Bird Biographies

THE AMERICAN CROW
Crow Family—Corvidæ

The AMERICAN CROW is too well-known to need a description—merely a reference to the steely-blue or dark purple sheen of his “crow-black” plumage, and to the remarkable power of his long (twelve-inch) wings, which in flight show feather finger-tips at their ends.

One cannot but admire his strength and his absolute fearlessness, nor fail to be amused at his cleverness and his insolent bravado. Two or three crows, cawing hoarsely, will people a woodland in winter; while a flock, winging its way to the naked March woods, will cause a thrill of joy and expectancy, in spite of the knowledge that the advent of these black marauders means eternal vigilance to long-suffering farmers.

Dr. Sylvester D. Judd at Marshall Hall, Maryland, made an exhaustive study of the crow’s food habits. He reported the following:

“The crow is by all means the worst pilferer of the cornfield. Every year at Marshall Hall, as elsewhere, a part of the field must be replanted because of his ‘pickings and stealings.’ In 1899, the replanting was more extensive than usual—46 per cent. of the 3½ bushels originally planted. This unusual ratio was probably caused by the failure of the cherry crop, which left the crow short of food.”

Dr. Judd told of the “protective devices of tarring corn,” which did not prevent the crows from pulling up the grain in large quantities, though they did not eat it. He continued:

“The injury to corn at other seasons than sprouting time is, as a general thing, comparatively insignificant, but in some years it has been important when the ears were in the milk. They then tear open the ears, and pick out the kernels in rapid succession. In the National Zoölogical Park at Washington during the summer of 1896, their depredations on an acre of corn were watched, and 50 per cent. of the crop was found to have been ruined.

“The only scarecrows that proved effective at Marshall Hall were dead crows, and strings stretched on poles around the field and hung with long white streamers. Although in fall the number of marauders is greatly increased by reënforcements from the North, ripe corn sustains less injury from crows than roasting ears. One reason is the abundance of fall fruit.

“Wheat suffers comparatively little. When it is ripening, cherries and sprouting corn divert the crow’s attention. After it is cut and gathered into the shock, however, they often join the English sparrows in removing the kernels. Oats are injured even less than wheat, though crows have been noticed feeding on them at harvest time.”

While the crow is considered the arch-criminal of the bird-world, Dr. Judd ascribed to him a good habit—that of the dissemination of wild seeds in an unusual manner. He wrote: “In November, 1899, a large flock on the wing was noticed in the distance, at a point opposite Fort Washington, several miles above Marshall Hall. They came on down the river in a line that at times stretched almost from one bank to the other. They circled several times and alighted on the shore. The flock numbered at least a thousand, and hoarse caws and croaks gave evidence that it was made up to some extent of fish crows.

“After the birds had remained on shore about fifteen minutes, they were put to flight by a farmer’s boy and flew on down the river. Going to the place where they had alighted, I found the sandy beach cut up for more than a hundred yards with their tracks. Many led out to the water, and floating black feathers here and there showed where baths had been taken.

“The most interesting trace of their sojourn, however, was several hundred pellets of fruit material, which they had ejected through their mouths and dropped on the ground. These pellets were about an inch in length and half an inch in diameter. They were of a deep purplish color, due to the fruit of woodbine, wild grape, and pokeberry, of which they were mainly composed. In 50 pellets collected there were only 11 seeds of other plants—namely, holly, bitter-sweet, and poison ivy. Pokeberry seeds were by far the most numerous. Mr. A. J. Pieters, of the Botanical Division of the Department of Agriculture, germinated some of them, thus demonstrating the fact that they were distributed uninjured.

“The pellets were made up not only of seeds and skins, but largely of fruit pulp in an undigested state. It seems strange that the birds should have rid themselves of a substance that still contained a good deal of nutriment.

