow tints of early spring, this little flycatcher, in
+perfect color-harmony with the woods it darts among, comes out of the
+south. It might be a leaf that is being blown about, touched by the
+sunshine filtering through the trees, and partly shaded by the young
+foliage casting its first shadows.
+
+Woodlands, through which small streams meander lazily, inviting swarms
+of insects to their boggy shores, make ideal hunting grounds for the
+Acadian flycatcher. It chooses a low rather than a high, conspicuous
+perch, that other members of its family invariably select; and from
+such a lookout it may be seen launching into the air after the passing
+gnat--darting downward, then suddenly mounting upward in its aërial
+hunt, the vigorous clicks of the beak as it closes over its tiny
+victims testifying to the bird's unerring aim and its hearty appetite.
+
+While perching, a constant tail-twitching is kept up; and a faint,
+fretful "_Tshee-kee, tshee-kee_" escapes the bird when inactively
+waiting for a dinner to heave in sight.
+
+In the Middle Atlantic States its peeping sound and the clicking of
+its parti-colored bill are infrequently heard in the village streets
+in the autumn, when the shy and solitary birds are enticed from the
+deep woods by a prospect of a more plentiful diet of insects,
+attracted by the fruit in orchards and gardens.
+
+Never far from the ground, on two or more parallel branches, the
+shallow, unsubstantial nest is laid. Some one has cleverly described
+it as "a tuft of hay caught by the limb from a load driven under it,"
+but this description omits all mention of the quantities of blossoms
+that must be gathered to line the cradle for the tiny, cream white
+eggs spotted with brown.
+
+
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
+
+    (_Empidonax flaviventris_) Flycatcher family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Rather dark, but true olive-green above. Throat and
+       breast yellowish olive, shading into pale yellow underneath,
+       including wing linings and under tail coverts. Wings have
+       yellowish bars. Whitish ring around eye. Upper part of bill
+       black, under part whitish or flesh-colored.
+
+    _Female_--Smaller, with brighter yellow under parts and more
+       decidedly yellow wing-bars.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Labrador to Panama, and westward
+       from the Atlantic to the plains. Winters in Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September, Summer resident. More commonly a
+       migrant only.
+
+This is the most yellow of the small flycatchers and the only Eastern
+species with a yellow instead of a white throat. Without hearing
+its call-note, "_pse-ek-pse-ek_," which it abruptly sneezes rather
+than utters, it is quite impossible, as it darts among the trees,
+to tell it from the Acadian flycatcher, with which even Audubon
+confounded it. Both these little birds choose the same sort of
+retreats--well-timbered woods near a stream that attracts myriads of
+insects to its spongy shores--and both are rather shy and solitary.
+The yellow-bellied species has a far more northerly range, however,
+than its Southern relative or even the small green-crested flycatcher.
+It is rare in the Middle States, not common even in New England,
+except in the migrations, but from the Canada border northward its
+soft, plaintive whistle, which is its love-song, may be heard in every
+forest where it nests. All the flycatchers seem to make a noise with
+so much struggle, such convulsive jerkings of head and tail, and
+flutterings of the wings that, considering the scanty success of their
+musical attempts, it is surprising they try to lift their voices at
+all when the effort almost literally lifts them off their feet.
+
+While this little flycatcher is no less erratic than its Acadian
+cousin, its nest is never slovenly. One couple had their home in a
+wild-grape bower in Pennsylvania; a Virginia creeper in New Jersey
+supported another cradle that was fully twenty feet above the ground;
+but in Labrador, where the bird has its chosen breeding grounds, the
+bulky nest is said to be invariably placed either in the moss by the
+brookside or in some old stump, should the locality be too swampy.
+
+
+    Black-throated Green Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica virens_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 inches. Over an inch smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Back and crown of head bright yellowish olive-green.
+       Forehead, band over eye, cheeks, and sides of neck rich
+       yellow. Throat, upper breast, and stripe along sides black.
+       Underneath yellowish white. Wings and tail brownish olive, the
+       former with two white bars, the latter with much white in
+       outer quills. In autumn, plumage resembling the female's.
+
+    _Female_--Similar; chin yellowish; throat and breast dusky,
+       the black being mixed with yellowish.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to Central
+       America and Mexico. Nests north of Illinois and New York.
+       Winters in tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident north of
+       New Jersey.
+
+There can be little difficulty in naming a bird so brilliantly and
+distinctly marked as this green, gold, and black warbler, that lifts
+up a few pure, sweet, tender notes, loud enough to attract attention
+when he visits the garden. "_See-see, see-saw_," he sings, but there
+is a tone of anxiety betrayed in the simple, sylvan strain that always
+seems as if the bird needed reassuring, possibly due to the rising
+inflection, like an interrogative, of the last notes.
+
+However abundant about our homes during the migrations, this warbler,
+true to the family instinct, retreats to the woods to nest--not always
+so far away as Canada, the nesting ground of most warblers, for in
+many Northern States the bird is commonly found throughout the summer.
+Doubtless it prefers tall evergreen trees for its mossy, grassy nest;
+but it is not always particular, so that the tree be a tall one with a
+convenient fork in an upper branch.
+
+Early in September increased numbers emerge from the woods, the
+plumage of the male being less brilliant than when we saw it last, as
+if the family cares of the summer had proved too taxing. For nearly a
+month longer they hunt incessantly, with much flitting about the
+leaves and twigs at the ends of branches in the shrubbery and
+evergreens, for the tiny insects that the warblers must devour by the
+million during their all too brief visit.
+
+
+   [Illustration: RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD]
+
+   [Illustration: GOLDEN- AND RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS]
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY YELLOW, AND ORANGE
+
+    Yellow-throated Vireo              Prairie Warbler
+    American Goldfinch                 Wilson's Warbler or Black-cap
+    Evening Grosbeak                   Yellow Warbler or
+    Blue-winged Warbler                  Summer Yellowbird
+    Canadian Warbler                   Yellow Redpoll Warbler
+    Hooded Warbler                     Yellow-breasted Chat
+    Kentucky Warbler                   Maryland Yellowthroat
+    Magnolia Warbler                   Blackburnian Warbler
+    Mourning Warbler                   Redstart
+    Nashville Warbler                  Baltimore Oriole
+    Pine Warbler
+
+Look also among the Yellowish Olive Birds in the preceding group; and
+among the Brown Birds for the Meadowlark and Flicker. See also Parula
+Warbler (Slate) and Yellow-bellied Woodpecker (Black and White).
+
+
+    Yellow-throated Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo flavifrons_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A little smaller than the English
+      sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Lemon-yellow on throat, upper breast; line
+       around the eye and forehead. Yellow, shading into olive-green,
+       on head, back, and shoulders. Underneath white. Tail dark
+       brownish, edged with white. Wings a lighter shade, with two
+       white bands across, and some quills edged with white.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to Gulf of Mexico,
+       and westward to the Rockies. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant; more
+       rarely resident.
+
+This is undoubtedly the beauty of the vireo family--a group of neat,
+active, stoutly built, and vigorous little birds of yellow, greenish,
+and white plumage; birds that love the trees, and whose feathers
+reflect the coloring of the leaves they hide, hunt, and nest among.
+"We have no birds," says Bradford Torrey, "so unsparing of their
+music: they sing from morning till night."
+
+The yellow-throated vireo partakes of all the family characteristics,
+but, in addition to these, it eclipses all its relatives in the
+brilliancy of its coloring and in the art of nest-building, which it
+has brought to a state of hopeless perfection. No envious bird need
+try to excel the exquisite finish of its workmanship. Happily, it has
+wit enough to build its pensile nest high above the reach of small
+boys, usually suspending it from a branch overhanging running water
+that threatens too precipitous a bath to tempt the young climbers.
+
+However common in the city parks and suburban gardens this bird may be
+during the migrations, it delights in a secluded retreat overgrown
+with tall trees and near a stream, such as is dear to the solitary
+vireo as well when the nesting time approaches. High up in the trees
+we hear its rather sad, persistent strain, that is more in harmony
+with the dim forest than with the gay flower garden, where, if the
+truth must be told, its song is both monotonous and depressing. Mr.
+Bicknell says it is the only vireo that sings as it flies.
+
+
+    American Goldfinch
+
+    (_Spinus tristis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: WILD CANARY; YELLOWBIRD; THISTLE BIRD
+
+    (See frontispiece)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.2 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_In summer plumage_: Bright yellow, except on crown of
+       head, frontlet, wings, and tail, which are black. Whitish
+       markings on wings give effect of bands. Tail with white on
+       inner webs. _In winter plumage_: Head yellow-olive; no
+       frontlet; black drab, with reddish tinge; shoulders and throat
+       yellow; soiled brownish white underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish olive above, yellowish white beneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from the tropics to the Fur Countries
+       and westward to the Columbia River and California. Common
+       throughout its range.
+
+    _Migrations_--May--October. Common summer resident, frequently
+       seen throughout the winter as well.
+
+An old field, overgrown with thistles and tall, stalky wild flowers,
+is the paradise of the goldfinches, summer or winter. Here they
+congregate in happy companies while the sunshine and goldenrod are as
+bright as their feathers, and cling to the swaying slender stems that
+furnish an abundant harvest, daintily lunching upon the fluffy seeds
+of thistle blossoms, pecking at the mullein-stalks, and swinging
+airily among the asters and Michaelmas daisies; or, when snow covers
+the same field with a glistening crust, above which the brown stalks
+offer only a meagre dinner, the same birds, now sombrely clad in
+winter feathers, cling to the swaying stems with cheerful fortitude.
+
+At your approach, the busy company rises on the wing, and with
+peculiar, wavy flight rise and fall through the air, marking each
+undulation with a cluster of notes, sweet and clear, that come
+floating downward from the blue ether, where the birds seem to bound
+along exultant in their motion and song alike.
+
+In the spring the plumage of the goldfinch, which has been drab and
+brown through the winter months, is moulted or shed--a change that
+transforms the bird from a sombre Puritan into the gayest of
+cavaliers, and seems to wonderfully exalt his spirits. He bursts into
+a wild, sweet, incoherent melody that might be the outpouring from two
+or three throats at once instead of one, expressing his rapture
+somewhat after the manner of the canary, although his song lacks the
+variety and the finish of his caged namesake. What tone of sadness in
+his music the man found who applied the adjective _tristis_ to his
+scientific name it is difficult to imagine when listening to the notes
+that come bubbling up from the bird's happy heart.
+
+With plumage so lovely and song so delicious and dreamy, it is small
+wonder that numbers of our goldfinches are caught and caged, however
+inferior their song may be to the European species recently introduced
+into this country. Heard in Central Park, New York, where they were
+set at liberty, the European goldfinches seemed to sing with more
+abandon, perhaps, but with no more sweetness than their American
+cousins. The song remains at its best all through the summer months,
+for the bird is a long wooer. It is nearly July before he mates, and
+not until the tardy cedar birds are house-building in the orchard do
+the happy pair begin to carry grass, moss, and plant-down to a crotch
+of some tall tree convenient to a field of such wild flowers as will
+furnish food to a growing family. Doubtless the birds wait for this
+food to be in proper condition before they undertake parental duties
+at all--the most plausible excuse for their late nesting. The cares
+evolving from four to six pale-blue eggs will suffice to quiet the
+father's song for the winter by the first of September, and fade all
+the glory out of his shining coat. As pretty a sight as any garden
+offers is when a family of goldfinches alights on the top of a
+sunflower to feast upon the oily seeds--a perfect harmony of brown and
+gold.
+
+
+   [Illustration: REDSTART (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+   [Illustration: BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Upper Figure, Male;
+      Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+
+    Evening Grosbeak
+
+    (_Coccothraustes vespertinus_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--8 inches. Two inches shorter than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Forehead, shoulders, and underneath clear yellow: dull
+       yellow on lower back; sides of the head, throat, and breast
+       olive-brown. Crown, tail, and wings black, the latter with
+       white secondary feathers. Bill heavy and blunt, and yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish gray, more or less suffused with yellow.
+       Wings and tail blackish, with some white feathers.
+
+    _Range_--Interior of North America. Resident from Manitoba
+       northward. Common winter visitor in northwestern United States
+       and Mississippi Valley; casual winter visitor in northern
+       Atlantic States.
+
+In the winter of 1889-90 Eastern people had the rare treat of becoming
+acquainted with this common bird of the Northwest, that, in one of its
+erratic travels, chose to visit New England and the Atlantic States,
+as far south as Delaware, in great numbers. Those who saw the evening
+grosbeaks then remember how beautiful their yellow plumage--a rare
+winter tint--looked in the snow-covered trees, where small companies
+of the gentle and even tame visitors enjoyed the buds and seeds of the
+maples, elders, and evergreens. Possibly evening grosbeaks were in
+vogue for the next season's millinery, or perhaps Eastern
+ornithologists had a sudden zeal to investigate their structural
+anatomy. At any rate, these birds, whose very tameness, that showed
+slight acquaintance with mankind, should have touched the coldest
+heart, received the warmest kind of a reception from hot shot. The few
+birds that escaped to the solitudes of Manitoba could not be expected
+to tempt other travellers eastward by an account of their visit. The
+bird is quite likely to remain rare in the East.
+
+But in the Mississippi Valley and throughout the northwest, companies
+of from six to sixty may be regularly counted upon as winter neighbors
+on almost every farm. Here the females keep up a busy chatting, like a
+company of cedar birds, and the males punctuate their pauses with a
+single shrill note that gives little indication of their vocal powers.
+But in the solitude of the northern forests the love-song is said to
+resemble the robin's at the start. Unhappily, after a most promising
+beginning, the bird suddenly stops, as if he were out of breath.
+
+
+    Blue-Winged Warbler
+
+    (_Helminthophila pinus_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 17)
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 inches. An inch and a half shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown of head and all under parts bright yellow. Back
+       olive-green. Wings and tail bluish slate, the former with
+       white bars, and three outer tail quills with large white
+       patches on their inner webs.
+
+    _Female_--Paler and more olive.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern United States, from southern New England and
+       Minnesota, the northern limit of its nesting range, to Mexico
+       and Central America, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+In the naming of warblers, bluish slate is the shade intended when
+blue is mentioned; so that if you see a dainty little olive and yellow
+bird with slate-colored wings and tail hunting for spiders in the
+blossoming orchard or during the early autumn you will have seen the
+beautiful blue-winged warbler. It has a rather leisurely way of
+hunting, unlike the nervous, restless flitting about from twig to twig
+that is characteristic of many of its many cousins. The search is
+thorough--bark, stems, blossoms, leaves are inspected for larvæ and
+spiders, with many pretty motions of head and body. Sometimes, hanging
+with head downward, the bird suggests a yellow titmouse. After blossom
+time a pair of these warblers, that have done serviceable work in the
+orchard in their all too brief stay, hurry off to dense woods to nest.
+They are usually to be seen in pairs at all seasons. Not to "high
+coniferous trees in northern forests"--the Mecca of innumerable
+warblers--but to scrubby, second growth of woodland borders, or lower
+trees in the heart of the woods, do these dainty birds retreat. There
+they build the usual warbler nest of twigs, bits of bark, leaves, and
+grasses, but with this peculiarity: the numerous leaves with which the
+nest is wrapped all have their stems pointing upward. Mr. Frank
+Chapman has admirably defined their song as consisting of "two
+drawled, wheezy notes--_swee-chee_, the first inhaled, the second
+exhaled."
+
+
+    Canadian Warbler
+
+    (_Sylvania canadensis_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: CANADIAN FLYCATCHER; SPOTTED CANADIAN WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Immaculate bluish ash above, without marks on wings or
+       tail; crown spotted with arrow-shaped black marks. Cheeks,
+       line from bill to eye, and underneath clear yellow. Black
+       streaks forming a necklace across the breast.
+
+    _Female_--Paler, with necklace indistinct.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_---May. September. Summer resident; most abundant
+       in migrations.
+
+Since about one-third of all the song-birds met with in a year's
+rambles are apt to be warblers, the novice cannot devote his first
+attention to a better group, confusing though it is by reason of its
+size and the repetition of the same colors in so many bewildering
+combinations. Monotony, however, is unknown in the warbler family.
+Whoever can rightly name every warbler, male and female, on sight is
+uniquely accomplished.
+
+The jet necklace worn on this bird's breast is its best mark of
+identification. Its form is particularly slender and graceful, as
+might be expected in a bird so active, one to whom a hundred tiny
+insects barely afford a dinner that must often be caught piecemeal as
+it flies past. To satisfy its appetite, which cannot but be dainty in
+so thoroughly charming a bird, it lives in low, boggy woods, in such
+retreats as Wilson's black-capped warbler selects for a like reason.
+Neither of these two "flycatcher" warblers depends altogether on
+catching insects on the wing; countless thousands are picked off the
+under sides of leaves and about the stems of twigs in true warbler
+fashion.
+
+The Canadian's song is particularly loud, sweet, and vivacious. It is
+hazardous for any one without long field practice to try to name any
+warbler by its song alone, but possibly this one's animated music is
+as characteristic as any.
+
+The nest is built on the ground on a mossy bank or elevated into the
+root crannies of some large tree, where there is much water in the
+woods. Bits of bark, dead wood, moss, and fine rootlets, all carefully
+wrapped with leaves, go to make the pretty cradle. Unhappily, the
+little Canada warblers are often cheated out of their natural rights,
+like so many other delightful song-birds, by the greedy interloper
+that the cowbird deposits in their nest.
+
+
+    Hooded Warbler
+
+    (_Sylvania mitrata_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.75 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Head, neck, chin, and throat black like a hood in
+       mature male specimens only. Hood restricted, or altogether
+       wanting in female and young. Upper parts rich olive. Forehead,
+       cheeks, and underneath yellow. Some conspicuous white on tail
+       feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Duller, and with restricted cowl.
+
+    _Range_--United States east of Rockies, and from southern
+       Michigan and southern New England to West Indies and tropical
+       America, where it winters. Very local.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+This beautifully marked, sprightly little warbler might be mistaken in
+his immaturity for the yellowthroat; and as it is said to take him
+nearly three years to grow his hood, with the completed cowl and cape,
+there is surely sufficient reason here for the despair that often
+seizes the novice in attempting to distinguish the perplexing
+warblers. Like its Southern counterpart, the hooded warbler prefers
+wet woods and low trees rather than high ones, for much of its food
+consists of insects attracted by the dampness, and many of them must
+be taken on the wing. Because of its tireless activity the bird's
+figure is particularly slender and graceful--a trait, too, to which we
+owe all the glimpses of it we are likely to get throughout the summer.
+It has a curious habit of spreading its tail, as if it wished you to
+take special notice of the white spots that adorn it; not flirting it,
+as the redstart does his more gorgeous one, but simply opening it like
+a fan as it flies and darts about.
+
+Its song, which is particularly sweet and graceful and with more
+variation than most warblers' music, has been translated
+"_Che-we-eo-tsip, tsip, che-we-eo_," again interpreted by Mr. Chapman
+as "You must come to the woods, or you won't see me."
+
+
+    Kentucky Warbler
+
+    (_Geothlypis formosa_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 inches. Nearly an inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts olive-green; under parts yellow; a yellow
+       line from the bill passes over and around the eye. Crown of
+       head, patch below the eye, and line defining throat, black.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but paler, and with grayish instead of
+    black markings.
+
+    _Range_--United States eastward from the Rockies, and from
+    Iowa and Connecticut to Central America, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+No bird is common at the extreme limits of its range, and so this
+warbler has a reputation for rarity among the New England
+ornithologists that would surprise people in the middle South and
+Southwest. After all that may be said in the books, a bird is either
+common or rare to the individual who may or may not have happened to
+become acquainted with it in any part of its chosen territory. Plenty
+of people in Kentucky, where we might judge from its name this bird is
+supposed to be most numerous, have never seen or heard of it, while a
+student on the Hudson River, within sight of New York, knows it
+intimately. It also nests regularly in certain parts of the
+Connecticut Valley. "Who is my neighbor?" is often a question
+difficult indeed to answer where birds are concerned. In the chapter,
+"Spring at the Capital," which, with every reading of "Wake Robin,"
+inspires the bird-lover with fresh zeal, Mr. Burroughs writes of the
+Kentucky warbler: "I meet with him in low, damp places, in the woods,
+usually on the steep sides of some little run. I hear at intervals a
+clear, strong, bell-like whistle or warble, and presently catch a
+glimpse of the bird as he jumps up from the ground to take an insect
+or worm from the under side of a leaf. This is his characteristic
+movement. He belongs to the class of ground warblers, and his range is
+very low, indeed lower than that of any other species with which I am
+acquainted."
+
+Like the ovenbird and comparatively few others, for most birds hop
+over the ground, the Kentucky warbler _walks_ rapidly about, looking
+for insects under the fallen leaves, and poking his inquisitive beak
+into every cranny where a spider may be lurking. The bird has a
+pretty, conscious way of flying up to a perch, a few feet above the
+ground, as a tenor might advance towards the footlights of a stage, to
+pour forth his clear, penetrating whistle, that in the nesting season
+especially is repeated over and over again with tireless persistency.
+
+
+    Magnolia Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica maculosa_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-AND-YELLOW WARBLER; SPOTTED WARBLER;
+       BLUE-HEADED YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half smaller
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown of head slate-color, bordered on either side by
+       a white line; a black line, apparently running through the
+       eye, and a yellow line below it, merging into the yellow
+       throat. Lower back and under parts yellow. Back, wings, and
+       tail blackish olive. Large white patch on the wings, and the
+       middle of the tail-quills white. Throat and sides heavily
+       streaked with black.
+
+    _Female_--Has greener back, is paler, and has less distinct
+       markings.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama. Summers
+       from northern Michigan and northern New England northward;
+       winters in Central America and Cuba.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Spring and summer migrant.
+
+In spite of the bird's name, one need not look for it in the glossy
+magnolia trees of the southern gardens more than in the shrubbery on
+New England lawns, and during the migrations it is quite as likely to
+be found in one place as in the other. Its true preference, however,
+is for the spruces and hemlocks of its nesting ground in the northern
+forests. For these it deserts us after a brief hunt about the tender,
+young spring foliage and blossoms, where the early worm lies
+concealed, and before we have become so well acquainted with its
+handsome clothes that we will instantly recognize it in the duller
+ones it wears on its return trip in the autumn. The position of the
+white marks on the tail feathers of this warbler, however, is the clue
+by which it may be identified at any season or any stage of its
+growth. If the white bar runs across the _middle_ of the warbler's
+tail, you can be sure of the identity of the bird. A nervous and
+restless hunter, it nevertheless seems less shy than many of its kin.
+Another pleasing characteristic is that it brings back with it in
+October the loud, clear, rapid whistle with which it has entertained
+its nesting mate in the Canada woods through the summer.
+
+
+    Mourning Warbler
+
+    (_Geothlypis philadelphia_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: MOURNING GROUND WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Gray head and throat; the breast gray; the feathers
+       with black edges that make them look crinkled, like crape. The
+       black markings converge into a spot on upper breast. Upper
+       parts, except head, olive. Underneath rich yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but duller; throat and breast buff and
+       dusky where the male is black. Back olive-green.
+
+    _Range_--"Eastern North America; breeds from eastern Nebraska,
+       northern New York, and Nova Scotia northward, and southward
+       along the Alleghanies to Pennsylvania. Winters in the
+       tropics."--_Chapman._
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+Since Audubon met with but one of these birds in his incessant
+trampings, and Wilson secured only an immature, imperfectly marked
+specimen for his collection, the novice may feel no disappointment if
+he fails to make the acquaintance of this "gay and agreeable widow."
+And yet the shy and wary bird is not unknown in Central Park, New York
+City. Even where its clear, whistled song strikes the ear with a
+startling novelty that invites to instant pursuit of the singer, you
+may look long and diligently through the undergrowth without finding
+it. Dr. Merriam says the whistle resembles the syllables "_true, true,
+true, tru, too_, the voice rising on the first three syllables and
+falling on the last two." In the nesting season this song is repeated
+over and over again with a persistency worthy of a Kentucky warbler.
+It is delivered from a perch within a few feet of the ground, as high
+as the bird seems ever inclined to ascend.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CARDINAL]
+
+   [Illustration: SCARLET TANAGER Male, in mature plumage, perching;
+      female on nest.]
+
+
+    Nashville Warbler
+
+    (_Helminthophila ruficapilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half smaller
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Olive-green above; yellow underneath. Slate-gray head
+       and neck. Partially concealed chestnut patch on crown. Wings
+       and tail olive-brown and without markings.
+
+    _Female_--Dull olive and paler, with brownish wash underneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America, westward to the plains; north to the
+       Fur Countries, and south to Central America and Mexico. Nests
+       north of Illinois and northern New England; winters in
+       tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September or October.
+
+It must not be thought that this beautiful warbler confines itself to
+backyards in the city of Nashville simply because Wilson discovered it
+near there and gave it a local name, for the bird's actual range
+reaches from the fur trader's camp near Hudson Bay to the adobe
+villages of Mexico and Central America, and over two thousand miles
+east and west in the United States. It chooses open rather than dense
+woods and tree-bordered fields. It seems to have a liking for hemlocks
+and pine trees, especially if near a stream that attracts insects to
+its shores; and Dr. Warren notes that in Pennsylvania he finds small
+flocks of these warblers in the autumn migration, feeding in the
+willow trees near little rivers and ponds. Only in the northern parts
+of the United States is their nest ever found, for the northern
+British provinces are their preferred nesting ground. One seen in the
+White Mountains was built on a mossy, rocky ledge, directly on the
+ground at the foot of a pine tree, and made of rootlets, moss, needles
+from the trees overhead, and several layers of leaves outside, with a
+lining of fine grasses that cradled four white, speckled eggs.
+
+Audubon likened the bird's feeble note to the breaking of twigs.
+
+
+    Pine Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica vigorsii_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: PINE-CREEPING WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Yellowish olive above; clear yellow below, shading to
+       grayish white, with obscure dark streaks on side of breast.
+       Two whitish wing-bars; two outer tail feathers partly white.
+
+    _Female_--Duller; grayish white only faintly tinged with
+       yellow underneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America, east of the Rockies; north to
+       Manitoba, and south to Florida and the Bahamas. Winters from
+       southern Illinois southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--March or April. October or later. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+The pine warbler closely presses the myrtle warbler for the first
+place in the ranks of the family migrants, but as the latter bird
+often stays north all winter, it is usually given the palm. Here is a
+warbler, let it be recorded, that is fittingly named, for it is a
+denizen of pine woods only; most common in the long stretches of pine
+forests at the south and in New York and New England, and
+correspondingly uncommon wherever the woods-man's axe has laid the
+pine trees low throughout its range. Its "simple, sweet, and drowsy
+song," writes Mr. Parkhurst, is always associated "with the smell of
+pines on a sultry day." It recalls that of the junco and the social
+sparrow or chippy.
+
+Creeping over the bark of trees and peering into every crevice like a
+nuthatch; running along the limbs, not often hopping nervously or
+flitting like the warblers; darting into the air for a passing insect,
+or descending to the ground to feed on seeds and berries, the pine
+warbler has, by a curious combination, the movements that seem to
+characterize several different birds.
+
+It is one of the largest and hardiest members of its family, but not
+remarkable for its beauty. It is a sociable traveller, cheerfully
+escorting other warblers northward, and welcoming to its band both the
+yellow redpolls and the myrtle warblers. These birds are very often
+seen together in the pine and other evergreen trees in our lawns and
+in the large city parks.
+
+
+    Prairie Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica discolor_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Olive-green above, shading to yellowish on the head,
+       and with brick-red spots on back between the shoulders. A
+       yellow line over the eye; wing-bars and all under parts bright
+       yellow, heavily streaked with black on the sides. Line through
+       the eye and crescent below it, black. Much white in outer tail
+       feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Paler; upper parts more grayish olive, and markings
+       less distinct than male's.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern half of the United States. Nests as far north
+       as New England and Michigan. Winters from Florida southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+Doubtless this diminutive bird was given its name because it prefers
+open country rather than the woods--the scrubby undergrowth of oaks,
+young evergreens, and bushes that border clearings being as good a
+place as any to look for it, and not the wind-swept, treeless tracts
+of the wild West. Its range is southerly. The Southern and Middle
+States are where it is most abundant. Here is a wood warbler that is
+not a bird of the woods--less so, in fact, than either the summer
+yellowbird (yellow warbler) or the palm warbler, that are eminently
+neighborly and fond of pasture lands and roadside thickets. But the
+prairie warblers are rather more retiring little sprites than their
+cousins, and it is not often we get a close enough view of them to
+note the brick-red spots on their backs, which are their
+distinguishing marks. They have a most unkind preference for briery
+bushes, that discourage human intimacy. In such forbidding retreats
+they build their nest of plant-fibre, rootlets, and twigs, lined with
+plant-down and hair.
+
+The song of an individual prairie warbler makes only a slight
+impression. It consists "of a series of six or seven quickly repeated
+_zees_ the next to the last one being the highest" (Chapman). But the
+united voices of a dozen or more of these pretty little birds, that
+often sing together, afford something approaching a musical treat.
+
+
+    Wilson's Warbler
+
+    (_Sylvania pusilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-CAP; GREEN BLACK-CAPPED WARBLER;
+       WILSON'S FLYCATCHER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Black cap; yellow forehead; all other upper parts
+       olive-green; rich yellow underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Lacks the black cap.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Alaska and Nova Scotia to Panama.
+       Winters south of Gulf States. Nests chiefly north of the
+       United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+To see this strikingly marked little bird one must be on the sharp
+lookout for it during the latter half of May, or at the season of
+apple bloom, and the early part of September. It passes northward with
+an almost scornful rapidity. Audubon mentions having seen it in Maine
+at the end of October, but this specimen surely must have been an
+exceptional laggard.
+
+In common with several others of its family, it is exceedingly expert
+in catching insects on the wing; but it may be known as no true
+flycatcher from the conspicuous rich yellow of its under parts, and
+also from its habit of returning from a midair sally to a different
+perch from the one it left to pursue its dinner. A true flycatcher
+usually returns to its old perch after each hunt.
+
+To indulge in this aërial chase with success, these warblers select
+for their home and hunting ground some low woodland growth where a
+sluggish stream attracts myriads of insects to the boggy neighborhood.
+Here they build their nest in low bushes or upon the ground. Four or
+five grayish eggs, sprinkled with cinnamon-colored spots in a circle
+around the larger end, are laid in the grassy cradle in June. Mr. H.
+D. Minot found one of these nests on Pike's Peak at an altitude of
+11,000 feet, almost at the limit of vegetation. The same authority
+compares the bird's song to that of the redstart and the yellow
+warbler.
+
+
+   [Illustration: YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS THE DAY BEFORE LEAVING NEST.]
+
+   [Illustration: FIELD SPARROW BABIES.]
+
+
+    Yellow Redpoll Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW PALM WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Chestnut crown. Upper parts brownish olive;
+       greenest on lower back. Underneath uniform bright yellow,
+       streaked with chestnut on throat, breast, and sides. Yellow
+       line over and around the eye. Wings unmarked. Tail edged with
+       olive-green; a few white spots near tips of outer quills. More
+       brownish above in autumn, and with a grayish wash over the
+       yellow under parts.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of North America. Nests from Nova
+       Scotia northward. Winters in the Gulf States.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+While the uniform yellow of this warbler's under parts in any plumage
+is its distinguishing mark, it also has a flycatcher's trait of
+constantly flirting its tail, that is at once an outlet for its
+superabundant vivacity and a fairly reliable aid to identification.
+The tail is jerked, wagged, and flirted like a baton in the hands of
+an inexperienced leader of an orchestra. One need not go to the woods
+to look for the restless little sprite that comes northward when the
+early April foliage is as yellow and green as its feathers. It prefers
+the fields and roadsides, and before there are leaves enough on the
+undergrowth to conceal it we may come to know it as well as it is
+possible to know any bird whose home life is passed so far away.
+Usually it is the first warbler one sees in the spring in New York and
+New England. With all the alertness of a flycatcher, it will dart into
+the air after insects that fly near the ground, keeping up a constant
+_chip, chip_, fine and shrill, at one end of the small body, and the
+liveliest sort of tail motions at the other. The pine warbler often
+bears it company.
+
+With the first suspicion of warm weather, off goes this hardy little
+fellow that apparently loves the cold almost well enough to stay north
+all the year like its cousin, the myrtle warbler. It builds a
+particularly deep nest, of the usual warbler construction, on the
+ground, but its eggs are rosy rather than the bluish white of others.
+
+In the Southern States the bird becomes particularly neighborly, and
+is said to enter the streets and gardens of towns with a chippy's
+familiarity.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Palm Warbler or Redpoll Warbler (_Dendroica palmarum_) differs from
+the preceding chiefly in its slightly smaller size, the more
+grayish-brown tint in its olive upper parts, and the uneven shade of
+yellow underneath that varies from clear yellow to soiled whitish. It
+is the Western counterpart of the yellow redpoll, and is most common
+in the Mississippi Valley. Strangely enough, however, it is this
+warbler, and not _hypochrysea_, that goes out of its way to winter in
+Florida, where it is abundant all winter.
+
+
+    Yellow Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica æstiva_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: SUMMER YELLOWBIRD; GOLDEN WARBLER; YELLOW POLL
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5.2 inches. Over an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts olive-yellow, brightest on the crown;
+       under parts bright yellow, streaked with reddish brown. Wings
+       and tail dusky olive-brown, edged with yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Similar; but reddish-brown streakings less distinct.
+
+    _Range_--North America, except Southwestern States, where the
+       prothonotary warbler reigns in its stead. Nests from Gulf
+       States to Fur Countries. Winters south of the Gulf States, as
+       far as northern parts of South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+This exquisite little creature of perpetual summer (though to find it
+it must travel back and forth between two continents) comes out of the
+south with the golden days of spring. From much living in the sunshine
+through countless generations, its feathers have finally become the
+color of sunshine itself, and in disposition, as well, it is nothing
+if not sunny and bright. Not the least of its attractions is that it
+is exceedingly common everywhere: in the shrubbery of our lawns, in
+gardens and orchards, by the road and brookside, in the edges of
+woods--everywhere we catch its glint of brightness through the long
+summer days, and hear its simple, sweet, and happy song until the end
+of July.
+
+Because both birds are so conspicuously yellow, no doubt this warbler
+is quite generally confused with the goldfinch; but their distinctions
+are clear enough to any but the most superficial glance. In the first
+place, the yellow warbler is a smaller bird than the goldfinch; it has
+neither black crown, wings, nor tail, and it does have reddish-brown
+streaks on its breast that are sufficiently obsolete to make the
+coloring of that part look simply dull at a little distance. The
+goldfinch's bill is heavy, in order that it may crack seeds, whereas
+the yellow warbler's is slender, to enable it to pick minute insects
+from the foliage. The goldfinch's wavy, curved flight is unique, and
+that of his "double" differs not a whit from that of all nervous,
+flitting warblers. Surely no one familiar with the rich, full,
+canary-like song of the "wild canary," as the goldfinch is called,
+could confuse it with the mild "_Wee-chee, chee, cher-wee_" of the
+summer yellowbird. Another distinction, not always infallible, but
+nearly so, is that when seen feeding, the goldfinch is generally below
+the line of vision, while the yellow warbler is either on it or not
+far above it, as it rarely goes over twelve feet from the ground.
+
+No doubt, the particularly mild, sweet amiability of the yellow
+warbler is responsible for the persistent visitations of the cowbird,
+from which it is a conspicuous sufferer. In the exquisite, neat little
+matted cradle of glistening milkweed flax, lined with down from the
+fronds of fern, the skulking housebreaker deposits her surreptitious
+egg for the little yellow mother-bird to hatch and tend. But
+amiability is not the only prominent trait in the female yellow
+warbler's character. She is clever as well, and quickly builds a new
+bottom on her nest, thus sealing up the cowbird's egg, and depositing
+her own on the soft, spongy floor above it. This operation has been
+known to be twice repeated, until the nest became three stories high,
+when a persistent cowbird made such unusual architecture necessary.
+
+The most common nesting place of the yellow warbler is in low willows
+along the shores of streams.
+
+
+    Yellow-breasted Chat
+
+    (_Icteria virens_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: POLYGLOT CHAT; YELLOW MOCKING BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 inches. A trifle over an inch longer than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Uniform olive-green above. Throat, breast,
+       and under side of wings bright, clear yellow. Underneath
+       white. Sides grayish. White line over the eye, reaching to
+       base of bill and forming partial eye-ring. Also white line on
+       sides of throat. Bill and feet black.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Ontario to Central America and
+       westward to the plains. Most common in Middle Atlantic States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Late August or September. Summer
+       resident.
+
+This largest of the warblers might be mistaken for a dozen birds
+collectively in as many minutes; but when it is known that the jumble
+of whistles, parts of songs, chuckles, clucks, barks, quacks, whines,
+and wails proceed from a single throat, the yellow-breasted chat
+becomes a marked specimen forthwith--a conspicuous individual never to
+be confused with any other member of the feathered tribe. It is indeed
+absolutely unique. The catbird and the mocking-bird are rare mimics;
+but while the chat is not their equal in this respect, it has a large
+repertoire of weird, uncanny cries all its own--a power of throwing
+its voice, like a human ventriloquist, into unexpected corners of the
+thicket or meadow. In addition to its extraordinary vocal feats, it
+can turn somersaults and do other clown-like stunts as well as any
+variety actor on the Bowery stage.
+
+Only by creeping cautiously towards the roadside tangle, where this
+"rollicking polyglot" is entertaining himself and his mate, brooding
+over her speckled eggs in a bulky nest set in a most inaccessible
+briery part of the thicket, can you hope to hear him rattle through
+his variety performance. Walk boldly or noisily past his retreat, and
+there is "silence there and nothing more." But two very bright eyes
+peer out at you through the undergrowth, where the trim,
+elegant-looking bird watches you with quizzical suspicion until you
+quietly seat yourself and assume silent indifference. "_Whew, whew!_"
+he begins, and then immediately, with evident intent to amuse, he
+rattles off an indescribable, eccentric medley until your ears are
+tired listening. With bill uplifted, tail drooping, wings fluttering
+at his side, he cuts an absurd figure enough, but not so comical as
+when he rises into the air, trailing his legs behind him
+stork-fashion. This surely is the clown among birds. But any though he
+is, he is as capable of devotion to his Columbine as Punchinello, and
+remains faithfully mated year after year. However much of a tease and
+a deceiver he may be to the passer-by along the roadside, in the
+privacy of the domestic circle he shows truly lovable traits.
+
+He has the habit of singing in his unmusical way on moonlight nights.
+Probably his ventriloquial powers are cultivated not for popular
+entertainment, but to lure intruders away from his nest.
+
+
+    Maryland Yellowthroat
+
+    (_Geothlypis trichas_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-MASKED GROUND WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.33 inches. Just an inch shorter than the typical
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Olive-gray on head, shading to olive-green on all the
+       other upper parts. Forehead, cheeks, and sides of head black,
+       like a mask, and bordered behind by a grayish line. Throat and
+       breast bright yellow, growing steadily paler underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Either totally lacks black mask or its place is
+       indicated by only a dusky tint. She is smaller and duller.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, west to the plains; most
+       common east of the Alleghanies. Nests from the Gulf States to
+       Labrador and Manitoba; winters south of Gulf States to Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+"Given a piece of marshy ground with an abundance of skunk cabbage and
+a fairly dense growth of saplings, and near by a tangle of green brier
+and blackberry, and you will be pretty sure to have it tenanted by a
+pair of yellowthroats," says Dr. Abbott, who found several of their
+nests in skunk-cabbage plants, which he says are favorite cradles. No
+animal cares to touch this plant if it can be avoided; but have the
+birds themselves no sense of smell?
+
+Before and after the nesting season these active birds, plump of form,
+elegant of attire, forceful, but not bold, enter the scrubby pastures
+near our houses and the shrubbery of old-fashioned, overgrown gardens,
+and peer out at the human wanderer therein with a charming curiosity.
+The bright eyes of the male masquerader shine through his black mask,
+where he intently watches you from the tangle of syringa and snowball
+bushes; and as he flies into the laburnum with its golden chain of
+blossoms that pale before the yellow of his throat and breast, you are
+so impressed with his grace and elegance that you follow too
+audaciously, he thinks, and off he goes. And yet this is a bird that
+seems to delight in being pursued. It never goes so far away that you
+are not tempted to follow it, though it be through dense undergrowth
+and swampy thickets, and it always gives you just glimpse enough of
+its beauties and graces before it flies ahead, to invite the hope of a
+closer inspection next time. When it dives into the deepest part of
+the tangle, where you can imagine it hunting about among the roots and
+fallen leaves for the larvæ, caterpillars, spiders, and other insects
+on which it feeds, it sometimes amuses itself with a simple little
+song between the hunts. But the bird's indifference, you feel sure,
+arises from preoccupation rather than rudeness.
+
+If, however, your visit to the undergrowth is unfortunately timed and
+there happens to be a bulky nest in process of construction on the
+ground, a quickly repeated, vigorous _chit, pit, quit_, impatiently
+inquires the reason for your bold intrusion. Withdraw discreetly and
+listen to the love-song that is presently poured out to reassure his
+plain little maskless mate. The music is delivered with all the force
+and energy of his vigorous nature and penetrates to a surprising
+distance. "_Follow me, follow me, follow me_," many people hear him
+say; others write the syllables, "_Wichity, wichity, wichity,
+wichity_"; and still others write them, "_I beseech you, I beseech
+you, I beseech you_," though the tones of this self-assertive bird
+rather command than entreat. Mr. Frank Chapman says of the
+yellowthroats: "They sing throughout the summer, and in August add a
+flight-song to their repertoire. This is usually uttered toward
+evening, when the bird springs several feet into the air, hovers for a
+second, and then drops back to the bushes."
+
+
+    Blackburnian Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica blackburniæ_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: HEMLOCK WARBLER; ORANGE-THROATED WARBLER;
+       TORCH-BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 5.5 inches. An inch and a half smaller than
+       the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Head black, striped with orange-flame; throat and
+       breast orange, shading through yellow to white underneath;
+       wings, tail, and part of back black, with white markings.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-brown above, shading into yellow on breast,
+       and paler under parts.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America to plains. Winters in tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+"The orange-throated warbler would seem to be his right name, his
+characteristic cognomen," says John Burroughs, in ever-delightful
+"Wake Robin"; "but no, he is doomed to wear the name of some
+discoverer, perhaps the first who robbed his nest or rifled him of his
+mate--Blackburn; hence, Blackburnian warbler. The _burn_ seems
+appropriate enough, for in these dark evergreens his throat and breast
+show like flame. He has a very fine warble, suggesting that of the
+redstart, but not especially musical."
+
+No foliage is dense enough to hide, and no autumnal tint too brilliant
+to outshine this luminous little bird that in May, as it migrates
+northward to its nesting ground, darts in and out of the leafy shadows
+like a tongue of fire.
+
+It is by far the most glorious of all the warblers--a sort of
+diminutive oriole. The quiet-colored little mate flits about after
+him, apparently lost in admiration of his fine feathers and the ease
+with which his thin tenor voice can end his lover's warble in a high
+Z.
+
+Take a good look at this attractive couple, for in May they leave us
+to build a nest of bark and moss in the evergreens of Canada--that
+paradise for warblers--or of the Catskills and Adirondacks, and in
+autumn they hurry south to escape the first frosts.
+
+
+    Redstart
+
+    (_Setophaga ruticilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW-TAILED WARBLER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 190)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches.
+
+    _Male_--_In spring plumage_: Head, neck, back, and middle
+       breast glossy black, with blue reflections. Breast and
+       underneath white, slightly flushed with salmon, increasing to
+       bright salmon-orange on the sides of the body and on the wing
+       linings. Occasional specimens show orange-red. Tail feathers
+       partly black, partly orange, with broad black band across the
+       end. Orange markings on wings. Bill and feet black. _In
+       autumn_: Fading into rusty black, olive, and yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-brown, and yellow where the male is orange.
+       Young browner than the females.
+
+    _Range_--North America to upper Canada. West occasionally, as
+       far as the Pacific coast, but commonly found in summer in the
+       Atlantic and Middle States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. End of September. Summer resident.
+
+Late some evening, early in May, when one by one the birds have
+withdrawn their voices from the vesper chorus, listen for the
+lingering "_'tsee, 'tsee, 'tseet_" (usually twelve times repeated in a
+minute), that the redstart sweetly but rather monotonously sings from
+the evergreens, where, as his tiny body burns in the twilight, Mrs.
+Wright likens him to a "wind-blown firebrand, half glowing, half
+charred."
+
+But by daylight this brilliant little warbler is constantly on the
+alert. It is true he has the habit, like the flycatchers (among which
+some learned ornithologists still class him), of sitting pensively on
+a branch, with fluffy feathers and drooping wings; but the very next
+instant he shows true warbler blood by making a sudden dash upward,
+then downward through the air, tumbling somersaults, as if blown by
+the wind, flitting from branch to branch, busily snapping at the tiny
+insects hidden beneath the leaves, clinging to the tree-trunk like a
+creeper, and singing between bites.
+
+Possibly he will stop long enough in his mad chase to open and shut
+his tail, fan-fashion, with a dainty egotism that, in the peacock,
+becomes rank vanity.
+
+The Germans call this little bird _roth Stert_ (red tail), but, like
+so many popular names, this is a misnomer, as, strictly speaking, the
+redstart is never red, though its salmon-orange markings often border
+on to orange-flame.
+
+In a fork of some tall bush or tree, placed ten or fifteen feet from
+the ground, a carefully constructed little nest is made of moss,
+horsehair, and strippings from the bark, against which the nest is
+built, the better to conceal its location. Four or five whitish eggs,
+thickly sprinkled with pale brown and lilac, like the other warblers',
+are too jealously guarded by the little mother-bird to be very often
+seen.
+
+
+    Baltimore Oriole
+
+    (_Icterus galbula_) Oriole and Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN ORIOLE; FIREBIRD; GOLDEN ROBIN;
+       HANG-NEST; ENGLISH ROBIN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 191)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Head, throat, upper part of back glossy black. Wings
+       black, with white spots and edgings. Tail-quills black, with
+       yellow markings on the tips. Everywhere else orange, shading
+       into flame.
+
+    _Female_--Yellowish olive. Wings dark brown, and quills
+       margined with white. Tail yellowish brown, with obscure,
+       dusky bars.
+
+    _Range_--The whole United States. Most numerous in Eastern
+       States below 55° north latitude.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Middle of September. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+A flash of fire through the air; a rich, high, whistled song floating
+in the wake of the feathered meteor: the Baltimore oriole cannot be
+mistaken. When the orchards are in blossom he arrives in full plumage
+and song, and awaits the coming of the female birds, that travel
+northward more leisurely in flocks. He is decidedly in evidence. No
+foliage is dense enough to hide his brilliancy; his temper, quite as
+fiery as his feathers, leads him into noisy quarrels, and his
+insistent song with its martial, interrogative notes becomes almost
+tiresome until he is happily mated and family cares check his
+enthusiasm.
+
+Among the best architects in the world is his plain but energetic
+mate. Gracefully swung from a high branch of some tall tree, the nest
+is woven with exquisite skill into a long, flexible pouch that rain
+cannot penetrate, nor wind shake from its horsehair moorings. Bits of
+string, threads of silk, and sometimes yarn of the gayest colors, if
+laid about the shrubbery in the garden, will be quickly interwoven
+with the shreds of bark and milkweed stalks that the bird has found
+afield. The shape of the nest often differs, because in unsettled
+regions, where hawks abound, it is necessary to make it deeper than
+seven inches (the customary depth when it is built near the homes of
+men), and to partly close it at the top to conceal the sitting bird.
+From four to six whitish eggs, scrawled over with black-brown, are
+hatched by the mother oriole, and most jealously guarded by her now
+truly domesticated mate.
+
+The number of grubs, worms, flies, caterpillars, and even cocoons,
+that go to satisfy the hunger of a family of orioles in a day, might
+indicate, if it could be computed, the great value these birds are
+about our homes, aside from the good cheer they bring.
+
+There is a popular tradition about the naming of this gorgeous bird:
+When George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, worn out and
+discouraged by various hardships in his Newfoundland colony, decided
+to visit Virginia in 1628, he wrote that nothing in the Chesapeake
+country so impressed him as the myriads of birds in its woods. But the
+song and color of the oriole particularly cheered and delighted him,
+and orange and black became the heraldic colors of the first lords
+proprietors of Maryland.
+
+                                Hush!'tis he!
+    My Oriole, my glance of summer fire,
+    Is come at last; and ever on the watch,
+    Twitches the pack-thread I had lightly wound
+    About the bough to help his housekeeping.
+    Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck,
+    Yet fearing me who laid it in his way.
+    Nor, more than wiser we in our affairs,
+    Divines the Providence that hides and helps.
+    _Heave, ho! Heave, ho!_ he whistles as the twine
+    Slackens its hold; _once more, now!_ and a flash
+    Lightens across the sunlight to the elm
+    Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt.
+
+                                   --_James Russell Lowell._
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY RED OF ANY SHADE
+
+    Cardinal Grosbeak
+    Summer Tanager
+    Scarlet Tanager
+    Pine Grosbeak
+    American Crossbill and the White-winged Crossbill
+    Redpoll and Greater Redpoll
+    Purple Finch
+    Robin
+    Orchard Oriole
+
+See the Red-winged Blackbird (Black). See also the males of the
+Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the Woodpeckers, the Chewink (Black and
+White), the Red-breasted Nuthatch, the Bay-breasted and the
+Chestnut-sided Warblers (Slate and Gray); the Bluebird and Barn
+Swallow (Blue); the Flicker (Brown); the Humming-bird and the Kinglets
+(Greenish Gray); and the Blackburnian and Redstart Warblers, and the
+Baltimore Oriole (Orange).
+
+
+    Cardinal Grosbeak
+
+    (_Cardinalis cardinalis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: CRESTED REDBIRD; VIRGINIA REDBIRD; VIRGINIA
+       NIGHTINGALE; CARDINAL BIRD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 198)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Brilliant cardinal; chin and band around bill black.
+       Beak stout and red. Crest conspicuous. In winter dress, wings
+       washed with gray.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish yellow above, shading to gray below. Tail
+       shorter than the male's. Crest, wings, and tail reddish.
+       Breast sometimes tinged with red.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern United States. A Southern bird, becoming more
+       and more common during the summer in States north of Virginia,
+       especially in Ohio, south of which it is resident throughout
+       the year.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident rather than migrating birds, remaining
+       throughout the winter in localities where they have found
+       their way. Travel in flocks.
+
+Among the numerous names by which this beautiful bird is known, it has
+become immortalized under the title of Mr. James Lane Allen's
+exquisite book, "The Kentucky Cardinal." Here, while we are given a
+most charmingly sympathetic, delicate account of the bird "who has
+only to be seen or heard, and Death adjusts an arrow," it is the
+cardinal's pathetic fate that impresses one most. Seen through less
+poetical eyes, however, the bird appears to be a haughty autocrat, a
+sort of "F. F. V." among the feathered tribes, as, indeed, his title,
+"Virginia redbird," has been unkindly said to imply. Bearing himself
+with a refined and courtly dignity, not stooping to soil his feet by
+walking on the ground like the more democratic robin, or even
+condescending below the level of the laurel bushes, the cardinal is
+literally a shining example of self-conscious superiority--a bird to
+call forth respect and admiration rather than affection. But a group
+of cardinals in a cedar tree in a snowy winter landscape makes us
+forgetful of everything but their supreme beauty.
+
+As might be expected in one of the finch family, the cardinal
+is a songster--the fact which, in connection with his lovely
+plumage, accounts for the number of these birds shipped in cages
+to Europe, where they are known as Virginia nightingales. Commencing
+with a strong, rich whistle, like the high notes of a fife,
+"_Cheo-cheo-cheo-cheo_," repeated over and over as if to make perfect
+the start of a song he is about to sing, suddenly he stops, and you
+learn that there is to be no glorious performance after all, only a
+prelude to--nothing. The song, such as it is, begins, with both male
+and female, in March, and lasts, with a brief intermission, until
+September--"the most melodious sigh," as Mr. Allen calls it. Early in
+May the cardinals build a bulky and loosely made nest, usually in the
+holly, laurel, or other evergreen shrubs that they always love to
+frequent, especially if these are near fields of corn or other grain.
+And often two broods in a year come forth from the pale-gray,
+brown-marked eggs, bearing what is literally for them the "fatal gift
+of beauty."
+
+
+    Summer Tanager
+
+    (_Piranga rubra_) Tanager family
+
+    _Called also_: REDBIRD; SMOOTH-HEADED REDBIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Uniform red. Wings and tail like the body.
+
+    _Female_--Upper parts yellowish olive-green; underneath
+       inclining to orange-yellow.
+
+    _Range_--Tropical portions of two Americas and eastern United
+       States. Most common in Southern States. Rare north of
+       Pennsylvania. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--In Southern States: April. October. Irregular
+       migrant north of the Carolinas.
+
+Thirty years ago, it is recorded that so far north as New Jersey the
+summer redbird was quite as common as any of the thrushes. In the
+South still there is scarcely an orchard that does not contain this
+tropical-looking beauty--the redbird _par excellence_, the sweetest
+singer of the family. Is there a more beautiful sight in all nature
+than a grove of orange trees laden with fruit, starred with their
+delicious blossoms, and with flocks of redbirds disporting themselves
+among the dark, glossy leaves? Pine and oak woods are also favorite
+resorts, especially at the north, where the bird nowadays forsakes the
+orchards to hide his beauty, if he can, unharmed by the rifle that
+only rarely is offered so shining a mark. He shows the scarlet
+tanager's preference for tree-tops, where his musical voice, calling
+"_Chicky-tucky-tuk_," alone betrays his presence in the woods. The
+Southern farmers declare that he is an infallible weather prophet, his
+"_WET, WET, WET_," being the certain indication of rain--another
+absurd saw, for the call-note is by no means confined to the rainy
+season.
+
+The yellowish-olive mate, whose quiet colors betray no nest secrets,
+collects twigs and grasses for the cradle to be saddled on the end of
+some horizontal branch, though in this work the male sometimes
+cautiously takes an insignificant part. After her three or four eggs
+are laid she sits upon them for nearly two weeks, being only rarely
+and stealthily visited by her mate with some choice grub, blossom, or
+berry in his beak. But how cheerfully his fife-like whistle rings out
+during the temporary exile! Then his song is at its best. Later in the
+summer he has an aggravating way of joining in the chorus of other
+birds' songs, by which the pleasant individuality of his own voice is
+lost.
+
+A nest of these tanagers, observed not far from New York City, was
+commenced the last week of May on the extreme edge of a hickory limb
+in an open wood; four eggs were laid on the fourth of June, and twelve
+days later the tiny fledglings, that all look like their mother in the
+early stages of their existence, burst from the greenish-white,
+speckled shells. In less than a month the young birds were able to fly
+quite well and collect their food.
+
+
+   [Illustration: MOTHER OVENBIRD IN NEST; A BABY BIRD ON IT.]
+
+   [Illustration: THE ROBIN'S MUD-WALLED NURSERY]
+
+
+    Scarlet Tanager
+
+    (_Piranga erythromelas_) Tanager family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-WINGED REDBIRD; FIREBIRD; CANADA TANAGER;
+       POCKET-BIRD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 199)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--_In spring plumage_: Brilliant scarlet, with black
+       wings and tail. Under wing coverts grayish white. _In autumn_:
+       Similar to female.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-green above; wings and tail dark, lightly
+       margined with olive. Underneath greenish yellow.
+
+    _Range_--North America to northern Canada boundaries, and
+       southward in winter to South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Summer resident.
+
+The gorgeous coloring of the scarlet tanager has been its snare and
+destruction. The densest evergreens could not altogether hide this
+blazing target for the sportsman's gun, too often fired at the
+instigation of city milliners. "Fine feathers make fine birds"--and
+cruel, silly women, the adage might be adapted for latter-day use.
+This rarely beautiful tanager, thanks to them, is now only an
+infrequent flash of beauty in our country roads.
+
+Instinct leads it to be chary of its charms; and whereas it used to be
+one of the commonest of bird neighbors, it is now shy and solitary. An
+ideal resort for it is a grove of oak or swamp maple near a stream or
+pond where it can bathe. Evergreen trees, too, are favorites, possibly
+because the bird knows how exquisitely its bright scarlet coat is set
+off by their dark background.
+
+High in the tree-tops he perches, all unsuspected by the visitor
+passing through the woods below, until a burst of rich, sweet melody
+directs the opera-glasses suddenly upward. There we detect him
+carolling loud and cheerfully, like a robin. He is an apparition of
+beauty--a veritable bird of paradise, as, indeed, he is sometimes
+called. Because of their similar coloring, the tanager and cardinal
+are sometimes confounded, but an instant's comparison of the two birds
+shows nothing in common except red feathers, and even those of quite
+different shades. The inconspicuous olive-green and yellow of the
+female tanager's plumage is another striking instance of Nature's
+unequal distribution of gifts; but if our bright-colored birds have
+become shockingly few under existing conditions, would any at all
+remain were the females prominent, like the males, as they brood upon
+the nest? Both tanagers construct a rather disorderly-looking nest of
+fibres and sticks, through which daylight can be seen where it rests
+securely upon the horizontal branch of some oak or pine tree; but as
+soon as three or four bluish-green eggs have been laid in the cradle,
+off goes the father, wearing his tell-tale coat, to a distant tree.
+There he sings his sweetest carol to the patient, brooding mate,
+returning to her side only long enough to feed her with the insects
+and berries that form their food.
+
+Happily for the young birds' fate, they are clothed at first in
+motley, dull colors, with here and there only a bright touch of
+scarlet, yellow, and olive to prove their claim to the parent whose
+gorgeous plumage must be their admiration. But after the moulting
+season it would be a wise tanager that knew its own father.
+His scarlet feathers are now replaced by an autumn coat of olive
+and yellow not unlike his mate's.
+
+
+    Pine Grosbeak
+
+    (_Pinicola enucleator_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PINE BULLFINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--Variously recorded from 6.5 to 11 inches. Specimen
+       measured 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--General color strawberry-red, with some slate-gray
+       fleckings about head, under wings, and on legs. Tail brown;
+       wings brown, marked with black and white and slate. A
+       band-shaped series of markings between the shoulders.
+       Underneath paler red, merging into grayish green. Heavy,
+       conspicuous bill.
+
+    _Female_--Ash-brown. Head and hind neck yellowish brown, each
+       feather having central dusky streak. Cheeks and throat
+       yellowish. Beneath ash-gray, tinged with brownish yellow
+       under tail.
+
+    _Range_--British American provinces and northern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Irregular winter visitors; length of visits as
+       uncertain as their coming.
+
+As inseparable as bees from flowers, so are these beautiful winter
+visitors from the evergreen woods, where their red feathers, shining
+against the dark-green background of the trees, give them charming
+prominence; but they also feed freely upon the buds of various
+deciduous trees.
+
+South of Canada we may not look for them except in the severest winter
+weather. Even then their coming is not to be positively depended upon;
+but when their caprice--or was it an unusually fierce northern
+blast?--sends them over the Canada border, it is a simple matter to
+identify them when such brilliant birds are rare. The brownish-yellow
+and grayish females and young males, however, always seem to be in the
+majority with us, though our Canadian friends assure us of the
+irreproachable morals of this gay bird.
+
+Wherever there are clusters of pine or cedar trees, when there is a
+flock of pine grosbeaks in the neighborhood, you may expect to find a
+pair of birds diligently feeding upon the seeds and berries. No
+cheerful note escapes them as they persistently gormandize, and, if
+the truth must be confessed, they appear to be rather stupid and
+uninteresting, albeit they visit us at a time when we are most
+inclined to rapture over our bird visitors. They are said to have a
+deliciously sweet song in the nesting season. When, however, few
+except the Canadian _voyageurs_ hear it.
+
+
+    American Crossbill
+
+    (_Loxia curvirostra minor_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: RED CROSSBILL
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 226)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--General color Indian red, passing into brownish gray,
+       with red tinge beneath. Wings (without bands), also tail,
+       brown. Beak crossed at the tip.
+
+    _Female_--General color greenish yellow, with brownish tints.
+       Dull-yellowish tints on head, throat, breast, and underneath.
+       Wings and tail pale brown. Beak crossed at tip.
+
+    _Range_--Pennsylvania to northern British America. West of
+       Mississippi, range more southerly.
+
+    _Migrations_--Irregular winter visitor. November. Sometimes
+       resident until April.
+
+It is a rash statement to say that a bird is rare simply because you
+have never seen it in your neighborhood, for while you are going out
+of the front door your _rara avis_ may be eating the crumbs about your
+kitchen. Even with our eyes and ears constantly alert for some fresh
+bird excitement, our phlegmatic neighbor over the way may be enjoying
+a visit from a whole flock of the very bird we have been looking and
+listening for in vain all the year. The red crossbills are capricious
+little visitors, it is true, but by no means uncommon.
+
+About the size of an English sparrow, of a brick or Indian red color,
+for the most part, the peculiarity of its parrot-like beak is its
+certain mark of identification.
+
+Longfellow has rendered into verse the German legend of the crossbill,
+which tells that as the Saviour hung upon the cross, a little bird
+tried to pull out the nails that pierced His hands and feet, thus
+twisting its beak and staining its feathers with the blood.
+
+At first glance the birds would seem to be hampered by their crossed
+beaks in getting at the seeds in the pine cones--a superficial
+criticism when the thoroughness and admirable dexterity of their work
+are better understood.
+
+Various seeds of fruits, berries, and the buds of trees enlarge their
+bill of fare. They are said to be inordinately fond of salt. Mr.
+Romeyn B. Hough tells of a certain old ice-cream freezer that
+attracted flocks of crossbills one winter, as a salt-lick attracts
+deer. Whether the traditional salt that may have stuck to the bird's
+tail is responsible for its tameness is not related, but it is certain
+the crossbills, like most bird visitors from the far north, are
+remarkably gentle, friendly little birds. As they swing about the pine
+trees, parrot-fashion, with the help of their bill, calling out _kimp,
+kimp_, that sounds like the snapping of the pine cones on a sunny day,
+it often seems easily possible to catch them with the hand.
+
+There is another species of crossbill, called the White-winged (_Loxia
+leucoptera_), that differs from the preceding chiefly in having two
+white bands across its wings and in being more rare.
+
+
+    The Redpoll
+
+    (_Acanthis linaria_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: REDPOLL LINNET; LITTLE SNOWBIRD; LESSER REDPOLL
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 25)
+
+
+    _Length_--5.25 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--A rich crimson wash on head, neck, breast, and lower
+       back, that is sometimes only a pink when we see the bird in
+       midwinter. Grayish-brown, sparrowy feathers show underneath
+       the red wash. Dusky wings and tail, the feathers more or less
+       edged with whitish. Soiled white underneath; the sides with
+       dusky streaks. Bill sharply pointed.
+
+    _Female_--More dingy than male, sides more heavily streaked,
+       and having crimson only on the crown.
+
+    _Range_--An arctic bird that descends irregularly into the
+       northern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--An irregular winter visitor.
+
+"Ere long, amid the cold and powdery snow, as it were a fruit of the
+season, will come twittering a flock of delicate crimson-tinged birds,
+lesser redpolls, to sport and feed on the buds just ripe for them on
+the sunny side of a wood, shaking down the powdery snow there in their
+cheerful feeding, as if it were high midsummer to them." Thoreau's
+beautiful description of these tiny winter visitors, which should be
+read entire, shows the man in one of his most sympathetic, exalted
+moods, and it is the best brief characterization of the redpoll that
+we have.
+
+When the arctic cold becomes too cruel for even the snowbirds and
+crossbills to withstand, flocks of the sociable little redpolls flying
+southward are the merest specks in the sullen, gray sky, when they can
+be seen at all. So high do they keep that often they must pass above
+our heads without our knowing it. First we see a quantity of tiny
+dots, like a shake of pepper, in the cloud above, then the specks grow
+larger and larger, and finally the birds seem to drop from the sky
+upon some tall tree that they completely cover--a veritable cloudburst
+of birds. Without pausing to rest after the long journey, down they
+flutter into the weedy pastures with much cheerful twittering, to feed
+upon whatever seeds may be protruding through the snow. Every action
+of a flock seems to be concerted, as if some rigid disciplinarian had
+drilled them, and yet no leader can be distinguished in the merry
+company. When one flies, all fly; where one feeds, all feed, and by
+some subtle telepathy all rise at the identical instant from their
+feeding ground and cheerfully twitter in concert where they all alight
+at once. They are more easily disturbed than the goldfinches, that are
+often seen feeding with them in the lowlands; nevertheless, they quite
+often venture into our gardens and orchards, even in suburbs
+penetrated by the trolley-car.
+
+Usually in winter we hear only their lisping call-note; but if the
+birds linger late enough in the spring, when their "fancy lightly
+turns to thoughts of love," a gleeful, canary-like song comes from the
+naked branches, and we may know by it that the flock will soon
+disappear for their nesting grounds in the northern forests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Greater Redpoll (_Acanthis linaria rostrata_) may be distinguished
+from the foregoing species by its slightly larger size, darker upper
+parts, and shorter, stouter bill. But the notes, habits, and general
+appearance of both redpolls are so nearly identical that the birds are
+usually mistaken for each other.
+
+
+    Purple Finch
+
+    (_Carpodacus purpureus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PURPLE LINNET
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 226a)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.25 inches. About the same size as the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_Until two years old_, sparrow-like in appearance like
+       the female, but with olive-yellow on chin and lower back.
+       _Afterwards_ entire body suffused with a bright raspberry-red,
+       deepest on head, lower back, and breast, and other parts only
+       faintly washed with this color. More brown on back; and wings
+       and tail, which are dusky, have some reddish-brown feathers.
+       Underneath grayish white. Bill heavy. Tail forked.
+
+    _Female_--Grayish olive-brown above; whitish below; finely
+       streaked everywhere with very dark brown, like a sparrow.
+       Sides of breast have arrow-shaped marks. Wings and tail
+       darkest.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Columbia River eastward to
+       Atlantic, and from Mexico northward to Manitoba. Most common
+       in Middle States and New England. Winters south of
+       Pennsylvania.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Common summer resident. Rarely
+       individuals winter at the north.
+
+In this "much be-sparrowed country" of ours familiarity is apt to
+breed contempt for any bird that looks sparrowy, in which case one of
+the most delicious songsters we have might easily be overlooked. It is
+not until the purple finch reaches maturity in his second year that
+his plumage takes on the raspberry-red tints that some ornithologists
+named purple. Oriental purple is our magenta, it is true, but not a
+raspberry shade. Before maturity, but for the yellow on his lower back
+and throat, he and his mate alike suggest a song-sparrow; and it is
+important to note their particularly heavy, rounded bills, with the
+tufts of feathers at the base, and their forked tails, to name them
+correctly. But the identification of the purple finch, after all,
+depends quite as much upon his song as his color. In March, when
+flocks of these birds come north, he has begun to sing a little; by
+the beginning of May he is desperately in love, and sudden, joyous
+peals of music from the elm or evergreen trees on the lawn enliven the
+garden. How could his little brown lady-love fail to be impressed with
+a suitor so gayly dressed, so tender and solicitous, so deliciously
+sweet-voiced? With fuller, richer song than the warbling vireo's,
+which Nuttall has said it resembles, a perfect ecstasy of love pours
+incessantly from his throat during the early summer days. There is a
+suggestion of the robin's love-song in his, but its copiousness,
+variety, and rapidity give it a character all its own.
+
+In some old, neglected hedge or low tree about the country-place a
+flat, grassy nest, lined with horsehair, contains four or five green
+eggs in June, and the old birds are devotion itself to each other, and
+soon to their young, sparrowy brood.
+
+But when parental duties are over, the finches leave our lawns and
+gardens to join flocks of their own kind in more remote orchards or
+woods, their favorite haunts. Their subdued warble may be heard during
+October and later, as if the birds were humming to themselves.
+
+Much is said of their fondness for fruit blossoms and tree buds, but
+the truth is that noxious insects and seeds of grain constitute their
+food in summer, the berries of evergreens in winter. To a bird so gay
+of color, charming of voice, social, and trustful of disposition,
+surely a few blossoms might be spared without grudging.
+
+
+    The American Robin
+
+    (_Merula migratoria_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: RED-BREASTED OR MIGRATORY THRUSH;
+       ROBIN-REDBREAST
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 219 and 226b)
+
+
+    _Length_--10 inches.
+
+    _Male_--Dull brownish olive-gray above. Head black; tail
+       brownish black, with exterior feathers white at inner tip.
+       Wings dark brownish. Throat streaked with black and white.
+       White eyelids. Entire breast bright rusty red; whitish below
+       the tail.
+
+    _Female_--Duller and with paler breast, resembling the male in
+       autumn.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Mexico to arctic regions.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October or November. Often resident
+       throughout the year.
+
+It seems almost superfluous to write a line of description about a
+bird that is as familiar as a chicken; yet how can this nearest of our
+bird neighbors be passed without a reference? Probably he was the very
+first bird we learned to call by name.
+
+The early English colonists, who had doubtless been brought up, like
+the rest of us, on "The Babes in the Wood," named the bird after the
+only heroes in that melancholy tale; but in reality the American robin
+is a much larger bird than the English robin-redbreast and less
+brilliantly colored. John Burroughs calls him, of all our birds, "the
+most native and democratic."
+
+How the robin dominates birddom with his strong, aggressive
+personality! His voice rings out strong and clear in the early morning
+chorus, and, more tenderly subdued at twilight, it still rises above
+all the sleepy notes about him. Whether lightly tripping over the lawn
+after the "early worm," or rising with his sharp, quick cry of alarm,
+when startled, to his nest near by, every motion is decided, alert,
+and free. No pensive hermit of the woods, like his cousins, the
+thrushes, is this joyous vigorous "bird of the morning." Such a
+presence is inspiriting. Does any bird excel the robin in the great
+variety of his vocal expressions? Mr. Parkhurst, in his charming
+"Birds' Calendar," says he knows of "no other bird that is able to
+give so many shades of meaning to a single note, running through the
+entire gamut of its possible feelings. From the soft and mellow
+quality, almost as coaxing as a dove's note, with which it encourages
+its young when just out of the nest, the tone, with minute gradations,
+becomes more vehement, and then harsh and with quickened reiteration,
+until it expresses the greatest intensity of a bird's emotions. Love,
+contentment, anxiety, exultation, rage--what other bird can throw such
+multifarious meaning into its tone? And herein the robin seems more
+nearly human than any of its kind."
+
+There is no one thing that attracts more birds about the house than a
+drinking-dish--large enough for a bathtub as well; and certainly no
+bird delights in sprinkling the water over his back more than a robin,
+often aided in his ablutions by the spattering of the sparrows. But
+see to it that this drinking-dish is well raised above the reach of
+lurking cats.
+
+While the robin is a famous splasher, his neatness stops there. A
+robin's nest is notoriously dirty within, and so carelessly
+constructed of weed-stalks, grass, and mud, that a heavy summer shower
+brings more robins' nests to the ground than we like to contemplate.
+The color of the eggs, as every one knows, has given their name to the
+tint. Four is the number of eggs laid, and two broods are often reared
+in the same nest.
+
+Too much stress is laid on the mischief done by the robins in the
+cherry trees and strawberry patches, and too little upon the quantity
+of worms and insects they devour. Professor Treadwell, who
+experimented upon some young robins kept in captivity, learned that
+they ate sixty-eight earthworms daily--"that is, each bird ate
+forty-one per cent. more than its own weight in twelve hours! The
+length of these worms, if laid end to end, would be about fourteen
+feet. Man, at this rate, would eat about seventy pounds of flesh a
+day, and drink five or six gallons of water."
+
+
+   [Illustration: RED CROSSBILL]
+
+   [Illustration: PURPLE FINCH (Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure,
+      Female)]
+
+   [Illustration: ROBIN]
+
+   [Illustration: ORCHARD ORIOLE (Upper figure, adult male; middle
+      figure, young male; Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+
+    Orchard Oriole
+
+    (_Icterus spurius_) Blackbird and Oriole family
+
+    _Called also_: ORCHARD STARLING; ORCHARD HANG-NEST
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.3 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Head, throat, upper back, tail, and part of wings
+       black. Breast, rump, shoulders, under wing and tail coverts,
+       and under parts bright reddish brown. Whitish-yellow markings
+       on a few tail and wing feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Head and upper parts olive, shading into brown;
+       brighter on head and near tail. Back and wings dusky brown,
+       with pale-buff shoulder-bars and edges of coverts. Throat
+       black. Under parts olive, shading into yellow.
+
+    _Range_--Canada to Central America. Common in temperate
+       latitudes of the United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Middle of September. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+With a more southerly range than the Baltimore oriole and less
+conspicuous coloring, the orchard oriole is not so familiar a bird in
+many Northern States, where, nevertheless, it is quite common enough
+to be classed among our would-be intimates. The orchard is not always
+as close to the house as this bird cares to venture; he will pursue an
+insect even to the piazza vines.
+
+His song, says John Burroughs, is like scarlet, "strong, intense,
+emphatic," but it is sweet and is more rapidly uttered than that of
+others of the family. It is ended for the season early in July.
+
+This oriole, too, builds a beautiful nest, not often pendent like the
+Baltimore's, but securely placed in the fork of a sturdy fruit tree,
+at a moderate height, and woven with skill and precision, like a
+basket. When the dried grasses from one of these nests were stretched
+and measured, all were found to be very nearly the same length,
+showing to what pains the little weaver had gone to make the nest neat
+and pliable, yet strong. Four cloudy-white eggs with dark-brown spots
+are usually found in the nest in June.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+    _The figures in black-faced type indicate the page upon which
+     the biography of the bird is given._
+
+
+  Accentor, Golden-crowned (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+
+
+  Bellbird (_see_ Wood Thrush), 123.
+
+  Bird, Blue (_see_ Bluebird), 99.
+    Butcher (_see_ Northern Shrike), 87.
+    Butter (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+    Cardinal (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+    Cedar, 9, 19, 20, 21, 27, 29, 36, =144=.
+    Cow-pen (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    Grass (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 162.
+    Grease (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+    Meadow (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+    Meat (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+    Moose (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+    Myrtle (_see_ Myrtle Warbler), 92.
+    Peabody (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 165.
+    Potato Bug (_see_ Rose-breasted Grosbeak), 60.
+    Thistle (_see_ American Goldfinch), 190.
+
+  Blackbird (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+    and Oriole family, 6.
+    Cow (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    Crow (_see_ Purple Grackle), 44.
+    Red-winged, 6, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 32, 36, =47=.
+    Rusty, 6, 22, 28, 30, 32, 36, =46=.
+    Skunk (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+    Swamp (_see_ Red-winged Blackbird), 47.
+    Thrush (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Black-cap (_see_ Wilson's Warbler), 202.
+
+  Bluebird, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 36, =99=.
+
+  Bobolink, 7, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 36, =61=.
+
+  Bull-bat (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Bullfinch, Pine (_see_ Pine Grosbeak), 219.
+
+  Bunting, Bay-winged (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 162.
+    Cow (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    Field (_see_ Field Sparrow), 152.
+    Indigo, 8, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =101=.
+
+  Bunting, Lapland Lark (_see_ Lapland Longspur), 148.
+    Savanna (_see_ Savanna Sparrow), 155.
+    Snow (_see_ Snowflake), 59.
+    Towhee (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+    Tree (_see_ Tree Sparrow), 161.
+
+  Buntings, the, 7.
+
+
+  Camp Robber (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+
+  Canary, Wild (_see_ American Goldfinch), 190.
+
+  Cardinal (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+
+  Carrion-bird, Canadian (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+
+  Catbird, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 36, =80=.
+
+  Catbirds, the, 12.
+
+  Cedar Bird (_see_ Bird, Cedar), 144.
+
+  Chat, Polyglot (_see_ Yellow-breasted Chat), 206.
+    Yellow-breasted, 12, 19, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 36, =206=.
+
+  Chebec (_see_ Least Flycatcher), 75.
+
+  Cherry-bird (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+
+  Chewink, 8, 21, 29, 30, 32, 36, 58.
+
+  Chickadee, 14, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, =76=.
+    family (_see_ Titmouse family), 13.
+
+  Chip-bird (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+
+  Chipper, Arctic (_see_ Tree Sparrow), 161.
+
+  Chippy (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+    Meadow (_see_ Seaside Sparrow), 156.
+    Winter (_see_ Tree Sparrow), 161.
+
+  Clape (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Corn Thief (_see_ Common Crow), 41.
+
+  Cowbird, 7, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 31, 36, =49=.
+
+  Creeper, Brown, 13, 20, 21, 28, 35, =145=.
+    family, 13.
+
+  Crossbill, American, 8, 19, 20, 28, =220=.
+    Red (_see_ American Crossbill), 220.
+    White-winged Red, 8, 19, 20, 28, =221=.
+
+  Crossbills, the, 7, 21, 35.
+
+  Crow and Jay family, 6.
+
+  Crow, Common, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 36, =41=.
+    Fish, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 36, 42.
+    Rain (_see_ Black-billed Cuckoo) 139; also Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 141.
+    Rusty (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Cuckoo family, 3.
+    Black-billed, 3, 19, 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =139=.
+    Yellow-billed, 3, 19, 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =141=.
+
+
+  Devil Downhead (_see_ White-breasted Nuthatch), 84.
+
+  Dove, Carolina (_see_ Mourning Dove), =108=.
+    family (see Pigeon and Dove family), 15.
+    Mourning, 15, 21, 22, 28, 36, =108=.
+    Turtle (_see_ Mourning Dove), 108.
+
+
+  Finch family, 7.
+    Ferruginous (_see_ Fox Sparrow), 153.
+    Foxy (_see_ Fox Sparrow), 153.
+    Gold (_see_ Goldfinch), 190.
+    Grass (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 162.
+    Pine (_see_ Pine Siskin), 146.
+    Purple, 8, 19, 20, 21, 23, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, =223=.
+    Seaside (_see_ Seaside Sparrow), 156.
+    Swamp (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+    Towhee Ground (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+
+  Firebird (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+
+  Flicker, 4, 19, 21, 22, 27, 28, 30, 32, 36, =130=.
+
+  Flycatcher, Acadian, 5, 19, 22, 28, 31, 35, =182=.
+    Canadian (_see_ Canadian Warbler), 194.
+    Crested (_see_ Great Crested Flycatcher), 72.
+    Dusky (_see_ Ph[oe]be), 71.
+    family, 5, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.
+    Great Crested, 5, 19, 20, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, =72=.
+    Least, 5, 19, 20, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, =75=.
+    Olive-sided, 5, 19, 28, 31, 36, =74=.
+    Say's, 5, 19, 22, 28, =72=.
+    Small Green-crested (_see_ Acadian Flycatcher), 182.
+    Sylvan (_see_ Blue-gray Gnatcatcher), 110.
+    Tyrant (_see_ Kingbird), 68.
+    Wilson's (_see_ Wilson's Warbler), 202.
+    Yellow-bellied, 5, 19, 22, 28, 31, 35, =183=.
+
+
+  Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray, 14, 19, 20, 22, 29, 35, =110=.
+
+  Gnatcatcher family, 14.
+
+  Goatsucker family, 4.
+    Long-winged (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Goldcrest, Golden-crowned (_see_ Golden-crowned Kinglet), 174.
+
+  Goldfinch, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, =190=.
+    European, 191.
+
+  Grackle, Bronzed, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 32, 36, =46=.
+    Keel-tailed (_see_ Purple Grackle), 44.
+    Purple, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 32, 36, =44=.
+    Rusty (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Grasel (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+
+  Grass-bird, Red (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+
+  Greenlet family (_see_ Vireo family), 10.
+
+  Grosbeak, Blue, 8, 28, 36, =105=.
+    Cardinal, 8, 21, 27, 28, 29, 36, =215=.
+    Evening, 8, 28, 36, =192=.
+    Pine, 8, 20, 27, 36, =219=.
+    Rose-breasted, 8, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =60=.
+
+  Grosbeaks, the, 7, 19, 20, 21.
+
+
+  Hair-bird (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+
+  Halcyon (_see_ Belted Kingfisher), 102.
+
+  Hang-nest (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Orchard (_see_ Orchard Oriole), 227.
+
+  Hawk, Mosquito (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Heron, Venison (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+
+  High-hole or High-holder (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Humming-bird family, 5.
+    Ruby-throated, 5, 19, 21, 28, 30, 31, 35, =170=.
+
+
+  Indigo Bird (_see_ Indigo Bunting), 101.
+
+
+  Jay, Blue, 6, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 36, =104=.
+    Canada, 6, 20, 21, 22, 28, 36, =79=.
+    family (_see_ Crow and Jay family), 6.
+
+  Junco, 8, 21, 22, 27, 31, 35, =83=.
+
+
+  Kingbird, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 35, =68=.
+
+  Kingfisher, Belted, 3, 20, 21, 23, 28, 30, 36, =102=.
+    family, 3.
+
+  Kinglet family, 14.
+    Golden-crowned, 14, 20, 21. 28, 32, 35, =174=.
+    Ruby-crowned, 14, 20, 21, 28, 30, 32, 35, =172=.
+
+
+  Lark, Brown or Red (_see_ American Pipit), 135.
+    family, 5.
+    Field (_see_ Meadowlark), 132.
+    Horned, 6, 21, 22, 23, 27, 31, 36, =134=.
+    Meadow (_see_ Meadowlark), 132.
+    Oldfield (_see_ Meadowlark), 132.
+    Pine (_see_ Pine Siskin), 146.
+    Prairie (_see_ Western Meadowlark), 133.
+    Prairie Horned, 6, 22, 27, 29, =135=.
+    Purple (_see_ Purple Finch), 223.
+    Redpoll (_see_ Redpoll), 222.
+    Shore (_see_ Horned Lark), 134.
+    Snow (_see_ Snowflake), 59.
+    Tit (_see_ American Pipit), 135.
+
+  Linnets, the, 7.
+
+  Longspur, Lapland, 8, 22, 28, 35, =148=.
+    Smith's Painted, 8, 22, 28, 35, =147=.
+
+
+  Maize Thief (_see_ Purple Grackle), 44.
+
+  Martin, Bee (_see_ Kingbird), 68.
+    Purple, 9, 19, 21, 29, 30, 31, 36, =48=.
+    Sand (_see_ Bank Swallow), 143.
+
+  Mavis (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+
+  Maybird (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+
+  Meadowlark, 7, 21, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, 32, 36, =132=.
+    Western, 7, 21, 22, 23, 27, 29, 36, =133=.
+
+  Mocking-bird, 12, 19, 20, 21, 29, 36, =81=.
+    Brown (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    French (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    Yellow, 206.
+
+  Mocking-birds, the, 12.
+
+
+  Nighthawk, 4, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 36, =138=.
+
+  Nightingale, European, 125.
+    Virginia (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+
+  Nightjar (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Nine-killer (_see_ Northern Shrike), 87.
+
+  Nuthatch, Canada (_see_ Red-breasted Nuthatch), 85.
+    family, 13, 21.
+    Red-breasted, 13, 20, 28, 32, 35, =85=.
+    White-breasted, 13, 20, 27, 29, 32, 35, =84=.
+
+
+  Oriole, Baltimore, 7, 19, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =211=.
+    Brown-headed (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    family (_see_ Blackbird and Oriole family), 6.
+    Golden (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Orchard, 7, 19, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =227=.
+    Red-winged (_see_ Red-winged Blackbird), 47.
+    Rusty (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Ortolan, American (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+
+  Ovenbird, 12, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =180=.
+
+
+  Pewee, Bridge (_see_ Ph[oe]be), 71.
+    Small (_see_ Acadian Flycatcher), 182.
+    Water (_see_ Ph[oe]be), 71.
+    Wood, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 36, =69=.
+
+  Ph[oe]be, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 32, 35, =71=.
+    Say's, 72.
+
+  Pigeon and Dove family, 15.
+
+  Pipit, American, 12, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 35, =135=.
+
+  Pipits, the, 12.
+
+  Piramidig (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Pisk (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Pocket-bird (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+
+  Preacher, the (_see_ Red-eyed Vireo), 176.
+
+
+  Raven, American, 6, 19, 20, 28, 36, =43=.
+    Northern (_see_ American Raven), 43.
+    White-necked, 44.
+
+  Récollet (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+
+  Redbird, Black-winged (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+    Crested (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+    (_see_ Summer Tanager), 216.
+    Smooth-headed (_see_ Summer Tanager), 216.
+    Virginia (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+
+  Redhead (_see_ Red-headed Woodpecker) 53.
+
+  Redpoll, 8, 21, 22, 27, 35, =222=.
+    Greater, 8, 21, 22, 27, 35, =223=.
+    Lesser (_see_ Redpoll), =222=.
+
+  Redstart, 12, 19, 29, 31, 35, =210=.
+
+  Reedbird (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+
+  Robin, American, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, =225=.
+    Blue (_see_ Bluebird), 99.
+    Canada (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+    English (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Golden (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Ground (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+    Redbreast (_see_ American Robin), 225.
+    Wood (_see_ Wood Thrush), 123.
+
+
+  Sapsucker (_see_ Yellow-bellied Woodpecker), 57.
+
+  Shrike family, 9.
+    Loggerhead, 10, 19, 20, 21, 29, 36, =86=.
+    Northern, 10, 19, 20, 21, 27, 32, 36, =87=.
+
+  Silktail (_see_ Bohemian Waxwing), 88.
+
+  Siskin, Pine, 8, 20, 28, 32, 35, =146=.
+
+  Skylark, European, 5.
+
+  Snowbird (_see_ Junco), 83; also Snowflake, 59.
+    Lapland (_see_ Lapland Longspur), 148.
+    Little (_see_ Redpoll), 222.
+    Slate-colored (_see_ Junco), 83.
+
+  Snowflake, 8, 22, 27, 36, =59=.
+
+  Sparrow, Bush (_see_ Field Sparrow), 152.
+    Canada (see Tree Sparrow), 161;
+      also White-throated Sparrow, 165.
+    Chipping, 7, 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 30, 35, =149=.
+    English, 7, 20, 22, 27, 28, =151=.
+    Field, 7, 22, 28, 30, 32, =152=.
+    Fox, 7, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 32, 36, =153=.
+    Fox-colored (_see_ Fox Sparrow), =153=.
+    Grasshopper, 7, 22, 28, 31, 35, =154=.
+    House (_see_ English Sparrow), 151.
+    Marsh (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+    Savanna, 7, 22, 28, 32, 35, =155=.
+    Seaside, 7, 22, 28, 35, =156=.
+    Sharp-tailed, 7, 22, 28, 35, =157=.
+    Social (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+    Song, 8, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 30, 35, =158=.
+    Swamp (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+    Swamp Song, 8, 22, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35, =160=.
+    Tree, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 31, 35, =161=.
+    Vesper, 8, 20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31, 35, =162=.
+    White-crowned, 8, 20, 21, 22, 27, 32, 36, =164=.
+    White-throated, 8, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 36, =165=.
+    Wood (_see_ Field Sparrow), 152.
+    Yellow-winged (_see_ Grasshopper Sparrow), 154.
+
+  Sparrows, the, 7, 19, 21, 22.
+
+  Starling, 50
+    Orchard Starling, 227
+    Red-winged (_see_ Red-winged Blackbird), 47.
+
+  Swallow, Bank, 9, 19, 22, 23, 29, 30, 35, =143=.
+    Barn, 9, 19, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 35, =106=.
+    Chimney (_see_ Chimney Swift), 67.
+    Cliff, 9, 19, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =107=.
+    Crescent (_see_ Cliff Swallow), 107.
+    Eave (_see_ Cliff Swallow), 107.
+    family, 9, 20, 22, 23.
+    Rocky Mountain (_see_ Cliff Swallow), 107.
+    Rough-winged, 9, 19, 22, 23, 29, 35, =144=.
+    Sand (_see_ Bank Swallow), 143.
+    Tree, 9, 19, 22, 23, 29, 30, 35, =169=.
+    White-bellied (_see_ Tree Swallow), 169.
+
+  Swamp Angel (_see_ Hermit Thrush), 125.
+
+  Swift, American (_see_ Chimney Swift), 67.
+
+  Swift, Chimney, 5, 19, 21, 23, 28, 30, 31, 35, =67=.
+    family, 4.
+
+
+  Tanager, Canada (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+    family, 8, 21.
+    Scarlet, 8, 19, 28, 30, 31, 36, =218=.
+    Summer, 8, 19, 29, 36, =216=.
+
+  Teacher, the (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+
+  Thrasher, Brown, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 32, 36, =121=.
+
+  Thrashers, the, 12.
+
+  Thrush, Alice's, 15, 29, 30, 32, 36, =126=.
+    Aquatic (_see_ Northern Water Thrush), 129.
+    Black-capped (_see_ Catbird), 80.
+    Brown (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    family, 14, 19, 21.
+    Gray-cheeked (_see_ Alice's Thrush), 126.
+    Golden-crowned (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+    Ground (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    Hermit, 15, 29, 30, 31, 36, =125=.
+    Little (_see_ Hermit Thrush), 125.
+    Louisiana Water, 12, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =128=.
+    New York (_see_ Northern Water Thrush), 129.
+    Northern Water, 12, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =126=.
+    Olive-backed, 15, 29, 30, 32, 36, =127=.
+    Red (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    Red-breasted or Migratory (_see_ American Robin), 225.
+    Song (_see_ Wood Thrush), 123.
+    Swainson's (_see_ Olive-backed Thrush), 127.
+    Tawny (_see_ Wilson's Thrush), 122.
+    Wilson's, 15, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, =122=.
+    Wood, 15, 20, 21, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, =123=.
+
+  Tit, Black-capped (_see_ Chickadee), 76.
+
+  Titlark (_see_ American Pipit), 135.
+
+  Titmouse Black-capped (_see_ Chickadee), 76.
+    Crested (_see_ Tufted Titmouse), 78.
+    family, 13, 21.
+    Tufted, 14, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, =78=.
+
+  Tomtit, Crested (_see_ Tufted Titmouse), 78.
+
+  Torch-bird (_see_ Blackburnian Warbler), 209.
+
+  Towhee (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+
+  Tree-mouse (_see_ White-breasted Nuthatch), 84.
+
+  Tricolor (_see_ Red-headed Woodpecker), 53.
+
+  Veery (see Wilson's Thrush), 122.
+
+  Vireo, Blue-headed (_see_ Solitary Vireo), 175.
+    family, 10, 19, 21, 22.
+    Red-eyed, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =176=.
+    Solitary, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =175=.
+    Warbling, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =179=.
+    White-eyed, 10, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =177=.
+    Yellow-throated, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =189=.
+
+  Wagtail, Aquatic Wood (_see_ Northern Water Thrush), 129.
+    Golden-crowned (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+    Wood (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+
+  Wagtails, the, 12.
+
+  Wake-up (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Warbler, Bay-breasted, 11, 29, 30, 31, =90=.
+    Black-and-white Creeping, 10, 20, 29, 30, 31, =64=.
+    Black-and-yellow (_see_ Magnolia Warbler), 197.
+    Blackburnian, 11, 29, 31, =209=.
+    Black-masked Ground (_see_ Maryland Yellowthroat), 207.
+    Blackpoll, 11, 19, 20, 29, =63=.
+    Black-throated Blue, 11, 29, 30, 31, =95=.
+    Black-throated Green, 11, 29, 30, =184=.
+    Bloody-sided (_see_ Chestnut-sided Warbler), 90.
+    Blue-headed Yellow-rumped (_see_ Magnolia Warbler), 197.
+    Blue-winged, 11, 20, 29, =193=.
+    Blue-winged Yellow (_see_ Blue-winged Warbler), 193.
+    Blue Yellow-backed (_see_ Parula Warbler), 94.
+    Canadian, 11, 19, 22, 23, 29, 31, =194=.
+    Chestnut-sided, 11, 29, 30, 31, =90=.
+    Golden (_see_ Yellow Warbler), 204.
+    Golden-winged, 11, 29, 30, 31, =91=.
+    Green Black-capped (_see_ Wilson's Warbler), 202.
+    Hemlock (_see_ Blackburnian Warbler), 209.
+    Hooded, 11, 21, 22, 20, 31, =195=.
+    Kentucky, 11, 22, =196=.
+    Magnolia, 11, 29, 30, =197=.
+    Mourning, 11, 21, 22, 29, =198=.
+    Mourning Ground (_see_ Mourning Warbler), 198.
+    Myrtle, 11, 21, 27, 29, 30, =92=.
+    Nashville, 11, 29, =199=.
+    Orange-throated (_see_ Blackburnian Warbler), 209.
+    Palm, 11, 22, 29, =204=.
+    Parula, 11, 29, 30, 31, =94=.
+    Pine, 11, 20, 29, 30, 31, =200=.
+    Pine Creeping (_see_ Pine Warbler), 200.
+    Prairie, 11, 22, 29, 31, =201=.
+    Redpoll (_see_ Palm Warbler), 204.
+    Ruby-crowned (_see_ Ruby-crowned Kinglet), 172.
+    Spotted (_see_ Magnolia Warbler), 197.
+    Spotted Canadian (_see_ Canadian Warbler), 194.
+    Wilson's, 12, 19, 22, 23, 29, 31, =202=.
+    Worm-eating, 12, 20, 22, 29, 31, =181=.
+    Yellow, 12, 19, 20, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, =204=.
+    Yellow-crowned (_see_ Myrtle Warbler), 92.
+    Yellow Palm (_see_ Yellow Redpoll Warbler), 203.
+    Yellow Redpoll, 12, 22, 29, 30, 31, =203=.
+    Yellow-rumped (_see_ Myrtle Warbler), 92.
+    Yellow-tailed (_see_ Redstart), 210.
+
+  Waxwing, Black-throated (_see_ Bohemian Waxwing), 88.
+    Bohemian, 9, 19, 20, 27, 36, =88=.
+    Cedar (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+    family, 9.
+    Lapland (_see_ Bohemian Waxwing), 88.
+
+  Whisky Jack or John (_see_ Canada Jay) 79.
+
+  Whitebird (_see_ Snowflake), 59.
+
+  Whippoorwill, 4, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 31, 35, =136=.
+
+  Will-o'-the-Wisp (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Woodpecker, Downy, 4, 19, 27, 28, 35, =55=.
+    family, 3, 21, 22.
+    Golden-winged (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+    Hairy, 4, 19, 27, 28, 36, =54=.
+    Pigeon (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+    Red-headed, 4, 19, 27, 28, 30, 32, 36, =53=.
+    Yellow-bellied, 4, 19, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35, =57=.
+    Yellow-shafted (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Wood Warbler family, 10, 19, 20, 21, 35.
+
+  Wren, Carolina, 13, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, =116=.
+    family, 13, 19, 21, 22, 35.
+    Fiery-crowned (_see_ Golden-crowned Kinglet), 174.
+    House, 13, 20, 29, 30, 31, =115=.
+    Long-billed Marsh, 13, 22, 29, 30, 31, =119=.
+    Mocking (_see_ Carolina Wren), 116.
+    Ruby-crowned (_see_ Ruby-crowned Kinglet), 172.
+    Short-billed Marsh, 13, 29, 30, 31, =120=.
+    Winter, 13, 21, 22, 23, 28, 31, =117=.
+
+
+  Yarup (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Yellowbird (_see_ American Goldfinch) 190.
+    Summer (_see_ Yellow Warbler), 204.
+
+  Yellowhammer (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Yellow Poll (_see_ Yellow Warbler), 204.
+
+  Yellowthroat, Maryland, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, =207=.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+With the exception of the correction detailed below, the text is a
+transcription of the original printed book. Several minor corrections
+were made where punctuation was missing (comma or period) or
+formatting differed from that used for similar sections elsewhere.
+Several forms of the verb travel appear with an alternative spelling
+than is common in the present era. For example, travelled and
+travelling are used. The OE/oe ligatures are displayed as [OE] and
+[oe] respectively. The placeholders for the book's images were moved
+so that they are between the descriptive passages rather than interrupt
+the "flow" of the text by just moving them between paragraphs as is
+typically done.
+
+
+  Page  Correction
+  ===== ==================================
+   v    COLORED PLATES => COLOURED PLATES
+          and page number  xi => xviii
+  162   Pooc[oe]tes -- Po[oe]cetes
+  226   that => than
+  229   Vesper Sparrow => White-throated
+  232   Louisiana Water Thrush: 125 => 128
+  232   Northern Water Thrush:  126 => 129
+
+
+Emphasis Notation
+
+  _Text_  -  Italic
+
+  =Text=  -  Bold
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Neighbors, by Neltje Blanchan
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+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Neighbors, by Neltje Blanchan
+
+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 Neighbors
+       An Introductory Acquaintance with One Hundred and Fifity
+              Birds Commonly Found in the Gardens, Meadows, and Woods
+              About Our Homes
+
+Author: Neltje Blanchan
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2011 [EBook #37735]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD NEIGHBORS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tom Cosmas and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="book"><!-- Begin Book -->
+<a name="cover" id="cover"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="547" height="651" alt="cover" title="cover" />
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_GOLDFINCH" id="IMG_GOLDFINCH"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus001.png" width="413" height="615" alt="GOLDFINCH" title="GOLDFINCH" /><br />
+<span class="caption">GOLDFINCH</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+<div class="center">
+<div class="caption2">BIRD NEIGHBORS. AN INTRODUCTORY ACQUAINTANCE
+WITH ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BIRDS COMMONLY FOUND IN
+THE GARDENS, MEADOWS, AND WOODS ABOUT OUR HOMES</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">BY</div>
+<div class="caption2">NELTJE BLANCHAN</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption2">WITH INTRODUCTION BY<br />
+JOHN BURROUGHS</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">WITH MANY PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS<br />
+IN COLOR AND IN BLACK AND WHITE</div>
+<br />
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus002.png" width="120" height="127" alt="logo" title="logo" />
+</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">GARDEN CITY  NEW YORK<br />
+DOUBLEDAY, PAGE &amp; COMPANY<br />
+1923</div>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+<div class="center">
+<div class="caption3">COPYRIGHT, 1904, 1922, BY<br />
+DOUBLEDAY, PAGE &amp; COMPANY</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY<br />
+DOUBLEDAY &amp; MCCLURE COMPANY</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">COLOURED PLATES COPYRIGHTED, 1897, BY<br />
+THE NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY<br />
+CHICAGO, ILL.</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION<br />
+INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN</div>
+<br />
+<div class="caption3">PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES<br />
+AT<br />
+THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.</div>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="TOC" id="TOC"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">TABLE OF CONTENTS</div>
+
+<table width="100%" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td><td class="text_rt">PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a></td><td class="text_rt">vii</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION BY JOHN BURROUGHS</a></td><td class="text_rt">ix</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="#LIST_OF_COLOURED_PLATES">LIST OF COLOURED PLATES</a></td><td class="text_rt">xviii</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_rt">I.</td><td><a href="#BIRD_FAMILIES">BIRD FAMILIES:</a></td><td class="text_rt">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>Their Characteristics and the Representatives of Each Family included in "Bird Neighbors"</td><td class="text_rt">1</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_rt">II.</td><td><a href="#HABITATS_OF_BIRDS">HABITATS OF BIRDS</a></td><td class="text_rt">17</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_rt">III.</td><td><a href="#SEASONS_OF_BIRDS">SEASONS OF BIRDS</a></td><td class="text_rt">25</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_rt">IV.</td><td><a href="#BIRDS_GROUPED_ACCORDING_TO_SIZE">BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZE</a></td><td class="text_rt">33</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_rt">V.</td><td colspan="2"><a href="#BIRDS_GROUPED_ACCORDING_TO_COLOR">DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR:</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_BLACK">Birds Conspicuously Black</a></td><td class="text_rt">39</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_BLACK_AND_WHITE">Birds Conspicuously Black and White</a></td><td class="text_rt">51</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#DUSKY_GRAY_AND_SLATE-COLORED_BIRDS">Dusky, Gray, and Slate-colored Birds</a></td><td class="text_rt">65</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#BLUE_AND_BLUISH_BIRDS">Blue and Bluish Birds</a></td><td class="text_rt">97</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#GRAY_SPARROWY_BIRDS">Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds</a></td><td class="text_rt">113</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#GREEN_BIRDS">Green, Greenish Gray, Olive, and Yellowish Olive Birds</a></td><td class="text_rt">167</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_YELLOW_AND_ORANGE">Birds Conspicuously Yellow and Orange</a></td><td class="text_rt">187</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><a href="#BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_RED">Birds Conspicuously Red of any Shade</a></td><td class="text_rt">213</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="#INDEX">INDEX</a></td><td class="text_rt">229</td></tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">PREFACE</div>
+
+<p>Not to have so much as a bowing acquaintance with the birds that nest
+in our gardens or under the very eaves of our houses; that haunt our
+wood-piles; keep our fruit-trees free from slugs; waken us with their
+songs, and enliven our walks along the roadside and through the woods,
+seems to be, at least, a breach of etiquette toward some of our most
+kindly disposed neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>Birds of prey, game and water birds are not included in the book. The
+following pages are intended to be nothing more than a familiar
+introduction to the birds that live near us. Even in the principal
+park of a great city like New York, a bird-lover has found more than
+one hundred and thirty species; as many, probably, as could be
+discovered in the same sized territory anywhere.</p>
+
+<p>The plan of the book is not a scientific one, if the term scientific
+is understood to mean technical and anatomical. The purpose of the
+writer is to give, in a popular and accessible form, knowledge which
+is accurate and reliable about the life of our common birds. This
+knowledge has not been collected from the stuffed carcasses of birds
+in museums, but gleaned afield. In a word, these short narrative
+descriptions treat of the bird's characteristics of size, color, and
+flight; its peculiarities of instinct and temperament; its nest and
+home life; its choice of food; its songs; and of the season in which
+we may expect it to play its part in the great panorama Nature unfolds
+with faithful precision year after year. They are an attempt to make
+the bird so live before the reader that, when seen out of doors, its
+recognition shall be instant and cordial, like that given to a friend.</p>
+
+<p>The coloring described in this book is sometimes more vivid than that
+found in the works of some learned authorities whose conflicting
+testimony is often sadly bewildering to the novice. In different parts
+of the country, and at different seasons of the year, the plumage of
+some birds undergoes many changes. The reader must remember,
+therefore, that the specimens examined and described were not, as
+before stated, the faded ones in our museums, but live birds in their
+fresh, spring plumage, studied afield.</p>
+
+<p>The birds have been classed into color groups, in the belief that this
+method, more than any other will make identification most easy. The
+color of the bird is the first, and often the only, characteristic
+noticed. But they have also been classified according to the
+localities for which they show decided preferences
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>
+and in which they are most likely to be found. Again, they have been
+grouped according to the season when they may be expected. In the
+brief paragraphs that deal with groups of birds separated into the
+various families represented in the book, the characteristics and
+traits of each clan are clearly emphasized. By these several aids it
+is believed the merest novice will be able to quickly identify any
+bird neighbor that is neither local nor rare.</p>
+
+<p>To the uninitiated or uninterested observer, all small, dull-colored
+birds are "common sparrows." The closer scrutiny of the trained eye
+quickly differentiates, and picks out not only the Song, the Canada,
+and the Fox Sparrows, but finds a dozen other familiar friends where
+one who "has eyes and sees not" does not even suspect their presence.
+Ruskin says: "The more I think of it, I find this conclusion more
+impressed upon me, that the greatest thing a human soul ever does in
+this world is to <i>see</i> something. Hundreds of people can talk for one
+who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see
+clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion&mdash;all in one."</p>
+
+<p>While the author is indebted to all the time-honored standard
+authorities, and to many ornithologists of the present day&mdash;too many
+for individual mention&mdash;it is to Mr. John Burroughs her deepest debt
+is due. To this clear-visioned prophet, who has opened the blind eyes
+of thousands to the delights that Nature holds within our easy reach,
+she would gratefully acknowledge many obligations; first of all, for
+the plan on which "Bird Neighbors" is arranged; next, for his patient
+kindness in reading and annotating the manuscript of the book; and,
+not least, for the inspiration of his perennially charming writings
+that are so largely responsible for the ready-made audience now
+awaiting writers on out-of-door topics.</p>
+
+<div class="center">&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</div>
+
+<p>It is hoped that the illustrations in this edition of "Bird Neighbors"
+will do much to add to the pleasure and profit of the reader. Through
+the courtesy of the National Association of Audubon Societies, the
+pictures painted by artists who are specialists in bird portraiture
+embellish this book. Each portrait has been examined and corrected
+when necessary by an authority. The birds are pictured as they are in
+life, each according to its own habit of existence.</p>
+
+<p>The author takes this opportunity to express her appreciation of the
+work the National Association of Audubon Societies has done and is
+doing to prevent the slaughter of birds in all parts of the United
+States, to develop bird sanctuaries and inaugurate protective
+legislation. Indeed to it, more than to all other agencies combined,
+is due the credit of eliminating so much of the Prussian like cruelty
+toward birds that once characterized American treatment of them, from
+the rising generation.</p>
+
+<div class="text_rt">NELTJE BLANCHAN.</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">THE NATURE LIBRARY</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">By JOHN BURROUGHS</div>
+
+<p>I do not propose in these introductory remarks to this Nature Library
+to discuss the merits or the character of the separate volumes further
+than to say that they are all by competent hands and, so far as I can
+judge, entirely reliable. While accurate and scientific, I have found
+them very readable. The treatment is popular without being
+sensational.</p>
+
+<p>This library is free from the scientific dry rot on the one hand and
+from the florid and misleading romanticism of much recent nature
+writing on the other. It is a safe guide to the world of animal and
+plant life that lies about us. And that is all the wise reader wants.
+He should want to explore this world for himself. Indeed,
+nature-study, as it appeals to us in books, fails of its chief end if
+it does not send us to nature itself. What we want is not the mere
+facts about the flowers or the animals&mdash;we want through them to add to
+the resources of our lives; and I know of nothing better calculated to
+do this than the study of nature at first hand. To add to the
+resources of one's life&mdash;think how much that means! To add to those
+things that make us more at home in the world; that help guard us
+against ennui and stagnation; that invest the country with new
+interest and enticement; that make every walk in the fields or woods
+an excursion into a land of unexhausted treasures; that make the
+returning seasons fill us with expectation and delight; that make
+every rod of ground like the page of a book in which new and strange
+things may be read; in short, those things that help keep us fresh and
+sane and young, and make us immune to the strife and fever of the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>The main thing is to feel an interest in Nature&mdash;an interest that
+leads to a loving unconscious study of her. Not entirely a scientific
+interest, but a human interest as well; science upon the one hand and
+an appreciation of the mystery, the beauty, and the bounty of life
+upon the other. The child feels a human interest
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>
+in nature: when the
+schoolgirls come to school with their hands full of wild flowers, or
+the boys make excursions to the woods in May for wintergreens, or
+black birch, or crinkle root, they are all moved by an interest that
+is old and deep-seated in the race. Now, if to this interest and
+curiosity we can add a little science, just enough to guide them, we
+lift these feelings to another plane and give them a longer lease of
+life. The boy will not be so likely to rob birds' nests after the
+savage in him has been humanized by a touch of real knowledge and he
+has come to look upon the bird as something worthy of naming and
+studying and that has its place in the economy of the fields and
+woods.</p>
+
+<p>A touch of real knowledge&mdash;how humanizing and elevating it is! Simply
+to learn that all the plants have been studied and named, even the
+humblest; that they all have vital relations with one another&mdash;family
+ties; that the great biological laws are operative in them also; that
+the deep, mysterious principle of variation, which is at the bottom of
+Darwin's theory of the origin of the species, is working in the
+lowliest plant we tread upon; to know that the chain of cause and
+effect runs through the whole organic world, binding together its
+remotest parts; that everywhere is plan, development, evolution&mdash;to
+know these and kindred things&mdash;a few of the fundamentals of
+science&mdash;is a joy to the spirit and a light to the mind.</p>
+
+<p>Science in the world is like the surveyor and the engineer in a new
+country; it opens up highways for the mind; it bridges the chasms and
+marshes; it gives us dominion over the wild; it brings order out of
+chaos. What a maze, what a tangle the world is till we come to look
+upon it with the clews and solutions in mind which science affords!
+The heavens seem a haphazard spatter of stars, the earth a wild jumble
+of plants, and animals, and blind forces all struggling with one
+another&mdash;confusion, contradiction, failure everywhere. And so it was
+to the early men, and so it still is to those who have not the light
+of science, but so it need not remain to the child born into the world
+to-day. The great mysteries of life and death, of final causes and
+ultimate ends, still remain and will continue, but nature now,
+compared with the nature of a few centuries ago, is like a land
+subdued and peopled and cultivated compared with a pathless wilderness.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span>
+And yet I would not in this connection, when considering
+the field of natural history, lay too much stress upon the scientific
+aspects of the question. To the real nature-lover the bird in the bush
+is worth much more than the bird in the hand, because the nature-lover
+is not after a specimen: he is after a living fact; he is after a new
+joy in life.</p>
+
+<p>It is an important part, but by no means the main part of what
+ornithology holds for us, to be able to name every bird on sight or
+call. To love the bird, to appreciate its place in the landscape and
+in the season, to relate it to your daily life, to divine its
+character, to know it emotionally in your heart&mdash;that is much more. To
+know the birds as the sportsman knows his game; to experience the same
+thrill, purged of all thoughts of slaughter; to make their songs music
+in your life&mdash;this is indeed something to be desired.</p>
+
+<p>The same with botany. I regard its class-room uses as very slight. The
+educational value of the technical part is almost <i>nil</i>. But the
+humanizing value of a love of the flowers, the hygienic value of a
+walk in their haunts, the &#230;sthetic value of the observation of their
+forms and tints&mdash;these are all vital. The scientific value which
+attaches to your knowledge of the names of their parts or of their
+families&mdash;what is that? Their habits are interesting; their means of
+fertilization are interesting; the part insects play in their
+lives&mdash;the honey-yielders, the pollen-yielders, their means of
+scattering their seeds, and so forth&mdash;all are interesting. To know
+their habitats and seasons; to have associations with them when you go
+fishing; to land your trout in a bed of bee-palm or jewel-weed; to
+pluck the linn&#230;a in the moss on the Adirondack mountain you are
+climbing; to gather pond-lilies from a boat with your friend; to pluck
+the arbutus on the first balmy day of April; to see the scarlet
+lobelia lighting up a dark nook by the stream as you row by in August;
+to walk or drive past vast acres of purple loosestrife, looking like a
+lake or sea of color&mdash;this is botany with something back of it, and
+the only place to learn it is where it grows. The botany that trails
+the days and the season and the woods and the fields with it&mdash;that is
+the kind that has educational value in it.</p>
+
+<p>I confess I have not much sympathy with the laboratory study of
+nature, except for economic purposes. Nature under the dissecting
+knife and the microscope yields important secrets
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span>
+to the students of biology, but the unprofessional students want but
+little of all this. I know a young woman who took a post-graduate
+course in biology at a noted summer school, and the one thing she
+learned was that certain bacilli were found only in the aqueous humor
+of the eyes of white mice. The world is full of curious facts like
+that, that have no human interest or educational value whatever.</p>
+
+<p>If one could number all the trees of the forest and all the leaves
+upon the trees, what would it profit him? To know the different kinds
+of trees when you see them, and the function of the leaves upon
+them&mdash;that were more worth while. I have read studies of leaves that
+were just as profitless as to know their numbers. I have heard
+discourses upon the changes in the plumage of certain water-fowl from
+youth to age, and from one moult to another, that were as profitless
+and wearisome as studying the variations of the leaves or their
+numbers.</p>
+
+<p>I hardly know why I am impatient when people come to me with their
+hands full of different leaves and ask me what tree is this from, and
+this, and this? If your business is not with trees, if you live in the
+city and care mainly for city things, why bother about the trees,
+unless for the pleasure of it during your summer excursions into the
+country; and if it affords you pleasure, you will not want any one to
+tell you: you will want to identify the trees themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The same with the birds. The main profit of this branch of natural
+history is in the pursuit&mdash;not in the name, but in the bird. It is the
+chase that allures the sportsman, and it is the chase that profits the
+nature-student. Did you ever receive a gift of brook-trout by express?
+How pitiful they look&mdash;stale fish only! But the trout you brought in
+at night after threading for miles the mountain stream: its voice all
+day in your ears; its sparkle all day in your eyes; the love of its
+beauty and purity all day in your heart; wading through bee-balm or
+jewel-weed; skirting wild pastures; starting the grouse or the
+woodcock with their young; surprising bird and beast at their home
+occupations&mdash;these were trout with a flavor.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever opens up new doors or windows for us into the world about us,
+whatever widens the field of our interests and sympathies, has some
+sort of value&mdash;moral, intellectual, or &#230;sthetic. But much of the
+so-called nature-study opens no new
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span>
+doors or windows; it affords no mental satisfaction, or illumination,
+or &#230;sthetic pleasure; it is mainly pottering with dry,
+unimportant facts and details. Do you know the edelweiss of our own
+matchless arbutus after you have merely analyzed and classified them?
+No more than you know a man after having weighed and measured him. The
+function of things is always interesting. What do they do? How do they
+pay their way in the rigid economy of nature? How do they survive? How
+does the bulb of the common fawn-lily<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> get deeper and deeper into
+the ground each year? Why does the wild ginger hide its blossom when
+nearly all other plants flaunt theirs? Why are the plants of the
+common mouse-ear (<i>antennaria</i>)<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a> <a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> always in groups, one sex here,
+another there, as if prohibited from mingling by some moral code in
+nature? Why do nearly all our trees have a twist to the right or the
+left&mdash;hard woods one way, and soft woods the other? Why do the
+roots of trees flow through the ground like "runnels of molten metal,"
+often separating and uniting again while the branches are thrust out
+in right lines or curves? Why is our common yellow birch more often
+than any other tree planted upon a rock? Why do oaks or chestnuts so
+often spring up where a pine or hemlock forest has been cleared away?
+Why does lightning so commonly strike a hemlock tree or a pine or an
+oak, and rarely or never a beech? Why does the bolt sometimes scatter
+the tree about, and at others only plow a channel down its trunk? Why
+does the bumblebee complain so loudly when working upon certain
+flowers? Why does the honey-bee lose the sting when it stings a
+person, while the wasp, the hornet, and the bumblebee do not? How does
+the chimney-swallow get the twigs it builds its nest with? From what
+does the hornet make its paper?</p>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The adder's tongue.<br /><br />
+
+<a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>Everlasting.<br /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>One of Herbert Spencer's questions was, Why do animals and birds of
+prey have their eyes in front, and others, as sheep and domestic fowl,
+on the side of the head? Man, then, by the position of his eyes
+belongs to the predaceous animals. I have never been greatly
+interested in spiders, but I have always wanted to know how a certain
+spider managed to stretch her cable squarely across the road in the
+woods about my height from the ground? Why are mud turtles so wild?
+Why is the excrement
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span>
+of the young of some birds carried away by the parents, while with
+others it is voided from the nest? Among certain of our birds the
+family relation, more or less marked, is kept up a long time after the
+young have left the nest. One sees the parent birds and the young
+going about in loose flocks often till late into the fall. Of what
+birds is this true?</p>
+
+<p>The questions I have suggested are not important; they do not hold the
+key to any great storehouse of natural knowledge. Their only value is
+as a means to quicken the powers of observation. We see vaguely,
+diffusely. Concentrate the attention&mdash;not to the extent of missing
+total effects, as the specialist so often does, but for the purpose of
+reading correctly the play of life that is constantly going about us.</p>
+
+<p>Nature's book is like any other book: you must open the covers; you
+must fix your eyes upon the text; you must get into the spirit of it.
+When you have read one sentence correctly you are so much the better
+prepared to read the next one.</p>
+
+<p>A world of nature about us that we are quite apt to be oblivious to,
+except as it results in our annoyance, is the insect world. We do not
+take an intelligent interest in the ants, or the bees, or the moths,
+or the butterflies, yet here is a field of observation that will amply
+repay one. One day in a great city I saw a butterfly calmly winging
+its way high above the crowded street. I knew it was the monarch
+(<i>Anosia plexippus</i>), probably the greatest traveler of all our
+butterflies. It is quite certain that they migrate to the South in the
+fall, and that many return in the spring. I learn from Mr. Holland's
+Butterfly Book in this library that they have even crossed both
+oceans&mdash;of course, by catching a ride on vessels&mdash;and are now found in
+Australia and in the Philippines, and they have been collected in
+England. Have you not seen its chrysalis suspended from some weed or
+bush, looking like the trunk from some tiny warrior encased in
+pale-green armor, riveted with gold-headed rivets, a broad, heavy
+shield over the abdomen, and plate upon plate over the shoulders and
+back? It is a milkweed butterfly, and will serve as a good
+introduction to this new world of winged life. Early last spring I
+found upon the window of my cabin in the woods a butterfly that had
+evidently hybernated in some snug crack or corner of the building.
+This was the mourning cloak, with me the first vernal butterfly. When
+one sees this butterfly dancing through
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span>
+the open sunny woods in March or early April he may know spring has
+really come and that the first hepatica will soon open its blue eye.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Howard's Insect Book ought to start many of its readers to
+observing flies and bees and prying into their life-histories, many of
+which are as yet not fully known. Not a farm-boy but knows of the big
+fat grubs in cows' backs in the spring. It was always a mystery to me
+how they got there. Now it is known that the creature has traveled all
+the way from the cow's stomach, where the egg of its parent&mdash;the
+bot-fly&mdash;was hatched, making its way slowly "through the connective
+tissues of the cow, between the skin and the flesh, penetrating
+gradually along the neck, and ultimately reaching a point beneath the
+skin on the back of the animal."</p>
+
+<p>We have only to look into nature a little more closely and intently,
+to whet our powers of observation by the use of such books as this
+Nature Library contains, to add vastly to our pleasure in and our
+knowledge of the world that lies about us.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">INTRODUCTION</div>
+
+<p>I write these few introductory sentences to this volume only to second
+so worthy an attempt to quicken and enlarge the general interest in
+our birds. The book itself is merely an introduction, and is only
+designed to place a few clews in the reader's hands which he himself
+or herself is to follow up. I can say that it is reliable and is
+written in a vivacious strain and by a real bird lover, and should
+prove a help and a stimulus to any one who seeks by the aid of its
+pages to become better acquainted with our songsters. The pictures,
+with a few exceptions, are remarkably good and accurate, and these,
+with the various grouping of the birds according to color, season,
+habitat, etc., ought to render the identification of the birds, with
+no other weapon than an opera glass, an easy matter.</p>
+
+<p>When I began the study of the birds I had access to a copy of Audubon,
+which greatly stimulated my interest in the pursuit, but I did not
+have the opera glass, and I could not take Audubon with me on my
+walks, as the reader may this volume, and he will find these colored
+plates quite as helpful as those of Audubon or Wilson.</p>
+
+<p>But you do not want to make out your bird the first time; the book or
+your friend must not make the problem too easy for you. You must go
+again and again, and see and hear your bird under varying conditions
+and get a good hold of several of its characteristic traits. Things
+easily learned are apt to be easily forgotten. Some ladies, beginning
+the study of birds, once wrote to me, asking if I would not please
+come and help them, and set them right about certain birds in dispute.
