The Song Sparrow, like air and sunshine, is a part of our daily lives after we have once become acquainted with him. In some localities he takes up his abode permanently; in others, he arrives in late February or early March and remains until November. Joy in life and deep contentment abide with him. He is the most incurable optimist of my acquaintance. I have heard him sing beside a brook that has just broken its icy fetters, while patches of snow still remained on the ground; during days of rain which silenced most songsters; through hot summer noons and during the almost songless molting-season,—nothing seems to daunt him, from early morning until sunset. Occasionally during the night is heard his simple strain, as though he needs must sing in his sleep.
His song is pleasing, but in no way remarkable. It is in a major key and lacks the ecstasy and piercing sweetness of the fox sparrow’s, and the exquisite tenderness of the field and the vesper sparrow’s, but it possesses a charm all its own. It breathes a joy in simple things—a steadfast and cheerful courage that makes us say, “He, too, is no mean preacher.â€
Song sparrows, like other members of the Finch family, are of great service in their destruction of insects and weed seeds, of which they consume enormous quantities. They eat wild berries and fruits only when their favorite food is not obtainable. They possess no bad habits and are desirable “bird-neighbors†to cultivate. Water always attracts them; one is most likely to find them near streams, in which they love to bathe.
Their nests are made largely of grasses, dead leaves, and root-fibres, and are lined with soft grasses. Theyare placed in bushes or on the ground. The eggs, pale in color and flecked with brown, are well concealed by their markings. Song sparrows, usually serene, grow intensely nervous when the nest is approached, and betray its whereabouts by their incessantChip, chip.
“See? See? See? The herald of spring you see!What matters if winds blow piercingly!The brook, long ice-bound, struggles throughIts glistening fetters, and murmurs anewWith joy at the freedom the days will bringWhen the snow has gone! And I, too, sing!
“See? See? See? The herald of spring you see!
What matters if winds blow piercingly!
The brook, long ice-bound, struggles through
Its glistening fetters, and murmurs anew
With joy at the freedom the days will bring
When the snow has gone! And I, too, sing!
“See? See? See? A flush of color you see!The tassels are hung on the budding tree,Before it has drawn its curtain of leavesTo shade the homes of the birds. Now weavesThe silent spring a carpet fair,With wind-flower and hepatica there.
“See? See? See? A flush of color you see!
The tassels are hung on the budding tree,
Before it has drawn its curtain of leaves
To shade the homes of the birds. Now weaves
The silent spring a carpet fair,
With wind-flower and hepatica there.
“See? See? See? You are glad to welcome me.You will hear my voice ring cheerfullyThrough Summer’s heat or days of rainUntil the winter has come again.From dawn till dusk, my heart is gay,And I sing my happy life away.See? See? See?â€
“See? See? See? You are glad to welcome me.
You will hear my voice ring cheerfully
Through Summer’s heat or days of rain
Until the winter has come again.
From dawn till dusk, my heart is gay,
And I sing my happy life away.
See? See? See?â€
Length: A little over 7 inches; about an inch longer than the English sparrow, and nearly as large as a hermit thrush.Male and Female: Upper parts reddish-brown,brightestonlower backandtail. (The red-brown tail is a distinguishing mark of the fox sparrow as it is of the hermit thrush.) Under parts grayish-white;throat,breast,belly, andsidesheavilyandirregularly streakedwith reddish-brown and black, except the middle of the belly, which is white.Note: A faintseeporcheep.Song: The most beautiful of all the sparrows’—a burst of melody possessing sweetness and power; joyous, yet with a minor strain.Habitat: Tall thickets or clumps of weeds.Range: North America. Breeds in the forest-regions of Canada and Alaska; winters from the lower Ohio and Potomac Valleys to central Texas and northern Florida.
Length: A little over 7 inches; about an inch longer than the English sparrow, and nearly as large as a hermit thrush.
Male and Female: Upper parts reddish-brown,brightestonlower backandtail. (The red-brown tail is a distinguishing mark of the fox sparrow as it is of the hermit thrush.) Under parts grayish-white;throat,breast,belly, andsidesheavilyandirregularly streakedwith reddish-brown and black, except the middle of the belly, which is white.
Note: A faintseeporcheep.
Song: The most beautiful of all the sparrows’—a burst of melody possessing sweetness and power; joyous, yet with a minor strain.
Habitat: Tall thickets or clumps of weeds.
Range: North America. Breeds in the forest-regions of Canada and Alaska; winters from the lower Ohio and Potomac Valleys to central Texas and northern Florida.
Never shall I forget the thrill of surprise and ecstasy which my first fox sparrow brought to me! My sister and I were on eager quest for early migrants in open woods and overgrown pastures, when from a thicket of tall shrubs there burst so marvelous a “concord of sweet sounds†that we were spell-bound. No words can describe the tenderness, the joyous abandon, yet withal the strain of sadness in the song, as though the choristers had drunk deep of life, had visioned clearly its secrets,and transmuted its experiences. When the music had become a soft cadence, we sought the singers, and found a band of thrush like sparrows scratching in the old brown leaves like bantam hens. They remained in the thicket for several days, singing most rapturously toward sunset.
Though shy birds and seen infrequently, fox sparrows occasionally approach houses. During a deep spring snow that covered the birds’ natural food-supply, several of these north-bound migrants came three times a day with a flock of juncos to feed on bread-crumbs in our back yard. Like Tommy Tucker, they “sang for their supper.†Twice they arrived before a fresh supply of crumbs had been scattered; their songs announced their presence and were accompanied by the gentle trill of the juncos. A large flock remained in Middlesex Fells for several days.
