File:Stories about birds of land and water (1874) (14564219939).jpg

Identifier: storiesaboutbird00kirb (find matches)
Title: Stories about birds of land and water
Year: 1874 (1870s)
Authors: Kirby, Mary, 1817-1893 Kirby, Elizabeth, 1823-1873
Subjects: Birds -- Juvenile literature
Publisher: Hartford (Conn.) : American Publishing Co.
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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ring, when the snow is yet on the ground, the bird placeshimselt on a pine-tree and begins what is termed his love song. He not onlysings, but dances. His wings drop, his tail is spread out like a fan, and helooks very much like a turkey-cock when he is angry and gobbling. The notehe utters sounds like the word pillar, pillar, and he goes on getting moreand more excited until he hardly knows how to contain himself He has hisdancing tirties—from the first dawn of day until the sun rises, and then fromsunset until dark. And he has his dancing places, where the game goes onspring after spring. And what is rather funny, the old birds will not allowthe young ones to play and sing in their places. But if the old bird happensto be shot, a young one is sure to set up liis note in the very same spot in thecourse of a few days. THE CAPERCAILZIE. 173 The mother birds, who are scattered in the forest, hear all this singingand dancing, and they reply to it by a note very much like the croak of a
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THi; CAIERCAILZIE. raven, and utter the sound gock, gock, gock. And they come to the treewhere the performance is going on. The nest of the capercailzie is made upon the ground, and there areabout twelve eggs in it, of a pale yellow brown spotted with orange. The 174 STORIES ABOUT BIRDS. mother bird sits a whole month, and is quite forsaken by her partner, whoskulks about in the wood, and renews his plumage, while she is busy withher domestic cares. The capercailzie lives a great deal upon the ground, unless the snowhappens to be deep. He sits also on the uppermost boughs of his favouritepine-trees, and in the night roosts there. Sometimes, however, if the weatheris very severe, he gets quite into the snow, and buries himself He can fly torather a great height, considering the tribe to which he belongs, and can keepon the wing for several miles. The birds are sometimes kept in Sweden in aviaries, and made so tameas to eat out of their owners hand. Their food consists of oats and the u

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