Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-05-23
BIRDS THAT NEST
IN THIS VICINITY
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INDIGO BUNTING


INDIGO BUNTING
The Indigo bird himself is easily
Identified by his color. His home is in
the bushes by the wayside, bfier
patches and thtckets. But his wife, Il
demurc brown little bird. hiding in the
beginner in bird study will hardly be-
IieVe that they are husband and wife.
They belong to the sparrow family,
though you would hardly believe that,
but when you stop to think about it
you do see a family resemblance in her
form and color. ever IL it does not show
In him. Her plain color Is not with
out it's compensation, however, for it
Is a great protection to her as she sits
on her nest.
But you will have to have sharp eyes
and patience like Jobs, IL you succeed
In locating that precious nest. In the
flrst place, 1t is always we'll concealed,
In low bushes. generally about a foot
from the ground, either in the crotch
or hanging from the stems. and In the
second place the mother bird has a way
OF fitting around among the bushes
which leads you to think that you are
very near her nest, but all the time
she Is leading you away from it. The
nest itself is not a small, trim affair.
as you would expect such a delicate
bird to build; but is usually quite
bulky, composed Of grasses, dead
leaves n strips Of black. fine roots
and is generally lined with rootlets
and hair and contains three or four
pale blue, unspotted eggs.
The male has a habit Of singing from
certain perches, as a dead limb or tele-
phone wire. His habit Of reaching this
perch is interesting. He will begin with
q low limb and fit from branch to
branch and perch to perch. rising
higher each time. singing as he goes
until he reaches the desired perch,
where he will burst forth into some of
the sweetest tones to be heard from
any of our common birds. This habit
has very appropriately been called the
staircase of song" Another habit of
this little songster max es him unusual
ly attractive. He sings in the heat of
midday and the scOrchtng days of July
and August as well az in the cool parts
of the day In the spring. When almost
the hot. summer days he sings on just
as cheeriiy as ever. He sings to his
mate as she sits on the nest; he sings
In the midst of the most arduous of
family cares. After searching dill
gently for food n giving it to the
birdlings. he will pause a while to sing
a little song before starting out again,
it seems that he sings ever more
bltthely under these circumstances than
at other times.
THE DoWNY WooDPEcKER.
When the word woodpecker Is spoken
the picture that generally comes to
mind is that of he redhead or flicker.
These their arrival in the
spring with vociferous cries, so that
everybody knows them. Comparatively
rev people. however, are acquainted
with the downy, though he is one of
the most interesting members of the
family. And those who do know him,
ntcknaming him .'~sapsucker.''
" ever there was modest worth hid
den in obscurity,' it Isl in his little
body. He goes quietly about his BUSH
ness of catching insects and boring out
grubs. from morning to night, and it
Is marvellous the number tina he
catches and devours in the course Of
q year. So intent is he in his work
that he does not take time to notice
an observer and may therefore be ap-
preached very closely for study.
He Is the smallest of all the wood
pecker family, save one, being scarce
ly longer. when full grown. than a
lead pencil. but you cannot mistake his
family, and watching him climb around
over the trees for q while. Then there
Is the red crescent on the top of his
head. which is characteristic of wood
peckers. but even this is absent from
his wife.
There are several reasons why he is
we'll worth knowing. One of them
that he is with us all the year round.
while his relatives betake themselves
to warmer climates in the south dur
ing the winter. And then he is such
q sociable little fellow you cannot help
but like him.. In the winter he is often
found in fiocks with chickadees and
nuthatches, and may be attracted close
to your house by suet placed in trees.
In the summer time he often comes
into the city on the search for insects
and may be seen frequently in the trees
by the side of the streets. He likes
to stay In the orchards best, for there
the insects are most abundant, and he
performs a great service to the trees in
devOuring their enemies His favorite
method of search Is to begin at the
bottom of the tree and ascend 1t round
and round till the top is reached and
then begin at the base of another and
do the same thing.
The bird has as little In voice and
action to attract az in color.
His call is clear and rather shrill,
easy enough to distinguish but by no
means forcing itself on the attention.:
and this note he utters only .occa3-
ionally.
He n his mate discover n am
other In, April. and are 'sat home In
they have made for themselves in a
dead stub OF q limb, though other sites
may be selected, if q stub Il not handy.
He prefers that 1t should not be very
high from the ground. From three to
six glossy white eggs are laid and the
parent birds take turns at incubat-
ing them during the IL days that are
required for Matching.
Practically all who have studied His
habits will agree that the downy is
the most useful Of all our w0odpeckers.
e RosEsREAsTEo cRos.
DEAk.