DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOGRAPHIES

TREE SWALLOW

Length: About 6 inches.General Appearance: Bluish-green above; pure white underneath, from beak to tail;tail not deeply forked; wings very long.Male and Female: Back, a dark, glistening green, giving this swallow the name of “The Green-backed Swallow”; the snowy white under parts give it the names of “White-breasted Swallow” and “White-bellied Swallow.” The green and white are about equally distributed; the green on the head resembles a close-fitting skull-cap, pulled down below the eyes. Wings,very long and powerful(nearly 4¾ inches), extending beyond the ends of the forked tail. Bill short,very wide at base. Feet small and weak—used only when resting, as swallows are generally on the wing.Young: Brownish-gray, white beneath.Note: A pleasant twitter.Flight: Swift, in great circles.Habitat: Tree swallows are seen along roadsides, and near swamps and thickets. They formerly nested in dead trees, in woodpeckers’ holes, or any available hollow. They now take kindly to nesting-boxes. They have “roosts” at night where they resort in great numbers, especially on their way south in the late summer. They have a great fondness for telegraph-wires. During the fall migration, long chains of these swallows are festooned on the wires during the daytime. At night they disappear to their roosts, preferably near marshes. They are a sight to be rememberedin the Jersey marshes, which Mr. Horsfall’s accompanying drawing depicts.Range: North America from Alaska and northern Canada to southern California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia. They winter from central California, southern Texas, southern parts of the Gulf States and southeastern North Carolina, south over Mexico, Guatemala, and Cuba; sometimes in New Jersey. They eat bayberries that grow along the coast, and thus are able to remain farther north in winter than their relatives.

Length: About 6 inches.

General Appearance: Bluish-green above; pure white underneath, from beak to tail;tail not deeply forked; wings very long.

Male and Female: Back, a dark, glistening green, giving this swallow the name of “The Green-backed Swallow”; the snowy white under parts give it the names of “White-breasted Swallow” and “White-bellied Swallow.” The green and white are about equally distributed; the green on the head resembles a close-fitting skull-cap, pulled down below the eyes. Wings,very long and powerful(nearly 4¾ inches), extending beyond the ends of the forked tail. Bill short,very wide at base. Feet small and weak—used only when resting, as swallows are generally on the wing.

Young: Brownish-gray, white beneath.

Note: A pleasant twitter.

Flight: Swift, in great circles.

Habitat: Tree swallows are seen along roadsides, and near swamps and thickets. They formerly nested in dead trees, in woodpeckers’ holes, or any available hollow. They now take kindly to nesting-boxes. They have “roosts” at night where they resort in great numbers, especially on their way south in the late summer. They have a great fondness for telegraph-wires. During the fall migration, long chains of these swallows are festooned on the wires during the daytime. At night they disappear to their roosts, preferably near marshes. They are a sight to be rememberedin the Jersey marshes, which Mr. Horsfall’s accompanying drawing depicts.

Range: North America from Alaska and northern Canada to southern California, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Virginia. They winter from central California, southern Texas, southern parts of the Gulf States and southeastern North Carolina, south over Mexico, Guatemala, and Cuba; sometimes in New Jersey. They eat bayberries that grow along the coast, and thus are able to remain farther north in winter than their relatives.

First of the swallow host to speed northward is the Tree Swallow, that migrates in April, as soon as a sufficient number of insects have hatched to furnish a living for these almost wholly insectivorous birds. Their cheerful twitter and beautiful circling flight make them very welcome.

Swallows have always been regarded with favor. They were formerly considered a good omen, and were thought to bring fair weather and prosperity. I shall always remember the welcoming swallow that met our ship near the Scilly Islands one June day, and preceded us without resting for long hours as we voyaged close to the shore of England. It seemed to presage the good fortune that followed us.

Swallows fly with their broad beaks ready to open, and catch unwary insects with great ease. They rise early and continue their ceaseless quest for small beetles, flies, mosquitoes, and other insects. Professor Beal says: “Most of these are either injurious or annoying, and the numbers destroyed by swallows are not only beyond calculationbut almost beyond imagination.”[92]He pleads for the protection of all swallows and suggests that the “white-bellied swallows” be supplied with boxes similar to those constructed for bluebirds, only placed at a greater elevation and protected from cats.

Tree swallows are the first to come and first to go. Before the summer has really arrived, as early as July first, they begin to flock and form great colonies that may be seen migrating during the daytime.

Length: About 7 inches; an inch longer than the tree swallow because of longer tail; body nearly the same size.General Appearance:Upper parts a glossy bluish-black; under parts reddish-brown and buff; tail deeply forked.Male: Forehead and throat bright reddish-brown; breast, belly, and feathers under wings a light brown, becoming buffy; breast and throat separated by an indistinct dark band; upper parts a shimmering bluish-black; tail very deeply forked—the proverbial “swallow-tail”; rounded white spots on the inner web of all except the middle tail-feathers.Female: Resembles male, though paler in color; outer tail-feathers a little shorter.Young: Backs duller, breasts paler, tail-feathers shorter than those of adult male.Notes: A clear, sweet call, and a joyous, musical twitter—weet-weet, ortwit-twit.Flight: Long, sweeping curves that are beautiful to see. The bird shows first his blue back, then his soft brown breast. He flies nearer the ground than other swallows, and surpasses them all in his power of flight. Imagine the number of miles he travels in a day!Habitat: Fields and farm-lands; also the vicinity of ponds or other breeding-places of insects. The nest of mud is usually fastened to a rafter of a barn. These swallows often nest in colonies.Range: North America, from northwestern Alaska and Canada, to southern California and southwestern Texas, northern Arkansas and North Carolina. They do not breed in the southeastern part of the United States. They winter in South America.

Length: About 7 inches; an inch longer than the tree swallow because of longer tail; body nearly the same size.

General Appearance:Upper parts a glossy bluish-black; under parts reddish-brown and buff; tail deeply forked.

Male: Forehead and throat bright reddish-brown; breast, belly, and feathers under wings a light brown, becoming buffy; breast and throat separated by an indistinct dark band; upper parts a shimmering bluish-black; tail very deeply forked—the proverbial “swallow-tail”; rounded white spots on the inner web of all except the middle tail-feathers.

