When, one summer day, later in life, I took my gun and went to the woods again, in a different though perhaps a less simple spirit I found my youthful vision more than realized. There were, indeed, other birds, plenty of them, singing, nesting, breeding, among the familiar trees, which I had before passed by unheard and unseen.
It is a surprise that awaits every student of ornithology8, and the thrill of delight that accompanies it, and the feeling of fresh, eager inquiry9 that follows, can hardly be awakened10 by any other pursuit. Take the first step in ornithology, procure11 one new specimen12, and you are ticketed for the whole voyage. There is a fascination13 about it quite overpowering. It fits so well with other things,—with fishing, hunting, farming, walking, camping-out,—with all that takes one to the fields and woods. One may go a-blackberrying and make some rare discovery; or, while driving his cow to pasture, hear a new song, or make a new observation. Secrets lurk14 on all sides. There is news in every bush. Expectation is ever on tiptoe. What no man ever saw before may the next moment be revealed to you. What a new interest the woods have! How you long to explore every nook and corner of them! You would even find consolation15 in being lost in them. You could then hear the night birds and the owls16, and, in your wanderings, might stumble upon some unknown specimen.
In all excursions to the woods or to the shore, the student of ornithology has an advantage over his companions. He has one more resource, one more avenue of delight. He, indeed, kills two birds with one stone and sometimes three. If others wander, he can never go out of his way. His game is everywhere. The cawing of a crow makes him feel at home, while a new note or a new song drowns all care. Audubon, on the desolate17 coast of Labrador, is happier than any king ever was; and on shipboard is nearly cured of his seasickness18 when a new gull19 appears in sight.
One must taste it to understand or appreciate its fascination. The looker-on sees nothing to inspire such enthusiasm. Only a few feathers and a half-musical note or two; why all this ado? "Who would give a hundred and twenty dollars to know about the birds?" said an Eastern governor, half contemptuously, to Wilson, as the latter solicited20 a subscription21 to his great work. Sure enough. Bought knowledge is dear at any price. The most precious things have no commercial value. It is not, your Excellency, mere22 technical knowledge of the birds that you are asked to purchase, but a new interest in the fields and the woods, a new moral and intellectual tonic23, a new key to the treasure-house of Nature. Think of the many other things your Excellency would get,—the air, the sunshine, the healing fragrance24 and coolness, and the many respites25 from the knavery26 and turmoil27 of political life.
Yesterday was an October day of rare brightness and warmth. I spent the most of it in a wild, wooded gorge28 of Rock Creek29. A persimmon-tree which stood upon the bank had dropped some of its fruit in the water. As I stood there, half-leg deep, picking them up, a wood duck came flying down the creek and passed over my head. Presently it returned, flying up; then it came back again, and, sweeping30 low around a bend, prepared to alight in a still, dark reach in the creek which was hidden from my view. As I passed that way about half an hour afterward, the duck started up, uttering its wild alarm note. In the stillness I could hear the whistle of its wings and the splash of the water when it took flight. Near by I saw where a raccoon had come down to the water for fresh clams31, leaving his long, sharp track in the mud and sand. Before I had passed this hidden stretch of water, a pair of those mysterious thrushes, the gray-cheeked, flew up from the ground and perched on a low branch.
Who can tell how much this duck, this footprint in the sand, and these strange thrushes from the far north, enhanced the interest and charm of the autumn woods?
Ornithology cannot be satisfactorily learned from the books. The satisfaction is in learning it from nature. One must have an original experience with the birds. The books are only the guide, the invitation. Though there remain not another new species to describe, any young person with health and enthusiasm has open to him or her the whole field anew, and is eligible33 to experience all the thrill and delight of the original discoverers.
But let me say, in the same breath, that the books can by no manner of means be dispensed34 with. A copy of Wilson or Audubon, for reference and to compare notes with, is invaluable35. In lieu of these, access to some large museum or collection would be a great help. In the beginning, one finds it very difficult to identify a bird from any verbal description. Reference to a colored plate, or to a stuffed specimen, at once settles the matter. This is the chief value of books; they are the charts to sail by; the route is mapped out, and much time and labor36 are thereby37 saved. First find your bird; observe its ways, its song, its calls, its flight, its haunts; then shoot it (not ogle38 it with a glass), and compare it with Audubon. [footnote: My later experiences have led me to prefer a small field-glass to a gun.] In this way the feathered kingdom may soon be conquered.
