It seems strange that any birds should stay with us during the cold and
frost when there is so much food which they like in the southern part of
our country. Men of science wonder why they do remain here, and are
unable to account for it. Perhaps it is because it is the true home of
these birds which remain, and they prefer to search long and diligently
for their scanty food, and bear the cold and the winds and the frost,
rather than leave it. This is as _we_ should do, and doubtless the birds
that stay through the winter love _their_ homes just as much--as a bird
possibly can.
Of course everybody,--that is, everybody except the tiniest, wee baby,
has seen the winter birds, some of them; at least the Chickadees, the
Snow-birds, and Downy Woodpeckers, and Bluejays and Shore larks. _But are
you acquainted with the little fellows?_ Do you know where and how they
live, and what they eat, and of their habits and songs?
[Illustration: THE CHICKADEE.]
A great favorite of mine is the Chickadee, with his black cap and white
shirt bosom. This active little gentleman is the most social and friendly
of them all. If out in the country, this little fellow in company with
his mates will twitter gaily at sight of you, every now and then looking
curiously at you as if asking, "And who are _you_, sir?" or "Who are
_you_, ma'am?" and pecking his way gradually nearer and nearer will
inspect you in the quaintest and merriest way. Afraid! O no, not they.
Mr. Samuels, a writer about birds, says that he once had an inquisitive
little Chickadee perch on the end of his boot and sit there watching him
inquiringly. They have even been known to feed from the open hand. If you
will daily scatter some crumbs for them before the door, or upon the
window-sill, you will learn for yourselves how neighborly they are.
Still the Chickadees are strangely tender, needing a warm, cosy nest to
shield their little bodies. They cannot make their nests on the limbs of
trees. Oh, no, that wouldn't do, for the first thing they knew the wind
would blow, blow, and down would come their home. So they hunt around in
the woods or along the rails and posts, for the nests in the wood that
have been deserted by the woodpecker, who has flown away to a milder
clime. If the Chickadees can not find these, they set to work themselves
and with great labor dig a hole in a tree, or post, for their winter
quarters. They prefer decayed trunks or posts so they can work more
easily. To the bottom of their holes they bring pieces of wool, moss, and
feathers or hair, and weave warm carpets and curtains to make cosy their
little homes.
The Chickadees are very active, lively little things. They are always in
motion; now hopping along in search of food, sending forth the peculiar
cry that gives them their name, and then alighting on the tree limbs and
moving from one tree to another "traversing," as Wilson, a great
authority on birds, says, "the woods in regular procession from tree to
tree, and in this manner traveling several miles a day." They are very
strong for their size, and will hang below a limb supported by their
claws, with their head downwards, which we should think would make them
dizzy, but it does not seem to.
These little roamers of our roads and woods are so genial, companionable
and social, that not only do _we_ enjoy their society, but other birds
are enchanted with them and seek their company. The Chickadees do not
object. And so Brown Creepers, Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, and other
birds, often join them in their merry rambles and scrambles. They feed
mostly on very small insects and eggs, such as infest the bark of trees,
but will eat almost anything offered them; even meat they will peck from
a bone.
Pleasant, indeed, in the midst of winter is this little bird's cry:
"_Chick-a-dee-dee-dee! Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!_"
Pleasant his sharp whistle:
"_Pe-wee! Pe-wee! Pe-wee!_"
How much we should miss these amiable favorites should they ever take a
notion to desert us! They stay with us throughout the year, but in summer
they are shyer than in winter for they rear their young then. It is not
until their family cares are over in the autumn, that they gather in
small flocks and resume their merry life and social ways.
[Illustration: THE BLACK SNOW-BIRD.]
Another very interesting and neighborly winter bird is our familiar
Snow-bird, often called the "Black Snow-bird" to distinguish it from the
Snow Bunting or "White Snow-bird."
These tiny birds visit us from the north. Their journeys extend over the
whole breadth of the United States. They appear here in the latter part
of October, and are first seen among the decaying leaves near the borders
of the woods, in flocks of about thirty. If molested, they at once fly to
the trees. As the weather becomes colder they approach nearer the
farm-houses and towns.
They are real weather prophets. When a storm is near at hand they gather
together in large flocks, and work very, very diligently in search of
food,--doubtless making provision for the time of wind and storm when
they can get none.