Most bird-lovers consider an experience with fox sparrows as out of the ordinary. Thoreau wrote: “Is not the coming of the fox-colored sparrow something more earnest and significant than I have dreamed of? These migrating sparrows bear all messages that concern my life.â€[58]
PHÅ’BE
PHÅ’BE
Length: About 7 inches; a little larger than the English sparrow.Male and Female: Grayish-brown above; under parts light gray with yellowish wash; breast darker than throat, sides grayish-brown; head dark brown, somewhat crested; bill black, slightly hooked at tip, with bristles at base; wings dark brown,with inconspicuous whitish wing-bars; tail dark brown; edge of two outer tail-feathers yellowish-white.Song: No real song. Flycatchers are songless birds. The note is a hoarsePhœbe, sometimesPe-wit-Phœbe. It is usually uttered mournfully and monotonously; occasionally the male gives numerousPhœbesrapidly while on the wing.Habitat: Near streams preferably. A favorite nesting site is underneath a bridge; eaves of barns or beams of piazzas are also used.Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from north-central Canada south to northeastern New Mexico, central Texas, northern Mississippi and highlands of Georgia; winters south of latitude 37° to southern Mexico.
Length: About 7 inches; a little larger than the English sparrow.
Male and Female: Grayish-brown above; under parts light gray with yellowish wash; breast darker than throat, sides grayish-brown; head dark brown, somewhat crested; bill black, slightly hooked at tip, with bristles at base; wings dark brown,with inconspicuous whitish wing-bars; tail dark brown; edge of two outer tail-feathers yellowish-white.
Song: No real song. Flycatchers are songless birds. The note is a hoarsePhœbe, sometimesPe-wit-Phœbe. It is usually uttered mournfully and monotonously; occasionally the male gives numerousPhœbesrapidly while on the wing.
Habitat: Near streams preferably. A favorite nesting site is underneath a bridge; eaves of barns or beams of piazzas are also used.
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from north-central Canada south to northeastern New Mexico, central Texas, northern Mississippi and highlands of Georgia; winters south of latitude 37° to southern Mexico.
When March has lost some of its bluster and gentler weather prevails, there arrives from the land of sunshine and teeming insect life, a small brown and gray bird—the Phœbe, first of the Flycatcher family to come North. Like many of the early migrants, he travels without his beloved little mate, whom he seems tomiss sadly; for he sits disconsolately on a bare twig and calls her name in hoarse, wheezy tones. After she appears, it is pleasant to see their devotion, not only to each other, but to the nesting site. How they journey apart the great distance from South to North and find their own especial bridge or barn year after year, is one of the great mysteries.
Their large, loosely-constructed nest is made of moss and mud, lined with soft grass, hair, or feathers. It is usually infested with bird-lice, as I discovered, to my dismay. It is well not to allow phœbes to build where the lice may become a nuisance.
Like all the soberly-dressed flycatchers, phœbes seek conspicuous perches such as posts or dead branches. They have the family habit of ruffling up their head-feathers into a sort of crest, and of jerking their tails frequently, especially when uttering their note. They make unexpected sallies after insects, which their unusually keen eyes can see from dawn until dark.
Phœbes are among our most useful birds, for they destroy injurious beetles, weevils, flies that annoy cattle and horses, house flies, ants, mosquitoes, wasps, spiders, grasshoppers, and numerous other harmful insects.[59]Their soft brown and gray plumage blends with dull March meadows, with the silver sheen of the brooks they love, and with silken pussy-willows and brown willow-boughs.
The Black Phœbe is found from Texas west to the Pacific coast. It catches flies persistently and well deserves its family name. In appearance it resembles the slate-coloredjunco, for it has a dusky head, back, wings, tail, and breast, with a white belly. Professor Beal writes of this bird as follows: “The black phœbe has the same habits as its eastern relative, both as to selection of food and nesting sites, preferring for the latter purpose some structure of man, as a shed, or, better still a bridge over a stream of water, and the preference of the black phœbe for the vicinity of water is very pronounced. One may always be found at a stream or pool and often at a watering-trough by the roadside.
“Careful study of the habits of the bird shows that it obtains a large portion of its food about wet places. While camping beside a stream in California the writer took some pains to observe the habits of the black phÅ“be. The nesting season was over, and the birds had nothing to do but eat. This they appeared to be doing all the time. When first observed in the morning, at the first glimmer of daylight, a phÅ“be was always found flitting from rock to rock, although it was so dusky that the bird could hardly be seen. This activity was kept up all day. Even in the evening, when it was so dark that notes were written by the aid of the camp fire, the phÅ“be was still engaged in its work of collecting, though it was difficult to understand how it could catch insects when there was scarcely light enough to see the bird. Exploration of the stream showed that every portion of it was patrolled by a phÅ“be, that each one apparently did not range over more than twelve or thirteen rods of water, and that sometimes two or three were in close proximity.â€[60]
Length: 12 to 13½ inches. Tail about 5 inches long, nearly the length of that of the blue jay.General Appearance: A glossy black bird withyellow eyes, and along tailthat in flight resembles a pointed fan curving toward the midrib. Blackbirdswalkinstead ofhopping.Male: Black with beautiful iridescence; head, neck, throat, and breast with green, blue, and purple reflections; back and rump purple and green, with iridescent bars; wings and tail purplish; under parts duller.Female: Duller than male, with less iridescence.Call-note: A hoarse, loudChack.Song: A disagreeable grating noise that Mr. Forbush likens to the “rather musical creaking of a rusty hinge.†I once noticed the strong resemblance of the sound to the squeaking wheels of farm-wagons that passed near a noisy flock of grackles. Blackbirds always look unhappy and uncomfortable when making their attempt at singing, as though they emitted the sound with great difficulty.Habitat: Groves of pine and spruce, as dark and gloomy as the birds themselves. They are found in parks and meadows, on lawns and near buildings. They live in large flocks except at nesting time.Range: Middle Atlantic coast-region of the United States. Breed from north shore of Long Island Sound (rarely in Massachusetts), the middle Hudson Valley west to the Alleghanies, and south to the uplands of Georgia, Alabama, and eastern Tennessee; winter mainly south of the Delaware Valley. The Bronzed and Florida grackles extend the range over the whole of eastern North America, to Great Slave Lake, Newfoundland, Colorado, and Florida.
