Kitabı oku: «Nests and Eggs of Birds of The United States», sayfa 9

Plate XVIII. – DENDROECA DISCOLOR, Baird. – Prairie Warbler

The Prairie Warbler is nowhere an abundant species. Throughout the eastern parts of the United States, from Massachusetts to Georgia, it is pretty generally, though somewhat irregularly, diffused. It is also found in Kansas, according to Mr. Allen, although unobserved by Dr. Coues in his western explorations.

Audubon claims to have met it in Louisiana, but his description of its nesting is so palpably inaccurate, that we are compelled to accept his statement with misgivings. Wilson obtained specimens in Kentucky, and to him the species is indebted for the very inappropriate appellation by which it is known. Nuttall regarded it a rare visitor in the New England States, yet subsequent observations do not confirm his opinion, but show, in Massachusetts especially, that it is rather common. In Eastern Tennessee and Northern Georgia, in the summer of 1880, Mr. Alexander M. Reynolds, of Germantown, Pa., met with numerous individuals, which had probably bred in those regions, but no nests were taken.

Although the town of Lynn, Mass., in latitude 42° 30', had hitherto been accepted as the northern limit of its breeding, yet it was reserved for H. D. Minot, Esq., to prove that the species often reached the latitude of Mt. Washington, nearly three degrees further north. Future explorations will doubtless show that its vernal migration often surpasses this limit, and reaches even to the Canadian dominions.

In the Middle Atlantic States the writer has obtained specimens early in May, and has observed in Southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, young birds just able to fly, but could never discover auy nests. Mr. Jolin Cassin, in his day, expressed the opinion that these birds certainly bred in the same State, near Philadelphia, as he frequently met with the young under similar circumstances. Nests have been taken in Central New York, but we have no evidence of its breeding in the adjoining State of Pennsylvania, although individuals have been seen in transitu.

Though chiefly a migrant in the United States, yet a few winter in Florida. But the larger part cross the Channel, after the breeding-season is over, and spend their time in the delightful islands which lie to the southward. Here, in January, these once beautiful birds may be seen in their winter garb sporting amid tropical or sub-tropical foliage, or hunting the insects that contribute to their bill of fare.

About the beginning of April, sometimes later, they deck themselves in their summer array, and while some sojourn in these Isles of the Blest where summer is perennial, and raise their charming little families, others pine for the cooler groves and fields of the North. Accordingly, about the tenth of April, all things being in readiness, and at a season when Nature is weeping herself away in rainy tears, the males apparently leading the way, the sexes bid adieu to the sights about them, and take their departure.

Their arrival in the Middle section of our country varies somewhat, and is dependent upon the season. During some years we have noted their appearance about the twentieth of April, when the weather was fine, and at other times not earlier than the first of May. In the vicinity of Washington, Dr. Coues has found them in pine-trees and cedar-patches, about the same time. Farther south, in Georgia, for example, the birds make their advent as early as the tenth of April, preferring the hillsides to open localities, but it is not until the second or the third week of May that they reach the New England States.

Few species of the family to which this Warbler belongs arrive sooner, and none are less shy and suspicious. For more than two weeks they are denizens of open plains and thinly-wooded regions, where they may be seen from sunrise until sunset, save during the sultry noontide hours, leisurely moving along the lowermost tree-branches, or among low bushes and herbaceous weeds by the roadside, in search of insects, all the while uttering, at brief intervals, their characteristic chirr. Near Boston they frequent "almost exclusively rocky pasture grounds and the 'scrub,'" and instances are recorded by Mr. Minot where shrubbery in cultivated grounds has been visited. According to Mr. Gosse, individuals have been seen to fly from wayside-bushes into the middle of the road, where, hovering in the air, at slight elevations above the ground, they were apparently engaged in the capture of dipterous insects.