The ornithologists divide and subdivide40 the birds into a great many orders, families, genera, species etc., which, at first sight, are apt to confuse and discourage the reader. But any interested person can acquaint himself with most of our song-birds by keeping in mind a few general divisions, and observing the characteristics of each. By far the greater number of our land-birds are either warblers, vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, or finches.
The warblers are, perhaps, the most puzzling. These are the true Sylvia, the real wood-birds. They are small, very active, but feeble songsters, and, to be seen, must be sought for. In passing through the woods, most persons have a vague consciousness of slight chirping44, semi-musical sounds in the trees overhead. In most cases these sounds proceed from the warblers. Throughout the Middle and Eastern States, half a dozen species or so may be found in almost every locality, as the redstart, the Maryland yellow-throat, the yellow warbler (not the common goldfinch, with black cap, and black wings and tail), the hooded45 warbler, the black and white creeping warbler; or others, according to the locality and the character of the woods. In pine or hemlock46 woods, one species may predominate; in maple47 or oak woods, or in mountainous districts, another. The subdivisions of ground warblers, the most common members of which are the Maryland yellow-throat, the Kentucky warbler, and the mourning ground warbler, are usually found in low, wet, bushy, or half-open woods, often on and always near the ground. The summer yellowbird, or yellow warbler, is not now a wood-bird at all, being found in orchards48 and parks, and along streams and in the trees of villages and cities.
As we go north the number of warblers increases, till, in the northern part of New England, and in the Canadas, as many as ten or twelve varieties may be found breeding in June. Audubon found the black-poll warbler breeding in Labrador, and congratulates himself on being the first white man who had ever seen its nest. When these warblers pass north in May, they seem to go singly or in pairs, and their black caps and striped coats show conspicuously49. When they return in September they are in troops or loose flocks, are of a uniform dull drab or brindlish color, and are very fat. They scour41 the treetops for a few days, almost eluding50 the eye by their quick movements, and are gone.
According to my own observation, the number of species of warblers which one living in the middle districts sees, on their return in the fall, is very small compared with the number he may observe migrating north in the spring.
The yellow-rumped warblers are the most noticeable of all in Autumn. They come about the streets and garden, and seem especially drawn51 to dry, leafless trees. They dart52 spitefully about, uttering a sharp chirp43. In Washington I have seen them in the outskirts54 all winter.
Audubon figures and describes over forty different warblers. More recent writers have divided and subdivided55 the group very much, giving new names to new classifications. But this part is of interest and value only to the professional ornithologist39.
The finest songster among the Sylvia, according to my notions, is the black-throated greenback. Its song is sweet and clear, but brief.
The rarest of the species are Swainson's warbler, said to be disappearing; the cerulean warbler, said to be abundant about Niagara; and the mourning ground warbler, which I have found breeding about the head-waters of the Delaware, in New York.
The vireos, or greenlets, are a sort of connecting link between the warblers and the true flycatchers, and partake of the characteristics of both.
The red-eyed vireo, whose sweet soliloquy is one of the most constant and cheerful sounds in our woods and groves56, is perhaps the most noticeable and abundant species. The vireos are a little larger than the warblers, and are far less brilliant and variegated57 in color.
There are five species found in most of our woods, namely the red-eyed vireo, the white-eyed vireo, the warbling vireo, the yellow-throated vireo, and the solitary58 vireo,—the red-eyed and warbling being most abundant, and the white-eyed being the most lively and animated59 songster. I meet the latter bird only in the thick, bush growths of low, swampy60 localities, where, eluding the observer, it pours forth61 its song with a sharpness and a rapidity of articulation62 that are truly astonishing. This strain is very marked, and, though inlaid with the notes of several other birds, is entirely63 unique. The iris64 of this bird is white, as that of the red-eyed is red, though in neither case can this mark be distinguished65 at more than two or three yards. In most cases the iris of birds is a dark hazel, which passes for black.
The basket-like nest, pendent to the low branches in the woods, which the falling leaves of autumn reveal to all passers, is, in most cases, the nest of the red-eyed, though the solitary constructs a similar tenement66, but in much more remote and secluded67 localities.
