FOOTNOTE:[14]SeeAppendix, 13.
[14]SeeAppendix, 13.
[14]SeeAppendix, 13.
THE SPARROW AND FINCH FAMILY
(Fringillidæ)[15]
Thisis the largest bird family, more than five hundred species, and they are found nearly all over the world. It is divided into sparrows, finches, grosbeaks, and crossbills. All of them are smaller than a robin, and have short, high beaks, with the back corners turned down. The beaks show that they are seed eaters, though all of them eat insects too.
An interesting thing about birds who eat seeds is the grinding machine they have inside to break up the hard seeds. For of course, having no teeth, they are obliged to swallow them nearly whole. What I have called a machine is the gizzard, and you have seen it on the table from a chicken. It is well fitted to grind up the food, and birds often swallow small stones to help in the work.
The first group of this family, the sparrows,are all small, about the size of an English sparrow. They are dressed in dull, brownish colors, more or less streaked, and they live and get their food very largely on or near the ground. Their colors keep them from being easily seen on the ground.
All of this group sing, and some of them are noted songsters, as the song sparrow, the white-throated sparrow, and the fox sparrow. The best known is the little song sparrow, who is found almost everywhere, and is dear to nearly every one.
TheSong Sparrowis streaked all over in shades of brown. The breast is white, with the dark brown streaks coming together in an irregular-shaped spot, or sometimes two spots, in front.
The nest of the song sparrow is on the ground or very near it. Sometimes it is in a tuft of grass, sometimes in a low bush a few inches up. One I found at the roots of a little clump of golden-rod, before it bloomed, of course. It was a slight affair, right among the stems, so that it could not be taken up without tearing the plant.
This bird is one of the first to come in the spring, and his song and the robin's are the firstwe hear. He also stays very late in the fall, and about New York some of them stay all winter. Their food being the seeds of weeds, which are always to be found, they do not need to migrate.
The song sparrow has a sweet and cheery voice, and a variety of songs, and he sings a great deal. I have heard one bird sing six different songs, standing on a fence in plain sight all the time. Some of the songs are charming, and all are pleasant to hear. One never tires of song-sparrow music.
The second branch of this family—the Finches—have some brighter colored members, the goldfinch in brilliant lemon-yellow, and the purple finch in crimson and white.
TheGoldfinch, called also the thistle-bird, lettuce-bird, and wild canary, is a charming fellow, dressed, as I said, in lemon color, with black wings and tail and cap. His mate is in olive brown. He is the most delightful of singers, with a sweet voice, and is a common bird all over the country. He flies in great waves, uttering a cheery little warble as he goes over each airy wave.
The nest is one of the prettiest we have, in an upright crotch, and furnished with a bed of thistledown an inch thick for the baby goldfinchesto rest upon. It is made late in the season, in July and sometimes in August.
One of the most lovely bird-studies I ever had was of a pair of these birds nesting in a low plum-tree. While his mate was sitting, the gay little fellow hung around, doing nothing but watching the tree that held his family. Every little while the sitting bird would begin to call her sweet-voiced "s-w-e-e-t," which sounds so much like a canary's call. On hearing this he would answer her, and at once fly over to see if she was all right, or wanted anything. When he thought it time to eat, he would come and call her off. Both would then go to a patch of weeds, where they cracked and ate the seeds till they had had enough, and then go back to the nursery.
These little birds eat mostly the seeds of weeds,—thistle, ragweed, and beggar's-ticks,—as well as the larvæ of the wheat-midge and other pests, and they feed great quantities to their young.
Goldfinches do not leave us in winter. The male puts off his bright coat and comes out in dull colors like his mate, except that he keeps his black wings and tail. All of a neighborhood collect in small flocks and stay about all winter, looking more like sparrows than goldfinches.
The Western goldfinch which corresponds to this bird is called in California theWillow Goldfinch, but in looks and in habits of life he seems to be the same as the Eastern bird. He is a confiding little creature, and by a person of quiet ways may be made very tame.
