Part 5

Raisins, oranges, or apples will bring them to a feeding station. To prevent them driving all other birds away from your tray, it helps to put the mocker’s rations at a distance, preferably across the yard, or on the opposite side of the house.

MOURNING DOVE (Zenaida macroura)

A dark spot on the side of the neck distinguishes this bird from other native doves and pigeons except for the white-wing of the southwest. Also known as turtle dove, the “mourner” frequently nests in suburban and city shrubbery throughout the United States, Mexico, and southern Canada; it winters from the central United States to Panama—and is part of folklore in all those countries.

Mourning doves eat the seeds of plants, including grain, plus berries and the small wild fruits of any region through which they pass. Despite that melancholy but peaceful “coo,” they are restless migratory creatures. Doves live in the large cities, small towns, villages, and countryside; songs are sung and poems written about them; they are esteemed game birds that may nest in trees in your yard.

MYRTLE WARBLER (Dendroica coronata)

Myrtle warblers are tiny mites that liven up the trees and shrubs in the spring migration. Traveling in small flocks, they seem to be constantly in motion, flitting from branch to branch searching for small insects and their eggs. Like flycatchers, they snap up larger bugs on the wing. To a quiet observer, they seem trusting birds, often singing at close range.

Some winter as far north as the New England coast, wherever bayberry thickets offer fruit and shelter, and others move on to the southern states. From these wintering grounds they migrate to nesting grounds in the evergreen forest of the northern states and Canada. In their fall flight south, they seem subdued, the bright yellow on the crown and flanks having disappeared, and the lemon colored rump the only remaining brilliant.

NIGHTHAWK (Chordeiles minor)

Often seen on dull days as well as dawn or dusk, the long slender wings of nighthawks exaggerate their size. They are 10 inches long, but seem bigger.

At rest, they perch lengthwise on branches, crossarms, or logs, or on the ground. In the air, their flight is a series of fluttering spurts, followed by long glides. Before aviators broke the sound barrier, nighthawks had their own ‘sonic boom,’ created by diving vertically from considerable height and flaring sharply upward near the ground.

Flying insects, from mosquitoes to beetles and moths, are their only food. Nighthawks build no nest, the two young being raised on the bare ground, or flat roofs.

Nighthawks nest in all states except Hawaii and winter in South America.

PIGEON (Columba livia)

The common pigeon found in all U.S. cities is a descendant of the wild European rock dove that was introduced domestically in this country early in our history. Living and breeding in cities and suburbs, it is a permanent year-round resident and often is so populous as to be a nuisance, fouling building ledges, park benches, statues, and occasionally people.

Feeding the pigeons in city parks is an old custom, particularly for the young and old. This bird is probably the one most familiar and recognizable to the urban dwellers and may be their closest contact with the world of birds.

PURPLE MARTIN (Progne subis)

These birds breed throughout the United States and southern Canada, and down to central Mexico. They winter in South America.

This is the largest (8 inches long) of the swallow tribe. It formerly built its nest in cavities of trees and still does in wild districts, but having learned to live close to humans, it soon adopted domestic habits. The best way to have martins around is to erect apartment houses for them at suitable nesting sites—and protect that housing from use by other birds. The nest boxes should be about 15 feet from the ground and made inaccessible to cats. A colony of martins makes great inroads upon the insect population, as the birds not only feed upon insects but rear their young on the same diet.

RED-EYED VIREO (Vireo olivaceus)

The red eye of this small olive-green and white bird, although giving it a name, is of little help in identifying it. Abundant in eastern forests in its breeding season, it winters in South America. This bird is seen in deciduous trees in city parks during migration.

Its call is a monotonous series of short, abrupt phrases similar to a robin’s. It is repeated as often as 40 times a minute, all through the day. It is lucky for suburban sleepers that the vireo doesn’t sing at night.

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

At 9 inches or so in length, this is a medium-sized woodpecker which occurs in the eastern states.

The red-head isn’t really common even in its announced range, although it’s easy to spot when it is working the neighborhood. It likes open, deciduous woods, parklike spaces, and is fond of cities where old trees line the streets. Like all its clan, its diet of harmful grubs, beetles, and other insects makes it a desirable bird, and the small amounts of fruit and acorns it eats are never missed.

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus)

About 9½ inches long, the red-wing breeds in most of North America; it winters in the southern half of United States and down clear to Costa Rica.

The prairies of the upper Mississippi Valley, with their numerous sloughs and ponds, furnish ideal nesting places for red-wings, and this region has become the great breeding ground for the species, pouring forth the vast flocks that sometimes play havoc with grainfields. Red-wings are gregarious, living in flocks and breeding in communities. Their food is about one-fourth insects and three-fourths vegetable.

ROBIN (Turdus migratorius)