said to live a hundred years. They are found in nearly all climates and
countries. While they eat all kinds of dead animal matter, they will
also carry off young ducks and chickens.
LESSON XXXVII.
THE BIRDS IN THE WOODS.
[Illustration: UNDER THE TREES.]
I have told you how the crows chased a cat. That was not the only cat
chase I have seen. One summer I had a house near a wood. Through the
wood ran a brook, and near it was a marshy place. This is just such a
spot as birds love.
In that township no one was allowed to shoot birds, so birds of many
kinds were plentiful.
One day, as I stood on my porch, I heard a queer noise. Then around the
corner of the house rushed a cat. After him, screaming, and flying low,
came about twenty birds. They were headed by a blue jay. The jay flew
down on the cat, and gave him a sharp peck. He pulled out some of the
cat’s fur.
Among these birds I saw the robin, oriole, wren, catbird, yellow-bird,
yellow-hammer, blackbird, and several sparrows. They may have their
little quarrels among themselves, but they all make common cause when
the cat prowls in the woods to kill them.
Once, when I lived in the southwest, I had many forest trees on my
lawn. In these trees lived such birds as I have just named, also the
peewee, the titmouse, and the bluebird. I had a tame squirrel that went
up the trees and frightened the birds.
After that they kept a sentinel always on a bough. If the squirrel left
the grass for any tree, the alarm was sounded at once. Then all the
birds near came in haste, and attacked the squirrel. They pecked and
screamed at him, until he was glad to keep out of the trees. Soon he
did not dare to touch a tree trunk.
Among the wood birds the woodpecker is one of my favorites. He is a
very fine fellow. There are many kinds of woodpeckers. We have the
red-headed, the yellow-breasted, the gold-winged, the hairy, the downy,
and others.
They are very intelligent, diligent, and merry birds. They make their
nests in holes in trees. It is wonderful how they know where to find a
decayed spot in a tree that looks quite sound. The woodpecker will eat
fruit and grain, but prefers insects. He, no doubt, saves many forest
trees by eating up grubs and worms, which would destroy them.
The woodpecker is a noisy bird. He is full of chatter to his mate. He
talks to himself constantly when alone. His “drum” can be heard over
all the wood.
It is a fine sight to see him on a brown tree trunk. His plumage,
black, white, green, scarlet, gold, can be seen from far. He whirls
about, looking for grubs. He holds fast with his strong claws, and
gives blow after blow with his great bill upon the tree.
When he tears off a large piece of bark, and lays bare a fine fat grub,
he throws back his head, and laughs with joy. He laughs almost as well
as the loon, of which I told you.
It seems a great shame to kill such a handsome and happy bird. He
really does very little harm, and much good. Now and then, he carries
off a pear or an apple to eat, but he saves the lives of many trees.
Among the joyous birds of the wood, let us now take a look at the bird
which is every one’s friend. There is a bird that every one loves, and
no one says an ill word of. Can you guess that this is the cheerful
robin? He is our friend the year round. His red vest shines against the
summer green and the winter snow.
The robin is a large bird, with black and brown head and wings; most
of the rest of the body is of a dull, yellowish red. Of all our birds
this is the least shy. He is brave and merry, and goes and comes as he
pleases. Scarcely a month of the year passes without bringing the robin.
Robins seem equally happy in wood, field, garden or orchard. If they
cannot find insects to eat, they will take fruit, berries, crumbs or
seeds. If food grows scarce, they hop down to the door, and feed with
the chicks, or expect a fine breakfast thrown out to them alone.
Some people think that robins eat fruit rather as drink than as food.
They take the fruit because they are thirsty. It is said that if a
pail of water is set near the fruit trees, the birds will drink from
that and not rob the trees. You might try it sometime, and find out if
this is so.
The robin builds a large nest of straw and fibres. She plasters it with
mud, and lines it with fine grass. She will come back to the same nest
year after year. In this nest she lays five eggs of a bright blue-green
color.
If the robin has taken a winter trip, he comes back early in March to
settle in the Northern and Middle States. Sometimes he does not leave
his home in winter. Sometimes he goes and comes a number of times, as
if he wanted to keep an eye on his house.
In March and April you see these birds in pairs. They will be running
about the short grass, hunting for leaves, or sitting in the bare
branches, trying a song. The robin cannot sing so well as the thrush;
but he is fond of singing, and his note is merry if not rich.
