82 



BUNTING— PIPIT— LARK— WARBLER— SPARROW. 



have disappeared, and with their tufted crowns, beautiful plumage, 

 and supple movements, make a most attractive picture. From 

 their great fondness for cherries, they have received the name of 

 Cherry -bird, and have suffered much unjust persecution from the 

 same cause, for they are entitled to a most generous repast in return 

 for their services in keeping in check the myriad insect life. They 

 are particularly fond of the destructive canker-worm which makes 

 such havoc with apple and elm trees. Although arriving at their 

 breeding places early, it is not until about the first of July that they 

 commence building their nests. This curious anomaly in bird life 

 has awakened the curiosity of all ornithologists. Their nests are 

 large and bulky, composed of a variety of materials, twigs, coarse 

 grass, and stems of vegetables, in which they lay five or six eggs, of 

 a light slate color, tinged with olive, and marked with dark purple 

 blotches, measuring about .85 by .70 of an inch. 



Black-throated Bunting. (Euspiza americana.) 

 Fig. 2. 



A rare bird throughout New England, but unusually abundant in 

 the West, this little Bunting is usually found in open fields. It arrives 

 in New York the last of May, and immediately commences to build 

 its nest, which consists of coarse grasses and stems, lined with a finer 

 and kindred material. It is sometimes built upon the ground, more 

 frequently a little above, in low bushes like blackberry brambles 

 and wild roses. In the West they frequently mat together the tops 

 of coarse prairie grasses, and construct their nests upon it. They 

 usually lay five eggs of a uniform light blue color, varying in size. 

 During the summer they destroy immense numbers of caterpillars, 

 beetles, canker-worms, and other destructive insects, varying their 

 diet with the seeds of coarse grasses and weeds. They are always 

 found in pairs, and even when preparing to migrate, keep up this 

 isolated family relation. Their song is more constant than musical. 

 The note is a chif-chif-che-che-che^ which they keep repeating 

 over and over until it becomes wearisome. 



Tit-lark — American Pipit. (Anthus ludovictanus.) 



Fig. 3- 



The Tit-lark or American Pipit is one of the most abundant and 

 widely distributed of North American birds. Its range extends 

 from Florida to the arctic regions, from the Atlantic to the Pacific 

 oceans. It builds its nest about the middle of May, seeking open, 

 bare, and exposed situations, usually the sides of some steep and 

 precipitous chasm. Here, in some natural cavity, it gathers dry 

 mosses and with coarse grass makes a nest about six inches in 

 diameter, loosely put together, with a cavity of about two inches 

 in the center. The eggs are from four to six, dark chocolate in 

 color, with small lines and streaks in black, measuring .75 by .62. 

 The flight of this bird is easy and beautiful ; while upon the ground 

 it moves with great rapidity, jerking its tail like the Water-thrush. 

 Its song is clear, mellow, and very sweet, more subdued when on the 

 wing than when at rest. Its food is varied ; in the interior consist- 

 ing of insects and small seed, while on the banks of rivers or on 

 the seashore they devour crustaceous and small shells, resorting at 

 low tides to muddy flats, and in company with the small Sand- 

 pipers, finding abundance of food. During incubations both birds 

 sit in the same nest close together, and abandon it only at the last 

 moment of danger, and when driven from it they flutter only a few 

 feet, uttering loud cries of lamentation, in which they are joined 

 by their companions. 



The Shore Lark. (Eremofhila alpestris.) 

 Fig. 4. 



The Shore Lark has a very extended range, and breeds from 

 Texas to Labrador. Where circumstances are favorable, it re- 

 mains the year round, even when the winters are of unusual 

 severity. During the season of wooing, the male bird has the 

 habit of rising almost perpendicularly in the air, wheeling up and 

 up in irregular circles until nearly out of sight, singing at intervals 

 a sweet and somewhat varied song, and then descending to the 

 very spot from whence he arose. At this season the male bird is 

 also very pugnacious, engaging in frequent battles, in which sev- 

 eral will join at the same time, fluttering, biting, and tumbling 

 over each other in a confused manner. It is most emphatically a 

 ground bird, never alighting upon trees, and its song, which is 

 alike short and sweet, is uttered when at rest and when on the 

 wing. It usually selects some mossy bed in which to build its 

 nest, which it hollows out and fills with fine grasses and a final 

 lining of feathers. Its eggs are from four to five in number, gray- 

 ish in color, covered with spots of purplish-lavender. Before they 

 can fly, the young, which in no way resemble their parents, leave 

 their nests, and nimbly follow them for the purpose of being fed. 

 The parent birds are very solicitous for their offspring, and will 

 follow a ravisher of their nest long distances, uttering the most 

 plaintive cries. At the approach of danger they flutter away, 

 feigning lameness, endeavoring to lead the intruder away from 

 their young. Their food consists of insects, the seeds of grasses 

 and the blossoms of small flowers, and, when near the shore, of 

 Crustacea. 



Connecticut Warbler. (Oporornis agiHs.) 



Fig. * 



Wilson first discovered this rare and beautiful bird in the State 

 from whence it derives its name, and during the many years which 

 have intervened since his untimely death, but little additional in- 

 formation has been gained. Audubon found but two specimens, and 

 these in New Jersey. Within a few years it has been discovered in 

 Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and in Illinois. It is exceed- 

 ingly active in its habits, constantly hopping from one low bush to 

 another, and emitting, without ceasing, the single note — tweet. 

 It is very fond of a small water-spider which it pursues, skimming 

 the water after the manner of the Swallow. It also seeks its food 

 in old fields, among dry, rank weeds, and in swampy places. 



Fox-colored Sparrow. {Passerella iliaca.) 



Fig. 6. 



Throughout all the Northern and Western States, the Fox- 

 colored Sparrow is only a bird of passage, and is not known to 

 breed in any State in the Union. They winter in the vicinity of 

 Washington and throughout the South. They begin their northern 

 pilgrimage, which is performed entirely by day, some time in 

 March, and return again to winter-quarters in October. They fly 

 in small flocks of about a dozen, in a low but rapid, undulatory 

 manner, and haunt the outskirts of low thickets and the edges of 

 moist woods. They breed in the wooded districts of the fur 

 countries, and during this season the plumage of the male bird 

 becomes sometimes an almost brilliant red. At this time, the male 

 also develops the most charming musical capabilities, his song be- 

 coming loud, clear, and melodious, unsurpassed by any of the 

 family of Finches. The nest is constructed on the ground and in 

 trees, and is composed of coarse hay, lined with similar material 

 of a finer quality, mixed with mosses and the hair of deer. They 

 are large for the size of the bird, and when on the ground are 



