Chapter XI: Part II: Animal Life (4)

10. Describe the nest of this sparrow. Of what material is it made? How is it supported? How sheltered? Is it a well-built nest?

11. Describe the eggs? How many broods are raised a year? What kind of food do the parents give the nestlings?

12. If you have ever seen these sparrows do anything interesting describe the circumstance?

13. In what ways are these birds a nuisance to us?

14. How much of English sparrow talk do you understand?

15. How can we build bird-boxes so that the English sparrows will not try to take possession of them?

_Supplementary reading_--“A Street Troubadour,” in Lives of the Hunted, Thompson Seton. First Book of Birds, Miller, p. 81. “Blizzard” and “Three Sparrows that live in the House,” from True Bird Stories, Miller.

* * * * *

_Do not tire the child with questions; lead him to question
you, instead. Be sure, in any case, that he is more interested
in the subject than in the questions about the subject._

THE CHIPPING SPARROW

_Teacher’s Story_

This midget lives in our midst, and yet, not among all bird kind, is there one which so ignores us as does the chippy. It builds its nest about our houses, it hunts for food all over our premises, it sings like a tuneful grasshopper in our ears, it brings up its young to disregard us, and every hour of the day it “tsip-tsips” us to scorn. And, although it has well earned the name of “doorstep sparrow,” since it frugally gathers the crumbs about our kitchen doors, yet it rarely becomes tame or can be induced to eat from the hand, unless it is trained so to do as a nestling.

Its cinnamon-brown cap and tiny black forehead, the gray streak over the eye and the black through it, the gray cheeks and the pale gray, unspotted breast distinguish it from the other sparrows, although its brown back streaked with darker, and brown wings and blackish tail have a very sparrowish look; the two whitish wing bars are not striking; it has a bill fitted for shelling seeds, a characteristic of all the sparrows. Despite its seed-eating bill, the chippy’s food is thirty-eight per-cent insects, and everyone should read what Mr. Forbush says about the good work this little bird does in our gardens and to our trees. It takes in large numbers cabbage caterpillars, the pea louse, the beet leaf-miners, leaf hoppers, grasshoppers, cut worms, and does its best to annihilate the caterpillars of the terrible gypsy and browntail moths. In fact, it works for our benefit even in its vegetable food, as this consists largely of the seeds of weeds and undesirable grasses. It will often fly up from its perch after flies or moths, like a flycatcher; and the next time we note it, it will be hopping around hunting for the crumbs we have scattered for it on the piazza floor. The song of the chippy is more interesting to it than to us; it is a continuous performance of high, shrill, rapid notes, all alike so far as I can detect; when it utters many of these in rapid succession it is singing, but when it gives them singly they are call notes or mere conversation.

One peculiarity of the nest has given this sparrow the common name of hair-bird, for the lining is almost always of long, coarse hair, usually treasure trove from the tails of horses or cattle switched off against boards, burs or other obstacles. Of the many nests I have examined, black horsehair was the usual lining; but two nests in our yard show the chippy to be a resourceful bird; evidently the hair market was exhausted and the soft, dead needles of the white pine were used instead and made a most satisfactory lining. The nest is tiny and shallow; the outside is of fine grass or rootlets carefully but not closely woven together; it is placed in vine or tree, usually not more than ten or fifteen feet from the ground; a vine of a piazza is a favorite nesting site. Once a bold pair built directly above the entrance to our front door and mingled cheerfully with other visitors. Usually, however, the nest is so hidden that it is not discovered until after the leaves have fallen. The eggs are light blue tinged with green, with fine, purplish brown specks or markings scrawled about the larger end.

The chippy comes to us in April and usually raises two broods of from three to five “piggish” youngsters, which even after they are fully grown follow pertinaciously their tired and “frazzled out” parents and beg to be fed; the chippy parents evidently have no idea of discipline but indulge their teasing progeny until our patience, at least, is exhausted. The young differ from the parents in having streaked breasts and lacking the reddish crown. In the fall the chippy parents lose their red-brown caps and have streaked ones instead; and then they fare forth in flocks for a seed-harvest in the fields. Thereafter our chippy is a stranger to us; we do not know it in its new garb, and it dodges into the bushes as we pass, as if it had not tested our harmlessness on our own door-stone.

_Reference_--Wild Life, Ingersol, p. 132.

LESSON XX

_Leading thought_--The chipping sparrow is a cheerful and useful little neighbor. It builds a nest, lined with horsehair, in the shrubbery and vines about our homes and works hard in ridding our gardens of insect pests and seeds of weeds.

_Methods_--Begin this lesson with a nest of the chippy, which is so unmistakable that it may be identified when found in the winter. Make the study of this nest so interesting that the pupils will wait anxiously to watch for the birds which made it. As soon as the chippies appear, the questions should be asked, a few at a time, giving the children several weeks for the study.

_The Nest_

_Observations_--1. Where was this nest found? How high from the ground?

2. Was it under shelter? How was it supported?

3. Of what material is the outside of the nest? How is it fastened together? How do you suppose the bird wove this material together?

4. Of what material is the lining? Why is the bird that built this nest called the “hair bird?” From what animal do you think the lining of the nest came? How do you suppose the bird got it?

