The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18
WHERE OUR BIRDS WINTER
xOUIsIANA,s FURESIS NOW sWARM-
ING WIN IEA1HI RED GEhS
Nearly Every Form Of Eastern Bird Life to
Il. .ound In the Colony That Makes
IN. state n Most Attractive Field for
,h. Natur,l.t and the Taxide rmist.

BENToN, La, March II just AZ THIS season
n. woods Of Louisiana are most populous With
bi,ds Not, only the natives are here, but vis
,c,s from every Northern State and not any OF
,bsr have SET their wings for the hOmeWard flight
Ths naturalist who makes a s%oiourn In this sec
,ion through the winter months has opportunity 10
,,udy pretty nearly every form Of ieathered life the
.,s,s,u plrt ~ North America can show, and
g., ,udy them NJ close range. The woods are
A., ,i., and the fields ~ quiet that the air yoy-
ar,,, nav be- approached within a few yards
,rl. 9s n, one ever disturbs those species Of theni
which are not game they beconle sngulafly
tame Representatives Of water and wadins
bird are u, numerous AZ those which stick to dry
lard and trees. Every lagoon is inhabited by
Northern cranes, herons and fishers OF other KINDS
and not less than u dozen differing varieties 81
bitterns make the day and night clamorouS
Birds Of prey come, too, In almost endless rafl-
etv I'm summer northern Louisiana can show
perhaps q half dnnen kinds of hawks and three
kinds Of owls, but in that time. Which IS the snow
time further north. about twenty differing species
O, hawks are here and a dozen kinds Of owls,
The opportunity afforded 10 the naturalist and
the u, ide mist as well are understood by some
men who live above the Mason and liSOn line
and they ere regular iourneyers TO Louisiana
when The Cplu NOfutS. nv iuch hN' "''hNS'
without exception. n double barrelied gun Of only
a caliber, which chambers a cartridge The size
and appearance Of the Winchester cartridge. but
Is loaded with dust shot instead Of ball They
are fatal little weapons a, a distance Of thirty
fee, ard there IL rarely any necessity 10 shoot
Of targets further away
In hlarch the pirates, twit,crers and songS'ers
betray signs Of preparation for mating Tho
--., l., xa.,,r AZ, a., ,la traps and the mNSten-
Gus law Of nature which makes all things bloom
and reproduce their Kind in tie spring is al work
upon them Contrary 10 popular impression,
much Of the preparatory work ct bird mating
Is done in their winter homo before the bgin-
ming Of the journey back Il the North.
This is true rot MY Of the wood and
fdd varieties. bul Of Wild fowl as well. There
,s. e co,re. no nest building done, but the oh
,er,cr viii see n disposition on the part Of the
bird, 10 pri' Males and females will be found
IN company here and there and always separated
from other members Of ,heir tribe by a hundred
yard, or 50 They show q rare mudes'y IN this
mater. or i, may be that they are afraid Of being
tea,ed BY thosr others in whose small bodies
the .ea,cn u .pnng has not yet begun 20 work,
1t sometimes happens that the selection Of mates
is made here. but most often the c~ourtsbip is
LUZ Wv va VIZ "a 80
q space 81 time 81 oil the way from two weeks
10 ,x weeks, according to the latitude in which
the bird i accustomed 20 spend is summers, It's
speed and its industry Il flight Most BIRDS
g. north rs the spring goes in little tights of a
hundred miles ur 50. For this reason residents
near the Canadian line find the returned wander
ers with them 80 soon rs tive spring is fairly IN
der way. There are some 'pccies which remain
- 49, C.,,I, ,,,1 tl, NraotI rotS tnn "A n v =, far
their comturt They then start north in long
and de terminCd Journey. Which cover hundreds
Of mile, at a Aign,, stopping only for nieh,tall
and twice a day t. feed a little while As these
varieties begin their nest building o. soon aa tLey
reach their destination, IL l. reason bio to sup
pos, lal' tLcir courtship Was completed before
thy started Certainly, tley have little time
f. : We making during tirlr far and strenuous
jour rNir, Il is notic'i - men curious about
sue thing tat birds b.-Ir rl'ciing their homes
alm 81 ., ,,.' @. t.H. rg'u the mt at which
the, ,r,rrr . ,.,i 'crp.d,rr ,"a On Their
r]ar,ll,v Of ,"l"rtiun would 49, ho ro>Tb' Il it
h,d r.r ho", begun 1ur"s ne wsrrp isy~ which
i,u. d them H. tine South aid .'frr"I hon N
their travels hpH.'H ara
Ano,hnr ryldnnc, tha. The process Of mating
Is b.gun her, j., fDlul in tho springtimr pug
nh'llN tI n MUS u Is N'lll'lil ~ WIN INV
IN. woods in Marrh " ;hout having the car as
SAILED Ivy \ succession % angry CRIES. nr ch,rps,
batraving tHn bathing males pi any one Of nifty II
sp,cu's touraS"in blrds is by No mean regulated
by size 8 mo Of tho largest of them notably the
crow, arr the most r~owarllv, Conversely, a little
hop o my thumb. sometimes not longer nor taller
than an inch, Will a,,s'k a flyer that IN proportion
20 itself is A. = house To n man The bee narnu
nr "Ltp.rNtr Z" ., ,otl..I hor. ~, - ,rhi,o avpyy
thing it can get at. will no; wcigh more than two
ounces, but II has q thousand pounds Of temper
and a ton OF nerve That charming writer upon
birds, John Burroughs, saws hat the bee-nartin
is cowsrlly. hut he must have encountered some
degcnnrrt. ,nlivi lual, outlawrd from his kins-
man as u bastard. The average martin Of this
family is not afraid Of anything that llies. 1t
il u frequent sight on Louisiana spring mornings
% see Il huge gray hawk hur,ling through the
air, emitting now and then n distressed squawk,
much M o. - usual scream Of savagrry. whilo
in lis t-a 0i'e ore, or NJ most two, -kinghirds."
smiling T. v1nomou1ly between the shoulders
ami mps' clated when n small feather floating
doHnwarI shows that n blow has gone home.
Tia, chas, will last for a half mile or more and
when it caases thu hawk viii scurry onward with
undimnshed speed until out of sight Mean.
whit tn. two minute black knight Grants will
fly back to their starting point, At this season
Il will b. often found that they ar" mall and
femal,. Interrupted in their counting near the
Top II some huge tree by the queSting scream
Of the Approaching rUbber
The morklngblrls. too, wondrous mins'reIs
In gray, ar, az valiant u, gifted and many
Of them are slain by invaling shnk1~ because
they do NOT know thai discretion is tho better
M y, NJ ynlpy flcne=ipDnlly the victory rests