Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-01-02

| will, night hawk and meadow-tawk build upon
the ground. The red wing, yellow-bird, wood
| thrush, catbrd, small blue crane, and sparrow
buItd upon bushes. The barn, chimney and
| swallows build where heir name would indicate
The bank-swallow and king-fsher build in holes
which they dig in the banks ofstreams. The phebe
has her nest under open buildings, the wren and
| martin IN boxes made and provided for them /;
the wood -pecker, blue bird. sparrow hawk pigeon
! hawk, and wood-duck in holes and holloss of
trees; and finally the robin, dove, oriole, hum
ming crow, black bird king bird eagle cuckoo,
shrke, plgeon-crane, indigo-brd, red bird, night
heron, osprey, and wax-wing, upon the branches.
! To these must be added the COW bunting or
black-bird, which lays It's eggs in other birds nests
! and allows them to rear its young. 1t is COM
mon notion that the cuckoo does the same; but
| have found The American cuckoo sitting upon
] eggs Ike other birds, and conf. .med the fact by
repeated and careful observations. OF all the in
land birds OF New England and New York that
Is, indeed, GUis which is included in the
above. Even the great forest like the Adirondac
gives 20 addition 70 this eli SIS, for they birds
o cIyz4Lion, found only where there are groves,
garGeus, fruits, ploTed fields, and buildings in
| snort, man and his works.
The third class is made up of a few species
which breed to the northward, passing the winter
with Us only by way OF southern soJOurn. They
are the snow birds, some species Of the owl, and
perhaps some OF the woodpeckers.
The fourth and last div sion consists of those
| which breed III Arctic regions and visit only in
| The way Of migration The species compara
| tye4y few, out the number OF Individuals is i'm
mense. Some pass gh over our heads, like the
/ 0Tant or wliG-goose, or even among the very
clouds, ike tue loon and gull, aIIgbtiny OILY in
HE great lakes Others the duck, working more
! slowly up ard down rivers and water-courses !;
or, Ike The snipe family, along the sea-coast; 4; all
having their homes IL higher latitudes. In books
q cd
HiJn our resident birds, il belonging to the
( reS.cu- Specimens, indeed, Of almost evesy
Tiety ate seen and shot at, Tor they all aquatic.
I Bus they are in ne sense birds of cur State or
! region any more tnal a Canadian Is fellow
/ c liz=n bscause, on his way to Newport. he may
have b e. seen IN our steamboats, or killed on one
/ o' railroads.
Birds belong oniy where they breed they have
| homes only where they their young and the
gu.s, geese, ducks, elder ducks, and birds OF that
/ class not only do not now nest, but never have
/ nssted n the latitude OF New ork. The acCounts
/ 81 persons VINO have been carried away captive
by the Indians Of our early history into unbroken
forests aud the legends of the Ind4ns themselves,
SHOW that the habits of these birds were the same
/ tacu Is now TO reckon these transient visitors
IS summer birds IS simply contradiction of terms;
for al birds breed il the summer aud where they
breed they are residents not visitors.
| At the most northern point reached by Kane,
/ u latitude 81 n, the rocks were crowded with
sea-swal.ows ducks, gu.ls and geese breeding as
4 early as The last Of June. Only such conditions
/ OF climate IS these regions stf0rd can feed the
N! rl4ds whose nests crowd whole islands For
| three months Of delightful summer the sun IS
almost constantly shining, and on the savage
LaD-auUr coast may be termed - intensely - rot.
) eyetaticu when never knows drought has been
preserved fresh and green just the SHOWS
/ u August and September found it, aud needs not
70 sprIug up, but only to grow at the first call #
! the steady spring. Stimulated to an almost
/ unnatural develop pment, il sends forth succulent
stems and roots wh.c1, with adhering mo!luses,
/ serve the Arc,.c birds with food Dr. Kane mas
| gwen Us picture OF lively life. He says
| &" 1t was near the close of the breeding season
Ihe nests were still occupied by the mother birds,
| Out many Of the young had burst the shell and
were nesting unGer the wing, or taking th heir first
/ lessons 10 the water-poois. Some, more advanced,
were already in the Ics-sheltered channels, greed
lily waiting Tor shell-tsn and sea-urchins which the
| O-d bIrd busted herself in preparing for them
/ Near by was low island or k-edge The
/ gaucous gulis-those cormorants Of the Arctic
seas-had made It their peculiar homestead. Their
/ progeny tull-fedged and voracous crowded the
guano-whltened rocks, and the mothers with long
necks and gaping yellow bills, swooped above the
peaceful shadows of the elders, CARRYING of the
young birds seemingly Just their wants required
the gull won d go5be and swallow young elder
IN less time than it takes me to describe the
act For nom ent you would the padding
feet OF the poor little wretch protruding the
mouth; then came distension of neck it
descended into the stomach a few moments more
and the young gulls were feeding on the elected
morsels.'
In these regions the birds remain at their
breeding places about three months. Those OF
our locality average about five. Thus the Arctic
birds month il making the distance down
to US, and the same IN going back. They arrive
in time to 60 southwark, with our latest summer
birds. To both the remainder of the year is one
grand excursion to the tropics and return thence.
The biennial journeys of the wild-goo,e would
encompass the globe, and others of the migrate
res are capable OF long lights; but if they find
suitable stopping places they prefer to accomplish
the way by easy stages, keeping near the thermal
line, just out Of the shadow of winter.
When we see the trianges of wild geese pas
sing to the north IN the spring, even hear them
at midnight in the air we are not to suppose that
they making the vast distance to their breed
ing places III flight, for their Arctic resorts
are by no means ready for their reception, being
fast locked in ice for month longer and We have
seen that they do in fact employ that time TO
the journey. The focks passing at such
times from Delaware Chesapeake bay, or from
Long Island Sound thickly settled country
the lakes of Northern New York, which flight
would require from dusk till dawn-for the veloc-
ity ot lids fight is generally overstated. When
our swlltest water-iOws are started from rivers
even before steamboat, when they would fly
their fastest, they DO not keep up with the express
trains along the bank. a flock of birds coming
upon you suddenly will frequently dive in passing,
and in that downward fight viii move for dis
tance very swiftly; but It may be asserted that no
animal, bird, beast or fish move fairly forward
faster than one mile in minute. The ordinary
fight of the swfest binds is much slower than
this.
The note OF Arctic birds is usually accounted
mouotonous and harsh, but when their long
Journeys it is heart from the upper air and thus
nellowed by distance, it has peculiar charm and
interest You hear the loon while he is out of
sight, and The cry seems unear.hly, lost, and pain
but witnes. how boldly and with what unva-
yins directness he strikes out his lofty skyline.
ana 1t then sounds wild and ezultaDt The call
of the wiid-seese, especially when heard IN their
night JourneJs, has an indescfibable melody. |
once anew an old hunter, whose ducking gun had
raked many a cove of the Hudson who asked to
be buried with his head to the river that he might
" hear the wild goose go up in the spring.