The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-24

comes with his company during Feb
ruary to inspect the colony of breed
ing nests which he regards as his pc
culiar domain. going back as night APP
proaches to his sleeping place until all
| is ready for the family life to begin.
| Rookeries vary, of course, greatly in
size; one may be as a city or large
town, again there will be a village, and
here and there a small hamlet. There
are in my own fields one of about a
| hundred and thirty nests, one of sixty,
one of eight and another of four nests.
| OF these latter I have some views of
my own. l believe them to be those of
| odd and cutlawed individuals who fol-
low the other companies hither, but
| are socially considered as pariahs. NY
nearest neighbors are those of the six
ty-two nest village, and my last CEN
sus taking records about sixty-two
married couples and thirty-six or more
odd or minated birds. These are all, of
course, adult birds, their numbers reck-
oned before the young were Matched
out
The odd birds may some of them be
outlaws, as / said before, but the ma
jority OF them are not vagabonds by
any means. They only happen to be-
long to that numerous enough class
among humans-those who have been
forced by some just cause or impedi-
ment into life of celbacy. AS the
rock does not mate until it is nearly
two years old, a number of the single
birds are, therefore, simply lusty young
bachelors. The few individuals whom l
sum up as ne'er-do-weels or unfortu-
nates-I know personally thre0 of these
at the present moment-are to be rec
ognized by the shabby, neglected and
generally unkempt appearance of their
plumage, and some other of the many
outward signs of a past henpecked ex-
istence. / am ignorant of the life his
tory of these; perhaps if we knew all
about them we should look upon them
as objects of pity rather than of re-
proach. Now and again notice that a
few odd folks in our colony appear to
be dissatisfied with everybody and
everything, and imaginary grievances,
political and social, often lead to a
segregation scheme. This is how
have accounted for my hamlet of four
nests. The general run of our odd, or
celihate, birds is, however, good in
character; they help in the building of
the nests and even in feeding the sit
ting birds. For the welded pairs April
is most trying time; if the season be
dry one, or frost sets in, food is
scarce. Insects and worms are deep in
the earth; the farmer is engaged in
sowing his spring corn, oats and bar
ley. The rocks prefer a diet of insects,
worms and grubs, but these are hard
to get at times; the spring beans are
just peeping through. and the sitting
hen asks for food. The cock bird ven
lures too long in the bean field, and as
he skins over the hedge with a bean
or two in his pouch a shot is heard -
the faithful mate of the sitting bird is
brought down to mother earth, and the
farmer feels that he has one enemy the
less. Personally, 1 would not shoot a
bird If you gave me a sovereign for 1t.
The old bird may, and does, grieve, but
the news of her loss is soon at the
rookery, and her food is brought to her
by a new mate. Thus, there is place
taken in the rookery by one of our odd
birds and there is a bachelor less in
the community. / have known many
bird die about this time through over
Zeal-a slave to love and duty. If April
prove seasonable and mild, with show
ers, worms are plentiful, and the farm
er's gun remains in its place over the
kitchen chimneyplace.
Often during the building season the
rookery is disturbed by discordant
notes. accompanied by a great hut-
tering of wings; there is a big row
in the township; not a duel over
''squaw;" the rock is a philosopher,
| and the ritual of love-making and
matrimony are of the simplest. The
bother will be over divergent interests
| on a disputed claim, for there Is a rec
| ognized right of property-not ground
rent to pay, but specified limit for
nest room has been accorded. The
| trouble occurs mostly with young birds
wishing to place their nests too near
to an old nest. A parish council is
called, with the result that the dis
| putants' nests are soon scattered to
| the winds, and the claimant and the
| defendant may both have to begin a
| new foundation. Sometimes there is a
disturbance on a more limited scale;
| one between very near neighbors or
blood relations-a family jar, in fact.
| One pair of birds do their very best
to pull the sticks from the nest of an
| other pair; each of the contending par
| ties will do all they can to prevent
the other from building.
AS to the nests, we all know how
busily the rocks set to work to repair
these after a gale of wind has wrought
some havoc in their colonies; but / do
not think 1t is equally well known that
| they are curiously weatnerwise and
they scent the coming Storm and set
to work to repair and strengthen before
| that imminent gale has been evident
to the farmer. I have noticed that
fact; the rocks powers of sight and
hearing are remarkable.