. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. sclosed, they drop like a bullet for a thousand feet, to thebrook where they wish to drink. Sometimes they make thedescent at one long swoop, at other times in a series of pitches,each time checking their fall by opening their wings, andletting themselves curve upward before the next straight fall with such a high rate of speed that when they opentheir wings there is an explosive burst which echoes from thecanyon walls. The head, neck and body of this bird are uniform ashygray, a
. The American natural history : a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. sclosed, they drop like a bullet for a thousand feet, to thebrook where they wish to drink. Sometimes they make thedescent at one long swoop, at other times in a series of pitches,each time checking their fall by opening their wings, andletting themselves curve upward before the next straight fall with such a high rate of speed that when they opentheir wings there is an explosive burst which echoes from thecanyon walls. The head, neck and body of this bird are uniform ashygray, and the wings and tail are black, with a white patchhalf way down the former. The Nut-Cracker is really a smallcrow, twelve inches long, and much resembles the commongray and black crow of Europe. It is found in all the moun- A FRIEND OF THE MOOSE-HUNTER 327 tains of the West, from Alaska to Mexico, and straggles east-ward to the eastern edge of the Great Plains. It is oftencalled Clarkes Crow. The Canada Jay, Whiskey-Jack, or Moose-Bird,^ isby reason of its personal oddities and assertiveness perhaps. ihoLograplicd by K. R. Warren. CLARKES NUT-CRACKER. the most conspicuous and widely known of all the perchingbirds of the great coniferous forests of Canada. Every manwho has trailed moose or caribou, or for any reason hascamped in the Laurentian wilderness, knows well this auda-cious camp-follower, and remembers him with interest, if noteven friendship. Tie has no real song, and his cries are rather Pcr-i-sori-na canadensis. Length, 12 inches. 328 PERCHERS AND SINGERS harsh and strident; but in his native sohtudes, where birdsounds are so seldom heard, the voyageur is always glad tohear his call. And surely, every perching bird that choosesto brave the rigors of the northern winter instead of migrat-ing is entitled both to respect and admiration. The plumage of the Canada Jay has a peculiar fluffy ap-pearance, suggestive of fur. Its prevailing color is ashy nai:>e and
Size: 1412px × 1770px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyorkcscribnerss
