AROUND THE OLD BARN
This day the bird lovers from Orchard Farm were having a picnic in the
hickory and oak woods back of the fields. It was a charming place for
such a day's outing, for on the edge of the woods stood an old
two-storied hay barn, which was empty in early June and a capital place
in which to play "I spy" and "feet above water." On the other side of
the wood was an old swampy meadow full of saplings and tangled bushes,
such as birds love for nesting places.
The Doctor had set Rap, Nat, and Dodo roaming about to look for birds,
and promised to tell them something of their habits when each child had
written down the description of two birds.
The children divided their hunting ground, so that they might not
interfere with each other. Dodo chose the woods, because she wanted to
stay near Olive, who was making a sketch of some ferns; Rap took the old
barn and a bit of bushy pasture near it, and Nat went down to the swampy
meadow with its border of cedar trees. While they tramped about the
Doctor sat with his back against the side of the barn, looking over the
beautiful scene and thinking.
The children did not return until after Mammy Bun had spread out a
delicious luncheon in the barn, and then they were divided between
hunger and the wish to tell about their birds.
"I have two nice birds all written down," said Dodo, between mouthfuls.
"One was rather little and sort of green on top and white underneath,
and he kept going up and down all the branches of an oak tree as if he
couldn't keep still a moment, and he talked all the while as if he was
asking me why I watched him and then scolding me for doing it."
"That is the Red-eyed Vireo," said the Doctor.
"Maybe he did have red eyes," said Dodo, "but he moved so quick I
couldn't see them. But my other bird was splendid! Very bright red all
over, except his wings and tail--they were black, and I'm sure he has a
nest high up on an oak branch."
"That is the Scarlet Tanager. What did you see, Nat?"
"I crept in among the cedar trees, and there was a whole lot of rather
big gray birds sitting in a row on a branch; they had black around their
beaks and their head feathers stuck up in front. They didn't seem to be
building nests, but were only whispering to each other."
"Those were Cedar Waxwings."
"Then," continued Nat, "when I was coming back I saw a flock of the
prettiest, jolliest little birds flying round the old grass, and hanging
on to some stalks of weeds. They were mostly yellow with some black, and
they sang something like Canaries, and when they flew they sort of
jerked along."
"Those were American Goldfinches. And now for yours, Rap." "I was
looking at the Barn Swallows most of the time," he answered, "and
thinking there must be a good many different cousins in their family;
then I went down to the pasture and saw a bird I never noticed before,
who flew over from the potato field and went into a thorn bush. He was
bigger than a Robin and had a thick head and beak. He was black and
white on top, but when he went by I saw he had a beautiful spot on the
breast like a shield--sort of pink red, the color of raspberries, you
know."
"That was the Rose-breasted Grosbeak," said the Doctor. "Now, we have
pockets full of material for bird stories,--enough to last a week. By
the time you have heard about these six birds and some of their near
relations, such as the Butcher Bird, you will have been introduced to
the chief of the Birds that Sing and be on the way to those that only
Croak and Call. We will begin with Dodo's 'Talking Bird.'"
THE RED-EYED VIREO
(THE TALKER)
"This bird is the most popular member of his family--and he has twenty
brothers, all living in North America."
"Isn't he a Warbler?" asked Rap. "I always thought he was one, for he
fusses round the trees the same as they do, though of course he has much
more of a song."
"He belongs to a family of his own, but yours was an easy mistake to
make, for the difference is not readily seen except in the beak, and you
have to look at that very closely to see it. The Warblers mostly have
smooth slender beaks, but the Vireos have stouter ones, with a little
hooked point that enables them to pick out and secure a great variety of
insects. The Chat is our only Warbler with a very stout beak, even
stouter than a Vireo's, but it has no hook at the end. The Redstart's
has a hooked point, but the rest of the beak is very broad and flat,
with a row of stiff bristles at each corner of the mouth, to keep
insects from kicking free when they are caught."
[Illustration: Red-Eyed Vireo.]
"You say his eyes are red. But why is his name 'Vireo'--does that mean
anything?"
"'Vireo' comes from the Latin word meaning 'green,' and because all of
this family have greenish backs one of their common names is 'Greenlet.'
Besides being very pretty to look at, this little red-eyed bird is a
great worker and does whatever he undertakes in a most complete manner.
When he starts his tree trapping in the morning he does not flit
carelessly from one tree to another, but after selecting his feeding
ground, goes all over one branch, never leaving it for another until he
has searched every crack and leaf.
