YELLOW THROAT— DUCK— TERNS. 



9 



settled parts of the country he is rarely or never found, but seems 

 to prefer the company of men. His nest is built in briers or black- 

 berry bushes, and is composed of thin branches and roots, stuck 

 together with mud, lined inside with hair and finer fibers. The 

 female lays five eggs, of a bluish tint. He leaves in September 

 to winter in warmer latitudes. 



The Maryland Yellow Throat. {Geothlypis Trzchas.) 



Fig. 3, Male. Fig. 4, Female. 



This neat little bird inhabits chiefly such briers, brambles, and 

 bushes as grow luxuriantly in low, watery places, his business and 

 ambition seldom leading him higher than to the tops of the under- 

 wood, and he might properly be denominated "Humility." In- 

 sects and their larvae are his principal food. He dives into the 

 thicket, rambles among the roots, searching around the stems, ex- 

 amining both sides of the leaves, raising himself on his legs to 

 peep into every crevice, and amuses himself with a simple, but not 

 at all disagreeable twitter, ' ' whit-ti-tee ! whit-ti-tee !" which he re- 

 peats in quick succession, pausing, now and then, for half a min- 

 ute. He inhabits the States from Maine to Florida, and westward 

 to the Mississippi. He is by no means shy, but unsuspicious and 

 deliberate. He often visits the fields of growing rye, wheat, or 

 barley, and is of much service to the farmer by ridding the stalks 

 of vermin that might destroy his fields. He lives in obscurity and 

 peace, and seldom comes near the farmhouse or the city. 



He builds his nest about the middle of May, in the midst of a 

 thicket of briers, among the dry leaves on the ground. Sometimes 

 it is arched over, and but a small hole left for entrance. It con- 

 sists of dry leaves and fine grass, lined with coarse hair, etc. The 

 female lays five eggs, semi-transparent, marked with specks of 

 brown and reddish brown. The young leave the nest in the lat- 

 ter part of June, and a second brood is sometimes raised in the same 

 season. They return to the South early in September. 



PLATE VIII. 



The Wood Duck, or Summer Duck. (Aix Sponsa.) 



Fig. 1, Male. Fig. 2, Female. 



This is the finest of all our Ducks, and the beauty of its dress is 

 in perfect harmony with its gentle manners. A characteristic trait 

 is the moving of its tail from one side to the other, which some- 

 times looks almost like wagging. It swims with as much ease and 

 grace, and seemingly with as little effort, as it flies among the 

 branches and trunks of trees. The cry of the female is a long- 

 stretched " Pi-ai-wee-wee-wee ! " and the warning sound of the male 

 a not less melodious " O-eek ! O-eek ! " It seems to shun the neigh- 

 borhood of men less than any other Wild Duck, and is by no means 

 in a hurry to leave its breeding-place, even if buildings are in con- 

 struction close by. Easier than the rest of the tribe, the Wood 

 Ducks get reconciled to, and regularly breed in, captivity, if a 

 suitable chance is offered them. 



They live mostly on grain, several aquatic plants, chestnuts, 

 acorns, beech-mast, etc., also on worms, snails, and other insects, 

 which they pick up among the dry leaves or catch in the air. 

 Their full beauty and loveliness shows itself best shortly before 

 and during mating time. Toward March the flock separates, and 

 every single pair now looks out for a convenient breeding-place. To 

 this end the male roams about the woods, alights on a high tree in 

 which he expects to find a hole for a nest, walks easily on its limbs, 

 inspecting every hole he can find, and is often perfectly satisfied 

 with a hole made by the fox squirrel, or even a cleft in a rock. The 

 female squeezes herself with astonishing ease through the entrance, 



which often seems to be a great deal too narrow for her. The male 

 keeps watch outside during inspection by the female, encouraging 

 her by his tender chatterings, or warning her of supposed danger 

 by his timely "O-eek ! O-eek ! " after which both quickly take to 

 flight. If they have once built a nest they return to it every year. 



The male, although very peaceful, is very courageous when his 

 jealousy is aroused. Any other male coming near him is always 

 kept at a proper distance by unmistakable signs and motions. The 

 female begins to lay in the first days of May. The eggs, seven 

 to twelve in number, are small, oblong, and perfectly white. The 

 hatching-time lasts, as with most of the Duck tribe, twenty-seven 

 or twenty-eight days. When the last egg is laid, the female lines 

 the nest with the soft down of her breast, and covers the eggs with 

 the same when she flies oat. While she takes all the parental cares 

 to herself, the male repairs to a suitable watery place to pass 

 through his moulting time, which begins in July, and is ended in the 

 first part of September, giving him a dress distinguished from that 

 of the female only by the white marking of his throat and the 

 greater brilliancy of his plumage. 



The nest of the Wood Duck is sometimes at a considerable dis- 

 tance from any water, and quite high from the ground. From the 

 entrance to the nest itself, it is sometimes over six feet. As soon 

 as the young ones are all hatched, the female carries them, one by 

 one, in her bill, to the water, leaving them to the care of the male, 

 till she has brought the last one, when she herself takes care of 

 them again. If the tree on which the nest is, happens to overhangs 

 the water, she merely tumbles them out of the nest. Wood Ducks 

 generally live together in small flocks of from six to twelve — occa- 

 sionally they are seen in flocks of more than a hundred ; this occurs 

 chiefly in the fall. Toward October the young ones begin to moult ; 

 at the same time the male parent, who reappears now in his bridal 

 dress, joins them again. The flesh of the Wood Duck is very 

 tender and in good esteem. 



The Short-tailed Tern. (Hydroche-lidon Plumbea.) 



Fig. 3. 



This bird is often observed in fresh-water marshes, in flocks num-* 

 bering from four to ten ; it is seldom seen in salt-water marshes. Its 

 flight is very graceful. Its food consists of grasshoppers and insects 

 generally, which it picks up, while on the wing, from grasses or , 

 rushes, as well as from the surface of the water. It frequently 

 associates with 



The Black Tern. {Hydroche-lidon Nigral) 

 Fig. 4. 



The Black Tern is a little less in size than the preceding, which 

 it resembles in every respect. They are found on fresh-water 

 marshes, mill-ponds, etc., and are most numerous on the marshes 

 of the Mississippi and its tributaries. Their nests are very art- 

 lessly constructed, in large tussocks of rank grass, and contain 

 each four eggs of a greenish buff color, spotted with amber and 

 black, chiefly at the larger end. The young ones of the first 

 season (Fig. 5) have the head white, and the neck and breast ir- 

 regularly spotted with black and white. 



It was found, on dissecting these birds, that they feed exclusively 

 on insects, their stomachs never containing any small fish. 



Mr. Audubon, in his valuable work on " Birds of North Amer- 

 ica," writes as follows of this bird : 



" The Black Tern begins to arrive from the Mexican territories 

 over the waters of the Western country about the middle of April, 

 and continues to pass for about a month. At that season 1 have 

 observed it ascending the Mississippi from New Orleans to the 

 head waters of the Ohio, then culling over the land, and arriving 

 at the Great Lakes, beyond which many proceed still farther 



