shape, are pure white in color, and somewhat glossy, the shell is smooth and fine- 

 grained." Incubation begins as soon as the first egg is laid, and both sexes par- 

 ticipate in this duty, and occasionally both are found on the nest at the same 

 time. At the nesting season the courage of both sexes is ver\- marked. The male 

 will fight with its talons, and even when wounded will still defend itself. We are 

 told by ^Ir. Gentry that "calmly and silently it maintains its ground, or springs 

 from a short distance on its foe. So, bravely it dies, without thought of glory 

 and without a chance of fame ; for of its kind there are no cowards." 



This bird, like the other species of owls, though possibly not to so great a-i 

 extent because of its diurnal habits, is looked upon by the Indian tribes as a 

 bird of ill omen and by some tribes all owls are called ''death birds." As a whole, 

 the hawk owls are perhaps more useful to man than any other birds that are not 

 used as food. They cause but little trouble in the poultry yard and are of incal- 

 culable value to the farmer because of the large number of small rodents that 

 they destroy. 



Golden-Winged Warbler {Vermivora chrysoptera) 



Range : Breeds in Alleghanian Zone from central Minnesota, southern 

 Ontario, and Massachusetts south to southern Iowa, northern Illinois, northern 

 Indiana, northern New Jersey, and northern Georgia, winters from Guatemala 

 to Colombia. 



Though less gaudily colored than certain others of our warblers, the golden- 

 wing ranks high in the family for beauty, and its trim form and tastefully con- 

 trasted tints of gray,^ black, and yellow may well excite admiration. It is 

 almost wholly limited to eastern States, rarely indeed being found west of the 

 Mississippi, and its summer haunts are in the northern parts of its range. 

 Though common in some localities, the golden-wing in most places is sufficiently 

 rare always to interest the bird observer, and in ]\Iassachusetts if several are 

 heard or seen in a long tramp the day may well be esteemed a red-letter day. 

 The bird is to be looked for in deciduous timber, and is especially fond of elms 

 and birches as hunting grounds. I have often seen it busy in elms so high up 

 that only with difficulty could it be distinguished from the Tennessee, Nashville, 

 and other strikingly different warblers in company with it. Like the blue-wing, 

 it has the habit of clinging to the tip of a branch or cluster of flowers, back 

 downward, examining the spot with the most exact scrutiny. 



Once heard, its song is not to be forgotten nor mistaken for that of any 

 other warbler, unless possibly the blue-wing. It possesses a buzzing, insectlike 

 quality and is well represented to my ears by the syllables ze-ze-ze-ze, the latter 

 notes in a higher pitch. It seems strange that a bird so distinctly arboreal in 

 habits should choose to nest on the ground; but numerous nests of the golden- 

 wing have been found, all of them practically on or a few inches from the earth, 

 though usually supported by weed stalks or grass stems. 



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