. The home life of wild birds; a new method of the study and photography of birds. Birds; Photography of birds. CHAPTER VIII. MINUTE OBSERVATIONS ON CATBIRDS. WHILE the Catbird has a strong attachment for its young, especially during later da3-s of life at the nest, when any intrusion will arouse its fighting instinct to the highest pitch, it is under ordinary conditions exceedingly wary, suspicious, and hard to approach. In the account which follows I shall describe only what was seen while camping beside two nests of these birds. The first of these attractive nests rested on a spray of the s
. The home life of wild birds; a new method of the study and photography of birds. Birds; Photography of birds. CHAPTER VIII. MINUTE OBSERVATIONS ON CATBIRDS. WHILE the Catbird has a strong attachment for its young, especially during later da3-s of life at the nest, when any intrusion will arouse its fighting instinct to the highest pitch, it is under ordinary conditions exceedingly wary, suspicious, and hard to approach. In the account which follows I shall describe only what was seen while camping beside two nests of these birds. The first of these attractive nests rested on a spray of the sweet viburnum, in a little clearing in dense bushes, and about four feet from the ground, so that no change in its position was necessary. It contained a single addle egg and two young with the feather-shafts of the wings barely exposed. For an hour or more after the tent was in position, the old birds kept up a perpetual din, in which their exasperat- ing tsliaying note was most pronounced. They would circle round and round the tent, often coming close as if to discover the way in, or fluttering and screaming at it, as if it were a demon to be cised. After this they gradually'became more quiet, and began to alight on the tent's guys and roof. At last the female was seen stealthily to approach and quickly feed her young. After a fresh re- connaissance both birds went to the nest together and with rapid, jerky move- ments stuffed red cherries into the hun- gry throats, inspected and cleaned each young bird, and then darted away. While in a state of mind wavering between fear and assurance, the Catbird. Fig. 66. Female Catbird bringing in a large limp dragon-fly —the Aeschna hcros 76. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Herrick, Francis Hobart, 1858-1940. New York, London, G. P. Putnam's S
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1901
