File:Birds and nature (1904) (14771578623).jpg

Identifier: birdsnature161904chic (find matches)
Title: Birds and nature
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Birds Natural history
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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nest. Mr. Keysersays: It is odd that these birds, shy andnervous as they are, should go so far outof their way to tell you that they have anest somewhere in the copse that youmustnt touch, mustnt even look for.While you are yet a quarter of a mileaway, they will utter their loud cries ofwarning; and if you go to the thicketwhere they are, you will be almost sure tofind their nest, so poorly have theylearned the lesson of discretion. Themale shows a strong attachment for hismate and her nest. During the time she issitting upon the eggs, he seldom goes be-yond the limits of the bushy area inwhich his home is situated. In the pres-ence of his mate he sings his best. Therehe performs his clownish feats and turrisaerial somersaults, voicing, the while, hiseccentric medley. Indeed, some of hismost varied performances are inspired bythe happiness he experiences in the littlehome ensconced among the subjacentbranches. The Chats frequent the bushy under-at the edges of forests growths large 71
Text Appearing After Image:
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. (Icteria virens) li Life size. COPYRIGHT 1900. bY A. W. HUMFORO, CHICAGa fields covered with a shrubby growth and the bush-fringed borders of swamps andstreams. They do not like thick forestsof large trees. Their nests are usuallyplaced very near the ground and gener-ally in the most tangled portion of ashrubby patch. In such places the nestis well screened by the adjacent foliageand quite well protected from discoverywere it not for those delirious calls andludicrous motions of the male. whichhe usually executes very near his home.The nest is a bulky affair, constructedwkh grasses, many dried leaves, weedstems and strips of fibrous bark. Thesewith other materials are well woven to-gether in the building of the walls. Thenest is lined with finer grasses and smallflexible roots. All the aets of the Chat arc indeedunique among birds. However muchof a tease and a deceiver he may be-to the passer-by along the roadside, inthe privacy of the domestic circle lieshows tr

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