HOUSE WREN-RED-EYED GROUND ROBIN— TROPIC BIRD. 



83 



usually placed at the foot of some creeping fir, and concealed from 

 view. The eggs are five in number, of a pale green tint, blotched 

 over with irregular spots of brown. When disturbed during in- 

 cubation, they flutter away, imitating lameness. Their food con- 

 sists of grain and insects, and they imitate our domestic fowl in 

 eating, scraping the ground with their feet for the purpose of 

 turning up some dainty morsel. 



House Wren. {Troglodytes a'edon.) 

 Fig. 7. 



This charming and familiar bird is common throughout the 

 United States, though not abundant in the more northern parts of 

 New England. It is not known to winter in any part of the Union, 

 commencing its migratory movements early in September. It arrives 

 in the Northern States during the earlier days of May, and imme- 

 diately commences preparations for the rearing of a tamily. Bold, 

 sociable, and confiding, it has abandoned its prehistoric abiding 

 places, such as the holes of decaying trees, and taken to the habi- 

 tations of man, using the eaves of houses, wood-sheds, even sitting- 

 rooms when accessible. Audubon tells the story of a pair who 

 thus shared his own parlor, entertaining him with song, and in this 

 manner more than paying rent. They have been known to build 

 in the sleeve of a coat hung against the wall, in clothes-line boxes, 

 in old hats, and other equally unthought-of articles. If the cavity 

 which they may select prove too large, they fill the space unused 

 with sticks or other material convenient, contracting the entrance 

 until just sufficient to admit their wee bodies. In the center of 

 this mass a hemispherical nest is constructed, compact in its ar- 

 chitecture, composed of fine material, and warmly lined with 

 feathers and the fur of animals. The eggs number from seven to 

 nine, are rounded oval in shape, .60 by .55 of an inch in size, 

 with a white ground so thickly blotched with spots of reddish- 

 brown and purple as to be almost obliterated. During incubation 

 the song of the male Wren is constant, clear and loud, almost 

 shrill, and uttered with the utmost animation and rapidity. Al- 

 though so small, they are among the most pugnacious of our birds, 

 and during courtship and marital life indulge in constant battles. 

 Holding an undying enmity to the cat, they rarely let go an op- 

 portunity to attack this cold-blooded and treacherous enemy. In 

 their battles with birds of different kin, they frequently come off 

 victorious, notwithstanding their diminutive size. Their food is 

 entirely insectivorous, and they are among the farmer's truest and 

 most active friends. 



Red-eyed Ground Robin— Chewink or Charee— Towhee Bunting. (Pipilo 

 eryt/iropht/ialmus.) 



Fig. 8. 



The Towhee Bunting, Ground Robin, Chewink, or Charee, for 

 by all these and other names is this bird known in different locali- 

 ties, has a range extending throughout the Atlantic States, and 

 westward to the great plains. Although migratory, it breeds in 

 every State where it is known. It arrives in Northern New York 

 about the first of May, returning to its winter haunts some time in 

 October. It is a solitary bird, usually seen only in pairs, though 

 when preparing for their yearly migration they gather in small 

 flocks. Its favorite haunt is some closely sheltered thicket, where 

 its time is busily spent in turning over leaves, searching the earth 

 for the insects and worms which constitute its food. Its note con- 

 sists of a simple towhee, from whence its name, though during the 

 days of courtship the male will mount some elevated position and 

 give utterance to a short but very sweet and melodious song. Wil- 

 son has undertaken to transpose this song into words, and it is as 

 follows: fstfd-witee-te-te-te-te. It commences house building 



early in May, seeking some natural depression in the ground for 

 its purpose, building the edges of its nest even with the surround- 

 ing surface, and filling the cavity with coarse stems and dry leaves 

 without much attention to a finer lining. Great pains is taken to 

 conceal the nest by some overhanging tuft of grass, and when the 

 bird is sitting it is very difficult to discover it. The eggs are usually 

 five in number, of a pale flesh color, thickly marked with specks 

 of rufous, and are .98 by .80 of an inch in size. They are very 

 affectionate to their young, evincing much anxiety when approached, 

 and fearlessly thrusting themselves between them and any danger. 

 "In the Middle Atlantic districts, as Maryland for instance," 

 says Coues, "the Towhee is chiefly a migrant, appearing in great 

 numbers the third or fourth week in April, and so continuing until 

 the middle of May; while in the fall it is still more numerous 

 during the month of October. With the coming of other seed- 

 eaters from the north, early in October, the Towhee suddenly ap- 

 pears. As we walk along the weedy old 'snake' fences and 

 thick hedges, or by the briery tracts marking the course of a tiny 

 watei -thread through a field, scores of the humble gray Sparrows 

 flit before us ; while ever and again the jaunty Towhee, smartly 

 dressed in black, white, and chestnut, comes into view, flying low, 

 with a saucy flirt of the tail, and dashes again into the covert as 

 quickly as it emerged, crying '■towhee' with startling distinctness. 

 In the spring it is less conspicuous, and more likely to be found in 

 low, tangled woods, amid laurel brakes and the like; on the 

 ground, rustling and busily scratching the matting of last year's 

 leaves that covers the earth, doubtless in search of insects. Its 

 notes are then louder, and oftener heard. Some say that the males 

 precede the females in migrating ; this may average true, but I 

 have constantly found the sexes together at both seasons. This is 

 only a partially gregarious bird, large gatherings being seldom 

 witnessed. In fact it seems to prefer the society of the smaller 

 and plainer Sparrows, among which it shines without difficulty, 

 doubtless patronizing them in the genteel way, customary with 

 big folks, that is so exasperatingly oppressive to the recipients." 



PLATE LVII. 



Tropic Bird. (Phaethon tzthereus.) 

 Fig. 1. 



This bird barely comes within the range of the birds of North 

 America, as they are only casual visitors of the Gulf coast. As 

 implied in their name, they belong to the tropical zone. They 

 possess immense powers of flight, and have been observed as far 

 north as latitude 40 degrees. They live almost entirely on the wing, 

 and are found many leagues out at sea, where they frequently pass 

 the night sleeping on its bosom. Their food consists almost entirely 

 offish and other marine animals, which they drop upon from great 

 heights. They also make easy prey of flying-fish as they dart from 

 the water. They congregate in great numbers on rocky and de- 

 serted islands for the purpose of incubating, placing their nests on 

 the ground or among low trees and bushes, and laying but two eggs. 

 Waterton, while at sea, shot one, and offering a guinea for its re- 

 covery, tells us that " a Danish sailor who was standing on the fore- 

 castle, instantly plunged into the sea with all his clothes on and 

 swam toward the bird. Our people ran aft to lower down the jolly- 

 boat,, but it was filled with lumber and had been well secured with 

 lashings for the passage home. Our poor Dane was now far astern, 

 and in our attempt to tack ship she missed stays and we were obliged 

 to wear her. In the meantime we all expected that the Dane had 

 gone down into Davy's locker ; but at last we fortunately came up 

 with him, and we found him buffeting the waves with the dead bird 

 in his mouth." 



