Part 1

BIRD GUIDE Water Birds, Game Birds and Birds of Prey

BY CHESTER A. REED Author of North American Birds’ Eggs, and, with Frank M. Chapman, of Color Key to North American Birds. Curator in Ornithology, Worcester Natural History Society

GARDEN CITY NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1921

Copyrighted 1906. Copyrighted, 1910, CHAS. K. REED, Worcester, Mass.

PREFACE

While strolling through a piece of woodland, or perhaps along the marsh or seashore, we see a bird, a strange bird—one we never saw before. Instantly, our curiosity is aroused, and the question arises, “What is it?” There is the bird! How can we find out what kind it is? The Ornithologist of a few years ago had but one course open to him, that is to shoot the bird, take it home, then pore through pages of descriptions, until one was found to correspond with the specimen. Obviously, such methods cannot be pursued today, both humane and economical reasons prohibiting. We have but one alternative left us: We must make copious notes of all the peculiarities and markings of the bird that is before us. On our return home, we get down our bird books, and there are many excellent ones. After carefully looking through the whole library, we find that, although many of our books are well illustrated, none of them has the picture of what we seek, so we adopt the tactics of the “Old-time” Ornithologist, before mentioned, and pore over pages of text, until finally we know what our bird was. It is for just such emergencies as this—to identify a bird when you see it, and where you see it, that this little pocket “Bird Guide” is prepared. May it be the medium for saving many of today’s seekers for “bird truths” from the many trials and tribulations willingly encountered, and hard and thorny roads gladly traveled by the author in his quest for knowledge of bird ways.

CHESTER A. REED.

Worcester, Mass. 1906.

INTRODUCTION

The study of the birds included in this book is much more difficult than that of the small land birds. Many of the birds are large; some are very rare; all are usually shy and have keen eyesight, trained to see at a distance; in fact, many of them have to depend upon their vigilance for their very existence. Therefore, you will find that the majority of these birds will have to be studied at long range. Sometimes, by exercising care and forethought, you may be able to approach within a few feet of the bird you seek, or induce him to come to you. It is this pitting your wits against the cunning of the birds that furnishes one-half of the interest in their study. Remember that a quick motion will always cause a bird to fly. If you seek a flock of plover on the shore, or a heron in the marsh, try to sneak up behind cover if possible; if not, walk very slowly, and with as little motion as possible, directly towards them; by so doing you often will get near, for a bird is a poor judge of distance, while a single step sideways would cause him to fly. Shore birds can usually be best observed from a small “blind,” near the water’s edge, where they feed. Your powers of observation will be increased about tenfold if you are equipped with a good pair of field glasses; they are practically indispensable to the serious student and add greatly to the pleasures of anyone. Any good glass, that has a wide field of vision and magnifies three or four diameters, is suitable; we can recommend the ones described in the back of this book.

WHAT TO MAKE NOTE OF.—What is the nature of the locality where seen; marsh, shore, woods, etc? If in trees does it sit upright or horizontal? If on the ground, does it run or walk, easily or with difficulty? If in the water, can it swim well, can it dive, does it swim under water, can it fly from the water easily, or does it have to patter over the surface before flying? What does it seem to be eating? Does it have any notes? Does it fly rapidly; with rapid wing beats or not; in a straight line or otherwise? Does it sail, or soar? In flocks or singly? These and hundreds of other questions that may suggest themselves, are of great interest and importance.

A PLEA TO SPORTSMEN.—Many of the birds shown in this book are Game Birds, that is, birds that the law allows you to shoot at certain seasons of the year. Some of these are still abundant and will be for numbers of years; others are very scarce and if they are further hunted, will become entirely exterminated in two or three years. Bob-whites are very scarce in New England; Prairie Hens are becoming scarce in parts of the west; the small Curlew is practically extinct, while the larger ones are rapidly going. In behalf of all bird lovers, we ask that you refrain from killing those species that you know are rare, and use moderation in the taking of all others. We also ask that you use any influence that may be yours to further laws prohibiting all traffic in birds. The man who makes his living shooting birds will make more, live longer and die happier tilling the soil than by killing God’s creatures. We do not, now, ask you to refrain from hunting entirely, but get your sport at your traps. It takes more skill to break a clay pigeon than to kill a quail.

