Birds of lakeside and prairie (1901) (14563748158)

Identifier: birdsoflakesidep00clar (find matches)
Title: Birds of lakeside and prairie
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Clark, Edward Brayton
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: Chicago, New York, A.W. Mumford
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries



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ten hours old.It is my firm conviction that the racket that the father andmother bird made the night before was their method of rejoic-ing that unto them several children were born. The bird-lovers best time abroad is usually before break-fast. We walked that morning along the edge of the swampand listened to the fluting of the redwings. In a littleclump of trees, whose fohage was nearly full, we found theredstarts and the yellow warblers. There were other warblersin their company, but they gave us only a fleeting glimpse,and though we followed through the tangled thickets as theywent from tree to tree, we had to give them up in despair.Warbler time is the time to try the bird-lovers soul. Theelusive creatures invariably give the observer a crook in theback, and not infrequently give him a crook in the temper.A pair of doves flew by. We had heard their notes ever sincewe had left the house. There is something more than mournfulin the doves note. To me there is something that the chil-
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MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. <^From Haunts of Coot and Hern 119 dren call creepy in the sound. Doves are abundantthroughout the Middle Western country, but how long theywill continue so is a question. Our wise legislators in manystates have been putting these birds on the game list so thatthey may be shot and turned over to the cook. Before longthe wise ones will be planning an open season for humming-birds and kinglets. The doves were out of sight, but hardly out of mind, whenmy companion caught sight of a male bluebird sitting on astump about forty yards away. The stump had holes in it,any one of which looked like an ideal place for a bluebirdsnest. Presently the female bluebird appeared. She took aperch by the side of her husband. In truth, we said, thebirds have a nest in the stump. Then we looked at themthrough our glasses and became more firmly convinced thanever that the nest was just below them, for the glass revealedthe fact that Mrs. Bluebird had a fat grub in her bill. Soon,h