Cuckoos seem to have less individuality than many of our birds; they resemble several of them. They are not unlike catbirds in their quiet, stealthy movements; they are slender, gray-and-white, and long-tailed like mockingbirds; they build nests somewhat like those of mourning doves.
They are shy, solitary birds, that are known by their note rather than by sight. I never heard of any one but Wordsworth and Wilson Flagg who loved cuckoos or called them “darlings of the spring.” The European cuckoo has, however, a very different nature and a more joyous note.
Burroughs is most amusing in his comments. He says: “We cannot hail our black-billed as ‘blithe newcomer,’ as Wordsworth does his cuckoo. ‘Doleful newcomer,’ would be a fitter title. There is nothing cheery or animated in his note, and he is about as much a ‘wandering voice’ as is the European bird. He does not babble of sunshine and of flowers. He is a prophet of the rain, and the country people call him the rain crow. All his notes are harsh and verge on the weird.”[123]
He is, however, worthy of consideration. He is of great value to farmers and apple-growers because of his appetite for caterpillars and grasshoppers. Professor Beal wrote as follows: “The common observation that cuckoos feed largely on caterpillars has been confirmed by stomach examination. Furthermore, they appear to prefer the hairy and spiny species, which are supposed to be protected from the attacks of birds. The extent to which cuckoos eat hairy caterpillars is shown by the inner coatings of the stomachs, which frequently are so pierced by these hairs and spines that they are completely furred.The apple-tree tent-caterpillar and the red-humped apple-caterpillar are also eaten. In all, caterpillars constitute two-thirds of the total food of the yellow-billed cuckoo in the South. Few birds feed so exclusively upon any one order of insects.
“The natural food for cuckoos would seem to be bugs and caterpillars which feed upon leaves, as these birds live in the shade among the leaves of trees and bushes. Not so with grasshoppers, whose favorite haunts are on the ground in the blazing sunshine, yet these creatures are the second largest item in the cuckoo’s diet. Grasshoppers are so agreeable an article of food that many a bird apparently forsakes its usual feeding grounds and takes to the earth for them. Thus it is with the cuckoos; they quit their cool, shady retreats in order to gratify their taste for these insects of the hot sunshine. But there are some members of the grasshopper order that live in the shade, as katydids, tree crickets, and ground crickets, and these are all used to vary the cuckoo’s bill of fare.”[124]It eats, also, bugs that injure oranges and melons, and the cotton-boll weevil in large numbers.
In March, there comes to us from the South the phœbe, inconspicuous in plumage, yet easy to identify because of its distinctive call. About a month later there arrives the smallest member of our Flycatchers,—the Chebec or Least-Flycatcher. Less than five and a half inches in length, slender, olive-brown above, grayish-white beneath with an indistinct grayish band across the breast, this little bird might escape our notice were it not for its oft repeated and unmistakable call-note. It announces its presence by uttering its nameChebec, as clearly and persistently as its cousins, the phœbe and pewee, say theirs.
The chebec is a bird to be found in orchards, by roadsides, and in trees of village streets. Like other members of its family it seeks conspicuous perches, from which it dives after flies, moths, and other insects, returning to its perch to wheeze out its name, with jerks and twitches of its tail.
It breeds from central Canada to central United States as far south as Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and in the Alleghany Mts. to North Carolina; winters from Mexico to Panama and Peru.
KINGBIRD
KINGBIRD
Length: About 8½ inches.Male and Female: Upper parts dark gray; under parts pure white, with an indistinct grayish wash at the sides of the breast;head grayish-black, slightly crested, with a concealed orange patch; bill with bristles at the base; wing-feathers and upper tail-coverts tipped or edged with white;tail fan-shaped in flight, showing a broad white band at the end.Note: An unmusical, rattlingSqueak-squeak? squeak-squeak-squeak?uttered frequently, and apparently in an irritated mood. The sharply hooked beak and fierce-looking eye also give the appearance of pugnacity.Habitat: Orchards, trees by roadsides, and near farm-buildings. One looks for the kingbird in open country, not in woodlands; he seeks conspicuous perches. The nests are placed in trees—in those of orchards preferably.Range: North and South America. Breeds from South-central Canada and throughout the United States except in the south-west; winters from Mexico to South America.
Length: About 8½ inches.
Male and Female: Upper parts dark gray; under parts pure white, with an indistinct grayish wash at the sides of the breast;head grayish-black, slightly crested, with a concealed orange patch; bill with bristles at the base; wing-feathers and upper tail-coverts tipped or edged with white;tail fan-shaped in flight, showing a broad white band at the end.
Note: An unmusical, rattlingSqueak-squeak? squeak-squeak-squeak?uttered frequently, and apparently in an irritated mood. The sharply hooked beak and fierce-looking eye also give the appearance of pugnacity.
Habitat: Orchards, trees by roadsides, and near farm-buildings. One looks for the kingbird in open country, not in woodlands; he seeks conspicuous perches. The nests are placed in trees—in those of orchards preferably.
Range: North and South America. Breeds from South-central Canada and throughout the United States except in the south-west; winters from Mexico to South America.
No more interesting description of the Kingbird has come to my attention than that by Major Bendire. He writes as follows:
“Few of our birds are better known throughout the United States than the Kingbird. Bold and fearless in character, yet tame and confiding in man, often preferring to live in close proximity to dwellings, in gardensand orchards, they are prime favorites with the majority of our farming population, and they well deserve their fullest protection. Few birds are more useful to the farmer; their reputation for pugnacity and reckless courage is so well established that it is almost needless to dwell on it, as it is well known that they will boldly attack and drive off the largest of our Raptores, should one venture too near to their chosen nesting-sites.
