The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-12

is 4 cOnsummate mimic, and while ne
leases you, and just does not permit
you to see him, he viii initiate every
creature in the country round about
every bird. as well as the cat and
other creatures. and he delights in
whistling to the dog and keeping ii up
till he really troubles the dog. AS
lover, he INDUCES in peculiar antics,
which have been well described by
bird student:
"Aloft in the sunny air he springs;
To his timid mate he calls;
With dangling legs and fluttering
wings
On the tangled smiIax falls;
He mutters. he shrieks
A hopeless cry;
You think that he seeks
In peace to die.
But pity him not tbs the ghostly
An imp, if there is one. be sure Of
that"
These birds rarely if ever make use
of the top of a tree or bush from
which to sing; they remain a little
below and slip about unseen and with
out so much as the rustic of leaf,
The nest is built in briery thickets, of
dry leaves and grapevine bark, and
lined with fine grasses. The eggs num-
ish. spotted with gray and shades of
brown.
The Water ouzeI.
Another family from which but one
is selected-in fact, it is a family with
but a single genus and species-is the
dipper family which gives us that
quaint combination of impossible
qualities, the water ouzel.
This is a bird that is peculiar TO the
west, and is confined to the mountain
streams which come rolling and tum-
bling down our mountains and can
yons.
The dipper is indeed a peculiar bird.
1t has the alertness of the wrens, the
lettering of the sandpiper, the ease of
the grebe in and under the water and
the song of a thrush. 1t swims and
flies under water, yet it's feet are
neither lobed nor webbed: practically
all of it's food it taken from the water.
! The dipper does not trouble TO MI
CRATE; so long as the stream flows that
is all he asks. This one was taken in
the middle of January. when the
weather was bitterly cold. They have
/ been known to go to ponds, and to the
deeper places of rivers, where they dive
fifteen to twenty feet, feed for a short
time, come to the surface. sing. dive.
| this bird, but one that is most inter-
esting, and one with which every
teacher and haunter of the open
should have an acquaintance. His
song is clear, ringing, bell-like, and
would do credit to a thrush. The nest
is built as near the water as possible,
sometimes within cleft of the rocks,
again on the edge of a ledge; it is
constructed of moss. is bulky. with an
opening at the side. Eggs, three to
| five, white.
The catbird.
Another family that clearly is we'll
within the bounds of our subject is
that in which the catbird, wrens.
threshers. etc, are placed. OF these
the first to be taken up is the catbird,
This, as some one has said, is one of
| our most familiar birds, and it should
rank in our affections with the robin
and the bluebird. But this bird holds
/ no such place in our throught For
some reason. partly because catbirds
will steal cherries and raspberries, and
partly because of dislike of his NEW
| ing" notes. the catbird is the object
of a really unjustified prejudice. To
| be sure, it has a slipping movement.
| gliding about from place TO place as
| though bent on eTrands Of which it
not really so. and for its habits il is
no more responsible than we are for
! the color of our hair. These birds are
| to be found widely distributed over
| the country and in our state; and no
| orchard or garden or Clump of brush
along the stream is quite as it should
| be if it does not harbOr a pair of cat
/ birds.
] The song of the catbird is original
/
/ Tupted by limitations thrown in as if
| they were asides. He is ordinarily
| lavish with his musical selections
| which are both vigorous and pleasing
This bird builds its nest in thickets
and orchards, and clumps of brush OF
| shrubbery. The nest is made of root
/ let's. From three to five plain. deep
( BLUSH green eggs are laid. It's food
| consists. in addition to wild berries
and some cultivated fruits. of ants
beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers.
The Sage Thrasher.
Another sweet singer, a member of
/ this family. is the sage thrasher If
/ in the course of walks afield with the
/ children, the teacher should go toward
/ the foot of the mountains, or out OF
j the sagebrush reaches which stretch
! away TO valleys and hills beyond. she
1 is almost sure to meet with this bird
/ To some of the people of Utah il is
( known as the gray bird" If you dc
/ not succeed in coming close to the
| singer you win know from the sweet
ness Of the sOng-the bird was for
| merry known as the mountain mock
er"-and the carrying power of his
! voice that one of the finest singers
| which brighten vast areas of our state
/ with their song, is before you. The
| general effect of the cOlors of the bird
as one of its common names indicate
| is grayish: the corners Of the tai
| feathers snow white. as he flies from
you Often these birds will sing vel
on into the evening, and even by
moonlight. The nest is usually placed
| In sagebrush, built of plant stems. dry
sage and strips OF bark, and is lineC
with finer rOotlets. The eggs number
| from three 10 five. and are of d ricf
lgreenish-blue, spotted with a rich
deep brown.
Clan of the Wrens.
| Here also belongs the entire clan o.
| Wrens. OF these busy. active. cheeery
little fellows SEINE find their home.
among the rocks, some live in the can.
yons aud others rear their broods il
Ii -.