5. Do you think the nest was well hidden when the leaves were about it? Measure the nest across and also its depth; do you think the bird that made it is as large as the English sparrow?

_The Bird_

6. How can you tell the chippy from the English sparrow?

7. Describe in your note-book or orally the colors of the chippy as follows: beak, forehead, crown, marks above and through the eyes, cheeks, throat, breast, wings and tail. Note if the wings have whitish bars and how many.

8. Describe the shape of the beak as compared with that of the robin. What is this shaped bill meant for?

9. What is the food of the chippy? Why has it been called the doorstep-sparrow?

10. Note if the chippy catches flies or moths on the wing like the phœbe-bird.

11. Why should we protect the chippy and try to induce it to live near our gardens?

12. Does it run or hop when seeking food on the ground?

13. How early in the season does the chippy appear and where does it spend the winter?

14. Can you describe the chippy’s song? How do you think it won the name of chipping sparrow?

15. If you have the luck to find a pair of chippies nesting, keep a diary of your observations in your note-book covering the following points: Do both parents build the nest? How is the frame-work laid? How is the finishing done? The number and color of the eggs? Do both parents feed the young? How do young chippies act when they first leave the nest? How large are the young birds before the parents stop feeding them? What are the differences in color and markings between parents and young?

* * * * *

THE FIELD-SPARROW

_A bubble of music floats, the slope of the hillside over;
A little wandering sparrow’s notes; and the bloom of yarrow and
clover,
And the smell of sweet-fern and the bayberry leaf, on his ripple
of song are stealing,
For he is a cheerful thief, the wealth of the fields revealing._

_One syllable, clear and soft as a raindrop’s silvery patter,
Or a tinkling fairy-bell; heard aloft, in the midst of the merry
chatter
Of robin and linnet and wren and jay, one syllable, oft repeated;
He has but a word to say, and of that he will not be cheated._

_The singer I have not seen; but the song I arise and follow
The brown hills over, the pastures green, and into the sunlit
hollow.
With a joy that his life unto mine has lent, I can feel my glad
eyes glisten,
Though he hides in his happy tent, while I stand outside, and
listen._

_This way would I also sing, my dear little hillside neighbor!
A tender carol of peace to bring to the sunburnt fields of labor
Is better than making a loud ado; trill on, amid clover and yarrow!
There’s a heart-beat echoing you, and blessing you, blithe little
sparrow!_
--LUCY LARCOM.

THE SONG SPARROW

_Teachers’ Story_

“_He does not wear a Joseph’s coat of many colors, smart and gay
His suit is Quaker brown and gray, with darker patches at his
throat.
And yet of all the well-dressed throng, not one can sing so
brave a song.
It makes the pride of looks appear a vain and foolish thing to
hear
His ‘Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.’_”

“_A lofty place he does not love, he sits by choice and well at
ease
In hedges and in little trees, that stretch their slender arms
above
The meadow brook; and then he sings till all the field with
pleasure rings;
And so he tells in every ear, that lowly homes to heaven are
near
In ‘Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.’_”
--HENRY VAN DYKE.

Children should commit to memory the poem from which the above stanzas were taken; seldom in literature, have detailed accurate observation and poetry been so happily combined as in these verses. The lesson might begin in March when we are all listening eagerly for bird voices, and the children should be asked to look out for a little, brown bird which sings, “Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer,” or, as Thoreau interprets it, “Maids! Maids! Maids! Hang on the teakettle, teakettle-ettle-ettle.” In early childhood I learned to distinguish this sparrow by its “Teakettle” song. Besides this song, it has others quite as sweet; and when alarmed it utters a sharp “T’chink, t’chink.”

The song sparrow prefers the neighborhood of brooks and ponds which are bordered with bushes, and also the hedges planted by nature along rail or other field fences, and it has a special liking for the shrubbery about gardens. Its movements and flight are very characteristic; it usually sits on the tip-top of a shrub or low tree when it sings, but when disturbed never rises in the air but drops into a low flight and plunges into a thicket with a defiant twitch of the tail which says plainly, “find me if you can.”

The color and markings of this bird are typical of the sparrows. The head is a warm brown with a gray streak along the center of the crown and one above each eye, with a dark line through the eye. The back is brown with darker streaks. The throat is white with a dark spot on either side; the breast is white spotted with brown with a large, dark blotch at its very center; this breast blotch distinguishes this bird from all other sparrows. The tail and wings are brown and without buff or white bars or other markings. The tail is long, rounded and very expressive of emotions, and makes the bird look more slender than the English sparrow.

The nest is usually placed on the ground or in low bushes not more than five feet from the ground; it varies much in both size and material; it is sometimes constructed of coarse weeds and grasses; and sometimes only fine grass is used. Sometimes it is lined with hair, and again, with fine grass; sometimes it is deep, but occasionally is shallow. The eggs have a whitish ground-color tinged with blue or green, but are so blotched and marked with brown that they are safe from observation of enemies. The nesting season begins in May, and there are usually three and sometimes four broods; but so far as I have observed, a nest is never used for two consecutive broods. The song sparrow stays with us in New York State very late in the fall, and a few stay in sheltered places all winter. The quality in this bird which endears him to us all is the spirit of song which stays with him; his sweet trill may be heard almost any month of the year, and he has a charming habit of singing in his dreams, if sudden noise disturbs his slumber.

