Part 11

He searches for insects and larvæ, and little can escape his big bright eyes. When he takes something to his mate, he gives a soft, low, glad chirp. He never passes the door of the nest-hole without putting in his head, to make a few cheerful remarks. He seems to be telling the news.

When the mother-bird flies out, to have a chance to find food for herself, her mate keeps calling her, as if to say, “Are you quite safe?” “Are you there?” And she replies with a little note of joy.

The nuthatch finds most of his food under the bark of trees. He flies round and round the tree and strips off pieces of bark. Hidden there, he finds worms, spiders, caterpillars, eggs and larvæ of insects. He seems very curious, and pries into every crack and hole.

The nuthatch seldom migrates. If food is scarce, he will fly to the barns, and even pick up seeds with the fowls. But he does not like that food. He prefers insects.

Another bird that feeds chiefly on insects, is, in many respects, the loveliest and dearest of birds. Can you not guess that I mean the bluebird? This bird, with its blue back and wings, and ruddy breast is the first to tell us of the return of spring.

On warm days in February, or early March, we see him flitting above the last melting wreaths of snow, or sitting on the top rail of the fence. If a few cold snowy days come, he vanishes. But back he flies with his mate, and they skim low over the ground to pick up the first beetles, worms, and spiders that venture out.

For a few days the two are very busy eating insects. If Mr. Bluebird finds a very nice, fat bug, he does not keep it for himself, but flies with it to his mate. He gives a glad cry, spreads his wings wide, and drops it into her mouth.

But soon the pair set about cleaning and rebuilding last year’s nest. If there is a box on a tree in your garden or orchard, or a hole in a branch, they will build there year after year.

While the bluebirds are busy setting their house in order, Mrs. House-Wren gets back from her winter trip. She peeps in, and seems much vexed that such a nice house was let before she arrived. As soon as the bluebirds go off, for some more grass, or hairs, Mrs. Wren steps in, and pulls a few twigs out of the new nest. She does this to show her feelings. But she hurries away, before the blue owners return.

Mrs. Bluebird puts five or six pale blue eggs in her nest. She raises two, or even three, broods in a summer. While she is sitting on the second eggs, the father bird watches over the young of the first brood. He feeds them, and takes great care of them, and lets them perch by him at night.

Now and then, in the autumn, you will see a pair of old bluebirds with ten or twelve young ones, of their various broods. Then they may be feeding on gum-tree or smilax berries. But spiders and beetles are their chosen food.

The note of the bluebird is a soft, sweet warble. He loves sunshine and springtime. In the fall his note becomes sad and low, as if he mourns because winter is coming.

When the cold winds, and frosts, and bare trees, make the country desolate, the bluebird migrates. He goes to the Southern States, the West Indies, and Mexico. We are all glad to welcome him back. He is the prophet of fine weather. The farmers like him because he eats so many harmful insects.

Of all the insect-eating birds, none is more famous than the flycatcher, or kingbird. In some places he is called the field-martin, and the tyrant. The name flycatcher comes from his food. He catches living, full-grown insects, such as flies, gnats, wasps, and some bees. I am sorry that he is accused of picking up bees.

The name king, or tyrant, bird comes to this brisk little fellow from his manners. He is very strong, very swift on the wing, and very bold. He is fond of his brood and mate, and bold in their defence. He watches to drive off birds which might harm them.

The big blue jay dares not rob a kingbird’s nest. The kingbird will chase a jay, a crow, even an eagle, or a hawk. His bill is sharp and strong, and as he flies under or over his enemy, he darts at him, and drives his bill into him with a peck.

He is so fierce only when he has a young brood to defend. At other times he is quiet enough. When his young brood is in the nest, he feels so proud that he seems to think himself the lord of all birds.

The purple martin can fly faster than the kingbird and likes to tease him. It is also very funny to see a big woodpecker and a kingbird having a conflict on a fence rail. The woodpecker whirls round and round like a boy turning springs over a bar. The kingbird flies from side to side and tries to get a peck at him but cannot.

The kingbird is not a singer. He is a silent, dark bird. His plumes are brown, black, and white. On his head he has a crest, or crown of raised feathers. He seems very particular about his food. It is not every insect that he will eat.

Many farmers, who have watched him carefully, say that he does not pick up worker-bees, but takes only the drones. He also eats many gad-flies that trouble and bite the horses. He devours hundreds of insects and worms which eat fruit, cucumbers, and pumpkins.

In fact, even if the kingbird does eat a few bees, he more than pays for that damage by the good he does in destroying harmful insects. When a farmer shoots a kingbird he shoots one of his best friends. Besides all this, as we are not quite sure that the kingbird does eat worker-bees, I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt and let him live.

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 bird standing 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.

LESSON XXXVII.

THE BIRDS IN THE WOODS.

I have told you how the crows chased a cat. That was not the only cat chase I have seen. One summer I had a house near a wood. Through the wood ran a brook, and near it was a marshy place. This is just such a spot as birds love.