Length: 12 to 13½ inches. Tail about 5 inches long, nearly the length of that of the blue jay.
General Appearance: A glossy black bird withyellow eyes, and along tailthat in flight resembles a pointed fan curving toward the midrib. Blackbirdswalkinstead ofhopping.
Male: Black with beautiful iridescence; head, neck, throat, and breast with green, blue, and purple reflections; back and rump purple and green, with iridescent bars; wings and tail purplish; under parts duller.
Female: Duller than male, with less iridescence.
Call-note: A hoarse, loudChack.
Song: A disagreeable grating noise that Mr. Forbush likens to the “rather musical creaking of a rusty hinge.†I once noticed the strong resemblance of the sound to the squeaking wheels of farm-wagons that passed near a noisy flock of grackles. Blackbirds always look unhappy and uncomfortable when making their attempt at singing, as though they emitted the sound with great difficulty.
Habitat: Groves of pine and spruce, as dark and gloomy as the birds themselves. They are found in parks and meadows, on lawns and near buildings. They live in large flocks except at nesting time.
Range: Middle Atlantic coast-region of the United States. Breed from north shore of Long Island Sound (rarely in Massachusetts), the middle Hudson Valley west to the Alleghanies, and south to the uplands of Georgia, Alabama, and eastern Tennessee; winter mainly south of the Delaware Valley. The Bronzed and Florida grackles extend the range over the whole of eastern North America, to Great Slave Lake, Newfoundland, Colorado, and Florida.
PURPLE GRACKLE
PURPLE GRACKLE
It seems incredible that blackbirds should belong to the same family as sweet-voiced meadowlarks, gay bobolinks, and musical orioles. They are literally the “black sheep†of the family, with a plumage in keeping with their dark deeds, and a sinister expression that arouses suspicion and wins them few friends. Their habit of destroying birds’ eggs and young birds makes them a terror to their neighbors. Dr. Frank Chapman humorously says that he “can imagine bird-mothers frightening their young into obedience by threatened visits from that ogre, the Grackle.â€[61]I saw a flock of them invading the seclusion of Wade Park, Cleveland, one spring morning. Two irate robins drove three bandit blackbirds away from their nest with loud cries and swift pursuit. A few minutes later, I saw a wood thrush attack a grackle. She administered a severe blow upon his shoulder, which disarranged his feathers and left him in such evident pain as to be quite oblivious of my proximity. This habit of devastating nests is not, however, so general as has been supposed, for Professor Beal reports that “remains of birds and birds’ eggs amount to less than half of one per cent. of his diet.â€[62]
During the breeding season, grackles do much good by their destruction of insects upon which their young are almost wholly fed. They devour beetles, the caterpillarsof gypsy and brown-tail moths, cutworms, grasshoppers, and locusts in great numbers. They “follow the plow†in search of the grubs and worms to be found in the up-turned earth.
Grackles are in great disfavor, however, because of the grain they consume. Professor Beal states that grain is eaten during the entire year except for a short time in the summer. Waste kernels are consumed during winter and early spring, but that eaten in July and August is probably standing grain. Middle-western farmers suffer considerably.[63]
It is interesting to see blackbirds migrate. They fly in flocks thousands strong. Mr. Forbush tells of a flock which formed a black “rainbow of birds†that stretched from one side of the horizon to the other. There seemed to be “millions†of them.
They fly with wonderful precision, like a well-trained army bent on destruction. They are truly “Birds of a feather†that “flock together†with a kind of joyless loyalty, disliked by most of the world.
The Bronzed Grackle, like the Purple Grackle, has a purple head, but has abronzed back without iridescent bars. It is found in central and eastern North America from Great Slave Lake to Newfoundland in Canada, south to Montana and Colorado, (east of the Rockies), and southeast to the northern part of the Gulf States, western Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. It winters mainly from the Ohio Valley to southern Texas.
The Florida Grackle is abundant from South Carolina to Florida, and west along the Gulf Coast to southeastern Texas. It is similar to the Purple Grackle in appearance, but is smaller in size. Flocks of these grackles frequent groves of palmettoes and live-oaks.
The Boat-tailed Grackle, the largest member of the blackbird family, (16 inches long), has wonderful violet reflections on head and neck. The female is much smaller and is brownish. This grackle is found in the South Atlantic and Gulf States from Chesapeake Bay to Florida and west to the eastern coast of Texas, and like the red-winged blackbird seems to prefer the vicinity of water.
