File:Bird studies for home and school; sixty common birds, their habits and haunts (1911) (14564497560).jpg

Identifier: cu31924000070809 (find matches)
Title: Bird studies for home and school; sixty common birds, their habits and haunts
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: De Groat, Herman C
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: Buffalo, N. Y., Herman C. De Groat
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
cor-rectly describe him, for his breast is chestnut-brown. The trueRedbreast is the Robin of England, a bird which is a thirdsmaller than ours. Robins are hardy birds and endure very cold weather.Some which have wintered no farther .south than Virginiahurry north too early in March and often meet heavy snowstorms. At such times they take refuse in barns and thickwoods where, if the storm lasts very long, many starve todeath. A moderate snow storm does not worry these har-bingers of spring, for they can live two or three days on verylittle food. They are slow in leaving for the Southern Statesin the fall, often lingering until Thanksgiving time before thelast of them depart from this vicinity. The nest, made of mud and held together with dry grass,is usually located in a tree, from ten to thirty feet above theground. Beams and ledges in open buildings and porches aresometimes selected as sites for nesting. The nest is about aninch in thickness and always well supported. The work of 58
Text Appearing After Image:
o , building it is shared by both birds whose union day of labor issixteen hours long. The nest building is* quickly done undersuch circumstances. The eggs, three to five, are greenish-blue,1.00 X .80 inches. The foundations of a nest were laid on the fire escape ofthe authors school on Thursday morning, and on the followingMonday, it was not only completed but it contained two eggs.Two more eggs were laid on the two following days. Then forthe next fourteen days the patient female brooded her eggs.During twenty days after that both birds hurried back and forthseveral times an hour between that nest and nearby gardensbringing unnumbered worms to their babies. The nest build-ing, the hatching and the feeding were done in the presenceof hundreds of children who looked down daily into the nest.When at last, during an intermission, the parent birds coaxedtheir family to fly to the nearest tree, a thousand throatscheered the young travelers and bade them good-bye. Possibly the Robins may t

Note About Images