THINGS TO REMEMBER Characteristics of Form or Habit That Will Determine to What Order or Family Birds Belong.

ORDER 1. DIVING BIRDS—Pygopodes.

GREBES; Colymbidæ:—Form, duck-like; bill pointed and never flattened; no tail; legs at extreme end of body; each flattened toe with an individual web; wings small. Flies rapidly, but patters along the water before taking wing. Expert divers, using wings as well as feet, to propel them, under water.

LOONS. Family Gaviidæ:—Larger than Grebes; bill long, heavy, and pointed; tail very short; feet webbed like a duck’s, but legs thin and deep; form and habits, grebe-like.

AUKS, MURRES, PUFFINS. Family Alcidæ:—Bills very variable; tail short; usually takes flight when alarmed, instead of diving as do grebes and loons. With the exception of puffins, which stand on their feet, all birds of this order sit upon their whole leg and tail. They are awkward on land; some can hardly walk.

ORDER 2. LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS.—Longipennes.

SKUAS, JAEGERS. Family Stercorariidæ:—Marine birds of prey; bill strongly hooked, with long scaly shield, or cere, at the base; claws strong and curved, hawk-like; flight hawk-like; plumage often entirely sooty-black, and always so on the back.

GULLS, TERNS. Family Laridæ:—Gulls have hooked bills, usually yellowish, yellow eyes and pale, webbed feet. Heap, underparts and square tail are white in adults; back, pearl-grey; exceptions are the four small black-headed gulls, which also have reddish legs. Gulls fly with the bill straight in front, and often rest on the water. Terns have forked tails, black caps, and their slender, pointed bills and small webbed feet are usually red. They fly with bill pointed down, and dive upon their prey.

ORDER 3. TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS.—Tubinares.

FULMARS, SHEARWATERS, PETRELS. Family Procellariidæ:—Nostrils opening in a tube on top of the hooked bill. Plumage of fulmars, gull-like; shearwaters entirely sooty black, or white below; petrels blackish, with white rumps,—very small birds. All seabirds.

ORDER 4. TOTIPALMATE SWIMMERS.—Steganopodes.

All four toes joined by webs.

TROPIC BIRDS. Family Phaethontidæ:—Bill and form tern-like; middle tail feathers very long.

GANNETS. Family Sulidæ:—Bill heavy and pointed; face and small throat pouch, bare.

SKAKE-BIRDS. Family Anhingidæ:—Bill slender and pointed; neck and tail very long, the latter rounded; habits like those of the following.

CORMORANTS. Family Phalacrocoracidæ:—Bill slender, but hooked at the tip; plumage glossy black and brown; eyes green. They use their wings as well as feet when pursuing fish under water.

PELICANS. Family Pelecanidæ:—Bill very long and with a large pouch suspended below.

MAN-O’-WAR BIRDS. Family Fregatidæ:—very long and strongly hooked; tail long and forked; wholly maritime, as are all but the preceding three.

ORDER 5. DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS. Anseres.

Mergansers, with slender, toothed bills with which to catch the fish they pursue under water.

Other ducks have rather broad bills, more or less resembling those of the domestic duck. Their flight is rapid and direct. River ducks have no web, or flap, on the hind toe; they get their food without going entirely under water, by tipping up. Sea ducks have a broad flap on the hind toe.

ORDER 6. FLAMINGOES. Odontoglossæ.

Family Phoenicopteridæ:—Large, long-necked, pink birds with a crooked box-like bill, long legs and webbed feet.

ORDER 7. HERONS, IBISES, ETC. Herodiones.

Long-legged, wading birds, with all four toes long, slender and without webs. Usually found about the muddy edges of ponds, lakes or creeks, and less often on the sea shore. Wings large and rounded.

SPOONBILL. Family Plataleidæ:—Bill long, thin and much broadened at the end; head bare.

IBISES. Family Ibididæ:—Bill long, slender and curved down. Ibises and Spoonbills fly with the neck fully extended.

