. The birds of Ohio; a complete scientific and popular description of the 320 species of birds found in the state . er niforest, thetheir nests,made while the sticks are laidand the rootlets gathered. Nowhistle or call betrays thesecret of the spotted eggs,and people begin to wonderwhat has become of the BlueJays. Meanwhile the Jaysare beginning to feast onstrange sweets. Many anunctured egg of Sparrow,Vireo, or Robin bears witnessto the stealthy visit or openlirigandage of these maraud-ers. AAHien their j^oung arehatched, the pillage and car- nage increases fourfold. Every discoverable nest,
. The birds of Ohio; a complete scientific and popular description of the 320 species of birds found in the state . er niforest, thetheir nests,made while the sticks are laidand the rootlets gathered. Nowhistle or call betrays thesecret of the spotted eggs,and people begin to wonderwhat has become of the BlueJays. Meanwhile the Jaysare beginning to feast onstrange sweets. Many anunctured egg of Sparrow,Vireo, or Robin bears witnessto the stealthy visit or openlirigandage of these maraud-ers. AAHien their j^oung arehatched, the pillage and car- nage increases fourfold. Every discoverable nest, not successfully defendedby its owner, is laid under tribute to provide eggs or tender young for the babymonsters at home. Altho so bloodthirsty, the treacherous blue-coat is not es-pecially brave, and when set upon by the outraged parents, he (or she) usuallyioeats a hasty retreat, screaming at a fearful rate. Even the Robin must guardher treasures with the greatest diligence or this crafty pilferer will desolate herhome. The Blue Jays are not over careful either, and the appearance of one in 10 THE BLUE the Robin tree is tlie signal for a fight, which is but one of millions in theprocess of a feud already centuries old. In view of Blue Jays sins, it affords a legitimate satisfaction to recall asight which met my gaze early one morning in May,—a Crow robbing a BlueJays nest. Four eggs—one, two, three, four—were extracted by the relentlessclaw of fate, while the agonized, if unrepentant, parents plead for mercy. TheCrow is no saint, but he does not cloak his villainies under a garb of blue and white. For sheer naughtiness, too, com-mend us to the pleasant habit whichthe Blue Jay has of secreting himselfin some thicket and imitating thenotes of hawks or other birds orbeasts of prey. The ke-ah note ofthe Red-shouldered Hawk is a favo-rite instrument of terror, and thekilly-killy note of the SparrowHawk is no less cleverly , in winter, having just heardand
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1903
