Show Out of Doors in the West Sketches of Natural History in the Rocky Mountain Plateau Edited by J. H. Professor of Nature Study in the University of Utah Observations on the Adapted from Notes by Wright of the Audubon Society The Blackbirds of Condensed from Goodwin's Lecture The Redwing belongs to the notable family that includes not only the but the the bobolink and the It is the most striking of the birds ing in early compel tion on account of plumage and just declared a ten-year-old can't listen to them as you to real singing for they make too much and when you listen for a it's got to be still at least in third tho Sometimes they go it all together down in the l bushes out of then a few will walk out up to the dry Meadowlark's field with Cow-c or maybe it's their s and then ono or two will lift up and shoot over the marsh back calling out just like juicy r they're it in April- before the leaves come in spite of difference of the group finally acknowledged that the boy was The Redwing's In point of coloring the Redwing is faultlessly plumed glossy black with epaulets of scarlet edged with gold the uniform of a coupled with the three martial notes that serve him as a would make expect to find in him all the manly and military But aside from the superficial matter of personal the is lacking m many of the qualities that endear the feathered tribe to ns and make us judge perhaps too much by human Redwings live in colonies' it is often difficult to estimate the exact relationship existing between the though it is apparent that sober females outnumber the but in places the i birds are uncommon and only one i or two birds be i it is easily seen that the house- hold of the male consists of from three to five each presided over by a watchful Some of His The the Redwing's next of even lacks the rich liquid call note of the latter and the lack of marital fidelity on the part of the male is met in a truly progressive spirit by the shirking all domestic drops her eggs craftily in the nests of other and usually smaller who can not easily resent the How i i a strong proof of the unconscious affinity of race lies in 1 he fact that these young foundling Cowbirds invariably join the parent flocks in autumn instead of continuing with their foster The Meadowlark with the true spring hides his nest in the dry grass of old is also kin to the Redwing and the vocal harlequin of he meadows and pas- Oriole is' a skilled musician model Most of the Redwings go south in but few feeding on weed seeds such animal food as They are not afraid of the and males return in early March their calls are heard often before the ice melted and the hylas found voice in spite of this hurried the nesting does not begin Until the middle of for two months and more the flock life- and fighting and general courting serve to kill time the mote-marshes show enough green drapery to hide the As a Nest a nest-builder the Redwing shows much of the weaver's skill of its Oriole though the material they with is of coarser being fastened firmly to low bushes or reeds and woven of grass and the split leaves of reeds and all nicely lined with grasses and various vegetable like that of the Marsh the Nest of a Red-Wing Blackbird nest will be suspended between three or four reeds and so firmly it resembles one of the four-legged work-baskets that belonged to the of our The pale blue eggs of the Redwing are particularly noticeable from character of markings' that thickly cover the larger for they seem the vork of a Scratching pen dipped ink and held byan-aimless human The Redwing's The Redwing eats and does some damage in certain but he destroys-also numbers of Dr War- ren reports taking twenty-eight of from the stomach of a single They take crit plant and various lan that would destroy the crops field and In mingles with its diet the fro the and wild cherry Redwing should be welcomed j not driven off by From Goodwin's last ture before the Nature Stu classes at the is tat the following account of t Blackbirds found in The Lazy In this family are placed t Blackbirds birds of wide dir and interesting Here we find the Cowbird-J of head and glossy This bird met in near the stock that grazes tto in is no uncommon to meet with perfectly at home upon the h of some good-natured As the world takes delight a so it manifests its i pleasure at a In this t desirable class we must place I for he is a shirk and sneak when it comes to tl duties which are supposed to volve upon all living the perpetuation of his kf These birds build no J give no time to the brooding 8 rearing of their In ct mon with some of the of they p fer not to be bothered care of t birds do provide the Tl sneak and when owner of a nest is absent fr they will deposit an eggs in the nest of a b smaller than and tl in the same manner sneak and leave all the subsequent car and burdens to their It usually happens that I young of the Cowbird about the same time as do eggs of the owner of the Df and the being W than the takes most oft food that is brought to the J and so grows and s his advantage the result that presently rightful owners of the nest pushed out and fall to the gro pj or starved and crushed jr t th- conscienceless occupant ot It has been found that parasite inflicts its eggs pearly different also the Yellow-breasted Chat land the Yellow Warbler become Enforced foster-parents more than any other IThe A. The the and Brewer's Blackbirds placed Of the Redwings there are several of which are found in 0 These are marsh-loving when grain is ready for or is in the shock or these birds will go far to 5 it and in the they fly miles up and down our in search of It is during this say from early till that the place every land-holder for they live seeds weed seeds and of the birds that winter in the about Utah Lake alone dent troy tons and tons during the out for they All go thirty miles from their to They return every making a trip of sixty ales for their day's The Yellow IB Not as many remain here through the though there are a good many that do These like their the are haunters of There they and their nests are often swung from several or placed in the tops of tules that have been matted The song of the Yellow-head or what passes for the song is unlike any other bird It is made up of an indescribable combination of strangling as if some creature were slowly being choked to The bird himself really appears to be having a serious time of it when relieving himself of these for he lifts his wings' and cranes his while his body seems to be in the clutches of final The Brewer C The Brewer Blackbird differs quite materially in some respects from his relatives just He spends much time in the though he visits the and in winter shares the tule in large with the other He builds his nest indifferently upon the in low and in large-willow They are and are always found in large or The-food habits of this species make it especially desirable to have about the Throughout the nesting season it feeds largely upon and its young is fed upon insects as I have found them on newly cut feeding on crickets and grasshoppers that were thus left and I have shot these birds when their bills were filled with They are not responsible for so damage to grain as are the others while their services as weed destroyers are of even greater |