Female: Resembles male, though paler in color; outer tail-feathers a little shorter.

Young: Backs duller, breasts paler, tail-feathers shorter than those of adult male.

Notes: A clear, sweet call, and a joyous, musical twitter—weet-weet, ortwit-twit.

Flight: Long, sweeping curves that are beautiful to see. The bird shows first his blue back, then his soft brown breast. He flies nearer the ground than other swallows, and surpasses them all in his power of flight. Imagine the number of miles he travels in a day!

Habitat: Fields and farm-lands; also the vicinity of ponds or other breeding-places of insects. The nest of mud is usually fastened to a rafter of a barn. These swallows often nest in colonies.

Range: North America, from northwestern Alaska and Canada, to southern California and southwestern Texas, northern Arkansas and North Carolina. They do not breed in the southeastern part of the United States. They winter in South America.

BARN SWALLOW

Most beautiful of all the swallows is this bluebird fleet of the summer time. It is associated in my mind with shining pools rimmed with iris; with fragrant lilac-bushes, blossoming apple-trees, and waving fields of grain near farm-buildings. Its sweet voice and marvelous flight bring poetry into the prosaic life of the farm.

Burroughs characterizes the swallow delightfully in “Under the Maples.” He says: “Is not the swallow one of the oldest and dearest of birds? Known to the poets and sages and prophets of all peoples! So infantile, so helpless and awkward upon the earth, so graceful and masterful on the wing, the child and darling of the summer air, reaping its invisible harvest in the fields of space as if it dined on sunbeams, touching no earthly food, drinking and bathing and mating on the wing, swiftly, tirelessly coursing the long day through, a thought on wings, a lyric in the shape of a bird! Only in the free fields of the summer air could it have got that steel-blue of the wings and that warm tan of the breast. Of course I refer to the barn swallow. The cliff swallow seems less a child of the sky and sun, probably because its sheen and glow are less, and its shape and motions less arrowy. More varied in color, its hues yet lack the intensity, and its flight the swiftness, of those of its brother of the hay-lofts. The tree swallows and the bank swallows are pleasing, but they are much more local and restricted in their ranges than the barn-frequenters. As a farm boy I did not know them at all, but the barn swallows the summeralways brought. After all, there is but one swallow; the others are particular kinds that we specify.”[93]

PURPLE MARTIN

Length: About 8 inches, the largest of the six common species of swallow. Wings nearly 6 inches long—very large when spread.Male:Glossy purplish-black head, body, and shoulders; wings and tail duller. No reddish-brown or white. Tail forked.Female: Bluish-black head and back; black wings and tail; brownish-gray throat, neck, and sides, mottled with white-tipped feathers; belly, grayish-white.Young: Similar to female.Note: A sweet, rich, joyous warble. Mr. Forbush describes it as “a full-toned chirruping carol, musical and clear, beginningpeuo-peuo-peuo.”[94]Habitat: Farm-lands and the vicinity of dwellings shaded by trees. These birds were formerly more numerous in the North than at present. They are more abundant in the South than in the North.Nests: Made of twigs, grass, straw, or leaves, placed in gourds or martin-houses. Martins are very social and seem to revel in large “bird-apartment-houses.” They formerly nested in hollow trees or caves.Range: North and South America, except Pacific Coast region. They breed in southern Canada, east of the Rockies; in the United States from Montana and Idaho, south to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Mexico. They winter in Brazil. AWESTERN MARTINis found on the Pacific Coast.

Length: About 8 inches, the largest of the six common species of swallow. Wings nearly 6 inches long—very large when spread.

Male:Glossy purplish-black head, body, and shoulders; wings and tail duller. No reddish-brown or white. Tail forked.

Female: Bluish-black head and back; black wings and tail; brownish-gray throat, neck, and sides, mottled with white-tipped feathers; belly, grayish-white.

Young: Similar to female.

Note: A sweet, rich, joyous warble. Mr. Forbush describes it as “a full-toned chirruping carol, musical and clear, beginningpeuo-peuo-peuo.”[94]

Habitat: Farm-lands and the vicinity of dwellings shaded by trees. These birds were formerly more numerous in the North than at present. They are more abundant in the South than in the North.

Nests: Made of twigs, grass, straw, or leaves, placed in gourds or martin-houses. Martins are very social and seem to revel in large “bird-apartment-houses.” They formerly nested in hollow trees or caves.

Range: North and South America, except Pacific Coast region. They breed in southern Canada, east of the Rockies; in the United States from Montana and Idaho, south to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Mexico. They winter in Brazil. AWESTERN MARTINis found on the Pacific Coast.

Purple Martins have long been favorites. Mr. Dutcher tells us that Indians, keen observers ofnature, realized that it was beneficial to have them near their long-houses. They therefore hung hollowed gourds to entice them. Southern negroes have done likewise. They sometimes suspend a number of gourds from crossbars surmounting a pole, to form nesting-sites for a small colony.

Martins form an ideal community—busy, happy, harmonious—unless English sparrows attempt to evict them and appropriate their homes. Martin-houses and bluebird nesting-boxes seem to be the envy of these pugnacious sparrows. Martins attack crows and hawks but cannot endure the persecutions of the English sparrow.

Martins are so useful that they should be protected and encouraged whenever possible. A friend of mine told me that she was never obliged to have her trees sprayed while the martins remained. They feed on wasps, bugs, and beetles, several varieties of which are harmful, and they devour many flies and moths.

