File:Birds and nature (1906) (14565858767).jpg

Identifier: birdsnature31906chic (find matches)
Title: Birds and nature
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Birds Natural history
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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e ordinary observer. Thereare countless details or minor factsbearing upon the subject that might beadded, but this is not supposed to be ascientific treatise, and so I shall not runthe risk of being tedious by going intofurther discussion. I have tried to showthat all these innumerable modificationsof bird anatomy are due to character,habit, or environment, and that givenany bird, by observing certain promi-nent characteristics, we are enabled toknow many essential things about thelife of that bird. The importance ofthese facts will be readily appreciated bythose who would make any systematicstudy of birds; and it is hoped that whathas been said will arouse a greater in-terest in our feathered friends. It is nota knowledge of bird anatomy merelythat is recommended, for this is import-ant only as it stimulates our observationand furthers our understanding of birdlife, so that we may find genuine plea-sure in the sight of birds and be movedby the beauty of their song. W. O. Headlee. 92
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THE LESSER PRAIRIE HEN (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus.) The Lesser Prairie Hen is an inhabit-ant of the southern United States. Ithas a limited range which probably ex-tends from southern and western Texasnorthward through the Indian Territoryto Kansas and westward of the easternedge of the Great Plains. It is a prairiebird and seldom resorts to forest areasexcept during stormy periods. The habits, especially during the nest-ing season, of the Lesser Prairie Hensare very similar to those of the well-known prairie hen or pinnated grouse.The nesting sites usually selected are onthe ground in areas of thick prairiegrass or at the base of bushes in areaswhich are devoid of tall grass. Thenest is only a slight excavation scratchedin the ground by the birds and lined withhandy materials such as grasses andfeathers. As is the case with the prairiehen, it is probable that many nests andtheir contents are destroyed by prairiefires in dry seasons, or by floods duringwet seasons, as some of the nes

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