Z is for Zone-Tailed Hawk

While we were walking down the bed of the stream we were delighted to see a zone-tailed hawk fly from the leafy top of a tall cottonwood…The hawk began screaming and was soon joined by its mate; both birds circled about in the vicinity as long as we were there.

“Zone-Tailed Hawk,” Life Histories of North American Birds of Prey, by Arthur Cleveland Bent (1887). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

Bonus:  check out this beautiful Picture Alphabet of Birds published by Thomas Nelson Company in 1874. Some of their choices were similar to mine, and some different!

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

Y is for Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

…a rapid drumming on a tree behind me made me turn in that direction to discover a big, red-headed woodpecker. On going nearer it proved to be a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker busy on a thrifty tree extracting sap.

[untitled article] by Nellie H. Hunt, The Wilson Bulletin (1902). Click here to read the article online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

X is for Xenops

A very extraordinary and not inelegant little creature, having a bill totally different from any other bird…Inhabits Brazil, but is rare.

Zoological Illustrations : Or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals, by William Swainson (1821). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

W is for Waxwing

During the hard snow storm of Feb. 10, 1899, a flock of about 50 Cedar Waxwings were seen in a mountain ash tree, feeding on the berries.

“The Bohemian Waxwing in Onondaga County, N.Y.,” by A.W. Perrior (1900). Click here to read the article online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

V is for Vulture

A pet vulture is, I think somewhat off the beaten track of aviculture. The normal appearance of the animal is not attractive; his habits are distinctly repellent…[but] his quiet unobtrusiveness developed in me an affection which I did not think I should have ever possessed for him.

“My Pet Vulture,” by G.E. Low (1917). Click here to read the article online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

U is for Umbrella Bird

The decorations of the Umbrella-bird are as beautiful as they are bizarre…a high, arching mass of feathers, overshadowing the entire head and beak, continually spreading and partly closing again, as the bird’s emotions change.

The Bird, Its Form and Function, by C. William Beebe (1906). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

T is for Turkey

Good cover for turkeys includes trees 6 or more inches in diameter and at least 30 feet high. The birds roost in trees–usually in the largest ones–and frequently in trees in swamps.

Wild Turkeys on Southeastern Farms and Woodlands, by Dale H. Arner and Verne E. Davison, U.S. Department of Agriculture, (1963). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

S is for Swan

What graceful bird is this? It is a SWAN. See, how she bends her long neck and spreads out her great wings to catch the breeze. Swans pass almost all their time swimming in the water.

Stories about Birds, For Little Folks : Twenty-three Engravings, (Franklin Toys) [after 1855]. Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

R is for Robin

Birds enjoy the spray from a sprinkler or even from a hose…Further, a trickle of water in the right place may create the mud that is needed by robins and swallows in building their nests.

Attracting and Feeding Birds, Conservation Bulletin No. 1, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (1972). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016

Q is for Quail

The quail is prone to rustle for a living, picking up a bit of grain here, an insect there, spiced with a bit of vegetation to flavor, and now and then a few grains of sand or fine gravel to grind the mixture.

Quailology: The Domestication, Propagation, Care & Treatment of Wild Quail in Confinement, by Harry Wallas Kerr (1903). Click here to read the book online, or download it free, from the Internet Archive.

artwork by Joanne Stanbridge 2016