As soon as day breaks, you will hear the robin chorus. All day long
robin rests himself from work by singing. In the wood he quarrels with
no other bird, and no other bird quarrels with him. The robin can be
seen in the autumn, feasting wherever there are poke or elder berries.
He is a long-lived bird, and, if he meets with no accident, may live
fifteen or eighteen years.
A larger and gayer bird than the robin, and living often in the same
wood, is the blue jay. I have told you of some of this fine fellow’s
naughty ways. Did you ever see him? Did you notice his big black bill,
his great keen eyes, his saucy crest, standing up like a helmet, his
fine blue back, his blue and white wings and tail, with black bars? Oh,
he is a kingly bird! And he knows it!
Of all our birds none is more pert and saucy than the jay. His voice is
loud, and he likes to hear it. He is the trumpeter in the bird band. He
has a varied note, and can mock the songs of other birds. He chatters
like a duck; he screams like an angry catbird; he whistles; he laughs;
and then he goes into the shade, and talks to his mate in a soft
musical tone.
He seems to be vain of his fine clothes. Sometimes he stands on a
branch, and makes such wild noises that all the birds in the wood fly
to see what is the matter. Then, when he has a number of birds to gaze
at him, he bows, nods, jerks, flirts, whirls, and makes all manner of
the queerest motions. He seems to be giving some sort of a show.
One of the jay’s family names is “the gabbler.” It is said that, like
the crow and some other birds, he is a weather prophet, and most noisy
before a rain-storm.
The jay will eat almost any kind of food. He eats the eggs and young of
smaller birds. He eats chestnuts, acorns, corn, cherries, insects. When
very hungry, he will take a small potato, or go to the barn for corn
and oats.
Of all the bird partners of the plant in seed-carrying, the jay is
chief. One man, who studied this bird very carefully, said, “The jays
are able, in a few years’ time, to replant all our waste lands.” No
bird is more useful in carrying about nuts and hard seeds.
The jay is especially the bird of North America. He is not a very great
traveller. Usually each pair lives alone, and then with their young
brood. But sometimes in the autumn forty or fifty will go together to
look for acorns.
The jay likes to build in a quiet wood, near a stream. He builds a
large nest in a tree, and watches over it, but does not often go very
near it. The mother jay lays five eggs of olive color, with brown
spots. When the young birds come from the shell, both parents take
great care of them.
One day I saw in a wood five new-fledged jays, sitting on a branch.
They were not at all afraid of me. But the old birds came near, and
seemed in such distress at seeing me, that I went away. A few weeks
after I saw the whole family, carrying stores of chestnuts, acorns, and
seeds to hide, for they are given to laying up a hoard of food.
The jay is the great enemy of the owl. As soon as he finds an owl
hidden in the shade, he calls all the other birds to the battle. Then,
headed by the jay, they scold and scream, and fly at the owl, until
they drive him off.
He quarrels also with the small sparrow-hawk. But in that quarrel poor
Mr. Jay sometimes is killed. When he fights the hawk, he calls other
jays to his help. If one of them is killed by the hawk, they all give
loud, wild cries. Then they fly off and, hidden in the wood, complain
of their disaster.
LESSON XXXVIII.
THE BIRDS IN THE HOUSE.
As so many of you have cage birds, I think you will like to hear a
little about the kinds of birds that most often live in cages. I will
tell you of only the two most common kinds of pet birds,--the canary
and the parrot.
As the parrot is the larger bird and of more ancient fame, we will
speak of him first. Parrots have been favorite cage birds for many
hundred years. They are notable for size, splendor of plumage,
docility, long life, and power of learning to speak.
Like the woodpecker, the parrot belongs to the division of climbing
birds. The feet of climbing birds have two toes turned forward, and two
turned backward.
The parrot family is a group of large and splendid birds. You will
know even the smaller members of it by their bills. The bills are high
and thick, and have the upper part much curved and longer than the
under part. This bill is useful in aiding the birds in climbing, and
in holding fast to the branches of trees. It is just the right kind of
bill for eating fruit, which forms the chief food of the parrot in its
wild state.
The tongue of the parrot is short, thick, and fleshy. The wings and
tail are long. The plumage is gay.
To the parrot family belong the parrakeets, cockatoos, macaws, and
lories. These are all birds of hot countries.