Dr. Dutcher quotes from Audubon regarding the flight of martins as follows:

“The usual flight of this bird ... although graceful and easy, cannot be compared in swiftness with that of the Barn Swallow. Yet the martin is fully able to distance any bird not of its own genus. They are very expert at bathing and drinking while on the wing, when over a large lake or river, giving a sudden motion to the hind part of the body, as it comes in contact with the water, thus dipping themselves in it, and then rising and shaking their body, like a water spaniel, to throw off the water.”[95]

Length: About 6 inches; one inch smaller than the barn swallow, and two inches smaller than the martin.General Appearance: A multi-colored swallow—a sort of combination of barn swallow and martin, with areas and patches of dark blue, chestnut, gray, and white, andbright reddish-brown upper tail-coverts, that differentiate it from the other swallows.Male and Female: Forehead creamy white, head bluish-black; throat and cheeks reddish-brown; a brownish ring about the neck shading to gray; back bluish-black streaked with white; breast gray with a wash of brown, and a blue-black patch where the throat joins the breast; wings and tail brownish; tail only slightly forked.Note: A harsher, less musical note than that of the barn swallow and martin.Habitat: Meadows and marshes. These swallows formerly nested in cliffs; now they build under eaves of buildings.Nests: Curiously shaped pouches of mud that make one think of protuberant knot-holes, or of flasks made of skin. The nests vary with the shape of the places to which they are fastened. Eave swallows also nest in colonies.Range: North America. Breed from central Alaska and north-central Canada over nearly all the United States except Florida and the Rio Grande Valley. They probably winter in Brazil and Argentina.

Length: About 6 inches; one inch smaller than the barn swallow, and two inches smaller than the martin.

General Appearance: A multi-colored swallow—a sort of combination of barn swallow and martin, with areas and patches of dark blue, chestnut, gray, and white, andbright reddish-brown upper tail-coverts, that differentiate it from the other swallows.

Male and Female: Forehead creamy white, head bluish-black; throat and cheeks reddish-brown; a brownish ring about the neck shading to gray; back bluish-black streaked with white; breast gray with a wash of brown, and a blue-black patch where the throat joins the breast; wings and tail brownish; tail only slightly forked.

Note: A harsher, less musical note than that of the barn swallow and martin.

Habitat: Meadows and marshes. These swallows formerly nested in cliffs; now they build under eaves of buildings.

Nests: Curiously shaped pouches of mud that make one think of protuberant knot-holes, or of flasks made of skin. The nests vary with the shape of the places to which they are fastened. Eave swallows also nest in colonies.

Range: North America. Breed from central Alaska and north-central Canada over nearly all the United States except Florida and the Rio Grande Valley. They probably winter in Brazil and Argentina.

Mr. Forbush writes about the Cliff or Eave Swallow as follows:

“When the first explorers reached the Yellowstone and other western rivers, swallows were found breeding on the precipitous banks. As settlers gradually worked their way westward, the swallows found nesting-places under the eaves of their rough buildings. In these new breeding-places they were better protected from the elements and their enemies than on their native cliffs and so the Cliff Swallow became the Eave Swallow, and, following the settlements, rapidly increased in numbers and worked eastward.”[96]These swallows were very numerous fifty years ago. It is now generally conceded that English sparrows are largely responsible for their decrease. It is greatly to be deplored, for swallows add much to the charm of out-door life, and subtract many annoyances in the form of insect pests, especially flies and mosquitoes.

Length: A little over 5 inches; the smallest of the six common swallows.General Appearance:Brownish-gray above; band of same color across breast; throat and under parts white. The gray head and white throat form a cap similar in effect to that of the tree swallow.Note: A twitter, less pleasing than that of the martin and the barn swallow.Habitat: Sandy banks of rivers, and shores of lakes.Nests: In holes made in sand-banks.Range: North and South America. Breeds from the tree-regions of Alaska and Canada to southern California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia. It migrates through Mexico and Central America and probably winters in northern South America to Brazil and Peru.

Length: A little over 5 inches; the smallest of the six common swallows.

General Appearance:Brownish-gray above; band of same color across breast; throat and under parts white. The gray head and white throat form a cap similar in effect to that of the tree swallow.

Note: A twitter, less pleasing than that of the martin and the barn swallow.

Habitat: Sandy banks of rivers, and shores of lakes.

Nests: In holes made in sand-banks.

Range: North and South America. Breeds from the tree-regions of Alaska and Canada to southern California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and Virginia. It migrates through Mexico and Central America and probably winters in northern South America to Brazil and Peru.

TheROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWresembles the bank swallow so closely that it is difficult to distinguish them, unless one can see the darker breast and throat of the rough-wing and theabsence of a dark band across the breast. Upon careful examination of the latter species, each long outer wing-feather is discovered to have a rough saw-tooth edge.

The habits of the birds are similar, though the rough-wings, like phœbes, nest not only in banks, but against stone walls and stone bridges. They have a more restricted range than barn swallows. They breed from southern Canada to northern Florida and southern California, and winter in Mexico and Central America.

Length: About 5½ inches; wings nearly 5 inches long.General Appearance: In the sky, the swift looks unlike any other bird. The wings are long and flap like those of a mechanical toy-bird. The tail appearsrounded, notforked, like those of swallows.Male and Female: Brownish-gray, lighter gray on throat; a black spot before each eye; wings longer than tail; tail short, with ribs of the feathers extending beyond the vanes, giving the effect of sharp needle- or pin-points. The bird has asootyappearance.Note: A noisy, incessant twitter.Flight: Rapid, and seemingly erratic and aimless. Swifts’ wings appear to beat the air alternately. The birds move in great curves, seldom alight, and drop suddenly into chimneys at night or when they wish to enter their nests.Nest: A wall-pocket, built of sticks glued together and to the wall by a sticky saliva secreted by the swifts. During rainy weather the nest is sometimes loosened, and falls.Eggs: White, like those of woodpeckers and some others laid in dark places.Habitat: As swifts secure all of their food while on the wing and seldom alight, they have no habitat except the atmosphere and the hollow trees or chimneys in which they congregate at night, and where they nest. They do not perch on telegraph wires as swallows like to do.Range: Breed in eastern North America, from southcentral Canada to the Gulf, and westward to the Plains; winter south of the United States.

Length: About 5½ inches; wings nearly 5 inches long.

General Appearance: In the sky, the swift looks unlike any other bird. The wings are long and flap like those of a mechanical toy-bird. The tail appearsrounded, notforked, like those of swallows.

Male and Female: Brownish-gray, lighter gray on throat; a black spot before each eye; wings longer than tail; tail short, with ribs of the feathers extending beyond the vanes, giving the effect of sharp needle- or pin-points. The bird has asootyappearance.

