USA > Vermont > History of Vermont, natural, civil, and statistical, in three parts, with a new map of the state, and 200 engravings > Part 15
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bird more frequently than in any other. The specimen from which the foregoing description was made, was shot in Bur- lington.
THE SOLITARY VIREO. Virco solitarius .- VIEILLOT.
DESCRIPTION .- Dusky olive above ; bel- ly white ; head bluish gray ; breast pale cinerens, inclining to reddish gray on the throat ; flanks and sides of the breast yel- low ; wings dusky brown, with two white bands ; tail emarginate and nearly black ; primaries and tail feathers bordered with light green ; a line of white from the nos- tril to the eye, which it encircles; bill short, broad ; upper mandible black, low- er pale bluish gray ; iris hazel. Female with the head dusky olive and the throat greenish. Length 5 in. ; spread 8 .- Nut.
HISTORY .- "This is a rare bird in this state; but is said to resemble the prece- ding species in its habits. It suspends its nest from the forked twigs of bushes, and lays 4 or 3 eggs, which are light flesh col- or, with brownish red spots towards the large end.
GENUS TURDUS.
Generic Characters .- Bill of moderate di- mensions, with cutting edges, compressed and curved towards the point ; the upper mandible gen- crally notched towards the extremity, the lower roundish ; a few scattered bristles at the angle of the mouth ; nostrils basal, lateral, romaled, and half closed by a naked membrane ; tongue notched at the tip ; feet rather stout ; tarsus longer than the middle toe, which is attached at the base to the onter one; wings rather short; tho third, fourth and fifth quill longest. The female and young differ little from the male, excepting the young are more spotted. They moult annually.
THE BROWN THIRUSII. Turdus rufus .- LINNAEUS.
DESCRIPTION,-All the upper parts, and the under side of the tail, bright reddish brown ; breast and belly yellowish white, marked with long pointed dusky spots ; wings crossed by two whitish bars, re- lieved with black ; tail long, reaching near 4 inches beyond the wings, and roun - ded ; bill long, slightly arched, black above, and whitish below near the base ; nostrils naked ; short, stiff, black bristles over the angle of the mouth ; legs, feet and claws dusky brown ; tarsus scutila- ted in front ; middle toe much the long- est ; iris bright orange. Length 11 in. ; spread of the wings f3 inches.
Birk, and surely no bird, if we except the Mocking bird ( Turdus polyglottus), excels it in the variety and sweetness of its song. It arrives here from the south the latter part of April, and commences building its nest early in May The nest is common- ly built upon the ground, or but little el- evated above it, in some little thicket, and is constructed with sticks and lined with fine fibrous roots. The eggs are 4 or 5 in number, of a greenish white color, and sprinkled all over with reddish brown spots. During the period of incubation the male will often sit and sing for hours upon the top of a neighboring tree. Ilis music is original, but. varied, full, and charming. The food of the Brown Thrush consists of insects, worms, berries, and fruits of various kinds. This bird is known in many places by the name of Thfusher, or Red Thrasher.
THE CAT-BIRD. Turdus feliror .- VIEILLOT.
DESCRIPTION .-- General color dark slate, lighter beneath ; top of the head, bill, and inside of the mouth, black ; under tail coverts reddish chestnut ; bill a litth. hooked at the point ; legs and feet brown ; first quill very short, the 4th and 5th lon- gest; quill feathers lighter on the onter edges ; tail long and rounded. Length El inches ; spread of the wings 11} in.
HISTORY .- The Cat Bird is very com- mon in all parts of Vermont, where it ar- rives from the south in the early part of May. This bird, like most others of the family, is an excellent songster, and may be heard in almost every neighborhood during the early part of summer, usher- ing in the dawn with his cheerful strains. When this bird is disturbed while rearing its young, its note is harsh and nupleas- ant, somewhat resembling the mewing of a cat, and from this circumstance it un- doubtedly received the name of Cat Bird. The Cat Bird builds its nest in a thicket of bushes, at the height of 5 or 6 feet from the gronud. It is constructed with sticks and briars, and lined with fine thread-
HISTORY .- This bird is known in many places by the name of French Mocking | like roots, which are of a dark color. The
79
BIRDS OF VERMONT.
