A guide to the birds of New England and eastern New York; containing a key for each season and short descriptions of over 250 species, with particular reference to their appearance in the field

Front matter

OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK

---^ Raloh Hoffm?\nn

Qass Qii

Contents

INTRODUCTION i"age

I. The Object and Plan of this Guide ... 3

II. Birds and their Seasons 6

Appendix

A. Lists of Birds breeding in the three Life-Zones

OF New England and Eastern New York . 341

B. Books of Reference 347

INDEX 351

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIO^S

FULL-PAGE PLATES

Sparrow Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk. Frontispiece

Life-Zone Map 15

Least Flycatcher facing 202 ^

Chimney Swift facing 210

Red-tailed Hawk and Marsh Hawk . . . facing 246 '

FIGURES IN THE TEXT

1. Ruby-crowned Kinglet, head. .

2. Golden-crowned Kinglet, head

3. Red-bellied Nuthatch, head .

4. White-bellied Nuthatch, head

5. Long-billed Marsh Wren, head

6. Short-billed Marsh Wren, head .

7. Carolina Wren, head

8. Canadian Warbler, head and breast

9. Wilson's Warbler, head .

10. Hooded Warbler, head

11. Northern Yellow-throat, head

12. Kentucky Warbler, head

13. Oven-bird, head and breast

14. Prairie Warbler, head and breast

15. Black-throated Green Warbler, head and breast

16. Black-poll Warbler, head ....

17. Chestnut-sided Warbler, head

18. Magnolia Warbler, head and breast

19. Myrtle Warbler, head and breast .

20. Black-throated Blue Warbler, head and

21. Yellow Warbler, head and breast .

22. Golden-winged Warbler, head and breast

23. Blue-winged Warbler, head and breast

24. Worm-eating Warbler, head breast

PAGE lis

Xll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

25. Black and White Warbler, head .

26. Solitary Vireo, head .....

27. Warbling Vireo, head ....

28. Red-eyed Vireo, head

29. Loggerhead Shrike, head ...

30. Northern Shrike, head ....

31. Rough-winged Swallow, head and breast

32. Bank Swallow, head and breast .

33. Tree Swallow, head and breast

34. Barn Swallow, tail

35. Clife Swallow

36. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Female, head and breast

37. Towhee, head and breast ....

38. Towhee, tail ......

39. Song Sparrow, head and breast

40. Slate-colored Juuco, head and breast .

41. Slate-colored Junco, tail .....

42. Field Sparrow, head

43. Chipping Sparrow, head

44. Tree Sparrow, head and breast .

45. White-throated Sparrow, head

46. White-crowned Sparrow, head

47. Seaside Sparrow, head and breast .

48. Sharp-tailed Sparrow, head and breast

49. Henslow's Sparrow, head and breast

50. Grasshopper Sparrow, head and breast

51. Vesper Sparrow, head and breast .

52. Pine Siskin, head and breast

53. Redpoll, head and breast ....

54. White- winged Crossbill, head and wings

55. Purple Finch, Female, head and breast .

56. Bronzed Grackle, head ....

57. Bronzed Grackle, tail .....

58. Red-winged Blackbird, Female, head and breast

59. Bobolink, Female, head and breast . . .

60. Blue Jay, head

61. Horned Lark, head and breast

62. Nighthawk, head

63. Nighthawk, wing

64. Whip-poor-will, head

65. Northern Flicker, head and breast .

66. Red-headed Woodpecker ....

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Xiii

67. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, head, breast, and wing . . 220