Among the finches will be found theChewink, orTowhee Bunting, a bird nearly of the size of a catbird, who is sometimes called ground robin. He is black and white, with reddish sides and red eyes, and his mate is brown where he is black. He is usually found on the ground, where he gets his food, and where the nest is placed.
There are several species in California, and the Western variety of the common chewink of the East is called the spurred towhee, with habits the same, so far as known.
The chewink has at the best an exquisite song, though there is a great difference in singers, as there is in all bird families. The finest song is like a peal of silver-toned bells.
A bird-lover whom I know found one day a nestling chewink who could not fly much, and seemed to be deserted, or lost, in a barren place on Long Island. Fearing that some cat would get him, he brought the bird home and put him in a cage. The little fellow was not at allfrightened at his new surroundings, and became very tame.
The cage of the young bird was near that of an ortolan, a European bird noted as a singer, and a common cage-bird. The baby chewink seemed to take a great liking to the stranger, and tried to do everything he did. Perhaps he felt the need of some education, since he had been deprived of his parents. At any rate, he evidently adopted the ortolan as his model.
When the little one began to sing, he did not sing chewink but ortolan, and he did it so well that one could hardly tell which bird was singing. The gentleman wanted to see if the little fellow would recognize the song of his own family. So he bought a full-grown chewink who was singing, and put him close to his young relative. The new bird was full of music, and sang a great deal. But the youngster paid no attention to him, and kept up his ortolan notes.
This story shows that a bird does not always, if ever, know his native song by instinct, but has to learn it. It is supposed by those who have studied bird ways that he learns it from the old bird before he leaves the nest.
FOOTNOTE:[15]SeeAppendix, 14.
[15]SeeAppendix, 14.
[15]SeeAppendix, 14.
THE GROSBEAK BRANCH
(Fringillidæ)—Continued
Thethird division of this family is of grosbeaks. These are the largest of the group, and nearly the size of a robin, with very big beaks. They live in trees and wear some bright colors. They are also fine singers.
In the Eastern States, and west to Missouri, is found theRose-breasted Grosbeak. He is a beautiful bird, black and white, with a gorgeous rose-colored patch on his white breast, and the same color on the inside of his wings. You can see him in the picture. His mate is modest in stripes of brown and buffy white.
grosbeak on leafy branchROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK
A lady whom I know in New England has had three of these birds living tame in her house, hardly at all confined to a cage. Each one was picked up when just out of the nest and so injured that it could not care for itself. It was carefully fed and reared in the house, and thus saved from death.
One of the three was a female, who was as tame as a domestic cat, and lived in the house four or five years. She was a fine singer, though never a loud one. She kept the family cats in their place by pecking at their toes when they came near, so they had respect for her.
Another was a young singer who had his bill crossed, so that he could not feed himself. He was nearly dead for want of food when he was found. She fed him carefully and brought him up, though she had always to feed him herself. That is a good deal to do, for birds want to be fed very often.
These birds who lived in a house, and were not taught by their parents, never gave the common song of the species, but made up songs of their own. They lived several years with their friend, who was very fond of them.
The rose-breasted grosbeak is one who puts on his gay colors only for the nesting season. When that is over, and he moults, and gets his new winter suit, it is mostly streaked brown like his mate's. The rosy patch is very small, and mixed with brown, so the effect is dull. In the spring he moults the body feathers, and comes out again with his brilliant rose colors.
The bird who takes the place of the rosebreastin the West is theBlack-headed Grosbeak. He is reddish brown and black, with the same color and lemon yellow on the under parts, and yellow under the wings, instead of rose like the Eastern bird. He is a loud, enthusiastic singer. Miss Merriam says of him that his song to his mate is finer than that of any other bird she has heard.
TheCardinal Grosbeak, cardinal redbird, Virginia nightingale, or redbird, as he is called in different places, is of the third group of this family. He is found all over the Southern States, and as far north as Southern New England and New York. He is a brilliant red to the tip of his beak, with a beautiful crest and black throat and face. His mate is in soft dove colors, with red beak, and reddish tints on her quiet robe.
