Birds Vol 1 #6 – The Ring-billed Gull

June 14, 2012 by Lee

Ring-billed Gull for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897, From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

THE RING-BILLED GULL.

HE Ring-billed Gull is a common species throughout eastern North America, breeding throughout the northern tier of the United States, whose northern border is the limit of its summer home. As a rule in winter it is found in Illinois and south to the Gulf of Mexico. It is an exceedingly voracious bird, continually skimming over the surface of the water in search of its finny prey, and often following shoals of fish to great distances. The birds congregate in large numbers at their breeding places, which are rocky islands or headlands in the ocean. Most of the families of Gulls are somewhat migratory, visiting northern regions in summer to rear their young. The following lines give with remarkable fidelity the wing habits and movements of this tireless bird:

“On nimble wing the gull
Sweeps booming by, intent to cull
Voracious, from the billows’ breast,
Marked far away, his destined feast.
Behold him now, deep plunging, dip
His sunny pinion’s sable tip
In the green wave; now highly skim
With wheeling flight the water’s brim;
Wave in blue sky his silver sail
Aloft, and frolic with the gale,
Or sink again his breast to lave,
And float upon the foaming wave.
Oft o’er his form your eyes may roam,
Nor know him from the feathery foam,
Nor ’mid the rolling waves, your ear
On yelling blast his clamor hear.”

This Gull lives principally on fish, but also greedily devours insects. He also picks up small animals or animal substances with which he meets, and, like the vulture, devours them even in a putrid condition. He walks well and quickly, swims bouyantly, lying in the water like an air bubble, and dives with facility, but to no great depth.

As the breeding time approaches the Gulls begin to assemble in flocks, uniting to form a numerous host. Even upon our own shores their nesting places are often occupied by many hundred pairs, whilst further north they congregate in countless multitudes. They literally cover the rocks on which their nests are placed, the brooding parents pressing against each other.

Wilson says that the Gull, when riding bouyantly upon the waves and weaving a sportive dance, is employed by the poets as an emblem of purity, or as an accessory to the horrors of a storm, by his shrieks and wild piercing cries. In his habits he is the vulture of the ocean, while in grace of motion and beauty of plumage he is one of the most attractive of the splendid denizens of the ocean and lakes.

The Ring-billed Gull’s nest varies with localities. Where there is grass and sea weed, these are carefully heaped together, but where these fail the nest is of scanty material. Two to four large oval eggs of brownish green or greenish brown, spotted with grey and brown, are hatched in three or four weeks, the young appearing in a thick covering of speckled down. If born on the ledge of a high rock, the chicks remain there until their wings enable them to leave it, but if they come from the shell on the sand of the beach they trot about like little chickens. During the first few days they are fed with half-digested food from the parents’ crops, and then with freshly caught fish.

The Gull rarely flies alone, though occasionally one is seen far away from the water soaring in majestic solitude above the tall buildings of the city.

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) Lk Hollingsworth by Lee

Lee’s Addition:

The Ring-billed Gull is a member of the Laridae Family in the Charadriiformes Order. They are mentioned in Bible’s New King James Version as one of the birds not to eat.

the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; (Deuteronomy 14:15 NKJV)

See Bible Birds – Sea Gulls and Birds of the Bible – Sea Gulls

We see them on a frequent basis here in Central Florida. They not only like the many lakes here in Polk County, but also many of the parking lots. Of course as you head to either of our shores, Gulf or Atlantic, many more are seen.

Ring-billed Gull (Winter Adult), Tampa Bay, Florida

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 June, 1897 No 6 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

The above article is the first article in the monthly serial that was started in January 1897 “designed to promote Knowledge of Bird-Live.” These include Color Photography, as they call them, today they are drawings. There are at least three Volumes that have been digitized by Project Gutenberg.

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Loggerhead Shrike

Previous Article – The Black-Crowned Night Heron

Wordless Birds

Links:

Laridae – Gulls, Terns and Skimmers

Ring-billed Gull – All About Birds

Ring-billed Gull – Wikipedia

Field Guide: Birds of the World – Larus delawarensis (Ring-billed Gull Photos)

Birds Vol 1 #6 – The Black-crowned Night Heron

June 11, 2012 by Lee

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

black-crowned night heron.
From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences.

THE BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON.

HAT a beautiful creature this is! A mounted specimen requires, like the Snowy Owl, the greatest care and a dust tight glass case to preserve its beauty. Dr. Coues’ account of it should be read by those who are interested in the science of ornithology. It is a common bird in the United States and British Provinces, being migratory and resident in the south. Heronries, sometimes of vast extent, to which they return year after year, are their breeding places. Each nest contains three or four eggs of a pale, sea-green color. Observe the peculiar plumes, sometimes two, in this case three, which spring from the back of the head. These usually lie close together in one bundle, but are often blown apart by the wind in the form of streamers. This Heron derives its name from its habits, as it is usually seen flying at night, or in the early evening, when it utters a sonorous cry of quaw or quawk. It is often called Quawk or Qua-Bird.

On the return of the Black-Crowned Night Heron in April, he promptly takes possession of his former home, which is likely to be the most solitary and deeply shaded part of a cedar swamp. Groves of swamp oak in retired and water covered places, are also sometimes chosen, and the males often select tall trees on the bank of the river to roost upon during the day. About the beginning of twilight they direct their flight toward the marshes, uttering in a hoarse and hollow tone, the sound qua. At this hour all the nurseries in the swamps are emptied of their occupants, who disperse about the marshes along the ditches and river shore in search of food. Some of these nesting places have been occupied every spring and summer for many years by nearly a hundred pair of Herons. In places where the cedars have been cut down and removed the Herons merely move to another part of the swamp, not seeming greatly disturbed thereby; but when attacked and plundered they have been known to remove from an ancient home in a body to some unknown place.

The Heron’s nest is plain enough, being built of sticks. On entering the swamp in the neighborhood of one of the heronries the noise of the old and young birds equals that made by a band of Indians in conflict. The instant an intruder is discovered, the entire flock silently rises in the air and removes to the tops of the trees in another part of the woods, while sentries of eight or ten birds make occasional circuits of inspection.

The young Herons climb to the tops of the highest trees, but do not attempt to fly. While it is probable these birds do not see well by day, they possess an exquisite facility of hearing, which renders it almost impossible to approach their nesting places without discovery. Hawks hover over the nests, making an occasional sweep among the young, and the Bald Eagle has been seen to cast a hungry eye upon them.

The male and female can hardly be distinguished. Both have the plumes, but there is a slight difference in size.

The food of the Night Heron, or Qua-Bird, is chiefly fish, and his two interesting traits are tireless watchfulness and great appetite. He digests his food with such rapidity that however much he may eat, he is always ready to eat again; hence he is little benefited by what he does eat, and is ever in appearance in the same half-starved state, whether food is abundant or scarce.

Black-crowned Night Heron at Lake Hollingsworth By Dan

Lee’s Addition:

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nævius) Crown and back greenish black lower back, wings and tail ashy; head with two or three rounded white plumes, except just after breeding season. Young. Grayish brown streaked with white; below white streaked with blackish; outer webs of primaries, pale rufous. Notes. An explosive qûawk.

Range.—Western hemisphere; breeds in North America north to New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, and Oregon; winters from California and Gulf States southward.

Frequently several nests will be found in the same tree, and I have counted as many as fifty nests in view at the same time. In large swamps in the south they generally nest at a low elevation, while in the marshes of Wisconsin and Minnesota, large colonies of them nest on the ground, making their nest of rushes. Like all Heronries, those of this species have a nauseating odor, from the remains of decayed fish, etc., which are strewn around the bases of the trees. Their eggs number from three to five and are of a pale bluish green color. Size 2.00 × 1.40. 4 eggs. Nest of sticks, about thirty feet up in a pine tree. Many other nests (From the Bird Book)

Adults are approximately 64 cm (25 in) long and weigh 800 g (28 oz). They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. They have pale grey wings and white under parts. Two or three long white plumes, erected in greeting and courtship displays, extend from the back of the head. The sexes are similar in appearance although the males are slightly larger. Black-crowned Night Herons do not fit the typical body form of the heron family. They are relatively stocky and about 25 in tall (63 cm) with shorter bills, legs, and necks than their more familiar cousins the egrets and “day” herons. Their resting posture is normally somewhat hunched but when hunting they extend their necks and look more like other wading birds.