But it is after the snow-storms, when the ground is white with the downy
flakes, that the Snow-birds become the most friendly. How pleasant it is
then to see them gather about the house, and around the barn and
out-houses, to search for edibles. Not only then do they appear in the
country-places, but even in the crowded city their little forms may be
seen in multitudes, on the snowy streets and in the windows.
They build their nests near the ground, often on a stump or log, or in a
deep thicket, in such a manner as to be shielded from the wind and
storms. They construct their homes from bits of fine grasses and leaves,
and it is interesting to observe what wonderful architects they are.
The Snow-birds, I am sorry to say, though friendly with us are not, like
the little Chickadees, peaceful among themselves. They are often very
quarrelsome, and will peck at each other in a way that little birds
should not. Perhaps they "make up" with one another and are good friends
again. I hope so.
The Snow-birds are very nimble on the ground, and, I guess, can eat
faster and more for their size than any other winter bird. It is a very
funny sight to see them scratch away the snow with their tiny feet to get
their food, which, when insects and eggs are not to be had, is the seeds
of many kinds of weeds that still rise above the snow, and along the
border of the roads.
Sometimes, perhaps, you have come upon a dead Snow-bird in the morning
following a cold night, and perhaps have wondered if the poor little
creature froze to death, and why he did not die at home. But the
Snow-birds are sometimes affected with a dizziness or faintness which
makes them fall from the limbs, or during their flight. _What_ makes them
dizzy or faint, we do not know; not from hanging head downwards like the
little Chickadees, surely. But they often, alas! come to their death
through this affection.
The snow-birds have a peculiar cry of "_Chuck! chuck!_"--and another of
"_Chit, chit-a-sit!_" which however, they seldom utter except when taking
flight. They stay with us until about the 29th of April, when they wing
away to the north or to the higher ranges of our mountains.
Somewhat similar to the Snow-birds are the Snow Buntings or "White
Snow-birds." They appear every winter in large flocks, often of many
thousands. They are sometimes called "bad weather birds," from the fact
of their moving to the northward during fine weather and to the southward
on the advent of deep snow-storms. They are much shyer than either the
Chickadees or Snow-birds; but they are often seen on the roadsides and in
the lanes searching for the seeds of weeds that grow there. On the
sea-shore, which they greatly frequent, they live on small shellfish. It
is curious that the greater the snow and the colder the weather of
winter, the whiter do the Snow-Buntings appear.
They are very swift flyers, and often in flocks of great numbers seem to
be a cloud of snow-flakes driven before a storm. They make their nests in
the fissures of the rocks, forming from grass, and feathers, and the down
of the Arctic fox, a very cosey home. They frequent the roads and lanes
in the vicinity of Boston, and their white forms and busy beaks can be
seen throughout the winter season.
[Illustration: THE SNOW BUNTING.]
They have peculiar notes like a clear whistle, and a "_chirr, chirr!_"
which they utter when flying.
A very fine little bird quite common in this State in the winter season,
is the Brown Creeper, with its showy brown and white coat. These active
little creatures are great lovers of the woods and pass their lives among
the trees.
Unlike the Chickadees and Nuthatches, who also are partial to the woods,
they very rarely descend to the ground to either hop about or hunt for
food. Nor do they, like the two former birds, ever hang to a limb with
their heads downward.
Still the Brown Creeper seems to be constantly in activity, and hunts
most diligently for the insects it feeds upon. This it does somewhat in
the manner of the Woodpecker, by clinging to the trunks or branches of
trees, supporting itself by its stiff tail-feathers and thus moving about
quite securely.
[Illustration: THE BROWN CREEPER.]
They are very methodical. They strive to get every insect from a tree
that there is on it, before leaving for another. So they generally alight
near the foot of a tree and gradually climb to the top; an insect must be
very, very small to escape their piercing gaze.
They often work around a tree in spirals, and so are at times lost to the
sight of an observer of their ways; and if the watcher runs around to the
other side of the tree, very likely by the time he gets there, lo! they
are back to the former side.
But they are not at all shy, and though not as neighborly and social as
the Chickadee, or Snow-bird, still they will not fly away from the
presence of unmolesting persons.
