. The home life of wild birds; a new method of the study and photography of birds. Birds; Photography of birds. 134 Wild Birds. rolling note, the import of which I soon guessed. . Several days in succession I went to the spot, and saw with pleasure that as my visits increased in frequency, the birds became more familiarized to me, and, before a week had elapsed, the Pewees and myself were quite on terms of intimacy. It was now the tenth of April. . The Pewees, I observed, began working at their old nest. My presence no longer alarmed either of ; He was soon able to put his hand close
. The home life of wild birds; a new method of the study and photography of birds. Birds; Photography of birds. 134 Wild Birds. rolling note, the import of which I soon guessed. . Several days in succession I went to the spot, and saw with pleasure that as my visits increased in frequency, the birds became more familiarized to me, and, before a week had elapsed, the Pewees and myself were quite on terms of intimacy. It was now the tenth of April. . The Pewees, I observed, began working at their old nest. My presence no longer alarmed either of ; He was soon able to put his hand close to the sitting bird without dis- turbing it. While possessed by the incubation spirit many birds, as is well known, are indifferent to danger and will hug their eggs at any cost. In this respect few can excel the " tame villagic fowl," who displays greater stupidity than most wild birds, who rarely sit on an empty nest,' and have been known to reject strange eggs. In this state birds cannot be considered tame although the sense of fear may be temporarily dulled, and one of the conditions of the taming process fulfilled. The hen will peck vigorously at the in- truder, and if hustled off the nest will soon return. Some birds like Song Sparrows and Brown Thrushes will remain immov- able as if hiding until you come dangerously near, when they glide off silently, but usually remain quiet for a moment only. The Robin flies off in a passion. The Tropic Bird fights but sticks to her egg. The Woodpeckers are close sitters and may sometimes be taken in the hand. A Chick- adee which I worried with a straw would peck angrily at it, but remained on the nest. The Cedar-birds retire in silence. In this state birds become passive merely through the temporary suppression of the sense of fear. P'ish Hawks used to nest on Plum Island, New York, where according to Mr. C. S. Allen,^ they had been zealously protected by the owner of the island for upwards of thirty years previous to 1885.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