Most birds exhibit great alarm and distress68, usually with a strong dash of anger, when you approach their nests; but the demeanor69 of the red-eyed, on such an occasion, is an exception to this rule. The parent birds move about softly amid the branches above, eying the intruder with a curious, innocent look, uttering, now and then, a subdued70 note or plaint, solicitous71 and watchful72, but making no demonstration74 of anger or distress.
The birds, no more than the animals, like to be caught napping; but I remember, one autumn day, coming upon a red-eyed vireo that was clearly oblivious75 to all that was passing around it. It was a young bird, though full grown, and it was taking its siesta76 on a low branch in a remote heathery field. Its head was snugly77 stowed away under its wing, and it would have fallen easy prey78 to the first hawk79 that came along. I approached noiselessly, and when within a few feet of it paused to note its breathings, so much more rapid and full than our own. A bird has greater lung capacity than any other living thing, hence more animal heat, and life at a higher pressure. When I reached out my hand and carefully closed it around the winged sleeper80, its sudden terror and consternation81 almost paralyzed it. Then it struggled and cried piteously, and when released hastened and hid itself in some near bushes. I never expected to surprise it thus a second time.
The flycatchers are a larger group than the vireos, with stronger-marked characteristics. They are not properly songsters, but are classed by some writers as screechers. Their pugnacious82 dispositions83 are well known, and they not only fight among themselves, but are incessantly84 quarreling with their neighbors. The kingbird, or tyrant85 flycatcher might serve as the type of the order.
The common or wood pewee excites the most pleasant emotions, both on account of its plaintive86 note and its exquisite87 mossy nest.
The phoebe-bird is the pioneer of the flycatchers, and comes in April, sometimes in March. Its comes familiarly about the house and outbuildings, and usually builds beneath hay-sheds or under bridges.
The flycatchers always take their insect prey on the wing, by a sudden darting88 or swooping89 movement; often a very audible snap of the beak90 may be heard.
These birds are the least elegant, both in form and color, of any of our feathered neighbors. They have short legs, a short neck, large heads, and broad, flat beaks91, with bristles92 at the base. They often fly with a peculiar93 quivering movement of the wings, and when at rest some of the species oscillate their tails at short intervals94.
There are found in the United States nineteen species. In the Middle and Eastern districts, one may observe in summer, without any special search, about five of them, namely, the kingbird, the phoebe-bird, the wood pewee, the great crested95 flycatcher (distinguished from all others by the bright ferruginous color of its tail), and the small green-crested flycatcher.
The thrushes are the birds of real melody, and will afford one more delight perhaps than any other class. The robin is the most familiar example. Their manners, flight, and form are the same in each species. See the robin hop96 along upon the ground, strike an attitude, scratch for a worm, fix his eye upon something before him or upon the beholder97, flip98 his wings suspiciously, fly straight to his perch32, or sit at sundown on some high branch caroling his sweet and honest strain, and you have seen what is characteristic of all the thrushes. Their carriage is preëminently marked by grace, and their songs by melody.
Beside the robin, which is in no sense a woodbird, we have in New York the wood thrush, the hermit100 thrush, the veery, or Wilson's thrush, the olive-backed thrush, and, transiently, one or two other species not so clearly defined.
The wood thrush and the hermit stand at the head as songsters, no two persons, perhaps, agreeing as to which is the superior.
Under the general head of finches, Audubon describes over sixty different birds, ranging from the sparrows to the grosbeaks, and including the buntings, the linnets, the snowbirds, the crossbills, and the redbirds.
We have nearly or quite a dozen varieties of the sparrow in the Atlantic States, but perhaps no more than half that number would be discriminated101 by the unprofessional observer. The song sparrow, which every child knows, comes first; at least, his voice is first heard. And can there be anything more fresh and pleasing than this first simple strain heard from the garden fence or a near hedge, on some bright, still March morning?
The field or vesper sparrow, called also grass finch42 8 and bay-winged sparrow, a bird slightly larger than the song sparrow and of a lighter102 gray color, is abundant in all our upland fields and pastures, and is a very sweet songster. It builds upon the ground, without the slightest cover or protection, and also roosts there. Walking through the fields at dusk, I frequently start them up almost beneath my feet. When disturbed by day, they fly with a quick, sharp movement, showing two white quills103 in the tail. The traveler along the country roads disturbs them earthing their wings in the soft dry earth, or sees them skulking104 and flitting along the fences in front of him. They run in the furrow105 in advance of the team, or perch upon the stones a few rods off. They sing much after sundown, hence the aptness of the name vesper sparrow, which a recent writer, Wilson Flagg, has bestowed106 upon them.
