Bird Biographies

THE RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
Nuthatch Family—Sittidæ

The Red-breasted Nuthatch is very similar to its white-breasted cousin except that it is smaller, (4½ to 5 inches), and is yellowish or “rusty” underneath, (except for a white throat), has a white stripe on each side of its black crown, and a black stripe extending through the eye. The head of the female is gray, with white and gray stripes.

This species is not so well known as the white-breasted nuthatch, because it frequents coniferous forests or woods that contain evergreens. It breeds from the Upper Yukon Valley, central Canada, and northern United States, and winters as far south as lower California, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Gulf Coast.

Mr. Allen says of this bird: “To those who know it the Red-breasted Nuthatch is dear out of all proportion to its size and its musical attainments. It is livelier than its big cousin, and prettier in its markings, and there is something particularly fetching about its quaint little form. It is even less of a songster than the white-breasted species, for prolongations and repetitions of its call-note seem to be all it has that can pass for a song. This call-note can be rendered as äap. It is nasal, like that of the White-breasted Nuthatch, but much higher in pitch, more drawling, and lacks the r. It has been happily likened to the sound of a tiny trumpet or tin horn.

“The habits of the Red-breasted Nuthatch are so like those of the White-breasted that much that I have said about that species is applicable to this. The most striking difference is in the favorite haunts of the two birds, the Red-breasted preferring the coniferous woods, or mixed woods that contain a large proportion of evergreens. In those winters when they are found in southern New England, they come freely to the neighborhood of man’s dwellings and feed familiarly on the supplies provided for the winter birds, but even there they show their partiality for coniferous trees. They are particularly fond of the seeds of pines and spruces, so that they are much more vegetarian than their white-breasted cousins. They have the same habit of hiding their savings in cracks and crevices.”[44]

THE BROWN CREEPER
Creeper Family—Certhiidæ

Length: About 5½ inches.

Male and Female: Brown above, mottled with gray, buff, and white; under parts white. A whitish line over eye; bill long, curved; a bar of buff across wings; tail-feathers long, sharply pointed; upper tail-coverts bright reddish-brown.

Note: A faint, monotonous, skreek-skreek, skreek-skreek.

Song: According to Brewster, the brown creeper sings an unusually sweet song during the nesting season.

Habitat: Tree-trunks, which are carefully inspected by these industrious birds.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from Nebraska, Indiana, the mountains of North Carolina and Massachusetts north to southern Canada; also in the mountains of western North America from Alaska to Nicaragua; winters over most of its range.

The Brown Creeper should inherit the earth, for he is one of the most perfect examples of meekness that may be found. Small, slight, self-effacing, untiring in his work, he reminds one of a quiet industrious person who performs unremittingly small tasks that amount to a large total.

He is a searcher for insect-eggs, and for insects so small that they might escape the notice of eyes not peculiarly fitted to espy them. His long bill is slender enough to slip into crevices which neither nuthatches nor woodpeckers investigate. Possibly it is because he selects such tiny particles of food that he must work so industriously in order to get enough to eat. He seems always in a hurry. Mr. Frank Chapman has humorously described the brown creeper as follows:

“After watching him for several minutes, one becomes impressed with the fact that he has lost the only thing in the world he ever cared for, and that his one object in life is to find it. Ignoring you completely, with scarcely a pause, he winds his way in a preoccupied, near-sighted manner up a tree-trunk. Having finally reached the top of his spiral staircase, one might suppose he would rest long enough to survey his surroundings, but like a bit of loosened bark he drops off to the base of the nearest tree and resumes his never-ending task.”[45]

The creeper is not easy to find. He is so wonderfully protected by his dull brown feathers that he looks more like an animated lichen than a bird. His nest is a cleverly camouflaged affair, tucked behind loose bark and often containing eight whitish eggs about the size of beans.

We are surprised to learn that this patient, hard-working little creature has the soul of a poet. His sweet nesting song, reserved for his mate brooding in the woods, breathes exquisite tenderness and beauty.

THE STARLING
Starling Family—Sturnidæ

Length: About 8½ inches.

General Appearance: A short-tailed, long-billed black bird with flecks of brown that look like freckles.

Male and Female: Head purple, flecked with light brown spots; body purple and green, the purple predominating on back and sides, the green on the breast. In summer, the upper parts and sides are speckled, the breast and belly dark, and the bill yellow. In winter, the upper parts are spotted with light brown, the under parts with white; the bill is brown until January, when it begins to turn yellow.