“Little is known of the distribution of fruit seeds by crows during migration, but it is certain that they do this work effectively while they fly to and from the roosts where they congregate in winter, for their feeding grounds often cover an area stretching out on all sides from the roosts for 50 miles or more. It appears highly probable that the crows which are found in winter at Marshall Hall roost at Woodbridge, D. C., some 15 miles distant. There, in the midst of several acres of woodland, a crow dormitory is established, in which probably 100,000 crows sleep every winter night. It was visited in February, 1901, and the ground was found to be strewn with disgorged pellets.”[9]

The FISH CROW (16 inches long) is three inches smaller than the common crow. It has a more uniform iridescence above, and is greenish underneath. Its caw is hoarser and more nasal. Its range is from Connecticut and the lower Hudson southward, generally near the coast. It is abundant in Virginia, and near the city of Washington.

The FLORIDA CROW is similar to the American Crow, except that its bill and feet are larger, its wings and tail shorter.

THE RAVEN

The NORTHERN RAVEN so resembles the crow that it is often difficult to distinguish them. The chief differences are the raven’s much greater size (from 22 to 26½ inches), and its note, which sounds more like Croak than Caw. This is the raven found in Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland,—the bird especially revered by Alaskan Indians. It is found also in the northern United States,—in the state of Washington, in Minnesota, the Adirondacks, and elsewhere.

Major Charles Bendire, in his “Life Histories of North American Birds,” makes the following statements about the northern raven:

“It lives to a great extent on offal and refuse of any kind, and is generally most abundant in the immediate vicinity of Indian camps and settlements, which are mostly located on the seashore, or on the banks of the larger rivers in the interior where these birds act as scavengers. Hundreds of ravens may frequently be seen in the vicinity of the salmon-canning stations. Clams also form a part of their food; these are said to be carried some distance in the air and dropped on the rocks to break their shells. They also prey to no small extent on the young and eggs of different water-fowl.”

THE CARDINAL
Cardinal Grosbeak, Redbird, Virginia Nightingale

(Cardinals belong to the Grosbeak group of the large Finch or Sparrow Family, or the Fringillidæ.)

Length: About 8¼ inches; slightly smaller than the robin.

General Appearance: Brilliant rose-red plumage; crested head and thick beak.

Male: A soft cardinal red, except for a black throat, a black band encircling bill, and, in winter, a grayish tinge to wings. Bill large, heavy, and light red. Red crest conspicuous; it may be raised and lowered at will. Tail long and slender; it is twitched nervously and frequently.

Female: Brownish-gray above, yellowish underneath. Crest, wings, and tail reddish—the color especially noticeable in flight. Throat and band about bill grayish-black.

Call-note: A sharp, insistent tsip, tsip.

Song: A loud and clear, yet sweet and mellow whistle, cheer, cheer, he-u, he-u, he-u, repeatedly rapidly with descending inflection, and with nearly an octave in range. The female, unlike most of her sex in the bird-world, is also a fine singer; her soft melodious warble is considered by many listeners to be superior to the song of her mate.

Habitat: “Shrubbery is its chosen haunt, the more tangled the better. Here the nest is built and here they spend most of their days. Higher trees are usually sought only under the inspiration of song.”[10]

Range: From southeastern South Dakota, Iowa, northern Indiana and Ohio, southeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania, southern Hudson Valley, south to the Gulf States; a resident of Bermuda. Cardinals are not migratory.

Cardinals are especially numerous in our Southern States. They abound in Florida and Bermuda, where their brilliant coloring contrasts wonderfully with the light sands and the coral limestone. A cardinal singing in an hibiscus bush, laden with gorgeous red blooms, makes a never-to-be-forgotten memory; while a sight of one in a blossoming Virginia dog-wood tree or against a northern snow-scene is equally memorable. These birds are great favorites in the South, rivaling the mockingbirds in the affections of many people. In the North, a glimpse of a cardinal marks a red-letter day; and bird-lovers whose kind hands spread bountiful tables for winter residents, count themselves highly favored to have a pair of cardinals for their guests. Aside from the joy which their beauty and their song bring, they possess great practical value.