CHAP. 3.
THE ROBIN.
WII SON'S THRUSH.
NEW YORK THRUSHI.
eggs are 4 or 5, of a bluish green color, and without spots. Like the Mocking Bird, the Cat Bird is often known to im- itate the notes of other birds, and sounds of various kinds. The food of the Cat Bird is similar to that of the preceding species, being made up of worms, beetles, cherries, and various other insects, fruits and berries.
THE AMERICAN ROBIN. Turdus migratorius .- LINNAEUS.
DESCRIPTION .- Color of the head, back of the neck and tail brownish black ; the back and rump dark ash ; breast dark red- dish orange ; belly and vent white ; chin white, spotted with brownish black ; wings blackish brown ; the exterior edges of the feathers faded and grayish ; exterior tail feathers white at their inner tip; three white spots margin the eye. The bill is lemon yellow, with a brownish tip; legs and feet dark brown. The young, during the first season, spotted with white and dusky on the breast. Length 9 inches.
HISTORY .- This universal favorite is found, during the summer, throughout nearly the whole of North America, They retire to the south late in antumn. where they pass the colder part of the winter ; but, returning early to the north, reach Vermont usually about the 20th of March ;* and their arrival is always hail- ed with joy, as the unerring harbinger of approaching spring. While the snow con- tinues upon the ground, the Robin sub- sists principally upon the berries which remain upon the sumach, mountain ash and red cedar. The Robin, as is well known, is a very familiar bird, and seeins to seek to place its nest where it shall be under man's protection. And hence we find its nest most frequently in gardens and orchards. The nest is sometimes built upon a fence, a wall, or a stump, but more commonly in the fork of an ap- ple-tree or other small tree. It is con- strneted with grass and mud firmly bed- ded together, and lined with fine straw
and blades of grass. The eggs, usually 5, are of a bluish green color and unspot- ted. During the summer their food con- sists of worms, insects, and various kinds of berries. The Robin is easily tamed, and in the domesticated state may be taught to imitate not only the notes of other birds, but various strains of music.
WILSON'S THRUSII. Turdus Wilsonii .- BONAPARTE.
DESCRIPTION .-- Upper parts uniform light reddish-brown, a little deeper on the head ; quill and tail-coverts light olive. brown, the onter webs of the former like the back ; lower parts grayish-white, the sides and lower part of the neck, and a small portion of the breast tinged with pals yel- lowish brown, and marked with small, faint und undecided triangular brown spots ; wings with the 3d quill longest ; the 4th scarcely shorter, and slightly ex- ceeding the second. Length 7; spread 12 .- Audubon.
Hisroky .-- This species arrives from the south in the early part of May, and immediately commence the construction of their nests. These are built in low, thick bushes, in the dark parts of the for- ests, sometimes upon the ground, but more commonly from 1 to 3 feet above it. The eggs, 4 or 5 in number, are of an eme- rald green without spots, and differ very little from those of the Cat Bird, with the exception of being a little smaller. They usually raise two broods in a season.
THE NEW YORK THRUSH.
Turdus noveboracensis .- NUTTALL ..
DESCRIPTION .- Color of the whole up- per plumage a uniform deep hair brown ; stripe over the eye and whole under sur- face pale primrose yellow, marked with pencil-shaped spots of the 'color of the up- per plumage ; inner wing coverts yellow- ish gray, spotted with brown near the edge of the wing ; bill dark umber brown above, paler beneath ; legs brownish flesh color. The three first quills nearly equal and longest; tail nearly even ; lateral toes nearly equal ; nails small and of the color of the bill. Length 52 inches ; tail 23 ; folded wing 3; bill from the an- gle of the month 3 inch.