Both of the pair are singers. He is much the louder, but she has the sweeter song. He is famous as a singer, and is therefore trapped and caught in great numbers for cages. In Europe, where he is a favorite cage-bird, he is thought by many to be equal to the famous nightingale as a singer.
In Ohio, a few years ago, a law was made that no cardinal should be caged, and those in cages should be set free. In one small village weremore than forty freed. This shows how many are caged.
While nesting, the cardinal is rather savage, ready to fight any one who disturbs the nest. If a snake comes about, all the birds within hearing, from cardinals to kinglets, will come to help defend the nest and punish the enemy. They fly at him with loud cries, and even attack him if he does not leave.
The nest of these birds is not very high, in a tree or bush, and they are very shy about it. A cardinal will desert her nest if it is touched, especially if eggs are not yet laid. But they have reason to be afraid; they cannot be blamed for that.
I saw a nest built on a trellis beside a kitchen door, and the birds were so used to the people that they were not afraid. One who lived in that house was a boy fourteen years old. But he was so gentle with birds that they did not fear him at all. They would feed the nestlings freely, while he stood not three feet from them. So they can be made tame, if people will be gentle and not disturb them.
The cardinal grosbeak stays as far north as New Jersey and Ohio all winter, and a little flock have lived in Central Park, New York, for several years. That is most delightful for thosewho live near, for they sing all winter, when few bird-notes are to be heard. They can stay because they are seed eaters, and they find many weed seeds, and wild berries like cedar berries, that stay on all winter.
black and white photo of cardinalCARDINAL
A lady once had a cardinal in a cage with a pair of the tiny green parrots called love-birds. These little birds, you know, are always putting the bills together and caressing each other, as if kissing. The cardinal seemed to think this very silly; at any rate, he did not like it. After looking on awhile, he would lose patience and dash right down between them. Of course this drove them apart. Then he seemed to feel better, and went back to his perch. But when they began it again, down he would come between them again. He did not disturb them at any other time, but that sort of thing he plainly couldn't endure.
THE CROSSBILL BRANCH
(Fringillidæ)—Continued
Thefourth branch of this family is of crossbills. Of these we have two. They are smaller than grosbeaks, and, as their name shows, have the two points of the bill crossed. It looks as if they could not feed themselves. But a beak like this is just fitted to pick seeds out of cones. And crossbills live mostly on cone-seeds.
These queer beaks are used for another thing, too. They help the birds climb around on the trees. They are almost as good as a hand. You have seen a parrot use his beak in the same way.
TheAmerican, orRed,Crossbillis the more common of our two. He travels about all over the Northern States and California. But he's very particular about a place to nest, and is suited only in the northern parts, or in the mountains.
The red crossbill seems to be a whimsical fellow;one never knows where to find him. One year he will come with all his friends to a place, and the next year there will not be one there.
The male is dull red, more or less streaked all over with brown. His mate is olive green, mottled and mixed with blackish.
Crossbills go in flocks. They are usually seen among the evergreens, where they find their food. They are much attached to one another.
I had a chance one summer to get well acquainted with a flock of American crossbills. I found them very odd in their manners. They had the queerest songs and calls of any bird I know. These were not musical, but sounded like such things as the squeaking of a wagon wheel or the sawing of wood.
The birds were very fond of calling and singing, and they kept up a constant chattering, as they flew from spruce to spruce. They spent most of their time on these trees, eating the seeds of the cones.
The white-winged crossbill lives about as the red one does. But he has a really fine song. It is full of trills, something like a canary's song.
One of the odd things about these birds is their habit of nesting in winter. A Maine hunter was once shooting moose in the middle of January, when he came upon the nest of acrossbill, with the bird sitting. The weather was cold, of course, and there was deep snow on the ground. The nest was in the woods, and made of twigs, with long gray moss outside. It looked so like a bunch of moss that it was hard to see. Other nests have been found in winter also.
Mr. Nehrling says that if one of these birds is caught, the rest of the flock will not leave him. They stay around him, crying and showing their distress in every way, and if one is put alone into a cage, he will die.
