Chester A. Reed

“ A great number of books have been written for sportsmen and by sportsmen, most of them containing but a very few black and white illustrations of some of the species mentioned. As far as we know, AMERICAN GAME BIRDS is the only sportsman’s book illustrating nearly all of these birds in NATURAL COLORS. With it, the novice can identify any game bird he secures or sees, and the old-timer, as well, can see just what sportsmen in other sections of the country are shooting. The illustrations are excellent reproductions by the very best process from water-color paintings made directly from the birds. ”

“ When winter storms sweep across our land, these birds blow in like true snowflakes, settling down upon hillsides and feeding upon seeds from the weed stalks that are sure to be found above the snow somewhere. ”

“ This pretty creature is the most graceful in appearance of the Flycatcher family, if not of the whole order of perching birds. In the southwest it is frequently known as the “Texan Bird of Paradise.” Its habits are very much like those of the Kingbird; as it gracefully swings through the air in pursuit of insects, it frequently opens and shuts its scissor-like tail. They are usually found in open country or on the borders of woodland. They rarely alight on the ground, for their long tails make them walk very awkwardly, but when they are a-wing they are the embodiment of grace. ”

“ I do not take into consideration the death of birds from natural causes, such as old age and disease, for these should be counterbalanced by the natural increase.
There are parts that each one of us can play in lessening the unnatural dangers that lurk along a bird’s path in life. Individually, our efforts may amount to but little, perhaps the saving of the lives of two or three, or more, birds during the year, but collectively, our efforts will soon be felt in the bird-world. ”

“ Male, black, orange and white; female, grayish, yellow and white; it requires two or three years to attain the black plumage of the male, in the intermediate stages they are sometimes strangely mottled.
In the northeastern half of the United States, these are one of the commonest and most active of the species. Both the males and females seem to be proud of their handsome plumage and are continually spreading and closing their tails. They are equally happy whether in the tree tops or near the ground, and are as often found in the one place as the other. ”

“ Male with broad white tips to outer tail feathers; female with narrow buffy tips. These birds are often confounded with the Nighthawk, but are very easily distinguished by the long bristles from the base of bill, the black chin, the chestnut and black barred wing feathers and the rounded tail. Whip-poor-wills are more nocturnal than Nighthawks and on moonlight nights continue the whistled repetition of their name throughout the night. They capture and devour a great many of the large-bodied moths that are found in the woods, but are never seen flying over cities like Nighthawks. ”

“ Male, black and white; female, brown and gray.
This species is often known as the White-winged Blackbird, not because it bears any resemblance to any of the Blackbirds, nor because any of the habits are the same, but simply because of its plumage. They are very gregarious and usually fly in flocks even in nesting time.
They seem to be very methodical and well trained; if one of a flock takes wing, the entire flock rises simultaneously and in a very compact body they fly until some leader chooses the next stopping place, when they as suddenly alight. ”

“ We can learn many very interesting things by watching our birds, especially during the nesting season, and the habits and peculiarities of many are still but imperfectly known. One thing to be impressed upon the student at the start is the need of very careful observation before deciding upon the identity of a bird with which you are not perfectly familiar. A bird’s colors appear to differ greatly when viewed in different lights, while in looking up in the tree tops, it is often impossible to see any color at all without the aid of a good field glass. ”

“ General color dark gray with a black cap and chestnut under tail coverts.
This is one of the most common birds throughout the United States, being found equally abundantly in gardens, swamps and scrubby pastures. They are very persistent songsters and have a large repertoire of notes, as well as being able to imitate those of many other birds. They delight in spending an hour or more at a time, perched in a bush or tree top, singing, and apparently making their song up as they go along, for it is an indescribable medley interspersed with various mews and cat calls. ”