Hisrony .- The Aquatic Thrush is quite a common bird in Vermont, but is of retiring habits and therefore seldom seen except in the thickest parts of the forests. Its nest is built upon the ground and is constructed of leaves and moss, and lined with fine roots and sometimes with hair. The eggs are 4 or 5, of a yellow .
* See page 13.
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80
NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT.
PART 1.
THE THRUSHES.
THE WARBLERS.
ish white color and pretty thickly sprink- led towards the large end with two shades of' reddish brown. The specimen from which the above description was made was obtained, with its nest and eggs, in Burlington, in June, 1840. This bird from its preference to neighborhoods of water is sometimes called the Aquatic Thrush.
THE GOLDEN-CROWNED THRUSII. Turdas aurocapillus .- WILSON.
DESCRIPTION .- Color above rich yel- low-olive ; the tips of the wings and in- ner vanes of the quills dusky brown ; the 3 first primaries nearly equal; a dusky line from the nostril to the hind head; crown brownish orange ; beneath white ; the breast covered with deep brown pen- eil-shaped spots; legs pale flesh-color ; bill dusky above, below whitish. Crown of the female paler. Length G, spread 9. Nuttall.
HISTORY .- This bird is pretty common in nearly all parts of the United States, but is shy and retiring, and found only in the thickets of the forests. Its oven sha- ped nest is placed in the side of a dry and mossy bank and is constructed with great neatness. It is formed of grass and cov- ered with leaves and sticks, having the place of entrance upon the side. The eggs are 4 or 5, whitish, irregularly spotted with reddish brown. The food of this bird consists wholly of insects and their larvæ.
THE HIERMIT THRUSII. Turdus solitarius .- WILSON.
DESCRIPTION,-Color above plain deep olive-brown, below dull white; upper part of the breast and throat cream color ; the dusky brown pencillated spots carried over the breast and under the wings where the sides are pale olive; tail and coverts as well as the wings strongly tin- ged with rufous ; legs pale flesh color ; bill short black above, flesh-colored below; iris large and nearly black ; tail short and emarginate ; 3d primary longest. The female darker, with the spots on the breast larger and more dusky. Length 74 ; spread 108 .- Nutt.
from 4to 6, are of a light blue color, sprink- led with blotches towards the large end.
GENUS SYLVIA .- Latham.
Generic Characters .- Bill straight, slender, awl-shaped, higher than wide at the base, and us- ually furnished with scattered bristles ; lower mandible straight, upper sometimes notched ; nos- trils lateral, oval, situated at the base of the bill, and partly covered by a membrane ; tarsus longer than the middle toe; inner toe free ; hind nail shorter than the toe ; wings short.
THE YELLOW-CROWNED WARBLER. Sylvia coronata .- LATHAM.
DESCRIPTION .- Back dark ash, spotted or striped with black ; crown, sidesof the breast and rump bright yellow ; wings and tail black, with the outer vanes of the feathers margined with white or light ash ; wing coverts tipped with white, forming two white bars across each wing; outer tail feathers on each side with a large white spot on their inner vane ; breast white, spotted with black ; belly and vent white ; bill black, straight, slightly bent at the point and rounded above and be- low; legs and feet black; tail forked; the 2d, 3d and 4th primaries nearly equal ; Ist but little shorter. Winter dress and that of the young paler, and of an oliva- cious hue. Length of the specimen be- fore me 53 inches; spread of the wings 73 inches.
HisTony .- The Yellow-crowned War- bler, or Myrtle Bird, as it is sometimes called, is common in Vermont, and I am informed by Dr. Brewer that they breed in the north part of the state. The nest, according to Audubon, is placed up- on the horizontal branch of a fir or other evergreen. It is compactly built of sticks and strips of bark, and lined with hair, feathers and down. The eggs are of a rosy tint, thinly spotted with reddish brown towards the large end. Their food is insects and caterpillars in summer and they feed upon sveds, and myrtle and other berries during the winter.
