CROWS, BIRDS OF PARADISE, AND FINCHES
The crow tribe contains several most interesting birds, first among
which stands the raven, a bird once known in all the northern parts of
the world, but now exceedingly rare in the United States except in the
far West. Even in the mountainous districts of Scotland it is not nearly
so common as it was, for it is so fond of killing weak and sickly lambs
that the shepherds trap or shoot it whenever they have an opportunity,
and the gamekeepers dislike it quite as much, because of the numbers of
hares, rabbits, partridges, and grouse that fall victims to its terrible
beak.
Ravens have often been tamed, and have even learned to talk almost as
well as parrots. But they are exceedingly mischievous birds, and, in
addition, are only too ready to peck any one who comes near them with
the full force of their sharp and powerful bills; so that they cannot be
at all recommended as pets.
The nest of the raven is a rather clumsy structure of sticks, and is
nearly always placed in the upper branches of a very tall tree. When the
young birds are nearly fledged, they often tumble out of the nest, and
are found by the shepherds fluttering helplessly about on the ground.
Most of the ravens which are kept in captivity have been caught in this
way.
THE AMERICAN CROW
The various crows of the world are like small ravens--jet-black,
sometimes marked with white; but our familiar American crow is wholly
black. These birds are fond of gathering into flocks, which sometimes
are very large; and they are sociable, liking to spend the night
roosting in some favorite grove in great companies. When near the sea,
or some large river or lake, the crows go down to the shore every
morning, and spend most of the day on or near the beach, where
they pick up most of their food. Crows, however, will eat almost
anything edible except grain; and the great European carrion-crow is
almost a bird of prey, for like the raven it feeds chiefly on the flesh
of dead animals. But it also preys upon such creatures as rabbits,
hares, mice, frogs, and lizards, while it will also search for the nests
of game birds and poultry, and carry off the eggs and the young.
Sometimes, too, it will visit the seashore, and feast upon the crabs,
limpets, and mussels which it finds among the rocks at low water. In
order to crack the shells of these creatures, it is said sometimes to
carry them up into the air and drop them upon a rock.
ROOKS
Except that it places its rude, stick-built nest in scattered trees,
each pair by itself, instead of in a company, our American crow is
closely similar to the English rooks about which so much is said in
books about Great Britain. Everybody in England knows the rook by sight,
and everybody is familiar with the rookeries in which a number of these
birds nest together year after year. Indeed, they use the same nests
over and over again, just putting them into proper order shortly before
the eggs are laid.
The scene when building operations begin is always a lively one, and all
day long the birds are very busy. But oddly enough, they never seem to
know when the winter is really over, and when a thaw comes after two or
three frosty days in December, or even earlier, they get as excited as
possible, setting to work and gathering sticks, and evidently thinking
that spring is beginning!
Rooks have very strict rules when they are building. For one rook to
steal a stick from another rook's nest, for example, is a very serious
crime, and sometimes is punished even with death. And young birds are
not allowed to build in a tree outside the rookery, their nest being at
once pulled to pieces by the older ones if they attempt to do so.
Crows of all kinds are extremely useful birds, for they devour enormous
quantities of mischievous grubs, more especially those which live at the
roots of cultivated plants, where other birds cannot get at them.
And you may often see them following the plow, and picking up their
victims in scores. Thus they more than pay the farmer for the stalks of
young corn or grain which they sometimes pull up in the spring.
THE JACKDAW
Another famous European bird, taking a part in many familiar stories and
poems, is the jackdaw. It is a smaller bird than the rook, and is
generally found near houses, being very fond of nesting in church
towers, or in old ruins. But very often a colony of jackdaws will settle
in a lofty cliff, and build on rocky ledges far beyond the reach of even
the boldest climber.
The jackdaw is easily tamed, and is a very interesting bird when kept as
a pet, soon learning to talk almost as well as a parrot. But it is
dreadfully mischievous, and if it finds any small glittering object is
almost sure to carry it off and hide it. Sometimes, too, it will play
very amusing tricks. We knew a tame jackdaw once which lived in a very
large garden. One day the butcher's cart drove up, and the butcher went
round to the kitchen entrance to take the orders. No sooner had he
disappeared than the jackdaw flew up on the box, and called out, "Gee
up!" Off started the horse at once, and if the gardener had not happened
to meet the cart as it was passing out of the gate, with only the
jackdaw inside, the butcher would certainly have been obliged to walk
all the way home.
The nest of the jackdaw, like that of the rook, is built of sticks, and
is lined with hay, wool, and feathers. It generally contains five eggs,
which are bluish green, spotted with gray and brown.
THE JAY
What a beautiful bird the jay is! And how very seldom one gets a really
good view of it! For it is one of the shyest of all birds, and never
allows itself to be seen if it can possibly help it. And the very moment
that it catches sight of one it flies off with a terrified squall which
can often be heard from nearly half a mile away.