In the meadows and low, wet lands the savanna107 sparrow is met with, and may be known by its fine, insect-like song; in the swamp, the swamp sparrow.
The fox sparrow, the largest and handsomest species of this family, comes to us in the fall, from the North, where it breeds. Likewise the tree or Canada sparrow, and the white-crowned and white-throated sparrow.
The social sparrow, alias108 "hairbird," alias "red-headed chipping-bird," is the smallest of the sparrows, and I believe, the only one that builds in trees.
The finches, as a class, all have short conical bills, with tails more or less forked. The purple finch heads the list in varied109 musical abilities.
Besides the groups of our more familiar birds which I have thus hastily outlined, there are numerous other groups, more limited in specimens110 but comprising some of our best-known songsters. The bobolink, for instance, has properly no congener. The famous mockingbird of the Southern States belongs to a genus which has but two other representatives in the Atlantic States, namely, the catbird and the long-tailed or ferruginous thrush.
The wrens112 are a large and interesting family, and as songsters are noted for vivacity113 and volubility. The more common species are the house wren111, the marsh114 wren, the great Carolina wren, and the winter wren, the latter perhaps deriving115 its name from the fact that it breed in the North. It is an exquisite songster, and pours forth its notes so rapidly, and with such sylvan116 sweetness and cadence117, that it seems to go off like a musical alarm.
Wilson called the kinglets wrens, but they have little to justify118 the name, except that the ruby-crown's song is of the same gushing119, lyrical character as that referred to above. Dr. Brewer120 was entranced with the song of one of these tiny minstrels in the woods of New Brunswick, and thought he had found the author of the strain in the black-poll warbler. He seems loath121 to believe that a bird so small as either of the kinglets could possess such vocal122 powers. It may indeed have been the winter wren, but from my own observation I believe the ruby-crowned kinglet quite capable of such a performance.
But I must leave this part of the subject and hasten on. As to works on ornithology, Audubon's, though its expense puts it beyond the reach of the mass of readers, is by far the most full and accurate. His drawings surpass all others in accuracy and spirit, while his enthusiasm and devotion to the work he had undertaken have but few parallels in the history of science. His chapter on the wild goose is as good as a poem. One readily overlooks his style, which is often verbose123 and affected124, in consideration of enthusiasm so genuine and purpose so single.
There has never been a keener eye than Audubon's, though there have been more discriminative125 ears. Nuttall, for instance is far more happy in his descriptions of the songs and notes of birds, and more to be relied upon. Audubon thinks the song of the Louisiana water-thrush equal to that of the European nightingale, and, as he had heard both birds, one would think was prepared to judge. Yet he has, no doubt, overrated the one and underrated the other. The song of the water-thrush is very brief, compared with the philomel's, and its quality is brightness and vivacity, while that of the latter bird, if the books are to be credited, is melody and harmony. Again, he says the song of the blue grosbeak resembles the bobolink's, which it does about as much as the two birds resemble each other in color; one is black and white and the other is blue. The song of the wood-wagtail, he says, consists of a "short succession of simple notes beginning with emphasis and gradually falling." The truth is, they run up the scale instead of down, beginning low and ending in a shriek126.
Yet considering the extent of Audubon's work, the wonder is the errors are so few. I can at this moment recall but one observation of his, the contrary of which I have proved to be true. In his account of the bobolink he makes a point of the fact that, in returning south in the fall, they do not travel by night as they do when moving north in the spring. In Washington I have heard their calls as they flew over at night for four successive autumns. As he devoted127 the whole of a long life to the subject, and figured and described over four hundred species, one feels a real triumph on finding in our common woods a bird not described in his work. I have seen but two. Walking in the woods one day in early fall, in the vicinity of West Point, I started up a thrush that was sitting on the ground. It alighted on a branch a few yards off, and looked new to me. I thought I had never before seen so long-legged a thrush. I shot it, and saw that it was a new acquaintance. Its peculiarities128 were its broad, square tail; the length of its legs, which were three and three quarters inches from the end of the middle toe to the hip-joint; and the deep uniform olive-brown of the upper parts, and the gray of the lower. It proved to be the gray-cheeked thrush, named and first described by Professor Baird. But little seems to be known concerning it, except that it breeds in the far north, even on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. I would go a good way to hear its song.
