Chap. 3. 



BIRDS OF VERMONT. 



57 



ORDERS OF BIRDS. 



GENERA AND SPECIES. 



ly. In some species the winter plumage 

 differs considerably from that of the sum- 

 mer ; and the male and female also vary 

 in color in many species. Tlie digestion 

 of birds is rapid in proportion to the ac- 

 tivity of their life and the force of their 

 respiration. Their stomach is composed 

 of three parts ; name!}', a crop, a mem- 

 branous stomach, and a gizzard. The giz- 

 zard is armed with two strong muscles, 

 and, by the assistance of small stones, 

 which the fowl swallows, grinds up the 

 food, and thus performs the office of mas- 

 tication. 



The velocity with which birds travel 

 through the air exceeds that of any ter- 

 restrial animal. Eagles, and many other 

 birds, fly at the rate of 60 miles an hour. 

 Most birds are migratory, very few com- 

 paratively spending the whole year in the 

 same neigliborhood. The crow, the par- 

 tridge, and a few species of woodpeckers, 

 owls, hawks, and water fowl, are all 

 which are known to reside permanently 

 in Vermont. Several species are seen here 

 in winter which are never seen in sum- 

 mer, and many are seen to pass northerly 

 in the spring and return to the south in 

 the fall, which make scarcely any stop 

 with us. 



The characters by which birds are dis- 

 tinguished into orders and genera are de- 

 rived principally from the formation of 

 the bill and feet. We have adopted the 

 classification of Temminck, which is fol- 

 lowed by Mr. Nuttall, in his valuable 

 Manual of Ornithology. The following- 

 are the Orders. 



I. Rapaces — birds of prey. 



II. Omnivorcs — living on all kinds of 

 food. 



III. Inscctivorcs — feeding on insects. 



IV. Granivorcs — feeding on grain 



V. Zijgodactyli — with the toes disposed 

 in opposite pairs. 



VI. Tcnuirostrcs — birds with slender 

 bills. 



VII. Jllcyones — with three toes before, 

 united, and one behind ; the tarsi being 

 very short. 



VIII. Chelidones — with three toes be- 

 fore, divided, or only united at the base 

 by a short membrane ; the back toe often 

 reversible. 



IX. Cohnnbw — with toes before entire- 

 ly divided, and one behind. 



X. GallincB — with three toes before, 

 united by a membrane : the back toe join- 

 ed to the tarsus above the joint of the otji- 

 er toes. 



XI. Gra.Untorcs — with long slender 

 legs, naked above the knee ; three toes 

 before and one behind, all nearly on the 

 same level. 



Part i. 8 



XII Pinnatipedes — with the tarsi slen- 

 der and compressed ; three toes before 

 and one behind, with a rudimentary mem- 

 brane along the toes, the posterior one 

 joined interiorly to the tarsus. 



XIII. Palmijiedcs — v^'ith short feet, 

 more or less drawn up to the abdomen ; 

 anterior toes partly or wholly connected 

 by a membrane. 



The following table contains a list of 

 tlie Birds of Vermont, arranged in the or- 

 der in which they are described in the 

 subsequent pages. 



BIRDS OF VERMONT. 

 Order Rapaces — Birds of Prcij. 

 Faico Icucoccphuius, Bald Eagle. 

 " chrtjsaetoSy Golden Eagle. 

 " /lulustus, Fish Hawk. 



" lincatus, Red-should'd Hawk. 



" pcnnstjivaniciis Broad winged Hawk. 

 " fuscvs. Slate colored Hawk. 



" pcrcgrinus. Large footed Hawk. 

 " jiuluniharius, Gos-Hawk. 

 " Cuoperi, Cooper's Hawk. 



" cijtnieus. Marsh Hawk. 



" horealis. Red-tailed Hawk. 



" columharms, Pigeon Hawk. 

 Strix asio, Screech Owl. 



" funerea, Hawk Owl. 



" nyctea, Snowy Owl. 



" virginiana. Great-horned Owl. 

 " chicrca, Cinereous Owl. 



" hruchyotiis. Short-eared Owl. 

 " nchulosa. Barred Owl. 



" acadica. Saw- Whet. 



" amcricana. Barn Owl. 

 Order Omnivores — Food of all kinds. 

 SUirnus Ivdovicianus Meadow Lark. 

 Icterus baltimore, Baltimoi-e Oriole. 

 " jihienicus. Red Winged Block Bird 

 " pccoris. Cow Black Bird. 



'• agripennis. Bob-o-link. 

 Qiiiscalus versicolor, Crow Black Bird. 

 " ferruginevs, Rusty Black Bird. 

 Corvus americanus, Common Crow. 

 " corax, Raven. 



" cristalus. Blue Jay. 

 " canadensis, Canada Jay. 

 Parus atricapillus, Chicadee. 



" hudsonicus, Hudson Bay Titmouse. 

 Boinbycilla carolinen-iis, Cedar Bird. 

 Order Insectivores — Licing on Insects 

 Lanius Iwrcalis, Butcher Bird. 



Muscicajia tyrannis, King Bird. 

 " fusca, Phcnbee. 



" rircns. Wood Pewee. 



" acadtca, Small Pewee. 

 " canadensis. Spotted Flycatcher. 

 Vireo flavifrons, Yeliow ihruaied Vireo. 



" novebi)racensisV^h\\.c eyed Vireo. 

 " olicaccus, Red eyed Vireo. 



" solitarizts, Solitary Vireo. 



