Song: A monotonous trill,
_Chippy-chippy-chippy-chippy-chippy-chippy-chippy_, more like the
metallic sound made by a locust than the song of a bird.
Habitat: A "doorstep" bird that loves to spend the spring and summer
near man. It is found in gardens, orchards, and plowed fields.
Nest: An unusually dainty nest made of grass and fine root-fibers, lined
with horsehair, which has given to the chipping sparrow the name of
"hair-bird." The nest is built in trees or low bushes, sometimes
very near the ground.
Eggs: Four or five pale-green eggs, mottled with dark markings.
Range: North America, from central Canada to Central America; commonest
in the east.
This gentle, trustful sparrow is a general favorite. He is an
unobtrusive little bird, seemingly contented to occupy his place in the
world near to the haunts of man, unconsciously doing his important work
without noisy demonstration. Like the brown creeper and the phoebe, he
is of great economic value; like them, he is not particularly
interesting, and he is without skill as a songster. But his monotonous
trill is a pleasant part of the spring chorus, and his presence in our
yards we should sorely miss.
Mr. Forbush speaks in high praise of this bird's usefulness. He claims
that the chippy is "the most destructive of all birds to the injurious
pea-louse, which caused a loss of three million dollars to the pea-crop
of a single state in one year."[88] This sparrow eats the grubs that
feed on beet-leaves, cabbages, and other vegetables; he devours
cankerworms and currant worms, besides gypsy, brown-tail, and tent
caterpillars, any one of which would entitle him to our protection. In
the fall, with the decrease of life in the garden, he takes to the
fields, where like other sparrows he feasts on seeds.
If it were more generally known how invaluable chipping sparrows are,
people would guard them more carefully from marauding cats. I wish it
might become as unlawful to let cats stalk abroad during the nesting
season as it is to allow unmuzzled dogs to go about freely during
dog-days. I know of a bird-lover near Painesville, Ohio, who never
during nesting-time allowed her pet cat to stir outside of a good-sized
enclosure without a weight attached to his collar. Some people have put
bells on their cats' necks, but while that is efficacious in alarming
parent-birds, it is of no value in preventing the slaughter of young
birds that have just left the nest. Mr. Forbush has written an appeal,
which I wish was more widely known and heeded. It is called "The
Domestic Cat" and was published under the direction of the Massachusetts
State Board of Agriculture.
Mr. Forbush wrote to such eminent experts and authorities on bird-life
as Robert Ridgway, Dr. Frank M. Chapman, Dr. Witmer Stone, Dr. Henry W.
Henshaw, Dr. William T. Hornaday, John Burroughs, William Dutcher, T.
Gilbert Pearson, Dr. George W. Field, Dr. C. F. Hodge, Ernest Harold
Baynes, Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, and others, for their opinions
regarding the relative destructiveness of cats to the bird-life of the
country. They were unanimous in their denunciation of cats as the
"greatest destructive agency to our smaller song and insectivorous
birds."
Mrs. Wright says: "If the people of the country insist upon keeping cats
in the same number as at present, all the splendid work of Federal and
State legislation, all the labors of game- and song-bird protective
associations, all the loving care of individuals in watching and
feeding, will not be able to save our birds in many localities."
Young chipping sparrows are spoiled bird-babies. They "tag" their gentle
little parents about with unusual persistence, knowing that they will
get what they demand. They frequently look as if they might not turn out
to be excellent bird-citizens like their ancestors. When a noted
ornithologist first saw Mr. Horsfall's original drawing of the
accompanying family of chipping sparrows he remarked, "That baby looks a
million years old and steeped in sin!" But the duties of parenthood
sober the youngsters, and the following year, they become in turn
pleasant, docile, lovable little "Bird Neighbors."
THE WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: About 6¾ inches.
General Appearance: One of the larger sparrows, with a _black and white
striped crown_, a _white throat_, and a _yellow spot before the
eye_.
Male and Female: Striped crown, with a _narrow white line_ in the
_center_, a broad black stripe on each side of the white; a broad
white stripe _over_ the _eye_ edged with a narrow black line; _a
yellow spot in front of the eye_, and at the outer curve of the
wing. Back brown, streaked with black; rump and tail grayish-brown;
wings with two white bars; breast gray, becoming whitish on the
belly; sides brownish.
Notes: A sharp _chip_ for the alarm-note; low, pleasant twitterings.
Song: A sweet whistle, usually pitched high. It consists of two or three
notes that vary considerably. Sometimes the first note is an octave
below the second; at other times it is a few tones higher than the
second. I heard one recently that sang a perfect monotone as
follows: _Dee, dee, de'-de-de, de'-de-de, de'-de-de_. The song has
been interpreted in Massachusetts as
_Sam, Peabody, Peabody, Peabody_
/
_Old_
and the bird is known as the "Peabody Bird."
