Bird lore (1907) (14569027738) - Public domain zoological illustration

Identifier: birdlore91907nati (find matches)
Title: Bird lore
Year: 1899 (1890s)
Authors: National Committee of the Audubon Societies of America National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals National Audubon Society
Subjects: Birds Birds Ornithology
Publisher: New York City : Macmillan Co.
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library



Text Appearing Before Image:
e the impression of admuable adaptation to the open country,—a lar<^e, muscular, hardy, vigorous bird, able to withstand snow and sleet, in sizeequal or even exceeding the Ruffed Grouse in weight. Inhabiting open fieldsand pastures, subsisting on insects, leaves, seeds and wild berries, in a countrywhere the absence of foxes and raccoons reduces the numbers of its enemies prac-tically to cats, men, skunks, field-mice and rarely some species of hawks, theproblem of maintaining and bringing back the bird to its former abundanceseems practicable. Of the total number, twenty-one, which we observed on May i and 2, twentywere plainly males; of the sex of one we were uncertain. On June 4, a set of nine Heath Hens eggs was taken and placed under a ban-tam hen, selected for this purpose because she appeared to be unusually tract-able; but on June 20, when one of the chicks hatched it was immediately killedby the hen, which attacked it viciously before it was entirely out of the shell. The
Text Appearing After Image:
THE HEATH HEN GROLl IS TMK A.MKRICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY The nest and eggs are shown in silu in the preceding illustration Photographed by J. Otis Wheelock The Heath Hen 255 other Heath Hens eggs failed to hatch, and only one contained a well-developedembryo. After destroying the Heath Hen chick, the hen was given some pheasanteggs, hatched them, and reared the chicks with all possible care. An injured Heath Hen was received from Marthas Vineyard, November 19,but refused to feed, and, though placed in a pen with a tamed Ruffed Grouse,lived only a week in the pen. The only nest known to the writer was found in oak woods among sproutsat the base of a large stump and contained either twelve or thirteen eggs, aboutJune 10. William Brew^ster has a set of seven eggs taken July 24, 1885. The value of the birds as a local asset was early appreciated by many of thebest people, but to J. E. Howland is due the credit for initiating the action whichpromises to prevent for all time the exter