Bird Neighbors | Page 7

habit that, while certain family resemblances may be traced throughout, it is
almost impossible to characterize the family as such. The sparrows are comparatively
small gray and brown birds with striped upper parts, lighter underneath. Birds of the
ground, or not far from it, elevated perches being chosen for rest and song. Nest in low
bushes or on the ground. (Chipping sparrow often selects tall trees.) Coloring adapted to
grassy, dusty habitats. Males and females similar. Flight labored. About forty species of
sparrows are found in the United States; of these, fourteen may be met with by a novice,
and six, at least, surely will be.
The finches and their larger kin are chiefly bright-plumaged birds, the females either
duller or distinct from males; bills heavy, dull, and conical, befitting seed eaters. Not so
migratory as insectivorous birds nor so restless. Mostly phlegmatic in temperament. Fine
songsters. Chipping Sparrow. English Sparrow. Field Sparrow. Fox Sparrow.
Grasshopper Sparrow. Savanna Sparrow. Seaside Sparrow. Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Song
Sparrow. Swamp Song Sparrow. Tree Sparrow. Vesper Sparrow. White-crowned
Sparrow. White-throated Sparrow. Lapland Longspur. Smith's Painted Longspur. Pine
Siskin (or Finch). Purple Finch. Goldfinch. Redpoll. Greater Redpoll. Red Crossbill.
White-winged Red Crossbill. Cardinal Grosbeak. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Pine
Grosbeak. Evening Grosbeak. Blue Grosbeak. Indigo Bunting. Junco. Snowflake.
Chewink.
Family Tanagridae: TANAGERS
Distinctly an American family, remarkable for their brilliant plumage, which, however,
undergoes great changes twice a year, Females different from males, being dull and
inconspicuous. Birds of the tropics, two species only finding their way north, and the
summer tanager rarely found north of Pennsylvania. Shy inhabitants of woods. Though
they may nest low in trees, they choose high perches when singing or feeding upon
flowers, fruits, and insects. As a family, the tanagers have weak, squeaky voices, but both
our species are good songsters. Suffering the fate of most bright-plumaged birds,
immense numbers have been shot annually. Scarlet Tanager. Summer Tanager.
Family Hirundinidae. SWALLOWS
Birds of the air, that take their insect food on the wing. Migratory. Flight strong,
skimming, darting; exceedingly graceful. When not flying they choose slender,
conspicuous perches like telegraph wires, gutters, and eaves of barns. Plumage of some
species dull, of others iridescent blues and Greens above, whitish or ruddy below. Sexes
similar. Bills small; mouths large. - Long and pointed wings, generally reaching the tip of
the tail or beyond. Tail more or less forked. Feet small and weak from disuse. Song a
twittering warble without power. Gregarious birds. Barn Swallow. Bank Swallow. Cliff
(or Eaves) Swallow. Tree Swallow. Rough-winged Swallow. Purple Martin.
Family Ampelidae: WAXWINGS
Medium-sized Quaker-like birds, with plumage of soft browns and grays. Head crested;
black band across forehead and through the eye. Bodies plump from indolence. Tail
tipped with yellow; wings with red tips to coverts, resembling sealing-wax. Sexes similar.

Silent, gentle, courteous, elegant birds. Usually seen in large flocks feeding upon berries
in the trees or perching on the branches, except at the nesting season. Voices resemble a
soft, lisping twitter. Cedar Bird. Bohemian Waxwing.
Family Laniidae: SHRIKES
Medium-sized grayish, black-and-white birds, with hooked and hawk-like bill for tearing
the flesh of smaller birds, field-mice, and large insects that they impale on thorns.
Handsome, bold birds, the terror of all small, feathered neighbors, not excluding the
English sparrow. They choose conspicuous perches when on the lookout for prey a
projecting or dead limb of a tree, the cupola of a house, the ridge-pole or weather-vane of
a barn, or a telegraph wire, from which to suddenly drop upon a victim. Eyesight
remarkable. Call-notes harsh and unmusical. Habits solitary and wandering. The
first-named species is resident during the colder months of the year; the latter is a
summer resident only north of Maryland. Northern Shrike. Loggerhead Shrike.
Family Vireonidae: VIREOS OR GREENLETS
Small greenish-gray or olive birds, whitish or yellowish underneath, their plumage
resembling the foliage of the trees they hunt, nest, and live among. Sexes alike. More
deliberate in habit than the restless, flitting warblers that are chiefly seen darting about
the ends of twigs. Vireos are more painstaking gleaners; they carefully explore the bark,
turn their heads upward to investigate the under side of leaves, and usually keep well
hidden among the foliage. Bill hooked at tip for holding worms and insects. Gifted
songsters, superior to the warblers. This family is peculiar to America. Red-eyed Vireo.
Solitary Vireo. Warbling Vireo. White-eyed Vireo. Yellow-throated Vireo.
Family Mniotiltidae: WOOD WARBLERS
A large group of birds, for the most part smaller than the English sparrow; all, except the
ground warblers, of beautiful plumage, in which yellow, olive, slate-blue, black, and
white are predominant colors. Females generally duller than males. Exceedingly active,
graceful, restless feeders among the terminal twigs of trees and shrubbery; haunters of
tree-tops in the woods at nesting time. Abundant birds, especially during May and
September,