Length: About 9½ inches; length varies in different individuals.Male: Jet black, except shoulders, which arescarletedged withyellow; plumage mottled in winter—upper parts edged with rusty brown; bill long, sharp-pointed, black; legs and feet black; eyes dark.Female: Head and back blackish, rusty brown, and buff. Light streak over and under eye; throat yellowish; under parts streaked with black and white; wings brown, edged with buff; tail brown. Plumage inconspicuous, but attractive on close inspection.Young Males: Similar to females, but with red and black shoulders.Call-Note: A hoarsechuckresembling that of the grackle.Song: A liquid, pleasanto-ka-ree.Habitat:In meadows where a streamlet flowsOr sedges rim a pool,There swings upon a blade of greenBeside the waters cool,A bird of black, with “epauletsâ€Of red and gold. With gleeHe plays upon his “Magic Fluteâ€:“O-o-ka-ree? O-o-ka-ree?â€Nest: A beautiful structure, long and deep, fastened to reeds; a “hanging†nest.Eggs: Pale bluish, with inky scrawls and spots.Range: North America, east of the Great Plains, except the Gulf Coast and Florida; abundant where there are marshes and ponds; winters mainly south of Ohio and Delaware Valleys.
Length: About 9½ inches; length varies in different individuals.
Male: Jet black, except shoulders, which arescarletedged withyellow; plumage mottled in winter—upper parts edged with rusty brown; bill long, sharp-pointed, black; legs and feet black; eyes dark.
Female: Head and back blackish, rusty brown, and buff. Light streak over and under eye; throat yellowish; under parts streaked with black and white; wings brown, edged with buff; tail brown. Plumage inconspicuous, but attractive on close inspection.
Young Males: Similar to females, but with red and black shoulders.
Call-Note: A hoarsechuckresembling that of the grackle.
Song: A liquid, pleasanto-ka-ree.
Habitat:
In meadows where a streamlet flowsOr sedges rim a pool,There swings upon a blade of greenBeside the waters cool,A bird of black, with “epauletsâ€Of red and gold. With gleeHe plays upon his “Magic Fluteâ€:“O-o-ka-ree? O-o-ka-ree?â€
In meadows where a streamlet flows
Or sedges rim a pool,
There swings upon a blade of green
Beside the waters cool,
A bird of black, with “epauletsâ€
Of red and gold. With glee
He plays upon his “Magic Fluteâ€:
“O-o-ka-ree? O-o-ka-ree?â€
Nest: A beautiful structure, long and deep, fastened to reeds; a “hanging†nest.
Eggs: Pale bluish, with inky scrawls and spots.
Range: North America, east of the Great Plains, except the Gulf Coast and Florida; abundant where there are marshes and ponds; winters mainly south of Ohio and Delaware Valleys.
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
When the hylas begin to pipe in the spring, they are joined by the musical Redwings. The voices of these birds have been likened to flutes, also to violincellos in an orchestra. Their song is pleasant to hear, but seems to require considerable effort on the part of the performers—they lift their shoulders and spread their tails into broad fans when singing.
Redwings are noisy chatterers; they are intensely social in their nature. It is thought that some males have several wives at a time—one marvels at their courage! During the winter the females flock by themselves, and in the spring migrate about two weeks after their venturesome, prospective husbands have come northward. When they arrive, there is great “Confusion of Tonguesâ€â€”the marsh is transformed into a Babel. Then sites for homes are selected, and house-building begins in earnest. Blackbirds make devoted parents.
They are much more popular than their cousins, the grackles, though in some localities where they are very abundant, as in the Upper Mississippi Valley, they are in disfavor because of the grain they devour. They eat oats, corn, and wheat, but only one-third as much as do the grackles; they eat the seeds of smartweed and barnyard grass in preference. Grasshoppers they consider great delicacies, also many other harmful insects.[64]Professor Beal states that nearly seven-eighths of their food consists of weed seed and insects injurious to agriculture. He pleads for their protection as does Mr. Forbush, who says: “Should there be an outbreak of cankerworms in an orchard, the blackbirds will fly at least half a mile toget them for their young.â€[65]They eat little fruit and do slight harm to garden or orchard. On the whole, they are beneficial to mankind.
TheRUSTY BLACKBIRDand theYELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDare two other species of blackbirds.
TheRUSTY BLACKBIRDresembles both the purple grackle and the redwing. It is more nearly uniformly glossy black in summer than the former; it is rusty in winter like the latter. It is about the size of the redwing and has a sweeter voice. It is sometimes mistaken for the grackle; but its smaller size, its shorter, rounder tail, and more musical voice differentiate it.
TheYELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, our western species, is easy to identify because of his yellow head, neck, throat, and breast, and his black body, with white wing-patches. The female has a paler yellow head, which, with the breast, is marked with white.
The Yellowhead lives in swamps of the Mississippi Valley from Indiana westward to California. He is attractive to see, but not pleasant to hear. He, too, is a grain-thief and therefore unpopular.
COWBIRD
COWBIRD
Length: About 8 inches.Male: Glossy black, with a brown head, neck, and breast; some metallic reflections on body, tail, and upper wing-feathers.Smaller than the grackle, with a shorter tail, less iridescence, anddark eyes. Like the grackle, the cowbird is a walker.Female: Dark brown, with a grayish tinge; under parts lighter, especially the throat, which has two dark streaks outlining the light patch.Call-note: A loudchuck.Song: No real song, only a disagreeable gurgle, that is emitted with great effort.Habitat: Pastures and open woodlands; usually seen on the ground, but sometimes in trees.Range: North America. Breeds in central Canada, south to northern California, Nevada, northern New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina; winters from southeast California and the Ohio and Potomac Valleys to the Gulf Coast and Central Mexico.
Length: About 8 inches.
Male: Glossy black, with a brown head, neck, and breast; some metallic reflections on body, tail, and upper wing-feathers.Smaller than the grackle, with a shorter tail, less iridescence, anddark eyes. Like the grackle, the cowbird is a walker.
Female: Dark brown, with a grayish tinge; under parts lighter, especially the throat, which has two dark streaks outlining the light patch.
Call-note: A loudchuck.
