Part 45

This unsociable bird is as swift and wild as it is shy and cunning. It can be easily recognized at a distance by its long tail and short wings. When hunting for prey it flies, as a rule, along the edges of woods and thickets, and is active almost the whole of the day. Flying, resting, swimming, or running, it seizes its prey with equal dexterity. Its great swiftness and adroitness render the goshawk a formidable opponent. It appears suddenly among the unsuspecting birds, and, before they can escape, one lies bleeding under the claws of the bold robber. It follows its prey into inhabited houses, and sometimes flies through the windows.

The goshawk carries off poultry, and also steals game. It also destroys a great number of our most useful insect-devouring birds.

SPARROW HAWK (_Nisus communis_) resembles the goshawk both in form and habits, and is a true copy of its bigger cousin.

=Osprey= or FISHING HAWK (_Haliætus albicilla_) is often mistaken for the golden eagle. The latter, however, can be easily recognized by its feathered legs. The osprey is widely distributed in the United States along the Atlantic coast, and is found all over Europe. It has its nest on the summits of inaccessible rocks and cliffs along the coasts, or in the top of a high tree, and rarely among the reeds. The osprey is a lazy but obstinate and dangerous robber, attacking all animals which it is able to overcome. Like the bald eagle, it catches fish; but it also feeds upon carrion.

=Owls= (_Strigidæ_) include more than one hundred species, all of which belong to two families. The Java owl, which ranges from the eastern Himalayas to Burma, Ceylon, Java and Borneo in itself constitutes the second of these families. They have large eyes, looking forward, encircled by stiff feathers, and with vertical pupil. Most are nocturnal and see poorly by day, but the Hawk Owl, and Snowy Owl of arctic regions, feed by day. Their food consists of rodents, insects, birds, vermin, and fish. The Great Horned Owl (_Bubo virginianus_) attains a weight of eight pounds, and attacks poultry. Owls hear well; some have a well developed feathered external ear. The long ears by which the horned owl is known, refers to the horns of feathers, developed above the eyes. Owls fly noiselessly, owing to their soft plumage. The feet are usually feathered; the outer toe is reversible, and in the Fishing Owl the toes are osprey-like. The female is the larger. The size ranges from six inches in the Pygmy Owl of the tropical forests, to thirty inches in the Great Grey Owl of the northern regions. Reddish brown is predominant, but dark and light colors may be exhibited by a single brood. The eggs are spherical and pure white. Some species breed before the snow has gone, and their eggs hatch a few at a time. The Snowy Little Owl of Europe, is the symbol of learning. The Burrowing Owl lives in the burrows of prairie dogs in America, on whose young it feeds, in part while rattle-snakes associate with both as a common enemy.

The =White= or BARN OWL (_Strix flammea_) always lives in the neighborhood of man, building its nest in sheds, church-towers, old ruins, and also in pigeon-houses. It sleeps during the day. At night it flies through the gardens and fields, catching all kinds of mice, insects, and young birds. The nest is carelessly built, and in the spring contains from six to nine white, oval eggs.

=Vultures= (_Vulturinæ_) are large carrion-eating birds of prey. Those of the Old World differ from those in the New in several particulars; thus, the hind toe of the former is on the level with the other toes; the partition between the nostrils is not perforated as in American vultures; and they carry food to their young in their claws and not in their beaks. The chief of the American vultures are the Condor, Turkey Buzzard, Carrion-crow, or Black Vulture, and the King Vulture, which haunts jungles from Mexico to Paraguay, and is white, with the long tail and wing-feathers black, the head lemon and scarlet. Examples of the Old World vultures are the Bearded Vulture or Lammergeyer (_Gypaetus barbatus_), the largest bird of prey of Europe. It was formerly often seen in the Alps and Pyrenees; but is now, at least in the Swiss and Bavarian Alps, almost exterminated. It is a bold and dangerous robber, not only waylaying hares and roes, but also sheep and chamois; children even, have been attacked by this bird.