The song sparrow is not only the dearest of little neighbors, but it also works lustily for our good and for its own food at the same time. It destroys cutworms, plant-lice, caterpillars, canker-worms, ground beetles, grasshoppers and flies; in winter it destroys thousands of weed seeds, which otherwise would surely plant themselves to our undoing. Every boy and girl should take great pains to drive away stray cats and to teach the family puss not to meddle with birds; for cats are the worst of all the song sparrow’s enemies, destroying thousands of its nestlings every year.

LESSON XXI

THE SONG SPARROW

_Leading thought_--The beautiful song of this sparrow is heard earlier in the spring than the notes of bluebird or robin. The dark blotch in the center of its speckled breast distinguishes this sparrow from all others; it is very beneficial and should be protected from cats.

_Methods_--All the observations of the song sparrow must be made in the field, and they are easily made because the bird builds near houses, in gardens, and in the shrubbery. Poetry and other literature about the song sparrow should be given to the pupils to read or to memorize.

_Observations_--1. Have you noticed a little brown bird singing a very sweet song in the early spring? Did the song sound as if set to the words “Little Maid! Little Maid! Little Maid! Put on the teakettle, teakettle-ettle ettle?”

2. Where was this bird when you heard him singing? How high was he perched above the ground? What other notes did you hear him utter?

3. Describe the colors and markings of the song sparrow on head, back, throat, breast, wings and tail. Is this bird as large as the English sparrow? What makes it look more slim?

4. How can you distinguish the song sparrow from the other sparrows? When disturbed does it fly up or down? How does it gesture with its tail as it disappears in the bushes?

5. Where and of what material does the song sparrow build its nest?

6. What colors and markings are on the eggs? Do you think these colors and markings are useful in concealing the eggs when the mother bird leaves the nest?

7. How late in the season do you see the song sparrows and hear their songs? Does this bird, when disturbed, fly up or down?

8. How can we protect these charming little birds and induce them to build near our houses?

9. What is the food of the song sparrows and how do they benefit our fields and gardens?

_Supplementary reading_--Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 43, 49, 50, 52; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 80; Birds of Song and Story, Grinnell, p. 73; The Song Sparrow, Van Dyke; Birds Through an Opera Glass, Merriam, p. 66; Field Book of Wild Birds, Mathews, p. 109; Wild Life, Ingersoll, p. 144; Audubon Leaflet No. 31.

* * * * *

THE SING-AWAY BIRD

_Have you ever heard of the Sing-away bird,
That sings where the Runaway River
Runs down with its rills from the bald-headed hills
That stand in the sunshine and shiver?
“Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!”
How the pines and the birches are stirred
By the trill of the Sing-away bird!_

_And the bald-headed hills, with their rocks and their rills,
To the tune of his rapture are ringing;
And their faces grow young, all the gray mists among,
While the forests break forth into singing.
“Oh sing! sing-away! sing-away!”
And the river runs singing along;
And the flying winds catch up the song._

_’Twas a white-throated sparrow, that sped a light arrow
Of song from his musical quiver,
And it pierced with its spell every valley and dell
On the banks of the Runaway River.
“Oh, sing! sing-away! sing-away!”
The song of the wild singer had
The sound of a soul that is glad._
--LUCY LARCOM.

Drawing by L. A. Fuertes.]

THE MOCKINGBIRD

_Teacher’s Story_

Among all the vocalists in the bird world, the mockingbird is unrivaled in the variety and richness of his repertoire; and he has thus won his place among men, convincing many ignorant people by the means of his voice that a bird is good for something besides “victuals.” The mockingbirds go as far north as southern New England, but they are found at their best in the Southern States and in California. On the Gulf Coast the mockers begin singing in February; in warmer climates they sing almost the year through. During the nesting season, the father mocker is so busy with his cares and duties during the day, that he does not have time to sing and so devotes the nights to serenading; he may sing almost all night long if there is moonlight, but even on dark nights he gives now and then a happy, sleepy song. Not all mockingbirds are mockers; some sing their own song which is rich and beautiful; while others learn in addition, not only the songs of other birds, but their call notes as well. One authority noted a mocker which imitated the songs of twenty species of birds during a ten-minute performance. When singing, the mocker shows his relationship to the brown thrasher by lifting the head and depressing and jerking the tail. A good mocker will learn a tune, or parts of it, if it is whistled often enough in his hearing; he will also imitate other sounds and will often improve on a song he has learned from another bird by introducing frills of his own; when learning a song, he sits silent and listens intently, but will not try to sing it until it is learned.

Although the mockingbirds live in wild places, they prefer the haunts of men, taking up their home sites in gardens and cultivated grounds. Their flight is rarely higher than the tree tops and is decidedly jerky in character with much twitching of the long tail. For nesting sites, they choose thickets or the lower branches of trees, being especially fond of orange trees; the nest is usually from four to twenty feet from the ground. The foundation of the nest is made of sticks, grasses and weed stalks interlaced and crisscrossed; on these is built the nest of softer materials, such as, rootlets, horsehair, cotton, or in fact, anything suitable which is at hand. The nest is often in plain sight, since the mocker trusts to his strength as a fighter to protect it. He will attack cats with great ferocity and vanquish them; he will kill snakes; often good-sized black snakes have been known to end thus. The mocker, in making his attack, hovers above his enemy and strikes it at the back of the head or neck; he will also drive away birds much larger than himself.