THE YELLOW RED-POLL WARBLER. Sylvia petcchia .-- LATHI.
HISTORY .- The Hermit Thrush is said to inhabit every part of the United States. It is a solitary bird living wholly in the DESCRIPTION .- Male with the crown deep brownish red ; upper parts yellow olive streaked with brown ; rump green- ish yellow without streaks ; wings and tail dusky brown with the feathers edged with whitish or yellowish ; a bright yellow streak from the nostril over the eye ; low- woods, and is said by Nuttall to be scarce- ly inferior to the Nightingale in its pow- ers of song. Its nest according to Audu- bon is placed upon the limbs of trees a few feet from the ground, and is compos- ed of dry weeds and leaves, and neatly lined within with fine grass. The eggs, Fer parts yellow ; the sides of the neck, its
31
BIRDS OF VERMONT.
Char. 3.
WARBLERS.
WARBLERS.
lower part, and the sides of the body streaked with deep red ; the three outer quills nearly equal ; fail emarginate. Co- lors of the female duller. The young dull light greenish brown, tinged with gray. Length 53, spread 83 .- Aud.
HISTORY .- Very little is yet known of the history of this bird. During the win- ter it is found in large numbers in the southern states, and carly in the spring passes through New England, to rear its young at the north and returns again in the fall. Audubon found them plentiful in Labrador and Newfoundland, in Au- gust, feeding their young, but did not succeed in discovering any of their nests.
THE SUMMER WARBLER. Sylvia @stiva .- LATII.
DESCRIPTION .- Greenish yellow above; crown and beneath bright golden yellow; breast and sides with long spots of red- dish orange ; wings and tail brown, edged with yellow ; tail emarginate ; bill gray- ish blue ; legs pale. Female with the colors duller, and the breast unspotted. Young greenish olive above, with the throat yellowish white. Length 5, spread 7.
HISTORY .- This is one of our most beautiful and musical Warblers. It ar- rives in Vermont in the early part of May, and the female is soon engaged in the construction of her nest, while the male is spending the most of his time in cheer- ing her and the neighborhood with his song. The Summer Warbler seems 10 HISTORY .- This species was discover- ed by Wilson near Nashville, Tennessee, and is represented by ornithologists as being a very rare bird. Audubon says he has never seen more than three or four of them. The specimen from which the above description was made, was shot in Burlington, in the spring of 1840, and is the only one I have seen. delight in building its nest and rearing its young in our orchards and on the trees around our dwellings, as if conscious of its ability to afford us pleasure by its music. Several pairs of these birds are now (June 21, 1842,) rearing their young and warbling in the heart of our village, and two have their nest on a tree in my garden. It is built of a few coarse straws, shreds of bark, and woolly lint, lined with horsehairs and bristles. The eggs are 4, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. Sylvia virens .- LATIL. of a yellowish white color, sprinkled with speeks of pale brown towards the large end. It is said that the Cow- Black Bird often deposits its ogg's in the nests of these DESCRIPTION .- Color yellowish green . above ; beneath whitish ; front, checks, birds, and that they are in the habit of in- carcerating them in the manner described | sides of the neck, and line over the eye,
PART I. 11
on'page 69; and, as I have learned since that article was printed, that the nest there described was built about the begin- ning of June, much earlier than the Frin- gilla tristis usually builds ; it is probable that the yellow bird there mentioned, was the Sylvia estiva, or Summer Yellow Bird, as this is often called.
THIE SPOTTED WARBLER. Sylvia maculosa .- LATH.
DESCRIPTION .- Crown ash; back black- ish; tail coverts, tail and wings black, the latter crossed by two bars of white ; rump and beneath bright yellow ; breast spotted with black; vent white; legs brown; bill, front, lores and behind the ear black. Female with the breast whitish, and the colors duller. Length 5, spread 73 .-- Nutt.
Thisrony .- This beautiful species is only occasionally seen in its passage to- wards the north in the spring. It is said to build its nest around Hudson's Bay, upon the willows. It is considered one of the most musical and most beautiful of the American Warblers.