The Egyptian or White Vultures are known as Pharaoh’s Chickens. The crested Black Vulture ranges from China through North Africa. It builds large nests in trees on mountain-tops, where it rears a single young. The Griffon is black, with white tail and wing feathers. Vultures find their food by sight.

THE CLIMBING BIRDS

The toes of the climbing birds are arranged opposite each other in pairs; one of the back toes is, in many of these birds, so flexible that it can be easily turned forward. The claws are long, strong, and hooked, thus these birds can easily hold on firmly, even in a perpendicular position. Most of them frequent the woods, and live upon insects and fruit.

=Cuckoo= (_Caculus canorus_) is as large as a pigeon. It has a gently-curved, deeply-cleft beak, long, pointed wings, and wedge-shaped, pointed tail. The outer toe can be directed forward as well as backward. American cuckoos hatch their own eggs. The Old World cuckoos are especially marked by the habit of leaving their eggs to be hatched by other birds. The spotted cuckoo of northern Europe lays four eggs in a nest, usually that of a crow. A small South African cuckoo, size of a sparrow is brilliantly colored. Australia has the large channel billed cuckoo, with its immense beak. The road-runner or chapparal cock of the desert plateaus of western United States feeds mainly on grasshoppers. In the West Indies and adjacent states is found the Ani, with high bill, and peculiar in that several females unite in building one nest, where all co-operate in hatching their eggs.

The cuckoo, with its never-wearied song, is the joyful harbinger of spring, and is heard with delight by old and young. It lives chiefly upon hairy caterpillars; and, as it is always feeding, we can justly include the cuckoo among the useful birds.

=Parrots= (_Psittaci_) are near relatives of the cockatoos, paroquets, macaws, lories, nestors, etc. The true parrots have the upper mandible toothed, and longer than high, and a short, rounded tail. These birds combine with the beauty of their plumage a nature of great docility, and have the faculty of imitating the human voice in a degree not possessed by other birds. They are found chiefly in Africa, from whence we get the gray parrot, the best talker. South America, which is particularly rich in species, furnishes the well-known green parrot; and North America is the home of a single species, the Carolina parrot. The parrots are forest birds, and are adepts at climbing, using for that purpose both the feet and the bill. Their food consists of seeds and fruits. They make their nests in holes, and lay white eggs, as is commonly the case where the eggs are concealed.

The parrots may be called the monkeys among the birds; for, like the monkeys, they seek their food while climbing, but are awkward and clumsy when on the ground. Their imitative qualities and docility, their obstinacy and slyness, and their disagreeable voice and gregarious habits, all serve to remind us of the monkeys.

=Toucan= (_Rhamphastus toco_), a bird of the American tropics, is related to the woodpeckers and parrots. It belongs to the most curious of the animal forms, as its immense beak is treble the length of its head. The tongue is horny, slender, and brush-like; the considerable tail is hinged next the pelvis, so that it can be thrown over the back when resting and where the bill lies also during sleep. Toucans are omnivorous, but prefer fruit, live in flocks in forests, and nest in hollow trees. There are over fifty species, in size from that of a robin to a crow, and colored from green to black, variegated with red, yellow and white. The largest is two feet long, with bill eight inches long and three inches high.

=Woodpecker= (_Picidæ_) includes any of three hundred birds which have climbing feet, stiff tail feathers and which bore into trees for grubs on which they feed, though some of them are fond of fruit and other vegetable food. Most of the species have barbed and pointed tongues with which they spear the larvæ, but in some the tongue is smeared with a sticky substance, secreted by glands in the throat. There are no woodpeckers in Australia or Madagascar, but they occur in all other parts of the world. The prevailing color of the plumage is green--dark olive on the upper, pale green on the under parts; the crown and back of the head are bright crimson.

Of the numerous American species the flickers, the South American ground-flickers, which live chiefly on termites, and the great ivory-billed woodpecker may be specially noted. The last-named species, which inhabits the dense forests of the southern States, is one of the handsomest of the group, and was once called the prince of woodpeckers.

