Not all the birds belonging to this class are veritable songsters;
but nearly all of them have in the throat an organ of song,
consisting of five or six pairs of muscles, by means of which they
can produce a variety of notes. They are mostly small, prettily
colored birds, which chiefly inhabit the Temperate Zones, and make
themselves very useful by devouring the insects, worms, and seeds of
weeds in the fields, gardens, and woods. They delight us with their
song; but their song is also the reason why some of them are kept in
captivity.
=Birds of Paradise= (_Paradisea apoda_), though song birds of some
ability, are more particularly notable for their gorgeous plumage. They
are natives of New Guinea and Australia, and are very closely allied to
the crow family, both in their habits and voice. The Great Bird of
Paradise is the largest of the species, measuring about one and one-half
feet in length; the others are comparatively small. The adult males are
in beauty unsurpassed even by humming-birds. Tufts of bright feathers
spring from beneath the wings, from the tail, or from the head, back, or
shoulders. Trains, fans, and exquisitely delicate tress-like decorations
occur abundantly, and the gracefulness of the plumage is enhanced by the
brilliant color and metallic luster. The females are plain,
sober-colored birds, and it is only with maturity that the males acquire
that brilliancy of plumage which they exhibit to such advantage in their
courtships. The true birds of paradise feed on fruits and insects, and
are practically omnivorous. Their mode of life is more or less
gregarious. Their song consists of a series of loud, shrill notes.
=Blackbird= (_Turdus merula_), is a member of the thrush family. The
plumage of the male is quite black, and the beak yellow; the female is
dark brown above, and greyish brown on the under parts, with a brown
beak. It is shy, solitary, nests in March, and has two broods during the
season. The nest is plastered inside with mud; four or six blue eggs,
speckled with black, are laid. The bird feeds mainly on insects. It is a
mocking bird, but not so good a songster as the song-thrush. In
confinement it can be taught.
The American Crow-blackbird or Purple Grackle is restricted to the
region east of the Rockies, the Blue-headed Grackle is confined west of
the Mississippi, while the Rusty Grackle pervades the whole continent.
The Red-winged Blackbird breeds in Mexico and North America south of the
Barron Grounds; winters in southern half of United States and south to
Costa Rica.
The blackbird is frequently an inhabitant of the woods; but in the
winter it comes into the gardens of the villages and towns. It is very
fond of fruit, and thus often ravages the orchards and strawberry
gardens.
=Bobolink= (_Dolichonyx oryzivorus_), resembles a sparrow, but its tail
feathers are acute. Length seven inches. It breeds from Ohio northeast
to Nova Scotia, north to Manitoba, and northwest to British Columbia;
winters in South America.
Few species show such striking contrasts in the color of the sexes, and
few have songs more unique and whimsical. In its northern home the bird
is loved for its beauty and its rich melody; in the South it earns
deserved hatred by its destructiveness. Bobolinks reach the southeastern
coast of the United States the last half of April just as rice is
sprouting and at once begin to pull up and devour the sprouting kernels.
Soon they move on to their northern breeding grounds, where they feed
upon insects, weed seeds, and a little grain. When the young are well on
the wing, they gather in flocks with the parent birds and gradually move
southward, being then generally known as reed birds. They reach the rice
fields of the Carolinas about August 20, when the rice is in the milk.
Then until the birds depart for South America planters and birds fight
for the crop, and in spite of constant watchfulness and innumerable
devices for scaring the birds a loss of ten per cent of the rice is the
usual result.
=Canary= (_Fringilla_) is a beautiful but very common cage-bird, much
esteemed for its musical powers. It is native to the region about the
Canary Islands. Its color is grayish brown and dusky green, but the
numerous artificial breeds show varieties of yellow and black markings,
crests, etc. Naturally monogamous, the male sings best to win the love
of the female. She incubates the eggs, he feeds the young. Six eggs are
produced four times a year. Canaries cross readily with allied species.
They have been domesticated for nearly four centuries.
Distinct varieties have been produced by scientific selective breeding,
and these reproduce their distinctive characteristics, and “like breeds
like” so long as the varieties are not crossed. The hardiest are the
Norwich; the largest are Lancashire Coppies; the most costly and
delicate are Belgians. Lizards, London Fancies, Yorkshires, Scotch
Fancies, and Cinnamons practically complete the list.
=Catbird= (_Mimus Carolinensis_) is a species of Thrush common in
eastern United States, so called from its peculiar note. It is very
dark colored, about nine inches long, and nests in low bushes early in
May. It breeds throughout the United States west to New Mexico, Utah,
Oregon and Washington, and in southern Canada; winters from the Gulf
States to Panama. The bird has a fine song, unfortunately marred by
occasional cat calls. With habits similar to those of the mocking bird
and a song almost as varied, the catbird has never secured a similar
place in popular favor. Half of its food consists of fruit, and the
cultivated crops most often injured are cherries, strawberries,
raspberries, and blackberries. Beetles, ants, crickets, and grasshoppers
are the most important element of its animal food. The bird is known to
attack a few pests, as cutworms, leaf beetles, clover-root curculio, and
the periodical cicada, but the good it does in this way probably does
not pay for the fruit it steals.
