208 



OEDEKS OF BIRDS— ODD FAMILIES 



When this bird alights upon a tree to rest, 

 it chooses a large and nearly horizontal limb, on 

 which it usually sits lengthwise. As it sits mo- 

 tionless on a large limb, the bird strongly resem- 

 bles a knot. This is a trans-continental bird, 

 being found from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in 

 wooded regions, and northward to the Mackenzie 

 River. 



The Whippoorwill 1 needs no introduction. 

 It is more than a bird. It is a national 

 favorite. 



When the mantle of night has fallen, and the 

 busy world is still, we who are in the country in 

 summer often hear a loud, clear, melodious 

 whistle from somewhere near the barn. As 

 plainly as print, it exclaims, " Whip-Foor-Will' !" 

 and repeats it, again and again. Before each 

 regular call, there is a faint "chuck," or catch- 

 ing of the breath, strong emphasis on the "whip," 

 and at the end a piercing whistle which is posi- 

 tively thrilling. 



Sometimes the bird will come and perch within 

 thirty feet of your tent-door, and whistle at the 

 rate of forty whippoorwills to the minute. Its 

 call awakens sentimental reflections, and upon 

 most persons exercises a peculiar, soothing in- 

 fluence. It has been celebrated in several beau- 

 tiful poems and songs. 



The range of this interesting bird is the same 

 as that of the nighthawk. In the South, both 

 are replaced by another goatsucker called, from 

 its whistle, the Chuck-Will's-Widow. Until 

 actually hearing it, one can scarcely believe that 

 any bird of this Order can say things as plainly 

 as this bird says " Chuck Will's Wid-ow ! " The 

 Pacific states, from British Columbia to Mexico, 

 and eastward to Nebraska, have the Poor-Will. 



THE SWIFT FAMILY. 



Micropodidae. 



The Chimney-Swift, or Chimney-"Swal- 

 lovv," 2 has been for a century or more classified 

 with the swallows and martins, but recent studies 

 of its anatomy have caused its removal from their 

 group. This is the bird whose nest and young 

 sometimes tumble down into your fireplace in 

 spring or summer, and cause commotion. 



To me, the nesting habits of this bird seem 



1 An-tros'to-mus vo-cif er-us . Length, about 9.50 

 inches. 



2 Chae-tu'ra pe-lag'i-ca. Length, 5 inches. 



like faulty instinct. A chimney is a poor place 

 of residence for a bird, and the habitants fre- 

 quently come to grief. If the aperture is small, 

 the householder objects to having the chimney 

 stopped by nests; and if it is large, so many 

 Swifts may nest there that their noise is an an- 

 noyance. These birds get up and out before 

 daylight, to hunt insects that fly at night, and 

 doubtless many a " ghost " in a " haunted-house" 

 is nothing more frightful than a colony of these 

 birds in the chimney. 



This bird has the ability to fly straight up, 

 or straight down, else it could not enter or leave 

 a chimney. It is quite an aerial gymnast, and 

 feeds only when on the wing. Its flight is very 

 graceful, and both in manner of flight and person- 

 al appearance it so closely resembles a short- 

 tailed swallow that there are few persons who can 

 distinguish the difference in the flying birds. 



One strongly marked peculiarity of this bird 

 is that the tip of each tail-feather ends in a sharp, 

 wire-like point, caused by the shaft of the feather 

 being projected considerably beyond the vane. 

 The eastern Chimney-Swift ranges westward to 

 the Great Plains. On the Pacific slope is found 

 another species, a close parallel to the preceding, 

 called the Vaux Swift. The White-Throated Swift 

 of the Pacific States is distinguished by its white 

 throat and breast, and a few white patches else- 

 where. 



THE HUMMING-BIRD FAMILY. 



Trochilidae. 



The Ruby-Throated Humming-Bird 3 rep- 

 resents the Family which contains the smallest of 

 all birds. When the trumpet-vine on your 

 veranda is in flower, you will see this delicate 

 creature dart into view, like a large-winged in- 

 sect, and poise itself easily and gracefully in mid- 

 air at the mouth of the most conspicuous flower. 

 Its tiny wings beat the air with such extreme 

 rapidity and machine-like regularity that you 

 see only a gray, fan-shaped blur on each side of 

 the living bird. It holds itself in position with 

 the greatest exactitude, thrusts its long and 

 delicate beak into the heart of the flower, and, 

 with the skill of a surgeon probing a wound, 

 extracts the tiny insects or the honey so dear to 

 its palate. 



3 Troch'i-lus col'u-bris. Length, 3.25 inches. 



