Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1889-12-13

OF Tho son snore, nni ov0ry river $40, all
the mountain brooks, listen To his sharp
rain promising cry. Yct ho is by no
means shy Of notice. and follows tho crock
coniltlingly into tho farm ynrd, or oven
tho village. SO long as ho cnn find in IL
tho rocky Swallows that afford him good
hunting ground for aquatic insects and
mollusks. They nre not ofton shot for tho
iiosh has iishy tnsto, oxcopt by boys who
wish 10 practice upon their crrntic flight.
and so these lttlo birds grow mora numior-
Gus rather than loss so rs tho country
grows up.
Scuttling along with stendy diligence,
many oi them go clenr to tho arctic zono
ahd bnck eyory summer: but those TINT
mnko this pilgrimage spend tho winter in
tho northern and middle States, replacing
tho summon quota OF those localities, which
hns gone to wintor resorts in tho far South
Tho nest is n mere hollow scratched la ths
sandy border OF II snlt-marsh, or OF u frosh
weter lake, or perhaps quito away In II
corn field or old PASTURE and it contains
four top-shnpcd eggs clay y-colored, and
blotchcd with sienna brown.
To protect lheso eggs. or tho ridiculous
little piffs OF gray down mounted on stills
which she proudly calls her babios tho
solicitous mother screaming poet -weet! In
ngonilod tones. will throw horsslf beforo
tho enemy, ono wing apparently broken
and useless and log disnblod, and will
roll and iutter III n way TO deceive tho
nlect. You think she is wounded, ani
givo chnso; but she Is nblo to just eude
your grnsp, and thus leads you 10 safa
distance from her treasures, when sud-
denly she gots woll, aud COOS away liko a
shot
In color the pretty littlo sand piper |,
bronZed or brOwnish green, tho wing,
crossed by n narrow bow of white, which
also tips tho outer foathors OF tho tail; tho
underpnrts are white, with many circular
and oval spots of brown.
Tho wood duck is tho most beautiful OF
our water fowl, rivaling tho birds of tho
tropics in tho splendor of his attire This
is his description: Tho head is crested.
and is iridcscent green and purple, with
parallel curvod lines of white at the side
of tho head, and broad forkod white
throat patchi tho upper parts of the body
nre dark reddish brown, with bronco nnd
purplish reflections; tho breast and aldo.
man nro grayish white, while the sides and
lower part OF the neck are reddish purple,
each feaiher with whto tip; the feet are
dull grange and the bill red and black
Tho most interesting thing about the
wood-duck, apart from lis dress, is its
domestic lifo As ruo. ducks nestle
among the rushes or on rocky cliffs and
nre very chary about attempting to ulight
upon trees, as might DO inferred from an
examination Of their feot, which nro i'll
adapted 10 rcrching. But n few in vari
ious parts of the world are exceptions, aud
among them our subject is conspicuous.
Tho pair seek out carly in tho spring u
blasted tree As near TO the water as posi-
bic and il they can iind in it n place
where II limb las Lecn torn out. or n hole
nt. fi..,, 1,,.. 4.
made by a woodpeckcr or squirrel, into
which they cnn manage TO squeeze their
bodies, there they set up their homo. The
furnishing consists of n bed of sticks
dried weeds, and straw covered with
thick layer of downy feathers, large