THE NASHVILLE WARBLER. Sylvia rubricapilla .- WILSON.
DESCRIPTION .- Yellowish green, or ol- ive above ; breast, chin and under tail cov- orts yellow ; belly whitish ; head and neck dark ash, inclining to olive ; crown deep chestnut; wings and tail hair brown ; feathers more or less edged with yellow on the outer vanes ; tail slightly forked ; bill brownish, straight and very sharp ; legs and feet brownish yellow. The fe- male is said to be paler beneath, grayish and without the chestnut on the crown. Length of the specimen before mne, which is a male, 41 inches, spread of the wings Gl in. ; the 2d and 3d primaries longest ; the Ist and Ith nearly equal.
82
NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT.
PART I.
THE WARBLERS.
THE WARBLERS.
yellow ; chin and throat to the breast ( black ; wings and tail dusky, the former with two white bars, and the latter with the three lateral feathers, marked with white on their inner webs; bill black; legs and feet brownish. Female with the chin yellow, and the throat blackish, tinged with yellow. Length 5, spread 73 .- Nutt.
HISTORY .- This species, though rare, probably breeds in this state. Mr. Nut- tall found one of their nests in Massachu- setts, in June, 1830. It was in a low, thick and stunted Virginia juniper, and was made of fibrous bark, and lined with feath- ers, grass, and a few hairs. The eggs were 4, whitish, sprinkled towards the large end with brown and blackish.
PINE CREEPING WARBLER. Sylvia pinus .- LATII.
Sylvicola pinus .- Aud. Am. Birds, 11 .- 37, pl. 82.
DESCRIPTION .- Male with the upper parts yellowish green, inclining to olive, the rump brighter ; streak over the eye ; eye-lids, throat,breast and sides bright yel- low, with a greenish tinge; the rest of the lower parts white; wings and tail blackish brown ; secondary coverts and first row of small coverts tipped with dull white ; primaries edged with whitish, sec- ondaries with brownish gray ; outer two tail feathers with a patch of white on their inner web near the end. Wings moder- ate, first three quills nearly equal ; tail emarginate. Female and young brownish above, other colors duller. Length 5, spread 8 .- Aud.
HISTORY .- This is one of the most common species of Warblers in the Uni- ted States, being met with from Louisiana to Maine, but more abundantly at the south than at the north. It resembles the Creepers in running upon the trunks of trees. Its nest is placed high upon the limbs of trees, and is composed of dry grass and roots, lined with hair. The eggs, from 4 to 6, have a light sea-green tint, and are sprinkled with reddish brown dots, thickest towards the large end.
THE CERULEAN WARBLER. Sylvia carulea .- WILS.
DESCRIPTION .- Wings long, 3 outer quills nearly equal, Ist and 2d longest ; upper parts fine light blue, brighter on the head; the back marked with longitu- dinal streaks of blackish ; a narrow band of black from the forehead along the lore to behind the eye ; two white bands on the wings ; quills black, margined with pale blue ; tail slightly omarginate; feath-
ers black, edged with blue, with a white patch on the inner web of each toward the end ; lower parts white, with a band of dark bluish gray across the foreneck, and oblong spots of the same along the sides. Female with the upper parts light bluish green, the lower yellowish ; young like the female. Length 45, spread 8 .- Au- dubon.
HISTORY .- This species is not very com- mon in the northern part of the United States. Its nest, according to Audubon, is built upon bushes, constructed with stalks and fibres of vines, and lined with moss. The eggs are 4 or 5, white, spot- ted at the large end with reddish.
BLACKBURN'S WARBLER. Sylvia Blackburnic .- LATH.
DESCRIPTION .- The head striped with black and orange ; back black, skirted with ash ; wings black, with a large lat- eral patch of white; throat and breast reddish-orange, bounded by streaks and spots of black ; belly dull yellow, streak- ed with black ; vent white; tail a little forked, 3 lateral feathers white on the in- ner web; cheeks black; bill and legs brown. Female yellow, without orange, and black spots fewer. Length 43, spread 7 .- Nutt.
