. The birds of California : a complete, scientific and popular account of the 580 species and subspecies of birds found in the state. Birds; Birds. The Western Gnatcatcher and their compeers is simply beyond calculation. Recognize them we can and cherish them we can, but we can no more requite them nor dis- charge our obligations to them than we can pay for sunshine and rain, or reward the sea for its revivifying breath. We are apt to think of these roamers of the sage as leading a sort of haphazard life at all but nesting- time, but a little attention will show a method and timeliness in thei
. The birds of California : a complete, scientific and popular account of the 580 species and subspecies of birds found in the state. Birds; Birds. The Western Gnatcatcher and their compeers is simply beyond calculation. Recognize them we can and cherish them we can, but we can no more requite them nor dis- charge our obligations to them than we can pay for sunshine and rain, or reward the sea for its revivifying breath. We are apt to think of these roamers of the sage as leading a sort of haphazard life at all but nesting- time, but a little attention will show a method and timeliness in their movements. Certain brush-patches are purged daily for a season, prob- ably for so long a time as a certain distinctive moth is depositing its eggs in that section. Again it is a tiny white grub which is attacking the pepper trees. As long as the supply lasts the Gnatcatcher will appear daily and work at capacity. What more could we ask? It is only at nesting time, how- ever, that we can seem to get the Gnatcatcher definitely anchored. Even at that, a half-built nest is likely to be torn down piecemeal and set up in a new location more to the builder's fancy. At such a time both birds work with unflagging energy and prolong their labors into the heated hours each day. It is a rebuke to a sluggard to see one dash up to a tree-fork and whirl about in the nest that is to be. Cobwebs, to us invisible, are laid off at a furious rate, and the structure grows as if by magic. As the walls of the nest rise to a height often much greater than its breadth, they "toe in" at the top—presumably that the babies may not be tempted to climb out of the fairy well too soon. The greatest care is displayed in the external decora- tion of the nest, that it may exactly harmonize in color with its surround- ings. If the site is a lichen-covered oak, the walls are draped with lichens until they appear as part and parcel with the tree. If a dead limb is chosen, grayish bark fibers are bound
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1923