Notes: Squeaks and gurgles, interspersed with pleasant musical notes. A flock of starlings make a great deal of noise.

Range: Numerous starlings live in the Eastern Hemisphere. A number of them were brought to America in 1890 and released in Central Park, New York City. They have increased in number and enlarged their range greatly. They have spread northward and southward; they are now reasonably common near Boston and Washington, as well as New York and other places in the East.

In the winter, starlings are easily identified, because they are the only black birds smaller than crows to be found in some localities. In the spring, they may be readily distinguished from grackles because they have yellow bills, dark eyes, and short, square tails, while grackles have dark bills, yellow eyes, and long tails. Both starlings and grackles are iridescent; a near view reveals the spotted plumage of the starlings and the iridescent bars on the backs of the purple grackles.

Major Bendire says that starlings possess unusual adaptability and can make their nests in a great variety of places. Accusations are brought against them for driving away bluebirds and even flickers. It remains to be seen how much harm is done to our native birds in this way.

There are different opinions regarding the economic value of Old World starlings. Mr. Forbush tells of an Australian locust invasion near Ballarat, Victoria, which made terrible havoc with crops. “It was feared that all the sheep would have to be sold for want of grass, when flocks of Starlings, Spoon-bills, and Cranes made their appearance and in a few days made so complete a destruction of the locusts that only about forty acres of grass were lost.” Mr. Forbush gives also “the experience of the forest authorities in Bavaria during the great and destructive outbreak of the nun moth which occurred there from 1889 to 1891. The flight of Starlings collected in one locality alone was creditably estimated at ten thousand, all busily feeding on the caterpillars, pupæ and moths. The attraction of Starlings to such centers became so great that market-gardeners at a distance felt their absence seriously.”[46]

In an article by E. R. Kalmbach of the Biological Survey, published in “The Auk” of April, 1922, and entitled “A Comparison of the Food Habits of British and American Starlings,” occur the following statements by Dr. Walter E. Collinge, the eminent Scotch biologist:

“The Starling offers a most serious menace to the production of home-grown food, and any further increase in its numbers can only be fraught with the most serious consequences.” He says also, “For many years past there has been taking place a sure but gradual change of opinion with reference to the economic status of the Starling, for from one of our most useful wild birds it has become one of the most injurious. Its alarming increase throughout the country threatens our cereal and fruit crops, and the magnitude of the plague is now fully realized.” He states further, “There is fairly reasonable evidence to show that in the past the bulk of the food consisted of insects and insect larvæ, slugs, snails, earthworms, millepedes, weed seeds, and wild fruits; in more recent years, this has been supplemented by cereals and cultivated fruits and roots.”

Mr. Kalmbach reports a better record for the starling in America, and refers to the decision made by the Department of Agriculture, reported in Bulletin 868:

“Most of the Starling’s food habits have been demonstrated to be either beneficial to man or of a neutral character. Furthermore, it has been found that the time the bird spends in destroying crops or in molesting other birds is extremely short compared with the endless hours it spends searching for insects or feeding on wild fruits. Nevertheless, no policy would be sound which would give the bird absolute protection and afford no relief to the farmer whose crops are threatened by a local overabundance of the species.... The individual farmer will be well rewarded by allowing a reasonable number of Starlings to conduct their nesting operations on the farm. Later in the season a little vigilance will prevent these easily frightened birds from exacting an unfair toll for services rendered.”

THE NORTHERN SHRIKE OR BUTCHER-BIRD
Shrike Family—Laniidæ

Length: A little over 10 inches.

Male and Female: Gray above, lighter underneath; forehead, rump, and upper tail-coverts white; wings black, irregularly marked with white; tail black, bordered with white; a heavy black streak extending from the bill beyond the eye; bill hooked and blackish.

Notes: A call-note and a sweet song.

Habitat: Fields or roadsides where it can find insects, small rodents, and little birds for its prey.

Range: Northern North America. Breeds from northwestern Alaska and northern Canada to the base of the Alaskan Peninsula, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec; winters south to central California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Kentucky, and Virginia.

The LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, a resident of the Southern States, is similar to the Northern Shrike but smaller. It is found from southern Florida to North Carolina and west to Louisiana. Northward this species is represented by the MIGRANT SHRIKE, nesting locally from Virginia and eastern Kansas to the southern border of Canada.