Other birds do not at all like the jay, for it is very fond of visiting
their nests and stealing the eggs. It will carry off young birds, too,
and devour them, and many a young partridge and pheasant falls victim to
its appetite. But it also eats caterpillars, moths, beetles, and other
insects, as well as fruit and berries; while sometimes it will visit a
kitchen garden early in the morning, and feast heartily on the young
peas.
Our common Eastern American jay is light blue, with pretty white
markings; while in the far West and in the tropics are many kinds which
are rich dark blue or green; the European jay, however, is more varied.
In general color it is light reddish brown. On either wing is a patch of
azure blue banded with black, while the head is decorated with a crest
of gray feathers, with black spots, which can be raised and lowered at
will. Nearly all jays have tall crests. The quill-feathers of the wings
and tail are black.
THE MAGPIE
Another famous member of this family is the magpie, which occurs in both
Europe and America, and may be recognized by its glossy black and white
plumage, its long tail, and its curious dipping flight. It is found in
most parts of the British Isles, but never wanders far away from the
shelter of large woods, where it knows that it is much safer from the
attacks of hawks than in the open country.
The magpie is as mischievous out of doors as the jay, and as mischievous
indoors as the jackdaw; so that it cannot be said to bear a very good
character. But at any rate it makes a very amusing little pet, even if
it does steal any small object that it can carry away, and hide it in
some hoard of its own. But with a little careful instruction it soon
learns to talk quite well. In Europe, consequently, many tame magpies
are to be seen; but not so often in the United States.
The nest of the magpie cannot be mistaken for that of any other bird,
for although it is made of sticks, like that of the jackdaw and the jay,
it is always domed above, and has the entrance at the side. It is
generally situated in a thorn or a pine tree, although now and
then the birds will build in a low bush quite close to the ground. There
are generally from five to seven eggs, which are bluish white in color,
blotched and dotted with brown.
BIRDS OF PARADISE
Next in order to the crows, jays, and magpies come these. They include
some of the most beautiful of all the feathered race. They are nearly
all found in New Guinea and the Papuan islands, and there are altogether
about fifty different kinds.
One of the most beautiful is the king bird of paradise, which it is very
difficult to describe in words. The upper part of the body is rich
chestnut, with a bloom of purple, the lower part pure white, and across
the breast runs a band of golden green, which deepens into blackish
brown, while the upper part of the head and neck is pale straw-color.
Most exquisite of all, however, are the great masses of long, slender,
drooping plumes, which spring from either side of the body under the
wings. These plumes are nearly two feet long, and are golden yellow,
darkening toward the tips into pale brown. This exquisite plumage is
only found in the cock bird, the hen being of a dull brown color all
over, without any plumes at all; and the birds have now become extremely
scarce because killed so incessantly for the cruel purpose of getting
their feathers to put on hats!
Very little is known about the habits of birds of paradise, for few
people ever have the opportunity of seeing them in their native forests,
and they are almost unknown in zoölogical gardens because they usually
die almost immediately when placed in captivity in a strange country.
BOWER-BIRDS
The bower-birds of Australia owe their name to their singular habit of
making bowers in which to play! These bowers are built of sticks and
long pieces of grass, arranged in such a way that they meet at
the top so as to form a kind of avenue, and are often three feet long.
Stranger still, they are ornamented with stones, brightly colored
shells, and the blue tail-feathers of parrakeets, which the birds
carefully fasten up among the sticks, evidently in order to make the
bower look pretty. Then, when it is finished, they run through it, round
and round, over and over again, chasing one another, and seeming to
enjoy their game immensely.
There is one of these birds, found in Papua, which builds a hut about
two feet high instead of a bower, and then makes a sort of garden in
front of it. This garden is decorated with bright-colored flowers and
berries, and as soon as they fade the bird throws them away and puts
fresh ones in their place! It is called the gardener-bird.
THE STARLING
This bird is almost as well known as the sparrow in Europe. You may see
it on the lawn, every now and then plunging its beak into the ground,
and pulling out a grub or a worm; and it is fond of building a great
untidy-looking nest in water-pipes and other places where it is not
wanted. It is beginning to be well known also in America, for colonies
are established near New York City.
Starlings in Europe often travel about the country in great flocks,
which frequently consist of several thousand birds. Sometimes, too,
several of these flocks join together at night, and then separate again
next morning. We have seen a little copse so full of roosting starlings
that every branch of every tree was occupied from end to end, while
thousands more kept flying in, and trying to turn the first comers off
their perches! And they made so much noise that we could hear them
chattering and quarreling when we were more than a mile away.
