File:Birds and nature (1905) (14755527095).jpg

Identifier: birdsnature11905chic (find matches)
Title: Birds and nature
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Birds Natural history
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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ifornia. Like their rela-tions, the cedar waxwings, their appear-ance in any locality during the winter isso uncertain they may well be calledroving gypsies, and the similarity isemphasized by the fact that they feedand travel in bands. Then, too, thesebirds rarely exert themselves, exceptingto satisfy hunger and they have beenknown to rest on the branches of a treefor hours at a time. While their flight iseasy and graceful, locomotion on theground is hard for them, and they walkwith difficulty. It would seem that allnatural objects which are somewhat er-ratic in their appearance, or appear onlyat long intervals, have been associatedwith superstitious ideas. The BohemianWaxwings have not been free from asso-ciation with evil. In the southern por-tion of its European range, as in Ger-many, their appearance in enormousflocks, after intervals of several yearsabsence, was many years agO regardedby some persons as a sure indication ofthe approach of an era of pestilence,famine, or war. 146
Text Appearing After Image:
BOHEMIAN WAXWING (Ampelis garrulus). About Life-size. The Waxwings are also quite erraticin tlieir bVeeding habits. Locahtics inwhich they have nested one season maynot be frequented by them again for someyears, if ever. Their nests are usuallyhidden among the branches of evergreentrees where they are not readily seen andoften are beyond the climbing ability ofman. Mr. Robert Kennicott was perhapsthe first ornithologist to find a nest inAmerica. This he discovered near FortYukon in July, 1861. This nest wasplaced on the side of a branch of a smallspruce which was growing on the edgeof a clump, on low ground. The nestwas at an elevation of about eighteenfeet. It was large, the base being madeof dry spruce twigs, and the nest itselfconstructed of fine grass and moose-hair, lined internally with large feathers.While their nests are always loose andbulky, the materials used vary. Amongthese materials are twigs, moss, driedgrass and weed stems, and they are nearlyalways lined with finer ma

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