. Useful birds and their protection. Containing brief descriptions of the more common and useful species of Massachusetts, with accounts of their food habits, and a chapter on the means of attracting and protecting birds . ^ in thosecool retreats where the heat of the sunnner sun is softenedby the interposition of umbrageous foliage. Here, wheresunshine and shadow fleck the leafy ground, the Pewees callsounds ever pensive, sweet, and clear. The bird is thoughtby some to be of a sad disposition ; but the sadness of itscall, which harmonizes so well with its forest environment, 232 USEFUL BIRDS.
. Useful birds and their protection. Containing brief descriptions of the more common and useful species of Massachusetts, with accounts of their food habits, and a chapter on the means of attracting and protecting birds . ^ in thosecool retreats where the heat of the sunnner sun is softenedby the interposition of umbrageous foliage. Here, wheresunshine and shadow fleck the leafy ground, the Pewees callsounds ever pensive, sweet, and clear. The bird is thoughtby some to be of a sad disposition ; but the sadness of itscall, which harmonizes so well with its forest environment, 232 USEFUL is deceptive, for the Pewee is evidently happy, and delightsin its plaintive tones. Its common call is pee-a-icee, fol-lowed frequently hy pee-er, uttered in a drawling manner, and with considerable intervalsbetween the phrases. Bendiresays that the male has a low,twitterino- warble in the matin«:season. The bird also tiritx andtwitters from time to nest merits more than the usual)rief description. It is usualh^ saddledon a dead limb, the outside adorned,like that of the Hummingbirds nest,with crustaceous lichens, so that whenseen from below it looks like a knot onthe branch. It is largely made of finegrasses and fil)ers, and often lined withthem. As the nest is not deep, andFig. 90.—Wood Pewee, rests ou the top of the branch, the one-half natural size. bottom is USUally SO tlliu that it WOUld fall out were it not supported by the bark. The food of the Pewee consists very largely of flying insects, but it often flutters about the foliage, picking ott caterpillars and plant
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidusefulbi, booksubjectbirds
