Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, from Parrots to Bluebirds
The Project Gutenberg eBook, Bird Guide: Land Birds East of the Rockies, by Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed
PREPARING BREAKFAST (Two adult Chipping Sparrows breaking worm into pieces to feed young.)
BY CHESTER A. REED Author of North American Birds’ Eggs, and, with Frank M. Chapman, of Color Key to North American Birds. Curator in Ornithology, Worcester Natural History Society.
GARDEN CITY NEW YORK DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1919
Copyrighted, 1906, 1909 by CHAS. K. REED.
The native birds are one of our nation’s most valuable assets. Destroy them, and in a comparatively few years the insects will have multiplied to such an extent that trees will be denuded of their foliage, plants will cease to thrive and crops cannot be raised. This is not fancy but plain facts. Look at the little Chickadee on the side of this page. She was photographed while entering a bird box, with about twenty-five plant lice to feed her seven young; about two hundred times a day, either she or her mate, made trips with similar loads to feed the growing youngsters.
It has been found, by observation and dissection, that a Cuckoo consumes daily from 50 to 400 caterpillars or their equivalent, while a Chickadee will eat from 200 to 500 insects or up to 4,000 insect or worm eggs. 100 insects a day is a conservative estimate of the quantity consumed by each individual insectivorous bird. By carefully estimating the birds in several areas, I find that, in Massachusetts, there are not less than five insect-eating birds per acre. Thus this state with its 8,000 square miles has a useful bird population of not less than 25,600,000, which, for each day’s fare, requires the enormous total of 2,560,000,000 insects. That such figures can be expressed in terms better understood, it has been computed that about 120,000 average insects fill a bushel measure. This means that the daily consumption, of chiefly obnoxious insects, in Massachusetts is 21,000 bushels. This estimate is good for about five months in the year, May to September, inclusive; during the remainder of the year, the insects, eggs and larvæ destroyed by our Winter, late Fall and early Spring migrants will be equivalent to nearly half this quantity.
Chester A. Reed
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PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
BIRD GUIDE
CAROLINA PAROQUET
GROOVE-BILLED ANI
ROAD-RUNNER
MANGROVE CUCKOO
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO
BELTED KINGFISHER
TEXAS KINGFISHER
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER
HAIRY WOODPECKER
SOUTHERN DOWNY WOODPECKER
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER
TEXAN WOODPECKER
ARCTIC THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
PILEATED WOODPECKER
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
FLICKER
RED-SHAFTED FLICKER
CHUCK-WILL’S-WIDOW
WHIP-POOR-WILL
POOR-WILL
MERRILL PARAQUE
NIGHTHAWK
TEXAN NIGHTHAWK
CHIMNEY SWIFT
WHITE-THROATED SWIFT
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER
KINGBIRD
GRAY KINGBIRD
ARKANSAS KINGBIRD
DERBY FLYCATCHER
CRESTED FLYCATCHER
PHŒBE
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER
WOOD PEWEE
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
GREEN-CRESTED OR ACADIAN FLYCATCHER
ALDER FLYCATCHER
LEAST FLYCATCHER
VERMILION FLYCATCHER
HORNED LARK
AMERICAN MAGPIE
BLUE JAY
FLORIDA JAY
GREEN JAY
CANADA JAY
NORTHERN RAVEN
WHITE-NECKED RAVEN
AMERICAN CROW
FISH CROW
CLARKE NUTCRACKER
STARLING
BOBOLINK
COWBIRD
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
MEADOWLARK
AUDUBON ORIOLE
SCOTT ORIOLE
HOODED ORIOLE
ORCHARD ORIOLE
BALTIMORE ORIOLE
RUSTY BLACKBIRD
BREWER BLACKBIRD
PURPLE GRACKLE
BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE
EVENING GROSBEAK
PINE GROSBEAK
PURPLE FINCH
AMERICAN CROSSBILL
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL
GRAY-CROWNED LEUCOSTICTE
REDPOLL
GREENLAND REDPOLL