The female lays from four to six pale greenish or bluish eggs blotched with brown and which hatch in about two weeks; then comes a period of hard work for the parents, as both are indefatigable in catching insects to feed the young. The mocker, by the way, is a funny sight when he is chasing a beetle on the ground, lifting his wings in a pugnacious fashion. The mockers often raise three broods a season; the young birds have spotted breasts, showing their relationship to the thrasher.

As a wooer, the mocker is a bird of much ceremony and dances into his lady’s graces. Mrs. F. W. Rowe, in describing this, says that the birds stand facing each other with heads and tails erect and wings drooping; “then the dance would begin, and this consisted of the two hopping sideways in the same direction and in rather a straight line a few inches at a time, always keeping directly opposite each other and about the same distance apart. They would _chassez_ this way four or five feet, then go back over the same line in the same manner.” Mrs. Rowe also observed that the male mockers have hunting preserves of their own, not allowing any other males of their species in these precincts. The boundary was sustained by tactics of both offense and defense; but certain other species of birds were allowed to trespass without reproof.

Maurice Thompson describes in a delightful manner the “mounting” and “dropping” songs of the mocker which occur during the wooing season. The singer flits up from branch to branch of a tree, singing as he goes, and finally on the topmost bough gives his song of triumph to the world; then, reversing the process, he falls backward from spray to spray, as if drunk with the ecstasy of his own song, which is an exquisitely soft “gurgling series of notes, liquid and sweet, that seem to express utter rapture.”

The mockingbirds have the same colors in both sexes; the head is black, the back is ashy-gray; the tail and wings are so dark brown that they look black; the tail is very long and has the outer tail feathers entirely white and the two next inner ones are white for more than half their length; the wings have a strikingly broad, white bar, which is very noticeable when the bird is flying. The under parts and breast are grayish white; the beak and legs are blackish. The food of the mockingbirds is about half insects and half fruit. They live largely on the berries of the red cedar, myrtle and holly, and we must, confess are often too devoted to the fruits in our orchards and gardens; but let us put down to their credit that they do their best to exterminate the cotton boll caterpillars and moths, and also many other insects injurious to crops.

The mocker is full of tricks and is distinctly a bird of humor. He will frighten other birds by screaming like a hawk and then seem to chuckle over the joke.

Sidney Lanier describes him well.

_Whate’er birds did or dreamed, this bird could say.
Then down he shot, bounced airily along
The sward, twitched in a grasshopper, made song
Midflight, perched, prinked, and to his art again._

LESSON XXII

THE MOCKING BIRD

_Leading thought_--The mockingbird is the only one of our common birds that sings regularly at night. It imitates the songs of other birds and has also a beautiful song of its own. When feeding their nestlings, the mockers do us great service by destroying insect pests.

_Method_--Studies of this bird are best made individually by the pupils through watching the mockers which haunt the houses and shrubbery. If there are mockingbirds near the schoolhouse the work can be done in the most ideal way by keeping records in the school of all the observations made by the pupils, thus bringing out an interesting mockingbird story. The experiment in teaching songs to the birds may best be made with pet mockers.

_Observations_--1. At what months of the year and for how many months does the mockingbird sing in this locality?

2. Does he sing only on moonlight nights? Does he sing all night?

3. Can you distinguish the true mockingbird song from the songs which he has learned from other birds? Describe the actions of a mocker when he is singing.

4. How many songs of other birds have you heard a mocker give and what are the names of these birds?

5. Have you ever taught a mocker a tune by whistling it in his presence? If so, tell how long before he learned it and how he acted while learning.

6. Describe the flight of the mockingbirds. Do they fly high in the air like crows?

7. Do these birds like best to live in wild places or about houses and gardens?

8. Where do they choose sites for their nests? Do they make an effort to hide the nest? If not, why?

9. Of what material is the nest made? How is it lined? How far from the ground is it placed?

10. What are the colors of the eggs? How many are usually laid? How long before they hatch?

11. Give instances of the parents’ devotion to the young birds.

12. Have you seen two mockingbirds dancing before each other just before the nesting season?

13. In the spring have you heard a mocker sing while mounting from the lower to the upper branches of a tree and then after pouring forth his best song fall backward with a sweet, gurgling song as if intoxicated with his music?

14. How many broods does a pair of mockers raise during one season? How does the color of the breast of the young differ from that of the parent?

15. How does the father bird protect the nestlings from other birds, cats and snakes?

16. Does the mocker select certain places for his own hunting grounds and drive off other mockers which trespass?

17. Describe the colors of the mockingbird as follows: Beak, head, back, tail, wings, throat, breast, under parts and feet.

18. What is the natural food of the mockingbirds and how do they benefit the farmer? How does the mocker act when attacking a ground beetle?

19. Have you seen mockingbirds frighten other birds by imitating the cry of a hawk? Have you seen them play other kinds of tricks?