But as the mating season approaches, the males become quite restless. They manifest less concern about food, and from some low eminence may be seen pouring forth their slender, filing notes, which, as Nuttall has represented, may be very aptly expressed by the suppressed syllables 'tsh-tsh-tsh-tshea. These notes cannot fail to attract attention, and, when once heard, are sure to leave a lasting impress on the mind. They are uttered in a peculiar tone, each being given in a louder key than the preceding, and frequently with a strange depression of the tail.

The little musicians, however, have not long to wait. For hours we have known some love-lorn minstrel of another species to sing his very soul away, without an answering note to repay him for all his trouble. The one for which he tuned his vocal pipe was too much occupied by other cares to be mindful of the delicious strains which were being wasted 011 the desert air. But not so in the present instance. The dear ones for whom they watch, and for whom they chant their sweetest, purest music, are not so far removed by hill and dale, by grove and plain, are not so absorbed in food-concerns, as not to hear the sounds which are being uttered for their sole pleasure. But obedient to the call, they cease their feeding, turn listening ears in the directions whence the sounds issue, and hearing once again, with pleasure-beaming eyes and swelling bosoms, seek the lonely haunts of their would-be-suitors. The joy of the males is now unbounded. They strike their harps afresh, and music, it seems, ten-fold more ravishing, is discoursed. The effect is charming. The gentle beings feel the notes pulsing through their rapt frames, and, all-unconscious, yield themselves willing subjects to their proud conquerors.

Thus it is that mating is accomplished. A few days spent in aimless wanderings and pleasure-seeking, and the happy pair are prepared to build themselves a home. For this purpose they visit in company some wild pasture-land or thinly-wooded tract, where, after a day or two occupied in prospecting, they decide upon some kind of bush or low tree in which to place it. The birds do not seem to be very particular as to the kind. In some localities, a wild rose-bush is preferred. In others, low barberry bushes, or the lower limbs of post-oaks, are rendered subservient.

The site, and the kind of bush or tree being chosen, the birds commence to build. The nest is non-pensile, and is fixed either in a forked branch, or is supported, as is the case when placed in a wild rose, by two or more branches. The elevation above the ground is usually from four to seven feet. No case has come to our knowledge where the latter height has been exceeded. The period of nesting varies according to locality. In Georgia nests have been found with eggs as early as the second of May, which would make it appear that they were constructed towards the close of the preceding month. In one instance, eggs were found as late as the tenth of June. It is probable that the birds commence labor about the first of May, in this section of the country, and sitting, a fortnight later. In New Jersey this essential business is delayed until the middle of this month, while in Massachusetts, it is not undertaken before the first week of June.

Having built their domicile, which is usually the work of a week, both birds laboring with praiseworthy diligence, and only intermitting operations when pressed by bad weather and the approach of night, the female commences to deposit her eggs. These are laid on consecutive days, at the rate of one a day. The time devoted to oviposition lasts from three to six days, and is dependent, upon the number which is to constitute a complement. As soon as the last deposit is made, the female takes the nest, and continues thereon, save when the male relieves her, for a period of eleven days, when she is rewarded for her patience and assiduity, by seeing and hearing a nest-full of callow fledglings. While the female is thus engaged, the male is busy among the branches of low bushes and saplings in search of small caterpillars and insects. Occasionally, he may be seen upon the shrub which supports the nest, apparently on the alert for intruders, which he signals by a low chirp. Should the nest be examined, he and his partner exhibit no outward signs of indignation or lamentation, but remain quietly in the neighborhood until the danger is past, when they return to their home. If the nest is ravaged, they set to work to replenish it, wasting little, if any, time over the contingencies of fate. In case of a second desecration, they quietly forsake the place, and if the season is not too far advanced, seek quarters elsewhere, where they endeavor to build a home and rear their offspring. On approaching the nest the female is very confiding, and exercises no precautions to guard against exposure, as is the case with many of our small birds. Nuttall gives a striking proof of this fact. On one occasion he removed two eggs from the nest, which he subsequently replaced. Each time, on withdrawal, she returned thither, but practised no stratagems to lure him away.