Shrikes or Butcher-Birds are attractive to look at, but have a habit which renders them extremely unpopular. They pursue small rodents and little birds and impale them upon sharp twigs, thorns, or barbed wire fences. In excuse for these cruel acts, it must be said that they have not strong, sharp talons like hawks and owls; in order to tear their prey to pieces, there must be a way of holding it firmly.[47] One agrees with Mr. Forbush, however, in his estimate of the habit. He says:

“The Shrike or Butcher-Bird is regarded as beneficial; but our winter visitor, the Northern Shrike, kills many small birds. It pursues Tree Sparrows, Juncos, Song Sparrows, and Chickadees, overtakes and strikes them while they are in flight, sometimes eating them, but oftener leaving them to hang on trees, where they furnish food for other birds. When one sees the little Butcher killing Chickadees and hanging them up, his faith in its usefulness receives a great shock. Shrikes are probably of less value here than in their northern homes, where in summer they feed much on insects. Their chief utility while here [in Massachusetts] consists in their mouse-hunting proclivities.”[47]

Their habit of killing English sparrows and thus getting rid of a nuisance has been commended. Shrikes are likewise destroyers of grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, and other insects.

“Like birds of prey and some other birds, the Butcher-Bird habitually disgorges the indigestible part of its food after digesting the nutritive portion. The bones and hair of mice are rolled into compact pellets in the stomach before being disgorged.”[48]

DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOGRAPHIES
OF
OUR EARLY SPRING BIRDS
PART THREE

EARLY SPRING BIRDS

On a mild day late in February or early in March, before winter is really over and snow has entirely disappeared, one may hear the cheerful voice of the song sparrow, the welcome chirp of the robin, or the sweet note of the bluebird. Even though ice and snow return, courage is renewed with the advent of winged messengers who presage the ever fresh miracle of spring, and who hold home-love in their hearts so strong that they brave cold and distance to return to the “Land of Their Hearts’ Desire.”

As the season advances, other birds arrive. A “dusky line” of wild geese “honk” noisily; flocks of grackles “creak” from the pines; red-winged blackbirds join the hylas in awakening the marshes; phœbes call disconsolately for their mates; fox sparrows, chewinks, and white-throats sing melodiously from thickets; cowbirds appear in fields, which ring with the clear songs of meadowlarks and the tender notes of field and vesper sparrows. Mourning doves coo gently to each other; chipping sparrows make their homes in our gardens; kingfishers sound their rattles; flickers and red-headed woodpeckers raise their loud voices. The hills “clap their hands with joy”; the earth shows a flush of green and gold; trees and shrubs are touched with colors more exquisite than in autumn; wild-flowers carpet the woods and fields, and brooks join in the chorus of bird-song.

As the birds appear, it is not difficult to distinguish them, if one begins before the great migration of late April or early May, and goes forth with alert senses and infinite patience and perseverance. With a reliable guide-book, a learner may be reasonably sure of the early migrants, because only certain species of large and confusing families are to be found during March and early April.

In watching birds, a student learns to observe with lightning speed; to note color and comparative size; distinguishing marks such as crests or striped crowns, spots on breast or throat, bars on wings or tail; the length and shape of bill, wings, tail, and legs. He learns also to notice whether the bird walks, runs, hops, or “teeters”; whether its flight is swift or slow, direct like a robin’s, undulating like a goldfinch’s, soaring like that of hawks and eagles, labored or jerky like woodpeckers’, or graceful and “skimming” like that of swallows.

A careful observer notices also whether the bird was seen in a plowed field or a grassy pasture; by a roadside or in a thicket; in an orchard or an open grove; in deep woods or coniferous forests; in a treetop, on a tree-trunk, on the ground; near a stream, a pond, or a marsh; near a sandy or a rocky shore; in an arid region, or among mountains.

A sure means of identification for many species is the song or the call-note. The songs of some birds are similar to those of others, but there is usually a characteristic note or strain. When beginning my study of birds, I traced every sound I could to its source, waited till I saw the author of the note or song, listened till I learned it, could reproduce it, or at least be sure of future recognition. I found that the training of my sense of hearing opened an avenue of enjoyment of which I had been utterly unconscious; many others testify to a similar pleasure. Thoreau speaks repeatedly of his joy in sound and even in silence. Truly the voice of God may thus be heard and His infinite power further revealed.