“Where a pair or more of these birds make their home in the vicinity of a farmhouse, the poultry yard is not likely to suffer much through feathered marauders at least; they are a perfect terror to all hawks, instantly darting at them and rising above them, alighting on their shoulders or necks, and picking away at them most unmercifully until they are only too willing to beat a hasty retreat. The male is seemingly always on the lookout from his perch on the top branches of a tree or post for such enemies and no matter how large they may be, a pair of Kingbirds is more than a match for any of them, our larger Falcons and Eagles not excepted. Crows and Blue Jays seem to be especially obnoxious to them, and instances are on record where they have done them material injury.”
Major Bendire says also that kingbirds do not “bully” all birds, but “as a rule live in harmony with them, protecting not only their own nests but those of their small neighbors as well, who frequently place their nests within a few feet of the Kingbirds—the Orchard Oriole, for instance.” He tells however, of the kingbird’s dislike of the hummingbird—that he has twice seen the tiny “aggressor” put the larger bird to flight.[125]
Kingbirds were for a long time believed to eat bees and therefore were in disfavor. They were called Bee-birds or Bee-Martins and were shot by bee-keepers who did not understand their great value. Professor Beal and other investigators in the Biological Department at Washington have discovered that ninety per cent. of kingbirds’ food consists of insects, mostly injurious beetles that prey upon grain and fruit. They occasionally eat bees, but examination of many stomachs reveals a marked preference for drones over workers, and for wasps, wild bees, and ants over hive bees.[126]So kingbirds have been exonerated.
Length: About 9 inches.Male and Female: Upper parts light gray, darker about the cheeks; concealed orange patch on the crown; under parts whitish, washed with gray on the breast; wings and tail brownish;no white band on the tail, like the northern kingbird;bill very heavy—almost an inch long, with bristles at the base.Note: A loud call,Pit-tear′-re, “which is constant and is at times lengthened and softened until it might almost be called a song.”[127]The natives of Porto Rico call the bird “pitir′re” because of its note.Range: Breeds from Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, Florida, and Yucatan, through the Bahamas and West Indies to northern South America; winters from the Greater Antilles southward. It is common in our southeastern states.
Length: About 9 inches.
Male and Female: Upper parts light gray, darker about the cheeks; concealed orange patch on the crown; under parts whitish, washed with gray on the breast; wings and tail brownish;no white band on the tail, like the northern kingbird;bill very heavy—almost an inch long, with bristles at the base.
Note: A loud call,Pit-tear′-re, “which is constant and is at times lengthened and softened until it might almost be called a song.”[127]The natives of Porto Rico call the bird “pitir′re” because of its note.
Range: Breeds from Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, Florida, and Yucatan, through the Bahamas and West Indies to northern South America; winters from the Greater Antilles southward. It is common in our southeastern states.
The following is an extract from Dr. Wetmore’s interesting description of the Gray Kingbird in the bulletin, “Birds of Porto Rico,” used with the permission of the author:
“The gray kingbird has the reputation among the country people of being the earliest riser among birds. In the daytime it scatters along the slopes and through the fields to feed, but at nightfall gathers in small parties along streams to roost in the bamboos or in the mangroves surrounding the lagoons. The nesting season extends from April to July and during the latter month young are abundant. At all times very pugnacious, pursuing blackbirds, hawks, and other birds, they now become doubly so, resenting all intrusions in their neighborhood. Occasionally they were seen standing on open perches during showers with outspread trembling wings, evidently enjoying the downpour.
“A few facts regarding the insect food of this kingbird were learned from field observation. Birds were twice observed eating the caterpillars of a large sphinx moth. These were beaten on a limb, and then the juices were extracted by working the body through the bill, while only the skin was discarded. Their services in eating these and other caterpillars were recognized.”
Length: About 9 inches.Male and Female:Olive-gray above; throat and breast light gray; belly, bright yellow; head conspicuously crested; bill, long, dark, slightly hooked, with bristles at its base; wings brown, margined with white, pale yellow, and reddish-brown; middle tail-feathers, dull brown; inner web of other tail-feathers reddish-brown.Notes: A whistle that attracts attention. Major Bendire describes the “Great Crest’s” notes as follows:“It utters a variety of sounds; the most common is a clear whistle likee-whuit-huit, orwit-whit, wit-whit, repeated five or six times in a somewhat lower key, and varied towhuir,whuree, orpuree, accompanied by various turnings and twistings of the head. Its alarm-note is a penetrating and far-reachingwhēēk, whēēk.”Nest: The nest of the crested flycatcher is unique. Major Bendire says that it “is usually placed in a natural cavity of some tree or dead stump; possibly in an abandoned woodpecker excavation, though a natural one is preferred.” He says also that “nests vary in bulk; are begun with a base of coarse trash and finished with fine twigs, bunches of cattle hair, pine needles, dry leaves and grasses, the tail of a rabbit, pieces of catbirds’ eggshells, exuviæ of snakes, owl and hawk feathers, tufts of woodchucks’ hair and fine grass roots.”Snake-skins “seem to be present in the majority ofthe nests of this species; sometimes in the nest proper, and again placed around the sides of it, in all probability for protective purposes, and changed and rearranged from time to time” ... probably hung outside to “alarm intruders.”[128]
Length: About 9 inches.
Male and Female:Olive-gray above; throat and breast light gray; belly, bright yellow; head conspicuously crested; bill, long, dark, slightly hooked, with bristles at its base; wings brown, margined with white, pale yellow, and reddish-brown; middle tail-feathers, dull brown; inner web of other tail-feathers reddish-brown.