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) on nest by Nikhil Devasar

These birds stand still at the water’s edge and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night or early morning. They primarily eat small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, small mammals and small birds. During the day they rest in trees or bushes. N. n. hoactli is more gregarious outside the breeding season than the nominate race. (Wikipedia)

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) ©WikiC

Now there is a case of almost biting off more than you can chew.

The Night Herons are in the Ardeidae – Herons, Bitterns Family of the Pelicaniformes Order. There are 72 species in the family.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 June, 1897 No 6 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Ring-Billed Gull

Previous Article – The Mocking Bird

Wordless Birds – Toucan

Links:

Black-crowned Night Heron – Wikipedia

Black-crowned Night Heron – All About Birds

Bible Birds – Herons

Birds of the Bible – Herons

Herons and Egrets – by Dan

Birds Vol 1 #6 – The Mocking Bird

June 9, 2012 by Lee

Mockingbird for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897, From col. F. M. Woodruff.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

THE MOCKING BIRD.

Some bright morning this month, you may hear a Robin’s song from a large tree near by. A Red Bird answers him and then the Oriole chimes in. I can see you looking around to find the birds that sing so sweetly. All this time a gay bird sits among the green leaves and laughs at you as you try to find three birds when only one is there.

It is the Mocking Bird or Mocker, and it is he who has been fooling you with his song. Nature has given him lots of music and gifted him with the power of imitating the songs of other birds and sounds of other animals.

He is certainly the sweetest of our song birds. The English Nightingale alone is his rival. I think, however, if our Mocker could hear the Nightingale’s song, he could learn it.

The Mocking Bird is another of our Thrushes. By this time you have surely made up your minds that the Thrushes are sweet singers.

The Mocker seems to take delight in fooling people. One gentleman while sitting on his porch heard what he thought to be a young bird in distress. He went in the direction of the sound and soon heard the same cry behind him. He turned and went back toward the porch, when he heard it in another direction. Soon he found out that Mr. Mocking Bird had been fooling him, and was flying about from shrub to shrub making that sound.

His nest is carelessly made of almost anything he can find. The small, bluish-green eggs are much like the Catbird’s eggs.

Little Mocking Birds look very much like the young of other Thrushes, and do not become Mockers like their parents, until they are full grown.

Which one of the other Thrushes that you have seen in Birds does the Mocking Bird resemble?

He is the only Thrush that sings while on the wing. All of the others sing only while perching.

THE MOCKING BIRD.

HE Mocking Bird is regarded as the chief of songsters, for in addition to his remarkable powers of imitation, he is without a rival in variety of notes. The Brown Thrasher is thought by many to have a sweeter song, and one equally vigorous, but there is a bold brilliancy in the performance of the Mocker that is peculiarly his own, and which has made him par excellence the forest extemporizer of vocal melody. About this of course there will always be a difference of opinion, as in the case of the human melodists.

So well known are the habits and characteristics of the Mocking Bird that nearly all that could be written about him would be but a repetition of what has been previously said. In Illinois, as in many other states, its distribution is very irregular, its absence from some localities which seem in every way suited being very difficult to account for. Thus, according to “Birds of Illinois,” while one or two pairs breed in the outskirts of Mount Carmel nearly every season, it is nowhere in that vicinity a common bird. A few miles further north, however, it has been found almost abundant. On one occasion, during a three mile drive from town, six males were seen and heard singing along the roadside. Mr. H. K. Coale says that he saw a mocking bird in Stark county, Indiana, sixty miles southeast of Chicago, January 1, 1884; that Mr. Green Smith had met with it at Kensington Station, Illinois, and that several have been observed in the parks and door-yards of Chicago. In the extreme southern portion of the state the species is abundant, and is resident through the year.

The Mocking Bird does not properly belong among the birds of the middle or eastern states, but as there are many records of its nesting in these latitudes it is thought to be safe to include it. Mrs. Osgood Wright states that individuals have often been seen in the city parks of the east, one having lived in Central Park, New York city, late into the winter, throughout a cold and extreme season. They have reared their young as far north as Arlington, near Boston, where they are noted, however, as rare summer residents. Dr. J. A. Allen, editor of The Auk, notes that they occasionally nest in the Connecticut Valley.

The Mocking Bird has a habit of singing and fluttering in the middle of the night, and in different individuals the song varies, as is noted of many birds, particularly canaries. The song is a natural love song, a rich dreamy melody. The mocking song is imitative of the notes of all the birds of field, forest, and garden, broken into fragments.

The Mocker’s nest is loosely made of leaves and grass, rags, feathers, etc., plain and comfortable. It is never far from the ground. The eggs are four to six, bluish green, spattered with shades of brown.

Wilson’s description of the Mocking Bird’s song will probably never be surpassed: “With expanded wings and tail glistening with white, and the bouyant gayety of his action arresting the eye, as his song does most irresistably the ear, he sweeps around with enthusiastic ecstasy, and mounts and descends as his song swells or dies away. And he often deceives the sportsman, and sends him in search of birds that are not perhaps within miles of him, but whose notes he exactly imitates.”

Very useful is he, eating large spiders and grasshoppers, and the destructive cottonworm.

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) By Dan’sPix

Lee’s Addition:

Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter. (Ecclesiastes 10:20 ESV)

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7 KJV)

Mockingbirds belong to the Mimidae – Mockingbirds, Thrashers Family and are a passerine or perching bird. The name says alot about the bird because it is known to copy or mimic other birds and sounds. Up to 200 songs have been learned by some. They can also drive you crazy when they sing outside your bedroom window at 3 AM. When they have young, they love to sing. At least the one outside our window did. It is our State Bird here in Florida. Other states, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas also claim them as their State Bird.

Mockingbirds are medium sized and have “Mockingbirds have small heads, a long, thin bill with a hint of a downward curve, and long legs. Their wings are short, rounded, and broad, making the tail seem particularly long in flight.” (All About Birds)

Northern Mockingbird males establish a nesting territory in early February. If a female enters his territory, the male will pursue the female with initial aggressive calls and, if she becomes interested, with softer calls. Once the pair is established, their song becomes more gentle. Northern Mockingbirds tend to be monogamous, and the female may return to the same male from the previous season.

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) eggs ©WikiC

Both the male and female are involved in the nest building. The male does most of the work, while the female perches on the shrub or tree where the nest is being built to watch for predators. The nest is built approximately three to 10 feet above the ground. The outer part of the nest is composed of twigs, while the inner part is lined with grasses, dead leaves, moss or artificial fibers. The eggs are a light blue or greenish color and speckled with dots.] Three to five eggs are laid by the female, and she incubates them for nearly two weeks. Once the eggs are hatched, both the male and female feed the chicks.

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) Juvenile ©WikiC

The birds aggressively defend their nest and surrounding area against other birds and animals. When a predator is persistent, mockingbirds from neighboring territories, summoned by a distinct call, may join the attack. Other birds may gather to watch as the mockingbirds harass the intruder. In addition to harassing domestic cats and dogs they consider a threat, it is not unheard of for mockingbirds to target humans. They are absolutely unafraid and will attack much larger birds, even hawks. One famous incident in Tulsa, Oklahoma involving a postal carrier resulted in the distribution of a warning letter to residents.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 June, 1897 No 6 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Black-Crowned Night Heron

Previous Article – The Yellow-throated Vireo

ABC’s Of The Gospel

Links:

Mimidae – Mockingbirds, Thrashers Family

Northern Mockingbird – Wikipedia

Northern Mockingbird – All About Birds

Birds Vol 1 #6 – The Yellow-throated Vireo

June 7, 2012 by Lee

Yellow-throated Vireo for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897 – From col. F. M. Woodruff.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

The Yellow-throated Vireo

HE popular name of this species of an attractive family is Yellow Throated Greenlet, and our young readers will find much pleasure in watching its pretty movements and listening to its really delightful song whenever they visit the places where it loves to spend the happy hours of summer. In some respects it is the most remarkable of all the species of the family found in the United States. “The Birds of Illinois,” a book that may be profitably studied by the young naturalist, states that it is decidedly the finest singer, has the loudest notes of admonition and reproof, and is the handsomest in plumage, and hence the more attractive to the student.