Song: No real song, only a disagreeable gurgle, that is emitted with great effort.
Habitat: Pastures and open woodlands; usually seen on the ground, but sometimes in trees.
Range: North America. Breeds in central Canada, south to northern California, Nevada, northern New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and North Carolina; winters from southeast California and the Ohio and Potomac Valleys to the Gulf Coast and Central Mexico.
The four common black birds—crows, grackles, redwings, and cowbirds—all have sins laid at their doors. Crows and blackbirds are grain-thieves and destroyers of the eggs and young of other birds; redwings have been accused of polygamy and theft; but if judged by human standards, none compare with cowbirds in what might be called moral degeneracy. Cowbirds not only mate promiscuously, but unlike blackbirds, have no regardfor their own young. They are like the human mothers who lay their babies on doorsteps, depart, and let others rear them.
It is a well-known fact that the female cowbird always selects the nest of a bird smaller and weaker than herself in which to deposit her egg. Major Bendire lists ninety-one varieties of birds that have been thus outraged, frequent victims being the song sparrow, indigo bunting, parula warbler, yellow warbler, vireo, chipping sparrow, towhee, oven-bird, yellow-breasted chat, and even the tiny blue-gray gnatcatcher. From one to seven cowbirds’ eggs have been found at a time in other birds’ nests, often in the warm center of the nest. Unless the little bird should build a new floor, or abandon her nest entirely, the cowbird egg will hatch first, and the lusty changeling will demand the lion’s share of food and attention. Frequently the other eggs do not hatch; if they do, the young birds often perish with hunger and cold. When young cowbirds have been reared by their patient little foster-parents, they leave their benefactors and join flocks of their disreputable relatives.
In justice it must be said that cowbirds, like all villains, have a redeeming trait—they are great destroyers of weed seeds and insects. Like Cadmus and his band, they “Follow the Cow,†and enjoy the insects that she arouses as she walks about in pastures. When the cow lies down, they, too, pause; they have been known to hop upon her back in friendly fashion. Self-interest prompts them, however, for they know that they may find there a harvest of insects.
MEADOWLARK
MEADOWLARK
Length: About 10¾ inches, a little larger than the robin; bill 1½ inches.General Appearance: A large brown bird, with ashort tail that shows conspicuous white feathersat each side in flight. The bright yellow breast crossed by a black crescent is less frequently seen.Male and Female: Upper parts dark brown, mottled with black and buff; head striped, with a light line through the center and a yellow line over each eye, alternating with two dark stripes; cheeks gray; throat, breast, and belly yellow; a V-shaped band on breast; sides and lower part of belly whitish, streaked with black; bill long and sharp; tail short, (about 3 inches); outer tail-feathers almost entirely white; middle feathers brown, barred with black.Call-note: A sharp nasalYerk, and a twitter that sounds like a succession of rapid sneezes.Song: A loud, clear, sweet refrain that usually consists of four syllables, but sometimes of five or six. It has been interpreted in various ways as follows:Spring′-of—the-y-e′-a-r!I love—you d-e-a-r.I’m Mead′-ow-lar′-rk.Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson tells of a lazy darky down South who interpreted the lark’s song as“Laziness-will kill′ you.â€[66]Flight: Direct, yet fluttering; usually away from the observer, showing the brown back and white tail-feathers, as though the bird was conscious of its bright yellow breast.Habitat: Cultivated meadows, and grassgrown fields, especially one containing a running brook for drinking and bathing. Its fondness for unmown fields has given it the name of “Old Field Lark.â€[67]Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from eastern Minnesota and southern Canada, south to northern Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, and west to western Iowa, eastern Kansas, and northwestern Texas; winters regularly from southern New England and Ohio valley south to the Gulf States, and north locally to the Great Lakes and southern Maine.In the South, from southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and North Carolina to the coast of Texas, Louisiana, and southern Florida is found theSOUTHERN MEADOWLARK, smaller and darker than the northern species, and with a different song.In the West, from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to southern California, northern Mexico, and Texas is theWESTERN MEADOWLARK, similar to its eastern relative in habits and plumage, but very different as to song. Its pure, sweet, liquid notes are among my most delightful memories of western birds.
Length: About 10¾ inches, a little larger than the robin; bill 1½ inches.
General Appearance: A large brown bird, with ashort tail that shows conspicuous white feathersat each side in flight. The bright yellow breast crossed by a black crescent is less frequently seen.
Male and Female: Upper parts dark brown, mottled with black and buff; head striped, with a light line through the center and a yellow line over each eye, alternating with two dark stripes; cheeks gray; throat, breast, and belly yellow; a V-shaped band on breast; sides and lower part of belly whitish, streaked with black; bill long and sharp; tail short, (about 3 inches); outer tail-feathers almost entirely white; middle feathers brown, barred with black.
Call-note: A sharp nasalYerk, and a twitter that sounds like a succession of rapid sneezes.
Song: A loud, clear, sweet refrain that usually consists of four syllables, but sometimes of five or six. It has been interpreted in various ways as follows:
Spring′-of—the-y-e′-a-r!I love—you d-e-a-r.I’m Mead′-ow-lar′-rk.
Spring′-of—the-y-e′-a-r!
I love—you d-e-a-r.
I’m Mead′-ow-lar′-rk.
Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson tells of a lazy darky down South who interpreted the lark’s song as
“Laziness-will kill′ you.â€[66]
“Laziness-will kill′ you.â€[66]
Flight: Direct, yet fluttering; usually away from the observer, showing the brown back and white tail-feathers, as though the bird was conscious of its bright yellow breast.