Nothing can exceed the splendor of the plumage of these birds. Red,
lemon, green, scarlet, blue, white, and a mixture of these colors, will
be found upon them. Many of them have brilliant crests, and many of
them long gay tail feathers.
The head and bill of the parrot are large. While their bill tells us
what kind of food they live on, and their feet show that they can
climb, their long strong wings show that they are birds of flight.
Parrots are social birds. They live in large flocks. They make their
nests in hollow trees, as woodpeckers do. In their native homes they
are much like woodpeckers in some of their ways. But they eat fruit,
not insects.
The natural voice of the parrot is a loud, harsh call. Parrots can
learn to speak only when they are carefully taught. Not every kind of
parrot can learn even when taught. The common short-tailed, red and
green parrot makes the best talker. Some of them are very amusing.
Parrots are usually of a kind, gentle disposition, easily tamed, and
learn to live very happily in a cage. When captive they eat sugar,
crackers, and almost any little dainty that is offered to them. They
are fond of water, and bathe often.
The very long-tailed parrots called macaws, and parrakeets, are
birds of Central and Southern America. In India there are also very
long-tailed parrots. In old times they were sent as presents to
kings and queens. The parrakeets of Asia and Africa are called ring
parrakeets, because each one has a collar of bright feathers about the
neck. The two parrots called “the gray,” and “the festive,” or “jolly”
parrot, are the most common as pets, are most amusing, and learn many
words and tricks.
What are called “love birds” are very small and beautiful parrots, from
North Africa. They are as small as bluebirds. They are the smallest of
their race, and rather rare.
The cockatoos are kept in cages, not for their speech, as they do not
learn to talk, but for their great beauty. You will know them by their
high crests. They have their name from their note, or call. They are
natives of tropic islands. Most of them have light-colored feathers,
pink, lemon or white, with markings of brighter tints.
If you live where you can visit a large bird-store, you will do well to
go to see some of these birds.
Let us now turn to that other house bird, and common pet, the canary.
This little bird has its name from some islands on the coast of Africa,
which are its native home. It is about three hundred years since these
birds began to be reared and sold for cage birds.
Canaries are very small birds, of a delicate yellow color, graceful
shape, bright and lively ways, and sweet song.
In their native woods they have not the clear yellow color which they
now wear. They are of an olive green with spots of black and yellow.
The yellow color has become common to the cage birds.
Canaries are intelligent, affectionate little birds. They can be taught
to whistle tunes, if you train them with care and patience. If given
plenty of water, clean cages, plenty of light, and good fresh seed,
they will be healthy and live a long time.
You should give them a lump of sugar for a treat, some chick-weed for
fresh food, a bit of cuttle-fish bone to sharpen their beak upon. You
must also be careful to keep them out of a draught.
These birds of hot lands, reared in cages, would die if we let them fly
out of the cage. So, if we treat them well, it does not seem cruel to
keep them in their little wire palaces.
For my part, I prefer to see birds flying, feeding, and singing in the
woods and fields, which are their natural home.
LESSON XXXIX.
THE LOST BIRDS.
Hidden in the earth, in peat swamps, or in rocks, we find the bones of
birds of various kinds that lived long ago, and are now lost. Some of
these lost birds were on the earth before men and beasts were. Others
have been well known until a recent time. I shall tell you of a few
that have lived until lately.
First I shall mention the great auk. This was a large handsome bird,
which lived along the shores and islands of northern seas. As auks were
good to eat, large numbers of them were killed.
There should have been a law to protect them while they were raising
their young. As there was no such law, the birds were killed at any
time, and their eggs and young were taken. Thus year by year they
perished, until none are left.
The auk was a very large bird, with black and white feathers. It had
very short legs, broad, webbed feet, and very small wings. When sitting
at rest on a rock, it held itself straight up and was nearly a yard
high.
It was a wonderful swimmer and diver, but could not walk much, and did
not fly except from rock to rock. Its bill was very large and strong.
The auk was a fish-catcher and eater.
As to these very big bills, such as you see on the toucan and hornbill
in museums, where the bill is nearly as large as all the rest of the
bird, let me tell you a secret. Do not they look very heavy? Do you not
wonder how the bird can carry them, or fly with them?
