Smyrna times., 1901-06-05
FEATHERED FREAKS.
BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS AND BIRDS
WITHOUT SONG.


Swiftest HOrse-The Tailor Bird.
Birds without wings are found in
New Zealand and Australia. Kiwi is
the name of one species. Beautiful
mats are made of the feathers of the
white variety, but it takes ten years
and more to collect enough feathers to
make even a small mat which would
sell for about $3.50.
Birds without song belong to Ha-
waii. In Honolulu one sees a bird
about the size of the robin, an inde
pendent sort of fellow, that walks
about like a chicken, instead of hop
| ping like we'll trained bird of the
| United States, and it has no song.
! A bird that walks and swims, but
does not fly. is the penguin. No nests
| are made by penguins, but the one egg
laid at a time by the mother is carried
about under her absurd little wing or
under her leg.
The largest of fight birds is the Cali
fOrnia vulture or condor, measuring
from tipto tip 9h to 10 feet and exceed
ing considerably in size the true condor
of South America. The bird lays but
one egg each seasOn-large, oval, ashy
| green in color and deeply pitted, so
distinctive in appearance that it can
not be confOunded with any other.
The California condor is rapidly ap-
preaching extinction and museums all
over the world are eager to secure
living specimens. 1t is believed that
there is only one in captivity.
Another large bird is the rhinoceros
bird, which is about the size of tur-
key. One recently shot on the island
of Java had in it's crop n rim from
small telescope and three brass but
tons, evidently belonging to a British
soldiers uniform.
A bird which is swifter than a horse
is the road runner of the southwest.
Its aliases are the ground cuckoo, the
lizard bird and the snake killer, snakes
being a favorite diet. In northern
Mexico, western Texas and southern
Colorado and California it is found.
The bird measures about two feet
from tip to tip and is a dull brown in
color. Its two legs are only about ten
inches long, but neither horses with
their four legs nor hounds nor electric
pacing machines are in 1t for swiftness
when it comes to running.
Most curious are the sewing or tailor
birds of India-little yellow things not
much larger than ones thum. To
escape falling a prey to snakes and
monkeys the tailor bird picks up a
dead leaf and flies up into high tree,
and with a fiber for a thread and its
bill for a needle sews the leaf on to a
green one hanging from the tree. The
sides are sewed up, an opening being
left at the top. That a nest is swing
ing in the tree no snake or monkey ol
even man would suspect.
I Many a regiment cannot compare il
4 perfection of movement with the fiight
of the curlews of Florida winging theil
way to their feeding grounds mile!
; away, all in uniform lines in unbrokeI
d perfection. The curlews are daint!
4 and charming birds to see. some pink
= some white.
Birds in flight often lose their bear
ings. being blown aside from thei
course by the wind. In this case the!
are as badly off as a mariner withou
g compass in a strange sea on a star
l. less night.
All very young birds, by wise pro
4 vision of nature, are entirely withou
:. fear until they are able to fly. TIL
~ reason of the delayed Development o
y fear Is that. being unable to fly, tn
IL birds would struggle and fall froI
a their nests at every noise and be killed
Suddenly. almost in day, the bird
develop the sense of fear, when thei
feathers are enough grown so tina
"a they can fly.
1t Is always a source of wonder
es arctic explorers to find such quantitie
ss Of singing birds within the arctic eli
ia Gle. They are abundant beyond belle
But the immense crop of cranberrie
crowberries and cloudberries thu
De ripen in the northern swamps account
90 for the presence Of the birds.
In a stick of wood seven inches Ion
m and a quarter of an inch in diamet,
was once taken from a wren's nest.
~ is very singular that so small and de-
W cate bird should use such rough m
NcA ldl VIII MIlCu u us hes
.s, If an eagle should use material pr
ne portioned to its size. its nest would
Il made up of fence rails and small sa
J.. logs.
The extraordinary situations
:, =. which nests are found occasionally
l'e most give one the impression that bir
on must be endowed with a sense of h
NOR. For instance. a wren built
10 nest upon scarecrow. dead sparro
=, hawk, which q farmer had hung up
ia' frighten away winged ravagers of
st@ crop. In the pocket of an old jack
hanging in barn a bird. also a wr6
Ike made its nest, which when discover
of contained five eggs. II was a rot
I'D that raised a young family in a chur
,er pew and robin that built its nest
-. the organ pipes of a church Places
worship have always been favor
II building places for birds
Jus
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