Habitat: Hedgerows and thickets along roadsides, in parks, on estates,
and in woods.
Range: Eastern and central North America. Breeds from north-central
Canada to southern Montana, central Minnesota and Wisconsin, and
mountains of northern Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts;
winters from Missouri, the Ohio Valley, southern Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, (casually in Maine), south to northeastern Mexico and
Florida.
THE WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: Nearly 7 inches; a little larger than the white-throated
sparrow.
Male and Female: Crown _white_, bordered on each side by a broad black
stripe that extends from bill in front of the eye; a broad white
stripe borders each black stripe; a narrow line of black borders the
white. _No yellow on head or wing_ like that of the white-throated
sparrow. Cheeks, neck, throat, and under parts gray; belly white,
sides buff; back, wings, and tail brown; back streaked; wings with
two white bars.
Song: A sweet whistled strain.
Habitat: Thickets, woods, and fields.
Range: Breeds in Canada, the mountains of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming,
and Montana, and thence to the Pacific Coast; winters in the
southern half of the United States and in northern Mexico.
The White-crowned Sparrow is considered by some admirers to be the
handsomest member of the sparrow tribe. It is not widely known in the
East, and is sometimes confused with the white-throat. The gray throat
of the white-crown and the absence of yellow on the wing and near the
eye, distinguish it from the white-throat.
In Bulletin 513 of the Biological Survey occurs this description of the
white-crown: "This beautiful sparrow is much more numerous in the
western than in the eastern States, where indeed it is rather rare. In
the East it is shy and retiring, but it is much bolder and more
conspicuous in the far West and often frequents gardens and parks. Like
most of its family it is a seed-eater by preference, and insects
comprise very little more than 7 per cent. of its diet. Caterpillars are
the largest item, with some beetles, a few ants and wasps, and some
bugs, among which are black olive scales. The great bulk of food,
however, consists of weed seeds, which amount to 74 per cent. of the
whole. In California this bird is accused of eating the buds and
blossoms of fruit trees, but buds or blossoms were found in only 30 out
of 516 stomachs, and probably it is only under exceptional circumstances
that it does any damage in this way. Evidently neither the farmer nor
the fruit-grower has much to fear from the white-crowned sparrow. The
little fruit it eats is mostly wild, and the grain eaten is waste."
THE PURPLE FINCH
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: About 6¼ inches; a little smaller than the English sparrow.
Adult Male: Body largely raspberry- or rose-red, streaked with brown.
For two seasons the male is a brown sparrowlike bird, with a
yellowish-olive chin and rump; the third season his body seems to
have been washed with a beautiful _red, not purple_, the color
richest on his head, breast, and rump. Head slightly crested; bill
thick, with bristles at nostrils; cheeks and back brownish; under
parts grayish-white; wings and tail brownish, edged with red; tail
forked.
Female: Decidedly sparrowlike; body grayish-brown, heavily streaked,
lighter underneath; patch of light gray extending from eye, another
from beak; wings dark grayish-brown, with indistinct gray bands. She
is not unlike the song sparrow, except for the absence of the three
black spots on breast and throat.
Call-note: A sharp, metallic _chip_.
Song: A clear, sweet, joyous warble.
Habitat: Woods, orchards, and gardens.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds in central and southern Canada, and
northern United States, in North Dakota, central Minnesota, northern
Illinois, and New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, the Pennsylvania
mountains, and Long Island; winters from considerably north of the
southern boundary of its breeding-range to the Gulf Coast, from
Texas to Florida.
None of our smaller finches, except the goldfinch and indigo bunting are
more beautiful in color than the PURPLE FINCH which wears a Tyrian
purple, rather than the shade we commonly know.
Few members of the family sing more sweetly and joyously than this
songster of the treetops. His delightful warble resembles somewhat the
song of the rose-breasted grosbeak, and attracts attention wherever the
bird is to be found. Several purple finches singing from neighboring elm
trees at once, makes a May or June concert not easily excelled. Mr.
