Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-03-27
For the vermont
A Talk about Birds.

Now my dear children, if you will leave
your PLAY aud keep very still a little while,
| will tell you something of the gay feath-
cred songsters we so gladly welcome with
the return of spring. When was little
child like you, not very many years ago,
passed many happy hours with the birds,
and even now my heart thrills with Joy when
list to the song of the first robin of spring
At one time knew of fifty birds nests, and
would occasionally visit each of them, al
ways taking great care not TO disturb or
break the eggs Birds can count. If one
egg is broken, the mother bird Immediately
discovers her loss, calls her mate, tells him
an enemy is lurking nigh, when both fly
away to look for place of greater safety.
Birds are organized for flight and have a
double respiratory and circulating system.
Their whole structure is adapted to flying.
Their bones are hard and hollow, which
gives them at the same time lightness and
strength The rapidity with which birds
travel through the air exceeds that of any
terrestrial animal. Eagles and many other
birds fly at the rate of sixty miles an hour.
Most birds are migratory-very few, compar-
atively, spending the whole year in the same
neighborhood. The crow, the partridge, a
few specimens of woodpeckers, owls hawks
and water fowl, are all which are known to
reside permanently in Vermont. Several
species are seen here in winter which are
never seen in summer. The blithe little
chckadee, snowbirds and crossbills, belong
to this class. When the south winds whis-
per of spring, these dear little winter friends
hasten away farther north. Ornithologists
have placed the chickadee under the order
of genus parus, and have given it Latin
name nearly as long as the tiny bird itself
| Parus antricapaus They rear their young
| in all parts of the United States For that
purpose they take possession of the hollow
of a decayed tree, or of the deserted holes of
the woodpecker or, where these are not to
be had, they excavate a cavity for them.
selves in some rotten stub of tree. They
usually lay six or eight eggs upon the dry,
decayed wood at the bottom of the cavity.
The eggs are small and white, with specks
of brownsh red. This industrious little
bird runs around upon the trunks and limbs
of the trees with the greatest ease, frequently
with its back downward, while searching
| for its food. They are very tame, and
have known them to alight on the head OF
one who fed them crumbs of bread, all the
while singing chick-a-deedee They are
a great benefit to the farmers, rendering es.
sential service by destroying the eggs and
Larvae of insects which have been deposited
in the crevices of the bark of fruit and shade
trees, to be Matched the next spring.
There is a funny little bird here in win
ter called snow bunting" They rear theil
Young on the islands Of the Arctic Ocean
The nest is made of dry grass in the crevice'
of rocks, and lined with deers hair anG
feathers. The eggs are greenish white
spotted and blotched with amber. They
usually make their appearance in Vermont
in December, in the midst of storms of snow
In descending upon our gardens and door
yards, to collect their scanty pittance Of
seeds from the dry weeds which rise abov,
the snow, they always come down in spira
direction, passing several times around tn,
spot on which they are to alight. There is
one species of snow-bird called cross.bill, Sc
named from the fact that their bills are
crossed for some good purpose could never
make out. 1t is very pleasing to sprinkle
crumbs upon the snow and watch the little
hurrying, windblown birds turn their head
one side in order to get the food into thei
little crossed beaks.
Now have told you something of tht
winter birds, and know many pretty stories
about the bright winged summer Birds which
| will tell you another day.