Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-09-07
NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF WEIR.
MONTH";.
Birds Nests.

written for the Free Press by Francis IL. Herrcl
1t lisa matter Of no little interest that twi,
In the year, at the incoming and ol'goin
OF winter, the majority Of our birds nsinc,
lively set out on their migra,ions, flying hg
over sea and land, traversing whole ION,
and continents If need BEAN annual lnva
Ion and retreat Of the feathercd army. Di.
lance in miles as we reckon it, what is III,
to thems What is distance to the Swift O
Swallow who scorns the straight line, or (
the Gulls of Barbados who arc said to a
four hundred miles daily for their food
Surely this word is not needed in their vc
cabulary.
The important question of food whicl
starts the wheels of all immigration, doubt
less. 1rst admonishes the birds to chang,
their latitude. Some remain the yea
through, like the Grouse feeding o.
buds or the Tit on the seeds of weeds
others like the Robin go but a it'll
way southwark to pass the winter Will
many, aslhe llumming-bird, make the who'll
Journey, 3,OOO miles, perhaps, aud with sucl
| Tue cold may be Il consideration also. Thu
they come from far and near to make theil
homes and rear their families in our wood
and fields.
livery bird has character distinguished,
even in individuals of the same species. no
less real though less marked than in man
This shows itself not in the pIumage which
the bird cannot help, nor in the egg which
must obey the law OF nature, but ia their
behavior, their voice and to Il certain extent
in their nests. Why docs not the Camping.
sparrow make so soft couch as the Gold.
finch A bundle of sticks sunlccs the harsh.
voiced Jay, such as would not content even
The King-bird not to spcak of the Gracble OF
the Purple Martin.
1t would seem that we never find a bird of
brilliant dress who il skilled in both music
and architecture. II there are any such they
must be rare indeed. The Reds,art, VINO i
one of the most snowy of the warblers. builds
a neat nest, but is far from icing a sweet
singer The lntigo-bird (l fncl) has a
better voice than the latter, but constructs a
loose and often careless nest Some of the
iiycatchers, as the od-pewte, are.first ella. .
architects, but have no attractions either in
plumage or in song.
In the Thrush family We have the deep
clay-wrought cup of the Robin, the pctur
esque ii loosely made nest Of the Cat.t ird.
and the leaf-rolled dwellings Of the Veery
and wood Thrushes. But while the 7'Qydi,i,ie
are all plainly dressed they are worthy to
sing, as Shakespeare would say, at heavens
gate.
The Orioles flash amid tie Gins of sum.
mer, and seem to bring the tropics to our
door, but aside from their fiery dress, are we
not chiefly attracted to their gray, purse
shaped nests, hanging from the bourh and
swaying with the breeze, securely fastened.
knitted without needles? The Cuw.hird
builds no nest, the Cuckoo a mere apology
for ono, whereby their character is the more
plainly seen.
If We but glance al III. British birds We
IND at once the timc.hpn red ministries of
the Old World, Ia, Nightingale, the Black
cap and the Sky-ark, clad IN somhre weeds
of brown and gray and dusky white. Of the
nest of the first, says the poet Glare, "no
other bird uses such loose Materials The
sky-lark Subscribed as a plain sobcr-cJ lored
Bird" nesting on the giound, yet scars
ana sings writer says, quoting Jeremy
Taylor, AS If he had learned music and mo
ion from an angel"
A G. Justification of birds from their nests
None is not very satisfactory, because CcI
after are 50 often modified by the cont in
,encies oil locality, time and material, and
hen the position is constantly varying in
many cases.
A wide gulf is that between the yearly IN
'rcasing nest of the Eagle or the Fish hawk.
. small CARLOAD of sticks and rubbish, and
he delicate fabric Of the llumming-bird. Bat
while some birds repair and re.occupy their
Did nests, the majority build anew each
'ear We meet the familiar nests Of the
'parrows, loosely fashioned of grass and
iair in ever varying locations. We note
lso the subterranean Martin aud King fisher,
he chimney-loving Swift the CARPENTER
Noodpeckcrs living IN the tree the class
which makes no nest at all, as the Night. |
lawk and Whippoorwil, laying their eggs
N the bdre palm of the rock or on the leaves |
# the forest.
There is the conspicuous, hat-crowned
TEST OF the Crow, high up in the pine, the |
rched retreat of the Oven bird, screened hy |
he leaves on the floor Of the wood below, |
he tiimsy platform of the rail in the marsh, |
he bulky dwelling of the loon hy the lake |
nd the down-lined nest of the duck on the |
hore.
The ole.breedng habits Of the BLU bird, |
he Wrens, the Tits and the Nuttatohcs are
amlliar, the clay ''r,tor,s' of the Swal- |
)ws, the soft, moss-covercd couch of the
'hcbc.
A species of warbler q am not sure abou.
nc bird in one instance stitched together
he light green matted shreds OF a lichen
angling in beard-likc clusters from the
ranch of an old pine and entered it at the
de, living nest veiitAby and of natures
wn making.
Ina high and bushy pasture, toward
nc last of July, We see little nest in an
lder bush us gray as the bark of the shrub
which 1t is secured. Over its rim peers
ne yellow bill of the occupant. Only at near
pproach will the bird leave her charge. A
lbs'antial little structure is this with good
'alls and well trimmed, composed of fine
and wilhered grass-bades,
NIL and compacted with borse-hair and
iistic-down. The exterior is covered with
pup OF macerated plant iiort, pappus aud
)Dweo SILK ana this with threads OF cotton
cures the whole TO the supporting twigs.
he most is that Of the
merican GOfdinch, NsiragaIinus
tristis, Cab),
nd laid on the lining of down are the six
lush white eggs. In three days time all,
I've one, have become little yellowlsh bits
birds. At week old they are as large
robins eggs. Now as you approach the
est, il appears empty at first, bnr disturb a
at or twig and up dart h.c little heads on
ng and Transparent, nccks. Tie red
almost scarlet threats contrast with the
GLOW trimmed beaks us in The Columbine
over, and these dminutivc heads are night
'pped in u covering Of white down. They
C callow mostly, pin.fcathered along the
lck, on the wings and adown the sides in A {
allow line, with delicate pink feet. Such is ,
PU r e Ans9561mnTUTU
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