The woodpeckers lead a solitary life. Their presence is generally known by the noise they make while pecking; holding fast to a tree, they hack at it with their long, sharp beaks, so that splinters and chips fly in all directions. The woodpecker excavates a hole in the rotten tree, in order therein to build its nest.

THE SINGING BIRDS

Not all the birds belonging to this class are veritable songsters; but nearly all of them have in the throat an organ of song, consisting of five or six pairs of muscles, by means of which they can produce a variety of notes. They are mostly small, prettily colored birds, which chiefly inhabit the Temperate Zones, and make themselves very useful by devouring the insects, worms, and seeds of weeds in the fields, gardens, and woods. They delight us with their song; but their song is also the reason why some of them are kept in captivity.

=Birds of Paradise= (_Paradisea apoda_), though song birds of some ability, are more particularly notable for their gorgeous plumage. They are natives of New Guinea and Australia, and are very closely allied to the crow family, both in their habits and voice. The Great Bird of Paradise is the largest of the species, measuring about one and one-half feet in length; the others are comparatively small. The adult males are in beauty unsurpassed even by humming-birds. Tufts of bright feathers spring from beneath the wings, from the tail, or from the head, back, or shoulders. Trains, fans, and exquisitely delicate tress-like decorations occur abundantly, and the gracefulness of the plumage is enhanced by the brilliant color and metallic luster. The females are plain, sober-colored birds, and it is only with maturity that the males acquire that brilliancy of plumage which they exhibit to such advantage in their courtships. The true birds of paradise feed on fruits and insects, and are practically omnivorous. Their mode of life is more or less gregarious. Their song consists of a series of loud, shrill notes.

=Blackbird= (_Turdus merula_), is a member of the thrush family. The plumage of the male is quite black, and the beak yellow; the female is dark brown above, and greyish brown on the under parts, with a brown beak. It is shy, solitary, nests in March, and has two broods during the season. The nest is plastered inside with mud; four or six blue eggs, speckled with black, are laid. The bird feeds mainly on insects. It is a mocking bird, but not so good a songster as the song-thrush. In confinement it can be taught.

The American Crow-blackbird or Purple Grackle is restricted to the region east of the Rockies, the Blue-headed Grackle is confined west of the Mississippi, while the Rusty Grackle pervades the whole continent.

The Red-winged Blackbird breeds in Mexico and North America south of the Barron Grounds; winters in southern half of United States and south to Costa Rica.

The blackbird is frequently an inhabitant of the woods; but in the winter it comes into the gardens of the villages and towns. It is very fond of fruit, and thus often ravages the orchards and strawberry gardens.

=Bobolink= (_Dolichonyx oryzivorus_), resembles a sparrow, but its tail feathers are acute. Length seven inches. It breeds from Ohio northeast to Nova Scotia, north to Manitoba, and northwest to British Columbia; winters in South America.

Few species show such striking contrasts in the color of the sexes, and few have songs more unique and whimsical. In its northern home the bird is loved for its beauty and its rich melody; in the South it earns deserved hatred by its destructiveness. Bobolinks reach the southeastern coast of the United States the last half of April just as rice is sprouting and at once begin to pull up and devour the sprouting kernels. Soon they move on to their northern breeding grounds, where they feed upon insects, weed seeds, and a little grain. When the young are well on the wing, they gather in flocks with the parent birds and gradually move southward, being then generally known as reed birds. They reach the rice fields of the Carolinas about August 20, when the rice is in the milk. Then until the birds depart for South America planters and birds fight for the crop, and in spite of constant watchfulness and innumerable devices for scaring the birds a loss of ten per cent of the rice is the usual result.

