Birds of the Countryside

[Music] many birds [Music] many birds live in the countryside where we may see them if we look carefully in shrubs and trees we usually find the male Indigo buting singing from some high place the female butting is seldom seen because she is plainly colored and devotes most of her time to taking care of the nest here she has been her young the sparrow likee appearance of the female reminds us that Bings are members of the sparrow family these nestlings are about 3 days old young buntings are fed large quantities of insects and and they grow rapidly butting are useful Birds because they eat so many insects harmful to trees and crops at a distance the male looks almost black closer up we can see the deep blue color that gives the Indigo butting its name along roadsides we commonly see the Eastern king bird with its black back long white tip tail and white Under parts can you think of any other bird that would nest in full view on top of a fence post unlike most birds that conceal their nests from enemies the king bird protects its home by Fierce attacks hence its name Kingbird we can frequently see the marshhawk in the countryside its food is mainly small animals such as mice which are destructive to the farmer's crops the hawk has strong feet and sharply curved claws with which it catches small animals with its hooked beak the hawk can tear prey into pieces that can be swallowed the marsh Hawk's Keen eyes can sight prey at Great distances Hawks rarely kill useful animals and generally they do more good than harm in this dead tree stump is the nest of the sparrow hawk it is so small a bird that it's able to nest in an old flicker hole the female Sparro Hawk comes to the nest regularly bringing food to her young the sparrow hawk is poorly named it is not a true Hawk but a falcon with long pointed wings and it does not live on sparrows or other birds but mainly on insects Sparrow hawks eat great quantities of grasshoppers the sparrow hawk is sometimes hunted by Man simply because it's supposed to be harmful and so it is becoming a rare bird in some parts of the country even though it is really quite been official the sparrow hawk is the most colorful of all our Birds of Prey the young birds are colored like the adults a handsomely marked face and spotted underparts a back of Rusty red color with black bars and wing tips of gray blue help us identify the sparrow hawk the Nighthawk is another bird of the countryside it is a night bird and spends the day sleeping or sitting quietly this female is hard to see because the markings on her feathers match the leaves and sticks of the Woodland floor a good example of camouflage the Nighthawk prefers pastures or open Woods it nests on the ground and sometimes on the gravel roofs of buildings because it eats almost nothing nothing but insects the Nighthawk is very helpful to man The Nighthawk has a distinctive call which you may hear as you walk along in the evening in the countryside in many parts of the United States the morning dove is a very common bird of the countryside the dove makes a poor Nest just a simple platform of twigs and grasses in which the female lays only two eggs the morning dove is a member of the pigeon family and like other pigeons it has iridescent colors on its neck young morning doves are awkward and quite homely but they grow rapidly and in 2 weeks after hatching look very much like their parents [Music] hay and grain Fields have their share of Countryside birds and attract some of our best loved sers the handsome Metal Lark is familiar to anyone visiting wide grassy Fields Meadowlark nests are hidden deep in Grass both parents care for the young taking turns feed them and cleaning the nest when the meow Lark is in the grass it is hard to see because the streaks on its back blend with the grasses around it one parent stands guard while the other is at the nest if danger threatens it signals by flashing its white outer tail feathers its mate observing these signals Waits quietly until danger is over the male and female metalark have similar markings in color and both work hard to keep their young supplied with food the meadow lark carries an enormous amount of food to its young caterpillars Grasshoppers and spiders make up most of the food the food is pushed down into the mouths of the young birds you can easily recognize the Meadowlark by the big black v on its breast the kilder is a shorebird that is identified by two black bands across the throat and breast although the kild deer is a shorebird it nests in the Uplands usually in a pasture or field the female makes a very simple nest on the ground kers belong to the large family of birds called plovers kill deer young are called chicks rather than nestlings because they have eyes that are open upon hatching and within a few hours are able to leave the nest and run about they are Lively little birds and start following their parents around as soon as they leave the nest they can soon find and pick up their own food killers are often seen looking for food on the shores and beaches of streams lakes and ponds if an ad's danger it calls and each chick crouches and stay as motionless until danger is over the chicks can run very fast on their long legs the very first day out of the nest and you would have difficulty trying to catch one of them when it gets cool the chick snuggle under their parents to get warm you notice that the kill deer has the peculiar habit of bobbing its head and shoulders up and down even the chick Bobs the same way the parent does killers are among our liveliest birds of the countryside [Music]