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                           BIRDS AND NATURE.
                   ILLUSTRATED BY COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY.
  Vol. XII.                  OCTOBER, 1902.                      No. 3.




                               CONTENTS.


    AUTUMN WOODS.                                                     97
    THE PHILIPPINE SUN-BIRD. (_Cinnyris jugularis_.)                  98
        Fly, white butterflies, out to sea                            98
    THE ANIMALS’ FAIR. PART II—THE FAIR.                             101
    A DAY.                                                           104
    THE GREAT GRAY OWL. (_Scotiaptex cinerea_.)                      107
    MY SUMMER ACQUAINTANCES.                                         108
    THE BIRD OF PEACE.                                               109
    THE GREEN-CRESTED FLYCATCHER. (_Empidonax virescens_.)           110
    CHARACTER IN BIRDS.                                              113
        Frowning, the owl in the oak complained him                  116
    THE LOUISIANA WATER-THRUSH. (_Seiurus motacilla_.)               119
    SOME DOGS.                                                       120
    PECULIAR MEXICAN BREAD.                                          121
    NATURE’S GLORY.                                                  121
    LAPIS LAZULI, AMBER AND MALICHITE.                               122
    THE LEAF BUTTERFLY. (_Kallima paralekta_.)                       131
    IN AUTUMN.                                                       132
    BEAUTIFUL VINES TO BE FOUND IN OUR WILD WOODS.                   133
    SOME SNAILS OF THE OCEAN.                                        134
    JOIN A SUNRISE CLUB.                                             140
    THE TOMATO. (_Lycopersicum esculentum_.)                         143
    THE BROOK.                                                       144




                             AUTUMN WOODS.


      Ere, in the northern gale,
  The summer tresses of the trees are gone,
  The woods of Autumn, all around our vale,
      Have put their glory on.

      The mountains that infold,
  In their wide sweep, the colored landscape round,
  Seem groups of giant kings, in purple and gold,
      That guard the enchanted ground.

      I roam the woods that crown
  The uplands, where the mingled splendors glow,
  Where the gay company of trees look down
      On the green fields below.

      My steps are not alone
  In these bright walks; the sweet southwest, at play,
  Flies, rustling, where the painted leaves are strown
      Along the winding way.

      And far in heaven, the while,
  The sun, that sends that gale to wander here,
  Pours out on the fair earth his quiet smile—
      The sweetest of the year.
                                                 —William Cullen Bryant.




                        THE PHILIPPINE SUN-BIRD.
                        (_Cinnyris jugularis_.)


  Darlings of children and of bard,
  Perfect kinds by vice unmarred,
  All of worth and beauty set
  Gems in Nature’s cabinet:
  These the fables she esteems
  Reality most like to dreams.
                                         —Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature.”

The sun-birds bear a similar relation to the oriental tropics that the
humming birds do to the warmer regions of the Western hemisphere. Both
have a remarkably brilliant plumage which is in harmony with the
gorgeous flowers that grow in the tropical fields. It is probable that
natives of Asia first gave the name sun-birds to these bright creatures
because of their splendid and shining plumage. By the Anglo-Indians they
have been called hummingbirds, but they are perching birds while the
hummingbirds are not. There are over one hundred species of these birds.
They are graceful in all their motions and very active in their habits.
Like the hummingbirds, they flit from flower to flower, feeding on the
minute insects which are attracted by the nectar, and probably to some
extent on the honey, for their tongues are fitted for gathering it.
However, their habit while gathering food is unlike that of the
hummingbird, for they do not hover over the flower, but perch upon it
while feeding. The plumage of the males nearly always differs very
strongly from that of the females. The brilliantly colored patches are
unlike those of the hummingbirds for they blend gradually and are not
sharply contrasted, though the iridescent character is just as marked.
The bills are long and slender, finely pointed and curved. The edges of
the mandibles are finely serrated.

The nests are beautiful structures suspended from the end of a bough or
even from the underside of a leaf. The entrance is near the top and
usually on the side. Over the entrance a projecting portico is often
constructed. The outside of the nest is usually covered with coarse
materials, apparently to give the effect of a pile of rubbish. Two eggs
are usually laid in these cozy homes, but in rare instances three have
been found. The Philippine Sun-bird of our illustration is a native of
the Philippines and is found on nearly all the islands from Luzon to
Mindanao. The throat