A recognized observer says he has found it only in the woods, and mostly in the luxuriant forests of the bottom lands. The writer’s experience accords with that of Audubon and Wilson, the best authorities in their day, but the habits of birds vary greatly with locality, and in other parts of the country, notably in New England, it is very familiar, delighting in the companionship of man. It breeds in eastern North America, and winters in Florida, Cuba and Central America.

The Vireo makes a very deep nest, suspended by its upper edge, between the forks of a horizontal branch. The eggs are white, generally with a few reddish brown blotches. All authorities agree as to the great beauty of the nest, though they differ as to its exact location. It is a woodland bird, loving tall trees and running water, “haunting the same places as the Solitary Vireo.” During migration the Yellow-throat is seen in orchards and in the trees along side-walks and lawns, mingling his golden colors with the rich green of June leaves.

The Vireos, or Greenlets, are like the Warblers in appearance and habits. We have no birds, says Torrey, that are more unsparing of their music; they sing from morning till night, and—some of them, at least—continue theirs till the very end of the season. The song of the Yellow-throat is rather too monotonous and persistent. It is hard sometimes not to get out of patience with its ceasless and noisy iteration of its simple tune; especially if you are doing your utmost to catch the notes of some rarer and more refined songster. This is true also of some other birds, whose occasional silence would add much to their attractiveness.

Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) by Anthony 747

Lee’s Addition:

And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. (Mark 1:35 KJV)

The Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) is a small American songbird.

Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) singing ©nebirdsplus

Adults are mainly olive on the head and upperparts with a yellow throat and white belly; they have dark eyes with yellow “spectacles”. The tail and wings are dark with two white wing bars. They have thick blue-grey legs and a stout bill that is hooked. The sexes are similar and juveniles are similar to adults. They are 5-5.5 in. long.

Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) ©WikiC up close

Their breeding habitat is open deciduous woods in southern Canada and the eastern United States. They make a thick cup nest attached to a fork in a tree branch. They usually lay 3-5 creamy white eggs with a few spots. Other than breeding times, they are mostly solitary birds.

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. (Psalms 107:4 KJV)

These birds migrate to the deep southern United States, Mexico and Central America. They are very rare vagrants to western Europe. There is one record from Britain in Kenidjack Valley Cornwall September 20-27 1990. There is also a sight report from Germany.

They forage for insects high in trees. They also eat berries, especially before migration and in winter when they are occasionally seen feeding on Gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) fruit.

Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) ©WikiC

The Yellow-throated Vireo is part of the Vireonidae – Vireos, Greenlets Family which has 63 species in 6 genus. They are in the Vireo genus which 31 species. There are no subspecies of this bird.

***

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 June, 1897 No 6 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Mockingbird

Previous Article – The Bird Song

Wordless Birds

Links:

Vireonidae – Vireos, Greenlets Family

Yellow-throated Vireo – South Dakota Birds and Birding

Yellow-throated vireo Vireo flavifrons – USGS

Yellow-throated Vireo – All About Birds

Yellow-throated Vireo – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The American Catbird

May 31, 2012 by Lee

American Catbird for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE AMERICAN CATBIRD.

HE CATBIRD derives his name from a fancied resemblance of some of his notes to the mew of the domestic cat. He is a native of America, and is one of the most familiarly known of our famous songsters. He is a true thrush, and is one of the most affectionate of our birds. Wilson has well described his nature, as follows:

“In passing through the woods in summer I have sometimes amused myself with imitating the violent chirping or clucking of young birds, in order to observe what different species were round me; for such sounds at such a season in the woods are no less alarming to the feathered tenants of the bushes than the cry of fire or murder in the street is to the inhabitants of a large city. On such occasion of alarm and consternation, the Catbird is first to make his appearance, not single but sometimes half a dozen at a time, flying from different quarters to the spot. At this time those who are disposed to play on his feelings may almost throw him into a fit, his emotion and agitation are so great at what he supposes to be the distressful cries of his young. He hurries backward and forward, with hanging wings, open mouth, calling out louder and faster, and actually screaming with distress, until he appears hoarse with his exertions. He attempts no offensive means, but he wails, he implores, in the most pathetic terms with which nature has supplied him, and with an agony of feeling which is truly affecting. At any other season the most perfect imitations have no effect whatever on him.”

The Catbird is a courageous little creature, and in defense of its young it is so bold that it will contrive to drive away any snake that may approach its nest, snakes being its special aversion. His voice is mellow and rich, and is a compound of many of the gentle trills and sweet undulations of our various woodland choristers, delivered with apparent caution, and with all the attention and softness necessary to enable the performer to please the ear of his mate. Each cadence passes on without faltering and you are sure to recognize the song he so sweetly imitates. While they are are all good singers, occasionally there is one which excels all his neighbors, as is frequently the case among canaries.

The Catbird builds in syringa bushes, and other shrubs. In New England he is best known as a garden bird. Mabel Osgood Wright, in “Birdcraft,” says: “I have found it nesting in all sorts of places, from an alder bush, overhanging a lonely brook, to a scrub apple in an open field, never in deep woods, and it is only in its garden home, and in the hedging bushes of an adjoining field, that it develops its best qualities—‘lets itself out,’ so to speak. The Catbirds in the garden are so tame that they will frequently perch on the edge of the hammock in which I am sitting, and when I move they only hop away a few feet with a little flutter. The male is undoubtedly a mocker, when he so desires, but he has an individual and most delightful song, filled with unexpected turns and buoyant melody.”

THE CATBIRD.

What do you think of this nest of eggs? What do you suppose Mrs. Catbird’s thoughts are as she looks at them so tenderly? Don’t you think she was very kind to let me take the nest out of the hedge where I found it, so you could see the pretty greenish blue eggs? I shall place it back where I got it. Catbirds usually build their nests in hedges, briars, or bushes, so they are never very high from the ground.

Did you ever hear the Catbird sing? He is one of the sweetest singers and his song is something like his cousin’s, the Brown Thrush, only not so loud.

He can imitate the songs of other birds and the sounds of many animals. He can mew like a cat, and it is for this reason that he is called “Catbird.” His sweetest song, though, is soft and mellow and is sung at just such times as this—when thinking of the nest, the eggs, or the young.

The Catbird is a good neighbor among birds. If any other bird is in trouble of any sort, he will do all he can to relieve it. He will even feed and care for little birds whose parents have left them. Don’t you think he ought to have a prettier name? Now remember, the Catbird is a Thrush. I want you to keep track of all the Thrushes as they appear in “Birds.” I shall try to show you a Thrush each month.

Next month you shall see the sweetest singer of American birds. He, too, is a Thrush. I wonder if you know what bird I mean. Ask your mamma to buy you a book called “Bird Ways.” It was written by a lady who spent years watching and studying birds. She tells so many cute things about the Catbird.

Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) by Africaddict

Lee’s Addition:

He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:10-12 NKJV)

The Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is in the Mockingbirds, Thrashers – Mimidae Family. We have managed to see them occasionally, but most times you are more apt to hear them than to see them.

Scolding call and a song of a Catbird, both from xeno-canto.org

Sound of its song.

The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized northern American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the “catbird” genus Dumetella. Like the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris), it is among the basal lineages of the Mimidae, probably a closer relative of the Caribbean thrasher and trembler assemblage than of the mockingbirds and Toxostoma thrashers. In some areas it is known as the Slate-colored Mockingbird.

Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) by Raymond Barlow

Adults weigh around 35–40 g (1.2–1.4 oz) and are plain lead gray almost all over. The top of the head is darker. The undertail coverts are rust-colored and the remiges and rectrices are black, some with white borders. The slim bill, the eyes, and the legs and feet are also blackish. Males and females cannot be distinguished by their looks; different behaviours in the breeding season is usually the only clue to the observer. Juveniles are even plainer in coloration, with buffy undertail coverts.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – Bird Song

Previous Article – The Wood Thrush

ABC’s Of The Gospel

Links:

Gray Catbird – All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter

Gray Catbird Information and Photos – South Dakota Birds and Birding

Gray or Grey Catbird – Wikipedia

Mockingbirds, Thrashers – Mimidae Family

Ad for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography 1897

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Wood Thrush

May 26, 2012 by Lee

Wood Thrush for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE WOOD THRUSH.

“With what a clear
And ravishing sweetness sang the plaintive Thrush;
I love to hear his delicate rich voice,
Chanting through all the gloomy day, when loud
Amid the trees is dropping the big rain,
And gray mists wrap the hill; foraye the sweeter
His song is when the day is sad and dark.”

O many common names has the Wood Thrush that he would seem to be quite well known to every one. Some call him the Bell Thrush, others Bell Bird, others again Wood Robin, and the French Canadians, who love his delicious song, Greve des Bois and Merle Taune. In spite of all this, however, and although a common species throughout the temperate portions of eastern North America, the Wood Thrush can hardly be said to be a well-known bird in the same sense as the Robin, the Catbird, or other more familiar species; “but to every inhabitant of rural districts his song, at least, is known, since it is of such a character that no one with the slightest appreciation of harmony can fail to be impressed by it.”

Some writers maintain that the Wood Thrush has a song of a richer and more melodious tone than that of any other American bird; and that, did it possess continuity, would be incomparable.

Damp woodlands and shaded dells are favorite haunts of this Thrush, but on some occasions he will take up his residence in parks within large cities. He is not a shy bird, yet it is not often that he ventures far from the wild wood of his preference.

The nest is commonly built upon a horizontal branch of a low tree, from six to ten—rarely much more—feet from the ground. The eggs are from three to five in number, of a uniform greenish color; thus, like the nest, resembling those of the Robin, except that they are smaller.

In spite of the fact that his name indicates his preference for the woods, we have seen this Thrush, in parks and gardens, his brown back and spotted breast making him unmistakable as he hops over the grass for a few yards, and pauses to detect the movement of a worm, seizing it vigorously a moment after.

He eats ripening fruits, especially strawberries and gooseberries, but no bird can or does destroy so many snails, and he is much less an enemy than a friend of the gardener. It would be well if our park commissioners would plant an occasional fruit tree—cherry, apple, and the like—in the public parks, protecting them from the ravages of every one except the birds, for whose sole benefit they should be set aside. The trees would also serve a double purpose of ornament and use, and the youth who grow up in the city, and rarely ever see an orchard, would become familiar with the appearance of fruit trees. The birds would annually increase in numbers, as they would not only be attracted to the parks thereby, but they would build their nests and rear their young under far more favorable conditions than now exist. The criticism that birds are too largely destroyed by hunters should be supplemented by the complaint that they are also allowed to perish for want of food, especially in seasons of unusual scarcity or severity. Food should be scattered through the parks at proper times, nesting boxes provided—not a few, but many—and then

The happy mother of every brood
Will twitter notes of gratitude.

THE WOOD THRUSH.

The Bird of Solitude.

Of all the Thrushes this one is probably the most beautiful. I think the picture shows it. Look at his mottled neck and breast. Notice his large bright eye. Those who have studied birds think he is the most intelligent of them all.

He is the largest of the Thrushes and has more color in his plumage. All who have heard him agree that he is one of the sweetest singers among birds.

Unlike the Robin, Catbird, or Brown Thrush, he enjoys being heard and not seen.

His sweetest song may be heard in the cool of the morning or evening. It is then that his rich notes, sounding like a flute, are heard from the deep wood. The weather does not affect his song. Rain or shine, wet or dry, he sings, and sings, and sings.

During the light of day the Wood Thrush likes to stay in the cool shade of the woods.

Along toward evening, after sunset, when other birds are settling themselves for the night, out of the wood you will hear his evening song.

It begins with a strain that sounds like, “Come with me,” and by the time he finishes you are in love with his song.

The Wood Thrush is very quiet in his habits. So different from the noisy, restless Catbird.

The only time that he is noisy is when his young are in danger. Then he is as active as any of them.

A Wood Thrush’s nest is very much like a Robin’s. It is made of leaves, rootlets and fine twigs woven together with an inner wall of mud, and lined with fine rootlets.

The eggs, three to five, are much like the Robin’s.

Compare the picture of the Wood Thrush with that of the Robin or Brown Thrush and see which you think is the prettiest.

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) by Daves BirdingPix

Lee’s Addition:

Thrushes are a Bird of the Bible, depending on which translation you use. See:

Bible Birds – Thrushes

Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; But My people do not know The ordinance of the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:7 NASB)

Since they mentioned the song so much, here is a sample of its song from Xeno-canto – Wood Thrush song by Chris Parrish]

The Wood Thrush has been reported to have one of the most beautiful songs of North American birds. American naturalist Henry David Thoreau wrote:

Whenever a man hears it he is young, and Nature is in her spring; wherever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of Heaven are not shut against him.

While the female is not known to sing, the male has a unique song that has three parts. The first subsong component is often inaudible unless the listener is close, and consists of two to six short, low-pitched notes such as bup, bup, bup. The middle part is a loud phrase often written ee-oh-lay, and the third part is a ventriloquial, trill-like phrase of non-harmonic pairs of notes given rapidly and simultaneously.

The male is able to sing two notes at once, which gives its song an ethereal, flute-like quality. Each individual bird has its own repertoire based on combinations of variations of the three parts. Songs are often repeated in order. The bup, bup, bup phrase is also sometimes used as a call, which is louder and at a greater frequency when the bird is agitated. The Wood Thrush also use a tut, tut to signal agitation. The nocturnal flight call is an emphatic buzzing heeh.

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) ©WikiC

The Wood Thrush, Hylocichla mustelina, is a North American passerine bird. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American Robin and is widely distributed across North America, wintering in Central America and southern Mexico. The Wood Thrush is the official bird of the District of Columbia.

The adult Wood Thrush is 19–21 cm (7½-8¼ in) long, and weighs 40-50 g, with a wingspan of 30–40 cm (12–16 in). The longest known lifespan for a Wood Thrush in the wild is 8 years, 11 months. The crown, nape, and upper back are cinnamon-brown, while the back wings, and tail are a slightly duller brown. The breast and belly are white with large dark brown spots on the breast, sides, and flanks. It has white eye rings and pink legs. Other brownish thrushes have finer spotting on the breast. The juvenile looks similar to adults, but has additional spots on the back, neck, and wing coverts. The male and female are similar in size and plumage.

Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) ©WikiC

The Wood Thrush is a member of the Turdidae – Thrush family. There are 185 species, including Rufous Thrushes, Whistling Thrushes, Ground Thrushes, our Bluebirds, Solitaires, Nightingale-Thrushes, Cochoas, Shortwings, and our American Robin.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article –The American Catbird

Previous Article –The Night Hawk

ABC’s Of The Gospel

Links:

Wood Thrush – Wikipedia

Wood Thrush – All About Birds

Thrush – Wikipedia

Turdidae – Thrush family

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Night Hawk

May 24, 2012 by Lee

Night Hawk for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE NIGHT HAWK

HE range of the Night Hawk, also known as “Bull-bat,” “Mosquito Hawk,” “Will o’ the Wisp,” “Pisk,” “Piramidig,” and sometimes erroneously as “Whip-poor-will,” being frequently mistaken for that bird, is an extensive one. It is only a summer visitor throughout the United States and Canada, generally arriving from its winter haunts in the Bahamas, or Central and South America in the latter part of April, reaching the more northern parts about a month later, and leaving the latter again in large straggling flocks about the end of August, moving leisurely southward and disappearing gradually along our southern border about the latter part of October. Major Bendire says its migrations are very extended and cover the greater part of the American continent.

The Night Hawk, in making its home, prefers a well timbered country. Its common name is somewhat of a misnomer, as it is not nocturnal in its habits. It is not an uncommon sight to see numbers of these birds on the wing on bright sunny days, but it does most of its hunting in cloudy weather, and in the early morning and evening, returning to rest soon after dark. On bright moonlight nights it flies later, and its calls are sometimes heard as late as eleven o’clock.