The Brown Creeper has not the bill suitable to excavate a hole for
himself, so he is obliged to find a hollow trunk, a squirrel's nest, or a
deserted Woodpecker's home. Here the little bird builds a nest of dry
twigs and lays its pretty eggs.
As the mid-winter cold deepens they retire to the depths of the woods, or
into the brown and sheltered thickets, where their little cry of "_Chip,
chip_," and "_Cree, cree, cree_," may be frequently heard; and very
pleasant it is, too. Very useful they are, these little Brown Creepers,
as well as the Chickadees and Nuthatches, for they help preserve our
beautiful trees and shrubbery from the destroying worms and insects.
I have mentioned the Nuthatches. These birds, a little larger than the
others before noticed, are not so numerous as the Chickadees and
Snow-birds, but they are very interesting. The name of Nuthatches was
given to them long ago, because it was supposed they broke the wood nuts
by repeated _hatchings_ or hammerings with their bills. But now men of
science, who study birds, do not think that is true, and believe the
Nuthatches to be wrongly named.
[Illustration: NUTHATCHES.]
It was also thought that the Nuthatches, like the squirrels, lay up in
the summer a store of nuts for their winter use. But this also is
doubted, since the Nuthatch will climb along the trees and limbs in
search of insects and larvæ when the tree hangs full of nuts. So it is
thought their principal food is composed of ants, seeds of various
shrubbery, bugs and insects.
While the female bird is sitting on her eggs, the male Nuthatch displays
a great deal of care and affection, supplying her regularly with the
choicest food he can collect. With this he flies away to the mouth of the
hole where they have established their home, and calls to her so
tenderly, offering her the delicacy he has brought. He seems to call to
her sometimes, simply to inquire how she is, and to soothe her labors
with his incessant chatter. Seldom does he venture far from the nest, and
if any danger threatens he instantly flies back to alarm her.
The white-breasted Nuthatch is known by his cry of "_quank, quank_,"
repeated frequently as he keeps moving along the branches of a tree,
piercing the bark with his bill and breaking off pieces in search of
insects and their larvæ.
This affectionate bird, like the little Chickadees, rests and roosts with
his head downwards; and also like them, is very curious and inquiring. If
you are in sight, he will gradually make his way to you and reconnoitre
your appearance, as if he would learn who you are.
There is also another bird of this species called the red-breasted
Nuthatch, who is seen in New England, in winter, and who leads a similar
life to his white-breasted relative.
[Illustration: THE DOWNY WOODPECKER.]
Though most of the many species of Woodpeckers leave us on the advent of
cold weather, still there are some that remain. My little readers, I am
certain, have nearly all seen the round homes of the Woodpecker. You may
observe them in almost any wood. They are about alike except in size and
situation. A round hole in a tree or post is all you will see from a
distance; but if you can climb,--for their holes are usually more than
six feet from the ground,--you may look down into the deep home itself.
How much patience and perseverance they must have to dig, bit by bit,
such straight deep nests. These holes are seldom lined with any thing,
but are generally enlarged at the bottom so as to give the family more
"elbow room."
The one we know best in winter is the Downy Woodpecker, the prettiest and
smallest of the tribe. It builds its nest in various trees, preferring
the apple-tree, poplar and birches. Its hole is smaller than those of
other woodpeckers because, I suppose, the bird itself is so much smaller
that he can do with less room.
The Downy Woodpeckers are very sociable; and although they themselves are
not gregarious, you may often see them followed by Chickadees, Creepers,
Nuthatches and Wrens, whose company they appear to be pleased with.
They are not shy of man, but, unlike most of their tribe, haunt
roadsides, orchards, and grounds about houses and out-buildings, which
they prefer to the deep forests. They are generally seen in pairs, and
are very active little birdies. In searching for food, insects and eggs,
they move from tree to tree and thus pass the day. They rarely alight on
the ground. Their ordinary cry is a "_Chick_, _chick_," repeated rapidly.
A somewhat larger Woodpecker, called the Hairy Woodpecker, is also an
inhabitant of our woods in winter and much like the Downy Woodpecker in
habits.
These are the principal and most common of our winter birds. There are
some others sometimes seen, such as the Tree-Sparrow, Blue-Jay and Golden
Crowned Wren, but space forbids an account of their ways and songs. I
hope what I have told you of the winter birds will induce you to study
and observe more closely their almost human ways.