Habitat: Cultivated meadows, and grassgrown fields, especially one containing a running brook for drinking and bathing. Its fondness for unmown fields has given it the name of “Old Field Lark.â€[67]
Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from eastern Minnesota and southern Canada, south to northern Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, and west to western Iowa, eastern Kansas, and northwestern Texas; winters regularly from southern New England and Ohio valley south to the Gulf States, and north locally to the Great Lakes and southern Maine.
In the South, from southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and North Carolina to the coast of Texas, Louisiana, and southern Florida is found theSOUTHERN MEADOWLARK, smaller and darker than the northern species, and with a different song.
In the West, from British Columbia to Manitoba and south to southern California, northern Mexico, and Texas is theWESTERN MEADOWLARK, similar to its eastern relative in habits and plumage, but very different as to song. Its pure, sweet, liquid notes are among my most delightful memories of western birds.
It is fortunate that no human being or bird is possessed of all the virtues and charms, and that every individual may hold his own place in our interest and affections. As the spring migrants arrive, each receives a welcome peculiarly his own.
“The lark is so brimful of gladness and love—The green fields below him, the blue sky above,That he sings and he sings and forever sings he,‘I love my love, and my love loves me.’â€[68]
“The lark is so brimful of gladness and love—
The green fields below him, the blue sky above,
That he sings and he sings and forever sings he,
‘I love my love, and my love loves me.’â€[68]
His voice, clear and sweet, rings out joyously across the fields, fragrant with up-turned earth and bright with sunshine. He is the delight of spring meadows as Bob White is of summer fields.
The meadowlark has many friends: those who love him for his winning ways—his brightness, cheerfulness, and devotion to his family; epicures, ignorant of his value or fond only of their own pleasure; and people who realize that he is of enormous economic importance.
He was formerly believed to be a destroyer of grain. He was accused of pulling up as much corn and oats as crows, and of eating clover seed; but he is now recognized as “one of the most useful allies of agriculture, standing almost without a peer as a destroyer of noxious insects.â€[69]
So untiring is he in his search, that he uses his long sharp bill, even while snow is on the ground, to probe the earth for larvæ. He rids the fields of grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars, flies, spiders, and “thousand-legs.†Grasshoppers are his favorite delicacy. Professor Beal states that these insects form three-fourths of the meadowlark’s food during August. He eats also large numbers of the white grubs of beetles “which are among the worst enemies of many cultivated crops, notably grasses and grains, and to a less extent of strawberries and garden vegetables.â€[69]
Like the quail, meadowlarks destroy weed seeds, which are eaten mostly in winter. When insects are obtainable, they are greatly preferred.
A search for a meadowlark’s nest is an exciting adventure that keeps one alert. It is usually found by accident, perhaps after the wary builder has ceased trying to deceive the searcher. A sight of the speckled eggs or young fledglings in their cozy home with a grass-arched doorway is not soon forgotten.
Unlike quail, baby meadowlarks are unable to run about as soon as they are out of the egg, but remain for two weeks in their cleverly camouflaged home, where they are often the prey of snakes and other enemies. Meadowlarks are now being widely protected, for many farmers regard them as one of their greatest assets.
FLICKER
FLICKER
Length: About 12 inches; one of our largest common birds.General Appearance: A large brown bird with ared patch on the backof thehead,conspicuous white rumpandyellow liningofwings, which distinguish it from the brown meadowlark with its white tail-feathers.Male: Top of head and neck gray; acrescentofred across nape; cheeks and throat pinkish-brown, separated byblack patches; strong bill 1½ inches long; under parts pinkish-brown and white,heavily spotted with black; ablack crescentseparates throat and breast. Back and upper wing-feathers a grayish-brown,barred with black; large white patch at rump very conspicuous in flight; upper tail-coverts black and white; tail black above, yellow underneath.Female: Like male, except for theabsence of black patches at the sides of the throat.Notes: A loudche-ack′; also a note which Mr. Frank M. Chapman says “can be closely imitated by the swishing of a willow-wand:weechew, weechew, weechew.â€[70]Flickers drum frequently on boughs, also, and give a loud, rapidflick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flicker,—which may be called, by courtesy, their song.Habitat: Open woods, fields, orchards, and gardens, where trees or ant-hills are to be found.Range: Northern and eastern North America. Breeds in the forested regions of Alaska and Canada; in the UnitedStates east of the Rockies and southward to the Gulf Coast and Texas in the winter. Resident in the U. S. except in the more northern parts.TheSOUTHERN FLICKER, a resident as far south as southern Florida and central Texas, issmalleranddarkerthan the Northern Flicker.TheRED-SHAFTED FLICKER, a western species, hasred cheek-patchesinstead ofblack,red wingandtailfeathers, instead ofyellow; itlacksthered bandon thehead. It is found in the Rocky Mt. and Pacific Coast regions from British Columbia to Mexico, and east to western Texas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In regions where the northern flicker also is found, these two species have hybridized. In the National Museum of Washington there are numerous specimens of these hybrids, where the red and black cheek-patches, the red and yellow wing-feathers and red band on the head appear in various unusual combinations.
Length: About 12 inches; one of our largest common birds.
General Appearance: A large brown bird with ared patch on the backof thehead,conspicuous white rumpandyellow liningofwings, which distinguish it from the brown meadowlark with its white tail-feathers.
Male: Top of head and neck gray; acrescentofred across nape; cheeks and throat pinkish-brown, separated byblack patches; strong bill 1½ inches long; under parts pinkish-brown and white,heavily spotted with black; ablack crescentseparates throat and breast. Back and upper wing-feathers a grayish-brown,barred with black; large white patch at rump very conspicuous in flight; upper tail-coverts black and white; tail black above, yellow underneath.
