第 35 节
作者:莫再讲      更新:2021-02-17 23:12      字数:9321
  A trifle larger than the golden…crowned kinglet; with a vermilion crest instead of a yellow and flame one; and with a decided preference for a warmer winter climate; and the ruby…crown's chief distinguishing characteristics are told。 These rather confusing relatives would be less puzzling if it were the habit of either to keep quiet long enough to focus the opera…glasses on their crowns; which it only rarely is while some particularly promising haunt of insects that lurk beneath the rough bark of the evergreens has to be thoroughly explored。 At all other times both kinglets keep up an incessant fluttering and twinkling among the twigs and leaves at the ends of the branches; jerking their tiny bodies from twig to twig in the shrubbery; hanging head downward; like a nuthatch; and most industriously feeding every second upon the tiny insects and larvae hidden beneath the bark and leaves。 They seem to be the feathered expression of perpetual motion。 And how dainty and charming these tiny sprites are! They are not at all shy; you may approach them quite close if you will; for the birds are simply too intent on their business to be concerned with yours。
  If a sharp lookout be kept for these ruby…crowned migrants; that too often slip away to the south before we know they have come; we notice that they appear about a fortnight ahead of the golden…crested species; since the mild; soft air of our Indian summer is exactly to their liking。 At this season there is nothing in the bird's 〃thin; metallic call…note; like a vibrating wire;〃 to indicate that he is one of our finest songsters。 But listen for him during the spring migration; when a love…song is already ripening in his tiny throat。 What a volume of rich; lyrical melody pours from the Norway spruce; where the little musician is simply practising to perfect the richer; fuller song that he sings to his nesting mate in the far north! The volume is really tremendous; coming from so tiny a throat。 Those who have heard it in northern Canada describe it as a flute…like and mellow warble full of intricate phrases past the imitating。 Dr。 Coues says of it: 〃The kinglet's exquisite vocalization defies description。〃
  Curiously enough; the nest of this bird; that is not at all rare; has been discovered only six times。 It would appear to be over large for the tiny bird; until we remember that kinglets are wont to have a numerous progeny in their pensile; globular home。 It is made of light; flimsy material  moss; strips of bark; and plant fibre well knit together and closely lined with feathers; which must be a grateful addition to the babies; where they are reared in evergreens in cold; northern woods。
  GOLDEN…CROWNED KINGLET (Regulus satrapa) Kinglet family
  Called also: GOLDEN…CROWNED GOLDCREST; FIERY CROWNED WREN。
  Length  4 to 4。25 inches。 About two inches smaller than the   English sparrow。 Male  Upper parts grayish olive…green; wings and tail dusky;   margined with olive…green。 Underneath soiled whitish。 Centre of   crown bright orange; bordered by yellow and en。 closed by black   line。 Cheeks gray; a whitish line over the eye。 Female  Similar; but centre of crown lemon…yellow and more   grayish underneath。 Range  North America generally。 Breeds from northern United   States northward。 Winters chiefly from North Carolina to   Central America; but many remain north all the year。 Migrations  September。 April。 Chiefly a winter resident south   Of Canada。
  If this cheery little winter neighbor would keep quiet long enough; we might have a glimpse of the golden crest that distinguishes him from his equally lively cousin; the ruby…crowned; but he is so constantly flitting about the ends of the twigs; peering at the bark for hidden insects; twinkling his wings and fluttering among the evergreens with more nervous restlessness than a vireo; that you may know him well before you have a glimpse of his tri…colored crown。
  When the autumn foliage is all aglow with yellow and flame this tiny sprite comes out of the north where neither nesting nor moulting could rob him of his cheerful spirits。 Except the humming…bird and the winter wren; he is the smallest bird we have。 And yet; somewhere stored up in his diminutive body; is warmth enough to withstand zero weather。 With evident enjoyment of the cold; he calls out a shrill; wiry zee; zee; zee; that rings merrily from the pines and spruces when our fingers are too numb to hold the opera glasses in an attempt to follow his restless fittings from branch to branch。 Is it one of the unwritten laws of birds that the smaller their bodies the greater their activity?