=Chickadee= (_Penthestes atricapillus_).--The Chickadees are among the
most popular birds that we have, owing to their uniform good nature even
in the coldest weather, and their confiding disposition. They are common
about farms and even on the outskirts of large cities they will come to
feasts prepared for them on the window sill with their clear “phe-be,”
“chick-a-dee-dee-dee” or “dee-dee-dee,” and several scolding or
chuckling notes. They nest in hollow stumps at any elevation from the
ground but usually near the ground, and most often in birch stubs. Their
eggs are white, sparingly speckled with reddish brown. They range and
breed in the northern half of the United States and northward. The
Carolina Chickadee (_Parus carolinensis_) is smaller and with no white
edges to the wing feathers, and is found in southeastern United States,
breeding north to Virginia and Ohio.
=Crossbills= (_Loxia_) are the most highly developed members of the
Finch family, characterized by having the tips of the upper and lower
bills crossing so as to facilitate extraction of seeds. Males are
reddish, females brownish olive in general coloration. The crossbill
lives chiefly in the pine plantations, where it feeds for the most part
on the seeds of the pine, cleverly opening the cones with its pointed
beak. It hatches in all seasons of the year.
=Finch= (_Fringilla_) is a name applied to many birds but generally used
with some affix, as in the familiar names bullfinch, chaffinch, and
goldfinch. A finch is usually small, has a hard, conical beak, and
generally lives upon seeds. The distribution is almost world-wide,
excepting Australia. The buntings and the weaver-finches of the
Ethiopian and Australian regions are usually kept distinct.
Some, as Canary (see Canary) and Bullfinch make fine songsters in
confinement. The Chaffinch is the typical Finch of Europe. In America
the Purple Finch has a flush of red in male; the female is olive brown,
streaked below, the tail feathers soft and rounded; length without tail,
three and one-half inches. The Goldfinch has acute bill, yellow on bases
and edges of quills, male rich yellow, length three inches without tail;
also called Thistle-bird and Yellow-bird. The Lark-finch of the prairies
has tail three inches long, and is much streaked with black, white, and
chestnut. In the spring the males are usually seen on, or heard from,
tree tops in orchards or parks, giving forth their glad carols. They are
especially musical in spring when the snow is just leaving the ground
and the air is bracing.
The nest consists of strips of bark, twigs, rootlets and grasses, placed
at any height in evergreens or orchard trees. The eggs resemble,
somewhat, large specimens of those of the Chipping Sparrow. They are
three or four in number and are greenish blue with strong blackish
specks.
=Grosbeaks= are finches with beaks extraordinarily stout, forming a
continuous curve with the top of the head. The Cardinal Grosbeak is
known as the Winter Redbird. In eastern United States are also the Blue,
Rose-breasted, and Pine Grosbeaks, all beautifully colored and fine
singers. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak breeds from Kansas, Ohio, Georgia
(mountains), and New Jersey, north to southern Canada; winters from
Mexico to South America. This beautiful grosbeak is noted for its clear,
melodious notes, which are poured forth in generous measure. The
rosebreast sings even at midday during summer, when the intense heat has
silenced almost every other songster. Its beautiful plumage and sweet
song are not its sole claim on our favor, for few birds are more
beneficial to agriculture. The rosebreast eats some green peas and does
some damage to fruit. But this mischief is much more than balanced by
the destruction of insect pests. The bird is so fond of the Colorado
potato beetle that it has earned the name of “potato-bug bird.” It
vigorously attacks cucumber beetles, many of the scale insects, spring
and fall cankerworms, orchard and forest tent caterpillars, tussock,
gipsy, and brown-tail moths, plum curculio, army worm, and chinch bug.
In fact, not one of our birds has a better record.
=Jays= (_Cyanocitta_) are brightly colored, noisy birds, near relatives
of the crow and are represented by numerous species distributed
throughout the northern hemisphere. Probably the best known is the Blue
Jay, one of the most beautiful birds that we have, but, unfortunately,
one with a very bad reputation. Blue Jays often rob other birds of their
eggs and young as well as food and nesting material. They are very
active birds and are always engaged in gathering food, usually acorns or
other nuts, and hiding them away for future use.
These Green Jays are very beautiful, but, like all the other members of
the family, they are merciless in their treatment of smaller birds.
During the summer their diet consists of raw eggs with young birds “on
the side,” or vice versa; later they live upon nuts, berries, insects;
in fact, anything that is edible.
They are fairly common in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas.
=Lark= (_Alauda arvensis_).--This familiar songster, is well known as
the symbol of poets and the victim of epicures. It is included among a
type of birds which comprizes over one hundred species, widely
distributed in Europe, Asia, Africa, with spreading stragglers in
Australia and North America. The plumage is usually sandy brown, the
color of the ground; the lower legs bear scales, behind and before; the
hind claw is very long and straight; the bill is strong and conical. The
skylark measures about seven inches in length; the males and females are
alike in plumage; the food consists of insects, worms, and seeds. It
nests in April, making a structure of dry grass in a hollow in the
ground, usually among growing grass or cereals. The eggs (three to five)
are dull gray, mottled with olive brown; two broods are usually reared
in the season.
The MEADOWLARKS (_Sturnella magna_) our familiar friends of the hillside
and meadow; their clear, fife-like whistle is often heard, while they
are perched on a fence-post or tree-top, as well as their sputtering
alarm note when they fly up before us as we cross the field. In North
America they range east of the Plains and north to southern Canada; and
winter from Massachusetts and Illinois southward.
The Western Meadowlark has the yellow on the throat extended on the
sides; its song is much more brilliant and varied than the eastern bird.