Note: A noisy, incessant twitter.

Flight: Rapid, and seemingly erratic and aimless. Swifts’ wings appear to beat the air alternately. The birds move in great curves, seldom alight, and drop suddenly into chimneys at night or when they wish to enter their nests.

Nest: A wall-pocket, built of sticks glued together and to the wall by a sticky saliva secreted by the swifts. During rainy weather the nest is sometimes loosened, and falls.

Eggs: White, like those of woodpeckers and some others laid in dark places.

Habitat: As swifts secure all of their food while on the wing and seldom alight, they have no habitat except the atmosphere and the hollow trees or chimneys in which they congregate at night, and where they nest. They do not perch on telegraph wires as swallows like to do.

Range: Breed in eastern North America, from southcentral Canada to the Gulf, and westward to the Plains; winter south of the United States.

CHIMNEY SWIFT

Swifts have often been called “Chimney Swallows,” but the name is a misnomer; they belong to an entirely different family. The breadth of wing and rapid flight, the weak feet and broad bills are, however, points of resemblance; the sooty appearance and lack of beautiful luster of plumage are points of difference. Then, too, swifts’ tails are less like swallows’ tails than they are like those of woodpeckers and creepers; the spiny tips are used as props against a perpendicular surface.

The following facts concerning swifts are taken from Eaton’s “Birds of New York”:

“Nearly every village or city [in New York State] can boast at least one large chimney or church or schoolhouse that harbors multitudes of swifts every night late in summer. It is an interesting sight to watch these swifts as they wheel about such a chimney in the August and September evenings and, when the magic moment arrives, pour down its capacious mouth in a living cascade. It seems impossible for this species to perch, but it always alights on some perpendicular surface like the inside of a large hollow tree or the inner surface of a chimney or the perpendicular boards at the gable end of a barn or shed. In this position it sleeps, clinging with its sharp claws to the irregular surface and using its spiny tail as a support. The swift is seen abroad early in the morning and late in the afternoon, but in cloudy weather comes out at any time of day and evidently can see well in the bright sunlight, for it frequently hunts material for its nest during the brightest weather. They begin to construct the nestin May or early June, the small twigs of which it is formed being broken from dead branches of some shade tree by the bird flying directly against the tip of the twig and snapping it off. The twigs are carried into the chimney and are cemented to the wall and to each other by a gelatinous substance secreted by the salivary glands of the bird itself. When completed, the nest is like a little semi-circular bracket slightly hollowed downward. The eggs are placed on this framework of twigs without lining.

“In food the swift is wholly insectivorous, and does an immense amount of good destroying beetles, flies, and gnats, which he devours in countless multitudes. The chimney swift, as he darts by, frequently utters a rapid chipper something like the syllablechip, chip, chip, rapidly repeated, and I have heard a loud cheeping in the chimney, evidently uttered by the young birds. One of the earliest impressions of my boyhood was the curious roaring caused by the wings of parent swifts as they came and went from their nests at daybreak. This unfortunate habit of early rising has brought the chimney swift into bad repute in many civilized communities, ... closing chimneys against this beneficial bird.”

In Major Charles Bendire’s “Life Histories of American Birds” occur the following statements from Mr. Otto Widman regarding the nests and young of chimney swifts: “The setting parent shields the structure by habitually covering its base with the breast and pressing its head against the wall above. When disturbed, it hides below the nest, as do the young birds. They make a hissing noise, and always remain 2 or 3 feet below the mouth of the chimney [shaft], where they are fed by the parents until they are four weeks old.

“Few birds are more devoted to their young than the Chimney Swift, and instances are recorded where the parent was seen to enter chimneys in burning houses, even after the entire roof was a mass of flames, preferring to perish with its offspring rather than to forsake them.”

Length: Nearly 10 inches; wings 7 inches long.General Appearance: Amottled brown bird with a narrow white band around throat, and white outer tail-feathers.“He seems a lichen on a log,A dead leaf on the ground.”Male and Female: Soft brown, irregularly mottled and barred with black, buff, and white. Throat dark with anarrow curve of whitein the male, and one ofbuffin the female. Beak short, slightly hooked, and very wide (1½ inches), with long bristles at the sides. Breast dark, belly white. Middle tail-feathers mottled brown;half of six other tail-feathers white, which are visible in flight. Female has narrower white tips to outer tail-feathers.Note:Whip′-poor-will, whip′-poor-will, whip′-poor-will, uttered rapidly, monotonously, lugubriously, continuously. My sister counted 275 repetitions of his note given without a pause. To some people the sound is unendurable. When near the bird, I have heard him give a softchuckbetween the repetition of the wordwhip-poor-will. He is associated in my mind with bright moonlight evenings, for it is then he is most vociferous. He sings, also, early in the morning.Flight: Swift, yet noiseless; almost as uncanny as his note.Habitat: In woods and open groves, where one may come upon him both at night and during the daytime sitting lengthwise on a log or branch instead of crosswise.WHIP-POOR-WILLNest: No nest is made, but two dull-colored, mottled eggs are laid on the ground or on dead leaves.Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from southern Canada to the northern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, and from the Plains eastward; winters from eastern South Carolina and the southern Gulf States to Central America. TheCHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOWis a resident of our southeastern states; thePOOR-WILLof our western states.

Length: Nearly 10 inches; wings 7 inches long.

General Appearance: Amottled brown bird with a narrow white band around throat, and white outer tail-feathers.

“He seems a lichen on a log,A dead leaf on the ground.”

“He seems a lichen on a log,

A dead leaf on the ground.”

Male and Female: Soft brown, irregularly mottled and barred with black, buff, and white. Throat dark with anarrow curve of whitein the male, and one ofbuffin the female. Beak short, slightly hooked, and very wide (1½ inches), with long bristles at the sides. Breast dark, belly white. Middle tail-feathers mottled brown;half of six other tail-feathers white, which are visible in flight. Female has narrower white tips to outer tail-feathers.

