332 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JULT 



uations, as its name indicates, and may frequent- 

 ly be seen wading in shallow water, busily search- 

 ing for aquatic insects which constitute its food, 

 continually wagging its tail, and is generally quite 

 shy. The greater part pass on to the northward to 

 breed ; and it has generally been supposed that 

 none pass the summer in Massachusetts, yet in 

 this vicinity I met with a very few individuals both 

 in June and July of 1860 ; but it schms to be a 

 rare species in all the Northern States, except 

 ■while migrating and even then is not numerous. 

 "The cane brakes, swamps, river shores and deep 

 watery solitudes of Louisiana, Tennessee and the 

 Mississippi Territory," observes Wilson, "possess 

 them in abundance ; they are eminently distin- 

 guished by the loudness, sweetness, and expres- 

 sive vivacity of their notes, which begin very high 

 and clear, falling with an almost imperceptible 

 gradation till they are scarcely articulated." 

 The voice of this little bird appeared to me so 

 exquisitely sweet and expressive that I was never 

 tired of listening to it, while traversing the deep- 

 shaded hollows of cane-brakes where it usually 

 resorts." 



The Water Thrush is six inches in length, and 

 nine and a half in alar extent ; whole upper parts, 

 a uniform dark olive ; lower parts, white, tiuged 

 with yellow, the breast and sides spotted and 

 streaked with very dark brown ; a white line ex- 

 tends over the eye. 



The Golden-Crowned Thrush, (Seiurus 

 aurocapillus, Swain.,) well known in many sec- 

 tions as the Oven Bird — a name given it from the 

 form of its nest — and is quite abundant in the 

 woodlands of New England, and is said to be gen- 

 erally diffused over the United States. It arrives 

 from the south early in May, it wintering in 

 Mexico, and soon its familiar repetition of peche, 

 peche, peche, reiterated rapidly, with great energy 

 and shrillness resounds through the woods, awak- 

 ing the distant echoes. This bird is entirely con- 

 fined to the woods, and while searching for food, 

 runs along the ground like a Blackbird or Lark, 

 gathering worms and various kinds of insects 

 from the low plants, almost continually wagging 

 its tail, and occasionally mounting a low limb to 

 deliver its spirited lay. It takes great care in se- 

 creting and constructing its domed nest, which is 

 placed on the ground, and when disturbed em- 

 ploys all the arts nature has so amply bestowed 

 upon it to entice the intruder from the spot, flut- 

 tering along before him with drooping wings, as 

 if wounded and hardly able to crawl, and if un- 

 successful in its stratagems, manifests the great- 

 est distress, and sympathizing neighbors of its 

 own species join in the alarm. It is exceedingly 

 solicitous for the welfare of its young, and thus 

 the Crow Blackbird exhibits an instinctive choice 

 in so frequently selecting this bird as the foster 

 parent of its young. 



The Golden-crowned Thrush is six inches in 

 length and nine in alar extent ; whole upper parts, 

 fine yellow olive, except the crown and hind head, 

 which are orange ; beneath, white, the breast 

 marked with pointed spots of black, or very dark 

 brown ; a narrow ring of very pale yellow, or yel- 

 lowish white, around the eye. 



The Brown Lark or American Tit Lark, 

 (Anthus Ludovicianus, Bonap.,) is only found in 

 New England for a week or two in October, and 

 again in May, during its passage from the colder 



to the warmer parts of the continent, and vice ver- 

 sa. It seems to be a superlatively migratory spe- 

 cies, passing the winter in Louisiana and coun- 

 tries much farther to the south, even as far as 

 Brazil, in South America, arriving in New Eng- 

 land in May in small parties, for a few days fre- 

 quenting newly-plowed fields, and passing on, 

 probably to remote northern parts, to breed. 

 They sometimes collect in large flocks while fre- 

 quenting the rice grounds and corn fields of the 

 Southern States. In the fall I have observed 

 flocks of a hundred or more in this locality, feed- 

 ing and running about on the plowed fiolds, or 

 searching the banks of ponds and streams for 

 aquatic food ; they fly high and rapidly, and often 

 make several extensive circles before alighting. 



The Brown Lark is six inches in length and ten 

 and a half in extent ; above, brown olive, with 

 shades of dusky ; beneath, pale brownish ; the 

 old males said to be slightly roseate during the 

 breeding season. While running about on the 

 plowed lands they can hardly be distinguished 

 from the inequalities of the surface. 



The Blue Bird, {Sialia Wilsonii, Swain.,) is 

 the most pleasing, the best known, and I doubt 

 not I might truthfully add, the best loved of all 

 our birds. His amiable and pleasing manners ; 

 his confidence in man, taking up his abode under 

 his immediate protection ; his afl'ectionate dispo- 

 sition to his mate and young, manifested in his 

 exquisitely agreeable warblings and gestures so 

 full of love ; his wholly inoffensive habits ; his 

 early arrival in spring, pouring forth his inspir- 

 ing melody over the snow dappled fields, and 

 boldly braving the last rude blasts of retreating 

 winter, till he has won the title of "the harbinger 

 of the vernal season," the herald of that delight- 

 ful period of opening buds and the return of the 

 balmy southern breezes, all combine to place him 

 deeply in our affections ; and when old winter 

 gradually relaxes his icy hold, and milder airs 

 awaken in our minds thoughts of spring, it is 

 with no small degree of interest that the arrival 

 of the first Blue Bird is inquired after, and what 

 a thrill of pleasure is aroused within us as his fa- 

 miliar note again strikes the ear ! 



The Blue I3ird is our true representative of the 

 Robin Redbreast, of Europe, {Erythaca rubecu- 

 la,) which he closely resembles in manners, and 

 in the esteem in which he is held, and, as the 

 great pioneer in American ornithology has ex- 

 pressed it, "had he the brown olive of that bird 

 instead of his own blue, could scarcely be distin- 

 guished from him." Scientifically considered, 

 there is so great a mutual resemblance between 

 them that they have been placed in the same sub- 

 family {Saxocolince,) of the Sylviadce, and even 

 in the same genus {Erythaica Sialia,) which is 

 the only genus in our fauna that will represent 

 this group (Saxicolince.) 



The Blue Birds are found over the greater part 

 of North America, and on the southern conti- 

 nent as far south as Brazil, and also inhabit many 

 of the adjacent islands ; many winter in the 

 Southern States and in Mexico. Two other spe- 

 cies of Blue Bird are also found on this continent ; 

 the Arctic Blue Bird {Sialia arctica) rather larg- 

 er than the present species, but otherwise resem- 

 bling it, inhabiting the Fur Countries, Rocky 

 Mountains and adjacent regions ; and the West- 

 ern Blue Bird, {Sialia occidentalis,) but scarce- 



