File:Two bird-lovers in Mexico (1905) (14771207493).jpg

Identifier: twobirdloversinm00beeb (find matches)
Title: Two bird-lovers in Mexico
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: Beebe, William, 1877-1962
Subjects: Natural history -- Mexico Birds -- Mexico
Publisher: London, A. Constable & company, ltd. Boston and New York, Houghton, Mifflin and company
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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ittle advantage if these sunkenavenues offered no attractions to the birds and otherwild creatures. Our most sanguine hopes were realized,as future walks demonstrated. Not only did the l)irdsand small beasts rush to the protection of the ditcheswhen alarmed in the open fields, but here many hadtheir liomes, here the birds roosted at night, and a muchlarger number found their food by day. We mighthave rambled for weeks tlirough the fields, and havecredited this semi-desert region with a much moremeairre fauna than was concentrated in these cool andpleasant alleys, where we were as secluded as if milesawav from the city, iilthough in reality only a fewhundred yards from tlie end of the streets. The Desert Sparrow Hawks were as abundant and Two Sparrow Hawks which were shot by a young Mexican weretypical of the Western race phalatin. Whether our common Easternform was represented we could not determine, as we were not able todistinguish the characteristics in the living birds. <i 42 ^
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THE DESERT SPARROW HAWK :::::::::*; WALKS IN THE CACTUS COUNTRY B::::::::: tame in this locality as all along the railroad from theeastern coast. The little fellows seemed to have stakedout claims for themselves, over which each individualheld sway, levying heavy toll upon the mice and grass-hoppers within his chosen domain. About every fiftyyards along the rows of cactus, a Sparrow Hawk hadhis perch, from which he occasionally sallied to snatchan insect from the ground. Now and then a MarshHawk skimmed past, reflecting in his flight everyinequality of the ground. As he passed from the rangeof one Sparrow Hawk to another, each in turn roseand fluttered above him with complaining cries, andlong after the larger but inoffensive bird had passedfrom our sight, his course might be traced by the suc-cession of irate Sparrow Hawks shrieking their ckUly-cliUly at him. The most abundant bird hereabouts was the Clay-coloured Sparrow. It brought to mind the ChippingSparrow of the North in its ta

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