Note:Whip′-poor-will, whip′-poor-will, whip′-poor-will, uttered rapidly, monotonously, lugubriously, continuously. My sister counted 275 repetitions of his note given without a pause. To some people the sound is unendurable. When near the bird, I have heard him give a softchuckbetween the repetition of the wordwhip-poor-will. He is associated in my mind with bright moonlight evenings, for it is then he is most vociferous. He sings, also, early in the morning.

Flight: Swift, yet noiseless; almost as uncanny as his note.

Habitat: In woods and open groves, where one may come upon him both at night and during the daytime sitting lengthwise on a log or branch instead of crosswise.

WHIP-POOR-WILL

Nest: No nest is made, but two dull-colored, mottled eggs are laid on the ground or on dead leaves.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from southern Canada to the northern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, and from the Plains eastward; winters from eastern South Carolina and the southern Gulf States to Central America. TheCHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOWis a resident of our southeastern states; thePOOR-WILLof our western states.

The whip-poor-will is too interesting and useful a bird to be disregarded. He has been widely disliked and even superstitiously dreaded because of his weird notes. He is, however, of especial interest to scientists because of his nocturnal habits and his value as a destroyer of insects. Mr. Forbush calls him “an animated insect trap,” with an “enormous mouth surrounded by long bristles which form a wide fringe about the yawning cavity.”[97]The whip-poor-will is believed to be the greatest enemy of night-moths; he eats other insects, also, in great quantities.

The chuck-will’s-widow is even more interesting than the whip-poor-will. Mr. W. L. McAtee writes of the bird as follows:

“Like other species of its family, it lays only two eggs, which may be deposited almost anywhere on the forest floor, there being no nest. Intrusion on this spot usually results in the bird moving the eggs, which it carries in its mouth. Although the bird is only 12 inches long, the mouth fully extended forms an opening at least 2 by 3½ inches in size. It is but natural, therefore, that the bird should prey upon some of the largest insects. Not onlyare large insects captured and swallowed, but even small birds, in two cases warblers.

“Despite the fact that the chuck-will’s-widow occasionally devours small insectivorous birds, it must be reckoned a useful species. It is probable that birds are not deliberately sought, but that they are taken instinctively, as would be a moth or other large insect coming within reach of that capacious mouth.”[98]

NIGHTHAWK

Length: 10 inches; wings 7¾ inches.General Appearance: A large dark bird, with awhite throat,a white band across the tail, andvery long wings, on each of which is alarge white spot or bull’s-eye, unfortunately a target, like the white rump of the flicker.Male: Black above, mottled with buff and white; under parts lighter (becoming whitish), barred with black; throat with a tent-shaped white patch below thevery widebill; upper breast black; tail notched, a white band extending across it near the end except on the middle tail-feathers; wing with a conspicuous area of white about half-way between the curve and tip, when outspread.Female: Throat buff; under parts buffy; no white on the tail.Note: A loudpeeng-peeng; uttered at frequent intervals while on the wing.Flight: Very swift, with numerous and rapid changes of direction. The bird is very active at nightfall. It makes rapid descents not unlike those made by an airplane; it has a habit of dropping “like a bolt from the blue.”Habitat: The nighthawk is a “bird of the air” rather than of treetops or ground. It may be seen in cities flying above houses in search of its insect prey at sunset and during the night.Nest: No nest, but two speckled eggs are laid on the ground or on a roof where they are not easily discovered. Mr. Forbush says, “The nighthawk has deposited itseggs on gravel roofs in cities for at least forty years and probably longer.”Young: Dr. F. H. Herrick tells us that the nestlings are “clothed in down” and “look like two little flattened balls of fluffy worsted of a dark cream-color mottled with brown.”Range: Eastern and central North America. Breeds from Manitoba, southern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia south to northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, and from eastern North Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas eastward; winters from the lowlands of South Carolina and southern parts of the Gulf States to British Honduras and Salvador.

Length: 10 inches; wings 7¾ inches.

General Appearance: A large dark bird, with awhite throat,a white band across the tail, andvery long wings, on each of which is alarge white spot or bull’s-eye, unfortunately a target, like the white rump of the flicker.

Male: Black above, mottled with buff and white; under parts lighter (becoming whitish), barred with black; throat with a tent-shaped white patch below thevery widebill; upper breast black; tail notched, a white band extending across it near the end except on the middle tail-feathers; wing with a conspicuous area of white about half-way between the curve and tip, when outspread.

Female: Throat buff; under parts buffy; no white on the tail.

Note: A loudpeeng-peeng; uttered at frequent intervals while on the wing.

Flight: Very swift, with numerous and rapid changes of direction. The bird is very active at nightfall. It makes rapid descents not unlike those made by an airplane; it has a habit of dropping “like a bolt from the blue.”

Habitat: The nighthawk is a “bird of the air” rather than of treetops or ground. It may be seen in cities flying above houses in search of its insect prey at sunset and during the night.

Nest: No nest, but two speckled eggs are laid on the ground or on a roof where they are not easily discovered. Mr. Forbush says, “The nighthawk has deposited itseggs on gravel roofs in cities for at least forty years and probably longer.”

Young: Dr. F. H. Herrick tells us that the nestlings are “clothed in down” and “look like two little flattened balls of fluffy worsted of a dark cream-color mottled with brown.”

Range: Eastern and central North America. Breeds from Manitoba, southern Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia south to northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia, and from eastern North Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas eastward; winters from the lowlands of South Carolina and southern parts of the Gulf States to British Honduras and Salvador.

The nighthawk is a remarkable bird. Because of its nocturnal habits, it has been regarded with superstitious awe. Erroneous ideas of it have been entertained, and it has received a name that belies it. It is not ahawkat all; it preys only on insects, not on chickens or small rodents.