+I replied that that would be getting their knowledge too easily; that
+what I and any one else told them they would be very apt to forget,
+but that the things they found out themselves they would always
+remember. We must in a way earn what we have or keep. Only thus does
+it become <i>ours</i>, a real part of us.</p>
+
+<p>Not very long afterward I had the pleasure of walking with one of the
+ladies, and I found her eye and ear quite as sharp as my own, and that
+she was in a fair way to conquer the bird kingdom without any outside
+help. She said that the groves and fields, through which she used to
+walk with only a languid interest,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span>
+were now completely transformed to her and afforded her the keenest
+pleasure; a whole new world of interest had been disclosed to her; she
+felt as if she was constantly on the eve of some new discovery; the
+next turn in the path might reveal to her a new warbler or a new
+vireo. I remember the thrill she seemed to experience when I called
+her attention to a purple finch singing in the tree-tops in front of
+her house, a rare visitant she had not before heard. The thrill would
+of course have been greater had she identified the bird without my
+aid. One would rather bag one's own game, whether it be with a bullet
+or an eyebeam.</p>
+
+<p>The experience of this lady is the experience of all in whom is
+kindled this bird enthusiasm. A new interest is added to life; one
+more resource against ennui and stagnation. If you have only a city
+yard with a few sickly trees in it, you will find great delight in
+noting the numerous stragglers from the great army of spring and
+autumn migrants that find their way there. If you live in the country,
+it is as if new eyes and new ears were given you, with a
+correspondingly increased capacity for rural enjoyment.</p>
+
+<p>The birds link themselves to your memory of seasons and places, so
+that a song, a call, a gleam of color, set going a sequence of
+delightful reminiscences in your mind. When a solitary great Carolina
+wren came one August day and took up its abode near me and sang and
+called and warbled as I had heard it long before on the Potomac, how
+it brought the old days, the old scenes back again, and made me for
+the moment younger by all those years!</p>
+
+<p>A few seasons ago I feared the tribe of bluebirds were on the verge of
+extinction from the enormous number of them that perished from cold
+and hunger in the South in the winter of '94. For two summers not a
+blue wing, not a blue warble. I seemed to miss something kindred and
+precious from my environment&mdash;the visible embodiment of the tender sky
+and the wistful soil. What a loss, I said, to the coming generations
+of dwellers in the country&mdash;no bluebird in the spring! What will the
+farm-boy date from? But the fear was groundless: the birds are
+regaining their lost ground; broods of young blue-coats are again seen
+drifting from stake to stake or from mullen-stalk to mullen-stalk
+about the fields in summer, and our April air will doubtless again be
+warmed and thrilled by this lovely harbinger of spring.</p>
+
+<div class="text_rt">JOHN BURROUGHS.</div>
+
+<p><i>August 17, 07.</i></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="LIST_OF_COLOURED_PLATES" id="LIST_OF_COLOURED_PLATES"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">LIST OF COLOURED PLATES</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" width="100%" summary="List of Coloured Plates">
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class="text_rt">FACING PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" align="left"><a href="#IMG_GOLDFINCH">GOLDFINCH</a>&mdash;<i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_KINGBIRD">KINGBIRD</a></td><td class="text_rt">12</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_MOCKING-BIRD">MOCKING-BIRD</a></td><td class="text_rt">13</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CROW">CROW</a></td><td class="text_rt">28</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD">RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD</a></td><td class="text_rt">29</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_PURPLE_MARTIN">PURPLE MARTIN</a></td><td class="text_rt">44</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_DOWNY_AND_HAIRY_WP">DOWNY WOODPECKER</a></td><td class="text_rt">45</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_TOWHEE">TOWHEES</a></td><td class="text_rt">58</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK">ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS</a></td><td class="text_rt">59</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BOBOLINK">BOBOLINKS</a></td><td class="text_rt">74</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_PHOEBE">PHOEBE</a></td><td class="text_rt">75</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CHICKADEE">CHICKADEE</a></td><td class="text_rt">78</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_TUFTED_TITMOUSE">TUFTED TITMOUSE</a></td><td class="text_rt">79</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CATBIRD">CATBIRD</a></td><td class="text_rt">86</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_NUTHATCHES">WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH</a></td><td class="text_rt">87</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER">CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER</a></td><td class="text_rt">94</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BLUEBIRD">BLUEBIRD</a></td><td class="text_rt">95</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_KINGFISHER">KINGFISHER</a></td><td class="text_rt">102</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BLUE_JAY">BLUE JAY</a></td><td class="text_rt">103</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BARN_SWALLOW">BARN SWALLOW</a></td><td class="text_rt">110</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_MOURNING_DOVE">MOURNING DOVE</a></td><td class="text_rt">111</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_HOUSE_WREN">HOUSE WREN</a></td><td class="text_rt">118</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BROWN_THRASHER">BROWN THRASHER</a></td><td class="text_rt">119</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_VEERY">VEERY</a></td><td class="text_rt">126</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_WOOD_THRUSH">WOOD THRUSH</a></td><td class="text_rt">127</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_FLICKER">FLICKER</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</a></span></td><td class="text_rt">134</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_MEADOWLARK">MEADOWLARK</a></td><td class="text_rt">135</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_HORNED_LARK">HORNED LARK</a></td><td class="text_rt">138</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_WHIPPOORWILL">WHIPPOORWILL</a></td><td class="text_rt">139</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_NIGHTHAWK">NIGHTHAWK</a></td><td class="text_rt">154</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO">YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO</a></td><td class="text_rt">155</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CEDAR_WAXWING">CEDAR WAXWING</a></td><td class="text_rt">158</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CHIPPING_SPARROW">CHIPPING SPARROW</a></td><td class="text_rt">159</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_SONG_SPARROW">SONG SPARROW</a></td><td class="text_rt">166</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_TREE_SPARROW">TREE SPARROW</a></td><td class="text_rt">167</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW">WHITE-THROATED SPARROW</a></td><td class="text_rt">170</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_TREE_SWALLOW">TREE SWALLOW</a></td><td class="text_rt">171</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMINGBIRD">RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS</a></td><td class="text_rt">186</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_KINGLETS">RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET</a></td><td class="text_rt">187</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_REDSTART">REDSTART</a></td><td class="text_rt">190</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BALTIMORE_ORIOLE">BALTIMORE ORIOLE</a></td><td class="text_rt">191</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CARDINAL">CARDINAL</a></td><td class="text_rt">198</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_SCARLET_TANAGER">SCARLET TANAGER</a></td><td class="text_rt">199</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_RED_CROSSBILL">RED CROSSBILL</a></td><td class="text_rt">226</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_PURPLE_FINCH">PURPLE FINCH</a></td><td class="text_rt">226</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_ROBIN">ROBIN</a></td><td class="text_rt">226</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_ORCHARD_ORIOLE">ORCHARD ORIOLE</a></td><td class="text_rt">227</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[Pg xx]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">LIST OF HALF-TONE PLATES</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" width="100%" summary="List of Half-tone Plates">
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td class="text_rt">FACING PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CROW_ON_NEST">CROW ON NEST</a></td><td class="text_rt">16</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER">BLUE-WINGED WARBLER ALIGHTING TO FEED HER YOUNG</a></td><td class="text_rt">17</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_YOUNG_FLICKERS">YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST</a></td><td class="text_rt">24</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_REDPOLL">WINTER VISITORS: REDPOLLS</a></td><td class="text_rt">25</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_YOUNG_KINGFISHERS">YOUNG KINGFISHERS</a></td><td class="text_rt">48</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_GRACKLE_NEST_AND_YOUNG">GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG</a></td><td class="text_rt">49</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_COWBIRD">YELLOWBIRD'S NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD'S EGG</a></td><td class="text_rt">54</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK">BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, TWO WEEKS OLD</a></td><td class="text_rt">55</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAKS_SIX_DAYS_OLD">ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD</a></td><td class="text_rt">55</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CHIMNEY_SWIFT">CHIMNEY SWIFT</a></td><td class="text_rt">66</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CRESTED_FLYCATCHER">YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS WITH HAIR STANDING ON END</a></td><td class="text_rt">106</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_MOCKING-BIRD">YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD</a></td><td class="text_rt">107</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_HUNGRY_YOUNG_MOCKING-BIRDS">HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS</a></td><td class="text_rt">107</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER">A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY</a></td><td class="text_rt">122</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_WOOD_THRUSH_HEARS_THE_CLICK">THE WOOD THRUSH HEARS THE CLICK OF THE CAMERA</a></td><td class="text_rt">123</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOOS">YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS THE DAY BEFORE LEAVING NEST</a></td><td class="text_rt">202</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_FIELD_SPARROW">FIELD SPARROW BABIES</a></td><td class="text_rt">203</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_OVENBIRD">MOTHER OVENBIRD IN NEST; A BABY BIRD ON IT</a></td><td class="text_rt">218</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="text_lf"><a href="#IMG_ROBIN_NEST">THE ROBIN'S MUD-WALLED NURSERY</a></td><td class="text_rt">219</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg_1]</a></span></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg_2]</a></span></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BIRD_FAMILIES" id="BIRD_FAMILIES"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg_3]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption1">BIRD FAMILIES</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">HEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND THE REPRESENTATIVES
+OF EACH FAMILY INCLUDED IN "BIRD NEIGHBORS"</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Order Coccyges</i>: CUCKOOS AND KINGFISHERS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Cuculid&#230;</i>: CUCKOOS</div>
+
+<p>Long, pigeon-shaped birds, whose backs are grayish brown with a bronze
+lustre and whose under parts are whitish. Bill long and curved. Tail
+long; raised and drooped slowly while the bird is perching. Two toes
+point forward and two backward. Call-note loud and like a tree-toad's
+rattle. Song lacking. Birds of low trees and undergrowth, where they
+also nest; partial to neighborhood of streams, or wherever the tent
+caterpillar is abundant. Habits rather solitary, silent, and
+eccentric. Migratory.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Yellow-billed Cuckoo.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Black-billed Cuckoo.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Alcedinid&#230;</i>: KINGFISHERS</div>
+
+<p>Large, top-heavy birds of streams and ponds. Usually seen perching
+over the water looking for fish. Head crested; upper parts slate-blue;
+underneath white, and belted with blue or rusty. Bill large and heavy.
+Middle and outer toes joined for half their length. Call-note loud and
+prolonged, like a policeman's rattle. Solitary birds; little inclined
+to rove from a chosen locality. Migratory.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Belted Kingfisher.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Order Pici</i>: WOODPECKERS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Picid&#230;</i>: WOODPECKERS</div>
+
+<p>Medium-sized and small birds, usually with plumage black and white,
+and always with some red feathers about the head.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg_4]</a></span>
+(The flicker is brownish and yellow instead of black and white.)
+Stocky, high-shouldered build; bill strong and long for drilling holes
+in bark of trees. Tail feathers pointed and stiffened to serve as a
+prop. Two toes before and two behind for clinging. Usually seen
+clinging erect on tree-trunks; rarely, if ever, head downward, like
+the nuthatches, titmice, etc. Woodpeckers feed as they creep around
+the trunks and branches. Habits rather phlegmatic. The flicker has
+better developed vocal powers than other birds of this class, whose
+rolling tattoo, beaten with their bills against the tree-trunks, must
+answer for their love-song. Nest in hollowed-out trees.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Red-headed Woodpecker.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Hairy Woodpecker.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Downy Woodpecker.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Flicker.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Order Macrochires</i>: GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, AND HUMMING-BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Caprimulgid&#230;</i>: NIGHTHAWKS, WHIPPOORWILLS, ETC.</div>
+
+<p>Medium-sized, mottled brownish, gray, black, and white birds of heavy
+build. Short, thick head; gaping, large mouth; very small bill, with
+bristles at base. Take insect food on the wing. Feet small and weak;
+wings long and powerful. These birds rest lengthwise on their perch
+while sleeping through the brightest daylight hours, or on the ground,
+where they nest.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Nighthawk.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Whippoorwill.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Micropolid&#230;</i>: SWIFTS</div>
+
+<p>Sooty, dusky birds seen on the wing, never resting except in chimneys
+of houses, or hollow trees, where they nest. Tips of tail feathers
+with sharp spines, used as props. They show their kinship with the
+goatsuckers in their nocturnal as well as diurnal habits, their small
+bills and large mouths for catching insects or
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg_5]</a></span>
+the wing, and their weak feet. Gregarious, especially at the nesting
+season.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Chimney Swift.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Trochilid&#230;</i>: HUMMING-BIRDS</div>
+
+<p>Very small birds with green plumage (iridescent red or orange breast
+in males); long, needle-shaped bill for extracting insects and nectar
+from deep-cupped flowers, and exceedingly rapid, darting flight. Small
+feet.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Ruby-throated Humming-bird.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Order Passeres</i>: PERCHING BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Tyrannid&#230;</i>: FLYCATCHERS</div>
+
+<p>Small and medium-sized dull, dark-olive, or gray birds, with big heads
+that are sometimes crested. Bills hooked at end, and with bristles at
+base. Harsh or plaintive voices. Wings longer than tail; both wings
+and tails usually drooped and vibrating when the birds are perching.
+Habits moody and silent when perching on a conspicuous limb, telegraph
+wire, dead tree, or fence rail and waiting for insects to fly within
+range. Sudden, nervous, spasmodic sallies in midair to seize insects
+on the wing. Usually they return to their identical perch or lookout.
+Pugnacious and fearless. Excellent nest builders and devoted mates.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Kingbird.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Ph&oelig;be.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Wood Pewee.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Acadian Flycatcher.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Great Crested Flycatcher.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Least Flycatcher.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Olive-sided Flycatcher.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Say's Flycatcher.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Alaudid&#230;</i>: LARKS</div>
+
+<p>The only true larks to be found in this country are the two species
+given below. They are the kin of the European skylark, of which
+several unsuccessful attempts to introduce the bird have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg_6]</a></span>
+been made in this country. These two larks must not be confused with
+the meadow larks and titlarks, which belong to the blackbird and pipit
+families respectively. The horned larks are birds of the ground, and
+are seen in the United States only in the autumn and winter. In the
+nesting season at the North their voices are most musical. Plumage
+grayish and brown, in color harmony with their habitats. Usually found
+in flocks; the first species on or near the shore.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Horned Lark.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Prairie Horned Lark.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Corvid&#230;</i>: CROWS AND JAYS</div>
+
+<p>The crows are large black birds, walkers, with stout feet adapted for
+the purpose. Fond of shifting their residence at different seasons
+rather than strictly migratory, for, except at the northern limit of
+range, they remain resident all the year. Gregarious. Sexes alike.
+Omnivorous feeders, being partly carnivorous, as are also the jays.
+Both crows and jays inhabit wooded country. Their voices are harsh and
+clamorous; and their habits are boisterous and bold, particularly the
+jays. Devoted mates; unpleasant neighbors.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Common Crow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Fish Crow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Northern Raven.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Blue Jay.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Canada Jay.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Icterid&#230;</i>: BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC.</div>
+
+<p>Plumage black or a brilliant color combined with black. (The meadow
+lark a sole exception.) Sexes unlike. These birds form a connecting
+link between the crows and the finches. The blackbirds have strong
+feet for use upon the ground, where they generally feed, while the
+orioles are birds of the trees. They are both seed and insect eaters.
+The bills of the bobolink and cowbird are short and conical, for they
+are conspicuous seed eaters. Bills of the others long and conical,
+adapted for insectivorous diet. About half the family are gifted
+songsters.</p>
+
+<table class="left2" summary="Blackbirds">
+<tr><td>Red-winged Blackbird.</td><td>Rusty Blackbird.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg_7]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Purple Grackle.</td><td>Bronzed Grackle.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cowbird.</td><td>Meadow Lark.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Western Meadow Lark.</td><td>Bobolink.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Orchard Oriole.</td><td>Baltimore Oriole.</td></tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Fringillid&#230;</i>: FINCHES, SPARROWS, GROSBEAKS,
+BUNTINGS, LINNETS, AND CROSSBILLS</div>
+
+<p>Generally fine songsters. Bills conical, short, and stout for cracking
+seeds. Length from five to nine inches, usually under eight inches.
+This, the largest family of birds that we have (about one-seventh of
+all our birds belong to it), comprises birds of such varied plumage
+and habit that, while certain family resemblances may be traced
+throughout, it is almost impossible to characterize the family as
+such. The <i>sparrows</i> are comparatively small gray and brown birds with
+striped upper parts, lighter underneath. Birds of the ground, or not
+far from it, elevated perches being chosen for rest and song. Nest in
+low bushes or on the ground. (Chipping sparrow often selects tall
+trees.) Coloring adapted to grassy, dusty habitats. Males and females
+similar. Flight labored. About forty species of sparrows are found in
+the United States; of these, fourteen may be met with by a novice, and
+six, at least, surely will be.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>finches</i> and their larger kin are chiefly bright-plumaged birds,
+the females either duller or distinct from males; bills heavy, dull,
+and conical, befitting seed eaters. Not so migratory as insectivorous
+birds nor so restless. Mostly phlegmatic in temperament. Fine
+songsters.</p>
+
+<table class="left2" summary="Fringillid&#230;">
+<tr><td>Chipping Sparrow.</td><td>Pine Siskin (or Finch).</td></tr>
+<tr><td>English Sparrow.</td><td>Purple Finch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Field Sparrow.</td><td>Goldfinch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Fox Sparrow.</td><td>Redpoll.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg_8]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Grasshopper Sparrow.</td><td>Greater Redpoll.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Savanna Sparrow.</td><td>Red Crossbill.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Seaside Sparrow.</td><td>White-winged Red Crossbill.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Sharp-tailed Sparrow.</td><td>Cardinal Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Song Sparrow.</td><td>Rose-breasted Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Swamp Song Sparrow.</td><td>Pine Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Tree Sparrow.</td><td>Evening Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Vesper Sparrow.</td><td>Blue Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-crowned Sparrow.</td><td>Indigo Bunting.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-throated Sparrow.</td><td>Junco.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Lapland Longspur.</td><td>Snowflake.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Smith's Painted Longspur.</td><td>Chewink.</td></tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Tanagrid&#230;</i>: TANAGERS</div>
+
+<p>Distinctly an American family, remarkable for their brilliant plumage,
+which, however, undergoes great changes twice a year, Females
+different from males, being dull and inconspicuous. Birds of the
+tropics, two species only finding their way north, and the summer
+tanager rarely found north of Pennsylvania. Shy inhabitants of woods.
+Though they may nest low in trees, they choose high perches when
+singing or feeding upon flowers, fruits, and insects. As a family, the
+tanagers have weak, squeaky voices, but both our species are good
+songsters. Suffering the fate of most bright-plumaged birds, immense
+numbers have been shot annually.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Scarlet Tanager.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Summer Tanager.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg_9]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Hirundinid&#230;</i>: SWALLOWS</div>
+
+<p>Birds of the air, that take their insect food on the wing. Migratory.
+Flight strong, skimming, darting; exceedingly graceful. When not
+flying they choose slender, conspicuous perches like telegraph wires,
+gutters, and eaves of barns. Plumage of some species dull, of others
+iridescent blues and greens above, whitish or ruddy below. Sexes
+similar. Bills small; mouths large. Long and pointed wings, generally
+reaching the tip of the tail or beyond. Tail more or less forked. Feet
+small and weak from disuse. Song a twittering warble without power.
+Gregarious birds.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Barn Swallow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Bank Swallow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Cliff (or Eaves) Swallow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Tree Swallow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Bough-winged Swallow.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Purple Martin.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Ampelid&#230;</i>: WAXWINGS</div>
+
+<p>Medium-sized Quaker-like birds, with plumage of soft browns and grays.
+Head crested; black band across forehead and through the eye. Bodies
+plump from indolence. Tail tipped with yellow; wings with red tips to
+coverts, resembling sealing-wax. Sexes similar. Silent, gentle,
+courteous, elegant birds. Usually seen in large flocks feeding upon
+berries in the trees or perching on the branches, except at the
+nesting season. Voices resemble a soft, lisping twitter.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Cedar Bird.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Bohemian Waxwing.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Laniid&#230;</i>: SHRIKES</div>
+
+<p>Medium-sized grayish, black-and-white birds, with hooked and hawk-like
+bill for tearing the flesh of smaller birds, field-mice, and large
+insects that they impale on thorns. Handsome, bold birds, the terror
+of all small, feathered neighbors, not excluding the English sparrow.
+They choose conspicuous perches when on the lookout for prey: a
+projecting or dead limb of a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg_10]</a></span>
+tree, the cupola of a house, the ridge-pole or weather-vane of a barn,
+or a telegraph wire, from which to suddenly drop upon a victim.
+Eyesight remarkable. Call-notes harsh and unmusical. Habits solitary
+and wandering. The first-named species is resident during the colder
+months of the year; the latter is a summer resident only north of
+Maryland.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Northern Shrike.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Loggerhead Shrike.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Vireonid&#230;</i>: VIREOS OR GREENLETS</div>
+
+<p>Small greenish-gray or olive birds, whitish or yellowish underneath,
+their plumage resembling the foliage of the trees they hunt, nest, and
+live among. Sexes alike. More deliberate in habit than the restless,
+flitting warblers that are chiefly seen darting about the ends of
+twigs. Vireos are more painstaking gleaners; they carefully explore
+the bark, turn their heads upward to investigate the under side of
+leaves, and usually keep well hidden among the foliage. Bill hooked at
+tip for holding worms and insects. Gifted songsters, superior to the
+warblers. This family is peculiar to America.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Red-eyed Vireo.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Solitary Vireo.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Warbling Vireo.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">White-eyed Vireo.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Yellow-throated Vireo.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Mniotiltid&#230;</i>: WOOD WARBLERS</div>
+
+<p>A large group of birds, for the most part smaller than the English
+sparrow; all, except the ground warblers, of beautiful plumage, in
+which yellow, olive, slate-blue, black, and white are predominant
+colors. Females generally duller than males. Exceedingly active,
+graceful, restless feeders among the terminal twigs of trees and
+shrubbery; haunters of tree-tops in the woods at nesting time.
+Abundant birds, especially during May and September, when the majority
+are migrating to and from regions north of the United States; but they
+are strangely unknown to all but devoted bird lovers, who seek them
+out during these months that particularly favor acquaintance. Several
+species are erratic in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg_11]</a></span>
+their migrations and choose a different course
+to return southward from the one they travelled over in spring. A few
+species are summer residents, and one, at least, of this tropical
+family, the myrtle warbler, winters at the north. The habits of the
+family are not identical in every representative; some are more
+deliberate and less nervous than others; a few, like the Canadian and
+Wilson's warblers, are expert flycatchers, taking their food on the
+wing, but not usually returning to the same perch, like true
+flycatchers; and a few of the warblers, as, for example, the
+black-and-white, the pine, and the worm-eating species, have the
+nuthatches' habit of creeping around the bark of trees. Quite a number
+feed upon the ground. All are insectivorous, though many vary their
+diet with blossom, fruit, or berries, and naturally their bills are
+slender and sharply pointed, rarely finch-like. The yellow-breasted
+chat has the greatest variety of vocal expressions. The ground
+warblers are compensated for their sober, thrush-like plumage by their
+exquisite voices, while the great majority of the family that are
+gaily dressed have notes that either resemble the trill of midsummer
+insects or, by their limited range and feeble utterance, sadly belie
+the family name.</p>
+
+<table class="left2" summary="Wood Warblers">
+<tr><td>Bay-breasted Warbler.</td><td>Nashville Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blackburnian Warbler.</td><td>Palm Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blackpoll Warbler.</td><td>Parula Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-throated Blue Warbler.</td><td>Pine Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-throated Green Warbler.</td><td>Prairie Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-and-white Creeping Warbler.</td><td>Redstart.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue-winged Warbler.</td><td>Wilson's Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Canadian Warbler.</td><td>Worm-eating Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chestnut-sided Warbler.</td><td>Yellow Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Golden-winged Warbler.</td><td>Yellow Palm Warbler.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hooded Warbler.</td><td>Ovenbird.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg_12]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kentucky Warbler.</td><td>Northern Water Thrush.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Magnolia Warbler.</td><td>Louisiana Water Thrush.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Mourning Warbler.</td><td>Maryland Yellowthroat.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Myrtle Warbler.</td><td>Yellow-breasted Chat.</td></tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Motacillid&#230;</i>: WAGTAILS AND PIPITS</div>
+
+<p>Only three birds of this family inhabit North America, and of these
+only one is common enough, east of the Mississippi, to be included in
+this book. Terrestrial birds of open tracts near the coast,
+stubble-fields, and country roadsides, with brownish plumage to
+harmonize with their surroundings. The American pipit, or titlark, has
+a peculiar wavering flight when, after being flushed, it reluctantly
+leaves the ground. Then its white tail feathers are conspicuous. Its
+habit of wagging its tail when perching is not an exclusive family
+trait, as the family name might imply.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">American Pipit, or Titlark.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Troglodytid&#230;</i>: THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC.</div>
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Subfamily Mimin&#230;</i>: THRASHERS, MOCKING-BIRDS, AND CATBIRDS</div>
+
+<p>Apparently the birds that comprise this large general family are too
+unlike to be related, but the missing links or intermediate species
+may all be found far South. The first subfamily is comprised of
+distinctively American birds. Most numerous in the tropics. Their long
+tails serve a double purpose&mdash;in assisting their flight and acting as
+an outlet for their vivacity. Usually they inhabit scrubby undergrowth
+bordering woods. They rank among our finest songsters, with
+ventriloquial and imitative powers added to sweetness of tone.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Brown Thrasher.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Catbird.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Mocking-bird.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_KINGBIRD" id="IMG_KINGBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus032.png" width="434" height="624" alt="KINGBIRD" title="KINGBIRD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">KINGBIRD</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_MOCKING-BIRD" id="IMG_MOCKING-BIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus033.png" width="433" height="624" alt="MOCKING-BIRD" title="MOCKING-BIRD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">MOCKING-BIRD</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg_13]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2"><i>Subfamily Troglodytin&#230;</i>: WRENS</div>
+
+<p>Small brown birds, more or less barred with darkest brown above, much
+lighter below. Usually carry their short tails erect. Wings are small,
+for short flight. Vivacious, busy, excitable, easily displeased, quick
+to take alarm. Most of the species have scolding notes in addition to
+their lyrical, gushing song, that seems much too powerful a
+performance for a diminutive bird. As a rule, wrens haunt thickets or
+marshes, but at least one species is thoroughly domesticated. All are
+insectivorous.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Carolina Wren.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">House Wren.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Winter Wren.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Long-billed Marsh Wren.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Short-billed Marsh Wren.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Certhiid&#230;</i>: CREEPERS</div>
+
+<p>Only one species of this Old World family is found in America. It is a
+brown, much mottled bird, that creeps spirally around and around the
+trunks of trees in fall and winter, pecking at the larv&#230; in the bark
+with its long, sharp bill, and doing its work with faithful exactness
+but little spirit. It uses its tail as a prop in climbing, like the
+woodpeckers.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Brown Creeper.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Parid&#230;</i>: NUTHATCHES AND TITMICE</div>
+
+<p>Two distinct subfamilies are included under this general head.</p>
+
+<p>The nuthatches (<i>Sittin&#230;</i>) are small, slate-colored birds, seen
+chiefly in winter walking up and down the barks of trees, and
+sometimes running along the under side of branches upside down, like
+flies. Plumage compact and smooth. Their name is derived from their
+habit of wedging nuts (usually beech-nuts) in the bark of trees, and
+then hatching them open with their strong straight bills.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">White-breasted Nuthatch.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Red-breasted Nuthatch.</span>
+
+<p>The titmice or chickadees (<i>Parin&#230;</i>) are fluffy little gray birds, the
+one crested, the other with a black cap. They are also
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg_14]</a></span>
+expert climbers, though not such wonderful gymnasts as the nuthatches.
+These cousins are frequently seen together in winter woods or in the
+evergreens about houses. Chickadees are partial to tree-tops,
+especially to the highest pine cones, on which they hang fearlessly.
+Cheerful, constant residents, retreating to the deep woods only to
+nest.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Tufted Titmouse.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Chickadee.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2"><i>Family Sylviid&#230;</i>: KINGLETS AND GNATCATCHERS</div>
+
+<p>The kinglets (<i>Regulin&#230;</i>) are very small greenish-gray birds, with
+highly colored crown patch, that are seen chiefly in autumn, winter,
+and spring south of Labrador. Habits active; diligent flitters among
+trees and shrubbery from limb to limb after minute insects. Beautiful
+nest builders. Song remarkable for so small a bird.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Golden-crowned Kinglet.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Ruby-crowned Kinglet.</span>
+
+<p>The one representative of the distinctly American subfamily of
+gnatcatchers (<i>Polioptilin&#230;</i>) that we have, is a small blue-gray bird,
+whitish below. It is rarely found outside moist, low tracts of
+woodland, where insects abound. These it takes on the wing with
+wonderful dexterity. It is exceedingly graceful and assumes many
+charming postures. A bird of trees, nesting in the high branches. A
+bird of strong character and an exquisitely finished though feeble
+songster.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Family Turdid&#230;</i>: THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC.</p>
+
+<p>This group includes our finest songsters. Birds of moderate size,
+stout build; as a rule, inhabitants of woodlands, but the robin and
+the bluebird are notable exceptions. Bills long and slender, suitable
+for worm diet. Only casual fruit-eaters. Slender, strong legs for
+running and hopping. True thrushes are grayish or olive-brown above;
+buff or whitish below, heavily streaked or spotted.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Bluebird.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Robin.</span><br /><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg_15]</a></span>
+<span class="ml2em">Alice's Thrush.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Hermit Thrush.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Olive-backed Thrush.</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Wilson's Thrush (Veery).</span><br />
+<span class="ml2em">Wood Thrush.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2">Order <i>Columb&#230;</i>: PIGEONS AND DOVES</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">Family <i>Columbid&#230;</i>: PIGEONS AND DOVES</div>
+
+<p>The wild pigeon is now too rare to be included among our bird
+neighbors; but its beautiful relative, without the fatally gregarious
+habit, still nests and sings <i>a-coo-oo-oo</i> to its devoted mate in
+unfrequented corners of the farm or the borders of woodland.
+Delicately shaded fawn-colored and bluish plumage. Small heads,
+protruding breasts. Often seen on ground. Flight strong and rapid,
+owing to long wings.</p>
+
+<span class="ml2em">Mourning or Carolina Dove.</span>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CROW_ON_NEST" id="IMG_CROW_ON_NEST"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus038.png" width="647" height="440" alt="Crow on Nest" title="Crow on Nest" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CROW ON NEST.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER" id="IMG_BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus039.png" width="651" height="451" alt="BLUE-WINGED WARBLER" title="BLUE-WINGED WARBLER" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BLUE-WINGED WARBLER ALIGHTING TO FEED HER YOUNG.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="HABITATS_OF_BIRDS" id="HABITATS_OF_BIRDS"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg_17]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption1">II</div>
+
+<div class="caption1">HABITATS OF BIRDS</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg_19]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF THE AIR CATCHING THEIR FOOD AS THEY FLY</div>
+
+<p>Acadian Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher,
+Olive-sided Flycatcher, Say's Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Kingbird, Ph&oelig;be, Wood Pewee, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, Barn
+Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Tree Swallow, Rough-winged
+Swallow, Canadian Warbler, Blackpoll, Wilson's Warbler, Nighthawk,
+Whippoorwill, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS MOST FREQUENTLY SEEN IN THE UPPER HALF OF TREES</div>
+
+<p>Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole,
+Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, nearly all the
+Warblers except the Ground Warblers; Cedar Bird, Bohemian Waxwing, the
+Vireos, Robin, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Purple Grackle,
+Bronzed Grackle, Redstart, Northern Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, Crow,
+Fish Crow, Raven, Purple Finch, Tree and Chipping Sparrows, Cardinal,
+Blue Jay, Kingbird, the Crested and other Flycatchers.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF LOW TREES OR LOWER PARTS OF TREES</div>
+
+<p>Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, the Sparrows, the Thrushes,
+the Grosbeaks, Goldfinch, Summer Yellowbird and other Warblers; the
+Wrens, Bluebird, Mocking-bird, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Maryland
+Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF TREE-TRUNKS AND LARGE LIMBS</div>
+
+<p>Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker,
+Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, Flicker, White-breasted
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg_20]</a></span>
+Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Chickadee, Tufted
+Titmouse, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
+Black-and-white Creeping Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating
+Warbler, Pine Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Whippoorwill, Nighthawk.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS THAT SHOW A PREFERENCE FOR PINES AND OTHER EVERGREENS</div>
+
+<p>Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, the Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, the
+Kinglets, Pine Warbler, Black-and-white Creeping Warbler and all the
+Warblers except the Ground Warblers; Pine Siskin, Cedar Bird and
+Bohemian Waxwing (in juniper and cedar trees), Pine Grosbeak, Red
+Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, the Grackles, Crow, Raven, Pine
+Finch.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS SEEN FEEDING AMONG THE FOLIAGE AND TERMINAL TWIGS OF TREES</div>
+
+<p>The Red-eyed Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Solitary Vireo,
+Yellow-throated Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
+Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow Warbler or Summer
+Yellowbird, nearly all the Warblers except the Pine and the Ground
+Warblers; the Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS THAT CHOOSE CONSPICUOUS PERCHES</div>
+
+<p>Northern Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, Kingbird, the Wood Pewee, the
+Ph&oelig;be and other Flycatchers, the Swallows, Kingfisher, Crows,
+Grackles, Blue Jay and Canada Jay; the Song, the White-throated, and
+the Fox Sparrows; the Grosbeaks, Cedar Bird, Goldfinch, Robin, Purple
+Finch, Cowbird, Brown Thrasher while in song.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF THE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS</div>
+
+<p>Bluebird, Robin; the English, Song, White-throated, Vesper,
+White-crowned, Fox, Chipping, and Tree Sparrows; Ph&oelig;be, Wood Pewee,
+the Least Flycatcher, Crested Flycatcher, Kingbird, Brown Thrasher,
+Wood Thrush, Mocking-bird, Catbird, House
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg_21]</a></span>
+Wren; nearly all the Warblers, especially at blossom time among the
+shrubbery and fruit trees; Cedar Bird, Purple Martin, Eaves Swallow,
+Barn Swallow, Purple Finch, Cowbird, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles,
+Purple Grackle, Bronzed Grackle, Blue Jay, Crow, Fish Crow, Chimney
+Swift, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, the Woodpeckers, Flicker, the
+Nuthatches, Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, the Cuckoos, Mourning Dove,
+Junco, Starling.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF THE WOODS</div>
+<p>The Warblers almost without exception; the Thrushes, the Woodpeckers,
+the Flycatchers, the Winter and the Carolina Wrens, the Tanagers, the
+Nuthatches and Titmice, the Kinglets, the Water Thrushes, the Vireos,
+Whippoorwill, Nighthawk, Kingfisher, Cardinal, Ovenbird, Brown
+Creeper, Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow,
+White-crowned Sparrow, Junco.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS SEEN NEAR THE EDGES OF WOODS</div>
+
+<p>The Wrens, the Woodpeckers, the Flycatchers, the Warblers, Purple
+Finch, the Cuckoos, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, Cowbird, Brown
+Creepers, the Nuthatches and Titmice, the Kinglets, Chewink; the
+White-crowned, White-throated, Tree, Fox, and Song Sparrows;
+Humming-bird, Bluebird, Junco, the Crossbills, the Grosbeaks,
+Nighthawk, Whippoorwill, Mourning Dove, Indigo Bird, Brown Thrasher.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF SHRUBBERY, BUSHES, AND THICKETS</div>
+
+<p>Maryland Yellowthroat, Ovenbird (in woods); Myrtle Warbler, Mourning
+Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and other Warblers during the
+migrations; the Shrikes; the White-throated, the Fox, the Song, and
+other Sparrows; Chickadee, Junco, Chewink, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
+Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Catbird, Mocking-bird, Wilson's Thrush,
+Goldfinch, Redpolls, Maryland Yellowthroat, White-eyed Vireo, Hooded
+Warbler.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS SEEN FEEDING ON THE GROUND</div>
+
+<p>The Sparrows, Junco, Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Chewink, Robin,
+Ovenbird, Pipit or Titlark, Redpoll, Greater Redpoll,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg_22]</a></span>
+Snowflake, Lapland Longspur, Smith's Painted Longspur, Rusty
+Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, the Crows, Cowbird, the Water
+Thrushes, Bobolink, Canada Jay, the Grackles, Mourning Dove; the
+Worm-eating, the Prairie, the Kentucky, and the Mourning Ground
+Warblers; Flicker.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF MEADOW, FIELD, AND UPLAND</div>
+
+<p>The Field and Vesper Sparrows, Bobolink, Meadowlark, Horned Lark,
+Goldfinch, the Swallows, Pipit or Titlark, Cowbird, Redpoll, Greater
+Redpoll, Snowflake, Junco, Lapland Longspur, Smith's Painted Longspur,
+Rusty Blackbird, Crow, Fish Crow, Nighthawk, Whippoorwill; the Yellow,
+the Palm, and the Prairie Warblers; the Grackles, Flicker, Bluebird,
+Indigo Bird.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF ROADSIDE AND FENCES</div>
+
+<p>The Sparrows, Kingbird, Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat,
+Indigo Bird, Bluebird, Flicker, Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Catbird,
+Robin, the Woodpeckers, Yellow Palm Warbler, the Vireos.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF MARSHES AND BOGGY MEADOWS</div>
+
+<p>Long-billed Marsh Wren, Short-billed Marsh Wren; the Swamp, the
+Savanna, the Sharp-tailed, and the Seaside Sparrows; Red-winged
+Blackbird.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS OF WET WOODLANDS AND MARSHY THICKETS</div>
+
+<p>Northern Water Thrush, Louisiana Water Thrush, Ovenbird, Winter Wren,
+Carolina Wren, Ph&oelig;be; Wood Pewee and the other Flycatchers;
+Wilson's Thrush or Veery, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat;
+the Canadian, Wilson's Black-capped, the Maryland Yellowthroat, the
+Hooded, and the Yellow-throated Warblers.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS FOUND NEAR SALT WATER</div>
+
+<p>Fish Crow, Common Crow, Bank Swallow, Tree Swallow, Savanna Sparrow,
+Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Horned Lark, Pipit or Titlark.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg_23]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS FOUND NEAR STREAMS AND PONDS</div>
+
+<p>Kingfisher, the Swallows, Northern Water Thrush, Louisiana Water
+Thrush, Ph&oelig;be, Wood Pewee, the Flycatchers, Winter Wren, Wilson's
+Black-capped Warbler, the Canadian and the Yellow Warblers.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS THAT SING ON THE WING</div>
+
+<p>Bobolink, Meadowlark, Indigo Bird, Purple Finch, Goldfinch, Ovenbird,
+Kingbird, Vesper Sparrow (rarely), Maryland Yellowthroat, Horned Lark,
+Kingfisher, the Swallows, Chimney Swift, Nighthawk, Song Sparrow,
+Red-winged Blackbird, Pipit or Titlark, Mocking-bird.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_YOUNG_FLICKERS" id="IMG_YOUNG_FLICKERS"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus048.png" width="448" height="629" alt="YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST" title="YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST" /><br />
+<span class="caption">YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_REDPOLL" id="IMG_REDPOLL"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus049.png" width="471" height="624" alt="REDPOLLS" title="REDPOLLS" /><br />
+<span class="caption">WINTER VISITORS: REDPOLLS</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SEASONS_OF_BIRDS" id="SEASONS_OF_BIRDS"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg_25]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption1">III</div>
+
+<div class="caption1">SEASONS OF BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">THE LATITUDE OF NEW YORK IS TAKEN AS AN ARBITRARY DIVISION
+FOR WHICH ALLOWANCES MUST BE MADE FOR OTHER LOCALITIES</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg_27]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">THE SEASONS OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK OR,
+APPROXIMATELY, OF THE FORTY-SECOND DEGREE OF LATITUDE</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">PERMANENT RESIDENTS</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="NY Birds Permanent Residents">
+<tr><td>Hairy Woodpecker.</td><td>Swamp Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Downy Woodpecker.</td><td>Song Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.</td><td>Cedar Bird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-headed Woodpecker.</td><td>Cardinal.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Flicker.</td><td>Carolina Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Meadowlark.</td><td>White-breasted Nuthatch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Prairie Horned Lark.</td><td>Tufted Titmouse.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue Jay.</td><td>Chickadee.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Crow.</td><td>Robin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Fish Crow.</td><td>Bluebird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>English Sparrow.</td><td>Goldfinch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Social Sparrow.</td><td>Starling.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">WINTER RESIDENTS AND VISITORS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS SEEN BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND APRIL</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="NY Birds Winter Residents">
+<tr><td>English Sparrow.</td><td>Red-breasted Nuthatch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Tree Sparrow.</td><td>Tufted Titmouse.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-throated Sparrow.</td><td>Chickadee.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Swamp Sparrow.</td><td>Robin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Vesper Sparrow.</td><td>Bluebird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-crowned Sparrow.</td><td>Ruby-crowned Kinglet.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Fox Sparrow.</td><td>Golden-crowned Kinglet.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Song Sparrow.</td><td>Brown Creeper.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Snowflake.</td><td>Carolina Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Junco.</td><td>Winter Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Horned Lark.</td><td>Pipit.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Meadowlark.</td><td>Purple Finch.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg_28]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Pine Grosbeak.</td><td>Goldfinch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Redpoll.</td><td>Pine Siskin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Greater Redpoll.</td><td>Lapland Longspur.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cedar Bird.</td><td>Smith's Painted Longspur.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bohemian Waxwing.</td><td>Evening Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hairy Woodpecker.</td><td>Cardinal.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Downy Woodpecker.</td><td>Blue Jay.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.</td><td>Red Crossbill.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Flicker.</td><td>White-winged Crossbill.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Myrtle Warbler.</td><td>Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Northern Shrike.</td><td>Fish Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-breasted Nuthatch.</td><td>Kingfisher.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<a name="IMG_CROW" id="IMG_CROW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus054.png" width="439" height="626" alt="CROW" title="CROW" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CROW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<a name="IMG_RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD" id="IMG_RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus055.png" width="427" height="611" alt="RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD" title="RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD<br />(Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure, Female)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="caption2">SUMMER RESIDENTS</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS SEEN BETWEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="NY Birds Summer Residents">
+<tr><td>Mourning Dove.</td><td>Red-winged Blackbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-billed Cuckoo.</td><td>Rusty Blackbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-billed Cuckoo.</td><td>Orchard Oriole.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kingfisher.</td><td>Baltimore Oriole.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-headed Woodpecker.</td><td>Purple Grackle.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hairy Woodpecker.</td><td>Bronzed Grackle.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Downy Woodpecker.</td><td>Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.</td><td>Fish Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Flicker.</td><td>Raven.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Whippoorwill.</td><td>Blue Jay.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Nighthawk.</td><td>Canada Jay.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chimney Swift.</td><td>Chipping Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ruby-throated Humming-bird.</td><td>English Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kingbird.</td><td>Field Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Wood Pewee.</td><td>Fox Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ph&oelig;be.</td><td>Grasshopper Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Acadian Flycatcher.</td><td>Savanna Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Crested Flycatcher.</td><td>Seaside Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Least Flycatcher.</td><td>Sharp-tailed Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Olive-sided Flycatcher.</td><td>Swamp Song Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.</td><td>Song Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Say's Flycatcher.</td><td>Vesper Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bobolink.</td><td>Rose-breasted Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cowbird.</td><td>Blue Grosbeak.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Indigo Bird.</td><td>Yellow-breasted Chat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg_29]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Scarlet Tanager.</td><td>Maryland Yellowthroat.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Purple Martin.</td><td>Mocking-bird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Barn Swallow.</td><td>Catbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bank Swallow.</td><td>Brown Thrasher.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cliff Swallow.</td><td>House Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Tree Swallow.</td><td>Carolina Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Rough-winged Swallow.</td><td>Long-billed Marsh Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-eyed Vireo.</td><td>Short-billed Marsh Wren.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-eyed Vireo.</td><td>Alice's Thrush.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Solitary Vireo.</td><td>Hermit Thrush.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Warbling Vireo.</td><td>Olive-backed Thrush.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-throated Vireo.</td><td>Wilson's Thrush or Veery.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-and-white Warbler.</td><td>Wood Thrush.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-throated Green Warbler.</td><td>Meadowlark.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue-winged Warbler.</td><td>Western Meadowlark.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chestnut-sided Warbler.</td><td>Prairie Horned Lark.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Golden-winged Warbler.</td><td>White-breasted Nuthatch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hooded Warbler.</td><td>Chickadee.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Pine Warbler.</td><td>Tufted Titmouse.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Prairie Warbler.</td><td>Chewink.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Parula Warbler.</td><td>Purple Finch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Worm-eating Warbler.</td><td>Goldfinch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow Warbler.</td><td>Cardinal.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Redstart.</td><td>Robin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ovenbird.</td><td>Bluebird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Northern Water Thrush.</td><td>Cedar-Bird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Louisiana Water Thrush.</td><td>Loggerhead Shrike.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">SPRING AND AUTUMN MIGRANTS ONLY, OR RARE SUMMER VISITORS</div>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Autumn Birds">
+<tr><td colspan="2">The following Warblers:<br /><br /></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bay-breasted.</td><td>Myrtle.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blackburnian.</td><td>Nashville.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blackpolled.</td><td>Wilson's Black-capped.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-throated Blue.</td><td>Palm.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Canadian.</td><td>Yellow Palm.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Magnolia.</td><td>Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Mourning.</td><td>Summer Tanager.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg_30]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS IN VICINITY OF NEW YORK</div>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">FEBRUARY 15 TO MARCH 15</div>
+
+<p>Bluebird, Robin, the Grackles, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Red-winged
+Blackbird, Kingfisher, Flicker, Purple Finch.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">MARCH 15 TO APRIL 1</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Cowbird, Meadowlark, Phoebe; the
+Field, the Vesper, and the Swamp Sparrows.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">APRIL 1 TO 15</div>
+
+<p>The White-throated and the Chipping Sparrows, the Tree and the Barn
+Swallows, Rusty Blackbird, the Red-headed and the Yellow-bellied
+Woodpeckers, Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pipit; the Pine, the
+Myrtle, and the Yellow Palm Warblers; Goldfinch.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">APRIL 15 TO MAY 1</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Brown Thrasher; Alice's, the
+Olive-backed, and the Wood Thrushes; Chimney Swift, Whippoorwill,
+Chewink, the Purple Martin, and the Cliff and the Bank Swallows; Least
+Flycatcher; the Black-and-white Creeping, the Parula, and the
+Black-throated Green Warblers; Ovenbird, House Wren, Catbird.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">MAY 1 TO 15</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wilson's Thrush or Veery;
+Nighthawk, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, the Cuckoos, Crested
+Flycatcher, Kingbird, Wood Pewee, the Marsh Wrens, Bank Swallow, the
+five Vireos, the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Bobolink, Indigo Bird,
+Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Maryland Yellowthroat,
+Yellow-breasted Chat, the Water Thrushes; and the Magnolia, the
+Yellow, the Black-throated Blue, the Bay-breasted, the Chestnut-sided,
+and the Golden-winged Warblers.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg_31]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">MAY 15 TO JUNE 1</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Mocking-bird, Summer Tanager; and the Blackburnian, the Blackpoll, the
+Worm-eating, the Hooded, Wilson's Black-capped, and the Canadian
+Warblers.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">JUNE, JULY, AUGUST</div>
+
+<p>In June few species of birds are not nesting; in July they may rove
+about more or less with their increased families, searching for their
+favorite foods; August finds them moulting and moping in silence, but
+toward the end of the month, thoughts of returning southward set them
+astir again.</p>
+
+<div class="caption2">AUGUST 15 TO SEPTEMBER 15</div>
+
+<p>Bobolink, Cliff Swallow, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Purple Martin; the Blackburnian, the Worm-eating, the Bay-breasted,
+the Chestnut-sided, the Hooded, the Mourning, Wilson's Black-capped,
+and the Canadian Warblers; Baltimore Oriole, Humming-bird.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">SEPTEMBER 15 TO OCTOBER 1</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wilson's Thrush, Wood Thrush,
+Kingbird, Wood Pewee, Crested Flycatcher; the Least, the Olive-sided,
+and the Acadian Flycatchers; the Marsh Wrens, the Cuckoos,
+Whippoorwill, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Indigo Bird; the
+Warbling, the Solitary, and the Yellow-throated Vireos; the
+Black-and-white Creeping, the Golden-winged, the Yellow, and the
+Black-throated Blue Warblers; Maryland Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted
+Chat, Redstart.</p>
+
+
+<div class="caption2">OCTOBER 1 TO 15</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Hermit Thrush, Catbird, House
+Wren, Ovenbird, the Water Thrushes, the Red-eyed and the White-eyed
+Vireos, Wood Pewee, Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Cowbird, Horned Lark,
+Winter Wren, Junco; the Tree, the Vesper, the White-throated, and the
+Grasshopper Sparrows; the Blackpoll, the Parula, the Pine, the Yellow
+Palm, and the Prairie Warblers; Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg_32]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">OCTOBER 15 TO NOVEMBER 15</div>
+
+<p>Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wood Thrush, Wilson's Thrush or
+Veery, Alice's Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, Robin, Chewink, Brown
+Thrasher, Ph&oelig;be, Shrike; the Fox, the Field, the Swamp, the
+Savanna, the White-crowned, the Chipping, and the Song Sparrows; the
+Red-winged and the Rusty Blackbirds; Meadowlark, the Grackles,
+Flicker, the Red-headed and the Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers; Purple
+Finch, the Kinglets, the Nuthatches, Pine Siskin.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="BIRDS_GROUPED_ACCORDING_TO_SIZE" id="BIRDS_GROUPED_ACCORDING_TO_SIZE"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg_33]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption1">IV</div>
+<div class="caption1">BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZE</div>
+
+<a name="WOOD_WARBLER_FAMILY_35" id="WOOD_WARBLER_FAMILY_35"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg_35]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">SMALLER THAN THE ENGLISH SPARROW</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Robin Sized Birds">
+<tr><td>Humming-bird.</td><td>The Redpolls.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Kinglets.</td><td>Goldfinch.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Wrens.</td><td>Pine Siskin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>All the Warblers not</td><td>Savanna Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mentioned elsewhere.</td><td>Grasshopper Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Redstart.</td><td>Sharp-tailed Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ovenbird.</td><td>Chipping Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chickadee.</td><td>Field Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Tufted Titmouse.</td><td>Swamp Song Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-breasted Nuthatch.</td><td>Indigo-Bunting.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-breasted Nuthatch.</td><td>Warbling Vireo.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.</td><td>Yellow-throated Vireo.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.</td><td>Red-eyed Vireo.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Acadian Flycatcher.</td><td>White-eyed Vireo.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Least Flycatcher.</td><td>Brown Creeper.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE ENGLISH SPARROW</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Sparrow Sized Birds">
+<tr><td>Purple Finch.</td><td>Junco.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Crossbills.</td><td>Song Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Longspurs.</td><td>Solitary Vireo.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Vesper Sparrow.</td><td>The Water-thrushes.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Seaside Sparrow.</td><td>Pipit or Titlark.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Tree Sparrow.</td><td>Downy Woodpecker.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">LARGER THAN THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND SMALLER THAN THE ROBIN</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Between Sparrow and Robin Sized Birds">
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.</td><td rowspan="2">The Grosbeaks: Evening, Blue, Pine,<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rose-breasted, and Cardinal.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chimney Swift (apparently).</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Swallows (apparently).</td><td>Snowflake.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kingbird.</td><td>White-crowned Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Crested Flycatcher.</td><td>White-throated Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Phoebe.</td><td>Fox Sparrow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Olive-sided Flycatcher.</td><td>The Tanagers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg_36]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td>Wood Pewee.</td><td>Cedar Bird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Horned Lark.</td><td>Bohemian Waxwing.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bobolink.</td><td>Yellow-breasted Chat.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cowbird.</td><td>The Thrushes.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Orchard Oriole.</td><td>Bluebird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Baltimore Oriole.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THE ROBIN</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Other1">
+<tr><td>Red-headed Woodpecker.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hairy Woodpecker.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-winged Blackbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Rusty Blackbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Loggerhead Shrike.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Northern Shrike.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Mocking-bird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Catbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chewink.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Purple Martin (apparently).</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Starling.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="caption2">LONGER THAN THE ROBIN</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Other2">
+<tr><td>Mourning Dove.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Cuckoos.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kingfisher.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Flicker.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Raven.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Fish Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue Jay.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Canada Jay.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Meadowlark.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Whippoorwill (apparently).</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Nighthawk (apparently).</td></tr>
+<tr><td>The Grackles.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Brown Thrasher.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BIRDS_GROUPED_ACCORDING_TO_COLOR" id="BIRDS_GROUPED_ACCORDING_TO_COLOR"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg_37]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption1">V</div>
+
+<div class="caption1">DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR</div>
+
+<a name="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_BLACK" id="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_BLACK"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg_39]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Black Birds">
+<tr><td>Common Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Fish Crow.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>American Raven.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Purple Grackle.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bronzed Grackle.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Rusty Blackbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-winged Blackbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Purple Martin.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cowbird.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Starling.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>See also several of the Swallows; the Kingbird, the Phoebe, the Wood
+Pewee and other Flycatchers; the Chimney Swift; and the Chewink.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="COMMON_CROW_41" id="COMMON_CROW_41"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg_41]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">The Common Crow<br />
+
+(<i>Corvus Aamericanus</i>) Crow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CORN THIEF<br />
+
+(Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_CROW_ON_NEST">16</a> and <a href="#IMG_CROW">28</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;16 to 17.50 inches.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Glossy black with violet reflections. Wings appear
+saw-toothed when spread, and almost equal the tail in length.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Like male, except that the black is less brilliant.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Throughout North America, from Hudson Bay to the Gulf
+of Mexico.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. October. Summer and winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>If we have an eye for the picturesque, we place a certain value upon
+the broad, strong dash of color in the landscape, given by a flock of
+crows flapping their course above a corn-field, against an October
+sky; but the practical eye of the farmer looks only for his gun in
+such a case. To him the crow is an unmitigated nuisance, all the more
+maddening because it is clever enough to circumvent every means
+devised for its ruin. Nothing escapes its rapacity; fear is unknown to
+it. It migrates in broad daylight, chooses the most conspicuous
+perches, and yet its assurance is amply justified in its steadily
+increasing numbers.</p>
+
+<p>In the very early spring, note well the friendly way in which the crow
+follows the plow, ingratiating itself by eating the larv&#230;, field mice,
+and worms upturned in the furrows, for this is its one serviceable act
+throughout the year. When the first brood of chickens is hatched, its
+serious depredations begin. Not only the farmer's young fledglings,
+ducks, turkeys, and chicks, are snatched up and devoured, but the
+nests of song birds are made desolate, eggs being crushed and eaten on
+the spot, when there are no birds to carry off to the rickety, coarse
+nest in the high tree top in the woods. The fish crow, however, is the much
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg_42]</a></span>
+greater enemy of the birds. Like the common crows, this, their
+smaller cousin, likes to congregate in winter along the seacoast to
+feed upon shell-fish and other sea-food that the tide brings to its
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>Samuels claims to have seen a pair of crows visit an orchard and
+destroy the young in two robins' nests in half an hour. He calculates
+that two crows kill, in one day alone, young birds that in the course
+of the season would have eaten a hundred thousand insects. When, in
+addition to these atrocities, we remember the crow's depredations in
+the corn-field, it is small wonder that among the first laws enacted
+in New York State was one offering a reward for its head. But the more
+scientific agriculturists now concede that the crow is the farmer's
+true friend.</p>
+
+<a name="FISH_CROW_42" id="FISH_CROW_42"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Fish Crow<br />
+
+(<i>Corvus ossifragus</i>) Crow family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;14 to 16 inches. About half as large again as the<br />
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Glossy black, with purplish-blue<br />
+reflections, generally greener underneath. Chin naked.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Along Atlantic coast and that of the Gulf of Mexico,<br />
+northward to southern New England. Rare stragglers on the<br />
+Pacific coast.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March or April. September. Summer resident only<br />
+at northern limit of range. Is found in Hudson River valley<br />
+about half-way to Albany.</div>
+
+<p>Compared with the common crow, with which it is often confounded, the
+fish crow is of much smaller, more slender build. Thus its flight is
+less labored and more like a gull's, whose habit of catching fish that
+may be swimming near the surface of the water it sometimes adopts.
+Both Audubon and Wilson, who first made this species known, record its
+habit of snatching food as it flies over the southern waters&mdash;a rare
+practice at the north. Its plumage, too, differs slightly from the
+common crow's in being a richer black everywhere, and particularly
+underneath, where the "corn thief" is dull. But it is the difference
+between the two crows' call-note that we chiefly depend upon to
+distinguish these confusing cousins. To say that the fish crow says
+<i>car-r-r</i> instead of a loud, clear <i>caw</i>, means little
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg_43]</a></span>
+until we have had an opportunity to compare its hoarse, cracked voice
+with the other bird's familiar call.</p>
+
+<p>From the farmer's point of view, there is still another distinction:
+the fish crow lets his crops alone. It contents itself with picking up
+refuse on the shores of the sea or rivers not far inland; haunting the
+neighborhood of fishermen's huts for the small fish discarded when the
+seines are drawn, and treading out with its toes the shell-fish hidden
+in the sand at low tide. When we see it in the fields it is usually
+intent upon catching field-mice, grubs, and worms, with which it often
+varies its fish diet. It is, however, the worst nest robber we have;
+it probably destroys ten times as many eggs and young birds as its
+larger cousin.</p>
+
+<p>The fishermen have a tradition that this southern crow comes and goes
+with the shad and herring&mdash;a saw which science unkindly disapproves.</p>
+
+<a name="AMERICAN_RAVEN_43" id="AMERICAN_RAVEN_43"></a>
+<div class="caption2">American Raven<br />
+
+(<i>Corvus corax principalis</i>) Crow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: NORTHERN RAVEN</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;26 to 27 inches. Nearly three times as large as a<br />
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Glossy black above, with purplish and<br />
+greenish reflections. Duller underneath. Feathers of the<br />
+throat and breast long and loose, like fringe.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from polar regions to Mexico. Rare<br />
+along Atlantic coast and in the south. Common in the west, and<br />
+very abundant in the northwest.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;An erratic wanderer, usually resident where it<br />
+finds its way.</div>
+
+<p>The weird, uncanny voice of this great bird that soars in wide circles
+above the evergreen trees of dark northern forests seems to come out
+of the skies like the malediction of an evil spirit. Without uttering
+the words of any language&mdash;Poe's "Nevermore" was, of course, a poetic
+license&mdash;people of all nationalities appear to understand that some
+dire calamity, some wicked portent, is being announced every time the
+unbirdlike creature utters its rasping call. The superstitious folk
+crow with an "I told you so," as they solemnly wag their heads when
+they hear of some death in the village after "the bird of ill-omen" has
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg_44]</a></span>
+made an unwelcome visit to the neighborhood. It receives the
+blame for every possible misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>When seen in the air, the crow is the only other bird for which the
+raven could be mistaken; but the raven does more sailing and less
+flapping, and he delights in describing circles as he easily soars
+high above the trees. On the ground, he is seen to be a far larger
+bird than the largest crow. The curious beard or fringe of feathers on
+his breast at once distinguishes him.</p>
+
+<p>These birds show the family instinct for living in flocks large and
+small, not of ravens only, but of any birds of their own genera. In
+the art of nest building they could instruct most of their relatives.
+High up in evergreen trees or on the top of cliffs, never very near
+the seashore, they make a compact, symmetrical nest of sticks, neatly
+lined with grasses and wool from the sheep pastures, adding soft,
+comfortable linings to the old nest from year to year for each new
+brood. When the young emerge from the eggs, which take many curious
+freaks of color and markings, they are pied black and white,
+suggesting the young of the western white-necked raven, a similarity
+which, so far as plumage is concerned, they quickly outgrow. They
+early acquire the fortunate habit of eating whatever their parents set
+before them&mdash;grubs, worms, grain, field-mice; anything, in fact, for
+the raven is a conspicuously omnivorous bird.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_PURPLE_MARTIN" id="IMG_PURPLE_MARTIN"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus072.png" width="439" height="626" alt="PURPLE MARTIN" title="PURPLE MARTIN" /><br />
+<span class="caption">PURPLE MARTIN</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_DOWNY_AND_HAIRY_WP" id="IMG_DOWNY_AND_HAIRY_WP"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus073.png" width="436" height="626" alt="DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS" title="DOWNY and HAIRY WOODPECKERS" /><br />
+<span class="caption">DOWNY (figs. 1 and 2) and HAIRY WOODPECKERS (fig. 3)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PURPLE_GRACKLE_44" id="PURPLE_GRACKLE_44"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Purple Grackle<br />
+
+(<i>Quiscalus quiscula</i>) Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CROW BLACKBIRD; MAIZE THIEF; KEEL-TAILED GRACKLE<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_GRACKLE_NEST_AND_YOUNG">49</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Iridescent black, in which metallic violet, blue,
+copper, and green tints predominate. The plumage of this
+grackle has iridescent bars. Iris of eye bright yellow and
+conspicuous. Tail longer than wings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Less brilliant black than male, and smaller.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Gulf of Mexico to 57th parallel north latitude.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Permanent resident in Southern States. Few are
+permanent throughout range. Migrates in immense flocks in
+March and September.</div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg_45]</a></span>
+This "refined crow" (which is really no crow at all except in
+appearance) has scarcely more friends than a thief is entitled to;
+for, although in many sections of the country it has given up its old
+habit of stealing Indian corn and substituted ravages upon the
+grasshoppers instead, it still indulges a crow-like instinct for
+pillaging nests and eating young birds.</p>
+
+<p>Travelling in immense flocks of its own kind, a gregarious bird of the
+first order, it nevertheless is not the social fellow that its cousin,
+the red-winged blackbird, is. It especially holds aloof from mankind,
+and mankind reciprocates its suspicion.</p>
+
+<p>The tallest, densest evergreens are not too remote for it to build its
+home, according to Dr. Abbott, though in other States than New Jersey,
+where he observed them, an old orchard often contains dozens of nests.
+One peculiarity of the grackles is that their eggs vary so much in
+coloring and markings that different sets examined in the same groups
+of trees are often wholly unlike. The average groundwork, however, is
+soiled blue or greenish, waved, streaked, or clouded with brown. These
+are laid in a nest made of miscellaneous sticks and grasses, rather
+carefully constructed, and lined with mud. Another peculiarity is the
+bird's method of steering itself by its tail when it wishes to turn
+its direction or alight.</p>
+
+<p>Peering at you from the top of a dark pine tree with its staring
+yellow eye, the grackle is certainly uncanny. There, very early in the
+spring, you may hear its cracked and wheezy whistle, for, being aware
+that however much it may look like a crow it belongs to another
+family, it makes a ridiculous attempt to sing. When a number of
+grackles lift up their voices at once, some one has aptly likened the
+result to a "good wheel-barrow chorus!" The grackle's mate alone
+appreciates his efforts as, standing on tiptoe, with half-spread wings
+and tail, he pours forth his craven soul to her through a disjointed
+larynx.</p>
+
+<p>With all their faults, and they are numerous, let it be recorded of
+both crows and grackles that they are as devoted lovers as
+turtle-doves. Lowell characterizes them in these four lines:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Fust come the black birds, clatt'rin' in tall trees,</span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And settlin' things in windy Congresses;</span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Queer politicians, though, for I'll be skinned</span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;If all on 'em don't head against the wind."</span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</span><br />
+</div></div>
+<a name="BRONZED_GRACKLE_46" id="BRONZED_GRACKLE_46"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg_46]</a></span>
+The Bronzed Grackle (<i>Quiscalus quiscula &#230;neus</i>) differs from the
+preceding chiefly in the more brownish bronze tint of its plumage and
+its lack of iridescent bars. Its range is more westerly, and in the
+southwest it is particularly common; but as a summer resident it finds
+its way to New England in large numbers. The call-note is louder and
+more metallic than the purple grackle's. In nearly all respects the
+habits of these two birds are identical.</p>
+
+
+<a name="RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46" id="RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Rusty Blackbird<br />
+
+(<i>Scolecophagus carolinus</i>) Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: THRUSH BLACKBIRD; RUSTY GRACKLE; RUSTY ORIOLE;
+RUSTY CROW; BLACKBIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9 to 9.55 inches. A trifle smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;In full plumage, glossy black with metallic
+reflections, intermixed with rusty brown that becomes more
+pronounced as the season advances. Pale straw-colored eyes.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Duller plumage and more rusty, inclining to gray.
+Light line over eye. Smaller than male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Newfoundland to Gulf of Mexico
+and westward to the Plains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. November. A few winter north.</div>
+
+<p>A more sociable bird than the grackle, though it travel in smaller
+flocks, the rusty blackbird condescends to mingle freely with other
+feathered friends in marshes and by brooksides. You can identify it by
+its rusty feathers and pale yellow eye, and easily distinguish the
+rusty-gray female from the female red-wing that is conspicuously
+streaked.</p>
+
+<p>In April flocks of these birds may frequently be seen along sluggish,
+secluded streams in the woods, feeding upon the seeds of various water
+or brookside plants, and probably upon insects also. At such times
+they often indulge in a curious spluttering, squeaking, musical
+concert that one listens to with pleasure. The breeding range is
+mostly north of the United States. But little seems to be known of the
+birds' habits in their northern home.</p>
+
+<p>Why it should ever have been called a thrush blackbird is one of those
+inscrutable mysteries peculiar to the naming of birds
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg_47]</a></span>
+which are so frequently called precisely what they are not. In spite
+of the compliment implied in associating the name of one of our finest
+songsters with it, the rusty blackbird has a clucking call as
+unmusical as it is infrequent, and only very rarely in the spring does
+it pipe a note that even suggests the sweetness of the redwing's.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD_47" id="RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD_47"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Red-winged Blackbird<br />
+
+(<i>Agelaius ph&oelig;niceus</i>) Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SWAMP BLACKBIRD; RED-WINGED ORIOLE; RED-WINGED STARLING<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD">29</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;Exceptionally variable&mdash;7.50 to 9.80 inches. Usually
+about an inch smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Coal-black. Shoulders scarlet, edged with yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Feathers finely and inconspicuously speckled with
+brown, rusty black, whitish, and orange. Upper wing-coverts
+rusty black, tipped with white, or rufous and sometimes
+spotted with black and red.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America. Breeds from Texas to Columbia River,
+and throughout the United States. Commonly found from Mexico
+to 57th degree north latitude.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>In oozy pastures where a brook lazily finds its way through the farm
+is the ideal pleasure ground of this "bird of society." His notes,
+"<i>h'-wa-ker-ee</i>" or "<i>con-quer-ee</i>" (on an ascending scale), are
+liquid in quality, suggesting the sweet, moist, cool retreats where he
+nests. Liking either heat or cold (he is fond of wintering in Florida,
+but often retreats to the north while the marshes are still frozen);
+enjoying not only the company of large flocks of his own kind with
+whom he travels, but any bird associates with whom he can scrape
+acquaintance; or to sit quietly on a tree-top in the secluded,
+inaccessible bog while his mate is nesting; satisfied with cut-worms,
+grubs, and insects, or with fruit and grain for his food&mdash;the
+blackbird is an impressive and helpful example of how to get the best
+out of life.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, of all the birds, some farmers complain that the blackbird is the
+greatest nuisance. They dislike the noisy chatterings when a flock is
+simply indulging its social instincts. They
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg_48]</a></span>
+complain, too, that the blackbirds eat their corn, forgetting that
+having devoured innumerable grubs from it during the summer, the birds
+feel justly entitled to a share of the profits. Though occasionally
+guilty of eating the farmer's corn and oats and rice, yet it has been
+found that nearly seven-eighths of the redwing's food is made up of
+weed-seeds or of insects injurious to agriculture.</p>
+
+<p>This bird builds its nest in low bushes on the margin of ponds or low
+in the bog grass of marshes. From three to five pale-blue eggs,
+curiously streaked, spotted, and scrawled with black or purple,
+constitute a brood. Nursery duties are soon finished, for in July the
+young birds are ready to gather in flocks with their elders.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"The blackbirds make the maples ring<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;With social cheer and jubilee;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;The red-wing flutes his 'O-ka-lee!'"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i15">&mdash;<i>Emerson.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_YOUNG_KINGFISHERS" id="IMG_YOUNG_KINGFISHERS"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus078.png" width="435" height="629" alt="YOUNG KINGFISHERS" title="YOUNG KINGFISHERS" /><br />
+<span class="caption">YOUNG KINGFISHERS</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_GRACKLE_NEST_AND_YOUNG" id="IMG_GRACKLE_NEST_AND_YOUNG"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus079.png" width="441" height="624" alt="GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG" title="GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG" /><br />
+<span class="caption">GRACKLE&#39;S NEST AND YOUNG.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PURPLE_MARTIN_48" id="PURPLE_MARTIN_48"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Purple Martin<br />
+
+(<i>Progne subis</i>) Swallow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_PURPLE_MARTIN">44</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 8 inches. Two or three inches smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Rich glossy black with bluish and purple reflections;
+duller black on wings and tail. Wings rather longer than the
+tail, which is forked.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;More brownish and mottled; grayish below.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Peculiar to America. Penetrates from Arctic Circle to
+South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April. Early September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>In old-fashioned gardens, set on a pole over which honeysuckle and
+roses climbed from a bed where China pinks, phlox, sweet Williams, and
+hollyhocks crowded each other below, martin boxes used always to be
+seen with a pair of these large, beautiful swallows circling overhead.
+But now, alas! the boxes, where set up at all, are quickly monopolized
+by the English sparrow, a bird that the martin, courageous as a
+kingbird in attacking crows and hawks, tolerates as a neighbor only
+when it must.</p>
+
+<p>Bradford Torrey tells of seeing quantities of long-necked squashes
+dangling from poles about the negro cabins all through
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg_49]</a></span>
+the South. One day he asked an old colored man what these squashes
+were for.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, deh is martins' boxes," said Uncle Remus. "No danger of hawks
+carryin' off de chickens so long as de martins am around."</p>
+
+<p>The Indians, too, have always had a special liking for this bird. They
+often lined a hollowed-out gourd with bits of bark and fastened it in
+the crotch of their tent poles to invite its friendship. The Mohegan
+Indians have called it "the bird that never rests"&mdash;a name better
+suited to the tireless barn swallow, Dr. Abbott thinks.</p>
+
+<p>Wasps, beetles, and all manner of injurious garden insects constitute
+its diet&mdash;another reason for its universal popularity. It is simple
+enough to distinguish the martins from the other swallows by their
+larger size and iridescent dark coat, not to mention their song, which
+is very soft and sweet, like musical laughter, rippling up through the
+throat.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="COWBIRD_49" id="COWBIRD_49"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Cowbird<br />
+
+(<i>Molothrus ater</i>) Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BROWN-HEADED ORIOLE; COW-PEN BIRD; COW BLACKBIRD;
+COW BUNTING</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Iridescent black, with head, neck, and breast
+glistening brown. Bill dark brown, feet brownish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Dull grayish-brown above, a shade lighter below, and
+streaked with paler shades of brown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, from coast to coast. North into
+British America, south into Mexico.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. November. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The cowbird takes its name from its habit of walking about among the
+cattle in the pasture, picking up the small insects which the cattle
+disturb in their grazing. The bird may often be seen within a foot or
+two of the nose of a cow or heifer, walking briskly about like a
+miniature hen, intently watching for its insect prey.</p>
+
+<p>Its marital and domestic character is thoroughly bad.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg_50]</a></span>
+Polygamous and utterly irresponsible for its offspring, this bird
+forms a striking contrast to other feathered neighbors, and indeed is
+almost an anomaly in the animal kingdom. In the breeding season an
+unnatural mother may be seen skulking about in the trees and
+shrubbery, seeking for nests in which to place a surreptitious egg,
+never imposing it upon a bird of its size, but selecting in a cowardly
+way a small nest, as that of the vireos or warblers or chipping
+sparrows, and there leaving the hatching and care of its young to the
+tender mercies of some already burdened little mother. It has been
+seen to remove an egg from the nest of the red-eyed vireo in order to
+place one of its own in its place. Not finding a convenient nest, it
+will even drop its eggs on the ground, trusting them to merciless
+fate, or, still worse, devouring them. The eggs are nearly an inch
+long, white speckled with brown or gray. (Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_COWBIRD">54</a>.)</p>
+
+<p>Cowbirds are gregarious. The ungrateful young birds, as soon as they
+are able to go roaming, leave their foster-parents and join the flock
+of their own kind. In keeping with its unclean habits and unholy life
+and character, the cowbird's ordinary note is a gurgling, rasping
+whistle, followed by a few sharp notes.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<div class="caption2">The Starling<br />
+
+(<i>Sturnus vulgaris</i>)</div>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 to 9 inches. Weight about equals that of robin,
+but the starling, with its short, drooping tail, is chunkier
+in appearance.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Iridescent black with glints of purple, green, and
+blue. On back the black feathers, with iridescence of green,
+and bronze, are tipped with brown, as are some of the tail and
+wing feathers. In autumn and early winter feathers of sides of
+head, breast, flanks and underparts are tipped with white,
+giving a gray, mottled appearance. During the winter most of
+the white tips on breast and underparts wear off. Until the
+first moult in late summer the young birds are a dark
+olive-brown in color, with white or whitish throat. These
+differences in plumage at different seasons and different ages
+make starlings hard to identify. Red-winged blackbirds and
+grackles are often mistaken for them. From early spring till
+mid-June, starling's rather long, sharp bill is yellow.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50a" id="Page_50a">[Pg_50a]</a></span>
+Later in summer it darkens. No other black bird of ours has this
+yellow bill at any season.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar in appearance.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Massachusetts to Maryland. Not common beyond 100
+miles inland. (Native of northern Europe and Asia.)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Permanent resident, but flocks show some
+tendency to drift southward in winter.</div>
+
+<p>This newcomer to our shores is by no means so black as he has been
+painted. Like many other European immigrants he landed at or near
+Castle Garden, New York City, and his descendants have not cared to
+wander very far from this vicinity, preferring regions with a pretty
+numerous human population. The starlings have increased so fast in
+this limited region since their first permanent settlement in Central
+Park about 1890 that farmers and suburban dwellers have feared that
+they might become as undesirable citizens as some other Europeans&mdash;the
+brown rat, the house mouse, and the English sparrow. But a very
+thorough investigation conducted by the United States Bureau of
+Biological Survey (Bulletin No. 868, 1921) is most reassuring in its
+results.</p>
+
+<p>Let us first state the case for the prosecution: (1) the starling must
+plead guilty to a fondness for cultivated cherries; (2) he is often a
+persecutor of native birds, like the bluebird and flicker; (3) his
+roosts, where he sometimes congregates in thousands in the autumn, are
+apt to become public nuisances, offensive alike to the eye, the nose
+and the ear.</p>
+
+<p>But these offences are not so very serious after all. He does not eat
+so many cherries as our old friend the robin, though his depredations
+are more conspicuous, for whereas the robins in ones and twos will
+pilfer steadily from many trees for many days without attracting
+notice, a crowd of starlings is occasionally observed to descend <i>en
+masse</i> upon a single tree and strip it in a few hours. Naturally such
+high-handed procedure is observed by many and deeply resented by the
+owner of the tree, who suffers the steady but less spectacular raids
+of the robins without serious disquiet.</p>
+
+<p>Less can be said in defense of the starling's scandalous treatment of
+some native birds. "Unrelenting perseverance dominates the starling's
+activities when engaged in a controversy over a nesting site. More of
+its battles are won by dogged persistence in annoying its victim than
+by bold aggression, and its irritating tactics are sometimes carried
+to such a point that it seems almost as if
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50b" id="Page_50b">[Pg_50b]</a></span>
+the bird were actuated more by a morbid pleasure of annoying its
+neighbors than by any necessity arising from a scarcity of nesting
+sites&#8230;.</p>
+
+<p>"In contests with the flicker the starling frequently makes up in
+numbers what disadvantage it may have in size. Typical of such combats
+was the one observed on May 9, at Hartford, Conn., where a group of
+starlings and a flicker were in controversy over a newly excavated
+nest. The number of starlings varied, but as many as 6 were noted at
+one time. Attention was first attracted to the dispute by a number of
+starlings in close proximity to the hole and by the sounds of a tussle
+within. Presently a flicker came out dragging a starling after him.
+The starling continued the battle outside long enough to allow one of
+its comrades to slip into the nest. Of course the flicker had to
+repeat the entire performance. He did this for about half an hour,
+when he gave up, leaving the starlings in possession of the nest&#8230;.</p>
+
+<p>"Economically considered, the starling is the superior of either the
+flicker, the robin, or the English sparrow, three of the species with
+which it comes in contact in its breeding operations. The eggs and
+young of bluebirds and wrens may be protected by the use of nest boxes
+with circular openings 1&#189; inches or less in diameter. This leaves
+the purple martin the only species readily subject to attack by the
+starling, whose economic worth may be considered greater than that of
+the latter, but in no case was the disturbance of a well-established
+colony of martins noted."</p>
+
+<p>As for the nuisance of a big established roost of starlings, it may be
+abated by nightly salvos of Roman candles or blank cartridges,
+continued for a week or at most ten days.</p>
+
+<p>So much for the starling in his aspect as an undesirable citizen.
+Government investigators, by a long-continued study, have discovered
+that his good deeds far outnumber his misdemeanors. Primarily he feeds
+on noxious insects and useless wild fruits. Small truck gardens and
+individual cherry trees may be occasionally raided by large flocks
+with disastrous results in a small way. But on the whole he is a
+useful frequenter of our door-yards who pays his way by destroying
+hosts of cut-worms and equally noxious insects. "A thorough
+consideration of the evidence at hand indicates that, based on food
+habits, the adult starling is the economic superior of the robin,
+catbird, flicker, red-winged blackbird, or grackle." Need more be said
+for him?</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_BLACK_AND_WHITE" id="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_BLACK_AND_WHITE"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg_51]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK AND WHITE</div>
+
+<table summary="Black and White Birds">
+<tr><td>Red-headed Woodpecker</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hairy Woodpecker</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Downy Woodpecker</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Yellow-bellied Woodpecker</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chewink</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Snowflake</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Rose-breasted Grosbeak</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Bobolink</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blackpoll Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-and-white Creeping Warbler</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>See also the Swallows; the Shrikes; Nuthatches and Titmice; the
+Kingbird and other Flycatchers; the Nighthawk; the Redstart; and the
+following Warblers: the Myrtle; the Bay-breasted; the Blackburnian;
+and the Black-throated Blue Warbler.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="RED-HEADED_WOODPECKER_53" id="RED-HEADED_WOODPECKER_53"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg_53]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Red-headed Woodpecker<br />
+
+(<i>Melanerpes erythrocephalus</i>) Woodpecker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: TRI-COLOR, RED-HEAD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8.50 to 9.75 inches. An inch or less smaller than
+the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Head, neck, and throat crimson; breast and
+underneath white; back black and white; wings and tail blue
+black, with broad white band on wings conspicuous in flight.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, east of Rocky Mountains and north to
+Manitoba.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Abundant but irregular migrant. Most commonly
+seen in Autumn, and rarely resident.</div>
+
+<p>In thinly populated sections, where there are few guns about, this is
+still one of the commonest as it is perhaps the most conspicuous
+member of the woodpecker family, but its striking glossy
+black-and-white body and its still more striking crimson head,
+flattened out against the side of a tree like a target, where it is
+feeding, have made it all too tempting a mark for the rifles of the
+sportsmen and the sling-shots of small boys. As if sufficient
+attention were not attracted to it by its plumage, it must needs keep
+up a noisy, guttural rattle, <i>ker-r-ruck, ker-r-ruck,</i> very like a
+tree-toad's call, and flit about among the trees with the restlessness
+of a flycatcher. Yet, in spite of these invitations for a shot to the
+passing gunner, it still multiplies in districts where nuts abound,
+being "more common than the robin" about Washington, says John
+Burroughs.</p>
+
+<p>All the familiar woodpeckers have two characteristics most prominently
+exemplified in this red-headed member of their tribe. The hairy, the
+downy, the crested, the red-bellied, the sapsucker, and the flicker
+have each a red mark somewhere about
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg_54]</a></span>
+their heads as if they had been wounded there and bled a
+little&mdash;some more, some less; and the figures of all of them,
+from much flattening against tree-trunks, have become high-shouldered
+and long-waisted.</p>
+
+<p>The red-headed woodpecker selects, by preference, a partly decayed
+tree in which to excavate a hole for its nest, because the digging is
+easier, and the sawdust and chips make a softer lining than green
+wood. Both male and female take turns in this hollowing-out process.
+The one that is off duty is allowed "twenty minutes for refreshments,"
+consisting of grubs, beetles, ripe apples or cherries, corn, or
+preferably beech-nuts. At a loving call from its mate in the hollow
+tree, it returns promptly to perform its share of the work, when the
+carefully observed "time is up." The heap of sawdust at the bottom of
+the hollow will eventually cradle from four to six glossy-white eggs.</p>
+
+<p>This woodpecker has the thrifty habit of storing away nuts in the
+knot-holes of trees, between cracks in the bark, or in decayed fence
+rails&mdash;too often a convenient storehouse at which the squirrels may
+help themselves. But it is the black snake that enters the nest and
+eats the young family, and that is a more deadly foe than even the
+sportsman or the milliner.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_COWBIRD" id="IMG_COWBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus088.png" width="651" height="454" alt="YELLOWBIRD NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD EGG" title="YELLOWBIRD NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD EGG" /><br />
+<span class="caption">YELLOWBIRD&#39;S NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD&#39;S EGG</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BROTHER_AND_SISTER_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAKS" id="IMG_BROTHER_AND_SISTER_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAKS"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus089a.png" width="635" height="434" alt="BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, TWO WEEKS OLD" title="BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, TWO WEEKS OLD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, TWO WEEKS OLD</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<a name="IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAKS_SIX_DAYS_OLD" id="IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAKS_SIX_DAYS_OLD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus089b.png" width="640" height="429" alt="ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD" title="ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="HAIRY_WOODPECKER_54" id="HAIRY_WOODPECKER_54"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Hairy Woodpecker<br />
+
+(<i>Dryobates villosus</i>) Woodpecker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_DOWNY_AND_HAIRY_WP">45</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Black and white above, white beneath. White stripe down
+the back, composed of long hair-like feathers. Bright-red
+band on the nape of neck. Wings striped and dashed with black
+and white. Outer tail feathers white, without bars. White
+stripe about eyes and on sides of the head.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Without the red band on head, and body more brownish
+than that of the male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern parts of United States, from the Canadian
+border to the Carolinas.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Resident throughout its range.</div>
+
+<p>The bill of the woodpecker is a hammering tool, well fitted for its
+work. Its mission in life is to rid the trees of insects,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg_55]</a></span>
+which hide beneath the bark, and with this end in view, the bird is
+seen clinging to the trunks and branches of trees through fair and
+wintry weather, industriously scanning every inch for the well-known
+signs of the boring worm or destructive fly.</p>
+
+<p>In the autumn the male begins to excavate his winter quarters,
+carrying or throwing out the chips, by which this good workman is
+known, with his beak, while the female may make herself cosey or not,
+as she chooses, in an abandoned hole. About her comfort he seems
+shamefully unconcerned. Intent only on his own, he drills a perfectly
+round hole, usually on the under side of a limb where neither snow nor
+wind can harm him, and digs out a horizontal tunnel in the dry,
+brittle wood in the very heart of the tree, before turning downward
+into the deep, pear-shaped chamber, where he lives in selfish
+solitude. But when the nesting season comes, how devoted he is
+temporarily to the mate he has neglected and even abused through the
+winter! Will she never learn that after her clear-white eggs are laid
+and her brood raised he will relapse into the savage and forget all
+his tender wiles?</p>
+
+<p>The hairy woodpecker, like many another bird and beast, furnishes much
+doubtful weather lore for credulous and inexact observers. "When the
+woodpecker pecks low on the trees, expect warm weather" is a common
+saying, but when different individuals are seen pecking at the same
+time, one but a few feet from the ground, and another among the high
+branches, one may make the prophecy that pleases him best.</p>
+
+<p>The hairy woodpeckers love the deep woods. They are drummers, not
+singers; but when walking in the desolate winter woods even the
+drumming and tapping of the busy feathered workmen on a resonant limb
+is a solace, giving a sense of life and cheerful activity which is
+invigorating.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="DOWNY_WOODPECKER_55" id="DOWNY_WOODPECKER_55"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Downy Woodpecker<br />
+
+(<i>Dryobates pubescens</i>) Woodpecker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_DOWNY_AND_HAIRY_WP">45</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Black above, striped with white. Tail shaped like a
+wedge. Outer tail feathers white, and barred with black.
+Middle tail feathers black. A black stripe on top of head, and
+distinct white band over and under the eyes. Red patch on upper
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg_56]</a></span>
+side of neck. Wings, with six white bands crossing them
+transversely; white underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but without scarlet on the nape, which is white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Labrador to Florida.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Resident all the year throughout its range.</div>
+
+<p>The downy woodpecker is similar to his big relative, the hairy
+woodpecker, in color and shape, though much smaller. His outer tail
+feathers are white, barred with black, but the hairy's white outer
+tail feathers lack these distinguishing marks.</p>
+
+<p>He is often called a sapsucker&mdash;though quite another bird alone merits
+that name&mdash;from the supposition that he bores into the trees for the
+purpose of sucking the sap; but his tongue is ill adapted for such
+use, being barbed at the end, and most ornithologists consider the
+charge libellous. It has been surmised that he bores the numerous
+little round holes close together, so often seen, with the idea of
+attracting insects to the luscious sap. The woodpeckers never drill
+for insects in live wood. The downy actually drills these little holes
+in apple and other trees to feed upon the inner milky bark of the
+tree&mdash;the cambium layer. The only harm to be laid to his account is
+that, in his zeal, he sometimes makes a ring of small holes so
+continuous as to inadvertently damage the tree by girdling it. The
+bird, like most others, does not debar himself entirely from fruit
+diet, but enjoys berries, especially poke-berries.</p>
+
+<p>He is very social with birds and men alike. In winter he attaches
+himself to strolling bands of nuthatches and chickadees, and in summer
+is fond of making friendly visits among village folk, frequenting the
+shade trees of the streets and grapevines of back gardens. He has even
+been known to fearlessly peck at flies on window panes.</p>
+
+<p>In contrast to his large brother woodpecker, who is seldom drawn from
+timber lands, the little downy member of the family brings the comfort
+of his cheery presence to country homes, beating his rolling tattoo in
+spring on some resonant limb under our windows in the garden with a
+strength worthy of a larger drummer.</p>
+
+<p>This rolling tattoo, or drumming, answers several purposes: by it he
+determines whether the tree is green or hollow; it startles insects
+from their lurking places underneath the bark, and it also serves as a
+love song.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW-BELLIED_WOODPECKER_57" id="YELLOW-BELLIED_WOODPECKER_57"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg_57]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">Yellow-bellied Woodpecker<br />
+
+(<i>Sphyrapicus varius</i>) Woodpecker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: THE SAPSUCKER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 to 8.6 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Black, white, and yellowish white above, with
+bright-red crown, chin, and throat. Breast black, in form of
+crescent. A yellowish-white line, beginning at bill and
+passing below eye, merges into the pale yellow of the bird
+underneath. Wings spotted with white, and coverts chiefly
+white. Tail black; white on middle of feathers.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler, and with head and throat white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Labrador to Central America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Resident north of Massachusetts.
+Most common in autumn.</div>
+
+<p>It is sad to record that this exquisitely marked woodpecker, the most
+jovial and boisterous of its family, is one of the very few bird
+visitors whose intimacy should be discouraged. For its useful appetite
+for slugs and insects which it can take on the wing with wonderful
+dexterity, it need not be wholly condemned. But as we look upon a
+favorite maple or fruit tree devitalized or perhaps wholly dead from
+its ravages, we cannot forget that this bird, while a most abstemious
+fruit-eater, has a pernicious and most intemperate thirst for sap.
+Indeed, it spends much of its time in the orchard, drilling holes into
+the freshest, most vigorous trees; then, when their sap begins to
+flow, it siphons it into an insatiable throat, stopping in its orgie
+only long enough to snap at the insects that have been attracted to
+the wounded tree by the streams of its heart-blood now trickling down
+its sides. Another favorite pastime is to strip the bark off a tree,
+then peck at the soft wood underneath&mdash;almost as fatal a habit. It
+drills holes in maples in early spring for sap only. If it drills
+holes in fruit trees it is for the cambium layer, a soft, pulpy,
+nutritious under-bark.</p>
+
+<p>These woodpeckers have a variety of call-notes, but their rapid
+drumming against the limbs and trunks of trees is the sound we always
+associate with them and the sound that Mr. Bicknell says is the
+love-note of the family.</p>
+
+<p>Unhappily, these birds, that many would be glad to have
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg_58]</a></span>
+decrease in numbers, take extra precautions for the safety of their
+young by making very deep excavations for their nests, often as deep
+as eighteen or twenty inches.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CHEWINK_58" id="CHEWINK_58"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Chewink<br />
+
+(<i>Pipilo erythrophthalmus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: GROUND ROBIN; TOWHEE; TOWHEE BUNTING; TOWHEE GROUND
+FINCH; GRASEL</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 to 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts black, sometimes margined with rufous.
+Breast white; chestnut color on sides and rump. Wings marked
+with white. Three outer feathers of tail striped with white,
+conspicuous in flight. Bill black and stout. Red eyes; feet
+brown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Brownish where the male is black. Abdomen shading
+from chestnut to white in the centre.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From Labrador, on the north, to the Southern States;
+west to the Rocky Mountains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. September and October. Summer resident.
+Very rarely a winter resident at the north.</div>
+
+<p>The unobtrusive little chewink is not infrequently mistaken for a
+robin, because of the reddish chestnut on its under parts. Careful
+observation, however, shows important distinctions. It is rather
+smaller and darker in color; its carriage and form are not those of
+the robin, but of the finch. The female is smaller still, and has an
+olive tint in her brown back. Her eggs are inconspicuous in color,
+dirty white speckled with brown, and laid in a sunken nest on the
+ground. Dead leaves and twigs abound, and form, as the anxious mother
+fondly hopes, a safe hiding place for her brood. So careful
+concealment, however, brings peril to the fledglings, for the most
+cautious bird-lover may, and often does, inadvertently set his foot on
+the hidden nest.</p>
+
+<p>The chewink derives its name from the fancied resemblance of its note
+to these syllables, while those naming it "towhee" hear the sound
+<i>to-whick</i>, <i>to-whick</i>, <i>to-whee</i>. Its song is rich, full, and
+pleasing, and given only when the bird has risen to the branches above
+its low foraging ground.</p>
+
+<p>It frequents the border of swampy places and bushy fields.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg_59]</a></span>
+It is generally seen in the underbrush, picking about among the dead
+leaves for its steady diet of earthworms and larv&#230; of insects,
+occasionally regaling itself with a few dropping berries and fruit.</p>
+
+<p>When startled, the bird rises not more than ten or twelve feet from
+the earth, and utters its characteristic calls. On account of this
+habit of flying low and grubbing among the leaves, it is sometimes
+called the ground robin. In the South our modest and useful little
+food-gatherer is often called grasel, especially in Louisiana, where
+it is white-eyed, and is much esteemed, alas! by epicures.</p>
+
+
+<a name="IMG_TOWHEE" id="IMG_TOWHEE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus094.png" width="414" height="607" alt="TOWHEE" title="TOWHEE" /><br />
+<span class="caption">TOWHEE (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male) </span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK" id="IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus095.png" width="424" height="611" alt="ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK" title="ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK" /><br />
+<span class="caption">ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+
+<a name="SNOWFLAKE_59" id="SNOWFLAKE_59"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Snowflake<br />
+
+(<i>Plectrophenax nivalis</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SNOW BUNTING; WHITEBIRD; SNOWBIRD; SNOW LARK</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Head, neck, and beneath soiled white, with
+a few reddish-brown feathers on top of head, and suggesting an
+imperfect collar. Above, grayish brown obsoletely streaked
+with black, the markings being most conspicuous in a band
+between shoulders. Lower tail feathers black; others, white
+and all edged with white. Wings brown, white, and gray.
+Plumage unusually variable. In summer dress (in arctic
+regions) the bird is almost white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Circumpolar regions to Kentucky (in winter only).</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Midwinter visitor; rarely, if ever, resident
+south of arctic regions.</div>
+
+<p>These snowflakes (mentioned collectively, for it is impossible to
+think of the bird except in great flocks) are the "true spirits of the
+snowstorm," says Thoreau. They are animated beings that ride upon it,
+and have their life in it. By comparison with the climate of the
+arctic regions, no doubt our hardiest winter weather seems luxuriously
+mild to them. We associate them only with those wonderful midwinter
+days when sky, fields, and woods alike are white, and a "hard, dull
+bitterness of cold" drives every other bird and beast to shelter. It
+is said they often pass the night buried beneath the snow. They have
+been seen to dive beneath it to escape a hawk.</p>
+
+<p>Whirling about in the drifting snow to catch the seeds on
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg_60]</a></span>
+the tallest stalks that the wind in the open meadows uncovers, the
+snowflakes suggest a lot of dead leaves being blown through the
+all-pervading whiteness. Beautiful soft brown, gray, and predominating
+black-and-white coloring distinguish these capricious visitors from
+the slaty junco, the "snowbird" more commonly known. They are, indeed,
+the only birds we have that are nearly white; and rarely, if ever, do
+they rise far above the ground their plumage so admirably imitates.</p>
+
+<p>At the far north, travellers have mentioned their inspiriting song,
+but in the United States we hear only their cheerful twitter. Nansen
+tells of seeing an occasional snow bunting in that desolation of
+arctic ice where the <i>Fram</i> drifted so long.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK_60" id="ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK_60"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Rose-breasted Grosbeak<br />
+
+(<i>Habia ludoviciana</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_BROTHER_AND_SISTER_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAKS">55</a> and <a href="#IMG_ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK">59</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7.75 to 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Head and upper parts black. Breast has rose-carmine
+shield-shaped patch, often extending downward to the centre of
+the abdomen. Underneath, tail quills, and two spots on wings
+white. Conspicuous yellow, blunt beak.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Brownish, with dark streakings, like a sparrow. No
+rose-color. Light sulphur yellow under wings. Dark brown,
+heavy beak.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from southern Canada to
+Panama.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>A certain ornithologist tells with complacent pride of having shot
+over fifty-eight rose-breasted grosbeaks in less than three weeks
+(during the breeding season) to learn what kind of food they had in
+their crops. This kind of devotion to science may have quite as much
+to do with the growing scarcity of this bird in some localities as the
+demands of the milliners, who, however, receive all of the blame for
+the slaughter of our beautiful songsters. The farmers in Pennsylvania,
+who, with more truth than poetry, call this the potato-bug bird, are
+taking active measures, however, to protect the neighbor that is more
+useful to their crop than all the insecticides known. It also eats
+flies, wasps, and grubs.</p>
+
+<p>Seen upon the ground, the dark bird is scarcely attractive with his
+clumsy beak overbalancing a head that protrudes with stupid-looking
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg_61]</a></span>
+awkwardness; but as he rises into the trees his lovely rose-colored
+breast and under-wing feathers are seen, and before he has had time to
+repeat his delicious, rich-voiced warble you are already in love with
+him. Vibrating his wings after the manner of the mocking-bird, he
+pours forth a marvellously sweet, clear, mellow song (with something
+of the quality of the oriole's, robin's, and thrush's notes), making
+the day on which you first hear it memorable. This is one of the few
+birds that sing at night. A soft, sweet, rolling warble, heard when
+the moon is at its full on a midsummer night, is more than likely to
+come from the rose-breasted grosbeak.</p>
+
+<p>It is not that his quiet little sparrow-like wife has advanced notions
+of feminine independence that he takes his turn at sitting upon the
+nest, but that he is one of the most unselfish and devoted of mates.
+With their combined efforts they construct only a coarse, unlovely
+cradle in a thorn-bush or low tree near an old, overgrown pasture lot.
+The father may be the poorest of architects, but as he patiently sits
+brooding over the green, speckled eggs, his beautiful rosy breast just
+showing above the grassy rim, he is a sufficient adornment for any
+bird's home.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BOBOLINK_61" id="BOBOLINK_61"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Bobolink<br />
+
+(<i>Dolichonyx oryzivorus</i>) Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: REEDBIRD; MAYBIRD; MEADOW-BIRD; AMERICAN ORTOLAN;
+BUTTER-BIRD; SKUNK BLACKBIRD<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BOBOLINK">74</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;<i>In spring plumage</i>: black, with light-yellow patch on
+upper neck, also on edges of wings and tail feathers. Rump and
+upper wings splashed with white. Middle of back streaked with
+pale buff. Tail feathers have pointed tips. <i>In autumn</i>
+<i>plumage</i>, resembles female.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Dull yellow-brown, with light and dark dashes on
+back, wings, and tail. Two decided dark stripes on top of
+head.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from eastern coast to western
+prairies. Migrates in early autumn to Southern States, and in
+winter to South America and West Indies.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. From August to October. Common summer
+resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg_62]</a></span>
+Perhaps none of our birds have so fitted into song and story as the
+bobolink. Unlike a good child, who should "be seen and not heard," he
+is heard more frequently than seen. Very shy, of peering eyes, he
+keeps well out of sight in the meadow grass before entrancing our
+listening ears. The bobolink never soars like the lark, as the poets
+would have us believe, but generally sings on the wing, flying with a
+peculiar self-conscious flight horizontally thirty or forty feet above
+the meadow grass. He also sings perched upon the fence or tuft of
+grass. He is one of the greatest <i>poseurs</i> among the birds.</p>
+
+<p>In spring and early summer the bobolinks respond to every poet's
+effort to imitate their notes. "Dignified 'Robert of Lincoln' is
+telling his name," says one; "Spink, spank, spink," another hears him
+say. But best of all are Wilson Flagg's lines:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i7">&#8230; "Now they rise and now they fly;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">They cross and turn, and in and out,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">and down the middle and wheel about,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With a 'Phew, shew, Wadolincon;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">listen to me Bobolincon!'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>After midsummer the cares of the family have so worn upon the jollity
+of our dashing, rollicking friend that his song is seldom heard. The
+colors of his coat fade into a dull yellowish brown like that of his
+faithful mate, who has borne the greater burden of the season, for he
+has two complete moults each year.</p>
+
+<p>The bobolinks build their nest on the ground in high grass. The eggs
+are of a bluish white. Their food is largely insectivorous:
+grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, with seeds of grass
+especially for variety.</p>
+
+<p>In August they begin their journey southward, flying mainly by night.
+Arriving in the Southern States, they become the sad-colored,
+low-voiced rice or reed bird, feeding on the rice fields, where they
+descend to the ignominious fate of being dressed for the plate of the
+epicure.</p>
+
+<p>Could there be a more tragic ending to the glorious note of the gay
+songster of the north?</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLACKPOLL_WARBLER_63" id="BLACKPOLL_WARBLER_63"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg_63]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Blackpoll Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica striata</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Black cap; cheeks and beneath grayish white, forming a
+sort of collar, more or less distinct. Upper parts striped
+gray, black, and olive. Breast and under parts white, with
+black streaks. Tail olive-brown, with yellow-white spots.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Without cap. Greenish-olive above, faintly streaked
+with black. Paler than male. Bands on wings, yellowish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, to Greenland and Alaska. In winter, to
+northern part of South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Last of May. Late October.</div>
+
+<p>A faint "<i>screep</i>, <i>screep</i>," like "the noise made by striking two
+pebbles together," Audubon says, is often the only indication of the
+blackpoll's presence; but surely that tireless bird-student had heard
+its more characteristic notes, which, rapidly uttered, increasing in
+the middle of the strain and diminishing toward the end, suggest the
+shrill, wiry hum of some midsummer insect. After the opera-glass has
+searched him out we find him by no means an inconspicuous bird. A
+dainty little fellow, with a glossy black cap pulled over his eyes, he
+is almost hidden by the dense foliage on the trees by the time he
+returns to us at the very end of spring. Giraud says that he is the
+very last of his tribe to come north, though the bay-breasted warbler
+has usually been thought the bird to wind up the spring procession.</p>
+
+<p>The blackpoll has a certain characteristic motion that distinguishes
+him from the black-and-white creeper, for which a hasty glance might
+mistake him, and from the jolly little chickadee with his black cap.
+Apparently he runs about the tree-trunk, but in reality he so flits
+his wings that his feet do not touch the bark at all; yet so rapidly
+does he go that the flipping wing-motion is not observed. He is most
+often seen in May in the apple trees, peeping into the opening
+blossoms for insects, uttering now and then his slender, lisping,
+brief song.</p>
+
+<p>Vivacious, a busy hunter, often catching insects on the wing like the
+flycatchers, he is a cheerful, useful neighbor the short time he
+spends with us before travelling to the far north, where he mates and
+nests. A nest has been found on Slide Mountain, in the Catskills, but
+the hardy evergreens of Canada, and sometimes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg_64]</a></span>
+those of northern New England, are the chosen home of this little bird
+that builds a nest of bits of root, lichens, and sedges, amply large
+for a family twice the size of his.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLACK-AND-WHITE_CREEPING_WARBLER_64" id="BLACK-AND-WHITE_CREEPING_WARBLER_64"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Black-and-white Creeping Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Mniotilta varia</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: VARIED CREEPING WARBLER; BLACK-AND-WHITE CREEPER;
+WHITEPOLL WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts white, varied with black. A white stripe
+along the summit of the head and back of the neck, edged with
+black. White line above and below the eye. Black cheeks and
+throat, grayish in females and young. Breast white in middle,
+with black stripes on sides. Wings and tail rusty black, with
+two white cross-bars on former, and soiled white markings on
+tail quills.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler and less distinct markings throughout.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Peculiar to America. Eastern United States and
+westward to the plains. North as far as the fur countries.
+Winters in tropics south of Florida.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. Late September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Nine times out of ten this active little warbler is mistaken for the
+downy woodpecker, not because of his coloring alone, but also on
+account of their common habit of running up and down the trunks of
+trees and on the under side of branches, looking for insects, on which
+all the warblers subsist. But presently the true warbler
+characteristic of restless flitting about shows itself. A woodpecker
+would go over a tree with painstaking, systematic care, while the
+black-and-white warbler, no less intent upon securing its food,
+hurries off from tree to tree, wherever the most promising <i>menu</i> is
+offered.</p>
+
+<p>Clinging to the mottled bark of the tree-trunk, which he so closely
+resembles, it would be difficult to find him were it not for these
+sudden flittings and the feeble song, "<i>Weachy</i>, <i>weachy</i>, <i>weachy</i>,
+<i>'twee</i>, <i>'twee</i>, <i>'tweet</i>," he half lisps, half sings between his
+dashes after slugs. Very rarely indeed can his nest be found in an old
+stump or mossy bank, where bark, leaves, and hair make the downy
+cradle for his four or five tiny babies.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="DUSKY_GRAY_AND_SLATE-COLORED_BIRDS" id="DUSKY_GRAY_AND_SLATE-COLORED_BIRDS"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg_65]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">DUSKY AND GRAY AND SLATE-COLORED BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Slate-colored Birds">
+<tr><td>Chimney Swift</td><td>Junco</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kingbird</td><td>White-breasted Nuthatch</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Wood Pewee</td><td>Red-breasted Nuthatch</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ph&oelig;be and Say's Ph&oelig;be</td><td>Loggerhead Shrike</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Crested Flycatcher</td><td>Northern Shrike</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Olive-sided Flycatcher</td><td>Bohemian Waxwing</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Least Flycatcher</td><td>Bay-breasted Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Chickadee</td><td>Chestnut-sided Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Tufted Titmouse</td><td>Golden-winged Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Canada Jay</td><td>Myrtle Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Catbird</td><td>Parula Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Mocking-bird</td><td>Black-throated Blue Warbler</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>See also the Grayish Green and the Grayish Brown Birds, particularly
+the Cedar Bird, several Swallows, the Acadian and the Yellow-bellied
+Flycatchers; Alice's and the Olive-backed Thrushes; the Louisiana
+Water Thrush; the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; and the Seaside Sparrow. See
+also the females of the following birds: Pine Grosbeak; White-winged
+Red Crossbill; Purple Martin; and the Nashville, the Pine, and the
+Magnolia Warblers.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CHIMNEY_SWIFT" id="IMG_CHIMNEY_SWIFT"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus104.png" width="435" height="609" alt="CHIMNEY SWIFT" title="CHIMNEY SWIFT" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CHIMNEY SWIFT (One-half natural size)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg_67]</a></span></p>
+<a name="CHIMNEY_SWIFT_67" id="CHIMNEY_SWIFT_67"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Chimney Swift<br />
+
+(<i>Ch&#230;tura pelagica</i>) Swift family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also:</i> CHIMNEY SWALLOW; AMERICAN SWIFT<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CHIMNEY_SWIFT">66</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.45 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow. Long wings make its length appear greater.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Deep sooty gray; throat of a trifle lighter
+gray. Wings extend an inch and a half beyond the even tail,
+which has sharply pointed and very elastic quills, that serve
+as props. Feet are muscular, and have exceedingly sharp claws.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Peculiar to North America east of the Rockies, and
+from Labrador to Panama.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. September or October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The chimney swift is, properly speaking, not a swallow at all, though
+chimney swallow is its more popular name. Rowing towards the roof of
+your house, as if it used first one wing, then the other, its flight,
+while swift and powerful, is stiff and mechanical, unlike the
+swallow's, and its entire aspect suggests a bat. The nighthawk and
+whippoorwill are its relatives, and it resembles them not a little,
+especially in its nocturnal habits.</p>
+
+<p>So much fault has been found with the misleading names of many birds,
+it is pleasant to record the fact that the name of the chimney swift
+is everything it ought to be. No other birds can surpass and few can
+equal it in its powerful flight, sometimes covering a thousand miles
+in twenty-four hours, it is said, and never resting except in its
+roosting places (hollow trees or chimneys of dwellings), where it does
+not perch, but rather clings to the sides with its sharp claws, partly
+supported by its sharper tail. Audubon tells of a certain plane tree
+in Kentucky where he counted over nine thousand of these swifts
+clinging to the hollow trunk.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg_68]</a></span>
+Their nest, which is a loosely woven twig lattice, made of twigs of
+trees, which the birds snap off with their beaks and carry in their
+beaks, is glued with the bird's saliva or tree-gum into a solid
+structure, and firmly attached to the inside of chimneys, or hollow
+trees where there are no houses about. Two broods in a season usually
+emerge from the pure white, elongated eggs.</p>
+
+<p>What a twittering there is in the chimney that the swifts appropriate
+after the winter fires have died out! Instead of the hospitable column
+of smoke curling from the top, a cloud of sooty birds wheels and
+floats above it. A sound as of distant thunder fills the chimney as a
+host of these birds, startled, perhaps, by some indoor noise, whirl
+their way upward. Woe betide the happy colony if a sudden cold snap in
+early summer necessitates the starting of a fire on the hearth by the
+unsuspecting householder! The glue being melted by the fire, "down
+comes the cradle, babies and all" into the glowing embers. A
+prolonged, heavy rain also causes their nests to loosen their hold and
+fall with the soot to the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Thrifty New England housekeepers claim that bedbugs, commonly found on
+bats, infest the bodies of swifts also, which is one reason why wire
+netting is stretched across the chimney tops before the birds arrive
+from the South.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="KINGBIRD_68" id="KINGBIRD_68"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Kingbird<br />
+
+(<i>Tyrannus tyrannus</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also:</i> TYRANT FLYCATCHER; BEE MARTIN<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_KINGBIRD">12</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 inches. About two inches shorter than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Ashy black above; white, shaded with ash-color,
+beneath. A concealed crest of orange-red on crown. Tail black,
+terminating with a white band conspicuous in flight. Wing
+feathers edged with white. Feet and bill black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar to the male, but lacking the crown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States to the Rocky Mountains. British
+provinces to Central and South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>If the pugnacious propensity of the kingbird is the occasion of its
+royal name, he cannot be said to deserve it from any fine or noble
+qualities he possesses. He is a born fighter from the very
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg_69]</a></span>
+love of it, without provocation, rhyme, or reason. One can but watch
+with a degree of admiration his bold sallies on the big, black crow or
+the marauding hawk, but when he bullies the small inoffensive birds in
+wanton attacks for sheer amusement, the charge is less entertaining.
+Occasionally, when the little victim shows pluck and faces his
+assailant, the kingbird will literally turn tail and show the white
+feather. His method of attack is always when a bird is in flight; then
+he swoops down from the telegraph pole or high point of vantage, and
+strikes on the head or back of the neck, darting back like a flash to
+the exact spot from which he started. By these tactics he avoids a
+return blow and retreats from danger. He never makes a fair
+hand-to-hand fight, or whatever is equivalent in bird warfare. It is a
+satisfaction to record that he does not attempt to give battle to the
+catbird, but whenever in view makes a grand detour to give him a wide
+berth.</p>
+
+<p>The kingbird feeds on beetles, canker-worms, and winged insects, with
+an occasional dessert of berries. He is popularly supposed to prefer
+the honey-bee as his favorite tidbit, but the weight of opinion is
+adverse to the charge of his depopulating the beehive, even though he
+owes his appellation bee martin to this tradition. One or two
+ornithologists declare that he selects only the drones for his diet,
+which would give him credit for marvellous sight in his rapid motion
+through the air. The kingbird is preëminently a bird of the garden and
+orchard. The nest is open, though deep, and not carefully concealed.
+Eggs are nearly round, bluish white spotted with brown and lilac. With
+truly royal exclusiveness, the tyrant favors no community of interest,
+but sits in regal state on a conspicuous throne, and takes his grand
+flights alone or with his queen, but never with a flock of his kind.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WOOD_PEWEE_69" id="WOOD_PEWEE_69"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Wood Pewee<br />
+
+(<i>Contopus virens</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.50 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Dusky brownish olive above, darkest on head; paler on
+throat, lighter still underneath, and with a yellowish tinge
+on the dusky gray under parts. Dusky wings and tail, the wing
+coverts tipped with soiled white, forming two indistinct bars.
+Whitish eye-ring. Wings longer than tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but slightly more buff underneath.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg_70]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Florida to northern
+British provinces. Winters in Central America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The wood pewee, like the olive-sided flycatcher, has wings decidedly
+longer than its tail, and it is by no means a simple matter for the
+novice to tell these birds apart or separate them distinctly in the
+mind from the other members of a family whose coloring and habits are
+most confusingly similar. This dusky haunter of tall shady trees has
+not yet learned to be sociable like the ph&oelig;be; but while it may not
+be so much in evidence close to our homes, it is doubtless just as
+common. The orchard is as near the house as it often cares to come. An
+old orchard, where modern insecticides are unknown and neglect allows
+insects to riot among the decayed bark and fallen fruit, is a happy
+hunting ground enough; but the bird's real preferences are decidedly
+for high tree-tops in the woods, where no sunshine touches the
+feathers on his dusky coat. It is one of the few shade-loving birds.
+In deep solitudes, where it surely retreats by nesting time, however
+neighborly it may be during the migrations, its pensive, pathetic
+notes, long drawn out, seem like the expression of some hidden sorrow.
+<i>Pe-a-wee</i>, <i>pe-a-wee</i>, <i>pewee-ah-peer</i> is the burden of its plaintive
+song, a sound as depressing as it is familiar in every walk through
+the woods, and the bird's most prominent characteristic.</p>
+
+<p>To see the bird dashing about in his a&#235;rial chase for insects, no one
+would accuse him of melancholia. He keeps an eye on the "main chance,"
+whatever his preying grief may be, and never allows it to affect his
+appetite. Returning to his perch after a successful sally in pursuit
+of the passing fly, he repeats his "sweetly solemn thought" over and
+over again all day long and every day throughout the summer.</p>
+
+<p>The wood pewees show that devotion to each other and to their home,
+characteristic of their family. Both lovers work on the construction
+of the flat nest that is saddled on some mossy or lichen-covered limb,
+and so cleverly do they cover the rounded edge with bits of bark and
+lichen that sharp eyes only can detect where the cradle lies.
+Creamy-white eggs, whose larger end is wreathed with brown and lilac
+spots, are guarded with fierce solicitude.</p>
+
+<p>Trowbridge has celebrated this bird in a beautiful poem.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PHOEBE_71" id="PHOEBE_71"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg_71]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Ph&oelig;be<br />
+
+(<i>Sayornis ph&oelig;be</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also:</i> DUSKY FLYCATCHER; BRIDGE PEWEE; WATER PEWEE<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_PHOEBE">75</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 inches. About an inch longer than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Dusky olive-brown above; darkest on head,
+which is slightly crested. Wings and tail dusky, the outer
+edges of some tail feathers whitish. Dingy yellowish white
+underneath. Bill and feet black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Newfoundland to the South
+Atlantic States, and westward to the Rockies. Winters south of
+the Carolinas, into Mexico, Central America, and the West
+Indies.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The earliest representative of the flycatcher family to come out of
+the tropics where insect life fairly swarms and teems, what does the
+friendly little ph&oelig;be find to attract him to the north in March
+while his prospective dinners must all be still in embryo? He looks
+dejected, it is true, as he sits solitary and silent on some
+projecting bare limb in the garden, awaiting the coming of his tardy
+mate; nevertheless, the date of his return will not vary by more than
+a few days in a given locality year after year. Why birds that are
+mated for life, as these are said to be, and such devoted lovers,
+should not travel together on their journey north, is another of the
+many mysteries of bird-life awaiting solution.</p>
+
+<p>The reunited, happy couple go about the garden and outbuildings like
+domesticated wrens, investigating the crannies on piazzas, where
+people may be coming and going, and boldly entering barn-lofts to find
+a suitable site for the nest that it must take much of both time and
+skill to build.</p>
+
+<p><i>Pewit</i>, <i>ph&oelig;be</i>, <i>ph&oelig;be</i>; <i>pewit</i>, <i>ph&oelig;be</i>, they contentedly
+but rather monotonously sing as they investigate all the sites in the
+neighborhood. Presently a location is chosen under a beam or rafter,
+and the work of collecting moss and mud for the foundation and hair
+and feathers or wool to line the exquisite little home begins. But the
+labor is done cheerfully, with many a sally in midair either to let
+off superfluous high spirits or to catch a morsel on the wing, and
+with many a vivacious outburst of what by courtesy only we may name a
+song.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg_72]</a></span>
+When not domesticated, as these birds are rapidly becoming the
+ph&oelig;bes dearly love a cool, wet woodland retreat. Here they hunt and
+bathe; here they also build in a rocky bank or ledge of rocks or
+underneath a bridge, but always with clever adaptation of their nest
+to its surroundings, out of which it seems a natural growth. It is one
+of the most finished, beautiful nests ever found.</p>
+
+<p>A pair of ph&oelig;bes become attached to a spot where they have once
+nested; they never stray far from it, and return to it regularly,
+though they may not again occupy the old nest. This is because it soon
+becomes infested with lice from the hen's feathers used in lining it,
+for which reason too close relationship with this friendly
+bird-neighbor is discouraged by thrifty housekeepers. When the baby
+birds have come out from the four or six little white eggs, their
+helpless bodies are mercilessly attacked by parasites, and are often
+so enfeebled that half the brood die. The next season another nest
+will be built near the first, the following summer still another,
+until it would appear that a colony of birds had made their homes in
+the place.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the long summer&mdash;for as the ph&oelig;be is the first
+flycatcher to come, so it is the last to go&mdash;the bird is a tireless
+hunter of insects, which it catches on the wing with a sharp click of
+its beak, like the other members of its dexterous family.</p>
+
+<div class="center">&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</div>
+
+<a name="SAYS_FLYCATCHER_72" id="SAYS_FLYCATCHER_72"></a>
+<p>Say's Ph&oelig;be (<i>Sayornis saya</i>) is the Western representative of the
+Eastern species, which it resembles in coloring and many of its
+habits. It is the bird of the open plains, a tireless hunter in midair
+sallies from an isolated perch, and has the same vibrating motion of
+the tail that the Eastern ph&oelig;be indulges in when excited. This bird
+differs chiefly in its lighter coloring, but not in habits, from the
+black pewee of the Pacific slope.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CRESTED_FLYCATCHER_72" id="CRESTED_FLYCATCHER_72"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Great-crested Flycatcher<br />
+
+(<i>Myiarchus crinitus</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CRESTED FLYCATCHER<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CRESTED_FLYCATCHER">106</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8.50 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Feathers of the head pointed and erect.
+Upper parts dark grayish-olive, inclining to rusty brown on
+wings and tail. Wing coverts crossed with two irregular bars
+of yellowish white. Throat gray, shading into sulphur-yellow
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg_73]</a></span>
+underneath, that also extends under the wings. Inner vane of
+several tail quills rusty red. Bristles at base of bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From Mexico, Central America, and West Indies
+northward to southern Canada and westward to the plains. Most
+common in Mississippi basin; common also in eastern United
+States, south of New England.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The most dignified and handsomely dressed member of his family, the
+crested flycatcher has, nevertheless, an air of pensive melancholy
+about him when in repose that can be accounted for only by the pain he
+must feel every time he hears himself screech. His harsh, shrill call,
+louder and more disagreeable than the kingbird's, cannot but rasp his
+ears as it does ours. And yet it is chiefly by this piercing note,
+given with a rising inflection, that we know the bird is in our
+neighborhood; for he is somewhat of a recluse, and we must often
+follow the disagreeable noise to its source in the tree-tops before we
+can catch a glimpse of the screecher. Perched on a high lookout, he
+appears morose and sluggish, in spite of his aristocratic-looking
+crest, trim figure, and feathers that must seem rather gay to one of
+his dusky tribe. A low soliloquy, apparently born of discontent, can
+be overheard from the foot of his tree. But another second, and he has
+dashed off in hot pursuit of an insect flying beyond our sight, and
+with extremely quick, dexterous evolutions in midair, he finishes the
+hunt with a sharp click of his bill as it closes over the unhappy
+victim, and then he returns to his perch. On the wing he is
+exceedingly active and joyous; in the tree he appears just the
+reverse. That he is a domineering fellow, quite as much of a tyrant as
+the notorious kingbird, that bears the greater burden of opprobrium,
+is shown in the fierce way he promptly dashes at a feathered stranger
+that may have alighted too near his perch, and pursues it beyond the
+bounds of justice, all the while screaming his rasping cry into the
+intruder's ears, that must pierce as deep as the thrusts from his
+relentless beak. He has even been known to drive off woodpeckers and
+bluebirds from the hollows in the trees that he, like them, chooses
+for a nest, and appropriate the results of their labor for his
+scarcely less belligerent mate. With a slight but important and
+indispensable addition, the stolen nest is ready to receive her four
+cream-colored eggs, that look as if a pen dipped in purple ink had
+been scratched over them.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg_74]</a></span></p>
+<p>The fact that gives the great-crested flycatcher a unique interest
+among all North American birds is that it invariably lines its nest
+with snake-skins if one can be had. Science would scarcely be worth
+the studying if it did not set our imaginations to work delving for
+plausible reasons for Nature's strange doings. Most of us will
+doubtless agree with Wilson (who made a special study of these
+interesting nests and never found a single one without cast
+snake-skins in it, even in districts where snakes were so rare they
+were supposed not to exist at all), that the lining was chosen to
+terrorize all intruders. The scientific mind that is unwilling to
+dismiss any detail of Nature's work as merely arbitrary and haphazard,
+is greatly exercised over the reason for the existence of crests on
+birds. But, surely, may not the sight of snake-skins that first greet
+the eyes of the fledgling flycatchers as they emerge from the shell be
+a good and sufficient reason why the feathers on their little heads
+should stand on end? "In the absence of a snake-skin, I have found an
+onion skin and shad scales in the nest," says John Burroughs, who
+calls this bird "the wild Irishman of the flycatchers."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BOBOLINK" id="IMG_BOBOLINK"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus114.png" width="428" height="618" alt="BOBOLINK" title="BOBOLINK" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BOBOLINK (Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure, Female)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_PHOEBE" id="IMG_PHOEBE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus115.png" width="437" height="627" alt="PHOEBE" title="PHOEBE" /><br />
+<span class="caption">THE PH&#338;BE</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="OLIVE-SIDED_FLYCATCHER_74" id="OLIVE-SIDED_FLYCATCHER_74"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Olive-sided Flycatcher<br />
+
+(<i>Contopus borealis</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 7.5 inches. About an inch longer than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Dusky olive or grayish brown above; head
+darkest. Wings and tail blackish brown, the former sometimes,
+but not always, margined and tipped with dusky white. Throat
+yellowish white; other under parts slightly lighter shade than
+above. Olive-gray on sides. A tuft of yellowish-white, downy
+feathers on flanks. Bristles at base of bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From Labrador to Panama. Winters in the tropics.
+Nests usually north of United States, but it also breeds in
+the Catskills.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Resident only in northern part
+of its range.</div>
+
+<p>Only in the migrations may people south of Massachusetts hope to see
+this flycatcher, which can be distinguished from the rest of its kin
+by the darker under parts, and by the fluffy, yellowish-white
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg_75]</a></span>
+tufts of feathers on its flanks. Its habits have the family
+characteristics: it takes its food on the wing, suddenly sallying
+forth from its perch, darting about midair to seize its prey, then as
+suddenly returning to its identical point of vantage, usually in some
+distended, dead limb in the tree-top; it is pugnacious, bold, and
+tyrannical; mopish and inert when not on the hunt, but wonderfully
+alert and swift when in pursuit of insect or feathered foe. The short
+necks of the flycatchers make their heads appear large for their
+bodies, a peculiarity slightly emphasized in this member of the
+family.</p>
+
+<p>High up in some evergreen tree, well out on a branch, over which the
+shapeless mass of twigs and moss that serves as a nest is saddled,
+four or five buff-speckled eggs are laid, and by some special
+dispensation rarely fall out of their insecure cradle. A sharp, loud
+whistle, <i>wheu&mdash;o-wheu-o-wheu-o</i>, rings out from the throat of this
+olive-sided tyrant, warning all intruders off the premises; but
+however harshly he may treat the rest of the feathered world, he has
+only gentle devotion to offer his brooding mate.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="LEAST_FLYCATCHER_75" id="LEAST_FLYCATCHER_75"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Least Flycatcher<br />
+
+(<i>Empidonax minimus</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CHEBEC</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Gray or olive-gray above, paler on wings and lower
+part of back, and a more distinct olive-green on head.
+Underneath grayish white, sometimes faintly suffused with pale
+yellow. Wings have whitish bars. White eye-ring. Lower half of
+bill horn-color.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Is slightly more yellowish underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from tropics northward to Quebec.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>This, the smallest member of its family, takes the place of the more
+southerly Acadian flycatcher, throughout New England and the region of
+the Great Lakes. But, unlike his Southern relative, he prefers
+orchards and gardens close to our homes for his hunting grounds rather
+than the wet recesses of the forests. <i>Che-bec</i>, <i>che-bec</i>, the
+diminutive olive-pated gray sprite calls out
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg_76]</a></span>
+from the orchard between his aërial sallies after the passing insects
+that have been attracted by the decaying fruit, and chebec is the name
+by which many New Englanders know him.</p>
+
+<p>While giving this characteristic call-note, with drooping jerking
+tail, trembling wings, and uplifted parti-colored bill, he, looks
+unnerved and limp by the effort it has cost him. But in the next
+instant a gnat flies past. How quickly the bird recovers itself, and
+charges full-tilt at his passing dinner! The sharp click of his little
+bill proves that he has not missed his aim; and after careering about
+in the air another minute or two, looking for more game to snap up on
+the wing, he will return to the same perch and take up his familiar
+refrain. Without hearing this call-note one might often mistake the
+bird for either the wood pewee or the ph&oelig;be, for all the three are
+similarly clothed and have many traits in common. The slightly larger
+size of the ph&oelig;be and pewee is not always apparent when they are
+seen perching on the trees. Unlike the "tuft of hay" to which the
+Acadian flycatcher's nest has been likened, the least flycatcher's
+home is a neat, substantial cup-shaped cradle softly lined with down
+or horsehair, and placed generally in an upright crotch of a tree,
+well above the ground.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CHICKADEE_76" id="CHICKADEE_76"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Chickadee<br />
+
+(<i>Parus atricapillus</i>) Titmouse family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE; BLACK-CAP TIT<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CHICKADEE">78</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Not crested. Crown and nape and throat
+black. Above gray, slightly tinged with brown. A white space,
+beginning at base of bill, extends backward, widening over
+cheeks and upper part of breast, forming a sort of collar that
+almost surrounds neck. Underneath dirty white, with pale
+rusty-brown wash on sides. Wings and tail gray, with white
+edgings. Plumage downy.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America. North of the Carolinas to
+Labrador. Does not migrate in the North.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late September. May. Winter resident; permanent
+resident in northern parts of the United States.</div>
+
+<p>No "fair weather friend" is the jolly little chickadee. In the depth
+of the autumn equinoctial storm it returns to the tops of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg_77]</a></span>
+the trees close by the house, where, through the sunshine, snow, and
+tempest of the entire winter, you may hear its cheery, irrepressible
+<i>chickadee-dee-dee-dee</i> or <i>day-day-day</i> as it swings around the
+dangling cones of the evergreens. It fairly overflows with good
+spirits, and is never more contagiously gay than in a snowstorm. So
+active, so friendly and cheering, what would the long northern winters
+be like without this lovable little neighbor?</p>
+
+<p>It serves a more utilitarian purpose, however, than bracing
+faint-hearted spirits. "There is no bird that compares with it in
+destroying the female canker-worm moths and their eggs," writes a
+well-known entomologist. He calculates that as a chickadee destroys
+about 5,500 eggs in one day, it will eat 138,750 eggs in the
+twenty-five days it takes the canker-worm moth to crawl up the trees.
