. Bird neighbors. An introductory acquaintance with one hundred and fifty birds commonly found in the gardens, meadows, and woods about our homes; . d to the plains, where the Western meadowlarktakes its place. Winters from Massachusetts and Illinoissouthward. Migrations—April. Late October. Usually a resident, a few re-maining through the winter. In the same meadows with the red-winged blackbirds, birdsof another feather, but of the same family, nevertheless, may befound flocking together, hunting for worms and larvae, buildingtheir nests, and rearing their young very near each other withthe
. Bird neighbors. An introductory acquaintance with one hundred and fifty birds commonly found in the gardens, meadows, and woods about our homes; . d to the plains, where the Western meadowlarktakes its place. Winters from Massachusetts and Illinoissouthward. Migrations—April. Late October. Usually a resident, a few re-maining through the winter. In the same meadows with the red-winged blackbirds, birdsof another feather, but of the same family, nevertheless, may befound flocking together, hunting for worms and larvae, buildingtheir nests, and rearing their young very near each other withthe truly social instinct of all their kin. The meadowlarks, which are really not larks at all, but theblackbirds and orioles cousins, are so protected by the coloringof the feathers on their backs, like that of the grass and stub-ble they live among, that ten blackbirds are noticed for everymeadowlark, although the latter is very common. Not until youflush a flock of them as you walk along the roadside or throughthe meadows and you note the v/hite tail feathers and the blackcrescents on the yellow breasts of the large brown birds that rise 132. Brown, Olive or Grayish Brown, and Brown and Gray Sparrowy Birds towards the tree-tops with whirring sound and a flight suggest-ing the quails, do you suspect there are any birds among thetall grasses. Their clear and piercing whistle, Spring o the o the year ! rings out from the trees with varying in-tonation and accent, but always sweet and inspiriting. To thebirds high vantage ground you may not follow, for no longerhaving the protection of the high grass, it has become wary andflies away as you approach, calling out pceut-peent and nervouslyflitting its tail (again showing the white feather), when it rests amoment on the pasture fence-rail. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack to try to find ameadowlarks nest, an unpretentious structure of dried grassespartly arched over and hidden in a clump of high timothy, f
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1900