The present season I met with a pair of them near Washington, as mentioned above. In size this bird approaches the wood thrush, being larger than either the hermit or the veery; unlike all other species, no part of its plumage has a tawny129 or yellowish tinge130. The other specimen was the northern or small water-thrush, cousin-german to the oven-bird and the half-brother to the Louisiana water-thrush or wagtail. I found it at the head of the Delaware, where it evidently had a nest. It usually breeds much further north. It has a strong, clear warble, which at once suggests the song of its congener. I have not been able to find any account of this particular species in the books, though it seems to be well known.
More recent writers and explorers have added to Audubon's list over three hundred new species, the greater number of which belong to the northern and western parts of the continent. Audubon's observations were confined mainly to the Atlantic and Gulf131 States and the adjacent islands; hence the Western or Pacific birds were but little known to him, and are only briefly132 mentioned in his works.
It is, by the way, a little remarkable133 how many of the Western birds seem merely duplicates of the Eastern. Thus, the varied thrush of the West is our robin, a little differently marked; and the red-shafted woodpecker is our golden-wing, or high-hole, colored red instead of yellow. There is also a Western chickadee, a Western chewink, a Western blue jay, a Western bluebird, a Western song sparrow, Western grouse134, quail135, hen-hawk, etc.
One of the most remarkable birds of the West seems to be a species of skylark, met with on the plains of Dakota, which mounts to the height of three or four hundred feet, and showers down its ecstatic notes. It is evidently akin73 to several of our Eastern species.
A correspondent, writing to me from the country one September, said: "I have observed recently a new species of bird here. They alight upon the buildings and fences as well as upon the ground. They are walkers." In a few days he obtained one and sent me the skin. It proved to be what I had anticipated, namely the American pipit, or titlark, a slender brown bird, about the size of the sparrow, which passes through the States in the fall and spring, to and from its breeding haunts in the far north. They generally appear by twos and threes, or in small loose flocks, searching for food on banks and plowed137 ground. As they fly up, they show two or three white quills in the tail, like the vesper sparrow. Flying over, they utter a single chirp or cry every few rods. They breed in the bleak138, moss-covered rocks of Labrador. It is reported that their eggs have also been found in Vermont, and I feel quite certain that I saw this bird in the Adirondack Mountains in the month of August. The male launches into the air, and gives forth a brief but melodious139 song, after the manner of all larks140. They are walkers. This is a characteristic of but few of our land-birds. By far the greater number are hoppers. Note the track of the common snowbird; the feet are not placed one in front of the other, as in the track of the crow or partridge, but side and side. The sparrows, thrushes, warblers, woodpeckers, buntings, etc., are all hoppers. On the other hand, all aquatic141 or semi-aquatic birds are walkers. The plovers142 and sandpipers and snips143 run rapidly. Among the land-birds, the grouse, pigeons, quails144, larks and various blackbirds walk. The swallows walk, also, whenever they use their feet at all, but very awkwardly. The larks walk with ease and grace. Note the meadowlarks strutting145 about all day in the meadows.
Besides being walkers, the larks, or birds allied146 to the larks, all sing upon the wing, usually poised147 or circling in the air, with a hovering148, tremulous flight. The meadowlark occasionally does this in the early part of the season. At such times its long-drawn note or whistle becomes a rich, amorous149 warble.
The bobolink, also, has both characteristics, and, notwithstanding the difference of form and build, etc., is very suggestive of the English skylark, as it figures in the books, and is, no doubt, fully53 its equal as a songster.
Of our small wood-birds we have three varieties east of the Mississippi, closely related to each other, which I have already spoken of, and which walk, and sing, more or less, on the wing, namely the two species of water-thrush or wagtails, and the oven-bird or wood-wagtail. The latter is the most common, and few observers of the birds can have failed to notice its easy, gliding150 walk. Its other lark136 trait, namely singing in the air, seems not to have been observed by any other naturalist151. Yet it is a well-established characteristic, and may be verified by any person who will spend a half hour in the woods where this bird abounds152 on some June afternoon or evening. I hear it very frequently after sundown, when the ecstatic singer can hardly be distinguished against the sky. I know of a high, bald-top mountain where I have sat late in the afternoon and heard them as often as one every minute. Sometimes the bird would be far below me, sometimes near at hand; and very frequently the singer would be hovering a hundred feet above the summit. He would start from the trees on one side of the open space, reach his climax153 in the air, and plunge154 down on the other side. His descent after the song is finished is very rapid, and precisely155 like that of the titlark when it sweeps down from its course to alight on the ground.