+The moral that it pays to attract chickadees about your home by
+feeding them in winter is obvious. Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, in her
+delightful and helpful book "Birdcraft," tells us how she makes a sort
+of a bird-hash of finely minced raw meat, waste canary-seed,
+buckwheat, and cracked oats, which she scatters in a sheltered spot
+for all the winter birds. The way this is consumed leaves no doubt of
+its popularity. A raw bone, hung from an evergreen limb, is equally
+appreciated.</p>
+
+<p>Friendly as the chickadee is&mdash;and Dr. Abbott declares it the tamest
+bird we have&mdash;it prefers well-timbered districts, especially where
+there are red-bud trees, when it is time to nest. It is very often
+clever enough to leave the labor of hollowing out a nest in the
+tree-trunk to the woodpecker or nuthatch, whose old homes it readily
+appropriates; or, when these birds object, a knot-hole or a hollow
+fence-rail answers every purpose. Here, in the summer woods, when
+family cares beset it, a plaintive, minor whistle replaces the
+<i>chickadee-dee-dee</i> that Thoreau likens to "silver tinkling" as he
+heard it on a frosty morning.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Piped a tiny voice near by,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Gay and polite, a cheerful cry&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Chick-chickadeedee! saucy note<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Out of sound heart and merry throat,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;As if it said, 'Good-day, good Sir!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Fine afternoon, old passenger!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Happy to meet you in these places<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Where January brings few faces.'"<br /></span>
+<span class="i15">&mdash;<i>Emerson.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="TUFTED_TITMOUSE_78" id="TUFTED_TITMOUSE_78"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg_78]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Tufted Titmouse<br />
+
+(<i>Parus bicolor</i>) Titmouse family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CRESTED TITMOUSE; CRESTED TOMTIT<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_TUFTED_TITMOUSE">79</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 6.5 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Crest high and pointed. Leaden or ash-gray
+above; darkest on wings and tail. Frontlet, bill, and
+shoulders black; space between eyes gray. Sides of head dull
+white. Under parts light gray; sides yellowish, tinged with red.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States east of plains, and only rarely seen so
+far north as New England.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October. April. Winter resident, but also found
+throughout the year in many States.</div>
+
+<p>"A noisy titmouse is Jack Frost's trumpeter" may be one of those few
+weather-wise proverbs with a grain of truth in them. As the chickadee
+comes from the woods with the frost, so it may be noticed his cousin,
+the crested titmouse, is in more noisy evidence throughout the winter.</p>
+
+<p>One might sometimes think his whistle, like a tugboat's, worked by
+steam. But how effectually nesting cares alone can silence it in
+April!</p>
+
+<p>Titmice always see to it you are not lonely as you walk through the
+woods. This lordly tomtit, with his jaunty crest, keeps up a
+persistent whistle at you as he flits from tree to tree, leading you
+deeper into the forest, calling out "<i>Here-here-here!</i>" and looking
+like a pert and jaunty little blue jay, minus his gay clothes. Mr.
+Nehrling translates one of the calls "<i>Heedle-dee-dle-dee-dle-dee!</i>"
+and another "<i>Peto-peto-peto-daytee-daytee!</i>" But it is at the former,
+sharply whistled as the crested titmouse gives it, that every dog
+pricks up his ears.</p>
+
+<p>Comparatively little has been written about this bird, because it is
+not often found in New England, where most of the bird <i>litterateurs</i>
+have lived. South of New York State, however, it is a common resident,
+and much respected for the good work it does in destroying injurious
+insects, though it is more fond of varying its diet with nuts,
+berries, and seeds than that all-round benefactor, the chickadee.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CHICKADEE" id="IMG_CHICKADEE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus120.png" width="437" height="627" alt="CHICKADEE" title="CHICKADEE" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CHICKADEE</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_TUFTED_TITMOUSE" id="IMG_TUFTED_TITMOUSE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus121.png" width="496" height="589" alt="TUFTED TITMOUSE" title="TUFTED TITMOUSE" /><br />
+<div class="caption"><span class="text_lf smaller"><i>National Association of Audubon Societies</i></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="text_rt"><i>See <a href="#Page_37">page 37</a></i></span></div>
+<div class="center caption">TUFTED TITMOUSE</div>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CANADA_JAY_79" id="CANADA_JAY_79"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg_79]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Canada Jay<br />
+
+(<i>Perisoreus canadensis</i>) Crow and Jay family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: WHISKY JACK OR JOHN; MOOSE-BIRD; MEAT-BIRD;
+VENISON HERON; GREASE-BIRD; CANADIAN CARRION-BIRD; CAMP ROBBER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;11 to 12 inches. About two inches larger than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts gray; darkest on wings and tail;
+back of the head and nape of the neck sooty, almost black.
+Forehead, throat, and neck white, and a few white tips on wings
+and tail. Underneath lighter gray. Tail long. Plumage fluffy.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Northern parts of the United States and British
+provinces of North America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Resident where found.</div>
+
+<p>The Canada jay looks like an exaggerated chickadee, and both birds are
+equally fond of bitter cold weather, but here the similarity stops
+short. Where the chickadee is friendly the jay is impudent and bold;
+hardly less of a villain than his blue relative when it comes to
+marauding other birds' nests and destroying their young. With all his
+vices, however, intemperance cannot be attributed to him, in spite of
+the name given him by the Adirondack lumbermen and guides. "Whisky
+John" is a purely innocent corruption of "Wis-ka-tjon," as the Indians
+call this bird that haunts their camps and familiarly enters their
+wigwams. The numerous popular names by which the Canada jays are known
+are admirably accounted for by Mr. Hardy in a bulletin issued by the
+Smithsonian Institution.</p>
+
+<p>"They will enter the tents, and often alight on the bow of a canoe,
+where the paddle at every stroke comes within eighteen inches of them.
+I know nothing which can be eaten that they will not take, and I had
+one steal all my candles, pulling them out endwise, one by one, from a
+piece of birch bark in which they were rolled, and another peck a
+large hole in a keg of castile soap. A duck which I had picked and
+laid down for a few minutes, had the entire breast eaten out by one or
+more of these birds. I have seen one alight in the middle of my canoe
+and peck away at the carcass of a beaver I had skinned. They often
+spoil deer saddles by pecking into them near the kidneys. They
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg_80]</a></span>
+do great damage to the trappers by stealing the bait from traps set for
+martens and minks and by eating trapped game. They will sit quietly
+and see you build a log trap and bait it, and then, almost before your
+back is turned, you hear their hateful <i>ca-ca-ca!</i> as they glide down
+and peer into it. They will work steadily, carrying off meat and
+hiding it. I have thrown out pieces, and watched one to see how much
+he would carry off. He flew across a wide stream, and in a short time
+looked as bloody as a butcher from carrying large pieces; but his
+patience held out longer than mine. I think one would work as long as
+Mark Twain's California jay did trying to fill a miner's cabin with
+acorns through a knot-hole in the roof. They are fond of the berries
+of the mountain ash, and, in fact, few things come amiss; I believe
+they do not possess a single good quality except industry."</p>
+
+<p>One virtue not mentioned by Mr. Hardy is their prudent saving from the
+summer surplus to keep the winter storeroom well supplied like a
+squirrel's. Such thrift is the more necessary when a clamorous, hungry
+family of young jays must be reared while the thermometer is often as
+low as thirty degrees below zero at the end of March. How eggs are
+ever hatched at all in a temperature calculated to freeze any sitting
+bird stiff, is one of the mysteries of the woods. And yet four or five
+fluffy little jays, that look as if they were dressed in gray fur,
+emerge from the eggs before the spring sunshine has unbound the icy
+rivers or melted the snowdrifts piled high around the evergreens.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CATBIRD_80" id="CATBIRD_80"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Catbird<br />
+
+(<i>Galeoscoptes carolinensis</i>) Mocking-bird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-CAPPED THRUSH<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CATBIRD">86</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9 inches. An inch shorter than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Dark slate above; below somewhat paler; top
+of head black. Distinct chestnut patch under the tail, which
+is black; feet and bill black also. Wings short, more than two
+inches shorter than the tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;British provinces to Mexico; west to Rocky Mountains,
+rarely to Pacific coast. Winters in Southern States, Central
+America, and Cuba.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. November. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg_81]</a></span>
+Our familiar catbird, of all the feathered tribe, presents the most
+contrary characteristics, and is therefore held in varied
+estimation&mdash;loved, admired, ridiculed, abused. He is the veriest "Dr.
+Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" of birds. Exquisitely proportioned, with finely
+poised black head and satin-gray coat, which he bathes most carefully
+and prunes and prinks by the hour, he appears from his toilet a Beau
+Brummell, an aristocratic-looking, even dandified neighbor. Suddenly,
+as if shot, he drops head and tail and assumes the most hang-dog air,
+without the least sign of self-respect; then crouches and lengthens
+into a roll, head forward and tail straightened, till he looks like a
+little, short gray snake, lank and limp. Anon, with a jerk and a
+sprint, every muscle tense, tail erect, eyes snapping, he darts into
+the air intent upon some well-planned mischief. It is impossible to
+describe his various attitudes or moods. In song and call he presents
+the same opposite characteristics. How such a bird, exquisite in
+style, can demean himself to utter such harsh, altogether hateful
+catcalls and squawks as have given the bird his common name, is a
+wonder when in the next moment his throat swells and beginning
+<i>phut-phut-coquillicot</i>, he gives forth a long glorious song, only
+second to that of the wood thrush in melody. He is a jester, a
+caricaturist, a mocking-bird.</p>
+
+<p>The catbird's nest is like a veritable scrap-basket, loosely woven of
+coarse twigs, bits of newspaper, scraps, and rags, till this rough
+exterior is softly lined and made fit to receive the four to six
+pretty dark green-blue eggs to be laid therein.</p>
+
+<p>As a fruit thief harsh epithets are showered upon the friendly,
+confiding little creature at our doors; but surely his depredations
+may be pardoned, for he is industrious at all times and unusually
+adroit in catching insects, especially in the moth stage.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="MOCKING-BIRD_81" id="MOCKING-BIRD_81"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Mocking-bird<br />
+
+(<i>Mimus polyglottus</i>) Mocking-bird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_MOCKING-BIRD">13</a> and <a href="#IMG_HUNGRY_YOUNG_MOCKING-BIRDS">107</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Gray above; wings and wedge-shaped tail
+brownish; upper wing feathers tipped with white; outer tail
+quills white, conspicuous in flight; chin white; underneath
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg_82]</a></span></p>light gray, shading to whitish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Peculiar to torrid and temperate zones of two Americas.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;No fixed migrations; usually resident where seen.</div>
+
+<p>North of Delaware this commonest of Southern birds is all too rarely
+seen outside of cages, yet even in midwinter it is not unknown in
+Central Park, New York. This is the angel that it is said the catbird
+was before he fell from grace. Slim, neat, graceful, imitative,
+amusing, with a rich, tender song that only the thrush can hope to
+rival, and with an instinctive preference for the society of man, it
+is little wonder he is a favorite, caged or free. He is a most devoted
+parent, too, when the four or six speckled green eggs have produced as
+many mouths to be supplied with insects and berries.</p>
+
+<p>In the Connecticut Valley, where many mocking-birds' nests have been
+found, year after year, they are all seen near the ground, and without
+exception are loosely, poorly constructed affairs of leaves, feathers,
+grass, and even rags.</p>
+
+<p>With all his virtues, it must be added, however, that this charming
+bird is a sad tease. There is no sound, whether made by bird or beast
+about him, that he cannot imitate so clearly as to deceive every one
+but himself. Very rarely can you find a mocking-bird without
+intelligence and mischief enough to appreciate his ventriloquism. In
+Sidney Lanier's college note-book was found written this reflection:
+"A poet is the mocking-bird of the spiritual universe. In him are
+collected all the individual songs of all individual natures." Later
+in life, with the same thought in mind, he referred to the bird as
+"yon slim Shakespeare on the tree." His exquisite stanzas, "To Our
+Mocking-bird," exalt the singer with the immortals:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Trillets of humor,&mdash;shrewdest whistle-wit&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Contralto cadences of grave desire,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Such as from off the passionate Indian pyre<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Drift down through sandal-odored flames that split<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;About the slim young widow, who doth sit<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And sing above,&mdash;midnights of tone entire,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Tissues of moonlight, shot with songs of fire;&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Bright drops of tune, from oceans infinite<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Of melody, sipped off the thin-edged wave<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And trickling down the beak,&mdash;discourses brave<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Of serious matter that no man may guess,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Good-fellow greetings, cries of light distress&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;All these but now within the house we heard:<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;O Death, wast thou too deaf to hear the bird?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Nay, Bird; my grief gainsays the Lord's best right.</span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg_83]</a></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;The Lord was fain, at some late festal time,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;That Keats should set all heaven's woods in rhyme,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And Thou in bird-notes. Lo, this tearful night<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Methinks I see thee, fresh from Death's despite,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Perched in a palm-grove, wild with pantomime<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;O'er blissful companies couched in shady thyme.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Methinks I hear thy silver whistlings bright<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Meet with the mighty discourse of the wise,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;'Till broad Beethoven, deaf no more, and Keats,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;'Midst of much talk, uplift their smiling eyes<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And mark the music of thy wood-conceits,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And half-way pause on some large courteous word,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And call thee 'Brother,' O thou heavenly Bird!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="JUNCO_83" id="JUNCO_83"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Junco<br />
+
+(<i>Junco hyemalis</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SNOWBIRD; SLATE-COLORED SNOWBIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6.5 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts slate-colored; darkest on head and neck,
+which are sometimes almost black and marked like a cowl. Gray
+on breast, like a vest. Underneath white. Several outer tail
+feathers white, conspicuous in flight.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Lighter gray, inclining to brown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America. Not common in warm latitudes. Breeds
+in the Catskills and northern New England.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;September. April. Winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>"Leaden skies above; snow below," is Mr. Parkhurst's suggestive
+description of this rather timid little neighbor, that is only starved
+into familiarity. When the snow has buried seed and berries, a flock
+of juncos, mingling sociably with the sparrows and chickadees about
+the kitchen door, will pick up scraps of food with an intimacy quite
+touching in a bird naturally rather shy. Here we can readily
+distinguish these "little gray-robed monks and nuns," as Miss Florence
+Merriam calls them.</p>
+
+<p>They are trim, sprightly, sleek, and even natty; their dispositions
+are genial and vivacious, not quarrelsome, like their sparrow cousins,
+and what is perhaps best about them, they are birds we may surely
+depend upon seeing in the winter months. A few come forth in
+September, migrating at night from the deep
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg_84]</a></span>
+woods of the north, where they have nested and moulted during the
+summer; but not until frost has sharpened the air are large numbers of
+them seen. Rejoicing in winter, they nevertheless do not revel in the
+deep and fierce arctic blasts, as the snowflakes do, but take good
+care to avoid the open pastures before the hard storms overtake them.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the spring their song is sometimes heard before they leave us
+to woo and to nest in the north. Mr. Bicknell describes it as "a crisp
+call-note, a simple trill, and a faint, whispered warble, usually much
+broken, but not without sweetness."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WHITE-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_84" id="WHITE-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_84"></a>
+<div class="caption2">White-breasted Nuthatch<br />
+
+(<i>Sitta carolinensis</i>) Nuthatch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: TREE-MOUSE; DEVIL DOWNHEAD<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_NUTHATCHES">87</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts slate-color. Top of head and
+nape black. Wings dark slate, edged with black, that fades to
+brown. Tail feathers brownish black, with white bars. Sides of
+head and underneath white, shading to pale reddish under the
+tail. (Female's head leaden.) Body flat and compact. Bill
+longer than head.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;British provinces to Mexico. Eastern United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October. April. Common resident. Most prominent
+in winter.</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Shrewd little haunter of woods all gray,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Whom I meet on my walk of a winter day&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;You're busy inspecting each cranny and hole<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;In the ragged bark of yon hickory bole;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;You intent on your task, and I on the law<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Of your wonderful head and gymnastic claw!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;The woodpecker well may despair of this feat&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Only the fly with you can compete!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;So much is clear; but I fain would know<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;How you can so reckless and fearless go,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Head upward, head downward, all one to you,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Zenith and nadir the same in your view?"<br /></span>
+<span class="i15">&mdash;<i>Edith M. Thomas.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Could a dozen lines well contain a fuller description or more apt
+characterization of a bird than these "To a Nuthatch"?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg_85]</a></span>
+With more artless inquisitiveness than fear, this lively little
+acrobat stops his hammering or hatcheting at your approach, and
+stretching himself out from the tree until it would seem he must fall
+off, he peers down at you, head downward, straight into your upturned
+opera-glasses. If there is too much snow on the upper side of a
+branch, watch how he runs along underneath it like a fly, busily
+tapping the bark, or adroitly breaking the decayed bits with his bill,
+as he searches for the spider's eggs, larv&#230;, etc., hidden there; yet
+somehow, between mouthfuls, managing to call out his cheery <i>quank!</i>
+<i>quank!</i> <i>hank!</i> <i>hank!</i></p>
+
+<p>Titmice and nuthatches, which have many similar characteristics, are
+often seen in the most friendly hunting parties on the same tree. A
+pine woods is their dearest delight. There, as the mercury goes down,
+their spirits only seem to go up higher. In the spring they have been
+thought by many to migrate in flocks, whereas they are only retreating
+with their relations away from the haunts of men to the deep, cool
+woods, where they nest. With infinite patience the nuthatch excavates
+a hole in a tree, lining it with feathers and moss, and often
+depositing as many as ten white eggs (speckled with red and lilac) for
+a single brood.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="RED-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_85" id="RED-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_85"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Red-breasted Nuthatch<br />
+
+(<i>Sitta canadensis</i>) Nuthatch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">Called also: CANADA NUTHATCH<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_NUTHATCHES">87</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4 to 4.75 inches. One-third smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Lead-colored above; brownish on wings and tail. Head, neck,
+and stripe passing through eye to shoulder, black. Frontlet,
+chin, and shoulders white; also a white stripe over eye, meeting
+on brow. Under parts light, rusty red. Tail feathers barred with
+white near end, and tipped with pale brown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Has crown of brownish black, and is lighter beneath
+than male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Northern parts of North America. Not often seen south
+of the most northerly States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;November. April. Winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>The brighter coloring of this tiny, hardy bird distinguishes it from
+the other and larger nuthatch, with whom it is usually
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg_86]</a></span>
+seen, for the winter birds have a delightfully social manner, so that
+a colony of these Free masons is apt to contain not only both kinds of
+nuthatches and chickadees, but kinglets and brown creepers as well. It
+shares the family habit of walking about the trees, head downward, and
+running along the under side of limbs like a fly. By Thanksgiving Day
+the <i>quank!</i> <i>quank!</i> of the white-breasted species is answered by the
+<i>tai-tai-tait!</i> of the red-breasted cousin in the orchard, where the
+family party is celebrating with an elaborate <i>menu</i> of slugs,
+insects' eggs, and oily seeds from the evergreen trees.</p>
+
+<p>For many years this nuthatch, a more northern species than the
+white-breasted bird, was thought to be only a spring and autumn
+visitor, but latterly it is credited with habits like its congener's
+in nearly every particular.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CATBIRD" id="IMG_CATBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus130.png" width="424" height="626" alt="CATBIRD" title="CATBIRD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CATBIRD</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_NUTHATCHES" id="IMG_NUTHATCHES"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus131.png" width="455" height="568" alt="WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH" title="WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH" /><br />
+<span class="caption">WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Upper Figures, Male and Female<br />RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Lower Figures, Male and Female</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="LOGGERHEAD_SHRIKE_86" id="LOGGERHEAD_SHRIKE_86"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Loggerhead Shrike<br />
+
+(<i>Lanius ludovicianus</i>) Shrike family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8.5 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts gray; narrow black line across
+forehead, connecting small black patches on sides of head at
+base of bill. Wings and tail black, plentifully marked with
+white, the outer tail feathers often being entirely white and
+conspicuous in flight. Underneath white or very light gray.
+Bill hooked and hawk-like.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern United States to the plains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>It is not easy, even at a slight distance, to distinguish the
+loggerhead from the Northern shrike. Both have the pernicious habit of
+killing insects and smaller birds and impaling them on thorns; both
+have the peculiarity of flying, with strong, vigorous flight and much
+wing-flapping, close along the ground, then suddenly rising to a tree,
+on the lookout for prey. Their harsh, unmusical call-notes are similar
+too, and their hawk-like method of dropping suddenly upon a victim on
+the ground below is identical. Indeed, the same description very
+nearly answers for both birds. But there is one very important
+difference. While the Northern shrike is a winter visitor, the
+loggerhead, being his Southern counterpart, does not arrive until
+after the frost is out of the ground, and he can be sure of a truly
+warm welcome. A lesser
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg_87]</a></span>
+distinction between the only two representatives of the shrike family
+that frequent our neighborhood&mdash;and they are two too
+many&mdash;is in the smaller size of the loggerhead and its
+lighter-gray plumage. But as both these birds select some high,
+commanding position, like a distended branch near the tree-top, a
+cupola, house-peak, lightning-rod, telegraph wire, or weather-vane,
+the better to detect a passing dinner, it would be quite impossible
+at such a distance to know which shrike was sitting up there silently
+plotting villainies, without remembering the season when each may be
+expected.</p> <br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="NORTHERN_SHRIKE_87" id="NORTHERN_SHRIKE_87"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Northern Shrike<br />
+
+(<i>Lanius borealis</i>) Shrike family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BUTCHER-BIRD; NINE-KILLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9.5 to 10.5 inches. About the size of the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts slate-gray; wing quills and tail black,
+edged and tipped with white, conspicuous in flight; a white
+spot on centre of outer wing feathers. A black band runs from
+bill, through eye to side of throat. Light gray below, tinged
+with brownish, and faintly marked with waving lines of darker
+gray. Bill hooked and hawk-like.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;With eye-band more obscure than male's, and with more
+distinct brownish cast on her plumage.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Northern North America. South in winter to middle portion of
+United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;November, April. A roving winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>"Matching the bravest of the brave among birds of prey in deeds of
+daring, and no less relentless than reckless, the shrike compels that
+sort of deference, not unmixed with indignation, we are accustomed to
+accord to creatures of seeming insignificance whose exploits demand
+much strength, great spirit, and insatiate love for carnage. We cannot
+be indifferent to the marauder who takes his own wherever he finds
+it&mdash;a feudal baron who holds his own with undisputed sway&mdash;and an ogre
+whose victims are so many more than he can eat, that he actually keeps
+a private graveyard for the balance." Who is honestly able to give the
+shrikes a better character than Dr. Coues, just quoted? A few offer
+them questionable defence by recording the large numbers of English sparrows
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg_88]</a></span>
+they kill in a season, as if wanton carnage were ever
+justifiable.</p>
+
+<p>Not even a hawk itself can produce the consternation among a flock of
+sparrows that the harsh, rasping voice of the butcher-bird creates,
+for escape they well know to be difficult before the small ogre swoops
+down upon his victim, and carries it off to impale it on a thorn or
+frozen twig, there to devour it later piecemeal. Every shrike thus
+either impales or else hangs up, as a butcher does his meat, more
+little birds of many kinds, field-mice, grasshoppers, and other large
+insects than it can hope to devour in a week of bloody orgies.
+Field-mice are perhaps its favorite diet, but even snakes are not
+disdained.</p>
+
+<p>More contemptible than the actual slaughter of its victims, if
+possible, is the method by which the shrike often lures and sneaks
+upon his prey. Hiding in a clump of bushes in the meadow or garden, he
+imitates with fiendish cleverness the call-notes of little birds that
+come in cheerful response, hopping and flitting within easy range of
+him. His bloody work is finished in a trice. Usually, however, it must
+be owned, the shrike's hunting habits are the reverse of sneaking.
+Perched on a point of vantage on some tree-top or weather-vane, his
+hawk-like eye can detect a grasshopper going through the grass fifty
+yards away.</p>
+
+<p>What is our surprise when some fine warm day in March, just before our
+butcher, ogre, sneak, and fiend leaves us for colder regions, to hear
+him break out into song! Love has warmed even his cold heart, and with
+sweet, warbled notes on the tip of a beak that but yesterday was
+reeking with his victim's blood, he starts for Canada, leaving behind
+him the only good impression he has made during a long winter's visit.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BOHEMIAN_WAXWING_88" id="BOHEMIAN_WAXWING_88"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Bohemian Waxwing<br />
+
+(<i>Ampelis garrulus</i>) Waxwing family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-THROATED WAXWING; LAPLAND WAXWING; SILKTAIL</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 to 9.5 inches. A little smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;General color drab, with faint brownish
+wash above, shading into lighter gray below. Crest conspicuous,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg_89]</a></span>being nearly an inch and a half in length;
+rufous at the base, shading into light gray above.
+Velvety-black forehead, chin, and line through the eye. Wings
+grayish brown, with very dark quills, which have two white
+bars; the bar at the edge of the upper wing coverts being
+tipped with red sealing-wax-like points, that give the bird
+its name. A few wing feathers tipped with yellow on outer
+edge. Tail quills dark brown, with yellow band across the end,
+and faint red streaks on upper and inner sides.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Northern United States and British America. Most
+common in Canada and northern Mississippi region.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Very irregular winter visitor.</div>
+
+<p>When Charles Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, who was the first to count
+this common waxwing of Europe and Asia among the birds of North
+America, published an account of it in his "Synopsis," it was
+considered a very rare bird indeed. It may be these waxwings have
+greatly increased, but however uncommon they may still be considered,
+certainly no one who had ever seen a flock containing more than a
+thousand of them, resting on the trees of a lawn within sight of New
+York City, as the writer has done, could be expected to consider the
+birds "very rare."</p>
+
+<p>The Bohemian waxwing, like the only other member of the family that
+ever visits us, the cedar-bird, is a roving gipsy. In Germany they say
+seven years must elapse between its visitations, which the
+superstitious old cronies are wont to associate with woful stories of
+pestilence&mdash;just such tales as are resurrected from the depths of
+morbid memories here when a comet reappears or the seven-year locust
+ascends from the ground.</p>
+
+<p>The goings and comings of these birds are certainly most erratic and
+infrequent; nevertheless, when hunger drives them from the far north
+to feast upon the juniper and other winter berries of our Northern
+States, they come in enormous flocks, making up in quantity what they
+lack in regularity of visits and evenness of distribution.</p>
+
+<p>Surely no bird has less right to be associated with evil than this
+mild waxwing. It seems the very incarnation of peace and harmony. Part
+of a flock that has lodged in a tree will sit almost motionless for
+hours and whisper in softly hissed twitterings, very much as a company
+of Quaker ladies, similarly dressed, might sit at yearly meeting.
+Exquisitely clothed in silky-gray feathers that no berry juice is ever
+permitted to stain, they are
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg_90]</a></span>
+dainty, gentle, aristocratic-looking birds, a trifle heavy and
+indolent, perhaps, when walking on the ground or perching; but as they
+fly in compact squads just above the tree-tops their flight is
+exceedingly swift and graceful.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BAY-BREASTED_WARBLER_90" id="BAY-BREASTED_WARBLER_90"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Bay-breasted Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica castanea</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.25 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Crown, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides dull
+chestnut. Forehead, sides of head, and cheeks black. Above
+olive-gray, streaked with black. Underneath buffy. Two white
+wing-bars. Outer tail quills with white patches on tips.
+Cream-white patch on either side of neck.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Has more greenish-olive above.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Hudson's Bay to Central
+America. Nests north of the United States. Winters in tropical
+limit of range.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Rare migrant.</div>
+
+<p>The chestnut breast of this capricious little visitor makes him look
+like a diminutive robin. In spring, when these warblers are said to
+take a more easterly route than the one they choose in autumn to
+return by to Central America, they may be so suddenly abundant that
+the fresh green trees and shrubbery of the garden will contain a dozen
+of the busy little hunters. Another season they may pass northward
+either by another route or leave your garden unvisited; and perhaps
+the people in the very next town may be counting your rare bird
+common, while it is simply perverse.</p>
+
+<p>Whether common or rare, before your acquaintance has had time to ripen
+into friendship, away go the freaky little creatures to nest in the
+tree-tops of the Canadian coniferous forests.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_90" id="CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_90"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Chestnut-sided Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica pennsylvanica</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLOODY-SIDED WARBLER
+
+{Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER">94</a> and <a href="#IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_FAMILY">122</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;About 5 inches. More than an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Top of head and streaks in wings yellow. A black line
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg_91]</a></span>
+running through the eye and round back of crown, and a black
+spot in front of eye, extending to cheeks. Ear coverts, chin,
+and underneath white. Back greenish gray and slate, streaked
+with black. Sides of bird chestnut. Wings, which are streaked
+with black and yellow, have yellowish-white bars. Very dark
+tail with white patches on inner vanes of the outer quills.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but duller. Chestnut sides are often
+scarcely apparent.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to
+the tropics, where it winters.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident, most common in
+migrations.</div>
+
+<p>In the Alleghanies, and from New Jersey and Illinois northward, this
+restless little warbler nests in the bushy borders of woodlands and
+the undergrowth of the woods, for which he forsakes our gardens and
+orchards after a very short visit in May. While hopping over the
+ground catching ants, of which he seems to be inordinately fond, or
+flitting actively about the shrubbery after grubs and insects, we may
+note his coat of many colors&mdash;patchwork in which nearly all the
+warbler colors are curiously combined. With drooped wings that often
+conceal the bird's chestnut sides, which are his chief distinguishing
+mark, and with tail erected like a redstart's, he hunts incessantly.
+Here in the garden he is as refreshingly indifferent to your interest
+in him as later in his breeding haunts he is shy and distrustful. His
+song is bright and animated, like that of the yellow warbler.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="GOLDEN-WINGED_WARBLER_91" id="GOLDEN-WINGED_WARBLER_91"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Golden-winged Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Helminthophila chrysoptera</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;About 5 inches. More than an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Yellow crown and yellow patches on the wings. Upper
+parts bluish gray, sometimes tinged with greenish. Stripe
+through the eye and throat black. Sides of head, chin, and
+line over the eye white. Underneath white, grayish on sides. A
+few white markings on outer tail feathers.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Crown duller; gray where male is black, with olive
+upper parts and grayer underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From Canadian border to Central America, where it winters.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg_92]</a></span></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>After one has seen a golden-winged warbler fluttering hither and
+thither about the shrubbery of a park within sight and sound of a
+great city's distractions and with blissful unconcern of them all,
+partaking of a hearty lunch of insects that infest the leaves before
+one's eyes, one counts the bird less rare and shy than one has been
+taught to consider it. Whoever looks for a warbler with gaudy yellow
+wings will not find the golden-winged variety. His wings have golden
+patches only, and while these are distinguishing marks, they are
+scarcely prominent enough features to have given the bird the rather
+misleading name he bears. But, then, most warblers' names are
+misleading. They serve their best purpose in cultivating patience and
+other gentle virtues in the novice.</p>
+
+<p>Such habits and choice of haunts as characterize the blue-winged
+warbler are also the golden-winged's. But their voices are quite
+different, the former's being sharp and metallic, while the latter's
+<i>zee, zee, zee</i> comes more lazily and without accent.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="MYRTLE_WARBLER_92" id="MYRTLE_WARBLER_92"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Myrtle Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica coronata</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER; MYRTLE-BIRD; YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;<i>In summer plumage</i>: A yellow patch on top of head,
+lower back, and either side of the breast. Upper parts bluish
+slate, streaked with black. Upper breast black; throat white;
+all other under parts whitish, streaked with black. Two white
+wing-bars, and tail quills have white spots near the tip. <i>In</i>
+<i>winter</i>: Upper parts olive-brown, streaked with black; the
+yellow spot on lower back the only yellow mark remaining.
+Wing-bars grayish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Resembles male in winter plumage.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America. Occasional on Pacific slope.
+Summers from Minnesota and northern New England northward to
+Fur Countries. Winters from Middle States southward
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg_93]</a></span>
+into Central America; a few often remaining at the northern United
+States all the winter.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. November. Also, but more rarely,
+a winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>The first of the warblers to arrive in the spring and the last to
+leave us in the autumn, some even remaining throughout the northern
+winter, the myrtle warbler, next to the summer yellowbird, is the most
+familiar of its multitudinous kin. Though we become acquainted with it
+chiefly in the migrations, it impresses us by its numbers rather than
+by any gorgeousness of attire. The four yellow spots on crown, lower
+back, and sides are its distinguishing marks; and in the autumn these
+marks have dwindled to only one, that on the lower back or rump. The
+great difficulty experienced in identifying any warbler is in its
+restless habit of flitting about.</p>
+
+<p>For a few days in early May we are forcibly reminded of the Florida
+peninsula, which fairly teems with these birds; they become almost
+superabundant, a distraction during the precious days when the rarer
+species are quietly slipping by, not to return again for a year,
+perhaps longer, for some warblers are notoriously irregular in their
+routes north and south, and never return by the way they travelled in
+the spring.</p>
+
+<p>But if we look sharply into every group of myrtle warblers, we are
+quite likely to discover some of their dainty, fragile cousins that
+gladly seek the escort of birds so fearless as they. By the last of
+May all the warblers are gone from the neighborhood except the
+constant little summer yellowbird and redstart.</p>
+
+<p>In autumn, when the myrtle warblers return after a busy enough summer
+passed in Canadian nurseries, they chiefly haunt those regions where
+juniper and bay-berries abound. These latter (<i>Myrica cerifera</i>), or
+the myrtle wax-berries, as they are sometimes called, and which are
+the bird's favorite food, have given it their name. Wherever the
+supply of these berries is sufficient to last through the winter,
+there it may be found foraging in the scrubby bushes. Sometimes driven
+by cold and hunger from the fields, this hardiest member of a family
+that properly belongs to the tropics, seeks shelter and food close to
+the outbuildings on the farm.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PARULA_WARBLER_94" id="PARULA_WARBLER_94"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg_94]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Parula Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Compsothlypis americana</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLUE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.5 to 4.75 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Slate-colored above, with a greenish-yellow
+or bronze patch in the middle of the back. Chin, throat, and
+breast yellow. A black, bluish, or rufous band across the
+breast, usually lacking in female. Underneath white, sometimes
+marked with rufous on sides, but these markings are variable.
+Wings have two white patches; outer tail feathers have white
+patch near the end.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America. Winters from Florida southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Through an open window of an apartment in the very heart of New York
+City, a parula warbler flew this spring of 1897, surely the daintiest,
+most exquisitely beautiful bird visitor that ever voluntarily lodged
+between two brick walls.</p>
+
+<p>A number of such airy, tiny beauties flitting about among the blossoms
+of the shrubbery on a bright May morning and swaying on the slenderest
+branches with their inimitable grace, is a sight that the memory
+should retain into old age. They seem the very embodiment of life,
+joy, beauty, grace; of everything lovely that birds by any possibility
+could be. Apparently they are wafted about the garden; they fly with
+no more effort than a dainty lifting of the wings, as if to catch the
+breeze, that seems to lift them as it might a bunch of thistledown.
+They go through a great variety of charming posturings as they hunt
+for their food upon the blossoms and tender fresh twigs, now creeping
+like a nuthatch along the bark and peering into the crevices, now
+gracefully swaying and balancing like a goldfinch upon a slender,
+pendent stem. One little sprite pauses in its hunt for the insects to
+raise its pretty head and trill a short and wiry song.</p>
+
+<p>But the parula warbler does not remain long about the gardens and
+orchards, though it will not forsake us altogether for the Canadian
+forests, where most of its relatives pass the summer. It retreats only
+to the woods near the water, if may be, or to just as close a
+counterpart of a swampy southern woods, where the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg_95]</a></span>
+Spanish or Usnea "moss" drapes itself over the cypresses, as it can
+find here at the north. Its rarely beautiful nest, that hangs
+suspended from a slender branch very much like the Baltimore oriole's,
+is so woven and festooned with this moss that its concealment is
+perfect.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER" id="IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus140.png" width="421" height="613" alt="CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER" title="CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BLUEBIRD" id="IMG_BLUEBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus141.png" width="420" height="579" alt="BLUEBIRD" title="BLUEBIRD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BLUEBIRD</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLACK-THROATED_BLUE_WARBLER_95" id="BLACK-THROATED_BLUE_WARBLER_95"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Black-throated Blue Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica c&#230;rulescens</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;-5.30 inches. About an inch shorter than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Slate-color, not blue above; lightest on forehead and
+darkest on lower back. Wings and tail edged with bluish.
+Cheeks, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides black. Breast
+and underneath white. White spots on wings, and a little white
+on tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Olive-green above; underneath soiled yellow. Wing-spots
+inconspicuous. Tail generally has a faint bluish tinge.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Labrador to tropics,
+where it winters.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Usually a migrant only in the
+United States.</div>
+
+<p>Whoever looks for this beautifully marked warbler among the bluebirds,
+will wish that the man who named him had possessed a truer eye for
+color. But if the name so illy fits the bright slate-colored male, how
+grieved must be his little olive-and-yellow mate to answer to the name
+of black-throated blue warbler when she has neither a black throat nor
+a blue feather! It is not easy to distinguish her as she flits about
+the twigs and leaves of the garden in May or early autumn, except as
+she is seen in company with her husband, whose name she has taken with
+him for better or for worse. The white spot on the wings should always
+be looked for to positively identify this bird.</p>
+
+<p>Before flying up to a twig to peck off the insects, the birds have a
+pretty vireo trick of cocking their heads on one side to investigate
+the quantity hidden underneath the leaves. They seem less nervous and
+more deliberate than many of their restless family.</p>
+
+<p>Most warblers go over the Canada border to nest, but there are many
+records of the nests of this species in the Alleghanies as far south
+as Georgia, in the Catskills, in Connecticut, northern
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg_96]</a></span>
+Minnesota and Michigan. Laurel thickets and moist undergrowth of woods
+in the United States, and more commonly pine woods in Canada, are the
+favorite nesting haunts. A sharp <i>zip</i>, <i>zip</i>, like some midsummer
+insect's noise, is the bird's call-note, but its love-song, <i>zee</i>,
+<i>zee</i>, <i>zee</i>, or <i>twee</i>, <i>twea</i>, <i>twea-e-e</i>, as one authority writes
+it, is only rarely heard in the migrations. It is a languid, drawling
+little strain, with an upward slide that is easily drowned in the full
+bird chorus of May.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="BLUE_AND_BLUISH_BIRDS" id="BLUE_AND_BLUISH_BIRDS"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg_97]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">BLUE AND BLUISH BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table style="text-align: left" summary="Blue Birds">
+<tr><td>Bluebird</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Indigo Bunting</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Belted Kingfisher</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue Jay</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue Grosbeak</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Barn Swallow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Cliff Swallow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Mourning Dove</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue-gray Gnatcatcher</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Look also among Slate-colored Birds in preceding group, particularly
+among the Warblers there, or in the group of Birds conspicuously,
+Yellow and Orange.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="BLUEBIRD_99" id="BLUEBIRD_99"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg_99]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">The Bluebird<br />
+
+(<i>Sialia sialis</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLUE ROBIN<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BLUEBIRD">95</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 inches. About an inch longer than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts, wings, and tail bright blue, with rusty
+wash in autumn. Throat, breast, and sides cinnamon-red.
+Underneath white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Has duller blue feathers, washed with gray, and a
+paler breast than male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Nova Scotia and Manitoba to Gulf
+of Mexico. Southward in winter from Middle States to Bermuda
+and West Indies.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. November. Summer resident. A few
+sometimes remain throughout the winter.</div>
+
+<p>With the first soft, plaintive warble of the bluebirds early in March,
+the sugar camps, waiting for their signal, take on a bustling
+activity; the farmer looks to his plough; orders are hurried off to
+the seedsmen; a fever to be out of doors seizes one: spring is here.
+Snowstorms may yet whiten fields and gardens, high winds may howl
+about the trees and chimneys, but the little blue heralds persistently
+proclaim from the orchard and garden that the spring procession has
+begun to move. <i>Tru-al-ly</i>, <i>tru-al-ly</i>, they sweetly assert to our
+incredulous ears.</p>
+
+<p>The bluebird is not always a migrant, except in the more northern
+portions of the country. Some representatives there are always with
+us, but the great majority winter south and drop out of the spring
+procession on its way northward, the males a little ahead of their
+mates, which show housewifely instincts immediately after their
+arrival. A pair of these rather undemonstrative, matter-of-fact lovers
+go about looking for some deserted woodpecker's hole in the orchard,
+peering into cavities in the fence-rails,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg_100]</a></span>
+or into the bird-houses that, once set up in the old-fashioned gardens
+for their special benefit, are now appropriated too often by the
+ubiquitous sparrow. Wrens they can readily dispossess of an attractive
+tenement, and do. With a temper as heavenly as the color of their
+feathers, the bluebird's sense of justice is not always so adorable.
+But sparrows unnerve them into cowardice. The comparatively infrequent
+nesting of the bluebirds about our homes at the present time is one of
+the most deplorable results of unrestricted sparrow immigration.
+Formerly they were the commonest of bird neighbors.</p>
+
+<p>Nest-building is not a favorite occupation with the bluebirds, that
+are conspicuously domestic none the less. Two, and even three, broods
+in a season fully occupy their time. As in most cases, the mother-bird
+does more than her share of the work. The male looks with wondering
+admiration at the housewifely activity, applauds her with song, feeds
+her as she sits brooding over the nestful of pale greenish-blue eggs,
+but his adoration of her virtues does not lead him into emulation.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Shifting his light load of song,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;From post to post along the cheerless fence,"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Lowell observed that he carried his duties quite as lightly.</p>
+
+<p>When the young birds first emerge from the shell they are almost
+black; they come into their splendid heritage of color by degrees,
+lest their young heads might be turned. It is only as they spread
+their tiny wings for their first flight from the nest that we can see
+a few blue feathers.</p>
+
+<p>With the first cool days of autumn the bluebirds collect in flocks,
+often associating with orioles and kingbirds in sheltered, sunny
+places where insects are still plentiful. Their steady, undulating
+flight now becomes erratic as they take food on the wing&mdash;a habit that
+they may have learned by association with the kingbirds, for they have
+also adopted the habit of perching upon some conspicuous lookout and
+then suddenly launching out into the air for a passing fly and
+returning to their perch. Long after their associates have gone
+southward, they linger like the last leaves on the tree. It is indeed
+"good-bye to summer" when the bluebirds withdraw their touch of
+brightness from the dreary November landscape.</p>
+
+<p>The bluebirds from Canada and the northern portions of New
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg_101]</a></span>
+England and New York migrate into Virginia and the Carolinas; the birds from
+the Middle States move down into the Gulf States to pass the winter.
+It was there that countless numbers were cut off by the severe winter
+of 1894-95, which was so severe in that section.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="INDIGO_BUNTING_101" id="INDIGO_BUNTING_101"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Indigo Bunting<br />
+
+(<i>Passerina cyanea</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: INDIGO BIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. Smaller than the English sparrow,
+or the size of a canary.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;In certain lights rich blue, deepest on head. In
+another light the blue feathers show verdigris tints. Wings,
+tail, and lower back with brownish wash, most prominent in
+autumn plumage. Quills of wings and tail deep blue, margined
+with light.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Plain sienna-brown above. Yellowish on breast and
+shading to white underneath, and indistinctly streaked. Wings
+and tail darkest, sometimes with slight tinge of blue in outer
+webs and on shoulders.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama. Most common
+in eastern part of United States. Winters in Central America
+and Mexico.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The "glowing indigo" of this tropical-looking visitor that so
+delighted Thoreau in the Walden woods, often seems only the more
+intense by comparison with the blue sky, against which it stands out
+in relief as the bird perches singing in a tree-top. What has this
+gaily dressed, dapper little cavalier in common with his dingy sparrow
+cousins that haunt the ground and delight in dust-baths, leaving their
+feathers no whit more dingy than they were before, and in temper, as
+in plumage, suggesting more of earth than of heaven? Apparently he has
+nothing, and yet the small brown bird in the roadside thicket, which
+you have misnamed a sparrow, not noticing the glint of blue in her
+shoulders and tail, is his mate. Besides the structural resemblances,
+which are, of course, the only ones considered by ornithologists in
+classifying birds, the indigo buntings have several sparrow-like
+traits. They feed upon the ground, mainly upon seeds of grasses and
+herbs, with a few insects interspersed to give relish
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg_102]</a></span>
+to the grain; they build grassy nests in low bushes or tall, rank
+grass; and their flight is short and labored. Borders of woods,
+roadside thickets, and even garden shrubbery, with open pasture lots
+for foraging grounds near by, are favorite haunts of these birds, that
+return again and again to some preferred spot. But however close to
+our homes they build theirs, our presence never ceases to be regarded
+by them with anything but suspicion, not to say alarm. Their metallic
+<i>cheep</i>, <i>cheep</i>, warns you to keep away from the little blue-white
+eggs, hidden away securely in the bushes; and the nervous tail
+twitchings and jerkings are pathetic to see. Happily for the safety of
+their nest, the brooding mother has no tell-tale feathers to attract
+the eye. Dense foliage no more conceals the male bird's brilliant coat
+than it can the tanager's or oriole's.</p>
+
+<p>With no attempt at concealment, which he doubtless understands would
+be quite impossible, he chooses some high, conspicuous perch to which
+he mounts by easy stages, singing as he goes; and there begins a loud
+and rapid strain that promises much, but growing weaker and weaker,
+ends as if the bird were either out of breath or too weak to finish.
+Then suddenly he begins the same song over again, and keeps up this
+continuous performance for nearly half an hour. The noonday heat of an
+August day that silences nearly every other voice, seems to give to
+the indigo bird's only fresh animation and timbre.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_KINGFISHER" id="IMG_KINGFISHER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus150.png" width="420" height="610" alt="BELTED KINGFISHER" title="BELTED KINGFISHER" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BELTED KINGFISHER<br />(Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BLUE_JAY" id="IMG_BLUE_JAY"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus151.png" width="437" height="591" alt="BLUE JAY" title="BLUE JAY" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BLUE JAY</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BELTED_KINGFISHER_102" id="BELTED_KINGFISHER_102"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The Belted Kingfisher<br />
+
+(<i>Ceryle alcyon</i>) Kingfisher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: THE HALCYON<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_KINGFISHER">48</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper part grayish blue, with prominent crest on head
+reaching to the nape. A white spot in front of the eye. Bill
+longer than the head, which is large and heavy. Wings and the
+short tail minutely speckled and marked with broken bands of
+white. Chin, band around throat, and underneath white. Two
+bluish bands across the breast and a bluish wash on sides.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Female and immature specimens have rufous bands
+where the adult male's are blue. Plumage of both birds oily.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, except where the Texan kingfisher
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg_103]</a></span>
+replaces it in a limited area in the Southwest. Common from
+Labrador to Florida, east and west. Winters chiefly from
+Virginia southward to South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. December. Common summer resident. Usually
+a winter resident also.</div>
+
+<p>If the kingfisher is not so neighborly as we could wish, or as he used
+to be, it is not because he has grown less friendly, but because the
+streams near our homes are fished out. Fish he must and will have, and
+to get them nowadays it is too often necessary to follow the stream
+back through secluded woods to the quiet waters of its source: a
+clear, cool pond or lake whose scaly inmates have not yet learned
+wisdom at the point of the sportsman's fly.</p>
+
+<p>In such quiet haunts the kingfisher is easily the most conspicuous
+object in sight, where he perches on some dead or projecting branch
+over the water, intently watching for a dinner that is all
+unsuspectingly swimming below. Suddenly the bird drops&mdash;dives; there
+is a splash, a struggle, and then the "lone fisherman" returns
+triumphant to his perch, holding a shining fish in his beak. If the
+fish is small it is swallowed at once, but if it is large and bony it
+must first be killed against the branch. A few sharp knocks, and the
+struggles of the fish are over, but the kingfisher's have only begun.
+How he gags and writhes, swallows his dinner, and then, regretting his
+haste, brings it up again to try another wider avenue down his throat!
+The many abortive efforts he makes to land his dinner safely below in
+his stomach, his grim contortions as the fishbones scratch his
+throat-lining on their way down and up again, force a smile in spite
+of the bird's evident distress. It is small wonder he supplements his
+fish diet with various kinds of the larger insects, shrimps, and
+fresh-water mollusks.</p>
+
+<p>Flying well over the tree-tops or along the waterways, the kingfisher
+makes the woodland echo with his noisy rattle, that breaks the
+stillness like a watchman's at midnight. It is, perhaps, the most
+familiar sound heard along the banks of the inland rivers. No love or
+cradle song does he know. Instead of softening and growing sweet, as
+the voices of most birds do in the nesting season, the endearments
+uttered by a pair of mated kingfishers are the most strident, rattly
+shrieks ever heard by lovers.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg_104]</a></span>
+It sounds as if they were perpetually quarrelling, and yet they are
+really particularly devoted.</p>
+
+<p>The nest of these birds, like the bank swallow's, is excavated in the
+face of a high bank, preferably one that rises from a stream; and at
+about six feet from the entrance of the tunnel six or eight clear,
+shining white eggs are placed on a curious nest. All the fishbones and
+scales that, being indigestible, are disgorged in pellets by the
+parents, are carefully carried to the end of the tunnel to form a
+prickly cradle for the unhappy fledglings. Very rarely a nest is made
+in the hollow trunk of a tree; but wherever the home is, the
+kingfishers become strongly attached to it, returning again and again
+to the spot that has cost them so much labor to excavate. Some
+observers have accused them of appropriating the holes of the
+water-rats.</p>
+
+<p>In ancient times of myths and fables, kingfishers or halcyons were
+said to build a floating nest on the sea, and to possess some
+mysterious power that calmed the troubled waves while the eggs were
+hatching and the young birds were being reared, hence the term
+"halcyon days," meaning days of fair weather.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLUE_JAY_104" id="BLUE_JAY_104"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Blue Jay<br />
+
+(<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>) Crow and Jay family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BLUE_JAY">103</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;11 to 12 inches. A little larger than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Blue above. Black band around the neck,
+joining some black feathers on the back. Under parts dusky
+white. Wing coverts and tail bright blue, striped transversely
+with black. Tail much rounded. Many feathers edged and tipped
+with white. Head finely crested; bill, tongue, and legs black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern coast of North America to the plains, and
+from northern Canada to Florida and eastern Texas.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Permanent resident. Although seen in flocks
+moving southward or northward, they are merely seeking happier
+hunting grounds, not migrating.</div>
+
+<p>No bird of finer color or presence sojourns with us the year round
+than the blue jay. In a peculiar sense his is a case of "beauty
+covering a multitude of sins." Among close students of bird traits, we
+find none so poor as to do him reverence. Dishonest, cruel,
+inquisitive, murderous, voracious, villainous, are
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg_105]</a></span>
+some of the epithets applied to this bird of exquisite plumage.
+Emerson, however, has said in his defence he does "more good than
+harm," alluding, no doubt, to his habit of burying nuts and hard seeds
+in the ground, so that many a waste place is clothed with trees and
+shrubs, thanks to his propensity and industry.</p>
+
+<p>He is mischievous as a small boy, destructive as a monkey, deft at
+hiding as a squirrel. He is unsociable and unamiable, disliking the
+society of other birds. His harsh screams, shrieks, and most
+aggressive and unmusical calls seem often intended maliciously to
+drown the songs of the sweet-voiced singers.</p>
+
+<p>From April to September, the breeding and moulting season, the blue
+jays are almost silent, only sallying forth from the woods to pillage
+and devour the young and eggs of their more peaceful neighbors. In a
+bulky nest, usually placed in a tree-crotch high above our heads, from
+four to six eggs, olive-gray with brown spots, are laid and most
+carefully tended.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the unlovely characteristics of the blue jay, we could
+ill spare the flash of color, like a bit of blue sky dropped from
+above, which is so rare a tint even in our land, that we number not
+more than three or four true blue birds, and in England, it is said,
+there is none.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLUE_GROSBEAK_105" id="BLUE_GROSBEAK_105"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Blue Grosbeak<br />
+
+(<i>Guiraca c&#230;rulea</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 inches. About an inch larger than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Deep blue, dark, and almost black on the back; wings
+and tail black, slightly edged with blue, and the former
+marked with bright chestnut. Cheeks and chin black. Bill heavy
+and bluish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Grayish brown above, sometimes with bluish tinge on
+head, lower back, and shoulders. Wings dark olive-brown, with
+faint buff markings; tail same shade as wings, but with
+bluish-gray markings. Underneath brownish cream-color, the
+breast feathers often blue at the base.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, from southern New England westward to
+the Rocky Mountains and southward into Mexico and beyond. Most
+common in the Southwest. Rare along the Atlantic seaboard.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>This beautiful but rather shy and solitary bird occasionally
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg_106]</a></span>
+wanders eastward to rival the bluebird and the indigo bunting in their rare
+and lovely coloring, and eclipse them both in song. Audubon, we
+remember, found the nest in New Jersey. Pennsylvania is still favored
+with one now and then, but it is in the Southwest only that the blue
+grosbeak is as common as the evening grosbeak is in the Northwest.
+Since rice is its favorite food, it naturally abounds where that
+cereal grows. Seeds and kernels of the hardest kinds, that its heavy,
+strong beak is well adapted to crack, constitute its diet when it
+strays beyond the rice-fields.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly the heavy bills of all the grosbeaks make them look stupid
+whether they are or not&mdash;a characteristic that the blue grosbeak's
+habit of sitting motionless with a vacant stare many minutes at a time
+unfortunately emphasizes.</p>
+
+<p>When seen in the roadside thickets or tall weeds, such as the field
+sparrow chooses to frequent, it shows little fear of man unless
+actually approached and threatened, but whether this fearlessness
+comes from actual confidence or stupidity is by no means certain.
+Whatever the motive of its inactivity, it accomplishes an end to be
+desired by the cleverest bird; its presence is almost never suspected
+by the passer-by, and its grassy nest on a tree-branch, containing
+three or four pale bluish-white eggs, is never betrayed by look or
+sign to the marauding small boy.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CRESTED_FLYCATCHER" id="IMG_CRESTED_FLYCATCHER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus156.png" width="648" height="445" alt="YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS" title="YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS" /><br />
+<span class="caption">YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS WITH HAIR STANDING ON END.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_HUNGRY_YOUNG_MOCKING-BIRDS" id="IMG_HUNGRY_YOUNG_MOCKING-BIRDS"></a>
+<div class="center">
+<table summary="Mocking-birds">
+<tr><td class="fig_center"><img src="images/illus157a.png" width="315" height="458" alt="HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS" title="HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS" /></td><td class="fig_center"><img src="images/illus157b.png" width="315" height="459" alt="YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD" title="YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD" /></td></tr>
+<tr><td class="caption text_lf">Copyright, 1900, by A. R Dugmore</td><td rowspan="2" class="caption center">YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="caption center">HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BARN_SWALLOW_106" id="BARN_SWALLOW_106"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Barn Swallow<br />
+
+(<i>Chelidon erythrogaster</i>) Swallow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BARN_SWALLOW">110</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English
+sparrow. Apparently considerably larger, because of its wide
+wing-spread.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Glistening steel-blue shading to black above. Chin,
+breast, and underneath bright chestnut-brown and brilliant
+buff that glistens in the sunlight. A partial collar of
+steel-blue. Tail very deeply forked and slender.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Smaller and paler, with shorter outer tail feathers,
+making the fork less prominent.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Throughout North America. Winters in tropics of both
+Americas.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Any one who attempts to describe the coloring of a bird's plumage
+knows how inadequate words are to convey a just idea
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg_107]</a></span>
+of the delicacy, richness, and brilliancy of the living tints. But,
+happily, the beautiful barn swallow is too familiar to need
+description. Wheeling about our barns and houses, skimming over the
+fields, its bright sides flashing in the sunlight, playing "cross tag"
+with its friends at evening, when the insects, too, are on the wing,
+gyrating, darting, and gliding through the air, it is no more possible
+to adequately describe the exquisite grace of a swallow's flight than
+the glistening buff of its breast.</p>
+
+<p>This is a typical bird of the air, as an oriole is of the trees and a
+sparrow of the ground. Though the swallow may often be seen perching
+on a telegraph wire, suddenly it darts off as if it had received a
+shock of electricity, and we see the bird in its true element.</p>
+
+<p>While this swallow is peculiarly American, it is often confounded with
+its European cousin <i>Hirundo rustica</i> in noted ornithologies.</p>
+
+<p>Up in the rafters of the barn, or in the arch of an old bridge that
+spans a stream, these swallows build their bracket-like nests of clay
+or mud pellets intermixed with straw. Here the noisy little broods
+pick their way out of the white eggs curiously spotted with brown and
+lilac that were all too familiar in the marauding days of our
+childhood.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CLIFF_SWALLOW_107" id="CLIFF_SWALLOW_107"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Cliff Swallow<br />
+
+(<i>Petrochelidon lunifrons</i>) Swallow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: EAVE SWALLOW; CRESCENT SWALLOW; ROCKY MOUNTAIN SWALLOW</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+Apparently considerably larger because of its wide
+wing-spread.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Steel-blue above, shading to blue-black on
+crown of head and on wings and tail. A brownish-gray ring
+around the neck. Beneath dusty white, with rufous tint.
+Crescent-like frontlet. Chin, throat, sides of head, and tail
+coverts rufous.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North and South America. Winters in the tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early April. Late September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Not quite so brilliantly colored as the barn swallow, nor with tail so
+deeply forked, and consequently without so much
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg_108]</a></span>
+grace in flying, and with a squeak rather than the really musical
+twitter of the gayer bird, the cliff swallow may be positively
+identified by the rufous feathers of its tail coverts, but more
+definitely by its crescent-shaped frontlet shining like a new moon;
+hence its specific Latin name from <i>luna</i> = moon, and <i>frons</i> = front.</p>
+
+<p>Such great numbers of these swallows have been seen in the far West
+that the name of Rocky Mountain swallows is sometimes given to them;
+though however rare they may have been in 1824, when DeWitt Clinton
+thought he "discovered" them near Lake Champlain, they are now common
+enough in all parts of the United States.</p>
+
+<p>In the West this swallow is wholly a cliff-dweller, but it has learned
+to modify its home in different localities. As usually seen, it is
+gourd-shaped, opened at the top, built entirely of mud pellets
+("bricks without straw"), softly lined with feathers and wisps of
+grass, and attached by the larger part to a projecting cliff or eave.</p>
+
+<p>Like all the swallows, this bird lives in colonies, and the
+clay-colored nests beneath the eaves of barns are often so close
+together that a group of them resembles nothing so much as a gigantic
+wasp's nest. It is said that when swallows pair they are mated for
+life; but, then, more is said about swallows than the most tireless
+bird-lover could substantiate. The tradition that swallows fly low
+when it is going to rain may be easily credited, because the air
+before a storm is usually too heavy with moisture for the winged
+insects, upon which the swallows feed, to fly high.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="MOURNING_DOVE_108" id="MOURNING_DOVE_108"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Mourning Dove<br />
+
+(<i>Zenaidura macroura</i>) Pigeon family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CAROLINA DOVE; TURTLE DOVE<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_MOURNING_DOVE">111</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;12 to 13 inches. About one-half as large again as
+the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Grayish Drown or fawn-color above, varying to bluish
+gray. Crown and upper part of head greenish blue, with green
+and golden metallic reflections on sides of neck. A black spot
+under each ear. Forehead and breast reddish buff; lighter
+underneath. (General impression of color, bluish fawn.) Bill
+black, with tumid, fleshy covering; feet red; two middle tail
+feathers longest; all others banded with black
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg_109]</a></span>
+and tipped with ashy white. Wing coverts sparsely spotted with black.
+Flanks and underneath the wings bluish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Duller and without iridescent reflections on neck.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Quebec to Panama, and westward to
+Arizona. Most common in temperate climate, east of Rocky
+Mountains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. November. Common summer resident; not
+migratory south of Virginia.</div>
+
+<p>The beautiful, soft-colored plumage of this incessant and rather
+melancholy love-maker is not on public exhibition. To see it we must
+trace the <i>a-coo-o, coo-o, coo-oo, coo-o</i> to its source in the thick
+foliage in some tree in an out-of-the-way corner of the farm, or to an
+evergreen near the edge of the woods. The slow, plaintive notes, more
+like a dirge than a love-song, penetrate to a surprising distance.
+They may not always be the same lovers we hear from April to the end
+of summer, but surely the sound seems to indicate that they are. The
+dove is a shy bird, attached to its gentle and refined mate with a
+devotion that has passed into a proverb, but caring little or nothing
+for the society of other feathered friends, and very little for its
+own kind, unless after the nesting season has passed. In this respect
+it differs widely from its cousins, the wild pigeons, flocks of which,
+numbering many millions, are recorded by Wilson and other early
+writers before the days when netting these birds became so fatally
+profitable.</p>
+
+<p>What the dove finds to adore so ardently in the "shiftless housewife,"
+as Mrs. Wright calls his lady-love, must pass the comprehension of the
+ph&#339;be, that constructs such an exquisite home, or of a bustling,
+energetic Jenny wren, that "looketh well to the ways of her household
+and eateth not the bread of idleness." She is a flabby, spineless
+bundle of flesh and pretty feathers, gentle and refined in manners,
+but slack and incompetent in all she does. Her nest consists of a few
+loose sticks, without rim or lining; and when her two babies emerge
+from the white eggs, that somehow do not fall through or roll out of
+the rickety lattice, their tender little naked bodies must suffer from
+many bruises. We are almost inclined to blame the inconsiderate mother
+for allowing her offspring to enter the world unclothed&mdash;obviously not
+her fault, though she is capable of just such negligence. Fortunate
+are the baby doves when their lazy mother scatters her makeshift nest
+on top of one that a robin has
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg_110]</a></span>
+deserted, as she frequently does. It is almost excusable to take her
+young birds and rear them in captivity, where they invariably thrive,
+mate, and live happily, unless death comes to one, when the other
+often refuses food and grieves its life away.</p>
+
+<p>In the wild state, when the nesting season approaches, both birds make
+curious acrobatic flights above the tree-tops; then, after a short
+sail in midair, they return to their perch. This appears to be their
+only giddiness and frivolity, unless a dust-bath in the country road
+might be considered a dissipation.</p>
+
+<p>In the autumn a few pairs of doves show slight gregarious tendencies,
+feeding amiably together in the grain fields and retiring to the same
+roost at sundown.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLUE-GRAY_GNATCATCHER_110" id="BLUE-GRAY_GNATCATCHER_110"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Blue-gray Gnatcatcher<br />
+
+(<i>Polioptila c&#230;rulea</i>) Gnatcatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SYLVAN FLYCATCHER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.5 inches. About two inches smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Grayish blue above, dull grayish white below. Grayish
+tips on wings. Tail with white outer quills changing gradually
+through black and white to all black on centre quills. Narrow
+black band over the forehead and eyes. Resembles in manner and
+form a miniature catbird.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;More grayish and less blue, and without the black on head.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States to Canadian border on the north, the
+Rockies on the west, and the Atlantic States, from Maine to
+Florida; most common in the Middle States. A rare bird north
+of New Jersey. Winters in Mexico and beyond.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>In thick woodlands, where a stream that lazily creeps through the
+mossy, oozy ground attracts myriads of insects to its humid
+neighborhood, this tiny hunter loves to hide in the denser foliage of
+the upper branches. He has the habit of nervously flitting about from
+twig to twig of his relatives, the kinglets, but unhappily he lacks
+their social, friendly instincts, and therefore is rarely seen.
+Formerly classed among the warblers, then among the flycatchers, while
+still as much a lover of flies, gnats, and mosquitoes as ever, his
+vocal powers have now won for him recognition
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg_111]</a></span>
+among the singing birds. Some one has likened his voice to the squeak
+of a mouse, and Nuttall says it is "scarcely louder," which is all
+too true, for at a little distance it is quite inaudible. But in
+addition to the mouse-like call-note, the tiny bird has a rather
+feeble but exquisitely finished song, so faint it seems almost as if
+the bird were singing in its sleep.</p>
+
+<p>If by accident you enter the neighborhood of its nest, you soon find
+out that this timid, soft-voiced little creature can be roused to
+rashness and make its presence disagreeable to ears and eyes alike as
+it angrily darts about your unoffending head, pecking at your face and
+uttering its shrill squeak close to your very ear-drums. All this
+excitement is in defence of a dainty, lichen-covered nest, whose
+presence you may not have even suspected before, and of four or five
+bluish-white, speckled eggs well beyond reach in the tree-tops.</p>
+
+<p>During the migrations the bird seems not unwilling to show its
+delicate, trim little body, that has often been likened to a
+diminutive mocking-bird's, very near the homes of men. Its graceful
+postures, its song and constant motion, are sure to attract attention.
+In Central Park, New York City, the bird is not unknown.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BARN_SWALLOW" id="IMG_BARN_SWALLOW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus162.png" width="444" height="620" alt="BARN SWALLOW" title="BARN SWALLOW" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BARN SWALLOW</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_MOURNING_DOVE" id="IMG_MOURNING_DOVE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus163.png" width="459" height="626" alt="MOURNING DOVE" title="MOURNING DOVE" /><br />
+<span class="caption">MOURNING DOVE</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="GRAY_SPARROWY_BIRDS" id="GRAY_SPARROWY_BIRDS"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg_113]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">BROWN, OLIVE OR GRAYISH BROWN, AND BROWN AND GRAY SPARROWY BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table style="text-align: left" summary="Blue Birds">
+<tr><td>House Wren</td><td>Bank Swallow and Rough-winged Swallow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Carolina Wren</td><td>Cedar Bird</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Winter Wren</td><td>Brown Creeper</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Long-billed Marsh Wren</td><td>Pine Siskin</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Short-billed Marsh Wren</td><td>Smith's Painted Longspur</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Brown Thrasher</td><td>Lapland Longspur</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Wilson's Thrush or Veery</td><td>Chipping Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Wood Thrush</td><td>English Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hermit Thrush</td><td>Field Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Alice's Thrush</td><td>Fox Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Olive-backed Thrush</td><td>Grasshopper Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Louisiana Water Thrush</td><td>Savanna Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Northern Water Thrush</td><td>Seaside Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Flicker</td><td>Sharp-tailed Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Meadowlark and Western Meadowlark</td><td>Song Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Horned Lark and Prairie Horned Lark</td><td>Swamp Song Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Pipit or Titlark</td><td>Tree Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Whippoorwill</td><td>Vesper Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Nighthawk</td><td>White-crowned Sparrow</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Black-billed Cuckoo</td><td>White-throated Sparrow</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>See also winter plumage of the Bobolink, Goldfinch, and Myrtle
+Warbler. See females of Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, the
+Grackles, Bobolink, Cowbird, the Redpolls, Purple Finch, Chewink,
+Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Baltimore Oriole, Cardinal, and of the
+Evening, the Blue, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. See also Purple
+Finch, the Redpolls, Mourning Dove, Mocking-bird, Robin.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="HOUSE_WREN_115" id="HOUSE_WREN_115"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg_115]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">House Wren<br />
+
+(<i>Troglodytes a&#235;don</i>) Wren family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_HOUSE_WREN">118</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.5 to 5 inches. Actually about one-fourth smaller
+than the English sparrow; apparently only half as large
+because of its erect tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts cinnamon-brown. Deepest shade
+on head and neck; lightest above tail, which is more rufous.
+Back has obscure, dusky bars; wings and tail are finely
+barred. Underneath whitish, with grayish-brown wash and faint
+bands most prominent on sides.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Manitoba to the Gulf. Most common
+in the United States, from the Mississippi eastward. Winters
+south of the Carolinas.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Early some morning in April there will go off under your window that
+most delightful of all alarm-clocks&mdash;the tiny, friendly house wren,
+just returned from a long visit south. Like some little mountain
+spring that, having been imprisoned by winter ice, now bubbles up in
+the spring sunshine, and goes rippling along over the pebbles,
+tumbling over itself in merry cascades, so this little wren's song
+bubbles, ripples, cascades in a miniature torrent of ecstasy.</p>
+
+<p>Year after year these birds return to the same nesting places: a box
+set up against the house, a crevice in the barn, a niche under the
+eaves; but once home, always home to them. The nest is kept
+scrupulously clean; the house-cleaning, like the house-building and
+renovating, being accompanied by the cheeriest of songs, that makes
+the bird fairly tremble by its intensity. But however angelic the
+voice of the house wren, its temper can put to flight even the English
+sparrow. Need description go further?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg_116]</a></span>
+Six to eight minutely speckled, flesh-colored eggs suffice to keep the
+nervous, irritable parents in a state bordering on frenzy whenever
+another bird comes near their habitation. With tail erect and head
+alert, the father mounts on guard, singing a perfect ecstasy of love
+to his silent little mate, that sits upon the nest if no danger
+threatens; but both rush with passionate malice upon the first
+intruder, for it must be admitted that Jenny wren is a sad shrew.</p>
+
+<p>While the little family is being reared, or, indeed, at any time, no
+one is wise enough to estimate the millions of tiny insects from the
+garden that find their way into the tireless bills of these wrens.</p>
+
+<p>It is often said that the house wren remains at the north all the
+year, which, though not a fact, is easily accounted for by the coming
+of the winter wrens just as the others migrate in the autumn, and by
+their return to Canada when Jenny wren makes up her feather-bed under
+the eaves in the spring.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CAROLINA_WREN_116" id="CAROLINA_WREN_116"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Carolina Wren<br />
+
+(<i>Thryothorus ludovicianus</i>) Wren family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: MOCKING WREN</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 inches. Just a trifle smaller than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Chestnut-brown above. A whitish streak,
+beginning at base of bill, passes through the eye to the nape
+of the neck. Throat whitish. Under parts light buff-brown.
+Wings and tail finely barred with dark.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, from Gulf to northern Illinois and
+southern New England.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;A common resident except at northern boundary of
+range, where it is a summer visitor.</div>
+
+<p>This largest of the wrens appears to be the embodiment of the entire
+family characteristics: it is exceedingly active, nervous, and easily
+excited, quick-tempered, full of curiosity, peeping into every hole
+and corner it passes, short of flight as it is of wing, inseparable
+from its mate till parted by death, and a gushing lyrical songster
+that only death itself can silence. It also has the wren-like
+preference for a nest that is roofed over, but not too near the homes
+of men.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg_117]</a></span>
+Undergrowths near water, brush heaps, rocky bits of woodland, are
+favorite resorts. The Carolina wren decidedly objects to being stared
+at, and likes to dart out of sight in the midst of the underbrush in a
+twinkling while the opera-glasses are being focussed.</p>
+
+<p>To let off some of his superfluous vivacity, Nature has provided him
+with two safety-valves: one is his voice, another is his tail. With
+the latter he gesticulates in a manner so expressive that it seems to
+be a certain index to what is passing in his busy little
+brain&mdash;drooping it, after the habit of the catbird, when he becomes
+limp with the emotion of his love-song, or holding it erect as, alert
+and inquisitive, he peers at the impudent intruder in the thicket
+below his perch.</p>
+
+<p>But it is his joyous, melodious, bubbling song that is his chief
+fascination. He has so great a variety of strains that many people
+have thought that he learned them from other birds, and so have called
+him what many ornithologists declare that he is not&mdash;a mocking wren.
+And he is one of the few birds that sing at night&mdash;not in his sleep or
+only by moonlight, but even in the total darkness, just before dawn,
+he gives us the same wide-awake song that entrances us by day.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WINTER_WREN_117" id="WINTER_WREN_117"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Winter Wren<br />
+
+(<i>Troglodytes hiemalis</i>) Wren family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4 to 4.5 inches. About one-third smaller than the
+English sparrow. Apparently only half the size.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Cinnamon-brown above, with numerous short,
+dusky bars. Head and neck without markings. Underneath rusty,
+dimly and finely barred with dark brown. Tail short.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, east and west, and from North Carolina
+to the Fur Countries.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October, April. Summer resident. Commonly a
+winter resident in the South and Middle States only.</div>
+
+<p>It all too rarely happens that we see this tiny mouse-like wren in
+summer, unless we come upon him suddenly and overtake him unawares as
+he creeps shyly over the mossy logs or runs literally "like a flash"
+under the fern and through the tangled
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg_118]</a></span>
+underbrush of the deep, cool woods. His presence there is far more
+likely to be detected by the ear than the eye.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the nesting season music fairly pours from his tiny throat;
+it bubbles up like champagne; it gushes forth in a lyrical torrent and
+overflows into every nook of the forest, that seems entirely pervaded
+by his song. While music is everywhere, it apparently comes from no
+particular point, and, search as you may, the tiny singer still
+eludes, exasperates, and yet entrances.</p>
+
+<p>If by accident you discover him balancing on a swaying twig, never far
+from the ground, with his comical little tail erect, or more likely
+pointing towards his head, what a pert, saucy minstrel he is! You are
+lost in amazement that so much music could come from a throat so tiny.</p>
+
+<p>Comparatively few of his admirers, however, hear the exquisite notes
+of this little brown wood-sprite, for after the nesting season is over
+he finds little to call them forth during the bleak, snowy winter
+months, when in the Middle and Southern States he may properly be
+called a neighbor. Sharp hunger, rather than natural boldness, drives
+him near the homes of men, where he appears just as the house wren
+departs for the South. With a forced confidence in man that is almost
+pathetic in a bird that loves the forest as he does, he picks up
+whatever lies about the house or barn in the shape of food&mdash;crumbs
+from the kitchen door, a morsel from the dog's plate, a little seed in
+the barn-yard, happily rewarded if he can find a spider lurking in
+some sheltered place to give a flavor to the unrelished grain. Now he
+becomes almost tame, but we feel it is only because he must be.</p>
+
+<p>The spot that decided preference leads him to, either winter or
+summer, is beside a bubbling spring. In the moss that grows near it
+the nest is placed in early summer, nearly always roofed over and
+entered from the side, in true wren-fashion; and as the young
+fledglings emerge from the creamy-white eggs, almost the first lesson
+they receive from their devoted little parents is in the fine art of
+bathing. Even in winter weather, when the wren has to stand on a rim
+of ice, he will duck and splash his diminutive body. It is recorded of
+a certain little individual that he was wont to dive through the icy
+water on a December day. Evidently the wrens, as a family, are not far
+removed in the evolutionary scale from true water-birds.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_HOUSE_WREN" id="IMG_HOUSE_WREN"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus172.png" width="433" height="626" alt="HOUSE WREN" title="HOUSE WREN" /><br />
+<span class="caption">HOUSE WREN</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BROWN_THRASHER" id="IMG_BROWN_THRASHER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus173.png" width="418" height="622" alt="BROWN THRASHER" title="BROWN THRASHER" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BROWN THRASHER</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="LONG-BILLED_MARSH_WREN_119" id="LONG-BILLED_MARSH_WREN_119"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg_119]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Long-billed Marsh Wren<br />
+
+(<i>Cistothorus palustris</i>) Wren family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.5 to 5.2 inches. Actually a little smaller than
+the English sparrow. Apparently half the size.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Brown above, with white line over the eye,
+and the back irregularly and faintly streaked with white.
+Wings and tail barred with darker cinnamon-brown. Underneath
+white. Sides dusky. Tail long and often carried erect. Bill
+extra long and slender.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States and southern British America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Sometimes when you are gathering cat-tails in the river marshes an
+alert, nervous little brown bird rises startled from the rushes and
+tries to elude you as with short, jerky flight it goes deeper and
+deeper into the marsh, where even the rubber boot may not follow. It
+closely resembles two other birds found in such a place, the swamp
+sparrow and the short-billed marsh wren; but you may know by its long,
+slender bill that it is not the latter, and by the absence of a bright
+bay crown that it is not the shyest of the sparrows.</p>
+
+<p>These marsh wrens appear to be especially partial to running water;
+their homes are not very far from brooks and rivers, preferably those
+that are affected in their rise and flow by the tides. They build in
+colonies, and might be called inveterate singers, for no single bird
+is often permitted to finish his bubbling song without half the colony
+joining in a chorus.</p>
+
+<p>Still another characteristic of this particularly interesting bird is
+its unique architectural effects produced with coarse grasses woven
+into globular form and suspended in the reeds. Sometimes adapting its
+nest to the building material at hand, it weaves it of grasses and
+twigs, and suspends it from the limb of a bush or tree overhanging the
+water, where it swings like an oriole's. The entrance to the nest is
+invariably on the side.</p>
+
+<p>More devoted homebodies than these little wrens are not among the
+feathered tribe. Once let the hand of man desecrate their nest, even
+before the tiny speckled eggs are deposited in it, and off go the
+birds to a more inaccessible place, where they can enjoy their home
+unmolested. Thus three or four nests may be made in a summer.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SHORT-BILLED_MARSH_WREN_120" id="SHORT-BILLED_MARSH_WREN_120"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg_120]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Short-billed Marsh Wren<br />
+
+(<i>Cistothorus stellaris</i>) Wren family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4 to 5 inches. Actually about one-third smaller than
+the English sparrow, but apparently only half its size.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Brown above, faintly streaked with white, black,
+and buff. Wings and tail barred with same. Underneath white, with
+buff and rusty tinges on throat and breast. Short bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Manitoba southward in winter to
+Gulf of Mexico. Most common in north temperate latitudes.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. Late September.</div>
+
+<p>Where red-winged blackbirds like to congregate in oozy pastures or
+near boggy woods, the little short-billed wren may more often be heard
+than seen, for he is more shy, if possible, than his long-billed
+cousin, and will dive down into the sedges at your approach, very much
+as a duck disappears under water. But if you see him at all, it is
+usually while swaying to and fro as he clings to some tall stalk of
+grass, keeping his balance by the nervous, jerky tail motions
+characteristic of all the wrens, and singing with all his might.
+Oftentimes his tail reaches backward almost to his head in a most
+exaggerated wren-fashion.</p>
+
+<p>Samuels explains the peculiar habit both the long-billed and the
+short-billed marsh wrens have of building several nests in one season,
+by the theory that they are made to protect the sitting female, for it
+is noticed that the male bird always lures a visitor to an empty nest,
+and if this does not satisfy his curiosity, to another one, to prove
+conclusively that he has no family in prospect.</p>
+
+<p>Wild rice is an ideal nesting place for a colony of these little marsh
+wrens. The home is made of sedge grasses, softly lined with the softer
+meadow grass or plant-down, and placed in a tussock of tall grass, or
+even upon the ground. The entrance is on the side. But while fond of
+moist places, both for a home and feeding ground, it will be noticed
+that these wrens have no special fondness for running water, so dear
+to their long-billed relatives. Another distinction is that the eggs
+of this species, instead of being so densely speckled as to look
+brown, are pure white.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BROWN_THRASHER_121" id="BROWN_THRASHER_121"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg_121]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Brown Thrasher<br />
+
+(<i>Harporhynchus rufus</i>) Thrasher and Mocking-bird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BROWN THRUSH; GROUND THRUSH; RED THRUSH; BROWN
+MOCKING-BIRD; FRENCH MOCKING-BIRD; MAVIS<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BROWN_THRASHER">119</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;11 to 11.5 inches. Fully an inch longer than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Rusty red-brown or rufous above; darkest on wings, which
+have two short whitish bands. Underneath white, heavily
+streaked (except on throat) with dark-brown, arrow-shaped spots.
+Tail very long. Yellow eyes. Bill long and curved at tip.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler than male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States to Rockies. Nests from Gulf States to
+Manitoba and Montreal. Winters south of Virginia.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;He is singing to me! He is singing to me!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;And what does he say, little girl, little boy?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;'Oh, the world's running over with joy!'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The hackneyed poem beginning with this stanza that delighted our
+nursery days, has left in our minds a fairly correct impression of the
+bird. He still proves to be one of the perennially joyous singers,
+like a true cousin of the wrens, and when we study him afield, he
+appears to give his whole attention to his song with a
+self-consciousness that is rather amusing than the reverse. "What
+musician wouldn't be conscious of his own powers," he seems to
+challenge us, "if he possessed such a gift?" Seated on a conspicuous
+perch, as if inviting attention to his performance, with uplifted head
+and drooping tail he repeats the one exultant, dashing air to which
+his repertoire is limited, without waiting for an encore. Much
+practice has given the notes a brilliancy of execution to be compared
+only with the mocking-bird's; but in spite of the name "ferruginous
+mocking-bird" that Audubon gave him, he does not seem to have the
+faculty of imitating other birds' songs. Thoreau says the
+Massachusetts farmers, when planting their seed, always think they
+hear the thrasher say, "Drop it, drop it&mdash;cover it up, cover it
+up&mdash;pull it up, pull it up, pull it up."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg_122]</a></span>
+One of the shatterings of childish impressions that age too often
+brings is when we learn by the books that our "merry brown thrush" is
+no thrush at all, but a thrasher&mdash;first cousin to the wrens, in spite
+of his speckled breast, large size, and certain thrush-like instincts,
+such as never singing near the nest and shunning mankind in the
+nesting season, to mention only two. Certainly his bold, swinging
+flight and habit of hopping and running over the ground would seem to
+indicate that he is not very far removed from the true thrushes. But
+he has one undeniable wren-like trait, that of twitching, wagging, and
+thrashing his long tail about to help express his emotions. It swings
+like a pendulum as he rests on a branch, and thrashes about in a most
+ludicrous way as he is feeding on the ground upon the worms, insects,
+and fruit that constitute his diet.</p>
+
+<p>Before the fatal multiplication of cats, and in unfrequented, sandy
+locations still, the thrasher builds her nest upon the ground, thus
+earning the name "ground thrush" that is often given her; but with
+dearly paid-for wisdom she now most frequently selects a low shrub or
+tree to cradle the two broods that all too early in the summer
+effectually silence the father's delightful song.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="VEERY_122" id="VEERY_122"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Wilson's Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Turdus fuscescens</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: VEERY; TAWNY THRUSH<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_VEERY">126</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Uniform olive-brown, with a tawny cast above.
+Centre of the throat white, with cream-buff on sides of throat
+and upper part of breast, which is lightly spotted with
+wedge-shaped, brown points. Underneath white, or with a faint
+grayish tinge.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, westward to plains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>To many of us the veery, as they call the Wilson's thrush in New
+England, is merely a voice, a sylvan mystery, reflecting the sweetness
+and wildness of the forest, a vocal "will-o'-the-wisp" that, after
+enticing us deeper and deeper into the woods, where we sink into the
+spongy moss of its damp retreats and become
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg_123]</a></span>
+entangled in the wild grapevines twined about the saplings and
+underbrush, still sings to us from unapproachable tangles. Plainly,
+if we want to see the bird, we must let it seek us out on the fallen
+log where we have sunk exhausted in the chase.</p>
+
+<p>Presently a brown bird scuds through the fern. It is a thrush, you
+guess in a minute, from its slender, graceful body. At first you
+notice no speckles on its breast, but as it comes nearer, obscure
+arrow-heads are visible&mdash;not heavy, heart-shaped spots such as
+plentifully speckle the larger wood thrush or the smaller hermit. It
+is the smallest of the three commoner thrushes, and it lacks the ring
+about the eye that both the others have. Shy and elusive, it slips
+away again in a most unfriendly fashion, and is lost in the wet tangle
+before you have become acquainted. You determine, however, before you
+leave the log, to cultivate the acquaintance of this bird the next
+spring, when, before it mates and retreats to the forest, it comes
+boldly into the gardens and scratches about in the dry leaves on the
+ground for the lurking insects beneath. Miss Florence Merriam tells of
+having drawn a number of veeries about her by imitating their
+call-note, which is a whistled <i>wheew, whoit</i>, very easy to
+counterfeit when once heard. "<i>Taweel-ab, taweel-ab, twil-ab,
+twil-ab!</i>" Professor Ridgeway interprets their song, that descends in
+a succession of trills without break or pause; but no words can
+possibly convey an idea of the quality of the music. The veery, that
+never claims an audience, sings at night also, and its weird, sweet
+strains floating through the woods at dusk, thrill one like the
+mysterious voice of a disembodied spirit.</p>
+
+<p>Whittier mentions the veery in "The Playmate":</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"And here in spring the veeries sing<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;The song of long ago."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_FAMILY" id="IMG_CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_FAMILY"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus178.png" width="450" height="632" alt="CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY" title="CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY" /><br />
+<span class="caption">A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_WOOD_THRUSH_HEARS_THE_CLICK" id="IMG_WOOD_THRUSH_HEARS_THE_CLICK"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus179.png" width="464" height="628" alt="WOOD THRUSH HEARS CLICK OF CAMERA" title="WOOD THRUSH HEARS CLICK OF CAMERA" /><br />
+<span class="caption">THE WOOD THRUSH HEARS THE CLICK OF THE CAMERA</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WOOD_THRUSH_123" id="WOOD_THRUSH_123"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Wood Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Turdus mustelinus</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SONG THRUSH; WOOD ROBIN; BELLBIRD<br />
+
+{Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_WOOD_THRUSH_HEARS_THE_CLICK">123</a> and <a href="#IMG_WOOD_THRUSH">127</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 to 8.3 inches. About two inches shorter than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Brown above, reddish on head and shoulders,
+and shading into olive-brown on tail. Throat, breast, and
+underneath white, plain in the middle, but heavily marked
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg_124]</a></span>
+on sides and breast with heart-shaped spots of very dark brown.
+Whitish eye-ring.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April or early May. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>When Nuttall wrote of "this solitary and retiring songster," before
+the country was as thickly settled as it is to-day, it possibly had
+not developed the confidence in men that now distinguishes the wood
+thrush from its shy congeners that are distinctly wood birds, which it
+can no longer strictly be said to be. In city parks and country
+places, where plenty of trees shade the village streets and lawns, it
+comes near you, half hopping, half running, with dignified
+unconsciousness and even familiarity, all the more delightful in a
+bird whose family instincts should take it into secluded woodlands
+with their shady dells. Perhaps, in its heart of hearts, it still
+prefers such retreats. Many conservative wood thrushes keep to their
+wild haunts, and it must be owned not a few liberals, that discard
+family traditions at other times, seek the forest at nesting time. But
+social as the wood thrush is and abundant, too, it is also eminently
+high-bred; and when contrasted with its tawny cousin, the veery, that
+skulks away to hide in the nearest bushes as you approach, or with the
+hermit thrush, that pours out its heavenly song in the solitude of the
+forest, how gracious and full of gentle confidence it seems! Every
+gesture is graceful and elegant; even a wriggling beetle is eaten as
+daintily as caviare at the king's table. It is only when its
+confidence in you is abused, and you pass too near the nest, that
+might easily be mistaken for a robin's, just above your head in a
+sapling, that the wood thrush so far forgets itself as to become
+excited. <i>Pit, pit, pit</i>, sharply reiterated, is called out at you
+with a strident quality in the tone that is painful evidence of the
+fearful anxiety your presence gives this gentle bird.</p>
+
+<p>Too many guardians of nests, whether out of excessive happiness or
+excessive stupidity, have a dangerous habit of singing very near them.
+Not so the wood thrush. "Come to me," as the opening notes of its
+flute-like song have been freely translated, invites the intruder far
+away from where the blue eggs lie cradled in ambush. "<i>Uoli-a-e-o-li-noli-nol-aeolee-lee!</i>" is as good a rendering into
+syllables of the luscious song as could very well be made. Pure,
+liquid, rich, and luscious, it rings out from the trees on the summer
+air and penetrates our home like a strain of music from a stringed
+quartette.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="HERMIT_THRUSH_125" id="HERMIT_THRUSH_125"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg_125]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Hermit Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Turdus aonalaschk&#230; pallasii</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SWAMP ANGEL; LITTLE THRUSH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7.25 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than
+the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts olive-brown, reddening near the
+tail, which is pale rufous, quite distinct from the color of
+the back. Throat, sides of neck, and breast pale buff.
+Feathers of throat and neck finished with dark arrow-points at
+tip; feathers of the breast have larger rounded spots. Sides
+brownish gray. Underneath white. A yellow ring around the eye.
+Smallest of the thrushes.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern parts of North America. Most common in the
+United States to the plains. Winters from southern Illinois
+and New Jersey to Gulf.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. November. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The first thrush to come and the last to go, nevertheless the hermit
+is little seen throughout its long visit north. It may loiter awhile
+in the shrubby roadsides, in the garden or the parks in the spring
+before it begins the serious business of life in a nest of moss,
+coarse grass, and pine-needles placed on the ground in the depths of
+the forest, but by the middle of May its presence in the neighborhood
+of our homes becomes only a memory. Although one never hears it at its
+best during the migrations, how one loves to recall the serene,
+ethereal evening hymn! "The finest sound in Nature," John Burroughs
+calls it. "It is not a proud, gorgeous strain like the tanager's or
+the grosbeak's," he says; "it suggests no passion or emotion&mdash;nothing
+personal, but seems to be the voice of that calm, sweet solemnity one
+attains to in his best moments. It realizes a peace and a deep, solemn
+joy that only the finest souls may know."</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the question of even the hypercritical, the hermit thrush has a
+more exquisitely beautiful voice than any other American bird, and
+only the nightingale's of Europe can be compared with it. It is the
+one theme that exhausts all the ornithologists' musical adjectives in
+a vain attempt to convey in words any idea of it to one who has never
+heard it, for the quality of the song is as elusive as the bird
+itself. But why should the poets be so silent? Why has it not called
+forth such verse as the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg_126]</a></span>
+English poets have lavished upon the nightingale? Undoubtedly because
+it lifts up its heavenly voice in the solitude of the forest, whereas
+the nightingales, singing in loud choruses in the moonlight under the
+poet's very window, cannot but impress his waking thoughts and even
+his dreams with their melody.</p>
+
+<p>Since the severe storm and cold in the Gulf States a few winters ago,
+where vast numbers of hermit thrushes died from cold and starvation,
+this bird has been very rare in haunts where it used to be abundant.
+The other thrushes escaped because they spend the winter farther
+south.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="ALICES_THRUSH_126" id="ALICES_THRUSH_126"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Alice's Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Turdus alici&#230;</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7.5 to 8 inches. About the size of the bluebird.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts uniform olive-brown. Eye-ring
+whitish. Cheeks gray; sides dull grayish white. Sides of the
+throat and breast pale cream-buff, speckled with arrow-shaped
+points on throat and with half-round dark-brown marks below.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Labrador and Alaska to Central
+America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April or May. October. Chiefly seen in
+migrations, except at northern parts of its range.</div>
+
+<p>One looks for a prettier bird than this least attractive of all the
+thrushes in one that bears such a suggestive name. Like the
+olive-backed thrush, from which it is almost impossible to tell it
+when both are alive and hopping about the shrubbery, its plumage above
+is a dull olive-brown that is more protective than pleasing.</p>
+
+<p>Just as Wilson hopelessly confused the olive-backed thrush with the
+hermit, so has Alice's thrush been confounded by later writers with
+the olive-backed, from which it differs chiefly in being a trifle
+larger, in having gray cheeks instead of buff, and in possessing a few
+faint streaks on the throat. Where it goes to make a home for its
+greenish-blue speckled eggs in some low bush at the northern end of
+its range, it bursts into song, but except in the nesting grounds its
+voice is never heard. Mr.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg_127]</a></span>
+Bradford Torrey, who heard it singing in the White Mountains,
+describes the song as like the thrush's in quality, but differently
+accented: "<i>Wee-o-wee-o-tit-ti-wee-o!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>In New England and New York this thrush is most often seen during its
+autumn migrations. As it startsup and perches upon a low branch
+before you, it appears to have longer legs and a broader, squarer tail
+than its congeners.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_VEERY" id="IMG_VEERY"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus184.png" width="435" height="631" alt="VEERY OR WILSON&#39;S THRUSH" title="VEERY OR WILSON&#39;S THRUSH" /><br />
+<span class="caption">VEERY OR WILSON&#39;S THRUSH</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_WOOD_THRUSH" id="IMG_WOOD_THRUSH"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus185.png" width="540" height="565" alt="WOOD THRUSH" title="WOOD THRUSH" /><br />
+<span class="caption">WOOD THRUSH</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+
+<a name="OLIVE-BACKED_THRUSH_127" id="OLIVE-BACKED_THRUSH_127"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Olive-backed Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Turdus ustulatus swainsonii</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SWAINSON'S THRUSH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 7.50 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts olive-brown. Whole throat and
+breast yellow-buff, shading to ashy on sides and to white
+underneath. Buff ring around eye. Dark streaks on sides of
+throat (none on centre), and larger, more spot-like marks on
+breast.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America to Rockies; a few stragglers on Pacific
+slope. Northward to arctic countries.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Summer resident in Canada.
+Chiefly a migrant in United States.</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkhurst tells of finding this "the commonest bird in the Park
+(Central Park, New York), not even excepting the robin," during the
+last week of May on a certain year; but usually, it must be owned, we
+have to be on the lookout to find it, or it will pass unnoticed in the
+great companies of more conspicuous birds travelling at the same time.
+White-throated sparrows often keep it company on the long journeys
+northward, and they may frequently be seen together, hopping sociably
+about the garden, the thrush calling out a rather harsh note&mdash;<i>puk!
+puk!</i>&mdash;quite different from the liquid, mellow calls of the other
+thrushes, to resent either the sparrows' bad manners or the
+inquisitiveness of a human disturber of its peace. But this gregarious
+habit and neighborly visit end even before acquaintance fairly begins,
+and the thrushes are off for their nesting grounds in the pine woods
+of New England or Labrador if they are travelling up the east coast,
+or to Alaska, British Columbia, or Manitoba if west of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg_128]</a></span>
+Mississippi. There they stay all summer, often travelling southward
+with the sparrows in the autumn, as in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>Why they should prefer coniferous trees, unless to utilize the needles
+for a nest, is not understood. Low trees and bushes are favorite
+building sites with them as with others of the family, though these
+thrushes disdain a mud lining to their nests. Those who have heard the
+olive-backed thrush singing an even-song to its brooding mate compare
+it with the veery's, but it has a break in it and is less simple and
+pleasing than the latter's.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="LOUISIANA_WATER_THRUSH_128" id="LOUISIANA_WATER_THRUSH_128"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Louisiana Water Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Seiurus motacilla</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 6.28 inches. Just a trifle smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Grayish olive-brown upper parts, with
+conspicuous white line over the eye and reaching almost to the
+nape. Underneath white, tinged with pale buff. Throat and line
+through the middle, plain. Other parts streaked with very dark
+brown, rather faintly on the breast, giving them the speckled
+breast of the thrushes. Heavy, dark bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, westward to the plains; northward to
+southern New England. Winters in the tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>This bird, that so delighted Audubon with its high-trilled song as he
+tramped with indefatigable zeal through the hammocks of the Gulf
+States, seems to be almost the counterpart of the Northern water
+thrush, just as the loggerhead is the Southern counterpart of the
+Northern shrike. Very many Eastern birds have their duplicates in
+Western species, as we all know, and it is most interesting to trace
+the slight external variations that different climates and diet have
+produced on the same bird, and thus differentiated the species. In
+winter the Northern water thrush visits the cradle of its kind, the
+swamps of Louisiana and Florida, and, no doubt, by daily contact with
+its congeners there, keeps close to their cherished traditions, from
+which it never deviates farther than Nature compels, though it
+penetrate to the arctic regions during its summer journeys.</p>
+
+<p>With a more southerly range, the Louisiana water thrush does not
+venture beyond the White Mountains and to the shores of the Great
+Lakes in summer, but even at the North the same woods often contain
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg_129]</a></span>
+both birds, and there is opportunity to note just how much they
+differ. The Southern bird is slightly the larger, possibly an inch; it
+is more gray, and it lacks a few of the streaks, notably on the
+throat, that plentifully speckle its Northern counterpart; but the
+habits of both of these birds appear to be identical. Only for a few
+days in the spring or autumn migrations do they pass near enough to
+our homes for us to study them, and then we must ever be on the alert
+to steal a glance at them through the opera-glasses, for birds more
+shy than they do not visit the garden shrubbery at any season. Only
+let them suspect they are being stared at, and they are under cover in
+a twinkling.</p>
+
+<p>Where mountain streams dash through tracts of mossy, spongy ground
+that is carpeted with fern and moss, and overgrown with impenetrable
+thickets of underbrush and tangles of creepers&mdash;such a place is the
+favorite resort of both the water thrushes. With a rubber boot
+missing, clothes torn, and temper by no means unruffled, you finally
+stand over the Louisiana thrush's nest in the roots of an upturned
+tree immediately over the water, or else in a mossy root-belaced bank
+above a purling stream. A liquid-trilled warble, wild and sweet,
+breaks the stillness, and, like Audubon, you feel amply rewarded for
+your pains though you may not be prepared to agree with him in
+thinking the song the equal of the European nightingale's.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="NORTHERN_WATER_THRUSH_129" id="NORTHERN_WATER_THRUSH_129"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Northern Water Thrush<br />
+
+(<i>Seiurus noveboracensis</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: NEW YORK WATER THRUSH; AQUATIC WOOD WAGTAIL; AQUATIC THRUSH</div><br />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Uniform olive or grayish brown above. Pale
+buff line over the eye. Underneath, white tinged with
+sulphur-yellow, and streaked like a thrush with very dark
+brown arrow-headed or oblong spots that are also seen
+underneath wings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, westward to Rockies and northward
+through British provinces. Winters from Gulf States southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg_130]</a></span>
+According to the books we have before us, a warbler; but who, to look
+at his speckled throat and breast, would ever take him for anything
+but a diminutive thrush; or, studying him from some distance through
+the opera-glasses as he runs in and out of the little waves along the
+brook or river shore, would not name him a baby sandpiper? The rather
+unsteady motion of his legs, balancing of the tail, and sudden jerking
+of the head suggest an aquatic bird rather than a bird of the woods.
+But to really know either man or beast, you must follow him to his
+home, and if you have pluck enough to brave the swamp and the almost
+impenetrable tangle of undergrowth where the water thrush chooses to
+nest, there "In the swamp in secluded recesses, a shy and hidden bird
+is warbling a song;" and this warbled song that Walt Whitman so adored
+gives you your first clue to the proper classification of the bird. It
+has nothing in common with the serene, hymn-like voices of the true
+thrushes; the bird has no flute-like notes, but an emphatic smacking
+or chucking kind of warble. For a few days only is this song heard
+about the gardens and roadsides of our country places. Like the
+Louisiana water thrush, this bird never ventures near the homes of men
+after the spring and autumn migrations, but, on the contrary, goes as
+far away from them as possible, preferably to some mountain region,
+beside a cool and dashing brook, where a party of adventurous young
+climbers from a summer hotel or the lonely trout fisherman may startle
+it from its mossy nest on the ground.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="FLICKER_130" id="FLICKER_130"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Flicker<br />
+
+(<i>Colaptes auratus</i>) Woodpecker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER; CLAPE; PIGEON
+WOODPECKER; YELLOWHAMMER; HIGH-HOLE OR HIGH-HOLDER;
+YARUP; WAKE-UP; YELLOW-SHAFTED WOODPECKER<br />
+
+(Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_YOUNG_FLICKERS">24</a> and <a href="#IMG_FLICKER">134</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Head and neck bluish gray, with a red
+crescent across back of neck and a black crescent on breast.
+Male has black cheek-patches, that are wanting in female.
+Golden brown shading into brownish-gray, and barred with black
+above. Underneath whitish, tinged with light chocolate
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg_131]</a></span>
+and thickly spotted with black. Wing linings, shafts of wing, and
+tail-quills bright yellow. Above tail white, conspicuous when
+the bird flies.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, east of Rockies; Alaska and British
+America, south of Hudson Bay. Occasional on Pacific slope.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Most commonly seen from April to October.
+Usually resident.</div>
+
+<p>If we were to follow the list of thirty-six aliases by which this
+largest and commonest of our woodpeckers is known throughout its wide
+range, we should find all its peculiarities of color, flight, noises,
+and habits indicated in its popular names. It cannot but attract
+attention wherever seen, with its beautiful plumage, conspicuously
+yellow if its outstretched wings are looked at from below,
+conspicuously brown and white if seen upon the ground. At a distance
+it suggests the meadowlark. Both birds wear black, crescent breast
+decorations, and the flicker also has the habit of feeding upon the
+ground, especially in autumn, a characteristic not shared by its
+relations.</p>
+
+<p>Early in the spring this bird of many names and many voices makes
+itself known by a long, strong, sonorous call, a sort of proclamation
+that differs from its song proper, which Audubon calls "a prolonged
+jovial laugh" (described by Mrs. Wright as "<i>Wick, wick, wick,
+wick!</i>"), and differs also from its rapidly repeated, mellow, and most
+musical <i>cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh</i>, uttered during the nesting season.</p>
+
+<p>Its nasal <i>kee-yer</i>, vigorously called out in the autumn, is less
+characteristic, however, than the sound it makes while associating
+with its fellows on the feeding ground&mdash;a sound that Mr. Frank M.
+Chapman says can be closely imitated by the swishing of a willow wand.</p>
+
+<p>A very ardent and ridiculous-looking lover is this bird, as, with tail
+stiffly spread, he sidles up to his desired mate and bows and bobs
+before her, then retreats and advances, bowing and bobbing again, very
+often with a rival lover beside him (whom he generously tolerates)
+trying to outdo him in grace and general attractiveness. Not the least
+of the bird's qualities that must commend themselves to the bride is
+his unfailing good nature, genial alike in the home and in the field.</p>
+
+<p>The "high-holders" have the peculiar and silly habit of boring out a
+number of superfluous holes for nests high up in the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg_132]</a></span>
+trees, in buildings, or hollow wooden columns, only one of which they
+intend to use. Six white eggs is the proper number for a household,
+but Dr. Coues says the female that has been robbed keeps on laying
+three or even four sets of eggs without interruption.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="MEADOWLARK_132" id="MEADOWLARK_132"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Meadowlark<br />
+
+(<i>Sturnella magna</i>) Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: FIELD LARK; OLDFIELD LARK<br />
+
+{Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_MEADOWLARK">135</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;10 to 11 inches. A trifle larger than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts brown, varied with chestnut, deep brown,
+and black. Crown streaked with brown and black, and with a
+cream-colored streak through the centre. Dark-brown line
+apparently running through the eye; another line over the eye,
+yellow. Throat and chin yellow; a large, conspicuous black
+crescent on breast. Underneath yellow, shading into buffy
+brown, spotted or streaked with very dark brown. Outer tail
+feathers chiefly white, conspicuous in flight. Long, strong
+legs and claws, adapted for walking. Less black in winter
+plumage, which is more grayish brown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler than male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Newfoundland to the Gulf of
+Mexico, and westward to the plains, where the Western
+meadowlark takes its place. Winters from Massachusetts and
+Illinois southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. Late October. Usually a resident, a few
+remaining through the winter.</div>
+
+<p>In the same meadows with the red-winged blackbirds, birds of another
+feather, but of the same family, nevertheless, may be found flocking
+together, hunting for worms and larv&#230;, building their nests, and
+rearing their young very near each other with the truly social
+instinct of all their kin.</p>
+
+<p>The meadowlarks, which are really not larks at all, but the
+blackbirds' and orioles' cousins, are so protected by the coloring of
+the feathers on their backs, like that of the grass and stubble they
+live among, that ten blackbirds are noticed for every meadowlark,
+although the latter is very common. Not until you flush a flock of
+them as you walk along the roadside or through the meadows and you
+note the white tail feathers and the black crescents on the yellow
+breasts of the large brown birds that rise
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg_133]</a></span>
+towards the tree-tops with whirring sound and a flight suggesting the
+quail's, do you suspect there are any birds among the tall grasses.</p>
+
+<p>Their clear and piercing whistle, "<i>Spring o' the y-e-a-r, Spring o'
+the year!</i>" rings out from the trees with varying intonation and
+accent, but always sweet and inspiriting. To the bird's high vantage
+ground you may not follow, for no longer having the protection of the
+high grass, it has become wary and flies away as you approach, calling
+out <i>peent-peent</i> and nervously flitting its tail (again showing the
+white feather), when it rests a moment on the pasture fence-rail.</p>
+
+<p>It is like looking for a needle in a haystack to try to find a
+meadowlark's nest, an unpretentious structure of dried grasses partly
+arched over and hidden in a clump of high timothy, flat upon the
+ground. But what havoc snakes and field-mice play with the
+white-speckled eggs and helpless fledglings! The care of rearing two
+or three broods in a season and the change of plumage to duller winter
+tints seem to exhaust the high spirits of the sweet whistler. For a
+time he is silent, but partly regains his vocal powers in the autumn,
+when, with large flocks of his own kind, he resorts to marshy feeding
+grounds. In the winter he chooses for companions the horned larks,
+that walk along the shore, or the snow buntings and sparrows of the
+inland pastures, and will even include the denizens of the barn-yard
+when hunger drives him close to the haunts of men.</p>
+
+<div class="center">&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</div>
+
+<p>The <a name="WESTERN_MEADOWLARK_133" id="WESTERN_MEADOWLARK_133"></a>Western Meadowlark or Prairie Lark (<i>Sturnella magna neglecta</i>),
+which many ornithologists consider a different species from the
+foregoing, is distinguished chiefly by its lighter, more grayish-brown
+plumage, by its yellow cheeks, and more especially by its richer,
+fuller song. In his "Birds of Manitoba," Mr. Ernest E. Thompson says of
+this meadowlark: "In richness of voice and modulation it equals or
+excels both wood thrush and nightingale, and in the beauty of its
+articulation it has no superior in the whole world of feathered
+choristers with which I am acquainted."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="HORNED_LARK_134" id="HORNED_LARK_134"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg_134]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Horned Lark<br />
+
+(<i>Otocoris alpestris</i>) Lark family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SHORE LARK<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_HORNED_LARK">138</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7.5 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts dull brown, streaked with lighter on edges
+and tinged with pink or vinaceous; darkest on back of head,
+neck, shoulders, and nearest the tail. A few erectile feathers
+on either side of the head form slight tufts or horns that are
+wanting in female. A black mark from the base of the bill
+passes below the eye and ends in a horn-shaped curve on
+cheeks, which are yellow. Throat clear yellow. Breast has
+crescent-shaped black patch. Underneath soiled white, with
+dusky spots on lower breast. Tail black, the outer feathers
+margined with white, noticed in flight.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Has yellow eye-stripe; less prominent markings,
+especially on head, and is a trifle smaller.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Northeastern parts of North America, and in winter
+from Ohio and eastern United States as far south as North
+Carolina.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October and November. March. Winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>Far away to the north in Greenland and Labrador this true lark, the
+most beautiful of its genus, makes its summer home. There it is a
+conspicuously handsome bird with its pinkish-gray and chocolate
+feathers, that have greatly faded into dull browns when we see them in
+the late autumn. In the far north only does it sing, and, according to
+Audubon, the charming song is flung to the breeze while the bird soars
+like a skylark. In the United States we hear only its call-note.</p>
+
+<p>Great flocks come down the Atlantic coast in October and November, and
+separate into smaller bands that take up their residence in sandy
+stretches and open tracts near the sea or wherever the food supply
+looks promising, and there the larks stay until all the seeds, buds of
+bushes, berries, larv&#230;, and insects in their chosen territory are
+exhausted. They are ever conspicuously ground birds, walkers, and when
+disturbed at their dinner, prefer to squat on the earth rather than
+expose themselves by flight. Sometimes they run nimbly over the frozen
+ground to escape an intruder, but flying they reserve as a last
+resort. When the visitor has passed they quickly return to their
+dinner. If they were content to eat less ravenously and remain
+slender, fewer
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg_135]</a></span>
+victims might be slaughtered annually to tickle the palates of the
+epicure. It is a mystery what they find to fatten upon when snow
+covers the frozen ground. Even in the severe midwinter storms they
+will not seek the protection of the woods, but always prefer sandy
+dunes with their scrubby undergrowth or open meadow lands.
+Occasionally a small flock wanders toward the farms to pick up seeds
+that are blown from the hayricks or scattered about the barn-yard by
+overfed domestic fowls.</p>
+
+<div class="center">&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</div>
+
+<p>The <a name="PRAIRIE_HORNED_LARK_135" id="PRAIRIE_HORNED_LARK_135"></a>Prairie Horned Lark (<i>Otocoris alpestris praticola</i>) is similar to
+the preceding, but a trifle smaller and paler, with a white instead of
+a yellow streak above the eye, the throat yellowish or entirely white
+instead of sulphur-yellow, and other minor differences. It has a far
+more southerly range, confined to northern portions of the United
+States from the Mississippi eastward. Once a distinctly prairie bird,
+it now roams wherever large stretches of open country that suit its
+purposes are cleared in the East, and remains resident. This species
+also sings in midair on the wing, but its song is a crude,
+half-inarticulate affair, barely audible from a height of two hundred
+feet.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_FLICKER" id="IMG_FLICKER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus194.png" width="430" height="626" alt="FLICKER" title="FLICKER" /><br />
+<span class="caption">FLICKER</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_MEADOWLARK" id="IMG_MEADOWLARK"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus195.png" width="460" height="616" alt="MEADOWLARK" title="MEADOWLARK" /><br />
+<span class="caption">MEADOWLARK</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="AMERICAN_PIPIT_135" id="AMERICAN_PIPIT_135"></a>
+<div class="caption2">American Pipit<br />
+
+(<i>Anthus pensilvanicus</i>) Wagtail family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: TITLARK; BROWN OR RED LARK</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.38 to 7 inches. About the size of a sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts brown; wings and tail dark
+olive-brown; the wing coverts tipped with buff or whitish, and
+ends of outer tail feathers white, conspicuous in flight.
+White or yellowish eye-ring, and line above the eye.
+Underneath light buff brown, with spots on breast and sides,
+the under parts being washed with brown of various shades.
+Feet brown. Hind toe-nail as long as or longer than the toe.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America at large. Winters south of Virginia to
+Mexico and beyond.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October or November. Common in the United
+States, chiefly during the migrations.</div>
+
+<p>The color of this bird varies slightly with age and sex, the under
+parts ranging from white through pale rosy brown to a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg_136]</a></span>
+reddish tinge; but at any season, and under all circumstances, the
+pipit is a distinctly brown bird, resembling the water thrushes not in
+plumage only, but in the comical tail waggings and jerkings that alone
+are sufficient to identify it. However the books may tell us the bird
+is a wagtail, it certainly possesses two strong characteristics of
+true larks: it is a walker, delighting in walking or running, never
+hopping over the ground, and it has the angelic habit of singing as it
+flies.</p>
+
+<p>During the migrations the pipits are abundant in salt marshes or open
+stretches of country inland, that, with lark-like preference, they
+choose for feeding grounds. When flushed, all the flock rise together
+with uncertain flight, hovering and wheeling about the place, calling
+down <i>dee-dee</i>, <i>dee-dee</i> above your head until you have passed on
+your way, then promptly returning to the spot from whence they were
+disturbed. Along the roadsides and pastures, where two or three birds
+are frequently seen together, they are too often mistaken for the
+vesper sparrows because of their similar size and coloring, but their
+easy, graceful walk should distinguish them at once from the hopping
+sparrow. They often run to get ahead of some one in the lane, but
+rarely fly if they can help it, and then scarcely higher than a
+fence-rail. Early in summer they are off for the mountains in the
+north. Labrador is their chosen nesting ground, and they are said to
+place their grassy nest, lined with lichens or moss, flat upon the
+ground&mdash;still another lark trait. Their eggs are chocolate-brown
+scratched with black.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WHIPPOORWILL_136" id="WHIPPOORWILL_136"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Whippoorwill<br />
+
+(<i>Antrostomus vociferus</i>) Goatsucker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_WHIPPOORWILL">139</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+Apparently much larger, because of its long wings and wide
+wing-spread.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;A long-winged bird, mottled all over with reddish
+brown, grayish black, and dusky white; numerous bristles
+fringing the large mouth. A narrow white band across the upper
+breast. Tail quills on the end and under side white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar to male, except that the tail is dusky in
+color where that of the male is white. Band on breast buff
+instead of white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, to the plains. Not common near the sea.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April to middle of September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg_137]</a></span>
+The whippoorwill, because of its nocturnal habits and plaintive note,
+is invested with a reputation for occult power which inspires a
+chilling awe among superstitious people, and leads them insanely to
+attribute to it an evil influence; but it is a harmless, useful night
+prowler, flying low and catching enormous numbers of hurtful insects,
+always the winged varieties, in its peculiar fly-trap mouth.</p>
+
+<p>It loves the rocky, solitary woods, where it sleeps all day; but it is
+seldom seen, even after painstaking search, because of its dull,
+mottled markings conforming so nearly to rocks and dry leaves, and
+because of its unusual habit of stretching itself lengthwise on a tree
+branch or ledge, where it is easily confounded with a patch of lichen,
+and thus overlooked. If by accident one happens upon a sleeping bird,
+it suddenly rouses and flies away, making no more sound than a passing
+butterfly&mdash;a curious and uncanny silence that is quite remarkable.
+When the sun goes down and as the gloaming deepens, the bird's
+activity increases, and it begins its nightly duties, emitting from
+time to time, like a sentry on his post or a watchman of the night,
+the doleful call which has given the bird its common name. It</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Mourns unseen, and ceaseless sings<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Ever a note of wail and woe,"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="justify">that our Dutch ancestors interpreted as "<i>Quote-kerr-kee</i>" and so
+called it. They had a tradition that no frost ever appeared after the
+bird had been heard calling in the spring, and that it wisely left for
+warmer skies before frost came in the autumn. Prudent bird, never
+caught napping!</div>
+
+<p>It is erratic in its choice of habitations, even when rock and
+solitude seem suited to its taste. Very rarely is this odd bird found
+close to the seashore, and in the Hudson River valley it keeps a half
+mile or more back from the river.</p>
+
+<p>The eggs, generally two in number, are creamy white, dashed with dark
+and olive spots, and laid on the ground on dry leaves, or in a little
+hollow in rock or stump&mdash;never in a nest built with loving care. But
+in extenuation of such carelessness it may be said that, if disturbed
+or threatened, the mother shows no lack of maternal instinct, and
+removes her young, carrying them in her beak as a cat conveys her
+kittens to secure shelter.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_HORNED_LARK" id="IMG_HORNED_LARK"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus200.png" width="438" height="613" alt="HORNED LARK" title="HORNED LARK" /><br />
+<span class="caption">HORNED LARK (One-half natural size)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_WHIPPOORWILL" id="IMG_WHIPPOORWILL"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus201.png" width="643" height="426" alt="WHIPPOORWILL" title="WHIPPOORWILL" /><br />
+<span class="caption">WHIPPOORWILL</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="NIGHTHAWK_138" id="NIGHTHAWK_138"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg_138]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Nighthawk<br />
+
+(<i>Chordeiles virginianus</i>) Goatsucker family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: NIGHTJAR; BULL-BAT; MOSQUITO HAWK;
+WILL-O'-THE-WISP; PISK; PIRAMIDIG; LONG-WINGED GOATSUCKER<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_NIGHTHAWK">154</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;9 to 10 inches. About the same length as the robin,
+but apparently much longer because of its very wide
+wing-spread.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Mottled blackish brown and rufous above,
+with a multitude of cream-yellow spots and dashes. Lighter
+below, with waving bars of brown on breast and underneath.
+White mark on throat, like an imperfect horseshoe; also a band
+of white across tail of male bird. These latter markings are
+wanting in female. Heavy wings, which are partly mottled, are
+brown on shoulders and tips, and longer than tail. They have
+large white spots, conspicuous in flight, one of their
+distinguishing marks from the whippoorwill. Head large and
+depressed, with large eyes and ear-openings. Very small bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From Mexico to arctic islands.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The nighthawk's misleading name could not well imply more that the
+bird is not: it is not nocturnal in its habits, neither is it a hawk,
+for if it were, no account of it would be given in this book, which
+distinctly excludes birds of prey. Stories of its chicken-stealing
+prove to be ignorant rather than malicious slanders. Any one disliking
+the name, however, surely cannot complain of a limited choice of other
+names by which, in different sections of the country, it is quite as
+commonly known.</p>
+
+<p>Too often it is mistaken for the whippoorwill. The nighthawk does not
+have the weird and woful cry of that more dismal bird, but gives
+instead a harsh, whistling note while on the wing, followed by a
+vibrating, booming, whirring sound that Nuttall likens to "the rapid
+turning of a spinning wheel, or a strong blowing into the bung-hole of
+an empty hogshead." This peculiar sound is responsible for the name
+nightjar, frequently given to this curious bird. It is said to be made
+as the bird drops suddenly through the air, creating a sort of
+stringed instrument of its outstretched wings and tail. When these
+wings are spread, their large white spots running through the feathers
+to the under side
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg_139]</a></span>
+should be noted to further distinguish the nighthawk from the
+whippoorwill, which has none, but which it otherwise closely
+resembles. This booming sound, coming from such a height that the bird
+itself is often unseen, was said by the Indians to be made by the shad
+spirits to warn the scholes of shad about to ascend the rivers to
+spawn in the spring, of their impending fate.</p>
+
+<p>The flight of the nighthawk is free and graceful in the extreme.
+Soaring through space without any apparent motion of its wings,
+suddenly it darts with amazing swiftness like an erratic bat after the
+fly, mosquito, beetle, or moth that falls within the range of its
+truly hawk-like eye.</p>
+
+<p>Usually the nighthawks hunt in little companies in the most sociable
+fashion. Late in the summer they seem to be almost gregarious. They
+fly in the early morning or late afternoon with beak wide open,
+hawking for insects, but except when the moon is full they are not
+known to go a-hunting after sunset. During the heat of the day and at
+night they rest on limbs of trees, fence-rails, stone walls,
+lichen-covered rocks or old logs&mdash;wherever Nature has provided
+suitable mimicry of their plumage to help conceal them.</p>
+
+<p>With this object in mind, they quite as often choose a hollow surface
+of rock in some waste pasture or the open ground on which to deposit
+the two speckled-gray eggs that sixteen days later will give birth to
+their family. But in August, when family cares have ended for the
+season, it is curious to find this bird of the thickly wooded country
+readily adapting itself to city life, resting on Mansard roofs,
+darting into the streets from the house-tops, and wheeling about the
+electric lights, making a hearty supper of the little, winged insects
+they attract.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLACK-BILLED_CUCKOO_139" id="BLACK-BILLED_CUCKOO_139"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Black-billed Cuckoo<br />
+
+(<i>Coccyzus erythrophthalmus</i>) Cuckoo family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: RAIN CROW</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;11 to 12 inches. About one-fifth larger than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in feathers.
+Underneath grayish white; bill, which is long as head and
+black, arched and acute. Skin about the eye bright red. Tail
+long, and with spots on tips of quills that are small and
+inconspicuous.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Has obscure dusky bars on the tail.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg_140]</a></span></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Labrador to Panama; westward to Rocky Mountains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"O cuckoo! shall I call thee bird?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;Or but a wandering voice?"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>From the tangled shrubbery on the hillside back of Dove Cottage,
+Keswick, where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy listened for the
+coming of this "darling of the spring"; in the willows overhanging
+Shakespeare's Avon; from the favorite haunts of Chaucer and Spenser,
+where</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"Runneth meade and springeth blede,"</span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="justify">hear the cuckoo calling; but how many on this side of the Atlantic
+are familiar with its American counterpart? Here, too, the cuckoo
+delights in running water and damp, cloudy weather like that of an
+English spring; it haunts the willows by our river-sides, where as yet
+no "immortal bard" arises to give it fame. It "loud sings" in our
+shrubbery, too. Indeed, if we cannot study our bird afield, the next
+best place to become acquainted with it is in the pages of the English
+poets. But due allowance must be made for differences of temperament.