MIGRATION LISTS

Dates of Arrival of “Summer Visitants” Near New York City

It is interesting to note that the earliest arrivals in the spring are the last to migrate in the fall. The reason is the food-supply. The insectivorous birds arrive later and leave earlier than those that have a more varied diet. An unusually severe winter sends birds south of their usual winter range.

The dates of migration must necessarily vary with latitude. Migrants arrive near Washington a week or two earlier than near New York City, and near Boston a few days later. The lateness of the spring sometimes causes a delay of a week or two. The May arrivals appear more nearly on schedule. After May 15 birds begin to decrease in number, the “Transient Visitors” passing farther north; by June 5 we have with us our “Permanent Residents” and “Summer Residents.”

In the fall the mildness of a season may cause November migrants to remain into December, or an open winter may tempt those that habitually migrate only a short distance to remain north of their usual winter range.

DESCRIPTIONS AND BIOGRAPHIES

THE AMERICAN ROBIN
Thrush Family—Turdidæ

Length: 10 inches.

Male: Head black; bill yellow; a white spot above and below eye; throat white, streaked with black; back and wings gray; tail black, with white spots near tips of outer feathers; white beneath tail; entire breast and sides reddish-brown; color less brilliant in autumn and winter, and bill darker.

Young Female: Paler than male.

Young: Similar to female, except for speckled breasts and backs.

Call-note: A sharp tut, used to express anger or alarm; also a sweet tender note, with which it encourages its young or converses with its mate.

Song: A loud, clear morning song, Cheer-up, cheer-up, cheer-up, cheer-up, sweeter and more subdued toward evening. The song varies decidedly with different individuals. Many robins seem to enjoy improvisations; we may hear them sing their somewhat monotonous strain with pleasing variations. During their sojourn in the South they sing but little, and live in flocks remote from human habitations; consequently they are not loved as they are in the North.

Range: North America, breeding from the tree-limit south to the northern part of the Gulf States and Mexican tableland; in winter, to Florida and the highlands of Guatemala.

None of our birds is so well-known and so universally beloved as the robin. He, together with the song sparrow and the bluebird, arrives at a time when we are weary of winter and yearning for spring. He seems to show so much eagerness to return to us that he receives a hearty welcome. He is the first bird that we knew in childhood, unless it be the English sparrow; our earliest books were filled with tales and poems concerning him. Most of us have a fund of anecdotes that we could relate.

A robin has distinct individuality. His is a many-sided nature. He is cheerful and optimistic, aggressive and fearless, pugnacious and ardent—like the brave Lochinvar, “so daring in love and so dauntless in war,”—yet withal tender, joyous, and lovable. He is a fighter at mating time, but a gentle husband.

There are few bird-choruses as sweet as robins’ rain-song or even-song. I recall a flock of these happy birds singing from maple-tops in a little village nestled beside a brawling river, when patches of brown earth showed beneath melting snow, and heavy rain-clouds broke away to reveal a golden western sky. The robins sang with the joy that my own heart felt at the renewal of life on the earth. I once heard their even-song in an elm-shaded college-town of Massachusetts during a lovely Sunday evening in June, when church-bells rang and robins held a vesper service all their own. My sister and I walked beneath the great arched trees and found ourselves speaking in whispers, as was our habit in the cathedrals of the Old World.

The robin’s tut-tut, or tut-tut-tut′-tut-tut-tut-tut,—his scolding note,—is very similar to the exclamation of reproof our grandfather used to administer to us for childish misdemeanors. It is amusing to see how robins use this form of remonstrance to humans. John Burroughs wrote that he was kept out of his own summer-house by a female robin that was nesting there. She scolded him so soundly for trespassing upon his own property, which she had appropriated, that he could have no peace. He finally left her in possession till her young had flown.[49] I had a similar experience when picking cherries in a friend’s garden. A robin had preceded me and resented my intrusion in no uncertain manner. No angry fishmonger of Billingsgate ever hurled more noisy vituperation at a thief than did that robin fling at me, especially when I coolly refused to heed his commands to “Keep Off.”

