THE GOItLEGTORS' JWONTHIiY. 



Devoted to Otmitholoy, Oology and Natural History. 



OUR BIRDS 



Entered In Competition by 

 Roy F. Green, 



Arkansas City, Kansas. 

 [Prize Article.] 



"Much do I need, and there fore I would ask 

 The Muse to a.id nte in my present task, 



'Tis to the Muses that we pray for aid 



When of our subject we are most afraid." 

 Crabbe. 

 Our birds! What a pleasing group 

 they are! All ours. From ■ the Atlantic 

 to the Pacific, from the lal- s to the gulf, 

 and e'en in the waters of the Yukon in far 

 off Alaska we claim them, as all ours. 

 From royal purple to dull gray in plum- 

 age, from the great Eagle to the little 

 Humming-bird, from the shrill notes of 

 the Blue Jay aud the piercing cry of the 

 Hawk, to the warbling Oriole,or thesooth- 

 ing notes to the wearied brain that the 

 Robin offers. All ours! Though Europe 

 offers a greater number of species to the 

 collector; for their gorgeous colors, sweet 

 songs, good deeds, and graceful beauty. 

 America's birds, our birds, lead the van. 

 From the Atlantic coast near the mouth 

 of the Hudson where the birds of the far 

 Northland wandering southward in the 

 depths of winter drift ashore on Long 

 Island and are jotted down in the note- 

 book of our New York naturalist to the 



semi-tropical birds of the Florida cost. 

 Ah! What a characteristic group, char- 

 acterzing our great country with its di- 

 versified products and industries. Then 

 the group of birds which are habitats of 

 the lake regions, the birds that may be 

 found on the b;mks of Lake Michigan 

 Lake Huron or Superior, the birds 01 On- 

 tario and Erie. Where else but in this 

 broad land can you find such large bodies 

 of fresh water ? Where but here can y< >u 

 find such birds? 



Then the group which the Mississippi 

 valley can boast of extending as does this 

 valley from little Lake Itasca in Northern 

 Minnesota down through the middle stat- 

 es to the Gulf of Mexico, from the forests 

 of the North to the cane brakes of the 

 South. Oh ! what a group they'd make! 

 Then the birds of the "Sunflower" and 

 "Lone Star" states with Oklahoma Ty., 

 throwing in the Burrowing owl, the Wild 

 Turkey, the Curlew, Killkeer, Prairie lien 

 and Plover regularity nesting, and then 

 traveling westward we come to the leath- 

 ered songsters and game birds of the 

 Rocky Mountains none the less striking 

 in appearance than their Eastern rela- 

 tions. Oh ! what a group these lovely 

 mountains shelter. You may have your 

 Wood cock, Mr. New England; you may 

 have your Snipe Mr. Michigan; claim 

 your Duck if you will, Mr. Ohio. We will 

 rest content with our glorious Pheasant 

 and our Sage hen. Then the coast birds 

 of the Pacific. Where else in this broad 

 universe can we bring together so much 

 beauty such rare tones of melody which 

 inspire and encourage us to nobler efforts. 