Notes: A whistle that attracts attention. Major Bendire describes the “Great Crest’s” notes as follows:
“It utters a variety of sounds; the most common is a clear whistle likee-whuit-huit, orwit-whit, wit-whit, repeated five or six times in a somewhat lower key, and varied towhuir,whuree, orpuree, accompanied by various turnings and twistings of the head. Its alarm-note is a penetrating and far-reachingwhēēk, whēēk.”
Nest: The nest of the crested flycatcher is unique. Major Bendire says that it “is usually placed in a natural cavity of some tree or dead stump; possibly in an abandoned woodpecker excavation, though a natural one is preferred.” He says also that “nests vary in bulk; are begun with a base of coarse trash and finished with fine twigs, bunches of cattle hair, pine needles, dry leaves and grasses, the tail of a rabbit, pieces of catbirds’ eggshells, exuviæ of snakes, owl and hawk feathers, tufts of woodchucks’ hair and fine grass roots.”
Snake-skins “seem to be present in the majority ofthe nests of this species; sometimes in the nest proper, and again placed around the sides of it, in all probability for protective purposes, and changed and rearranged from time to time” ... probably hung outside to “alarm intruders.”[128]
The Crested Flycatcher lives in eastern North America; breeds from southern Canada to Florida, and winters in Mexico and northern South America. He is a common summer resident of the Middle and Southern States especially. Though louder-voiced than his relatives, the kingbird, phœbe, and wood pewee, he is not so well known because he is shyer. He is not so pugnacious as the kingbird, but he is known to fight fiercely for a mate.
Length: About 7½ inches.Male and Female: Upper partsand sides olive-gray, the gray extending across the breast; throat and belly yellowish, the yellow extending in a point almost to the center of the breast; a patch of whitish feathers on both sides of the back near the rump; head slightly crested; bill long, black above, yellow below, bristles at the base, wings and tail olive-brown.Notes: A monotonous call-note,Pit-pit-pit, and a loud, clearPeep-hereorPeep-peep-here, frequently uttered from the top of a tall spruce.Habitat: Groves of conifers.Range: North and South America. Breeds from centralAlaska and Canada, in coniferous forests of western United States to northern Michigan, New York, and Maine, south to the mountains of North Carolina; winters in South America from Colombia to Peru.
Length: About 7½ inches.
Male and Female: Upper partsand sides olive-gray, the gray extending across the breast; throat and belly yellowish, the yellow extending in a point almost to the center of the breast; a patch of whitish feathers on both sides of the back near the rump; head slightly crested; bill long, black above, yellow below, bristles at the base, wings and tail olive-brown.
Notes: A monotonous call-note,Pit-pit-pit, and a loud, clearPeep-hereorPeep-peep-here, frequently uttered from the top of a tall spruce.
Habitat: Groves of conifers.
Range: North and South America. Breeds from centralAlaska and Canada, in coniferous forests of western United States to northern Michigan, New York, and Maine, south to the mountains of North Carolina; winters in South America from Colombia to Peru.
Length: From 6 to 6½ inches.Male and Female: Dark olive-gray above, darkest on the head, which is somewhat crested; the slightly hooked bill has bristles at its base; under parts, grayish-white, slightly tinged with yellow; breast and sides a darker gray; brownish wings and tail; two whitish wing-bars that are more conspicuous than those of the phœbe.Notes:Pee-a-wee, uttered slowly and mournfully, yet with sweetness and tenderness. Sometimes the phrase is followed by an abruptPeer, given with a falling inflection. At times pewees sing continuously. My sister timed one that sang for an hour and twenty minutes at daybreak.Nest: One of the most beautiful made. It is rather broad and flat, decorated on the outside with lichens similarly to that of the hummingbird. The nest seems to grow out of the branch on which it is placed.Range: North and South America. Breeds from southern Canada to southern Texas and central Florida, westward to eastern Nebraska; winters from Nicaraugua to Colombia and Peru.
Length: From 6 to 6½ inches.
Male and Female: Dark olive-gray above, darkest on the head, which is somewhat crested; the slightly hooked bill has bristles at its base; under parts, grayish-white, slightly tinged with yellow; breast and sides a darker gray; brownish wings and tail; two whitish wing-bars that are more conspicuous than those of the phœbe.
Notes:Pee-a-wee, uttered slowly and mournfully, yet with sweetness and tenderness. Sometimes the phrase is followed by an abruptPeer, given with a falling inflection. At times pewees sing continuously. My sister timed one that sang for an hour and twenty minutes at daybreak.
Nest: One of the most beautiful made. It is rather broad and flat, decorated on the outside with lichens similarly to that of the hummingbird. The nest seems to grow out of the branch on which it is placed.
Range: North and South America. Breeds from southern Canada to southern Texas and central Florida, westward to eastern Nebraska; winters from Nicaraugua to Colombia and Peru.
Of all the flycatchers of my acquaintance the Wood Pewee is the most lovable. He is the only one that possesses a sweet voice; but his note, long-drawn and sad, seems to proceed from an over-burdened heart. The appearance of the little bird is dejected, as with drooping tail, he utters the plaintive sound.
WOOD PEWEE
WOOD PEWEE
The nature of the pewee is sweet and trustful. I have always found him responsive, replying almost invariably as I have imitated his note. I once had a particularly pleasant experience and succeeded in convincing a little pewee of my friendly attitude toward him. One summer I was obliged to spend many weary days in a hammock hung in a grove; I beguiled the tedious hours by endeavoring to attract birds to close proximity. A pewee came oftenest; he frequently perched on a bough within a few feet of my hammock, and “talked back” to me between dives after insects. That he knew me and was unafraid was proved, for when relatives and friends arrived later in the summer, he would fly away at their approach.
