. A - birding on a bronco . udy liini in your own door-yard, or where he is so common as to be anevery-day matter. The chijDpies were always sit-ting around, scratching, orpicking up seeds ; or elsequarreling among them-selves. Feeling that it wasmy duty to watch them, Ireasoned with myself, butthey seemed so mortallydull and uninteresting itwas hard work to give upany time to them. Whenthey went to nesting, their wild instincts assertedthemselves, and they hid aw^ay so closely I wasnever sure of but one of their nests, and thatonly by most cautious watch-ing. Then for the first timethey becam
. A - birding on a bronco . udy liini in your own door-yard, or where he is so common as to be anevery-day matter. The chijDpies were always sit-ting around, scratching, orpicking up seeds ; or elsequarreling among them-selves. Feeling that it wasmy duty to watch them, Ireasoned with myself, butthey seemed so mortallydull and uninteresting itwas hard work to give upany time to them. Whenthey went to nesting, their wild instincts assertedthemselves, and they hid aw^ay so closely I wasnever sure of but one of their nests, and thatonly by most cautious watch-ing. Then for the first timethey became interesting! Tomy surprise, one day I hearda brown chippie lift up hisvoice and sing. It was in asunny grove of oaks, andthough his song was a queersqueaky warble, it had in it agood deal of sweetness andcontentment; for the bird seemed to find life verypleasant. The ranchmans son told me that upin the canyons at dusk he had sometimes heardtowhce concerts, the l)irds answering each otherfrom different parts of the Eastern Chewink.(One half natural size.) 94 A-BIRDING ON A BRONCO. There was a nest in the chaparral which prob-ably belonged to these chewinks. It was in amass of poison ivy that had climbed up on ascrub-oak. I spent the best part of a morningwaiting for the birds to give in their sentinels were posted on high bare brushtops, where they chipped at me, and once a brownform flew swiftly away from the nest bush; butlike most people whose conversation is limited tomonosyllables, the towhees are good at keeping asecret. While watching for them, I heard a noisethat suggested angry cats spitting at each other;and three jack-rabbits came racing down thechaparral-covered knoll. One of them shot offat a tangent while the other two trotted alongthe openings in the brush as if their trails wereroads in a park. Then a cottontail rabbit cameout on a spot of hard yellow earth encircled bybushes, and lying down on its side kicked up itsheels and rolled like
Size: 1530px × 1633px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorbaileyfl, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookyear1896