In that township no one was allowed to shoot birds, so birds of many kinds were plentiful.

One day, as I stood on my porch, I heard a queer noise. Then around the corner of the house rushed a cat. After him, screaming, and flying low, came about twenty birds. They were headed by a blue jay. The jay flew down on the cat, and gave him a sharp peck. He pulled out some of the cat’s fur.

Among these birds I saw the robin, oriole, wren, catbird, yellow-bird, yellow-hammer, blackbird, and several sparrows. They may have their little quarrels among themselves, but they all make common cause when the cat prowls in the woods to kill them.

Once, when I lived in the southwest, I had many forest trees on my lawn. In these trees lived such birds as I have just named, also the peewee, the titmouse, and the bluebird. I had a tame squirrel that went up the trees and frightened the birds.

After that they kept a sentinel always on a bough. If the squirrel left the grass for any tree, the alarm was sounded at once. Then all the birds near came in haste, and attacked the squirrel. They pecked and screamed at him, until he was glad to keep out of the trees. Soon he did not dare to touch a tree trunk.

Among the wood birds the woodpecker is one of my favorites. He is a very fine fellow. There are many kinds of woodpeckers. We have the red-headed, the yellow-breasted, the gold-winged, the hairy, the downy, and others.

They are very intelligent, diligent, and merry birds. They make their nests in holes in trees. It is wonderful how they know where to find a decayed spot in a tree that looks quite sound. The woodpecker will eat fruit and grain, but prefers insects. He, no doubt, saves many forest trees by eating up grubs and worms, which would destroy them.

The woodpecker is a noisy bird. He is full of chatter to his mate. He talks to himself constantly when alone. His “drum” can be heard over all the wood.

It is a fine sight to see him on a brown tree trunk. His plumage, black, white, green, scarlet, gold, can be seen from far. He whirls about, looking for grubs. He holds fast with his strong claws, and gives blow after blow with his great bill upon the tree.

When he tears off a large piece of bark, and lays bare a fine fat grub, he throws back his head, and laughs with joy. He laughs almost as well as the loon, of which I told you.

It seems a great shame to kill such a handsome and happy bird. He really does very little harm, and much good. Now and then, he carries off a pear or an apple to eat, but he saves the lives of many trees.

Among the joyous birds of the wood, let us now take a look at the bird which is every one’s friend. There is a bird that every one loves, and no one says an ill word of. Can you guess that this is the cheerful robin? He is our friend the year round. His red vest shines against the summer green and the winter snow.

The robin is a large bird, with black and brown head and wings; most of the rest of the body is of a dull, yellowish red. Of all our birds this is the least shy. He is brave and merry, and goes and comes as he pleases. Scarcely a month of the year passes without bringing the robin.

Robins seem equally happy in wood, field, garden or orchard. If they cannot find insects to eat, they will take fruit, berries, crumbs or seeds. If food grows scarce, they hop down to the door, and feed with the chicks, or expect a fine breakfast thrown out to them alone.

Some people think that robins eat fruit rather as drink than as food. They take the fruit because they are thirsty. It is said that if a pail of water is set near the fruit trees, the birds will drink from that and not rob the trees. You might try it sometime, and find out if this is so.

The robin builds a large nest of straw and fibres. She plasters it with mud, and lines it with fine grass. She will come back to the same nest year after year. In this nest she lays five eggs of a bright blue-green color.

If the robin has taken a winter trip, he comes back early in March to settle in the Northern and Middle States. Sometimes he does not leave his home in winter. Sometimes he goes and comes a number of times, as if he wanted to keep an eye on his house.

In March and April you see these birds in pairs. They will be running about the short grass, hunting for leaves, or sitting in the bare branches, trying a song. The robin cannot sing so well as the thrush; but he is fond of singing, and his note is merry if not rich.

As soon as day breaks, you will hear the robin chorus. All day long robin rests himself from work by singing. In the wood he quarrels with no other bird, and no other bird quarrels with him. The robin can be seen in the autumn, feasting wherever there are poke or elder berries. He is a long-lived bird, and, if he meets with no accident, may live fifteen or eighteen years.

A larger and gayer bird than the robin, and living often in the same wood, is the blue jay. I have told you of some of this fine fellow’s naughty ways. Did you ever see him? Did you notice his big black bill, his great keen eyes, his saucy crest, standing up like a helmet, his fine blue back, his blue and white wings and tail, with black bars? Oh, he is a kingly bird! And he knows it!

Of all our birds none is more pert and saucy than the jay. His voice is loud, and he likes to hear it. He is the trumpeter in the bird band. He has a varied note, and can mock the songs of other birds. He chatters like a duck; he screams like an angry catbird; he whistles; he laughs; and then he goes into the shade, and talks to his mate in a soft musical tone.