=Canary= (_Fringilla_) is a beautiful but very common cage-bird, much esteemed for its musical powers. It is native to the region about the Canary Islands. Its color is grayish brown and dusky green, but the numerous artificial breeds show varieties of yellow and black markings, crests, etc. Naturally monogamous, the male sings best to win the love of the female. She incubates the eggs, he feeds the young. Six eggs are produced four times a year. Canaries cross readily with allied species. They have been domesticated for nearly four centuries.

Distinct varieties have been produced by scientific selective breeding, and these reproduce their distinctive characteristics, and “like breeds like” so long as the varieties are not crossed. The hardiest are the Norwich; the largest are Lancashire Coppies; the most costly and delicate are Belgians. Lizards, London Fancies, Yorkshires, Scotch Fancies, and Cinnamons practically complete the list.

=Catbird= (_Mimus Carolinensis_) is a species of Thrush common in eastern United States, so called from its peculiar note. It is very dark colored, about nine inches long, and nests in low bushes early in May. It breeds throughout the United States west to New Mexico, Utah, Oregon and Washington, and in southern Canada; winters from the Gulf States to Panama. The bird has a fine song, unfortunately marred by occasional cat calls. With habits similar to those of the mocking bird and a song almost as varied, the catbird has never secured a similar place in popular favor. Half of its food consists of fruit, and the cultivated crops most often injured are cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Beetles, ants, crickets, and grasshoppers are the most important element of its animal food. The bird is known to attack a few pests, as cutworms, leaf beetles, clover-root curculio, and the periodical cicada, but the good it does in this way probably does not pay for the fruit it steals.

=Chickadee= (_Penthestes atricapillus_).--The Chickadees are among the most popular birds that we have, owing to their uniform good nature even in the coldest weather, and their confiding disposition. They are common about farms and even on the outskirts of large cities they will come to feasts prepared for them on the window sill with their clear “phe-be,” “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” or “dee-dee-dee,” and several scolding or chuckling notes. They nest in hollow stumps at any elevation from the ground but usually near the ground, and most often in birch stubs. Their eggs are white, sparingly speckled with reddish brown. They range and breed in the northern half of the United States and northward. The Carolina Chickadee (_Parus carolinensis_) is smaller and with no white edges to the wing feathers, and is found in southeastern United States, breeding north to Virginia and Ohio.

=Crossbills= (_Loxia_) are the most highly developed members of the Finch family, characterized by having the tips of the upper and lower bills crossing so as to facilitate extraction of seeds. Males are reddish, females brownish olive in general coloration. The crossbill lives chiefly in the pine plantations, where it feeds for the most part on the seeds of the pine, cleverly opening the cones with its pointed beak. It hatches in all seasons of the year.

=Finch= (_Fringilla_) is a name applied to many birds but generally used with some affix, as in the familiar names bullfinch, chaffinch, and goldfinch. A finch is usually small, has a hard, conical beak, and generally lives upon seeds. The distribution is almost world-wide, excepting Australia. The buntings and the weaver-finches of the Ethiopian and Australian regions are usually kept distinct.

Some, as Canary (see Canary) and Bullfinch make fine songsters in confinement. The Chaffinch is the typical Finch of Europe. In America the Purple Finch has a flush of red in male; the female is olive brown, streaked below, the tail feathers soft and rounded; length without tail, three and one-half inches. The Goldfinch has acute bill, yellow on bases and edges of quills, male rich yellow, length three inches without tail; also called Thistle-bird and Yellow-bird. The Lark-finch of the prairies has tail three inches long, and is much streaked with black, white, and chestnut. In the spring the males are usually seen on, or heard from, tree tops in orchards or parks, giving forth their glad carols. They are especially musical in spring when the snow is just leaving the ground and the air is bracing.

The nest consists of strips of bark, twigs, rootlets and grasses, placed at any height in evergreens or orchard trees. The eggs resemble, somewhat, large specimens of those of the Chipping Sparrow. They are three or four in number and are greenish blue with strong blackish specks.