Mr. W. L. McAtee writes: “Nighthawks are so expert in flight that no insects can escape them. They sweep up in their capacious mouths everything from the largest moths and dragon flies to the tiniest ants and gnats, and in this way sometimes gather most remarkable collections of insects. Several stomachs have contained fifty or more different kinds, and the numbers of individuals may run into the thousands. Nearly a fourth of the bird’s total food consists of ants.”[99]Professor Beal estimated that the stomachs of eighty-seven nighthawks which he examined “contained not less than twenty thousand ants, and these were not half of the insect contents.”[100]Mr. Forbush claims that the nighthawk “ranks next to the flicker in the destruction of ants, and it takes them when they are flying and about to propagate.”[101]

It has a fondness for fireflies, also. Dr. Herrick made careful observation of the habits of nighthawks, and the manner of feeding their young. He writes of seeing a mother-bird “loaded with fireflies.” He says: “As her great mouth opened you beheld wide jaws and throat brilliantly illuminated like a spacious apartment all aglow with electricity. She made an electrical display at every utterance of her harshke-ark. Then standing over her young, with raised and quivering wings, she put her bill down into his throat and pumped him full. She then tucked the little one under her breast and began to brood. She repeated the performance, after which she settled down to brood as if for the night. This young bird was fed but twice each evening between the hours of eight and nine o’clock, and always, as I believe, by the female. It is quite probable that another feeding occurs also at dawn. The male would sometimes swoop down and once he sat by the chick for ten minutes after dusk. The task of feeding was borne by the mother.”[102]

Length: About 4¾ inches.Male and Female: Cinnamon-brown above, reddish-brown on the rump and tail. Back with fine indistinct bars; wings and tail with heavier bars; under parts grayish-white washed with brown, lighter on throat and breast; sides, and feathers under tail, barred with black; tail frequently held upright.Notes: Sharp scolding notes.Song: A sweet bubbling song. The notes are poured forth with joyous abandon and tireless energy.Habitat: Near the homes of man preferably, though in the winter many house wrens are found in southern woods. They dart in and out of wood-piles and brush-heaps, run along walls and fences, and seek shrubbery, vines, and orchards.Nest: Of small sticks, lined with root-fibers or grasses, placed in a hollow of a tree, in a nesting-box, or some out-of-the-way place, such as a flower-pot, tin-can, discarded shoe, old hat, etc.Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from southeastern Canada, eastern Wisconsin and Michigan, southward to Kentucky and Virginia; winters in eastern Texas, and in the South Atlantic and Gulf States.

Length: About 4¾ inches.

Male and Female: Cinnamon-brown above, reddish-brown on the rump and tail. Back with fine indistinct bars; wings and tail with heavier bars; under parts grayish-white washed with brown, lighter on throat and breast; sides, and feathers under tail, barred with black; tail frequently held upright.

Notes: Sharp scolding notes.

Song: A sweet bubbling song. The notes are poured forth with joyous abandon and tireless energy.

Habitat: Near the homes of man preferably, though in the winter many house wrens are found in southern woods. They dart in and out of wood-piles and brush-heaps, run along walls and fences, and seek shrubbery, vines, and orchards.

Nest: Of small sticks, lined with root-fibers or grasses, placed in a hollow of a tree, in a nesting-box, or some out-of-the-way place, such as a flower-pot, tin-can, discarded shoe, old hat, etc.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from southeastern Canada, eastern Wisconsin and Michigan, southward to Kentucky and Virginia; winters in eastern Texas, and in the South Atlantic and Gulf States.

Little “Jenny Wren” figured in our nursery tales and was one of the delights of our childhood, because of its diminutive size, its pert, cocked tail, its incessant activity, and its continuous chatter. No dull moments when a wren was near by!

Its nesting-habits make it interesting to young and old. Though loyal to a nesting-locality, it will make its neat nest in a great variety of places, such as boxes, empty jars, small pails, or gourds, if placed conveniently, or in wren-houses.

HOUSE WREN

Wrens are valiant defenders of their nests, but have been driven away from favorite nesting-places by quarrelsome English sparrows; consequently wrens are decreasing in number. Wren-houses with openings about an inch in diameter, too small for sparrows to enter, may help somewhat to check the decrease of these valuable insect-eating birds.

They are noisy little neighbors, a curious combination of joyousness and irritability. A pair of wrens that built a nest on the piazza of my brother’s home spent so much time in scolding and quarreling that they were almost unendurable. One morning they disappeared; a few hours later my brother found the drowned body of the female in a rain-barrel. Whether it was accident, murder, or suicide, no one knew, but within twenty-four hours a pleasanter-tempered Lady Wren appeared, swept and garnished the home of her predecessor, and set up house-keeping. A larger measure of peace reigned thereafter.

As songsters, wrens are very remarkable for volume of sound, for sweetness of tone, and for extreme ecstasy. I remember wakening about sunrise one morning in early June, when the spring chorus was at its climax. For about an hour, I had the joy of listening to a bird-concert more wonderful than any I had ever heard. After a time I distinguished the voices of the various familiar birds. Loudest, clearest, and sweetest of all rang the voice of the smallest member of the choir—that of the tiny house wren.

Length: About 3¾ inches; bill over ½ inch.Male: Iridescent green above; gray below, with a glint of green, especially on the sides; wings and tail brown, with slight iridescence; throat brilliant ruby,—brownish in some lights;tail forked.Female: Similar to male, butwithout ruby on throat, which is flecked with minute brownish spots;tail-feathers of nearly even length, outer feathers with white tips.Note: No song—only a faint squeak.Habitat: Open country; cultivated tracts of land, especially those overrun with vines; gardens, particularly those that contain trumpet-creepers and honey-suckles.Nest: One of the most exquisite nests made. It is in the shape of a tiny cup, covered with lichens and lined with soft materials. It is frequently placed so high on a branch as to be difficult to distinguish from an excrescence on the bough. The eggs look like white beans.Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from central Canada to the Gulf Coast and Florida; winters from central Florida and Louisiana through Southern Mexico and Central America to Panama.

Length: About 3¾ inches; bill over ½ inch.

Male: Iridescent green above; gray below, with a glint of green, especially on the sides; wings and tail brown, with slight iridescence; throat brilliant ruby,—brownish in some lights;tail forked.

Female: Similar to male, butwithout ruby on throat, which is flecked with minute brownish spots;tail-feathers of nearly even length, outer feathers with white tips.

Note: No song—only a faint squeak.

Habitat: Open country; cultivated tracts of land, especially those overrun with vines; gardens, particularly those that contain trumpet-creepers and honey-suckles.