20. Write a little story which shall include your own observations on the ways of pet mockingbirds which you have known.

_Supplementary reading_--True Bird Stories, Miller, p. 142; Bob, by Sidney Lanier; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 34; Birds of Song and Story, Grinnell, p. 29; Stories About Birds, Kirby, p. 94.

* * * * *

“_Soft and low the song began: I scarcely caught it as it ran
Through the melancholy trill of the plaintive whip-poor-will,
Through the ringdove’s gentle wail, chattering jay and
whistling quail,
Sparrow’s twitter, catbird’s cry, redbird’s whistle, robin’s
sigh;
Blackbird, bluebird, swallow, lark, each his native note might
mark._

_Oft he tried the lesson o’er, each time louder than before;
Burst at length the finished song, loud and clear it poured
along;
All the choir in silence heard, hushed before this wondrous
bird.
All transported and amazed, scarcely breathing, long I gazed.
Now it reached the loudest swell; lower, lower, now it fell,--
Lower, lower, lower still, scarce it sounded o’er the rill._”
--JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE.

Photo by Robert Matheson.]

THE CATBIRD

_Teacher’s Story_

“_The Catbird sings a crooked song, in minors that are flat,
And, when he can’t control his voice he mews just like a cat,
Then nods his head and whisks his tail and lets it go at that._”
--OLIVER DAVIE.

As a performer, the catbird distinctly belongs to the vaudeville, even going so far as to appear in slate-colored tights. His specialties range from the most exquisite song to the most strident of scolding notes; his nasal “n-y-a-a-h, n-y-a-a-h” is not so very much like the cat’s mew after all, but when addressed to the intruder it means “get out;” and not in the whole gamut of bird notes is there another which so quickly inspires the listener with this desire. I once trespassed upon the territory of a well-grown catbird family and the squalling that ensued was ear-splitting; as I retreated, the triumphant youngsters followed me for a few rods with every sign of triumph in their actions and voices; they obviously enjoyed my apparent fright. The catbirds have rather a pleasant “cluck, cluck” when talking to each other, hidden in the bushes, and they also have a variety of other notes. The true song of the catbird, usually given in the early morning, is very beautiful. Mr. Mathews thinks it is a medley gathered from other birds, but it seems to me very individual. However, true to his vaudeville training, this bird is likely to introduce into the middle or at the end of his exquisite song some phrase that suggests his cat call. He is, without doubt, a true mocker and will often imitate the robin’s song, and also if opportunity offers learns to converse fluently in chicken language. One spring morning, I heard outside my window the mellow song of the cardinal, which is a rare visitor in New York, but there was no mistaking the “tor-re-do, tor-re-do.” I sprang from my bed and rushed to the window only to see a catbird singing the cardinal song, and thus telling me that he had come from the sunny South and the happy companionship of these brilliant birds. Often when the catbird is singing, he sits on the topmost spray of some shrub lifting his head and depressing his tail, like a brown thrasher; and again, he sings completely hidden in the thicket.

In appearance the catbird is tailor-made, belonging to the same social class as the cedar-bird and the barn swallow. However, it affects quiet colors, and its well-fitting costume is all slate-gray except the top of the head and the tail which are black; the feathers beneath the base of the tail are brownish. The catbird is not so large as the robin, and is of very different shape; it is far more slender and has a long, emotional tail. The way the catbird twitches and tilts its tail, as it hops along the ground or alights in a bush, is very characteristic. It is a particularly alert and nervous bird, always on the watch for intruders, and the first to give warning to all other birds of their approach. It is a good fighter in defending its nest, and there are several observed instances where it has fought to defend the nest of other species of birds; and it has gone even further in its philanthropy, by feeding their orphaned nestlings.

The catbird chooses a nesting site in a low tree or shrub or brier, where the nest is built usually about four feet from the ground. The nest looks untidy, but is strongly made of sticks, coarse grass, weeds, bark strips and occasionally paper; it is lined with soft roots and is almost always well hidden in dense foliage. The eggs are from three to five in number and are dark greenish blue. Both parents work hard feeding the young and for this purpose destroy many insects which we can well spare. Sixty-two per cent. of the food of the young has been found in one instance to be cutworms, showing what a splendid work the parents do in our gardens. In fact, during a large part of the summer, while these birds are rearing their two broods, they benefit us greatly by destroying the insect pests; and although later they may attack our fruits and berries, it almost seems as if they had earned the right to their share. If we only had the wisdom to plant along the fences some elderberries or Russian mulberries, the catbirds as well as the robins would feed upon them instead of the cultivated fruits.

The catbirds afford a striking example for impressing upon children that each species of birds haunts certain kinds of places. The catbirds are never found in deep woods nor in open fields, but always near low thickets along streams, and in shrubbery along fences, in tangles of vines, and especially do they like to build about our gardens, if we protect them. They are very fond of bathing, and if fresh water is given them for this purpose, we may have opportunity to witness the most thorough bath a bird can take. A catbird takes a long time to bathe and preen its feathers and indulges in most luxurious sun baths and thus deservedly earns the epithet of “well-groomed;” it is one of the most intelligent of all our birds and soon learns “what is what,” and repays in the most surprising way the trouble of careful observation.