STORKS. Family Ciconiidæ:—Bill long, heavy, and curved near the end; head and upper neck bare.

HERONS, BITTERNS, EGRETS. Family Ardeidæ:—Bill long, straight and pointed; head usually crested, and back often with plumes. Herons fly with a fold in the neck, and the back of the head resting against the shoulders.

ORDER 8. MARSH BIRDS. Paludicolæ.

Birds of this order, vary greatly in size and appearance, but all agree in having the hind toe elevated, whereas that of the members of the last order leaves the foot on a level with the front toes; neck extended in flight.

CRANES. Family Grudidæ:—Very large and heron-like, but with plumage close feathered; top of head bare; bill long, slender and obtusely pointed.

COURLANS. Family Aramidæ:—Size mid-way between the cranes and rails; bill long and slender.

RAILS, ETC. Family Rallidæ:—Bills are variable, but toes and legs long; wings short; flight slow and wavering; marsh skulkers, hiding in rushes. Gallinules have a frontal shield on the forehead, Coots have lobate-webbed feet, short, whitish bills.

ORDER 9. SHORE BIRDS. Limicolæ.

Comparatively small, long legged, slender-billed birds seen running along edges of ponds or beaches.

PHALAROPES. Phalaropodidæ.—Toes with lobed webs.

AVOCETS, STILTS. Recurvirostridæ:—Avocet, with slender recurved bill, and webbed feet; stilt, with straight bill, very long legs, toes not webbed.

SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. Family Scolopacidæ:—Bills very variable but slender, and all, except the Woodcock, with long pointed wings; flight usually swift and erratic.

PLOVERS. Family Charadriidæ:—Bill short and stout; three toes.

TURNSTONES. Family Aphrizidæ:—Bill short, stout and slightly up-turned; four toes.

OYSTER-CATCHERS. Family Hæmatopodidæ:—Bill long, heavy and compressed; legs and toes stout; three toes slightly webbed at base.

JACANAS. Family Jacanidæ:—Bill with leaf-like shield at the base; legs and toes extremely long and slender; sharp spur on wing.

ORDER 10. FOWLS. Gallinæ.

Ground birds of robust form; bill hen-like; wings short and rounded; feet large and strong.

PARTRIDGES, GROUSE. Family Tetraonidæ:—Legs bare in the partridges, feathered in grouse.

TURKEYS, PHEASANTS. Family Phasianidæ:—Legs often spurred, or head with wattles, etc.

GUANS. Family Cracidæ:—Represented by the Chachalaca of Texas.

ORDER 11. PIGEONS AND DOVES. Columbæ.

Family Columbidæ:—Bill slender, hard at the tip, and with the nostrils opening in a fleshy membrane at the base. Plumage soft grays and browns.

ORDER 12. BIRDS OF PREY. Raptores.

VULTURES. Cathartidæ:—Head bare; feet hen-like.

HAWKS, EAGLES. Falconidæ:—Bill and claws strongly hooked; nostrils in a cere at base of bill.

BARN OWLS. Aluconidæ:—Black eyes in triangular facial disc; middle toe-nail serrated.

HORNED OWLS, ETC. Bubonidæ:—Facial disc round; some species with ears, others without.

BIRD GUIDE

PART 1

Water Birds, Game Birds and Birds of Prey

DIVING BIRDS—Order Pygopodes GREBES—Family Colymbidæ

WESTERN GREBE 1. Æchmophorus occidentalis. 25 to 29 inches.

All grebes have lobate-webbed feet, that is each toe has its individual web, being joined to its fellow only for a short distance at the base.

This, the largest of our grebes, is frequently known as the “Swan Grebe” because of its extremely long, thin neck. In summer the back of the neck is black, but in winter it is gray like the back.

Notes.—Loud, quavering and cackling.

Nest.—A floating mass of decayed rushes, sometimes attached to upright stalks. The 2 to 5 eggs are pale, bluish white, usually stained (2.40 × 1.55). They breed in colonies.

Range.—Western North America, from the Dakotas and Manitoba to the Pacific, and north to southern Alaska. Winters in the Pacific coast states and Mexico.