Nest: One of the most exquisite nests made. It is in the shape of a tiny cup, covered with lichens and lined with soft materials. It is frequently placed so high on a branch as to be difficult to distinguish from an excrescence on the bough. The eggs look like white beans.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from central Canada to the Gulf Coast and Florida; winters from central Florida and Louisiana through Southern Mexico and Central America to Panama.

Hummingbirds are rightly in a family by themselves—they are unique. They are the smallest of our birds, and yet they possess a power of flight unsurpassed. Mr. Forbush says: “The little body, divested of its feathers, is no larger than the end of one’s finger, but the breast muscles which move the wings are enormous in proportion to the size of the bird. They form a large part of the entire trunk, and their power is such that they can vibrate the inch-long feathers of those little wings with such rapidity that the human eye can scarcely follow the bird when it is moved to rapid flight by fear or passion.”[103]

RUBY-THROATED HUMMING-BIRD

The wings do not seem to be made of feathers, but of gauze, like those of insects. I never really saw the feathers until I held a dead hummingbird in my hand. Its iridescent body seems made of burnished metal.

It is wonderful that so tiny a creature can wing its way from Central America to the heart of Canada. It seems to know no fear; it is quite able to defend itself with its long sharp bill. Mr. Forbush says: “The males fight with one another, and, secure in their unequalled powers of flight, they attack other and larger birds. When the Hummingbird says ‘Go!’ other birds stand not upon the order of their going, but go at once; while the little warrior sometimes accelerates their flight, for his sharp beak is a weapon not to be despised. Even the Kingbird goes when the war-like Hummer comes; the English Sparrow flees in terror; only the Woodpeckers stand their ground.”[103]

Hummingbirds are not only fearless and pugnacious, but they are very inquisitive. Major Bendire says: “I once occupied quarters that were completely covered with trumpet-vines, and when these were in bloom the place fairly swarmed with Ruby-throats. They were exceedingly inquisitive, and often poised themselves before an open window and looked in my rooms, full of curiosity, their bright little eyes sparkling like black beads. I caught several—by simply putting my hand over them,and while so imprisoned they never moved, and feigned death, but as soon as I opened my hand they were off like a flash. They seem to be especially partial to anything red.”[104]

Their fondness for honey-producing flowers has caused many people to believe that they live upon nectar and ambrosia, like the gods of the Greeks, but the Biological Survey, has, by close observation, discovered that they do not visit flowers wholly for the purpose of gathering honey, but for obtaining also small insects that have been drowned in a welter of sweetness. Professor Beal has observed them “hovering in front of a cobweb, picking off insects and perhaps spiders entangled in the net. They have also been observed to capture their food on the wing, like flycatchers. Stomach examination shows that a considerable portion of their food consists of insects and spiders.” Professor Beal continues: “Although hummingbirds are the smallest of the avian race, their stomachs are much smaller in proportion to their bodies than those of other birds, while their livers are much larger. This would indicate that these birds live to a considerable extent upon concentrated sweets, as stated above, and that the insects, spiders, etc., found in the stomachs do not represent by any means all their food.”[105]

A physician of my acquaintance owns a camp in the New Hampshire woods. A birch near his house was attacked by sapsuckers. Sap exuded plentifully and was eagerly sought by two red squirrels, a small swarm of bees, two sapsuckers, and seven hummingbirds. With hisglasses, the doctor observed the birds eating insects served in birch syrup.

Professor Beal reports having seen as many as one hundred hummingbirds “hovering about the flowers of a buckeye tree, and this number was maintained all day and for many days, though the individuals were going and coming all the time.” Burroughs once saw a hummingbird take his morning bath in dewdrops.

There are about five hundred known species of hummingbird. They may be found in North and South America from Alaska to Patagonia. They are most numerous in northern South America, in Colombia and Ecuador. Seventeen species are found in our western and southwestern states, but only one, the Ruby-throat, lives in the East.

Length: About 5½ inches.Male: Head and throat deep, purplish blue, becoming lighter on back and above tail; wings and tail a brownish black, edged with blue. Winter plumage, brownish like the female, mottled with blue.Female: Brown above, darker on wings and tail;no streaks on back; breast grayish, washed andfaintly streaked with brown; belly lighter. The female resembles her sparrow relatives, but may be distinguished by a glint of blue in her tail and wings.Call-note: A sharpchip.Song: A burst of melody, somewhat like that of a canary, loud, clear, and sweet. It is not remarkable except that it may be heard during the middle of the day and during the heat of midsummer. The bird sings frequently from treetops.Habitat: In “scrubby” pastures, along roadsides—in trees and bushes.Range: Eastern North America. Breeds east of the Great Plains from North Dakota to New Brunswick, south from central Texas to Georgia; winters from southern Mexico to Panama.

Length: About 5½ inches.

Male: Head and throat deep, purplish blue, becoming lighter on back and above tail; wings and tail a brownish black, edged with blue. Winter plumage, brownish like the female, mottled with blue.

Female: Brown above, darker on wings and tail;no streaks on back; breast grayish, washed andfaintly streaked with brown; belly lighter. The female resembles her sparrow relatives, but may be distinguished by a glint of blue in her tail and wings.

Call-note: A sharpchip.

Song: A burst of melody, somewhat like that of a canary, loud, clear, and sweet. It is not remarkable except that it may be heard during the middle of the day and during the heat of midsummer. The bird sings frequently from treetops.

Habitat: In “scrubby” pastures, along roadsides—in trees and bushes.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds east of the Great Plains from North Dakota to New Brunswick, south from central Texas to Georgia; winters from southern Mexico to Panama.

The Indigo Bunting possesses a brilliant beauty and a sweet voice. A sight of him and his pretty brown mate brings a thrill of pleasure, but he holds no such place in our affections as does the true bluebird. He does not choose to nest close to human dwellings, but prefers overgrown pastures, not too much frequented, where he performs his good office of caterpillar-, canker worm-, and grasshopper-hunting, varying his diet with an abundance of weed seeds.

