Birds and Nature Vol. 11 No. 2 [February 1902]

Оглавление

Various. Birds and Nature Vol. 11 No. 2 [February 1902]

FEBRUARY

THE BLUE-HEADED VIREO (Vireo solitarius.)

BOOK AND MRS. OYSTER

THE CALIFORNIAN THRASHER (Harporhynchus redivivus.)

WINTER’S SECRET

A QUEER PARTNERSHIP

THE BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD (Selasphorus platycercus.)

A BIRD THAT HUNG HIMSELF

WINTER MEMORIES

SOME OF OUR WINTER BIRDS. IN EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS

THE BROAD-WINGED HAWK (Buteo latissimus.)

THE BIRD’S COMPLAINT

CALIFORNIA POPPIES

QUARTZ

MIDWINTER

A CATASTROPHE IN HIGH LIFE

THE DOMESTIC CAT

“CUBBY.”

SOAPWORT OR BOUNCING BET (Saponaria officinalis.)

TURTLE-HEAD OR SNAKE-HEAD (Chelone glabra.)

THE POCKET BIRD

THE BIRDS IN THEIR WINTER HOME. II (In the Fields.)

MUSIC-LOVING FELINES

FIRE-FLIES

SUGAR-CANE (Saccharum officinarum Lin.)

DEATH OF THE FOREST MONARCH

Отрывок из книги

The Blue-headed Vireo, or its varieties, of which there are several, frequent nearly the whole of North America. The typical form of the species, that of our illustration, has a range covering Eastern North America and extending westward to the great plains. It breeds from Southern New England and the lake states northward to Hudson Bay and southward in the higher altitudes of the Alleghenies. It passes the winter in Cuba, Mexico and Central America. The Blue-headed Vireo is frequently called the Solitary Vireo, or Greenlet, because of its retiring habits. It is a bird of the forest and stays very close in these quiet retreats. Yet it is, as a rule, easy of approach, seeming to possess both curiosity and confidence. Mr. Bradford Torrey writes with enthusiasm regarding the pretty habits of this bird. He says: “Its most winning trait is its tameness. Wood bird as it is, it will sometimes permit the greatest familiarities. Two birds I have seen which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest manner while sitting on the eggs, and which ate from my hand as readily as any pet canary; but I have seen others that complained loudly whenever I approached their tree. Perhaps they had had sad experiences.”

Possessing a happy and cheerful disposition, this species, like the other vireos, sings while working. Listening to them, we are reminded of the lines in “The Vision of Sir Launfal” —

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“When looking at that oyster this afternoon you noticed a thickened portion fastened to a dark spot on the valve,” said Book.

“I remember,” said Willis.

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