I first verified this observation some years ago. I had long been familiar with the song, but had only strongly suspected the author of it, when, as I was walking in the woods one evening, just as the leaves were putting out, I saw one of these birds but a few rods from me. I was saying to myself, half audibly, "Come, now, show off, if it is in you; I have come to the woods expressly to settle this point," when it began to ascend156, by short hops157 and flights, through the branches, uttering a sharp, preliminary chirp. I followed it with my eye; saw it mount into the air and circle over the woods; and saw it sweep down again and dive through the trees, almost to the very perch from which it had started.
As the paramount158 question in the life of a bird is the question of food, perhaps the most serious troubles our feathered neighbors encounter are early in the spring, after the supply of fat with which Nature stores every corner and by-place of the system, thereby anticipating the scarcity159 of food, has been exhausted160, and the sudden and severe changes in the weather which occur at this season make unusual demands upon their vitality161. No doubt many of the earlier birds die from starvation and exposure at this season. Among a troop of Canada sparrows which I came upon one March day, all of them evidently much reduced, one was so feeble that I caught it in my hand.
During the present season, a very severe cold spell the first week in March drove the bluebirds to seek shelter about the houses and outbuildings. As night approached, and the winds and the cold increased, they seemed filled with apprehension162 and alarm, and in the outskirts of the city came about the windows and the doors, crept beneath the blinds, clung to the gutters163 and beneath the cornice, flitted from porch to porch, and from house to house, seeking in vain from some safe retreat from the cold. The street pump, which had a small opening just over the handle, was an attraction which they could not resist. And yet they seemed aware of the insecurity of the position; for no sooner would they stow themselves away into the interior of the pump, to the number of six or eight, than they would rush out again, as if apprehensive164 of some approaching danger. Time after time the cavity was filled and refilled, with blue and brown intermingled, and as often emptied. Presently they tarried longer than usual, when I made a sudden sally and captured three, that found a warmer and safer lodging165 for the night in the cellar.
In the fall, birds and fowls166 of all kinds become very fat. The squirrels and mice lay by a supply of food in their dens168 and retreats, but the birds, to a considerable extent, especially our winter residents, carry an equivalent in their own systems, in the form of adipose169 tissue. I killed a red-shouldered hawk one December, and on removing the skin found the body completely encased in a coating of fat one quarter of an inch in thickness. Not a particle of muscle was visible. This coating not only serves as a protection against the cold, but supplies the waste of the system when food is scarce or fails altogether.
The crows at this season are in the same condition. It is estimated that a crow needs at least half a pound of meat per day, but it is evident that for weeks and months during the winter and spring they must subsist170 on a mere fraction of that amount. I have no doubt that a crow or hawk, when in his fall condition, would live two weeks without a morsel171 of food passing his beak; a domestic fowl167 will do as much. One January I unwittingly shut a hen under the door of an outbuilding, where not a particle of food could be obtained, and where she was entirely unprotected from the severe cold. When the luckless Dominick was discovered, about eighteen days afterward, she was brisk and lively, but fearfully pinched up, and as light as a bunch of feathers. The slightest wind carried her before it. But by judicious172 feeding she was soon restored.
The circumstances of the bluebirds being emboldened173 by the cold suggests the fact that the fear of man, which by now seems like an instinct in the birds, is evidently an acquired trait, and foreign to them in a state of primitive174 nature. Every gunner has observed, to his chagrin175, how wild the pigeons become after a few days of firing among them; and, to his delight, how easy it is to approach near his game in new or unfrequented woods. Professor Baird [footnote: Then at the head of the Smithsonian Institution] tells me that a correspondent of theirs visited a small island in the Pacific Ocean, situated176 about two hundred miles off Cape177 St. Lucas, to procure specimens. The island was but a few miles in extent, and had probably never been visited half a dozen times by human beings. The naturalist found the birds and water-fowls so tame that it was but a waste of ammunition178 to shoot them. Fixing a noose179 on the end of a long stick, he captured them by putting it over their necks and hauling them to him. In some cases not even this contrivance was needed. A species of mockingbird in particular, larger than ours and a splendid songster, made itself so familiar as to be almost a nuisance, hopping180 on the table where the collector was writing, and scattering181 the pens and paper. Eighteen species were found, twelve of them peculiar to the island.