He seems to be vain of his fine clothes. Sometimes he stands on a branch, and makes such wild noises that all the birds in the wood fly to see what is the matter. Then, when he has a number of birds to gaze at him, he bows, nods, jerks, flirts, whirls, and makes all manner of the queerest motions. He seems to be giving some sort of a show.

One of the jay’s family names is “the gabbler.” It is said that, like the crow and some other birds, he is a weather prophet, and most noisy before a rain-storm.

The jay will eat almost any kind of food. He eats the eggs and young of smaller birds. He eats chestnuts, acorns, corn, cherries, insects. When very hungry, he will take a small potato, or go to the barn for corn and oats.

Of all the bird partners of the plant in seed-carrying, the jay is chief. One man, who studied this bird very carefully, said, “The jays are able, in a few years’ time, to replant all our waste lands.” No bird is more useful in carrying about nuts and hard seeds.

The jay is especially the bird of North America. He is not a very great traveller. Usually each pair lives alone, and then with their young brood. But sometimes in the autumn forty or fifty will go together to look for acorns.

The jay likes to build in a quiet wood, near a stream. He builds a large nest in a tree, and watches over it, but does not often go very near it. The mother jay lays five eggs of olive color, with brown spots. When the young birds come from the shell, both parents take great care of them.

One day I saw in a wood five new-fledged jays, sitting on a branch. They were not at all afraid of me. But the old birds came near, and seemed in such distress at seeing me, that I went away. A few weeks after I saw the whole family, carrying stores of chestnuts, acorns, and seeds to hide, for they are given to laying up a hoard of food.

The jay is the great enemy of the owl. As soon as he finds an owl hidden in the shade, he calls all the other birds to the battle. Then, headed by the jay, they scold and scream, and fly at the owl, until they drive him off.

He quarrels also with the small sparrow-hawk. But in that quarrel poor Mr. Jay sometimes is killed. When he fights the hawk, he calls other jays to his help. If one of them is killed by the hawk, they all give loud, wild cries. Then they fly off and, hidden in the wood, complain of their disaster.

LESSON XXXVIII.

THE BIRDS IN THE HOUSE.

As so many of you have cage birds, I think you will like to hear a little about the kinds of birds that most often live in cages. I will tell you of only the two most common kinds of pet birds,--the canary and the parrot.

As the parrot is the larger bird and of more ancient fame, we will speak of him first. Parrots have been favorite cage birds for many hundred years. They are notable for size, splendor of plumage, docility, long life, and power of learning to speak.

Like the woodpecker, the parrot belongs to the division of climbing birds. The feet of climbing birds have two toes turned forward, and two turned backward.

The parrot family is a group of large and splendid birds. You will know even the smaller members of it by their bills. The bills are high and thick, and have the upper part much curved and longer than the under part. This bill is useful in aiding the birds in climbing, and in holding fast to the branches of trees. It is just the right kind of bill for eating fruit, which forms the chief food of the parrot in its wild state.

The tongue of the parrot is short, thick, and fleshy. The wings and tail are long. The plumage is gay.

To the parrot family belong the parrakeets, cockatoos, macaws, and lories. These are all birds of hot countries.

Nothing can exceed the splendor of the plumage of these birds. Red, lemon, green, scarlet, blue, white, and a mixture of these colors, will be found upon them. Many of them have brilliant crests, and many of them long gay tail feathers.

The head and bill of the parrot are large. While their bill tells us what kind of food they live on, and their feet show that they can climb, their long strong wings show that they are birds of flight.

Parrots are social birds. They live in large flocks. They make their nests in hollow trees, as woodpeckers do. In their native homes they are much like woodpeckers in some of their ways. But they eat fruit, not insects.

The natural voice of the parrot is a loud, harsh call. Parrots can learn to speak only when they are carefully taught. Not every kind of parrot can learn even when taught. The common short-tailed, red and green parrot makes the best talker. Some of them are very amusing.

Parrots are usually of a kind, gentle disposition, easily tamed, and learn to live very happily in a cage. When captive they eat sugar, crackers, and almost any little dainty that is offered to them. They are fond of water, and bathe often.

The very long-tailed parrots called macaws, and parrakeets, are birds of Central and Southern America. In India there are also very long-tailed parrots. In old times they were sent as presents to kings and queens. The parrakeets of Asia and Africa are called ring parrakeets, because each one has a collar of bright feathers about the neck. The two parrots called “the gray,” and “the festive,” or “jolly” parrot, are the most common as pets, are most amusing, and learn many words and tricks.

What are called “love birds” are very small and beautiful parrots, from North Africa. They are as small as bluebirds. They are the smallest of their race, and rather rare.

The cockatoos are kept in cages, not for their speech, as they do not learn to talk, but for their great beauty. You will know them by their high crests. They have their name from their note, or call. They are natives of tropic islands. Most of them have light-colored feathers, pink, lemon or white, with markings of brighter tints.

If you live where you can visit a large bird-store, you will do well to go to see some of these birds.