HISTORY .- This is a rare bird in the United States. But few of them are seen in Vermont, and yet it is said that some of them rear their young here. The nest is placed in the fork of a small tree but a few feet from the ground, and is lined with hair and feathers. The eggs are white, sprinkled with red towards the large end.
THE CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. Sylvia icterocephala .- LATI.
DESCRIPTION .- Crown yellow ; feath- ers of the back and rump black, edged with greenish white; wings dusky, the primaries edged with white and the sec- ondaries with greenish yellow ; the first and second row of coverts broadly tipped with light yellow, forming two bars on each wing; a triangular black spot be- neath the eye; chin and belly white; sides, from the black beneath the eye to the thighs, and across the breast, bright chestnut ; tail forked, dusky above, white beneath; legs, feet and bill dusky ; iris hazel. Length 5, spread 7.
HISTORY .- This beautiful warbler is represented by Audubon as being ex- tremely rare in all parts of the United States. The specimen, from which the above description was drawn, was killed
83
BIRDS OF VERMONT.
Спар. 3.
THE WARBLERS.
THE BLACK AND WHITE CREEPER.
GENUS REGULUS.
in Burlington, on the 11th of June, 1842, | ved with dusky olive ; bill blackish above, and it is thought to be rather a common below flesh colored ; legs pale flesh color ; iris hazel ; bill stout. Length 51, spread 8 .- Nuttall. bird here, and I have but little doubt that it breeds in this state, although I have never seen its nest. Audubon profes- ses himself ignorant of their breeding places ; but Nuttall and Peabody assure us that several of their nests have been found in Massachusetts.
THE BLACK. THROATED WARBLER. Sylvia canadensis .- LATA.
DESCRIPTION .- Light blue slate above ; beneath white ; wings and tail dusky black, the latter wedge-shaped, edged with blue, feathers pointed, external ones with a large white spot ; throat, cheeks, upper part of the breast and sides under the wings, deep black ; legs and feet dusky yellow ; bill black ; a white spot on the wings. The black in the female dusky ash, or wanting. Length 5, spread 74 .- Nutt.
HISTORY .- This species is rare and very little known. Its nest, according to Audubon, is placed on the horizontal branch of a fir, 6 or 8 feet from the ground. The eggs, 4 or 5 in number, are of a rosy tint, sprinkled with reddish- brown at the large end.
THE MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT. Sylviu trichas .- LATH.
DESCRIPTION .- Yellow-olive above, in- clining to cinereous on the crown ; front and wide patch through the eye black ; throat, breast and vent yellow, fainter on the belly ; wings, and unspotted wedge- shaped tail, dusky brown ; quills of both edged with yellow-olive ; bill black above, pale beneath ; legs pale flesh-color ; iris dark hazel. Female without black on the face, and beneath dull yellow. Length 5, spread 7 .- Nutt.
HISTORY .-- This is quite a common bird. It arrives from the south in the early part of May. Its nest, according to Peabody, is constructed on or near the ground, among dry leaves, brush or with- ered grass. The eggs, 4 or 5, are white, with blotches and lines of brown chiefly towards the large end.
THE WORM-EATING WARBLER. Sylvia vermivora .- LATHI.
DESCRIPTION .- Dusky olive above ex- cept the wings and tail, which are umber brown. Head buff, marked with 4 longi- tudinal stripes of umber brown ; breast orange buff, mixed with dusky ; vent wa- | primaries longest ; tail notched.
HISTORY .- This active and industrious little bird is said to arrive late from the south and retire early, and resembles somewhat the Chicadee in its manners and notes. Its nest, according to Audu- bon, is made of dry mosses, hickory and chestnut blossoms, and the eggs are 4 or 5, cream colored, with a few dark red spots near the large end. The nest is usu- ally placed between two twigs, 8 or 9 feet from the ground.
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