It is found from the Plains to the Pacific. The Florida Meadowlark is
smaller and darker than the common HORNED LARK (_Otocoris alpestris_).
This variety is only found in the United States in winter. During the
mating season they have a sweet song that is uttered on the wing, like
that of the Bobolink.
=Mockingbird= (_Mimus polyglottos_). This is the great vocalist of the
South, and by many is considered to be the most versatile singer in
America. It is found in gardens, pastures and open woods. All its habits
are similar to our Catbird, and like that species, it is given to
imitating the notes of other birds. Its song is an indescribable medley,
sometimes very sweet and pleasing, at others, harsh and unmusical. Its
general colors are gray and white.
Usually the nest is built in impenetrable thickets or hedges, or again
in more open situation in the garden; made of twigs and rootlets, lined
with black rootlets; the four or five eggs are bluish green with
blotches of reddish brown.
It ranges throughout the southern United States, breeding north to New
Jersey (and casually farther) and Ohio; and winters in the South
Atlantic and Gulf States. The Western Mockingbird is found in
southwestern United States, north to Oklahoma and California.
=Nightingale= (_Daulias luscinia_).--The common nightingale is well
known as the finest of songsters. It is rather larger than the
hedge-sparrow, with about the same proportionate length of wings and
tail. It is of a rich russet-brown color above, shading into reddish
chestnut on the tail-coverts and tail; the lower part grayish-white;
bill, legs, and feet brown. The sexes are alike in plumage. It is a
native of many parts of Europe and Asia, and of the north of Africa, and
is a bird of passage, extending its summer migrations on the continent
of Europe as far north as Sweden. It frequents thickets and hedges and
damp meadows near streams, and feeds very much on worms, beetles,
insects, ants’ eggs, caterpillars, and other insect larvæ. The male
bird sings by day as well as by night, but at night its song is most
noticeable and characteristic. The variety, loudness and richness of its
notes are equally extraordinary; and its long, quivering strains are
full of plaintiveness as well as of passionate ecstasy. The ancient
Romans paid more for a nightingale than they paid for a slave.
=Orioles= (_Oriolidæ_) are confined entirely to the Old World and are
characteristic of the Oriental and Ethiopian regions. The birds called
“Orioles” in the United States belong to an entirely different family,
the _Icteridae_. The members of the family are generally of a bright
yellow or golden color, which is well set off by the black of the wings.
Twenty-four species are enumerated, the best known being the GOLDEN
ORIOLE. The adult male is about nine inches long. Its general color is a
rich, golden yellow; the bill is dull orange-red; a black streak reaches
from its base to the eye; the iris is blood-red; the wings are black,
marked here and there with yellow, and a patch of yellow forms a
conspicuous wing-spot; the two middle feathers of the tail are black,
inclining to olive at the base, the very tips yellow, the base half of
the others black, the other half yellow; legs, feet and claws dark
brown. The female is less yellow than the male, and the under parts are
streaked with gray. In central and southern Europe it is common in
summer in certain localities; it is abundant in Persia, and ranges
through central Asia as far as to Irkutsk. It winters in South Africa.
Its food consists of insects and their larvæ, especially green
caterpillars, and fruits such as currants, cherries and mulberries. The
song of the male is short, loud, clear, and flutelike; he has also a
mewing call-note, and a harsh alarm-note. The nest is unlike that of any
other European bird; it is placed in, and suspended from, a fork in a
horizontal branch, sometimes of an oak, usually of a pine, in a shady
grove or thick wood, and is made of bark, wool and grass.
The BALTIMORE ORIOLES (_Icterus galbula_) range in color through orange,
black, yellow and gray. They are sociable birds and seem to like the
company of mankind, for their nests are, from choice, built as near as
possible to houses, often being where they can be reached from windows.
As they use a great deal of string in the construction of their nests,
children often get amusement by placing bright-colored pieces of yarn
where the birds will get them, and watch them weave them into their
homes. Their song is a clear, querulous, varied whistle or warble; the
call, a plaintive whistle. The Baltimore Oriole is found east of the
Rockies, breeding north to New Brunswick and Manitoba. They winter in
Central America.
=Robin= (_Planesticus migratorius_).--These well-known birds are very
abundant in the northern half of the United States, being found most
commonly about farms and dwellings in the country, and also in cities if
they are not persecuted too severely by English Sparrows.
The male has a black head and bright reddish brown breast; the female, a
gray head and much paler breast; the young, intermediate between the
two and with a reddish brown breast spotted with black.
The song of the Robin is a loud, cheery carol, “cheerily-cheerup,
cheerily-cheerup,” often long continued. The nest is a coarse but
substantial structure of mud and grass, placed on horizontal boughs or
in forks at any height, or in any odd place about dwellings; the four or
five eggs are bluish green. Robins range throughout eastern North
America, breeding from the middle of the United States northward. They
winter throughout the same region. The Southern Robin is a paler form
found in the Carolinas and Georgia.
=Sparrows= (_Fringillidæ_) are small plain-colored birds, with narrow
palates, small conical bills, and streaked plumage. The English Sparrow
(_Passer domesticus_) was introduced into United States in 1853, and has
since spread to a remarkable extent, in cities, driving off other birds.
The white-throated sparrow, an American form, is really a bunting. Other
American sparrows have little in common with the English Sparrow. All
American sparrows wear the characteristic brown streaked plumage of the
group, and include the small chestnut-capped chipping sparrow of
gardens, the song sparrow, the little active seashore sparrow, and the
large handsome fox sparrow.