"Meanwhile he carries on a rapid sing-song conversation, sometimes for
his own benefit and sometimes to cheer his mate on the nest, for this
Vireo is one of the few birds who talk too freely about their homes.
These homes of theirs are another proof of industry; they are
beautifully woven of a dozen kinds of stuff--grass, bark-strips,
seed-vessels, fine shavings, and sometimes bits of colored paper and
worsted, and half hang from the crotch of a small branch with a nice
little umbrella of leaves to cover Madam's head. There she sits peeping
out, not a bit shy if she feels that your intentions toward her are
kindly. I have often found these nests in the orchard, on branches only
a few feet from the ground, and I have also found them high up in the
maples by the attic window.
"The Vireo does not stop work at noon when the field hands lie under the
apple trees, with their dinner pails beside them. No, he only works and
talks faster, keeping one eye on the home branch, and this is what he
says, stopping between every sentence: 'I know it--I made it--Would you
think it?--Mustn't touch it--Shouldn't like it--If you do it--I'll know
it--You'll rue it!'"
"He was talking exactly like that this morning," said Dodo. "Will the
nests last after they are empty, Uncle Roy, so we can find some?"
"Yes, surely; these nests are very strong and firm, often lasting a
whole year."
"I know it--I made it!--Would you think it?" called a musical voice from
the wood.
"Why, he is at it yet," said Rap; "I think 'The Talker' would be a fine
name for him." "So it would--and more polite than 'The Preacher,' as
some call him who think he is a trifle too prosy in his remarks. One of
his brothers, whose eyes are white instead of red, and who lives in the
bushes instead of high woods, is called 'The Politician' from his
fondness for newspapers--not that he can read them, of course, but he
likes to paper his nest with clippings from them, which is his way of
making a scrap-book."
The Red-eyed Vireo
Length about six inches.
Upper parts olive-green, with a white line over the eye, and gray cap
with a black border.
Under parts white, shaded with greenish on the sides.
A Summer Citizen of North America east of the Pacific States, and a
hard-working member of the guild of Tree Trappers.
THE GREAT NORTHERN SHRIKE
(Or BUTCHER BIRD)
"I thought you would tell about my beautiful red bird next," interrupted
Dodo. "Why do we want to hear about this bird if he lives so far north?"
"Your bird will come later on, little girl. Nat and Rap must each have
their turn before it comes to you again; besides, this Shrike is a sort
of cousin to the Vireos by right of his hooked beak, and you know I am
trying to place our birds somewhat in their regular family order."
Poor Dodo felt ashamed to have seemed selfish and interrupted
unnecessarily.
"Some winter or early spring day, when the woods are bare and birds are
very scarce, you will look into a small tree and wonder what that gray
and black bird, who is sitting there so motionless, can be. He is too
small for a Hawk, though there is something hawk-like about his head. He
is altogether too large for a Chickadee; not the right shape for a
Woodpecker; and after thus thinking over the most familiar winter birds,
you will find that you only know what he is _not_.
[Illustration: Northern Shrike.]
"Suddenly he spreads his wings and swoops down, seizing something on or
near the ground--a mouse perhaps, or a small bird--let us hope one of
the detestable English Sparrows. Or else you may see this same bird, in
the gray and black uniform, peep cautiously out of a bush and then skim
along close above the ground, to secure the field-mouse he has been
watching; for the guild of Wise Watchers catch their prey in both of
these ways, and most of them are cannibal birds."
"What is a cannibal bird?" asked Dodo. "I forget. I know that real
cannibals are people that eat other people. Do these birds eat people?"
"They eat birds and other small animals," said Rap. "Don't you
remember?"
"Why, of course I do," said Dodo. "But if Shrikes eat birds, aren't they
very bad Citizens?"
"I do not wonder that you think so, my lassie; and so they would be if
they ate birds only; but the Shrike earns his right to be thought a good
Citizen by devouring mice and many kinds of insects, like beetles, which
injure orchards and gardens. The comparatively few birds that he
destroys are mostly seed-eaters--not the most valuable kinds to the
farmer.
"In fact, the Shrike is especially useful in helping us to drive out the
greedy, quarrelsome English Sparrow. This disreputable tramp not only
does no work for his taxes--he hates honest work, like all vagrants
--but destroys the buds of trees and plants, devours our grain crops,
and drives away the industrious native birds who are good Citizens; so
the Wise Men, who have tried the Sparrow's case, say that he is a very
bad bird, who ought to suffer the extreme penalty of the law.