THE BLACKBIRD FAMILY
(Icteridæ)[16]
Thereare more than one hundred species of the Blackbird Family in America. So we will divide them into four branches: Marsh Blackbirds, Meadow Starlings, Orioles, and Crow Blackbirds.
black and white drawing of red-winged black birdRED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
Blackbirds are walkers. They dress mostly in black, and they are of medium size. Some of them will generally be found on the ground in a marsh or a meadow. They are social birds, that is, they go in flocks. Fond as they are of society, however, there is one time when they are willing to be a little apart from the blackbird world. That is when they are nesting and rearing a young family. Two interesting birds of this family are the red-winged blackbird and the cow-blackbird or cowbird.
TheRed-winged Blackbirdis found allover the country. He is not so large as a robin, and is black all over, excepting one place on the wings. On these are bright stripes of red and orange, which seem to be on the shoulders when the wings are closed. They make the bird very gay, when he spreads them out in flying.
The red-wing's mate is a modest-looking bird in stripes of brown and black. She is a plodding sort of a creature, too. She walks about on the ground, looking for grubs or insects so busily that she hardly seems to see anything else.
The nest is usually in a marsh. At any rate, it must be near the water, for red-wings are as fond of the water as any old sailor. It is hung between reeds, or in the branches of a low bush. It is a comfortable, bag-like affair, deep enough and big enough to hold the restless blackbird babies.
While the mother red-wing is sitting, her mate stays near her and sings a great deal. His song is a loud, sweet "hwa-ker-ee," which may be heard a long way off. When nestlings are out, he is one of the most busy and fussy of birds. He helps in the feeding, and seems to be a good and careful father. But when the young ones are grown up and able to feed themselves, a curious thing happens. All the gay red-wings in a neighborhood come together in a flock again.And all the young ones and the mothers stay in another flock.
The red-wing is a very nervous and uneasy fellow. While his mate is sitting he is always on guard to see that no harm comes to her. In the picture you can see he looks much concerned, as if he had discovered something. Then he makes a great row if any one comes near. He will give such cries of distress that one would think he was hurt, or that his nestlings were being stolen away. If the enemy is a crow, come to feed quietly on the meadow, he will fly at him, try to peck his head, and annoy him till he goes away. If it is a person who alarms him, he will circle about over his head with loud cries, and now and then swoop down as if he meant to attack him. In fact, he shows so much distress that it is not very pleasant to stay near him.
The young red-wing is just as uneasy and fussy as his papa. As soon as he is able to get out of the nest, he scrambles about in the bushes. He never stays two minutes in one place, and every time his mother comes with food she has to hunt him up before she can give it to him.
The red-wing is fond of green corn, and is often shot by farmers, but he is also a famous insect eater, and earns all the corn he gets. He eats numbers of cut-worms, and other insects,and in some of the prairie States he does great good by eating locusts and their eggs. Besides these, he likes variety, and is fond of the seeds of weeds. Ragweed and smartweed seeds are dainties to him as some nuts are to you, and he eats a great many. So unless a large flock comes to one place to disturb the crops, you may be sure they do more good than harm. So says the Department I told you about.
The young red-winged blackbird is a droll fellow, and has decided notions of his own. Mr. Keyser tells a story of one he picked up. He was put in with some other young birds,—meadowlarks and catbirds. They were all babies together, and all used to being fed. So when the little red-wing got something to eat, they would open their mouths and beg for it, in the pretty bird-baby way. At first he fed them, though he wasn't much more than a baby himself; but they liked it so well that they coaxed everything away from him. He soon got tired of that, and at last refused to feed them at all.
This little bird liked to play jokes on the sober young meadowlarks. His way was to seize one by the wing or tail and dance around the floor, dragging his victim after him. The young larks scolded and held back, and at last they learned to stop his pranks. They did it bythrowing themselves over on their backs, and holding up their claws ready to fight.