I saw much of him, even when parental responsibilities claimed him. One day, after the young had flown, I came upon him calling earnestly, evidently to a fledgling that was on the ground at my feet. I picked up the little thing; it cuddled down in my warm hand and closed its eyes. Its father continued to call, but without excitement at such a proceeding; he seemed to know that I would not hurt his baby. I put it on a bough near him and left them to work out their bird-problems together.
Not many days later, we saw four young pewees perched in a row on a wire near the house, with their parents in attendance. The father called repeatedly and the little ones made sweet inarticulate gurglings, finding their voices. They were as dear a bird-family as it has ever been my pleasure to see.
Dallas Lore Sharp, in his delightful essay, “A Palace in a Pig-pen,” thus summarizes the flycatchers:
“Not much can be said of this flycatcher family, exceptthat it is useful—a kind of virtue that gets its chief reward in heaven. I am acquainted with only four of the other nine eastern members, [besides the phœbe], the great crested flycatcher, kingbird, wood pewee, and chebec,—and each of these has some redeeming attribute besides the habit of catching flies.
“They are all good nest-builders, good parents, and brave, independent birds; but aside from phœbe and pewee—the latter in his small way the sweetest voice of the oak woods—the whole family is an odd lot, cross-grained, cross-looking, and about as musical as a family of ducks. A duck seems to know that he cannot sing. A flycatcher knows nothing of his shortcomings. He believes that he can sing, and in time he will prove it. If desire and effort count for anything, he certainly must prove it in time. How long the family has already been training no one knows. Everybody knows, however, the success each flycatcher of them has thus far attained. It would make a good minstrel show, doubtless, if the family would appear together. In chorus, surely, they would be far from a tuneful choir. Yet individually, in the wide universal chorus of the out-of-doors, how much we should miss the kingbird’s metallic twitter and the chebec’s insistent call!”[129]
Length: A little over 4¼ inches.Male: Olive-green above, buff underneath,a ruby-red crown; wings brown, edged with olive-green; two light wing-bars; tail brown, forked.Female: Similar to male, but lacking the red crown. The females resemble tiny warblers in appearance.Note: A sharp scolding-note.Song: A wonderful song,—full, loud, and indescribably beautiful. It is hard to believe that so finished and remarkable a song could come from so small a bird.Habitat: Woods, thickets, and orchards. Kinglets are usually seen near the ends of branches.Range: Northern North America. Breeds in the tree-regions of southern Canada, southern Alaska, and the higher mountains of the western United States.
Length: A little over 4¼ inches.
Male: Olive-green above, buff underneath,a ruby-red crown; wings brown, edged with olive-green; two light wing-bars; tail brown, forked.
Female: Similar to male, but lacking the red crown. The females resemble tiny warblers in appearance.
Note: A sharp scolding-note.
Song: A wonderful song,—full, loud, and indescribably beautiful. It is hard to believe that so finished and remarkable a song could come from so small a bird.
Habitat: Woods, thickets, and orchards. Kinglets are usually seen near the ends of branches.
Range: Northern North America. Breeds in the tree-regions of southern Canada, southern Alaska, and the higher mountains of the western United States.
Like many of the warblers, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a spring and fall migrant, and its arrival is therefore of especial interest. It excels most of the warblers in its power of song, and is even more agile than they.
In Bulletin 513 of the Biological Survey is the following description of the Ruby-crown: “In habits and haunts this tiny sprite resembles a chickadee. It is an active, nervous little creature, flitting hither and yon in search of food, and in spring stopping only long enough to utter its beautiful song, surprisingly loud for the size of the musician. Three-fourths of its food consists ofwasps, bugs, and flies. Beetles are the only other item of importance. The bugs eaten by the kinglet are mostly small, but, happily, they are the most harmful kinds. Treehoppers, leafhoppers, and jumping plant-lice are pests and often do great harm to trees and smaller plants, while plant-lice and scale insects are the worst scourges of the fruit-grower—in fact, the prevalence of the latter has almost risen to the magnitude of a national peril. It is these small and seemingly insignificant birds that most successfully attack and hold in check these insidious foes of horticulture. The vegetable food consists of seeds of poison ivy, or poison oak, a few weed seeds, and a few small fruits, mostly elderberries.”
Length: About 4½ inches.Male: Bluish-gray above; grayish white below; forehead black, black line over the eye; slender, curving bill; wings dark gray, edged with grayish-white; tail long, outer tail-feathers nearly all white; middle tail-feathers black; tail elevated and lowered frequently.Female: Similar to male, but without the black forehead; line over eye indistinct.Call-note: A nasaltang.Song: A delightful song,—sweet, but not strong.Habitat: Woodlands, where it usually frequents treetops.Range: Southeastern United States. Breeds from eastern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario, southwestern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and southern New Jersey to southern Texas and central Florida;winters from northern Florida to the West Indies and central America; casual in Minnesota, New England, and New York.
Length: About 4½ inches.
Male: Bluish-gray above; grayish white below; forehead black, black line over the eye; slender, curving bill; wings dark gray, edged with grayish-white; tail long, outer tail-feathers nearly all white; middle tail-feathers black; tail elevated and lowered frequently.
Female: Similar to male, but without the black forehead; line over eye indistinct.
Call-note: A nasaltang.
Song: A delightful song,—sweet, but not strong.
Habitat: Woodlands, where it usually frequents treetops.
Range: Southeastern United States. Breeds from eastern Nebraska, southern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario, southwestern Pennsylvania, Maryland, and southern New Jersey to southern Texas and central Florida;winters from northern Florida to the West Indies and central America; casual in Minnesota, New England, and New York.
This dainty little sprite partakes of the qualities of a number of birds. Like the warblers, it is insectivorous and inhabits treetops; like its relative, the ruby-crowned kinglet, it has a finished and wonderful song; like the wrens it has a habit of cocking its tail nervously; while its long black and white tail reminds one of the mockingbird. It is an especially pretty sight, fluttering about the moss-hung trees of Florida.
