The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-09-05
DUP FEAruEREp FRIENDS.

Bartlett. TcXes Dear Mistress Prin-
rose: New We are going 10 talk about
our fcathe.ed friends are we not? Wen,
they arc ca shy reco gnizcd. for they all
have btak, feathers two wings and two
feet. The wings are stronr enough to al
low the bril- to .ly. although those of the
the ground some birds live altogether
upon the mesh OF something else. They
are called birds OF prey Some of them
have hooked bills ami sharn claws. but
there are not many such In Texas. Thei
there are birds that hur' their food IN
the DAYTIME, which arc called d!urnal
birds of prey, and others that hunt 1t at
night. which arr called Nocturnal birds
Of prey Among the d.urnnl birds we have
the sparrow hawk, vultnre, hawk and
mary others, and among the nocturnal
ines include most OF the small birds. such
as blackbrds. reGbIrds and hooking birds.
some have short, thick beaks, with which
hey eat small gnain, of all kinds. Others
have wide beaks we'll adapted TO catching
small insects. Owls of all descriptions
destroy rats and mice and ought to be
protected. but sometimes they are not.
about our feathered friends, but viii
now tell YOU about q few that fly around
US every day. As ! have already told you
We have the commoa crow, which hives
IN the trees They feed on flesh as well
as worms and insects, aud they some
Jackdaws pre- common BIRDS in England
and there are a few of them here. They
feed principally on worms and insects.
They build nests of sticks and twlgs. n
which they lay five or six eggs. The Jay
Is well known In our woods. 1t builds a
nest OF sticks and lays four or five eggs.
They feed on acorns nuts, seed and fru t.
1t is sometimes found injurious to gar
dens from devourirg small grains, such as
peas. etc. The cuckoo is about fourteen
inches in length. 1t visits us early. in the
-tn to yrrl 10 hga I'd fsrAtlt
the middle OF Aprl! and ceases about the
end of June. The birds are supposed TO
build no nests, but they lay their eggs In
eral kinds OF cuckoos but they do not all
live In Texas Woodpeckers are race
of birds that live almott entirely OF N
trees. Their plumage is black. They lay
two or three white eggs. Humming birds
have slender, weak bills which are some
times times curved and Is sometimes net, straight
they are very brilliant. Their length Il
about three inches. OF which the bill is
half an inch. They feed on the honey
from flowers They lay two eggs the shape
of pea, which are white. The staring
Is an inhabitant of all climates. They
build nests CT straw and small fbers In
ergs They are harmless inhabtants Of
our fields ard are found IN almost every
part of the United States.
And ] must not forget TO tell you OF
II about the size o. blackbird. only more
slender The color Is gray. II can mock
nearly every kind of bird. hence It's name.
II feeds on bugs and different kinds of
berries. W., have ell hes I'd OF the Ennet.
Its length Is about five and s. half Inches.
.srncts are much admired for their song.
They Law f'.ur or five white eggs speckied
with red Nc bird is better known than
The sparrow. They build early in spring
and build their nests rnGer the caves II
houses They eat bugs and caterpillars.
There are several srecles OF sparrows.
The skylark BULLS Its nest OH the ground
and lines II with driel grasses and feath-
crs They lay fou, or FIVE white eggs
that hatch very soon. The lark commences
his song early in spring and Y lass
.hrorgh the summer. The woojlark Is
smaller than the skylark. The wren Is
very small bird. It's nest IL made Of moss
ard lined with feathers. with only one
small entrance. Eiackfirds live princi-
,,aily on worms and s.iails. They COM
mence their song early IA spring and con.
Time II through the 81 n ner. They bu.id
thesf nests OF green moss and roots. the
inside being piastered with earth and at
terward linec with dry grass The nest
i generally built In a bush or in stump.
They lay foair or fve light blue eggs. The
yeilowhammer Ia very common In our
hedges and makes dts nest on the gtouni
and laws Ave eggs. The familiar robin IL
found nearl, all over the continent They
live on berries Of al! descriptions. The
Wild pigeons are CT blush color ana