SONG SPARROW (_Melospiza melodia_).--This is probably the best known,
most abundant and most widely distributed of all our birds. They are
quite hardy and many of them winter in the northern states, but the
majority go farther south, returning to their summer homes about the
first of March. They may be found anywhere where there are bushes, vines
or hedges, and very often about houses, even in large cities.
Their song is very pleasing and musical, strongly resembling brilliant
measures from that of the Canary.
The nest of grass is either on the ground or in bushes, and contains
three to five bluish-white eggs, profusely spotted with brown. The Song
Sparrow breeds from Virginia and Missouri north to southern Canada. It
winters from Massachusetts and Ohio southward. Many local races are
found west of the Rockies, but only one east of them. Dakota Song
Sparrow is found in the vicinity of Turtle Mountains, North Dakota; it
is lighter above and brighter below.
=Swallows= (_Hirundinidæ_) are birds with long pointed wings, small
feet, short, broad bill, and ten tail feathers. About one hundred
species are known, almost universal in distribution. They feed while
flying, catching insects. Some build nests in crevices, some dig holes
in banks, and others make mud nests plastered against walls. The Barn
Swallow of the United States, much like that of Europe, is lustrous
steel blue, pale chestnut below, tail deeply forked. It arrives early in
May and remains until late August. The American Chimney Swallow is a
Swift. The Purple Swallow, or Purple Martin is a North American species.
The general color, both of the upper and under parts, is shining
purplish blue; the wings and tail black. It is a universal favorite and
is hailed as the harbinger of spring. The Republican Swallow or
Cliff-swallow of North America, makes a nest of mud, in form somewhat
like a Florence flask, which it attaches to a rock or to the wall of a
house. Hundreds sometimes build their nests in close proximity.
=Thrasher= (_Toxostoma rufum_) an American mimic bird or mocking thrush,
is common in the eastern United States, mainly rust red above and
whitish below, the breast and sides marked with lines of elongated brown
spots. It is called also the Brown, Red, or Ferruginous Thrush, the
Corn-planter, and French or Sandy Mockingbird. The song of this Thrasher
is most musical and pleasing. It has a similarity to that of the
Catbird, but is rounder, fuller and has none of the grating qualities of
the song of that species. They apparently have a song of their own and
do not deign to copy that of others. They are one of the most useful and
desirable birds that we have. The SAGE THRASHER (_Oroscoptes montanus_)
is often known as the Mountain Mockingbird because of the brilliance of
its song, a very varied performance, long continued and mocking that of
many other species. They inhabit sage-brush regions and are partial to
the lower portions of the country, although frequently met in open
mountains. They are not shy and can readily be located by their voices.
They nest in bushes, especially the sage and cactus, and range through
the sage-brush regions of western United States from the Plains to the
Pacific.
=Thrush= (_Turdus_), belongs to a family including many of the most
familiar song-birds of Europe and America. The best-known American
Thrush is the Robin. (See Robin). The Wood-thrush has a most melodious
evening song, and is nearly as large as the Robin; the Hermit Thrush,
has an even more exquisite song, which, owing to the habits of the bird
is less frequently heard; Wilson’s Tawny Thrush has a strange, bell-like
song. Other American thrushes include the Olive-backed and the
Gray-cheeked varieties. The largest known British species is the Missel
Thrush, sometimes called the “Stormcock,” from its habit of singing
before or during wind or rain.
The SONG THRUSH (_Turdus musicus_) is smaller in size, and possesses
finer powers of song. It is olive grey on the upper parts, while the
under parts are a lighter grey, with dark fleckings. It is a true
inhabitant of the woods, and comes to us early in March, animating
nature, then just waking, with its musical song. The Song Thrush lives
upon insects, and also upon snails, which it strikes upon a stone in
order to break their shells.
=Warblers= (_Mniotiltidæ_).--Numerous species of warblers are found in
North America which appear to graduate into the Tanagers. They are birds
of brighter plumage than the Old-World Warblers, but resemble them in
their habits, and are also migrants. The BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER
(_Dendroica fusca_) is the most exquisite of the whole family; it is the
most eagerly sought bird by bird lovers, in the spring. Some years they
are very abundant, while in others few are seen, their routes of
migration evidently varying. They arrive about the time that apple
trees are in bloom, and are frequently seen among the blossoms,
dashing after insects. Their song, a high-pitched lisping
“zwe-zwe-zwe-see-ee-ee,” ending in a thin, wiry tone, almost a hiss, is
very distinct from the song of any other bird. They nest in coniferous
trees at any height from the ground. Shreds of bark, fine cedar twigs,
rootlets, etc., are used in constructing nests. The MAGNOLIA WARBLER
(_Dendroica magnolia_) is one of the prettiest of the Warblers and one
of the least timid. Birch woods are their favorites during migrations,
although a few of them will be found almost anywhere. They utter a
short, rapid warble.
=Wrens= (_Troglodytes_) have a slender, slightly curved and pointed
bill; the wings are very short and rounded; the tail short, and carried
erect; the legs slender, and rather long. Their plumage is generally
dull. Some fifteen species are recognized in North America, of which the
most familiar and widely distributed is the HOUSE-WREN (_Troglodytes
ædon_). These are bold, sociable and confiding birds, seemingly to
prefer men’s society, building their nests in bird boxes that are
erected for them, or in the most unexpected situations about buildings.