  When you see one kinglet about; you may be sure there are others not far away; for; except in the nesting season; its habits are distinctly social; its friendliness extending to the humdrum brown creeper; the chickadees; and the nuthatches; in whose company it is often seen; indeed; it is likely to be in almost any flock of the winter birds。 They are a merry band as they go exploring the trees together。 The kinglet can hang upside down; too; like the other acrobats; many of whose tricks he has learned; and it can pick off insects from a tree with as business…like an air as the brown creeper; but with none of that soulless bird's plodding precision。
  In the early spring; just before this busy little sprite leaves us to nest in Canada or Labrador  for heat is the one thing that he can't cheerfully endure  a gushing; lyrical song bursts from his tiny throat  a song whose volume is so out of proportion to the bird's size that Nuttall's classification of kinglets with wrens doesn't seem far wrong after all。  Only rarely is a nest found so far south as the White Mountains。 It is said to be extraordinarily large for so small a bird but that need not surprise us when we learn that as many as ten  creamy…white eggs; blotched with brown and lavender; are no uncommon number for the pensile cradle to hold。 How do the tiny parents contrive to cover so many eggs and to feed such a nestful of fledglings?
  SOLITARY VIREO (Vireo solitarius) Vireo or Greenlet family
  Called also: BLUE…HEADED VIREO 'AOU 1998'
  Length  5。5 to 7 inches。 A little smaller than the English   sparrow。 Male  Dusky olive above; head bluish gray; with a white line   around the eye; spreading behind the eye into a patch。 Beneath   whitish; with yellow…green wash on the sides。 Wings dusky   olive; with two distinct white bars。 Tail dusky; some quills   edged with white。  Female  Similar; but her head is dusky olive。 Range  United States to plains; and the southern British   provinces。 Winters in Florida and southward。 Migrations  May。 Early October。 Common during migrations; more   rarely a summer resident south of Massachusetts。
  By no means the recluse that its name would imply; the solitary vireo; while a bird of the woods; shows a charming curiosity about the stranger with opera…glasses in hand; who has penetrated to the deep; swampy tangles; where it chooses to live。 Peering at you through the green undergrowth with an eye that seems especially conspicuous because of its encircling white rim; it is at least as sociable and cheerful as any member of its family; and Mr。 Bradford Torrey credits it with 〃winning tameness。〃 〃Wood…bird as it is;〃 he says; 〃it will sometimes permit the greatest familiarities。 Two birds I have seen; which allowed themselves to be stroked in the freest manner; while sitting on the eggs; and which ate from my hand as readily as any pet canary。〃
  The solitary vireo also builds a pensile nest; swung from the crotch of a branch; not so high from the ground as the yellow…throated vireos nor so exquisitely finished; but still a beautiful little structure of pine…needles; plant…fibre; dry leaves; and twigs; all lichen…lined and bound and rebound with coarse spiders' webs。
  The distinguishing quality of this vireo's celebrated song is its tenderness: a pure; serene uplifting of its loving; trustful nature that seems inspired by a fine spirituality。
  RED…EYED VIREO (Vireo olivaceus) Vireo or Greenlet family
  Called also: THE PREACHER
  Length  5。75 to 6。25 inches。 A fraction smaller than the   English sparrow。 Male and Female  Upper parts light olive…green; well…defined   slaty…gray cap; with black marginal line; below which; and   forming an exaggerated eyebrow; is a line of white。 A brownish   band runs from base of bill through the eye。 The iris is   ruby…red。 Underneath white; shaded with light greenish yellow   on sides and on under tail and wing coverts。 Range  United States to Rockies and northward。 Wnters in   Central and South America。 Migrations  April。 October。 Common summer resident。
  〃You see it  you know it  do you hear me? Do you believe it?〃 is Wilson Flagg's famous interpretation of the song of this commonest of all the vireos; that you cannot mistake with such a key。 He calls the bird the preacher from its declamatory style; an up…and…down warble delivered with a rising inflection at the close and followed by an impressive silence; as if the little green orator were saying; 〃I pause for a reply。〃
  Notwithstanding its quiet coloring; that so closely resembles the leaves it hunts among; this vireo is rather more noticeable than its relatives because of its slaty cap and the