“This species is one of the most graceful birds on the wing, and its aerial evolutions are truly wonderful; one moment it may be seen soaring through space without any apparent movement of its pinions, and again its swift flight is accompanied by a good deal of rapid flapping of the wings, like that of Falcons, and this is more or less varied by numerous twistings and turnings. While constantly darting here and there in pursuit of its prey,” says a traveler, “I have seen one of these birds shoot almost perpendicularly upward after an insect, with the swiftness of an arrow. The Night Hawk’s tail appears to assist it greatly in these sudden zigzag changes, being partly expanded during most of its complicated movements.”

Night Hawks are sociable birds, especially on the wing, and seem to enjoy each other’s company. Their squeaking call note, sounding like “Speek-speek,” is repeated at intervals. These aerial evolutions are principally confined to the mating season. On the ground the movements of this Hawk are slow, unsteady, and more or less laborious. Its food consists mainly of insects, such as flies and mosquitos, small beetles, grasshoppers, and the small night-flying moths, all of which are caught on the wing. A useful bird, it deserves the fullest protection.

The favorite haunts of the Night Hawk are the edges of forests and clearings, burnt tracts, meadow lands along river bottoms, and cultivated fields, as well as the flat mansard roofs in many of our larger cities, to which it is attracted by the large amount of food found there, especially about electric lights. During the heat of the day the Night Hawk may be seen resting on limbs of trees, fence rails, the flat surface of lichen-covered rock, on stone walls, old logs, chimney tops, and on railroad tracks. It is very rare to find it on the ground.

The nesting-time is June and July. No nest is made, but two eggs are deposited on the bare ground, frequently in very exposed situations, or in slight depressions on flat rocks, between rows of corn, and the like. Only one brood is raised. The birds sit alternately for about sixteen days. There is endless variation in the marking of the eggs, and it is considered one of the most difficult to describe satisfactorily.

THE NIGHT HAWK.

As you will see from my name, I am a bird of the night. Daytime is not at all pleasing to me because of its brightness and noise.

I like the cool, dark evenings when the insects fly around the house-tops. They are my food and it needs a quick bird to catch them. If you will notice my flight, you will see it is swift and graceful. When hunting insects we go in a crowd. It is seldom that people see us because of the darkness. Often we stay near a stream of water, for the fog which rises in the night hides us from the insects on which we feed.

None of us sing well—we have only a few doleful notes which frighten people who do not understand our habits.

In the daytime we seek the darkest part of the woods, and perch lengthwise on the branches of trees, just as our cousins the Whippoorwills do. We could perch crosswise just as well. Can you think why we do not? If there be no woods near, we just roost upon the ground.

Our plumage is a mottled brown—the same color of the bark on which we rest. Our eggs are laid on the ground, for we do not care to build nests. There are only two of them, dull white with grayish brown marks on them.

Sometimes we lay our eggs on flat roofs in cities, and stay there during the day, but we prefer the country where there is good pasture land. I think my cousin Whippoorwill is to talk to you next month. People think we are very much alike. You can judge for yourself when you see his picture.

Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) at National Aviary by Lee

Lee’s Addition:

Nighthawks are in our list of birds that are “unclean.” Both verses are identical in the KJV.

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, (Lev 11:16)
And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, (Deu 14:15)

The Nighthawk is part of the Caprimulgidae – Nightjars Family which has 93 species and is one of our Birds of the Bible. The Nighthawks family is part of the Caprimulgiformes Order which has Frogmouths, Oilbird and the Potoos families.

The Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) is a medium-sized crepuscular or nocturnal bird, whose presence and identity are best revealed by its vocalization. Typically dark (grey, black and brown), displaying cryptic colouration and intricate patterns, this bird becomes invisible by day. Once aerial, with its buoyant but erratic flight, this bird is most conspicuous. The most remarkable feature of this aerial insectivore is its small beak belies the massiveness of its mouth. Some claim appearance similarities to owls. With its horizontal stance and short legs, the Common Nighthawk does not travel frequently on the ground, instead preferring to perch horizontally, parallel to branches, on posts, on the ground or on a roof. The males of this species may roost together but the bird is primarily solitary. The Common Nighthawk shows variability in territory size.

This caprimulguid has a large, flattened head with large eyes; facially it lacks rictal bristles. The Common Nighthawk has long slender wings that at rest extend beyond a notched tail. There is noticeable barring on the sides and abdomen, also white wing-patches.

Common Nighthawk by Neal Addy

The Common Nighthawk measures 8.7-9.4 in/22-25 cm in length, displays a wing span of 21-24 in/54–61 cm, weighs 2.3-3.5 oz/65-98 g, and has a life span of 4–5 years.

Within family Caprimulgidae, subfamily Chordeilinae (Nighthawks) are limited to the New World and are distinguished from the subfamily Caprimulginae, by the lack of rictal bristles.

The most conspicuous vocalization is a nasal peent or beernt during even flight. Peak vocalizations are reported 30–45 minutes after sunset. Croaking auk auk auk vocalized by males while in the presence of a female during courtship. Another courtship sound, thought to be made solely by the males, is the boom, created by air rushing through the primaries after a quick down flex of the wings during a daytime dive.

Sometimes call the “Bull-Bat – due to its perceived “bat-like” flight, and the “bull-like” boom made by its wings as it pulls from a dive.”

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Wood Thrush

Previous Article – The Indigo Bunting

Story of the Wordless Book

Links:

Bible Birds – Night Hawks

Birds of the Bible – Nighthawks and Nightjars

Birds of the Bible – NighthawkandNighthawks II

Caprimulgidae – Night Hawks

Common Nighthawk – All About Birds

Common Nighthawk – Wikipedia

Nightjar – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Indigo Bunting

May 23, 2012 by Lee

Indigo Bunting by Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE INDIGO BUNTING.

HE Indigo Bunting’s arrival at its summer home is usually in the early part of May, where it remains until about the middle of September. It is numerous in the eastern and middle states, inhabiting the continent and seacoast islands from Mexico, where they winter, to Nova Scotia. It is one of the very smallest of our birds, and also one of the most attractive. Its favorite haunts are gardens, fields of deep clover, the borders of woods, and roadsides, where, like the Woodpecker, it is frequently seen perched on the fences.

It is extremely active and neat in its manners and an untiring singer, morning, noon, and night his rapid chanting being heard, sometimes loud and sometimes hardly audible, as if he were becoming quite exhausted by his musical efforts. He mounts the highest tops of a large tree and sings for half an hour together. The song is not one uninterrupted strain, but a repetition of short notes, “commencing loud, and rapid, and full, and by almost imperceptible gradations for six or eight seconds until they seem hardly articulated, as if the little minstrel were unable to stop, and, after a short pause, beginning again as before.” Baskett says that in cases of serenade and wooing he may mount the tip sprays of tall trees as he sings and abandon all else to melody till the engrossing business is over.

The Indigo Bird sings with equal animation whether it be May or August, the vertical sun of the dog days having no diminishing effect upon his enthusiasm. It is well known that in certain lights his plumage appears of a rich sky blue, varying to a tint of vivid verdigris green, so that the bird, flitting from one place to another, appears to undergo an entire change of color.

The Indigo Bunting fixes his nest in a low bush, long rank grass, grain, or clover, suspended by two twigs, flax being the material used, lined with fine dry grass. It had been known, however, to build in the hollow of an apple tree. The eggs, generally five, are bluish or pure white. The same nest is often occupied season after season. One which had been used for five successive summers, was repaired each year with the same material, matting that the birds had evidently taken from the covering of grape vines. The nest was very neatly and thoroughly lined with hair.

The Indigo feeds upon the ground, his food consisting mainly of the seed of small grasses and herbs. The male while moulting assumes very nearly the color of the female, a dull brown, the rich plumage not returning for two or three months. Mrs. Osgood Wright says of this tiny creature: “Like all the bright-hued birds he is beset by enemies both of earth and sky, but his sparrow instinct, which has a love for mother earth, bids him build near the ground. The dangers of the nesting-time fall mostly to his share, for his dull brown mate is easily overlooked as an insignificant sparrow. Nature always gives a plain coat to the wives of these gayly dressed cavaliers, for her primal thought is the safety of the home and its young life.”

