A Few of the Bird Family 



The Ukl iJob White, and chijjhird ; 



The tlickcr and chcc-uiiik, 

 And httlf hopty-skijj bird 

 Along the river hrink. 



'Jhc blackbird and snowbird, 

 The chickcn-iiawk and crane; 



The «jlossy old black crow-bird; 

 And buzzard down the lane. 



The \cllowbird and rcdbird. 



The tom-tit and the cat ; 

 The thrush and that redhead bird 



The rest's all pickin' at ! 



The jay-bird and the bluebird. 



The sap-suck and the wren — 

 The cockadoodle-doo bird, 



And our old settin' hen ! 



James irititcomb Riley. 



Blue Goose (Choi cacndescens) 



Ran^e. — Breed> probably in interior of northern L'ngava ; winters from 

 Nebraska and southern Illinois south to coasts of Texas and Louisiana. 



We know comparatively little of the life history of the blue goose. That it 

 breeds in the far Xorth is certain and it is surmised that it nests in the interior 

 of Ungava. Few ornithologists have ever seen the bird, even in migration, though 

 it is known to pass down the Mississippi \'alley in considerable numbers. If, as is 

 said, this goose migrates by night as well as by day, one reason for its apparent 

 scarcity is evident. A new chapter was added to the bird's history when, in 1910. 

 Mc.Atee and Job found it wintering by thousands in the delta of the Mississippi 

 River. These observers report that the geese were in such numbers as to inflict 

 great damage on pasture lands. Like all its relatives, this species is a strict veg- 

 etarian and is i)articularly fond of the tender shoots of grass or grain. Eaton, in 

 his "liirds of New York," after remarking that the blue goose is one of the rarest 

 waterfowl which visits the waters of Xew York State, gives the following syno- 

 nyms under which the bird is known locally : Blue snow goose, blue-winged goose, 

 blue wavy, white-headed blue brant, white-headed goose. The list would seem to 

 indicate that at some time or other the goose was more widely distributed or bet- 

 ter known than at present. 



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