Female: Like male, except for theabsence of black patches at the sides of the throat.
Notes: A loudche-ack′; also a note which Mr. Frank M. Chapman says “can be closely imitated by the swishing of a willow-wand:weechew, weechew, weechew.â€[70]Flickers drum frequently on boughs, also, and give a loud, rapidflick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flick, flicker,—which may be called, by courtesy, their song.
Habitat: Open woods, fields, orchards, and gardens, where trees or ant-hills are to be found.
Range: Northern and eastern North America. Breeds in the forested regions of Alaska and Canada; in the UnitedStates east of the Rockies and southward to the Gulf Coast and Texas in the winter. Resident in the U. S. except in the more northern parts.
TheSOUTHERN FLICKER, a resident as far south as southern Florida and central Texas, issmalleranddarkerthan the Northern Flicker.
TheRED-SHAFTED FLICKER, a western species, hasred cheek-patchesinstead ofblack,red wingandtailfeathers, instead ofyellow; itlacksthered bandon thehead. It is found in the Rocky Mt. and Pacific Coast regions from British Columbia to Mexico, and east to western Texas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In regions where the northern flicker also is found, these two species have hybridized. In the National Museum of Washington there are numerous specimens of these hybrids, where the red and black cheek-patches, the red and yellow wing-feathers and red band on the head appear in various unusual combinations.
The Flicker is a bird of distinction. A glimpse of him at once arouses interest, curiosity, and a desire for further acquaintance. He is handsome, well set up, full of vitality and power—the personification of efficiency.
We like his cheerful voice—a trifle too loud for a gentleman of refinement, but a welcome sound in the season when the whole world wishes to shout with joy at the release from winter’s confinement. Thoreau wrote: “Ah, there is the note of the first flicker, a prolonged, monotonouswick-wick-wick-wick-wick-wick, etc., or, if you please,quick, quick, quick, heard far over and through the dry leaves. But how that single sound peoples and enriches all the woods and fields. They are no longer the same woods and fields that they were. This note really quickenswhat was dead. It seems to put life into the withered grass and leaves and bare twigs, and henceforth the days shall not be as they have been. It is as when a family, your neighbors, return to an empty house after a long absence, and you hear the cheerful hum of voices and the laughter of children.... So the flicker makes his voice ring.... It is as good as a house-warming to all nature.â€[71]
We cannot repress a smile as we watch this golden-winged woodpecker striving to make a favorable impression upon Miss Flicker. He and a group of rivals take amusing, awkward attitudes, make a variety of noisy but pleasant calls, and without any ill-tempered quarreling, select their mates and “live happily ever after.â€
Though a woodpecker, the flicker departs from family habits and traditions by seeking his livelihood on the ground in preference to tree-trunks. He is a foe to the industrious ant that we were taught to admire along with the “busy bee.†But ants destroy timber, infest houses, and cause the spread of aphids that are enemies of garden plants; therefore the ant’s destroyer, the flicker, is a neighborhood benefactor and deserves our heartfelt protection. Professor Beal reports finding 3,000 ants in the stomach of each of two flickers and fully 5,000 in that of another.[72]These insects form almost half of this bird’s food. His long, sticky tongue is especially adapted to their capture. He likes grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and caterpillars, and while he enjoys fruit, he takes little that is of any value to man.
Most northern flickers migrate. They remain during the winter in some localities, as Cape Cod, where food is sufficiently abundant. Mr. Forbush tells of flickers that have bored holes in summer cottages on the Cape, and spent the winters in rooms which they damaged by their habit of “pecking.†He states that bird-boxes containing large entrances placed on the outside of the houses or on the trees near by, would have prevented those flickers from forming the “criminal habit of breaking and entering.â€[73]Red-Shafted Flickers have also been found guilty of the same crime, and have entered not only dwellings, but school-houses and church steeples.[74]
Though rather shy birds, they often approach inhabited houses and frequently cause amusing situations because of their regular drumming on roof or wall. In Florida, a young woman whom I know was once aroused from her early morning’s sleep by a flicker’s knock, and drowsily responded with a “Come in.†A friend and I, spending a week-end in an Ohio summer cottage that possessed no alarm-clock, asked to be called in time for a very early boat. We heard a knocking, arose, dressed quietly to avoid disturbing the household, and then found that our summons had come from flickers on the roof, and that we had lost about two hours of precious morning’s sleep.
Flickers have more local names than almost any other bird. Over one hundred names have been recorded, of which “Yellowhammer,†and “Golden-winged Woodpecker,†are perhaps most common.
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Length: About 9¾ inches; nearly as large as a robin.General Appearance: A black and white birdwith entire head and neck bright red.Male and Female: Head, neck, throat, and upper part of the breast brilliant red; upper part of back and wings black; longer wing-feathers or primaries also black; lower back and secondary wing-feathers white; under parts white; tail pointed, black, margined with white. In flight, the areas of red, black, and white are very distinct.Young: Brown heads and necks, mottled with black; upper parts of backs barred with light brown. The other parts of their bodies resemble those of their parents.Note: No song, but a loud, cheerfulQuir-r-r-k? Quir-r-r-k?and a drumming sound, similar to that made by other woodpeckers.Habitat: Open woods, groves of beeches preferred.Nest: In hollow tree-trunks or telegraph-poles.Range: From southeastern British Columbia, to Ontario, south to the Gulf Coast, and from central Montana, Colorado, and Texas east to the valleys of the Hudson and Delaware; rare in New England. Irregularly migratory in the northern parts of its range.
Length: About 9¾ inches; nearly as large as a robin.