Length: About 6¼ inches.Male and Female: Olive-green above, silvery white below;crown gray, bordered with a narrow black line; a broader white line over the eye, a dark streak through the eye; iris redorreddish-brown; wings and tail grayish-green, edged with olive.Habitat: In open woodlands and along well-shaded roads.Range: North and South America. Breeds from central Canada, northwestern, central, and eastern United States, to central Florida; winters in South America.Note: A nasalwhăh, that sounds ill-natured and unpleasant.Song: A series of phrases—incessant, monotonous,—that continue from morning until night, and during August, when most birds are quiet. Wilson Flagg called the Red-eye the “Preacher-bird” and wrote of him as follows:“The Preacher is more generally known by his note, because he is incessant in his song, and particularly vocal during the heat of our long summer days, when only a few birds are singing. His style of preaching is not declamation. Though constantly talking, he takes the part of a deliberative orator, who explains his subject in a few words and then makes a pause for his hearers to reflect upon it. We might suppose him to be repeating moderately, with a pause between each sentence, ‘You see it—you know it—do you hear me?—do you believe it?’ All these strains are delivered with a rising inflection at the close, and with a pause, as if waiting for an answer.RED-EYED VIREO“He is never fervent, rapid, or fluent, but like a true zealot, he is apt to be tiresome from the long continuance of his discourse. When nearly all other birds have become silent, the little preacher still continues his earnest harangue, and is sure of an audience at this late period, when he has few rivals.”[130]Mr. Forbush discovered that this preacher “practiced as he preached,” and tells us of his own observations in the following words:“One sunny day in early boyhood I watched a vireo singing in a swampy thicket. He sang a few notes, his head turning meanwhile from side to side, his eyes scanning closely the nearby foliage. Suddenly his song ceased; he leaned forward,—sprang to another twig, snatched a green caterpillar from the under side of a leaf, swallowed it, and resumed his song. Every important pause in his dissertation signalized the capture of a larva. As the discourse was punctuated, a worm was punctured. It seems as if the preaching were a serious business with the bird; but this seeming is deceptive, for the song merely masks the constant vigilance and the sleepless eye of this premium caterpillar-hunter. In the discovery of this kind of game the bird has few superiors.”[131]
Length: About 6¼ inches.
Male and Female: Olive-green above, silvery white below;crown gray, bordered with a narrow black line; a broader white line over the eye, a dark streak through the eye; iris redorreddish-brown; wings and tail grayish-green, edged with olive.
Habitat: In open woodlands and along well-shaded roads.
Range: North and South America. Breeds from central Canada, northwestern, central, and eastern United States, to central Florida; winters in South America.
Note: A nasalwhăh, that sounds ill-natured and unpleasant.
Song: A series of phrases—incessant, monotonous,—that continue from morning until night, and during August, when most birds are quiet. Wilson Flagg called the Red-eye the “Preacher-bird” and wrote of him as follows:
“The Preacher is more generally known by his note, because he is incessant in his song, and particularly vocal during the heat of our long summer days, when only a few birds are singing. His style of preaching is not declamation. Though constantly talking, he takes the part of a deliberative orator, who explains his subject in a few words and then makes a pause for his hearers to reflect upon it. We might suppose him to be repeating moderately, with a pause between each sentence, ‘You see it—you know it—do you hear me?—do you believe it?’ All these strains are delivered with a rising inflection at the close, and with a pause, as if waiting for an answer.
RED-EYED VIREO
RED-EYED VIREO
“He is never fervent, rapid, or fluent, but like a true zealot, he is apt to be tiresome from the long continuance of his discourse. When nearly all other birds have become silent, the little preacher still continues his earnest harangue, and is sure of an audience at this late period, when he has few rivals.”[130]
Mr. Forbush discovered that this preacher “practiced as he preached,” and tells us of his own observations in the following words:
“One sunny day in early boyhood I watched a vireo singing in a swampy thicket. He sang a few notes, his head turning meanwhile from side to side, his eyes scanning closely the nearby foliage. Suddenly his song ceased; he leaned forward,—sprang to another twig, snatched a green caterpillar from the under side of a leaf, swallowed it, and resumed his song. Every important pause in his dissertation signalized the capture of a larva. As the discourse was punctuated, a worm was punctured. It seems as if the preaching were a serious business with the bird; but this seeming is deceptive, for the song merely masks the constant vigilance and the sleepless eye of this premium caterpillar-hunter. In the discovery of this kind of game the bird has few superiors.”[131]
This vireo builds a very attractive nest of strips of bark and fiber, a soft basket hung at the fork of a branch. I recall one nest suspended only a few feet from the ground in a low tree on Cape Cod. We came upon the nest so suddenly that the little brooding mother lookedat us with frightened eyes, but she remained at her post, and soon learned that we meant no harm. Many times a day we went by her precious cradle. At night we passed quietly, so as not to waken the faithful little mother-bird with her head tucked under her wing. Our flashlight never once disturbed her. Mr. Forbush says, “This vireo sleeps very soundly, and is sometimes so oblivious to the world that she may be approached and taken in the hand.”[132]
Burroughs wrote: “Who does not feel a thrill of pleasure when, in sauntering through the woods, his hat just brushes a vireo’s nest?... The nest was like a natural growth, hanging there like a fairy basket in the fork of a beech twig, woven of dry, delicate, papery, brown and gray wood products,—a part of the shadows and the green and brown solitude. The weaver had bent down one of the green leaves and made it a part of the nest; it was like the stroke of a great artist. Then the dabs of white here and there, given by the fragments of spider’s cocoons—all helped to blend it with the flickering light and shade.”[133]
Length: About 5¾ inches.Male and Female: Grayish-olive above;indistinct whitish line over eye; under parts grayish-white with a faint yellowish tinge;no bars on wings; iris dark brown, not reddish.Note: A nasalyăh, not unlike the call-note of the red-eyed vireo.Song: A sweet continuous warble, with a rising inflection at the end. It sounds like a whistledWhew-whew-whew whew-whew-whew-whee?Habitat: Parks and shaded village streets. Its neutral coloring and its preference for treetops make it difficult to distinguish. Its cheerful, pleasant song is the surest means of identification.Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from south-central Canada to northwestern Texas, southern Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia; winters south of the United States, though exact locality is unknown. Not nearly so widely distributed as the red-eyed vireo.