Mr. W. L. McAtee, of the Biological Survey, writes that about one-fourth of the cardinal’s food consists of destructive pests such as the worms which infest cotton plants, and numerous other caterpillars, besides grasshoppers, scale insects, beetles, and others. A large part of their food consists of the seeds of troublesome weeds and of wild fruits. “The bird has a record for feeding on many of the worst agricultural pests.”[11] No sins are laid at his door. “Cardinals are usually seen in pairs, but in winter they often collect in southern swamps and thickets, and flock to feeding-places near the haunts of man when food is scarce.”[12]

They were formerly trapped for cage-birds. They were so highly esteemed that they were in great demand even in Europe, where they received the name of the “Virginia Nightingale.” But trapping is now nearly abolished, and the wild, liberty-loving cardinal may roam as he will with the wife of his heart. Few birds are more ardent, jealous lovers, more tenderly devoted husbands, or more anxious, solicitous fathers than these beautiful, sweet-voiced redbirds.[12]

THE PINE GROSBEAK
Finch Family—Fringillidæ

Length: A little over 9 inches; slightly larger than his cousin, the cardinal, and nearly an inch smaller than the robin.

General Appearance: A red bird with brown and white wings, a brown tail, and a heavy beak.

Male: A bright raspberry-red, deepest on the head, breast, rump, and upper tail-coverts; the rest of the body a slaty gray, lighter underneath, with a soft red breast; wings dark brown, edged with white, forming two broad wing-bars; tail forked; beak large and strong, with a small hook at the end.

Female: Slaty gray, with head, rump, and upper tail-coverts olive-yellow where the male’s are red; under parts washed with yellow: wings and tail brown; wings edged with white; two wing-bars.

Young: Similar to female.

Song: A loud, clear whistle, given while on the wing. In spring, a melodious nesting song.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds in the tree-regions of Canada, in the White Mts., and Maine; winters south to Iowa, Indiana, Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, (and occasionally to the District of Columbia and Kentucky), westward to Manitoba, Minnesota, and Kansas.

This brilliant, handsome Pine Grosbeak is comparatively unknown in the United States, but wherever he appears as a rare visitor, he is hailed with enthusiasm or excitement because of his beautiful color. He resembles his cousin, the purple finch, in color and markings, but is much larger.

Thoreau says, “When some rare northern bird like the pine grosbeak is seen thus far south in the winter, he does not suggest poverty, but dazzles us with his beauty. There is in them a warmth akin to the warmth that melts the icicle. Think of these brilliant, warm-colored, and richly-warbling birds, birds of paradise, dainty-footed, downy-clad, in the midst of a New England, a Canadian winter.”[13]

The Pine Grosbeak “is of gentle, unobtrusive manner, almost entirely fearless of man’s approach, and always seems to be perfectly contented with its situation wherever encountered. A whole tree full of these birds may be seen feeding on the seeds of mountain ash berries, apples, or the buds of beeches. One may stand within a few feet of them for a long time without their taking any notice of one’s presence. They are slow and deliberate in manner. Their flight, however, is rather rapid and aggressive, slightly undulating.”[14]

They are silent, uninteresting birds, awkward in their movements. They are very hardy, and roam southward when the severe Canadian winters send them forth in search of food. Seeds of cone-bearing trees, sumac and mountain ash berries are their favorite winter diet. They return to their northern nesting places when few birds would consider it seemly to set up housekeeping.

THE AMERICAN OR RED CROSSBILL
Finch Family—Fringillidæ

Length: A little over 6 inches; slightly larger than the English sparrow.

General Appearance: A small, plump red bird, with brown wings, brown forked tail, and a bill crossed at the tip.

Male: Head and body a dull red, brownish on the back, and bright red above tail; wings brown, without white bars; tail brown and notched; bill with long strong mandibles that are crossed somewhat like a parrot’s.

Female: Head and body dull olive, with a yellowish wash—brightest on rump; head, back, and under parts mottled with black.

Call-note: A short, clear, metallic whistle.

Song: A gentle warble, varied, and agreeable to hear.

Flight: Undulating.

Habitat: Coniferous forests, preferably.

