Paintings from: Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States
"Reverberant hooting in the big woods had called me from the roadway to follow the sound for
half a mile,
when suddenly— there sat the great [Barred Owl] before me, on a horizontal limb,
keeping the ready
attitude of apprehension, his head turned squarely around so that his dark, solemn eyes
stared fixedly at me."
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"While singing [the Prairie Horned Lark] holds his wings motionless, stiffly outstretched,
and his tail widely spread, as if he
were doing his utmost to transform himself into a parachute— as no doubt he is. Then,
the brief, hurried strain
delivered, he beats the air again and makes another shoot heavenward."
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"Many still shudder whenever they hear [the Screech Owl's] plaintive, long-drawn-out wail,
which, though it
seems to carry a note of sadness, is merely a love song, unappreciated, except, perhaps, by
the ears
for which it is especially intended."
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"Zigzags and long curves intersect one another as the merry [Chimney Swifts] drive through
the fresh morning air with
quivering wings and shrill titterings— erratic avian missiles seeking luckless winged
insects in the over-arching
skies."
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"When the spring rains and mounting sun begin to tint the meadow grass, when the alewives
run up the streams, when the blackbirds and the spring frogs sing their full chorus, then
the Snipe arrives at night on the south wind."
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"There is no more pleasing spring sound than the lusty scream of the [Red-shouldered Hawk]
as it rings
through the bare leafless woods as they stand up straight and brown against the pale blue
sky of April."
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"Five little downy young Sharp-shins in a nest are a beautiful sight. They fill the nest
full to overflowing with their palpitating, snowy, fluffy mass, with five pairs of bright
black eyes punctuating the fluff."
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"When winter really comes to New England, when icy blasts sweep down from the north and snow
fills the air and whitens field and pasture, these little birds ride down on wintry winds
and whirl about the fields amid the driving snow."
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"The young [Bob-whites] grow rather slowly, and their little wings do not develop quite
so fast as in the Ruffed Grouse
or the Spruce Grouse, but they begin to use them at an early age. Wings are needed indeed,
as the little ones must run the gauntlet of many enemies."
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"Lawson (1709) speaks of prodigious flocks of pigeons in 1701-02, which broke down trees
in the woods where they roosted, and cleaned up all the food in the country, scarcely
leaving one acorn on the ground."
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"[The Crested Flycatcher] is a prominent bird, for it is the largest and in some ways the
handsomest of our flycatchers; it often occupies a conspicuous perch, and its notes are so
loud as to
compel attention. Its battles in the air are fierce and noisy and it is inclined to bully
other
birds."
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"Sometimes this bird has a savage battle with the 'bumblebees' which are reluctant to leave
its favorite flowers. The tiny hummingbird is a
mighty warrior, with greater strength and speed in proportion to its size than any other
bird that flies."
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"The courage and intrepidity of this falcon are so great that it sometimes attacks very
large birds. Commander Donald MacMillan
says that he once saw [a Duck Hawk] drop like a comet out of the blue sky and knock down a
Blue Goose with such force
as to partially disable it."
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"While ice still covers our lakes, before even the wood frogs begin to croak, when the
spring floods first begin to break up the frozen rivers,
the geese are on their way; and when that 'flying wedge' sweeps fast across the sky, it
brings to all who see or hear the promise of another spring."
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"The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a harbinger of summer. When the woods and orchards have put on
their
spring greenery; when the blossom-buds of the moccasin flower and the columbine begin to
unfold their petals, then
the voice of the cuckoo is heard in the land."
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Brunnich's Murre
"The serio-comic appearance of the little feathered clown is laughable. … The
[Puffin] stands erect like a little soldier, its red splay feet slightly straddled and
planted firmly on the rock, resting not on its tail and tarsi, but standing up high and
clear."
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"While the tide is out [the American Black-bellied Plovers] run about with heads up,
apparently without aim or purpose, but now and then one thrusts its open bill down into sand
or water and pulls up a long marine worm."
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"Our Raven is merely a geographical race of the ancient Raven of the Old World, and that
bird of sinister appearance was regarded as a mysterious and semi-sacred being by peoples of
the long ago."
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