Take-Along Guide
NORTHWORD Minnetonka, Minnesota bf:) Mel Boring illustrations bf:) Linda Garrow... Take-Along Guide lr.~5,
North Word Summary: Describes a select list of birds, their nests, and their eggs. ISBN 1-55971-624-x (SC) 1. Birds-Juvenile literature. 2. Birds-Nests-Identification- Juvenile literature. [l. Birds. 2. Birds-Nests. 3. Birds-Eggs.] I. Garrow, Linda, ill. II. Title. III. Series. QL676.2.B67 1996 598-dc20 95-31570 Printed in Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia, December 2016 City, Iowa Public Library. They have helped a lot to make this book, probably without even realizing it. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means-graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping of information on storage and retrieval systems-without the prior written permission of the publisher. Illustrations by Linda Garrow / Book design by Lisa Moore Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Boring, Mel. Birds, nests, and eggs I by Mel Boring ; illustrations by Linda Garrow. p. cm. - (Take-along guide) 11571 K-Tel Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343 www.tnkidsbooks.com Mel Boring, 1996 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to Rita Hirv, Librarian of the Rockford, Iowa Public Library, and Marilyn Buttjer, Children's Librarian at the Charles DEDICATION For Katy, my daughter and research assistant, with love
INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - -5 American Robin - - - - - - - -6 House Sparrow - - - - - - -8 Northern Cardinal - - - - - - -10 Blue Jay - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12 Northern Oriole - - - - - - - -1 ~ MAKE A "BLIND" FOR BIRD WATCHING - - - - - -16 Ruby-Throated Hummingbird 18 American Goldfinch - - - - - -20 Red-Winged Blackbird - - - - -2 2 Barn Swallow - - - - - - - - - - 2 GIVE THE BIRDS A SHOWER-BATH - - - - - - - -26 Black-Capped Chickadee - - -28 Downy Woodpecker - - - - - -30 White-Breasted Nuthatch - - -3 2 MAKE A HANG-DOWN SUET FEEDER - - - - - - - - - - -3 Meadowlark - - - - - - - - - -3 6 Mourning Dove - - - - - - - - -38 Killdeer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 SCRAPBOOK - - - - - - - - - - - 2 CONTENTS Birds. Nests and Eggs
6 Bird The robin's happy " Cheer-up!" heads. Female robins have dull gray heads and tails, and grayish legs. Young robins have spots on their undersides. seems to sing away winter and bring on spring. You will see the robin on the lawn tugging up earthworms. Robins also eat caterpillars, beetles, crickets and spiders-and fruits like apples, cherries and raspberries. With its red-orange chest, the American robin is the bird we know best. The robin is 9 to 11 inches long. Male robins have dark Robins migrate south to warmer weather in the fall. In the winter, they gather in huge groups along the Gulf of Mexico. When temperatures reach above 37 F watch for your first robin. This usually happens beginning in March to early April.
Nest Female robins build the nests, but the male sometimes brings her building materials. She weaves a circle of grasses, twigs, scraps of rags and string. Inside the nest, she molds a cup of mud to fit her body. Look for their first nest in April, and the second as late as August. A robin's first nest will probably be in a pine, cedar, or spruce tree. Look for their second nest in broadleaf trees, like an elm, maple, oak, willow, poplar or apple. They build their nests between 5 and 70 feet from the ground. You can help a robin build its nest. Dig up some clay-like wet mud and put it in a pan near the trees in your yard. One robin can eat 05 much a5 1 ~ feet of earth- Eggs The robin usually lays 4 eggs. They are greenblue, and each would fit on a quarter. The female sits on them for 12 to 14 days. About 9 to 12 days after hatching, the young birds start to fly. ----worm5 in one day. ----------------------- 7
8 Bird one of the most common birds in the world. "chissick." House sparrows are very messy birds. And sometimes they chase away other birds like woodpeckers and swallows. With Its chestnutcolored hat and black bib around Its neck, the male house sparrow looks dressed up for dinner. Females don't look so dressed up. They are colored streaky brown and dingy white. House sparrows are 5 to 6 Inches long. Though It Is a 5crap5. Just 150 years ago there were no house sparrows In the United States. Then in 1850, 16 of them were brought to New York City from England. Today there are over 150 million house sparrows In North America. It is songbird, the house sparrow doesn't have much of a song. It makes a shrill, noisy "cheep" and
Eggs Sparrows lay 5 or 6 whitish eggs with brown speckles. Each egg is a little bigger than a quarter. The female sits on the eggs for 9 to 18 days. The young birds can fly 11 to 18 days after hatching. Nest A house sparrow's nest looks like a big mess. The male and female build it of grass, weeds, twigs, feathers, string, paper and trash. It is round and has a side door. The sparrows stuff the nest into any hole inside or outside of buildings or in birdhouses at least 5 feet off the ground. Or it might be in a tree, as high as 60 feet from the ground. Look for the nest from February through July. 9
10 about 8 inches long. The female cardinal is mostly rosy-yellow, with a Bird few touches of red. Up close, her beak looks as if she is wearing orangeish lipstick. Each year cardinals can be found farther north. Now the cardinal has even reached Canada. ~I The cardinal is the state bird of more states than any other, and is probably our most popular bird. Male cardinals are easy to spot. They are our only all-red birds with red crests on their heads. They have a black mask across their eyes and under their red-orange beaks. Cardinals are It is easy to get cardinals to come to feeders because they eat over l 00 different kinds of food. Their favorite is sunflower seeds. They also like cracked corn, millet and even peanut butter! Cardinals sing beautiful songs. You may hear a "Hip-hooray/" or "birdy-birdy-birdy/" Cardinals can sing 28 different songs.
1 I 3-4 7 8 the world or birds. Birds, Nests and Eggs is a fun, informative From cover to cover. this arna:zing book is fall of fascinating facts The American robin can pull up and eat as much as 14 feet of earthworms from a lawn in a single day. A barn swallow makes its nests outof mud. It takes 6 to 8 days, as many as 4,000 trips for supplies and 125 miles of flying. Hummingbirds lay only two white eggs. And each one is smaller than a dime! PRINTED IN MALAYSIA ~ Jll~~i~~IIIJIJ~IJ~ Ill, U.S.A. $7.95 Canada www.tnkidsbooks.com Look for our other Take-Along Guides ISBN 978-1-55971-624-6 Take this book along when you go exploring. and have f uni Learning takes tlight as you explore Take-Along Guide that helps you identify 15 birds. You'll also learn how and where they build their homes and all about their young. Plus Birds. Nests and Eggs features some awesome activities that are easy to do. like making a "blind" for bird watching and how to give birds a shower-bath. There's also a 7-page scrapbook for drawings. notes or anything else. ~ 11111111111111111111111111111111 ill~l 11111111 9 781559 716246 $9.95 Books for Young Readers - -s