I recall an amusing experience with a robin family one summer. The second brood of hungry babies were clamoring for “More,” and following their overworked father about as I have seen human babies tease their mothers. He was decidedly “frayed” as to temper, but he chose to assume the entire parental responsibility. His faded, bedraggled spouse, perched disconsolately upon the roof of the chicken-house, flew down two or three times into the bosom of the family and endeavored to “do her bit”; but her testy husband drove her off each time with a sharp tut-tut, until in despair she remained upon the ridge-pole peeping forlornly. The father proceeded to pull up worms for his gaping brood in a manner so irritated and strenuous that I wondered whether he had had a “family jar,” or was only worn out with anxiety and overwork. It is a huge task to feed one baby robin alone, who can eat sixty-eight angleworms a day,[50] or one hundred and sixty-five cutworms.[51]

Robins do good to the soil by dragging forth earthworms and preventing their too rapid increase. Mr. Forbush calls attention to the value of these birds in devouring “dormant cutworms and caterpillars even in February,” also quantities of the larvæ of March flies and white grubs that injure grass. The robin is an enemy of caterpillars, especially those that live near the ground; his destruction of cutworms and white grubs alone entitles him to our gratitude. He does eat early cherries, and has been bitterly arraigned for so doing. When later cherries, apples, peaches, pears, and grapes are ripe, wild fruits and mulberries which he eats by preference, have also matured; so on the whole, he does little harm.[52] He is now protected in most of our states.

A Maine robin that had an inordinate love for cherries and garden-raspberries was at first intimidated by a most lifelike, well-set-up scarecrow placed in the garden for his benefit. But he grew wiser as the days passed: he approached the fearful creature and received no harm. Familiarity finally bred contempt, for one day he was discovered perched upon the scarecrow’s shoulder eating a raspberry!

Robins become very tame. I once had the pleasure of the companionship of a dear, gentle, little English robin—a bird very different in size and manner from his American cousin—who would come out of the shrubbery whenever I called him. He would approach within two or three feet of my chair, to snatch the soft crumbs that I placed on the ground to lure him. He rewarded me frequently with his delightful little bubbling song.

An American robin during a March ice-storm learned that bread crumbs were to be found upon the window-sill of a house in Cleveland. He flew to the sill frequently. When he found no crumb awaiting him, he would tap on the pane, then fly away a short distance and remain until a fresh supply appeared. He and his mate nested in an apple-tree near by. They and their brood were fed in this way the entire season by their bird-loving friends, until they were in danger of becoming pauperized! One morning the following March while the Cleveland family were breakfasting, they heard the familiar tap upon the pane! There was Robin back again—you may imagine his welcome! For four years, he continued to announce his arrival in the same manner, and to build in the same yard; each year he and his family were supplied with part of their food by their devoted friends. Then ill must have befallen him, for he never returned.

To another Ohio woman came the joy of having a robin enter her room frequently. She had tempted him with crumbs inside a window-sill. One day he perched upon the sewing-machine where she was at work, and sang his sweet song to her, as the busy machine hummed its tune.

A robin’s nest is an untidy affair, but it is something that we should miss were it not a part of our environment. Few birds’ eggs are more lovely in color than those of the familiar robins’-egg blue, nestled in their grass-lined cup of clay. Olive Thorne Miller wrote of a clever robin that wished to build her nest during an almost rainless spring. She could find no mud, so she waded about in her drinking-dish to wet her legs; she then hopped into the dust, and with her bill scraped the mud off her legs. This she did repeatedly, until she had the necessary amount.[53]

I once saw a mother-robin sheltering her brood during a rainstorm of great violence. Her soft body and outspread wings were pelted by the rain, but she seemed quite oblivious to everything except to keep harm from her young. Her protecting attitude and the look in her bright eyes made as beautiful an expression of mother-love as I ever witnessed.

THE BLUEBIRD
Thrush Family—Turdidæ

Length: About 6½ to 7 inches.

General Appearance: Upper parts bright blue; under parts reddish-brown; no crest.

Male: Head, back, and tail bright blue; wings blue, edged with black; in the fall, edged with reddish-brown; throat, breast, and sides reddish-brown; white from center of breast to tail.

Female: Similar to male, but paler; wings and tail brightest in flight.

Young: Grayish-blue, speckled with whitish; wings and tail bluish.

Call-note: An indescribably sweet rendering of the syllables, Cheer-e-o, given usually while the bird is on the wing.

Song: A gentle warble of exceptional sweetness—whew′-ee, whew′-ee, whew′-ee, uttered tenderly and pensively.

Habitat: Orchards and gardens. The birds are usually seen in pairs, and like rather conspicuous perches, such as fence-posts and telegraph wires.