LESSON XXIII

THE CATBIRD

_Leading thought_--The catbird has a beautiful song as well as the harsh “miou,” and can imitate other birds, although not so well as the mockingbird. It builds in low thickets and shrubbery and during the nesting season is of great benefit to our gardens.

_Methods_--First, let the pupils study and report upon the songs, scoldings and other notes of this our northern mockingbird; then let them describe its appearance and habits. Of course, the study must be made outside of school hours in the field.

_Observations_--1. Do you think the squall of the catbird sounds like the mew of a cat? When does the bird use this note and what for? What other notes have you heard it utter?

2. Describe as well as you can the catbird’s true song. Are there any harsh notes in it? Where does he sit while singing? Describe his actions while singing.

3. Have you ever heard the catbird imitate the songs of other birds or other noises?

4. Describe the catbird as follows: its size and shape compared to the robin; the color and shape of head, beak, wings, tail, breast and under parts.

5. Describe its peculiar actions and its characteristic movements.

6. Where do catbirds build their nests? How high from the ground? What material is used? Is the nest compact and carefully finished? Is it hidden?

7. What is the color of the eggs? Do both parents care for the young?

8. What is the food of the catbird? Why is it an advantage to us to have catbirds build in our gardens?

9. Do you ever find catbirds in the deep woods or out in the open meadows? Where do you find them?

10. Put out a pan of water where the catbirds can use it and then watch them make their toilets and describe the process. Describe how they take sun baths.

_Supplementary reading_--“Monsieur Mischief,” Nestlings of Forest and Marsh, Wheelock; Our Birds and Their Nestlings, Walker, pp. 167, 174; Second Book of Birds, Miller, p. 37; Songs of Nature, Burroughs, p. 172; Birds of Song and Story, Grinnell, p. 36.

* * * * *

“_He sits on a branch of yon blossoming bush,
This madcap cousin of robin and thrush,
And sings without ceasing the whole morning long;
Now wild, now tender, the wayward song
That flows from his soft, gray, fluttering throat;
But often he stops in his sweetest note,
And, shaking a flower from the blossoming bough,
Drawls out, “Mi-eu, mi-ow!”_”
--“THE CATBIRD”, EDITH M. THOMAS.

THE BELTED KINGFISHER

_Teacher’s Story_

This patrol of our streams and lake shores, in his cadet uniform, is indeed a military figure as well as a militant personality. As he sits upon his chosen branch overhanging some stream or lake shore, his crest abristle, his keen eye fixed on the water below, his whole bearing alert, one must acknowledge that this fellow puts “ginger” into his environment, and that the spirit which animates him is very far from the “_dolce far niente_” which permeates the ordinary fisherman. However, he does not fish for fun but for business; his keen eye catches the gleam of a moving fin and he darts from his perch, holds himself for a moment on steady wings above the surface of the water, to be sure of his quarry, and then there is a dash and a splash and he returns to his perch with the wriggling fish in his strong beak; he at once proceeds to beat its life out against a branch and then to swallow it sensibly, head first, so that the fins will not prick his throat nor the scales rasp it. He swallows the entire fish, trusting to his internal organs to select the nourishing part; and later he gulps up a ball of the indigestible scales and bones.

This shows the weak toes; the third and fourth are joined
together, which undoubtedly assists the bird in pushing out
soil when excavating.
]

The kingfisher is very different in form from an ordinary bird; he is larger than a robin, and his head and fore parts are much larger in proportion; this is the more noticeable because of the long feathers of the head which he lifts into a crest, and because of the shortness of the tail. The beak is very long and strong in order to seize the fish and hold it fast; but the legs are short and weak; the third and fourth toes are grown together for a part of their length; perhaps this is of use to the bird in pushing earth from the burrow, when excavating. The kingfisher has no need for running and hopping, like the robin and, therefore, does not need the robin’s strong legs and feet. His colors are beautiful and harmonious; the upper parts are grayish blue, the throat and collar white, as is also the breast, which has a bluish gray band across the upper part, this giving the name of the Belted Kingfisher to the bird. The feathers of the wings are tipped with white and the tail feathers narrowly barred with white. The under side of the body is white in the males, while in the females it is somewhat chestnut in color. There is a striking white spot just in front of the eye.

The kingfisher parents build their nest in a burrow which they tunnel horizontally in a bank; sometimes there is a vestibule of several feet before the nest is reached, and at other times it is built very close to the opening. Both parents are industrious in catching fish for their nestlings, but the burden of this duty falls heaviest upon the male. Many fish bones are found in the nest, and they seem so clean and white that they have been regarded as nest lining. Wonderful tales are told of the way the English kingfishers use fish bones to support the earth above their nests, and tributes have been paid to their architectural skill. But it is generally conceded that the lining of fish bones in nests of our kingfisher is incidental, since the food of the young is largely fish, although frogs, insects and other creatures are often eaten with relish. It is interesting to note the process by which the young kingfisher gets its skill in fishing. I have often seen one dive horizontally for a yard or two beneath the water and come up indignant and sputtering because the fish had escaped. It was fully two weeks after this before this one learned to drop like a bullet on its quarry.

The note of the kingfisher is a loud rattle, not especially pleasant close at hand, but not unmusical at a little distance. It is a curious coincidence that it sounds very much like the clicking of the fisherman’s reel; it is a sound that conjures visions of shade-dappled streams and the dancing, blue waters of tree-fringed lakes and ponds.

