Part 28

Notes

October Thirty-first

At dusk or early in the evening the weird, tremulous wail of the screech owl may be heard. Sometimes one will visit a favorite tree at the same hour evening after evening, and after sounding his cry several times, will glide away into the country to hunt for a supper of beetles, meadow mice or white-footed mice.

Notes

=November=

November First

The chipping sparrow, field sparrow, vesper sparrow, mourning dove, red-shouldered blackbird, and purple grackle stay with us as long as the weather will permit. Mr. Chapman says: "Should the season be an exceedingly mild one, many of these birds will remain [about New York] until late in December."

November Second

The brown creeper, another denizen of the forests, groves, and village shade trees, is seldom noticed because of its small size and dull coloring, which blends perfectly with the tree trunks. It is often found in company with chickadees, nuthatches and kinglets. The creeper flies to the base of a tree, and winds his way to the top, hunting in the crevices of the bark for insects and insect larvæ, occasionally uttering a clear, feeble trill.

November Third

Unlike the bears one meets in certain kinds of animal stories, the real bear is the most easily frightened of all our large animals. His eyesight is defective, and his hearing not particularly good, but his keen nose more than compensates for those deficiencies.

Upper, Mountain. Lower, Hudsonian.]

Notes

November Fourth

Artists often make the mistake of drawing a flying bird with its feet drawn up beneath its breast. Although some birds do hold their feet in this position, the herons, gulls, buzzards, and most of the hawks and eagles hold their feet and legs against the under side of the tail. The legs of the many species of herons are very conspicuous when the birds fly, for as the tail is short, they extend far beyond it.

November Fifth

Some ants live in the ground, some make chambers in wood, while others build mounds of small sticks, dirt, and gravel, and construct roadways to and from them. They feed upon flesh, fruit, and plant substances. Their hind legs are provided with a sort of brush for cleaning the dirt from their bodies, and these legs in turn are cleaned by being drawn through the mouth.

November Sixth

The "'coon" (raccoon) is strictly a nocturnal animal, and spends the day in hollow trees, crevices in the rocks, or in thick underbrush, coming forth at night to hunt its food,--mice, birds, crabs, clams, eggs, acorns, and green corn. On the Pacific Coast it makes a neat round hole in the side of a pumpkin and takes out the seeds with its hands.

Notes

November Seventh

Hawks, owls, and eagles are bold defenders of their nests and young. Circling overhead, they suddenly bow their wings and dash at the intruder, turning quickly and swooping up again when only a few inches from his head. Instances are known in which persons have been wounded severely while meddling with the property of such birds of prey.

November Eighth

The tail of the brown creeper, and of all of the thirty-five species and sub-species of woodpeckers, is provided with stiff, pointed feathers which curve in slightly. With the chimney swift, each feather is armed with a spine. While woodpeckers cling to a tree trunk, and the chimney swift to the side of a chimney, their stiff tails help to support them.

November Ninth

Although the darning-needle, dragon fly, snake feeder, or snake doctor is perfectly harmless, Howard says, "Some believe that they will sew up the ears of bad boys; others that they will sting horses; still others that they act as feeders and physicians to snakes, especially to water snakes." They are the beautiful lace-winged insects that frequently dip down and pick up an insect from the surface of a pond or a river.

Notes

November Tenth