+Our cuckoo is scarcely a "merry harbinger"; his talents, such as they
+are, certainly are not musical. However, the guttural cluck is not
+discordant, and the black-billed species, at least, has a soft, mellow
+voice that seems to indicate an embryonic songster. "<i>K-k-k-k,
+kow-kow-ow-kow-ow!</i>" is a familiar sound in many localities, but the
+large, slim, pigeon-shaped, brownish-olive bird that makes it,
+securely hidden in the low trees and shrubs that are its haunts, is
+not often personally known. Catching a glimpse only of the
+grayish-white under parts from where we stand looking up into the tree
+at it, it is quite impossible to tell the bird from the yellow-billed
+species. When, as it flies about, we are able to note the red circles
+about its eyes, its black bill, and the absence of black tail
+feathers, with their white "thumb-nail" spots, and see no bright
+cinnamon feathers on the wings (the yellow-billed specie's
+distinguishing marks), we can at last claim acquaintance with the
+black-billed cuckoo. Our two common cuckoos are so nearly alike that
+they are constantly confused in the popular mind and very often in the
+writings of ornithologists. At first glance the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg_141]</a></span>
+birds look alike. Their haunts are almost identical; their habits are
+the same; and, as they usually keep well out of sight, it is not
+surprising if confusion arise.</div>
+
+<p>Neither cuckoo knows how to build a proper home; a bunch of sticks
+dropped carelessly into the bush, where the hapless babies that emerge
+from the greenish eggs will not have far to fall when they tumble out
+of bed, as they must inevitably do, may by courtesy only be called a
+nest. The cuckoo is said to suck the eggs of other birds; but, surely,
+such vice is only the rarest dissipation. Insects of many kinds and
+"tent caterpillars" chiefly are their chosen food.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO_141" id="YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO_141"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Yellow-billed Cuckoo<br />
+
+(<i>Coccyzus americanus</i>) Cuckoo family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: RAIN CROW<br />
+
+(Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO">155</a> and <a href="#IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOOS">202</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;11 to 12 inches. About one-fifth longer than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in
+feathers. Underneath grayish white. Bill, which is as long as
+head, arched, acute, and more robust than the black-billed
+species, and with lower mandible yellow. Wings washed with
+bright cinnamon-brown. Tail has outer quills black,
+conspicuously marked with white thumb-nail spots. Female
+larger.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Mexico to Labrador. Most common
+in temperate climates. Rare on Pacific slope.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Late April. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>"<i>Kak, k-kuk, k-kuk, k-kuk!</i>" like an exaggerated tree-toad's rattle,
+is a sound that, when first heard, makes you rush out of doors
+instantly to "name" the bird. Look for him in the depths of the tall
+shrubbery or low trees, near running water, if there is any in the
+neighborhood, and if you are more fortunate than most people, you will
+presently become acquainted with the yellow-billed cuckoo. When seen
+perching at a little distance, his large, slim body, grayish brown,
+with olive tints above and whitish below, can scarcely be
+distinguished from that of the black-billed species. It is not until
+you get close enough to note the yellow bill, reddish-brown wings, and
+black tail feathers with their white "thumb-nail" marks, that you know
+which cuckoo you are
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg_142]</a></span>
+watching. In repose the bird looks dazed or stupid, but as it darts
+about among the trees after insects, noiselessly slipping to another
+one that promises better results, and hopping along the limbs after
+performing a series of beautiful evolutions among the branches as it
+hunts for its favorite "tent caterpillars," it appears what it really
+is: an unusually active, graceful, intelligent bird.</p>
+
+<p>A solitary wanderer, nevertheless one cuckoo in an apple orchard is
+worth a hundred robins in ridding it of caterpillars and inch-worms,
+for it delights in killing many more of these than it can possibly
+eat. In the autumn it varies its diet with minute fresh-water
+shell-fish from the swamp and lake. Mulberries, that look so like
+caterpillars the bird possibly likes them on that account, it devours
+wholesale.</p>
+
+<p>Family cares rest lightly on the cuckoos. The nest of both species is
+a ramshackle affair&mdash;a mere bundle of twigs and sticks without a rim
+to keep the eggs from rolling from the bush, where they rest, to the
+ground. Unlike their European relative, they have the decency to rear
+their own young and not impose this heavy task on others; but the
+cuckoos on both sides of the Atlantic are most erratic and irregular
+in their nesting habits. The overworked mother-bird often lays an egg
+while brooding over its nearly hatched companion, and the two or three
+half-grown fledglings already in the nest may roll the large greenish
+eggs out upon the ground, while both parents are off searching for
+food to quiet their noisy clamorings. Such distracting mismanagement
+in the nursery is enough to make a homeless wanderer of any father. It
+is the mother-bird that tumbles to the ground at your approach from
+sheer fright; feigns lameness, trails her wings as she tries to entice
+you away from the nest. The male bird shows far less concern; a no
+more devoted father, we fear, than he is a lover. It is said he
+changes his mate every year.</p>
+
+<p>Altogether, the cuckoo is a very different sort of bird from what our
+fancy pictured. The little Swiss creatures of wood that fly out of the
+doors of clocks and call out the bed-hour to sleepy children, are
+chiefly responsible for the false impressions of our mature years. The
+American bird does not repeat its name, and its harsh, grating "<i>kuk,
+kuk</i>," does not remotely suggest the sweet voice of its European
+relative.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BANK_SWALLOW_143" id="BANK_SWALLOW_143"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg_143]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Bank Swallow<br />
+
+(<i>Clivicola riparia</i>) Swallow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SAND MARTIN; SAND SWALLOW</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its
+wide wing-spread.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Grayish brown or clay-colored above. Upper
+wings and tail darkest. Below, white, with brownish band
+across chest. Tail, which is rounded and more nearly square
+than the other swallows, is obscurely edged with white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Throughout North America south of Hudson Bay.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Where a brook cuts its way through a sand bank to reach the sea is an
+ideal nesting ground for a colony of sand martins. The face of the
+high bank shows a number of clean, round holes indiscriminately bored
+into the sand, as if the place had just received a cannonading; but
+instead of war an atmosphere of peace pervades the place in midsummer,
+when you are most likely to visit it. Now that the young ones have
+flown from their nests that your arm can barely reach through the
+tunnelled sand or clay, there can be little harm in examining the
+feathers dropped from gulls, ducks, and other water-birds with which
+the grassy home is lined.</p>
+
+<p>The bank swallow's nest, like the kingfisher's, which it resembles, is
+his home as well. There he rests when tired of flying about in pursuit
+of insect food. Perhaps a bird that has been resting in one of the
+tunnels, startled by your innocent house-breaking, will fly out across
+your face, near enough for you to see how unlike the other swallows he
+is: smaller, plainer, and with none of their glinting steel-blues and
+buffs about him. With strong, swift flight he rejoins his fellows,
+wheeling, skimming, darting through the air above you, and uttering
+his characteristic "giggling twitter," that is one of the cheeriest
+noises heard along the beach. In early October vast numbers of these
+swallows may be seen in loose flocks along the Jersey coast, slowly
+making their way South. Clouds of them miles in extent are recorded.</p>
+
+<a name="ROUGH-WINGED_SWALLOW_144" id="ROUGH-WINGED_SWALLOW_144"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg_144]</a></span>
+Closely associated with the sand martin is the Rough-winged Swallow
+(<i>Stelgidopteryx serripennis</i>), not to be distinguished from its
+companion on the wing, but easily recognized by its dull-gray throat
+and the absence of the brown breast-band when seen at close range.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CEDAR_BIRD_144" id="CEDAR_BIRD_144"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Cedar Bird<br />
+
+(<i>Ampelis cedrorum</i>) Waxwing family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CEDAR WAXWING; CHERRY-BIRD; CANADA ROBIN; R&#201;COLLET<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CEDAR_WAXWING">158</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts rich grayish brown, with plum-colored
+tints showing through the brown on crest, throat, breast,
+wings, and tail. A velvety-black line on forehead runs through
+the eye and back of crest. Chin black; crest conspicuous;
+breast lighter than the back, and shading into yellow
+underneath. Wings have quill-shafts of secondaries elongated,
+and with brilliant vermilion tips like drops of sealing-wax,
+rarely seen on tail quills, which have yellow bands across the
+end.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;With duller plumage, smaller crest, and narrower
+tail-band.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from northern British provinces to
+Central America in winter.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;A roving resident, without fixed seasons for
+migrating.</div>
+
+<p>As the cedar birds travel about in great flocks that quickly exhaust
+their special food in a neighborhood, they necessarily lead a nomadic
+life&mdash;here to-day, gone to-morrow&mdash;and, like the Arabs, they "silently
+steal away." It is surprising how very little noise so great a company
+of these birds make at any time. That is because they are singularly
+gentle and refined; soft of voice, as they are of color, their plumage
+suggesting a fine Japanese water-color painting on silk, with its
+beautiful sheen and exquisitely blended tints.</p>
+
+<p>One listens in vain for a song; only a lisping "<i>Twee-twee-ze</i>," or "a
+dreary whisper," as Minot calls their low-toned communications with
+each other, reaches our ears from their high perches in the cedar
+trees, where they sit, almost motionless hours at a time, digesting
+the enormous quantities of juniper and whortle
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg_145]</a></span>
+berries, wild cherries, worms, and insects upon which they have
+gormandized.</p>
+
+<p>Nuttall gives the cedar birds credit for excessive politeness to each
+other. He says he has often seen them passing a worm from one to
+another down a whole row of beaks and back again before it was finally
+eaten.</p>
+
+<p>When nesting time arrives&mdash;that is to say, towards the end of the
+summer&mdash;they give up their gregarious habits and live in pairs,
+billing and kissing like turtle-doves in the orchard or wild
+crab-trees, where a flat, bulky nest is rather carelessly built of
+twigs, grasses, feathers, strings&mdash;any odds and ends that may be lying
+about. The eggs are usually four, white tinged with purple and spotted
+with black.</p>
+
+<p>Apparently they have no moulting season; their plumage is always the
+same, beautifully neat and full-feathered. Nothing ever hurries or
+flusters them, their greatest concern apparently being, when they
+alight, to settle themselves comfortably between their over-polite
+friends, who are never guilty of jolting or crowding. Few birds care
+to take life so easily, not to say indolently.</p>
+
+<p>Among the French Canadians they are called R&#233;collet, from the color of
+their crest resembling the hood of the religious order of that name.
+Every region the birds pass through, local names appear to be applied
+to them, a few of the most common of which are given above.</p>
+
+<p>Of the three waxwings known to scientists, two are found in America,
+and the third in Japan.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BROWN_CREEPER_145" id="BROWN_CREEPER_145"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Brown Creeper<br />
+
+(<i>Certbia familiaris americana</i>) Creeper family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Brown above, varied with ashy-gray stripes
+and small, lozenge-shaped gray mottles. Color lightest on
+head, increasing in shade to reddish brown near tail. Tail
+paler brown and long; wings brown and barred with whitish.
+Beneath grayish white. Slender, curving bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States and Canada, east of Rocky Mountains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. September. Winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>This little brown wood sprite, the very embodiment of virtuous
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg_146]</a></span>
+diligence, is never found far from the nuthatches, titmice, and
+kinglets, though not strictly in their company, for he is a rather
+solitary bird. Possibly he repels them by being too exasperatingly
+conscientious.</p>
+
+<p>Beginning at the bottom of a rough-barked tree (for a smooth bark
+conceals no larv&#230;), the creeper silently climbs upward in a sort of
+spiral, now lost to sight on the opposite side of the tree, then
+reappearing just where he is expected to, flitting back a foot or two,
+perhaps, lest he overlooked a single spider egg, but never by any
+chance leaving a tree until conscience approves of his thoroughness.
+And yet with all this painstaking workman's care, it takes him just
+about fifty seconds to finish a tree. Then off he flits to the base of
+another, to repeat the spiral process. Only rarely does he adopt the
+woodpecker process of partly flitting, partly rocking his way with the
+help of his tail straight up one side of the tree.</p>
+
+<p>Yet this little bird is not altogether the soulless drudge he appears.
+In the midst of his work, uncheered by summer sunshine, and clinging
+with numb toes to the tree-trunk some bitter cold day, he still finds
+some tender emotion within him to voice in a "wild, sweet song" that
+is positively enchanting at such a time. But it is not often this song
+is heard south of his nesting grounds.</p>
+
+<p>The brown creeper's plumage is one of Nature's most successful feats
+of mimicry&mdash;an exact counterfeit in feathers of the brown-gray bark on
+which the bird lives. And the protective coloring is carried out in
+the nest carefully tucked under a piece of loosened bark in the very
+heart of the tree.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PINE_SISKIN_146" id="PINE_SISKIN_146"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Pine Siskin<br />
+
+(<i>Spinus pinus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: PINE FINCH; PINE LINNET</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 to 5 inches. Over an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Olive-brown and gray above, much streaked
+and striped with very dark brown everywhere. Darkest on head
+and back. Lower back, base of tail, and wing feathers pale
+sulphur-yellow. Under parts very light buff brown, heavily
+streaked.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America generally. Most common in north
+latitudes. Winters south to the Gulf of Mexico.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg_147]</a></span></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Erratic winter visitor from October to April.
+Uncommon in summer.</div>
+
+<p>A small grayish-brown brindle bird, relieved with touches of yellow on
+its back, wings, and tail, may be seen some winter morning roving on
+the lawn from one evergreen tree to another, clinging to the pine
+cones and peering attentively between the scales before extracting the
+kernels. It utters a call-note so like the English sparrow's that you
+are surprised when you look up into the tree to find it comes from a
+stranger. The pine siskin is an erratic visitor, and there is always
+the charm of the unexpected about its coming near our houses that
+heightens our enjoyment of its brief stay.</p>
+
+<p>As it flies downward from the top of the spruce tree to feed upon the
+brown seeds still clinging to the pigweed and goldenrod stalks
+sticking out above the snow by the roadside, it dips and floats
+through the air like its charming little cousin, the goldfinch. They
+have several characteristics in common besides their flight and their
+fondness for thistles. Far at the north, where the pine siskin nests
+in the top of the evergreens, his sweet-warbled love-song is said to
+be like that of our "wild canary's," only with a suggestion of
+fretfulness in the tone.</p>
+
+<p>Occasionally some one living in an Adirondack or other mountain camp
+reports finding the nest and hearing the siskin sing even in
+midsummer; but it is, nevertheless, considered a northern species,
+however its erratic habits may sometimes break through the
+ornithologist's traditions.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SMITHS_PAINTED_LONGSPUR_147" id="SMITHS_PAINTED_LONGSPUR_147"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Smith's Painted Longspur<br />
+
+(<i>Calcarius pictus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.5 inches. About the size of a large English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts marked with black, brown, and
+white, like a sparrow; brown predominant. Male bird with more
+black about head, shoulders, and tail feathers, and a whitish
+patch, edged with black, under the eye. Underneath pale brown,
+shading to buff. Hind claw or spur conspicuous.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Interior of North America, from the arctic coast to
+Illinois and Texas.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg_148]</a></span></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Winter visitor. Without fixed season.</div>
+
+<p>Confined to a narrower range than the Lapland longspur, this bird,
+quite commonly found on the open prairie districts of the middle West
+in winter, is, nevertheless, so very like its cousin that the same
+description of their habits might very well answer for both. Indeed,
+both these birds are often seen in the same flock. Larks and the
+ubiquitous sparrows, too, intermingle with them with the familiarity
+that only the starvation rations of midwinter, and not true
+sociability, can effect; and, looking out upon such a heterogeneous
+flock of brown birds as they are feeding together on the frozen
+ground, only the trained field ornithologist would find it easy to
+point out the painted longspurs.</p>
+
+<p>Certain peculiarities are noticeable, however. Longspurs squat while
+resting; then, when flushed, they run quickly and lightly, and "rise
+with a sharp click, repeated several times in quick succession, and
+move with an easy, undulating motion for a short distance, when they
+alight very suddenly, seeming to fall perpendicularly several feet to
+the ground." Another peculiarity of their flight is their habit of
+flying about in circles, to and fro, keeping up a constant chirping or
+call. It is only in the mating season, when we rarely hear them, that
+the longspurs have the angelic manner of singing as they fly, like the
+skylark. The colors of the males, among the several longspurs, may
+differ widely, but the indistinctly marked females are so like each
+other that only their mates, perhaps, could tell them apart.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="LAPLAND_LONGSPUR_148" id="LAPLAND_LONGSPUR_148"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Lapland Longspur<br />
+
+(<i>Calcarius lapponicus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: LAPLAND SNOWBIRD; LAPLAND LARK BUNTING</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Color varies with season. <i>Winter plumage</i>: Top of
+head black, with rusty markings, all feathers being tipped
+with white. Behind and below the eye rusty black. Breast and
+underneath grayish white, faintly streaked with black. Above,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg_149]</a></span>
+reddish brown with black markings. Feet, which are black, have
+conspicuous, long hind claws or spur.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Rusty gray above, less conspicuously marked. Whitish<br />
+below.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Circumpolar regions; northern United States;
+occasional in Middle States; abundant in winter as far as
+Kansas and the Rocky Mountains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Winter visitors, rarely resident, and without a
+fixed season.</div>
+
+<p>This arctic bird, although considered somewhat rare with us, when seen
+at all in midwinter is in such large flocks that, before its visit in
+the neighborhood is ended, and because there are so few other birds
+about, it becomes delightfully familiar as it nimbly runs over the
+frozen ground, picking up grain that has blown about from the barn,
+when the seeds of the field are buried under snow. This lack of fear
+through sharp hunger, that often drives the shyest of the birds to our
+very doors in winter, is as pathetic as it is charming. Possibly it is
+not so rare a bird as we think, for it is often mistaken for some of
+the sparrows, the shore larks, and the snow buntings, that it not only
+resembles, but whose company it frequently keeps, or for one of the
+other longspurs.</p>
+
+<p>At all seasons of the year a ground bird, you may readily identify the
+Lapland longspur by its tracks through the snow, showing the mark of
+the long hind claw or spur. In summer we know little or nothing about
+it, for, with the coming of the flowers, it is off to the far north,
+where, we are told, it depresses its nest in a bed of moss upon the
+ground, and lines it with fur shed from the coat of the arctic fox.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<a name="CHIPPING_SPARROW_149" id="CHIPPING_SPARROW_149"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Chipping Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Spizella socialis</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CHIPPY; HAIR-BIRD; CHIP-BIRD; SOCIAL SPARROW<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CHIPPING_SPARROW">159</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches. An inch shorter than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Under the eye, on the back of the neck, underneath,
+and on the lower back ash-gray. Gray stripe over the eye, and a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg_150]</a></span>
+blackish brown one apparently through it. Dark red-brown crown. Back
+brown, slightly rufous, and feathers streaked with black. Wings and
+tail dusty brown. Wing-bars not conspicuous. Bill black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Lacks the chestnut color on the crown, which is
+streaked with black. In winter the frontlet is black. Bill
+brownish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Newfoundland to the Gulf of
+Mexico and westward to the Rockies. Winters in Gulf States and
+Mexico. Most common in eastern United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Common summer resident, many
+birds remaining all the year from southern New England
+southward.</div>
+
+<p>Who does not know this humblest, most unassuming little neighbor that
+comes hopping to our very doors; this mite of a bird with "one talent"
+that it so persistently uses all the day and every day throughout the
+summer? Its high, wiry trill, like the buzzing of the locust, heard in
+the dawn before the sky grows even gray, or in the middle of the
+night, starts the morning chorus; and after all other voices are
+hushed in the evening, its tremolo is the last bed-song to come from
+the trees. But however monotonous such cheerfulness sometimes becomes
+when we are surfeited with real songs from dozens of other throats,
+there are long periods of midsummer silence that it punctuates most
+acceptably.</p>
+
+<p>Its call-note, <i>chip! chip!</i> from which several of its popular names
+are derived, is altogether different from the trill which must do duty
+as a song to express love, contentment, everything that so amiable a
+little nature might feel impelled to voice.</p>
+
+<p>But with all its virtues, the chippy shows lamentable weakness of
+character in allowing its grown children to impose upon it, as it
+certainly does. In every group of these birds throughout the summer we
+can see young ones (which we may know by the black line-stripes on
+their breasts) hopping around after their parents, that are often no
+larger or more able-bodied than they, and teasing to be fed; drooping
+their wings to excite pity for a helplessness that they do not possess
+when the weary little mother hops away from them, and still
+persistently chirping for food until she weakly relents, returns to
+them, picks a seed from the ground and thrusts it down the bill of the
+sauciest teaser in the group. With two such broods in a season the
+chestnut feathers on the father's jaunty head might well turn gray.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg_151]</a></span>
+Unlike most of the sparrows, the little chippy frequents high trees,
+where its nest is built quite as often as in the low bushes of the
+garden. The horsehair, which always lines the grassy cup that holds
+its greenish-blue, speckled eggs, is alone responsible for the name
+hair-bird, and not the chippy's hair-like trill, as some suppose.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="ENGLISH_SPARROW_151" id="ENGLISH_SPARROW_151"></a>
+<div class="caption2">English Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Passer domesticus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: HOUSE SPARROW</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.33 inches.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Ashy above, with black and chestnut stripes on back
+and shoulders. Wings have chestnut and white bar, bordered by
+faint black line. Gray crown, bordered from the eye backward
+and on the nape by chestnut. Middle of throat and breast
+black. Underneath grayish white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler; wing-bars indistinct, and without the black
+marking on throat and breast.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Around the world. Introduced and naturalized in
+America, Australia, New Zealand.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Constant resident.</div>
+
+<p>"Of course, no self-respecting ornithologist will condescend to
+enlarge his list by counting in the English sparrow&mdash;too pestiferous
+to mention," writes Mr. H. E. Parkhurst, and yet of all bird neighbors
+is any one more within the scope of this book than the audacious
+little gamin that delights in the companionship of humans even in
+their most noisy city thoroughfares?</p>
+
+<p>In a bulletin issued by the Department of Agriculture it is shown that
+the progeny of a single pair of these sparrows might amount to
+275,716,983,698 in ten years! Inasmuch as many pairs were liberated in
+the streets of Brooklyn, New York, in 1851, when the first importation
+was made, the day is evidently not far off when these birds, by no
+means meek, "shall inherit the earth."</p>
+
+<p>In Australia Scotch thistles, English sparrows, and rabbits, three
+most unfortunate importations, have multiplied with equal rapidity
+until serious alarm fills the minds of the colonists. But in England a
+special committee appointed by the House of Commons
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg_152]</a></span>
+to investigate the character of the alleged pest has yet to learn
+whether the sparrow's services as an insect-destroyer do not outweigh
+the injury it does to fruit and grain.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="FIELD_SPARROW_152" id="FIELD_SPARROW_152"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Field Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Spizella pusilla</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: FIELD BUNTING; WOOD SPARROW; BUSH SPARROW<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_FIELD_SPARROW">203</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Chestnut crown. Upper back bright chestnut, finely
+streaked with black and ashy brown. Lower back more grayish.
+Whitish wing-bars. Cheeks, line over the eye, throat, pale
+brownish drab. Tail long. Underneath grayish white, tinged
+with palest buff on breast and sides. Bill reddish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler; the crown edged with grayish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from British provinces to the Gulf,
+and westward to the plains. Winters from Illinois and Virginia
+southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. November. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Simply because both birds have chestnut crowns, the field sparrow is
+often mistaken for the dapper, sociable chippy; and, no doubt because
+it loves such heathery, grassy pastures as are dear to the vesper
+sparrow, and has bay wings and a sweet song, these two cousins also
+are often confused. The field sparrow has a more reddish-brown upper
+back than any of its small relatives; the absence of streaks on its
+breast and of the white tail quills so conspicuous in the vesper
+sparrow's flight, sufficiently differentiate the two birds, while the
+red bill of the field sparrow is a positive mark of identification.</p>
+
+<p>This bird of humble nature, that makes the scrubby pastures and
+uplands tuneful from early morning until after sunset, flies away with
+exasperating shyness as you approach. Alighting on a convenient
+branch, he lures you on with his clear, sweet song. Follow him, and he
+only hops about from bush to bush, farther and farther away, singing
+as he goes a variety of strains, which is one of the bird's
+peculiarities. The song not only varies in individuals, but in
+different localities, which may be one reason
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg_153]</a></span>
+why no two ornithologists record it alike. Doubtless the chief reason
+for the amusing differences in the syllables into which the songs of
+birds are often translated in the books, is that the same notes
+actually sound differently to different individuals. Thus, to people
+in Massachusetts the white-throated sparrow seems to say, "<i>Pea-bod-y,
+Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y!</i>" while good British subjects beyond the New
+England border hear him sing quite distinctly, "<i>Sweet Can-a-da,
+Can-a-da, Can-a-da!</i>" But however the opinions as to the syllables of
+the field sparrow's song may differ, all are agreed as to its
+exquisite quality, that resembles the vesper sparrow's tender, sweet
+melody. The song begins with three soft, wild whistles, and ends with
+a series of trills and quavers that gradually melt away into silence:
+a serene and restful strain as soothing as a hymn. Like the vesper
+sparrows, these birds sometimes build a plain, grassy nest,
+unprotected by overhanging bush, flat upon the ground. Possibly from a
+prudent fear of field-mice and snakes, the little mother most
+frequently lays her bluish-white, rufous-marked eggs in a nest placed
+in a bush of a bushy field. Hence John Burroughs has called the bird
+the "bush sparrow."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="FOX_SPARROW_153" id="FOX_SPARROW_153"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Fox Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Passerella ilica</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: FOX-COLORED SPARROW; FERRUGINOUS FINCH; FOXY FINCH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.5 to 7.25 inches. Nearly an inch longer than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts reddish brown, varied with ash
+gray, brightest on lower back, wings, and tail. Bluish slate
+about the head. Underneath whitish; the throat, breast, and
+sides heavily marked with arrow-heads and oblong dashes of
+reddish brown and blackish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Alaska and Manitoba to southern United States.
+Winters chiefly south of Illinois and Virginia. Occasional
+stragglers remain north most of the winter.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. November. Most common in the migrations.</div>
+
+<p>There will be little difficulty in naming this largest, most plump and
+reddish of all the sparrows, whose fox-colored
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg_154]</a></span>
+feathers, rather than any malicious cunning of its disposition, are
+responsible for the name it bears. The male bird is incomparably the
+finest singer of its gifted family. His faint <i>tseep</i> call-note gives
+no indication of his vocal powers that some bleak morning in early
+March suddenly send a thrill of pleasure through you. It is the most
+welcome "glad surprise" of all the spring. Without a preliminary
+twitter or throat-clearing of any sort, the full, rich, luscious
+tones, with just a tinge of plaintiveness in them, are poured forth
+with spontaneous abandon. Such a song at such a time is enough to
+summon anybody with a musical ear out of doors under the leaden skies
+to where the delicious notes issue from the leafless shrubbery by the
+roadside. Watch the singer until the song ends, when he will quite
+likely descend among the dead leaves on the ground and scratch among
+them like any barn-yard fowl, but somehow contriving to use both feet
+at once in the operation, as no chicken ever could. He seems to take
+special delight in damp thickets, where the insects with which he
+varies his seed diet are plentiful.</p>
+
+<p>Usually the fox sparrows keep in small, loose flocks, apart by
+themselves, for they are not truly gregarious; but they may sometimes
+be seen travelling in company with their white-throated cousins. They
+are among the last birds to leave us in the late autumn or winter. Mr.
+Bicknell says that they seem indisposed to sing unless present in
+numbers. Indeed, they are little inclined to absolute solitude at any
+time, for even in the nesting season quite a colony of grassy
+nurseries may be found in the same meadow, and small companies haunt
+the roadside shrubbery during the migrations.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_NIGHTHAWK" id="IMG_NIGHTHAWK"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus218.png" width="646" height="430" alt="NIGHTHAWK" title="NIGHTHAWK" /><br />
+<span class="caption">NIGHTHAWK</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO" id="IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus219.png" width="407" height="621" alt="YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO" title="YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO" /><br />
+<span class="caption">YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="GRASSHOPPER_SPARROW_154" id="GRASSHOPPER_SPARROW_154"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Grasshopper Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Ammodramus savannarum passerinus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.4 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;A cream-yellow line over the eye; centre of
+crown, shoulders, and lesser wing coverts yellowish. Head
+blackish; rust-colored feathers, with small black spots on
+back of the neck; an orange mark before the eye. All other
+upper parts varied red, brown, cream, and black, with a drab
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg_155]</a></span>
+wash. Underneath brownish drab on breast, shading to soiled
+white, and without streaks. Dusky, even, pointed tail feathers
+have grayish-white outer margins.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from British provinces to Cuba.
+Winters south of the Carolinas.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>It is safe to say that no other common bird is so frequently
+overlooked as this little sparrow, that keeps persistently to the
+grass and low bushes, and only faintly lifts up a weak, wiry voice
+that is usually attributed to some insect. At the bend of the wings
+only are the feathers really yellow, and even this bright shade often
+goes unnoticed as the bird runs shyly through an old dairy field or
+grassy pasture. You may all but step upon it before it takes wing and
+exhibits itself on the fence-rail, which is usually as far from the
+ground as it cares to go. If you are near enough to this perch you may
+overhear the <i>zee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e</i> that has earned it the name of
+grasshopper sparrow. If you persistently follow it too closely, away
+it flies, then suddenly drops to the ground where a scrubby bush
+affords protection. A curious fact about this bird is that after you
+have once become acquainted with it, you find that instead of being a
+rare discovery, as you had supposed, it is apt to be a common resident
+of almost every field you walk through.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SAVANNA_SPARROW_155" id="SAVANNA_SPARROW_155"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Savanna Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SAVANNA BUNTING</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Cheeks, space over the eye, and on the bend
+of the wings pale yellow. General effect of the upper parts
+brownish drab, streaked with black. Wings and tail dusky, the
+outer webs of the feathers margined with buff. Under parts
+white, heavily streaked with blackish and rufous, the marks on
+breast feathers being wedge-shaped. In the autumn the plumage
+is often suffused with a yellow tinge.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to Mexico.
+Winters south of Illinois and Virginia.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. A few remain in sheltered
+marshes at the north all winter.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg_156]</a></span>
+Look for the savanna sparrow in salt marshes, marshy or upland
+pastures, never far inland, and if you see a sparrowy bird, unusually
+white and heavily streaked beneath, and with pale yellow markings
+about the eye and on the bend of the wing, you may still make several
+guesses at its identity before the weak, little insect-like trill
+finally establishes it. Whoever can correctly name every sparrow and
+warbler on sight is a person to be envied, if, indeed, he exists at
+all.</p>
+
+<p>In the lowlands of Nova Scotia and, in fact, of all the maritime
+provinces, this sparrow is the one that is perhaps most commonly seen.
+Every fence-rail has one perched upon it, singing "<i>Ptsip, ptsip,
+ptsip, zee-e-e-e-e</i>" close to the ear of the passer-by, who otherwise
+might not hear the low grasshopper-like song. At the north the bird
+somehow loses the shyness that makes it comparatively little known
+farther south. Depending upon the scrub and grass to conceal it, you
+may almost tread upon it before it startles you by its sudden rising
+with a whirring noise, only to drop to the ground again just as
+suddenly a few yards farther away, where it scuds among the underbrush
+and is lost to sight. Tall weeds and fence-rails are as high and
+exposed situations as it is likely to select while singing. It is most
+distinctively a ground bird, and flat upon the pasture or in a
+slightly hollowed cup it has the merest apology for a nest. Only a few
+wisps of grass are laid in the cavity to receive the pale-green eggs,
+that are covered most curiously with blotches of brown of many shapes
+and tints.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SEASIDE_SPARROW_156" id="SEASIDE_SPARROW_156"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Seaside Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Ammodramus maritimus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: MEADOW CHIPPY; SEASIDE FINCH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 inches. A shade smaller than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts dusky grayish or olivaceous
+brown, inclining to gray on shoulders and on edges of some
+feathers. Wings and tail darkest. Throat yellowish white,
+shading to gray on breast, which is indistinctly mottled and
+streaked. A yellow spot before the eye and on bend of the
+wing, the bird's characteristic marks. Blunt tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Atlantic seaboard, from Georgia northward. Usually
+winters south of Virginia.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. November. A few remain in sheltered
+marshes all winter.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg_157]</a></span>
+The savanna, the swamp, the sharp-tailed, and the song sparrows may
+all sometimes be found in the haunts of the seaside sparrow, but you
+may be certain of finding the latter nowhere else than in the salt
+marshes within sight or sound of the sea. It is a dingy little bird,
+with the least definite coloring of all the sparrows that have
+maritime inclinations, with no rufous tint in its feathers, and less
+distinct streakings on the breast than any of them. It has no black
+markings on the back.</p>
+
+<p>Good-sized flocks of seaside sparrows live together in the marshes;
+but they spend so much of their time on the ground, running about
+among the reeds and grasses, whose seeds and insect parasites they
+feed upon, that not until some unusual disturbance in the quiet place
+flushes them does the intruder suspect their presence, Hunters after
+beach-birds, longshoremen, seaside cottagers, and whoever follows the
+windings of a creek through the salt meadows to catch crabs and eels
+in midsummer, are well acquainted with the "meadow chippies," as the
+fishermen call them. They keep up a good deal of chirping,
+sparrow-fashion, and have four or five notes resembling a song that is
+usually delivered from a tall reed stalk, where the bird sways and
+balances until his husky performance has ended, when down he drops
+upon the ground out of sight. Sometimes, too, these notes are uttered
+while the bird flutters in the air above the tops of the sedges.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SHARP-TAILED_SPARROW_157" id="SHARP-TAILED_SPARROW_157"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Sharp-tailed Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Ammodramus caudacutus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.25 to 5.85 inches. A trifle smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts brownish or grayish olive, the
+back with black streaks, and gray edges to some feathers. A
+gray line through centre of crown, which has maroon stripes;
+gray ears enclosed by buff lines, one of which passes through
+the eye and one on side of throat; brownish orange, or buff,
+on sides of head. Bend of the wing yellow. Breast and sides
+pale buff, distinctly streaked with black. Underneath whitish.
+Each narrow quill of tail is sharply pointed, the outer ones
+shortest.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Atlantic coast. Winters south of Virginia.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. November. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg_158]</a></span>
+This bird delights in the company of the dull-colored seaside sparrow,
+whose haunts in the salt marshes it frequents, especially the drier
+parts; but its pointed tail-quills and more distinct markings are
+sufficient to prevent confusion. Mr. J. Dwight, Jr., who has made a
+special study of maritime birds, says of it: "It runs about among the
+reeds and grasses with the celerity of a mouse, and it is not apt to
+take wing unless closely pressed." (Wilson credited it with the
+nimbleness of a sandpiper.) "It builds its nest in the tussocks on the
+bank of a ditch, or in the drift left by the tide, rather than in the
+grassier sites chosen by its neighbors, the seaside sparrows."</p>
+
+<p>Only rarely does one get a glimpse of this shy little bird, that darts
+out of sight like a flash at the first approach. Balancing on a
+cat-tail stalk or perched upon a bit of driftwood, it makes a feeble,
+husky attempt to sing a few notes; and during the brief performance
+the opera-glasses may search it out successfully. While it feeds upon
+the bits of sea-food washed ashore to the edge of the marshes, it
+gives us perhaps the best chance we ever get, outside of a museum, to
+study the bird's characteristics of plumage.</p>
+
+<p>"Both the sharp-tailed and the seaside finches are crepuscular," says
+Dr. Abbott, in "The Birds About Us." They run up and down the reeds
+and on the water's edge long after most birds have gone to sleep.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SONG_SPARROW_158" id="SONG_SPARROW_158"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Song Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Melospiza fasciata</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_SONG_SPARROW">166</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 6.5 inches. About the same size as the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Brown head, with three longitudinal gray
+bands. Brown stripe on sides of throat. Brownish-gray back,
+streaked with rufous. Underneath gray, shading to white,
+heavily streaked with darkest brown. A black spot on breast.
+Wings without bars. Tail plain grayish brown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Fur Countries to the Gulf States.
+Winters from southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the Gulf.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. November. A few birds remain at the north
+all the year.</div>
+
+<p>Here is a veritable bird neighbor, if ever there was one; at home in
+our gardens and hedges, not often farther away than the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg_159]</a></span>
+roadside, abundant everywhere during nearly every month in the
+year, and yet was there ever one too many? There is scarcely an hour
+in the day, too, when its delicious, ecstatic song may not be heard;
+in the darkness of midnight, just before dawn, when its voice is
+almost the first to respond to the chipping sparrow's wiry trill and
+the robin's warble; in the cool of the morning, the heat of noon, the
+hush of evening&mdash; ever the simple, homely, sweet melody that
+every good American has learned to love in childhood. What the bird
+lacks in beauty it abundantly makes up in good cheer. Not at all
+retiring, though never bold, it chooses some conspicuous perch on a
+bush or tree to deliver its outburst of song, and sings away with
+serene unconsciousness. Its artlessness is charming. Thoreau writes in
+his "Summer" that the country girls in Massachusetts hear the bird
+say: "<i>Maids, maids, maids, hang on your teakettle,
+teakettle-ettle-ettle.</i>" The call-note, a metallic <i>chip</i>, is equally
+characteristic of the bird's irrepressible vivacity. It has still
+another musical expression, however, a song more prolonged and varied
+than its usual performance, that it seems to sing only on the wing.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, the song sparrow must sometimes fly upward, but whoever
+sees it fly anywhere but downward into the thicket that it depends
+upon to conceal it from too close inspection? By pumping its tail as
+it flies, it seems to acquire more than the ordinary sparrow's
+velocity.</p>
+
+<p>Its nest, which is likely to be laid flat on the ground, except where
+field-mice are plentiful (in which case it is elevated into the crotch
+of a bush), is made of grass, strips of bark, and leaves, and lined
+with finer grasses and hair. Sometimes three broods may be reared in a
+season, but even the cares of providing insects and seeds enough for
+so many hungry babies cannot altogether suppress the cheerful singer.
+The eggs are grayish white, speckled and clouded with lavender and
+various shades of brown.</p>
+
+<p>In sparsely settled regions the song sparrows seem to show a fondness
+for moist woodland thickets, possibly because their tastes are
+insectivorous. But it is difficult to imagine the friendly little
+musician anything but a neighbor.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CEDAR_WAXWING" id="IMG_CEDAR_WAXWING"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus224.png" width="442" height="614" alt="CEDAR WAXWING" title="CEDAR WAXWING" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CEDAR WAXWING <br />(One-half natural size)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CHIPPING_SPARROW" id="IMG_CHIPPING_SPARROW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus225.png" width="437" height="615" alt="CHIPPING SPARROW" title="CHIPPING SPARROW" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CHIPPING SPARROW</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160" id="SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg_160]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Swamp Song Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Melospiza georgiana</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SWAMP SPARROW; MARSH SPARROW; RED GRASS-BIRD; SWAMP FINCH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.8 inches. A little smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Forehead black; crown, which in winter has black
+stripes, is always bright bay; line over the eye, sides of the
+neck gray. Back brown, striped with various shades. Wing-edges
+and tail reddish brown. Mottled gray underneath, inclining to
+white on the chin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Without black forehead and stripes on head.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Texas to Labrador.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. A few winter at the north.</div>
+
+<p>In just such impenetrable retreats as the marsh wrens choose, another
+wee brown bird may sometimes be seen springing up from among the
+sedges, singing a few sweet notes as it flies and floats above them,
+and then suddenly disappearing into the grassy tangle. It is too
+small, and its breast is not streaked enough to be a song sparrow,
+neither are their songs alike; it has not the wren's peculiarities of
+bill and tail. Its bright-bay crown and sparrowy markings finally
+identify it. A suggestion of the bird's watery home shows itself in
+the liquid quality of its simple, sweet note, stronger and sweeter
+than the chippy's, and repeated many times almost like a trill that
+seems to trickle from the marsh in a little rivulet of song. The
+sweetness is apt to become monotonous to all but the bird itself, that
+takes evident delight in its performance. In the spring, when flocks
+of swamp sparrows come north, how they enliven the marshes and waste
+places! And yet the song, simple as it is, is evidently not uttered
+altogether without effort, if the tail-spreading and teetering of the
+body after the manner of the ovenbird, are any indications of
+exertion.</p>
+
+<p>Nuttall says of these birds: "They thread their devious way with the
+same alacrity as the rail, with whom, indeed, they are often
+associated in neighborhood. In consequence of this perpetual brushing
+through sedge and bushes, their feathers are frequently so worn that
+their tails appear almost like those of rats."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg_161]</a></span>
+But the swamp sparrows frequently belie their name, and, especially in
+the South, live in dry fields, worn-out pasture lands with scrubby,
+weedy patches in them. They live upon seeds of grasses and berries,
+but Dr. Abbott has detected their special fondness for fish&mdash;not
+fresh fish particularly, but rather such as have lain in the sun for a
+few days and become dry as a chip.</p>
+
+<p>Their nest is placed on the ground, sometimes in a tussock of grass or
+roots of an upturned tree quite surrounded by water. Four or five
+soiled white eggs with reddish-brown spots are laid usually twice in a
+season.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="TREE_SPARROW_161" id="TREE_SPARROW_161"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Tree Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Spizella monticola</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CANADA SPARROW; WINTER CHIPPY; TREE BUNTING;
+WINTER CHIP-BIRD; ARCTIC CHIPPER<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_TREE_SPARROW">167</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 6.35 inches. About the same size as the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Crown of head bright chestnut. Line over the eye,
+cheeks, throat, and breast gray, the breast with an indistinct
+black spot on centre. Brown back, the feathers edged with
+black and buff. Lower back pale grayish brown. Two whitish
+bars across dusky wings; tail feathers bordered with grayish
+white. Underneath whitish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Smaller and less distinctly marked.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Hudson Bay to the Carolinas, and
+westward to the plains.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October. April. Winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>A revised and enlarged edition of the friendly little chipping
+sparrow, that hops to our very doors for crumbs throughout the mild
+weather, comes out of British America at the beginning of winter to
+dissipate much of the winter's dreariness by his cheerful twitterings.
+Why he should have been called a tree sparrow is a mystery, unless
+because he does not frequent trees&mdash;a reason with sufficient
+plausibility to commend the name to several of the early
+ornithologists, who not infrequently called a bird precisely what it
+was not. The tree sparrow actually does not show half the preference
+for trees that its familiar little counterpart does, but rather keeps
+to low bushes when not on the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg_162]</a></span>
+ground, where we usually find it. It does not crouch upon the ground
+like the chippy, but with a lordly carriage holds itself erect as it
+nimbly runs over the frozen crust. Sheltered from the high, wintry
+winds in the furrows and dry ditches of ploughed fields, a loose flock
+of these active birds keep up a merry hunt for fallen seeds and
+berries, with a belated beetle to give the grain a relish. As you
+approach the feeding ground, one bird gives a shrill alarm-cry, and
+instantly five times as many birds as you suspected were in the field
+take wing and settle down in the scrubby undergrowth at the edge of
+the woods or by the way-side. No still cold seems too keen for them to
+go a-foraging; but when cutting winds blow through the leafless
+thickets the scattered remnants of a flock seek the shelter of stone
+walls, hedges, barns, and cozy nooks about the house and garden. It is
+in midwinter that these birds grow most neighborly, although even then
+they are distinctly less sociable than their small chippy cousins.</p>
+
+<p>By the first of March, when the fox sparrow and the bluebird attract
+the lion's share of attention by their superior voices, we not
+infrequently are deaf to the modest, sweet little strain that answers
+for the tree sparrow's love-song. Soon after the bird is in full
+voice, away it goes with its flock to their nesting ground in Labrador
+or the Hudson Bay region. It builds, either on the ground or not far
+from it, a nest of grasses, rootlets, and hair, without which no true
+chippy counts its home complete.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="VESPER_SPARROW_162" id="VESPER_SPARROW_162"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Vesper Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i><ins title='Correction: was "Pooc&#339;tes"'>Po&#339;cetes</ins> gramineus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BAY-WINGED BUNTING; GRASSFINCH; GRASS-BIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.75 to 6.25 inches. A little smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Brown above, streaked and varied with gray.
+Lesser wing coverts bright rufous. Throat and breast whitish,
+striped with dark brown. Underneath plain soiled white. Outer
+tail-quills, which are its special mark of identification, are
+partly white, but apparently wholly white as the bird flies.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, especially common in eastern parts
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg_163]</a></span>
+from Hudson Bay to Gulf of Mexico. Winters south of Virginia.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Among the least conspicuous birds, sparrows are the easiest to
+classify for that very reason, and certain prominent features of the
+half dozen commonest of the tribe make their identification simple
+even to the merest novice. The distinguishing marks of this sparrow
+that haunts open, breezy pasture lands and country waysides are its
+bright, reddish-brown wing coverts, prominent among its dingy, pale
+brownish-gray feathers, and its white tail-quills, shown as the bird
+flies along the road ahead of you to light upon the fence-rail. It
+rarely flies higher, even to sing its serene, pastoral strain, restful
+as the twilight, of which, indeed, it seems to be the vocal
+expression. How different from the ecstatic outburst of the song
+sparrow! Pensive, but not sad, its long-drawn silvery notes continue
+in quavers that float off unended like a trail of mist. The song is
+suggestive of the thoughts that must come at evening to some New
+England saint of humble station after a well-spent, soul-uplifting
+day.</p>
+
+<p>But while the vesper sparrow sings oftenest and most sweetly in the
+late afternoon and continues singing until only he and the
+rose-breasted grosbeak break the silence of the early night, his is
+one of the first voices to join the morning chorus. No "early worm,"
+however, tempts him from his grassy nest, for the seeds in the pasture
+lands and certain tiny insects that live among the grass furnish meals
+at all hours. He simply delights in the cool, still morning and
+evening hours and in giving voice to his enjoyment of them.</p>
+
+<p>The vesper sparrow is pre&#235;minently a grass-bird. It first opens its
+eyes on the world in a nest neatly woven of grasses, laid on the
+ground among the grass that shelters it and furnishes it with food and
+its protective coloring. Only the grazing cattle know how many nests
+and birds are hidden in their pastures. Like the meadowlarks, their
+presence is not even suspected until a flock is flushed from its
+feeding ground, only to return to the spot when you have passed on
+your way. Like the meadowlark again, the vesper sparrow occasionally
+sings as it soars upward from its grassy home.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WHITE-CROWNED_SPARROW_164" id="WHITE-CROWNED_SPARROW_164"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg_164]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">White-crowned Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Zonotrichia leucophrys</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 inches. A little larger than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;White head, with four longitudinal black lines marking
+off a crown, the black-and-white stripes being of about equal
+width. Cheeks, nape, and throat gray. Light gray underneath,
+with some buff tints. Back dark grayish brown, some feathers
+margined with gray. Two interrupted white bars across wings.
+Plain, dusky tail; total effect, a clear ashen gray.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;With rusty head inclining to gray on crown. Paler
+throughout than the male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From high mountain ranges of western United States
+(more rarely on Pacific slope) to Atlantic Ocean, and from
+Labrador to Mexico. Chiefly south of Pennsylvania.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October. April. Irregular migrant in Northern
+States. A winter resident elsewhere.</div>
+
+<p>The large size and handsome markings of this aristocratic-looking
+Northern sparrow would serve to distinguish him at once, did he not
+often consort with his equally fine-looking white-throated cousins
+while migrating, and so too often get overlooked. Sparrows are such
+gregarious birds that it is well to scrutinize every flock with
+especial care in the spring and autumn, when the rarer migrants are
+passing. This bird is more common in the high altitudes of the Sierra
+Nevada and Rocky Mountains than elsewhere in the United States. There
+in the lonely forest it nests in low bushes or on the ground, and
+sings its full love-song, as it does in the northern British
+provinces, along the Atlantic coast; but during the migrations it
+favors us only with selections from its repertoire. Mr. Ernest
+Thompson says, "Its usual song is like the latter half of the
+white-throat's familiar refrain, repeated a number of times with a
+peculiar, sad cadence and in a clear, soft whistle that is
+characteristic of the group." "The song is the loudest and most
+plaintive of all the sparrow songs," says John Burroughs. "It begins
+with the words <i>fe-u, fe-u, fe-u</i>, and runs off into trills and
+quavers like the song sparrow's, only much more touching." Colorado
+miners tell that this sparrow, like its white-throated relative, sings
+on the darkest nights. Often a score or more birds are heard singing
+at once after the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg_165]</a></span>
+habit of the European nightingales, which, however, choose to sing
+only in the moonlight.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW_165" id="WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW_165"></a>
+<div class="caption2">White-throated Sparrow<br />
+
+(<i>Zonotrichia albicollis</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: PEABODY BIRD; CANADA SPARROW<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW">170</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6.75 to 7 inches. Larger than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;A black crown divided by narrow white line.
+Yellow spot before the eye, and a white line, apparently
+running through it, passes backward to the nape. Conspicuous
+white throat. Chestnut back, varied with black and whitish.
+Breast gray, growing lighter underneath. Wings edged with
+rufous and with two white cross-bars.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America. Nests from Michigan and
+Massachusetts northward to Labrador. Winters from southern New
+England to Florida.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Abundant during migrations, and
+in many States a winter resident.</div>
+
+<p>"<i>I-I, Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea-body</i>," are the syllables of the
+white-throat's song heard by the good New Englanders, who have a
+tradition that you must either be a Peabody or a nobody there; while
+just over the British border the bird is distinctly understood to say,
+"<i>Swee-e-e-t Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da.</i>" "<i>All day, whit-tle-ing,
+whit-tle-ing, whit-tle-ing,</i>" the Maine people declare he sings; and
+Hamilton Gibson told of a perplexed farmer, Peverly by name, who, as
+he stood in the field undecided as to what crop to plant, clearly
+heard the bird advise, "<i>Sow wheat, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly.</i>"
+Such divergence of opinion, which is really slight compared with the
+verbal record of many birds' songs, only goes to show how little the
+sweetness of birds' music, like the perfume of a rose, depends upon a
+name.</p>
+
+<p>In a family not distinguished for good looks, the white-throated
+sparrow is conspicuously handsome, especially after the spring moult.
+In midwinter the feathers grow dingy and the markings indistinct; but
+as the season advances, his colors are sure to brighten perceptibly,
+and before he takes the northward journey in April, any little lady
+sparrow might feel proud of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg_166]</a></span>
+attentions of so fine-looking and sweet-voiced a lover. The black,
+white, and yellow markings on his head are now clear and beautiful.
+His figure is plump and aristocratic.</p>
+
+<p>These sparrows are particularly sociable travellers, and cordially
+welcome many stragglers to their flocks&mdash;not during the migrations
+only, but even when winter's snow affords only the barest gleanings
+above it. Then they boldly peck about the dog's plate by the kitchen
+door and enter the barn-yard, calling their feathered friends with a
+sharp <i>tseep</i> to follow them. Seeds and insects are their chosen food,
+and were they not well wrapped in an adipose coat under their
+feathers, there must be many a winter night when they would go
+shivering, supperless, to their perch.</p>
+
+<p>In the dark of midnight one may sometimes hear the white-throat softly
+singing in its dreams.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_SONG_SPARROW" id="IMG_SONG_SPARROW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus234.png" width="449" height="621" alt="SONG SPARROW" title="SONG SPARRO" /><br />
+<span class="caption">SONG SPARROW</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_TREE_SPARROW" id="IMG_TREE_SPARROW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus235.png" width="406" height="616" alt="TREE SPARROW" title="TREE SPARROW" /><br />
+<span class="caption">TREE SPARROW</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="GREEN_BIRDS" id="GREEN_BIRDS"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg_167]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, OLIVE, AND YELLOWISH OLIVE BIRDS</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Green Birds">
+<tr><td>Tree Swallow</td><td>Warbling Vireo</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ruby-throated Humming-bird</td><td>Ovenbird</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Golden-crowned Kinglet</td><td>Worm-eating Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ruby-crowned Kinglet</td><td>Acadian Flycatcher</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Solitary Vireo</td><td>Yellow-bellied Flycatcher</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Red-eyed Vireo</td><td>Black-throated Green Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>White-eyed Vireo</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Look also among the Olive-brown Birds, especially for the Cuckoos,
+Alice's and the Olive-backed Thrushes; and look in the yellow group,
+many of whose birds are olive also. See also females of the Red
+Crossbill, Orchard Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="TREE_SWALLOW_169" id="TREE_SWALLOW_169"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg_169]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Tree Swallow<br />
+
+(<i>Tacbycineta bicolor</i>) Swallow family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_TREE_SWALLOW">171</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 6 inches. A little shorter than the English
+sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its wide
+wing-spread.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Lustrous dark steel-green above; darker and shading
+into black on wings and tail, which is forked. Under parts
+soft white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Duller than male.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;End of March. September or later. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2">"The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times: and the<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">&nbsp;&nbsp;coming."&mdash;Jeremiah, viii. 7.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The earliest of the family to appear in the spring, the tree swallow
+comes skimming over the freshly ploughed fields with a wide sweep of
+the wings, in what appears to be a perfect ecstasy of flight. More shy
+of the haunts of man, and less gregarious than its cousins, it is
+usually to be seen during migration flying low over the marshes,
+ponds, and streams with a few chosen friends, keeping up an incessant
+warbling twitter while performing their bewildering and tireless
+evolutions as they catch their food on the wing. Their white breasts
+flash in the sunlight, and it is only when they dart near you, and
+skim close along the surface of the water, that you discover their
+backs to be not black, but rich, dark green, glossy to iridescence.</p>
+
+<p>It is probable that these birds keep near the waterways because their
+favorite insects and wax-berries are more plentiful in such places;
+but this peculiarity has led many people to the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg_170]</a></span>
+absurd belief that the tree swallow buries itself under the mud of
+ponds in winter in a state of hibernation. No bird's breathing
+apparatus is made to operate under mud.</p>
+
+<p>In unsettled districts these swallows nest in hollow trees, hence
+their name; but with that laziness that forms a part of the degeneracy
+of civilization, they now gladly accept the boxes about men's homes
+set up for the martins. Thousands of these beautiful birds have been
+shot on the Long Island marshes and sold to New York epicures for
+snipe.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW" id="IMG_WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus240.png" width="427" height="618" alt="WHITE-THROATED SPARROW" title="WHITE-THROATED SPARROW" /><br />
+<span class="caption">WHITE-THROATED SPARROW</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_TREE_SWALLOW" id="IMG_TREE_SWALLOW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus241.png" width="438" height="615" alt="TREE SWALLOW" title="TREE SWALLO" /><br />
+<span class="caption">TREE SWALLOW</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="RUBY-THROATED_HUMMING-BIRD_170" id="RUBY-THROATED_HUMMING-BIRD_170"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Ruby-throated Humming-bird<br />
+
+(<i>Trochilus colubris</i>) Humming-bird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3">(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMINGBIRD">171</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;3.5 to 3.75 inches. A trifle over half as long as
+the English sparrow. The smallest bird we have.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Bright metallic green above; wings and tail darkest,
+with ruddy-purplish reflections and dusky-white tips on outer
+tail-quills. Throat and breast brilliant metallic-red in one
+light, orange flame in another, and dusky orange in another,
+according as the light strikes the plumage. Sides greenish;
+underneath lightest gray, with whitish border outlining the
+brilliant breast. Bill long and needle-like.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Without the brilliant feathers on throat; darker
+gray beneath. Outer tail-quills are banded with black and
+tipped with white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from northern Canada to the
+Gulf of Mexico in summer. Winters in Central America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>This smallest, most exquisite and unabashed of our bird neighbors
+cannot be mistaken, for it is the only one of its kin found east of
+the plains and north of Florida, although about four hundred species,
+native only to the New World, have been named by scientists. How does
+it happen that this little tropical jewel alone flashes about our
+Northern gardens? Does it never stir the spirit of adventure and
+emulation in the glistening breasts of its stay-at-home cousins in the
+tropics by tales of luxuriant tangles of honeysuckle and clematis on
+our cottage porches; of deep-cupped trumpet-flowers climbing over the
+walls of old-fashioned gardens, where larkspur, narcissus, roses, and
+phlox, that crowd the box-edged beds, are more gay and honey-laden than their
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg_171]</a></span>
+little brains can picture? Apparently it takes only the wish to be in
+a place to transport one of these little fairies either from the
+honeysuckle trellis to the canna bed or from Yucatan to the Hudson. It
+is easy to see how to will and to fly are allied in the minds of the
+humming-birds, as they are in the Latin tongue. One minute poised in
+midair, apparently motionless before a flower while draining the
+nectar from its deep cup&mdash;though the humming of its wings tells
+that it is suspended there by no magic&mdash;the next instant it has
+flashed out of sight as if a fairy's wand had made it suddenly
+invisible. Without seeing the hummer, it might be, and often is,
+mistaken for a bee improving the "shining hour."</p>
+
+<p>At evening one often hears of a "humming-bird" going the rounds of the
+garden, but at this hour it is usually the sphinx-moth hovering above
+the flower-beds&mdash;the one other creature besides the bee for which the
+bird is ever mistaken. The postures and preferences of this beautiful
+large moth make the mistake a very natural one.</p>
+
+<p>The ruby-throat is strangely fearless and unabashed. It will dart
+among the vines on the veranda while the entire household are
+assembled there, and add its hum to that of the conversation in a most
+delightfully neighborly way. Once a glistening little sprite, quite
+undaunted by the size of an audience that sat almost breathless
+enjoying his beauty, thrust his bill into one calyx after another on a
+long sprig of honeysuckle held in the hand.</p>
+
+<p>And yet, with all its friendliness&mdash;or is it simply fearlessness?&mdash;the
+bird is a desperate duellist, and will longe his deadly blade into the
+jewelled breast of an enemy at the slightest provocation and quicker
+than thought. All the heat of his glowing throat seems to be
+transferred to his head while the fight continues, sometimes even to
+the death&mdash;a cruel, but marvellously beautiful sight as the glistening
+birds dart and tumble about beyond the range of peace-makers.</p>
+
+<p>High up in a tree, preferably one whose knots and lichen-covered
+excrescences are calculated to help conceal the nest that so cleverly
+imitates them, the mother humming-bird saddles her exquisite cradle to
+a horizontal limb. She lines it with plant-down, fluffy bits from
+cat-tails, and the fronds of fern, felting the material into a circle
+that an elm-leaf amply roofs over. Outside, lichens or bits of bark
+blend the nest so harmoniously with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg_172]</a></span>
+its surroundings that one may look long and thoroughly before
+discovering it. Two infinitesimal, white eggs tax the nest
+accommodation to its utmost.</p>
+
+<p>In the mating season the female may be seen perching&mdash;a posture one
+rarely catches her gay lover in&mdash;preening her dainty but sombre
+feathers with ladylike nicety. The young birds do a great deal of
+perching before they gain the marvellously rapid wing-motions of
+maturity, but they are ready to fly within three weeks after they are
+hatched. By the time the trumpet-vine is in bloom they dart and sip
+and utter a shrill little squeak among the flowers, in company with
+the old birds.</p>
+
+<p>During the nest-building and incubation the male bird keeps so
+aggressively on the defensive that he often betrays to a hitherto
+unsuspecting intruder the location of his home. After the young birds
+have to be fed he is most diligent in collecting food, that consists
+not alone of the sweet juices of flowers, as is popularly supposed,
+but also of aphides and plant-lice that his proboscis-like tongue
+licks off the garden foliage literally like a streak of lightning.</p>
+
+<p>Both parents feed the young by regurgitation&mdash;a process disgusting to
+the human observer, whose stomach involuntarily revolts at the sight
+so welcome to the tiny, squeaking, hungry birds.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="RUBY-CROWNED_KINGLET_172" id="RUBY-CROWNED_KINGLET_172"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Ruby-crowned Kinglet<br />
+
+(<i>Regulus calendula</i>) Kinglet family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: RUBY-CROWNED WREN; RUBY-CROWNED WARBLER<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_KINGLETS">187</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.25 to 4.5 inches. About two inches smaller than
+the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts grayish olive-green, brighter nearer the
+tail; wings and tail dusky, edged with yellowish olive. Two
+whitish wing-bars. Breast and underneath light yellowish gray.
+In the adult male a vermilion spot on crown of his ash-gray
+head.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but without the vermilion crest.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America. Breeds from northern United States
+northward. Winters from southern limits of its breeding range
+to Central America and Mexico.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;October. April. Rarely a winter resident at the
+North. Most common during its migrations.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg_173]</a></span>
+A trifle larger than the golden-crowned kinglet, with a vermilion
+crest instead of a yellow and flame one, and with a decided preference
+for a warmer winter climate, and the ruby-crown's chief distinguishing
+characteristics are told. These rather confusing relatives would be
+less puzzling if it were the habit of either to keep quiet long enough
+to focus the opera-glasses on their crowns, which it only rarely is
+while some particularly promising haunt of insects that lurk beneath
+the rough bark of the evergreens has to be thoroughly explored. At all
+other times both kinglets keep up an incessant fluttering and
+twinkling among the twigs and leaves at the ends of the branches,
+jerking their tiny bodies from twig to twig in the shrubbery, hanging
+head downward, like a nuthatch, and most industriously feeding every
+second upon the tiny insects and larv&#230; hidden beneath the bark and
+leaves. They seem to be the feathered expression of perpetual motion.
+And how dainty and charming these tiny sprites are! They are not at
+all shy; you may approach them quite close if you will, for the birds
+are simply too intent on their business to be concerned with yours.</p>
+
+<p>If a sharp lookout be kept for these ruby-crowned migrants, that too
+often slip away to the south before we know they have come, we notice
+that they appear about a fortnight ahead of the golden-crested
+species, since the mild, soft air of our Indian summer is exactly to
+their liking. At this season there is nothing in the bird's "thin,
+metallic call-note, like a vibrating wire," to indicate that he is one
+of our finest songsters. But listen for him during the spring
+migration, when a love-song is already ripening in his tiny throat.
+What a volume of rich, lyrical melody pours from the Norway spruce,
+where the little musician is simply practising to perfect the richer,
+fuller song that he sings to his nesting mate in the far north! The
+volume is really tremendous, coming from so tiny a throat. Those who
+have heard it in northern Canada describe it as a flute-like and
+mellow warble full of intricate phrases past the imitating. Dr. Coues
+says of it: "The kinglet's exquisite vocalization defies description."</p>
+
+<p>Curiously enough, the nest of this bird, that is not at all rare, has
+been discovered only six times. It would appear to be over-large for
+the tiny bird, until we remember that kinglets are wont to have a
+numerous progeny in their pensile, globular home. It is made of light,
+flimsy material&mdash;moss, strips of bark, and plant-fibre
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg_174]</a></span>
+well knit together and closely lined with feathers, which must be a
+grateful addition to the babies, where they are reared in evergreens
+in cold, northern woods.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="GOLDEN-CROWNED_KINGLET_174" id="GOLDEN-CROWNED_KINGLET_174"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Golden-crowned Kinglet<br />
+
+(<i>Regulus satrapa</i>) Kinglet family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: GOLDEN-CROWNED GOLDCREST; FIERY-CROWNED WREN<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_KINGLETS">187</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4 to 4.25 inches. About two inches smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts grayish olive-green; wings and tail dusky,
+margined with olive-green. Underneath soiled whitish. Centre
+of crown bright orange, bordered by yellow and enclosed by
+black line. Cheeks gray; a whitish line over the eye.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but centre of crown lemon-yellow and more
+grayish underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America generally. Breeds from northern United
+States northward. Winters chiefly from North Carolina to
+Central America, but many remain north all the year.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;September. April. Chiefly a winter resident
+south of Canada.</div>
+
+<p>If this cheery little winter neighbor would keep quiet long enough, we
+might have a glimpse of the golden crest that distinguishes him from
+his equally lively cousin, the ruby-crowned; but he is so constantly
+flitting about the ends of the twigs, peering at the bark for hidden
+insects, twinkling his wings and fluttering among the evergreens with
+more nervous restlessness than a vireo, that you may know him well
+before you have a glimpse of his tri-colored crown.</p>
+
+<p>When the autumn foliage is all aglow with yellow and flame this tiny
+sprite comes out of the north, where neither nesting nor moulting
+could rob him of his cheerful spirits. Except the humming-bird and the
+winter wren, he is the smallest bird we have. And yet, somewhere
+stored up in his diminutive body, is warmth enough to withstand zero
+weather. With evident enjoyment of the cold, he calls out a shrill,
+wiry <i>zee, zee, zee</i>, that rings merrily from the pines and spruces
+when our fingers are too numb to hold the opera glasses in an attempt
+to follow his restless flittings
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg_175]</a></span>
+from branch to branch. Is it one of the unwritten laws of birds that
+the smaller their bodies the greater their activity?</p>
+
+<p>When you see one kinglet about, you may be sure there are others not
+far away, for, except in the nesting season, its habits are distinctly
+social, its friendliness extending to the humdrum brown creeper, the
+chickadees, and the nuthatches, in whose company it is often seen;
+indeed, it is likely to be in almost any flock of the winter birds.
+They are a merry band as they go exploring the trees together. The
+kinglet can hang upside down, too, like the other acrobats, many of
+whose tricks he has learned; and it can pick off insects from a tree
+with as business-like an air as the brown creeper, but with none of
+that soulless bird's plodding precision.</p>
+
+<p>In the early spring, just before this busy little sprite leaves us to
+nest in Canada or Labrador&mdash;for heat is the one thing that he can't
+cheerfully endure&mdash;a gushing, lyrical song bursts from his tiny
+throat&mdash;a song whose volume is so out of proportion to the bird's size
+that Nuttall's classification of kinglets with wrens doesn't seem far
+wrong after all.</p>
+
+<p>Only rarely is a nest found so far south as the White Mountains. It is
+said to be extraordinarily large for so small a bird; but that need
+not surprise us when we learn that as many as ten creamy-white eggs,
+blotched with brown and lavender, are no uncommon number for the
+pensile cradle to hold. How do the tiny parents contrive to cover so
+many eggs and to feed such a nestful of fledglings?</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SOLITARY_VIREO_175" id="SOLITARY_VIREO_175"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Solitary Vireo<br />
+
+(<i>Vireo solitarius</i>) Vireo or Greenlet family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLUE-HEADED VIREO</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 7 inches. A little smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Dusky olive above; head bluish gray, with a white line
+around the eye, spreading behind the eye into a patch. Beneath
+whitish, with yellow-green wash on the sides. Wings dusky
+olive, with two distinct white bars. Tail dusky, some quills
+edged with white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but her head is dusky olive.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States to plains, and the southern British
+provinces. Winters in Florida and southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. Early October. Common during migrations;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg_176]</a></span>
+more rarely a summer resident south of Massachusetts.</div>
+
+<p>By no means the recluse that its name would imply, the solitary vireo,
+while a bird of the woods, shows a charming curiosity about the
+stranger with opera-glasses in hand, who has penetrated to the deep,
+swampy tangles, where it chooses to live. Peering at you through the
+green undergrowth with an eye that seems especially conspicuous
+because of its encircling white rim, it is at least as sociable and
+cheerful as any member of its family, and Mr. Bradford Torrey credits
+it with "winning tameness." "Wood-bird as it is," he says, "it will
+sometimes permit the greatest familiarities. Two birds I have seen,
+which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest manner, while
+sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as readily as any pet
+canary."</p>
+
+<p>The solitary vireo also builds a pensile nest, swung from the crotch
+of a branch, not so high from the ground as the yellow-throated
+vireo's nor so exquisitely finished, but still a beautiful little
+structure of pine-needles, plant-fibre, dry leaves, and twigs, all
+lichen-lined and bound and rebound with coarse spiders' webs.</p>
+
+<p>The distinguishing quality of this vireo's celebrated song is its
+tenderness: a pure, serene uplifting of its loving, trustful nature
+that seems inspired by a fine spirituality.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="RED-EYED_VIREO_176" id="RED-EYED_VIREO_176"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Red-eyed Vireo<br />
+
+(<i>Vireo olivaceus</i>) Vireo or Greenlet family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: THE PREACHER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.75 to 6.25 inches. A fraction smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts light olive-green; well-defined
+slaty-gray cap, with black marginal line, below which, and
+forming an exaggerated eyebrow, is a line of white. A brownish
+band runs from base of bill through the eye. The iris is
+ruby-red. Underneath white, shaded with light greenish yellow
+on sides and on under tail and wing coverts.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States to Rockies and northward. Winters in
+Central and South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg_177]</a></span>
+"You see it&mdash;you know it&mdash;do you hear me? Do you believe it?" is
+Wilson Flagg's famous interpretation of the song of this commonest of
+all the vireos, that you cannot mistake with such a key. He calls the
+bird the preacher from its declamatory style: an up-and-down warble
+delivered with a rising inflection at the close and followed by an
+impressive silence, as if the little green orator were saying, "I
+pause for a reply."</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding its quiet coloring, that so closely resembles the
+leaves it hunts among, this vireo is rather more noticeable than its
+relatives because of its slaty cap and the black-and-white lines over
+its ruby eye, that, in addition to the song, are its marked
+characteristics.</p>
+
+<p>Whether she is excessively stupid or excessively kind, the
+mother-vireo has certainly won for herself no end of ridicule by
+allowing the cowbird to deposit a stray egg in the exquisitely made,
+pensile nest, where her own tiny white eggs are lying; and though the
+young cowbird crowd and worry her little fledglings and eat their
+dinner as fast as she can bring it in, no displeasure or grudging is
+shown towards the dusky intruder that is sure to upset the rightful
+heirs out of the nest before they are able to fly.</p>
+
+<p>In the heat of a midsummer noon, when nearly every other bird's voice
+is hushed, and only the locust seems to rejoice in the fierce
+sunshine, the little red-eyed vireo goes persistently about its
+business of gathering insects from the leaves, not flitting nervously
+about like a warbler, or taking its food on the wing like a
+flycatcher, but patiently and industriously dining where it can, and
+singing as it goes.</p>
+
+<p>When a worm is caught it is first shaken against a branch to kill it
+before it is swallowed. Vireos haunt shrubbery and trees with heavy
+foliage, all their hunting, singing, resting, and home-building being
+done among the leaves&mdash;never on the ground.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WHITE-EYED_VIREO_177" id="WHITE-EYED_VIREO_177"></a>
+<div class="caption2">White-eyed Vireo<br />
+
+(<i>Vireo noveboracensis</i>) Vireo or Greenlet family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.3 inches. An inch shorter than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts bright olive-green, washed with
+grayish. Throat and underneath white; the breast and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg_178]</a></span>
+sides greenish yellow; wings have two distinct bars of yellowish
+white. Yellow line from beak to and around the eye, which has a white
+iris. Feathers of wings and tail brownish and edged with yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States to the Rockies, and to the Gulf regions
+and beyond in winter.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>"Pertest of songsters," the white-eyed vireo makes whatever
+neighborhood it enters lively at once. Taking up a residence in the
+tangled shrubbery or thickety undergrowth, it immediately begins to
+scold like a crotchety old wren. It becomes irritated over the merest
+trifles&mdash;a passing bumblebee, a visit from another bird to its tangle,
+an unsuccessful peck at a gnat&mdash;anything seems calculated to rouse its
+wrath and set every feather on its little body a-trembling, while it
+sharply snaps out what might perhaps be freely constructed into
+"cuss-words."</p>
+
+<p>And yet the inscrutable mystery is that this virago meekly permits the
+lazy cowbird to deposit an egg in its nest, and will patiently sit
+upon it, though it is as large as three of her own tiny eggs; and when
+the little interloper comes out from his shell the mother-bird will
+continue to give it the most devoted care long after it has shoved her
+poor little starved babies out of the nest to meet an untimely death
+in the smilax thicket below.</p>
+
+<p>An unusual variety of expression distinguishes this bird's voice from
+the songs of the other vireos, which are apt to be monotonous, as they
+are incessant. If you are so fortunate to approach the white-eyed
+vireo before he suspects your presence, you may hear him amusing
+himself by jumbling together snatches of the songs of the other birds
+in a sort of potpourri; or perhaps he will be scolding or arguing with
+an imaginary foe, then dropping his voice and talking confidentially
+to himself. Suddenly he bursts into a charming, simple little song, as
+if the introspection had given him reason for real joy. All these
+vocal accomplishments suggest the chat at once; but the minute your
+intrusion is discovered the sharp scolding, that is fairly screamed at
+you from an enraged little throat, leaves no possible shadow of a
+doubt as to the bird you have disturbed. It has the most emphatic call
+and song to be heard in the woods; it snaps its words off very short.
+"<i>Chick-a-rer chick</i>" is its usual call-note, jerked out with great
+spitefulness.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg_179]</a></span>
+Wilson thus describes the jealously guarded nest: "This
+bird builds a very neat little nest, often in the figure of an
+inverted cone; it is suspended by the upper end of the two sides, on
+the circular bend of a prickly vine, a species of smilax, that
+generally grows in low thickets. Outwardly it is constructed of
+various light materials, bits of rotten wood, fibres of dry stalks, of
+weeds, pieces of paper (commonly newspapers, an article almost always
+found about its nest, so that some of my friends have given it the
+name of the politician); all these materials are interwoven with the
+silk of the caterpillars, and the inside is lined with fine, dry grass
+and hair."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WARBLING_VIREO_179" id="WARBLING_VIREO_179"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Warbling Vireo<br />
+
+(<i>Vireo gilvus</i>) Vireo or Greenlet family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. A little smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Ashy olive-green above, with head and neck
+ash-colored. Dusky line over the eye. Underneath whitish,
+faintly washed with dull yellow, deepest on sides; no bars on
+wings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Hudson Bay to Mexico.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. Late September or early October. Summer
+resident.</div>
+
+<p>This musical little bird shows a curious preference for rows of trees
+in the village street or by the roadside, where he can be sure of an
+audience to listen to his rich, continuous warble. There is a
+mellowness about his voice, which rises loud, but not altogether
+cheerfully, above the bird chorus, as if he were a gifted but slightly
+disgruntled contralto. Too inconspicuously dressed, and usually too
+high in the tree-top to be identified without opera-glasses, we may
+easily mistake him by his voice for one of the warbler family, which
+is very closely allied to the vireos. Indeed, this warbling vireo
+seems to be the connecting link between them.</p>
+
+<p>Morning and afternoon, but almost never in the evening, we may hear
+him rippling out song after song as he feeds on insects and berries
+about the garden. But this familiarity lasts only until nesting time,
+for off he goes with his little mate to some unfrequented
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg_180]</a></span>
+lane near a wood until their family is reared, when, with a
+perceptibly happier strain in his voice, he once more haunts our
+garden and row of elms before taking the southern journey.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="OVENBIRD_180" id="OVENBIRD_180"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Ovenbird<br />
+
+(<i>Seiurus aurocapillus</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH; THE TEACHER; WOOD
+WAGTAIL; GOLDEN-CROWNED WAGTAIL; GOLDEN-CROWNED ACCENTOR<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_OVENBIRD">218</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 6.15 inches. Just a shade smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts olive, with an orange-brown
+crown, bordered by black lines that converge toward the bill.
+Under parts white; breast spotted and streaked on the sides.
+White eye-ring.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States, to Pacific slope.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Early in May you may have the good fortune to see this little bird of
+the woods strutting in and out of the garden shrubbery with a certain
+mock dignity, like a child wearing its father's boots. Few birds can
+walk without appearing more or less ridiculous, and however gracefully
+and prettily it steps, this amusing little wagtail is no exception.
+When seen at all&mdash;which is not often, for it is shy&mdash;it is usually on
+the ground, not far from the shrubbery or a woodland thicket, under
+which it will quickly dodge out of sight at the merest suspicion of a
+footstep. To most people the bird is only a voice calling, <i><span class="caption2nb">"</span><span class="caption4nb">TEACHER</span>,
+<span class="caption3nb smcap">teacher</span>, <span class="caption3nb">TEACHER</span>, <span class="caption2nb">TEACHER</span>, <span class="caption2">TEACHER!"</span></i>" as Mr. Burroughs has interpreted
+the notes that go off in pairs like a series of little explosions,
+softly at first, then louder and louder and more shrill until the bird
+that you at first thought far away seems to be shrieking his
+penetrating crescendo into your very ears. But you may look until you
+are tired before you find him in the high, dry wood, never near water.</p>
+
+<p>In the driest parts of the wood, here the ground is thickly carpeted
+with dead leaves, you may some day notice a little bunch of them, that
+look as if a plant, in pushing its way up through the ground, had
+raised the leaves, rootlets, and twigs a trifle.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg_181]</a></span>
+Examine the spot more carefully, and on one side you find an opening,
+and within the ball of earth, softly lined with grass, lie four or
+five cream-white, speckled eggs. It is only by a happy accident that
+this nest of the ovenbird is discovered. The concealment could not be
+better. It is this peculiarity of nest construction&mdash;in shape
+like a Dutch oven&mdash;that has given the bird what DeKay considers
+its "trivial name." Not far from the nest the parent birds scratch
+about in the leaves like diminutive barn-yard fowls, for the grubs and
+insects hiding under them. But at the first suspicion of an intruder
+their alarm becomes pitiful. Panic-stricken, they become fairly limp
+with fear, and drooping her wings and tail, the mother-bird drags
+herself hither and thither over the ground.</p>
+
+<p>As utterly bewildered as his mate, the male darts, flies, and tumbles
+about through the low branches, jerking and wagging his tail in
+nervous spasms until you have beaten a double-quick retreat.</p>
+
+<p>In nesting time, at evening, a very few have heard the "luxurious
+nuptial song" of the ovenbird; but it is a song to haunt the memory
+forever afterward. Burroughs appears to be the first writer to record
+this "rare bit of bird melody." "Mounting by easy flight to the top of
+the tallest tree," says the author of "Wake-Robin," "the ovenbird
+launches into the air with a sort of suspended, hovering flight, like
+certain of the finches, and bursts into a perfect ecstasy of
+song&mdash;clear, ringing, copious, rivalling the goldfinch's in vivacity
+and the linnet's in melody."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WORM-EATING_WARBLER_181" id="WORM-EATING_WARBLER_181"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Worm-eating Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Helmintherus vermivorus</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.50 inches. Less than an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Greenish olive above. Head yellowish brown,
+with two black stripes through crown to the nape; also black
+lines from the eyes to neck. Under parts buffy and white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern parts of United States. Nests as far north as
+southern Illinois and southern Connecticut. Winters in the
+Gulf States and southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg_182]</a></span>
+In the Delaware Valley and along the same parallel, this inconspicuous
+warbler is abundant, but north of New Jersey it is rare enough to give
+an excitement to the day on which you discover it. No doubt it is
+commoner than we suppose, for its coloring blends so admirably with
+its habitats that it is probably very often overlooked. Its call-note,
+a common chirp, has nothing distinguishing about it, and all
+ornithologists confess to having been often misled by its song into
+thinking it came from the chipping sparrow. It closely resembles that
+of the pine warbler also. If it were as nervously active as most
+warblers, we should more often discover it, but it is quite as
+deliberate as a vireo, and in the painstaking way in which it often
+circles around a tree while searching for spiders and other insects
+that infest the trunks, it reminds us of the brown creeper. Sunny
+slopes and hillsides covered with thick undergrowth are its preferred
+foraging and nesting haunts. It is often seen hopping directly on the
+dry ground, where it places its nest, and it never mounts far above
+it. The well-drained, sunny situation for the home is chosen with the
+wisdom of a sanitary expert.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="ACADIAN_FLYCATCHER_182" id="ACADIAN_FLYCATCHER_182"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Acadian Flycatcher<br />
+
+(<i>Empidonax virescens</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SMALL GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER; SMALL PEWEE</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.75 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Dull olive above. Two conspicuous yellowish wing-bars.
+Throat white, shading into pale yellow on breast. Light gray
+or white underneath. Upper part of bill black; lower mandible
+flesh-color. White eye-ring.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Greener above and more yellow below.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;From Canada to Mexico, Central America, and West
+Indies. Most common in south temperate latitudes. Winters in
+southerly limit of range.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>When all our northern landscape takes on the exquisite, soft green,
+gray, and yellow tints of early spring, this little flycatcher, in
+perfect color-harmony with the woods it darts among, comes
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg_183]</a></span>
+out of the south. It might be a leaf that is being blown about,
+touched by the sunshine filtering through the trees, and partly shaded
+by the young foliage casting its first shadows.</p>
+
+<p>Woodlands, through which small streams meander lazily, inviting swarms
+of insects to their boggy shores, make ideal hunting grounds for the
+Acadian flycatcher. It chooses a low rather than a high, conspicuous
+perch, that other members of its family invariably select; and from
+such a lookout it may be seen launching into the air after the passing
+gnat&mdash;darting downward, then suddenly mounting upward in its a&#235;rial
+hunt, the vigorous clicks of the beak as it closes over its tiny
+victims testifying to the bird's unerring aim and its hearty appetite.</p>
+
+<p>While perching, a constant tail-twitching is kept up; and a faint,
+fretful "<i>Tshee-kee, tshee-kee</i>" escapes the bird when inactively
+waiting for a dinner to heave in sight.</p>
+
+<p>In the Middle Atlantic States its peeping sound and the clicking of
+its parti-colored bill are infrequently heard in the village streets
+in the autumn, when the shy and solitary birds are enticed from the
+deep woods by a prospect of a more plentiful diet of insects,
+attracted by the fruit in orchards and gardens.</p>
+
+<p>Never far from the ground, on two or more parallel branches, the
+shallow, unsubstantial nest is laid. Some one has cleverly described
+it as "a tuft of hay caught by the limb from a load driven under it,"
+but this description omits all mention of the quantities of blossoms
+that must be gathered to line the cradle for the tiny, cream white
+eggs spotted with brown.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW-BELLIED_FLYCATCHER_183" id="YELLOW-BELLIED_FLYCATCHER_183"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Yellow-bellied Flycatcher<br />
+
+(<i>Empidonax flaviventris</i>) Flycatcher family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Rather dark, but true olive-green above. Throat and
+breast yellowish olive, shading into pale yellow underneath,
+including wing linings and under tail coverts. Wings have
+yellowish bars. Whitish ring around eye. Upper part of bill
+black, under part whitish or flesh-colored.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Smaller, with brighter yellow under parts and more
+decidedly yellow wing-bars.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Labrador to Panama, and westward
+from the Atlantic to the plains. Winters in Central America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September, Summer resident. More commonly
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg_184]</a></span>
+a migrant only.</div>
+
+<p>This is the most yellow of the small flycatchers and the only Eastern
+species with a yellow instead of a white throat. Without hearing its
+call-note, "<i>pse-ek-pse-ek</i>," which it abruptly sneezes rather than
+utters, it is quite impossible, as it darts among the trees, to tell
+it from the Acadian flycatcher, with which even Audubon confounded it.
+Both these little birds choose the same sort of
+retreats&mdash;well-timbered woods near a stream that attracts myriads of
+insects to its spongy shores&mdash;and both are rather shy and solitary.
+The yellow-bellied species has a far more northerly range, however,
+than its Southern relative or even the small green-crested flycatcher.
+It is rare in the Middle States, not common even in New England,
+except in the migrations, but from the Canada border northward its
+soft, plaintive whistle, which is its love-song, may be heard in every
+forest where it nests. All the flycatchers seem to make a noise with
+so much struggle, such convulsive jerkings of head and tail, and
+flutterings of the wings that, considering the scanty success of their
+musical attempts, it is surprising they try to lift their voices at
+all when the effort almost literally lifts them off their feet.</p>
+
+<p>While this little flycatcher is no less erratic than its Acadian
+cousin, its nest is never slovenly. One couple had their home in a
+wild-grape bower in Pennsylvania; a Virginia creeper in New Jersey
+supported another cradle that was fully twenty feet above the ground;
+but in Labrador, where the bird has its chosen breeding grounds, the
+bulky nest is said to be invariably placed either in the moss by the
+brookside or in some old stump, should the locality be too swampy.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLACK-THROATED_GREEN_WARBLER_184" id="BLACK-THROATED_GREEN_WARBLER_184"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Black-throated Green Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica virens</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 inches. Over an inch smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Back and crown of head bright yellowish olive-green.
+Forehead, band over eye, cheeks, and sides of neck rich
+yellow. Throat, upper breast, and stripe along sides black.
+Underneath yellowish white. Wings and tail brownish olive, the
+former with two white bars, the latter with much
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg_185]</a></span>
+white in outer quills. In autumn, plumage resembling the female's.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar; chin yellowish; throat and breast dusky,
+the black being mixed with yellowish.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to Central
+America and Mexico. Nests north of Illinois and New York.
+Winters in tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Common summer resident north of
+New Jersey.</div>
+
+<p>There can be little difficulty in naming a bird so brilliantly and
+distinctly marked as this green, gold, and black warbler, that lifts
+up a few pure, sweet, tender notes, loud enough to attract attention
+when he visits the garden. "<i>See-see, see-saw</i>," he sings, but there
+is a tone of anxiety betrayed in the simple, sylvan strain that always
+seems as if the bird needed reassuring, possibly due to the rising
+inflection, like an interrogative, of the last notes.</p>
+
+<p>However abundant about our homes during the migrations, this warbler,
+true to the family instinct, retreats to the woods to nest&mdash;not always
+so far away as Canada, the nesting ground of most warblers, for in
+many Northern States the bird is commonly found throughout the summer.
+Doubtless it prefers tall evergreen trees for its mossy, grassy nest;
+but it is not always particular, so that the tree be a tall one with a
+convenient fork in an upper branch.</p>
+
+<p>Early in September increased numbers emerge from the woods, the
+plumage of the male being less brilliant than when we saw it last, as
+if the family cares of the summer had proved too taxing. For nearly a
+month longer they hunt incessantly, with much flitting about the
+leaves and twigs at the ends of branches in the shrubbery and
+evergreens, for the tiny insects that the warblers must devour by the
+million during their all too brief visit.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMINGBIRD" id="IMG_RUBY-THROATED_HUMMINGBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus258.png" width="432" height="604" alt="RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD" title="RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD" /><br />
+<span class="caption">RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_KINGLETS" id="IMG_KINGLETS"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus259.png" width="444" height="630" alt="KINGLETS" title="KINGLETS" /><br />
+<span class="caption">GOLDEN- AND RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_YELLOW_AND_ORANGE" id="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_YELLOW_AND_ORANGE"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg_187]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY YELLOW, AND ORANGE</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg_189]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Yellow and Orange Birds">
+<tr><td>Yellow-throated Vireo</td><td>Prairie Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>American Goldfinch</td><td>Wilson's Warbler or Black-cap</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Evening Grosbeak</td><td>Yellow Warbler or</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blue-winged Warbler</td><td>Summer Yellowbird</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Canadian Warbler</td><td>Yellow Redpoll Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Hooded Warbler</td><td>Yellow-breasted Chat</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Kentucky Warbler</td><td>Maryland Yellowthroat</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Magnolia Warbler</td><td>Blackburnian Warbler</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Mourning Warbler</td><td>Redstart</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Nashville Warbler</td><td>Baltimore Oriole</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Pine Warbler</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Look also among the Yellowish Olive Birds in the preceding group; and
+among the Brown Birds for the Meadowlark and Flicker. See also Parula
+Warbler (Slate) and Yellow-bellied Woodpecker (Black and White).</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW-THROATED_VIREO_189" id="YELLOW-THROATED_VIREO_189"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Yellow-throated Vireo<br />
+
+(<i>Vireo flavifrons</i>) Vireo or Greenlet family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. A little smaller than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Lemon-yellow on throat, upper breast; line
+around the eye and forehead. Yellow, shading into olive-green,
+on head, back, and shoulders. Underneath white. Tail dark
+brownish, edged with white. Wings a lighter shade, with two
+white bands across, and some quills edged with white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Newfoundland to Gulf of Mexico,
+and westward to the Rockies. Winters in the tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Spring and autumn migrant; more
+rarely resident.</div>
+
+<p>This is undoubtedly the beauty of the vireo family&mdash;a group of neat,
+active, stoutly built, and vigorous little birds of yellow, greenish,
+and white plumage; birds that love the trees, and whose feathers
+reflect the coloring of the leaves they hide, hunt, and nest among.
+"We have no birds," says Bradford Torrey, "so unsparing of their
+music: they sing from morning till night."</p>
+
+<p>The yellow-throated vireo partakes of all the family characteristics,
+but, in addition to these, it eclipses all its relatives in the
+brilliancy of its coloring and in the art of nest-building, which it
+has brought to a state of hopeless perfection. No envious bird need
+try to excel the exquisite finish of its workmanship. Happily, it has
+wit enough to build its pensile nest high above the reach of small
+boys, usually suspending it from a branch overhanging running water
+that threatens too precipitous a bath to tempt the young climbers.</p>
+
+<p>However common in the city parks and suburban gardens this bird may be
+during the migrations, it delights in a secluded
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg_190]</a></span>
+retreat overgrown with tall trees and near a stream, such as is dear
+to the solitary vireo as well when the nesting time approaches. High
+up in the trees we hear its rather sad, persistent strain, that is
+more in harmony with the dim forest than with the gay flower garden,
+where, if the truth must be told, its song is both monotonous and
+depressing. Mr. Bicknell says it is the only vireo that sings as it
+flies.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190" id="AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190"></a>
+<div class="caption2">American Goldfinch<br />
+
+(<i>Spinus tristis</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: WILD CANARY; YELLOWBIRD; THISTLE BIRD
+
+{See <a href="#IMG_GOLDFINCH">frontispiece</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.2 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;<i>In summer plumage</i>: Bright yellow, except on crown of
+head, frontlet, wings, and tail, which are black. Whitish
+markings on wings give effect of bands. Tail with white on
+inner webs. <i>In winter plumage</i>: Head yellow-olive; no
+frontlet; black drab, with reddish tinge; shoulders and throat
+yellow; soiled brownish white underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Brownish olive above, yellowish white beneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from the tropics to the Fur Countries
+and westward to the Columbia River and California. Common
+throughout its range.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May&mdash;October. Common summer resident, frequently
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg_191]</a></span>
+seen throughout the winter as well.</div>
+
+<p>An old field, overgrown with thistles and tall, stalky wild flowers,
+is the paradise of the goldfinches, summer or winter. Here they
+congregate in happy companies while the sunshine and goldenrod are as
+bright as their feathers, and cling to the swaying slender stems that
+furnish an abundant harvest, daintily lunching upon the fluffy seeds
+of thistle blossoms, pecking at the mullein-stalks, and swinging
+airily among the asters and Michaelmas daisies; or, when snow covers
+the same field with a glistening crust, above which the brown stalks
+offer only a meagre dinner, the same birds, now sombrely clad in
+winter feathers, cling to the swaying stems with cheerful fortitude.</p>
+
+<p>At your approach, the busy company rises on the wing, and with
+peculiar, wavy flight rise and fall through the air, marking each
+undulation with a cluster of notes, sweet and clear, that come
+floating downward from the blue ether, where the birds seem to bound
+along exultant in their motion and song alike.</p>
+
+<p>In the spring the plumage of the goldfinch, which has been drab and
+brown through the winter months, is moulted or shed&mdash;a change that
+transforms the bird from a sombre Puritan into the gayest of
+cavaliers, and seems to wonderfully exalt his spirits. He bursts into
+a wild, sweet, incoherent melody that might be the outpouring from two
+or three throats at once instead of one, expressing his rapture
+somewhat after the manner of the canary, although his song lacks the
+variety and the finish of his caged namesake. What tone of sadness in
+his music the man found who applied the adjective <i>tristis</i> to his
+scientific name it is difficult to imagine when listening to the notes
+that come bubbling up from the bird's happy heart.</p>
+
+<p>With plumage so lovely and song so delicious and dreamy, it is small
+wonder that numbers of our goldfinches are caught and caged, however
+inferior their song may be to the European species recently introduced
+into this country. Heard in Central Park, New York, where they were
+set at liberty, the European goldfinches seemed to sing with more
+abandon, perhaps, but with no more sweetness than their American
+cousins. The song remains at its best all through the summer months,
+for the bird is a long wooer. It is nearly July before he mates, and
+not until the tardy cedar birds are house-building in the orchard do
+the happy pair begin to carry grass, moss, and plant-down to a crotch
+of some tall tree convenient to a field of such wild flowers as will
+furnish food to a growing family. Doubtless the birds wait for this
+food to be in proper condition before they undertake parental duties
+at all&mdash;the most plausible excuse for their late nesting. The cares
+evolving from four to six pale-blue eggs will suffice to quiet the
+father's song for the winter by the first of September, and fade all
+the glory out of his shining coat. As pretty a sight as any garden
+offers is when a family of goldfinches alights on the top of a
+sunflower to feast upon the oily seeds&mdash;a perfect harmony of brown and
+gold.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_REDSTART" id="IMG_REDSTART"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus264.png" width="423" height="609" alt="REDSTART" title="REDSTART" /><br />
+<span class="caption">REDSTART (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_BALTIMORE_ORIOLE" id="IMG_BALTIMORE_ORIOLE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus265.png" width="402" height="585" alt="BALTIMORE ORIOLE" title="BALTIMORE ORIOLE" /><br />
+<span class="caption">BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Upper Figure, Male;
+  Lower Figure, Female)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="EVENING_GROSBEAK_192" id="EVENING_GROSBEAK_192"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg_192]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Evening Grosbeak<br />
+
+(<i>Coccothraustes vespertinus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 inches. Two inches shorter than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Forehead, shoulders, and underneath clear yellow: dull
+yellow on lower back; sides of the head, throat, and breast
+olive-brown. Crown, tail, and wings black, the latter with
+white secondary feathers. Bill heavy and blunt, and yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Brownish gray, more or less suffused with yellow.
+Wings and tail blackish, with some white feathers.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Interior of North America. Resident from Manitoba
+northward. Common winter visitor in northwestern United States
+and Mississippi Valley; casual winter visitor in northern
+Atlantic States.</div>
+
+<p>In the winter of 1889-90 Eastern people had the rare treat of becoming
+acquainted with this common bird of the Northwest, that, in one of its
+erratic travels, chose to visit New England and the Atlantic States,
+as far south as Delaware, in great numbers. Those who saw the evening
+grosbeaks then remember how beautiful their yellow plumage&mdash;a rare
+winter tint&mdash;looked in the snow-covered trees, where small companies
+of the gentle and even tame visitors enjoyed the buds and seeds of the
+maples, elders, and evergreens. Possibly evening grosbeaks were in
+vogue for the next season's millinery, or perhaps Eastern
+ornithologists had a sudden zeal to investigate their structural
+anatomy. At any rate, these birds, whose very tameness, that showed
+slight acquaintance with mankind, should have touched the coldest
+heart, received the warmest kind of a reception from hot shot. The few
+birds that escaped to the solitudes of Manitoba could not be expected
+to tempt other travellers eastward by an account of their visit. The
+bird is quite likely to remain rare in the East.</p>
+
+<p>But in the Mississippi Valley and throughout the northwest, companies
+of from six to sixty may be regularly counted upon as winter neighbors
+on almost every farm. Here the females keep up a busy chatting, like a
+company of cedar birds, and the males punctuate their pauses with a
+single shrill note that gives little indication of their vocal powers.
+But in the solitude of the northern forests the love-song is said to
+resemble the robin's at the start. Unhappily, after a most promising
+beginning, the bird suddenly stops, as if he were out of breath.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER_193" id="BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER_193"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg_193]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Blue-Winged Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Helminthophila pinus</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER">17</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 inches. An inch and a half shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Crown of head and all under parts bright yellow. Back
+olive-green. Wings and tail bluish slate, the former with
+white bars, and three outer tail quills with large white
+patches on their inner webs.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler and more olive.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern United States, from southern New England and
+Minnesota, the northern limit of its nesting range, to Mexico
+and Central America, where it winters.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>In the naming of warblers, bluish slate is the shade intended when
+blue is mentioned; so that if you see a dainty little olive and yellow
+bird with slate-colored wings and tail hunting for spiders in the
+blossoming orchard or during the early autumn you will have seen the
+beautiful blue-winged warbler. It has a rather leisurely way of
+hunting, unlike the nervous, restless flitting about from twig to twig
+that is characteristic of many of its many cousins. The search is
+thorough&mdash;bark, stems, blossoms, leaves are inspected for larv&#230; and
+spiders, with many pretty motions of head and body. Sometimes, hanging
+with head downward, the bird suggests a yellow titmouse. After blossom
+time a pair of these warblers, that have done serviceable work in the
+orchard in their all too brief stay, hurry off to dense woods to nest.
+They are usually to be seen in pairs at all seasons. Not to "high
+coniferous trees in northern forests"&mdash;the Mecca of innumerable
+warblers&mdash;but to scrubby, second growth of woodland borders, or lower
+trees in the heart of the woods, do these dainty birds retreat. There
+they build the usual warbler nest of twigs, bits of bark, leaves, and
+grasses, but with this peculiarity: the numerous leaves with which the
+nest is wrapped all have their stems pointing upward. Mr. Frank
+Chapman has admirably defined their song as consisting of "two
+drawled, wheezy notes&mdash;<i>swee-chee</i>, the first inhaled, the second
+exhaled."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CANADIAN_WARBLER_194" id="CANADIAN_WARBLER_194"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg_194]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Canadian Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Sylvania canadensis</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CANADIAN FLYCATCHER; SPOTTED CANADIAN WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Immaculate bluish ash above, without marks on wings or
+tail; crown spotted with arrow-shaped black marks. Cheeks,
+line from bill to eye, and underneath clear yellow. Black
+streaks forming a necklace across the breast.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler, with necklace indistinct.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;-May. September. Summer resident; most abundant
+in migrations.</div>
+
+<p>Since about one-third of all the song-birds met with in a year's
+rambles are apt to be warblers, the novice cannot devote his first
+attention to a better group, confusing though it is by reason of its
+size and the repetition of the same colors in so many bewildering
+combinations. Monotony, however, is unknown in the warbler family.
+Whoever can rightly name every warbler, male and female, on sight is
+uniquely accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>The jet necklace worn on this bird's breast is its best mark of
+identification. Its form is particularly slender and graceful, as
+might be expected in a bird so active, one to whom a hundred tiny
+insects barely afford a dinner that must often be caught piecemeal as
+it flies past. To satisfy its appetite, which cannot but be dainty in
+so thoroughly charming a bird, it lives in low, boggy woods, in such
+retreats as Wilson's black-capped warbler selects for a like reason.
+Neither of these two "flycatcher" warblers depends altogether on
+catching insects on the wing; countless thousands are picked off the
+under sides of leaves and about the stems of twigs in true warbler
+fashion.</p>
+
+<p>The Canadian's song is particularly loud, sweet, and vivacious. It is
+hazardous for any one without long field practice to try to name any
+warbler by its song alone, but possibly this one's animated music is
+as characteristic as any.</p>
+
+<p>The nest is built on the ground on a mossy bank or elevated
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg_195]</a></span>
+into the root crannies of some large tree, where there is much water
+in the woods. Bits of bark, dead wood, moss, and fine rootlets, all
+carefully wrapped with leaves, go to make the pretty cradle.
+Unhappily, the little Canada warblers are often cheated out of their
+natural rights, like so many other delightful song-birds, by the
+greedy interloper that the cowbird deposits in their nest.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="HOODED_WARBLER_195" id="HOODED_WARBLER_195"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Hooded Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Sylvania mitrata</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.75 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Head, neck, chin, and throat black like a hood in
+mature male specimens only. Hood restricted, or altogether
+wanting in female and young. Upper parts rich olive. Forehead,
+cheeks, and underneath yellow. Some conspicuous white on tail
+feathers.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Duller, and with restricted cowl.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States east of Rockies, and from southern
+Michigan and southern New England to West Indies and tropical
+America, where it winters. Very local.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>This beautifully marked, sprightly little warbler might be mistaken in
+his immaturity for the yellowthroat; and as it is said to take him
+nearly three years to grow his hood, with the completed cowl and cape,
+there is surely sufficient reason here for the despair that often
+seizes the novice in attempting to distinguish the perplexing
+warblers. Like its Southern counterpart, the hooded warbler prefers
+wet woods and low trees rather than high ones, for much of its food
+consists of insects attracted by the dampness, and many of them must
+be taken on the wing. Because of its tireless activity the bird's
+figure is particularly slender and graceful&mdash;a trait, too, to which we
+owe all the glimpses of it we are likely to get throughout the summer.
+It has a curious habit of spreading its tail, as if it wished you to
+take special notice of the white spots that adorn it; not flirting it,
+as the redstart does his more gorgeous one, but simply opening it like
+a fan as it flies and darts about.</p>
+
+<p>Its song, which is particularly sweet and graceful and with
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg_196]</a></span>
+more variation than most warblers' music, has been translated
+"<i>Che-we-eo-tsip, tsip, che-we-eo</i>," again interpreted by Mr. Chapman
+as "You must come to the woods, or you won't see me."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="KENTUCKY_WARBLER_196" id="KENTUCKY_WARBLER_196"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Kentucky Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Geothlypis formosa</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 inches. Nearly an inch shorter than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts olive-green; under parts yellow; a yellow
+line from the bill passes over and around the eye. Crown of
+head, patch below the eye, and line defining throat, black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but paler, and with grayish instead of
+black markings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;United States eastward from the Rockies, and from
+Iowa and Connecticut to Central America, where it winters.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>No bird is common at the extreme limits of its range, and so this
+warbler has a reputation for rarity among the New England
+ornithologists that would surprise people in the middle South and
+Southwest. After all that may be said in the books, a bird is either
+common or rare to the individual who may or may not have happened to
+become acquainted with it in any part of its chosen territory. Plenty
+of people in Kentucky, where we might judge from its name this bird is
+supposed to be most numerous, have never seen or heard of it, while a
+student on the Hudson River, within sight of New York, knows it
+intimately. It also nests regularly in certain parts of the
+Connecticut Valley. "Who is my neighbor?" is often a question
+difficult indeed to answer where birds are concerned. In the chapter,
+"Spring at the Capital," which, with every reading of "Wake Robin,"
+inspires the bird-lover with fresh zeal, Mr. Burroughs writes of the
+Kentucky warbler: "I meet with him in low, damp places, in the woods,
+usually on the steep sides of some little run. I hear at intervals a
+clear, strong, bell-like whistle or warble, and presently catch a
+glimpse of the bird as he jumps up from the ground to take an insect
+or worm from the under side of a leaf. This is his characteristic
+movement. He belongs to the class of ground warblers, and his range is
+very low, indeed lower than that of any other species with which I am
+acquainted."</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg_197]</a></span>
+Like the ovenbird and comparatively few others, for most
+birds hop over the ground, the Kentucky warbler <i>walks</i> rapidly about,
+looking for insects under the fallen leaves, and poking his
+inquisitive beak into every cranny where a spider may be lurking. The
+bird has a pretty, conscious way of flying up to a perch, a few feet
+above the ground, as a tenor might advance towards the footlights of a
+stage, to pour forth his clear, penetrating whistle, that in the
+nesting season especially is repeated over and over again with
+tireless persistency.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="MAGNOLIA_WARBLER_197" id="MAGNOLIA_WARBLER_197"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Magnolia Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica maculosa</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-AND-YELLOW WARBLER; SPOTTED WARBLER;
+BLUE-HEADED YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half smaller
+than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Crown of head slate-color, bordered on either side by
+a white line; a black line, apparently running through the
+eye, and a yellow line below it, merging into the yellow
+throat. Lower back and under parts yellow. Back, wings, and
+tail blackish olive. Large white patch on the wings, and the
+middle of the tail-quills white. Throat and sides heavily
+streaked with black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Has greener back, is paler, and has less distinct
+markings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama. Summers
+from northern Michigan and northern New England northward;
+winters in Central America and Cuba.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Spring and summer migrant.</div>
+
+<p>In spite of the bird's name, one need not look for it in the glossy
+magnolia trees of the southern gardens more than in the shrubbery on
+New England lawns, and during the migrations it is quite as likely to
+be found in one place as in the other. Its true preference, however,
+is for the spruces and hemlocks of its nesting ground in the northern
+forests. For these it deserts us after a brief hunt about the tender,
+young spring foliage and blossoms, where the early worm lies
+concealed, and before we have become so well acquainted with its
+handsome clothes that we will instantly recognize it in the duller
+ones it wears on its return
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg_198]</a></span>
+trip in the autumn. The position of the white marks on the tail
+feathers of this warbler, however, is the clue by which it may be
+identified at any season or any stage of its growth. If the white bar
+runs across the <i>middle</i> of the warbler's tail, you can be sure of the
+identity of the bird. A nervous and restless hunter, it nevertheless
+seems less shy than many of its kin. Another pleasing characteristic
+is that it brings back with it in October the loud, clear, rapid
+whistle with which it has entertained its nesting mate in the Canada
+woods through the summer.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="MOURNING_WARBLER_198" id="MOURNING_WARBLER_198"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Mourning Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Geothlypis philadelphia</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: MOURNING GROUND WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Gray head and throat; the breast gray; the feathers
+with black edges that make them look crinkled, like crape. The
+black markings converge into a spot on upper breast. Upper
+parts, except head, olive. Underneath rich yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar, but duller; throat and breast buff and
+dusky where the male is black. Back olive-green.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;"Eastern North America; breeds from eastern Nebraska,
+northern New York, and Nova Scotia northward, and southward
+along the Alleghanies to Pennsylvania. Winters in the
+tropics."&mdash;<i>Chapman.</i></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.</div>
+
+<p>Since Audubon met with but one of these birds in his incessant
+trampings, and Wilson secured only an immature, imperfectly marked
+specimen for his collection, the novice may feel no disappointment if
+he fails to make the acquaintance of this "gay and agreeable widow."
+And yet the shy and wary bird is not unknown in Central Park, New York
+City. Even where its clear, whistled song strikes the ear with a
+startling novelty that invites to instant pursuit of the singer, you
+may look long and diligently through the undergrowth without finding
+it. Dr. Merriam says the whistle resembles the syllables "<i>true, true,
+true, tru, too</i>, the voice rising on the first three syllables and
+falling on the last two." In the nesting season this song is
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg_199]</a></span>
+repeated over and over again with a persistency worthy of a Kentucky
+warbler. It is delivered from a perch within a few feet of the ground,
+as high as the bird seems ever inclined to ascend.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_CARDINAL" id="IMG_CARDINAL"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus274.png" width="431" height="621" alt="CARDINAL" title="CARDINAL" /><br />
+<span class="caption">CARDINAL</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_SCARLET_TANAGER" id="IMG_SCARLET_TANAGER"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus275.png" width="427" height="620" alt="SCARLET TANAGER" title="SCARLET TANAGER" /><br />
+<span class="caption">SCARLET TANAGER Male, in mature plumage, perching;
+ female on nest.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="NASHVILLE_WARBLER_199" id="NASHVILLE_WARBLER_199"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Nashville Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Helminthophila ruficapilla</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half smaller
+than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Olive-green above; yellow underneath. Slate-gray head
+and neck. Partially concealed chestnut patch on crown. Wings
+and tail olive-brown and without markings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Dull olive and paler, with brownish wash underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, westward to the plains; north to the
+Fur Countries, and south to Central America and Mexico. Nests
+north of Illinois and northern New England; winters in
+tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. September or October.</div>
+
+<p>It must not be thought that this beautiful warbler confines itself to
+backyards in the city of Nashville simply because Wilson discovered it
+near there and gave it a local name, for the bird's actual range
+reaches from the fur trader's camp near Hudson Bay to the adobe
+villages of Mexico and Central America, and over two thousand miles
+east and west in the United States. It chooses open rather than dense
+woods and tree-bordered fields. It seems to have a liking for hemlocks
+and pine trees, especially if near a stream that attracts insects to
+its shores; and Dr. Warren notes that in Pennsylvania he finds small
+flocks of these warblers in the autumn migration, feeding in the
+willow trees near little rivers and ponds. Only in the northern parts
+of the United States is their nest ever found, for the northern
+British provinces are their preferred nesting ground. One seen in the
+White Mountains was built on a mossy, rocky ledge, directly on the
+ground at the foot of a pine tree, and made of rootlets, moss, needles
+from the trees overhead, and several layers of leaves outside, with a
+lining of fine grasses that cradled four white, speckled eggs.</p>
+
+<p>Audubon likened the bird's feeble note to the breaking of twigs.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PINE_WARBLER_200" id="PINE_WARBLER_200"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg_200]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Pine Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica vigorsii</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: PINE-CREEPING WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Yellowish olive above; clear yellow below, shading to
+grayish white, with obscure dark streaks on side of breast.
+Two whitish wing-bars; two outer tail feathers partly white.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Duller; grayish white only faintly tinged with
+yellow underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, east of the Rockies; north to
+Manitoba, and south to Florida and the Bahamas. Winters from
+southern Illinois southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March or April. October or later. Common summer
+resident.</div>
+
+<p>The pine warbler closely presses the myrtle warbler for the first
+place in the ranks of the family migrants, but as the latter bird
+often stays north all winter, it is usually given the palm. Here is a
+warbler, let it be recorded, that is fittingly named, for it is a
+denizen of pine woods only; most common in the long stretches of pine
+forests at the south and in New York and New England, and
+correspondingly uncommon wherever the woods-man's axe has laid the
+pine trees low throughout its range. Its "simple, sweet, and drowsy
+song," writes Mr. Parkhurst, is always associated "with the smell of
+pines on a sultry day." It recalls that of the junco and the social
+sparrow or chippy.</p>
+
+<p>Creeping over the bark of trees and peering into every crevice like a
+nuthatch; running along the limbs, not often hopping nervously or
+flitting like the warblers; darting into the air for a passing insect,
+or descending to the ground to feed on seeds and berries, the pine
+warbler has, by a curious combination, the movements that seem to
+characterize several different birds.</p>
+
+<p>It is one of the largest and hardiest members of its family, but not
+remarkable for its beauty. It is a sociable traveller, cheerfully
+escorting other warblers northward, and welcoming to its band both the
+yellow redpolls and the myrtle warblers. These birds are very often
+seen together in the pine and other evergreen trees in our lawns and
+in the large city parks.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PRAIRIE_WARBLER_201" id="PRAIRIE_WARBLER_201"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg_201]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">Prairie Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica discolor</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Olive-green above, shading to yellowish on the head,
+and with brick-red spots on back between the shoulders. A
+yellow line over the eye; wing-bars and all under parts bright
+yellow, heavily streaked with black on the sides. Line through
+the eye and crescent below it, black. Much white in outer tail
+feathers.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Paler; upper parts more grayish olive, and markings
+less distinct than male's.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern half of the United States. Nests as far north
+as New England and Michigan. Winters from Florida southward.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Doubtless this diminutive bird was given its name because it prefers
+open country rather than the woods&mdash;the scrubby undergrowth of oaks,
+young evergreens, and bushes that border clearings being as good a
+place as any to look for it, and not the wind-swept, treeless tracts
+of the wild West. Its range is southerly. The Southern and Middle
+States are where it is most abundant. Here is a wood warbler that is
+not a bird of the woods&mdash;less so, in fact, than either the summer
+yellowbird (yellow warbler) or the palm warbler, that are eminently
+neighborly and fond of pasture lands and roadside thickets. But the
+prairie warblers are rather more retiring little sprites than their
+cousins, and it is not often we get a close enough view of them to
+note the brick-red spots on their backs, which are their
+distinguishing marks. They have a most unkind preference for briery
+bushes, that discourage human intimacy. In such forbidding retreats
+they build their nest of plant-fibre, rootlets, and twigs, lined with
+plant-down and hair.</p>
+
+<p>The song of an individual prairie warbler makes only a slight
+impression. It consists "of a series of six or seven quickly repeated
+<i>zees</i> the next to the last one being the highest" (Chapman). But the
+united voices of a dozen or more of these pretty little birds, that
+often sing together, afford something approaching a musical treat.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="WILSONS_WARBLER_202" id="WILSONS_WARBLER_202"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg_202]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Wilson's Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Sylvania pusilla</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-CAP; GREEN BLACK-CAPPED WARBLER; WILSON'S FLYCATCHER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+than the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Black cap; yellow forehead; all other upper parts
+olive-green; rich yellow underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Lacks the black cap.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Alaska and Nova Scotia to Panama.
+Winters south of Gulf States. Nests chiefly north of the
+United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.</div>
+
+<p>To see this strikingly marked little bird one must be on the sharp
+lookout for it during the latter half of May, or at the season of
+apple bloom, and the early part of September. It passes northward with
+an almost scornful rapidity. Audubon mentions having seen it in Maine
+at the end of October, but this specimen surely must have been an
+exceptional laggard.</p>
+
+<p>In common with several others of its family, it is exceedingly expert
+in catching insects on the wing; but it may be known as no true
+flycatcher from the conspicuous rich yellow of its under parts, and
+also from its habit of returning from a midair sally to a different
+perch from the one it left to pursue its dinner. A true flycatcher
+usually returns to its old perch after each hunt.</p>
+
+<p>To indulge in this a&#235;rial chase with success, these warblers select
+for their home and hunting ground some low woodland growth where a
+sluggish stream attracts myriads of insects to the boggy neighborhood.
+Here they build their nest in low bushes or upon the ground. Four or
+five grayish eggs, sprinkled with cinnamon-colored spots in a circle
+around the larger end, are laid in the grassy cradle in June. Mr. H.
+D. Minot found one of these nests on Pike's Peak at an altitude of
+11,000 feet, almost at the limit of vegetation. The same authority
+compares the bird's song to that of the redstart and the yellow
+warbler.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOOS" id="IMG_YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOOS"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus280.png" width="440" height="628" alt="YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS" title="YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS" /><br />
+<span class="caption">YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS THE DAY BEFORE LEAVING NEST.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_FIELD_SPARROW" id="IMG_FIELD_SPARROW"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus281.png" width="454" height="636" alt="FIELD SPARROW BABIES" title="FIELD SPARROW BABIES" /><br />
+<span class="caption">FIELD SPARROW BABIES</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW_REDPOLL_WARBLER_203" id="YELLOW_REDPOLL_WARBLER_203"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg_203]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Yellow Redpoll Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: YELLOW PALM WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Chestnut crown. Upper parts brownish olive;
+greenest on lower back. Underneath uniform bright yellow,
+streaked with chestnut on throat, breast, and sides. Yellow
+line over and around the eye. Wings unmarked. Tail edged with
+olive-green; a few white spots near tips of outer quills. More
+brownish above in autumn, and with a grayish wash over the
+yellow under parts.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern parts of North America. Nests from Nova
+Scotia northward. Winters in the Gulf States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;April. October. Spring and autumn migrant.</div>
+
+<p>While the uniform yellow of this warbler's under parts in any plumage
+is its distinguishing mark, it also has a flycatcher's trait of
+constantly flirting its tail, that is at once an outlet for its
+superabundant vivacity and a fairly reliable aid to identification.
+The tail is jerked, wagged, and flirted like a baton in the hands of
+an inexperienced leader of an orchestra. One need not go to the woods
+to look for the restless little sprite that comes northward when the
+early April foliage is as yellow and green as its feathers. It prefers
+the fields and roadsides, and before there are leaves enough on the
+undergrowth to conceal it we may come to know it as well as it is
+possible to know any bird whose home life is passed so far away.
+Usually it is the first warbler one sees in the spring in New York and
+New England. With all the alertness of a flycatcher, it will dart into
+the air after insects that fly near the ground, keeping up a constant
+<i>chip, chip</i>, fine and shrill, at one end of the small body, and the
+liveliest sort of tail motions at the other. The pine warbler often
+bears it company.</p>
+
+<p>With the first suspicion of warm weather, off goes this hardy little
+fellow that apparently loves the cold almost well enough to stay north
+all the year like its cousin, the myrtle warbler. It builds a
+particularly deep nest, of the usual warbler construction, on the
+ground, but its eggs are rosy rather than the bluish white of others.</p>
+
+<p>In the Southern States the bird becomes particularly neighborly,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg_204]</a></span>
+and is said to enter the streets and gardens of towns with a chippy's
+familiarity.</p>
+
+<div class="center">&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</div>
+
+<p><a name="PALM_WARBLER_204" id="PALM_WARBLER_204"></a>Palm Warbler or Redpoll Warbler (<i>Dendroica palmarum</i>) differs from
+the preceding chiefly in its slightly smaller size, the more
+grayish-brown tint in its olive upper parts, and the uneven shade of
+yellow underneath that varies from clear yellow to soiled whitish. It
+is the Western counterpart of the yellow redpoll, and is most common
+in the Mississippi Valley. Strangely enough, however, it is this
+warbler, and not <i>hypochrysea</i>, that goes out of its way to winter in
+Florida, where it is abundant all winter.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW_WARBLER_204" id="YELLOW_WARBLER_204"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Yellow Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica &#230;stiva</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: SUMMER YELLOWBIRD; GOLDEN WARBLER; YELLOW POLL</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.75 to 5.2 inches. Over an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Upper parts olive-yellow, brightest on the crown;
+under parts bright yellow, streaked with reddish brown. Wings
+and tail dusky olive-brown, edged with yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Similar; but reddish-brown streakings less distinct.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, except Southwestern States, where the
+prothonotary warbler reigns in its stead. Nests from Gulf
+States to Fur Countries. Winters south of the Gulf States, as
+far as northern parts of South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>This exquisite little creature of perpetual summer (though to find it
+it must travel back and forth between two continents) comes out of the
+south with the golden days of spring. From much living in the sunshine
+through countless generations, its feathers have finally become the
+color of sunshine itself, and in disposition, as well, it is nothing
+if not sunny and bright. Not the least of its attractions is that it
+is exceedingly common everywhere: in the shrubbery of our lawns, in
+gardens and orchards, by the road and brookside, in the edges of
+woods&mdash;everywhere we catch its glint of brightness through the long
+summer days, and hear its simple, sweet, and happy song until the end
+of July.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg_205]</a></span>
+Because both birds are so conspicuously yellow, no doubt
+this warbler is quite generally confused with the goldfinch; but their
+distinctions are clear enough to any but the most superficial glance.
+In the first place, the yellow warbler is a smaller bird than the
+goldfinch; it has neither black crown, wings, nor tail, and it does
+have reddish-brown streaks on its breast that are sufficiently
+obsolete to make the coloring of that part look simply dull at a
+little distance. The goldfinch's bill is heavy, in order that it may
+crack seeds, whereas the yellow warbler's is slender, to enable it to
+pick minute insects from the foliage. The goldfinch's wavy, curved
+flight is unique, and that of his "double" differs not a whit from
+that of all nervous, flitting warblers. Surely no one familiar with
+the rich, full, canary-like song of the "wild canary," as the
+goldfinch is called, could confuse it with the mild "<i>Wee-chee, chee,
+cher-wee</i>" of the summer yellowbird. Another distinction, not always
+infallible, but nearly so, is that when seen feeding, the goldfinch is
+generally below the line of vision, while the yellow warbler is either
+on it or not far above it, as it rarely goes over twelve feet from the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt, the particularly mild, sweet amiability of the yellow
+warbler is responsible for the persistent visitations of the cowbird,
+from which it is a conspicuous sufferer. In the exquisite, neat little
+matted cradle of glistening milkweed flax, lined with down from the
+fronds of fern, the skulking housebreaker deposits her surreptitious
+egg for the little yellow mother-bird to hatch and tend. But
+amiability is not the only prominent trait in the female yellow
+warbler's character. She is clever as well, and quickly builds a new
+bottom on her nest, thus sealing up the cowbird's egg, and depositing
+her own on the soft, spongy floor above it. This operation has been
+known to be twice repeated, until the nest became three stories high,
+when a persistent cowbird made such unusual architecture necessary.</p>
+
+<p>The most common nesting place of the yellow warbler is in low willows
+along the shores of streams.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="YELLOW-BREASTED_CHAT_206" id="YELLOW-BREASTED_CHAT_206"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg_206]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Yellow-breasted Chat<br />
+
+(<i>Icteria virens</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: POLYGLOT CHAT; YELLOW MOCKING BIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7.5 inches. A trifle over an inch longer than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male and Female</i>&mdash;Uniform olive-green above. Throat, breast,
+and under side of wings bright, clear yellow. Underneath
+white. Sides grayish. White line over the eye, reaching to
+base of bill and forming partial eye-ring. Also white line on
+sides of throat. Bill and feet black.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Ontario to Central America and
+westward to the plains. Most common in Middle Atlantic States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. Late August or September. Summer
+resident.</div>
+
+<p>This largest of the warblers might be mistaken for a dozen birds
+collectively in as many minutes; but when it is known that the jumble
+of whistles, parts of songs, chuckles, clucks, barks, quacks, whines,
+and wails proceed from a single throat, the yellow-breasted chat
+becomes a marked specimen forthwith&mdash;a conspicuous individual never to
+be confused with any other member of the feathered tribe. It is indeed
+absolutely unique. The catbird and the mocking-bird are rare mimics;
+but while the chat is not their equal in this respect, it has a large
+repertoire of weird, uncanny cries all its own&mdash;a power of throwing
+its voice, like a human ventriloquist, into unexpected corners of the
+thicket or meadow. In addition to its extraordinary vocal feats, it
+can turn somersaults and do other clown-like stunts as well as any
+variety actor on the Bowery stage.</p>
+
+<p>Only by creeping cautiously towards the roadside tangle, where this
+"rollicking polyglot" is entertaining himself and his mate, brooding
+over her speckled eggs in a bulky nest set in a most inaccessible
+briery part of the thicket, can you hope to hear him rattle through
+his variety performance. Walk boldly or noisily past his retreat, and
+there is "silence there and nothing more." But two very bright eyes
+peer out at you through the undergrowth, where the trim,
+elegant-looking bird watches you with quizzical suspicion until you
+quietly seat yourself and
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg_207]</a></span>
+assume silent indifference. "<i>Whew, whew!</i>" he begins, and then
+immediately, with evident intent to amuse, he rattles off an
+indescribable, eccentric medley until your ears are tired listening.
+With bill uplifted, tail drooping, wings fluttering at his side, he
+cuts an absurd figure enough, but not so comical as when he rises into
+the air, trailing his legs behind him stork-fashion. This surely is
+the clown among birds. But any though he is, he is as capable of
+devotion to his Columbine as Punchinello, and remains faithfully mated
+year after year. However much of a tease and a deceiver he may be to
+the passer-by along the roadside, in the privacy of the domestic
+circle he shows truly lovable traits.</p>
+
+<p>He has the habit of singing in his unmusical way on moonlight nights.
+Probably his ventriloquial powers are cultivated not for popular
+entertainment, but to lure intruders away from his nest.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="MARYLAND_YELLOWTHROAT_207" id="MARYLAND_YELLOWTHROAT_207"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Maryland Yellowthroat<br />
+
+(<i>Geothlypis trichas</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-MASKED GROUND WARBLER</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.33 inches. Just an inch shorter than the typical
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Olive-gray on head, shading to olive-green on all the
+other upper parts. Forehead, cheeks, and sides of head black,
+like a mask, and bordered behind by a grayish line. Throat and
+breast bright yellow, growing steadily paler underneath.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Either totally lacks black mask or its place is
+indicated by only a dusky tint. She is smaller and duller.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America, west to the plains; most
+common east of the Alleghanies. Nests from the Gulf States to
+Labrador and Manitoba; winters south of Gulf States to Panama.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Common summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>"Given a piece of marshy ground with an abundance of skunk cabbage and
+a fairly dense growth of saplings, and near by a tangle of green brier
+and blackberry, and you will be pretty sure to have it tenanted by a
+pair of yellowthroats," says Dr. Abbott, who found several of their
+nests in skunk-cabbage plants, which he says are favorite cradles. No
+animal cares to touch this plant if it can be avoided; but have the
+birds themselves no sense of smell?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg_208]</a></span>
+Before and after the nesting season these active birds, plump of form,
+elegant of attire, forceful, but not bold, enter the scrubby pastures
+near our houses and the shrubbery of old-fashioned, overgrown gardens,
+and peer out at the human wanderer therein with a charming curiosity.
+The bright eyes of the male masquerader shine through his black mask,
+where he intently watches you from the tangle of syringa and snowball
+bushes; and as he flies into the laburnum with its golden chain of
+blossoms that pale before the yellow of his throat and breast, you are
+so impressed with his grace and elegance that you follow too
+audaciously, he thinks, and off he goes. And yet this is a bird that
+seems to delight in being pursued. It never goes so far away that you
+are not tempted to follow it, though it be through dense undergrowth
+and swampy thickets, and it always gives you just glimpse enough of
+its beauties and graces before it flies ahead, to invite the hope of a
+closer inspection next time. When it dives into the deepest part of
+the tangle, where you can imagine it hunting about among the roots and
+fallen leaves for the larv&#230;, caterpillars, spiders, and other
+insects on which it feeds, it sometimes amuses itself with a simple
+little song between the hunts. But the bird's indifference, you feel
+sure, arises from preoccupation rather than rudeness.</p>
+
+<p>If, however, your visit to the undergrowth is unfortunately timed and
+there happens to be a bulky nest in process of construction on the
+ground, a quickly repeated, vigorous <i>chit, pit, quit</i>, impatiently
+inquires the reason for your bold intrusion. Withdraw discreetly and
+listen to the love-song that is presently poured out to reassure his
+plain little maskless mate. The music is delivered with all the force
+and energy of his vigorous nature and penetrates to a surprising
+distance. "<i>Follow me, follow me, follow me</i>," many people hear him
+say; others write the syllables, "<i>Wichity, wichity, wichity,
+wichity</i>"; and still others write them, "<i>I beseech you, I beseech
+you, I beseech you</i>," though the tones of this self-assertive bird
+rather command than entreat. Mr. Frank Chapman says of the
+yellowthroats: "They sing throughout the summer, and in August add a
+flight-song to their repertoire. This is usually uttered toward
+evening, when the bird springs several feet into the air, hovers for a
+second, and then drops back to the bushes."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BLACKBURNIAN_WARBLER_209" id="BLACKBURNIAN_WARBLER_209"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg_209]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Blackburnian Warbler<br />
+
+(<i>Dendroica blackburni&#230;</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: HEMLOCK WARBLER; ORANGE-THROATED WARBLER; TORCH-BIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;4.5 to 5.5 inches. An inch and a half smaller than
+the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Head black, striped with orange-flame; throat and
+breast orange, shading through yellow to white underneath;
+wings, tail, and part of back black, with white markings.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Olive-brown above, shading into yellow on breast,
+and paler under parts.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern North America to plains. Winters in tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.</div>
+
+<p>"The orange-throated warbler would seem to be his right name, his
+characteristic cognomen," says John Burroughs, in ever-delightful
+"Wake Robin"; "but no, he is doomed to wear the name of some
+discoverer, perhaps the first who robbed his nest or rifled him of his
+mate&mdash;Blackburn; hence, Blackburnian warbler. The <i>burn</i> seems
+appropriate enough, for in these dark evergreens his throat and breast
+show like flame. He has a very fine warble, suggesting that of the
+redstart, but not especially musical."</p>
+
+<p>No foliage is dense enough to hide, and no autumnal tint too brilliant
+to outshine this luminous little bird that in May, as it migrates
+northward to its nesting ground, darts in and out of the leafy shadows
+like a tongue of fire.</p>
+
+<p>It is by far the most glorious of all the warblers&mdash;a sort of
+diminutive oriole. The quiet-colored little mate flits about after
+him, apparently lost in admiration of his fine feathers and the ease
+with which his thin tenor voice can end his lover's warble in a high Z.</p>
+
+<p>Take a good look at this attractive couple, for in May they leave us
+to build a nest of bark and moss in the evergreens of Canada&mdash;that
+paradise for warblers&mdash;or of the Catskills and Adirondacks, and in
+autumn they hurry south to escape the first frosts.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="REDSTART_210" id="REDSTART_210"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg_210]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Redstart<br />
+
+(<i>Setophaga ruticilla</i>) Wood Warbler family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: YELLOW-TAILED WARBLER<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_REDSTART">190</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5 to 5.5 inches.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;<i>In spring plumage</i>: Head, neck, back, and middle
+breast glossy black, with blue reflections. Breast and
+underneath white, slightly flushed with salmon, increasing to
+bright salmon-orange on the sides of the body and on the wing
+linings. Occasional specimens show orange-red. Tail feathers
+partly black, partly orange, with broad black band across the
+end. Orange markings on wings. Bill and feet black. <i>In</i>
+<i>autumn</i>: Fading into rusty black, olive, and yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Olive-brown, and yellow where the male is orange.