In their descriptions of the nests and eggs of this species both Wilson and Audubon are certainly at fault. They differ from more recent and reliable observations. The nest, as described by them, is never pensile, but is scarcely distinguishable from that of the Yellow Warbler. Xuttall, on the other hand, is not open to the same criticism. The nest which he describes, was placed in a forked branch, and formed of caterpillars' silk, strips of the inner bark of the red cedar, and fibres of asclepias. The inside was lined with the down of a species of everlasting.

A nest found by Mr. Welch, in Lynn, and described by Dr. Brewer, was built upon a wild rose, only a few feet above the ground. It was a compact and elaborately woven fabric, and was composed chiefly of soft inner bark of small shrubs, bits of dry rose leaves, wood, strips of vegetables, woody fibres, spiders' webs, decayed stems of plants, etc., on the outside, and was lined with fine vegetable fibres and a few horse-hairs. The outside diameter was two and a half inches, and the height, the same. The inside diameter was two inches; depth, one and a half. The above nest, in its general mode of construction, resembled all he had seen. In other nests he found only variations in composing materials. While some had dead and decayed leaves instead of fine strips of bark, others contained the remains of old cocoons, or the pappus of composite plants.

But the structure from which the drawing was made, was found June 4th, 1875, in the vicinity of Newton, Mass., by J. Warren, Esq. It was placed in a rose-bush, about three feet from the ground. Outside it is composed of bark of deciduous trees, vegetable fibres, spiders' webs, old cocoons, dry leaves, pappus of composite plants, and cotton ravellings. The inside is lined with the white silken fibres of the wild flax, constituting a rather dense layer, over which is placed a small stratum of black and white horse-hairs intermingled with vegetable fibres and the inner bark of woody plants. The external diameter is two and a half inches, and the height two. The cavity is one and three-fourths inches, and one and a half deep. In shape, the nest is nearly hemispherical, compactly and elaborately made, and, above all, constitutes a very snug and cosy structure. In these particulars it bears a very close resemblance to the nest of the Summer Yellow-bird, but differs in the character of the composing materials, there being less of the satiny fibres of the flax used in its workmanship.

The eggs are of an oval shape, pointed at one extremity, and measure .09 of an inch in length, and .49 in width. The ground-color is white, and over it are scattered spots of lilac and purple, as well as others of two shades of umber-brown. In all the specimens which we have examined from New England and Northern Georgia the spots are mostly accumulated about the larger half of the egg, those upon the smaller portion being finer and less numerous.

Plate XIX. – ZENAIDURA CAROLINENSIS, (Linn.) Bonaparte. – Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove, one of the best known of our American species, is quite generally diffused throughout the United States. It is found from the Gulf of Mexico to Colorado, and from the Atlantic westward to the Pacific Ocean. In the Northern States it is chiefly migratory; in the Middle Atlantic but partially so; while in the country south of Pennsylvania it is a winter resident, and manifests a tendency to gregariousness, flocks of hundreds, and even more, being seen during the winter in the woods of South Carolina and Georgia.

East of the Rocky Mountains, as well as in the vast region stretching westward, they occur in greater or less abundance. To be sure there are localities where they are notably scarce, but only in regions unblessed by Nature with suitable accommodations for nesting purposes, and with the essential means of subsistence.

In the South, breeding occasionally takes place early in March, but ordinarily not before the beginning of April. Not so in more northern sections. The eighth of March, which is also the time of their appearance in the Middle States, marks the period of their arrival in New England, although in Eastern Pennsylvania, during very backward seasons, their visit is often delayed until the fifteenth of April. But, in the extreme northern parts of our country, various circumstances combine to render their coming an event of later occurrence, for we find that they do not reach the States of Michigan and Wisconsin much before the twentieth of the month. The vicissitudes incident to change of climate and new environments all operate to prevent the assumption of matrimonial relations as early as in semi-tropical climes.

Upon arrival, they seem to abandon their gregarious habits, and appear only in pairs, seldom more than a half-dozen paired individuals being found in any square mile of territory. During the short period which elapses before building operations are begun, which lasts from three to four weeks, they occupy the time in feeding, in dusting themselves by the roadside, or in the enjoyment of each other's society.

