Taken in Oregon. Photo by Finley and Bohlman.
YOUNG VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW.
Thruout the State, however, and especially upon the West-side, these exquisite birds are forsaking their ancient haunts and claiming protection of men. Already they have become common in larger cities, where they occupy bird-boxes and crannies of buildings. South Tacoma, being nearest to their old oak nurseries, is quite given over to them, and it is a pretty sight on a sunny day in April to see them fluttering about the cottages inspecting knot-holes and recessed gables or, in default of such conveniences, daintily voicing their disapproval of such neglect on the part of careless humans.
In these birds and in the Barn Swallows, the well known twittering and creaking notes of Swallows most nearly approach the dignity of song. Indeed, Mr. Rathbun contends that the song heard at close quarters is a really creditable affair, varied, vivacious, and musical.
The Violet-greens are somewhat less hardy or venturesome than the Tree Swallows, arriving usually during the last week in March. Last year’s nesting site becomes at once the spring rendezvous, but the duties of maternity are not seriously undertaken until about the 1st of June. At the head of Lake Chelan some twenty pairs of these Swallows, having left the old nesting cliff a mile away, had engaged quarters at Field’s Hotel, being assigned to the boxed eaves of a second-story piazza in this pleasant caravanserai; but they had not yet deposited eggs on the 20th of June, 1906.
Altho not formerly so fastidious—I have found cliff nests composed entirely of dried grass—these birds have become connoisseurs in upholstery of feathers, and their unglossed white eggs, five or six in number, are invariably smothered in purloined down, until we begin to suspect that our fowls rather than our features have favored our adoption.
Ampelidæ—The Waxwings
No. 133.
BOHEMIAN WAXWING.
A. O. U. No. 618. Bombycilla garrula (Linn.).
Synonyms.—Northern Waxwing. Greater Waxwing.
Description.—Adults: A conspicuous crest; body plumage soft, grayish-brown or fawn-color, shading by insensible degrees between the several parts; back darker, passing into bright cinnamon-rufous on forehead and crown, and thru dark ash of rump and upper tail-coverts into black of tail; tips of tail feathers abruptly yellow (gamboge); breast with a vinaceous cast, passing into cinnamon-rufous of cheeks; a narrow frontal line passing thru eye, and a short throat-patch velvety black; under tail-coverts deep cinnamon; wing blackish-ash, the tips of the primary coverts and the tips of the secondaries on outer webs white, tips of primaries on outer webs bright yellow, whitening outwardly; the shafts of the rectrices produced into peculiar flattened red “sealing-wax” tips; bill and feet black. Length about 8.00 (203.2); wing 4.61 (117.1); tail 2.56 (65); bill .47 (11.9).
Recognition Marks.—Chewink size; grayish-brown coloration. As distinguished from the much more common Cedar-bird; belly not yellow; white wing-bars; under tail-coverts cinnamon.
Nesting.—Not known to breed in Washington. Like that of next species. Eggs, larger. Av. size, .98 × .69 (24.9 × 17.5).
General Range.—Northern portions of northern hemisphere. In North America, south in winter irregularly to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, southern Colorado, and northern California. Breeds north of United States; also, possibly, in the mountains of the West.
Range in Washington.—Winter resident, regular and sometimes abundant east of the Cascades, especially in the northern tier of counties; rare or casual on the West-side.
Authorities.—Ampelis garrulus, Brewster, B. N. O. C. VII. Oct. 1882, p. 227. D¹. J. E.
Specimens.—(U. of W.) Prov. P¹. C.
Nothing can exceed the refined elegance of these “gentlemen in feathers” who visit us yearly in winter, rarely on Puget Sound, but abundantly in the northeastern portion of the State. Demure, gentle, courteous to a fault, and guileless to the danger point, and beyond, these lovely creatures exceed in beauty, if possible, their more familiar cousin, the Cedarbird. They move about in flocks, sometimes to the number of hundreds, and as the rigors of winter come on they search the orchard and berry-patch for ungarnered fruit, or divide with hungry Robins the largess of rowan trees. Much time is spent in amiable converse, but it is not at all fair to call them “chatterers,” or garrulus, as tho they were monkeys. Dignity is of the very essence of their being, and, as fond as they are of good living, they would starve rather than do anything rude or unseemly.
An observer in Utah[50] relates how an ill-mannered Robin, jealous of the good behavior of a company of these visitors, in an apple tree, set about to abuse them. “He would bluster and scream out his denunciations till he seemed unable longer to restrain himself, when, to all appearances, absolutely beside himself with rage because the objects of his wrath paid no attention to his railings, he did the catapult act—hurling himself straight at the intruders. Several of the Waxwings, in order to avoid an actual collision, left the places where they were feeding, and alighting on twigs near by paused for a moment, as if to observe the antics of the furious Robin, when they would resume their feeding. Their indifference to the loud bullying protests of the Robin, and their persistence in remaining on the premises after he had ordered them off so exasperated Mr. Redbreast that with screams of defiance he dashed from group to group without stopping to alight, until, exhausted quite as much by the heat of anger as by the unusual exertions he was making, he was glad to drop to a branch and pant for breath”—while the Waxwings continued to ignore the churl, as gentlemen should.