+Young browner than the females.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America to upper Canada. West occasionally, as
+far as the Pacific coast, but commonly found in summer in the
+Atlantic and Middle States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. End of September. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>Late some evening, early in May, when one by one the birds have
+withdrawn their voices from the vesper chorus, listen for the
+lingering "<i>'tsee, 'tsee, 'tseet</i>" (usually twelve times repeated in a
+minute), that the redstart sweetly but rather monotonously sings from
+the evergreens, where, as his tiny body burns in the twilight, Mrs.
+Wright likens him to a "wind-blown firebrand, half glowing, half
+charred."</p>
+
+<p>But by daylight this brilliant little warbler is constantly on the
+alert. It is true he has the habit, like the flycatchers (among which
+some learned ornithologists still class him), of sitting pensively on
+a branch, with fluffy feathers and drooping wings; but the very next
+instant he shows true warbler blood by making a sudden dash upward,
+then downward through the air, tumbling somersaults, as if blown by
+the wind, flitting from branch to branch, busily snapping at the tiny
+insects hidden beneath the leaves, clinging to the tree-trunk like a
+creeper, and singing between bites.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly he will stop long enough in his mad chase to open and shut
+his tail, fan-fashion, with a dainty egotism that, in the peacock,
+becomes rank vanity.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg_211]</a></span>
+The Germans call this little bird <i>roth Stert</i> (red tail), but, like
+so many popular names, this is a misnomer, as, strictly speaking, the
+redstart is never red, though its salmon-orange markings often border
+on to orange-flame.</p>
+
+<p>In a fork of some tall bush or tree, placed ten or fifteen feet from
+the ground, a carefully constructed little nest is made of moss,
+horsehair, and strippings from the bark, against which the nest is
+built, the better to conceal its location. Four or five whitish eggs,
+thickly sprinkled with pale brown and lilac, like the other warblers',
+are too jealously guarded by the little mother-bird to be very often
+seen.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211" id="BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Baltimore Oriole<br />
+
+(<i>Icterus galbula</i>) Oriole and Blackbird family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: GOLDEN ORIOLE; FIREBIRD; GOLDEN ROBIN;
+HANG-NEST; ENGLISH ROBIN<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_BALTIMORE_ORIOLE">191</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Head, throat, upper part of back glossy black. Wings
+black, with white spots and edgings. Tail-quills black, with
+yellow markings on the tips. Everywhere else orange, shading
+into flame.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Yellowish olive. Wings dark brown, and quills
+margined with white. Tail yellowish brown, with obscure,
+dusky bars.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;The whole United States. Most numerous in Eastern
+States below 55&#176; north latitude.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. Middle of September. Common summer
+resident.</div>
+
+<p>A flash of fire through the air; a rich, high, whistled song floating
+in the wake of the feathered meteor: the Baltimore oriole cannot be
+mistaken. When the orchards are in blossom he arrives in full plumage
+and song, and awaits the coming of the female birds, that travel
+northward more leisurely in flocks. He is decidedly in evidence. No
+foliage is dense enough to hide his brilliancy; his temper, quite as
+fiery as his feathers, leads him into noisy quarrels, and his
+insistent song with its martial, interrogative notes becomes almost
+tiresome until he is happily mated and family cares check his
+enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg_212]</a></span>
+Among the best architects in the world is his plain but
+energetic mate. Gracefully swung from a high branch of some tall tree,
+the nest is woven with exquisite skill into a long, flexible pouch
+that rain cannot penetrate, nor wind shake from its horsehair
+moorings. Bits of string, threads of silk, and sometimes yarn of the
+gayest colors, if laid about the shrubbery in the garden, will be
+quickly interwoven with the shreds of bark and milkweed stalks that
+the bird has found afield. The shape of the nest often differs,
+because in unsettled regions, where hawks abound, it is necessary to
+make it deeper than seven inches (the customary depth when it is built
+near the homes of men), and to partly close it at the top to conceal
+the sitting bird. From four to six whitish eggs, scrawled over with
+black-brown, are hatched by the mother oriole, and most jealously
+guarded by her now truly domesticated mate.</p>
+
+<p>The number of grubs, worms, flies, caterpillars, and even cocoons,
+that go to satisfy the hunger of a family of orioles in a day, might
+indicate, if it could be computed, the great value these birds are
+about our homes, aside from the good cheer they bring.</p>
+
+<p>There is a popular tradition about the naming of this gorgeous bird:
+When George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, worn out and
+discouraged by various hardships in his Newfoundland colony, decided
+to visit Virginia in 1628, he wrote that nothing in the Chesapeake
+country so impressed him as the myriads of birds in its woods. But the
+song and color of the oriole particularly cheered and delighted him,
+and orange and black became the heraldic colors of the first lords
+proprietors of Maryland.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i7">Hush!'tis he!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My Oriole, my glance of summer fire,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Is come at last; and ever on the watch,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Twitches the pack-thread I had lightly wound<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">About the bough to help his housekeeping.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Yet fearing me who laid it in his way.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Nor, more than wiser we in our affairs,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Divines the Providence that hides and helps.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2"><i>Heave, ho! Heave, ho!</i> he whistles as the twine<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Slackens its hold; <i>once more, now!</i> and a flash<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Lightens across the sunlight to the elm<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i15">&mdash;<i>James Russell Lowell.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_RED" id="BIRDS_CONSPICUOUSLY_RED"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg_213]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY RED OF ANY SHADE</div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="text_lf" summary="Red Birds">
+<tr><td>Cardinal Grosbeak</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Summer Tanager</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Scarlet Tanager</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Pine Grosbeak</td></tr>
+<tr><td>American Crossbill and the White-winged Crossbill</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Redpoll and Greater Redpoll</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Purple Finch</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Robin</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Orchard Oriole</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>See the Red-winged Blackbird (Black). See also the males of the
+Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the Woodpeckers, the Chewink (Black and
+White), the Red-breasted Nuthatch, the Bay-breasted and the
+Chestnut-sided Warblers (Slate and Gray); the Bluebird and Barn
+Swallow (Blue); the Flicker (Brown); the Humming-bird and the Kinglets
+(Greenish Gray); and the Blackburnian and Redstart Warblers, and the
+Baltimore Oriole (Orange).</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215" id="CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg_215]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Cardinal Grosbeak<br />
+
+(<i>Cardinalis cardinalis</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: CRESTED REDBIRD; VIRGINIA REDBIRD; VIRGINIA
+NIGHTINGALE; CARDINAL BIRD<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_CARDINAL">198</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;8 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Brilliant cardinal; chin and band around bill black.
+Beak stout and red. Crest conspicuous. In winter dress, wings
+washed with gray.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Brownish yellow above, shading to gray below. Tail
+shorter than the male's. Crest, wings, and tail reddish.
+Breast sometimes tinged with red.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Eastern United States. A Southern bird, becoming more
+and more common during the summer in States north of Virginia,
+especially in Ohio, south of which it is resident throughout
+the year.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Resident rather than migrating birds, remaining
+throughout the winter in localities where they have found
+their way. Travel in flocks.</div>
+
+<p>Among the numerous names by which this beautiful bird is known, it has
+become immortalized under the title of Mr. James Lane Allen's
+exquisite book, "The Kentucky Cardinal." Here, while we are given a
+most charmingly sympathetic, delicate account of the bird "who has
+only to be seen or heard, and Death adjusts an arrow," it is the
+cardinal's pathetic fate that impresses one most. Seen through less
+poetical eyes, however, the bird appears to be a haughty autocrat, a
+sort of "F. F. V." among the feathered tribes, as, indeed, his title,
+"Virginia redbird," has been unkindly said to imply. Bearing himself
+with a refined and courtly dignity, not stooping to soil his feet by
+walking on the ground like the more democratic robin, or even
+condescending below the level of the laurel bushes,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg_216]</a></span>
+the cardinal is literally a shining example of self-conscious
+superiority&mdash;a bird to call forth respect and admiration rather
+than affection. But a group of cardinals in a cedar tree in a snowy
+winter landscape makes us forgetful of everything but their supreme
+beauty.</p>
+
+<p>As might be expected in one of the finch family, the cardinal is a
+songster&mdash;the fact which, in connection with his lovely plumage,
+accounts for the number of these birds shipped in cages to Europe,
+where they are known as Virginia nightingales. Commencing with a
+strong, rich whistle, like the high notes of a fife,
+"<i>Cheo-cheo-cheo-cheo</i>," repeated over and over as if to make perfect
+the start of a song he is about to sing, suddenly he stops, and you
+learn that there is to be no glorious performance after all, only a
+prelude to&mdash;nothing. The song, such as it is, begins, with both male
+and female, in March, and lasts, with a brief intermission, until
+September&mdash;"the most melodious sigh," as Mr. Allen calls it. Early in
+May the cardinals build a bulky and loosely made nest, usually in the
+holly, laurel, or other evergreen shrubs that they always love to
+frequent, especially if these are near fields of corn or other grain.
+And often two broods in a year come forth from the pale-gray,
+brown-marked eggs, bearing what is literally for them the "fatal gift
+of beauty."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SUMMER_TANAGER_216" id="SUMMER_TANAGER_216"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Summer Tanager<br />
+
+(<i>Piranga rubra</i>) Tanager family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: REDBIRD; SMOOTH-HEADED REDBIRD</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Uniform red. Wings and tail like the body.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Upper parts yellowish olive-green; underneath
+inclining to orange-yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Tropical portions of two Americas and eastern United
+States. Most common in Southern States. Rare north of
+Pennsylvania. Winters in the tropics.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;In Southern States: April. October. Irregular
+migrant north of the Carolinas.</div>
+
+<p>Thirty years ago, it is recorded that so far north as New Jersey the
+summer redbird was quite as common as any of the thrushes. In the
+South still there is scarcely an orchard that does
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg_217]</a></span>
+not contain this tropical-looking beauty&mdash;the redbird <i>par
+excellence</i>, the sweetest singer of the family. Is there a more
+beautiful sight in all nature than a grove of orange trees laden with
+fruit, starred with their delicious blossoms, and with flocks of
+redbirds disporting themselves among the dark, glossy leaves? Pine and
+oak woods are also favorite resorts, especially at the north, where
+the bird nowadays forsakes the orchards to hide his beauty, if he can,
+unharmed by the rifle that only rarely is offered so shining a mark.
+He shows the scarlet tanager's preference for tree-tops, where his
+musical voice, calling "<i>Chicky-tucky-tuk</i>," alone betrays his
+presence in the woods. The Southern farmers declare that he is an
+infallible weather prophet, his "<i>WET, WET, WET</i>," being the certain
+indication of rain&mdash;another absurd saw, for the call-note is by
+no means confined to the rainy season.</p>
+
+<p>The yellowish-olive mate, whose quiet colors betray no nest secrets,
+collects twigs and grasses for the cradle to be saddled on the end of
+some horizontal branch, though in this work the male sometimes
+cautiously takes an insignificant part. After her three or four eggs
+are laid she sits upon them for nearly two weeks, being only rarely
+and stealthily visited by her mate with some choice grub, blossom, or
+berry in his beak. But how cheerfully his fife-like whistle rings out
+during the temporary exile! Then his song is at its best. Later in the
+summer he has an aggravating way of joining in the chorus of other
+birds' songs, by which the pleasant individuality of his own voice is
+lost.</p>
+
+<p>A nest of these tanagers, observed not far from New York City, was
+commenced the last week of May on the extreme edge of a hickory limb
+in an open wood; four eggs were laid on the fourth of June, and twelve
+days later the tiny fledglings, that all look like their mother in the
+early stages of their existence, burst from the greenish-white,
+speckled shells. In less than a month the young birds were able to fly
+quite well and collect their food.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_OVENBIRD" id="IMG_OVENBIRD"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus298.png" width="650" height="453" alt="OVENBIRD IN NEST" title="OVENBIRD IN NEST" /><br />
+<span class="caption">MOTHER OVENBIRD IN NEST; A BABY BIRD ON IT.</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_ROBIN_NEST" id="IMG_ROBIN_NEST"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus299.png" width="724" height="440" alt="ROBIN NEST" title="ROBIN NEST" /><br />
+<span class="caption">THE ROBIN&#39;S MUD-WALLED NURSERY</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="SCARLET_TANAGER_218" id="SCARLET_TANAGER_218"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg_218]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">Scarlet Tanager<br />
+
+(<i>Piranga erythromelas</i>) Tanager family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: BLACK-WINGED REDBIRD; FIREBIRD; CANADA TANAGER;
+POCKET-BIRD<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_SCARLET_TANAGER">199</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;<i>In spring plumage</i>: Brilliant scarlet, with black
+wings and tail. Under wing coverts grayish white. <i>In autumn</i>:
+Similar to female.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Olive-green above; wings and tail dark, lightly
+margined with olive. Underneath greenish yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America to northern Canada boundaries, and
+southward in winter to South America.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;May. October. Summer resident.</div>
+
+<p>The gorgeous coloring of the scarlet tanager has been its snare and
+destruction. The densest evergreens could not altogether hide this
+blazing target for the sportsman's gun, too often fired at the
+instigation of city milliners. "Fine feathers make fine birds"&mdash;and
+cruel, silly women, the adage might be adapted for latter-day use.
+This rarely beautiful tanager, thanks to them, is now only an
+infrequent flash of beauty in our country roads.</p>
+
+<p>Instinct leads it to be chary of its charms; and whereas it used to be
+one of the commonest of bird neighbors, it is now shy and solitary. An
+ideal resort for it is a grove of oak or swamp maple near a stream or
+pond where it can bathe. Evergreen trees, too, are favorites, possibly
+because the bird knows how exquisitely its bright scarlet coat is set
+off by their dark background.</p>
+
+<p>High in the tree-tops he perches, all unsuspected by the visitor
+passing through the woods below, until a burst of rich, sweet melody
+directs the opera-glasses suddenly upward. There we detect him
+carolling loud and cheerfully, like a robin. He is an apparition of
+beauty&mdash;a veritable bird of paradise, as, indeed, he is sometimes
+called. Because of their similar coloring, the tanager and cardinal
+are sometimes confounded, but an instant's comparison of the two birds
+shows nothing in common except red feathers, and even those of quite
+different shades. The inconspicuous olive-green and yellow of the
+female tanager's plumage is another striking instance of Nature's
+unequal distribution of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg_219]</a></span>
+gifts; but if our bright-colored birds have become shockingly few
+under existing conditions, would any at all remain were the females
+prominent, like the males, as they brood upon the nest? Both tanagers
+construct a rather disorderly-looking nest of fibres and sticks,
+through which daylight can be seen where it rests securely upon the
+horizontal branch of some oak or pine tree; but as soon as three or
+four bluish-green eggs have been laid in the cradle, off goes the
+father, wearing his tell-tale coat, to a distant tree. There he sings
+his sweetest carol to the patient, brooding mate, returning to her
+side only long enough to feed her with the insects and berries that
+form their food.</p>
+
+<p>Happily for the young birds' fate, they are clothed at first in
+motley, dull colors, with here and there only a bright touch of
+scarlet, yellow, and olive to prove their claim to the parent whose
+gorgeous plumage must be their admiration. But after the moulting
+season it would be a wise tanager that knew its own father.
+His scarlet feathers are now replaced by an autumn coat of olive
+and yellow not unlike his mate's.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PINE_GROSBEAK_219" id="PINE_GROSBEAK_219"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Pine Grosbeak<br />
+
+(<i>Pinicola enucleator</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: PINE BULLFINCH</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;Variously recorded from 6.5 to 11 inches. Specimen
+measured 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;General color strawberry-red, with some slate-gray
+fleckings about head, under wings, and on legs. Tail brown;
+wings brown, marked with black and white and slate. A
+band-shaped series of markings between the shoulders.
+Underneath paler red, merging into grayish green. Heavy,
+conspicuous bill.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Ash-brown. Head and hind neck yellowish brown, each
+feather having central dusky streak. Cheeks and throat
+yellowish. Beneath ash-gray, tinged with brownish yellow
+under tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;British American provinces and northern United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Irregular winter visitors; length of visits as
+uncertain as their coming.</div>
+
+<p>As inseparable as bees from flowers, so are these beautiful winter
+visitors from the evergreen woods, where their red
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg_220]</a></span>
+feathers, shining against the dark-green background of the trees, give
+them charming prominence; but they also feed freely upon the buds of
+various deciduous trees.</p>
+
+<p>South of Canada we may not look for them except in the severest winter
+weather. Even then their coming is not to be positively depended upon;
+but when their caprice&mdash;or was it an unusually fierce northern
+blast?&mdash;sends them over the Canada border, it is a simple matter to
+identify them when such brilliant birds are rare. The brownish-yellow
+and grayish females and young males, however, always seem to be in the
+majority with us, though our Canadian friends assure us of the
+irreproachable morals of this gay bird.</p>
+
+<p>Wherever there are clusters of pine or cedar trees, when there is a
+flock of pine grosbeaks in the neighborhood, you may expect to find a
+pair of birds diligently feeding upon the seeds and berries. No
+cheerful note escapes them as they persistently gormandize, and, if
+the truth must be confessed, they appear to be rather stupid and
+uninteresting, albeit they visit us at a time when we are most
+inclined to rapture over our bird visitors. They are said to have a
+deliciously sweet song in the nesting season. When, however, few
+except the Canadian <i>voyageurs</i> hear it.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="AMERICAN_CROSSBILL_220" id="AMERICAN_CROSSBILL_220"></a>
+<div class="caption2">American Crossbill<br />
+
+(<i>Loxia curvirostra minor</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: RED CROSSBILL<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_RED_CROSSBILL">226</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;General color Indian red, passing into brownish gray,
+with red tinge beneath. Wings (without bands), also tail,
+brown. Beak crossed at the tip.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;General color greenish yellow, with brownish tints.
+Dull-yellowish tints on head, throat, breast, and underneath.
+Wings and tail pale brown. Beak crossed at tip.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Pennsylvania to northern British America. West of
+Mississippi, range more southerly.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Irregular winter visitor. November. Sometimes
+resident until April.</div>
+
+<p>It is a rash statement to say that a bird is rare simply because you
+have never seen it in your neighborhood, for while you are
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg_221]</a></span>
+going out of the front door your <i>rara avis</i> may be eating the crumbs
+about your kitchen. Even with our eyes and ears constantly alert for
+some fresh bird excitement, our phlegmatic neighbor over the way may
+be enjoying a visit from a whole flock of the very bird we have been
+looking and listening for in vain all the year. The red crossbills are
+capricious little visitors, it is true, but by no means uncommon.</p>
+
+<p>About the size of an English sparrow, of a brick or Indian red color,
+for the most part, the peculiarity of its parrot-like beak is its
+certain mark of identification.</p>
+
+<p>Longfellow has rendered into verse the German legend of the crossbill,
+which tells that as the Saviour hung upon the cross, a little bird
+tried to pull out the nails that pierced His hands and feet, thus
+twisting its beak and staining its feathers with the blood.</p>
+
+<p>At first glance the birds would seem to be hampered by their crossed
+beaks in getting at the seeds in the pine cones&mdash;a superficial
+criticism when the thoroughness and admirable dexterity of their work
+are better understood.</p>
+
+<p>Various seeds of fruits, berries, and the buds of trees enlarge their
+bill of fare. They are said to be inordinately fond of salt. Mr.
+Romeyn B. Hough tells of a certain old ice-cream freezer that
+attracted flocks of crossbills one winter, as a salt-lick attracts
+deer. Whether the traditional salt that may have stuck to the bird's
+tail is responsible for its tameness is not related, but it is certain
+the crossbills, like most bird visitors from the far north, are
+remarkably gentle, friendly little birds. As they swing about the pine
+trees, parrot-fashion, with the help of their bill, calling out <i>kimp,
+kimp</i>, that sounds like the snapping of the pine cones on a sunny day,
+it often seems easily possible to catch them with the hand.</p>
+
+<a name="WHITE-WINGED_CROSSBILL_221" id="WHITE-WINGED_CROSSBILL_221"></a>
+<p>There is another species of crossbill, called the White-winged (<i>Loxia
+leucoptera</i>), that differs from the preceding chiefly in having two
+white bands across its wings and in being more rare.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="REDPOLL_222" id="REDPOLL_222"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg_222]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">The Redpoll<br />
+
+(<i>Acanthis linaria</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: REDPOLL LINNET; LITTLE SNOWBIRD; LESSER REDPOLL<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_REDPOLL">25</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;5.25 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+English sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;A rich crimson wash on head, neck, breast, and lower
+back, that is sometimes only a pink when we see the bird in
+midwinter. Grayish-brown, sparrowy feathers show underneath
+the red wash. Dusky wings and tail, the feathers more or less
+edged with whitish. Soiled white underneath; the sides with
+dusky streaks. Bill sharply pointed.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;More dingy than male, sides more heavily streaked,
+and having crimson only on the crown.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;An arctic bird that descends irregularly into the
+northern United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;An irregular winter visitor.</div>
+
+<p>"Ere long, amid the cold and powdery snow, as it were a fruit of the
+season, will come twittering a flock of delicate crimson-tinged birds,
+lesser redpolls, to sport and feed on the buds just ripe for them on
+the sunny side of a wood, shaking down the powdery snow there in their
+cheerful feeding, as if it were high midsummer to them." Thoreau's
+beautiful description of these tiny winter visitors, which should be
+read entire, shows the man in one of his most sympathetic, exalted
+moods, and it is the best brief characterization of the redpoll that
+we have.</p>
+
+<p>When the arctic cold becomes too cruel for even the snowbirds and
+crossbills to withstand, flocks of the sociable little redpolls flying
+southward are the merest specks in the sullen, gray sky, when they can
+be seen at all. So high do they keep that often they must pass above
+our heads without our knowing it. First we see a quantity of tiny
+dots, like a shake of pepper, in the cloud above, then the specks grow
+larger and larger, and finally the birds seem to drop from the sky
+upon some tall tree that they completely cover&mdash;a veritable cloudburst
+of birds. Without pausing to rest after the long journey, down they
+flutter into the weedy pastures with much cheerful twittering, to feed
+upon whatever seeds may be protruding through the snow. Every
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg_223]</a></span>
+action of a flock seems to be concerted, as if some rigid
+disciplinarian had drilled them, and yet no leader can be
+distinguished in the merry company. When one flies, all fly; where one
+feeds, all feed, and by some subtle telepathy all rise at the
+identical instant from their feeding ground and cheerfully twitter in
+concert where they all alight at once. They are more easily disturbed
+than the goldfinches, that are often seen feeding with them in the
+lowlands; nevertheless, they quite often venture into our gardens and
+orchards, even in suburbs penetrated by the trolley-car.</p>
+
+<p>Usually in winter we hear only their lisping call-note; but if the
+birds linger late enough in the spring, when their "fancy lightly
+turns to thoughts of love," a gleeful, canary-like song comes from the
+naked branches, and we may know by it that the flock will soon
+disappear for their nesting grounds in the northern forests.</p>
+
+<div class="center">&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8226;</div>
+
+<p>The <a name="GREATER_REDPOLL_223" id="GREATER_REDPOLL_223"></a>Greater Redpoll (<i>Acanthis linaria rostrata</i>) may be distinguished
+from the foregoing species by its slightly larger size, darker upper
+parts, and shorter, stouter bill. But the notes, habits, and general
+appearance of both redpolls are so nearly identical that the birds are
+usually mistaken for each other.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="PURPLE_FINCH_223" id="PURPLE_FINCH_223"></a>
+<div class="caption2">Purple Finch<br />
+
+(<i>Carpodacus purpureus</i>) Finch family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: PURPLE LINNET<br />
+
+(Illustration facing p. <a href="#IMG_PURPLE_FINCH">226a</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;6 to 6.25 inches. About the same size as the English
+sparrow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;<i>Until two years old</i>, sparrow-like in appearance like
+the female, but with olive-yellow on chin and lower back.
+<i>Afterwards</i> entire body suffused with a bright raspberry-red,
+deepest on head, lower back, and breast, and other parts only
+faintly washed with this color. More brown on back; and wings
+and tail, which are dusky, have some reddish-brown feathers.
+Underneath grayish white. Bill heavy. Tail forked.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Grayish olive-brown above; whitish below; finely
+streaked everywhere with very dark brown, like a sparrow.
+Sides of breast have arrow-shaped marks. Wings and tail
+darkest.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Columbia River eastward to Atlantic,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg_224]</a></span>
+and from Mexico northward to Manitoba. Most common in Middle States
+and New England. Winters south of Pennsylvania.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. November. Common summer resident. Rarely
+individuals winter at the north.</div>
+
+<p>In this "much be-sparrowed country" of ours familiarity is apt to
+breed contempt for any bird that looks sparrowy, in which case one of
+the most delicious songsters we have might easily be overlooked. It is
+not until the purple finch reaches maturity in his second year that
+his plumage takes on the raspberry-red tints that some ornithologists
+named purple. Oriental purple is our magenta, it is true, but not a
+raspberry shade. Before maturity, but for the yellow on his lower back
+and throat, he and his mate alike suggest a song-sparrow; and it is
+important to note their particularly heavy, rounded bills, with the
+tufts of feathers at the base, and their forked tails, to name them
+correctly. But the identification of the purple finch, after all,
+depends quite as much upon his song as his color. In March, when
+flocks of these birds come north, he has begun to sing a little; by
+the beginning of May he is desperately in love, and sudden, joyous
+peals of music from the elm or evergreen trees on the lawn enliven the
+garden. How could his little brown lady-love fail to be impressed with
+a suitor so gayly dressed, so tender and solicitous, so deliciously
+sweet-voiced? With fuller, richer song than the warbling vireo's,
+which Nuttall has said it resembles, a perfect ecstasy of love pours
+incessantly from his throat during the early summer days. There is a
+suggestion of the robin's love-song in his, but its copiousness,
+variety, and rapidity give it a character all its own.</p>
+
+<p>In some old, neglected hedge or low tree about the country-place a
+flat, grassy nest, lined with horsehair, contains four or five green
+eggs in June, and the old birds are devotion itself to each other, and
+soon to their young, sparrowy brood.</p>
+
+<p>But when parental duties are over, the finches leave our lawns and
+gardens to join flocks of their own kind in more remote orchards or
+woods, their favorite haunts. Their subdued warble may be heard during
+October and later, as if the birds were humming to themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Much is said of their fondness for fruit blossoms and tree buds, but
+the truth is that noxious insects and seeds of grain
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg_225]</a></span>
+constitute their food in summer, the berries of evergreens in winter.
+To a bird so gay of color, charming of voice, social, and trustful of
+disposition, surely a few blossoms might be spared without grudging.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="AMERICAN_ROBIN_225" id="AMERICAN_ROBIN_225"></a>
+<div class="caption2">The American Robin<br />
+
+(<i>Merula migratoria</i>) Thrush family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: RED-BREASTED OR MIGRATORY THRUSH;
+ROBIN-REDBREAST<br /><br />
+
+(Illustrations facing pp. <a href="#IMG_ROBIN_NEST">219</a> and <a href="#IMG_ROBIN">226b</a>)</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;10 inches.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Dull brownish olive-gray above. Head black; tail
+brownish black, with exterior feathers white at inner tip.
+Wings dark brownish. Throat streaked with black and white.
+White eyelids. Entire breast bright rusty red; whitish below
+the tail.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Duller and with paler breast, resembling the male in
+autumn.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;North America, from Mexico to arctic regions.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;March. October or November. Often resident
+throughout the year.</div>
+
+<p>It seems almost superfluous to write a line of description about a
+bird that is as familiar as a chicken; yet how can this nearest of our
+bird neighbors be passed without a reference? Probably he was the very
+first bird we learned to call by name.</p>
+
+<p>The early English colonists, who had doubtless been brought up, like
+the rest of us, on "The Babes in the Wood," named the bird after the
+only heroes in that melancholy tale; but in reality the American robin
+is a much larger bird than the English robin-redbreast and less
+brilliantly colored. John Burroughs calls him, of all our birds, "the
+most native and democratic."</p>
+
+<p>How the robin dominates birddom with his strong, aggressive
+personality! His voice rings out strong and clear in the early morning
+chorus, and, more tenderly subdued at twilight, it still rises above
+all the sleepy notes about him. Whether lightly tripping over the lawn
+after the "early worm," or rising with his sharp, quick cry of alarm,
+when startled, to his nest near by, every motion is decided, alert,
+and free. No pensive hermit of the woods, like his cousins, the
+thrushes, is this joyous vigorous "bird of the morning." Such a
+presence is inspiriting.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg_226]</a></span>
+Does any bird excel the robin in the great variety of his vocal
+expressions? Mr. Parkhurst, in his charming "Birds' Calendar,"
+says he knows of "no other bird that is able to give so many
+shades of meaning to a single note, running through the entire
+gamut of its possible feelings. From the soft and mellow quality,
+almost as coaxing as a dove's note, with which it encourages its
+young when just out of the nest, the tone, with minute gradations,
+becomes more vehement, and then harsh and with quickened
+reiteration, until it expresses the greatest intensity of a bird's
+emotions. Love, contentment, anxiety, exultation, rage&mdash;what
+other bird can throw such multifarious meaning into its tone?
+And herein the robin seems more nearly human than any of its
+kind."</p>
+
+<p>There is no one thing that attracts more birds about the house
+<ins title='Correction: was "that"'>than</ins> a
+drinking-dish&mdash;large enough for a bathtub as well; and certainly no
+bird delights in sprinkling the water over his back more than a robin,
+often aided in his ablutions by the spattering of the sparrows. But
+see to it that this drinking-dish is well raised above the reach of
+lurking cats.</p>
+
+<p>While the robin is a famous splasher, his neatness stops there. A
+robin's nest is notoriously dirty within, and so carelessly
+constructed of weed-stalks, grass, and mud, that a heavy summer shower
+brings more robins' nests to the ground than we like to contemplate.
+The color of the eggs, as every one knows, has given their name to the
+tint. Four is the number of eggs laid, and two broods are often reared
+in the same nest.</p>
+
+<p>Too much stress is laid on the mischief done by the robins in the
+cherry trees and strawberry patches, and too little upon the quantity
+of worms and insects they devour. Professor Treadwell, who
+experimented upon some young robins kept in captivity, learned that
+they ate sixty-eight earthworms daily&mdash;"that is, each bird ate
+forty-one per cent. more than its own weight in twelve hours! The
+length of these worms, if laid end to end, would be about fourteen
+feet. Man, at this rate, would eat about seventy pounds of flesh a
+day, and drink five or six gallons of water."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_RED_CROSSBILL" id="IMG_RED_CROSSBILL"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus308.png" width="445" height="629" alt="RED CROSSBILL" title="RED CROSSBILL" /><br />
+<span class="caption">RED CROSSBILL</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_PURPLE_FINCH" id="IMG_PURPLE_FINCH"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus309.png" width="414" height="603" alt="PURPLE FINCH" title="PURPLE FINCH" /><br />
+<span class="caption">PURPLE FINCH (Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure, Female)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_ROBIN" id="IMG_ROBIN"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus310.png" width="437" height="629" alt="ROBIN" title="ROBIN" /><br />
+<span class="caption">ROBIN</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="IMG_ORCHARD_ORIOLE" id="IMG_ORCHARD_ORIOLE"></a>
+<div class="fig_center">
+<img src="images/illus311.png" width="426" height="612" alt="ORCHARD ORIOLE" title="ORCHARD ORIOLE" /><br />
+<span class="caption">ORCHARD ORIOLE (Upper figure, adult male; middle figure, young male; Lower Figure, Female)</span>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="ORCHARD_ORIOLE_227" id="ORCHARD_ORIOLE_227"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg_227]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption2">Orchard Oriole<br />
+
+(<i>Icterus spurius</i>) Blackbird and Oriole family</div>
+
+<div class="caption3"><i>Called also</i>: ORCHARD STARLING; ORCHARD HANG-NEST</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Length</i>&mdash;7 to 7.3 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+robin.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Male</i>&mdash;Head, throat, upper back, tail, and part of wings
+black. Breast, rump, shoulders, under wing and tail coverts,
+and under parts bright reddish brown. Whitish-yellow markings
+on a few tail and wing feathers.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Female</i>&mdash;Head and upper parts olive, shading into brown;
+brighter on head and near tail. Back and wings dusky brown,
+with pale-buff shoulder-bars and edges of coverts. Throat
+black. Under parts olive, shading into yellow.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Range</i>&mdash;Canada to Central America. Common in temperate
+latitudes of the United States.</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><i>Migrations</i>&mdash;Early May. Middle of September. Common summer
+resident.</div>
+
+<p>With a more southerly range than the Baltimore oriole and less
+conspicuous coloring, the orchard oriole is not so familiar a bird in
+many Northern States, where, nevertheless, it is quite common enough
+to be classed among our would-be intimates. The orchard is not always
+as close to the house as this bird cares to venture; he will pursue an
+insect even to the piazza vines.</p>
+
+<p>His song, says John Burroughs, is like scarlet, "strong, intense,
+emphatic," but it is sweet and is more rapidly uttered than that of
+others of the family. It is ended for the season early in July.</p>
+
+<p>This oriole, too, builds a beautiful nest, not often pendent like the
+Baltimore's, but securely placed in the fork of a sturdy fruit tree,
+at a moderate height, and woven with skill and precision, like a
+basket. When the dried grasses from one of these nests were stretched
+and measured, all were found to be very nearly the same length,
+showing to what pains the little weaver had gone to make the nest neat
+and pliable, yet strong. Four cloudy-white eggs with dark-brown spots
+are usually found in the nest in June.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg_229]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="caption1">INDEX</div>
+
+<i>The figures in <b>black-faced type</b> indicate the page upon which
+the biography of the bird is given.</i><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+Accentor, Golden-crowned (<i>see</i> Ovenbird), <a href="#OVENBIRD_180">180</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Bellbird (<i>see</i> Wood Thrush), <a href="#WOOD_THRUSH_123">123</a>.<br />
+
+Bird, Blue (<i>see</i> Bluebird), <a href="#BLUEBIRD_99">99</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Butcher (<i>see</i> Northern Shrike), <a href="#NORTHERN_SHRIKE_87">87</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Butter (<i>see</i> Bobolink), <a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cardinal (<i>see</i> Cardinal Grosbeak), <a href="#CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215">215</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cedar, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#CEDAR_BIRD_144">144</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cow-pen (<i>see</i> Cowbird), <a href="#COWBIRD_49">49</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grass (<i>see</i> Vesper Sparrow), <a href="#VESPER_SPARROW_162">162</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grease (<i>see</i> Canada Jay), <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meadow (<i>see</i> Bobolink), <a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meat (<i>see</i> Canada Jay), <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Moose (<i>see</i> Canada Jay), <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Myrtle (<i>see</i> Myrtle Warbler), <a href="#MYRTLE_WARBLER_92">92</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Peabody (<i>see</i> White-throated Sparrow), <a href="#WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW_165">165</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Potato Bug (<i>see</i> Rose-breasted Grosbeak), <a href="#ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK_60">60</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thistle (<i>see</i> American Goldfinch), <a href="#AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190">190</a>.<br />
+
+Blackbird (<i>see</i> Rusty Blackbird), <a href="#RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46">46</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and Oriole family, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cow (<i>see</i> Cowbird), <a href="#COWBIRD_49">49</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Crow (<i>see</i> Purple Grackle), <a href="#PURPLE_GRACKLE_44">44</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-winged, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD_47">47</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rusty, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46">46</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Skunk (<i>see</i> Bobolink), <a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Swamp (<i>see</i> Red-winged Blackbird), <a href="#RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD_47">47</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Thrush (<i>see</i> Rusty Blackbird), <a href="#RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46">46</a>.<br />
+
+Black-cap (<i>see</i> Wilson's Warbler), <a href="#WILSONS_WARBLER_202">202</a>.<br />
+
+Bluebird, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BLUEBIRD_99">99</a></b>.<br />
+
+Bobolink, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a></b>.<br />
+
+Bull-bat (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Bullfinch, Pine (<i>see</i> Pine Grosbeak), <a href="#PINE_GROSBEAK_219">219</a>.<br />
+
+Bunting, Bay-winged (<i>see</i> Vesper Sparrow), <a href="#VESPER_SPARROW_162">162</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cow (<i>see</i> Cowbird), <a href="#COWBIRD_49">49</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Field (<i>see</i> Field Sparrow), <a href="#FIELD_SPARROW_152">152</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Indigo, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#INDIGO_BUNTING_101">101</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lapland Lark (<i>see</i> Lapland Longspur), <a href="#LAPLAND_LONGSPUR_148">148</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Savanna (<i>see</i> Savanna Sparrow), <a href="#SAVANNA_SPARROW_155">155</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Snow (<i>see</i> Snowflake), <a href="#SNOWFLAKE_59">59</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Towhee (<i>see</i> Chewink), <a href="#CHEWINK_58">58</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tree (<i>see</i> Tree Sparrow), <a href="#TREE_SPARROW_161">161</a>.<br />
+
+Buntings, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Camp Robber (<i>see</i> Canada Jay), <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>.<br />
+
+Canary, Wild (<i>see</i> American Goldfinch), <a href="#AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190">190</a>.<br />
+
+Cardinal (<i>see</i> Cardinal Grosbeak), <a href="#CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215">215</a>.<br />
+
+Carrion-bird, Canadian (<i>see</i> Canada Jay), <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>·<br />
+
+Catbird, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#CATBIRD_80">80</a></b>.<br />
+
+Catbirds, the, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+
+Cedar Bird (<i>see</i> Bird, Cedar), <a href="#CEDAR_BIRD_144">144</a>.<br />
+
+Chat, Polyglot (<i>see</i> Yellow-breasted Chat), <a href="#YELLOW-BREASTED_CHAT_206">206</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-breasted, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#YELLOW-BREASTED_CHAT_206">206</a></b>.<br />
+
+Chebec (<i>see</i> Least Flycatcher), <a href="#LEAST_FLYCATCHER_75">75</a>.<br />
+
+Cherry-bird (<i>see</i> Cedar Bird), <a href="#CEDAR_BIRD_144">144</a>.<br />
+
+Chewink, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.<br />
+
+Chickadee, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#CHICKADEE_76">76</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family (<i>see</i> Titmouse family), <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br />
+
+Chip-bird (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Chipping Sparrow</a>), <a href="#CHIPPING_SPARROW_149">149</a>.<br />
+
+Chipper, Arctic (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Tree Sparrow</a>), <a href="#TREE_SPARROW_161">161</a>.<br />
+
+Chippy (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Chipping Sparrow</a>), <a href="#CHIPPING_SPARROW_149">149</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meadow (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Seaside Sparrow</a>), <a href="#SEASIDE_SPARROW_156">156</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Winter (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Tree Sparrow</a>), <a href="#TREE_SPARROW_161">161</a>.<br />
+
+Clape (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Flicker</a>), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Corn Thief (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Common Crow</a>), <a href="#COMMON_CROW_41">41</a>.<br />
+
+Cowbird, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#COWBIRD_49">49</a></b>.<br />
+
+Creeper, Brown, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#BROWN_CREEPER_145">145</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.<br />
+
+Crossbill, American, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <b><a href="#AMERICAN_CROSSBILL_220">220</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red (<i>see</i> American Crossbill), <a href="#AMERICAN_CROSSBILL_220">220</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-winged Red, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <b><a href="#WHITE-WINGED_CROSSBILL_221">221</a></b>.<br />
+
+Crossbills, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br />
+
+Crow and Jay family, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
+
+Crow, Common, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#COMMON_CROW_41">41</a></b>.
+   <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg_230]</a></span><br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fish, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#FISH_CROW_42">42</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rain (<i>see</i> Black-billed Cuckoo) <a href="#BLACK-BILLED_CUCKOO_139">139</a>;
+   also Yellow-billed Cuckoo, <a href="#YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO_141">141</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rusty (<i>see</i> Rusty Blackbird), <a href="#RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46">46</a>.<br />
+
+Cuckoo family, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-billed, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BLACK-BILLED_CUCKOO_139">139</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-billed, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#YELLOW-BILLED_CUCKOO_141">141</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Devil Downhead (<i>see</i> <a href="#">White-breasted Nuthatch</a>), <a href="#WHITE-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_84">84</a>.<br />
+
+Dove, Carolina (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Mourning Dove</a>), <b><a href="#MOURNING_DOVE_108">108</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family (see Pigeon and Dove family), <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mourning, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#MOURNING_DOVE_108">108</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Turtle (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Mourning Dove</a>), <a href="#MOURNING_DOVE_108">108</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Finch family, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ferruginous (<i>see</i> Fox Sparrow), <a href="#FOX_SPARROW_153">153</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Foxy (<i>see</i> Fox Sparrow), <a href="#FOX_SPARROW_153">153</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gold (<i>see</i> Goldfinch), <a href="#AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190">190</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grass (<i>see</i> Vesper Sparrow), <a href="#VESPER_SPARROW_162">162</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pine (<i>see</i> Pine Siskin), <a href="#PINE_SISKIN_146">146</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Purple, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#PURPLE_FINCH_223">223</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seaside (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Seaside Sparrow</a>), <a href="#SEASIDE_SPARROW_156">156</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Swamp (<i>see</i> Swamp Song Sparrow), <a href="#SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160">160</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Towhee Ground (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Chewink</a>), <a href="#CHEWINK_58">58</a>.<br />
+
+Firebird (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Scarlet Tanager</a>), <a href="#SCARLET_TANAGER_218">218</a>.<br />
+
+Flicker, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a></b>.<br />
+
+Flycatcher, Acadian, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#ACADIAN_FLYCATCHER_182">182</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Canadian (<i>see</i> Canadian Warbler), <a href="#CANADIAN_WARBLER_194">194</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Crested (<i>see</i> Great Crested Flycatcher), <a href="#CRESTED_FLYCATCHER_72">72</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Dusky (<i>see</i> Ph&#339;be), <a href="#PHOEBE_71">71</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Great Crested, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#CRESTED_FLYCATCHER_72">72</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Least, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#LEAST_FLYCATCHER_75">75</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Olive-sided, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#OLIVE-SIDED_FLYCATCHER_74">74</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Say's, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <b><a href="#SAYS_FLYCATCHER_72">72</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Small Green-crested (<i>see</i> Acadian Flycatcher), <a href="#ACADIAN_FLYCATCHER_182">182</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sylvan (<i>see</i> Blue-gray Gnatcatcher), <a href="#BLUE-GRAY_GNATCATCHER_110">110</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tyrant (<i>see</i> Kingbird), <a href="#KINGBIRD_68">68</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wilson's (<i>see</i> Wilson's Warbler), <a href="#WILSONS_WARBLER_202">202</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-bellied, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#YELLOW-BELLIED_FLYCATCHER_183">183</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BLUE-GRAY_GNATCATCHER_110">110</a></b>.<br />
+
+Gnatcatcher family, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br />
+
+Goatsucker family, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.<br />
+Long-winged (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Goldcrest, Golden-crowned (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Golden-crowned Kinglet</a>), <a href="#GOLDEN-CROWNED_KINGLET_174">174</a>.<br />
+
+Goldfinch, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190">190</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;European, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.<br />
+
+Grackle, Bronzed, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BRONZED_GRACKLE_46">46</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keel-tailed (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Purple Grackle</a>),
+   <a href="#PURPLE_GRACKLE_44">44</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Purple, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#PURPLE_GRACKLE_44">44</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rusty (<i>see</i> Rusty Blackbird), <a href="#RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46">46</a>.<br />
+
+Grasel (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Chewink)</a>, <a href="#CHEWINK_58">58</a>.<br />
+
+Grass-bird, Red (<i>see</i> Swamp Song Sparrow), <a href="#SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160">160</a>.<br />
+
+Greenlet family (<i>see</i> Vireo family), <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.<br />
+
+Grosbeak, Blue, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BLUE_GROSBEAK_105">105</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cardinal, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215">215</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Evening, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#EVENING_GROSBEAK_192">192</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pine, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#PINE_GROSBEAK_219">219</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rose-breasted, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#ROSE-BREASTED_GROSBEAK_60">60</a></b>.<br />
+
+Grosbeaks, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Hair-bird (<i>see</i> Chipping Sparrow), <a href="#CHIPPING_SPARROW_149">149</a>.<br />
+
+Halcyon (<i>see</i> Belted Kingfisher), <a href="#BELTED_KINGFISHER_102">102</a>.<br />
+
+Hang-nest (<i>see</i> Baltimore Oriole), <a href="#BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211">211</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orchard (<i>see</i> Orchard Oriole), <a href="#ORCHARD_ORIOLE_227">227</a>.<br />
+
+Hawk, Mosquito (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Heron, Venison (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Canada Jay</a>), <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>.<br />
+
+High-hole or High-holder (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Humming-bird family, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ruby-throated, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#RUBY-THROATED_HUMMING-BIRD_170">170</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Indigo Bird (<i>see</i> Indigo Bunting), <a href="#INDIGO_BUNTING_101">101</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Jay, Blue, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BLUE_JAY_104">104</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Canada, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family (<i>see</i> Crow and Jay family), <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
+
+Junco, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#JUNCO_83">83</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Kingbird, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#KINGBIRD_68">68</a></b>.<br />
+
+Kingfisher, Belted, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BELTED_KINGFISHER_102">102</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.<br />
+
+Kinglet family, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden-crowned, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>. 28, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#GOLDEN-CROWNED_KINGLET_174">174</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ruby-crowned, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#RUBY-CROWNED_KINGLET_172">172</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Lark, Brown or Red (<i>see</i> American Pipit), <a href="#AMERICAN_PIPIT_135">135</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Field (<i>see</i> Meadowlark), <a href="#MEADOWLARK_132">132</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Horned, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#HORNED_LARK_134">134</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meadow (<i>see</i> Meadowlark), <a href="#MEADOWLARK_132">132</a>.
+   <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg_231]</a></span><br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oldfield (<i>see</i> Meadowlark), <a href="#MEADOWLARK_132">132</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pine (<i>see</i> Pine Siskin), <a href="#PINE_SISKIN_146">146</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Prairie (<i>see</i> Western Meadowlark), <a href="#WESTERN_MEADOWLARK_133">133</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Prairie Horned, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <b><a href="#PRAIRIE_HORNED_LARK_135">135</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Purple (<i>see</i> Purple Finch), <a href="#PURPLE_FINCH_223">223</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Redpoll (<i>see</i> Redpoll), <a href="#REDPOLL_222">222</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shore (<i>see</i> Horned Lark), <a href="#HORNED_LARK_134">134</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Snow (<i>see</i> <a href="#">Snowflake</a>), <a href="#SNOWFLAKE_59">59</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tit (<i>see</i> American Pipit), <a href="#AMERICAN_PIPIT_135">135</a>.<br />
+
+Linnets, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.<br />
+
+Longspur, Lapland, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#LAPLAND_LONGSPUR_148">148</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Smith's Painted, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#SMITHS_PAINTED_LONGSPUR_147">147</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Maize Thief (<i>see</i> Purple Grackle), <a href="#PURPLE_GRACKLE_44">44</a>.<br />
+
+Martin, Bee (<i>see</i> Kingbird), <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Purple, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#PURPLE_MARTIN_48">48</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sand (<i>see</i> Bank Swallow), <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.<br />
+
+Mavis (<i>see</i> Brown Thrasher), <a href="#BROWN_THRASHER_121">121</a>.<br />
+
+Maybird (<i>see</i> Bobolink), <a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a>.<br />
+
+Meadowlark, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#MEADOWLARK_132">132</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Western, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WESTERN_MEADOWLARK_133">133</a></b>.<br />
+
+Mocking-bird, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#MOCKING-BIRD_81">81</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Brown (<i>see</i> Brown Thrasher), <a href="#BROWN_THRASHER_121">121</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;French (<i>see</i> Brown Thrasher), <a href="#BROWN_THRASHER_121">121</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.<br />
+
+Mocking-birds, the, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Nighthawk, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a></b>.<br />
+
+Nightingale, European, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Virginia (<i>see</i> Cardinal Grosbeak), <a href="#CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215">215</a>.<br />
+
+Nightjar (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Nine-killer (<i>see</i> Northern Shrike), <a href="#NORTHERN_SHRIKE_87">87</a>.<br />
+
+Nuthatch, Canada (<i>see</i> Red-breasted Nuthatch), <a href="#RED-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_85">85</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-breasted, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#RED-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_85">85</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-breasted, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WHITE-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_84">84</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Oriole, Baltimore, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211">211</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Brown-headed (<i>see</i> Cowbird), <a href="#COWBIRD_49">49</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family (<i>see</i> Blackbird and Oriole family), <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden (<i>see</i> Baltimore Oriole), <a href="#BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211">211</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orchard, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#ORCHARD_ORIOLE_227">227</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-winged (<i>see</i> Red-winged Blackbird), <a href="#RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD_47">47</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rusty (<i>see</i> Rusty Blackbird), <a href="#RUSTY_BLACKBIRD_46">46</a>.<br />
+
+Ortolan, American (<i>see</i> Bobolink), <a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a>.<br />
+
+Ovenbird, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#OVENBIRD_180">180</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Pewee, Bridge (<i>see</i> Ph&#339;be), <a href="#PHOEBE_71">71</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Small (<i>see</i> Acadian Flycatcher), <a href="#ACADIAN_FLYCATCHER_182">182</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Water (<i>see</i> Ph&#339;be), <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wood, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#WOOD_PEWEE_69">69</a></b>.<br />
+
+Ph&#339;be, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#PHOEBE_71">71</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Say's, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.<br />
+
+Pigeon and Dove family, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.<br />
+
+Pipit, American, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#AMERICAN_PIPIT_135">135</a></b>.<br />
+
+Pipits, the, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+
+Piramidig (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Pisk (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Pocket-bird (<i>see</i> Scarlet Tanager), <a href="#SCARLET_TANAGER_218">218</a>.<br />
+
+Preacher, the (<i>see</i> Red-eyed Vireo), <a href="#RED-EYED_VIREO_176">176</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Raven, American, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#AMERICAN_RAVEN_43">43</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Northern (<i>see</i> American Raven), <a href="#AMERICAN_RAVEN_43">43</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-necked, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<br />
+
+R&#233;collet (<i>see</i> Cedar Bird), <a href="#CEDAR_BIRD_144">144</a>.<br />
+
+Redbird, Black-winged (<i>see</i> Scarlet Tanager), <a href="#SCARLET_TANAGER_218">218</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Crested (<i>see</i> Cardinal Grosbeak), <a href="#CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215">215</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<i>see</i> Summer Tanager), <a href="#SUMMER_TANAGER_216">216</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Smooth-headed (<i>see</i> Summer Tanager), <a href="#SUMMER_TANAGER_216">216</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Virginia (<i>see</i> Cardinal Grosbeak), <a href="#CARDINAL_GROSBEAK_215">215</a>.<br />
+
+Redhead (<i>see</i> Red-headed Woodpecker) 53.<br />
+
+Redpoll, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#REDPOLL_222">222</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Greater, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#GREATER_REDPOLL_223">223</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lesser (<i>see</i> Redpoll), <b><a href="#REDPOLL_222">222</a></b>.<br />
+
+Redstart, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#REDSTART_210">210</a></b>.<br />
+
+Reedbird (<i>see</i> Bobolink), <a href="#BOBOLINK_61">61</a>.<br />
+
+Robin, American, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <b><a href="#AMERICAN_ROBIN_225">225</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blue (<i>see</i> Bluebird), <a href="#BLUEBIRD_99">99</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Canada (<i>see</i> Cedar Bird), <a href="#CEDAR_BIRD_144">144</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;English (<i>see</i> Baltimore Oriole), <a href="#BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211">211</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden (<i>see</i> Baltimore Oriole), <a href="#BALTIMORE_ORIOLE_211">211</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ground (<i>see</i> Chewink), <a href="#CHEWINK_58">58</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Redbreast (<i>see</i> American Robin), <a href="#AMERICAN_ROBIN_225">225</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wood (<i>see</i> Wood Thrush), <a href="#WOOD_THRUSH_123">123</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Sapsucker (<i>see</i> Yellow-bellied Woodpecker), <a href="#YELLOW-BELLIED_WOODPECKER_57">57</a>.<br />
+
+Shrike family, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Loggerhead, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#LOGGERHEAD_SHRIKE_86">86</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Northern, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#NORTHERN_SHRIKE_87">87</a></b>.<br />
+
+Silktail (<i>see</i> Bohemian Waxwing), <a href="#BOHEMIAN_WAXWING_88">88</a>.<br />
+
+Siskin, Pine, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#PINE_SISKIN_146">146</a></b>.<br />
+
+Skylark, European, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.<br />
+
+Snowbird (<i>see</i> Junco), <a href="#JUNCO_83">83</a>; also Snowflake, <a href="#SNOWFLAKE_59">59</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lapland (<i>see</i> Lapland Longspur), <a href="#LAPLAND_LONGSPUR_148">148</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Little (<i>see</i> Redpoll), <a href="#REDPOLL_222">222</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Slate-colored (<i>see</i> Junco), <a href="#JUNCO_83">83</a>.<br />
+
+Snowflake, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#SNOWFLAKE_59">59</a></b>.
+   <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg_232]</a></span><br />
+
+Sparrow, Bush (<i>see</i> Field Sparrow), <a href="#FIELD_SPARROW_152">152</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Canada (see Tree Sparrow), <a href="#TREE_SPARROW_161">161</a>;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;also White-throated Sparrow, <a href="#WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW_165">165</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chipping, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#CHIPPING_SPARROW_149">149</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;English, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <b><a href="#ENGLISH_SPARROW_151">151</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Field, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <b><a href="#FIELD_SPARROW_152">152</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fox, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#FOX_SPARROW_153">153</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fox-colored (<i>see</i> Fox Sparrow), <b><a href="#FOX_SPARROW_153">153</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Grasshopper, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#GRASSHOPPER_SPARROW_154">154</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;House (<i>see</i> English Sparrow), <a href="#ENGLISH_SPARROW_151">151</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Marsh (<i>see</i> Swamp Song Sparrow), <a href="#SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160">160</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Savanna, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#SAVANNA_SPARROW_155">155</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Seaside, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#SEASIDE_SPARROW_156">156</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sharp-tailed, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#SHARP-TAILED_SPARROW_157">157</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Social (<i>see</i> Chipping Sparrow), <a href="#CHIPPING_SPARROW_149">149</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Song, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#SONG_SPARROW_158">158</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Swamp (<i>see</i> Swamp Song Sparrow), <a href="#SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160">160</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Swamp Song, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#SWAMP_SONG_SPARROW_160">160</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tree, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#TREE_SPARROW_161">161</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Vesper, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#VESPER_SPARROW_162">162</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-crowned, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WHITE-CROWNED_SPARROW_164">164</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-throated, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#WHITE-THROATED_SPARROW_165">165</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wood (<i>see</i> Field Sparrow), <a href="#FIELD_SPARROW_152">152</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-winged (<i>see</i> Grasshopper Sparrow), <a href="#GRASSHOPPER_SPARROW_154">154</a>.<br />
+
+Sparrows, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br />
+
+Starling, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orchard Starling, <a href="#Page_227">227</a><br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-winged (<i>see</i> Red-winged Blackbird), <a href="#RED-WINGED_BLACKBIRD_47">47</a>.<br />
+
+Swallow, Bank, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BANK_SWALLOW_143">143</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Barn, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#BARN_SWALLOW_106">106</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chimney (<i>see</i> Chimney Swift), <a href="#CHIMNEY_SWIFT_67">67</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cliff, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#CLIFF_SWALLOW_107">107</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Crescent (<i>see</i> Cliff Swallow), <a href="#CLIFF_SWALLOW_107">107</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eave (<i>see</i> Cliff Swallow), <a href="#CLIFF_SWALLOW_107">107</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rocky Mountain (<i>see</i> Cliff Swallow), <a href="#CLIFF_SWALLOW_107">107</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Rough-winged, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#ROUGH-WINGED_SWALLOW_144">144</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Sand (<i>see</i> Bank Swallow), <a href="#BANK_SWALLOW_143">143</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tree, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#TREE_SWALLOW_169">169</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-bellied (<i>see</i> Tree Swallow), <a href="#TREE_SWALLOW_169">169</a>.<br />
+
+Swamp Angel (<i>see</i> Hermit Thrush), <a href="#HERMIT_THRUSH_125">125</a>.<br />
+
+Swift, American (<i>see</i> Chimney Swift), <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.<br />
+
+Swift, Chimney, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#CHIMNEY_SWIFT_67">67</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Tanager, Canada (<i>see</i> Scarlet Tanager), <a href="#SCARLET_TANAGER_218">218</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#SCARLET_TANAGER_218">218</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Summer, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#SUMMER_TANAGER_216">216</a></b>.<br />
+
+Teacher, the (<i>see</i> Ovenbird), <a href="#OVENBIRD_180">180</a>.<br />
+
+Thrasher, Brown, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BROWN_THRASHER_121">121</a></b>.<br />
+
+Thrashers, the, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+
+Thrush, Alice's, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#ALICES_THRUSH_126">126</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Aquatic (<i>see</i> Northern Water Thrush), <a href="#NORTHERN_WATER_THRUSH_129">129</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-capped (<i>see</i> Catbird), <a href="#CATBIRD_80">80</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Brown (<i>see</i> Brown Thrasher), <a href="#BROWN_THRASHER_121">121</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gray-cheeked (<i>see</i> Alice's Thrush), <a href="#ALICES_THRUSH_126">126</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden-crowned (<i>see</i> Ovenbird), <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ground (<i>see</i> Brown Thrasher), <a href="#BROWN_THRASHER_121">121</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hermit, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#HERMIT_THRUSH_125">125</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Little (<i>see</i> Hermit Thrush), <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<ins title='Correction: last entry was "128"'>Louisiana Water</ins>,
+   <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#LOUISIANA_WATER_THRUSH_128">128</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York (<i>see</i> Northern Water Thrush), <a href="#NORTHERN_WATER_THRUSH_129">129</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<ins title='Correction: last entry was "126"'>Northern Water</ins>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#NORTHERN_WATER_THRUSH_129">129</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Olive-backed, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#OLIVE-BACKED_THRUSH_127">127</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red (<i>see</i> Brown Thrasher), <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-breasted or Migratory (<i>see</i> American Robin), <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Song (<i>see</i> Wood Thrush), <a href="#WOOD_THRUSH_123">123</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Swainson's (<i>see</i> Olive-backed Thrush), <a href="#OLIVE-BACKED_THRUSH_127">127</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tawny (<i>see</i> Wilson's Thrush), <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wilson's, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#VEERY_122">122</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wood, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#WOOD_THRUSH_123">123</a></b>.<br />
+
+Tit, Black-capped (<i>see</i> Chickadee), <a href="#CHICKADEE_76">76</a>.<br />
+
+Titlark (<i>see</i> American Pipit), <a href="#AMERICAN_PIPIT_135">135</a>.<br />
+
+Titmouse Black-capped (<i>see</i> Chickadee), <a href="#CHICKADEE_76">76</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Crested (<i>see</i> Tufted Titmouse), <a href="#TUFTED_TITMOUSE_78">78</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Tufted, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#TUFTED_TITMOUSE_78">78</a></b>.<br />
+
+Tomtit, Crested (<i>see</i> Tufted Titmouse), <a href="#TUFTED_TITMOUSE_78">78</a>.<br />
+
+Torch-bird (<i>see</i> Blackburnian Warbler), <a href="#BLACKBURNIAN_WARBLER_209">209</a>.<br />
+
+Towhee (<i>see</i> Chewink), <a href="#CHEWINK_58">58</a>.<br />
+
+Tree-mouse (<i>see</i> White-breasted Nuthatch), <a href="#WHITE-BREASTED_NUTHATCH_84">84</a>.<br />
+
+Tricolor (<i>see</i> Red-headed Woodpecker), <a href="#RED-HEADED_WOODPECKER_53">53</a>.<br />
+<br />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg_233]</a></span></p>
+
+Veery (see Wilson's Thrush), <a href="#VEERY_122">122</a>.<br />
+
+Vireo, Blue-headed (<i>see</i> Solitary Vireo), <a href="#SOLITARY_VIREO_175">175</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-eyed, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#RED-EYED_VIREO_176">176</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Solitary, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#SOLITARY_VIREO_175">175</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Warbling, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WARBLING_VIREO_179">179</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White-eyed, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#WHITE-EYED_VIREO_177">177</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-throated, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#YELLOW-THROATED_VIREO_189">189</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Wagtail, Aquatic Wood (<i>see</i> Northern Water Thrush), <a href="#NORTHERN_WATER_THRUSH_129">129</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden-crowned (<i>see</i> Ovenbird), <a href="#OVENBIRD_180">180</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wood (<i>see</i> Ovenbird), <a href="#OVENBIRD_180">180</a>.<br />
+
+Wagtails, the, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.<br />
+
+Wake-up (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Warbler, Bay-breasted, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#BAY-BREASTED_WARBLER_90">90</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-and-white Creeping, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BLACK-AND-WHITE_CREEPING_WARBLER_64">64</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-and-yellow (<i>see</i> Magnolia Warbler), <a href="#MAGNOLIA_WARBLER_197">197</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blackburnian, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#BLACKBURNIAN_WARBLER_209">209</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-masked Ground (<i>see</i> Maryland Yellowthroat), <a href="#MARYLAND_YELLOWTHROAT_207">207</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blackpoll, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <b><a href="#BLACKPOLL_WARBLER_63">63</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-throated Blue, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#BLACK-THROATED_BLUE_WARBLER_95">95</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Black-throated Green, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <b><a href="#BLACK-THROATED_GREEN_WARBLER_184">184</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bloody-sided (<i>see</i> Chestnut-sided Warbler),
+   <a href="#CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_90">90</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blue-headed Yellow-rumped (<i>see</i> Magnolia Warbler), <a href="#MAGNOLIA_WARBLER_197">197</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blue-winged, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <b><a href="#BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER_193">193</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blue-winged Yellow (<i>see</i> Blue-winged Warbler),
+   <a href="#BLUE-WINGED_WARBLER_193">193</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Blue Yellow-backed (<i>see</i> Parula Warbler), <a href="#PARULA_WARBLER_94">94</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Canadian, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <b><a href="#CANADIAN_WARBLER_194">194</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Chestnut-sided, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#CHESTNUT-SIDED_WARBLER_90">90</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden (<i>see</i> Yellow Warbler), <a href="#YELLOW_WARBLER_204">204</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden-winged, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#GOLDEN-WINGED_WARBLER_91">91</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Green Black-capped (<i>see</i> Wilson's Warbler), <a href="#WILSONS_WARBLER_202">202</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hemlock (<i>see</i> Blackburnian Warbler), <a href="#BLACKBURNIAN_WARBLER_209">209</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hooded, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#HOODED_WARBLER_195">195</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kentucky, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <b><a href="#KENTUCKY_WARBLER_196">196</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Magnolia, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <b><a href="#MAGNOLIA_WARBLER_197">197</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mourning, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <b><a href="#MOURNING_WARBLER_198">198</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mourning Ground (<i>see</i> Mourning Warbler), <a href="#MOURNING_WARBLER_198">198</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Myrtle, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <b><a href="#MYRTLE_WARBLER_92">92</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nashville, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <b><a href="#NASHVILLE_WARBLER_199">199</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orange-throated (<i>see</i> Blackburnian Warbler),
+   <a href="#BLACKBURNIAN_WARBLER_209">209</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Palm, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <b><a href="#PALM_WARBLER_204">204</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Parula, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#PARULA_WARBLER_94">94</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pine, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#PINE_WARBLER_200">200</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pine Creeping (<i>see</i> Pine Warbler), <a href="#PINE_WARBLER_200">200</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Prairie, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#PRAIRIE_WARBLER_201">201</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Redpoll (<i>see</i> Palm Warbler), <a href="#PALM_WARBLER_204">204</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ruby-crowned (<i>see</i> Ruby-crowned Kinglet),
+   <a href="#RUBY-CROWNED_KINGLET_172">172</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Spotted (<i>see</i> Magnolia Warbler), <a href="#MAGNOLIA_WARBLER_197">197</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Spotted Canadian (<i>see</i> Canadian Warbler), <a href="#CANADIAN_WARBLER_194">194</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Wilson's, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WILSONS_WARBLER_202">202</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Worm-eating, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#WORM-EATING_WARBLER_181">181</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#YELLOW_WARBLER_204">204</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-crowned (<i>see</i> Myrtle Warbler), <a href="#MYRTLE_WARBLER_92">92</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow Palm (<i>see</i> Yellow Redpoll Warbler), <a href="#YELLOW_REDPOLL_WARBLER_203">203</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow Redpoll, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <b><a href="#YELLOW_REDPOLL_WARBLER_203">203</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-rumped (<i>see</i> Myrtle Warbler), <a href="#MYRTLE_WARBLER_92">92</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-tailed (<i>see</i> Redstart), <a href="#REDSTART_210">210</a>.<br />
+
+Waxwing, Black-throated (<i>see</i> Bohemian Waxwing), <a href="#BOHEMIAN_WAXWING_88">88</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bohemian, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#BOHEMIAN_WAXWING_88">88</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Cedar (<i>see</i> Cedar Bird), <a href="#CEDAR_BIRD_144">144</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lapland (<i>see</i> Bohemian Waxwing), <a href="#BOHEMIAN_WAXWING_88">88</a>.<br />
+
+Whisky Jack or John (<i>see</i> Canada Jay) <a href="#CANADA_JAY_79">79</a>.<br />
+
+Whitebird (<i>see</i> Snowflake), <a href="#SNOWFLAKE_59">59</a>.<br />
+
+Whippoorwill, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WHIPPOORWILL_136">136</a></b>.<br />
+
+Will-o'-the-Wisp (<i>see</i> Nighthawk), <a href="#NIGHTHAWK_138">138</a>.<br />
+
+Woodpecker, Downy, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#DOWNY_WOODPECKER_55">55</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Golden-winged (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hairy, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <b><a href="#HAIRY_WOODPECKER_54">54</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pigeon (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Red-headed, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>,
+   <b><a href="#RED-HEADED_WOODPECKER_53">53</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-bellied, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <b><a href="#YELLOW-BELLIED_WOODPECKER_57">57</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Yellow-shafted (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Wood Warbler family, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <b><a href="#WOOD_WARBLER_FAMILY_35">35</a></b>.<br />
+
+Wren, Carolina, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <b><a href="#CAROLINA_WREN_116">116</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;family, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Fiery-crowned (<i>see</i> Golden-crowned Kinglet), <a href="#GOLDEN-CROWNED_KINGLET_174">174</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;House, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#HOUSE_WREN_115">115</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Long-billed Marsh, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <b><a href="#LONG-BILLED_MARSH_WREN_119">119</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mocking (<i>see</i> Carolina Wren), <a href="#CAROLINA_WREN_116">116</a>.
+   <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg_234]</a></span><br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ruby-crowned (<i>see</i> Ruby-crowned Kinglet),
+   <a href="#RUBY-CROWNED_KINGLET_172">172</a>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Short-billed Marsh, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#SHORT-BILLED_MARSH_WREN_120">120</a></b>.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Winter, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,
+   <b><a href="#WINTER_WREN_117">117</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+
+Yarup (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Yellowbird (<i>see</i> <a href="#AMERICAN_GOLDFINCH_190">American Goldfinch</a>) 190.<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Summer (<i>see</i> Yellow Warbler), <a href="#YELLOW_WARBLER_204">204</a>.<br />
+
+Yellowhammer (<i>see</i> Flicker), <a href="#FLICKER_130">130</a>.<br />
+
+Yellow Poll (<i>see</i> Yellow Warbler), <a href="#YELLOW_WARBLER_204">204</a>.<br />
+
+Yellowthroat, Maryland, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>,
+   <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <b><a href="#MARYLAND_YELLOWTHROAT_207">207</a></b>.<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="trans_notes"> <!-- Start of Transcriber's Notes -->
+<a name="Typos" id="Typos"></a>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a href="#TOC"><br />[TOC&nbsp;&#8593;]</a></span></p>
+<div class="caption2">Transcriber's Notes</div>
+
+<p>With the exception of the correction detailed below, the text is a
+transcription of the original printed book. Several minor corrections
+were made where punctuation was missing (comma or period) or
+formatting differed from that used for similar sections elsewhere.
+Several forms of the verb travel appear with an alternative spelling
+than is common in the present era. For example, travelled and
+travelling are used. The book's images were moved so that
+they are between the descriptive passages rather than interrupt the
+"flow" of the text by just moving them between paragraphs as is
+typically done.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="center">
+<table summary="Typos">
+<tr><td class="bb text_lf">Page</td><td class="bb text_lf">Correction</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="center">v</td><td class="text_lf">COLORED PLATES &#8594; COLOURED PLATES<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;and page number &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;xi &#8594; xviii</td></tr>
+<tr><td>162</td><td class="text_lf">Pooc&#339;tes &#8594; Po&#339;cetes</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="center">226</td><td class="text_lf">that &#8594; than</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="center">229</td><td class="text_lf">Vesper Sparrow &#8594; White-throated</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="center">232</td><td class="text_lf">Louisiana Water Thrush:&nbsp;125 &#8594; 128</td></tr>
+<tr><td class="center">232</td><td class="text_lf">Northern Water Thrush:&nbsp;&nbsp;126 &#8594; 129</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+</div> <!-- End of Transcriber's Notes -->
+</div><!-- End Book -->
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Neighbors, by Neltje Blanchan
+
+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 Neighbors
+       An Introductory Acquaintance with One Hundred and Fifity
+       Birds Commonly Found in the Gardens, Meadows, and Woods
+       About Our Homes
+
+Author: Neltje Blanchan
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2011 [EBook #37735]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BIRD NEIGHBORS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tom Cosmas and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: GOLDFINCH]
+
+
+  BIRD NEIGHBORS. AN
+  INTRODUCTORY ACQUAINTANCE
+  WITH ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY
+  BIRDS COMMONLY FOUND IN
+  THE GARDENS, MEADOWS, AND
+  WOODS ABOUT OUR HOMES
+
+  BY
+  NELTJE BLANCHAN
+
+  WITH INTRODUCTION BY
+  JOHN BURROUGHS
+
+  WITH MANY PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS
+  IN COLOR AND IN BLACK AND WHITE
+
+  [Printer's Logo]
+
+  GARDEN CITY  NEW YORK
+  DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
+  1923
+
+
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1904, 1922, BY
+  DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY
+  DOUBLEDAY & MCCLURE COMPANY
+
+  COLOURED PLATES COPYRIGHTED, 1897, BY
+  THE NATURE STUDY PUBLISHING COMPANY
+  CHICAGO, ILL.
+
+  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION
+  INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN
+
+  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES
+  AT
+  THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+
+  INTRODUCTION BY JOHN BURROUGHS                                   vii
+
+  PREFACE                                                           ix
+
+  LIST OF COLORED PLATES                                            xi
+
+    I. BIRD FAMILIES:
+
+         Their Characteristics and the Representatives of Each
+           Family included in "Bird Neighbors"                       1
+
+   II. HABITATS OF BIRDS                                            17
+
+  III. SEASONS OF BIRDS                                             25
+
+   IV. BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZE                              33
+
+    V. DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR:
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Black                                  39
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Black and White                        51
+
+         Dusky, Gray, and Slate-colored Birds                       65
+
+         Blue and Bluish Birds                                      97
+
+         Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and
+           Gray Sparrowy Birds                                     113
+
+         Green, Greenish Gray, Olive, and Yellowish Olive Birds    167
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Yellow and Orange                     187
+
+         Birds Conspicuously Red of any Shade                      213
+
+  INDEX                                                            229
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Not to have so much as a bowing acquaintance with the birds that nest
+in our gardens or under the very eaves of our houses; that haunt our
+wood-piles; keep our fruit-trees free from slugs; waken us with their
+songs, and enliven our walks along the roadside and through the woods,
+seems to be, at least, a breach of etiquette toward some of our most
+kindly disposed neighbors.
+
+Birds of prey, game and water birds are not included in the book. The
+following pages are intended to be nothing more than a familiar
+introduction to the birds that live near us. Even in the principal
+park of a great city like New York, a bird-lover has found more than
+one hundred and thirty species; as many, probably, as could be
+discovered in the same sized territory anywhere.
+
+The plan of the book is not a scientific one, if the term scientific
+is understood to mean technical and anatomical. The purpose of the
+writer is to give, in a popular and accessible form, knowledge which
+is accurate and reliable about the life of our common birds. This
+knowledge has not been collected from the stuffed carcasses of birds
+in museums, but gleaned afield. In a word, these short narrative
+descriptions treat of the bird's characteristics of size, color, and
+flight; its peculiarities of instinct and temperament; its nest and
+home life; its choice of food; its songs; and of the season in which
+we may expect it to play its part in the great panorama Nature unfolds
+with faithful precision year after year. They are an attempt to make
+the bird so live before the reader that, when seen out of doors, its
+recognition shall be instant and cordial, like that given to a friend.
+
+The coloring described in this book is sometimes more vivid than that
+found in the works of some learned authorities whose conflicting
+testimony is often sadly bewildering to the novice. In different parts
+of the country, and at different seasons of the year, the plumage of
+some birds undergoes many changes. The reader must remember,
+therefore, that the specimens examined and described were not, as
+before stated, the faded ones in our museums, but live birds in their
+fresh, spring plumage, studied afield.
+
+The birds have been classed into color groups, in the belief that this
+method, more than any other will make identification most easy. The
+color of the bird is the first, and often the only, characteristic
+noticed. But they have also been classified according to the
+localities for which they show decided preferences and in which they
+are most likely to be found. Again, they have been grouped according
+to the season when they may be expected. In the brief paragraphs that
+deal with groups of birds separated into the various families
+represented in the book, the characteristics and traits of each clan
+are clearly emphasized. By these several aids it is believed the
+merest novice will be able to quickly identify any bird neighbor that
+is neither local nor rare.
+
+To the uninitiated or uninterested observer, all small, dull-colored
+birds are "common sparrows." The closer scrutiny of the trained eye
+quickly differentiates, and picks out not only the Song, the Canada,
+and the Fox Sparrows, but finds a dozen other familiar friends where
+one who "has eyes and sees not" does not even suspect their presence.
+Ruskin says: "The more I think of it, I find this conclusion more
+impressed upon me, that the greatest thing a human soul ever does in
+this world is to _see_ something. Hundreds of people can talk for one
+who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see
+clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion--all in one."
+
+While the author is indebted to all the time-honored standard
+authorities, and to many ornithologists of the present day--too many
+for individual mention--it is to Mr. John Burroughs her deepest debt
+is due. To this clear-visioned prophet, who has opened the blind eyes
+of thousands to the delights that Nature holds within our easy reach,
+she would gratefully acknowledge many obligations; first of all, for
+the plan on which "Bird Neighbors" is arranged; next, for his patient
+kindness in reading and annotating the manuscript of the book; and,
+not least, for the inspiration of his perennially charming writings
+that are so largely responsible for the ready-made audience now
+awaiting writers on out-of-door topics.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It is hoped that the illustrations in this edition of "Bird Neighbors"
+will do much to add to the pleasure and profit of the reader. Through
+the courtesy of the National Association of Audubon Societies, the
+pictures painted by artists who are specialists in bird portraiture
+embellish this book. Each portrait has been examined and corrected
+when necessary by an authority. The birds are pictured as they are in
+life, each according to its own habit of existence.
+
+The author takes this opportunity to express her appreciation of the
+work the National Association of Audubon Societies has done and is
+doing to prevent the slaughter of birds in all parts of the United
+States, to develop bird sanctuaries and inaugurate protective
+legislation. Indeed to it, more than to all other agencies combined,
+is due the credit of eliminating so much of the Prussian like cruelty
+toward birds that once characterized American treatment of them, from
+the rising generation.
+
+                                                      NELTJE BLANCHAN.
+
+
+
+
+THE NATURE LIBRARY
+
+By JOHN BURROUGHS
+
+
+I do not propose in these introductory remarks to this Nature Library
+to discuss the merits or the character of the separate volumes further
+than to say that they are all by competent hands and, so far as I can
+judge, entirely reliable. While accurate and scientific, I have found
+them very readable. The treatment is popular without being
+sensational.
+
+This library is free from the scientific dry rot on the one hand and
+from the florid and misleading romanticism of much recent nature
+writing on the other. It is a safe guide to the world of animal and
+plant life that lies about us. And that is all the wise reader wants.
+He should want to explore this world for himself. Indeed,
+nature-study, as it appeals to us in books, fails of its chief end if
+it does not send us to nature itself. What we want is not the mere
+facts about the flowers or the animals--we want through them to add to
+the resources of our lives; and I know of nothing better calculated to
+do this than the study of nature at first hand. To add to the
+resources of one's life--think how much that means! To add to those
+things that make us more at home in the world; that help guard us
+against ennui and stagnation; that invest the country with new
+interest and enticement; that make every walk in the fields or woods
+an excursion into a land of unexhausted treasures; that make the
+returning seasons fill us with expectation and delight; that make
+every rod of ground like the page of a book in which new and strange
+things may be read; in short, those things that help keep us fresh and
+sane and young, and make us immune to the strife and fever of the
+world.
+
+The main thing is to feel an interest in Nature--an interest that
+leads to a loving unconscious study of her. Not entirely a scientific
+interest, but a human interest as well; science upon the one hand and
+an appreciation of the mystery, the beauty, and the bounty of life
+upon the other. The child feels a human interest in nature: when the
+schoolgirls come to school with their hands full of wild flowers, or
+the boys make excursions to the woods in May for wintergreens, or
+black birch, or crinkle root, they are all moved by an interest that
+is old and deep-seated in the race. Now, if to this interest and
+curiosity we can add a little science, just enough to guide them, we
+lift these feelings to another plane and give them a longer lease of
+life. The boy will not be so likely to rob birds' nests after the
+savage in him has been humanized by a touch of real knowledge and he
+has come to look upon the bird as something worthy of naming and
+studying and that has its place in the economy of the fields and
+woods.
+
+A touch of real knowledge--how humanizing and elevating it is! Simply
+to learn that all the plants have been studied and named, even the
+humblest; that they all have vital relations with one another--family
+ties; that the great biological laws are operative in them also; that
+the deep, mysterious principle of variation, which is at the bottom of
+Darwin's theory of the origin of the species, is working in the
+lowliest plant we tread upon; to know that the chain of cause and
+effect runs through the whole organic world, binding together its
+remotest parts; that everywhere is plan, development, evolution--to
+know these and kindred things--a few of the fundamentals of
+science--is a joy to the spirit and a light to the mind.
+
+Science in the world is like the surveyor and the engineer in a new
+country; it opens up highways for the mind; it bridges the chasms and
+marshes; it gives us dominion over the wild; it brings order out of
+chaos. What a maze, what a tangle the world is till we come to look
+upon it with the clews and solutions in mind which science affords!
+The heavens seem a haphazard spatter of stars, the earth a wild jumble
+of plants, and animals, and blind forces all struggling with one
+another--confusion, contradiction, failure everywhere. And so it was
+to the early men, and so it still is to those who have not the light
+of science, but so it need not remain to the child born into the world
+to-day. The great mysteries of life and death, of final causes and
+ultimate ends, still remain and will continue, but nature now,
+compared with the nature of a few centuries ago, is like a land
+subdued and peopled and cultivated compared with a pathless
+wilderness. And yet I would not in this connection, when considering
+the field of natural history, lay too much stress upon the scientific
+aspects of the question. To the real nature-lover the bird in the bush
+is worth much more than the bird in the hand, because the nature-lover
+is not after a specimen: he is after a living fact; he is after a new
+joy in life.
+
+It is an important part, but by no means the main part of what
+ornithology holds for us, to be able to name every bird on sight or
+call. To love the bird, to appreciate its place in the landscape and
+in the season, to relate it to your daily life, to divine its
+character, to know it emotionally in your heart--that is much more. To
+know the birds as the sportsman knows his game; to experience the same
+thrill, purged of all thoughts of slaughter; to make their songs music
+in your life--this is indeed something to be desired.
+
+The same with botany. I regard its class-room uses as very slight. The
+educational value of the technical part is almost _nil_. But the
+humanizing value of a love of the flowers, the hygienic value of a
+walk in their haunts, the A|sthetic value of the observation of their
+forms and tints--these are all vital. The scientific value which
+attaches to your knowledge of the names of their parts or of their
+families--what is that? Their habits are interesting; their means of
+fertilization are interesting; the part insects play in their
+lives--the honey-yielders, the pollen-yielders, their means of
+scattering their seeds, and so forth--all are interesting. To know
+their habitats and seasons; to have associations with them when you go
+fishing; to land your trout in a bed of bee-palm or jewel-weed; to
+pluck the linnA|a in the moss on the Adirondack mountain you are
+climbing; to gather pond-lilies from a boat with your friend; to pluck
+the arbutus on the first balmy day of April; to see the scarlet
+lobelia lighting up a dark nook by the stream as you row by in August;
+to walk or drive past vast acres of purple loosestrife, looking like a
+lake or sea of color--this is botany with something back of it, and
+the only place to learn it is where it grows. The botany that trails
+the days and the season and the woods and the fields with it--that is
+the kind that has educational value in it.
+
+I confess I have not much sympathy with the laboratory study of
+nature, except for economic purposes. Nature under the dissecting
+knife and the microscope yields important secrets to the students of
+biology, but the unprofessional students want but little of all this.
+I know a young woman who took a post-graduate course in biology at a
+noted summer school, and the one thing she learned was that certain
+bacilli were found only in the aqueous humor of the eyes of white
+mice. The world is full of curious facts like that, that have no human
+interest or educational value whatever.
+
+If one could number all the trees of the forest and all the leaves
+upon the trees, what would it profit him? To know the different kinds
+of trees when you see them, and the function of the leaves upon
+them--that were more worth while. I have read studies of leaves that
+were just as profitless as to know their numbers. I have heard
+discourses upon the changes in the plumage of certain water-fowl from
+youth to age, and from one moult to another, that were as profitless
+and wearisome as studying the variations of the leaves or their
+numbers.
+
+I hardly know why I am impatient when people come to me with their
+hands full of different leaves and ask me what tree is this from, and
+this, and this? If your business is not with trees, if you live in the
+city and care mainly for city things, why bother about the trees,
+unless for the pleasure of it during your summer excursions into the
+country; and if it affords you pleasure, you will not want any one to
+tell you: you will want to identify the trees themselves.
+
+The same with the birds. The main profit of this branch of natural
+history is in the pursuit--not in the name, but in the bird. It is the
+chase that allures the sportsman, and it is the chase that profits the
+nature-student. Did you ever receive a gift of brook-trout by express?
+How pitiful they look--stale fish only! But the trout you brought in
+at night after threading for miles the mountain stream: its voice all
+day in your ears; its sparkle all day in your eyes; the love of its
+beauty and purity all day in your heart; wading through bee-balm or
+jewel-weed; skirting wild pastures; starting the grouse or the
+woodcock with their young; surprising bird and beast at their home
+occupations--these were trout with a flavor.
+
+Whatever opens up new doors or windows for us into the world about us,
+whatever widens the field of our interests and sympathies, has some
+sort of value--moral, intellectual, or A|sthetic. But much of the
+so-called nature-study opens no new doors or windows; it affords no
+mental satisfaction, or illumination, or A|sthetic pleasure; it is
+mainly pottering with dry, unimportant facts and details. Do you know
+the edelweiss of our own matchless arbutus after you have merely
+analyzed and classified them? No more than you know a man after having
+weighed and measured him. The function of things is always
+interesting. What do they do? How do they pay their way in the rigid
+economy of nature? How do they survive? How does the bulb of the
+common fawn-lily[1] get deeper and deeper into the ground each year?
+Why does the wild ginger hide its blossom when nearly all other plants
+flaunt theirs? Why are the plants of the common mouse-ear
+(_antennaria_)[2] always in groups, one sex here, another there, as if
+prohibited from mingling by some moral code in nature? Why do nearly
+all our trees have a twist to the right or the left--hard woods one
+way, and soft woods the other? Why do the roots of trees flow through
+the ground like "runnels of molten metal," often separating and
+uniting again while the branches are thrust out in right lines or
+curves? Why is our common yellow birch more often than any other tree
+planted upon a rock? Why do oaks or chestnuts so often spring up where
+a pine or hemlock forest has been cleared away? Why does lightning so
+commonly strike a hemlock tree or a pine or an oak, and rarely or
+never a beech? Why does the bolt sometimes scatter the tree about, and
+at others only plow a channel down its trunk? Why does the bumblebee
+complain so loudly when working upon certain flowers? Why does the
+honey-bee lose the sting when it stings a person, while the wasp, the
+hornet, and the bumblebee do not? How does the chimney-swallow get the
+twigs it builds its nest with? From what does the hornet make its
+paper?
+
+One of Herbert Spencer's questions was, Why do animals and birds of
+prey have their eyes in front, and others, as sheep and domestic fowl,
+on the side of the head? Man, then, by the position of his eyes
+belongs to the predaceous animals. I have never been greatly
+interested in spiders, but I have always wanted to know how a certain
+spider managed to stretch her cable squarely across the road in the
+woods about my height from the ground? Why are mud turtles so wild?
+Why is the excrement of the young of some birds carried away by the
+parents, while with others it is voided from the nest? Among certain
+of our birds the family relation, more or less marked, is kept up a
+long time after the young have left the nest. One sees the parent
+birds and the young going about in loose flocks often till late into
+the fall. Of what birds is this true?
+
+   [1] The adder's tongue.
+
+   [2] Everlasting.
+
+The questions I have suggested are not important; they do not hold the
+key to any great storehouse of natural knowledge. Their only value is
+as a means to quicken the powers of observation. We see vaguely,
+diffusely. Concentrate the attention--not to the extent of missing
+total effects, as the specialist so often does, but for the purpose of
+reading correctly the play of life that is constantly going about us.
+
+Nature's book is like any other book: you must open the covers; you
+must fix your eyes upon the text; you must get into the spirit of it.
+When you have read one sentence correctly you are so much the better
+prepared to read the next one.
+
+A world of nature about us that we are quite apt to be oblivious to,
+except as it results in our annoyance, is the insect world. We do not
+take an intelligent interest in the ants, or the bees, or the moths,
+or the butterflies, yet here is a field of observation that will amply
+repay one. One day in a great city I saw a butterfly calmly winging
+its way high above the crowded street. I knew it was the monarch
+(_Anosia plexippus_), probably the greatest traveler of all our
+butterflies. It is quite certain that they migrate to the South in the
+fall, and that many return in the spring. I learn from Mr. Holland's
+Butterfly Book in this library that they have even crossed both
+oceans--of course, by catching a ride on vessels--and are now found in
+Australia and in the Philippines, and they have been collected in
+England. Have you not seen its chrysalis suspended from some weed or
+bush, looking like the trunk from some tiny warrior encased in
+pale-green armor, riveted with gold-headed rivets, a broad, heavy
+shield over the abdomen, and plate upon plate over the shoulders and
+back? It is a milkweed butterfly, and will serve as a good
+introduction to this new world of winged life. Early last spring I
+found upon the window of my cabin in the woods a butterfly that had
+evidently hybernated in some snug crack or corner of the building.
+This was the mourning cloak, with me the first vernal butterfly. When
+one sees this butterfly dancing through the open sunny woods in March
+or early April he may know spring has really come and that the first
+hepatica will soon open its blue eye.
+
+Mr. Howard's Insect Book ought to start many of its readers to
+observing flies and bees and prying into their life-histories, many of
+which are as yet not fully known. Not a farm-boy but knows of the big
+fat grubs in cows' backs in the spring. It was always a mystery to me
+how they got there. Now it is known that the creature has traveled all
+the way from the cow's stomach, where the egg of its parent--the
+bot-fly--was hatched, making its way slowly "through the connective
+tissues of the cow, between the skin and the flesh, penetrating
+gradually along the neck, and ultimately reaching a point beneath the
+skin on the back of the animal."
+
+We have only to look into nature a little more closely and intently,
+to whet our powers of observation by the use of such books as this
+Nature Library contains, to add vastly to our pleasure in and our
+knowledge of the world that lies about us.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+I write these few introductory sentences to this volume only to second
+so worthy an attempt to quicken and enlarge the general interest in
+our birds. The book itself is merely an introduction, and is only
+designed to place a few clews in the reader's hands which he himself
+or herself is to follow up. I can say that it is reliable and is
+written in a vivacious strain and by a real bird lover, and should
+prove a help and a stimulus to any one who seeks by the aid of its
+pages to become better acquainted with our songsters. The pictures,
+with a few exceptions, are remarkably good and accurate, and these,
+with the various grouping of the birds according to color, season,
+habitat, etc., ought to render the identification of the birds, with
+no other weapon than an opera glass, an easy matter.
+
+When I began the study of the birds I had access to a copy of Audubon,
+which greatly stimulated my interest in the pursuit, but I did not
+have the opera glass, and I could not take Audubon with me on my
+walks, as the reader may this volume, and he will find these colored
+plates quite as helpful as those of Audubon or Wilson.
+
+But you do not want to make out your bird the first time; the book or
+your friend must not make the problem too easy for you. You must go
+again and again, and see and hear your bird under varying conditions
+and get a good hold of several of its characteristic traits. Things
+easily learned are apt to be easily forgotten. Some ladies, beginning
+the study of birds, once wrote to me, asking if I would not please
+come and help them, and set them right about certain birds in dispute.
+I replied that that would be getting their knowledge too easily; that
+what I and any one else told them they would be very apt to forget,
+but that the things they found out themselves they would always
+remember. We must in a way earn what we have or keep. Only thus does
+it become _ours_, a real part of us.
+
+Not very long afterward I had the pleasure of walking with one of the
+ladies, and I found her eye and ear quite as sharp as my own, and that
+she was in a fair way to conquer the bird kingdom without any outside
+help. She said that the groves and fields, through which she used to
+walk with only a languid interest, were now completely transformed to
+her and afforded her the keenest pleasure; a whole new world of
+interest had been disclosed to her; she felt as if she was constantly
+on the eve of some new discovery; the next turn in the path might
+reveal to her a new warbler or a new vireo. I remember the thrill she
+seemed to experience when I called her attention to a purple finch
+singing in the tree-tops in front of her house, a rare visitant she
+had not before heard. The thrill would of course have been greater had
+she identified the bird without my aid. One would rather bag one's own
+game, whether it be with a bullet or an eyebeam.
+
+The experience of this lady is the experience of all in whom is
+kindled this bird enthusiasm. A new interest is added to life; one
+more resource against ennui and stagnation. If you have only a city
+yard with a few sickly trees in it, you will find great delight in
+noting the numerous stragglers from the great army of spring and
+autumn migrants that find their way there. If you live in the country,
+it is as if new eyes and new ears were given you, with a
+correspondingly increased capacity for rural enjoyment.
+
+The birds link themselves to your memory of seasons and places, so
+that a song, a call, a gleam of color, set going a sequence of
+delightful reminiscences in your mind. When a solitary great Carolina
+wren came one August day and took up its abode near me and sang and
+called and warbled as I had heard it long before on the Potomac, how
+it brought the old days, the old scenes back again, and made me for
+the moment younger by all those years!
+
+A few seasons ago I feared the tribe of bluebirds were on the verge of
+extinction from the enormous number of them that perished from cold
+and hunger in the South in the winter of '94. For two summers not a
+blue wing, not a blue warble. I seemed to miss something kindred and
+precious from my environment--the visible embodiment of the tender sky
+and the wistful soil. What a loss, I said, to the coming generations
+of dwellers in the country--no bluebird in the spring! What will the
+farm-boy date from? But the fear was groundless: the birds are
+regaining their lost ground; broods of young blue-coats are again seen
+drifting from stake to stake or from mullen-stalk to mullen-stalk
+about the fields in summer, and our April air will doubtless again be
+warmed and thrilled by this lovely harbinger of spring.
+
+    JOHN BURROUGHS.
+
+    _August 17, 07._
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF COLOURED PLATES
+
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+  GOLDFINCH--_Frontispiece_
+  KINGBIRD                                                          12
+  MOCKING-BIRD                                                      13
+  CROW                                                              28
+  RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD                                              29
+  PURPLE MARTIN                                                     44
+  DOWNY WOODPECKER                                                  45
+  TOWHEES                                                           58
+  ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS                                           59
+  BOBOLINKS                                                         74
+  PHOEBE                                                            75
+  CHICKADEE                                                         78
+  TUFTED TITMOUSE                                                   79
+  CATBIRD                                                           86
+  WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH                                           87
+  CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER                                            94
+  BLUE BIRD                                                         95
+  KINGFISHER                                                       102
+  BLUE JAY                                                         103
+  BARN SWALLOW                                                     110
+  MOURNING DOVE                                                    111
+  HOUSE WREN                                                       118
+  BROWN THRASHER                                                   119
+  VEERY                                                            126
+  WOOD THRUSH                                                      127
+  FLICKER                                                          134
+  MEADOWLARK                                                       135
+  HORNED LARK                                                      138
+  WHIPPOORWILL                                                     139
+  NIGHT HAWK                                                       154
+  YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO                                             155
+  CEDAR WAXWING                                                    158
+  CHIPPING SPARROW                                                 159
+  SONG SPARROW                                                     166
+  TREE SPARROW                                                     167
+  WHITE-THROATED SPARROW                                           170
+  TREE SWALLOW                                                     171
+  RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS                                       186
+  RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET                                             187
+  REDSTART                                                         190
+  BALTIMORE ORIOLE                                                 191
+  CARDINAL                                                         198
+  SCARLET TANAGER                                                  199
+  RED CROSSBILL                                                    226
+  PURPLE FINCH                                                     226
+  ROBIN                                                            226
+  ORCHARD ORIOLE                                                   227
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF HALF-TONE PLATES
+
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+  CROW ON NEST                                                      16
+  BLUE-WINGED WARBLER ALIGHTING TO FEED HER YOUNG                   17
+  YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST                             24
+  WINTER VISITORS: REDPOLLS                                         25
+  YOUNG KINGFISHERS                                                 48
+  GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG                                          49
+  YELLOWBIRD'S NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD'S EGG                          54
+  BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, TWO
+    WEEKS OLD                                                       55
+  ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD                             55
+  CHIMNEY SWIFT                                                     66
+  YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS WITH HAIR STANDING ON END              106
+  YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD                                               107
+  HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS                                       107
+  A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY                                  122
+  THE WOOD THRUSH HEARS THE CLICK OF THE CAMERA                    123
+  YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS THE DAY BEFORE LEAVING NEST                202
+  FIELD SPARROW BABIES                                             203
+  MOTHER OVENBIRD IN NEST; A BABY BIRD ON IT                       218
+  THE ROBIN'S MUD-WALLED NURSERY                                   219
+
+
+
+
+ BIRD FAMILIES
+
+ THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND THE REPRESENTATIVES
+ OF EACH FAMILY INCLUDED IN "BIRD NEIGHBORS"
+
+
+
+
+_Order Coccyges_: CUCKOOS AND KINGFISHERS
+
+
+_Family CuculidA|_: CUCKOOS
+
+Long, pigeon-shaped birds, whose backs are grayish brown with a bronze
+lustre and whose under parts are whitish. Bill long and curved. Tail
+long; raised and drooped slowly while the bird is perching. Two toes
+point forward and two backward. Call-note loud and like a tree-toad's
+rattle. Song lacking. Birds of low trees and undergrowth, where they
+also nest; partial to neighborhood of streams, or wherever the tent
+caterpillar is abundant. Habits rather solitary, silent, and
+eccentric. Migratory.
+
+    Yellow-billed Cuckoo.
+    Black-billed Cuckoo.
+
+
+_Family AlcedinidA|_: KINGFISHERS
+
+Large, top-heavy birds of streams and ponds. Usually seen perching
+over the water looking for fish. Head crested; upper parts slate-blue;
+underneath white, and belted with blue or rusty. Bill large and heavy.
+Middle and outer toes joined for half their length. Call-note loud and
+prolonged, like a policeman's rattle. Solitary birds; little inclined
+to rove from a chosen locality. Migratory.
+
+    Belted Kingfisher.
+
+
+
+
+_Order Pici_: WOODPECKERS
+
+
+_Family PicidA|_: WOODPECKERS
+
+Medium-sized and small birds, usually with plumage black and white,
+and always with some red feathers about the head. (The flicker is
+brownish and yellow instead of black and white.) Stocky,
+high-shouldered build; bill strong and long for drilling holes in bark
+of trees. Tail feathers pointed and stiffened to serve as a prop. Two
+toes before and two behind for clinging. Usually seen clinging erect
+on tree-trunks; rarely, if ever, head downward, like the nuthatches,
+titmice, etc. Woodpeckers feed as they creep around the trunks and
+branches. Habits rather phlegmatic. The flicker has better developed
+vocal powers than other birds of this class, whose rolling tattoo,
+beaten with their bills against the tree-trunks, must answer for their
+love-song. Nest in hollowed-out trees.
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.
+    Hairy Woodpecker.
+    Downy Woodpecker.
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.
+    Flicker.
+
+
+
+
+_Order Macrochires_: GOATSUCKERS, SWIFTS, AND HUMMING-BIRDS
+
+
+_Family CaprimulgidA|_: NIGHTHAWKS, WHIPPOORWILLS, ETC.
+
+Medium-sized, mottled brownish, gray, black, and white birds of heavy
+build. Short, thick head; gaping, large mouth; very small bill, with
+bristles at base. Take insect food on the wing. Feet small and weak;
+wings long and powerful. These birds rest lengthwise on their perch
+while sleeping through the brightest daylight hours, or on the ground,
+where they nest.
+
+    Nighthawk.
+    Whippoorwill.
+
+
+_Family MicropolidA|_: SWIFTS
+
+Sooty, dusky birds seen on the wing, never resting except in chimneys
+of houses, or hollow trees, where they nest. Tips of tail feathers
+with sharp spines, used as props. They show their kinship with the
+goatsuckers in their nocturnal as well as diurnal habits, their small
+bills and large mouths for catching insects or the wing, and their
+weak feet. Gregarious, especially at the nesting season.
+
+    Chimney Swift.
+
+
+_Family TrochilidA|_: HUMMING-BIRDS
+
+Very small birds with green plumage (iridescent red or orange breast
+in males); long, needle-shaped bill for extracting insects and nectar
+from deep-cupped flowers, and exceedingly rapid, darting flight. Small
+feet.
+
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird.
+
+
+
+
+_Order Passeres_: PERCHING BIRDS
+
+
+_Family TyrannidA|_: FLYCATCHERS
+
+Small and medium-sized dull, dark-olive, or gray birds, with big heads
+that are sometimes crested. Bills hooked at end, and with bristles at
+base. Harsh or plaintive voices. Wings longer than tail; both wings
+and tails usually drooped and vibrating when the birds are perching.
+Habits moody and silent when perching on a conspicuous limb, telegraph
+wire, dead tree, or fence rail and waiting for insects to fly within
+range. Sudden, nervous, spasmodic sallies in midair to seize insects
+on the wing. Usually they return to their identical perch or lookout.
+Pugnacious and fearless. Excellent nest builders and devoted mates.
+
+    Kingbird.
+    Ph[oe]be.
+    Wood Pewee.
+    Acadian Flycatcher.
+    Great Crested Flycatcher.
+    Least Flycatcher.
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher.
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.
+    Say's Flycatcher.
+
+
+_Family AlaudidA|_: LARKS
+
+The only true larks to be found in this country are the two species
+given below. They are the kin of the European skylark, of which
+several unsuccessful attempts to introduce the bird have been made in
+this country. These two larks must not be confused with the meadow
+larks and titlarks, which belong to the blackbird and pipit families
+respectively. The horned larks are birds of the ground, and are seen
+in the United States only in the autumn and winter. In the nesting
+season at the North their voices are most musical. Plumage grayish and
+brown, in color harmony with their habitats. Usually found in flocks;
+the first species on or near the shore.
+
+    Horned Lark.
+    Prairie Horned Lark.
+
+
+_Family CorvidA|_: CROWS AND JAYS
+
+The crows are large black birds, walkers, with stout feet adapted for
+the purpose. Fond of shifting their residence at different seasons
+rather than strictly migratory, for, except at the northern limit of
+range, they remain resident all the year. Gregarious. Sexes alike.
+Omnivorous feeders, being partly carnivorous, as are also the jays.
+Both crows and jays inhabit wooded country. Their voices are harsh and
+clamorous; and their habits are boisterous and bold, particularly the
+jays. Devoted mates; unpleasant neighbors.
+
+    Common Crow.
+    Fish Crow.
+    Northern Raven.
+    Blue Jay.
+    Canada Jay.
+
+
+_Family IcteridA|_: BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC.
+
+Plumage black or a brilliant color combined with black. (The meadow
+lark a sole exception.) Sexes unlike. These birds form a connecting
+link between the crows and the finches. The blackbirds have strong
+feet for use upon the ground, where they generally feed, while the
+orioles are birds of the trees. They are both seed and insect eaters.
+The bills of the bobolink and cowbird are short and conical, for they
+are conspicuous seed eaters. Bills of the others long and conical,
+adapted for insectivorous diet. About half the family are gifted
+songsters.
+
+    Red-winged Blackbird.
+    Rusty Blackbird.
+    Purple Grackle.
+    Bronzed Grackle.
+    Cowbird.
+    Meadow Lark.
+    Western Meadow Lark.
+    Bobolink.
+    Orchard Oriole.
+    Baltimore Oriole.
+
+
+_Family FringillidA|_: FINCHES, SPARROWS, GROSBEAKS,
+   BUNTINGS, LINNETS, AND CROSSBILLS
+
+Generally fine songsters. Bills conical, short, and stout for cracking
+seeds. Length from five to nine inches, usually under eight inches.
+This, the largest family of birds that we have (about one-seventh of
+all our birds belong to it), comprises birds of such varied plumage
+and habit that, while certain family resemblances may be traced
+throughout, it is almost impossible to characterize the family as
+such. The _sparrows_ are comparatively small gray and brown birds with
+striped upper parts, lighter underneath. Birds of the ground, or not
+far from it, elevated perches being chosen for rest and song. Nest in
+low bushes or on the ground. (Chipping sparrow often selects tall
+trees.) Coloring adapted to grassy, dusty habitats. Males and females
+similar. Flight labored. About forty species of sparrows are found in
+the United States; of these, fourteen may be met with by a novice, and
+six, at least, surely will be.
+
+The _finches_ and their larger kin are chiefly bright-plumaged birds,
+the females either duller or distinct from males; bills heavy, dull,
+and conical, befitting seed eaters. Not so migratory as insectivorous
+birds nor so restless. Mostly phlegmatic in temperament. Fine
+songsters.
+
+    Chipping Sparrow.                  Pine Siskin (or Finch).
+    English Sparrow.                   Purple Finch.
+    Field Sparrow.                     Goldfinch.
+    Fox Sparrow.                       Redpoll.
+    Grasshopper Sparrow.               Greater Redpoll.
+    Savanna Sparrow.                   Red Crossbill.
+    Seaside Sparrow.                   White-winged Red Crossbill.
+    Sharp-tailed Sparrow.              Cardinal Grosbeak.
+    Song Sparrow.                      Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
+    Swamp Song Sparrow.                Pine Grosbeak.
+    Tree Sparrow.                      Evening Grosbeak.
+    Vesper Sparrow.                    Blue Grosbeak.
+    White-crowned Sparrow.             Indigo Bunting.
+    White-throated Sparrow.            Junco.
+    Lapland Longspur.                  Snowflake.
+    Smith's Painted Longspur.          Chewink.
+
+
+_Family TanagridA|_: TANAGERS
+
+Distinctly an American family, remarkable for their brilliant plumage,
+which, however, undergoes great changes twice a year, Females
+different from males, being dull and inconspicuous. Birds of the
+tropics, two species only finding their way north, and the summer
+tanager rarely found north of Pennsylvania. Shy inhabitants of woods.
+Though they may nest low in trees, they choose high perches when
+singing or feeding upon flowers, fruits, and insects. As a family, the
+tanagers have weak, squeaky voices, but both our species are good
+songsters. Suffering the fate of most bright-plumaged birds, immense
+numbers have been shot annually.
+
+    Scarlet Tanager.
+    Summer Tanager.
+
+
+_Family HirundinidA|_: SWALLOWS
+
+Birds of the air, that take their insect food on the wing. Migratory.
+Flight strong, skimming, darting; exceedingly graceful. When not
+flying they choose slender, conspicuous perches like telegraph wires,
+gutters, and eaves of barns. Plumage of some species dull, of others
+iridescent blues and greens above, whitish or ruddy below. Sexes
+similar. Bills small; mouths large. Long and pointed wings, generally
+reaching the tip of the tail or beyond. Tail more or less forked. Feet
+small and weak from disuse. Song a twittering warble without power.
+Gregarious birds.
+
+    Barn Swallow.
+    Bank Swallow.
+    Cliff (or Eaves) Swallow.
+    Tree Swallow.
+    Bough-winged Swallow.
+    Purple Martin.
+
+
+_Family AmpelidA|_: WAXWINGS
+
+Medium-sized Quaker-like birds, with plumage of soft browns and grays.
+Head crested; black band across forehead and through the eye. Bodies
+plump from indolence. Tail tipped with yellow; wings with red tips to
+coverts, resembling sealing-wax. Sexes similar. Silent, gentle,
+courteous, elegant birds. Usually seen in large flocks feeding upon
+berries in the trees or perching on the branches, except at the
+nesting season. Voices resemble a soft, lisping twitter.
+
+    Cedar Bird.
+    Bohemian Waxwing.
+
+
+_Family LaniidA|_: SHRIKES
+
+Medium-sized grayish, black-and-white birds, with hooked and hawk-like
+bill for tearing the flesh of smaller birds, field-mice, and large
+insects that they impale on thorns. Handsome, bold birds, the terror
+of all small, feathered neighbors, not excluding the English sparrow.
+They choose conspicuous perches when on the lookout for prey: a
+projecting or dead limb of a tree, the cupola of a house, the
+ridge-pole or weather-vane of a barn, or a telegraph wire, from which
+to suddenly drop upon a victim. Eyesight remarkable. Call-notes harsh
+and unmusical. Habits solitary and wandering. The first-named species
+is resident during the colder months of the year; the latter is a
+summer resident only north of Maryland.
+
+    Northern Shrike.
+    Loggerhead Shrike.
+
+
+_Family VireonidA|_: VIREOS OR GREENLETS
+
+Small greenish-gray or olive birds, whitish or yellowish underneath,
+their plumage resembling the foliage of the trees they hunt, nest, and
+live among. Sexes alike. More deliberate in habit than the restless,
+flitting warblers that are chiefly seen darting about the ends of
+twigs. Vireos are more painstaking gleaners; they carefully explore
+the bark, turn their heads upward to investigate the under side of
+leaves, and usually keep well hidden among the foliage. Bill hooked at
+tip for holding worms and insects. Gifted songsters, superior to the
+warblers. This family is peculiar to America.
+
+    Red-eyed Vireo.
+    Solitary Vireo.
+    Warbling Vireo.
+    White-eyed Vireo.
+    Yellow-throated Vireo.
+
+
+_Family MniotiltidA|_: WOOD WARBLERS
+
+A large group of birds, for the most part smaller than the English
+sparrow; all, except the ground warblers, of beautiful plumage, in
+which yellow, olive, slate-blue, black, and white are predominant
+colors. Females generally duller than males. Exceedingly active,
+graceful, restless feeders among the terminal twigs of trees and
+shrubbery; haunters of tree-tops in the woods at nesting time.
+Abundant birds, especially during May and September, when the majority
+are migrating to and from regions north of the United States; but they
+are strangely unknown to all but devoted bird lovers, who seek them
+out during these months that particularly favor acquaintance. Several
+species are erratic in their migrations and choose a different course
+to return southward from the one they travelled over in spring. A few
+species are summer residents, and one, at least, of this tropical
+family, the myrtle warbler, winters at the north. The habits of the
+family are not identical in every representative; some are more
+deliberate and less nervous than others; a few, like the Canadian and
+Wilson's warblers, are expert flycatchers, taking their food on the
+wing, but not usually returning to the same perch, like true
+flycatchers; and a few of the warblers, as, for example, the
+black-and-white, the pine, and the worm-eating species, have the
+nuthatches' habit of creeping around the bark of trees. Quite a number
+feed upon the ground. All are insectivorous, though many vary their
+diet with blossom, fruit, or berries, and naturally their bills are
+slender and sharply pointed, rarely finch-like. The yellow-breasted
+chat has the greatest variety of vocal expressions. The ground
+warblers are compensated for their sober, thrush-like plumage by their
+exquisite voices, while the great majority of the family that are
+gaily dressed have notes that either resemble the trill of midsummer
+insects or, by their limited range and feeble utterance, sadly belie
+the family name.
+
+    Bay-breasted Warbler.               Nashville Warbler.
+    Blackburnian Warbler.               Palm Warbler.
+    Blackpoll Warbler.                  Parula Warbler.
+    Black-throated Blue Warbler.        Pine Warbler.
+    Black-throated Green Warbler.       Prairie Warbler.
+    Black-and-white Creeping Warbler.   Redstart.
+    Blue-winged Warbler.                Wilson's Warbler.
+    Canadian Warbler.                   Worm-eating Warbler.
+    Chestnut-sided Warbler.             Yellow Warbler.
+    Golden-winged Warbler.              Yellow Palm Warbler.
+    Hooded Warbler.                     Ovenbird.
+    Kentucky Warbler.                   Northern Water Thrush.
+    Magnolia Warbler.                   Louisiana Water Thrush.
+    Mourning Warbler.                   Maryland Yellowthroat.
+    Myrtle Warbler.                     Yellow-breasted Chat
+
+
+_Family MotacillidA|_: WAGTAILS AND PIPITS
+
+Only three birds of this family inhabit North America, and of these
+only one is common enough, east of the Mississippi, to be included in
+this book. Terrestrial birds of open tracts near the coast,
+stubble-fields, and country roadsides, with brownish plumage to
+harmonize with their surroundings. The American pipit, or titlark, has
+a peculiar wavering flight when, after being flushed, it reluctantly
+leaves the ground. Then its white tail feathers are conspicuous. Its
+habit of wagging its tail when perching is not an exclusive family
+trait, as the family name might imply.
+
+    American Pipit, or Titlark.
+
+
+_Family TroglodytidA|_: THRASHERS, WRENS, ETC.
+
+_Subfamily MiminA|_: THRASHERS, MOCKING-BIRDS, AND CATBIRDS
+
+Apparently the birds that comprise this large general family are too
+unlike to be related, but the missing links or intermediate species
+may all be found far South. The first subfamily is comprised of
+distinctively American birds. Most numerous in the tropics. Their long
+tails serve a double purpose--in assisting their flight and acting as
+an outlet for their vivacity. Usually they inhabit scrubby undergrowth
+bordering woods. They rank among our finest songsters, with
+ventriloquial and imitative powers added to sweetness of tone.
+
+    Brown Thrasher.
+    Catbird.
+    Mocking-bird.
+
+
+   [Illustration: KINGBIRD]
+
+   [Illustration: MOCKING-BIRD]
+
+
+_Subfamily TroglodytinA|_: WRENS
+
+Small brown birds, more or less barred with darkest brown above, much
+lighter below. Usually carry their short tails erect. Wings are small,
+for short flight. Vivacious, busy, excitable, easily displeased, quick
+to take alarm. Most of the species have scolding notes in addition to
+their lyrical, gushing song, that seems much too powerful a
+performance for a diminutive bird. As a rule, wrens haunt thickets or
+marshes, but at least one species is thoroughly domesticated. All are
+insectivorous.
+
+    Carolina Wren.
+    House Wren.
+    Winter Wren.
+    Long-billed Marsh Wren.
+    Short-billed Marsh Wren.
+
+
+_Family CerthiidA|_: CREEPERS
+
+Only one species of this Old World family is found in America. It is a
+brown, much mottled bird, that creeps spirally around and around the
+trunks of trees in fall and winter, pecking at the larvA| in the bark
+with its long, sharp bill, and doing its work with faithful exactness
+but little spirit. It uses its tail as a prop in climbing, like the
+woodpeckers.
+
+    Brown Creeper.
+
+
+_Family ParidA|_: NUTHATCHES AND TITMICE
+
+Two distinct subfamilies are included under this general head.
+
+The nuthatches (_SittinA|_) are small, slate-colored birds, seen
+chiefly in winter walking up and down the barks of trees, and
+sometimes running along the under side of branches upside down, like
+flies. Plumage compact and smooth. Their name is derived from their
+habit of wedging nuts (usually beech-nuts) in the bark of trees, and
+then hatching them open with their strong straight bills.
+
+    White-breasted Nuthatch.
+    Red-breasted Nuthatch.
+
+The titmice or chickadees (_ParinA|_) are fluffy little gray birds, the
+one crested, the other with a black cap. They are also expert
+climbers, though not such wonderful gymnasts as the nuthatches. These
+cousins are frequently seen together in winter woods or in the
+evergreens about houses. Chickadees are partial to tree-tops,
+especially to the highest pine cones, on which they hang fearlessly.
+Cheerful, constant residents, retreating to the deep woods only to
+nest.
+
+    Tufted Titmouse.
+    Chickadee.
+
+
+_Family SylviidA|_: KINGLETS AND GNATCATCHERS
+
+The kinglets (_RegulinA|_) are very small greenish-gray birds, with
+highly colored crown patch, that are seen chiefly in autumn, winter,
+and spring south of Labrador. Habits active; diligent flitters among
+trees and shrubbery from limb to limb after minute insects. Beautiful
+nest builders. Song remarkable for so small a bird.
+
+    Golden-crowned Kinglet.
+    Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
+
+The one representative of the distinctly American subfamily of
+gnatcatchers (_PolioptilinA|_) that we have, is a small blue-gray bird,
+whitish below. It is rarely found outside moist, low tracts of
+woodland, where insects abound. These it takes on the wing with
+wonderful dexterity. It is exceedingly graceful and assumes many
+charming postures. A bird of trees, nesting in the high branches. A
+bird of strong character and an exquisitely finished though feeble
+songster.
+
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+
+
+_Family TurdidA|_: THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC.
+
+This group includes our finest songsters. Birds of moderate size,
+stout build; as a rule, inhabitants of woodlands, but the robin and
+the bluebird are notable exceptions. Bills long and slender, suitable
+for worm diet. Only casual fruit-eaters. Slender, strong legs for
+running and hopping. True thrushes are grayish or olive-brown above;
+buff or whitish below, heavily streaked or spotted.
+
+    Bluebird.
+    Robin.
+    Alice's Thrush.
+    Hermit Thrush.
+    Olive-backed Thrush.
+    Wilson's Thrush (Veery).
+    Wood Thrush.
+
+
+
+
+Order _ColumbA|_: PIGEONS AND DOVES
+
+
+Family _ColumbidA|_: PIGEONS AND DOVES
+
+The wild pigeon is now too rare to be included among our bird
+neighbors; but its beautiful relative, without the fatally gregarious
+habit, still nests and sings _a-coo-oo-oo_ to its devoted mate in
+unfrequented corners of the farm or the borders of woodland.
+Delicately shaded fawn-colored and bluish plumage. Small heads,
+protruding breasts. Often seen on ground. Flight strong and rapid,
+owing to long wings.
+
+    Mourning or Carolina Dove.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CROW ON NEST.]
+
+   [Illustration: BLUE-WINGED WARBLER ALIGHTING TO FEED HER YOUNG.]
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+HABITATS OF BIRDS
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE AIR CATCHING THEIR FOOD AS THEY FLY
+
+Acadian Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher,
+Olive-sided Flycatcher, Say's Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Kingbird, Ph[oe]be, Wood Pewee, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, Barn
+Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Tree Swallow, Rough-winged
+Swallow, Canadian Warbler, Blackpoll, Wilson's Warbler, Nighthawk,
+Whippoorwill, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+
+
+BIRDS MOST FREQUENTLY SEEN IN THE UPPER HALF OF TREES
+
+Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole,
+Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, nearly all the
+Warblers except the Ground Warblers; Cedar Bird, Bohemian Waxwing, the
+Vireos, Robin, Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, Purple Grackle,
+Bronzed Grackle, Redstart, Northern Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, Crow,
+Fish Crow, Raven, Purple Finch, Tree and Chipping Sparrows, Cardinal,
+Blue Jay, Kingbird, the Crested and other Flycatchers.
+
+
+BIRDS OF LOW TREES OR LOWER PARTS OF TREES
+
+Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, the Sparrows, the Thrushes,
+the Grosbeaks, Goldfinch, Summer Yellowbird and other Warblers; the
+Wrens, Bluebird, Mocking-bird, Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Maryland
+Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat.
+
+
+BIRDS OF TREE-TRUNKS AND LARGE LIMBS
+
+Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker,
+Yellow-bellied Woodpecker, Flicker, White-breasted Nuthatch,
+Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse,
+Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Black-and-white Creeping
+Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Pine Warbler,
+Blackpoll Warbler, Whippoorwill, Nighthawk.
+
+
+BIRDS THAT SHOW A PREFERENCE FOR PINES AND OTHER EVERGREENS
+
+Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, the Nuthatches, Brown Creeper, the
+Kinglets, Pine Warbler, Black-and-white Creeping Warbler and all the
+Warblers except the Ground Warblers; Pine Siskin, Cedar Bird and
+Bohemian Waxwing (in juniper and cedar trees), Pine Grosbeak, Red
+Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill, the Grackles, Crow, Raven, Pine
+Finch.
+
+
+BIRDS SEEN FEEDING AMONG THE FOLIAGE AND TERMINAL TWIGS OF TREES
+
+The Red-eyed Vireo, White-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Solitary Vireo,
+Yellow-throated Vireo, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
+Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow Warbler or Summer
+Yellowbird, nearly all the Warblers except the Pine and the Ground
+Warblers; the Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+
+
+BIRDS THAT CHOOSE CONSPICUOUS PERCHES
+
+Northern Shrike, Loggerhead Shrike, Kingbird, the Wood Pewee, the
+Ph[oe]be and other Flycatchers, the Swallows, Kingfisher, Crows,
+Grackles, Blue Jay and Canada Jay; the Song, the White-throated, and
+the Fox Sparrows; the Grosbeaks, Cedar Bird, Goldfinch, Robin, Purple
+Finch, Cowbird, Brown Thrasher while in song.
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE GARDENS AND ORCHARDS
+
+Bluebird, Robin; the English, Song, White-throated, Vesper,
+White-crowned, Fox, Chipping, and Tree Sparrows; Ph[oe]be, Wood Pewee,
+the Least Flycatcher, Crested Flycatcher, Kingbird, Brown Thrasher,
+Wood Thrush, Mocking-bird, Catbird, House Wren; nearly all the
+Warblers, especially at blossom time among the shrubbery and fruit
+trees; Cedar Bird, Purple Martin, Eaves Swallow, Barn Swallow, Purple
+Finch, Cowbird, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Purple Grackle, Bronzed
+Grackle, Blue Jay, Crow, Fish Crow, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated
+Humming-bird, the Woodpeckers, Flicker, the Nuthatches, Chickadee,
+Tufted Titmouse, the Cuckoos, Mourning Dove, Junco, Starling.
+
+
+BIRDS OF THE WOODS
+
+The Warblers almost without exception; the Thrushes, the Woodpeckers,
+the Flycatchers, the Winter and the Carolina Wrens, the Tanagers, the
+Nuthatches and Titmice, the Kinglets, the Water Thrushes, the Vireos,
+Whippoorwill, Nighthawk, Kingfisher, Cardinal, Ovenbird, Brown
+Creeper, Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow,
+White-crowned Sparrow, Junco.
+
+
+BIRDS SEEN NEAR THE EDGES OF WOODS
+
+The Wrens, the Woodpeckers, the Flycatchers, the Warblers, Purple
+Finch, the Cuckoos, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, Cowbird, Brown
+Creepers, the Nuthatches and Titmice, the Kinglets, Chewink; the
+White-crowned, White-throated, Tree, Fox, and Song Sparrows;
+Humming-bird, Bluebird, Junco, the Crossbills, the Grosbeaks,
+Nighthawk, Whippoorwill, Mourning Dove, Indigo Bird, Brown Thrasher.
+
+
+BIRDS OF SHRUBBERY, BUSHES, AND THICKETS
+
+Maryland Yellowthroat, Ovenbird (in woods); Myrtle Warbler, Mourning
+Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, and other Warblers during the
+migrations; the Shrikes; the White-throated, the Fox, the Song, and
+other Sparrows; Chickadee, Junco, Chewink, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
+Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Catbird, Mocking-bird, Wilson's Thrush,
+Goldfinch, Redpolls, Maryland Yellowthroat, White-eyed Vireo, Hooded
+Warbler.