Indigo Bunting female at fountain in yard through window

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) by Daves BirdingPix

Lee’s Addition:

Indigo Buntings are in the Grosbeaks, Saltators & Allies – Cardinalidae Family. What a difference between the two as the article said. The Lord gives protection to the female by her coloration so she can sit on the nest and not be noticed. Praise the Lord for His care for the critters and us.

Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows (or Buntings). (Matthew 10:31 NKJV)

They are small seed-eating bird. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to northern Florida during the breeding season, and from southern Florida to northern South America during the winter. It often migrates by night, using the stars to navigate. Its habitat is farmland, brush areas, and open woodland. The Indigo Bunting is closely related to the Lazuli Bunting, and interbreeds with the latter species where their ranges overlap. (Not sure how the female ended up in our yard, but must have had to land for a drink. Glad it did.)

The Indigo Bunting communicates through vocalizations and visual cues. A sharp chip! call is used by both sexes, and is used as an alarm call if a nest or chick is threatened. A high-pitched, buzzed zeeep is used as a contact call when the Indigo Bunting is in flight. The song of the male bird is a high-pitched buzzed sweet-sweet chew-chew sweet-sweet, lasting two to four seconds, sung to mark his territory to other males and to attract females. Each male has a single complex song, which he sings while perched on elevated objects, such as posts, wires, and bush-tops. In areas where the ranges of the Lazuli Bunting and the Indigo Bunting overlap, the males defend territories from each another. Migration takes place in April and May and then again in September and October. The Indigo Bunting often migrates during the night, using the stars to direct itself. In captivity, since it cannot migrate, it experiences disorientation in April and May and in September and October if it cannot see the stars from its enclosure.

From xeno-canto.org by Doug Knapp

These birds are generally monogamous but not always faithful to their partner. In the western part of their range, they often hybridize with the Lazuli Bunting. Nesting sites are located in dense shrub or a low tree, generally 0.3–1 m (1–3 ft) above the ground, but rarely up to 9 m (30 ft). The nest itself is constructed of leaves, coarse grasses, stems, and strips of bark, lined with soft grass or deer hair and is bound with spider web. It is constructed by the female, who cares for the eggs alone. The clutch consists of one to four eggs, but usually contains three to four. The eggs are white and usually unmarked, though some may be marked with brownish spots, averaging 18.7 × 13.7 mm (0.7 × 0.5 in) in size. The eggs are incubated for 12 to 13 days and the chicks are altricial at hatching. Chicks fledge 10 to 12 days after hatching. Most pairs raise two broods per year, and the male may feed newly fledged young while the females incubate the next clutch of eggs.

The Brown-headed Cowbird may parasitize this species. Indigo Buntings abandon their nest if a cowbird egg appears before they lay any of their own eggs, but accept the egg after that point. Pairs with parasitized nests have less reproductive success. The bunting chicks hatch, but have lower survival rates as they must compete with the cowbird chick for food.

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Night Hawk

Previous Article –The Prothonotary Yellow Warblers

Wordless Birds – Toucan

Links:

Indigo Bunting – Wikipedia

Sounds of Indigo Bunting – xeno-canto.org

Grosbeaks, Saltators & Allies – Cardinalidae Family

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Prothonotary Yellow Warblers

May 21, 2012 by Lee

Prothonotary Yellow Warblers Birds by Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

PROTHONOTARY YELLOW WARBLERS.

Quite a long name for such small birds—don’t you think so? You will have to get your teacher to repeat it several times, I fear, before you learn it.

These little yellow warblers are just as happy as the pair of wrens I showed you in April “Birds.” In fact, I suspect they are even happier, for their nest has been made and the eggs laid. What do you think of their house? Sometimes they find an old hole in a stump, one that a woodpecker has left, perhaps, and there build a nest. This year they have found a very pretty place to begin their housekeeping. What kind of tree is it? I thought I would show only the part of the tree that makes their home. I just believe some boy or girl who loves birds made those holes for them. Don’t you think so? They have an upstairs and a down stairs, it seems.

Like the Wrens I wrote about last month, they prefer to live in swampy land and along rivers. They nearly always find a hole in a decayed willow tree for their nest—low down. This isn’t a willow tree, though.

Whenever I show you a pair of birds, always pick out the father and the mother bird. You will usually find that one has more color than the other. Which one is it? Maybe you know why this is. If you don’t I am sure your teacher can tell you. Don’t you remember in the Bobolink family how differently Mr. and Mrs. Bobolink were dressed?

I think most of you will agree with me when I say this is one of the prettiest pictures you ever saw.

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) ©WikiC

THE PROTHONOTARY, OR GOLDEN SWAMP WARBLER.

HE Golden Swamp Warbler is one of the very handsomest of American birds, being noted for the pureness and mellowness of its plumage. Baird notes that the habits of this beautiful and interesting warbler were formerly little known, its geographical distribution being somewhat irregular and over a narrow range. It is found in the West Indies and Central America as a migrant, and in the southern region of the United States. Further west the range widens, and it appears as far north as Kansas, Central Illinois, and Missouri.

Its favorite resorts are creeks and lagoons overshadowed by large trees, as well as the borders of sheets of water and the interiors of forests. It returns early in March to the Southern states, but to Kentucky not before the last of April, leaving in October. A single brood only is raised in a season.

A very pretty nest is sometimes built within a Woodpecker’s hole in a stump of a tree, not more than three feet high. Where this occurs the nest is not shaped round, but is made to conform to the irregular cavity of the stump. This cavity is deepest at one end, and the nest is closely packed with dried leaves, broken bits of grasses, stems, mosses, decayed wood, and other material, the upper part interwoven with fine roots, varying in size, but all strong, wiry, and slender, and lined with hair.

Other nests have been discovered which were circular in shape. In one instance the nest was built in a brace hole in a mill, where the birds could be watched closely as they carried in the materials. They were not alarmed by the presence of the observer but seemed quite tame.

So far from being noisy and vociferous, Mr. Ridgway describes it as one of the most silent of all the warblers, while Mr. W. Brewster maintains that in restlessness few birds equal this species. Not a nook or corner of his domain but is repeatedly visited during the day. “Now he sings a few times from the top of some tall willow that leans out over the stream, sitting motionless among the marsh foliage, fully aware, perhaps, of the protection afforded by his harmonizing tints. The next moment he descends to the cool shadows beneath, where dark, coffee-colored waters, the overflow of a pond or river, stretch back among the trees. Here he loves to hop about the floating drift-wood, wet by the lapping of pulsating wavelets, now following up some long, inclining, half submerged log, peeping into every crevice and occasionally dragging forth from its concealment a spider or small beetle, turning alternately its bright yellow breast and olive back towards the light; now jetting his beautiful tail, or quivering his wings tremulously, he darts off into some thicket in response to a call from his mate; or, flying to a neighboring tree trunk, clings for a moment against the mossy hole to pipe his little strain, or look up the exact whereabouts of some suspected insect prize.”

Lee’s Addition:

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) Neal Addy Gallery

By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. (Psalms 104:12 NKJV)

Another one of the Lord’s neat little birds, the Prothonotary Warbler is a member of the Parulidae Family. The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria. This bird was named after officials in the Roman Catholic Church known as the “protonotarii”, who wore golden robes. It was once known as the Golden Swamp Warbler.

The Prothonotary Warbler is 5.1 in/13 cm long and weighs 0.44 oz/12.5 g. It has an olive back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head; females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern that is white at the base and dark at the tip.

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) ©USFWS

The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the Prothonotary Warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly for Insects and snails. There are only two Warblers that make nest in tree cavities, this one and the Lucy’s Warbler. They like to use abandoned Woodpecker holes in or near water. They usually lay 3-7 eggs and only one clutch per year.

The song of this bird is a simple, loud, ringing sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet. The call is a loud, dry chip, like that of a Hooded Warbler. Its flight call is a loud seeep.