Length: About 5¾ inches.
Male and Female: Grayish-olive above;indistinct whitish line over eye; under parts grayish-white with a faint yellowish tinge;no bars on wings; iris dark brown, not reddish.
Note: A nasalyăh, not unlike the call-note of the red-eyed vireo.
Song: A sweet continuous warble, with a rising inflection at the end. It sounds like a whistledWhew-whew-whew whew-whew-whew-whee?
Habitat: Parks and shaded village streets. Its neutral coloring and its preference for treetops make it difficult to distinguish. Its cheerful, pleasant song is the surest means of identification.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from south-central Canada to northwestern Texas, southern Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia; winters south of the United States, though exact locality is unknown. Not nearly so widely distributed as the red-eyed vireo.
This vireo, like other members of its family, is an indefatigable devourer of insects. Mr. Forbush reports that it feeds on flies, mosquitoes, and grasshoppers, but that its chief food consists of caterpillars and other leaf-eating insects, especially the elm-leaf beetle; consequently it is found frequently in elm-shaded streets and yards.
The White-Eyed Vireo differs from his red-eyed cousin in being slightly smaller, in having asmall patch of yellow around the eye, awhite iris, andtwo wing-bars. His head is greener and his breast and sides are tinged with yellow.
He lives in thickets. He possesses in a marked degree the vireo habit of scolding. He has more power as a songster than his better-known relatives. Mr. Chapmandescribes him most delightfully as follows: “If birds are ever impertinent, I believe this term might with truth be applied to that most original, independent dweller in thickety under-growths, the white-eyed vireo. Both his voice and manner say that he doesn’t in the least care what you think of him; and, if attracted by his peculiar notes or actions, you pause near his haunts, he jerks out an abrupt ‘Who are you, eh?’ in a way which plainly indicates that your presence can be dispensed with. If this hint is insufficient, he follows it by a harsh scolding, and one can fancy that in his singular white eye there is an unmistakable gleam of disapproval.
“I have always regretted that the manners of this Vireo have been a bar to our better acquaintance, for he is a bird of marked character and with unusual vocal talents. He is a capital mimic, and in the retirement of his home sometimes amuses himself by combining the songs of other birds in an intricate pot-pourri.”[134]
The Yellow-throated Vireo resembles the White-eye in being olive-green above, yellowish underneath, and in having two distinct white wing-bars. He differs in possessing abright yellow throat,breast, andringabout adark eye.
Mr. Forbush says of this bird; “The song is a little louder than that of most vireos, and may be easily distinguishedfrom all others. It usually consists of two or three rich and virile notes, uttered interrogatively or tentatively, followed immediately by a few similar tones uttered decisively. The bird appears to ask a question, and then answer it. Its alarm notes are as harsh as those of an oriole, and somewhat similar in quality.”[135]
No family of birds is more difficult for a beginner to identify than the warblers. Reasons for this fact are various. In the first place, warblers are small and agile, and usually inhabit treetops, where it is hard to see their plumage. The number of the species is large,—155 species are known, 74 of which are found in North America, and 55 in the United States alone. Some of the males wear a “Joseph’s coat of many colors”; some of the females are so different from their mates as to puzzle an observer, and the young birds frequently differ from both parents. Then, too, most warblers are not gifted songsters, but utter only a weak trill. A number of them are seen only during their migration to northern woods; they linger too short a time to become more than passing bird-acquaintances.
Warblers are insectivorous and do not arrive until the earth teems with insect life. Most of them depart for the South as soon as insects begin to decrease in number or disappear. They are very shy and migrate at night.
Many are the disasters that befall them when they journey near the sea-coast. In Dr. Wells W. Cooke’s article entitled “Our Greatest Travelers” are the following statements: “It is not to be supposed that these long flights over the waters can occur without many casualties, and not the smallest of the perils arises from the beaconswhich man has erected along the coast to insure his own safety. ‘Last night I could have filled a mail-sack with the bodies of little warblers which killed themselves striking against my light,’ wrote the keeper of Fowey Rocks lighthouse, in southern Florida.
“Nor was this an unusual tragedy. Every spring the lights along the coast lure to destruction myriads of birds who are en route from their winter homes in the South to their summer nesting-places in the North. Every fall a still greater death-toll is exacted when the return journey is made. A red light or a rapidly flashing one repels the birds, but a steady white light piercing the fog proves irresistible.”[136]
Few people realize the great good done by warblers. Mr. Forbush says that in migration they seem to possess enormous appetites. A Hooded Warbler was found to catch on the average two insects a minute or one hundred and twenty an hour. At this rate the bird would kill at least nine hundred and sixty insects a day, in an eight hour working day!
