“Yes,” Emile chimed in, “that bird certainly lives on seeds; it is written all over its big face.”
“It is, indeed, a consumer of all kinds of seeds; it is the greenfinch of our copses, greenish underneath and with a yellow border to its tail. The dominant color of its costume, green mixed with yellow, has given it the name of greenfinch. And this one?”
Beaks and Claws of Wading-birds
1, stork; 2, heron; 3, crane
“Seeds for the grosbeak, worms for the slender beak,” repeated Emile. “The beak has no strength; it is rather long but thin; the bird is an insect-eater.”
“And one of the greediest, for it belongs to the family of warblers, those delightful songsters that would be afraid of getting hoarse if they ate dry, farinaceous grain. To keep their vocal cords flexible these artists must have the gentle lubricant furnished by caterpillars and the succulent flesh of larvæ. They take good heed not to touch coarse seeds, which would injure the voice. This bird is the reed-warbler, which lives on dragon-flies, small [[243]]June-bugs, mosquitoes, and horse-flies, snapping them up on the wing. It builds its nest among the reeds in willow thickets. It is reddish brown above and yellowish white underneath.
“Finally, let us look at this third one.”
“Another slender beak,” said Emile; “another insect-eater.”
“Yes; you see it isn’t difficult. The bird has three names among us: washerwoman, wagtail, and little shepherdess. Washerwoman, because it frequents the waterside in company with those that wash linen; wagtail, because it wags its tail at every step it takes; and little shepherdess, because it likes the society of shepherds and flocks. It is ash-colored above, white underneath, and black on the back of the head and also on the throat and breast.