Here is the truth. The horny hard part is very thin, not thicker than a
sheet of paper. Then all the inside of the bill is built up in cells,
something like a fine honey-comb, and these cells are full of air! So
instead of being heavy, these huge bills are very light.
The bill of the auk was large, but not nearly so large as that of the
hornbill or toucan.
A neighbor of the auk was the Labrador duck. This bird often built
its nest close by where the auk laid its great, bright-colored eggs,
near the water’s edge. The Labrador duck and the auk swam in the same
waters, and were both very gentle birds.
This duck, like the auk, is now lost. The last one seems to have been
killed a few years ago. The Labrador duck was a very beautiful bird.
People wanted its eggs, flesh and feathers, and did not spare the old
birds to raise their broods.
This makes me think of the fable of the greedy man, who killed the
goose that laid golden eggs. Then he had neither goose nor eggs. I
think it served him right.
Chief among lost birds is the famous dodo. This dodo was an immense
pigeon. It was a helpless, quiet, kind, clumsy bird. It was too heavy
and too short of wing to fly. It had no weapon of defence; no sharp,
strong bill; no tearing claws.
Such a bird was easily caught and torn to pieces by dogs or cats. When
these animals were taken to the island of Mauritius, where the dodo
lived, they were allowed to run wild in the woods. They soon became
more like wolves and panthers than decent dogs and cats.
The dodo had never before seen any wild animals larger than rats or
squirrels. The dodos lived in peace and friendship with other birds and
small wild beasts. When ships began to visit the islands where the poor
dodos lived, men, dogs, and cats soon put an end to the gentle birds.
Lost, with the auk and dodo, we may count two kinds of beautiful
parrots, and a starling with a splendid crest, like an unfurled fan;
also a tall, handsome bird, called a rail, has been hunted out of
existence. But some other rails are still plentiful.
The last bird to disappear has been the great vulture of the Alps.
This was a big bird indeed. It was two yards wide across the outspread
wings. It lived on the high peaks of the Alps.
This bird had a large hooked beak and large strong claws. You know that
eagles and vultures are flesh eaters. This big vulture did not confine
its diet to dead flesh. It would pick up and carry off a little lamb.
It has been known, also, to carry off a baby child.
So, as this was a cruel and dangerous bird, I am glad it has gone from
the earth.
The garefowl, often called a penguin, is another lost bird. It was a
great bird, living on the coast. It had such small wings that it could
not fly. Thus you see it could not get away from dogs and wild animals,
except when it could take to the water.
When men joined in the hunt, the garefowl soon perished. Is it not
right, then, to kill birds for food? Yes. But they should never be
killed until the season is over when they are laying eggs and raising
the young brood. If old birds are killed before the young ones are
reared, you can see that the birds must soon die out.
Then, too, while birds may be killed for food, it is not right to kill
them for the mere pleasure of killing. It is wrong to find a pleasure
in taking away life. You should never waste the life of beast, bird,
insect, or plant.
I have seen people nearly destroy a variety of rare wild flower, by
tearing up masses of the plant before seeds had time to form. The
people took much that they did not need and soon threw away. Then only
few and small plants were left for seed.
We should remember that as we are not the first people on the earth, so
we shall not be the last, and we should not rob the future of things
that are pleasing to us. We should all try to make the earth richer and
better, not poorer, for our having been in it.
LESSON XL.
THE FIN FAMILY.
I remember when I thought that no living thing was of so little
interest as a fish. I used to wonder how it was that the great Agassiz
began his studies in Nature with fish. I did not think that fish were
even pretty.
I suppose that was because I knew nothing about them. When we are quite
ignorant of a subject, we are apt to think it has no interest.
One reason why, in these Nature Readers, I am telling you something
of many things is, that by knowing a little of these subjects, your
interest in them may be aroused. Then you will try to learn more; and
the more you know, the more you will enjoy.
[Illustration: IN THE COOL DEPTHS.]
Once, if you had asked me, “What is a fish?” I should have said, “Oh, a
fish is a long thing, with scales and fins; and it lives in the water!”
How many of you can tell me anything more than that? Perhaps you will
add that a fish is good to eat.
Well, one day I went into a house where there was a great glass tank.
It was like a glass room full of water. As I stood looking in through
the glass side of this tank, I saw, gliding through the water, a large,
lovely creature, in silver and rose color. It had big black eyes, set
in a golden ring.