Dr. Judd reported a Palm Warbler that ate from forty to sixty insects a minute. In the four hours he was under observation he must have eaten nine thousand, five hundred insects. Mr. Forbush says that he has seen warblers eating from masses of small insects at such a rate that it was impossible for him to count them.[137]
In order to identify warblers, most people need to group them in some way. The following grouping of my own has helped me to recognize and remember the more common species:
IThe Ground Warblers1 The Ovenbird2 The Water Thrushes3 The Worm-eating Warbler4 The Palm WarblersIIBlack and White Warblers1 The Black and White Creeping Warbler2 The Black-poll WarblerIIIBlack, White, and Yellow Warblers1 The Myrtle or Yellow-rumped Warbler2 The Magnolia WarblerIVBlack and Orange Warblers1 The Redstart2 The Blackburnian WarblerVWarblers With Yellow or Olive-green Predominating1 The Yellow Warbler2 The Pine Warbler3 The Maryland Yellow-throat4 The Hooded Warbler5 Wilson’s Warbler6 The Black-throated Green Warbler7 The Canadian Warbler8 The Yellow-breasted Chat9 The Yellow Palm WarblerVIWarblers With Blue or Blue and Yellow Predominating1 The Cerulean Warbler2 The Black-throated Blue Warbler3 The Blue-winged Warbler4 The Golden-winged Warbler5 The Parula WarblerVIIWarblers With Reddish-brown Markings1 The Bay-breasted Warbler2 The Chestnut-sided Warbler
IThe Ground Warblers
1 The Ovenbird
2 The Water Thrushes
3 The Worm-eating Warbler
4 The Palm Warblers
IIBlack and White Warblers
1 The Black and White Creeping Warbler
2 The Black-poll Warbler
IIIBlack, White, and Yellow Warblers
1 The Myrtle or Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 The Magnolia Warbler
IVBlack and Orange Warblers
1 The Redstart
2 The Blackburnian Warbler
VWarblers With Yellow or Olive-green Predominating
1 The Yellow Warbler
2 The Pine Warbler
3 The Maryland Yellow-throat
4 The Hooded Warbler
5 Wilson’s Warbler
6 The Black-throated Green Warbler
7 The Canadian Warbler
8 The Yellow-breasted Chat
9 The Yellow Palm Warbler
VIWarblers With Blue or Blue and Yellow Predominating
1 The Cerulean Warbler
2 The Black-throated Blue Warbler
3 The Blue-winged Warbler
4 The Golden-winged Warbler
5 The Parula Warbler
VIIWarblers With Reddish-brown Markings
1 The Bay-breasted Warbler
2 The Chestnut-sided Warbler
Length: A little over 6 inches.Male and Female: Olive-brown above; head with a golden-brown crown, bordered with two black lines that extend from bill to neck; under parts white; a brown streak at each side of the throat; breast and sides heavily streaked with black; no bars on wings, or patches on tail.Note: Mr. Forbush interprets the oven-bird’s note as “chick,′KERCHICK,′ KERCHICK,′ repeating the phrase an indefinite number of times.”[138]John Burroughs has rendered it as, “teacher,teacher, teacher, TEACHER,TEACHER.” The bird is frequently spoken of as the “Teacher-bird.”Song: A “flight song” which Mr. Forbush describes as follows: “When I lingered in the woods at evening until the stars came out, I heard a burst of melody far above the treetops, and saw the little singer rising against the western sky, simulating the Skylark, and pouring forth its melody, not to the orb of day but to the slowly rising moon; then, when the melody came nearer, the exhausted singer fell from out the sky and shot swiftly downward, alighting at my very feet.”[138]Habitat: Woodlands, where the oven-bird spends much of its time on the ground.Range: North America. Breeds in the forests of Canada and the United States to Kansas, southern Missouri, Ohio Valley, Virginia, and in the mountains of Georgia and South Carolina; winters from central Florida to Colombia.
Length: A little over 6 inches.
Male and Female: Olive-brown above; head with a golden-brown crown, bordered with two black lines that extend from bill to neck; under parts white; a brown streak at each side of the throat; breast and sides heavily streaked with black; no bars on wings, or patches on tail.
Note: Mr. Forbush interprets the oven-bird’s note as “chick,′KERCHICK,′ KERCHICK,′ repeating the phrase an indefinite number of times.”[138]John Burroughs has rendered it as, “teacher,teacher, teacher, TEACHER,TEACHER.” The bird is frequently spoken of as the “Teacher-bird.”
Song: A “flight song” which Mr. Forbush describes as follows: “When I lingered in the woods at evening until the stars came out, I heard a burst of melody far above the treetops, and saw the little singer rising against the western sky, simulating the Skylark, and pouring forth its melody, not to the orb of day but to the slowly rising moon; then, when the melody came nearer, the exhausted singer fell from out the sky and shot swiftly downward, alighting at my very feet.”[138]
Habitat: Woodlands, where the oven-bird spends much of its time on the ground.
Range: North America. Breeds in the forests of Canada and the United States to Kansas, southern Missouri, Ohio Valley, Virginia, and in the mountains of Georgia and South Carolina; winters from central Florida to Colombia.
This shy forest-dweller is little seen except by the tireless haunter of woods. I well remember my first quest for the owner of a voice that seemed to proceed from every part of the small grove I was searching. His ventriloquistic power led me on until I was about to give up in weariness and discouragement, when suddenly I came upon this golden-crowned warbler that had made the woods ring. He seemed very small for so loud a vocalization.
Another day, quite by accident, I discovered his oven-shaped nest:
“Arched and framed with last year’s oak-leaves,Roofed and walled against the raindrops.”[139]
“Arched and framed with last year’s oak-leaves,
Roofed and walled against the raindrops.”[139]
Since that time I have had numerous views of oven-birds. One in particular, seemed quite unafraid; and several times approached within a few feet of where I was seated.
