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OUR BIRD COMRADES

By

LEANDER S. KEYSER

Author of "Birddom," "In Bird Land,"
and "Birds of the Rockies," etc.







[Frontispiece: American Sparrow-hawk]




Rand, McNally & Company
Chicago         New York         London

Copyright, 1907
by Rand, McNally & Co.

The Rand-McNally Press
Chicago




  _To

  ALL WHO LOVE THE BIRDS FOR THEIR
  OWN SAKES,

  who desire to cultivate comradeship with them in books
  and in the field, and who will study them
  with the glass and without the gun._




BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION


To know the birds intimately, to interpret their lives in all their
varied conditions, one must get close to them.  For the purpose of
accomplishing this object the author of this volume has gone to their
haunts day after day and watched them persistently at not a little cost
of time, effort, and money.  While the limits of a single volume do not
permit him to present all of his observations, it is hoped that those
here offered will be satisfactory as far as they go, and that the
reader will be able to glean from these pages some new as well as
interesting facts relative to bird life.

The writer has had another purpose in view in preparing this book: He
wishes to inspire others, especially the young, to use their eyes and
ears in the study of the enchanting volume of Nature.  This object, he
believes, will be best accomplished by furnishing concrete examples of
what may be achieved by earnest research.  For purposes of stimulus an
ounce of example is worth a pound of precept.  If another sees you and
me doing a thing joyfully, earnestly, we need scarcely say to him, "Go
thou and do likewise."

There is not much in the book that is technical, yet it aims at
scientific accuracy in all of its statements, no bird being described
whose status in the avian system has not been determined.  If strange
exploits are sometimes recited, the author has simply to say that he
has been veracious in all of his statements, and that all the stories
are "true bird stories."  The author modestly believes that it will not
be found uninteresting to nature lovers in general.

Much of the material included in this volume has previously appeared in
various periodicals, to the publishers of which the writer would hereby
make grateful acknowledgment for their courtesy in waiving their
copyright privileges.  A number of the journals are given due credit
elsewhere in the book.

THE AUTHOR.




_THE TABLE OF CONTENTS_


  THE PREFACE
  THE ILLUSTRATIONS
  BEGINNING THE STUDY
  MAKING NEW FRIENDS
  WILDWOOD MINSTRELS
  CHICKADEE WAYS
  THE NUTHATCH FAMILY
  A FEATHERED PARASITE
  A BLUE CANNIBAL
  A HANDSOME SCISSORSTAIL
  AN ALPINE ROSY FINCH
  HAPPENINGS BY THE WAY
  ODDS AND ENDS
  WAYSIDE OBSERVATIONS
  TROUBLE AMONG THE BIRDS
  A BIRD'S EDUCATION
  ARE BIRDS SINGERS OR WHISTLERS?
  BIRD FLIGHT
  A BIRD'S FOOT




_THE ILLUSTRATIONS_


AMERICAN SPARROW-HAWK......... _Frontispiece_

CHIPPING SPARROW

YELLOW WARBLER

CHICKADEE

NUTHATCH

BLUE JAY

PEWEE, OR PHOEBE

SONG SPARROW

CARDINAL

WHITE-EYED VIREO

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

BOB-WHITE, OR QUAIL

ROBIN

MEADOW LARK

BARN SWALLOW

SPOTTED SANDPIPER, OR "PEET-WEET"




BEGINNING THE STUDY

Why should not people ride natural history hobbies as well as other
kinds of hobbies?  Almost all persons become interested in some special
study, recreation, or pastime, and their choice is not always as
profitable as the selection of a specific branch of nature lore would
be.  The writer confesses that he would rather pursue a bright, lilting
bird or butterfly than a bounding tennis-ball or football, and he finds
the chase every whit as exciting and the knowledge gained of more
permanent value; and he says this without in anywise intending to
discountenance healthful games and athletic exercises, but simply to
express a preference.  What could be more fascinating, for instance,
than for a young person--or an older person, either, for that
matter--to spend his leisure in trying to identify every bird in his
neighborhood?  As a result of such an attempt he would doubtless become
so interested in the study of his bird neighbors that he would resolve
to learn all he could about their charming habits.

How may one study the birds intelligently?  That is a question every
beginner will want to have answered.  When I began my bird studies I
spent much valuable time in simply trying to learn the _modus
operandi_, and while I do not consider the time thus spent entirely
wasted, still I am anxious to save my readers as much needless effort
as possible.  This I shall do by showing them how they may begin at
once to form an acquaintance with the various families and species of
birds.

It goes without saying that, to become a successful nature student, one
must have good eyes, strong limbs, nimble feet, and, above all, an
alert mind.  People who lack these qualities, especially the last, will
not be likely to pursue the noble science of ornithology.  The stupid
sort will prefer to drowse in the shade, and the light-minded will care
only for the gay round of social pleasures.  Any bright and earnest
person, however, can in good time become an expert student of the
feathered creation, provided only that he feels a genuine interest in
such pursuit.  No one, let it be repeated, can study nature
successfully in a dull, perfunctory spirit.  Here, as in religion, one
must have the baptism of fire, the temper of devotion.

In the study of birds it must be admitted that men and boys have some
advantage over their cousins of the gentler sex.  Men folk may ramble
pretty much where they please without danger, whereas the freedom of
women folk in this respect is somewhat restricted.  However, the
engaging works of Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller, of Mrs. Florence M. Bailey,
and of many others prove that women are not debarred from outdoor
studies, and that in some ways they may even have an advantage over
men; they are not so ambitious to cover a wide territory, to penetrate
to out-of-the-way haunts, or to roll up a long "list," and they are
therefore apt to make more intimate studies of the common species, thus
getting into the very heart of the bird's life.  A man's observations
may embrace a wider range, and he may add more species to the science
of ornithology than his sister, but she will be likely to discover
facts about the commonest fowl that he will overlook.  The study of
birds, therefore, offers a fascinating field for girls and women as
well as for their brothers.

What tools are needed for acquiring bird lore?  To begin at the
beginning, let me ask: Who would expect to study the plants and flowers
without a botany? or the rocks and fossils and the general structure of
the earth without a reliable work on geology? or the planets and stars
without a treatise on astronomy?  So, if you desire a knowledge of
ornithology, you will need what is known as a bird "key," or "manual,"
or "handbook"--that is, a scientific work that shows how the birds have
been classified, with accurate descriptions of all the families,
genera, species, subspecies, and varieties, together with the common
and scientific names of all the species and brief accounts of their
ranges and general habits.  When you have found a plant or a flower
