Identifier: babybirdsathomebb00kear (
find matches)Title:
Baby birds at homeYear:
1912 (
1910s)Authors:
Kearton, Richard, 1862-1928Subjects:
Birds -- Behavior Birds -- Juvenile literaturePublisher:
London, New York (etc.) Cassell and company, ltd.Contributing Library:
American Museum of Natural History LibraryDigitizing Sponsor:
Biodiversity Heritage LibraryView Book Page:
Book ViewerAbout This Book:
Catalog EntryView All Images:
All Images From Book Click here to
view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.Text Appearing Before Image:ructure, and atothers a very scanty affair. The eggs number two or three, varyingfrom olive green to buffish brown in groundcolour, marked with spots and blotches ofdark brown and grey. They are very similarin size, shape, and colour to those laid by theLesser Black-backed Gull, and as the birdssometimes breed together, you can nevermake quite sure to which species a clutchbelongs, unless you see the mother birdon them. Young Herring Gulls are covered withgreyish buff down, which is streaked andspotted with black on the head and upperparts. When hatched on an island, or in amarsh, they leave the nest almost directlyand hide amongst the vegetation, or in holesunder overhanging peat banks. If you catch one it will soon show youthat it has a great idea of defending itself,by attempting to bite your face or hands,and its powerful bill can give an ugly nip. Herring Gulls do not, as their name wouldsuggest, confine themselves to eating fish,but will devour the eggs and chicks of otherbirds.Text Appearing After Image:COMMON OR GREATER WHITETHROATS. The Greater Whitethroat COUNTRY people call this bird theNettle Creeper, on account of itshabit of seeking its food and frequentlybuilding its nest amongst nettles. White-throat is also a very good common name,because it is a little brown bird with awhite throat and pale grey under-parts. You are very likely to confuse it with theLesser Whitethroat—which is a rarer bird—if you do not remember that it is nearly halfan inch longer, has a grey head, and that thebrown feathers on its back are edged witha reddish tint, whereas those on its smallerrelative are bordered with greyish brown. The Greater Whitethroat is a migrantarriving in April and taking its departureagain in September and October. It breedsin nearly every suitable part of the BritishIslands. The nest is a deep but flimsy struc-ture made of grass stems and horsehair, and «5 16 Baby Birds at Home is built amongst nettle stems, in bramble,brier, and other bushes. From four to sixeggs are laiNote About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.