General Appearance: A black and white birdwith entire head and neck bright red.
Male and Female: Head, neck, throat, and upper part of the breast brilliant red; upper part of back and wings black; longer wing-feathers or primaries also black; lower back and secondary wing-feathers white; under parts white; tail pointed, black, margined with white. In flight, the areas of red, black, and white are very distinct.
Young: Brown heads and necks, mottled with black; upper parts of backs barred with light brown. The other parts of their bodies resemble those of their parents.
Note: No song, but a loud, cheerfulQuir-r-r-k? Quir-r-r-k?and a drumming sound, similar to that made by other woodpeckers.
Habitat: Open woods, groves of beeches preferred.
Nest: In hollow tree-trunks or telegraph-poles.
Range: From southeastern British Columbia, to Ontario, south to the Gulf Coast, and from central Montana, Colorado, and Texas east to the valleys of the Hudson and Delaware; rare in New England. Irregularly migratory in the northern parts of its range.
This conspicuous bird is one of the handsomest members of the Woodpecker family. He is the only one really entitled to the name of Red-Headed Woodpecker. His male relatives wear only small skull-caps placed on their crowns at various angles; he possessesa sort of toboggan-cap pulled down over his head and tucked into his black coat and white vest-front.
Many stories and legends are told of this woodpecker. He is the delight of children in localities where he is to be found. I remember how I used to look for the red hood and the black shawl worn over a white dress, especially noticeable in flight. I never tired of watching one of these birds approach his nest in a tall dead tree with food in his mouth. At a signal from him, his wife’s red head would appear in the doorway. She would emerge; he would then enter and remain with the children until her return.
Redheads have not been popular with farmers, who have accused them of various crimes. They have been caught eating small fruit and corn on the ear, destroying both the eggs and young of other birds, and boring holes in telegraph-poles in which to build their nests. While individuals may be guilty of such misdemeanors, the redheads are probably neither so black nor so gory, except in plumage, as they are painted.
These woodpeckers are not such persistent destroyers of insects as others of their family. They have a decided preference for beetles, but eat fewer ants and larvæ than do the Downy and Hairy woodpeckers. They are exceptionally fond of vegetable food; their preference for beechnuts is very great. Dr. C. Hart Merriam states that in northern New York, where the redhead is one of the commonest woodpeckers, it subsists almost exclusively on beechnuts during the fall and winter, even pecking the green nuts before they are ripe and while the trees are still covered with leaves. He has shown that these woodpeckers invariably remain throughout the winter aftergood nut-yields and migrate whenever the nut-crop fails.[75]
“In central Indiana during a good beechnut year, from the time the nuts began to ripen, the redheads were almost constantly on the wing; passing from the beeches to some place of deposit. They hid the nuts in almost every conceivable situation. Many were placed in cavities in partly decayed trees; and the felling of an old beech was certain to provide a feast for the children. Large handfuls were taken from a single knot hole. They were often found under a patch of raised bark, and single nuts were driven into cracks in the bark. Others were thrust into cracks in gate-posts; and a favorite place of deposit was behind long slivers on fence-posts. In a few cases grains of corn were mixed with beechnuts. Nuts were often driven into cracks in the end of railroad ties, and the birds were often seen on the roofs of houses pounding nuts into crevices between the shingles. In several instances the space formed by a board springing away from a fence was nearly filled with nuts, and afterwards pieces of bark and wood were brought and driven over the nuts as if to hide them from poachers.â€[76]
In summer, Dr. Merriam has seen the redheads “make frequent sallies into the air after passing insects, which were almost invariably secured.†He has also seen them catch grasshoppers on the ground in a pasture.
They are cheerful, active birds, with a call like that of a giant tree-toad. Their brilliant plumage has unfortunately made them a good target for sportsmen.
Length: About 9½ inches.Male:Crown of head and back of neck bright red, resembling slightly that of the red-headed woodpecker, butthroat and cheeks gray; back and wings barred with white, the barring reminding one of the flicker.Under parts gray mashed with red; tail black and white; upper tail-coverts white, streaked with black.Female:Crown gray, nostrils and neck bright red.Notes: Mr. Frank Chapman writes of this woodpecker: “It ascends a tree in a curious, jerky fashion, accompanying each upward move by a hoarsechu-chu. It also uttersk-r-r-r-ringroll and, when mating, awhickercall like that of the Flicker.â€[77]Habitat: Open woods of deciduous trees and conifers; also groves of live-oak, palmettoes, and other southern trees, where these birds may be seen in company with flickers.Range: From southern Canada and eastern United States southward; abundant in the Southern States; rare in New England; is found in western New York and south-western Pennsylvania, and Delaware, south to central Texas and the Gulf States.
Length: About 9½ inches.
Male:Crown of head and back of neck bright red, resembling slightly that of the red-headed woodpecker, butthroat and cheeks gray; back and wings barred with white, the barring reminding one of the flicker.Under parts gray mashed with red; tail black and white; upper tail-coverts white, streaked with black.
Female:Crown gray, nostrils and neck bright red.
Notes: Mr. Frank Chapman writes of this woodpecker: “It ascends a tree in a curious, jerky fashion, accompanying each upward move by a hoarsechu-chu. It also uttersk-r-r-r-ringroll and, when mating, awhickercall like that of the Flicker.â€[77]
Habitat: Open woods of deciduous trees and conifers; also groves of live-oak, palmettoes, and other southern trees, where these birds may be seen in company with flickers.
Range: From southern Canada and eastern United States southward; abundant in the Southern States; rare in New England; is found in western New York and south-western Pennsylvania, and Delaware, south to central Texas and the Gulf States.