In spite of this naughty fun, the young blackbird was really fond of them. The larks slept on the ground, and at night, when the little fellows settled down on the floor, the red-wing would often leave his perch and cuddle down by them. This must have been for company only, for it was his way to sleep on a perch.
TheCow-Blackbird, orCowbird, is another one of this branch of the Blackbird Family who is found all over the United States. He is shining blue-black all over, except his head, which is brown. His mate is entirely brown. He is not quite so large as a red-wing, and he too is a walker.
This bird is called cowbird because he is fond of flying about the cows,—not to trouble them, but to eat the insects that torment them,—which is very pleasant for the cows, I am sure.
There is one queer way that cowbirds have, which no one is able to explain. The cowbird mother does not build a nest for her little family. Yet she wants them well cared for. So she goes slyly about and lays her eggs in other birds' nests. She generally chooses the nest of a smaller bird, though she often uses one belonging to a wood thrush.
Most little birds—warblers and finches—accept the charge. They hatch out the strange egg and bring up the young cowbird, who is bigger than themselves. He is so big that he usually smothers the young ones that belong in the nest. So he receives the whole attention of the little mother bird.
Sometimes other birds come to help one who has a young cowbird to feed, and he grows big and strong. When he is full grown he joins a party of other cowbirds, and they go off in a flock by themselves.
Some small birds will not submit to this. When they find a cowbird's egg in their nest, they go away and leave it there, and make a new nest. Or they make a new story, as I told you the yellow warbler does.
The cowbird has a queer little song. It is something like "cluck-see!" and he seems to squeeze it out as if it were hard work to say it.
FOOTNOTE:[16]SeeAppendix, 15.
[16]SeeAppendix, 15.
[16]SeeAppendix, 15.
THE MEADOW STARLINGS
(Icteridæ)—Continued
meadowlark on branchMEADOWLARK
Themeadow starlings are short-tailed birds who live on the ground. They have long bills and mixed sort of plumage, of browns and yellows.
Our common one, called theMeadowlarkorOld-Field Lark, though he is not really a lark, is a beautiful bird. He is larger than a robin, and his mottled feathers are set off by a bright yellow breast, with a black crescent under the throat.
This bird lives in the meadows or pastures, and walks about on the ground, where he gets his food. When he wants to sing, he flies up on to a fence, or stands up very straight on a bit of turf, or a stone, and sings away a long time. It is a sweet song, or rather several sweet songs, for he does not always sing the same one.
The mother lark looks like her mate. She makes her nest on the ground, and a snug andcozy home it is. It is none of the open, cup-like nests that anybody can see into. It has a roof, if you please, and sometimes a covered way—like a hall—leading to it. The roof of the nest is made by drawing the grass stems over it and weaving them together. So it is very hard to find. And it is hidden in the long meadow grass besides.
You might think the little family would get hurt when the haymakers came to cut the grass. So they would, if they happened to be there. But lark babies are out of the egg before that time, and they run about as soon as they can stand. Sometimes when a nest has been disturbed, and the birds have had to make a second one, the little ones are not out when the mowers come on. Then there are apt to be sad times in the family. But I have known mowers who carefully cut around a nest, and did not hurt the nestlings. That is a good thing to do, for the birds are so useful and such fine singers that we want as many as we can have.
The meadowlark is a shy bird, and so is more often heard than seen. His song is charming, and he has besides a strange call, a sort of harsh sputter, or chatter, sometimes as he flies over. No doubt he has many more ways of expressinghimself, but these are the ones we most often hear.
TheWestern Meadowlarklooks like the Eastern, except that he is a little paler and grayer in color. He has the same general habits, but he is a much finer singer. The song is wilder and has more variety, and sometimes it is very brilliant. It is different in every way from the quiet, rather sad notes that make the Eastern bird so winning.
The Western bird is not so timid as his Eastern brother. He often comes into the towns and sings from the tops of houses. The finest singer I ever heard sang every day from the peak of a low roof. His song to his mate is most charming. It is so low and tender one can hardly hear it.
