Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1889-08-23
Rirtl Notes,

John Burroughs, an enthusiastic student
Of bird life, and a most ardent lover of ma
ture, has written many interesting things
about the sweet songsters, which inhabit
our fields and forests, and from his writings
we take the following interesting chapter
Most people receive with incredulity a
statement of the number of birds that an
nually visit our climate Very few, even,
are aware of half the number that spend
the summer in their own immediate vicin-
ity. We little suspect when we walk in the
woods, whose privacy we are intruding up
on, what rare and elegant vistants from
Mexico, from Central and South America,
and from the islands of the sea are holding
their reunions in the branches over our
heads, or pursuing their pleasure ON the
ground before us. | can recall the alto
gether admirable aud shining family which
Thoreau dreamed he saw in the upper cham
bers of Spaulding's woods, which Spaulding
did not know lived there, and which were
not put out when Spaulding, whistling
drove his team thro' their lower halls They
did not go into society in the village they
were quite well they had sons and daugh-
tiers they neither wove nor spun there
was sound of suppressed hilarity. take
it for granted that the forester was only
saying pretty thing of the birds, though |
have observed that it does annoy them
when Spauldings cart rumbles through
their house, Generally, however, they are
as unconscious of Spaulding as Spaulding is
Of them.
1t is, by the way, little remarkable how
mo nf l.. I
plicates of the eastern Thus the various
thrush of the west is our robin little diff
ferently marked and the red shafted wood
pecker is our golden-wing or high hole,
colored red instead of yellow There is al.
so western meadow lark, western snow
bird, western bluebird, western song
sparrow, western grouse, quail, hen hawk,
etc, etc.
One of the most remarkable birds of the
west seems to be a species of SIX ylark met
with on the plains of Dakota which mounts
to the height of 800 or 400 feet, and shouts
down its ecstatic notes. 1t is evidently a
kin to several of our eastern species
correspondent writing to me from the
country one September says 81 have oh
served recently a new species of bird here
They alight upon the buildings and fences,
as well as upon the ground They are
and sent me the skin. 1t proved TO be what
! had anticipated, namely, the American
pipit, or titlark, a slender brown bird about
the size of the sparrow, which passes
through the states in the fall and spring, to
and from its breeding haunts in the north
They generally appear by twos and threes,
or IN small, loose tlOcks, searching for food
ON banks and ploughed ground. As they
fly up they show two or three white quilts
in the tail like vesper sparrow. Flying
over, they utter a single chirp or cry every
few rods. They breed in the bleak moss
covered rocks of Labrador Their eggs
have also been found in Vermont, and
feel quite certain that / saw this bird in the
Adirondack mountains in the month of Au-
gust The male launches into the air, and
gives forth brief but melodious song, af-
ter the manner of all larks. They are walk
ers. This is characteristic of but few of
our land birds. By far the greater number
are hoppers. Note the track of the COM
mon snow bird the feet are not placed
one in front of the other, as in the track of
the crow or partridge but side by side
The sparrows, thrushes, warblers, wood
peckers, buntings, etc. are all hoppers On
the other hand, all aquatic or semi-aquatic
birds are walkers, The plovers, and sand
pipers, and snipes run rapidly. Among the
land birds, the grouse, pigeons, quails, larks
and various black birds walk The swal-
lows walk, also, whenever they use their
feet at all, but very awkwardly. The larks
walk with ease and grand. Note the mead
ow lark, strutting about all day in the
meadow.
Besides being walkers, the larks, or birds
allied to the larks, all sing upon the wing,
usually poised or circing in the air, with a
hoyariupr tramulpue Hiuht ba Ynaad,,,,