Few species display, where undisturbed, greater confidence in man. It visits the farm-yard and consorts with the poultry, partaking of their food, and even repairs to the drinking-places of the cattle for water. In many localities it courts rather than shuns human society, and exists in a semi-domesticated state. While some of these birds thus deport themselves, others manifest much shyness, and keep away from the habitations of man. But these will mostly be found to be young birds, which have not been able to fling off the timidity which they have probably inherited.

A few years ago, in Eastern Pennsylvania, it was a rare occurrence to find a nest of this species in close proximity to houses. Nowadays it is seldom that one can be found remote therefrom. The kindly spirit which the humane farmer has been wont to show towards the species has doubtless been productive of these happy results. It is an astonishing fact, and one that is worthy of being recorded, that mischievous boys who have a penchant for disturbing the homes of other birds, for some unaccountable reason, permit these gentle creatures to pursue their household duties without fear or trouble. Perhaps their unassuming, trustful disposition, placid demeanor, and winning ways, have the effect of softening-rugged human natures, and thus securing them deserved respect. When the subject of our sketch is better known, it is gratifying to think, that much of the same spirit of kindness and mercy will be evinced elsewhere.

Having spent a few weeks in luxurious living and pleasure, and the season of house-keeping being nigh at hand, these birds forsake their accustomed haunts, abandon the epicurean lives which they have been leading, come, more and more into each other's society, and, at last, are brought to confer together on the important business which has called them away from their genial Southern homes. Though carried on in a tongue which is a stranger to our own, the object and meaning of the conference are not entirely enigmatical to us. The language of gestures which accompanies their dark sayings, supplies in a measure the key to the mystery, and enables us to judge thereof with tolerable accuracy.

The conference being over, there is no longer any doubt of the motives which inspired it. But before starting on this important mission of selecting a home-spot, the male must needs congratulate his loving mate on the success of the interview, and renew his pledges of love and fidelity. With dignified carriage and stately tread he parades himself before her, uttering all the while, in sad and plaintive tones, which poorly comport with his happy, sportive demeanor, his peculiar but unmistakable ah-côô-rôô-côô-rôô. These syllables are repeated in rapid succession, and often for three or four minutes at a time. During the intervals of nesting, and not unfrequently while oviposition and incubation are going on, the male is known to utter the same sounds; but when the trying duties of parentage demand his attention, he has neither the time nor the inclination to indulge in such pastime.

In the selection of a building-spot, but little discrimination is exercised. Almost any locality will answer the purpose. Generally an orchard, a pine-grove, a grain-field, or a swamp is chosen. With some the position seems to be of little moment, as nests are often found upon the tops of rail-fences, on stumps, in bushes, in depressions of the ground, as well as on trees. When an orchard is selected, the apple is preferred to any other fruit-tree. But in the East, the various species of pines outside of orchards are in supreme demand. In Texas, the mesquite tree is made to do service; while in California, according to Dr. J. G. Cooper, the willow and live oak. On the Plains, however, where there is a scarcity of trees, we are told that the nests are placed on the ground, and even, in some instances, in hollows in the sand, with the merest apology of a nest visible. Occasionally, in Eastern Pennsylvania, the structure is placed in a shallow depression, alongside of an unfrequented path, or in the centre thereof. Experience teaches that such situations are mostly the choice of young birds, or more properly speaking, of birds of the past season. Such sites have certainly some advantage over arboreal ones, for the obvious reason that much valuable time and labor are thus saved in the construction of nests. On the other hand, there is this disadvantage – namely, that they expose the inmates to the attacks of snakes and nocturnal animals of a predatory character, more so than those built upon bushes and trees.

