CHAPTER 4r Birds of Farm 

 and Zoo 



OST CHILDREN who live in rural areas are 

 accustomed to chickens, ducks, and other 

 domesticated birds as part of the daily scene. To city dwellers 

 these creatures may seem even more remote than the wild birds, 

 which at least make their home in parks of metropolitan areas. 

 But whether farm birds are intriguingly distant or familiar to the 

 point of being commonplace, they repay close observation. 



We think of chickens as being very timid, in fact, "chicken- 

 hearted." Yet they become exciting personalities when two roosters 

 engage in a duel. The two antagonists face each other with lowered 

 heads, then each strikes out with his wing spurs, tears his opponent 

 with his leg spurs, and tries to seize him by the back of the neck 

 with his beak. Roosters are unbelievably tenacious fighters, going 

 after each other with brutal abandon. Though roosters fight it out 

 for barnyard supremacy, they display equal spirit against rats, 

 skunks, hawks, and other marauders. 



Chickens have a varied and eloquent language all their own. 

 The rooster's crow is unmistakably boastful, challenging. When a 

 hen is setting, she sounds irritable; when her chicks have hatched, 

 her voice takes on a triumphant note. When she is enjoying the 

 sun in the company of other hens, she sounds pleasantly chatty; 

 when frightened, she squalls. Listening to these notes and others 

 as well, and interpreting them, is an interesting pastime for 

 youngsters. 



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