They are one of the most beneficial birds that can be attracted to one’s
yard, feeding wholly upon insects. Their songs are loud, clear and
bubbling over with enthusiasm.
Wrens breed north to Maine and Manitoba and winter along the Gulf Coast.
The Western House Wren is found from the Plains to the Pacific coast
ranges.
=THE WADING BIRDS= (_Struthiones_)
In this class of birds, the beak is generally slender, the legs long
and stilt-like. The struthiones live in marshy spots, and on the
banks of rivers. They feed upon the reptiles and insects found in
water and marshy districts, and upon plants. Most of the wading
birds are migratory.
=Adjutant= (_Leptoptilus argala_), is a bird, common during summer in
India. Generally stork-like in appearance, it stands about five feet
high, and measures fourteen or fifteen feet from tip to tip of extended
wings. The four-sided pointed bill is very large; the head and neck are
almost bare; and a sausage-like pouch, sometimes sixteen inches long,
and apparently connected with respiration, hangs down from the base of
the neck. While feeding largely on carcases and offal about the towns,
it also fishes for living food, and sometimes devours birds and small
mammals. The loose under-tail feathers are sometimes used for decorative
purposes.
=Bittern= (_Botaurus_).--The American species makes a rude nest of
sticks, reeds, etc., in its marshy haunts, and lays four or five
greenish-brown eggs. The bird is sluggish, and its flight is neither
swift nor long sustained. When assailed, it fights desperately with bill
and claws; and it is dangerous to approach it incautiously when wounded,
as it strikes with its long sharp bill, if possible, at the eye. It is
common in many parts of North America, migrating according to the
season. The crown of the head is reddish brown, and the colors and
markings of the plumage differ considerably from those of the common
bittern.
=Crane= (_Grallatores cinerea_).--This family of birds differs from
herons, storks, etc., in having the hind-toe placed higher on the leg
than the front ones, and in certain characters of bill and skull. The
members are also less addicted to marshy places, and feed not only on
animal, but, to a considerable extent, on vegetable food. The cranes are
all large birds, long-legged, long-necked, long-billed, and of powerful
wing. Some of them perform great migrations, and fly at a great height
in the air. The young cranes are helpless and require to be fed. Only
two eggs are laid. The crane, when standing, is about four feet in
height; the prevailing color is ash-gray; the head bears bristly
feathers, and has a naked crown, reddish in the male; the bill, which is
longer than the head, is reddish at the root, dark green at the apex;
the feet are blackish; the tail is short and straight. They are very
stately birds, though their habit of bowing and dancing is often
grotesque. They feed on roots, seeds, etc., as well as on worms,
insects, reptiles and even some of the smallest quadrupeds. The flesh is
much esteemed.
The Whooping Crane (_G. americana_) is considerably larger than the
common crane, which it otherwise much resembles except in color; its
plumage, in its adult state, is pure white, the tips of the wings black.
It spends the winter in the southern parts of North America. In summer
it migrates far north.
=Heron= (_Ardea_) a large bird covered with long, loose down, with large
wings, and a hard horny bill longer than the head, compressed from side
to side, and united to the skull by firm, broad bones.
In the Heron genus--which includes the species commonly known as
Egrets--the plumage is beautiful, but seldom exhibits very gay colors;
white, brown, black, and slate, finely blended, generally predominating.
The body is small in proportion to the length of the neck and the limbs.
Herons are very voracious, feeding mostly on fish and other aquatic
animals; but they also often prey on snakes, frogs, rats, and mice, and
the young of other birds.
The Common Heron (_Ardea cinerea_) measures about three feet from the
point of the bill to the tip of the tail. It is of a delicate gray color
on the upper parts, the quill-feathers are black, the tail of a deep
slate color, and the long plume is glossy dark. It generally builds its
nest on a high tree; and as many as eighty nests have been counted on a
single oak. America has many species of herons, most numerous in its
warmer parts.
A common species of the temperate parts is the green heron (_A.
virescens_), whose flesh is much esteemed. Other important species are
the Great Blue Heron (_A. herodias_), the Great White or Florida Heron
(_A. occidentalis_), the Great White Egret (_A. egretta_), and the
Little White Egret (_A. candidissima_).
The Peacock Heron (_A. helias_) of South America, a small heron of
exquisitely graceful shape and mien, with plumage variegated with
colored spots and bars, is a favorite pet bird of the Brazilians.
=Ibis= (_Ibidoideæ_).--These birds are related to the spoonbills, and,
more remotely, to the storks and herons. The bill is long, slender,
curved, thick at the base, the point rather obtuse, the upper mandible
deeply grooved throughout its length. The face and generally the greater
part of the head, and sometimes even the neck, are destitute of
feathers, at least in adult birds. The plumage is mainly white, with
black feathers and plumes on the wings. The neck is long. The legs are
rather long, naked above the joint, with three partially united toes in
front, and one behind; the wings are moderately long; the tail is very
short.
The Sacred or Egyptian Ibis, is an African bird, two feet six inches in
length, although the body is little larger than that of a common fowl.
The ancient Egyptians worshiped it as the emblem of purity, and used to
embalm it.
The Glossy Ibis is a smaller species, also African, but migrating
northward into continental Europe, and occasionally seen in Britain. It
is also a North American bird. Its habits resemble those of the Sacred
Ibis. Its color is black, varied with reddish brown, and exhibiting fine
purple and green reflections. It has no loose pendent feathers.