Range: Northern North America. Breeds from central Alaska, and northern Canada south to the mountains of California, to Colorado, Michigan, and in the Alleghanies of Georgia, occasionally in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia.

Red Crossbills are truly the “Wandering Jews” of the bird-world. They are erratic nomads, living in flocks, and roaming where fancy leads or necessity impels them. They pitch their tents and raise their broods wherever they may happen to be sojourning in late winter or early spring, even though many miles south of their natural breeding places. Dr. Elliot Coues writes: “Their most remarkable habit is that of breeding in the winter, or very early in the spring, when one would think it impossible that their callow young could endure the rigors of the season.” He mentions a nest taken in Maine in February, and another in Vermont so early in March that the ground was covered with snow and the weather was very severe.[15]

They make no regular migrations, spring or fall, but like will-o’-the-wisps appear and vanish, affording one of the most delightful surprises to be found in nature. To see one of them, accompanied by his olive-green mate, swinging from a spruce bough against a flaming sunset sky or a snowy landscape, is an event in one’s life.

Crossbills are denizens of coniferous forests. Their twisted or crossed bills are peculiarly adapted to extracting seeds from pine and spruce cones, though they eat berries, fruit, grass seeds, and cankerworms in season. Because of their curiously twisted beaks, these birds have always been regarded with peculiar interest, even with superstition. Longfellow has preserved for us the German legend regarding this bird in his poem:

THE LEGEND OF THE CROSSBILL

THE WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL

The White-winged Crossbill is similar to the Red Crossbill, but its body is a dull crimson instead of red, and its black wing-feathers are so tipped with white as to form two broad white wing-bars. The female is olive-green, gray underneath, with a yellow rump, dark wings and tail, white wing-bars, and dark streaks on head, breast, and back.

This crossbill breeds in Canada, south to the Adirondacks, White Mountains, and Maine. Its note is a soft cheep; its song a gentle warble. To see a flock of these birds feeding silently in a grove of spruces or hear them singing their low sweet song makes a memory cherished by bird-lovers. They may be seen in winter as far south as North Carolina.

THE JUNCO OR SLATE-COLORED SNOWBIRD
Finch Family—Fringillidæ

Length: About 6¼ inches; slightly smaller than the English sparrow.

General Appearance: Trim, dainty little birds, all gray and white, except for a pinkish or flesh-colored bill. White outer tail-feathers, showing in flight, are distinguishing marks.

Male: Dark slate-gray above and white below. The gray extends to the center of the breast in a nearly horizontal line, and with the white under parts, gives the effect of the birds’ having waded breast-deep in the snow, or having been sliced in two, like the “sliced animals” of our childhood. Sides grayish; wings slightly darker; tail dark brown, with two outer feathers white; third feather, partly white; bill heavy, adapted to a diet of seeds.

Female: Similar to male, only brownish-gray. Winter plumage of all juncos browner than summer plumage.

Young: Light brownish, streaked with black.

Note: A gentle tseep, tseep, and a smack, smack, of alarm or distress.

Song: A tender, sweet trill in the spring. Though monotonous, the song is very pleasing.

Habitat: Groves of conifers; thickets of bushes or vines, or clumps of weeds.

Nest: Juncos’ nests are built of mosses or grasses on or near the ground. The speckled eggs and the streaked babies are excellent examples of protective coloring. The nests are sometimes placed very near houses, if the surroundings are to the liking of the birds.

Range: Eastern and northern North America. Breeds from the tree-limit of Alaska and Canada southward to northern United States,—northern Minnesota, central Michigan, Maine, the mountains of New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts; winters throughout eastern United States and southern Canada to the Gulf Coast.

The Carolina Junco, nesting in the southern Appalachian mountains, is a subspecies, differing but very slightly in color.