There seems to be a division of fishing ground among the kingfishers, one bird never trespassing upon its neighbor’s preserves. Unless it be the parent pair working near each other for the nestlings, or the nestlings still under their care, we never see two kingfishers in the same immediate locality.

_References_--The Bird, p. 97; The Bird Book, pp. 154, 444.

LESSON XXIV

THE KINGFISHER

Drawn by L. A. Fuertes.]

_Leading thought_--The kingfisher is fitted by form of body and beak to be a fisherman.

_Methods_--If the school be near a stream or pond the following observations may be made by the pupils; otherwise let the boys who go fishing make a study of the bird and report to the school.

_Observations_--1. Where have you seen the kingfisher? Have you often seen it on a certain branch which is its favorite perch? Is this perch near the water? What is the advantage of this position to the bird?

2. What does the kingfisher feed upon? How does it obtain its food? Describe the actions of one of these birds while fishing.

3. With what weapons does the kingfisher secure the fish? How long is its beak compared with the rest of its body? How does it kill the fish? Does it swallow the fish head or tail first? Why? Does it tear off the scales or fins before swallowing it? How does it get rid of these and the bones of the fish?

4. Which is the larger, the kingfisher or the robin? Describe the difference in shape of the bodies of these two birds; also in the size and shape of feet and beaks and explain why they are so different in form. What is there peculiar about the kingfisher’s feet? Do you know which two toes are grown together?

5. What are the colors of the kingfisher in general? The colors of head, sides of head, collar, back, tail, wings, throat, breast and under parts? Is there a white spot near the eye? If so, where? Do you know the difference in colors between the parent birds?

6. Where is the nest built? How is it lined?

7. What is the note of the kingfisher? Does it give it while perching or while on the wing? Do you ever find more than one kingfisher on the same fishing grounds?

_Supplementary reading_--The Second Book of Birds, Chapter XXX; “The Halcyon Birds,” Child’s Study of the Classics; Audubon Leaflet No. 19; “Kooskosemus,” Long; American Birds, Finley.

* * * * *

_THE KINGFISHER_ (_OF ENGLAND_)

_For the handsome Kingfisher, go not to the tree,
No bird of the field or the forest is he;
In the dry river rock he did never abide,
And not on the brown heath all barren and wide._

_He lives where the fresh, sparkling waters are flowing,
Where the tall heavy Typha and Loosestrife are growing;
By the bright little streams that all joyfully run
Awhile in the shadow, and then in the sun._

_He lives in a hole that is quite to his mind,
With the green mossy Hazel roots firmly entwined;
Where the dark Alder-bough waves gracefully o’er,
And the Sword-flag and Arrow-head grow at his door._

_There busily, busily, all the day long,
He seeks for small fishes the shallows among;
For he builds his nest of the pearly fish-bone,
Deep, deep, in the bank, far retired, and alone._

_Then the brown Water-Rat from his burrow looks out,
To see what his neighbor Kingfisher’s about;
And the green Dragon-fly, flitting slowly away,
Just pauses one moment to bid him good-day._

_O happy Kingfisher! What care should he know,
By the clear, pleasant streams, as he skims to and fro,
Now lost in the shadow, now bright in the sheen
Of the hot summer sun, glancing scarlet and green!_
--MARY HOWITT.

THE SCREECH OWL

_Teacher’s Story_

“_Disquiet yourselves not: ’Tis nothing but a little, downy
owl._”--SHELLEY.

From _Country Life in America_.]

Of all the fascinating sounds to be heard at night in the woods, the screech owl’s song is surely the most so; its fascination does not depend on music but upon the chills which it sends up and down the spine of the listener, thus attacking a quite different set of nerves than do other bird songs. The weird wail, tremulous and long drawn out, although so bloodcurdling, is from the standpoint of the owlet the most beautiful music in the world; by means of it he calls to his mate, cheering her with the assurance of his presence in the world; evidently she is not a nervous creature. The screech owls are likely to sing at night during any part of the year; nor should we infer that when they are singing they are not hunting, for perchance their music frightens their victims into fatal activity. Although the note is so unmistakable, yet there is great variation in the songs of individuals; the great variety of quavers in the song offering ample opportunity for the expression of individuality. Moreover, these owls often give themselves over to tremulous whispering and they emphasize excitement by snapping their beaks in an alarming manner.

Any bird that is flying about and singing in the night time must be able to see where it is going, and the owls have special adaptations for this. The eyes are very large and the yellow iris opens and closes about the pupil quite similar to the arrangement in the cat’s eye, except that the pupil in the owl’s eye is round when contracted instead of elongated; in the night this pupil is expanded until it covers most of the eye. The owl does not need to see behind and at the sides, since it does not belong to the birds which are the victims of other birds and animals of prey. The owl is a bird that hunts instead of being hunted, and it needs only to focus its eyes on the creature it is chasing. Thus, its eyes are in the front of the head like our own; but it can see behind, in case of need, for the head turns upon the neck as if it were fitted on a ball-bearing joint. I have often amused myself by walking around a captive screech owl, which would follow me with its eyes by turning the head until it almost made the circle, then the head would twist back with such lightning rapidity that I could hardly detect the movement; it seemed almost as if the head was on a pivot and could be moved around and around indefinitely. Although the owl, like the cat, has eyes fitted for night hunting, it can also see fairly well during the daytime.