Forbush says: "The song of the male is a sudden, joyous burst of melody,
vigorous, but clear and pure, which no mere words can do justice. When,
filled with ecstasy, he mounts in air and hangs with fluttering wings
above the trees where sits the one who holds his affections, his efforts
far transcend his ordinary tones, and a continuous melody flows forth,
until, exhausted with his vocal efforts, he sinks to the level of his
spouse in the treetop. This is a musical species, for some females sing,
though not so well as the males."[89]
The bird has been accused of eating the buds of fruit and shade trees,
especially elms, and while he is at times guilty, he is not condemned by
those who know his food-habits best, but commended for his fondness for
weed seeds, especially ragweed, and for destroying plant-lice,
cankerworms, cutworms, and ground beetles.[89]
His cousin, the HOUSE FINCH, or LINNET of California, who is brighter in
color, is more beloved by tourists and more hated by fruit-growers than
almost any bird in the state. Professor Beal writes: "This bird, like
the other members of its family, is by nature a seed-eater, and before
the beginning of fruit-growing in California probably subsisted upon the
seeds of weeds, with an occasional wild berry. Now, however, when
orchards have extended throughout the length and breadth of the state
and every month from May to December sees some ripening fruit, the
linnets take their share. As their name is legion, the sum total of the
fruit that they destroy is more than the fruit-raiser can well spare. As
the bird has a stout beak, it has no difficulty in breaking the skin of
the hardest fruit and feasting upon the pulp, thereby spoiling the fruit
and giving weaker-billed birds a chance to sample and acquire a taste
for what they might not otherwise have molested. Complaints against this
bird have been many and loud.... Whatever the linnet's sins may be,
grain-eating is not one of them. In view of the great complaint made
against their fruit-eating habit, the small quantity found in the
stomachs taken is somewhat of a surprise. When a bird takes a single
peck from a cherry or an apricot, it spoils the whole fruit, and in this
way may ruin half a dozen in taking a single meal. That the damage is
often serious no one will deny. It is noticeable, however, that the
earliest varieties are the ones most affected; also, that in large
orchards the damage is not perceptible, while in small plantations the
whole crop is frequently destroyed."[90]
In spite of this troublesome habit, the linnet is a most engaging little
bird. Its sweet bubbling song, not unlike that of the purple finch, adds
much to the charm of California.
[Illustration: TOWHEE]
THE TOWHEE OR CHEWINK
CALLED ALSO GROUND ROBIN AND CHAREE
_Finch Family--Fringillidæ_
Length: About 8½ inches; smaller than the robin and larger than the
oriole.
General Appearance: A black bird with _reddish-brown sides_, _black
breast_, and _white belly_; outer tail-feathers _tipped_ with
_white_.
Male: Head, back, throat, and breast, a glossy black; wings black, outer
feathers edged with white; tail black, outer edge of outer feather
white; three other feathers partly white, decreasing in size toward
middle of tail; belly white; _eyes dark red_.
Female: Brownish, where male is black. The young are streaked with
black.
Call-note: A cheerful _cha-ree_, uttered with a rising inflection. The
note is also interpreted as _tow hee'? chewink'? jaree'?_ An
engaging trait of this bird is his almost invariable response to one
imitating his note.
Song: Two notes, followed by a trill. The song may be translated into
_chip-chur, pussy-pussy-willow_.
Habitat: Woodlands, where he is first found in April scratching among
old leaves like fox sparrows, white-throats, and other members of
his family.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from southern Canada and Maine to
central Kansas and northern Georgia; winters from southeastern
Nebraska, the Ohio and Potomac Valleys to central Texas, the Gulf
Coast, and southern Florida.
The WHITE-EYED TOWHEE is found on the Atlantic Coast region from
about Charleston, South Carolina, to southern Florida. He resembles
his northern cousin except that his _eyes_ are _white_, and that his
wings and tail have _less_ white on them. There are several species
of towhee in our western states.
Before the trees are in leaf, there appears in our April woods a lively,
trim, and attractive bird who makes himself known in no uncertain
manner. So bustling and energetic is he, so cheerful and self-confident,
without unpleasant aggressiveness, that he always attracts attention.
The uninitiated frequently call him an oriole, whom he does resemble in
having a glossy black head, throat, back, and tail, and white markings
on his wings, with reddish-brown like that of the orchard oriole on his
sides; but there the resemblance ceases, for the oriole has in addition
a reddish-brown breast, belly, and rump. Then, too, the towhee arrives
early, before larvæ have hatched; the oriole arrives in May, when swarms
of insects have begun their work of fertilizing blossoms of fruit trees.
Professor Beal writes of the towhee as follows: "After snow has
disappeared in early spring, an investigation of the rustling so often
heard among the leaves near a fence or in a thicket will frequently
disclose a towhee at work scratching for his dinner after the manner of
a hen; and in these places and along the sunny border of woods, old
leaves will be found overturned where the bird has been searching for
hibernating beetles and larvæ. The good which the towhee does in this
way can hardly be overestimated, since the death of a single insect at
this time, before it has had an opportunity to deposit its egg, is
equivalent to the destruction of a host later in the year."[91]
While attending to business, this ground robin seems most materialistic
and worldly-minded; but when satisfied with his quest for food, "a
change comes over the spirit of his dreams." He perches upon a low
bough; in a sweet and joyous song he reveals his passionate devotion to
his mate, and brings pleasure to listeners whose ears are attuned to the
sounds of Nature.
DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOGRAPHIES
OF
OUR LATER SPRING BIRDS
PART FOUR