Juncos are gentle, attractive little creatures that come to our thickets when the chill of autumn has driven away our insectivorous birds. Being seed-eaters, they do not fear winter snows, except those that cover tall weeds. According to Professor Beal, juncos should be rigidly protected. They not only destroy large quantities of weed seeds, thereby rendering service to agriculture, but they eat harmful insects, of which caterpillars are their favorite. They do no damage to fruit or grain.[17]

Mr. Forbush writes of the junco as follows: “The Snowbird does not often breed in Massachusetts, excepting on the higher lands of the north-central and western parts of the State. Pairs are said to nest occasionally in ice-houses, which are certainly cool, if not suitable situations. It is a bird of the Canadian fauna, and it winters in Massachusetts whenever conditions are favorable. In the southeastern portion of the State, where the ground is bare in sheltered places through much of the winter, or where weed seed, chaff, and other food can be secured, this bird is common in the colder months. Its notes at this season are chiefly sparrow like chirps.

“A flock of these dark birds on the new-fallen snow is an interesting sight on a cold winter’s day, as they come familiarly about the house or barnyard. Audubon says that in winter they burrow in stacks of corn or hay for shelter at night during the continuance of inclement weather. As spring comes they begin to sing much like the Chipping Sparrow. They converse together with a musical twittering, and about the first of May they leave for their northern breeding-ground.”[18]

THE SNOWFLAKE OR SNOW BUNTING
Finch Family—Fringillidæ

Length: A little less than 7 inches; slightly larger than the junco and the English sparrow.

General Appearance: A brown, black, and white bird; the white is conspicuous on wings and tail, especially in flight. The bird has a characteristic way of “hugging the ground” when walking or running—it does not hop.

Male and Female: In winter: head brown on top, lighter on neck; white on sides of head, with a brown thumb-mark below eye; back brown, streaked with black; throat and belly white; a broad brownish band across breast; a brownish wash on sides and rump; wings black and white, some of the feathers edged with brown—in flight, the wings appear white, broadly tipped with black; inner tail-feathers black, outer feathers white. In summer: back and shoulders black, the rest of the body white; wings and tail black and white.

Notes: Thoreau calls their note “a rippling whistle.” He says also, “Besides their rippling note, they have a vibratory twitter, and from the loiterers you hear quite a tender peep.”[19]

Habitat: The tundras of North America. Snow buntings breed in the treeless regions of the North; they migrate southward during the winter.

Range: Northern Hemisphere. In North America, they breed from 83° north (including Greenland), to the northern part of Canada and Alaska; winter from Unalaska and south-central Canada to northern United States, irregularly to northern California, Colorado, Kansas, southern Indiana and Ohio, and Florida.

Snow Buntings, or “Brown Snowbirds” as they are called to distinguish them from the juncos, or “Gray Snowbirds,” are not generally known because of the infrequency and irregularity of their visits. They belong to the Sparrow family, but have so much black and white on their wings and tail as to appear very unlike their relatives.

Snowflakes are gentle, fearless little birds, possibly because they come from the sparsely settled regions of the North, where they need not learn to fear human beings. Like chickadees, they appear to love driving storms, and to frolic during February blizzards with as keen delight as warmly clad children; like tree sparrows, they are protected by a layer of fat that keeps out the cold. As they, too, are seed-eaters, snow buntings must journey southward during the winter to regions where deep snows do not bury the weeds.

Few people are aware that in the treeless plains of the north there lives a bird that resembles the much-admired skylark of England in its way of singing. Both snow buntings and skylarks begin to sing as they rise from the ground, sing while on the wing or high up in the air, then drop swiftly to the ground.

Dr. Judd writes as follows about the snowbird: “The snowflake is a bird of the arctic tundra, above the limit of tree growth. In North America it breeds about Hudson Bay, in the northernmost parts of Labrador and Alaska, and to the northward. In its northern home it is a white, black-blotched sparrow, of whose habits very little is known, except that it makes a feather-lined nest on the ground, in which it rears four or five young on a diet which probably consists principally of insects. After the breeding season, however, a buffy brown comes mixed with the black and white, and the birds assume a more sparrowlike aspect. They migrate southward with the first severe cold weather, some of them coming as far south as the northern half of the United States, where their appearance is regarded as a sure sign that winter has begun in earnest. Often a flock of a thousand will come with a blizzard, the thermometer registering 30° to 40° below zero; and in their circling, swirling flight, as they are borne along by the blast, they might well be mistaken at a distance for veritable snowflakes. They settle in the open fields and along railroad tracks, where they secure some food from hayseed, grain that has sifted out of the grain cars, and seeds of weeds that grow along the tracks. Here they remain until April, when, in obedience to the migrating instinct, they journey north to nest on the treeless plains of the arctic regions.