HOLBŒLL GREBE 2. Colymbus holbœlli. 19 inches.

This is next to the Western Grebe in size, both being much larger than any of our others. In summer, they are very handsomely marked with a reddish brown neck, silvery white cheeks and throat, and black crown and crest, but in winter they take on the usual grebe dress of grayish above and glossy white below. Because of their silky appearance and firm texture, grebe breasts of all kinds have been extensively used in the past to adorn hats of women, who were either heedless or ignorant of the wholesale slaughter that was carried on that they might obtain them.

Nest.—Of decayed rushes like that of the last. Not in as large colonies; more often single pairs will be found nesting with other varieties. Their eggs average smaller than those of the last species (2.35 × 1.25).

Range.—North America, breeding most abundantly in the interior of Canada, and to some extent in the Dakotas. Winters in the U. S., chiefly on the coasts.

HORNED GREBE 3. Colymbus auritus. 14 inches.

As is usual with grebes, summer brings a remarkable change in the dress of these birds. The black, puffy head is adorned with a pair of buffy white ear tufts and the foreneck is a rich chestnut color. In winter, they are plain gray and white but the secondaries are always largely white, as they are in the two preceding and the following species. The grebe diet consists almost wholly of small fish, which they are very expert at pursuing and catching under water. One that I kept in captivity in a large tank, for a few weeks, would never miss catching the shiners, upon which he was fed, at the first lightning-like dart of his slender neck. They also eat quantities of shell fish, and I doubt if they will refuse any kind of flesh, for they always have a keen appetite.

Nest.—A slovenly built pile of vegetation floating in the “sloughs” of western prairies. The 3 to 7 eggs are usually stained brownish yellow (1.70 × 1.15).

Range.—Breeds from Northern Illinois and So. Dakota northward; winters from northern U. S. to the Gulf of Mexico.

AMERICAN EARED GREBE 4. Colymbus nigricollis californicus. 13 inches.

This is a western species rarely found east of the Mississippi. In summer, it differs from the last in having the entire neck black; in winter it can always be distinguished from the Horned Grebe by its slightly upcurved bill, while the upper mandible of the last is convex. In powers of swimming and diving, grebes are not surpassed by any of our water birds. They dive at the flash of a gun and swim long distances before coming to the surface; on this account they are often called “devil divers.” They fly swiftly when once a-wing, but their concave wings are so small that they have to patter over the water with their feet in order to rise.

Nest.—They nest in colonies, often in the same sloughs with Horned and Western Grebes, laying their eggs early in June. The 4 to 7 eggs are dull white, usually stained brownish, and cannot be separated from those of the last.

Range.—Western N. A., breeding from Texas to Manitoba and British Columbia; winters in western U. S. and Mexico.

LEAST OR ST. DOMINGO GREBE 5. Colymbus dominions brachypterus. 10 inches.

This is much smaller than any others of our grebes; in breeding plumage it most nearly resembles the following species, but the bill is black and sharply pointed. It has a black patch on the throat, and the crown and back of the head are glossy blue black; in winter, the throat and sides of the head are white.

Nest.—Not different from those of the other grebes. Only comparatively few of them breed in the U. S. but they are common in Mexico and Central America. Their eggs, when first laid, are a pale, chalky, greenish white, but they soon become discolored and stained so that they are a deep brownish, more so than any of the others; from 3 to 6 eggs is a full complement (1.40 × .95).

Range.—Found in the United States, only in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Southern Texas, and southwards to northern South America.

PIED-BILLED GREBE 6. Podilymbus podiceps. 13.5 inches.

In any plumage this species cannot be mistaken for others, because of its stout compressed bill and brown iris; all the others have red eyes. In summer the bill is whitish with a black band encircling it; the throat is black; the eye encircled by a whitish ring; the breast and sides are brownish-gray. In winter they are brownish-black above and dull white below, with the breast and sides washed with brown. Young birds have more or less distinct whitish stripes on the head.

Notes.—A loud, ringing “kow-kow-kow-kow (repeated many times and ending in) kow-uh, kow-uh.”