This creature seemed to move without the least effort. It made no
sound. It slid by me like the figures in a beautiful dream. It rose. It
turned. It sank,--and all without seeming to exert itself in the least.
I saw no effort at motion; but now and then a tremor of a forked tail,
and now and then the gentle wave to and fro of a pair of gleaming,
thin, silken things, like fans, half unfurled.
This, then, was a fish at home! Here was a fish living in the water,
and doing as it pleased. The clear water added to its beauty. It shone
like a gem. Other creatures, as beautiful, but different, lived with
it. They crossed and recrossed each other’s course. They left no track.
They had no path. They moved on, far more easily than a bird moves in
the air, or a man on the land.
From that day I loved the fin family. Let us look at this family.
I told you that a bird is built on the plan of a boat to sail in the
air. The fish, also, is built on the boat plan. He is a boat to move
not _on_, but _in_, the water.
Perhaps this is not a fair way of speaking; for birds and fish were
made long before men. And no doubt men built their boats on the plan of
the water-birds and the fish.
The fishes vary much in shape and size. We will speak now of the
ordinary fish type. We will take a model or pattern fish, such as the
perch or the mackerel.
The head is sharp and wedge-shaped. It serves as the prow of the boat,
to divide the water. The body is long, narrow, smooth. It has scales
lapping over each other, and are all turned from the head toward the
tail.
The tail is like the rudder of a boat, to direct its course. It serves
also as the paddle, or propeller, to drive it through the water. There
is a long slim fin on each side, just below and behind the head. These
serve as balances, and, also, sometimes as oars.
There is a long fin, sometimes there are two fins, on the ridge of the
back. There are also two fins on the lower line of the body. These
steady the fish in the water. They help to keep it, as you would say,
“right side up.” There are two more fins under the body, near the tail.
What you call the tail is really a fin. The true tail is the narrow end
of the body, just above this final fin.
Let us look at the head. Just on the front is the mouth. It has plenty
of teeth. I shall tell you of these teeth in another lesson, when I
tell you about the scales. Just above and behind the mouth are the
eyes, one on each side of the head. They never have any eyelids.
Below and back of the eyes are the gills and gill-covers. Gills are
wonderful things, which serve the fish for lungs. These gills can take,
or sift, out of the water, the oxygen of the air that is mixed with the
water.
The fish takes the water in at his mouth. Then, by a motion like
swallowing, he drives it out through the gills; and the gills sift out
the oxygen, as the water passes through them. Fish need that part of
air called oxygen to purify their blood, just as you need it.
If fish are kept in a vase where the water is not renewed, they soon
die for lack of oxygen. If they are put into water which has been
boiled, they die, because boiling has driven out the oxygen.
Perhaps you have been told that fish breathe water, as you breathe air.
That is not true. Fish breathe air, but the air must be sifted through
their fine gills. When you pull a fish out of water, he pants and
struggles and cannot get his breath. His fine gills stick together,
and cannot do their work. So the fish chokes to death. His panting
action is an effort to get air.
Fish with the thinnest and finest gills, as herring, choke very soon.
A carp, perch, or other fish that have gill-covers that will hold
moisture, and gills that will keep wet a long time, will live one, two,
or more hours in the air.
Fish have inside the body an air-bladder, or bag of air. This may help
them in breathing, but its chief use is to keep them up in the water.
The bladder lies under the backbone. This backbone runs from the head
to the tail of the fish. It is made of little pieces like cups. Each
piece has two or more long spines, like ribs, on each side of it.
The bony frame of a fish is very curious. You should try to have a
fish skeleton to look at. There are little bones that extend from each
division of the fins. You will see that the skeleton looks somewhat
like the ribs or frame of a boat before the planks are put on.
The bright color and gleam of the fish is in the scales. I will tell
you of these later. The scales are like a rich, flexible suit of armor.
Fish have cold blood, not warm like yours. They have very keen sight
and smell. Probably they have good hearing, and but little sense of
touch or taste. They have small brains, and not very much intelligence.
LESSON XLI.
OUTSIDE AND INSIDE.
If I ask you what is the largest of all fish, you will say “a whale.”
But let me tell you that a whale is not a fish. A whale is an animal
that spends all its time _in_ the water, but cannot live constantly
_under_ water. If cast ashore it will die, because it has no means of
getting back into the water, and no food on the land.