Sound of Pronthonotary Warbler song by xeno-canto.org

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Indigo Bunting

Previous Article – The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

We stern Tanager: Red, Yellow, Black and White

Links:

Prothonotary Warbler – All About Birds

Prothonotary Warbler – Wikipedia

The Parulidae Family

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

May 17, 2012 by Lee

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER.

F for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography

LYCATCHERS are all interesting, and many of them are beautiful, but the Scissor-tailed species of Texas is especially attractive. They are also known as the Swallow-tailed Flycatcher, and more frequently as the “Texan Bird of Paradise.” It is a common summer resident throughout the greater portion of that state and the Indian Territory, and its breeding range extends northward into Southern Kansas. Occasionally it is found in southwestern Missouri, western Arkansas, and Illinois. It is accidental in the New England states, the Northwest Territory, and Canada. It arrives about the middle of March and returns to its winter home in Central America in October. Some of the birds remain in the vicinity of Galveston throughout the year, moving about in small flocks.

There is no denying that the gracefulness of the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher should well entitle him to the admiration of bird-lovers, and he is certain to be noticed wherever he goes. The long outer tail feathers he can open and close at will. His appearance is most pleasing to the eye when fluttering slowly from tree to tree on the rather open prairie, uttering his twittering notes, “Spee-spee.” When chasing each other in play or anger these birds have a harsh note like “Thish-thish,” not altogether agreeable. Extensive timber land is shunned by this Flycatcher, as it prefers more open country, though it is often seen in the edges of woods. It is not often seen on the ground, where its movements are rather awkward. Its amiability and social disposition are observed in the fact that several pairs will breed close to each other in perfect harmony. Birds smaller than itself are rarely molested by it, but it boldly attacks birds of prey. It is a restless bird, constantly on the lookout for passing insects, nearly all of which are caught on the wing and carried to a perch to be eaten. It eats moths, butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, locusts, cotton worms, and, to some extent, berries. Its usefulness cannot be doubted. According to Major Bendire, these charming creatures seem to be steadily increasing in numbers, being far more common in many parts of Texas, where they are a matter of pride with the people, than they were twenty years ago.

The Scissor-tails begin housekeeping some time after their arrival from Central America, courting and love making occupying much time before the nest is built. They are not hard to please in the selection of a suitable nesting place, almost any tree standing alone being selected rather than a secluded situation. The nest is bulky, commonly resting on an exposed limb, and is made of any material that may be at hand. They nest in oaks, mesquite, honey locust, mulberry, pecan, and magnolia trees, as well as in small thorny shrubs, from five to forty feet from the ground. Rarely molested they become quite tame. Two broods are often raised. The eggs are usually five. They are hatched by the female in twelve days, while the male protects the nest from suspicious intruders. The young are fed entirely on insects and are able to leave the nest in two weeks. The eggs are clear white, with markings of brown, purple, and lavender spots and blotches.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) by Daves BirdingPix

Lee’s Addition:

I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (Psalms 50:11 NKJV)

The Lord has given us another beautiful bird to enjoy. The Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are in the Tyrant Flycatchers – Tyrannidae Family. Adult birds have pale gray heads and upper parts, light underparts, salmon-pink flanks, and dark gray wings. Their extremely long, forked tails, which are black on top and white on the underside, are characteristic and unmistakable. At maturity, the bird may be up to 14.5 inches (37 cm) in length. Immature birds are duller in color and have shorter tails. A lot of these birds have been reported to be more than 40 cm.

They build a cup nest in isolated trees or shrubs, sometimes using artificial sites such as telephone poles near towns. The male performs a spectacular aerial display during courtship with his long tail forks streaming out behind him. Both parents feed the young. Like other kingbirds, they are very aggressive in defending their nest. Clutches contain three to six eggs.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) ©TexasEagle

In the summer, Scissor-tailed flycatchers feed mainly on insects (grasshoppers, robber-flies, and dragonflies), which they may catch by waiting on a perch and then flying out to catch them in flight (hawking). For additional food in the winter they will also eat some berries.

Since the article was written they are increased their range. Their breeding habitat is open shrubby country with scattered trees in the south-central states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas; western portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri; far eastern New Mexico; and northeastern Mexico. Reported sightings record occasional stray visitors as far north as southern Canada and as far east as Florida and Georgia. They migrate through the Gulf states of Mexico to their winter non-breeding range, from southern Mexico to Panama. Pre-migratory roosts and flocks flying south may contain as many as 1,000 birds.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – Oklahoma-quarter

The scissor-tailed flycatcher is the state bird of Oklahoma, and is displayed in flight with tail feathers spread on the reverse of the Oklahoma Commemorative Quarter.

There are actually four Scissor-tailed named birds in the world:

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Scissor-tailed Hummingbird
Scissor-tailed Kite
Scissor-tailed Nightjar

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Prothonotary Yellow Warblers

Previous Article – The Black-Capped Chickadee

Gospel Message

Links:

Birds of Oklahoma Plus

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – All About Birds

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – Wikipedia

Tyrant Flycatchers – Tyrannidae Family

Birds Vol 1 #5 – The Black-capped Chickadee

May 16, 2012 by Lee

Chickadee by.Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

CHICKADEE.

Bird of the Merry Heart.Here is a picture of a bird that is always merry. He is a bold, saucy little fellow, too, but we all love him for it. Don’t you think he looks some like the Canada Jay that you saw in April “Birds?” I think most of you must have seen him, for he stays with us all the year, summer and winter. If you ever heard him, you surely noticed how plainly he tells you his name. Listen—“Chick-a-dee-dee; Chick-a-dee; Hear, hear me”—That’s what he says as he hops about from twig to twig in search of insects’ eggs and other bits for food. No matter how bitter the wind or how deep the snow, he is always around—the same jolly, careless little fellow, chirping and twittering his notes of good cheer.

Like the Yellow Warblers, Chickadees like best to make their home in an old stump or hole in a tree—not very high from the ground. Sometimes they dig for themselves a new hole, but this is only when they cannot find one that suits them. The Chickadee is also called Black-capped Titmouse. If you look at his picture you will see his black cap. You’ll have to ask someone why he is called Titmouse. I think Chickadee is the prettier name, don’t you? If you want to get well acquainted with this saucy little bird, you want to watch for him next winter, when most of the birds have gone south. Throw him crumbs of bread and he will soon be so tame as to come right up to the door step.

THE BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE.

“Chic-chickadee dee!” I saucily say; My heart it is sound, my throat it is gay! Every one that I meet I merrily greet With a chickadee dee, chickadee dee! To cheer and to cherish, on roadside and street, My cap was made jaunty, my note was made sweet.

Chickadeedee, Chickadeedee! No bird of the winter so merry and free; Yet sad is my heart, though my song one of glee, For my mate ne’er shall hear my chickadeedee.

I “chickadeedee” in forest and glade, “Day, day, day!” to the sweet country maid; From autumn to spring time I utter my song Of chickadeedee all the day long! The silence of winter my note breaks in twain, And I “chickadeedee” in sunshine and rain.

Chickadeedee Chickadeedee! No bird of the winter so merry and free; Yet sad is my heart, though my song one of glee, For my mate ne’er shall hear my chickadeedee.—C. C. M.

SAUCY little bird, so active and familiar, the Black-Capped Chickadee, is also recognized as the Black Capped Titmouse, Eastern Chickadee, and Northern Chickadee. He is found in the southern half of the eastern United States, north to or beyond forty degrees, west to eastern Texas and Indian Territory. The favorite resorts of the Chickadee are timbered districts, especially in the bottom lands, and where there are red bud trees, in the soft wood of which it excavates with ease a hollow for its nest. It is often wise enough, however, to select a cavity already made, as the deserted hole of the Downy Woodpecker, a knot hole, or a hollow fence rail.