Water-Thrushes: The Water-thrushes resemble the oven-bird in size and general appearance. Their crowns are dark instead of golden; theNORTHERN WATER-THRUSHhas alightline over the eye, and a bright yellow streaked breast; theLOUISIANA WATER-THRUSHa conspicuouswhiteline over the eye, buff sides, and white under parts.OVEN-BIRDBoth birds, as their name implies, love the vicinity of forest brooks. Both walk instead of hop, and “tip-up” when they alight. They are wonderful songsters, but are not widely known.Range: Eastern North America. The Northern Water-thrush breeds in east-central Canada, northwestern New York, northern New England, and in mountains south to West Virginia; winters in the West Indies and from the valley of Mexico to British Guiana.The Louisiana Water-thrush is found from the northern parts of the United States south to Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina; winters from Mexico to Colombia.
Water-Thrushes: The Water-thrushes resemble the oven-bird in size and general appearance. Their crowns are dark instead of golden; theNORTHERN WATER-THRUSHhas alightline over the eye, and a bright yellow streaked breast; theLOUISIANA WATER-THRUSHa conspicuouswhiteline over the eye, buff sides, and white under parts.
OVEN-BIRD
OVEN-BIRD
Both birds, as their name implies, love the vicinity of forest brooks. Both walk instead of hop, and “tip-up” when they alight. They are wonderful songsters, but are not widely known.
Range: Eastern North America. The Northern Water-thrush breeds in east-central Canada, northwestern New York, northern New England, and in mountains south to West Virginia; winters in the West Indies and from the valley of Mexico to British Guiana.
The Louisiana Water-thrush is found from the northern parts of the United States south to Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina; winters from Mexico to Colombia.
Length: About 5½ inches.Male and Female: Back, wings, and tail olive-green, without white markings; head with two narrow and two broad black stripes, alternating with three cream-colored stripes; under parts cream-colored, lighter on throat and belly.Song: A weak trill.Habitat: “The Worm-eating warbler seems to prefer dense undergrowth in swampy thickets and wet places, ... wooded hillsides and ravines, and dense undergrowths of woodland.... The nesting site is on the ground.”[140]Range: Eastern North America from southern Iowa, northern Illinois, western Pennsylvania, and the lower Hudson and Connecticut valleys, south to Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and the mountains of South Carolina.
Length: About 5½ inches.
Male and Female: Back, wings, and tail olive-green, without white markings; head with two narrow and two broad black stripes, alternating with three cream-colored stripes; under parts cream-colored, lighter on throat and belly.
Song: A weak trill.
Habitat: “The Worm-eating warbler seems to prefer dense undergrowth in swampy thickets and wet places, ... wooded hillsides and ravines, and dense undergrowths of woodland.... The nesting site is on the ground.”[140]
Range: Eastern North America from southern Iowa, northern Illinois, western Pennsylvania, and the lower Hudson and Connecticut valleys, south to Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and the mountains of South Carolina.
Length: About 5¼ inches.Male: Black, streaked with white—no yellow; head with broad black and white stripes; body with narrow stripes; white stripe over eye, black patch back of eye; striped throat and sides, white belly; tail grayish black; outer tail-feathers with white patches on inner web; wings black, with two distinct white bars.Female: Similar, but with gray cheeks and whiter under parts, fainter streaks, and brownish sides.Song: A thin, unmusicalse-se′-se-se′-se-se′-se-se′.
Length: About 5¼ inches.
Male: Black, streaked with white—no yellow; head with broad black and white stripes; body with narrow stripes; white stripe over eye, black patch back of eye; striped throat and sides, white belly; tail grayish black; outer tail-feathers with white patches on inner web; wings black, with two distinct white bars.
Female: Similar, but with gray cheeks and whiter under parts, fainter streaks, and brownish sides.
Song: A thin, unmusicalse-se′-se-se′-se-se′-se-se′.
This Black-and-White Warbler is as easy to identify as a zebra, because of its conspicuous black and white stripes. As it is found on tree-trunks, it is sometimes confused with the brown creeper. Its bill, however, is not curved like the creeper’s, nor is its tail used as a prop. It resembles the nuthatch in its ability todescendas well asascendtree-trunks.
These warblers, though they obtain their food from trees, nest on the ground in nests not unlike those of the oven-bird.
Length: About 5 inches.Male: A black crown and white cheeks, giving the effect of a black cap pulled down over the eyes; throat and belly white; back and sides gray, streaked with black; two white wing-bars; two outer tail-feathers with white spot near tip.Female: Olive-green above, streaked with black; breast and sides with yellowish wash.Range: Widely distributed; common in the East during migration. Breeds in the forests of Alaska and north-central Canada, in Michigan, northern Maine, and the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.
Length: About 5 inches.
Male: A black crown and white cheeks, giving the effect of a black cap pulled down over the eyes; throat and belly white; back and sides gray, streaked with black; two white wing-bars; two outer tail-feathers with white spot near tip.
Female: Olive-green above, streaked with black; breast and sides with yellowish wash.
Range: Widely distributed; common in the East during migration. Breeds in the forests of Alaska and north-central Canada, in Michigan, northern Maine, and the mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.
Black-poll Warblers are similar in coloring to the black-and-white warblers, but are duller and less striking in appearance. In the breeding season, father, mother, and young differ in plumage, though a practiced eye may see resemblances, but in the fall they don coats so similar that they seem to have adopted a family costume.
The migration of black-poll warblers is interesting. Dr. Wells W. Cooke says: “All black-poll warblers winter in South America. Those that are to nest in Alaska strike straight across the Caribbean Sea to Florida and go northwestward to the Mississippi River. Then the direction changes and a course is laid almost due north to northern Minnesota, in order to avoid the treeless plains of North Dakota. But when the forests of the Saskatchewan are reached, the northwestern course is resumed, and, with a slight verging toward the west, is held until the nesting site in Alaska spruces is attained.”[141]