“ Unused chimneys of old dwellings make favorite roosting and nesting places for these smoke-colored birds. They originally dwelt in hollow trees until the advent of man furnished more convenient places, although we would scarcely consider the soot-lined brick surface as good as a clean hollow tree. Spines on the end of each tail feather enable them to hang to their upright walls, and to slowly hitch their way to the outer world. Throughout the day numbers of them are scouring the air for their fare of insects, but as night approaches, they return to the chimney. ”

“ Male with a brown crown patch; female duller colored and with no crown patch. Dry side hills covered with young trees are favorite resorts for the Warblers. They conceal their nests on the ground under tufts of dead grass or overhanging stones. They are often rather shy and hard to sight, but you can usually hear their song, a lazy sounding “ker-chip-chip-chip-cherr-wee-e-e,” ending in a short trill. These birds breed in the northern half of the U. S. and southern Canada, wintering in Central America. A sub-species is found on the Pacific Coast. ”

“ He is very pert in all his actions, both in trees and on the ground, and is always ready for mischief. In a high wind their long tail often makes traveling a laborious operation for them, and at such times they usually remain quite quiet. ”

“ Male, with a chestnut wash on the ears and throat; female, duller and with little or no chestnut.
In the greater part of eastern North America, Cape May Warblers are regarded as rare birds; they appear to migrate in compact bodies, not spreading out over the country as do most of the others; consequently they may be very common in restricted areas while lacking entirely in others. I have never met with but two specimens in Massachusetts. While passing through the United States you may meet with them in open woods, parks or in shade trees along the streets of cities. ”

“ It has been found, by observation and dissection, that a Cuckoo consumes daily from 50 to 400 caterpillars or their equivalent, while a Chickadee will eat from 200 to 500 insects or up to 4,000 insect or worm eggs. 100 insects a day is a conservative estimate of the quantity consumed by each individual insectivorous bird. By carefully estimating the birds in several areas, I find that, in Massachusetts, there are not less than five insect-eating birds per acre. ”

“ Birds of prey have but little to do with the question of bird protection for, with a few exceptions, they rarely feed upon other birds, and nearly all of them are of considerable economic value themselves. Jays, Crows, and Grackles, by devouring the eggs and young of our smaller birds, are a far greater menace than are the birds of prey, but even these have their work and should be left in the place that Nature intended for them ”

“ No reddish brown in the plumage; crown largely black, with a whitish stripe in centre. The habits of these birds are the same as those of the Chippy; they are abundant on the Plains north to Saskatchewan and breed south to the northern portion of the United States. They spend the winter in Mexico. Their nests and eggs cannot be distinguished from those of the preceding except, perhaps, by the fact that the nest has more grass than hair. ”

“ Larger and grayer than our common Cedar Waxwing and with yellow and white on the wing; it is a northern species and is only casually found in eastern U. S. They nest within the Arctic Circle and only a few of their nests have ever been found. In winter they are found in flocks, roving restlessly about the country, often appearing where least expected and utterly deserting other places where they are usually found.
Nest.—Of small twigs and moss, lined with feathers, usually placed at low elevations in spruce or coniferous trees ”

“ Our winter birds have their hardships when snow covers the weed tops, and a coating of ice covers the trees, so that they can neither get seeds nor grubs. During the nesting season, we often have long-continued rains which sometimes cause an enormous loss of life to insect-eating birds and their young. In 1903, after a few weeks’ steady rain and damp weather, not a Purple Martin could be found in Worcester County, nor, as far as I know, in New England ”

“ If a dog kills sheep or deer, he is shot and the owner has to pay damages; if a man is caught killing a bird, he pays a fine; but cats are allowed to roam about without restriction, leaving death and destruction in their wake. All homeless cats should be summarily dealt with, and all pets should be housed, at least from May until August, when the young birds are able to fly.
Of wild animals, Red Squirrels are far the most destructive to young birds and eggs ”

“ I should advise any one by all means to make a complete local list of all the birds that are found in their neighborhood, but of far greater value than the simple recording of the different species seen on each walk, will be the making a special study of one or more birds, even though they be common ones. ”