“The snowflake differs from many other winter sparrows, such as the tree sparrow, junco, and white-throated sparrow, in that its flocks act more nearly as units, the alarm of a single member causing the whole flock to whirl up into the air and be off. A further difference may be noted in its strictly terrestrial habits. When not flying, it is almost invariably found on the ground; and when it does happen to alight in a tree, awkward wobblings betray its discomfort. Where the feeding conditions are favorable, immense flocks of snowflakes may be seen apparently rolling like a cloud across the land, this curious effect being due to the rear rank continually rising and flying forward to a point just in advance of the rest of the flock.”[20]

Dr. Judd says that little information can be given concerning the summer food of this bird, but that it probably feeds on the seeds of shore or marsh plants. The winter food consists of grain, mostly gleanings or waste, and of weed seed which is consumed in enormous quantities. “On account of its good work as a weed destroyer and the apparent absence of any noticeably detrimental food habits, the snowflake seems to deserve high commendation, and should receive careful protection.”

THE TREE SPARROW OR WINTER CHIPPY
Finch Family—Fringillidæ

Length: A little over 6 inches; about the size of the English sparrow.

General Appearance: A small brown bird with a gray breast that has an indistinct black spot in the center.

Male and Female: Crown reddish-brown; a gray line over the eye, a reddish-brown line back of eye; gray below eye; a reddish-brown streak curving from bill; bill short and thick; back brown, streaked with black and buff; wings dark brown, edged with white, and with two white wing-bars; tail brown, slightly forked, outer feathers edged with white; sides brownish, other under parts white; the black spot in the center of the breast, the identification mark.

Notes: Cheerful twitters and chirps.

Song: A sweet, gentle trill, very delightful to hear.

Habitat: Fields, especially those bordered by bushes that can be used as shelter at night and as a refuge from enemies.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds in northern and central Canada; winters from southern Minnesota and southeastern Canada to eastern Oklahoma, central Arkansas, and South Carolina.

THE TREE SPARROW

Such are the rollicking little Tree Sparrows, that whirl into our vision like an eddy of brown leaves. To the untrained observer, they are “just sparrows,” but to the “seeing eye” they are altogether more dainty and refined than English sparrows, and have different markings. Their little brown caps, the gray line over their bright eyes, their brown backs, white wing-bars, pale gray breasts and forked tails resemble those of their little cousins, the chipping sparrows. But the soft grayish-black spot on each tree sparrow’s breast is a difference. Careful comparison with the “Chippy” will show no straight black line extending from the eye, but a brown curve behind the eye that joins the one extending from the bill.

The voices of winter chippies are infinitely sweeter than those of the door yard chippies and their English relatives. Their note is sweet and joyous. Mr. Forbush writes of their song as follows: “Tree Sparrows are among the few birds that can ‘look our winters in the face and sing.’ They are occasionally heard singing in November and December and late in February, when deep snow covers the ground. The song is among the sweetest of sparrow notes, but not very strong. It slightly resembles that of the Fox Sparrow. Like other sparrows they chirp and twitter from time to time, but the full chorus of a flock in winter is a sound worth going far to hear.”[21]

Dr. Judd says: “The tree sparrow breeds in Labrador and the Hudson Bay region and westward to Alaska. In the fall the birds come down from the north in immense throngs and spread over the United States as far south as South Carolina, Kansas, and Arizona. During the winter, in company with juncos, white-throats, white-crowns, and fox sparrows, they give life to the hedgerows, tangled thickets, and weed patches.... The food of the tree sparrow during its stay in the United States is almost entirely made up of seeds. The bird shows an essential difference from its associates, however, in its large consumption of grass seed, fully half of its food consisting of this element.... Nearly two-thirds of the vegetable food that is not grass seed is derived from such plants as ragweed, amaranth, lamb’s quarters, ... and a variety of seeds such as wild sunflower, goldenrod, chickweed, purslane, wood sorrel, violet, and sheep sorrel.”[22]