The White Ibis, a species with pure white plumage, once abounded on the
coasts of Florida, but has been killed off by feather hunters, so that
it is rare except in the remote tropics.
The Scarlet Ibis is a tropical American species, remarkable for its
brilliant plumage, which is scarlet, with a few patches of glossy black.
The Straw-necked Ibis is a large Australian bird of fine plumage,
remarkable for stiff, naked, yellow feather-shafts on the neck and
throat.
=Plovers.=--Wading shore birds sometimes also known as Sandpipers. Their
bills are long for probing in the mud. The wings are long and pointed.
The most peculiar species lives in New Zealand: its bill is sharply bent
either to the right or left, near the end, enabling it to secure food
from beneath stones.
North America has a number of species of plovers, such as the Kildeer
Plover, abundant on the great western prairies, and not unfrequent in
the Atlantic states. It utters, when approached by man, a querulous or
plaintive cry.
UPLAND PLOVER (_Bartramia longicauda_) is the only plainly colored
shorebird which occurs east of the plains and inhabits exclusively dry
fields and hillsides. It breeds from Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma, Indiana,
and Virginia, north to Alaska; winters in South America. It is the most
terrestrial of our waders, is shy and wary, but has the one weakness of
not fearing men on horseback or in a vehicle. Since the bird is highly
prized as a table delicacy, it has been hunted to the verge of
extermination. Ninety-seven per cent of the food of this species
consists of animal forms, chiefly of injurious and neutral species. It
injures no crop, but consumes a host of the worst enemies of
agriculture.
=Stork= (_Ciconia alba_).--The storks are usually divided into the True
Storks and the American “Wood Ibises” (_Tantalus_). There are about a
dozen species. They belong chiefly to the Old World. The most familiar
representative of the family is the Common Stork or White Stork
(_Ciconia alba_), a native of the greater part of the Old World, a
migratory. bird, its range extending even to the northern parts of
Scandinavia. It is about three and one-half feet in length. The head,
neck, and whole body are pure white; the wings partly black; the bill
and legs red. The neck is long, and generally carried in an arched form;
the feathers of the breast are long and pendulous, and the bird often
has its bill half hidden among them. The flight is very powerful and
high in the air; the gait slow and measured. In flight the head is
thrown back and the legs extended. The stork sleeps standing on one leg,
with the neck folded, and the head turned backward on the shoulder. It
frequents marshy places, feeding on eels and other fishes, frogs,
lizards, snakes, slugs, young birds, small mammals, and insects. It
makes a rude nest of sticks, reeds, etc., on the tops of tall trees, or
of ruins, spires, or houses. There are four or five eggs, white tinged
with buff; and the old nest is re-occupied next year.
=Woodcock= (_Scolopax_).--Their nest is formed simply by lining a
sheltered hollow with dead leaves, and three or four yellowish eggs with
brown markings are laid in March or early in April. The young birds are
sometimes carried by the mother from place to place, and the manner of
carrying has given rise to much discussion. The woodcock feeds in the
early morning and at dusk on worms, beetles, small crustaceans, etc.,
the quantity of food consumed being very large. The adult bird measures
about fourteen inches, and weighs less than one pound.
The American Woodcock (_S. minor_) is a smaller bird than the European
species, and it also is in much request for table use. It is eleven
inches in length, and is found east of the Mississippi and south of the
Canadian forests.
=THE SWIMMING BIRDS= (_Natatores_)
The beak is of a medium length; the front toes are, as a rule,
joined together by a membrane, to aid the birds in swimming. The
natatores live upon all still and flowing bodies of water, and feed
upon the water reptiles and insects, rarely upon the water plants;
and they are esteemed for their flesh, eggs, and feathers.
=Albatross= (_Diomedea_).--The Common or Wandering Albatross (_D.
exulans_) is the largest of web-footed birds, measuring four feet in
length, and from ten up to as much as seventeen feet in spread of wings.
It weighs fifteen to twenty pounds, or even more. The wings are,
however, narrow in proportion to their length. It often approaches very
near to vessels, and is one of the objects of interest which present
themselves to voyagers far away from land, particularly when it is seen
sweeping the surface of the ocean in pursuit of fish and garbage. It
seems rather to float and glide in the air, than to fly like other
birds, for, except when it is rising from the water, the motion of its
long wings is scarcely perceptible. It is affirmed by some to sail by
setting its wings like sails, and to make headway against the wind
without flapping. The albatross has great powers of sustained flight. It
often follows a ship for a considerable time, and it has been calculated
that it may fly seven hundred and twenty nautical miles in a day.
The plumage is soft and abundant, mostly white, dusky on the upper
parts, with some of the feathers of the back and wings black. The bill
is of a delicate pink, inclining to yellow at the tip.
The albatross is extremely voracious; it feeds on fish, cuttle-fish,
jelly-fish, etc., but has no objection to the flesh of a dead whale, or
to any kind of carrion. When food is abundant it gorges itself like the
vultures, and then sits motionless upon the water, so that it may
sometimes be taken with the hand. Its hoarse cry has been compared to
that of the pelican, but is sometimes more suggestive of the braying of
an ass. The single egg is four or five inches long, of a white color,
spotted at the larger end. The nestling is white, the young somewhat
brownish and of slow growth.
There are seven species. One of these, the Sooty Albatross (_D.
fuliginosa_), chiefly found within the Antarctic circle, is called by
sailors the Quaker Bird, on account of the prevailing brown color of its
plumage.
