Birdcraft - a field book of two hundred song, game, and water birds (1897) (14565309437)

Identifier: birdcraftfield00wrig (find matches)
Title: Birdcraft : a field book of two hundred song, game, and water birds
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Wright, Mabel Osgood, 1859-1934 Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 1874-1927
Subjects: Birds -- United States
Publisher: New York : Macmillan Co.
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library



Text Appearing Before Image:
own. Legs feathered, buffy white. Bill black, claws dark.Note: A rasping cry resembling the filing of a saw (hence the name Saw-whet) and a clicking noise like Tlee-Klee, Tlee-Klee !*Season: A whiter resident, locally common in the Eastern and Middle States. Rare here.Breeds: From Massachusetts and New York northward.Nest: In old stumps.Uggs: 3-6, white and nearly round.Bange : North America at large, breeding from the Northern States northward. The Saw-whet is a night Owl and spends most of thedaylight hours-in sleepy seclusion. This, together with itssmall size, makes it pass as rare in places where it is reallya winter resident. There are many stories told of the soundness with whichit sleeps, Mr. Eidgway citing a case where one was caughtby putting a hat over it as it slept, perched on the edge of aKobins nest in a dense willow thicket. It is a sociablelittle Owl, of a cheerful disposition, and is easily tamed,and though it cannot, owing to small size^ prey upon many 210 PLATE 53.
Text Appearing After Image:
SCREECH OWL. (Gray phase.) Length, 8-10 io,hes. BIRDS OF PREY. Owls of the stronger mammals, it does good service in killingfield-mice, beetles, etc., and only seems to eat birds in timesof famine. I have never seen but one Saw-whet in this neighbour-hood, though I have heard their cry many times. Thisone was found dead after a severe autumn storm in abeech wood; its wings were broken, and it had evidentlydied from starvation. This poor little Owl is destroyedin great numbers for decorative purposes, and is thus famil-iar to many people who have never seen it alive. It isthe bird that sits in a pensive attitude on a gilt crescentmoon, in the taxidermists window, or yields its prettyhead to do duty as a rosette on my ladys hat. Screech Owl: Megascops asio. Little Horned Owl. Plate 53. Length: 8-10 inches. Male and Female: Conspicuous ear tufts. Bill light horn colour. Two distinct phases of plumage belong to this species, having. as Dr. Fisher says, no relation to sex, age, or season.