Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of AmericaAudubon, John James
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Ornithological biography, Vol. 4 (of 5) : $b An account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America
Audubon, John James
Birds -- North America
That this species is naturally disposed to seek alpine sections of the
country for the purpose of reproduction, I obtained abundant proof
whilst in Labrador, where I found it plentiful, and breeding on the
moss-clad crests of the highest rocks, within short distances of the
sea. There are means through which the experienced student of Nature
may discover the hidden treasures of birds of this family, which to
others would prove useless, and which I shall here point out. At all
periods, excepting those at which they have nests containing eggs,
or young so small and delicate as to require all the care of their
parents, the flight of the present species usually resembles that
of the Common Snipe, _Scolopax Wilsonii_; but when startled from the
nest, or from any place in its immediate vicinity, it rises on wing,
and moves off low over the ground with deeply incurved wings, and
with a whirring motion of these organs, which, if as rapid as that
of a Partridge, would appear quite similar; but, on such occasions,
our bird moves slowly before you, and instead of uttering the note of
independence, as it were, which it emits at other times while freely
and fearlessly travelling, it gives out sounds weakened as if by grief
or anxiety, for the purpose of inducing you to follow it. If on the
ground, it acts in a similar manner, moves off slowly, and limping
as if crippled, and this at times quite as much as if you had really
come upon it while on its nest, or surprised it with its young. On all
such occasions, Reader, you ought to mark well the spot from which
the bird has started, and, to assure yourself that your eye may not
be deceived, throw your cap or hat at your feet to serve as a beacon,
should necessity afterwards call for it, to guide you around the place
until you have discovered the nest which you are desirous of seeing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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