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH
WESTERN GOLDFINCH
PINE FINCH OR SISKIN
SNOWFLAKE
LAPLAND LONGSPUR
SMITH LONGSPUR
CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR
M’COWN LONGSPUR
ENGLISH SPARROW
VESPER SPARROW
IPSWICH SPARROW
SAVANNAH SPARROW
BAIRD SPARROW
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
HENSLOW SPARROW
LECONTE SPARROW
SHARP-TAILED SPARROW
NELSON SPARROW
SEASIDE SPARROW
DUSKY SEASIDE SPARROW
LARK SPARROW
HARRIS SPARROW
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
TREE SPARROW
CHIPPING SPARROW
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
BREWER SPARROW
FIELD SPARROW
WHITE-WINGED JUNCO
SLATE-COLORED JUNCO
BLACK-THROATED SPARROW
SAGE SPARROW
PINE-WOODS SPARROW
SONG SPARROW
LINCOLN SPARROW
SWAMP SPARROW
FOX SPARROW
TOWHEE OR CHEWINK
GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE
CARDINAL
TEXAN CARDINAL; PYRRHULOXIA
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK
BLUE GROSBEAK
INDIGO BUNTING
LAZULI BUNTING
VARIED BUNTING
PAINTED BUNTING
MORELLET SEED-EATER
DICKCISSEL
LARK BUNTING
SCARLET TANAGER
SUMMER TANAGER
PURPLE MARTIN
CLIFF SWALLOW
BARN SWALLOW
TREE SWALLOW
BANK SWALLOW
ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW
BOHEMIAN WAXWING
CEDAR WAXWING
NORTHERN SHRIKE
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
RED-EYED VIREO
PHILADELPHIA VIREO
WARBLING VIREO
YELLOW-THROATED VIREO
BLUE-HEADED VIREO
BLACK-CAPPED VIREO
WHITE-EYED VIREO
BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER
PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
SWAINSON WARBLER
WORM-EATING WARBLER
BACHMAN WARBLER
BLUE-WINGED WARBLER
GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
NASHVILLE WARBLER
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
TENNESSEE WARBLER
PARULA WARBLER
SENNETT WARBLER
CAPE MAY WARBLER
YELLOW WARBLER
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER
MYRTLE WARBLER
MAGNOLIA WARBLER
CERULEAN WARBLER
CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER
BAY-BREASTED WARBLER
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER
BLACK-POLL WARBLER
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER
BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
KIRTLAND WARBLER
PINE WARBLER
PALM WARBLER
PRAIRIE WARBLER
OVEN-BIRD
WATER-THRUSH
LOUISIANA WATER-THRUSH
KENTUCKY WARBLER
CONNECTICUT WARBLER
MOURNING WARBLER
MARYLAND YELLOW-THROAT
YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT
HOODED WARBLER
WILSON WARBLER
CANADIAN WARBLER
AMERICAN REDSTART
AMERICAN PIPIT; TITLARK
SPRAGUE PIPIT
SAGE THRASHER
MOCKINGBIRD
CATBIRD
BROWN THRASHER
CACTUS WREN
ROCK WREN
CAROLINA WREN
BEWICK WREN
HOUSE WREN
WINTER WREN
SHORT-BILLED MARSH WREN
LONG-BILLED MARSH WREN
BROWN CREEPER
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
BROWN-HEADED NUTHATCH
TUFTED TITMOUSE
BLACK-CRESTED TITMOUSE
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
HUDSONIAN CHICKADEE
VERDIN; YELLOW-HEADED TIT
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER
WOOD THRUSH
WILSON THRUSH OR VEERY
GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH
OLIVE-BACKED THRUSH
HERMIT THRUSH
AMERICAN ROBIN
GREENLAND WHEATEAR
BLUEBIRD
FIELD KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF EASTERN LAND BIRDS BY CONSPICUOUS MARKINGS
1. BIRDS WITH RED OR ORANGE MARKINGS
2. BIRDS PROMINENTLY MARKED WITH BLUE
3. BIRDS WITH YELLOW AS PROMINENT COLOR
4. BIRDS WITH BROWN MARKINGS MOST PROMINENT
5. SHARPLY DEFINED BLACK AND WHITE MARKINGS
INDEX
THE POCKET GARDEN LIBRARY
THE WORTH KNOWING SERIES
THE BIRD STUDY BOOK
THE TREE GUIDE
THE BUTTERFLY GUIDE
FLOWER GUIDE
NATURE STUDIES—IN FIELD AND WOOD
WATER BIRDS
NATURE STUDIES—BIRDS
WESTERN BIRD GUIDE
ILLUSTRATED BIRD DICTIONARIES
GUIDE TO TAXIDERMY
CAMERA STUDIES OF WILD BIRDS IN THEIR HOMES
WILD FLOWERS
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS’ EGGS
GUIDE TO THE MUSHROOMS
GOLDFISH, AQUARIA AND FERNERIES
BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
AMERICAN GAME BIRDS
Transcriber’s Note