INDIGO-BIRD

The indigo-bird, the scarlet tanager, the goldfinch, and the Baltimore oriole are our most brilliant summer birds. Thoreau, in his “Notes on New England Birds” makes the following comment:

“This is a splendid and marked bird, high-colored as is the tanager, looking strange in this latitude. Glowing indigo. It flits from the top of one bush to another, chirping as if anxious. Wilson says it sings, not like most other birds in the morning and evening chiefly, but also in the middle of the day. In this I notice it is like the tanager, the other fiery-plumaged bird. They seem to love the heat.”

During August, the songs of the indigo-bird and red-eyed vireo may be heard along wooded roadsides, and are especially welcome because most birds are silent at that time.

Length: About 7½ inches.Male: Head, throat, neck, and upper half of back black; breast, belly, shoulders, lower half of back and outer tail-feathersbrilliant orange; wings black, many feathers edged with white; half of middle tail-feathers black; others largely orange; bill long, slender, sharp.Female: Upper parts grayish-olive, washed with yellow and mottled with black on head and back; under parts, tail, and rump dull orange, paler at throat, which is sometimes marked with black; wings brown, barred with white.Notes: A loudwhew-y, orwhew, uttered frequently and insistently, with a falling inflection. Orioles chatter noisily, also.Song: A rich, melodious strain, very different in individuals, but alike in a liquid quality, and in frequency of utterance. For several successive years, two orioles returned to our elms and apple-trees in Cleveland. Their songs differed as decidedly from each other and from those of other orioles as the voices and enunciation of people vary.Habitat: Elm and maple-shaded streets and orchards preferred in the springtime. After the nestlings are grown, orioles may be found in thickets or in the woods.Nest: A hanging nest in the shape of a bag, usually suspended near the end of a bough. The female weaves the nest.Range: Breeds from southern Canada and northern United States to the northern part of Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia, west to the Rocky Mts.; winters from southern Mexico to Colombia.

Length: About 7½ inches.

Male: Head, throat, neck, and upper half of back black; breast, belly, shoulders, lower half of back and outer tail-feathersbrilliant orange; wings black, many feathers edged with white; half of middle tail-feathers black; others largely orange; bill long, slender, sharp.

Female: Upper parts grayish-olive, washed with yellow and mottled with black on head and back; under parts, tail, and rump dull orange, paler at throat, which is sometimes marked with black; wings brown, barred with white.

Notes: A loudwhew-y, orwhew, uttered frequently and insistently, with a falling inflection. Orioles chatter noisily, also.

Song: A rich, melodious strain, very different in individuals, but alike in a liquid quality, and in frequency of utterance. For several successive years, two orioles returned to our elms and apple-trees in Cleveland. Their songs differed as decidedly from each other and from those of other orioles as the voices and enunciation of people vary.

Habitat: Elm and maple-shaded streets and orchards preferred in the springtime. After the nestlings are grown, orioles may be found in thickets or in the woods.

Nest: A hanging nest in the shape of a bag, usually suspended near the end of a bough. The female weaves the nest.

Range: Breeds from southern Canada and northern United States to the northern part of Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia, west to the Rocky Mts.; winters from southern Mexico to Colombia.

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

Orioles, with their brilliant plumage and beautiful song, belong to the somber-hued, unmusical blackbird family. They are truly “the flower of the flock,”—gorgeous tropical flowers, too. They invariably arouse interest and almost always great admiration. So dashing are they that they do not remain long enough near us to let us know them well or love them. They remind me of brilliant opera-singers, elegantly attired, who are followed by the eager eyes of a host of people.

So many poets and writers of prose have sung the praise of orioles that it surprised me to learn that neither Thoreau nor Burroughs admired them. Thoreau wrote: “Two gold robins; they chatter like blackbirds; the fire bursts forth on their backs when they lift their wings.... But the note is not melodious and rich. It is at most a clear tone.”[106]Burroughs said: “I have no use for the oriole. He has not one musical note, and in grape time his bill is red, or purple, with the blood of our grapes.”[107]

A grape-eating propensity is not a trait common to orioles, according to Professor Beal’s report of their food habits. He says: “Brilliancy of plumage, sweetness of song, and food habits to which no exception can be taken are characteristics of the Baltimore oriole. During the stay of the oriole in the United States, vegetable matter amounts to only a little more than 16 per cent. of its food, so that the possibility of its doing much damage to crops is very limited. The bird is accused of eating peas to aconsiderable extent, but remains of such were found in only two cases. One writer says that it damages grapes, but none were found in the stomachs.”[108]Professor Beal lists caterpillars, beetles, bugs, ants, wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders as the “fare of the oriole.”

The nest and nesting habits of these birds are unusually interesting. In Eaton’s “Birds of New York” occurs the following description:

“The female is an ideal mother, defending her young with great courage and caring for them in all kinds of weather. The young, however, are not such ideal offspring as she ought to expect. From the time they begin to feather out until several days after they have left the nest, they keep up a continual cry for food. In this way they are unquestionably located by many predaceous animals and thereby destroyed. The young orioles are usually out of the nest from the 20th of June to the 5th of July [in New York State], and are very soon led away by the old birds into the woods, groves, and dense hedgerows. Then we hear no more of the oriole’s song until the latter days of August or the first week in September, when, after the autumn molt has been completed, the males frequently burst into melody for a few days before departing for their winter home.

“As every one knows, the oriole builds a pensile nest, usually suspending it from the drooping branches of an elm tree, soft maple, apple tree, or in fact, any tree, though his preference seems to be for the elm. The main construction materials used by the oriole are gray plant-fibers, especially those from the outside of milkweed stalks, waste packing-cord and horsehair; sometimes pieces ofrags and paper are discovered in the nest, but it is almost without exception a grayish bag as it appears from the outside, and is lined principally with horsehairs and softer materials, making a thick felted gourd-shaped structure.”

One morning this past May when the heat was unseasonable and overpowering, an oriole was observed fluttering anxiously near the nest where his mate sat on her eggs. The foliage had not developed sufficiently to shade her, so he alighted on the nest, a claw on either side of the cup-like opening. There he stood astride for the greater part of the day and protected her devotedly, like a chivalrous knight of old.

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