=Flamingo= (_Phœnicopterus ruber_), a shore bird of Mediterranean, East
Indian, and West Indian regions is essentially a greatly modified Goose.
Its legs and neck are very long and its bill abruptly bent downward. It
feeds with top of head down, sifting the mud, but retaining the small
worms, crustaceans, molluscs, fishes, etc., on which the birds subsist.
The flamingoes are birds of powerful flight, and fly like geese in
strings or wedge-shaped flocks. They also swim in deep water, but the
legs are too long to be well adapted for this purpose. They are habitual
waders, and the webbed membrane of the feet helps to support them on
soft, muddy bottoms. Hundreds feed and nest together, and, being large
and richly colored, form a brilliant assembly, their exquisite pink
plumage sometimes making a striking contrast against a background of
dark-green mangroves.
The nests are mounds of mud, from eight to fifteen inches in height,
gradually raised year after year, and built at distances of three to
four feet apart. The nesting occurs about the end of May, the hatching
about a month later. There is usually only one egg.
=Grebes= (_Podilymbus_).--The grebes are much sought after for their
plumage, but their shyness and their great agility in diving and
swimming under water render them extremely difficult to shoot. One
species known throughout all America is the Dabchick (_Podilymbus
podiceps_). Several of the American species have tufts of feathers
called “horns” on the head--a feature of the large European Crested
Grebe.
The Western Grebe is the largest American species, being from two to two
and one-half feet in length. The Horned Grebe and the Eared Grebe are
common in America.
=Gulls= (_Laridæ_) are water fowl, mostly marine. In color they are
white to pearl gray, with dark upper parts; those with black heads lose
this color in winter. The feet and bills are red or yellow, the sexes
alike, but the young are more dusky than the adults. The Mackerel Gull
has the habit of robbing the Oyster Catcher (_Hæmatopus_) of the food
secured. Ross’s Gull breeds in the unknown regions about the North Pole.
This bird has red feet, black bill, and a narrow, black collar.
=Pelican= (_Pelecanus onocrotalus_) is a native of southeast Europe,
Asia and Africa. It is the largest of all swimming birds, and is found
on the lakes and rivers of the continents mentioned. There are a number
of species, chiefly tropical. The birds have a tail of twenty-four soft
feathers, and a long bill, beneath the mandible of which is a
distensible pouch for carrying fish. The Pelican of North America goes
north into temperate regions in summer, at its breeding time.
=Penguin.=--The most remarkable peculiarity of these birds is the
flattened wing, which is clad with flat, scale-like feathers; the whole
limb, unfit for flight, is admirably suited for swimming. The feathers
of the penguin--instead of being disposed in feather-tracts, separated
by intervals (_apteria_) upon which no feathers grow, as is the case
with all other birds, not excepting even the ostrich and cassowary--form
a continuous covering to the body. The penguins are entirely confined to
the Antarctic and to the south temperate regions--Patagonia, Cape of
Good Hope, Australia and New Zealand. In some situations they are
extremely abundant, and make their nests in a common area. The nest is
little more than a hole in the sand in which the female deposits a
single egg. The stupidity of these birds is perhaps due to the
inaccessibility of the rocks and shores where so great a number live and
breed; having been comparatively little interfered with by man, they
show no terror at the sight of him. The plumage of the neck is valued by
furriers for collars and tippets; and large numbers of “Johnnies,” as
the sailors call them, are slaughtered annually.
=Swans=--See Domesticated Animals.
=THE RUNNING BIRDS= (_Cursores_)
This group is characterized by a considerable sized body, long neck,
flat beak, powerful legs and strong, two or three-toed running feet.
The bones are heavy; the wings are stunted, and useless for flying;
and the plumage is scanty on the head, neck, legs and abdomen.
=Cassowary= (_Casuarius_).--A bird of ostrich affinities, living in New
Guinea, and other Malay Islands, and Northern Australia. They have
rudimentary wings, live in dense forests, head protected by horny
helmet, have blue, red and yellow wattles, three-toed feet, the inner
toe with powerful claw, used as weapon, eat large quantities of
miscellaneous articles, including indigestible ones; and can be tamed.
Their cry is a loud croak. Their eggs, five in number, are laid in
August and September, in nests on ground, covered in brush. The young
are brownish, but gradually become blacker. The helmet is not full-grown
until the fifth year.
=Emu= (_Dromæus_) is closely akin to the cassowary family. There are two
species, both Australian--the Common Emu and the Spotted Emu. They
differ from the cassowaries in several marked features--e.g., the head
and neck are feathered except on cheeks and throat, there is no
“helmet,” nor are there wattles on the neck, the bill is broad, and the
claws of the three toes are almost of equal length. The emu is a large
bird, standing about six feet in height. The plumage is like that of the
cassowary; the color is predominantly dull brown, darker on the head,
neck and middle line of the back, lighter beneath. The naked parts of
head and neck are grayish blue, the bill and feet brownish. The young
are striped with black. The wings are of course rudimentary, but the
legs serve the bird well both in running and kicking. Timid and peaceful
in character, the emu trusts to its speed for safety. It is valued on
account of its beef-like flesh, abundant oil, and edible eggs, but is
unfortunately being destroyed with too great carelessness.
=Ostrich.=--See Domesticated Animals.
