Birds and their nests and eggs - found in and near great towns (1907) (14568824030)

Identifier: birdstheirnestse00vosg (find matches)
Title: Birds and their nests and eggs : found in and near great towns
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Vos, George Herklots
Subjects: Birds Birds Birds
Publisher: London : G. Routledge New York : E.P. Dutton.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries



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ld give tongue to theirfeeHngs by a loud trumpet-like note. Nestinghaving just commenced, they were veryrestless, and guarded their mates veryjealously (they do not change every year),or kept off rivals from their accustomednesting spots. The beautiful flute-Hke notesof the blackbird were borne across the waternow and then. Some wagtails chirped andflitted busily about, with looping flight, as istheir manner. A kingfisher darted fromthe bank as we drew near. He flew quicklyaway in a straight line, and was not seenagain. We saw some recent tunnelling atthe foot of an old tree stump, and thoughtthis might have been made by a pair of thebirds as the beginning of a nest hole, forthey lay their eggs in such places ; but therewas nothing further done there.^ The green-finchs merry chirps were often heard, and athrush kept singing in a bush. All thesebirds had felt the genial influence of the sun,and were showing their joy at the return of ^ (See Part I, pp. 75-76.) THE LAST WEEK IN MARCH 23
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Plate VIII : A hole in an apple tree—in which apair of wrynecks nested for several years in suc-cession. (J size.) the spring in happy melody or quickenedmovement. And, indeed, the warm atmo-sphere and the promise of summer all around 24 EARLY SPRING put US into good spirits too, and we could notbut share their feehngs. Of the ordinarymigrants, such as the Cuckoo, the cuckoosmate (the Wryneck ^), the Sedge- and Reed-Warblers, the Flycatcher, and the hke, therewere none yet. Nor had the Swallows andHouse-Martins arrived. But the may was justshowing in the green, whilst elders were stillmore advanced. The points of the sedges,just visible above the water where it wasshallow, told that there would soon be wavingbanks of them there. And so we knew thatour little bird visitors would shortly arrive.We found the remains of several nestsplainly visible in some as yet leafless shrubs ;they had escaped us when all was in leafygreen the previous year. I photographedone of them—that of a Sedg