Hints to Audubo7i Workers, 



20I 



one of the baby birds, a scrawny, gray little 

 thing, sitting on the dead branch of a fallen 

 tree. As I came near him his mother's 

 distress was pitiful. She flew about as if 

 distraught, now trying to attract my atten- 

 tion in the opposite direction by crying 

 out and fluttering her wings beseech- 

 ingly. Then, finding that I still persisted 

 in looking toward the little fellow, flying 

 down between us, and trying to interest me 

 in her, so that I would follow her away. I 

 was very anxious to see if she would "trail," 

 and so was merciless. I walked up toward 

 the trembling young bird and raised my 

 hand as if to take him. At that moment I 

 turned to look at the mother, and she was 

 trying another device. She assumed in- 

 difference, as if divining that my interest in 

 her was greater than in her little bird; but 

 all the time her eyes were fixed on me, and 

 just before the little one flew away from my 

 approaching hand she darted down and flew 

 about wildly, trailing, as I had hoped. It 

 was pitiful to see her distress, and having 

 taken a good look at her I retreated as fast 

 as possible. 



Instead of spreading her wings and tail 

 and dragging them on the ground as the 

 ovenbird does, she spreads and drags her 

 tail, while she flutters her wings with a 

 tremulous motion. This is much more effec- 

 tive — suggestive of weakness and helpless- 

 ness to the hungry animal who finds a fat, 

 full-grown bird more appetizing than a 

 scrawny youngster — suggestive of anguish 

 to the man, to whom it seems an appeal 

 for mercy. The love of knowledge seemed 

 a feeble excuse for giving a poor little 

 mother such a scare, but I consoled myself 

 by thinking that she would be all the more 

 wary when real danger threatened. 



kingbird; bee martin. 



The kingbird is noticeably smaller than 

 the robin, but is larger and more compactly 

 built than most of the flycatchers. His 

 back is a dark blackish-ash. Most of his 



breast is a clear white. He has a crest that 

 partially conceals a flame-colored crown. 

 The end of his tail is bordered with white, 

 so that when he spreads it out in flying 

 it gives the effect of a white crescent. 



He has a peculiar flight, holding his head 

 up and using his wings in a labored way, 

 as if he were swimming. When looking for 

 his dinner he has a way of fluttering ob- 

 liquely up into the air, displaying his shin- 

 ing white breast and fan-shaped tail to the 

 best advantage; and then, probably after 

 securing his mosquito course, soaring delib- 

 erately down to his tree. 



His note is a peculiarly harsh, scolding 

 twitter. All the disagreeable qualities of 

 the flycatchers seem to center in this bird. 

 His crown proclaims him king, not by right, 

 but by might — such a bickering pugilist, 

 such a domineering autocrat as he is! The 

 crow's life becomes a burden when his tor- 

 mentor gives chase ; and the smaller birds 

 find themselves driven at the point of the 

 bill from the fences they had considered 

 public highway. 



Mr. Burroughs says: "He is a braggart; 

 and though always snubbing his neighbors, 

 is an arrant coward, and shows the white 

 feather at the slightest display of pluck in 

 his antagonist. I have seen him turn tail 

 to a swallow." It is a very common sight to 

 see a crow trying to escape from a worry- 

 ing kingbird; the great creature seems to 

 have no thought of resistance, but takes to 

 his wings at the first alarm. The chase 

 that follows suggested to Thoreau "a satel- 

 lite revolving about a black planet." But 

 he is very charitable, and believes that the 

 kingbird is only trying to protect its 5^oung. 



In Baird, Brewer and Ridgway's " History 

 of North American Birds" the same opin- 

 ion is expressed by the author of the article 

 on the kingbird. He says : " My own ob- 

 servations lead me to the conclusion that 

 writers have somewhat exaggerated the 

 quarrelsome disposition of this bird. I 

 have never, or very rarely, known it to 