"For this reason we must forgive the Shrike if he takes a few other
birds when he is hungry and in a hurry. He has a strange habit which has
earned for him the name of Butcher Bird. If at any time he secures more
food than he needs for his immediate use, he puts it by to keep in 'cold
storage' by hanging it on the frozen twigs of a tree or thorn bush.
Heart of Nature has doubtless taught him this habit through hard
experience. Where the Shrike spends his winters, the food-supply is
variable; it may snow for days and days, when he can find nothing to
eat; so he has learned to store up provisions when the hunting is good,
and of course such a thrifty bird may sometimes save up more than he
really needs.
"You may know this Shrike on sight without hearing him sing--and perhaps
you do not expect a cannibal bird to be a singer. But in late March and
early April, when he is about to take his homeward journey to the North,
he often warbles beautifully, and even brings in some mocking notes,
until you would think that a Catbird, Thrasher, or Mockingbird must have
wandered from the South too soon; and if you ever happen to see a Shrike
and a Mocker close together, you may mistake one for the other, they
look so much alike at a little distance."
"I never knew that there were nice birds around in winter," said Nat. "I
thought all the country was good for then, was for coasting and skating!
I wish I could stay here a whole year, Uncle Roy."
"Stranger things have happened," said the Doctor, looking at Olive with
a twinkle in his eye that the children did not see.
The Great Northern Shrike
Length about ten inches.
Upper parts bluish-gray, with a broad black stripe along the side of the
head to behind the eye. Black wings with a large white spot on each.
Black tail with white tips to the outside feathers.
Lower parts grayish-white, faintly barred with darker. A great strong
beak, hooked like a Hawk's.
Only a Winter Visitor in the United States--a Summer Citizen of the far
North.
Belongs both to the Ground Gleaners and the Wise Watchers.
THE CEDAR WAXWING
(THE POLITE BIRD)
"This is the bird, Nat, that you saw in the cedar tree, where you said
it was 'sitting about doing nothing,'" continued the Doctor.
"The reason of this seeming idleness is, that he belongs to the small
group of birds who do not nest until June, and hereabouts rarely begin
their homes before the middle of that month. Waxwings are very gentle,
affectionate birds; before the nesting season, and after their families
are able to take care of themselves, they wander about in flocks of
sometimes thirty or forty, keeping close together, both when they fly
and when they take their seats. They spend most of the time in the trees
where they feed, whispering to one another in their quiet way, and you
will very seldom see them on the ground.
"Your best chance to watch them is either before the leaves are out or
after they have fallen, when a flock will sometimes sit for half an hour
in a bare tree, exchanging civilities, stroking each other's feathers,
and passing food around. This trait has given them the reputation of
being the most polite birds in all Birdland. One will find a dainty
morsel and offer it to his next neighbor, who passes it
on--hunt-the-slipper fashion--until some one makes up his mind to eat
it, or returns it to its original owner. All the while such a pleasant
lunch is going on, the amiable birds make complimentary remarks to one
another about their dress--how very handsome is one's long pointed
topknot, what a becoming yellow border another's tail has, and how
particularly fine are the coral-red bangles on the wings of a
third--which is much better than if they should pick each other to
pieces and talk about 'frumps' under their breath.
"Some people have complained that the Cedar Waxwing eats cherries, and
have given him the name of 'Cherry Bird'; but the Wise Men say that he
really eats very few cherries or other garden fruits, more than half of
his food being wild berries, such as those of the evergreen juniper we
commonly call 'cedar.'
[Illustration: Cedar Waxwing]
"He may be called one of the best of neighbors; for, besides feeding his
young on many different kinds of destructive insects, he eats cutworms
and the wicked beetles which destroy so many grand old elm trees. And
you know it is always nice to have polite neighbors."
The Cedar Waxwing.
Length about seven inches.
Upper parts quiet Quaker brown, very smooth and satiny, with a fine
long, pointed crest on the head.
Rich velvety black about the beak and in a line through the eye.
A yellow band across end of tail, and some little points like red
sealing-wax on the inner wing-feathers, from which it takes the name
"Waxwing."
A Citizen of North America from the Fur Countries southward, visiting
all but the most southern of the United States.
Belonging both to the Tree Trappers and Fruit Sowers.