Wild Birds in City Parks.

by Herbert Eugene Walter and Alice Hall Walter.

Preface.

The object of this little book is to furnish those who may be interested in making the acquaintance of wild birds with a simple letter of introduction to 145 birds, the majority of which are commonly seen during the spring migration.

Complete descriptions have been avoided, in the belief that the student should rely upon his own observation for the discovery of minor details.

_The living bird_ is the one important fact which will make the brief hints offered of value.

Anyone caring to make use of these hints may be a.s.sured that during the migrations of the birds city dwellers have one of the keenest delights of country life brought to their very doors, because many birds, migrating largely at night, are attracted by the lights of the city and stop off in their long journey to feed, so that a city park often contains a greater variety of feathered visitors than an equal area in the country.

We wish to remind those of our friends who have asked for pictures in a future edition that this book actually is _copiously ill.u.s.trated_ by hundreds of living birds every springtime in our parks and around our homes, ill.u.s.trations that are all life size, absolutely accurate in detail and colored true to nature.

"As for the birds * * * they add immeasurably to the wholesome beauty of life."

--_Theodore Roosevelt, in Bird Lore, Vol. II, p. 98._

General Hints.

"A good observer is quick to take a hint and follow it up."--_John Burroughs._

The identification of birds depends quite as much upon accurate observation of their size, motions, flight, characteristic att.i.tudes, manner of feeding, company, song, call-notes and haunts, as upon details of form and color. Especial care is necessary to insure correct estimates of size for the reason that living birds often appear smaller to the unpracticed eye than they actually are. The familiar _English Sparrow_ is a convenient standard of size because it is usually at hand in our city parks for instant reference. Remembering that it is _6 inches long_ a practical though rough division of wild birds may be made as follows:--

1. Birds smaller than the _English Sparrow_.

2. Birds about the size of the _English Sparrow_.

3. Birds decidedly larger than the _English Sparrow_.

If a few general characteristics of the princ.i.p.al bird-families be kept in mind, and these are quickly and almost unconsciously learned, the ident.i.ty of a strange bird may usually be narrowed down to a few possibilities. For example:

*Woodp.e.c.k.e.rs climb up and down the trunks of trees bracing with their tails and tapping the bark vigorously;

*Nuthatches are smaller than woodp.e.c.k.e.rs and have much the same habit of climbing up and down tree-trunks but with a freer wig-wagging motion, often descending head downward;

*Flycatchers sit erect with drooping tails, watching alertly for insect prey upon which they pounce in mid-air, afterwards returning to their perch;

*Swallows skim through the air in graceful and long sustained flights;

*Sparrows have stout seed-cracking bills, feed upon the ground, seldom fly high or far at a time and are for the most part fine songsters;

*Warblers are tiny, tireless, gaily-colored explorers of the twigs of trees and bushes;

*Kinglets are smaller than warblers and quite as restless in their motions, but arrive earlier in the migration;

*Wrens, with tails erect, slip mouse-like about brush heaps, crevices and bushes, though often perching in sight while singing;

*Thrushes, who with the exception of the _Robin_ and _Bluebird_ are very plainly dressed, run about on the ground stopping suddenly in a listening att.i.tude. When singing they fly up to some perch, although many of the unrivaled singers of this family are silent during their brief sojourn in city parks;

*Vireos are most at home on the boughs of trees and sing freely as they glide in and out among the leaves to feed.

Female birds can usually be identified after the adult males have been seen, although the females and young of many species are obscurely marked or quite different from the adult males, a fact especially true of the warblers. Immature birds are not considered in the present scheme of study since they are a source of confusion to the beginner and occur in any considerable number only during the fall migration.

The time of arrival, that is, when a bird may be expected during the migration, is a point worthy of particular attention. Many wild guesses may be avoided by simply noticing the dates when a bird has been known to arrive in any given locality from year to year.

As a rule birds are identified by the method of elimination. Suppose, for example, a small bird of lively motions is seen feeding among the twigs of a tree late in March. It is, of course, neither a warbler nor a vireo for these birds, although active and frequenting trees, arrive much later in the spring. Provided it does not brace its tail and climb up and around the trunk of the tree it is not likely to be a woodp.e.c.k.e.r, because the motions of woodp.e.c.k.e.rs are too characteristic to be mistaken. In similar manner, although sparrows and juncos may have arrived, it is probably neither of these since it does not feed upon the ground, while its size precludes the possibility of its being any bird larger than the _English Sparrow_. There are only a few birds therefore, which it might be and close observation together with the aid of a few leading hints, will usually settle the question. In any case _watch the bird_ for it is better to look at the bird than at a printed description of it.

The safest way, however, is to make careful notes about a stranger on the spot. Memory is never more treacherous than in the case of the description of a doubtful bird when one appeals to some book of reference, a museum collection or the judgment of others. It is not advisable to attempt extensive "field-notes" at first but it is essential to keep a daily, dated list of all identified birds. A blank chart for this purpose is inserted in the back part of the book.

Never _chase_ birds. Have patience, stand still a great deal and use your common sense all the time.

Do not make yourself believe that you see a certain bird because it has been reported by others. Do your own looking and listening and do it well.

If you cannot go birding alone take along as few friends as possible because birds are suspicious of human beings in flocks, especially when they talk much.

A pair of field or opera-gla.s.ses is an invaluable aid, although practice is necessary in learning to adjust them rapidly and to fix them instantly upon the bird. Do not feel obliged to use the gla.s.ses when you are near enough to see well without them.

Keep the sun at your back, otherwise colors will deceive you.

Remember that birds do not stay "indoors" on account of rain, clouds or unfavorable weather. Warm spring rains literally fill the parks with feathered travelers who often tarry but a day.

Particular Hints.

Note:--The following one hundred and fourteen birds are arranged in the order of their _average first appearance in Lincoln Park_, based upon observations made during the last seven years.

For the convenience of those desiring access to reliable sources of information, the scientific name of each bird is placed in parenthesis below its common name, followed by its number in the official list of the American Ornithologist's Union.

Following the hints given about each bird are the names (in *black faced type) of any bird or birds for which it might easily be mistaken.

1. BLUE JAY. 11-1/2 in.

(Cyanocitta cristata. 477.)

Black collar; _crested_; wings and tail deep blue, white-tipped and black-barred; bold; harsh, noisy call-note; stays the year around in Lincoln Park. *Loggerhead Shrike. *Kingfisher. *Bluebird.

2. LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. 9 in.

(Lanius ludovicia.n.u.s. 622.)