LESSON XXXVI.
A BRIGADE OF BIRDS.
In some of the lessons in these Nature Readers, you have been told of crabs that are street-cleaners of the sea. You have also been told of insects that are cleaners of the air. I shall now tell you of some birds that are cleaners of fields and woods.
This lesson will be about a brigade of birds that do street-cleaning work. I shall head the list with the crow. You have seen that big, black birdstanding all alone on a dead tree, looking the country over. You have seen him following the farmer’s rake and plough in the spring.
You have seen hundreds of crows come together in the fall, to discuss their migration. You know their loud, harsh note. You have seen them in their sleek, black coats, stepping over the snow in winter time. You know in cold weather they become very tame, and draw near the houses for food.
One day I heard a loud cawing of crows, and looking out saw about twenty of them flying in a long, low line over some bushes, in a field. Every now and then they stooped to the earth. I watched. They were chasing a cat. The cat hid in the bushes. He was trying to escape from the crows.
They flew over the bushes and scolded. Then, as he ran from one shelter to the next, they stooped and pecked him. They chased the poor cat all across a big field. I think he was very glad when he got under a barn. I suppose the crows saw that he was watching them, and so they drove him away.
When a number of crows are in a field, they keep one crow on a high place, to warn them if danger is near. They seem to be very wise birds. They know a man with a gun, as far as they can see him.
Crows do some harm by pulling up and eating the planted corn and sown grain. But they are of use, as they eat many worms and insects which destroy crops. You often see crows following a farmer as he ploughs. They are after the grubs and worms in the new furrow.
Crows eat lizards, mice, toads, and moles. They also feed on any dead and decaying flesh which they can find. A company of crows will pluck off all the flesh from a decaying animal, and leave the bones white and clean.
The crow is about as large as a large pigeon. It is jet black, and not handsome. Like all flesh-eating birds it has a large strong beak and large strong feet. These are for tearing their prey.
As crows kill young chicks and pull up grain, farmers dislike them. Have you not seen images placed in fields, to scare the crows from the crops?
Crows are very noisy except when they are rearing a young brood. Then they are quiet. They do not wish the nest to be found. The nest is large and made of moss, sticks, leaves, bark, and hairs. It is built in a high tree. In it are four pale-green eggs, with olive spots.
Mr. Crow helps brood the eggs. He keeps a sharp lookout for danger for half a mile about his nest.He hunts for food and brings some to Mrs. Crow as she sits on her eggs.
Toward the end of summer, the young crows can fly well. Then many families of crows go to pass the night together in some place that they have chosen. I used to like to watch great flocks of crows going at sunset towards their roost. In the morning they returned.
Crows like to live near the sea. They catch small fish. They carry shell-fish high up in the air in their claws, and let them drop on a rock. The fall breaks the shells and the crows fly down and pick out what is inside.
The jackdaw and the magpie are cousins of the crow. They also eat flesh. They are larger than the crow, and have some white in their plumage. They can both be taught to speak.
The jackdaw likes to carry off and hide things. I knew one that lived in a garden, where some swans were kept on a pond. The naughty jackdaw would go and carry off all the swans’ food and hide it.
If we walked near his hiding-places, he would run after us and peck our shoes. The gardener had to put a wire fence all around the pond, and clip the daw’s wings so that he could not fly over the fence to rob the swans.
A much larger bird than these is the turkey buzzard. He is about the size of a small turkey, and is of a faded black color. His head and neck are bare of feathers. The skin of the head and neck is reddish and wrinkled. It has a little black hair and down on it. The bill is very large and hooked. The feet are also very large.
This is the least handsome of all our birds, and no one likes it. The reason of the dislike is, the bad odor the bird has. This odor comes from the decayed animal food which the buzzard eats. But it is this very habit of eating spoiled food which makes the poor bird so useful to us.
The buzzard has a swift flight and a keen eye. It can see its dead food far off. When you see three or four buzzards wheeling in the air, you may be sure that some dead animal lies on the ground below them.
Any one who knows how the carcass of a sheep, cow, dog, or cat will infect the air for miles about, will feel glad that the buzzards like to eat such things. The buzzards strip off all the ill-smelling flesh, and leave only clean white bones.
The buzzard is a very mild, quiet bird. It never fights, and never eats any live prey. It tears up no corn, and carries off no little chicks. In most States there is a law against killing a buzzard.
The buzzard makes no nest. It finds a hollow stump, or a broken tree, and lays two or four eggs on the decayed wood. The eggs are about the size of goose eggs. They have brown spots on them. The young ones are covered with down like young goslings. Buzzards are American birds.
The large carrion crow, or black vulture, is a bird much like the buzzard in its habits. But it lives farther south, is seen in greater numbers, and is not so shy. They are often tamed, and kept near the markets to clean up offal. They like to sit on the chimney tops to enjoy the warm air that rises.
Dogs and black vultures will feed together on a carcass. But if the dogs crowd the birds too much, the vultures will hiss at them. These black vultures do good service by eating up alligators’ eggs.
Another of our brigade of flesh-eating birds is the raven. The raven is a handsomer bird than the others. His glossy black feathers have blue and green tints on them. Ravens are often found in sea-side cliffs and trees. They feed on dead fish.
The raven is noted as one of the most long-lived of birds. They are said to live a hundred years. They are found in nearly all climates and countries. While they eat all kinds of dead animal matter, they will also carry off young ducks and chickens.