Each flight of starlings seems to have its leader whose orders are
instantly obeyed, for every bird in the whole flock swerves, and wheels,
and turns at the same moment--a maneuver seen equally in the vast
migratory flocks of red-winged blackbirds which gather in autumn on
every American marsh and are gradually spreading inland. A few
years hence the bird may be seen all over the United States.
Starlings are useful birds, although they certainly steal a great deal
of fruit; for if it were not for their labors--together with those of
certain other birds--our corn and vegetable crops would certainly be
destroyed by the mischievous grubs which live at the roots. So we ought
to look on the fruit which starlings take as wages paid them for their
work.
[Illustration: FINCHES AND WEAVER-BIRDS.
1. European Yellowhammer. 2. African Weaver-Bird (Male).
3. African Weaver-Bird (Female). 4. European Goldfinch.
5. Stonechat.]
FINCHES
We now come to the great group of the finches, which can easily be
recognized by their short, stout, strong beaks.
This is one of the most extensive families of birds, for it includes,
besides the finches properly so called, all the sparrows, grosbeaks,
buntings, and seed-eaters of the world, together with many other similar
birds known by various names. The small robust size, and especially the
cone-shaped beak, suitable for cracking seeds, or tearing the husks of
fruit to pieces, are the badges of the family. Sometimes this beak is
big and strong, as in our northern rose-breasted, or the southern
cardinal grosbeak, or the British bullfinch; sometimes small and
slender, as in the sparrows, such as our pretty visitor to the garden
lilacs and rose-bushes, the chipping-bird; sometimes queerly out of
shape, as in the crossbills, where the lower half, or mandible, of the
bill does not meet the upper one squarely at the tip, but the points
cross past one another. These birds dwell in the northern evergreen
forests, and subsist almost wholly on the seeds of the pine and spruce,
which they twist out from beneath the tough scales of the cones with
remarkable skill, apparently using the crossed bill like a pair of
pliers.
These birds come south in winter, when their bright reddish coats and
fearless ways are enjoyed by everybody. The farm children in Germany
hear pretty stories about them, one of which is that the twist in the
bill was caused by one of these birds injuring it in kindly trying to
pull out the nails by which Jesus was fastened to the cross; so their
name "cross-bill" may be thought of in two ways.
SPARROWS
Every roadside and field has its sparrows--brown, streaked birds which
usually keep near the ground and feed upon the seeds of grasses and
weeds, yet pick up innumerable insects, as do all the others of their
busy tribe. These sparrows make their nests mostly on the ground; but
most of the finches, rightly so called, nest in bushes and trees. All
the sparrows have pleasant voices, and most of them are fair singers,
while some excel in that accomplishment. Our song-sparrow, fox-sparrow,
the whitethroat and others are among the best of American singing birds.
It has been said that these plain brown birds have been granted the gift
of voice to make up for lack of ornament; but this explanation doesn't
seem to amount to much, for if it were true we ought to find the richly
dressed birds songless. That this is not the case in this family, at
least, is plain when we remember that our finches--and it is equally
true of foreign ones--include some of the most brilliantly colored birds
we have, such as the goldfinch, the purple finch, the indigo-bird, the
exquisite blue and red nonpareil of Louisiana, and many others, all of
which are capital musicians.
Some of these finches are among our most highly prized cage-birds, such
as the European bullfinch, which not only sings prettily when wild, but
if caught young can be trained to learn several tunes, and between
whiles pipes and chirrups gaily. The goldfinch, linnet, waxbill, and
several others belong to this interesting tribe.
CANARIES
Canaries, too, are finches, and are plentiful in the islands from which
they take their name. But if you were to see them in their own home you
would hardly recognize them; for a wild canary that is yellow all over
is hardly ever seen. Our cage-canaries, in fact, are an artificial
breed, the natural color of the plumage being olive green, marked with
black and yellow. Neither would you recognize the song of the wild
birds, which is not nearly so powerful nor so varied as that of the
feathered pets which we all know so well.
Now and then talking canaries have been known, which had learned to
utter a number of different words quite distinctly.
THE SKYLARK
No bird is more celebrated than the skylark, which has inspired
countless poems. It is a plain brown little bird, like one of our
field-sparrows; and would attract little attention were it not for the
sweetly clear and varied music of its joyous song as it mounts higher
and higher in the air, till at last it looks a mere speck in the sky.
For nearly eight months in the year it sings, and one can scarcely take
a ramble in the country without seeing and hearing it. A small colony of
skylarks dwells on Long Island, in the edge of Brooklyn, N.Y., where the
song may be heard by many a person who cannot go to Europe to listen to
it.
The skylark builds upon the ground, in some little hollow, and its nest
is so well hidden that one scarcely ever finds it. It is made of dry
grass, leaves, and hair, and contains four or five yellowish-gray eggs
speckled with brown.