Peter A. Anastasi

“ A widely seen hummingbird east of the Great Plains, the ruby-throats are exquisite bits, capable of incredible flight, moving in any direction on wings vibrating faster than sight or able to hover motionless while spectators are breathless. ”

“ This swift is normally found only east of the great plains. Small birds at about 5 inches long, they are aloft all day long, and almost always in groups. They migrate in large flocks and nest from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Watching a flock of swifts flow funnel-like into a chimney is a startling evening experience. The birds express themselves with a chatter of chipping cries, one of the easiest identifications of the species. Their only food is insects, and they are highly beneficial.
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CHIPPING SPARROW
(Spizella passerina)
This slim bird is only about 5 inches long. ”

“ This sparrow-sized, active mite is often heard before it is seen. Its spring call of peter, peter, peter is a clear whistle, audible at some distance.
Insects are a large part of its food, but it takes seeds and nuts from a station quite readily, and is quick to scold if your feeder is empty. It also responds to “squeaking,” the technique bird watchers use to attract many species.
Preferring wooded areas, it appears in small groups in winter. It nests in cavities and bird boxes, and being non-migratory, often uses these same shelters for winter roosts. ”

“ Introduced into this country in the 1880’s, they took hold rapidly and became permanent residents everywhere in the Nation, plus southern Canada and northern Mexico. They live in city parks and crevices of buildings, using large communal roosts in winter; you can hear the tribe gathering on cold nights along the face of many a downtown office building. ”

“ The birds breed in prairie waterholes in Canada, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and, to a minor extent, in other northern States. They move with the great spring and fall migrations and, adjusting easily to the presence of man, are likely to be seen in town or city. ”

“ Living and breeding in cities and suburbs, it is a permanent year-round resident and often is so populous as to be a nuisance, fouling building ledges, park benches, statues, and occasionally people.
Feeding the pigeons in city parks is an old custom, particularly for the young and old. This bird is probably the one most familiar and recognizable to the urban dwellers and may be their closest contact with the world of birds.
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PURPLE MARTIN
(Progne subis)
These birds breed throughout the United States and southern Canada, and down to central Mexico. ”

“ Almost universally condemned after its introduction into the United States, the house sparrow not only held its own, but increased in numbers and extended its range. It now occupies its own niche and is regarded with amusement and considerable affection in our inner cities.
In rural areas it does some damage to fruit, vegetables, and grain. On the other hand, it also eats a number of insects that damage those same crops.
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HOUSE WREN
(Troglodytes aedon)
Less than 5 inches long, this tiny bird seems to live right at home with a man-made house. ”

“ Flying insects, from mosquitoes to beetles and moths, are their only food. Nighthawks build no nest, the two young being raised on the bare ground, or flat roofs.
Nighthawks nest in all states except Hawaii and winter in South America. ”

“ The turkey vulture summers up into Canada and permanently ranges the southern United States. It is a common sight along roadsides and sometimes above cities. These common carrion eaters are natural scavengers, and highly useful ones, but they are a little hard to admire except at a distance. ”

“ The white-breast gets its living from the trunks and branches of trees, over which it walks from daylight to dark. Insects and spiders constitute about half of its food. More than half of its vegetable food consists of acorns and other nuts or large seeds. It’s a bird of the wooded suburbs, and will feed at sheltered stations offering suet, sunflower seeds, or nuts. ”

“ This beautiful sparrow is numerous in the West, but rather rare elsewhere, so watch for it carefully if you’re in the East, for it is shy and retiring there. But the white-crown is bolder and more conspicuous in the Far West, often frequenting gardens, parks, and yards. ”

“ It is often found where telephone and power poles afford it convenient perching and feeding places, and may be seen hovering high over its intended prey. Its food consists of insects, small mammals, birds, spiders, and reptiles. Grasshoppers, crickets, terrestrial beetles, and caterpillars make up considerably more than half its subsistence, while field mice, house mice, and shrews cover fully 25 percent of its annual supply.
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STARLING
(Sturnus vulgaris)
There are few people in the United States who have not seen starlings, even though the viewers might not know the label. ”

“ Flying by day and night, Canadas have set down in flocks on city squares, apparently mistaking a pool of light for a water surface. They seldom live in cities or towns, although visiting urban parks on occasions. Their honking cries in migration have stirred the blood of many an urbanite on a fall night when traffic noises let the wild cry from the skies leak through.
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CARDINAL
(Richmondena cardinalis)
Color alone would make cardinals favored birds. ”

“ Nesting boxes may be restoring the species, whose occupants pay rent by destroying insects. The bluebird’s diet consists of 68 percent insects and 32 percent vegetable matter. The commonest items of insect food are grasshoppers first and beetles next, while caterpillars stand third. Small flocks sometime invade yards for the red fruits of flowering dogwood trees.
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BLUE JAY
(Cyanocitta cristata)
You either admire or hate this arrogant, foot-long hustler, easily identified by its brilliant colors. ”

“ In the air, their flight is a series of fluttering spurts, followed by long glides. Before aviators broke the sound barrier, nighthawks had their own ‘sonic boom,’ created by diving vertically from considerable height and flaring sharply upward near the ground. ”

“ Abundant in eastern forests in its breeding season, it winters in South America. This bird is seen in deciduous trees in city parks during migration.
Its call is a monotonous series of short, abrupt phrases similar to a robin’s. It is repeated as often as 40 times a minute, all through the day. It is lucky for suburban sleepers that the vireo doesn’t sing at night.
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RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
(Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
At 9 inches or so in length, this is a medium-sized woodpecker which occurs in the eastern states. ”

“ Warblers, finches, and sparrows, all smaller than cowbirds, are the chief victims of this practice, the fast growing foster chick monopolizing food and space to the detriment of the legitimate offspring. ”

“ Mockers will feed on cultivated fruits, but they have so won human affection that this is rarely charged against them—principally because of that reputation as a songster and the fact that they eat a variety of destructive insects. ”

“ An abundant species, it breeds in brushy, cutover forests and is usually seen by urban dwellers when transient or wintering flocks come into residential areas. Juncos often winter at feeding stations in cities, suburbs, or towns. ”

“ Their striking plumage is easily seen and long remembered. Though mild mannered, they will sometimes chase each other from a feeding station in early winter, but by late winter and spring they eat side by side. ”