Professor Beal says that the oily seeds of such plants as ragweed cause the little bodies of tree sparrows to be encased in “a layer of fat constituting a set of under-flannels from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch in thickness all over the bird’s body.” They are so warmly dressed that it is no wonder they are happy, cheerful, and active. A sight of them in a beautiful, snowy meadow is enough to repay one for the trouble of a quest.

Pine siskins, REDPOLLS, SONG SPARROWS, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, PURPLE FINCHES, and GOLDFINCHES are other species of the large Finch family, or Fringillidæ, that may be seen during the winter months.

The Pine siskin or PINE FINCH is a small brownish-gray bird streaked with black, and with buff edges to many of its feathers. The yellow in the wings and in the forked tail will distinguish it.

The REDPOLL is a little brownish-gray bird with a red forehead, reddish breast and rump, black chin and throat. It has distinct dark streaks on its head, back, and under parts, except the breast. There are several species varying slightly in size and markings.

The Song Sparrow is described on page 106, the White-throat on page 154, the Purple Finch on Page 159, the Goldfinch on page 216.

THE BOBWHITE OR QUAIL
American Partridge Family—Odontophoridæ

Length: About 10 inches; the same length as the robin, but the quail has a stouter body and a shorter tail.

General Appearance: A plump, mottled brown bird, with a small head, short bill, and short tail.

Male: Upper parts reddish-brown and chestnut-brown, mottled with black, gray, and buff; head slightly crested; forehead and line above eye white, line extending to neck; black patch below eye, that curves to enclose white throat and forms a band below it; under parts whitish, barred with black, except upper part of breast which is reddish-brown; tail short, gray, mottled with buff and a few black flecks.

Female: Similar to male, except for buff patch over eye and buff throat, and less black on head, neck, and across breast. In summer, the crown of both sexes is darker than in winter; the buff markings are lighter in color.

Note: Bob-white? Bob-bob-white? A very clear, sweet, musical whistle.

Habitat: Grassy meadows and cultivated fields; farmyards, thickets, and swamps during the winter.

Range: Eastern North America, from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast and northern Florida and west to eastern Colorado. Usually a resident.

In Florida, except in the north, is found the FLORIDA BOBWHITE, a smaller and darker species. A quail is called a partridge in the south. The CALIFORNIA QUAIL, one of several western species, is very different in appearance from the eastern quail. It has a nodding plume on its head and is largely black, white, and brownish-gray.

No birds of my acquaintance, unless it be bluebirds, goldfinches, chickadees, and thrushes, seem so lovable, so interesting, and so altogether desirable as quail. Our summer meadows would lose much of their charm without the cheery “Bob White” ringing across them.

The character of human beings is shown in their voices; that of birds seems likewise revealed. The note of the quail breathes sweetness, tenderness, joy in life, and deep contentment. Unless need of food compels it, the killing of these nearly human creatures seems to me like the “Slaughter of the Innocents.”

Few birds are so devoted to their mates or to their young as the quail. Many human parents are less alive to parental responsibilities. It is a well-known fact that while Mother Quail is sitting upon her second nestful of a dozen or more eggs, Father Bob assumes the entire care of the large, restless, older brood.