Nest.—Of decayed rushes floating in reed-grown ponds or edges of lakes. The pile is slightly hollowed and, in this, the 5 to 8 eggs are laid; the bottom of the nest is always wet and the eggs are often partly in the water; they are usually covered with a wet mass when the bird is away. Brownish-white (1.70 × 1.15).

Range.—Whole of N. A., breeding locally and usually in pairs or small colonies.

LOONS—Family Gavidæ

LOON; GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 7. Gavia immer. 31 to 35 inches.

In form, loons resemble large grebes, but their feet are full webbed like those of a duck; they have short, stiff tails and long, heavy, pointed bills. They have no tufts or ruffs in breeding season, but their plumage changes greatly. The common loon is very beautifully and strikingly marked with black and white above, and white below; the head is black, with a crescent across the throat and a ring around the neck. In winter, they are plain gray above and white below.

Loons are fully as expert in diving and swimming as are the grebes. They are usually found in larger, more open bodies of water.

Notes.—A loud, quavering, drawn-out “wah-hoo-o-o.”

Nest.—Sometimes built of sticks, and sometimes simply a hollow in the sand or bank under overhanging bushes, usually on an island. The 2 eggs are brownish with a few black specks (3.50 × 2.25).

Range.—N. A., breeding from northern U. S. northwards; winters from northern U. S. southwards.

BLACK-THROATED LOON 9. Gavia arctica. 28 inches.

This loon lives in the Arctic regions and only rarely is found, in winter, in Northern United States. In summer, it can readily be distinguished from the common loon by the gray crown and hind-neck, as well as by different arrangement of the black and white markings. In winter, they are quite similar to the last species but can be recognized by their smaller size, and can be distinguished from the winter plumaged Red-throated Loon by the absence of any white markings on the back. Like the grebes, loons have to run over the surface of the water in order to take flight, and they are practically helpless when on land. Their flight is very rapid, in a straight line, and their neck is carried at full length in front. This species has red eyes, as do all the other loons.

Nest.—The same as the last species, but the two eggs have more of an olive tint and are smaller (3.10 × 2.00).

Range.—Arctic America, wintering in Canada and occasionally in Northern United States.

RED-THROATED LOON 11. Gavia stellata. 25 inches.

Besides being smaller than the common loon, this species has a more slender bill, which has a slightly up-turned appearance owing to the straight top to the upper mandible; in summer, its back and head are gray, with no white spots, although the back of the head has a few white streaks; there is a large patch of chestnut on the fore-neck; the under parts are white. In winter, it is gray above and white below, but the back is sprinkled with small white spots; at this season it can easily be distinguished from Holbœll Grebe by the absence of any white patch in the wings as well as by the differently shaped feet.

Nest.—A depression in the sand or ground, not more than a foot or two from the water’s edge, so they can slide from their two eggs into their natural element. The eggs, which are laid in June, are olive-brown, specked with black (2.90 × 1.75).

Range.—Breeds from New Brunswick and Manitoba north to the Arctic Ocean; winters throughout the United States.

AUKS, MURRES and PUFFINS—Family Alcidæ

PUFFIN; SEA PARROT 13. Fratercula arctica. 13 inches.

Puffins are grotesque birds, with short legs, stout bodies and very large, thin bills, that of the common Puffin being 2 in. in length and about the same in height; the bill is highly colored with red and yellow, and the feet are red; eyes, white. It will be noticed that the blackish band across the throat does not touch the chin, this distinguishing it from the Horned Puffin of the Pacific coast. Adults in winter shed the greater portion of their bill, lose the little horns that project over the eye, and the face is blackish; they then resemble young birds. They live on rocky shores, the more precipitous the better. They stand erect upon their feet and walk with ease.

Notes.—A low croak.

Nest.—They breed in large colonies on rocky cliffs, laying their single white eggs (2.50 × 1.75) in crevices.

Range.—Breeds from Matinicus Rock, Me., northward; winters south casually to Cape Cod. Large-billed Puffin (F. a. naumanni) is found in the Arctic Ocean.

BLACK GUILLEMOT; SEA PIGEON 27. Cepphus grylle. 13 inches.