Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-03-20

Feathered wooers Described ~
Mrs. Olive Thorne miller.

Mrs Olive Thorne Miller gave the
first of Lenten series of BIRD Talks,
in New York the other day. Mrs. Miller
IS the well-known writer and lecturer
on birds, and has devoted many years
OF study to their habits and Characters
tics. The present series is on "The Life
OF the Bird" describing fully the diff
ferent periods of its existence. Yes
terday's talk had it's special topic, 1.-THE
Bird as Lover" Mrs. Miller said that
birds were as different from each other
in their methods of courtship as were
human beings; she even inclined to be-
lieve that they exhibited a little more
variety than the latter did. AS means
of partly illustrating her descriptions,
she had mounted specimens of pairs of
birds belonging to different species.
"All birds court in the spring." said
the speaker. although it has been dis
covered by recent Investigations that
the majority of them keep the same
mates for life. Nevertheless, when the
season 'ccncr around each year the
male bird goes thiosgh the same DEM
onstrations and makes every effort to
charm his spouse anew.
There are many distinct methods of
courtship peculiar to the various kinds
of birds. Most of the commoner species
WOO by means of music, many having
a special song, low and very sweet,
which they never use on any other oc-
casion. Then there are other varieties
in which the male bird takes on gor-
geous plumage at the counting time,
which, however, is only worn during
that period, and then discarded for the
rest of the year"
AS a striking instance of this Mrs.
Miller mentioned the scarlet tanager
Immediately after he has settled down
with his mate, the brilliant red color is
replaced by a sober suit of olive-green,
which causes him to resemble almost
exactly his quiet little wife. The bob
olink, when seen here in the north, Is
wearing his contingencies of black,
white and buff, but when he starts
from the south in the spring, he is of
dull reddish-brown. The peculiar thing
about the way in which he changes
color is that the feathers do not drop
out, giving place to new ones, but are
worn off at the ends, showing the en-
tirely different shades at the roots"
In speaking of the aigrettes SO much
worn on women's hats, Mrs. Miller told
why the practice of obtaining them was
exceedingly destructive. She said that
they could be found on the birds only
at the time of counting. and that male
and female wore them alike. AS CON
sequence, the men who are in search of
them shoot both birds, thereby destroy
ing not only the heads of the family,
but condemning the helpless nestlings
to die of starvation.
A third method of wooing, said Mrs.
Miller, was that of the chase. In this,
Audubon declared that the female bird.
though she had many admirers, always
decided herself which one she preferred.
Still another device of the male to at
tract the attention of his sweetheart
was to make a sort of athletic display
of his powers of flying and spreading
his wings. This was especially notice
able in the marshhawks and tiny hum
ming birds. There are many vicissi-
tudes and uncertainties in birds court
ships" said Mrs. Miller, Just as there
are in those of higher orders"