In the building of a home both birds labor jointly. The male, for the sake of variety, often fetches the materials to his partner, which she adjusts. But generally each bird gathers the pieces for itself, and arranges them according to its own notions of beauty and symmetry. The time spent in the work seldom exceeds two days. Under favorable circumstances, and with praiseworthy diligence upon the part of the architects, the work could be done inside of a day. Many of the ground-structures, which, at the best, are but a few dry grasses loosely piled together, are only the labor of a few hours. Judging from the simplicity of the fabric, and the lack of design manifested, it ought not to require much time; but we must recollect that the birds are not continually occupied with the task during the day, and also that they are comparatively slow mechanics.

The nest is usually placed upon a wide, horizontal limb, with partially vertical branches on all sides, or between a crotch formed by a smaller twig meeting a larger one. The height above the ground varies from five to thirty feet, but most nests are placed at elevations ranging from eight to fifteen feet. Ordinarily these structures are composed of small twigs, chiefly pine, gathered from the ground. The pieces are scarcely more than one-fourth of an inch in thickness, and about four inches in length. In position they repose in layers arranged crosswise, and with a small downward tendency, so as to cause a central depression. Sometimes the first pieces are perfectly level for the space of an inch or more, and the necessary inclination is given to the topmost layers, which are made to dip towards the centre of the nest. Basally, the structure is four inches wide, but gradually increases to four and a half at the top. The height is two and a half inches, and the depth of the cavity often less than a half inch, and so shallow that the superior surfaces of the eggs actually extended above the level of the outside margin. So superficial is the cavity, in some cases, that the eggs and young are often jostled upon the ground when the wind blows with more than ordinary velocity. To obviate this difficulty, as much as possible, a tree is often chosen on the southern aspect of a hill, or in a place carefully protected by natural or artificial defences. From the elevated nest the ground-structure differs immaterially. This difference is to be observed not in size, nor in the manner of construction, but in composition. All nests which we have seen from places both east and west of our great central mountain system, have the ground-work of grass-stems, stubble, etc., loosely arranged, and are lined with fine culms and leaves of soft grasses. In the Plate the nest is considerably reduced, placed in the background, and on a branch of a species of pine. The female is also diminished, and represented as engaged in the duties of incubation; whereas the male, owing to his beauty of form and plumage, is given special prominence, and appears three-fourths of his natural dimensions.

In the Gulf States, Louisiana especially, according to Mr. Audubon, nesting generally begins in April, and sometimes as early as March. In Pennsylvania, frequently as early as the fifteenth of the former month, except in seasons which are unusually backward, when this important business is delayed until May. The fifteenth of this month marks the time in New England. In Illinois, and other Western States, it begins in early April, while along the Pacific coast, the period ranges from the first to the twentieth of May. Two broods are annually raised in most localities. The second does not, it seems, appear at any regular time, but may no show itself as early as the fifteenth of June, or as late as the middle of September, or during any intermediate period.

The nest being prepared for occupancy, on the ensuing day the female commences to deposit her first egg. This is followed by a second on the next day, when further efforts in this direction cease, and incubation at once proceeds. This lasts for fourteen days, and is chiefly the task of the female. Although the male occasionally takes the nest, yet his principal duty is to supply his mistress with food. When not thus occupied, he is seldom observed on the same tree, but stations himself close-by, where he is ready at all times to answer to her summons. Should the nest be approached by human enemies, the female makes no effort to protect it, but vacates in a. hurry, and silently contemplates, from a stump, or fence-rail, in the immediate vicinity, the intended desecration. The male, however, is more timid, and surveys the scene with the same quiet, sorrow-stricken expression, but from a safe distance. A few days of lamentation, and their troubles are in a measure forgotten. The disappointed couple, if the season be not too far advanced, not to be frustrated in their plans, now seek other quarters, where they hope to achieve the object of their mission in peace and prosperity. In places where the nest is not interfered with, the same spot is chosen on each return of the breeding-season.