+
+
+BIRDS SEEN FEEDING ON THE GROUND
+
+The Sparrows, Junco, Meadowlark, Horned Lark, Chewink, Robin,
+Ovenbird, Pipit or Titlark, Redpoll, Greater Redpoll, Snowflake,
+Lapland Longspur, Smith's Painted Longspur, Rusty Blackbird,
+Red-winged Blackbird, the Crows, Cowbird, the Water Thrushes,
+Bobolink, Canada Jay, the Grackles, Mourning Dove; the Worm-eating,
+the Prairie, the Kentucky, and the Mourning Ground Warblers; Flicker.
+
+
+BIRDS OF MEADOW, FIELD, AND UPLAND
+
+The Field and Vesper Sparrows, Bobolink, Meadowlark, Horned Lark,
+Goldfinch, the Swallows, Pipit or Titlark, Cowbird, Redpoll, Greater
+Redpoll, Snowflake, Junco, Lapland Longspur, Smith's Painted Longspur,
+Rusty Blackbird, Crow, Fish Crow, Nighthawk, Whippoorwill; the Yellow,
+the Palm, and the Prairie Warblers; the Grackles, Flicker, Bluebird,
+Indigo Bird.
+
+
+BIRDS OF ROADSIDE AND FENCES
+
+The Sparrows, Kingbird, Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat,
+Indigo Bird, Bluebird, Flicker, Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Catbird,
+Robin, the Woodpeckers, Yellow Palm Warbler, the Vireos.
+
+
+BIRDS OF MARSHES AND BOGGY MEADOWS
+
+Long-billed Marsh Wren, Short-billed Marsh Wren; the Swamp, the
+Savanna, the Sharp-tailed, and the Seaside Sparrows; Red-winged
+Blackbird.
+
+
+BIRDS OF WET WOODLANDS AND MARSHY THICKETS
+
+Northern Water Thrush, Louisiana Water Thrush, Ovenbird, Winter Wren,
+Carolina Wren, Ph[oe]be; Wood Pewee and the other Flycatchers;
+Wilson's Thrush or Veery, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-breasted Chat;
+the Canadian, Wilson's Black-capped, the Maryland Yellowthroat, the
+Hooded, and the Yellow-throated Warblers.
+
+
+BIRDS FOUND NEAR SALT WATER
+
+Fish Crow, Common Crow, Bank Swallow, Tree Swallow, Savanna Sparrow,
+Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Horned Lark, Pipit or Titlark.
+
+
+BIRDS FOUND NEAR STREAMS AND PONDS
+
+Kingfisher, the Swallows, Northern Water Thrush, Louisiana Water
+Thrush, Ph[oe]be, Wood Pewee, the Flycatchers, Winter Wren, Wilson's
+Black-capped Warbler, the Canadian and the Yellow Warblers.
+
+
+BIRDS THAT SING ON THE WING
+
+Bobolink, Meadowlark, Indigo Bird, Purple Finch, Goldfinch, Ovenbird,
+Kingbird, Vesper Sparrow (rarely), Maryland Yellowthroat, Horned Lark,
+Kingfisher, the Swallows, Chimney Swift, Nighthawk, Song Sparrow,
+Red-winged Blackbird, Pipit or Titlark, Mocking-bird.
+
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG FLICKERS ON DAY OF LEAVING NEST]
+
+   [Illustration: WINTER VISITORS: REDPOLLS]
+
+
+
+
+ III
+
+ SEASONS OF BIRDS
+
+
+ THE SEASONS OF BIRDS IN THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK OR,
+ APPROXIMATELY, OF THE FORTY-SECOND DEGREE OF LATITUDE
+
+ THE LATITUDE OF NEW YORK IS TAKEN AS AN ARBITRARY DIVISION
+ FOR WHICH ALLOWANCES MUST BE MADE FOR OTHER LOCALITIES
+
+
+PERMANENT RESIDENTS
+
+    Hairy Woodpecker.                  Swamp Sparrow.
+    Downy Woodpecker.                  Song Sparrow.
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.         Cedar Bird.
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.             Cardinal.
+    Flicker.                           Carolina Wren.
+    Meadowlark.                        White-breasted Nuthatch.
+    Prairie Horned Lark.               Tufted Titmouse.
+    Blue Jay.                          Chickadee.
+    Crow.                              Robin.
+    Fish Crow.                         Bluebird.
+    English Sparrow.                   Goldfinch.
+    Social Sparrow.                    Starling
+
+
+WINTER RESIDENTS AND VISITORS
+
+  BIRDS SEEN BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND APRIL
+
+     English Sparrow.                  Red-breasted Nuthatch.
+     Tree Sparrow.                     Tufted Titmouse.
+     White-throated Sparrow.           Chickadee.
+     Swamp Sparrow.                    Robin.
+     Vesper Sparrow.                   Bluebird.
+     White-crowned Sparrow.            Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
+     Fox Sparrow.                      Golden-crowned Kinglet.
+     Song Sparrow.                     Brown Creeper.
+     Snowflake.                        Carolina Wren.
+     Junco.                            Winter Wren.
+     Horned Lark.                      Pipit.
+     Meadowlark.                       Purple Finch.
+     Pine Grosbeak.                    Goldfinch.
+     Redpoll.                          Pine Siskin.
+     Greater Redpoll.                  Lapland Longspur.
+     Cedar Bird.                       Smith's Painted Longspur.
+     Bohemian Waxwing.                 Evening Grosbeak.
+     Hairy Woodpecker.                 Cardinal.
+     Downy Woodpecker.                 Blue Jay.
+     Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.        Red Crossbill.
+     Flicker.                          White-winged Crossbill.
+     Myrtle Warbler.                   Crow.
+     Northern Shrike.                  Fish Crow.
+     White-breasted Nuthatch.          Kingfisher.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CROW]
+
+   [Illustration: RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Upper Figure, Male;
+      Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+
+SUMMER RESIDENTS
+
+  BIRDS SEEN BETWEEN APRIL AND NOVEMBER
+
+    Mourning Dove.                     Red-winged Blackbird.
+    Black-billed Cuckoo.               Rusty Blackbird.
+    Yellow-billed Cuckoo.              Orchard Oriole.
+    Kingfisher.                        Baltimore Oriole.
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.             Purple Grackle.
+    Hairy Woodpecker.                  Bronzed Grackle.
+    Downy Woodpecker.                  Crow.
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.         Fish Crow.
+    Flicker.                           Raven.
+    Whippoorwill.                      Blue Jay.
+    Nighthawk.                         Canada Jay.
+    Chimney Swift.                     Chipping Sparrow.
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird.        English Sparrow.
+    Kingbird.                          Field Sparrow.
+    Wood Pewee.                        Fox Sparrow.
+    Ph[oe]be.                          Grasshopper Sparrow.
+    Acadian Flycatcher.                Savanna Sparrow.
+    Crested Flycatcher.                Seaside Sparrow.
+    Least Flycatcher.                  Sharp-tailed Sparrow.
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher.            Swamp Song Sparrow.
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.         Song Sparrow.
+    Say's Flycatcher.                  Vesper Sparrow.
+    Bobolink.                          Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
+    Cowbird.                           Blue Grosbeak.
+    Indigo Bird.                       Yellow-breasted Chat.
+    Scarlet Tanager.                   Maryland Yellowthroat.
+    Purple Martin.                     Mocking-bird.
+    Barn Swallow.                      Catbird.
+    Bank Swallow.                      Brown Thrasher.
+    Cliff Swallow.                     House Wren.
+    Tree Swallow.                      Carolina Wren.
+    Rough-winged Swallow.              Long-billed Marsh Wren.
+    Red-eyed Vireo.                    Short-billed Marsh Wren.
+    White-eyed Vireo.                  Alice's Thrush.
+    Solitary Vireo.                    Hermit Thrush.
+    Warbling Vireo.                    Olive-backed Thrush.
+    Yellow-throated Vireo.             Wilson's Thrush or Veery.
+    Black-and-white Warbler.           Wood Thrush.
+    Black-throated Green Warbler.      Meadowlark.
+    Blue-winged Warbler.               Western Meadowlark.
+    Chestnut-sided Warbler.            Prairie Horned Lark.
+    Golden-winged Warbler.             White-breasted Nuthatch.
+    Hooded Warbler.                    Chickadee.
+    Pine Warbler.                      Tufted Titmouse.
+    Prairie Warbler.                   Chewink.
+    Parula Warbler.                    Purple Finch.
+    Worm-eating Warbler.               Goldfinch.
+    Yellow Warbler.                    Cardinal.
+    Redstart.                          Robin.
+    Ovenbird.                          Bluebird.
+    Northern Water Thrush.             Cedar-Bird.
+    Louisiana Water Thrush.            Loggerhead Shrike.
+
+
+SPRING AND AUTUMN MIGRANTS ONLY, OR RARE SUMMER VISITORS
+
+  The following Warblers:
+
+    Bay-breasted.                      Myrtle.
+    Blackburnian.                      Nashville.
+    Blackpolled.                       Wilson's Black-capped.
+    Black-throated Blue.               Palm.
+    Canadian.                          Yellow Palm.
+    Magnolia.                          Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
+    Mourning.                          Summer Tanager.
+
+
+
+
+MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS IN VICINITY OF NEW YORK
+
+
+FEBRUARY 15 TO MARCH 15
+
+Bluebird, Robin, the Grackles, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Red-winged
+Blackbird, Kingfisher, Flicker, Purple Finch.
+
+
+MARCH 15 TO APRIL 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Cowbird, Meadowlark, Phoebe; the
+Field, the Vesper, and the Swamp Sparrows.
+
+
+APRIL 1 TO 15
+
+The White-throated and the Chipping Sparrows, the Tree and the Barn
+Swallows, Rusty Blackbird, the Red-headed and the Yellow-bellied
+Woodpeckers, Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pipit; the Pine, the
+Myrtle, and the Yellow Palm Warblers; Goldfinch.
+
+
+APRIL 15 TO MAY 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Brown Thrasher; Alice's, the
+Olive-backed, and the Wood Thrushes; Chimney Swift, Whippoorwill,
+Chewink, the Purple Martin, and the Cliff and the Bank Swallows; Least
+Flycatcher; the Black-and-white Creeping, the Parula, and the
+Black-throated Green Warblers; Ovenbird, House Wren, Catbird.
+
+
+MAY 1 TO 15
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wilson's Thrush or Veery;
+Nighthawk, Ruby-throated Humming-bird, the Cuckoos, Crested
+Flycatcher, Kingbird, Wood Pewee, the Marsh Wrens, Bank Swallow, the
+five Vireos, the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Bobolink, Indigo Bird,
+Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Maryland Yellowthroat,
+Yellow-breasted Chat, the Water Thrushes; and the Magnolia, the
+Yellow, the Black-throated Blue, the Bay-breasted, the Chestnut-sided,
+and the Golden-winged Warblers.
+
+
+MAY 15 TO JUNE 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Mocking-bird, Summer Tanager; and the Blackburnian, the Blackpoll, the
+Worm-eating, the Hooded, Wilson's Black-capped, and the Canadian
+Warblers.
+
+
+JUNE, JULY, AUGUST
+
+In June few species of birds are not nesting; in July they may rove
+about more or less with their increased families, searching for their
+favorite foods; August finds them moulting and moping in silence, but
+toward the end of the month, thoughts of returning southward set them
+astir again.
+
+
+AUGUST 15 TO SEPTEMBER 15
+
+Bobolink, Cliff Swallow, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,
+Purple Martin; the Blackburnian, the Worm-eating, the Bay-breasted,
+the Chestnut-sided, the Hooded, the Mourning, Wilson's Black-capped,
+and the Canadian Warblers; Baltimore Oriole, Humming-bird.
+
+
+SEPTEMBER 15 TO OCTOBER 1
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wilson's Thrush, Wood Thrush,
+Kingbird, Wood Pewee, Crested Flycatcher; the Least, the Olive-sided,
+and the Acadian Flycatchers; the Marsh Wrens, the Cuckoos,
+Whippoorwill, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Indigo Bird; the
+Warbling, the Solitary, and the Yellow-throated Vireos; the
+Black-and-white Creeping, the Golden-winged, the Yellow, and the
+Black-throated Blue Warblers; Maryland Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted
+Chat, Redstart.
+
+
+OCTOBER 1 TO 15
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Hermit Thrush, Catbird, House
+Wren, Ovenbird, the Water Thrushes, the Red-eyed and the White-eyed
+Vireos, Wood Pewee, Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Cowbird, Horned Lark,
+Winter Wren, Junco; the Tree, the Vesper, the White-throated, and the
+Grasshopper Sparrows; the Blackpoll, the Parula, the Pine, the Yellow
+Palm, and the Prairie Warblers; Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse.
+
+
+OCTOBER 15 TO NOVEMBER 15
+
+Increased numbers of foregoing group; Wood Thrush, Wilson's Thrush or
+Veery, Alice's Thrush, Olive-backed Thrush, Robin, Chewink, Brown
+Thrasher, Ph[oe]be, Shrike; the Fox, the Field, the Swamp, the
+Savanna, the White-crowned, the Chipping, and the Song Sparrows; the
+Red-winged and the Rusty Blackbirds; Meadowlark, the Grackles,
+Flicker, the Red-headed and the Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers; Purple
+Finch, the Kinglets, the Nuthatches, Pine Siskin.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO SIZE
+
+
+SMALLER THAN THE ENGLISH SPARROW
+
+    Humming-bird.                      The Redpolls.
+    The Kinglets.                      Goldfinch.
+    The Wrens.                         Pine Siskin.
+    All the Warblers not               Savanna Sparrow.
+       mentioned elsewhere.            Grasshopper Sparrow.
+    Redstart.                          Sharp-tailed Sparrow.
+    Ovenbird.                          Chipping Sparrow.
+    Chickadee.                         Field Sparrow.
+    Tufted Titmouse.                   Swamp Song Sparrow.
+    Red-breasted Nuthatch.             Indigo-Bunting.
+    White-breasted Nuthatch.           Warbling Vireo.
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.             Yellow-throated Vireo.
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.         Red-eyed Vireo.
+    Acadian Flycatcher.                White-eyed Vireo.
+    Least Flycatcher.                  Brown Creeper.
+
+
+ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE ENGLISH SPARROW
+
+    Purple Finch.                      Junco.
+    The Crossbills.                    Song Sparrow.
+    The Longspurs.                     Solitary Vireo.
+    Vesper Sparrow.                    The Water-thrushes.
+    Seaside Sparrow.                   Pipit or Titlark.
+    Tree Sparrow.                      Downy Woodpecker.
+
+
+LARGER THAN THE ENGLISH SPARROW AND SMALLER THAN THE ROBIN
+
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker.         The Grosbeaks: Evening, Blue,
+    Chimney Swift (apparently).        Pine, Rose-breasted, and Cardinal.
+    The Swallows (apparently).         Snowflake.
+    Kingbird.                          White-crowned Sparrow.
+    Crested Flycatcher.                White-throated Sparrow.
+    Phoebe.                            Fox Sparrow.
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher.            The Tanagers.
+    Wood Pewee.                        Cedar Bird.
+    Horned Lark.                       Bohemian Waxwing.
+    Bobolink.                          Yellow-breasted Chat.
+    Cowbird.                           The Thrushes.
+    Orchard Oriole.                    Bluebird.
+    Baltimore Oriole.
+
+
+ ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THE ROBIN      LONGER THAN THE ROBIN
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker.             Mourning Dove.
+    Hairy Woodpecker.                  The Cuckoos.
+    Red-winged Blackbird.              Kingfisher.
+    Rusty Blackbird.                   Flicker.
+    Loggerhead Shrike.                 Raven.
+    Northern Shrike.                   Crow.
+    Mocking-bird.                      Fish Crow.
+    Catbird.                           Blue Jay.
+    Chewink.                           Canada Jay.
+    Purple Martin (apparently).        Meadowlark.
+    Starling.                          Whippoorwill (apparently).
+                                       Nighthawk (apparently).
+                                       The Grackles.
+                                       Brown Thrasher.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRDS GROUPED ACCORDING TO COLOR
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK
+
+    Common Crow.
+    Fish Crow.
+    American Raven.
+    Purple Grackle.
+    Bronzed Grackle.
+    Rusty Blackbird.
+    Red-winged Blackbird.
+    Purple Martin.
+    Cowbird.
+    Starling.
+
+See also several of the Swallows; the Kingbird, the Phoebe, the Wood
+Pewee and other Flycatchers; the Chimney Swift; and the Chewink.
+
+
+    The Common Crow
+
+    (_Corvus Aamericanus_) Crow family
+
+    _Called also_: CORN THIEF
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 16 and 28)
+
+
+    _Length_--16 to 17.50 inches.
+
+    _Male_--Glossy black with violet reflections. Wings appear
+       saw-toothed when spread, and almost equal the tail in length.
+
+    _Female_--Like male, except that the black is less brilliant.
+
+    _Range_--Throughout North America, from Hudson Bay to the Gulf
+       of Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October. Summer and winter resident.
+
+
+If we have an eye for the picturesque, we place a certain value upon
+the broad, strong dash of color in the landscape, given by a flock of
+crows flapping their course above a corn-field, against an October
+sky; but the practical eye of the farmer looks only for his gun in
+such a case. To him the crow is an unmitigated nuisance, all the more
+maddening because it is clever enough to circumvent every means
+devised for its ruin. Nothing escapes its rapacity; fear is unknown to
+it. It migrates in broad daylight, chooses the most conspicuous
+perches, and yet its assurance is amply justified in its steadily
+increasing numbers.
+
+In the very early spring, note well the friendly way in which the crow
+follows the plow, ingratiating itself by eating the larvA|, field mice,
+and worms upturned in the furrows, for this is its one serviceable act
+throughout the year. When the first brood of chickens is hatched, its
+serious depredations begin. Not only the farmer's young fledglings,
+ducks, turkeys, and chicks, are snatched up and devoured, but the
+nests of song birds are made desolate, eggs being crushed and eaten on
+the spot, when there are no birds to carry off to the rickety, coarse
+nest in the high tree top in the woods. The fish crow, however, is the
+much greater enemy of the birds. Like the common crows, this, their
+smaller cousin, likes to congregate in winter along the seacoast to
+feed upon shell-fish and other sea-food that the tide brings to its
+feet.
+
+Samuels claims to have seen a pair of crows visit an orchard and
+destroy the young in two robins' nests in half an hour. He calculates
+that two crows kill, in one day alone, young birds that in the course
+of the season would have eaten a hundred thousand insects. When, in
+addition to these atrocities, we remember the crow's depredations in
+the corn-field, it is small wonder that among the first laws enacted
+in New York State was one offering a reward for its head. But the more
+scientific agriculturists now concede that the crow is the farmer's
+true friend.
+
+
+    Fish Crow
+
+    (_Corvus ossifragus_) Crow family
+
+
+    _Length_--14 to 16 inches. About half as large again as the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Glossy black, with purplish-blue
+       reflections, generally greener underneath. Chin naked.
+
+    _Range_--Along Atlantic coast and that of the Gulf of Mexico,
+       northward to southern New England. Rare stragglers on the
+       Pacific coast.
+
+    _Migrations_--March or April. September. Summer resident only
+       at northern limit of range. Is found in Hudson River valley
+       about half-way to Albany.
+
+Compared with the common crow, with which it is often confounded, the
+fish crow is of much smaller, more slender build. Thus its flight is
+less labored and more like a gull's, whose habit of catching fish that
+may be swimming near the surface of the water it sometimes adopts.
+Both Audubon and Wilson, who first made this species known, record its
+habit of snatching food as it flies over the southern waters--a rare
+practice at the north. Its plumage, too, differs slightly from the
+common crow's in being a richer black everywhere, and particularly
+underneath, where the "corn thief" is dull. But it is the difference
+between the two crows' call-note that we chiefly depend upon to
+distinguish these confusing cousins. To say that the fish crow says
+_car-r-r_ instead of a loud, clear _caw_, means little until we have
+had an opportunity to compare its hoarse, cracked voice with the other
+bird's familiar call.
+
+From the farmer's point of view, there is still another distinction:
+the fish crow lets his crops alone. It contents itself with picking up
+refuse on the shores of the sea or rivers not far inland; haunting the
+neighborhood of fishermen's huts for the small fish discarded when the
+seines are drawn, and treading out with its toes the shell-fish hidden
+in the sand at low tide. When we see it in the fields it is usually
+intent upon catching field-mice, grubs, and worms, with which it often
+varies its fish diet. It is, however, the worst nest robber we have;
+it probably destroys ten times as many eggs and young birds as its
+larger cousin.
+
+The fishermen have a tradition that this southern crow comes and goes
+with the shad and herring--a saw which science unkindly disapproves.
+
+
+    American Raven
+
+    (_Corvus corax principalis_) Crow family
+
+
+    _Called also_: NORTHERN RAVEN
+
+    _Length_--26 to 27 inches. Nearly three times as large as a
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Glossy black above, with purplish and
+       greenish reflections. Duller underneath. Feathers of the
+       throat and breast long and loose, like fringe.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from polar regions to Mexico. Rare
+       along Atlantic coast and in the south. Common in the west, and
+       very abundant in the northwest.
+
+    _Migrations_--An erratic wanderer, usually resident where it
+       finds its way.
+
+The weird, uncanny voice of this great bird that soars in wide circles
+above the evergreen trees of dark northern forests seems to come out
+of the skies like the malediction of an evil spirit. Without uttering
+the words of any language--Poe's "Nevermore" was, of course, a poetic
+license--people of all nationalities appear to understand that some
+dire calamity, some wicked portent, is being announced every time the
+unbirdlike creature utters its rasping call. The superstitious folk
+crow with an "I told you so," as they solemnly wag their heads when
+they hear of some death in the village after "the bird of ill-omen"
+has made an unwelcome visit to the neighborhood. It receives the
+blame for every possible misfortune.
+
+When seen in the air, the crow is the only other bird for which the
+raven could be mistaken; but the raven does more sailing and less
+flapping, and he delights in describing circles as he easily soars
+high above the trees. On the ground, he is seen to be a far larger
+bird than the largest crow. The curious beard or fringe of feathers on
+his breast at once distinguishes him.
+
+These birds show the family instinct for living in flocks large and
+small, not of ravens only, but of any birds of their own genera. In
+the art of nest building they could instruct most of their relatives.
+High up in evergreen trees or on the top of cliffs, never very near
+the seashore, they make a compact, symmetrical nest of sticks, neatly
+lined with grasses and wool from the sheep pastures, adding soft,
+comfortable linings to the old nest from year to year for each new
+brood. When the young emerge from the eggs, which take many curious
+freaks of color and markings, they are pied black and white,
+suggesting the young of the western white-necked raven, a similarity
+which, so far as plumage is concerned, they quickly outgrow. They
+early acquire the fortunate habit of eating whatever their parents set
+before them--grubs, worms, grain, field-mice; anything, in fact, for
+the raven is a conspicuously omnivorous bird.
+
+
+   [Illustration: PURPLE MARTIN]
+
+   [Illustration: DOWNY (figs. 1 and 2) and HAIRY WOODPECKERS (fig 3)]
+
+
+    Purple Grackle
+
+    (_Quiscalus quiscula_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: CROW BLACKBIRD; MAIZE THIEF; KEEL-TAILED GRACKLE
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 49)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Iridescent black, in which metallic violet, blue,
+       copper, and green tints predominate. The plumage of this
+       grackle has iridescent bars. Iris of eye bright yellow and
+       conspicuous. Tail longer than wings.
+
+    _Female_--Less brilliant black than male, and smaller.
+
+    _Range_--Gulf of Mexico to 57th parallel north latitude.
+
+    _Migrations_--Permanent resident in Southern States. Few are
+       permanent throughout range. Migrates in immense flocks in
+       March and September.
+
+
+This "refined crow" (which is really no crow at all except in
+appearance) has scarcely more friends than a thief is entitled to;
+for, although in many sections of the country it has given up its old
+habit of stealing Indian corn and substituted ravages upon the
+grasshoppers instead, it still indulges a crow-like instinct for
+pillaging nests and eating young birds.
+
+Travelling in immense flocks of its own kind, a gregarious bird of the
+first order, it nevertheless is not the social fellow that its cousin,
+the red-winged blackbird, is. It especially holds aloof from mankind,
+and mankind reciprocates its suspicion.
+
+The tallest, densest evergreens are not too remote for it to build its
+home, according to Dr. Abbott, though in other States than New Jersey,
+where he observed them, an old orchard often contains dozens of nests.
+One peculiarity of the grackles is that their eggs vary so much in
+coloring and markings that different sets examined in the same groups
+of trees are often wholly unlike. The average groundwork, however, is
+soiled blue or greenish, waved, streaked, or clouded with brown. These
+are laid in a nest made of miscellaneous sticks and grasses, rather
+carefully constructed, and lined with mud. Another peculiarity is the
+bird's method of steering itself by its tail when it wishes to turn
+its direction or alight.
+
+Peering at you from the top of a dark pine tree with its staring
+yellow eye, the grackle is certainly uncanny. There, very early in the
+spring, you may hear its cracked and wheezy whistle, for, being aware
+that however much it may look like a crow it belongs to another
+family, it makes a ridiculous attempt to sing. When a number of
+grackles lift up their voices at once, some one has aptly likened the
+result to a "good wheel-barrow chorus!" The grackle's mate alone
+appreciates his efforts as, standing on tiptoe, with half-spread wings
+and tail, he pours forth his craven soul to her through a disjointed
+larynx.
+
+With all their faults, and they are numerous, let it be recorded of
+both crows and grackles that they are as devoted lovers as
+turtle-doves. Lowell characterizes them in these four lines:
+
+   "Fust come the black birds, 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."
+
+          *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Bronzed Grackle (_Quiscalus quiscula A|neus_) differs from the
+preceding chiefly in the more brownish bronze tint of its plumage and
+its lack of iridescent bars. Its range is more westerly, and in the
+southwest it is particularly common; but as a summer resident it finds
+its way to New England in large numbers. The call-note is louder and
+more metallic than the purple grackle's. In nearly all respects the
+habits of these two birds are identical.
+
+
+    Rusty Blackbird
+
+    (_Scolecophagus carolinus_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: THRUSH BLACKBIRD; RUSTY GRACKLE; RUSTY ORIOLE;
+       RUSTY CROW; BLACKBIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 9.55 inches. A trifle smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--In full plumage, glossy black with metallic
+       reflections, intermixed with rusty brown that becomes more
+       pronounced as the season advances. Pale straw-colored eyes.
+
+    _Female_--Duller plumage and more rusty, inclining to gray.
+       Light line over eye. Smaller than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to Gulf of Mexico
+       and westward to the Plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. A few winter north.
+
+A more sociable bird than the grackle, though it travel in smaller
+flocks, the rusty blackbird condescends to mingle freely with other
+feathered friends in marshes and by brooksides. You can identify it by
+its rusty feathers and pale yellow eye, and easily distinguish the
+rusty-gray female from the female red-wing that is conspicuously
+streaked.
+
+In April flocks of these birds may frequently be seen along sluggish,
+secluded streams in the woods, feeding upon the seeds of various water
+or brookside plants, and probably upon insects also. At such times
+they often indulge in a curious spluttering, squeaking, musical
+concert that one listens to with pleasure. The breeding range is
+mostly north of the United States. But little seems to be known of the
+birds' habits in their northern home.
+
+Why it should ever have been called a thrush blackbird is one of those
+inscrutable mysteries peculiar to the naming of birds which are so
+frequently called precisely what they are not. In spite of the
+compliment implied in associating the name of one of our finest
+songsters with it, the rusty blackbird has a clucking call as
+unmusical as it is infrequent, and only very rarely in the spring does
+it pipe a note that even suggests the sweetness of the redwing's.
+
+
+    Red-winged Blackbird
+
+    (_Agelaius ph[oe]niceus_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAMP BLACKBIRD; RED-WINGED ORIOLE; RED-WINGED STARLING
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 29)
+
+
+    _Length_--Exceptionally variable--7.50 to 9.80 inches. Usually
+       about an inch smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Coal-black. Shoulders scarlet, edged with yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Feathers finely and inconspicuously speckled with
+       brown, rusty black, whitish, and orange. Upper wing-coverts
+       rusty black, tipped with white, or rufous and sometimes
+       spotted with black and red.
+
+    _Range_--North America. Breeds from Texas to Columbia River,
+       and throughout the United States. Commonly found from Mexico
+       to 57th degree north latitude.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October. Common summer resident.
+
+In oozy pastures where a brook lazily finds its way through the farm
+is the ideal pleasure ground of this "bird of society." His notes,
+"_h'-wa-ker-ee_" or "_con-quer-ee_" (on an ascending scale), are
+liquid in quality, suggesting the sweet, moist, cool retreats where he
+nests. Liking either heat or cold (he is fond of wintering in Florida,
+but often retreats to the north while the marshes are still frozen);
+enjoying not only the company of large flocks of his own kind with
+whom he travels, but any bird associates with whom he can scrape
+acquaintance; or to sit quietly on a tree-top in the secluded,
+inaccessible bog while his mate is nesting; satisfied with cut-worms,
+grubs, and insects, or with fruit and grain for his food--the
+blackbird is an impressive and helpful example of how to get the best
+out of life.
+
+Yet, of all the birds, some farmers complain that the blackbird is the
+greatest nuisance. They dislike the noisy chatterings when a flock is
+simply indulging its social instincts. They complain, too, that the
+blackbirds eat their corn, forgetting that having devoured innumerable
+grubs from it during the summer, the birds feel justly entitled to a
+share of the profits. Though occasionally guilty of eating the
+farmer's corn and oats and rice, yet it has been found that nearly
+seven-eighths of the redwing's food is made up of weed-seeds or of
+insects injurious to agriculture.
+
+This bird builds its nest in low bushes on the margin of ponds or low
+in the bog grass of marshes. From three to five pale-blue eggs,
+curiously streaked, spotted, and scrawled with black or purple,
+constitute a brood. Nursery duties are soon finished, for in July the
+young birds are ready to gather in flocks with their elders.
+
+   "The blackbirds make the maples ring
+    With social cheer and jubilee;
+    The red-wing flutes his 'O-ka-lee!'"
+
+                            --_Emerson._
+
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG KINGFISHERS]
+
+   [Illustration: GRACKLE'S NEST AND YOUNG.]
+
+
+    Purple Martin
+
+    (_Progne subis_) Swallow family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 44)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. Two or three inches smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Rich glossy black with bluish and purple reflections;
+       duller black on wings and tail. Wings rather longer than the
+       tail, which is forked.
+
+    _Female_--More brownish and mottled; grayish below.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to America. Penetrates from Arctic Circle to
+       South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. Early September. Summer resident.
+
+In old-fashioned gardens, set on a pole over which honeysuckle and
+roses climbed from a bed where China pinks, phlox, sweet Williams, and
+hollyhocks crowded each other below, martin boxes used always to be
+seen with a pair of these large, beautiful swallows circling overhead.
+But now, alas! the boxes, where set up at all, are quickly monopolized
+by the English sparrow, a bird that the martin, courageous as a
+kingbird in attacking crows and hawks, tolerates as a neighbor only
+when it must.
+
+Bradford Torrey tells of seeing quantities of long-necked squashes
+dangling from poles about the negro cabins all through the South. One
+day he asked an old colored man what these squashes were for.
+
+"Why, deh is martins' boxes," said Uncle Remus. "No danger of hawks
+carryin' off de chickens so long as de martins am around."
+
+The Indians, too, have always had a special liking for this bird. They
+often lined a hollowed-out gourd with bits of bark and fastened it in
+the crotch of their tent poles to invite its friendship. The Mohegan
+Indians have called it "the bird that never rests"--a name better
+suited to the tireless barn swallow, Dr. Abbott thinks.
+
+Wasps, beetles, and all manner of injurious garden insects constitute
+its diet--another reason for its universal popularity. It is simple
+enough to distinguish the martins from the other swallows by their
+larger size and iridescent dark coat, not to mention their song, which
+is very soft and sweet, like musical laughter, rippling up through the
+throat.
+
+
+    Cowbird
+
+    (_Molothrus ater_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: BROWN-HEADED ORIOLE; COW-PEN BIRD; COW BLACKBIRD;
+       COW BUNTING
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Iridescent black, with head, neck, and breast
+       glistening brown. Bill dark brown, feet brownish.
+
+    _Female_--Dull grayish-brown above, a shade lighter below, and
+       streaked with paler shades of brown.
+
+    _Range_--United States, from coast to coast. North into
+       British America, south into Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Common summer resident.
+
+The cowbird takes its name from its habit of walking about among the
+cattle in the pasture, picking up the small insects which the cattle
+disturb in their grazing. The bird may often be seen within a foot or
+two of the nose of a cow or heifer, walking briskly about like a
+miniature hen, intently watching for its insect prey.
+
+Its marital and domestic character is thoroughly bad. Polygamous and
+utterly irresponsible for its offspring, this bird forms a striking
+contrast to other feathered neighbors, and indeed is almost an anomaly
+in the animal kingdom. In the breeding season an unnatural mother may
+be seen skulking about in the trees and shrubbery, seeking for nests
+in which to place a surreptitious egg, never imposing it upon a bird
+of its size, but selecting in a cowardly way a small nest, as that of
+the vireos or warblers or chipping sparrows, and there leaving the
+hatching and care of its young to the tender mercies of some already
+burdened little mother. It has been seen to remove an egg from the
+nest of the red-eyed vireo in order to place one of its own in its
+place. Not finding a convenient nest, it will even drop its eggs on
+the ground, trusting them to merciless fate, or, still worse,
+devouring them. The eggs are nearly an inch long, white speckled with
+brown or gray. (Illustration facing p. 54.)
+
+Cowbirds are gregarious. The ungrateful young birds, as soon as they
+are able to go roaming, leave their foster-parents and join the flock
+of their own kind. In keeping with its unclean habits and unholy life
+and character, the cowbird's ordinary note is a gurgling, rasping
+whistle, followed by a few sharp notes.
+
+
+    The Starling
+
+    (_Sturnus vulgaris_)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 9 inches. Weight about equals that of robin,
+       but the starling, with its short, drooping tail, is chunkier
+       in appearance.
+
+    _Male_--Iridescent black with glints of purple, green, and
+       blue. On back the black feathers, with iridescence of green,
+       and bronze, are tipped with brown, as are some of the tail and
+       wing feathers. In autumn and early winter feathers of sides of
+       head, breast, flanks and underparts are tipped with white,
+       giving a gray, mottled appearance. During the winter most of
+       the white tips on breast and underparts wear off. Until the
+       first moult in late summer the young birds are a dark
+       olive-brown in color, with white or whitish throat. These
+       differences in plumage at different seasons and different ages
+       make starlings hard to identify. Red-winged blackbirds and
+       grackles are often mistaken for them. From early spring till
+       mid-June, starling's rather long, sharp bill is yellow. Later
+       in summer it darkens. No other black bird of ours has this
+       yellow bill at any season.
+
+    _Female_--Similar in appearance.
+
+    _Range_--Massachusetts to Maryland. Not common beyond 100
+       miles inland. (Native of northern Europe and Asia.)
+
+    _Migrations_--Permanent resident, but flocks show some
+       tendency to drift southward in winter.
+
+This newcomer to our shores is by no means so black as he has been
+painted. Like many other European immigrants he landed at or near
+Castle Garden, New York City, and his descendants have not cared to
+wander very far from this vicinity, preferring regions with a pretty
+numerous human population. The starlings have increased so fast in
+this limited region since their first permanent settlement in Central
+Park about 1890 that farmers and suburban dwellers have feared that
+they might become as undesirable citizens as some other Europeans--the
+brown rat, the house mouse, and the English sparrow. But a very
+thorough investigation conducted by the United States Bureau of
+Biological Survey (Bulletin No. 868, 1921) is most reassuring in its
+results.
+
+Let us first state the case for the prosecution: (1) the starling must
+plead guilty to a fondness for cultivated cherries; (2) he is often a
+persecutor of native birds, like the bluebird and flicker; (3) his
+roosts, where he sometimes congregates in thousands in the autumn, are
+apt to become public nuisances, offensive alike to the eye, the nose
+and the ear.
+
+But these offences are not so very serious after all. He does not eat
+so many cherries as our old friend the robin, though his depredations
+are more conspicuous, for whereas the robins in ones and twos will
+pilfer steadily from many trees for many days without attracting
+notice, a crowd of starlings is occasionally observed to descend _en
+masse_ upon a single tree and strip it in a few hours. Naturally such
+high-handed procedure is observed by many and deeply resented by the
+owner of the tree, who suffers the steady but less spectacular raids
+of the robins without serious disquiet.
+
+Less can be said in defense of the starling's scandalous treatment of
+some native birds. "Unrelenting perseverance dominates the starling's
+activities when engaged in a controversy over a nesting site. More of
+its battles are won by dogged persistence in annoying its victim than
+by bold aggression, and its irritating tactics are sometimes carried
+to such a point that it seems almost as if the bird were actuated
+more by a morbid pleasure of annoying its neighbors than by any
+necessity arising from a scarcity of nesting sites....
+
+"In contests with the flicker the starling frequently makes up in
+numbers what disadvantage it may have in size. Typical of such combats
+was the one observed on May 9, at Hartford, Conn., where a group of
+starlings and a flicker were in controversy over a newly excavated
+nest. The number of starlings varied, but as many as 6 were noted at
+one time. Attention was first attracted to the dispute by a number of
+starlings in close proximity to the hole and by the sounds of a tussle
+within. Presently a flicker came out dragging a starling after him.
+The starling continued the battle outside long enough to allow one of
+its comrades to slip into the nest. Of course the flicker had to
+repeat the entire performance. He did this for about half an hour,
+when he gave up, leaving the starlings in possession of the nest....
+
+"Economically considered, the starling is the superior of either the
+flicker, the robin, or the English sparrow, three of the species with
+which it comes in contact in its breeding operations. The eggs and
+young of bluebirds and wrens may be protected by the use of nest boxes
+with circular openings 1-1/2 inches or less in diameter. This leaves
+the purple martin the only species readily subject to attack by the
+starling, whose economic worth may be considered greater than that of
+the latter, but in no case was the disturbance of a well-established
+colony of martins noted."
+
+As for the nuisance of a big established roost of starlings, it may be
+abated by nightly salvos of Roman candles or blank cartridges,
+continued for a week or at most ten days.
+
+So much for the starling in his aspect as an undesirable citizen.
+Government investigators, by a long-continued study, have discovered
+that his good deeds far outnumber his misdemeanors. Primarily he feeds
+on noxious insects and useless wild fruits. Small truck gardens and
+individual cherry trees may be occasionally raided by large flocks
+with disastrous results in a small way. But on the whole he is a
+useful frequenter of our door-yards who pays his way by destroying
+hosts of cut-worms and equally noxious insects. "A thorough
+consideration of the evidence at hand indicates that, based on food
+habits, the adult starling is the economic superior of the robin,
+catbird, flicker, red-winged blackbird, or grackle." Need more be said
+for him?
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY BLACK AND WHITE
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker
+    Hairy Woodpecker
+    Downy Woodpecker
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
+    Chewink
+    Snowflake
+    Rose-breasted Grosbeak
+    Bobolink
+    Blackpoll Warbler
+    Black-and-white Creeping Warbler
+
+
+See also the Swallows; the Shrikes; Nuthatches and Titmice; the
+Kingbird and other Flycatchers; the Nighthawk; the Redstart; and the
+following Warblers: the Myrtle; the Bay-breasted; the Blackburnian;
+and the Black-throated Blue Warbler.
+
+
+    Red-headed Woodpecker
+
+    (_Melanerpes erythrocephalus_) Woodpecker family
+
+    _Called also_: TRI-COLOR, RED-HEAD
+
+
+    _Length_--8.50 to 9.75 inches. An inch or less smaller than
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Head, neck, and throat crimson; breast and
+       underneath white; back black and white; wings and tail blue
+       black, with broad white band on wings conspicuous in flight.
+
+    _Range_--United States, east of Rocky Mountains and north to
+       Manitoba.
+
+    _Migrations_--Abundant but irregular migrant. Most commonly
+       seen in Autumn, and rarely resident.
+
+In thinly populated sections, where there are few guns about, this is
+still one of the commonest as it is perhaps the most conspicuous
+member of the woodpecker family, but its striking glossy
+black-and-white body and its still more striking crimson head,
+flattened out against the side of a tree like a target, where it is
+feeding, have made it all too tempting a mark for the rifles of the
+sportsmen and the sling-shots of small boys. As if sufficient
+attention were not attracted to it by its plumage, it must needs keep
+up a noisy, guttural rattle, _ker-r-ruck, ker-r-ruck,_ very like a
+tree-toad's call, and flit about among the trees with the restlessness
+of a flycatcher. Yet, in spite of these invitations for a shot to the
+passing gunner, it still multiplies in districts where nuts abound,
+being "more common than the robin" about Washington, says John
+Burroughs.
+
+All the familiar woodpeckers have two characteristics most prominently
+exemplified in this red-headed member of their tribe. The hairy, the
+downy, the crested, the red-bellied, the sapsucker, and the flicker
+have each a red mark somewhere about their heads as if they had been
+wounded there and bled a little--some more, some less; and the figures
+of all of them, from much flattening against tree-trunks, have become
+high-shouldered and long-waisted.
+
+The red-headed woodpecker selects, by preference, a partly decayed
+tree in which to excavate a hole for its nest, because the digging is
+easier, and the sawdust and chips make a softer lining than green
+wood. Both male and female take turns in this hollowing-out process.
+The one that is off duty is allowed "twenty minutes for refreshments,"
+consisting of grubs, beetles, ripe apples or cherries, corn, or
+preferably beech-nuts. At a loving call from its mate in the hollow
+tree, it returns promptly to perform its share of the work, when the
+carefully observed "time is up." The heap of sawdust at the bottom of
+the hollow will eventually cradle from four to six glossy-white eggs.
+
+This woodpecker has the thrifty habit of storing away nuts in the
+knot-holes of trees, between cracks in the bark, or in decayed fence
+rails--too often a convenient storehouse at which the squirrels may
+help themselves. But it is the black snake that enters the nest and
+eats the young family, and that is a more deadly foe than even the
+sportsman or the milliner.
+
+   [Illustration: YELLOWBIRD'S NEST, SHOWING COWBIRD'S EGG]
+
+   [Illustration: BROTHER AND SISTER ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS,
+      TWO WEEKS OLD]
+
+   [Illustration: ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, SIX DAYS OLD.]
+
+
+    The Hairy Woodpecker
+
+    (_Dryobates villosus_) Woodpecker family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 45)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Black and white above, white beneath. White stripe down
+       the back, composed of long hair-like feathers. Bright-red
+       band on the nape of neck. Wings striped and dashed with black
+       and white. Outer tail feathers white, without bars. White
+       stripe about eyes and on sides of the head.
+
+    _Female_--Without the red band on head, and body more brownish
+       than that of the male.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of United States, from the Canadian
+       border to the Carolinas.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident throughout its range.
+
+The bill of the woodpecker is a hammering tool, well fitted for its
+work. Its mission in life is to rid the trees of insects, which hide
+beneath the bark, and with this end in view, the bird is seen clinging
+to the trunks and branches of trees through fair and wintry weather,
+industriously scanning every inch for the well-known signs of the
+boring worm or destructive fly.
+
+In the autumn the male begins to excavate his winter quarters,
+carrying or throwing out the chips, by which this good workman is
+known, with his beak, while the female may make herself cosey or not,
+as she chooses, in an abandoned hole. About her comfort he seems
+shamefully unconcerned. Intent only on his own, he drills a perfectly
+round hole, usually on the under side of a limb where neither snow nor
+wind can harm him, and digs out a horizontal tunnel in the dry,
+brittle wood in the very heart of the tree, before turning downward
+into the deep, pear-shaped chamber, where he lives in selfish
+solitude. But when the nesting season comes, how devoted he is
+temporarily to the mate he has neglected and even abused through the
+winter! Will she never learn that after her clear-white eggs are laid
+and her brood raised he will relapse into the savage and forget all
+his tender wiles?
+
+The hairy woodpecker, like many another bird and beast, furnishes much
+doubtful weather lore for credulous and inexact observers. "When the
+woodpecker pecks low on the trees, expect warm weather" is a common
+saying, but when different individuals are seen pecking at the same
+time, one but a few feet from the ground, and another among the high
+branches, one may make the prophecy that pleases him best.
+
+The hairy woodpeckers love the deep woods. They are drummers, not
+singers; but when walking in the desolate winter woods even the
+drumming and tapping of the busy feathered workmen on a resonant limb
+is a solace, giving a sense of life and cheerful activity which is
+invigorating.
+
+
+    The Downy Woodpecker
+
+    (_Dryobates pubescens_) Woodpecker family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 45)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Black above, striped with white. Tail shaped like a
+       wedge. Outer tail feathers white, and barred with black.
+       Middle tail feathers black. A black stripe on top of head, and
+       distinct white band over and under the eyes. Red patch on
+       upper side of neck. Wings, with six white bands crossing them
+       transversely; white underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but without scarlet on the nape, which is white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Labrador to Florida.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident all the year throughout its range.
+
+The downy woodpecker is similar to his big relative, the hairy
+woodpecker, in color and shape, though much smaller. His outer tail
+feathers are white, barred with black, but the hairy's white outer
+tail feathers lack these distinguishing marks.
+
+He is often called a sapsucker--though quite another bird alone merits
+that name--from the supposition that he bores into the trees for the
+purpose of sucking the sap; but his tongue is ill adapted for such
+use, being barbed at the end, and most ornithologists consider the
+charge libellous. It has been surmised that he bores the numerous
+little round holes close together, so often seen, with the idea of
+attracting insects to the luscious sap. The woodpeckers never drill
+for insects in live wood. The downy actually drills these little holes
+in apple and other trees to feed upon the inner milky bark of the
+tree--the cambium layer. The only harm to be laid to his account is
+that, in his zeal, he sometimes makes a ring of small holes so
+continuous as to inadvertently damage the tree by girdling it. The
+bird, like most others, does not debar himself entirely from fruit
+diet, but enjoys berries, especially poke-berries.
+
+He is very social with birds and men alike. In winter he attaches
+himself to strolling bands of nuthatches and chickadees, and in summer
+is fond of making friendly visits among village folk, frequenting the
+shade trees of the streets and grapevines of back gardens. He has even
+been known to fearlessly peck at flies on window panes.
+
+In contrast to his large brother woodpecker, who is seldom drawn from
+timber lands, the little downy member of the family brings the comfort
+of his cheery presence to country homes, beating his rolling tattoo in
+spring on some resonant limb under our windows in the garden with a
+strength worthy of a larger drummer.
+
+This rolling tattoo, or drumming, answers several purposes: by it he
+determines whether the tree is green or hollow; it startles insects
+from their lurking places underneath the bark, and it also serves as a
+love song.
+
+
+    Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
+
+    (_Sphyrapicus varius_) Woodpecker family
+
+    _Called also_: THE SAPSUCKER
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 8.6 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Black, white, and yellowish white above, with
+       bright-red crown, chin, and throat. Breast black, in form of
+       crescent. A yellowish-white line, beginning at bill and
+       passing below eye, merges into the pale yellow of the bird
+       underneath. Wings spotted with white, and coverts chiefly
+       white. Tail black; white on middle of feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Paler, and with head and throat white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Labrador to Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Resident north of Massachusetts.
+       Most common in autumn.
+
+It is sad to record that this exquisitely marked woodpecker, the most
+jovial and boisterous of its family, is one of the very few bird
+visitors whose intimacy should be discouraged. For its useful appetite
+for slugs and insects which it can take on the wing with wonderful
+dexterity, it need not be wholly condemned. But as we look upon a
+favorite maple or fruit tree devitalized or perhaps wholly dead from
+its ravages, we cannot forget that this bird, while a most abstemious
+fruit-eater, has a pernicious and most intemperate thirst for sap.
+Indeed, it spends much of its time in the orchard, drilling holes into
+the freshest, most vigorous trees; then, when their sap begins to
+flow, it siphons it into an insatiable throat, stopping in its orgie
+only long enough to snap at the insects that have been attracted to
+the wounded tree by the streams of its heart-blood now trickling down
+its sides. Another favorite pastime is to strip the bark off a tree,
+then peck at the soft wood underneath--almost as fatal a habit. It
+drills holes in maples in early spring for sap only. If it drills
+holes in fruit trees it is for the cambium layer, a soft, pulpy,
+nutritious under-bark.
+
+These woodpeckers have a variety of call-notes, but their rapid
+drumming against the limbs and trunks of trees is the sound we always
+associate with them and the sound that Mr. Bicknell says is the
+love-note of the family.
+
+Unhappily, these birds, that many would be glad to have decrease in
+numbers, take extra precautions for the safety of their young by
+making very deep excavations for their nests, often as deep as
+eighteen or twenty inches.
+
+
+    The Chewink
+
+    (_Pipilo erythrophthalmus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: GROUND ROBIN; TOWHEE; TOWHEE BUNTING; TOWHEE GROUND
+       FINCH; GRASEL
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts black, sometimes margined with rufous.
+       Breast white; chestnut color on sides and rump. Wings marked
+       with white. Three outer feathers of tail striped with white,
+       conspicuous in flight. Bill black and stout. Red eyes; feet
+       brown.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish where the male is black. Abdomen shading
+       from chestnut to white in the centre.
+
+    _Range_--From Labrador, on the north, to the Southern States;
+       west to the Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September and October. Summer resident.
+       Very rarely a winter resident at the north.
+
+The unobtrusive little chewink is not infrequently mistaken for a
+robin, because of the reddish chestnut on its under parts. Careful
+observation, however, shows important distinctions. It is rather
+smaller and darker in color; its carriage and form are not those of
+the robin, but of the finch. The female is smaller still, and has an
+olive tint in her brown back. Her eggs are inconspicuous in color,
+dirty white speckled with brown, and laid in a sunken nest on the
+ground. Dead leaves and twigs abound, and form, as the anxious mother
+fondly hopes, a safe hiding place for her brood. So careful
+concealment, however, brings peril to the fledglings, for the most
+cautious bird-lover may, and often does, inadvertently set his foot on
+the hidden nest.
+
+The chewink derives its name from the fancied resemblance of its note
+to these syllables, while those naming it "towhee" hear the sound
+_to-whick_, _to-whick_, _to-whee_. Its song is rich, full, and
+pleasing, and given only when the bird has risen to the branches above
+its low foraging ground.
+
+It frequents the border of swampy places and bushy fields. It is
+generally seen in the underbrush, picking about among the dead leaves
+for its steady diet of earthworms and larvA| of insects, occasionally
+regaling itself with a few dropping berries and fruit.
+
+When startled, the bird rises not more than ten or twelve feet from
+the earth, and utters its characteristic calls. On account of this
+habit of flying low and grubbing among the leaves, it is sometimes
+called the ground robin. In the South our modest and useful little
+food-gatherer is often called grasel, especially in Louisiana, where
+it is white-eyed, and is much esteemed, alas! by epicures.
+
+   [Illustration: TOWHEE (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+   [Illustration: ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (Upper Figure, Female;
+      Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+
+    Snowflake
+
+    (_Plectrophenax nivalis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SNOW BUNTING; WHITEBIRD; SNOWBIRD; SNOW LARK
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Head, neck, and beneath soiled white, with
+       a few reddish-brown feathers on top of head, and suggesting an
+       imperfect collar. Above, grayish brown obsoletely streaked
+       with black, the markings being most conspicuous in a band
+       between shoulders. Lower tail feathers black; others, white
+       and all edged with white. Wings brown, white, and gray.
+       Plumage unusually variable. In summer dress (in arctic
+       regions) the bird is almost white.
+
+    _Range_--Circumpolar regions to Kentucky (in winter only).
+
+    _Migrations_--Midwinter visitor; rarely, if ever, resident
+       south of arctic regions.
+
+These snowflakes (mentioned collectively, for it is impossible to
+think of the bird except in great flocks) are the "true spirits of the
+snowstorm," says Thoreau. They are animated beings that ride upon it,
+and have their life in it. By comparison with the climate of the
+arctic regions, no doubt our hardiest winter weather seems luxuriously
+mild to them. We associate them only with those wonderful midwinter
+days when sky, fields, and woods alike are white, and a "hard, dull
+bitterness of cold" drives every other bird and beast to shelter. It
+is said they often pass the night buried beneath the snow. They have
+been seen to dive beneath it to escape a hawk.
+
+Whirling about in the drifting snow to catch the seeds on the tallest
+stalks that the wind in the open meadows uncovers, the snowflakes
+suggest a lot of dead leaves being blown through the all-pervading
+whiteness. Beautiful soft brown, gray, and predominating
+black-and-white coloring distinguish these capricious visitors from
+the slaty junco, the "snowbird" more commonly known. They are, indeed,
+the only birds we have that are nearly white; and rarely, if ever, do
+they rise far above the ground their plumage so admirably imitates.
+
+At the far north, travellers have mentioned their inspiriting song,
+but in the United States we hear only their cheerful twitter. Nansen
+tells of seeing an occasional snow bunting in that desolation of
+arctic ice where the _Fram_ drifted so long.
+
+
+    The Rose-breasted Grosbeak
+
+    (_Habia ludoviciana_) Finch family
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 55 and 59)
+
+
+    _Length_--7.75 to 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Head and upper parts black. Breast has rose-carmine
+       shield-shaped patch, often extending downward to the centre of
+       the abdomen. Underneath, tail quills, and two spots on wings
+       white. Conspicuous yellow, blunt beak.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish, with dark streakings, like a sparrow. No
+       rose-color. Light sulphur yellow under wings. Dark brown,
+       heavy beak.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from southern Canada to
+       Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. September. Summer resident.
+
+A certain ornithologist tells with complacent pride of having shot
+over fifty-eight rose-breasted grosbeaks in less than three weeks
+(during the breeding season) to learn what kind of food they had in
+their crops. This kind of devotion to science may have quite as much
+to do with the growing scarcity of this bird in some localities as the
+demands of the milliners, who, however, receive all of the blame for
+the slaughter of our beautiful songsters. The farmers in Pennsylvania,
+who, with more truth than poetry, call this the potato-bug bird, are
+taking active measures, however, to protect the neighbor that is more
+useful to their crop than all the insecticides known. It also eats
+flies, wasps, and grubs.
+
+Seen upon the ground, the dark bird is scarcely attractive with his
+clumsy beak overbalancing a head that protrudes with stupid-looking
+awkwardness; but as he rises into the trees his lovely rose-colored
+breast and under-wing feathers are seen, and before he has had time to
+repeat his delicious, rich-voiced warble you are already in love with
+him. Vibrating his wings after the manner of the mocking-bird, he
+pours forth a marvellously sweet, clear, mellow song (with something
+of the quality of the oriole's, robin's, and thrush's notes), making
+the day on which you first hear it memorable. This is one of the few
+birds that sing at night. A soft, sweet, rolling warble, heard when
+the moon is at its full on a midsummer night, is more than likely to
+come from the rose-breasted grosbeak.
+
+It is not that his quiet little sparrow-like wife has advanced notions
+of feminine independence that he takes his turn at sitting upon the
+nest, but that he is one of the most unselfish and devoted of mates.
+With their combined efforts they construct only a coarse, unlovely
+cradle in a thorn-bush or low tree near an old, overgrown pasture lot.
+The father may be the poorest of architects, but as he patiently sits
+brooding over the green, speckled eggs, his beautiful rosy breast just
+showing above the grassy rim, he is a sufficient adornment for any
+bird's home.
+
+
+    The Bobolink
+
+    (_Dolichonyx oryzivorus_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: REEDBIRD; MAYBIRD; MEADOW-BIRD; AMERICAN ORTOLAN;
+       BUTTER-BIRD; SKUNK BLACKBIRD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 74)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_In spring plumage_: black, with light-yellow patch on
+       upper neck, also on edges of wings and tail feathers. Rump and
+       upper wings splashed with white. Middle of back streaked with
+       pale buff. Tail feathers have pointed tips. _In autumn
+       plumage_, resembles female.
+
+    _Female_--Dull yellow-brown, with light and dark dashes on
+       back, wings, and tail. Two decided dark stripes on top of
+       head.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from eastern coast to western
+       prairies. Migrates in early autumn to Southern States, and in
+       winter to South America and West Indies.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. From August to October. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+Perhaps none of our birds have so fitted into song and story as the
+bobolink. Unlike a good child, who should "be seen and not heard," he
+is heard more frequently than seen. Very shy, of peering eyes, he
+keeps well out of sight in the meadow grass before entrancing our
+listening ears. The bobolink never soars like the lark, as the poets
+would have us believe, but generally sings on the wing, flying with a
+peculiar self-conscious flight horizontally thirty or forty feet above
+the meadow grass. He also sings perched upon the fence or tuft of
+grass. He is one of the greatest _poseurs_ among the birds.
+
+In spring and early summer the bobolinks respond to every poet's
+effort to imitate their notes. "Dignified 'Robert of Lincoln' is
+telling his name," says one; "Spink, spank, spink," another hears him
+say. But best of all are Wilson Flagg's lines:
+
+           ... "Now they rise and now they fly;
+   They cross and turn, and in and out,
+    and down the middle and wheel about,
+   With a 'Phew, shew, Wadolincon;
+    listen to me Bobolincon!'"
+
+After midsummer the cares of the family have so worn upon the jollity
+of our dashing, rollicking friend that his song is seldom heard. The
+colors of his coat fade into a dull yellowish brown like that of his
+faithful mate, who has borne the greater burden of the season, for he
+has two complete moults each year.
+
+The bobolinks build their nest on the ground in high grass. The eggs
+are of a bluish white. Their food is largely insectivorous:
+grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, spiders, with seeds of grass
+especially for variety.
+
+In August they begin their journey southward, flying mainly by night.
+Arriving in the Southern States, they become the sad-colored,
+low-voiced rice or reed bird, feeding on the rice fields, where they
+descend to the ignominious fate of being dressed for the plate of the
+epicure.
+
+Could there be a more tragic ending to the glorious note of the gay
+songster of the north?
+
+
+    Blackpoll Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica striata_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Black cap; cheeks and beneath grayish white, forming a
+       sort of collar, more or less distinct. Upper parts striped
+       gray, black, and olive. Breast and under parts white, with
+       black streaks. Tail olive-brown, with yellow-white spots.
+
+    _Female_--Without cap. Greenish-olive above, faintly streaked
+       with black. Paler than male. Bands on wings, yellowish.
+
+    _Range_--North America, to Greenland and Alaska. In winter, to
+       northern part of South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Last of May. Late October.
+
+A faint "_screep_, _screep_," like "the noise made by striking two
+pebbles together," Audubon says, is often the only indication of the
+blackpoll's presence; but surely that tireless bird-student had heard
+its more characteristic notes, which, rapidly uttered, increasing in
+the middle of the strain and diminishing toward the end, suggest the
+shrill, wiry hum of some midsummer insect. After the opera-glass has
+searched him out we find him by no means an inconspicuous bird. A
+dainty little fellow, with a glossy black cap pulled over his eyes, he
+is almost hidden by the dense foliage on the trees by the time he
+returns to us at the very end of spring. Giraud says that he is the
+very last of his tribe to come north, though the bay-breasted warbler
+has usually been thought the bird to wind up the spring procession.
+
+The blackpoll has a certain characteristic motion that distinguishes
+him from the black-and-white creeper, for which a hasty glance might
+mistake him, and from the jolly little chickadee with his black cap.
+Apparently he runs about the tree-trunk, but in reality he so flits
+his wings that his feet do not touch the bark at all; yet so rapidly
+does he go that the flipping wing-motion is not observed. He is most
+often seen in May in the apple trees, peeping into the opening
+blossoms for insects, uttering now and then his slender, lisping,
+brief song.
+
+Vivacious, a busy hunter, often catching insects on the wing like the
+flycatchers, he is a cheerful, useful neighbor the short time he
+spends with us before travelling to the far north, where he mates and
+nests. A nest has been found on Slide Mountain, in the Catskills, but
+the hardy evergreens of Canada, and sometimes those of northern New
+England, are the chosen home of this little bird that builds a nest of
+bits of root, lichens, and sedges, amply large for a family twice the
+size of his.
+
+
+    Black-and-white Creeping Warbler
+
+    (_Mniotilta varia_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: VARIED CREEPING WARBLER; BLACK-AND-WHITE CREEPER;
+       WHITEPOLL WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts white, varied with black. A white stripe
+       along the summit of the head and back of the neck, edged with
+       black. White line above and below the eye. Black cheeks and
+       throat, grayish in females and young. Breast white in middle,
+       with black stripes on sides. Wings and tail rusty black, with
+       two white cross-bars on former, and soiled white markings on
+       tail quills.
+
+    _Female_--Paler and less distinct markings throughout.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to America. Eastern United States and
+       westward to the plains. North as far as the fur countries.
+       Winters in tropics south of Florida.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. Late September. Summer resident.
+
+Nine times out of ten this active little warbler is mistaken for the
+downy woodpecker, not because of his coloring alone, but also on
+account of their common habit of running up and down the trunks of
+trees and on the under side of branches, looking for insects, on which
+all the warblers subsist. But presently the true warbler
+characteristic of restless flitting about shows itself. A woodpecker
+would go over a tree with painstaking, systematic care, while the
+black-and-white warbler, no less intent upon securing its food,
+hurries off from tree to tree, wherever the most promising _menu_ is
+offered.
+
+Clinging to the mottled bark of the tree-trunk, which he so closely
+resembles, it would be difficult to find him were it not for these
+sudden flittings and the feeble song, "_Weachy_, _weachy_, _weachy_,
+_'twee_, _'twee_, _'tweet_," he half lisps, half sings between his
+dashes after slugs. Very rarely indeed can his nest be found in an old
+stump or mossy bank, where bark, leaves, and hair make the downy
+cradle for his four or five tiny babies.
+
+
+
+
+DUSKY AND GRAY AND SLATE-COLORED BIRDS
+
+    Chimney Swift                      Junco
+    Kingbird                           White-breasted Nuthatch
+    Wood Pewee                         Red-breasted Nuthatch
+    Ph[oe]be and Say's Ph[oe]be        Loggerhead Shrike
+    Crested Flycatcher                 Northern Shrike
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher             Bohemian Waxwing
+    Least Flycatcher                   Bay-breasted Warbler
+    Chickadee                          Chestnut-sided Warbler
+    Tufted Titmouse                    Golden-winged Warbler
+    Canada Jay                         Myrtle Warbler
+    Catbird                            Parula Warbler
+    Mocking-bird                       Black-throated Blue Warbler
+
+See also the Grayish Green and the Grayish Brown Birds, particularly
+the Cedar Bird, several Swallows, the Acadian and the Yellow-bellied
+Flycatchers; Alice's and the Olive-backed Thrushes; the Louisiana
+Water Thrush; the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher; and the Seaside Sparrow. See
+also the females of the following birds: Pine Grosbeak; White-winged
+Red Crossbill; Purple Martin; and the Nashville, the Pine, and the
+Magnolia Warblers.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CHIMNEY SWIFT (_One-half natural size_)]
+
+
+    Chimney Swift
+
+    (_ChA|tura pelagica_) Swift family
+
+    _Called also:_ CHIMNEY SWALLOW; AMERICAN SWIFT
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 66)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.45 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow. Long wings make its length appear greater.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Deep sooty gray; throat of a trifle lighter
+       gray. Wings extend an inch and a half beyond the even tail,
+       which has sharply pointed and very elastic quills, that serve
+       as props. Feet are muscular, and have exceedingly sharp claws.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to North America east of the Rockies, and
+       from Labrador to Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September or October. Common summer resident.
+
+The chimney swift is, properly speaking, not a swallow at all, though
+chimney swallow is its more popular name. Rowing towards the roof of
+your house, as if it used first one wing, then the other, its flight,
+while swift and powerful, is stiff and mechanical, unlike the
+swallow's, and its entire aspect suggests a bat. The nighthawk and
+whippoorwill are its relatives, and it resembles them not a little,
+especially in its nocturnal habits.
+
+So much fault has been found with the misleading names of many birds,
+it is pleasant to record the fact that the name of the chimney swift
+is everything it ought to be. No other birds can surpass and few can
+equal it in its powerful flight, sometimes covering a thousand miles
+in twenty-four hours, it is said, and never resting except in its
+roosting places (hollow trees or chimneys of dwellings), where it does
+not perch, but rather clings to the sides with its sharp claws, partly
+supported by its sharper tail. Audubon tells of a certain plane tree
+in Kentucky where he counted over nine thousand of these swifts
+clinging to the hollow trunk.
+
+Their nest, which is a loosely woven twig lattice, made of twigs of
+trees, which the birds snap off with their beaks and carry in their
+beaks, is glued with the bird's saliva or tree-gum into a solid
+structure, and firmly attached to the inside of chimneys, or hollow
+trees where there are no houses about. Two broods in a season usually
+emerge from the pure white, elongated eggs.
+
+What a twittering there is in the chimney that the swifts appropriate
+after the winter fires have died out! Instead of the hospitable column
+of smoke curling from the top, a cloud of sooty birds wheels and floats
+above it. A sound as of distant thunder fills the chimney as a host of
+these birds, startled, perhaps, by some indoor noise, whirl their way
+upward. Woe betide the happy colony if a sudden cold snap in early
+summer necessitates the starting of a fire on the hearth by the
+unsuspecting householder! The glue being melted by the fire, "down comes
+the cradle, babies and all" into the glowing embers. A prolonged, heavy
+rain also causes their nests to loosen their hold and fall with the soot
+to the bottom.
+
+Thrifty New England housekeepers claim that bedbugs, commonly found on
+bats, infest the bodies of swifts also, which is one reason why wire
+netting is stretched across the chimney tops before the birds arrive
+from the South.
+
+
+    Kingbird
+
+    (_Tyrannus tyrannus_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also:_ TYRANT FLYCATCHER; BEE MARTIN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 12)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 inches. About two inches shorter than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Ashy black above; white, shaded with ash-color,
+       beneath. A concealed crest of orange-red on crown. Tail black,
+       terminating with a white band conspicuous in flight. Wing
+       feathers edged with white. Feet and bill black.
+
+    _Female_--Similar to the male, but lacking the crown.
+
+    _Range_--United States to the Rocky Mountains. British
+       provinces to Central and South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+If the pugnacious propensity of the kingbird is the occasion of its
+royal name, he cannot be said to deserve it from any fine or noble
+qualities he possesses. He is a born fighter from the very love of
+it, without provocation, rhyme, or reason. One can but watch with a
+degree of admiration his bold sallies on the big, black crow or the
+marauding hawk, but when he bullies the small inoffensive birds in
+wanton attacks for sheer amusement, the charge is less entertaining.
+Occasionally, when the little victim shows pluck and faces his
+assailant, the kingbird will literally turn tail and show the white
+feather. His method of attack is always when a bird is in flight; then
+he swoops down from the telegraph pole or high point of vantage, and
+strikes on the head or back of the neck, darting back like a flash to
+the exact spot from which he started. By these tactics he avoids a
+return blow and retreats from danger. He never makes a fair
+hand-to-hand fight, or whatever is equivalent in bird warfare. It is a
+satisfaction to record that he does not attempt to give battle to the
+catbird, but whenever in view makes a grand detour to give him a wide
+berth.
+
+The kingbird feeds on beetles, canker-worms, and winged insects, with
+an occasional dessert of berries. He is popularly supposed to prefer
+the honey-bee as his favorite tidbit, but the weight of opinion is
+adverse to the charge of his depopulating the beehive, even though he
+owes his appellation bee martin to this tradition. One or two
+ornithologists declare that he selects only the drones for his diet,
+which would give him credit for marvellous sight in his rapid motion
+through the air. The kingbird is preA"minently a bird of the garden and
+orchard. The nest is open, though deep, and not carefully concealed.
+Eggs are nearly round, bluish white spotted with brown and lilac. With
+truly royal exclusiveness, the tyrant favors no community of interest,
+but sits in regal state on a conspicuous throne, and takes his grand
+flights alone or with his queen, but never with a flock of his kind.
+
+
+    Wood Pewee
+
+    (_Contopus virens_) Flycatcher family
+
+
+    _Length_--6.50 inches. A trifle larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Dusky brownish olive above, darkest on head; paler on
+       throat, lighter still underneath, and with a yellowish tinge
+       on the dusky gray under parts. Dusky wings and tail, the wing
+       coverts tipped with soiled white, forming two indistinct bars.
+       Whitish eye-ring. Wings longer than tail.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but slightly more buff underneath.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Florida to northern
+       British provinces. Winters in Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+The wood pewee, like the olive-sided flycatcher, has wings decidedly
+longer than its tail, and it is by no means a simple matter for the
+novice to tell these birds apart or separate them distinctly in the
+mind from the other members of a family whose coloring and habits are
+most confusingly similar. This dusky haunter of tall shady trees has
+not yet learned to be sociable like the ph[oe]be; but while it may not
+be so much in evidence close to our homes, it is doubtless just as
+common. The orchard is as near the house as it often cares to come. An
+old orchard, where modern insecticides are unknown and neglect allows
+insects to riot among the decayed bark and fallen fruit, is a happy
+hunting ground enough; but the bird's real preferences are decidedly
+for high tree-tops in the woods, where no sunshine touches the
+feathers on his dusky coat. It is one of the few shade-loving birds.
+In deep solitudes, where it surely retreats by nesting time, however
+neighborly it may be during the migrations, its pensive, pathetic
+notes, long drawn out, seem like the expression of some hidden sorrow.
+_Pe-a-wee_, _pe-a-wee_, _pewee-ah-peer_ is the burden of its plaintive
+song, a sound as depressing as it is familiar in every walk through
+the woods, and the bird's most prominent characteristic.
+
+To see the bird dashing about in his aA"rial chase for insects, no one
+would accuse him of melancholia. He keeps an eye on the "main chance,"
+whatever his preying grief may be, and never allows it to affect his
+appetite. Returning to his perch after a successful sally in pursuit
+of the passing fly, he repeats his "sweetly solemn thought" over and
+over again all day long and every day throughout the summer.
+
+The wood pewees show that devotion to each other and to their home,
+characteristic of their family. Both lovers work on the construction
+of the flat nest that is saddled on some mossy or lichen-covered limb,
+and so cleverly do they cover the rounded edge with bits of bark and
+lichen that sharp eyes only can detect where the cradle lies.
+Creamy-white eggs, whose larger end is wreathed with brown and lilac
+spots, are guarded with fierce solicitude.
+
+Trowbridge has celebrated this bird in a beautiful poem.
+
+
+    Ph[oe]be
+
+    (_Sayornis ph[oe]be_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also:_ DUSKY FLYCATCHER; BRIDGE PEWEE; WATER PEWEE
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 75)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. About an inch longer than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Dusky olive-brown above; darkest on head,
+       which is slightly crested. Wings and tail dusky, the outer
+       edges of some tail feathers whitish. Dingy yellowish white
+       underneath. Bill and feet black.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to the South
+       Atlantic States, and westward to the Rockies. Winters south of
+       the Carolinas, into Mexico, Central America, and the West
+       Indies.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October. Common summer resident.
+
+The earliest representative of the flycatcher family to come out of
+the tropics where insect life fairly swarms and teems, what does the
+friendly little ph[oe]be find to attract him to the north in March
+while his prospective dinners must all be still in embryo? He looks
+dejected, it is true, as he sits solitary and silent on some
+projecting bare limb in the garden, awaiting the coming of his tardy
+mate; nevertheless, the date of his return will not vary by more than
+a few days in a given locality year after year. Why birds that are
+mated for life, as these are said to be, and such devoted lovers,
+should not travel together on their journey north, is another of the
+many mysteries of bird-life awaiting solution.
+
+The reunited, happy couple go about the garden and outbuildings like
+domesticated wrens, investigating the crannies on piazzas, where
+people may be coming and going, and boldly entering barn-lofts to find
+a suitable site for the nest that it must take much of both time and
+skill to build.
+
+_Pewit_, _ph[oe]be_, _ph[oe]be_; _pewit_, _ph[oe]be_, they contentedly
+but rather monotonously sing as they investigate all the sites in the
+neighborhood. Presently a location is chosen under a beam or rafter,
+and the work of collecting moss and mud for the foundation and hair
+and feathers or wool to line the exquisite little home begins. But the
+labor is done cheerfully, with many a sally in midair either to let
+off superfluous high spirits or to catch a morsel on the wing, and
+with many a vivacious outburst of what by courtesy only we may name a
+song.
+
+When not domesticated, as these birds are rapidly becoming the
+ph[oe]bes dearly love a cool, wet woodland retreat. Here they hunt and
+bathe; here they also build in a rocky bank or ledge of rocks or
+underneath a bridge, but always with clever adaptation of their nest
+to its surroundings, out of which it seems a natural growth. It is one
+of the most finished, beautiful nests ever found.
+
+A pair of ph[oe]bes become attached to a spot where they have once
+nested; they never stray far from it, and return to it regularly,
+though they may not again occupy the old nest. This is because it soon
+becomes infested with lice from the hen's feathers used in lining it,
+for which reason too close relationship with this friendly
+bird-neighbor is discouraged by thrifty housekeepers. When the baby
+birds have come out from the four or six little white eggs, their
+helpless bodies are mercilessly attacked by parasites, and are often
+so enfeebled that half the brood die. The next season another nest
+will be built near the first, the following summer still another,
+until it would appear that a colony of birds had made their homes in
+the place.
+
+Throughout the long summer--for as the ph[oe]be is the first
+flycatcher to come, so it is the last to go--the bird is a tireless
+hunter of insects, which it catches on the wing with a sharp click of
+its beak, like the other members of its dexterous family.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Say's Ph[oe]be (_Sayornis saya_) is the Western representative of the
+Eastern species, which it resembles in coloring and many of its
+habits. It is the bird of the open plains, a tireless hunter in midair
+sallies from an isolated perch, and has the same vibrating motion of
+the tail that the Eastern ph[oe]be indulges in when excited. This bird
+differs chiefly in its lighter coloring, but not in habits, from the
+black pewee of the Pacific slope.
+
+
+    Great-crested Flycatcher
+
+    (_Myiarchus crinitus_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: CRESTED FLYCATCHER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 106)
+
+
+    _Length_--8.50 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Feathers of the head pointed and erect.
+       Upper parts dark grayish-olive, inclining to rusty brown on
+       wings and tail. Wing coverts crossed with two irregular bars
+       of yellowish white. Throat gray, shading into sulphur-yellow
+       underneath, that also extends under the wings. Inner vane of
+       several tail quills rusty red. Bristles at base of bill.
+
+    _Range_--From Mexico, Central America, and West Indies
+       northward to southern Canada and westward to the plains. Most
+       common in Mississippi basin; common also in eastern United
+       States, south of New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+The most dignified and handsomely dressed member of his family, the
+crested flycatcher has, nevertheless, an air of pensive melancholy
+about him when in repose that can be accounted for only by the pain he
+must feel every time he hears himself screech. His harsh, shrill call,
+louder and more disagreeable than the kingbird's, cannot but rasp his
+ears as it does ours. And yet it is chiefly by this piercing note,
+given with a rising inflection, that we know the bird is in our
+neighborhood; for he is somewhat of a recluse, and we must often
+follow the disagreeable noise to its source in the tree-tops before we
+can catch a glimpse of the screecher. Perched on a high lookout, he
+appears morose and sluggish, in spite of his aristocratic-looking
+crest, trim figure, and feathers that must seem rather gay to one of
+his dusky tribe. A low soliloquy, apparently born of discontent, can
+be overheard from the foot of his tree. But another second, and he has
+dashed off in hot pursuit of an insect flying beyond our sight, and
+with extremely quick, dexterous evolutions in midair, he finishes the
+hunt with a sharp click of his bill as it closes over the unhappy
+victim, and then he returns to his perch. On the wing he is
+exceedingly active and joyous; in the tree he appears just the
+reverse. That he is a domineering fellow, quite as much of a tyrant as
+the notorious kingbird, that bears the greater burden of opprobrium,
+is shown in the fierce way he promptly dashes at a feathered stranger
+that may have alighted too near his perch, and pursues it beyond the
+bounds of justice, all the while screaming his rasping cry into the
+intruder's ears, that must pierce as deep as the thrusts from his
+relentless beak. He has even been known to drive off woodpeckers and
+bluebirds from the hollows in the trees that he, like them, chooses
+for a nest, and appropriate the results of their labor for his
+scarcely less belligerent mate. With a slight but important and
+indispensable addition, the stolen nest is ready to receive her four
+cream-colored eggs, that look as if a pen dipped in purple ink had
+been scratched over them.
+
+The fact that gives the great-crested flycatcher a unique interest
+among all North American birds is that it invariably lines its nest
+with snake-skins if one can be had. Science would scarcely be worth
+the studying if it did not set our imaginations to work delving for
+plausible reasons for Nature's strange doings. Most of us will
+doubtless agree with Wilson (who made a special study of these
+interesting nests and never found a single one without cast
+snake-skins in it, even in districts where snakes were so rare they
+were supposed not to exist at all), that the lining was chosen to
+terrorize all intruders. The scientific mind that is unwilling to
+dismiss any detail of Nature's work as merely arbitrary and haphazard,
+is greatly exercised over the reason for the existence of crests on
+birds. But, surely, may not the sight of snake-skins that first greet
+the eyes of the fledgling flycatchers as they emerge from the shell be
+a good and sufficient reason why the feathers on their little heads
+should stand on end? "In the absence of a snake-skin, I have found an
+onion skin and shad scales in the nest," says John Burroughs, who
+calls this bird "the wild Irishman of the flycatchers."
+
+
+   [Illustration: BOBOLINK (Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+   [Illustration: THE PH[OE]BE]
+
+
+    Olive-sided Flycatcher
+
+    (_Contopus borealis_) Flycatcher family
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About an inch longer than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Dusky olive or grayish brown above; head
+       darkest. Wings and tail blackish brown, the former sometimes,
+       but not always, margined and tipped with dusky white. Throat
+       yellowish white; other under parts slightly lighter shade than
+       above. Olive-gray on sides. A tuft of yellowish-white, downy
+       feathers on flanks. Bristles at base of bill.
+
+    _Range_--From Labrador to Panama. Winters in the tropics.
+       Nests usually north of United States, but it also breeds in
+       the Catskills.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Resident only in northern part
+       of its range.
+
+Only in the migrations may people south of Massachusetts hope to see
+this flycatcher, which can be distinguished from the rest of its kin
+by the darker under parts, and by the fluffy, yellowish-white tufts of
+feathers on its flanks. Its habits have the family characteristics: it
+takes its food on the wing, suddenly sallying forth from its perch,
+darting about midair to seize its prey, then as suddenly returning to
+its identical point of vantage, usually in some distended, dead limb
+in the tree-top; it is pugnacious, bold, and tyrannical; mopish and
+inert when not on the hunt, but wonderfully alert and swift when in
+pursuit of insect or feathered foe. The short necks of the flycatchers
+make their heads appear large for their bodies, a peculiarity slightly
+emphasized in this member of the family.
+
+High up in some evergreen tree, well out on a branch, over which the
+shapeless mass of twigs and moss that serves as a nest is saddled,
+four or five buff-speckled eggs are laid, and by some special
+dispensation rarely fall out of their insecure cradle. A sharp, loud
+whistle, _wheu--o-wheu-o-wheu-o_, rings out from the throat of this
+olive-sided tyrant, warning all intruders off the premises; but
+however harshly he may treat the rest of the feathered world, he has
+only gentle devotion to offer his brooding mate.
+
+
+    Least Flycatcher
+
+    (_Empidonax minimus_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: CHEBEC
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Gray or olive-gray above, paler on wings and lower
+       part of back, and a more distinct olive-green on head.
+       Underneath grayish white, sometimes faintly suffused with pale
+       yellow. Wings have whitish bars. White eye-ring. Lower half of
+       bill horn-color.
+
+    _Female_--Is slightly more yellowish underneath.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from tropics northward to Quebec.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+This, the smallest member of its family, takes the place of the more
+southerly Acadian flycatcher, throughout New England and the region of
+the Great Lakes. But, unlike his Southern relative, he prefers
+orchards and gardens close to our homes for his hunting grounds rather
+than the wet recesses of the forests. _Che-bec_, _che-bec_, the
+diminutive olive-pated gray sprite calls out from the orchard between
+his aA"rial sallies after the passing insects that have been attracted
+by the decaying fruit, and chebec is the name by which many New
+Englanders know him.
+
+While giving this characteristic call-note, with drooping jerking
+tail, trembling wings, and uplifted parti-colored bill, he, looks
+unnerved and limp by the effort it has cost him. But in the next
+instant a gnat flies past. How quickly the bird recovers itself, and
+charges full-tilt at his passing dinner! The sharp click of his little
+bill proves that he has not missed his aim; and after careering about
+in the air another minute or two, looking for more game to snap up on
+the wing, he will return to the same perch and take up his familiar
+refrain. Without hearing this call-note one might often mistake the
+bird for either the wood pewee or the ph[oe]be, for all the three are
+similarly clothed and have many traits in common. The slightly larger
+size of the ph[oe]be and pewee is not always apparent when they are
+seen perching on the trees. Unlike the "tuft of hay" to which the
+Acadian flycatcher's nest has been likened, the least flycatcher's
+home is a neat, substantial cup-shaped cradle softly lined with down
+or horsehair, and placed generally in an upright crotch of a tree,
+well above the ground.
+
+
+    The Chickadee
+
+    (_Parus atricapillus_) Titmouse family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-CAPPED TITMOUSE; BLACK-CAP TIT
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 78)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Not crested. Crown and nape and throat
+       black. Above gray, slightly tinged with brown. A white space,
+       beginning at base of bill, extends backward, widening over
+       cheeks and upper part of breast, forming a sort of collar that
+       almost surrounds neck. Underneath dirty white, with pale
+       rusty-brown wash on sides. Wings and tail gray, with white
+       edgings. Plumage downy.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. North of the Carolinas to
+       Labrador. Does not migrate in the North.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late September. May. Winter resident; permanent
+       resident in northern parts of the United States.
+
+No "fair weather friend" is the jolly little chickadee. In the depth
+of the autumn equinoctial storm it returns to the tops of the trees
+close by the house, where, through the sunshine, snow, and tempest of
+the entire winter, you may hear its cheery, irrepressible
+_chickadee-dee-dee-dee_ or _day-day-day_ as it swings around the
+dangling cones of the evergreens. It fairly overflows with good
+spirits, and is never more contagiously gay than in a snowstorm. So
+active, so friendly and cheering, what would the long northern winters
+be like without this lovable little neighbor?
+
+It serves a more utilitarian purpose, however, than bracing
+faint-hearted spirits. "There is no bird that compares with it in
+destroying the female canker-worm moths and their eggs," writes a
+well-known entomologist. He calculates that as a chickadee destroys
+about 5,500 eggs in one day, it will eat 138,750 eggs in the
+twenty-five days it takes the canker-worm moth to crawl up the trees.
+The moral that it pays to attract chickadees about your home by
+feeding them in winter is obvious. Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, in her
+delightful and helpful book "Birdcraft," tells us how she makes a sort
+of a bird-hash of finely minced raw meat, waste canary-seed,
+buckwheat, and cracked oats, which she scatters in a sheltered spot
+for all the winter birds. The way this is consumed leaves no doubt of
+its popularity. A raw bone, hung from an evergreen limb, is equally
+appreciated.
+
+Friendly as the chickadee is--and Dr. Abbott declares it the tamest
+bird we have--it prefers well-timbered districts, especially where
+there are red-bud trees, when it is time to nest. It is very often
+clever enough to leave the labor of hollowing out a nest in the
+tree-trunk to the woodpecker or nuthatch, whose old homes it readily
+appropriates; or, when these birds object, a knot-hole or a hollow
+fence-rail answers every purpose. Here, in the summer woods, when
+family cares beset it, a plaintive, minor whistle replaces the
+_chickadee-dee-dee_ that Thoreau likens to "silver tinkling" as he
+heard it on a frosty morning.
+
+   "Piped a tiny voice near by,
+    Gay and polite, a cheerful cry--
+    Chick-chickadeedee! saucy note
+    Out of sound heart and merry throat,
+    As if it said, 'Good-day, good Sir!
+    Fine afternoon, old passenger!
+    Happy to meet you in these places
+    Where January brings few faces.'"
+                           --_Emerson._
+
+
+    Tufted Titmouse
+
+    (_Parus bicolor_) Titmouse family
+
+    _Called also_: CRESTED TITMOUSE; CRESTED TOMTIT
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 79)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.5 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Crest high and pointed. Leaden or ash-gray
+       above; darkest on wings and tail. Frontlet, bill, and
+       shoulders black; space between eyes gray. Sides of head dull
+       white. Under parts light gray; sides yellowish, tinged with red.
+
+    _Range_--United States east of plains, and only rarely seen so
+       far north as New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Winter resident, but also found
+       throughout the year in many States.
+
+"A noisy titmouse is Jack Frost's trumpeter" may be one of those few
+weather-wise proverbs with a grain of truth in them. As the chickadee
+comes from the woods with the frost, so it may be noticed his cousin,
+the crested titmouse, is in more noisy evidence throughout the winter.
+
+One might sometimes think his whistle, like a tugboat's, worked by
+steam. But how effectually nesting cares alone can silence it in
+April!
+
+Titmice always see to it you are not lonely as you walk through the
+woods. This lordly tomtit, with his jaunty crest, keeps up a
+persistent whistle at you as he flits from tree to tree, leading you
+deeper into the forest, calling out "_Here-here-here!_" and looking
+like a pert and jaunty little blue jay, minus his gay clothes. Mr.
+Nehrling translates one of the calls "_Heedle-dee-dle-dee-dle-dee!_"
+and another "_Peto-peto-peto-daytee-daytee!_" But it is at the former,
+sharply whistled as the crested titmouse gives it, that every dog
+pricks up his ears.
+
+Comparatively little has been written about this bird, because it is
+not often found in New England, where most of the bird _litterateurs_
+have lived. South of New York State, however, it is a common resident,
+and much respected for the good work it does in destroying injurious
+insects, though it is more fond of varying its diet with nuts,
+berries, and seeds than that all-round benefactor, the chickadee.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CHICKADEE]
+
+   [Illustration: _National Association of Audubon Societies_
+      _See page 37_   TUFTED TITMOUSE]
+
+
+    Canada Jay
+
+    (_Perisoreus canadensis_) Crow and Jay family
+
+    _Called also_: WHISKY JACK OR JOHN; MOOSE-BIRD; MEAT-BIRD;
+       VENISON HERON; GREASE-BIRD; CANADIAN CARRION-BIRD; CAMP ROBBER
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. About two inches larger than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts gray; darkest on wings and tail;
+       back of the head and nape of the neck sooty, almost black.
+       Forehead, throat, and neck white, and a few white tips on wings
+       and tail. Underneath lighter gray. Tail long. Plumage fluffy.
+
+    _Range_--Northern parts of the United States and British
+       provinces of North America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident where found.
+
+The Canada jay looks like an exaggerated chickadee, and both birds are
+equally fond of bitter cold weather, but here the similarity stops
+short. Where the chickadee is friendly the jay is impudent and bold;
+hardly less of a villain than his blue relative when it comes to
+marauding other birds' nests and destroying their young. With all his
+vices, however, intemperance cannot be attributed to him, in spite of
+the name given him by the Adirondack lumbermen and guides. "Whisky
+John" is a purely innocent corruption of "Wis-ka-tjon," as the Indians
+call this bird that haunts their camps and familiarly enters their
+wigwams. The numerous popular names by which the Canada jays are known
+are admirably accounted for by Mr. Hardy in a bulletin issued by the
+Smithsonian Institution.
+
+"They will enter the tents, and often alight on the bow of a canoe,
+where the paddle at every stroke comes within eighteen inches of them.
+I know nothing which can be eaten that they will not take, and I had
+one steal all my candles, pulling them out endwise, one by one, from a
+piece of birch bark in which they were rolled, and another peck a
+large hole in a keg of castile soap. A duck which I had picked and
+laid down for a few minutes, had the entire breast eaten out by one or
+more of these birds. I have seen one alight in the middle of my canoe
+and peck away at the carcass of a beaver I had skinned. They often
+spoil deer saddles by pecking into them near the kidneys. They do
+great damage to the trappers by stealing the bait from traps set for
+martens and minks and by eating trapped game. They will sit quietly
+and see you build a log trap and bait it, and then, almost before your
+back is turned, you hear their hateful _ca-ca-ca!_ as they glide down
+and peer into it. They will work steadily, carrying off meat and
+hiding it. I have thrown out pieces, and watched one to see how much
+he would carry off. He flew across a wide stream, and in a short time
+looked as bloody as a butcher from carrying large pieces; but his
+patience held out longer than mine. I think one would work as long as
+Mark Twain's California jay did trying to fill a miner's cabin with
+acorns through a knot-hole in the roof. They are fond of the berries
+of the mountain ash, and, in fact, few things come amiss; I believe
+they do not possess a single good quality except industry."
+
+One virtue not mentioned by Mr. Hardy is their prudent saving from the
+summer surplus to keep the winter storeroom well supplied like a
+squirrel's. Such thrift is the more necessary when a clamorous, hungry
+family of young jays must be reared while the thermometer is often as
+low as thirty degrees below zero at the end of March. How eggs are
+ever hatched at all in a temperature calculated to freeze any sitting
+bird stiff, is one of the mysteries of the woods. And yet four or five
+fluffy little jays, that look as if they were dressed in gray fur,
+emerge from the eggs before the spring sunshine has unbound the icy
+rivers or melted the snowdrifts piled high around the evergreens.
+
+
+    Catbird
+
+    (_Galeoscoptes carolinensis_) Mocking-bird family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-CAPPED THRUSH
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 86)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 inches. An inch shorter than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Dark slate above; below somewhat paler; top
+       of head black. Distinct chestnut patch under the tail, which
+       is black; feet and bill black also. Wings short, more than two
+       inches shorter than the tail.
+
+    _Range_--British provinces to Mexico; west to Rocky Mountains,
+       rarely to Pacific coast. Winters in Southern States, Central
+       America, and Cuba.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. November. Common summer resident.
+
+Our familiar catbird, of all the feathered tribe, presents the most
+contrary characteristics, and is therefore held in varied
+estimation--loved, admired, ridiculed, abused. He is the veriest "Dr.
+Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" of birds. Exquisitely proportioned, with finely
+poised black head and satin-gray coat, which he bathes most carefully
+and prunes and prinks by the hour, he appears from his toilet a Beau
+Brummell, an aristocratic-looking, even dandified neighbor. Suddenly,
+as if shot, he drops head and tail and assumes the most hang-dog air,
+without the least sign of self-respect; then crouches and lengthens
+into a roll, head forward and tail straightened, till he looks like a
+little, short gray snake, lank and limp. Anon, with a jerk and a
+sprint, every muscle tense, tail erect, eyes snapping, he darts into
+the air intent upon some well-planned mischief. It is impossible to
+describe his various attitudes or moods. In song and call he presents
+the same opposite characteristics. How such a bird, exquisite in
+style, can demean himself to utter such harsh, altogether hateful
+catcalls and squawks as have given the bird his common name, is a
+wonder when in the next moment his throat swells and beginning
+_phut-phut-coquillicot_, he gives forth a long glorious song, only
+second to that of the wood thrush in melody. He is a jester, a
+caricaturist, a mocking-bird.
+
+The catbird's nest is like a veritable scrap-basket, loosely woven of
+coarse twigs, bits of newspaper, scraps, and rags, till this rough
+exterior is softly lined and made fit to receive the four to six
+pretty dark green-blue eggs to be laid therein.
+
+As a fruit thief harsh epithets are showered upon the friendly,
+confiding little creature at our doors; but surely his depredations
+may be pardoned, for he is industrious at all times and unusually
+adroit in catching insects, especially in the moth stage.
+
+
+    The Mocking-bird
+
+    (_Mimus polyglottus_) Mocking-bird family
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 13 and 107)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Gray above; wings and wedge-shaped tail
+       brownish; upper wing feathers tipped with white; outer tail
+       quills white, conspicuous in flight; chin white; underneath
+       light gray, shading to whitish.
+
+    _Range_--Peculiar to torrid and temperate zones of two Americas.
+
+    _Migrations_--No fixed migrations; usually resident where seen.
+
+North of Delaware this commonest of Southern birds is all too rarely
+seen outside of cages, yet even in midwinter it is not unknown in
+Central Park, New York. This is the angel that it is said the catbird
+was before he fell from grace. Slim, neat, graceful, imitative,
+amusing, with a rich, tender song that only the thrush can hope to
+rival, and with an instinctive preference for the society of man, it
+is little wonder he is a favorite, caged or free. He is a most devoted
+parent, too, when the four or six speckled green eggs have produced as
+many mouths to be supplied with insects and berries.
+
+In the Connecticut Valley, where many mocking-birds' nests have been
+found, year after year, they are all seen near the ground, and without
+exception are loosely, poorly constructed affairs of leaves, feathers,
+grass, and even rags.
+
+With all his virtues, it must be added, however, that this charming
+bird is a sad tease. There is no sound, whether made by bird or beast
+about him, that he cannot imitate so clearly as to deceive every one
+but himself. Very rarely can you find a mocking-bird without
+intelligence and mischief enough to appreciate his ventriloquism. In
+Sidney Lanier's college note-book was found written this reflection:
+"A poet is the mocking-bird of the spiritual universe. In him are
+collected all the individual songs of all individual natures." Later
+in life, with the same thought in mind, he referred to the bird as
+"yon slim Shakespeare on the tree." His exquisite stanzas, "To Our
+Mocking-bird," exalt the singer with the immortals:
+
+   "Trillets of humor,--shrewdest whistle-wit--
+    Contralto cadences of grave desire,
+    Such as from off the passionate Indian pyre
+    Drift down through sandal-odored flames that split
+    About the slim young widow, who doth sit
+    And sing above,--midnights of tone entire,--
+    Tissues of moonlight, shot with songs of fire;--
+    Bright drops of tune, from oceans infinite
+    Of melody, sipped off the thin-edged wave
+    And trickling down the beak,--discourses brave
+    Of serious matter that no man may guess,--
+    Good-fellow greetings, cries of light distress--
+    All these but now within the house we heard:
+    O Death, wast thou too deaf to hear the bird?
+
+          *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Nay, Bird; my grief gainsays the Lord's best right.
+    The Lord was fain, at some late festal time,
+    That Keats should set all heaven's woods in rhyme,
+    And Thou in bird-notes. Lo, this tearful night
+    Methinks I see thee, fresh from Death's despite,
+    Perched in a palm-grove, wild with pantomime
+    O'er blissful companies couched in shady thyme.
+    Methinks I hear thy silver whistlings bright
+    Meet with the mighty discourse of the wise,--
+    'Till broad Beethoven, deaf no more, and Keats,
+    'Midst of much talk, uplift their smiling eyes
+    And mark the music of thy wood-conceits,
+    And half-way pause on some large courteous word,
+    And call thee 'Brother,' O thou heavenly Bird!"
+
+
+    Junco
+
+    (_Junco hyemalis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SNOWBIRD; SLATE-COLORED SNOWBIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6.5 inches. About the size of the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts slate-colored; darkest on head and neck,
+       which are sometimes almost black and marked like a cowl. Gray
+       on breast, like a vest. Underneath white. Several outer tail
+       feathers white, conspicuous in flight.
+
+    _Female_--Lighter gray, inclining to brown.
+
+    _Range_--North America. Not common in warm latitudes. Breeds
+       in the Catskills and northern New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--September. April. Winter resident.
+
+"Leaden skies above; snow below," is Mr. Parkhurst's suggestive
+description of this rather timid little neighbor, that is only starved
+into familiarity. When the snow has buried seed and berries, a flock
+of juncos, mingling sociably with the sparrows and chickadees about
+the kitchen door, will pick up scraps of food with an intimacy quite
+touching in a bird naturally rather shy. Here we can readily
+distinguish these "little gray-robed monks and nuns," as Miss Florence
+Merriam calls them.
+
+They are trim, sprightly, sleek, and even natty; their dispositions
+are genial and vivacious, not quarrelsome, like their sparrow cousins,
+and what is perhaps best about them, they are birds we may surely
+depend upon seeing in the winter months. A few come forth in
+September, migrating at night from the deep woods of the north, where
+they have nested and moulted during the summer; but not until frost
+has sharpened the air are large numbers of them seen. Rejoicing in
+winter, they nevertheless do not revel in the deep and fierce arctic
+blasts, as the snowflakes do, but take good care to avoid the open
+pastures before the hard storms overtake them.
+
+Early in the spring their song is sometimes heard before they leave us
+to woo and to nest in the north. Mr. Bicknell describes it as "a crisp
+call-note, a simple trill, and a faint, whispered warble, usually much
+broken, but not without sweetness."
+
+
+    White-breasted Nuthatch
+
+    (_Sitta carolinensis_) Nuthatch family
+
+    _Called also_: TREE-MOUSE; DEVIL DOWNHEAD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 87)
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts slate-color. Top of head and
+       nape black. Wings dark slate, edged with black, that fades to
+       brown. Tail feathers brownish black, with white bars. Sides of
+       head and underneath white, shading to pale reddish under the
+       tail. (Female's head leaden.) Body flat and compact. Bill
+       longer than head.
+
+    _Range_--British provinces to Mexico. Eastern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Common resident. Most prominent
+       in winter.
+
+   "Shrewd little haunter of woods all gray,
+    Whom I meet on my walk of a winter day--
+    You're busy inspecting each cranny and hole
+    In the ragged bark of yon hickory bole;
+    You intent on your task, and I on the law
+    Of your wonderful head and gymnastic claw!
+
+    The woodpecker well may despair of this feat--
+    Only the fly with you can compete!
+    So much is clear; but I fain would know
+    How you can so reckless and fearless go,
+    Head upward, head downward, all one to you,
+    Zenith and nadir the same in your view?"
+
+                                 --_Edith M. Thomas._
+
+Could a dozen lines well contain a fuller description or more apt
+characterization of a bird than these "To a Nuthatch"?
+
+With more artless inquisitiveness than fear, this lively little
+acrobat stops his hammering or hatcheting at your approach, and
+stretching himself out from the tree until it would seem he must fall
+off, he peers down at you, head downward, straight into your upturned
+opera-glasses. If there is too much snow on the upper side of a
+branch, watch how he runs along underneath it like a fly, busily
+tapping the bark, or adroitly breaking the decayed bits with his bill,
+as he searches for the spider's eggs, larvA|, etc., hidden there; yet
+somehow, between mouthfuls, managing to call out his cheery _quank!_
+_quank!_ _hank!_ _hank!_
+
+Titmice and nuthatches, which have many similar characteristics, are
+often seen in the most friendly hunting parties on the same tree. A
+pine woods is their dearest delight. There, as the mercury goes down,
+their spirits only seem to go up higher. In the spring they have been
+thought by many to migrate in flocks, whereas they are only retreating
+with their relations away from the haunts of men to the deep, cool
+woods, where they nest. With infinite patience the nuthatch excavates
+a hole in a tree, lining it with feathers and moss, and often
+depositing as many as ten white eggs (speckled with red and lilac) for
+a single brood.
+
+
+    Red-breasted Nuthatch
+
+    (_Sitta canadensis_) Nuthatch family
+
+    Called also: CANADA NUTHATCH
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 87)
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 4.75 inches. One-third smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Lead-colored above; brownish on wings and tail. Head, neck,
+       and stripe passing through eye to shoulder, black. Frontlet,
+       chin, and shoulders white; also a white stripe over eye, meeting
+       on brow. Under parts light, rusty red. Tail feathers barred with
+       white near end, and tipped with pale brown.
+
+    _Female_--Has crown of brownish black, and is lighter beneath
+       than male.
+
+    _Range_--Northern parts of North America. Not often seen south
+       of the most northerly States.
+
+    _Migrations_--November. April. Winter resident.
+
+The brighter coloring of this tiny, hardy bird distinguishes it from
+the other and larger nuthatch, with whom it is usually seen, for the
+winter birds have a delightfully social manner, so that a colony of
+these Free masons is apt to contain not only both kinds of nuthatches
+and chickadees, but kinglets and brown creepers as well. It shares the
+family habit of walking about the trees, head downward, and running
+along the under side of limbs like a fly. By Thanksgiving Day the
+_quank!_ _quank!_ of the white-breasted species is answered by the
+_tai-tai-tait!_ of the red-breasted cousin in the orchard, where the
+family party is celebrating with an elaborate _menu_ of slugs,
+insects' eggs, and oily seeds from the evergreen trees.
+
+For many years this nuthatch, a more northern species than the
+white-breasted bird, was thought to be only a spring and autumn
+visitor, but latterly it is credited with habits like its congener's
+in nearly every particular.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CATBIRD]
+
+   [Illustration: WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Upper Figures, Male and Female
+      RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Lower Figures, Male and Female]
+
+
+    Loggerhead Shrike
+
+    (_Lanius ludovicianus_) Shrike family
+
+
+    _Length_--8.5 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts gray; narrow black line across
+       forehead, connecting small black patches on sides of head at
+       base of bill. Wings and tail black, plentifully marked with
+       white, the outer tail feathers often being entirely white and
+       conspicuous in flight. Underneath white or very light gray.
+       Bill hooked and hawk-like.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern United States to the plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Summer resident.
+
+It is not easy, even at a slight distance, to distinguish the
+loggerhead from the Northern shrike. Both have the pernicious habit of
+killing insects and smaller birds and impaling them on thorns; both
+have the peculiarity of flying, with strong, vigorous flight and much
+wing-flapping, close along the ground, then suddenly rising to a tree,
+on the lookout for prey. Their harsh, unmusical call-notes are similar
+too, and their hawk-like method of dropping suddenly upon a victim on
+the ground below is identical. Indeed, the same description very
+nearly answers for both birds. But there is one very important
+difference. While the Northern shrike is a winter visitor, the
+loggerhead, being his Southern counterpart, does not arrive until
+after the frost is out of the ground, and he can be sure of a truly
+warm welcome. A lesser distinction between the only two
+representatives of the shrike family that frequent our
+neighborhood--and they are two too many--is in the smaller size of the
+loggerhead and its lighter-gray plumage. But as both these birds
+select some high, commanding position, like a distended branch near
+the tree-top, a cupola, house-peak, lightning-rod, telegraph wire, or
+weather-vane, the better to detect a passing dinner, it would be quite
+impossible at such a distance to know which shrike was sitting up
+there silently plotting villainies, without remembering the season
+when each may be expected.
+
+
+    Northern Shrike
+
+    (_Lanius borealis_) Shrike family
+
+    _Called also_: BUTCHER-BIRD; NINE-KILLER
+
+
+    _Length_--9.5 to 10.5 inches. About the size of the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts slate-gray; wing quills and tail black,
+       edged and tipped with white, conspicuous in flight; a white
+       spot on centre of outer wing feathers. A black band runs from
+       bill, through eye to side of throat. Light gray below, tinged
+       with brownish, and faintly marked with waving lines of darker
+       gray. Bill hooked and hawk-like.
+
+    _Female_--With eye-band more obscure than male's, and with more
+       distinct brownish cast on her plumage.
+
+    _Range_--Northern North America. South in winter to middle portion of
+       United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--November, April. A roving winter resident.
+
+"Matching the bravest of the brave among birds of prey in deeds of
+daring, and no less relentless than reckless, the shrike compels that
+sort of deference, not unmixed with indignation, we are accustomed to
+accord to creatures of seeming insignificance whose exploits demand
+much strength, great spirit, and insatiate love for carnage. We cannot
+be indifferent to the marauder who takes his own wherever he finds
+it--a feudal baron who holds his own with undisputed sway--and an ogre
+whose victims are so many more than he can eat, that he actually keeps
+a private graveyard for the balance." Who is honestly able to give the
+shrikes a better character than Dr. Coues, just quoted? A few offer
+them questionable defence by recording the large numbers of English
+sparrows they kill in a season, as if wanton carnage were ever
+justifiable.
+
+Not even a hawk itself can produce the consternation among a flock of
+sparrows that the harsh, rasping voice of the butcher-bird creates,
+for escape they well know to be difficult before the small ogre swoops
+down upon his victim, and carries it off to impale it on a thorn or
+frozen twig, there to devour it later piecemeal. Every shrike thus
+either impales or else hangs up, as a butcher does his meat, more
+little birds of many kinds, field-mice, grasshoppers, and other large
+insects than it can hope to devour in a week of bloody orgies.
+Field-mice are perhaps its favorite diet, but even snakes are not
+disdained.
+
+More contemptible than the actual slaughter of its victims, if
+possible, is the method by which the shrike often lures and sneaks
+upon his prey. Hiding in a clump of bushes in the meadow or garden, he
+imitates with fiendish cleverness the call-notes of little birds that
+come in cheerful response, hopping and flitting within easy range of
+him. His bloody work is finished in a trice. Usually, however, it must
+be owned, the shrike's hunting habits are the reverse of sneaking.
+Perched on a point of vantage on some tree-top or weather-vane, his
+hawk-like eye can detect a grasshopper going through the grass fifty
+yards away.
+
+What is our surprise when some fine warm day in March, just before our
+butcher, ogre, sneak, and fiend leaves us for colder regions, to hear
+him break out into song! Love has warmed even his cold heart, and with
+sweet, warbled notes on the tip of a beak that but yesterday was
+reeking with his victim's blood, he starts for Canada, leaving behind
+him the only good impression he has made during a long winter's visit.
+
+
+    Bohemian Waxwing
+
+    (_Ampelis garrulus_) Waxwing family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-THROATED WAXWING; LAPLAND WAXWING;
+       SILKTAIL
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 9.5 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--General color drab, with faint brownish
+       wash above, shading into lighter gray below. Crest
+       conspicuous, being nearly an inch and a half in length;
+       rufous at the base, shading into light gray above.
+       Velvety-black forehead, chin, and line through the eye. Wings
+       grayish brown, with very dark quills, which have two white
+       bars; the bar at the edge of the upper wing coverts being
+       tipped with red sealing-wax-like points, that give the bird
+       its name. A few wing feathers tipped with yellow on outer
+       edge. Tail quills dark brown, with yellow band across the end,
+       and faint red streaks on upper and inner sides.
+
+    _Range_--Northern United States and British America. Most
+       common in Canada and northern Mississippi region.
+
+    _Migrations_--Very irregular winter visitor.
+
+When Charles Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, who was the first to count
+this common waxwing of Europe and Asia among the birds of North
+America, published an account of it in his "Synopsis," it was
+considered a very rare bird indeed. It may be these waxwings have
+greatly increased, but however uncommon they may still be considered,
+certainly no one who had ever seen a flock containing more than a
+thousand of them, resting on the trees of a lawn within sight of New
+York City, as the writer has done, could be expected to consider the
+birds "very rare."
+
+The Bohemian waxwing, like the only other member of the family that
+ever visits us, the cedar-bird, is a roving gipsy. In Germany they say
+seven years must elapse between its visitations, which the
+superstitious old cronies are wont to associate with woful stories of
+pestilence--just such tales as are resurrected from the depths of
+morbid memories here when a comet reappears or the seven-year locust
+ascends from the ground.
+
+The goings and comings of these birds are certainly most erratic and
+infrequent; nevertheless, when hunger drives them from the far north
+to feast upon the juniper and other winter berries of our Northern
+States, they come in enormous flocks, making up in quantity what they
+lack in regularity of visits and evenness of distribution.
+
+Surely no bird has less right to be associated with evil than this
+mild waxwing. It seems the very incarnation of peace and harmony. Part
+of a flock that has lodged in a tree will sit almost motionless for
+hours and whisper in softly hissed twitterings, very much as a company
+of Quaker ladies, similarly dressed, might sit at yearly meeting.
+Exquisitely clothed in silky-gray feathers that no berry juice is ever
+permitted to stain, they are dainty, gentle, aristocratic-looking
+birds, a trifle heavy and indolent, perhaps, when walking on the
+ground or perching; but as they fly in compact squads just above the
+tree-tops their flight is exceedingly swift and graceful.
+
+
+    Bay-breasted Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica castanea_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.25 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides dull
+       chestnut. Forehead, sides of head, and cheeks black. Above
+       olive-gray, streaked with black. Underneath buffy. Two white
+       wing-bars. Outer tail quills with white patches on tips.
+       Cream-white patch on either side of neck.
+
+    _Female_--Has more greenish-olive above.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Hudson's Bay to Central
+       America. Nests north of the United States. Winters in tropical
+       limit of range.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Rare migrant.
+
+The chestnut breast of this capricious little visitor makes him look
+like a diminutive robin. In spring, when these warblers are said to
+take a more easterly route than the one they choose in autumn to
+return by to Central America, they may be so suddenly abundant that
+the fresh green trees and shrubbery of the garden will contain a dozen
+of the busy little hunters. Another season they may pass northward
+either by another route or leave your garden unvisited; and perhaps
+the people in the very next town may be counting your rare bird
+common, while it is simply perverse.
+
+Whether common or rare, before your acquaintance has had time to ripen
+into friendship, away go the freaky little creatures to nest in the
+tree-tops of the Canadian coniferous forests.
+
+
+    Chestnut-sided Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica pennsylvanica_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLOODY-SIDED WARBLER
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 94 and 122)
+
+
+    _Length_--About 5 inches. More than an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Top of head and streaks in wings yellow. A black line
+       running through the eye and round back of crown, and a black
+       spot in front of eye, extending to cheeks. Ear coverts, chin,
+       and underneath white. Back greenish gray and slate, streaked
+       with black. Sides of bird chestnut. Wings, which are streaked
+       with black and yellow, have yellowish-white bars. Very dark
+       tail with white patches on inner vanes of the outer quills.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but duller. Chestnut sides are often
+       scarcely apparent.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to
+       the tropics, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident, most common in
+       migrations.
+
+In the Alleghanies, and from New Jersey and Illinois northward, this
+restless little warbler nests in the bushy borders of woodlands and
+the undergrowth of the woods, for which he forsakes our gardens and
+orchards after a very short visit in May. While hopping over the
+ground catching ants, of which he seems to be inordinately fond, or
+flitting actively about the shrubbery after grubs and insects, we may
+note his coat of many colors--patchwork in which nearly all the
+warbler colors are curiously combined. With drooped wings that often
+conceal the bird's chestnut sides, which are his chief distinguishing
+mark, and with tail erected like a redstart's, he hunts incessantly.
+Here in the garden he is as refreshingly indifferent to your interest
+in him as later in his breeding haunts he is shy and distrustful. His
+song is bright and animated, like that of the yellow warbler.
+
+
+    Golden-winged Warbler
+
+    (_Helminthophila chrysoptera_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--About 5 inches. More than an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Yellow crown and yellow patches on the wings. Upper
+       parts bluish gray, sometimes tinged with greenish. Stripe
+       through the eye and throat black. Sides of head, chin, and
+       line over the eye white. Underneath white, grayish on sides. A
+       few white markings on outer tail feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Crown duller; gray where male is black, with olive
+       upper parts and grayer underneath.
+
+    _Range_--From Canadian border to Central America, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+After one has seen a golden-winged warbler fluttering hither and
+thither about the shrubbery of a park within sight and sound of a
+great city's distractions and with blissful unconcern of them all,
+partaking of a hearty lunch of insects that infest the leaves before
+one's eyes, one counts the bird less rare and shy than one has been
+taught to consider it. Whoever looks for a warbler with gaudy yellow
+wings will not find the golden-winged variety. His wings have golden
+patches only, and while these are distinguishing marks, they are
+scarcely prominent enough features to have given the bird the rather
+misleading name he bears. But, then, most warblers' names are
+misleading. They serve their best purpose in cultivating patience and
+other gentle virtues in the novice.
+
+Such habits and choice of haunts as characterize the blue-winged
+warbler are also the golden-winged's. But their voices are quite
+different, the former's being sharp and metallic, while the latter's
+_zee, zee, zee_ comes more lazily and without accent.
+
+
+    Myrtle Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica coronata_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER; MYRTLE-BIRD;
+       YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_In summer plumage_: A yellow patch on top of head,
+       lower back, and either side of the breast. Upper parts bluish
+       slate, streaked with black. Upper breast black; throat white;
+       all other under parts whitish, streaked with black. Two white
+       wing-bars, and tail quills have white spots near the tip. _In
+       winter_: Upper parts olive-brown, streaked with black; the
+       yellow spot on lower back the only yellow mark remaining.
+       Wing-bars grayish.
+
+    _Female_--Resembles male in winter plumage.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. Occasional on Pacific slope.
+       Summers from Minnesota and northern New England northward to
+       Fur Countries. Winters from Middle States southward into
+       Central America; a few often remaining at the northern United
+       States all the winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. November. Also, but more rarely,
+       a winter resident.
+
+The first of the warblers to arrive in the spring and the last to
+leave us in the autumn, some even remaining throughout the northern
+winter, the myrtle warbler, next to the summer yellowbird, is the most
+familiar of its multitudinous kin. Though we become acquainted with it
+chiefly in the migrations, it impresses us by its numbers rather than
+by any gorgeousness of attire. The four yellow spots on crown, lower
+back, and sides are its distinguishing marks; and in the autumn these
+marks have dwindled to only one, that on the lower back or rump. The
+great difficulty experienced in identifying any warbler is in its
+restless habit of flitting about.
+
+For a few days in early May we are forcibly reminded of the Florida
+peninsula, which fairly teems with these birds; they become almost
+superabundant, a distraction during the precious days when the rarer
+species are quietly slipping by, not to return again for a year,
+perhaps longer, for some warblers are notoriously irregular in their
+routes north and south, and never return by the way they travelled in
+the spring.
+
+But if we look sharply into every group of myrtle warblers, we are
+quite likely to discover some of their dainty, fragile cousins that
+gladly seek the escort of birds so fearless as they. By the last of
+May all the warblers are gone from the neighborhood except the
+constant little summer yellowbird and redstart.
+
+In autumn, when the myrtle warblers return after a busy enough summer
+passed in Canadian nurseries, they chiefly haunt those regions where
+juniper and bay-berries abound. These latter (_Myrica cerifera_), or
+the myrtle wax-berries, as they are sometimes called, and which are
+the bird's favorite food, have given it their name. Wherever the
+supply of these berries is sufficient to last through the winter,
+there it may be found foraging in the scrubby bushes. Sometimes driven
+by cold and hunger from the fields, this hardiest member of a family
+that properly belongs to the tropics, seeks shelter and food close to
+the outbuildings on the farm.
+
+
+    Parula Warbler
+
+    (_Compsothlypis americana_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 4.75 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Slate-colored above, with a greenish-yellow
+       or bronze patch in the middle of the back. Chin, throat, and
+       breast yellow. A black, bluish, or rufous band across the
+       breast, usually lacking in female. Underneath white, sometimes
+       marked with rufous on sides, but these markings are variable.
+       Wings have two white patches; outer tail feathers have white
+       patch near the end.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. Winters from Florida southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Summer resident.
+
+Through an open window of an apartment in the very heart of New York
+City, a parula warbler flew this spring of 1897, surely the daintiest,
+most exquisitely beautiful bird visitor that ever voluntarily lodged
+between two brick walls.
+
+A number of such airy, tiny beauties flitting about among the blossoms
+of the shrubbery on a bright May morning and swaying on the slenderest
+branches with their inimitable grace, is a sight that the memory
+should retain into old age. They seem the very embodiment of life,
+joy, beauty, grace; of everything lovely that birds by any possibility
+could be. Apparently they are wafted about the garden; they fly with
+no more effort than a dainty lifting of the wings, as if to catch the
+breeze, that seems to lift them as it might a bunch of thistledown.
+They go through a great variety of charming posturings as they hunt
+for their food upon the blossoms and tender fresh twigs, now creeping
+like a nuthatch along the bark and peering into the crevices, now
+gracefully swaying and balancing like a goldfinch upon a slender,
+pendent stem. One little sprite pauses in its hunt for the insects to
+raise its pretty head and trill a short and wiry song.
+
+But the parula warbler does not remain long about the gardens and
+orchards, though it will not forsake us altogether for the Canadian
+forests, where most of its relatives pass the summer. It retreats only
+to the woods near the water, if may be, or to just as close a
+counterpart of a swampy southern woods, where the Spanish or Usnea
+"moss" drapes itself over the cypresses, as it can find here at the
+north. Its rarely beautiful nest, that hangs suspended from a slender
+branch very much like the Baltimore oriole's, is so woven and
+festooned with this moss that its concealment is perfect.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER]
+
+   [Illustration: BLUEBIRD]
+
+
+    Black-throated Blue Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica cA|rulescens_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_---5.30 inches. About an inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Slate-color, not blue above; lightest on forehead and
+       darkest on lower back. Wings and tail edged with bluish.
+       Cheeks, chin, throat, upper breast, and sides black. Breast
+       and underneath white. White spots on wings, and a little white
+       on tail.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-green above; underneath soiled yellow. Wing-spots
+       inconspicuous. Tail generally has a faint bluish tinge.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Labrador to tropics,
+       where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Usually a migrant only in the
+       United States.
+
+Whoever looks for this beautifully marked warbler among the bluebirds,
+will wish that the man who named him had possessed a truer eye for
+color. But if the name so illy fits the bright slate-colored male, how
+grieved must be his little olive-and-yellow mate to answer to the name
+of black-throated blue warbler when she has neither a black throat nor
+a blue feather! It is not easy to distinguish her as she flits about
+the twigs and leaves of the garden in May or early autumn, except as
+she is seen in company with her husband, whose name she has taken with
+him for better or for worse. The white spot on the wings should always
+be looked for to positively identify this bird.
+
+Before flying up to a twig to peck off the insects, the birds have a
+pretty vireo trick of cocking their heads on one side to investigate
+the quantity hidden underneath the leaves. They seem less nervous and
+more deliberate than many of their restless family.
+
+Most warblers go over the Canada border to nest, but there are many
+records of the nests of this species in the Alleghanies as far south
+as Georgia, in the Catskills, in Connecticut, northern Minnesota and
+Michigan. Laurel thickets and moist undergrowth of woods in the United
+States, and more commonly pine woods in Canada, are the favorite
+nesting haunts. A sharp _zip_, _zip_, like some midsummer insect's
+noise, is the bird's call-note, but its love-song, _zee_, _zee_,
+_zee_, or _twee_, _twea_, _twea-e-e_, as one authority writes it, is
+only rarely heard in the migrations. It is a languid, drawling little
+strain, with an upward slide that is easily drowned in the full bird
+chorus of May.
+
+
+
+
+BLUE AND BLUISH BIRDS
+
+    Bluebird
+    Indigo Bunting
+    Belted Kingfisher
+    Blue Jay
+    Blue Grosbeak
+    Barn Swallow
+    Cliff Swallow
+    Mourning Dove
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
+
+Look also among Slate-colored Birds in preceding group, particularly
+among the Warblers there, or in the group of Birds conspicuously,
+Yellow and Orange.
+
+
+    The Bluebird
+
+    (_Sialia sialis_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE ROBIN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 95)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. About an inch longer than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts, wings, and tail bright blue, with rusty
+       wash in autumn. Throat, breast, and sides cinnamon-red.
+       Underneath white.
+
+    _Female_--Has duller blue feathers, washed with gray, and a
+       paler breast than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Nova Scotia and Manitoba to Gulf
+       of Mexico. Southward in winter from Middle States to Bermuda
+       and West Indies.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Summer resident. A few
+       sometimes remain throughout the winter.
+
+With the first soft, plaintive warble of the bluebirds early in March,
+the sugar camps, waiting for their signal, take on a bustling
+activity; the farmer looks to his plough; orders are hurried off to
+the seedsmen; a fever to be out of doors seizes one: spring is here.
+Snowstorms may yet whiten fields and gardens, high winds may howl
+about the trees and chimneys, but the little blue heralds persistently
+proclaim from the orchard and garden that the spring procession has
+begun to move. _Tru-al-ly_, _tru-al-ly_, they sweetly assert to our
+incredulous ears.
+
+The bluebird is not always a migrant, except in the more northern
+portions of the country. Some representatives there are always with
+us, but the great majority winter south and drop out of the spring
+procession on its way northward, the males a little ahead of their
+mates, which show housewifely instincts immediately after their
+arrival. A pair of these rather undemonstrative, matter-of-fact lovers
+go about looking for some deserted woodpecker's hole in the orchard,
+peering into cavities in the fence-rails, or into the bird-houses
+that, once set up in the old-fashioned gardens for their special
+benefit, are now appropriated too often by the ubiquitous sparrow.
+Wrens they can readily dispossess of an attractive tenement, and do.
+With a temper as heavenly as the color of their feathers, the
+bluebird's sense of justice is not always so adorable. But sparrows
+unnerve them into cowardice. The comparatively infrequent nesting of
+the bluebirds about our homes at the present time is one of the most
+deplorable results of unrestricted sparrow immigration. Formerly they
+were the commonest of bird neighbors.
+
+Nest-building is not a favorite occupation with the bluebirds, that
+are conspicuously domestic none the less. Two, and even three, broods
+in a season fully occupy their time. As in most cases, the mother-bird
+does more than her share of the work. The male looks with wondering
+admiration at the housewifely activity, applauds her with song, feeds
+her as she sits brooding over the nestful of pale greenish-blue eggs,
+but his adoration of her virtues does not lead him into emulation.
+
+    "Shifting his light load of song,
+     From post to post along the cheerless fence,"
+
+Lowell observed that he carried his duties quite as lightly.
+
+When the young birds first emerge from the shell they are almost
+black; they come into their splendid heritage of color by degrees,
+lest their young heads might be turned. It is only as they spread
+their tiny wings for their first flight from the nest that we can see
+a few blue feathers.
+
+With the first cool days of autumn the bluebirds collect in flocks,
+often associating with orioles and kingbirds in sheltered, sunny
+places where insects are still plentiful. Their steady, undulating
+flight now becomes erratic as they take food on the wing--a habit that
+they may have learned by association with the kingbirds, for they have
+also adopted the habit of perching upon some conspicuous lookout and
+then suddenly launching out into the air for a passing fly and
+returning to their perch. Long after their associates have gone
+southward, they linger like the last leaves on the tree. It is indeed
+"good-bye to summer" when the bluebirds withdraw their touch of
+brightness from the dreary November landscape.
+
+The bluebirds from Canada and the northern portions of New England
+and New York migrate into Virginia and the Carolinas; the birds from
+the Middle States move down into the Gulf States to pass the winter.
+It was there that countless numbers were cut off by the severe winter
+of 1894-95, which was so severe in that section.
+
+
+    Indigo Bunting
+
+    (_Passerina cyanea_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: INDIGO BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. Smaller than the English sparrow,
+       or the size of a canary.
