The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-04

and certain sea birds. To see hawk
pounce upon a sparrow and devour 1t
is too painful to dwell upon. From our
point of view it is one of the inconceiv-
able cruelties with which nature
abounds, and pass it by; but when we
see a turkey buzzard true vulture
gorging himself with the rotten carcass
of some animal, we wonder how 1t all
came about. Most strange is the quick
ness of this bird to detect the presence
of dead animal. A sheep lying in
field is readily seen, of course; but
only few days ago / discovered
small dog that had been killed and was
lying in my lane, under large tree
and with rank vegetation all about it.
1t was so inconspicuous / had never
before noticed it, and yet, strolling in
that direction, / CHANGED to see tur-
key buzzard sitting near by and watch
ing my approach. / stood still for
considerable time, but the buzzard was
not satisfied that my intentions were
not aggressive and it flew majestically
away. What keenness of the sense of
smell was here illustrated, for by no
other means could it have been guided
to the spot AS for myself. I could
scarcely detect any odor. for the air
was heavy with the perfume of apple
blossoms and lilacs.
~ W plcdSdltCi dSpCStS VI OAi "
life there is the remarkable clipper
found on the Pacific coast, that dives
to the bottom of rapid mountain brooks
and runs along the pebble bed, finding
food that most people suppose was re-
served for the use of fishes, and this
same bird will build nest on a shelv-
ing rock behind a waterfall and so have
to pass through it going and coming.
When we realize how big and varied
I'll
should become almost as aquatic as a
fish. Again, our fishhawk has. no desire
to attack small birds and lives exclus-
lively on that form of life which gives
rise to it's familiar name, and our bald
eagle has so keen an appetite for fish
diet that it robs the hawk whenever il
can, and often descends to eat the half
rotten herring on the river shore, left
there by the fishermen when the season
Is over.
AS the summer wears away a change
comes over the dreams and the actu-
alities of birds. The nights are cooler.
Insects are less abundant and seek
shelter and the beginning of marked
change is noticeable. The swallows
are no longer high in air and restless
as the passing breeze They gather in
great companies and sometimes sit
upon a telegraph wire until not a bit
VI II 10 " NC oCCli llOiil pOIC " POlC
They chatter necessarily, and as l hon.
estly believe and have always insisted
they are discussing the situation in al
its bearings. They came in the spring
when food was sure to be abundant
now it is less so, and the time for de-
parture has arrived. The birds are not
long making up their minds. Today
/ they are here by the hundreds, tomor-
] row all are gone. The young natural
/ let or oft will
change sufficient to warrant the exodus
but the world as seen by swallows eyes
is a different matter. Birds know a
good deal about which man knows
nothing. ORTHODOXY or the study oil
birds is still somewhat matter OF
guesswork.
The departure of our summer swa1-
lows early in September is the begin
ming of a change that every one real
ICES month later, for then the woods
are more silent and fields give an i'm
preston of being deserted. The thrush
the rosebreast, the fiycatcher. the war
blers and whippOorwillS are gone. The
little green herons have left the mea-
dows and the clumps of trees in which
colony of these birds nested. No mat
ter where we wander we miss our IA
miliar friends of the long summer days
They have gone to southern and warm
coming winter. This is called "migra-
ton" 1t is one of the remarkable fea-
lures of bird life that has given rise tC
endless discussion, and the end is not
yet. We still are in the dark as tc
when it commenced and what was the
| initial motive. Some of it's features are
extremely striking because of the ex-
penditure of unnecessary exertion
Many what we consider weak-wingeC
birds fly almost the distance from pole
to the equator, when surely there are
vast interlying areas that would meet
their needs. Whatever gave rise to mi
grafton originally the food supply has
largely to do with it now, and this
change of territory. momentous as is
the undertaking, is one of the yearly
incidents in the lives of many birds
but not of all birds. There is a goodly
number that have proved equal to
withstanding 1.-The samples of weather
which do duty for climate in this coun-
try, so that at no time are we without
birds and very desirable ones at that
All winter long the song sparrow is
cheerful as a May morning, and the car
dinal redbird seen against back
ground of untrodden snow is a sight to
| be remembered; but this is not all, for
there comes from the north a goodly
number of birds to winter with US be-
cause their own homes are too bleak for
them during the years short days
Snowbirds. golden crested kinglets, tit
mice, horned larks and nuthatches. with
whole hosts of tree sparrows como
trooping down from Canada, and on
many bright winter morning the
frost-bitten fields and leafiess woods
are fairly alive with a CHEEKY throne
that make merry in an infectious way
and if the thermometer ranges very
low I am quite ObliyjO1s to tha foot
Winter sunshine in the woods is some
thing too few of us appreciate. but
when with it we have birds in abund-
ance, as Is often the case. it is a return
after fashion of the departed summer
and the true conditions are half for
gotten.
Note-This paper will be concluded Cd
Monday, Sept. IL.