An Introduction to the Birds of Pennsylvania

Part 1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA

BY GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON

STATE ORNITHOLOGIST OF PENNSYLVANIA CHIEF OF BUREAU OF RESEARCH AND INFORMATION PENNSYLVANIA STATE GAME COMMISSION MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, ETC.

With a frontispiece in color and numerous pen-and-ink text-drawings by the author

1928 PUBLISHED BY J. HORACE McFARLAND COMPANY HARRISBURG, PENNA.

Copyright, 1928 By J. HORACE McFARLAND COMPANY MOUNT PLEASANT PRESS Harrisburg, Penna.

Dedication

MY MOTHER THINKS SHE DOES NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT BIRDS; BUT SHE KNEW ENOUGH ABOUT THEM TO LET ME BRING THEM, ALIVE, DEAD, OR WORSE THAN DEAD, INTO HER BUSY HOUSEHOLD, AND I THINK SHE IS A GOOD ORNITHOLOGIST.

PREFATORY NOTE

I have written this book for those who are beginning a study of birds in Pennsylvania; or for those who, after some study in a certain region, wish to know more about the birds in other sections of the Commonwealth.

This book is not intended to be a complete reference work. The descriptions of the birds and statements of their status are as brief as I felt I could make them under the circumstances. Many species of birds which have been recorded in Pennsylvania are not even mentioned. These are omitted so as to simplify the list for the beginner, who is confronted with a sufficiently formidable array of new and strange names as it is. All important species are, however, included.

Colored illustrations throughout this hand manual would, of course, have been desirable, but their cost is great, and the pen drawings are adequate for field-work; perhaps, in fact, even better than fully colored drawings which often lead the beginner to expect too much from the glimpses he may have of birds in the field.

Throughout the manual I have attempted to stress the points which are of importance to the field student, and have tried to eliminate material which might lead to confusion.

Thorough, detailed works on Pennsylvania birds are needed. Such volumes, one on western Pennsylvania, by W. E. Clyde Todd, of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, and one on eastern Pennsylvania, by Dr. Witmer Stone, of the Philadelphia Academy of Arts and Sciences, are in the making now. But it may be years before these completed volumes are ready for distribution, and in the meantime our budding ornithologists are carrying on their studies handicapped by a lack of any sort of reference work which is up-to-date, understandable, simple and local in its treatment, and within reach of those of average means. This volume has been prepared to meet this need.

It is hoped that the ornithological notes of those who use this manual may be so conscientiously written and so carefully kept that they will be of value in the final preparation of the larger, more exhaustive works which are to follow.

I have a suggestion to make to those who would like to make this volume more attractive and somewhat personal in character. Why not, as certain birds are identified, color in the pen-and-ink drawings with water-color or crayon so that they will greet the eye in color as the pages are turned? The paper used is such that colors may be applied with safety, if care be exercised. Children, in particular, will greatly enjoy this feature of their bird-study work. Teachers who like to combine elementary art work with nature study will welcome such a suggestion. A book which has, in a sense, been thus personally illustrated, becomes invaluable to the owner.

I should like to extend a word of gratitude to the following people who have helped me in the preparation of this volume: Captain George Finlay Simmons, of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; Mr. Wharton Huber, of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences; Mr. Robert McFarland, of the Mount Pleasant Press, Harrisburg; Miss Evangel Sutton, my sister; Mr. Leo A. Luttringer, Jr., my assistant; and Miss Effie Riemensnyder, of Harrisburg.

GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON

Harrisburg, Pa. July 29, 1928.

CONTENTS

PAGE Introductory vii A Word to the Beginner 1 Bird-Songs 2 Note-Books 3 Specimens 3 Field-Glasses 3 Books 4 Magazines 4 Bird Hikes 5 In the Field 5 Value of Pennsylvania Birds 6 Helping Our Bird Friends 7 Life-Zones in Pennsylvania 8 Bird-Migration in Pennsylvania 9 List of Species 11 Index of Bird Names 163

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA

A WORD TO THE BEGINNER

As you glance over the pages of this book you may say to yourself, “I can never learn all of these birds.” This is a natural attitude of mind upon the part of one to whom many bird-names are new and who feels that he doesn’t know much about birds.

It may be reassuring to you to learn that most people know more about birds than they realize. Already your mind is full of common bird-names. You wouldn’t be reading this book had you not already learned a good deal about some birds.

Here is a bit of good advice. Instead of taking this book to the field with you in the hope that you may accurately identify every bird you see, suppose you choose eight or ten birds which you do not know, but about which you wish to learn, and concentrate upon these. You already know the Bluebird, the Robin, the Crow. Suppose you try now the Wood Thrush, the Towhee, the Meadowlark. Look these up in the book, find out whether you may expect to see them at the time you are to make your trip of discovery, learn where to look for them, what to look for when they appear, something about what they will say as they call or sing—and fasten these facts in your mind. If you adopt this procedure, you will not be misled into identifying some bird of the deep woods as a Meadowlark, or a bird of the open field as a Wood Thrush. Some birds will puzzle you, of course, but as you continue your study these problems will be solved.

As a serious bird student you will, first of all, want to be able to describe a bird accurately, using some acceptable scientific terms. Some of these will be new to you, but they will all become understandable in a short time. On the next page is a chart showing the names of the bird’s parts. You should become so familiar with these words that they will not confuse you.

Many books give complete color keys which are to help the beginner. I do not believe much in these, because I have always found them tedious and difficult. I believe that good sketches obviate much of the need of such keys.

Part 2

In making your studies be careful not to expect to find birds during seasons when they do not normally occur. On the other hand, if you identify a bird at a time which is not indicated in this manual, special note should be made, for pioneer records such as these are valuable to the author who wants to gather together all data, and the last word has not yet been said upon all the movements of even our commonest species.

BIRD-SONGS

It is my belief that but few people altogether lack a sense of tune. Some of my students at the University of Pittsburgh had difficulty, I remember, in diagramming bird-songs; but with a little practice you will be able to jot down syllables which will help you to recall bird-songs. The well-known names Chickadee, Phœbe, and Killdeer are all permanent records of this very sort of syllabization of bird-songs—an attempt to write down what the bird is saying. Sometimes a bird will be heard again and again before it is seen. If my notes concerning songs are at all accurate, some of these will help you to find birds which you might have difficulty in identifying from appearance alone.

NOTE-BOOKS

Write down all sorts of notes, be they ever so incomplete. Make sketches of birds as you see them; diagram the songs and call-notes. Keep all that you write as accurate and free from imagination as possible. Do not accredit a bird with certain colors until you see them.

A note-book may take the form of a diary wherein is stated the temperature of the day, the weather conditions, the length and route of your field-trip, and the birds which you saw, together with notes upon them. Or, your system may be more elaborate, with a separate sheet for each species whereon you put all the data which you accumulate, more or less, perforce, in chronological order. The principal point to remember is that notes should be written while they are fresh in the mind, on the spot, if possible, to avoid inaccuracies.

SPECIMENS

Only a few ornithologists can have a complete collection of birds for reference. Everyone can save feathers of birds, or old nests, however, and when birds are found dead, they may be saved as specimens, if a permit for holding them is requested from the State Game Commission. When I was a lad I saved feathers which I found in the woods and had a large collection of these. Some of them, I later found, were all that were needed in authenticating a good record.

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