+
+    _Male_--In certain lights rich blue, deepest on head. In
+       another light the blue feathers show verdigris tints. Wings,
+       tail, and lower back with brownish wash, most prominent in
+       autumn plumage. Quills of wings and tail deep blue, margined
+       with light.
+
+    _Female_--Plain sienna-brown above. Yellowish on breast and
+       shading to white underneath, and indistinctly streaked. Wings
+       and tail darkest, sometimes with slight tinge of blue in outer
+       webs and on shoulders.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama. Most common
+       in eastern part of United States. Winters in Central America
+       and Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+The "glowing indigo" of this tropical-looking visitor that so
+delighted Thoreau in the Walden woods, often seems only the more
+intense by comparison with the blue sky, against which it stands out
+in relief as the bird perches singing in a tree-top. What has this
+gaily dressed, dapper little cavalier in common with his dingy sparrow
+cousins that haunt the ground and delight in dust-baths, leaving their
+feathers no whit more dingy than they were before, and in temper, as
+in plumage, suggesting more of earth than of heaven? Apparently he has
+nothing, and yet the small brown bird in the roadside thicket, which
+you have misnamed a sparrow, not noticing the glint of blue in her
+shoulders and tail, is his mate. Besides the structural resemblances,
+which are, of course, the only ones considered by ornithologists in
+classifying birds, the indigo buntings have several sparrow-like
+traits. They feed upon the ground, mainly upon seeds of grasses and
+herbs, with a few insects interspersed to give relish to the grain;
+they build grassy nests in low bushes or tall, rank grass; and their
+flight is short and labored. Borders of woods, roadside thickets, and
+even garden shrubbery, with open pasture lots for foraging grounds
+near by, are favorite haunts of these birds, that return again and
+again to some preferred spot. But however close to our homes they
+build theirs, our presence never ceases to be regarded by them with
+anything but suspicion, not to say alarm. Their metallic _cheep_,
+_cheep_, warns you to keep away from the little blue-white eggs,
+hidden away securely in the bushes; and the nervous tail twitchings
+and jerkings are pathetic to see. Happily for the safety of their
+nest, the brooding mother has no tell-tale feathers to attract the
+eye. Dense foliage no more conceals the male bird's brilliant coat
+than it can the tanager's or oriole's.
+
+With no attempt at concealment, which he doubtless understands would
+be quite impossible, he chooses some high, conspicuous perch to which
+he mounts by easy stages, singing as he goes; and there begins a loud
+and rapid strain that promises much, but growing weaker and weaker,
+ends as if the bird were either out of breath or too weak to finish.
+Then suddenly he begins the same song over again, and keeps up this
+continuous performance for nearly half an hour. The noonday heat of an
+August day that silences nearly every other voice, seems to give to
+the indigo bird's only fresh animation and timbre.
+
+
+  [Illustration: BELTED KINGFISHER (Upper Figure, Female;
+     Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+   [Illustration: BLUE JAY]
+
+
+    The Belted Kingfisher
+
+    (_Ceryle alcyon_) Kingfisher family
+
+    _Called also_: THE HALCYON
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 48)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper part grayish blue, with prominent crest on head
+       reaching to the nape. A white spot in front of the eye. Bill
+       longer than the head, which is large and heavy. Wings and the
+       short tail minutely speckled and marked with broken bands of
+       white. Chin, band around throat, and underneath white. Two
+       bluish bands across the breast and a bluish wash on sides.
+
+    _Female_--Female and immature specimens have rufous bands
+       where the adult male's are blue. Plumage of both birds oily.
+
+    _Range_--North America, except where the Texan kingfisher
+       replaces it in a limited area in the Southwest. Common from
+       Labrador to Florida, east and west. Winters chiefly from
+       Virginia southward to South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. December. Common summer resident. Usually
+       a winter resident also.
+
+If the kingfisher is not so neighborly as we could wish, or as he used
+to be, it is not because he has grown less friendly, but because the
+streams near our homes are fished out. Fish he must and will have, and
+to get them nowadays it is too often necessary to follow the stream
+back through secluded woods to the quiet waters of its source: a
+clear, cool pond or lake whose scaly inmates have not yet learned
+wisdom at the point of the sportsman's fly.
+
+In such quiet haunts the kingfisher is easily the most conspicuous
+object in sight, where he perches on some dead or projecting branch
+over the water, intently watching for a dinner that is all
+unsuspectingly swimming below. Suddenly the bird drops--dives; there
+is a splash, a struggle, and then the "lone fisherman" returns
+triumphant to his perch, holding a shining fish in his beak. If the
+fish is small it is swallowed at once, but if it is large and bony it
+must first be killed against the branch. A few sharp knocks, and the
+struggles of the fish are over, but the kingfisher's have only begun.
+How he gags and writhes, swallows his dinner, and then, regretting his
+haste, brings it up again to try another wider avenue down his throat!
+The many abortive efforts he makes to land his dinner safely below in
+his stomach, his grim contortions as the fishbones scratch his
+throat-lining on their way down and up again, force a smile in spite
+of the bird's evident distress. It is small wonder he supplements his
+fish diet with various kinds of the larger insects, shrimps, and
+fresh-water mollusks.
+
+Flying well over the tree-tops or along the waterways, the kingfisher
+makes the woodland echo with his noisy rattle, that breaks the
+stillness like a watchman's at midnight. It is, perhaps, the most
+familiar sound heard along the banks of the inland rivers. No love or
+cradle song does he know. Instead of softening and growing sweet, as
+the voices of most birds do in the nesting season, the endearments
+uttered by a pair of mated kingfishers are the most strident, rattly
+shrieks ever heard by lovers It sounds as if they were perpetually
+quarrelling, and yet they are really particularly devoted.
+
+The nest of these birds, like the bank swallow's, is excavated in the
+face of a high bank, preferably one that rises from a stream; and at
+about six feet from the entrance of the tunnel six or eight clear,
+shining white eggs are placed on a curious nest. All the fishbones and
+scales that, being indigestible, are disgorged in pellets by the
+parents, are carefully carried to the end of the tunnel to form a
+prickly cradle for the unhappy fledglings. Very rarely a nest is made
+in the hollow trunk of a tree; but wherever the home is, the
+kingfishers become strongly attached to it, returning again and again
+to the spot that has cost them so much labor to excavate. Some
+observers have accused them of appropriating the holes of the
+water-rats.
+
+In ancient times of myths and fables, kingfishers or halcyons were
+said to build a floating nest on the sea, and to possess some
+mysterious power that calmed the troubled waves while the eggs were
+hatching and the young birds were being reared, hence the term
+"halcyon days," meaning days of fair weather.
+
+
+    Blue Jay
+
+    (_Cyanocitta cristata_) Crow and Jay family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 103)
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. A little larger than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Blue above. Black band around the neck,
+       joining some black feathers on the back. Under parts dusky
+       white. Wing coverts and tail bright blue, striped transversely
+       with black. Tail much rounded. Many feathers edged and tipped
+       with white. Head finely crested; bill, tongue, and legs black.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern coast of North America to the plains, and
+       from northern Canada to Florida and eastern Texas.
+
+    _Migrations_--Permanent resident. Although seen in flocks
+       moving southward or northward, they are merely seeking happier
+       hunting grounds, not migrating.
+
+No bird of finer color or presence sojourns with us the year round
+than the blue jay. In a peculiar sense his is a case of "beauty
+covering a multitude of sins." Among close students of bird traits, we
+find none so poor as to do him reverence. Dishonest, cruel,
+inquisitive, murderous, voracious, villainous, are some of the
+epithets applied to this bird of exquisite plumage. Emerson, however,
+has said in his defence he does "more good than harm," alluding, no
+doubt, to his habit of burying nuts and hard seeds in the ground, so
+that many a waste place is clothed with trees and shrubs, thanks to
+his propensity and industry.
+
+He is mischievous as a small boy, destructive as a monkey, deft at
+hiding as a squirrel. He is unsociable and unamiable, disliking the
+society of other birds. His harsh screams, shrieks, and most
+aggressive and unmusical calls seem often intended maliciously to
+drown the songs of the sweet-voiced singers.
+
+From April to September, the breeding and moulting season, the blue
+jays are almost silent, only sallying forth from the woods to pillage
+and devour the young and eggs of their more peaceful neighbors. In a
+bulky nest, usually placed in a tree-crotch high above our heads, from
+four to six eggs, olive-gray with brown spots, are laid and most
+carefully tended.
+
+Notwithstanding the unlovely characteristics of the blue jay, we could
+ill spare the flash of color, like a bit of blue sky dropped from
+above, which is so rare a tint even in our land, that we number not
+more than three or four true blue birds, and in England, it is said,
+there is none.
+
+
+    Blue Grosbeak
+
+    (_Guiraca cA|rulea_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. About an inch larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Deep blue, dark, and almost black on the back; wings
+       and tail black, slightly edged with blue, and the former
+       marked with bright chestnut. Cheeks and chin black. Bill heavy
+       and bluish.
+
+    _Female_--Grayish brown above, sometimes with bluish tinge on
+       head, lower back, and shoulders. Wings dark olive-brown, with
+       faint buff markings; tail same shade as wings, but with
+       bluish-gray markings. Underneath brownish cream-color, the
+       breast feathers often blue at the base.
+
+    _Range_--United States, from southern New England westward to
+       the Rocky Mountains and southward into Mexico and beyond. Most
+       common in the Southwest. Rare along the Atlantic seaboard.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+This beautiful but rather shy and solitary bird occasionally wanders
+eastward to rival the bluebird and the indigo bunting in their rare
+and lovely coloring, and eclipse them both in song. Audubon, we
+remember, found the nest in New Jersey. Pennsylvania is still favored
+with one now and then, but it is in the Southwest only that the blue
+grosbeak is as common as the evening grosbeak is in the Northwest.
+Since rice is its favorite food, it naturally abounds where that
+cereal grows. Seeds and kernels of the hardest kinds, that its heavy,
+strong beak is well adapted to crack, constitute its diet when it
+strays beyond the rice-fields.
+
+Possibly the heavy bills of all the grosbeaks make them look stupid
+whether they are or not--a characteristic that the blue grosbeak's
+habit of sitting motionless with a vacant stare many minutes at a time
+unfortunately emphasizes.
+
+When seen in the roadside thickets or tall weeds, such as the field
+sparrow chooses to frequent, it shows little fear of man unless
+actually approached and threatened, but whether this fearlessness
+comes from actual confidence or stupidity is by no means certain.
+Whatever the motive of its inactivity, it accomplishes an end to be
+desired by the cleverest bird; its presence is almost never suspected
+by the passer-by, and its grassy nest on a tree-branch, containing
+three or four pale bluish-white eggs, is never betrayed by look or
+sign to the marauding small boy.
+
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG CRESTED FLYCATCHERS WITH HAIR STANDING ON END.]
+
+   [Illustration: Copyright, 1900, by A. R Dugmore
+      HUNGRY YOUNG MOCKING-BIRDS]
+
+   [Illustration: YOUNG MOCKING-BIRD]
+
+
+    Barn Swallow
+
+    (_Chelidon erythrogaster_) Swallow family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 110)
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English
+       sparrow. Apparently considerably larger, because of its wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male_--Glistening steel-blue shading to black above. Chin,
+       breast, and underneath bright chestnut-brown and brilliant
+       buff that glistens in the sunlight. A partial collar of
+       steel-blue. Tail very deeply forked and slender.
+
+    _Female_--Smaller and paler, with shorter outer tail feathers,
+       making the fork less prominent.
+
+    _Range_--Throughout North America. Winters in tropics of both
+       Americas.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September. Summer resident.
+
+Any one who attempts to describe the coloring of a bird's plumage
+knows how inadequate words are to convey a just idea of the delicacy,
+richness, and brilliancy of the living tints. But, happily, the
+beautiful barn swallow is too familiar to need description. Wheeling
+about our barns and houses, skimming over the fields, its bright sides
+flashing in the sunlight, playing "cross tag" with its friends at
+evening, when the insects, too, are on the wing, gyrating, darting,
+and gliding through the air, it is no more possible to adequately
+describe the exquisite grace of a swallow's flight than the glistening
+buff of its breast.
+
+This is a typical bird of the air, as an oriole is of the trees and a
+sparrow of the ground. Though the swallow may often be seen perching
+on a telegraph wire, suddenly it darts off as if it had received a
+shock of electricity, and we see the bird in its true element.
+
+While this swallow is peculiarly American, it is often confounded with
+its European cousin _Hirundo rustica_ in noted ornithologies.
+
+Up in the rafters of the barn, or in the arch of an old bridge that
+spans a stream, these swallows build their bracket-like nests of clay
+or mud pellets intermixed with straw. Here the noisy little broods
+pick their way out of the white eggs curiously spotted with brown and
+lilac that were all too familiar in the marauding days of our
+childhood.
+
+
+    Cliff Swallow
+
+    (_Petrochelidon lunifrons_) Swallow family
+
+    _Called also_: EAVE SWALLOW; CRESCENT SWALLOW;
+       ROCKY MOUNTAIN SWALLOW
+
+
+    _Length_--6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+       Apparently considerably larger because of its wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Steel-blue above, shading to blue-black on
+       crown of head and on wings and tail. A brownish-gray ring
+       around the neck. Beneath dusty white, with rufous tint.
+       Crescent-like frontlet. Chin, throat, sides of head, and tail
+       coverts rufous.
+
+    _Range_--North and South America. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early April. Late September. Summer resident.
+
+Not quite so brilliantly colored as the barn swallow, nor with tail so
+deeply forked, and consequently without so much grace in flying, and
+with a squeak rather than the really musical twitter of the gayer
+bird, the cliff swallow may be positively identified by the rufous
+feathers of its tail coverts, but more definitely by its
+crescent-shaped frontlet shining like a new moon; hence its specific
+Latin name from _luna_ = moon, and _frons_ = front.
+
+Such great numbers of these swallows have been seen in the far West
+that the name of Rocky Mountain swallows is sometimes given to them;
+though however rare they may have been in 1824, when DeWitt Clinton
+thought he "discovered" them near Lake Champlain, they are now common
+enough in all parts of the United States.
+
+In the West this swallow is wholly a cliff-dweller, but it has learned
+to modify its home in different localities. As usually seen, it is
+gourd-shaped, opened at the top, built entirely of mud pellets
+("bricks without straw"), softly lined with feathers and wisps of
+grass, and attached by the larger part to a projecting cliff or eave.
+
+Like all the swallows, this bird lives in colonies, and the
+clay-colored nests beneath the eaves of barns are often so close
+together that a group of them resembles nothing so much as a gigantic
+wasp's nest. It is said that when swallows pair they are mated for
+life; but, then, more is said about swallows than the most tireless
+bird-lover could substantiate. The tradition that swallows fly low
+when it is going to rain may be easily credited, because the air
+before a storm is usually too heavy with moisture for the winged
+insects, upon which the swallows feed, to fly high.
+
+
+    Mourning Dove
+
+    (_Zenaidura macroura_) Pigeon family
+
+    _Called also_: CAROLINA DOVE; TURTLE DOVE
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 111)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-half as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Grayish Drown or fawn-color above, varying to bluish
+       gray. Crown and upper part of head greenish blue, with green
+       and golden metallic reflections on sides of neck. A black spot
+       under each ear. Forehead and breast reddish buff; lighter
+       underneath. (General impression of color, bluish fawn.) Bill
+       black, with tumid, fleshy covering; feet red; two middle tail
+       feathers longest; all others banded with black and tipped
+       with ashy white. Wing coverts sparsely spotted with black.
+       Flanks and underneath the wings bluish.
+
+    _Female_--Duller and without iridescent reflections on neck.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Quebec to Panama, and westward to
+       Arizona. Most common in temperate climate, east of Rocky
+       Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Common summer resident; not
+       migratory south of Virginia.
+
+The beautiful, soft-colored plumage of this incessant and rather
+melancholy love-maker is not on public exhibition. To see it we must
+trace the _a-coo-o, coo-o, coo-oo, coo-o_ to its source in the thick
+foliage in some tree in an out-of-the-way corner of the farm, or to an
+evergreen near the edge of the woods. The slow, plaintive notes, more
+like a dirge than a love-song, penetrate to a surprising distance.
+They may not always be the same lovers we hear from April to the end
+of summer, but surely the sound seems to indicate that they are. The
+dove is a shy bird, attached to its gentle and refined mate with a
+devotion that has passed into a proverb, but caring little or nothing
+for the society of other feathered friends, and very little for its
+own kind, unless after the nesting season has passed. In this respect
+it differs widely from its cousins, the wild pigeons, flocks of which,
+numbering many millions, are recorded by Wilson and other early
+writers before the days when netting these birds became so fatally
+profitable.
+
+What the dove finds to adore so ardently in the "shiftless housewife,"
+as Mrs. Wright calls his lady-love, must pass the comprehension of the
+ph[oe]be, that constructs such an exquisite home, or of a bustling,
+energetic Jenny wren, that "looketh well to the ways of her household
+and eateth not the bread of idleness." She is a flabby, spineless
+bundle of flesh and pretty feathers, gentle and refined in manners,
+but slack and incompetent in all she does. Her nest consists of a few
+loose sticks, without rim or lining; and when her two babies emerge
+from the white eggs, that somehow do not fall through or roll out of
+the rickety lattice, their tender little naked bodies must suffer from
+many bruises. We are almost inclined to blame the inconsiderate mother
+for allowing her offspring to enter the world unclothed--obviously not
+her fault, though she is capable of just such negligence. Fortunate
+are the baby doves when their lazy mother scatters her makeshift nest
+on top of one that a robin has deserted, as she frequently does. It
+is almost excusable to take her young birds and rear them in
+captivity, where they invariably thrive, mate, and live happily,
+unless death comes to one, when the other often refuses food and
+grieves its life away.
+
+In the wild state, when the nesting season approaches, both birds make
+curious acrobatic flights above the tree-tops; then, after a short
+sail in midair, they return to their perch. This appears to be their
+only giddiness and frivolity, unless a dust-bath in the country road
+might be considered a dissipation.
+
+In the autumn a few pairs of doves show slight gregarious tendencies,
+feeding amiably together in the grain fields and retiring to the same
+roost at sundown.
+
+
+    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
+
+    (_Polioptila cA|rulea_) Gnatcatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: SYLVAN FLYCATCHER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 inches. About two inches smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Grayish blue above, dull grayish white below. Grayish
+       tips on wings. Tail with white outer quills changing gradually
+       through black and white to all black on centre quills. Narrow
+       black band over the forehead and eyes. Resembles in manner and
+       form a miniature catbird.
+
+    _Female_--More grayish and less blue, and without the black on head.
+
+    _Range_--United States to Canadian border on the north, the
+       Rockies on the west, and the Atlantic States, from Maine to
+       Florida; most common in the Middle States. A rare bird north
+       of New Jersey. Winters in Mexico and beyond.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+In thick woodlands, where a stream that lazily creeps through the
+mossy, oozy ground attracts myriads of insects to its humid
+neighborhood, this tiny hunter loves to hide in the denser foliage of
+the upper branches. He has the habit of nervously flitting about from
+twig to twig of his relatives, the kinglets, but unhappily he lacks
+their social, friendly instincts, and therefore is rarely seen.
+Formerly classed among the warblers, then among the flycatchers, while
+still as much a lover of flies, gnats, and mosquitoes as ever, his
+vocal powers have now won for him recognition among the singing birds.
+Some one has likened his voice to the squeak of a mouse, and Nuttall
+says it is "scarcely louder," which is all too true, for at a little
+distance it is quite inaudible. But in addition to the mouse-like
+call-note, the tiny bird has a rather feeble but exquisitely finished
+song, so faint it seems almost as if the bird were singing in its
+sleep.
+
+If by accident you enter the neighborhood of its nest, you soon find
+out that this timid, soft-voiced little creature can be roused to
+rashness and make its presence disagreeable to ears and eyes alike as
+it angrily darts about your unoffending head, pecking at your face and
+uttering its shrill squeak close to your very ear-drums. All this
+excitement is in defence of a dainty, lichen-covered nest, whose
+presence you may not have even suspected before, and of four or five
+bluish-white, speckled eggs well beyond reach in the tree-tops.
+
+During the migrations the bird seems not unwilling to show its
+delicate, trim little body, that has often been likened to a
+diminutive mocking-bird's, very near the homes of men. Its graceful
+postures, its song and constant motion, are sure to attract attention.
+In Central Park, New York City, the bird is not unknown.
+
+
+   [Illustration: BARN SWALLOW]
+
+   [Illustration: MOURNING DOVE]
+
+
+
+
+BROWN, OLIVE OR GRAYISH BROWN, AND BROWN AND GRAY SPARROWY BIRDS
+
+    House Wren                         Bank Swallow and
+    Carolina Wren                        Rough-winged Swallow
+    Winter Wren                        Cedar Bird
+    Long-billed Marsh Wren             Brown Creeper
+    Short-billed Marsh Wren            Pine Siskin
+    Brown Thrasher                     Smith's Painted Longspur
+    Wilson's Thrush or Veery           Lapland Longspur
+    Wood Thrush                        Chipping Sparrow
+    Hermit Thrush                      English Sparrow
+    Alice's Thrush                     Field Sparrow
+    Olive-backed Thrush                Fox Sparrow
+    Louisiana Water Thrush             Grasshopper Sparrow
+    Northern Water Thrush              Savanna Sparrow
+    Flicker                            Seaside Sparrow
+    Meadowlark and                     Sharp-tailed Sparrow
+      Western Meadowlark               Song Sparrow
+    Horned Lark and                    Swamp Song Sparrow
+      Prairie Horned Lark              Tree Sparrow
+    Pipit or Titlark                   Vesper Sparrow
+    Whippoorwill                       White-crowned Sparrow
+    Nighthawk                          White-throated Sparrow
+    Black-billed Cuckoo
+
+See also winter plumage of the Bobolink, Goldfinch, and Myrtle
+Warbler. See females of Red-winged Blackbird, Rusty Blackbird, the
+Grackles, Bobolink, Cowbird, the Redpolls, Purple Finch, Chewink,
+Bluebird, Indigo Bunting, Baltimore Oriole, Cardinal, and of the
+Evening, the Blue, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. See also Purple
+Finch, the Redpolls, Mourning Dove, Mocking-bird, Robin.
+
+
+    House Wren
+
+    (_Troglodytes aA"don_) Wren family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 118)
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 5 inches. Actually about one-fourth smaller
+       than the English sparrow; apparently only half as large
+       because of its erect tail.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts cinnamon-brown. Deepest shade
+       on head and neck; lightest above tail, which is more rufous.
+       Back has obscure, dusky bars; wings and tail are finely
+       barred. Underneath whitish, with grayish-brown wash and faint
+       bands most prominent on sides.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Manitoba to the Gulf. Most common
+       in the United States, from the Mississippi eastward. Winters
+       south of the Carolinas.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+Early some morning in April there will go off under your window that
+most delightful of all alarm-clocks--the tiny, friendly house wren,
+just returned from a long visit south. Like some little mountain
+spring that, having been imprisoned by winter ice, now bubbles up in
+the spring sunshine, and goes rippling along over the pebbles,
+tumbling over itself in merry cascades, so this little wren's song
+bubbles, ripples, cascades in a miniature torrent of ecstasy.
+
+Year after year these birds return to the same nesting places: a box
+set up against the house, a crevice in the barn, a niche under the
+eaves; but once home, always home to them. The nest is kept
+scrupulously clean; the house-cleaning, like the house-building and
+renovating, being accompanied by the cheeriest of songs, that makes
+the bird fairly tremble by its intensity. But however angelic the
+voice of the house wren, its temper can put to flight even the English
+sparrow. Need description go further?
+
+Six to eight minutely speckled, flesh-colored eggs suffice to keep the
+nervous, irritable parents in a state bordering on frenzy whenever
+another bird comes near their habitation. With tail erect and head
+alert, the father mounts on guard, singing a perfect ecstasy of love
+to his silent little mate, that sits upon the nest if no danger
+threatens; but both rush with passionate malice upon the first
+intruder, for it must be admitted that Jenny wren is a sad shrew.
+
+While the little family is being reared, or, indeed, at any time, no
+one is wise enough to estimate the millions of tiny insects from the
+garden that find their way into the tireless bills of these wrens.
+
+It is often said that the house wren remains at the north all the
+year, which, though not a fact, is easily accounted for by the coming
+of the winter wrens just as the others migrate in the autumn, and by
+their return to Canada when Jenny wren makes up her feather-bed under
+the eaves in the spring.
+
+
+    Carolina Wren
+
+    (_Thryothorus ludovicianus_) Wren family
+
+    _Called also_: MOCKING WREN
+
+
+    _Length_--6 inches. Just a trifle smaller than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Chestnut-brown above. A whitish streak,
+       beginning at base of bill, passes through the eye to the nape
+       of the neck. Throat whitish. Under parts light buff-brown.
+       Wings and tail finely barred with dark.
+
+    _Range_--United States, from Gulf to northern Illinois and
+       southern New England.
+
+    _Migrations_--A common resident except at northern boundary of
+       range, where it is a summer visitor.
+
+This largest of the wrens appears to be the embodiment of the entire
+family characteristics: it is exceedingly active, nervous, and easily
+excited, quick-tempered, full of curiosity, peeping into every hole
+and corner it passes, short of flight as it is of wing, inseparable
+from its mate till parted by death, and a gushing lyrical songster
+that only death itself can silence. It also has the wren-like
+preference for a nest that is roofed over, but not too near the homes
+of men.
+
+Undergrowths near water, brush heaps, rocky bits of woodland, are
+favorite resorts. The Carolina wren decidedly objects to being stared
+at, and likes to dart out of sight in the midst of the underbrush in a
+twinkling while the opera-glasses are being focussed.
+
+To let off some of his superfluous vivacity, Nature has provided him
+with two safety-valves: one is his voice, another is his tail. With
+the latter he gesticulates in a manner so expressive that it seems to
+be a certain index to what is passing in his busy little
+brain--drooping it, after the habit of the catbird, when he becomes
+limp with the emotion of his love-song, or holding it erect as, alert
+and inquisitive, he peers at the impudent intruder in the thicket
+below his perch.
+
+But it is his joyous, melodious, bubbling song that is his chief
+fascination. He has so great a variety of strains that many people
+have thought that he learned them from other birds, and so have called
+him what many ornithologists declare that he is not--a mocking wren.
+And he is one of the few birds that sing at night--not in his sleep or
+only by moonlight, but even in the total darkness, just before dawn,
+he gives us the same wide-awake song that entrances us by day.
+
+
+    Winter Wren
+
+    (_Troglodytes hiemalis_) Wren family
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 4.5 inches. About one-third smaller than the
+       English sparrow. Apparently only half the size.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Cinnamon-brown above, with numerous short,
+       dusky bars. Head and neck without markings. Underneath rusty,
+       dimly and finely barred with dark brown. Tail short.
+
+    _Range_--United States, east and west, and from North Carolina
+       to the Fur Countries.
+
+    _Migrations_--October, April. Summer resident. Commonly a
+       winter resident in the South and Middle States only.
+
+It all too rarely happens that we see this tiny mouse-like wren in
+summer, unless we come upon him suddenly and overtake him unawares as
+he creeps shyly over the mossy logs or runs literally "like a flash"
+under the fern and through the tangled underbrush of the deep, cool
+woods. His presence there is far more likely to be detected by the ear
+than the eye.
+
+Throughout the nesting season music fairly pours from his tiny throat;
+it bubbles up like champagne; it gushes forth in a lyrical torrent and
+overflows into every nook of the forest, that seems entirely pervaded
+by his song. While music is everywhere, it apparently comes from no
+particular point, and, search as you may, the tiny singer still
+eludes, exasperates, and yet entrances.
+
+If by accident you discover him balancing on a swaying twig, never far
+from the ground, with his comical little tail erect, or more likely
+pointing towards his head, what a pert, saucy minstrel he is! You are
+lost in amazement that so much music could come from a throat so tiny.
+
+Comparatively few of his admirers, however, hear the exquisite notes
+of this little brown wood-sprite, for after the nesting season is over
+he finds little to call them forth during the bleak, snowy winter
+months, when in the Middle and Southern States he may properly be
+called a neighbor. Sharp hunger, rather than natural boldness, drives
+him near the homes of men, where he appears just as the house wren
+departs for the South. With a forced confidence in man that is almost
+pathetic in a bird that loves the forest as he does, he picks up
+whatever lies about the house or barn in the shape of food--crumbs
+from the kitchen door, a morsel from the dog's plate, a little seed in
+the barn-yard, happily rewarded if he can find a spider lurking in
+some sheltered place to give a flavor to the unrelished grain. Now he
+becomes almost tame, but we feel it is only because he must be.
+
+The spot that decided preference leads him to, either winter or
+summer, is beside a bubbling spring. In the moss that grows near it
+the nest is placed in early summer, nearly always roofed over and
+entered from the side, in true wren-fashion; and as the young
+fledglings emerge from the creamy-white eggs, almost the first lesson
+they receive from their devoted little parents is in the fine art of
+bathing. Even in winter weather, when the wren has to stand on a rim
+of ice, he will duck and splash his diminutive body. It is recorded of
+a certain little individual that he was wont to dive through the icy
+water on a December day. Evidently the wrens, as a family, are not far
+removed in the evolutionary scale from true water-birds.
+
+
+   [Illustration: HOUSE WREN]
+
+   [Illustration: BROWN THRASHER]
+
+
+    Long-billed Marsh Wren
+
+    (_Cistothorus palustris_) Wren family
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 5.2 inches. Actually a little smaller than
+       the English sparrow. Apparently half the size.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, with white line over the eye,
+       and the back irregularly and faintly streaked with white.
+       Wings and tail barred with darker cinnamon-brown. Underneath
+       white. Sides dusky. Tail long and often carried erect. Bill
+       extra long and slender.
+
+    _Range_--United States and southern British America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+Sometimes when you are gathering cat-tails in the river marshes an
+alert, nervous little brown bird rises startled from the rushes and
+tries to elude you as with short, jerky flight it goes deeper and
+deeper into the marsh, where even the rubber boot may not follow. It
+closely resembles two other birds found in such a place, the swamp
+sparrow and the short-billed marsh wren; but you may know by its long,
+slender bill that it is not the latter, and by the absence of a bright
+bay crown that it is not the shyest of the sparrows.
+
+These marsh wrens appear to be especially partial to running water;
+their homes are not very far from brooks and rivers, preferably those
+that are affected in their rise and flow by the tides. They build in
+colonies, and might be called inveterate singers, for no single bird
+is often permitted to finish his bubbling song without half the colony
+joining in a chorus.
+
+Still another characteristic of this particularly interesting bird is
+its unique architectural effects produced with coarse grasses woven
+into globular form and suspended in the reeds. Sometimes adapting its
+nest to the building material at hand, it weaves it of grasses and
+twigs, and suspends it from the limb of a bush or tree overhanging the
+water, where it swings like an oriole's. The entrance to the nest is
+invariably on the side.
+
+More devoted homebodies than these little wrens are not among the
+feathered tribe. Once let the hand of man desecrate their nest, even
+before the tiny speckled eggs are deposited in it, and off go the
+birds to a more inaccessible place, where they can enjoy their home
+unmolested. Thus three or four nests may be made in a summer.
+
+
+    Short-billed Marsh Wren
+
+    (_Cistothorus stellaris_) Wren family
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 5 inches. Actually about one-third smaller than
+       the English sparrow, but apparently only half its size.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, faintly streaked with white, black,
+       and buff. Wings and tail barred with same. Underneath white, with
+       buff and rusty tinges on throat and breast. Short bill.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Manitoba southward in winter to
+       Gulf of Mexico. Most common in north temperate latitudes.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Late September.
+
+Where red-winged blackbirds like to congregate in oozy pastures or
+near boggy woods, the little short-billed wren may more often be heard
+than seen, for he is more shy, if possible, than his long-billed
+cousin, and will dive down into the sedges at your approach, very much
+as a duck disappears under water. But if you see him at all, it is
+usually while swaying to and fro as he clings to some tall stalk of
+grass, keeping his balance by the nervous, jerky tail motions
+characteristic of all the wrens, and singing with all his might.
+Oftentimes his tail reaches backward almost to his head in a most
+exaggerated wren-fashion.
+
+Samuels explains the peculiar habit both the long-billed and the
+short-billed marsh wrens have of building several nests in one season,
+by the theory that they are made to protect the sitting female, for it
+is noticed that the male bird always lures a visitor to an empty nest,
+and if this does not satisfy his curiosity, to another one, to prove
+conclusively that he has no family in prospect.
+
+Wild rice is an ideal nesting place for a colony of these little marsh
+wrens. The home is made of sedge grasses, softly lined with the softer
+meadow grass or plant-down, and placed in a tussock of tall grass, or
+even upon the ground. The entrance is on the side. But while fond of
+moist places, both for a home and feeding ground, it will be noticed
+that these wrens have no special fondness for running water, so dear
+to their long-billed relatives. Another distinction is that the eggs
+of this species, instead of being so densely speckled as to look
+brown, are pure white.
+
+
+    Brown Thrasher
+
+    (_Harporhynchus rufus_) Thrasher and Mocking-bird family
+
+    _Called also_: BROWN THRUSH; GROUND THRUSH; RED THRUSH; BROWN
+       MOCKING-BIRD; FRENCH MOCKING-BIRD; MAVIS
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 119)
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 11.5 inches. Fully an inch longer than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Rusty red-brown or rufous above; darkest on wings, which
+       have two short whitish bands. Underneath white, heavily
+       streaked (except on throat) with dark-brown, arrow-shaped spots.
+       Tail very long. Yellow eyes. Bill long and curved at tip.
+
+    _Female_--Paler than male.
+
+    _Range_--United States to Rockies. Nests from Gulf States to
+       Manitoba and Montreal. Winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+    "There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in a tree;
+     He is singing to me! He is singing to me!
+     And what does he say, little girl, little boy?
+     'Oh, the world's running over with joy!'"
+
+The hackneyed poem beginning with this stanza that delighted our
+nursery days, has left in our minds a fairly correct impression of the
+bird. He still proves to be one of the perennially joyous singers,
+like a true cousin of the wrens, and when we study him afield,
+he appears to give his whole attention to his song with a
+self-consciousness that is rather amusing than the reverse. "What
+musician wouldn't be conscious of his own powers," he seems to
+challenge us, "if he possessed such a gift?" Seated on a conspicuous
+perch, as if inviting attention to his performance, with uplifted head
+and drooping tail he repeats the one exultant, dashing air to which
+his repertoire is limited, without waiting for an encore. Much
+practice has given the notes a brilliancy of execution to be compared
+only with the mocking-bird's; but in spite of the name "ferruginous
+mocking-bird" that Audubon gave him, he does not seem to have the
+faculty of imitating other birds' songs. Thoreau says the
+Massachusetts farmers, when planting their seed, always think they
+hear the thrasher say, "Drop it, drop it--cover it up, cover it
+up--pull it up, pull it up, pull it up."
+
+One of the shatterings of childish impressions that age too often
+brings is when we learn by the books that our "merry brown thrush" is
+no thrush at all, but a thrasher--first cousin to the wrens, in spite
+of his speckled breast, large size, and certain thrush-like instincts,
+such as never singing near the nest and shunning mankind in the
+nesting season, to mention only two. Certainly his bold, swinging
+flight and habit of hopping and running over the ground would seem to
+indicate that he is not very far removed from the true thrushes. But
+he has one undeniable wren-like trait, that of twitching, wagging, and
+thrashing his long tail about to help express his emotions. It swings
+like a pendulum as he rests on a branch, and thrashes about in a most
+ludicrous way as he is feeding on the ground upon the worms, insects,
+and fruit that constitute his diet.
+
+Before the fatal multiplication of cats, and in unfrequented, sandy
+locations still, the thrasher builds her nest upon the ground, thus
+earning the name "ground thrush" that is often given her; but with
+dearly paid-for wisdom she now most frequently selects a low shrub or
+tree to cradle the two broods that all too early in the summer
+effectually silence the father's delightful song.
+
+
+    Wilson's Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus fuscescens_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: VEERY; TAWNY THRUSH
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 126)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Uniform olive-brown, with a tawny cast above.
+       Centre of the throat white, with cream-buff on sides of throat
+       and upper part of breast, which is lightly spotted with
+       wedge-shaped, brown points. Underneath white, or with a faint
+       grayish tinge.
+
+    _Range_--United States, westward to plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Summer resident.
+
+To many of us the veery, as they call the Wilson's thrush in New
+England, is merely a voice, a sylvan mystery, reflecting the sweetness
+and wildness of the forest, a vocal "will-o'-the-wisp" that, after
+enticing us deeper and deeper into the woods, where we sink into the
+spongy moss of its damp retreats and become entangled in the wild
+grapevines twined about the saplings and underbrush, still sings to us
+from unapproachable tangles. Plainly, if we want to see the bird, we
+must let it seek us out on the fallen log where we have sunk exhausted
+in the chase.
+
+Presently a brown bird scuds through the fern. It is a thrush, you
+guess in a minute, from its slender, graceful body. At first you
+notice no speckles on its breast, but as it comes nearer, obscure
+arrow-heads are visible--not heavy, heart-shaped spots such as
+plentifully speckle the larger wood thrush or the smaller hermit. It
+is the smallest of the three commoner thrushes, and it lacks the ring
+about the eye that both the others have. Shy and elusive, it slips
+away again in a most unfriendly fashion, and is lost in the wet tangle
+before you have become acquainted. You determine, however, before you
+leave the log, to cultivate the acquaintance of this bird the next
+spring, when, before it mates and retreats to the forest, it comes
+boldly into the gardens and scratches about in the dry leaves on the
+ground for the lurking insects beneath. Miss Florence Merriam tells of
+having drawn a number of veeries about her by imitating their
+call-note, which is a whistled _wheew, whoit_, very easy to
+counterfeit when once heard. "_Taweel-ab, taweel-ab, twil-ab,
+twil-ab!_" Professor Ridgeway interprets their song, that descends in
+a succession of trills without break or pause; but no words can
+possibly convey an idea of the quality of the music. The veery, that
+never claims an audience, sings at night also, and its weird, sweet
+strains floating through the woods at dusk, thrill one like the
+mysterious voice of a disembodied spirit.
+
+Whittier mentions the veery in "The Playmate":
+
+    "And here in spring the veeries sing
+     The song of long ago."
+
+
+   [Illustration: A CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER FAMILY.]
+
+   [Illustration: THE WOOD THRUSH HEARS THE CLICK OF THE CAMERA]
+
+
+    Wood Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus mustelinus_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: SONG THRUSH; WOOD ROBIN; BELLBIRD
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 123 and 127)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 8.3 inches. About two inches shorter than the
+    robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, reddish on head and shoulders,
+       and shading into olive-brown on tail. Throat, breast, and
+       underneath white, plain in the middle, but heavily marked on
+       sides and breast with heart-shaped spots of very dark brown.
+       Whitish eye-ring.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April or early May. October. Summer resident.
+
+When Nuttall wrote of "this solitary and retiring songster," before
+the country was as thickly settled as it is to-day, it possibly had
+not developed the confidence in men that now distinguishes the wood
+thrush from its shy congeners that are distinctly wood birds, which it
+can no longer strictly be said to be. In city parks and country
+places, where plenty of trees shade the village streets and lawns, it
+comes near you, half hopping, half running, with dignified
+unconsciousness and even familiarity, all the more delightful in a
+bird whose family instincts should take it into secluded woodlands
+with their shady dells. Perhaps, in its heart of hearts, it still
+prefers such retreats. Many conservative wood thrushes keep to their
+wild haunts, and it must be owned not a few liberals, that discard
+family traditions at other times, seek the forest at nesting time. But
+social as the wood thrush is and abundant, too, it is also eminently
+high-bred; and when contrasted with its tawny cousin, the veery, that
+skulks away to hide in the nearest bushes as you approach, or with the
+hermit thrush, that pours out its heavenly song in the solitude of the
+forest, how gracious and full of gentle confidence it seems! Every
+gesture is graceful and elegant; even a wriggling beetle is eaten as
+daintily as caviare at the king's table. It is only when its
+confidence in you is abused, and you pass too near the nest, that
+might easily be mistaken for a robin's, just above your head in a
+sapling, that the wood thrush so far forgets itself as to become
+excited. _Pit, pit, pit_, sharply reiterated, is called out at you
+with a strident quality in the tone that is painful evidence of the
+fearful anxiety your presence gives this gentle bird.
+
+Too many guardians of nests, whether out of excessive happiness or
+excessive stupidity, have a dangerous habit of singing very near them.
+Not so the wood thrush. "Come to me," as the opening notes of its
+flute-like song have been freely translated, invites the intruder
+far away from where the blue eggs lie cradled in ambush.
+"_Uoli-a-e-o-li-noli-nol-aeolee-lee!_" is as good a rendering into
+syllables of the luscious song as could very well be made. Pure, liquid,
+rich, and luscious, it rings out from the trees on the summer air and
+penetrates our home like a strain of music from a stringed quartette.
+
+
+    Hermit Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus aonalaschkA| pallasii_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAMP ANGEL; LITTLE THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--7.25 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts olive-brown, reddening near the
+       tail, which is pale rufous, quite distinct from the color of
+       the back. Throat, sides of neck, and breast pale buff.
+       Feathers of throat and neck finished with dark arrow-points at
+       tip; feathers of the breast have larger rounded spots. Sides
+       brownish gray. Underneath white. A yellow ring around the eye.
+       Smallest of the thrushes.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of North America. Most common in the
+       United States to the plains. Winters from southern Illinois
+       and New Jersey to Gulf.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. Summer resident.
+
+The first thrush to come and the last to go, nevertheless the hermit
+is little seen throughout its long visit north. It may loiter awhile
+in the shrubby roadsides, in the garden or the parks in the spring
+before it begins the serious business of life in a nest of moss,
+coarse grass, and pine-needles placed on the ground in the depths of
+the forest, but by the middle of May its presence in the neighborhood
+of our homes becomes only a memory. Although one never hears it at its
+best during the migrations, how one loves to recall the serene,
+ethereal evening hymn! "The finest sound in Nature," John Burroughs
+calls it. "It is not a proud, gorgeous strain like the tanager's or
+the grosbeak's," he says; "it suggests no passion or emotion--nothing
+personal, but seems to be the voice of that calm, sweet solemnity one
+attains to in his best moments. It realizes a peace and a deep, solemn
+joy that only the finest souls may know."
+
+Beyond the question of even the hypercritical, the hermit thrush has a
+more exquisitely beautiful voice than any other American bird, and
+only the nightingale's of Europe can be compared with it. It is the
+one theme that exhausts all the ornithologists' musical adjectives in
+a vain attempt to convey in words any idea of it to one who has never
+heard it, for the quality of the song is as elusive as the bird
+itself. But why should the poets be so silent? Why has it not called
+forth such verse as the English poets have lavished upon the
+nightingale? Undoubtedly because it lifts up its heavenly voice in the
+solitude of the forest, whereas the nightingales, singing in loud
+choruses in the moonlight under the poet's very window, cannot but
+impress his waking thoughts and even his dreams with their melody.
+
+Since the severe storm and cold in the Gulf States a few winters ago,
+where vast numbers of hermit thrushes died from cold and starvation,
+this bird has been very rare in haunts where it used to be abundant.
+The other thrushes escaped because they spend the winter farther
+south.
+
+
+    Alice's Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus aliciA|_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 to 8 inches. About the size of the bluebird.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts uniform olive-brown. Eye-ring
+       whitish. Cheeks gray; sides dull grayish white. Sides of the
+       throat and breast pale cream-buff, speckled with arrow-shaped
+       points on throat and with half-round dark-brown marks below.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Labrador and Alaska to Central
+       America.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April or May. October. Chiefly seen in
+       migrations, except at northern parts of its range.
+
+One looks for a prettier bird than this least attractive of all the
+thrushes in one that bears such a suggestive name. Like the
+olive-backed thrush, from which it is almost impossible to tell it
+when both are alive and hopping about the shrubbery, its plumage above
+is a dull olive-brown that is more protective than pleasing.
+
+Just as Wilson hopelessly confused the olive-backed thrush with the
+hermit, so has Alice's thrush been confounded by later writers with
+the olive-backed, from which it differs chiefly in being a trifle
+larger, in having gray cheeks instead of buff, and in possessing a few
+faint streaks on the throat. Where it goes to make a home for its
+greenish-blue speckled eggs in some low bush at the northern end of
+its range, it bursts into song, but except in the nesting grounds its
+voice is never heard. Mr. Bradford Torrey, who heard it singing in the
+White Mountains, describes the song as like the thrush's in quality,
+but differently accented: "_Wee-o-wee-o-tit-ti-wee-o!_"
+
+In New England and New York this thrush is most often seen during its
+autumn migrations. As it starts up and perches upon a low branch
+before you, it appears to have longer legs and a broader, squarer tail
+than its congeners.
+
+
+   [Illustration: VEERY OR WILSON'S THRUSH]
+
+   [Illustration: WOOD THRUSH]
+
+
+    Olive-backed Thrush
+
+    (_Turdus ustulatus swainsonii_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAINSON'S THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.50 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts olive-brown. Whole throat and
+       breast yellow-buff, shading to ashy on sides and to white
+       underneath. Buff ring around eye. Dark streaks on sides of
+       throat (none on centre), and larger, more spot-like marks on
+       breast.
+
+    _Range_--North America to Rockies; a few stragglers on Pacific
+       slope. Northward to arctic countries.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Summer resident in Canada.
+       Chiefly a migrant in United States.
+
+Mr. Parkhurst tells of finding this "the commonest bird in the Park
+(Central Park, New York), not even excepting the robin," during the
+last week of May on a certain year; but usually, it must be owned, we
+have to be on the lookout to find it, or it will pass unnoticed in the
+great companies of more conspicuous birds travelling at the same time.
+White-throated sparrows often keep it company on the long journeys
+northward, and they may frequently be seen together, hopping sociably
+about the garden, the thrush calling out a rather harsh note--_puk!
+puk!_--quite different from the liquid, mellow calls of the other
+thrushes, to resent either the sparrows' bad manners or the
+inquisitiveness of a human disturber of its peace. But this gregarious
+habit and neighborly visit end even before acquaintance fairly begins,
+and the thrushes are off for their nesting grounds in the pine woods
+of New England or Labrador if they are travelling up the east coast,
+or to Alaska, British Columbia, or Manitoba if west of the
+Mississippi. There they stay all summer, often travelling southward
+with the sparrows in the autumn, as in the spring.
+
+Why they should prefer coniferous trees, unless to utilize the needles
+for a nest, is not understood. Low trees and bushes are favorite
+building sites with them as with others of the family, though these
+thrushes disdain a mud lining to their nests. Those who have heard the
+olive-backed thrush singing an even-song to its brooding mate compare
+it with the veery's, but it has a break in it and is less simple and
+pleasing than the latter's.
+
+
+    Louisiana Water Thrush
+
+    (_Seiurus motacilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.28 inches. Just a trifle smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Grayish olive-brown upper parts, with
+       conspicuous white line over the eye and reaching almost to the
+       nape. Underneath white, tinged with pale buff. Throat and line
+       through the middle, plain. Other parts streaked with very dark
+       brown, rather faintly on the breast, giving them the speckled
+       breast of the thrushes. Heavy, dark bill.
+
+    _Range_--United States, westward to the plains; northward to
+       southern New England. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. October. Summer resident.
+
+This bird, that so delighted Audubon with its high-trilled song as he
+tramped with indefatigable zeal through the hammocks of the Gulf
+States, seems to be almost the counterpart of the Northern water
+thrush, just as the loggerhead is the Southern counterpart of the
+Northern shrike. Very many Eastern birds have their duplicates in
+Western species, as we all know, and it is most interesting to trace
+the slight external variations that different climates and diet have
+produced on the same bird, and thus differentiated the species. In
+winter the Northern water thrush visits the cradle of its kind, the
+swamps of Louisiana and Florida, and, no doubt, by daily contact with
+its congeners there, keeps close to their cherished traditions, from
+which it never deviates farther than Nature compels, though it
+penetrate to the arctic regions during its summer journeys.
+
+With a more southerly range, the Louisiana water thrush does not
+venture beyond the White Mountains and to the shores of the Great
+Lakes in summer, but even at the North the same woods often contain
+both birds, and there is opportunity to note just how much they
+differ. The Southern bird is slightly the larger, possibly an inch; it
+is more gray, and it lacks a few of the streaks, notably on the
+throat, that plentifully speckle its Northern counterpart; but the
+habits of both of these birds appear to be identical. Only for a few
+days in the spring or autumn migrations do they pass near enough to
+our homes for us to study them, and then we must ever be on the alert
+to steal a glance at them through the opera-glasses, for birds more
+shy than they do not visit the garden shrubbery at any season. Only
+let them suspect they are being stared at, and they are under cover in
+a twinkling.
+
+Where mountain streams dash through tracts of mossy, spongy ground
+that is carpeted with fern and moss, and overgrown with impenetrable
+thickets of underbrush and tangles of creepers--such a place is the
+favorite resort of both the water thrushes. With a rubber boot
+missing, clothes torn, and temper by no means unruffled, you finally
+stand over the Louisiana thrush's nest in the roots of an upturned
+tree immediately over the water, or else in a mossy root-belaced bank
+above a purling stream. A liquid-trilled warble, wild and sweet,
+breaks the stillness, and, like Audubon, you feel amply rewarded for
+your pains though you may not be prepared to agree with him in
+thinking the song the equal of the European nightingale's.
+
+
+    Northern Water Thrush
+
+    (_Seiurus noveboracensis_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: NEW YORK WATER THRUSH; AQUATIC WOOD WAGTAIL;
+       AQUATIC THRUSH
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Uniform olive or grayish brown above. Pale
+       buff line over the eye. Underneath, white tinged with
+       sulphur-yellow, and streaked like a thrush with very dark
+       brown arrow-headed or oblong spots that are also seen
+       underneath wings.
+
+    _Range_--United States, westward to Rockies and northward
+       through British provinces. Winters from Gulf States southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. October. Summer resident.
+
+According to the books we have before us, a warbler; but who, to look
+at his speckled throat and breast, would ever take him for anything
+but a diminutive thrush; or, studying him from some distance through
+the opera-glasses as he runs in and out of the little waves along the
+brook or river shore, would not name him a baby sandpiper? The rather
+unsteady motion of his legs, balancing of the tail, and sudden jerking
+of the head suggest an aquatic bird rather than a bird of the woods.
+But to really know either man or beast, you must follow him to his
+home, and if you have pluck enough to brave the swamp and the almost
+impenetrable tangle of undergrowth where the water thrush chooses to
+nest, there "In the swamp in secluded recesses, a shy and hidden bird
+is warbling a song;" and this warbled song that Walt Whitman so adored
+gives you your first clue to the proper classification of the bird. It
+has nothing in common with the serene, hymn-like voices of the true
+thrushes; the bird has no flute-like notes, but an emphatic smacking
+or chucking kind of warble. For a few days only is this song heard
+about the gardens and roadsides of our country places. Like the
+Louisiana water thrush, this bird never ventures near the homes of men
+after the spring and autumn migrations, but, on the contrary, goes as
+far away from them as possible, preferably to some mountain region,
+beside a cool and dashing brook, where a party of adventurous young
+climbers from a summer hotel or the lonely trout fisherman may startle
+it from its mossy nest on the ground.
+
+
+    Flicker
+
+    (_Colaptes auratus_) Woodpecker family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER; CLAPE; PIGEON
+       WOODPECKER; YELLOWHAMMER; HIGH-HOLE OR HIGH-HOLDER;
+       YARUP; WAKE-UP; YELLOW-SHAFTED WOODPECKER
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 24 and 134)
+
+
+    _Length_--12 to 13 inches. About one-fourth as large again as
+       the robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Head and neck bluish gray, with a red
+       crescent across back of neck and a black crescent on breast.
+       Male has black cheek-patches, that are wanting in female.
+       Golden brown shading into brownish-gray, and barred with black
+       above. Underneath whitish, tinged with light chocolate and
+       thickly spotted with black. Wing linings, shafts of wing, and
+       tail-quills bright yellow. Above tail white, conspicuous when
+       the bird flies.
+
+    _Range_--United States, east of Rockies; Alaska and British
+       America, south of Hudson Bay. Occasional on Pacific slope.
+
+    _Migrations_--Most commonly seen from April to October.
+       Usually resident.
+
+If we were to follow the list of thirty-six aliases by which this
+largest and commonest of our woodpeckers is known throughout its wide
+range, we should find all its peculiarities of color, flight, noises,
+and habits indicated in its popular names. It cannot but attract
+attention wherever seen, with its beautiful plumage, conspicuously
+yellow if its outstretched wings are looked at from below,
+conspicuously brown and white if seen upon the ground. At a distance
+it suggests the meadowlark. Both birds wear black, crescent breast
+decorations, and the flicker also has the habit of feeding upon the
+ground, especially in autumn, a characteristic not shared by its
+relations.
+
+Early in the spring this bird of many names and many voices makes
+itself known by a long, strong, sonorous call, a sort of proclamation
+that differs from its song proper, which Audubon calls "a prolonged
+jovial laugh" (described by Mrs. Wright as "_Wick, wick, wick,
+wick!_"), and differs also from its rapidly repeated, mellow, and most
+musical _cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh, cuh_, uttered during the nesting season.
+
+Its nasal _kee-yer_, vigorously called out in the autumn, is less
+characteristic, however, than the sound it makes while associating
+with its fellows on the feeding ground--a sound that Mr. Frank M.
+Chapman says can be closely imitated by the swishing of a willow wand.
+
+A very ardent and ridiculous-looking lover is this bird, as, with tail
+stiffly spread, he sidles up to his desired mate and bows and bobs
+before her, then retreats and advances, bowing and bobbing again, very
+often with a rival lover beside him (whom he generously tolerates)
+trying to outdo him in grace and general attractiveness. Not the least
+of the bird's qualities that must commend themselves to the bride is
+his unfailing good nature, genial alike in the home and in the field.
+
+The "high-holders" have the peculiar and silly habit of boring out a
+number of superfluous holes for nests high up in the trees, in
+buildings, or hollow wooden columns, only one of which they intend to
+use. Six white eggs is the proper number for a household, but Dr.
+Coues says the female that has been robbed keeps on laying three or
+even four sets of eggs without interruption.
+
+
+    Meadowlark
+
+    (_Sturnella magna_) Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: FIELD LARK; OLDFIELD LARK
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 135)
+
+
+    _Length_--10 to 11 inches. A trifle larger than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts brown, varied with chestnut, deep brown,
+       and black. Crown streaked with brown and black, and with a
+       cream-colored streak through the centre. Dark-brown line
+       apparently running through the eye; another line over the eye,
+       yellow. Throat and chin yellow; a large, conspicuous black
+       crescent on breast. Underneath yellow, shading into buffy
+       brown, spotted or streaked with very dark brown. Outer tail
+       feathers chiefly white, conspicuous in flight. Long, strong
+       legs and claws, adapted for walking. Less black in winter
+       plumage, which is more grayish brown.
+
+    _Female_--Paler than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to the Gulf of
+       Mexico, and westward to the plains, where the Western
+       meadowlark takes its place. Winters from Massachusetts and
+       Illinois southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. Late October. Usually a resident, a few
+       remaining through the winter.
+
+In the same meadows with the red-winged blackbirds, birds of another
+feather, but of the same family, nevertheless, may be found flocking
+together, hunting for worms and larvA|, building their nests, and
+rearing their young very near each other with the truly social
+instinct of all their kin.
+
+The meadowlarks, which are really not larks at all, but the
+blackbirds' and orioles' cousins, are so protected by the coloring of
+the feathers on their backs, like that of the grass and stubble they
+live among, that ten blackbirds are noticed for every meadowlark,
+although the latter is very common. Not until you flush a flock of
+them as you walk along the roadside or through the meadows and you
+note the white tail feathers and the black crescents on the yellow
+breasts of the large brown birds that rise towards the tree-tops with
+whirring sound and a flight suggesting the quail's, do you suspect
+there are any birds among the tall grasses.
+
+Their clear and piercing whistle, "_Spring o' the y-e-a-r, Spring o'
+the year!_" rings out from the trees with varying intonation and
+accent, but always sweet and inspiriting. To the bird's high vantage
+ground you may not follow, for no longer having the protection of the
+high grass, it has become wary and flies away as you approach, calling
+out _peent-peent_ and nervously flitting its tail (again showing the
+white feather), when it rests a moment on the pasture fence-rail.
+
+It is like looking for a needle in a haystack to try to find a
+meadowlark's nest, an unpretentious structure of dried grasses partly
+arched over and hidden in a clump of high timothy, flat upon the
+ground. But what havoc snakes and field-mice play with the
+white-speckled eggs and helpless fledglings! The care of rearing two
+or three broods in a season and the change of plumage to duller winter
+tints seem to exhaust the high spirits of the sweet whistler. For a
+time he is silent, but partly regains his vocal powers in the autumn,
+when, with large flocks of his own kind, he resorts to marshy feeding
+grounds. In the winter he chooses for companions the horned larks,
+that walk along the shore, or the snow buntings and sparrows of the
+inland pastures, and will even include the denizens of the barn-yard
+when hunger drives him close to the haunts of men.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Western Meadowlark or Prairie Lark (_Sturnella magna neglecta_),
+which many ornithologists consider a different species from the
+foregoing, is distinguished chiefly by its lighter, more grayish-brown
+plumage, by its yellow cheeks, and more especially by its richer,
+fuller song. In his "Birds of Manitoba," Mr. Ernest E. Thompson says of
+this meadowlark: "In richness of voice and modulation it equals or
+excels both wood thrush and nightingale, and in the beauty of its
+articulation it has no superior in the whole world of feathered
+choristers with which I am acquainted."
+
+
+    Horned Lark
+
+    (_Otocoris alpestris_) Lark family
+
+    _Called also_: SHORE LARK
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 138)
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts dull brown, streaked with lighter on edges
+       and tinged with pink or vinaceous; darkest on back of head,
+       neck, shoulders, and nearest the tail. A few erectile feathers
+       on either side of the head form slight tufts or horns that are
+       wanting in female. A black mark from the base of the bill
+       passes below the eye and ends in a horn-shaped curve on
+       cheeks, which are yellow. Throat clear yellow. Breast has
+       crescent-shaped black patch. Underneath soiled white, with
+       dusky spots on lower breast. Tail black, the outer feathers
+       margined with white, noticed in flight.
+
+    _Female_--Has yellow eye-stripe; less prominent markings,
+       especially on head, and is a trifle smaller.
+
+    _Range_--Northeastern parts of North America, and in winter
+       from Ohio and eastern United States as far south as North
+       Carolina.
+
+    _Migrations_--October and November. March. Winter resident.
+
+Far away to the north in Greenland and Labrador this true lark, the
+most beautiful of its genus, makes its summer home. There it is a
+conspicuously handsome bird with its pinkish-gray and chocolate
+feathers, that have greatly faded into dull browns when we see them in
+the late autumn. In the far north only does it sing, and, according to
+Audubon, the charming song is flung to the breeze while the bird soars
+like a skylark. In the United States we hear only its call-note.
+
+Great flocks come down the Atlantic coast in October and November, and
+separate into smaller bands that take up their residence in sandy
+stretches and open tracts near the sea or wherever the food supply
+looks promising, and there the larks stay until all the seeds, buds of
+bushes, berries, larvA|, and insects in their chosen territory are
+exhausted. They are ever conspicuously ground birds, walkers, and when
+disturbed at their dinner, prefer to squat on the earth rather than
+expose themselves by flight. Sometimes they run nimbly over the frozen
+ground to escape an intruder, but flying they reserve as a last
+resort. When the visitor has passed they quickly return to their
+dinner. If they were content to eat less ravenously and remain
+slender, fewer victims might be slaughtered annually to tickle the
+palates of the epicure. It is a mystery what they find to fatten upon
+when snow covers the frozen ground. Even in the severe midwinter
+storms they will not seek the protection of the woods, but always
+prefer sandy dunes with their scrubby undergrowth or open meadow
+lands. Occasionally a small flock wanders toward the farms to pick up
+seeds that are blown from the hayricks or scattered about the
+barn-yard by overfed domestic fowls.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Prairie Horned Lark (_Otocoris alpestris praticola_) is similar to
+the preceding, but a trifle smaller and paler, with a white instead of
+a yellow streak above the eye, the throat yellowish or entirely white
+instead of sulphur-yellow, and other minor differences. It has a far
+more southerly range, confined to northern portions of the United
+States from the Mississippi eastward. Once a distinctly prairie bird,
+it now roams wherever large stretches of open country that suit its
+purposes are cleared in the East, and remains resident. This species
+also sings in midair on the wing, but its song is a crude,
+half-inarticulate affair, barely audible from a height of two hundred
+feet.
+
+
+   [Illustration: FLICKER]
+
+   [Illustration: MEADOWLARK]
+
+
+    American Pipit
+
+    (_Anthus pensilvanicus_) Wagtail family
+
+    _Called also_: TITLARK; BROWN OR RED LARK
+
+
+    _Length_--6.38 to 7 inches. About the size of a sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts brown; wings and tail dark
+       olive-brown; the wing coverts tipped with buff or whitish, and
+       ends of outer tail feathers white, conspicuous in flight.
+       White or yellowish eye-ring, and line above the eye.
+       Underneath light buff brown, with spots on breast and sides,
+       the under parts being washed with brown of various shades.
+       Feet brown. Hind toe-nail as long as or longer than the toe.
+
+    _Range_--North America at large. Winters south of Virginia to
+       Mexico and beyond.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October or November. Common in the United
+       States, chiefly during the migrations.
+
+The color of this bird varies slightly with age and sex, the under
+parts ranging from white through pale rosy brown to a reddish tinge;
+but at any season, and under all circumstances, the pipit is a
+distinctly brown bird, resembling the water thrushes not in plumage
+only, but in the comical tail waggings and jerkings that alone are
+sufficient to identify it. However the books may tell us the bird is a
+wagtail, it certainly possesses two strong characteristics of true
+larks: it is a walker, delighting in walking or running, never hopping
+over the ground, and it has the angelic habit of singing as it flies.
+
+During the migrations the pipits are abundant in salt marshes or open
+stretches of country inland, that, with lark-like preference, they
+choose for feeding grounds. When flushed, all the flock rise together
+with uncertain flight, hovering and wheeling about the place, calling
+down _dee-dee_, _dee-dee_ above your head until you have passed on
+your way, then promptly returning to the spot from whence they were
+disturbed. Along the roadsides and pastures, where two or three birds
+are frequently seen together, they are too often mistaken for the
+vesper sparrows because of their similar size and coloring, but their
+easy, graceful walk should distinguish them at once from the hopping
+sparrow. They often run to get ahead of some one in the lane, but
+rarely fly if they can help it, and then scarcely higher than a
+fence-rail. Early in summer they are off for the mountains in the
+north. Labrador is their chosen nesting ground, and they are said to
+place their grassy nest, lined with lichens or moss, flat upon the
+ground--still another lark trait. Their eggs are chocolate-brown
+scratched with black.
+
+
+    Whippoorwill
+
+    (_Antrostomus vociferus_) Goatsucker family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 139)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the size of the robin.
+       Apparently much larger, because of its long wings and wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male_--A long-winged bird, mottled all over with reddish
+       brown, grayish black, and dusky white; numerous bristles
+       fringing the large mouth. A narrow white band across the upper
+       breast. Tail quills on the end and under side white.
+
+    _Female_--Similar to male, except that the tail is dusky in
+       color where that of the male is white. Band on breast buff
+       instead of white.
+
+    _Range_--United States, to the plains. Not common near the sea.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April to middle of September. Summer resident.
+
+The whippoorwill, because of its nocturnal habits and plaintive note,
+is invested with a reputation for occult power which inspires a
+chilling awe among superstitious people, and leads them insanely to
+attribute to it an evil influence; but it is a harmless, useful night
+prowler, flying low and catching enormous numbers of hurtful insects,
+always the winged varieties, in its peculiar fly-trap mouth.
+
+It loves the rocky, solitary woods, where it sleeps all day; but it is
+seldom seen, even after painstaking search, because of its dull,
+mottled markings conforming so nearly to rocks and dry leaves, and
+because of its unusual habit of stretching itself lengthwise on a tree
+branch or ledge, where it is easily confounded with a patch of lichen,
+and thus overlooked. If by accident one happens upon a sleeping bird,
+it suddenly rouses and flies away, making no more sound than a passing
+butterfly--a curious and uncanny silence that is quite remarkable.
+When the sun goes down and as the gloaming deepens, the bird's
+activity increases, and it begins its nightly duties, emitting from
+time to time, like a sentry on his post or a watchman of the night,
+the doleful call which has given the bird its common name. It
+
+    "Mourns unseen, and ceaseless sings
+     Ever a note of wail and woe,"
+
+that our Dutch ancestors interpreted as "_Quote-kerr-kee_" and so
+called it. They had a tradition that no frost ever appeared after the
+bird had been heard calling in the spring, and that it wisely left for
+warmer skies before frost came in the autumn. Prudent bird, never
+caught napping!
+
+It is erratic in its choice of habitations, even when rock and
+solitude seem suited to its taste. Very rarely is this odd bird found
+close to the seashore, and in the Hudson River valley it keeps a half
+mile or more back from the river.
+
+The eggs, generally two in number, are creamy white, dashed with dark
+and olive spots, and laid on the ground on dry leaves, or in a little
+hollow in rock or stump--never in a nest built with loving care. But
+in extenuation of such carelessness it may be said that, if disturbed
+or threatened, the mother shows no lack of maternal instinct, and
+removes her young, carrying them in her beak as a cat conveys her
+kittens to secure shelter.
+
+
+   [Illustration: HORNED LARK (_One-half natural size_)]
+
+   [Illustration: WHIP-POOR-WILL]
+
+
+    Nighthawk
+
+    (_Chordeiles virginianus_) Goatsucker family
+
+    _Called also_: NIGHTJAR; BULL-BAT; MOSQUITO HAWK;
+       WILL-O'-THE-WISP; PISK; PIRAMIDIG; LONG-WINGED GOATSUCKER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 154)
+
+
+    _Length_--9 to 10 inches. About the same length as the robin,
+       but apparently much longer because of its very wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Mottled blackish brown and rufous above,
+       with a multitude of cream-yellow spots and dashes. Lighter
+       below, with waving bars of brown on breast and underneath.
+       White mark on throat, like an imperfect horseshoe; also a band
+       of white across tail of male bird. These latter markings are
+       wanting in female. Heavy wings, which are partly mottled, are
+       brown on shoulders and tips, and longer than tail. They have
+       large white spots, conspicuous in flight, one of their
+       distinguishing marks from the whippoorwill. Head large and
+       depressed, with large eyes and ear-openings. Very small bill.
+
+    _Range_--From Mexico to arctic islands.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+The nighthawk's misleading name could not well imply more that the
+bird is not: it is not nocturnal in its habits, neither is it a hawk,
+for if it were, no account of it would be given in this book, which
+distinctly excludes birds of prey. Stories of its chicken-stealing
+prove to be ignorant rather than malicious slanders. Any one disliking
+the name, however, surely cannot complain of a limited choice of other
+names by which, in different sections of the country, it is quite as
+commonly known.
+
+Too often it is mistaken for the whippoorwill. The nighthawk does not
+have the weird and woful cry of that more dismal bird, but gives
+instead a harsh, whistling note while on the wing, followed by a
+vibrating, booming, whirring sound that Nuttall likens to "the rapid
+turning of a spinning wheel, or a strong blowing into the bung-hole of
+an empty hogshead." This peculiar sound is responsible for the name
+nightjar, frequently given to this curious bird. It is said to be made
+as the bird drops suddenly through the air, creating a sort of
+stringed instrument of its outstretched wings and tail. When these
+wings are spread, their large white spots running through the feathers
+to the under side should be noted to further distinguish the
+nighthawk from the whippoorwill, which has none, but which it
+otherwise closely resembles. This booming sound, coming from such a
+height that the bird itself is often unseen, was said by the Indians
+to be made by the shad spirits to warn the scholes of shad about to
+ascend the rivers to spawn in the spring, of their impending fate.
+
+The flight of the nighthawk is free and graceful in the extreme.
+Soaring through space without any apparent motion of its wings,
+suddenly it darts with amazing swiftness like an erratic bat after the
+fly, mosquito, beetle, or moth that falls within the range of its
+truly hawk-like eye.
+
+Usually the nighthawks hunt in little companies in the most sociable
+fashion. Late in the summer they seem to be almost gregarious. They
+fly in the early morning or late afternoon with beak wide open,
+hawking for insects, but except when the moon is full they are not
+known to go a-hunting after sunset. During the heat of the day and at
+night they rest on limbs of trees, fence-rails, stone walls,
+lichen-covered rocks or old logs--wherever Nature has provided
+suitable mimicry of their plumage to help conceal them.
+
+With this object in mind, they quite as often choose a hollow surface
+of rock in some waste pasture or the open ground on which to deposit
+the two speckled-gray eggs that sixteen days later will give birth to
+their family. But in August, when family cares have ended for the
+season, it is curious to find this bird of the thickly wooded country
+readily adapting itself to city life, resting on Mansard roofs,
+darting into the streets from the house-tops, and wheeling about the
+electric lights, making a hearty supper of the little, winged insects
+they attract.
+
+
+    Black-billed Cuckoo
+
+    (_Coccyzus erythrophthalmus_) Cuckoo family
+
+    _Called also_: RAIN CROW
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. About one-fifth larger than the
+       robin
+
+    _Male_--Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in feathers.
+       Underneath grayish white; bill, which is long as head and
+       black, arched and acute. Skin about the eye bright red. Tail
+       long, and with spots on tips of quills that are small and
+       inconspicuous.
+
+    _Female_--Has obscure dusky bars on the tail.
+
+    _Range_--Labrador to Panama; westward to Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+    "O cuckoo! shall I call thee bird?
+     Or but a wandering voice?"
+
+From the tangled shrubbery on the hillside back of Dove Cottage,
+Keswick, where Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy listened for the
+coming of this "darling of the spring"; in the willows overhanging
+Shakespeare's Avon; from the favorite haunts of Chaucer and Spenser,
+where
+
+    "Runneth meade and springeth blede,"
+
+we hear the cuckoo calling; but how many on this side of the Atlantic
+are familiar with its American counterpart? Here, too, the cuckoo
+delights in running water and damp, cloudy weather like that of an
+English spring; it haunts the willows by our river-sides, where as yet
+no "immortal bard" arises to give it fame. It "loud sings" in our
+shrubbery, too. Indeed, if we cannot study our bird afield, the next
+best place to become acquainted with it is in the pages of the English
+poets. But due allowance must be made for differences of temperament.
+Our cuckoo is scarcely a "merry harbinger"; his talents, such as they
+are, certainly are not musical. However, the guttural cluck is not
+discordant, and the black-billed species, at least, has a soft, mellow
+voice that seems to indicate an embryonic songster. "_K-k-k-k,
+kow-kow-ow-kow-ow!_" is a familiar sound in many localities, but the
+large, slim, pigeon-shaped, brownish-olive bird that makes it,
+securely hidden in the low trees and shrubs that are its haunts, is
+not often personally known. Catching a glimpse only of the
+grayish-white under parts from where we stand looking up into the tree
+at it, it is quite impossible to tell the bird from the yellow-billed
+species. When, as it flies about, we are able to note the red circles
+about its eyes, its black bill, and the absence of black tail
+feathers, with their white "thumb-nail" spots, and see no bright
+cinnamon feathers on the wings (the yellow-billed specie's
+distinguishing marks), we can at last claim acquaintance with the
+black-billed cuckoo. Our two common cuckoos are so nearly alike that
+they are constantly confused in the popular mind and very often in the
+writings of ornithologists. At first glance the birds look alike.
+Their haunts are almost identical; their habits are the same; and, as
+they usually keep well out of sight, it is not surprising if confusion
+arise.
+
+Neither cuckoo knows how to build a proper home; a bunch of sticks
+dropped carelessly into the bush, where the hapless babies that emerge
+from the greenish eggs will not have far to fall when they tumble out
+of bed, as they must inevitably do, may by courtesy only be called a
+nest. The cuckoo is said to suck the eggs of other birds; but, surely,
+such vice is only the rarest dissipation. Insects of many kinds and
+"tent caterpillars" chiefly are their chosen food.
+
+
+    Yellow-billed Cuckoo
+
+
+    (_Coccyzus americanus_) Cuckoo family
+
+    Called _also_: RAIN CROW
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 155 and 202)
+
+
+    _Length_--11 to 12 inches. About one-fifth longer than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Grayish brown above, with bronze tint in
+       feathers. Underneath grayish white. Bill, which is as long as
+       head, arched, acute, and more robust than the black-billed
+       species, and with lower mandible yellow. Wings washed with
+       bright cinnamon-brown. Tail has outer quills black,
+       conspicuously marked with white thumb-nail spots. Female
+       larger.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Mexico to Labrador. Most common
+       in temperate climates. Rare on Pacific slope.
+
+    _Migrations_--Late April. September. Summer resident.
+
+"_Kak, k-kuk, k-kuk, k-kuk!_" like an exaggerated tree-toad's rattle,
+is a sound that, when first heard, makes you rush out of doors
+instantly to "name" the bird. Look for him in the depths of the tall
+shrubbery or low trees, near running water, if there is any in the
+neighborhood, and if you are more fortunate than most people, you will
+presently become acquainted with the yellow-billed cuckoo. When seen
+perching at a little distance, his large, slim body, grayish brown,
+with olive tints above and whitish below, can scarcely be
+distinguished from that of the black-billed species. It is not until
+you get close enough to note the yellow bill, reddish-brown wings, and
+black tail feathers with their white "thumb-nail" marks, that you know
+which cuckoo you are watching. In repose the bird looks dazed or
+stupid, but as it darts about among the trees after insects,
+noiselessly slipping to another one that promises better results, and
+hopping along the limbs after performing a series of beautiful
+evolutions among the branches as it hunts for its favorite "tent
+caterpillars," it appears what it really is: an unusually active,
+graceful, intelligent bird.
+
+A solitary wanderer, nevertheless one cuckoo in an apple orchard is
+worth a hundred robins in ridding it of caterpillars and inch-worms,
+for it delights in killing many more of these than it can possibly
+eat. In the autumn it varies its diet with minute fresh-water
+shell-fish from the swamp and lake. Mulberries, that look so like
+caterpillars the bird possibly likes them on that account, it devours
+wholesale.
+
+Family cares rest lightly on the cuckoos. The nest of both species is
+a ramshackle affair--a mere bundle of twigs and sticks without a rim
+to keep the eggs from rolling from the bush, where they rest, to the
+ground. Unlike their European relative, they have the decency to rear
+their own young and not impose this heavy task on others; but the
+cuckoos on both sides of the Atlantic are most erratic and irregular
+in their nesting habits. The overworked mother-bird often lays an egg
+while brooding over its nearly hatched companion, and the two or three
+half-grown fledglings already in the nest may roll the large greenish
+eggs out upon the ground, while both parents are off searching for
+food to quiet their noisy clamorings. Such distracting mismanagement
+in the nursery is enough to make a homeless wanderer of any father. It
+is the mother-bird that tumbles to the ground at your approach from
+sheer fright; feigns lameness, trails her wings as she tries to entice
+you away from the nest. The male bird shows far less concern; a no
+more devoted father, we fear, than he is a lover. It is said he
+changes his mate every year.
+
+Altogether, the cuckoo is a very different sort of bird from what our
+fancy pictured. The little Swiss creatures of wood that fly out of the
+doors of clocks and call out the bed-hour to sleepy children, are
+chiefly responsible for the false impressions of our mature years. The
+American bird does not repeat its name, and its harsh, grating "_kuk,
+kuk_," does not remotely suggest the sweet voice of its European
+relative.
+
+
+    Bank Swallow
+
+    (_Clivicola riparia_) Swallow family
+
+    _Called also_: SAND MARTIN; SAND SWALLOW
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its
+       wide wing-spread.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Grayish brown or clay-colored above. Upper
+       wings and tail darkest. Below, white, with brownish band
+       across chest. Tail, which is rounded and more nearly square
+       than the other swallows, is obscurely edged with white.
+
+    _Range_--Throughout North America south of Hudson Bay.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Summer resident.
+
+Where a brook cuts its way through a sand bank to reach the sea is an
+ideal nesting ground for a colony of sand martins. The face of the
+high bank shows a number of clean, round holes indiscriminately bored
+into the sand, as if the place had just received a cannonading; but
+instead of war an atmosphere of peace pervades the place in midsummer,
+when you are most likely to visit it. Now that the young ones have
+flown from their nests that your arm can barely reach through the
+tunnelled sand or clay, there can be little harm in examining the
+feathers dropped from gulls, ducks, and other water-birds with which
+the grassy home is lined.
+
+The bank swallow's nest, like the kingfisher's, which it resembles, is
+his home as well. There he rests when tired of flying about in pursuit
+of insect food. Perhaps a bird that has been resting in one of the
+tunnels, startled by your innocent house-breaking, will fly out across
+your face, near enough for you to see how unlike the other swallows he
+is: smaller, plainer, and with none of their glinting steel-blues and
+buffs about him. With strong, swift flight he rejoins his fellows,
+wheeling, skimming, darting through the air above you, and uttering
+his characteristic "giggling twitter," that is one of the cheeriest
+noises heard along the beach. In early October vast numbers of these
+swallows may be seen in loose flocks along the Jersey coast, slowly
+making their way South. Clouds of them miles in extent are recorded.
+
+Closely associated with the sand martin is the Rough-winged Swallow
+(_Stelgidopteryx serripennis_), not to be distinguished from its
+companion on the wing, but easily recognized by its dull-gray throat
+and the absence of the brown breast-band when seen at close range.
+
+
+    Cedar Bird
+
+    (_Ampelis cedrorum_) Waxwing family
+
+    _Called also_: CEDAR WAXWING; CHERRY-BIRD; CANADA ROBIN;
+       RA%COLLET
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 158)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts rich grayish brown, with plum-colored
+       tints showing through the brown on crest, throat, breast,
+       wings, and tail. A velvety-black line on forehead runs through
+       the eye and back of crest. Chin black; crest conspicuous;
+       breast lighter than the back, and shading into yellow
+       underneath. Wings have quill-shafts of secondaries elongated,
+       and with brilliant vermilion tips like drops of sealing-wax,
+       rarely seen on tail quills, which have yellow bands across the
+       end.
+
+    _Female_--With duller plumage, smaller crest, and narrower
+       tail-band.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from northern British provinces to
+       Central America in winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--A roving resident, without fixed seasons for
+       migrating.
+
+As the cedar birds travel about in great flocks that quickly exhaust
+their special food in a neighborhood, they necessarily lead a nomadic
+life--here to-day, gone to-morrow--and, like the Arabs, they "silently
+steal away." It is surprising how very little noise so great a company
+of these birds make at any time. That is because they are singularly
+gentle and refined; soft of voice, as they are of color, their plumage
+suggesting a fine Japanese water-color painting on silk, with its
+beautiful sheen and exquisitely blended tints.
+
+One listens in vain for a song; only a lisping "_Twee-twee-ze_," or "a
+dreary whisper," as Minot calls their low-toned communications with
+each other, reaches our ears from their high perches in the cedar
+trees, where they sit, almost motionless hours at a time, digesting
+the enormous quantities of juniper and whortle berries, wild
+cherries, worms, and insects upon which they have gormandized.
+
+Nuttall gives the cedar birds credit for excessive politeness to each
+other. He says he has often seen them passing a worm from one to
+another down a whole row of beaks and back again before it was finally
+eaten.
+
+When nesting time arrives--that is to say, towards the end of the
+summer--they give up their gregarious habits and live in pairs,
+billing and kissing like turtle-doves in the orchard or wild
+crab-trees, where a flat, bulky nest is rather carelessly built of
+twigs, grasses, feathers, strings--any odds and ends that may be lying
+about. The eggs are usually four, white tinged with purple and spotted
+with black.
+
+Apparently they have no moulting season; their plumage is always the
+same, beautifully neat and full-feathered. Nothing ever hurries or
+flusters them, their greatest concern apparently being, when they
+alight, to settle themselves comfortably between their over-polite
+friends, who are never guilty of jolting or crowding. Few birds care
+to take life so easily, not to say indolently.
+
+Among the French Canadians they are called RA(C)collet, from the color of
+their crest resembling the hood of the religious order of that name.
+Every region the birds pass through, local names appear to be applied
+to them, a few of the most common of which are given above.
+
+Of the three waxwings known to scientists, two are found in America,
+and the third in Japan.
+
+
+    Brown Creeper
+
+    (_Certbia familiaris americana_) Creeper family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, varied with ashy-gray stripes
+       and small, lozenge-shaped gray mottles. Color lightest on
+       head, increasing in shade to reddish brown near tail. Tail
+       paler brown and long; wings brown and barred with whitish.
+       Beneath grayish white. Slender, curving bill.
+
+    _Range_--United States and Canada, east of Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September. Winter resident.
+
+This little brown wood sprite, the very embodiment of virtuous
+diligence, is never found far from the nuthatches, titmice, and
+kinglets, though not strictly in their company, for he is a rather
+solitary bird. Possibly he repels them by being too exasperatingly
+conscientious.
+
+Beginning at the bottom of a rough-barked tree (for a smooth bark
+conceals no larvA|), the creeper silently climbs upward in a sort of
+spiral, now lost to sight on the opposite side of the tree, then
+reappearing just where he is expected to, flitting back a foot or two,
+perhaps, lest he overlooked a single spider egg, but never by any
+chance leaving a tree until conscience approves of his thoroughness.
+And yet with all this painstaking workman's care, it takes him just
+about fifty seconds to finish a tree. Then off he flits to the base of
+another, to repeat the spiral process. Only rarely does he adopt the
+woodpecker process of partly flitting, partly rocking his way with the
+help of his tail straight up one side of the tree.
+
+Yet this little bird is not altogether the soulless drudge he appears.
+In the midst of his work, uncheered by summer sunshine, and clinging
+with numb toes to the tree-trunk some bitter cold day, he still finds
+some tender emotion within him to voice in a "wild, sweet song" that
+is positively enchanting at such a time. But it is not often this song
+is heard south of his nesting grounds.
+
+The brown creeper's plumage is one of Nature's most successful feats
+of mimicry--an exact counterfeit in feathers of the brown-gray bark on
+which the bird lives. And the protective coloring is carried out in
+the nest carefully tucked under a piece of loosened bark in the very
+heart of the tree.
+
+
+    Pine Siskin
+
+    (_Spinus pinus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PINE FINCH; PINE LINNET
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. Over an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Olive-brown and gray above, much streaked
+       and striped with very dark brown everywhere. Darkest on head
+       and back. Lower back, base of tail, and wing feathers pale
+       sulphur-yellow. Under parts very light buff brown, heavily
+       streaked.
+
+    _Range_--North America generally. Most common in north
+       latitudes. Winters south to the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--Erratic winter visitor from October to April.
+       Uncommon in summer.
+
+A small grayish-brown brindle bird, relieved with touches of yellow on
+its back, wings, and tail, may be seen some winter morning roving on
+the lawn from one evergreen tree to another, clinging to the pine
+cones and peering attentively between the scales before extracting the
+kernels. It utters a call-note so like the English sparrow's that you
+are surprised when you look up into the tree to find it comes from a
+stranger. The pine siskin is an erratic visitor, and there is always
+the charm of the unexpected about its coming near our houses that
+heightens our enjoyment of its brief stay.
+
+As it flies downward from the top of the spruce tree to feed upon the
+brown seeds still clinging to the pigweed and goldenrod stalks
+sticking out above the snow by the roadside, it dips and floats
+through the air like its charming little cousin, the goldfinch. They
+have several characteristics in common besides their flight and their
+fondness for thistles. Far at the north, where the pine siskin nests
+in the top of the evergreens, his sweet-warbled love-song is said to
+be like that of our "wild canary's," only with a suggestion of
+fretfulness in the tone.
+
+Occasionally some one living in an Adirondack or other mountain camp
+reports finding the nest and hearing the siskin sing even in
+midsummer; but it is, nevertheless, considered a northern species,
+however its erratic habits may sometimes break through the
+ornithologist's traditions.
+
+
+    Smith's Painted Longspur
+
+    (_Calcarius pictus_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 inches. About the size of a large English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts marked with black, brown, and
+       white, like a sparrow; brown predominant. Male bird with more
+       black about head, shoulders, and tail feathers, and a whitish
+       patch, edged with black, under the eye. Underneath pale brown,
+       shading to buff. Hind claw or spur conspicuous.
+
+    _Range_--Interior of North America, from the arctic coast to
+       Illinois and Texas.
+
+    _Migrations_--Winter visitor. Without fixed season.
+
+Confined to a narrower range than the Lapland longspur, this bird,
+quite commonly found on the open prairie districts of the middle West
+in winter, is, nevertheless, so very like its cousin that the same
+description of their habits might very well answer for both. Indeed,
+both these birds are often seen in the same flock. Larks and the
+ubiquitous sparrows, too, intermingle with them with the familiarity
+that only the starvation rations of midwinter, and not true
+sociability, can effect; and, looking out upon such a heterogeneous
+flock of brown birds as they are feeding together on the frozen
+ground, only the trained field ornithologist would find it easy to
+point out the painted longspurs.
+
+Certain peculiarities are noticeable, however. Longspurs squat while
+resting; then, when flushed, they run quickly and lightly, and "rise
+with a sharp click, repeated several times in quick succession, and
+move with an easy, undulating motion for a short distance, when they
+alight very suddenly, seeming to fall perpendicularly several feet to
+the ground." Another peculiarity of their flight is their habit of
+flying about in circles, to and fro, keeping up a constant chirping or
+call. It is only in the mating season, when we rarely hear them, that
+the longspurs have the angelic manner of singing as they fly, like the
+skylark. The colors of the males, among the several longspurs, may
+differ widely, but the indistinctly marked females are so like each
+other that only their mates, perhaps, could tell them apart.
+
+
+    Lapland Longspur
+
+    (_Calcarius lapponicus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: LAPLAND SNOWBIRD; LAPLAND LARK BUNTING
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 to 7 inches. A trifle larger than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Color varies with season. _Winter plumage_: Top of
+       head black, with rusty markings, all feathers being tipped
+       with white. Behind and below the eye rusty black. Breast and
+       underneath grayish white, faintly streaked with black. Above,
+       reddish brown with black markings. Feet, which are black, have
+       conspicuous, long hind claws or spur.
+
+    _Female_--Rusty gray above, less conspicuously marked. Whitish
+       below.
+
+    _Range_--Circumpolar regions; northern United States;
+       occasional in Middle States; abundant in winter as far as
+       Kansas and the Rocky Mountains.
+
+    _Migrations_--Winter visitors, rarely resident, and without a
+       fixed season.
+
+This arctic bird, although considered somewhat rare with us, when seen
+at all in midwinter is in such large flocks that, before its visit in
+the neighborhood is ended, and because there are so few other birds
+about, it becomes delightfully familiar as it nimbly runs over the
+frozen ground, picking up grain that has blown about from the barn,
+when the seeds of the field are buried under snow. This lack of fear
+through sharp hunger, that often drives the shyest of the birds to our
+very doors in winter, is as pathetic as it is charming. Possibly it is
+not so rare a bird as we think, for it is often mistaken for some of
+the sparrows, the shore larks, and the snow buntings, that it not only
+resembles, but whose company it frequently keeps, or for one of the
+other longspurs.
+
+At all seasons of the year a ground bird, you may readily identify the
+Lapland longspur by its tracks through the snow, showing the mark of
+the long hind claw or spur. In summer we know little or nothing about
+it, for, with the coming of the flowers, it is off to the far north,
+where, we are told, it depresses its nest in a bed of moss upon the
+ground, and lines it with fur shed from the coat of the arctic fox.
+
+
+    Chipping Sparrow
+
+    (_Spizella socialis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: CHIPPY; HAIR-BIRD; CHIP-BIRD; SOCIAL SPARROW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 159)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches. An inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Under the eye, on the back of the neck, underneath,
+       and on the lower back ash-gray. Gray stripe over the eye, and
+       a blackish brown one apparently through it. Dark red-brown
+       crown. Back brown, slightly rufous, and feathers streaked with
+       black. Wings and tail dusty brown. Wing-bars not conspicuous.
+       Bill black.
+
+    _Female_--Lacks the chestnut color on the crown, which is
+       streaked with black. In winter the frontlet is black. Bill
+       brownish.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to the Gulf of
+       Mexico and westward to the Rockies. Winters in Gulf States and
+       Mexico. Most common in eastern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident, many
+       birds remaining all the year from southern New England
+       southward.
+
+Who does not know this humblest, most unassuming little neighbor that
+comes hopping to our very doors; this mite of a bird with "one talent"
+that it so persistently uses all the day and every day throughout the
+summer? Its high, wiry trill, like the buzzing of the locust, heard in
+the dawn before the sky grows even gray, or in the middle of the
+night, starts the morning chorus; and after all other voices are
+hushed in the evening, its tremolo is the last bed-song to come from
+the trees. But however monotonous such cheerfulness sometimes becomes
+when we are surfeited with real songs from dozens of other throats,
+there are long periods of midsummer silence that it punctuates most
+acceptably.
+
+Its call-note, _chip! chip!_ from which several of its popular names
+are derived, is altogether different from the trill which must do duty
+as a song to express love, contentment, everything that so amiable a
+little nature might feel impelled to voice.
+
+But with all its virtues, the chippy shows lamentable weakness of
+character in allowing its grown children to impose upon it, as it
+certainly does. In every group of these birds throughout the summer we
+can see young ones (which we may know by the black line-stripes on
+their breasts) hopping around after their parents, that are often no
+larger or more able-bodied than they, and teasing to be fed; drooping
+their wings to excite pity for a helplessness that they do not possess
+when the weary little mother hops away from them, and still
+persistently chirping for food until she weakly relents, returns to
+them, picks a seed from the ground and thrusts it down the bill of the
+sauciest teaser in the group. With two such broods in a season the
+chestnut feathers on the father's jaunty head might well turn gray.
+
+Unlike most of the sparrows, the little chippy frequents high trees,
+where its nest is built quite as often as in the low bushes of the
+garden. The horsehair, which always lines the grassy cup that holds
+its greenish-blue, speckled eggs, is alone responsible for the name
+hair-bird, and not the chippy's hair-like trill, as some suppose.
+
+
+    English Sparrow
+
+    (_Passer domesticus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: HOUSE SPARROW
+
+
+    _Length_--6.33 inches.
+
+    _Male_--Ashy above, with black and chestnut stripes on back
+       and shoulders. Wings have chestnut and white bar, bordered by
+       faint black line. Gray crown, bordered from the eye backward
+       and on the nape by chestnut. Middle of throat and breast
+       black. Underneath grayish white.
+
+    _Female_--Paler; wing-bars indistinct, and without the black
+       marking on throat and breast.
+
+    _Range_--Around the world. Introduced and naturalized in
+       America, Australia, New Zealand.
+
+    _Migrations_--Constant resident.
+
+"Of course, no self-respecting ornithologist will condescend to
+enlarge his list by counting in the English sparrow--too pestiferous
+to mention," writes Mr. H. E. Parkhurst, and yet of all bird neighbors
+is any one more within the scope of this book than the audacious
+little gamin that delights in the companionship of humans even in
+their most noisy city thoroughfares?
+
+In a bulletin issued by the Department of Agriculture it is shown that
+the progeny of a single pair of these sparrows might amount to
+275,716,983,698 in ten years! Inasmuch as many pairs were liberated in
+the streets of Brooklyn, New York, in 1851, when the first importation
+was made, the day is evidently not far off when these birds, by no
+means meek, "shall inherit the earth."
+
+In Australia Scotch thistles, English sparrows, and rabbits, three
+most unfortunate importations, have multiplied with equal rapidity
+until serious alarm fills the minds of the colonists. But in England a
+special committee appointed by the House of Commons to investigate
+the character of the alleged pest has yet to learn whether the
+sparrow's services as an insect-destroyer do not outweigh the injury
+it does to fruit and grain.
+
+
+    Field Sparrow
+
+    (_Spizella pusilla_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: FIELD BUNTING; WOOD SPARROW; BUSH SPARROW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 203)
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Chestnut crown. Upper back bright chestnut, finely
+       streaked with black and ashy brown. Lower back more grayish.
+       Whitish wing-bars. Cheeks, line over the eye, throat, pale
+       brownish drab. Tail long. Underneath grayish white, tinged
+       with palest buff on breast and sides. Bill reddish.
+
+    _Female_--Paler; the crown edged with grayish.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from British provinces to the Gulf,
+       and westward to the plains. Winters from Illinois and Virginia
+       southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. Common summer resident.
+
+Simply because both birds have chestnut crowns, the field sparrow is
+often mistaken for the dapper, sociable chippy; and, no doubt because
+it loves such heathery, grassy pastures as are dear to the vesper
+sparrow, and has bay wings and a sweet song, these two cousins also
+are often confused. The field sparrow has a more reddish-brown upper
+back than any of its small relatives; the absence of streaks on its
+breast and of the white tail quills so conspicuous in the vesper
+sparrow's flight, sufficiently differentiate the two birds, while the
+red bill of the field sparrow is a positive mark of identification.
+
+This bird of humble nature, that makes the scrubby pastures and
+uplands tuneful from early morning until after sunset, flies away with
+exasperating shyness as you approach. Alighting on a convenient
+branch, he lures you on with his clear, sweet song. Follow him, and he
+only hops about from bush to bush, farther and farther away, singing
+as he goes a variety of strains, which is one of the bird's
+peculiarities. The song not only varies in individuals, but in
+different localities, which may be one reason why no two
+ornithologists record it alike. Doubtless the chief reason for the
+amusing differences in the syllables into which the songs of birds are
+often translated in the books, is that the same notes actually sound
+differently to different individuals. Thus, to people in Massachusetts
+the white-throated sparrow seems to say, "_Pea-bod-y, Pea-bod-y,
+Pea-bod-y!_" while good British subjects beyond the New England border
+hear him sing quite distinctly, "_Sweet Can-a-da, Can-a-da,
+Can-a-da!_" But however the opinions as to the syllables of the field
+sparrow's song may differ, all are agreed as to its exquisite quality,
+that resembles the vesper sparrow's tender, sweet melody. The song
+begins with three soft, wild whistles, and ends with a series of
+trills and quavers that gradually melt away into silence: a serene and
+restful strain as soothing as a hymn. Like the vesper sparrows, these
+birds sometimes build a plain, grassy nest, unprotected by overhanging
+bush, flat upon the ground. Possibly from a prudent fear of field-mice
+and snakes, the little mother most frequently lays her bluish-white,
+rufous-marked eggs in a nest placed in a bush of a bushy field. Hence
+John Burroughs has called the bird the "bush sparrow."
+
+
+    Fox Sparrow
+
+    (_Passerella ilica_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: FOX-COLORED SPARROW; FERRUGINOUS FINCH;
+        FOXY FINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--6.5 to 7.25 inches. Nearly an inch longer than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts reddish brown, varied with ash
+       gray, brightest on lower back, wings, and tail. Bluish slate
+       about the head. Underneath whitish; the throat, breast, and
+       sides heavily marked with arrow-heads and oblong dashes of
+       reddish brown and blackish.
+
+    _Range_--Alaska and Manitoba to southern United States.
+       Winters chiefly south of Illinois and Virginia. Occasional
+       stragglers remain north most of the winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Most common in the migrations.
+
+There will be little difficulty in naming this largest, most plump and
+reddish of all the sparrows, whose fox-colored feathers, rather than
+any malicious cunning of its disposition, are responsible for the name
+it bears. The male bird is incomparably the finest singer of its
+gifted family. His faint _tseep_ call-note gives no indication of his
+vocal powers that some bleak morning in early March suddenly send a
+thrill of pleasure through you. It is the most welcome "glad surprise"
+of all the spring. Without a preliminary twitter or throat-clearing of
+any sort, the full, rich, luscious tones, with just a tinge of
+plaintiveness in them, are poured forth with spontaneous abandon. Such
+a song at such a time is enough to summon anybody with a musical ear
+out of doors under the leaden skies to where the delicious notes issue
+from the leafless shrubbery by the roadside. Watch the singer until
+the song ends, when he will quite likely descend among the dead leaves
+on the ground and scratch among them like any barn-yard fowl, but
+somehow contriving to use both feet at once in the operation, as no
+chicken ever could. He seems to take special delight in damp thickets,
+where the insects with which he varies his seed diet are plentiful.
+
+Usually the fox sparrows keep in small, loose flocks, apart by
+themselves, for they are not truly gregarious; but they may sometimes
+be seen travelling in company with their white-throated cousins. They
+are among the last birds to leave us in the late autumn or winter. Mr.
+Bicknell says that they seem indisposed to sing unless present in
+numbers. Indeed, they are little inclined to absolute solitude at any
+time, for even in the nesting season quite a colony of grassy
+nurseries may be found in the same meadow, and small companies haunt
+the roadside shrubbery during the migrations.
+
+
+   [Illustration: NIGHTHAWK]
+
+   [Illustration: YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO]
+
+
+    Grasshopper Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus savannarum passerinus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW-WINGED SPARROW
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.4 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--A cream-yellow line over the eye; centre of
+       crown, shoulders, and lesser wing coverts yellowish. Head
+       blackish; rust-colored feathers, with small black spots on
+       back of the neck; an orange mark before the eye. All other
+       upper parts varied red, brown, cream, and black, with a drab
+       wash. Underneath brownish drab on breast, shading to soiled
+       white, and without streaks. Dusky, even, pointed tail feathers
+       have grayish-white outer margins.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from British provinces to Cuba.
+       Winters south of the Carolinas.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+It is safe to say that no other common bird is so frequently
+overlooked as this little sparrow, that keeps persistently to the
+grass and low bushes, and only faintly lifts up a weak, wiry voice
+that is usually attributed to some insect. At the bend of the wings
+only are the feathers really yellow, and even this bright shade often
+goes unnoticed as the bird runs shyly through an old dairy field or
+grassy pasture. You may all but step upon it before it takes wing and
+exhibits itself on the fence-rail, which is usually as far from the
+ground as it cares to go. If you are near enough to this perch you may
+overhear the _zee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e_ that has earned it the name of
+grasshopper sparrow. If you persistently follow it too closely, away
+it flies, then suddenly drops to the ground where a scrubby bush
+affords protection. A curious fact about this bird is that after you
+have once become acquainted with it, you find that instead of being a
+rare discovery, as you had supposed, it is apt to be a common resident
+of almost every field you walk through.
+
+
+    Savanna Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus sandwichensis savanna_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SAVANNA BUNTING
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Cheeks, space over the eye, and on the bend
+       of the wings pale yellow. General effect of the upper parts
+       brownish drab, streaked with black. Wings and tail dusky, the
+       outer webs of the feathers margined with buff. Under parts
+       white, heavily streaked with blackish and rufous, the marks on
+       breast feathers being wedge-shaped. In the autumn the plumage
+       is often suffused with a yellow tinge.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to Mexico.
+       Winters south of Illinois and Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. A few remain in sheltered
+       marshes at the north all winter.
+
+Look for the savanna sparrow in salt marshes, marshy or upland
+pastures, never far inland, and if you see a sparrowy bird, unusually
+white and heavily streaked beneath, and with pale yellow markings
+about the eye and on the bend of the wing, you may still make several
+guesses at its identity before the weak, little insect-like trill
+finally establishes it. Whoever can correctly name every sparrow and
+warbler on sight is a person to be envied, if, indeed, he exists at
+all.
+
+In the lowlands of Nova Scotia and, in fact, of all the maritime
+provinces, this sparrow is the one that is perhaps most commonly seen.
+Every fence-rail has one perched upon it, singing "_Ptsip, ptsip,
+ptsip, zee-e-e-e-e_" close to the ear of the passer-by, who otherwise
+might not hear the low grasshopper-like song. At the north the bird
+somehow loses the shyness that makes it comparatively little known
+farther south. Depending upon the scrub and grass to conceal it, you
+may almost tread upon it before it startles you by its sudden rising
+with a whirring noise, only to drop to the ground again just as
+suddenly a few yards farther away, where it scuds among the underbrush
+and is lost to sight. Tall weeds and fence-rails are as high and
+exposed situations as it is likely to select while singing. It is most
+distinctively a ground bird, and flat upon the pasture or in a
+slightly hollowed cup it has the merest apology for a nest. Only a few
+wisps of grass are laid in the cavity to receive the pale-green eggs,
+that are covered most curiously with blotches of brown of many shapes
+and tints.
+
+
+    Seaside Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus maritimus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: MEADOW CHIPPY; SEASIDE FINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--6 inches. A shade smaller than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts dusky grayish or olivaceous
+       brown, inclining to gray on shoulders and on edges of some
+       feathers. Wings and tail darkest. Throat yellowish white,
+       shading to gray on breast, which is indistinctly mottled and
+       streaked. A yellow spot before the eye and on bend of the
+       wing, the bird's characteristic marks. Blunt tail.
+
+    _Range_--Atlantic seaboard, from Georgia northward. Usually
+       winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. A few remain in sheltered
+       marshes all winter.
+
+The savanna, the swamp, the sharp-tailed, and the song sparrows may
+all sometimes be found in the haunts of the seaside sparrow, but you
+may be certain of finding the latter nowhere else than in the salt
+marshes within sight or sound of the sea. It is a dingy little bird,
+with the least definite coloring of all the sparrows that have
+maritime inclinations, with no rufous tint in its feathers, and less
+distinct streakings on the breast than any of them. It has no black
+markings on the back.
+
+Good-sized flocks of seaside sparrows live together in the marshes;
+but they spend so much of their time on the ground, running about
+among the reeds and grasses, whose seeds and insect parasites they
+feed upon, that not until some unusual disturbance in the quiet place
+flushes them does the intruder suspect their presence, Hunters after
+beach-birds, longshoremen, seaside cottagers, and whoever follows the
+windings of a creek through the salt meadows to catch crabs and eels
+in midsummer, are well acquainted with the "meadow chippies," as the
+fishermen call them. They keep up a good deal of chirping,
+sparrow-fashion, and have four or five notes resembling a song that is
+usually delivered from a tall reed stalk, where the bird sways and
+balances until his husky performance has ended, when down he drops
+upon the ground out of sight. Sometimes, too, these notes are uttered
+while the bird flutters in the air above the tops of the sedges.
+
+
+    Sharp-tailed Sparrow
+
+    (_Ammodramus caudacutus_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.25 to 5.85 inches. A trifle smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts brownish or grayish olive, the
+       back with black streaks, and gray edges to some feathers. A
+       gray line through centre of crown, which has maroon stripes;
+       gray ears enclosed by buff lines, one of which passes through
+       the eye and one on side of throat; brownish orange, or buff,
+       on sides of head. Bend of the wing yellow. Breast and sides
+       pale buff, distinctly streaked with black. Underneath whitish.
+       Each narrow quill of tail is sharply pointed, the outer ones
+       shortest.
+
+    _Range_--Atlantic coast. Winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. November. Summer resident.
+
+This bird delights in the company of the dull-colored seaside sparrow,
+whose haunts in the salt marshes it frequents, especially the drier
+parts; but its pointed tail-quills and more distinct markings are
+sufficient to prevent confusion. Mr. J. Dwight, Jr., who has made a
+special study of maritime birds, says of it: "It runs about among the
+reeds and grasses with the celerity of a mouse, and it is not apt to
+take wing unless closely pressed." (Wilson credited it with the
+nimbleness of a sandpiper.) "It builds its nest in the tussocks on the
+bank of a ditch, or in the drift left by the tide, rather than in the
+grassier sites chosen by its neighbors, the seaside sparrows."
+
+Only rarely does one get a glimpse of this shy little bird, that darts
+out of sight like a flash at the first approach. Balancing on a
+cat-tail stalk or perched upon a bit of driftwood, it makes a feeble,
+husky attempt to sing a few notes; and during the brief performance
+the opera-glasses may search it out successfully. While it feeds upon
+the bits of sea-food washed ashore to the edge of the marshes, it
+gives us perhaps the best chance we ever get, outside of a museum, to
+study the bird's characteristics of plumage.
+
+"Both the sharp-tailed and the seaside finches are crepuscular," says
+Dr. Abbott, in "The Birds About Us." They run up and down the reeds
+and on the water's edge long after most birds have gone to sleep.
+
+
+    Song Sparrow
+
+    (_Melospiza fasciata_) Finch family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 166)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.5 inches. About the same size as the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown head, with three longitudinal gray
+       bands. Brown stripe on sides of throat. Brownish-gray back,
+       streaked with rufous. Underneath gray, shading to white,
+       heavily streaked with darkest brown. A black spot on breast.
+       Wings without bars. Tail plain grayish brown.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Fur Countries to the Gulf States.
+       Winters from southern Illinois and Massachusetts to the Gulf.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. A few birds remain at the north
+       all the year.
+
+Here is a veritable bird neighbor, if ever there was one; at home in
+our gardens and hedges, not often farther away than the roadside,
+abundant everywhere during nearly every month in the year, and yet was
+there ever one too many? There is scarcely an hour in the day, too,
+when its delicious, ecstatic song may not be heard; in the darkness of
+midnight, just before dawn, when its voice is almost the first to
+respond to the chipping sparrow's wiry trill and the robin's warble;
+in the cool of the morning, the heat of noon, the hush of evening--
+ever the simple, homely, sweet melody that every good American has
+learned to love in childhood. What the bird lacks in beauty it
+abundantly makes up in good cheer. Not at all retiring, though never
+bold, it chooses some conspicuous perch on a bush or tree to deliver
+its outburst of song, and sings away with serene unconsciousness. Its
+artlessness is charming. Thoreau writes in his "Summer" that the
+country girls in Massachusetts hear the bird say: "_Maids, maids,
+maids, hang on your teakettle, teakettle-ettle-ettle._" The call-note,
+a metallic _chip_, is equally characteristic of the bird's
+irrepressible vivacity. It has still another musical expression,
+however, a song more prolonged and varied than its usual performance,
+that it seems to sing only on the wing.
+
+Of course, the song sparrow must sometimes fly upward, but whoever
+sees it fly anywhere but downward into the thicket that it depends
+upon to conceal it from too close inspection? By pumping its tail as
+it flies, it seems to acquire more than the ordinary sparrow's
+velocity.
+
+Its nest, which is likely to be laid flat on the ground, except where
+field-mice are plentiful (in which case it is elevated into the crotch
+of a bush), is made of grass, strips of bark, and leaves, and lined
+with finer grasses and hair. Sometimes three broods may be reared in a
+season, but even the cares of providing insects and seeds enough for
+so many hungry babies cannot altogether suppress the cheerful singer.
+The eggs are grayish white, speckled and clouded with lavender and
+various shades of brown.
+
+In sparsely settled regions the song sparrows seem to show a fondness
+for moist woodland thickets, possibly because their tastes are
+insectivorous. But it is difficult to imagine the friendly little
+musician anything but a neighbor.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CEDAR WAXWING (_One-half natural size_)]
+
+   [Illustration: CHIPPING SPARROW]
+
+
+    Swamp Song Sparrow
+
+    (_Melospiza georgiana_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: SWAMP SPARROW; MARSH SPARROW; RED GRASS-BIRD;
+       SWAMP FINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.8 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Forehead black; crown, which in winter has black
+       stripes, is always bright bay; line over the eye, sides of the
+       neck gray. Back brown, striped with various shades. Wing-edges
+       and tail reddish brown. Mottled gray underneath, inclining to
+       white on the chin.
+
+    _Female_--Without black forehead and stripes on head.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Texas to Labrador.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. A few winter at the north.
+
+In just such impenetrable retreats as the marsh wrens choose, another
+wee brown bird may sometimes be seen springing up from among the
+sedges, singing a few sweet notes as it flies and floats above them,
+and then suddenly disappearing into the grassy tangle. It is too
+small, and its breast is not streaked enough to be a song sparrow,
+neither are their songs alike; it has not the wren's peculiarities of
+bill and tail. Its bright-bay crown and sparrowy markings finally
+identify it. A suggestion of the bird's watery home shows itself in
+the liquid quality of its simple, sweet note, stronger and sweeter
+than the chippy's, and repeated many times almost like a trill that
+seems to trickle from the marsh in a little rivulet of song. The
+sweetness is apt to become monotonous to all but the bird itself, that
+takes evident delight in its performance. In the spring, when flocks
+of swamp sparrows come north, how they enliven the marshes and waste
+places! And yet the song, simple as it is, is evidently not uttered
+altogether without effort, if the tail-spreading and teetering of the
+body after the manner of the ovenbird, are any indications of
+exertion.
+
+Nuttall says of these birds: "They thread their devious way with the
+same alacrity as the rail, with whom, indeed, they are often
+associated in neighborhood. In consequence of this perpetual brushing
+through sedge and bushes, their feathers are frequently so worn that
+their tails appear almost like those of rats." But the swamp sparrows
+frequently belie their name, and, especially in the South, live in dry
+fields, worn-out pasture lands with scrubby, weedy patches in them.
+They live upon seeds of grasses and berries, but Dr. Abbott has
+detected their special fondness for fish--not fresh fish particularly,
+but rather such as have lain in the sun for a few days and become dry
+as a chip.
+
+Their nest is placed on the ground, sometimes in a tussock of grass or
+roots of an upturned tree quite surrounded by water. Four or five
+soiled white eggs with reddish-brown spots are laid usually twice in a
+season.
+
+
+    Tree Sparrow
+
+    (_Spizella monticola_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: CANADA SPARROW; WINTER CHIPPY; TREE BUNTING;
+       WINTER CHIP-BIRD; ARCTIC CHIPPER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 167)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.35 inches. About the same size as the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown of head bright chestnut. Line over the eye,
+       cheeks, throat, and breast gray, the breast with an indistinct
+       black spot on centre. Brown back, the feathers edged with
+       black and buff. Lower back pale grayish brown. Two whitish
+       bars across dusky wings; tail feathers bordered with grayish
+       white. Underneath whitish.
+
+    _Female_--Smaller and less distinctly marked.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to the Carolinas, and
+       westward to the plains.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Winter resident.
+
+A revised and enlarged edition of the friendly little chipping
+sparrow, that hops to our very doors for crumbs throughout the mild
+weather, comes out of British America at the beginning of winter to
+dissipate much of the winter's dreariness by his cheerful twitterings.
+Why he should have been called a tree sparrow is a mystery, unless
+because he does not frequent trees--a reason with sufficient
+plausibility to commend the name to several of the early
+ornithologists, who not infrequently called a bird precisely what it
+was not. The tree sparrow actually does not show half the preference
+for trees that its familiar little counterpart does, but rather keeps
+to low bushes when not on the ground, where we usually find it. It
+does not crouch upon the ground like the chippy, but with a lordly
+carriage holds itself erect as it nimbly runs over the frozen crust.
+Sheltered from the high, wintry winds in the furrows and dry ditches
+of ploughed fields, a loose flock of these active birds keep up a
+merry hunt for fallen seeds and berries, with a belated beetle to give
+the grain a relish. As you approach the feeding ground, one bird gives
+a shrill alarm-cry, and instantly five times as many birds as you
+suspected were in the field take wing and settle down in the scrubby
+undergrowth at the edge of the woods or by the way-side. No still cold
+seems too keen for them to go a-foraging; but when cutting winds blow
+through the leafless thickets the scattered remnants of a flock seek
+the shelter of stone walls, hedges, barns, and cozy nooks about the
+house and garden. It is in midwinter that these birds grow most
+neighborly, although even then they are distinctly less sociable than
+their small chippy cousins.
+
+By the first of March, when the fox sparrow and the bluebird attract
+the lion's share of attention by their superior voices, we not
+infrequently are deaf to the modest, sweet little strain that answers
+for the tree sparrow's love-song. Soon after the bird is in full
+voice, away it goes with its flock to their nesting ground in Labrador
+or the Hudson Bay region. It builds, either on the ground or not far
+from it, a nest of grasses, rootlets, and hair, without which no true
+chippy counts its home complete.
+
+
+    Vesper Sparrow
+
+    (_Po[oe]cetes gramineus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: BAY-WINGED BUNTING; GRASSFINCH; GRASS-BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--5.75 to 6.25 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Brown above, streaked and varied with gray.
+       Lesser wing coverts bright rufous. Throat and breast whitish,
+       striped with dark brown. Underneath plain soiled white. Outer
+       tail-quills, which are its special mark of identification, are
+       partly white, but apparently wholly white as the bird flies.
+       _Range_--North America, especially common in eastern parts
+       from Hudson Bay to Gulf of Mexico. Winters south of Virginia.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+Among the least conspicuous birds, sparrows are the easiest to
+classify for that very reason, and certain prominent features of the
+half dozen commonest of the tribe make their identification simple
+even to the merest novice. The distinguishing marks of this sparrow
+that haunts open, breezy pasture lands and country waysides are its
+bright, reddish-brown wing coverts, prominent among its dingy, pale
+brownish-gray feathers, and its white tail-quills, shown as the bird
+flies along the road ahead of you to light upon the fence-rail. It
+rarely flies higher, even to sing its serene, pastoral strain, restful
+as the twilight, of which, indeed, it seems to be the vocal
+expression. How different from the ecstatic outburst of the song
+sparrow! Pensive, but not sad, its long-drawn silvery notes continue
+in quavers that float off unended like a trail of mist. The song is
+suggestive of the thoughts that must come at evening to some New
+England saint of humble station after a well-spent, soul-uplifting
+day.
+
+But while the vesper sparrow sings oftenest and most sweetly in the
+late afternoon and continues singing until only he and the
+rose-breasted grosbeak break the silence of the early night, his is
+one of the first voices to join the morning chorus. No "early worm,"
+however, tempts him from his grassy nest, for the seeds in the pasture
+lands and certain tiny insects that live among the grass furnish meals
+at all hours. He simply delights in the cool, still morning and
+evening hours and in giving voice to his enjoyment of them.
+
+The vesper sparrow is preA"minently a grass-bird. It first opens its
+eyes on the world in a nest neatly woven of grasses, laid on the
+ground among the grass that shelters it and furnishes it with food and
+its protective coloring. Only the grazing cattle know how many nests
+and birds are hidden in their pastures. Like the meadowlarks, their
+presence is not even suspected until a flock is flushed from its
+feeding ground, only to return to the spot when you have passed on
+your way. Like the meadowlark again, the vesper sparrow occasionally
+sings as it soars upward from its grassy home.
+
+
+    White-crowned Sparrow
+
+    (_Zonotrichia leucophrys_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--7 inches. A little larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--White head, with four longitudinal black lines marking
+       off a crown, the black-and-white stripes being of about equal
+       width. Cheeks, nape, and throat gray. Light gray underneath,
+       with some buff tints. Back dark grayish brown, some feathers
+       margined with gray. Two interrupted white bars across wings.
+       Plain, dusky tail; total effect, a clear ashen gray.
+
+    _Female_--With rusty head inclining to gray on crown. Paler
+       throughout than the male.
+
+    _Range_--From high mountain ranges of western United States
+       (more rarely on Pacific slope) to Atlantic Ocean, and from
+       Labrador to Mexico. Chiefly south of Pennsylvania.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Irregular migrant in Northern
+       States. A winter resident elsewhere.
+
+The large size and handsome markings of this aristocratic-looking
+Northern sparrow would serve to distinguish him at once, did he not
+often consort with his equally fine-looking white-throated cousins
+while migrating, and so too often get overlooked. Sparrows are such
+gregarious birds that it is well to scrutinize every flock with
+especial care in the spring and autumn, when the rarer migrants are
+passing. This bird is more common in the high altitudes of the Sierra
+Nevada and Rocky Mountains than elsewhere in the United States. There
+in the lonely forest it nests in low bushes or on the ground, and
+sings its full love-song, as it does in the northern British
+provinces, along the Atlantic coast; but during the migrations it
+favors us only with selections from its repertoire. Mr. Ernest
+Thompson says, "Its usual song is like the latter half of the
+white-throat's familiar refrain, repeated a number of times with a
+peculiar, sad cadence and in a clear, soft whistle that is
+characteristic of the group." "The song is the loudest and most
+plaintive of all the sparrow songs," says John Burroughs. "It begins
+with the words _fe-u, fe-u, fe-u_, and runs off into trills and
+quavers like the song sparrow's, only much more touching." Colorado
+miners tell that this sparrow, like its white-throated relative, sings
+on the darkest nights. Often a score or more birds are heard singing
+at once after the habit of the European nightingales, which, however,
+choose to sing only in the moonlight.
+
+
+    White-throated Sparrow
+
+    (_Zonotrichia albicollis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PEABODY BIRD; CANADA SPARROW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 170)
+
+
+    _Length_--6.75 to 7 inches. Larger than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--A black crown divided by narrow white line.
+       Yellow spot before the eye, and a white line, apparently
+       running through it, passes backward to the nape. Conspicuous
+       white throat. Chestnut back, varied with black and whitish.
+       Breast gray, growing lighter underneath. Wings edged with
+       rufous and with two white cross-bars.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America. Nests from Michigan and
+       Massachusetts northward to Labrador. Winters from southern New
+       England to Florida.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Abundant during migrations, and
+       in many States a winter resident.
+
+"_I-I, Pea-body, Pea-body, Pea-body_," are the syllables of the
+white-throat's song heard by the good New Englanders, who have a
+tradition that you must either be a Peabody or a nobody there; while
+just over the British border the bird is distinctly understood to say,
+"_Swee-e-e-t Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da._" "_All day, whit-tle-ing,
+whit-tle-ing, whit-tle-ing,_" the Maine people declare he sings; and
+Hamilton Gibson told of a perplexed farmer, Peverly by name, who, as
+he stood in the field undecided as to what crop to plant, clearly
+heard the bird advise, "_Sow wheat, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly, Pev-er-ly._"
+Such divergence of opinion, which is really slight compared with the
+verbal record of many birds' songs, only goes to show how little the
+sweetness of birds' music, like the perfume of a rose, depends upon a
+name.
+
+In a family not distinguished for good looks, the white-throated
+sparrow is conspicuously handsome, especially after the spring moult.
+In midwinter the feathers grow dingy and the markings indistinct; but
+as the season advances, his colors are sure to brighten perceptibly,
+and before he takes the northward journey in April, any little lady
+sparrow might feel proud of the attentions of so fine-looking and
+sweet-voiced a lover. The black, white, and yellow markings on his
+head are now clear and beautiful. His figure is plump and
+aristocratic.
+
+These sparrows are particularly sociable travellers, and cordially
+welcome many stragglers to their flocks--not during the migrations
+only, but even when winter's snow affords only the barest gleanings
+above it. Then they boldly peck about the dog's plate by the kitchen
+door and enter the barn-yard, calling their feathered friends with a
+sharp _tseep_ to follow them. Seeds and insects are their chosen food,
+and were they not well wrapped in an adipose coat under their
+feathers, there must be many a winter night when they would go
+shivering, supperless, to their perch.
+
+In the dark of midnight one may sometimes hear the white-throat softly
+singing in its dreams.
+
+
+   [Illustration: SONG SPARROW]
+
+   [Illustration: TREE SPARROW]
+
+
+
+
+GREEN, GREENISH GRAY, OLIVE, AND YELLOWISH OLIVE BIRDS
+
+    Tree Swallow                       Warbling Vireo
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird         Ovenbird
+    Golden-crowned Kinglet             Worm-eating Warbler
+    Ruby-crowned Kinglet               Acadian Flycatcher
+    Solitary Vireo                     Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
+    Red-eyed Vireo                     Black-throated Green Warbler
+    White-eyed Vireo
+
+Look also among the Olive-brown Birds, especially for the Cuckoos,
+Alice's and the Olive-backed Thrushes; and look in the yellow group,
+many of whose birds are olive also. See also females of the Red
+Crossbill, Orchard Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager.
+
+
+    Tree Swallow
+
+    (_Tacbycineta bicolor_) Swallow family
+
+    _Called also_: WHITE-BELLIED SWALLOW
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 171)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 6 inches. A little shorter than the English
+       sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its wide
+       wing-spread.
+
+    _Male_--Lustrous dark steel-green above; darker and shading
+       into black on wings and tail, which is forked. Under parts
+       soft white.
+
+    _Female_--Duller than male.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--End of March. September or later. Summer resident.
+
+    "The stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times: and the
+     turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their
+     coming."--Jeremiah, viii. 7.
+
+The earliest of the family to appear in the spring, the tree swallow
+comes skimming over the freshly ploughed fields with a wide sweep of
+the wings, in what appears to be a perfect ecstasy of flight. More shy
+of the haunts of man, and less gregarious than its cousins, it is
+usually to be seen during migration flying low over the marshes,
+ponds, and streams with a few chosen friends, keeping up an incessant
+warbling twitter while performing their bewildering and tireless
+evolutions as they catch their food on the wing. Their white breasts
+flash in the sunlight, and it is only when they dart near you, and
+skim close along the surface of the water, that you discover their
+backs to be not black, but rich, dark green, glossy to iridescence.
+
+It is probable that these birds keep near the waterways because their
+favorite insects and wax-berries are more plentiful in such places;
+but this peculiarity has led many people to the absurd belief that
+the tree swallow buries itself under the mud of ponds in winter in a
+state of hibernation. No bird's breathing apparatus is made to operate
+under mud.
+
+In unsettled districts these swallows nest in hollow trees, hence
+their name; but with that laziness that forms a part of the degeneracy
+of civilization, they now gladly accept the boxes about men's homes
+set up for the martins. Thousands of these beautiful birds have been
+shot on the Long Island marshes and sold to New York epicures for
+snipe.
+
+
+   [Illustration: WHITE-THROATED SPARROW]
+
+   [Illustration: TREE SWALLOW]
+
+
+    Ruby-throated Humming-bird
+
+    (_Trochilus colubris_) Humming-bird family
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 171)
+
+
+    _Length_--3.5 to 3.75 inches. A trifle over half as long as
+       the English sparrow. The smallest bird we have.
+
+    _Male_--Bright metallic green above; wings and tail darkest,
+       with ruddy-purplish reflections and dusky-white tips on outer
+       tail-quills. Throat and breast brilliant metallic-red in one
+       light, orange flame in another, and dusky orange in another,
+       according as the light strikes the plumage. Sides greenish;
+       underneath lightest gray, with whitish border outlining the
+       brilliant breast. Bill long and needle-like.