Thoreau relates that in the woods of Maine the Canada jay will sometimes make its meal with the lumbermen, taking the food out of their hands.
Yet notwithstanding the birds have come to look upon man as their natural enemy, there can be little doubt that civilization is on the whole favorable to their increase and perpetuity, especially to the smaller species. With man comes flies and moths182, and insects of all kinds in greater abundance; new plants and weeds are introduced, and, with the clearing up of the country, are sowed broadcast over the land.
The larks and snow buntings that come to us from the north subsist almost entirely upon the seeds of grasses and plants; and how many of our more common and abundant species are field-birds, and entire strangers to deep forests?
In Europe some birds have become almost domesticated183, like the house sparrow; and in our own country the cliff swallow seems to have entirely abandoned ledges184 and shelving rocks, as a place to nest, for the eaves and projections185 of farm and other outbuildings.
After one has made the acquaintance of most of the land-birds, there remain the seashore and its treasures. How little one knows of the aquatic fowls, even after reading carefully the best authorities, was recently forced home to my mind by the following circumstance: I was spending a vacation in the interior of New York, when one day a stranger alighted before the house, and with a cigar box in his hand approached me as I sat in the doorway186. I was about to say that he would waste his time in recommending his cigars to me, as I never smoked, when he said that, hearing I knew something about birds, he had brought me one which had been picked up a few hours before in a hay-field near the village, and which was stranger to all who had seen it. As he began to undo99 the box I expected to see some of our own rarer birds, perhaps the rose-breasted grosbeak or Bohemian chatterer. Imagine, then, how I was taken aback when I beheld187 instead a swallow-shaped bird, quite as large as a pigeon, with a forked tail, glossy188 black above and snow-white beneath. Its parti-webbed feet, and its long graceful189 wings, at a glance told that it was a sea-bird; but as to its name or habitat I must defer190 my answer till I could get a peep into Audubon or some collection.
The bird had fallen down exhausted in a meadow, and was picked up just as the life was leaving its body. The place must have been one hundred and fifty miles from the sea as the bird flies. As it was the sooty tern, which inhabits the Florida Keys, its appearance so far north and so far inland may be considered somewhat remarkable. On removing the skin I found it terribly emaciated191. It had no doubt starved to death, ruined by too much wing. Another Icarus. Its great power of flight had made it bold and venturesome, and had carried it so far out of its range that it starved to death before it could return.
The sooty tern is sometimes called the sea-swallow on account of its form and the power of flight. It will fly nearly all day at sea, picking up food from the surface of the water. There are several species of terns, some of them strikingly beautiful.
1868.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
rambling
|
|
| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
gathering
|
|
| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
flickering
|
|
| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
robin
|
|
| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
ornithology
|
|
| n.鸟类学 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
awakened
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
procure
|
|
| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
specimen
|
|
| n.样本，标本 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
fascination
|
|
| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
lurk
|
|
| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
owls
|
|
| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
seasickness
|
|
| n.晕船 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
gull
|
|
| n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
solicited
|
|
| v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
subscription
|
|
| n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
tonic
|
|
| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
fragrance
|
|
| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
respites
|
|
| v.延期（respite的第三人称单数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
knavery
|
|
| n.恶行，欺诈的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
turmoil
|
|
| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
gorge
|
|
| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
creek
|
|
| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
clams
|
|
| n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
perch
|
|
| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
eligible
|
|
| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
dispensed
|
|
| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
invaluable
|
|
| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
labor
|
|
| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
ogle
|
|
| v.看；送秋波；n.秋波，媚眼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
ornithologist
|
|
| n.鸟类学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
subdivide
|
|
| vt.细分（细区分，再划分，重分，叠分，分小类） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
scour
|
|
| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
finch
|
|
| n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
chirp
|
|
| v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
chirping
|
|
| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
hooded
|
|
| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
hemlock
|
|
| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
maple
|
|
| n.槭树，枫树，槭木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
orchards
|
|
| （通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
conspicuously
|
|
| ad.明显地，惹人注目地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
eluding
|
|
| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
dart
|
|
| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
outskirts
|
|
| n.郊外，郊区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
subdivided
|
|
| 再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
groves
|
|
| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
variegated
|
|
| adj.斑驳的，杂色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
swampy
|
|
| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
articulation
|
|
| n.（清楚的）发音；清晰度，咬合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
iris
|
|
| n.虹膜，彩虹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
tenement
|
|
| n.公寓；房屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
secluded
|
|
| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
distress
|
|
| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
demeanor
|
|
| n.行为；风度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
subdued
|
|
| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
solicitous
|