=Grosbeaks= are finches with beaks extraordinarily stout, forming a continuous curve with the top of the head. The Cardinal Grosbeak is known as the Winter Redbird. In eastern United States are also the Blue, Rose-breasted, and Pine Grosbeaks, all beautifully colored and fine singers. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak breeds from Kansas, Ohio, Georgia (mountains), and New Jersey, north to southern Canada; winters from Mexico to South America. This beautiful grosbeak is noted for its clear, melodious notes, which are poured forth in generous measure. The rosebreast sings even at midday during summer, when the intense heat has silenced almost every other songster. Its beautiful plumage and sweet song are not its sole claim on our favor, for few birds are more beneficial to agriculture. The rosebreast eats some green peas and does some damage to fruit. But this mischief is much more than balanced by the destruction of insect pests. The bird is so fond of the Colorado potato beetle that it has earned the name of “potato-bug bird.” It vigorously attacks cucumber beetles, many of the scale insects, spring and fall cankerworms, orchard and forest tent caterpillars, tussock, gipsy, and brown-tail moths, plum curculio, army worm, and chinch bug. In fact, not one of our birds has a better record.

=Jays= (_Cyanocitta_) are brightly colored, noisy birds, near relatives of the crow and are represented by numerous species distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. Probably the best known is the Blue Jay, one of the most beautiful birds that we have, but, unfortunately, one with a very bad reputation. Blue Jays often rob other birds of their eggs and young as well as food and nesting material. They are very active birds and are always engaged in gathering food, usually acorns or other nuts, and hiding them away for future use.

These Green Jays are very beautiful, but, like all the other members of the family, they are merciless in their treatment of smaller birds. During the summer their diet consists of raw eggs with young birds “on the side,” or vice versa; later they live upon nuts, berries, insects; in fact, anything that is edible.

They are fairly common in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas.

=Lark= (_Alauda arvensis_).--This familiar songster, is well known as the symbol of poets and the victim of epicures. It is included among a type of birds which comprizes over one hundred species, widely distributed in Europe, Asia, Africa, with spreading stragglers in Australia and North America. The plumage is usually sandy brown, the color of the ground; the lower legs bear scales, behind and before; the hind claw is very long and straight; the bill is strong and conical. The skylark measures about seven inches in length; the males and females are alike in plumage; the food consists of insects, worms, and seeds. It nests in April, making a structure of dry grass in a hollow in the ground, usually among growing grass or cereals. The eggs (three to five) are dull gray, mottled with olive brown; two broods are usually reared in the season.

The MEADOWLARKS (_Sturnella magna_) our familiar friends of the hillside and meadow; their clear, fife-like whistle is often heard, while they are perched on a fence-post or tree-top, as well as their sputtering alarm note when they fly up before us as we cross the field. In North America they range east of the Plains and north to southern Canada; and winter from Massachusetts and Illinois southward.

The Western Meadowlark has the yellow on the throat extended on the sides; its song is much more brilliant and varied than the eastern bird. It is found from the Plains to the Pacific. The Florida Meadowlark is smaller and darker than the common HORNED LARK (_Otocoris alpestris_). This variety is only found in the United States in winter. During the mating season they have a sweet song that is uttered on the wing, like that of the Bobolink.

=Mockingbird= (_Mimus polyglottos_). This is the great vocalist of the South, and by many is considered to be the most versatile singer in America. It is found in gardens, pastures and open woods. All its habits are similar to our Catbird, and like that species, it is given to imitating the notes of other birds. Its song is an indescribable medley, sometimes very sweet and pleasing, at others, harsh and unmusical. Its general colors are gray and white.

Usually the nest is built in impenetrable thickets or hedges, or again in more open situation in the garden; made of twigs and rootlets, lined with black rootlets; the four or five eggs are bluish green with blotches of reddish brown.

It ranges throughout the southern United States, breeding north to New Jersey (and casually farther) and Ohio; and winters in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. The Western Mockingbird is found in southwestern United States, north to Oklahoma and California.