There is one feature about these birds that should not be passed over. We refer to their fidelity. Unlike many females, our lady-bird disdains the meaningless flirtations which characterize the actions of so many of our smaller insessorial birds about the mating-time. In no way does she encourage the attentions of other birds, nor will she even tolerate them. The male is not behind his partner in this particular. To show his appreciation of her, a dozen times a day he comes before her presence, parades himself backward and forward in front of her admiring gaze, trails his wings, and, ever and anon, puffs himself up to more than his ordinary capacity. Assured of her pleasure, he temporarily abandons these pompous manouvres, and manifests his regard for her by thrusting his bill into her mouth and discharging therein the contents of his crop.

The love which the male lavishes upon his mate, is none the deeper and intenser than that which the sexes bestow upon their offspring. Few birdies are objects of more special regard upon the parental part. From morning until night the parents are constantly on the search for some racy tidbit to gratify their fastidious appetites. Beetles, spiders, and such like, which are savory articles of meat to a Robin and Bluebird, are not considered fit for these dainty creatures, who must needs be nurtured with food of a more kingly nature. Prepared food, as rich, as nutritious, doubtless, as the honey which the Brazilian Fairy imbibes from painted tulip and chaliced lily, are their portion. Nature does not prepare it as she does the nectar of flowers, and offer it up to their toothsome appetites, but she has endowed the authors of their being with the power so to do. Deep down in the innermost recesses of their bosom exists a churn, which learned men call the crop, and here it is prepared. This tempting food consists of a lacteous secretion and the macerated materials of the crop. Its preparation is the work not of the female exclusively, but of both parents. The method of feeding is quite interesting, and after the fashion of the common domestic pigeon. As in this case, either parent thrusts its bill into the mouth of the young, and by a process of regurgitation, forces the contents of its crop into the stomach of the latter. Nor does their food consist always of such a substance, but only during the first five or six days of their existence, for at the expiration of this time, various caterpillars of the measuring-worm family, and other smooth-skinned larvæ, are gathered, and after being completely killed and mashed, are fed to their rapacious appetites. When seventeen days old, the young are able to leave the nest. They are not, however, ready to seek their own fortunes until a fortnight later. Strange to say, the nest-full usually contains a bird of each sex – a beautiful and wise provision of Nature.

Having attained to maturity, the young still linger with the parents in the old, familiar haunts, until the season for departure arrives – about the middle of September – when they leave together. It is nothing uncommon to find several families associating with each other, forming some sort of society, in which the most perfect harmony and good-will prevail.

When captured, either in the young or adult stages, and confined within cages, these birds soon become reconciled to their lot, and make quite agreeable pets. They quickly recognize their keepers, and learn to come at their call. As to the matter of raising them, there does not seem to be any great difficulty. The different kinds of bird-seeds, rape and canary especially, being very nutritious, can be fed to them with splendid results. When vegetation is in season, chick-weed, grasses, and the tender leaves of the common cultivated salad, will be found equally successful. Care must be taken to see that they are also provided with plenty of gravel and fresh water. In confinement as many as four broods have been known to be raised. In his interesting volume on the "Birds and Seasons of New England," Mr. Flagg gives his experience. When a boy he came into possession of one of these birds. At the time of its capture, it was nearly ready to fly. A strictly farinaceous diet enabled him to bring it to maturity. As it grew, it became very tame, and resembled in its actions the young of a domesticated Dove. This bird was always allowed to wander at will. When hungry, it would fly off to a distance, and having satisfied the demands of its being, would regularly return to its accustomed quarters. At length it grew so docile, that it would often fly to its master and sit upon his hand. Other instances of a similar character might be mentioned, many of which have come under our own immediate observation, but we forbear.

The eggs of this Dove are of an elongated oval form, nearly symmetrical at each end, and of a pure-white color. A clutch from Pennsylvania measures respectively 1.18 by .87 and 1.20 by .88 of an inch. Specimens from Texas, California and Maine manifest not more than ordinary variations of size. The largest egg, out of four sets which were sent to us from the Pacific coast, has a length of 1.21 of an inch, and a width of .86; the smallest,97 by .84 inches. The same difference holds reasonably true with respect to samples from other localities.