Nest: Made of grasses and placed in old hollow trees, preferably apple-trees. One objection raised against tree-surgery is that it deprives bluebirds of nesting-sites, but that objection may be removed by furnishing nesting-boxes.

Range: Eastern North America. Breeds from southern Canada and Newfoundland to the Gulf Coast and Florida, west to the Rockies; winters in the southern half of the eastern U. S., south to Guatemala.

As spring approaches, I invariably “go a-hunting,” not for “rabbit-skins,” but for song sparrows and bluebirds. Robins usually seek us, and sometimes their blue-winged cousins call Cheer-e-o as they fly swiftly over our housetops; but I am never happy until I have visited an orchard or pasture frequented by these heaven-sent birds. “My heart leaps up when I behold” once more their exquisite blue and hear their soft, delightful warble. Then I know that spring is really on her way, and I am again eager and expectant.

Bluebirds have always been much beloved, especially in New England. Florence Merriam writes: “Although the Bluebird did not come over in the Mayflower, it is said that when the Pilgrim Fathers came to New England this bird was one of the first whose gentle warblings attracted their notice, and, from its resemblance to the beloved Robin Redbreast of their native land, they called it the Blue Robin.”[54]

The bluebird has always been a favorite theme for poets and nature-writers, especially in New England, where the beauty and warm coloring of this sweet bird seem exceptionally welcome after a long, severe winter. In Thoreau’s diary, “Early Spring in Massachusetts,” he refers to the bluebird thirteen times and writes: “The bluebird—angel of the spring! Fair and innocent, yet the offspring of the earth. The color of the sky, above, and of the subsoil beneath, suggesting what sweet and innocent melody, terrestrial melody, may have its birthplace between the sky and the ground.”[55]

Burroughs, too, makes frequent mention of the bluebird. In “Under The Maples” he says: “None of our familiar birds endear themselves to us more than does the bluebird. The first bluebird in the spring is as welcome as the blue sky itself. The season seems softened and tempered as soon as we hear his note and see his warm breast and azure wing. His gentle manners, his soft, appealing voice, not less than his pleasing hues, seem born of the bright and genial skies. He is the spirit of April days incarnated in a bird. Not strictly a songster, yet his every note and call is from out the soul of harmony.”[56]

Bluebirds are of economic as well as æsthetic value. They devour cutworms and other kinds of caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, katydids, and beetles. They eat fruit in the winter; they prefer that taken from pastures, swamps, and hedgerows, rather than from gardens or orchards. They never destroy cultivated crops; on the contrary, benefit them.[57]

These birds are such devoted lovers that one is rarely seen far from its mate. The female is very gentle and timid; she seems to need reassurance and protection. There are times, however, when she knows her own mind and shows firmness of character. A male bluebird in Asheville, N. C., intoxicated by the warmth of a sunshiny January day, wooed a female ardently. She was very distant and finally dismissed him. She evidently had sufficient foresight to realize that it would be disastrous to go to housekeeping so early and therefore withheld her consent.

Numerous instances have been recorded of bluebirds that have lost their mates by accident and have mourned so deeply as to touch the heart of any one who saw the tragedy or heard the cries of sorrow.

THE SONG SPARROW
Finch Family—Fringillidæ

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

General Appearance: A small brown bird with a grayish breast, a body heavily streaked with black, a black spot in the center of breast, and at each side of the throat.

Male and Female: Brown head with black streaks, a grayish line in center and over eye; brown line back of eye; back brown and gray, streaked with black; wings brown, with black spots,—no white bars; throat grayish-white; a dark patch on each side of throat; a conspicuous black spot in center of breast; belly white; sides whitish, streaked with brown and black; tail long, brown, darkest in center.

Call-note: Chip, chip—sharp and metallic.

Song: A sweet cheerful strain, with considerable variety in different individuals. It usually consists of three notes that sound like “See? See? See?” followed by a short trill. Henry van Dyke interprets the song as Sweet, sweet, sweet, very merry cheer.

Habitat: Bushes; near water, preferably.

Range: North America, east of the Rocky Mts. Breeds in Canada from Great Slave Lake to Cape Breton Island, south to southern Nebraska, central Missouri, Kentucky, southern Virginia, the mountains of North Carolina. Winters from Nebraska, Illinois, Massachusetts (locally) and New Jersey, south to the Gulf Coast.