A beak with the upper mandible ending in a sharp hook signifies that its owner lives upon other animals and needs to rend and tear flesh. The owl’s beak thus formed is somewhat buried in the feathers of the face, which gives it a striking resemblance to a Roman nose. This, with the great, staring, round eyes, bestows upon the owl an appearance of great wisdom. But it is not the beak which the owl uses for a weapon of attack; its strong feet and sharp, curved claws are its weapons for striking the enemy and also for grappling with its prey. The outer toe can be moved back at will, so that in grasping its prey or its perch, two toes may be directed forward and two backward, thus giving a stronger hold.

The ear is very different in form from the ear of other birds; instead of being a mere hole opening into the internal ear, it consists of a fold of skin forming a channel which extends from above the eye around to the side of the throat. (See The Bird, Beebe, p. 217). Thus equipped, while hunting in the dark the owl is able to hear any least rustle of mouse or bird and to know in which direction to descend upon it. There has been no relation established between the ear tufts of the screech owl and its ears, so far as I know, but the way the bird lifts the tufts when it is alert, always suggests that this movement in some way opens up the ear.

In color there are two types among the screech owls, one reddish brown, the other gray. The back is streaked with black, the breast is marked with many shaft-lines of black. The whole effect of the owl’s plumage makes it resemble a branch of a tree or a part of the bark, and thus it is protected from prying eyes, during the daytime when it is sleeping. Its plumage is very fluffy and its wing feathers, instead of being stiff to the very edge, have soft fringes which cushion the stroke upon the air. The owl’s flight is, therefore, absolutely noiseless and the bird is thus able to swoop down upon its prey without giving warning of its approach.

The screech owls are partial to old apple orchards for nesting sites. They will often use an abandoned nest of a woodpecker; the eggs are almost as round as marbles and as white as chalk, showing very clearly that they are laid within a dark hole, otherwise their color would attract the eyes of enemies. There are usually four eggs; the fubsy little owlets climb out of their home cave by the end of May and are the funniest little creatures imaginable. They make interesting but decidedly snappy pets; they can be fed on insects and raw beef. It is most interesting to see one wake up late in the afternoon after its daytime sleep. All day it has sat motionless upon its perch with its toes completely covered with its fluffy feather skirt. Suddenly its eyes open, the round pupils enlarging or contracting with great rapidity as if adjusting themselves to the amount of light. When the owl winks it is like a moon in eclipse, so large are the eyes, and so entirely are they obscured by the lids which seem like circular curtains. When it yawns, its wide bill absurdly resembles a human mouth, and the yawn is very human in its expression. It then stretches its wings and it is astonishing how long this wing can be extended below the feet. It then begins its toilet. It dresses its feathers with its short beak, nibbling industriously in the fluff; it scratches its under parts and breast with its bill, then cleans the bill with its foot, meanwhile moving the head up and down as if in an attempt to see better its surroundings.

The owls are loyal lovers and are said to remain mated through life, the twain being very devoted to their nests and nestlings. Sometimes the two wise-looking little parents sit together on the eggs, a most happy way to pass the wearisome incubation period.

The screech owls winter in the north and they are distinctly foresighted in preparing for winter. They have often been observed catching mice, during the late fall, and placing them in some hollow tree for cold storage, whence they may be taken in time of need. Their food consists to some extent of insects, especially night-flying moths and beetles, also caterpillars and grasshoppers. However, the larger part of their food is mice; sometimes small birds are caught and the English sparrow is a frequent victim. Chickens are rarely taken, except when small, since this owlet is not as long as a robin. It swallows its quarry as whole as possible, trusting to its inner organs to do the sifting and selecting. Later it throws up pellets of the indigestible bones, hair, etc. By the study of these pellets, found under owl roosts, the scientists have been able to determine the natural food of the bird, and they all unite in assuring us that the screech owl does the farmer much more good than harm, since it feeds so largely upon creatures which destroy his crops.

LESSON XXV

THE SCREECH OWL

_Leading thought_--This owl is especially adapted to get its prey at night. It feeds largely on field mice, grasshoppers, caterpillars and other injurious insects and is therefore the friend of the farmer.

_Method_--This lesson should begin when the children first hear the cry of this owl; and an owlet in captivity is a fascinating object for the children to observe. However, it is so important that the children learn the habits of this owl that the teacher is advised to hinge the lesson on any observation whatever made by the pupils, and illustrate it with pictures and stories.

_Observations_--1. Have you ever heard the screech owl? At what time of the day or night? Why was this? Why does the owl screech? How did you feel when listening to the owl’s song?

2. Describe the owl’s eyes. Are they adapted to see by night? What changes take place in them to enable the owl to see by daytime also? In what way are the owl’s eyes similar to the cat’s? Why is it necessary for an owl to see at night? Are the owl’s eyes placed so that they can see at the sides like other birds? How does it see an object at the sides or behind it?

3. Note the owl’s beak. For what purpose is a hooked beak? How does the owl use its beak? Why do we think that the owl looks wise?