In the winter season it is very familiar, and is seen about door yards and orchards, even in towns, gleaning its food from the kitchen remnants, where the table cloth is shaken, and wherever it may chance to find a kindly hospitality. In an article on “Birds as Protectors of Orchards,” Mr. E. H. Forbush says of the Chickadee: “There is no bird that compares with it in destroying the female canker-worm moths and their eggs.” He calculated that one Chickadee in one day would destroy 5,550 eggs, and in the twenty-five days in which the canker-worm moths run or crawl up the trees 138,750 eggs. Mr. Forbush attracted Chickadees to one orchard by feeding them in winter, and he says that in the following summer it was noticed that while trees in neighboring orchards were seriously damaged by canker-worms, and to a less degree by tent caterpillars, those in the orchard which had been frequented by the Chickadee during the winter and spring were not seriously infested, and that comparatively few of the worms and caterpillars were to be found there. His conclusion is that birds that eat eggs of insects are of the greatest value to the farmer, as they feed almost entirely on injurious insects and their eggs, and are present all winter, where other birds are absent.

The tiny nest of the Chickadee is made of all sorts of soft materials, such as wool, fur, feathers, and hair placed in holes in stumps of trees. Six to eight eggs are laid, which are white, thickly sprinkled with warm brown. Mrs. Osgood Wright tells a pretty incident of the Chickadees, thus: “In the winter of 1891-2, when the cold was severe, the snow deep, and the tree trunks often covered with ice, the Chickadees repaired in flocks daily to the kennel of our old dog Colin and fed from his dish, hopping over his back and calling Chickadee, dee, dee, in his face, a proceeding that he never in the least resented, but seemed rather to enjoy it.”

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) by Kent Nickell

Lee’s Addition:

A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble. (Proverbs 15:13-16 NKJV)

The Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, North American songbird, a passerine bird in the Tit, Chickadee – Paridae Family. It is the state bird of both Maine and Massachusetts in the United States, and the provincial bird of New Brunswick in Canada. It is notable for its capacity to lower its body temperature during cold winter nights, its good spatial memory to relocate the caches where it stores food, and its boldness near humans (they can feed from the hand).

On cold winter nights, these birds reduce their body temperature by up to 10–12 °C (from their normal temperature of about 42 °C) to conserve energy.[8] Such a capacity for torpor is rare in birds (or at least, rarely studied). Other bird species capable of torpor include the Common Swift Apus apus, the Common Poor-will Phalaenoptilus nuttallii, the Lesser Nighthawk Chordeiles acutipennis, and various species of hummingbirds.

Black-capped Chickadee by Dave’s BirdingPix

The Black-capped Chickadee has a black cap and bib with white sides to the face. Its underparts are white with rusty brown on the flanks. Its back is gray and the tail is normally slate-gray. This bird has a short dark bill (8.0-9.5 mm), short rounded wings (63.5-67.5 mm) and a long tail (58–63 mm). Total body length is 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in), wingspan is 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in) and body mass is 9–14 g (0.32–0.49 oz). Sexes look alike, but males are slightly larger and longer than females.

Although range can generally be used to separate them, the Black-capped Chickadee is very similar in appearance to the Carolina Chickadee. The Black-capped is larger on average but this cannot be used reliably for identification. The most obvious difference between the two is in the wing feathers. In the Black-capped Chickadee, the wing feathers have white edges that are larger and more conspicuous than those of the Carolina Chickadee.

Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) by Daves BirdingPix

A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. (Proverbs 17:22 NKJV)

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher

Previous Article – The Marsh Hawk

Wordless Birds

Links:

Black-capped Chickadee – All About Birds

All About Black-capped Chickadee – Sialis

Black-capped Chickadee – National Geographic

Tit, Chickadee – Paridae Family

Black-capped Chickadee – Wikipedia

Birds Vol 1 #5 – Marsh Hawk

May 11, 2012 by Lee

Marsh Hawk for Birds Illustrated by Color Photography, 1897

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE MARSH HAWK.

NE of the most widely distributed birds of North America is the Marsh Hawk, according to Wilson, breeding from the fur regions around Hudson’s Bay to Texas, and from Nova Scotia to Oregon and California. Excepting in the Southern portion of the United States, it is abundant everywhere. It makes its appearance in the fur countries about the opening of the rivers, and leaves about the beginning of November. Small birds, mice, fish, worms, and even snakes, constitute its food, without much discrimination. It is very expert in catching small green lizards, animals that can easily evade the quickest vision.

It is very slow on the wing, flies very low, and in a manner different from all others of the hawk family. Flying near the surface of the water, just above the weeds and canes, the Marsh Hawk rounds its untiring circles hour after hour, darting after small birds as they rise from cover. Their never ending flight, graceful as it is, becomes monotonous to the watcher. Pressed by hunger, they attack even wild ducks.

In New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, where it sweeps over the low lands, sailing near the earth, in search of a kind of mouse very common in such situations, it is chiefly known as the Mouse Hawk. In the southern rice fields it is useful in preventing to some extent the ravages of the swarms of Bobolinks. It has been stated that one Marsh Hawk was considered by planters equal to several negroes for alarming the rice birds. This Hawk when feeding is readily approached.

The birds nest in low lands near the sea shore, in the barrens, and on the clear table-lands of the Alleghanies, and once a nest was found in a high covered pine barrens of Florida.

The Marsh Hawks always keep together after pairing, working jointly in building the nest, in sitting upon the eggs, and in feeding the young. The nest is clumsily made of hay, occasionally lined with feathers, pine needles, and small twigs. It is built on the ground, and contains from three to five eggs of a bluish white color, usually more or less marked with purplish brown blotches. Early May is their breeding time.

It will be observed that even the Hawk, rapacious as he undoubtedly is, is a useful bird. Sent for the purpose of keeping the small birds in bounds, he performs his task well, though it may seem to man harsh and tyranical. The Marsh Hawk is an ornament to our rural scenery, and a pleasing sight as he darts silently past in the shadows of falling night.

Hen (Northern) Harrier (Circus cyaneus) by J Fenton

Lee’s Addition:

Is it by your wisdom [Job] that the hawk soars and stretches her wings toward the south [as winter approaches]? (Job 39:26 AMP)

“Hawks are one of our Birds of the Bible and belongs to the Kites, Hawk & Eagles – Accipitridae Family. The Marsh Hawk today is know as the Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus). Most know it as the Northern Harrier or Marsh Hawk. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Europe and southern temperate Asia, and American breeders to the southernmost USA, Mexico, and Central America. In the mildest regions, such as France, Great Britain, and the southern US, Hen Harriers may be present all year, but the higher ground is largely deserted in winter.

C. c. hudsonius (Linnaeus, 1766), the Northern Harrier, breeds in North America and is sometimes considered a distinct species C. hudsonius. The male’s plumage is darker grey than that of C. c. cyaneus and the female is also darker and more rufous in colour.” (Wikipedia places it with the Hen Harrier)(*Update*) The IOC 3.1 shows the Hen and Northern Harriers re-split. The Northern Harrier is now Circus hudsonius. Are you confused? So am I.

The Hen Harrier is 43–52 cm (17–20 in) long with a 97–118 cm (38–46 in) wingspan. It resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages. The sexes also differ in weight, with males weighing an average of 350 grams (12 oz) and females an average of 530 grams (19 oz).

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) ©WikiC

Birds Illustrated by Color Photograhy Vol 1 May, 1897 No 5 – Cover

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited – Introduction

To see the whole series of – Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

(Information from Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Next Article – The Black-Capped Chickadee

Previous Article – The Orchard Oriole

Wordless Book Video

Links:

Northern Harrier – All About Birds

Hen Harrier – Wikipedia

Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

THE RING-BILLED GULL.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

THE BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

THE MOCKING BIRD.

THE MOCKING BIRD.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. June, 1897 No. 6

The Yellow-throated Vireo

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE AMERICAN CATBIRD.

THE CATBIRD.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE WOOD THRUSH.

THE WOOD THRUSH.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE NIGHT HAWK

THE NIGHT HAWK.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE INDIGO BUNTING.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

PROTHONOTARY YELLOW WARBLERS.

THE PROTHONOTARY, OR GOLDEN SWAMP WARBLER.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

CHICKADEE.

THE BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE.

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Birds Illustrated by Color Photography – Revisited

Vol 1. May, 1897 No. 5

THE MARSH HAWK.

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