+
+    _Female_--Without the brilliant feathers on throat; darker
+       gray beneath. Outer tail-quills are banded with black and
+       tipped with white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from northern Canada to the
+       Gulf of Mexico in summer. Winters in Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+This smallest, most exquisite and unabashed of our bird neighbors
+cannot be mistaken, for it is the only one of its kin found east of
+the plains and north of Florida, although about four hundred species,
+native only to the New World, have been named by scientists. How does
+it happen that this little tropical jewel alone flashes about our
+Northern gardens? Does it never stir the spirit of adventure and
+emulation in the glistening breasts of its stay-at-home cousins in the
+tropics by tales of luxuriant tangles of honeysuckle and clematis on
+our cottage porches; of deep-cupped trumpet-flowers climbing over the
+walls of old-fashioned gardens, where larkspur, narcissus, roses, and
+phlox, that crowd the box-edged beds, are more gay and honey-laden
+than their little brains can picture? Apparently it takes only the
+wish to be in a place to transport one of these little fairies either
+from the honeysuckle trellis to the canna bed or from Yucatan to the
+Hudson. It is easy to see how to will and to fly are allied in the
+minds of the humming-birds, as they are in the Latin tongue. One
+minute poised in midair, apparently motionless before a flower while
+draining the nectar from its deep cup--though the humming of its wings
+tells that it is suspended there by no magic--the next instant it has
+flashed out of sight as if a fairy's wand had made it suddenly
+invisible. Without seeing the hummer, it might be, and often is,
+mistaken for a bee improving the "shining hour."
+
+At evening one often hears of a "humming-bird" going the rounds of the
+garden, but at this hour it is usually the sphinx-moth hovering above
+the flower-beds--the one other creature besides the bee for which the
+bird is ever mistaken. The postures and preferences of this beautiful
+large moth make the mistake a very natural one.
+
+The ruby-throat is strangely fearless and unabashed. It will dart
+among the vines on the veranda while the entire household are
+assembled there, and add its hum to that of the conversation in a most
+delightfully neighborly way. Once a glistening little sprite, quite
+undaunted by the size of an audience that sat almost breathless
+enjoying his beauty, thrust his bill into one calyx after another on a
+long sprig of honeysuckle held in the hand.
+
+And yet, with all its friendliness--or is it simply fearlessness?--the
+bird is a desperate duellist, and will longe his deadly blade into the
+jewelled breast of an enemy at the slightest provocation and quicker
+than thought. All the heat of his glowing throat seems to be
+transferred to his head while the fight continues, sometimes even to
+the death--a cruel, but marvellously beautiful sight as the glistening
+birds dart and tumble about beyond the range of peace-makers.
+
+High up in a tree, preferably one whose knots and lichen-covered
+excrescences are calculated to help conceal the nest that so cleverly
+imitates them, the mother humming-bird saddles her exquisite cradle to
+a horizontal limb. She lines it with plant-down, fluffy bits from
+cat-tails, and the fronds of fern, felting the material into a circle
+that an elm-leaf amply roofs over. Outside, lichens or bits of bark
+blend the nest so harmoniously with its surroundings that one may
+look long and thoroughly before discovering it. Two infinitesimal,
+white eggs tax the nest accommodation to its utmost.
+
+In the mating season the female may be seen perching--a posture one
+rarely catches her gay lover in--preening her dainty but sombre
+feathers with ladylike nicety. The young birds do a great deal of
+perching before they gain the marvellously rapid wing-motions of
+maturity, but they are ready to fly within three weeks after they are
+hatched. By the time the trumpet-vine is in bloom they dart and sip
+and utter a shrill little squeak among the flowers, in company with
+the old birds.
+
+During the nest-building and incubation the male bird keeps so
+aggressively on the defensive that he often betrays to a hitherto
+unsuspecting intruder the location of his home. After the young birds
+have to be fed he is most diligent in collecting food, that consists
+not alone of the sweet juices of flowers, as is popularly supposed,
+but also of aphides and plant-lice that his proboscis-like tongue
+licks off the garden foliage literally like a streak of lightning.
+
+Both parents feed the young by regurgitation--a process disgusting to
+the human observer, whose stomach involuntarily revolts at the sight
+so welcome to the tiny, squeaking, hungry birds.
+
+
+    Ruby-crowned Kinglet
+
+    (_Regulus calendula_) Kinglet family
+
+    _Called also_: RUBY-CROWNED WREN; RUBY-CROWNED WARBLER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 187)
+
+
+    _Length_--4.25 to 4.5 inches. About two inches smaller than
+       the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts grayish olive-green, brighter nearer the
+       tail; wings and tail dusky, edged with yellowish olive. Two
+       whitish wing-bars. Breast and underneath light yellowish gray.
+       In the adult male a vermilion spot on crown of his ash-gray
+       head.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but without the vermilion crest.
+
+    _Range_--North America. Breeds from northern United States
+       northward. Winters from southern limits of its breeding range
+       to Central America and Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--October. April. Rarely a winter resident at the
+       North. Most common during its migrations.
+
+A trifle larger than the golden-crowned kinglet, with a vermilion
+crest instead of a yellow and flame one, and with a decided preference
+for a warmer winter climate, and the ruby-crown's chief distinguishing
+characteristics are told. These rather confusing relatives would be
+less puzzling if it were the habit of either to keep quiet long enough
+to focus the opera-glasses on their crowns, which it only rarely is
+while some particularly promising haunt of insects that lurk beneath
+the rough bark of the evergreens has to be thoroughly explored. At all
+other times both kinglets keep up an incessant fluttering and
+twinkling among the twigs and leaves at the ends of the branches,
+jerking their tiny bodies from twig to twig in the shrubbery, hanging
+head downward, like a nuthatch, and most industriously feeding every
+second upon the tiny insects and larvA| hidden beneath the bark and
+leaves. They seem to be the feathered expression of perpetual motion.
+And how dainty and charming these tiny sprites are! They are not at
+all shy; you may approach them quite close if you will, for the birds
+are simply too intent on their business to be concerned with yours.
+
+If a sharp lookout be kept for these ruby-crowned migrants, that too
+often slip away to the south before we know they have come, we notice
+that they appear about a fortnight ahead of the golden-crested
+species, since the mild, soft air of our Indian summer is exactly to
+their liking. At this season there is nothing in the bird's "thin,
+metallic call-note, like a vibrating wire," to indicate that he is one
+of our finest songsters. But listen for him during the spring
+migration, when a love-song is already ripening in his tiny throat.
+What a volume of rich, lyrical melody pours from the Norway spruce,
+where the little musician is simply practising to perfect the richer,
+fuller song that he sings to his nesting mate in the far north! The
+volume is really tremendous, coming from so tiny a throat. Those who
+have heard it in northern Canada describe it as a flute-like and
+mellow warble full of intricate phrases past the imitating. Dr. Coues
+says of it: "The kinglet's exquisite vocalization defies description."
+
+Curiously enough, the nest of this bird, that is not at all rare, has
+been discovered only six times. It would appear to be over-large for
+the tiny bird, until we remember that kinglets are wont to have a
+numerous progeny in their pensile, globular home. It is made of light,
+flimsy material--moss, strips of bark, and plant-fibre well knit
+together and closely lined with feathers, which must be a grateful
+addition to the babies, where they are reared in evergreens in cold,
+northern woods.
+
+
+    Golden-crowned Kinglet
+
+    (_Regulus satrapa_) Kinglet family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN-CROWNED GOLDCREST; FIERY-CROWNED WREN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 187)
+
+
+    _Length_--4 to 4.25 inches. About two inches smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts grayish olive-green; wings and tail dusky,
+       margined with olive-green. Underneath soiled whitish. Centre
+       of crown bright orange, bordered by yellow and enclosed by
+       black line. Cheeks gray; a whitish line over the eye.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but centre of crown lemon-yellow and more
+       grayish underneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America generally. Breeds from northern United
+       States northward. Winters chiefly from North Carolina to
+       Central America, but many remain north all the year.
+
+    _Migrations_--September. April. Chiefly a winter resident
+       south of Canada.
+
+If this cheery little winter neighbor would keep quiet long enough, we
+might have a glimpse of the golden crest that distinguishes him from
+his equally lively cousin, the ruby-crowned; but he is so constantly
+flitting about the ends of the twigs, peering at the bark for hidden
+insects, twinkling his wings and fluttering among the evergreens with
+more nervous restlessness than a vireo, that you may know him well
+before you have a glimpse of his tri-colored crown.
+
+When the autumn foliage is all aglow with yellow and flame this tiny
+sprite comes out of the north, where neither nesting nor moulting
+could rob him of his cheerful spirits. Except the humming-bird and the
+winter wren, he is the smallest bird we have. And yet, somewhere
+stored up in his diminutive body, is warmth enough to withstand zero
+weather. With evident enjoyment of the cold, he calls out a shrill,
+wiry _zee, zee, zee_, that rings merrily from the pines and spruces
+when our fingers are too numb to hold the opera glasses in an attempt
+to follow his restless flittings from branch to branch. Is it one of
+the unwritten laws of birds that the smaller their bodies the greater
+their activity?
+
+When you see one kinglet about, you may be sure there are others not
+far away, for, except in the nesting season, its habits are distinctly
+social, its friendliness extending to the humdrum brown creeper, the
+chickadees, and the nuthatches, in whose company it is often seen;
+indeed, it is likely to be in almost any flock of the winter birds.
+They are a merry band as they go exploring the trees together. The
+kinglet can hang upside down, too, like the other acrobats, many of
+whose tricks he has learned; and it can pick off insects from a tree
+with as business-like an air as the brown creeper, but with none of
+that soulless bird's plodding precision.
+
+In the early spring, just before this busy little sprite leaves us to
+nest in Canada or Labrador--for heat is the one thing that he can't
+cheerfully endure--a gushing, lyrical song bursts from his tiny
+throat--a song whose volume is so out of proportion to the bird's size
+that Nuttall's classification of kinglets with wrens doesn't seem far
+wrong after all.
+
+Only rarely is a nest found so far south as the White Mountains. It is
+said to be extraordinarily large for so small a bird; but that need
+not surprise us when we learn that as many as ten creamy-white eggs,
+blotched with brown and lavender, are no uncommon number for the
+pensile cradle to hold. How do the tiny parents contrive to cover so
+many eggs and to feed such a nestful of fledglings?
+
+
+    Solitary Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo solitarius_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE-HEADED VIREO
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 7 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Dusky olive above; head bluish gray, with a white line
+       around the eye, spreading behind the eye into a patch. Beneath
+       whitish, with yellow-green wash on the sides. Wings dusky
+       olive, with two distinct white bars. Tail dusky, some quills
+       edged with white.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but her head is dusky olive.
+
+    _Range_--United States to plains, and the southern British
+       provinces. Winters in Florida and southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. Early October. Common during migrations;
+       more rarely a summer resident south of Massachusetts.
+
+By no means the recluse that its name would imply, the solitary vireo,
+while a bird of the woods, shows a charming curiosity about the
+stranger with opera-glasses in hand, who has penetrated to the deep,
+swampy tangles, where it chooses to live. Peering at you through the
+green undergrowth with an eye that seems especially conspicuous
+because of its encircling white rim, it is at least as sociable and
+cheerful as any member of its family, and Mr. Bradford Torrey credits
+it with "winning tameness." "Wood-bird as it is," he says, "it will
+sometimes permit the greatest familiarities. Two birds I have seen,
+which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest manner, while
+sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as readily as any pet
+canary."
+
+The solitary vireo also builds a pensile nest, swung from the crotch
+of a branch, not so high from the ground as the yellow-throated
+vireo's nor so exquisitely finished, but still a beautiful little
+structure of pine-needles, plant-fibre, dry leaves, and twigs, all
+lichen-lined and bound and rebound with coarse spiders' webs.
+
+The distinguishing quality of this vireo's celebrated song is its
+tenderness: a pure, serene uplifting of its loving, trustful nature
+that seems inspired by a fine spirituality.
+
+
+    Red-eyed Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo olivaceus_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+    _Called also_: THE PREACHER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.75 to 6.25 inches. A fraction smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts light olive-green; well-defined
+       slaty-gray cap, with black marginal line, below which, and
+       forming an exaggerated eyebrow, is a line of white. A brownish
+       band runs from base of bill through the eye. The iris is
+       ruby-red. Underneath white, shaded with light greenish yellow
+       on sides and on under tail and wing coverts.
+
+    _Range_--United States to Rockies and northward. Winters in
+       Central and South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Common summer resident.
+
+"You see it--you know it--do you hear me? Do you believe it?" is
+Wilson Flagg's famous interpretation of the song of this commonest of
+all the vireos, that you cannot mistake with such a key. He calls the
+bird the preacher from its declamatory style: an up-and-down warble
+delivered with a rising inflection at the close and followed by an
+impressive silence, as if the little green orator were saying, "I
+pause for a reply."
+
+Notwithstanding its quiet coloring, that so closely resembles the
+leaves it hunts among, this vireo is rather more noticeable than its
+relatives because of its slaty cap and the black-and-white lines over
+its ruby eye, that, in addition to the song, are its marked
+characteristics.
+
+Whether she is excessively stupid or excessively kind, the
+mother-vireo has certainly won for herself no end of ridicule by
+allowing the cowbird to deposit a stray egg in the exquisitely made,
+pensile nest, where her own tiny white eggs are lying; and though the
+young cowbird crowd and worry her little fledglings and eat their
+dinner as fast as she can bring it in, no displeasure or grudging is
+shown towards the dusky intruder that is sure to upset the rightful
+heirs out of the nest before they are able to fly.
+
+In the heat of a midsummer noon, when nearly every other bird's voice
+is hushed, and only the locust seems to rejoice in the fierce
+sunshine, the little red-eyed vireo goes persistently about its
+business of gathering insects from the leaves, not flitting nervously
+about like a warbler, or taking its food on the wing like a
+flycatcher, but patiently and industriously dining where it can, and
+singing as it goes.
+
+When a worm is caught it is first shaken against a branch to kill it
+before it is swallowed. Vireos haunt shrubbery and trees with heavy
+foliage, all their hunting, singing, resting, and home-building being
+done among the leaves--never on the ground.
+
+
+    White-eyed Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo noveboracensis_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.3 inches. An inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts bright olive-green, washed with
+       grayish. Throat and underneath white; the breast and sides
+       greenish yellow; wings have two distinct bars of yellowish
+       white. Yellow line from beak to and around the eye, which has
+       a white iris. Feathers of wings and tail brownish and edged
+       with yellow.
+
+    _Range_--United States to the Rockies, and to the Gulf regions
+       and beyond in winter.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+"Pertest of songsters," the white-eyed vireo makes whatever
+neighborhood it enters lively at once. Taking up a residence in the
+tangled shrubbery or thickety undergrowth, it immediately begins to
+scold like a crotchety old wren. It becomes irritated over the merest
+trifles--a passing bumblebee, a visit from another bird to its tangle,
+an unsuccessful peck at a gnat--anything seems calculated to rouse its
+wrath and set every feather on its little body a-trembling, while it
+sharply snaps out what might perhaps be freely constructed into
+"cuss-words."
+
+And yet the inscrutable mystery is that this virago meekly permits the
+lazy cowbird to deposit an egg in its nest, and will patiently sit
+upon it, though it is as large as three of her own tiny eggs; and when
+the little interloper comes out from his shell the mother-bird will
+continue to give it the most devoted care long after it has shoved her
+poor little starved babies out of the nest to meet an untimely death
+in the smilax thicket below.
+
+An unusual variety of expression distinguishes this bird's voice from
+the songs of the other vireos, which are apt to be monotonous, as they
+are incessant. If you are so fortunate to approach the white-eyed
+vireo before he suspects your presence, you may hear him amusing
+himself by jumbling together snatches of the songs of the other birds
+in a sort of potpourri; or perhaps he will be scolding or arguing with
+an imaginary foe, then dropping his voice and talking confidentially
+to himself. Suddenly he bursts into a charming, simple little song, as
+if the introspection had given him reason for real joy. All these
+vocal accomplishments suggest the chat at once; but the minute your
+intrusion is discovered the sharp scolding, that is fairly screamed at
+you from an enraged little throat, leaves no possible shadow of a
+doubt as to the bird you have disturbed. It has the most emphatic call
+and song to be heard in the woods; it snaps its words off very short.
+"_Chick-a-rer chick_" is its usual call-note, jerked out with great
+spitefulness.
+
+Wilson thus describes the jealously guarded nest: "This bird builds a
+very neat little nest, often in the figure of an inverted cone; it is
+suspended by the upper end of the two sides, on the circular bend of a
+prickly vine, a species of smilax, that generally grows in low
+thickets. Outwardly it is constructed of various light materials, bits
+of rotten wood, fibres of dry stalks, of weeds, pieces of paper
+(commonly newspapers, an article almost always found about its nest,
+so that some of my friends have given it the name of the politician);
+all these materials are interwoven with the silk of the caterpillars,
+and the inside is lined with fine, dry grass and hair."
+
+
+    Warbling Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo gilvus_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A little smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Ashy olive-green above, with head and neck
+       ash-colored. Dusky line over the eye. Underneath whitish,
+       faintly washed with dull yellow, deepest on sides; no bars on
+       wings.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Mexico.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. Late September or early October. Summer
+       resident.
+
+This musical little bird shows a curious preference for rows of trees
+in the village street or by the roadside, where he can be sure of an
+audience to listen to his rich, continuous warble. There is a
+mellowness about his voice, which rises loud, but not altogether
+cheerfully, above the bird chorus, as if he were a gifted but slightly
+disgruntled contralto. Too inconspicuously dressed, and usually too
+high in the tree-top to be identified without opera-glasses, we may
+easily mistake him by his voice for one of the warbler family, which
+is very closely allied to the vireos. Indeed, this warbling vireo
+seems to be the connecting link between them.
+
+Morning and afternoon, but almost never in the evening, we may hear
+him rippling out song after song as he feeds on insects and berries
+about the garden. But this familiarity lasts only until nesting time,
+for off he goes with his little mate to some unfrequented lane near a
+wood until their family is reared, when, with a perceptibly happier
+strain in his voice, he once more haunts our garden and row of elms
+before taking the southern journey.
+
+
+    Ovenbird
+
+    (_Seiurus aurocapillus_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSH; THE TEACHER; WOOD
+       WAGTAIL; GOLDEN-CROWNED WAGTAIL; GOLDEN-CROWNED ACCENTOR
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 218)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.15 inches. Just a shade smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Upper parts olive, with an orange-brown
+       crown, bordered by black lines that converge toward the bill.
+       Under parts white; breast spotted and streaked on the sides.
+       White eye-ring.
+
+    _Range_--United States, to Pacific slope.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident.
+
+Early in May you may have the good fortune to see this little bird of
+the woods strutting in and out of the garden shrubbery with a certain
+mock dignity, like a child wearing its father's boots. Few birds can
+walk without appearing more or less ridiculous, and however gracefully
+and prettily it steps, this amusing little wagtail is no exception.
+When seen at all--which is not often, for it is shy--it is usually on
+the ground, not far from the shrubbery or a woodland thicket, under
+which it will quickly dodge out of sight at the merest suspicion of a
+footstep. To most people the bird is only a voice calling, "_Teacher,
+Teacher, Teacher, Teacher, TEACHER!_" as Mr. Burroughs has interpreted
+the notes that go off in pairs like a series of little explosions,
+softly at first, then louder and louder and more shrill until the bird
+that you at first thought far away seems to be shrieking his
+penetrating crescendo into your very ears. But you may look until you
+are tired before you find him in the high, dry wood, never near water.
+
+In the driest parts of the wood, here the ground is thickly carpeted
+with dead leaves, you may some day notice a little bunch of them, that
+look as if a plant, in pushing its way up through the ground, had
+raised the leaves, rootlets, and twigs a trifle. Examine the spot
+more carefully, and on one side you find an opening, and within the
+ball of earth, softly lined with grass, lie four or five cream-white,
+speckled eggs. It is only by a happy accident that this nest of the
+ovenbird is discovered. The concealment could not be better. It is
+this peculiarity of nest construction--in shape like a Dutch
+oven--that has given the bird what DeKay considers its "trivial name."
+Not far from the nest the parent birds scratch about in the leaves
+like diminutive barn-yard fowls, for the grubs and insects hiding
+under them. But at the first suspicion of an intruder their alarm
+becomes pitiful. Panic-stricken, they become fairly limp with fear,
+and drooping her wings and tail, the mother-bird drags herself hither
+and thither over the ground.
+
+As utterly bewildered as his mate, the male darts, flies, and tumbles
+about through the low branches, jerking and wagging his tail in
+nervous spasms until you have beaten a double-quick retreat.
+
+In nesting time, at evening, a very few have heard the "luxurious
+nuptial song" of the ovenbird; but it is a song to haunt the memory
+forever afterward. Burroughs appears to be the first writer to record
+this "rare bit of bird melody." "Mounting by easy flight to the top of
+the tallest tree," says the author of "Wake-Robin," "the ovenbird
+launches into the air with a sort of suspended, hovering flight, like
+certain of the finches, and bursts into a perfect ecstasy of
+song--clear, ringing, copious, rivalling the goldfinch's in vivacity
+and the linnet's in melody."
+
+
+    Worm-eating Warbler
+
+    (_Helmintherus vermivorus_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.50 inches. Less than an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Greenish olive above. Head yellowish brown,
+       with two black stripes through crown to the nape; also black
+       lines from the eyes to neck. Under parts buffy and white.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of United States. Nests as far north as
+       southern Illinois and southern Connecticut. Winters in the
+       Gulf States and southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+In the Delaware Valley and along the same parallel, this inconspicuous
+warbler is abundant, but north of New Jersey it is rare enough to give
+an excitement to the day on which you discover it. No doubt it is
+commoner than we suppose, for its coloring blends so admirably with
+its habitats that it is probably very often overlooked. Its call-note,
+a common chirp, has nothing distinguishing about it, and all
+ornithologists confess to having been often misled by its song into
+thinking it came from the chipping sparrow. It closely resembles that
+of the pine warbler also. If it were as nervously active as most
+warblers, we should more often discover it, but it is quite as
+deliberate as a vireo, and in the painstaking way in which it often
+circles around a tree while searching for spiders and other insects
+that infest the trunks, it reminds us of the brown creeper. Sunny
+slopes and hillsides covered with thick undergrowth are its preferred
+foraging and nesting haunts. It is often seen hopping directly on the
+dry ground, where it places its nest, and it never mounts far above
+it. The well-drained, sunny situation for the home is chosen with the
+wisdom of a sanitary expert.
+
+
+    Acadian Flycatcher
+
+    (_Empidonax virescens_) Flycatcher family
+
+    _Called also_: SMALL GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER; SMALL PEWEE
+
+
+    _Length_--5.75 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Dull olive above. Two conspicuous yellowish wing-bars.
+       Throat white, shading into pale yellow on breast. Light gray
+       or white underneath. Upper part of bill black; lower mandible
+       flesh-color. White eye-ring.
+
+    _Female_--Greener above and more yellow below.
+
+    _Range_--From Canada to Mexico, Central America, and West
+       Indies. Most common in south temperate latitudes. Winters in
+       southerly limit of range.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September. Summer resident.
+
+When all our northern landscape takes on the exquisite, soft green,
+gray, and yellow tints of early spring, this little flycatcher, in
+perfect color-harmony with the woods it darts among, comes out of the
+south. It might be a leaf that is being blown about, touched by the
+sunshine filtering through the trees, and partly shaded by the young
+foliage casting its first shadows.
+
+Woodlands, through which small streams meander lazily, inviting swarms
+of insects to their boggy shores, make ideal hunting grounds for the
+Acadian flycatcher. It chooses a low rather than a high, conspicuous
+perch, that other members of its family invariably select; and from
+such a lookout it may be seen launching into the air after the passing
+gnat--darting downward, then suddenly mounting upward in its aA"rial
+hunt, the vigorous clicks of the beak as it closes over its tiny
+victims testifying to the bird's unerring aim and its hearty appetite.
+
+While perching, a constant tail-twitching is kept up; and a faint,
+fretful "_Tshee-kee, tshee-kee_" escapes the bird when inactively
+waiting for a dinner to heave in sight.
+
+In the Middle Atlantic States its peeping sound and the clicking of
+its parti-colored bill are infrequently heard in the village streets
+in the autumn, when the shy and solitary birds are enticed from the
+deep woods by a prospect of a more plentiful diet of insects,
+attracted by the fruit in orchards and gardens.
+
+Never far from the ground, on two or more parallel branches, the
+shallow, unsubstantial nest is laid. Some one has cleverly described
+it as "a tuft of hay caught by the limb from a load driven under it,"
+but this description omits all mention of the quantities of blossoms
+that must be gathered to line the cradle for the tiny, cream white
+eggs spotted with brown.
+
+
+    Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
+
+    (_Empidonax flaviventris_) Flycatcher family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Rather dark, but true olive-green above. Throat and
+       breast yellowish olive, shading into pale yellow underneath,
+       including wing linings and under tail coverts. Wings have
+       yellowish bars. Whitish ring around eye. Upper part of bill
+       black, under part whitish or flesh-colored.
+
+    _Female_--Smaller, with brighter yellow under parts and more
+       decidedly yellow wing-bars.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Labrador to Panama, and westward
+       from the Atlantic to the plains. Winters in Central America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September, Summer resident. More commonly a
+       migrant only.
+
+This is the most yellow of the small flycatchers and the only Eastern
+species with a yellow instead of a white throat. Without hearing
+its call-note, "_pse-ek-pse-ek_," which it abruptly sneezes rather
+than utters, it is quite impossible, as it darts among the trees,
+to tell it from the Acadian flycatcher, with which even Audubon
+confounded it. Both these little birds choose the same sort of
+retreats--well-timbered woods near a stream that attracts myriads of
+insects to its spongy shores--and both are rather shy and solitary.
+The yellow-bellied species has a far more northerly range, however,
+than its Southern relative or even the small green-crested flycatcher.
+It is rare in the Middle States, not common even in New England,
+except in the migrations, but from the Canada border northward its
+soft, plaintive whistle, which is its love-song, may be heard in every
+forest where it nests. All the flycatchers seem to make a noise with
+so much struggle, such convulsive jerkings of head and tail, and
+flutterings of the wings that, considering the scanty success of their
+musical attempts, it is surprising they try to lift their voices at
+all when the effort almost literally lifts them off their feet.
+
+While this little flycatcher is no less erratic than its Acadian
+cousin, its nest is never slovenly. One couple had their home in a
+wild-grape bower in Pennsylvania; a Virginia creeper in New Jersey
+supported another cradle that was fully twenty feet above the ground;
+but in Labrador, where the bird has its chosen breeding grounds, the
+bulky nest is said to be invariably placed either in the moss by the
+brookside or in some old stump, should the locality be too swampy.
+
+
+    Black-throated Green Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica virens_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 inches. Over an inch smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Back and crown of head bright yellowish olive-green.
+       Forehead, band over eye, cheeks, and sides of neck rich
+       yellow. Throat, upper breast, and stripe along sides black.
+       Underneath yellowish white. Wings and tail brownish olive, the
+       former with two white bars, the latter with much white in
+       outer quills. In autumn, plumage resembling the female's.
+
+    _Female_--Similar; chin yellowish; throat and breast dusky,
+       the black being mixed with yellowish.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, from Hudson Bay to Central
+       America and Mexico. Nests north of Illinois and New York.
+       Winters in tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Common summer resident north of
+       New Jersey.
+
+There can be little difficulty in naming a bird so brilliantly and
+distinctly marked as this green, gold, and black warbler, that lifts
+up a few pure, sweet, tender notes, loud enough to attract attention
+when he visits the garden. "_See-see, see-saw_," he sings, but there
+is a tone of anxiety betrayed in the simple, sylvan strain that always
+seems as if the bird needed reassuring, possibly due to the rising
+inflection, like an interrogative, of the last notes.
+
+However abundant about our homes during the migrations, this warbler,
+true to the family instinct, retreats to the woods to nest--not always
+so far away as Canada, the nesting ground of most warblers, for in
+many Northern States the bird is commonly found throughout the summer.
+Doubtless it prefers tall evergreen trees for its mossy, grassy nest;
+but it is not always particular, so that the tree be a tall one with a
+convenient fork in an upper branch.
+
+Early in September increased numbers emerge from the woods, the
+plumage of the male being less brilliant than when we saw it last, as
+if the family cares of the summer had proved too taxing. For nearly a
+month longer they hunt incessantly, with much flitting about the
+leaves and twigs at the ends of branches in the shrubbery and
+evergreens, for the tiny insects that the warblers must devour by the
+million during their all too brief visit.
+
+
+   [Illustration: RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD]
+
+   [Illustration: GOLDEN- AND RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS]
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY YELLOW, AND ORANGE
+
+    Yellow-throated Vireo              Prairie Warbler
+    American Goldfinch                 Wilson's Warbler or Black-cap
+    Evening Grosbeak                   Yellow Warbler or
+    Blue-winged Warbler                  Summer Yellowbird
+    Canadian Warbler                   Yellow Redpoll Warbler
+    Hooded Warbler                     Yellow-breasted Chat
+    Kentucky Warbler                   Maryland Yellowthroat
+    Magnolia Warbler                   Blackburnian Warbler
+    Mourning Warbler                   Redstart
+    Nashville Warbler                  Baltimore Oriole
+    Pine Warbler
+
+Look also among the Yellowish Olive Birds in the preceding group; and
+among the Brown Birds for the Meadowlark and Flicker. See also Parula
+Warbler (Slate) and Yellow-bellied Woodpecker (Black and White).
+
+
+    Yellow-throated Vireo
+
+    (_Vireo flavifrons_) Vireo or Greenlet family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A little smaller than the English
+      sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Lemon-yellow on throat, upper breast; line
+       around the eye and forehead. Yellow, shading into olive-green,
+       on head, back, and shoulders. Underneath white. Tail dark
+       brownish, edged with white. Wings a lighter shade, with two
+       white bands across, and some quills edged with white.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Newfoundland to Gulf of Mexico,
+       and westward to the Rockies. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant; more
+       rarely resident.
+
+This is undoubtedly the beauty of the vireo family--a group of neat,
+active, stoutly built, and vigorous little birds of yellow, greenish,
+and white plumage; birds that love the trees, and whose feathers
+reflect the coloring of the leaves they hide, hunt, and nest among.
+"We have no birds," says Bradford Torrey, "so unsparing of their
+music: they sing from morning till night."
+
+The yellow-throated vireo partakes of all the family characteristics,
+but, in addition to these, it eclipses all its relatives in the
+brilliancy of its coloring and in the art of nest-building, which it
+has brought to a state of hopeless perfection. No envious bird need
+try to excel the exquisite finish of its workmanship. Happily, it has
+wit enough to build its pensile nest high above the reach of small
+boys, usually suspending it from a branch overhanging running water
+that threatens too precipitous a bath to tempt the young climbers.
+
+However common in the city parks and suburban gardens this bird may be
+during the migrations, it delights in a secluded retreat overgrown
+with tall trees and near a stream, such as is dear to the solitary
+vireo as well when the nesting time approaches. High up in the trees
+we hear its rather sad, persistent strain, that is more in harmony
+with the dim forest than with the gay flower garden, where, if the
+truth must be told, its song is both monotonous and depressing. Mr.
+Bicknell says it is the only vireo that sings as it flies.
+
+
+    American Goldfinch
+
+    (_Spinus tristis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: WILD CANARY; YELLOWBIRD; THISTLE BIRD
+
+    (See frontispiece)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.2 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_In summer plumage_: Bright yellow, except on crown of
+       head, frontlet, wings, and tail, which are black. Whitish
+       markings on wings give effect of bands. Tail with white on
+       inner webs. _In winter plumage_: Head yellow-olive; no
+       frontlet; black drab, with reddish tinge; shoulders and throat
+       yellow; soiled brownish white underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish olive above, yellowish white beneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from the tropics to the Fur Countries
+       and westward to the Columbia River and California. Common
+       throughout its range.
+
+    _Migrations_--May--October. Common summer resident, frequently
+       seen throughout the winter as well.
+
+An old field, overgrown with thistles and tall, stalky wild flowers,
+is the paradise of the goldfinches, summer or winter. Here they
+congregate in happy companies while the sunshine and goldenrod are as
+bright as their feathers, and cling to the swaying slender stems that
+furnish an abundant harvest, daintily lunching upon the fluffy seeds
+of thistle blossoms, pecking at the mullein-stalks, and swinging
+airily among the asters and Michaelmas daisies; or, when snow covers
+the same field with a glistening crust, above which the brown stalks
+offer only a meagre dinner, the same birds, now sombrely clad in
+winter feathers, cling to the swaying stems with cheerful fortitude.
+
+At your approach, the busy company rises on the wing, and with
+peculiar, wavy flight rise and fall through the air, marking each
+undulation with a cluster of notes, sweet and clear, that come
+floating downward from the blue ether, where the birds seem to bound
+along exultant in their motion and song alike.
+
+In the spring the plumage of the goldfinch, which has been drab and
+brown through the winter months, is moulted or shed--a change that
+transforms the bird from a sombre Puritan into the gayest of
+cavaliers, and seems to wonderfully exalt his spirits. He bursts into
+a wild, sweet, incoherent melody that might be the outpouring from two
+or three throats at once instead of one, expressing his rapture
+somewhat after the manner of the canary, although his song lacks the
+variety and the finish of his caged namesake. What tone of sadness in
+his music the man found who applied the adjective _tristis_ to his
+scientific name it is difficult to imagine when listening to the notes
+that come bubbling up from the bird's happy heart.
+
+With plumage so lovely and song so delicious and dreamy, it is small
+wonder that numbers of our goldfinches are caught and caged, however
+inferior their song may be to the European species recently introduced
+into this country. Heard in Central Park, New York, where they were
+set at liberty, the European goldfinches seemed to sing with more
+abandon, perhaps, but with no more sweetness than their American
+cousins. The song remains at its best all through the summer months,
+for the bird is a long wooer. It is nearly July before he mates, and
+not until the tardy cedar birds are house-building in the orchard do
+the happy pair begin to carry grass, moss, and plant-down to a crotch
+of some tall tree convenient to a field of such wild flowers as will
+furnish food to a growing family. Doubtless the birds wait for this
+food to be in proper condition before they undertake parental duties
+at all--the most plausible excuse for their late nesting. The cares
+evolving from four to six pale-blue eggs will suffice to quiet the
+father's song for the winter by the first of September, and fade all
+the glory out of his shining coat. As pretty a sight as any garden
+offers is when a family of goldfinches alights on the top of a
+sunflower to feast upon the oily seeds--a perfect harmony of brown and
+gold.
+
+
+   [Illustration: REDSTART (Upper Figure, Female; Lower Figure, Male)]
+
+   [Illustration: BALTIMORE ORIOLE (Upper Figure, Male;
+      Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+
+    Evening Grosbeak
+
+    (_Coccothraustes vespertinus_) Finch family
+
+
+    _Length_--8 inches. Two inches shorter than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Forehead, shoulders, and underneath clear yellow: dull
+       yellow on lower back; sides of the head, throat, and breast
+       olive-brown. Crown, tail, and wings black, the latter with
+       white secondary feathers. Bill heavy and blunt, and yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish gray, more or less suffused with yellow.
+       Wings and tail blackish, with some white feathers.
+
+    _Range_--Interior of North America. Resident from Manitoba
+       northward. Common winter visitor in northwestern United States
+       and Mississippi Valley; casual winter visitor in northern
+       Atlantic States.
+
+In the winter of 1889-90 Eastern people had the rare treat of becoming
+acquainted with this common bird of the Northwest, that, in one of its
+erratic travels, chose to visit New England and the Atlantic States,
+as far south as Delaware, in great numbers. Those who saw the evening
+grosbeaks then remember how beautiful their yellow plumage--a rare
+winter tint--looked in the snow-covered trees, where small companies
+of the gentle and even tame visitors enjoyed the buds and seeds of the
+maples, elders, and evergreens. Possibly evening grosbeaks were in
+vogue for the next season's millinery, or perhaps Eastern
+ornithologists had a sudden zeal to investigate their structural
+anatomy. At any rate, these birds, whose very tameness, that showed
+slight acquaintance with mankind, should have touched the coldest
+heart, received the warmest kind of a reception from hot shot. The few
+birds that escaped to the solitudes of Manitoba could not be expected
+to tempt other travellers eastward by an account of their visit. The
+bird is quite likely to remain rare in the East.
+
+But in the Mississippi Valley and throughout the northwest, companies
+of from six to sixty may be regularly counted upon as winter neighbors
+on almost every farm. Here the females keep up a busy chatting, like a
+company of cedar birds, and the males punctuate their pauses with a
+single shrill note that gives little indication of their vocal powers.
+But in the solitude of the northern forests the love-song is said to
+resemble the robin's at the start. Unhappily, after a most promising
+beginning, the bird suddenly stops, as if he were out of breath.
+
+
+    Blue-Winged Warbler
+
+    (_Helminthophila pinus_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLUE-WINGED YELLOW WARBLER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 17)
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 inches. An inch and a half shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown of head and all under parts bright yellow. Back
+       olive-green. Wings and tail bluish slate, the former with
+       white bars, and three outer tail quills with large white
+       patches on their inner webs.
+
+    _Female_--Paler and more olive.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern United States, from southern New England and
+       Minnesota, the northern limit of its nesting range, to Mexico
+       and Central America, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+In the naming of warblers, bluish slate is the shade intended when
+blue is mentioned; so that if you see a dainty little olive and yellow
+bird with slate-colored wings and tail hunting for spiders in the
+blossoming orchard or during the early autumn you will have seen the
+beautiful blue-winged warbler. It has a rather leisurely way of
+hunting, unlike the nervous, restless flitting about from twig to twig
+that is characteristic of many of its many cousins. The search is
+thorough--bark, stems, blossoms, leaves are inspected for larvA| and
+spiders, with many pretty motions of head and body. Sometimes, hanging
+with head downward, the bird suggests a yellow titmouse. After blossom
+time a pair of these warblers, that have done serviceable work in the
+orchard in their all too brief stay, hurry off to dense woods to nest.
+They are usually to be seen in pairs at all seasons. Not to "high
+coniferous trees in northern forests"--the Mecca of innumerable
+warblers--but to scrubby, second growth of woodland borders, or lower
+trees in the heart of the woods, do these dainty birds retreat. There
+they build the usual warbler nest of twigs, bits of bark, leaves, and
+grasses, but with this peculiarity: the numerous leaves with which the
+nest is wrapped all have their stems pointing upward. Mr. Frank
+Chapman has admirably defined their song as consisting of "two
+drawled, wheezy notes--_swee-chee_, the first inhaled, the second
+exhaled."
+
+
+    Canadian Warbler
+
+    (_Sylvania canadensis_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: CANADIAN FLYCATCHER; SPOTTED CANADIAN WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Immaculate bluish ash above, without marks on wings or
+       tail; crown spotted with arrow-shaped black marks. Cheeks,
+       line from bill to eye, and underneath clear yellow. Black
+       streaks forming a necklace across the breast.
+
+    _Female_--Paler, with necklace indistinct.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_---May. September. Summer resident; most abundant
+       in migrations.
+
+Since about one-third of all the song-birds met with in a year's
+rambles are apt to be warblers, the novice cannot devote his first
+attention to a better group, confusing though it is by reason of its
+size and the repetition of the same colors in so many bewildering
+combinations. Monotony, however, is unknown in the warbler family.
+Whoever can rightly name every warbler, male and female, on sight is
+uniquely accomplished.
+
+The jet necklace worn on this bird's breast is its best mark of
+identification. Its form is particularly slender and graceful, as
+might be expected in a bird so active, one to whom a hundred tiny
+insects barely afford a dinner that must often be caught piecemeal as
+it flies past. To satisfy its appetite, which cannot but be dainty in
+so thoroughly charming a bird, it lives in low, boggy woods, in such
+retreats as Wilson's black-capped warbler selects for a like reason.
+Neither of these two "flycatcher" warblers depends altogether on
+catching insects on the wing; countless thousands are picked off the
+under sides of leaves and about the stems of twigs in true warbler
+fashion.
+
+The Canadian's song is particularly loud, sweet, and vivacious. It is
+hazardous for any one without long field practice to try to name any
+warbler by its song alone, but possibly this one's animated music is
+as characteristic as any.
+
+The nest is built on the ground on a mossy bank or elevated into the
+root crannies of some large tree, where there is much water in the
+woods. Bits of bark, dead wood, moss, and fine rootlets, all carefully
+wrapped with leaves, go to make the pretty cradle. Unhappily, the
+little Canada warblers are often cheated out of their natural rights,
+like so many other delightful song-birds, by the greedy interloper
+that the cowbird deposits in their nest.
+
+
+    Hooded Warbler
+
+    (_Sylvania mitrata_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.75 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Head, neck, chin, and throat black like a hood in
+       mature male specimens only. Hood restricted, or altogether
+       wanting in female and young. Upper parts rich olive. Forehead,
+       cheeks, and underneath yellow. Some conspicuous white on tail
+       feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Duller, and with restricted cowl.
+
+    _Range_--United States east of Rockies, and from southern
+       Michigan and southern New England to West Indies and tropical
+       America, where it winters. Very local.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+This beautifully marked, sprightly little warbler might be mistaken in
+his immaturity for the yellowthroat; and as it is said to take him
+nearly three years to grow his hood, with the completed cowl and cape,
+there is surely sufficient reason here for the despair that often
+seizes the novice in attempting to distinguish the perplexing
+warblers. Like its Southern counterpart, the hooded warbler prefers
+wet woods and low trees rather than high ones, for much of its food
+consists of insects attracted by the dampness, and many of them must
+be taken on the wing. Because of its tireless activity the bird's
+figure is particularly slender and graceful--a trait, too, to which we
+owe all the glimpses of it we are likely to get throughout the summer.
+It has a curious habit of spreading its tail, as if it wished you to
+take special notice of the white spots that adorn it; not flirting it,
+as the redstart does his more gorgeous one, but simply opening it like
+a fan as it flies and darts about.
+
+Its song, which is particularly sweet and graceful and with more
+variation than most warblers' music, has been translated
+"_Che-we-eo-tsip, tsip, che-we-eo_," again interpreted by Mr. Chapman
+as "You must come to the woods, or you won't see me."
+
+
+    Kentucky Warbler
+
+    (_Geothlypis formosa_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 inches. Nearly an inch shorter than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts olive-green; under parts yellow; a yellow
+       line from the bill passes over and around the eye. Crown of
+       head, patch below the eye, and line defining throat, black.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but paler, and with grayish instead of
+    black markings.
+
+    _Range_--United States eastward from the Rockies, and from
+    Iowa and Connecticut to Central America, where it winters.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+No bird is common at the extreme limits of its range, and so this
+warbler has a reputation for rarity among the New England
+ornithologists that would surprise people in the middle South and
+Southwest. After all that may be said in the books, a bird is either
+common or rare to the individual who may or may not have happened to
+become acquainted with it in any part of its chosen territory. Plenty
+of people in Kentucky, where we might judge from its name this bird is
+supposed to be most numerous, have never seen or heard of it, while a
+student on the Hudson River, within sight of New York, knows it
+intimately. It also nests regularly in certain parts of the
+Connecticut Valley. "Who is my neighbor?" is often a question
+difficult indeed to answer where birds are concerned. In the chapter,
+"Spring at the Capital," which, with every reading of "Wake Robin,"
+inspires the bird-lover with fresh zeal, Mr. Burroughs writes of the
+Kentucky warbler: "I meet with him in low, damp places, in the woods,
+usually on the steep sides of some little run. I hear at intervals a
+clear, strong, bell-like whistle or warble, and presently catch a
+glimpse of the bird as he jumps up from the ground to take an insect
+or worm from the under side of a leaf. This is his characteristic
+movement. He belongs to the class of ground warblers, and his range is
+very low, indeed lower than that of any other species with which I am
+acquainted."
+
+Like the ovenbird and comparatively few others, for most birds hop
+over the ground, the Kentucky warbler _walks_ rapidly about, looking
+for insects under the fallen leaves, and poking his inquisitive beak
+into every cranny where a spider may be lurking. The bird has a
+pretty, conscious way of flying up to a perch, a few feet above the
+ground, as a tenor might advance towards the footlights of a stage, to
+pour forth his clear, penetrating whistle, that in the nesting season
+especially is repeated over and over again with tireless persistency.
+
+
+    Magnolia Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica maculosa_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-AND-YELLOW WARBLER; SPOTTED WARBLER;
+       BLUE-HEADED YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half smaller
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Crown of head slate-color, bordered on either side by
+       a white line; a black line, apparently running through the
+       eye, and a yellow line below it, merging into the yellow
+       throat. Lower back and under parts yellow. Back, wings, and
+       tail blackish olive. Large white patch on the wings, and the
+       middle of the tail-quills white. Throat and sides heavily
+       streaked with black.
+
+    _Female_--Has greener back, is paler, and has less distinct
+       markings.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Hudson Bay to Panama. Summers
+       from northern Michigan and northern New England northward;
+       winters in Central America and Cuba.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Spring and summer migrant.
+
+In spite of the bird's name, one need not look for it in the glossy
+magnolia trees of the southern gardens more than in the shrubbery on
+New England lawns, and during the migrations it is quite as likely to
+be found in one place as in the other. Its true preference, however,
+is for the spruces and hemlocks of its nesting ground in the northern
+forests. For these it deserts us after a brief hunt about the tender,
+young spring foliage and blossoms, where the early worm lies
+concealed, and before we have become so well acquainted with its
+handsome clothes that we will instantly recognize it in the duller
+ones it wears on its return trip in the autumn. The position of the
+white marks on the tail feathers of this warbler, however, is the clue
+by which it may be identified at any season or any stage of its
+growth. If the white bar runs across the _middle_ of the warbler's
+tail, you can be sure of the identity of the bird. A nervous and
+restless hunter, it nevertheless seems less shy than many of its kin.
+Another pleasing characteristic is that it brings back with it in
+October the loud, clear, rapid whistle with which it has entertained
+its nesting mate in the Canada woods through the summer.
+
+
+    Mourning Warbler
+
+    (_Geothlypis philadelphia_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: MOURNING GROUND WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.6 inches. About an inch smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Gray head and throat; the breast gray; the feathers
+       with black edges that make them look crinkled, like crape. The
+       black markings converge into a spot on upper breast. Upper
+       parts, except head, olive. Underneath rich yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Similar, but duller; throat and breast buff and
+       dusky where the male is black. Back olive-green.
+
+    _Range_--"Eastern North America; breeds from eastern Nebraska,
+       northern New York, and Nova Scotia northward, and southward
+       along the Alleghanies to Pennsylvania. Winters in the
+       tropics."--_Chapman._
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+Since Audubon met with but one of these birds in his incessant
+trampings, and Wilson secured only an immature, imperfectly marked
+specimen for his collection, the novice may feel no disappointment if
+he fails to make the acquaintance of this "gay and agreeable widow."
+And yet the shy and wary bird is not unknown in Central Park, New York
+City. Even where its clear, whistled song strikes the ear with a
+startling novelty that invites to instant pursuit of the singer, you
+may look long and diligently through the undergrowth without finding
+it. Dr. Merriam says the whistle resembles the syllables "_true, true,
+true, tru, too_, the voice rising on the first three syllables and
+falling on the last two." In the nesting season this song is repeated
+over and over again with a persistency worthy of a Kentucky warbler.
+It is delivered from a perch within a few feet of the ground, as high
+as the bird seems ever inclined to ascend.
+
+
+   [Illustration: CARDINAL]
+
+   [Illustration: SCARLET TANAGER Male, in mature plumage, perching;
+      female on nest.]
+
+
+    Nashville Warbler
+
+    (_Helminthophila ruficapilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half smaller
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Olive-green above; yellow underneath. Slate-gray head
+       and neck. Partially concealed chestnut patch on crown. Wings
+       and tail olive-brown and without markings.
+
+    _Female_--Dull olive and paler, with brownish wash underneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America, westward to the plains; north to the
+       Fur Countries, and south to Central America and Mexico. Nests
+       north of Illinois and northern New England; winters in
+       tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. September or October.
+
+It must not be thought that this beautiful warbler confines itself to
+backyards in the city of Nashville simply because Wilson discovered it
+near there and gave it a local name, for the bird's actual range
+reaches from the fur trader's camp near Hudson Bay to the adobe
+villages of Mexico and Central America, and over two thousand miles
+east and west in the United States. It chooses open rather than dense
+woods and tree-bordered fields. It seems to have a liking for hemlocks
+and pine trees, especially if near a stream that attracts insects to
+its shores; and Dr. Warren notes that in Pennsylvania he finds small
+flocks of these warblers in the autumn migration, feeding in the
+willow trees near little rivers and ponds. Only in the northern parts
+of the United States is their nest ever found, for the northern
+British provinces are their preferred nesting ground. One seen in the
+White Mountains was built on a mossy, rocky ledge, directly on the
+ground at the foot of a pine tree, and made of rootlets, moss, needles
+from the trees overhead, and several layers of leaves outside, with a
+lining of fine grasses that cradled four white, speckled eggs.
+
+Audubon likened the bird's feeble note to the breaking of twigs.
+
+
+    Pine Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica vigorsii_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: PINE-CREEPING WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 6 inches. A trifle smaller than the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Yellowish olive above; clear yellow below, shading to
+       grayish white, with obscure dark streaks on side of breast.
+       Two whitish wing-bars; two outer tail feathers partly white.
+
+    _Female_--Duller; grayish white only faintly tinged with
+       yellow underneath.
+
+    _Range_--North America, east of the Rockies; north to
+       Manitoba, and south to Florida and the Bahamas. Winters from
+       southern Illinois southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--March or April. October or later. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+The pine warbler closely presses the myrtle warbler for the first
+place in the ranks of the family migrants, but as the latter bird
+often stays north all winter, it is usually given the palm. Here is a
+warbler, let it be recorded, that is fittingly named, for it is a
+denizen of pine woods only; most common in the long stretches of pine
+forests at the south and in New York and New England, and
+correspondingly uncommon wherever the woods-man's axe has laid the
+pine trees low throughout its range. Its "simple, sweet, and drowsy
+song," writes Mr. Parkhurst, is always associated "with the smell of
+pines on a sultry day." It recalls that of the junco and the social
+sparrow or chippy.
+
+Creeping over the bark of trees and peering into every crevice like a
+nuthatch; running along the limbs, not often hopping nervously or
+flitting like the warblers; darting into the air for a passing insect,
+or descending to the ground to feed on seeds and berries, the pine
+warbler has, by a curious combination, the movements that seem to
+characterize several different birds.
+
+It is one of the largest and hardiest members of its family, but not
+remarkable for its beauty. It is a sociable traveller, cheerfully
+escorting other warblers northward, and welcoming to its band both the
+yellow redpolls and the myrtle warblers. These birds are very often
+seen together in the pine and other evergreen trees in our lawns and
+in the large city parks.
+
+
+    Prairie Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica discolor_) Wood Warbler family
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Olive-green above, shading to yellowish on the head,
+       and with brick-red spots on back between the shoulders. A
+       yellow line over the eye; wing-bars and all under parts bright
+       yellow, heavily streaked with black on the sides. Line through
+       the eye and crescent below it, black. Much white in outer tail
+       feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Paler; upper parts more grayish olive, and markings
+       less distinct than male's.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern half of the United States. Nests as far north
+       as New England and Michigan. Winters from Florida southward.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Summer resident.
+
+Doubtless this diminutive bird was given its name because it prefers
+open country rather than the woods--the scrubby undergrowth of oaks,
+young evergreens, and bushes that border clearings being as good a
+place as any to look for it, and not the wind-swept, treeless tracts
+of the wild West. Its range is southerly. The Southern and Middle
+States are where it is most abundant. Here is a wood warbler that is
+not a bird of the woods--less so, in fact, than either the summer
+yellowbird (yellow warbler) or the palm warbler, that are eminently
+neighborly and fond of pasture lands and roadside thickets. But the
+prairie warblers are rather more retiring little sprites than their
+cousins, and it is not often we get a close enough view of them to
+note the brick-red spots on their backs, which are their
+distinguishing marks. They have a most unkind preference for briery
+bushes, that discourage human intimacy. In such forbidding retreats
+they build their nest of plant-fibre, rootlets, and twigs, lined with
+plant-down and hair.
+
+The song of an individual prairie warbler makes only a slight
+impression. It consists "of a series of six or seven quickly repeated
+_zees_ the next to the last one being the highest" (Chapman). But the
+united voices of a dozen or more of these pretty little birds, that
+often sing together, afford something approaching a musical treat.
+
+
+    Wilson's Warbler
+
+    (_Sylvania pusilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-CAP; GREEN BLACK-CAPPED WARBLER;
+       WILSON'S FLYCATCHER
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5 inches. About an inch and a half shorter
+       than the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Black cap; yellow forehead; all other upper parts
+       olive-green; rich yellow underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Lacks the black cap.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Alaska and Nova Scotia to Panama.
+       Winters south of Gulf States. Nests chiefly north of the
+       United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+To see this strikingly marked little bird one must be on the sharp
+lookout for it during the latter half of May, or at the season of
+apple bloom, and the early part of September. It passes northward with
+an almost scornful rapidity. Audubon mentions having seen it in Maine
+at the end of October, but this specimen surely must have been an
+exceptional laggard.
+
+In common with several others of its family, it is exceedingly expert
+in catching insects on the wing; but it may be known as no true
+flycatcher from the conspicuous rich yellow of its under parts, and
+also from its habit of returning from a midair sally to a different
+perch from the one it left to pursue its dinner. A true flycatcher
+usually returns to its old perch after each hunt.
+
+To indulge in this aA"rial chase with success, these warblers select
+for their home and hunting ground some low woodland growth where a
+sluggish stream attracts myriads of insects to the boggy neighborhood.
+Here they build their nest in low bushes or upon the ground. Four or
+five grayish eggs, sprinkled with cinnamon-colored spots in a circle
+around the larger end, are laid in the grassy cradle in June. Mr. H.
+D. Minot found one of these nests on Pike's Peak at an altitude of
+11,000 feet, almost at the limit of vegetation. The same authority
+compares the bird's song to that of the redstart and the yellow
+warbler.
+
+
+   [Illustration: YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS THE DAY BEFORE LEAVING NEST.]
+
+   [Illustration: FIELD SPARROW BABIES.]
+
+
+    Yellow Redpoll Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica palmarum hypochrysea_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW PALM WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.5 to 5.75 inches. A little smaller than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Chestnut crown. Upper parts brownish olive;
+       greenest on lower back. Underneath uniform bright yellow,
+       streaked with chestnut on throat, breast, and sides. Yellow
+       line over and around the eye. Wings unmarked. Tail edged with
+       olive-green; a few white spots near tips of outer quills. More
+       brownish above in autumn, and with a grayish wash over the
+       yellow under parts.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern parts of North America. Nests from Nova
+       Scotia northward. Winters in the Gulf States.
+
+    _Migrations_--April. October. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+While the uniform yellow of this warbler's under parts in any plumage
+is its distinguishing mark, it also has a flycatcher's trait of
+constantly flirting its tail, that is at once an outlet for its
+superabundant vivacity and a fairly reliable aid to identification.
+The tail is jerked, wagged, and flirted like a baton in the hands of
+an inexperienced leader of an orchestra. One need not go to the woods
+to look for the restless little sprite that comes northward when the
+early April foliage is as yellow and green as its feathers. It prefers
+the fields and roadsides, and before there are leaves enough on the
+undergrowth to conceal it we may come to know it as well as it is
+possible to know any bird whose home life is passed so far away.
+Usually it is the first warbler one sees in the spring in New York and
+New England. With all the alertness of a flycatcher, it will dart into
+the air after insects that fly near the ground, keeping up a constant
+_chip, chip_, fine and shrill, at one end of the small body, and the
+liveliest sort of tail motions at the other. The pine warbler often
+bears it company.
+
+With the first suspicion of warm weather, off goes this hardy little
+fellow that apparently loves the cold almost well enough to stay north
+all the year like its cousin, the myrtle warbler. It builds a
+particularly deep nest, of the usual warbler construction, on the
+ground, but its eggs are rosy rather than the bluish white of others.
+
+In the Southern States the bird becomes particularly neighborly, and
+is said to enter the streets and gardens of towns with a chippy's
+familiarity.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Palm Warbler or Redpoll Warbler (_Dendroica palmarum_) differs from
+the preceding chiefly in its slightly smaller size, the more
+grayish-brown tint in its olive upper parts, and the uneven shade of
+yellow underneath that varies from clear yellow to soiled whitish. It
+is the Western counterpart of the yellow redpoll, and is most common
+in the Mississippi Valley. Strangely enough, however, it is this
+warbler, and not _hypochrysea_, that goes out of its way to winter in
+Florida, where it is abundant all winter.
+
+
+    Yellow Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica A|stiva_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: SUMMER YELLOWBIRD; GOLDEN WARBLER; YELLOW POLL
+
+
+    _Length_--4.75 to 5.2 inches. Over an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Upper parts olive-yellow, brightest on the crown;
+       under parts bright yellow, streaked with reddish brown. Wings
+       and tail dusky olive-brown, edged with yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Similar; but reddish-brown streakings less distinct.
+
+    _Range_--North America, except Southwestern States, where the
+       prothonotary warbler reigns in its stead. Nests from Gulf
+       States to Fur Countries. Winters south of the Gulf States, as
+       far as northern parts of South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+This exquisite little creature of perpetual summer (though to find it
+it must travel back and forth between two continents) comes out of the
+south with the golden days of spring. From much living in the sunshine
+through countless generations, its feathers have finally become the
+color of sunshine itself, and in disposition, as well, it is nothing
+if not sunny and bright. Not the least of its attractions is that it
+is exceedingly common everywhere: in the shrubbery of our lawns, in
+gardens and orchards, by the road and brookside, in the edges of
+woods--everywhere we catch its glint of brightness through the long
+summer days, and hear its simple, sweet, and happy song until the end
+of July.
+
+Because both birds are so conspicuously yellow, no doubt this warbler
+is quite generally confused with the goldfinch; but their distinctions
+are clear enough to any but the most superficial glance. In the first
+place, the yellow warbler is a smaller bird than the goldfinch; it has
+neither black crown, wings, nor tail, and it does have reddish-brown
+streaks on its breast that are sufficiently obsolete to make the
+coloring of that part look simply dull at a little distance. The
+goldfinch's bill is heavy, in order that it may crack seeds, whereas
+the yellow warbler's is slender, to enable it to pick minute insects
+from the foliage. The goldfinch's wavy, curved flight is unique, and
+that of his "double" differs not a whit from that of all nervous,
+flitting warblers. Surely no one familiar with the rich, full,
+canary-like song of the "wild canary," as the goldfinch is called,
+could confuse it with the mild "_Wee-chee, chee, cher-wee_" of the
+summer yellowbird. Another distinction, not always infallible, but
+nearly so, is that when seen feeding, the goldfinch is generally below
+the line of vision, while the yellow warbler is either on it or not
+far above it, as it rarely goes over twelve feet from the ground.
+
+No doubt, the particularly mild, sweet amiability of the yellow
+warbler is responsible for the persistent visitations of the cowbird,
+from which it is a conspicuous sufferer. In the exquisite, neat little
+matted cradle of glistening milkweed flax, lined with down from the
+fronds of fern, the skulking housebreaker deposits her surreptitious
+egg for the little yellow mother-bird to hatch and tend. But
+amiability is not the only prominent trait in the female yellow
+warbler's character. She is clever as well, and quickly builds a new
+bottom on her nest, thus sealing up the cowbird's egg, and depositing
+her own on the soft, spongy floor above it. This operation has been
+known to be twice repeated, until the nest became three stories high,
+when a persistent cowbird made such unusual architecture necessary.
+
+The most common nesting place of the yellow warbler is in low willows
+along the shores of streams.
+
+
+    Yellow-breasted Chat
+
+    (_Icteria virens_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: POLYGLOT CHAT; YELLOW MOCKING BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 inches. A trifle over an inch longer than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male and Female_--Uniform olive-green above. Throat, breast,
+       and under side of wings bright, clear yellow. Underneath
+       white. Sides grayish. White line over the eye, reaching to
+       base of bill and forming partial eye-ring. Also white line on
+       sides of throat. Bill and feet black.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Ontario to Central America and
+       westward to the plains. Most common in Middle Atlantic States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Late August or September. Summer
+       resident.
+
+This largest of the warblers might be mistaken for a dozen birds
+collectively in as many minutes; but when it is known that the jumble
+of whistles, parts of songs, chuckles, clucks, barks, quacks, whines,
+and wails proceed from a single throat, the yellow-breasted chat
+becomes a marked specimen forthwith--a conspicuous individual never to
+be confused with any other member of the feathered tribe. It is indeed
+absolutely unique. The catbird and the mocking-bird are rare mimics;
+but while the chat is not their equal in this respect, it has a large
+repertoire of weird, uncanny cries all its own--a power of throwing
+its voice, like a human ventriloquist, into unexpected corners of the
+thicket or meadow. In addition to its extraordinary vocal feats, it
+can turn somersaults and do other clown-like stunts as well as any
+variety actor on the Bowery stage.
+
+Only by creeping cautiously towards the roadside tangle, where this
+"rollicking polyglot" is entertaining himself and his mate, brooding
+over her speckled eggs in a bulky nest set in a most inaccessible
+briery part of the thicket, can you hope to hear him rattle through
+his variety performance. Walk boldly or noisily past his retreat, and
+there is "silence there and nothing more." But two very bright eyes
+peer out at you through the undergrowth, where the trim,
+elegant-looking bird watches you with quizzical suspicion until you
+quietly seat yourself and assume silent indifference. "_Whew, whew!_"
+he begins, and then immediately, with evident intent to amuse, he
+rattles off an indescribable, eccentric medley until your ears are
+tired listening. With bill uplifted, tail drooping, wings fluttering
+at his side, he cuts an absurd figure enough, but not so comical as
+when he rises into the air, trailing his legs behind him
+stork-fashion. This surely is the clown among birds. But any though he
+is, he is as capable of devotion to his Columbine as Punchinello, and
+remains faithfully mated year after year. However much of a tease and
+a deceiver he may be to the passer-by along the roadside, in the
+privacy of the domestic circle he shows truly lovable traits.
+
+He has the habit of singing in his unmusical way on moonlight nights.
+Probably his ventriloquial powers are cultivated not for popular
+entertainment, but to lure intruders away from his nest.
+
+
+    Maryland Yellowthroat
+
+    (_Geothlypis trichas_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-MASKED GROUND WARBLER
+
+
+    _Length_--5.33 inches. Just an inch shorter than the typical
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Olive-gray on head, shading to olive-green on all the
+       other upper parts. Forehead, cheeks, and sides of head black,
+       like a mask, and bordered behind by a grayish line. Throat and
+       breast bright yellow, growing steadily paler underneath.
+
+    _Female_--Either totally lacks black mask or its place is
+       indicated by only a dusky tint. She is smaller and duller.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America, west to the plains; most
+       common east of the Alleghanies. Nests from the Gulf States to
+       Labrador and Manitoba; winters south of Gulf States to Panama.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Common summer resident.
+
+"Given a piece of marshy ground with an abundance of skunk cabbage and
+a fairly dense growth of saplings, and near by a tangle of green brier
+and blackberry, and you will be pretty sure to have it tenanted by a
+pair of yellowthroats," says Dr. Abbott, who found several of their
+nests in skunk-cabbage plants, which he says are favorite cradles. No
+animal cares to touch this plant if it can be avoided; but have the
+birds themselves no sense of smell?
+
+Before and after the nesting season these active birds, plump of form,
+elegant of attire, forceful, but not bold, enter the scrubby pastures
+near our houses and the shrubbery of old-fashioned, overgrown gardens,
+and peer out at the human wanderer therein with a charming curiosity.
+The bright eyes of the male masquerader shine through his black mask,
+where he intently watches you from the tangle of syringa and snowball
+bushes; and as he flies into the laburnum with its golden chain of
+blossoms that pale before the yellow of his throat and breast, you are
+so impressed with his grace and elegance that you follow too
+audaciously, he thinks, and off he goes. And yet this is a bird that
+seems to delight in being pursued. It never goes so far away that you
+are not tempted to follow it, though it be through dense undergrowth
+and swampy thickets, and it always gives you just glimpse enough of
+its beauties and graces before it flies ahead, to invite the hope of a
+closer inspection next time. When it dives into the deepest part of
+the tangle, where you can imagine it hunting about among the roots and
+fallen leaves for the larvA|, caterpillars, spiders, and other insects
+on which it feeds, it sometimes amuses itself with a simple little
+song between the hunts. But the bird's indifference, you feel sure,
+arises from preoccupation rather than rudeness.
+
+If, however, your visit to the undergrowth is unfortunately timed and
+there happens to be a bulky nest in process of construction on the
+ground, a quickly repeated, vigorous _chit, pit, quit_, impatiently
+inquires the reason for your bold intrusion. Withdraw discreetly and
+listen to the love-song that is presently poured out to reassure his
+plain little maskless mate. The music is delivered with all the force
+and energy of his vigorous nature and penetrates to a surprising
+distance. "_Follow me, follow me, follow me_," many people hear him
+say; others write the syllables, "_Wichity, wichity, wichity,
+wichity_"; and still others write them, "_I beseech you, I beseech
+you, I beseech you_," though the tones of this self-assertive bird
+rather command than entreat. Mr. Frank Chapman says of the
+yellowthroats: "They sing throughout the summer, and in August add a
+flight-song to their repertoire. This is usually uttered toward
+evening, when the bird springs several feet into the air, hovers for a
+second, and then drops back to the bushes."
+
+
+    Blackburnian Warbler
+
+    (_Dendroica blackburniA|_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: HEMLOCK WARBLER; ORANGE-THROATED WARBLER;
+       TORCH-BIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--4.5 to 5.5 inches. An inch and a half smaller than
+       the English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--Head black, striped with orange-flame; throat and
+       breast orange, shading through yellow to white underneath;
+       wings, tail, and part of back black, with white markings.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-brown above, shading into yellow on breast,
+       and paler under parts.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern North America to plains. Winters in tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. September. Spring and autumn migrant.
+
+"The orange-throated warbler would seem to be his right name, his
+characteristic cognomen," says John Burroughs, in ever-delightful
+"Wake Robin"; "but no, he is doomed to wear the name of some
+discoverer, perhaps the first who robbed his nest or rifled him of his
+mate--Blackburn; hence, Blackburnian warbler. The _burn_ seems
+appropriate enough, for in these dark evergreens his throat and breast
+show like flame. He has a very fine warble, suggesting that of the
+redstart, but not especially musical."
+
+No foliage is dense enough to hide, and no autumnal tint too brilliant
+to outshine this luminous little bird that in May, as it migrates
+northward to its nesting ground, darts in and out of the leafy shadows
+like a tongue of fire.
+
+It is by far the most glorious of all the warblers--a sort of
+diminutive oriole. The quiet-colored little mate flits about after
+him, apparently lost in admiration of his fine feathers and the ease
+with which his thin tenor voice can end his lover's warble in a high
+Z.
+
+Take a good look at this attractive couple, for in May they leave us
+to build a nest of bark and moss in the evergreens of Canada--that
+paradise for warblers--or of the Catskills and Adirondacks, and in
+autumn they hurry south to escape the first frosts.
+
+
+    Redstart
+
+    (_Setophaga ruticilla_) Wood Warbler family
+
+    _Called also_: YELLOW-TAILED WARBLER
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 190)
+
+
+    _Length_--5 to 5.5 inches.
+
+    _Male_--_In spring plumage_: Head, neck, back, and middle
+       breast glossy black, with blue reflections. Breast and
+       underneath white, slightly flushed with salmon, increasing to
+       bright salmon-orange on the sides of the body and on the wing
+       linings. Occasional specimens show orange-red. Tail feathers
+       partly black, partly orange, with broad black band across the
+       end. Orange markings on wings. Bill and feet black. _In
+       autumn_: Fading into rusty black, olive, and yellow.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-brown, and yellow where the male is orange.
+       Young browner than the females.
+
+    _Range_--North America to upper Canada. West occasionally, as
+       far as the Pacific coast, but commonly found in summer in the
+       Atlantic and Middle States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. End of September. Summer resident.
+
+Late some evening, early in May, when one by one the birds have
+withdrawn their voices from the vesper chorus, listen for the
+lingering "_'tsee, 'tsee, 'tseet_" (usually twelve times repeated in a
+minute), that the redstart sweetly but rather monotonously sings from
+the evergreens, where, as his tiny body burns in the twilight, Mrs.
+Wright likens him to a "wind-blown firebrand, half glowing, half
+charred."
+
+But by daylight this brilliant little warbler is constantly on the
+alert. It is true he has the habit, like the flycatchers (among which
+some learned ornithologists still class him), of sitting pensively on
+a branch, with fluffy feathers and drooping wings; but the very next
+instant he shows true warbler blood by making a sudden dash upward,
+then downward through the air, tumbling somersaults, as if blown by
+the wind, flitting from branch to branch, busily snapping at the tiny
+insects hidden beneath the leaves, clinging to the tree-trunk like a
+creeper, and singing between bites.
+
+Possibly he will stop long enough in his mad chase to open and shut
+his tail, fan-fashion, with a dainty egotism that, in the peacock,
+becomes rank vanity.
+
+The Germans call this little bird _roth Stert_ (red tail), but, like
+so many popular names, this is a misnomer, as, strictly speaking, the
+redstart is never red, though its salmon-orange markings often border
+on to orange-flame.
+
+In a fork of some tall bush or tree, placed ten or fifteen feet from
+the ground, a carefully constructed little nest is made of moss,
+horsehair, and strippings from the bark, against which the nest is
+built, the better to conceal its location. Four or five whitish eggs,
+thickly sprinkled with pale brown and lilac, like the other warblers',
+are too jealously guarded by the little mother-bird to be very often
+seen.
+
+
+    Baltimore Oriole
+
+    (_Icterus galbula_) Oriole and Blackbird family
+
+    _Called also_: GOLDEN ORIOLE; FIREBIRD; GOLDEN ROBIN;
+       HANG-NEST; ENGLISH ROBIN
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 191)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 8 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Head, throat, upper part of back glossy black. Wings
+       black, with white spots and edgings. Tail-quills black, with
+       yellow markings on the tips. Everywhere else orange, shading
+       into flame.
+
+    _Female_--Yellowish olive. Wings dark brown, and quills
+       margined with white. Tail yellowish brown, with obscure,
+       dusky bars.
+
+    _Range_--The whole United States. Most numerous in Eastern
+       States below 55A deg. north latitude.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Middle of September. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+A flash of fire through the air; a rich, high, whistled song floating
+in the wake of the feathered meteor: the Baltimore oriole cannot be
+mistaken. When the orchards are in blossom he arrives in full plumage
+and song, and awaits the coming of the female birds, that travel
+northward more leisurely in flocks. He is decidedly in evidence. No
+foliage is dense enough to hide his brilliancy; his temper, quite as
+fiery as his feathers, leads him into noisy quarrels, and his
+insistent song with its martial, interrogative notes becomes almost
+tiresome until he is happily mated and family cares check his
+enthusiasm.
+
+Among the best architects in the world is his plain but energetic
+mate. Gracefully swung from a high branch of some tall tree, the nest
+is woven with exquisite skill into a long, flexible pouch that rain
+cannot penetrate, nor wind shake from its horsehair moorings. Bits of
+string, threads of silk, and sometimes yarn of the gayest colors, if
+laid about the shrubbery in the garden, will be quickly interwoven
+with the shreds of bark and milkweed stalks that the bird has found
+afield. The shape of the nest often differs, because in unsettled
+regions, where hawks abound, it is necessary to make it deeper than
+seven inches (the customary depth when it is built near the homes of
+men), and to partly close it at the top to conceal the sitting bird.
+From four to six whitish eggs, scrawled over with black-brown, are
+hatched by the mother oriole, and most jealously guarded by her now
+truly domesticated mate.
+
+The number of grubs, worms, flies, caterpillars, and even cocoons,
+that go to satisfy the hunger of a family of orioles in a day, might
+indicate, if it could be computed, the great value these birds are
+about our homes, aside from the good cheer they bring.
+
+There is a popular tradition about the naming of this gorgeous bird:
+When George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, worn out and
+discouraged by various hardships in his Newfoundland colony, decided
+to visit Virginia in 1628, he wrote that nothing in the Chesapeake
+country so impressed him as the myriads of birds in its woods. But the
+song and color of the oriole particularly cheered and delighted him,
+and orange and black became the heraldic colors of the first lords
+proprietors of Maryland.
+
+                                Hush!'tis he!
+    My Oriole, my glance of summer fire,
+    Is come at last; and ever on the watch,
+    Twitches the pack-thread I had lightly wound
+    About the bough to help his housekeeping.
+    Twitches and scouts by turns, blessing his luck,
+    Yet fearing me who laid it in his way.
+    Nor, more than wiser we in our affairs,
+    Divines the Providence that hides and helps.
+    _Heave, ho! Heave, ho!_ he whistles as the twine
+    Slackens its hold; _once more, now!_ and a flash
+    Lightens across the sunlight to the elm
+    Where his mate dangles at her cup of felt.
+
+                                   --_James Russell Lowell._
+
+
+
+
+BIRDS CONSPICUOUSLY RED OF ANY SHADE
+
+    Cardinal Grosbeak
+    Summer Tanager
+    Scarlet Tanager
+    Pine Grosbeak
+    American Crossbill and the White-winged Crossbill
+    Redpoll and Greater Redpoll
+    Purple Finch
+    Robin
+    Orchard Oriole
+
+See the Red-winged Blackbird (Black). See also the males of the
+Rose-breasted Grosbeak, the Woodpeckers, the Chewink (Black and
+White), the Red-breasted Nuthatch, the Bay-breasted and the
+Chestnut-sided Warblers (Slate and Gray); the Bluebird and Barn
+Swallow (Blue); the Flicker (Brown); the Humming-bird and the Kinglets
+(Greenish Gray); and the Blackburnian and Redstart Warblers, and the
+Baltimore Oriole (Orange).
+
+
+    Cardinal Grosbeak
+
+    (_Cardinalis cardinalis_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: CRESTED REDBIRD; VIRGINIA REDBIRD; VIRGINIA
+       NIGHTINGALE; CARDINAL BIRD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 198)
+
+
+    _Length_--8 to 9 inches. A little smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Brilliant cardinal; chin and band around bill black.
+       Beak stout and red. Crest conspicuous. In winter dress, wings
+       washed with gray.
+
+    _Female_--Brownish yellow above, shading to gray below. Tail
+       shorter than the male's. Crest, wings, and tail reddish.
+       Breast sometimes tinged with red.
+
+    _Range_--Eastern United States. A Southern bird, becoming more
+       and more common during the summer in States north of Virginia,
+       especially in Ohio, south of which it is resident throughout
+       the year.
+
+    _Migrations_--Resident rather than migrating birds, remaining
+       throughout the winter in localities where they have found
+       their way. Travel in flocks.
+
+Among the numerous names by which this beautiful bird is known, it has
+become immortalized under the title of Mr. James Lane Allen's
+exquisite book, "The Kentucky Cardinal." Here, while we are given a
+most charmingly sympathetic, delicate account of the bird "who has
+only to be seen or heard, and Death adjusts an arrow," it is the
+cardinal's pathetic fate that impresses one most. Seen through less
+poetical eyes, however, the bird appears to be a haughty autocrat, a
+sort of "F. F. V." among the feathered tribes, as, indeed, his title,
+"Virginia redbird," has been unkindly said to imply. Bearing himself
+with a refined and courtly dignity, not stooping to soil his feet by
+walking on the ground like the more democratic robin, or even
+condescending below the level of the laurel bushes, the cardinal is
+literally a shining example of self-conscious superiority--a bird to
+call forth respect and admiration rather than affection. But a group
+of cardinals in a cedar tree in a snowy winter landscape makes us
+forgetful of everything but their supreme beauty.
+
+As might be expected in one of the finch family, the cardinal
+is a songster--the fact which, in connection with his lovely
+plumage, accounts for the number of these birds shipped in cages
+to Europe, where they are known as Virginia nightingales. Commencing
+with a strong, rich whistle, like the high notes of a fife,
+"_Cheo-cheo-cheo-cheo_," repeated over and over as if to make perfect
+the start of a song he is about to sing, suddenly he stops, and you
+learn that there is to be no glorious performance after all, only a
+prelude to--nothing. The song, such as it is, begins, with both male
+and female, in March, and lasts, with a brief intermission, until
+September--"the most melodious sigh," as Mr. Allen calls it. Early in
+May the cardinals build a bulky and loosely made nest, usually in the
+holly, laurel, or other evergreen shrubs that they always love to
+frequent, especially if these are near fields of corn or other grain.
+And often two broods in a year come forth from the pale-gray,
+brown-marked eggs, bearing what is literally for them the "fatal gift
+of beauty."
+
+
+    Summer Tanager
+
+    (_Piranga rubra_) Tanager family
+
+    _Called also_: REDBIRD; SMOOTH-HEADED REDBIRD
+
+
+    _Length_--7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--Uniform red. Wings and tail like the body.
+
+    _Female_--Upper parts yellowish olive-green; underneath
+       inclining to orange-yellow.
+
+    _Range_--Tropical portions of two Americas and eastern United
+       States. Most common in Southern States. Rare north of
+       Pennsylvania. Winters in the tropics.
+
+    _Migrations_--In Southern States: April. October. Irregular
+       migrant north of the Carolinas.
+
+Thirty years ago, it is recorded that so far north as New Jersey the
+summer redbird was quite as common as any of the thrushes. In the
+South still there is scarcely an orchard that does not contain this
+tropical-looking beauty--the redbird _par excellence_, the sweetest
+singer of the family. Is there a more beautiful sight in all nature
+than a grove of orange trees laden with fruit, starred with their
+delicious blossoms, and with flocks of redbirds disporting themselves
+among the dark, glossy leaves? Pine and oak woods are also favorite
+resorts, especially at the north, where the bird nowadays forsakes the
+orchards to hide his beauty, if he can, unharmed by the rifle that
+only rarely is offered so shining a mark. He shows the scarlet
+tanager's preference for tree-tops, where his musical voice, calling
+"_Chicky-tucky-tuk_," alone betrays his presence in the woods. The
+Southern farmers declare that he is an infallible weather prophet, his
+"_WET, WET, WET_," being the certain indication of rain--another
+absurd saw, for the call-note is by no means confined to the rainy
+season.
+
+The yellowish-olive mate, whose quiet colors betray no nest secrets,
+collects twigs and grasses for the cradle to be saddled on the end of
+some horizontal branch, though in this work the male sometimes
+cautiously takes an insignificant part. After her three or four eggs
+are laid she sits upon them for nearly two weeks, being only rarely
+and stealthily visited by her mate with some choice grub, blossom, or
+berry in his beak. But how cheerfully his fife-like whistle rings out
+during the temporary exile! Then his song is at its best. Later in the
+summer he has an aggravating way of joining in the chorus of other
+birds' songs, by which the pleasant individuality of his own voice is
+lost.
+
+A nest of these tanagers, observed not far from New York City, was
+commenced the last week of May on the extreme edge of a hickory limb
+in an open wood; four eggs were laid on the fourth of June, and twelve
+days later the tiny fledglings, that all look like their mother in the
+early stages of their existence, burst from the greenish-white,
+speckled shells. In less than a month the young birds were able to fly
+quite well and collect their food.
+
+
+   [Illustration: MOTHER OVENBIRD IN NEST; A BABY BIRD ON IT.]
+
+   [Illustration: THE ROBIN'S MUD-WALLED NURSERY]
+
+
+    Scarlet Tanager
+
+    (_Piranga erythromelas_) Tanager family
+
+    _Called also_: BLACK-WINGED REDBIRD; FIREBIRD; CANADA TANAGER;
+       POCKET-BIRD
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 199)
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.5 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--_In spring plumage_: Brilliant scarlet, with black
+       wings and tail. Under wing coverts grayish white. _In autumn_:
+       Similar to female.
+
+    _Female_--Olive-green above; wings and tail dark, lightly
+       margined with olive. Underneath greenish yellow.
+
+    _Range_--North America to northern Canada boundaries, and
+       southward in winter to South America.
+
+    _Migrations_--May. October. Summer resident.
+
+The gorgeous coloring of the scarlet tanager has been its snare and
+destruction. The densest evergreens could not altogether hide this
+blazing target for the sportsman's gun, too often fired at the
+instigation of city milliners. "Fine feathers make fine birds"--and
+cruel, silly women, the adage might be adapted for latter-day use.
+This rarely beautiful tanager, thanks to them, is now only an
+infrequent flash of beauty in our country roads.
+
+Instinct leads it to be chary of its charms; and whereas it used to be
+one of the commonest of bird neighbors, it is now shy and solitary. An
+ideal resort for it is a grove of oak or swamp maple near a stream or
+pond where it can bathe. Evergreen trees, too, are favorites, possibly
+because the bird knows how exquisitely its bright scarlet coat is set
+off by their dark background.
+
+High in the tree-tops he perches, all unsuspected by the visitor
+passing through the woods below, until a burst of rich, sweet melody
+directs the opera-glasses suddenly upward. There we detect him
+carolling loud and cheerfully, like a robin. He is an apparition of
+beauty--a veritable bird of paradise, as, indeed, he is sometimes
+called. Because of their similar coloring, the tanager and cardinal
+are sometimes confounded, but an instant's comparison of the two birds
+shows nothing in common except red feathers, and even those of quite
+different shades. The inconspicuous olive-green and yellow of the
+female tanager's plumage is another striking instance of Nature's
+unequal distribution of gifts; but if our bright-colored birds have
+become shockingly few under existing conditions, would any at all
+remain were the females prominent, like the males, as they brood upon
+the nest? Both tanagers construct a rather disorderly-looking nest of
+fibres and sticks, through which daylight can be seen where it rests
+securely upon the horizontal branch of some oak or pine tree; but as
+soon as three or four bluish-green eggs have been laid in the cradle,
+off goes the father, wearing his tell-tale coat, to a distant tree.
+There he sings his sweetest carol to the patient, brooding mate,
+returning to her side only long enough to feed her with the insects
+and berries that form their food.
+
+Happily for the young birds' fate, they are clothed at first in
+motley, dull colors, with here and there only a bright touch of
+scarlet, yellow, and olive to prove their claim to the parent whose
+gorgeous plumage must be their admiration. But after the moulting
+season it would be a wise tanager that knew its own father.
+His scarlet feathers are now replaced by an autumn coat of olive
+and yellow not unlike his mate's.
+
+
+    Pine Grosbeak
+
+    (_Pinicola enucleator_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PINE BULLFINCH
+
+
+    _Length_--Variously recorded from 6.5 to 11 inches. Specimen
+       measured 8.5 inches. About one-fifth smaller than the robin.
+
+    _Male_--General color strawberry-red, with some slate-gray
+       fleckings about head, under wings, and on legs. Tail brown;
+       wings brown, marked with black and white and slate. A
+       band-shaped series of markings between the shoulders.
+       Underneath paler red, merging into grayish green. Heavy,
+       conspicuous bill.
+
+    _Female_--Ash-brown. Head and hind neck yellowish brown, each
+       feather having central dusky streak. Cheeks and throat
+       yellowish. Beneath ash-gray, tinged with brownish yellow
+       under tail.
+
+    _Range_--British American provinces and northern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Irregular winter visitors; length of visits as
+       uncertain as their coming.
+
+As inseparable as bees from flowers, so are these beautiful winter
+visitors from the evergreen woods, where their red feathers, shining
+against the dark-green background of the trees, give them charming
+prominence; but they also feed freely upon the buds of various
+deciduous trees.
+
+South of Canada we may not look for them except in the severest winter
+weather. Even then their coming is not to be positively depended upon;
+but when their caprice--or was it an unusually fierce northern
+blast?--sends them over the Canada border, it is a simple matter to
+identify them when such brilliant birds are rare. The brownish-yellow
+and grayish females and young males, however, always seem to be in the
+majority with us, though our Canadian friends assure us of the
+irreproachable morals of this gay bird.
+
+Wherever there are clusters of pine or cedar trees, when there is a
+flock of pine grosbeaks in the neighborhood, you may expect to find a
+pair of birds diligently feeding upon the seeds and berries. No
+cheerful note escapes them as they persistently gormandize, and, if
+the truth must be confessed, they appear to be rather stupid and
+uninteresting, albeit they visit us at a time when we are most
+inclined to rapture over our bird visitors. They are said to have a
+deliciously sweet song in the nesting season. When, however, few
+except the Canadian _voyageurs_ hear it.
+
+
+    American Crossbill
+
+    (_Loxia curvirostra minor_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: RED CROSSBILL
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 226)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--General color Indian red, passing into brownish gray,
+       with red tinge beneath. Wings (without bands), also tail,
+       brown. Beak crossed at the tip.
+
+    _Female_--General color greenish yellow, with brownish tints.
+       Dull-yellowish tints on head, throat, breast, and underneath.
+       Wings and tail pale brown. Beak crossed at tip.
+
+    _Range_--Pennsylvania to northern British America. West of
+       Mississippi, range more southerly.
+
+    _Migrations_--Irregular winter visitor. November. Sometimes
+       resident until April.
+
+It is a rash statement to say that a bird is rare simply because you
+have never seen it in your neighborhood, for while you are going out
+of the front door your _rara avis_ may be eating the crumbs about your
+kitchen. Even with our eyes and ears constantly alert for some fresh
+bird excitement, our phlegmatic neighbor over the way may be enjoying
+a visit from a whole flock of the very bird we have been looking and
+listening for in vain all the year. The red crossbills are capricious
+little visitors, it is true, but by no means uncommon.
+
+About the size of an English sparrow, of a brick or Indian red color,
+for the most part, the peculiarity of its parrot-like beak is its
+certain mark of identification.
+
+Longfellow has rendered into verse the German legend of the crossbill,
+which tells that as the Saviour hung upon the cross, a little bird
+tried to pull out the nails that pierced His hands and feet, thus
+twisting its beak and staining its feathers with the blood.
+
+At first glance the birds would seem to be hampered by their crossed
+beaks in getting at the seeds in the pine cones--a superficial
+criticism when the thoroughness and admirable dexterity of their work
+are better understood.
+
+Various seeds of fruits, berries, and the buds of trees enlarge their
+bill of fare. They are said to be inordinately fond of salt. Mr.
+Romeyn B. Hough tells of a certain old ice-cream freezer that
+attracted flocks of crossbills one winter, as a salt-lick attracts
+deer. Whether the traditional salt that may have stuck to the bird's
+tail is responsible for its tameness is not related, but it is certain
+the crossbills, like most bird visitors from the far north, are
+remarkably gentle, friendly little birds. As they swing about the pine
+trees, parrot-fashion, with the help of their bill, calling out _kimp,
+kimp_, that sounds like the snapping of the pine cones on a sunny day,
+it often seems easily possible to catch them with the hand.
+
+There is another species of crossbill, called the White-winged (_Loxia
+leucoptera_), that differs from the preceding chiefly in having two
+white bands across its wings and in being more rare.
+
+
+    The Redpoll
+
+    (_Acanthis linaria_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: REDPOLL LINNET; LITTLE SNOWBIRD; LESSER REDPOLL
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 25)
+
+
+    _Length_--5.25 to 5.5 inches. About an inch shorter than the
+       English sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--A rich crimson wash on head, neck, breast, and lower
+       back, that is sometimes only a pink when we see the bird in
+       midwinter. Grayish-brown, sparrowy feathers show underneath
+       the red wash. Dusky wings and tail, the feathers more or less
+       edged with whitish. Soiled white underneath; the sides with
+       dusky streaks. Bill sharply pointed.
+
+    _Female_--More dingy than male, sides more heavily streaked,
+       and having crimson only on the crown.
+
+    _Range_--An arctic bird that descends irregularly into the
+       northern United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--An irregular winter visitor.
+
+"Ere long, amid the cold and powdery snow, as it were a fruit of the
+season, will come twittering a flock of delicate crimson-tinged birds,
+lesser redpolls, to sport and feed on the buds just ripe for them on
+the sunny side of a wood, shaking down the powdery snow there in their
+cheerful feeding, as if it were high midsummer to them." Thoreau's
+beautiful description of these tiny winter visitors, which should be
+read entire, shows the man in one of his most sympathetic, exalted
+moods, and it is the best brief characterization of the redpoll that
+we have.
+
+When the arctic cold becomes too cruel for even the snowbirds and
+crossbills to withstand, flocks of the sociable little redpolls flying
+southward are the merest specks in the sullen, gray sky, when they can
+be seen at all. So high do they keep that often they must pass above
+our heads without our knowing it. First we see a quantity of tiny
+dots, like a shake of pepper, in the cloud above, then the specks grow
+larger and larger, and finally the birds seem to drop from the sky
+upon some tall tree that they completely cover--a veritable cloudburst
+of birds. Without pausing to rest after the long journey, down they
+flutter into the weedy pastures with much cheerful twittering, to feed
+upon whatever seeds may be protruding through the snow. Every action
+of a flock seems to be concerted, as if some rigid disciplinarian had
+drilled them, and yet no leader can be distinguished in the merry
+company. When one flies, all fly; where one feeds, all feed, and by
+some subtle telepathy all rise at the identical instant from their
+feeding ground and cheerfully twitter in concert where they all alight
+at once. They are more easily disturbed than the goldfinches, that are
+often seen feeding with them in the lowlands; nevertheless, they quite
+often venture into our gardens and orchards, even in suburbs
+penetrated by the trolley-car.
+
+Usually in winter we hear only their lisping call-note; but if the
+birds linger late enough in the spring, when their "fancy lightly
+turns to thoughts of love," a gleeful, canary-like song comes from the
+naked branches, and we may know by it that the flock will soon
+disappear for their nesting grounds in the northern forests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Greater Redpoll (_Acanthis linaria rostrata_) may be distinguished
+from the foregoing species by its slightly larger size, darker upper
+parts, and shorter, stouter bill. But the notes, habits, and general
+appearance of both redpolls are so nearly identical that the birds are
+usually mistaken for each other.
+
+
+    Purple Finch
+
+    (_Carpodacus purpureus_) Finch family
+
+    _Called also_: PURPLE LINNET
+
+    (Illustration facing p. 226a)
+
+
+    _Length_--6 to 6.25 inches. About the same size as the English
+       sparrow.
+
+    _Male_--_Until two years old_, sparrow-like in appearance like
+       the female, but with olive-yellow on chin and lower back.
+       _Afterwards_ entire body suffused with a bright raspberry-red,
+       deepest on head, lower back, and breast, and other parts only
+       faintly washed with this color. More brown on back; and wings
+       and tail, which are dusky, have some reddish-brown feathers.
+       Underneath grayish white. Bill heavy. Tail forked.
+
+    _Female_--Grayish olive-brown above; whitish below; finely
+       streaked everywhere with very dark brown, like a sparrow.
+       Sides of breast have arrow-shaped marks. Wings and tail
+       darkest.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Columbia River eastward to
+       Atlantic, and from Mexico northward to Manitoba. Most common
+       in Middle States and New England. Winters south of
+       Pennsylvania.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. November. Common summer resident. Rarely
+       individuals winter at the north.
+
+In this "much be-sparrowed country" of ours familiarity is apt to
+breed contempt for any bird that looks sparrowy, in which case one of
+the most delicious songsters we have might easily be overlooked. It is
+not until the purple finch reaches maturity in his second year that
+his plumage takes on the raspberry-red tints that some ornithologists
+named purple. Oriental purple is our magenta, it is true, but not a
+raspberry shade. Before maturity, but for the yellow on his lower back
+and throat, he and his mate alike suggest a song-sparrow; and it is
+important to note their particularly heavy, rounded bills, with the
+tufts of feathers at the base, and their forked tails, to name them
+correctly. But the identification of the purple finch, after all,
+depends quite as much upon his song as his color. In March, when
+flocks of these birds come north, he has begun to sing a little; by
+the beginning of May he is desperately in love, and sudden, joyous
+peals of music from the elm or evergreen trees on the lawn enliven the
+garden. How could his little brown lady-love fail to be impressed with
+a suitor so gayly dressed, so tender and solicitous, so deliciously
+sweet-voiced? With fuller, richer song than the warbling vireo's,
+which Nuttall has said it resembles, a perfect ecstasy of love pours
+incessantly from his throat during the early summer days. There is a
+suggestion of the robin's love-song in his, but its copiousness,
+variety, and rapidity give it a character all its own.
+
+In some old, neglected hedge or low tree about the country-place a
+flat, grassy nest, lined with horsehair, contains four or five green
+eggs in June, and the old birds are devotion itself to each other, and
+soon to their young, sparrowy brood.
+
+But when parental duties are over, the finches leave our lawns and
+gardens to join flocks of their own kind in more remote orchards or
+woods, their favorite haunts. Their subdued warble may be heard during
+October and later, as if the birds were humming to themselves.
+
+Much is said of their fondness for fruit blossoms and tree buds, but
+the truth is that noxious insects and seeds of grain constitute their
+food in summer, the berries of evergreens in winter. To a bird so gay
+of color, charming of voice, social, and trustful of disposition,
+surely a few blossoms might be spared without grudging.
+
+
+    The American Robin
+
+    (_Merula migratoria_) Thrush family
+
+    _Called also_: RED-BREASTED OR MIGRATORY THRUSH;
+       ROBIN-REDBREAST
+
+    (Illustrations facing pp. 219 and 226b)
+
+
+    _Length_--10 inches.
+
+    _Male_--Dull brownish olive-gray above. Head black; tail
+       brownish black, with exterior feathers white at inner tip.
+       Wings dark brownish. Throat streaked with black and white.
+       White eyelids. Entire breast bright rusty red; whitish below
+       the tail.
+
+    _Female_--Duller and with paler breast, resembling the male in
+       autumn.
+
+    _Range_--North America, from Mexico to arctic regions.
+
+    _Migrations_--March. October or November. Often resident
+       throughout the year.
+
+It seems almost superfluous to write a line of description about a
+bird that is as familiar as a chicken; yet how can this nearest of our
+bird neighbors be passed without a reference? Probably he was the very
+first bird we learned to call by name.
+
+The early English colonists, who had doubtless been brought up, like
+the rest of us, on "The Babes in the Wood," named the bird after the
+only heroes in that melancholy tale; but in reality the American robin
+is a much larger bird than the English robin-redbreast and less
+brilliantly colored. John Burroughs calls him, of all our birds, "the
+most native and democratic."
+
+How the robin dominates birddom with his strong, aggressive
+personality! His voice rings out strong and clear in the early morning
+chorus, and, more tenderly subdued at twilight, it still rises above
+all the sleepy notes about him. Whether lightly tripping over the lawn
+after the "early worm," or rising with his sharp, quick cry of alarm,
+when startled, to his nest near by, every motion is decided, alert,
+and free. No pensive hermit of the woods, like his cousins, the
+thrushes, is this joyous vigorous "bird of the morning." Such a
+presence is inspiriting. Does any bird excel the robin in the great
+variety of his vocal expressions? Mr. Parkhurst, in his charming
+"Birds' Calendar," says he knows of "no other bird that is able to
+give so many shades of meaning to a single note, running through the
+entire gamut of its possible feelings. From the soft and mellow
+quality, almost as coaxing as a dove's note, with which it encourages
+its young when just out of the nest, the tone, with minute gradations,
+becomes more vehement, and then harsh and with quickened reiteration,
+until it expresses the greatest intensity of a bird's emotions. Love,
+contentment, anxiety, exultation, rage--what other bird can throw such
+multifarious meaning into its tone? And herein the robin seems more
+nearly human than any of its kind."
+
+There is no one thing that attracts more birds about the house than a
+drinking-dish--large enough for a bathtub as well; and certainly no
+bird delights in sprinkling the water over his back more than a robin,
+often aided in his ablutions by the spattering of the sparrows. But
+see to it that this drinking-dish is well raised above the reach of
+lurking cats.
+
+While the robin is a famous splasher, his neatness stops there. A
+robin's nest is notoriously dirty within, and so carelessly
+constructed of weed-stalks, grass, and mud, that a heavy summer shower
+brings more robins' nests to the ground than we like to contemplate.
+The color of the eggs, as every one knows, has given their name to the
+tint. Four is the number of eggs laid, and two broods are often reared
+in the same nest.
+
+Too much stress is laid on the mischief done by the robins in the
+cherry trees and strawberry patches, and too little upon the quantity
+of worms and insects they devour. Professor Treadwell, who
+experimented upon some young robins kept in captivity, learned that
+they ate sixty-eight earthworms daily--"that is, each bird ate
+forty-one per cent. more than its own weight in twelve hours! The
+length of these worms, if laid end to end, would be about fourteen
+feet. Man, at this rate, would eat about seventy pounds of flesh a
+day, and drink five or six gallons of water."
+
+
+   [Illustration: RED CROSSBILL]
+
+   [Illustration: PURPLE FINCH (Upper Figure, Male; Lower Figure,
+      Female)]
+
+   [Illustration: ROBIN]
+
+   [Illustration: ORCHARD ORIOLE (Upper figure, adult male; middle
+      figure, young male; Lower Figure, Female)]
+
+
+    Orchard Oriole
+
+    (_Icterus spurius_) Blackbird and Oriole family
+
+    _Called also_: ORCHARD STARLING; ORCHARD HANG-NEST
+
+
+    _Length_--7 to 7.3 inches. About one-fourth smaller than the
+       robin.
+
+    _Male_--Head, throat, upper back, tail, and part of wings
+       black. Breast, rump, shoulders, under wing and tail coverts,
+       and under parts bright reddish brown. Whitish-yellow markings
+       on a few tail and wing feathers.
+
+    _Female_--Head and upper parts olive, shading into brown;
+       brighter on head and near tail. Back and wings dusky brown,
+       with pale-buff shoulder-bars and edges of coverts. Throat
+       black. Under parts olive, shading into yellow.
+
+    _Range_--Canada to Central America. Common in temperate
+       latitudes of the United States.
+
+    _Migrations_--Early May. Middle of September. Common summer
+       resident.
+
+With a more southerly range than the Baltimore oriole and less
+conspicuous coloring, the orchard oriole is not so familiar a bird in
+many Northern States, where, nevertheless, it is quite common enough
+to be classed among our would-be intimates. The orchard is not always
+as close to the house as this bird cares to venture; he will pursue an
+insect even to the piazza vines.
+
+His song, says John Burroughs, is like scarlet, "strong, intense,
+emphatic," but it is sweet and is more rapidly uttered than that of
+others of the family. It is ended for the season early in July.
+
+This oriole, too, builds a beautiful nest, not often pendent like the
+Baltimore's, but securely placed in the fork of a sturdy fruit tree,
+at a moderate height, and woven with skill and precision, like a
+basket. When the dried grasses from one of these nests were stretched
+and measured, all were found to be very nearly the same length,
+showing to what pains the little weaver had gone to make the nest neat
+and pliable, yet strong. Four cloudy-white eggs with dark-brown spots
+are usually found in the nest in June.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+    _The figures in black-faced type indicate the page upon which
+     the biography of the bird is given._
+
+
+  Accentor, Golden-crowned (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+
+
+  Bellbird (_see_ Wood Thrush), 123.
+
+  Bird, Blue (_see_ Bluebird), 99.
+    Butcher (_see_ Northern Shrike), 87.
+    Butter (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+    Cardinal (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+    Cedar, 9, 19, 20, 21, 27, 29, 36, =144=.
+    Cow-pen (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    Grass (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 162.
+    Grease (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+    Meadow (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+    Meat (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+    Moose (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+    Myrtle (_see_ Myrtle Warbler), 92.
+    Peabody (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 165.
+    Potato Bug (_see_ Rose-breasted Grosbeak), 60.
+    Thistle (_see_ American Goldfinch), 190.
+
+  Blackbird (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+    and Oriole family, 6.
+    Cow (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    Crow (_see_ Purple Grackle), 44.
+    Red-winged, 6, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 32, 36, =47=.
+    Rusty, 6, 22, 28, 30, 32, 36, =46=.
+    Skunk (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+    Swamp (_see_ Red-winged Blackbird), 47.
+    Thrush (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Black-cap (_see_ Wilson's Warbler), 202.
+
+  Bluebird, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 36, =99=.
+
+  Bobolink, 7, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 36, =61=.
+
+  Bull-bat (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Bullfinch, Pine (_see_ Pine Grosbeak), 219.
+
+  Bunting, Bay-winged (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 162.
+    Cow (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    Field (_see_ Field Sparrow), 152.
+    Indigo, 8, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =101=.
+
+  Bunting, Lapland Lark (_see_ Lapland Longspur), 148.
+    Savanna (_see_ Savanna Sparrow), 155.
+    Snow (_see_ Snowflake), 59.
+    Towhee (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+    Tree (_see_ Tree Sparrow), 161.
+
+  Buntings, the, 7.
+
+
+  Camp Robber (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+
+  Canary, Wild (_see_ American Goldfinch), 190.
+
+  Cardinal (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+
+  Carrion-bird, Canadian (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+
+  Catbird, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 36, =80=.
+
+  Catbirds, the, 12.
+
+  Cedar Bird (_see_ Bird, Cedar), 144.
+
+  Chat, Polyglot (_see_ Yellow-breasted Chat), 206.
+    Yellow-breasted, 12, 19, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 36, =206=.
+
+  Chebec (_see_ Least Flycatcher), 75.
+
+  Cherry-bird (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+
+  Chewink, 8, 21, 29, 30, 32, 36, 58.
+
+  Chickadee, 14, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, =76=.
+    family (_see_ Titmouse family), 13.
+
+  Chip-bird (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+
+  Chipper, Arctic (_see_ Tree Sparrow), 161.
+
+  Chippy (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+    Meadow (_see_ Seaside Sparrow), 156.
+    Winter (_see_ Tree Sparrow), 161.
+
+  Clape (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Corn Thief (_see_ Common Crow), 41.
+
+  Cowbird, 7, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 31, 36, =49=.
+
+  Creeper, Brown, 13, 20, 21, 28, 35, =145=.
+    family, 13.
+
+  Crossbill, American, 8, 19, 20, 28, =220=.
+    Red (_see_ American Crossbill), 220.
+    White-winged Red, 8, 19, 20, 28, =221=.
+
+  Crossbills, the, 7, 21, 35.
+
+  Crow and Jay family, 6.
+
+  Crow, Common, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 36, =41=.
+    Fish, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 36, 42.
+    Rain (_see_ Black-billed Cuckoo) 139; also Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 141.
+    Rusty (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Cuckoo family, 3.
+    Black-billed, 3, 19, 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =139=.
+    Yellow-billed, 3, 19, 20, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =141=.
+
+
+  Devil Downhead (_see_ White-breasted Nuthatch), 84.
+
+  Dove, Carolina (_see_ Mourning Dove), =108=.
+    family (see Pigeon and Dove family), 15.
+    Mourning, 15, 21, 22, 28, 36, =108=.
+    Turtle (_see_ Mourning Dove), 108.
+
+
+  Finch family, 7.
+    Ferruginous (_see_ Fox Sparrow), 153.
+    Foxy (_see_ Fox Sparrow), 153.
+    Gold (_see_ Goldfinch), 190.
+    Grass (_see_ Vesper Sparrow), 162.
+    Pine (_see_ Pine Siskin), 146.
+    Purple, 8, 19, 20, 21, 23, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, =223=.
+    Seaside (_see_ Seaside Sparrow), 156.
+    Swamp (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+    Towhee Ground (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+
+  Firebird (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+
+  Flicker, 4, 19, 21, 22, 27, 28, 30, 32, 36, =130=.
+
+  Flycatcher, Acadian, 5, 19, 22, 28, 31, 35, =182=.
+    Canadian (_see_ Canadian Warbler), 194.
+    Crested (_see_ Great Crested Flycatcher), 72.
+    Dusky (_see_ Ph[oe]be), 71.
+    family, 5, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.
+    Great Crested, 5, 19, 20, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, =72=.
+    Least, 5, 19, 20, 22, 28, 30, 31, 35, =75=.
+    Olive-sided, 5, 19, 28, 31, 36, =74=.
+    Say's, 5, 19, 22, 28, =72=.
+    Small Green-crested (_see_ Acadian Flycatcher), 182.
+    Sylvan (_see_ Blue-gray Gnatcatcher), 110.
+    Tyrant (_see_ Kingbird), 68.
+    Wilson's (_see_ Wilson's Warbler), 202.
+    Yellow-bellied, 5, 19, 22, 28, 31, 35, =183=.
+
+
+  Gnatcatcher, Blue-gray, 14, 19, 20, 22, 29, 35, =110=.
+
+  Gnatcatcher family, 14.
+
+  Goatsucker family, 4.
+    Long-winged (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Goldcrest, Golden-crowned (_see_ Golden-crowned Kinglet), 174.
+
+  Goldfinch, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 35, =190=.
+    European, 191.
+
+  Grackle, Bronzed, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 32, 36, =46=.
+    Keel-tailed (_see_ Purple Grackle), 44.
+    Purple, 7, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 30, 32, 36, =44=.
+    Rusty (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Grasel (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+
+  Grass-bird, Red (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+
+  Greenlet family (_see_ Vireo family), 10.
+
+  Grosbeak, Blue, 8, 28, 36, =105=.
+    Cardinal, 8, 21, 27, 28, 29, 36, =215=.
+    Evening, 8, 28, 36, =192=.
+    Pine, 8, 20, 27, 36, =219=.
+    Rose-breasted, 8, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =60=.
+
+  Grosbeaks, the, 7, 19, 20, 21.
+
+
+  Hair-bird (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+
+  Halcyon (_see_ Belted Kingfisher), 102.
+
+  Hang-nest (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Orchard (_see_ Orchard Oriole), 227.
+
+  Hawk, Mosquito (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Heron, Venison (_see_ Canada Jay), 79.
+
+  High-hole or High-holder (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Humming-bird family, 5.
+    Ruby-throated, 5, 19, 21, 28, 30, 31, 35, =170=.
+
+
+  Indigo Bird (_see_ Indigo Bunting), 101.
+
+
+  Jay, Blue, 6, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 36, =104=.
+    Canada, 6, 20, 21, 22, 28, 36, =79=.
+    family (_see_ Crow and Jay family), 6.
+
+  Junco, 8, 21, 22, 27, 31, 35, =83=.
+
+
+  Kingbird, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 35, =68=.
+
+  Kingfisher, Belted, 3, 20, 21, 23, 28, 30, 36, =102=.
+    family, 3.
+
+  Kinglet family, 14.
+    Golden-crowned, 14, 20, 21. 28, 32, 35, =174=.
+    Ruby-crowned, 14, 20, 21, 28, 30, 32, 35, =172=.
+
+
+  Lark, Brown or Red (_see_ American Pipit), 135.
+    family, 5.
+    Field (_see_ Meadowlark), 132.
+    Horned, 6, 21, 22, 23, 27, 31, 36, =134=.
+    Meadow (_see_ Meadowlark), 132.
+    Oldfield (_see_ Meadowlark), 132.
+    Pine (_see_ Pine Siskin), 146.
+    Prairie (_see_ Western Meadowlark), 133.
+    Prairie Horned, 6, 22, 27, 29, =135=.
+    Purple (_see_ Purple Finch), 223.
+    Redpoll (_see_ Redpoll), 222.
+    Shore (_see_ Horned Lark), 134.
+    Snow (_see_ Snowflake), 59.
+    Tit (_see_ American Pipit), 135.
+
+  Linnets, the, 7.
+
+  Longspur, Lapland, 8, 22, 28, 35, =148=.
+    Smith's Painted, 8, 22, 28, 35, =147=.
+
+
+  Maize Thief (_see_ Purple Grackle), 44.
+
+  Martin, Bee (_see_ Kingbird), 68.
+    Purple, 9, 19, 21, 29, 30, 31, 36, =48=.
+    Sand (_see_ Bank Swallow), 143.
+
+  Mavis (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+
+  Maybird (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+
+  Meadowlark, 7, 21, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, 32, 36, =132=.
+    Western, 7, 21, 22, 23, 27, 29, 36, =133=.
+
+  Mocking-bird, 12, 19, 20, 21, 29, 36, =81=.
+    Brown (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    French (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    Yellow, 206.
+
+  Mocking-birds, the, 12.
+
+
+  Nighthawk, 4, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 36, =138=.
+
+  Nightingale, European, 125.
+    Virginia (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+
+  Nightjar (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Nine-killer (_see_ Northern Shrike), 87.
+
+  Nuthatch, Canada (_see_ Red-breasted Nuthatch), 85.
+    family, 13, 21.
+    Red-breasted, 13, 20, 28, 32, 35, =85=.
+    White-breasted, 13, 20, 27, 29, 32, 35, =84=.
+
+
+  Oriole, Baltimore, 7, 19, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =211=.
+    Brown-headed (_see_ Cowbird), 49.
+    family (_see_ Blackbird and Oriole family), 6.
+    Golden (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Orchard, 7, 19, 21, 28, 30, 31, 36, =227=.
+    Red-winged (_see_ Red-winged Blackbird), 47.
+    Rusty (_see_ Rusty Blackbird), 46.
+
+  Ortolan, American (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+
+  Ovenbird, 12, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =180=.
+
+
+  Pewee, Bridge (_see_ Ph[oe]be), 71.
+    Small (_see_ Acadian Flycatcher), 182.
+    Water (_see_ Ph[oe]be), 71.
+    Wood, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 31, 36, =69=.
+
+  Ph[oe]be, 5, 19, 20, 22, 23, 28, 30, 32, 35, =71=.
+    Say's, 72.
+
+  Pigeon and Dove family, 15.
+
+  Pipit, American, 12, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 35, =135=.
+
+  Pipits, the, 12.
+
+  Piramidig (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Pisk (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Pocket-bird (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+
+  Preacher, the (_see_ Red-eyed Vireo), 176.
+
+
+  Raven, American, 6, 19, 20, 28, 36, =43=.
+    Northern (_see_ American Raven), 43.
+    White-necked, 44.
+
+  RA(C)collet (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+
+  Redbird, Black-winged (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+    Crested (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+    (_see_ Summer Tanager), 216.
+    Smooth-headed (_see_ Summer Tanager), 216.
+    Virginia (_see_ Cardinal Grosbeak), 215.
+
+  Redhead (_see_ Red-headed Woodpecker) 53.
+
+  Redpoll, 8, 21, 22, 27, 35, =222=.
+    Greater, 8, 21, 22, 27, 35, =223=.
+    Lesser (_see_ Redpoll), =222=.
+
+  Redstart, 12, 19, 29, 31, 35, =210=.
+
+  Reedbird (_see_ Bobolink), 61.
+
+  Robin, American, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, =225=.
+    Blue (_see_ Bluebird), 99.
+    Canada (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+    English (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Golden (_see_ Baltimore Oriole), 211.
+    Ground (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+    Redbreast (_see_ American Robin), 225.
+    Wood (_see_ Wood Thrush), 123.
+
+
+  Sapsucker (_see_ Yellow-bellied Woodpecker), 57.
+
+  Shrike family, 9.
+    Loggerhead, 10, 19, 20, 21, 29, 36, =86=.
+    Northern, 10, 19, 20, 21, 27, 32, 36, =87=.
+
+  Silktail (_see_ Bohemian Waxwing), 88.
+
+  Siskin, Pine, 8, 20, 28, 32, 35, =146=.
+
+  Skylark, European, 5.
+
+  Snowbird (_see_ Junco), 83; also Snowflake, 59.
+    Lapland (_see_ Lapland Longspur), 148.
+    Little (_see_ Redpoll), 222.
+    Slate-colored (_see_ Junco), 83.
+
+  Snowflake, 8, 22, 27, 36, =59=.
+
+  Sparrow, Bush (_see_ Field Sparrow), 152.
+    Canada (see Tree Sparrow), 161;
+      also White-throated Sparrow, 165.
+    Chipping, 7, 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 30, 35, =149=.
+    English, 7, 20, 22, 27, 28, =151=.
+    Field, 7, 22, 28, 30, 32, =152=.
+    Fox, 7, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 32, 36, =153=.
+    Fox-colored (_see_ Fox Sparrow), =153=.
+    Grasshopper, 7, 22, 28, 31, 35, =154=.
+    House (_see_ English Sparrow), 151.
+    Marsh (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+    Savanna, 7, 22, 28, 32, 35, =155=.
+    Seaside, 7, 22, 28, 35, =156=.
+    Sharp-tailed, 7, 22, 28, 35, =157=.
+    Social (_see_ Chipping Sparrow), 149.
+    Song, 8, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 30, 35, =158=.
+    Swamp (_see_ Swamp Song Sparrow), 160.
+    Swamp Song, 8, 22, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35, =160=.
+    Tree, 8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 31, 35, =161=.
+    Vesper, 8, 20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31, 35, =162=.
+    White-crowned, 8, 20, 21, 22, 27, 32, 36, =164=.
+    White-throated, 8, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 36, =165=.
+    Wood (_see_ Field Sparrow), 152.
+    Yellow-winged (_see_ Grasshopper Sparrow), 154.
+
+  Sparrows, the, 7, 19, 21, 22.
+
+  Starling, 50
+    Orchard Starling, 227
+    Red-winged (_see_ Red-winged Blackbird), 47.
+
+  Swallow, Bank, 9, 19, 22, 23, 29, 30, 35, =143=.
+    Barn, 9, 19, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 35, =106=.
+    Chimney (_see_ Chimney Swift), 67.
+    Cliff, 9, 19, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =107=.
+    Crescent (_see_ Cliff Swallow), 107.
+    Eave (_see_ Cliff Swallow), 107.
+    family, 9, 20, 22, 23.
+    Rocky Mountain (_see_ Cliff Swallow), 107.
+    Rough-winged, 9, 19, 22, 23, 29, 35, =144=.
+    Sand (_see_ Bank Swallow), 143.
+    Tree, 9, 19, 22, 23, 29, 30, 35, =169=.
+    White-bellied (_see_ Tree Swallow), 169.
+
+  Swamp Angel (_see_ Hermit Thrush), 125.
+
+  Swift, American (_see_ Chimney Swift), 67.
+
+  Swift, Chimney, 5, 19, 21, 23, 28, 30, 31, 35, =67=.
+    family, 4.
+
+
+  Tanager, Canada (_see_ Scarlet Tanager), 218.
+    family, 8, 21.
+    Scarlet, 8, 19, 28, 30, 31, 36, =218=.
+    Summer, 8, 19, 29, 36, =216=.
+
+  Teacher, the (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+
+  Thrasher, Brown, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 32, 36, =121=.
+
+  Thrashers, the, 12.
+
+  Thrush, Alice's, 15, 29, 30, 32, 36, =126=.
+    Aquatic (_see_ Northern Water Thrush), 129.
+    Black-capped (_see_ Catbird), 80.
+    Brown (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    family, 14, 19, 21.
+    Gray-cheeked (_see_ Alice's Thrush), 126.
+    Golden-crowned (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+    Ground (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    Hermit, 15, 29, 30, 31, 36, =125=.
+    Little (_see_ Hermit Thrush), 125.
+    Louisiana Water, 12, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =128=.
+    New York (_see_ Northern Water Thrush), 129.
+    Northern Water, 12, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, 35, =126=.
+    Olive-backed, 15, 29, 30, 32, 36, =127=.
+    Red (_see_ Brown Thrasher), 121.
+    Red-breasted or Migratory (_see_ American Robin), 225.
+    Song (_see_ Wood Thrush), 123.
+    Swainson's (_see_ Olive-backed Thrush), 127.
+    Tawny (_see_ Wilson's Thrush), 122.
+    Wilson's, 15, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, =122=.
+    Wood, 15, 20, 21, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, =123=.
+
+  Tit, Black-capped (_see_ Chickadee), 76.
+
+  Titlark (_see_ American Pipit), 135.
+
+  Titmouse Black-capped (_see_ Chickadee), 76.
+    Crested (_see_ Tufted Titmouse), 78.
+    family, 13, 21.
+    Tufted, 14, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, =78=.
+
+  Tomtit, Crested (_see_ Tufted Titmouse), 78.
+
+  Torch-bird (_see_ Blackburnian Warbler), 209.
+
+  Towhee (_see_ Chewink), 58.
+
+  Tree-mouse (_see_ White-breasted Nuthatch), 84.
+
+  Tricolor (_see_ Red-headed Woodpecker), 53.
+
+  Veery (see Wilson's Thrush), 122.
+
+  Vireo, Blue-headed (_see_ Solitary Vireo), 175.
+    family, 10, 19, 21, 22.
+    Red-eyed, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =176=.
+    Solitary, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =175=.
+    Warbling, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =179=.
+    White-eyed, 10, 20, 21, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =177=.
+    Yellow-throated, 10, 20, 22, 29, 30, 31, 35, =189=.
+
+  Wagtail, Aquatic Wood (_see_ Northern Water Thrush), 129.
+    Golden-crowned (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+    Wood (_see_ Ovenbird), 180.
+
+  Wagtails, the, 12.
+
+  Wake-up (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Warbler, Bay-breasted, 11, 29, 30, 31, =90=.
+    Black-and-white Creeping, 10, 20, 29, 30, 31, =64=.
+    Black-and-yellow (_see_ Magnolia Warbler), 197.
+    Blackburnian, 11, 29, 31, =209=.
+    Black-masked Ground (_see_ Maryland Yellowthroat), 207.
+    Blackpoll, 11, 19, 20, 29, =63=.
+    Black-throated Blue, 11, 29, 30, 31, =95=.
+    Black-throated Green, 11, 29, 30, =184=.
+    Bloody-sided (_see_ Chestnut-sided Warbler), 90.
+    Blue-headed Yellow-rumped (_see_ Magnolia Warbler), 197.
+    Blue-winged, 11, 20, 29, =193=.
+    Blue-winged Yellow (_see_ Blue-winged Warbler), 193.
+    Blue Yellow-backed (_see_ Parula Warbler), 94.
+    Canadian, 11, 19, 22, 23, 29, 31, =194=.
+    Chestnut-sided, 11, 29, 30, 31, =90=.
+    Golden (_see_ Yellow Warbler), 204.
+    Golden-winged, 11, 29, 30, 31, =91=.
+    Green Black-capped (_see_ Wilson's Warbler), 202.
+    Hemlock (_see_ Blackburnian Warbler), 209.
+    Hooded, 11, 21, 22, 20, 31, =195=.
+    Kentucky, 11, 22, =196=.
+    Magnolia, 11, 29, 30, =197=.
+    Mourning, 11, 21, 22, 29, =198=.
+    Mourning Ground (_see_ Mourning Warbler), 198.
+    Myrtle, 11, 21, 27, 29, 30, =92=.
+    Nashville, 11, 29, =199=.
+    Orange-throated (_see_ Blackburnian Warbler), 209.
+    Palm, 11, 22, 29, =204=.
+    Parula, 11, 29, 30, 31, =94=.
+    Pine, 11, 20, 29, 30, 31, =200=.
+    Pine Creeping (_see_ Pine Warbler), 200.
+    Prairie, 11, 22, 29, 31, =201=.
+    Redpoll (_see_ Palm Warbler), 204.
+    Ruby-crowned (_see_ Ruby-crowned Kinglet), 172.
+    Spotted (_see_ Magnolia Warbler), 197.
+    Spotted Canadian (_see_ Canadian Warbler), 194.
+    Wilson's, 12, 19, 22, 23, 29, 31, =202=.
+    Worm-eating, 12, 20, 22, 29, 31, =181=.
+    Yellow, 12, 19, 20, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, =204=.
+    Yellow-crowned (_see_ Myrtle Warbler), 92.
+    Yellow Palm (_see_ Yellow Redpoll Warbler), 203.
+    Yellow Redpoll, 12, 22, 29, 30, 31, =203=.
+    Yellow-rumped (_see_ Myrtle Warbler), 92.
+    Yellow-tailed (_see_ Redstart), 210.
+
+  Waxwing, Black-throated (_see_ Bohemian Waxwing), 88.
+    Bohemian, 9, 19, 20, 27, 36, =88=.
+    Cedar (_see_ Cedar Bird), 144.
+    family, 9.
+    Lapland (_see_ Bohemian Waxwing), 88.
+
+  Whisky Jack or John (_see_ Canada Jay) 79.
+
+  Whitebird (_see_ Snowflake), 59.
+
+  Whippoorwill, 4, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, 31, 35, =136=.
+
+  Will-o'-the-Wisp (_see_ Nighthawk), 138.
+
+  Woodpecker, Downy, 4, 19, 27, 28, 35, =55=.
+    family, 3, 21, 22.
+    Golden-winged (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+    Hairy, 4, 19, 27, 28, 36, =54=.
+    Pigeon (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+    Red-headed, 4, 19, 27, 28, 30, 32, 36, =53=.
+    Yellow-bellied, 4, 19, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35, =57=.
+    Yellow-shafted (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Wood Warbler family, 10, 19, 20, 21, 35.
+
+  Wren, Carolina, 13, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, =116=.
+    family, 13, 19, 21, 22, 35.
+    Fiery-crowned (_see_ Golden-crowned Kinglet), 174.
+    House, 13, 20, 29, 30, 31, =115=.
+    Long-billed Marsh, 13, 22, 29, 30, 31, =119=.
+    Mocking (_see_ Carolina Wren), 116.
+    Ruby-crowned (_see_ Ruby-crowned Kinglet), 172.
+    Short-billed Marsh, 13, 29, 30, 31, =120=.
+    Winter, 13, 21, 22, 23, 28, 31, =117=.
+
+
+  Yarup (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Yellowbird (_see_ American Goldfinch) 190.
+    Summer (_see_ Yellow Warbler), 204.
+
+  Yellowhammer (_see_ Flicker), 130.
+
+  Yellow Poll (_see_ Yellow Warbler), 204.
+
+  Yellowthroat, Maryland, 12, 19, 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, =207=.
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+With the exception of the correction detailed below, the text is a
+transcription of the original printed book. Several minor corrections
+were made where punctuation was missing (comma or period) or
+formatting differed from that used for similar sections elsewhere.
+Several forms of the verb travel appear with an alternative spelling
+than is common in the present era. For example, travelled and
+travelling are used. The OE/oe ligatures are displayed as [OE] and
+[oe] respectively. The placeholders for the book's images were moved
+so that they are between the descriptive passages rather than interrupt
+the "flow" of the text by just moving them between paragraphs as is
+typically done.
+
+
+  Page  Correction
+  ===== ==================================
+   v    COLORED PLATES => COLOURED PLATES
+          and page number  xi => xviii
+  162   Pooc[oe]tes -- Po[oe]cetes
+  226   that => than
+  229   Vesper Sparrow => White-throated
+  232   Louisiana Water Thrush: 125 => 128
+  232   Northern Water Thrush:  126 => 129
+
+
+Emphasis Notation
+
+  _Text_  -  Italic
+
+  =Text=  -  Bold
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bird Neighbors, by Neltje Blanchan
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