=Rhea=, also called Nandu and American Ostrich is a South American bird,
which form a somewhat isolated group, though nearer to the ostrich than
to any other bird. They are incapable of flight, but the wings are
rather better developed than in the ostrich. As in the ostrich and the
apteryx, the feathers have no aftershaft, and the color of the eggs is
white. The male bird incubates. Three species have been described.
=GAME BIRDS= (_Gallinæ_)
The members of this order are ground-birds, with strong,
blunt-clawed feet adapted for scratching up the ground in search of
food. The beak is nearly always shorter than the head, and has
projecting edges; the wings are generally short, and rounded off;
the legs are armored with callosities. All these birds build their
nests on the ground, and their young are nest fledglings, leaving
the nest on the same day. A number of our domesticated fowl belong
to this group.
=Bobwhite= (_Colinus virginianus_) is known everywhere by the clear
whistle that suggests its name. It is loved by every dweller in the
country and is better known to more hunters in the United States than
any other game bird. It is no less appreciated on the table than in the
field, and in many states has unquestionably been hunted too closely.
Half the food of this quail consists of weed seeds, almost a fourth of
grain, and about a tenth of wild fruits. Although thus eating grain, the
bird gets most of it from stubble. It feeds freely upon Colorado potato
beetles, chinch bugs, cucumber beetles, wireworms, billbugs, clover-leaf
weevils, cotton-boll weevils army worms, bollworms, cutworms, and Rocky
Mountain locusts.
=Chicken or Fowl.=--See Domesticated Animals.
=Grouse= is a name applied to many game-birds, including quail and
partridges. They are well known to be large, plump, somewhat heavy
birds, usually short-tailed, and with beautifully variegated plumage,
which must often be protective. The largest American grouse, however, is
the Cock of the Plains or Sage Cock. The RUFFED GROUSE (_Bonasa
umbellus_) is distinguished from other grouse by the broad black band
near tip of tail. It is found in the northern two-thirds of the United
States and in the forested parts of Canada. The Ruffed Grouse is famed
as the finest game bird of the northern woods. It is usually wild and
wary and well understands the attacks of hunters. Wild fruits, mast, and
browse make up the bulk of the vegetable food of this species; and it is
very fond of hazelnuts, beechnuts, chestnuts, and acorns and eats
practically all kinds of wild berries and other fruits.
=Guinea=--See Domesticated Animals.
=Partridges= (_Tetraonidæ_).--The most common of the Old World is the
Gray Partridge. The Snow Pheasants of the heights of the Himalayas may
exceed six pounds in weight. The Gray Partridge of India is not
palatable as food, but, being very pugnacious, is kept for fighting; the
male has two spurs on each foot. There are upward of fifty species of
American partridges, among which are the Mountain Quail of California,
the Bobwhite (which see), while the Ruffed Grouse is called Partridge in
the North and Pheasant in the South. It is shy, forest-loving; the male
makes a drumming sound by vibrating its wings. Its tarsus is feathered
half way, the head crested, and plumage variegated.
=Peacock.=--See Domesticated Animals.
=Pheasants= (_Phasianidæ_).--About forty species of pheasants inhabit
southeastern Asia. They are brilliantly colored and have long tails and
crests. The males generally are pugnacious; the male of the Blood
Pheasant, dwelling on the heights of the Himalayas, has four or five
spurs on each foot.
The pheasant exhibits a remarkable readiness to hybridize with other
like birds. The Ring-necked Pheasant is a native of the forests of India
and China. It is distinguished by a white ring almost surrounding the
neck, and is of smaller size than the common pheasant, somewhat
different in markings, and has a shorter tail. It is the common pheasant
of the Celestial Empire. Among other species of pheasant may be
mentioned Diard’s pheasant, a native of Japan; Soemmering’s Pheasant,
also from Japan, one of the most beautiful pheasants known, but
terribly pugnacious; and Reeve’s Pheasant, a native of the north of
China, in which white is the prevailing color, and the tail is of
extraordinary length.
Of somewhat different type are the Golden Pheasant and the Silver
Pheasant, both natives of China. The Golden Pheasant is one of the most
splendid of the tribe. It has a fine crest, and a ruff of orange and
black, capable of being erected at pleasure. The tail is very long. The
Silver Pheasant is one of the largest and most powerful of the tribe.
The Impeyan Pheasant is a native of the East Indies, and known as the
“bird of gold.”
=Ptarmigan= (_Lagopus_), a bird nearly allied to the true grouse,
differs chiefly in having the toes as well as the legs thickly clothed
with short feathers. They are natives of the northern parts of the
world, of elevated or of arctic regions. With the exception of the Red
Grouse, the species change color on the approach of winter, assuming a
white or nearly white plumage. All are esteemed as food.
The Common Ptarmigan is now resident in the Lofoden Island, in
Scandinavia, on the Ural and the Altai ranges, etc., and also on the
Alps and the Pyrenees. The winter plumage is pure white, except a black
band above the eyes of the male, and some black on the under feathers of
the tail. In both sexes the wings are always white, but have dark shafts
to their quills. In summer the males are predominantly grayish brown
above, with blackish head, shoulders, and breast, with white belly, with
black tail-feathers tipped with white. In the female a tawny color
predominates. In autumn, again the plumage is different, with numerous
streaks of slate gray on the upper parts. The white winter plumage is
doubtless protective amid the snow, and may be the result of the cold;
the summer plumage is not less harmonious with the surroundings.
=Turkey.=--See Domesticated Animals.
=Quail.=--See Partridges and Bobwhite.
_THE REPTILES_ (_Reptilia_)