Most birds love their mates and their young, but quail seem to have affection for their brothers and sisters, also. The parents and the two broods sometimes remain together during the winter. When one member of the family is lost, the others give their tender covey-call, to lure home the prodigal. There are few sweeter sounds in nature. Mr. Forbush says: “When the broods are scattered by the gunner, they are reassembled again by a whistled call of the old bird, which has been given, ‘ka-loi-kee, ka-loi-kee,’ and is answered by the whistled repeated response, ‘whoil-kee.’ The syllables almost run together. The first call is uttered with a rising and the other with a falling inflection. It is plainly the rallying call and the answering cry.”[23]

Dallas Lore Sharp, in his charming book “Wild Life Near Home,” refers to the covey-call as follows: “It was the sweetest bird-note I ever heard, being so low, so liquid, so mellow that I almost doubted if Bob White could make it. But there she stood in the snow with head high, listening anxiously. Again she whistled, louder this time; and from the woods below came a faint answering call, White! The answer seemed to break a spell; and on three sides of me sounded other calls. At this the little signaler repeated her efforts, and each time the answers came louder and nearer. Presently something dark hurried by me over the snow and joined the quail I was watching. It was one of the covey I had heard call from the woods.

“Again and again the signal was sent forth, until a third, fourth, and finally a fifth were grouped about the leader. There was just an audible twitter of welcome and gratitude exchanged as each new-comer made his appearance. Once more the whistle sounded; but this time there was no response across the silent field.”

Young quail are very precocious. They are able to run about soon after they are hatched. They early learn how to hide and “freeze.” A friend told me of coming suddenly upon a brood. The mother gave a call and all fled instantly, except one that turned into a little brown wooden image under a leaf at his feet. He picked it up and held it in his hand. Not a motion did it make until its mother gave a second call, when it shot out of his hand like a flash.

Another friend told me of her experience in finding a lost baby-quail. It was too little and too weak to keep up with the family—was probably the last born. It was so tired and distressed that when she knelt down and placed her cupped hand near it, the poor little thing ran to it, nestled down, and shut its eyes. She discovered the brood and carried the baby over to join its family, but it seemed loath to leave her. Three times it ran back to the warm shelter of her hand. She could hardly bear to abandon it to the life that seemed more than it could endure.

Dr. Judd made a careful study of the bobwhite. The following extracts are from his report: “It is the general opinion that with the on-coming of winter the bobwhite is found less often in the open fields, when withered herbaceous plants afford but scant protection from enemies, than in dense bushy, briery coverts and woods. In Maryland and Virginia, the scattered and depleted coveys after the shooting season evidently unite into large bevies. Their favorite resort is a bank with a southern exposure and suitable food-supply.

“Robert Ridgway found a clutch of freshly deposited eggs in southern Illinois on October 16, and H. C. Munger found another set in Missouri in January, the parent being afterwards found frozen on the nest. Authentic records show that bobwhite has been known to breed, at least occasionally, somewhere in its range every month in the year....

“In Maryland and Virginia large land-owners often feed their birds in severe weather. Wheat and corn are the best food and should be scattered, if possible, among the briers where the birds are safe from hawks. Bobwhites have been known to feed with chickens in barnyards. By a little forethought land-owners and sportsmen can easily make provision for their birds. Sumac bushes should be left along hedgerows and the edge of woodland to furnish food that is always above the snow and lasts well into spring.... The bayberry and wax-myrtle last until May, also.

“The food habits of the bobwhite are noteworthy in several respects. Vegetable matter has long been known to be an important element in the food of the bobwhite. Grain-eating birds are likely to do much harm to crops.... The bobwhite is a notable exception. Not a single sprouting kernel was found in the crops and stomachs of quail examined.”[24]

Dr. Judd enumerates eighty-eight varieties of weed seeds that are eaten by quail, and states an amazing number eaten at one time. “One bird shot at Marshall Hall had eaten 1000 ragweed akenes; another contained [quantities of] leguminous seeds, mainly tick-trefoil; a third had eaten 5000 seeds of green foxtail grass, while a fourth had taken about 10000 [infinitesimal] pigweed seeds.”[24]

As an insect-destroyer the bobwhite is of enormous value. During the summer, insects form more then one-third of its food. Over one hundred varieties had been discovered by examination of the stomachs of quail in 1905, an unusually large proportion of which were highly injurious to crops. Mr. Forbush thinks that no farmer in Massachusetts can afford to shoot a quail or allow it to be shot on his land, and that if the markets must be supplied, quail must be reared artificially.