Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, From Parrots to Bluebirds

Part 1

Transcriber's note:

Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (italics).

BIRD GUIDE

LAND BIRDS EAST OF THE ROCKIES

From Parrots to Bluebirds

CHESTER A. REED

Author of North American Birds’ Eggs, and, with Frank M. Chapman, of Color Key to North American Birds. Curator in Ornithology, Worcester Natural History Society.

Garden City New York Doubleday, Page & Company 1919

Copyrighted, 1906, 1909 by Chas. K. Reed.

PREFACE

The native birds are one of our nation’s most valuable assets. Destroy them, and in a comparatively few years the insects will have multiplied to such an extent that trees will be denuded of their foliage, plants will cease to thrive and crops cannot be raised. This is not fancy but plain facts. Look at the little Chickadee on the side of this page. She was photographed while entering a bird box, with about twenty-five plant lice to feed her seven young; about two hundred times a day, either she or her mate, made trips with similar loads to feed the growing youngsters.

It has been found, by observation and dissection, that a Cuckoo consumes daily from 50 to 400 caterpillars or their equivalent, while a Chickadee will eat from 200 to 500 insects or up to 4,000 insect or worm eggs. 100 insects a day is a conservative estimate of the quantity consumed by each individual insectivorous bird. By carefully estimating the birds in several areas, I find that, in Massachusetts, there are not less than five insect-eating birds per acre. Thus this state with its 8,000 square miles has a useful bird population of not less than 25,600,000, which, for each day’s fare, requires the enormous total of 2,560,000,000 insects. That such figures can be expressed in terms better understood, it has been computed that about 120,000 average insects fill a bushel measure. This means that the daily consumption, of chiefly obnoxious insects, in Massachusetts is 21,000 bushels. This estimate is good for about five months in the year, May to September, inclusive; during the remainder of the year, the insects, eggs and larvæ destroyed by our Winter, late Fall and early Spring migrants will be equivalent to nearly half this quantity.

It is the duty, and should be the pleasure, of every citizen to do all in his or her power to protect these valuable creatures, and to encourage them to remain about our homes. The author believes that the best means of protection is the disseminating of knowledge concerning them, and the creating of an interest in their habits and modes of life. With that object in view, this little book is prepared. May it serve its purpose and help those already interested in the subject, and may it be the medium for starting many others on the road to knowledge of our wild, feathered friends.

CHESTER A. REED.

Worcester, Mass., October 1 1905.

INTRODUCTION

It is an undisputed fact that a great many of our birds are becoming more scarce each year, while a few are, even now, on the verge of extinction. The decrease in numbers of a few species may be attributed chiefly to the elements, such as a long-continued period of cold weather or ice storms in the winter, and rainy weather during the nesting season; however, in one way or another, and often unwittingly, man is chiefly responsible for the diminution in numbers. If I were to name the forces that work against the increase of bird life, in order of their importance, I should give them as: Man; the elements; accidents; cats; other animals; birds of prey; and snakes. I do not take into consideration the death of birds from natural causes, such as old age and disease, for these should be counterbalanced by the natural increase.

There are parts that each one of us can play in lessening the unnatural dangers that lurk along a bird’s path in life. Individually, our efforts may amount to but little, perhaps the saving of the lives of two or three, or more, birds during the year, but collectively, our efforts will soon be felt in the bird-world.

How Can We Protect the Birds?—Nearly all states have fairly good game laws, which, if they could be enforced, would properly protect our birds from man, but they cannot be; if our boys and girls are educated to realize the economic value of the birds, and are encouraged to study their habits, the desire to shoot them or to rob them of their eggs will be very materially lessened. It is a common practice for some farmers to burn their land over in the Spring, usually about nesting time. Three years ago, and as far back of that as I can remember, a small ravine or valley was teeming with bird life; it was the most favored spot that I know of, for the variety and numbers of its bird tenants. Last year, toward the end of May, this place was deliberately burned over by the owner. Twenty-seven nests that I know of, some with young, others with eggs, and still others in the process of construction, were destroyed, besides hundreds of others that I had never seen. This year the same thing was done earlier in the season, and not a bird nested here, and, late in Summer, only a few clumps of ferns have found courage to appear above the blackened ground. Farmers also cut off a great many patches of underbrush that might just as well have been left, thus, for lack of suitable places for their homes, driving away some of their most valuable assistants. The cutting off of woods and forests is an important factor in the decrease of bird life, as well as upon the climate of the country.

Our winter birds have their hardships when snow covers the weed tops, and a coating of ice covers the trees, so that they can neither get seeds nor grubs. During the nesting season, we often have long-continued rains which sometimes cause an enormous loss of life to insect-eating birds and their young. In 1903, after a few weeks’ steady rain and damp weather, not a Purple Martin could be found in Worcester County, nor, as far as I know, in New England; they were wholly unable to get food for either themselves or their young, and the majority of them left this region. The Martin houses, when cleaned out, were found to contain young, eggs, and some adults that had starved rather than desert their family. The Martins did not return in 1904 or 1905.

Birds are subject to a great many accidents, chiefly by flying into objects at night. Telephone and telegraph wires maim or kill thousands, while lighthouses and steeples often cause the ground to be strewn with bodies during migrations. Other accidents are caused by storms, fatigue while crossing large bodies of water, nests falling from trees because of an insecure support, and ground nests being trod upon by man, horses, and cattle.

In the vicinity of cities, towns, villages, or farms, one of the most fertile sources of danger to bird life is from cats. Even the most gentle household pet, if allowed its liberty out of doors, will get its full quota of birds during the year, while homeless cats, and many that are not, will average several hundred birds apiece during the season. After years of careful observation, Mr. E. H. Forbush, Mass., state ornithologist, has estimated that the average number of birds killed, per cat population, is about fifty. If a dog kills sheep or deer, he is shot and the owner has to pay damages; if a man is caught killing a bird, he pays a fine; but cats are allowed to roam about without restriction, leaving death and destruction in their wake. All homeless cats should be summarily dealt with, and all pets should be housed, at least from May until August, when the young birds are able to fly.

Of wild animals, Red Squirrels are far the most destructive to young birds and eggs; Chipmunks and Grays are also destructive but not nearly as active or impudent as the Reds. Skunks, Foxes, and Weasels are smaller factors in the decrease of bird life.

Birds of prey have but little to do with the question of bird protection for, with a few exceptions, they rarely feed upon other birds, and nearly all of them are of considerable economic value themselves. Jays, Crows, and Grackles, by devouring the eggs and young of our smaller birds, are a far greater menace than are the birds of prey, but even these have their work and should be left in the place that Nature intended for them; they should, however, be taught to keep away from the neighborhood of houses.

How Can We Attract Birds About Our Homes?—Many birds prefer to live in the vicinity of houses, and they soon learn where they are welcome. Keep your premises as free as possible from cats, dogs, and especially English Sparrows, and other birds will come. Robins, Orioles, Kingbirds, Waxwings and a few others will nest in orchard trees, while in dead limbs or bird boxes will be found Bluebirds, Wrens, Swallows, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, etc.

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