I once saw a pair of the Western birds nest-making. The little builder was busy filling her beak with dried grasses and such things. For these she had to fly across the road where I sat. Her mate went with her every time. He perched on the fence while she gathered her beakful, watching that no harm came to her. When she went back, he flew across with her and perched on a tree on that side.
All the time he was singing the sweetest low warble, and all the time he was keeping a sharp watch on me. In the West this bird eats beetles, grasshoppers, and the disgusting big black crickets that do so much damage.
THE ORIOLE BRANCH
(Icteridæ)—Continued
Itseems odd to put the gay orioles into the Blackbird Family, especially as they don't live on the ground either; but that's where they belong in the books. Orioles live in the trees, and are fine singers. They have sharp-pointed bills, suitable for picking tiny insects out of fruit blossoms. Theyhave some of the family color,black, but more orange color, or chestnut red, or yellow. They all make beautiful nests.
The Baltimore oriole is all over the East, the orchard oriole in the South, and the Arizona hooded oriole in the West.
TheBaltimore Oriole, who has several other names, such as fire-bird, golden robin, and hang-nest, is a very showy bird, in bright orange and black. He has a fine though short song. His mate is yellow, and brown instead of black, and has a sweet song of her own. Both of them can scold as well as any birds I know.
The nest of this oriole is one of the prettiest we have. It is hung high up in a tall tree, an elm or willow usually, and near the end of a branch, where it swings in the wind. It is a deep bag made of plant fibres, bits of string, and other things. The whole has a gray tint and a silky look, which make it very attractive.
While the mother bird is sitting, her mate stays near and sings a good deal; but when feeding time comes, he works as hard as she in stuffing the hungry little mouths.
As soon as the nestlings are off, they go away in a little party. Then one who looks sharp may often see an oriole papa going quietly about on the ground, with two or three little ones after him, still calling to be fed. He doesn't sing any in these busy days. But sometimes, after the young have learned to feed themselves, he will sing again a little before they all start for their warm winter home in Central America.
It is an anxious time in the bird world when the young are leaving the nest. Orioles are so nervous and make such an outcry over their troubles that we often hear them. The most common accident is the falling of a nestling to the ground. The old birds make so much fuss over it that one would think the baby had fallen into the claws of the cat, at the very least.
They fly around as if they were crazy, shrieking and calling, for they are very fond of their little folk. The youngsters are plucky little fellows. One will hop along till he comes to a tree, and then try to climb the trunk. If he happens to hit on a tree with rough bark, he can do pretty well. He flutters a little way up, and then holds on by the claws till rested. Then he flies a little farther, and so he goes till he reaches a branch.
If it is a smooth trunk he tries, his troubles are great. Sometimes one will scramble up till he comes to a leaf that grows out from the trunk, and hang on to that till he is able to go on. But often one is unable to keep his hold, and falls back into the grass. I have several times picked up a hot and frightened birdling and put him on a branch.
A lady told me an interesting little story, showing how helpful birds are to one another. A Baltimore oriole was picked up from the ground with his wing broken so that he could not fly. The kind-hearted people fixed him comfortably in an attic. They intended to feed him and care for him till he got well and could fly.
They left him there with a window open, so that his wild friends could bring food if they wished. A little while afterward one of themwent up to see about the invalid. Behold, he was gone!
They looked for him everywhere, for they knew he could not fly. Suddenly they noticed a great deal of oriole chatter out in the yard. Then they looked carefully over a tree near the window, and there they saw the broken-winged bird in the midst of quite a flock of others.
Of course the outside birds were called by the captive, and they must have carried him out in some way. Birds have been seen to carry off one who was wounded, in two ways. One way was by two birds each taking in his beak a wing of the helpless bird and so flying away with him. This has been seen, and more than once, by men who tell the truth.
The second way birds have been seen to help another was by one getting under the helpless one and so holding him up on the back. This also has been seen by men whose word can be trusted. You remember I told you such a story about the shrike.
So many untrue stories are told about the birds that I am very careful not to tell you anything that is not strictly true.
If you live in the South, you more often see theOrchard Oriole. He is not quite so gayin his dress as the Baltimore. He has chestnut color with his black. His mate is different. She is olive on the back, and yellow below, and she has bright blue legs and feet, which look as if they were covered with kid.
The nest is a hanging one, of course, but it does not usually swing like other oriole nests. It is a little supported at the bottom. It is very beautiful, for it is made of one kind of fine grass. When it is first made, its green color makes it hard to see among the leaves. And as it dries, it turns a rich yellow, like bright clean straw. It is not so high as the Baltimore's, and not hung to the end of a branch. It is often in an apple-tree, for this bird likes to be near people.
The song of the orchard oriole is different from the Baltimore's. It is longer, and has more variety. His mate sings also. Her voice is sweeter than his and not so loud.
If you live in California, the oriole you know will be theArizona Hooded Oriole. Sometimes he is called the palm-leaf oriole for a reason you will soon see. He is a beautiful, slender bird, having bright orange color with his black. He wears more black than some of the family. His face and throat and tail and wings are of that color, though the wings have twowhite bars. His mate is yellowish below and olive brown above.
This bird makes the regular oriole family cradle. Sometimes it swings free like the Baltimore's, but not always. It is made of slender, wiry grass, which is green, so that it is hard to see. Sometimes a sort of thread from the edge of palm leaves is used.
This bird sometimes selects a droll place for her nest. She swings it from the under side of a palm or banana leaf. You know a banana leaf is long and wide, and makes a comfortable shade in a hot day; and it does just as well for an umbrella when it rains. It is hard to see how a bird can fasten a nest to a smooth leaf. But Mrs. Grinnell has seen it done in her own yard, and she tells us how the little builder goes to work.
First she takes a thread in her beak and pushes it through the leaf, making a hole, of course. Then she flies around to the other side of the broad leaf, and standing there a minute she pulls the thread through, and pushes it back, making another hole. Thus she goes on, flying from one side to the other till she has sewed her bag to the strong leaf.
Except in the place they choose for their nest, these orioles are about the same as their Eastern cousins, and oriole little folk are the same the world over, I think.
THE CROW-BLACKBIRD BRANCH
(Icteridæ)—Continued
Thefourth branch of this family is of crow-blackbirds and grackles. They have a right to the name of blackbird, for they are quite black. At least they look so a little way off, but if one gets near and sees the sunshine on them, he will see that they reflect blue or green or purple, from their feathers.
Then, too, like others of their family, they go in flocks, and they have a dignified walk on the ground. Some birds who are so social that they like to live in a crowd prefer to go a little apart to nest. But these birds make their rude, clumsy nests all close together.
Blackbirds are fond of corn; who can blame them for that? Thousands of them have been shot because they eat it. But farmers who shoot them forget, or perhaps they do not know, that corn is not the only thing they eat.
Insects as well as birds are fond of corn, andit isn't so easy to keep them away. The birds eat great numbers of them, such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, and cut-worms, besides mice. All these creatures eat the farmers' crops. So when birds destroy them, they earn some of the corn. They do more than clear the fields of troublesome insects, they eat great quantities of the seeds of weeds that the farmer is always fighting.
Blackbirds are most often seen on the ground, walking around with great dignity. They are looking for food in the grass, or in the field in ploughing time. When they are closely watched, it is often found that they are not in mischief.
Mr. Warren, State Ornithologist of Pennsylvania, tells a story which shows how easy it is to be mistaken. He was with a friend who had thirty acres of corn growing, and was much vexed to see blackbirds walking about among the young plants. They seemed very busy about something, and he was sure they were pulling up his crop. So he got out his guns, and Mr. Warren went with him to punish the birds.
They shot thirty-one of them. Then they began to see what they had been eating. In all the thirty-one, only seven had the least bit of corn, and even they were mostly filled with insects. The rest were stuffed full of insects which do much harm to young corn, mostly cut-worms.
The farmer had killed thirty-one birds who were working for him as hard as they could. No money could hire help that would do so much good as they were doing.
In the Eastern States we have theCrow Blackbird, orPurple Grackle, and theBronzed Grackle, whose habits are the same.