68. Belted Kingfisher, head and breast .... 225

69. Black-billed Cuckoo, tail 226

70. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, tail . . . ... .227

71. Screech Owl, head . . 231

72. Mourning Dove, tail . . . . . . . 247

73. Bob-white, head . .252

74. Piping Plover, head and breast . . . . . 254

75. Semipalmated Plover, head and breast .... 255

76. Killdeer, head and breast 256

77. Black-bellied Plover, Immature, head .... 258

78. Solitary Sandpiper, tail 264

79. Red-backed Sandpiper, head 268

80. Florida Gallinule, head . . . . . .278

81. Sora, head 279

82. Virginia Rail, head 280

83. Least Bittern, head 284

84. Surf Scoter, head . . . . . . .291

85. Buffle-head, head 296

86. American Golden-eye, head 298

87. Blue-winged Teal, head 303

88. Red-breasted Merganser, head 309

89. Leach's Petrel 314

90. Common Tern 319

91. Herring Gull 324

92. Razor-billed Auk, in Winter, head . . . .330

93. Brunnich's Murre, head 331

94. Black Guillemot 332

95. Horned Grebe, in Winter, head 337

INTKODUCTION

A GUIDE TO THE

BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND

EASTERN NEW YORK

THE OBJECT AND PLAN OF THIS GUIDE

There is something infections in the enthusiasm of a student of birds. To hear him talk about the excitement of seeing a new bird, to read his account of it, or, best of all, to go afield with him on a May morning, is often enough to awaken a new interest, which enriches life to a surprising degree. The study of birds presents plenty of difficulties, which add fuel to the flame of real enthusiasm ; there are sloughs of despond beyond which the faint-hearted never get. A guide who knows the way, its pitfalls and short cuts, is always welcome, and almost necessary in these days when our only weapon is the opera-glass. In spite of the fact that many excellent books are now available, the author offers another, both in the belief that there can never be too many good guides, and in the hope that this book has been especially adapted to the growing class of beginners in bird study.

The book is the result of experience with many fieldclasses. Every eflbrt has been made to emphasize the aspect of birds as seen out of doors, to describe their general or most prominent colors rather than any mark difficult to see on the living bird, and to call attentioi'i to their characteristic liabits and haunts, and thus to enable the conscientious student to answer, with as much certainty as possible, the question,

^^ What is the bird that I have seen ? " The keys and the illustrations have been prepared with this end in view. There has been no attempt to give a complete description of the plumage, as it would look if the bird were held in the hand, nor does the book contain anything like full biographies of each species. Minute descriptions of the plumage and full accounts of the lives of the birds are to be found in many excellent books, some one of which may well be used to supplement this Guide.

Notes and songs have been carefully described, and as far as possible expressed in English syllables. The author is well aware that another listener would express the same sounds by very different syllables ; he has not attempted to convey to any one unfamiliar with the song anything more than an idea of its length and accent, and perhaps a suggestion of the quality of its tone. It is hoped, however, that the songs as transcribed will be useful in identifying doubtful species, that any one comparing the transcripts in the book with his own field-notes, or, better still, with the songs themselves, will recognize their likeness to that of one species and their unlikeness to that of another.

The descriptions given in this Guide of the nests and eggs of those birds that breed in New York and New England are not intended to be full or detailed. If a nest and eggs have been found, but no clue to the parent birds has been obtained, these descriptions will not serve as a means of identification ; in fact, even a large collection of nests and eggs is sometimes of little use in such a case. The descriptions are merely intended to guide the student in his search for a nest by indicating where it is generally placed, or if the student thinks he has discovered the nest and eggs of a certain species, they will tend to confirm or to dispel his belief.

The book attempts to be a guide for only a restricted region, — eastern New York, northern New Jersey, and New

THE OBJECT AND PLAN OF THIS GUIDE 5

England. By narrowing the field in this way, many species are eliminated which in other manuals bewilder a beginner and often lead him into error. No mention, moreover, is made of birds that are only irregular wanderers to the region. As the student advances in the study of birds and becomes more familiar with the commoner species and more interested in the subject, he often asks, ''Where or how can I see such and such a species, of which I read in Burroughs or Torrey ? " In the case of local or rare birds, an attempt has been made in this Guide to direct the student to certain favorable localities where the species will be either surely or probably found ; and in every case the kind of country where a species is likely to occur is as fully described as possible.