File:Baby birds at home (1912) (14748264631).jpg

Identifier: babybirdsathomebb00kear (find matches)
Title: Baby birds at home
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Kearton, Richard, 1862-1928
Subjects: Birds -- Behavior Birds -- Juvenile literature
Publisher: London, New York (etc.) Cassell and company, ltd.
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
d nearly twice hisweight. This species breeds in woods. Its nest isbuilt of sticks and twigs, and is large andshallow. Sometimes it is in the fork of atree, and at others on a strong, horizontalbranch. The eggs, numbering from four to six, arewhite, tinged with blue or bluish green,boldly marked with pale and rich dark brownspots and blotches. Baby Sparrow Hawks are covered withwhite fluffy down when they are hatched,and when seen in the nest, they remind oneof a collection of powder-puffs in a basket.A Sparrow Hawk household is rather likea human one. The father bird does all thehunting after food, whilst the mother staysat home and looks after the chicks. Shetakes up her station on some dead tree, orstump that will afford her a good outlook,and is not too far from the nest. Whenher mate returns home with food, she takesit from him and divides it amongst thechicks, and if you are hiding anywhere nearthe nest, you can hear the chittering wel-come they give their mother on her arrival.
Text Appearing After Image:
The Peewit or Lapwing THIS interesting bird is well known tonearly everybody, for it frequentlybreeds within a few miles of large townsand cities. It loves marshlands, fallowfields, and moors, and is known by threedifferent names, all of which are suitable :Peewit after its own call note, Lapwingon account of the way it folds or laps itswings when flying, and Green Plover be-cause of the green colour of its back. The Lapwing breeds on the ground.Its nest consists of a slight hollow, linedwith bits of dead grass, rushes or rootlets.The eggs are four in number, large for thesize of the bird and shaped very much likepears. They are always found lying withtheir sharp ends pointing inwards, andthick ends outwards. This is a very wisearrangement, because it prevents any spacebeing lost in the nest, and enables themother bird to cover them properly and *9 20 Baby Birds at Home give each an equal share of the warmthof her body. If you would like to know what aPeewit thinks of the shape of her

Note About Images