“ How Can We Protect the Birds?—Nearly all states have fairly good game laws, which, if they could be enforced, would properly protect our birds from man, but they cannot be; if our boys and girls are educated to realize the economic value of the birds, and are encouraged to study their habits, the desire to shoot them or to rob them of their eggs will be very materially lessened. ”

“ This very brilliantly plumaged Oriole is, perhaps, the most abundant of the family in southern Texas. It is not as shy a bird as the two preceding species and is more often found in the neighborhood of houses.
With the exception of a few kinds of fruits, their food consists almost entirely of insects; all the Orioles are regarded as among our most beneficial birds. ”

“ Downies are one of the commonest of our Woodpeckers and are usually tame, allowing a very close approach before flying. They remain in orchards and open woods throughout the summer, and in winter often come to the windows in places where they are fed, as many people are in the habit of doing now. Their food, as does that of nearly all the Woodpeckers, consists entirely of insects, grubs and larvæ. ”

“ Noble in carriage, beautiful of plumage, amiable in disposition and excellent singers are some of the qualifications of these large-billed birds. They are southern birds, rarely seen in northern U. S. unless in cages, for large numbers of them are trapped for this purpose, a practice that is being stopped as rapidly as possible by enforcing the laws which protect them. ”

“ Adults have the fore part of the head orange, while young birds have the head entirely green, with only a trifle orange on the forehead.
With the exception of the Thick-Billed Parrot, which is very rarely found in southern Arizona, these are the only members of the Parrot family in the United States. They were once abundant throughout the southern states, but are now nearly extinct. They are found in heavily timbered regions, usually along the banks of streams, where they feed upon seeds and berries. ”

“ The habits of this little northerner are like those of the bird that we know so well; if anything they are even more tame than our bird, especially in the vicinity of lumbermen’s camps. They are only met with along our northern border or casually farther south; I have seen one individual in company with other Chickadees in Massachusetts. ”

“ These birds are well known to hunters, trappers, and campers in the northern woods. They are great friends, especially of the lumbermen, as some of the pranks that they play serve to enliven an otherwise tedious day. They seem to be devoid of fear and enter camp and carry off everything, edible or not, that they can get hold of. They are called by guides and lumbermen by various names, such as Whiskey Jack, Moose Bird, etc. ”

“ These beautiful little creatures are often known as Thistle-birds and Wild Canaries, the former name because they are often seen on thistles, from the down of which their nests are largely made, and the latter name because of the sweet canary-like song. Their flight is a peculiar series of undulations accompanied by an intermittent twitter. They are very sociable and breed usually in communities as well as travel in flocks in the winter. ”

“ This shrike is larger than any of the species found in summer in the United States and has the breast quite distinctly barred.
Shrikes are cruel, rapacious and carnivorous birds, feeding upon insects, grasshoppers, lizards and small birds. As they have passerine feet, the same as all our small birds, they are unable to hold their prey between the feet while tearing it to pieces, so they impale it upon thorns or the barbs of a wire fence so they may tear it to shreds with their hooked bill. ”

“ A handsome Vireo found in localities such as are frequented by the Red-eyed species. Nowhere do they appear to be as abundant as that species, however; they are more abundant than many suppose, but the difficulty of clearly seeing the yellow breast when they are feeding in the tree tops, combined with the similarity of their songs, usually caused them to be passed by without inspection. ”

“ These beautiful, gentle and well-known birds spend the winter in the southern parts of the United States and north to the snow line; some more hardy than the rest are found throughout the winter in southern New England. ”

“ Male, scarlet and black; female, greenish yellow and blackish.
These beautiful birds are found in open woods, but they often come out in fields, parks, orchards and sometimes in yards when feeding; one of the prettiest sights that I ever saw was of about a dozen of these birds tripping along the furrows of a ploughed field, where they were feeding on insects. Besides berries and seeds, they live upon quantities of insects, frequently catching them on the wing in true Flycatcher style. ”