The purple grackle is a handsome bird, larger than a robin, with very light eyes. His plumage looks black in the shade, but when the sun is on it, shows rich green and blue, and it shines like satin. The bronzed grackle shows purple, and blue, and green, with metallic bronze on the back.
The purple grackle is said to eat corn, and also the eggs and young of other birds. But what he eats has been found out by the Agricultural Department, in the way I told you of. It is given out by them that he does not do so much harm to nests as has been said, and among the crops he does good enough to pay for all the corn he eats.
It is very hard to see just what a bird is eating. It is not even safe to believe all we think we see.
The only time the purple grackle can do more harm than good is when he comes with a big crowd of his friends, and settles down to spendthe winter. Then he should be driven away from crops.
I want you to understand me about this. I do not say that these birds never eat the eggs and young of others. What I do say is, that there is plenty of evidence to show that they do it not half so much as people say. I have watched birds for twenty years, as closely, I believe, as any one ever watched them, and I never saw any of the bad deeds that are laid to the blue jay, or the shrike, or the kingbird, or the purple grackle. They may be guilty occasionally, but they are not the villains they are often said to be.
Besides, however bad we may call a few birds, we are ourselves worse. Birds kill only to eat. Many of them are made to feed upon each other, and cannot live in any other way. They kill quickly, and do not generally—if they ever do—torture their prey.
How is it with us? We kill for sport, or for useless show, and we kill in a way that often wounds and leaves our victim to suffer tortures before he dies. Do you think it is fair for us to say hard things about the birds?
In the Rocky Mountains and west of them the common blackbird isBrewer's Blackbird, sometimes called blue-headed grackle. He is notso shy as his brother of the East. He is amiable and friendly with people, and as familiar as the robin in New England. He is often seen in the streets of towns. He will come into yards, and even take food from a doorstep.
Brewer's blackbird is a restless, uneasy fellow, like most of his family. He is always bustling about, and flying hither and thither with rustling wings.
In summer, these birds feed mostly upon insects, which they find on the ground. They have an amusing way of being fair in their feeding. As they walk about in little social parties looking for food, those who come last in the string find the insects nearly all picked up before they get a chance. So they take this clever way of getting their turn at the good things. Every few minutes those in the rear rise and fly over the heads of their friends and alight just before them. So they have the first pick for a while. Then, in a few minutes, those left behind fly over their heads, and take the lead for a time. So, without any quarreling, each one has a fair chance with all the rest. Other birds have found out this way of playing fair. I have seen great blue herons three feet tall do the same thing.
In winter, when insects are scarce, the blackbird turns to grain and the seeds of weeds. Butit has been found that he does more good by the weeds he keeps down than harm by the grain he eats.
Brewer's blackbird usually nests in trees, not very high. One time a naturalist going about in Arizona, where are few or no trees, found a curious thing,—a good many blackbird nests, a little settlement one might call it, on the ground, and all strung along close to the edge of a steep bank. At first he could not see why the birds had chosen to be on the edge of a precipice. Then he remembered that horses and cattle roamed over the country, and these animals are careful never to graze close to an edge which might crumble and give them a fall. He concluded that the birds had wit enough to know that. If their nests were out on the plains, they would be likely to be stepped on, but near the edge, they were safe from hoofs.
The common call of Brewer's blackbird is a harsh "chack;" but in the spring he turns musical, and serenades his mate with what we must call songs, because songs are what he intends. They are droll enough to listen to, and not very sweet.
This bird is about the size of a robin, with violet-colored head in the sunlight. His mate is slate-colored.
Birds who live in a crowd learn to be fair in their treatment of one another. An interesting story is told of the way a flock of blackbirds go to bed at night. They come to the roosting-place in little parties from all the country around. One would suppose the first one to get there would choose his place to sleep, and let the last one take what was left.
But no! as they arrive, they alight in some big old tree outside the roosting-place. When all are in, they fly up together, circle around for a while, then all settle at the same time in the place where they are to sleep.