Annual report ..[bulletins and circulars] . to call forth by even a poorhwhistled imitation) isaclear, pure eee— or which really says Phcebe much more plainly than the truephoebe note, this latter being much lowerin tone, and only to be heard after March iswell on, and almost always in the vicinity ofrunning streams and brooklets ; while thegay little chick-a-dee whistles at any timeor place that suits his versatile fancy.* * * The mellow flute notes of the meadowlark (Fig. 73) float to us trom the middle of ?-^^.-^^eadow large, open field, and are among the most beautiful bits of b
Annual report ..[bulletins and circulars] . to call forth by even a poorhwhistled imitation) isaclear, pure eee— or which really says Phcebe much more plainly than the truephoebe note, this latter being much lowerin tone, and only to be heard after March iswell on, and almost always in the vicinity ofrunning streams and brooklets ; while thegay little chick-a-dee whistles at any timeor place that suits his versatile fancy.* * * The mellow flute notes of the meadowlark (Fig. 73) float to us trom the middle of ?-^^.-^^eadow large, open field, and are among the most beautiful bits of bird music we ever hear. They are not tobe represented by notes, and can only be most inadequatelydescribed. There is great variation in the sequence of io8 but all are beautifully clear and ringing, and have a decidedtinge of what would be sadness if it were not so sweet. Thebird flies in a very characteristic manner, never raising thewings above the plane of the back, and when seen below thehorizon line always shows the white feathers in the tail. Hissaffron breast and black breastmark seldom show on the livingbirds, and the mottled brown back is a wonderful safeguardagainst his many overhead enemies. * >f: ^ Two or more doves may be seen winging their headlong flightthrough the air. These are among the swiftest of birds, andare generally out of eyeshot almost before youhave seen them. (That is one way of know-ing what the} were.) In flight, they looklike small pigeons with very long graduatedtails, and when, in some old orchard or openwood you see one rise from the ground into atree, the white lateral feathers in the tail make-i,.—Moiirning ^ easily recognizable mark. (Fig. 74.)doves. Their cooing notes are well known—a high
Size: 1420px × 1759px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherithac, bookyear1899