|
| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
akin
|
|
| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
demonstration
|
|
| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
oblivious
|
|
| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
siesta
|
|
| n.午睡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
snugly
|
|
| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
hawk
|
|
| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
sleeper
|
|
| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
pugnacious
|
|
| adj.好斗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
dispositions
|
|
| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
incessantly
|
|
| ad.不停地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
tyrant
|
|
| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
plaintive
|
|
| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
darting
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
swooping
|
|
| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
beak
|
|
| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
beaks
|
|
| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
bristles
|
|
| 短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
crested
|
|
| adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
hop
|
|
| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
beholder
|
|
| n.观看者，旁观者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
flip
|
|
| vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
undo
|
|
| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
hermit
|
|
| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
discriminated
|
|
| 分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
lighter
|
|
| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
quills
|
|
| n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
skulking
|
|
| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
furrow
|
|
| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
bestowed
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
savanna
|
|
| n.大草原 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
alias
|
|
| n.化名；别名；adv.又名 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
specimens
|
|
| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
wren
|
|
| n.鹪鹩；英国皇家海军女子服务队成员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
wrens
|
|
| n.鹪鹩( wren的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
vivacity
|
|
| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
marsh
|
|
| n.沼泽，湿地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
deriving
|
|
| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
sylvan
|
|
| adj.森林的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
cadence
|
|
| n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
justify
|
|
| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
gushing
|
|
| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
brewer
|
|
| n. 啤酒制造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
loath
|
|
| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
vocal
|
|
| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
verbose
|
|
| adj.用字多的；冗长的；累赘的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
discriminative
|
|
| 有判别力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
shriek
|
|
| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
peculiarities
|
|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
tawny
|
|
| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
grouse
|
|
| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
quail
|
|
| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
lark
|
|
| n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
plowed
|
|
| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
bleak
|
|
| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
melodious
|
|
| adj.旋律美妙的，调子优美的，音乐性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
larks
|
|
| n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
aquatic
|
|
| adj.水生的，水栖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
plovers
|
|
| n.珩，珩科鸟（如凤头麦鸡）( plover的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
snips
|
|
| n.（剪金属板的）铁剪，铁铗；剪下之物( snip的名词复数 )；一点点；零星v.剪( snip的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
quails
|
|
| 鹌鹑( quail的名词复数 )； 鹌鹑肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
strutting
|
|
| 加固，支撑物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
allied
|
|
| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
poised
|
|
| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
hovering
|
|
| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
amorous
|
|
| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
gliding
|
|
| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
naturalist
|
|
| n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
abounds
|
|
| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
climax
|
|
| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
ascend
|
|
| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
hops
|
|
| 跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
paramount
|
|
| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
scarcity
|
|
| n.缺乏，不足，萧条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
vitality
|
|
| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
apprehension
|
|
| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
gutters
|
|
| （路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
apprehensive
|
|
| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
lodging
|
|
| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
fowls
|
|
| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
fowl
|
|
| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
dens
|
|
| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
adipose
|
|
| adj.脂肪质的，脂肪多的；n.（储于脂肪组织中的）动物脂肪；肥胖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
subsist
|
|
| vi.生存，存在，供养 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
morsel
|
|
| n.一口，一点点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
judicious
|
|
| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
emboldened
|
|
| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
chagrin
|
|
| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
cape
|
|
| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
ammunition
|
|
| n.军火，弹药 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
noose
|
|
| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
hopping
|
|
| n. 跳跃 动词hop的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
scattering
|
|
| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
moths
|
|
| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
domesticated
|
|
| adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
ledges
|
|
| n.（墙壁，悬崖等）突出的狭长部分( ledge的名词复数 )；（平窄的）壁架；横档；（尤指）窗台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
projections
|
|
| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
glossy
|
|
| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
defer
|
|
| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
emaciated
|
|
| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |