THE SPRING MIGRATION. 



II. IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI. 



In the former article under this title 

 attention was paid to the warblers only. 

 In the present one I will try to give you 

 some idea of the other birds that in spring 

 take part in this general movement north- 

 ward. A few birds that cannot properly 

 be classed among the winter residents 

 visit us now and then on warm summery 

 days in January and February ; they may 

 be called the advance guard of the great 

 army of migration. Conspicuous among 

 these are the bluebird and the hermit 

 thrush, two birds closely related, but 

 very different both in coloring and dispo- 

 sition. 



The bluebird is one of the first birds 

 to be learned by the country children ; his 

 bright colors, cheerful music and affec- 

 tionate, trusting disposition make him a 

 general favorite. Right here permit me 

 to digress enough to say that too little 

 encouragement is given the children of 

 our public schools, especially in the coun- 

 try, to learn the names and habits of 

 our common birds. A little time and 

 effort judiciously expended by the 

 teacher in guiding the pupils to an un- 

 derstanding and love of the bird life 

 about them would be an investment pay- 

 ing large dividends in quickened percep- 

 tions and increased interest in the too 

 often dull and distasteful round of 

 school work. 



The hermit thrush is a lover of the 

 deep, dark shades where he can sit on 

 a twig and watch the stirring life about 

 him without being a part of it — a kind 

 of chimney corner philosopher, if you 

 please. The rufous tail in sharp contrast 

 to the olive brown head and back will 

 tell you his name every time, for he is 

 the only member of the thrush family 

 found in these regions in which the color 

 of the tail differs materially from that 

 of the back. I remcml)cr one afternoon 



in February seeing one in the shade of 

 a thick-topped holly; here he remained 

 quite unconscious while we peered at 

 him through the opera glass, discussed 

 his coloring and consulted the pocket 

 manual to see what Chapman said about 

 him, an occasional jerk of the tail or a 

 slight movement of the head being the 

 only indication of life in the graceful 

 figure before us. 



Late in March or early in April come 

 the purple martin, the bank swallow and 

 chimney swift, all cheerful birds whose 

 only apparent aim in life is to sail about 

 through the air in pursuit of gnats and 

 flies. The noisy chatter of the martins 

 as they wheel and turn about near the 

 house is one of the most agreeable sounds 

 in all the gamut of bird voices. They 

 are very numerous in parts of Missis- 

 sippi, but the only place in the North 

 where I have ever seen them in any con- 

 siderable numbers is on the Maumee, 

 not- far from the little town of Water- 

 ville, Ohio. The bank swallow and 

 chimney swift are smaller and less con- 

 spicuous than the martin, less noisy but 

 quite as useful. 



Soon after the swallows appear the 

 flycatchers, the tyrant wood pewee, 

 phoebe bird, Acadian and great crested. 

 What figure is more familiar on hot 

 summer days than the kingbird or tyrant 

 flycatcher perched on a mullein stalk, now 

 and then darting down from his perch 

 to capture some straying gnat? The 

 Acadian stops for only a very short 

 stay ; you will find him in the deepest 

 shades, where the gloom and dampness 

 suit his somber fancy. The wood pewee 

 is also a gloomy soul, possessing no gift 

 of color or song to attract the eye or 

 hold the fancy ; his long drawn out. mo- 

 notonous note always reminds me of 

 hot August afternoons when all other 



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